阿里巴巴的转型之路

爱思英语编者按：去年阿里巴巴网通过大幅度地降低向中国出口商收取的会员费而使得公司的付费会员总量上升。此后这家公司还对其收费模式进行了其他一些变革，期望赢得更多付费会员，提高增值服务的收入。

Alibaba Group"s Alibaba.com, which said its third-quarter net profit fell 20% from a year earlier, dramatically changed its business model last year when the trading platform sharply reduced its membership fees for Chinese exporters in a bid to gain higher penetration, and it worked. The company"s total paying members rose.
阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group)旗下刚刚录得三季度净利润同比下降20%的阿里巴巴网(Alibaba.com)，曾在去年对自己的商业模式进行了极大的变革。当时这家交易平台为了提高渗透率，大幅度地降低了向中国出口商收取的会员费。这一措施取得了成效，公司的付费会员总量上升。

The company has since made a number of other changes to its pricing model, including expanding its "Gold Supplier" membership to sellers outside of China (who used to have cheaper memberships and fewer services than Chinese sellers), and eliminating its premium China membership level from offerings except to existing members who want to renew them. In addition to gaining more paying members, the changes may also translate into more revenue from value-added services like buying keywords for a position within buyers" search results.
此后这家公司还对其收费模式进行了其他一些变革，包括把“金牌供应商”会员资格拓展到中国以外的供应商（以前他们的会员费比中国供应商更低，享受服务也更少），并只向已有会员提供高级会员资格。除了赢得更多付费会员，这些措施或许也提高了增值服务的收入，比如购买出现在买家搜索结果里的关键词这样的服务。

While investors may want to keep an eye out for how the company is translating that fundamental change into revenue growth, there are several other things going on within Alibaba.com that will be worth looking out for in the coming year.
投资者可能希望了解，这家公司是在通过什么样的方式，把这些根本性的变化转化为实实在在的收入。这方面，阿里巴巴网络公司里另外几件正在发生的事情，将值得在接下来的一年里留意。

India. CEO David Wei has been talking openly about plans for a partnership in India similar to its partnership with Softbank to operate its Japanese Web site, of which Alibaba.com owns 32%. Few details were given other than the possibility that the partnership could be with an existing partner, like Infomedia 18. This may be interesting because like China, the Indian market─which accounted for 12% of all registered users on Alibaba.com"s International marketplace as of June─provides both a strong buyer and seller base. The company does not give metrics for its Japanese Web site.
印度：首席执行长卫哲一直在公开谈论有关在印度开展合作的计划，类似于与软库合作运营其日本网站。阿里巴巴网络在其日本网站中持股32%。有关在印度合作的详细情况透露得不多，只是合作伙伴有可能是一家已经有合作的公司，如Infomedia 18。这种计划或许值得注意，因为像中国一样，印度市场的买家和卖家基础都很雄厚。6月份，印度占阿里巴巴网国际市场注册用户的12%。阿里巴巴没有提供其日本网站的数据。更多信息请访问：http://www.24en.com/

AliExpress. This product has been in beta since last quarter, and allows for transactions online that can be paid for through AliPay, Alibaba Group"s online escrow service. Up until now, Alibaba.com only connected buyers to sellers, but didn"t facilitate transactions online, so this could also mean a major milestone for Alibaba.com. It will be interesting to see whether the company moves toward a transaction-based model, because that model is very different from the current pay-up-front membership fee they charge to customers regardless of how many sales they make. The company already has competitors like DHgate, which allows transactions online, provides keyword search results by popularity and relevance rather than keyword advertising, and does not charge any membership fees.
AliExpress：这款产品已经从上个季度开始试运营，使网上交易可通过阿里巴巴集团在线支付服务支付宝进行支付。以前，阿里巴巴网只起到联结买家和卖家的作用，并不提供在线支付服务，所以这款产品对它可能也是一个重要的里程碑。阿里巴巴网是否会转型为一个以交易为基础的模式，值得留意，因为相比当前预先向客户收取会员费、不管成交多少，这种模式有很大的不同。阿里巴巴已经有了敦煌网(DHgate)这样的竞争对手。敦煌网可以在线支付，并根据热度和相关度提供关键词搜索结果，而不是根据关键词广告费用。敦煌网也不收取任何会员费。

International expansion. Aside from its $30 million ad-spending spree in the U.S. to attract more buyers to the site, Alibaba.com has been busy launching its listings in six more languages including Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. The Web sites are still in beta, and buyers and sellers must still chat in English because the company"s instant messaging software only provides Chinese-English translation. But it"s a step toward following through on Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma"s expressed desire to open the platform to Latin America and elsewhere; last year during a trip to Peru, he encouraged local vendors to consider the Internet and selling to the vast Chinese market .
国际扩张：除了在美国拿出3000万美元巨资做广告吸引更多买家以外，阿里巴巴还忙于推出另外6种语言服务，包括西班牙语、葡萄牙语和俄语。这些站点仍在试运营，买家和卖家仍然只能用英语交谈，因为阿里巴巴的即时通讯软件只提供中英翻译。但这毕竟是按照阿里巴巴集团董事长马云向拉美和其他地区开设平台的意愿，向前迈出了一步。去年在秘鲁的时候，马云鼓励当地商人考虑使用互联网，把产品销售到广阔的中国市场。

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