澳洲代购生意的黄金时代正走向终点

Alongside her day job, accountant Jane Li runs a lucrative export business. A recent Chinese migrant to Sydney, she sells baby formula and other products to a network of friends and acquaintances back home who pay a mark-up of up to 50 per cent for products from the trusted shelves of foreign supermarkets.

除正职以外，会计师Jane Li还经营着一宗获利丰厚的出口生意。新近从中国移民至悉尼的她，向国内的朋友和熟人销售婴儿配方奶粉及其他产品。这些人加价最多50%，从她手上购买来自可靠的外国超市货架上的产品。

One of a group estimated to number more than 100,000 in Australia, Ms Li is a “daigou” or “buyer on behalf”.

Jane Li是一名“代购”，在澳大利亚，代购这一群体的人数估计超过10万人。

This “suitcase trade” in luxury and health goods has become a global phenomenon, accounting for Rmb34bn-Rmb50bn ($5bn-$7.5bn) globally in sales last year, says consultancy Bain & Co. It has thrived because of the relatively higher cost of these products in China, a perception that western brands have higher safety standards following a string of food scandals in China, and a surge in interest among middle-class Chinese consumers for products perceived to feed a healthier lifestyle.

咨询公司贝恩(Bain & Co)表示，这种转卖奢侈品和医疗保健品的“行李箱生意”已形成一种全球现象，去年在全球占了340亿到500亿元人民币（合50亿到75亿美元）的销售额。这门生意的繁荣有三方面原因。一是这类产品在中国的价格相对较高；二是在中国发生一系列食品丑闻之后，人们觉得西方品牌的安全标准更高；三是对那些貌似有助于一种更健康生活方式的产品，中国中产消费者的兴趣大大增加。

The trade has become so big that Australia’s biggest supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, were last year forced to limit the number of tins of infant formula they would sell to individual customers amid concerns of a shortage sparked by a surge in daigou buying.

这门生意的规模已增长到如此之大，以至于由于担心代购购买激增引发缺货，去年澳大利亚大型超市Coles和Woolworths不得不限制每位顾客最多能购买的婴儿配方奶粉罐数。

But a change to Chinese customs and ecommerce rules introduced in April and a desire by some luxury goods companies to take control of their supply chains is denting the trade. “The market has started to cool down,” says Ms Li, who along with her mother sells up to Rmb20,000 of products every month.

然而，中国4月份实施的海关及跨境电商新规，以及部分奢侈品公司控制供应链的意愿，正在对这门生意造成打击。Jane Li表示：“市场已开始降温。”Jane Li和母亲每个月售出价值最高达2万元人民币的商品。

Swisse, one of Australia’s biggest vitamin and supplements companies, says the number of daigou buying and selling its products has fallen from more than 100,000 to about 20,000 in the past year. “New cross-border ecommerce rules introduced in China created uncertainty for daigou and we saw resellers sell off stock to reduce risk,” says Michael Howard, Swisse sales director.

澳大利亚最大的维生素及营养补充剂公司之一Swisse表示，过去一年里倒手其产品的代购已从逾10万人降至约2万人。Swisse销售总监迈克尔•霍华德(Michael Howard)表示：“中国实施的跨境电子商务新规为代购带来了不确定性。我们见到一些转卖者为降低风险抛售库存。”

In April, the Chinese government targeted daigou, raising import taxes on postal items, consumer goods brought into the country by air passengers and foreign ecommerce transactions.

今年4月，中国政府将目标对准了代购，提高了邮递物品和入境旅客行李物品的行邮税，以及跨境电商零售进口商品的进口税。

Beijing is also introducing stricter food safety rules, which from next year will require overseas companies to obtain certification for products they wish to continue selling on cross-border ecommerce websites.

中国政府还推出了更严格的食品安全规定，从明年开始，境外企业要想继续在跨境电子商务网站上销售产品，就必须为这些产品取得许可文件。

Windeln, a German online retailer of baby and children’s products, said sales to Chinese customers had declined since the new regulations were introduced.

德国婴儿及儿童商品在线零售商Windeln表示，自新规实施以来，对中国客户的销售已经下滑。

Meanwhile more foreign brands are seeking to establish direct sales channels into China. In March, Swisse set up a dedicated store on Chinese ecommerce site Tmall and has plans to launch bricks and mortar stores over the next 18 months. “We want the consumer to have a place to go where they can have a direct relationship with our brand,” says Mr Howard.

同时，更多外国品牌正寻求建立直接进入中国销售的渠道。今年3月，Swisse入驻中国电商网站天猫(Tmall)，并计划在未来18个月开设实体店。“我们希望消费者有一个能与我们的品牌发生直接关系的去处，”霍华德说。

KPMG expects the number of daigou to dwindle over the long term as the price differential for luxury goods between China and western countries reduces. “It only lasts while there is an arbitrage opportunity,” says Doug Ferguson, KPMG Australia’s head of Asia & International Business Practice.

毕马威(KPMG)预计，从长期来看，随着中国与西方国家奢侈品的价差缩小，代购的数量将会减少。“只有存在套利机会，代购才会持续下去，”毕马威澳大利亚的亚洲和国际商业实践主管道格•弗格森(Doug Ferguson)说。

Chanel is among several luxury brands to have slashed prices in China. Along with regulatory change, Mr Ferguson expects the daigou business to be hit as Chinese businesses snap up foreign consumer brands and overseas companies take greater control of their product distribution.

香奈儿(Chanel)是几个在中国降价的奢侈品牌之一。除了监管方面的变化以外，弗格森预计，随着中国企业抢购外国消费者品牌，海外公司加强对其产品分销的控制，代购业将受到打击。

However, the phenomenon is far from dead. In Sydney and Melbourne last week special “China ecommerce expo” events targeting daigou were held to coincide with the Chinese holiday period. And for some Australian companies, these sellers still represent a new route into the vast Chinese market.

然而，代购这种现象还远未消亡。上周在悉尼和墨尔本举行了面向代购的“中国电子商务展”特别活动，活动时间特意选在中国的国庆假期。此外，对一些澳大利亚企业而言，代购依然代表着进入广阔中国市场的一条新途径。

“What they definitely do is offer a different network to the one that we would be able to access,” says Laura McBain, chief executive of Bellamy’s Australia, which sells organic food and formula for babies and toddlers. Ms McBain estimates a “significant proportion” of the company’s more than 300 per cent surge in revenue from China and Hong Kong in the financial year to June 30 came from sales to daigou.

“他们的确做到了一件事情，那就是提供了一个不同于我们原本能够触及的网络，”销售婴幼儿有机食品和配方奶粉的Bellamy's Australia的首席执行官劳拉•麦克贝恩(Laura McBain)说。在截至6月30日的一个财年中，该公司来自中国和香港的收入激增逾300%，她估计其中“相当一部分”来自对代购的销售。

The growth of a daigou supply chain into China is a throwback to the personal network-style selling that characterises Tupperware parties or Avon ladies offering make-up, daigou offer the security to their clients of a product bought overseas by someone they trust.

供应中国的代购供应链的发展是过去那种人脉式销售的再现，这种销售方式的典型就是特百惠(Tupperware)派对或者销售化妆品的“雅芳(Avon)小姐”。受到自己客户信任的代购从海外购买商品并提供给客户，这让客户们感到放心。

But while Australian groups recognise daigou as a significant source of sales, efforts to court them have been patchy.

但是，尽管澳大利亚企业认识到代购是一种重要的销售来源，迎合代购的努力依然寥寥无几。

“I would like to see more events held by companies, such as seminars on product and marketing, as well as new product releases targeting only daigou,” says Coco, a full-time daigou shopper who did not want to use her full name.

“我想看到企业举办更多活动，比如产品和营销研讨会，以及仅面向代购的新产品发布，”不愿透露全名的全职代购Coco说。