樂，學中文、教中文。/Enjoy learning &Teaching Chinese

By JANE A. PETERSON October 23, 2017

https://cn.nytimes.com/business/20171023/alibaba-amazon-southeast-asia-lazada/en-us/

就在售商品而言，亞馬遜有著更大的庫存。相比之下，拉扎達賣出的大部分商品來自外部供應商。它們把它作為一個數字中間商，通過其平台來接觸消費者。這種方式能把成本控制在較低水平，與阿里巴巴在中國採取的方式類似。但在中國，該公司的淘寶平台被指售賣假貨。阿里巴巴稱其正在努力打假。

Amazon owns more of the inventory it sells. By contrast, most of Lazada’s sales come from outside vendors who use its platform as a digital middleman to reach customers. That approach, which keeps costs low, is similar to what Alibaba does in China. But in China, the company’s Taobao platform has been accused of offering counterfeit goods. Alibaba says it is working to fight fakes.

在東南亞，阿里巴巴遠遠領先於亞馬遜，並且正在東南亞各地修建基礎設施。比如在印尼，阿里巴巴8月收購了另一家在線市場Tokopedia的少數股權。專家稱，亞馬遜可能會像在美國那樣，通過在網上提供西方影視節目來作為反擊。這可能會增加它對年輕消費者的吸引力。

Alibaba has a long lead over Amazon and is building up its infrastructure across Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, for example, it took a minority stake in August in another online marketplace, Tokopedia. Experts say Amazon could fight back by offering online Western movies and television programs as it does in the United States, which could increase its appeal with younger customers.

起初，亞馬遜在新加坡並不順利。事實證明，相關服務太過受歡迎，迫使該公司將消費者拒之門外。但自那以後，兩家公司加強努力，提升了向越來越大的顧客群體投遞貨物的速度。

Amazon stumbled in Singapore initially when the service proved too popular, forcing it to turn away customers. But since then the two companies have amped up their efforts to deliver more quickly to a growing group of customers.

前不久去RedMart的倉庫時，工作人員面對裝著成堆的盒裝麥片和水果蔬菜罐頭的若干個大箱子，正在用紙箱打包——有時候是同時裝九個。有辦法改善這個流程的人可以獲得包括電影票、購物券和最高1000美元（約合6600元人民幣）現金在內的獎勵。

At the RedMart warehouse on a recent visit, workers packed cartons — sometimes nine at a time — from bins holding piles of cereal boxes and canned fruits and vegetables. For those who offer ways to improve the process, merit awards include movie tickets, vouchers and cash of up to $1,000.

因為老顧客價格優惠和返現，以及擴張成本，在這個市場上競爭的代價可能頗為高昂。

Competing in the market is likely to be expensive, thanks to customer price cuts and rebates in addition to expansion costs.

「太棒了，」從事藝術品管理的新加坡人烏馬·帕拉梅斯瓦(Uma Parameswar)說。她說，在使用RedMart的兩年半裡，她只有一次收到了不那麼新鮮的水果。

“It’s fabulous,” said Uma Parameswar, a Singaporean who works in fine arts management. Over two and a half years of using RedMart, she said, only once did she receive fruit that was less than fresh.

優惠讓她更加傾向於網購。她說，除了使用優步(Uber)的叫車和其他服務時可享受折扣外，RedMart還在食品雜貨上為她提供5%的折扣。

The enticements make her even more inclined to shop online. She says RedMart gives her a 5 percent discount on grocery bills plus discounts on using Uber’s ride-hailing and other services.

「過去三四個月裡我可能省了200美元，」她說。「這可相當不少了。」

“It’s saved me probably $200 in the last three or four months,” she said. “It’s a fair bit.”