SHAREHOLDERS of Carrefour, a French retailer, must feel as bewildered as shoppers lost in oneof its giant stores. In the past two years the company has suggested several new strategies tolift its sagging share price, such as selling emerging-market businesses or spinning off itsproperty, only to abandon them. Profit warnings have come thick and fast.

　　法國零售商家樂福的股東們，目前必定和那些在他們的大型超市中迷失方向的顧客一樣感到迷茫。在過去的兩年中，家樂福嘗試過多種新策略，試圖提升不斷下滑的股票價格，例如出售新興市場業(yè)務或剝離部分資產，以求擺脫多余的業(yè)務。不過公司的盈利警告依然來得嚴重而迅速。

　　The latest surprise was a plan to merge Carrefours Brazilian business with CompanhiaBrasileira de Distribui??o , a local competitor. This week the deal evaporated after afurious protest from Casino, a rival French retailer which already holds a stake in CBD.

　　最近的令人震驚消息是家樂福計劃將公司位于巴西的業(yè)務與當地的一個競爭者巴西百貨)進行合并。由于巴西百貨股份的持有者，家樂福的法國競爭者Casino的強烈反對，該筆交易于本周宣告失敗。

　　More surprises may be in store. Carrefour has two powerful shareholders: Bernard Arnault, theboss of LVMH, a luxury-goods group, and Colony Capital, a property-investment firm. Thetwo jointly own 14% of Carrefours shares and 20% of its voting rights, mostly through avehicle called Blue Capital. They are desperate to rescue their investment, made in 2007 whenCarrefours share price was more than twice as high as it is today.

　　更多令人震驚的消息來自于公司內部。家樂福有兩大股東：奢侈品集團LVMH的老板伯納德?阿爾諾和房地產投資公司柯羅尼資產集團。二者共持有家樂福14%的股份，并控制該公司14%的投票權，這兩大股東主要通過藍色資本操持對家樂福的股權。目前他們迫切希望挽回2007年做出的投資，當年家樂福的股票價格是現在的兩倍多。

　　Blue Capitals original plan, drawing on Colonys expertise, was to make a one-off profit byhaving Carrefour sell all or part of its property portfolio. The retailer would then wrap up thecash in plastic bags and hand it to shareholders with a smile.

　　根據柯羅尼資產集團的專業(yè)意見，藍色資本原本計劃讓家樂福出售全部或部分的資產組合，以實現一次性的利潤。他們期望家樂福言聽計從地將所得利潤乖乖地交給各個股東。

　　But some investors have argued that forcingCarrefour to pay rent would weaken it. Carrefourproposed a partial sale of its property in March,along with the sale of Dia, a successful Spanish hard-discount chain. Minority shareholders forcedCarrefour to abandon the property sale in June,but Dia was sold this month.

　　但是另一些投資者認為硬要家樂福償付租金只能損害公司利益。家樂福建議在3月出售部分資產，其中也包括一家盈利的西班牙超級折扣連鎖店Dia。少數股東強制家樂福放棄六月出售資產的計劃，但是Dia仍在該月售出。

　　Mr Arnaults latest gambit, to merge with CBDs P?o de A?car, an upmarket food chain inBrazil, was more in the long-term interest of Carrefour. The combined company would havebeen a retail powerhouse in a fast-growing market. But Casino, an archrival of Carrefour, owns37% of CBD and is poised to take control next year.

　　阿爾諾最近的建議是希望家樂福兼并巴西百貨旗下的高端食品連鎖店P?o de A?car，這個舉動將為家樂福帶來長期利益。二者的聯合將在巴西這個快速增長的市場上打造出一個強有力的零售巨人。不過家樂福的死敵Casino擁有巴西百貨37%的股份，而且將在明年得到巴西百貨的控制權。

　　Its opposition, together with an outcry against further concentration of the Brazilian retailmarket, scuppered the deal. The Brazilian Development Bank, which had planned to invest in themerged entity, withdrew its backing on July 12th. The same day Abilio Diniz, the boss of CBD,said he was suspending his offer to merge with Carrefour. The Brazilian deal had attractivefeatures, but it was absurd to imagine that Casino could be excluded from the discussions,says Eric Knight of Knight Vinke, an investment manager which has stood up to Blue Capital.

　　Casino的反對，以及反對西班牙零售市場進一步整合的呼聲使這筆交易無果而終。巴西開發(fā)銀行此前雖然計劃對兩者的兼并提供投資，也在7月12日收回這項支持。巴西百貨的老板阿比利奧?迪尼茲也表示，將推遲和家樂福合并的交易。此外，站在藍色資本對立面的Knight Vinke 投資經理埃里克?奈特也表示：這筆交易確實有很多有利的因素，但是如果將Casino排除在外，就不合情理了。

　　Meanwhile, Carrefours problems in France show no sign of going away. This week it saidoperating profits for the first six months of the year would fall by 23%, mainly due to anabysmal performance in French hypermarkets . These huge, out-of-town stores are ailing as people opt for smaller, closer shops.Carrefour still shifts plenty of food, but it struggles to beat specialist electronics and clothingbrands.

　　與此同時，家樂福在法國的問題并無緩解的跡象。家樂福本周宣布今年前6個月的營業(yè)利潤下降23%，這主要是由于法國各大賣場的糟糕表現導致的。這些大型的、位于郊外的市場普遍業(yè)績不佳，因為人們目前更青睞小型的、就近的商場。家樂福雖然仍能售出大量的食物，但在與電子專賣店和品牌服裝店的競爭中卻舉步維艱。

　　The firm also admitted to a big mistake on pricing. This year Carrefour passed on commodity-price rises to consumers several months before its rivals, such as Leclerc and Intermarch.Shoppers objected. Carrefour lost market share. The firm now needs to deliver a knockoutblow in pricing, says Christopher Hogbin of Bernstein Research. As Carrefour is the worldssecond-biggest retailer, it should have the clout to cut prices by more and for longer than anyother supermarket chain in France. But that might displease Blue Capital, as short-term profitswould suffer. Some of its rivals are privately-owned, and so feel less short-term pressure toperform.

　　公司承認在定價方面存在重大失誤。家樂福今年比其他的競爭對手，如 Leclerc 和Intermarch 提前幾個月將商品價格的上漲轉嫁給消費者，引起了顧客的不滿。家樂福因此失去了部分市場份額。伯恩斯坦研究所的克里斯托夫?霍格賓認為，家樂福目前需要在價格上采取更大的讓步。由于家樂福是世界第二大零售商，因此本有能力比法國其他零售企業(yè)更持久地提供更多的降價優(yōu)惠。不過這種舉措卻會招致藍色資本的不快，因為公司的短期利潤將蒙受損失。家樂福的部分競爭者是私營企業(yè)，因此在短期利潤表現方面承受的壓力相對較小。

　　SHAREHOLDERS of Carrefour, a French retailer, must feel as bewildered as shoppers lost in oneof its giant stores. In the past two years the company has suggested several new strategies tolift its sagging share price, such as selling emerging-market businesses or spinning off itsproperty, only to abandon them. Profit warnings have come thick and fast.

　　法國零售商家樂福的股東們，目前必定和那些在他們的大型超市中迷失方向的顧客一樣感到迷茫。在過去的兩年中，家樂福嘗試過多種新策略，試圖提升不斷下滑的股票價格，例如出售新興市場業(yè)務或剝離部分資產，以求擺脫多余的業(yè)務。不過公司的盈利警告依然來得嚴重而迅速。

　　The latest surprise was a plan to merge Carrefours Brazilian business with CompanhiaBrasileira de Distribui??o , a local competitor. This week the deal evaporated after afurious protest from Casino, a rival French retailer which already holds a stake in CBD.

　　最近的令人震驚消息是家樂福計劃將公司位于巴西的業(yè)務與當地的一個競爭者巴西百貨)進行合并。由于巴西百貨股份的持有者，家樂福的法國競爭者Casino的強烈反對，該筆交易于本周宣告失敗。

　　More surprises may be in store. Carrefour has two powerful shareholders: Bernard Arnault, theboss of LVMH, a luxury-goods group, and Colony Capital, a property-investment firm. Thetwo jointly own 14% of Carrefours shares and 20% of its voting rights, mostly through avehicle called Blue Capital. They are desperate to rescue their investment, made in 2007 whenCarrefours share price was more than twice as high as it is today.

　　更多令人震驚的消息來自于公司內部。家樂福有兩大股東：奢侈品集團LVMH的老板伯納德?阿爾諾和房地產投資公司柯羅尼資產集團。二者共持有家樂福14%的股份，并控制該公司14%的投票權，這兩大股東主要通過藍色資本操持對家樂福的股權。目前他們迫切希望挽回2007年做出的投資，當年家樂福的股票價格是現在的兩倍多。

　　Blue Capitals original plan, drawing on Colonys expertise, was to make a one-off profit byhaving Carrefour sell all or part of its property portfolio. The retailer would then wrap up thecash in plastic bags and hand it to shareholders with a smile.

　　根據柯羅尼資產集團的專業(yè)意見，藍色資本原本計劃讓家樂福出售全部或部分的資產組合，以實現一次性的利潤。他們期望家樂福言聽計從地將所得利潤乖乖地交給各個股東。

　　But some investors have argued that forcingCarrefour to pay rent would weaken it. Carrefourproposed a partial sale of its property in March,along with the sale of Dia, a successful Spanish hard-discount chain. Minority shareholders forcedCarrefour to abandon the property sale in June,but Dia was sold this month.

　　但是另一些投資者認為硬要家樂福償付租金只能損害公司利益。家樂福建議在3月出售部分資產，其中也包括一家盈利的西班牙超級折扣連鎖店Dia。少數股東強制家樂福放棄六月出售資產的計劃，但是Dia仍在該月售出。

　　Mr Arnaults latest gambit, to merge with CBDs P?o de A?car, an upmarket food chain inBrazil, was more in the long-term interest of Carrefour. The combined company would havebeen a retail powerhouse in a fast-growing market. But Casino, an archrival of Carrefour, owns37% of CBD and is poised to take control next year.

　　阿爾諾最近的建議是希望家樂福兼并巴西百貨旗下的高端食品連鎖店P?o de A?car，這個舉動將為家樂福帶來長期利益。二者的聯合將在巴西這個快速增長的市場上打造出一個強有力的零售巨人。不過家樂福的死敵Casino擁有巴西百貨37%的股份，而且將在明年得到巴西百貨的控制權。

　　Its opposition, together with an outcry against further concentration of the Brazilian retailmarket, scuppered the deal. The Brazilian Development Bank, which had planned to invest in themerged entity, withdrew its backing on July 12th. The same day Abilio Diniz, the boss of CBD,said he was suspending his offer to merge with Carrefour. The Brazilian deal had attractivefeatures, but it was absurd to imagine that Casino could be excluded from the discussions,says Eric Knight of Knight Vinke, an investment manager which has stood up to Blue Capital.

　　Casino的反對，以及反對西班牙零售市場進一步整合的呼聲使這筆交易無果而終。巴西開發(fā)銀行此前雖然計劃對兩者的兼并提供投資，也在7月12日收回這項支持。巴西百貨的老板阿比利奧?迪尼茲也表示，將推遲和家樂福合并的交易。此外，站在藍色資本對立面的Knight Vinke 投資經理埃里克?奈特也表示：這筆交易確實有很多有利的因素，但是如果將Casino排除在外，就不合情理了。

　　Meanwhile, Carrefours problems in France show no sign of going away. This week it saidoperating profits for the first six months of the year would fall by 23%, mainly due to anabysmal performance in French hypermarkets . These huge, out-of-town stores are ailing as people opt for smaller, closer shops.Carrefour still shifts plenty of food, but it struggles to beat specialist electronics and clothingbrands.

　　與此同時，家樂福在法國的問題并無緩解的跡象。家樂福本周宣布今年前6個月的營業(yè)利潤下降23%，這主要是由于法國各大賣場的糟糕表現導致的。這些大型的、位于郊外的市場普遍業(yè)績不佳，因為人們目前更青睞小型的、就近的商場。家樂福雖然仍能售出大量的食物，但在與電子專賣店和品牌服裝店的競爭中卻舉步維艱。

　　The firm also admitted to a big mistake on pricing. This year Carrefour passed on commodity-price rises to consumers several months before its rivals, such as Leclerc and Intermarch.Shoppers objected. Carrefour lost market share. The firm now needs to deliver a knockoutblow in pricing, says Christopher Hogbin of Bernstein Research. As Carrefour is the worldssecond-biggest retailer, it should have the clout to cut prices by more and for longer than anyother supermarket chain in France. But that might displease Blue Capital, as short-term profitswould suffer. Some of its rivals are privately-owned, and so feel less short-term pressure toperform.

　　公司承認在定價方面存在重大失誤。家樂福今年比其他的競爭對手，如 Leclerc 和Intermarch 提前幾個月將商品價格的上漲轉嫁給消費者，引起了顧客的不滿。家樂福因此失去了部分市場份額。伯恩斯坦研究所的克里斯托夫?霍格賓認為，家樂福目前需要在價格上采取更大的讓步。由于家樂福是世界第二大零售商，因此本有能力比法國其他零售企業(yè)更持久地提供更多的降價優(yōu)惠。不過這種舉措卻會招致藍色資本的不快，因為公司的短期利潤將蒙受損失。家樂福的部分競爭者是私營企業(yè)，因此在短期利潤表現方面承受的壓力相對較小。