出版商要扩张要做大规模 方能抵御亚马逊

InefficiencyisnotaqualityusuallyassociatedwithAmazonbutJeffBezos’scompanyisbehavingasifitisasmall,disorganiseedbookstorethatcannotquitecontrolitsstock.“Youwantthatbook,doyou?Verysorrybutwehaverunout.Wecanorderyouanothercopybuttheyaretakingalongtimetoarriveatthemoment.Howaboutbuyinganothertitleinstead?”“低效”与亚马逊(Amazon)通常沾不上边，但杰夫8226;贝索斯(JeffBezos)的这家公司现在却表现得像一家组织混乱、库存控制不力的小书店。“你想买那本书是吗？不好意思，库存没货。我们可以为您预订一本，但要花很长时间才能送到。要不买本别的书吧？”Itisaruse,ofcourse.WhenAmazontellsitsUScustomersthatTheSilkworm,thenewnovelbyRobertGalbraith,apseudonymforJKRowling,is“currentlyunavailable”,itisnottellingthetruth.WhatitmeansisthatitisnotmakingthebookavailableforpreorderbecauseitispublishedbyHachette,fromwhichAmazonistryingtoforcediscounts.这当然是骗人。亚马逊告诉美国顾客，罗伯特8226;加尔布雷思（RobertGalbraith，J8226;K8226;罗琳(JKRowling)的笔名）的小说新作《蚕》(TheSilkworm)“目前无货”，说的不是实话。亚马逊的真实意思是，它不会预售该书，因为这本书由Hachette出版，而亚马逊正在试图迫使该出版社提供折扣。ThisisthemomentpublishershavefearedsincetheylostanantitrustcaseintheUSandEuropelastyear.“Theywereconcernedthat,shouldAmazoncontinuetodominatethesaleofebookstoconsumers,itwouldstarttodemandlowerwholesaleprices,”wroteDeniseCote,theUSdistrictjudge.SheruledthatthepublishershadconspiredwithAppletoraisebookpricesinitsstore.出版商们自从去年在美国和欧洲输掉一桩反垄断官司以来，便对这种场景忧心忡忡。“它们担心，如果亚马逊继续垄断电子书的销售，它将开始要求降低批发价格，”美国地区法官丹尼丝8226;科特(DeniseCote)写道。她裁定，出版商与苹果(Apple)合谋提高苹果商店里的电子书价格。Byformingablatantcartel,the“bigsix”publishersandApplebotchedtheirefforttoresistAmazon’sdominanceofebookswiththeKindle.Itmadethestrangestantitrustcasesofrecentyears–theUSgovernmentandtheEuropeanCommissionrushingtotheaidofanemergingmonopolist.因为组成的同业联盟太过明目张胆，“六大”出版商和苹果在抵抗亚马逊通过Kindle垄断电子书的斗争中马失前蹄。此案成为近年来最奇怪的反垄断案件之一——美国政府和欧盟委员会(EuropeanCommission)竟然急着去帮助一家正在崛起的垄断企业。MrBezosoncesuggestedthatAmazontreatsmallpublishers“thewayacheetahwouldpursueasicklygazelle”,wroteBradStoneinTheEverythingStore,hiscorporatebiography.Hachetteisoneofthesmallerbigfive–reducedfromsixbythePenguin-RandomHousemerger–andisvulnerable.布拉德8226;斯通(BradStone)在亚马逊公司传记《一网打尽》(TheEverythingStore)中写道，贝索斯曾提出，亚马逊应像“猎豹追逐羸弱的瞪羚”那样对待小出版商。Hachette是“五大”（原本为六大，因为企鹅(Penguin)与兰登书屋(RandomHouse)的合并而减少为五大）出版商中较小的一家，容易受到亚马逊的冲击。IhavemixedfeelingsaboutAmazon.MrBezoshascreatedaremarkablecompanywhosedevotiontopleasingcustomersandcuttingpricesputscompetitorstoshame.Itreimaginedwhatretailingshouldbelike,notjustbyputtingitonline,butbymakingiteasier.我对亚马逊爱恨交加。贝索斯创办了一家出色的公司，它对满足顾客和减价的执着令竞争对手汗颜。它重新塑造了零售业，不仅实现了在线零售，还让零售变得更方便。HealsocutthroughthefumblingsofrivalssuchasSonyincreatingtheKindle.ItdidnotovertaketheSonyReaderandtheNookmerelybecauseofAmazon’smarketingpowerandmanufacturingefficiency.Itisasuperiordeviceandislinkedtoabrilliant(whenMrBezosletsitwork)onlinestore.贝索斯还打造了Kindle，从索尼(Sony)等竞争对手的笨拙产品中脱颖而出。Kindle之所以超过索尼阅读器和Nook，不只是因为亚马逊的营销能力和生产效率。Kindle性能优越，并与优秀的在线商店（当贝索斯让其正常运转的时候就是优秀的）相连接。Despiteitscurrenttactics,Amazonhasbeenaprofitablepartnertopublishers–bringinginnovationtoabusinessofcustomandpractice.“Amazonisthepublishers’bestaccount.Itofferstremendousvolumewithnoreturns[ofunsoldbooks]andpreorderinghelpsthemputtheirbooksonbestsellerlistsondayone,”saysMikeShatzkin,aconsultant.虽然目前采取了不友好的策略，但亚马逊一直能为出版商创造丰厚的利润，为一个以规矩和惯例著称的行业带来创新。顾问迈克8226;沙茨金(MikeShatzkin)表示：“亚马逊是出版商的最佳客户。它销量巨大，不会退货（未售出书籍），并且可以通过预售让出版商的书从第一天就登上畅销书排行榜。”Butitisdisturbinglyruthless,withahardlydisguisedambitiontoforceothersuppliersandintermediaries–includingpublishersandbookstores–outofbusiness.Itisamachineforsqueezingmargins,8201;includingitsown,tonear-zeroinordertocutprices.但亚马逊的冷酷令人不安，它也毫不掩饰自己的雄心：将其他供应商和中间商——包括出版商和书店——挤出这块业务。亚马逊变成了一台机器，为了削减价格，将利润（包括它自己的）挤压到接近于零的水平。Thesemarginsincludenotonlypublishers’profitsbutroyaltiesandadvancestoauthors,whichhavebeenfalling.“Thisisapunitive,vindictive,viciousanti-culturecompany,”saysAndrewWylie,theauthors’agent.“Ifitdoesn’tlikethewaynegotiationsaregoing,itpunishesthepublishersandreaders.Idon’tunderstandwhythisisnotsubjecttolegalredress.”这不仅包括出版商的利润，还包括作者获得的版税和预付金——这些收入也在下降。“亚马逊是一家苛刻、小气、恶毒、反文化的公司，”作家经纪人安德鲁8226;威利(AndrewWylie)表示，“如果它不喜欢谈判的走向，便惩罚出版商和读者。我不理解这种行为为何没有被绳之以法。”ThereliesAmazon’sadvantage–itneednotformacarteltosqueezeitssuppliersbecauseitisalreadylarge.Witha30percentshareofthephysicalbookmarketintheUSandmorethan60percentofebooks,itclearlyhasmarketpowerintheantitrustsense.ButtherehasneverbeenacaseinUScompetitionlawofasinglecompanybeingdeclaredanillegalmonopsonist.这是亚马逊的优势所在——它不需要组成同业联盟来压榨供应商，因为它的规模已经够大。亚马逊占据了美国纸质书市场30%的份额和电子书市场逾60%的份额，从反垄断的角度来说，它无疑具有市场权力。但在美国反垄断法的历史上，从未有单独一家公司被宣布为非法买方垄断者的案例。“IntheUS,thesimpleusebyonecompanyofmonopsonypowertoextractlowerpricesfromsuppliersisnotillegal.Thereisgeneralintuitionthatbuyerpowermeanslowerpricesandlowerpricesaregood,”saysJonathanJacobson,anantitrustlawyeratWilson,Sonsini,Goodrich&RosatiinNewYork.“在美国，一家公司利用买方垄断使供应商降低价格，不构成非法行为。一般的看法是，买方权力意味着低价，而低价是有利的，”纽约威尔逊8226;桑西尼8226;古奇8226;罗沙迪律师事务所(Wilson,Sonsini,Goodrich&Rosati)反垄断律师乔纳森8226;雅各布森(JonathanJacobson)表示。Amazonmaybebreakingthelawwithadeceptivesalespractice–tellingitscustomersthatHachettebooksintheUS(andBonnierbooksinGermany,whereitiswagingasimilarcampaign)are“unavailable”whentheycanbeboughtquicklyfromitscompetitors.Intermsofantitrustlaw,however,thebiggestforceinbooksissecure.亚马逊的欺骗性销售手段可能违法——它告诉顾客，Hachette的图书在美国“无货”（还有邦尼(Bonnier)的图书在德国也是如此——亚马逊使用了同样的手段），但顾客却能在竞争对手那里轻而易举地买到。不过，就反垄断法而言，亚马逊这家图书领域的龙头企业是安全的。Thereisamoralforpublishers:getbigger.PenguinhasmergedwithRandomHouse(Pearson,theowneroftheFinancialTimes,holdsa47percentstakeinPenguinRando