Few temples to conspicuous consumption are as quirky as the Florentia Village, a sprawling “authentic Italian luxury outlet centre” on the outskirts of China’s northern city of Tianjin that boasts its own ersatz Colosseum.
很少有哪个“炫耀性消费”场所能像佛罗伦萨小镇(Florentia Village)一样给人带来惊奇。佛罗伦萨小镇地处中国北方城市天津市的郊外，是一处占地甚广“纯正意大利风格的名品奥特莱斯”，有仿建的斗兽场。 Even on a weekday afternoon, hundreds of shoppers stroll the Italianate lanes of the 60,000m2 outdoor complex with their rows of discount pand outlets selling everything from Prada bags to Puma shoes. 即便是工作日的下午，也有成百上千的购物者在这个小镇充满意大利风情的街道上溜达。佛罗伦萨小镇的建筑面积为6万平方米，品牌折扣商店林立，各色名品琳琅满目，从普拉达(Prada)背包到彪马(Puma)鞋应有尽有。 The “village” is just one of a host of new shopping opportunities that have sprung up across China in recent years, testament to the fast-growing power of the nation’s consumers. 这个“小镇”只是中国近年来涌现的大量购物场所之一，它是中国消费者快速崛起的标志。 Yet with China’s economy slowing – to a relatively modest annual rate of 8.1 per cent growth in the first quarter – some observers fret that consumption could be faltering. Retail spending in April was weaker than expected. And while Wen Jiabao, the premier, last week signalled action to shore up growth, the government’s policy focus looks set to be on promoting investment rather than consumption. 但随着中国经济放缓——今年第一季度增长年率降至相对温和的8.1%——有些观察人士担心，消费增长可能停滞。4月零售额就低于预期。尽管中国总理温家宝上周发出了刺激增长的信号，但中国政府的政策重心似乎将落在刺激投资而不是刺激消费上。 Not everyone is worried. Analysts at Jefferies say state data show China’s retail sector is set to rebound, creating buying opportunities for stock investors. “Our recent channel checks with retailers and retail associations also suggest that retail sales are seeing a gradual recovery,” they said in a report released on Thursday. 并非所有人都感到担忧。杰富瑞(Jefferies)分析师表示，官方数据显示，中国零售行业即将反弹，为股市投资者创造买入机会。他们在上周四发布的一份报告中称，“近来我们对零售商和零售商协会的渠道调查也表明，零售销售额正在逐步回升。” Staff at outlets in Florentia Village, too, insist business is good at the complex, which opened in January 2011. 佛罗伦萨小镇商铺工作人员也表示，目前生意很好。该购物广场是2011年1月开业的。 On Friday Wang Yongqiang and Tang Ying, a young couple, were delighted to snap up his-and-hers Levi’s at what Ms Tang described as a good discount to prices in central Tianjin. “We do quite a lot of shopping,” Ms Tang says. 上周五，年轻夫妇王永强（音）和唐颖（音）在这里买了不少Levi's品牌的牛仔服。他们很高兴，唐颖表示，这里的价格比起天津市中心有很大的折扣，“我们会买很多东西。” With household incomes still rising, consumption growth is unlikely to fall dramatically, says Andrew Batson, research director at GK Dragonomics. 龙洲经讯(GK Dragonomics)研究主任白安儒(Andrew Batson)表示，由于家庭收入仍在增长，消费增长不大可能出现大幅下滑。 Indeed, Mr Batson suggests the present slowdown could promote a much-heralded rebalancing of China’s economy away from reliance on increasingly unproductive investment to a healthier consumption-driven model. 白安儒表示，实际上，当前的放缓可能有利于促进中国经济再平衡，也就是从依赖于投资这种日益无效的模式，转向更健康的消费驱动型增长模式。 首页 1 2 末页
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