2004年高考英语上海卷 - 阅读理解D

Holiday Inns and McDonald’s, both saw unmatched growth in the 1960s. Their growth opened another direct business operation - franchising.
假日酒店和麦当劳在20世纪60年代都迎来了爆发式增长，它们的成长开启了另一种直接的商业运营——特许经营。

These operations have the same general pattern. The franchisor, the parent company, first establishes a successful retail business. At it expands, it sees a profit potential in offering others the right to open similar business under its name. the parent company’s methods and means of identification with consumers are included in this right. The parent company supplies skill, and may build and rent stores to franchisees. For these advantages the franchisee pays the franchisor a considerable fee. However, some of the advantages and disadvantages are different.
这些运营模式大体相同。特许经营商，即母公司，首先成立一种成功的零售业务。在其扩张过程中，看到了允许他人以其名义开设类似业务，从而带来利润的潜力。权利还包括母公司识别消费者的方法和手段。母公司提供技能，并可能为加盟商建造和租赁门店。为了获得这些优势，特许加盟商向特许经营商支付一笔可观的费用。然而，一些优缺点是不同的。

By extending a “proven” marketing method, a parent can profit in several ways. First, the franchisee’s purchase price gives the parent an immediate return on the plan. Then the sale of supplies to the franchisee provides a continuing source of profits. As new businesses are added and the company’s reputation spreads, the value of the franchise increases and sales of franchises become easier. The snowballing effect can be dramatic. Such growth, too, brings into play the economies of scale. Regional or national advertising that might be financially impossible for a franchisor with 20 franchises could be profitable for one with 40.
通过推广一种“成熟的”营销手段，母公司可以通过多种方式获利。首先，特许加盟的价格会让母公司立即获得计划中的回报。然后，向特许加盟商出售供应品提供了持续的利润来源。随着新业务的增加和公司声誉的扩大，特许经营的价值增加，特许经营权的销售变得更容易。滚雪球效应可能是戏剧性的，这种增长也发挥了规模经济的作用。在地区或全国范围内投放的广告对只有20个加盟店的公司来说可能经济上不允许，但对有40个加盟店的公司就是盈利的。

The parent, then, finds immediate gains from the opportunity to expand markets on the basis of reputation alone, without having to put up capital or take the risk of owning retail stores. Added to this advantage is a less obvious but material one. Skilled, responsible retail managers are rare. People who invest their capital in franchises, through, probably come closer to the ideal than do paid managers. In fact, the franchisee is an independent store operator working for the franchisor, but without an independent’s freedom to drop supplies at will. Of course the factory’s costs of selling supplies are less. But also certainly the franchisee buying goods that have had broad consumer acceptance will not casually change supplies, even when the contract permits. If the hamburger is not what the customer expected, they may not return. Having paid for the goodwill, the franchisee won’t thoughtlessly destroy it.
因此，母公司可以从仅凭声誉扩大市场的机会中立即获得收益，而无需投入资本或承担拥有零售店的风险。除此之外，还有一个不太明显但实质性的优势。熟练、负责任的零售经理很少。通过，将资本投资于特许经营的人可能比做个付费的经理更接近理想。事实上，特许加盟商是一个独立的商店经营者，为特许经营商工作，但没有独立经营者可以随意丢弃供应品的自由。当然，工厂销售供应品的成本更低。但也可以肯定的是，购买消费者广泛接受的商品的特许加盟商不会随意更换供应，即使合同允许。如果汉堡不是顾客期望的那样，他们可能不会回来。在支付了商誉后，特许加盟商不会轻率地破坏商誉。

Franchising may give you the idea that as a franchisor, you need only relax in the rocking chair. Franchising, however, has problems to be solved.
特许经营可能会让你觉得，作为特许经营商，你只需要在摇椅上放松。然而，特许经营有一些问题需要解决。