Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Abercrombie & Fitch 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

Welcome to the Abercrombie & Fitch third-quarter fiscal year 2024 earnings call.

(Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

Now I'd like to turn the conference over to Mo Gupta, Investor Relations.

現在我想將會議交給投資者關係部門的 Mo Gupta。請繼續。

Please go ahead.

Thank you.

謝謝。早上好，歡迎參加我們的 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我一起參加電話會議的是執行長 Fran Horowitz；史考特‧利佩斯基，營運長；以及我們最近任命的財務長羅伯特·鮑爾 (Robert Ball)。

Good morning, and welcome to our third-quarter 2024 earnings call.

Joining me today on the call are Fran Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer; Scott Lipesky, Chief Operating Officer; and Robert Ball, our recently appointed Chief Financial Officer.

Earlier this morning, we issued our third-quarter earnings release, which is available on our website at corporate.abercrombie.com under the Investors section.

今天早些時候，我們發布了第三季收益報告，該報告可在我們網站 Corporate.abercrombie.com 的「投資者」部分查看。我們的網站上也提供投資者介紹。

Also available on our website is an investor presentation.

Please keep in mind that we will make certain forward-looking statements on the call.

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。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。

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 mention today.

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.

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。今天早上早些時候發布的新聞稿和投資者介紹中包含了 GAAP 與調整後的非 GAAP 財務指標的更多細節和調整。

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.

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

最後，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。

And references to Hollister brands include our Hollister and Gilly Hicks brands.

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 during a busy holiday week.

謝謝莫，也謝謝大家在繁忙的假期一週加入我們。我非常自豪地報告，第三季的財務表現在營收和利潤方面都超出了我們 8 月提供的預期。

I am very proud to report that third-quarter financial results exceeded the expectations we provided in August on both the top and bottom lines.

We delivered record third-quarter net sales of $1.2 billion, growing 14% over 2023 and strong comparable sales of 16%.

我們第三季的淨銷售額達到創紀錄的 12 億美元，比 2023 年成長 14%，可比銷售額強勁成長 16%。第三季營業收入年增 30%，達到 1.79 億美元，營業利益率擴大 170 個基點，達到 14.8%。

Third-quarter operating income grew 30% year over year to $179 million with operating margin expanding 170 basis points to 14.8%.

We continue to see customers responding to our product, voice, and experience across regions and brands.

我們不斷看到不同地區和品牌的客戶對我們的產品、聲音和體驗做出回應。重要的是，我們的策略是為新客戶和現有客戶提供服務。十一月我們有了一個強勁的開局，我們已經準備好在這個假期參加世界各地的比賽。基於這些原因，我們提高了全年的銷售預期，並預計將達到先前營業利潤率目標的高端，為我們在 2024 年實現可持續盈利增長做好準備。

Importantly, our playbook is delivering for both new and existing customers.

We have had a strong start to November, and we are ready to compete around the world this holiday season.

For these reasons, we are raising our sales expectations for the full year and expect to be at the high end of our previous operating margin target, positioning us well for the achievement of sustainable profitable growth for 2024.

As an important indicator of business health and the quality of our playbook, in the third quarter, we continued to see broad-based sales growth across regions, brands, and genders driven by strong traffic.

作為業務健康狀況和我們策略品質的重要指標，在第三季度，我們繼續看到在強勁流量的推動下，跨地區、品牌和性別的廣泛銷售成長。由於我們與去年相比減少了促銷活動，因此本季的銷售量和 AUR 也出現了不錯的成長。

We also saw nice growth in unit selling and AUR in the quarter as we were able to reduce promotions compared to last year.

We continue to see balanced growth across categories, giving our customers a steady flow of newness and choice.

我們繼續看到各個類別的均衡成長，為我們的客戶提供源源不絕的新事物和選擇。由於我們與客戶的密切關係，這種健康的營收表現也推動了 65.1% 的毛利率，這是自 2010 年以來最好的第三季毛利率。

This healthy topline performance, enabled by our closeness to the customer, also drove a gross profit rate of 65.1%, the best third-quarter gross profit rate since 2010.

Importantly, our culture of financial discipline delivered growth in the bottom line, too, adding $41 million year over year in operating income or growth of 30% for the quarter.

重要的是，我們的財務紀律文化也帶來了利潤成長，本季營業收入年增 4,100 萬美元，成長 30%。忠於我們的長期目標，我們取得了這些出色的財務業績，同時也資助必要的投資，以改善世界各地的客戶和員工體驗。

Staying true to our long-term ambitions, we produced these great financial results while also funding necessary investments to improve the customer and associate experience all over the world.

Strong brand health can be seen across regions with the Americas, EMEA, and APAC all growing double digits in the third quarter.

各地區品牌健康狀況良好，美洲、歐洲、中東和非洲和亞太地區第三季均達到兩位數成長。美洲成長了 14%，這是我們在該地區連續第六個季度實現兩位數的銷售額成長。在歐洲、中東和非洲地區和亞太地區，我們分別成長了 15% 和 32%，這是來自倫敦和上海團隊的令人興奮的成果。

The Americas grew 14%, our sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit sales growth in the region.

In EMEA and APAC, we grew 15% and 32% respectively, which are exciting results from the teams based in London and Shanghai.

Our London team delivered their fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in EMEA, showing consistency in key markets with both new and returning customers.

我們的倫敦團隊在歐洲、中東和非洲地區連續第五個季度實現兩位數成長，顯示出新客戶和回頭客在關鍵市場的一致性。我們計劃下個季度在大倫敦地區開設多家新店，我們很高興當地顧客能夠看到團隊如何為他們量身定制假期體驗。

We have a number of new store openings planned in the Greater London area over the coming quarter, and we're excited for local customers to see how team has tailored the holiday experience for them.

For APAC, while the region remains small, we saw similar strength in Q3, particularly on digital platforms.

對於亞太地區，雖然該地區仍然很小，但我們在第三季度看到了類似的實力，特別是在數位平台上。我們對我們的品牌在全球各地看到的勢頭感到興奮，每個地區都在高水平上執行本地化的策略。

We're excited about the momentum our brands are seeing around the globe with each region executing their localized playbooks at a high level.

Looking at the business from the brand view, they each delivered in the third quarter.

從品牌角度看業務，他們都在第三季實現了交付。 Abercrombie 品牌在 2023 年第三季成長 30% 的基礎上，本季成長 15%，創下品牌第三季淨銷售額紀錄。

Abercrombie brands grew 15% in the quarter on top of 30% growth in the third quarter of 2023, achieving a third-quarter record for brand net sales.

Sweaters, dresses, jeans, and fleece were key categories for us, and category balance continued across genders.

毛衣、洋裝、牛仔褲和羊毛衫是我們的主要品類，並且不同性別的品類保持平衡。單位和年利率均為本季的成長做出了貢獻。我們繼續看到新客戶和現有客戶的良好貢獻。

Units and AUR both contributed to growth in the quarter.

And we continue to see nice contribution from new and existing customers.

For the upcoming holiday, our customers will see a lot of exciting newness in a variety of the gift giving and gift yourself ideas across categories.

在即將到來的節日里，我們的客戶將在各種不同類別的禮物和送給自己的創意中看到許多令人興奮的新奇事物。加上引人注目的數位和社交行銷活動，我們的目標是為客戶提供整個季節購買的理由。

Coupled with compelling marketing campaigns in digital and social, our goal is to give the customer reasons to buy all season long.

From a channel perspective, we continue to invest in the Abercrombie digital experience, where we generate a majority of the brand's business.

從通路角度來看，我們持續投資 Abercrombie 數位體驗，品牌的大部分業務都來自於此。重要的是，假期是我們商店的關鍵時刻。我們正在投資新的和現有的地點，以支持我們所看到的巨大的交通和生產力趨勢。

Importantly, the holiday season is a key moment for our stores.

And we are investing in both new and existing locations to support the great traffic and productivity trends we're seeing.

We're planning to open around 40 new stores for Abercrombie brands this year, and we are so excited to engage customers however they choose to shop this holiday season.

我們計劃今年為 Abercrombie 品牌開設約 40 家新店，我們很高興能夠吸引顧客，無論他們選擇在這個假期購物。 Hollister 也實現了去年兩位數的成長，在去年第三季成長 11% 的基礎上，本季成長了 14%。

Hollister also delivered double-digit growth to last year with 14% growth in the quarter on top of 11% growth in the third quarter last year.

Across brands, we continue to build on strength, and Hollister is comping the comp.

在各個品牌中，我們持續增強實力，霍利斯特正在競爭。 Hollister 團隊一直致力於擴大我們在青少年市場的影響力。我祝賀他們在競爭激烈的返校季和整個第三季度取得了出色的成績。

The Hollister team has been focused on expanding our reach within the teen market.

I congratulate them for delivering outstanding results in a competitive back-to-school season and throughout the entire third quarter.

Sweaters, knit bottoms, and fleece led the growth including our new collegiate collection.

毛衣、針織褲和羊毛衫引領了成長，其中包括我們的新學院系列。隨著品牌動能的增強，我們將繼續看到各個類別之間的平衡更加平衡。跨通路的強勁流量促進了男女的成長。我們看到單位銷售量有所改善，而且促銷活動​​的減少也導致了 AUR 的擴張。

And we are continuing to see more balance across categories as the brands build momentum.

Strong traffic across channels enabled growth in both genders.

And we saw both improved unit selling and AUR expansion from lower promotions.

Our teams continue to deliver engaging moments for our Hollister customers through social, in-person events, and other authentic marketing content.

我們的團隊繼續透過社交、現場活動和其他真實的行銷內容為 Hollister 客戶提供引人入勝的時刻。我們正在投資數位化和商店。

We are investing in digital as well as stores.

As a reminder, our Hollister customers tend to start their journey digitally, but they still finish majority of their transactions in stores.

提醒一下，我們的 Hollister 客戶傾向於以數位方式開始他們的旅程，但他們仍然在商店完成大部分交易。今年，我們計劃更新或調整約 40 家 Hollister 門市的規模，不斷改進商店體驗，以符合我們更新的品牌美學。我們還計劃今年開設約 20 家新的 Hollister 商店。

For the year, we plan to refresh or rightsize around 40 Hollister locations, evolving the store experience to match our updated brand aesthetic.

We also plan to open around 20 new Hollister stores this year.

Whether on digital or in store, we'll have a great product across our core categories as well as other seasonal items to bring holiday comfort and style to Hollister teen customers.

無論是在數位平台還是在實體店，我們都會在核心類別中提供優質產品以及其他季節性商品，為 Hollister 團隊的客戶帶來節日舒適和時尚。

Coming up strong third-quarter results, we are already enrolling right into peak holiday season, which starts this week.

即將公佈強勁的第三季業績，我們已經進入本週開始的假期旺季。我們在本季度取得了良好的開局，並看到了積極的假日品種。第四季的大部分銷售即將到來，我們迫不及待地想在未來幾天或幾週內與如此多的客戶互動。

We have had a strong start to the quarter, seeing positive holiday assortments.

Most of the fourth-quarter sales are ahead of us, and we can't wait to engage with so many of our customers in the days and weeks to come.

Our marketing and digital teams have amazing content activations on the way.

我們的行銷和數位團隊正在進行令人驚嘆的內容啟動。我們的商店和配送中心配備了充足的人員來支援我們的客戶。重要的是，我們擁有合適的產品來滿足需求。

And our stores and distribution centers are well staffed to support our customers.

Importantly, we have the right product in place to meet demand.

I'd like to thank our products and supply chain teams for navigating what continues to be a dynamic shipping market, getting our inventory here in time for peak selling.

我要感謝我們的產品和供應鏈團隊在持續充滿活力的運輸市場中導航，並及時為我們的高峰銷售提供庫存。我們已經做好準備，準備好參加這個假期的比賽。我對我們為世界各地的客戶提供服務的能力充滿信心。

We are prepared and ready to compete this holiday season.

And I'm confident in our ability to deliver for our customers around the world.

Our third-quarter results again demonstrate our ability to deliver on our commitments.

我們的第三季業績再次證明了我們履行承諾的能力。結合我們第四季的預期，我們正在提高全年銷售預期，目前預計成長在 14% 至 15% 範圍內，營業利潤率約為 15%。

Incorporating our fourth-quarter expectations, we are increasing our full year sales outlook and now expect growth in the range of 14% to 15%, with an operating margin of around 15%.

We believe achievement of these goals will further underline the strength and potential of our global operating model.

我們相信這些目標的實現將進一步凸顯我們全球營運模式的實力和潛力。我們的品牌是健康的。我們正在人員、流程、技術和商店方面進行關鍵投資，以支持持續成長，為 2025 年再次實現永續獲利成長做好準備。

Our brands are healthy.

And we are making key investments across people, process, technology, and stores to support ongoing growth, setting us up for sustainable profitable growth again in 2025.

Before I hand it off to Scott, I just want to take a moment to recognize Robert Ball on his promotion to Chief Financial Officer.

在將其交給斯科特之前，我想花點時間向羅伯特·鮑爾（Robert Ball）晉升為首席財務官表示認可。羅伯特在公司零售金融領域擁有二十多年的經驗，多年來一直與我和斯科特密切合作，幫助建立和推動我們在 A&F Co 賴以生存的財務紀律思維。

With more than two decades of experience at the company spanning retail finance, Robert has worked very closely with me and Scott for years to help build and drive financial disciplined mindset we all live by here at A&F Co.

He is integral to our recent success, and we look forward to partner with him even more closely as we continue our growth journey.

他是我們最近取得成功的不可或缺的一部分，我們期待在我們繼續發展的過程中與他更加密切地合作。恭喜，羅伯特。再次感謝我們的全球團隊在第三季取得如此強勁的業績。我很高興每個人都能在接下來的幾週內看到他們的辛勤工作得到回報。

Congratulations, Robert.

And thanks again to our global team for delivering such strong Q3 results.

I'm so excited for everyone to see their hard work pay off over the next few weeks.

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

這樣，我就把它交給史考特了。

All right.

好的。謝謝，弗蘭。大家早安。我還要祝賀羅伯特被任命為財務長。多年來我們一起做了很多出色的工作，對他來說，擔任這個新角色是一個令人興奮的時刻。我期待你們中的許多人在接下來的幾個月裡更了解羅伯特。

Thanks, Fran.

Good morning, everyone.

I'd also like to add my congratulations to Robert on his appointment to CFO.

We've done a lot of great work together over the years, and it is an exciting time for him to take on this new role.

I look forward to many of you getting to know Robert even better in the months to come.

Getting into the third quarter, I'm also very pleased with our performance, where we again delivered strong balanced growth across regions and brands.

進入第三季度，我對我們的表現也非常滿意，我們再次實現了跨地區和品牌的強勁平衡成長。總淨銷售額達到 12 億美元，創下第三季的紀錄，較去年成長 14%，每個地區和品牌都達到兩位數成長。

Total net sales of $1.2 billion, which set a record for the third quarter, were up 14% to last year with each region and brand delivering double-digit growth.

On a reported basis, we saw a 90-basis-point adverse impact on sales growth from the calendar shift from the 53rd week in 2023, consistent with our expectation.

根據報告，我們發現 2023 年第 53 週的日曆變化對銷售成長產生了 90 個基點的不利影響，這與我們的預期一致。在去年可比銷售額成長 16% 的基礎上，可比銷售額成長了 16%，反映出商店通路和數位直銷通路的可比銷售額連續第六個季度實現兩位數成長。

Comparable sales grew 16% on top of comparable sales growth of 16% last year, reflecting the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit comparable sales growth in both the store channel and the digital direct selling channel.

On a regional basis, net sales grew 14% in the Americas, 15% in EMEA, and 32% in APAC.

按地區劃分，美洲淨銷售額成長 14%，歐洲、中東和非洲 (EMEA) 成長 15%，亞太地區成長 32%。美洲的可比較銷售額成長了 16%，歐洲、中東和非洲地區的可比較銷售額成長了 13%，亞太地區的可比銷售額成長了 16%。

Comparable sales grew 16% in the Americas, 13% in EMEA, and 16% in APAC.

In the Americas, we saw balanced growth across markets.

在美洲，我們看到各個市場的均衡成長。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六個季度實現同比增長。在亞太地區，成長由中國引領。

In EMEA, the UK and Germany continued to lead the way, and we've now delivered year-over-year growth for six consecutive quarters in the region.

In APAC, growth was led by China.

For the brands, each brand delivered record net sales for the third quarter.

對品牌而言，每個品牌第三季的淨銷售額均創歷史新高。 Abercrombie 品牌持續強勁業績，淨銷售額比去年增長 15%，而 Hollister 品牌則隨著客戶對我們的產品和行銷的持續反應而增長 14%。 Abercrombie 的可比銷售額成長了 11%，Hollister 的可比銷售額成長了 21%。這兩個品牌的成長都是由商店和數位通路的強勁流量所推動的。

Abercrombie brands continued to deliver strong results, growing net sales by 15% over last year, while Hollister brands grew 14% as customers continue to respond to our product and marketing.

Comparable sales grew 11% at Abercrombie and 21% at Hollister.

The growth in both brands was driven by strong traffic in both the stores and digital channels.

We delivered $787 million in gross profit, up approximately $100 million or 15% from Q3 2023.

我們實現了7.87 億美元的毛利，比2023 年第三季成長了約1 億美元，即15%。 AUR，但大部分被由於較高的運費而增加的運費所抵消。

The gross profit rate was 65.1% this year compared to 64.9% last year with higher AURs from lower promotions, mostly offset by higher freight costs due to higher freight rates and air usage.

We ended the quarter with inventory up 16% to last year.

本季結束時，我們的庫存比去年增加了 16%。大約一半的成長是由於組合和庫存單位成長相結合，以支持預期的第四季度銷售成長。另一半主要是由於貨運成本和庫存增加，因為我們在第三季度主動增加了空運的使用，以減少因海運時間更長、更不一致以及東海岸港口罷工而造成的潛在運輸延誤。每個品牌都繼續以乾淨的庫存運營，並為高峰銷售做好準備。

Around half of the increase is due to the combination of mix and inventory unit growth to support expected Q4 sales growth.

And the other half is primarily due to higher freight cost and inventory as we proactively increased the use of air shipments in Q3 to mitigate potential shipping delays from longer and more inconsistent ocean transit times and the East Coast port strike.

Each brand continues to operate with clean inventory and is ready for peak selling.

Moving on to expenses.

繼續討論支出。該季度的營運支出（不包括其他營運收入）為 6.09 億美元，而去年的營運支出為 5.46 億美元。我們持續提高營運費用槓桿，營運費用佔銷售額的比例從去年的 51.7% 升至 50.4%。年比費用成長驅動因素與上半年一致，銷售成長的變動費用較高，行銷、數位化、技術和人員投資增加。

Operating expense, excluding other operating income, was $609 million for the quarter compared to operating expense of $546 million last year.

We continue to drive operating expense leverage with operating expenses as a percentage of sales of 50.4% compared to 51.7% last year.

Year-over-year expense growth drivers were consistent with the first half with higher variable expenses on sales growth and increased investments in marketing, digital and technology and people.

For marketing, third-quarter expenses were around 5.5% of sales, up 100 basis points compared to Q2 and up 50 basis points from last year as we ramp spending from back to school into the peak holiday season.

在行銷方面，第三季的費用約為銷售額的 5.5%，比第二季增加了 100 個基點，比去年增加了 50 個基點，因為我們將支出從返校季增加到假期高峰期。營業收入為 1.79 億美元，佔銷售額的 14.8%，而去年營業收入為 1.38 億美元，佔銷售額的 13.1%。

Operating income was $179 million or 14.8% of sales compared to operating income of $138 million or 13.1% of sales last year.

Net income per diluted share was $2.50, up 37% from $1.83 in Q3 last year.

攤薄後每股淨利為 2.50 美元，較去年第三季的 1.83 美元成長 37%。 EBITDA 總計 2.19 億美元，佔銷售額的 18%，而去年的 EBITDA 為 1.71 億美元，佔銷售額的 16%。

EBITDA totaled $219 million or 18% of sales compared to EBITDA of $171 million or 16% of sales last year.

On the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $683 million and current investments of $56 million.

在資產負債表上，本季末我們的現金和現金等價物為 6.83 億美元，流動投資為 5,600 萬美元。我們的營運現金流約為 1.43 億美元，資本支出為 5,000 萬美元。

We delivered operating cash flow of roughly $143 million and had $50 million of capital expenditures.

We repurchased approximately $100 million worth of shares, an acceleration from the first half of the year after we executed the full redemption of our senior secured notes in Q2.

我們回購了價值約 1 億美元的股票，這比我們在第二季全額贖回優先擔保票據後的上半年有所加速。本季結束時，我們目前的股票回購授權還剩 1.02 億美元。

We ended the quarter with $102 million remaining on our current share repurchase authorization.

Year to date, we have repurchased 924,000 shares or around 1.8% of shares outstanding at the beginning of the fiscal year.

今年迄今為止，我們已回購了 924,000 股股票，約佔本財年年初已發行股票的 1.8%。在第四季度，我們預計將再次優先考慮股票回購作為使用多餘現金的主要方式，具體取決於業務表現、股價和市場狀況。

In the fourth quarter, we again expect to prioritize share repurchases as the primary way to use excess cash, subject to business performance, share price, and market conditions.

For the store fleet, we ended the quarter with 773 stores.

就門市數量而言，本季末我們擁有 773 家門市。截至第三季末，我們已開設 39 家新店，改造或縮小 38 家店面，關閉 31 家店面。預計全年將開設約 60 家新店、60 家改造和規模調整店以及關閉 40 家店。

Through the end of the third quarter, we have opened 39 new stores, remodeled or rightsized 38 stores, and closed 31 stores.

For the full year, we continue to expect to deliver approximately 60 new stores, 60 remodels and rightsizes, and 40 closures.

Shifting to the fourth-quarter outlook.

轉向第四季展望。我們看到人們對我們的節日產品系列的早期反應強烈。我們已經做好準備，並為本週的銷售高峰期進入高潮感到興奮。

We've seen a strong early response to our holiday assortments.

And we are ready and excited for the peak selling period to kick into high gear this week.

For the fourth quarter, we expect net sales to be up in the range of 5% to 7% compared to the fourth quarter 2023 level of $1.45 billion, inclusive of a year-over-year headwind of $80 million or 550 basis points from the calendar shift and loss of the extra week in 2023.

與 2023 年第四季 14.5 億美元的水平相比，我們預計第四季度的淨銷售額將成長 5% 至 7%，其中包括 8,000 萬美元的年比逆風，即較上年同期成長 550 個基點。 2023 年的日曆調整和額外一週的損失。

We also expect a 100-basis-point adverse impact from foreign currency.

我們也預計外匯將產生 100 個基點的不利影響。調整外幣損失一週後，我們預計去年的成長率在 11% 至 13% 之間。

Adjusting for the lost week and foreign currency, we see growth in the range of 11% to 13% last year.

We expect continued growth across regions and brands.

我們預計跨地區和品牌的持續成長。我們預計營業利潤率為 16% 左右，而 2023 年為 15.3%。我們預計費用槓桿將成為營業利潤擴張的主要驅動力，而由於運費和外幣上漲，毛利率預計將與 2023 年第四季保持一致抵消較低的促銷活動。對於稅收，我們預計有效稅率將在 20 左右。

We expect operating margin to be around 16% compared to 15.3% in 2023.

We expect expense leverage will be the primary driver of operating margin expansion, while the gross profit rate is expected to be consistent with Q4 2023 as higher freight costs and foreign currency offset lower promotions.

For tax, we expect effective rate in the high 20s.

For the full year, we now expect net sales growth in the range of 14% to 15% from the 2023 level of approximately $4.3 billion, an increase from the previous outlook of growth in the range of 12% to 13%.

對於全年，我們目前預計淨銷售額將比 2023 年約 43 億美元的水準成長 14% 至 15%，高於先前 12% 至 13% 的成長預期。該展望假設外幣會產生輕微不利影響，並繼續包括2023 年第53 週損失帶來的約5000 萬美元或120 個基點的不利影響。額和按季度和全年的比較增長影響。

This outlook assumes a slight adverse impact from foreign currency and continues to include an adverse impact of around $50 million or 120 basis points from the loss of the 53rd week in 2023.

We've included a table in the press release summarizing the expected sales and comparative growth impacts by quarter and for the full year.

For operating margin, we now expect to be around 15%, the high end of our previous range of 14% to 15%.

對於營業利潤率，我們現在預計約為 15%，這是我們之前 14% 至 15% 範圍的上限。相比之下，去年為 11.3%。我們仍然預計同比改善將由毛利率擴張和費用槓桿共同推動。我們預計有效稅率為 20 多歲，資本支出約為 1.7 億美元。

This compares to 11.3% last year.

We continue to expect the year-over-year improvement to be driven by the combination of gross profit rate expansion and expense leverage.

We expect an effective tax rate in the mid-20s and capital expenditures of around $170 million.

To finish up, I'd like to thank our global teams for executing at a high level across the business.

最後，我要感謝我們的全球團隊在整個業務領域的高水準執行。年初至今，我們的銷售和營業收入均創歷史新高，展現了我們品牌和營運模式的實力。我們期待在這個假期為我們的客戶提供服務，並為我們公司完成另一個偉大的增長年。

We have delivered record year-to-date results for both sales and operating income, showing the strength of our brands and operating model.

We look forward to delivering for our customers this holiday season and to finish out another great year of growth for our company.

With that, operator, we are ready for questions.

接線員，我們已經準備好回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Dana Telsey, Telsey Advisory Group.

達納‧特爾西，特爾西諮詢小組。

Congratulations on another successful quarter, and congratulations, Robert.

恭喜又一個成功的季度，恭喜羅伯特。弗蘭，如果你看看霍利斯特的業務，我們不僅看到了去年的業績成長，而且從第二季開始也看到瞭如此好的成長。隨著該業務的不斷發展，您處於該業務的哪個位置？男女的表現有什麼不同嗎？

Fran, if you look at the Hollister business, we saw such nice acceleration in comps not only from last year but from the second quarter.

Where are you in the arc of that business as it continues to move forward?

And is there any difference in the men's and women's performance?

And then, Scott and Robert, incremental investments were a topic of conversation last quarter.

然後，斯科特和羅伯特，增量投資成為上個季度的一個話題。在行銷方面，您如何看待未來投資的組成部分以及我們應該尋找什麼？

With marketing, how are you thinking of the components of investment going forward, and what we should look for?

Yes, I could not be more proud of the Hollister team, the incredible progress that they've made.

是的，我為霍利斯特團隊感到無比自豪，他們取得了令人難以置信的進步。我們顯然是青少年領域的領導者。接近該客戶，看到成長率在 11% 的基礎上成長到 14%，然後將去年的 7% 的成長率提高到 21%，真的非常非常了不起。

And we are clearly a leader in the teen space.

Getting close to that customer, seeing growth to your point of 14% on top of 11% and then comping that comp at 21% on top of last year's 7%, just really, really terrific.

We saw balanced growth across genders and categories, excited to see growth across regions as well.

我們看到了跨性別和類別的均衡成長，也很高興看到跨地區的成長。我們在毛衣、針織褲、羊毛衫等一些關鍵類別中看到了這一點。我們的新學院系列確實做得非常非常好。再次看到跨通路的強勁流量。因此，跨性別、類別、地區等的表現確實平衡。

We saw that in some of our key categories like sweaters, knit bottoms, fleece.

Our new collegiate collection is really doing very, very nicely.

Again, saw strong traffic across channels.

So really balanced performance across genders, categories, regions, et cetera.

So excited to see where we are and expect to continue to see growth.

很高興看到我們所處的位置，並期望繼續看到成長。

Yes, I got the second part on the incremental investments.

是的，我得到了關於增量投資的第二部分。我們對行銷團隊的執行力感到非常滿意。我們的投資確實逐年增加。我們討論了年比增加 50 個基點。因此，我們正在投入資金，對此我們感到非常興奮。

We are very happy with the execution from our marketing teams.

We did invest more year over year.

We talked about 50 basis points more year over year.

So we are putting money to work, and we're really excited about that.

Other investments that we've been talking about are stores, and we're investing in new stores.

我們一直在談論的其他投資是商店，我們正在投資新商店。我們正在投資更新、改造和調整規模。當你把商店和行銷放在一起時，我們非常喜歡我們所看到的。

We're investing in refreshes and remodels and rightsizes.

And when you put that stores and marketing together, we just love what we're seeing.

The traffic has been strong to both channels across brands.

跨品牌的兩個管道的流量都很強勁。所以我們相信這是有效的。當我們考慮第四季度的行銷時，我們將繼續逐年投資更多，因為我們只是喜歡每個品牌所處的位置，然後縮小對業務的其他投資。

So we believe that is working.

As we think about Q4 for marketing, we'll continue to invest probably more year over year because we just love where each brand sits and then kind of zooming out other investments in the business.

Digital technology is something we've been talking about.

數位科技是我們一直在談論的東西。我只是喜歡讓這個模型更快、更精簡、更快，然後前端的所有內容都可以數位化，以實現客戶體驗。這段旅程跨越了數位商店。我們一直在整個旅程中進行投資，並且非常高興將來能繼續這樣做。

And just love making this model faster and leaner and so much quicker and then everything on the front end for digital for that customer experience.

This journey spans stores and digital.

And we've been investing across that journey and really excited to keep doing that in the future.

Corey Tarlowe, Jefferies.

科里·塔洛，杰弗里斯。

Great.

偉大的。恭喜羅伯特被任命為財務長。我想詢問 Abercrombie 成長的驅動因素。您能否為我們解釋一下您認為本季成長的一些最大推動因素以及您在哪些方面看到了成長動力？然後我很好奇您是否也可以談談您在本季度在 YPB 上看到的任何內容？

Congrats to Robert on the CFO appointment.

I wanted to ask about the drivers of the Abercrombie growth.

Could you maybe unpack for us what you felt were some of the largest drivers of the growth in the quarter and where you're seeing any momentum?

And then I was curious if you could just also touch on anything you saw on YPB in the quarter?

And then for Scott, as we think about the margin profile as we look ahead, what, in your view, is likely to be sustainable versus transient as we think about the future for Abercrombie's margin structure?

然後，對於 Scott 來說，當我們展望未來時考慮利潤狀況時，在您看來，當我們考慮 Abercrombie 利潤結構的未來時，什麼可能是可持續的，而不是短暫的？

So let's start with Abercrombie.

讓我們從阿伯克龍比開始吧。我的意思是，退一步來說，這真是一次奇妙的旅程。該品牌已連續 15 個季度實現成長。在去年 30% 的基礎上實現 15% 的成長，在 26% 的基礎上實現 11% 的成長，這確實是非常了不起的表現。

I mean, just to step back for a minute, what an amazing journey.

That brand has been on 15 consecutive quarters of growth.

And to drive 15% on top of 30% last year and a comp on 11% on top of 26% is really terrific performance.

To your question, where do we see it?

對於你的問題，我們在哪裡看到它？我們看到了不同性別的均衡成長。我們看到了不同的類別。如您所知，這實際上取決於產品和行銷，這兩者都非常適合我們，並且運作得非常非常好。

We saw balanced growth across genders.

We saw across categories.

It really comes down, as you well know, to product and marketing, both of which are really aligned for us and working really, really well.

We continue to dress that customer for all different wearing occasions.

我們繼續推動客戶適應所有不同的佩戴場合。我們談論了很多關於長週末的事情。我們看到了毛衣、洋裝、牛仔褲和羊毛衫的出色表現。我們歡迎許多新客戶，也繼續取悅我們的現有客戶。

We talk a lot about the long weekend.

We saw nice performance in sweaters and dresses and jeans and fleece.

We are welcoming in lots of new customers, also continuing to please our existing customers.

YPB specifically continues to grow.

YPB 尤其持續成長。這是一個成長非常好的類別。我們剛結束第二年的工作，並繼續看到 YPB 良好的專案接受度。

That is a category that is growing very nicely.

We're just finishing up year two and continuing to see nice project acceptance across YPB.

Corey, on the margin profile, when you look up and down the P&L, we believe the entire P&L is sustainable.

科里，在利潤率方面，當你上下查看損益表時，我們相信整個損益表是可持續的。從營收開始，我們已經建立了一個良好的成長平台。您現在已經看到全球多個季度的成長。我們喜歡我們的團隊在美國以外的地方本地化我們的策略，並且我們繼續在美洲開展我們最大的業務，以推動兩位數的成長，這確實令人興奮。

Starting at the top line, we have built a great platform for growth.

You've seen global growth now for multiple quarters.

We love how our teams are localizing our playbook outside of the US, and we continue on our biggest part of the business here in the Americas to drive double-digit growth, which is really exciting.

So top line, we want to sustain that gross margin.

因此，最重要的是，我們希望維持這一毛利率。自大流行前以來，我們已經取得了長足的進步。我們正在運行一個非常靈活的庫存模型。我們在這裡討論了一些關於貨運的問題，因為我們主動提前收到了我們的收據以迎接假期，稱這是我們影響損益表的短暫性的一部分，但我們喜歡今天的增長幅度。

We've come a long way since pre-pandemic.

We're running a very agile inventory model.

We talked a little bit about freight here as we proactively brought our receipts in early to hit holiday, call that part of our transient nature of something hitting the P&L, but we love where the growth margin sits today.

And the flow-through on this business with those two things in a clean store base and a strong digital business is very strong.

透過乾淨的商店基礎和強大的數位業務這兩件事，這項業務的流通非常強勁。您看到我們在第三季的銷售額略勝一籌，而且我們確實實現了良好的獲利流程。這就是我們未來的模型。我們希望從今年到未來繼續增強實力。我們喜歡我們建立的平台。

You saw that we outperformed our sales here in Q3 a bit, and we really had a nice flow through to the bottom line.

So that's our model going forward.

We want to continue to build on strength from this year and into the future.

And we love the platform we've built.

Matthew Boss, JPMorgan.

馬修‧博斯，摩根大通。

Congrats on a nice quarter, especially despite all the weather.

恭喜您度過了一個美好的季度，尤其是儘管天氣惡劣。弗蘭，您能談談您在海外看到的全球品牌知名度和新客戶獲取情況嗎？如果您能詳細說明 11 月份各個品牌在早期假期中的強勁反應和當前的業務勢頭，我認為那就太好了。

So Fran, could you speak to global brand awareness and new customer acquisition that you're seeing overseas?

And if you could elaborate on the strong early holiday response and current business momentum that you're seeing in November across brands, I think that would be great.

And then maybe, Scott, if you could just break down 4Q gross margin expectations maybe relative to the 20 basis points of expansion in the third quarter and just your comfort with inventory.

然後，史考特，如果你能將第四季的毛利率預期分解為相對於第三季 20 個基點的擴張以及你對庫存的滿意度。

Yeah.

是的。因此，先開始你問題的第一部分，即全球品牌知名度，我們對第三季的表現感到非常興奮，我們看到各個品牌的表現非常平衡，並且以及地區。

So to start the first part of your question, so global brand awareness, we could not be -- I could not be more excited about the performance we put up for the third quarter where we're just seeing very balanced performance across brands and as well as regions.

You've been on this journey with us.

您一直與我們一起踏上這段旅程。我們一直在本地培養人才。我們在倫敦和上海設有辦事處。這些團隊確實正在本地化他們的產品組合。他們正在本地化他們的行銷，我們看到了很好的反應，很高興看到這種情況繼續增長。

We've been building talent locally.

We have an office in London and Shanghai.

And those teams really are localizing their assortments.

They're localizing their marketing, and we're seeing a nice response to that, so excited to see that continue to grow.

As far as holiday goes, we are off to a strong start.

就假期而言，我們有一個好的開始。上週，我們總是做好準備。我們帶領團隊參觀了商店。我們——我們的產品就在這裡。看起來很棒。

Last week, we always get ready.

We walked the team through the stores.

We are -- our product is here.

It looks great.

We have a lot of products that's already tested that we know about.

我們有很多我們所知道的已經過測試的產品。我們的商店配備了充足的人員。我們的 DC 配備了充足的人員。我們準備出發，為假期感到興奮。

We are well staffed in our stores.

We're well staffed in our DC. We're ready to go, excited for the holiday season.

All right, Matt.

好吧，馬特。就毛利率預期而言，真正接近第四季度，就像我們第三季度一樣，來到本季度，相信我們可以完成一些促銷活動並減輕其中的一些百分比折扣，也許可以縮短我們進行促銷的時間段，並且我們相信我們可以在第四季度做到同樣的事情。

On the gross margin expectations, really approaching Q4, just like we did Q3, coming into the quarter, believed we could pull off some promotions and lighten some of those percentage offs, maybe shorten the time period that we're running a promotion, and we believe we can do the same here in Q4.

We will have an offset with freight.

我們將用運費來抵消。第四季我們將受到外匯的一些傷害。因此，與我們在第三季度看到的情況非常相似，我們的想法將與去年持平。第三季我們的股價比去年高出約 20 個基點。第四季度，大量的水再次湧入橋下。所以我們會看看最終結果如何，但我們的想法與去年相對一致。

We'll have a little bit of hurt here from foreign currency in Q4.

So again, very similar setup to what we saw in Q3, thinking will be around flat to last year.

We ended up about 20 basis points higher than last year in Q3.

And again, a lot of water is coming under the bridge here in Q4.

So we'll see where we end up, but we're thinking about it relatively consistent to last year.

Moving on to inventory.

繼續討論庫存。我們對庫存的位置感覺很好。我剛才提到，我們積極主動地將收據帶入。我們已經看到海洋運輸存在一些變化。

We feel great about where the inventory sits.

I mentioned a minute ago, we were proactive in bringing our receipts in.

The shipping environment has been pretty dynamic here in the back half.

We've seen some variability in ocean transit.

So we are taking the chance out of our inventory deliveries, and we brought that in early.

因此，我們正在抓住庫存交付的機會，我們很早就將其引入了。由於第三季的航空使用量，我們在那裡有一些額外的貨運，我們看到了這一點，我們預計第四季會再次出現這種情況。

We have a little extra freight there with that air usage here in Q3, we saw that, and we expect that again here in Q4.

But when you break apart that inventory, we're up 16%.

但當你分解庫存時，我們成長了 16%。其中大約一半只是混入了阿伯克龍比的高價產品和一些單位增長來推動增長，另一半則來自貨運。因此，我們對各個品牌的庫存清理感到非常滿意，並且為假期做好了準備。

About half of that is just mixing into a little higher-ticket product there in Abercrombie and some unit growth to drive the growth, and the other half is due to freight.

So we feel really good about the inventory clean across brands and really set up well for holiday.

Paul Lejuez, Citi.

保羅‧勒胡埃斯，花旗銀行。

Fran, after the multiyear turnaround in Abercrombie & Fitch and the continued momentum, I'm curious what you see as the next act and opportunity for A&F?

Fran，在 Abercrombie & Fitch 經歷了多年的轉變和持續的發展勢頭之後，我很好奇您認為 A&F 的下一步行動和機會是什麼？當你回答這個問題時，你可能會如何看待美國、歐洲和亞洲的差異。

And how you might think about that different in the US versus Europe versus Asia as you answer that.

And then, Scott, if you hit numbers in 4Q, what is your expected level of cash that you expect to have at year-end?

然後，斯科特，如果您在第四季度達到了數字，您預計年底的現金水平是多少？我們如何思考不僅是第四季的回購節奏，也是我們展望 25 年及以後的情況？

And just how are we thinking about the pace of repo for just not just fourth quarter, but as we look out to '25 and beyond?

I'll start with the first part of your question.

我將從你問題的第一部分開始。因此，Abercrombie & Fitch 再次強調，我需要花一點時間說，這是多麼令人驚奇的旅程和連續 15 個季度的增長，Abercrombie 所發生的一切令人難以置信。

So Abercrombie & Fitch, again, I just have to take a moment to say, what an amazing journey and 15 consecutive quarters of growth, just incredible what's happened here at Abercrombie.

With that said, a lot of what has driven that, to answer your question, is that we really changed our addressable market.

話雖如此，為了回答你的問題，許多推動因素是我們確實改變了我們的目標市場。我們不再是一家牛仔褲和 T 卹公司。我們確實是一個生活風格品牌。

We are no longer a jeans and T-shirt company.

We're really, truly a lifestyle brand.

The consumer comes to us now in their early 20s, they stay well into their 40s.

現在，消費者來到我們這裡的年齡都在 20 歲出頭，他們一直都在 40 多歲。我們的行銷工作非常非常有效。團隊與客戶非常接近，並且真正與客戶生命中重要時刻的重要事項保持一致。

Our marketing is working very, very well.

The team is just so close to the customer and really just staying aligned with what's important to those life moments for the customer.

We've gotten into some new categories like our licensing, YPB, our best dressed guest.

我們已經進入了一些新的類別，例如我們的授權、YPB、我們的最佳著裝嘉賓。其中許多肯定會持續到第四季度和未來。因此，我們正在實現我們今年所說的目標，即可持續的獲利成長，並期望未來也能實現這一目標。

A lot of those are continuing certainly into the fourth quarter and into the future.

So we are delivering what we said we would do this year, sustainable profitable growth and expecting that to go into the future.

Yeah.

是的。我想補充 A&F 品牌，當我們考慮歐洲業務時，我們已經看到那裡的巨大成長，現在已經連續六個季度成長。將新的 Abercrombie & Fitch 品牌引入當地市場確實令人興奮。我們已經在英國開始努力，特別是在倫敦，推動我們的行銷活動，並真正將該品牌重新介紹給消費者。

And I want to add there on the A&F brand, as we think about the European business, we've seen great growth there now six consecutive quarters of growth.

Bringing that new Abercrombie & Fitch brand to that local market has been really exciting.

We've started our efforts in UK, specifically in London, pushing our marketing there and really reintroducing that brand to the consumer.

And next up is Germany, our second biggest country in Western Europe.

接下來是德國，我們西歐第二大國。對於早期在美國以外地區推動品牌知名度和成長感到非常興奮。跳到下半年，所以現金，我們還沒有給出第四季現金的前景。我想說的是，如果一切按計劃進行，將會比今天更精彩，這令人興奮。

So really excited about the early days of driving that brand awareness and growth outside of the US.

Jumping to the second half, so cash, we haven't given an outlook there for cash for Q4.

What I would say is if all goes to plan, it will be more than today, and that's exciting.

The balance sheet remains super strong.

資產負債表仍然非常強勁。我們在第三季回購了 1 億美元的股票，今年確實投入了大量現金，償還了數億美元的債務，然後年初至今，回購了 1.3 億美元的股票。

We bought back $100 million of shares in Q3, really put a lot of good cash to work this year, paying down the debt a couple of hundred million dollars there and then year-to-date, $130 million of share repurchases.

We do have $102 million left on that authorization.

我們的授權還剩 1.02 億美元。當我們考慮未來時，我們在這裡建立了一個非常乾淨的模型，可以實現我們的目標，擁有良好的流動性，產生現金。

As we think about going forward, we've set up a really clean model here where hit our targets, have nice flow-through, generate cash.

We generated $400 million of operating cash flow year to date.

年初至今，我們產生了 4 億美元的營運現金流。我們可以讓現金發揮作用，無論是投資業務還是回購股票。我們對目前所處的位置感到非常興奮。

And we can put cash to work, whether it's investing in the business or buying back shares.

So really excited the position we're in.

We have nice flexibility to make the business stronger every day.

Marni Shapiro, The Retail Tracker.

Marni Shapiro，零售追蹤者。

Hey, guys, congratulations.

嘿，夥計們，恭喜你。這些商店真是令人驚嘆，絕對令人驚嘆。我只有一個簡單的內務問題。如果您能在本季結束時提醒我們的話，我正在查看其他版本。

The stores are just stunning, absolutely stunning.

I just have one quick housekeeping question.

If you could just remind us at the end of this quarter, I was looking through the other releases.

What was the actual store count of Hollister and Abercrombie?

Hollister 和 Abercrombie 的實際商店數量是多少？您是否列出了國際商店的數量？然後，弗蘭，我很好奇，阿伯克龍比在社交媒體和有影響力的人身上有一本出色的劇本。霍利斯特的客戶絕對是年輕的客戶。

And do you break out an international store count?

And then just, Fran, I'm curious, Abercrombie has had an exceptional playbook with social media and influencers.

And the Hollister customer's definitely a younger customer.

So I'm curious if you're able to use a similar playbook even though it's a younger customer, and maybe their parents aren't as thrilled with them being on, and they still have a little bit of control.

所以我很好奇你是否能夠使用類似的劇本，即使它是一個年輕的客戶，也許他們的父母對他們的使用並不那麼興奮，而且他們仍然有一點控制權。我只是有點好奇你們會是什麼樣子。

I'm just kind of curious what that looks like for you guys.

Marni, I'll kick us off.

瑪尼，我會把我們踢走的。截至第三季末，商店數量為 773 家。對於 Abercrombie plus kids，我們在全球擁有 247 家商店。然後是 Hollister，我們在全球擁有 518 家門市。當你想到美國時，稱其為“美洲與國際”，稱其為“大約 550、225 個整數”。

So store count, 773 at the end of the third quarter.

For Abercrombie plus kids, we had 247 stores globally.

And then for Hollister, we had 518 stores globally.

When you think about the US, call it, Americas versus international, call it, about 550, 225 round numbers.

Fran, I'll kick it to you for the second one.

弗蘭，我會把第二個任務交給你。

Yeah.

是的。謝謝，瑪尼。今天發生的事情非常不尋常，當然有很多事情值得學習。我們談論了很多我們的劇本，調整我們的產品、聲音和體驗。所有這些當然都適用於霍利斯特。它也適用於全球，因為我們已經導出了我們的劇本。

So thanks, Marni.

It has been pretty exceptional what's happened today, and there's certainly lots to learn.

We talk a lot about our playbook, aligning our product, voice, and experience.

And all of that is certainly applicable to Hollister.

It's also applicable globally as we've exported our playbook.

Specifically for Hollister, we do augment it with things like in real-life events.

特別是對於霍利斯特，我們確實用現實生活中的事件來增強它。我們在高中舉辦的節慶活動非常成功。因此，這是數位平台和現實生活中的結合，並為消費者及其父母取得良好的平衡。

We're doing festivals at high schools that have been very successful.

So it's a combination of both being on digital platforms as well as doing things in real life and striking a good balance for the consumer and for their parents.

Alex Straton, Morgan Stanley.

亞歷克斯‧斯特拉頓，摩根士丹利。

This is Katie Delahunt on for Alex Straton.

我是凱蒂·德拉亨特 (Katie Delahunt) 為亞歷克斯·斯特拉頓 (Alex Straton) 配音。您的全年指引上調意味著您對第四季度的銷售和盈利能力比三個月前更加樂觀。您的假設在哪些方面發生了最積極的變化，無論是地理範圍還是毛利率、SG&A？

Your full-year guidance raise implies that you're more optimistic on 4Q sales and profitability than you were three months ago.

Where have your assumptions changed most positively either by geography banner or on gross margin, SG&A?

Katie, I'll grab this one.

凱蒂，我來拿這個。是的，我們今天比三個月前更樂觀。顯然，三個月過去了。我們在返校期間看到了強勁的表現，特別是 Hollister 和兒童服裝，然後是 Abercrombie & Fitch 的整個季度，因為我們進入了秋季銷售季節，而且天氣開始有點涼爽。

Yeah, we are more bullish today than three months ago.

Obviously, three months have gone by.

We've seen a strong performance in the back-to-school period, specifically for Hollister and kids and then throughout the quarter for Abercrombie & Fitch as we got into that kind of fall selling season and the weather started to cool a bit.

And really, when you think about where we are today, we've had a strong start to the fourth quarter.

事實上，當你想到我們今天的處境時，你會發現我們第四季有一個強勁的開局。我們對我們的產品系列感到非常滿意，其中大部分產品已在今年早些時候進行了測試。

We feel great about our assortments, much of which has been tested earlier in this year.

We're seeing the customer continue to respond to marketing and product across brands, across regions.

我們看到客戶繼續對跨品牌、跨地區的行銷和產品做出反應。這讓我們有信心談論第四季的數字與先前暗示的數字。

And that gives us the confidence to talk about taking up that Q4 number versus what was implied previously.

Breaking apart Q4 a little bit, we talked about a reported number of around 5% to 7% growth last year.

稍微分解一下第四季度，我們談到了去年報告的大約 5% 到 7% 的成長。去年我們度過了第 53 週。因此，當你將其從遊戲和一些外幣中剔除時，我們談論的成長仍然是低兩位數，即 11% 至 13%。因此，繼續看到跨地區和品牌的成長。這是我們對第四季度的期望，我們認為我們今天已經為成功做好了準備。

We had that 53rd week last year.

So when you take that out of the play and some foreign currency, we're talking about growth in the low double digits still, this 11% to 13%.

So continuing to see growth across regions and brands.

That's our expectation here for Q4, and we think we're set up for success sitting here today.

Mauricio Serna, UBS.

毛里西奧·塞爾納，瑞銀。

Great.

偉大的。我只是想問你們今年要開的新店。每個品牌的這些門市按地區集中在哪裡？

I just wanted to ask about the new stores that you're opening this year.

Where are the -- like where are these store openings concentrated by region across each brand?

And then just thinking about the Hollister comp sales growth acceleration, could you talk about like what drove that acceleration Q over Q either on a regional basis and units or

然後，只要考慮一下霍利斯特公司的銷售成長加速，您能否談談是什麼推動了 Q 比 Q 的加速，無論是在區域基礎上還是在單位上，或者（聽不清楚）

(inaudible)

And last on inventories, I understand the explanation on why they look high at the end of this quarter.

最後關於庫存，我理解為什麼它們在本季末看起來很高的解釋。也許您可以分享您的想法，即您認為庫存最終應該在哪裡結束——應該在年底，以及您應該看到相對於未來銷售的成長？

Maybe could you share your thoughts on where do you think inventories should be ending at the end -- should be at the end of the year and the growth that you should see relative to sales going forward?

Mauricio, this is Scott.

毛里西奧，這是史考特。我會把這件事踢掉的。那麼就讓我們從新店開始吧。所以今年我們的新店成長有點向Abercrombie & Fitch傾斜，然後又有點向美國傾斜。我們提到了 Hollister 的大約 40 項改造、尺寸調整和更新，所以真正進入車隊。

I'll kick this one off.

So let's start with new stores.

So this year, our new store growth is a little bit tilted towards Abercrombie & Fitch and then a little bit tilted towards the US.

We mentioned about 40 remodels, rightsizes, refreshes for Hollister, so really getting into that fleet.

We rolled out that new prototype around last year at this time, and we started to really press some of those remodels in Hollister.

我們在去年這個時候推出了新的原型，並開始在霍利斯特真正進行一些改造。我們對所有新店所看到的東西感到非常興奮。各個品牌的表現，無論是新店還是改造、更新、調整規模都非常強勁，超出了我們的預期，這令人興奮，讓我們再次成為今年的淨店開業者。

So really excited about what we're seeing in all of our new stores.

The performance across brands, whether it's a new store or remodel, refresh, rightsize have really been strong and beating our expectations, which is exciting and putting us in place again to be a net store opener this year.

Fran, I'll kick it to you further.

弗蘭，我再把它踢給你。

Sure, I'll take this one.

當然，我會接受這個。因此，霍利斯特公司的銷售加速，我對我們提供的返校感到非常興奮。這是真正貼近客戶的結果。推動這種加速發展的是性別和類別之間的平衡，我們看到的是廣泛的基礎成長。

So Hollister comp sales acceleration, I'm just super excited about the back-to-school that we delivered.

It was a result of really staying close to the customer.

What's driving that acceleration is a balance amongst the genders as well as the categories, and we're seeing just broad-based growth.

A couple of the key categories like sweaters and knit bottoms and fleece are driving it.

毛衣、針織下裝和羊毛衫等幾個關鍵品類正在推動這一增長。我們今年推出了返校季的大學系列，並得到了客戶的熱情歡迎。再說一次，跨渠道的流量強勁，非常平衡——非常非常平衡。

We launched our collegiate collection for back-to-school this year, which had a really terrific acceptance by the customer.

So again, strong traffic across channels, a very balanced -- very, very balanced across.

All right.

好的。讓我來結束庫存方面的工作。因此，我們考慮年底，目前無法提供數字。到去年為止。從 24 年到 2025 年第一季度，我們繼續期望發展我們的品牌。

So let me finish up on the inventory side.

So we think about year-end, no number to provide at this point.

It will be up to last year.

We continue to expect to grow our brands as we move from '24 into Q1 of 2025.

The swing in there will be how much freight is left over from the air usage that we had here in Q3 to get to our holiday receipt plan.

其中的波動將是我們在第三季的航空使用量中剩餘多少貨運量，以達到我們的假期收貨計劃。因此，我們將看看銷售情況如何。年底我們會討論更多。但我們再次預計，進入第一季後，它將能夠支持成長。

So we'll see what the sell-through looks like.

We'll talk a lot more at year-end.

But we -- again, we would expect it to be up to support growth as we go into Q1.

Rick Patel, Raymond James.

瑞克·帕特爾，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Congrats to Robert on the new role.

祝賀羅伯特擔任新職務。您能談談 AUR 的未來前景嗎？鑑於您看到的強勁需求，您如何看待進一步減少促銷的機會？那我們該如何考慮跨地區和品牌的銷售組合變化對 AUR 的影響？

Can you talk about the outlook for AUR going forward?

How do you view the opportunity to reduce promotions further, given the strong demand you're seeing?

And then how do we also think about any impact on AUR from changes in the sales mix across regions and brands?

Hey, Rick.

嘿，瑞克。我會抓住這個。因此，當我們考慮 AUR 時，當我們進入第三季時，我們覺得我們有機會繼續進行一些促銷活動。我們能夠做到這一點。當我們走進第四季時，我們也有同樣的感覺。目前在 Q 或 2025 年沒有什麼可談論的，但對各品牌的毛利率感到滿意。

I'll grab this one.

So as we think about AURs, as we came into Q3, we felt like we had the opportunity to continue to pull off some promotions.

We were able to do that.

We feel the same as we walk into Q4 here.

Nothing to talk about in Q -- or for 2025 at this point, but feel good where the gross margin sits across brands.

In terms of reducing promotion, it comes down to two things.

就減少促銷而言，可以歸結為兩件事。這是庫存水準和產品接受度。我們對目前業務中的這兩件事感到滿意。正如我之前所說，我們在本季初就看到了良好的產品接受度，也就是那些假日地板套裝。該產品的許多內容已經過測試和驗證。因此，這給了我們第四季度的信心，我們可以取消其中一些促銷活動。

It's inventory levels and product acceptance.

We're happy with both of those things right now in the business.

Like I said before, we have seen nice product acceptance here early in the quarter, those holiday floor sets.

A lot of that product has been tested and proven.

So that gives us the confidence here in Q4, we can take off some of those promotions.

When you think about AUR impact from sales mix across brands and regions, it's not that much.

當您考慮跨品牌和跨地區的銷售組合對 AUR 的影響時，您會發現其實並沒有那麼大。這不是足夠重要的東西，我們甚至可以在這裡或那裡大聲喊出來，但實際上縮小了，談論第三季度的毛利率為 65％，非常強大，實現了巨大的流量，我們擊敗了它頂線。

It's not something that's material enough that we'll even call out, bits and pieces here and there, but really zooming out, talking about a gross margin here in Q3 of 65%, just super strong, enabling great flow through, we beat that top line.

Janet Kloppenburg, JJK Research Associates.

珍妮特‧克洛彭堡 (Janet Kloppenburg)，JJK 研究助理。

Congratulations on the good performance.

祝賀你們取得了良好的表現。弗蘭，我想知道您是否可以談論利潤成本、邊際貢獻，因為您在營收方面看到了真正的加速？也許該品牌在提高利潤方面還有更大的空間。

Fran, I wondered if you could talk about the cost of margins, the contribution margin, given the real acceleration that you're seeing in top line there?

And maybe the brand has more room to go in terms of improving margins there.

And Scott, just one question.

斯科特，只有一個問題。當我們考慮庫存時，當我們考慮庫存時，我了解貨運等情況，我們是否應該認為明年會降至個位數水準？或者，正如我們所期望的那樣，您是否有可能保持兩位數的水平？

When we think on inventory, when we think about the inventory, and I understand what's going on with freight, et cetera, should we think that you'll go down to single-digit levels next year?

Or is there a possibility you'll remain at the double-digit level as we look forward?

To start with the Hollister question, we are very pleased actually with our Hollister margins.

首先從霍利斯特的問題開始，我們對霍利斯特的利潤率感到非常滿意。他們非常強大。我們也看到生產力的顯著提高。我的意思是，我們的商店業務在消費者方面一直非常強勁，如您所知，他們以數位方式開始他們的旅程，並且大部分都是在商店中完成的。因此，我們看到大量強大的流量被吸引到這兩個管道。很高興。

They're very strong.

We are also seeing really terrific increased productivity.

I mean, our stores business has been very strong that consumer, as you know, starts their journey digitally and really does most of it in store.

So we're seeing lots of strong traffic being driven to both channels.

So pleased.

Yeah.

是的。珍妮特，第二部分，庫存。所以我們的目標是，我們希望明年庫存增加。這將標誌著業務的進一步成長。所以現在說還太早。

Janet, on the second part, inventory.

So our goal, we want inventory to be up next year.

That will signal more growth in the business.

So too early to tell.

Again, you mentioned the freight that's in inventory today.

您再次提到了今天庫存中的貨運。到年底我們會看到我們的銷售量。但假設明年我們會看到更多成長，我們將擁有足夠的庫存，並且我們將在年底對此進行更多討論。

We'll see how much we sell through as we get to year-end.

But assuming we see more growth next year, we're going to have the inventory to have it, and we'll talk a lot more about that at year-end.

(Operator Instructions) Dylan Carden, William Blair.

（操作員說明）迪倫卡登、威廉布萊爾。

Someone mentioned it, there was a not insignificant amount of weather disruption out there.

有人提到，那裡的天氣破壞程度不小。是您沒有看到那麼多，還是對於此時嵌入到業務中的一些靈活性更有啟發性？

Is it that you didn't see as much or is it more instructive as to some of the flexibility to be embedded into the business at this point?

And I was curious the commentary around sort of structural margin seems to be entirely predicated on maintaining low double-digit growth.

我很好奇，圍繞某種結構性利潤率的評論似乎完全基於維持低兩位數成長。那很好。但就您的平方英尺成長水平而言，我有點好奇，回顧當前的幾個季度，甚至是更中期的季度，這意味著您正在捕獲一定數量的增量業務來整理您的核心。目前，業務維持數年低點的兩位數成長率有何意義？

And that's fine.

But in your level of square footage growth, I'm kind of just curious, looking past these current quarters or even sort of the more medium-term quarters, that would imply a certain amount of sort of incremental business that you're capturing relative to sort of your core.

What does sustaining maybe a several year low double-digit growth rate on the business at this point?

We'll kick off with the weather questions.

我們將從天氣問題開始。因此，我們通常不希望天氣成為我們廣泛業務的原因。我們是一家全球性企業。我們在世界各地都有商店。在任何特定時間，我們的天氣都非常多樣化。

So we generally do not look to weather to being a reason for our business.

We are a global business.

We've got stores around the world.

We're very diversified weather at any given time.

The most important thing that I tell the team is to make sure that the assortments are balanced.

我告訴團隊的最重要的事情是確保品種平衡。平衡將繼續推動您的業務依賴我們無法控制的因素，例如天氣。

Balance will continue to drive your business dependent upon things that we can't control like weather.

Yeah.

是的。看看利潤率討論，是的，考慮到長期前景，我提到的有點早，但我們的品牌是健康的。我們的營運模式更加敏捷、靈活。

Looking at the margin discussion, yes, thinking about that long-term outlook, I mentioned that a little early, but our brands are healthy.

Our operating model is more agile and flexible.

You think about that store base that you mentioned.

你想想你提到的商店基地。早在2020年，我們就拿走了超過100萬平方英尺的業務，超過100萬平方英尺。我們一直待在那裡。幾年來，我們的店面面積一直在 500 萬平方英尺左右。我們已經能夠透過取消一些較大的商店、增加較小的商店來增加商店，因此我們在正確的地方、正確的購物中心擁有比我們長期以來更廣泛的商店基礎。所以我對此感到非常興奮。

Back in 2020, we took out over 1 million square feet in the business, over 1 million.

And we've stayed there.

We've been at around 5 million square feet across our store base for a few years now.

And we've been able to add stores by taking out some bigger ones, adding smaller ones so we have a much more broad store base in the right places, in the right malls than we've had in a long, long time.

So I'm really excited about that.

And the performance of these new stores is very strong.

而且這些新店的業績都非常強勁。我們繼續談論商店的快速回報、四壁營業利潤率或息稅前利潤率高於 20%。這些都是回頭客強勁的商店。因此，如果我們要開設商店，請相信我們，它們會增加總數。

We continue to talk about quick paybacks, four-wall operating margins, or EBIT margins for the stores above 20%.

These are strong returning stores.

So if we're opening stores, trust us that they are adding to the total.

And then you think about the rest of the global growth opportunity.

然後你會考慮其他的全球成長機會。我們有商店。我們在美國之外也有數位成長。你最近已經看到了。我們繼續在地化這些劇本，這讓我們感到興奮。

We have stores.

We have digital growth outside of the US.

You've seen that more recently.

We continue to localize those playbooks, so that gets us excited.

And behind that, we have a strong balance sheet.

在這背後，我們擁有強大的資產負債表。因此，我們可以繼續跨地區、跨渠道投資，推動未來的成長，這就是我們今天坐在這裡如此興奮的原因。

So we can continue to invest across regions, across channels that drive the growth into the future, and that's why we're so excited sitting here today.

Got it.

知道了。我想我可以問一個關稅問題嗎？我的意思是，你們在 2018 年、19 年做得非常好，將中國的生產比例降低到了 12%，然後近年來又提高了這一比例。您能否快速採取行動，並就關稅可能採取的計劃發表評論？

And can I just ask a tariff question, I guess.

I mean, you guys did a really good job in 2018, '19, taking that down to like 12% in China that is a production, then you ramped it up in recent years.

Can you kind of move pretty quickly still and sort of any comments as sort of what the plan might be should you see tariffs?

Yeah.

是的。很好的問題。是的，我們的中國，我們討論過將其減少到 12 個。所以我知道有一些報道稱它正在加速。它還沒有加速。

Great question.

And yes, our China, we talked about taking it down to 12.

We actually never ramped it back up.

So I know there were some reports out there that had it ramping.

It hasn't ramped.

So right now, today, into the US, we import about 5% to 6% of our receipts from China into the United States.

因此，現在，今天，我們將大約 5% 到 6% 的收入從中國進口到美國。所以這只是我們業務的一小部分。 12% 的一半（聽不清楚）

So a very small piece of our business.

Half of that 12% that you called out.

I know there were some discussions last night about tariffs also around Mexico and Canada.

我知道昨晚墨西哥和加拿大也有一些關於關稅的討論。就我們而言，我們沒有從加拿大進口任何東西。對我們進入美國的宏偉計劃來說，墨西哥並不重要。

Just for us, we don't have anything coming in from Canada.

And Mexico was immaterial in the grand scheme for us coming into the US.

So right now, we'll see what happens.

所以現在，我們將看看會發生什麼。我們和其他人一樣關注新聞。我們擁有一支優秀的採購團隊。我們在全球擁有優秀的合作夥伴。如果新關稅在未來某個時候發揮作用，我們將有一個劇本。

We're following the news, just like everybody else.

We have an awesome sourcing team.

We have great partners globally.

And we'll have a playbook if and when new tariffs come in play at some point in the future.

We source out of 17 countries, diversified, agile supply chain.

我們的採購遍及 17 個國家，多元化、敏捷的供應鏈。我們很高興能夠在未來繼續展示這股力量。

And we're excited to continue to flex that muscle in the future.

I'm showing no further questions at this time.

我目前沒有提出任何進一步的問題。現在我想請弗蘭·霍洛維茨（Fran Horowitz）發表閉幕詞。

I would now like to turn it back to Fran Horowitz for closing remarks.

Thank you, everyone, for joining the call today.

謝謝大家今天加入電話會議。我只想祝大家節日快樂。我們期待很快為大家提供更多更新。謝謝。

I just want to wish you all a happy holiday season.

And we look forward to providing more updates to all of you soon.

Thank you.

This concludes today's conference call.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。

Thank you for participating.

You may now disconnect.