世界第二大玩具制造商孩之宝(Hasbro)表示，由于成本不断上升，其中国供应商正越来越多地将生产业务搬离沿海工业区。

Hasbro, the world’s second-largest toymaker, says its China-based suppliers are increasingly shifting production away from the coastal¹ industrial regions as they face rising costs.

孩之宝首席财务官大卫?哈格里夫斯(David Hargreaves)称，该公司预计中国制造产品的成本今年将提高14%-15%，原因是劳动力、大宗商品和汇率成本上升，以及增加产品安全测试的影响。在去年美国因产品安全问题而召回玩具后，各方加强了产品安全测试。

David Hargreaves, chief financial officer, said the company expected a 14-15 per cent increase this year in the costs of made-in-China products, due to higher labour, commodity and currency costs, as well as the impact of additional product safety testing in the aftermath of last year’s US toy safety recalls.

“我们有些供应商正在转战中国内地，以躲避劳动力成本的上升，”他表示。

“Some of our vendors² are moving further into China in order to obviate³ the higher labour costs,” he said.

孩之宝首席执行官艾尔?维里克查尔(Al Verrecchia)预计，面对不断上涨的价格，供应商们将逐步把自己的供应链延伸到位于内陆城市附近的工厂，远离沿海地区。

Al Verrecchia, chief executive officer, predicted that suppliers would respond to the rising prices by gradually extending their own supply chains to factories based around inland cities and away from the coast.

“我想，你很可能会看到更多人转战中国内陆地区，而且，可能在经过较长一段时间之后，你将看到一些初级组装、喷漆着色业务搬到内陆地区，而最终的组装依然在现有工厂进行。”

“I think you are liable to see more people moving inland into China, and...probably over a longer period of time, you’ll see some sub-assemblies, some painting operations moving inland, and then final assembly continuing to be done at existing factories,” he said.

由于内陆地区通常缺乏现代制造业所需的基础设施，将生产工作转至内陆地区，对供应商们是一个巨大挑战。

Expanding production to inland regions, which often lack infrastucture for modern manufacturing, presents significant challenges for suppliers.

不过，维里克查尔表示，在业务搬迁方面，中国内陆地区依然比邻国越南更具吸引力。国土规模、语言问题、支持服务和基础设施的缺乏，都制约了越南的竞争力。

But Mr Verrechia said inland China still seemed more attractive than shifting production to neighbouring Vietnam, which was limited by its smaller size, language issues and a lack of support services and infrastructure⁴.

“如果你开始在越南等地开发新的供应商，那些产品质量、产品安全、产品可靠性问题还得全部重来一遍。”

“You start to develop new vendors in places like Vietnam, you’ve got to start all over again with issues of quality and safety and product reliability,” he said.

孩之宝表示，该公司的玩具目前“绝大部分”是从中国采购的。

Hasbro says it currently sources “the substantial majority” of its toys from China.

该公司昨日宣布第四财政季度利润增长23%，达到1.337亿美元，超过华尔街分析师的预期。去年夏季上映的电影《变形金刚》(Transformers)火爆一时，带动相关玩具热销。该公司收入增长16%，至13亿美元。

The company yesterday reported that its fourth- quarter earnings⁵ rose 23 per cent to $133.7m, beating Wall Street’s expectations, with support from strong sales of its toys linked to last summer’s Transformers live action film. Revenues increased 16 per cent to $1.3bn

现年64岁的维里克查尔将在首席执行官5年任期届满后于今年5月卸任。

Mr Verrechia, 64, will step down in May after five years as CEO.