伊萬卡•特朗普品牌的定位誤區

After all the fuss that surrounded its first public outing, it transpires that no one was very interested in wearing Ivanka Trump’s “favourite bangle.” At least, not when it came to parting with $10,800 for the diamond bracelet worn by the US president’s second child and unofficial political aide on primetime television last November. Last week, it was announced by the brand’s new president Abigail Klem (who stepped into the role in January) that the aspirational, fine-jewellery collection

在美國，幾乎沒人對佩戴伊萬卡?特朗普(Ivanka Trump)“最喜愛的手鐲”表現出很大興趣，雖然它首次公開亮相時就引發熱議，至少，在知道了伊萬卡去年11月黃金時段電視節目上佩戴的這款鑽石手鐲要價10,800美元后，人們失去了熱情。伊萬卡是現任美國總統的第二個孩子及其非官方政務助理。不久前，其同名品牌的新任總裁阿比蓋爾?克蘭姆（Abigail Klem，她自今年1月起開始擔任該職務）宣佈，以這款手鐲爲主打產品的夢幻高端珠寶系列今後將融入其主流產品線，並面向更廣大的消費羣體。換句話說，伊萬卡?特朗普品牌開始放低身段走低價路線。

of which this bracelet was a prized example will henceforward be folded into the main line and made more accessible. In other words, Ivanka Trump is going cheap.

伊萬卡?特朗普品牌擁有很多粉絲。總統顧問凱莉安妮?康韋(Kellyanne Conway)就對她老闆女兒的“美好”品牌表現出了極大熱情，以至於被控爲了鼓勵民衆“去購買伊凡卡的產品”而違反聯邦道德法規。但目前看來，沒有幾個人願意拿出足夠購買一輛小汽車的錢來模仿伊凡卡的造型。

The Ivanka Trump brand has many admirers. Kellyanne Conway, counsellor to the president, has shown a passion for her boss’s daughter’s “wonderful” brand so intense that she has been accused of violating federal ethics laws in order to encourage folks to “go and buy her stuff”. But few folks, it seems, are prepared to part with the cost of a small car to get the look.

或許可以將這一狀況解讀爲該品牌遇到的又一個困難，自從唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)就任總統執掌權力以來，該品牌就麻煩不斷。

It’s tempting to read this as yet another woe in the catalogue of ills that have befallen the brand since President Donald Trump’s ascension to power. In January, it was removed from the US department store Nordstrom. It was then dropped by Neiman Marcus, which cited poor sales in its decision to remove it from its website.

今年1月，該品牌被美國百貨公司諾思通(Nordstrom)撤貨下架。此後該品牌又遭百貨公司內曼?馬庫斯 (Neiman Marcus)拋棄，後者解釋稱，將該品牌從其電商網站下架是因爲銷售數字慘淡。

In the wake of dwindling consumer interest and a social media campaign, #grabherwallet, encouraging shoppers to boycott stores carrying Trump-related products, the brand seemed to have taken on the irremediable whiff of toxicity. This toxicity has been further compounded by California retailer Modern Appealing Clothing this week, which has gone to court to claim that the brand’s increased publicity in recent months has given Ivanka Trump an unfair advantage over other retail competitors in the state of California. The family-owned business is seeking a permanent injunction barring Ivanka Trump goods from sale in California.

一方面消費者興趣下降，一方面又有社交媒體運動“搶走她的錢包(#grabherwallet)”鼓勵消費者抵制銷售伊萬卡?特朗普相關產品的百貨商店，該品牌似乎沾上了揮之不去的有毒氣息。最近這種有毒氛圍進一步加劇，因加州零售商Modern Appealing Clothing向法院提起訴訟，指控伊萬卡?特朗普品牌近幾個月來的大力宣傳，使得其在加州相對於其他零售業對手擁有了不公平的競爭優勢。這家家族所有制企業希望法庭頒佈永久性禁令，禁止伊萬卡?特朗普品牌產品在加州銷售。

So, is brand Ivanka Trump a bust? Not likely, you metropolitan, liberal, latte-drinking snowflakes. Ivankanomics are not so simple as that. Yes, the east coast metropolitan elites have been offloading their striped cotton shirt-dresses, Hopewell Mini Chain Crossbody bags and Karita Lace-Up Block-Heel Sandals by the sackful. But, elsewhere, the brand is booming.

那麼，伊萬卡?特朗普品牌是否面臨倒閉呢？這種可能性並不大，生活在大城市、喝着拿鐵的自由主義小清新們又想錯了。伊萬卡經濟學並非如此簡單。確實，東海岸的大城市精英們已經在大袋大袋地拋棄該品牌的棉質條紋襯衫裙、霍普韋爾迷你鏈條斜挎包(Hopewell Mini Chain Crossbody bag)以及卡麗塔繫帶坡跟涼鞋(Karita Lace-Up Block-Heel Sandal)。但在其他地區，該品牌形勢大好。

According to The Hollywood Reporter, ecommerce aggregator Lyst reported that sales of Ivanka Trump increased 219 per cent in one day in early February, and have surged in the past six months. In particular, the brand’s inventory is skyrocketing on second-hand resale sites such as ThredUP, where demand for Ivanka Trump-branded products in conservative cities such as Houston in Texas is massively outstripping the rate at which more liberal-minded coastal-dwelling urbanites are purging themselves of them. Just as the geopolitical spread among Trump’s support is split between urban and rural, coastal and central, so, unsurprisingly, is interest in his daughter’s clothes and bangles.

根據《好萊塢報道》(The Hollywood Reporter)，電商平臺Lyst表示伊萬卡?特朗普品牌的銷售額在2月初的一天增幅高達219%，並且在過去六個月中一直保持迅猛增長勢頭。該品牌在ThredUP等二手衣物寄售網站上的存貨數量迅速膨脹，而德克薩斯州休斯敦等保守城市地區對伊萬卡?特朗普品牌產品的需求遠遠超過了沿海地區自由派城市居民拋棄該品牌的速度。正如唐納德?特朗普的支持率在城市與農村、沿海與中部地區存在巨大地域差異一樣，對他女兒服飾產品的熱情也存在地區差異也不足爲奇。

Perhaps more interesting, however, is the development regarding pricing. Many of the Ivanka Trump products are simply too expensive for the sort of people who might want to buy them.

或許更有趣的是該品牌定價策略的發展變化。伊萬卡?特朗普品牌的很多產品對於那些有興趣購買它們的人羣來說實在過於昂貴。

It’s all a question of aspiration. The business of fashion, accessories and especially jewellery is built on the basis, like those of cars and houses, that they are imbued with various life-enhancing qualities. A certain brand’s clothing will make you seem stronger, chicer and more sophisticated. An accessory will elevate you among your peers. By buying into a brand, so the retail culture has it, we buy into a society of similarly-minded sophisticates who share our values and wallet size.

這歸根到底是一個關於品牌願景的問題。時尚、配飾、特別是珠寶行業，和汽車以及住房領域一樣，是建立在一個基礎之上的，即它們具備各種能夠豐富生活的特質。某個特定品牌的服裝能使你看起來更加強勢時髦，也更加幹練。一款配飾將使你在人羣中高人一籌。按照零售文化的說法，購買一個品牌的產品，將使我們進入一個和自己價值觀以及經濟實力相似、觀點相像的人組成的小世界。

Currently, there’s a trend for new labels launching themselves into the marketplace to pitch themselves at the highest echelons of luxury, with starting prices reaching into the hundreds, and big-ticket items costing several thousands. At the same time, luxury labels are increasingly working with bigger, more mainstream companies to produce lines that might make them accessible to more ordinary folk.

目前的一股趨勢是，新品牌在進入市場時將自己標榜爲最頂級的奢侈品，單品起步價高達數百美元，而主打產品的價格則高達數千美元。與此同時，奢侈品牌則越來越多地和更加大衆主流的商家合作，生產使普通大衆也能擁有這些品牌的產品線。

Hence, fans of Victoria Beckham who may not be able to afford the designer’s asymmetric satin twill floral wrap-dress, which retails for ￡1,995 in her Mayfair store in London, are now able to buy a black floral satin dress for the far more accessible price of $40 from the range she has just debuted for the American retailer Target. Most brands recognise that their survival depends on partnering with high-street retailers in collaborations that will bounce them into a broader market. (Victoria Beckham’s recent collaboration with Estée Lauder on a make-up collection is another great example of how to expand one’s entry-level offering — see also Alexander Wang’s team-up with Adidas, and Comme des Gar?ons’ AW17 Nikes.)

因此，維多利亞?貝克漢姆(Victoria Beckham)的粉絲中或許有人買不起這位設計師的不對稱緞面斜紋印花裹身裙，這款裙子在她位於倫敦梅費爾(Mayfair)的店鋪中售價高達1995英鎊，但他們可以買得起她不久前在美國零售商Target首次推出的服裝系列中的一款黑色印花緞面裙，這款售價40美元的裙子顯然更加平易近人。絕大多數品牌都意識到，他們的生存取決於與高街零售商結成夥伴展開合作，這能將他們推向更加廣闊的市場。（維多利亞?貝克漢姆近期與雅詩蘭黛(Estée Lauder)合作的一個化妝品系列爲如何拓展一個品牌的入門級產品提供了又一個優質案例——此外還可以參考亞歷山大?王(Alexander Wang)與阿迪達斯(Adidas)的合作以及川保久玲(Comme des Gar?ons)與耐克(Nike)合作的2017年秋冬系列。）

Brand Ivanka Trump is now stuck in the accessible wilderness. She can jangle that $10,000 bangle as much as she wants, but it seems the only people who aspire to her brand of gilt-lacquered, super-shiny luxury are the ones who can’t afford it.

伊萬卡?特朗普品牌現在陷入了品牌定位的荒原。她可以盡情宣傳那款售價10000美元的手鐲，但目前看來，那些希望擁有她品牌的表面鍍金、閃耀無比的奢侈品的人，正是無力負擔這些奢侈品的羣體。