三胞对House of Fraser承诺落空

When China’s Sanpower Group bought House of Fraser in 2014, its founder, Yuan Yafei, talked boldly about his plans to take the 166-year-old UK department store chain global.

2014年，当中国三胞集团(Sanpower Group)收购英国House of Fraser百货公司时，三胞创始人袁亚非大胆谈论了他让这家拥有166年历史的英国连锁百货进军全球的计划。

The entrepreneur and former local government official not only promised to inject capital into the cash-strapped retailer, but his vision also included new outposts in Russia and the Middle East and most importantly a push into China with up to 50 new stores under the name “Oriental Fraser”.

这位企业家曾经是中国地方政府官员，他不仅承诺向这家资金紧张的零售商注入资本，而且他的愿景还包括在俄罗斯和中东开设新店，最重要的是打入中国市场、以“东方福来德”(Oriental Fraser)的名字开设多达50家新店。

None of that has happened. This year’s planned April launch date of a flagship store in Nanjing passed without any sign of the fireworks and dancing lions that usually accompany grand openings on the mainland.

这些计划全都没有实现。今年4月计划在南京启动旗舰店的日期已经过去，没有任何燃放烟花和舞狮庆祝的迹象，而在中国内地有新店盛大开幕时往往伴随着这些活动。

Traditional retailers around the world are struggling to compete against new online competitors — a plight highlighted by the collapse of British department store BHS and poor first quarter sales from US department stores Nordstrom and Macy’s as well as the clothing group Gap.

眼下世界各地的传统零售商正苦苦挣扎于与新的在线对手竞争——英国百货公司BHS破产，美国百货公司诺思通(Nordstrom)和梅西百货(Macy's)、以及服装集团Gap第一季度销售惨淡，突显了这一困境。

House of Fraser, a mid-range department store chain with roots in Glasgow, is no exception. Weighed down by the costs of a ￡300m debt refinancing, the company posted its fifth straight year of statutory losses for 2015, despite double-digit online sales growth and increased revenue.

作为一家中等规模的连锁百货，诞生于英国格拉斯哥的House of Fraser也不例外。尽管实现了两位数的在线销售增长、营收也有所增加，但是在3亿英镑债务再融资成本的重压下，2015年该公司连续第五年录得亏损。

But the retailer’s delayed debut in mainland China also stems from other problems. Three People close to House of Fraser say Sanpower, a retail-to-property conglomerate, failed to provide the expected capital boost. The new owners also shook up the company’s leadership and reshaped expansion plans for China.

但是该零售商推迟在中国内地的首次亮相还源于其他问题。三位熟悉House of Fraser的人士称，业务涵盖零售业和房地产的综合企业三胞集团未能提供预期中的资本注入。这个新东家还重组了House of Fraser的领导层，并改变了其在中国的扩张计划。

Rather than opening new stores, Sanpower is revamping some of its existing properties and renaming them Oriental Fraser. It has also shifted the Nanjing store launch to later this year, saying the plans have changed because of seasonal clothing considerations and plans for Chinese new year.

三胞没有开设新店，而是改建一些现有物业，将之重新命名为“东方福来德”。它还将南京旗舰店的开业时间推迟至今年晚些时候，称出于服饰季节性的考虑和有关中国新年的计划而改变了原有计划。

House of Fraser could also change hands again soon. er International, the owner of UK toy store Hamleys, said in April that it was considering acquiring an interest in the business.

House of Fraser还可能很快被再次转手。4月，英国玩具零售商Hamleys的所有者千百度国际控股有限公司(er International)曾表示，正在考虑收购该公司股权。

The fate of House of Fraser is being closely watched, in part because it was on the leading edge of a wave of Chinese expansion into more developed markets. Mainland companies have spent more than $220bn on outbound acquisitions since the start of 2015, reaching record levels in the early months of 2016.

House of Fraser的命运正受到密切关注，部分是因为它曾处于中国向更发达市场扩张浪潮的前沿。自2015年初以来，中国内地企业已斥资超过2200亿美元进行海外收购，在2016年头几个月内便达到了创纪录的水平。

Frank Slevin, House of Fraser’s chairman, pushes back against the notion that his company has suffered under its new owners. He argues that the company’s development is strong and on track in both the UK and China. Once the refinancing costs are stripped out, House of Fraser posted adjusted pre-tax profits of ￡1.3m in the year to end of January against a ￡3.7m loss in the previous year.

House of Fraser董事长弗兰克•斯莱文(Frank Slevin)反驳了有关其公司在新东家手中遭受痛苦的说法。他认为，该公司的发展强劲，在英国和中国的发展都在轨道上。在去掉再融资成本后，在截至1月底的财年中House of Fraser经调整的税前利润为130万英镑，而此前一年为亏损370万英镑。

“We believe that the business is extremely well positioned for the future of retailing. Since the acquisition we have strengthened the management team, successfully refinanced the business and delivered its strongest results in 10 years,” Mr Slevin says.

“我们相信公司已经充分准备好迎接零售业的未来。自从被收购以来，我们加强了管理团队，成功地完成了再融资，并实现了十年来最强劲的业绩，”斯莱文表示。

Sanpower, which owns 89 per cent of House of Fraser, declined to answer questions regarding the company. Sports Direct, the UK retail chain controlled by Mike Ashley, owns the remainder. A spokesperson for Mr Ashley declined to comment.

三胞拥有House of Fraser 89%的股权，拒绝回答与House of Fraser相关的问题。由迈克•阿什利(Mike Ashley)控股的英国零售连锁店Sports Direct拥有剩余股权。阿什利的发言人拒绝置评。

Hopes were high at House of Fraser when Nanjing Cenbest, a Shanghai-listed department store chain controlled by Sanpower, announced it was buying a controlling stake in the UK company in April 2014.

2014年4月，当三胞控股的在上海上市的连锁百货南京新百(Nanjing Cenbest)宣布收购这家英国公司的控股权时，House of Fraser曾被寄予厚望。

The retailer had repeatedly changed owners over the previous three decades, with stints under the al-Fayed family, a stock market listing and in the hands of Icelandic investment group Baugur, which went bust during the 2008 financial crisis.

在此前30年中，这家零售商曾多次易手，经历过法耶德家族(Al-Fayed)、公开上市、以及冰岛投资集团Baugur（在2008年金融危机期间破产）。

Sanpower was a welcome change. One person who toured China with Mr Yuan in September 2014 said the conglomerate was eyeing prime real estate in major cities to launch new “Oriental Fraser” stores that would reflect the UK company’s culture adapted for China.

迎来三胞，对House of Fraser来说是一个可喜的转变。一位曾于2014年9月与袁亚非一起参观中国的人士表示，三胞集团着眼于大型城市的高端地产来开设“东方福来德”新店，新店将反映出这家英国企业适应中国特色的文化。

Sanpower had also agreed to inject ￡75m into House of Fraser UK for, among other things, a technology revamp, according to three people with first-hand knowledge of House of Fraser and the deal. The people said the Chinese owner also promised then-chief executive John King would become executive chairman.

据三位了解House of Fraser和该交易第一手情况的人士表示，三胞还同意向英国House of Fraser注入7500万英镑的资金用于技术改造等。他们称，三胞还承诺让时任House of Fraser首席执行官的约翰•金(John King)担任执行董事长。

Instead, in early 2015, Mr King was notified that he would not take the executive chairman position and he was appointed to a non-executive director. Mr Slevin, a former HSBC banker based in Hong Kong, took the chairman’s job in early 2015. He denied that Mr King was ever guaranteed the job.

然而，2015年初，金接到通知称，他不会担任执行董事长，而是被任命为非执行董事。前汇丰银行(HSBC)常驻香港的银行家斯莱文于2015年初接任董事长一职。他否认曾有人保证过金会得到该职位。

Mr King, who declined to comment, soon left the company, followed within months by the chief financial officer and chief customer officer.

金很快离开该公司，随后数月内首席财务官和首席客户官相继离职。金拒绝置评。

The people with knowledge of events at House of Fraser last year said the original leadership clashed with Chinese management over money as well as the style and presentation of the “Oriental Fraser” brand.

了解House of Fraser去年发生的一系列事件的人士称，原有领导层与中国管理层在资金以及“东方福来德”品牌的风格和呈现问题上出现了冲突。

At the time of the buyout, House of Fraser’s management hoped to break new ground in China with a new retail concept.

在被收购时，House of Fraser的管理层希望以新的零售概念在中国打开新局面。

“[Yuan Yafei] was presented with a completely different store,” one person close to the deal says. “But later when he saw the pricetag he said there was no money for that.”

“他们（向袁亚非）展示了一种完全不同的百货公司，”一位接近该交易的知情人士称，“但是后来当他看到价格后，他称没有钱做这样的百货公司。”

Mr Slevin says the company plans to revamp some existing stores owned by Sanpower and that strategy could be replicated with other Chinese department store operators. “It was always intended that House of Fraser would expand in this way,” he says.

斯莱文称，该公司计划对一些三胞所有的现有商场进行改造，该策略可复制到其他中国百货运营商。“从一开始对House of Fraser的扩张方式就是这样设想的，”他称。

The injection of ￡75m never came. Instead, House of Fraser is using its own cash to pay for developments in the UK and China.

承诺注入的7500万英镑从未兑现。相反，House of Fraser目前正用自己的资金支付在英国和中国发展的费用。

“The worry now is that, without cash from China, HoF can’t keep investing,” says one person briefed on events at the company.

“现在的担忧是，没有中国的资金支持，House of Fraser无法继续投资，”一位知情人士表示。

Mr Slevin declined to comment on any promised capital expenditure before he joined the company in early 2015. He says that Sanpower has made a commitment to financially support House of Fraser should it be required, but that need has never arisen.

斯莱文拒绝对发生在他2015年初加入该公司之前的任何资本支出承诺置评。他称，三胞承诺在必要情况下在资金方面支持House of Fraser，但是目前尚未出现这种需求。

“There is an ongoing dialogue between management and the shareholder on possible capital expenditure programmes but that can’t be translated as a promise,” he says.

“管理层和股东之间目前正在就可能的资本支出计划进行对话，但是不能将此理解为承诺，”他表示。

Meanwhile, Sanpower’s listed food and clothing retailer, one of China’s biggest, posted a widening loss of $27.3m for the first three months of this year. Sanpower itself has gone on a buying spree over the past two years, most recently agreeing in November to pay $1.4bn for China Cord Blood, a New York-listed, China-based life sciences company.

与此同时，南京新百在今年第一季度的亏损扩大至2730万美元。三胞旗下的南京新百是中国规模最大的食品和服装零售上市公司之一。三胞集团过去两年疯狂并购，最近的一笔是去年11月同意出资14亿美元收购中国脐带血库企业集团(China Cord Blood)。后者于纽约上市，是一家总部位于中国的生命科技公司。

Now House of Fraser could be on the block again.

如今House of Fraser可能被再次出售。

er International, which bought 256-year-old UK toy shop Hamleys late last year, said in an April filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it was considering acquiring the retail chain.

4月，千百度国际在向香港交易所(HKex)提交的文件中表示，正在考虑收购这家连锁零售商。该公司于去年年底收购了拥有256年历史的英国玩具零售商Hamleys。

People briefed on the potential deal say that the plan is for er to take equity in House of Fraser while Sanpower takes shares directly in er.

据了解这笔可能交易的人士称，计划是千百度收购House of Fraser的股权，同时三胞直接收购千百度的股票。