经济学人88:雅芳把老板给炒了

 　　Business Avon boots out its boss Andrea's adieu

　　商业 雅芳把老板给炒了 钟彬娴，再见！
　　An ugly mess at a beauty firm
　　化妆品公司的丑陋乱局
　　"YOU have got to go home tonight, Friday evening, and you have got to fire yourself," a management coach once told Andrea Jung, the boss of Avon, an American beauty firm.
　　美国化妆品公司雅芳的一位经理曾对老板钟彬娴女士（Andrea Jung）说道："你今晚必须回家，周五晚上，而且你必须辞职。"
　　The idea was for her to come back to work the following Monday as if starting her job anew.
　　该想法是为了让她能在下周一犹如重新开始工作一样重返办公室上班。
　　Alas 1, this brilliant tip was not enough.
　　唉，这个聪明绝顶的小建议并不能起到明显作用。
　　As Avon's share price has wilted 2 like mascara under a sunlamp, Ms Jung is being pushed out for real.
　　当雅芳公司股价像日光灯下的睫毛膏一样萎缩时，钟彬娴女士确实被推到风口浪尖。
　　On December 13th the firm announced that she will be replaced as chief executive.
　　12月13日，公司宣布钟彬娴将只担任首席执行官一职。
　　The makeover will be gradual.
　　该变动将会是平缓的。
　　Ms Jung, who has run Avon since 1999, will stay on as chairman and help the board find a new boss.
　　钟彬娴自1999年来执掌雅芳，她将留着主席的位置上并帮助董事会找到新的主席。
　　It will be a tough job for anyone.
　　这对任何人来说都是棘手的。
　　Avon is the world's biggest direct-seller: an army of cheery salesfolk hawk 3 its products door-to-door.
　　雅芳是世界上最大的直销公司：雅芳有一支热情洋溢的销售大军，挨家挨户的推销产品。
　　The 125-year-old New York-based company has an annual revenue of over $10 billion and operations in more than 100 countries.
　　总部坐落在纽约的雅芳已经有125年的历史，年收入超过100亿美元，
　　But it has stumbled badly of late.
　　经营范围超过100个国家。
　　Its share price has fallen by 45% this year (see chart).
　　但是最近雅芳发展严重受阻，其股价今年已经下跌了45%。（见图表）
　　Ms Jung had a glossy 4 start at Avon, presiding over six consecutive 5 years of double-digit growth.
　　钟彬娴女士在雅芳上任伊始非常顺利，代领雅芳连续六年创下增长率为两位数的记录。
　　Yet she failed to use these fat years to invest in the business.
　　但是她并没有利用公司繁荣发展的这几年对业务进行投资。
　　By 2005 the firm was looking blemished 6. Sales declined in major markets.
　　到2005年，公司发展出现问题，主要市场的销量下滑，公司股价下跌。
　　The share price dropped. Ms Jung laid off 25% of senior staff and cut costs everywhere except for advertising 7 and distribution.
　　钟彬娴解雇了25%的高级职员，并且全面消减除广告和配送方面的成本。
　　Avon never really recovered.
　　雅芳从未真正恢复。
　　In March 2009 Ms Jung launched the biggest hiring drive in the company's history and nearly doubled the marketing 8 budget.
　　2009年3月，钟彬娴开始公司成立以来最大的招聘活动并且将营销预算将近翻了一番。
　　She saw in the global economic crisis a chance to overtake Avon's rivals. It didn't work.
　　她在全球金融危机中看到打败竞争对手的商机，但是却失败了。
　　Moreover, the company has spent more than $150m on an internal investigation 9 of alleged 10 corruption 11 among sales representatives in China and Latin America.Several have been dismissed.
　　而且，公司耗资1.5亿美元对中国和拉美的销售代表中所谓的贪污行为进行调查，一些销售代表被解雇。
　　America's Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating, too.
　　美国证券交易委员会也进行调查。
　　If Avon is found guilty of anything, the penalties could be steep.
　　如果雅芳被判定有罪的话，那么处罚将会非常严重。
　　Some problems are beyond Avon's control. Brazil, a big market, is slowing down. Europe, which accounts for 28% of Avon's sales, is in crisis: it's hard to put lipstick 12 on the PIGS.
　　有些问题是雅芳无法控制的。雅芳最大的市场巴西正不断萎缩，为雅芳销售额贡献28%的欧洲市场正面临债务危机：在温饱问题未解决之前，很少有人考虑到美容等形象问题。
　　Avon is doing badly at home in America, too.
　　雅芳在美国本土的业绩同样非常糟糕。顾客们锱铢必较。
　　Shoppers are feeling Grinchy about pennies. And the non-beauty products (such as fashion accessories) that account for a hefty third of Avon's sales in America have lower margins 13 than cosmetics 15. (In other countries non-beauty stuff represents only about 10% of Avon's sales.)
　　而且占雅芳在美国销售额高达三分之一的其他非美容产品（诸如时尚饰品）比化妆品的利润要低。（在其他国家，非美容产品只占雅芳销售额的10%。）
　　Other problems are self-inflicted. Avon made a mess of its new IT system in Brazil.
　　其他问题则是自身的原因。雅芳将其用于巴西新的信息技术系统搞得一团糟。
　　Its working capital is chewing up a third of its gross cashflow, mainly due to poor inventory 16 management.
　　由于糟糕的库存管理，雅芳营运资本占现金流总量的三分之一。
　　If Avon reduced its working capital, it would have less trouble paying dividends 17, says Connie Maneaty of BMO Capital in New York.
　　位于纽约BMO Capital公司的Connie Maneaty说：如果雅芳减少运营资本，那么其支付股息的困难就会小很多。
　　It would also have more cash for acquisitions in fast-growing markets such as Vietnam or India.
　　同样会有更多的现金用于诸如越南和印度等快速发展市场的兼并业务。
　　Many will be sorry to see Ms Jung tossed overboard.
　　很多人对钟彬娴被扫地出门深表遗憾。
　　As the Princeton-educated daughter of Chinese immigrants, she embodied 18 the American dream.
　　她毕业于普林斯顿大学，其父母是来自中国的移民，美国梦在她身上得以展现。
　　She was also a role model for women, in particular Avon's 6.5m sales representatives, most of whom are female.
　　她也是女性学习的角色模范，特别是雅芳公司650万销售代表，大部分都是女性。
　　One reason why Avon wants her to stay as chairman is that she is popular with the salesforce.
　　雅芳希望任命她为主席的原因之一就是她在销售队伍中颇受欢迎。
　　But Avon is ailing 19 and needs an overhaul 20.
　　但是雅芳发展存在"诟病"，现在需要彻底检查。
　　A new boss will be a good start, says Ali Dibadj of Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm.
　　研究公司Sanford C. Bernstein的Ali Dibadj认为，新的主席对雅芳来说将会是一个不错的开局。
　　The list of possible candidates includes Ed Shirley, vice 21 chairman of the beauty and grooming 22 unit at Procter & Gamble, an American consumer-goods giant, and Elizabeth Smith, who was in line to succeed Ms Jung at Avon before leaving the company to take over as boss of OSI Restaurant, a restaurant chain.
　　新主席的候选人中包括：美国日用消费品巨头宝洁公司美容与装饰部门的副总裁艾德雪莉，以及伊丽莎白?史密斯，她在离开雅芳之前是钟彬娴的继任者、目前是OSI连锁餐厅总裁。
　　Whoever gets the job, the changes required will be more than cosmetic 14.
　　不论是谁成为新的总裁，雅芳想要改变，化妆品是远远不够的。