Aaron's Company Inc (AAN) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today with The Aaron Company Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. We will be getting underway in a moment or two while we allow a few more participants to connect. (Operator Instructions).

大家早安，感謝您今天參加 Aaron Company 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我們將在一兩分鐘後開始，同時我們允許更多的參與者進行連結。 （操作員說明）。

Welcome to The Aaron Company Third Quarter 2023 Results Call. Thank you for your patience all your underway. My name is Ellen, and I'll be your moderator for today's call. (Operator Instructions).

歡迎參加 Aaron Company 2023 年第三季業績電話會議。感謝您一路以來的耐心等待。我叫艾倫，我將擔任今天電話會議的主持人。 （操作員說明）。

I would now like to pass the conference over to our host, Mark Levy, Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations to begin. Mark, please go ahead, whenever you're ready.

現在我想將會議交給我們的東道主、財務和投資者關係副總裁馬克·利維 (Mark Levy) 開始。馬克，只要你準備好了，請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our third quarter 2023 earnings conference call. Joining me today are Aaron's Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Lindsay; President, Steve Olsen, and Chief Financial Officer, Kelly Wall. After our prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions.

謝謝大家，大家早安。歡迎參加我們的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。今天加入我的是 Aaron 的執行長 Douglas Lindsay；總裁史蒂夫·奧爾森 (Steve Olsen) 和首席財務官凱利·沃爾 (Kelly Wall)。在我們準備好發言後，我們將開始提問。

Yesterday, after the market closed, we posted our earnings release on the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.aarons.com. We also posted a slide presentation that provides additional information about our third quarter results and full year 2023 outlook. During today's call, certain statements we make may be forward looking including those related to our outlook for this year. For more information, including important cautionary notes about these forward-looking statements, please refer to the safe harbor provision that can be found at the end of the earnings release. The safe harbor provision identifies risks that may cause actual results to differ materially from the content of our forward-looking statements.

昨天，市場收盤後，我們在 Investor.aarons.com 網站的投資者關係部分發布了收益報告。我們還發布了幻燈片演示，提供有關我們第三季業績和 2023 年全年展望的更多資訊。在今天的電話會議中，我們所做的某些聲明可能具有前瞻性，包括與我們今年的前景相關的聲明。欲了解更多信息，包括有關這些前瞻性陳述的重要注意事項，請參閱收益發布末尾的安全港條款。安全港條款確定了可能導致實際結果與我們前瞻性陳述的內容有重大差異的風險。

Also, please see our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, and other filings with the SEC for a description of the risks related to our business that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements.

此外，請參閱我們截至2022 年12 月31 日的年度10-K 表格以及向SEC 提交的其他文件，以了解與我們業務相關的風險描述，這些風險可能導致實際結果與我們的前瞻性陳述有重大差異。

On today's call, in the earnings release and in the supplemental investor presentation, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures, including EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP EPS, adjusted free cash flow and net debt, which have been adjusted for certain items, which may affect the comparability of our performance with other companies. These non-GAAP measures are detailed in the reconciliation tables included in our earnings release and the supplemental investor presentation posted on our website. With that, I will now turn the call over to our CEO, Douglas Lindsay.

在今天的電話會議上，在收益發布和補充投資者介紹中，我們將提及某些非GAAP 財務指標，包括EBITDA 和調整後EBITDA、非GAAP 淨利潤、非GAAP 每股收益、調整後自由現金流和淨債務，對某些項目進行了調整，這可能會影響我們與其他公司業績的可比性。這些非公認會計原則措施在我們的收益發布和我們網站上發布的補充投資者簡報中包含的調節表中有詳細說明。現在，我將把電話轉給我們的執行長道格拉斯·林賽 (Douglas Lindsay)。

Thanks, Mark, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today and for your interest in the Aaron's Company. Before we discuss the results of the third quarter, I would like to mention some exciting leadership announcements.

謝謝，馬克，大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們並感謝您對亞倫公司的興趣。在我們討論第三季的業績之前，我想先提一下一些令人興奮的領導公告。

On September 13, we announced the appointment of Wali Bacdayan and Kris Malkoski to our Board of Directors, effective October 1st. Wali and Kris have a wealth of knowledge and experience, and I know they will be great additions to our Board. Also on September 13, we announced the appointment of Russ Falkenstein, to Chief Operating Officer of Lease-to-Own. Russ joined the company in 2016 and has served in a number of senior leadership roles. In his new role, he will oversee all Lease-to-Own operations at Aaron's and BrandsMart Leasing.

9 月 13 日，我們宣布任命 Wali Bacdayan 和 Kris Malkoski 為董事會成員，任命於 10 月 1 日生效。瓦利和克里斯擁有豐富的知識和經驗，我知道他們將成為我們董事會的重要補充。同樣在 9 月 13 日，我們宣布任命 Russ Falkenstein 為 Lease-to-Own 營運長。 Russ 於 2016 年加入公司，曾擔任多個高階領導職務。在他的新職位上，他將監督 Aaron's 和 BrandsMart Leasing 的所有租賃到擁有業務。

I'm also very excited to announce that we held a grand opening celebration for our new BrandsMart Store in Augusta, Georgia on October 21st. This is the first new store we've opened since we acquired the company in April of last year. We are delighted to bring the BrandsMart experience to the Augusta community and we look forward to delivering exceptional value and service to our customers in this new market.

我還非常高興地宣布，我們於 10 月 21 日在喬治亞州奧古斯塔為新 BrandsMart 商店舉行了盛大的開幕慶典。這是我們自去年四月收購該公司以來開設的第一家新店。我們很高興將 BrandsMart 體驗帶到奧古斯塔社區，並期待在這個新市場為我們的客戶提供卓越的價值和服務。

Now turning to the results of the third quarter. I'm pleased to report that we delivered consolidated earnings that exceeded our internal expectations. We benefited from the lease decisioning enhancements in the Aaron's business and continued progress on our cost optimization initiatives at both Aaron's and BrandsMart. We achieved these results despite ongoing challenges in customer demand for the big ticket and discretionary products we carry.

現在轉向第三季的業績。我很高興地報告，我們的綜合收益超出了我們的內部預期。我們受益於 Aaron's 業務的租賃決策增強以及 Aaron's 和 BrandsMart 成本優化計劃的持續進展。儘管客戶對我們經營的大宗商品和非必需產品的需求持續面臨挑戰，但我們還是取得了這些成果。

In the Aaron's business, we ended the quarter with revenues and earnings above internal expectations primarily due to a larger-than-expected lease portfolio size, combined with lower write-offs. We also made great progress in our market optimization initiatives including adding more GenNext stores and expanding our hub and showroom program while continuing to grow our e-commerce channel.

在亞倫業務中，本季末我們的營收和收益高於內部預期，這主要是由於租賃組合規模大於預期，加上沖銷較低。我們在市場優化計劃方面也取得了巨大進展，包括增加更多 GenNext 商店、擴大我們的中心和陳列室計劃，同時繼續發展我們的電子商務管道。

As we look to the fourth quarter of this year and enter 2024, we expect the challenging demand trends to persist. In this environment, we remain focused on growing our market share through delivering a best-in-class customer experience, including flexible payment options, low prices and a broad product selection. We are also excited about the next evolution of our lease decisioning model, which we believe will enhance the customer experience and lead to higher approval rates. Steve will share more details about this initiative in a minute.

展望今年第四季並進入 2024 年，我們預計充滿挑戰的需求趨勢將持續存在。在這種環境下，我們仍然專注於透過提供一流的客戶體驗來增加我們的市場份額，包括靈活的支付選項、低廉的價格和廣泛的產品選擇。我們也對租賃決策模型的下一步發展感到興奮，我們相信這將增強客戶體驗並帶​​來更高的批准率。史蒂夫將立即分享有關此計劃的更多詳細資訊。

I'm pleased with the progress we're making on our Aaron's multiyear strategic plan, and I remain encouraged about our ongoing transformation and the investments we're making to drive future growth.

我對我們在亞倫多年戰略計劃上取得的進展感到高興，並且我對我們正在進行的轉型以及我們為推動未來增長而進行的投資仍然感到鼓舞。

Now turning to BrandsMart. We remain confident in BrandsMart's compelling value proposition and our long-term strategic growth opportunities including expanding into new markets and growing our e-commerce channel. Although demand is challenging, we remain focused on optimizing profitability through enhanced cost controls and strategic procurement and pricing actions. While doing this, we are also continuing to enhance our capabilities in merchandising, marketing and technology to position the business for long-term growth. Now I'll turn the call over to Steve to provide more details about both Aaron's and BrandsMart.

現在轉向 BrandsMart。我們對 BrandsMart 引人注目的價值主張和我們的長期策略成長機會仍然充滿信心，包括拓展新市場和發展我們的電子商務管道。儘管需求充滿挑戰，但我們仍然專注於透過加強成本控制以及策略性採購和定價行動來優化獲利能力。在這樣做的同時，我們也持續增強我們在銷售、行銷和技術方面的能力，以確保業務的長期成長。現在我將把電話轉給 Steve，以提供有關 Aaron's 和 BrandsMart 的更多詳細資訊。

Thanks, Douglas, and good morning, everyone. The Aaron's business delivered revenues for the third quarter that exceeded our internal expectations despite the ongoing challenges in customer demand.

謝謝，道格拉斯，大家早安。儘管客戶需求持續面臨挑戰，但 Aaron 業務第三季的收入超出了我們的內部預期。

Lease merchandise deliveries were down 4.5% year-over-year. This is an improvement over last quarter of approximately 580 basis points. The year-over-year change was largely due to fewer lease applications in the quarter, actions we took to tighten lease decisioning in prior quarters and approximately 3% fewer company-operated stores as compared to the beginning of the prior year quarter.

租賃商品交付量較去年同期下降 4.5%。這比上季度提高了約 580 個基點。同比變化主要是由於本季度租賃申請減少、我們在前幾個季度採取了收緊租賃決策的措施以及公司自營商店比上年季度初減少了約 3%。

In addition, we continue to see pressure on our average ticket as customers trade down to lower-priced items across all major categories.

此外，隨著客戶轉而購買所有主要類別的低價商品，我們的平均票價繼續面臨壓力。

Our lease portfolio ended the quarter with a value of $116.4 million. This was 7.5% lower than the prior year quarter, but larger than we expected due to fewer lease agreements turning out of the portfolio.

本季末，我們的租賃組合價值為 1.164 億美元。這比去年同期低 7.5%，但高於我們的預期，因為投資組合中的租賃協議較少。

Now moving to our key lease renewal metrics. The lease renewal rate for the quarter was 86.2% for all company-operated Aaron's stores. This rate was down approximately 10 basis points year-over-year. Our 32-plus day nonrenewal rate was 2.6% at the end of the third quarter. This was an improvement of 30 basis points year-over-year.

現在轉向我們的關鍵租約續約指標。本季所有公司經營的 Aaron's 商店的租約續約率為 86.2%。該比率年減約 10 個基點。截至第三季末，我們的 32 天以上非續訂率為 2.6%。這比去年同期提高了 30 個基點。

This also reflects a sequential increase of 10 basis points from the prior quarter, primarily due to normal seasonal trends. We are pleased with enhancements to our lease decision model, which we believe continue to contribute to improvements in our write-offs. Write-offs as a percentage of lease revenues was 6.1%, which is an improvement of 140 basis points versus the prior year quarter.

這也反映出比上一季連續成長 10 個基點，這主要是由於正常的季節性趨勢。我們對租賃決策模型的改進感到高興，我們相信這將繼續有助於改善我們的沖銷。核銷佔租賃收入的百分比為 6.1%，比去年同期提高了 140 個基點。

Now turning to our important strategic growth initiatives for the Aaron's business. Our GenNext store strategy continues to deliver meaningful financial performance through the transformation of our in-store customer experience and operating model. In the quarter, we opened 15 GenNext stores, bringing the year-to-date total to 34 stores and 245 company-operated GenNext stores since launching the program. At the end of the quarter, these stores accounted for over 30% of our lease revenues in retail sales. That compares to just over 22% in the prior year quarter.

現在轉向我們對亞倫業務的重要策略性成長計劃。我們的 GenNext 商店策略透過店內客戶體驗和營運模式的轉變，持續提供有意義的財務表現。本季度，我們開設了 15 家 GenNext 商店，自啟動該計劃以來，今年迄今商店總數達到 34 家，公司自營 GenNext 商店達到 245 家。截至本季末，這些商店占我們零售額租賃收入的 30% 以上。相較之下，去年同期這一比例略高於 22%。

In addition, we are pleased with our progress in executing the new hub and showroom program. We now have 111 showrooms in the chain and are achieving the expected cost savings. As we continue to evolve our GenNext strategy, I'm excited to report that we are now opening Aaron's stores in new markets. This includes 3 GenNext stores and 1 showroom opened in new markets so far this year.

此外，我們對新中心和陳列室計劃的執行進度感到滿意。我們現在在連鎖店中擁有 111 個陳列室，並且正在實現預期的成本節約。隨著我們繼續發展 GenNext 策略，我很高興地報告說，我們現在正在新市場開設 Aaron's 商店。其中包括今年迄今在新市場開設的 3 家 GenNext 商店和 1 家陳列室。

Now turning to the Aaron's e-commerce channel. We continue to focus on improving our digital marketing strategies, enhancing the online shopping experience and expanding the assortment with over 10,400 products on aarons.com. In the third quarter, revenues generated from leases initiated on aarons.com increased 1.3% year-over-year and now represents 18.5% of total lease revenues as compared to 16.2% in the prior year quarter.

現在轉向阿龍的電商通路。我們繼續專注於改進我們的數位行銷策略、增強線上購物體驗並擴大 aarons.com 上 10,400 多種產品的品種。第三季度，aarons.com 上發起的租賃產生的收入年增 1.3%，目前佔總租賃收入的 18.5%，而去年同期為 16.2%。

Recurring revenue written into the portfolio from e-commerce decreased 6.8% compared to the prior year quarter. We believe the decrease resulted from tighter lease decisioning in prior quarters and lower average ticket. We continue to see growth in our new weekly payment option, both in stores and on aarons.com.

與去年同期相比，電子商務寫入投資組合的經常性收入下降了 6.8%。我們認為，下降的原因是前幾季租賃決策收緊以及平均票價下降。我們繼續看到新的每週付款選項在商店和 aarons.com 上的成長。

As a reminder, we rolled out this option in stores in Q3 of last year and on aarons.com last quarter. We are excited to provide enhanced flexibility to our customers through our new weekly payment options, and we believe our compelling lease rates will help us gain market share over time.

提醒一下，我們在去年第三季的商店和上季的 aarons.com 上推出了此選項。我們很高興透過新的每週付款選項為客戶提供更高的靈活性，我們相信，隨著時間的推移，我們具有吸引力的租賃費率將幫助我們贏得市場份額。

In addition, we are excited about enhancements to our lease decisioning model rolled out earlier this month. Customers are now able to shop across all of our channels by submitting just one lease application, and we now approve all customers through a consistent lease decision model. We believe these enhancements will streamline the customer experience, lead to higher approval rates and improved conversion of lease applications.

此外，我們對本月稍早推出的租賃決策模式的增強感到興奮。客戶現在只需提交一份租賃申請即可在我們的所有管道中購物，並且我們現在透過一致的租賃決策模型批准所有客戶。我們相信這些增強功能將簡化客戶體驗，提高批准率並提高租賃申請的轉換率。

Now turning to BrandsMart. We are very excited about the recent opening of our first new store in Augusta, Georgia. This store showcases our new brand image in a more modern store layout. I want to extend my thanks to all of our team members who worked tirelessly to launch this new store. I am proud of what we achieved, and I look forward to serving customers in this new market.

現在轉向 BrandsMart。我們對最近在喬治亞州奧古斯塔開設第一家新店感到非常興奮。該店以更現代的店面佈局展示了我們的新品牌形象。我要向我們所有為開設這家新店而不懈努力的團隊成員致以謝意。我為我們所取得的成就感到自豪，並期待為這個新市場的客戶提供服務。

Turning to our third quarter performance. As Douglas mentioned, we continue to operate in a challenging customer demand environment. As a result, BrandsMart's comparable sales were down 17% year-over-year. This was a result of ongoing weaker customer traffic and customer trade down to lower-priced products, primarily in major appliances, TVs and computers. As we work to attract new BrandsMart customers, we continue to invest in our e-commerce channel and digital marketing strategies.

轉向我們第三季的業績。正如道格拉斯所提到的，我們繼續在充滿挑戰的客戶需求環境中運作。因此，BrandsMart 的可比銷售額年減 17%。這是由於客戶流量持續疲軟以及客戶轉而購買價格較低的產品（主要是大型家電、電視和電腦）的結果。在我們努力吸引新的 BrandsMart 客戶的同時，我們繼續投資我們的電子商務管道和數位行銷策略。

Consistent with overall sales performance, we experienced pressure in our e-commerce channel. E-commerce product sales represented 8.9% of total product sales, down from 9.3% in the prior year quarter. We continue to focus on optimizing profitability of the business. For the third quarter, our product gross margin improved by approximately 80 basis points as compared to the prior year quarter. This was a result of direct procurement savings and strategic pricing actions.

與整體銷售業績一致，我們的電子商務通路也面臨壓力。電子商務產品銷售額佔產品總銷售額的 8.9%，低於去年同期的 9.3%。我們持續專注於優化業務獲利能力。第三季度，我們的產品毛利率比去年同期提高了約 80 個基點。這是直接採購節省和策略定價行動的結果。

As we move into the holiday season and look ahead into 2024, we remain focused on achieving transaction synergies and positioning the business for future growth. Now I'll turn the call over to Kelly to provide further details on our financial performance.

隨著假期的到來並展望 2024 年，我們仍然專注於實現交易協同效應並為業務未來成長做好定位。現在我將把電話轉給凱利，以提供有關我們財務業績的更多詳細資訊。

Thanks, Steve. We filed our Form 10-Q earnings release and investor presentation yesterday after the market closed, and these documents can be found on our Investor Relations website. Please refer to these documents for additional detail regarding our financial performance and outlook for the consolidated company and the 2 business segments. Also, unless stated otherwise, any comparisons I make to prior periods will be on a year-over-year basis.

謝謝，史蒂夫。昨天收盤後，我們提交了 10-Q 表格收益報告和投資者介紹，這些文件可以在我們的投資者關係網站上找到。請參閱這些文件，以了解有關我們合併公司和兩個業務部門的財務表現和前景的更多詳細資訊。此外，除非另有說明，我與前期的任何比較都將是逐年比較。

Consolidated revenues for the third quarter of 2023 were $525.7 million, compared with $593.4 million. This year-over-year decrease is primarily due to the expected lower lease revenue and fees and retail sales at The Aaron's business and lower retail sales at BrandsMart.

2023 年第三季的合併收入為 5.257 億美元，去年同期為 5.934 億美元。年比下降的主要原因是 The Aaron 業務的租賃收入和費用以及零售額預計下降，以及 BrandsMart 的零售額下降。

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $25.3 million compared with $38.2 million. This year-over-year decrease is primarily due to the lower revenues at both business segments, partially offset by lower personnel costs at both business segments and lower write-offs at The Aaron's business. As a percentage of total revenues, adjusted EBITDA was 4.8% compared to 6.4%.

合併調整後 EBITDA 為 2,530 萬美元，去年同期為 3,820 萬美元。這一同比下降主要是由於兩個業務部門的收入下降，部分被兩個業務部門的人員成本下降和 The Aaron 業務的沖銷減少所抵消。調整後 EBITDA 佔總營收的比例為 4.8%，而去年同期為 6.4%。

On a non-GAAP basis, earnings per share were $0.01 compared to earnings of $0.31. Adjusted free cash flow was $7.8 million, a decrease of $42.3 million. This decrease was driven by lower cash provided by operations and having generated $7.5 million of proceeds from real estate transactions in the prior year quarter.

以非公認會計準則計算，每股收益為 0.01 美元，而每股收益為 0.31 美元。調整後自由現金流為 780 萬美元，減少 4,230 萬美元。這一下降是由於業務提供的現金減少以及去年同期房地產交易產生的 750 萬美元收益所致。

On a year-to-date basis, adjusted free cash flow was $86.4 million, an increase of $18.5 million. This increase is largely driven by higher cash provided by operations as we have executed on our cost optimization initiatives and managed merchandise inventory levels at both businesses to reflect the soft demand environment.

年初至今，調整後自由現金流為 8,640 萬美元，增加了 1,850 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於我們執行了成本優化計劃並管理了兩個業務的商品庫存水平以反映疲軟的需求環境，從而導致營運提供的現金增加。

During the quarter, we continued to return capital to shareholders, paying $3.9 million in dividends and repurchasing about $5.7 million of the company's common stock. In addition, we ended the third quarter with $39.3 million of cash and $187.5 million of debt.

本季度，我們繼續向股東返還資本，支付了 390 萬美元的股息，並回購了約 570 萬美元的公司普通股。此外，第三季結束時，我們擁有 3,930 萬美元的現金和 1.875 億美元的債務。

Our net debt balance at the end of the quarter was $148.1 million, and our net debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio ended the quarter at 1x.

本季末我們的淨債務餘額為 1.481 億美元，本季末我們的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 槓桿率為 1 倍。

Turning to our updated outlook. In the third quarter earnings release, we provided an update to our full year 2023 outlook. This updated outlook reflects our expectation that total revenues for the consolidated company will be between $2.12 billion and $2.17 billion. We have updated revenues to incorporate our consolidated results in the first 3 quarters of 2023 and to also reflect expected lower product sales at BrandsMart for the year as compared to our prior outlook.

轉向我們最新的展望。在第三季財報中，我們更新了 2023 年全年展望。這項更新的展望反映了我們對合併後公司總收入將在 21.2 億美元至 21.7 億美元之間的預期。我們更新了收入，以納入 2023 年前 3 季的綜合業績，並反映 BrandsMart 今年的產品銷售額預計低於我們先前的預期。

We have narrowed the range of our outlook for adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP EPS for the consolidated company. We expect adjusted EBITDA to be between $140 million and $150 million. We expect non-GAAP EPS to be between $1 and $1.20. The lower midpoint for both reflects that we no longer expect to close a planned sale leaseback transaction for a group of Aaron's stores by the end of the year.

我們縮小了合併後公司調整後 EBITDA 和非 GAAP 每股盈餘的預期範圍。我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 將在 1.4 億美元至 1.5 億美元之間。我們預計非 GAAP 每股盈餘將在 1 美元至 1.20 美元之間。兩者的中點較低反映了我們不再期望在年底前完成一組 Aaron 商店的計劃售後回租交易。

The revised outlook also includes the continued lower demand we are experiencing at BrandsMart. And finally, we have lowered our adjusted free cash flow outlook, which is also impacted by the timing of the sale leaseback. And with that, I will now turn the call over to the operator for Q&A.

修訂後的前景還包括 BrandsMart 的需求持續下降。最後，我們降低了調整後的自由現金流前景，這也受到售後回租時間的影響。現在，我將把電話轉給接線員進行問答。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Our first question today comes from the Kyle Joseph from Jefferies. Kyle, your line is now open, please go ahead whenever you're ready.

謝謝。 （操作員說明）今天我們的第一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Kyle Joseph。凱爾，您的線路現已開通，請隨時準備好。

Just starting on the Rev headwinds at, call it, either business. I just want to see if you're seeing any sort of strength in certain verticals, ongoing weakness in others? Trying to get a sense if consumer electronics are showing any signs of life, given that they probably have the shortest product cycle?

剛開始面臨 Rev 的逆風，稱之為，要么是生意。我只是想看看您是否在某些垂直領域看到了任何優勢，而在其他垂直領域卻持續存在弱點？鑑於消費性電子產品的產品週期可能最短，試圖了解它們是否顯示出任何生命跡象？

Kyle, it's Douglas. I think we said at The Aaron's business, our deliveries were down about 4.5%. Of that, 4.5%, about half was really decisioning related and lower store count and the other half was demand. So in The Aaron's business, while we're seeing fewer applicants, we're also seeing a higher conversion rate. I'm really proud of what the team has done there to convert customers, and we're seeing a bit more strength in the customer there, albeit a down cycle.

凱爾，我是道格拉斯。我記得我們在 The Aaron's Business 說過，我們的交付量下降了約 4.5%。其中 4.5%，大約一半是真正與決策相關且商店數量較少，另一半是需求。因此，在 The Aaron 的業務中，雖然我們看到申請者減少了，但我們也看到了更高的轉換率。我對團隊在轉換客戶方面所做的工作感到非常自豪，我們看到那裡的客戶實力更強，儘管是一個下行週期。

We're also seeing customers choosing lower price points across most major categories, especially in television and that's consistent with BrandsMart as well. We're really seeing our customers generally looking for deals in both businesses, and you'll see us be promotional during the holiday periods, which we have been, but we're seeing that driving more of our demand and this demand cycle. I'll let Steve talk specifically about categories to your second part of your question.

我們也看到客戶在大多數主要類別中選擇較低的價格點，特別是在電視領域，這也與 BrandsMart 的情況一致。我們確實看到我們的客戶普遍在這兩項業務中尋找優惠，並且您會看到我們在假期期間進行促銷，我們一直在這樣做，但我們看到這推動了我們更多的需求和這個需求週期。我將讓史蒂夫具體談談你問題的第二部分的類別。

I'll talk first about the Aaron's business. So they definitely saw some growth in some categories. So on the appliance side, growth in laundry and ranges and on the furniture side, upholstery and have a flat business in mattresses. So definitely some growth areas.

我先說阿龍的事。所以他們肯定在某些類別中看到了一些成長。因此，在電器方面，洗衣和系列產品的成長，在家具方面，室內裝潢和床墊業務的成長持平。所以肯定有一些成長領域。

On the declining side, up against some pretty surging demand last year in gaming and then continued pressure in TV, computers and bedroom. So on the BrandsMart side, the best-performing category, which is still a slight negative is small appliances and HomeGoods, followed by audio and video and security and the categories that are most under pressure being appliances, TVs and computers.

下降的一面是，去年遊戲需求大幅飆升，電視、電腦和臥室的需求持續面臨壓力。因此，在 BrandsMart 方面，表現最好的品類（仍略有下降）是小家電和家居用品，其次是音訊、視訊和安全，而壓力最大的品類是家電、電視和電腦。

So to answer your question on consumer electronics, seen some improvement that being slight mid-single-digit negatives in audio, in video and security, but TVs continue to be under pressure. And the only really growth area we've seen in TVs, as Douglas referenced, is really in that opening price point. So seeing some improvement in the opening price points in CE, but just not enough to offset the overall demand.

因此，為了回答您關於消費性電子產品的問題，我們看到了一些改進，即在音訊、視訊和安全方面出現了輕微的中個位數負數，但電視仍然面臨壓力。正如道格拉斯所提到的，我們在電視中看到的唯一真正成長的領域實際上是在開盤價格點。因此，CE 的開盤價有所改善，但不足以抵消整體需求。

Got you. And then tied to that, shifting over to credit. Obviously, you saw a good decline year-over-year in write-offs, but just give us an update on the kind of the health of the underlying consumer. I mean, obviously, light demand and there's a number of factors driving that. But in terms of credit, it seems like they're relatively sound, but just kind of an update on the health of your underlying consumer.

明白你了。然後與此相關，轉向信貸。顯然，您看到沖銷同比大幅下降，但請向我們提供有關潛在消費者健康狀況的最新資訊。我的意思是，顯然，需求不旺，有很多因素推動這一點。但就信用而言，它們似乎相對健全，但只是對潛在消費者健康狀況的更新。

Yes. I mean we're -- I think the consumer has been pretty resilient. I mean we noted that despite having fewer applicants and the fact that we're approving less by several hundred basis points year-over-year, we're really controlling our renewals process. So 30-day nonrenewed was down 30 basis points year-over-year. Write-offs were down 140 basis points.

是的。我的意思是，我認為消費者的適應力非常強。我的意思是，我們注意到，儘管申請人減少了，而且我們批准的申請量同比減少了數百個基點，但我們確實在控制我們的續約流程。因此，30 天非續約合約年減了 30 個基點。沖銷下降了 140 個基點。

And so we're really encouraged by that. In terms of what we're seeing with the actual consumer, while we are seeing fewer lease applications, we're starting to see signs of a slightly higher income and better credit quality customer coming into both Aaron's and BrandsMart leasing. And so that's encouraging.

所以我們對此感到非常鼓舞。就我們在實際消費者中看到的情況而言，雖然我們看到租賃申請減少，但我們開始看到 Aaron's 和 BrandsMart 租賃的客戶收入略高且信用品質更好的跡象。這令人鼓舞。

As we said before, we have the benefit of owning BrandsMart and seeing what is coming in through the full credit order fall. As I think we've mentioned, 30% of our BrandsMart sales are financed through our private label credit card. And this quarter, we're beginning to see lower approval rates from the higher tier lenders above us, which should benefit BrandsMart Leasing over time.

正如我們之前所說，我們擁有 BrandsMart 的優勢，並了解信用訂單全面下降後會帶來什麼。正如我所提到的，我們 30% 的 BrandsMart 銷售額是透過我們的自有品牌信用卡融資的。本季度，我們開始看到高於我們的較高級別貸款機構的批准率較低，這應該會隨著時間的推移而使 BrandsMart Leasing 受益。

Now on the Aaron's business, we're not necessarily seeing a pickup in application volume, but we are seeing a slight mix shift to higher income, higher credit consumers. And again, we continue to believe if there is a trade down that's coupled with an increase in general demand, whether that be through a replacement cycle or otherwise, that will be a tailwind for the business and the cost transformation initiatives and the modernization of our competitive positioning will benefit us.

現在，在亞倫的業務上，我們不一定會看到申請量增加，但我們看到了輕微的混合轉向更高收入、更高信用的消費者。再次，我們仍然相信，如果貿易下降並伴隨著整體需求的增加，無論是透過更換週期還是其他方式，這都將成為業務和成本轉型計劃以及我們的現代化的順風車。競爭定位將使我們受益。

Our next question comes from Bobby Griffin from Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自雷蒙德詹姆斯的鮑比格里芬。

I guess, first for me, I guess, on The Aaron's side of the business, just curious kind of what you kind of think for 4Q and what's implied in the lease portfolio? It looks like we are making progress on it. It's declining, but declining a little bit less. Do you think we've kind of hit the bottom now in the lease portfolio size where 4Q, we're used to kind of think in 4Q, how they usually see sequential expansion here in the portfolio? Do you think that's still a possibility this year given some of the demand pressures?

我想，首先對我來說，我想，在亞倫的業務方面，只是好奇您對 4Q 的看法以及租賃組合中隱含的內容？看起來我們正在這方面取得進展。是在下降，但是下降的幅度較小。您認為我們的租賃投資組合規模現在是否已經觸底，在第四季度，我們習慣在第四季度思考，他們通常如何看待投資組合的連續擴張？考慮到一些需求壓力，您認為今年仍有可能嗎？

Yes, Bobby, it's Kelly. Thanks for the question. So I think what we've said on prior calls is that with the kind of continued pressure on demand and the corresponding revenue written into the portfolio through the course of this year, we are expecting that year-over-year. We're going to end 2023 with a lower lease portfolio size. As we think about Q4 specifically, which you asked about, you're right. Normally, we would see an increase going from Q3 to Q4. And we do expect that again this year.

是的，鮑比，我是凱利。謝謝你的提問。因此，我認為我們在之前的電話會議中所說的是，隨著今年需求的持續壓力以及寫入投資組合的相應收入，我們預計會同比增長。到 2023 年底，我們的租賃組合規模將會縮小。當我們具體考慮您所問的第四季時，您是對的。通常情況下，我們會看到從第三季到第四季的成長。我們確實預計今年會再次出現這種情況。

Again, it's to be seen as we go through November and December, just how much of a bounce back we get. But based upon the comps that we saw last year and then what we're seeing year-to-date, we would expect an increase sequentially.

同樣，當我們經歷 11 月和 12 月時，我們會看到反彈的程度。但根據我們去年看到的比較以及今年迄今為止的情況，我們預計會持續成長。

One thing I do want to remind you, though, as we go into 2024, and Steve and Douglas both talked about this, and we've talked about this the last few quarters, is that kind of the overall, in the lease portfolio, what we've seen quarter-to-quarter is lower demand than what we had been anticipating, and that trend has continued. And we've been able to offset that though with less churn out of the portfolio.

不過，我想提醒您的一件事是，當我們進入2024 年時，史蒂夫和道格拉斯都談到了這一點，而且我們在過去幾個季度也談到了這一點，那就是租賃組合中的整體情況，我們看到每個季度的需求都低於我們的預期，而且這種趨勢仍在繼續。儘管投資組合的流失較少，但我們已經能夠抵消這一影響。

So again, we've talked about improvement in the write-offs. That's helped with the portfolio. We've also seen customers paying out their leases earlier or less often, right, than the early payouts are less frequent than what they've been in the past. And so as a result, again, churn is lower while demand written in is also lower. And then that benefit has been slightly better performance in lease portfolio size than what we'd expected quarter-to-quarter.

我們再次討論了沖銷的改善。這對投資組合很有幫助。我們也看到客戶更早或更少支付租金，對吧，提前付款的頻率比過去低。因此，客戶流失率再次降低，而寫入的需求也降低。然後，這個好處是租賃投資組合規模的表現比我們預期的季度略好。

As we move into next year, right, the impact that has is as we do start to see demand normalize, which we'd expect at some point where we start to see the benefit of the trade down that Douglas talked about. The benefiting revenue and earnings from that will lag. So as demand has continued to be soft -- is pushing out kind of that growth in the top line and bottom line that we would have been expecting earlier in the year as we go into next year.

當我們進入明年時，對的，所產生的影響是我們開始看到需求正常化，我們預計在某個時候我們開始看到道格拉斯談到的貿易下降的好處。由此帶來的收益和收益將滯後。因此，隨著需求持續疲軟，我們在今年稍早進入明年時就預期了營收和利潤的成長。

So hopefully that gives you some color on both Q4 and some insight as to how we're starting to think about next year, which, again, will provide you a lot more detail on 2024 on our next earnings call.

因此，希望這能讓您對第四季度有一些了解，並了解我們如何開始考慮明年，這將再次在我們的下一次財報電話會議上為您提供有關 2024 年的更多細節。

Okay. Yes. And that's helpful. And just to take that maybe one step further to make sure I'm capturing it. It probably sets up for the first half of next year from an EVA perspective, see some type of year-over-year pressure. Is that the correct read through from your comments?

好的。是的。這很有幫助。只是為了更進一步以確保我能捕捉到它。從經濟增加值（EVA）的角度來看，可能會為明年上半年做好準備，看到某種同比壓力。從您的評論中，這是正確的解讀嗎？

That's correct.

這是正確的。

Okay. Yes, that's helpful, yes. Because I don't -- I don't know if the [Street] models necessarily have that captured, I guess are captured correctly.

好的。是的，這很有幫助，是的。因為我不知道[街道]模型是否一定捕捉到了這一點，我想捕捉到的是正確的。

I guess the next question I had is just on BrandsMart. And is this more on the implied 4Q revenue performance versus the year-to-date trends? It does imply from a year-over-year decline. The decline lessens a lot. I know we got one new store. So is that just the difference? Or is there some view on the promotional side of things? Or just maybe walk me through kind of the assumptions in the 4Q implied revenue guidance for BrandsMart.

我想我的下一個問題就是在 BrandsMart 上。這是否更取決於隱含的第四季營收表現與今年迄今的趨勢？這確實意味著同比下降。跌幅減少很多。我知道我們開了一家新店。那麼這只是區別嗎？或是對促銷方面有什麼看法嗎？或者只是讓我了解一下 BrandsMart 第四季隱含營收指引中的假設。

So Bobby, you're right. We did open the Augusta store. The grand opening was this past weekend. And so there will be contribution in Q4 relative to last year. Also, we are -- we're kind of comping over a weak Q4 last year as well. And so while our view on the quarter does incorporate kind of the demand trends we've seen year-to-date, I think the 2 positives are comping over a weaker comp and then the addition of Augusta. Yes.

所以鮑比，你是對的。我們確實開設了奧古斯塔商店。盛大開幕於上週末。因此，與去年相比，第四季將會有所貢獻。此外，我們也正在對去年第四季的疲軟進行比較。因此，雖然我們對本季的看法確實包含了我們今年迄今為止所看到的需求趨勢，但我認為這兩個積極因素是相對較弱的競爭和奧古斯塔的加入而言的。是的。

Bobby, this is Steve. In addition, we've invested more in the holiday season from a marketing perspective, both on the direct response side and digital marketing side with a real focus of really driving that value proposition, that low-price position down at BrandsMart. We're excited about our promotional offers that we have coming into the holiday season. And as Kelly mentioned, we think we have the right plans to move this business forward.

鮑比，這是史蒂夫。此外，從行銷角度來看，我們在假期季節投入了更多資金，無論是直接回應方面還是數位行銷方面，真正的重點是真正推動這一價值主張，即 BrandsMart 的低價定位。我們對假期期間推出的促銷優惠感到非常興奮。正如凱利所提到的，我們認為我們有正確的計劃來推動這項業務向前發展。

Okay. I appreciate that. And I guess lastly for me, you guys now, I think, have owned the business for 6 full quarters or at least reported 6 full quarters. Just -- any new learnings on how you think about the long-term margin potential as I think the last time we talked a little bit about it was on the 4Q call. But just now going through the cycle, what do you think about the long-term margin potential of the BrandsMart business?

好的。我很感激。我想最後對我來說，我認為你們現在已經擁有該業務 6 個完整季度或至少報告了 6 個完整季度。只是 - 關於您如何看待長期利潤潛力的任何新知識，我認為我們上次談論它是在第四季度的電話會議上。但剛剛經歷了這個週期，您如何看待 BrandsMart 業務的長期利潤潛力？

Yes. Bobby, first, I'd say the macroeconomic environment is really challenging right now for retailers who sell appliances, furniture and electronics. So I'm really proud of Steve and team's performance.

是的。鮑比，首先，我想說，對於銷售電器、家具和電子產品的零售商來說，目前的宏觀經濟環境確實充滿挑戰。所以我對史蒂夫和團隊的表現感到非常自豪。

We strongly believe in the brand's most compelling value proposition and our right to win over the long term. We feel like the synergies are compelling. We've got a great customer base with great core markets and significant growth potential in terms of units. Our 4-wall economics are very compelling over our fixed cost structure. And so that's really exciting for us.

我們堅信該品牌最具吸引力的價值主張以及我們贏得長期勝利的權利。我們覺得協同效應是引人注目的。我們擁有龐大的客戶群、龐大的核心市場和龐大的銷售成長潛力。我們的四面牆經濟學比我們的固定成本結構非常引人注目。這對我們來說真的很令人興奮。

As you know, we grand open in Augusta. And while we're going through a downturn right now, we believe over long term in the BrandsMart profitability, we are not putting out any kind of revised EBITDA or profitability forecast. We should do that as we give outlook for 2024 and beyond.

如您所知，我們在奧古斯塔盛大開幕。雖然我們現在正經歷經濟低迷，但我們相信 BrandsMart 的長期獲利能力，我們不會發布任何修訂後的 EBITDA 或獲利預測。當我們展望 2024 年及以後的前景時，我們應該這樣做。

Okay. I appreciate the details, best of luck here in the holiday quarter.

好的。我很欣賞這些細節，祝你假期好運。

Our next question comes from Scot Ciccarelli from Truist Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Scot Ciccarelli。

This is Joe on for Scot. I just had a quick question on the sale leaseback timing you mentioned. Is that due to any changes in the interest or cap rate environment? Or is that something you're pushing off longer term for strategic reasons?

這是喬代表斯科特。我只是對你提到的售後回租時間有一個簡單的問題。這是由於利率或上限利率環境改變嗎？或者這是您出於戰略原因而長期推遲的事情？

Yes, Joe, it's Kelly. I mean as I think you're probably aware, right, we've, over the last several years, completed sales leaseback transactions as well as the sale of real estate with stores we have closed. We think that as we think about our overall kind of capital allocation strategy, our view is that we're not in the business on real estate and that it's -- we want to monetize those assets and then put that capital to work within the business or return it to shareholders.

是的，喬，是凱利。我的意思是，我想您可能已經意識到了，在過去的幾年裡，我們已經完成了銷售回租交易以及我們已經關閉的商店的房地產銷售。我們認為，當我們考慮整體資本配置策略時，我們的觀點是，我們不是從事房地產業務，而是——我們希望將這些資產貨幣化，然後將這些資本投入到業務中或返還給股東。

As we are ending this year, you're correct. I think the environment is not as positive, right, as we end the year as it has been in prior quarters where we've completed the transaction. So as we think about ending the year, the thought was to just be more prudent in terms of our expectations on timing as it relates to completing that transaction and thought it best not to include it in this year's earnings.

今年即將結束，你是對的。我認為今年年底的環境並不像我們完成交易的前幾季那樣積極，對吧。因此，當我們考慮到年底時，我們的想法是在我們對時間的預期方面更加謹慎，因為這與完成該交易有關，並認為最好不要將其納入今年的收益中。

Got it. That makes sense. And then just shifting gears a little bit. Just wanted to ask about the seasonal dynamics at play as we think about the write-offs from 3Q to 4Q. If you could just give any color on those?

知道了。這就說得通了。然後稍微換一下檔位。只是想問一下當我們考慮第三季到第四季的沖銷時，季節性動態的情況。如果你能給它們一些顏色嗎？

Yes, absolutely. So typically, right, what you'd see is Q3 would be the kind of our weakest quarter from a write-off perspective. We did end Q3 of this year at 6.1%. We've mentioned a pretty nice improvement in the same quarter over last year.

是的，一點沒錯。因此，通常情況下，從沖銷的角度來看，您會看到第三季將是我們最疲軟的季度。今年第三季末，我們的成長率確實為 6.1%。我們已經提到，與去年同期相比，該季度取得了相當不錯的進步。

I think as we move into the fourth quarter of this year, we might not see the same seasonal improvement that we have in prior periods. We might -- it will be kind of close, whether it's kind of just above or just below. But one of the dynamics that's impacting that is we talked -- Douglas talked and Steve talked about enhancements that we're making to our lease decisioning.

我認為，當我們進入今年第四季時，我們可能不會看到與之前時期相同的季節性改善。我們可能會——它會有點接近，無論是略高於還是略低於。但影響這一點的動力之一是我們談論了——道格拉斯和史蒂夫談論了我們正在對租賃決策進行的改進。

And with that, we are expecting an increase in applications through our e-com channel. And so with the growth in e-comm as a percentage of the total portfolio, we've talked in the past about how those customers that come through that channel tend to have a higher kind of write-off profile. And so we would expect to see that kind of materialize, right, as we move through the quarter and into kind of the first quarter of next year.

因此，我們預計透過我們的電子商務管道申請的數量將會增加。因此，隨著電子商務佔總投資組合百分比的成長，我們過去曾討論過透過該管道進入的客戶如何傾向於擁有更高的沖銷概況。因此，當我們進入本季度並進入明年第一季時，我們預計會看到這種情況的實現。

Got it. And then just one last question. Just talking about the trade downs sort of trade in dynamics. Can you guys talk about the higher credit quality customers coming in, where you think they're coming from? And if it's from above your funnel or customers coming in from other peer LTOs?

知道了。最後一個問題。只是談論動態貿易中的貿易下跌。你們能談談信用品質較高的客戶進來的情況嗎？你們認為他們來自哪裡？如果是來自您的漏斗上方或來自其他同行 LTO 的客戶呢？

Yes. I think we've said before, we've sort of have expected with credit tightening that there's been this trade across going on from peers as everybody in the space has been tightening. We are seeing, as I said, slightly higher income and slightly higher credit scores.

是的。我想我們之前說過，我們已經預料到隨著信貸緊縮，同行之間會出現這種交易，因為該領域的每個人都在緊縮。正如我所說，我們看到收入略有增加，信用評分也略有提高。

The only data we have on that, we don't know where they were before us, but we do have data at BrandsMart, and we are seeing tightening within the waterfall at BrandsMart. So that would indicate to me a BrandsMart as a proxy for other retail tightening that may be occurring.

我們擁有的唯一數據，我們不知道他們在我們之前在哪裡，但我們確實有 BrandsMart 的數據，我們看到 BrandsMart 的瀑布正在收緊。因此，這對我來說意味著 BrandsMart 可以作為可能發生的其他零售緊縮的代表。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Jason Haas from Bank of America.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Jason Haas。

So you mentioned that you've seen stronger demand for the weekly payment options. Is that a function of the macro environment? Does that signal that the consumer is under pressure and they're looking more for that weekly payment option? And if things were to improve in the macro environment, do you think you would see that reverse and consumers go back to looking for that monthly payment?

您提到您發現對每週付款選項的需求更加強勁。這是宏觀環境的作用嗎？這是否表明消費者面臨壓力並且他們正在尋求更多每週付款選項？如果宏觀環境有所改善，您認為情況會發生逆轉，消費者會重新開始尋求每月付款嗎？

Jason, it's Steve. Great question. I'll start off by saying we're definitely pleased with: one, the progress we're making with it and how customers are responding to our new weekly payment options, which now give them weekly, biweekly and monthly payment frequencies depending on their needs. We're seeing obviously more weekly customers -- more customers taking our weekly payment option, both in store and our e-commerce channel.

傑森，我是史蒂夫。很好的問題。首先我要說的是，我們絕對對以下方面感到滿意：第一，我們在這方面取得的進展以及客戶對我們新的每週付款選項的反應，這些選項現在根據他們的情況為他們提供每週、每兩週和每月的付款頻率需要。我們明顯看到更多的每週客戶——更多的客戶選擇我們的每週付款選項，無論是在商店還是我們的電子商務管道。

But still, it's a small portion of our overall mix of deliveries. We think weekly really gives us the chance to demonstrate our competitive lease rates on a weekly basis across all of our major categories. So while we're pleased with it, we're getting good feedback from our customers, tough to really say what happens in the future. We just see it as another way to give our customers more flexibility to really set up a payment that meets their needs.

但它仍然只是我們整體交付組合的一小部分。我們認為每週確實讓我們有機會在所有主要類別中每週展示我們具有競爭力的租賃費率。因此，雖然我們對此感到滿意，但我們從客戶那裡得到了很好的回饋，很難真正說出未來會發生什麼。我們只是將其視為另一種方式，讓我們的客戶能夠更靈活地真正設定滿足他們需求的付款方式。

Yes, Jason. Our goal is to offer payments and whatever frequency the customer wants to pay, whether it be weekly, biweekly, assuming monthly or monthly. And we do believe that our weekly price points are very compelling relative to what our consumer may get in other places. And so we're leaning in on our opening price points. We think our weekly opening price points are super compelling. So we're excited about it, and we're excited about growing that part of the business.

是的，傑森。我們的目標是提供付款方式以及客戶想要的任何付款頻率，無論是每週、每兩週、假設每月或每月。我們確實相信，相對於我們的消費者在其他地方可能獲得的價格，我們的每週價格點非常有吸引力。因此，我們傾向於我們的開盤價。我們認為我們的每週開盤價非常引人注目。所以我們對此感到興奮，並且對發展這部分業務感到興奮。

Great. And then switching over to BrandsMart. Can you just talk about how you're thinking about store openings going forward? Is the plan about one store per year? Or is it high? Can you just remind me what the expectations were and when the next one will open?

偉大的。然後切換到 BrandsMart。能談談您對未來開店的想法嗎？該計劃是每年開設一家商店嗎？或者說是高了？您能提醒我我們的期望是什麼以及下一個何時開放嗎？

Jason, it's Kelly. So we've stated consistently over the last several quarters that we'd expect to open 1 to 2 stores a year. Obviously, we opened the 1 in Augusta this year, and we'd expect to open 1 to 2 next year. We've not provided an update on kind of the exact timing of that next store. So I think it's safe to assume at this point that it's not going to be in Q1. So that first store earlier -- for next year earlier, so it would come -- would be kind of Q2, late in Q2, potentially into Q3.

傑森，是凱莉。因此，我們在過去幾個季度一直表示，我們預計每年開設 1 到 2 家商店。顯然，我們今年在奧古斯塔開設了第 1 家，預計明年將開設第 1 家到第 2 家。我們尚未提供有關下一家商店的確切時間的更​​新資訊。因此，我認為目前可以安全地假設它不會出現在第一季。因此，第一家較早的商店——明年早些時候，所以它會來——將是第二季度，第二季度末，可能進入第三季度。

Thank you, Jason. We currently have no further questions registered. So I would like to hand back to Douglas Lindsay for any closing remarks.

謝謝你，傑森。我們目前沒有登記任何其他問題。因此，我想請道格拉斯·林賽（Douglas Lindsay）發表結束語。

Thank you, operator. We appreciate everyone who's joined us today. I want to thank our team members and franchisees for their relentless focus on delivering exceptional value and service to our customers each day.

謝謝你，接線生。我們感謝今天加入我們的每一個人。我要感謝我們的團隊成員和加盟商每天堅持不懈地致力於為我們的客戶提供卓越的價值和服務。

We believe that our continued focus on innovation and our ongoing strategic investments will enhance our distinct competitive advantages and grow our market share, both Aaron's and BrandsMart. Thank you again for joining us today, and we'll talk to you soon.

我們相信，我們對創新的持續關注和持續的策略投資將增強我們獨特的競爭優勢並擴大我們的市場份額，包括 Aaron's 和 BrandsMart。再次感謝您今天加入我們，我們很快就會與您交談。

That concludes The Aaron's company conference call. Thank you very much for your participation.

亞倫公司的電話會議到此結束。非常感謝您的參與。