(AEO) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greeting and welcome to the American Eagle Outfitters First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) 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.

歡迎來到 American Eagle Outfitters 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，正在錄製此會議。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. 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.

大家下午好。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 the 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 first 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。調整後結果與 GAAP 結果的對賬可在收益發布所附的表格中找到，收益發布發佈在我們公司網站 www.aeo-inc.com 的“投資者關係”部分。在這裡，您還可以找到第一季度的投資者介紹。

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. Entering 2023, we built our plans for the year cautiously, balancing continued optimism for our brands with the flexibility to navigate uncertainty in the macro environment.

下午好，感謝您今天加入我們。進入 2023 年，我們謹慎地制定了今年的計劃，平衡了對我們品牌的持續樂觀與應對宏觀環境不確定性的靈活性。

Exiting the first quarter, I am pleased to note that the strategy delivered for us. Our team successfully managed through the quarter and achieve results in line with plan. Consolidated revenue of $1.1 billion was up to last year and marked a new first quarter high for the company. Adjusted operating income of $44 million improved slightly to last year. We continue to make progress strengthening the balance sheet and redeemed our outstanding convertible debt and in the quarter with healthy liquidity.

在第一季度結束時，我很高興地註意到該戰略為我們帶來了好處。我們的團隊成功地管理了本季度並取得了符合計劃的結果。與去年同期相比，合併收入達到 11 億美元，創下了公司第一季度的新高。調整後營業收入為 4400 萬美元，與去年相比略有改善。我們繼續在加強資產負債表方面取得進展，並在本季度以健康的流動性贖回了我們未償還的可轉換債務。

By brand, first quarter revenue declined 2% at American Eagle and increased 12% at Aerie. Despite a tough spending environment, both brands demonstrated a sequential improvement from fourth quarter trends. We made progress at American Eagle with profits up to last year and top line trends moving in the right direction. We remain steadfast in our focus on healthy and profitable growth.

按品牌劃分，American Eagle 的第一季度收入下降了 2%，Aerie 的收入增長了 12%。儘管支出環境艱難，但兩個品牌都顯示出比第四季度趨勢連續改善。我們在 American Eagle 取得了進展，利潤與去年持平，並且頂線趨勢朝著正確的方向發展。我們仍然堅定不移地專注於健康和盈利的增長。

Although still early, new expansions like AE77, our premium capsule and 24/7, our entry into men's active wear, are seeing encouraging results. Aerie remained a fan favorite, delivering record revenue and profitability. Our active wear extension OFFLINE continues to carve out a unique identity in the marketplace with its high-quality assortment in vibrant spirit. Additionally, investments in new stores are increasing brand reach and awareness, providing a tremendous foundation for Aerie as it continues to scale in the coming years.

儘管還為時過早，但我們的高級膠囊系列 AE77 和進入男士運動服領域的 24/7 等新擴展正在取得令人鼓舞的成果。 Aerie 仍然是粉絲的最愛，創造了創紀錄的收入和盈利能力。我們的運動服延伸產品 OFFLINE 憑藉其充滿活力的高品質產品系列，繼續在市場上樹立獨特的形象。此外，對新店的投資正在提高品牌影響力和知名度，為 Aerie 在未來幾年繼續擴大規模提供了巨大的基礎。

We took action to restructure acquired platform to strengthen profitability. As I mentioned last quarter, across AEO, we have initiated a formal program to find further cost savings and cover more efficient ways of working. We have a powerful portfolio of brands with tremendous value still to be unlocked. In the near term, we are highly focused on managing through this macro environment. As Mike will review, we're maintaining strong disciplines and seeking opportunities to optimize profitability this year and in the future.

我們採取行動重組收購的平台以增強盈利能力。正如我在上個季度提到的，在整個 AEO 中，我們已經啟動了一項正式計劃，以進一步節省成本並涵蓋更有效的工作方式。我們擁有強大的品牌組合，其巨大價值仍有待釋放。在短期內，我們高度關注通過這種宏觀環境進行管理。正如 Mike 將回顧的那樣，我們將保持嚴格的紀律，並尋求機會來優化今年和未來的盈利能力。

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. I'm proud of how our brands performed this quarter despite choppiness in the retail environment. We showed up well across stores and online with fresh styles and chased into high demand items profitably. While promotions were up to last year, we participated strategically, protecting our multiyear progress in building brand equity.

謝謝，傑伊，大家下午好。儘管零售環境動盪不安，但我對本季度我們品牌的表現感到自豪。我們以新穎的款式在商店和網上表現出色，並追逐高需求商品並從中獲利。雖然促銷活動與去年持平，但我們戰略性地參與其中，保護了我們多年來在品牌資產建設方面取得的進展。

Our first quarter AUR was the second highest in history, down 3% to last year's record results, yet up over 20% to pre-pandemic levels across brands. Our customer KPIs were healthy. In the first quarter, we grew our total customer file and also expanded our loyalty customer base. In fact, our Real Rewards loyalty program was recognized by Newsweek as America's fourth best program in apparel this year.

我們第一季度的 AUR 是歷史上第二高的，比去年的創紀錄結果下降了 3%，但與各品牌大流行前的水平相比上升了 20% 以上。我們的客戶 KPI 是健康的。在第一季度，我們增加了總客戶檔案並擴大了忠誠度客戶群。事實上，我們的 Real Rewards 忠誠度計劃被《新聞周刊》評為今年美國第四大最佳服裝計劃。

Moving on to the brand. Aerie had a strong quarter with double-digit revenue growth and positive comp growth. We saw an incredible customer response to new styles in our core apparel collection across fleece, bottoms and tops. Seasonal tops and new bottoms silhouette in particular, were key drivers of new customer acquisitions. Demand for our active wear extension OFFLINE by Aerie also remained healthy with strength in tops, sports bras, active short and fashion items.

繼續品牌。 Aerie 的季度表現強勁，實現了兩位數的收入增長和積極的收入增長。我們看到客戶對我們的核心服裝系列中的抓絨、下裝和上衣的新款式反響驚人。季節性上衣和特別是新款下裝款式是吸引新客戶的主要驅動力。 Aerie 對我們的 OFFLINE 運動服延伸產品的需求也保持健康，上衣、運動文胸、運動短褲和時尚單品的需求強勁。

Swim and intimates were soft this quarter, consistent with trends we've seen in recent periods as our customers focus on other categories. We are continuing to engage our customers with exciting content. In the first quarter, our Find Your Own [Wonder] campaign supporting our Y2K collection, including partnerships with key influencers and publications like [Who, What, Where].

游泳和內衣本季度表現疲軟，這與我們最近一段時間看到的趨勢一致，因為我們的客戶關注其他類別。我們將繼續用令人興奮的內容吸引我們的客戶。在第一季度，我們的 Find Your Own [Wonder] 活動支持我們的 Y2K 系列，包括與主要影響者和出版物的合作夥伴關係，例如 [Who, What, Where]。

This month, Aerie launched the Real You summer campaign, celebrating our new summer collection, including our fan-favorite pool-to-party capsule.

本月，Aerie 推出了 Real You 夏季活動，慶祝我們的新夏季系列，包括我們粉絲最喜歡的泳池派對膠囊。

Turning to American Eagle. Revenue was down to last year, yet profits were up as we continue to focus on healthy sales. We made progress across several major categories. For example, women's top, I'm pleased to say return to growth. We also continue to see exciting comps in non-denim bottoms and denim trends improved throughout the quarter. Men's was a bit soft, where I believe we have the opportunity to lead with more newness.

轉向美國之鷹。收入與去年相比有所下降，但由於我們繼續專注於健康的銷售，因此利潤有所上升。我們在幾個主要類別上取得了進展。比如女裝上衣，我很高興的說回歸增長。我們還繼續看到令人興奮的非牛仔褲裝和牛仔趨勢在整個季度都有所改善。男裝有點軟，我相信我們有機會以更多的新鮮感領先。

As noted last quarter, following several years of work to streamline the AE brand and improve profitability, we are honing our focus on growth. I'm pleased with the response we've received to AE77, our premium denim collection and 24/7, the men's active wear line. We are testing and scaling thoughtfully as we position AE for profitable growth.

正如上個季度所述，經過數年精簡 AE 品牌和提高盈利能力的工作，我們正在磨練我們對增長的關注。我很高興收到對 AE77、我們的優質牛仔系列和 24/7 男士運動服系列的回應。當我們將 AE 定位為盈利增長時，我們正在深思熟慮地進行測試和擴展。

We are continuing to think creatively about how we leverage marketing to drive momentum for AE. In the first quarter, our organic partnership with Alix Earle, one of TikTok's fastest-growing influencers generated strong buzz. Videos promoting AE products have received 6 million views to date and increased sales velocity of promoted products.

我們將繼續創造性地思考如何利用營銷來推動 AE 的發展勢頭。在第一季度，我們與 TikTok 增長最快的影響者之一 Alix Earle 的有機合作產生了強烈的反響。迄今為止，宣傳 AE 產品的視頻已獲得 600 萬次觀看，並提高了宣傳產品的銷售速度。

Additionally, we introduced an exclusive partnership with e.l.f. cosmetics, bringing together 2 powerhouses in the Gen Z world. The collaboration was first of its kind and sold out within minutes of hitting our website.

此外，我們還與 e.l.f. 建立了獨家合作關係。化妝品，匯集了 Z 世代世界中的 2 個強者。此次合作在同類產品中尚屬首次，在訪問我們的網站後幾分鐘內就銷售一空。

Looking ahead, I am excited by new trends in casual wear. While the macro is clearly tough, we will lean into high-quality innovation and marketing to draw on our customers. I'm incredibly grateful to the AE and Aerie teams for their hard work and solid execution this past quarter.

展望未來，我對休閒裝的新趨勢感到興奮。雖然宏觀經濟顯然很艱難，但我們將依靠高質量的創新和營銷來吸引我們的客戶。我非常感謝 AE 和 Aerie 團隊在上個季度的辛勤工作和紮實的執行力。

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

謝謝。現在我會把電話轉給邁克爾。

Thanks, Jen, and good afternoon, everyone. I am encouraged with the progress we are making across our operations, brands and channels. Given ongoing uncertainty in the macro, we've been very focused on making operational improvements across the business with an emphasis on finding efficiencies in labor, inventory and expenses. This is a multiyear journey yet the early impacts we are seeing provide compelling proof point of the work underway.

謝謝，珍，大家下午好。我對我們在運營、品牌和渠道方面取得的進展感到鼓舞。鑑於宏觀經濟持續存在不確定性，我們一直非常專注於改進整個企業的運營，重點是提高勞動力、庫存和費用的效率。這是一個多年的旅程，但我們看到的早期影響為正在進行的工作提供了令人信服的證據。

In the first quarter, store revenue increased 5% as customers returned to in-person shopping and new Aerie stores continue to ramp up. I am pleased to note that store labor cost declined to last year as we achieved efficiencies in our labor model, offsetting both wage inflation and payroll related to new stores.

第一季度，隨著顧客返回實體店購物以及新的 Aerie 商店繼續增加，商店收入增長了 5%。我很高興地註意到，由於我們在勞動力模型中實現了效率，商店勞動力成本下降到去年，抵消了與新商店相關的工資上漲和工資單。

Our focus on the store fleet is to ensure that we are fueling the best stores in the best locations with the right inventory, the right staff and the latest new technology, all to deliver outstanding customer experiences and while finding efficiencies and cost savings at the same time. We are taking steps to enhance our operational excellence across all these areas as we focus on maximizing ROI and store productivity. This includes the RFID and AI-based technology I discussed last quarter, which provides accurate inventory and location visibility within our stores.

我們對門店車隊的關注是確保我們以正確的庫存、合適的員工和最新的新技術為最佳地點的最佳商店提供支持，所有這些都是為了提供卓越的客戶體驗，同時提高效率和節約成本時間。我們正在採取措施加強我們在所有這些領域的卓越運營，因為我們專注於最大限度地提高投資回報率和門店生產力。這包括我上個季度討論的 RFID 和基於 AI 的技術，它可以在我們的商店內提供準確的庫存和位置可見性。

As we roll out this new capability, I believe the benefits to our business will be meaningful, yielding efficiencies and inventory productivity.

隨著我們推出這項新功能，我相信我們的業務將受益匪淺，從而提高效率和庫存生產率。

On the digital side, revenue declined 4% as customers return to in-person shopping and demands continued to normalize from elevated builds during the pandemic. New leadership is bringing innovative ideas to drive improvements to online KPIs. Specifically, we're looking at greater use of analytics and testing to drive increased engagement, traffic and conversion. I remain excited about what we have in the pipeline for 2023.

在數字方面，收入下降了 4%，因為客戶返回實體店購物，並且需求在大流行期間因建造量增加而繼續正常化。新的領導層正在帶來創新理念，以推動在線 KPI 的改進。具體來說，我們正在考慮更多地使用分析和測試來推動增加參與度、流量和轉化率。我仍然對 2023 年的計劃感到興奮。

We've also seen positives in our supply chain. On the outbound side, Quiet Platform's innovative fulfillment model continues to drive incremental benefits to our brands. Digital delivery costs in the first quarter were down to last year and leveraged as a percent of digital revenue. We reduced shipments per order and found efficiencies in fulfillment costs all while delivering orders to customers faster.

我們在供應鏈中也看到了積極的一面。在出站方面，Quiet Platform 的創新履行模式繼續為我們的品牌帶來增量收益。第一季度的數字交付成本與去年持平，並佔數字收入的百分比。我們減少了每個訂單的出貨量，並發現在履行成本方面效率更高，同時更快地向客戶交付訂單。

Since the first quarter of 2019, digital delivery costs have leveraged nearly 100 basis points as a percentage of digital revenue. As Mike will review, we took action this quarter to restructure the third-party side of the platform, reduce expenses and focus on core services that drive value both for American Eagle and Quiet customers. We now have a leaner organization that will position us well for the future. We see opportunities to leverage Quiet fulfillment capabilities to unlock even greater efficiencies in our operating model. This includes optimizing inventory placement, buys and replenishment as we work upstream through our supply chain.

自 2019 年第一季度以來，數字交付成本佔數字收入的比例接近 100 個基點。正如 Mike 將回顧的那樣，我們本季度採取了行動來重組平台的第三方方面，減少開支並專注於為 American Eagle 和 Quiet 客戶帶來價值的核心服務。我們現在有了一個更精簡的組織，這將使我們為未來做好準備。我們看到了利用 Quiet 履行能力來提高我們的運營模式效率的機會。這包括在我們通過供應鏈上游工作時優化庫存放置、採購和補貨。

As expected, 2023 is providing a much more stable supply chain environment with lead times and product costs normalizing back to pre-pandemic levels. This was incredibly beneficial to us in the first quarter. It enabled us to plan cautiously and successfully chase into strong items. With continued choppiness in the macro environment, we are approaching the balance of the year with a similar strategy. From where we sit today, we are leaving a sizable portion of inventory open as we focus on maintaining agility to read and react to demand signals in the market.

正如預期的那樣，2023 年將提供一個更加穩定的供應鏈環境，交貨時間和產品成本將恢復到大流行前的水平。這在第一季度對我們來說非常有利。它使我們能夠謹慎地計劃並成功追入強項。在宏觀環境持續動蕩的情況下，我們正以類似的策略接近今年的餘額。從我們今天的位置來看，由於我們專注於保持敏捷性以閱讀市場需求信號並做出反應，因此我們將留出相當大一部分庫存。

As I said earlier, we are early in our journey to strengthen our operating model. We still see significant opportunities across both labor and ongoing inventory efficiencies, and we are also going to be keeping a sharp focus on expense reductions. Thanks.

正如我之前所說，我們處於加強運營模式的早期階段。我們仍然看到勞動力和持續庫存效率方面的重大機會，我們也將密切關注削減開支。謝謝。

And with that, I'm going to turn the call over to Mike.

有了這個，我要把電話轉給邁克。

Thanks, Michael. Good afternoon, everyone. As expected, the environment remained choppy in the first quarter. Yet, I'm pleased with how we managed through monthly variability. We entered the year with a healthy inventory position, product cost favorability and renewed agility in our supply chain. This enabled us to operate with flexibility, strategically control promotions and deliver on our first quarter plan.

謝謝，邁克爾。大家下午好。正如預期的那樣，第一季度的環境仍然動盪不安。然而，我對我們如何通過月度變化進行管理感到滿意。我們以健康的庫存狀況、產品成本優勢和供應鏈的新敏捷性進入了這一年。這使我們能夠靈活地運營，戰略性地控制促銷活動並實現我們的第一季度計劃。

Consolidated revenue of $1.1 billion marked a new first quarter record for the company, increasing 2% to last year. Adjusted operating income of $44 million was up slightly, reflecting an operating margin of 4.1%. Compared to last year, gross profit dollars increased 6% to $413 million, with the gross margin rate up 140 basis points. Merchandise margins increased to last year, led by a favorable transportation environment with a partial offset from higher markdowns.

11 億美元的合併收入標誌著公司第一季度的新紀錄，比去年增長 2%。調整後的營業收入為 4400 萬美元，略有增長，營業利潤率為 4.1%。與去年相比，毛利潤增長 6% 至 4.13 億美元，毛利率上升 140 個基點。商品利潤率較去年有所增加，這主要得益於有利的運輸環境，部分抵消了較高的降價幅度。

Markdowns remain below pre-pandemic levels as we maintain focus on healthy promotions and preserving the progress we made in rebuilding brand equity over the past several years. Within gross margin, we also leveraged compensation and delivery costs, partially offset by rent expense linked to new store openings.

由於我們繼續專注於健康的促銷活動並保持我們在過去幾年重建品牌資產方面取得的進展，因此降價幅度仍低於大流行前的水平。在毛利率中，我們還利用了薪酬和送貨成本，部分被與新店開業相關的租金支出所抵消。

SG&A expense of $312 million was up 5% to last year, driven by corporate compensation and advertising. Store compensation was down despite new store growth, driven by efficiencies in our labor model. We also saw a reduction in professional services, another area that has been a focus over the past several quarters. Depreciation increased primarily due to investments in new stores.

在企業薪酬和廣告的推動下，SG&A 費用為 3.12 億美元，比去年增長 5%。儘管在我們的勞動模式效率的推動下，新店增長，但店面薪酬卻下降了。我們還看到專業服務有所減少，這是過去幾個季度一直關注的另一個領域。折舊增加主要是由於對新店的投資。

In the first quarter, we took measures to restructure Quiet platforms and strengthened profitability. We reset expenses to align with the current pace of growth in the third-party business. This included downsizing the workforce and streamlining costs to focus on areas where we see the greatest long-term runway.

一季度，我們採取措施重組安靜平台並加強盈利能力。我們重新設置了費用以與第三方業務當前的增長速度保持一致。這包括裁員和精簡成本，以專注於我們認為最有長期跑道的領域。

In our first year of ownership, we've seen significant benefits to our brands from Quiet Platform's innovative delivery and fulfillment model. From here, as Michael mentioned, we're focused on the next layer of benefits, including rethinking how we buy, place and replenish inventory.

在我們擁有的第一年，我們已經從 Quiet Platform 的創新交付和履行模式中看到了我們品牌的顯著優勢。從這裡開始，正如邁克爾提到的，我們專注於下一層的好處，包括重新思考我們如何購買、放置和補充庫存。

As noted last quarter, we began a company-wide assessment of our entire cost structure as we prioritize unlocking greater profitability in our business and rebuilding long-term operating profit margins back into the double digits over time. This includes a full review of expenses across the P&L as well as processes such as clearance management as we continue to explore more efficient ways of working. I look forward to sharing more on this in the second half of the year.

正如上個季度所述，我們開始在全公司範圍內評估我們的整個成本結構，因為我們優先考慮在我們的業務中釋放更大的盈利能力，並隨著時間的推移將長期營業利潤率重建到兩位數。這包括全面審查損益表中的費用以及清關管理等流程，因為我們將繼續探索更高效的工作方式。我期待在今年下半年分享更多這方面的信息。

Adjusted EPS was $0.17 per share. This excluded $0.08 of charges primarily due to 2 impairment and restructuring related to Quiet. Our diluted share count was 197 million, down from 220 million last year.

調整後每股收益為 0.17 美元。這不包括 0.08 美元的費用，主要是由於與 Quiet 相關的 2 減值和重組。我們的稀釋股數為 1.97 億，低於去年的 2.2 億。

Turning to our brands. We are pleased to see trends for both Aerie and American Eagle improved sequentially in the first quarter. Aerie revenue increased 12% with comparable sales up 2%. As Jen noted, new product assortments resonated well. Additionally, we saw a nice lift from new stores opened over the last 2 years as they ramped up along the maturity curve.

轉向我們的品牌。我們很高興看到 Aerie 和 American Eagle 的趨勢在第一季度連續改善。 Aerie 收入增長 12%，可比銷售額增長 2%。正如 Jen 指出的那樣，新產品分類引起了很好的共鳴。此外，我們看到過去 2 年開設的新店隨著成熟度曲線的增加而有了很好的提升。

Aerie's operating margin of 15.8% improved 240 basis points to last year, driven by normalizing freight costs as well as rent and expense leverage. American Eagle revenue declined 2% and comps were down 4% to last year. As Jen noted, we have rebuilt the foundation of the AE brand over the last several years, eliminating unproductive SKUs and closing down or relocating unprofitable stores. This allowed us to deliver better profitability year-on-year despite lower sales. With the bones of the brand in a healthier place, we're now focused on pursuing new ideas that can drive profitable sales moving forward.

Aerie 的營業利潤率為 15.8%，比去年提高了 240 個基點，這得益於正常化的貨運成本以及租金和費用槓桿。與去年相比，American Eagle 收入下降了 2%，收入下降了 4%。正如 Jen 指出的那樣，我們在過去幾年重建了 AE 品牌的基礎，消除了低效的 SKU 並關閉或搬遷了無利可圖的商店。這使我們能夠在銷售額下降的情況下實現同比更好的盈利能力。隨著品牌的骨骼處於更健康的位置，我們現在專注於追求可以推動盈利銷售向前發展的新想法。

Consolidated ending inventory cost was down 8% compared to last year, with units down 9%. AE and Aerie inventory across the U.S. and Canada, in particular, ended the quarter down double digits to last year as we continue to buy cautiously in the current environment. Looking ahead, we are maintaining inventory discipline and expect second quarter inventory to pace below revenue.

與去年相比，合併期末庫存成本下降了 8%，單位下降了 9%。特別是美國和加拿大的 AE 和 Aerie 庫存在本季度結束時比去年下降了兩位數，因為我們在當前環境下繼續謹慎購買。展望未來，我們將維持庫存紀律，並預計第二季度庫存將低於收入。

In the first quarter, we successfully redeemed the remaining balance of the principal associated with our convertible note position. We ended the quarter with $118 million in cash and continue to have healthy access to additional liquidity through our revolver with total liquidity amounting to $659 million.

第一季度，我們成功贖回了與我們的可轉換票據頭寸相關的本金餘額。我們以 1.18 億美元的現金結束了本季度，並繼續通過我們的循環流動資金獲得額外的流動性，總流動性達到 6.59 億美元。

Capital expenditures totaled $46 million as we continue to prioritize free cash flow generation. We're investing selectively and focusing on leveraging the infrastructure we have.

由於我們繼續優先考慮產生自由現金流，因此資本支出總計 4600 萬美元。我們正在有選擇地投資，並專注於利用我們擁有的基礎設施。

We now expect full year CapEx to be in the range of $150 million to $175 million, down from our prior guidance of $150 million to $190 million at the start of the year. We continue to expect our consolidated store count in 2023 to be roughly flat to last year reflecting approximately 25 new Aerie store openings, offset by approximately 25 net closures for the AE brand.

我們現在預計全年資本支出將在 1.5 億美元至 1.75 億美元之間，低於我們年初 1.5 億美元至 1.9 億美元的先前指導。我們繼續預計 2023 年我們的綜合門店數量將與去年大致持平，反映出大約 25 家新的 Aerie 門店開業，被 AE 品牌約 25 家淨關閉所抵消。

Moving on to our outlook. As the supply chain continues to normalize, we're seeing product cost favorability and increased agility in our operations. Yet the environment for discretionary spending remains volatile. Over the last several weeks, business has slowed from the first quarter. While it remains to be seen if this trend will continue, at this time, we are guiding to second quarter revenue down in the low single digits with operating income in the range of $25 million to $35 million. We expect the gross margin recovery from last year as we cycle pressure from end of season sell-offs and elevated freight costs.

繼續我們的展望。隨著供應鏈繼續正常化，我們看到了產品成本優勢和運營靈活性的提高。然而，可自由支配支出的環境仍然不穩定。在過去的幾周里，業務比第一季度有所放緩。雖然這種趨勢是否會持續還有待觀察，但目前，我們指導第二季度收入下降至較低的個位數，營業收入在 2500 萬至 3500 萬美元之間。由於季末拋售和運費上漲帶來的壓力，我們預計毛利率將從去年開始回升。

SG&A is expected to increase in the low to mid-single digits and depreciation expense is expected to be similar to the first quarter. For the year, we see revenues flat to down low single digits and operating income in the range of $250 million to $270 million. As discussed, we're highly focused on finding efficiencies and savings across the organization and we'll continue to provide updates on our progress. With that, I'll open it up for questions.

SG&A 預計將以中低個位數增長，折舊費用預計與第一季度相似。今年，我們看到收入持平至低個位數，營業收入在 2.5 億美元至 2.7 億美元之間。正如所討論的，我們高度關注在整個組織中尋找效率和節約，我們將繼續提供我們進展的最新信息。有了這個，我會打開它來提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Paul Lejuez with Citi.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Paul Lejuez。

Can you maybe talk about what has changed thus far in the second quarter and where you adjusted your expectations down for the back half as a result of that. And then Mike, talking a lot about cost savings and efficiencies, when are we going to see that hit? Curious if there's anything coming in the second half? Or any concrete examples of where you might be finding savings to date as you go through and do that work.

你能不能談談第二季度到目前為止發生了什麼變化，以及你因此下調了對後半部分的預期。然後邁克，談論了很多關於成本節約和效率的問題，我們什麼時候才能看到成功？想知道下半場有什麼進展嗎？或者任何具體的例子，說明在你完成這項工作的過程中，你可能會在哪裡找到儲蓄。

Yes. Thanks, Paul, it's Mike. I can talk about the trend of the business. Obviously, we talked about first quarter revenue up 2%, comps down 1.5%. Definitely choppy as we keep using that word to describe it. Felt good about how things were progressing with -- through the spring break shift, Easter shifts, got to the end of April and now into May, and things have slowed down a bit. So again, May is just our smallest month of the quarter. We're 4 weeks in, definitely some -- for us, we're keeping an eye when schools are letting out. It looks like it's going to be later this year. That could have an impact. So we're being cautious about what we're seeing in the last few weeks.

是的。謝謝，保羅，我是邁克。我可以談談業務的趨勢。顯然，我們談到第一季度收入增長 2%，收入下降 1.5%。絕對不穩定，因為我們一直用這個詞來形容它。對事情的進展感覺很好——經歷了春假輪班、復活節輪班，到了 4 月底，現在進入了 5 月，事情有所放緩。同樣，5 月只是我們本季度最小的月份。我們已經 4 週了，肯定有一些——對我們來說，我們會密切關注學校何時放學。看來要到今年晚些時候了。這可能會產生影響。因此，我們對過去幾週所看到的情況持謹慎態度。

The majority of the quarters ahead of us still probably 75% plus of the volume, but the guide is cautious, it's just based on what we've been seeing for the last several weeks.

我們前面的大多數季度可能仍佔交易量的 75% 以上，但該指南是謹慎的，它只是基於我們過去幾週所看到的情況。

Your second question on cost savings, we're 4, 5 weeks into pretty aggressively laying out a road map for opportunities, some of which we haven't waited on. As Michael talked about, store labor was a good result in the first quarter, was looking on that since last year. Services, also a good story in the first quarter. That work continues. We're pulling down our capital spend more to benefit to impact depreciation, looking forward past in future quarters and really next year and beyond.

你關於節省成本的第二個問題，我們已經花了 4、5 週的時間非常積極地為機會制定路線圖，其中一些我們還沒有等到。正如邁克爾所說，商店勞動力在第一季度取得了不錯的成績，自去年以來一直在關注這一點。服務，也是第一季度的佳話。這項工作仍在繼續。我們正在進一步降低我們的資本支出，以受益於影響折舊，展望未來幾個季度，甚至明年及以後。

And then as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, I mentioned clearance inventory. That's something else that is underway as we speak, could have some benefits definitely for this year, maybe even in the second quarter, a little more than we've provided in our guide. That's something we're not locking down right now in terms of plans. And it's really just about how we manage through clearance, our end of season sell-off process. It's basically part of the operating model like I've been talking about within our $4.7 billion cost base, something we've been looking at, and we're looking -- and we're changing that process as we speak.

然後正如我在準備好的發言中提到的，我提到了清倉庫存。這是我們說話時正在進行的其他事情，今年肯定會有一些好處，甚至可能在第二季度，比我們在指南中提供的多一點。就計劃而言，這是我們現在沒有鎖定的事情。這真的只是關於我們如何管理清倉，我們的季末拋售過程。它基本上是運營模式的一部分，就像我在我們 47 億美元的成本基礎中談論的那樣，這是我們一直在關注的東西，我們正在尋找——我們正在改變我們所說的流程。

So some of those things we think could have more second half benefit than what's in our guidance right now, but I'll be talking more about that on the second call to lock down things more specifically, that can answer your question with definitely more specifics at that point.

因此，我們認為其中一些事情可能比我們目前的指導中的內容有更多的下半年好處，但我將在第二次電話會議上更多地討論這個問題，以更具體地鎖定事情，這可以用更具體的細節回答你的問題在那時候。

Got it. And then was that slowdown at both brands? Or was there more one than the other thus far in May?

知道了。然後是兩個品牌的放緩嗎？還是 5 月份到目前為止，一個比另一個多？

With both brands by a bit, reflecting in our guide, and that's why we think there could be some shift happening, and we want to keep an eye on that. Cautious for now, 3.5 weeks into the quarter, is definitely a bit in both brands.

兩個品牌都有一點，反映在我們的指南中，這就是為什麼我們認為可能會發生一些轉變，我們希望密切關注這一點。目前謹慎，進入本季度 3.5 週，這兩個品牌肯定都有點。

Our next question is from Jay Sole with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Jay Sole。

Maybe -- I'm wondering if you can elaborate a little bit on the intimates business within Aerie. Maybe Jen can talk about what you're seeing there and maybe what the plan is going forward?

也許——我想知道你是否可以詳細說明一下 Aerie 的親密業務。也許 Jen 可以談談您在那裡看到的情況以及未來的計劃是什麼？

Sure. We're really excited about this business actually because the whole ceiling is lowered in intimates. We held our ground on bras for sure. There's been some shifts in silhouettes. But we're double-downing tomorrow. In fact, I have a huge offsite with the team. I know they're going to present me with tons of new innovation and ideas. Look, the whole category has shifted. Girls are wearing bra tops out. So there's no need for bras and we're focused on that and how she's wearing her intimates. So I think there's going to be a lot more exciting things to come here.

當然。實際上，我們對這項業務感到非常興奮，因為親密關係的整個天花板都降低了。我們肯定堅持胸罩。輪廓發生了一些變化。但我們明天要加倍努力。事實上，我在團隊中有很大的異地。我知道他們會向我展示大量新的創新和想法。看，整個類別都發生了變化。女孩們穿著胸罩上衣。所以不需要胸罩，我們專注於胸罩以及她如何穿著內衣。所以我認為會有更多令人興奮的事情來到這裡。

We've certainly seen some plus-ups in sports bras. As Mike and team mentioned, OFFLINE is certainly an exciting category for us. And sports bras are really accelerating. So we've got -- and I don't know if anyone's worn our sports bras. Please do get out there because I would not mind every day to the gym and it's the most -- it's honestly the most comfortable and supportive sports bra out there. So I get pretty excited.

我們當然已經看到了運動文胸的一些附加功能。正如 Mike 和團隊所提到的，OFFLINE 對我們來說無疑是一個令人興奮的類別。運動文胸的發展速度確實在加快。所以我們有——我不知道是否有人穿過我們的運動文胸。請一定要走出去，因為我不介意每天去健身房，而且它是最——老實說，它是那裡最舒適、最有支撐力的運動文胸。所以我很興奮。

Look, we're not giving up. Next year is Aerie's anniversary, it's our Aerie Real anniversary spring 2024. And let me tell you, we're revving up into that year with new exciting things happening in all of our categories, actually.

看，我們不會放棄。明年是 Aerie 的周年紀念日，這是我們的 Aerie Real 2024 年春季週年紀念日。讓我告訴你，我們正在加速進入這一年，實際上我們所有類別都發生了新的令人興奮的事情。

Our next question comes from Matthew Boss with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Matthew Boss。

It's Amanda Douglas on for Matt. So Jen, you mentioned a focus on driving growth at the American Eagle brand. Could you just elaborate on key initiatives in place today, timing of those initiatives and any key categories in the assortment you see as an opportunity as we look ahead into back-to-school?

阿曼達·道格拉斯替馬特上場。所以 Jen，你提到了專注於推動 American Eagle 品牌的增長。您能否詳細說明今天實施的關鍵舉措、這些舉措的時間安排以及在我們展望返校時您認為是機會的分類中的任何關鍵類別？

Sure, absolutely. We've been really rationalizing this brand, as Mike mentioned, too, closing some stores. We've got out of some businesses that were not profitable. We've been focused on the bottom line. And certainly, we're delivering there. So proud of the margins we've been delivering in American Eagle. And look, we've seen improvements in women's, really exciting improvements from a comp trend into Q1, a significant shift. And so we're really leaning in there in that category.

當然，絕對。我們一直在合理化這個品牌，正如 Mike 提到的那樣，也關閉了一些商店。我們已經退出了一些不盈利的業務。我們一直專注於底線。當然，我們正在那裡交付。為我們在 American Eagle 中提供的利潤感到自豪。看，我們已經看到女性的進步，從競爭趨勢到第一季度的真正令人興奮的進步，這是一個重大轉變。所以我們真的很傾向於那個類別。

And in men's, did see some softness. I think we could be a little bit more aggressive in some of the newer categories, and we've tested those categories in Q1. So you'll see as we head into the back half of this quarter because we launched back-to-school around June 30. So we'll have some new ideas that we were able to react to in men. So Jay mentioned 24/7, that active line is incredible. I just saw all the creative for it. Some of the innovation there and the excitement around that. I think our customer is going to be very excited and delighted as we, like I said, head into back-to-school.

而在男裝中，確實看到了一些柔軟。我認為我們可以在一些較新的類別中更積極一些，我們已經在第一季度測試了這些類別。因此，當我們進入本季度的後半部分時，您會看到，因為我們在 6 月 30 日左右開始返校。因此，我們將有一些新想法，我們能夠對男性做出反應。所以 Jay 提到了 24/7，那條活躍的線路令人難以置信。我剛剛看到了它的所有創意。那裡的一些創新和圍繞它的興奮。我認為我們的客戶會非常興奮和高興，就像我說的那樣，我們即將開學。

Also 77, it's a small test, albeit, but these jeans are not cheap. There are premier price points -- premium price points. And we like what we're seeing early on. And definitely, that would entertain an older customer. So pretty excited about some new ideas on that side of town, too. So we've got opportunity in these new categories to really go after them as we get more momentum in the business. And then Aerie, the back-to-school is incredible. I just -- it gets better with AE's brand. That's all I can say.

同樣是77，雖然是小試牛刀，但是這條牛仔褲不便宜。有一流的價格點——優質的價格點。我們喜歡我們早期看到的東西。當然，這會讓年長的顧客開心。對城鎮那邊的一些新想法也感到非常興奮。因此，隨著我們在業務中獲得更多動力，我們在這些新類別中有機會真正追求它們。然後是 Aerie，返校真是不可思議。我只是 - 使用 AE 的品牌會變得更好。我只能說這麼多。

Just to remind you, Aerie since 2019 has grown 129%, and I believe that's better than any near-end competitors. So this team just is an engine, and we have so much opportunity in front of us, and we're going to keep on looking for our golden nuggets and driving it. I will say all the teams reacted to the business early, we saw nice momentum coming out of the quarter in April. As a reminder, Easter, when we saw that shift, and we got into Easter, the momentum happened. I'm here as the optimist. We haven't hit Memorial Day. Our stores business really performed nicely as Michael mentioned, in Q1. So when these kids get out to school, I'm hoping they like what they see.

提醒一下，Aerie 自 2019 年以來增長了 129%，我相信這比任何近端競爭對手都要好。所以這支球隊就是一個引擎，我們面前有很多機會，我們將繼續尋找我們的金塊並推動它。我會說所有團隊都對業務做出了早期反應，我們看到 4 月份的季度出現了良好的勢頭。提醒一下，復活節，當我們看到這種轉變並進入復活節時，勢頭就發生了。我是樂觀主義者。我們還沒有迎來陣亡將士紀念日。正如邁克爾在第一季度提到的那樣，我們的商店業務確實表現出色。所以當這些孩子去上學時，我希望他們喜歡他們所看到的。

Great. And then, Mike, to follow up on the margin side. Help us to think about the magnitude of gross margin expansion you see in 2Q relative to the first quarter? And to what extent do you see higher markdowns as a potential headwind for the balance of the year?

偉大的。然後，邁克，跟進保證金方面。幫助我們思考您看到的二季度毛利率相對於一季度的擴張幅度有多大？您認為更高的降價幅度在多大程度上是對今年餘下時間的潛在不利因素？

Thanks, Amanda. Yes, Q2 gross margin expansion will be -- we're assuming our projection, it would be even healthier. If you remember last year, that was our -- we recover similar freight-related impacts versus last year, really every quarter. And then last year from a markdown perspective, we did some things to right size inventory at the end of the quarter last year that we are not obviously in a position to have the anniversary. So gross margin expansion for the second quarter will be healthy.

謝謝，阿曼達。是的，第二季度毛利率擴張將是——我們假設我們的預測，它會更健康。如果你還記得去年，那是我們的 - 我們恢復了與去年類似的貨運相關影響，實際上每個季度。然後去年從降價的角度來看，我們在去年季度末做了一些調整庫存的事情，我們顯然無法度過週年紀念日。因此，第二季度的毛利率增長將是健康的。

That's largely what we're expecting really every quarter from here is that product costs, freight recovery, and we do not have any intention or any plans for higher markdowns on the year. Our inventory is in great shape. Supply chains are back to normal. We have flexibility and are open to buy. So against what we just guided to, our inventories positioned very appropriately. We can chase into trends as we see them readjust inventory still for the back half as we need to as well. So we're not planning on higher markdowns at all.

這主要是我們每個季度真正期待的是產品成本、運費回收，而且我們沒有任何意圖或任何計劃在今年進行更高的降價。我們的庫存狀況良好。供應鏈恢復正常。我們有靈活性並且願意購買。因此，根據我們剛才的指導，我們的庫存定位非常合適。我們可以追逐趨勢，因為我們看到它們仍然根據需要重新調整後半部分的庫存。所以我們根本不打算進行更高的降價促銷。

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。

Jen, I was wondering on the AE brand, how much higher are initial retails at AE versus 2019 and the ability to -- after we get through this kind of period, the ability to hold on to that pricing based on just elevating the business and more innovation. And then for Mike, can you talk about traffic and/or transactions versus ticket/basket for each of the brands?

Jen，我想知道關於 AE 品牌，AE 的初始零售價與 2019 年相比高了多少，以及在我們度過這種時期之後，能夠僅僅通過提升業務和更多的創新。然後對於邁克，你能談談每個品牌的流量和/或交易與門票/籃子的關係嗎？

I mean I should just say both brands are significantly up to 2019, and we're pleased with that, Adrienne. Certainly, as you see too, we're going to have nice costing has been coming in really favorably as well. So we're going to do -- we're going to really have a balancing act in both brands on how we're pricing and what our out-the-door prices look like. And ensuring that we're competing on our terms. So that's really the answer.

我的意思是我應該說這兩個品牌在 2019 年之前都表現出色，我們對此感到滿意，Adrienne。當然，正如你所看到的，我們也會有很好的成本計算也非常有利。所以我們要做——我們真的要在兩個品牌中平衡我們的定價方式和我們的戶外價格。並確保我們按照自己的條件進行競爭。這就是真正的答案。

I believe that we've really struck gold here in some of these categories, and we don't want to give up that -- all the work we've done, that's where we've been at over the past 3 years during COVID, we were increasing our prices in specific categories, denim being one.

我相信我們在其中一些類別中確實取得了成功，我們不想放棄——我們所做的所有工作，這就是我們過去 3 年在 COVID 期間所做的工作，我們正在提高特定類別的價格，牛仔布就是其中之一。

I reflect back, we actually had pulled back on our promotions in denim during some of these peak tough time periods out there. And so we believe that there's opportunity in specific categories like I said, in both brands. And specifically, in American Eagle, as the 2 new brands that we just launched in our testing, we've seen no resistance to the pricing. So we're going to use those as test points for us. And hopefully, we can scale those businesses as well.

我回想起來，在這些艱難的高峰時期，我們實際上已經取消了我們在牛仔布方面的促銷活動。因此，我們相信這兩個品牌在特定類別中都有機會，就像我說的那樣。具體來說，在 American Eagle 中，作為我們剛剛在測試中推出的兩個新品牌，我們沒有看到對定價的阻力。所以我們將使用這些作為我們的測試點。希望我們也可以擴展這些業務。

Adrienne, to your traffic question. Traffic has been relatively healthy. And as Jen just said, AUR is up nicely still to pre-pandemic levels, not giving any more of that AUR back. It's down a little bit to last year, not substantial. The average basket size, really driven by AURs down a bit than 2%. We have some work to do on the conversion line, we think we could -- we believe it could be tied a little bit to macro conditions, that mid- to low-income consumer traffic is coming through a bit, not converting maybe as heavily. That's something we're keeping an eye on, something we're trying to move the needle on, but that gives you a sense of the metrics that are driving the business right now.

Adrienne，關於你的交通問題。交通一直相對健康。正如 Jen 剛才所說，AUR 仍然很好地上升到大流行前的水平，不再回饋 AUR。與去年相比有所下降，但幅度不大。實際受 AUR 推動的平均籃子規模下降了 2% 多一點。我們在轉換線上有一些工作要做，我們認為我們可以——我們相信它可能與宏觀條件有一點聯繫，中低收入的消費者流量正在通過一點，而不是轉換可能那麼大.這是我們一直關注的事情，我們正試圖推動這一點，但這讓您了解目前正在推動業務發展的指標。

Our next question is from Dana Telsey with Telsey Advisory Group.

我們的下一個問題來自 Telsey Advisory Group 的 Dana Telsey。

Good afternoon, everyone. As you think about the upcoming back-to-school period with the cadence of business currently, any shifts that you're making, whether it's marketing, whether it's when you're bringing in goods and how you're planning promotional levels as we go through 2Q into the back half?

大家下午好。當您考慮到即將到來的返校期和當前的業務節奏時，您正在做出的任何轉變，無論是營銷，無論是何時引入商品以及您如何計劃促銷級別，因為我們通過2Q進入後半段？

I mean, Marni, all of the above. Everything has to be a full 360 approach and when it comes to back-to-school, I think we do it best. I'm really proud of the way the stores look out there. And like I said, the store business has been very healthy. We're focusing on stores. And I don't know if Michael had mentioned, I know we -- I believe mentioned on previous calls, but we have a new leader in the digital business, David Zhang who comes with tons of experience and is already unlocking opportunities for us on that side of the business. Back-to-school. I got to see it live tomorrow, but I've obviously been through all the product categories, but I see it in our simulated stores tomorrow at our home base in Pittsburgh.

我的意思是，Marni，以上所有。一切都必須是一個完整的 360 度方法，當談到返校時，我認為我們做得最好。我真的為商店的外觀感到自豪。就像我說的，商店業務一直非常健康。我們專注於商店。我不知道 Michael 是否提到過，我知道我們——我相信在之前的電話會議中提到過，但我們在數字業務方面有了一位新的領導者，David Zhang，他擁有豐富的經驗，並且已經在為我們釋放機會業務的那一面。回到學校。我明天必須看到它的現場直播，但我顯然已經瀏覽了所有產品類別，但我明天會在我們位於匹茲堡的大本營的模擬商店中看到它。

And Marni, like all I can tell you is from Q1, we've shifted the businesses significantly with what we saw. I would like to say, I thought we were really aggressive on the other bottoms categories in Q1, and that continues into Q2 when we build on it. For Q3, we're seeing some bright lights in denim that we're able to respond to. So that's really exciting. We've seen improvements in denim, actually, particularly in women's as we pace throughout the quarter and building into May. So some bright spots there.

Marni，就像我能告訴你的，從第一季度開始，我們已經根據我們所看到的情況顯著改變了業務。我想說的是，我認為我們在第一季度的其他底部類別上非常激進，並且當我們在此基礎上進行構建時，這種情況會持續到第二季度。對於第 3 季度，我們看到了一些我們能夠應對的牛仔布亮點。所以這真的很令人興奮。實際上，我們已經看到牛仔布的改進，尤其是女裝，因為我們在整個季度和 5 月份都在推進。所以那裡有一些亮點。

So I think we're ready, Marni. So like I said, I have to be the optimistic on this call because it's our job to react to what's happening in the business and push harder as we head into the balance of the year. We do not plan on promoting, we're going to promote with intent. And Mike mentioned that we have some opportunity to really look how we clear goods in Q2, hopefully, more profitably. I think we have some good plans in place there and we're going to come out clean and be ready to fight.

所以我認為我們已經準備好了，Marni。所以就像我說的，我必須對這次電話會議持樂觀態度，因為我們的工作是對業務中發生的事情做出反應，並在我們進入今年的平衡時更加努力地推動。我們不打算推廣，我們將有意推廣。邁克提到，我們有機會真正了解我們如何在第二季度清倉，希望能更有利可圖。我認為我們在那裡制定了一些好的計劃，我們將乾淨利落地準備好戰鬥。

Your markdown question or your promotional level, we don't have any plans to be more promotional for back-to-school. As you know, we are very clean, we're clean going into the back half and back-to-school last year after taking measures to clean up inventory in the spring season in July there at the end of the second quarter. So we were actually pleased with our promotional level through the third quarter last year, and we're looking at something -- we're planning similar levels of promotion this year.

您的降價問題或您的促銷級別，我們沒有任何計劃為返校做更多的促銷活動。如你所知，我們非常乾淨，在第二季度末採取措施清理 7 月春季庫存後，我們去年進入後半段和返校時都很乾淨。所以我們實際上對去年第三季度的促銷水平感到滿意，我們正在尋找一些東西 - 我們計劃今年進行類似的促銷活動。

And Dana, my phone went off. So Dana, I know you and I'm sorry. So thank you very much.

達娜，我的電話關機了。所以 Dana，我認識你，我很抱歉。非常感謝。

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 what you're seeing in the loyalty program, how the spending and retention trends have been like versus history? And what are some of the data advantages you can have by leveraging the loyalty program.

只是想知道您在忠誠度計劃中看到了什麼，支出和保留趨勢與歷史相比如何？通過利用忠誠度計劃，您可以獲得哪些數據優勢。

Jonna, we're actually pleased with the relaunch of the program from a few years ago, the response to the program engagement, membership levels are continuing to increase, our customer file in total for the company is very healthy in both brands. When you look at things in total, I think we're actually meeting kind of new heights in terms of total customer count those in loyalty program in total. So I think it's something we're looking at as a continual leverage looking at evolution of the program benefits to those members. Yes, it's a big piece of the equation in terms of our kind of day in, day out communication to customers and driving traffic to both our stores and our digital channels. Mike, do you want to add...

Jonna，我們實際上對幾年前重新啟動該計劃感到滿意，對計劃參與的反應，會員水平不斷提高，我們公司的客戶檔案在兩個品牌中都非常健康。當你從總體上看事情時，我認為我們實際上在忠誠度計劃中的客戶總數方面達到了新的高度。因此，我認為我們正在將其視為一種持續的槓桿作用，著眼於為這些成員帶來的計劃利益的演變。是的，就我們日復一日與客戶的溝通以及為我們的商店和數字渠道帶來流量而言，這是一個很大的等式。邁克，你想添加...

And Jonna, just a little more color. I mean, our -- like Mike was saying, our total customer base is roughly flat. Our loyalty base has increased. And these are our most valuable customers. They're spending more with us. They're transacting more frequently. So that's certainly an encouraging sign. And actually, if you look at what's been happening over the last 12 months or so, that's true across both brands. So like Mike said, we relaunched the program, I don't know, a little over a year ago, closer probably to 18 months or so. And we're constantly looking to refine the program to make sure our customers are getting more benefit. They're engaging with our brands more and we're running it to efficiently grow the business.

還有喬娜，只是多了一點顏色。我的意思是，我們的 - 就像邁克所說的那樣，我們的總客戶群大致持平。我們的忠誠度基礎有所增加。這些是我們最有價值的客戶。他們在我們身上花費更多。他們的交易更加頻繁。所以這當然是一個令人鼓舞的跡象。實際上，如果您查看過去 12 個月左右發生的事情，就會發現這兩個品牌都是如此。所以就像邁克說的那樣，我們重新啟動了該程序，我不知道，一年多前，可能接近 18 個月左右。我們一直在尋求改進該計劃，以確保我們的客戶獲得更多利益。他們更多地與我們的品牌互動，而我們正在運營它以有效地發展業務。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Alex Straton with Morgan Stanley.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Alex Straton。

I just wanted to focus on revenue here. In the sequential top line weakness you've observed, have you seen any variations by household income demographic? And then secondly, I know you're near peak AURs and I'm just wondering, do you think that's at all contributing to some of the challenges on the top line? Or how do you guys gauge price sensitivity?

我只想在這里關注收入。在您觀察到的連續頂線弱點中，您是否看到家庭收入人口有任何變化？其次，我知道你的 AUR 接近峰值，我只是想知道，你認為這是否會導致頂線的一些挑戰？或者你們如何衡量價格敏感度？

Yes. If I could start on the revenue side. Really in May here, we're 3.5 weeks and your question, this is exactly the question we're asking ourselves. I think there's some of this what's happening externally and the impact on what we think is the mid- to low-end household income cost consumer, which we are susceptible to. That's what we're being cautious about from here. I think if you look at what everyone is reporting at this earnings period, you do see a bit of bifurcation between kind of brands that are appealing to a higher income customer versus those that are more exposed to the mid lower side. So I think that's something that we are going to navigate.

是的。如果我可以從收入方面開始。真的在 5 月，我們已經 3.5 週了，你的問題，這正是我們要問自己的問題。我認為有一些外部正在發生的事情以及對我們認為的中低端家庭收入成本消費者的影響，我們很容易受到影響。這就是我們在這裡要謹慎的地方。我認為，如果你看看每個人在這個收益期的報告，你確實會看到吸引高收入客戶的品牌與更容易接觸中低端客戶的品牌之間存在一些分歧。所以我認為這是我們要解決的問題。

Again, our inventory levels being flexible, supply chain, time lines, it's back to normal. Those are things we'll navigate as that continues to be a macro external impact that we can't control. We'll control everything that we can. We don't think -- I mean back to what Michael and I just described in terms of customer base and loyalty program, AUR usually has some kind of impact on that as well. We're not seeing any impact to those customer metrics in that way. And again, we're well ahead of pre-pandemic levels, but we actually haven't kind of grown AUR since last year or '21, we're actually down a couple of points to those peaks.

同樣，我們的庫存水平是靈活的，供應鏈、時間線恢復正常。這些是我們將要應對的事情，因為這仍然是我們無法控制的宏觀外部影響。我們會控制我們能控制的一切。我們不認為——我的意思是回到邁克爾和我剛才在客戶群和忠誠度計劃方面所描述的內容，AUR 通常也會對此產生某種影響。我們沒有看到以這種方式對這些客戶指標產生任何影響。再一次，我們遠遠領先於大流行前的水平，但實際上自去年或 21 年以來我們並沒有增長 AUR，我們實際上比那些峰值低了幾個點。

So as you sit here today, maybe the combination of those factors is having a longer-term impact. It's something we will be assessing. But again, we'll control what we can control in that equation right now, which is really inventory and everything else around our operating model that we're looking at.

所以當你今天坐在這裡時，也許這些因素的結合正在產生更長期的影響。這是我們將要評估的事情。但同樣，我們將控制我們現在可以在該等式中控制的內容，這實際上是庫存以及我們正在研究的運營模型周圍的所有其他內容。

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

我們的下一個問題來自 Janet Kloppenburg 和 JJK Research Associates。

Just a couple of quick questions. First on housekeeping, Michael. Is depreciation now looking to be up mid-teens for the year. Maybe you could help me on that. And then on the guidance cut on the operating income for the year that includes a lower outlook for the second quarter as well as for the back half. Could you flush that out for me, please?

只是幾個簡單的問題。首先是客房服務，邁克爾。今年的貶值率現在有望達到 15% 左右。也許你可以幫我解決這個問題。然後是今年營業收入的指導下調，其中包括下調第二季度和下半年的前景。你能幫我把它沖掉嗎？

And then Jen, was there some change in category investment in May versus April, it sounds like April was a decent month. You said you had some acceleration in April maybe after a weak March, I'm guessing. So I'd like to understand maybe how the assortment shift may have -- may be impacting the response rate right now at both brands.

然後 Jen，5 月份的類別投資與 4 月份相比是否有一些變化，聽起來 4 月份是一個不錯的月份。你說你在 4 月份有一些加速，可能是在 3 月份疲軟之後，我猜。因此，我想了解分類轉變可能如何影響這兩個品牌目前的響應率。

Janet, your question on depreciation, as we said for Q2 guidance, similar dollars for Q2, it's really similar dollars every quarter of the year based on the $150 million to $175 million range this year versus what we spent in the previous years. Depreciation will be pretty consistent quarter-to-quarter. You get to roughly a 10% increase on the year based on that. That is something we are focused on. We pulled down capital spending for this year, made a lot of investments in the last few years, as we've talked about, especially in area in off-line growth. We're going to grow into those investments, optimize those investments, investments in technology, supply chain capabilities, that's part of this project this year and finding efficiencies in our operating model.

珍妮特，你關於折舊的問題，正如我們對第二季度的指導所說的那樣，第二季度的美元相似，根據今年 1.5 億至 1.75 億美元的範圍與我們前幾年的支出相比，每年每個季度的美元都非常相似。每個季度的折舊將非常一致。在此基礎上，您的年增長率大約為 10%。這是我們關注的事情。正如我們所談到的，我們今年削減了資本支出，在過去幾年進行了大量投資，尤其是在線下增長領域。我們將增加這些投資，優化這些投資，技術投資，供應鏈能力，這是今年這個項目的一部分，並在我們的運營模式中尋找效率。

Part of that is actually leveraging all those investments that we've kind of proactively and aggressively made in the last few years. So we are looking for depreciation to kind of normalize and even come down over time.

其中一部分實際上是利用我們在過去幾年中積極主動地進行的所有投資。因此，我們希望貶值能夠正常化，甚至隨著時間的推移而下降。

And then as far as the guide goes, yes, the full year guidance does contemplate of course, what we just guided for the second quarter and how we're thinking cautiously, how we're viewing the rest of the year. So we talked about flat to low revenue down low single digits for the year. If you think about first quarter results, second quarter guide, you're relatively flat through the spring season, and we're basically staying relatively flat for the year based on what we know today. And then the income guide off of that is based on that type of revenue thought process right now.

然後就指南而言，是的，全年指南當然會考慮，我們剛剛為第二季度提供的指南以及我們如何謹慎思考，我們如何看待今年剩餘時間。所以我們談到了今年的低個位數收入持平到低位。如果你考慮第一季度的結果，第二季度的指導，整個春季你都相對持平，而且根據我們今天所知道的情況，我們今年基本上保持相對持平。然後，收入指南就是基於現在那種類型的收入思維過程。

But some greater pressure on gross margin or no? Not as much recovery as you had originally expected?

但毛利率壓力大一些還是不行？沒有您原先預期的那麼多恢復？

Not as much leverage on expenses then, right? But definite recovery of all freight and related product costs, seeing that flow through, that's going to happen every quarter. Even on this revenue expectation, our inventory levels that are planned for the year, we're actually expecting net kind of positive impact from lower markdowns on the year still as we sit here today. So definitely, gross margin expansion from those things. But to your point, yes, not as much leverage on the expenses through gross margin on the revenue that we guided to.

那麼對費用的影響就沒有那麼大了，對吧？但所有運費和相關產品成本的明確回收，看到這一點，每個季度都會發生。即使根據這一收入預期，我們今年計劃的庫存水平，我們實際上預計今年仍然會因為我們今天坐在這里而降低降價產生淨積極影響。所以肯定的是，這些東西的毛利率會增加。但就你的觀點而言，是的，通過毛利率對我們指導的收入的支出影響不大。

Okay. And Jen, on the change in assortments and what was...

好的。 Jen，關於分類的變化以及……

How are you Janet?

珍妮特，你好嗎？

Good. Nice to hear your voice.

好的。很高興聽到你的聲音。

No, actually, in fact, we've built on the assortment off of April. So the only thing I would add is we do need a few of our seasonal categories to turn on right now. We're hoping as we get into the seasonality, Memorial Day weekend on that we'll see that happen. And just to note, though, I will say, some of our -- in American Eagle in particular, we've seen bright spots in bottoms, including denim. So that's where we really took the business going into Q3. We feel we're really well positioned there, Janet. So I really -- I'm looking forward to some of these after-school shifts, seeing what those changes do to the business. I'm cautiously optimistic on the quarter and we're ready to go.

不，實際上，事實上，我們已經建立在 4 月份的分類基礎上。所以我唯一要補充的是，我們現在確實需要一些季節性類別才能打開。我們希望當我們進入季節性陣亡將士紀念日週末時，我們會看到這種情況發生。不過要注意的是，我要說的是，我們的一些 - 特別是在 American Eagle 中，我們已經看到了底部的亮點，包括牛仔布。所以這就是我們真正將業務帶入第三季度的地方。珍妮特，我們覺得我們在這方面確實處於有利地位。所以我真的 - 我很期待這些課後輪班，看看這些變化對業務有何影響。我對本季度持謹慎樂觀態度，我們已準備就緒。

But no, the assortments did not significantly change. In fact, in some cases, i.e., in women's tops, we could use more. We saw a huge shift in women's tops, Janet. I don't know if I mentioned that earlier, but from where we ended Q2, it's nice to see this business turn around. In fact, we're in the positive comp zone, healthy positive comp in women's tops, bottoms are very strong. So yes, just some of these seasonal categories, we need to turn on a little bit more.

但不，分類沒有顯著變化。事實上，在某些情況下，例如，在女式上衣中，我們可以使用更多。珍妮特，我們看到了女裝上衣的巨大轉變。我不知道我之前是否提到過這一點，但從我們結束第二季度的地方來看，很高興看到這項業務好轉。事實上，我們處於積極競爭區，女性上衣的健康積極競爭，底部非常強大。所以是的，只是這些季節性類別中的一些，我們需要打開更多。

Our next question is from Chris Nardone with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Chris Nardone。

Can you help quantify what is driving the low to mid-single-digit increase in SG&A in the first half of the year compared to last year? And then if you can tie that into your expectations for full year SG&A growth embedded in your new EBIT guide? That would be great.

與去年相比，您能否幫助量化推動今年上半年 SG&A 中低個位數增長的因素？然後，您是否可以將其與您對新 EBIT 指南中嵌入的全年 SG&A 增長的預期聯繫起來？那太好了。

Chris, thanks. The SG&A was up 5% for the first quarter. We provided second quarter direction a low- to mid-single. For the year, you can kind of get your mind around that same range, although like we've been talking about, that is a big piece of the initiative -- we're looking at the entire $4.7 billion cost base, not just SG&A, but they're definitely elements of SG&A, of course, that we want to continue to work on store labor, corporate compensation, services, marketing effectiveness in terms of driving revenue for us, few other line items and categories.

克里斯，謝謝。第一季度的 SG&A 增長了 5%。我們將第二季度的方向定為中低單。對於這一年，您可以大致了解相同的範圍，儘管就像我們一直在談論的那樣，這是一項重大舉措——我們正在研究整個 47 億美元的成本基礎，而不僅僅是 SG&A ，但它們絕對是 SG&A 的要素，當然，我們希望繼續致力於商店勞動力、企業薪酬、服務、營銷效率方面的工作，以推動我們的收入，以及其他一些項目和類別。

So on the year guide, it is mostly compensation-related payroll taxes and benefits that are driving that low to mid-single-digit increase. And there is a reminder that it's a 53rd week year. So about 1 point of the growth is also just attributed to that extra week.

因此，在年度指南中，主要是與薪酬相關的工資稅和福利推動了中低個位數的增長。還有一個提醒，這是第 53 週的一年。因此，大約 1 個百分點的增長也僅歸因於額外的一周。

But as I said, I think back to Paul's question, more color on the second quarter call in terms of opportunities against that color, things we're working on now, laying out the priorities and the time line of how we're going after them. Some things are already underway and a little more color on the second quarter call about potential back half benefits and what benefits we're expecting on the go forward.

但正如我所說，我回想起保羅的問題，第二季度電話會議的更多顏色是針對這種顏色的機會，我們現在正在做的事情，列出優先事項和我們追求的時間線他們。有些事情已經在進行中，第二季度有更多關於潛在的後半部分收益以及我們對未來的預期收益的顏色。

Got it. And then just one follow-up on the gross margin. Are the opportunities around freight and cotton recapture, is that just a fiscal '23 thing? Or do you expect some of the cost reversal will help you looking out into fiscal '24? I'm just trying to understand the cadence of when you expect to fully recuperate that $60 million to $80 million in incremental freight costs you guys have talked about in the past?

知道了。然後只是關於毛利率的一項後續行動。圍繞運費和棉花回收的機會，這只是財政'23 的事情嗎？或者您是否期望一些成本逆轉會幫助您展望 24 財年？我只是想了解您期望何時完全收回你們過去談到的 6000 萬至 8000 萬美元增量運費的節奏？

Yes. We'll get most of that back this year. There is some spillover into '24 as goods that we sourced in 2022, we're selling in '23. Goods that we'll be sourcing this year will spill into '24. So look, the sourcing environment is very favorable right now. Demand is weak, commodities are stable, transportation is available and back to pre-pandemic levels. So I expect, like Mike was saying, we'll see recapture all this year, but we'll also see benefit into early '24.

是的。我們將在今年收回大部分。 24 年有一些溢出效應，因為我們在 2022 年採購的商品，我們在 23 年銷售。我們今年採購的商品將進入 24 世紀。所以看，現在的採購環境非常有利。需求疲軟，大宗商品穩定，交通暢通，恢復到疫情前水平。所以我預計，就像邁克所說的那樣，我們今年會看到重新奪回，但我們也會在 24 年初看到收益。

And our final question is from Marni Shapiro with Retail Tracker.

我們的最後一個問題來自 Retail Tracker 的 Marni Shapiro。

Jen, now you have me for real. But you should know that Dana and I grew up in the same neighborhood, and we shopped at the same bakery so mixing assumption be such a big deal.

珍，現在你真正擁有了我。但你應該知道，達娜和我在同一個街區長大，我們在同一家麵包店購物，所以混合假設是一件大事。

And both of you're stopping at American Eagle.

你們倆都在 American Eagle 停留。

I don't think it existed back then. We're the older generation. I just want to dig a little bit into the gross margin to make sure I understand the puts and takes here because there's obviously the freight recovery and it sounds like the sourcing environment is better. So were you able to get those AUCs for the back half of this year? Or is that for next year? And then when you talked about promotional pressure, was that pressure coming on mostly the seasonal goods? So was that primarily in places like swimwear, for example, where you've had some issues? Or is that across the board? Because I'm wondering if -- is denim as promotional or go forward or the knit tops and things where you've seen the improvement in women, do you have to be promotional in those areas, too? Or are the promotions a little bit more specific?

我認為那時候不存在。我們是老一代。我只想深入了解一下毛利率，以確保我了解這裡的看跌期權和收益，因為顯然運費有所回升，而且聽起來採購環境更好。那麼今年下半年你能拿到那些 AUC 嗎？或者是明年？然後，當您談到促銷壓力時，這種壓力主要是針對季節性商品嗎？那主要是在泳裝等地方，例如，你有一些問題嗎？或者是全面的？因為我想知道牛仔布是否是促銷或前進或針織上衣和您已經看到女性進步的東西，您是否也必須在這些領域進行促銷？還是促銷活動更具體一些？

Yes, Marni, I can start. I don't think we really talked about promotional pressure. Markdowns were up a little bit in the first quarter compared to this year, but last year was definitely on the low end of history. So they're just more kind of appropriate in the first quarter. As I said earlier, we're not looking at a higher level of promotional activity really any quarter throughout the year based on how we're -- I think we're at a good level now, a healthy level now. We like the mix of what that's driving. There's no inventory reasons or cause to overpromote to get through units, to manage inventory. So I don't know if there's any color you want to add, but...

是的，Marni，我可以開始了。我不認為我們真的談到了促銷壓力。與今年相比，第一季度降價幅度略有上升，但去年絕對處於歷史低端。所以他們在第一季度更合適。正如我之前所說，根據我們的情況，我們並沒有考慮在全年任何一個季度開展更高水平的促銷活動——我認為我們現在處於一個良好的水平，一個健康的水平。我們喜歡混合動力。沒有庫存原因或導致過度促銷以通過單位，管理庫存。所以我不知道你是否想要添加任何顏色，但是......

Was the pressure in AUR, I guess, maybe -- was it just versus very high AUR last year? Is that what it really is?

AUR 的壓力，我想，也許是 - 與去年非常高的 AUR 相比嗎？真的是這樣嗎？

Yes. We were, again, obviously, not 2021 peaks, but last year's AUR in the first quarter was still historically high, yes.

是的。顯然，我們再次沒有達到 2021 年的峰值，但去年第一季度的 AUR 仍然處於歷史高位，是的。

Yes. And we do expect both transportation and product cost benefits similar, if not greater to first quarter throughout the year.

是的。我們確實預計運輸和產品成本效益與全年第一季度相似，甚至更高。

And then can I just follow up on the seasonal products. Are you seeing the same slowdown in those sales across the country? Are there any regions where the weather -- I hate to have these conversations about weather, but where the weather has kicked in earlier? Or is it across the board?

然後我可以跟進季節性產品嗎？您是否看到全國范圍內的銷售出現同樣的放緩？是否有任何地區的天氣 - 我討厭進行這些關於天氣的對話，但天氣更早出現的地方？還是一刀切？

We're definitely seeing better results out of the South and the West. So we don't like to talk about weather either, but at the same time, there's a reality to looking at the geographic results every single week, and there's definitely more life in the South and West where those seasonal categories would kick in earlier. So again, our -- the guide is cautious, some of that the results in the other areas of the country are definitely embedded in our thinking, but we are thinking -- again, hopefully, even more improved weather (inaudible). And there is something to, I think our customer, the timing of school getting out and mindset around summer vacations, et cetera, where we think some of these things will kick in for us differently as we move into -- further into the second quarter.

我們肯定會看到南部和西部取得更好的成績。所以我們也不喜歡談論天氣，但與此同時，每週查看地理結果是一個現實，而且南部和西部肯定有更多的生活，這些季節性類別會更早出現。因此，我們的 - 指南是謹慎的，其中一些在該國其他地區的結果肯定嵌入了我們的想法，但我們正在考慮 - 再次，希望天氣更好（聽不清）。還有一些事情，我認為我們的客戶，學校放學的時間和暑假的心態等等，我們認為其中一些事情會隨著我們進入 - 進一步進入第二季度而對我們產生不同的影響.

I'll take the rest offline.

我會把剩下的離線。

Thank you. I would like to turn the floor back over to Jay Schottenstein for closing comments.

謝謝。我想將發言權轉回 Jay Schottenstein 以徵求結束意見。

In conclusion, we are staying focused on navigating the near term. Our brands are in good shape, and we know there is an opportunity to unlock growth and profit from here. We're seeing discipline on inventory and expenses and looking for additional efficiencies. Thank you for joining the call, and I look forward to updating you all on the progress next quarter. Thank you.

總之，我們將繼續專注於近期的導航。我們的品牌狀況良好，我們知道有機會從這裡釋放增長和利潤。我們看到了庫存和費用方面的紀律，並尋求更高的效率。感謝您加入電話會議，我期待著在下個季度向大家通報最新進展。謝謝。

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

謝謝。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。