<p>它有一些翻新的门店。它有一些时尚的新美容产品系列。也许最重要的是，随着亚历克斯·博尔多克的任命，它将很快拥有一位经验丰富的首席执行官，他知道如何扭转零售业务。</p>
<p>不难理解，为什么金融城对 Boots 以 70 亿英镑或更高的估值重返伦敦股市的前景感到兴奋。</p>
<p>然而，只有一个问题。英国零售业现在非常艰难，投资者信心非常脆弱。实际上，Boots 应该专注于改善其业绩——上市将不得不等一等。</p>
<p>有了博尔多克，Boots 无疑会得到一位知道如何扭转大型零售商的人。作为 Currys 的首席执行官，他因拯救该连锁店于加速衰退而受到赞誉。</p>
<p>他减少了门店数量，削减了成本，提升了在线业务，并强调服务、信贷和维修与销售同样重要。这并不是火箭科学，但它是有纪律的、专注的，并且取得了成果。</p>
<p>该公司的股价从 2024 年的低点翻了一番多，值得注意的是，在他离职的消息传出后，股价大幅下跌。Currys 的股东会想念他。</p>
<p>Boots 确实需要一个人来按下重置按钮。当然，它是英国高街上最熟悉的名字之一，拥有悠久的历史，追溯到诺丁汉的根源。它有一个值得信赖和熟悉的品牌。但当然，许多其他零售商也是如此。</p>
<p>WH Smith 以前的高街业务，现在名为 TJ Jones，似乎已经结束，而 British Home Stores 早已消失。Marks &amp; Spencer 在斯图尔特·马钦的领导下成功复苏，表现良好，还有一些迹象表明，约翰·刘易斯在其董事长杰森·塔里领导下开始复苏。</p>
<p>但与 Boots 同处辉煌时期的伟大名字大多已经消失。</p>
<p>Boots 经历了一系列不同的所有者，这并没有帮助。它在 2006 年与 Alliance Unichem 合并，2007 年被 KKR 收购，然后卖给了美国公司 Walgreens，去年又卖给了另一家私募股权公司 Sycamore Partners。</p>
<p>这是一段令人困惑的旅程，在许多方面，这个连锁店能够存活下来实属不易。</p>
<p>即便如此，否认它遭受了损失是没有意义的。门店缺乏投资，几乎没有长期规划，任何首席执行官都很难在这个连锁店上留下自己的印记。</p>
<p>它已经恢复了盈利，但博尔多克将面临一个重大挑战，要让它的增长速度达到应有的水平。</p>
<p>金融城的假设是，博尔多克被召来是为了让这家零售商恢复生机，改善业绩，找出增长故事，然后在 2027 年或 2028 年领导一次上市。新的所有者可以兑现他们的投资，而企业可以在振兴的领导下回归英国所有。</p>
<p>问题是，在接下来的两三年内，上市将非常困难。它面临四个重大障碍。</p>
<p>首先，伊朗的战争可能再次升级，加上石油短缺的迫在眉睫的威胁。当然，纽约的科技估值不断创下新高，但 Boots 并不属于这一类别。</p>
<p>其次，英国即将向左倾斜，可能会有新的首相和新的财政大臣。</p>
<p>我们已经对零售商施加了越来越多的税收，包括雇主的国民保险增加、更高的商业税、包装税，以及世界上最高的最低工资之一和额外的电力绿色税。</p>
<p>如果某家公司在支付了所有这些费用后奇迹般地赚到钱，工党后座议员会开始要求征收 “意外税”。英国已经成为一个非常非常难以盈利的地方。</p>
<p>第三，伦敦股市正在稳步衰退。公司不断退出市场——上周，Tate &amp; Lyle 因收购要约看起来将成为最新的退出者——但几乎没有公司来替代它们。</p>
<p>伦敦已经滑落到全球第八大市场，落后于台湾和韩国。它已经变成了一个偏僻的地方，吸引全球投资者的兴趣非常困难。他们更愿意把钱投入到能够更快增长的地方。</p>
<p>当然，除此之外，传统零售业仍然是一个结构性衰退的行业，尤其是它仍然面临来自互联网的激烈竞争。</p>
<p>在投资者对人工智能、太空和新兴市场感到兴奋的时刻，劝说他们将资金投入到南约克郡唐卡斯特或格洛斯特郡切尔滕纳姆的处方眼镜和维生素药店将非常困难。</p>
<p>如果股息设定得足够高，他们可能会喜欢。但这不会让任何人心跳加速。</p>
<p>事实是这样的。博尔多克显然是一位聪明的零售商。Boots 很幸运能有一位能够推动业务前进的首席执行官。然而，在这个阶段进行首次公开募股将非常困难。</p>
<p>这将消耗大量管理时间。诱惑将是通过压榨利润来美化业绩，而不是进行长期投资。</p>
<p>而且，考虑到伦敦市场目前的低迷，它甚至无法获得全部价值。</p>
<p>Boots 应该专注于重建品牌——重返股市现在只是一个干扰。</p>

<p>Boots 在吸引投资者进行潜在 70 亿英镑的股票市场回归方面面临重大挑战。尽管在曾成功振兴 Currys 的 Alex Baldock 的领导下，英国零售环境依然艰难，投资者信心脆弱。面临的障碍包括经济不稳定、税收增加、伦敦股市下滑以及传统零售的结构性衰退。虽然 Boots 已经恢复盈利，但在考虑上市之前，必须专注于增长，这一上市可能要到 2027 年或 2028 年才能实现</p>

<p>It has some revamped stores. It has some snazzy new ranges of beauty products. And perhaps most of all, with the appointment of Alex Baldock, it will soon have an experienced chief executive who knows how to turn around a retail business.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它有一些翻新的门店。它有一些时尚的新美容产品系列。也许最重要的是，随着亚历克斯·博尔多克的任命，它将很快拥有一位经验丰富的首席执行官，他知道如何扭转零售业务。</p>
</div><p>It is not hard to work out why the City is getting excited about the prospect of Boots returning to the London stock market with a value of £7bn or more.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>不难理解，为什么金融城对 Boots 以 70 亿英镑或更高的估值重返伦敦股市的前景感到兴奋。</p>
</div><p>There is just one snag, however. British retailing is a very tough business right now, and investor confidence is very fragile. In reality, Boots should focus on improving its performance – and a listing will have to wait.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>然而，只有一个问题。英国零售业现在非常艰难，投资者信心非常脆弱。实际上，Boots 应该专注于改善其业绩——上市将不得不等一等。</p>
</div><p>With Baldock, Boots will certainly be getting someone who knows how to turn around a massive retailer. As chief executive of Currys, he is credited with rescuing the chain from an accelerating decline.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>有了博尔多克，Boots 无疑会得到一位知道如何扭转大型零售商的人。作为 Currys 的首席执行官，他因拯救该连锁店于加速衰退而受到赞誉。</p>
</div><p>He cut down the number of stores, trimmed costs, promoted its online operation, and emphasised services, credit and repairs as much as sales. It was hardly rocket science, but it was disciplined, focused and it delivered results.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>他减少了门店数量，削减了成本，提升了在线业务，并强调服务、信贷和维修与销售同样重要。这并不是火箭科学，但它是有纪律的、专注的，并且取得了成果。</p>
</div><p>The company’s share price more than doubled from its 2024 low, and it was telling that it fell sharply on news of his departure. Currys shareholders will miss him.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>该公司的股价从 2024 年的低点翻了一番多，值得注意的是，在他离职的消息传出后，股价大幅下跌。Currys 的股东会想念他。</p>
</div><p>Boots certainly needs someone to press the reset button. Sure, it is one of the most familiar names on the British high street, with a rich heritage stretching back to its Nottingham roots. It has a trusted and familiar brand. But then, of course, so did plenty of other retailers.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>Boots 确实需要一个人来按下重置按钮。当然，它是英国高街上最熟悉的名字之一，拥有悠久的历史，追溯到诺丁汉的根源。它有一个值得信赖和熟悉的品牌。但当然，许多其他零售商也是如此。</p>
</div><p>WH Smith’s former high street business, now named TJ Jones, looks finished, while British Home Stores has long since disappeared. Marks &amp; Spencer has managed to claw its way back, and it is doing well again under Stuart Machin, and there are some signs that John Lewis, under Jason Tarry, its chairman, is starting to recover.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>WH Smith 以前的高街业务，现在名为 TJ Jones，似乎已经结束，而 British Home Stores 早已消失。Marks &amp; Spencer 在斯图尔特·马钦的领导下成功复苏，表现良好，还有一些迹象表明，约翰·刘易斯在其董事长杰森·塔里领导下开始复苏。</p>
</div><p>But the great names that stood alongside Boots in its heyday have mostly faded away.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>但与 Boots 同处辉煌时期的伟大名字大多已经消失。</p>
</div><p>It doesn’t help that Boots has been through a whole series of different owners. It merged with Alliance Unichem in 2006, before being bought out by KKR in 2007, then sold to Walgreens, a US company, which last year was sold to another private equity firm, Sycamore Partners.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>Boots 经历了一系列不同的所有者，这并没有帮助。它在 2006 年与 Alliance Unichem 合并，2007 年被 KKR 收购，然后卖给了美国公司 Walgreens，去年又卖给了另一家私募股权公司 Sycamore Partners。</p>
</div><p>It has been a confusing journey, and in many ways it is remarkable that the chain has survived at all.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>这是一段令人困惑的旅程，在许多方面，这个连锁店能够存活下来实属不易。</p>
</div><p>Even so, there is no point in denying that it has suffered. The stores have been starved of investment, there has been little in the way of long-term planning, and it has been hard for any of its chief executives to leave their mark on the chain.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>即便如此，否认它遭受了损失是没有意义的。门店缺乏投资，几乎没有长期规划，任何首席执行官都很难在这个连锁店上留下自己的印记。</p>
</div><p>It has returned to profitability, but Baldock will face a substantial challenge to get it growing as fast as it should do.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它已经恢复了盈利，但博尔多克将面临一个重大挑战，要让它的增长速度达到应有的水平。</p>
</div><p>The assumption in the City is that Baldock has been drafted to knock the retailer into shape, spruce up the results, figure out a growth story and then lead a stock market float sometime in 2027 or 2028. Its new owners can cash their investment, and the business can be returned to British ownership under revitalised leadership.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>金融城的假设是，博尔多克被召来是为了让这家零售商恢复生机，改善业绩，找出增长故事，然后在 2027 年或 2028 年领导一次上市。新的所有者可以兑现他们的投资，而企业可以在振兴的领导下回归英国所有。</p>
</div><p>The trouble is, it is going to be very hard to list this company at any time in the next two or three years. There are four big obstacles in its way.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>问题是，在接下来的两三年内，上市将非常困难。它面临四个重大障碍。</p>
</div><p>To start with, there is a war against Iran that might flare up again, along with the looming threat of oil shortages. Sure, tech valuations in New York keep hitting record highs, but Boots doesn’t fall into that category.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>首先，伊朗的战争可能再次升级，加上石油短缺的迫在眉睫的威胁。当然，纽约的科技估值不断创下新高，但 Boots 并不属于这一类别。</p>
</div><p>Next, Britain is about to lurch to the Left, with a new prime minister and possibly a new chancellor as well.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>其次，英国即将向左倾斜，可能会有新的首相和新的财政大臣。</p>
</div><p>We have already imposed more and more taxes on retailers, with an increase in National Insurance for employers, higher business rates, a packaging levy, on top of one of the highest minimum wages in the world and extra green levies on electricity.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>我们已经对零售商施加了越来越多的税收，包括雇主的国民保险增加、更高的商业税、包装税，以及世界上最高的最低工资之一和额外的电力绿色税。</p>
</div><p>If by some miracle a company manages to make any money after paying all those, Labour backbenchers would start demanding a “windfall” tax as well. The UK has become a very, very tough place to make any money.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>如果某家公司在支付了所有这些费用后奇迹般地赚到钱，工党后座议员会开始要求征收 “意外税”。英国已经成为一个非常非常难以盈利的地方。</p>
</div><p>Thirdly, the London stock market is steadily dying. There is a constant flow of companies leaving the market – with a takeover offer last week, Tate &amp; Lyle looks like it will be the latest addition to the list – but virtually none to replace them.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>第三，伦敦股市正在稳步衰退。公司不断退出市场——上周，Tate &amp; Lyle 因收购要约看起来将成为最新的退出者——但几乎没有公司来替代它们。</p>
</div><p>London has slipped to only the eighth largest market in the world, behind Taiwan and South Korea. It has turned into a backwater, and it is hard to get global investors very interested in it. They prefer to put their money somewhere where it can grow a lot faster.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>伦敦已经滑落到全球第八大市场，落后于台湾和韩国。它已经变成了一个偏僻的地方，吸引全球投资者的兴趣非常困难。他们更愿意把钱投入到能够更快增长的地方。</p>
</div><p>And of course on top of all that, traditional retailing remains an industry in structural decline, especially as it still faces intense competition from the internet.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>当然，除此之外，传统零售业仍然是一个结构性衰退的行业，尤其是它仍然面临来自互联网的激烈竞争。</p>
</div><p>At a time when investors are excited about AI, space and emerging markets, it is going to be hard to persuade them that what they really need to do is put their cash into shops selling prescription glasses and vitamin pills in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, or Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在投资者对人工智能、太空和新兴市场感到兴奋的时刻，劝说他们将资金投入到南约克郡唐卡斯特或格洛斯特郡切尔滕纳姆的处方眼镜和维生素药店将非常困难。</p>
</div><p>They might like the dividend if it is set high enough. But it is not going to quicken anyone’s pulse.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>如果股息设定得足够高，他们可能会喜欢。但这不会让任何人心跳加速。</p>
</div><p>The blunt truth is this. Baldock is clearly a smart retailer. Boots is lucky to have a chief executive who can drive the business forward. And yet an IPO at this stage is going to prove very hard.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>事实是这样的。博尔多克显然是一位聪明的零售商。Boots 很幸运能有一位能够推动业务前进的首席执行官。然而，在这个阶段进行首次公开募股将非常困难。</p>
</div><p>It would consume significant amounts of management time. The temptation would be to flatter the results by squeezing out profits when it should be investing for the long term.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>这将消耗大量管理时间。诱惑将是通过压榨利润来美化业绩，而不是进行长期投资。</p>
</div><p>And it won’t even get full value, given how depressed the London market is right now.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>而且，考虑到伦敦市场目前的低迷，它甚至无法获得全部价值。</p>
</div><p>Boots should focus on rebuilding the brand – a return to the stock market is just a distraction right now.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>Boots 应该专注于重建品牌——重返股市现在只是一个干扰。</p>
</div>

靴子对投资者来说将是一个非常难以销售的产品