Warren Buffett plans to license the Berkshire Hathaway name to estate agencies in Europe and Asia, in the next phase of a campaign to turn the investment company into a consumer brand.
沃伦•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)打算把伯克希尔哈撒韦(Berkshire Hathaway)名称授权给欧洲和亚洲的房产中介使用，由此开启把这家投资公司转型为一个消费者品牌的新阶段。

After decades of buying into some of the most valuable brands, Berkshire has this year expanded the use of its name, rebadging its family of utility groups, estate agents and a car dealership.
在过去几十年买入一些最有价值的品牌后，伯克希尔今年扩大了其自身品牌的使用范围，对旗下的公用事业公司、房产中介和汽车经销商进行更名。
Marketing consultants and company insiders believe the group is sitting on a valuable asset in the Berkshire Hathaway brand, which they say taps into 84-year-old Mr Buffett’s reputation for acumen and longevity.
营销顾问和公司内部人士认为，伯克希尔哈撒韦品牌是该集团拥有的一项很有价值的资产，他们表示这一品牌体现出84岁的巴菲特在精明睿智和长寿方面的名声。
“Like Virgin reflects Sir Richard Branson’s rebelliousness and Apple reflects the genius of Steve Jobs, Berkshire Hathaway has brand equity around trust, stability and integrity,” Oscar Yuan, partner at consultancy Millward Brown Vermeer, said.
咨询公司Millward Brown Vermeer的合伙人Oscar Yuan说：“就像维珍(Virgin)反映理查德•布兰森爵士(Sir Richard Branson)的桀骜不驯，苹果(Apple)反映史蒂夫•乔布斯(Steve Jobs)的天才一样，伯克希尔哈撒韦的品牌价值在于信任、稳定和诚信。”
The number of US estate agencies using the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand would swell to almost 1,400 by next spring, Earl Lee, chief executive of HSF Affiliates, a franchising joint venture between Berkshire and Brookfield Asset Management, said.
HSF Affiliates首席执行官Earl Lee表示，到明年春天，使用伯克希尔哈撒韦房地产服务(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices)品牌的美国房产中介数量将增加到近1400家。HSF Affiliates是伯克希尔与布鲁克菲尔德资产管理公司(Brookfield Asset Management)共建的一家特许经营合资公司。
The company will then shift to looking for partnerships with big participants in parts of the US where it is not yet strong, including the Midwest, and in the UK, continental Europe and Asia.
接下来，伯克希尔将寻求与中西部等美国房地产市场尚不强劲的地区、英国、欧洲大陆和亚洲的大型企业建立合作关系。
“The values of trust, customer service and longevity are important characteristics for people who are making the largest single financial investment they will ever make,” Mr Lee said.
Earl Lee说：“对于那些正在做出一生中最大一笔金融投资的人来说，信任、客户服务与长久是非常重要的特色。”
“We are proud to carry the Berkshire Hathaway brand and we understand the obligation.”
“我们对使用伯克希尔哈撒韦品牌感到自豪，并理解其中的责任。”
Revenues in the Berkshire division that includes the real estate business rose 26 per cent to $1.2bn in the first six months of this year, according to a company filing.
公司申报文件显示，今年上半年，伯克希尔哈撒韦房地产服务部门的收入增长26%，至12亿美元。