American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO) 2011 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the American Eagle Outfitters fourth quarter 2011 earnings conference call.

您好，歡迎參加 American Eagle Outfitters 2011 年第四季度財報電話會議。

At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode.

此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。

A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation.

正式演講之後將進行問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

（操作員說明）作為提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Judy Meehan, Vice President of Investor Relations.

現在我很高興向您介紹您的主持人，投資者關係副總裁 Judy Meehan。

Thank you, Ms.

謝謝你，女士。

Meehan.

米漢。

You may begin.

你可以開始了。

Good morning everyone.

大家，早安。

Joining me today are -- Robert Hanson, Chief Executive Officer; Roger Markfield, Executive Creative Director; and Joan Hilson, Chief Financial Officer.

今天加入我的還有——首席執行官羅伯特·漢森（Robert Hanson）； Roger Markfield，執行創意總監；和首席財務官瓊·希爾森。

Before we begin today's call, I need to remind you that during this conference call we will make certain forward-looking statements.

在我們開始今天的電話會議之前，我需要提醒您，在這次電話會議期間，我們將做出某些前瞻性陳述。

These statements are based upon information that represents the Company's current expectations or beliefs.

這些陳述基於代表公司當前期望或信念的信息。

Results actually realized may differ materially from those expectations or beliefs based on risk factors included in our quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC.

根據我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的季度和年度報告中包含的風險因素，實際實現的結果可能與那些預期或信念存在重大差異。

Now, I'll turn the call over to Robert for his opening remarks.

現在，我將把電話轉給羅伯特，讓他發表開場白。

Thanks Judy and good morning everyone.

謝謝朱迪，大家早上好。

It's great to be with you.

很高興和你在一起。

I am very excited to be here and to have the opportunity to lead American Eagle Outfitters into its next growth chapter.

我很高興來到這裡並有機會帶領 American Eagle Outfitters 進入下一個發展篇章。

I want to acknowledge Jim for the Company he's built with Roger, and thank them for their support during this transition.

我要感謝 Jim 與 Roger 一起建立的公司，並感謝他們在此過渡期間的支持。

My first 30 days have been energizing and insightful.

我的前 30 天充滿活力和洞察力。

Simply put, my reasons for joining AEO have been confirmed.

簡單來說，我加入AEO的理由已經確定。

We have a solid foundation in place with significant potential for improvement.

我們有一個堅實的基礎，有很大的改進潛力。

In our current arsenal we have one of the strongest brands in the business, an extensive and profitable store fleet, a well-established e-commerce business, a leading infrastructure and an excellent balance sheet.

在我們目前的武器庫中，我們擁有業內最強大的品牌之一、龐大且盈利的商店車隊、完善的電子商務業務、領先的基礎設施和出色的資產負債表。

As the cornerstone of our Company, the American Eagle brand is well positioned for the times.

作為我們公司的基石，美國鷹品牌與時俱進。

The brand has a strong customer value proposition, leading core businesses, and untapped growth potential in additional categories, channels, as well as international expansion opportunities.

該品牌擁有強大的客戶價值主張、領先的核心業務，以及在其他類別、渠道以及國際擴張機會方面尚未開發的增長潛力。

With this foundation in place, I see opportunities to leverage my 24 years of experience in apparel and global brand building to bring value to the Company.

有了這個基礎，我看到了利用我在服裝和全球品牌建設方面 24 年的經驗為公司帶來價值的機會。

To drive improved performance, we need to continue innovating our products, customer experience and elevating our capabilities.

為了提高性能，我們需要繼續創新我們的產品、客戶體驗並提升我們的能力。

I clearly recognize the challenges of the past several years.

我清楚地認識到過去幾年的挑戰。

Our top line has been essentially flat and margin erosion has been significant.

我們的收入基本持平，利潤率下降顯著。

During the first few weeks, I've been working with the team to evaluate our longer term strategies to ensure we are positioned to deliver sustainable, profitable growth and this evaluation will continue over the next several months.

在最初的幾週內，我一直在與團隊合作評估我們的長期戰略，以確保我們能夠實現可持續、盈利的增長，並且這種評估將在接下來的幾個月內繼續進行。

In the meantime, our near term priorities include driving a competitive top line, improving margins, and strengthening inventory productivity.

與此同時，我們近期的優先事項包括推動具有競爭力的收入、提高利潤率和提高庫存生產力。

Other areas that have my attention include plans to accelerate e-commerce, an evaluation of our store fleet and leveraging our corporate infrastructure.

我關注的其他領域包括加速電子商務的計劃、對我們的商店隊伍的評估以及利用我們的企業基礎設施。

Before I review our priorities in greater detail, I'll turn it over to Roger and Joan to go through our 2011 performance and outlook.

在更詳細地回顧我們的優先事項之前，我將把它交給 Roger 和 Joan 來了解我們 2011 年的業績和展望。

Roger, over to you.

羅傑，交給你了。

Good morning everyone.

大家，早安。

I am absolutely delighted to welcome Robert to our Company.

我非常高興歡迎羅伯特加入我們公司。

As he has discovered over the past few weeks, the core strength of our Company is our brands, the relationship we have with our customers, and of course our people.

正如他在過去幾週發現的那樣，我們公司的核心優勢在於我們的品牌、我們與客戶的關係，當然還有我們的員工。

During the second half of the year, we had success regaining business momentum, by delivering on-trend assortments and great value to our customers.

在下半年，我們通過為客戶提供流行的分類和巨大的價值，成功地恢復了業務勢頭。

In fact, we saw 40% growth in our active customer database in the fourth quarter.

事實上，我們在第四季度的活躍客戶數據庫中看到了 40% 的增長。

I'm pleased that we've delivered top line growth that led our sector and peer group during the fourth quarter.

我很高興我們在第四季度實現了領先於我們的行業和同行的收入增長。

As you will hear from Robert in a few minutes, our priority is to strengthen inventory productivity and generate higher returns.

正如您將在幾分鐘內聽到 Robert 的消息，我們的首要任務是提高庫存生產力並產生更高的回報。

Now, let me review the drivers of our holiday assortment.

現在，讓我回顧一下我們假期分類的驅動因素。

I'm extremely proud of the team's accomplishments.

我為團隊的成就感到非常自豪。

We delivered on our core businesses, the areas that we are famous for, including tees, denim and wovens.

我們交付了我們的核心業務，即我們著名的領域，包括 T 卹、牛仔布和梭織面料。

We struck the right balance between fashion and fashion basics.

我們在時尚和時尚基礎之間取得了適當的平衡。

We were on-trend and saw a tremendous response from our customers to new silhouettes and a powerful color story that clearly differentiated us against our peers.

我們緊跟潮流，看到客戶對新款式和強烈色彩故事的強烈反應，這些故事明顯使我們與同行區分開來。

Denim was once again among the strongest categories, continuing to drive our leading market position.

牛仔布再次躋身最強類別之列，繼續推動我們的領先市場地位。

Of course, there's always room for improvement with opportunity for next year in cold weather accessories, outerwear, sweaters and fleece.

當然，明年在寒冷天氣的配飾、外套、毛衣和羊毛衫方面總是有改進的空間。

As we move forward into spring, we are continuing to lead with a powerful color statement.

隨著我們進入春天，我們將繼續以強有力的色彩聲明引領潮流。

Our stores this spring are vibrant, fresh and optimistic, truly reflecting our brand DNA.

今年春天，我們的門店充滿活力、新鮮和樂觀，真正體現了我們的品牌 DNA。

Within the assortment we're building on fashion basics that are resonating well with our customers and leveraging our strength in bottoms with new trend-right color jeans and shorts.

在產品系列中，我們建立在與我們的客戶產生良好共鳴的時尚基本款上，並利用我們在下裝方面的優勢推出新的流行色牛仔褲和短褲。

Within women's, we are also maximizing our dress business along with accessories to complete the outfit.

在女裝中，我們也在最大限度地擴大我們的服裝業務以及配飾來完善服裝。

Our teams continue to work hard to maximize our core strengths and keep the momentum going.

我們的團隊繼續努力，以最大限度地發揮我們的核心優勢並保持發展勢頭。

During the quarter, aerie brand performance was mixed with apparel categories performing below expectations.

在本季度，aerie 品牌表現參差不齊，服裝類別表現低於預期。

But in intimates where we took a dominant position within the assortment the business was strong.

但在我們在該品種中佔據主導地位的親密關係中，業務很強勁。

We saw the best performance in bras and undies, supported by successful new bra launches, a strong color pallet and on-trend fashion such as our vintage lace line.

我們看到了文胸和內衣的最佳表現，這得益於成功的新文胸發布、強烈的色彩托盤和流行時尚，例如我們的複古蕾絲系列。

We will continue to build on this success and hone in on maximizing intimates and increasing our dedication to yoga, loungewear, sleep and personal care.

我們將繼續在這一成功的基礎上再接再厲，致力於最大限度地增加親密關係，並增加我們對瑜伽、家居服、睡眠和個人護理的投入。

For the future we have a clear opportunity to fortify our position in intimates and exploit the market opportunity in a more meaningful way.

對於未來，我們有一個明確的機會來鞏固我們在親密關係中的地位，並以更有意義的方式利用市場機會。

To conclude, we're focused on elevating our product and brand experience, driving momentum across our core businesses, improving what isn't working in the assortment, and driving better returns on our inventory investments.

總而言之，我們專注於提升我們的產品和品牌體驗，推動我們核心業務的發展勢頭，改進產品組合中不起作用的東西，並推動我們的庫存投資獲得更好的回報。

Joan will now cover the financial results.

瓊現在將介紹財務結果。

Thanks, Roger and good morning everyone.

謝謝，羅傑，大家早上好。

I'm also very pleased to welcome Robert.

我也很高興歡迎羅伯特。

With his partnership, we will strengthen our return on invested capital discipline and look for opportunities to drive productivity across our business in areas such as -- inventory, store operations, supply chain, and real estate, among others.

通過他的合作，我們將加強投資資本紀律的回報，並在庫存、商店運營、供應鍊和房地產等領域尋找提高整個業務生產力的機會。

In the fourth quarter, we delivered a double-digit top line increase, fueled by our investments in core categories and a revenue driving promotional strategy.

在第四季度，我們實現了兩位數的收入增長，這得益於我們對核心類別的投資和推動收入的促銷策略。

Our fourth quarter profitability was negatively impacted by higher cotton costs and increased promotions compared to last year.

與去年相比，我們第四季度的盈利能力受到棉花成本上漲和促銷活動增加的負面影響。

Total consolidated fourth quarter sales increased 14% to a little over $1 billion.

第四季度合併總銷售額增長 14%，略高於 10 億美元。

Comparable store sales increased 11% including e-commerce.

包括電子商務在內的可比商店銷售額增長了 11%。

By business, AE brand comps increased 10%, aerie was up 6% and AE Direct increased 18%.

按業務劃分，AE 品牌組合增長 10%，aerie 增長 6%，AE Direct 增長 18%。

Within the AE brand, men's comps increased in the low double-digits and women's increased in the high single-digits.

在 AE 品牌中，男性的組合以低兩位數增加，女性以高個位數增加。

Comps were also positive across geographic regions including Canada.

包括加拿大在內的地理區域的比較也是積極的。

Our strategy to drive sales through targeted promotional activity resulted in higher traffic and conversion.

我們通過有針對性的促銷活動推動銷售的策略帶來了更高的流量和轉化率。

Transactions and units sold per average store increased in the mid-teens.

平均每家商店的交易量和銷售量在 10 多歲時有所增加。

Promotions led to a lower realized price and a lower transaction value, which declined in the mid single-digits.

促銷導致較低的實現價格和較低的交易價值，下降了中個位數。

Now regarding margins.

現在關於利潤。

Consistent with many in our sector, we experienced margin erosion.

與我們行業中的許多人一樣，我們經歷了利潤率下降。

The gross margin rate of 34.1% declined 530 basis points.

毛利率為 34.1%，下降 530 個基點。

This was due to a 610 basis point drop in the merchandise margin.

這是由於商品利潤率下降了 610 個基點。

Average unit cost increases driven by the spike in cotton caused roughly half of the decline.

棉花價格飆升推動的平均單位成本增加造成了大約一半的下降。

Increased markdowns required to continue sales momentum during peak holiday shopping contributed the balance.

在假日購物高峰期間繼續銷售勢頭所需的降價幅度增加有助於平衡。

Positively, within gross margin, rent leveraged 80 basis points.

積極地，在毛利率內，租金槓桿率為 80 個基點。

Now on to SG&A.

現在到 SG&A。

Excluding executive transition costs of $6 million, SG&A leveraged 70 basis points to last year.

除去 600 萬美元的高管過渡成本，SG&A 比去年增加了 70 個基點。

The balance of the SG&A dollar increase is due to variable expense related to the sales increase and a planned investment in advertising.

SG&A 美元增長的餘額是由於與銷售增長和廣告計劃投資相關的可變費用。

During the fourth quarter, we took an asset impairment charge of $21 million, primarily related to aerie stores.

在第四季度，我們計提了 2100 萬美元的資產減值費用，主要與 aerie 商店有關。

I indicated on the last call there are a number of underperforming stores.

我在上次電話會議上表示有許多表現不佳的商店。

We are evaluating these stores for closure or exit under the lease provision.

我們正在評估這些商店是否根據租賃條款關閉或退出。

Now, turning to the balance sheet.

現在，轉向資產負債表。

We ended the year with inventory on target which was up 24% at cost per foot due in part to a high single-digit increase in the average unit cost.

我們以每英尺成本計算的目標庫存在今年結束時增長了 24%，部分原因是平均單位成本出現了高個位數的增長。

Capital expenditures for the fourth quarter totaled $3 million, compared to $19 million last year.

第四季度的資本支出總額為 300 萬美元，而去年為 1900 萬美元。

Annual CapEx was $100 million, compared to $84 million last year.

年度資本支出為 1 億美元，而去年為 8400 萬美元。

Now, regarding our outlook.

現在，關於我們的前景。

As Robert works with us to further map out our strategies and near-term initiatives, we will provide more visibility to our outlook for the year on our first quarter call in May.

隨著羅伯特與我們合作，進一步製定我們的戰略和近期計劃，我們將在 5 月的第一季度電話會議上為我們的年度前景提供更多可見性。

That said, at this time we can provide a broad framework on how we are thinking about the year.

也就是說，此時我們可以就我們如何看待這一年提供一個廣泛的框架。

We are planning a modest sales increase.

我們正計劃適度增加銷售額。

While product cost inflation will pressure merchandise margins in the first half, we expect lower product costs to benefit margins in the second half.

雖然產品成本上漲將在上半年給商品利潤率帶來壓力，但我們預計較低的產品成本將有利於下半年的利潤率。

In addition, with strategies Robert will outline, we expect inventory growth to slow as we move forward and decline in the second half.

此外，根據羅伯特將概述的策略，我們預計庫存增長將隨著我們的前進而放緩，並在下半年下降。

As we look to drive improved inventory productivity, we are targeting lower markdown rates.

當我們希望提高庫存生產力時，我們的目標是降低降價率。

In aggregate, for the year, we expect some level of margin improvement and importantly, expense management remains a priority.

總的來說，我們預計今年的利潤率會有所提高，重要的是，費用管理仍然是一個優先事項。

Capital expenditures are planned at approximately $100 million related to stores, technology projects and investments in e-commerce.

與商店、技術項目和電子商務投資相關的資本支出計劃約為 1 億美元。

We are planning 15 new stores, and roughly 100 remodels and renovations.

我們計劃開設 15 家新店，並進行大約 100 家改造和翻新。

Including 20 to 30 store closings planned for this year, square footage is expected to decline slightly.

包括今年計劃關閉的 20 至 30 家門店，預計面積將略有下降。

New stores are primarily in outlet centers, which are among our most productive formats, targeting a 25% to 30% average four-wall profit margin above the chain average of 19%.

新店主要位於奧特萊斯中心，這是我們生產力最高的業態之一，目標是使四壁式平均利潤率高於 19% 的連鎖店平均利潤率 25% 至 30%。

Depreciation is anticipated to be about flat to 2011, and that we are assuming a 2012 effective tax rate of 38%.

折舊預計與 2011 年基本持平，我們假設 2012 年的有效稅率為 38%。

Now, regarding the first quarter, February provided a solid start to the quarter with positive comps driven by well-balanced selling of spring product and clearance.

現在，關於第一季度，2 月為該季度提供了一個堅實的開端，由於彈簧產品和清倉的均衡銷售，推動了積極的業績。

That said, it's early in the quarter and our outlook remains cautious with spring breaks and Easter still ahead.

也就是說，現在是本季度初，我們的前景仍然謹慎，因為春假和復活節仍在前方。

Our first quarter EPS guidance of $0.08 to $0.10 assumes continued pressure from cotton, higher markdowns which includes the potential for increased promotional activity.

我們第一季度每股收益 0.08 美元至 0.10 美元的指導假設來自棉花的持續壓力，更高的降價幅度，包括增加促銷活動的潛力。

Additionally and consistent with our goal of slowing inventory growth, first quarter ending inventory is expected to be up in the mid-teens, versus a 24% cost per foot increase at the end of the fourth quarter.

此外，與我們減緩庫存增長的目標一致，第一季度末庫存預計將在十幾歲左右上升，而第四季度末每英尺成本增加 24%。

In summary, our outlook reflects the key initiatives that Robert will discuss.

總之，我們的展望反映了羅伯特將討論的關鍵舉措。

Robert.

羅伯特。

Thanks, Roger and Joan.

謝謝，羅杰和瓊。

As we move ahead in 2012, our intent is to identify how we can both leverage our current assets, our brands, product categories, channels and international, to deliver stronger operating results, and to identify new, compelling sources of sustainable, profitable revenue growth.

隨著我們在 2012 年的前進，我們的目標是確定我們如何能夠利用我們現有的資產、我們的品牌、產品類別、渠道和國際，以提供更強勁的經營成果，並確定新的、引人注目的可持續盈利收入增長來源.

My initial focus over the last 30 days has been to work with the team to map out our near-term initiatives to improve performance.

在過去的 30 天裡，我最初的重點是與團隊合作，制定我們的近期計劃以提高績效。

I will focus on these initiatives today.

我今天將重點介紹這些舉措。

Later in the year, we will provide more details on our medium to longer term growth strategies and supporting initiatives.

今年晚些時候，我們將提供有關我們的中長期增長戰略和支持計劃的更多細節。

Regarding the near-term, first, we'll focus on sustaining competitive top line growth through on-trend product assortments, traffic-driving marketing and promotions, strong customer experience, and by leveraging our large customer database.

關於近期，首先，我們將專注於通過趨勢產品分類、流量驅動營銷和促銷、強大的客戶體驗以及利用我們龐大的客戶數據庫來維持有競爭力的頂線增長。

To achieve this, we must have an innovative product-driven customer-centric culture supported by the right talent, process and creativity.

為實現這一目標，我們必須擁有由合適的人才、流程和創造力支持的創新產品驅動的以客戶為中心的文化。

Second, we need to improve inventory productivity to deliver better returns.

其次，我們需要提高庫存生產力以提供更好的回報。

Our focus here will be on achieving margin flow-through by way of higher IMUs and inventory turns.

我們在這裡的重點將是通過更高的 IMU 和庫存周轉來實現利潤流動。

In the near term, we can be more disciplined and are taking the following steps for the upcoming fall season.

在短期內，我們可以更加自律，並為即將到來的秋季採取以下步驟。

We're tightly aligning our sales and inventory plans.

我們正在密切調整我們的銷售和庫存計劃。

We're reducing to our most productive, the number and depth of styles we carry on replenishment and we're buying fashion to sell out.

我們正在將我們進行補貨的款式數量和深度減少到最高效，我們正在購買時裝以售罄。

We must especially turn fashion items faster.

我們尤其要加快時尚單品的周轉速度。

We're also sharpening our pricing structure to ensure we are maximizing our volume opportunities, supported by a sourcing strategy that delivers IMU.

我們還在完善我們的定價結構，以確保我們在提供 IMU 的採購戰略的支持下最大限度地提高我們的銷量機會。

More on that as the year unfolds.

隨著這一年的展開，更多關於這一點。

To be clear, I have a bias towards lean inventory.

需要明確的是，我對精益庫存有偏見。

Underpinned by the ability to chase into sales.

以追逐銷售的能力為基礎。

We have work to do in this area but I'm confident about the team's commitment and capability to deliver and this should positively impact our overall inventory turns.

我們在這方面有工作要做，但我對團隊的承諾和交付能力充滿信心，這應該會對我們的整體庫存周轉產生積極影響。

Third, we're focused on accelerating growth in e-commerce.

第三，我們專注於加快電子商務的增長。

We have a large and respectable e-commerce business, accounting for 12% of our total revenue and delivering high profit margins which run ahead of our store base.

我們擁有龐大且受人尊敬的電子商務業務，占我們總收入的 12%，並提供高於我們商店基礎的高利潤率。

As a team, we must be more thoughtful in our focus on this opportunity across investment decisions, capability requirements, channel integration and CRM.

作為一個團隊，我們必須更加深思熟慮地關注投資決策、能力要求、渠道整合和 CRM 等方面的機會。

We have been recognized as an early and innovative leader in both apparel e-commerce and social marketing but we cannot rest on our laurels.

我們已被公認為服裝電子商務和社交營銷領域的早期創新領導者，但我們不能固步自封。

Our customer in particular is fast and demanding.

尤其是我們的客戶是快速和苛刻的。

The competition is fierce and the opportunity significant.

競爭激烈，機會也很大。

Fourth, we're evaluating our domestic store portfolio with a sharpened focus on return on invested capital.

第四，我們正在評估我們的國內商店組合，更加關注投資資本回報率。

Although we have a large domestic store fleet of 1,090 doors, and are well-penetrated in the best performing malls, we see opportunities in several areas.

儘管我們在國內擁有 1,090 家門店，並且在表現最好的商場中滲透率很高，但我們在多個領域看到了機會。

Including gaining leverage in underperforming regions such as the Pacific Southwest -- where our average four-wall profit is well below the chain average, selectively pruning underperforming stores, and accelerating store openings in outlet centers.

包括在太平洋西南地區等表現不佳的地區獲得槓桿作用——我們的平均四壁利潤遠低於連鎖平均水平，選擇性地修剪表現不佳的商店，並加快奧特萊斯中心的開店速度。

Where with just 62 stores currently, we are underpenetrated versus the competition.

目前只有 62 家門店，與競爭對手相比，我們的滲透率較低。

As I have an opportunity to work with our team to take a deeper look into the fleet, I will have more to say in the coming months.

由於我有機會與我們的團隊一起深入了解機隊，因此在接下來的幾個月裡我將有更多話要說。

Finally, we will not lose sight of our expense base and we'll seek opportunities to better leverage our corporate infrastructure.

最後，我們不會忽視我們的支出基礎，我們將尋找機會更好地利用我們的企業基礎設施。

Ultimately, I would like to have greater flexibility in our model to offset inflationary pressures and fund strategic investments.

最終，我希望我們的模型具有更大的靈活性，以抵消通脹壓力並為戰略投資提供資金。

Over the next several months we will outline our medium to longer term strategic growth initiatives.

在接下來的幾個月中，我們將概述我們的中長期戰略增長計劃。

As part of this, we will be closely reviewing our opportunities and addressing our challenges across our brand portfolio, product categories, selling channels and international.

作為其中的一部分，我們將密切審查我們的機遇並應對我們在品牌組合、產品類別、銷售渠道和國際方面的挑戰。

Our goal is to deliver more predictable and consistent, profitable revenue growth, and returns to our shareholders.

我們的目標是為我們的股東帶來更可預測、更一致、更有利可圖的收入增長和回報。

Clearly, given the strength of the American Eagle brand, our core focus will include getting more leverage from the brand on our go-forward strategies.

顯然，鑑於 American Eagle 品牌的實力，我們的核心重點將包括在我們的前進戰略中從該品牌獲得更多影響力。

In summary, I'm excited to be here and I'm optimistic about the near-term prospects and long-term growth potential for American Eagle Outfitters.

總之，我很高興來到這裡，我對 American Eagle Outfitters 的近期前景和長期增長潛力持樂觀態度。

I view the investment community as important stakeholders and look forward to getting to know you throughout the year.

我將投資界視為重要的利益相關者，並期待全年結識您。

Thanks for listening and now we'll take your questions.

感謝您的收聽，現在我們將回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Anna Andreeva, FBR Group.

（操作員說明）FBR 集團的 Anna Andreeva。

I had a couple of questions this morning.

今天早上我有幾個問題。

So looking at the cash balance, you guys have 25% of the market cap in cash currently and still some availability on the share buyback.

因此，看看現金餘額，你們目前擁有 25% 的市值現金，並且仍有一些股票回購的可用性。

What are the views that the Board is taking on priorities for cash going forward?

董事會對未來現金的優先事項有何看法？

That's my first question.

這是我的第一個問題。

Yes, Anna, I want to put it in a slightly broader context.

是的，安娜，我想把它放在一個更廣泛的背景下。

We have an excellent balance sheet.

我們擁有出色的資產負債表。

We have an excellent cash position.

我們的現金狀況極佳。

We want and are working with the Board to lay out an integrated capital plan.

我們希望並正在與董事會合作制定綜合資本計劃。

We obviously are very interested in how we can invest in organic growth and deliver high returns to our shareholders through that approach.

我們顯然對如何投資有機增長並通過這種方法為股東帶來高回報非常感興趣。

At the same time, we're obviously interested in making sure that we can maintain our dividend pace which is at the high end of our peer set, as you know, and we'll be working with the Board on an integrated capital plan and Joan can provide a little bit more specifics.

與此同時，我們顯然有興趣確保我們能夠保持我們在同行中處於高端的股息速度，正如你所知，我們將與董事會合作制定綜合資本計劃和Joan 可以提供更多細節。

Yes, Anna, in the past just to demonstrate our commitment in returning value to our shareholders, we've repurchased $1 billion in stock over the last several years, and importantly have returned over $600 million in dividends to shareholders.

是的，安娜，過去只是為了證明我們向股東回報價值的承諾，我們在過去幾年回購了 10 億美元的股票，重要的是向股東返還了超過 6 億美元的股息。

So we remain committed to returning value to shareholders.

因此，我們仍然致力於為股東回報價值。

Great.

偉大的。

And just a quick follow-up to Robert.

只是對羅伯特的快速跟進。

Just curious, I know it's only been 30 days that you've been on-board, but how do you view how you guys think about the customer at Eagle going forward?

只是好奇，我知道你加入公司才 30 天，但你如何看待你們對 Eagle 未來客戶的看法？

I know there have been some changes in the past.

我知道過去發生了一些變化。

It sounds like fashion is something that will be a focus going forward versus basics.

聽起來時尚將成為未來的重點，而不是基礎。

Maybe how do you think you can get the customer back in view of the competitive environment out there?

也許您認為鑑於那裡的競爭環境，您可以如何讓客戶回來？

Sure.

當然。

Well, look, let's talk about what we have which is an incredibly strong brand.

好吧，看，讓我們談談我們擁有的一個非常強大的品牌。

The American Eagle brand is one of the strongest brands out there.

American Eagle 品牌是最強大的品牌之一。

It's the leading brand in the teen sector.

它是青少年領域的領先品牌。

And so we have a lot in our arsenal to work with.

因此，我們的武器庫中有很多東西可以使用。

I think you know as well as I do in this business, it's all about product-driven innovation and excellent customer experience and traffic-driving marketing and promotions.

我想你和我一樣知道這個行業，這一切都是關於產品驅動的創新和卓越的客戶體驗以及流量驅動的營銷和促銷。

We intend to take an aggressive approach in leveraging the American Eagle brand.

我們打算採取積極的方式來利用 American Eagle 品牌。

I think Roger's talked very effectively about how our assortment has improved and how we're taking a lead position in certain key categories like denim and tees and wovens and shorts.

我認為 Roger 非常有效地談到了我們的品類如何改進，以及我們如何在牛仔布、T 卹、梭織和短褲等某些關鍵類別中處於領先地位。

We intend to extend that into other categories but it's hitting the right balance between categories we're famous for and fashion -- basics and fashion which as I mentioned we intend to turn really fast.

我們打算將其擴展到其他類別，但它在我們著名的類別和時尚之間取得了適當的平衡——正如我提到的，我們打算快速轉向基本款和時尚。

We have a big opportunity to spread the word if you will about the American Eagle brand through revitalizing our marketing efforts which we're focused on.

如果您願意通過振興我們專注的營銷工作來宣傳 American Eagle 品牌，我們將有一個很好的機會來宣傳。

We intend those to be both product-focused as well as brand relevant and traffic-driving and I also mentioned we've got a large customer database, about 36 million customers in the database, about 17 million active, and turning those customers on and really leveraging the core strengths of the brand is what we're going to be focused on.

我們打算讓那些既以產品為中心，又與品牌相關和流量驅動，我還提到我們有一個龐大的客戶數據庫，數據庫中有大約 3600 萬客戶，大約 1700 萬活躍客戶，並且打開這些客戶並真正利用品牌的核心優勢是我們將關注的重點。

Janet Kloppenburg, JJK Research.

珍妮特·克洛彭堡，JJK 研究。

Welcome, Robert.

歡迎，羅伯特。

Thanks, Janet.

謝謝，珍妮特。

I was wondering -- I had a couple of questions, first of all, on your first quarter guidance, either for Robert or for Joan, if you could talk a little about what the assumption there is on promotional activity as we go through the rest of the quarter, because it did heat up in the fourth quarter and that is what constrained the result.

我想知道——我有幾個問題，首先，關於你對羅伯特或瓊的第一季度指導，如果你能談談在我們完成其餘部分時對促銷活動的假設是什麼本季度，因為它確實在第四季度升溫，這就是限制結果的原因。

Also, Robert, if you could address perhaps the opportunity for any expense reductions at the Company going forward above and beyond store closings and for my friend Roger, I was wondering if you could talk about -- I can't leave you out -- I was wondering if you could talk about the importance of color this spring.

另外，羅伯特，如果你能解決公司在關閉商店之後的任何開支削減的機會，我的朋友羅傑，我想知道你是否可以談談——我不能把你排除在外——我想知道今年春天你能不能談談顏色的重要性。

I know you were one of the first to have the colored denim and shorts.

我知道你是最早擁有彩色牛仔布和短褲的人之一。

But I was wondering if you thought this was a trend that was going to continue for the year or if it would be a short-lived phenomenon?

但我想知道你是否認為這是一種將持續一年的趨勢，或者它是否會是一個短暫的現象？

Thanks so much.

非常感謝。

Okay.

好的。

Let me give this a little color, strategically on the promotional environment and then Joan can give you the specifics.

讓我在促銷環境上戰略性地給它一點色彩，然後瓊可以給你具體的信息。

We'll just clip your questions through one at a time.

我們只會一次通過一個剪輯您的問題。

On the promotional environment, obviously it's been mixed.

在促銷環境上，顯然是喜憂參半。

It was very aggressive in the fourth quarter.

第四節非常激進。

I think many of you have reflected that you've seen a slowdown in our promotional activity thus far as we've entered the new fiscal year.

我想你們中的許多人已經反映，到目前為止，我們的促銷活動已經放緩，因為我們已經進入了新的財政年度。

But it is a competitive environment out there.

但這是一個競爭激烈的環境。

The key point, and I mentioned this in my opening comments, is we're positioned to be competitive.

關鍵點，我在開場評論中提到了這一點，是我們的定位是具有競爭力的。

We intend to sharpen our overall approach to pricing.

我們打算加強我們的整體定價方法。

But be in the position through how we've sourced and costed the goods to be able to compete effectively.

但是，通過我們如何採購和計算商品成本來有效競爭。

Ideally as I think all of us in the sector would prefer is to see a slowdown and an abatement in the promotional activity but we're prepared to compete.

理想情況下，我認為該行業的所有人都希望看到促銷活動放緩和減少，但我們已準備好競爭。

Joan?

瓊?

So Janet, margin is moving in the right direction in the first quarter but it is still pressured, to your point.

所以珍妮特，第一季度的利潤率正朝著正確的方向發展，但它仍然受到壓力，就你而言。

In two parts, one by higher cotton costs which are coming down for the quarter but also for the potential for higher promotional activity and the preparation that Robert referred to.

分為兩部分，一是本季度棉花成本上升，二是可能會有更高的促銷活動和羅伯特提到的準備工作。

And Janet, as you know -- thank you for the confidence.

珍妮特，如你所知——謝謝你的信任。

We do have a major color presence in both shorts and jeggings and in skinny and you'll see it on the next set and the set thereafter and I absolutely have a real sense of where it's going but that I'm not going to talk about on the phone.

我們確實在短褲、牛仔褲和緊身褲中都有主要的顏色存在，你會在下一組和之後的一組看到它，我絕對對它的去向有一個真正的感覺，但我不打算談論在通電話。

But the most important thing is that the entire store has that color impact which is quite breath-taking and also the whole femininity of the store now on the women's side is really taking hold.

但最重要的是，整間店的色彩衝擊力令人嘆為觀止，而且店裡現在女裝方面的整體女性氣質也非常突出。

Janet, on your final question about expense, it's clearly a strong focus of the entire leadership team.

珍妮特，關於你關於費用的最後一個問題，這顯然是整個領導團隊的重點。

Our goal without getting into specifics because we have some work to do, our goal would be able to get leverage even if we were faced with something like a flat comp which we don't expect.

我們的目標沒有詳細說明，因為我們還有一些工作要做，即使我們面臨著我們意想不到的扁平化組合，我們的目標也能夠發揮作用。

But the whole point here is we expect to get leverage on the business model.

但這裡的重點是我們希望利用這種商業模式。

We expect the business model to be more flexible.

我們希望商業模式更加靈活。

We expect to be able to gain leverage on the mature aspects of our business in order to fund strategic investments moving forward and as we lay out the longer-term plan later in the year we'll be much more specific about that.

我們希望能夠利用我們業務的成熟方面來為未來的戰略投資提供資金，隨著我們在今年晚些時候制定長期計劃，我們將對此更加具體。

Betty Chen, Wedbush Securities.

Betty Chen，韋德布什證券公司。

Good morning and welcome, Robert.

早上好，歡迎您，羅伯特。

Good morning, thanks.

早上好，謝謝。

I know you are still early into the job, but I was wondering if you can share with us your early perspectives around aerie and 77kids, especially following some of the mixed business in the fourth quarter.

我知道您還處於工作初期，但我想知道您是否可以與我們分享您對 aerie 和 77kids 的早期看法，尤其是在第四季度的一些混合業務之後。

What are some of your top priorities around those two divisions and what could we also expect in terms of some of your thinking and initiative for those two businesses?

您圍繞這兩個部門的首要任務是什麼？就您對這兩個業務的一些想法和倡議而言，我們還能期待什麼？

Thank you.

謝謝你。

Sure.

當然。

Thanks, Betty.

謝謝，貝蒂。

Well, let me set it in some broader context and then I'll dive specifically into your question.

好吧，讓我把它放在更廣泛的背景下，然後我會專門研究你的問題。

The leadership team and I have talked about the fact that we haven't delivered what we would like to deliver with the new concepts to our shareholders in the form of return on investment.

領導團隊和我談到了這樣一個事實，即我們沒有以投資回報的形式向股東交付我們希望通過新概念交付的東西。

So we acknowledge that and understand where your concerns and questions are coming from.

因此，我們承認並了解您的擔憂和問題來自何處。

That said, we believe the American Eagle brand is, as I mentioned, one of the strongest brands in the apparel category.

也就是說，正如我所提到的，我們相信 American Eagle 品牌是服裝類別中最強大的品牌之一。

It's certainly the strongest brand in the teen sector and believe that we can more effectively leverage American Eagle with our kids business moving forward and we're in the process of looking at that quite aggressively.

它無疑是青少年領域最強大的品牌，相信我們可以更有效地利用 American Eagle 來推動我們的兒童業務向前發展，我們正在積極地看待這一點。

Roger's obviously leading the charge to help that come to life from a customer experience standpoint and we're also looking at the business model quite carefully so that we can gain leverage on it and make sure that how we move forward will deliver returns for our shareholders.

從客戶體驗的角度來看，羅傑顯然帶頭幫助實現這一目標，我們也在非常仔細地研究商業模式，以便我們可以利用它並確保我們前進的方式將為我們的股東帶來回報.

On aerie, we obviously took the decision to impair some stores in the fourth quarter.

在 aerie，我們顯然決定在第四季度削弱一些商店。

We can talk about that in more detail at a later point.

我們可以稍後再詳細討論。

But I want to step back and say that the aerie brand I think is a great brand.

但我想退一步說，我認為 aerie 品牌是一個偉大的品牌。

It has plenty of potential.

它有很大的潛力。

It's a sector that obviously is ripe for more competition.

這個行業顯然已經成熟，可以進行更多競爭。

The reality of the performance of the brand is that it's profitable all-in.

品牌表現的現實是全押盈利。

It's close to breakeven on a four-wall basis.

它在四壁基礎上接近盈虧平衡。

And we have several stores in our fleet that are actually delivering a really respectable targeted return on investment capital.

我們的車隊中有幾家商店實際上提供了非常可觀的目標投資回報。

And importantly, it's a very strong brand in the Direct environment.

重要的是，它在 Direct 環境中是一個非常強大的品牌。

So that would indicate that there's customer demand for aerie and its position in the marketplace.

因此，這表明客戶對 aerie 的需求及其在市場中的地位。

So we're stepping back and looking at the opportunity to drive the growth of aerie in a thoughtful manner moving forward with a real strong and sharp focus on how we can deliver improved returns.

因此，我們正在退後一步，尋找機會以深思熟慮的方式推動 aerie 的增長，並真正強烈而敏銳地關注我們如何提供更高的回報。

Brian Tunick, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的布萊恩·圖尼克。

Good morning and welcome, Robert.

早上好，歡迎您，羅伯特。

My question, thinking about Levis a little, being more of a men's and a bottom's business, probably a little slower turning, can you maybe just talk about how you and Roger are going to work together to talk about having more fashion?

我的問題，稍微想想李維斯，更多的是男裝和底部的業務，可能會慢一點，你能不能談談你和羅傑將如何一起工作來談論更多的時尚？

Roger always talked about market share, you're talking about fashion to sell out and faster inventory turns.

羅傑總是談論市場份額，你談論的是時尚賣光和更快的庫存周轉。

Maybe just talk about your philosophy of what was going on at Levis and how you and Roger are looking at Eagle together now.

也許只是談談你對李維斯發生的事情的哲學，以及你和羅傑現在是如何一起看待鷹的。

Sure.

當然。

Thanks, Brian.

謝謝，布賴恩。

Well, look, this is the apparel business.

好吧，看，這就是服裝生意。

And I think in the end what customers care about regardless of the business model, whether it's a blended model like Levis or a vertical specialty teen apparel approach like American Eagle.

而且我認為最終客戶關心的是什麼商業模式，無論是像李維斯這樣的混合模式還是像美國鷹這樣的垂直專業青少年服裝方法。

They care about amazing product that's well-marketed in a store environment that's emotional and enticing to them with incredible customer service.

他們關心在商店環境中銷售良好的令人驚嘆的產品，這些產品以令人難以置信的客戶服務對他們充滿情感和誘惑。

I think that's true.

我認為這是真的。

My view is that's true across both of my experiences now very early days at American Eagle, obviously.

我的觀點是，很明顯，我現在在 American Eagle 的早期經歷都是如此。

I'm very impressed with the disciplined development process that we have here at American Eagle Outfitters.

American Eagle Outfitters 嚴格的開發流程給我留下了深刻的印象。

Everything requires balance so I think in terms of your comments on the assortments, being famous for those core categories Roger mentioned, being able to have a balance between those and fashion basics and fashion are essential.

一切都需要平衡，所以我認為就你對分類的評論而言，以羅傑提到的那些核心類別而聞名，能夠在這些與時尚基礎和時尚之間取得平衡是必不可少的。

I always have had a bias towards lean inventory investments so that we can be in the position to chase after opportunities.

我一直偏向於精益庫存投資，以便我們能夠追逐機會。

We just need to position our sourcing base and our raw materials approach to be able to take advantage of those and not lose that much sales.

我們只需要定位我們的採購基礎和我們的原材料方法，以便能夠利用這些優勢而不損失那麼多銷售額。

Just one other comment that I would make.

只是我要發表的另一條評論。

A lot of people I think lose sight of this is, my former employer, obviously a big wholesale business domestically here in the United States but had a very blended model outside of the United States.

我認為很多人忽略了這一點，我的前雇主，顯然是美國國內的一家大型批發企業，但在美國以外有一個非常混合的模式。

Retail, wholesale, even within the wholesale model, some direct wholesale as well as concessions and a blended model in terms of how we approached the business on an international basis between Direct, joint venture and franchise.

零售，批發，甚至在批發模式中，一些直接批發以及特許經營和混合模式，就我們如何在直接、合資和特許經營之間的國際基礎上開展業務而言。

So I think all of those experiences that I've had over the last 24 years will be able to be leveraged here in American Eagle and I've had a great time working with Roger and the team, although it's early days.

所以我認為我在過去 24 年中所擁有的所有這些經驗都將能夠在 American Eagle 中得到利用，我與 Roger 和團隊一起度過了愉快的時光，儘管現在還處於早期階段。

I'm just about a few days into my sixth week.

我剛進入第六週的幾天。

Jennifer Davis, Lazard Capital Markets.

詹妮弗戴維斯，拉扎德資本市場。

Also let me say welcome, Robert.

也讓我說歡迎，羅伯特。

Thanks, Jennifer.

謝謝，詹妮弗。

One quick clarification if I may.

如果可以的話，請快速澄清一下。

First-quarter ending inventory is planned up mid-teens.

第一季度期末庫存計劃在十幾歲左右。

Are AUCs still expected to be up high single-digits?

AUC 是否仍有望達到個位數的高位？

And then I'm glad to hear you're focused on inventory and I do want to say, Roger, I think the stores look much better than some of your competitors and you've done an especially great job on the colored denim and the shorts.

然後我很高興聽到你專注於庫存，我確實想說，羅傑，我認為這些商店看起來比你的一些競爭對手要好得多，而且你在彩色牛仔布和短褲。

aerie looks a lot better I think too, especially with the color and the vintage lace.

我也覺得 aerie 看起來好多了，尤其是顏色和復古花邊。

In terms of aerie, it seems to me that the bras and the panties are doing well.

在 aerie 方面，在我看來，胸罩和內褲做得很好。

I'm just wondering what your thoughts are around carrying the apparel there outside of the loungewear and the yoga.

我只是想知道你的想法是如何將服裝帶到休閒服和瑜伽之外。

Do you think that maybe you need a smaller store, smaller square footage or what are some of your thoughts on aerie and how many stores did you impair?

您是否認為您可能需要一家較小的商店、較小的佔地面積或您對 aerie 的一些想法以及您損害了多少家商店？

Thanks.

謝謝。

On the issue of the content, the customer has really voted at this point in time and my initial instincts in taking over aerie a couple years ago -- 1.5 years ago, was that it should be a complete lifestyle with apparel as an important part of it.

在內容的問題上，客戶真的在這個時間點投票了，而我在幾年前——1.5 年前接管 aerie 的最初直覺是，它應該是一種完整的生活方式，服裝是其中的重要組成部分。它。

It is very clear to us that the whole intimate experience, the bras and the undies, the personal care, the beginnings of loungewear and fit is really what the customer wants from us and the apparel should be a very small part of the business.

我們很清楚，整個私密體驗、胸罩和內衣、個人護理、家居服和合身的開始都是客戶真正想要的，而服裝應該只是業務的一小部分。

The fourth quarter was very evident in that and I think as you just said, when you visit the store today you're really getting a stronger feeling for the bra and undie business and the beautiful colors and the numbers of frames that we're starting to develop and we're going to be doing the same thing in fit and the same thing in undies.

第四季度在這方面非常明顯，我認為正如您剛才所說，當您今天訪問商店時，您對文胸和內衣業務以及我們開始的美麗色彩和鏡架數量的感覺真的很強烈發展，我們將在合身和內衣中做同樣的事情。

So we really think we have our arms around the whole dimension that there's a whole sector out there that we can satisfy.

因此，我們真的認為我們擁有整個維度，我們可以滿足整個行業。

With respect to the number of stores, we impaired 50 stores and are reviewing those locations and taking a hard look at them with our landlords to determine the ultimate disposition there.

關於門店數量，我們減損了 50 家門店，正在審查這些地點，並與我們的房東一起仔細研究，以確定那裡的最終處置方式。

Then with respect to the inventory question, the average unit cost is up high single-digit.

然後在庫存問題上，平均單位成本上漲了個位數。

It's expected to be up high single-digit at the end of the quarter.

預計在本季度末將達到高個位數。

Dorothy Lakner, Caris & Company.

多蘿西·拉克納，Caris & Company。

Just first of all, welcome to Robert and a question for him.

首先，歡迎來到羅伯特並問他一個問題。

I'm very pleased to hear obviously your bias toward lean inventories.

我很高興聽到您明顯偏向精益庫存。

I think everybody is.

我想每個人都是。

But just wondering how you're thinking about balancing the top line growth which obviously was much better in the fourth quarter than we've seen in some time with that leaner inventory approach.

但只是想知道你是如何考慮平衡收入增長的，這在第四季度顯然比我們在一段時間內看到的採用更精簡的庫存方法要好得多。

Then just a question for Roger on all of the successes that you built on in the fourth quarter, also just wanted to hear a little bit more about accessories where you expanded the shops and that seems to be a category that you do and that none of your competitors are really touching.

然後問羅傑關於你在第四季度取得的所有成功的問題，也只是想听聽更多關於你擴展商店的配件，這似乎是你做的一個類別，沒有一個你的競爭對手真的很感人。

Okay.

好的。

Well, thanks, Dorothy.

嗯，謝謝，多蘿西。

It's great to be with you and appreciate the welcome.

很高興和你在一起並感謝你的歡迎。

Look, in this business as you well know, everything's about balance.

聽著，正如你所熟知的，在這個行業中，一切都與平衡有關。

And what we are wanting to do is to maintain a competitive top-line performance but drive significant improvement in our inventory returns.

我們想要做的是保持有競爭力的頂線表現，但推動我們的庫存回報率顯著提高。

We plan to have an approach that differentiates how we'll go after our famous four categories where we need to be in stock at the SKU level to deliver to our customers' expectations and have an approach to fashion basics and fashion where we're well-positioned for each delivery, but instead of in my language let's say buying to the last sale, we're leaner and are chasing after the customers' demand.

我們計劃採用一種方法來區分我們將如何追求我們著名的四個類別，我們需要在 SKU 級別有庫存，以滿足客戶的期望，並在我們擅長的地方採用時尚基礎和時尚的方法- 為每次交付進行定位，但不是用我的語言讓我們說購買到最後一次銷售，我們更精簡併追逐客戶的需求。

If you look at how we plan to achieve that balance, we're going to really target to balance our inventory and our sales plans and we look at it really aggressively.

如果你看看我們計劃如何實現這種平衡，我們將真正瞄準平衡我們的庫存和我們的銷售計劃，我們非常積極地看待它。

We are going to target a sharper average unit retail.

我們將瞄準更清晰的平均單位零售額。

We know where we sell out at velocity and make sure that we bought our goods into that average unit retail so we can get margin flow-through from those investments.

我們知道我們在哪裡快速售罄，並確保我們將商品購買到平均零售單位，這樣我們就可以從這些投資中獲得利潤流動。

We're going to run fewer products and replenishments, customer choices on replenishment, but make sure that we obviously are in stock on those products that are in the highest demand.

我們將減少產品和補貨，客戶在補貨上的選擇，但要確保我們顯然在那些需求最高的產品上有庫存。

As I mentioned, by positioning our source base and our raw materials to be in the position to quickly chase after business.

正如我所提到的，通過定位我們的資源基礎和我們的原材料，以便能夠快速追逐業務。

Our intent is not, and I want to be very clear about that, to compromise top-line growth but it's to make sure that we optimize margin flow-through from the inventory investments in sales.

我們的意圖不是，而且我想非常清楚地說明這一點，以損害收入增長，但它是為了確保我們優化銷售庫存投資的利潤流動。

Just that ability to chase, is that something you can do fairly quickly?

就是那種追擊的能力，是不是可以相當快的做到？

Is that going to require more time as you go through the reviews of the sourcing base?

當您審查採購基地時，這是否需要更多時間？

Just how fast can you move into that kind of a mode?

你能以多快的速度進入這種模式？

We'll always be looking for improvements.

我們將一直在尋找改進。

This is not an industry of perfect science.

這不是一個完美科學的行業。

But what I will tell you is I've been very impressed with the supply chain and the sourcing capability at American Eagle Outfitters in the early days as I've been spending time with Roger and Michael and the team.

但我要告訴你的是，早期我對 American Eagle Outfitters 的供應鍊和採購能力印象深刻，因為我一直在與 Roger 和 Michael 以及團隊共度時光。

We've identified those core, both categories as well as the fashion trends for the balance of the year that we intend to position for chase.

我們已經確定了我們打算追逐的那些核心，兩個類別以及今年餘下的時尚趨勢。

And it's a matter of just executing our plan as the customer demand comes and maybe Roger can add a few comments.

隨著客戶需求的到來，這只是執行我們的計劃的問題，也許羅傑可以添加一些評論。

On your first question on the accessory part of the business, on the masculine side we really have pulled back and have tightened it.

關於您關於業務附屬部分的第一個問題，在男性方面，我們確實已經撤回並收緊了它。

On the feminine side, it's been very strong on the volume base.

在女性方面，它在音量基礎上非常強大。

It's really contributed enormously to the units per transaction and the transaction value.

它確實對每筆交易的單位和交易價值做出了巨大貢獻。

As you know, all of those metrics are very positive.

如您所知，所有這些指標都非常積極。

And if you take a look at the accessories that we have in the store now with all of the color assortments we have, it's quite impressive and this is a business that gives us higher margins, it gives us additional units per transaction.

如果你看看我們現在在商店裡的配飾以及我們擁有的所有顏色分類，這是相當令人印象深刻的，這是一項為我們帶來更高利潤的業務，它為我們每筆交易提供了額外的單位。

It helps the transaction value and it makes the store a lot more exciting and the related selling that goes with dresses and as you'll notice our dress assortments are pretty powerful right now.

它有助於提高交易價值，並使商店更加令人興奮，以及與連衣裙相關的銷售，您會注意到我們的連衣裙分類現在非常強大。

Yes it is.

是的。

We really have that whole femininity back and the feminine accessories are a very important part of it.

我們真的恢復了整個女性氣質，而女性配飾是其中非常重要的一部分。

On the speed sourcing, Robert and I are very aligned on everything at this point in time.

在速度採購方面，羅伯特和我目前在所有方面都非常一致。

And we do have speed sourcing in place, but I think we can get better at it and I think Robert brings some nuances to it from his experience at Levi Strauss.

我們確實有快速採購，但我認為我們可以做得更好，我認為羅伯特從他在 Levi Strauss 的經歷中帶來了一些細微差別。

Great.

偉大的。

Thanks and good luck.

謝謝，祝你好運。

Jamie Katz, Morningstar.

傑米·卡茨，晨星。

I don't know if you guys gave any detail on what AURs were in the fourth quarter or if they were up or down, but if you could give some color on that and maybe how that's trending in the first quarter.

我不知道你們是否詳細說明了第四季度的 AUR 是多少，或者它們是上漲還是下跌，但是您是否可以對此提供一些顏色，也許第一季度的趨勢如何。

Then also, there's been a lot of talk about how shipping costs have been changing for a lot of companies and I don't know what visibility you guys have into that as the year progresses but are there any levers you can pull on that expense piece?

然後，還有很多關於許多公司的運輸成本如何變化的討論，我不知道隨著時間的推移你們對此有什麼了解，但有什麼槓桿可以拉動這部分費用?

If you have any information on that, that would be helpful.

如果您對此有任何信息，那將很有幫助。

Right, Jamie, with respect to AURs, in the fourth quarter we saw AURs down due to the increased promotional activity that we had.

對，Jamie，關於 AUR，在第四季度，由於我們的促銷活動增加，我們看到 AUR 下降。

Moving to the first quarter, we expect AURs to continue to be down, but as we progress through the spring season, we would expect that to come back up a bit and certainly as we move into the back half we expect to see a little bit higher AURs as well.

進入第一季度，我們預計 AUR 將繼續下降，但隨著我們在春季的進展，我們預計會有所回升，當然，當我們進入後半部分時，我們預計會看到一點點更高的 AUR 也是如此。

Okay.

好的。

With respect to the shipping costs, Jamie, as we look forward throughout the year we have contracts in place and we continue to work through that but at this stage we are not seeing a negative impact related to shipping costs in our outlook.

關於運輸成本，傑米，我們期待全年都有合同，我們將繼續努力，但在現階段，我們沒有看到與運輸成本相關的負面影響。

Tom Filandro, SIG.

湯姆·菲蘭德羅，SIG。

Welcome as well, Robert.

羅伯特，也歡迎您。

Best of luck.

祝你好運。

Two quick questions.

兩個快速的問題。

Can you address a long-term view of what you believe the correct operating profit margin rates should be for the Company?

您能否就您認為公司正確的營業利潤率應該是什麼長期觀點發表看法？

And second, just outside of inventory, have you identified any near-term process opportunities to drive business efficiencies?

其次，在庫存之外，您是否發現了任何近期可以提高業務效率的流程機會？

Just a quick one for Roger, please.

請給羅傑一個快速的。

Roger, can you give us an update on the shoe business from both the private label and branded standpoint?

羅傑，您能否從自有品牌和品牌的角度向我們介紹鞋業的最新情況？

I know that's a lot.

我知道這很多。

Thank you.

謝謝你。

Thanks, Tom, for the questions.

謝謝，湯姆，你的問題。

So in terms of realistic medium to longer term operating margin for the business in the medium term I would say over the next year or so, year or two, we would like to get back to the double-digit operating margins.

因此，就中期業務的實際中長期營業利潤率而言，我會說在接下來的一年左右，一兩年內，我們希望回到兩位數的營業利潤率。

And would be targeting longer term to have operating margins in the mid-teens and are working as a team in a very aligned way on getting there.

並且將長期瞄准在十幾歲左右的營業利潤率，並以非常一致的方式作為一個團隊努力實現這一目標。

There are a number of levers that we have to pull to get there.

我們必須拉動許多槓桿才能到達那裡。

I think over the next several months I'll be working to detail out the plan to a mid-teen operating margin and when we meet later in the year to share the longer-term plan, which will include our goals on revenue as well as operating margin, return on invested capital we'll lay that out for you.

我想在接下來的幾個月裡，我將努力將計劃詳細說明到青少年的營業利潤率，並在我們在今年晚些時候開會時分享長期計劃，其中包括我們的收入目標以及營業利潤率，投資資本回報率，我們將為您列出。

But we clearly see and are excited about and are aligned behind the opportunities there.

但我們清楚地看到並為那裡的機會感到興奮和一致。

In terms of near-term process improvements, we have been very focused on as I mentioned all of the processes between merchandising, MP&A and sourcing to align our sales and inventory plans and be in the position to both deliver a competitive top line as well as to deliver improved margin flow-through through inventory productivity.

在近期流程改進方面，正如我提到的，我們一直非常關註銷售、MP&A 和採購之間的所有流程，以調整我們的銷售和庫存計劃，並能夠提供具有競爭力的頂線以及通過庫存生產力提供改進的利潤流通。

The supply chain, our sourcing folks have been really focused on driving some improvements in gaining leverage beyond cotton in our approach to costing by consolidating our sourcing into fewer bigger and more aligned suppliers as well as verticalizing our sourcing structure so that we can get further leverage there.

在供應鏈方面，我們的採購人員一直專注於推動一些改進，通過將我們的採購整合到更少的更大和更一致的供應商以及垂直化我們的採購結構，以便我們能夠獲得更多的影響力，從而在我們的成本計算方法中獲得超越棉花的影響力那裡。

Then we have been working very strongly to ensure that across every function we've got leverage on our expense base so that we can obviously gain leverage from the mature parts of the business and invest behind strategic growth initiatives like e-commerce for example.

然後，我們一直在非常努力地工作，以確保我們在每個職能部門都能利用我們的費用基礎，這樣我們顯然可以從業務的成熟部分獲得影響，並投資於諸如電子商務等戰略增長計劃。

So those are the things that we're focused on at the moment.

所以這些是我們目前關注的事情。

Tom, what makes you ask about the shoe business?

湯姆，你為什麼要問鞋業？

There's a couple of branded shoes I've noticed in the stores, I think are doing quite well.

我在商店裡註意到了幾雙品牌鞋，我認為它們做得很好。

So wanted to get your point of view, Roger.

所以想听聽你的觀點，羅傑。

Third-party for us is doing well.

第三方對我們來說做得很好。

Online is explosive.

在線是爆炸性的。

So this is as we talk about the e-commerce sector, for us it's quite wild right now and our regular own brand footwear business is doing well.

所以這就是我們談論電子商務領域的時候，對我們來說它現在非常瘋狂，我們的常規自有品牌鞋類業務表現良好。

Thanks, Roger.

謝謝，羅傑。

Best of luck to you all.

祝大家好運。

Michelle Tan, Goldman Sachs.

米歇爾·譚，高盛。

I had two questions.

我有兩個問題。

One, just Joan, if you could give us any specific color on how you're thinking about SG&A growth in Q1 with the guidance that you gave.

一，瓊，如果您可以根據您提供的指導，就您如何考慮第一季度的 SG&A 增長給我們任何具體的顏色。

And then Robert, it's really great to hear the focus on inventory, we've talked about it a lot so I won't belabor it more.

然後是羅伯特，聽到對庫存的關注真的很棒，我們已經討論了很多，所以我不會更多地談論它。

Just a question on marketing.

只是關於營銷的問題。

You guys have made progress in the imagery over the last couple seasons.

在過去的幾個賽季中，你們在圖像方面取得了進步。

I'm wondering if as you initially look at the marketing and how it's done and what the content is, are there any things that you see as big opportunities on that front?

我想知道當您最初查看營銷以及它是如何完成的以及內容是什麼時，您是否認為在這方面有很大的機會？

So with respect to SG&A leverage, Michelle, or SG&A growth, we expect SG&A to leverage in the first quarter and in keeping with Robert's comments, our expense base overall is expected to leverage on a flat comp.

因此，關於 SG&A 槓桿、Michelle 或 SG&A 增長，我們預計 SG&A 將在第一季度發揮槓桿作用，並且與羅伯特的評論一致，我們的總體費用基礎預計將利用持平的薪酬。

And this may moderate throughout the year in terms of the investments that we specifically make in a given quarter but specifically to the first quarter, we expect expense leverage.

就我們在特定季度特別是第一季度的投資而言，這可能會在全年有所緩和，我們預計會有費用槓桿。

Okay.

好的。

And then on the marketing, Michelle, the thing that's, I think, exciting for us is we -- with the performance that's now being delivered by the product assortments, we have the opportunity to shift our attention to other parts of the customer experience.

然後在營銷方面，米歇爾，我認為對我們來說令人興奮的是我們 - 憑藉產品組合現在提供的性能，我們有機會將注意力轉移到客戶體驗的其他部分。

One of the things that we've been focused on is really sharpening our definition of the American Eagle brand DNA so we're working on that as a team.

我們一直關注的一件事是真正加強我們對 American Eagle 品牌 DNA 的定義，因此我們正在作為一個團隊努力。

And then coming with an even sharper focus on the look and feel of American Eagle so that we can create some competitive distinction in the market.

然後更加專注於 American Eagle 的外觀和感覺，這樣我們就可以在市場上創造一些競爭優勢。

Our intent in the back half of the year is to leverage the early lead that we've had in the category in social media and customer engagement by really looking at how to differentiate the American Eagle brand versus the competitive set.

我們在今年下半年的意圖是通過真正研究如何區分 American Eagle 品牌與競爭對手，利用我們在社交媒體和客戶參與類別中的早期領先優勢。

Standing for exceptional product but in a way that really helps the customer both re-engage with the American Eagle brand emotionally and puts the brand in front of them, how and where they're both consuming media as well as shopping.

代表卓越的產品，但以一種真正幫助客戶在情感上重新與 American Eagle 品牌互動並將品牌放在他們面前的方式，他們如何以及在哪裡消費媒體和購物。

The critical success factor for us, though, would be to integrate that across the product, the customer shopping experience, the approach to how customers are shopping today which is really omni-channel shopping and to make sure that we're putting out an image for American Eagle which is relevant but distinctive in the category.

不過，對我們而言，成功的關鍵因素是將其整合到產品、客戶購物體驗、客戶今天的購物方式（真正是全渠道購物）中，並確保我們展示的形象American Eagle 在該類別中具有相關性但與眾不同。

I think later in the year you'll see the beginnings of that as we work to build a multi-year brand-building effort behind the brand in some core categories that we intend to be famous for.

我想今年晚些時候你會看到它的開端，因為我們致力於在我們打算出名的一些核心類別的品牌背後建立多年的品牌建設努力。

Great, thanks.

太謝謝了。

Good luck Robert.

祝羅伯特好運。

Kimberly Greenberger, Morgan Stanley.

金佰利格林伯格，摩根士丹利。

Robert, I was wondering if you could share with us your jobs and responsibilities in your last few positions at Levis just so that we can get to understand and know you better.

羅伯特，我想知道您是否可以與我們分享您在李維斯的最後幾個職位的工作和職責，以便我們更好地了解和了解您。

And how you think these experiences that you had at Levis will translate to American Eagle and help with the brand building efforts and the return to operating profitability that the Company strives to achieve over time.

以及您認為您在 Levis 的這些經驗將如何轉化為 American Eagle，並有助於品牌建設工作和公司隨著時間的推移努力實現的運營盈利能力的恢復。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Sure, Kimberly, I look forward to getting to know you better over the year.

當然，Kimberly，我期待在這一年裡更好地了解你。

Look, I have a high degree of respect for my former employer.

看，我對我的前雇主非常尊重。

I had the benefit of running the Levis brand globally as well as across the Americas region and the North American within the United States over the last decade.

在過去十年中，我受益於在全球以及美洲地區和北美地區經營李維斯品牌。

It's a business model, which as I mentioned earlier is a blended business model between a wholesale business predominantly domestically and a blended model outside of the United States where there is a greater balance between the retail business and the wholesale business.

這是一種商業模式，正如我之前提到的，它是一種混合商業模式，介於以國內為主的批發業務和美國以外的混合模式，零售業務和批發業務之間存在更大的平衡。

In retail, again, there's several models that have been used between a Direct retail business, a joint venture and franchise management.

同樣，在零售業，直銷零售企業、合資企業和特許經營管理之間使用了幾種模式。

So there is a heft and a complexity to the model.

因此，該模型具有分量和復雜性。

Levis competes in over 110 countries around the world, so I've had that experience as well.

李維斯在全球 110 多個國家參加比賽，所以我也有過這樣的經歷。

I do believe that experience will be leverageable here at American Eagle as we look for growth opportunities beyond the core US American Eagle brand store base that we currently have.

我確實相信，隨著我們在目前擁有的核心 US American Eagle 品牌商店基礎之外尋找增長機會，American Eagle 將可以利用這些經驗。

In terms of my accountabilities at Levis, I was the Global Brand President.

就我在李維斯的職責而言，我是全球品牌總裁。

We did run our corporate functions as corporate centers of excellence.

我們確實將我們的企業職能作為企業卓越中心。

But I had sitting on my team in addition to the product engine of merchandising design, product development and sourcing, distribution and logistics.

但除了商品設計、產品開發和採購、分銷和物流的產品引擎之外，我還坐在我的團隊中。

Obviously I had marketing, I had the stores, customer experience group, all of the components, operations commercially, so I had leaders that were running each of the geographies between the Americas, Asia, and Europe, as well as store operations.

顯然我有市場營銷，我有商店，客戶體驗團隊，所有的組件，商業運營，所以我有領導管理美洲、亞洲和歐洲之間的每個地區，以及商店運營。

And then the corporate functions I had sitting on the leadership team although they reported up into the corporate leaders of the organization I had a CFO, a Head of Legal, a Head of Sourcing as I mentioned, Corporate Communications, et cetera, sitting on the leadership team.

然後是我在領導團隊中擔任的公司職能，儘管他們向組織的公司領導匯報，我有一個首席財務官，一個法律主管，一個我提到的採購主管，企業傳播等等領導班子。

So it was a really intact general management of the business and as you know Levis is 80% of the Company's total turnover.

因此，這是對業務的真正完整的綜合管理，如您所知，Levis 占公司總營業額的 80%。

So it was an exciting job, but I'm thrilled to be at American Eagle Outfitters and look forward to putting my experience base to work here to help the team build value from the Company.

所以這是一份令人興奮的工作，但我很高興能在 American Eagle Outfitters 工作，並期待著將我的經驗基地在這里工作，以幫助團隊從公司創造價值。

Great.

偉大的。

Thanks.

謝謝。

And we look forward to meeting you next week.

我們期待著下週與您見面。

Paul Lejeuz, Nomura Group.

野村集團的 Paul Lejeuz。

Joan, first on the AUC side, what should we be looking for in the second half?

瓊，首先在 AUC 方面，下半場我們應該尋找什麼？

Is double-digits out of the question in terms of what declines we could see?

就我們可以看到的下降而言，兩位數是不可能的嗎？

And then Robert, I know you talked a bit about balancing sales and gross margin.

然後羅伯特，我知道你談到了平衡銷售和毛利率的問題。

But I'm just wondering philosophically, how do you feel about ever managing the business to a negative comp and really targeting gross margin expansion?

但我只是在哲學上想知道，你如何看待曾經將業務管理為負收益並真正瞄準毛利率擴張？

Just your big-picture thoughts on that.

只是您對此的總體想法。

Thanks.

謝謝。

With respect to AUC, Paul, in the back half of the year we expect the average unit cost to come down.

關於 AUC，保羅，在今年下半年，我們預計平均單位成本會下降。

At this stage, we're completed through the third quarter in terms of our buying and so our decline is not quite double-digit but certainly the teams have made great progress.

在這個階段，就我們的購買而言，我們已經完成了第三季度，因此我們的下降幅度不是兩位數，但團隊肯定取得了很大的進步。

The thing to remember there is that we have to -- we have carry-over inventory from the first half that we're turning in the third quarter, so that's going to sort of neutralize some of the product cost purchasing that we've gotten the opportunity for.

需要記住的一點是，我們必須 - 我們從第三季度開始的上半年結轉庫存，因此這將抵消我們已經獲得的一些產品成本採購的機會。

And so it will come down over the course of the back half and we feel very good about, to Robert's point, what the teams have been able to accomplish in terms of supply chain and really recouping that, the cotton spike that we saw last year.

所以它會在後半段下降，就羅伯特而言，我們對球隊在供應鏈方面能夠完成的工作感到非常滿意，並真正彌補了這一點，我們去年看到的棉花飆升.

And Paul, it's a fair question about -- and it's really about driving margin flow-through from the investments that we're making behind sales.

保羅，這是一個公平的問題——它實際上是關於從我們在銷售背後進行的投資中推動利潤流動。

Look, we all want everything.

看，我們都想要一切。

We want comp sales growth and we want great margin flow-through off of a really tight inventory investment.

我們希望復合銷售增長，我們希望從非常緊張的庫存投資中獲得巨大的利潤流動。

And the intent that we have, Joan and Roger and I working with the team, is to get that balance in place and get that flywheel effect so we get the best of both.

我們的意圖是，瓊和羅傑以及我與團隊一起工作，是為了達到這種平衡並獲得飛輪效應，這樣我們就可以得到最好的兩者。

What I will tell you though is we are evaluating very aggressively the investments that we're making in our sales, in terms of inventory investment, for return.

我要告訴你的是，我們正在非常積極地評估我們在銷售中所做的投資，就庫存投資而言，以獲得回報。

And if you look at the fourth quarter without getting into the specific numbers, we made a significant inventory investment that in the details didn't necessarily dramatically improve the metrics.

如果您在不了解具體數字的情況下查看第四季度，我們會進行大量庫存投資，但在細節上並不一定會顯著改善指標。

We had a great top-line growth so obviously it fueled that but so much of that was about Roger and the team's work to dramatically improve the assortment, which helped us compete to win and lead the sector at holiday.

我們有一個很好的收入增長，所以很明顯它推動了這一點，但其中很大一部分是關於羅杰和團隊為顯著改善產品種類所做的工作，這幫助我們在假期贏得併領導該行業。

So our goal would be to deliver the right inventory strategy behind our sales plans and not be so tight that we're either over-invested or so under-invested that we're missing sales.

因此，我們的目標是為我們的銷售計劃提供正確的庫存策略，而不是過於緊張，以至於我們要么過度投資，要么投資不足，以至於我們錯過了銷售。

We've got a very disciplined process between merchandising, MP&A and the supply chain and we look at it weekly, monthly, quarterly, with a short-, medium- and longer-term lens to make sure that we're in balance.

我們在推銷、MP&A 和供應鏈之間有一個非常嚴格的流程，我們每週、每月、每季度查看它，並從短期、中期和長期的角度來確保我們處於平衡狀態。

What I will tell you, though, is we will not be investing behind negative returns.

不過，我要告訴你的是，我們不會投資於負回報。

Thanks and good luck.

謝謝，祝你好運。

Okay, Claudia, we have time for one more question.

好的，克勞迪婭，我們有時間再問一個問題。

Jeff Black, Citigroup.

花旗集團的傑夫·布萊克。

Welcome, Robert.

歡迎，羅伯特。

Thanks, Jeff.

謝謝，傑夫。

We're sitting here watching the story over the last few years and we've slashed price, we promoted basics, we invested in core items, we're now going to invest in fashion, but you step back just top level, you've been caught in the middle it seems to us for quite some time here, back and forth on the strategy.

在過去的幾年裡，我們坐在這裡觀看故事，我們已經削減了價格，我們推廣基本款，我們投資於核心項目，我們現在將投資於時尚，但你退回到頂級水平，你在我們看來，在策略上來回徘徊已經有一段時間了。

Where do you see Eagle fitting in the teen landscape?

您認為 Eagle 在青少年環境中的位置在哪裡？

What are you really telling us about where you're going to be differentiated, how you're going to be differentiated and really what time frame are we looking at for this what sounds like a meaningful move into the fashion direction and quicker turns?

你真的告訴我們你將在哪裡與眾不同，你將如何與眾不同以及我們正在尋找什麼時間框架，這聽起來像是向時尚方向的有意義的轉變和更快的轉變？

Thanks.

謝謝。

Yes.

是的。

Jeff, it's a fair question.

傑夫，這是一個公平的問題。

I think you're asking the questions that we as a team intend to respond to later in the year.

我想你問的是我們作為一個團隊打算在今年晚些時候回答的問題。

Like I mentioned and you're giving me a little bit of breathing space because I've been here for five weeks now, the time to really work with the team.

就像我提到的那樣，你給了我一點喘息的空間，因為我已經在這裡待了五個星期，是時候真正與團隊合作了。

I want to listen and learn as much as I possibly can.

我想盡可能多地傾聽和學習。

And at the same time what you've challenged is a differentiated competitive strategy that has long-term growth and return potential for our shareholders that distinguishes both the American Eagle brand as well as the other properties in our portfolio from our competition, built against a sustainable revenue margin and return strategy.

同時，您面臨的挑戰是差異化競爭戰略，該戰略對我們的股東具有長期增長和回報潛力，使 American Eagle 品牌以及我們投資組合中的其他物業與我們的競爭對手區分開來，建立在可持續的利潤率和回報策略。

That's what we intend to build.

這就是我們打算建立的。

My view is we do have distinctive competitive assets in American Eagle and aerie.

我的觀點是，我們在 American Eagle 和 aerie 確實擁有獨特的競爭資產。

We haven't been able to leverage them on American Eagle as much as we would like and see short-, medium- and long-term growth potential getting more leverage off the core American Eagle brand and with a focus on intimates and a stronger focus on return on invested capital, see the potential for medium- to longer-term returns from the aerie brand in the portfolio.

我們無法在 American Eagle 上充分利用它們，並看到短期、中期和長期增長潛力從核心 American Eagle 品牌中獲得更多影響，並專注於內衣和更強烈的關注關於投資資本回報，請查看投資組合中 aerie 品牌的中長期回報潛力。

But instead of answering a question which I think I'll have much more thoughtful response to you on later in the year, broadly about the strategic growth for the Company, let me leave it at that and just reiterate the near-term initiative that we have, we believe very confidently will drive improved performance in 2012.

但是，我沒有回答一個我認為今年晚些時候我會對你做出更深思熟慮的回答的問題，大致上是關於公司的戰略增長，讓我把它留在那裡，只是重申我們的近期倡議有，我們非常有信心推動 2012 年業績的改善。

It's all encouraging.

這一切都令人鼓舞。

So we'll look forward to hearing more.

所以我們期待聽到更多。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Okay, guys.

好的，伙計們。

That concludes our call today.

我們今天的電話到此結束。

Just keep in mind, we will report first-quarter results on May 23.

請記住，我們將在 5 月 23 日報告第一季度業績。

Thanks for your participation today and your continued interest in American Eagle Outfitters.

感謝您今天的參與以及您對 American Eagle Outfitters 的持續關注。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference.

女士們，先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。

You may disconnect your lines at this time and we thank you for your participation.

您此時可以斷開線路，我們感謝您的參與。