Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Abercrombie & Fitch second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Abercrombie & Fitch 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Mohit Gupta. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給今天的發言人莫希特·古普塔。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to our second quarter 2024 earnings call. Joining me today on the call are Fran Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer, and Scott Lipesky, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

謝謝。早上好，歡迎參加我們的 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有執行長 Fran Horowitz 和財務長兼營運長 Scott Lipesky。

Earlier this morning we issued our second quarter earnings release, which is available on our website at corporate.abercrombie.com, under the Investor section. Also available on our website is an Investor Presentation.

今天早些時候，我們發布了第二季度收益報告，該報告可在我們的網站 Corporate.abercrombie.com 的「投資者」部分下找到。我們的網站上也提供投資者介紹。

Please keep in mind that we will make certain forward-looking statements on the call. These statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations and assumptions we mentioned today.

請記住，我們將在電話會議中做出某些前瞻性聲明。這些陳述受到 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》安全港條款的約束，並受到可能導致實際結果與我們今天提到的預期和假設存在重大差異的風險和不確定性的影響。

These factors and uncertainties are discussed in our reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, we'll be referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures during the call. Additional details and reconciliations of GAAP to adjusted non-GAAP financial measures are included in the release and the Investor Presentation issued earlier this morning.

這些因素和不確定性在我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告和文件中進行了討論。此外，我們將在電話會議中提及某些非公認會計準則財務指標。 GAAP 與調整後的非 GAAP 財務指標的更多細節和調整包含在今天早上早些時候發布的新聞稿和投資者簡報中。

Finally, references to Abercrombie brands include our Abercrombie & Fitch and Abercrombie Kids brands, and references to Hollister brands include our Hollister and Gilly Hicks brands.

最後，提及 Abercrombie 品牌包括我們的 Abercrombie & Fitch 和 Abercrombie Kids 品牌，提及 Hollister 品牌包括我們的 Hollister 和 Gilly Hicks 品牌。

With that, I will turn the call over to Fran.

這樣，我就把電話轉給弗蘭。

Thanks, Mo, and thank you all for joining us this morning. I am incredibly proud to report our financial results exceeded the expectations we provided in May and set second quarter company records for both net sales and operating profit.

謝謝莫，也謝謝大家今天早上加入我們。我非常自豪地報告我們的財務業績超出了我們 5 月份提供的預期，並創下了第二季度公司淨銷售額和營業利潤的記錄。

We delivered strong second quarter net sales growth of 21%, reaching $1.1 billion with an operating margin of 15.5%. We achieved these outstanding results, while also funding long-term growth priorities across regions and brands. After a historic success in the first half, our teams are energized and we've entered the second half ready to deliver for our global customers.

我們第二季淨銷售額強勁成長 21%，達到 11 億美元，營業利益率為 15.5%。我們取得了這些出色的成果，同時也為跨地區和品牌的長期成長重點提供資金。在上半年取得歷史性成功後，我們的團隊充滿活力，進入下半年，我們已為全球客戶提供服務的準備。

I am thrilled with our start to August and we are raising our full year sales growth and profitability expectations. For more context, in 2024, we've set out to demonstrate sustainable profitable growth on top of a defining fiscal year result in 2023.

我對八月份的開局感到非常興奮，我們正在提高全年銷售成長和獲利預期。為了解更多背景信息，我們計劃在 2023 年確定財政年度業績的基礎上，在 2024 年展示可持續的盈利增長。

I'm so proud of how we're showing up for our customer and we are clearly seeing them respond. In addition to record second quarter sales, this was our seventh consecutive quarter of net sales growth in a dynamic, often uncertain consumer environment which underlies the strength of our brands, our team, and our playbook.

我為我們為客戶提供的服務感到非常自豪，我們清楚地看到他們的回應。除了創紀錄的第二季銷售額外，這是我們在動態且常常不確定的消費者環境中連續第七個季度實現淨銷售額成長，這是我們品牌、團隊和策略的優勢所在。

We work every day to satisfy new and returning customers' needs across product voice, and experience. I believe our global brand portfolio is as strong as it's ever been. Combined with an agile modern supply chain and a culture of financial discipline, we believe we have all the pieces in place to deliver on our goals across a variety of macro environments. Sharing a bit more detail on Q2, I want to call out a consistent theme we've demonstrated over the last five quarters.

我們每天都致力於滿足新客戶和回頭客在產品語音和體驗方面的需求。我相信我們的全球品牌組合一如既往地強大。結合敏捷的現代供應鏈和財務紀律文化，我們相信我們已具備在各種宏觀環境下實現我們目標的所有條件。在分享第二季的更多細節時，我想指出我們在過去五個季度中展示的一致主題。

We are delivering strong top-line results, while also maintaining balance in how we're growing. Our second quarter sales growth was broad based, fueled by expansion across regions, brands and genders. We also saw growth in both units and AUR, consistent with the past five quarters.

我們正在實現強勁的營收業績，同時保持成長方式的平衡。在跨地區、品牌和性別的擴張的推動下，我們第二季的銷售成長基礎廣泛。我們也看到了單位和 AUR 的成長，與過去五個季度的情況一致。

There's balance in our product too, with growth across key categories, as our teams are delivering lifestyle assortments with increasing relevance to our local customers. On the gross profit line, we saw 240 basis points of rate expansion compared to last year. This was driven by higher AUR and improved product costs, partially offset by higher freight costs.

我們的產品也實現了平衡，各個關鍵類別都在成長，因為我們的團隊正在提供與當地客戶越來越相關的生活方式品種。在毛利線上，與去年相比，我們看到了 240 個基點的成長。這是由較高的 AUR 和產品成本的提高所推動的，但部分被較高的運費成本所抵消。

We also delivered operating leverage in the quarter, while funding important marketing, digital, technology, and people investments to support our long-term aspirations. All this great work led to operating income of $176 million for the quarter, nearly double the second quarter result from the prior year.

我們還在本季實現了營運槓桿，同時為重要的行銷、數位、技術和人員投資提供資金，以支持我們的長期願景。所有這些出色的工作使該季度的營業收入達到 1.76 億美元，幾乎是去年第二季的兩倍。

Continuing the theme of balance, we delivered growth across regions in the second quarter. The Americas continued to lead the way with 23% net sales growth, consistent with the first quarter. The Americas grew across markets with nice increases in traffic across direct selling channels.

延續平衡的主題，我們在第二季度實現了跨地區成長。美洲地區持續保持領先地位，淨銷售額成長 23%，與第一季一致。美洲各個市場都在成長，直銷通路的流量大幅增加。

In EMEA, putting aside a pandemic related sales rebound in early 2022, we demonstrated growth on growth for the first time in over 10 years, delivering 16% growth on top of 4% in the second quarter of 2023. Customers in both the UK and Germany continue to respond to the localized assortments and we're engaging with them to increase marketing and brand presence.

在歐洲、中東和非洲地區，撇開 2022 年初與疫情相關的銷售反彈不談，我們 10 多年來首次實現了增長，在 2023 年第二季度 4% 的基礎上實現了 16% 的增長。在地化品種做出反應，我們正在與他們合作以增加行銷和品牌影響力。

Finally, APAC grew 3% in the quarter on comparable sales growth of 21% where we continue to be led by our focus markets of China and Japan, as we engage that customer in new and different ways. We are energized to see the progress we've made to localize our playbook across regions this quarter, but we know there's more runway ahead of us.

最後，亞太地區本季成長 3%，可比銷售額成長 21%，我們繼續以中國和日本等重點市場為主導，因為我們以新的不同方式與客戶互動。我們很高興看到本季度我們在跨地區在地化方面取得的進展，但我們知道我們還有更多的路要走。

On to the brands. Abercrombie brands had another outstanding quarter with net sales growth of 26% on top of 26% growth in the second quarter of 2023. Balance growth continued in men's and women's and across categories, with seasonal shorts, swims, skirts and dresses performing well.

說到品牌。 Abercrombie 品牌又迎來了一個出色的季度，淨銷售額在2023 年第二季度增長26% 的基礎上實現了26% 的增長。半身裙和連身裙表現良好。

We also saw balance growth in both AUR and units, as well as new and existing customers. As a follow-up to our highlights in the first quarter, the wedding shop continued to contribute nicely and has proven to be a great assortment extension.

我們也看到 AUR 和單位以及新客戶和現有客戶的平衡成長。作為第一季亮點的後續行動，婚紗店繼續做出了良好的貢獻，並被證明是一個很好的品種擴展。

The reaction from customers has exceeded our expectations and we have now entered the men's side with some suiting options to complement our dresses. We continue to prioritize customer acquisition in Abercrombie, funding effective marketing campaigns across digital and social channels. We are excited to enter the back half with more customer activations planned.

顧客的反應超出了我們的預期，我們現在進入了男裝領域，並提供了一些西裝選項來補充我們的連身裙。我們繼續優先考慮 Abercrombie 的客戶獲取，為跨數位和社交管道的有效行銷活動提供資金。我們很高興進入下半年，並計劃進行更多客戶活動。

In the US, we released our latest NFL collection, further expanding on what has been a great partnership. Related to the collection, we have a number of exciting social and digital campaigns planned throughout the season to drive engagement. It's just one example of how Abercrombie Brands is working to win with both new and current customers in the second half of the year.

在美國，我們發布了最新的 NFL 系列，進一步擴大了我們之間的良好合作關係。與該系列相關，我們在整個季節計劃了許多令人興奮的社交和數位活動，以提高參與度。這只是 Abercrombie Brands 如何在今年下半年贏得新舊客戶的一個例子。

Moving on to Hollister brands, we continue to build momentum. Net sales growth of 17% exceeded our expectations and accelerated sequentially from 12% growth in Q1. Importantly, the balance continues from first quarter with both men's and women's growing, as well as expansion of both unit sales and AUR, the latter driven by lower promotions. On the product side, women’s saw balance growth across categories with particular strengths in skirts and dresses.

轉向 Hollister 品牌，我們繼續發展勢頭。 17% 的淨銷售額成長超出了我們的預期，並且比第一季 12% 的成長有所加快。重要的是，這種平衡從第一季開始持續存在，男性和女性都在成長，單位銷售額和 AUR 都在擴大，後者是由促銷活動減少所推動的。在產品方面，女裝各品類實現了平衡成長，尤其是裙子和洋裝。

In men's, we saw shorts and graphic tees contribute to the growth. With the additional week of Back-to-School selling in the second quarter, we were pleased to see consistent growth trends and I'm very happy with how Back-to-School is going for us so far.

在男裝方面，我們看到短褲和圖案 T 卹對成長做出了貢獻。隨著第二季度「返校」銷售的增加，我們很高興看到持續的成長趨勢，我對「返校」到目前為止對我們的進展感到非常滿意。

With great product, our goal now is to amplify the brand. On top of new store locations and refreshed store experiences, we're investing in incremental marketing to increase engagement and reintroduce Hollister brands to our target audience.

憑藉出色的產品，我們現在的目標是擴大品牌。除了新的商店選址和煥然一新的商店體驗之外，我們還在增量行銷方面進行投資，以提高參與度，並將 Hollister 品牌重新介紹給我們的目標受眾。

This increased marketing investment spans across digital and social channels, as well as through authentic real-life experiences and activations. One example is our Feel Good Fest, which is a concert and festival put on in partnership with high schools across the country.

這種增加的行銷投資跨越數位和社交管道，以及真實的現實生活體驗和活化。一個例子是我們的 Feel Good Fest，這是與全國各地的高中合作舉辦的一場音樂會和節日。

More recently, as back-to-school and fall school sports have kicked off, we launched the Hollister Collegiate Graphic Shop. The collection of quality basics including crew neck sweatshirts, hoodies and tees, touting vintage inspired university logos and graphics represents more than 30 universities across the United States.

最近，隨著返校和秋季學校運動會的開始，我們推出了 Hollister Collegiate Graphic Shop。該系列優質基本款包括圓領運動衫、連帽衫和 T 卹，宣傳復古風格的大學標誌和圖案，代表美國 30 多所大學。

Hollister Brands is building nice momentum and we believe product collections like this can help bring new customers into the brand. As we reflect on our team's success and strong second quarter results, I'm as confident as ever in our global growth potential and our ability to make continued progress on growth and profitability in 2024, as reflected in our increased expectation for sales and operating margin.

Hollister Brands 正在建立良好的勢頭，我們相信這樣的產品系列可以幫助為品牌帶來新客戶。當我們反思我們團隊的成功和強勁的第二季度業績時，我對我們的全球成長潛力以及我們在2024 年在成長和盈利方面持續取得進展的能力一如既往地充滿信心，這反映在我們對銷售和營業利益率預期的提高上。

As we enter the back half, our team remains in offense, while looking forward to the holiday season, and I'm thrilled with what we've seen in the third quarter so far. Looking further out, with a strong family of brands, a proven playbook and an evolving regional operating model, I believe our relationship with the customer continues to improve and we all see tremendous opportunity ahead.

當我們進入後半場時，我們的球隊仍然處於進攻狀態，同時期待假期，我對迄今為止我們在第三節所看到的情況感到興奮。展望未來，憑藉強大的品牌系列、經過驗證的策略和不斷發展的區域營運模式，我相信我們與客戶的關係將持續改善，我們都看到了未來的巨大機會。

We continue to further strengthen all aspects of the customer journey, developing a consistent, enduring business that can grow and succeed even in these dynamic and often uncertain times. A huge thank you to our associates around the world whose hard work, dedication and support of our customer have put us well on our way to sustainable, profitable growth in 2024.

我們繼續進一步加強客戶旅程的各個方面，開發一致、持久的業務，即使在這個充滿活力且常常充滿不確定性的時期也能成長並取得成功。非常感謝我們世界各地的員工，他們的辛勤工作、奉獻精神和客戶的支持使我們在 2024 年實現可持續盈利增長。

And with that, I'll hand it over to Scott.

這樣，我就把它交給史考特了。

Great, thank you. To echo Fran, we were very pleased with the first half of the year. Our teams continue to execute a high level across the business, managing the day-to-day, while continuing to make progress in our long-term investment plan.

太好了，謝謝。跟弗蘭一樣，我們對今年上半年非常滿意。我們的團隊繼續在整個業務中執行高水準的日常管理，同時繼續在我們的長期投資計劃中取得進展。

Getting into the results for the second quarter, we delivered record net sales of $1.13 billion, up 21% compared to last year, with growth across regions and brands. Similar to the first quarter, this is the first time in the history of the company we delivered over $1 billion in net sales in a fiscal second quarter.

進入第二季業績，我們實現了創紀錄的淨銷售額 11.3 億美元，比去年增長 21%，各個地區和品牌都有成長。與第一季類似，這是公司歷史上第一次在第二財季實現淨銷售額超過 10 億美元。

On a reported basis, we saw a 320 basis points benefit from the calendar shift from the 53rd week in 2023, consistent with our expectations. Comparable sales grew 18%, representing the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit comp sales growth in both the stores and digital direct selling channels.

根據報告，我們從 2023 年第 53 週開始受益於日曆變化 320 個基點，這與我們的預期一致。可比銷售額成長 18%，代表商店和數位直銷通路的可比較銷售額連續第五個季度實現兩位數成長。

On a regional basis, we again delivered growth across regions. Net sales grew 23% in the Americas, 16% in EMEA, and 3% in APAC. On a comp basis, sales grew 18% in the Americas, 17% in EMEA, and 21% in APAC.

從區域來看，我們再次實現了跨區域成長。美洲淨銷售額成長 23%，歐洲、中東和非洲地區成長 16%，亞太地區成長 3%。相較之下，美洲地區的銷售額成長了 18%，歐洲、中東和非洲地區的銷售額成長了 17%，亞太地區的銷售額成長了 21%。

In the Americas, similar to last quarter, we saw balanced growth across markets. In EMEA, the UK and Germany continued to lead the way, and we've now delivered year-over-year growth for five consecutive quarters in the region.

在美洲，與上季類似，我們看到各個市場的平衡成長。在歐洲、中東和非洲地區，英國和德國繼續處於領先地位，我們現在已在該地區連續五個季度實現同比增長。

In APAC, we saw a large spread from comps to net sales growth, which was primarily driven by foreign currency and net store closures. From a brand perspective, Abercrombie brands delivered strong growth with net sales up 26% to last year, while Hollister brands growth accelerated to 17% as our customers responded favorably to our assortments and our marketing.

在亞太地區，我們看到從比較到淨銷售額成長的巨大差距，這主要是由外匯和淨商店關閉所推動的。從品牌角度來看，Abercrombie 品牌實現了強勁成長，淨銷售額比去年增長了 26%，而 Hollister 品牌的成長則加速至 17%，因為我們的客戶對我們的品種和行銷反應良好。

On a comp basis, Abercrombie grew 21% and Hollister grew 15%. For gross profit, we delivered a rate of 64.9% for the quarter, up 240 basis points compared to the 62.5% rate in 2023. We saw year-over-year benefits from lower cotton costs, as well as a benefit from lower promotions across brands on well-controlled inventories and strong product acceptance. These benefits were partially offset by higher freight costs. We ended the quarter with inventory up 9% to last year, with all brands in a clean position entering the fall season.

以比較計算，Abercrombie 成長了 21%，Hollister 成長了 15%。就毛利而言，本季我們的毛利率為 64.9%，比 2023 年的 62.5% 上升了 240 個基點。的庫存控制和強大的產品接受度。這些好處被較高的貨運成本部分抵銷。本季結束時，我們的庫存比去年增加了 9%，進入秋季時所有品牌都處於良好狀態。

Moving on to expenses, operating expense excluding other operating income was $561 million for the quarter, compared to operating expense of $497 million last year. We continued to drive operating expense leverage with operating expenses as a percent of sales of 49.4% and improvement of 380 basis points compared to last year.

說到費用，本季不包括其他營業收入的營業費用為 5.61 億美元，而去年的營業費用為 4.97 億美元。我們持續提高營業費用槓桿，營業費用佔銷售額的比例達到 49.4%，比去年提高 380 個基點。

We saw similar themes to the first quarter in terms of year-over-year OpEx growth, with higher variable expenses on sales growth, as well as inflation and increased investments in marketing, digital and technology, and people.

我們在營運支出年增率方面看到了與第一季類似的主題，銷售成長的可變費用較高，通貨膨脹以及行銷、數位和技術以及人員方面的投資增加。

For marketing, second quarter expense was in-line with expectations, finishing at around 4.5% of sales. Operating income was a record $176 million or 15.5% of sales compared to operating income of $90 million or 9.6% of sales last year.

行銷方面，第二季費用符合預期，佔銷售額的 4.5% 左右。營業收入達到創紀錄的 1.76 億美元，佔銷售額的 15.5%，而去年營業收入為 9,000 萬美元，佔銷售額的 9.6%。

Net income per diluted share was $2.50, up from $1.10 last year. EBITDA totaled $215 million, or 19% of sales, compared to EBITDA of $126 million, or 14% of sales last year.

稀釋後每股淨利為 2.50 美元，高於去年的 1.10 美元。 EBITDA 總計 2.15 億美元，佔銷售額的 19%，而去年的 EBITDA 為 1.26 億美元，佔銷售額的 14%。

On the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with cash and equivalents of $738 million and liquidity of approximately $1.2 billion. We delivered operating cash flow of roughly $165 million and had $43 million of capital expenditures.

在資產負債表上，本季末我們的現金及等價物為 7.38 億美元，流動資金約 12 億美元。我們的營運現金流約為 1.65 億美元，資本支出為 4,300 萬美元。

We repurchased $15 million worth of shares, ending the quarter with $202 million remaining on our current share repurchase authorization. During the quarter, we fully redeemed the senior secured notes at par value with cash on hand, ending the quarter with no funded debt. We also amended and extended our asset-based credit facility. The maximum size of the credit facility was increased from $400 million to $500 million, inclusive of the new $100 million European sub-facility.

我們回購了價值 1500 萬美元的股票，截至本季末，我們目前的股票回購授權還剩 2.02 億美元。在本季度，我們用手頭現金以面額全額贖回了優先擔保票據，本季結束時沒有融資債務。我們也修改並擴大了以資產為基礎的信貸安排。信貸額度的最大規模從 4 億美元增加到 5 億美元，其中包括新的 1 億美元歐洲子額度。

Moving forward, with the redemption of the senior secured notes behind us, we expect to prioritize share repurchases to put excess cash to work in the back half, subject to business performance, share price, and market conditions. At a minimum, we expect to buy back shares to offset net dilution from stock compensation.

展望未來，隨著優先擔保票據的贖回，我們預計將根據業務表現、股價和市場狀況，優先考慮股票回購，以便將多餘的現金用於下半年。至少，我們預計回購股票以抵銷股票薪資的淨稀釋。

On the store fleets, we ended the quarter with 757 stores. For the first half of the year, we opened 18 new stores, remodeled or right-sized 30 stores, and closed 26 stores. New and remodeled store performance has exceeded our expectations, and we are excited to deliver many new store experiences in the weeks and months to come.

在商店數量方面，本季末我們擁有 757 家商店。上半年，新開店18家，改造或調整門市30家，關閉門市26家。新店和改建店的表現超出了我們的預期，我們很高興能在未來幾週和幾個月內提供許多新的商店體驗。

For the full year, we expect to deliver approximately 60 new stores, 60 remodeled and right sizes, and 40 closures. Shifting to our expectations for the rest of fiscal 2024, we've had a strong start to the year delivering record net sales in the first half and the momentum has continued in the first few weeks of the third quarter.

全年，我們預計將開設約 60 家新店、60 家經過改造且規模合適的商店以及 40 家關店。轉向我們對 2024 財年剩餘時間的預期，我們今年開局強勁，上半年實現了創紀錄的淨銷售額，並且這一勢頭在第三季度的前幾週持續。

For the third quarter, we expect net sales to be at low double digits compared to the third quarter 2023, level of $1.06 billion, including a year-over-year headwind of around $10 million or 90 basis points due to the calendar shift from the 53rd week in 2023. We expect growth across regions and brands and minimal impact from foreign currency.

與 2023 年第三季相比，我們預計第三季的淨銷售額將處於較低的兩位數，即 10.6 億美元的水平，其中由於日曆從2023 年第53 週。的成長以及外匯影響最小。

We expect operating margin to be in the range of 13% to 14% compared to 13.1% in 2023. We expect the gross profit rate to be consistent with 2023. Now that we are through the majority of the cotton benefit, and we expect to see year-over-year freight pressure in the quarter.

我們預計營業利潤率將在 13% 至 14% 之間，而 2023 年為 13.1%。貨運壓力。

We also plan to continue investing in our brands and infrastructure, which we expect will moderate potential OpEx leverage, keeping expected operating margins around 2023, levels. And we expect an effective tax rate in the mid-20s.

我們還計劃繼續投資於我們的品牌和基礎設施，我們預計這將緩和潛在的營運支出槓桿，將預期營運利潤率保持在 2023 年左右的水平。我們預計有效稅率將在 20 多歲左右。

For the full year, we now expect net sales growth in the range of 12% to 13% up from the 2023 level of approximately $4.3 billion, an increase in the previous outlook of up around 10%. This outlook continues to include an adverse impact of around $50 million from the loss of the 53rd week in 2023. We've included a table in the press release to provide more detail on expected sales and comparative growth impacts by quarter and for the full year.

對於全年，我們目前預計淨銷售額將比 2023 年約 43 億美元的水平增長 12% 至 13%，較之前的預期增長約 10%。這項展望繼續包括2023 年第53 週損失帶來的約5000 萬美元的不利影響。多詳細資料。

For operating margin, we expect to be in the range of 14% to 15%, increasing the high ends compared to our prior outlook. We continue to expect the year-over-year improvement to be driven by gross profit rate expansion from the combination of lower cotton costs and higher AURs on lower promotions and clearance selling, slightly offset by higher freight costs.

對於營業利潤率，我們預計將在 14% 至 15% 的範圍內，與我們先前預期的相比提高了上限。我們繼續預計，同比改善將由棉花成本下降以及促銷和清倉銷售減少導致的 AUR 上升共同推動的毛利率擴張，但貨運成本上升略有抵消。

We also continue to expect full-year expense leverage, while executing our agile funding process to find ways to accelerate investments in the business in the months to come. We expect an effective tax rate in the mid-20s and capital expenditures of approximately $170 million.

我們也繼續期望全年費用槓桿，同時執行我們靈活的融資流程，以尋找在未來幾個月加速業務投資的方法。我們預計有效稅率為 20 多歲，資本支出約為 1.7 億美元。

To finish up, we are very happy with how our teams are executing across the business. We delivered record financial results in the first half, improved our balance sheet with the elimination of funded debt, and continued to invest in our brands and infrastructure. We look forward to executing our plans in the back half to deliver sustainable, profitable growth this year.

最後，我們對我們的團隊在整個業務中的執行感到非常滿意。我們在上半年取得了創紀錄的財務業績，透過消除融資債務改善了我們的資產負債表，並繼續投資於我們的品牌和基礎設施。我們期待在下半年執行我們的計劃，以實現今年可持續的獲利成長。

Operator, we are now ready for questions.

接線員，我們現在準備好提問了。

(Operator Instructions) Dana Telsey, Telsey Advisory Group.

（操作員指示）Dana Telsey，Telsey 諮詢小組。

Hi. Good morning, everyone, and congratulations on the very nice results.

你好。大家早安，恭喜取得了很好的成績。

Fran, if you think about the back-to-school selling season and the AUR growth, what have you seen in each brand, how does it differ by category?

Fran，如果您考慮返校銷售季和 AUR 成長，您在每個品牌中看到了什麼？

And then Scott, unpacking the operating margin guide for the third quarter of the 13% to 14%. I think the consensus had been a little bit higher. Is it the gross margin with the freight expenses or the reduction of the lower cotton costs? If you could just expand on that and unpack that a little bit more. Thank you.

然後史考特透露，第三季的營業利潤率指引值為 13% 至 14%。我認為共識要高一些。是加上運費的毛利率還是棉花成本下降的影響？如果你能擴展它並進一步解壓縮它。謝謝。

Hey, Dana, good morning. Yeah, super excited about our quarter and certainly for the first half of the year. I mean, outstanding to have a second quarter of $1 billion in sales and a balanced performance across brands, regions, and genders. Thrilled with back-to-school, both as we came out of the second quarter and how we started the third quarter.

嘿，達納，早安。是的，我們對我們的季度以及上半年感到非常興奮。我的意思是，第二季的銷售額達到 10 億美元，並且跨品牌、地區和性別的業績均衡，這非常出色。當我們結束第二季以及我們如何開始第三季時，我們對重返校園感到興奮。

What we're seeing in back-to-school is a nice reaction. The team got to work, it was actually two years ago this quarter when we took a step back a bit and had to really inspect what was going on with our back-to-school and our Hollister brand which we spent a lot of time rebuilding and rebranding.

我們在返校時看到的反應很好。團隊開始工作，實際上是兩年前的這個季度，當時我們退後了一步，必須真正檢查我們的返校季和我們花了很多時間重建的 Hollister 品牌的情況和品牌重塑。

What we're seeing is continued AUR growth. Since 2019, we've had double-digit growth in actually both brands and excited to see what that's driven by, which as you know, it comes down to product acceptance and financial control of our inventories. So we are seeing a balanced growth across brands and categories.

我們看到的是 AUR 持續成長。自 2019 年以來，我們的兩個品牌實際上都實現了兩位數的成長，並且很高興看到其驅動因素，如您所知，這取決於產品接受度和我們庫存的財務控制。因此，我們看到各個品牌和類別的均衡成長。

Hi, Dana, it's Scott. I'll pick up the Q3. So yeah, coming off a great first half, so nice to see us set records for sales there in the first quarter, second quarter also record operating margin -- or operating income there in Q2. As we think about Q3, very excited to come again with an up low double digits outlook on the top-line versus strong growth last year, like Fran said, good start to the quarter here. Happy with back-to-school and what we're seeing out of Hollister and Abercrombie obviously.

嗨，達納，我是史考特。我去拿Q3。所以，是的，上半年表現出色，很高興看到我們在第一季創造了銷售記錄，第二季也創下了營業利潤率——或者說第二季的營業收入。當我們想到第三季時，我們很高興再次看到與去年強勁成長相比的低兩位數前景，正如弗蘭所說，這是本季的良好開端。對重返校園以及我們從霍利斯特和阿伯克龍比身上看到的情況感到高興。

Breaking apart the rest of the P&L for Q3. On the gross profit rate line, what we are thinking is, we have a little bit of freight hurt, we'll probably get a little bit of AUR here in the quarter for all those reasons Fran just mentioned, and keep it pretty stable. And then on the operating expense line, we're going to continue to aggressively invest in the business.

分解第三季損益表的其餘部分。在毛利率線上，我們的想法是，我們的運費受到了一點影響，由於 Fran 剛才提到的所有這些原因，我們可能會在本季度獲得一點 AUR，並保持相當穩定。然後在營運費用方面，我們將繼續積極投資該業務。

We are investing in the short-term, some of those marketing efforts, but we are also making big significant long-term investments in the business, just make this infrastructure stronger, make our brands stronger. So the way we see that is maybe moderating that OpEx leverage a little bit versus what we've seen in the last couple of quarters.

我們正在投資短期的行銷工作，但我們也在業務上進行大規模的長期投資，只是讓這個基礎設施更強大，讓我們的品牌更強大。因此，與過去幾個季度相比，我們看到的情況可能是營運支出槓桿率有所下降。

So super excited about the guide for Q3, excited about the full year, taking up those sales outlook, as well as expanding that operating margin outlook to 14% to 15%, really exciting times for the company.

對第三季的指南感到非常興奮，對全年感到興奮，考慮這些銷售前景，並將營業利潤率前景擴大到 14% 至 15%，這對公司來說確實是令人興奮的時刻。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Corey Darla, Jefferies.

科里·達拉，杰弗里斯。

Great. Thanks and good morning, everybody. On the growth at Abercrombie, one of the really impressive aspects of the momentum that you've seen is your permission to go into other categories. So you highlighted the wedding shop, you've expanded the NFL partnership, and I've seen a new merchandise in stores and it looks awesome.

偉大的。謝謝大家，早安。關於 Abercrombie 的發展，您所看到的勢頭中真正令人印象深刻的方面之一是您允許進入其他類別。所以你強調了婚禮商店，你擴大了 NFL 的合作夥伴關係，我在商店裡看到了一種新商品，它看起來棒極了。

And you even highlighted growth in swim, which is a category that I think has been pressured across many other retailers in the sector. So could you maybe just talk about how you think about the various growth vectors for the Abercrombie brand and which of those growth vectors do you think could be most sizable over time?

您甚至強調了游泳的成長，我認為該類別在該行業的許多其他零售商中都受到了壓力。那麼，您能否談談您如何看待 Abercrombie 品牌的各種成長向量，以及您認為隨著時間的推移，哪些成長向量可能規模最大？

And the other reason I ask that is because like the YPB brand, which you didn't mention in your prepared remarks, but I see that it seems to be doing fairly well in stores. So I'm curious how you think about ranking the various drivers of growth for Abercrombie as we look ahead?

我問這個問題的另一個原因是因為像 YPB 品牌，你在準備好的評論中沒有提到它，但我看到它在商店裡似乎做得相當好。所以我很好奇，當我們展望未來時，您如何看待 Abercrombie 的各種成長驅動因素的排名？

Hi, Corey, okay. So let's break that down a little bit. Incredibly excited about the performance for [ANF]. I mean to your point, [26% on 26%], growth on growth was super exciting to see. And that is being driven, as I say all the time, by staying close to the customer. I mean the team really spent a lot of time on customer insights and really understanding what matters to this consumer.

嗨，科里，好的。那麼讓我們稍微分解一下。對 [ANF] 的表演感到非常興奮。我的意思是，就你的觀點而言，[26% 對 26%]，成長的成長是非常令人興奮的。正如我一直所說的那樣，這是透過與客戶保持密切聯繫來推動的。我的意思是，團隊確實花了很多時間來洞察客戶並真正了解什麼對這個消費者來說很重要。

Wedding Shop, great example, beat our expectations again. We'll continue back into the fall season. As we've talked about weddings are now two, three, four day occasions and they're all year round. The wedding season has really expanded well into the fall season.

Wedding Shop，一個很好的例子，再次超出了我們的預期。我們將繼續回到秋季。正如我們所討論的，婚禮現在分為兩天、三天、四天，而且全年都可以舉行。婚禮季節確實已經擴展到秋季。

I'm glad you had a chance to go see that NFL collection. That is another great example. We started with the NFL, that partnership, about two years or three years ago, started small, started to build. Now proud to carry all 32 teams and have added categories.

我很高興您有機會參觀 NFL 系列。這是另一個很好的例子。我們從 NFL 開始，這種合作關係大約在兩三年前開始，從小規模開始，逐漸建立起來。現在很榮幸能夠囊括所有 32 支球隊，並增加了類別。

So last year, most focused on fleece and t-shirts, and now you'll see sweaters and outerwear and hats, et cetera. So again, that's how we do it. We test, we learn, we continue to add categories and build on momentum.

去年，人們最關注的是羊毛衫和 T 卹，現在你會看到毛衣、外套和帽子等。再說一次，我們就是這樣做的。我們測試，我們學習，我們繼續添加類別並繼續發展勢頭。

So as far as prioritizing, there is just lots of exciting things happening out there. I guess you actually mentioned YPB as well. We are into our third year of growth in that category. Again, that was specifically asked for by our consumer, knowing that we could give them the right quality, the right product and the right fashion for them and they've responded. So lots of exciting things happening and continuing into the back half.

因此，就優先順序而言，有很多令人興奮的事情正在發生。我猜你實際上也提到了 YPB。我們已經進入該類別成長的第三年。同樣，這是我們的消費者特別要求的，因為我們知道我們可以為他們提供合適的品質、合適的產品和合適的時尚，並且他們已經做出了回應。很多令人興奮的事情發生並持續到後半場。

Great. And then could you just highlight what you're seeing from a digital perspective? I do believe that channel is also margin accretive. So would just be curious to hear about the momentum that you are seeing there. It seems like that channel has done quite well based on what we are seeing in our alternative data.

偉大的。然後您能強調一下您從數位角度看到的情況嗎？我確實相信該通路也能增加利潤。因此，我很想知道您在那裡看到的勢頭。根據我們在替代數據中看到的情況，該管道似乎表現得相當不錯。

Hi, Corey, yes. It's Scott, I'll grab this one. So digital has been doing well in double-digit comps we're seeing across channels. And really, I kind of take it back a couple of years ago between the strength of the brand, the strength of the assortment and really the teams we put in place on the digital side to improve that experience. Day in, day out, we are making investments in that experience across apps, across mobile web. And we are seeing that come through.

嗨，科里，是的。我是史考特，我來拿這個。因此，我們在各個管道看到，數位化在兩位數的表現中表現良好。事實上，我有點回想起幾年前的品牌實力、產品組合的實力以及我們在數位方面為改善體驗而組建的團隊。日復一日，我們在跨應用程式、跨行動網路的體驗上進行投資。我們正在看到這一點的實現。

So with great products, we are managing the inventory, and we have a great experience. It is really setting up our digital business to grow. So we are excited about the growth we've seen. We expect more growth in the future, and we are investing there and just excited about what we're seeing.

因此，對於優質的產品，我們正在管理庫存，並且我們擁有很棒的經驗。它確實促進了我們數位業務的發展。因此，我們對所看到的成長感到興奮。我們預計未來會有更多成長，我們正在那裡投資，並對我們所看到的感到興奮。

Great. Thank you very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

(Operator Instructions) Matthew Boss, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示）Matthew Boss，摩根大通。

So Fran could you elaborate on the clear excitement across brands? I think you said 3 times on the call, how thrilled you were about August. And just category trends that you are seeing into early fall and back-to-school. I think then Scott, it would be helpful, just relative to the 14% to 15% operating margins this year, just how best to think about incremental margin expansion opportunities multi-year.

弗蘭（Fran）能否詳細說明各品牌之間明顯的興奮點？我想你在電話中說了 3 次，你對八月感到多麼興奮。以及您在初秋和返校時看到的類別趨勢。我認為斯科特，相對於今年 14% 至 15% 的營業利潤率，如何最好地考慮多年增量利潤擴張機會，這將會很有幫助。

I'll kick off. So yes, to reiterate an outstanding second and first quarter, a great first half to the year. What we are most excited about is the fact that our growth is coming very balanced. So it's coming across brands, it is coming across regions, it's coming across genders. That's obviously what's enabled us to raise our full year outlook on sales growth and op margin for the year.

我就開始吧所以，是的，重申第二季和第一季的出色表現，以及今年上半年的出色表現。最令我們興奮的是我們的成長非常平衡。所以它跨越品牌、跨越地區、跨越性別。顯然，這使我們能夠提高全年銷售成長和營運利潤率的預期。

We are seeing a lot of consistency in categories. Tops are working, bottoms are working. We continue to have this incredibly growing dress business that's happening both in Abercrombie, as well as in Hollister Girls. We are also seeing new categories working. We just added some suiting to complement the Wedding Shop for him. So when he goes with her on all these elongated wedding weekends, he can also dress an Abercrombie best dress guest outfitting. So lots happening.

我們看到類別有很多一致性。頂部在工作，底部在工作。我們在 Abercrombie 和 Hollister Girls 中的服裝業務繼續保持令人難以置信的成長。我們也看到新的類別正在發揮作用。我們剛剛為他添加了一些西裝來補充婚禮商店。因此，當他和她一起度過漫長的婚禮週末時，他也可以穿上 Abercrombie 最佳禮服來賓服裝。發生了很多事情。

Back-to-school time, we are seeing nice excitement about denim. This low-rise baggy that we all called out here at Abercrombie, a couple of months ago and got after is working. So again, very balanced what we are seeing across brands, genders, regions as well as categories.

回到學校的時候，我們看到了牛仔布的魅力。幾個月前我們在阿伯克龍比 (Abercrombie) 喊出的這款低層寬鬆外套正在發揮作用。再說一遍，我們在品牌、性別、地區和類別上看到的情況非常平衡。

Hi, Matt, I'll grab the other part. Yeah, so thinking about 14% to 15% operating margins this year, first half, very excited to be talking about those for the company. We've done a lot of work on every line on the P&L and excited to see that coming through in the numbers. As we look out into the future, not a lot to talk about today, but we believe we have opportunities across the P&L. Number one, on the top-line, we feel like we have a lot of growth left across our brands and regions.

嗨，馬特，我會抓住另一部分。是的，所以考慮到今年上半年 14% 到 15% 的營業利潤率，我很高興能夠談論公司的這些利潤。我們在損益表的每一行上都做了很多工作，很高興看到這些工作在數字中得到體現。當我們展望未來時，今天沒有太多可談的，但我們相信我們在損益表上有機會。第一，在營收方面，我們覺得我們的品牌和地區還有很大的成長空間。

We talk a lot about the Americas. It is by far our biggest region, growing at strong double digits. And that's with a whole lot of real estate opportunity left across brands and just a lot more customer growth available here in the US, and put that on multiples as we think about the international business.

我們談了很多關於美洲的事情。這是迄今為止我們最大的地區，以兩位數的強勁增長。這是因為各個品牌都留下了大量的房地產機會，並且在美國這裡有更多的客戶成長，當我們考慮國際業務時，將其視為倍數。

We are underpenetrated in both Europe and APAC. So we are very focused on growing our customer base across those regions, building brand awareness and growing the top-line, and we believe we can do that.

我們在歐洲和亞太地區的滲透率還不夠。因此，我們非常專注於擴大這些地區的客戶群、建立品牌知名度並增加收入，我們相信我們可以做到這一點。

As we think about the gross margin line, we talked a little bit earlier, we've made good strides on AUR. We are continuing to execute good product acceptance, good inventory management. Is there more on gross profit rate? Yeah, we can get more. It is continued to sell less clearance. We -- us, we go into every quarter. We want to keep that AUR flat. If we can get more, we can get more.

當我們考慮毛利率時，我們之前談到過，我們在 AUR 方面取得了長足的進步。我們將繼續執行良好的產品驗收和庫存管理。毛利率還有更多內容嗎？是的，我們可以得到更多。則繼續清倉少賣。我們——我們，我們進入每個季度。我們希望保持 AUR 不變。如果我們能得到更多，我們就能得到更多。

And then on the OpEx line, it is about investing in the business for the long-term. And if we can do that in the right way with good returns, we should see that operating leverage into the future. So that's really -- that's how we've gotten here over the past, and it is how we're thinking about the future.

然後在營運支出方面，它是對業務的長期投資。如果我們能夠以正確的方式做到這一點並獲得良好的回報，我們應該會在未來看到營運槓桿。這就是我們過去的發展方式，也是我們思考未來的方式。

Great color. Best of luck.

顏色很棒。祝你好運。

Paul Lejuez, Citi.

保羅‧勒胡埃斯，花旗銀行。

Hi, thanks guys. Curious if you can maybe talk about the progression of sales throughout the quarter? And also what you saw from a promotional perspective relative to what you thought you were going to see, what you're seeing for back-to-school on promotions and what you have built in for the fourth quarter as well?

嗨，謝謝大家。好奇您能否談談整個季度的銷售進度？還有您從促銷角度看到的相對於您認為會看到的內容、您在返校促銷方面看到的內容以及您為第四季度所做的準備？

And then just Scott, any sense of the year-end cash balance and just what you want to keep on the balance sheet in terms of minimum cash? Thanks.

然後，史考特，您對年終現金餘額有什麼了解嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, let me kick off, Paul and Fran, you can add any color obviously. Progression of sales throughout the quarter, nice Q2, double-digit growth in each month of the quarter, which is exciting. And again, talking about double-digit growth as we get here into Q3. I mentioned it, Fran, we are excited about the start of Q3.

是的，讓我開始，保羅和弗蘭，顯然你們可以添加任何顏色。整個季度的銷售進展，第二季度表現不錯，該季度每個月都有兩位數的成長，這令人興奮。當我們進入第三季時，再次談論兩位數的成長。我提到過，弗蘭，我們對第三季的開始感到興奮。

Our business actually improved pretty dramatically nicely in the past. We really ramped up last year. In 2023, as back-to-school, as Hollister started to get back into a groove. So we are excited to be talking about growth on growth again here in the third quarter.

過去我們的業務其實有了顯著的改善。去年我們確實有所進步。 2023 年，隨著霍利斯特重返校園，霍利斯特開始回歸正軌。因此，我們很高興在第三季再次談論成長。

Promotional, nothing is jumping off the page to us. I think you are seeing the brands that are performing well, being promotional, but promotional in their own way. That's the same way we're executing against our plans and happy with that. We always talk about being a promotional business, and we continue to do that, and we like the promos we are delivering. The customer is responding well.

促銷方面，我們沒有什麼可以從頁面上跳出來的。我認為你看到的品牌表現良好，正在促銷，但以自己的方式進行促銷。這與我們執行計劃並對此感到滿意的方式相同。我們總是談論成為促銷業務，我們將繼續這樣做，我們喜歡我們提供的促銷活動。客戶反應良好。

Yeah. Within that, too, I would say, Scott, I mean we -- as we've said, Paul many times, our promotions are based on our business. We work with the team literally every Monday to see what's working, what's not working in our business, and we drive our promotions based off of that. They’ve come down, as you well know, considerably over the years. So yes, we will always have some promotions in our business. We are not seeing anything extraordinary at this point.

是的。在這一點上，我也會說，斯科特，我的意思是我們 - 正如我們多次說過的，保羅，我們的促銷是基於我們的業務。我們每週一都會與團隊合作，看看我們的業務中哪些措施有效，哪些措施無效，並據此推動我們的促銷活動。正如您所知，這些年來它們已經大幅下降。所以，是的，我們的業務總是會有一些促銷活動。目前我們還沒有看到任何異常情況。

And then the last piece, year-end cash balance, No target sitting here today. We are really excited to get the senior secured notes, those 8.75% notes behind us, paid those in full in Q2 and came out of the quarter with a nice cash balance, $700 million and nice liquidity at $1.2 billion.

然後是最後一點，年終現金餘額，今天沒有目標。我們非常高興能夠獲得高級擔保票據，即我們身後的 8.75% 票據，在第二季度全額支付這些票據，並在本季度結束時擁有 7 億美元的良好現金餘額和 12 億美元的良好流動性。

Looking out in the back half, I talked about, we'll focus more on share repurchases, with excess cash and just really like the fact that we have a strong balance sheet. It's continuing to enable us to invest in any environment.

展望下半年，我談到，我們將更專注於股票回購，擁有多餘的現金，並且非常喜歡我們擁有強大的資產負債表。它繼續使我們能夠在任何環境中進行投資。

We are opening 120 new store experiences this year. I talked a minute ago about investing in digital. We are investing in our teams outside of the US and inside the US and really setting up the company for long-term sustainable growth. So we are going to use that strong balance sheet in that way.

今年我們將開設 120 家新店體驗。我剛才談到了數位化投資。我們正在對美國境外和美國境內的團隊進行投資，真正讓公司實現長期永續成長。因此，我們將以這種方式利用強大的資產負債表。

Thanks, guys. Good luck.

謝謝，夥計們。祝你好運。

Marni Shapiro, The Retail Tracker.

Marni Shapiro，零售追蹤者。

Hi guys. Congratulations on an amazing quarter and first half. And best of luck for back-to-school in case I forget.

嗨，大家好。恭喜您取得了令人驚嘆的季度和上半場表現。祝我回到學校好運，以防我忘記了。

Can you talk to us about two things. One, your loyalty effort in each of the brands. I'm just curious, are you -- is your consumer engaged? Are you using loyalty programs? Are they meaningful? Are they growing? And then if you could also Fran just talk about your decision to partner with an external company to grow Abercrombie Kids and what that could mean for some of your other brands or sub-brands?

能和我們談談兩件事嗎？第一，您對每個品牌的忠誠度努力。我只是好奇，你的消費者參與了嗎？您正在使用忠誠度計劃嗎？它們有意義嗎？他們在成長嗎？然後，Fran 能否談談您與外部公司合作發展 Abercrombie Kids 的決定，以及這對您的其他一些品牌或子品牌意味著什麼？

Okay. Yeah, so exciting, the partnership that we just signed with Haddad. So we've talked for a while about the majority of our business being owned and operated and that we are continuing to look for opportunities to grow our business around the world.

好的。是的，我們剛剛與 Haddad 簽署的合作夥伴關係非常令人興奮。因此，我們已經討論了一段時間我們的大部分業務都是由我們擁有和經營的，我們正在繼續尋找機會在世界各地發展我們的業務。

Our brands are stronger than ever, as you know, and an opportunity to partnership to grow kids particularly outside of North America, where the majority of our businesses today just speaks to long-term opportunities ahead for us.

如您所知，我們的品牌比以往任何時候都更強大，並且有機會合作培養孩子，特別是在北美以外的地區，我們今天的大多數業務都代表著我們未來的長期機會。

On the loyalty effort, Marni, happy with the programs. They continue to grow. It is a great way for us to engage with consumers. But just like every other piece of the consumer engagement, we are always looking at them, how do we evolve? What is the next level for loyalty?

在忠誠度方面，Marni 對這些計劃感到滿意。他們繼續成長。這是我們與消費者互動的好方法。但就像消費者參與的其他部分一樣，我們總是關注它們，我們如何發展？忠誠度的下一個層次是什麼？

So that's something that we continue to think about, just like every other piece of that customer engagement. So we are thinking about that today and we'll continue to think about it into the future. But to-date, loyalty programs have been a great asset for us.

所以這是我們繼續思考的事情，就像客戶參與的其他部分一樣。所以我們今天正在考慮這個問題，並且我們將在未來繼續考慮這個問題。但迄今為止，忠誠度計劃對我們來說是一筆巨大的資產。

And does a percentage -- is there a percentage of your customer base that comes through the loyalty programs? Is it 50% are signed up? Is it higher than that? I'm just curious.

你的客戶群中有一定比例是透過忠誠度計畫來的嗎？是不是有50%的人報名了？比那個高嗎？我只是好奇。

Yeah, it's higher than that. We haven't given an exact number, but it is a good piece of our sales come through that loyalty base.

是的，比那個更高。我們沒有給出確切的數字，但我們的銷售額中有很大一部分來自於忠誠度基礎。

Excellent. Thanks. I'll let somebody else take the next. Thanks guys.

出色的。謝謝。我會讓別人接下一個。謝謝你們。

Alex Straton, Morgan Stanley.

亞歷克斯‧斯特拉頓，摩根士丹利。

Perfect. Thanks for taking the question. Congrats on a great quarter. I just have two for you here. One is just on the gross margin freight being higher. I feel like a lot of peers are actually speaking to it still being a tailwind. So I'm just curious, what is happening there and then your outlook for the rest of the year?

完美的。感謝您提出問題。恭喜您度過了一個出色的季度。我這裡只有兩個給你。一是運費毛利率較高。我覺得很多同行其實都在說它仍然是一種順風。所以我只是好奇，那裡發生了什麼，然後你對今年剩餘時間的展望？

And then for inventories, I saw 9%. I think it is the first time we've seen an inventory build like that in a bit. So I'm just curious how you feel about levels, composition? And how should we think about where that goes for the rest of the year? Thanks a lot.

然後對於庫存，我看到 9%。我認為這是我們第一次看到這樣的庫存成長。所以我只是好奇你對關卡、構圖有何看法？我們該如何考慮今年剩餘時間的發展？多謝。

Yeah, for us, I'd say on the gross margin side, freight has turned to a bit of a headwind as we've got here in the back half. I think you've seen the ocean rates spiking up. That's been well documented out in the market. And then we are also seeing the air rates spiking up a bit too. There is some freight coming in here to the US. It's been a little busier than normal here in the summer season.

是的，對我們來說，我想說的是，在毛利率方面，貨運已經變得有點逆風，因為我們已經進入了後半段。我想你已經看到海運費漲了。這在市場上已有充分記錄。然後我們也看到航空價格也有所上漲。有一些貨物從這裡運往美國。夏季這裡比平常稍微繁忙。

So for us, it is a little bit of a friction that's baked into our outlook. So nothing much more to say there. We are managing through whatever is happening, continues to happen in the Red Sea, as well as other lanes coming from Asia.

所以對我們來說，這是我們的觀點中存在的一點摩擦。所以沒什麼好說的了。我們正在應對紅海以及來自亞洲的其他航線上正在發生的、繼續發生的一切。

On the inventory side, up 9%. You really feel great about inventory at this point. Units are up -- units are less than that. We have a little extra freight in there because of those higher costs as well as tilting more in Abercrombie, and that brings a higher cost product versus Hollister.

庫存方面，成長9%。此時您對庫存確實感覺很好。單位數增加 - 單位數減少。由於 Abercrombie 的成本較高，而且傾斜程度較高，因此我們在那裡有一些額外的運費，這帶來了與 Hollister 相比成本更高的產品。

So year-over-year, you get a little bit of a mix hit on that up 9%. But units have been tightly controlled. Each brand continues to be in that read and react, chase mode, and we are excited how that sets us up for the holiday season.

因此，與去年同期相比，您將獲得 9% 的混合成長。但單位受到嚴格控制。每個品牌都繼續處於閱讀、反應、追逐模式，我們很高興這為我們的假期做好了準備。

Great. Good luck.

偉大的。祝你好運。

Janet Kloppenburg, JJK Research.

珍妮特·克洛彭堡，JJK 研究中心。

Congratulations to you all. One heck of a quarter. I wondered about -- you've had many, many quarters now of positive comps on top of really healthy positive comps. I'm wondering about clearance inventory levels, Fran, and are they starting to normalize? Or do you continue to be lower year-over-year? And how you think about your promotional cadence in the back half versus lean promotions last year?

恭喜你們大家。四分之一啊。我想知道——除了真正健康的積極競爭之外，你現在已經有很多很多季度的積極競爭了。弗蘭，我想知道清倉庫存水平，它們是否開始正常化？還是繼續同比下降？與去年的精實促銷相比，您如何看待下半年的促銷節奏？

And then just for Scott, on the freight, do you expect that freight -- in your guidance, do you expect that freight continues to be elevated? Or do you see it retreating sometime in the fourth quarter? Just wondering about the pace there. Thank you.

然後，就斯科特而言，關於運費，您是否預計運費——在您的指導下，您是否預計運費會繼續上漲？或者你認為它會在第四季的某個時候回落嗎？只是想知道那裡的節奏。謝謝。

Thanks Janet. Let me make sure I have the question right here. I mean regarding our clearance levels, they are certainly lower than they have been in the past. At some point, they certainly will normalize.

謝謝珍妮特。讓我確認一下我的問題就在這裡。我的意思是，就我們的許可水平而言，它們肯定低於過去。在某些時候，它們肯定會正常化。

But the way that we’re running the business, as you well know keeping this lean inventory, keeping it very fresh, as Scott mentioned a few minutes ago, very pleased with where the levels are -- and making sure that the team stays in this read and react mode and delivering our inventory just in time and knowing a bit about inventory before we really go after it aggressively, is what's been driving this reduction in clearance and our expectations continue to run the business as we are.

但是我們經營業務的方式，正如您所知，保持精益庫存，保持新鮮，正如斯科特幾分鐘前提到的那樣，對目前的水平非常滿意，並確保團隊保持活力在這種讀取和反應模式下，及時交付我們的庫存，並在我們真正積極地追求庫存之前對庫存有所了解，是推動清倉減少的原因，我們的期望是繼續以我們現在的方式經營業務。

On the freight, I would say, not sure at this point. No one really can predict where the freight rates are going to go. They've been bouncing around a lot this summer. So for us, what we are doing is we are baking in elevated freight. We assume that continues into and through the fourth quarter.

關於運費，我想說，目前還不確定。沒有人能夠真正預測運費將走向何方。今年夏天他們一直在跳來跳去。所以對我們來說，我們正在做的就是提高運費。我們假設這種情況持續到第四季。

We'll talk about 2025, we'll obviously learn a lot more as we get through kind of the holiday peak of deliveries here in that September, October time frame and see what 2025, looks like. But at this point, we are baking in higher rates for Q3 and Q4.

我們將討論 2025 年，當我們度過 9 月、10 月時間範圍內的假期交付高峰時，我們顯然會了解更多信息，看看 2025 年會是什麼樣子。但目前，我們正在為第三季和第四季提高利率。

But that would offset the -- are you seeing -- or the AUC tailwind -- diminished AUC tailwinds? Like does the freight increase totally compensate for that, Scott? And just for Fran, if you could talk about your -- about what you think about promotional levels for the second half of the year, year-over-year, I think that would help. Thank you.

但這會抵消——你看到了嗎——或者AUC順風——減少的AUC順風？史考特，運費的增加是否完全彌補了這一點？對於弗蘭來說，如果你能談談你對下半年促銷水平的看法，逐年上升，我認為這會有所幫助。謝謝。

Yeah. Let me grab the [ACP]. So when you break apart AUC, and a lot of things we've been talking about over the years here is freight and cotton. In cotton, looking at that, the commodity, we've gotten through the biggest part of that tailwind here in Q2. Really nice to see the cotton market has been pretty stable. It is been kind of settling in around the $0.70 range.

是的。讓我抓住[ACP]。因此，當你分解 AUC 時，我們多年來一直在談論的很多事情都是貨運和棉花。在棉花方面，看看這種大宗商品，我們已經在第二季度經歷了最大的順風車。很高興看到棉花市場一直相當穩定。它已經穩定在 0.70 美元左右的範圍內。

So I'd like to see that kind of a round pre-pandemic level. So that could be a nice little tailwind as we go in the future, not material like we've seen over the past couple of quarters, coming off those really high rates over the past couple of years.

所以我希望看到大流行前的全面水平。因此，這可能是我們未來發展的一個不錯的小推動力，而不是像我們在過去幾季看到的那樣，擺脫了過去幾年的高利率。

But when you think about that, freight versus cotton, maybe they net out. Maybe one wins one quarter, one loses the other quarter. So we'll see. But as we are thinking about it, that kind of nets and then we're going to focus on delivering that lean inventory, seeing what we can do on promotions and see if we can get a little bit more AUR and just continue the strong gross profit rates.

但當你想到這一點時，貨運與棉花的比較，也許他們會淨賺。也許一個人贏了一個季度，一個人輸了另一節。所以我們拭目以待。但正如我們正在考慮的那樣，這種網絡然後我們將專注於提供精益庫存，看看我們可以在促銷方面做些什麼，看看我們是否可以獲得更多的 AUR 並繼續強勁的總收入利潤率。

Yeah. I mean promotional levels for the back half, yes certainly the fourth quarter is always the most promotional quarter of the year. But as we think about heading into the back half and with the success that we're having right now with back-to-school and momentum we have in August, our expectation, as it always is, is going to each quarter with the expectation that our promotions will be the same or lower than they were in the season, -- the quarter prior.

是的。我的意思是後半段的促銷水平，是的，第四季肯定是一年中促銷最大的季度。但是，當我們考慮進入後半段時，隨著我們現在在八月份的返校和動力方面所取得的成功，我們的期望一如既往，每個季度都會達到期望我們的促銷活動將與本季度（即上一季）相同或更低。

But we do it weekly. We do it weekly with the team to see what's working, what's not working, heads down on our business, not worrying about what's happening in the rest of them all, but focused really on our business.

但我們每週都會這樣做。我們每週都會與團隊一起進行，看看什麼有效，什麼無效，專注於我們的業務，不擔心其他人發生了什麼，而是真正專注於我們的業務。

Thanks so much. Lots of luck for a good second half.

非常感謝。下半場表現不錯，祝你好運。

Mauricio Serna, UBS.

毛里西奧·塞爾納，瑞銀。

Great. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Congrats on the results, first of all. I guess, first, a couple of questions on sales. Could you talk about what kind of growth you saw in UK and Germany? I know you've done a lot of work to improve the brand's positioning on those markets. So we would be interested to hear more about that.

偉大的。早安.感謝您提出我的問題。首先祝賀結果。我想，首先，有幾個關於銷售的問題。您能談談您在英國和德國看到的成長嗎？我知道您已經做了很多工作來提高品牌在這些市場上的定位。所以我們有興趣了解更多相關資訊。

And then on the guidance -- updated guidance for the year, I think like if you are back into Q4, the sales outlook implies like roughly [6.5% to 7.5%] growth when you -- excluding the impact from the calendar mix. So why are you seeing that makes you a little bit more conservative about Q4 relative to Q3? Thank you.

然後關於指導——今年更新的指導，我認為如果你回到第四季度，銷售前景意味著大約[6.5%至7.5%]的增長——排除日曆組合的影響。那麼，為什麼您認為這讓您對第四季相對於第三季更加保守呢？謝謝。

Hi, Mauricio. All right. So let's start with UK and Germany. The great thing is those were our two largest countries in Europe, and they were two of our fastest-growing countries in Europe. And as we talk about this localization effort that we've been making over the past, call it, year or so, we are really focused on the UK and Germany coming out of the gate.

嗨，毛里西奧。好的。讓我們從英國和德國開始。偉大的是，這是我們在歐洲最大的兩個國家，也是我們在歐洲發展最快的兩個國家。當我們談論我們過去一年左右所做的本地化工作時，我們真正關注的是英國和德國的出現。

So we've increased our marketing spend, we've increased our product distortions in these countries and really focus there. Obviously, you start at the top on your biggest countries and then we will continue from there. So great to see these efforts working.

因此，我們增加了行銷支出，增加了在這些國家/地區的產品扭曲，並真正關注這些國家。顯然，您從最大的國家/地區的頂部開始，然後我們將從那裡繼續。很高興看到這些努力發揮作用。

The strength in these two countries are really carrying the day in EMEA because again, they are the largest two countries. So really happy with what our teams are doing in those regions. As we think about guidance for Q4, yeah I mean, Q4 is way out in the distance. We are focused here on Q3. Excited to be talking about low double-digit growth in Q3 on top of a plus 20% last year. Really exciting to talk about the strength of the brands and the continued growth.

這兩個國家的實力在歐洲、中東和非洲地區確實佔據了主導地位，因為它們又是最大的兩個國家。我們對我們的團隊在這些地區所做的事情感到非常滿意。當我們考慮第四季的指導時，是的，我的意思是，第四季還很遙遠。我們重點關注第三季。很高興談論第三季在去年 20% 以上的基礎上實現兩位數的低成長。談論品牌的實力和持續成長確實令人興奮。

Q4 obviously, we'll talk a lot more as we get there. At this point, when you take away that 5.5 basis points -- or percentage points from the 53rd week, it is still, again growth on top of growth of a very strong Q4 last year. So really happy where the brands are positioned, where the company is positioned and where the inventory is positioned as we get into the back half.

第四季度顯然，我們到達那裡後會談論更多。此時，當你去掉第 53 週的 5.5 個基點或百分點時，它仍然是在去年第四季非常強勁的成長之上的成長。當我們進入後半部分時，我們真的很高興品牌的定位、公司的定位以及庫存的定位。

Got it. And then just a quick follow-up on gross margin. I think if I understand the message from when you are talking about Q3 guidance, it kind of says that you expect gross margin to be relatively flat. Is that the same expectation for Q4?

知道了。然後快速跟進毛利率。我認為，如果我理解您在談論第三季指導時傳達的訊息，那就意味著您預計毛利率將相對持平。第四季的預期是否相同？

And like I remember like you used to provide a little bit more details on contribution from cotton and AUR to Q2 gross margin gain. Could you provide any more details behind that? Thank you.

我記得您曾經提供過有關棉花和 AUR 對第二季毛利率成長貢獻的更多詳細資訊。能否提供更多細節？謝謝。

Yeah. We provided some detail in the past. Obviously, there were some big, big moving parts. Those things have stabilized. So there is less detail in there. As we talk about Q2, nice AUR growth. Saw some -- the last bit of that cotton come through and then offset with some higher freight.

是的。我們過去提供了一些細節。顯然，有一些很大很大的活動部件。那些事情已經穩定下來了。所以裡面的細節比較少。當我們談論第二季度時，AUR 成長良好。看到了一些——最後一點棉花通過了，然後用一些更高的運費抵消了。

So that's kind of what we are seeing across the company. As we go into Q3, it is a little more stable as we've gotten through some of these big changes and getting back to those levers that we talked about on the last question.

這就是我們在整個公司看到的情況。當我們進入第三季時，它變得更加穩定，因為我們已經經歷了一些重大變化，並回到了我們在上一個問題中討論的那些槓桿。

We'll look to drive a little bit of AUR growth, we'll see a little bit of hurt from freight and then we'll see where the cotton costs come in for the quarter. So that's how we are thinking about gross margin for Q3. Nothing to talk about for Q4 yet. We will grab that on the next call.

我們將尋求推動 AUR 的一點成長，我們將看到貨運造成的一點傷害，然後我們將看到本季度棉花成本的變化。這就是我們對第三季毛利率的看法。第四季還沒有什麼好談的。我們將在下次通話中抓住這一點。

Got it. Thank you. And congrats on the results.

知道了。謝謝。並對結果表示祝賀。

Dylan Carden, William Blair.

迪倫卡登，威廉布萊爾。

Thanks a lot. Curious -- sort of in the interest of scaling the opportunity presented by aging up the Abercrombie brand, is there any detail even anecdotally about kind of customer mix shift that you are seeing if you look at kind of who's buying the brand versus particularly sort of pre-pandemic and sort of repeat purchases on top of that would be sort of helpful.

多謝。好奇——為了擴大 Abercrombie 品牌老化所帶來的機會，如果你看看購買該品牌的人與購買該品牌的人的類型，是否有任何關於客戶組合轉變的細節，甚至是軼事。之前以及在此基礎上重複購買會有所幫助。

Yeah, Dylan let me take that one off. So yeah, we have definitely seen in our data, the customer -- aging up versus pre-pandemic. We talked a lot about our goal was to separate that Hollister and Abercrombie brands. They were fighting in that teen space and aging up that Abercrombie consumer because we felt there was white space and kind of that post collegiate, early mid-20s customer and we've seen great results there. And we are seeing that age get up to that kind of mid-20s, which is awesome.

是的，迪倫要我把那件脫下來。所以，是的，我們確實在我們的數據中看到了客戶的老化情況與大流行前的情況相比。我們談了很多關於我們的目標是分開 Hollister 和 Abercrombie 品牌。他們在青少年空間裡戰鬥，並讓 Abercrombie 消費者變老，因為我們覺得那裡有空白空間，還有那種大學後、20 歲出頭的顧客，我們在那裡看到了很好的結果。我們看到這個年齡已經達到了 20 多歲，這真是太棒了。

And back to the next point of the question is retention versus new customers. We are out there grabbing new customers. Our marketing efforts have been very well done. They have been effective. So we are driving new customers. And we're also driving retention.

回到問題的下一點，保留客戶與新客戶。我們正在那裡爭取新客戶。我們的行銷工作做得非常好。他們很有效。所以我們正在吸引新客戶。我們也在提高保留率。

Getting back to that first question around ANF, when Fran talked about these different categories. So bringing in things like Best Dress Guests, something small, making it big, bringing in NFL, bringing in YPB, these are all ways to retain our customers and give them something new each time they come back to us.

回到關於 ANF 的第一個問題，當時 Fran 談到了這些不同的類別。因此，引進最佳著裝嘉賓、小事、大事、NFL、YPB，這些都是留住客戶並在他們每次回到我們這裡時給他們帶來新東西的方法。

So that's what we are working on as a company and as a brand. We are really focused on new customer growth and retaining those customers for Abercrombie because we have this new opportunity to keep them for a very long time in this part of life, and we are really excited about that, and we’re seeing it come through in the numbers.

這就是我們作為一家公司和一個品牌正在努力的方向。我們非常注重新客戶的成長並為 Abercrombie 留住這些客戶，因為我們有這個新機會可以讓他們在生活的這個階段長期保留，我們對此感到非常興奮，我們正在看到它的到來通過數字。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

And I'm not showing further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the call back over to Fran for any closing remarks.

目前我不會提出進一步的問題。我想將電話轉回給 Fran，讓其結束語。

Thanks, everyone for joining the call today, and we look forward to providing more updates to you all soon.

感謝大家今天加入電話會議，我們期待很快能為大家提供更多更新。

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's presentation. You may now disconnect and have a wonderful day.

女士們、先生們，今天的演講到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接並度過美好的一天。