巴菲特致股东的信（1989年）④非保险营运

Non-Insurance Operations

In the past, we have labeled our major manufacturing, publishing and retail operations "The Sainted Seven." With our acquisition of Borsheim's early in 1989, the challenge was to find a new title both alliterative and appropriate. We failed: Let's call the group "The Sainted Seven Plus One."

非保险营运

在过去我们将主要的制造、出版与零售业昵称为七个圣徒，在 1989 年波仙珠宝加入后，马上面临的一个问题就是要找到一个贴切又好听的名词，但到目前为止我们还没有想到，现在姑且将他们称为“七加一圣徒”吧。

This divine assemblage - Borsheim's, The Buffalo News, Fechheimer Bros., Kirby, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Scott Fetzer Manufacturing Group, See's Candies, World Book - is a collection of businesses with economic characteristics that range from good to superb. Its managers range from superb to superb.

这神圣的组合-波仙珠宝、布法罗日报、费区海默、柯比吸尘器、内布拉斯加家具、斯科特费泽、喜诗糖果与世界图书公司，可以说是集合了从优秀到精湛的经济特征企业，他们的管理人也可以说是好的不能再好了。

Most of these managers have no need to work for a living; they show up at the ballpark because they like to hit home runs. And that's exactly what they do. Their combined financial statements (including those of some smaller operations), shown on page 49, illustrate just how outstanding their performance is. On an historical accounting basis, after-tax earnings of these operations were 57% on average equity capital. Moreover, this return was achieved with no net leverage: Cash equivalents have matched funded debt. When I call off the names of our managers - the Blumkin, Friedman and Heldman families, Chuck Huggins, Stan Lipsey, and Ralph Schey - I feel the same glow that Miller Huggins must have experienced when he announced the lineup of his 1927 New York Yankees.

大部分的管理人根本就不需要为谋生而工作，他们出现在球场的原因只是为了要击出全垒打，事实上这正是他们所做的。他们合并的财务报表(加上一些较小的业务)，显示他们的表现是如此的优异，以历史投资成本做基准，他们现在每年的税后收益高达平均股东权益的 57%。此外，这种回报是在没有财务杠杆的情况下实现的，账上现金就足以清偿所有的借款，当我念到这些管理人的名字：Blumkins，Friedmans，Heldmans，ChuckHuggins，Stan Lipsey，Ralph Schey，这感觉就好象是名教练 Miller Huggins 在宣布 1927 纽约洋基队的先发阵容一样。

Let's take a look, business by business:

o In its first year with Berkshire, Borsheim's met all expectations. Sales rose significantly and are now considerably better than twice what they were four years ago when the company moved to its present location. In the six years prior to the move, sales had also doubled. Ike Friedman, Borsheim's managing genius - and I mean that - has only one speed: fast-forward.

现在让我们逐一检视：

o 在波仙珠宝加入伯克希尔的第一年，它达到我们所有的预期目标，营业额大幅成长，较四年前刚搬到现址的时候要好上一倍，事实上在搬来现址的六年前，它的业绩早已成长了一倍，艾克·弗里德曼(Ike Friedman)波仙珠宝的管理天才，只有一种速度，那就是全速前进！

If you haven't been there, you've never seen a jewelry store like Borsheim's. Because of the huge volume it does at one location, the store can maintain an enormous selection across all price ranges. For the same reason, it can hold its expense ratio to about one-third that prevailing at jewelry stores offering comparable merchandise. The store's tight control of expenses, accompanied by its unusual buying power, enable it to offer prices far lower than those of other jewelers. These prices, in turn, generate even more volume, and so the circle goes 'round and 'round. The end result is store traffic as high as 4,000 people on seasonally-busy days.

如果你还没有到过那里，你一定没有看过像波仙那样的珠宝店，由于它在一家门店就销量巨大，所以在那里你可以看到各式各样、各种价格的珠宝可供选择。同样的理由，它的费用率大概只有一般同类型珠宝店的三分之一，对于费用的严格控管，加上优异的采购能力，使得它销售的珠宝要比其它店面要便宜许多，而便宜的价格又吸引更多的顾客上门，良性循环的结果，使得该店在忙季的单日人潮流量高达四千人。

Ike Friedman is not only a superb businessman and a great showman but also a man of integrity. We bought the business without an audit, and all of our surprises have been on the plus side. "If you don't know jewelry, know your jeweler" makes sense whether you are buying the whole business or a tiny diamond.

艾克·弗里德曼不但是个优秀的商人、伟大的推销员，更是品格高尚的人，买下这家店时，我们没有审计，事后所有的意外都是惊喜，有句话说：你不懂珠宝没有关系，但一定要认识珠宝商。这句话真的好有道理，不管是你要买一颗小小的钻石或是要买下一整家店都一样。

A story will illustrate why I enjoy Ike so much: Every two years I'm part of an informal group that gathers to have fun and explore a few subjects. Last September, meeting at Bishop's Lodge in Santa Fe, we asked Ike, his wife Roz, and his son Alan to come by and educate us on jewels and the jewelry business.

有一段故事可以说明为何我个人如此喜爱艾克，每两年我都会参加一个非正式的聚会，大家一起同乐并探索新事物，去年九月，我们在圣塔菲主教度假村聚会，邀请艾克跟他的夫人与儿子过来为大家讲解珠宝。

Ike decided to dazzle the group, so he brought from Omaha about $20 million of particularly fancy merchandise. I was somewhat apprehensive - Bishop's Lodge is no Fort Knox - and I mentioned my concern to Ike at our opening party the evening before his presentation. Ike took me aside. "See that safe?" he said. "This afternoon we changed the combination and now even the hotel management doesn't know what it is." I breathed easier. Ike went on: "See those two big fellows with guns on their hips? They'll be guarding the safe all night." I now was ready to rejoin the party. But Ike leaned closer: "And besides, Warren," he confided, "the jewels aren't in the safe." How can we miss with a fellow like that - particularly when he comes equipped with a talented and energetic family, Alan, Marvin Cohn, and Don Yale.

艾克为了加深大家的印象，所以特地从奥马哈带了总值超过 2,000 万美元的各式珠宝，当时我个人有点担心，因为主教度假村并非像福克斯堡军事基地那般坚固，所以当晚在活动开始之前，我特别向艾克表达个人的关切，艾克把我拉到一旁说：“看到那保险箱没？下午我们早已掉过包，所以根本没有人可能分得清真或假。”听到这话，我放心多了，艾克接着又说：“看到旁边那两个腰配枪枝的彪形大汉没？他们会整晚守护着这只保险箱。”正当我舒口气准备回到宴会中时，艾克小声说到更重要的：“真正的珠宝并不在保险箱里！”我们怎么能够错过这样一号人物呢？尤其是当他背后还有一个兼具才能与活力的家族：艾伦 Alan，马文·科恩Marvin Cohn 和唐·耶鲁 Don Yale。

o At See's Candies we had an 8% increase in pounds sold, even though 1988 was itself a record year. Included in the 1989 performance were excellent same-store poundage gains, our first in many years.

o 尽管 1988 年已经创纪录，喜诗糖果去年糖果的销售磅数又增加了 8%，而且单店的平均销售磅数经过好几年来的下滑，首次呈现正成长。

Advertising played an important role in this outstanding performance. We increased total advertising expenditures from $4 million to $5 million and also got copy from our agency, Hal Riney & Partners, Inc., that was 100% on the money in conveying the qualities that make See's special.

广告在这一出色业绩中扮演着很重要的角色，去年我们的广告预算从原先的 400 万增加到 500 万美元，通过我们的广告代理商哈尔·莱尼合伙公司(Hal Riney)，将钱 100%花在传达喜诗糖果之所以能够如此特别的品质之上。

In our media businesses, such as the Buffalo News, we sell advertising. In other businesses, such as See's, we are buyers. When we buy, we practice exactly what we preach when we sell. At See's, we more than tripled our expenditures on newspaper advertising last year, to the highest percentage of sales that I can remember. The payoff was terrific, and we thank both Hal Riney and the power of well-directed newspaper advertising for this result.

在我们的媒体业务，像是布法罗报纸，我们销售广告。在其它的业务，像是喜诗糖果，我们是广告客户，反而变成买主，然而当我们买广告时，我们做事的方式跟我们当初在卖广告的诉求是一致的，去年喜诗糖果在报纸广告上的花费是原来的三倍，这是我印象之中占营业额比例最高的一次，不过所得到的回报却更是惊人，对于能有这样的成绩，我们相当感谢 Hal Riney 与定向良好的报纸的宣传效果。

See's splendid performances have become routine. But there is nothing routine about the management of Chuck Huggins: His daily involvement with all aspects of production and sales imparts a quality-and-service message to the thousands of employees we need to produce and distribute over 27 million pounds of candy annually. In a company with 225 shops and a massive mail order and phone business, it is no small trick to run things so that virtually every customer leaves happy. Chuck makes it look easy.

喜诗杰出的表现已成为常态，但 Chuck Huggins 的管理却绝对不是侥幸，每天他都全心全意专注于生产与销售各个环节，将品质与服务的观念传达给公司上上下下几千位员工，每年销售超过 2,700 万磅的糖果，在一家拥有 225 家店面，再加上大量邮购与电话购买业务，要让每个客户都能够满心欢喜的离去，实在不是一件简单的事，不过这差事到了 Chuck 的手上，总是让人感觉轻松自在。

o The Nebraska Furniture Mart had record sales and excellent earnings in 1989, but there was one sad note. Mrs. B - Rose Blumkin, who started the company 52 years ago with $500 - quit in May, after disagreeing with other members of the Blumkin family/management about the remodeling and operation of the carpet department.

o 内布拉斯加家具店的销售额与税前收益在 1989 年又创新高，但是这伴随着一项坏消息，52 年前以 500 美元创立这家店的 B 夫人，由于与家族其它成员在地毯部门的改造和营运上意见不合，在五月决定离职。

Mrs. B probably has made more smart business decisions than any living American, but in this particular case I believe the other members of the family were entirely correct: Over the past three years, while the store's other departments increased sales by 24%, carpet sales declined by 17% (but not because of any lack of sales ability by Mrs. B, who has always personally sold far more merchandise than any other salesperson in the store).

B 夫人可能是现存美国人中最聪明的生意人，但在这件事上我却必须站在家族其它成员的这一边，过去三年来，当店内其它部门营收平均增长 24%之时，地毯销售却减少 17%，(这并不是代表 B 夫人的销售技巧退步，因为她个人卖的商品绝对比店内其它营业员要多的多)。

You will be pleased to know that Mrs. B continues to make Horatio Alger's heroes look like victims of tired blood. At age 96 she has started a new business selling - what else? - carpet and furniture. And as always, she works seven days a week.

大家应该很高兴 B 夫人让 Horatio Alger 笔下的英雄看起来像是浴血奋战后的失败者，以 96 岁的高龄，她却执意再另创新事业，而且还是一样，卖家具跟地毯，同样地，每个礼拜工作七天。

At the Mart Louie, Ron, and Irv Blumkin continue to propel what is by far the largest and most successful home furnishings store in the country. They are outstanding merchants, outstanding managers, and a joy to be associated with. One reading on their acumen: In the fourth quarter of 1989, the carpet department registered a 75.3% consumer share in the Omaha market, up from 67.7% a year earlier and over six times that of its nearest competitor.

在原来的家具店，B 夫人的子孙们还是继续支撑这家全美最大也最成功的家具业务，他们实在是相当优秀的生意人，管理者，跟他们一起相处实在是很愉快的一件事。有一件事可以显示他们的聪明才智，在 1989 年第四季，地毯部门在奥马哈地区的市场占有率从前一年度的 67.7%增加到 75.3%，相当于第二名竞争者的六倍。

NFM and Borsheim's follow precisely the same formula for success: (1) unparalleled depth and breadth of merchandise at one location; (2) the lowest operating costs in the business; (3) the shrewdest of buying, made possible in part by the huge volumes purchased; (4) gross margins, and therefore prices, far below competitors'; and (5) friendly personalized service with family members on hand at all times.

内布拉斯加家具店与波仙遵循的是相同的成功模式：(1)商品种类齐全、应有尽有(无与伦比的深度和广度)；(2)营运成本极低；(3)精明的采购，大量进货成本低；(4)低毛利，价格远低于同行；(5)亲切的个性化服务与家族式的管理。

Another plug for newspapers: NFM increased its linage in the local paper by over 20% in 1989 - off a record 1988 - and remains the paper's largest ROP advertiser by far. (ROP advertising is the kind printed in the paper, as opposed to that in preprinted inserts.) To my knowledge, Omaha is the only city in which a home furnishings store is the advertising leader. Many retailers cut space purchases in 1989; our experience at See's and NFM would indicate they made a major mistake.

另外补充一点，在 1989 年内布拉斯加家具店增加 20%的报纸广告量，打破 1988 年记录，仍是当地报纸的最大 ROP 广告客户，(ROP 指印在报纸上的广告，而非夹报)，就我所知，奥马哈是唯一一个以家具业者为最大报纸广告客户的地区，许多客户在 1989 年都消减广告投放，但是就我们在喜诗糖果与内布拉斯加家具店的经验来说，这实在是个天大的错误。

o The Buffalo News continued to star in 1989 in three important ways: First, among major metropolitan papers, both daily and Sunday, the News is number one in household penetration - the percentage of local households that purchase it each day. Second, in "news hole" - the portion of the paper devoted to news - the paper stood at 50.1% in 1989 vs. 49.5% in 1988, a level again making it more news-rich than any comparable American paper. Third, in a year that saw profits slip at many major papers, the News set its seventh consecutive profit record.

o 布法罗新闻报在 1989 年有三点特别值得一提：首先，在所有主要的都会报纸中(不管是日报或是周末版)，布法罗新闻报的家庭渗透率是最高的(即当地家庭每天订购报纸的户数)；第二，新闻比率为 50.1%(报纸所有版面中，新闻所占的比率)，而 1988 年是 49.5%，这比率代表布法罗新闻报的新闻内容要比其它同类型的报纸要丰富许多；第三，在同业获利频频下滑之际，布法罗新闻报连续七年盈利。

To some extent, these three factors are related, though obviously a high-percentage news hole, by itself, reduces profits significantly. A large and intelligently-utilized news hole, however, attracts a wide spectrum of readers and thereby boosts penetration. High penetration, in turn, makes a newspaper particularly valuable to retailers since it allows them to talk to the entire community through a single "megaphone." A low-penetration paper is a far less compelling purchase for many advertisers and will eventually suffer in both ad rates and profits.

从某种程度而言，这三个因素是相关的，虽然很明显的高新闻比率会大幅减少获利，但是精彩丰富的新闻又能够吸引广大的读者，从而增加渗透率。而高的渗透率反过来又会使得报纸对广告商特别有价值，因为这好像让他们通过一个扩音器对整个社区进行宣传，相对的，一家渗透率低的报纸对于广告商的吸引力就大大的降低，到最后一定会使得广告费收入与获利节节下滑。

It should be emphasized that our excellent penetration is neither an accident nor automatic. The population of Erie County, home territory of the News, has been falling - from 1,113,000 in 1970 to 1,015,000 in 1980 to an estimated 966,000 in 1988. Circulation figures tell a different story. In 1975, shortly before we started our Sunday edition, the Courier-Express, a long-established Buffalo paper, was selling 207,500 Sunday copies in Erie County. Last year - with population at least 5% lower - the News sold an average of 292,700 copies. I believe that in no other major Sunday market has there been anything close to that increase in penetration.

必须强调的是，我们的渗透率并不是个意外，也不是自然而然的一件事，以布法罗新闻报的大本营伊利县(Erie)来说，当地的人口数从 1970 年的 111 万人一路减少到 1980 年的 101 万，再到 1988 年的 96.6 万人，但报纸发行量的变化却完全相反，1975 年在我们刚准备开始发行周日版之前，一家布法罗当地相当悠久的报纸《信使快报》周日版的发行量约为 20.75 万份，去年在总人口比当初还少 5%的情况下，《布法罗新闻报》的发行份数却有 29.27 万份。我相信，在美国其它周日版地区，这样的渗透率增长都罕有匹敌。

When this kind of gain is made - and when a paper attains an unequaled degree of acceptance in its home town - someone is doing something right. In this case major credit clearly belongs to Murray Light, our long-time editor who daily creates an informative, useful, and interesting product. Credit should go also to the Circulation and Production Departments: A paper that is frequently late, because of production problems or distribution weaknesses, will lose customers, no matter how strong its editorial content.

能够如此成长同时又得到家乡父老如此的支持，一定有人居功至伟，我想总编辑 Murray Light 应该是当之无愧，是他日复一日创造出如此发人深省、有用且有趣的产品，当然发行与生产部门也一样功不可没，一家报纸若是因为印刷或配送问题而时常误点，不管他的内容有多精彩丰富，一定会影响客户订阅的意愿的。

Stan Lipsey, publisher of the News, has produced profits fully up to the strength of our product. I believe Stan's managerial skills deliver at least five extra percentage points in profit margin compared to the earnings that would be achieved by an average manager given the same circumstances. That is an amazing performance, and one that could only be produced by a talented manager who knows - and cares - about every nut and bolt of the business.

Stan Lipsey 报纸的发行人，他创造的利润完全匹配我们的产品竞争力，我相信，相比普通的经理人，Stan管理能力至少让我们报纸的经营收益增加五个百分点以上，这真是令人赞叹的表现，这只有完全熟悉企业大大小小事物的优秀经理人才有办法做到这样的成绩。

Stan's knowledge and talents, it should be emphasized, extend to the editorial product. His early years in the business were spent on the news side and he played a key role in developing and editing a series of stories that in 1972 won a Pulitzer Prize for the Sun Newspaper of Omaha. Stan and I have worked together for over 20 years, through some bad times as well as good, and I could not ask for a better partner.

Stan 的知识与才能也延伸到编辑出版之上，早期他个人的生涯多花在新闻采访之上，曾经花了相当多的时间报导一系列的故事，并在 1972 年为奥马哈太阳报赢得新闻界的最高荣誉普利策奖。Stan 与我已经共事长达 20年之久，同风雨共彩虹，实在很难再找到像他这么好的伙伴。

o At Fechheimer, the Heldman clan - Bob, George, Gary, Roger and Fred - continue their extraordinary performance. Profits in 1989 were down somewhat because of problems the business experienced in integrating a major 1988 acquisition. These problems will be ironed out in time. Meanwhile, return on invested capital at Fechheimer remains splendid.

o 在费区海默，海德曼家族(Heldmans：Bob, George, Gary, Roger, Fred)继续他们不凡的表现，1989 年的获利因为 1988 年的一件大的并购案出了点问题而略受影响，所幸问题及时获得解决，所以费区海默的投资报酬还是相当不错。

Like all of our managers, the Heldmans have an exceptional command of the details of their business. At last year's annual meeting I mentioned that when a prisoner enters San Quentin, Bob and George probably know his shirt size. That's only a slight exaggeration: No matter what area of the country is being discussed, they know exactly what is going on with major customers and with the competition.

像我们其它的管理人，Heldmans 家族对于其业务的了解巨细靡遗，去年的年度股东会时我曾经半开玩笑的说，只要犯人一进到监狱，Bob 就可以马上知道他的身材尺寸是多少。毫不夸张的说：不管你跟他们提到全美哪一个地区，他们都相当清楚当地的市场与竞争对手的状况。

Though we purchased Fechheimer four years ago, Charlie and I have never visited any of its plants or the home office in Cincinnati. We're much like the lonesome Maytag repairman: The Heldman managerial product is so good that a service call is never needed.

虽然我们是在四年之前买下费区海默的，但查理跟我却从来没有去参观过他们的工厂或是位在辛辛那提的总部，我们有点像是无聊的 Maytag 维修工人，由于 Heldman 家族出品的管理太好，以致于我们从来就没有接过叫修的电话。

o Ralph Schey continues to do a superb job in managing our largest group - World Book, Kirby, and the Scott Fetzer Manufacturing Companies. Aggregate earnings of these businesses have increased every year since our purchase and returns on invested capital continue to be exceptional. Ralph is running an enterprise large enough, were it standing alone, to be on the Fortune 500. And he's running it in a fashion that would put him high in the top decile, measured by return on equity.

o 拉尔夫·谢伊(Ralph Schey)还是继续发挥他的长才，为我们管理最大的集团：世界百科全书、柯比吸尘器与斯科特费泽制造集团，自从我们买下这些企业以来，他们的税前收益年年都在增加，投入资本回报率 ROIC 相当可观，Ralph 所领导的企业集团真是够大，旗下事业加总起来足以名列世界 500 强，而若以 ROIC 的角度来看，大概可以让他排在前十名。

For some years, World Book has operated out of a single location in Chicago's Merchandise Mart. Anticipating the imminent expiration of its lease, the business is now decentralizing into four locations. The expenses of this transition are significant; nevertheless profits in 1989 held up well. It will be another year before costs of the move are fully behind us.

有好几年，世界图书公司只在芝加哥的一个商业广场集中营运，有鉴于租约即将到期，未来它将分散成四个地点，搬迁的费用相当的庞大。尽管如此，1989 年的获利还是会增加，再过一年，搬迁的费用才会消失。

Kirby's business was particularly strong last year, featuring large gains in export sales. International business has more than doubled in the last two years and quintupled in the past four; its share of unit sales has risen from 5% to 20%. Our largest capital expenditures in 1989 were at Kirby, in preparation for a major model change in 1990.

柯比的生意去年特别的旺，尤其是在国际出口方面的成长惊人，过去两年来的业绩已成长了一倍，四年来成长了四倍，市场占有率从 5%增加到 20%。我们 1989 年最大的资本支出就花在柯比身上，预计在 1990 年会有一次重大改款。

Ralph's operations contribute about 40% of the total earnings of the non-insurance group whose results are shown on page 49. When we bought Scott Fetzer at the start of 1986, our acquisition of Ralph as a manager was fully as important as our acquisition of the businesses. In addition to generating extraordinary earnings, Ralph also manages capital extremely well. These abilities have produced funds for Berkshire that, in turn, have allowed us to make many other profitable commitments.

Ralph 的业务部门所贡献的收益大概占非保险部门的 40%左右，当我们在 1986 年初买下斯科特费泽时，能将 Ralph 一并挖过来当经理人，跟我们当初买下这家公司一样地重要，除了贡献可观的收益之外，Ralph 管理资金也是一把好手。这些能力使得伯克希尔能够获得源源不绝的资金，让我们回头可以再做更多更好的投资。

And that completes our answer to the 1927 Yankees.

以上就是我们的职棒先发阵容！