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TPG Capital has put one of its partners at the helm of Li Ning, the struggling Chinese sports brand, in a sign that the US private equity group's bet on middle class consumption in China is turning sour.
德州太平洋集团(TPG Capital)已派遣一名合伙人进入身处困境的中国体育用品公司——李宁公司(Li Ning)的管理层，显示这家美国私募基金对中国中产阶层消费的押注出现不妙的苗头。
Kim Jin-goon, former managing director of Dell in South Korea, who joined the US private equity group in 2006, was on Thursday appointed executive vice-chairman to lead the company alongside Li Ning, the eponymous founder. The company also announced the departure of Zhang Zhiyong, chief executive, who had been with the company since its launch in 1989. Mr Li, chairman, would be the temporary CEO until a replacement for Mr Zhang is found.
曾任戴尔(Dell)韩国董事总经理、2006年加入德州太平洋集团的金珍君(Kim Jin-goon)，于周四被任命为李宁公司执行副主席，与创始人李宁共同执掌该公司。李宁公司同时宣布行政总裁张志勇离职。张志勇自1989年李宁公司成立时就加入了这家公司。在找到新的行政总裁之前，身为主席的李宁将兼任临时行政总裁。
Li Ning, which last month said it expected a substantial decline in full-year profit, is one of several bets on the growth of middle class spending in China for TPG, along with Daphne International, a low end chain of shoe stores, and China Grand Auto, the largest car dealership in China, among others.
上月宣布全年利润预计将出现大幅下滑的李宁公司，是德州太平洋集团对中国中产阶层消费支出增长所作的押注之一。另外，德州太平洋集团还投资了中国中低端鞋类零售商达芙妮国际(Daphne International)、中国最大的汽车经销商广汇汽车(China Grand Auto)等一些企业。
All three have been hurt by a drop in consumer spending but Li Ning's problems are considered the most severe. "There is too much product," says one person with knowledge of the matter. "There was 30 per cent too much stock in the channel back in 2009 and this year, consumption has slowed month by month."
德州太平洋集团投资的这三家企业都受到了消费者支出下滑的影响，但李宁的问题被认为是最严重的。"产品积压太多。"一名知情人士表示，"2009年，渠道中有30%的多余库存，而今年，消费增长一个月比一个月缓慢。"
Li Ning's well publicised troubles and its sinking share price come at a sensitive time for TPG. The group is trying to raise $4bn-$5bn for its latest Asian fund at a time when local funds, in many cases run by princelings and insiders, are getting much of the deal flow.
李宁的困境备受瞩目，其股价不断走低，而与此同时，德州太平洋正面临敏感时期。该集团正试图为其最新的亚洲基金募集40亿至50亿美元资金，而目前基金募集的主体是一些本地基金，其中许多的经营者是太子党或内幕人士。
Mr Kim led a turnround at Daphne, in which TPG invested in 2009, that resulted in the company's share price rising fivefold and sales increasing 50 per cent while he was there from 2009 to 2011, Mr Kim said.
德州太平洋2009年投资达芙妮之后，金珍君带领达芙妮走出了困境。金珍君表示，他在达芙妮的两年间（2009年至2011年），达芙妮股价上涨了4倍，销售额增加了50%。
At Li Ning, his first priority is to clear out the inventory largely built up by third-party distributors, mainly by shifting old stock to its outlet stores where they would be sold at heavily-discounted prices. "It is very important that we put the problem behind us even if that will cost us in terms of revenue shortage and income decline in the current year," he said.
金珍君在李宁的首要任务是清理存货。这些库存大部分集中在第三方分销商手中。减少库存的主要方法是将旧库存转移到折扣店，以极低的折扣价出售。金珍君表示："解决这个问题对我们来说很重要，即便会减少今年的营业收入和收益也在所不惜。"
The company also abandoned its overseas ambitions – which began in 2007 with a research and development centre in the US. From now on, the company would only focus on China, Mr Kim said.
李宁公司也放弃了进军海外的野心——该公司从2007年起实践这个想法，并在美国成立了一个研发中心。金珍君表示，从现在开始，李宁公司将把精力集中到中国市场上。
Li Ning's share price climbed as much as 11 per cent on Thursday on news of the management reshuffle. It had hit a six-year low following a 65 per cent decline in net profit last year and a series of profit warnings.
李宁周四宣布管理层变动之后，股价一度大涨11%。该公司在公布去年净利润下降65%，并发布了一系列利润预警之后，股价曾经跌至6年低位。
But analysts were sceptical of TPG's ability to improve operations at Li Ning.
但一些分析师对德州太平洋改善李宁运营情况的能力表示怀疑。
"Daphne's performance improved a lot while Mr Kim was there but that's mainly to do with the economy improving after the global financial crisis. Actual changes to its operations were not very significant," said Alfred Ying, a senior consumer analyst at Piper Jaffray.
Piper Jaffray资深消费行业分析师Alfred Ying表示："金珍君在达芙妮期间该公司业绩大幅提升，但那主要是因为全球金融危机过后经济环境改善。经营方面的实际变革所起的作用并不显著。"
TPG bought Rmb561m ($88m) worth of convertible bonds in Li Ning in January, which would amount to a 12 per cent equity stake if converted. Mr Kim said: "TPG's investment in Li Ning is a long-term one as the turnround will be a multiyear effort. We will inject more capital into the company if necessary."
德州太平洋今年1月购买了李宁公司价值5.61亿元人民币（合8800万美元）的可转换债券，如转换成股票相当于李宁12%的股份。金珍君表示："德州太平洋对李宁的投资着眼于长期，因为走出困境需要多年的努力。如有必要，我们将向该公司注入更多资金。"
