原文标题：SportswearNo Yeezy answersCan Adidas ever catch up with Nike?运动品牌回答“是”或“不是”阿迪达斯能否追上耐克？The German firm’s new boss has his work cut out德国公司的新老板面临着巨大的挑战[Paragraph 1]A FEW YEARS ago it appeared as though Adidas might challenge Nike for the title of the world’s biggest maker of sportswear. The American giant was well ahead, to be sure. 几年前，阿迪达斯似乎有机会挑战耐克，成为全球最大的运动装备制造商之一。当然，依然是美国巨头遥遥领先。But its three-striped German rival had pep in its step. Under Kasper Rorsted, who took over as chief executive in October 2016, Adidas’s revenues shot up—by a cumulative 30% or so in the first three years of his stewardship. 但三条纹的德国竞争对手表现出了强劲的势头。卡斯珀·罗斯泰德于2016年10月接任首席执行官，在他的领导下，阿迪达斯的营收大幅增长--在他任职的前3年里累计增长了30%左右。A lucrative deal from 2013 to make and sell trainers designed by Kanye West, an American rapper, was paying off handsomely; by 2021 Mr West’s Yeezy line contributed 12% of Adidas’s overall shoe sales. 2013 年签订了一项利润丰厚的协议，即制造和销售由美国说唱歌手坎耶·维斯特设计的运动鞋，这给公司带来可观的回报；到2021年，维斯特的“椰子鞋”系列为阿迪达斯鞋子总销售额贡献了12%。In August that year the company’s market capitalisation reached €67bn ($79bn), more than twice what it had been five years earlier.同年 8 月，该公司的市值达到了 670 亿欧元（790 亿美元），是五年前的两倍多。

[Paragraph 2]Today Adidas looks like analso-ran. 今天，阿迪达斯看起来像一个失意者。Revenues were more or less flat in the final three months of 2022, year on year. The company disclosed a quarterly operating loss of €724m. 2022 年最后三个月的营收同比持平。公司公布了季度营业亏损 7.24 亿欧元。Far from catching up, it is falling further behind Nike, which on March 21st reported quarterly sales of $12bn, 14% higher than the year before and twice those of Adidas, and boasts cushy13% operating margins worthy of its Air soles. 阿迪达斯远远落后于耐克，后者在 3 月 21 日报告季度销售额达到 120 亿美元，比去年同期增长了 14%，是阿迪达斯的2倍，并轻松拥有 13%的营业利润率，气垫鞋名副其实。Adidas’s market value is back down to €25bn, one-seventh that of Nike. 阿迪达斯的市值回落至250亿欧元，是耐克的1/7。Investors today appear to have more confidence not just in the swooshbut in Puma, Adidas’s smaller domestic rival (see chart).今天的投资者似乎不仅对耐克更有信心，而且对阿迪达斯的德国竞争小对手“彪马”也有信心（见图表）。

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Some of Adidas’s crampsare the result of factors beyond its control. Inflation pushed up supply-chain costs.

阿迪达斯遇到的一些问题是由于自身无法控制的因素造成的。通货膨胀推高了供应链成本。

The company had to wind down its sizeable business in Russia in February 2022, provoking an exodusof Western firms from the Russian market.

2022年2月西方公司从俄罗斯市场撤离，阿迪达斯也不得不逐渐停止在俄的大业务。

And the increasingly erratic behaviour, including anti-Semitic outbursts, of Mr West (who now insists on being called Ye) led Adidas to cut ties with him in October last year. That left it with millions of unsold pairs of Yeezys, worth some €1.2bn.

与此同时，“坎爷”的行为越来越不稳定，包括反犹风波，导致阿迪达斯在去年10月与他断绝了联系。这使得该公司面临着数百万双“椰子鞋“（价值约12亿欧元）卖不出去的困境。

Unless these are somehow repurposed, the company expects to end 2023 with its first annual operating loss in 30 years, of perhaps €700m.

除非这些鞋被以某种方式重新利用，否则该公司预计将在2023年结束时出现30年来的首次年度运营亏损，可能达到7亿欧元。

The prospect of a recession in Europe and North America, and uncertainty over Chi’s economic recovery, present another drag.欧洲和北美的经济前景堪忧，以及中经济复苏的不确定性，也是另一种拖累。

[Paragraph 4]Bad luck is not the whole story, however.然而，这并非全是运气不好。

Mr Rorsted’s focus on efficiency and cost, though in some ways welcome, came at a price.

罗斯泰德注重效率和成本，某些方面值得赞扬，但也付出了代价。

He treated Adidas’s retail partners shoddily, preferring to focus on selling directly to consumers through the company’s own shops.He also neglected investments in innovation.

他对阿迪达斯的零售合作伙伴很不友好，他更喜欢将重点放在通过公司直营店直接向消费者销售。他也忽略了创新方面的投资。

Mr Rorsted would have made a fine chief financial officer, says Florian Riedmüller of the Nuremberg Institute of Technology.Instead, he “is an example of what happens when you put the wrong person into the top job”.

纽伦堡工学院的弗洛里安·里德穆勒表示，罗斯泰德本可以成为一位出色的首席财务官。但相反，“他是一个将错误的人放在高管职位的例子”。

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Adidas’s board thinks it has now found the right one in Bjorn Gulden, who took over as CEO at the start of the year.

阿迪达斯董事认为他们现在已经找到了正确的人选--约恩·古尔登，他于今年年初接任首席执行官。

The Norwegian former professional footballer had helped to turn round Puma, from which he was poached.这位挪威前职业足球运动员曾帮助扭转了彪马的局面，后来被挖走加入阿迪达斯。

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Mr Gulden’s first task is to decide what to do with all the Yeezys (options include trying to sell them, possibly handing the proceedsto charity, donating them to a good cause, such as the victims of the recent earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, or justbinningthem).

古尔登先生的第一个任务是决定如何处理所有的“椰子鞋”（选项包括尝试出售，可能将收益捐给慈善机构；将其捐赠给慈善事业，例如叙利亚和土耳其地震的受害者；或者直接扔掉）。

A bigger long-term challenge, says Aneesha Sherman of Bernstein, a broker, is what to do about Chi. Last year Adidas’s Chinese sales fell by 36%. Nike’s Chinese sales, too, declined in its latest quarter, by 8%.伯恩斯坦的安尼莎·谢尔曼说，更大的长期挑战是如何应对中国市场。去年，阿迪达斯在中国的销售额下降了36％。耐克最新季度里的中国销售额也下降了8％。

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But unlike Nike, China’s bestselling sportswear brand, which has deftly adapted to local tastes, in particular a growing love of basketball, Adidas has been caught flat-footed.

阿迪达斯与耐克（中国最畅销的运动品牌）不同，耐克巧妙地适应了当地的口味，尤其出现日益增长的篮球热时，阿迪达斯则措手不及。

Its Chinese sales have been overtaken by those of Anta, a fast-charging local rival. Now it risks losing the number-three position to another, Li Ning.阿迪达斯在中国的销售额已被快速崛起的本土品牌“安踏”超越。现在它有可能会输给另一家竞争对手“李宁”，从而失去第三大运动品牌的地位。

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Mr Gulden calls 2023 a “transition year” that will smooth the path to rebuilding a profitable business in 2024.

古尔登先生称2023年是一个“过渡年”，将为2024年重建盈利业务铺平道路。

He plans to cut the dividend, reduce discounts on unsold kit, mend relations with retailers, and invest more in products and in the Adidas brand.

他计划削减股息，减少未售出产品的折扣，修复与零售商的关系，并加大对产品和阿迪达斯品牌的投资。

That is a start. But if Adidas really wants to catch up with Nike, it will need to pick up the pace—and then some. 这是一个开始。但如果阿迪达斯真的想赶上耐克，它需要加快步伐，而且还要更努力。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量745左右）原文出自：2023年3月25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）阿迪达斯（Adidas）是一家全球性的德国运动品牌，成立于1949年。该公司的标志是三条平行线，这个标志最初是为了解决鞋子在中脚部分的稳定性问题而被设计出来的。自1970年代以来，阿迪达斯一直是世界顶级运动品牌之一。近年来，阿迪达斯致力于推出更环保的产品，如使用回收的海洋塑料制造鞋子等，同时也在数字化方面加强了投资，如开发智能运动服和推出运动应用程序。

耐克（Nike）是一家全球著名的运动品牌，总部位于美国俄勒冈州。它成立于1964年，最初名为“Blue Ribbon Sports”，后于1971年改名为“Nike”，是运动鞋、运动服、体育用品和配件的知名生产商和销售商。耐克的品牌口号是“Just Do It”，这个标语成为了该品牌最具代表性的标志之一，与品牌紧密相连。NIKE SWOOSH（耐克），是奈特和鲍尔曼在1972年创始的品牌，品牌名源自希腊胜利之神的名字。一种独特标志Swoosh（意为“嗖的一声”），它极为醒目、独特，每件耐克公司制品上都有这种标记。简言之，Swoosh就是NIKE加对勾的那个标志。【重点句子】（3 个）Some of Adidas’s cramps are the result of factors beyond its control. Inflation pushed up supply-chain costs.阿迪达斯遇到的一些问题是由于自身无法控制的因素造成的。通货膨胀推高了供应链成本。But unlike Nike, China’s bestselling sportswear brand, which has deftly adapted to local tastes, in particular a growing love of basketball, Adidas has been caught flat-footed.阿迪达斯与耐克（中国最畅销的运动品牌）不同，耐克巧妙地适应了当地的口味，尤其出现日益增长的篮球热时，阿迪达斯则措手不及。He plans to cut the dividend, reduce discounts on unsold kit, mend relations with retailers, and invest more in products and in the Adidas brand.他计划削减股息，减少未售出产品的折扣，修复与零售商的关系，并加大对产品和阿迪达斯品牌的投资。