THE Ueshima coffee shops that dot Tokyo seem like any other chain.But look more closely: the aisles are wider, the chairs sturdier and the tables lower.The food is mostly mushy rather than crunchy:sandwiches, salads, bananas-nothing too hard to chew.Helpful staffs carry items to customers'tables.The name and menu are written in Japanese kanji rather than Western letters, in a large, easy-to-read font.It is no coincidence that Ueshima's stores are filled with old people.Ueshima never explicitly describes itself as a coffee shop for the elderly.But it targets them relentlessly-and stealthily.

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分布于东京各处的上岛咖啡与其他连锁店似乎并无差异。但仔细观察会发现：走道更宽阔、椅子更结实、桌子更矮小。大多数食物也更松软而不费劲：三明治、沙拉和香蕉—不需要辛苦地咀嚼。和善的员工会把食物端到顾客桌上。名称和目录都是使用日本汉字而非西方字母，并且使用一种易于阅读的大字体。在上岛咖啡店内顾客多是老年人并非巧合。上岛咖啡从不把自己描述为老年人咖啡厅，但他们总是把老年人定为目标客户。

Stealthily, because the last thing septuagenarians want to hear is that their favourite coffee shop is a nursing home in disguise.Japan is greying fast: already a fifth of its people are over 65.And the silver generation has gold to spare.The incomes of middle-class working folk have declined in the past decade, but seniors are sitting on a vast pile of savings.Almost a third of the nation's household wealth, some ￥450 trillion, is in the hands of those aged 70 and older.

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之所以要隐秘进行，原因在于古稀老人不怎么想听的一个说法—老年人最喜欢的咖啡店是私人疗养院伪装的。日本老龄化速度很快：年纪超过65岁的人已达人口的20%。而且白银一代正好袋中多金。过去十年，中产工人阶级的收入持续下降，而老年人却坐在大笔储蓄上。该国居民财富的三分之一掌握在年过七旬的人手中。

In the West, the elderly pinch pennies, but Japan's seniors pay extra.At Ueshima a medium-sized coffee is ￥380, about 10% more than at Starbucks.Many firms tailor their services to silver shoppers without letting on, explains a marketing specialist.Consider the Keio department store.On the outside, nothing warns you that it is a mecca for the mature.But inside there are chairs for weary shoppers.Signs are in large fonts.

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在西方，老年人精打细算，但日本老年人不介意多花钱。在上岛咖啡，一杯中号咖啡售价380日元，较星巴克贵10%。一位营销专家解释说，许多公司悄悄地将白发顾客群定义为目标客户。比如京王百货，在外部，没有任何标志提醒你这里是成年人的圣地。但在内部，到处都设有椅子供疲倦的顾客休息。各种标志也用大字体。

The direct approach-say,calling your product the soap for the over-70s-does not work.And traditional advertising fails.You can't use TV adverts: they forget them, groans the 30-something executive.We show it again and again and again-and they still can't recall it, he sighs.Word-of-mouth is the only way.Decades ago it was rarely profitable to market products to seniors, since by the time anyone had reached the age of 70 they probably had only a few years left to live.But Japanese people now live so long-life expectancy for women is 86; for men it is 80-that wooing them is lucrative.Some firms try to hook them in their 60s, to build brand loyalty early.Others approach them via their children.One cosmetics firm pitches its wrinkle-removal cream to middle-aged women, in the hope that they will recommend it to their mothers. Filial piety comes in many forms.

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直接的方法是无效的，比如称产品为专业的老年人肥皂。传统广告手段也无法成功。你无法使用电视广告，他们记不住，一位三十几岁的主顾抱怨。我们一遍一遍又一遍的展示，他们仍然无法回忆起，他叹气说。口碑传播是唯一的办法。数十年前老年人市场几乎无利可图，因为当时70岁以后的老年人岁月有限。但现在的日本人寿命变长了，女性寿命预期为86岁，男性为80岁，于是老年人市场变得迷人了。有些公司在60岁的年龄层就开始吸引顾客以提前培养他们的品牌忠诚。还有些公司通过子女来获得老年顾客。有家化妆品公司向中年妇女推销去皱霜，他们希望这些顾客可以向她们的母亲推荐自己的产品。毕竟孝心有多种表现方式。

注释

1.aisle n.侧廊

It's down on the end of this aisle.

沿着这条走廊走到底就是。

2.sturdy a.强健的；坚固的

His son has grown up into a sturdy hardworking youngman.

他的儿子已成长为一个健壮勤劳的小伙子。

3.crunchy a.发嘎吱嘎吱声的；易碎的

They tasted crunchy and richly flavor of grass.

它们吃起来脆爽带浓浓的草香。

4.coincidence n.巧合；一致

What a coincidence!

真是太巧了！

5.stealthily a.暗地里；悄悄地

Spring is coming stealthily without being noticed.

不知不觉中，春天已悄悄地来到了我们身边。

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