領先汽車配件 (AAP) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Advance Auto Parts Second Quarter 2023 Conference Call. Before we begin, Elisabeth Eisleben, Senior Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, will make a brief statement concerning forward-looking statements that will be discussed on this call.

早上好，歡迎參加 Advance Auto Parts 2023 年第二季度電話會議。在我們開始之前，傳播和投資者關係高級副總裁 Elisabeth Eisleben 將就本次電話會議將討論的前瞻性陳述發表簡短聲明。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us to discuss our Q2 2023 results. I'm joined by Gene Lee, Interim Executive Chair; Tom Greco, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Tony Iskander, Interim Chief Financial Officer. Following their prepared remarks, we will turn our attention to answering your questions.

早上好，感謝您加入我們討論 2023 年第二季度的業績。臨時執行主席吉恩·李 (Gene Lee) 也加入了我的行列。湯姆·格雷科，總裁兼首席執行官；臨時首席財務官托尼·伊斯坎德(Tony Iskander)。在他們準備好的發言之後，我們將集中精力回答你們的問題。

Before we begin, please be advised that remarks today will contain forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding our leadership transition, initiatives, plans, projections and future performance.

在我們開始之前，請注意，今天的言論將包含前瞻性陳述。除歷史事實陳述外的所有陳述均為前瞻性陳述，包括但不限於有關我們的領導層過渡、舉措、計劃、預測和未來業績的陳述。

Actual results could differ materially from those projected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Additional information about factors that could cause actual results to differ can be found under the caption, "Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 10-K and subsequent filings made with the commission. Now let me turn the call over to Gene Lee.

實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中預測或暗示的結果存在重大差異。有關可能導致實際結果不同的因素的更多信息，請參閱我們最新的 10-K 表格以及隨後向委員會提交的文件中的“前瞻性陳述和風險因素”標題。現在讓我把電話轉給吉恩·李。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I'm pleased to be able to joined the call today and speak with all of you. I'll turn the call over to Tom and Tony shortly to review the second quarter results and outlook for the remainder of the year. But before I do that, I'd like to take a moment to address the announcements we made this morning regarding new leadership and a comprehensive strategic and operational review as well as provide some of my own perspectives on the business, the work that we have ahead of us and the actions we are taking.

大家早上好，感謝您加入我們。我很高興能夠參加今天的電話會議並與大家交談。我很快就會將電話轉給湯姆和托尼，以審查第二季度的業績和今年剩餘時間的前景。但在此之前，我想花點時間談談我們今天早上發布的有關新領導層和全面戰略和運營審查的公告，並提供我自己對業務和工作的一些看法擺在我們面前以及我們正在採取的行動。

Following a thorough search, the Board is named Shane O'Kelly as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Advance Auto Parts effective September 11. We are pleased to have identified an individual of Shane's caliber to join Advance, to have him come onboard as we are undertaking the operational and strategic review of the business.

經過徹底的遴選，董事會任命Shane O'Kelly 為Advance Auto Parts 總裁、首席執行官兼董事，自9 月11 日起生效。我們很高興能找到像Shane 這樣的人才加入Advance，並讓他加入Advance Auto Parts。我們正在對業務進行運營和戰略審查。

Together with our financial adviser, Centerview Partners, we are committed to evaluating the full spectrum of alternatives and opportunities to increase shareholder value and ensure the long-term success of Advance. And I'm confident Shane will add valuable insight to this review.

我們與我們的財務顧問 Centerview Partners 一起致力於評估全方位的替代方案和機會，以增加股東價值並確保 Advance 的長期成功。我相信肖恩將為這篇評論增添寶貴的見解。

Shane is a highly accomplished customer-centric executive with more than 30 years of operational strategic development, integration and complex supply chain experience. He has a proven record of success developing high-performing teams and cultures to drive results. He joined Advance from HD Supply, where he has served as CEO since 2020, following the company's acquisition by the Home Depot. Prior to HD Supply, Shane was CEO of Interline Brands, which also operated as the Home Depot Pro. We are confident that Shane brings the right skill set, discipline and expertise to lead Advance into the future. I plan to remain in the interim executive chair role through the end of the year to work alongside Shane and the management team. I look forward to welcoming him to Raleigh in September.

Shane 是一位卓有成就、以客戶為中心的高管，擁有 30 多年的運營戰略開發、集成和復雜供應鏈經驗。他在培養高績效團隊和文化以推動成果方面有著良好的成功記錄。他從 HD Supply 加入 Advance，自 2020 年該公司被家得寶 (Home Depot) 收購後，他一直擔任該公司的首席執行官。在加入 HD Supply 之前，Shane 曾擔任 Interline Brands 的首席執行官，該公司也以 Home Depot Pro 的名義運營。我們相信，Shane 擁有正確的技能、紀律和專業知識，能夠帶領 Advance 走向未來。我計劃在今年年底前繼續擔任臨時執行主席，與肖恩和管理團隊一起工作。我期待著在九月份歡迎他來到羅利。

Until Shane's official start date, Tom will continue to serve as President and CEO. Thereafter, he will serve as an adviser to help ensure seamless transition of leadership responsibilities. On behalf of the entire Board, I thank Tom for his many contributions to Advance, which notably includes the culture he has built with highly skilled and committed team members and a talented bench of leaders.

在肖恩正式就職之前，湯姆將繼續擔任總裁兼首席執行官。此後，他將擔任顧問，幫助確保領導職責的無縫過渡。我代表整個董事會，感謝 Tom 對 Advance 做出的許多貢獻，其中特別包括他與高技能和忠誠的團隊成員以及才華橫溢的領導者所建立的文化。

We also announced today Tony Iskander as Interim Chief Financial Officer. Tony brings more than 25 years of finance and accounting expertise to the role and has served as the company's Senior Vice President, Finance and Treasurer since 2020. We are beginning a search to identify the company's next permanent CFO and are pleased to have someone with Tony's experience to step into the role on an interim basis. We are also pleased to have Tony on the call today to review Q2 results along with Tom.

我們今天還宣布托尼·伊斯坎德 (Tony Iskander) 擔任臨時首席財務官。托尼(Tony) 擁有超過25 年的財務和會計專業知識，自2020 年以來一直擔任公司高級副總裁、財務和財務主管。我們正在開始物色公司下一任常任首席財務官，很高興能與托尼一樣擔任首席財務官。具有臨時擔任該職位的經驗。我們也很高興今天邀請託尼（Tony）參加電話會議，與湯姆（Tom）一起審查第二季度的業績。

Since expanding my role to serve as Interim Executive Chair and partnering more closely with the leadership team, I am taking a deeper dive into the business and our strategy. As a Board, we recognize that there are significant work to be done. We are conducting the operational and strategic review to develop a long-term strategy to deliver best-in-class shareholder value.

自從擔任臨時執行主席並與領導團隊更緊密地合作以來，我正在更深入地了解業務和我們的戰略。作為董事會，我們認識到還有大量工作要做。我們正在進行運營和戰略審查，以製定長期戰略，以提供一流的股東價值。

We are executing on a number of operational improvements, including inventory optimization initiatives, improving asset productivity across the enterprise, investments in our frontline organization to reduce turnover and disciplined cost controls, which we expect to benefit the cost structure and working capital, while strengthening Advance for the long term. However, we know there's more work to be done, and the team is focused on building on these actions and looking for ways to drive even stronger performance and enhance value.

我們正在實施一系列運營改進措施，包括庫存優化舉措、提高整個企業的資產生產率、對一線組織進行投資以減少營業額和嚴格的成本控制，我們預計這將有利於成本結構和營運資本，同時加強先進性從長遠來看。然而，我們知道還有更多工作要做，團隊正專注於在這些行動的基礎上繼續努力，並尋找方法來推動更強勁的績效和提升價值。

The company is providing updated full year 2023 guidance today, which considers recent performance and balance of the year expectations. I would note that after Shane joins next month, I expect to work closely with him on the business plan to ensure we capitalize on both Advance's near-term and long-term potential. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Tom.

該公司今天提供更新的 2023 年全年指引，其中考慮了近期業績和年度平衡預期。我要指出的是，在 Shane 下個月加入後，我預計將與他在業務計劃上密切合作，以確保我們充分利用 Advance 的近期和長期潛力。這樣，我現在將把電話轉給湯姆。

Thanks, Gene, and good morning, everyone. Before I start, I want to express my sincere appreciation to the Board for all their support over the last 7 years. I look forward to working with Gene, Shane and Tony to enable a seamless transition. As I turn to our Q2 results, I also want to thank all of our team members for their relentless focus on serving our customers. Coming into the quarter, we knew Q2 was going to be challenging and that the investments we're making in both inventory to help improve availability and strategic pricing to maintain competitive price targets would build through the year. On our Q1 earnings call, we talked about moving with urgency with a back-to-basics approach and a heightened focus on execution, and this is how we approach the quarter.

謝謝吉恩，大家早上好。在開始之前，我要向董事會在過去 7 年裡給予的所有支持表示誠摯的謝意。我期待與吉恩、肖恩和托尼合作，實現無縫過渡。當我談到第二季度的業績時，我還要感謝我們所有團隊成員對服務客戶的不懈關注。進入本季度，我們知道第二季度將充滿挑戰，我們在庫存方面進行的投資將有助於提高可用性和戰略定價，以維持有競爭力的價格目標，這將在全年不斷增加。在我們第一季度的財報電話會議上，我們談到了通過回歸基本方法和高度關注執行的緊迫性，這就是我們對待本季度的方式。

We delivered net sales growth in the quarter. However, the balance of our Q2 financial metrics remain challenged. As Gene noted, while we're executing some operational improvements, there are further actions that need to be taken to accelerate profitable growth. I'll speak to our sales and transactions in the quarter, and Tony will speak to the key drivers behind our results in more detail.

我們在本季度實現了淨銷售額增長。然而，我們第二季度財務指標的平衡仍然面臨挑戰。正如吉恩指出的那樣，雖然我們正在實施一些運營改進，但還需要採取進一步的行動來加速盈利增長。我將談論我們本季度的銷售和交易，托尼將更詳細地談論我們業績背後的關鍵驅動因素。

Before that, I'd like to touch briefly on steps we've taken recently to better support our people. During the quarter, we made investments to more strongly position Advance in attracting and retaining high-caliber talent in our frontline roles. More specifically, we implemented compensation increases for key roles in our stores and supply chain. In our customer support center, we're also making investments this year to help retain high-caliber talent. We know that having the right compensation in place for our organization is critical to maintaining our strong culture and delivering operational excellence, and we've already seen reduced turnover.

在此之前，我想簡要介紹一下我們最近為更好地支持我們的員工而採取的步驟。本季度，我們進行了投資，以使 Advance 在吸引和留住一線人才方面發揮更強有力的作用。更具體地說，我們對商店和供應鏈中的關鍵角色實施了薪酬上漲。在我們的客戶支持中心，我們今年也進行了投資，以幫助留住高素質人才。我們知道，為我們的組織提供適當的薪酬對於維持我們強大的文化和實現卓越運營至關重要，而且我們已經看到人員流動率有所下降。

Turning to net sales. We saw growth in both DIY omnichannel and DIFM during Q2. With DIY omnichannel outperforming DIFM through continued e-commerce momentum, which delivered another quarter of double-digit growth. From a category perspective, motor oil, batteries, brakes and engine management led the growth in Q2. DieHard continues to perform very well and gained unit share within batteries once again in the quarter. Meanwhile, improved availability on our Carquest brand resulted in further owned brand penetration in the quarter. Regionally, our sales growth was once again led by the West.

轉向淨銷售額。我們在第二季度看到 DIY 全渠道和 DIFM 的增長。 DIY 全渠道通過持續的電子商務勢頭超越 DIFM，實現了又一個季度的兩位數增長。從品類來看，機油、電池、制動器和發動機管理引領了第二季度的增長。 DieHard 繼續表現出色，並在本季度再次獲得了電池領域的單位份額。與此同時，我們的 Carquest 品牌可用性的提高導致本季度自有品牌滲透率進一步提高。從地區來看，我們的銷售增長再次由西方地區引領。

In terms of comparable store sales, the decline of 0.6% was primarily driven by negative comparable store sales in Pro. However, we saw sequential improvement in each period in both Pro and DIY with the last 4 weeks of Q2, registering slightly positive comparable store sales growth overall. Our top-line sales continued to improve into the third quarter as we delivered low single-digit comparable sales growth during the first 4 weeks. Our performance benefited from the initiatives we've talked about earlier this year to drive improved transactions in both DIY omnichannel and Pro.

就可比商店銷售額而言，下降 0.6% 主要是由於 Pro 的可比商店銷售額為負值。然而，我們看到在第二季度最後 4 週內，Pro 和 DIY 的每個時期都有連續改善，整體可比商店銷售額略有增長。我們的營收在第三季度持續改善，前 4 週實現了較低的個位數可比銷售額增長。我們的業績得益於我們今年早些時候討論過的旨在推動 DIY 全渠道和 Pro 交易改善的舉措。

First, our improved availability was driven by the inventory investments we made, along with year-to-date improvements in supply chain fill rates and store on hand rates. As in-stocks improved in the quarter, we saw sequential sales growth in key hard parts categories. Second, our category management actions continued in Q2 to ensure we sustained competitive price targets. In addition, we've discussed in the past the opportunity to increase owned brand penetration to improve margins.

首先，我們的庫存投資以及年初至今供應鏈填充率和庫存率的改善推動了我們可用性的提高。隨著本季度庫存的改善，我們看到關鍵硬零件類別的銷售額連續增長。其次，我們的品類管理行動在第二季度繼續進行，以確保我們維持有競爭力的價格目標。此外，我們過去討論過提高自有品牌滲透率以提高利潤率的機會。

As discussed on the May call, we launched a sales campaign in Q2. This was primarily targeted at accelerating the transition to Carquest-branded products as well as reducing slower-moving inventory in our network. Finally, our field team is now in full stride, executing a Pro customer activation plan, highlighted by increasing customer sales costs and ensuring a high level of accountability to grow weekly customer counts and drive share of wallet gains with existing customers.

正如五月電話會議中所討論的，我們在第二季度啟動了一項銷售活動。這主要是為了加速向 Carquest 品牌產品的過渡，並減少我們網絡中流動緩慢的庫存。最後，我們的現場團隊現在正在全速前進，執行專業客戶激活計劃，重點是增加客戶銷售成本，並確保高水平的責任感，以增加每週客戶數量並提高與現有客戶的錢包收益份額。

Our actions resulted in sequential improvement in transactions in Q2 compared to Q1 in both Pro and DIY. While DIY omnichannel transactions were down slightly in Q2 versus the prior year, average ticket was up mid-single digits. We continue to make progress increasing loyalty with DIY consumers as evidenced by ongoing traction with our Speed Perks program, which grew by approximately 15% and ended the quarter with nearly 15 million active members. Our Speed Perks percentage of transactions continues to climb and hit over 48% in the quarter, a 420 basis point increase from this time last year. I'd like to commend our field team for their strong execution of Speed Perks and their dedication to strengthening our value proposition for DIY consumers.

與第一季度相比，我們的行動導致 Pro 和 DIY 的第二季度交易量連續改善。雖然第二季度 DIY 全渠道交易量較上一年略有下降，但平均票價卻上漲了中個位數。我們在提高 DIY 消費者的忠誠度方面不斷取得進展，我們的 Speed Perks 計劃的持續吸引力就證明了這一點，該計劃增長了約 15%，本季度末擁有近 1500 萬活躍會員。我們的 Speed Perks 交易百分比繼續攀升，本季度達到 48% 以上，比去年同期增加了 420 個基點。我要讚揚我們的現場團隊對 Speed Perks 的強有力執行，以及他們為加強我們對 DIY 消費者的價值主張所做的奉獻。

Specific to Pro, we remain committed to delivering a best-in-class customer experience. Transactions moved back into positive territory in Q2, an improvement versus Q1. As expected, average ticket was down slightly as we sustained our focus on maintaining competitive price targets and the execution of the targeted sales campaign I just mentioned. Within both strategic accounts and TechNet, we saw improved performance in the quarter and TechNet grew to almost 17,000 members.

具體到 Pro 版，我們仍然致力於提供一流的客戶體驗。第二季度交易量恢復正值，較第一季度有所改善。正如預期的那樣，由於我們繼續專注於維持有競爭力的價格目標和執行我剛才提到的有針對性的銷售活動，平均票價略有下降。在戰略客戶和 TechNet 中，我們看到本季度的業績有所改善，TechNet 的成員數量增加到近 17,000 名。

In summary, the actions we've taken to improve availability, sustained competitive pricing and enhance our service helped us drive share of wallet gains and improve our call status with Pro installers, including the very important up and down the street business.

總之，我們為提高可用性、持續有競爭力的價格和增強服務而採取的行動幫助我們提高了錢包收益份額，並改善了我們與專業安裝人員的通話狀態，包括非常重要的街頭業務。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Tony to review some of the drivers behind our second quarter results and provide an update on our outlook for the full year. Tony?

接下來，我將把電話轉給托尼，回顧我們第二季度業績背後的一些驅動因素，並提供我們全年展望的最新情況。托尼？

Thanks, Tom, and good morning. I would first like to thank the Board and Tom for their confidence in me. I would also like to thank all our team members for their continued dedication and focus on the customers.

謝謝，湯姆，早上好。我首先要感謝董事會和湯姆對我的信任。我還要感謝我們所有團隊成員的持續奉獻和對客戶的關注。

In Q2, our net sales increased 0.8% compared with Q2 2022, and comparable store sales decreased 0.6%. Gross profit margin deleveraged 174 basis points compared to the prior year, primarily driven by higher product costs and supply chain deleverage. Sustaining competitive price targets contributed to transaction growth in the quarter, however, this resulted in the majority of gross margin headwinds. Additionally, we experienced higher supply chain costs that were driven by investments in our distribution center team members as well as positioning more parts closer to the customer. We expect these investments will help further improve retention and drive productivity.

第二季度，我們的淨銷售額較 2022 年第二季度增長 0.8%，可比門店銷售額下降 0.6%。毛利率較上年下降174個基點，主要是由於產品成本上升和供應鏈去槓桿化。維持有競爭力的價格目標有助於本季度的交易增長，但這導致了大部分毛利率的不利因素。此外，我們還經歷了更高的供應鏈成本，這是由於對配送中心團隊成員的投資以及將更多零件放置在更靠近客戶的位置所致。我們預計這些投資將有助於進一步提高保留率並提高生產力。

SG&A as a percent of net sales deleveraged year-over-year due to labor-related inflation, which includes investments in store payroll. As a result of gross margin and SG&A headwinds, our Q2 operating income margin deleveraged 256 basis points compared with the previous year. Our lower operating income, combined with higher interest expense resulted in diluted earnings per share of $1.43 compared to $2.38 in Q2 2022. Free cash flow through the end of Q2 was an outflow of $309 million. In Q2, we had an inflow of $150 million. We finished the quarter with a cash balance of $277 million and $95 million outstanding on the revolver.

由於與勞動力相關的通貨膨脹（其中包括商店工資的投資），SG&A 占淨銷售額的百分比逐年去槓桿化。由於毛利率和 SG&A 不利因素，我們第二季度的營業利潤率比上年下降了 256 個基點。我們較低的營業收入加上較高的利息支出，導致稀釋後每股收益為 1.43 美元，而 2022 年第二季度為 2.38 美元。第二季度末的自由現金流為 3.09 億美元。第二季度，我們的資金流入為 1.5 億美元。本季度末，我們的現金餘額為 2.77 億美元，左輪手槍餘額為 9,500 萬美元。

While we're in compliant with all debt covenants, we amended the interest coverage ratio in our credit agreement. In terms of full year guidance, we are slightly increasing our outlook for both net and comparable store sales based on recent trends and continued progress in the professional sales channel. We are reducing our outlook for operating income margin rate, diluted earnings per share and free cash flow. We now expect deleverage in gross margin rate in the back half. This is primarily due to our commitment to maintain competitive price targets and our expectation that channel mix will remain a headwind as Professional continues to strengthen.

雖然我們遵守所有債務契約，但我們修改了信貸協議中的利息覆蓋率。就全年指導而言，我們根據近期趨勢和專業銷售渠道的持續進展，略微提高了對淨銷售額和可比商店銷售額的預期。我們正在降低營業利潤率、稀釋每股收益和自由現金流的預期。我們現在預計下半年毛利率將去槓桿。這主要是由於我們致力於維持有競爭力的價格目標，並且我們預計隨著專業業務的不斷加強，渠道組合仍將是一個阻力。

In addition, as we highlighted earlier, we are accelerating the sell-down of products and categories to expedite the transition to higher margin owned brands. In terms of SG&A, we expect the compensation investments we are making in our team as well as certain nonrecurring costs primarily related to the leadership changes announced this morning will result in slight SG&A deleverage in the back half. These headwinds will be partially offset by cost savings we expect to realize from our corporate restructuring earlier in the year. We now expect our SG&A rate at the midpoint will be slightly below the back half of last year.

此外，正如我們之前強調的那樣，我們正在加速產品和類別的銷售，以加快向利潤率更高的自有品牌的過渡。就SG&A而言，我們預計我們在團隊中進行的薪酬投資以及主要與今天上午宣布的領導層變動相關的某些非經常性成本將導致下半年SG&A輕微去槓桿化。這些不利因素將被我們預計今年早些時候通過公司重組實現的成本節約所抵消。我們現在預計 SG&A 率中點將略低於去年下半年。

All of these factors have been considered in our full year updated guidance, which includes net sales of $11.250 billion to $11.350 billion, comparable store sales of minus 0.5% to positive 0.5%, GAAP operating income margin of 4.0% to 4.3%. Income tax rate of 25%, diluted earnings per share of $4.50 to $5.10, capital expenditures of $200 million to $250 million, a range of $150 million to $250 million in free cash flow and 40 to 60 new store and branch openings.

我們在全年更新指引中考慮了所有這些因素，其中包括112.5 億美元至113.5 億美元的淨銷售額、負0.5% 至正0.5% 的可比商店銷售額、4.0% 至4.3% 的GAAP 營業利潤率。所得稅率為 25%，稀釋後每股收益為 4.50 至 5.10 美元，資本支出為 2 億至 2.5 億美元，自由現金流為 1.5 億至 2.5 億美元，開設 40 至 60 家新店和分店。

With that, let's open it up for questions. Operator?

說到這裡，讓我們開始提問吧。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Simeon Gutman from Morgan Stanley.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Simeon Gutman。

I'll have a question and a follow-up. And I guess this is to Tom and Gene and Tony. First, on Worldpac, I wanted to ask how deeply it's integrated into Advance? And then if you can talk about the synergy with the business today?

我將提出一個問題並進行跟進。我想這是給湯姆、吉恩和托尼的。首先，在Worldpac上，我想問一下它與Advance的集成有多深？那麼您今天能否談談與業務的協同作用？

Simeon. Obviously, we still run Worldpac as the design that they've had initially. They did integrate Autopart International into Worldpac. We are able to source parts from Worldpac. Our enterprise catalog is visible to all of our customers. So in that respect, it's integrated. Overall, they still run the business relatively independently and its continues to perform very well.

西蒙.顯然，我們仍然按照他們最初的設計運行 Worldpac。他們確實將 Autopart International 整合到 Worldpac 中。我們能夠從 Worldpac 採購零件。我們的企業目錄對所有客戶都是可見的。所以在這方面，它是集成的。總體而言，他們仍然相對獨立地運營業務，並且繼續表現良好。

Okay. And then the follow-up is, if you look at -- and I'm going to isolate it to a couple of areas, merchandising, supply chain and operations. If were to diagnose the biggest priorities of enhancement, especially as new leadership looks at this business, where do you think the biggest opportunity exist between those? And then as a solution, do you think it's a combination of P&L investments in capital? Or does it weight to one side or the other?

好的。然後，如果你看的話，後續行動是——我將把它分為幾個領域：銷售、供應鍊和運營。如果要診斷增強的最大優先事項，特別是當新領導層審視這項業務時，您認為其中最大的機會在哪裡？那麼作為解決方案，您認為這是資本中損益投資的結合嗎？或者它的重量偏向一側還是另一側？

Simeon, this is Gene. I think that's what the strategic review is all about, looking at different parts of our organization and trying to determine, where is the biggest leverage point. So I think it's not right for me to answer that question. I think that's a question for Shane to figure out as soon as he gets on board, I think the way you've framed it is a good way to frame it. And then I think what we need to do is determine how do we prioritize what initiatives will give us the biggest payback as quick as possible. And I would say that will be in Shane's 90-day agenda along with me. But I don't really want to commit to which 1 of the 3 is where the investment needs to be made.

西蒙，這是吉恩。我認為這就是戰略審查的全部內容，著眼於我們組織的不同部分，並試圖確定最大的槓桿點在哪裡。所以我覺得我不適合回答這個問題。我認為這是肖恩一上任就需要解決的問題，我認為你的框架方式是一個很好的框架方式。然後我認為我們需要做的是確定如何優先考慮哪些舉措能夠盡快給我們帶來最大的回報。我想說，這將與我一起列入謝恩的 90 天議程。但我真的不想承諾這三者中的哪一者是需要投資的地方。

Our next question comes from Greg Melich from Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Greg Melich。

Given the investments in both people and not passing through pricing. I guess there are 2 parts to 1 question, which is what are your inflation assumptions in top line for the back half? And then second, could you fill us in on how much payroll is growing year-on-year both in the first half and then in the plan for the back half?

考慮到對兩個人的投資，而不是通過定價。我想有一個問題分為兩部分，即您對後半部分的通脹假設是什麼？其次，您能否向我們介紹一下上半年的工資同比增長多少以及下半年的計劃？

Greg, yes, so were we expect low single digits on the pricing front and wage inflation is more like mid-single.

格雷格，是的，我們預計定價方面的數字較低，而工資通脹則更像是中個位數。

And that low single digit on pricing inflation, how does that -- what's the cadence through the year? Was that like high singles in the first quarter and then gets to 0 or low singles in the fourth quarter?

定價通脹率低至個位數，這一年的節奏是怎樣的？是不是第一節單打高，第四節單打就變成0或者低？

Yes. We were -- we work more like mid-single early in the year. It's gradually coming down. We do have a lot of work we're doing on sourcing and through the category management work, which will help us a little bit with that in the back half, but it's a very gradual reduction through the year. We also have a freight benefit in the back half, as you know. I'm sure that you're seeing that in other parts of the rev retail overall.

是的。我們在今年早些時候的工作更像是中單。正在逐漸下降。我們確實在採購和品類管理方面做了很多工作，這將對我們下半年的工作有所幫助，但全年的工作量會逐漸減少。如您所知，我們在後半部分也有運費優惠。我確信您在整個零售轉速的其他部分也看到了這一點。

Our next question comes from Michael Lasser from UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的邁克爾·拉塞爾。

Number one, can you give us a rough approximation of the sales and profitability of the Worldpac as it stands today?

第一，您能給我們大概介紹一下 Worldpac 目前的銷售額和盈利能力嗎？

Yes. No, we haven't broken that out, Michael.

是的。不，我們還沒有解決這個問題，邁克爾。

My follow-up question, Tom, is -- as you think about the pricing environment, is it that Advance has just had to play a significant amount of catch-up and its price gaps with the peers in the space has been widened. And so it's constantly having to make these price investments because of these wide gaps? Or are you seeing further -- are you seeing further decreases in prices across the space that you're having to invest in. And to what degree is this happening more so among national accounts versus up and down the street accounts?

湯姆，我的後續問題是——當你考慮定價環境時，Advance 是否剛剛必須進行大量的追趕，並且其與該領域同行的價格差距已經擴大。因此，由於這些巨大的差距，它必須不斷地進行這些價格投資？或者你是否看得更遠——你是否看到你必須投資的整個領域的價格進一步下跌。與街頭和街頭賬戶相比，這種情況在國民賬戶中發生的程度如何？

There's a lot there, Michael. I'll do my best here. First of all, I think you've characterized it fairly well. In the back half of last year, we did see our price indices move above the market to places that we didn't like and were unacceptable to us. So we are -- we did start correcting that early this year, and it's sustained through the year. The other factor that's important to note is we called out the accelerated sell-down of products that we're transitioning to the Carquest brand in the back half. And that is something that is going to weigh on gross margin in the back half.

那裡有很多東西，邁克爾。我會在這裡盡力而為。首先，我認為你已經很好地描述了它。去年下半年，我們確實看到我們的價格指數高於市場，達到了我們不喜歡且無法接受的水平。所以我們——我們確實在今年年初開始糾正這個問題，並且這一情況持續了一整年。另一個值得注意的重要因素是我們在下半年轉向 Carquest 品牌的產品加速拋售。這將影響下半年的毛利率。

It's neutral on dollars, but it's 30 to 35 basis points of rate in the back half. So that's also a factor. The good part of that is we're transitioning out of inventory that we've already paid for, and we're moving into higher-margin products with terms. So it's going to have a benefit for us down the road. But those are the two big wildcards on the -- or big factors rather on the pricing front;.

它對美元是中性的，但後半段的利率是 30 到 35 個基點。所以這也是一個因素。好處是我們正在從已經支付的庫存中過渡出來，並且我們正在轉向有條件的更高利潤的產品。因此，這將為我們帶來好處。但這些是定價方面的兩個大通配符——或者說是重要因素。

National accounts versus up and down the street, there's really not a lot of difference there in terms of what we've seen. This has been a rational industry for a long time, and I suspect it will be going forward.

國民賬戶與街頭巷尾的賬戶相比，就我們所看到的而言，實際上並沒有太大差異。長期以來，這一直是一個理性的行業，我懷疑它會繼續發展。

Our next question comes from Elizabeth Suzuki from Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的伊麗莎白鈴木。

Great. I just wanted to clarify on the margin guidance. So you mentioned you expect to deleverage gross margin in the back half and then some slight SG&A deleverage in the back half, but then there was a comment about some of those headwinds being partially offset by cost savings and the SG&A rate being slightly below the back half of last year. So I just wanted to understand whether SG&A was going to be a headwind or a tailwind to margin in the second half of this year.

偉大的。我只是想澄清一下保證金指導。因此，您提到您希望在下半年降低毛利率，然後在下半年進行一些輕微的 SG&A 去槓桿化，但隨後有評論稱，其中一些不利因素被成本節約部分抵消，而且 SG&A 率略低於下半年去年一半。所以我只是想了解 SG&A 是否會成為今年下半年利潤率的逆風或順風。

It's a slight headwind. So it's a little bit above last year, and it's based on the investments we're making in our people. We've really prioritized the customer and our people. And as Gene mentioned, that opens the door for the operational review to really look for ways to more efficiently and effectively flow through to the bottom line.

這是一個輕微的逆風。所以這個數字比去年略高一些，這是基於我們對員工的投資。我們確實將客戶和員工放在首位。正如吉恩所提到的，這為運營審查打開了大門，真正尋找更高效、更有效地實現盈利的方法。

Okay. So more of the margin headwind is going to be on the growth side. And then theoretically going forward as owned brands become a larger percentage of your total, that should result in some gross margin expansion in the years ahead. I mean, this is all pending whatever the strategic review comes out with, but just thinking about that one piece of the gross margin story?

好的。因此，更多的利潤逆風將出現在增長方面。從理論上講，隨著自有品牌在總品牌中所佔的比例越來越大，這應該會導致未來幾年的毛利率有所增長。我的意思是，無論戰略審查結果如何，這一切都在等待，但只是考慮一下毛利率故事的一部分？

Yes, that's correct. In the back half, we expect more deleverage from gross margin. And as I just mentioned to Michael, 30, 35 basis points of that is this accelerated transition of products into CQ.

對，那是正確的。下半年，我們預計毛利率將進一步去槓桿。正如我剛才向 Michael 提到的，其中 30、35 個基點是產品向 CQ 的加速過渡。

Our next question comes from Chris Horvers from JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的克里斯·霍弗斯。

So following up on an earlier question, the improvement that you've seen in the business in the last 8 weeks, was that -- I guess, to what degree did the DIY business improve? And then on the Pro side, you mentioned both national accounts and up and down the street business improved, but was it weighted to 1 side versus the other side of the Pro?

那麼，繼續回答之前的問題，即您在過去 8 週內看到的業務改善，我想，DIY 業務改善到什麼程度？然後在 Pro 方面，您提到國民賬戶和街頭業務都有所改善，但它是否加權到 Pro 的一側與另一側？

Chris, yes, we're pleased with DIY. It's our third consecutive quarter of growing comp sales in DIY, and it did improve in the quarter. So the availability investments that we're making benefit DIY too. Our e-commerce business is performing well Pro did -- has improved more. As you know, in the last half of 2022, we slipped in Pro. So it -- we're disproportionately in the last several weeks, Pro has improved better.

克里斯，是的，我們對 DIY 很滿意。這是我們 DIY 領域的銷售額連續第三個季度增長，並且本季度確實有所改善。因此，我們所做的可用性投資也有利於 DIY。我們的電子商務業務表現良好，Pro 也取得了更大的進步。如您所知，2022 年下半年，我們滑入了 Pro 版。所以，在過去的幾周里，我們不成比例地，Pro 取得了更好的進步。

And the national accounts versus up and down the street, we're seeing improvement in both -- so there is good progress there. TechNet is performing better. So really all of our professional business is benefiting from the actions we're taking. And I will call out that the field is doing a very good job executing as well. They're getting out there, meeting with the garages, moving up the call list, all the things that we need to do to win the business with our installers up and down the street and national accounts.

與普通國民賬戶相比，我們看到兩者都有所改善——所以這方面取得了良好的進展。 TechNet 的表現更好。因此，實際上我們所有的專業業務都受益於我們正在採取的行動。我要指出的是，該領域的執行工作也非常出色。他們走出去，與修理廠會面，提高通話名單，我們需要做所有這些事情來贏得街上和街道上安裝人員的業務和國民賬戶。

Got it. And then there's a lot of questions around Worldpac sizing the business, the margins of the business as a potential way to create shareholder value. I guess can you talk out loud for us as you think about the strategic relevance of having Worldpac in the argument from the start of the acquisition and through your tenure has always been the expansiveness of the catalog, the one-stop shop that Worldpac brings on top of what Advance brings. So what do you lose?

知道了。然後，圍繞 Worldpac 的業務規模、業務利潤率作為創造股東價值的潛在方式，存在很多問題。我想您能否大聲為我們發言，因為您認為從收購之初起以及在您的任期內讓 Worldpac 參與爭論的戰略相關性始終是產品目錄的廣泛性，以及 Worldpac 帶來的一站式服務Advance帶來的頂部。那麼你會失去什麼？

And then secondly, is there any cash flow dynamics that we're concerned about here? Obviously, your cash -- free cash flow guidance has come down. Does it -- are you concerned that this could start to unwind some of the vendor financing programs that you have in place and there's some compelling reason to create cash flow and that are sort of financial leverage on the balance sheet?

其次，我們是否擔心現金流動態？顯然，你的現金自由現金流指引已經下降。您是否擔心這可能會開始解除您現有的一些供應商融資計劃，並且有一些令人信服的理由來創造現金流，這就是資產負債表上的財務槓桿？

Hi. This is Gene. It was a real lot in that question. I'm not sure we're going to get to all of it. But let me just start off with I think the first part of the question asking about Worldpac's role in the organization. I think Tom can give his opinion on that, but this is going to be a Shane's decision on how -- after we do the strategic and operational review, he's going to need to be the one who decides what role Worldpac plays in the organization, whether you integrate it or you don't integrate it, you run it as a separate business. And how is it play with all the other assets in the organization. So I think that's really -- it's important. Now I think Tom can give his opinion on how he thinks about the business, but this is going to be a Shane decision as we move forward.

你好。這是吉恩.這個問題涉及的內容確實很多。我不確定我們是否能完成所有工作。但讓我先從我認為問題的第一部分開始，詢問 Worldpac 在該組織中的角色。我認為湯姆可以對此發表意見，但這將是謝恩的決定——在我們進行戰略和運營審查之後，他將需要成為決定 Worldpac 在組織中扮演什麼角色的人，無論集成還是不集成，您都將其作為一項單獨的業務來運營。它如何與組織中的所有其他資產一起發揮作用。所以我認為這真的很重要。現在我認為湯姆可以就他對業務的看法發表意見，但這將是謝恩在我們前進時做出的決定。

Sure. So I mean, the big thing, Chris, is the enterprise assortment. It gives us a broader assortment than anybody in the industry. Obviously, we've got national brands. We've got our own brand lineup, which we're very proud of. And then obviously, the OE products that Worldpac brings to the table, gives us up to 350,000 in-market stock parts. So that gives us an advantage there. And we're able to leverage that through all of the banners that we sell to the customers. So that's the big thing. But again, as Gene said, we've got to go through the review, and find new ways to flow through profitability to the bottom line. So that will come out of the review.

當然。所以我的意思是，克里斯，最重要的是企業品種。它為我們提供了比業內任何人都更廣泛的產品種類。顯然，我們有民族品牌。我們擁有自己的品牌陣容，對此我們感到非常自豪。顯然，Worldpac 提供的 OE 產品為我們提供了多達 350,000 個市場庫存零件。所以這給了我們一個優勢。我們能夠通過我們向客戶銷售的所有橫幅來利用這一點。這才是最重要的。但正如吉恩所說，我們必須進行審查，並找到新的方法將盈利能力轉化為利潤。這將是審查的結果。

And then anything on the balance sheet side?

那麼資產負債表方面有什麼嗎？

Chris, this is Tony. So we're not seeing any changes in our supplier finance programs or any attractiveness in that. So as you know, we disclosed that, and you'll read more about that in the Q later today.

克里斯，這是托尼。因此，我們沒有看到我們的供應商融資計劃有任何變化，也沒有看到任何吸引力。如您所知，我們披露了這一點，您將在今天晚些時候的問題中閱讀更多相關內容。

Our next question comes from Bret Jordan from Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Bret Jordan。

On the Carquest private label strategy, I guess, you've been losing some commercial market share in the last quarters and obviously, are talking about price investment now around the brand. I guess, is that something that's either -- is the commercial perception of that an issue in the share loss? Or is it an availability issue in the share loss?

關於 Carquest 自有品牌策略，我想，您在過去幾個季度中一直在失去一些商業市場份額，顯然，現在正在談論圍繞該品牌的價格投資。我想，這是不是——商業上對此的看法是否是股票損失的一個問題？或者是股票損失的可用性問題？

I think if you look back last year and into the first part of this year, it was primarily availability, Brad, as you highlighted a minute ago. But I do think our availability improvements that we've made there have been the biggest driver of the change. Our on-hand rates are up very nicely in the key categories we transition, which you know, engine management and the car et cetera. And that's been the bigger driver, and we expect that to continue to be a benefit for us in the back half.

我認為，如果你回顧去年和今年上半年，你會發現主要是可用性，布拉德，正如你一分鐘前強調的那樣。但我確實認為我們所做的可用性改進是這一變化的最大推動力。在我們轉型的關鍵類別中，我們的現有價格增長得非常好，你知道，發動機管理和汽車等。這是更大的推動力，我們預計這將繼續為我們後半段帶來好處。

Our professional installers love the Carquest brand. Our brakes are the best -- we have the best brake program in the business. And transitioning these products has been very difficult. It's taken us more time than we would like. But once we get them in and the customer gets a chance to install them, this is a product that we get repeated to see business off them.

我們的專業安裝人員喜歡 Carquest 品牌。我們的製動器是最好的——我們擁有業內最好的製動程序。轉型這些產品非常困難。這花費了我們比我們想要的更多的時間。但是，一旦我們將它們引入並且客戶有機會安裝它們，我們就會重複該產品以吸引他們的業務。

Okay. And then a follow-up question on that supplier base. I guess, obviously, the fact that payables programs given the leverage ratio might be under some pressure. But in the transition to more private label, is that going to support the payables? Are those vendors willing to take a longer term than maybe a national brand would?

好的。然後是關於供應商基礎的後續問題。我想，顯然，考慮到槓桿率，應付賬款計劃可能會面臨一些壓力。但在向更多自有品牌過渡的過程中，這會支持應付賬款嗎？這些供應商是否願意比民族品牌接受更長的期限？

I mean we obviously factor in all those changes, Bret. When we make a change from a national brand to Carquest, we know what the change in the terms are. So we factor all that in. And it's part of the calculus, right, when we make the decision. We look at the margin rate. We look at the quality. We look at the vendor itself, most of which are OE providers, so they make a very high-quality product and then we evaluate the terms. So it's a holistic decision that we're making in terms of selecting our suppliers.

我的意思是，我們顯然考慮了所有這些變化，布雷特。當我們從民族品牌更改為 Carquest 時，我們知道條款的變化是什麼。所以我們把所有這些因素都考慮在內。當我們做出決定時，這是微積分的一部分，對吧。我們看一下保證金率。我們看的是質量。我們關注供應商本身，其中大多數是原設備供應商，因此他們生產的產品質量非常高，然後我們評估條款。因此，這是我們在選擇供應商方面做出的整體決定。

Okay. I guess from that -- from the forecast on cash flow for the year, where do you see the payables ratio getting down to, I guess, as we add another couple of EBIT quarters that might have your leverage ratio above 3?

好的。我猜想，從今年現金流的預測來看，當我們添加另外幾個可能使槓桿率高於 3 的息稅前利潤季度時，您認為應付賬款比率會下降到什麼程度？

Yes. As you saw from Q1 to Q2, it's starting to go up, and we expect it to continue to increase over time as we get some of those investments behind us and then we continue to build and replenish. So we actually believe that the AP ratio will continue to expand.

是的。正如您從第一季度到第二季度看到的那樣，它開始上升，我們預計隨著時間的推移，隨著我們獲得一些投資，然後我們繼續建設和補充，它會繼續增加。所以我們實際上認為AP比率會繼續擴大。

Our next question comes from Seth Sigman from Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的塞思·西格曼。

I wanted to follow-up on the gross margin. It sounds like part of the issue is pricing to cover the cost. But I'm curious, why is that so different for AAP? And I'm curious, are you still seeing incremental cost pressures in COGS? Or is this really a function of you had elevated product and supply chain costs last year. Some of that was capitalized into inventory or on the balance sheet. It's just flowing through now as the inventory turns. And if that's right, do you have visibility into when that starts to normalize for this year?

我想跟進毛利率。聽起來問題的一部分在於定價以彌補成本。但我很好奇，為什麼 AAP 的情況如此不同？我很好奇，您是否仍然看到銷貨成本增加的成本壓力？或者這真的是去年產品和供應鏈成本上升的結果嗎？其中一些被資本化到庫存或資產負債表上。隨著庫存周轉，它現在正在流動。如果這是正確的，您是否知道今年何時開始正常化？

I think, the earlier question sort of answered that one, Seth, which is we did see our pricing elevate above the market in the back half of last year, and we are addressing that as we go into this year, and you'll see that through the back half. So we're committed to a holistic solution here. We want to make sure our billability gets better, our visibility of our parts is better and service and delivery continues to improve. And we are going to sustain the price index. We'll continue to stay focused on that. But as we get into, obviously, further out, you'll see that normalize.

我認為，之前的問題有點回答了這個問題，Seth，我們確實看到去年下半年我們的定價高於市場水平，進入今年我們正在解決這個問題，你會看到通過後半部分。因此，我們致力於提供整體解決方案。我們希望確保我們的計費能力變得更好，我們的零件的可見性更好，並且服務和交付持續改善。我們將維持價格指數。我們將繼續關注這一點。但顯然，當我們進一步了解時，你會看到這種情況變得正常化。

Okay. So if we look at the EBIT margin outlook for the second half of the year, you did lower it, but it looks like the year-over-year change will be down less than, I guess, in the first half of the year. Can you just help us contextualize what may be driving that improvement in trend in the second half of the year?

好的。因此，如果我們看看下半年的息稅前利潤率前景，你確實降低了它，但我猜，同比變化似乎將小於上半年。您能否幫助我們了解一下可能推動下半年趨勢改善的因素？

Yes, sure. I mean for sure, on the gross margin side, we mentioned freight earlier, freight becomes a tailwind for us in the back half. Some of our category management initiatives begin to benefit us in the back half. And just year-over-year, price versus cost is not as punitive as it was in the front half of the year. We've got more sales, so there's less supply chain to leverage on the gross margin side.

是的，當然。我的意思是，可以肯定的是，在毛利率方面，我們之前提到了貨運，貨運成為我們後半段的順風車。我們的一些品類管理舉措在下半年開始讓我們受益。與去年同期相比，價格與成本的對比並不像上半年那樣具有懲罰性。我們的銷售額增加了，因此可用於毛利率方面的供應鏈減少了。

As we said, SG&A is smaller. We're going to have slightly above last year's rate on SG&A, which involves the investments we're making in our team to make sure that we reduce turnover in the stores and really keep all the great people we have here in the corporate office. So those are the 2 drivers, and both of them are going to get better than they were in the front half.

正如我們所說，SG&A 較小。我們的銷售管理、行政管理費率將略高於去年，這涉及我們對團隊進行的投資，以確保我們減少商店的營業額，並真正將我們擁有的所有優秀人才留在公司辦公室。這就是兩名車手，他們都會比前半場表現得更好。

Our next question comes from Steven Zaccone from Citigroup.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Steven Zaccone。

Congrats on the new CEO announcement. I guess, Gene, my question is for you. As you take a more active role in the business, I'm curious for your assessment of how long it will take for this business to return to profitable growth? I know Shane will come in, and it seems like he has a lot to figure out. But from your seat, do you think of this as a 1-year invest to grow margin strategy? Or is this something that's more multiyear in nature?

祝賀新任首席執行官的任命。我想，吉恩，我的問題是問你的。隨著您在業務中發揮更加積極的作用，我很好奇您對這項業務需要多長時間才能恢復盈利增長的評估？我知道肖恩會進來，而且他似乎有很多事情需要弄清楚。但從您的角度來看，您是否認為這是一項為期一年的投資以提高利潤率的策略？或者這本質上是多年的事情？

Well, I think it's less than 1 year. I mean I think that we should start seeing incremental improvement pretty quickly here. There's some really good actions that are being taken right now, especially around the operational front. I think we're doing a much better job today, up and down the street with our professional customers. I think we're operating at the store level much better. I think we're making significant improvements in supply chain. And more importantly, I think when you think about our strategy with our top 4,000 products, what we're calling (inaudible), we've made great progress there, too.

嗯，我認為還不到1年。我的意思是，我認為我們應該很快開始看到漸進式的改進。目前正在採取一些非常好的行動，特別是在運營方面。我認為今天我們與專業客戶的合作做得更好了。我認為我們在商店層面的運營要好得多。我認為我們正在供應鏈方面做出重大改進。更重要的是，我認為，當您考慮我們對 4,000 種頂級產品的戰略（我們所說的（聽不清））時，我們在這方面也取得了巨大進展。

So I think that we are -- I think that the price to inflation gap will continue to grow. And as we move forward, we should actually be able to price to cover inflation after we wrap. Therefore, you're not going to see the same kind of deleverage in the gross margin line. And so I think that we're going to start seeing improvement pretty quickly. We've been working hard to last 90 to 120 days on some, I think, some focused initiatives that are starting to come through for us. We're seeing that in the sales line. We're excited every morning that we're seeing some sales growth. So I think as we get past the back half of the year, we will actually see price at inflation or slightly above inflation, and then we can get to start to leveraging both gross margin and gross profit and our SG&A.

所以我認為我們——我認為價格與通脹的差距將繼續擴大。隨著我們的前進，我們實際上應該能夠在結束後定價以彌補通貨膨脹。因此，你不會在毛利率線上看到同樣類型的去槓桿化。所以我認為我們很快就會開始看到改進。我認為，我們一直在努力工作 90 到 120 天，一些有重點的舉措已經開始為我們實現。我們在銷售隊伍中看到了這一點。每天早上我們都為看到銷售額的增長而感到興奮。因此，我認為，當我們度過今年下半年時，我們實際上會看到價格處於通脹水平或略高於通脹水平，然後我們就可以開始利用毛利率和毛利潤以及我們的銷售管理費用。

That's great. And then just to follow-up because there's been several questions clearly on Worldpac, but I was curious with the operational and strategic review. Is it fair to conclude that includes the potential for asset divestitures?

那太棒了。然後只是跟進，因為 Worldpac 上顯然有幾個問題，但我對運營和戰略審查感到好奇。包括資產剝離的可能性的結論是否公平？

I think there's a range of options that we have to consider. We sit here today, we think Worldpac is a great asset. And as I think about all our assets, I think the #1 issue in our organization today is asset productivity. So we need to evaluate the productivity of all of our assets, including Worldpac. We need to understand what's the potential of all those assets? How do they fit organizationally? And how to best operationalize those assets?

我認為我們必須考慮一系列的選擇。我們今天坐在這裡，我們認為 Worldpac 是一筆巨大的資產。當我思考我們所有的資產時，我認為我們組織當今的第一個問題是資產生產力。因此，我們需要評估所有資產的生產力，包括 Worldpac。我們需要了解所有這些資產的潛力是什麼？他們在組織上如何適應？以及如何最好地運用這些資產？

To me, that's what the comprehensive strategic review is all about. And I think we -- I think there's going to be more focus on the operational review because we have a lot of opportunity there to improve our processes and procedures from end to end. And I think that's really over time, where the cost savings will come as to improving those processes and procedures. And I think Tom mentioned earlier, we were working hard on our category management. We have an outside consultant and working with us, and we're making some really great progress that I think will -- will show some positive results into '24, and I'm excited about that.

對我來說，這就是全面戰略審查的意義所在。我認為我們將更加關注運營審查，因為我們有很多機會從頭到尾改進我們的流程和程序。我認為隨著時間的推移，改進這些流程和程序將會節省成本。我想湯姆之前提到過，我們正在努力進行品類管理。我們有一位外部顧問與我們合作，我們正在取得一些非常大的進展，我認為這些進展將在 24 年顯示出一些積極的成果，我對此感到興奮。

But there's other opportunities and what I've been referring to as the value chain to evaluate all our processes and procedures. So I would say we have a wide range of options. Everything is on the table, but I think we need to truly understand -- Shane needs to truly understand what's the potential of all these assets and how do they fit in and how we best operationalize them.

但還有其他機會以及我所說的價值鏈來評估我們所有的流程和程序。所以我想說我們有很多選擇。一切都擺在桌面上，但我認為我們需要真正了解 - 肖恩需要真正了解所有這些資產的潛力以及它們如何適應以及我們如何最好地運作它們。

Our next question comes from Steven Forbes from Guggenheim Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自古根海姆合夥人公司的史蒂文·福布斯。

I have a 2-part question on capital spending. So first, given the reduction in spending plans year-to-date from the starting the year, can you help us better understand what the team has pulled back on? And then the second part is, as we think about sort of more normalized capital spending ratios looking out, any initial thoughts on what the go-forward spend rate should be?

我有一個關於資本支出的問題，分為兩部分。首先，鑑於年初至今支出計劃有所減少，您能否幫助我們更好地了解團隊縮減了哪些支出？然後第二部分是，當我們考慮某種更正常化的資本支出比率時，對未來支出率應該是多少有什麼初步想法嗎？

Stephen, this is Tony. As you'll recall, in the first quarter, we had a higher number of new store openings, and we brought that down in our guide after the first quarter. And that's primarily driving the reduction in capital spend. On a go-forward basis, that's what the strategic review is going to help us identify it.

斯蒂芬，這是托尼。您可能還記得，在第一季度，我們新開的商店數量較多，我們在第一季度後將其納入指南中。這主要推動了資本支出的減少。從長遠來看，這就是戰略審查將幫助我們識別的內容。

Our next question comes from Kate McShane from Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的凱特·麥克沙恩。

We just had a simple question about your view on the current inventory levels and in stocks. And if there are any categories where you still think your inventory is not where you want it to be? And when you can expect to maybe be more in line there?

我們只是有一個簡單的問題，詢問您對當前庫存水平和庫存的看法。如果您仍然認為某些類別的庫存不在您想要的位置？什麼時候你可以期望在那裡更加排隊？

Yes. So we feel pretty good, Kate, about the inventory levels. We've done a -- as Gene mentioned, the real intense focus on their highest velocity SKUs and making sure that we're in stock on those items. We've added some depth to the highest velocity SKUs in the stores and the distribution centers. That's paying dividends. And we've also added coverage or breadth, which is also helping. We measure that by virtue of our on-hand rates and our close rates, which are both growing significantly.

是的。凱特，我們對庫存水平感覺很好。正如吉恩所提到的，我們確實高度關注他們最高速度的 SKU，並確保我們有這些商品的庫存。我們為商店和配送中心的最高流通量 SKU 增加了一些深度。這就是紅利。我們還增加了覆蓋範圍或廣度，這也有所幫助。我們通過現有價格和成交價格來衡量這一點，這兩者都在顯著增長。

So we feel very good. And the categories themselves that are benefiting the most are the ones that we were weak on last year. So the transition that was made, we had a lot of different suppliers that we're involved with. Those suppliers have really stepped up, and we're grateful for that. Our suppliers are really important to us. We're starting to really make some gains in those categories, and there's still a lot of room for us to grow from there. So there's nothing uniformly good or uniformly negative at this point. We've grown in aggregate and each of those categories are moving up nicely.

所以我們感覺很好。受益最大的類別本身就是我們去年表現疲弱的類別。因此，在轉型過程中，我們涉及了很多不同的供應商。這些供應商確實挺身而出，我們對此表示感謝。我們的供應商對我們來說非常重要。我們已經開始在這些類別中真正取得一些進展，而且我們還有很大的發展空間。因此，目前沒有什麼事情是一律好的或一律壞的。我們總體上已經成長，每個類別都在進步。

Our next question comes from Brian Nagel from Oppenheimer.

我們的下一個問題來自奧本海默的布萊恩·內格爾。

So my first question, a bit of a follow-up to prior question. But if you look at the improving business you've seen lately -- improving sales you've seen lately, how -- you step back, how much of that is internal efforts on the part of Advance versus maybe a solidified backdrop within the sector?

我的第一個問題是前一個問題的後續問題。但如果你看看最近看到的業務的改善——最近看到的銷售的改善，你退後一步，其中有多少是Advance的內部努力，而不是行業內的堅實背景？

Yes. I mean, that's difficult to say, Brian. Obviously, we don't really get to see that until our peers will report a more comparable time frame. And we see DIY, which we feel really good about comparatively. But the pro channel is the one I'm referencing. So we really need to see how everybody else performs. It's been extremely hot this summer. So we are seeing strength in those categories. You'd expect heating and cooling, obviously. But overall, as we talk to our suppliers, particularly the ones in our parts categories, we are doing much better. So we feel good about the actions we're taking, and we're going to continue to execute against them.

是的。我的意思是，這很難說，布萊恩。顯然，直到我們的同行報告更具可比性的時間框架之前，我們才能真正看到這一點。我們看到了DIY，我們對此感覺非常好。但我指的是專業頻道。所以我們真的需要看看其他人的表現如何。今年夏天特別熱。所以我們看到了這些類別的優勢。顯然，您會期望加熱和冷卻。但總的來說，當我們與供應商，特別是我們零部件類別的供應商交談時，我們做得更好了。因此，我們對我們正在採取的行動感到滿意，並且我們將繼續針對他們執行這些行動。

Brian, it's Gene. I wanted to say that what I've seen is that the team is taking a specific action, and we're seeing a specific result because of that action. So I think -- I think Tom is correct. We need to see the backdrop. But what I can see from where I sit is, and they tell me we're going to do something, we do it, and then we get a reaction from that. That's positive, in my mind.

布萊恩，我是吉恩。我想說的是，我所看到的是團隊正在採取特定的行動，並且由於該行動我們看到了特定的結果。所以我認為——我認為湯姆是正確的。我們需要看到背景。但從我坐的地方我可以看到，他們告訴我我們要做某事，我們就去做，然後我們就會得到反應。在我看來，這是積極的。

That's helpful. I appreciate it. And then my follow-up question. In your prepared comments, you talked about, I guess, a shift you made in a debt covenant, if I said that correctly. So I guess the question is, maybe you can articulate what you did there. To what extent that affords you more flexibility? And could there be other similar type adjustments being made here to the debt structure of the company?

這很有幫助。我很感激。然後是我的後續問題。我想，在您準備好的評論中，您談到了對債務契約的轉變（如果我說得沒錯的話）。所以我想問題是，也許你可以清楚地表達你在那裡做了什麼。這在多大程度上為您提供了更大的靈活性？公司的債務結構是否還會進行其他類似的調整？

Brian, this is Tony. I'll take that. As I mentioned in the prepared remarks, we adjusted our interest coverage ratio. That provides a little bit of relief, primarily due to the higher interest expense that we carried earlier in the year. We did not adjust the leverage ratio. Those are our 2 primary covenants. We're confident in that, but it gives us a further financial flexibilities that we needed.

布萊恩，這是托尼。我會接受的。正如我在準備好的發言中提到的，我們調整了利息覆蓋率。這提供了一點緩解，主要是由於我們今年早些時候承擔的利息費用較高。我們沒有調整槓桿率。這是我們的兩個主要聖約。我們對此充滿信心，但它為我們提供了所需的進一步財務靈活性。

Our next question comes from Scot Ciccarelli from Truist.

我們的下一個問題來自 Truist 的 Scot Ciccarelli。

I know you talked about improving sales trends for the last, call it, 6 to 8 weeks. But you posted negative comps in the first half. Can you help us understand why you would slightly raise the full year comp estimate? Is it just a matter of kind of the latest momentum? Or is there something else you're expecting to play out in the back half?

我知道您談到了過去 6 到 8 週內銷售趨勢的改善。但你在上半場發布了負面的數據。您能否幫助我們理解為什麼您會略微提高全年薪酬預估？這只是最新勢頭的問題嗎？或者您還希望在後半場發揮出其他作用嗎？

It really is the momentum we've seen in recent weeks, Scot. Obviously, the fourth quarter is always volatile. So we have to keep that in mind. And we did finish the year strong on DIY in the fourth quarter last year. But based on everything we've seen, we track, as you guys do the multiyear comps, the multiyear sales, everything that we're doing, we feel very good about our guidance on sales.

斯科特，這確實是我們最近幾週看到的勢頭。顯然，第四季度始終是波動的。所以我們必須牢記這一點。去年第四季度，我們確實在 DIY 方面表現強勁。但根據我們所看到的一切，我們跟踪，正如你們所做的多年比較，多年銷售，我們所做的一切，我們對我們的銷售指導感到非常滿意。

Okay. And then secondly, I know Tony talked about expectations for payables the inventory to improve during the course of the year. But I think someone asked about is there any kind of target ratio for the end of year? I don't think I caught that.

好的。其次，我知道托尼談到了對今年應付賬款和庫存改善的預期。但我想有人問年底有沒有什麼目標比例？我不認為我明白了。

No, we haven't identified a targeted ratio, but we expect to see improvement in the accounts payable to inventory ratio throughout the year and into next year.

不，我們尚未確定目標比率，但我們預計全年和明年的應付賬款與存貨比率將有所改善。

And no magnitude you can provide us?

您無法向我們提供任何規模嗎？

Not today.

今天不行。

Our next question comes from Seth Basham from Wedbush.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wedbush 的 Seth Basham。

Within your professional business, are you currently seeing more gross margin rate pressure in national accounts or top or down the street customers?

在您的專業業務中，您目前是否在國民賬戶或頂級或街頭客戶中看到更大的毛利率壓力？

Yes. I mean it's really -- when we look at the competitive price index, Seth, we look at it in multiple ways, obviously. And so we are matching with -- or we're targeted in each of those channels. So there's no major difference between the 2.

是的。我的意思是，當我們查看競爭性價格指數時，Seth，我們顯然會以多種方式來看待它。因此，我們正在匹配——或者說我們在每個渠道中都有目標。所以2者之間沒有什麼大的區別。

Got it. And then in terms of your balance sheet, with the declining free cash flow, do you see risk that your credit rating could be downgraded from investment grade?

知道了。然後，就您的資產負債表而言，隨著自由現金流的下降，您是否認為您的信用評級可能會從投資級別下調？

Yes. So we can't speak on behalf of the agencies, but we are in active dialogue with them all the time. We do believe that the free cash flow that you see in the year is reflective of the inventory investments we've made. And if you look at in prior years, we do believe that, that's a good indication of what this company can return to.

是的。所以我們不能代表這些機構發言，但我們一直在與他們積極對話。我們確實相信，您今年看到的自由現金流反映了我們所做的庫存投資。如果你看看前幾年，我們確實相信，這很好地表明了這家公司可以恢復到什麼水平。

Our next question comes from Zack Fadem from Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Zack Fadem。

Is there any extra color you can provide on how the up and down the street business has been performing relative to your national accounts? And just from an infrastructure perspective, can you talk about what you think your competitive advantages and disadvantages are today for serving these particular customers relative to your peers?

您是否可以提供任何額外的信息來說明街頭商業相對於您的國民賬戶的表現？僅從基礎設施的角度來看，您能否談談您認為與同行相比，您目前為這些特定客戶提供服務的競爭優勢和劣勢是什麼？

First of all, the up and down the street business, as we mentioned earlier, I mean, there's a lot of customers, Zack. We look at how many customers we're selling to every week, we look at the dollars per customer every week. And we are seeing progress there. I think longer term, our belief is that the larger strategic accounts are going to grow faster than the up and down the street business. But at the moment, we are seeing strength on both sides of that business. And can you repeat the second part of your question again? I just want to make sure I understood it right.

首先，正如我們之前提到的，街上的生意，我的意思是，有很多顧客，扎克。我們每週都會查看向多少客戶銷售產品，每週都會查看每位客戶的收入。我們正在那裡看到進展。我認為從長遠來看，我們相信較大的戰略客戶將比街頭業務增長得更快。但目前，我們看到該業務雙方的實力。您能再重複一下您問題的第二部分嗎？我只是想確保我理解正確。

Yes. What do you think your advantages or disadvantages are for serving these particular customers versus your peers?

是的。您認為與您的同行相比，您在服務這些特定客戶方面的優勢或劣勢是什麼？

I think it's similar to what we've said. I think it's similar on both sides of the business. I mean it's about having an enterprise assortment. We've got a great footprint. We've got terrific brands and high-quality parts, and we're going to continue to leverage our availability, the visibility of our products, our service and delivery.

我認為這與我們所說的類似。我認為業務雙方都是相似的。我的意思是，這是關於擁有企業品種。我們已經留下了巨大的足跡。我們擁有出色的品牌和高質量的零件，我們將繼續利用我們的可用性、產品的知名度、我們的服務和交付。

We grew up in the professional business. Carquest is a professional brand, and we'll continue to leverage all of the things that we have to win the Professional business. As Gene said, the idea from here is to improve the asset productivity of our business and ensure that as we drive growth, we're able to flow it through better to the bottom line.

我們在專業行業中成長。 Carquest 是一個專業品牌，我們將繼續利用我們所擁有的一切來贏得專業業務。正如吉恩所說，這裡的想法是提高我們業務的資產生產力，並確保在我們推動增長的同時，我們能夠更好地實現盈利。

Got it. And I know that the strategic review is ongoing. So the answer to this question may change. But as you come through all the short-term noise this year around your P&L, pricing, investments, et cetera, can you talk through what you think the right structural EBIT margin is for this business over the long term?

知道了。我知道戰略審查正在進行中。所以這個問題的答案可能會改變。但是，當您經歷了今年圍繞損益表、定價、投資等的所有短期噪音時，您能否談談您認為長期來看該業務的正確結構性息稅前利潤率是多少？

I think that -- I mean as we sit here today, that's impossible to pinpoint. What I believe today, as I get more involved in this is that there's a lot of room for incremental improvement year-over-year. We do have some structural differences to our other big competitors. I think they're well documented. But we know that we can improve from where we are today significantly.

我認為——我的意思是，當我們今天坐在這裡時，這是不可能確定的。今天，隨著我更多地參與其中，我相信，逐年進步的空間很大。與其他主要競爭對手相比，我們確實存在一些結構性差異。我認為它們有很好的記錄。但我們知道，我們可以在今天的基礎上取得顯著的進步。

And I think putting a number out there is unfair to Shane and the rest of the management team. We need to go through more so the operational review to understand what the true opportunities are to service our customers and take care of our team members and to provide the best service we can to every one of our customers. That's got to be the goal long term.

我認為公佈這個數字對肖恩和管理團隊的其他成員來說是不公平的。我們需要進行更多的運營審查，以了解服務客戶、照顧團隊成員以及為每一位客戶提供最好服務的真正機會是什麼。這必須是長期目標。

Our next question comes from Michael Baker from D.A. Davidson.

我們的下一個問題來自 D.A. 的邁克爾·貝克 (Michael Baker)。戴維森。

Okay. Gene, if I could just follow-up on that last point. Can you remind what do you see as the structural differences between your margin structure and the other guys? We know there's different rent versus own situation, which maybe drags down your margins a little bit versus competitors. But even if you look at it on like an EBITDAR basis, there's a huge gap, and that gap has widened over time. So what are the structural differences besides you guys rent more stores than they do?

好的。吉恩，如果我能跟進最後一點就好了。您能否提醒一下您認為您的利潤結構與其他公司之間的結構性差異是什麼？我們知道租金與自身情況不同，這可能會稍微降低您與競爭對手相比的利潤率。但即使你以 EBITDAR 為基礎來看待它，也會發現巨大的差距，而且隨著時間的推移，這種差距還在擴大。那麼，除了你們比他們租用更多的商店之外，還有什麼結構性差異呢？

Well, I think it's the mix of the business. Remember, we've got a very large business inside our business, which is the independents in which the margin structure is very, very different, but it's a very lucrative business. I would say the biggest thing that impacts our margins overall is the asset productivity, right? We're doing approximately 1.7 a box, and the other guys are doing approximately 2.3, 2.4. So, I mean, if you just look at that productivity, you just increase it just the $2 million, what it does to our margins.

嗯，我認為這是業務的混合。請記住，我們的業務中有一個非常大的業務，即獨立業務，其利潤結構非常非常不同，但這是一項非常有利可圖的業務。我想說，影響我們整體利潤率的最大因素是資產生產率，對嗎？我們大約生產一盒 1.7 個，其他人大約生產 2.3、2.4 個。所以，我的意思是，如果你只看生產力，你只需增加 200 萬美元，這對我們的利潤率有多大影響。

The flow-through on that additional sales is fantastic. And also, when you look at the way our distribution centers are set up, that's a huge structural disadvantage that will need to be addressed at some point. How that gets prioritized, I don't know today, but that needs to be dealt with. And so I keep reverting back to -- and I describe it as asset productivity. Our assets are not productive enough to create the right margin structure. Then you get into own versus rent, channel mix, our independent business. But the first priority is to improve the productivity of all the assets. That will impact the biggest impact on margins.

額外銷售的流量非常好。而且，當你看看我們的配送中心的設置方式時，你會發現這是一個巨大的結構性劣勢，需要在某個時候解決。我今天不知道如何確定優先級，但這需要解決。所以我不斷回到——我將其描述為資產生產力。我們的資產生產力不足以創造合適的利潤結構。然後你就開始討論自有與租賃、渠道組合、我們的獨立業務。但首要任務是提高所有資產的生產率。這將對利潤率產生最大的影響。

Yes. Yes, I completely agree. And I would say that some of that isn't necessarily structural. So that's the opportunity. If I could ask one other question. I guess that was my follow-up the first question. This is my main question. Talk to us about the qualities that you thought make Shane O’Kelly the right pick? Is it his distribution capabilities or operational capabilities? It's been a while since I assume you looked at auto -- people who are in the auto parts business, how much does that factor in -- or how much would you consider that and what made Shane better than anyone within the business?

是的。是的，我完全同意。我想說，其中一些不一定是結構性的。這就是機會。如果我可以再問一個問題的話。我想這是我對第一個問題的後續回答。這是我的主要問題。與我們談談您認為肖恩·奧凱利 (Shane O'Kelly) 成為正確人選的品質是什麼？是他的分銷能力還是運營能力？我猜你已經有一段時間沒有關注汽車了——那些從事汽車零部件行業的人，這在多大程度上是一個因素——或者你會在多大程度上考慮這一點？是什麼讓謝恩比業內的任何人都更好？

Yes. I think great question. I mean we had a comprehensive search, right? We talked to a lot of people. And by far, Shane was the best person for this role when you think about his experience. He is a very disciplined, thoughtful leader who has been in the professional channel, most of his career, but it had exposure to big-box retail, a lot of good process and procedures he's been a part of.

是的。我認為這是一個很好的問題。我的意思是我們進行了全面的搜索，對吧？我們和很多人交談過。到目前為止，考慮到肖恩的經歷，他是這個角色的最佳人選。他是一位非常自律、深思熟慮的領導者，他職業生涯的大部分時間都在專業渠道工作，但也接觸過大型零售業，他參與了許多良好的流程和程序。

I think that he -- he's a car enthusiast. He is sold into the channel before. He loves the business. And I think his leadership style is perfect for where we are in our journey and what we need. I would say that as we talk to people that had industry experience, people that were most interesting had noncompetes and they're very difficult to get out of their current position because of that noncompete.

我認為他是一位汽車愛好者。他之前是被賣進渠道的。他熱愛這個行業。我認為他的領導風格非常適合我們所處的階段和我們的需求。我想說，當我們與有行業經驗的人交談時，最有趣的人有非競爭性，並且由於這種非競爭性，他們很難擺脫目前的職位。

But even so, when it was all said and done, Shane O’Kelly was by far our best candidate for this role in the current situation. He's well educated, strong disciplined background, and he's just a thoughtful human being with a real focus on customers. And so we're excited to have the opportunity to bring in a leader like Shane. We're very pleased that we're able to do it as quickly as we're able to do it, to identify someone of -- with his skill and talents. And that the succession committee did a fantastic job getting us to this point, and we can't wait for him to be involved.

但即便如此，歸根結底，肖恩·奧凱利仍然是目前情況下擔任此職位的最佳人選。他受過良好的教育，有很強的紀律背景，而且他是一個有思想的人，真正關注客戶。因此，我們很高興有機會引進像肖恩這樣的領導者。我們非常高興我們能夠盡可能快地做到這一點，以識別具有技能和才能的人。繼任委員會做得非常出色，讓我們走到了這一步，我們迫不及待地想讓他參與其中。

Our next question comes from Daniel Imbro from Stephens.

我們的下一個問題來自斯蒂芬斯的丹尼爾·因布羅。

This is Joe Enderlin on for Daniel. You mentioned earlier that you think your internal actions are driving improvements in sales. Are you seeing the sales accelerate in the categories you're specifically investing in price? Or is it more of a broader acceleration that may suggest a better weather backdrop?

我是丹尼爾的喬·恩德林。您之前提到，您認為您的內部行動正在推動銷售的改善。您是否發現您特別投資的品類的銷售量在加速增長？還是更廣泛的加速可能預示著更好的天氣背景？

First of all, the drivers really start with availability. I mean the availability improvements are much more closely correlated to the improvement in sales and in particular, in those categories, where we have big opportunities to improve versus last year and that's engine management and heating/cooling and under power.

首先，驅動因素確實是從可用性開始的。我的意思是，可用性的改進與銷售的改進密切相關，特別是在這些類別中，與去年相比，我們有很大的改進機會，即發動機管理、加熱/冷卻和動力不足。

So we are seeing a very close connection. Gene said it well. There's an action that we're taking, and then we see the corresponding lift, and it's building through the year. The price indices that we are targeting, we have a terrific team in the pricing area. They look at our pricing every week and every category, and we do look very closely at those elasticities. I mean, this category is honestly less elastic than many categories in retail because pricing is either third or fourth in the decision criteria for the installer, but you can't ignore it. So that's really what we're doing there.

所以我們看到了非常密切的聯繫。吉恩說得好。我們正在採取一項行動，然後我們就會看到相應的提升，並且它會在一年中不斷增加。我們針對的價格指數，我們在定價領域擁有一支出色的團隊。他們每週都會檢查我們每個類別的定價，而我們也確實非常密切地關注這些彈性。我的意思是，老實說，這個類別的彈性不如零售業的許多類別，因為定價在安裝人員的決策標準中排在第三或第四位，但你不能忽視它。這就是我們正在做的事情。

Got it. That's very helpful. As a follow-up, looking at retention, could you provide some color maybe on how turnover has trended recently? Are you finding it more difficult to retain talent on the Pro side or distribution side?

知道了。這非常有幫助。作為後續行動，看看保留率，您能否提供一些關於最近營業額趨勢的信息？您是否發現在專業方面或分銷方面留住人才更困難？

Yes. Good question. I mean we obviously measure it in our supply chain and in our stores, so I'll start with the stores. There's some roles in our stores that are just vitally important. Every role is critical. But if you think about the general managers, our terrific general managers in the stores, the DMs, the commercial parts pros, that turnover was extremely high, when I started here many years ago. It came down significantly. And in the last 1.5 years, it's starting to go back up.

是的。好問題。我的意思是，我們顯然是在我們的供應鍊和商店中對其進行衡量的，所以我將從商店開始。我們商店中有一些角色非常重要。每個角色都很關鍵。但如果你想想總經理，我們商店裡出色的總經理、DM、商業零件專業人士，當我多年前開始在這裡時，人員流動率非常高。它顯著下降。在過去 1.5 年裡，它開始回升。

So we started to address it directly towards the tail end of last year, and we are seeing that come down. In supply chain, same story. Steve, who's our new Head of Supply Chain, has done a very good job addressing turnover in supply chain, and that one has come down significantly in the last 6 months. So again, as Gene said, when your turnover is coming down, you're able to execute better, and we are executing better in our supply chain, and we're executing better in our stores, and we're going to stay committed to retaining that vitally important frontline talent that serves our customer every day.

因此，我們從去年年底開始直接解決這個問題，我們看到這個問題正在下降。在供應鏈中，同樣的情況。 Steve，我們的新任供應鍊主管，在解決供應鏈人員流動問題方面做得非常出色，而且在過去 6 個月裡，這一工作已經顯著下降。所以，正如吉恩所說，當你的營業額下降時，你能夠更好地執行，我們在供應鏈中執行得更好，我們在商店中執行得更好，我們將保持承諾留住每天為客戶服務的至關重要的一線人才。

Thanks, Daniel. We have no further questions at this time. So with that, I will hand back to Elisabeth Eisleben for final remarks.

謝謝，丹尼爾。目前我們沒有進一步的問題。因此，我將把最後的發言交還給 Elisabeth Eisleben。

Yes. Thank you all for joining us today. We look forward to welcoming Shane here in a couple of weeks and speaking with you all again in November. Have a great day.

是的。感謝大家今天加入我們。我們期待幾週後歡迎 Shane 來到這裡，並在 11 月再次與大家交談。祝你有美好的一天。

This concludes today's call. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you for joining.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開線路。感謝您的加入。