(AEO) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the American Eagle Outfitters Fourth Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn this conference over to your host, Ms. Judy Meehan. Thank you, ma'am. You may begin your presentation.

您好，歡迎參加 American Eagle Outfitters 2021 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）作為提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。我現在想將這次會議轉交給您的主持人 Judy Meehan 女士。謝謝你，女士。你可以開始你的演講了。

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

大家下午好。今天和我一起準備發言的還有執行董事長兼首席執行官 Jay Schottenstein； Jen Foyle，AE 和 Aerie 總裁兼執行創意總監； Michael Rempell，首席運營官；和首席財務官 Mike Mathias。

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

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

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

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

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

現在我將把電話轉給傑伊。

Good afternoon, and thanks for joining us today. 2021 was a remarkable year, well exceeding our expectations. I'm incredibly grateful to our associates who worked tirelessly through the year's macro challenges to deliver outstanding results.

下午好，感謝您今天加入我們。 2021 年是非凡的一年，遠遠超出我們的預期。我非常感謝我們的員工，他們在這一年的宏觀挑戰中孜孜不倦地工作，取得了出色的成果。

In 2021, we had a number of significant milestones, including crossing $5 billion of revenue for the first time ever. Annual revenue has increased $1.3 billion or 33% from 2020. Additionally, compared to pre-pandemic 2019, revenue grew 16%. And we achieved significant margin expansion and profit flow-through.

2021 年，我們取得了許多重要的里程碑，包括有史以來第一次突破 50 億美元的收入。與 2020 年相比，年收入增加了 13 億美元或 33%。此外，與 2019 年大流行前相比，收入增長了 16%。我們實現了顯著的利潤率擴張和利潤流轉。

We saw greater consistency across the business and growth across brands, channels and geographic regions. This was a terrific result and reflects a financially strong, agile, customer-focused and efficient organization, fueled by strong demand for our brands, improved product margin and cost efficiencies.

我們看到整個業務的一致性以及品牌、渠道和地理區域的增長。這是一個了不起的結果，反映了在對我們品牌的強勁需求、提高的產品利潤和成本效率的推動下，一個財務強大、敏捷、以客戶為中心和高效的組織。

We achieved adjusted operating income of $603 million. This included additional freight costs related to factory closures due to COVID, which hit largely in the fourth quarter. Despite these pressures, 2021 was our best profit results since 2007. Without additional freight costs, profits would have hit an all-time high. Momentum and strong demand continued in the fourth quarter, driving record revenue of $1.5 billion. As I mentioned, profit flow-through was constrained by elevated freight costs.

我們實現了 6.03 億美元的調整後營業收入。這包括與因新冠疫情導致的工廠關閉相關的額外運費，這主要在第四季度受到影響。儘管面臨這些壓力，但 2021 年是我們自 2007 年以來最好的利潤結果。如果沒有額外的運費成本，利潤將創歷史新高。第四季度的勢頭和強勁的需求持續，推動收入達到創紀錄的 15 億美元。正如我所提到的，利潤流動受到運費上漲的限制。

I'm proud of these results, particularly in light of the supply chain challenges that hit the retail industry. With momentum across our business and key strategies working, we exceeded our 2023 financial targets, which were communicated back in January of last year. We now have our eyes set on a new target of $800 million in operating profit, including $5.8 billion in revenue and a 13.5% operating margin. Our real power, real growth plan is delivering structural improvements to our business that is enabling us to fuel growth with greater agility and focus.

我為這些結果感到自豪，特別是考慮到零售業面臨的供應鏈挑戰。隨著我們的業務發展勢頭和關鍵戰略發揮作用，我們超過了去年 1 月傳達的 2023 年財務目標。我們現在將目光投向了 8 億美元的營業利潤的新目標，其中包括 58 億美元的收入和 13.5% 的營業利潤率。我們真正的力量，真正的增長計劃正在為我們的業務提供結構性改進，使我們能夠以更大的敏捷性和專注力推動增長。

Starting with Aerie. Once again, we posted a record year, including the fourth quarter marking the 29th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Operating profits more than tripled from pre-pandemic 2019 levels as Aerie reached a turning point in its growth track. Our activewear expansion OFFLINE is hitting it out of the park. Excitement for the #AerieREAL movement is unmatched, and we see significant opportunity to continue to grow Aerie as we penetrate key markets.

從艾瑞開始。我們再次創下了創紀錄的一年，包括連續第 29 個季度實現兩位數增長的第四季度。隨著 Aerie 在其增長軌道上達到轉折點，營業利潤比 2019 年大流行前的水平增長了兩倍多。我們的運動服擴張 OFFLINE 正在走出公園。 #AerieREAL 運動的興奮是無與倫比的，隨著我們進入關鍵市場，我們看到了繼續發展 Aerie 的重要機會。

At American Eagle, the transformation has been nothing short of incredible. Under Jen's leadership, we're running a stronger, more focused and more profitable brand. The numbers speak for themselves, with operating profits up over 50% from 2019 and revenue up 2%, exceeding our plan. Our product assortments have been strengthened, and inventory optimization is enabling us to prioritize our best-selling products. We've also made early progress in our real estate optimization strategy, closing unproductive stores and energizing the business around high-quality stores and digital.

在 American Eagle，這種轉變簡直令人難以置信。在 Jen 的領導下，我們正在運營一個更強大、更專注、更有利可圖的品牌。數字不言自明，營業利潤比 2019 年增長 50% 以上，收入增長 2%，超出了我們的計劃。我們的產品分類得到了加強，庫存優化使我們能夠優先考慮我們最暢銷的產品。我們還在房地產優化戰略方面取得了初步進展，關閉了非生產性商店，並圍繞優質商店和數字化業務注入活力。

Supply chain innovation has been a key enabler of our strong performance across brands. The acquisition of AirTerra and Quiet Logistics are part of the transformation and will solidify many of the benefits, cost savings and efficiencies we have seen in our P&L to date while providing a new growth platform for the company. Mike will speak about this more, but we are very excited about this opportunity and the interest we are seeing from other retailers.

供應鏈創新一直是我們各品牌強勁表現的關鍵推動力。收購 AirTerra 和 Quiet Logistics 是轉型的一部分，將鞏固我們迄今為止在損益表中看到的許多好處、成本節約和效率，同時為公司提供新的增長平台。邁克會更多地談論這個，但我們對這個機會以及我們從其他零售商那裡看到的興趣感到非常興奮。

Lastly, social responsibility has always been woven through the fabric of AEO as we work to build a better world. This is evident through our purpose-led values, charitable giving and a commitment to fostering a workplace culture where everyone is respected and empowered.

最後，在我們努力建設更美好世界的過程中，社會責任始終貫穿於 AEO 的結構中。這體現在我們以目標為導向的價值觀、慈善捐贈以及致力於營造一種人人都受到尊重和賦權的工作場所文化。

In 2021, AEO led charitable donations of over $16 million, our highest ever. Over the last several years, we pledged to accelerate sustainability efforts across our operations, and we are making great progress. We look forward to greater disclosure and transparency of our ESG practices in 2022 to highlight our work and measurable impact in these important areas.

2021 年，AEO 領導的慈善捐款超過 1600 萬美元，是我們有史以來最高的。在過去的幾年裡，我們承諾在我們的運營中加快可持續發展的努力，我們正在取得巨大的進步。我們期待在 2022 年更多地披露我們的 ESG 實踐並提高透明度，以突出我們在這些重要領域的工作和可衡量的影響。

I'd like to thank our teams for their excellent execution and unwavering focus on driving our business forward. Thanks to their efforts, we have entered 2022 a stronger company. The macro environment remains challenging, which we are taking into account in our plans for the year. Yet we expect our results to reflect meaningful progress over prior years, setting a new baseline for profitability.

我要感謝我們的團隊出色的執行力和堅定不移地專注於推動我們的業務發展。在他們的努力下，我們進入了 2022 年，成為了一家更強大的公司。宏觀環境仍然充滿挑戰，我們在今年的計劃中考慮到了這一點。然而，我們預計我們的業績將反映過去幾年的有意義的進步，為盈利能力設定新的基準。

With that, I'll turn it over to Jen.

有了這個，我會把它交給珍。

Thanks, Jay, and good afternoon, everyone. It's been a truly sensational year for AEO. Our leading brand, Aerie and AE, continue to be a favorite with our consumers. This year, we saw a significant gain in active customers, reaching our highest level ever, and we are winning more wallet share.

謝謝，傑，大家下午好。對於 AEO 來說，這是真正轟動的一年。我們的領先品牌 Aerie 和 AE 繼續受到消費者的喜愛。今年，我們看到活躍客戶顯著增加，達到了有史以來的最高水平，我們正在贏得更多的錢包份額。

For the year, Aerie reached $1.4 billion in revenue, up 39% to 2020, adding over $500 million since 2019. We saw strong profit flow-through with annual operating profit over $200 million and margins in the mid-teens. Aerie's fourth quarter revenue marked another new record. Growth was spectacular, rising 27% on top of a 25% increase in fourth quarter 2020. This was Aerie's 29th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, marking new highs.

今年，Aerie 的收入達到 14 億美元，比 2020 年增長 39%，自 2019 年以來增加了 5 億多美元。我們看到強勁的利潤流向，年營業利潤超過 2 億美元，利潤率在十幾歲左右。 Aerie 第四季度的收入再創紀錄。增長驚人，在 2020 年第四季度增長 25% 的基礎上增長了 27%。這是 Aerie 連續第 29 個季度實現兩位數增長，創下新高。

Sales metrics were healthy across the board. The AUR was up in the low 20s, and this was driven by higher full-price selling, more strategic promotional activity and mix shift into higher ticket items. Demand was strong across core Aerie apparel and intimates as well as OFFLINE activewear, which is showing great momentum just 1.5 years into the launch. I'm very encouraged by the customer response, and I look forward to expanding Aerie and OFFLINE store footprint and reaching new markets.

銷售指標全面健康。 AUR 在 20 年代低點上升，這是由更高的全價銷售、更具戰略性的促銷活動以及向更高票價項目的組合轉變所推動的。核心 Aerie 服裝和內衣以及離線運動服的需求強勁，僅推出 1.5 年就顯示出強勁的勢頭。我對客戶的反應感到非常鼓舞，我期待擴大 Aerie 和離線商店的足跡並進入新市場。

As we previously discussed, Aerie's fourth quarter profit margins were constrained by industry-wide supply chain disruptions in South Vietnam, where Aerie had a greater presence. We took on higher air freight costs to get our products here on time, and we also experienced uneven inventory flows in our high-demand leggings business, which of course is one of our higher-margin categories. Additionally, delayed new store openings due to labor and building material shortages also had an impact. These factors present opportunities for us in the coming quarters.

正如我們之前所討論的，Aerie 第四季度的利潤率受到南越全行業供應鏈中斷的限制，而 Aerie 在該地區的影響力更大。我們承擔了更高的空運成本以準時到達我們的產品，而且我們的高需求緊身褲業務也經歷了不平衡的庫存流動，這當然是我們利潤率較高的類別之一。此外，由於勞動力和建築材料短缺導致的新店開業延遲也產生了影響。這些因素為我們在未來幾個季度提供了機會。

Aerie and OFFLINE are supported by a rich brand platform, which changed the industry forever. We focus on individualized, innovative marketing campaigns that speak to real women. Authenticity and positivity are at the very heart of everything we do. We have a true 360-degree view of our customers. And now with the addition of OFFLINE, we are offering a more complete lifestyle, meeting their needs across cozy, comfy and active. Needless to say, I'm very optimistic about our future, and I remain focused on fueling further momentum as we build to our new $2.2 billion revenue target.

Aerie和OFFLINE由豐富的品牌平台支持，永遠改變了行業。我們專注於與真實女性對話的個性化、創新營銷活動。真實性和積極性是我們所做一切的核心。我們對客戶有真正的 360 度視圖。現在，隨著 OFFLINE 的加入，我們提供更完整的生活方式，滿足他們對舒適、舒適和活躍的需求。不用說，我對我們的未來非常樂觀，並且在我們建立新的 22 億美元收入目標時，我仍然專注於推動進一步的發展勢頭。

Turning to American Eagle. What a difference a year makes. New product assortments, stronger advertising and messaging together with inventory and real estate optimization are having a meaningful impact. American Eagle posted a terrific year with record revenue up 30% to 2020 and up 2% to 2019. We are reactivating shoppers, attracting new customers and seeing significant improvement in retention rates.

轉向美國之鷹。一年有什麼不同。新產品分類、更強大的廣告和消息傳遞以及庫存和房地產優化正在產生有意義的影響。 American Eagle 發布了一個了不起的一年，到 2020 年的收入增長了 30%，到 2019 年增長了 2%。我們正在重新激活購物者，吸引新客戶，並看到保留率顯著提高。

Demand in the quarter was strong across genders. Our men's business has seen tremendous growth as we've refocused the assortment in our core best-selling items. The women's business also had a great quarter, supported by our signature denim category and focused on outfitting.

本季度各性別的需求強勁。隨著我們重新聚焦核心暢銷商品的分類，我們的男裝業務取得了巨大的增長。在我們標誌性的牛仔布類別的支持下，女裝業務也有一個很好的季度，並專注於服裝。

With our strategic emphasis on reigniting profitability, we saw a significant recovery in margins and profits, posting the highest margin since the mid-2000s.

隨著我們對重新激發盈利能力的戰略重點，我們看到利潤率和利潤顯著復甦，創下自 2000 年代中期以來的最高利潤率。

As marketing evolves, AE remains committed to being a leader in testing and learning through new mediums. In the fourth quarter, this included TikTok challenges, partnering with Snapchat on augmented reality shopping, the launch of our first NFT digital apparel collection and new partnerships in the gaming world. As I look ahead, I'm excited with emerging fashion trends and the continued appetite for casual and active apparel. This benefits both of our brands.

隨著營銷的發展，AE 仍然致力於成為通過新媒體進行測試和學習的領導者。在第四季度，這包括 TikTok 挑戰、與 Snapchat 在增強現實購物方面的合作、推出我們的第一個 NFT 數字服裝系列以及在遊戲界建立新的合作夥伴關係。展望未來，我對新興的時尚趨勢以及對休閒和運動服裝的持續需求感到興奮。這對我們兩個品牌都有好處。

Spring looks strong across brands with seasonal goods checking, and we expect to have a positive spring season. To the AE and Aerie teams, none of this would have been possible without your hard work and dedication. And a special thank you to the AE bottoms team for reaching the $2 billion mark. What an incredible effort. I am so grateful for the energy you bring to the organization every day, and I am so excited for another great year in 2022.

季節性商品檢查的品牌春季看起來很強勁，我們預計春季會有一個積極的季節。對於 AE 和 Aerie 團隊來說，如果沒有你們的辛勤工作和奉獻精神，這一切都不可能實現。並特別感謝 AE 底部團隊達到 20 億美元大關。多麼不可思議的努力。我非常感謝你們每天為組織帶來的能量，我對 2022 年又一個偉大的一年感到非常興奮。

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

謝謝你。現在我將把電話轉給邁克爾。

Thanks, Jen, and good afternoon, everyone. First, let me start by saying that 2021 was a remarkable year for AEO. It's clear that the strategies we laid out last January and our learnings over the past 2 years has truly changed how we are managing the business. I am particularly proud and impressed with how the teams delivered through a highly disrupted supply chain environment, especially in the fourth quarter.

謝謝，珍，大家下午好。首先，讓我先說 2021 年對於 AEO 來說是非凡的一年。很明顯，我們在去年 1 月制定的戰略以及我們在過去 2 年中的經驗確實改變了我們管理業務的方式。我對團隊如何在高度中斷的供應鏈環境中交付成果感到特別自豪和印象深刻，尤其是在第四季度。

We successfully met robust holiday demand and achieved record revenue combined with strong AURs. We were pleased with the business across channels. In the fourth quarter, store traffic continued to rebuild, rising in the double digits and driving a 32% increase in store revenue. Mainline and factory outlets both saw healthy growth and profit improvement, reflecting strong demand as customers returned to stores. All regions in the U.S. saw double-digit growth, with our international markets also seeing very positive results.

我們成功滿足了強勁的假期需求，並實現了創紀錄的收入和強勁的 AUR。我們對跨渠道的業務感到滿意。第四季度，門店客流量持續重建，雙位數增長，帶動門店收入增長32%。主線和工廠直營店均實現健康增長和利潤改善，反映了顧客回店的強勁需求。美國所有地區都實現了兩位數的增長，我們的國際市場也取得了非常積極的成果。

Digital revenue declined 3% from the fourth quarter 2020, yet was up over 30% from fourth quarter 2019. We've added nearly $600 million in annual e-commerce revenue since 2019, with our digital penetration growing from 29% to 36%. We have scaled our business across channels, with both stores and digital seeing revenue and profit growth over this period.

數字收入比 2020 年第四季度下降 3%，但比 2019 年第四季度增長 30% 以上。自 2019 年以來，我們的年度電子商務收入增加了近 6 億美元，我們的數字滲透率從 29% 增長到 36%。我們已經跨渠道擴展了我們的業務，在此期間，商店和數字商店的收入和利潤都出現了增長。

We continue to prioritize enhancing the omnichannel experience by testing new tools and technologies. In stores, we successfully piloted a new mobile point-of-sale solution and have seen a significant increase in curbside pickup orders. Online, we introduced a new instant credit feature for returns, which had a tremendous impact on sales recapture. Approximately 75% of qualified customers opted for instant credit, with the bulk of them using it within 2 weeks.

我們繼續優先通過測試新工具和技術來增強全渠道體驗。在商店中，我們成功試用了一種新的移動銷售點解決方案，並且路邊取貨訂單顯著增加。在網上，我們引入了一種新的即時退貨信用功能，這對重新獲得銷售產生了巨大的影響。大約 75% 的合格客戶選擇即時信貸，其中大部分在 2 週內使用。

Additionally, we've also expanded our Afterpay capabilities to the app. It's been incredibly exciting to see our mobile app grow into such a strong shopping portal for our customers, driving approximately 1/3 of our e-commerce sales and traffic in the fourth quarter. App-based customers are most engaged digital shoppers, spending 2.5x more annually than our web customers and transacting with us 3x more throughout the year. They are also more likely to be multichannel and multi-brand shoppers.

此外，我們還將 Afterpay 功能擴展到應用程序。看到我們的移動應用程序發展成為如此強大的客戶購物門戶，在第四季度推動了我們電子商務銷售額和流量的約 1/3，這令人難以置信。基於應用程序的客戶是參與度最高的數字購物者，每年的支出是我們的網絡客戶的 2.5 倍，全年與我們的交易量是我們的 3 倍。他們也更有可能是多渠道和多品牌的購物者。

Our customer data in the fourth quarter was also incredibly strong. We achieved our highest ever active customer account and our highest average annual spend. The relaunch of our loyalty program last summer is continuing to pay off. We're attracting new members and driving higher retention.

我們在第四季度的客戶數據也非常強勁。我們實現了有史以來最高的活躍客戶賬戶和最高的平均年支出。我們去年夏天重新啟動的忠誠度計劃正在繼續取得成效。我們正在吸引新成員並提高保留率。

On the operational side, we're transforming the business. In the fourth quarter, we enhanced our return capabilities, doubling our processing rate per hour. This has resulted in better merchandise restock rates, improved product availability for customers and higher full-price selling.

在運營方面，我們正在改變業務。在第四季度，我們增強了退貨能力，將每小時處理速度提高了一倍。這導致了更好的商品補貨率，提高了客戶的產品可用性和更高的全價銷售。

Additionally, as delivery and fulfillment costs rose across the industry, our in-market fulfillment model with Quiet Logistics continued to fuel savings for AEO. Delivery costs leveraged 190 basis points this quarter, driven by a significant reduction in shipments per order. We also shipped orders faster with an approximately 35% reduction in delivery times, bringing benefits to both our customers and our operations, utilizing Quiet Logistics to place inventory on the edge to fuel these efficiencies. And as we continue to expand the node network, we expect to see even greater savings.

此外，隨著整個行業的交付和履行成本上升，我們與 Quiet Logistics 的市場履行模式繼續為 AEO 節省燃料。由於每筆訂單的出貨量大幅減少，本季度交付成本上升了 190 個基點。我們還加快了訂單發貨速度，交貨時間減少了約 35%，為我們的客戶和我們的運營帶來了好處，利用 Quiet Logistics 將庫存置於邊緣以提高這些效率。隨著我們繼續擴展節點網絡，我們希望看到更多的節省。

The combination of Quiet Logistics and AirTerra also creates a state-of-the-art supply chain platform that we will look to monetize by growing its third-party customer base. Since announcing the acquisition, we've received tremendous interest from retailers of all sizes. And as the business expands, we expect a material revenue and profit stream for AEO, and we're looking forward to sharing more about the long-term value creation opportunity.

Quiet Logistics 和 AirTerra 的結合還創建了一個最先進的供應鏈平台，我們希望通過擴大其第三方客戶群來實現盈利。自宣布收購以來，我們收到了各種規模零售商的極大興趣。隨著業務的擴展，我們預計 AEO 將獲得實質性的收入和利潤流，我們期待分享更多關於長期價值創造機會的信息。

In closing, I'm incredibly proud of the quality of our execution this quarter, and I'm excited to build on the structural improvements we've made to our business.

最後，我對本季度的執行質量感到無比自豪，我很高興能夠在我們對業務進行的結構改進的基礎上再接再厲。

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

有了這個，我將把電話轉給邁克。

Thanks, Michael. Good afternoon, everyone. 2021 was a pivotal year for AEO as we embraced our Real Power Real Growth strategy. I'm very proud of the results we achieved.

謝謝，邁克爾。大家下午好。 2021 年對於 AEO 來說是關鍵的一年，因為我們採用了 Real Power Real Growth 戰略。我為我們取得的成果感到非常自豪。

In an operating environment that presented many challenges throughout the year, we delivered record revenue of over $5 billion and exceeded $600 million in adjusted operating income, outperforming our 2023 profit target 2 years ahead of schedule.

在全年面臨諸多挑戰的經營環境中，我們實現了創紀錄的超過 50 億美元的收入，調整後的營業收入超過 6 億美元，提前 2 年超過了 2023 年的利潤目標。

As I reflect on the past 12 months, I can confidently say that we are a stronger company, and we reset the bar on long-term profitability, guided by our continued commitment to product innovation and quality, an emphasis on inventory discipline, a clear real estate strategy focused on supporting Aerie's significant expansion and optimizing AE for profitable growth and strong operations fueled by investments to improve the customer experience and build an industry-leading supply chain.

當我回顧過去的 12 個月時，我可以自信地說，我們是一家更強大的公司，在我們對產品創新和質量的持續承諾的指導下，我們重新設定了長期盈利能力的標準，強調庫存紀律，明確房地產戰略的重點是支持 Aerie 的顯著擴張和優化 AE 以實現盈利增長和強大的運營，通過投資來改善客戶體驗並建立行業領先的供應鏈。

Our fourth quarter performance is a testament to these initiatives. We posted record revenue of $1.5 billion, adjusted operating income of $92 million and adjusted EPS of $0.35. This was a strong result in the face of industry-wide supply chain disruptions, which led to roughly $80 million in elevated freight costs in the quarter. Approximately $60 million of this was air freight specific to Vietnam factory closings. Without this, the fourth quarter would have marked our highest operating income since 2007, underscoring the significant underlying profit improvement in our performance.

我們第四季度的業績證明了這些舉措。我們公佈了創紀錄的 15 億美元的收入，調整後的營業收入為 9200 萬美元，調整後的每股收益為 0.35 美元。面對全行業供應鏈中斷，這是一個強勁的結果，導致本季度貨運成本上漲約 8000 萬美元。其中大約 6000 萬美元是針對越南工廠關閉的空運。如果沒有這一點，第四季度將是我們自 2007 年以來的最高營業收入，突顯了我們業績的顯著潛在利潤改善。

Consolidated fourth quarter net revenue increased $216 million or 17% versus fourth quarter 2020 and was up $193 million or 15% from 2019. Sales metrics were very favorable across brands. Strong demand, higher full price sales and fewer promotions drove the average unit retail up 17% and fueled a double-digit increase in our average transaction value. This marked our seventh consecutive quarter of AUR growth and round out 2 years of consistent growth in our average transaction value, fueled by our focus on product innovation across brands and inventory optimization at AE in particular.

第四季度合併淨收入與 2020 年第四季度相比增加了 2.16 億美元或 17%，比 2019 年增加了 1.93 億美元或 15%。各個品牌的銷售指標都非常有利。強勁的需求、更高的全價銷售和更少的促銷活動推動平均單位零售額增長 17%，並推動我們的平均交易價值實現兩位數的增長。這標誌著我們的 AUR 連續第七個季度增長，並在我們的平均交易價值連續兩年增長的基礎上，我們專注於跨品牌的產品創新，尤其是 AE 的庫存優化。

From a brand standpoint, Aerie continued its industry-leading multiyear growth. Revenue rose 27% from fourth quarter 2020 and almost 60% from fourth quarter 2019. Aerie's adjusted operating profit was $23 million, and the brand operating margin was 5.3%. As Jen discussed, elevated air freight cost of approximately $31 million in the fourth quarter translated to an over 7-point headwind to Aerie's operating margin. Although we anticipate markup pressure into the new year, we expect margins to improve meaningfully from the fourth quarter.

從品牌的角度來看，Aerie 繼續其行業領先的多年增長。收入較 2020 年第四季度增長 27%，較 2019 年第四季度增長近 60%。Aerie 調整後的營業利潤為 2300 萬美元，品牌營業利潤率為 5.3%。正如 Jen 所討論的那樣，第四季度大約 3100 萬美元的空運成本上升，對 Aerie 的營業利潤率造成了超過 7 個百分點的不利影響。儘管我們預計新的一年會有加價壓力，但我們預計利潤率將從第四季度開始顯著提高。

Moving to American Eagle's brand performance. In the fourth quarter, revenue grew 11% compared to 2020, and operating profit jumped 25% with the brand adjusted operating margin coming in at 17.5%. This included a roughly $29 million headwind to operating profit or almost 3-point headwind to the operating margin from elevated air freight costs.

轉向 American Eagle 的品牌表現。第四季度，收入與 2020 年相比增長 11%，營業利潤增長 25%，品牌調整後的營業利潤率為 17.5%。這包括約 2,900 萬美元的營業利潤逆風，或空運成本升高對營業利潤率造成近 3 個百分點的逆風。

As I've said in past quarters, there's been a clear shift in priorities within AE. A renewed emphasis on inventory discipline and real estate optimization is yielding material profit unlock. Our strategy of doing more with less is working, and this is evident in our results. Fiscal 2021 brand revenue was up 2% from pre-pandemic fiscal 2019 levels, and adjusted operating income is up 51%, all with 40% lower SKU and choice counts and 69 fewer store locations. And we still have plenty of optimization opportunity across the brand.

正如我在過去幾個季度所說的那樣，AE 內部的優先事項發生了明顯的轉變。對庫存紀律和房地產優化的重新重視正在釋放物質利潤。我們少花錢多辦事的策略正在奏效，這在我們的結果中顯而易見。 2021 財年品牌收入比大流行前的 2019 財年水平增長 2%，調整後的營業收入增長 51%，所有 SKU 和選擇數量減少 40%，門店數量減少 69 個。而且我們在整個品牌中仍然有很多優化機會。

Total company consolidated gross profit dollars rose 11% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, reflecting a 32.4% gross margin rate. Strong product demand and efficiencies in our distribution network fueled leverage and delivery. The margin rate also benefited from inventory optimization, promotional discipline and higher full-price selling. As discussed, this was offset by close to 4 points of elevated air freight costs.

與 2020 年第四季度相比，公司綜合毛利潤總額增長 11%，毛利率為 32.4%。我們分銷網絡中強勁的產品需求和效率推動了槓桿和交付。利潤率還受益於庫存優化、促銷紀律和更高的全價銷售。如前所述，這被空運成本上漲近 4 個百分點所抵消。

SG&A delevered 60 basis points. The dollar increase of $58 million was due primarily to higher wages for store associates and hours to support the recovery in store operating capacity compared to last year. This was partially offset by leverage on advertising expense.

SG&A 去槓桿 60 個基點。與去年相比，增加 5800 萬美元主要是由於商店員工的工資和工作時間增加，以支持商店運營能力的恢復。這部分被廣告費用的槓桿所抵消。

Looking into 2022, we are prioritizing SG&A efficiencies. Over the past few years, we've been driving improvements to our gross margin. As we continue to focus on those areas, we're also turning our attention to optimizing our expense structure. We will update you as we see progress. Our target is a 23% annual rate of SG&A to revenue in 2023.

展望 2022 年，我們將優先考慮 SG&A 效率。在過去的幾年裡，我們一直在推動提高我們的毛利率。隨著我們繼續關注這些領域，我們也將注意力轉向優化我們的費用結構。當我們看到進展時，我們會更新您。我們的目標是 2023 年 SG&A 佔收入的 23%。

Adjusted operating income of $92 million reflected a 6.1% operating margin, including an approximately 4-point headwind from gross margin pressure related to air freight as discussed. Adjusted EPS was $0.35 per share. Our diluted share count was 203 million and included 32 million shares of unrealized dilution associated with our convertible notes.

調整後的營業收入為 9,200 萬美元，反映了 6.1% 的營業利潤率，包括與所討論的航空貨運相關的毛利率壓力約 4 個百分點的逆風。調整後每股收益為 0.35 美元。我們的稀釋股數為 2.03 億股，其中包括與我們的可轉換票據相關的 3200 萬股未實現稀釋股。

As a reminder, we will move to recognize full dilution from the convert and our share count beginning next quarter. This is in line with the required adoption of a new accounting standard impacting all convertible issuers. As a result, for 2022, we anticipate a fully diluted share count of 227 million shares, with the impact to earnings partially offset by approximately $17 million in lower interest expense.

提醒一下，我們將從下個季度開始認識到轉換的完全稀釋和我們的股票數量。這符合採用影響所有可轉換發行人的新會計準則的要求。因此，到 2022 年，我們預計完全攤薄後的股票數量為 2.27 億股，對收益的影響被約 1700 萬美元的較低利息費用部分抵消。

Ending inventory at cost was up 37% compared to a 9% decrease last year. High product costs drove over half the increase due to product mix and higher transportation costs. Total inventory units were up 14%. The increase also reflected earlier deliveries of spring shipments as we manage through longer and more unpredictable transit times.

以成本計價的期末庫存增加了 37%，而去年下降了 9%。由於產品組合和較高的運輸成本，高產品成本推動了一半以上的增長。總庫存單位增加了 14%。這一增長還反映了較早交付的春季貨物，因為我們要應對更長和更不可預測的運輸時間。

Our balance sheet remains healthy, and we ended with $435 million in cash. Cash generation was strong throughout the year, providing sufficient liquidity for us to raise our dividend, fund our acquisition of Quiet Logistics and maintain a healthy cash balance. As Michael and Jay both discussed, we are very excited about the Quiet acquisition, including the benefits it brings to our brands and the long-term growth potential of the third-party business.

我們的資產負債表保持健康，我們以 4.35 億美元現金結束。全年現金產生強勁，為我們提供足夠的流動性來提高股息、為收購 Quiet Logistics 提供資金並保持健康的現金餘額。正如 Michael 和 Jay 所討論的，我們對 Quiet 的收購感到非常興奮，包括它為我們的品牌帶來的好處以及第三方業務的長期增長潛力。

Capital expenditures totaled $90 million in the quarter and $234 million in fiscal 2021. With regards to our real estate strategy, we are investing in Aerie's market expansion, prioritizing areas where we see the greatest opportunity. In the fourth quarter, we opened 45 new Aerie doors, including a mix of new stand-alone and side-by-side formats, with roughly half being OFFLINE doors.

本季度資本支出總額為 9000 萬美元，2021 財年為 2.34 億美元。關於我們的房地產戰略，我們正在投資於 Aerie 的市場擴張，優先考慮我們認為最大機會的領域。在第四季度，我們開設了 45 家新的 Aerie 門，包括新的獨立和並排格式，其中大約一半是離線門。

For AE, we have made steady progress towards our long-term target of rightsizing the brand store footprint. In North America, we've closed over 70 AE doors since 2019, reflecting a high single-digit reduction in gross square footage for the brand. Store productivity is up significantly versus 2019 despite lower traffic, supported by AUR gains and ADS gains. We maintain significant flexibility to adjust our footprint further, with 40% to 50% of our fleet coming up for renegotiations every year. And we'll continue to leverage data-centric approach as we look to maximize brand profitability.

對於 AE，我們已在實現品牌門店規模合理化的長期目標方面取得穩步進展。在北美，自 2019 年以來，我們已經關閉了 70 多個 AE 門，反映出該品牌的總面積減少了個位數。在 AUR 收益和 ADS 收益的支持下，儘管流量較低，但商店生產力與 2019 年相比顯著提高。我們保持極大的靈活性來進一步調整我們的足跡，每年有 40% 到 50% 的機隊需要重新談判。我們將繼續利用以數據為中心的方法，以最大限度地提高品牌盈利能力。

Moving to our outlook for 2022. We are encouraged by the continued underlying strength of our brands and the pace of business so far this spring. Our strategies are delivering, and we're a stronger company following the structural changes we've made over the past 2 years. We're also cognizant of the environment we're operating in, including rising inflation, which is implications for our business and our customers, lapping the strength from last spring as we cycle stimulus, continued disruption in the global supply chain environment and the war in Ukraine.

轉向我們對 2022 年的展望。我們對我們品牌的持續潛在實力和今年春天迄今為止的業務步伐感到鼓舞。我們的戰略正在實現，在過去 2 年進行的結構性變革之後，我們是一家更強大的公司。我們也意識到我們所處的環境，包括通脹上升，這對我們的業務和我們的客戶都有影響，隨著我們循環刺激、全球供應鏈環境的持續中斷和戰爭，從去年春天開始汲取力量在烏克蘭。

Against this backdrop, we are taking a cautious view. For 2022, we expect operating income in the range of $550 million to $600 million on revenue growth in the mid-teens. This reflects the structural improvements to our business and significant growth from pre-pandemic 2019, which posted adjusted operating profit of $314 million. The new logistics business is expected to contribute roughly 5 to 6 points of the mid-teen revenue growth and breakeven on profitability.

在此背景下，我們持謹慎態度。到 2022 年，我們預計營業收入在 5.5 億美元至 6 億美元之間，收入將在 10 歲左右增長。這反映了我們業務的結構性改善以及 2019 年大流行前的顯著增長，調整後的營業利潤為 3.14 億美元。預計新的物流業務將貢獻大約 5 至 6 個百分點的中期收入增長和盈利能力的盈虧平衡。

In terms of quarterly cadence, we expect the year to be a tale of 2 halves, with operating profit down materially in the first half, followed by a recovery in the second half. This implies the operating margin building from mid- to high single digits in the first half to low double digits in the second half.

就季度節奏而言，我們預計今年將分兩季，上半年營業利潤大幅下降，下半年將有所回升。這意味著營業利潤率從上半年的中高個位數增長到下半年的低兩位數。

Our outlook primarily reflects 3 things: the timing of stimulus lapse in the spring, our logistics business shifting from being dilutive in the first half to accretive in the second half as we fully integrate and ramp up the business and easing cost pressure through the year as product and freight inflation is partially offset by the absence of elevated air freight due to factory closures in the second half.

我們的展望主要反映了三件事：春季刺激措施失效的時機，我們的物流業務從上半年的稀釋轉向下半年的增值，因為我們全面整合和擴大業務，並緩解了全年的成本壓力由於下半年工廠關閉，空運價格上漲，部分抵消了產品和貨運通脹。

In closing, I'm really pleased with our performance in 2021. We're a stronger company today than prior to the pandemic. We've made material structural improvements in the way we run our business and have established a new baseline of profitability. Our Real Power Real Growth strategy has positioned us well for long-term revenue and profit growth. And I remain confident we can achieve our new 2023 targets of $5.8 billion in revenue, $800 million operating income and 13.5% operating margin.

最後，我對我們在 2021 年的表現感到非常滿意。與大流行之前相比，我們今天是一家更強大的公司。我們在經營業務的方式上進行了重大的結構改進，並建立了新的盈利基準。我們的 Real Power Real Growth 戰略使我們在長期收入和利潤增長方面處於有利地位。我仍然相信我們能夠實現 2023 年 58 億美元的收入、8 億美元的營業收入和 13.5% 的營業利潤率的新目標。

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

有了這個，我會打開它來提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Adrienne Yih with Barclays.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Barclays 的 Adrienne Yih。

Well executed throughout a very challenging year, so kudos to the team. Mike, I appreciate the guidance on an annual basis. So I was wondering -- you gave some first half, second half, some color there. But can you shape the quarters for us, most importantly, the nearing quarter sounds like February is off to a nice start as [is the sector]. How are you thinking about kind of the comp guidance for Q1? And then if you can give us some color on gross margin shaping throughout the quarters as well as the SG&A, that would be wonderful.

在充滿挑戰的一年中執行得很好，因此對團隊表示敬意。邁克，我感謝每年的指導。所以我想知道——你給了一些上半場，下半場，一些顏色。但是你能為我們塑造季度嗎，最重要的是，即將到來的季度聽起來像 2 月是一個良好的開端，[行業也是如此]。您如何看待 Q1 的補償指南？然後，如果你能給我們一些關於整個季度的毛利率塑造以及 SG&A 的顏色，那就太好了。

Thanks, Adrienne. I appreciate the comment on the fourth quarter, and that's a very good question. There's a lot going on this year. It was tough to put in prepared remarks. It's definitely going to be a tale of 2 halves. We've got some P&L nuances and especially as we include the logistics business this year.

謝謝，阿德里安。我很欣賞關於第四季度的評論，這是一個非常好的問題。今年發生了很多事情。很難發表準備好的評論。這絕對是一個兩半的故事。我們有一些損益表的細微差別，尤其是當我們今年將物流業務包括在內時。

So -- I mean first, I'll start by reiterating that. I think we all said it, but it's worth saying again that we've -- I think the benefits we've seen to our gross margin from the end market nodes are locked in with the purchase of Quiet Logistics, and we're going to continue to work on efficiencies from here, as Michael said. So I'm really happy about that. I think we're all also excited about the opportunity we have to create incremental value from this new business. And we're ramping it up to be profitable next year. So again, very exciting things for us.

所以——我的意思是首先，我將首先重申這一點。我想我們都說過了，但值得再次強調的是，我們已經 - 我認為我們從終端市場節點看到的毛利率的好處是通過購買 Quiet Logistics 鎖定的，我們將繼續正如邁克爾所說，從這裡繼續提高效率。所以我真的很高興。我認為我們都對我們必須從這項新業務中創造增量價值的機會感到興奮。我們正在將其提高到明年盈利。再說一次，對我們來說非常令人興奮的事情。

But let me get to your specifics there on the first half and second half. So in the first half, we're forecasting a 37% gross margin rate on a low double-digit revenue increase. So we continue to have pressure from product and freight costs, and that's worth about 200 basis points to that rate. Then there's another 200 basis points from the logistics business, and that's just building revenue with a projected loss in the spring, so mostly a mix impact from the increase in revenue.

但是讓我在上半場和下半場談談你的具體情況。因此，在上半年，我們預計毛利率為 37%，收入增長率為兩位數。因此，我們繼續承受來自產品和運費成本的壓力，這相當於該利率約 200 個基點。然後物流業務又增加了 200 個基點，這只是增加收入，預計春季會出現虧損，因此主要是收入增加的混合影響。

And additionally, we're expecting higher markdowns in the spring season against a historically low rate last year, driven by the stimulus demand that started in mid-March and continued into early Q2. So that's gross margin for the first half.

此外，由於從 3 月中旬開始並持續到第二季度初的刺激需求，我們預計春季降價幅度將高於去年的歷史低點。這是上半年的毛利率。

In the second half, we see gross margin flat to last year, flat to 21. And that's on a mid- to high teen revenue growth. It's -- but a little bit different between quarters. There's a gross margin decline in the third quarter and an increase in the fourth quarter. The mix of that is improved IMU as we lapped the fourth quarter air freight, but then offset by the impact of the logistics business, again, as we grow revenue further, and -- but achieve a profit in the fall.

下半年，我們看到毛利率與去年持平，持平至 21 歲。這是基於中高收入的青少年收入增長。這是 - 但季度之間有點不同。第三季度毛利率下降，第四季度毛利率上升。隨著我們在第四季度航空貨運方面的改進，IMU 得到了改善，但隨後又被物流業務的影響所抵消，因為我們進一步增加了收入，並且 - 但在秋季實現了盈利。

For SG&A then in the first half, we'll be up in the mid-teens. That's driven by a continuation of what I just said about the fourth quarter. Stores are at full capacity. We're up against constraints last year still, not anniversarying increase in average wage yet. And then advertising is also incremental to last year in the spring. So that will impact SG&A in the first half.

對於SG&A，然後在上半年，我們將在十幾歲時起床。這是由我剛才所說的關於第四季度的繼續推動的。商店已滿負荷運轉。去年我們仍然面臨限制，還沒有平均工資的周年增長。再往年的春季廣告也有增量。因此，這將影響上半年的 SG&A。

I said in the remarks as well that SG&A is an opportunity for us this year. We expect that growth in expense to lessen each quarter, with the back half only up in the high-single digits then. And then we're still set on targeting 23% for next year. So all together, if you put all that detail together, that brings us to the $550 million to $600 million operating guidance for the year, and that's reflecting around a 10% rate.

我在講話中也說過，SG&A今年對我們來說是一個機會。我們預計每個季度的費用增長都會減少，而後半部分屆時只會以高個位數增長。然後我們仍然設定明年的目標是 23%。綜上所述，如果你把所有這些細節放在一起，我們將得出今年 5.5 億至 6 億美元的運營指導，這反映了大約 10% 的比率。

So we're very happy about that, still in the double digits on this guidance. And then the difference to the 12% that we just achieved in '21 is a pretty easy walk. It's about 100 basis points of product cost pressure, incremental to '21, and then 100 basis points of impact from the logistics business, and that's just the mix impact of revenue with no income.

因此，我們對此感到非常高興，在本指南中仍保持兩位數。然後與我們在 21 年剛剛實現的 12% 的差異非常容易。這是大約 100 個基點的產品成本壓力，增量到 21 年，然後是物流業務的 100 個基點的影響，這只是收入與沒有收入的混合影響。

From there, I'd say I think -- we think the opportunities, our guidance from there are better-than-expected product costs as we get to the back half of the year and then additional timing benefit from the SG&A expense reductions that we're targeting. So it's a lot there. Hopefully, the layout of that detail helps answer the question.

從那裡開始，我會說我認為 - 我們認為機會，我們的指導隨著我們進入下半年，產品成本好於預期，然後從我們的 SG&A 費用減少中獲得額外的時間收益'的目標。所以那裡有很多。希望該細節的佈局有助於回答這個問題。

Our next question comes from the line of Paul Lejuez with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗的 Paul Lejuez。

This is Kelly Crago on for Paul. Just a follow-up. Did you provide for us what the (inaudible) comps are looking like? And if so, could you do -- if you haven't yet, could you do so by -- you give us a little bit more color by brand?

這是保羅的凱利克拉戈。只是一個後續。您是否向我們提供了（聽不清）伴奏的樣子？如果是這樣，你能不能——如果你還沒有，你能不能這樣做——按品牌給我們更多的顏色？

Yes. We're plus mid-teen, February. I guess I'll quote to that. And it's a great start to the quarter, a great start to the season. I think the thing we're -- basically what I just laid out, stimulus benefits really started in mid-March and continued through the rest of the quarter. So we're up mid-teens right now, but we're giving guidance that our brand revenue basically would be up in the mid- to high single digits and then we have like 4 points or so from the logistics business on top of that.

是的。我們正處於青春期，二月。我想我會引用那個。這是本季度的一個很好的開始，是本賽季的一個很好的開始。我認為我們是——基本上就是我剛剛提出的，刺激福利真正開始於 3 月中旬，並持續到本季度的剩餘時間。所以我們現在正處於十幾歲左右，但我們給出的指導是，我們的品牌收入基本上會以中高個位數增長，然後我們從物流業務中獲得大約 4 個百分點。 .

So based on that, we're -- you can tell we're expecting a bit of a decline in the trend against last year as we get up against that stimulus impact in the back half of the quarter.

因此，基於此，我們 - 你可以說，隨著我們在本季度後半段應對刺激影響，我們預計趨勢會比去年有所下降。

Got it. And then just moving over to Aerie margins. I think you called out the $31 million of air freight impacting Aerie in the fourth quarter. Could you give us a little bit more color about what the underlying margin rate looks like, excluding freight? How do the promotional cadence work at Aerie in the fourth quarter? And how should we be thinking about that in 2022?

知道了。然後只是移動到 Aerie 邊緣。我認為您提到了第四季度影響 Aerie 的 3100 萬美元空運費用。您能否給我們更多關於基本保證金率的顏色，不包括運費？第四季度 Aerie 的促銷節奏如何？ 2022 年我們應該如何考慮這一點？

Look, our markdown rates remain healthy. So I think this margin pressure that was really all IMU-driven and all freight cost-driven. Week-in, week-out promotional level throughout the season was actually down. We pulled back on promotions early in the season as we all talked about demand getting pulled up before Thanksgiving because of all the media coverage of supply chain issues out there.

看，我們的降價率保持健康。所以我認為這種利潤壓力實際上是由 IMU 驅動的，而且都是由運費成本驅動的。整個賽季的周週週促銷水平實際上都在下降。我們在本季初取消了促銷活動，因為我們都談到了感恩節前需求被拉高，因為媒體對供應鏈問題的所有報導。

So we were able to kind of reduce level of promotion in not only just the promotional rate, but the number of days that we're promoting. And that was pretty healthy through the quarter. So this pressure is all really IMU and product-related -- product costs-related within -- the freight cost within our product costs, I'll call it that.

因此，我們能夠降低促銷水平，不僅是促銷率，還有我們促銷的天數。這在整個季度都非常健康。因此，這種壓力實際上與 IMU 和產品相關——產品成本相關——我們產品成本中的運費，我稱之為。

Our next question comes from the line of Matthew Boss with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Matthew Boss。

Great. Maybe one for Jen. At Aerie and American Eagle, is there a way to maybe parse out what you're seeing in demand if we think about it by category in February, driving that mid-teens, maybe just early reception to spring at either concept. And are you seeing any pushback at all to any of your early pricing tests?

偉大的。也許是給珍的。在 Aerie 和 American Eagle，如果我們在 2 月份按類別考慮，是否有一種方法可以分析出您所看到的需求，從而推動青少年，也許只是早期接受任何一個概念。您是否看到對任何早期定價測試的任何阻力？

That's a great question, Matt. Look, I'm really excited with the continued momentum. I mean as you can see, we had a great Q4. I'd like to say our likes too are -- we were up against higher likes in both brands than most competitors. So I think we really pulled out a nice quarter in Q4.

這是一個很好的問題，馬特。看，我對持續的勢頭感到非常興奮。我的意思是，如您所見，我們有一個很棒的第四季度。我想說我們的喜好也是——我們在兩個品牌中的喜好都比大多數競爭對手都高。所以我認為我們在第四季度確實取得了不錯的季度表現。

Moving on to February, one of the highest -- well, let me say this, the lowest markdown rate I think I've seen in history in February, which bodes to the fact that we did not carry over a lot of messy inventory. We were cleaner in our clearance levels in both brands. And when I went to the mall, that's what I saw. I saw incredible assortment, and they just got better today.

繼續到 2 月，這是最高的之一——好吧，讓我這麼說吧，這是我認為我在 2 月看到的歷史上最低的降價率，這預示著我們沒有結轉大量雜亂的庫存這一事實。我們在兩個品牌的清倉水平上都比較乾淨。當我去商場時，這就是我所看到的。我看到了令人難以置信的品種，今天它們變得更好了。

We just launched our biggest -- both -- for both brands, we just launched our spring 2 deliveries. And they're amazing. Please go online and check it out. And AE just launched their incredible marketing campaign that is so much fun. And we just launched it today, and I can talk about that later. But look, the product categories are still checking. Jeans are still on fire. And I have a little bit of a note to everyone on denim. What I like about what I'm seeing in denim is some of our tried-and-true fits are still working.

我們剛剛為這兩個品牌推出了我們最大的兩個品牌，我們剛剛推出了春季 2 交付。他們很棒。請上網查看。 AE 剛剛推出了他們令人難以置信的營銷活動，非常有趣。我們今天剛剛推出，我可以稍後再談。但是看，產品類別仍在檢查中。牛仔褲還在燃燒。我對牛仔布的每個人都有一點說明。我喜歡我在牛仔布上看到的東西是我們的一些久經考驗的合身仍然有效。

So as we see all this incredible momentum in new fits, we're maintaining our old business, i.e., jeggings, are still checking for, and that's such a nice maintained margin business for us. You saw that we got to $2 billion in denim in Q4, and I'm excited to build on to that as we approach 2022 and beyond. So really excited about denim. Early seasonal products are checking. Shorts are doing great across both brands. Swim, incredible, early start, and we barely even -- in fact, we were lighter in some cases on our assortments in February in swim, and they're just building throughout each week.

因此，當我們看到所有這些令人難以置信的新動力時，我們正在維持我們的舊業務，即 jeggings，仍在檢查，這對我們來說是一個很好的維持利潤業務。你看到我們在第四季度的牛仔布銷售額達到了 20 億美元，我很高興在我們接近 2022 年及以後的時間裡能在此基礎上再接再厲。對牛仔布真的很興奮。早期的季節性產品正在檢查。兩個品牌的短褲都做得很好。游泳，令人難以置信，早起，我們幾乎沒有——事實上，在某些情況下，我們在 2 月份的游泳比賽中更輕，而且他們每週都在建造。

I mean the numbers are incredible. Again, we just released our biggest assortment today. So I think there's more to come there. Excited about obviously OFFLINE. I mean near and dear to my heart, this business is on fire. And we left money on the table in Q3 and Q4 that I hope -- as Mike said, we faced some headwinds earlier, but we really hit it out of the ballpark in Q1 and Q2 in both brands last year. and I look forward to some of those tailwinds in Aerie as we head into Q3 and Q4.

我的意思是這些數字令人難以置信。同樣，我們今天剛剛發布了我們最大的分類。所以我認為還有更多的事情要做。對明顯離線感到興奮。我的意思是我的心，這件事很火。我們在第三季度和第四季度把錢留在了桌面上，我希望——正如邁克所說，我們早些時候遇到了一些逆風，但我們去年在第一季度和第二季度在這兩個品牌中都真正做到了。當我們進入第三季度和第四季度時，我期待著 Aerie 的一些順風。

Great. Mike, maybe just as a follow-up. At Aerie, I think what would be really helpful is a brand-level bridge, if that was possible, meaning you outlined low 20s EBIT margin in 2023 and embedded a roughly 30% EBIT flow-through rate. How do we bridge the mid-teens EBIT margin this year to the low 20s in '23 at Aerie? It sounds like nothing has changed, but just maybe the best way to bridge would be really helpful.

偉大的。邁克，也許只是作為後續行動。在 Aerie，我認為真正有用的是品牌級橋樑，如果可能的話，這意味著您概述了 2023 年 20 年代的低息稅前利潤率，並嵌入了大約 30% 的息稅前利潤流通率。我們如何在 Aerie 將今年 10 多歲的 EBIT 利潤率與 23 年 20 多歲的低點聯繫起來？聽起來一切都沒有改變，但也許最好的橋接方法真的很有幫助。

I think there's a quick answer on especially the elevated air freight in Q4. We're definitely going to see cost pressures, as I just described, in the spring. But we're -- if you reconcile, some of which has happened, especially that Vietnam shutdown related kind of, I'll call it, not self-inflicted, but we made the choices -- that choice to execute on significant air freight.

我認為對於第四季度特別是高架的空運有一個快速的答案。正如我剛才所描述的，我們肯定會在春季看到成本壓力。但是我們 - 如果你和解，其中一些已經發生，特別是與越南關閉有關的那種，我稱之為，不是自己造成的，但我們做出了選擇 - 選擇執行大量空運.

Aerie is really closer to the high teens of the rate in '21. We're planning it to be a high teens, close to 20% result in fiscal '22 with that flow-through rate you just quoted of 25% to 30%. So if you had another 25% to 30% on the growth that we're expecting in 2023, you're in that low 20% range.

Aerie 真的更接近 21 年的高青少年。我們計劃它是一個高青少年，接近 20% 的結果是在 22 財年，您剛剛引用的流通率是 25% 到 30%。因此，如果您在 2023 年的預期增長中再有 25% 到 30% 的增長，那麼您就處於 20% 的低位範圍內。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from the line of Jay Sole with UBS.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Jay Sole。

I have another question on Aerie. Can you just talk about some of the stores -- the new stores that were added this past year, how are those stores performing? And where are some of the signs that you're seeing that those stores are going to meet your targets?

我還有一個關於 Aerie 的問題。你能談談其中的一些商店嗎？去年增加的新商店，這些商店的表現如何？您看到哪些跡象表明這些商店將達到您的目標？

I can start, Jen. Yes, we're really pleased with how they look out of the gate. We didn't open that many in the back half of the year. A bunch of them did slide from intended to be open in the third quarter into the fourth quarter, so the new Aerie and OFFLINE -- especially the OFFLINE doors that we are adding. So we don't have a great run rate on OFFLINE yet, but the ones we've seen are out of the gate at pro forma or better. We're seeing incrementality in the mall, especially in the places where we're adding OFFLINE to the mall where Aerie already existed.

我可以開始了，珍。是的，我們對他們在大門外的樣子感到非常滿意。今年下半年我們沒有開那麼多。其中一些確實從計劃在第三季度開放到第四季度，所以新的 Aerie 和 OFFLINE——尤其是我們正在添加的 OFFLINE 門。所以我們在離線時還沒有很好的運行率，但是我們看到的那些在備考或更好的時候就已經出局了。我們在購物中心看到了增量，特別是在我們將離線添加到 Aerie 已經存在的購物中心的地方。

So we're getting more out of that center between brands from an incrementality perspective. So it's encouraging us that we're on the right path to what we're going to add in fiscal '22 here. And no signs of -- we're not seeing any signs, any reason why we should be concerned about the 4-wall results from those locations and the return on the capital we're spending in that 2 to 3, maybe call it, 2- to 4-year payback period.

因此，從增量的角度來看，我們正在更多地利用品牌之間的中心。因此，令人鼓舞的是，我們正走在正確的道路上，我們將在 '22 財年增加內容。沒有跡象——我們沒有看到任何跡象，沒有任何理由讓我們擔心這些地點的 4 牆結果以及我們在 2 到 3 年花費的資本回報，也許可以稱之為， 2 至 4 年的投資回收期。

Yes. And I just want to add on one fun little tidbit. We just opened up Easton, our like megastore. It's an AE OFFLINE and Aerie side-by-side, completely renovated and gorgeous. The initial reads are incredible. I think there's opportunity thinking about our businesses this way in the future, really maximizing square footage and showing up with all of our categories. It's like a mini department store. I love this format, and the teams are thrilled with it. The visuals look strong. Dollars per square foot are incredible. So really proud of what we did there as a team.

是的。我只想補充一個有趣的小花絮。我們剛剛開了伊斯頓，我們喜歡的大型商店。這是一個 AE OFFLINE 和 Aerie 並排，完全翻新和華麗。最初的閱讀令人難以置信。我認為將來有機會以這種方式思考我們的業務，真正最大化平方英尺並出現在我們所有的類別中。它就像一個迷你百貨公司。我喜歡這種格式，團隊對此感到非常興奮。視覺效果看起來很強大。每平方英尺的美元是不可思議的。所以真的為我們作為一個團隊在那裡所做的事情感到自豪。

And maybe if I can just add on just related to the last question about just ramping in the flow-through. I mean how do you see the productivity of those stores increasing over time, I mean, relative to a mature store?

也許我可以補充一下與最後一個問題有關的問題，即只是在流程中增加。我的意思是，相對於成熟的商店，您如何看待這些商店的生產力隨著時間的推移而增加？

We definitely, from a historical perspective, this maturity curve that we've seen, and we plan them that way. We project them over the course of their lease term with that ramp. So we usually see a kind of high teens to even 20% kind of first year comp and something more in the low to mid-teens or even your double digit, maybe mid-single to high single in third year and then kind of settle in at whatever the trend is.

從歷史的角度來看，我們肯定會看到我們所看到的這條成熟曲線，並且我們會以這種方式對其進行規劃。我們用這個坡道在他們的租賃期內預測它們。所以我們通常會看到一種高青少年甚至 20% 的第一年組合，以及更多的低至中青少年甚至你的兩位數，可能在第三年中單至高單，然後有點安頓下來無論趨勢如何。

So we're adding new stores, it's contributing to the kind of -- from a mix perspective to the comp from stores. But then there's always that digital halo effect that we see 6 to 12 months later, and that is the strategy. We're adding Aerie and OFFLINE stores to where we're under-penetrated in markets to really generate that full omni growth in the market.

所以我們正在增加新的商店，它有助於從混合的角度到商店的組合。但是，我們總是會在 6 到 12 個月後看到數字光環效應，這就是策略。我們正在將 Aerie 和離線商店添加到我們在市場中滲透率不足的地方，以真正實現市場的全面增長。

Our next question comes from the line of Marni Shapiro with The Retail Tracker.

我們的下一個問題來自 Marni Shapiro 與 The Retail Tracker 的系列。

Congrats, Jen. The stores look absolutely beautiful. It's such a significant change. So if we can actually touch on that. Your business pre-COVID you were still generating a lot of volume. And I know there was a lot of pressure on margin. If you could just walk us through, category-by-category, but sort of where the biggest chunks of opportunity margin-wise and improvement are sales-wise. Is it on the men's side? Is it denim? Is it tops? Is it fashion? Is it Aerie?

恭喜，珍。這些商店看起來非常漂亮。這是一個如此重大的變化。所以，如果我們真的能談到這一點。您在 COVID 之前的業務仍在產生大量交易量。而且我知道利潤壓力很大。如果您可以逐個類別地向我們介紹，但在銷售方面，最大的機會邊際和改進是銷售方面的。是男方嗎？是牛仔布嗎？是頂嗎？是時尚嗎？是艾瑞嗎？

Just so we have a good sense because, again, even prior, you were doing a lot of volume, but now it looks like you're doing a lot of volume at a much more profitable and structurally sounder way of doing business. Am I seeing that right?

正因為如此，我們有一個很好的認識，因為，再一次，甚至在以前，你做了大量的交易，但現在看起來你正在以一種更有利可圖、結構更合理的經營方式做大量的交易。我看對了嗎？

Yes. That's a great question, Marni. Look, I love how we delivered the year, right, really strategically generating incredible bottom line results in both brands, but AE just -- I've never seen margins like this, just incredible year and just really proud of how that team leveraged the business.

是的。這是一個很好的問題，瑪尼。看，我喜歡我們在這一年的表現，對，真的戰略性地在兩個品牌中產生了令人難以置信的底線結果，但 AE 只是 - 我從未見過這樣的利潤，只是令人難以置信的一年，並且真的為該團隊如何利用商業。

As I think ahead and I think of the category breakdown, look, we blew it out of the water in men's. They had a great year. There was a lot of low-hanging fruit there, and we went after that. That was an easy get. Aerie, well, we're going to continue to build that brand. I believe if the teams can deliver 29 quarters of double-digit growth, we can continue to grow and operate this brand. And that's what I think we're doing well, right? And really bringing in that omnichannel customer in Aerie has been a win for us, and the teams are delivering incredible results there.

當我提前思考並想到類別細分時，看，我們把它從男士的水中吹出來了。他們度過了美好的一年。那裡有很多唾手可得的果實，我們就去追了。那很容易得到。 Aerie，好吧，我們將繼續建立這個品牌。我相信如果團隊能夠實現 29 個季度的兩位數增長，我們就可以繼續發展和運營這個品牌。這就是我認為我們做得很好的地方，對吧？真正在 Aerie 引入全渠道客戶對我們來說是一場胜利，團隊在那裡取得了令人難以置信的成果。

And thinking about that business tucked inside of it, we still have a lot of intimates growth, Marni. There's still a lot of intimates growth in Aerie. And now we have this incredible opportunity in OFFLINE rooted in leggings, which we're going to continue to build on and grow. The opportunities are still there, considering, Marni, we're still not in all markets. So I love that we still have opportunity.

考慮到其中包含的業務，我們仍然有很多親密的增長，Marni。 Aerie 的親密關係仍有很多增長。現在，我們在 OFFLINE 有了這個植根於緊身褲的絕佳機會，我們將繼續在此基礎上發展壯大。機會仍然存在，考慮到，Marni，我們還沒有進入所有市場。所以我喜歡我們仍然有機會。

And we're testing new things in those markets, Marni. We're doing side-by-side locations, Aerie and side-by-side. We've done an OFFLINE side-by-side to American Eagle. All the results have been better than expected. And our pro forma actually in Aerie is -- in OFFLINE, my apologies, is beating expectations by, I believe, 26%. So those stores are doing great.

我們正在這些市場測試新事物，Marni。我們正在做並排的位置，Aerie 和並排。我們已經與 American Eagle 並排離線。所有的結果都好於預期。我們在 Aerie 的備考實際上是 - 在離線時，我很抱歉，超出預期 26%。所以這些商店做得很好。

And now let's move on to where I think we still have some low-hanging fruit. Denim, obviously, there's a cycle here, and we're excited about it. I mentioned we can build on our core, and we are building on how we assort the business in both brands, and I love this. We're really trying to deliver more gross margins, stabilizing products so that we can manage some of these headwinds that we're facing, and we're mixing that way, and we're thinking really strategically.

現在讓我們繼續討論我認為我們仍然有一些唾手可得的成果。牛仔布，顯然，這裡有一個循環，我們對此感到興奮。我提到我們可以建立在我們的核心之上，我們正在建立我們如何在兩個品牌中進行業務分類，我喜歡這一點。我們真的在努力提供更多的毛利率，穩定產品，以便我們能夠管理我們面臨的一些不利因素，我們正在以這種方式進行混合，我們正在真正進行戰略思考。

And then just thinking about women's. Look, we have a new designer in town. We're really just getting the momentum going. We are highly focused on delivering incredible fashion in women's. And trust me, I've been rolling up my sleeves with the teams personally. I really have been. I've been in the trenches with them, and I can't wait for spring 2023. It is incredible.

然後只考慮女性。聽著，我們鎮上來了一位新設計師。我們真的只是在推動勢頭。我們高度專注於為女性提供令人難以置信的時尚。相信我，我個人一直在與團隊一起捲起袖子。我真的去過。我和他們一直在戰壕里，我等不及 2023 年春天了。這太不可思議了。

So yes, I think we have more opportunity in women's than what we're going to put on the table. We're going to manage that business and chase it profitably. But I just -- I love what I'm seeing. The team really put together a good show in concept so -- for 2023. I also saw Aerie, needless to say, and that's another spectacular concept that I just can't wait to attack for next year.

所以是的，我認為我們在女裝方面的機會比我們要擺在桌面上的要多。我們將管理該業務並以盈利方式追逐它。但我只是——我喜歡我所看到的。團隊確實在概念上組織了一場精彩的演出——2023 年。我還看到了 Aerie，不用說，這是另一個壯觀的概念，我迫不及待地想在明年發起攻擊。

This is a great insight. And could I do one follow-up, if you don't mind.

這是一個很好的見解。如果你不介意，我可以做一個跟進。

Jen, you didn't explain one other thing. We were counting on opening 35 more stores, 35 more Aerie stores in the fourth quarter. And because of material shortages and COVID, we weren't able to open those stores.

珍，你沒有解釋另一件事。我們指望在第四季度再開 35 家店，再開 35 家 Aerie 店。由於材料短缺和 COVID，我們無法開設這些商店。

Yes. True, Jay. Good -- great point, great point. And they're just opening up, and we're seeing nice results. So we're happy with that.

是的。沒錯，傑。好——好點，好點。他們剛剛開放，我們看到了不錯的結果。所以我們對此很滿意。

And can I just follow up on more on the gross margin question because I think this is really good color. But if I think back to 2019 and that holiday season in 2018, and maybe the pendulum was swung all the way to one side on promotions. I think at that point, all your sweaters were $25 in the box, things like that. And if COVID in this last year where inventories were very lean and promotions were at all-time low levels, your go-forward promotional activity should fit somewhere in between there.

我可以就毛利率問題跟進更多，因為我認為這真的是很好的顏色。但是，如果我回想 2019 年和 2018 年的那個假期，也許鐘擺在促銷活動中一直偏向一邊。我想那時，你所有的毛衣都是 25 美元在盒子裡，諸如此類。如果去年的 COVID 庫存非常稀少，促銷活動處於歷史最低水平，那麼您的前進促銷活動應該介於兩者之間。

Is it 25% more than what we're seeing today, not all the way swung back. I mean how do you think about that? Because you're coming from a very high promotional level, not like an average promotional level to a very clean promotional level.

是不是比我們今天看到的多 25%，而不是一路回落。我的意思是你怎麼看？因為你來自一個非常高的促銷級別，而不是像一個普通的促銷級別到一個非常乾淨的促銷級別。

In 2019, we had a lot of inventory. We weren't happy with some of the inventory and there was more promotional. We learned a lot that year. And the lessons that we learned these last 2 years we put in, we're learning how to do more with less and to maximize and give the customer more depth and less choices, but more depth and more key items.

2019年，我們有很多庫存。我們對一些庫存不滿意，還有更多促銷活動。那一年我們學到了很多。我們在過去 2 年中吸取的教訓是，我們正在學習如何事半功倍，並最大限度地為客戶提供更多深度和更少選擇，但更深入和更多關鍵項目。

Yes. I think, Marni, I'll just add like, I've been describing in all of our other investor calls and meetings that our markdown rate as a company is still in the mid-30s. I mean that's still not anywhere near being historical best. So we look at that as being a healthy level of promotion week-in, week-out. What Jay is describing, the benefit to markdowns in gross margin more so, yes, we're definitely selling more at full price. We're kind of pulling the needle out here and there on promotions. It's not a drastic change in terms of week-in, week-out.

是的。我想，Marni，我會補充一點，我在所有其他投資者電話會議和會議上一直在描述，我們作為一家公司的降價率仍處於 30 年代中期。我的意思是，這還遠未達到歷史最佳水平。因此，我們將其視為每週、每週的健康推廣水平。傑伊所描述的，毛利率降價帶來的好處更多，是的，我們肯定會以全價銷售更多。我們有點在促銷活動中到處拉針。就周復一周而言，這並不是一個劇烈的變化。

But the cleanup of inventory and especially in AE, where we're down 30% to 40% in inventory, we're down 30% to 40% in SKU counts and choice counts. Jay just said it, we're buying deeper with less breadth. That benefit in markdowns is coming like end of season, permanent markdowns, clearance markdowns, write-off of inventory. So the week-in, week-out POS, right, we feel is really healthy. And we don't think there's any reason from a competitive standpoint that this isn't going to continue. It's really that cleanup of just really unproductive inventory with too much inventory. That's the bigger margin benefit.

但是清理庫存，特別是在 AE，我們的庫存下降了 30% 到 40%，我們的 SKU 數量和選擇數量下降了 30% 到 40%。傑伊剛剛說過，我們正在以更小的廣度購買更深的產品。降價帶來的好處就像季末、永久降價、清倉降價、庫存註銷一樣。所以每週一次，每週一次的 POS，對，我們覺得真的很健康。而且我們認為從競爭的角度來看，這種情況不會繼續下去。這實際上是對庫存過多的非生產性庫存的清理。這是更大的邊際收益。

I think if you look at the brand detail we provide now, 2019, [if you look at a] brand, we're -- for the year 2021, we grew revenue by $75 million from 2019, but we grew profit by $270 million. And that's -- when we talk about the fundamental changes from this acquisition of Quiet, the node network, delivery cost benefits, actually markdown benefits because we're putting less inventory in stores and trapping it there because we were able to fulfill closer to those stores.

我認為，如果你看一下我們現在提供的品牌細節，2019 年，[如果你看一個]品牌，我們 - 到 2021 年，我們的收入比 2019 年增加了 7500 萬美元，但我們的利潤增加了 2.7 億美元.這就是——當我們談論收購 Quiet 帶來的根本變化時，節點網絡、交付成本優勢，實際上是降價優勢，因為我們在商店中減少了庫存並將其困在那裡，因為我們能夠更接近那些商店。

Again, doing more with less inventory, that's the benefit that came through really in a huge way in the AE brand, definitely benefiting Aerie too with what we're doing. But we're not planning on giving that back.

再說一次，用更少的庫存做更多的事情，這就是 AE 品牌真正帶來的巨大好處，我們正在做的事情肯定也會使 Aerie 受益。但我們不打算回饋這些。

Our next question comes from the line of Oliver Chen with Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 Oliver Chen 和 Cowen 的對話。

This is Jonna on Oliver. Just curious about your pricing strategy. You obviously saw strong AUR growth over the last few quarters. But as you think about next year, do you have room for increasing pricing to potentially offset any pressure? Any color will be helpful.

這是奧利弗的喬娜。只是對您的定價策略感到好奇。在過去的幾個季度中，您顯然看到了強勁的 AUR 增長。但是，當您考慮明年時，您是否有提高定價以抵消任何壓力的空間？任何顏色都會有所幫助。

Yes. I think Jay and I are going to tag team on this. Look, we've been testing new pricing in every category. And in particular ones, denim and leggings, we're not seeing a lot of resistance as long as the customer understands the quality and the price value. But we are going to protect our opening price points. That's important. The lipstick of any category gets the order going, and that is something we will constantly look at, and we'll keep the sharp prices where we believe we want to compete.

是的。我想傑伊和我會在這件事上給團隊貼上標籤。看，我們一直在測試每個類別的新定價。特別是牛仔布和緊身褲，只要客戶了解質量和價格價值，我們就不會看到很多阻力。但我們將保護我們的開盤價。這很重要。任何類別的口紅都能獲得訂單，這是我們將不斷關注的事情，我們將在我們認為我們想要競爭的地方保持高價格。

But we definitely have a strategy where we build our plans and the way we assort, Jay said it, in the way we distort it to a good, better, best strategy. I'd like to say we're leaning into better and best, but we certainly aren't going to isolate customers, new customers that may want to get into our brand and understand who we are.

但我們肯定有一個戰略，我們制定我們的計劃和我們的分類方式，傑伊說，我們將它扭曲成一個好的、更好的、最好的戰略。我想說的是，我們正朝著更好、最好的方向發展，但我們當然不會孤立客戶、可能想要進入我們品牌並了解我們是誰的新客戶。

Certainly, categories like socks and underwear are a great place to do it. And I love our strategies. Look, we've spent a lot of time on looking at our pricing, looking at the costing for the future, knowing that there could still be some logistics and supply chain issues. And I feel like the plans are in a great place. Jay, I don't know if you have any...

當然，襪子和內衣等類別是一個很好的選擇。我喜歡我們的策略。看，我們花了很多時間來查看我們的定價，查看未來的成本，知道仍然可能存在一些物流和供應鏈問題。而且我覺得這些計劃很到位。傑，我不知道你有沒有...

And to add to what Jen is saying, to me, the sign of a healthy company is the ability to have higher price points on new items and able to introduce higher prices, key items and drive sales. And we've been able to do that. Our denim, we're able to introduce $89 denim, $99 denim, higher price points in the leggings and drive very good sales on it.

除了 Jen 所說的話，對我來說，一家健康公司的標誌是能夠在新產品上擁有更高的價格點，並能夠推出更高的價格、關鍵產品並推動銷售。我們已經能夠做到這一點。我們的牛仔布，我們能夠推出 89 美元的牛仔布，99 美元的牛仔布，打底褲價格更高，並推動了非常好的銷售。

And that's the key to company because we're not limited to a certain price point. We have the ability to keep layering on top of that. And we're very excited about that. But we have the ability to drive that. And also, we're very proud of is that people want the American Eagle name. We see more demand for our name on products at American Eagle. We see more demand for our logo. People want it.

這是公司的關鍵，因為我們不限於某個價格點。我們有能力在此之上繼續分層。我們對此感到非常興奮。但我們有能力推動它。而且，我們非常自豪的是人們想要美國鷹這個名字。我們在 American Eagle 的產品上看到了對我們名字的更多需求。我們看到對我們標誌的更多需求。人們想要它。

We're not just selling jeans, selling jeans. We're selling American Eagle jeans, American Eagle product. And we're very proud of that. And you'll see in the campaign this year, you'll see American Eagle everywhere. We're very excited.

我們不只是賣牛仔褲，賣牛仔褲。我們正在銷售 American Eagle 牛仔褲，American Eagle 產品。我們為此感到非常自豪。你會在今年的競選活動中看到，到處都能看到美國之鷹。我們非常興奮。

Our next question comes from the line of Corey Tarlowe with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Corey Tarlowe 和 Jefferies 的觀點。

You had mentioned a improvement in retention at core American Eagle. Just curious as to what's driving this. And you had also discussed witnessing the highest ever, I believe, active customer count and the highest ever annual spend as well. What, in your view, do you believe is the core to this development? And how sustainable do you believe this trend is?

您提到核心 American Eagle 的保留率有所提高。只是好奇是什麼驅動了這個。您還討論過見證有史以來最高的活躍客戶數量和最高的年度支出。在您看來，您認為這一發展的核心是什麼？您認為這種趨勢的可持續性如何？

That's a great question. The marketing teams have really dissected our customer base, and one of our strategies was getting our customers back. The reactivated growth, particularly in American Eagle, I mean, the numbers, it's outstanding up, I believe, 61%. So I mean, pretty amazing, reactivated customer rate. Same for Aerie, very healthy, huge numbers there. And that was one of our focuses. But let's not forget, I really think that the way we're approaching our product assortments, we're attracting a wider demographic now.

這是一個很好的問題。營銷團隊真正剖析了我們的客戶群，我們的策略之一就是讓我們的客戶回歸。重新激活的增長，特別是在美國之鷹，我的意思是，數字，我相信，增長了 61%。所以我的意思是，非常驚人的，重新激活的客戶率。 Aerie 也一樣，那裡非常健康，人數眾多。這是我們的重點之一。但我們不要忘記，我真的認為我們正在接近我們的產品分類的方式，我們現在正在吸引更廣泛的人群。

So we're not just focused on the teenager necessarily. We certainly need to appeal to them because they are -- they shop no matter what the conditions are in the environment, they're shoppers. But we also are seeing that we're getting some widening our age demographic to the older side, which I think is phenomenal. It speaks volume. I think it's really -- when you think about denim, our denim fits, we have more variety there. We still have our core, as I mentioned.

所以我們不一定只關注青少年。我們當然需要吸引他們，因為他們是——無論環境條件如何，他們都會購物，他們是購物者。但我們也看到我們的年齡人口正在擴大到老年人，我認為這是驚人的。它說話音量。我認為這真的是——當你想到牛仔佈時，我們的牛仔布適合，我們在那裡有更多的品種。正如我所提到的，我們仍然有我們的核心。

And now we have fashion. So we're seeing incrementality there. And I do really believe it's the product assortments. We sort of emulated what we're doing in Aerie. Some of those offerings, think about a legging, an 11-year-old or a 6-year-old wears a legging. There's some ubiquity in those product offerings. And I think we're approaching it the same way in American Eagle.

現在我們有了時尚。所以我們在那裡看到了增量。我真的相信這是產品分類。我們在某種程度上模仿了我們在 Aerie 所做的事情。其中一些產品，想想緊身褲，11 歲或 6 歲的孩子穿著緊身褲。這些產品中無處不在。我認為我們在 American Eagle 中也以同樣的方式接近它。

And just, again, and being very disciplined about our inventory, disciplined about our promotional cadence while we're still competing on a great price-value equation, and the quality is just outstanding. So really proud of what team...

再一次，我們對我們的庫存非常自律，對我們的促銷節奏自律，而我們仍然在一個偉大的價格-價值等式上競爭，而且質量非常出色。真的很自豪什麼團隊...

And Jen, I'd like to add to what you're saying. We're very proud of our fits. They're consistent, and they're probably the best fits in the industry.

Jen，我想補充一下你所說的。我們為自己的配合感到非常自豪。它們是一致的，並且可能是行業中最合適的。

That's for sure.

這是肯定的。

Absolutely.

絕對地。

Our next question comes from the line of Dana Telsey with Telsey Advisory Group.

我們的下一個問題來自 Telsey 諮詢小組的 Dana Telsey。

As you think about the 2 new businesses that you acquired, AirTerra and Quiet Logistics, what do you see them adding in 2022? When do they become a sales and profit driver as you expand those businesses? And is there any model of what we should think of their contributions over the long term?

當您考慮收購的 2 家新業務 AirTerra 和 Quiet Logistics 時，您認為它們在 2022 年會增加什麼？當您擴展這些業務時，它們何時成為銷售和利潤驅動力？從長遠來看，我們應該如何看待他們的貢獻有什麼模型嗎？

Dana, it's Michael, Michael Rempell, I'll answer the first part, and then I'll see if Mike wants to provide any more detail. But look, for me, and I should say, I'm really extremely proud of the delivery performance for the American Eagle business and that delivery performance. I don't think there's another retailer in the country that's lowering their delivery cost, lowering delivery as a percent of revenue and delivering to customers faster and making their inventory more productive at the same time. It's a huge accomplishment. The team has done a phenomenal job, and it's a great win.

Dana，我是 Michael，Michael Rempell，我會回答第一部分，然後我會看看 Mike 是否想提供更多細節。但是，對我來說，我應該說，我真的為 American Eagle 業務的交付業績和交付業績感到非常自豪。我認為該國沒有另一家零售商正在降低他們的交付成本，降低交付佔收入的百分比，更快地交付給客戶，同時提高他們的庫存效率。這是一項巨大的成就。球隊完成了非凡的工作，這是一場偉大的勝利。

And the reason I mentioned that when you're asking about Quiet and AirTerra is it's a direct result of the work that we've done with Quiet and AirTerra. Those businesses are fueling the results that we're seeing in American Eagle. And that's why we acquired them. We saw the opportunity in our business. And it's very clear to us that in order to compete going forward, all retailers are going to want and need these kind of capabilities. They're going to need the efficiencies of operating at scale, of being close to the customers, of making their inventory more productive, of accessing new kind of delivery partnerships and capabilities. And that's what this enables.

當您詢問 Quiet 和 AirTerra 時，我提到的原因是它是我們對 Quiet 和 AirTerra 所做工作的直接結果。這些業務正在推動我們在 American Eagle 中看到的結果。這就是我們收購它們的原因。我們在業務中看到了機會。我們很清楚，為了繼續競爭，所有零售商都需要並需要這些能力。他們將需要大規模運營、貼近客戶、提高庫存效率、獲得新型交付合作夥伴關係和能力等方面的效率。這就是它能夠實現的。

So look, we're only 2 months into the acquisition. It's a little early to give too much color or too much guidance. But what -- but we do plan on giving it later this year. And what I would tell you is our initial conversations with other brands and retailers are extremely positive. I'm very encouraged by what I'm hearing. I'm very encouraged that we're going to get significant brands and retailers to want to sign up and join us in this because they see the value and they see the opportunity.

所以看，我們只有 2 個月的收購。現在給出太多顏色或太多指導還為時過早。但是什麼 - 但我們確實計劃在今年晚些時候提供它。我要告訴你的是，我們與其他品牌和零售商的初步對話非常積極。我對我所聽到的感到非常鼓舞。我感到非常鼓舞的是，我們將讓重要的品牌和零售商願意註冊並加入我們，因為他們看到了價值並看到了機會。

And Mike gave a little bit of color earlier, but we do expect that it will be a few hundred million dollars of revenue this year, likely a breakeven business as we're investing early on. We just hired a new CTO for the business. His name is Charles Griffith. He is really a world-class player. He was in a leadership role at Amazon, where he built a lot of their transportation capabilities. He is bringing on an extremely talented team.

邁克早些時候給出了一點顏色，但我們確實預計今年的收入將達到幾億美元，這可能是我們早期投資的盈虧平衡業務。我們剛剛為該業務聘請了一位新的 CTO。他的名字是查爾斯格里菲斯。他真的是一個世界級的球員。他在亞馬遜擔任領導職務，在那裡他建立了很多運輸能力。他帶來了一支極具天賦的球隊。

And again, we all know how critical technology is in the success of our business and certainly running an efficient supply chain. And these businesses are allowing us to attract talent that we likely would not have otherwise been able to attract. And that's certainly a huge value to American Eagle, but it's also going to be a huge value to all the customers that we serve today and that we're going to serve in the future. So I expect that in 2023, this is going to be a profitable business for us.

再說一次，我們都知道技術對我們業務的成功和運行高效的供應鏈有多麼重要。這些業務使我們能夠吸引我們可能無法吸引的人才。這對 American Eagle 來說無疑是一個巨大的價值，但對於我們今天服務的所有客戶以及我們未來將要服務的所有客戶來說，這也將是一個巨大的價值。所以我預計到 2023 年，這對我們來說將是一項有利可圖的業務。

I said in earlier calls that it was going to be accretive to our business and accretive to our margins, and I certainly know that it's going to be that way. And Jay, do you.

我在之前的電話會議中說過，這將增加我們的業務並增加我們的利潤，我當然知道它會是這樣的。傑，你呢。

Okay. If Michael wants to add -- yes, just to add one thing, Dana, I always tell Michael that this acquisition is going to be the anti-Amazon. It's going to give the ability for us and other retailers to be able to compete against the Amazons, the Targets and the Walmarts in the future.

好的。如果邁克爾想補充——是的，只是為了補充一件事，達娜，我總是告訴邁克爾，這次收購將是反亞馬遜。這將使我們和其他零售商有能力在未來與亞馬遜、Targets 和沃爾瑪競爭。

Thanks, Jay. And I think, Dana, I'll just add -- I'll just provide some specifics because it's really embedded in that kind of tale of 2 halves story I was trying to tell at the beginning of the Q&A session here. But -- and we gave guidance of 4 to 5 points of top line from it, so that implies, Michael said it, $250 million to $300 million of revenue, not including the revenue from our own brands. It's actually higher if you throw that in.

謝謝，傑。我想，Dana，我只是補充一下——我只是提供一些細節，因為它真的嵌入到我在問答環節開始時試圖講述的那種兩半故事中。但是——我們從中給出了 4 到 5 點的收入指導，這意味著，邁克爾說，這意味著 2.5 億美元到 3 億美元的收入，不包括我們自己品牌的收入。如果你把它扔進去，它實際上會更高。

Sort of company elimination, but -- so external or third-party revenue would be $250 million to $300 million that's incremental to our P&L. We're expecting a loss in the first half. As Michael said, we've only owned it for 2 months. The team is hard at work to ramp up the business. We're making investments in people and other services, et cetera. The loss in the first half in that spring is around a $20 million loss for the spring season.

某種意義上的公司淘汰，但是 - 所以外部或第三方收入將是 2.5 億美元到 3 億美元，這會增加我們的損益表。我們預計上半年會虧損。正如邁克爾所說，我們只擁有它 2 個月。該團隊正在努力擴大業務。我們正在對人員和其他服務等進行投資。那年春季上半年的損失約為春季損失2000萬美元。

And then we guided breakeven for the year. So $20 million -- we'll pick up that $20 million in the back half is the plan, especially in the fourth quarter. And that sets the business up to be profitable in 2023, as Michael said. And that's an exciting thing that we'll provide more color on then in terms of 2023 specifics within the targets that we already provided.

然後我們指導了今年的盈虧平衡。所以 2000 萬美元——我們將在後半部分拿到 2000 萬美元是計劃，尤其是在第四季度。正如邁克爾所說，這將使該業務在 2023 年實現盈利。這是一件令人興奮的事情，我們將在我們已經提供的目標中根據 2023 年的具體情況提供更多顏色。

Laura, I think we have time for one more question.

勞拉，我想我們還有時間再問一個問題。

Our final question comes from the line of Susan Anderson with B. Riley.

我們的最後一個問題來自 Susan Anderson 和 B. Riley 的對話。

I was curious, it doesn't sound like you've seen any pushback on the higher price points. But just curious if there's any at all from the consumer, particularly on the denim wear. I think some of those higher end price points if you're seeing any pushback there?

我很好奇，聽起來你沒有看到任何對更高價格點的抵制。但只是好奇消費者是否有任何東西，特別是在牛仔服上。如果您在那裡看到任何阻力，我認為其中一些高端價格點？

Yes. I mean we always invest accordingly. We've tested and scaled some of these price points. And so far, so good. Obviously, they're more of the fashion-oriented fits where the customer is willing to pay, and that's how we're doing it, right, in every category, right? So we're approaching it cautiously.

是的。我的意思是我們總是進行相應的投資。我們已經測試並調整了其中一些價格點。到目前為止，一切都很好。顯然，它們更適合客戶願意支付的時尚款式，這就是我們的做法，對，在每個類別中，對吧？所以我們正在謹慎地接近它。

We still want great genuine pricing. That's so important. We are a mall-based retailer, so we'll be smart there. But I do like the quality and the innovation that I'm seeing. The innovation is just incredible with this design team. They're just not stopping. I mean I could go through every category, but looking at denim, leggings, just new fabrications and qualities, we've already delivered so much in men's. So where we can get paid, we will. And that's it. That's a wrap, I guess. But we're really excited, and I look forward to what we're going to see with this next delivery.

我們仍然想要真正的定價。這太重要了。我們是一家以商場為基礎的零售商，所以我們在那裡會很聰明。但我確實喜歡我所看到的質量和創新。這個設計團隊的創新令人難以置信。他們只是沒有停止。我的意思是我可以通過每一個類別，但看看牛仔布、緊身褲，只是新的面料和質量，我們已經在男裝方面提供了很多。所以我們能得到報酬的地方，我們就會得到報酬。就是這樣。那是一個包裝，我猜。但我們真的很興奮，我期待著我們將在下一次交付中看到什麼。

Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of today's question-and-answer session. I would like to turn this call back over to Mr. Jay Schottenstein for closing remarks.

女士們，先生們，今天的問答環節到此結束。我想把這個電話轉回給 Jay Schottenstein 先生的閉幕詞。

Okay. Thank you. Okay. I like to summarize AEO has undergone a tremendous transformation over the past 2 years. 2021 was one of AEO's best years on record. We achieved over $5 billion in revenue, and that was a first for us. By any standard, we had a spectacular year with operating profits over $600 million, one of the best results since 2007. If not for the incremental freight costs as a result of factory closures and supply chain disruptions, it would have been our best year ever.

好的。謝謝你。好的。我想總結一下 AEO 在過去 2 年中經歷了巨大的轉變。 2021 年是 AEO 有記錄以來最好的年份之一。我們實現了超過 50 億美元的收入，這對我們來說是第一次。以任何標準衡量，我們都度過了輝煌的一年，營業利潤超過 6 億美元，這是自 2007 年以來最好的成績之一。如果不是因為工廠關閉和供應鏈中斷導致的運費增加，這將是我們有史以來最好的一年.

And over the past few years, we made many key structural changes to our business that are driving higher profitability. We've set a new baseline of profitability for the company. Confident in 2023 targets of $5.8 billion and $800 million of operating profit and a 13.5% operating margins.

在過去的幾年裡，我們對我們的業務進行了許多關鍵的結構性變化，這些變化正在推動更高的盈利能力。我們為公司設定了新的盈利基準。對 2023 年 58 億美元和 8 億美元的營業利潤和 13.5% 的營業利潤率的目標充滿信心。

And we appreciate everyone's time and investment in our company, and thank you for joining us this afternoon. Thank you.

我們感謝大家對我們公司的時間和投資，感謝您今天下午加入我們。謝謝你。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation. Enjoy the rest of your day.

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。享受你一天的剩餘時間。