经济学人135:拉丁美洲的宠物护理业

 　　Business Pet care in Latin America Man's best amigo

　　商业 拉丁美洲的宠物护理业 人类最好的朋友
　　Profits from pooches are more than petty cash
　　从小狗身上挣到的，可不止是小钱
　　BLISS 1 spreads across Lalo's face as his glossy 2 black locks are blown dry by cooing stylists. Dogs big and small are beautified for 100 pesos ($7.70) in the back of a perspex-walled van run by Fluffy 3 Shower, a mobile pet-salon that visits Mexico City's posh neighbourhoods to apply shampoo and ribbons to upper-class animals. The sharpest dogs sport green, white and red jerseys 4 to mark Independence Day on September 16th. Next month pet boutiques will sell Halloween pumpkin 5 outfits 6 and dainty witches' hats.
　　小狗拉罗的脸庞看上去喜气洋洋，因为设计师一边对它轻柔细语，一边吹干了它乌黑亮泽的毛发。移动宠物沙龙Fluffy Shower的小货车的车身是有机玻璃做的，花上100比索（7.70美元），无论大狗小狗都可以在车上做美容；Fluffy Shower经常到访墨西哥城的富人社区，给上层阶级的宠物打上香波和缎带。为纪念9月16日的独立日，最机灵的狗狗要穿上绿白红相间的毛绒衫。下个月，宠物精品店将会出售万圣节南瓜套装和华丽的女巫帽子。
　　Pet care is booming in emerging markets, as the growing middle class stops buying dogs for security (or dinner) and starts doting 7 on them. Nowhere has the fashion taken off as quickly as in Latin America. In the past five years spending on pet food and knick-knacks has risen by 44%, to $11 billion, according to Euromonitor, a market-research firm, which estimates that Chile has more pet dogs per person than any other country. Latin pets may be the world's most fashionable. As Mexico's rainy season tails off, dogs are stepping out of designer shoes to show off painted claws.
　　宠物护理业在新兴市场蓬勃发展，因为发展壮大的中产阶层不再是为了看家（或烹饪）而买狗，并开始宠爱它们。没有哪个地方的宠物护理风潮比拉丁美洲腾飞更快。根据市场研究公司Euromonitor的数据，在过去5年中，拉美人在宠物食品和小饰品上的消费上升了44%，达到110亿美元之多；该公司估计，智利人均拥有宠物狗的数量居世界第一。拉美人的宠物可能是世界上最时尚的宠物。随着墨西哥城的雨季过去，狗狗们纷纷跨出设计师制作的鞋子，亮出自己脚爪上的彩绘。
　　Rising incomes allow Latinos to treat mutts as members of the family. More young people are living alone and putting off marriage, choosing pets for company instead. These "pet parents" indulge their animals as if they were children, says Emily Woon, Euromonitor's pet-care supremo, who reports that Latin America has been the "star market" of recent years. Latinos are especially fond of dogs, which are costlier 8 than cats, but superior in every respect. Whereas in Europe the dog- and cat-food markets are equal, in Latin America dog food outsells cat food by nearly six to one.
　　收入的增长让拉丁美洲人得以把狗当做家人对待。越来越多的年轻人选择独居并推迟婚姻，却选择了宠物来陪伴自己。Euromonitor的宠物护理专家艾米丽-伍恩认为，这些"宠物的父母"就像是自己的孩子一般溺爱宠物；她的报道称，拉美已经成为近年来的"明星市场"。拉美人特别喜欢犬类——虽然比猫要贵，但各方面都要更胜一筹。尽管在欧洲狗食和猫食的市场势均力敌，但拉美狗食的销量与猫食几乎是六比一的关系。
　　There is room for growth. Many Latinos still feed their pets table scraps 9: three-quarters of Mexican hounds make do with leftover 10 bits of burrito. Billboards 11 around Mexico City's parks urge owners to switch to Pedigree and other brands of delicious packaged pet food.
　　市场还有增长的空间——拉美人仍然喂自己的宠物吃桌上的残羹冷炙：四分之三的墨西哥猎犬将就着吃些饭后剩下的玉米煎饼。墨西哥城的公园被各种广告牌环绕，催促宠物主人改用Pedigree和其他品牌的成包销售的宠物美食。
　　Glitzy pet superstores, which account for more than a fifth of pet-product sales in America and Canada, barely exist south of the Rio Grande. The most popular outlets 12 are still small, independent pet shops, which retain customers by offering credit. But the superstores will come. And when Latin animal-lovers can buy a full range of food, toys and veterinary services in one place, life could become even more luxurious 13 for Mexico's privileged pets.
　　装饰豪华的大型宠物店在美国和加拿大占到宠物产品市场的五分之一以上，却几乎不存在于格兰德河（译者注：美国和墨西哥之间分界的河流）以南的地区。那边最流行的还是独立的小型宠物店，通过提供信贷的方式来留住顾客。但大型的宠物商店还是会来的。并且，等到拉美的动物爱好者能在一个地方买到全套的宠物食品、玩具和兽医服务时，墨西哥养尊处优的宠物们的生活甚至还会更加奢华。