American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the American Eagle Outfitters Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call.

您好，歡迎來到 American Eagle Outfitters 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Judy Meehan. Thank you, Ms. Meehan. You may begin.

提醒一下，這次會議正在錄製中。現在我很高興向您介紹主持人 Judy Meehan。謝謝你，米漢女士。你可以開始了。

Good afternoon, everyone.

大家下午好。

Joining me today for our prepared remarks are Jay Schottenstein, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Jen Foyle, President, Executive Creative Director for AE and Aerie; Michael Rempell, Chief Operating Officer; and Mike Mathias, Chief Financial Officer.

今天與我一起發表準備好的講話的有執行主席兼首席執行官 Jay Schottenstein； AE 和 Aerie 總裁兼執行創意總監 Jen Foyle； Michael Rempell，首席運營官；和首席財務官 Mike Mathias。

Before we begin today's call, I need to remind you that we will make certain forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon information that represents the company's current expectations or beliefs. The results actually realized may differ materially based on risk factors included in our SEC filings. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

在我們開始今天的電話會議之前，我需要提醒您，我們將做出某些前瞻性陳述。這些陳述基於代表公司當前期望或信念的信息。根據我們提交給 SEC 的文件中包含的風險因素，實際實現的結果可能存在重大差異。公司不承擔公開更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務，無論是由於新信息、未來事件或其他原因，除非法律要求。

Also, please note that during this call and in the accompanying press release, certain financial metrics are presented on both a GAAP and non-GAAP adjusted basis. Reconciliations of adjusted results to the GAAP results are available in the tables attached to the earnings release which is posted on our corporate website at www.aeo-inc.com in the Investor Relations section. Here, you can also find the fourth quarter investor presentation.

此外，請注意，在本次電話會議和隨附的新聞稿中，某些財務指標是根據 GAAP 和非 GAAP 調整後的基礎提出的。調整後的結果與 GAAP 結果的對賬可在我們公司網站 www.aeo-inc.com 投資者關係部分發布的收益發布所附的表格中找到。在這裡，您還可以找到第四季度的投資者介紹。

And now I will turn the call over to Jay.

現在我將把電話轉給傑伊。

Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us today.

下午好。感謝您今天加入我們。

2022 was a dynamic year with numerous external questions. As we lapped outstanding results in 2021, we faced a difficult macro environment with rising inflation, higher interest rates, continued supply chain disruption, and a highly promotional retail environment. I am proud of how our teams executed throughout the year. Early on, we took swift and aggressive actions to reduce inventory levels, cut expenses and capital spending. This contributed to a significant recovery in profitability and free cash flow during the second half of the year.

2022 年是充滿活力的一年，存在許多外部問題。當我們在 2021 年取得優異成績時，我們面臨著通脹上升、利率上升、供應鏈持續中斷以及高度促銷的零售環境等艱難的宏觀環境。我為我們團隊全年的表現感到自豪。早些時候，我們採取了迅速而積極的行動來降低庫存水平、削減開支和資本支出。這有助於下半年盈利能力和自由現金流的顯著恢復。

We also posted our second highest revenue periods on record in both the fourth quarter at $1.5 billion and the year at $5 billion. Our fourth quarter results exceeded expectations and adjusted operating income of $96 million was above last year. We strengthened our financial position and exchanged neared all of our outstanding convertible debt to end the year with a healthier balance sheet and improved liquidity.

我們還公佈了有記錄以來第二高的收入，第四季度為 15 億美元，全年為 50 億美元。我們第四季度的業績超出預期，調整後的營業收入為 9600 萬美元，高於去年同期。我們加強了我們的財務狀況，並交換了接近我們所有未償還的可轉換債券，以在年底時以更健康的資產負債表和更好的流動性結束。

Moving to the American Eagle brand. I'm incredibly proud of the work the AE team has done over the last several years to improve profitability, rationalize unproductive SKUs and close low margin stores. As a proof point, fourth quarter adjusted operating profit for AE was up 36% to 2019.

轉向 American Eagle 品牌。我為 AE 團隊在過去幾年中為提高盈利能力、合理化非生產性 SKU 和關閉低利潤商店所做的工作感到無比自豪。作為一個證明，AE 第四季度調整後的營業利潤到 2019 年增長了 36%。

Jen has made great strides to refresh the brand via energizing assortments to capitalize on trends while delivering better profitability. AE is a strong and healthy brand. I'm encouraged by how customers are embracing new styles and I look forward to our continued progress.

Jen 在品牌更新方面取得了長足的進步，通過激活產品組合來利用趨勢，同時提供更好的盈利能力。 AE 是一個強大而健康的品牌。我對客戶如何接受新款式感到鼓舞，我期待著我們的持續進步。

Aerie has demonstrated exciting multiyear growth with fourth quarter revenue and adjusted operating income up over 70% in 2019. The rapid success of OFFLINE, our extension into active wear, underscores the strength of Aerie's powerful brand platform. We have significant potential as we reach more and more customers, and I cannot be more excited about the future.

Aerie 展示了令人興奮的多年增長，2019 年第四季度收入和調整後營業收入增長超過 70%。OFFLINE 的快速成功，我們在運動服領域的延伸，凸顯了 Aerie 強大的品牌平台的實力。隨著我們接觸到越來越多的客戶，我們擁有巨大的潛力，我對未來感到無比興奮。

Our international business performed well in 2022. We will continue to fuel sales and profits, pursuing a multiyear strategy to optimize key company-owned markets and expand our license business. In 2022, I was pleased to publish our first ESG report, highlighting over 2 decades of actions we have undertaken to build a better world. As noted in the report, we have made tremendous progress across our water goals and continue to reduce submissions. ESG responsibility is embedded in our brands and company culture and deeply interline with our corporate strategy.

我們的國際業務在 2022 年表現良好。我們將繼續推動銷售和利潤，實施多年戰略以優化公司擁有的主要市場並擴大我們的許可業務。 2022 年，我很高興發布了我們的第一份 ESG 報告，重點介紹了我們為建設更美好的世界所採取的超過 20 年的行動。正如報告中指出的那樣，我們在水資源目標方面取得了巨大進展，並繼續減少提交。 ESG 責任植根於我們的品牌和公司文化，並與我們的企業戰略緊密相連。

As we grow our brands and markets, we will stay disciplined and focus on profitability. Inventory management remains a key focus, and we will use the strength and agility of our supply chain to chase demand. Additionally, we have launched a formal program to further reduce expenses, gain efficiencies and prioritize high ROI in projects.

隨著我們的品牌和市場的發展，我們將保持紀律並專注於盈利能力。庫存管理仍然是一個重點，我們將利用我們供應鏈的力量和敏捷性來追逐需求。此外，我們還啟動了一項正式計劃，以進一步降低開支、提高效率並優先考慮項目的高投資回報率。

Given the highly volatile environment we've been operating in over the past several years, now is the time that we set our business. Last year, we made good progress yet opportunities remain as we strive to break out of the mid-single-digit operating margin range. On Quiet Platform, we continue to see interest from prospective customers and remain optimistic about the long-term opportunity. Yet the demand has been pressured this past year.

鑑於過去幾年我們一直在高度不穩定的環境中運營，現在是我們開展業務的時候了。去年，我們取得了良好的進展，但隨著我們努力突破中等個位數的營業利潤率範圍，機會依然存在。在 Quiet Platform 上，我們繼續看到潛在客戶的興趣，並對長期機會保持樂觀。然而，需求在過去一年受到壓力。

As Michael will review, we are adjusting our go-forward plans to strengthen profitability. Although the macro environment remains uncertain, we entered 2023 better positioned. I see no shortage of opportunities for this company. We will harness the power of our brands and an industry-leading operating models to drive growth and find efficiencies in processes and capabilities.

正如邁克爾將回顧的那樣，我們正在調整我們的前進計劃以加強盈利能力。儘管宏觀環境仍不明朗，但我們進入 2023 年時處於更有利的位置。我認為這家公司不乏機會。我們將利用我們品牌的力量和行業領先的運營模式來推動增長並提高流程和能力的效率。

I'm confident, with focus and discipline, we have strengthened our bottom line. We are committed to returning cash to our shareholders and are very pleased to reinstate our quarterly dividend.

我有信心，通過專注和紀律，我們已經加強了我們的底線。我們致力於向股東返還現金，並且很高興恢復我們的季度股息。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Jen.

有了這個，我會把電話轉給 Jen。

Thanks, Jay, and good afternoon, everyone.

謝謝，傑伊，大家下午好。

Over the past few years, the dynamic macro has battle tested us in many ways and 2022 was another roller coaster of a year. In this environment, American Eagle and Aerie displayed resilience, maintaining their status as fan favorites within our core demographic. In a year where customers pulled back on discretionary spending, we grew our loyalty customer file, further strengthening our relationships.

在過去的幾年裡，動態宏觀在很多方面考驗著我們，而 2022 年又是一個過山車般的一年。在這種環境下，American Eagle 和 Aerie 表現出了韌性，在我們的核心人群中保持了粉絲最愛的地位。在客戶減少可自由支配支出的一年中，我們增加了忠誠客戶檔案，進一步加強了我們的關係。

Even in a highly competitive promotional environment, fourth quarter results exceeded our expectations. With inventory back at healthy levels, we brought exciting new innovation to our customers in stores and controlled markdowns, achieving our second highest fourth quarter AUR. This was down 7% to last year's record high, yet up over 20% across brands to 2019, highlighting our focus on controlling promotions and building brand equity.

即使在競爭激烈的促銷環境中，第四季度的業績也超出了我們的預期。隨著庫存恢復到健康水平，我們為商店的客戶帶來了令人興奮的新創新，並控制了降價促銷，第四季度 AUR 達到第二高。這比去年的歷史新高下降了 7%，但到 2019 年各品牌增長了 20% 以上，這凸顯了我們對控制促銷和建立品牌資產的關注。

Aerie reached a milestone at $1.5 billion in revenue in 2022 as new stores continued to expand awareness. Since 2019, revenue has nearly doubled with operating profit up close to 150%. I am pleased with this accomplishment, especially given the unprecedented macro volatility.

隨著新店繼續擴大知名度，Aerie 在 2022 年達到了 15 億美元的收入里程碑。自 2019 年以來，收入幾乎翻了一番，營業利潤接近 150%。我對這一成就感到高興，尤其是考慮到前所未有的宏觀波動。

For the fourth quarter, Aerie continued to see good growth, yet came in below our expectations. Core apparel showed up well, and we achieved our best sweater season in the brand's history while also continuing positive growth in fleece.

第四季度，Aerie 繼續保持良好增長，但低於我們的預期。核心服裝表現良好，我們實現了品牌歷史上最好的毛衣季，同時羊毛衫也繼續保持正增長。

Our active wear extension, OFFLINE by Aerie, remained a standout performer, led by our leggings franchise. Leggings continue to be a powerful driver of new customer acquisitions, and we are seeing nice momentum across fashion and performance styles.

我們的運動服延伸產品 Aerie 的 OFFLINE 在我們的緊身褲專營權的帶領下仍然表現出色。緊身褲繼續成為吸引新客戶的強大動力，我們看到時尚和性能風格的良好勢頭。

Intimates was a bit softer than expected. And as we look forward to 2023, our plans include launching more units in Intimates to build great awareness and engagement.

貼身衣物比想像中的要柔和一些。展望 2023 年，我們的計劃包括推出更多 Intimates 單元，以提高知名度和參與度。

As we continue to scale Aerie, we are leveraging creative marketing touch points to drive excitement. In the fourth quarter, our (inaudible) Aerie holiday marketing campaign centered on gifting was a strong success. Additionally this spring, we launched a new Find Your Wonder campaign with a throwback to Y2K fashion, including real life and digital experiences.

隨著我們繼續擴大 Aerie 的規模，我們正在利用創意營銷接觸點來推動興奮。在第四季度，我們（聽不清）以送禮為中心的 Aerie 假日營銷活動取得了巨大成功。此外，今年春天，我們推出了一項新的 Find Your Wonder 活動，回歸 Y2K 時尚，包括現實生活和數字體驗。

Turning to American Eagle. Demand in the fourth quarter exceeded our expectations. As we evolve our assortment with engaging fashion trends, we are seeing a nice reception to new silhouettes such as wide legs and cargo, and renewed excitement in fleece and knit tops. I look forward to capitalizing on new fashion trends as we move through the year.

轉向美國之鷹。第四季度的需求超出了我們的預期。隨著我們隨著引人入勝的時尚趨勢發展我們的產品系列，我們看到人們對寬腿和工裝褲等新版型的歡迎，以及對羊毛和針織上衣的重新興奮。我期待著在這一年中利用新的時尚趨勢。

Over the past several years, we have been intently focused on improving the health of the AE brand, tightening our assortment, pulling back on the value disrupted promotions and selectively closing unproductive stores. These changes are driving better margins. As we maintain our focus on profitability, we are also actively exploring opportunities to drive growth. On that note, in January, we launched AE 24/7, a new men's sub brand focused on the fast-growing active wear category. Early reception to our limited initial assortment has been very encouraging, and we look forward to scaling the collection later this year.

在過去的幾年裡，我們一直專注於改善 AE 品牌的健康狀況，收緊我們的品種，取消價值中斷的促銷活動，並有選擇地關閉非生產性商店。這些變化正在推動更高的利潤率。在我們保持對盈利能力的關注的同時，我們也在積極探索推動增長的機會。就此而言，我們在 1 月份推出了 AE 24/7，這是一個專注於快速增長的運動服類別的新男裝子品牌。早期收到我們有限的初始分類非常令人鼓舞，我們期待在今年晚些時候擴大該系列。

Last month, we also relaunched AE 77 as a premium sustainable capsule within the AE brand. Introduced with limited denim choices for now, the assortment spans both men's and women's and will be available predominantly online with bricks-and-mortar presence in select stores. The reception has been very encouraging, and I look forward to building on the early success.

上個月，我們還重新推出了 AE 77 作為 AE 品牌的優質可持續膠囊。該系列目前推出的牛仔布選擇有限，涵蓋男裝和女裝，將主要在網上銷售，並在部分實體店開設實體店。反響非常鼓舞人心，我期待著早日取得成功。

I'm pleased to note that AE's customer file grew in the fourth quarter as we retained and reactivated more customers. On the marketing front, we collaborated with the cast of The Summer I Turned Pretty, a Gen Z favorite show, launching a limited edition collection that fully sold out.

我很高興地註意到，隨著我們保留並重新激活更多客戶，AE 的客戶檔案在第四季度有所增長。在營銷方面，我們與 Z 世代最喜歡的節目《我變漂亮的夏天》的演員合作，推出了限量版系列，但已全部售罄。

Buzz around AE is continuing into spring. Last month, our newest denim silhouette, Dreamy Drape, went viral after an organic post by Alex Earle, one of TikTok's fastest-growing influencers. We have also launched an exclusive spring collaboration with the Outer Banks crew, which is off to a good start, drawing in new customers with great reception across social media. In fact, a recent post by one of the stars on the show became our #1 Instagram post of all time.

圍繞 AE 的討論一直持續到春天。上個月，我們最新的牛仔款式 Dreamy Drape 在 TikTok 增長最快的影響力人物之一 Alex Earle 的有機帖子後走紅。我們還與 Outer Banks 劇組開展了獨家春季合作，這是一個良好的開端，吸引了新客戶，並在社交媒體上受到了熱烈歡迎。事實上，節目中一位明星最近的一篇帖子成為了我們有史以來排名第一的 Instagram 帖子。

Entering 2023, while the macro remains uncertain, emerging trends in casual wear continue to provide new avenues to drive growth across our brands. Innovation is our strength. We will lean into newness and continue to deliver excitement and high quality on trend styles to our customers.

進入 2023 年，雖然宏觀經濟仍不明朗，但休閒裝的新興趨勢繼續提供新途徑來推動我們品牌的增長。創新是我們的力量。我們將追求新鮮感，並繼續為我們的客戶提供令人興奮和高品質的潮流款式。

Thank you. As always, to the AE and Aerie teams for their tremendous effort this past year. With every season, we are making progress, and I remain very excited about what's to come. Thank you.

謝謝。一如既往，感謝 AE 和 Aerie 團隊在過去的一年裡付出的巨大努力。每個賽季，我們都在取得進步，我對即將發生的事情仍然感到非常興奮。謝謝。

And now I'll turn the call over to Michael.

現在我會把電話轉給邁克爾。

Thanks, Jen, and good afternoon, everyone.

謝謝，珍，大家下午好。

As Jay noted, the past few years have been extremely volatile for the retail industry, highlighted by shift in consumer spending and operational challenges. Navigating through this period has not been easy, yet I'm very proud of how we've responded with both agility and speed.

正如 Jay 指出的那樣，過去幾年零售業極度動盪，消費者支出的轉變和運營挑戰凸顯了這一點。度過這段時期並不容易，但我為我們如何以敏捷和快速的方式做出反應感到非常自豪。

We've added significantly to our capabilities and increased our use of new technologies, which are driving benefits to our operations and the customer experience. As we continue to manage through a dynamic landscape, we will lean into these capabilities as we strive for productivity improvements and even stronger profitability.

我們顯著增強了我們的能力並增加了我們對新技術的使用，這為我們的運營和客戶體驗帶來了好處。隨著我們繼續在動態環境中進行管理，我們將依靠這些能力來努力提高生產力和更強的盈利能力。

Fourth quarter channel performance largely reflected the ongoing macro volatility. It's notable that customers are returning to in-person shopping. Store revenue was flat to last year and up 5% to 2019.

第四季度渠道業績在很大程度上反映了持續的宏觀波動。值得注意的是，客戶正在返回親自購物。門店收入與去年持平，到 2019 年增長 5%。

Since taking responsibility for stores last fall, I've had the opportunity to visit numerous locations and spend considerable time with our incredible store leadership. We have a powerful fleet and truly a world-class field team. And I've been very impressed with just how well we service the customer and leverage tools and technologies to drive store productivity.

自從去年秋天負責商店以來，我有機會參觀了許多地點，並與我們出色的商店領導共度了相當多的時間。我們擁有強大的機隊和真正世界一流的現場團隊。我們為客戶提供的服務以及利用工具和技術來提高商店生產力的能力給我留下了深刻的印象。

For example, this quarter, I am pleased to note that we were tied for the #1 Specialty Retailer for customer satisfaction in the ACSI Customer Satisfaction Survey, and actually had the largest year-to-year improvement of any company surveyed.

例如，本季度，我很高興地註意到，我們在 ACSI 客戶滿意度調查中並列為客戶滿意度排名第一的專業零售商，並且實際上在所有接受調查的公司中實現了最大的年度改進。

Our new point-of-sale system is providing a better shopping experience and reducing average checkout times by 50%. We expect this to drive improvement to sales per selling hour as we focus on further efficiency gains.

我們新的銷售點系統提供了更好的購物體驗，並將平均結賬時間減少了 50%。隨著我們專注於進一步提高效率，我們預計這將推動每個銷售小時的銷售額提高。

I'm also very excited to share that we will start rolling out an innovative RFID and AI-based technology capability across our stores later this year. Our pilot test this holiday proved highly successful, providing visibility into inventory availability and placement at over 99% accuracy. I'm very enthused about the sales opportunities, inventory productivity improvements and labor efficiencies we can unlock moving forward.

我也很高興與大家分享，我們將在今年晚些時候開始在我們的商店推出創新的 RFID 和基於人工智能的技術能力。我們在這個假期進行的試點測試證明非常成功，以超過 99% 的準確度提供了對庫存可用性和位置的可見性。我對我們未來可以釋放的銷售機會、庫存生產率提高和勞動效率感到非常興奮。

As I indicated last quarter, we are also focused on updating and modernizing our most productive stores and relocating certain stores to ensure we are in the best location. Last month, we consolidated our store footprint in Manhattan. We moved Aerie from Spring Street to the second floor of our AE SoHo Broadway location and introduced our full OFFLINE collection to this market. We will also be testing a handful of off-mall locations, which are smaller, lower cost stores in emerging neighborhood outlets.

正如我在上個季度指出的那樣，我們還專注於更新和現代化我們最高效的商店，並搬遷某些商店以確保我們處於最佳位置。上個月，我們整合了我們在曼哈頓的門店足跡。我們將 Aerie 從 Spring Street 搬到了 AE SoHo Broadway 店面的二樓，並向這個市場推出了我們完整的 OFFLINE 系列。我們還將測試一些商場外的地點，這些地點是新興社區商店中規模較小、成本較低的商店。

And mid-summer, we are testing a new American Eagle store design, introducing a fresh and modern take on both the aesthetics and functionality to these stores. As we introduce these changes, we are dissecting all facets of the store channel to optimize how we operate. As we sharpen our focus on store productivity and profitability, this is revealing further opportunities, particularly within our labor model.

仲夏時節，我們正在測試一種新的 American Eagle 商店設計，在這些商店的美學和功能上引入一種新鮮和現代的風格。在引入這些變化時，我們正在剖析商店渠道的各個方面，以優化我們的運營方式。隨著我們加強對商店生產力和盈利能力的關注，這揭示了更多機會，特別是在我們的勞動力模型中。

As a result of channel shift and unnatural builds from COVID, digital revenue was down 9% to 2021, yet revenue was up 19% compared to 2019. Digital is a healthy channel, representing 36% of total brand revenue, and it continues to be highly profitable. This quarter, I'm happy to say we are hiring new talent to the team, welcoming David Zhang as our new Chief Digital Officer. David brings vast experience in building successful digital commerce, and we're looking forward to his contributions.

由於渠道轉移和 COVID 的不自然構建，數字收入到 2021 年下降了 9%，但收入與 2019 年相比增長了 19%。數字是一個健康的渠道，佔品牌總收入的 36%，並且它將繼續高利潤。本季度，我很高興地說我們正在為團隊招聘新人才，歡迎 David Zhang 擔任我們的新首席數字官。 David 在建立成功的數字商務方面擁有豐富的經驗，我們期待著他的貢獻。

Now turning to the supply chain. After 3 years of unprecedented volatility and inflation on the inbound side, we are entering 2023 in a much more stable supply chain environment. Lead times are essentially back to pre-pandemic levels and product costs have normalized. As we manage through an uncertain macro, we are using this to our advantage, planning cautiously and chasing into demand. Buying for the spring season are down to last year, and a significant portion of our fall still remains open.

現在轉向供應鏈。在入境方面經歷了 3 年前所未有的波動和通貨膨脹之後，我們將在一個更加穩定的供應鏈環境中進入 2023 年。交貨時間基本上回到了大流行前的水平，產品成本已經正常化。在我們應對不確定的宏觀經濟時，我們正在利用這一優勢，謹慎規劃並追逐需求。春季的購買量下降到去年，我們秋季的很大一部分仍然開放。

On the outbound side, our investment in client platforms continues to provide much needed capacity, flexibility and speed for our brands, combined with cost savings. Digital delivery costs in the fourth quarter were down to last year. We are making progress in reducing fulfillment costs and the number of shipments per order, which resulted in a lower delivery cost per order.

在出站方面，我們對客戶端平台的投資繼續為我們的品牌提供急需的容量、靈活性和速度，並節省成本。第四季度的數字交付成本低於去年。我們在降低履行成本和每個訂單的發貨數量方面取得了進展，從而降低了每個訂單的交付成本。

As Jay noted, although Quiet's third-party revenue has grown significantly to last year, acquiring new customers has been slower than anticipated due to a tougher macro. For 2023, we are focused on reducing expenses to better align with growth trends. We will streamline investments in the platform and look to leverage Quiet's capabilities to continue to drive benefits both for our brands and for all of Quiet's third-party customers. Thanks.

正如 Jay 指出的那樣，儘管 Quiet 的第三方收入與去年相比有了顯著增長，但由於宏觀經濟形勢更加嚴峻，獲得新客戶的速度低於預期。對於 2023 年，我們專注於減少開支以更好地適應增長趨勢。我們將簡化對該平台的投資，並尋求利用 Quiet 的能力繼續為我們的品牌和 Quiet 的所有第三方客戶帶來收益。謝謝。

And now I'm going to turn the call over to Mike.

現在我要把電話轉給邁克。

Thanks, Michael. Good afternoon, everyone.

謝謝，邁克爾。大家下午好。

As Jay mentioned, in response to changes in the environment, we took early and aggressive actions to reset our plans. We reduced inventory, expenses and capital expenditures, which enabled us to deliver a meaningful improvement in profit and cash flow in the second half of the year.

正如傑所說，為了應對環境的變化，我們及早採取了積極的行動來重新制定我們的計劃。我們減少了庫存、費用和資本支出，這使我們能夠在下半年實現利潤和現金流的顯著改善。

Margins rebounded, and we generated adjusted operating income of $213 million in the second half compared to $56 million in the first half. We also returned to a positive free cash flow position and further strengthened our balance sheet. Full year consolidated revenue of $5 billion was second only to last year's record results and adjusted operating income was $269 million.

利潤率反彈，我們在下半年產生了 2.13 億美元的調整後營業收入，而上半年為 5600 萬美元。我們還恢復了正的自由現金流狀況，並進一步加強了我們的資產負債表。全年綜合收入為 50 億美元，僅次於去年創紀錄的業績，調整後的營業收入為 2.69 億美元。

Fourth quarter results exceeded our expectations, reflecting improved demand and stronger margins. Consolidated revenue of $1.5 billion declined 1% to last year's record results and included 1 point of growth from Quiet Platforms. Brand revenue was down 3%, coming in ahead of our outlook for a mid-single-digit decline. This includes our second highest holiday sales result in the history of the company with positive momentum continuing in January.

第四季度的業績超出了我們的預期，反映出需求的改善和利潤率的提高。 15 億美元的綜合收入比去年創紀錄的業績下降了 1%，其中包括來自 Quiet Platforms 的 1 個百分點的增長。品牌收入下降了 3%，超過了我們對中個位數下降的預期。這包括我們公司歷史上第二高的假日銷售業績，一月份繼續保持積極勢頭。

Compared to pre-pandemic fourth quarter 2019, consolidated revenue was up 14%. Adjusted operating income of $96 million reflected a 6.4% margin and was up 30 basis points to last year and 60 basis points to 2019.

與大流行前的 2019 年第四季度相比，綜合收入增長了 14%。調整後的營業收入為 9600 萬美元，利潤率為 6.4%，比去年增長 30 個基點，比 2019 年增長 60 個基點。

Quiet Platforms produced a $13 million loss, excluding a $4 million impairment and restructuring charge. Demand was lower than anticipated. As Michael reviewed, with macro challenges continuing into this year, we've adjusted plans to reflect a more measured pace of growth to Quiet Platforms and reset expenses aimed at improving profitability this year.

Quiet Platforms 產生了 1300 萬美元的虧損，不包括 400 萬美元的減值和重組費用。需求低於預期。正如 Michael 回顧的那樣，隨著宏觀挑戰持續到今年，我們調整了計劃以反映 Quiet Platforms 更謹慎的增長速度，並重新設置旨在提高今年盈利能力的支出。

The gross margin rate of 33.9% in the fourth quarter was ahead of our expected range of 32% to 33% due to stronger demand and lower markdowns versus planned as we leverage our healthy inventory position to control promotions.

第四季度 33.9% 的毛利率高於我們 32% 至 33% 的預期範圍，這是由於我們利用健康的庫存狀況來控制促銷，因此需求強勁且降價幅度低於計劃。

Compared to last year, gross profit dollars increased 4% to $507 million with a gross margin rate up 150 basis points. Merchandise margins were higher, reflecting lower product and freight costs with a partial offset from higher markdowns. Lower compensation and delivery costs also had a positive impact on margins, offset by higher distribution and warehousing costs and higher rent.

與去年相比，毛利潤增長 4% 至 5.07 億美元，毛利率上升 150 個基點。商品利潤率較高，反映了較低的產品和運費成本，部分抵消了較高的降價幅度。較低的薪酬和交付成本也對利潤率產生了積極影響，但被較高的分銷和倉儲成本以及較高的租金所抵消。

Quiet Platforms had an 80 basis point impact as that business continues to scale. Despite a highly promotional operating environment, markdown levels were significantly healthier relative to 2019, reflecting our multiyear focus on improving brand equity and driving profitable growth.

隨著業務的不斷擴展，Quiet Platforms 產生了 80 個基點的影響。儘管具有高度促銷的經營環境，但與 2019 年相比，降價水平明顯更健康，反映出我們多年來一直致力於提高品牌資產和推動盈利增長。

SG&A dollars were approximately flat to last year in the fourth quarter, reflecting our ongoing focus on controlling expenses. As Jay noted, we're currently undertaking a company-wide assessment to look for additional savings and efficiencies across our entire cost structure, strengthening our culture to focus on innovation and investment discipline.

第四季度的 SG&A 美元與去年持平，反映出我們一直專注於控制費用。正如 Jay 指出的那樣，我們目前正在進行全公司範圍的評估，以在我們的整個成本結構中尋找額外的節省和效率，加強我們的文化以專注於創新和投資紀律。

I'll report on progress over the course of the year. Adjusted EPS was $0.37 per share. Our diluted share count was 197 million, down from 203 million last year.

我將報告這一年的進展情況。調整後每股收益為 0.37 美元。我們的稀釋股數為 1.97 億，低於去年的 2.03 億。

Shifting to the brands, Aerie revenue increased 8%, driven by new stores. Comparable sales declined 2%, following a 17% increase last year. The adjusted operating margin of 12.2% reflected a significant recovery from the fourth quarter of last year. Aerie remains a strong multiyear growth and profit story. As we move past tough comparisons and new stores ramp up along the maturity curve, we anticipate comps returning to positive territory this year.

轉向品牌，在新店的推動下，Aerie 收入增長了 8%。繼去年增長 17% 之後，可比銷售額下降了 2%。調整後的營業利潤率為 12.2%，較去年第四季度有了顯著復甦。 Aerie 仍然是一個強勁的多年增長和利潤故事。隨著我們越過艱難的比較，新店沿著成熟度曲線增加，我們預計 comps 今年將恢復正值。

American Eagle revenue declined 8% and comps were down 9%, following an 11% increase last year. Demand was ahead of our expectations and reflected a sequential improvement from the third quarter. I'm particularly pleased to see a significant improvement in the health of the brand since 2019.

繼去年增長 11% 之後，American Eagle 的收入下降了 8%，收入下降了 9%。需求超出我們的預期，反映了第三季度的環比改善。我特別高興地看到自 2019 年以來該品牌的健康狀況有了顯著改善。

While revenue was down 7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, adjusted operating profit was up 36% over the same period and brand operating margin expanded 510 basis points to 16%.

雖然收入與 2019 年第四季度相比下降 7%，但調整後的營業利潤同比增長 36%，品牌營業利潤率擴大 510 個基點至 16%。

Consolidated earning inventory cost was up 6% compared to last year with units up 4%. Inventories reflect current spring product and earlier-than-expected delivery the supply chain continues to normalize. AE and Aerie inventory across the U.S. and Canada is down to last year with the consolidated increase driven by expansion in Mexico where we're experiencing growth well into the double digits.

與去年相比，綜合盈利存貨成本上升了 6%，單位上升了 4%。庫存反映了當前的春季產品和早於預期的供應鏈交付繼續正常化。美國和加拿大的 AE 和 Aerie 庫存下降到去年，墨西哥的擴張推動了綜合增長，我們正在經歷兩位數的增長。

We ended the quarter with $170 million in cash and total liquidity of $862 million. Capital expenditures totaled $61 million in the quarter and $260 million for the full year, which is down significantly from our plan at the start of the year. As we focus on strengthening free cash flow and capitalize on the investments we made over the past several years, we're reducing annual CapEx to the $150 million to $190 million range in 2023. We plan to open approximately 25 new Aerie stores next year with net closures at AE of approximately 25 stores.

本季度結束時，我們擁有 1.7 億美元的現金和 8.62 億美元的總流動資金。本季度資本支出總額為 6100 萬美元，全年資本支出總額為 2.6 億美元，這大大低於我們年初的計劃。由於我們專注於加強自由現金流並利用過去幾年的投資，我們將在 2023 年將年度資本支出減少到 1.5 億至 1.9 億美元。我們計劃明年開設約 25 家新的 Aerie 商店AE 淨關閉約 25 家商店。

As I reflect on the fourth quarter performance, despite operating in a highly dynamic environment, I'm pleased by the multiyear improvement and the health of our business. We continue to see opportunity to drive growth and profit improvement over the long term.

當我回顧第四季度的業績時，儘管在一個高度動態的環境中運營，但我對多年來的改善和我們業務的健康狀況感到高興。從長遠來看，我們繼續看到推動增長和利潤改善的機會。

Moving on to our outlook. As we enter 2023, as the team has discussed, our brands are strong and inventory is healthy. The global supply chain environment continues to normalize, providing improved costs and greater agility. And we have a company-wide focus on expense reduction and operating leverage. That said, visibility into the macro and overall consumer spending behavior is still limited. As a result, we're taking a cautious view. Regarding the current quarter, while we've seen good trends in February with a favorable response to new merchandise, the environment remains choppy. Additionally, it's early in the quarter with our most important week still ahead.

繼續我們的展望。隨著我們進入 2023 年，正如團隊所討論的那樣，我們的品牌強大，庫存健康。全球供應鏈環境繼續正常化，從而降低了成本並提高了靈活性。我們在全公司範圍內都關注減少費用和運營槓桿。也就是說，對宏觀和整體消費者支出行為的了解仍然有限。因此，我們持謹慎態度。關於當前季度，雖然我們在 2 月份看到了良好的趨勢，對新商品的反應良好，但環境仍然動盪不安。此外，現在是本季度初，我們最重要的一周還在後面。

At this point, our outlook for the first quarter is for revenue to be in the range of flat to up low single digits and for operating income to be approximately flat to last year. For the year, our outlook reflects annual revenue growth in the range of flat to up low single digits and operating income in the range of $270 million to $310 million.

在這一點上，我們對第一季度的預期是收入在持平到低個位數之間，營業收入與去年基本持平。對於這一年，我們的展望反映了年收入增長持平到低個位數，營業收入在 2.7 億美元到 3.1 億美元之間。

With that, I'll open it up for questions.

有了這個，我會打開它來提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

And our first question is from Jay Sole with UBS.

我們的第一個問題來自瑞銀的 Jay Sole。

Maybe just 2-part question. One, just first on Aerie. It sounds like there's a lot of exciting things happening just in terms of fashion. I think in the slide deck that you talked about still you see it as a $2 billion brand. You just talked about the long-term opportunity you to continue to see with Aerie?

也許只是兩部分的問題。一，首先在 Aerie。就時尚而言，聽起來好像有很多令人興奮的事情正在發生。我認為在你談到的幻燈片中，你仍然將它視為一個價值 20 億美元的品牌。你剛剛談到了你繼續與 Aerie 一起看到的長期機會？

And then maybe, Mike, just on guidance that you gave for first quarter. It sounds like February has started strong. You're looking for flat to low single-digit growth?

然後，邁克，也許只是根據您為第一季度提供的指導。聽起來二月已經開始強勁。您正在尋找持平或低的個位數增長嗎？

Sure. As we -- Mike mentioned it, as we start to hurdle these new store openings, we feel like there's definitely some comp growth in these stores because, as you know, we go into a new market, we have to get the digital side of the business up and going. And we're already seeing some new end results as the quarter -- starting Q2, our quarters from a comp perspective, we've increasingly gotten better. So I think it's proof of the pudding there that there is some upside as we hurdle these new store openings and really like let those businesses mature. So we're excited about that.

當然。正如我們 - 邁克提到的那樣，當我們開始阻礙這些新店開業時，我們覺得這些商店肯定會有一些增長，因為正如你所知，我們進入了一個新市場，我們必須獲得數字方面的生意興隆。我們已經在本季度看到了一些新的最終結果——從第二季度開始，從 comp 的角度來看，我們的季度越來越好。因此，我認為這證明了那裡的布丁存在一些好處，因為我們阻礙了這些新店的開業，並且真的很想讓這些業務成熟。所以我們對此感到興奮。

Regarding just the product side, Jay, I mean, we could not be more excited. We have so many new categories, one being OFFLINE. This business is on fire, let me just say that. Q4 delivered incredible results over last year. We've been hurdling an incredible launch year-over-year of the crossover flare. It's our first new and coming and it's our best and nobody can comp this item because we own it, and it's ours.

關於產品方面，Jay，我的意思是，我們非常興奮。我們有很多新類別，其中一個是離線類別。這家公司火了，我就這麼說吧。與去年相比，第四季度取得了令人難以置信的成果。我們一直在跨年跨界耀斑令人難以置信的發射。這是我們的第一個新產品，它是我們最好的，沒有人可以競爭這個項目，因為我們擁有它，它是我們的。

The one thing I want to say about Aerie, and this is true, our customer awareness. So our customer awareness, about this -- it's up 25% year-over-year in Q4. That speaks volume. That means that the store openings are really starting to take hold. We're introducing the brand to new customers. Don't forget, we're still in expansion mode. We're about 500 stores right now. We're opening about 20 more this year. So all these new stores hopefully pay off as far as brand awareness.

關於 Aerie，我想說的一件事是我們的客戶意識，這是真的。因此，我們的客戶對此的認識在第四季度同比增長了 25%。這很重要。這意味著新開的商店真的開始站穩腳跟了。我們正在向新客戶介紹該品牌。別忘了，我們仍處於擴張模式。我們現在大約有 500 家商店。今年我們要再開 20 家。因此，所有這些新店都有望在品牌知名度方面得到回報。

From a product standpoint, we're all over it. We're excited about OFFLINE. That is presenting growth for us. New businesses, including fleece, which we've owned, but I really think we're dominating there from a competitive standpoint. And then for the future, we're really going to double down on intimates. So we feel like that's a category that we can hone in on and really innovate. Our SMOOTHEZ launch this year was incredible. In fact, some of those frames have really taken hold for us. And we're really going to reinvent that business. So more to come. As you know, we're never going to stop innovating this team.

從產品的角度來看，我們全力以赴。我們對離線感到興奮。這為我們帶來了增長。新業務，包括我們擁有的羊毛，但我真的認為從競爭的角度來看我們在那裡佔據主導地位。然後對於未來，我們真的要在親密關係上加倍努力。所以我們覺得這是一個我們可以磨練並真正創新的類別。我們今年推出的 SMOOTHEZ 令人難以置信。事實上，其中一些框架確實為我們所用。我們真的要重塑這項業務。所以還有更多。如您所知，我們永遠不會停止對這個團隊進行創新。

I can give you a little insight. Next year is Aerie's 10-year Aerie Real anniversary. So everyone can be excited to see what's to come because the creative team is not stopping.

我可以給你一點見識。明年是 Aerie 成立 10 週年。所以每個人都可以興奮地看到即將發生的事情，因為創意團隊不會停下來。

Great. And then -- sorry, I think I got cut off there at the second -- my question. But just -- for Mike, just on the revenue, it sounds like for Q1, it sounds -- February has been good. You said choppy, you're looking for flat to up low single digits.

偉大的。然後——抱歉，我想我在第二個問題上被打斷了——我的問題。但只是 - 對於邁克來說，就收入而言，聽起來像是第一季度，聽起來 - 2 月份一直很好。你說波濤洶湧，你正在尋找持平到低個位數。

Can you just talk about if your quarter-to-date trend so far is above or below that? And then secondly, on gross margin, how do you feel about gross margin in Q1 sort of up or down year-over-year?

您能否談談您的季度至今趨勢是高於還是低於該趨勢？其次，關於毛利率，您如何看待第一季度的毛利率同比上升或下降？

Just to confirm the cadence of revenue that applies to our Q1 guidance. So coming out of December and ICR, we talked about quarter-to-date, at that point, we were negative 3% brand revenue. But we did message that January we saw some uptick in trend at that point. That continued through the rest of the month, letting us to a minus 2% brand outcome for the fourth quarter. And then that trend actually has continued through February. So the combined January, February result here has had some consistency to it, which is giving us confidence in this flat to up low single-digit guidance.

只是為了確認適用於我們第一季度指導的收入節奏。所以從 12 月和 ICR 出來，我們談到了季度至今，那時我們的品牌收入為負 3%。但我們確實在 1 月份發布了消息，當時我們看到趨勢有所上升。這種情況一直持續到本月的剩餘時間，讓我們在第四季度的品牌業績為負 2%。然後這種趨勢實際上一直持續到 2 月。因此，這裡 1 月和 2 月的綜合結果具有一定的一致性，這讓我們對這個持平到低個位數的指導充滿信心。

And then for gross margin, yes, we're looking for a range of similar to last year -- or not range, but our guidance of similar to last year income on that flat to low single-digit revenue implies some gross margin improvement. I think we're still looking at some freight headwinds from last year that we recaptured obviously, the air freight in Q4 and some other freight headwinds, expecting some of that to come through in the first quarter again. So definitely some improvement -- a bit of improvement assumed in our gross margin within that similar to last year income guide.

然後對於毛利率，是的，我們正在尋找與去年相似的範圍 - 或者不是范圍，但我們對與去年持平至低個位數收入的收入相似的指導意味著毛利率有所改善。我認為我們仍在關注去年我們明顯重新獲得的一些貨運逆風，第四季度的空運和其他一些貨運逆風，預計其中一些將在第一季度再次出現。所以肯定有一些改善——我們的毛利率在與去年收入指南類似的範圍內有所改善。

Our next question is from Matthew Boss with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Matthew Boss。

Jen, maybe could you elaborate on early spring selling trends that you're seeing across categories? Maybe if we touched on both the American Eagle brand and also Aerie?

Jen，也許你能詳細說明一下你在各個類別中看到的早春銷售趨勢嗎？也許如果我們同時涉及 American Eagle 品牌和 Aerie？

Sure. As I mentioned on my last answer, it's nice to see comps in both brands. We're getting better quarter-over-quarter starting in Q3. So I'm excited about that.

當然。正如我在上一個回答中提到的，很高興看到這兩個品牌的產品。從第三季度開始，我們的季度環比情況有所好轉。所以我對此很興奮。

Look, it's early on, it's February, but I have to say that there's a lot of encouragement from the teams. AE, I'd like to reflect on American Eagle for a minute. First of all, we've really assembled a world-class team here. I'm very proud of the work they've done. And we've been up to really rightsizing that business. And during these tough times, it allowed us to do so while also protecting our bottom line, as you can see. But we've been up to building a profitable base, a healthy customer base. I think that's the most important thing I can articulate right now in the American Eagle side.

看，現在還早，現在是 2 月，但我不得不說，球隊給予了很多鼓勵。 AE，我想花一分鐘時間回顧一下 American Eagle。首先，我們真的在這裡組建了一支世界級的團隊。我為他們所做的工作感到非常自豪。我們一直在努力調整該業務的規模。正如您所見，在這些艱難時期，它讓我們能夠做到這一點，同時也保護了我們的底線。但我們一直在努力建立一個有利可圖的基礎，一個健康的客戶群。我認為這是我現在可以在 American Eagle 方面表達的最重要的事情。

We had a lot of customers in the past that only came to our brand once, and they were promotional customers. We're up to getting the best customers in our brands. So starting with American Eagle, I think we're really here. I think we've right sided the business, and now we're looking for growth opportunities.

我們過去有很多客戶只來過一次我們的品牌，他們是促銷客戶。我們致力於在我們的品牌中吸引最好的客戶。所以從 American Eagle 開始，我認為我們真的在這裡。我認為我們的業務是正確的，現在我們正在尋找增長機會。

So early on, Matt, we launched 24/7, and another new line, 77. But let me take a step back to say that women's, we're starting to see a nice turn here. I think we're getting into the right balance of the assortments, and I just really want to highlight that it is about the balance.

很早就，馬特，我們推出了 24/7 和另一條新線，77。但讓我退後一步說，女性，我們開始看到一個很好的轉變。我認為我們正在進入分類的正確平衡，我只是想強調它是關於平衡的。

Denim had been a little softer, but we saw the trends happening out there in other bottoms. And I think the teams did a nice job adjusting and really going after, and we're starting to see some nice results there as well as just outfitting. Now we're seeing great tops come to life. Our tops business has turned around in women's, which is so exciting to see. And then in men's, just going back to we're learning. Men's, that customer is a little slower to take off. But I like some of the early reads in our new 24/7 athletic business. as well as 77 is a little bit of a surprise, it's premium denim. We really worked on it. We wanted to perfect that line. We believed in a higher-priced business. We own denim as a company and why not service a new customer? And early reads have been spectacular.

牛仔布有點柔軟，但我們看到了其他下裝的流行趨勢。而且我認為球隊在調整和真正追求方面做得很好，我們開始看到一些不錯的結果以及裝備。現在我們看到偉大的陀螺栩栩如生。我們的上衣業務在女裝領域出現了好轉，這令人非常興奮。然後在男士方面，回到我們正在學習的地方。男士，那個顧客起飛有點慢。但我喜歡我們新的 24/7 運動業務中的一些早期讀物。以及 77 有點驚喜，它是高級牛仔布。我們真的很努力。我們想完善這條線。我們相信價格更高的業務。我們作為一家公司擁有牛仔布，為什麼不為新客戶提供服務呢？早期的閱讀非常壯觀。

So we have 2 new potential growth vehicles for the company as well as it's just nice to see women's, that business round out, Matt. And all that I can say is because of our test and scale and our logistics platform and our ability to get goods here, we're pretty pleased on how we can chase these goods and get back into business on the American Eagle side.

因此，我們為公司提供了 2 個新的潛在增長工具，而且很高興看到女性業務圓滿結束，馬特。我能說的是，由於我們的測試和規模、我們的物流平台以及我們在這裡獲取貨物的能力，我們對如何追逐這些貨物並在 American Eagle 方面重新開展業務感到非常高興。

And then Aerie, look, it's a little early to read swim, but we've seen some nice momentum starting in February, but coming out of the end of February, some really nice results there. I can't even talk enough about the apparel side. And what we're up to is really going after intimates for the future.

然後是 Aerie，你看，現在讀游泳有點早，但我們從 2 月開始看到了一些不錯的勢頭，但從 2 月底開始，那裡有一些非常好的結果。我什至不能談論服裝方面。我們要做的是真正追求未來的親密關係。

Great. And then maybe, Mike, as we break down your full year operating margin guidance, could you just help bucket the embedded assumptions if we're thinking markdown rate versus IMU recapture maybe relative to just potential offsets to consider on the expense front?

偉大的。然後，邁克，當我們分解你的全年營業利潤率指導時，如果我們正在考慮降價率與 IMU 收回可能相對於在費用方面考慮的潛在抵消，你能否幫助解決嵌入式假設？

Sure, Matt. I think we're definitely assuming freight cost recapture. So we saw it in Q4. We'll start to see here in Q1. So our guide for the year includes the assumption that we know that product costs are improving.

當然，馬特。我認為我們肯定會假設運費成本收回。所以我們在第四季度看到了它。我們將在第一季度開始看到這裡。因此，我們今年的指南包括假設我們知道產品成本正在提高。

Speed and agility in the supply chain is here now. We're back to chase mode. We're leaving significant open to buy, so that should allow us to -- will allow us to ensure inventory levels are appropriate for the full year. So both freight cost recapture and then not repeating that charge we took in Q2 associated with cleaning up the first half inventory.

供應鏈中的速度和敏捷性現在就在這裡。我們回到追逐模式。我們正在大量開放購買，所以這應該允許我們 - 將允許我們確保庫存水平適合全年。因此，既收回了運費成本，又不再重複我們在第二季度收取的與清理上半年庫存相關的費用。

The offset then would be some expense growth, some level of incentive assumption that we did not incur out in 2022 and then just some typical annual wage costs that we're looking to offset, some other just annual expense growth categories. That's what's embedded in our assumptions.

那麼抵消將是一些費用增長，某種程度的激勵假設，我們沒有在 2022 年發生，然後只是我們希望抵消的一些典型的年度工資成本，其他一些只是年度費用增長類別。這就是我們假設中的內容。

And our next question is from Paul Lejuez with Citibank.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Paul Lejuez。

I'm curious if you could talk about the performance of Aerie new stores from this most recent year, and compare that to previous years is what you're seeing in terms of the new store ramp?

我很好奇你能否談談最近一年 Aerie 新店的表現，並將其與往年進行比較，你所看到的新店增長情況如何？

And then also curious if you could size for us the size of the OFFLINE business within Aerie? And just what are you counting on that business to do in terms of growth for '23 versus the rest of that Aerie business?

然後也很好奇您是否可以為我們估算一下 Aerie 中離線業務的規模？與 Aerie 業務的其餘部分相比，您指望該業務在 23 年的增長方面做些什麼？

Yes, Paul, I can start with the Aerie new store productivity. I think we're actually really pleased with the new stores out of the gate. I think we described it as they're achieving pro forma expectations, which ties to our typical guidance or communication around 2- to 3-year payback on those investments. And that's what we've seen out of the gates. I think really in this last -- in the back half of the year, recent quarter and what we're continuing to see here in the spring as we've described and others are too, are return to stores.

是的，保羅，我可以從 Aerie 新店的生產力開始。我認為我們實際上對新店的開張感到非常滿意。我認為我們將其描述為他們正在實現備考預期，這與我們圍繞這些投資的 2 至 3 年回報期的典型指導或溝通有關。這就是我們從大門看到的。我認為真的在最後 - 在今年下半年，最近一個季度以及我們在春季繼續看到的，正如我們所描述的那樣，其他人也是如此，正在返回商店。

So I think that's actually having a positive impact on the performance of these new stores. Store traffic is healthy in general. As we know, business coming through stores is a little more right now than digital. So the digital traffic is under pressure, but stores are really healthy. So it's contributing to that Aerie performance. And OFFLINE side of the business, Jen, I don't know if you want to take that piece of the question?

所以我認為這實際上對這些新店的業績產生了積極影響。商店客流量總體上是健康的。正如我們所知，現在通過商店進行的業務比數字業務多一點。所以數字流量面臨壓力，但商店真的很健康。所以它有助於 Aerie 的表現。業務的離線方面，Jen，我不知道你是否想回答這個問題？

Just about -- sorry, I might have missed that. I fell off the line for a minute. So OFFLINE, meaning are we encouraged by the early results? Absolutely.

只是 - 抱歉，我可能錯過了。我掉線了一分鐘。所以離線，這意味著我們對早期結果感到鼓舞嗎？絕對地。

No. Just the size and contribution.

不，只是規模和貢獻。

The size and contribution, Jen. The size of the business, Jen, the size of the OFFLINE business contributing to Aerie.

規模和貢獻，仁。業務規模，Jen，為 Aerie 做出貢獻的線下業務規模。

Let me just say it feels like Aerie in early days, we're growing at a very rapid rate. We are learning about the business. We have some different store formats so that we can really learn to leverage. It's interesting, our new stores, we're feeling very encouraged by, but we still have a portion of the business inside of the Aerie -- inside of select Aerie stores.

我只想說早期感覺就像 Aerie，我們正在以非常快的速度發展。我們正在了解業務。我們有一些不同的商店格式，這樣我們才能真正學會利用。有趣的是，我們的新商店讓我們感到非常鼓舞，但我們仍然在 Aerie 內部擁有一部分業務——在精選的 Aerie 商店內。

Whether there's an OFFLINE store in the mall or not, we still are learning in the Aerie stores. What that tells me is that as we build out OFFLINE, we're looking and testing new businesses inside of the Aerie store because the only thing I can say is that every day, I get a letter from a customer asking why can't Aerie do this category? Or why don't we have more in this intimates business? Or why? Or why?

商場有沒有線下店，我們還在Aerie店裡學習。這告訴我的是，當我們建立離線時，我們正在尋找和測試 Aerie 商店內的新業務，因為我唯一能說的是，每天，我都會收到一封客戶的來信，詢問為什麼 Aerie 不能做這個類？或者我們為什麼不在這個內衣行業做更多的事情？或者為什麼？或者為什麼？

So I'm pretty excited about having a new business that we can really scale. And I think if I look at the run rate, if it's not faster, it's equal to Aerie's extreme quarter-over-quarter double-digit growth year-over-year prior to getting into the pandemic. And even during some of those years -- I mean, the pandemic years, we still did great. Look, the business is about 30% of Aerie. And more to come, but we are testing new categories every day. And what's great about our OFFLINE business and the way we set it up, it's not only just lifestyle, they're really starting to trust us in the performance side of the business. So again, that really opens up new opportunities.

因此，我對擁有一項我們可以真正擴展的新業務感到非常興奮。而且我認為，如果我看一下運行率，如果它不是更快的話，它等於 Aerie 在進入大流行之前的極端季度環比兩位數同比增長。甚至在那些年中的某些年——我的意思是，在大流行年，我們仍然做得很好。看，業務大約是 Aerie 的 30%。還有更多，但我們每天都在測試新類別。我們的線下業務以及我們建立它的方式的優點不僅在於生活方式，他們真的開始在業務的性能方面信任我們。再說一次，這確實開闢了新的機會。

And Paul, this is Michael Rempell. I just want to stress what Jen said earlier, I think it's really important for the conversation, which is we've seen sequential comp improvement in Aerie stores each quarter from second quarter and even here at the start of Q1.

Paul，這是 Michael Rempell。我只想強調 Jen 之前所說的話，我認為這對對話非常重要，我們已經看到 Aerie 商店每個季度的連續 comp 改進，從第二季度開始，甚至在第一季度開始時也是如此。

And what that really does is it supports our hypothesis that we opened over 130 Aerie stores in the last 2 years. Those stores as they mature, they're going to start comping. They're going to start a multiyear trajectory of comp, which is what all our data and all our history tells us, and they're going to bring new customers into the brand and grow not just the store comp but also the digital comp.

而這真正的作用是支持我們的假設，即我們在過去兩年中開設了 130 多家 Aerie 商店。那些商店隨著成熟，他們將開始競爭。他們將開始一個多年的補償軌跡，這是我們所有的數據和我們所有的歷史告訴我們的，他們將把新客戶帶入品牌，不僅增加商店補償，還增加數字補償。

So early signs, if you look at the last few quarters and you look at these stores as we're anniversarying them, are very positive that what these stores are doing for the business is going to mirror history, which is going to give us multi-years of growth. And we got into these stores, obviously, during COVID, at a very advantageous time to get long-term deals done for that brand. So it's very encouraging what we're seeing right now in the Aerie business.

所以早期跡象，如果你看看過去幾個季度，看看這些商店，因為我們正在慶祝它們，這些商店為企業所做的事情將反映歷史，這將給我們帶來多方面的積極影響。 -多年的成長。顯然，在 COVID 期間，我們在非常有利的時間進入了這些商店，以便為該品牌完成長期交易。因此，我們現在在 Aerie 業務中看到的情況非常令人鼓舞。

And our next question is from Adrienne Yih with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Adrienne Yih。

Great. Nice end to the quarter, everybody. Jen, I'll start with you. So kind of in other kind of conversations, there's been talk about the paying consumer, tight wallet there, and a level of price sensitivity. It does not seem like that that is necessarily impacting your customer. In fact, you're pulling back on promos. So just wondering -- I'm sure it's the product. So that's first and foremost. But what are you doing differently to engage and create that loyalty? And then how much higher are the AURs versus 2019? How much of that promo versus initial retail? And the stores look great, by the way.

偉大的。各位，本季度結束愉快。珍，我將從你開始。因此，在其他類型的對話中，一直在談論付費消費者、那裡的錢包緊縮以及一定程度的價格敏感度。這似乎並不一定會影響您的客戶。事實上，您正在取消促銷活動。所以只是想知道 - 我確定這是產品。所以這是首要的。但是，為了吸引和建立這種忠誠度，您做了哪些不同的事情？然後 AUR 比 2019 年高多少？該促銷與初始零售相比有多少？順便說一句，商店看起來很棒。

Our AURs are -- beginning on the year or on the quarter, Mike can get a little bit more specific for you. But regarding what we are doing differently, first of all, we've been highly focused on loyalty customers, our loyalty files up. But again, in total -- but again, it's about the health of our file, right, because they're our best vendors. They come back the most to our brands, and we want more of those customers. So that's why we're just incredibly focused on our loyalty program, and you'll see more there. We have some really great findings and how we can even build that program stronger and better.

我們的 AUR 是——從當年或本季度開始，Mike 可以為您提供更具體的信息。但關於我們所做的不同之處，首先，我們一直高度關注忠誠客戶，我們的忠誠度檔案。但是，總的來說——但又一次，這關乎我們文件的健康，對吧，因為他們是我們最好的供應商。他們對我們品牌的回頭率最高，我們需要更多這樣的客戶。所以這就是為什麼我們非常專注於我們的忠誠度計劃，你會在那裡看到更多。我們有一些非常棒的發現，以及我們如何才能更強大、更好地構建該程序。

Adrienne, I'd like to say that, first of all, as I mentioned, Aerie doesn't quit. Like, we've been going after that brand year-over-year inventing, reinventing, newness. And as I mentioned -- as you can see that our customer base is growing at an incredible rate. In fact, I just looked at our chart, I believe it's over 10 million customers at this stage, like quadrupling the baseline. It's incredible what we've done in Aerie and it is about building that brand awareness, as I mentioned, and getting into new markets and learning about those customers and building that community, Adrienne.

Adrienne，我想說的是，首先，正如我提到的，Aerie 並沒有放棄。就像，我們一直在追逐那個品牌，年復一年地發明、重塑、創新。正如我提到的——正如你所看到的，我們的客戶群正在以驚人的速度增長。事實上，我只是看了我們的圖表，我相信在這個階段有超過 1000 萬客戶，就像是基線的四倍。我們在 Aerie 所做的一切令人難以置信，正如我提到的那樣，它是關於建立品牌知名度，進入新市場並了解這些客戶並建立社區，Adrienne。

Like, we do this grass roots in both brands, and I'll get to AE in a minute. But we have ambassadors and those [tentacles] and Sonny and the store team have done an amazing team using our associates to reach our customers. And Michael said it even best, right? Like, our store experience and our customer experience, you heard those results, they're like no other, and that's a winning edge for us, and it's a place that we're not going to quit. So -- that's the Aerie story.

就像，我們在兩個品牌中都做這個草根，我會在一分鐘內得到 AE。但是我們有大使和那些[觸手]，桑尼和商店團隊已經建立了一個驚人的團隊，利用我們的員工來接觸我們的客戶。邁克爾說得最好，對吧？就像我們的商店體驗和我們的客戶體驗，你聽到了這些結果，它們與眾不同，這對我們來說是一個制勝法寶，這是一個我們不會放棄的地方。所以——這就是 Aerie 的故事。

In AE, as I mentioned, we're sort of rebirthing the brand, sort of pulling back to go forward. We're seeing new opportunities now. And in doing so, I'd like to say we kicked off January with our new launch of AE 24/7, but let's not forget what we're up to, okay? Some of the new stats are saying over the past 2 years, more recently, so January into February, we are seeing Gen-Z take a greater hold on the AE brand. I'm saying this, and I mean this. Like, the Outer Banks. We just did a collab with Outer Banks. It's the #1 teen show out there. The product sold out.

在 AE 中，正如我提到的，我們有點重生這個品牌，有點後退以繼續前進。我們現在看到了新的機會。在這樣做的過程中，我想說的是我們在 1 月份推出了 AE 24/7 的新產品，但我們不要忘記我們在做什麼，好嗎？一些新統計數據表明，在過去 2 年中，最近，即從 1 月到 2 月，我們看到 Gen-Z 對 AE 品牌的影響更大。我是這樣說的，我是這個意思。就像，外灘。我們剛剛與 Outer Banks 合作。這是排名第一的青少年秀。產品售罄。

We're going to do collabs. We are going to get this customer into our brand and what we've been doing so great, Adrienne is they're living with us. They're staying with us. We've mastered that. Now what we're up to is getting this customer into American Eagle, seeing the new American Eagle, seeing all the work that we've done. And the trends, we're liking what we're seeing.

我們要做合作。我們要讓這個客戶了解我們的品牌，我們一直在做的很棒，艾德麗安是他們和我們一起生活。他們和我們住在一起。我們已經掌握了這一點。現在我們要做的是讓這個客戶進入 American Eagle，看到新的 American Eagle，看到我們所做的所有工作。而趨勢，我們喜歡我們所看到的。

We just had a jean that just went viral on TikTok, with -- I mean, the #1 TikToker out there, Alex Earle, every girl watches her and this jean is on fire. It reminds me of the old days of the crossover legging in Aerie. We are chasing that jean.

我們剛剛有一條牛仔褲在 TikTok 上風靡一時，我的意思是，#1 TikToker Alex Earle，每個女孩都在看她，這條牛仔褲著火了。它讓我想起了 Aerie 交叉緊身褲的舊時光。我們正在追那條牛仔褲。

And what I love about it, the most important thing is if you can get organic winners into your brand, organic customers and organic play, organic social media, all of that means more to our customers and what our brands stand for, which is 100% -- we're authentic. That's what we stand for. Aerie is real, AE is authentic. And if we can get more of those customers and we can get that buzz, that's what we're doing. So tons of positive signs. We have collabs you're going to see left and right, back-to-school. We have another great collab. We just have some really exciting things coming, and we're going to now use this new base in AE to kind of launch ahead and move forward.

我喜歡它，最重要的是，如果你能讓有機贏家進入你的品牌、有機客戶和有機遊戲、有機社交媒體，所有這些對我們的客戶和我們的品牌所代表的意義更重要，即 100 % -- 我們是真實的。這就是我們的立場。 Aerie 是真實的，AE 是真實的。如果我們能夠獲得更多這樣的客戶並且我們能夠引起共鳴，那就是我們正在做的事情。如此大量的積極跡象。我們有合作，你會看到左右，返校。我們還有另一個很棒的合作。我們只是有一些非常令人興奮的事情即將到來，我們現在將使用 AE 中的這個新基礎來提前啟動並繼續前進。

That is super helpful. Go ahead.

這非常有幫助。前進。

And Adrienne, just to answer the second part of your question on AUR, AUR is still up over 20% to 2019. And you talked about that being a combination of controlled promotions, more targeted promotions versus full box offers, some structural changes in our loyalty program in terms of giving away free jeans historically that we eliminated during the pandemic, which we don't plan on going back to, I think, targeted increases in ticket where we have not seen price resistance and where we can see the customers willing to pay for it. And that's the continued strategy. We build up that brand equity through the pandemic, and our plans are set to not give that back.

Adrienne，只是為了回答你關於 AUR 問題的第二部分，到 2019 年，AUR 仍然上漲了 20% 以上。你談到這是受控促銷、更有針對性的促銷與全包優惠的結合，我們的一些結構性變化歷史上我們在大流行期間取消了贈送免費牛仔褲的忠誠度計劃，我認為我們不打算回到這種情況，在我們沒有看到價格阻力並且我們可以看到客戶願意的地方有針對性地增加門票付錢。這就是持續的策略。我們通過大流行建立了品牌資產，我們的計劃將不會把它還回去。

And our next question is from Alex Straton with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Alex Straton。

Great. I know last year, you guys had mentioned this path to kind of $6 billion in sales and a low teens EBIT margin. And obviously, that's very different from where you guys are landing this year, just given what's happened in the last year or so.

偉大的。我知道去年，你們提到了這條通往 60 億美元銷售額和低十幾歲的息稅前利潤率的道路。很明顯，這與你們今年登陸的地方非常不同，只是考慮到去年左右發生的事情。

So just taking a step back, are those numbers still in play at all? Or how should we think about those targets and the revenue and margin trajectory longer term?

那麼退一步說，這些數字還在發揮作用嗎？或者我們應該如何考慮這些目標以及收入和利潤率的長期軌跡？

Thanks, Alex. I think at some point, we'll come back out and talk about longer-term targets. We're obviously very focused on just navigating the current environment and our guide for '23 includes that. I think we've got the firepower in the company across our brands to get to $6 billion over time.

謝謝，亞歷克斯。我想在某個時候，我們會回來討論長期目標。顯然，我們非常專注於駕馭當前環境，我們的 23 年指南也包括了這一點。我認為我們公司的各個品牌都有足夠的火力，隨著時間的推移達到 60 億美元。

Again, we can discuss later, we'll provide maybe more color when we think that's possible. And then double-digit operating margin is still our goal. The guidance we just provided for this year is kind of keeping us in that mid-single-digit range, call it, 6%, maybe 6% to 7%. But as Jay noted in our prepared remarks and in our -- within our press release, we're embarking on a project here this year to really unlock across our entire cost structure. The opportunity for us to leverage that continued revenue growth in a different way than we've been able to in the last few years or in our history. So more to come on that project. It's geared towards exactly that, structural changes to our operating model that will allow us to leverage revenue in a different way and pass us towards that 10% or double-digit goal.

同樣，我們可以稍後討論，當我們認為可能時，我們可能會提供更多顏色。然後兩位數的營業利潤率仍然是我們的目標。我們剛剛為今年提供的指導讓我們保持在中個位數範圍內，稱之為 6%，也許是 6% 到 7%。但正如 Jay 在我們準備好的評論和我們的新聞稿中指出的那樣，我們今年將在這裡開展一個項目，以真正解鎖我們的整個成本結構。我們有機會以不同於過去幾年或我們歷史上的方式來利用持續的收入增長。因此，該項目還有更多內容。它正是針對這一點，對我們的運營模式進行結構性改變，這將使我們能夠以不同的方式利用收入，並使我們實現 10% 或兩位數的目標。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our next question is from Marni Shapiro with Retail Tracker.

我們的下一個問題來自 Retail Tracker 的 Marni Shapiro。

Congratulations on the great end to the year. And Jen, that jean. That jean, I -- whenever I wear, I support that jean.

祝賀今年圓滿結束。還有珍，那條牛仔褲。那條牛仔褲，我——每當我穿的時候，我都支持那條牛仔褲。

Marni, it's the best. We just got a new delivery in.

瑪尼，這是最好的。我們剛收到新貨。

That jean. But Jay, I actually have a big picture question for you. I completely understand the caution about '23. There are still some headwinds out there and comparing to 2022 is not -- which wasn't a normal year by any stretch. And I appreciate reviewing the costs for the company in 2023.

那個牛仔褲。但是傑伊，實際上我有一個大問題要問你。我完全理解關於 '23 的警告。仍然存在一些不利因素，與 2022 年相比則不然——無論如何，這都不是正常的一年。我很高興在 2023 年審查公司的成本。

But you did reinstate the dividend, which suggests you and the Board have a level of confidence about the business. So I'm curious, from your vantage point, what are you seeing that's maybe not yet in the numbers that you can share with us?

但你確實恢復了股息，這表明你和董事會對業務有一定程度的信心。所以我很好奇，從你的角度來看，你看到了什麼可能還沒有出現在你可以與我們分享的數字中？

We see like good momentum going the right way. As we said, like last month was a good month. We feel very -- even though we don't know what the future is going to look like, we are very optimistic.

我們看到良好的勢頭正朝著正確的方向發展。正如我們所說，上個月是個好月份。我們感到非常 - 儘管我們不知道未來會是什麼樣子，但我們非常樂觀。

It was very interesting, this past week we had our international partners in. And I got a call from one of our major partners and sending me, I've been coming for like 10 years, and this is the best I've seen the line book. So we're very optimistic. I mean, I think our -- as Jen was saying, we developed a new AE 77. We get a good traction on that. This 24/7 we think is going to be very big.

非常有趣，上週我們有我們的國際合作夥伴。我接到一個主要合作夥伴的電話並派我來，我已經來了大約 10 年，這是我見過的最好的行書。所以我們非常樂觀。我的意思是，我認為我們的——正如 Jen 所說，我們開發了一種新的 AE 77。我們在這方面取得了很好的進展。我們認為這個 24/7 會非常大。

So it's mostly product based, which is really where you guys shine anyway?

所以它主要是基於產品的，這真的是你們發光的地方嗎？

Yes. It's going to be product based as well private. And at the same time, as Michael Rempell was saying and Mike Mathias was saying, we see -- we're looking at the real estate strategy a little different.

是的。它將以產品為基礎，同時也是私有的。同時，正如 Michael Rempell 和 Mike Mathias 所說，我們看到——我們對房地產戰略的看法有點不同。

We're looking about how we take each market separate and we're the best locations in those markets are, and our goal is to make sure that we have stores in the best locations in those given markets.

我們正在研究如何將每個市場分開，我們是這些市場中最好的位置，我們的目標是確保我們在這些給定市場的最佳位置擁有商店。

Makes a lot of sense. And then, Jen, if I could just ask one quick follow-up to the AE jean situation. You've had some very big hits in the store that I've seen. And I'm curious, is -- has the market opened up enough that you can chase back into that product? I'm not calling out the product in the public forum for a reason. But do you have that ability to now chase what I'm seeing selling out very quickly?

很有道理。然後，Jen，如果我能問一個關於 AE jean 情況的快速跟進。你在我見過的商店裡有一些非常大的成功。我很好奇，市場是否開放到足以讓你追回該產品？出於某種原因，我沒有在公共論壇上宣傳該產品。但是你現在有能力追逐我所看到的很快售罄的東西嗎？

Yes, absolutely. And we've really changed our testing process in American Eagle so that we can be a little bit more nimble, and we can be a little bit more flexible, not only with silhouette, but with wash.

是的，一點沒錯。我們真的改變了我們在 American Eagle 的測試過程，這樣我們就可以更靈活一點，我們可以更靈活一點，不僅是輪廓，還有水洗。

I've learned a lot in my couple of years in American Eagle. And it's not just about one thing in a jean, sometimes it's about wash. Sometimes, it's about a new fit. And that's where I think we can really dominate because of the way we test and go to market. We are seeing a lot more agility there, Marni, to your point. And we're seeing trends improve in denim, which is good news, at least in American Eagle. Albeit we're offsetting it with newer ideas at this stage, and that was intentional. We sort of forecasted this. So we have other new ideas to help offset. But I'm looking for -- jeans never go away.

在 American Eagle 的幾年裡，我學到了很多東西。這不僅僅是牛仔褲的一件事，有時還與洗滌有關。有時，這是關於新的搭配。這就是我認為我們可以真正佔據主導地位的地方，因為我們測試和進入市場的方式。 Marni，就您的觀點而言，我們在那裡看到了更多的敏捷性。我們看到牛仔布的趨勢有所改善，這是個好消息，至少在 American Eagle 是這樣。雖然我們在這個階段用更新的想法來抵消它，但這是有意的。我們有點預測到這一點。所以我們有其他的新想法來幫助抵消。但我正在尋找——牛仔褲永遠不會消失。

That was the funniest commentary. I could actually quote Roger Markfield from years ago, "When jeans and T-shirt in America ever go away? It's just -- they soften and then we have to be prepared for the next trend."

那是最有趣的評論。我實際上可以引用多年前的 Roger Markfield 的話，“當牛仔褲和 T 卹在美國消失時？只是——它們變軟了，然後我們必須為下一個趨勢做好準備。”

And I think this team did an outstanding job with the spring assortment, making sure that we're leveraging the new trends in bottoms where we do, do an incredible job. And now as I mentioned, Marni, we have new tops and other things that are working and that we can really try and chase.

而且我認為這個團隊在春季分類方面做得非常出色，確保我們在我們所做的底部利用新趨勢，做得非常出色。現在正如我提到的，Marni，我們有新的上衣和其他正在運作的東西，我們真的可以嘗試和追求。

So look, there's good news here. It's early on. We like what we saw in February, but I also like our ability to react and what we're reacting to and the nimbleness. So -- there's more to come here. And hopefully, you'll hear this enthusiasm with me at the end of Q1.

所以看，這裡有好消息。現在還早。我們喜歡我們在 2 月份看到的情況，但我也喜歡我們的反應能力以及我們的反應和敏捷性。所以 - 還有更多要來這裡。希望您能在第一季度末聽到我的這種熱情。

Also Jen, you have other businesses, too, that we're very excited on. We have our Todd Snyder business, which is growing very strongly. And we're very excited about that. (inaudible), we're excited about. We have a lot of the positive things going on.

還有 Jen，你還有其他業務，我們對此感到非常興奮。我們有 Todd Snyder 業務，增長非常強勁。我們對此感到非常興奮。 （聽不清），我們很興奮。我們有很多積極的事情正在發生。

Our next question is from Jonna Kim with TD Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Jonna Kim。

Just curious about the Quiet Logistics platform and how you're thinking about long term. You mentioned that the revenue growth and profitability, you're revisiting that for '23. What's sort of your assumption there?

只是對 Quiet Logistics 平台以及您如何看待長期計劃感到好奇。你提到收入增長和盈利能力，你正在重新審視 23 年的情況。你的假設是什麼？

And how do you still think about the long-term trajectory? And in terms of the Aerie comp growth, how should we think about the cadence as we start to lap the impact of the new stores?

您如何看待長期軌跡？就 Aerie comp 增長而言，我們應該如何考慮節奏，因為我們開始考慮新店的影響？

You're talking about Quiet. It is a valuable acquisition. We need the capacity to be able to fulfill our orders for our brand and Quiet gave us the efficiencies and speed. And at the end of the day, we still believe that if you don't win at the logistics, you're not going to win the model in specialty retail in order to compete against everybody.

你在談論安靜。這是一次有價值的收購。我們需要能夠完成我們品牌訂單的能力，而 Quiet 為我們提供了效率和速度。歸根結底，我們仍然相信，如果你不在物流方面取勝，你就不會為了與所有人競爭而贏得專業零售模式。

So we're still committed to that. We want to get -- if we want to get like a better bottom line there. And Michael Rempell could talk about that for a second.

所以我們仍然致力於此。我們想要——如果我們想在那裡獲得更好的底線。 Michael Rempell 可以談談這個。

Yes. Thanks, Jay. I mean you really can't separate the 2 issues. So one is Quiet provides tremendous support for our brands and our business. It gave us capacity, like Jay mentioned, faster delivery times. And of course, we've consistently reduced our delivery cost per order to customers over the last couple of years, which is pretty unique in retail. But like I said, the third-party business just hasn't ramped to our expectations. It saw great growth. It grew almost 40% but that was below what we expected and it did at a margin that was below what we expected. So while we're not giving up on the business at all, we still think it's going to be a very valuable business someday. We are resetting our plans.

是的。謝謝，傑伊。我的意思是你真的不能把這兩個問題分開。因此，Quiet 為我們的品牌和業務提供了巨大的支持。正如 Jay 提到的那樣，它為我們提供了更快的交貨時間。當然，在過去的幾年裡，我們一直在降低每筆訂單的交付成本，這在零售業中是獨一無二的。但正如我所說，第三方業務並沒有達到我們的預期。它看到了巨大的增長。它增長了近 40%，但低於我們的預期，而且利潤率也低於我們的預期。因此，雖然我們根本沒有放棄這項業務，但我們仍然認為有一天它會成為一項非常有價值的業務。我們正在重新設定我們的計劃。

And we're going to pull expense out of that business. We're going to eliminate unprofitable service lines in that business. And we're very committed to reducing the loss on a full year basis. So from a year-on-year basis, it's going to go from something that was a headwind in 2022 to something that provides benefit in '23.

我們將從該業務中扣除費用。我們將取消該業務中無利可圖的服務線。我們非常致力於減少全年的損失。因此，從同比來看，它將從 2022 年的不利因素轉變為 23 年帶來好處的因素。

And again, over time, we still believe this is going to be a successful and profitable business for us. Was there a second part to the question?

而且，隨著時間的推移，我們仍然相信這對我們來說將是一項成功且有利可圖的業務。這個問題還有第二部分嗎？

Yes, just on the Aerie comps. Yes.

是的，就在 Aerie comps 上。是的。

Yes. I think -- if you think about the minus 2% for fourth quarter, Jonna, I think we talked about the factors all that non-comp, the 150 stores that we added over the last couple of years, the 60 we added this past year, even more specifically, is those anniversary that comp gap that you do the math on Q4 was a 10-point gap with total revenue up 8 comp minus 2. That's going to close even further in Q1 as we anniversary some of the Q1 openings last year.

是的。我認為 - 如果你考慮第四季度的負 2%，Jonna，我認為我們討論了所有非補償因素，我們在過去幾年增加的 150 家商店，我們過去增加的 60 家更具體地說，是那些週年紀念日，你在第四季度做數學計算的comp gap是一個10分的差距，總收入增長8 comp - 2。隨著我們紀念第一季度的一些空缺，這將在第一季度進一步縮小去年。

So on a similar kind of total growth rates, we do expect Aerie comps to turn positive as early as this first quarter and definitely positive for the year. And Michael described earlier how that ramp is going to impact the business as a whole. But from a GAAP perspective, just to kind of give you that specific metrically, the comp -- the total growth versus comp gap will close and will be in a positive range in '23 is our expectation.

因此，在類似的總增長率上，我們確實預計 Aerie comps 最早在第一季度就會轉正，而且今年肯定是正的。邁克爾早些時候描述了這種增長將如何影響整個業務。但從 GAAP 的角度來看，只是為了給你提供具體的衡量標準，我們的預期是，總增長與 comp 差距將縮小，並將在 23 年處於正值範圍內。

Our next question is from Janet Joseph Kloppenburg with JJK Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 JJK Research 的 Janet Joseph Kloppenburg。

It's nice to see the improvement going on. I'll be quick. I wanted to ask Jen what her overview is on the intimates category. There seems to be softness across the industry, Jen. So maybe you could tell me what's going on there. And also on basic leggings, block leggings, I'm planning to see a lot more promotions in the industry. And I'm wondering our customers gravitating more to fasten leggings. And just lastly for Mike, given your guidance for flattish revenues this year of up low single, I think, should we expect inventory to track in line with that?

很高興看到改進正在進行中。我會很快的。我想問 Jen，她對內衣類別有何看法。 Jen，整個行業似乎都很疲軟。所以也許你可以告訴我那裡發生了什麼。還有基本款緊身褲、緊身褲，我計劃在業內看到更多的促銷活動。我想知道我們的顧客是否更喜歡係緊身褲。最後對邁克來說，鑑於你對今年低單收入持平的指導，我認為，我們是否應該期望庫存與此保持一致？

Yes. Intimates has been a little volatile, I will say. We're holding our own as far as market share but it has been a little up and down. With the launch of SMOOTHEZ, as I mentioned, we're learning new things in the business that I think gives us the gateway into new ideas. And honestly, that's what we really need to do. I think the team is up for new challenges and new innovation in intimates. And it's something you're going to hear me talk a lot about in the future. It has been a little bit interesting. It's the Tale of Two Cities. There is sort of a built-up business that's happening again, but then it's really almost nothing. So -- and what we want to do is play in what is meant for Aerie right now, right? What's right for our business. And I think we've learned some things over the last year, and I think you'll see us start to pick up momentum in some of these new ideas and really attack what we own and what I think we are famous for, including bralette being one of the businesses that I would like to say we really -- we're one of the first to really dominate in that business.

是的。親密關係有點不穩定，我會說。就市場份額而言，我們保持著自己的地位，但它有點起伏。隨著 SMOOTHEZ 的推出，正如我所提到的，我們正在學習業務中的新事物，我認為這些新事物為我們提供了通往新想法的途徑。老實說，這才是我們真正需要做的。我認為該團隊已準備好迎接內衣領域的新挑戰和新創新。這是你將來會經常聽到我談論的事情。這有點有趣。這是兩個城市的故事。有一種建立起來的業務再次發生，但實際上幾乎沒有。所以——我們想做的就是玩適合 Aerie 的遊戲，對吧？什麼適合我們的業務。而且我認為我們在過去的一年裡學到了一些東西，我想你會看到我們開始在這些新想法中獲得動力並真正攻擊我們擁有的東西以及我認為我們以其聞名的東西，包括文胸作為我想說的業務之一，我們真的 - 我們是第一個真正主導該業務的公司之一。

When it comes to black leggings, yes, there are a lot of black leggings out in the industry. You're right. And I think we are starting to see more fashion, interestingly, not just in black leggings or leggings, but in other parts of the OFFLINE business. And I do want to congratulate the team -- Abby and team for really going after some new ideas in that business. You'll start to see us really marketing to them. And early reads, we're feeling really good about it.

說到黑色打底褲，是的，業界出了不少黑色打底褲。你說得對。而且我認為我們開始看到更多的時尚，有趣的是，不僅僅是黑色緊身褲或緊身褲，還有線下業務的其他部分。我確實要祝賀團隊 - 艾比和團隊真正追求該業務中的一些新想法。你會開始看到我們真正地向他們推銷。早期閱讀，我們對此感覺非常好。

So again -- and then how do we reinvent the black leggings? We have new launches coming forward, starting in Q3, a really exciting launch in Q4 that I think will definitely separate us from our competition, and we're going to continue to build on all the equity that we built on in both brands as far as building our AURs, building that quality, and the customer is willing to pay, we're seeing that because they trust us.

再說一次——然後我們如何重新發明黑色緊身褲？我們即將推出新產品，從第三季度開始，第四季度的一次真正令人興奮的發布，我認為這肯定會讓我們從競爭中脫穎而出，我們將繼續建立我們在兩個品牌中建立的所有資產在構建我們的 AUR、構建質量以及客戶願意支付時，我們看到了這一點，因為他們信任我們。

So I think that's -- when it comes to the legging business, that's what we have to just continue to work on. So -- and get that dress. And hopefully, they'll grow with us the way we -- they already have, those customers. So thanks, Janet.

所以我認為，就緊身褲業務而言，這就是我們必須繼續努力的方向。所以 - 買那件衣服。希望他們能像我們已經擁有的那些客戶一樣與我們一起成長。所以謝謝，珍妮特。

And on inventory, by the time we get to end of the first quarter as we talked about, total inventory is projected to be down as we sit today. And actually at the end of the fourth quarter, AE and Aerie U.S. and Canada inventory was down high single digits. We're expecting that to actually, by the time we get to end of Q2, to be down even further, which really it should be, right? We were against the elevated inventories last spring that we had to clean up. You'd expect us to be down pretty significantly on this guide of flat to low single-digit revenue increase.

在庫存方面，到我們談到的第一季度末時，總庫存預計會像我們今天坐的那樣下降。實際上，在第四季度末，AE 和 Aerie 美國和加拿大的庫存下降了高個位數。我們預計到第二季度結束時，實際情況會進一步下降，這確實應該是，對吧？我們反對去年春天必須清理的高庫存。你會期望我們在這個持平到低個位數收入增長的指南上大幅下降。

Then when you get to the back half of the year, knowing all the actions we took last year to write that inventory for the back half, which drove the positive results we saw in Q3 and Q4 in general, it'd be really just philosophically back to inventory growth being below sales growth expectations similar to below. And that's what we're planning as of now.

然後，當你進入今年下半年時，知道我們去年為編寫下半年清單而採取的所有行動，這推動了我們在第三季度和第四季度總體上看到的積極結果，這真的只是哲學上的回到庫存增長低於銷售增長預期，類似於以下。這就是我們目前的計劃。

Okay. We are running up on time now. So I'll turn it back over to Jay for some closing remarks.

好的。我們現在正準時趕到。所以我會把它轉回給 Jay 做一些結束語。

Okay. Entering 2023, we are in better position. Our brands and operations are healthy. Given macro uncertainties, our outlook is cautious, we will stay disciplined on expenses and inventory. If demand is stronger, we will strive to deliver better results. Thank you for joining the call, and I look forward to updating you on our progress next quarter. Thank you.

好的。進入2023年，我們處於更好的位置。我們的品牌和運營是健康的。鑑於宏觀不確定性，我們對前景持謹慎態度，我們將在費用和庫存方面保持紀律。如果需求更強勁，我們將努力提供更好的結果。感謝您加入電話會議，我期待著在下個季度向您通報我們的進展情況。謝謝。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。