Case study: Tata

塔塔的故事

Case study: Tata

作者：英国埃克赛特大学商学院名誉高级研究员 摩根·威茨 为英国《金融时报》撰稿

The story. Tata is India’s oldest and largest private sector business entity. Founded in 1868, the group now consists of more than 100 companies, with a turnover of more than $70bn. It has a wide range of interests, with companies trading in fields as diverse as steel, cars and trucks, chemicals, IT consultancy, retailing and hotels.	塔塔集团(Tata)是印度历史最悠久、规模最大的私人企业集团，创建于1868年，现由100多家企业构成，营业额逾700亿美元，且涉猎广泛，从钢铁、汽车和卡车、化工、信息技术咨询、零售到酒店，各行各业均拥有业务。
The Tata group is highly decentralised, and member companies have great aut­onomy in terms of strategy and operations. The main instrument for unifying the group is the Tata corporate brand, which embodies values that are shared by all companies in the group.	塔塔集团权力高度分散，成员公司在战略和经营方面拥有极大的自主权。整个集团的核心凝聚力就是体现了旗下所有公司共享价值观的“塔塔”品牌。
However, not all the companies use the corporate brand in the same way. Many, such as Tata Beverages and Tata Motors, use the name and logo explicitly. However, even in India some companies in the group, such as Trent and Taj Hotels, do not use the Tata name. Taj Hotels also has its own brand mark.	不过，并非所有子公司使用塔塔品牌的方式都一样。塔塔饮料(Tata Beverages)和塔塔汽车(Tata Motors)等许多公司都明确使用了塔塔名称和商标。不过，即使是在印度，集团内的一些公司也不用塔塔名称，例如Trent和泰姬酒店(Taj Hotels)。泰姬酒店还拥有自己的商标。
This inconsistency is seen by the Tata group as less important than adherence to the group’s values. It was originally founded for the purpose of creating and spreading wealth in order to strengthen the Indian nation and economy.	在塔塔集团看来，相比这种不一致，坚持集团的价值观更重要。该集团最初成立的目的就是创造和传播财富，从而使印度民族和经济变得更加强大。
The challenge. Before 1991 the Tata group had few interests in the world outside India. Its brand identity was very strongly Indian, rooted in India’s culture and history. However, Ratan Tata, the group’s leader, believed this had to change. He felt that Tata’s future lay outside India, and that it should aspire to become a global company.	挑战。1991年以前，塔塔集团在印度以外地区几乎没有业务。其品牌置根于印度文化和历史，具有非常浓厚的印度特征。但塔塔集团董事长拉坦•塔塔(Ratan Tata)认为这种情况必须改变。他感到，塔塔的未来在印度之外，塔塔应该立志成为一家全球性企业。
But could a company with such a strong Indian identity succeed in establishing a global brand? And if so, what would be the disadvantages? There were – and still are – many in India who believed that the process of globalisation would change Tata and damage its values, turning it into just another big company that would be concerned only with profit. Others outside India wondered – and some still do – if western consumers in particular would really ac­cept the Tata brand.	但一家印度特征如此明显的企业能成功树立一个全球品牌吗？如果这样做的话，会有哪些劣 势？许多印度人曾认为——现在仍是如此——全球化进程会改变塔塔，损害其价值观，将其变为又一家只在乎利润的大企业。印度以外的人则想知道——现在仍有人 这样想——西方消费者是否真的会接受塔塔品牌。
Stepping out of India. Individual Tata companies began making small acquisitions outside India in the late 1990s. The first big acquisition was that of Tetley Tea, one of Britain’s leading tea brands, by Tata Tea (now Tata Beverages) in 2000. This acquisition went almost unnoticed. Later acquisitions, such as those of steelmaker Corus by Tata Steel in 2007 and Jaguar Land Rover by Tata Motors in 2008, were much more high-profile. Since 2005, there has been a steady stream of acquisitions in Europe, Asia and North America.	走出印度。上世纪90年代末，个别塔塔公司开始在印度以外进行小规模收购。第一宗大型 收购是2000年塔塔茶叶（Tata Tea，即现在的塔塔饮料）收购英国领先的茶叶品牌泰特莱(Tetley Tea)。这笔收购几乎无人注意。后来的收购要高调得多，例如2007年塔塔钢铁(Tata Steel)收购钢铁制造商哥鲁氏(Corus)，以及2008年塔塔汽车收购捷豹-路虎公司(Jaguar Land Rover)。2005年以来，塔塔在欧洲、亚洲和北美展开了一系列收购。
The pragmatic approach. Tata’s approach to handling the new acquisitions has been pragmatic. Conventional corporate branding theory suggests that all acquisitions should be branded with the corporate brand name and mark. GE, for example, applies the GE brand across the board to all new ventures and all new acquisitions.	务实策略。塔塔对待新的收购一直非常务实。在树立企业品牌方面，传统理论认为，所有的收购都应印打上收购方的品牌名称和商标。例如，通用电气(GE)对所有新成立和新收购的公司都使用GE品牌。
But Tata faced different pressures, and had to respond in a different way. The group had simultaneously to reassure its stakeholders in India that it was not about to abandon its traditional values in favour of global growth, and to reassure stakeholders in the companies it was acquiring outside India that their favourite brands would not be spoilt.	但塔塔面临的压力不同，必须用不同的方式应对。塔塔集团一方面安抚其印度股东，称自己不会为了全球增长而放弃传统价值观，同时又安抚它在国外收购的公司的股东，称不会毁掉他们喜爱的品牌。
Varied responses. In some sectors, Tata follows conventional wisdom. In 2010, after some hesitation, Tata Steel finally rebranded Corus as Tata Steel Europe. By common consent, Corus was not a particularly strong brand, and few mourned its passing.	多样化应对。在一些领域，塔塔遵循着传统智慧。2010年，经过一段时间的犹豫后，塔塔钢铁最终决定将哥鲁氏更名为塔塔钢铁欧洲公司(Tata Steel Europe)。人们一致认为哥鲁氏这个品牌实力不强，很少有人为它的完结感到遗憾。
Even so, there was some worry at Tata Steel as to what impact this rebranding might have on Corus’s reputation – and on that of Tata Steel in India, where there was concern over events such as the mothballing of the Corus plant at Redcar in the north-east of England, with some observers questioning whether Tata Steel was still a caring employer. Only after long thought did the move go ahead.	即便如此，塔塔钢铁内部仍有一些人担心，这种更名可能对哥鲁氏的声誉、乃至塔塔钢铁在 印度的声誉造成何种影响——在印度，人们对于塔塔钢铁封存哥鲁氏位于英格兰东北部雷德卡的工厂等事件表示关切，一些观察人士质问，塔塔钢铁是否仍是人道的 雇主。塔塔钢铁经过长时间的考虑，才迈出了这一步。
In contrast, Tetley has been part of the Tata group for 10 years, yet the Tetley brand remains independent in terms of its identity. A single discreet line on the packaging reminds consumers they are buying a Tata product. It might be thought that tea, being Indian in origin, could benefit from association with a celebrated Indian brand. But Tetley’s customers resolutely see it as British, and rebranding might compromise its image and reputation in their eyes.	相比之下，泰特莱加入塔塔集团已有10年，但泰特莱品牌仍保持着独立的身份。包装上一 行简朴的文字提示着消费者，他们正在购买的是一件塔塔产品。人们或许会认为，与一家知名印度品牌建立联系，会让原产于印度的泰特莱茶受益。但泰特莱的消费 者坚持将其视为一个英国品牌，更改品牌名称或许会损害泰特莱在他们眼中的形象和声誉。
The same is even more strongly the case with Jaguar and Land Rover, where Tata Motors has bluntly rejected the suggestion of rebranding either with the Tata name. These are old and famous brands, and Tata Motors thinks rebranding would des­troy value.	捷豹和路虎的例子更是如此。塔塔汽车断然拒绝了用塔塔给两者重新冠名的建议。两个品牌都历史悠久，声名远扬，塔塔汽车认为更名会毁了二者的价值。
Conclusions. Tata only re­brands its acquisitions when it is clear that such a rebranding will add value. This is not what conventional wisdom suggests. But a look at the group’s performance, even through a deep recession, suggests the pragmatic approach has worked in this case.	结论。塔塔只有在确定更名会增加价值的时候才会为被收购的企业更名。这并非传统智慧的建议。但看一看塔塔集团的表现——哪怕刚刚经历了如此严重的衰退——就会明白，在这一点上，务实策略起作用了。
The author is honorary senior fellow at the University of Exeter Business School, and author of Tata: The Evolution of a Corporate Brand	本文作者为英国埃克赛特大学商学院(University of Exeter Business School)名誉高级研究员，著有《Tata: The Evolution of a Corporate Brand》一书。
	译者/陈云飞