原文标题：Fast RetailingFaster, pleaseUniqlo’s success mirrors the growth of Japan’s industrial giants迅销集团

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优衣库的成功反映了日本工业巨头的成长历程

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Automation and expansion go hand in hand自动化和扩张齐头并进

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DRIVE THROUGH any city in South-East Asia and Japan’s commercial presence is visible everywhere: vehicles made by Toyota, Honda and Nissan clog the roads, the result of decades of market dominancein the region.

驾车穿越任何一座东南亚城市，随处可见各种日产商品：路上满是丰田车、本田车和尼桑车，这是几十年来日本商品在该地区占市场主导地位的结果。

If Fast Retailing, the parent company behind Uniqlo, a clothing retailer, has its way, the drivers of those vehicles will soon be wearing Japanese clothes, too.如果服装零售商优衣库的母公司迅销集团方法得当，这些车辆的司机很快也会穿上日本品牌的服装。

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The company’s latest results were a boonfor shareholders, with operating profits of ¥103bn ($760m) in the three months to the end of February, up by 48% compared with the same period last year.

该公司的最新业绩为股东带来了福音，在截至2月底的三个月内，营业利润为 1030 亿日元（7.6 亿美元），比去年同期增长 48%。

They already had good reason for cheer: the company’s shares have risen by 53% in the past 12 months, making it one of the best-performing large listed companies in Japan.

他们有充分的理由去庆祝欢呼：该公司股价在过去 12 个月内上涨了 53%，成为日本业绩最好的大型上市公司之一。

Its shares are now just 10% shy of their all-time highs in February 2021, and, with a market capitalisation of $76bn, it is the country’s sixth-largest listed firm.它现在的股价距离2021年2月的历史高点只差10%，市值 760 亿美元，是该国第6大上市公司。

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At first glance, Uniqlo is an unusual story of a Japanese retailer succeeding overseas.

初看，优衣库是一个日本零售商在海外取得成功且非同寻常的故事。

Fast Retailing’s main international competitors—Hennes & Mauritz AB, the parent company of H&M, and Inditex, the parent of Zara—are based in Sweden and Spain respectively.

迅销集团的主要国际竞争对手——H&M 的母公司海恩斯莫里斯和Zara的母公司印地纺——分别位于瑞典和西班牙。

But the firm’s growth abroad follows as much in the footsteps of Japan’s industrial and manufacturing firms as its European peers.但该公司在海外的发展与欧洲同行一样，都紧随日本工业和制造企业的脚步。

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Japanese industrial firms, carmakers in particular, made South-East Asia a second home from the 1960s onwards.

日本工业公司尤其是汽车制造商，从 1960 年代起就把东南亚作为第二故乡。

Fast Retailing is also expanding particularly rapidly in Asia, where sales (excluding its home market and greater China) are up by 71% in the six months to the end of February, compared with the same period a year ago.

迅销集团在亚洲的扩张也特别迅速，截至 2 月底的六个月里，亚洲销售额（不包括其本土市场和大中华区）与去年同期相比增长了 71%。

The region now accounts for 16% of sales, up from 11% a year ago, and it is closing in China, which dropped from 25% to 22% over the same period.

该地区现在占销售额的 16%，高于一年前的 11%，并且正在向中国市场业绩靠拢，后者在同一时期从 25% 下降到 22%。

In the 1960s the focus of Japanese firms was on exploration for oil, the supply of natural resources and producing industrial goods in countries with import-substitution policies.

在 1960 年代，日本公司的重点是勘探石油、供应自然资源和在实行进口替代政策的国家生产工业产品。

Now the region represents a promisingmarket for Uniqlo rather than somewhere to put factories.现在，该地区不是一个开办工厂的地方，但对优衣库来说是一个有前景的市场。

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The comparison extends beyond geography.

这种比较超出了地理范围。

Exposed to demographic constraintsin fast-ageing Japan, Fast Retailing has used technology and automation to replace workers, further mimickingthe country’s large manufacturers.

在快速老龄化的日本，迅销集团面临着人口限制，它利用技术和自动化来取代工人，进一步模仿该国的大型制造商。

Keyence, a largely unheraldedgiant of industrial automation, is Japan’s second-largest listed firm, worth $111bn.

基恩士是工业自动化领域一个默默无闻的巨头，是日本第二大上市公司，市值 1110 亿美元。

Since 2017 Uniqlo has embeddedall its garmentswith tiny identification tags, which enable automatic scanning at checkouts.自 2017 年以来，优衣库在其所有服装中嵌入了微型识别标签，可以在结账时自动扫描。 

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The reliance on automation goes deep into the company’s business operations and supply chain, too.

对自动化的依赖也深入到公司的业务运营和供应链中。

In 2019 it joined up with Japan’s Mujin and France’s Exotec Solutions, both small robotics companies, with the aim of automating the jobs in its warehouses.

2019 年，它与日本的 Mujin 和法国的 Exotec Solutions 这两家小型机器人公司合作，旨在实现仓库工作的自动化。

It had already joined forces in 2018 with Daifuku, a larger automation firm, which helped reduce the workforce at a warehouse in Tokyo by 90%.它已经在 2018 年与更大的自动化公司 Daifuku 合作，帮助东京的一个仓库减少了90%的劳动力。

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The savings are no longer just a bonus for the firm’s bottom line.

节省的资金不再只是为了公司利润的增加。

Uniqlo raised salaries for some employees by up to 40% in March, in an effort to make corporate wages comparable to similar firms internationally, in order to compete for talent, and will set pay based on global standards in future.

优衣库在3月份将部分员工的工资上调了40%，为了争夺人才，力求使企业工资水平与国际同行企业相当，而且未来公司将按照全球标准制定薪酬。

Savings from automation will be a necessity if the company wants to avoid eating into its profit margins to bump up salaries for its staff. 如果该公司想要避免利润率受蚕食，那么自动化省下的钱用于提高员工的薪酬是必要的。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量600左右）原文出自：2023年4月22日《The Economist》Business版块。

精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理: Irene本文编辑校对: Irene仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）迅销集团Fast Retailing是一家日本服装零售企业，成立于1963年。该公司旗下拥有多个品牌，其中最知名的是Uniqlo（优衣库）品牌。Fast Retailing还拥有J Brand、Theory、Helmut Lang等品牌，并致力于通过可持续性和社会责任计划来推动企业社会责任。截至2021年底，Fast Retailing的员工人数超过84,000人，全球拥有超过3,600家门店。优衣库Uniqlo是Fast Retailing公司旗下的一家服装零售品牌，成立于1984年。Uniqlo以“简约、高品质、实用”为设计理念，致力于提供高品质、时尚且价格亲民的服装产品。其系列产品涵盖了男女装、儿童装、内衣、配饰等多个领域。Uniqlo采用自主研发的面料技术和生产工艺，在保证舒适度和耐久性的同时，也减少了对环境的影响。Uniqlo在全球范围内拥有超过2,000家门店，并不断扩大其全球市场份额。在20世纪40年代至60年代期间，日本实行了多项进口替代政策（import-substitution policies），旨在促进本国产业的发展和经济独立性。这些措施帮助日本发展了许多本土产业，如汽车、电子、钢铁、化学品等，形成了以出口为主导的经济增长模式。基恩士公司Keyence是一家总部位于日本大阪的跨国高科技公司，成立于1974年。该公司主要致力于生产和销售工业自动化设备、机器视觉系统、激光测量仪器、数字显微镜、传感器等高科技产品。目前，Keyence已经在全球40多个国家设立了办事处和研发中心，在世界范围内拥有超过7000名员工。【重点句子】（3个）At first glance, Uniqlo is an unusual story of a Japanese retailer succeeding overseas.初看，优衣库是一个日本零售商在海外取得成功且非同寻常的故事。Exposed to demographic constraints in fast-ageing Japan, Fast Retailing has used technology and automation to replace workers, further mimicking the country’s large manufacturers.在快速老龄化的日本，迅销集团面临着人口限制，它利用技术和自动化来取代工人，进一步模仿该国的大型制造商。The reliance on automation goes deep into the company’s business operations and supply chain, too.对自动化的依赖也深入到公司的业务运营和供应链中。