Japanese billionaire Tadashi Yanai has become the latest business leader to warn that Brexit is “practically impossible” and would return the U.K. to being “the sick man of Europe.” 日本商界领袖、亿万富翁柳井正最近告诫道,英国脱欧“几乎是不可能的”,脱欧会使英国重新成为“欧洲病夫”。 In an interview with cnn, the founder and CEO of the Fast Retailing empire, which includes Uniqlo, became the latest billionaire to voice concern over Brexit and business continuity. 在接受美国有线电视新闻网采访的时候,迅销公司(日本零售控股公司)创始人兼首席执行官成为新近对英国脱欧和其商业持续性表示担忧的亿万富翁,优衣库就是迅销公司旗下的品牌。 He told the TV news channel that “If Brexit does happen, the U.K. could revert back to the former situation before the Margaret Thatcher era,” an era that lasted through much of the 1970s, characterized by economic malaise. 他告诉这家电视新闻频道,“如果英国脱欧真的发生了,英国可能会退回到玛格丽特·撒切尔时代之前的处境”。当时,在20世纪70年代的大部分时间里,英国的经济都萎靡不振。 “The U.K. was referred to as the sick man of Europe. I’m afraid that could happen again," said Yanai. “英国曾被称为欧洲病夫。我担心这种情况会再次发生,”柳井正说道。 On the specifics of the U.K.’s Brexit plight he said, “Brexit is practically impossible because the old borders will be shaky, and the U.K. has a Northern Ireland issue and a Scotland issue. ... I think Brexit is difficult to realize even if the U.K. wants to do it.” 说到英国脱欧困境的细节,他表示,“英国脱欧几乎是不可能的,因为旧的国界会不稳固,而且英国在北爱尔兰和苏格兰都存在问题……我认为即使英国想脱欧,这也是很难实现的。” Yanai, 70, is the founder of the Tokyo-listed Fast Retailing. He and his family own a 44% stake, putting their estimated net worth at over $30 billion, and Yanai remains the richest man in Japan. 现年70岁的柳井正是在东京上市的迅销公司的创始人。他和他的家族拥有该公司44%的股份,这使他们的净资产估值超过300亿美元,而且柳井正一直是日本首富。 Yanai’s flagship brand Uniqlo has struggled in the U.K. over the last few years. Although 13 stores remain, its ambitious expansion plans in the early 2000s were rapidly reversed in 2003 leading to the closure of 16 units. 在过去的几年里,柳井正公司的旗舰品牌优衣库在英国举步维艰。尽管优衣库在英国仍有13家门店,但该公司在21世纪初制定的雄心勃勃的扩张计划在2003年被迅速撤销,致使16家门店被关闭。 On September 3, Fast Retailing announced that same-store sales at its Uniqlo clothing outlets in Japan rose 9.9% in August from a year earlier. 9月3日,迅销公司宣称,其旗下优衣库服装品牌的日本门店在8月份的同店销售额同比增长9.9%。 And although sales in Asia remain strong, U.S. expansion is on hold after Yanai shelved a 2012 goal to open 1,000 Uniqlo stores in the U.S.—it currently has 50. 尽管优衣库在亚洲的销售依然强劲,但2012年在美国开设1000家优衣库门店的目标被柳井正搁置后,优衣库在美国的扩张就暂停了,目前优衣库在美国只有50家门店。 |