Apple Inc. is striking gold in an unlikely place: Japan.苹果公司(Apple Inc.)正在一个不大可能取得成功的市场高歌猛进，那就是日本。In the past two years, Japan has emerged as Apples fastest-growing region, far outpacing its home market and the booming economies of Greater China and the rest of Asia. Japan is also home to Apples biggest profit margins, and the only one of Apples five regions where operating profit grew in the past fiscal year.过去两年，日本已沦为苹果快速增长最慢的市场，苹果在日本的增长速度多达了在其本土市场和大中华等亚洲日益兴旺的经济体的增长速度。日本还是苹果获得仅次于利润率的市场，并且是苹果的五大市场中唯一一个在上一财政年度构建营业利润快速增长的市场。

That is surprising because Japan isnt most companies idea of a growth market. It has labored through two decades of economic malaise, and is saddled with a shrinking, aging population. Moreover, domestic firms that pride themselves on consumer electronics have kept foreign competitors at bay for decades.这一情况令人车祸，因为日本并不是多数企业的理想快速增长市场。日本早已经历了长约二十年的经济萧条时期，并且面对人口衰退和老龄化问题。此外数十年来以消费电子产品执著的日本公司在日本市场仍然遥遥领先于海外竞争者。The iPhone has propelled Apples success in Japan, supported by heavy marketing and rich subsidies from telephone companies. The iPhones cachet taps Japans fervor for brand-name goods, similar to how Japanese shoppers once flocked to Louis Vuitton bags and Burberry scarves.苹果在日本获得的顺利主要不受iPhone推展，大规模营销措施以及电话公司获取的可观补贴反对了iPhone在日本的销售。

iPhone的名气顺应了日本人对品牌的热衷，就像日本购物者曾追赶路易威登(Louis Vuitton)的手袋和巴宝莉(Burberry)的围巾一样。Apples brand is just overwhelming here, said Eiji Mori, a Tokyo-based analyst at BCN Inc. Its not about specifications. Its not about rationale. Its about owning an iPhone.BCN Inc.派驻东京的分析师Eiji Mori说道，苹果品牌在日本早已势不可挡，这与产品规格牵涉到，而在于对享有一部iPhone的渴求。Sales got another boost in late September when NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japans largest wireless carrier, began offering the iPhone for the first time to its 61.8 million customers. Even before that, the iPhone was Japans best-selling smartphone, with a 37% market share in the six months ended Sept. 30, according to Tokyos MM Research Institute. Thats comparable to the iPhones 36% share in the U.S. in the third quarter, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.9月末iPhone销量取得更进一步提振，因为日本仅次于的无线运营商NTT移动通讯(NTT DoCoMo Inc.)首次开始向其6,180万客户出售iPhone。据东京的MM Research Institute称之为，即便在那之前，iPhone就早已沦为日本最畅销的智能手机，截至9月30日的六个月iPhone在日本的市场份额已约37%。

据Kantar Worldpanel ComTech的数据，iPhone第三季度在美国的市场份额为36%。Apples iPad also garnered more than 50% of Japans tablet-computer market in the fiscal year ended March 2013, said MM Research.MM Research称之为，在截至2013年3月份的财年，苹果的iPad在日本平板电脑市场的市场份额已多达50%。As the last major Japanese operator to offer the iPhone, DoCoMo is aggressively discounting new models to lure users from competitors, while offering incentives to entice existing subscribers to switch from other phones.NTT移动通讯是最后一家参予出售iPhone的日本主要运营商，该公司正在乘机展开新款iPhone的广告宣传，以期从竞争对手手中抢走用户，该公司同时发售了更有现有用户以iPhone代替其他手机的广告宣传措施。According to Strategy Analytics, Japan was the worlds fourth-largest smartphone market in the first quarter of 2013, ranking behind China, the U.S. and India. As of the end of September, there were 50.15 million smartphone subscribers in Japan, said MM Research.据Strategy Analytics称之为，2013年第一季度日本是全球第四大智能手机市场，分列在中国、美国和印度之后。

据MM Research称之为，截至9月底，日本有5,015万智能手机用户。Two factors in the iPhones Japanese success are Japans wealth and the degree to which its phone market resembles the U.S., a postpaid market where the phones are subsidized by carriers and sold with multiyear contracts. The U.S. and Japan are unique in that sense, says Sanford C. Bernstein Co. analyst Toni Sacconaghi.iPhone在日本的顺利是由两大因素促使的：日本人的富足程度以及其手机市场与美国手机市场的相近程度（两者皆为后付费市场，运营商为手机获取补贴，并且所售手机附带多年合约）。Sanford C. Bernstein Co.的分析师萨科纳吉(Toni Sacconaghi)说道，这是美国和日本市场的独有之处。In markets where most consumers pay for the handset upfront, the iPhones big price tag damps sales.在多数消费者要预先收费来出售手机的市场，iPhone的便宜价格诱导了销售。

In China, the worlds largest smartphone market,Apples newest phones, the iPhone 5C and 5S, are roughly twice as expensive than what most consumers pay for a homegrown alternative with a larger screen. Research firm Canalys said Apple ranked fifth in Chinas smartphone market in the most recent quarter.在全球仅次于的智能手机市场中国，苹果新款手机iPhone 5C和iPhone 5S售价大约为多数消费者出售的屏幕更大的本土品牌智能手机价格的两倍。研究公司Canalys称之为，在最近一个季度，苹果在中国智能手机市场名列第五。Apple could get a lift if China Mobile Ltd., the countrys largest carrier, starts to roll out iPhones on its network. The Wall Street Journal had reported in September that the company was preparing to ship the handsets to the operator.如果中国仅次于的运营商中国移动有限公司(China Mobile Ltd., 全称：中国移动)开始销售终端其网络的iPhone，苹果在中国的销售可能会取得提振。

《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)曾在9月份报导称之为，苹果于是以打算向中国移动发货。One unique factor in Japan is the relatively small presence of Samsung Electronics Co., the worlds largest smartphone maker. Samsung ranks fourth in Japan behind Apple, Sony and Sharp Corp., in part because of a Japanese consumer bias that works against many Korean brands.日本市场的一个独有之处是，全球仅次于智能手机制造商三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)的市场份额比较较小。三星在日本市场名列第四，坐落于苹果、索尼和夏普公司(Sharp Co.)之后，这在一定程度上是因为日本消费者具备对许多韩国品牌有利的种族主义。

Apple also is benefiting from the struggles of Japans electronics conglomerates. NEC Corp. pulled the plug on its smartphone business earlier this year, while Panasonic said in September that it plans to stop producing smartphones for mainstream consumers.日本电子行业巨头的困局也令其苹果获益。日本电气公司(NEC Corporation)在今年早些时候完结了该公司的智能手机业务，松下电器产业公司(Panasonic co.)则在9月份回应，计划暂停生产针对主流消费者的智能手机。

Apples sales in Japan grew 27% to $13.5 billion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 28, compared with increases of 12.8% and 4.1% in China and the rest of Asia Pacific, respectively. Revenue growth was hampered by a weaker yen that diminishes sales when converted into U.S. dollars. In the preceding fiscal year, Japan outpaced the other regions with a 94% increase in sales.截至9月28日的财年苹果在日本的销量快速增长27%，至135亿美元，同期苹果在中国和亚太其他地区的销量分别快速增长12.8%和4.1%。苹果在日本的收益快速增长因日元升值受到诱导，日元升值令其苹果转换成美元的销售额大跌。

在此前财年，苹果在日本的销量快速增长94%，增长速度多达了其他地区。Japan is also the most profitable market for Apple with operating profit margins exceeding 50%, compared with 35% in the rest of the world.日本还是苹果最有利可图的市场，苹果在日本市场的营业利润率多达50%，低于其在全球其他地区35%的营业利润率。

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