BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc (BJ) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, all and thank you for joining us for the BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings conference call. My name is Carly and I'll be coordinating the call today. (Operator Instructions).

大家早安，謝謝大家參加 BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. 2024 財年第四季財報電話會議。我叫卡莉，今天我將負責協調這場電話會議。（操作員指令）。

I'd like to hand over to your host, Cathy Park, VP of Investor Relations. The floor is yours.

我想把麥克風交給主持人、投資人關係副總裁 Cathy Park。現在輪到你了。

Good morning, and welcome to BJ's fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings call. With me today are Bob Eddy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Laura Felice, Chief Financial Officer; and Bill Werner, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Development.

早安，歡迎參加 BJ 2024 財年第四季財報電話會議。今天與我在一起的是董事長兼執行長 Bob Eddy； Laura Felice，財務長；以及策略與發展執行副總裁比爾沃納 (Bill Werner)。

Please remember that we may make forward-looking statements on this call that are based on our current expectations. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we say on this call. Please see the risk factors sections of our most recent SEC filings for a description of these risks and uncertainties. Please also refer to today's press release and investor presentation posted on our Investor Relations website for our cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements and non-GAAP reconciliations.

請記住，我們可能會根據目前的預期在本次電話會議上做出前瞻性的陳述。前瞻性陳述受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們在本次電話會議上所說的有重大差異。請參閱我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中的風險因素部分，以了解這些風險和不確定性的描述。另請參閱我們投資者關係網站上發布的今天的新聞稿和投資者介紹，以了解我們關於前瞻性陳述和非公認會計準則對帳的警示聲明。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Bob.

說完這些，我會把電話轉給鮑伯。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. This morning, we are proud to report terrific results with fourth-quarter comps and profits that were higher than anticipated. Fiscal 2024 was another milestone year for us marked by record net sales, membership and adjusted earnings per share.

大家早安，感謝大家的收看。今天上午，我們很自豪地報告第四季度的出色業績，同店銷售額和利潤均高於預期。2024 財年對我們來說是另一個里程碑，其特點是淨銷售額、會員數和調整後每股盈餘均創下新高。

We consistently drove robust traffic and market share gains both in our clubs and at our gas pumps. These results are a testament to our team's dedication to delivering exceptional value to our members as well as outstanding execution of our strategic priorities.

我們持續推動俱樂部和加油站的客流量和市場份額的強勁成長。這些結果證明了我們的團隊致力於為我們的會員提供卓越的價值以及出色地執行我們的策略重點。

Membership is at an all-time high, above 7.5 million members, with another impressive renewal rate performance of 90%. Our merchandising initiatives and digital conveniences are driving greater member engagement. And our new club performance is proof of the power of our accelerating expansion strategy. Our investments in the business are bearing fruit, and we are confident in our ability to grow long term.

會員人數達到歷史最高水平，超過 750 萬，續訂率再次達到令人印象深刻的 90%。我們的行銷計劃和數位便利正在推動更多會員參與。而我們在新俱樂部的表現也證明了我們加速擴張策略的威力。我們對該業務的投資正在取得成果，我們對長期發展的能力充滿信心。

In the fourth quarter, our comparable club sales, excluding gas sales, grew by 4.6%. We are pleased with the continued strength in traffic, which contributed over 3 percentage points to our comp in the quarter. This was our 12th consecutive quarter of traffic growth. Growth in units also drove increased basket size. Our Perishables Grocery and Sundries division delivered over 4% comp growth in the fourth quarter with perishables leading the way.

第四季度，我們的可比俱樂部銷售額（不包括汽油銷售額）成長了 4.6%。我們對客流量持續強勁感到高興，這為我們本季的業績貢獻了超過 3 個百分點。這是我們連續第 12 個季度實現流量成長。單位數量的成長也推動了購物籃規模的擴大。我們的易腐食品雜貨和雜貨部門在第四季度實現了超過 4% 的同比增長，其中易腐食品的增幅最大。

Our strength in perishables has been a recurring theme all year as more members make us their weekly destination for quality essentials, such as produce, dairy, and meat.

我們在易腐爛商品方面的優勢一直是全年反覆出現的主題，因為越來越多的會員每週都選擇我們作為他們購買農產品、乳製品和肉類等優質必需品的目的地。

Our General Merchandise and Services division comps grew by more than 5% in the fourth quarter, outpacing our consumables business for the first time since the pandemic. Our refined and expanded assortment in our gifting categories built on last year's success. This approach amplified our broader GM offering and drove strong member engagement, especially during the holiday season.

我們的日用百貨和服務部門的銷售額在第四季度增長了 5% 以上，自疫情爆發以來首次超過了我們的消耗品業務。我們在去年成功的基礎上，進一步完善並擴大了禮品類別的種類。這種方法擴大了我們更廣泛的 GM 產品範圍，並推動了會員的積極參與，尤其是在假日期間。

Notably, consumer electronics produced high-single-digit comps in the quarter, led by video games, tablets, and audio. We're proud of this performance in light of the industry's soft performance. Toys led our seasonal sales with low-double-digit comp growth in the quarter. As you know, we significantly improved our toy assortment last year, offering top brands at great value, and we further leaned into that strategy this year.

值得注意的是，本季消費性電子產品的銷售額年增了高個位數，其中以電玩遊戲、平板電腦和音訊產品為主導。鑑於業界疲軟的表現，我們對這一表現感到自豪。本季度，玩具銷售額以低兩位數的年增幅領先我們的季節性銷售額。如您所知，我們去年大幅改善了玩具品種，以超值的價格提供頂級品牌，今年我們進一步傾向於這項策略。

In apparel, our fantastic children's assortment drove the growth, supported by the cold winter weather. We know there's still more to do in general merchandise, but I'm proud of the team's continued progress in differentiating ourselves and growing this important part of our business.

在服裝方面，由於寒冷的冬季天氣，我們出色的兒童系列產品推動了成長。我們知道在日用百貨方面還有很多工作要做，但我對團隊在脫穎而出和發展這一重要業務部分方面取得的持續進步感到自豪。

Our four strategic priorities are critical to our long-term growth. As a reminder, these priorities are improving member loyalty, giving our members an unbeatable shopping experience, delivering value conveniently and growing our footprint. Let me touch on our progress in each.

我們的四大戰略重點對於我們的長期發展至關重要。提醒一下，這些優先事項是提高會員忠誠度，為我們的會員提供無與倫比的購物體驗，方便地提供價值並擴大我們的影響力。讓我談談我們在每個方面取得的進展。

Membership is the cornerstone of our business. We reported another record membership year with full year membership fee income increasing by 8.5% and our renewal rate remaining strong at 90%. Over the past couple of years, we enhanced our credit card program, invested in a gas discount for our Club Plus members and most recently added benefits for Plus members by giving them two free same-day deliveries every year.

會員資格是我們業務的基石。我們報告了另一個創紀錄的會員年，全年會員費收入增長了 8.5%，續訂率仍然保持在 90% 的強勁水平。在過去的幾年裡，我們改進了信用卡計劃，為 Club Plus 會員投資了汽油折扣，最近又為 Plus 會員增加了福利，每年為他們提供兩次免費的當日送達服務。

As a result, we are growing overall member counts and upgrading more members into our higher tiers. Higher tier membership penetration is now nearly 40%.

因此，我們的會員總數不斷增加，並且更多的會員升級到更高的等級。目前高等級會員滲透率已接近 40%。

We have much to be excited about in membership, but perhaps our greatest achievement in recent memory is the ability to consistently grow members in comp clubs. This has been years in the making. We enhanced our tools and strategies around member acquisition to open new avenues for growth. Our focus on post-acquisition engagement and member retention has been critical for maximizing lifetime value. alleviating the pressure of replenishing churn.

我們對會員數量感到非常興奮，但也許我們近期最大的成就是能夠持續增加俱樂部的會員數量。這項工作已經籌備多年了。我們增強了圍繞會員獲取的工具和策略，以開闢新的成長途徑。我們專注於收購後的參與度和會員保留率，這對於最大化終身價值至關重要。減輕補充流失的壓力。

Our strength in membership is what gives us confidence in our ability to sustainably grow the business long term. We're focused on maintaining the strength in the future.

我們的會員實力使我們對長期可持續發展業務的能力充滿信心。我們專注於保持未來的實力。

Our thriving membership is also a direct reflection of the unbeatable shopping experience we aim to deliver at BJ's. Simply put, satisfied members are more likely to renew. That's why our merchandising strategy is deeply rooted in providing the best value for our members.

我們不斷增長的會員數量也直接反映了我們致力於在 BJ's 提供無與倫比的購物體驗。簡而言之，滿意的會員更有可能續約。這就是為什麼我們的行銷策略深深植根於為我們的會員提供最佳價值。

A strong pricing position is fundamental to our value-driven model. Our advantaged structure allows us to consistently offer up to 25% better pricing than our grocery competitors, and we are relentless in maintaining this edge.

強大的定價地位是我們價值驅動模式的基礎。我們的優勢結構使我們能夠始終提供比雜貨競爭對手高出 25% 的價格，並且我們將堅持不懈地保持這一優勢。

While pricing is crucial to delivering great member experiences, the value we provide extends beyond costs, encompassing a highly curated assortment and digital convenience. We're enhancing our assortment across the entire box. As I mentioned earlier, we're making significant strides in improving our General Merchandise business and strengthening the treasure hunt at BJ's.

雖然定價對於提供出色的會員體驗至關重要，但我們提供的價值不僅限於成本，還包括精心挑選的商品和數位便利。我們正在增強整個盒子的分類。正如我之前提到的，我們在改善日用百貨業務和加強 BJ 的尋寶活動方面取得了重大進展。

Our category management process introduced a more rigorous member-centric mindset to our assortment planning strategy. We also continue to innovate our own brands, offering high-quality products at significant savings to help members stretch their budgets. Our own brands comprise 26% of our merchandise sales in fiscal 2024, and we remain on track to ultimately reach our goal of 30%.

我們的品類管理流程為我們的品類規劃策略引入了更嚴格的以會員為中心的思維模式。我們也不斷創新自己的品牌，以大幅節省的價格提供高品質的產品，幫助會員節省預算。到 2024 財年，我們的自有品牌銷售額占我們商品銷售額的 26%，我們仍有望最終實現 30% 的目標。

Finally, our fresh initiatives have sparked meaningful produce demand since the full rollout in the second quarter. We launched Fresh 2.0 based on a simple yet powerful observation. Members who rely on BJ's as their primary fresh destination are among our most loyal members. As a result, we believe that winning more members' Fresh produce shop would lead to greater trip frequency and larger overall baskets.

最後，自第二季全面推出以來，我們的新措施引發了有意義的農產品需求。我們基於一個簡單而有力的觀察推出了 Fresh 2.0。那些將 BJ's 作為主要新鮮食品目的地的會員是我們最忠實的會員。因此，我們相信贏得更多會員的新鮮農產品商店將帶來更高的出行頻率和更大的整體購物籃。

Our Fresh 2.0 journey started with gaining full control of our perishable supply chain several years ago. From there, we enhance every aspect of our produce business from logistics and team member training to in-club presentation and marketing. Our efforts have boosted our credibility in fresh, exhibited by our double-digit produce comps in each of the past three quarters.

我們的 Fresh 2.0 之旅始於幾年前對易腐爛食品供應鏈的全面控制。從那時起，我們加強了生產業務的各個方面，從物流和團隊成員培訓到俱樂部內部展示和行銷。我們的努力提高了我們在生鮮市場的信譽，過去三個季度我們的農產品銷售額均實現了兩位數的成長，就證明了這一點。

In fiscal 2024, our Fresh business grew at a rate that was 10 percentage points greater than the rest of the market. While our performance in produce alone validates our work, we are especially encouraged by the positive ripple effects on overall member behavior.

在 2024 財年，我們的生鮮業務成長率比市場其他部分高出 10 個百分點。雖然我們在生產方面的表現本身就證明了我們的工作，但我們尤其對其對整體成員行為產生的積極連鎖反應感到鼓舞。

Early indications since launching Fresh 2.0 show that tenured members who are completely new to buying fresh produce at BJ's are making more trips and on average, shopping across four more categories than they have in the past.

自從推出 Fresh 2.0 以來的早期跡象表明，那些從未在​​ BJ's 購買過新鮮農產品的資深會員比過去購物次數更多，平均購買的商品種類也比過去多了四個。

Said differently, our members who are new to fresh produce are beginning to trend toward the same strong behaviors as our most loyal members. It's still early but we're pleased with the initial results and inspired to broaden our efforts beyond produce to bring even greater value to our members.

換句話說，我們那些剛接觸新鮮農產品的會員開始傾向於與我們最忠實的會員同樣強烈的行為。雖然現在還為時過早，但我們對初步成果感到滿意，並受到啟發，將我們的努力範圍擴大到農產品之外，為我們的會員帶來更大的價值。

We are also winning in digital conveniences. These have fueled double digitally enabled comp sales growth each year for the past four years. In the fourth quarter, digitally enabled comp sales grew by 26% year over year and 53% on a two-year stack.

我們在數位便利領域也取得了勝利。過去四年來，這些因素推動了數位化銷售額每年翻倍的成長。第四季度，數位化銷售額年增 26%，兩年累計成長 53%。

Today, our members have multiple ways to save time in addition to money with BJ's, such as BOPIC, Curbside Pickup, and Same-Day Delivery. Our mobile app supplements the shopping experience when members are in our clubs, allowing them to clip and use coupons digitally, identify the location of products they need, and skip the lines with Express Pay checkout.

如今，我們的會員可以透過 BJ's 的多種方式節省時間和金錢，例如 BOPIC、路邊取貨和當日送達。我們的行動應用程式補充了會員在我們俱樂部購物時的購物體驗，使他們能夠以數位方式剪下和使用優惠券，確定所需產品的位置，並透過快速支付結帳免去排隊的麻煩。

We enhanced the app experience to foster member engagement in between trips as well, incorporating personalized messaging, product returns functionality, an AI-powered search engine to facilitate shopping list creation, and other touch points to prompt the next BJ's visit.

我們增強了應用程式體驗，以促進會員在行程之間的參與度，包括個人化訊息、產品退貨功能、人工智慧搜尋引擎以方便建立購物清單，以及其他接觸點以促使會員下次造訪 BJ。

Today, about 60% of members engage with us digitally in some shape or form. And while BOPIC has historically been the largest contributor of our digital growth, member adoption rates for Express Pay and same-day delivery have also been growing nicely to add more profitable growth to the business. As members increasingly embrace our digital conveniences and reward us with their spending and loyalty, we will continue investing to drive lifetime value.

如今，約有 60% 的會員以某種形式與我們進行數位互動。雖然 BOPIC 一直是我們數位成長的最大貢獻者，但 Express Pay 和當日送達的會員採用率也在穩步增長，為業務帶來了更多盈利增長。隨著會員越來越接受我們的數位便利並透過消費和忠誠度回報我們，我們將繼續投資以推動終身價值。

Finally, we are making meaningful progress on our real estate strategy, having opened seven new clubs and 12 gas stations in fiscal 2024. We opened our 250th club in Louisville, Kentucky, at the end of the fourth quarter, marking entry into our 21st state. Since the end of our fiscal year, we have opened two additional clubs in Brooksville, Florida, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

最後，我們的房地產策略取得了有意義的進展，在 2024 財年開設了 7 家新俱樂部和 12 家加油站。我們在第四季末在肯塔基州路易斯維爾開設了第 250 傢俱樂部，標誌著我們進入了第 21 個州。自本財政年度結束以來，我們已在佛羅裡達州布魯克斯維爾和南卡羅來納州默特爾比奇開設了另外兩傢俱樂部。

We expect to open our new club in Southern Pines, North Carolina, this Friday, and clubs in Whippany, New Jersey, and Staten Island, New York will follow in the coming weeks. While some of our planned 2024 openings slipped into the early days of fiscal 2025, our growth agenda remains robust, and we ended the year with the largest pipeline of approved new clubs in the company's history.

我們預計本週五在北卡羅來納州南松市開設新俱樂部，新澤西州惠帕尼和紐約州斯塔頓島的俱樂部也將在未來幾週內開幕。雖然我們計劃在 2024 年開業的一些俱樂部推遲到了 2025 財年初期，但我們的成長計劃依然強勁，並且我們在年底獲得了公司歷史上最大的新俱樂部批准數量。

Inclusive of our five new units in the first quarter, we expect to open 25 to 30 clubs across the next two fiscal years. The performance of our new clubs continues to be strong, with clubs opened since 2020 contributing to comp sales at a rate of over 2 times the chain. This performance continues to give us confidence in our growth plans and our strategy of bringing the value of a BJ's Wholesale Club to communities in our existing and adjacent geographies in order to serve new members who are tired of paying high grocery store prices.

包括第一季開設的 5 家新俱樂部在內，我們預計在未來兩個財年內將開設 25 至 30 傢俱樂部。我們新俱樂部的表現持續強勁，自 2020 年開業以來，俱樂部對同店銷售額的貢獻率是連鎖店的 2 倍以上。這一業績繼續讓我們對我們的成長計劃和策略充滿信心，即將 BJ 批發俱樂部的價值帶給我們現有和鄰近地區的社區，以便為那些厭倦了支付高昂雜貨店價格的新會員提供服務。

We recently announced our plans to build a fourth ambient distribution center. We've grown meaningfully over the years, both organically and with new club openings. Our new DC is strategically placed to drive efficiencies in our current footprint while supporting our continued expansion. Over the past two years, we've expanded into Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky.

我們最近宣布了建造第四個環境配送中心的計畫。多年來，我們透過內部發展和新俱樂部的開設實現了顯著增長。我們的新 DC 具有策略性位置，可提高我們目前業務範圍內的效率，同時支援我們持續擴張。在過去的兩年裡，我們已經擴展到田納西州、阿拉巴馬州和肯塔基州。

In 2026, we have plans to enter Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. DFW is a high-growth market with favorable demographics. There's intense competition as well, but we're confident that our strong offering and value focus will resonate with the broader community. We are eager to serve the families in this exciting market soon.

2026 年，我們計劃進入德克薩斯州達拉斯-沃斯堡地區。DFW 是一個高成長市場，擁有良好的人口結構。競爭也很激烈，但我們相信，我們強大的產品和價值重點會引起更廣泛社群的共鳴。我們渴望很快為這個令人興奮的市場中的家庭提供服務。

As we assess the health of the consumer today, members remain highly value conscious and especially discerning in any discretionary purchases as we've seen all year. In these times, members are relying on BJ's as their one-stop shopping destination as exhibited by the growth in spend and trips across all income levels in the fourth quarter.

當我們評估當今消費者的健康狀況時，我們發現，正如我們全年所看到的那樣，會員仍然高度注重價值，並且在任何可自由支配的購買中都特別有辨別力。目前，會員們都依賴 BJ's 作為他們的一站式購物目的地，第四季度各個收入水平的消費和旅行次數的增長就證明了這一點。

We expect these dynamics to continue into fiscal 2025, and our teams remain vigilant and ready to navigate the uncertainties that the year will certainly bring. We have an enduring business model that wins in both good times and in times of uncertainty. I'm confident that the advantages inherent in our business, combined with our focus on our long-term priorities continue to position us well for the future.

我們預計這些動態將持續到 2025 財年，我們的團隊將保持警惕，準備應對這一年必然帶來的不確定性。我們擁有持久的商業模式，無論在順境或逆境都能取得成功。我相信，我們業務固有的優勢，加上我們對長期優先事項的關注，將繼續為我們的未來奠定良好的基礎。

Above all, I'm grateful for our team members who bring our purpose to life every day, taking care of the families who depend on us. I look forward to continuing this journey with you as we grow the company together.

最重要的是，我感謝我們的團隊成員，他們每天都在實現我們的目標，照顧依賴我們的家庭。我期待與您繼續這段旅程，共同發展公司。

I'll now turn it over to Laura to provide more details on our results and outlook for fiscal year 2025.

現在我將把時間交給勞拉，讓她提供有關我們的 2025 財年業績和展望的更多詳細資訊。

Thanks, Bob. Net sales in the quarter were $5.1 billion, increasing 5.4% year over year on a comparable 13-week basis. Merchandise comp sales, which exclude gas sales, increased by 4.6% year over year, led by traffic. We delivered strong traffic and comp unit growth all year, which we believe serve as a testament to members finding significant value in their BJ's membership. Total comparable club sales for the fourth quarter, including gas sales, grew 4% year over year.

謝謝，鮑伯。本季淨銷售額為 51 億美元，以可比 13 週計算，年增 5.4%。商品銷售額（不包括汽油銷售額）年增 4.6%，主要得益於客流量的成長。我們全年都實現了強勁的流量和可比單位成長，我們相信這證明了會員認為 BJ 會員資格具有巨大的價值。第四季包括汽油銷售在內的可比俱樂部總銷售額年增 4%。

Lower retail gas price per gallon was partially offset by our market share gains, with our comp gallons growing 3% year over year in the quarter. This compares to continued year-over-year volume declines across the broader industry in the US.

我們的市佔率成長部分抵銷了每加侖零售汽油價格的下降，本季我們的加侖數年增了 3%。相比之下，美國整個產業的銷量較去年同期持續下降。

Digitally enabled comp sales for the fourth quarter grew 26% year over year, contributing significantly to our overall growth. Over 90% of our digital sales are fulfilled by our clubs with services like BOPIC, Express Pay, and same-day delivery, which remain meaningful drivers of our digital growth.

第四季數位化銷售額年增 26%，為我們的整體成長做出了重大貢獻。我們 90% 以上的數位銷售都是由我們的俱樂部透過 BOPIC、Express Pay 和當日送達等服務完成的，這些服務仍然是我們數位成長的重要驅動力。

Over 60% of our members are now engaging with us through our app today, which we have grown steadily over the past several years. We will continue to leverage our digital conveniences to drive member loyalty in the future.

目前，超過 60% 的會員透過我們的應用程式與我們互動，過去幾年來，我們的應用程式數量穩步增長。未來，我們將繼續利用數位便利性來提高會員忠誠度。

Membership fee income, or MFI, grew 7.9% to approximately $117 million in the fourth quarter led by strong membership acquisition and retention across the team. Our MFI in the quarter included minimal impact from our fee increase that went into effect January 1, 2025.

會員費收入（MFI）在第四季度增長了 7.9%，達到約 1.17 億美元，這得益於整個團隊強勁的會員獲取和保留。本季我們的 MFI 受到 2025 年 1 月 1 日生效的費用上調的影響微乎其微。

Fourth-quarter merchandise gross margins decreased by approximately 10 basis points year over year. Our members trust us to deliver outstanding value and we continue to manage our margins prudently to maintain that trust in a dynamic cost environment. While our category management process is yielding profitable growth across broader assortment, our continued strong, fresh produce performance and rising costs in products with outsized impacts to our members like eggs, contributed to our margin rate for the quarter.

第四季商品毛利率年減約10個基點。我們的會員相信我們能夠提供卓越的價值，我們將繼續審慎地管理我們的利潤，以在動態的成本環境中保持這種信任。雖然我們的品類管理流程在更廣泛的產品種類中實現了盈利增長，但我們持續強勁的新鮮農產品表現以及對會員影響巨大的產品（如雞蛋）成本的上漲，導致了本季度利潤率的下降。

Our top-line growth affords us the flexibility to invest in our position of strength, and we will continue to manage the business for the long-term success.

我們的營收成長使我們能夠靈活地投資於我們的優勢地位，並且我們將繼續管理業務以實現長期成功。

SG&A expenses for the fourth quarter were approximately $758.2 million. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to our new unit growth and other investments to drive our strategic priorities. As a result of the company's performance this year, incentive compensation was also higher on a year-over-year basis.

第四季銷售、一般及行政費用約為 7.582 億美元。同比成長主要歸功於我們的新單位成長和推動我們策略重點的其他投資。由於公司今年的業績表現，激勵薪酬也比去年同期增加。

In our fuel business, fourth-quarter profit per gallon normalized from last year's higher levels. This resulted in lower year-over-year gas profits as expected, partially mitigated by strong gallon growth in the quarter. All in, we reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.92. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter was $0.93, including an effective tax rate of 26.3%, driven by unplanned tax windfall.

在我們的燃料業務中，第四季每加侖利潤與去年同期的較高水準相比恢復正常。正如預期的那樣，這導致汽油利潤同比下降，但本季加侖數的強勁增長在一定程度上緩解了這一影響。總體而言，我們報告第四季度每股收益為 0.92 美元。本季調整後每股收益為 0.93 美元，其中有效稅率為 26.3%，受意外稅收收益的影響。

Our fourth-quarter performance reflects our strong membership and traffic, merchandising improvements, and digital conveniences, all reinforced by our investments in the business to drive long-term growth. I'd like to remind you that last fiscal year's results included an extra week, which contributed approximately $350 million of net sales and approximately $0.10 of earnings per share.

我們第四季度的業績反映了我們強大的會員數量和客流量、商品銷售的改善以及數位便利，所有這些都得益於我們為推動長期成長而進行的業務投資。我想提醒您，上一財年的業績包括一個額外的一周，貢獻了約 3.5 億美元的淨銷售額和約 0.10 美元的每股盈餘。

Let's move on to our balance sheet. We ended the fourth quarter with absolute inventory levels, up 4% year over year and approximately flat on a per club basis. In-stocks also improved year over year, thanks to our team's great work in allocating the right amount of product to the right clubs at the right time.

讓我們繼續討論資產負債表。在第四季結束時，我們的絕對庫存水準年增 4%，且按俱樂部計算基本持平。由於我們的團隊在正確的時間將正確數量的產品分配給正確的俱樂部，庫存量也逐年增加。

Our capital allocation strategy is consistent with our historical framework as we continue to take a disciplined approach to maximizing shareholder value. We believe the best use of cash is applying it towards profitably growing the business. As such, investments to support membership, merchandising, digital, and real estate initiatives continue to be funded by our cash flows and enabled by our strong balance sheet.

我們的資本配置策略與我們的歷史框架一致，我們將繼續採取嚴謹的方法來最大化股東價值。我們相信，現金的最佳用途是將其用於實現業務的獲利成長。因此，支持會員、商品銷售、數位和房地產計劃的投資繼續由我們的現金流資助，並由我們強勁的資產負債表提供支持。

We ended the fourth quarter with the lowest level of debt since our IPO, no near-term maturities and half a turn of net leverage. We also continued to return excess cash to shareholders. In the fourth quarter, we repurchased 645,000 shares for approximately $62 million.

在第四季結束時，我們的債務水平處於首次公開募股以來的最低水平，沒有短期到期債務，淨槓桿率僅為原來的一半。我們也繼續向股東返還多餘的現金。第四季度，我們回購了 645,000 股，價值約 6,200 萬美元。

Capital expenditures were approximately $588 million in fiscal 2024, supporting our growing real estate pipeline. Approximately $16 million was related to our new highly automated ambient DC that will aid our footprint expansion strategy and drive efficiencies in our broader supply chain. We expect our new DC to cost approximately $200 million in aggregate over the next two years.

2024 財年的資本支出約為 5.88 億美元，支持我們不斷成長的房地產管道。約 1600 萬美元與我們新的高度自動化環境配送中心有關，這將有助於我們的足跡擴張策略並提高我們更廣泛的供應鏈的效率。我們預計未來兩年內新 DC 的總成本約為 2 億美元。

Turning to our outlook for fiscal year 2025. Our business, like the broader industry continues to face economic and geopolitical uncertainty and unpredictability and conditions that influence costs. Despite the pressure on consumers and operators alike, we remain confident in our drivers of growth that are within our control, keeping us cautiously optimistic about the year. We will leverage our model and remain focused on our long-term priorities and deliver great value to our members and drive continued traffic and market share gains.

展望 2025 財年。我們的業務與整個產業一樣，繼續面臨經濟和地緣政治的不確定性、不可預測性和影響成本的條件。儘管消費者和營運商都面臨壓力，但我們仍然對我們能夠掌控的成長動力充滿信心，並對今年保持謹慎樂觀的態度。我們將利用我們的模式，繼續專注於我們的長期優先事項，為我們的會員提供巨大的價值，並推動流量和市場份額的持續成長。

Starting at the top of our P&L, we expect to grow our fiscal 2025 comp sales, excluding gas, by 2% to 3.5%. Our guidance aligns with the long-term algo of our low- to mid-single-digit growth, while acknowledging the macro uncertainties impacting consumer behavior. We are proud of our achievements in membership, which has performed better than algo last year.

從我們的損益表頂部開始，我們預計 2025 財年的銷售額（不包括天然氣）將成長 2% 至 3.5%。我們的指導與我們低至中等個位數成長的長期演算法一致，同時也承認影響消費者行為的宏觀不確定性。我們為會員方面所取得的成就感到自豪，去年我們的會員表現比 Algo 更好。

Our long-term framework for MFI has not changed at mid-single-digit growth but we do anticipate MFI to outpace that goal in fiscal 2025 due to the fee increase. Please also remember the accounting considerations as the roughly $20 million of fee increase impact will build through the fiscal 2025, benefiting Q1 the least and Q4, the most.

我們對 MFI 的長期框架沒有改變，仍保持中等個位數成長，但由於費用增加，我們預計 MFI 將在 2025 財年超過這一目標。也請記住會計考慮因素，因為大約 2000 萬美元的費用增加影響將持續到 2025 財年，對第一季的受益最少，對第四季度的受益最多。

From a margin perspective, we continue to exercise strong cost discipline and leverage merchandising strategies, such as our own brands to drive improvement in our gross margin profile as we deliver exceptional value to our members.

從利潤率的角度來看，我們繼續實施嚴格的成本控制，並利用行銷策略（例如我們自己的品牌）來推動毛利率狀況的改善，同時為我們的會員提供卓越的價值。

Moving on to SG&A, a few reminders. First, we expect to reinvest the fee increase related MFI into our value problem. Much of this will be in the form of team member wages and our new plus tier benefit of free same-day deliveries, both of which will impact our SG&A line this year. Please also remember, we are lapping the approximately $20 million benefit from the net impact of legal settlements in the third quarter of last year.

繼續討論銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A)，有幾點提醒。首先，我們預期將與費用增加相關的 MFI 重新投資到我們的價值問題中。其中大部分將以團隊成員薪資和我們新的免費當日送達的附加福利的形式發放，這兩項福利都將影響我們今年的銷售、一般和行政費用。還要記住，我們正在從去年第三季的法律和解淨影響中獲取約 2000 萬美元的收益。

Finally, we continue to expect slight deleverage in our SG&A driven by our accelerated new club openings, particularly with continued outsized growth in depreciation and as we opt to own more of our clubs that we open. We are planning for an effective tax rate of approximately 27% for the year with the lowest rate in the first quarter, which we typically see stock compensation-related windfall.

最後，我們繼續預計，受新俱樂部開業加速的推動，我們的銷售、一般及行政費用將略有去槓桿化，特別是隨著折舊持續大幅增長，以及我們選擇擁有更多我們開設的俱樂部。我們計劃全年有效稅率約為 27%，其中第一季稅率最低，我們通常會在第一季看到與股票薪酬相關的意外之財。

Putting all of this together, we expect to deliver adjusted EPS in the $4.10 to $4.30 range, rebasing last year's SG&A to exclude the net legal settlements impact would imply us making considerable progress in getting closer to our long-term EPS algo this year.

綜合所有這些因素，我們預計調整後的每股收益將在 4.10 美元至 4.30 美元之間，重新調整去年的銷售、一般和行政費用以排除淨法律和解的影響意味著我們在今年在接近長期每股收益演算法方面取得了相當大的進展。

Given the evolving landscape, we are not contemplating the impact of tariffs on our current assumptions. Tariffs could shape the trajectory of inflation and broader consumer demand and ultimately influence our results for the year.

鑑於情勢的變化，我們不會考慮關稅對我們目前假設的影響。關稅可能會影響通膨軌跡和更廣泛的消費者需求，並最終影響我們今年的業績。

As Bob mentioned earlier, we believe BJ's is better positioned than most retailers to weather times of uncertainty. This is due to our strong focus on delivering value to our members.

正如鮑伯之前提到的，我們相信 BJ 比大多數零售商更有能力度過不確定的時期。這是因為我們非常注重為會員提供價值。

In fiscal 2025, we expect capital expenditures of approximately $800 million, the majority of which will deploy towards this year's new club and gas stations. This also includes investments in our pipeline for future years, including Texas and our new DC that we've mentioned earlier.

在 2025 財年，我們預計資本支出約為 8 億美元，其中大部分將用於今年的新俱樂部和加油站。這也包括對我們未來幾年的管道投資，包括我們之前提到的德克薩斯州和新的 DC。

Longer term, we remain confident in the underlying strength of the company as we believe we're well positioned to deliver sustainable growth to maximize shareholder value. Before I hand it back to Bob, I'd like to thank our team members for their continued dedication to our company purpose and communities and their contributions to another great year.

從長遠來看，我們仍然對公司的潛在實力充滿信心，因為我們相信我們有能力實現永續成長，從而實現股東價值最大化。在將權力交還給鮑勃之前，我想感謝我們的團隊成員對公司目標和社區的持續奉獻以及對另一個偉大年份的貢獻。

Bob, back over to you.

鮑勃，回到你這裡。

Thanks, Laura. We've transformed our business over the years, investing in the best talent to execute our strategic priorities and deliver increasing value and convenience to our members. Our membership is reaching new heights. We have a lot of exciting merchandising initiatives in motion to take our performance to the next level. Our digital business is contributing profoundly to our growth as we help members maximize both cost and time savings.

謝謝，勞拉。多年來，我們不斷轉變業務，投資最優秀的人才來執行我們的策略重點，並為我們的會員提供越來越多的價值和便利。我們的會員數量正在達到新的高度。我們正在進行許多令人興奮的行銷計劃，以將我們的業績提升到新的水平。我們的數位業務正在為我們的成長做出巨大貢獻，因為我們幫助會員最大限度地節省成本和時間。

We're applying our new playbook to successfully open new clubs and profitably grow our footprint. We are at a pivotal point where our efforts across each priority are coming together to deliver tangible results, and we're excited. Our phenomenal progress validates our ongoing investments in the business. We know we're on the right path for the future, and we're focused on keeping the momentum going. Thanks again for joining us today and for your support of BJ's Wholesale Club.

我們正在運用新的策略來成功開設新俱樂部並擴大我們的業務範圍。我們正處於一個關鍵時刻，我們在各個優先事項上的努力正在匯聚在一起，以取得切實的成果，我們感到非常興奮。我們取得的驚人進步證明了我們對業務的持續投資是值得的。我們知道我們正走在未來的正確道路上，並且我們致力於保持這一勢頭。再次感謝您今天的加入我們以及對 BJ 批發俱樂部的支持。

We will now take your questions.

我們現在將回答大家的提問。

(Operator Instructions) Edward Kelly, Wells Fargo.

（操作員指示）愛德華·凱利，富國銀行。

Nice quarter. I wanted to start on the comp and the outlook. I guess, first, maybe could you provide a little bit more color around the cadence of the comp throughout the fourth quarter? And then I think more importantly, how you're looking at 2025, given the implied slowdown? I'm curious around what you're seeing so far in Q1, how you're thinking about the cadence of the year and then how you factored in some of the variables that are out there that are obviously uncertain.

不錯的季度。我想從公司和前景開始。我想，首先，您能否提供更多關於第四季度比賽節奏的詳細資訊？然後我認為更重要的是，考慮到隱含的經濟放緩，您如何看待 2025 年？我很好奇您對第一季目前的情況有何看法，您如何看待今年的節奏，以及您如何考慮一些顯然不確定的變數。

Hi, Ed, thanks for your question. If you look -- before I get going, thanks for everybody's attention and for your support of our company. We had a great fourth quarter, as you see in the results. and I couldn't be more proud of the team for pulling together and putting those results out there for our members, most particularly the comp cadence through the quarter was strong throughout November, December were very good months for us, and January was our strongest month.

你好，Ed，謝謝你的提問。如果你看——在我開始之前，感謝大家的關注和對我們公司的支持。正如您所看到的，我們的第四季表現非常出色。我為團隊齊心協力為我們的成員取得這些成果感到無比自豪，尤其是整個 11 月的季度業績表現強勁，12 月對我們來說是非常好的日子，而 1 月是我們業績最強勁的月份。

So really no concerning trends in the quarter and very, very strong traffic, as we noted in the release and in our prepared remarks, finishing out our 12th consecutive quarter of traffic growth.

因此，本季確實沒有什麼令人擔憂的趨勢，而且流量非常非常強勁，正如我們在發布會和準備好的發言中指出的那樣，我們連續第 12 個季度實現了流量增長。

I'll let Laura talk a little bit about any context she wants to give on 2025 quarters. But I guess what I would say about the performance thus far in Q1 is we've seen that traffic momentum continue in our business so far. It's obviously early. And we've seen a little bit of more sensitivity to discretionary purchasing. And I think that just oppose to the uncertainty out there that's coming from the news headlines.

我會讓勞拉稍微談談她想提供的有關 2025 年季度的任何背景資訊。但我想說的是，關於第一季迄今的表現，我們已經看到我們的業務流量動能持續保持。顯然還早。我們發現人們對可自由支配購買的敏感度有所提高。我認為這正好與新聞頭條中報導的不確定性相反。

But we're very, very pleased with our membership trends, with the traffic coming out of that. And with the greater assortments being put on the shelves by our merchants and I'm sure at some point in the call here, we'll talk about our digital business, but that was screaming hot in Q4 as well. So we're very pleased overall.

但我們對會員趨勢以及由此產生的流量感到非常非常滿意。隨著我們的商家將更多的商品擺上貨架，我相信在電話會議的某個時候，我們會談論我們的數位業務，但這在第四季度也非常火爆。所以我們總體上非常滿意。

Yeah, hey Ed, maybe I'll color -- give you a little bit of color on the cadence and how we're thinking about the year. So I think the first half will be a little bit stronger than the second half, how we're looking at it right now. Like Bob said, and we said in the prepared remarks, there's a bunch of variables out there. But the business right now is trending quite well from a traffic perspective. And so that's kind of how we're looking at it.

是的，嘿，艾德，也許我會給你講講節奏以及我們對這一年的看法。所以我認為，就我們現在來看，上半年的表現會比下半年稍微強一點。正如鮑伯所說，我們在準備好的發言中也說過，那裡有很多變數。但從流量角度來看，目前的業務趨勢相當良好。這就是我們看待這個問題的方式。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Robby Ohmes, Bank of America.

羅比·歐姆斯（Robby Ohmes），美國銀行。

Bob, my first question, I know you -- there's not a lot you're going to say about tariffs, but can you just sort of remind us how you managed it last time and why it could be similar or different this time. Can you just give us some context about how you're generally thinking about the tariff risk? And then I have a follow up.

鮑勃，我的第一個問題是，我知道你——你不會談論太多關於關稅的事情，但你能否提醒我們一下你上次是如何處理關稅的，以及為什麼這次可能會類似或不同。您能否向我們介紹一下您對關稅風險的整體看法？然後我有一個後續行動。

Thanks for the question. Look, here's what I would say on tariffs. We all participate and live in a consumer-led economy and tariffs will potentially useful in some regards are likely to raise prices for Americans. In fact, cost of key commodities are already moving up. Tariffs also risks some supply chain disruption as the market moves production around to mitigate tariff exposures.

謝謝你的提問。瞧，這就是我對關稅的看法。我們都參與並生活在一個消費主導的經濟中，關稅在某些方面可能會有用，但可能會提高美國人的價格。事實上，主要商品的成本已開始上漲。由於市場轉移生產以減輕關稅風險，關稅也可能導致供應鏈中斷。

Here at BJ's, we believe our purpose is to take care of the families that depend on us. We take that honor and responsibility seriously. We work very hard every day to present the best values to our members. And so tariffs and the resulting rise in prices run counter to our purpose and may disrupt consumer spending and the greater economy in general. After all, consumers have tolerated a lot in the last few years.

在 BJ's，我們相信我們的目標是照顧依賴我們的家庭。我們認真對待這項榮譽和責任。我們每天都努力工作，為我們的會員提供最好的價值。因此，關稅和由此導致的價格上漲違背了我們的目的，並可能擾亂消費者支出和整體經濟。畢竟，消費者在過去幾年裡已經忍受了很多。

With that said, periods of rising prices and supply chain disruption have often been good for our company. When consumer wallets are stretched, most consumers search for value, they come to our channel and they come to BJ's. We also have lesser exposure to tariffs than many retailers out there. And to your -- the point of your question, we have robust muscle around dealing with inflation in our COGS base.

話雖如此，價格上漲和供應鏈中斷的時期往往對我們公司有利。當消費者的錢包捉襟見肘時，大多數消費者都會尋找有價值的東西，他們會來到我們的管道，來到 BJ's。與許多零售商相比，我們受到的關稅影響較小。至於您問題的要點，我們擁有強大的實力來應對 COGS 基數的通貨膨脹。

It's one of the things our merchants do very, very well. So these structural benefits give us confidence that we can make our way through the uncertain times ahead, and we will focus on what we do best, and that's delivering outstanding value to our members every day.

這是我們的商家做得非常非常好的事情之一。因此，這些結構性優勢使我們有信心度過未來的不確定時期，我們將專注於我們最擅長的領域，那就是每天為我們的會員提供卓越的價值。

And then my follow-up is just on the strength of digital. Is it -- what is primarily driving that? Is it expanded offerings online? Or is there -- is it just people using their app more when they're shopping the store? What -- how are you guys driving that strength?

接下來我要討論的是數字的力量。這是什麼原因造成的？它是否擴大了線上服務範圍？或者——人們只是在商店購物時更多地使用他們的應用程式嗎？你們是如何發揮這種力量的？

Look, it's all of the above and more, right? We are we start out with just trying to save our members time, right? They're saving money just by shopping no matter what they do with us. But we love the idea of making the shop more convenient to our members. The club shop is can be kind of a pain in the butt sometimes, right? You're roaming around a big club. You're lifting up big, heavy things. You're putting those in your car. It's a big basket.

瞧，它不僅有上述這些，還有更多，對吧？我們一開始只是想節省會員的時間，對嗎？無論他們如何與我們合作，只要購物，他們就能省錢。但我們喜歡讓商店為我們的會員提供更多便利的想法。俱樂部商店有時會讓人有點頭痛，對吧？你正在一個大俱樂部裡閒逛。你正在舉起又大又重的東西。你把它們放在你的車裡。這是一個大籃子。

And so anything we can do to make that shop more convenient or crews back to us. Those members that shop with us digitally spend more. They are reinvesting that time with us and putting more things in their basket. And so the team continues to iterate on our digital business and adding capabilities. The basic services are the same with BOPIC and Curbside Pickup and Same-Day Delivery and Express Pay and online coupons and those things that we've all talked about before.

因此，我們可以採取任何措施讓商店更加方便，或讓工作人員更方便地回到我們身邊。那些透過我們進行數位購物的會員花費更多。他們正在與我們一起重新投入時間，並將更多的東西放入他們的購物籃中。因此，團隊繼續迭代我們的數位業務並增加功能。基本服務與 BOPIC、路邊取貨、當日送達、快速支付、線上優惠券以及我們之前討論過的內容相同。

But the way in which we invest in those things continues to get better and better. So you think about our push into same-day delivery as part of the membership changes that we made earlier this year and giving people to free same-day deliveries. That's, again, founded in convenience, right, trying to get people to save that time with their money.

但我們對這些事物的投資方式正在變得越來越好。因此，您可以認為，我們推動當日送達服務是我們今年早些時候進行的會員制度改革的一部分，並為人們提供免費當日送達服務。再次強調，這是為了方便，試圖讓人們用金錢節省時間。

And it's a simple principle where we can deliver it to your house or cheaper than you can go in a grocery store and buy it. And then you think about just changing the way our app and our website work, making sure that people can understand where a particular item is by looking at their app. They know which aisle and which bay in the stores. And we've fully rebuilt the search functionality in the app, so that it is intuitive.

這是一個簡單的原則，我們可以把它送到您家，或者比您去雜貨店購買更便宜。然後你考慮改變我們的應用程式和網站的工作方式，確保人們可以透過查看他們的應用程式來了解特定項目的位置。他們知道商店裡的哪個走道和哪個隔間。我們已經完全重建了應用程式中的搜尋功能，使其更加直覺。

You can put in a term like Super Bowl, and it will come up with all sorts of Super Bowl snacks and televisions and anything you might need for your Super Bowl party. So the team has done incredible work to just get more and more relevant in this regard to our members. And our members love it. They tell us all the time that we should continue to invest here, and we will do that in the future.

您可以輸入“超級碗”之類的術語，它就會出現各種超級碗小吃和電視以及超級碗派對可能需要的任何東西。因此，團隊已經做出了令人難以置信的工作，以便在這方面與我們的會員越來越相關。我們的成員都很喜歡它。他們一直告訴我們，我們應該繼續在這裡投資，將來我們也會這樣做。

I think, Robby, the one thing I'd add on there is 90% of our digital business is fulfilled through our clubs. And so it's all coming out of our clubs through BOPIC and Curbside and Same-Day and Express Pay which is really part of the structural advantage that we have not shipping it to homes and out of clubs. It's really our members coming in to see us and using those conveniences every day.

羅比，我想補充一點，我們的 90% 數位業務都是透過我們的俱樂部實現的。所以所有商品都是透過 BOPIC、路邊支付、當日支付和快速支付從我們的俱樂部發貨的，這實際上是我們無需將其運送到家中和俱樂部的結構性優勢的一部分。實際上是我們的會員每天來見我們並使用這些便利設施。

Great. Thanks so much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Peter Benedict, Baird.

彼得·本尼迪克特，貝爾德。

Thanks for taking the question. One just follow up on a previous question, then my real question. The follow up would just be, are you able to frame for us, maybe remind us the exposure you guys have to China, but then also to Mexico given all what's going on there and around the food business. That would be just a follow up.

感謝您回答這個問題。先回答一下之前的問題，然後才是我真正的問題。後續問題是，您能否為我們介紹一下，也許提醒我們你們對中國的了解程度，以及對墨西哥的了解程度，考慮到那裡和食品行業發生的一切。這只是一個後續行動。

But then my other question is really just around the new club performance. Obviously, you sound pleased with that. I don't know what else you could share in terms of performance metrics or anything that kind of gives you the confidence in accelerating this growth rate in new clubs over the next couple of years?

但我的另一個問題實際上只是有關新俱樂部的表現。顯然，你聽起來對此很滿意。我不知道您還能分享什麼有關績效指標或任何可以讓您有信心在未來幾年加速新俱樂部的成長率的資訊？

Yeah. Sure, Pete. Good question on the nuclear performance. I will mostly kick that to Bill, he drives that for us. But let me talk about our exposure to China, in particular, it's a few percent of our business, right? Most of our business obviously is our Grocery segment and then about 15%, 16% of our business is general merchandise. Only a couple of points of our business is imported directly from China. So that's markedly different than many other retailers of general merchandise products.

是的。當然，皮特。關於核能性能的問題問得好。我主要把這個任務交給比爾，他為我們完成。但讓我來談談我們對中國的業務，特別是它占我們業務的百分之幾，對嗎？我們的大部分業務顯然是食品雜貨部分，大約 15% 到 16% 的業務是日用百貨。我們的業務中只有幾個部分是直接從中國進口的。因此，這與許多其他日用百貨產品零售商有明顯不同。

And so overall, we believe we have lesser exposure than others who do what we do might have. Certainly, the exposure to Canada and Mexico is greater given the variety of products that they bring in and it does touch our grocery business for sure. We don't believe we're differentially affected negatively by any exposure in Canada or Mexico at this point. And hopefully, we're able to earn our way through those tariffs as well.

因此，總體而言，我們認為我們的曝光率比其他從事與我們相同行業的人要低。當然，考慮到加拿大和墨西哥進口產品的種類繁多，我們的曝光度更高，而且這肯定會影響我們的食品雜貨業務。我們認為，目前加拿大或墨西哥的任何風險都不會對我們產生不同的負面影響。希望我們也能透過這些關稅獲得收益。

We'll use that same muscle that I talked about in negotiating with our suppliers, moving things around, doing all the things that we know how to do to buy things at the lowest cost so we can give that value to our members.

我們將使用我所說的相同的力量與我們的供應商進行談判，調動貨物，盡我們所能讓貨物以最低的成本購買，這樣我們就可以給我們的會員帶來價值。

Why don't we switch over to the new club performance. I'll let Bill talk about it. All I'll say is we're incredibly pleased with the size and the quality of our pipeline with the new clubs that have opened so far, and we're raring to go on the 25 to 30 that we expect to open in the next couple of years.

我們為什麼不切換到新的俱樂部表演呢？我會讓比爾談論這件事。我想說的是，我們對迄今為止新開幕俱樂部的規模和品質感到非常滿意，我們期待在未來幾年內新開 25 到 30 傢俱樂部。

So with that, let me hand it over to Bill.

因此，讓我將其交給比爾。

Thanks, Bob. Hey, Peter, yeah, maybe I'll offer a couple of points on the new clubs. First of all, for the clubs that we've opened not only this past year, but the past couple of years, we're really happy with the performance as a whole. We're well above our plans, both on the top line and the bottom line. And that goes for both the new markets that we've entered as well as the infill market.

謝謝，鮑伯。嘿，彼得，是的，也許我會對新俱樂部提出幾點看法。首先，對於我們不僅在去年，而且在過去幾年開設的俱樂部，我們對整體表現感到非常滿意。無論是營收還是利潤，我們都遠遠超出了計畫。這既適用於我們進入的新市場，也適用於填充市場。

So across the board, we've seen really great results. And it's really driven by the confidence we have in our model. Bob touched on this a little bit, whether it's the digital conveniences or the value that we're bringing to the members. People want a wholesale club in their community.

因此，從整體來看，我們已經看到了非常好的成果。這實際上是由我們對模型的信心所驅動的。鮑伯稍微談到了這一點，無論是數位便利還是我們為會員帶來的價值。人們希望在他們的社區裡有一個批發俱樂部。

And we've seen that across the board, again, both in the new markets that we've entered into as well as our existing markets. And it's a little bit -- as we think about the real estate game, and we've talked about this a little bit as we've been on the road, the models that we use to identify new markets are changing pretty rapidly as we gain share. And especially when you look at areas where population is expanding as well, like the convergence of those two things continue to open up more and more opportunities where we see attractive communities for us to bring the value of the BJ's Wholesale Club to those markets.

我們已經全面地看到了這一點，無論是在我們進入的新市場還是在我們現有的市場中。當我們思考房地產遊戲時，我們在路上也討論過這個問題，隨著我們份額的增加，我們用來識別新市場的模型正在迅速改變。尤其是當你看到人口也在不斷增長的地區時，這兩件事的融合會繼續帶來越來越多的機會，我們看到有吸引力的社區，讓我們能夠將 BJ 批發俱樂部的價值帶到這些市場。

And so, as we look down the road, we highlighted today, 25 to 30 new clubs over the next two years. We've talked about a little bit about to the investment that will come with that. The CapEx number that we've shown is a little bit higher than where it's been in the past, driven by both the new clubs and the DCs. But to put that in perspective, we now have probably about close to $1 billion of real estate on our balance sheet.

因此，展望未來，我們今天強調，未來兩年將新增 25 到 30 個新俱樂部。我們已經討論過一些有關隨之而來的投資。我們顯示的資本支出數字比過去的數字略高，這是由新俱樂部和 DC 推動的。但從這個角度來看，我們現在的資產負債表上可能有接近 10 億美元的房地產。

We've added 10 new clubs onto our balance sheet in the last three years. And over the next two years, we'll add another 16 clubs onto our balance sheet. And so we're using the flexibility we have on our balance sheet to help us be more aggressive on the real estate side.

在過去三年裡，我們的資產負債表上又增加了 10 家新俱樂部。在接下來的兩年裡，我們將在資產負債表上再增加 16 傢俱樂部。因此，我們利用資產負債表上的靈活性來幫助我們在房地產方面採取更積極的態度。

But as you think about that CapEx number, it's really an investment in the future. And we'll continue to evaluate whether we want to continue to hold that level of real estate on our balance sheet or potentially look at opportunities to liquidate it through something like a sale leaseback, but the fact that we have the flexibility to go fast and use our balance sheet to grow the company is a great asset that we have.

但當你考慮資本支出數字時，它實際上是對未來的投資。我們將繼續評估是否要繼續在資產負債表上持有這種水平的房地產，或者是否可能尋找機會透過售後回租等方式將其變現，但事實上，我們可以靈活地快速發展並利用我們的資產負債表來發展公司，這是我們擁有的一項巨大資產。

So overall, as we sit here today, we're really excited for the future. And maybe the last point I'll make, Peter, because this is probably the most important is the confidence in our growth comes from the culture that we've built. Everyone across the company wants to be involved in the new club process because they see the growth, they see the success, and they see the opportunity that creates for both the new members and the value that it brings as well as the opportunities for our team members.

所以總的來說，今天我們坐在這裡，對未來感到非常興奮。彼得，也許我要說的最後一點是，因為這可能是最重要的一點，那就是我們對成長的信心來自於我們所建立的文化。公司裡的每個人都希望參與新俱樂部的進程，因為他們看到了成長，看到了成功，看到了為新成員創造的機會和它帶來的價值以及為我們團隊成員帶來的機會。

So it's really that last point, the culture that may be the most important in all this as we go forward, the muscle that we've built to really drive the success of the long term.

所以，最後一點，即在我們前進的過程中，文化可能是最重要的，是我們為真正推動長期成功而建立的力量。

Thanks, guys. Good luck.

謝謝大家。祝你好運。

(Operator Instructions) Mike Baker, D.A. Davidson.

（操作員指示）Mike Baker，D.A.戴維森。

I'll follow up on Peter's question, if I could, for Bill. Have you talked about -- and if not, could you point out how many costs do you think you can have over time. Is there any hindrance to this being a nationwide concept during 21 states now. Is there any reason why it can't work anywhere. What happens when you're the third player? And you said markets want clubs probably a Costco or a Sam's close there, every place where you're opening. But just wondering what the long term could be.

如果可以的話，我會為比爾回答彼得的問題。您是否談論過——如果沒有，您能否指出您認為隨著時間的推移會有多少成本。現在，這概念在 21 個州推行，是否有任何障礙？有什麼原因導致它無法在任何地方工作嗎？當你是第三個玩家時會發生什麼事？您說過市場想要俱樂部，可能是 Costco 或 Sam's，在您開店的每個地方附近。但我只是想知道長期結果會如何。

Mike, I referenced this on the last question a little bit. As you -- as we think about the market in total [growth], right? Our current success in our -- across our existing portfolio ultimately drives our models. And as we continue to gain share, we look at our models and we see more and more opportunities for BJ's to be really successful in different markets. And so as you think about that opportunity set, whether it's in our existing markets or as we look to adjacent markets and talk about entering a major new market like the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we see opportunities across the board. And we've been really successful.

麥克，我在最後一個問題中稍微提到了這一點。正如您所說—當我們考慮整個市場的[成長]時，對嗎？我們目前在現有投資組合中取得的成功最終推動了我們的模型。隨著我們市場份額的不斷增長，我們審視我們的模式，發現 BJ 在不同市場取得真正成功的機會越來越多。因此，當您考慮這些機會時，無論是在我們現有的市場中，還是在我們著眼於鄰近市場並談論進入達拉斯-沃斯堡地區等主要新市場時，我們都會看到全面的機會。我們確實取得了成功。

And I think as a company, we've been pretty thoughtful in having measured growth, both in our existing footprint as well as we've expanded into adjacent markets. And I think that's what you can continue to expect from us.

我認為，作為一家公司，我們在衡量成長方面非常周到，包括我們現有的業務範圍以及我們擴展到鄰近的市場。我認為這正是您可以繼續期待我們的。

And so, as we look at the long term, everything from the Bob and Laura, and we've talked about today from our share growth to our fresh business to our digital business, which is really transforming how members in new markets think about the club business, it all points towards the ability to us to be really successful with our growth over the long term.

因此，當我們著眼於長遠時，從鮑勃和勞拉的一切，以及我們今天談論的從我們的份額增長到我們的新業務到我們的數位業務，這確實改變了新市場會員對俱樂部業務的看法，這一切都表明我們有能力在長期內真正成功地實現增長。

Yeah, Mike, I'll just add on to that. The share point is really important. It's not just us gaining share, but the whole club industry is gaining share. And that's really because consumers are tired of paying high grocery store prices. And so we are trying to be prudent with how we allocate capital and not get out over our [SKUs] despite the big CapEx number that we have in the budget for this year.

是的，麥克，我只是想補充這一點。分享點確實很重要。不只是我們的份額在增加，整個俱樂部產業的份額都在增加。這其實是因為消費者厭倦了支付高昂的雜貨店價格。因此，儘管今年的預算中資本支出數量很大，但我們仍試圖謹慎分配資本，避免超出我們的[SKU]。

We can try and grow even faster, but to do it all out of free cash flow is our goal. But we continue to see opportunities in almost every market that we look at going forward. So we'll continue to do it in a reasonable and rational pace, but there's nothing that we see today that would tell us to slow down.

我們可以嘗試實現更快的成長，但我們的目標是完全依靠自由現金流。但我們在幾乎所有我們關注的市場中都看到了未來的機會。因此，我們將繼續以合理、理性的速度前進，但今天我們看到的一切都沒有告訴我們要放慢腳步。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Oliver Chen, TD Cowen.

奧利弗·陳（Oliver Chen），TD Cowen。

Hi, Bob and Laura. As we think about the comp guidance, you had really nice general merchandise momentum. What's embedded in terms of the general merchandise as well as thoughts on Fresh momentum and then overall pricing within the comp guidance. And the new store commentary is very helpful as well. I would love your thoughts on how new store productivity is trending with the latest vintages relative to present? And any strategies you're learning as I know you have initiatives around optimizing the new store openings as well.

你好，鮑伯和蘿拉。當我們考慮競爭指導時，您擁有非常好的一般商品發展動能。在一般商品方麵包含哪些內容以及對新動能和公司指導內的整體定價的看法。而且新的商店評論也很有幫助。我很想了解一下，相對於現在，新店生產力在最新年份有何趨勢？就我所知，您正在學習的任何策略也都針對優化新店開幕制定了措施。

Sure, Oliver. Listen, the comp was very strong in Q4. As we've talked about, we had traffic and unit growth for the year, and lots of good participation in our fresh business and then GM really shined in the fourth quarter on top of a good Q4 last year. And so I feel like across our business, we're seeing progress and momentum from a merchandising perspective, putting the right stuff on the shelves, making sure that our pricing is where it's supposed to be, communicating those things effectively to our members through great storytelling, great visual merchandising, great promotional efforts.

當然，奧利佛。聽著，第四季的業績非常強勁。正如我們所談到的，今年我們的客流量和銷量都有所增長，新車業務的參與度也很高，而通用汽車在去年第四季度表現良好的基礎上，在第四季度也表現出色。因此，我覺得在我們的整個業務中，我們從商品銷售的角度看到了進步和發展勢頭，將合適的商品擺上貨架，確保我們的定價合理，並通過精彩的故事講述、出色的視覺營銷和出色的促銷活動將這些內容有效地傳達給我們的會員。

And I don't see any of that changing. Certainly, the outside world could change on us a little bit. I don't think that means really anything bad for our grocery business. It could soften consumer demand for discretionary items and maybe hold back our general merchandise growth a bit -- but even there, we're not slowing down on the efforts to continue to modernize and brighten our general merchandise assortment. As you know, that's the emotional part of the shop.

我沒有看到任何改變。當然，外面的世界可能會對我們產生一些改變。我認為這對我們的食品雜貨業務來說並沒有什麼壞處。這可能會削弱消費者對非必需品的需求，並可能稍微抑制我們的日用百貨的增長——但即便如此，我們也不會放慢繼續使我們的日用百貨品種現代化和更加豐富的努力。如你所知，這是商店的情感部分。

That's the treasure hunt part of the shop. People love to wander around and see things. And for years, we didn't give that opportunity to our members as well as we could have. And the team is doing a wonderful job today, putting things out on the floor that it's fun to look at. It's fun to shop. It's great stuff to put in your basket when you're there on your grocery shop. And we're trending towards becoming a general merchandise destination again.

這就是商店的尋寶部分。人們喜歡四處閒逛，看看風景。多年來，我們並沒有盡力為我們的會員提供這樣的機會。今天球隊的表現非常出色，他們把東西擺在了場上，看起來很有趣。購物很有趣。當您去雜貨店購物時，將其放入購物籃中是非常棒的禮物。我們正朝著再次成為百貨商品目的地的方向發展。

We saw that certainly in toys and gifting this year in Q4. So I'd love to see that continue. We certainly have the effort and the expertise to allow to continue and we'll just continue to focus on what we can control and provide the best assortment at the best value to our members every day.

我們在今年第四季的玩具和禮品中確實看到了這一點。所以我很高興看到這種情況繼續下去。我們當然有努力和專業知識來繼續下去，我們將繼續專注於我們能夠控制的事情，並每天為我們的會員提供最優質、最有價值的產品。

On the new club performance, I feel like we've sort of answered that question, but I think the incremental thing that I'll say that probably gets at the heart of your question on, is there further room to optimize the new club model. The answer to that is absolutely yes.

關於新俱樂部的表現，我覺得我們已經回答了這個問題，但我認為我要說的增量內容可能觸及你問題的核心，即是否還有進一步優化新俱樂部模式的空間。答案是肯定的。

We are in a great place relative to our not-so-distant past from a new club opening perspective, we have figured out how to do it effectively. We figured out how to get new members in those clubs to build excitement in front of the launch to get it open and looking great to operate it effectively afterwards. But we operate at a somewhat lesser efficiency than an established club, right? It builds its way into its cost base over time. And so that's what the team is working on now.

從新俱樂部開幕的角度來看，與不久前相比，我們現在處於一個很好的位置，我們已經找到瞭如何有效地做到這一點。我們想出瞭如何在俱樂部中吸引新成員，在開業前營造興奮感，讓俱樂部看起來很棒，以便之後有效地運作。但我們的運作效率比成熟的俱樂部低一些，對嗎？隨著時間的推移，它會逐漸增加其成本基礎。這就是團隊目前正在做的工作。

Are there ways to grow membership and sales even faster? Are there ways to minimize payroll as it grows or to better match payroll to the sales trend. Are there ways to better match other expenses to the sales trend without importantly, without disrupting that growth of the sales trend over time.

有沒有辦法可以更快增加會員數和銷售額？有沒有辦法在工資增長時盡量減少工資或使工資更好地與銷售趨勢相匹配。有沒有辦法可以更好地將其他費用與銷售趨勢相匹配，同時又不影響銷售趨勢隨時間的成長？

And so, we're really pleased with where we are. Certainly opening -- I don't even know how many we've opened them since 2018, but it's going to be a little bit more than 30%. To be able to open potentially another 30 in the next two years should highlight our confidence in the program, but we're, by no means, done.

所以，我們對目前的狀況感到非常滿意。當然會開業——我什至不知道自 2018 年以來我們開設了多少家門市，但這個比例會略高於 30%。未來兩年內可能再開設 30 家門市，這凸顯了我們對該計畫的信心，但我們還沒完成。

We really want to continue to build the best BJ's plugs and the best chain for our members. And Bill and his team and teams across the company have really done a great job doing that. But we're not done at all.

我們確實希望繼續為我們的會員打造最好的 BJ 插頭和最好的鏈條。比爾和他的團隊以及整個公司的團隊確實在這方面做得非常出色。但我們還沒完成。

Yeah. Oliver, I'll just add on to that, and Bob mentioned it. I touched on earlier the team and the culture. And I feel like that we've gotten really, really good about how we open the building. And there continue to be opportunities in terms of how we optimize it.

是的。奧利佛，我只是想補充一點，鮑伯也提到了這一點。我之前談到了團隊和文化。我覺得我們在開放大樓的方式上做得非常非常好。就我們如何優化它而言，仍然存在機會。

So as a team, we talk about how do we drive the club to its material run rate as soon as possible. And this is where, again, team and the culture as we think about the lifetime value and the things that drive that for new members, especially in new markets, something like digital, we spend in an or amount of amount of time in the new markets, trying to get people engaged in the app, engage in Express Pay, engage in digital coupons, engage in Curbside to drive those behaviors that we know will drive value over the long term.

因此，作為一個團隊，我們討論如何盡快推動俱樂部達到其物質運作率。這就是我們考慮終身價值以及推動新成員終身價值的因素時，尤其是在新市場（例如數位市場）的團隊和文化所在，我們在新市場投入了大量的時間和精力，試圖讓人們參與應用程式、參與快速支付、參與數位優惠券、參與路邊支付，以推動那些我們知道會在長期內創造價值的行為。

And even something like our partners at Cap One have been tremendous in helping us think about how to drive credit card adoption in new clubs as we know that drives long-term lifetime value. So again, there are a ton of opportunities that the team are working on, but we're proud of what we've done, but more to go do.

甚至像 Cap One 這樣的合作夥伴也給予了我們極大的幫助，幫助我們思考如何在新俱樂部中推動信用卡的採用，因為我們知道這可以帶來長期的終身價值。所以，團隊正在努力抓住大量機會，我們為已經取得的成就感到自豪，但還有很多事情要做。

Yeah. And we can see it in every new club getting a little bit better. I mean the one that we opened we could go in Myrtle Beach, I think, was the best new club opening. I've ever seen if Ryan and the team or anybody from the team are listening, congratulations to you guys. It really -- it looks special.

是的。我們可以看到每個新俱樂部都在一點進步。我的意思是，我認為我們在默特爾比奇開設的那個俱樂部是最好的新俱樂部。我見過瑞安和團隊或團隊中的任何人在聽的時候，向你們表示祝賀。它確實——看起來很特別。

And I noticed that 10 feet inside the door, there was just something a little extra about it. And that's this idea where we know we're not done. We know we can get better. We know we want to present a wonderful experience to our members, and we just keep grinding on it and getting better and better.

我注意到，在門內 10 英尺處，有一些額外的東西。這就是我們知道我們還沒有完成的想法。我們知道我們可以變得更好。我們知道我們想為我們的會員提供美妙的體驗，我們會繼續努力，變得越來越好。

Congrats on the innovation. Best regards.

祝賀這項創新。此致。

Chuck Grom, Gordon Haskett.

查克·格羅姆、戈登·哈斯凱特。

Good quarter. Can you talk about the success of Fresh 2.0 and the maturation of that effort? And maybe talk about the basket size before and after, say, in the state of Florida, where I believe you first rolled it out. And then, Laura, just on the -- you talked about the comp basing throughout the year. Is there anything on the earnings side that we should be mindful of as we build out our models?

好季度。您能談談 Fresh 2.0 的成功以及這項努力的成熟嗎？也許可以談談之前和之後的籃子規模，例如在佛羅裡達州，我相信你們是在那裡首次推出這項服務的。然後，勞拉，剛才你談到了全年的業績基礎。在建立模型時，我們在收益方面應該注意什麼嗎？

Yeah. Good question, Chuck. Why don't we just take them in order here. Look, Fresh 2.0 was -- has been really sort of an unmitigated success so far. Based on a simple idea that our best members interact with our produce category.

是的。問得好，查克。我們為什麼不在這裡按順序進行呢？瞧，Fresh 2.0 到目前為止確實取得了巨大的成功。基於一個簡單的想法，即我們的最佳會員與我們的產品類別互動。

And if we can get more people into that category, we might get more of those best members. And importantly and probably not surprisingly, those best numbers visit us more often, they put more things in their basket, they renew at markedly higher rates and the interactive categories all over the building, not just our fresh categories. So the idea behind Fresh 2.0 is really to take a good business and make it great.

如果我們能讓更多的人加入這個類別，我們可能會獲得更多優秀的會員。重要的是，也許並不令人驚訝的是，這些最好的顧客會更頻繁地訪問我們，他們會在購物籃裡放更多的東西，他們以明顯更高的速度更新，並且在整個建築物內都有互動類別，而不僅僅是我們的新鮮類別。因此，Fresh 2.0 背後的理念實際上是將好的業務做得更好。

We feel like we ran a good produce business, but we could all spot opportunities as we walked around and the product selection and the execution, the way we promote it, the way we communicate, the way we display things making sure that we get things as fresh as possible to the clubs. And it's been a long time in the making, right? It was part of the reason why we decided to buy our fractional supply chain from our former partner who was wonderful to us. But we knew we wanted to do it a little bit differently and tilted more towards freshness.

我們覺得自己經營著一家不錯的農產品公司，但我們在訪問過程中都能發現機會，包括產品的選擇和執行、推廣方式、溝通方式、展示方式，確保我們為俱樂部提供盡可能新鮮的產品。而且它已經製作了很長時間了，對吧？這也是我們決定從對我們非常好的前合作夥伴那裡購買部分供應鏈的原因之一。但我們知道我們想要做得有點不同並且更傾向於新鮮感。

We spent forever resourcing tons of produce products. We spent forever training our team across the building, not just in the back of the club, but across the building in what a great product experience looks like and what it takes to get there.

我們花了大量的時間去採購大量的農產品。我們花了很長時間對整棟大樓的團隊進行培訓，不僅是在俱樂部後面，而是在整棟大樓裡，讓他們了解優秀的產品體驗是什麼樣的，以及如何實現它。

And again, we're not done. We continue to try and improve that offering, introducing new SKUs, making sure they're the right SKUs, making sure that the right pack size, making sure we have the right price on things every day. And we started to really see it pay off.

再說一遍，我們還沒完成。我們將繼續嘗試改進產品，推出新的 SKU，確保它們是正確的 SKU，確保正確的包裝尺寸，確保我們每天都有正確的價格。我們開始真正看到它的回報。

The test clubs in Florida last year obviously showed a great growth in the Perishable business, but they started to show overall traffic growth in the box, and that's what pays the bill. The traffic growth and the increased purchasing in produce just pays for the supply chain and the training and all those types of things. We need to get graphic and the rest of the box to really get a return on all the investment we're putting in there. And that's what we saw in the test clubs, and that's what we're really beginning to see in the chain now.

去年在佛羅裡達州進行的測試俱樂部顯然在易腐食品業務方面取得了巨大增長，但他們開始表現出盒子整體流量的增長，這就是付費的原因。交通量的成長和農產品購買量的增加正好支付了供應鏈、培訓和所有這類東西的費用。我們需要獲得圖形和盒子的其餘部分才能真正獲得我們投入的所有投資的回報。這就是我們在測試俱樂部中看到的，也是我們現在在連鎖店中真正開始看到的。

So we're looking forward to continued great momentum in our produce business and for it to drive traffic across the clubs. We're also going to take it a little lighter and look at the rest of our Fresh business, which are also good businesses, but they can likely get better as well. And if you want to talk about the tip at top of the best members in the company, they are folks that interact with all of our Fresh businesses.

因此，我們期待我們的農產品業務繼續保持強勁發展勢頭，並推動俱樂部的客流量。我們也將更輕鬆地看待其餘的生鮮業務，它們也是不錯的業務，但它們也可能變得更好。如果您想談論公司中最優秀的成員，他們就是與我們所有新業務互動的人。

And so if we can really get those folks that now have increased confidence and comfort with our produce business and get them into our meat business and our bakery business and our dairy business, they are going to become unstoppable members. And so we're really pleased about it. Those folks, like I said, come in more often. They put more stuff in their cart and they renew way better than the average member. So I really think we're on to something here.

因此，如果我們能夠真正吸引那些對我們的農產品業務更有信心和更放心的人，並讓他們進入我們的肉類業務、烘焙業務和乳製品業務，他們將成為不可阻擋的成員。因此我們對此感到非常高興。正如我所說，這些人來得更頻繁。他們在購物車中放入了更多的東西，而且更新速度比普通會員更好。所以我真的認為我們在這裡取得了一些進展。

It's really fun to look at. It's certainly challenging for our operators and our merchants to keep up with the volume, anytime volume spikes double digits in units. It's -- you got a little running around to do to keep up with it. But all growth is good growth. And so we're really pleased with it.

看起來真的很有趣。對於我們的營運商和商家來說，隨時應對數量激增的趨勢確實是一個挑戰，因為數量會以兩位數的速度成長。你必須四處奔波才能跟上它的步伐。但所有的成長都是好的成長。因此我們對此非常滿意。

Laura, why don't you talk about second question on earnings.

蘿拉，你為什麼不談談關於收入的第二個問題呢？

Yes. Chuck, look, I think we called out the two biggest things for consideration. So just as a reminder, from a tax rate perspective, I would plan for the lowest rate in the first quarter, which would be consistent with kind of how the tax rate trends on a historical basis across the quarters.

是的。查克，你看，我想我們已經提到了兩件需要考慮的最重要的事情。因此，提醒一下，從稅率的角度來看，我計劃在第一季採用最低稅率，這與各季度的歷史稅率趨勢一致。

And then the second thing in Q3, we are lapping the net legal settlements. So about $0.10 of earnings in there from last year that we should think about from a cadence perspective.

第三季的第二件事是，我們正在進行淨法律和解。因此，我們應該從節奏的角度來考慮去年的收益約為 0.10 美元。

Okay. Great. Thank you.

好的。偉大的。謝謝。

Rupesh Parikh, Oppenheimer.

魯佩什·帕里克，奧本海默。

A really nice quarter. I just want to, I guess, just go back to the merchandise margins. Just want to get a sense of what your expectations are for the year and then any key puts and takes you highlight for us to think about.

這是一個非常好的季度。我想，我只是想回到商品利潤。只是想了解您對今年的期望，然後提出一些關鍵點供我們思考。

Rupesh, I think we had a good year and a good Q4 from a merchandise margin perspective. Certainly, showed up a touch short of our expectation. That was really due to taking care of our members in the face of some rising commodities. And like you've heard us say before, we will always invest in price.

魯佩什，我認為從商品利潤率的角度來看，我們今年的業績不錯，第四季的業績也不錯。確實，結果與我們的預期略有差距。這確實是為了在一些商品價格上漲的情況下照顧我們的會員。正如您之前聽到我們所說的，我們將始終在價格方面進行投資。

We will always do the right thing for our member -- we knew we had the quarter in hand in doing that. But even if we didn't, we would always take that opportunity to take key commodities and keep the prices where they need to be for our membership. So we didn't really see anything in the fourth quarter that would be concerning.

我們將始終為我們的會員做正確的事情——我們知道我們有足夠的資金來做這件事。但即使我們沒有這樣做，我們也會抓住機會獲得關鍵商品，並將價格維持在會員需要的水平。因此，我們在第四季度確實沒有看到任何令人擔憂的事情。

The crystal ball is a little unclear at the moment. We certainly have a ton of effort around raising our merchandise margins through better sourcing and co-brand and own brands and efficiencies in our supply chain, a bunch of different irons in the fire to allow us to not only make a little bit more money on each sale, but to continue to invest across the business, continue to invest in price.

目前水晶球還有些不清楚。我們確實付出了巨大的努力來提高我們的商品利潤率，透過更好的採購、聯合品牌和自有品牌以及提高供應鏈的效率，我們同時採取了一系列不同的措施，不僅讓我們能夠在每筆銷售中多賺一點錢，而且能夠繼續在整個業務上進行投資，繼續在價格上進行投資。

We've talked a little bit so far about the effect of tariffs. That's clouding sort of the near-term view of what merchandise margins might look like. in terms of just the cost that will increase because of that and then anticipated consumer response. But I think we will -- we have that muscle as we've talked about. We will do our damndest to mitigate any cost increases and continue to provide outstanding value to our members every day.

到目前為止，我們已經討論了關稅的影響。這在一定程度上影響了人們對近期商品利潤率的看法。就由此導致的成本增加以及預期的消費者反應而言。但我認為我們會的——正如我們談到的，我們擁有這種實力。我們將竭盡全力減輕成本增加，並繼續每天為我們的會員提供卓越的價值。

And over the long term, we're very bullish on our business and our ability to drive margin, but also to drive the right value for our members.

從長遠來看，我們對我們的業務和推動利潤的能力非常有信心，同時也為我們的會員帶來正確的價值。

Great. Thank you. I'll pass the phone.

偉大的。謝謝。我會把電話轉過去。

Simeon Gutman, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的西蒙古特曼。

And great job on the results. My question, it's a little follow up on the real estate. So if you take the next few years of openings, Bill mentioned some infill versus new market, can you give us a sense of what that 25 to 30 looks like for infill versus markets. And related, you said there will be some deleverage because of store opening costs this year. It might be because also of ownership. Can you tell us, is there a point at which you get enough new stores that are ramping that the comp contribution is great enough such that you lever those expenses even as this new expansion rolls out.

而且結果非常好。我的問題是有關房地產的一些後續問題。因此，如果您考慮未來幾年的開業情況，比爾提到了一些填充與新市場，您能否讓我們了解一下這 25 到 30 年填充與市場的情況。與此相關的是，您說今年由於開店成本，會出現一些去槓桿現象。這可能也是因為所有權。您能否告訴我們，是否存在一個臨界點，即當您擁有足夠多的新店時​​，這些新店的擴張速度會很快，以至於您的公司貢獻足夠大，以至於您可以在新的擴張推出時利用這些費用。

Yes. Simeon, let me hand it over to Bill.

是的。西緬，讓我把它交給比爾。

Yes. Sure, Simeon. I mean, I think as we think about the long-term leverage, we think we'll hit that pace once we level out a consistent cadence of new store openings over a couple of year period. Right? So we're still in a period where we're ramping the growth.

是的。當然，西緬。我的意思是，我認為當我們考慮長期槓桿時，我們認為一旦我們在幾年內保持新店開業的穩定節奏，我們就會達到這個速度。正確的？因此，我們仍處於加速成長的時期。

And as we're doing that, we will still have a touch of deleverage as we do that.

當我們這樣做的時候，我們仍然會有一定的去槓桿作用。

Once we get a point to where we're at a steady state of openings, so whether that's 10 or 12 a year for three or four years in a row, that's the point where we feel like we'll have essentially a consistent basin, and then we should start to see some of that leverage come to life.

一旦我們的開口達到穩定的狀態，無論是連續三到四年每年 10 個還是 12 個，我們都會覺得我們將擁有一個基本上一致的盆地，然後我們應該開始看到其中的一些槓桿作用開始發揮作用。

In terms of the comp contribution, we've shared on the previous calls that we continue to see the new clubs comp at a rate that's 2 to 3 times the chain rate. And we certainly saw that in Q4. And so in terms of the new club starting to contribute to the bottom-line comp, we're starting to see that. It's in there a little bit. But as we now ramp and increase the club base as we look forward out into the out years and how that contributes to the long-term algorithm that we presented at Investor Day last year, we think that that will continue to become a bigger piece of it.

就薪酬貢獻而言，我們在先前的電話會議上已經提到，我們繼續看到新俱樂部的薪酬成長率是連鎖成長率的 2 到 3 倍。我們確實在第四季度看到了這一點。因此，就新俱樂部開始為底線收入做出貢獻而言，我們開始看到這一點。它就在裡面一點點。但是，隨著我們現在擴大和增加俱樂部基礎，展望未來幾年，以及這將如何為我們去年在投資者日提出的長期演算法做出貢獻，我們認為這將繼續成為其中更重要的一部分。

Thank you very much. We currently have no left for questions. I'd now like to turn it back to Bob Eddy for any closing remarks.

非常感謝。目前我們沒有剩餘的問題。現在我想請鮑伯艾迪做最後發言。

Thanks, Carly, and thanks, everybody, for your attention and your support of our company. As you heard today, we're very pleased with our fourth quarter results. We've got a lot of irons in the fire going forward for the long term, and we will do what's prudent for our members in the short term. So thank you so much for your attention, and we will talk to you in the first quarter.

謝謝卡莉，也謝謝大家對我們公司的關注與支持。正如您今天所聽到的，我們對第四季度的業績非常滿意。為了長遠發展，我們還有很多事情要做，短期內我們也會為我們的會員採取謹慎的措施。非常感謝您的關注，我們將在第一季與您交談。

As we conclude today's call, we'd like to thank everyone for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

在今天的電話會議結束時，我們要感謝大家的參與。現在您可以斷開線路了。