每日英語跟讀 Ep.K528: About furniture - Website offers $1,000 to a couple willing to build IKEA furniture

Financial advice website FinanceBuzz is seeking a couple willing to test the strength of their bond by assembling IKEA furniture together this Valentine’s season.

在這個情人節，美國理財資訊網站FinanceBuzz正尋求一對願意藉由一起組裝宜家家居家具，測試兩人親密程度的伴侶。

The website said it is searching for an "IKEA DIY Duo" who would be given $1,000 IKEA Gift Card to purchase a bedroom set.

該網站表示，他們正在尋求一對「宜家家居自己動手做伴侶」，將給予兩人1000美元的宜家家居禮物卡，讓他們購買一整套臥室組合。

The couple would then be asked to assemble the furniture together and document the experience.

這對伴侶將被要求一起組裝家具，並記錄整個過程。

"Just you and your significant other, a wordless instruction manual and a hex key," the site said.

網站上說：「就只有你和你至關重要的另一半、一份沒有文字說明的示範手冊和一把內六角扳手。」

The winning couple will be awarded $1,000 for completing the task.

這對伴侶完成任務、拿下勝利後，將獲頒1000美元。

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Chinese retailers hijack the Ikea experience 中國零售商攔截宜家家居的品牌經驗

Nestled in a southern district of Kunming city in southwest China, is a 10,000 square meter, four-story building that could make Swedish furniture giant Ikea uneasy.

位於中國西南部昆明市南區的一棟面積達1萬平方公尺的4層樓建築物，很可能讓瑞典的家具業龍頭「宜家家居」感到不安。

11 Furniture, as the store is known, copies Ikea’s blue and yellow color scheme, mock-up rooms, miniature pencils, signage and even its rocking chair designs.

這間名為「11家具」的家具店直接拷貝宜家的藍黃兩色設計、模型房間、迷你鉛筆與標誌，甚至連宜家的搖椅設計也照抄不誤。

This knock-off Ikea store is emblematic of a new wave of piracy sweeping through China. Increasingly sophisticated counterfeiters no longer just pump out fake luxury handbags, DVDs and sports shoes but replicate the look, feel and service of successful Western retail concepts -- in essence, pirating the entire brand experience.

這間山寨版宜家家具店正象徵著中國目前掀起的全新仿冒風潮。手法愈來愈精緻的仿冒者不再只是迅速生產出假的名牌手提包、DVD和運動鞋，而是要全面複製西方成功零售業概念的外觀、風格與服務，基本上就是抄襲整個品牌經驗。

Many of the most successful consumer companies have invested millions in promoting and building brands which encapsulate ideals, values and aspirations, creating valuable and loyal customer bases that sometimes border on cults.

大多數成功的消費企業都已投注數百萬美元在推銷與建立品牌上，這些品牌可精簡傳達出企業理想、價值與未來遠景，創造出極有價值的忠實顧客基礎，有時甚至可能形成對品牌的崇拜。

The presence of the fake stores in Kunming highlights China’s seemingly insatiable appetite for western brands in some consumer segments that have not been tapped, particularly in smaller cities far from the affluent eastern seaboard.

昆明出現這些山寨商店，則凸顯出中國某些消費市場對西方品牌的胃口無法得到滿足，卻未獲有效開發，尤其是遠離富裕東部沿海地區的較小型城市。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1566042 ; https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/paper/514527