曼徹斯特珠寶商獲中國游客青睞

The north of England has never been more popular with Chinese tourists. In 2015, there were 64,000 visits from China, up from 35,000 in 2014 — a record, according to national tourism agency VisitBritain. Direct flights to Beijing from Manchester begin this month, and Shanghai could follow, further boosting tourism.

英格蘭北部地區(qū)從未像現(xiàn)在這樣受到中國游客青睞。2015年，來自中國的游客多達(dá)6.4萬人，遠(yuǎn)高于2014年的3.5萬人——據(jù)英國旅游業(yè)管理機(jī)構(gòu)英國旅游局(VisitBritain)稱，這是一個創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的水平。從北京直飛曼徹斯特的航班最近開通，不久還可能開通從上海直飛的航班，這將進(jìn)一步推動旅游業(yè)發(fā)展。

Rising numbers of visitors — often to see relatives or to watch Premier League football — have increased their economic contribution. In 2015, Chinese tourists spent £83m in the north, up 17 per cent on the previous year, according to VisitBritain. The Marketing Manchester agency has developed a guide in Mandarin to tax-free shopping in the city, distributed in China as well as in Britain (the guide is also available in Cantonese and Arabic).

隨著游客人數(shù)的增加——往往是為了探親訪友或者觀看英格蘭足球超級聯(lián)賽(Premier League)——他們對拉動經(jīng)濟(jì)的貢獻(xiàn)也在加大。英國旅游局的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2015年中國游客在英格蘭北部地區(qū)支出了8300萬英鎊，較上年增長了17%。曼徹斯特推廣機(jī)構(gòu)Marketing Manchester制作了一份簡體中文導(dǎo)購手冊，介紹曼徹斯特市內(nèi)的免稅購物點(diǎn)，在中國以及英國分發(fā)(該手冊還有繁體中文和阿拉伯語版)。

Luxury businesses in particular are benefiting from the influx of Chinese visitors: at Boodles, a family-owned jeweller that dates back to 1798, Chinese clients account for more than 10 per cent of turnover at its Manchester shop. The company has hosted several meals at Chinese restaurants for valued clients.

奢侈品行業(yè)尤其受益于中國游客的涌入：在可以追溯到1798年的家族所有珠寶商Boodles，中國客戶貢獻(xiàn)了其曼徹斯特商鋪超過10%的營業(yè)額。該公司已經(jīng)在中式餐廳舉辦了數(shù)次餐會，宴請重要客戶。

Michael Wainwright, managing director, says that the Liverpool-based business had always been popular with local Chinese. “Now we have their relatives from China and Hong Kong coming in. Students also bring their parents. Sunday afternoons are when we usually see them.

Boodles董事總經(jīng)理邁克爾•溫賴特(Michael Wainwright)表示，總部設(shè)在利物浦的該公司一直深受當(dāng)?shù)刂袊说南矏邸?ldquo;現(xiàn)在這些客戶來自中國內(nèi)地和香港的親屬也來光顧我們的店鋪。中國留學(xué)生也帶來了他們的父母。我們通常會在星期天下午見到他們。”

“They really like diamonds — they do not go so much for coloured stones. They also like Patek Philippe watches — they are the only third-party item we sell. It is hard to get them in China and they are a lot more expensive.”

“他們真的非常喜愛鉆石——他們對彩色寶石就沒有這么高的興致。他們還喜歡百達(dá)翡麗(Patek Philippe)的手表——這是我們銷售的唯一第三方產(chǎn)品。百達(dá)翡麗在中國國內(nèi)難以買到，價格也貴得多。”

Hancocks jewellers, also in Manchester’s prime King Street shopping district, occasionally opens specifically for wealthy Chinese customers in the evenings. Roy Lunt, the owner, says there has been a big increase in Chinese shoppers, who now account for a 10th of sales. One of his prize possessions is a sales slip for £220,000 for a single ruby that went to a Chinese customer.

Hancocks珠寶店同樣位于曼徹斯特主要商業(yè)區(qū)國王街(King Street)，該店有時會在晚間專門為富有的中國顧客開店營業(yè)。其所有者羅伊•倫特(Roy Lunt)表示，來自中國的購物者近來顯著增加，現(xiàn)已占到了銷售額的十分之一。他的珍藏品之一是一張售貨單，其中記錄的一顆紅寶石以22萬英鎊被一位中國客戶買走。

“There is nothing of this quality outside London. We get a lot of referrals from jewellers there,” he says.

他表示：“倫敦以外幾乎找不到這等品質(zhì)的珠寶，而我們接待了大量由倫敦珠寶商介紹過來的客戶。”

Word of mouth also works well. “We sold a sapphire ring worth £50,000. The lady took it back to Hong Kong and someone saw it and said how beautiful it was, then they came over to buy from me.”

口碑營銷同樣效果顯著。“我們售出了一枚價值5萬英鎊的藍(lán)寶石戒指。那位女士將戒指帶回了香港，其他人見了以后大贊這枚戒指多么美麗，然后他們也來到我這里購買珠寶。”

Another attraction of Manchester is that prices there can be lower than in London because of the northern city’s lower rents and wages.

曼徹斯特吸引人的另一個地方在于，這里的價格有可能低于倫敦，因為這座北方城市的房租和工資水平較低。

Manchester has more than 14,000 ethnic Chinese residents, according to the 2011 census, along with thousands more students at its universities. Nearby Liverpool has 8,000 Chinese residents, as well as 3,200 students, and is twinned with Shanghai, which modelled its waterfront on that of the British port.

2011年的人口調(diào)查顯示，曼徹斯特有超過1.4萬華裔市民，此外這里的大學(xué)還有數(shù)以千計的中國留學(xué)生。鄰近的利物浦有8000名華裔市民以及3200名中國留學(xué)生。利物浦與上海是姐妹城市，當(dāng)年上海的外灘就是以這座英國港口城市為藍(lán)本規(guī)劃的。

Boodles’ shop at Harrods department store in London has a Chinese-speaking member of staff, and Manchester could be next, Mr Wainwright says.

溫賴特表示，Boodles在倫敦哈羅德(Harrods)百貨商店的店面配備了一名會說中文的店員，曼徹斯特商店可能是下一家聘請說中文店員的商店。

The jeweller has no plans, however, for a store in China, after closing its Hong Kong branch. “It is a very difficult place to do business. We are very happy to sell to them here in the UK,” Mr Wainwright says.

但Boodles目前沒有計劃在中國開設(shè)店鋪，此前該公司關(guān)閉了在香港的分公司。溫賴特稱：“在中國做生意難度很大。我們非常樂于在英國國內(nèi)向中國客戶銷售商品。”