亲爱的经济学家，

Dear Economist,

在采购易腐食品时，我会寻找那些距离保质到期时间最远的商品，尽管我往往也会立即把它们吃掉。因此，在打算消费时，我常常会略过那些即将到期的商品，优先考虑保质期更长的商品。我是否应该受到浪费的指责，因为我没有购买可接受的保存时间最短的商品，从而增加了它们无法被售出的可能性？

When purchasing perishable food items I look for those that have the longest "use by" date, even if I intend to consume them immediately. As a result I often bypass items that will be within their "use by" date when I intend consuming them, in preference for items with an even longer shelf life. Can I be accused of being wasteful by not purchasing items with the shortest acceptable shelf life, since I am increasing the likelihood that they remain unsold?

你真诚的，

Yours sincerely,

安德鲁，来自伦敦

Andrew, London


亲爱的安德鲁，

Dear Andrew,

我几乎可以肯定地认为，责备不应落到你的身上。相反，过错在于食品零售商缺乏想象力的静态定价方式。它们以同样的价格提供给你两种不同的产品，你不过是选择了更好、更新鲜的那种。

I hardly think the blame can be laid at your doorstep. The fault, instead, is with the unimaginatively static pricing on the part of the food retailers. They are presenting you with two different products at the same price, and you are simply choosing the better, fresher offering.

的确，如果你打算马上就把食品吃掉，你赋予更新鲜产品的价值，也许会低于某个打算买下这个产品过几周再消费的人赋予它的价值。

It is true that if you plan to eat the food immediately, the value you place on the fresher product might be lower than the value to someone who planned to buy it and leave it sitting around for a couple of weeks.

另一方面，许多人不会核实日期，因为他们根本不在乎。如果他们以牺牲你的利益获得了更新鲜的产品，这将是一个遗憾。

On the other hand, many people don´t check the dates because they don´t care. It would be a shame if they got the fresher product at your expense.

因此，理想的状况是，零售商应根据食品的新鲜程度调整价格，随着时间的过去而小幅下调价格，直到保质期临近时再大幅削价。像你这样崇尚新鲜的人会乐于支付更高价格，而学生、靠补助金生活的人以及电脑程序员们则会买下最廉价的产品，刮去霉斑。 Ideally, then, retailers would adjust their prices to reflect the staleness of the food, with the price declining very slightly over time, before being slashed as the "use by" date approaches. Freshness fetishists like you would gladly pay more, while students, pensioners and computer programmers would scoop up the cheapest products and scrape off the mould.

产品将会根据对新鲜程度的偏好进行有效配置。让超市跟上这一趋势只是时间的问题。

Products would be allocated efficiently according to preferences for freshness. It can only be a matter of time before the supermarkets catch on.

沃尔玛(Wal-Mart)已同意购入好又多商业发展有限公司(Bounteous，简称：好又多公司) 35%的股权，并且最终可能会以大约10亿美元的代价，控股该公司的中国大陆业务--好又多(Trust-Mart)连锁超市。

Wal-Mart has agreed to buy 35 per cent of the company that operates the Trust-Mart chain of hypermarkets in China and could eventually pay about $1bn for control of the operation.

这是国际零售商在中国快速增长的消费市场最新一宗巨额投资。如果沃尔玛完全控股好又多公司，那么，它将成为中国最大的超市连锁企业。 The deal is the latest heavy investment by an international retailer in the country´s fast-growing consumer market. If Wal-Mart takes full control of Bounteous, the company that operates Trust-Mart, it would become the biggest hypermarket chain in China.

好又多是由一家台湾企业家于1996年创建的，在中国大陆34个城市拥有101家大型超市，是中国大陆最大超市连锁之一。不过分析人士表示，由于市场竞争激烈，好又多最近几年一直步履艰难。

Trust-Mart, founded in 1996 by a Taiwanese entrepreneur, has 101 hypermarkets in 34 cities, making it one of the largest, although analysts said that it has struggled in recent years in the face of intense competition.

沃尔玛最终将向好又多公司支付约10亿美元，但知情人士表示，支付款项将分期完成，首期仅支付一半，其余则根据好又多65家门店经营标准的改善状况，在三年内付清。

The final payment for the company will be about $1bn, but people familiar with the sale process said the payment would be staggered, with only half paid up front and the rest paid over three years, depending on improvements in operating standards at 65 Trust-Mart stores.

一位知情人士表示："好又多多数门店在合规方面需要改进，因此，半数款项将暂停支付，直到所有问题都得到解决。不过，其中多数问题都可轻易解决。"

A person familiar with the deal said: "Most stores need to get up to scratch from a compliance perspective, so half the cash is being withheld until all matters are sorted. However, most of the issues are easily rectified."

在中国较为富裕的城市，中产阶级规模迅速壮大，加之该国零售业相对不成熟，使得中国成为一个对国际大型零售商颇具吸引力的市场。 The rapid growth of the middle class in China´s more prosperous cities and the relatively immature retail sector has made the country an attractive market for big international retailers.

然而，许多零售商已发现，它们在中国很难盈利，因为这个市场竞争非常激烈，尤其在部分地区，当地大型连锁超市对国际零售商构成了强大的竞争。此外，中国超市顾客的平均支出也比较低。

However, many retailers have found it hard to make profits because of the competition, particularly from strong local chains in specific regions and the low average spending of Chinese supermarket customers.

沃尔玛目前在中国拥有68家大型超市，仅次于拥有255家折扣店和90家大型超市的家乐福(Carrefour)。然而，沃尔玛已承诺将在中国迅速扩张。

Wal-Mart has 68 hypermarkets in China, putting it behind Carrefour, which has 255 discount stores and 90 hypermarkets. However it has pledged to expand rapidly in China.

沃尔玛去年撤出了韩国和德国市场，但已将中国列为其国际业务优先发展的市场。沃尔玛在中美和南美的业务也相当强大。 Wal-Mart, which pulled out of South Korea and Germany last year, has made China one of the priorities for its internatio-nal division, which is also strong in Central and South America.