北京市中心，一家芭斯罗缤（Baskin-Robbins）冰激凌连锁店的菜单上写着这样的宣传语：“追本溯源。”这家连锁店的宣传单上，一位头戴便帽的卡通溜冰人物正沿着斜坡向下滑去，他头上的一行字是：“休息的时间到了。”

    芭斯罗缤正在大张旗鼓地重返中国市场，对它来说这些宣传文字带有一种古怪的预见色彩。

    一位经理下班后告诉我们，芭斯罗缤从2005年左右开始使用这些宣传语。当时这家总部设在马萨诸塞州坎顿的冰激凌连锁店还在另一批经营者的管理之下，在中国的名字也还是“31种美国风味”（31 American Flavors）。

    作为母公司唐恩品牌公司（Dunkin' Brands）的子品牌之一，芭斯罗缤已经把中国作为开拓新兴市场的核心目标。唐恩品牌公司首席执行官奈杰尔·特拉维斯说：“我们想找到真正能在中国市场取得成功的途径。目前这项工作处于初步阶段，而且是我们的发展策略中最重要的一部分。”

    20年前，进入中国的美国公司还寥寥无几。鉴于中国市场不断变化的政治和经济风险，这样的行为显得很鲁莽。那时，美国公司的目标是在北京和上海这样的一线城市立足。现在情况则截然不同，芭斯罗缤表示它将以郑州、成都和南京等二线城市为重点，原因是这些地区的房地产价格不那么高，而且有足够的商机。

    芭斯罗缤在中国的发展一直挫折不断。唐恩品牌国际（Dunkin' Brands International）总裁乔治·米纳尔迪承认：“和以往相比，中国目前的商业环境有了非常大的变化。1993年进入中国后，芭斯罗缤已经数次调整管理结构。”

    但并不是所有进入中国的冰激凌连锁店都遭遇了“冻伤”。软冰激凌品牌冰雪皇后（Dairy Queen）已在中国各地设立了500多家连锁店。它进入中国的时间只比芭斯罗缤早两年。它还宣布，它的目标是到2016年让中国连锁店的数量达到1,000家。

    冰雪皇后一直马不停蹄地在中国发展。2007-2012年凯文·李曾负责冰雪皇后国际（Dairy Queen International）的中国和东南亚业务。据他介绍，单2011年，该公司就在中国开了271家连锁店。

    冰雪皇后在中国顺利发展的窍门在哪里？李指出，连锁经营企业要在中国取得成功，最重要的因素有两个，首先是找对总加盟商，也就是那些希望扩大规模的公司；其次是找对开店的地点。

    接下来的挑战是通过本地化，推出消费者能够接受的菜单。李说：“必须了解消费者，推出适应当地市场的口味。中国北方人的口味比较重，喜欢水果做的冰激凌，吃的巧克力较少；而在南方，绿茶口味更受欢迎，人们吃的巧克力也多一些，但绝不能以巧克力味为主。”

    "Get to the bottom of things," urges a Baskin-Robbins menu at one of its central Beijing shops. The same flyer features a cartoon skater wearing a beanie, sliding down a ramp just beneath the words, "Time to re-treat."

    The message seems oddly prescient for the ice cream chain, which is gearing up for a major China reboot.

    An off-duty store manager says the slogans are from the mid-2000s, back when the Canton, Mass.-based brand was under different management and known in Chinese as "31 American Flavors."

    Under parent company Dunkin' Brands (DNKN), Baskin-Robbins has made China the centerpiece of its push into emerging markets. "We're in the first stages of working out how to be really successful in China, and it's at the forefront of our growth strategy," says Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin' Brands.

    Just 20 years ago, few American companies had made it into China. Going into the region, with its shifting political and economic risks, was a considered bold move. Back then, the goal was to build a presence in first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai. By contrast, today, Baskin-Robbins says it will focus on China's second-tier cities like Zhengzhou, Chengdu, and Nanjing, where real estate is less expensive and opportunities are plentiful.

    It's been a tough road for Baskin-Robbins in China. "China had a very different business environment in the past than it does today, and Baskin-Robbins has operated under several different management structures since entering China in 1993," admits Giorgio Minardi, president of Dunkin' Brands International.

    But not all ice cream operators have encountered freezer burn in China. Soft-serve chain Dairy Queen International has opened over 500 stores across China. The company, which entered the region just two years before Baskin-Robbins, says it plans to have 1,000 stores in China by 2016.

    DQ isn't wasting much time. In 2011 alone, it opened 271 stores in China, according to Kevin Lee, who was manager for China and Southeast Asia at Dairy Queen International from 2007 to 2012.

    What has worked for Dairy Queen? Lee says the most important element to a franchise's success in China is, firstly, finding the right master franchisees, the kind who want to grow their operations; and secondly, choosing the right store locations.

    Then there's the challenge of developing localized menus that make sense to customers. "You have to get to know your customer and offer flavors that cater to the local market. In northern China, people love strong flavors but enjoy fruit-based desserts and less chocolate," Lee says. "In southern China, green tea-based flavors are more popular, and there's more consumption of chocolate, but it can't be the central flavor."

    这又回到了李所说的第一条原则：主加盟商是关键。对母公司来说，加盟商最了解哪些产品能在市场竞争中胜出；它们还能发挥关键作用，从而在个性化菜单所带来的收益和生产成本之间求得平衡。

    芭斯罗缤花了20年时间才在中国发展了两名主加盟商，建立了90多家连锁店。当然， 2009年及以后开业的连锁店占了一半。去年，它又在中国签了五家主加盟商。此外，它还计划和多家加盟商签约，后者的主要目标是在特定省份发展业务。

    芭斯罗缤表示，公司还有1,000多种口味可供中国消费者享用。新产品加上连锁店扩张（具有讽刺意味的是，该公司把这项措施称为“快乐1.0版”）也许能让这个使用粉色塑料勺子的品牌再次大行其道。中国冰激凌市场的竞争已经开始变得激烈起来，说明时机已经成熟。

    冰激凌在中国市场很受欢迎。不久前的一个雾霾天，正值周六下午，北京王府井大街上的一幕无可置疑地证明了这一点。春色乍现，吴裕泰茶馆（Wuyutai Tea Shop）的冰激凌窗口外就聚集了一群人，那里有抹茶和茉莉花茶两种口味的软冰激凌供他们挑选。

    北京的三家吴裕泰茶馆从去年开始供应软冰激凌，这些产品的实际受欢迎程度超乎想象。八喜在中国冰激凌制造行业处于主导地位，通过专卖店和超市销售产品，但它的硬冰激凌表现一直都不够理想。南方有一家叫做爱茜茜里的冰激凌连锁店，它最出名的产品是水果意大利冰激凌。

    那么芭斯罗缤在中国有机会吗？谢磊（音译）曾是北京第一家芭斯罗缤连锁店的经理。他认为，要想在中国求得发展，芭斯罗缤需要把重点放在品牌定位上。谢磊说：“芭斯罗缤的产品质量很棒，但消费者往往弄不清它是高端品牌还是低端品牌。”

    哈根达斯（Häagen-Dazs）是冰激凌界的奢侈品。它推出的产品有Cologne Light，外形仿照科隆大教堂，以卡普奇诺露松为原料；还有Madagascar Carnival，这是一块可可豆外形的冰激凌，旁边辅以一串烤菠萝。

    无可否认，芭斯罗缤也能找到一些迹象来证明自身的生命力。它的一家连锁店设在北京南城的一座购物中心，那里的顾客川流不息，很难找到座位，人人都希望独享一份冰激凌美味。米纳尔迪表示，芭斯罗缤已经调整了在华品牌，还推出了针对本地市场的菜单。也许，这次它也许能取得成功，而且甚至都不需要对过去的失误刨根问底；也许市场就是那么的成熟。米纳尔迪说：“中国市场对芭斯罗缤产品的需求确实正在增长，我们已经开始对发展策略进行升级。”（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie

    This leads back to Lee's first rule: The master franchisee is crucial. Franchisees are a parent company's richest source of information on what will succeed in stores. They are also critical to balancing the benefits of tailored menus against production costs.

    It's taken Baskin-Robbins 20 years to get to just over 90 stores with two master franchisees. Granted, half of these stores opened in 2009 or later. Last year, the company signed on five additional master franchisees in China. And it plans to sign with multiple franchisees that will focus on growing within individual provinces.

    Baskin-Robbins says it has more than 1,000 flavors to draw from its playbook. Fresh flavors along with a store revamp that it is unironically calling "Happy 1.0" could get the brand's pink plastic spoons moving again. The timing is ripe, as ice cream competition in China is starting to heat up.

    China loves ice cream. The scene on a recent sooty Saturday afternoon in Beijing's Wangfujing thoroughfare is irrefutable testament to the fact. Amid the first signs of spring, crowds gather outside the Wuyutai Tea Shop's service window for a choice of two soft serve ice cream flavors, matcha or jasmine tea.

    Wuyutai began to offer soft serve at three stores in Beijing last year, and it's proven incredibly popular. Hard ice cream hasn't done as well for dominant domestic ice cream manufacturer Baxi, which offers its desserts in specialty stores and supermarkets. And in southern China, there's Iceason, a domestic ice cream store chain known for its fruit gelatos.

    So does Baskin-Robbins stand a chance? Xie Lei, a former manager at Baskin-Robbins's first store in Beijing, says the company will need to focus on its brand positioning if it is going to make inroads in China. "It's a great quality product, but … customers were often confused over whether it was a high-end or lower-end brand," says Xie.

    Häagen-Dazs sits on the luxurious end of the ice cream food chain. The brand offers desserts such as the "Cologne Light," a German cathedral made out of cappuccino truffles, and the "Madagascar Carnival," a dollop of ice cream etched in the shape of a cocoa bean with a side of grilled pineapple chunks.

    To be sure, Baskin-Robbins can point to a few signs of life. The vibe at one of its locations in a southern Beijing outlet mall is hopping; it's hard to find a seat, and no one is ordering a cup to share. Minardi says the company has refined its brand in China and the menu for the local market. It may not even need to get to the bottom of past belly flops to succeed this time around; the market may be just that ripe. "We are beginning to ramp up our growth strategy as demand for our product in China is really taking off."