外刊学习：优衣库：亚洲捞金还不够，进军美国成爆款

今日导读

近年来，优衣库已经成为了快时尚产业中首屈一指的品牌。“物美价廉”是它的代名词，顾客可以用市面上较低的价格，买到舒适又百搭的各种单品。此外，优衣库还开始进军潮流圈，和各大 IP 合作推出联名款。从漫威、芝麻街到村上隆、任天堂，优衣库一次又一次赢得了人们对这个品牌的喜爱。不仅在亚洲地区，优衣库在美国也受到了年轻人的青睐。到底是什么因素造就了优衣库的成功？让我们跟着 Zurini 老师在今天的新闻中寻找答案吧！

新闻原文

Why urban millennials love Uniqlo

Uniqlo was founded in 1984 in Hiroshima, Japan, as the Unique Clothing Warehouse—an ironic name for a manufacturer known for clothing that is in no way unique. For a certain segment of American shoppers—young, urban, professional, practical—Uniqlo basics have become a cornerstone of the contemporary wardrobe.

Uniqlo has profited from changes in American society, some of which might seem at first glance to be unrelated to fashion. Millennial shoppers entered a job market with fewer jobs, while carrying more student debt, which limited how much money many of them could spend on clothes. That austerity contributed to a cultural shift, in which conspicuously expensive clothing fell out of favor.

“We went through a period where the logo was dying and nobody wanted to wear a big logo and advertise for the brand, ” said Jan Rogers Kniffen, a retail consultant. “That’s the Uniqlo customer.”

This isn’t to say that people who shop at Uniqlo don’t care about how they look. A pair of Uniqlo slacks is never going to look like a $200 pair from a high-end competitor. But because Uniqlo offers free tailoring, the pants are probably not going to look like you got them for $40, either. The company may be sensitive to customers’ finances, but it’s alive to their aspirations as well.

Today, Uniqlo has more than 2, 000 stores in 15 countries. Its owner, Tadashi Yanai, is the richest person in Japan. Its parent company, Fast Retailing, is among the five largest clothing retailers in the world.

带着问题看讲解

短语 out of favor 是什么意思？

在美国年轻人中，文化观念发生了怎样的转变？

优衣库为什么深受职场年轻人的喜爱？

新闻正文

Why urban millennialslove Uniqlo

都市中的千禧一代为什么热爱优衣库

Uniqlo was founded in 1984 in Hiroshima, Japan, as the Unique Clothing Warehouse—an ironicname for a manufacturer known for clothing that is in no wayunique. For a certain segment of American shoppers—young, urban, professional, practical—Uniqlo basics have become a cornerstoneof the contemporary wardrobe.

优衣库在 1984 年创立于日本广岛，公司最初叫做“Unique Clothing Warehouse”（独特的服装仓库）。这名字有些讽刺意味，因为这家制造商完全不因服装的独特性而为人所知。对于特定的一部分美国顾客来说，优衣库的基础款已成为了当代衣橱中的必备单品。而这部分顾客便是身处都市职场，追求实用性的年轻人们。

Uniqlo has profited from changes in American society, some of which might seem at first glance to be unrelated to fashion. Millennial shoppers entered a job market with fewer jobs, while carrying more student debt, which limited how much money many of them could spend on clothes. That austeritycontributed to a cultural shift, in which conspicuously expensive clothing fell out of favor.

美国社会的转变让优衣库获利颇丰，而其中有些变化可能乍看之下和时尚无关。千禧一代的消费者在开始求职的时候，面对的是更少的就业机会，与此同时他们背负着更多的学生贷款债务，这一情况限制了很多人在服装支出上的预算。开支的缩减促成了一种文化观念上的转变：看起来显然很昂贵的服饰不再受欢迎了。

“We went through a period where the logo was dying and nobody wanted to wear a big logo and advertise for the brand,” said Jan Rogers Kniffen, a retail consultant. “That’s the Uniqlo customer.”

零售顾问简·罗杰斯·柯妮芬说，“我们经历了一个商标不再重要的年代，没人想要穿着带有大标识的衣服为厂商做广告，优衣库的消费者就是这样的人”。

This isn’t to say that people who shop at Uniqlo don’t care about how they look. A pair of Uniqlo slacks is never going to look like a 40, either. The company may be sensitive tocustomers’ finances, but it’s alive to their aspirations as well.

这并不表示在优衣库购物的人就不关心他们的外表。一条优衣库的裤子不可能看起来像一条价值 200 美元的，来自高端竞争品牌的裤子。但因为优衣库提供免费修改裤长的服务，裤子看起来很可能也不像花 40 美元就能买到的货。这个公司可能很体察顾客的财力，但它也照顾到了顾客的心愿。

Today, Uniqlo has more than 2,000 stores in 15 countries. Its owner, Tadashi Yanai, is the richest person in Japan. Its parent company, Fast Retailing, is among the five largest clothing retailers in the world.

如今，优衣库在 15 个国家拥有超过 2000 家门店。优衣库的老板柳井正是日本首富，而它的母公司迅销是世界上最大的五个服饰零售商之一。

重点词汇

millennial
/mɪˈleniəl/
n. 千禧世代
e.g.
相关词汇：millennial (adj.)
词根词缀：mill-（千）

warehouse
/ˈwerhaʊs/
n. 仓库；仓库批发店，大型零售商店
e.g.
相关词汇：ware（n. 器具；物品）
ware 搭配短语：ceramic ware

ironic
/aɪˈrɑːnɪk/
adj. 讽刺的
e.g.
相关词汇：irony (n.)
例句：It’s ironic that she became a teacher.

in no way
决不，无论怎样也不
e.g.
例句：He was in no way remarkable.

segment
/ˈseɡmənt/
n. 部分
e.g.
近义词：part
词性拓展：segment（v. 分割）
例句：The market is segmented by price into three general categories. (v.)

cornerstone
/ˈkɔːrnərstoʊn/
n. 基础，支柱
e.g.
英文释义：something of great importance that everything else depends on

profit from
从…中获利

at first glance
乍看之下
e.g.
例句：At first glance the problem seemed easy.

austerity
/ɔːˈsterəti/
n.（经济的）紧缩；严格节制消费
e.g.
搭配短语：a period of austerity

conspicuously
/kənˈspɪkjuəsli/
adv. 显著地，明显地
e.g.
词性拓展：conspicuous (adj.)
conspicuous 英文释义：easy to see or notice
conspicuous 例句：My green hair always made me conspicuous at school.

out of favor
失宠，不受欢迎
e.g.
例句：Ballet has gone out of favor.

retail
/ˈriːteɪl/
n. 零售
e.g.
搭配短语：retail price
例句：The shirt retails at £9.15. (v.)

slacks
/slæks/
n. 裤子，尤指宽松的长裤
e.g.
近义词：trousers
词性拓展：slack (adj./n.)

high-end
/ˌhaɪ ˈend/
adj. 高档的，高端的
e.g.
英文释义：expensive and of high quality

be sensitive to…
体谅…，体察…
e.g.
例句：She is very sensitive to other people’s feelings.

finances
/ˈfaɪnænsɪs/
n. （个人、组织、国家的）财力，财源，财务管理
e.g.
搭配短语：government/personal finances
例句：It’s about time you sorted out your finances.

alive to
意识到，认识到
e.g.
同义词：aware of sth.
搭配短语：to be alive to the dangers/facts

aspiration
/ˌæspəˈreɪʃn/
n. 强烈愿望；志向，抱负
e.g.
例句：He has never had any aspiration to earn a lot of money.

补充词汇知识

clothing
n. 衣服，服装

manufacturer
n. 制造商（大批量生产商品的企业）

job market
求职市场，就业市场

student debt
学生贷款

consultant
n. 顾问

logo
n. 标志，标识

competitor
n. 竞争者
词性拓展：compete (v.)

free tailoring
免费裁剪
相关词汇：tailor（v. 专门制作、定做）

among
在…之中

词义辨析

slacks, pants

两者都有“长裤”的意思。其中 slacks 多指宽松的休闲长裤，而 pants 作为“长裤”时多用于美式英语中。

长难句解析

Uniqlo was founded in 1984 in Hiroshima, Japan, as the Unique Clothing Warehouse—an ironic name for a manufacturer known for clothing that is in no way unique.

优衣库在 1984 年创立于日本广岛，公司最初叫做“Unique Clothing Warehouse”（独特的服装仓库）。

句子的主干部分为 Uniqlo was founded in 1984 in Hiroshima, Japan, as the Unique Clothing Warehouse，破折号后面的内容 an ironic name for a manufacturer known for clothing that is in no way unique 可以看成是 the Unique Clothing Warehouse 的同位语，对其进行了补充说明。而 known for clothing that is in no way unique 是名词 manufacturer 的后置定语。that is in no way unique 是 clothing 的定语从句，介词短语 in no way 则修饰了形容词 unique。

Millennial shoppers entered a job market with fewer jobs, while carrying more student debt, which limited how much money many of them could spend on clothes.

千禧一代的消费者在开始求职的时候，面对的是更少的就业机会，与此同时他们背负着更多的学生贷款，这一情况就限制了很多人在服装支出上的预算。

开头的 Millennial shoppers entered a job market with fewer jobs 是句子的主干部分，while carrying more student debt 为伴随状语，说明千禧一代同时面临了“就业减少”和“学生贷款增多”的处境。最后部分是 which 引导的非限定性定语从句， which 指代的就是上文所说的情况。

一句话总结新闻

本期《大西洋》的新闻讨论了日本服饰品牌优衣库——因为优衣库价格实惠又不失体面，它受到了美国职场年轻人的喜爱。

拓展阅读

优衣库为何能在快销服饰中脱颖而出？

假如你常逛快时尚品牌店，会发现优衣库与 H&M、ZARA 以及 GAP 等品牌相比，是一个不折不扣的异类。很多快消服饰以庞大的款型数量和快速的商品更迭取胜，而优衣库的商品绝大部分都是基本得不能再基本的款型，完全靠每个单品的销售数量取胜。造成这种差异的主要是它与众不同的产品生产和供应链体系，以及对科技创新的重视。

优衣库拥有全行业最好的产品生产和供应链体系，这在行业内是非常罕见的。它的全球常备代工厂只有 70 多家，但每家却都是这个行业里的佼佼者。举个例子，优衣库的牛仔裤就是和 Levis、Lee 这些品牌的常规产品在同一条生产线上制造出来的。相比 ZARA 在全球的 1000 多个代工厂，优衣库在挑选生产线上的态度可以说是非常谨慎的。

除了严格品控的生产线，科技创新也是优衣库不断发展的动力之一。在全球快时尚品牌中，优衣库是和科技联系最紧的一家，它的发展史更像是一场服装与科技不断糅合碰撞的进化史。很多人抱怨优衣库的基本款不够“潮”，然而发热内衣、摇粒绒等明星产品依旧成为了很多上班族的衣柜常备单品。早在 2003 年，优衣库就与日本纤维制造企业东丽集团开展技术合作，东丽负责研究开发和生产环节，而优衣库则负责商品的企划和销售。东丽集团创建于 1926 年，该集团所研发的技术已经应用于波音 787 飞机、奔驰汽车、奥运会游泳赛事专用泳衣、医疗产品、服装面料等众多领域。双方通过投资创建“次世代原料开发团队”，投身新型高功能技术的研发，HEATTECH 产品由此诞生。