Start Today
Suits you
A Japanese firm is shaking up the business of selling clothes online
Start Today公司
适合你的衣服
一家日本公司正在撼动网上服装销售业务
shake up
1 to upset or frighten someone by shocking or surprising them
A series of robberies has shaken up residents in this area.
2 to make changes in the way that a company is organized so that it is more effective or successful
A new managing director was brought in to shake up the company.
ONE problem plagues the business of selling clothes online—predicting how a garment will fit without trying it on. Behemoths such as ASOS, a British internet platform that sells its own and others’ apparel, try to overcome this by allowing people to buy several sizes to try on at home and return items free of charge—at huge cost to them. Enter the body-measurement suit from Start Today, a Japanese firm that runs the “Zozotown” platform in Japan on which clothing companies from around the world sell their wares, as well as its own private label, Zozo.
plague
VERB T
/pleɪg/
usually passive to cause a lot of problems for someone or something for a long period of time 给…造成长期的灾祸；长期困扰
The east coast has been plagued by blizzards for most of this month.
这个月的大部分时间里东海岸遭受了暴风雪的肆虐。
Although plagued by failing eyesight, he continues to lecture.
虽然遭受着视力下降之苦，他还是继续讲课。
Behemoths
(formal)a very big and powerful company or organization
超级公司(或机构)
apparel
NOUN U
/əˈpærəl/
1literary the clothes someone is wearing , especially unusual or formal clothes （尤指不寻常或正式的）服饰，衣着
2AMERICAN a word for clothes , used especially in stores or other businesses 衣服；服装
wares
things that are for sale, usually not in a shop
• 〔一般不在商店内出售的〕商品，货物:
»craftspeople selling their wares
出售自己作品的手艺人
有个问题一直困扰着网上服装销售业务：顾客要在无法试穿的情况下预测一件衣服是否合身。有些业内巨头尝试让人们买下多个尺码在家试穿，然后免费退货来解决这个问题，比如ASOS这家销售自有品牌和其他品牌服装的英国在线平台就是这么做的。但这种方法成本巨大。现在，日本公司Start Today拿出了它的办法：量体服。这家公司在本国经营Zozotown平台，销售来自世界各地的服装公司的产品以及它的自有品牌Zozo。
In the past three months Start Today has distributed to just over 1m Japanese customers, free of charge, its “Zozosuit”, a skin-tight, full-body suit covered in around 350 fiducial markers, small objects that can be used as a point of reference for measurements. Shoppers slip on the suit and slowly rotate as their smartphone takes photos.
fiducial adj. 基准的；信托的；根据信仰的
slip on
to put clothes on
Ann slipped the jacket on to see what it looked like.
过去三个月里，这家公司向总数一百万出头的日本消费者免费提供了Zozosuit。这是一件连体紧身衣，上面覆盖着大约350个基准标记物，这些小部件是测量的参考点。顾客套上衣服后，慢慢转动身体，并由智能手机拍下照片。
The firm uses the images to create a 3D scan of their body, which it can use to offer a range of customised services. Among these are made-to-measure business suits for men from its Zozo brand, which are selling strongly, and jeans and T-shirts that fit most snugly from tens of thousands of pre-cut patterns, also from Zozo. At the most basic level, when customers choose an item from one of the 6,400 brands listed on Zozotown—the core of Start Today’s business—the platform uses the Zozosuit data to recommend the right size.

to fit snugly 衣服贴身的
made-to-measure
(of clothes, curtains, etc. 衣服、窗帘等) made specially to fit a particular person, window, etc.
量身订制的；按尺寸制作的
pre-cut
cut in advance and ready to use
预先剪切的；经剪切随时可用的
公司用所得的照片创建顾客身体的3D影像，利用它来提供一系列定制服务。其中包括其旗下Zozo品牌的男士定制商务套装，目前销售强劲；还有从Zozo的数万种预制款式中找出最合身的牛仔裤和T恤。在最基本的层面上，当客户要从Zozotown（Start Today的核心业务）上销售的6400个品牌中选择一件商品时，平台会根据Zozosuit的数据推荐合适的尺码。
Doubles as clubwear
A first, more high-tech version of the suit proved too expensive (it had capacitors holding an electric charge that measured body shape by how much the suit stretched). But its latest version costs the company only ¥1,000 ($9) a piece. Masahiro Ito, a board member who oversees engineering at the firm, says the fashion industry has not yet adapted to meet the needs of a generation accustomed to buying everything online, to their specifications and at their convenience. “We offer exactly that,” he says. Other companies are watching closely. Fast Retailing, a giant which owns the UNIQLO brand, is one firm looking at ways to measure the body using smartphones.
Double as
phrasal verb
to have another use or job as something
In the corner was an old sofa that doubled as Simon’s bed.
capacitor
NOUN C SCIENCE
/kəˈpæsɪtə/
a piece of equipment in which electricity is stored 电容器
Charge
the amount of electricity that something holds or carries 电量；电荷
The proton has positive electrical charge.
质子带正电荷。
accustomed
ADJ
/əˈkʌstəmd/
thinking that something is normal or natural because you have experienced it regularly over a period of time 习惯了的；适应了的
the little luxuries to which she was accustomed
她习惯了的小奢侈品
accustomed to doing sth
He had become accustomed to living without electricity, and missed it very little.
他已经习惯了没有电的生活，很少去想它。
兼做夜店装
一开始研发的量体衣版本科技含量更高，但太过昂贵（配有带电荷的电容器，通过衣服拉伸的程度来测量体型）。最新版的成本仅为每件1000日元（9美元）。公司负责工程事务的董事伊藤正裕（Masahiro Ito）说，时尚业还没能适应习惯网购的一代人的需求，这代人按自身特点、以自由方便的方式网购一切。“我们提供的正是这样的服务。”他说。其他公司正密切关注这项进展。拥有优衣库品牌的巨头迅销也在研究用智能手机测量体型的方法。
How the suit fares is crucial for Start Today’s future. The Zozotown platform is the undisputed giant of online fashion retail in Japan. It created and dominates the market for online clothing sales; the second biggest platform, Marui Web Channel, makes only a tenth of its sales. It takes lucrative cuts of up to around 35% from brands it hosts; its founder and boss, Yusaku Maezawa, is now Japan’s 18th-richest person.
fare
VERB I FORMAL
/feə/
used for saying how well or how badly someone does something 进展
We now have a much clearer picture of how schools are faring.
我们现在对学校的发展状况有了更加清楚的了解。
fare well/badly/better/worse etc
The Democrats fared better than expected and actually picked up a few seats.
民主党的情况比预想得要好，实际上还获得了几个席位。
cut
a reduction in something 削减；减少
job/tax/pay/defence cuts
岗位裁减/减税/降薪/防务开支削减
+in
The government threatened a cut in education spending.
政府威胁要削减教育支出。
量体衣的功效如何对Start Today的未来至关重要。Zozotown平台是日本无可争议的在线时尚零售巨头。它创造并主导了网上服装销售市场。第二大平台丸井网上购物（Marui Web Channel）的销售额仅是它的十分之一。它对平台上销售的品牌抽成最高达35%左右。其创始人兼老板前泽友作（Yusaku Maezawa）目前位列日本富豪榜第18位。
But analysts reckon it may be reaching saturation point. The company counts 6% of the country’s population as active users (meaning those who have bought something in the past 12 months). Its share price dipped sharply in July after growth slowed slightly. Bespoke services could attract more customers, especially men, who make up only around 30% of active users, reckons Osamu Yamada, an independent retail analyst.
saturation
NOUN U
/ˌsætʃəˈreɪʃn/
1the process of making something completely wet 湿透；浸透
2a situation in which something is so full of a particular type of thing that nothing more can be added 饱和状态
indications that the market has reached saturation
市场已达到饱和状态的迹象
3science the state of a chemical solution that has reached its saturation point （化学溶液的）饱和状态
reckon
VERB
/ˈrekən/
I/T not usually progressive mainly spoken to believe that something is true 考虑；认为
+(that)
I reckon there’ s something wrong with him.
我觉得他有什么地方不对劲。
be reckoned to be
It is generally reckoned to be the best restaurant in town.
这家饭店被普遍认为是全城最好的。
count
to include something or someone in a calculation , or to be included in a calculation （被）算入；（被）计入
Points scored after the bell do not count.
铃响以后的得分不算。
+towards
Marks for project work count towards your final exam result.
课题工作的得分将计入你的期末考试成绩。
+as
Do bank holidays count as part of annual leave?
银行假日算年假的一部分吗？
count sth as sth/be counted as sth
For tax purposes, sick pay is counted as income.
出于税务上需要，病假工资被算作收入。
share price 股票价格
bespoke
ADJ BRITISHFORMAL
/bɪˈspəʊk/
designed and produced for particular customers 定制的；定做的
bespoke software
定制的软件
a bespoke suit
定做的西服
但分析人士认为它可能即将达到饱和点。该公司的活跃用户（即过去12个月里在它平台上买过东西的人）占日本人口的6%。在增长略有放缓后，公司股价在7月份大幅下跌。独立零售分析师山田修（Osamu Yamada，音译）认为，定制服务可以吸引更多的顾客，尤其是男性，他们只占活跃用户的30%左右。
Observers are more circumspect about whether the suit can help Start Today on its other path to growth: expanding abroad. Since July customers in 72 countries have been able to request a body-measurement suit to help them buy clothes from the Zozo label. An attempt a few years ago to take the Zozotown platform into China, Hong Kong and South Korea (before it came up with the body-measurement suit) failed. Mr Ito notes that Zozotown could not compete then with existing companies offering more or less the same products; for now at least, the suit is a unique service. But the company will still have to work harder than it does at home to persuade people to squeeze into it.
circumspect
ADJ
/ˈsɜːkəmˌspekt/
thinking carefully about something before you say or do it 小心谨慎的；慎重的
a circumspect response
慎重的反应
+about
Officials were very circumspect about possible causes of the accident.
官员们对可能造成事故的原因都很谨慎。
至于这件量体衣能否帮助Start Today走上另一条增长之路——海外扩张，观察人士的态度就更谨慎了。自7月以来，已有72个国家的顾客可以申请这件量体衣来帮助他们购买Zozo品牌的衣服。几年前，Zozotown平台进军中国大陆、香港和韩国的尝试失败了（那时还没有推出量体衣）。伊藤认为Zozotown当时无法与当地提供差不多产品的既有公司竞争；但至少到目前为止，量体衣是公司的独家服务。不过，要说服那些地方的人也把自己塞进这件紧身衣里，它一样还得花比在国内更多的力气。