It has been nearly half a year now since Tim Hortons signed deal with Cartisian Capital to expand their venues to China. According to the Huffington Post, in July, the Canadian coffee giant was slated to open up to 1,500 stores across Asia in 2019. However, no more news has been released since then regarding the details of the plan, the first opening, the location of the flagship store, or anything, for that matter.
自Tim Hortons与Cartisian Capital签署将场地拓展至中国的协议以来，已经过去了近半年的时间。据《赫芬顿邮报》报道，今年 7 月，这家加拿大咖啡巨头计划 2019 年在亚洲开设 1,500 家门店。然而，此后就没有更多关于计划细节、首家开业、旗舰店选址等消息。
There are also those suspicious whether the company has halted the expansion plan due to escalating political tensions between China and Tim Hortons’ home of Canada.
还有人怀疑该公司是否因中国与蒂姆·霍顿斯家乡加拿大之间政治紧张局势升级而停止了扩张计划。
Politics aside, Tim Hortons is late to the game and faces challenges from a slew of competitors, such as Starbucks, McDonald’s, and the Chinese digital brand, Luckin Coffee. While it is hard to compete with the ubiquitous Starbucks and its inveterate reputation, Tim Hortons’s fatal disadvantage resides in being unfamiliar with the Chinese e-commerce culture. Unlike a majority of North American customers who still prefer to pop into a store or stop by a drive-thru, the Chinese proclivity for online ordering is so prevalent that it has changed the business landscape.
抛开政治因素不谈，蒂姆·霍顿斯 (Tim Hortons) 起步较晚，并面临着星巴克、麦当劳和中国数字品牌瑞幸咖啡等众多竞争对手的挑战。虽然很难与无处不在的星巴克及其根深蒂固的声誉竞争，但Tim Hortons的致命劣势在于不熟悉中国的电子商务文化。与大多数仍然喜欢走进商店或路过得来速的北美顾客不同，中国人在线订购的倾向如此普遍，以至于改变了商业格局。
The Internet model is not only convenient for consumers, but cost-effective for vendors, who have gradually freed themselves from the burden of skyrocketing rents. Take Luckin Coffee as an example. The Chinese local brand rose in an Internet frenzy that has seized China’s coastal cities in less than half a year. Applying a branding strategy that entails a combination of lower price, around-the-clock coupons, fast delivery service as well as brick-and-mortar stores, Luckin Coffee had charmed over 1.3m coffee lovers into downloading its App by the time Tim Hortons announced its expansion plan to Asia.
互联网模式不仅方便了消费者，对于商户来说也划算，商户也逐渐摆脱了飞涨的房租负担。以瑞幸咖啡为例。这个中国本土品牌在互联网热潮中崛起，不到半年的时间席卷了中国沿海城市。当 Tim Hortons 宣布其亚洲扩张计划时，瑞幸咖啡采用了结合较低价格、全天候优惠券、快速配送服务以及实体店的品牌战略，吸引了超过 130 万咖啡爱好者下载其应用程序。
By contrast, Tim Hortons’ current Apps, featuring only everyday menus and top-picks, has a long way to go if the company is serious about having a chance in the digitised, Chinese market.
相比之下，Tim Hortons 目前的应用程序仅提供日常菜单和热门精选，如果该公司真的想在数字化的中国市场获得机会，那么它还有很长的路要走。
In addition, it remains unclear whether the Oakville, Ontario-based firm could withstand the test of the local taste buds. However unfamiliar to the Chinese ear, the Canadian coffee chain emblematises a national identity, and whose signature drink; “double-double”, literally double cream, double sugar; has served Canadians as their taste of home. But for many Asians, the drink is saccharine. While it is possible to customise a “double-double” to a “single-single”, some iced, sugary drinks are pre-mixed and unable to be tailored to personal preferences.
此外，目前还不清楚这家总部位于安大略省奥克维尔的公司能否经受住当地味蕾的考验。无论对中国人来说多么陌生，这家加拿大咖啡连锁店象征着一个国家的身份，其招牌饮料； “double-double”，字面意思是双份奶油、双份糖；为加拿大人提供了家的味道。但对于许多亚洲人来说，这种饮料是糖精的。虽然可以将“双倍”定制为“单倍”，但一些冰镇含糖饮料是预先混合的，无法根据个人喜好定制。
Meanwhile, more like McDonald’s, Tim Hortons operates at a lower price with kitchen that serve hot food, which could be an advantage over competitors such as Starbucks, and an embarrassment.
与此同时，Tim Hortons 更像麦当劳，经营价格较低，厨房提供热食，这可能是相对于星巴克等竞争对手的优势，但也令人尴尬。
Some 25-plus years ago, when McDonald’s first landed in China, sales was abysmal. The company then incorporated flavours more adept to the local palate and the strategy that blended Mickey D’s image into the Chinese mainstream. Only then did it gradually establish itself as a fast food giant in the Middle Kingdom.
大约25年前，麦当劳首次登陆中国时，销量惨淡。随后，该公司融入了更适合当地口味的口味以及将米奇D的形象融入中国主流的策略。直到那时，它才逐渐确立了自己作为中国快餐巨头的地位。
Fortunately, Tim Hortons will not face such strong resistance as did McDonald’s. Nearly three decades of foreign trade has brought about moderate change to the Chinese culinary culture. In more fashionable, first-tier cities, such as Shanghai, many young people these days prefer muffins, donuts, or cream cheese bagels over Chinese breakfast items such as “baozi”. The success of western-themed restaurants such as Wagas, or New Concept, instantiates China’s growing appetite for foreign foods and the ideologies behind them.
幸运的是，Tim Hortons 不会像麦当劳那样面临如此强大的阻力。近三十年的对外贸易给中国的饮食文化带来了适度的变化。在上海等更时尚的一线城市，如今许多年轻人更喜欢松饼、甜甜圈或奶油芝士百吉饼，而不是“包子”等中式早餐食品。 Wagas 或 New Concept 等西方主题餐厅的成功体现了中国对外国食品及其背后意识形态日益增长的需求。
Tim Hortons could seize the moment if it plays the game right. Beside cutting down on a few shots of sugar, it should keep the price low and the service fast, so it appeals to a larger population from that sector of Generation-Z who fancy the lifestyle of those sipping hot soup by the window at New Concept but can’t afford the price.
如果蒂姆·霍顿斯 (Tim Hortons) 玩得好，它就能抓住时机。除了减少几杯糖之外，它还应该保持低廉的价格和快速的服务，因此它吸引了更多Z世代人群，他们喜欢在新概念窗边喝热汤的生活方式，但又买不起价格。
While prospects look positive for Tim Hortons overall, and there remains not enough coffee in the world to satisfy Chinese cravings, we can only hope that rancid politics will not spoil anyone’s appetite.
虽然 Tim Hortons 的总体前景看好，而且世界上仍然没有足够的咖啡来满足中国人的需求，但我们只能希望腐败的政治不会破坏任何人的胃口。
