“薩德”僵局致韓國零售商在華虧損慘重

South Korea’s consumer goods makers are weighing scaling back operations or pulling out of China as losses mount due to a government-led boycott

中韓之間的政治緊張局勢在中國引發(fā)了一場由政府引導(dǎo)的抵制韓貨運動，面對虧損額不斷擴大，韓國一眾消費品制造商正考慮收縮在華業(yè)務(wù)或完全退出中國。

prompted by political tensions between Beijing and Seoul. Lotte Group, which has become a high-profile casualty of the fallout following Seoul’s installation of a controversial missile shield programme, is considering selling its troubled supermarkets in China.

在韓國決定部署一套引發(fā)爭議的導(dǎo)彈防御系統(tǒng)之后，樂天集團(Lotte Group)已成為該事件的一個引人注目的受害者。目前樂天集團考慮賣掉其在中國陷入困境的超市。

The conglomerate, South Korea’s fifth-largest, expects sales lost in China to total more than Won1tn ($885m) this year as consumers shun South Korean stores and products, angered by Seoul’s siting a US-made anti-missile defence system in South Korea.

這家韓國第五大企業(yè)集團預(yù)計，今年其中國銷售額總計將減少1萬億韓元(約合8.85億美元)以上。消費者對韓國部署美國制造的導(dǎo)彈防御系統(tǒng)感到憤怒，從而不再光顧韓國商店，不再購買韓國商品。

“As our difficulties in China worsen, we are considering various options for restructuring including a sale of our stores there,” the company said on Monday.

“隨著我們在中國的困難加大，我們正在考慮各種重組選項，包括出售在華門店，”樂天集團周一表示。

Lotte has become the primary target of Beijing’s campaign against South Korean companies after the conglomerate sold land to Seoul last November for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) system. Of its 99 Lotte Mart hypermarkets, 87 have been closed since late February, often on spurious grounds such as alleged fire-code violations.

在樂天去年11月把一塊土地出售給韓國政府用于部署“末段高空區(qū)域防御系統(tǒng)”(Terminal High Altitude Area Defence,通常被稱為“薩德”(Thaad))之后，這家企業(yè)集團成了中國政府打壓韓國企業(yè)行動的主要目標。在99家樂天瑪特(Lotte Mart)中，自2月末以來被關(guān)閉的達87家，中方給出的經(jīng)常是違反消防規(guī)章等似是而非的理由。

“We are hoping the government will seek a diplomatic solution more actively as there is not much a single company can do about this,” Lotte said.

“我們希望政府將更積極地尋求一項外交解決方案，因為一家公司對此做不了什么，”樂天表示。

“Lotte had been struggling to compete in China with local rivals and ecommerce competitors even before the Thaad issue made matters worse,” said an industry analyst. “It [would be] better to close its China business completely to protect its overall profits, but that won’t be an easy decision to make, given its vast operations there.”

“以前樂天在中國就一直在艱難地與當?shù)赝泻碗娚虒κ终归_競爭，薩德問題讓形勢變得更糟，”一位行業(yè)分析師說，“若要保護集團的整體利潤，徹底關(guān)掉在華業(yè)務(wù)(將是)更好的做法，但鑒于中國業(yè)務(wù)規(guī)模太大，這將不是一項容易做出的決定。”

Last year China contributed 15 per cent, or Won1.2tn, of Lotte Mart’s total sales.

去年，樂天瑪特在中國市場的銷售額達1.2萬億韓元，占總銷售額的15%。

South Korean consumer groups have borne the brunt of China’s Thaad-related ire. Sales by carmaker Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors fell nearly 50 per cent in the first seven months of this year, while the operating profit of leading cosmetics maker AmorePacific shrank by nearly 30 per cent in the first half.

中國對薩德的憤怒，令韓國消費品集團受到?jīng)_擊。韓國車企現(xiàn)代汽車(Hyundai Motor)及其子公司起亞汽車(Kia Motors)今年前7個月的銷售額下降了近50%，而韓國領(lǐng)先的化妝品生產(chǎn)商愛茉莉太平洋(AmorePacific)今年上半年的營業(yè)利潤減少了近30%。

As a result, many Korean companies are considering scaling back their presence or withdrawing from China, according to industry executives.

行業(yè)高管表示，有鑒于此，許多韓國企業(yè)正在考慮削減在華業(yè)務(wù)規(guī)?；蛘叱烦鲋袊袌?。

Lotte’s cross-town rival Shinsegae is looking to sell its six remaining E-mart supermarkets in China, from which it plans to withdraw by year-end. It is in talks to sell some of the stores to Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group, according to the Maeil Business Newspaper, a local business daily. E-mart declined to confirm the report.

樂天的本國同行新世界集團(Shinsegae)正考慮賣掉在中國市場剩余的6家易買得(E-MART)超市。該公司計劃到年底前撤出中國。韓國商業(yè)日報《每日經(jīng)濟新聞》(Maeil Business Newspaper)報道稱，新世界集團正進行談判，打算把一些商店賣給泰國的正大集團(Charoen Pokphand Group)。易買得拒絕就該報道置評。

E-mart entered China about two decades ago and at its peak had 26 outlets in the country, but closed 11 of them in 2011 and has continued to retreat. It has suffered some Won200bn of losses from its China business over the past five years due to a lack of economies of scale, and losses are mounting as consumers stay away.

易買得是在大約20年前進入中國的，在巔峰時期在中國曾有26家門店，但在2011年關(guān)閉了其中的11家，并在持續(xù)關(guān)店。由于缺乏規(guī)模經(jīng)濟效應(yīng)，過去5年其中國業(yè)務(wù)的虧損大約為2000億韓元;隨著消費者的離去，虧損額正在增加。

Orion, a South Korean group that is the second-largest confectionery maker in China, recently laid off a fifth of its Chinese workforce and replaced the head of its subsidiary there as operating profit plunged 64 per cent in the first half of this year compared with the same period a year earlier. The company reported sales of Won1.3tn in China last year, which accounted for 56 per cent of its total sales.

韓國集團好麗友(Orion)是中國市場上規(guī)模第二大的糕點生產(chǎn)商。由于今年上半年營業(yè)利潤同比暴跌64%，該集團不久前把其在中國的員工裁減了五分之一，并更換了子公司的負責人。去年，好麗友在中國市場的銷售額達1.3萬億韓元，占集團總銷售額的56%。