曼徹斯特珠寶商獲中國(guó)游客青睞

The north of England has never been more popular with Chinese tourists. In 2015, there were 64,000 visits from China, up from 35,000 in 2014 — a record, according to national tourism agency VisitBritain. Direct flights to Beijing from Manchester begin this month, and Shanghai could follow, further boosting tourism.

英格蘭北部地區(qū)從未像現(xiàn)在這樣受到中國(guó)游客青睞。2015年，來(lái)自中國(guó)的游客多達(dá)6.4萬(wàn)人，遠(yuǎn)高于2014年的3.5萬(wàn)人——據(jù)英國(guó)旅游業(yè)管理機(jī)構(gòu)英國(guó)旅游局(VisitBritain)稱，這是一個(gè)創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的水平。從北京直飛曼徹斯特的航班最近開(kāi)通，不久還可能開(kāi)通從上海直飛的航班，這將進(jìn)一步推動(dòng)旅游業(yè)發(fā)展。

Rising numbers of visitors — often to see relatives or to watch Premier League football — have increased their economic contribution. In 2015, Chinese tourists spent £83m in the north, up 17 per cent on the previous year, according to VisitBritain. The Marketing Manchester agency has developed a guide in Mandarin to tax-free shopping in the city, distributed in China as well as in Britain (the guide is also available in Cantonese and Arabic).

隨著游客人數(shù)的增加——往往是為了探親訪友或者觀看英格蘭足球超級(jí)聯(lián)賽(Premier League)——他們對(duì)拉動(dòng)經(jīng)濟(jì)的貢獻(xiàn)也在加大。英國(guó)旅游局的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2015年中國(guó)游客在英格蘭北部地區(qū)支出了8300萬(wàn)英鎊，較上年增長(zhǎng)了17%。曼徹斯特推廣機(jī)構(gòu)Marketing Manchester制作了一份簡(jiǎn)體中文導(dǎo)購(gòu)手冊(cè)，介紹曼徹斯特市內(nèi)的免稅購(gòu)物點(diǎn)，在中國(guó)以及英國(guó)分發(fā)(該手冊(cè)還有繁體中文和阿拉伯語(yǔ)版)。

Luxury businesses in particular are benefiting from the influx of Chinese visitors: at Boodles, a family-owned jeweller that dates back to 1798, Chinese clients account for more than 10 per cent of turnover at its Manchester shop. The company has hosted several meals at Chinese restaurants for valued clients.

奢侈品行業(yè)尤其受益于中國(guó)游客的涌入：在可以追溯到1798年的家族所有珠寶商Boodles，中國(guó)客戶貢獻(xiàn)了其曼徹斯特商鋪超過(guò)10%的營(yíng)業(yè)額。該公司已經(jīng)在中式餐廳舉辦了數(shù)次餐會(huì)，宴請(qǐng)重要客戶。

Michael Wainwright, managing director, says that the Liverpool-based business had always been popular with local Chinese. “Now we have their relatives from China and Hong Kong coming in. Students also bring their parents. Sunday afternoons are when we usually see them.

Boodles董事總經(jīng)理邁克爾•溫賴特(Michael Wainwright)表示，總部設(shè)在利物浦的該公司一直深受當(dāng)?shù)刂袊?guó)人的喜愛(ài)。“現(xiàn)在這些客戶來(lái)自中國(guó)內(nèi)地和香港的親屬也來(lái)光顧我們的店鋪。中國(guó)留學(xué)生也帶來(lái)了他們的父母。我們通常會(huì)在星期天下午見(jiàn)到他們。”

“They really like diamonds — they do not go so much for coloured stones. They also like Patek Philippe watches — they are the only third-party item we sell. It is hard to get them in China and they are a lot more expensive.”

“他們真的非常喜愛(ài)鉆石——他們對(duì)彩色寶石就沒(méi)有這么高的興致。他們還喜歡百達(dá)翡麗(Patek Philippe)的手表——這是我們銷售的唯一第三方產(chǎn)品。百達(dá)翡麗在中國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)難以買到，價(jià)格也貴得多。”

Hancocks jewellers, also in Manchester’s prime King Street shopping district, occasionally opens specifically for wealthy Chinese customers in the evenings. Roy Lunt, the owner, says there has been a big increase in Chinese shoppers, who now account for a 10th of sales. One of his prize possessions is a sales slip for £220,000 for a single ruby that went to a Chinese customer.

Hancocks珠寶店同樣位于曼徹斯特主要商業(yè)區(qū)國(guó)王街(King Street)，該店有時(shí)會(huì)在晚間專門為富有的中國(guó)顧客開(kāi)店?duì)I業(yè)。其所有者羅伊•倫特(Roy Lunt)表示，來(lái)自中國(guó)的購(gòu)物者近來(lái)顯著增加，現(xiàn)已占到了銷售額的十分之一。他的珍藏品之一是一張售貨單，其中記錄的一顆紅寶石以22萬(wàn)英鎊被一位中國(guó)客戶買走。

“There is nothing of this quality outside London. We get a lot of referrals from jewellers there,” he says.

他表示：“倫敦以外幾乎找不到這等品質(zhì)的珠寶，而我們接待了大量由倫敦珠寶商介紹過(guò)來(lái)的客戶。”

Word of mouth also works well. “We sold a sapphire ring worth £50,000. The lady took it back to Hong Kong and someone saw it and said how beautiful it was, then they came over to buy from me.”

口碑營(yíng)銷同樣效果顯著。“我們售出了一枚價(jià)值5萬(wàn)英鎊的藍(lán)寶石戒指。那位女士將戒指帶回了香港，其他人見(jiàn)了以后大贊這枚戒指多么美麗，然后他們也來(lái)到我這里購(gòu)買珠寶。”

Another attraction of Manchester is that prices there can be lower than in London because of the northern city’s lower rents and wages.

曼徹斯特吸引人的另一個(gè)地方在于，這里的價(jià)格有可能低于倫敦，因?yàn)檫@座北方城市的房租和工資水平較低。

Manchester has more than 14,000 ethnic Chinese residents, according to the 2011 census, along with thousands more students at its universities. Nearby Liverpool has 8,000 Chinese residents, as well as 3,200 students, and is twinned with Shanghai, which modelled its waterfront on that of the British port.

2011年的人口調(diào)查顯示，曼徹斯特有超過(guò)1.4萬(wàn)華裔市民，此外這里的大學(xué)還有數(shù)以千計(jì)的中國(guó)留學(xué)生。鄰近的利物浦有8000名華裔市民以及3200名中國(guó)留學(xué)生。利物浦與上海是姐妹城市，當(dāng)年上海的外灘就是以這座英國(guó)港口城市為藍(lán)本規(guī)劃的。

Boodles’ shop at Harrods department store in London has a Chinese-speaking member of staff, and Manchester could be next, Mr Wainwright says.

溫賴特表示，Boodles在倫敦哈羅德(Harrods)百貨商店的店面配備了一名會(huì)說(shuō)中文的店員，曼徹斯特商店可能是下一家聘請(qǐng)說(shuō)中文店員的商店。

The jeweller has no plans, however, for a store in China, after closing its Hong Kong branch. “It is a very difficult place to do business. We are very happy to sell to them here in the UK,” Mr Wainwright says.

但Boodles目前沒(méi)有計(jì)劃在中國(guó)開(kāi)設(shè)店鋪，此前該公司關(guān)閉了在香港的分公司。溫賴特稱：“在中國(guó)做生意難度很大。我們非常樂(lè)于在英國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)向中國(guó)客戶銷售商品。”