Computer giant Apple typically opens retail stores in high-end shopping areas, and this one is as high-end as it gets. Apple Inc. opened its first French store beneath the Louvre museum on November 7 just two weeks after Microsoft opened a theme cafe in Paris to promote its Windows 7 software.
電腦巨擘蘋果公司通常把零售點開在高檔購物中心，這個賣場更是高檔中的高檔。蘋果電腦公司第一家法國店面11月7日在羅浮宮美術館樓下開張，距微軟電腦公司在巴黎開主題咖啡館以促銷其Windows 7軟體才兩星期。
Although Microsoft had a head start promoting its new Windows operating system in France, Apple has placed its first store in a prized position in the bowels of the Louvre museum's Carrousel shopping center.
雖然微軟在法國促銷其新的視窗作業系統上搶先一步，蘋果卻把第一家店面開在羅浮宮美術館卡魯塞勒購物中心的核心黃金地段。
Both companies have large operations in France, according to Paul Jackson, an analyst with Forrester Research, but he said Apple in particular was looking to burnish its premium image with its new Paris site. "It's more to do with the feeling of association with premium shopping than necessarily the market itself," said Jackson. He said France as a technology market tended to lag behind Britain and Germany, which already have Apple stores.
科技行銷研究機構佛瑞斯特研究公司分析師傑克森表示，兩大電腦公司在法國營運量都很大，但他認為蘋果尤其希望借重其在巴黎的新據點來打優質形象牌。傑克森說：「與其說為市場本身考量，不如說和優質購物感有關。」他指出，法國作為科技市場，落後英國和德國，這兩國已經有蘋果電腦的店面。
Apple's French expansion took place against an uncertain economic background, with consumer spending in France still volatile and supported by government measures such as the car scrappage scheme. But spending on must-have gadgets such as the Apple iPhone has proven robust. "We are highly confident in the French consumer," Apple's head of retail Ron Johnson said.
蘋果往法國擴張據點，適逢經濟前景不穩，法國消費性支出波動仍大，要靠政府經濟振興方案，像舊車換現金等措施支撐。但家電等必需品，像蘋果電腦的 iPhone上的支出仍很強勁。蘋果主管零售業務的強森說：「我們對法國消費者很有信心。」
When asked whether Apple felt any pressure from Microsoft's Windows 7 Cafe, which opened its doors on October 22, Johnson replied: "I think our store competes very well."
當被問到微軟Windows 7咖啡屋於10月22日開張，蘋果是否感受到任何壓力時，強森回答說：「我認為我們的店面很有競爭力。」
Apple does not officially break down results by country. In its most recent quarter, Apple stores generated $1.9 billion in revenue worldwide, the highest level ever.
蘋果電腦並不對外公布各國營收情況，最近這一季，蘋果電腦在全球營收19億美元，是有史以來最高的金額。
According to Bloomberg, the Louvre store would be Apple's 277th store, worldwide. It's set to be slightly smaller than the one on Oxford Circus in London. But it's not tiny: The bilevel store will employ 150 people. You can expect the place to be mobbed.
據彭博資訊報導，羅浮宮分店是蘋果在全球第277家店面，其規模比倫敦牛津街商圈的店面略小，但它麻雀雖小，五臟俱全：兩層樓的店面將雇用150名員工，可以預見這家店面將會塞爆。
The Louvre concourse is one of the most heavily trafficked places in Paris. It links all of the wings of the Louvre, and visitors to the museum have to pass by before entering the museum. By next summer, Apple will open two more stores in France-one near Opera Ganier, a major hub on the Right Bank, and another in Montpellier on Nov. 14, the economic powerhouse of southern France.
羅浮宮購物廣場是巴黎人潮最多的地點之一，羅浮宮所有展區在此匯聚，到羅浮宮的遊客進入美術館前得先經過這裡。明年夏天之前，蘋果電腦還要在法國開兩家分店，一家靠近右岸人文薈萃的中心巴黎歌劇院，另一家在法國南部經濟重鎮蒙貝利耶，11月14日已經開張。
Although it may seem like quite an honor to be allowed to open a retail store so near such a famous museum, it should be remembered that McDonald’s will be opening an outlet in the same shopping area.
雖然能在這麼知名的博物館旁開店似乎是無上的榮耀，但別忘了麥當勞也在羅浮宮同一個購物中心開了一家分店。
It seems that France is getting the best and worst of American culture in a treasured spot just below their iconic and priceless national works of art. One wonders what the reaction of the more conservative wing in France is to this invasion by American fast food and high technology, although it must be noted that there are already more than 800 McDonald’s restaurants in France, and that the number of Apple stores has just grown infinitely from zero to two.
看來美國最高檔和最低檔的文化，已盡收納於代表法國圖騰和國家珍貴藝術作品館藏之下。有人不免想知道，針對美國速食和高科技入侵，法國保守派有什麼反應，但要知道，法國目前已經有800多家麥當勞分店，而蘋果電腦分店也從零增加到二，並準備無限成長。
In fact, thousands flocked to The Carrousel du Louvre on Nov. 7, the scene of France's first Apple Store opening. During a press briefing at the new location, Apple executives noted that France will see the fastest rate of new store openings of any other country to date.
事實上，成千上萬人於11月7日開張那天湧入羅浮宮卡魯塞勒購物商場，去見證法國第一家蘋果電腦開張。在這個新據點的記者會中，蘋果電腦主管指出，法國將見證全球迄今最快的新店開張速度。
The press is having fun wondering (as an example) if Apple is also planning to open a store at Giza Pyramid of Egypt, at the Forbidden City in Beijing, at Guggenheim Museum in New York or at Machu Picchu, because this could be the start of an interesting PR campaign. Apple did, after all, just adopt a subway station in Chicago and have now opened a store under the Louvre.
媒體則打趣，想知道蘋果電腦是否計畫也到埃及基沙金字塔、北京紫禁城、紐約古根漢美術館或秘魯古印加遺址馬丘比丘開分店，因為這可以帶動很有意思的公關行銷攻勢。畢竟，蘋果電腦曾在芝加哥認養一個地鐵站，如今又在羅浮宮開分店。
US technology giant Apple opened its store in the legendary Louvre museum Carrousel shopping centre in Paris on November 7, 2009. Photo shows people walking outside France's first Apple store in Paris on November 5.Carousel is a very upscale shopping center built underneath the Louvre museum in Paris.
美國電腦巨擘蘋果公司11月7日在赫赫有名的羅浮宮卡魯塞勒購物中心開張。上圖中可見行人於開幕前兩天在法國第一家蘋果電腦分店外面好奇的張望。卡魯塞勒是個十分高檔的購物中心，就設在巴黎羅浮宮美術館下面。（法新社）