Nike真的比Adidas更成功嗎？鞋類與服飾巨頭大評比：英語精讀講義

You won't get far in any given day 文法

隨便哪一天，你走不了多遠

in most cities in the world

在世界上大多數城市裡，

without seeing Nike's famous swoosh

就會看到Nike著名的「打勾」標誌

or Adidas's three stripes.

或是Adidas的「三條線」。

More than just sporting brands, 表達脈絡

不僅僅是運動品牌，

the footwear and clothes of these companies

這兩家公司的鞋款和服裝

have become fashion statements. 片語搭配

已經成為了時尚宣言。

The two brands are the biggest of their kind,

這兩個品牌是同類中最大的，

although sporting goods newbie Under Armour

儘管體育用品界的新秀Under Armour

has threatened to take the number two spot 片語搭配

已經威脅到要奪取第二的位置

in the US at least.

至少在美國是這樣。

But on a global scale, 片語搭配

但在全球範圍內，

Under Armour can't compete just yet 用詞

Under Armour目前還無法

with these two behemoths. 用詞

與這兩個龐然大物抗衡。

Right now,

眼下，

the focus of the leading two brands

這兩個領先品牌的焦點

is China's 415 million millennials.

是中國4.15億的千禧世代。

Maybe we'll have a better idea

也許我們會對誰將稱霸中國市場

of who will take over China 片語動詞

有一個更清晰的認識

after today's episode of The Infographics Show,

在看完今天《The Infographics Show》的這期節目後，

Nike versus Adidas.

也就是Nike對決Adidas。

Don't forget to subscribe and click the bell button

別忘了訂閱並點擊小鈴鐺按鈕

so that you can be part of our notification squad.

這樣你就能成為我們通知小分隊的一員。

Let's first have a look at how these two companies

讓我們首先來看看這兩家公司是如何

got off the ground. 慣用語

起步的。

Nike is an incredible success story

Nike是一個令人難以置信的成功故事，

given that before it appeared on the scene, 講解

考慮到在它嶄露頭角之前，

Adidas and Puma owned the market.

Adidas和Puma佔據了整個市場。

Nike changed that pretty quickly.

Nike很快就改變了這一局面。

The company was founded on January 25th, 1964,

該公司成立於1964年1月25日，

when businessman Phil Knight and track coach slash running shoe enthusiast

當時商人Phil Knight與田徑教練兼跑鞋愛好者

Bill Bowerman got together to build the perfect

Bill Bowerman聚在一起，想要打造一雙完美的、

affordable athletic shoe.

價格親民的運動鞋。

Prior to its independence,

在它獨立之前，

Nike, then called Blue Ribbon Sports or BRS,

Nike，當時名為藍帶體育（Blue Ribbon Sports，簡稱BRS），

operated under Japanese sporting goods firm Tiger,

在日本體育用品公司Tiger旗下營運。

which is now known as ASICS.

也就是現在的ASICS。

In 1966, BRS opened its first store,

1966年，BRS開設了第一家門市，

and in 1971, it changed its name to Nike

1971年，它改名為Nike，

and also created the swoosh most everybody knows of today.

並設計了如今幾乎無人不曉的「打勾」標誌。

That swoosh cost Nike 35 bucks to design

這個標誌花了Nike 35美元的設計費，

and was created by a Portland State University graphic design student.

由波特蘭州立大學的一名平面設計系學生創作。

Nike took off as fast as its runners 慣用語

Nike的發展和它的跑鞋一樣快，

and by 1980, it had half of the US

到了1980年，它已經佔據了美國

athletic shoe market.

運動鞋市場的一半市佔率。

In the late 80s and 90s,

在80年代末和90年代，

Nike began its global dominance

Nike開始確立其全球霸主地位，

and its products are now available

它的產品現在幾乎在世界每個國家

in virtually every country in the world. 用詞

都能買到。

In undeveloped nations,

在未開發國家，

if you don't see a Nike store,

就算你看不到Nike門市，

you will still find people wearing the products.

你依然會看到人們穿著它的產品。

Adidas starts as a family story.

Adidas則源於一個家族故事。

The founder, Adolf Dassler,

創辦人Adolf Dassler，

began making shoes in his mother's kitchen.

最初在他母親的廚房裡開始製鞋。

At the same time,

與此同時，

his brother Rudolf was working with their father

他的兄弟Rudolf在一家鞋廠

at a footwear factory.

和他們的父親一起工作。

Later, the brothers started working together.

後來，兩兄弟開始合作。

At the 1936 Olympics in Germany,

在1936年的德國奧運會上，

young Adolf Dassler made a great move

年輕的Adolf Dassler做了一個絕妙的決定，

by finding American sprinter Jesse Owens 文法

他找到了美國短跑運動員Jesse Owens，

and convincing him to wear the spiked shoes he had made.

說服他穿上自己製作的釘鞋。

Owens won four golds

Owens贏得了四面金牌，

and Adolf and his brother almost immediately became famous

Adolf和他的兄弟幾乎立刻一舉成名，

all over the world.

聞名全球。

By 1939,

到1939年，

the two brothers were producing and selling

兩兄弟每年生產並銷售

around 200,000 pairs of shoes a year.

大約20萬雙鞋。

At the time,

在那時候，

the shoes were simply products of the Dassler brothers shoe factory.

這些鞋僅僅是Dassler兄弟鞋廠的產品。

That would soon change.

這一情況很快就會改變。

In 1947,

在1947年，

the brothers split on not very good terms.

兄弟倆分道揚鑣，而且鬧得很不愉快。

Adolf Dassler named his company Adidas,

Adolf Dassler把他的公司命名為Adidas，

and his brother Rudolf Dassler started a company called Ruda,

他的兄弟Rudolf Dassler創辦了一家名為Ruda的公司，

which later became Puma,

後來變成了Puma，

a household name today. 慣用語

也就是如今家喻戶曉的品牌。

Now, let's look at some numbers.

現在，讓我們來看一些數據。

Nike, named after the Greek goddess of victory, 文化背景

Nike，以希臘勝利女神的名字命名，

lives up to its name. 慣用語

名副其實。

It's currently on Forbes list as the biggest sporting goods company

它目前被《富比士》列為最大的體育用品公司

in the world.

在全球範圍內。

Forbes put the value of Nike at $27 billion 片語搭配

《富比士》將Nike 2016年的估值

for the year 2016.

定為270億美元。

Adidas is in third place according to Forbes

根據《富比士》的數據，Adidas排在第三位，

and second place is ESPN.

而第二位是ESPN。

So in terms of clothing and footwear, 片語搭配

所以在服裝和鞋類方面，

Adidas is really second,

Adidas確實位居第二，

although its value is far behind Nike

儘管它的價值遠不及Nike，

at just $7 billion.

僅為70億美元。

Under Armour comes behind Adidas with a worth of $5.5 billion,

Under Armour緊隨Adidas之後，價值55億美元，

and Reebok, which is actually owned by Adidas,

而實際上由Adidas擁有的Reebok

comes way behind again with a value of $800 million.

則以8億美元的價值遠遠落後。

According to Nike's manufacturing map,

根據Nike的製造分佈圖，

its products are made in 42 countries.

其產品在42個國家製造。

It has 566 factories and employs a little over 1 million people.

它擁有566家工廠，雇用了100多萬人。

We must say here that Nike is well known for having factories 文法

我們必須在此提及，Nike以在開發中國家

in developing nations,

設廠而聞名，

sometimes paying its workers low wages

有時在不太好的條件下

in not too great conditions.

支付工人低廉的工資。

Nike has made attempts to clean up its image, 片語動詞

Nike一直試圖改善其形象，

but according to critics,

但據批評人士指出，

it hasn't done enough.

它做得還不夠。

Only this year,

就在今年，

people all over the world in cities

世界各地城市裡的人們，

such as Boston, Washington, DC,

比如波士頓、華盛頓特區、

Bangalore, and San Pedro Sula in Honduras,

班加羅爾和宏都拉斯的聖佩德羅蘇拉，

protested in the street over Nike's sweatshops. 用詞

都在街頭抗議Nike的血汗工廠。

Nike needs a lot of workers

Nike需要大量的工人，

given that research says that the company sells

因為有研究表明，該公司每一秒鐘

25 pairs of sneakers every second

都會賣出25雙運動鞋

of every day.

在每一天。

Altogether, Business Insider wrote in 2016

據《商業內幕》2016年報導，

that Nike sold 900 million products in one year.

Nike一年內總共售出了9億件產品。

That included everything under the Nike brand name.

這包括了Nike品牌旗下的所有商品。

According to Statista,

根據Statista的數據，

Adidas employs just over 60,000 people worldwide. 用詞

Adidas在全球雇用了剛剛超過6萬人。

It actually has more factories than Nike does 文法

實際上，它比Nike擁有更多的工廠，

with 1,000 independent factories in 60 countries,

在60個國家擁有1000家獨立工廠，

according to its own website.

這是根據它自己的官網數據。

It too has come under scrutiny for the working conditions 片語搭配

它也因為主要位於開發中國家的工廠的

in the factories that are mostly in developing nations,

工作條件而受到了審查，

but Adidas has also been praised for its transparency. 用詞

但Adidas也因其透明度受到了讚譽。

Recent stories suggest that jobs are coming back to Germany

近期的報導表明，工作機會正在回到德國，

as Adidas improves its highly advanced factory there,

因為Adidas在那裡改進了其高度先進的工廠，

where robots do much of the work.

那裡大部分工作都由機器人完成。

Adidas sells around 250 million pairs of shoes a year.

Adidas每年大約售出2.5億雙鞋。

This also includes soccer shoes or boots.

這也包括足球鞋或釘鞋。

We cannot find any sources for the total number 表達脈絡

我們找不到任何關於

of Adidas products sold.

Adidas產品總銷量的資料。

As for sneakers, 表達脈絡

至於運動鞋，

Yahoo Finance says Adidas is making some distance

Yahoo奇摩股市表示，Adidas正在拉近

in catching up to Nike. 片語動詞

與Nike的差距。

Its market share went up from 6.3% in 2016 文法

它的市佔率從2016年的6.3%上升

to 11.3% in 2017.

到了2017年的11.3%。

Nike's went down from 35.9% to 34.7%.

而Nike的市佔率從35.9%下降到了34.7%。

Yahoo points out the biggest reason Adidas is on the rise 講解

Yahoo指出，Adidas崛起的最主要原因

is because of an industry trend

是因為一種有利於該品牌的

that benefits the brand,

產業趨勢，

casual sportswear.

那就是休閒運動服飾。

Apparently, Adidas is just cooler than leisure wear

顯然，Adidas在休閒服飾方面顯得更酷，

while Nike stays sports-focused. 文法

而Nike依然專注於專業運動。

According to some media,

綜合一些媒體報導，

Kanye West's partnership with Adidas has helped the company a lot.

Kanye West與Adidas的合作為該公司提供了很大的幫助。

According to a 2016 story by Quartz,

根據Quartz在2016年的一篇報導，

Adidas also dominates the retro scene. 用詞

Adidas還主導了復古潮流。

In 2016, its Adidas Superstar was the top-selling sneaker in the US,

2016年，它的Adidas Superstar是美國最暢銷的運動鞋，

but look at the rest of the list

但看看榜單的其餘部分，

and Nike dominates the lower positions.

Nike霸佔了後面的位置。

In 2017, it looks as though Nike's Tanjun sneaker 文法

2017年，看起來Nike的Tanjun運動鞋

is going to make the number one spot,

有望奪得第一名的位置，

but we still have some time to go. 片語搭配

但我們還需要一段時間才能揭曉。

As for each company's diamond product

至於每家公司的王牌產品

in terms of sales and popularity,

在銷量和受歡迎程度方面，

it seems for Adidas,

似乎對於Adidas來說，

that's its Stan Smith sneakers,

是其Stan Smith運動鞋，

first designed in 1973,

首次設計於1973年，

and a shoe that just never goes out of fashion. 慣用語

這是一款永不退流行的鞋。

For Nike, its various Nike Air shoes

對於Nike來說，其各種Nike Air鞋款

have been a big seller for a long time, 片語搭配

長期以來都很暢銷，

although we can't get an exact number

儘管我們無法獲得經過所有迭代後

of pairs sold through all iterations.

售出的確切數量。

Adidas made the headlines this year 慣用語

Adidas在今年登上了新聞頭條，

when it was reported that finally

報導稱它終於

it had knocked Nike Air Jordans 慣用語

將Nike Air Jordans從

from the number one spot,

第一的位置拉了下來，

thanks in part to some strong endorsements. 講解

部分得益於一些強而有力的名人代言。

When most websites talk about the world's most important sneaker

當多數網站談論世界上最重要

of all time,

的經典運動鞋時，

they are usually referring to America.

他們通常指的是美國。

The word sneaker is primarily American, 用詞

「Sneaker」這個詞主要在美式英語中使用，

and most websites that write on this topic are American.

並且撰寫這個話題的大多數網站都是美國的。

This does make some sense as the US is 文法

這確實有一定道理，因為美國是

the world's biggest sporting goods market.

世界上最大的體育用品市場。

Time Magazine created a list of the most important sneakers

《時代雜誌》評選出了一份歷史上

of all time.

最重要的運動鞋榜單。

This included Nike Air Jordan,

其中包括Nike Air Jordan、

Nike Air Max,

Nike Air Max、

Nike Cortez,

Nike Cortez、

Adidas Superstars,

Adidas Superstars、

and Adidas Stan Smith.

和Adidas Stan Smith。

Unfortunately, there is no definitive list of the best-selling sports shoes 片語搭配

遺憾的是，並沒有一份關於歷史上

of all time.

最暢銷運動鞋的確切榜單。

We'll let you debate what the best sneaker

我們就把史上最佳運動鞋

of all time is,

到底是誰的問題留給你們去爭論吧，

and perhaps you can come to an agreement. 片語搭配

也許你們能達成一致。

If you haven't already done so,

如果你還沒訂閱的話，

be sure to check out and subscribe

一定要去看看並訂閱

to our new YouTube channel called Fuzzy and Nuts.

我們名為Fuzzy and Nuts的新YouTube頻道。

This week, Fuzzy tries the hottest pepper

本週，Fuzzy嘗試了地球上

on Earth,

最辣的辣椒，

and the results are both hilarious and educational.

結果既搞笑又具有教育意義。

Tune in to see how Nuts gets him to eat it

敬請收看，看看Nuts是怎麼讓他吃下去的，

and how she ultimately gets her comeuppance. 慣用語

以及她最終是如何得到報應的。

Give it a watch and let us know what you think.

去看看吧，在留言區告訴我們你的想法。

See you next time.

下次見。