美國飲料及食品業巨頭百事公司將涉足中國智能手機市場

PepsiCo Inc is pulling the tab of the Chinese smartphone market. But what awaits the Pepsi phone is set to be something bitter than its iconic soda water.

百事公司（PepsiCo Inc）將涉足中國智能手機市場。不過，外界普遍認爲，百事手機絕不會像其標誌性的蘇打水那般搶手。

The United States beverage and food giant said on Tuesday it is working with a licensing partner to bring a line of mobile phones and accessories to China in the next few months.

美國飲料及食品業巨頭百事10月12日透露，正與一家授權企業合作，在未來幾個月內向中國市場推出一系列手機及附屬產品。

Available in China only, the effort is similar to Pepsi's apparel and accessories licensing campaigns elsewhere, the company said in a statement to China Daily.

在發給《中國日報》的一份聲明中，該公司稱，這款手機只面向中國市場，與其它國家推出了服裝和配飾等產品一樣，屬於百事的全球授權計劃。

The maker of potato chips, soft drinks and breakfast cereals quickly made it clear it "has no plans to get into the mobile phone manufacturing business" yet.

這家生產薯片、軟飲料、早餐麥片的企業隨即澄清“並不打算涉足手機制造業”。

"But we are committed to engaging with Chinese consumers at this point of connectivity, and in innovative ways, to grow our brand," it said.

“不過，我們努力與中國消費者加強交流，以創新方式拓展品牌。”百事公司說道。

The first ever smartphone bearing the red-white-blue Pepsi logo, likely to be named Pepsi P1, will be a low-end pamphlet, according to model specifications released by tech website .

據印度科技網站曝光的工程機規格數據，百事推出的首部手機或命名爲P1，將主打低端市場。這部手機將是首款帶有百事紅白藍商標的手機。

Pepsi P1's 5.5-inch screen, 13-megapixel rear camera and 16 GB internal storage place the device in the sizzling 1,000 yuan ($150) market where hundreds of models are battling one another.

P1搭載5.5英寸屏幕，1300萬像素的後置攝像頭，並配備16G內存，將與其他千元機機爭奪市場。

It is also unclear how the tech-savvy Chinese buyers might respond to Pepsi's latest move in the country.

然而，中國的科技粉消費者對百事此舉會有什麼反應，目前尚不可知。

"I feel a little confused about it, I may not buy the phone unless it has some unique features to show," said Chen Yang, a college student in Beijing who prefers carbonated soft drinks made by Pepsi than The Coca-Cola Co.

北京的一名大學生陳陽（音）說道：“我一下子也說不上來。除非這手機有些獨特功能，我纔會考慮購買。”他喜歡喝百事可樂，不喜歡可口可樂。

Nicole Peng, director of Shanghai-based information technology consultancy Canalys China, said it will be difficult for customers in China to receive the marketing messages from Pepsi.

互聯網諮詢企業易觀國際（Canalys）中國區總監彭路平（Nicole Peng）稱，百事此舉很難在中國消費者中達到營銷目的。

"I believe international firms should invest in the areas where consumers can relate the products to the value of their brands ... For a soft drink brand, (releasing a smartphone) does not add much value for consumers," she said.

她說：“我認爲，跨國公司在投資前，應找準定位，理清消費者眼中的產品與品牌價值間的關係……對百事這樣主打軟飲料的品牌而言，（推出智能手機）並不能在消費者中提升品牌價值。”

China is the world's largest smartphone market, but shipments have started to shrink as demand is stagnating, according to research firm International Data Corp. Current smartphone sales are boosted by existing smartphone owners who are looking to replace the devices in use while the number of first-time buyers dropped significantly.

國際數據公司（International Data Corp）的一項調研發現，雖然中國是全球最大的智能手機市場，但對智能手機的需求量並未增加，銷量已開始下滑。目前，購買智能手機的消費者多爲老用戶，旨在以舊換新，而首次購買智能手機的消費者數量在大幅下跌。

Pepsi has been facing strong headwinds in carbonated soft drinks sales long before the smartphone release.

撇開智能手機不談，百事公司的飲料銷售也早已面臨重重危機。

Its carbonated soft drink sales saw a double-digit decline in China last year, the company said in a financial report.

百事的一份財務報告顯示，2014年，該公司在中國的碳酸飲料銷售業績不佳，跌幅達兩位數。

Jason Yu, general manager at research firm Kantar Worldpanel China, said Chinese consumers are increasingly looking for health and functional benefits to their everyday beverage choice.

市場研究公司凱度中國（Kantar Worldpanel China）總經理虞堅（Jason Yu）認爲，如今，中國消費者越來越注重飲品的健康與功能價值。

More price competition in the carbonated soft drink market is foreseeable, and rapid growth of functional drink, juice, premium packaged water and yogurt is also on horizon, Yu said.

虞堅稱，碳酸飲料市場的價格大戰日漸激烈，這一點毋庸置疑。另外，消費者對功能飲料、健康果汁、高檔飲用水和酸奶的需求在快速增加。