<p>它將英國的精釀啤酒帶入了全球市場。它依靠小型、忠誠的私人投資者來推動其增長。同時，它也在動搖大型啤酒公司的舒適寡頭壟斷。回顧幾年前，BrewDog 是過去 20 年中從英國崛起的最聰明的公司之一。</p>
<p>現在它被掛牌出售，容易將其失敗歸咎於財政大臣和對酒吧及釀酒廠造成重創的懲罰性税收。</p>
<p>然而實際上，BrewDog 是自我毀滅的作者。從有毒的工作文化到貪婪的短期財務工程，它毀掉了自己——可悲的是，另一家有前途的英國公司未能將自己轉變為全球業務。</p>
<p>表面上看，BrewDog 似乎是 Rachel Reeves 不懈決心的又一受害者，她試圖對長期受苦的酒吧徵收儘可能多的税，以及在經濟停滯的情況下，人們難以承擔一杯啤酒的價格，更不用説外出就餐了。</p>
<p>在掛牌出售時，這家釀酒和酒吧連鎖公司將其困境歸咎於 “具有挑戰性的經濟環境”，以及對酒精和酒吧徵收的額外税收所造成的 “逆風”。</p>
<p>在過去幾年中，BrewDog 虧損不斷，去年在銷售 3.57 億英鎊的情況下，虧損高達 3700 萬英鎊，現在公司已任命重組專家 Alix Partners 來幫助尋找解決方案。</p>
<p>它幾乎肯定會被整體或分拆出售。過去 20 年中最耀眼的英國初創公司之一將要麼完全消失，要麼融入某個平淡無奇的大型釀酒商。</p>
<p>這真是一個巨大的失望。BrewDog 由 James Watt 和 Martin Dickie 於 2007 年創立，至少在頭十年裏，它是英國企業家精神的典範。它乘着精釀啤酒的熱潮，通過巧妙的社交媒體為自己贏得了大量免費宣傳，並利用眾籌來融資擴張，而不是依賴銀行或股市。</p>
<p>它大膽而前衞，某些噱頭可能有些讓人尷尬，但它也充滿新鮮感、創新性和活力。像 Elvis Juice 和 Punk IPA 這樣的啤酒是別具一格的。</p>
<p>它的熱情支持者，確實包括許多投入資金的所謂 “股權朋克”，可能希望它能成為 AB InBev、喜力和卡爾斯堡等公司的挑戰者。</p>
<p>但現在，這一切看起來都將化為泡影。Watt 已經離開公司，它正在虧損，而其私募股權股東 TSG Capital 實際上已經要求出售它。</p>
<p>存在兩個大問題。關於有毒工作文化的指控，員工抱怨工作時間過長和性別歧視，這些都對公司提出了指控。</p>
<p>在此之後，Watt 和他的聯合創始人都離開了公司。這是重要的。如果你要成為挑戰現狀的精明企業家，就需要讓員工和客户支持你。他們將始終是你品牌最忠誠的倡導者。</p>
<p>無論對 Watts 和其他管理層的指控是對是錯，這些爭吵都損害了品牌。BrewDog 開始變成了另一個無臉的企業釀酒商。</p>
<p>更嚴重的是與 TSG 簽署的交易性質。該公司在 2017 年向業務注入了 2.13 億英鎊，以換取 21% 的股份。</p>
<p>在一項非常不尋常的交易中，該公司堅持要求一項條款，保證其投資的複合年回報率為 18%。可以説，這筆錢即使在私募股權的標準下也是昂貴的。</p>
<p>當然，這讓創始人成為百萬富翁，避免了上市，但最終導致公司積累了超過 8 億英鎊的債務，這在其核心英國市場停滯的情況下幾乎是一個不可能承受的負擔。</p>
<p>那些本應得到更好待遇的 “股權朋克” 可能會在公司被出售時被拋棄，如果酒吧和釀酒廠不得不關閉或縮減，員工也會如此。</p>
<p>一個本應以不同方式運作的公司，最終像許多有前途的初創公司一樣，成為了過度炒作和複雜財務工程的受害者。</p>
<p>與此同時，Watts 正在忙於將自己打造成創業導師，計劃製作自己的《龍的巢穴》風格的真人秀節目。在精力、活力和膽略方面，他有很多東西可以教人，公平地説，這些都是創辦公司的重要品質。</p>
<p>但你還需要一個長期願景和決心去打持久戰。最終，BrewDog 是私募股權行業和創始人貪婪的受害者，他們似乎更關心快速致富，而不是耐心地建立一家大公司。</p>
<p>英國在釀酒方面有着豐富的傳統。精釀釀酒商正在為新世紀重新定義這一傳統。BrewDog 是這一繁榮中嶄露頭角的最耀眼明星。</p>
<p>在短暫的時刻，它有機會將自己轉變為一個主要的新全球品牌。如果從它可能的滅亡中有一個教訓，那就是作為一個國家，我們仍然有能力培養出優秀的企業家。然而，正如往常一樣，將其轉化為持久的成功似乎是不可能的——直到這一點開始改變，英國將不會產生應有的許多重大新公司。</p>

BRBL

波士頓啤酒

EATZ

食品飲料 ETF - PowerShares

<p>BrewDog 曾是一家領先的英國精釀啤酒公司，因不斷增加的虧損和有毒的工作文化面臨潛在出售。該公司成立於 2007 年，依靠創新和眾籌蓬勃發展，但目前卻面臨着 8 億英鎊的債務負擔和性別歧視的指控。公司將其困境歸咎於嚴峻的經濟環境和增加的税收。聯合創始人詹姆斯·瓦特（James Watt）和馬丁·迪基（Martin Dickie）已離開，BrewDog 的未來懸而未決，面臨失去其獨特品牌身份和忠實支持者的風險</p>

<p>It took British craft beers into the global market. It relied on small, committed, private investors to fuel its growth. And it was shaking up the cosy oligopoly of big beer. Rewind just a few years and BrewDog was one of the smartest companies to emerge from Britain over the last 20 years.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它將英國的精釀啤酒帶入了全球市場。它依靠小型、忠誠的私人投資者來推動其增長。同時，它也在動搖大型啤酒公司的舒適寡頭壟斷。回顧幾年前，BrewDog 是過去 20 年中從英國崛起的最聰明的公司之一。</p>
</div><p>Now that it has been put up for sale, it would be easy to blame the Chancellor and the punishing tax rises that have hammered pubs and breweries for its downfall.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>現在它被掛牌出售，容易將其失敗歸咎於財政大臣和對酒吧及釀酒廠造成重創的懲罰性税收。</p>
</div><p>Yet in reality, BrewDog was the author of its own demise. From a toxic work culture to greedy, short-term financial engineering, it ruined itself – and sadly another promising British company has been unable to turn itself into a global business.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>然而實際上，BrewDog 是自我毀滅的作者。從有毒的工作文化到貪婪的短期財務工程，它毀掉了自己——可悲的是，另一家有前途的英國公司未能將自己轉變為全球業務。</p>
</div><p>On the surface, BrewDog is yet another victim of Rachel Reeves’s relentless determination to impose as many taxes as she can think of on longer-suffering pubs, as well as a stagnant economy where people are struggling to afford the price of a pint, never mind a meal out.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>表面上看，BrewDog 似乎是 Rachel Reeves 不懈決心的又一受害者，她試圖對長期受苦的酒吧徵收儘可能多的税，以及在經濟停滯的情況下，人們難以承擔一杯啤酒的價格，更不用説外出就餐了。</p>
</div><p>As it put itself up for sale, the brewing and pub chain blamed a “challenging economic climate”, as well as the “headwinds” created by extra taxes on alcohol and pubs for the mess it finds itself in.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在掛牌出售時，這家釀酒和酒吧連鎖公司將其困境歸咎於 “具有挑戰性的經濟環境”，以及對酒精和酒吧徵收的額外税收所造成的 “逆風”。</p>
</div><p>After making mounting losses for the last few years, including an alarming £37m on sales of £357m last year, the company has now appointed the restructuring experts Alix Partners to help find a solution for the business.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在過去幾年中，BrewDog 虧損不斷，去年在銷售 3.57 億英鎊的情況下，虧損高達 3700 萬英鎊，現在公司已任命重組專家 Alix Partners 來幫助尋找解決方案。</p>
</div><p>It looks almost certain to be sold off, either as a whole or in pieces. One of the brightest British start-ups of the last two decades will either disappear completely or vanish into one of the bland mega-brewers.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它幾乎肯定會被整體或分拆出售。過去 20 年中最耀眼的英國初創公司之一將要麼完全消失，要麼融入某個平淡無奇的大型釀酒商。</p>
</div><p>That is a huge disappointment. Founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, BrewDog was, for the first decade at least, an example of British entrepreneurship at its finest. It rode the boom in craft beers, generated plenty of free coverage for itself through clever social media and used crowdfunding to finance its expansion instead of the banks or the stock market.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>這真是一個巨大的失望。BrewDog 由 James Watt 和 Martin Dickie 於 2007 年創立，至少在頭十年裏，它是英國企業家精神的典範。它乘着精釀啤酒的熱潮，通過巧妙的社交媒體為自己贏得了大量免費宣傳，並利用眾籌來融資擴張，而不是依賴銀行或股市。</p>
</div><p>It was brash, and some of the stunts might have been a little cringe-making, yet it was also fresh, innovative and full of energy. Beers such as Elvis Juice and Punk IPA were something different.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它大膽而前衞，某些噱頭可能有些讓人尷尬，但它也充滿新鮮感、創新性和活力。像 Elvis Juice 和 Punk IPA 這樣的啤酒是別具一格的。</p>
</div><p>Its more enthusiastic backers, and indeed many of the so-called “equity punks” who put money into the business, might have hoped it would emerge as a challenger to the likes of AB InBev, Heineken and Carlsberg.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它的熱情支持者，確實包括許多投入資金的所謂 “股權朋克”，可能希望它能成為 AB InBev、喜力和卡爾斯堡等公司的挑戰者。</p>
</div><p>Right now, that all looks as if it is about to turn to dust. Watt has already left the company, it is losing money and its private equity shareholder, TSG Capital, has effectively demanded that it be sold off.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>但現在，這一切看起來都將化為泡影。Watt 已經離開公司，它正在虧損，而其私募股權股東 TSG Capital 實際上已經要求出售它。</p>
</div><p>There were two big problems. Allegations of a toxic work culture, with the staff complaining about punishing hours and rampant sexism were made against the business.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>存在兩個大問題。關於有毒工作文化的指控，員工抱怨工作時間過長和性別歧視，這些都對公司提出了指控。</p>
</div><p>In the wake of that, both Watt and his co-founder left the company. That mattered. If you are going to be the savvy entrepreneurial insurgent taking on the establishment, then you need to keep your staff and the customers on board. They will always be the most loyal advocates of your brand.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在此之後，Watt 和他的聯合創始人都離開了公司。這是重要的。如果你要成為挑戰現狀的精明企業家，就需要讓員工和客户支持你。他們將始終是你品牌最忠誠的倡導者。</p>
</div><p>Whatever the rights or wrongs of the allegations made against Watts and the rest of the management, the rows trashed the brand. BrewDog started to turn into just another faceless corporate brewer.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>無論對 Watts 和其他管理層的指控是對是錯，這些爭吵都損害了品牌。BrewDog 開始變成了另一個無臉的企業釀酒商。</p>
</div><p>Even more serious was the nature of the deal signed with TSG. The firm injected £213m into the business back in 2017 in return for a 21pc stake.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>更嚴重的是與 TSG 簽署的交易性質。該公司在 2017 年向業務注入了 2.13 億英鎊，以換取 21% 的股份。</p>
</div><p>In a highly unusual deal, the firm insisted on a clause guaranteeing an 18pc compounded rate of return on its investment. It was, to put it politely, expensive money even by the standards of private equity.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在一項非常不尋常的交易中，該公司堅持要求一項條款，保證其投資的複合年回報率為 18%。可以説，這筆錢即使在私募股權的標準下也是昂貴的。</p>
</div><p>Sure, it turned the founders into multimillionaires and avoided a stock market float, but eventually it led to the company accumulating debts of more than £800m, an almost impossible burden for it to carry in the climate when its core British market has stagnated.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>當然，這讓創始人成為百萬富翁，避免了上市，但最終導致公司積累了超過 8 億英鎊的債務，這在其核心英國市場停滯的情況下幾乎是一個不可能承受的負擔。</p>
</div><p>The “equity punks”, who surely deserved a lot better, may well be hung out to dry if the business is sold off, and so will the staff if pubs and breweries have to be closed or slimmed down.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>那些本應得到更好待遇的 “股權朋克” 可能會在公司被出售時被拋棄，如果酒吧和釀酒廠不得不關閉或縮減，員工也會如此。</p>
</div><p>A company that was meant to be doing things differently has ended up, like so many promising start-ups before it, as a victim of too much hype and over-complicated financial engineering.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>一個本應以不同方式運作的公司，最終像許多有前途的初創公司一樣，成為了過度炒作和複雜財務工程的受害者。</p>
</div><p>Watts meanwhile, is busily turning himself into an entrepreneurship guru with plans for his own Dragon’s Den-style reality TV show. In terms of energy, verve and chutzpah, he has plenty to teach people, and, in fairness, those are all important qualities when founding a company.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>與此同時，Watts 正在忙於將自己打造成創業導師，計劃製作自己的《龍的巢穴》風格的真人秀節目。在精力、活力和膽略方面，他有很多東西可以教人，公平地説，這些都是創辦公司的重要品質。</p>
</div><p>But you also need a long-term vision and a determination to play the long game. In the end, BrewDog was a victim of the greed of both the private equity industry and the founders, who seemed more interested in getting rich quickly than patiently building a major business.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>但你還需要一個長期願景和決心去打持久戰。最終，BrewDog 是私募股權行業和創始人貪婪的受害者，他們似乎更關心快速致富，而不是耐心地建立一家大公司。</p>
</div><p>Britain has a rich heritage in brewing. The craft brewers were reinventing that for a new century. BrewDog was the brightest star to emerge from that boom.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>英國在釀酒方面有着豐富的傳統。精釀釀酒商正在為新世紀重新定義這一傳統。BrewDog 是這一繁榮中嶄露頭角的最耀眼明星。</p>
</div><p>For a brief moment, it had the opportunity to turn itself into a major new global brand. If there is a lesson from its likely demise, it is that as a country, we still have the ability to produce great entrepreneurs. Yet as so often, it has proved impossible to transform that into lasting success – and until that starts to change, the UK will not generate nearly as many major new companies as it should.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在短暫的時刻，它有機會將自己轉變為一個主要的新全球品牌。如果從它可能的滅亡中有一個教訓，那就是作為一個國家，我們仍然有能力培養出優秀的企業家。然而，正如往常一樣，將其轉化為持久的成功似乎是不可能的——直到這一點開始改變，英國將不會產生應有的許多重大新公司。</p>
</div>

BrewDog 是導致自身衰落的原因