American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone. Today, we are hosting an extended earnings call to discuss our fourth quarter and fiscal 2023 financial results as well as our new Powering Profitable Growth strategy and 3-year financial targets. The call will include prepared remarks from Jay Schottenstein, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Jen Foyle, President Executive Creative Director for AE and Aerie; and Mike Mathias, Chief Financial Officer.

大家，早安。今天，我們將舉辦一次擴展財報電話會議，討論我們第四季度和 2023 財年的財務業績以及我們新的推動盈利增長戰略和 3 年財務目標。電話會議將包括執行主席兼執行長 Jay Schottenstein 準備好的演講； Jen Foyle，AE 和 Aerie 總裁執行創意總監；和首席財務官邁克·馬蒂亞斯。

This will be followed by a question-and-answer session. We expect to conclude the call at approximately 1:00. Before we begin, I would like to refer you to our safe harbor statement and additional disclosures around non-GAAP results posted on screen. 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. Following today's call -- this is also where you will find a replay and our fourth quarter investor and Powering Profitable Growth strategy presentations.

隨後將進行問答環節。我們預計在 1:00 左右結束電話會議。在開始之前，我想請您參閱我們的安全港聲明以及螢幕上發布的有關非公認會計準則結果的其他披露資訊。調整後的績效與 GAAP 業績的對帳可在收益發布所附的表格中找到，該收益發佈發佈在我們公司網站 www.aeo-inc.com 的投資者關係部分。在今天的電話會議之後，您還可以在這裡找到重播以及我們的第四季度投資者和推動盈利增長戰略演示。

Now I will turn the call over to Jay to kick it off with a quick review of key highlights of our fourth quarter and fiscal 2023 results. Jay?

現在，我將把電話轉給 Jay，首先快速回顧我們第四季和 2023 財年業績的主要亮點。傑伊？

Good morning. Thanks for joining us. Earlier today, we unveiled our new long-term strategy and financial road map. Our focus is simple, powering profitable growth. We are excited to share the details of our plan with you. But first, let me begin with a quick overview of last year. I'll start with a huge thanks to our teams for their perseverance and commitment throughout 2023. And I am especially proud of the strength we delivered in the second half of the year as we began to implement actions from our profit improvement project. Building on momentum in the third quarter, we achieved record fourth quarter revenue and adjusted operating income reached the highest in over a decade. With strong execution, we nicely exceeded expectations even after raising guidance in early January. While Mike will provide greater details during the fourth quarter, we took a non-GAAP charge as we look to strengthen overall profitability. Our 2023 revenue reached a record $5.3 billion and we registered $375 million of adjusted operating income.

早安.感謝您加入我們。今天早些時候，我們公佈了新的長期策略和財務路線圖。我們的重點很簡單，那就是推動獲利成長。我們很高興與您分享我們計劃的細節。但首先，讓我先快速回顧一下去年的情況。首先，我要非常感謝我們的團隊在 2023 年的堅持和承諾。我對我們​​在下半年開始實施利潤改善專案行動時所展現的實力感到特別自豪。憑藉第三季的勢頭，我們第四季營收創歷史新高，調整後營業收入達到十多年來的最高水準。憑藉著強勁的執行力，即使在 1 月初提高指引後，我們也遠遠超出了預期。雖然麥克將在第四季度提供更多細節，但我們採取了非公認會計準則費用，因為我們希望加強整體獲利能力。 2023 年，我們的營收達到創紀錄的 53 億美元，調整後營業收入為 3.75 億美元。

With the exception of 2021, this was our highest adjusted operating income result since 2012. We generated strong cash flow and we entered the year in a very healthy financial position. Cash and investments more than doubled from last year, reaching $454 million at year-end. We exited 2023 with clean inventory, well positioned for our go-forward plans. Reflecting improved financial performance and a healthy balance sheet, in December, we announced a 25% increase in our quarterly cash dividend. And in February, we authorized 30 million shares for repurchase.

除 2021 年外，這是我們自 2012 年以來最高的調整後營業收入結果。我們產生了強勁的現金流，並以非常健康的財務狀況進入了這一年。現金和投資比去年增加了一倍多，年底達到 4.54 億美元。 2023 年結束時，我們的庫存狀況良好，為我們的未來計劃做好了準備。 12 月份，我們宣布季度現金股利增加 25%，這反映出財務表現的改善和資產負債表的健康。 2月份，我們授權回購3000萬股股票。

This underscores our confidence in the strength of the business and our commitment to returning cash to shareholders. We enter 2024 well positioned with industry-leading brands, a solid balance sheet and best-in-class operations. Our profit improvement initiatives are taking hold and we expect to deliver nice revenue and profit growth in 2024, which Mike will detail shortly. We remain steadfast in operating the business with balance, staying agile and flexible to capitalize on demand opportunities while optimizing profitability for the foreseeable future.

這強調了我們對業務實力的信心以及我們向股東返還現金的承諾。進入 2024 年，我們憑藉著業界領先的品牌、穩健的資產負債表和一流的運營，處於有利地位。我們的利潤改善計畫正在落實，我們預計 2024 年將實現良好的收入和利潤成長，麥克很快就會詳細介紹這一點。我們仍然堅定地平衡經營業務，保持敏捷和靈活，以利用需求機會，同時在可預見的未來優化獲利能力。

With that, I will pass it over to Jen for some brief merchandise and marketing highlights of the fourth quarter.

接下來，我將把第四季度的一些簡短的商品和行銷亮點交給 Jen。

Thanks, Jay and good morning, everyone. I'm very proud of our fourth quarter performance. We saw sequential improvement across brands and channels and we achieved record revenue for both AE and Aerie. Merchandise margins were strong, driven by inventory discipline and favorable product costs. We brought excitement with newness, including a fresh take on some tried and true classics. Collections were on trend, including an amazing array of gifting options that did very well over the holiday season.

謝謝傑伊，大家早安。我對我們第四季的表現感到非常自豪。我們看到各個品牌和通路的連續改善，而 AE 和 Aerie 的收入均創歷史新高。在庫存紀律和有利的產品成本的推動下，商品利潤率很高。我們用新鮮感帶來了興奮，包括對一些久經考驗的真正經典的全新演繹。系列產品正處於流行趨勢，其中包括一系列令人驚嘆的禮品選擇，在節日期間表現出色。

As I will review on today's strategy presentation, we saw early results from a number of new brand initiatives. Strong product, engaging marketing and an unparalleled shopping experience is delivering customer growth. In fact, at over $22 million, our total customer count expanded across brands, reaching an all-time high. Now some brand highlights.

正如我將回顧今天的策略演示一樣，我們看到了許多新品牌計劃的早期成果。強大的產品、引人入勝的行銷和無與倫比的購物體驗正在推動客戶成長。事實上，我們的客戶總數已超過 2,200 萬美元，跨品牌擴張，達到歷史最高水準。現在一些品牌亮點。

American Eagle revenue grew 11%, fueled by a 6% increase in comps. The extra week contributed approximately 4 points to brand revenue. Strength was broad-based across jeans, pants, tops, sweaters and outerwear. Women's outperformed men's, yet both saw meaningful sequential improvement. The AE brand operating margin expanded 100 basis points to 17%. As we have turned our attention to driving growth at AE, we are placing a renewed emphasis on top sellers and expanding availability across the store base.

由於比較成長 6%，American Eagle 營收成長了 11%。額外一週為品牌收入貢獻了約 4 個百分點。牛仔褲、褲子、上衣、毛衣和外套等各領域都展現出強大的實力。女性的表現優於男性，但兩者都取得了有意義的連續改善。 AE 品牌營業利潤率擴大了 100 個基點，達到 17%。隨著我們將注意力轉向推動 AE 的成長，我們將重新重視暢銷產品並擴大整個商店的供應量。

Our new store design is showing nice results, providing a positive lift to comps. I'll talk more about these initiatives later. However, we are incredibly pleased with the early results. They provide a strong proof point of our strategy to deliver profitable growth, which we are excited to share with you later today. Now turning to Aerie. Revenue grew 16% with comps increasing 13%, locking in yet another record fourth quarter. The extra week contributed approximately 4 points to brand revenue. Growth was led by soft apparel and our flourishing OFFLINE activewear business, both of which posted double-digit growth.

我們的新店設計顯示出良好的效果，為競爭提供了積極的提升。稍後我將詳細討論這些舉措。然而，我們對早期結果感到非常滿意。它們為我們實現盈利成長的策略提供了強有力的證據，我們很高興今天晚些時候與您分享。現在轉向艾瑞。營收成長 16%，比較成長 13%，第四季再創新高。額外一週為品牌收入貢獻了約 4 個百分點。軟服裝和我們蓬勃發展的線下運動服業務帶動了成長，兩者均實現了兩位數的成長。

Aerie's operating margin of 16.2%, hit an all-time fourth quarter high. This is a 400-basis point expansion to last year as the brand continued to scale. We also saw improved markup and lower markdowns. New stores are providing a tailwind to comp growth as they enter the comp base and are boosting margins as they ramp up through the maturity curve. All in all, we had a very successful holiday season and fourth quarter across our brands. I'd like to thank our amazing teams for their hard work, talent and commitment. We made tremendous progress throughout the year. And I look ahead, I'm very optimistic as we build on positive momentum. I look forward to sharing our go-forward plans in a little bit. And now I'll turn the call over to Mike to review the rest of our financial results.

Aerie的營業利益率為16.2%，第四季創下歷史新高。隨著該品牌規模的不斷擴大，這一數字較去年增長了 400 個基點。我們也看到了加價的提高和降價的降低。新店在進入競爭基礎時為競爭成長提供了動力，並在成熟曲線上提升時提高了利潤率。總而言之，我們的品牌度過了一個非常成功的假期季節和第四季度。我要感謝我們出色的團隊的辛勤工作、才華和奉獻精神。我們全年取得了巨大進步。展望未來，我非常樂觀，因為我們將繼續保持積極的勢頭。我期待分享我們的前進計劃。現在我將把電話轉給麥克，以審查我們其餘的財務表現。

Thanks, Jen and good morning, everyone. As noted in our press release and earlier in the call, fourth quarter 2023 results are presented for the 14 weeks ending February 3, 2024, compared to the 13 weeks ending January 28, 2023. Comparable sales metrics are presented for the 14 weeks ending February 3, 2024, compared to the 14 weeks ending February 4, 2023. We're very pleased with how we performed during the second half of the year when our profit improvement work began to take hold.

謝謝，Jen，大家早安。正如我們的新聞稿和電話會議早些時候所指出的，2023 年第四季度的業績是截至2024 年2 月3 日的14 週，而截至2023 年1 月28 日的13 週。可比較的銷售指標是截至2 月的14 週與截至 2023 年 2 月 4 日的 14 週相比，截至 2024 年 2 月 3 日。我們對下半年利潤改善工作開始取得成效的表現非常滿意。

We saw a sequential acceleration in revenue growth across brands with an exciting return to growth for American Eagle. This came hand in hand with a significant improvement in profit flow-through, where we saw a 320-basis point improvement in our second half adjusted gross margin over last year. As we'll discuss shortly, the early results from these initiatives gives us tremendous confidence in our go-forward plans.

我們看到各個品牌的收入連續加速成長，其中 American Eagle 實現了令人興奮的成長回歸。同時，利潤流動也顯著改善，下半年調整後毛利率比去年提高了 320 個基點。正如我們稍後將討論的，這些舉措的早期結果讓我們對未來計劃充滿信心。

Fourth quarter revenue of $1.7 billion marked a new company record, rising 12% over last year. The 53rd week contributed $57 million or approximately 4 points to growth. The adjusted operating margin increased 200 basis points to 8.4%. Compared to last year, adjusted gross profit dollars increased 23% to $626 million and the gross margin rate expanded 340 basis points to 37.3%. Merchandise margins improved, reflecting strong demand, lower costs and a number of benefits from our profit improvement initiative.

第四季營收 17 億美元，創下公司新紀錄，比去年成長 12%。第 53 週貢獻了 5,700 萬美元，即成長約 4 個百分點。調整後的營業利益率增加了 200 個基點，達到 8.4%。與去年相比，調整後毛利成長23%，達到6.26億美元，毛利率擴大340個基點，達到37.3%。商品利潤率有所提高，反映出強勁的需求、較低的成本以及我們的利潤改善計劃帶來的許多好處。

Inventory discipline drove lower markdowns and BOW expenses also leveraged. This was led by rent, delivery, distribution and warehousing costs, with a partial offset from higher incentives as we lapped 0 accruals last year. SG&A expense of $427 million was up 22% to last year. Consistent with strong business trends, roughly half of the increase was driven by incentive expense. Store payroll also increased driven by higher wages and additional hours associated with the 53rd week.

庫存紀律推動了降價降低，BOW 費用也得到了槓桿化。這是由租金、交付、分銷和倉儲成本帶動的，部分抵消了更高的激勵措施，因為我們去年的應計費用為 0。 SG&A 費用為 4.27 億美元，比去年增加 22%。與強勁的業務趨勢一致，大約一半的成長是由激勵費用推動的。由於工資上漲和第 53 週相關的額外工作時間，商店工資也有所增加。

As a rate to revenue, store payroll was flat to last year. Depreciation was down slightly year-over-year, leveraging 50 basis points. As we will discuss today, with incentives now in our base and an ongoing focus on cost efficiencies, we are well positioned to leverage our expense base moving forward. Adjusted EPS for the fourth quarter of $0.61 per share, was up 65% to last year. Consolidated and inventory cost was up 9% year-over-year with units up 11%.

就收入而言，商店工資與去年持平。折舊同比小幅下降，降幅為 50 個基點。正如我們今天將討論的那樣，憑藉我們現在的激勵措施以及對成本效率的持續關注，我們已做好充分利用我們的費用基礎向前發展的準備。第四季調整後每股收益為 0.61 美元，比去年同期成長 65%。綜合庫存成本較去年同期成長 9%，單位成本成長 11%。

As Jay noted, inventory levels remained healthy and we ended the year with a strong balance sheet. CapEx totaled $39 million, bringing full year spend to $174 million, in line with our guidance. We have entered 2024 well positioned with a clear path to value creation from here. As I will discuss throughout today, our profit improvement initiative remains a top priority. As part of this work, in the fourth quarter, we took a number of additional steps to streamline business priorities and strengthen the organization. This included restructuring the company's distribution network, international operations and associated corporate overhead. We recorded a $131 million impairment and restructuring charge in the fourth quarter, of which $119 million was noncash. This will result in approximately $20 million in annualized savings beginning in 2024.

正如傑伊指出的那樣，庫存水準保持健康，我們在年底時擁有強勁的資產負債表。資本支出總計 3,900 萬美元，使全年支出達到 1.74 億美元，與我們的指導一致。進入 2024 年，我們已處於有利位置，並有一條清晰的價值創造之路。正如我今天將討論的那樣，我們的利潤改善計劃仍然是重中之重。作為這項工作的一部分，我們在第四季度採取了許多額外措施來簡化業務優先事項並加強組織。這包括重組公司的分銷網絡、國際業務和相關的公司管理費用。第四季我們記錄了 1.31 億美元的減損和重組費用，其中 1.19 億美元為非現金。從 2024 年開始，這將導致每年節省約 2000 萬美元。

Now on to guidance. For the year, we are guiding operating income of $445 million to $465 million. This reflects revenue growth in the range of 2% to 4%, including an approximately 1 point negative impact from 1 less selling week. As we control expenses, we expect to drive SG&A leverage. Based on the current plan, full year SG&A dollars will be flat at the low end of our revenue outlook.

現在開始指導。今年，我們預計營業收入為 4.45 億美元至 4.65 億美元。這反映了 2% 至 4% 範圍內的收入成長，其中包括銷售週減少 1 個百分點的約 1 個百分點的負面影響。當我們控制開支時，我們預期會提高銷售、管理及行政費用槓桿。根據當前計劃，全年銷售、管理及行政費用將持平於我們收入前景的低端。

As a result of restructuring actions taken in the fourth quarter, we expect D&A of approximately $220 million for the full year. Our tax rate assumption for the year is in the high 20s. And at this time, we are projecting a weighted average share count in the high 190s. Now I want to provide a little more color on 2024 as a few important factors will impact the cadence of the year. With easier year-over-year comparisons, we are guiding comp sales growth to be stronger in the first half at positive mid-single digits.

由於第四季採取的重組行動，我們預計全年的 D&A 約為 2.2 億美元。我們今年的稅率假設在 20 左右。目前，我們預計加權平均股票數將在 190 左右。現在我想為 2024 年提供更多的色彩，因為一些重要因素將影響這一年的節奏。透過更輕鬆的年比比較，我們預計上半年的銷售成長將更加強勁，達到正的中個位數。

For the second half, we are currently estimating comp growth in the low single digits. In addition, given the retail calendar shift and 1 less selling week in the fourth quarter, we expect total revenue and profit growth to be skewed to the first half of the year. Now specifically by quarter, in the first quarter, we expect to pick up approximately $15 million in revenue as we capture a higher volume spring week. In the second quarter, we will gain approximately $55 million as we pick up a week of back-to-school, which are some of our busiest weeks of the year.

對於下半年，我們目前預期複合成長率將保持在較低的個位數。此外，考慮到零售日曆的變化以及第四季度銷售週的減少，我們預計總收入和利潤成長將向上半年傾斜。現在具體按季度計算，在第一季度，隨著春季週銷量增加，我們預計將獲得約 1500 萬美元的收入。第二季度，我們將迎來約 5500 萬美元的收入，因為我們將迎來返校一周，這是我們一年中最繁忙的幾週。

In the third quarter, we will see a net shift of about $45 million in revenue out of the quarter. And lastly, in the fourth quarter, we expect an $85 million impact as a result of 1 less selling week in addition to the calendar shift. These revenue shifts are important as you model out the year by quarter. Now as we look at the first quarter, we are pleased to see business momentum continue. For the quarter, we're expecting operating income to be in the range of $65 million to $70 million on revenue growth in the mid-single digits. We expect SG&A to grow in line with sales in the first quarter and begin leveraging in the second quarter as we continue to build on our profit improvement initiatives.

在第三季度，我們將看到本季收入淨轉移約 4,500 萬美元。最後，我們預計第四季度由於日曆調整以及銷售週減少 1 週，將產生 8,500 萬美元的影響。當您按季度進行建模時，這些收入變化非常重要。現在，當我們回顧第一季時，我們很高興看到業務動能持續成長。我們預計本季的營業收入將在 6,500 萬美元至 7,000 萬美元之間，營收將實現中個位數成長。我們預計 SG&A 將與第一季的銷售額同步成長，並在第二季開始利用，因為我們將繼續加強利潤改善計畫。

Now I'll turn the call back to Jay to kick off our strategy discussion.

現在我將把電話轉回傑伊以開始我們的策略討論。

Thanks, Mike. Building on our strong 2023 performance, I'm pleased to now introduce our long-range strategy and financial plan. This is our multiyear road map for powering consistent profitable growth. Our plan is centered on 3 main pillars: amplify our brands, execute with financial discipline; and optimize our operations. This strategy plan is a direct result of our profit improvement project started last year.

謝謝，麥克。基於我們 2023 年強勁的業績，我很高興現在介紹我們的長期策略和財務計劃。這是我們推動持續獲利成長的多年路線圖。我們的計劃圍繞著三個主要支柱：擴大我們的品牌，遵守財務紀律；並優化我們的營運。該戰略計劃是我們去年啟動的利潤改善項目的直接結果。

We reviewed every area of our businesses at AEO, up for profitable growth moving forward. The early stages of this project helped fuel a significant turnaround in revenue and profit during the second half of 2023. Yet we are just getting started. I'll start with a quick look back. We have a strong history and heritage of building great brands. American Eagle is over $3 billion in revenue. Aerie is closing in on $2 billion.

我們審查了 AEO 業務的各個領域，以實現未來的獲利成長。這個專案的早期階段幫助推動了 2023 年下半年收入和利潤的重大轉變。但我們才剛開始。我將首先快速回顧一下。我們擁有打造偉大品牌的悠久歷史與傳統。 American Eagle 的收入超過 30 億美元。 Aerie 的融資額接近 20 億美元。

We provide excellent customer service and have best-in-class operations. We've been successful over the past several years, driving fairly steady revenue growth, despite a lot of macro volatility. However, flow through to the bottom line has not been consistent. The plan we are presenting today is designed to address this head on. Building on our strong results in 2023, our target is to generate annual profit growth in the mid- to high teens and 3% to 5% top line. We are transforming how we operate to deliver steady profit growth. We have formalized this change with clear responsibility and accountability.

我們提供卓越的客戶服務並擁有一流的營運。儘管宏觀波動很大，但我們在過去幾年中取得了成功，推動了相當穩定的收入成長。然而，流入底線的情況並不一致。我們今天提出的計劃旨在解決這個問題。在 2023 年強勁業績的基礎上，我們的目標是實現年利潤成長 10% 至 10% 左右，營收成長 3% 至 5%。我們正在改變營運方式，以實現穩定的利潤成長。我們已經正式確定了這項變化，並明確了責任和義務。

And as Mike will discuss, we've instilled a culture of continuous improvement. Before we get into the details, I'd like to begin with a refresh on who we are today and what I see as our unique competitive strength. This is what gives me confidence in our strategy and future potential. So let's get started. AEO has been on incredible journey since its founding in 1977. My father Jerome Schottenstein set out to build a brand with heart and purpose. It was his priority to offer quality merchandise that was accessible to all. From the very beginning, we were open-minded, optimistic and inclusive. Over 45 years later, these remain the core tenets of our brands and the foundation of our company and culture.

正如麥克將討論的那樣，我們已經灌輸了持續改進的文化。在詳細介紹之前，我想先回顧一下我們今天的情況以及我認為我們獨特的競爭優勢。這讓我對我們的策略和未來潛力充滿信心。那麼就讓我們開始吧。自 1977 年成立以來，AEO 一直走在令人難以置信的旅程中。我的父親 Jerome Schottenstein 決心用心和目標打造一個品牌。他的首要任務是提供所有人都能獲得的優質商品。從一開始，我們就是開放、樂觀、包容的。 45 年後，這些仍然是我們品牌的核心原則以及我們公司和文化的基礎。

Our success has been underpinned by distinct and undeniable set of competitive advantages. These are strengths that have been fortified over decades. They set us apart and have enabled us to endure through both good and difficult times. As we move on to the next chapter of our growth, we will lean into these strengths to drive further success. Our brands are the very heart and soul of AEO. American Eagle and Aerie have incredible brand equity, amplifying their strong foundation is at the center of our future growth plans.

我們的成功得益於一系列獨特且不可否認的競爭優勢。這些都是幾十年來不斷強化的優勢。他們使我們與眾不同，使我們能夠度過順境和逆境。當我們進入發展的下一個篇章時，我們將利用這些優勢來推動進一步的成功。我們的品牌是 AEO 的核心和靈魂。 American Eagle 和 Aerie 擁有令人難以置信的品牌資產，增強其強大的基礎是我們未來成長計畫的核心。

We are especially excited about the OFFLINE by Aerie activewear sub-brand. It's expanding rapidly and we see a big growth opportunity here. We also have 2 emerging brands in the luxury space, Todd Snyder, a premium menswear brand, which we acquired in 2015 and Unsubscribed, a unique women's brand offering consciously made clothing and accessories launched in 2021. Our commitment to quality is a significant competitive advantage. We are not fast fashion. We sell merchandise that is built to last.

我們對 OFFLINE by Aerie 運動服子品牌感到特別興奮。它正在迅速擴張，我們在這裡看到了巨大的成長機會。我們在奢侈品領域還有2 個新興品牌：Todd Snyder（我們於2015 年收購的優質男裝品牌）和Unsubscribed（2021 年推出的獨特女裝品牌，提供精心製作的服裝和配件）。我們對品質的承諾是一項重要的競爭優勢。我們不是快時尚。我們銷售經久耐用的商品。

We ensure our finishes and fits are best-in-class and that our customers feel comfortable, confident and on trend. We believe that price is what you pay, quality is what you remember. Innovation is woven within everything we do. We have a long history of creating superpower categories that reinforce brand loyalty and drive repeat purchases. Our franchise categories are the cornerstone of our business and give us the authority and credibility with customers to build more. Today, you'll hear more on this theme and the opportunities we see across brands to grow into adjacent categories, some new businesses and some that are being reignited.

我們確保我們的飾面和合身性是一流的，讓我們的客戶感到舒適、自信和跟上潮流。我們相信，價格是您所付出的，品質是您所記住的。創新融入我們所做的一切。我們在創造增強品牌忠誠度和推動重複購買的超級​​品類方面有著悠久的歷史。我們的特許經營類別是我們業務的基石，賦予我們在客戶中建立更多業務的權威和信譽。今天，您將聽到更多關於這個主題的信息，以及我們看到的跨品牌發展到相鄰類別、一些新業務和一些正在重新點燃的機會的機會。

We have invested in best-in-class operating capabilities. We have an extensive and diversified global supply chain network. Our strong partnerships ensure we can chase cost effectively and with speed. We have modernized our distribution network with edge fulfillment, which has delivered significant benefits to our business over the past 2 years. We have a powerful and profitable store fleet and a significant $1.8 billion digital platform. Together, this is a winning set of capabilities that enable us to operate with strength and agility. Top talent is a differentiator. This team is highly experienced in the retail industry with a broad range of expertise. The passion at AEO to build the best brands in retail and operational excellence is second to none. We have 2 new members of our leadership team. Sarah and Valerie joined us in October, bringing strong backgrounds with years of retail experience. They have hit the ground running, introducing new ideas and ways of working.

我們投資一流的營運能力。我們擁有廣泛且多元化的全球供應鏈網路。我們強大的合作夥伴關係確保我們能夠有效率且快速地追求成本效益。我們透過邊緣履行實現了分銷網絡的現代化，這在過去兩年中為我們的業務帶來了顯著的效益。我們擁有強大且獲利的店群和價值 18 億美元的重要數位平台。總之，這是一套制勝能力，使我們能夠強大而敏捷地運作。頂尖人才是差異化因素。該團隊在零售業經驗豐富，並擁有廣泛的專業知識。 AEO 在零售和卓越營運方面打造最佳品牌的熱情是首屈一指的。我們的領導團隊有 2 位新成員。 Sarah 和 Valerie 於 10 月加入我們，帶來了擁有多年零售經驗的強大背景。他們立即行動起來，引入新的想法和工作方式。

We're also supported by a deep bench of strong talent at all levels across the organization. With these competitive strength, we have a solid foundation. We are built to last and well positioned for success. As we embark on this next chapter, I cannot be more excited about our future. With that, I'll turn it over to Jen to walk you through our growth strategy for American Eagle and Aerie.

我們也得到了整個組織各個層級的強大人才的支持。有了這些競爭實力，我們就有了堅實的基礎。我們經久耐用，並為成功做好準備。當我們開啟下一章時，我對我們的未來感到無比興奮。接下來，我將把它交給 Jen，讓您了解我們對 American Eagle 和 Aerie 的成長策略。

Thanks, Jay. We have an amazing portfolio of brands and we've made great strides over the past several years. As I will share with you today, we continue to see incredible opportunities to amplify our potential and fuel the next chapter of growth. Let's start with American Eagle. As I said at the last investor meeting in 2021, when I first took responsibility for American Eagle, I love this brand. I love its strong platform and everything AE stands for, true today as it was then.

謝謝，傑伊。我們擁有令人驚嘆的品牌組合，並且在過去幾年中取得了長足的進步。正如我今天將與您分享的那樣，我們繼續看到難以置信的機會來放大我們的潛力並推動下一章的成長。讓我們從美國之鷹開始。正如我在 2021 年最後一次投資者會議上所說，當我第一次負責 American Eagle 時，我喜歡這個品牌。我喜歡它強大的平台和 AE 所代表的一切，無論在今天還是在當時都是如此。

Jay, his father, Jerome and Roger Markfield, built something very special, a brand with heart that has always embraced individuality and diversity. It has truly stood the test of time, American Eagle is the largest, most consistent youth brand addressing generations of customers. And today, I'm going to tell you why I'm more excited than ever about our future. American Eagle is perfectly positioned for growth. But first, I'd like to show you a short video that captures the essence of AE and what we stand for.

Jay、他的父親 Jerome Markfield 和 Roger Markfield 創造了一個非常特別的品牌，一個始終擁抱個性和多樣性的用心品牌。 American Eagle 確實經受住了時間的考驗，是面向幾代客戶的最大、最穩定的青年品牌。今天，我將告訴你們為什麼我對我們的未來比以往任何時候都更加興奮。美國之鷹處於完美的成長位置。但首先，我想向您展示一段簡短的視頻，其中體現了 AE 的精髓以及我們的立場。

(presentation)

（推介會）

In addition to its strong brand positioning, American Eagle is also a financial powerhouse. In fact, it was the fuel that built Aerie with steady growth, strong margins and healthy cash flow, enabling us to invest and grow. As we reviewed back in 2021, we saw potential for even better profit flow-through. Three years later, I could not be more proud of how far we've come.

除了強大的品牌定位之外，美國之鷹還是一家金融巨頭。事實上，它是 Aerie 穩定成長、強勁利潤和健康現金流的動力，使我們能夠投資和發展。當我們回顧 2021 年時，我們看到了更好的利潤流動的潛力。三年後，我對我們所取得的進步感到非常自豪。

AE's operating margin has expanded nearly 300 basis points relative to 2019. With margins restored, we are excited to turn our sights to growth, once again, while maintaining a firm focus on profitability. So here we are, our pillars to Power Profitable Growth at American Eagle. We will continue to lead in jeans. That's what we're known for, building brand loyalty and repeat purchases.

AE 的營業利潤率較 2019 年擴大了近 300 個基點。隨著利潤率的恢復，我們很高興再次將目光轉向成長，同時保持對獲利能力的堅定關注。因此，我們在這裡，成為美國之鷹推動獲利成長的支柱。我們將繼續在牛仔褲領域處於領先地位。這就是我們眾所周知的建立品牌忠誠度和重複購買的原因。

Next, we have a real opportunity to complete the outfit by offering a broader assortment of tops, expanding into adjacencies where we know we have a right to play, modernizing our store fleet with a beautiful new store design to elevate the customer experience. And lastly, enhancing how we allocate inventory to better support our best ideas. So let's get started with jeans. We are the #1 denim brand for 15- to 25-year olds, the go to for women of all ages and a preferred shopping destination. We love this for so many reasons. First, Jeans are a huge driver of new customer acquisition. Almost half of new customers have jeans in their first basket.

接下來，我們有一個真正的機會來完善服裝，提供更廣泛的上衣品種，擴展到我們知道我們有權利參與的鄰近地區，透過漂亮的新商店設計對我們的商店進行現代化改造，以提升客戶體驗。最後，加強我們分配庫存的方式，以更好地支持我們最好的想法。那麼就讓我們從牛仔褲開始吧。我們是 15 至 25 歲人群中排名第一的牛仔品牌，是所有年齡層女性的首選，也是首選的購物目的地。我們喜歡這個有很多原因。首先，牛仔褲是吸引新客戶的巨大動力。幾乎一半的新顧客的第一個籃子裡有牛仔褲。

Second, brand loyalty within jeans and bottoms overall is very sticky. In fact, it's our best retention business across genders. We are upping our focus on test and scale, innovating in new fabrications and ensuring that we're offering the very latest in trends while balancing our tried and true. The acceleration we saw in the second half of the year is a great proof point. Women's return to growth, led by unique franchise fabrications like Strigid and Dreamy Drape. Men's also saw improvement as we deepened our assortment of more relaxed fits. With 60% of our business in bottoms, we have an enormous opportunity to grow tops in other categories. The industry standard is a tops to bottoms ratio of 2:1 and we are below 1:1.

其次，牛仔褲和下裝的品牌忠誠度整體非常高。事實上，這是我們最好的跨性別保留業務。我們正在加強對測試和規模的關注，在新的製造中進行創新，並確保我們提供最新的趨勢，同時平衡我們的嘗試和真實。我們在下半年看到的加速就是一個很好的證明。在 Srigid 和 Dreamy Drape 等獨特的特許經營產品的引領下，女裝回歸成長。隨著我們加深更寬鬆的款式種類，男裝也取得了進步。我們 60% 的業務是下裝，因此我們有巨大的機會發展其他類別的上衣。行業標準是頂部與底部的比例為 2:1，而我們低於 1:1。

Bridging this gap is not just a revenue opportunity but also a margin opportunity. Over the past year, our creative teams have been zeroing in on fueling our tops assortment, better fabrics, better fits, more on-trend designs and standing behind hero collections and we are seeing these efforts begin to deliver results. Women's tops returned to growth in the second half. Men's accelerated, fueled by strength in graphic tees as well as new fabric innovation in core tees and flannels.

彌合這一差距不僅是收入機會，也是利潤機會。在過去的一年裡，我們的創意團隊一直專注於推動我們的上衣品種、更好的面料、更合身的設計、更流行的設計以及支持英雄系列，我們看到這些努力開始取得成果。女裝上衣下半年恢復成長。男裝在圖案 T 恤的實力以及核心 T 恤和法蘭絨的新型面料創新的推動下加速發展。

Another smaller example is men's underwear. It's over $100 million in annual revenue and a great basket builder for the men's business. Starting this spring, you'll see new innovation around fabric and function as we build out a more robust assortment. And as you can see here, a dedicated marketing campaign. We are also excited about driving growth for AE by expanding into category adjacencies where we know we have a right to play. American Eagle (inaudible) to a 15- to 25-year-old target customer and we are the go-to for everyday casual looks. Whether it's going to school, going to the movies with friends or running errands, American Eagle offers amazing comfort and quality in everyday staples. This is what we are known for and we will continue to lead in this core occasion.

另一個較小的例子是男士內衣。它的年收入超過 1 億美元，是男裝界的一大亮點。從今年春天開始，隨著我們打造更強大的產品系列，您將看到圍繞面料和功能的新創新。正如您在這裡看到的，這是一場專門的行銷活動。我們也很高興能夠透過擴展到我們知道自己有權參與的鄰近類別來推動 AE 的成長。 American Eagle（聽不清楚）針對 15 至 25 歲的目標客戶，我們是日常休閒裝扮的首選。無論是上學、與朋友一起看電影還是外出辦事，American Eagle 都能提供令人驚嘆的舒適度和品質的日常必需品。這就是我們眾所周知的，我們將繼續在這核心時刻發揮領導作用。

Additionally, as we are positioned for growth, we have expanded into 3 new areas, 2 new dressing occasions that complement our core, social casual and men's active and we are going to broaden our customer focus, extending into the 25- to 34-year age demo. Let's (technical difficulty) party, date night or brunch with friends, still comfortable, still casual but just a little bit more fashionable. Here's a look at how we're beginning to address this with our spring assortment and women's, offering skirts, dresses and fashion and tops. And here's the taste of it in men's, again, more style and greater outfitting. You'll see this build as the year progresses.

此外，隨著我們的成長定位，我們已擴展到3 個新領域、2 個新的著裝場合，以補充我們的核心、社交休閒和男士運動，我們將擴大我們的客戶重點，擴展到25 至34 歲年齡演示。讓我們（技術難度）與朋友聚會、約會之夜或早午餐，仍然舒適，仍然休閒，但更時尚一點。以下是我們如何開始透過春季系列和女裝來解決這個問題，包括裙子、洋裝、時裝和上衣。這就是男裝的品味，更多的風格和更好的服裝。隨著時間的推移，您將看到這個版本。

Turning to men's active, we see a huge opportunity here. It's a $27 billion market. As casual dressing continues to evolve, men are increasingly adding activewear to their look, both in and out of the gym. We see multiple ways to leverage AE's strong brand equity to capture our fair share in this exciting opportunity. In 2023, we launched 24/7, a men's activewear casual. Early results are very encouraging. It's already a $100 million business. Looking ahead, we see continued potential growth as we leverage learnings and innovate deeper into performance offerings. Now here's how we're thinking about our customer base. Gen Z is our core. Yet the fact is we resonate strongly across a broader age range. Over the past few years, we've seen more 25- to 35-year olds in AE's customer base and we want to capitalize on this.

談到男子運動，我們在這裡看到了巨大的機會。這是一個價值 270 億美元的市場。隨著休閒著裝的不斷發展，男士越來越多地在健身房內外的裝扮中加入運動裝。我們看到了多種方法來利用 AE 強大的品牌資產來在這個令人興奮的機會中獲得公平的份額。 2023 年，我們推出了 24/7，一款男士運動休閒服。早期結果非常令人鼓舞。這已經是一項價值 1 億美元的業務。展望未來，隨著我們利用經驗教訓並在性能產品上進行更深入的創新，我們看到了持續的潛在成長。現在我們是如何考慮我們的客戶群的。 Z 世代是我們的核心。然而事實是，我們在更廣泛的年齡範圍內產生了強烈的共鳴。在過去的幾年裡，我們看到 AE 的客戶群中 25 至 35 歲的人越來越多，我們希望充分利用這一點。

There are some looks we've introduced into our spring assortment, more neutrals, interesting fabrications and more elevated marketing and we are seeing a strong customer response. Last year, we also relaunched AE77, a casual collection offering more premium fabrics and looks at competitive price points. A pair of jeans averages $130, compared to the $250-plus market for premium denim with our 4 focus areas, everyday casual, social casual, men's active and a broader demo. We have a clear merchandising strategy moving forward and multiple avenues to drive growth.

我們在春季系列中引入了一些外觀，更中性、有趣的製作和更高級的行銷，我們看到了客戶的強烈反響。去年，我們也重新推出了 AE77，這是一個休閒系列，提供更多優質布料，且價格具有競爭力。一條牛仔褲的平均價格為 130 美元，而優質牛仔布市場的平均價格為 250 美元以上，我們的 4 個重點領域包括日常休閒、社交休閒、男士運動和更廣泛的演示。我們有明確的行銷策略和多種推動成長的途徑。

Now a few words about our store fleet. We are updating stores, many of which are dated. Stores are the strongest customer acquisition channel, so it's important that we invest and stay best in shelf. Last year, we launched a new lived in store design, bringing a fresh aesthetic to a handful of test stores. We've also explored relocations to stronger shopping centers. Results have been very exciting, which are showing a positive lift. To give you a feel of our new store design, here's a walk-through of our Polaris store in Columbus. As you can see, it's incredibly inviting, with an exciting new look that showcases our product in a fresh and modern way. The design offers greater flexibility and merchandising options. The fitting room areas are a nice place to gather and feel very welcomed and comfortable. We have plans to remodel approximately 50 stores in 2024. We are just as proud and excited about our digital channel, and Mike will cover the opportunities in a few minutes.

現在簡單介紹一下我們的商店隊伍。我們正在更新商店，其中許多已經過時了。商店是最強大的客戶獲取管道，因此我們進行投資並保持最佳貨架狀態非常重要。去年，我們推出了新的店內設計，為少數測試店帶來了新鮮的美感。我們也探討了搬遷到更強大的購物中心的問題。結果非常令人興奮，顯示出積極的提升。為了讓您感受我們的新店設計，以下是我們位於哥倫布的 Polaris 店的概覽。正如您所看到的，它具有令人難以置信的吸引力，具有令人興奮的新外觀，以新鮮和現代的方式展示我們的產品。該設計提供了更大的靈活性和銷售選擇。試衣間區域是一個聚會的好地方，讓人感覺非常受歡迎和舒適。我們計劃在 2024 年改造大約 50 家商店。我們對我們的數位管道感到自豪和興奮，麥克將在幾分鐘內介紹這些機會。

In our recent review of the business, product allocation was revealed as a significant opportunity. We have 2 priorities, to amplify our bestsellers and improve localization. We see room to stand behind our biggest ideas in categories with greater conviction across our fleet. As we do this, we will also offer more fashion choices in key markets where we know there is demand, for example, urban stores. As we look to amplify AE in all these ways, we will continue to leverage innovative marketing strategies, positioning AE as a center of culture. This past year, we had strong success with limited edition product collaborations. The summer I Turned Pretty, Outer Banks and e.l.f. Cosmetics drove strong buzz, creating urgency and excitement. And we have a robust influencer strategy to engage our customers on social media.

在我們最近對該業務的審查中，產品分配被認為是一個重要的機會。我們有兩個優先事項，擴大我們的暢銷書並改善本地化。我們認為，在我們的機隊中，我們有更大的信念來支持我們在類別中最偉大的想法。同時，我們也將在我們知道有需求的主要市場（例如城市商店）提供更多時尚選擇。當我們希望透過所有這些方式擴大 AE 時，我們將繼續利用創新的行銷策略，將 AE 定位為文化中心。去年，我們在限量版產品合作方面取得了巨大成功。 《我變漂亮的那個夏天》、《外灘群島》和《e.l.f.》化妝品引發了強烈的轟動，帶來了緊迫感和興奮感。我們擁有強大的影響者策略來在社群媒體上吸引客戶。

Looking ahead, we are excited to launch a new marketing platform for back-to-school in 2024, celebrating AE's heritage of self-expression, acceptance and optimism. Before I move to Aerie, a big thank you to the AE team for working so diligently to execute our transformation over the past few years. We've come so far together and our future is even brighter. And now, Aerie. Aerie has a powerful brand platform with an amazing community of customers. There is so much love for our product and what we stand for and an incredible opportunity to amplify the magic from here. Before I get into that, here's a short video highlighting what makes Aerie truly special.

展望未來，我們很高興在 2024 年推出一個新的返校行銷平台，慶祝 AE 自我表達、接受和樂觀的傳統。在我搬到 Aerie 之前，非常感謝 AE 團隊在過去幾年中辛勤工作以實現我們的轉型。我們已經一起走了這麼遠，我們的未來更光明。現在，艾黎。 Aerie 擁有強大的品牌平台和令人驚嘆的客戶社群。人們對我們的產品和我們所代表的東西充滿了熱愛，並且有一個難以置信的機會從這裡放大魔力。在開始討論之前，先看一段簡短的視頻，重點介紹 Aerie 的獨特之處。

(presentation)

（推介會）

As we have welcomed more customers into the Aerie community, the brand has seen explosive growth reaching almost $1.7 billion in revenue last year and we are just getting started. Importantly, our growth has come with strong profit flow-through as we have gained scale and introduced new higher-margin categories overall profit margins have expanded significantly. Intimates continues to be the foundation of the Aerie brand, yet 2 of our biggest categories today are soft apparel and activewear.

隨著我們歡迎更多客戶加入 Aerie 社區，該品牌去年實現了爆炸性增長，收入接近 17 億美元，而我們才剛剛開始。重要的是，隨著我們擴大規模並推出新的更高利潤類別，我們的成長伴隨著強勁的利潤流，整體利潤率顯著擴大。內衣仍然是 Aerie 品牌的基礎，但當今我們最大的兩個類別是軟裝和運動服。

We have seen standout performance in loungewear and cozy collections, benefiting revenue and margins. Looking at the total addressable market for Aerie, we still have significant runway for growth. Our core product lines represent an over $70 billion market. Aerie today commands just over 2% of that pie, making the growth opportunity exponential. Here's our strategy to go after that growth to amplify Aerie. We are focused on winning across the Aerie lifestyle. This includes fueling intimates and soft apparel and building on OFFLINE's explosive growth in activewear.

我們看到家居服和舒適系列的出色表現，使收入和利潤受益。縱觀 Aerie 的整個潛在市場，我們仍然有很大的成長空間。我們的核心產品線代表著價值超過 700 億美元的市場。如今，Aerie 佔據了這塊蛋糕的 2% 以上，使成長機會呈指數級增長。這是我們追求成長以擴大 Aerie 規模的策略。我們專注於贏得 Aerie 生活方式。這包括推動內衣和軟裝的發展，並以離線運動服的爆炸性增長為基礎。

We will also expand awareness of the Aerie brand as we target underpenetrated markets, new customer growth and build the basket across more categories. So let's dig in. Here's a snapshot of Aerie's brand positioning. Aerie is chill, it's effortless. We are famous for intimates, cozy dressing, sleep and swim. In addition to being your favorite first layer, key customer occasions are chill out, girls night in, beach and pool party.

我們還將擴大 Aerie 品牌的知名度，瞄準滲透率較低的市場、新客戶成長並建立更多類別的購物籃。讓我們深入探討一下。以下是 Aerie 品牌定位的快照。艾瑞很冷，毫不費力。我們以內衣、舒適的穿著、睡眠和游泳而聞名。除了成為您最喜歡的第一層之外，主要的客戶場合還包括休閒、女孩之夜、海灘和泳池派對。

Now starting with intimates. This continues to be a very powerful category for Aerie. It's the #1 driver of new customer acquisition. Great fit, quality and comfort are key and Aerie excels at all 3. As trends evolve, we are constantly innovating. For example, in 2022, we launched SMOOTHEZ, a differentiated second skin fabrication, supersoft, barely there and light as air. This is now our #1 bra collection. Last year, we expanded SMOOTHEZ into bodysuits, an exciting new trend. This has been a tremendous success and we are bringing new cuts and colors to this fan favorite style in addition to other exciting SMOOTHEZ launches later this year.

現在從親密的人開始。對於 Aerie 來說，這仍然是一個非常強大的類別。這是獲取新客戶的第一大驅動力。合身、品質和舒適是關鍵，而 Aerie 在所有方面都表現出色。3. 隨著趨勢的發展，我們不斷創新。例如，我們在 2022 年推出了 SMOOTHEZ，這是一種與眾不同的第二層皮膚製造材料，超柔軟、幾乎不存在、輕盈如空氣。現在這是我們排名第一的胸罩系列。去年，我們將 SMOOTHEZ 擴展到連身衣，這是一個令人興奮的新趨勢。這是一個巨大的成功，除了今年稍後推出的其他令人興奮的 SMOOTHEZ 之外，我們還將為這款粉絲最喜愛的款式帶來新的剪裁和顏色。

This past fall, we also introduced more matching sets, which were a great hit. Aerie's soft apparel business has been our highest growth category, expanding double digits last year. It drives repurchases and we see more upside from here. We recently expanded sleepwear where we are seeing great reads. It's a natural adjacency to Aerie's intimates and lounge offerings, and we are looking forward to building this collection over time. Now moving on to activewear, where we see significant growth ahead. This is a very attractive category. It's large, it's growing. It has great margins and it's ripe for disruption. We launched into activewear with OFFLINE in 2020 and let me tell you this business has been on a tear. We expect to cross $600 million in 2024. It's also highly incremental. In fact, our OFFLINE bottoms business was the #2 driver of new customer acquisition across all OFFLINE in Aerie categories in 2023.

去年秋天，我們也推出了更多搭配套裝，大受歡迎。 Aerie 的軟裝業務一直是我們成長最快的類別，去年實現了兩位數的成長。它推動了回購，我們從這裡看到了更多的上漲空間。我們最近擴大了睡衣範圍，我們看到了很棒的讀物。它與 Aerie 的內衣和休閒產品天然相鄰，我們期待隨著時間的推移打造這個系列。現在轉向運動服，我們預計該領域未來將顯著成長。這是一個非常有吸引力的類別。它很大，還在增長。它擁有巨大的利潤空間，顛覆的時機已經成熟。我們在 2020 年透過 OFFLINE 推出了運動服，讓我告訴您，這項業務一直在蓬勃發展。我們預計到 2024 年將突破 6 億美元。它也是高度增量的。事實上，我們的離線下裝業務是 2023 年 Aerie 所有離線類別新客戶獲取的第二大驅動因素。

OFFLINE brings a unique and fresh take to the activewear category, one that is fun, empowering and body positive and this is resonating. We are now the #3 legging brand and we are right up there at #4 in sports bras too. We are very excited about this new platform, a fresh take on the activewear category. OFFLINE is active, fashionable with the perfect blend of style, quality and function. On the team, on the go, on and off the court. We are bringing more performance activewear for the upcoming back-to-school season.

OFFLINE 為運動服類別帶來了獨特而新鮮的風格，一種有趣、賦權、積極的身體體驗，引起共鳴。我們現在是排名第三的緊身褲品牌，在運動胸罩領域也排名第四。我們對這個新平台感到非常興奮，這是對運動服類別的全新詮釋。 OFFLINE 活躍、時尚，風格、品質和功能完美融合。在團隊中、在旅途中、場上場下。我們將為即將到來的返校季帶來更多功能性運動服。

As we invest in our assortments, we are also heavily focused on building our customer base in key markets. Customer penetration in our strongest markets is in the high teens compared to an average in the mid-single digits. Brand awareness at 55% compares to American Eagle and other more established brands at 80%. As with AE, stores are the main source of customer acquisition for the Aerie brand and a key driver of revenue growth.

當我們投資產品種類時，我們也非常注重在關鍵市場建立客戶群。我們最強勁市場的客戶滲透率高達十幾歲，而平均為中個位數。品牌知名度為 55%，而 American Eagle 和其他更知名的品牌為 80%。與 AE 一樣，商店是 Aerie 品牌獲取客戶的主要來源，也是營收成長的關鍵驅動力。

We've had great success in driving expansion with different store formats. Houston, one of our focus markets, has seen rapid growth. Ross Park is our best mall in our strongest state. We moved Aerie to a bigger box and nearly doubled mall sales. In Green Hills Mall, we added an OFFLINE stand-alone store in a mall where we had an Aerie store. The OFFLINE stores revenue is almost on par with the Aerie box. This is a very strong proof point of the power and the future opportunity for OFFLINE.

我們在推動不同商店業態的擴張方面取得了巨大成功。休士頓是我們的重點市場之一，成長迅速。羅斯公園是我們最強州最好的購物中心。我們把 Aerie 搬到了一個更大的盒子裡，商場銷售額幾乎翻了一番。在 Green Hills 購物中心，我們在擁有 Aerie 商店的購物中心內添加了離線獨立商店。線下商店的收入幾乎與Aerie盒子持平。這是OFFLINE的力量和未來機會的有力證明。

We are also very focused on building the basket across Aerie's categories. Multi-category customers spend more and shop more frequently. Expanding these customers is a major priority. This year, we celebrate 10 years of Aerie Real, and we're going to do it with a bang, look out for some great throwbacks to our biggest product hits and exciting content, elevating the voice of our community, the faces of Aerie Real.

我們也非常注重建構 Aerie 各個類別的購物籃。多品類顧客消費更多、購物更頻繁。擴大這些客戶是首要任務。今年，我們慶祝 Aerie Real 成立 10 週年，我們將大放異彩，尋找一些對我們最熱門產品和令人興奮的內容的精彩回顧，提升我們社區的聲音和 Aerie Real 的形象。

And we will continue to leverage various marketing platforms to drive awareness and build the Aerie community. We had great success last year with a 360-degree campaign in intimates, targeted engagement in focused markets and, of course, our incredible grassroots and paid influencer community. In 2024, we're excited to launch a dedicated marketing platform for OFFLINE as we look to mirror this excitement in activewear.

我們將繼續利用各種行銷平台來提高知名度並建立 Aerie 社群。去年，我們在內衣領域開展了 360 度全方位行銷活動，有針對性地參與重點市場，當然還有我們令人難以置信的草根和付費影響者社區，取得了巨大成功。 2024 年，我們很高興能夠推出專門的 OFFLINE 行銷平台，因為我們希望在運動服中體現這種興奮。

Before I turn the call over to Mike, to take you through our optimize pillar, I want to thank the incredible Aerie team for the passion and excitement they bring to our brand every day. This is a very talented team of seasoned leaders. And together, we are ready to take on the next chapter.

在我把電話轉給 Mike 之前，我要向您介紹我們的優化支柱，我要感謝令人難以置信的 Aerie 團隊，感謝他們每天為我們的品牌帶來的熱情和興奮。這是一支由經驗豐富的領導者組成的非常有才華的團隊。我們一起準備好迎接新的篇章。

And Mike, now I'll turn the call over to you.

麥克，現在我將把電話轉給你。

Thanks, Jen. As Jay and Jen described, we are energized by the work we've undertaken over the past year to set us on a path to greater profitability. The focus and drive across the organization is very exciting to see. As part of this project, we uncovered a number of opportunities to sharpen our operations and support profitable growth. I'll provide some key examples today and then we'll round out our presentation with our financial targets and capital allocation plans.

謝謝，珍。正如 Jay 和 Jen 所描述的，我們對過去一年所做的工作感到充滿活力，這些工作使我們走上了提高盈利能力的道路。整個組織的關注和動力非常令人興奮。作為該專案的一部分，我們發現了許多加強營運和支持獲利成長的機會。今天我將提供一些關鍵範例，然後我們將透過我們的財務目標和資本分配計劃來完善我們的演示。

Let's get started. As Jen noted, our operations are second to none. As we look ahead, we're focused on elevating our capabilities even further to unlock incremental growth and create greater efficiencies. These are 4 focus areas: stores; digital; supply chain; and marketing. First, I'll talk about our selling channels. Let me start by saying we are channel-agnostic. We operate as a single channel. Our customers shop across stores and digital and we're well positioned to capture demand through both at comparable margins.

讓我們開始吧。正如 Jen 所指出的，我們的營運是首屈一指的。展望未來，我們致力於進一步提升我們的能力，以實現增量成長並創造更高的效率。這是 4 個重點領域：商店；數位的;供應鏈;和行銷。首先我先講一下我們的銷售管道。首先我要說的是我們與通路無關。我們作為單一管道運作。我們的客戶透過商店和數位管道購物，我們處於有利地位，可以透過這兩種方式以可比較的利潤捕獲需求。

Just to underscore, we're similarly profitable across both digital and stores. We aim to maximize our profits per transaction regardless of the channel. Now looking at the store portfolio, we have a very healthy and profitable fleet and are 4 wall positive in over 90% of our comp stores. Our average lease term is approximately 2 years, providing good flexibility. We've been pleased to see customers return to in-person shopping, underscoring the importance of having a strong physical footprint.

需要強調的是，我們在數位商店和商店中都實現了類似的利潤。無論管道如何，我們的目標是使每筆交易的利潤最大化。現在看看商店組合，我們擁有一支非常健康且盈利的車隊，並且在我們超過 90% 的比較商店中都採用 4 牆積極策略。我們的平均租賃期限約為2年，提供了良好的靈活性。我們很高興看到顧客重新開始親自購物，這凸顯了擁有強大實體足跡的重要性。

And given our strong portfolio of brands, we've been successful in achieving favorable rent terms. Our investment priorities moving forward start with Aerie and OFFLINE store expansion. This continues to be our highest return on investment with the majority of new stores paying back in under 3 years. We expect to add 100 Aerie, OFFLINE stores over the next 3 years. As we open stores, we see a digital halo as more and more customers get introduced to the brand.

鑑於我們強大的品牌組合，我們已經成功實現了優惠的租金條件。我們未來的投資重點是從 Aerie 和線下商店擴張開始。這仍然是我們最高的投資回報，大多數新店在 3 年內就收回投資。我們預計未來 3 年內將增加 100 家 Aerie 線下商店。當我們開設商店時，隨著越來越多的顧客認識該品牌，我們看到了數位光環。

We need to upgrade and modernize the American Eagle store fleet. Today, the average age of our AE stores is 12 years and we've not had a new store design in over 15 years. We're targeting 300 remodels over the next 3 to 5 years using varying degrees of investment from full upgrades to simpler refreshes depending on the market opportunity. As Jen noted, test stores have shown a nice positive sales lift and we're targeting a minimum ROI of 15%. As we make these changes, we're also investing in new technologies to drive efficiencies in our store operations.

我們需要對 American Eagle 商店進行升級和現代化。如今，我們 AE 商店的平均年齡為 12 年，我們已經有超過 15 年沒有新的商店設計了。我們的目標是在未來 3 到 5 年內進行 300 次改造，根據市場機會，使用從全面升級到簡單更新的不同程度的投資。正如 Jen 指出的那樣，測試商店已顯示出良好的積極銷售提升，我們的目標是最低 15% 的投資回報率。在做出這些改變的同時，我們也投資新技術，以提高商店營運效率。

Jen talked about product allocation to make sure bestsellers are available across all stores and this is already having a positive impact. We're using AI-driven forecasting tools that are improving inventory allocation. This is providing more precise information by store, creating greater in-stocks and strengthening the customer experience. And we're implementing RFID technology, which for the first time in our history, will enable us to have a real-time view of inventory counts in our stores.

Jen 談到了產品分配，以確保所有商店都有暢銷產品，這已經產生了積極的影響。我們正在使用人工智慧驅動的預測工具來改善庫存分配。這可以按商店提供更準確的信息，增加庫存並增強客戶體驗。我們正在實施 RFID 技術，這在我們的歷史上是第一次，這將使我們能夠即時查看商店的庫存計數。

While still in early days, we're very encouraged by what we're seeing in our initial 100 stores and we're targeting rollout to approximately 500 stores by the end of the year. Together, these investments greatly improve our ability to read demand and keep fast-turning items in stock. We also anticipate significant upstream benefits to how we manage inventory, ultimately allowing us to buy more accurately and fuel sales with less inventory.

雖然仍處於早期階段，但我們對最初 100 家商店中所看到的情況感到非常鼓舞，我們的目標是在今年年底將其推廣到大約 500 家商店。總之，這些投資大大提高了我們了解需求和維持快速週轉商品庫存的能力。我們也預計，我們管理庫存的方式將為上游帶來重大好處，最終使我們能夠更準確地購買並以更少的庫存促進銷售。

Turning to digital. At $1.8 billion in annual revenue, we have a very powerful digital business. In the last 5 years alone, revenue has grown 61% with digital penetration expanding 6 points to 34% today. Last year, we appointed a new Head of Digital, David Zhang, to lead the business. He's bringing a new level of analytical rigor to how we operate, with particular success in improving online conversion.

轉向數位化。我們的數位業務年收入達 18 億美元，非常強大。光是在過去 5 年裡，營收就成長了 61%，數位滲透率擴大了 6 個百分點，目前達到 34%。去年，我們任命了新的數位主管 David 張來領導這項業務。他將我們的營運方式的分析嚴謹性提升到了新的水平，在提高線上轉換率方面取得了特別成功。

To highlight one small example, we're using tests as a means to roll out new engagement tactics. With 1 million visitors coming to our website every day, our scale has an incredible and competitive advantage when it comes to testing, allowing us to build real-time insights very quickly. As we've implemented learnings, we've seen small changes to how we engage with customers lead to very dramatic results. In aggregate, this work drove a strong acceleration in digital conversion and comps in the second half of last year. With work in very early stages, there are material benefits still to come as we continue to test and scale new insights.

為了強調一個小例子，我們使用測試作為推出新的參與策略的一種手段。每天有 100 萬訪客造訪我們的網站，我們的規模在測試方面具有令人難以置信的競爭優勢，使我們能夠非常快速地建立即時見解。當我們實施學習時，我們發現與客戶互動方式的微小改變會帶來非常顯著的結果。總的來說，這項工作推動了去年下半年數位轉換和比較的強勁加速。由於工作還處於早期階段，隨著我們繼續測試和擴展新的見解，仍然會帶來實質的好處。

Moving on to our supply chain. Let me address our fulfillment business and the restructuring taken in the fourth quarter. Due in large part to macro volatility which has impacted demand for e-commerce fulfillment, third-party business component of Quiet has not met our expectations. As a result, in the fourth quarter, we took charges to streamline the operation and focus on core capabilities to serve our brands and our best customers. Now as we talk about the edge fulfillment capabilities we acquired with this network, I want to underscore the significant benefits it has provided to AEO and our brands. Let me start by looking at how we used to operate prior to the acquisition. Like a traditional model in retail, we had a small number of large distribution centers. Ours were located in Pennsylvania, Kansas and Mississauga, Ontario.

繼續我們的供應鏈。讓我談談我們的履行業務和第四季進行的重組。 Quiet的第三方業務部分並未達到我們的預期，這在很大程度上是由於宏觀波動影響了電子商務履行的需求。因此，在第四季度，我們負責簡化營運，專注於核心能力，為我們的品牌和最好的客戶提供服務。現在，當我們談論透過這個網路獲得的邊緣履行能力時，我想強調它為 AEO 和我們的品牌提供的顯著優勢。首先讓我回顧一下我們在收購之​​前的營運方式。與傳統的零售模式一樣，我們擁有少量的大型配送中心。我們的辦事處位於賓州、堪薩斯州和安大略省密西索加。

This was simple but not terribly efficient. And as our brands were growing, we were running out of capacity. The decision back in 2020 was to buy or build. In anticipation of our future needs and many of the changes we're seeing unfold in the industry today, including demand for faster shipping and rising costs, we made the decision to buy a regionalized fulfillment network. Here's how we operate today. We're customer-focused, build for efficiency, speed and agility. Inventories closer to customers, aligning with population density in big metro areas. Inventory is also closer to stores, enabling faster delivery times and lower costs. In the last 2 years, we've lowered our cost per order by 8% relative to 2021, even as some of the industry's largest shipping companies have taken double-digit rate increases. We've done this while speeding up our delivery times with over 80% of orders now delivered in 3 business days or less.

這很簡單，但效率不是很高。隨著我們的品牌不斷壯大，我們的產能也逐漸耗盡。 2020 年的決定是購買還是建造。考慮到我們未來的需求以及當今行業正在發生的許多變化，包括對更快運輸的需求和不斷上升的成本，我們決定購買區域化的履行網絡。這就是我們今天的運作方式。我們以客戶為中心，注重效率、速度和敏捷性。庫存更接近客戶，與大都會區的人口密度一致。庫存也更靠近商店，從而實現更快的交貨時間和更低的成本。在過去 2 年裡，我們將每份訂單的成本相對 2021 年降低了 8%，儘管業內一些最大的航運公司的費率上漲了兩位數。我們在做到這一點的同時加快了交貨時間，目前超過 80% 的訂單在 3 個工作日或更短的時間內交貨。

This network has also given us the needed capacity to fuel long-term growth. Separately, in terms of logistics business, as discussed earlier, we're refocusing on core capabilities. This will greatly simplify our operations and result in cost efficiencies, which will drive structural ongoing benefits beginning this year. And lastly, I'll talk about marketing, which typically averages 3% to 4% of sales annually. It's an important driver of the business. We'll continue to spend and support our brands, yet we see opportunity to make our marketing dollars work harder for us.

該網絡還為我們提供了推動長期增長所需的能力。另外，在物流業務方面，如前所述，我們正在重新關注核心能力。這將大大簡化我們的營運並提高成本效率，從而從今年開始推動結構性持續效益。最後，我要談談行銷，通常平均每年佔銷售額的 3% 到 4%。這是業務的重要驅動力。我們將繼續支出和支持我們的品牌，但我們看到了讓我們的行銷資金為我們發揮更大作用的機會。

We are enhancing our capabilities here, leveraging advanced marketing analytics. This has been a game changer in improving our return on media spend. We've reallocated how and when we're spending to be more efficient and effective. We saw excellent results from this over the holiday season and expect continued benefits as we implement new learnings. Now a few minutes on our international opportunity. We are the partner of choice in licensed international markets across the globe. We have a successful capital-light model and we continue to pursue opportunities for expansion with existing and new franchise partners.

我們正在利用先進的行銷分析來增強我們的能力。這在提高我們的媒體支出回報方面改變了遊戲規則。我們重新分配了支出方式和時間，以提高效率和效果。我們在假期期間看到了出色的成果，並期望在我們實施新知識時持續受益。現在用幾分鐘來介紹我們的國際機會。我們是全球授權國際市場的首選合作夥伴。我們擁有成功的輕資本模式，並繼續尋求與現有和新的特許經營合作夥伴一起擴張的機會。

The largest part of our business outside of the U.S. is our company-owned operations in Mexico and Canada. Mexico in particular has been especially successful, more than doubling since 2019. We continue to expand this market where we have strong brand recognition and customer loyalty. This includes introducing and further expanding Aerie and OFFLINE in key markets across the country.

我們在美國以外的業務的最大部分是我們在墨西哥和加拿大的公司自營業務。墨西哥尤其成功，自 2019 年以來成長了一倍多。我們繼續擴大這個市場，我們在該市場擁有強大的品牌認知度和客戶忠誠度。這包括在全國主要市場引入並進一步擴展 Aerie 和 OFFLINE。

And now the final pillar of our strategy, executing with financial discipline. Last year, we kicked off Project Breakthrough, our profit improvement initiative. As Jay said, we left no stone unturned. Keep in mind, this is a growing business and there are variable expenses associated with fueling that. However, through this project, we've identified efficiencies and savings that will enable us to keep operating expenses across BOW and SG&A flat this year. And repeating this structure is our intent for the next several years. Importantly, this work is ongoing. It's been formalized into an office of continuous improvement to identify incremental efficiencies and drive accountability and results.

現在我們策略的最後一個支柱是遵守財務紀律。去年，我們啟動了“突破項目”，即我們的利潤改善計劃。正如傑伊所說，我們不遺餘力。請記住，這是一項不斷增長的業務，並且與推動這項業務相關的可變費用也存在。然而，透過這個項目，我們已經確定了效率和節省，這將使我們今年能夠保持 BOW 和 SG&A 的營運費用持平。重複這種結構是我們未來幾年的意圖。重要的是，這項工作正在進行中。它已正式成為一個持續改進辦公室，旨在提高效率並推動問責制和結果。

As Jay shared with you a little earlier, here's another look at our financial algorithm. We are driving to $5.7 billion to $6 billion in revenue and an operating margin rate of approximately 10% by 2026. On the revenue front, we have multiple levers we can flex to achieve our 3% to 5% growth target. We're very encouraged by the opportunity at the American Eagle brand as we position for category growth and expansion into new adjacencies. As Jen said, our plans here are strategic and thoughtful. We will test and scale fueling areas with clear proof points.

正如傑伊早些時候與您分享的那樣，這是我們的財務演算法的另一種看法。到 2026 年，我們的營收將達到 57 億至 60 億美元，營業利潤率約為 10%。在營收方面，我們可以靈活運用多種槓桿來實現 3% 至 5% 的成長目標。我們對美國之鷹品牌的機會感到非常鼓舞，因為我們定位於品類成長和擴展到新的鄰近地區。正如 Jen 所說，我們的計劃是策略性的、深思熟慮的。我們將透過明確的證據來測試和擴展加油區域。

Our expectation for AE is low single-digit revenue growth with potential for upside as we continue to understand the benefits from new initiatives. Aerie and OFFLINE present very exciting growth potential. We're encouraged by the level of customer excitement around activewear and soft apparel. Our plans here are modest as well. Growth expectations are mid- to high single, with the ability to chase into stronger demand. Our 10% operating margin goal embeds a gross margin outlook of 39% to 40%.

我們對 AE 的預期是較低的個位數收入成長，隨著我們不斷了解新措施的好處，該收入成長潛力巨大。 Aerie 和 OFFLINE 呈現出非常令人興奮的成長潛力。顧客對運動服和軟裝的興奮程度讓我們深受鼓舞。我們在這裡的計劃也很溫和。成長預期為中高單，有能力追逐更強勁的需求。我們 10% 的營業利潤率目標包含 39% 至 40% 的毛利率前景。

We closed out 2023 above 38%, reflecting the start of our profit improvement work. As we move forward, we expect to maintain inventory discipline and continue to optimize promotions and markdowns. We're also seeing favorability in product costs and pursuing other (technical difficulty). Delivery and transportation are also areas where efficiencies and cost savings will continue as we leverage our edge fulfillment model and benefit from the recent restructuring activity and we expect rent to continue to be controlled as we focus on maintaining a favorable cost structure across the fleet.

我們 2023 年的業績成長超過 38%，這反映出我們的利潤改善工作已經開始。隨著我們的前進，我們預計將維持庫存紀律並繼續優化促銷和降價。我們也看到了產品成本和其他（技術難度）的優勢。由於我們利用我們的優勢履行模式並從最近的重組活動中受益，交付和運輸也是將繼續提高效率和節省成本的領域，並且我們預計租金將繼續受到控制，因為我們專注於維持整個車隊有利的成本結構。

Moving to SG&A. We expect to be in the range of 25% to 26%. We closed out 2023 a little over 27%. Over the long term, we're structuring the business to keep SG&A dollar growth below revenue growth. We have work streams that will continually address 85% of our expense base with focus areas being store and corporate compensation, professional fees and services and optimization of marketing spend. So all that said, here's a view of the major building blocks that take us to approximately 10% over the next 3 years.

轉向 SG&A。我們預計該比例將在 25% 至 26% 之間。我們 2023 年的業績成長略高於 27%。從長遠來看，我們正在建立業務結構，以確保銷售、管理和行政費用 (SG&A) 美元成長低於收入成長。我們的工作流程將持續解決我們 85% 的支出基礎，重點領域是商店和公司薪酬、專業費用和服務以及行銷支出優化。綜上所述，以下是我們在未來 3 年內實現約 10% 目標的主要建置模組。

Our outlook is balanced anticipating both puts and takes. As I reviewed, we have a number of initiatives to control expenses and drive efficiencies across the business. As we grow American Eagle and scale Aerie, OFFLINE, we also expect to see leverage from a higher revenue base. These initiatives will allow us to comfortably absorb pressure from wage inflation, new store openings and investments we are making to incubate emerging brands like Todd Snyder and Unsubscribed. As we build profitability, we expect to generate even stronger cash flow.

我們對看跌期權和看跌期權的預期是平衡的。正如我所回顧的，我們有許多措施來控制費用並提高整個企業的效率。隨著我們發展 American Eagle 並擴大 Aerie、OFFLINE 的規模，我們也預計將從更高的收入基礎中獲得槓桿作用。這些舉措將使我們能夠輕鬆應對工資上漲、新店開業以及為孵化托德·斯奈德 (Todd Snyder) 和 Unsubscribed 等新興品牌而進行的投資帶來的壓力。隨著我們建立獲利能力，我們預計將產生更強勁的現金流。

We're focused on providing healthy returns to shareholders and have a long history of doing so. In fact, over the past decade, these returns totaled nearly $2 billion. We recently announced a 25% increase in our quarterly cash dividend and we also have a new $30 million share repurchase authorization in place to offset dilution and fuel opportunistic repurchase. So here it is, our model for driving shareholder value. Starting with our financial algorithm to drive mid- to high teens operating income growth, we believe we are set up to deliver double-digit total shareholder returns over the next 3 years. We are extremely confident in the road map we shared with you today. The levers at our disposal to drive growth and profit provide multiple paths for us to deliver on our 3-year plan with potential for upside. Our priorities are clear and the teams are focused.

我們致力於為股東提供健康的回報，並且在這方面有著悠久的歷史。事實上，在過去十年中，這些回報總額接近 20 億美元。我們最近宣布將季度現金股息增加 25%，並且還獲得了新的 3000 萬美元股票回購授權，以抵消稀釋並促進機會性回購。這就是我們推動股東價值的模型。從我們推動中高端營業收入成長的財務演算法開始，我們相信我們將在未來 3 年內實現兩位數的股東總回報。我們對今天與大家分享的路線圖非常有信心。我們可以利用的槓桿來推動成長和利潤，為我們實現具有上升潛力的三年計劃提供了多種途徑。我們的優先事項很明確，團隊也很專注。

And now back to Jay.

現在回到傑伊。

Thanks, Mike. As I hope we conveyed clearly to you today, this is an incredible company with powerful brands, capabilities and talent and we have significant opportunity to scale further. We are at an inflection point in our journey, having undergone a huge cultural transformation over the past year to align our strategy and priorities towards delivering consistent, profitable growth. From here, we are focused on execution and we know we are set up for success.

謝謝，麥克。正如我希望我們今天向您明確傳達的那樣，這是一家令人難以置信的公司，擁有強大的品牌、能力和人才，我們有進一步擴大規模的重大機會。我們正處於旅程的轉捩點，在過去的一年裡經歷了巨大的文化轉型，以調整我們的策略和優先事項，以實現持續的獲利成長。從這裡開始，我們專注於執行，我們知道我們已經為成功做好了準備。

With that, I will open it up for questions. Judy, over to you.

至此，我將開放提問。朱迪，交給你了。

Thanks, Jay. Before we start our question-and-answer session, we'll take a quick 3-minute break.

謝謝，傑伊。在開始問答環節之前，我們將短暫休息 3 分鐘。

(Break)

（休息）

Okay. Thanks, everyone, for joining us for the question-and-answer portion of our meeting today. We're back from our break and we want to get right to your questions. So first up is Matt Boss from JPMorgan.

好的。感謝大家參加今天會議的問答部分。我們剛結束休息，我們想直接回答您的問題。首先是摩根大通的馬特·博斯。

Great. Really appreciate all the color. This was great today. So maybe to start off, Jen, could you speak to the total addressable market and customer file opportunity just as we think about the market share opportunity for the AE brand? Or more specifically, how are you positioning the assortment across key destination categories and price points to drive that consistent profitable growth that Jay cited?

偉大的。真的很欣賞所有的顏色。今天這太棒了。那麼，也許首先，Jen，您能否談談總的潛在市場和客戶檔案機會，就像我們考慮 AE 品牌的市場份額機會一樣？或者更具體地說，您如何定位主要目的地類別和價格點的產品組合，以推動傑伊提到的持續獲利成長？

Yes, sure. The total addressable market is $70 billion, which is incredible and there's huge white space here that we can go after. What AE owns is the social casual. I love this new term. It's our new term that we're using to describe our core assortments, which are going to be strong across all of our fleet. That's what we're up to, getting all of our fleet robust, certainly managing the inventory and obviously doing it with prudent discipline.

是的，當然。潛在市場總額為 700 億美元，這是令人難以置信的，而且這裡有巨大的空白空間可供我們探索。 AE 擁有的是社交休閒。我喜歡這個新術語。這是我們的新術語，我們用它來描述我們的核心品種，這些品種將在我們所有的機隊中表現強勁。這就是我們要做的，讓我們所有的機隊變得強大，當然要管理庫存，而且顯然要以謹慎的紀律來管理。

But we've really been up to -- just going back, really rationalizing the fleet, rationalizing our SKU count. So we've really built a baseline now that we can sort of leap up and introduce all these new expanded categories. Men's active, $27 billion market, that we've only just begun. You heard that number, $100 million. We're only just getting at this. Keep in mind, when we launched OFFLINE, that's where it started, $100 million and now look where it is. It's almost over $600 million this year. So think about that.

但我們確實一直在努力——只是回去，真正合理化機隊，合理化我們的 SKU 數量。因此，我們現在確實已經建立了一個基線，我們可以跳躍並引入所有這些新的擴展類別。活躍的男士市場價值 270 億美元，而我們才剛開始。你聽過這個數字，一億美元。我們才剛開始了解這一點。請記住，當我們推出 OFFLINE 時，這就是它的起點，1 億美元，現在看看它在哪裡。今年幾乎超過 6 億美元。所以想一想。

So we have huge expansion there. And we're already seeing results in the 25- to 35-age group there. Men -- our denim category is our rite of passage. We love denim and getting denim on all ages is really what we're up to. But if you noticed in the slides, wow, we have such opportunity to round up the assortments and we're so excited about that, yes. And we didn't even mention the premium denim collection we launched last year. We love the early reads. So we have categories now that we can expand on. We have a great baseline and we're looking forward to building on this.

所以我們在那裡進行了巨大的擴張。我們已經在 25 至 35 歲年齡層看到了結果。男士－我們的牛仔布類別是我們的成年禮。我們熱愛牛仔布，並且讓各個年齡層的人都能穿著牛仔布，這正是我們要做的。但如果您在幻燈片中註意到，哇，我們有這樣的機會來收集各種產品，我們對此感到非常興奮，是的。我們甚至沒有提到我們去年推出的優質牛仔布系列。我們喜歡早期的閱讀。現在我們有了可以擴充的類別。我們有一個很好的基線，我們期待在此基礎上再接再厲。

Great. And then maybe just a follow-up for Mike. With SG&A expected to leverage roughly 200 basis points, I think relative to 2023, maybe just could you elaborate on the expense buckets where you found savings and efficiencies to support the plan, while at the same time, funding brand marketing reinvestments?

偉大的。然後也許只是麥克的後續行動。鑑於 SG&A 預計將利用大約 200 個基點，我認為相對於 2023 年，您能否詳細說明一下您發現支持該計劃的節省和效率的支出類別，同時為品牌營銷再投資提供資金？

Sure. I think -- I mean just to highlight, again, I think the proof point around this initiative this past year was definitely the expenses up in gross margin. That's where we started. We talked about -- articulated that for a few quarters now. Every quarter this past year, not only did we expand product margins but we leveraged expenses within gross margin every quarter even in the first half of the year when revenue was a little tougher.

當然。我想——我的意思是再次強調，我認為去年這項措施的證據肯定是毛利率的支出上升。這就是我們開始的地方。我們已經討論了幾個季度了。去年每個季度，我們不僅擴大了產品利潤率，而且每個季度都在毛利率內槓桿化支出，即使是在收入稍顯困難的上半年。

We've expanded that to SG&A now. So we've talked about the big buckets in SG&A. 85% of the total expense is within store compensation, corporate compensation, related incentives and taxes, marketing dollars and services. So the big areas that we have gone after reflected in this '24 plan and the guidance we're providing and then, we're doing this continuous improvement office, program office, as we call it, underneath Project Breakthrough, that work is going to continue and not stop.

我們現在已將其擴展到 SG&A。我們已經討論了 SG&A 中的大問題。總支出的 85% 用於商店薪酬、公司薪酬、相關激勵措施和稅收、行銷資金和服務。因此，我們所追求的大領域反映在這個「24 小時計畫」和我們提供的指導中，然後，我們正在持續改進辦公室，專案辦公室，正如我們所說，在「專案突破」之下，這項工作正在進行中繼續而不是停止。

So those are the buckets. Store labor, we found efficiency offsets to what has been wage growth and wage inflation pressures in the industry. We're looking at flat rate of revenue per store dollar. So it's -- stores and marketing at places where we -- places we will continue to invest to fuel growth but we want to maintain at that rate. The savings or reduction areas or the leverage areas or other compensation, corporate compensation, incentives, taxes. And services is the other bucket that we are going after to actually more aggressively reduce.

這些就是桶子。就勞動力而言，我們發現效率抵消了該行業的薪資成長和薪資通膨壓力。我們正在研究每商店美元的固定收入率。因此，我們將繼續在商店和行銷領域進行投資以推動成長，但我們希望保持這一速度。儲蓄或減少領域或槓桿領域或其他補償、公司補償、激勵措施、稅收。服務是我們追求的另一個目標，實際上是更積極地減少服務。

So that's where your puts and takes are. We continue to invest in store compensation and advertising to fuel growth but will not be looking to deleverage, which maintain rate there. Other compensation areas, along with services and then some other areas -- smaller areas like supplies and repairs and maintenance, we're looking because where the leverage would be continuously providing leverage in those areas.

這就是你的看漲期權和看跌期權的所在。我們將繼續投資商店薪酬和廣告以推動成長，但不會尋求去槓桿化，從而維持現有比率。我們正在尋找其他補償領域，以及服務以及其他一些領域——供應、維修和維護等較小的領域，因為槓桿將在這些領域持續提供槓桿作用。

Okay. Next question comes from Jay Sole from UBS.

好的。下一個問題來自瑞銀集團 (UBS) 的傑伊·索爾 (Jay Sole)。

Can you hear me now?

你聽得到我嗎？

There you go.

就這樣吧。

Okay. Mike -- I want to ask about some of the newer topics that came up in the presentation. One is about Todd Snyder. You mentioned you owned this since 2015. It's grown nicely. Just wanted to talk about what's implied in the guidance from Todd Snyder and what gives you confidence that Todd Snyder can become a bigger business? And also international, how does the international opportunity play into the 3-year outlook and maybe beyond? Like what's the ultimate aspiration for the international business for the company?

好的。麥克——我想問演示中出現的一些新主題。其中之一是關於托德·斯奈德的。你提到你從 2015 年就擁有了它。它長得很好。只是想談談托德·斯奈德 (Todd Snyder) 的指導中隱含的內容以及是什麼讓您對托德·斯奈德 (Todd Snyder) 能夠成為一家更大的企業充滿信心？還有國際面，國際機會如何影響三年甚至更遠的前景？例如公司國際化業務的最終願望是什麼？

Jay here. We bought Todd Snyder around 2015. That time, Todd was doing only $2 million. And here in the last few years, it has grown into a $100-plus million business. We see a big opportunity with it. This year, I think we're setting up 60 to 70 additional stores. And we think when it's all done, it could be a $500 million, $600 million brand in the next couple of years.

傑伊在這裡。我們在 2015 年左右收購了 Todd Snyder。當時，Todd 的收入只有 200 萬美元。在過去的幾年裡，它已經發展成為一家價值 1 億多萬美元的企業。我們看到了一個巨大的機會。今年，我認為我們將增設 60 至 70 家商店。我們認為，當這一切完成後，它可能會在未來幾年內成為一個價值 5 億美元、6 億美元的品牌。

I can expand upon that. It's reaching the point of profitability. So nice growth this past year, right around that breakeven mark and our plans for '24 and this 3-year plan is for Todd to contribute profit to the company. So that's a great milestone. Double-digit top line growth is the continued expectation and profit increases from here.

我可以對此進行擴展。已經達到獲利點了。去年的成長非常好，就在損益平衡點附近，我們的 24 年計畫和這個 3 年計畫是托德為公司貢獻利潤。所以這是一個偉大的里程碑。兩位數的營收成長是持續的預期，利潤將從這裡開始成長。

For -- the international opportunity, I think the one thing I want to highlight in here, Canada and Mexico from -- our own markets, our biggest contributors from a revenue perspective. Mexico specifically has been a source of growth, especially it's really 90% plus AE brand. The size of the business in Mexico actually contributes -- the trajectories are contributing 1 point to total AE brand revenue growth at this point. So as we talk about AE brand, expectations being in the low single digits, Mexico alone with its growth is providing about 1 point.

對於國際機會，我想我想在這裡強調的一件事是，加拿大和墨西哥來自我們自己的市場，從收入的角度來看，我們最大的貢獻者。墨西哥尤其是成長源，尤其是它的 AE 品牌佔比高達 90% 以上。墨西哥的業務規模實際上做出了貢獻——此時的軌跡為 AE 品牌總收入成長貢獻了 1 個百分點。因此，當我們談論 AE 品牌時，期望值處於較低的個位數，僅墨西哥的成長就提供了約 1 個百分點。

Also Mike, part of international goes (inaudible) company, continue to have (inaudible) 2014, we were losing money, $20 million, $30 million on the international business. Today, it's been a very good profit center. And we have, we're at sort of tip of the iceberg. We're not in Europe yet. There's good opportunity there. We're only in a couple of countries out of South America, major opportunity. So we see a major opportunity with our international business and it's being very well received.

另外，麥克，國際（聽不清楚）公司的一部分，繼續（聽不清楚）2014 年，我們在國際業務上虧損了 2,000 萬美元、3,000 萬美元。如今，它已成為一個非常好的利潤中心。我們已經知道了，我們現在還處於冰山一角。我們還沒到歐洲。那裡有很好的機會。我們只在南美洲以外的幾個國家，這是一個重大機會。因此，我們看到了國際業務的重大機遇，並且受到了廣泛歡迎。

Very strong partnerships with our franchisees and we're looking to expand with them and with new franchisees. That's the model from here.

與我們的特許經營商建立了非常牢固的合作夥伴關係，我們希望與他們和新的特許經營商一起擴展。這是這裡的模型。

With the Mexico business and Canada business that are around this.

墨西哥業務和加拿大業務都是圍繞著這個展開的。

Yes. So we're in North America. There is plans for expansion in Latin America (inaudible) which is a natural progression from the success in Mexico. So there's -- as Jay said, there's runway here. We're not banking on a ton of growth within this next 3 years but there's continual runway for multiple years from here.

是的。所以我們在北美。有計劃在拉丁美洲進行擴張（聽不清楚），這是墨西哥成功的自然發展。正如傑伊所說，這裡有跑道。我們並不指望在未來三年內實現大幅成長，但從現在開始，未來幾年仍有持續成長的空間。

(inaudible) love the brand.

（聽不清楚）喜歡這個品牌。

What we'll do -- it's -- I think we mentioned in the presentation, it's asset light outside of North America. We like that model. Franchise revenue drops straight to the bottom line. We have a few joint ventures that are really just in early stages. So we will be ROI oriented with that expansion and not over invest to go after it.

我們將要做的——我想我們在演示中提到過，它是北美以外的輕資產。我們喜歡那個模型。特許經營收入直接下降到底線。我們有一些合資企業，實際上還處於早期階段。因此，我們將以投資回報率為導向進行擴張，而不是過度投資來追求它。

Okay. Next up, we have Janet Kloppenburg, JJK Research.

好的。接下來是 JJK Research 的 Janet Kloppenburg。

For Jen, I like the adjacencies I'm seeing in the AE stores. I'm just wondering about maybe a risk of building SKUs. And also as you move a bit older, do you worry at all about losing that young -- that older teen customer that's always had a strong loyalty to your brand? And in the intimates category, which I think you've done a great job on with the SMOOTHEZ line, do you see that category growing? We're hearing from others that the intimate sector is experiencing a downturn in the range of mid-single-digit revenues.

對於 Jen 來說，我喜歡在 AE 商店中看到的周邊環境。我只是想知道建置 SKU 是否存在風險。而且，隨著年齡的增長，您是否擔心失去那些一直對您的品牌抱有強烈忠誠度的年輕人——年長的青少年顧客？在內衣類別中，我認為您在 SMOOTHEZ 系列上做得很好，您認為該類別正在增長嗎？我們從其他人那裡得知，內衣產業的收入正在經歷中個位數的下滑。

And for Michael, when you talk about SG&A going from 27% to 25% to 26%, that's a 3-year period. Do you see more of that coming in the later year or should it be linear as we move along?

對於邁克爾來說，當你談論 SG&A 從 27% 到 25% 再到 26% 時，這是一個 3 年的時期。您認為下半年會出現更多這樣的情況嗎？還是隨著我們的進展，這種情況應該是線性的？

Yes. Look, everything we do is with discipline. American Eagle, we went back to our heritage. We completely over the past 3 years -- and by the way, may I add, we rationalized profitably. It's really hard to do that when you're getting rid of thousands of SKUs and we did. We got rid of thousands of SKUs to focus on the core assortments, this new social casual that we're talking about, we are not going to comp with just buying our comp, which means we're not going to just add SKUs randomly. We're going to do it with integrity. There's always trends that ebb and flow. And as we do so, we're going to make sure that we're leaning into the categories that are trending without over assorting. I cannot see an over assortment. We have the most disciplined teams around that. I think you can see it in our stores. They look incredible.

是的。看，我們所做的一切都是有紀律的。美國之鷹，我們回到了我們的傳統。我們在過去的三年裡完全實現了——順便說一句，我可以補充一下，我們合理化了盈利。當你要擺脫數千個 SKU 時，確實很難做到這一點，而我們做到了。我們擺脫了數千個 SKU，專注於核心品種，即我們正在談論的這種新的社交休閒裝，我們不會只是購買我們的產品，這意味著我們不會只是隨機添加 SKU。我們將誠信行事。趨勢總是有潮起潮落的。當我們這樣做時，我們將確保我們傾向於流行的類別，而不會過度分類。我看不出種類過多。我們擁有最有紀律的團隊。我想您可以在我們的商店中看到它。他們看起來不可思議。

And I think we're outfitting better than ever. So certainly not. We're going to do this with integrity and pride and that's what we're up to. As far as intimates is concerned, look, there has been a slowdown but we held our market position, #1. #2, we leaned into new categories that are behaving like intimates. So we started SMOOTHEZ, I mean I hope you love the pictures, SMOOTHEZ collection, it's just amazing. We love it. Not only is it around bras. And by the way, that's our #1 bra within that collection. But other collections outside of just bras, the bodysuits, the crop tops, they're all doing incredible. So there's a little bit of a wear out trend that's been happening and it began last year and we were on it, crop tops were completely trending and we still see that business working.

我認為我們的裝備比以往任何時候都更好。所以當然不是。我們將以誠信和自豪的態度來做到這一點，而這就是我們所做的。就內衣而言，雖然增速有所放緩，但我們保持了市場第一的地位。 #2，我們傾向於表現得像親密朋友的新類別。所以我們開始了 SMOOTHEZ，我的意思是我希望你喜歡這些照片，SMOOTHEZ 收藏，這真是太棒了。我們喜歡它。不僅是在胸罩周圍。順便說一句，這是我們該系列中排名第一的胸罩。但除了胸罩、緊身衣、露臍上衣之外，其他系列的表現都令人難以置信。因此，有一點磨損趨勢正在發生，它從去年開始，我們就在其中，露臍上衣完全流行，我們仍然看到這種業務在運作。

However, intimates, that business is a huge untapped category. And may remind you, it's just incredible the way Aerie tapped into that business. We were disruptive and we did it. I mean, looking at that business, the Aerie business is $1.7 billion. This growth has been exceptional and it's still a huge market that's ripe for the taking. So we're highly focused on new bra launches, undies. We haven't spoken even about undies. There's new categories in undies. So we're going to keep on augmenting there and delivering newness and continue to dominate the way I think we have, leveraging our platform.

然而，據知情人士透露，該業務是一個巨大的未開發類別。可能會提醒您，Aerie 進軍該業務的方式令人難以置信。我們具有破壞性，而且我們做到了。我的意思是，看看該業務，Aerie 業務價值 17 億美元。這種成長是非同尋常的，而且它仍然是一個成熟的巨大市場。因此，我們高度關注新胸罩和內衣的推出。我們甚至還沒有談論過內衣。內衣有新類別。因此，我們將繼續在那裡擴大規模並提供新穎性，並繼續以我認為的方式利用我們的平台佔據主導地位。

The SG&A, yes, I think, first, I want to make sure just that is towards just the results that we're providing in our guidance for '24. Flat operating expense dollars across the entire -- P&L is a milestone for us and flat SG&A dollars also within that is a milestone for us. And providing that guidance of dollar growth being in line with revenue in the first quarter but we're expecting to leverage SG&A every quarter thereafter, even with some of the revenue shifts that we outlined for the day that are based on the calendar shift.

SG&A，是的，我想，首先，我想確保這只是為了我們在 24 年指導中提供的結果。整個營運費用保持不變——損​​益表對我們來說是一個里程碑，SG&A 美元保持不變對我們來說也是一個里程碑。並提供與第一季收入相符的美元成長指導，但我們預計此後每季都會利用銷售、管理和行政費用，即使我們概述的當天收入變化是基於日曆變化的。

The work is continuous. It's not a one and done. So I think -- and then it's very much correlated to revenue. So the guidance we're providing down to that 25% to 26% range is more about sort of probably the low to mid of that 3% to 5% revenue guide. If we achieve the higher end of that guide, we expect to get to 25% faster. So we want to assume linear for now. We'd be assuming sort of -- basically that's achieving the midrange of the revenue guide -- high end of that revenue guide and further (inaudible) sooner and the expectation is to continue to leverage there -- leverage from there in out years beyond this 3-year plan.

工作是連續的。這不是一勞永逸。所以我認為——這與收入密切相關。因此，我們提供的 25% 至 26% 範圍內的指導更多的是可能是 3% 至 5% 收入指導的中低端。如果我們達到該指南的較高目標，我們預計速度將加快 25%。所以我們現在想假設是線性的。我們假設——基本上是達到收入指南的中檔——收入指南的高端，並且更快（聽不清），並且預期將繼續在那裡利用——在未來幾年內從那裡開始利用槓桿這個3年計劃。

And Jen, I just wanted you to know we all think the stores look -- the assortments look amazing. So good luck.

Jen，我只是想讓你知道，我們都認為商店看起來——品種看起來很棒。祝你好運。

Thank you. The teams have been really working hard. I'm really proud of them. I love to see AE back on the growth trajectory. And Aerie certainly has growth that we can talk about later when we get questions.

謝謝。團隊真的很努力。我真的為他們感到驕傲。我很高興看到 AE 重回增長軌道。 Aerie 當然也有成長，當我們稍後收到問題時我們可以談論這一點。

We can see how hard you worked.

我們可以看到你有多努力。

Thank you. Thanks, again.

謝謝。再次感謝。

Okay. Up next, we have Kelly Crago from Citi.

好的。接下來是花旗銀行的凱利·克拉戈 (Kelly Crago)。

Hi, everyone. I'm on for Paul today. One on the long term and one on the near term. First to Jen. Just wondering if you could elaborate on the opportunity to broaden the demo at AE. What percent of your business currently is in that 25- to 34-year-old demo? And where can that go over time? And just curious what tools you're using to market to that customer differently than the core Gen Z consumer?

大家好。今天我替保羅上場。一種是長期的，一種是近期的。首先是珍。只是想知道您是否可以詳細說明擴大 AE 演示範圍的機會。目前，您的業務中 25 至 34 歲的演示佔了多少比例？隨著時間的推移，它會走向何方？只是好奇您使用哪些工具以不同於 Z 世代核心消費者的方式向該客戶行銷？

And then secondly to Mike, just on the near term, congrats on the great results. You made a comment that momentum is continuing 1Q quarter-to-date. Wondering if you could elaborate on that comment, just given some of the other retailers calling out weakness in February?

其次是麥克，就近期而言，祝賀取得了巨大的成果。您評論說第一季至今的勢頭仍在持續。鑑於其他一些零售商在 2 月表示疲軟，想知道您是否可以詳細闡述這一評論？

Sure. As we -- as the business grew in 2023 and American Eagle quarter-over-quarter, we actually saw this happening. Roughly about 20% to 30% of our share is in this 25% to 35%. And I think it's because our jeans are so safe. Like I mentioned, jeans are a rite of passage for us. And once you get into our jeans, they grow with us. So we've seen our retention rates continue to accelerate, something that wasn't happening in the past. And I believe the biggest reason right now is because of jeans.

當然。隨著 2023 年業務的成長以及 American Eagle 季度的環比成長，我們實際上看到了這種情況的發生。我們大約有20%到30%的份額在這25%到35%。我認為這是因為我們的牛仔褲非常安全。就像我提到的，牛仔褲對我們來說是一種成年儀式。一旦您穿上我們的牛仔褲，它們就會與我們一起成長。因此，我們看到我們的保留率繼續加快，這是過去沒有發生過的事情。我認為現在最大的原因是牛仔褲。

Now as we round out the tops business, like I said, I think it's going to really just add on and win new customers. So look, we're leaning up a little bit but it's not to say we're going to ever walk away. Our core is our core. It's our tried and true. But if we still extend new ideas which, 24/7 or 77, some of these new offshoots, I think we're going to gain new customers and win them over time. It's something we're highly focused on. We were losing customers after roughly the age -- between the age of 18 and 25. So we've been focused on this and certainly doing it through those tactics, right?

現在，正如我所說，當我們完成頂級業務時，我認為它真的會增加並贏得新客戶。所以看，我們稍微傾斜了一點，但這並不意味著我們會走開。我們的核心就是我們的核心。這是我們經過驗證的。但如果我們仍然擴展新的想法，24/7 或 77，其中一些新的分支，我認為我們將獲得新客戶並隨著時間的推移贏得他們。這是我們高度關注的事情。我們在大約 18 歲到 25 歲之間的年齡之後失去了客戶。所以我們一直專注於這一點，並且肯定透過這些策略來做到這一點，對嗎？

We have new brand collabs that we work on, you saw them on the screen. The summer I Turned Pretty, the #1 hit last summer and we're going to continue to work on these collabs. There's so many exciting ones coming your way. Influencers are certainly a big win for us, leveraging them. But again, we're always going to protect our core work and now we're going to expand into this age demo and we're excited about it. And like I said, we already saw the results. It's happening as we speak. So now we're just going to lean in a little bit more.

我們正在進行新的品牌合作，您在螢幕上看到了它們。 《The Summer I Turned Pretty》是去年夏天排名第一的熱門單品，我們將繼續致力於這些合作。有很多令人興奮的事情正在向您襲來。利用影響力人物對我們來說無疑是個巨大的勝利。但同樣，我們始終會保護我們的核心工作，現在我們將擴展到這個時代的演示，我們對此感到興奮。正如我所說，我們已經看到了結果。就在我們說話的時候，它正在發生。所以現在我們要再傾斜一點。

Now, on the first quarter guide, we're pleased with the momentum that we saw in February. It's coming off of Q4. As always, at this point, our guidance has some caution in it. February is the smallest month of the quarter. We've got our peak spring break and Easter holiday periods coming up in March and April. And March and April, obviously, bigger months than February. So again, pleased with the momentum and guide reflects that with some caution.

現在，在第一季指南中，我們對二月看到的勢頭感到滿意。它是從第四季開始的。像往常一樣，在這一點上，我們的指導意見有一定的謹慎性。二月是該季度最小的月份。我們的春假和復活節假期高峰期將在三月和四月到來。顯然，三月和四月是比二月更大的月份。再次強調，對這一勢頭感到滿意，而指南也反映出這一點，但也有一些謹慎。

Okay. Next, we have Adrienne Yih from Barclays.

好的。接下來是來自巴克萊銀行的 Adrienne Yih。

Jen, just let me add. The tops look phenomenal. The denim always looks great. So it's really nice to see the entire kind of top to bottom looking fantastic. So I just want to shout out to your merch team.

珍，讓我補充一下。上衣看起來棒極了。牛仔布總是看起來很棒。所以很高興看到整個從上到下看起來都很棒。所以我只想向你們的銷售團隊大聲喊叫。

Thank you.

謝謝。

So on that -- you're welcome. On that -- so there's a fashion bottom thing that's been happening, it's sort of percolating, simmering. And now it's really happening, right? So you walk the mall and everywhere, it's kind of the wider bottom finally here. Can you just remind us to sort of the denim penetration at AE? I think it's like north of 30 -- mid-30%.

那麼，不客氣。在這一點上，時尚界正在發生一些底層的事情，它正在滲透、醞釀。現在這真的發生了，對吧？所以你在商場裡走來走去，終於這裡有了更寬的底部。您能提醒我們一下 AE 的牛仔布滲透率嗎？我認為這個數字大約在 30% 到 30% 之間。

And then just remind us, like the skinny legs emerged in 2011 and then it really peaked in the next 2 years and it's been there for a decade. So this could be potentially something that continues to help kind of drive that piece of the business. And then for Mike, on the -- can you give us just the markdown rates relative to mean, like average kind of over the past, where are you in that continuum? And then remind us, AUR is probably up 20% relative to 2019, how much are AURs contributing to the LRP?

然後提醒我們，就像瘦腿出現在 2011 年，然後在接下來的兩年裡達到頂峰，並且已經存在了十年。因此，這可能會繼續幫助推動該業務的發展。然後，對於麥克來說，您能否給我們相對於平均值的降價率，就像過去的平均水平一樣，您在這個連續體中處於什麼位置？然後提醒我們，相對於 2019 年，AUR 可能上漲了 20%，AUR 對 LRP 的貢獻是多少？

Yes. In denim and bottoms, we're seeing wide legs trend. And honestly, it started for us last year. We were ahead of the cargo trend, I would say, first bikini on the beach there and the teams did a great job testing and scaling in wider legs. And the beauty of our denim business and how we approach it is, we have such -- that incredible testing model and we are now on testing so many new silhouettes, not just wide legs, so we're on that, we're ahead of the curve as new fashion silhouettes trends.

是的。在牛仔布和下裝方面，我們看到了闊腿褲的趨勢。老實說，我們去年就開始了。我想說，我們領先於貨運趨勢，那裡的海灘上有第一套比基尼，團隊在測試和縮放更寬的腿方面做得很好。我們牛仔布業務的美妙之處以及我們如何處理它，我們擁有令人難以置信的測試模型，我們現在正在測試如此多的新款式，而不僅僅是闊腿褲，所以我們在這方面，我們處於領先地位曲線作為新的時尚輪廓趨勢。

So I can't tell you just what this team does as we build on new assortments towards the future and learn. And we're just so agile to do it and balance out our assortments. When I started jeggings dominated our business in women's, in particular, huge percentage of the business, over 80%. Now we're seeing fashion emerge and other silhouettes where we can really lean into what's trending. And that's what we're up to. Honestly, it's about as simple as that and the team is executing with style.

所以我無法告訴你這個團隊在做什麼，因為我們正在為未來建立新的品種並學習。我們非常靈活地做到這一點並平衡我們的品種。當我剛開始的時候，牛仔褲在我們的女裝業務中占主導地位，特別是在業務中所佔的比例很大，超過 80%。現在我們看到時尚和其他款式的出現，我們可以真正了解流行趨勢。這就是我們要做的。老實說，事情就這麼簡單，而且團隊正在以風格執行。

(inaudible) we've been growing since '21. We've been very -- we've been managing the markdown rate very consistently. I think we found a sweet spot. We maintain our AUR that we gained post-pandemic, a couple of fiscal years ago. And then some of our -- a few years prior to even 2019, I'd say we were running markdown rates in the mid-50s. We're now in the mid-40s and we'll do that consistently for a few years. So we know at end of -- while giving any of that back.

（聽不清楚）自 21 年來我們一直在成長。我們一直非常一致地管理降價率。我想我們找到了一個最佳點。我們維持了幾個財年前大流行後獲得的 AUR。然後我們的一些 - 甚至在 2019 年之前的幾年，我想說我們的降價率在 50 年代中期。我們現在已經 40 多歲了，我們將在接下來的幾年裡始終如一地這樣做。所以我們在結束時知道——同時回饋其中的任何一個。

I think on initial retails, we have seen markup benefits. And I think the mix of our categories, as Jen outlined in the entire amplify section of today's presentation, the mix of categories will continue to be beneficial there with tops being a driver, Aerie apparel being a driver, OFFLINE within Aerie, all those growth drivers have mixed benefits to initial tickets and to margin rate in general.

我認為在最初的零售中，我們已經看到了加價的好處。我認為我們的品類組合，正如Jen 在今天演講的整個放大部分中所概述的那樣，品類的組合將繼續帶來好處，上衣是驅動力，Aerie 服裝是驅動力，Aerie 內的線下業務，所有這些增長一般來說，司機對初始門票和保證金率有不同的好處。

I'll say in these 3-year targets, we actually are not assuming much product margin improvement. Most of this 3-year target calculated today is based on expense leverage, expense leverage within the gross margin line and expense leverage and SG&A and depreciation. Jen outlined a lot of initiatives and a lot of opportunity within categories for that product margin to expand, that would be beneficial to these targets. So I think that's something that we you should all understand, is that when we pushed product margins over the last 3 years up 300 basis points, we're in very healthy place. We're not assuming much improvement in these targets but there is opportunity there on top of the expense leverage that we're seeing.

我要說的是，在這些三年目標中，我們其實並沒有假設產品利潤率會大幅提高。今天計算的這個 3 年目標大部分是基於費用槓桿、毛利率線內的費用槓桿以及費用槓桿以及 SG&A 和折舊。 Jen 概述了產品利潤擴大的許多舉措和類別內的許多機會，這將有利於這些目標。所以我認為你們都應該明白，當我們在過去 3 年裡將產品利潤率提高了 300 個基點時，我們處於非常健康的位置。我們並不假設這些目標會有太大改善，但除了我們看到的費用槓桿之外，還有機會。

Next up is Dana Telsey from Telsey Advisory.

接下來是來自 Telsey Advisory 的 Dana Telsey。

Congratulations on a terrific presentation. I could tell the thought and the hard work that went into it. One of the areas that you touched on is modernizing the fleet. As you think about the fleet and modernizing the existing stores, opening new stores, what's the cost model and the return model that you're thinking of for each? And how do you see the role of malls versus open air in your network?

恭喜您精彩的演講。我可以說出其中的想法和努力。您提到的領域之一是機隊現代化。當您考慮車隊、對現有商店進行現代化改造、開設新商店時，您考慮的每個商店的成本模型和回報模型是什麼？您如何看待購物中心與露天場所在您網路中的作用？

And lastly, Jen, with the enhancements of the product offering that you're doing and the category adjustments, what is the impact on margin that you see? Is there a higher merch margin potential from new categories versus existing?

最後，Jen，隨著您正在提供的產品的增強和類別的調整，您認為對利潤率的影響是什麼？與現有品類相比，新品類是否具有較高的商品利潤潛力？

I can start with the fleet remodeling. I think we outlined it very well. I think the average age of the fleet is 12 years, definitely paused on some plans to update the fleet during the pandemic for obvious reasons. Jen and Jean have come up with amazing designs that were well accepted in the test stores that we rolled out in 2023. So nice sales lift as we outlined. When sales doesn't always translate to income and cash, so we have an ROI focus for that investment as well. I think we said 15% is a good target for our remodel.

我可以從機隊改造開始。我認為我們已經很好地概述了它。我認為機隊的平均年齡是 12 年，由於顯而易見的原因，在大流行期間肯定暫停了一些更新機隊的計劃。 Jen 和 Jean 提出了令人驚嘆的設計，這些設計在我們於 2023 年推出的測試商店中得到了廣泛接受。正如我們概述的那樣，銷量提升非常好。當銷售額並不總是轉化為收入和現金時，我們也會關注該投資的投資報酬率。我認為我們說 15% 是我們改造的一個很好的目標。

So we are managing inventory, managing store labor, managing investments and beyond underneath the capital investments to generate that kind of type of return to drive income and cash flow generation incremental to what the store was doing prior to the remodel. And then for Aerie, as we outlined, for new store growth, whether it's Aerie stores, repositions of American Eagle stores, Todd Snyder, 3-year payback is our (inaudible). We get no better return on investment than the store openings. But we have a very refined process around those decisions. And we know, again, that 3-year payback is consistent, no reason to believe that won't continue to see that kind of payback.

因此，我們在資本投資的基礎上管理庫存、管理商店勞動力、管理投資等，以產生這種類型的回報，從而推動收入和現金流的產生增加到商店在改造之前所做的事情。然後對於 Aerie，正如我們概述的那樣，對於新店的成長，無論是 Aerie 商店、American Eagle 商店的重新定位、Todd Snyder，我們的 3 年投資回收期都是（聽不清楚）。我們獲得的投資報酬率沒有比開店更好的了。但我們圍繞著這些決策有一個非常完善的流程。我們再次知道，三年投資回報是一致的，沒有理由相信不會繼續看到這種回報。

Yes. And as we built into these assortments, we liked what we already saw in Q4. The margins were great. So we're going to be really careful. We're not going to over and short, I already mentioned that. These businesses typically are higher-margin business, tops, t-shirts, wear out tops, typically are, like I said, higher-margin businesses. So the one thing we have to be careful of is not to over and short, okay and turn those items fast. So that's what that business is all about and that's what we're going to be focused on.

是的。當我們建立這些分類時，我們喜歡第四季度已經看到的內容。利潤很大。所以我們要非常小心。我們不會說得太過或太短，我已經提到過這一點。這些業務通常是利潤率較高的業務，上衣、T 卹、磨損上衣，通常是，就像我說的，利潤率較高的業務。因此，我們必須小心的一件事是不要過度和短暫，好吧，快速轉動這些物品。這就是該業務的全部內容，也是我們要關注的重點。

Okay. Up next, we have Dan Stroller at BMO Capital Markets.

好的。接下來，我們請來了 BMO 資本市場的 Dan Stroller。

I just want to see if there's any color for the next several years on how the general corporate expense line should trend or as a percent of sales target? So anyway, if that's a tailwind to margin or any way to think about that?

我只是想看看未來幾年公司整體費用線的趨勢或占銷售目標的百分比是否有任何變化？那麼無論如何，這是否是利潤率的順風車或有什麼方法可以考慮這一點？

Yes. I think this past year, the growth in corporate expense bucket, definitely correlated with incentives against no accruals in 2022. We'll see that dollar amount come down in 2024 within our plans. And as I talked about addressing 85% of our expense base, there are definitely expense lines within the corporate segment there that we are looking to continue to optimize all the dollars flat to then leverage that rate down, or I guess, like I've outlined, places where we would be able to reduce sellers.

是的。我認為過去一年企業支出的成長肯定與 2022 年無應計費用的激勵措施相關。我們將看到 2024 年美元金額在我們的計畫內下降。當我談到解決我們 85% 的支出基礎時，企業部門內肯定存在一些支出項目，我們希望繼續優化所有美元，然後利用槓桿降低該利率，或者我猜，就像我已經概述了我們能夠減少賣家的地方。

So I know we've been historically around, I think, at 7%, 8%. It's a little higher this past year for all the reasons we just said. As we look to leverage that line item within this 3% to 5% revenue target, we see that rate come down on the higher end of the revenue result faster but sequential leverage from here is the intent for that expense line as well.

所以我知道我們歷史上一直在 7%、8% 左右。由於我們剛才所說的所有原因，去年的價格略高一些。當我們希望在 3% 到 5% 的收入目標內利用該行項目時，我們發現收入結果較高端的利率下降得更快，但從這裡開始的連續槓桿也是該費用項目的意圖。

Okay. Next, we have Jonna Kim from TD Cowen.

好的。接下來是來自 TD Cowen 的 Jonna Kim。

Just curious a little bit more details around promotional strategy. You've mentioned how it changed over time but if you can provide any more colors around that and what the new promotional discipline will look like going forward? And also, if you can just talk to your current lead time now and how much you plan to leave open for buy across both banners going forward? And then just in near term, any color on gross margin cadence will be helpful.

只是好奇有關促銷策略的更多細節。您已經提到它隨著時間的推移發生了怎樣的變化，但是您是否可以提供更多的顏色，以及新的促銷規則未來會是什麼樣子？另外，您是否可以談談您目前的交貨時間以及您計劃在兩個橫幅上留出多少可供購買的空間？然後就在短期內，毛利率節奏的任何顏色都會有所幫助。

Sure. I think as I just went in -- I reiterate that's our markdown rates used to run in the 50s pre-pandemic. And really for the last 3 years, we've been articulating -- talking about inventory optimization, reduction in choices, in SKUs, which (inaudible) inventory had a lot of markdowns attached to it. So now it's largely an American Eagle brand initiative, Jen outlined the fact that, that's been the case. We are now resetting the profitability. That inventory work is never done but that tranche of work is completed. So now we're looking to actually expand and grow the brand. But we'll do that prudently and choice counts and SKU counts will represent what's needed there to do that.

當然。我想，當我剛進去時，我重申，這是我們在 50 年代大流行前使用的降價率。實際上，在過去 3 年裡，我們一直在闡述 - 談論庫存優化、減少 SKU 的選擇，其中（聽不清楚）庫存有很多降價。 Jen 概述了這樣一個事實：現在這主要是 American Eagle 的品牌舉措。事實就是如此。我們現在正在重置盈利能力。庫存工作從未完成，但那部分工作已經完成。因此，現在我們正在尋求實際擴展和發展該品牌。但我們會謹慎行事，選擇數量和 SKU 數量將代表實現這一目標所需的條件。

So there's sort of the end of season impact or that sale of inventory markdown, kind of pre-pandemic phenomenon that will no longer be part of our operating model. And from there, we've learned over these last 3 years how to pace promotions. So we support their jeans almost every day. That team are not doing that anymore. That we don't intend to ever go back to that type of promotional strategy. That was a big markdown driver, a big great driver as well.

因此，存在某種季末影響或庫存降價銷售，這種大流行前的現象將不再是我們營運模式的一部分。從那時起，我們在過去三年中學會如何調整促銷節奏。所以我們幾乎每天都支持他們的牛仔褲。該團隊不再這樣做了。我們不打算再回到那種類型的促銷策略。這是一個很大的降價驅動程序，也是一個很棒的驅動程式。

But then even within key periods, key holidays, key weekends, we have -- we might run our 40% off or whatever the deal but we're doing it with less days, pulsing in a way the customers reacting more positively. So those strategies are intact, in improvement for 3 years now. So this mid-40% is -- we think we've set in our sweet spot in terms of the balance of kind of value to the customer and driving traffic and conversion and not having to overpromote to do that.

但即使在關鍵時期、關鍵假期、關鍵週末，我們也可能會提供40% 的折扣或其他優惠，但我們會用更少的天數來做到這一點，以更積極的方式吸引客戶的反應。因此，這些策略完好無損，並且已經持續改進了三年。因此，這 40% 的中間值是——我們認為，在客戶價值與推動流量和轉換之間的平衡方面，我們已經處於最佳位置，而無需過度促銷。

I think open to buy, we are back to case mode. So I think that's the only thing you should, everybody should understand that supply chain disruptions that we saw for a few years are behind us. Some minor issues out there that we all know around things happening in the Middle East but we're -- we have very little exposure to that. That won't change our time lines drastically. Any product coming from that region, we have adjusted time lines for the remainder of the year, so we don't see that being a big impact.

我認為開放購買，我們又回到了案例模式。所以我認為這是你唯一應該做的事情，每個人都應該明白，我們幾年來看到的供應鏈中斷已經過去了。我們都知道中東發生的一些小問題，但我們對此知之甚少。這不會徹底改變我們的時間表。對於來自該地區的任何產品，我們都調整了今年剩餘時間的時間表，因此我們認為這不會產生重大影響。

But chase mode is the mantra. We're putting a 3% to 5% revenue growth number out there. We've achieved the high end of that historically for the last 10 years, setting ourselves up structurally to leverage on that but then chase a higher revenue amount that was the formula to win and that's what we'll continue to do. And like I said earlier, we're not really looking for product margin expansion in these 3-year plans. So when you asked about the gross margin outlook and puts and takes, the gross margin of 39% to 40% that we are outlining for the next 3 years is more about expense leverage than it is about product margin expansion.

但追逐模式才是王道。我們公佈了 3% 到 5% 的收入成長數字。在過去的十年裡，我們已經實現了歷史上的高端，在結構上為自己做好了利用這一點的準備，但隨後追求更高的收入，這是獲勝的秘訣，也是我們將繼續做的事情。正如我之前所說，我們並不是真的在這些三年計畫中尋求產品利潤率的擴張。因此，當您詢問毛利率前景以及看漲期權時，我們概述的未來 3 年毛利率為 39% 至 40%，更多的是費用槓桿，而不是產品利潤率擴張。

But I know Jen, would be disappointed if we don't see that. There are a ton of initiatives that she's outlined earlier that could benefit product margin beyond what we're expecting right now. So gross margin leverage to that 39% -- or expansion, to that 39% to 40% is all about expenses at the moment. And we get there faster on the high end of the revenue guide at 5% than we were at 3% but expecting to expand within that range in total.

但我知道，如果我們看不到這一點，Jen 會感到失望。她先前概述的大量舉措可能會使產品利潤率超出我們目前的預期。因此，毛利率槓桿率達到 39%，或擴大到 39% 至 40%，目前都與費用有關。我們在收入指南的高端 5% 上實現這一目標的速度比 3% 的速度要快，但預計總體會在這個範圍內擴張。

All right. Next question comes from Chris Nardone of Bank of America.

好的。下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Chris Nardone。

So within your Aerie growth expectations over the 3 years of mid- to high single digits, can you clarify what you're assuming for comp growth? And then how we should think about growth by category? And then one follow-up on this gross margin topic we've been discussing. Can you remind us how long you have visibility into both freight and cotton costs, given the recent price moves in both of those inputs?

因此，在您對 Aerie 未來 3 年中高個位數成長的預期中，您能否澄清您對公司成長的假設？那我們該如何看待品類的成長呢？然後是我們一直在討論的毛利率主題的後續行動。您能否提醒我們，考慮到最近這兩種投入的價格變動，您對運費和棉花成本的了解有多長？

I think (inaudible) we're only opening 30 stores a year now, that kind of gap between total growth and comp growth closes. We're at 1 to 2 points now. So we're guiding mid- to high single-digit expectations, which is modest. We believe that's modest. There's more opportunity than that. You can assume about 1 point differential. So you're, call it, mid-single-digit comp then on a mid- to high single-digit total growth.

我認為（聽不清楚）我們現在每年只開設 30 家商店，總成長和複合成長之間的差距正在縮小。我們現在領先 1 到 2 分。因此，我們的預期為中高個位數，這是適度的。我們認為這是適度的。還有比這更多的機會。您可以假設大約有 1 分的差距。所以，你可以稱之為中個位數的比較，然後是中個位數到高個位數的總成長。

Yes. And I think if you just think about Aerie, this brand platform, you saw the video. It's incredible, this community that we're building. And guess what? We only have 55% brand awareness out there. There's still tons of expansion that we can do to introduce the current categories to our customer fleet. So we're pretty excited about just getting the brand out there in more markets.

是的。我想，如果你想到 Aerie 這個品牌平台，你就會看到這個影片。我們正在建立的這個社區真是令人難以置信。你猜怎麼著？我們的品牌知名度只有 55%。我們仍然可以做大量的擴展來將當前的類別引入我們的客戶群。因此，我們對於將該品牌推向更多市場感到非常興奮。

And secondly, this is another like incredible step. 65% of our customer base only purchase 1 category. So the marketing team is really up to introducing all the other categories that we -- that we're in and ensuring that the customers can see it. But right now, if we can get them to buy 2 of our categories, there, expansion right there. I mean, we see the Aerie business getting to well above $2 billion in the near couple of years.

其次，這又是令人難以置信的一步。我們 65% 的客戶群只購買 1 個類別。因此，行銷團隊確實準備好介紹我們所屬的所有其他類別，並確保客戶能夠看到它。但現在，如果我們能讓他們購買我們的兩個類別，就在那裡擴張。我的意思是，我們預計 Aerie 的業務在近幾年內將遠超 20 億美元。

And with that, we're going to definitely introduce our current categories. But again, it's our job to introduce innovation in those categories, excite the customers in those categories and make sure we're expanding trends in those categories. So -- but those are the 2 really important facts that I would love you to hear because it just proves that we have just so much more opportunity.

至此，我們肯定會介紹我們目前的類別。但同樣，我們的工作是在這些類別中引入創新，激發這些類別的客戶，並確保我們正在擴大這些類別的趨勢。所以——但這些是我希望你們聽到的兩個非常重要的事實，因為它證明我們有更多的機會。

Okay. Next is Corey Tarlowe at Jefferies.

好的。接下來是傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的科里·塔洛 (Corey Tarlowe)。

I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about how you intend to leverage AI within your long-term plan to enhance the customer experience, drive better sales and enhance profitability? And then second question is, within your long-range plan, what's your outlook for wages over the multiyear time horizon? And how do you expect that to trend as we get -- go ahead?

我想知道您是否可以談談您打算如何在長期計劃中利用人工智慧來增強客戶體驗、推動更好的銷售並提高盈利能力？第二個問題是，在您的長期計畫中，您對多年時間範圍內的薪資前景有何看法？您預計這種趨勢會如何發展—持續？

I can address the AI question. I think some of what we've already seen benefits from this past year is continue to expand upon our machine learning forecasting capabilities within our inventory allocation work. And the more data we got in there and the more we kind of see the optimization of that, we're seeing better in-stocks in stores, better fulfillment rates. And we expect those same trends to continue to converge benefits both in stores and digitally.

我可以回答人工智慧問題。我認為我們從過去一年中已經看到的一些好處是在我們的庫存分配工作中繼續擴展我們的機器學習預測能力。我們獲得的數據越多，我們就越能看到優化，我們看到商店的庫存更好，履約率更高。我們預計這些趨勢將繼續在商店和數位領域帶來好處。

And also, Mike, if I could add that from the customer standpoint in the next couple of years, we'll be introducing new concepts on our onboarding in the store with AI to make a better shopping experience for the customers.

另外，麥克，如果我可以在未來幾年從客戶的角度補充一點，我們將在商店中引入人工智慧的新概念，為客戶提供更好的購物體驗。

A combination of those capabilities with our RFID rollout, we'll be able to expand the customer experience, not just the inventory optimization or inventory benefits that we see with those efforts.

將這些功能與我們推出的 RFID 結合，我們將能夠擴展客戶體驗，而不僅僅是我們透過這些努力看到的庫存優化或庫存效益。

We see a big opportunity, tremendous opportunity.

我們看到了一個巨大的機會，巨大的機會。

On wage growth, yes, there's 2 components we've talked about historically. One would be in our distribution centers and part of our supply chain, which -- with the expansion and to -- with a fulfillment network and then client nodes, that's mitigated some of our peak needs during like back-to-school and holiday peak hiring, which is where some of that wage pressure has come into play. So there's some mitigation efforts there or some mitigation impact there, expand the supply chain than what we have.

關於薪資成長，是的，我們歷史上討論過兩個組成部分。其中之一是我們的配送中心和供應鏈的一部分，隨著擴張和履行網絡以及客戶端節點，這可以緩解我們在返校和假期高峰期間的一些高峰需求招聘，這是工資壓力發揮作用的地方。因此，那裡有一些緩解措施或一些緩解影響，擴大供應鏈而不是我們現有的。

On the store front, yes, since the pandemic, wage growth has been a hurdle. That subsided in this last year, 1.5 years, kind of come back to the mean in terms of annual expectations more -- just typical annual increases, minimum wage increases by markets. And that is a massive -- major focus for us within the profit group, we're going to work to offset that wage growth with efficiencies in our stores, especially in the area of kind of nonselling task hours somewhere else where AI can come into -- next to Jay's points, not only just on the customer experience within stores but efficiency from both RFID and AI capabilities in store to mitigate some sort of non-selling tasks, wage -- to offset some of that wage challenge that we had on the stores.

在商店方面，是的，自大流行以來，工資增長一直是一個障礙。去年，1.5 年，這種情況有所緩解，年度預期更多地回到了平均水平——只是典型的年度增長，市場最低工資增長。這是我們利潤部門的一個巨大的重點，我們將努力透過商店的效率來抵消工資的成長，特別是在人工智慧可以發揮作用的其他地方的非銷售任務時間領域。— 傑伊的觀點旁邊，不僅是商店內的客戶體驗，還包括商店中RFID 和人工智慧功能的效率，以減輕某種非銷售任務，薪資——以抵消我們面臨的一些工資挑戰商店。

Next is Alex Straton from Morgan Stanley.

接下來是摩根士丹利的亞歷克斯·斯特拉頓(Alex Straton)。

I just have two for you. The first is on the American Eagle banner. Can you just break down that businesses? It looks like 300 basis points of improvement versus pre-COVID. Just big picture, what's happened there? And then also explain kind of what your 10% target over time assumes American Eagle can get to? I'm looking at that low 20s, I think, in the pandemic. I'm wondering if that's within the realm. And then I just have a quick follow-up.

我只有兩個給你。第一個是美國之鷹旗幟。你能分解那些業務嗎？與新冠疫情爆發前相比，似乎改善了 300 個基點。只是大圖，那裡發生了什麼事？然後也解釋一下隨著時間的推移，您假設 American Eagle 可以達到什麼 10% 的目標？我認為，在大流行期間，我正在關注20多歲的人。我想知道這是否在境界之內。然後我就進行快速跟進。

Yes, the 300 basis points improvement over the last several years has been very much tied to product margin and gross margin benefits. Both product margin and then the leverage of expenses within gross margin benefiting both brands. And that's been that for a stagnant like, flat to even revenue being down slightly. So we've reset the brand for profitability through all of that inventory work and optimization of gross margin.

是的，過去幾年 300 個基點的改善與產品利潤和毛利率收益密切相關。產品利潤率以及毛利率內的費用槓桿都使兩個品牌受益。這就是收入停滯不前、持平甚至略有下降的情況。因此，我們透過所有庫存工作和毛利率優化來重置品牌的獲利能力。

Now once we're turning our attention to growth, even with modest growth, we can leverage other areas through the P&L and other areas within the brand to drive bottom line operating rate. So as we pass through -- this year's guidance is implying another 100, 150 basis points of operating rate improvement to the mid-8s, we would expect really that the brands can get to the high teen rate and start on the path towards 20%, while we're also optimizing or deleveraging that corporate overhead bucket.

現在，一旦我們將注意力轉向成長，即使成長不大，我們也可以透過損益表和品牌內的其他領域來利用其他領域來提高底線營運率。因此，當我們通過時——今年的指導意味著營運率將再提高 100、150 個基點，達到 8 歲左右，我們確實預計這些品牌能夠達到青少年的高營運率，並開始邁向 20% 的道路，同時我們也在優化或去槓桿化企業管理費用。

So now AE brand growth -- revenue growth will be part of the leverage story and part of the operating rate improvement that we expect to see over the next several years.

因此，現在 AE 品牌的成長——收入成長將成為槓桿故事的一部分，也是我們預計在未來幾年看到的營運率改善的一部分。

Great. That's super helpful. Maybe same question on Aerie in terms of -- and it might be the same story in terms of that profitability improvement versus pre-COVID. And then also what you're assuming in terms of what that business gets to within the 10% target as well?

偉大的。這非常有幫助。也許 Aerie 也有同樣的問題，而且與新冠疫情之前相比，獲利能力的提高也可能是同樣的情況。然後，您對該業務能否達到 10% 的目標有何假設？

So it's very similar. I mean Aerie's product margins have reached some new milestones this past year as they've closed the gap to where AE has gotten to. And that's, again, from here, I think with -- even on the modest mid- to high single-digit revenue, we expect that to continue, both leveraging, again, expenses and gross margin, SG&A expenses. But even beyond that, where the growth is coming from in soft apparel and OFFLINE or even product mix benefits on top of that, that product margins should also expand. So I think both brands have their path to this high teens, 20% brand operating rates over the next several years.

所以它非常相似。我的意思是，Aerie 的產品利潤率在過去的一年裡達到了一些新的里程碑，因為它們縮小了與 AE 的差距。再次，從這裡開始，我認為即使是中等至高個位數的收入，我們也預計這種情況將繼續下去，再次利用費用和毛利率、SG&A 費用。但即便如此，由於軟裝和線下產品的成長，甚至產品組合的好處，產品利潤率也應該擴大。因此，我認為這兩個品牌都將在未來幾年內達到 20% 的高品牌營運率。

Okay. Now we have Marni Shapiro from The Retail Tracker.

好的。現在請來《零售追蹤》的瑪尼夏皮羅 (Marni Shapiro)。

Congrats on a great quarter. It's very helpful. Mike, just a couple of housekeeping questions. I just want to make sure, did you just say mid-8s operating margin for '24? And did you put a dollar value to that? You gave out a bunch of numbers and my hands couldn't write as fast as you were speaking.

恭喜您度過了一個出色的季度。這非常有幫助。麥克，我有幾個家務事。我只是想確定一下，你剛才說的是 24 年 8 年代中期的營業利益率嗎？你有沒有用美元來衡量它的價值？你給了一堆數字，而我的手寫得還不如你說的那麼快。

Yes, the math on 3% to 5% -- or 2% to 4% revenue growth, Marni, is a point of impact from the 53rd week. So we're basically getting 3% to 5% consistently. But then this year, there's is a 1-point impact. The $445 million to $465 million on that growth would put you in the low to mid-8% operating rates range. Different ways to get that income. But -- and just off of that guidance, you get to a low to mid-8% operating rate for 2024.

是的，Marni，3% 到 5% 或 2% 到 4% 的收入成長是第 53 週的一個影響點。所以我們基本上一直保持 3% 到 5% 的成長。但今年，有 1 分的影響。 4.45 億至 4.65 億美元的成長將使您的營運率處於 8% 的低至中水平範圍。獲得收入的不同方式。但是，根據這項指導，2024 年的開工率將達到 8% 的中低水準。

Great. And then did you guys give any guidance about store openings and closings for '24? I know you talked about some renovations but did you talk about store openings and closings for the year?

偉大的。那麼你們對 24 年的開店和關店有什麼指導嗎？我知道您談到了一些裝修，但您是否談到了今年的商店開業和關閉？

Yes, it was about 30 Aerie, OFFLINE that we're expecting and Todd Snyder stores, we're looking, that about 5. And then for the AE brand, still a net closure amount but we are -- as the brand is seeing growth now that's becoming -- the net number will be less because we closed 130 stores over the last 3 years. Another 25 to 30 this past year. Wouldn't be more than that, unless you're actually seeing opportunities in the repositions in some of these markets. So that net number, we expect to continue to come down.

是的，我們預計大約有30 家Aerie、OFFLINE 商店，我們正在尋找大約5 家Todd Snyder 商店。然後對於AE 品牌來說，仍然是一個淨關閉量，但我們正在——正如該品牌所看到的那樣現在的成長正在成為——淨數量將會減少，因為我們在過去 3 年裡關閉了 130 家商店。去年又增加了 25 到 30 個。不會更多，除非你確實看到了其中一些市場的重新定位機會。因此，我們預計該淨值將繼續下降。

So net-net for the year, 30 openings for Aerie, OFFLINE. Net closures for AE still being maybe around that 20 mark but that's been refined and then a handful of other stores for Todd and Unsubscribed.

所以今年淨淨，Aerie、OFFLINE 有 30 個職缺。 AE 的淨關閉量可能仍在 20 左右，但已經有所改善，然後是 Todd 和 Unsubscribed 的其他一些商店。

Very close to the results and the remodels, we work with that still. So hopefully, that can close the gap to continue to do this low single-digit growth for AE.

非常接近結果和改造，我們仍在努力。因此，希望這能縮小差距，讓 AE 繼續保持這種低個位數成長。

And then, Jen, I did have a couple of quick questions for you on the product side. The first is just, you made 2 comments, one about skewing a little bit older in spots but then also about the urban stores, would -- will you want to add a little bit more product, a little more variety? Would these -- would this slightly older skewed product just belong in those urban stores, is that how you're thinking about it? I've seen it in some of the other stores as well but I'm just curious.

然後，Jen，我確實有幾個關於產品方面的快速問題要問你。第一個是，您發表了兩條評論，一條是關於在某些地方偏舊一點，另一條是關於城市商店，您是否想添加更多一點的產品，更多一點的品種？這些——這種稍舊的傾斜產品是否只屬於那些城市商店，你是這樣想的嗎？我在其他一些商店也看到過它，但我只是很好奇。

And then can we talk about the tops business? Because Eagle's tops, you started spring off with a bang. Congrats. I'm curious, do you have this ratio issue in Aerie as well? Because I feel like you have a very solid tops business in Aerie. And as you grow back or grow the Eagle tops business, how do you make sure that you can keep Aerie's tops business also very strong?

然後我們可以談談上衣生意嗎？因為鷹的頂部，你開始一聲巨響。恭喜。我很好奇，你們在Aerie也有這個比例問題嗎？因為我覺得你們在 Aerie 的上衣生意非常穩固。當您重新成長或發展 Eagle 上衣業務時，您如何確保能夠保持 Aerie 的上衣業務同樣強勁？

Yes. Thank you for the compliments. By the way, we're really proud of what we're delivering but look what happened in Q4. I love what we're seeing as we head into Q1. Look, it's not even just about urban. We're going to put the best assortments where they belong. We've done a deep dive on how we approach our assortments by store. Once we use the tier, so we had Tier 1, Tier 2, doesn't really mean anything to you. Now we're calling them clusters, where it's about a market cluster where we can put the best assortments in the best markets. It's essentially that. So it's not just necessarily all of them.

是的。感謝您的讚美。順便說一句，我們對我們所交付的產品感到非常自豪，但請看看第四季度發生的情況。我喜歡我們進入第一季時所看到的情況。看，這甚至不僅僅與城市有關。我們將把最好的品種放在它們所屬的地方。我們深入研究如何按商店處理我們的品種。一旦我們使用了第 1 層，第 1 層、第 2 層，對你來說就沒有任何意義了。現在我們稱它們為集群，這是一個市場集群，我們可以在最好的市場中放置最好的品種。本質上就是這樣。所以這不一定是全部。

So that's what we're up to there. Tops to bottoms, yes, you're right. AE has tons of opportunity here to round this out and the assortments side, look, what I'm seeing, if you even saw our denim launch more recently, as you noticed, it was head-to-toe, really fun to do this because basically, we're leaning into our key category in American Eagle and doing it differently. I love how we showed up with our initial spring campaign, we called it denim on denim.

這就是我們要做的。從上到下，是的，你是對的。 AE 有很多機會來完善這一點，在品種方面，看，我所看到的，如果您最近看到我們的牛仔布發布，正如您所注意到的，從頭到腳，這樣做真的很有趣因為基本上，我們正​​在專注於美國之鷹的關鍵類別，並以不同的方式做事。我喜歡我們最初的春季廣告活動的表現，我們稱之為牛仔布牛仔布。

Looking at Aerie, yes, you're right. We're definitely more balanced on the head-to-toe assortments. Leggings are very strong, as you know and it's a very strong pillar for the OFFLINE business. So if you think of OFFLINE, we'll always lean in heavier on the legging side of the business and the bottoms side of the business. But Aerie will always be definitely more balanced. And keep in mind, we still have intimates in other categories, if you think about.

看看艾瑞，是的，你說得對。我們在從頭到腳的品種上肯定更加平衡。如你所知，打底褲非常強大，它是線下業務的一個非常強大的支柱。因此，如果您想到離線業務，我們總是會更注重緊身褲業務和底部業務。但 Aerie 肯定會更加平衡。請記住，如果你仔細想想，我們還有其他類別的親密對象。

All right. Well, that wraps up our question-and-answer session today. Thanks, (inaudible) everyone of us and we look forward to speaking to you soon. Have a great day.

好的。好了，我們今天的問答環節就到此結束了。謝謝（聽不清楚）我們每個人，我們期待很快與您交談。祝你有美好的一天。