Caleres Inc (CAL) 2022 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Caleres Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. My name is Kevin, and I'll be your conference coordinator. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

下午好，歡迎參加 Caleres 第二季度收益電話會議。我叫凱文，我將擔任您的會議協調員。 （操作員說明）作為提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Logan Bonacorsi, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Miss.

此時，我想將電話轉給投資者關係副總裁 Logan Bonacorsi。請繼續，小姐。

Good afternoon. I'd like to thank you for joining our second quarter 2022 earnings call and webcast. A press release with detailed financial tables as well as our quarterly slide presentation are available at caleres.com.

下午好。我要感謝您參加我們的 2022 年第二季度財報電話會議和網絡直播。可在 caleres.com 上獲取包含詳細財務表的新聞稿以及我們的季度幻燈片演示。

Please be aware today's discussion contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially due to various risk factors, including, but not limited to, the factors disclosed in the company's Form 10-K and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Please refer to today's press release and our SEC filings for more information on risk factors and other factors, which could impact forward-looking statements. Copies of these reports are available online. The company undertakes no obligation to update any information discussed on this call at any time.

請注意今天的討論包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到許多風險和不確定性的影響。由於各種風險因素，實際結果可能存在重大差異，這些風險因素包括但不限於公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表格和其他文件中披露的因素。有關可能影響前瞻性陳述的風險因素和其他因素的更多信息，請參閱今天的新聞稿和我們提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件。這些報告的副本可在線獲取。公司不承擔隨時更新本次電話會議討論的任何信息的義務。

Joining me on the call today is Diane Sullivan, Chairman and CEO; Ken Hannah, Senior Vice President and CFO; and Jay Schmidt, President. We will begin the call with our prepared remarks, and thereafter, we will be happy to take your questions.

今天和我一起參加電話會議的是董事長兼首席執行官黛安·沙利文（Diane Sullivan）； Ken Hannah，高級副總裁兼首席財務官；和總裁傑伊·施密特。我們將以準備好的評論開始電話會議，之後，我們將很樂意回答您的問題。

I would now like to turn the call over to Diane. Diane?

我現在想把電話轉給黛安。黛安？

Thank you, Logan, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased to report that Caleres continued its strong execution in the second quarter, achieving yet another period of outstanding results. We delivered record consolidated sales, net earnings, earnings per share and generated still strong consolidated margin levels. And we closed the first 6 months of 2022 with earnings per share of $2.70, more than double the previous 6-month high set in 2021, and 22% higher than our pre-COVID annual record of adjusted earnings per share of $2.21.

謝謝你，洛根，大家下午好。我很高興地報告，Caleres 在第二季度繼續保持強勁的執行力，又取得了一個出色的成績。我們實現了創紀錄的合併銷售額、淨收益、每股收益，並產生了仍然強勁的合併利潤率水平。我們在 2022 年前 6 個月的每股收益為 2.70 美元，是 2021 年創下的前 6 個月高點的兩倍多，比我們在 COVID 之前的調整後每股收益 2.21 美元的年度記錄高出 22%。

During the period, we continued to leverage our diversified portfolio to capitalize on demand and trending footwear categories so we could meet the needs of our core consumers when, where and how they wanted to shop, and enhanced our customer file while at the same time making strategic investments for future growth. Over the year -- overall, the year is progressing very much in line with our expectations, with the cadence of our quarterly results playing out as anticipated. As we previously discussed, we projected that our first half results would represent well over half of our expected 2022 earnings per share. As a result, we are reaffirming our previous annual guidance. Specifically, we still expect to achieve diluted earnings per share between $4.20 and $4.40, which will represent record or near-record annual earnings per share.

在此期間，我們繼續利用多元化的產品組合，利用需求和趨勢鞋類品類，滿足核心消費者何時、何地、如何購物的需求，並增強我們的客戶檔案，同時製作未來增長的戰略投資。在這一年中——總體而言，這一年的進展非常符合我們的預期，我們的季度業績的節奏與預期一致。正如我們之前所討論的，我們預計我們的上半年業績將遠遠超過我們預期的 2022 年每股收益的一半。因此，我們重申了之前的年度指導。具體而言，我們仍預計每股攤薄收益將在 4.20 美元至 4.40 美元之間，這將代表創紀錄或接近創紀錄的年度每股收益。

Now taking a look at the results more closely. Among the many significant highlights for the quarter, we achieved another quarterly sales record of $738 million, driven by a significant year-over-year increase in sales from the Brand Portfolio segment. We generated record consolidated operating earnings of $68.4 million, and an earnings per diluted share of $1.38. We captured a consolidated gross profit margin of 45.6%, holding the consolidated margin level delivered in the first quarter of '22. We delivered another strong consolidated return on sales reaching more than 9% during the period as Famous achieved an ROS of 14%.

現在更仔細地看一下結果。在本季度的眾多重要亮點中，我們又創下了 7.38 億美元的季度銷售額記錄，這得益於品牌組合部門銷售額的同比顯著增長。我們創造了創紀錄的 6840 萬美元的合併營業利潤，每股攤薄收益為 1.38 美元。我們獲得了 45.6% 的綜合毛利率，保持了 22 年第一季度的綜合毛利率水平。由於 Famous 實現了 14% 的 ROS，我們在此期間再次實現了超過 9% 的強勁綜合銷售回報率。

We also made sure that we prioritized our strategic investments, namely in consumer marketing to drive deeper and stronger connections with our consumers. And we also made noteworthy progress on our capital return priorities. To that end, during the second quarter, we returned $27 million of capital to shareholders via the repurchase of 1.1 million shares or roughly 3% of our shares outstanding. As you know, we grew this program as an excellent way to drive long-term value for our shareholders. As we progress through the balance of the year, we are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace and expect to generate significant amounts of cash in the year's second half. While we will constantly evaluate the optimal use of our free cash, we clearly view buybacks as an effective means of returning capital to shareholders.

我們還確保我們優先考慮我們的戰略投資，即在消費者營銷方面，以推動與消費者更深入、更牢固的聯繫。我們還在資本回報優先事項方面取得了顯著進展。為此，在第二季度，我們通過回購 110 萬股或大約 3% 的流通股向股東返還了 2700 萬美元的資本。如您所知，我們將此計劃發展為為股東創造長期價值的絕佳方式。隨著我們在今年的剩餘時間內取得進展，我們已做好充分準備利用市場機會，並有望在今年下半年產生大量現金。雖然我們將不斷評估自由現金的最佳使用方式，但我們清楚地將回購視為向股東返還資本的有效手段。

And with our P/E still well below historical levels, we view Caleres' stock as an attractive investment option. In short, we believe this ongoing outstanding financial performance continues to demonstrate the structural shift in the earnings potential of Caleres and highlights the significant competitive advantage of our virtual platform. And if you think about it over the long term, this structure enables Caleres to drive exceptional results in strong market environments while still generating attractive levels of profitability, even when there is a more difficult macroeconomic backdrop.

由於我們的市盈率仍遠低於歷史水平，我們認為 Caleres 的股票是一個有吸引力的投資選擇。簡而言之，我們認為這種持續出色的財務業績繼續證明 Caleres 盈利潛力的結構性轉變，並突出了我們虛擬平台的顯著競爭優勢。如果您從長遠來看，這種結構使 Caleres 能夠在強勁的市場環境中取得出色的業績，同時仍能產生具有吸引力的盈利水平，即使在宏觀經濟背景更加困難的情況下也是如此。

But let's now turn to our segment-level performance, starting with our largest brand, Famous Footwear. Famous continued to perform at a high level in the second quarter, building on the strong performance in Q1 and meeting our internal expectations across all key financial metrics. In fact, Famous delivered $62 million in operating earnings on net sales down 3.8%, resulting in a return on sales of more than 14%. I would note that this is our sixth consecutive quarter of achieving double-digit ROS in this segment. Notably, Famous also sustained its strong gross margin rate of nearly 49% from the first quarter as we continued to limit promotional activity.

但現在讓我們轉向我們的細分市場表現，從我們最大的品牌 Famous Footwear 開始。 Famous 在第二季度繼續保持高水平表現，建立在第一季度的強勁表現基礎上，並在所有關鍵財務指標上滿足了我們的內部預期。事實上，Famous 實現了 6200 萬美元的營業收入，淨銷售額下降了 3.8%，導致銷售回報率超過 14%。我會注意到，這是我們連續第六個季度在該領域實現兩位數的 ROS。值得注意的是，由於我們繼續限制促銷活動，Famous 的毛利率也維持在第一季度近 49% 的強勁水平。

Turning now to inventory. Our current inventory position is up approximately 18% compared to 2021, when inventory was low due supply chain constraints. However, when compared to the same period in 2019, inventory is down approximately 15%. Therefore, we're working in real time to make sure that we're managing our inventory flow by classification and brand to emphasize and amplify what's working and selling through and what's not. Going forward, we believe there are certain spots where we can improve our inventory position, particularly in specific categories in order to more fully capture pockets of strong consumer demand.

現在轉向庫存。與 2021 年相比，我們目前的庫存狀況增加了約 18%，當時由於供應鏈限制，庫存較低。然而，與 2019 年同期相比，庫存下降了約 15%。因此，我們正在實時工作，以確保我們通過分類和品牌管理我們的庫存流，以強調和放大哪些是有效的，哪些是無效的。展望未來，我們相信在某些方面我們可以改善我們的庫存狀況，特別是在特定類別中，以便更充分地抓住強勁的消費者需求。

As I normally do, let me give you an update on a few key initiatives we feel will enhance our competitive advantage at Famous. As it relates to product, the categories and brands that have been selling continued to resonate with the Famous consumer. In fact, our top 25 brands represented more than 85% of our sales during the quarter. In addition, we believe there is significant opportunity to maximize the vertical integration between Famous and our own portfolio, which has the potential to connect with the current target customer, engage new -- potential new consumers as well as even drive greater margins for Caleres as a whole.

像往常一樣，讓我向您介紹一些我們認為將增強我們在 Famous 競爭優勢的關鍵舉措的最新情況。就產品而言，一直在銷售的品類和品牌繼續引起著名消費者的共鳴。事實上，我們排名前 25 的品牌佔本季度銷售額的 85% 以上。此外，我們認為，將 Famous 與我們自己的產品組合之間的垂直整合最大化是一個重要的機會，這有可能與當前的目標客戶建立聯繫，吸引新的潛在新消費者，甚至為 Caleres 帶來更大的利潤，因為整個。

In fact, in addition to LifeStride and Dr. Scholl's, which are already performing well at Famous, we believe we are uniquely positioned to leverage our extensive knowledge and deep consumer insights around fashion footwear to address the customer's increasing interest in adding seasonal footwear to her wardrobe. We are working to inject the right styles and brands in the right locations to broaden our reach and to drive highly profitable incremental sales on top of our core athletic and sport business. We know that when she buys for her family and for herself, she is spending more, connecting more and returning more often.

事實上，除了 LifeStride 和 Dr. Scholl's 已經在 Famous 表現良好之外，我們相信我們具有獨特的優勢，可以利用我們對時尚鞋類的廣泛知識和深入的消費者洞察來滿足客戶對為其添加季節性鞋類的興趣日益增長的需求衣櫃。我們正在努力在正確的地點注入正確的款式和品牌，以擴大我們的影響力，並在我們的核心運動和體育業務的基礎上推動高利潤的增量銷售。我們知道，當她為家人和自己購買商品時，她會花費更多，聯繫更多，並且經常返回。

Turning now to marketing. During the second quarter, we used the findings collected during our media mix and marketing attribution study to build out and execute a media plan that would be more effective in efficiently reaching the consumer. We strategically invested in consumer marketing, including TV creative production and paid search, really accelerating these efforts ahead of back-to-school. I would be remiss if I didn't highlight the outstanding back-to-school campaign that launched on July 5. In fact, Famous celebrated back-to-school in a big way with a fun, happy and musical campaign. It centered around a TV commercial featuring John Legend's Crowd Go Crazy and ran across premier programming and networks. You can see the full commercial via the link in our quarterly earnings slides.

現在轉向營銷。在第二季度，我們利用在媒體組合和營銷歸因研究中收集的調查結果來製定和執行更有效地接觸消費者的媒體計劃。我們戰略性地投資於消費者營銷，包括電視創意製作和付費搜索，在返校前真正加速了這些努力。如果我不強調 7 月 5 日啟動的出色的返校活動，那我就失職了。事實上，Famous 以有趣、快樂和音樂的活動來慶祝返校。它以約翰傳奇的 Crowd Go Crazy 為特色的電視廣告為中心，並跨越了主要的節目和網絡。您可以通過我們的季度收益幻燈片中的鏈接查看完整的商業廣告。

Before I move on to the Brand Portfolio, I'd like to provide some color on the consumer demand environment and more specifically around the early trends we're seeing during this important back-to-school season. Since March of '21, Famous has benefited significantly from elevated levels of consumer demand, and those conditions continued for most of the second quarter. However, beginning in July, we began to see demand and traffic and conversion impacted by a more cautious consumer. So as a result, while we anticipate and see clear evidence of a solid back-to-school season, we're currently forecasting third quarter Famous sales to decline approximately 4% or similar to what we've experienced in the first half of 2022.

在繼續討論品牌組合之前，我想提供一些關於消費者需求環境的顏色，更具體地說，是圍繞我們在這個重要的返校季節看到的早期趨勢。自 21 年 3 月以來，Famous 已從消費者需求水平的提高中受益匪淺，並且這些情況在第二季度的大部分時間裡都在持續。然而，從 7 月開始，我們開始看到需求、流量和轉化受到更加謹慎的消費者的影響。因此，雖然我們預計並看到了堅實的返校季的明確證據，但我們目前預測第三季度 Famous 銷售額將下降約 4% 或與我們在 2022 年上半年所經歷的相似.

In short, Famous had an outstanding first half of the year with double-digit operating margins, underscoring the significant power and agility of the Famous brand, and providing just a terrific foundation for another strong earnings year in 2022 and beyond. And while yes, consumer demand may moderate somewhat in the second half of the year, Famous remains positioned to win with its national footprint, its strong digital business, its improving inventory position, enhanced consumer experience and then all of those being very powerful drivers for growth.

簡而言之，Famous 今年上半年表現出色，營業利潤率達到兩位數，突顯了 Famous 品牌的強大力量和敏捷性，並為 2022 年及以後的又一個強勁盈利年度奠定了良好基礎。雖然是的，但消費者需求在下半年可能會有所放緩，但 Famous 憑藉其全國足跡、強大的數字業務、不斷改善的庫存狀況、增強的消費者體驗，以及所有這些都是推動生長。

So now let me turn to the Brand Portfolio. The Brand Portfolio turned in another exceptional performance, achieving significant year-over-year improvements and continuing to lay the groundwork for a significant step up in the segment's overall annual earnings contribution. Specifically, we delivered an approximately 36% year-over-year increase in sales, driven by consumer demand across trending categories and reflecting the successful execution of our initiatives to elevate product designs, refine our product assortments, and importantly, to increase the availability of inventory to meet demand.

那麼現在讓我談談品牌組合。品牌組合又取得了非凡的業績，實現了顯著的同比改進，並繼續為該部門整體年度收益貢獻的顯著提升奠定基礎。具體而言，我們的銷售額同比增長了約 36%，這得益於消費者對趨勢類別的需求，並反映了我們成功執行了提升產品設計、優化產品分類以及重要的是提高可用性的舉措。庫存以滿足需求。

In fact, we saw double-digit sales increases across much of the portfolio, as we not only have the right products the consumer wanted, but the inventory behind the right branded styles to meet the consumers' needs. Clearly, this was a significant shift from the environment from last year. Ken will discuss our inventory position in more detail shortly.

事實上，我們看到大部分產品組合的銷售額都實現了兩位數的增長，因為我們不僅擁有消費者想要的合適產品，而且擁有滿足消費者需求的合適品牌款式的庫存。顯然，與去年相比，這是環境的重大轉變。 Ken 稍後將更詳細地討論我們的庫存狀況。

In addition, our gross profit margin was 38%, in line with the first quarter of 2022. In total, the Brand Portfolio achieved $29 million in earnings, a 78% increase over 2021, with a 215 basis point improvement in the segment's return on sales. Also during the quarter, we achieved a 30% increase in the portfolio's direct-to-consumer business, highlighting the power of our brands, coupled with our improving reach of our digital capabilities. This included an approximately 9% growth from our owned e-commerce sites, with solid increases from nearly every one of our branded websites. In addition, we drove a 27% year-over-year increase in new customers as consumers continue to look to our portfolio for fresh and compelling products and diverse assortments. We believe we can leverage our powerful brand, customer analytics and overall expertise to unlock more value from the total Caleres customer file over time.

此外，我們的毛利率為 38%，與 2022 年第一季度持平。品牌組合的總收益為 2900 萬美元，比 2021 年增長 78%，該部門的回報率提高了 215 個基點銷售量。同樣在本季度，我們的投資組合直接面向消費者的業務實現了 30% 的增長，彰顯了我們品牌的力量，同時我們提高了數字能力的覆蓋範圍。這包括我們擁有的電子商務網站增長約 9%，幾乎每個品牌網站都實現了穩步增長。此外，我們推動新客戶同比增長 27%，因為消費者繼續向我們的產品組合尋求新鮮和引人注目的產品和多樣化的產品組合。我們相信，隨著時間的推移，我們可以利用我們強大的品牌、客戶分析和整體專業知識從整個 Caleres 客戶檔案中釋放更多價值。

Now let's look more closely at some brand-level detail. First, it's important to note that several of our brands are gaining share and winning with the consumer, a consumer who is definitely out and looking for new and updated footwear for fall. In fact, given our early reads on what the consumer wants for the season, with boots showing positive trends, it appears dressing casual will remain strong as well, and we are ready.

現在讓我們更仔細地看看一些品牌層面的細節。首先，重要的是要注意，我們的幾個品牌正在贏得市場份額並贏得消費者的青睞，消費者肯定會在秋季尋找新的和更新的鞋類。事實上，鑑於我們對消費者對本季的需求的早期解讀，隨著靴子顯示出積極的趨勢，休閒裝似乎也將保持強勢，我們已經準備好了。

Our Sam Edelman brand delivered strong results in the quarter with a year-over-year sales increase of 86%. Of course, this performance was driven by strong demand across all categories as well as a strong in-stock position of core inventory. While the brand's wholesale business improved, the highlight again this quarter was the growth in its digital business, with samedelman.com, up nearly 60% when compared to the same period last year. In addition, the brand continued to engage with consumers, increasing its consumer file by more than 30%, and underscoring the significant connection the brand is fostering with new customers. I would also note, the most recent Sam Edelman catalog arrived in homes just under 2 weeks ago, and it is generating excitement around our fall product and translating to an uplift in sales and an increase in web traffic.

我們的 Sam Edelman 品牌在本季度取得了強勁的業績，銷售額同比增長 86%。當然，這一業績是由所有類別的強勁需求以及核心庫存的強勁庫存狀況推動的。雖然該品牌的批發業務有所改善，但本季度的亮點還是其數字業務的增長，samedelman.com 與去年同期相比增長了近 60%。此外，該品牌繼續與消費者互動，其消費者檔案增加了 30% 以上，並強調了該品牌正在與新客戶建立的重要聯繫。我還要指出，最新的 Sam Edelman 目錄在不到 2 週前到達了家庭，它引起了我們秋季產品的興奮，並轉化為銷售額的提升和網絡流量的增加。

Finally, next week, we will be launching an exciting campaign with world-renowned Supermodel, Naomi Campbell. We're anxious for everyone to get a look at this campaign. It's new and fresh and really uses Naomi's powerful presence to support the power of Sam's product. The campaign will showcase key items from the footwear collection, highlighting both new fashion styles as well as the brand's heritage classics.

最後，在下週，我們將與世界知名超模 Naomi Campbell 共同發起一場激動人心的宣傳活動。我們渴望每個人都來看看這個活動。它是新的和新鮮的，真正利用 Naomi 的強大存在來支持 Sam 產品的力量。該活動將展示鞋履系列中的關鍵產品，突出新的時尚風格以及該品牌的傳統經典。

Next, our Naturalizer brand has continued its exceptional turnaround, with total sales up nearly 70% as the brand benefited from strong dress casual and occasion-based trends, and also from its solid inventory position behind key styles. Importantly, the brand sales improvement was broad-based, with strong sell-through at our key retail partners and with a more than 50% increase on naturalizer.com. Notably, the brand's top 10 styles generated 35% of its total business, highlighting the commitment to our Edit to Win initiative.

接下來，我們的 Naturalizer 品牌繼續其非凡的轉變，總銷售額增長了近 70%，因為該品牌受益於強勁的休閒裝和基於場合的趨勢，以及其在主要款式背後的穩固庫存狀況。重要的是，品牌銷售的改善是廣泛的，在我們的主要零售合作夥伴處銷售強勁，並且在 naturalizer.com 上增加了 50% 以上。值得注意的是，該品牌的前 10 款款式佔其總業務的 35%，彰顯了我們對 Edit to Win 計劃的承諾。

In addition to the uplift in sales, another period of lower promotional activity drove substantial improvement in margins. The ongoing evolution of the Naturalizer brand continues to resonate with the younger, educated and more affluent consumer and has successfully combined great fit and comfort with style. We believe the brand's relevancy is attracting a wider audience, appealing to the consumer earlier in her career and meeting her needs throughout all of life's occasions.

除了銷售額的提升外，另一個促銷活動減少的時期推動了利潤率的大幅提高。 Naturalizer 品牌的持續發展繼續引起年輕、受過良好教育和更富裕的消費者的共鳴，並成功地將合身、舒適與時尚結合在一起。我們相信該品牌的相關性正在吸引更廣泛的受眾，在她職業生涯的早期吸引消費者，並滿足她在生活中所有場合的需求。

Now Allen Edmonds also continues to show strong signs of improvement, with sales running ahead of last year, higher AURs and approximately a 500 basis point increase in gross margin over the second quarter of 2021. Demand continues across dress and sneaker classification as interest in our iconic styles grows, and we leverage these silhouettes in new casual ways.

現在，Allen Edmonds 也繼續顯示出強勁的改善跡象，銷售額超過去年，AUR 更高，毛利率比 2021 年第二季度增加約 500 個基點。由於對我們的興趣，服裝和運動鞋分類的需求仍在繼續標誌性風格不斷發展，我們以新的休閒方式利用這些輪廓。

Also Edit to Win is additionally yielding great results, with our top 10 shoe patterns representing 46% of our total footwear business. And in addition, our recent limited drops, namely the McAllister and Mora, have been successful in augmenting our full-price selling and supporting our strong margin levels. In our latest campaign, Team Colors, which I would all -- I would definitely recommend you take a look at, is the epitome of Allen Edmonds' unique capabilities around customization, a feature that we know the consumer wants and loves. All things are for sure heading in the right direction at Allen Edmonds.

此外，Edit to Win 也取得了不錯的成果，我們的前 10 種鞋型占我們總鞋類業務的 46%。此外，我們最近的有限跌幅，即 McAllister 和 Mora，已成功地增加了我們的全價銷售並支持了我們強勁的利潤率水平。在我們最新的活動中，我絕對會推薦您看一看的 Team Colors 是 Allen Edmonds 在定制方面的獨特能力的縮影，這是我們知道消費者想要和喜愛的功能。在艾倫埃德蒙茲，一切都肯定朝著正確的方向發展。

Finally, wow, LifeStride has really come on strong. Sales increased 79% over the comparable period last year, with AURs rising significantly. This performance demonstrates the value the brand provides consumers, particularly in this macro environment, the compelling new product design as well as delivering the comfort level the consumer is demanding post pandemic. LifeStride, which touches a large and growing segment of the footwear market is rapidly becoming a name that consumers know and trust.

最後，哇，LifeStride 真的很強大。銷售額比去年同期增長了 79%，AUR 顯著上升。這一表現證明了品牌為消費者提供的價值，特別是在這種宏觀環境下，引人注目的新產品設計以及提供消費者在大流行後要求的舒適度。 LifeStride 涉足鞋類市場的一個龐大且不斷增長的細分市場，正迅速成為消費者熟知和信任的品牌。

In short, the momentum in the Brand Portfolio continues as we are seeing demand strength across many of our brands due to the portfolio's versatility across categories and across price points. Consumers are looking for fresh and new for fall, and they are reacting well to our products up and down the Brand Portfolio.

簡而言之，品牌組合的勢頭仍在繼續，因為我們看到我們許多品牌的需求強勁，因為該組合具有跨類別和跨價格點的多功能性。消費者正在尋找秋季新品，他們對我們品牌組合上下的產品反應良好。

Looking ahead, we expect to build on the solid foundation established in the segment during the first half of this year. We will, of course, lean into our strong product design and our diversified assortment, make sure that we leverage that inventory position, build on our consumer insights, keep that Edit to Win initiative going, capitalize on the strong demand and then always look for new ways to unlock future growth opportunities. As we look ahead, '22 is shaping up to be another record or near-record year for Caleres. We believe that the stage is set for a strong and highly profitable 2023, given the tremendous progress we've made across a wide range of strategic and value-driving initiatives in recent quarters.

展望未來，我們預計將在今年上半年在該領域建立的堅實基礎上再接再厲。當然，我們將依靠我們強大的產品設計和多樣化的產品組合，確保我們利用庫存狀況，建立我們的消費者洞察力，保持 Edit to Win 計劃的進行，利用強勁的需求，然後始終尋找解鎖未來增長機會的新方法。展望未來，22 年將成為 Caleres 的又一個創紀錄或接近創紀錄的一年。鑑於我們最近幾個季度在廣泛的戰略和價值驅動計劃方面取得了巨大進展，我們認為，2023 年的強勁和高利潤已經奠定了基礎。

With that, I'll now hand it over to Ken for a more detailed view of our financials. Ken?

有了這個，我現在將它交給肯，以更詳細地了解我們的財務狀況。肯?

Thank you, Diane, and good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to start my discussion today by sharing additional details around our strong second quarter results, our capital allocation plans and our outlook for the third quarter of 2022. It's important to note that most of my commentary will focus on the comparable period in 2021, with some supplemental comparisons to the second quarter of 2019, where relevant and useful.

謝謝你，黛安，大家下午好。今天，我想通過分享有關我們強勁的第二季度業績、我們的資本分配計劃和我們對 2022 年第三季度的展望的更多細節來開始我的討論。重要的是要注意，我的大部分評論將集中在可比期間2021 年，與 2019 年第二季度的一些補充比較，在相關和有用的地方。

We delivered consolidated second quarter sales of $738.3 million, which was 9.3% above the second quarter of 2021. As Diane mentioned, this performance was driven by the Brand Portfolio's outstanding 35.6% increase over the second quarter of 2021, as strong consumer demand for our brands and product assortments continued. As expected, Famous Footwear sales declined 3.8% in the quarter, driven by a 3.4% decline in store count year-over-year and a later start to back-to-school.

我們第二季度的合併銷售額為 7.383 億美元，比 2021 年第二季度增長 9.3%。正如 Diane 所說，這一業績是由品牌組合在 2021 年第二季度實現 35.6% 的顯著增長推動的，因為消費者對我們的強勁需求品牌和產品種類繼續。正如預期的那樣，Famous Footwear 本季度銷售額下降了 3.8%，原因是門店數量同比下降 3.4%，而且開學時間較晚。

Our consolidated gross margin was 45.6%, down 209 basis points from the second quarter of 2021, reflecting a higher mix of Brand Portfolio sales and increases in freight expense. Famous Footwear delivered a gross profit margin of 48.9% in the second quarter. The 118 basis point decline was driven by a more modest level of markdowns and an increase in freight costs associated with e-commerce sales. Gross margin at Famous Footwear was up more than 550 basis points versus the second quarter of 2019. Brand Portfolio recorded second quarter gross margin of 38.3%, a 139 basis point decline over the second quarter of 2021, driven by an increase in wholesale sales, higher discounts and markdowns. The gross margin in Brand Portfolio increased over 350 basis points over the 2019 levels.

我們的綜合毛利率為 45.6%，比 2021 年第二季度下降 209 個基點，這反映了品牌組合銷售的更高組合和運費費用的增加。 Famous Footwear 第二季度的毛利率為 48.9%。下降 118 個基點是由於降價幅度較小以及與電子商務銷售相關的運費增加。 Famous Footwear 的毛利率與 2019 年第二季度相比增長了 550 多個基點。Brand Portfolio 第二季度的毛利率為 38.3%，比 2021 年第二季度下降 139 個基點，原因是批發銷售增加，更高的折扣和降價。品牌組合的毛利率比 2019 年的水平增加了 350 個基點以上。

Our second quarter SG&A expense was $268.4 million or 36.4% of sales, a 206 basis point improvement as compared to the second quarter of 2021, which included approximately $10 million of stock and incentive compensation expense that will occur in the third quarter this year. Our operating earnings for the quarter were $68.4 million or 9.3% of sales, reflecting a 14% return on sales at Famous Footwear and a 9% return on sales at Brand Portfolio. This all resulted in diluted earnings per share for the quarter of $1.38. This is up from $0.61 in the second quarter of 2019 and $0.97 in the second quarter of 2021. Our EBITDA for the trailing 12 months was $324 million in excess of 11% of sales.

我們第二季度的 SG&A 費用為 2.684 億美元，佔銷售額的 36.4%，與 2021 年第二季度相比提高了 206 個基點，其中包括將在今年第三季度發生的大約 1000 萬美元的股票和激勵補償費用。我們本季度的營業收入為 6840 萬美元，佔銷售額的 9.3%，這反映了 Famous Footwear 的銷售回報率為 14%，Brand Portfolio 的銷售回報率為 9%。這一切導致該季度每股攤薄收益為 1.38 美元。這高於 2019 年第二季度的 0.61 美元和 2021 年第二季度的 0.97 美元。我們過去 12 個月的 EBITDA 為 3.24 億美元，超過銷售額的 11%。

Now turning to the balance sheet and cash flow. The company generated $7.6 million in cash from operations during the quarter and continue to prioritize that cash towards shareholders, funding our dividend, buying back shares and investing in our business, specifically in consumer marketing.

現在轉向資產負債表和現金流。該公司在本季度從運營中產生了 760 萬美元的現金，並繼續將這些現金優先用於股東，為我們的股息提供資金，回購股票並投資於我們的業務，特別是在消費者營銷方面。

We ended the second quarter of 2022 with approximately $349 million in borrowings under our ABL revolving credit facility, and no long-term debt. Our second quarter interest expense was $2.6 million, down $2.2 million from the second quarter of 2021, and down $4.8 million from the second quarter of 2019. Given the recent increases in interest rates and expectation for further increases from the Federal Reserve, we expect our interest expense to approximate $13 million for fiscal 2022.

到 2022 年第二季度末，我們的 ABL 循環信貸額度下的借款約為 3.49 億美元，並且沒有長期債務。我們第二季度的利息支出為 260 萬美元，比 2021 年第二季度減少了 220 萬美元，比 2019 年第二季度減少了 480 萬美元。鑑於近期利率上升以及美聯儲進一步加息的預期，我們預計2022 財年的利息支出約為 1300 萬美元。

I now think it would be helpful to spend some time on our inventory position. Consolidated inventory at quarter end was up approximately 36% compared to the second quarter of 2021 and was down slightly to the second quarter of 2019. The increase included an 18% increase at Famous Footwear and a 64% increase in the Brand Portfolio. Famous Footwear inventory was down 15% when compared to 2019 levels, while the Brand Portfolio was up 14%.

我現在認為花一些時間在我們的庫存狀況上會有所幫助。與 2021 年第二季度相比，季度末的合併庫存增加了約 36%，與 2019 年第二季度相比略有下降。其中包括 Famous Footwear 增加了 18% 和品牌組合增加了 64%。與 2019 年的水平相比，著名鞋類庫存下降了 15%，而品牌組合則增長了 14%。

As you know, we believe a central component to drive growth in the Brand Portfolio this year is to ensure we align our inventory with consumer demand. To that end, we will continue to manage the supply chain aggressively, placing a strong emphasis on building up each brand's top-selling styles. We believe that having core and fall goods behind the right brands and styles could be a competitive advantage heading into fall and expect to capture demand as we progress through the year's second half.

如您所知，我們認為今年推動品牌組合增長的一個核心要素是確保我們的庫存與消費者需求保持一致。為此，我們將繼續積極管理供應鏈，重點打造每個品牌的暢銷款式。我們認為，在正確的品牌和款式背後擁有核心和秋季商品可能是進入秋季的競爭優勢，並有望在我們在下半年取得進展時抓住需求。

As we turn now to capital allocation, as you know, we carefully and constantly evaluate the most value-enhancing avenues for our free cash flow. At the start of the fiscal year, we put in place a flexible capital return program, inclusive of dividends, buybacks and investing in growing our business. We executed on that plan during the second quarter, repurchasing nearly 3% of our shares outstanding for $27 million. As a reminder, our reaffirmed fiscal year guidance takes into consideration our year-to-date share repurchase activity. While we are constantly evaluating the optimal use of our free cash, given our outlook for strong cash generation during the second half of the year, we would expect to make ongoing purchases under the existing authorization during the remainder of 2022.

如您所知，當我們現在轉向資本配置時，我們會仔細並不斷地評估我們的自由現金流最具價值的途徑。在本財年開始時，我們實施了靈活的資本回報計劃，包括股息、回購和投資以發展我們的業務。我們在第二季度執行了該計劃，以 2700 萬美元回購了近 3% 的流通股。提醒一下，我們重申的財政年度指導考慮了我們年初至今的股票回購活動。雖然我們一直在評估我們的自由現金的最佳使用方式，但鑑於我們對下半年強勁現金產生的前景，我們預計在 2022 年剩餘時間內根據現有授權進行持續購買。

Finally, inclusive of our first half performance and current expectations around our underlying business for the year, Caleres is reiterating its annual financial guidance. More specifically, we are raising and tightening our consolidated net sales range to be up between 4% and up 6% when compared to 2021. This is up from our previous net sales outlook of up 2% to 5%. And as Diane mentioned, our earnings per share are expected to be between $4.20 and $4.40 per share.

最後，包括我們上半年的業績和對今年基礎業務的當前預期，Caleres 重申了其年度財務指導。更具體地說，我們正在提高和收緊我們的綜合淨銷售額範圍，與 2021 年相比增長 4% 至 6%。這高於我們之前的淨銷售額預期增長 2% 至 5%。正如黛安所說，我們的每股收益預計在每股 4.20 美元到 4.40 美元之間。

Additionally, we're making the following assumptions regarding our third quarter 2022 performance. We expect our consolidated sales to be comparable to last year, with Famous Footwear sales down approximately 4% compared to the third quarter of 2021 and Brand Portfolio sales expected to be up between 7% and 10% over the third quarter. Consolidated gross margins are expected to be flat to last year. Our SG&A expense will approximate 36% of sales, including investments in store experience and customer acquisition. In comparing to 2021, there is timing of approximately $10 million of stock and incentive compensation expense that is occurring in Q3 of 2022 that occurred in Q2 of 2021. Our earnings per diluted share for the third quarter is expected to be between $1.05 and $1.15 per share.

此外，我們對 2022 年第三季度的業績做出以下假設。我們預計我們的綜合銷售額將與去年相當，Famous Footwear 的銷售額與 2021 年第三季度相比下降約 4%，品牌組合銷售額預計將在第三季度增長 7% 至 10%。預計綜合毛利率將與去年持平。我們的 SG&A 費用將約佔銷售額的 36%，包括對商店體驗和客戶獲取的投資。與 2021 年相比，2022 年第三季度發生在 2021 年第二季度的股票和激勵補償費用約為 1000 萬美元。我們第三季度的每股攤薄收益預計在每股 1.05 美元至 1.15 美元之間分享。

And with that, I'll turn the call back over to Diane.

有了這個，我會把電話轉回給黛安。

Thanks, Ken. And before we begin Q&A, I think as most of you know by now, I recently announced that I plan to retire as CEO in mid-January. It's been an immense privilege and honor to lead Caleres, and I couldn't be happier that the Board has asked me to continue to work with them and this terrific management team as Executive Chairman when my tenure as CEO is up.

謝謝，肯。在我們開始問答之前，我想你們大多數人現在都知道，我最近宣布我計劃在 1 月中旬辭去 CEO 一職。領導 Caleres 是一種莫大的榮幸和榮幸，當我擔任 CEO 的任期結束時，董事會要求我繼續與他們以及作為執行主席的這個了不起的管理團隊合作，我感到非常高興。

Everybody often wants to know like why now and what sort of made you decide that this is the right moment. And for me, given the strength and the momentum in our business, I just thought this was the perfect time to pass the baton to Jay as part of our long-standing and carefully planned succession process. I'm confident that he's the ideal person to lead Caleres forward at this point in time and to build on the many initiatives that we put in place in recent years to drive growth across the company.

每個人都經常想知道為什麼現在是這樣，是什麼讓你決定這是正確的時刻。對我來說，鑑於我們業務的實力和勢頭，我只是認為這是將接力棒傳給傑伊的最佳時機，這是我們長期精心策劃的繼任過程的一部分。我相信他是目前領導 Caleres 前進並在我們近年來為推動整個公司增長而採取的許多舉措的基礎上的理想人選。

Now I know Jay would like to say a few words before we turn the call over to the operator for Q&A. Jay, do you want to say a few things?

現在我知道 Jay 想在我們將電話轉給接線員進行問答之前說幾句話。傑，你想說幾句嗎？

Absolutely. Thanks, Diane. I'm excited to lead Caleres and to continue to build on our recent successes and to continue to identify new opportunities for growth. I'm also extremely confident in our portfolio, in our capabilities and most importantly, in our talented global team.

絕對地。謝謝，黛安。我很高興能夠領導 Caleres 並繼續鞏固我們最近取得的成功，並繼續尋找新的增長機會。我也對我們的投資組合、我們的能力，最重要的是，對我們才華橫溢的全球團隊充滿信心。

As many might know, I've had the good fortune to work alongside some of the best in the industry, especially at Caleres and above all, with Diane, and I thank everyone for their support and encouragement. Looking forward, I firmly believe in the significant potential of Caleres and our ability to unlock long-term value for our shareholders. I also look forward to talking with you -- many of you over the coming months.

許多人可能都知道，我有幸與業內一些最優秀的人一起工作，尤其是在 Caleres，尤其是 Diane，我感謝大家的支持和鼓勵。展望未來，我堅信 Caleres 的巨大潛力以及我們為股東釋放長期價值的能力。我也期待在接下來的幾個月裡與你們交談——你們中的許多人。

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to the operator for questions. Operator?

有了這個，我想把電話轉給接線員提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question today is coming from Dana Telsey from Telsey Advisory Group.

（操作員說明）我們今天的第一個問題來自 Telsey 諮詢集團的 Dana Telsey。

Jay, congratulations on your new role, very well deserved. Diane, congratulations. I'm not going to say goodbye because being Executive Chairman, you still remain in the mix, which is a very good thing.

傑，恭喜你擔任新角色，當之無愧。黛安，恭喜。我不會說再見，因為作為執行主席，你仍然留在組合中，這是一件非常好的事情。

Right. Thank you, and I have one more call too, Dana. While I'm officially CEO, I told everybody, I am CEO until I'm not. But go ahead or go ahead with your question.

正確的。謝謝你，我還有一個電話，Dana。雖然我是正式的 CEO，但我告訴大家，我是 CEO，直到我不是。但是繼續或繼續你的問題。

No worries. So nice to see the big pickup in the Brand Portfolio. How much of the Brand Portfolio improvement is driven by the current environment of social occasion and what you're seeing there? What are you doing in terms of the inventory levels? Where do you see that Brand Portfolio inventory leveling out at the end of the year? And how is the wholesale accounts in terms of ordering patterns there?

不用擔心。很高興看到品牌組合中的大回升。品牌組合的改進在多大程度上是由當前的社交場合環境以及您在那裡所看到的推動的？你在庫存水平方面做了什麼？您在哪裡看到品牌組合庫存在年底趨於平穩？那裡的批發賬戶在訂購模式方面如何？

And then just on Famous, I had a question on what you mentioned, Ken, about the later start to back-to-school. What did you see? And how are you managing pricing in this back-to -- competitive back-to-school season?

然後就在 Famous 上，我有一個關於你提到的問題，Ken，關於後來開始返校的問題。你看見什麼了？在這個競爭激烈的返校季，您如何管理定價？

Thanks, Dana. I'll start maybe with your second question first on Famous and back-to-school. As I said in my comments, and Ken reiterated, that we really have seen office and back-to-school very much a continuation of the trend that we have seen in the second quarter. As we've been moving through August, we've seen that trend improve a little bit, which is nice to see. But there's still 3 to 4 more weeks that we have of really getting through back-to-school, and we did see the build in our back-to-school business coming really a little bit later than we had seen in prior years.

謝謝，達娜。我可能會先從關於著名和返校的第二個問題開始。正如我在評論中所說，並且肯重申，我們確實看到辦公室和返校是我們在第二季度看到的趨勢的延續。隨著我們進入八月，我們已經看到這種趨勢有所改善，很高興看到。但是，我們還有 3 到 4 週的時間才能真正完成返校，而且我們確實看到我們的返校業務的建立比前幾年看到的要晚一點。

Who knows? I don't know whether the consumer was really enjoying those great vacations that they couldn't have in the last 2 years or they were not thinking about getting back to school as quickly or whether it was the impact on inflation and gas, et cetera, really on their overall sentiment and buying much more closer to need. So really anticipate it's going to be in that down 4% range, have seen it improve a little bit from that in the month of August, but want to make sure we are thoughtful about our outlook. And the kids business has actually -- kids and accessories have been very, very strong. So that's a little bit on Famous, and I can come back on that if needed.

誰知道？我不知道消費者是否真的很享受他們在過去兩年中無法享受的美好假期，或者他們沒有考慮盡快回到學校，或者這是否是對通貨膨脹和汽油等的影響，真的是他們的整體情緒和購買更接近需要。所以真的預計它會在下降 4% 的範圍內，已經看到它比 8 月份有所改善，但要確保我們對我們的前景深思熟慮。而兒童業務實際上 - 兒童和配飾一直非常非常強大。所以這是關於 Famous 的一點點，如果需要，我可以回來討論。

But with respect to the Brand Portfolio, I think it's a combination of so many things that have really driven that business. I think it's the great strategic work and product work the teams have been doing for, really, I think, throughout this whole pandemic cycle to make sure that we were leaving behind the things that we didn't want to carry forward, and make sure that we were really focused on what we wanted this Brand Portfolio look like post the pandemic. And I think Jay and the team has done a great job on that.

但就品牌組合而言，我認為這是真正推動該業務發展的眾多因素的結合。我認為這是團隊一直在做的偉大的戰略工作和產品工作，真的，我認為，在整個大流行週期中，以確保我們留下了我們不想發揚光大的事情，並確保我們真正專注於我們希望這個品牌組合在大流行後的樣子。我認為杰和團隊在這方面做得很好。

And then I would say, and I'll pass it to Jay, the only other thing is when we look, it's not just a little piece of our portfolio that's working, it's across the entire portfolio that's been performing well. And it isn't just dress, it actually is casual product and sandals and you name it. So the nice thing is, sure, occasion and dress, we got some nice lift in that, but it really has been broad-based.

然後我會說，我會把它傳給傑伊，唯一的另一件事是，當我們看時，它不僅僅是我們投資組合的一小部分在運作，而是在整個投資組合中表現良好。它不僅僅是連衣裙，它實際上是休閒產品和涼鞋，你說的。所以好的事情是，當然，場合和著裝，我們在這方面得到了一些不錯的提升，但它確實是廣泛的。

So I'll turn it over to Jay, Dana, to give you a little bit more color on the brands.

所以我會把它交給傑伊，達納，讓你在品牌上多一點色彩。

I think that really sums it up nicely. But just to add a few more things, about over 50% of our portfolios business is in the casual. So while we did see some nice growth coming out of dress, we also saw a strong growth coming out of the casual segment, which I think really makes us feel great about the go-forward position.

我認為這真的很好地總結了它。但再補充一點，我們超過 50% 的投資組合業務是休閒裝。因此，雖然我們確實看到了服裝方面的一些不錯的增長，但我們也看到了休閒領域的強勁增長，我認為這真的讓我們對前進的位置感覺很好。

I believe you asked a question about how do we feel about order book and going forward. And we do see that we're on track with that. It feels very right to where we've been working on that. And our inventory is very closely aligned with, I would say, our top sellers, in that -- using that Edit to Win capability. And so we feel really good about going forward into fall, but obviously, a little more measured than we were in the first half, which is really consistent with our guidance.

我相信你問了一個關於我們對訂單和未來的看法的問題。我們確實看到我們正在走上正軌。我們一直在努力的地方感覺非常正確。我想說，我們的庫存與我們的暢銷書非常緊密地結合在一起——使用編輯贏的能力。因此，我們對進入秋季感覺非常好，但顯然，比上半年更加謹慎，這與我們的指導非常一致。

The next question is coming from Laura Champine from Loop Capital.

下一個問題來自 Loop Capital 的 Laura Champine。

Congratulations on your announced but not yet executed retirement, Diane; and congratulations on the promotion, Jay. This is a basic one, but why raise the top line guide a little bit but leave the bottom line guide unchanged?

恭喜你宣布退休，但尚未執行，黛安；並祝賀你升職，傑伊。這是一個基本的，但為什麼要稍微提高頂線指南而保持底線指南不變呢？

Yes, Laura, I'll take that. Thanks for the question. I think the top line growth is really, through the first half, we saw an acceleration in the Brand Portfolio. And as we reported, while Famous Footwear's return on sales last quarter were 14%, we've got the Brand Portfolios are up to 9%. So it's a little bit of a mix, right? The growth that we added is coming in a business segment that has a lower percentage.

是的，勞拉，我會接受的。謝謝你的問題。我認為，在上半年，我們確實看到了品牌組合的加速增長。正如我們報導的那樣，雖然 Famous Footwear 上個季度的銷售回報率為 14%，但我們的品牌組合高達 9%。所以這有點混合，對吧？我們添加的增長來自百分比較低的業務部門。

And then, I think, the other piece of it is really on the interest expense. That initial outlook had about $10 million of interest expense included. And just with the raises that we've seen, we have been prioritizing buying back shares as opposed to paying down that revolver debt. So that's going to be up about $3 million to $13 million. So that's really what it is. And we're trying to give ourselves a little bit of room in the rest of the year just to make sure from a margin standpoint. So that's the contribution.

然後，我認為，另一部分實際上是利息支出。最初的展望包括大約 1000 萬美元的利息費用。就我們所看到的加薪而言，我們一直在優先考慮回購股票，而不是償還左輪手槍債務。因此，這將增加約 300 萬至 1300 萬美元。所以這就是事實。我們正試圖在今年餘下的時間裡給自己一點空間，以確保從利潤的角度來看。所以這就是貢獻。

Got it. Can you see any positive -- I hear what you're saying about sort of a late back-to-school and consumer that obviously is distracted and under pressure. But are you seeing any kind of a lift from the great position you have in the market at Famous Footwear with Nike, whereas they've consolidated some of their family wholesale distribution?

知道了。你能看到任何積極的一面嗎——我聽到你所說的那種遲到的返校和消費者顯然分心並承受著壓力。但是，您是否看到與 Nike 在 Famous Footwear 的市場地位相比有任何提升，而他們已經整合了他們的一些家庭批發分銷？

Right. Not -- I would say, that we have not seen a lot of that as of yet, but I think that has, Laura, for us, as we look at that, that it feels that's one of the areas of those pockets of consumer demand that's strong, that we don't have all of the inventory in the places that we'd like. So while our kids business in Nike, we seem to have pretty good inventory availability there, although that's getting a little tighter, given the strength of it, that we believe that in the next 30 to 60 days, as we get -- receive more receipts, that I would expect to see that advantage continue to sort of play out in the late third and fourth quarter and obviously, into 2023.

正確的。不是——我想說，到目前為止，我們還沒有看到很多這樣的情況，但我認為，勞拉，對我們來說，當我們看到這一點時，感覺這是那些消費者口袋的領域之一需求強勁，我們沒有在我們想要的地方擁有所有庫存。因此，雖然我們在耐克的兒童業務，我們在那裡似乎有相當不錯的庫存可用性，儘管考慮到它的實力，庫存變得有點緊張，我們相信在接下來的 30 到 60 天內，我們會收到更多收據，我預計這種優勢將在第三季度末和第四季度繼續發揮作用，顯然，到 2023 年。

And I would -- the other thing in terms of inventory levels, too, it's that double-edged sword. We've also tried to manage that so carefully. So we've had the right things in the right places. So in Famous' case, it's a little more of an opportunity for us right now. So things like Converse, too, could be an area that we'd like to see some additional inventory, and a few other places, too.

而且我會 - 就庫存水平而言，這也是一把雙刃劍。我們也試圖如此謹慎地管理它。所以我們在正確的地方有正確的東西。所以在 Famous 的情況下，現在對我們來說是一個機會。因此，像匡威這樣的東西也可能是我們希望看到一些額外庫存的領域，以及其他一些地方。

So the market was so disrupted and there was a lot of dislocation with respect to inventory. And I always believe that it was going to take much of the full year of '22 to really get things back in line with where we thought we were really going to be specifically. But I think, overall, for Famous, they've done a really nice job of really balancing that making sure that we manage that as well as that we possibly could. Still down 15% from '19 levels. So opportunity. I think about it as an opportunity go forward.

所以市場如此混亂，庫存方面出現了很多錯位。而且我始終相信，要真正讓事情回到我們認為我們真正要達到的目標，需要花費 22 年全年的大部分時間。但我認為，總的來說，對於 Famous 來說，他們在真正平衡這一點方面做得非常好，確保我們盡可能地做到這一點。仍然比 19 年的水平下降了 15%。所以機會。我認為這是一個前進的機會。

Your next question is coming from Mitch Kummetz from Seaport Research.

您的下一個問題來自 Seaport Research 的 Mitch Kummetz。

Let me add my congratulations as well. So Diane, you made a comment, I think, earlier on in your prepared remarks about some positive reads on boots. Can you just remind us how important the boot category is to both the Famous business and also the Brand Portfolio, and kind of how you think fashion trends on boots will play out, especially with maybe a bit of a pendulum swing to kind of dress and occasion?

讓我也祝賀一下。所以黛安，我想，你早些時候在你準備好的評論中就靴子上的一些正面解讀發表了評論。您能否提醒我們靴子類別對著名業務和品牌組合的重要性，以及您認為靴子的時尚趨勢將如何發揮作用，尤其是可能有點鐘擺擺動到某種衣服和場合？

Right. Great question, Mitch, and thank you for the congrats. I appreciate that. Yes, the early read actually on boots for Brand Portfolio is very good, and it's great also in our Famous business. As a percent of the total, and Jay's kind of looking it up, but I think we're -- about 1/3 of our business in fall is in boots. We're seeing things that are not quite as casual as they had been, a little bit more dressed up, a little bit more on heels and (inaudible) also have continued to be pretty good in certain categories of boots. So the Brand Portfolio is extremely important for us in the fall season, and we really think we're in a great position to take advantage of that.

正確的。很好的問題，米奇，謝謝你的祝賀。我很感激。是的，Brand Portfolio 中關於靴子的早期閱讀非常好，而且在我們著名的業務中也很棒。佔總數的百分比，Jay 正在查找它，但我認為我們 - 秋季大約 1/3 的業務是靴子。我們看到的東西不像以前那麼隨意了，打扮得更多了，高跟鞋也更多了，而且（聽不清）在某些類別的靴子中也繼續表現不錯。因此，品牌組合在秋季對我們來說非常重要，我們真的認為我們處於充分利用這一優勢的有利位置。

And the Famous business, it really -- it's really more on the casual side and more in, I would say, outdoor kind of looks. But that's, again, as we look at the intercompany opportunity there, there's lots of ways that we can really work with Famous to take advantage of our -- not only our expertise and our knowledge of where things are trending, but also help in terms of some of the short-term opportunities that they might have.

還有著名的業務，它真的——它真的更偏向於休閒的一面，而且我會說，更多的是戶外風格。但這又是，當我們看到那裡的公司間機會時，我們可以通過多種方式真正與 Famous 合作，以利用我們的優勢——不僅是我們的專業知識和對事物趨勢的了解，而且在條款方面也有幫助他們可能擁有的一些短期機會。

So I think, again, it bodes well for us in the back half of the year. And it feels good so far. I was kind of surprised to see it started. I think people are so anxious to see something new, and that -- and add something that they haven't added to the closet in a while. And I think that's really what's happening there.

因此，我再次認為，這對我們來說是下半年的好兆頭。到目前為止感覺很好。看到它開始我有點驚訝。我認為人們非常渴望看到新的東西，以及添加一些他們有一段時間沒有添加到壁櫥的東西。我認為這就是那裡正在發生的事情。

Jay, would you -- and what else are you seeing on boots?

傑，你會 - 你還在靴子上看到什麼？

No, I think the only other thing is that high shaft, although it's a much smaller portion of the total boot business has come on very strong, and that's a trend we haven't seen really work well, and I would say, almost 3 years. So it's again, going back to that consumer reacting to newness and where it's fashion appropriate, but some really nice sellings. And we've seen it in a couple of our brands, Sam Edelman and Naturalizer being 2 of them, that have been very strong.

不，我認為唯一的另一件事是高軸，雖然它在整個靴子業務中的一小部分已經非常強勁，這是我們還沒有看到真正運作良好的趨勢，我想說，幾乎 3年。所以又是這樣，回到消費者對新事物的反應以及它適合時尚的地方，但一些非常好的銷售。我們已經在我們的幾個品牌中看到了這一點，Sam Edelman 和 Naturalizer 是其中的兩個，它們非常強大。

Okay. Great. And then on the Brand Portfolio business, can you remind us how much you sell into the department store channel? And as some of the department stores have reported, they've talked about some inventory challenges, albeit maybe not necessarily in your categories, and they've canceled receipts and things like that. I'm just wondering if some of that activity is at all filtering down to the Brand Portfolio business at all as maybe they're just overall becoming a little bit more cautious on the consumer and the environment?

好的。偉大的。然後關於品牌組合業務，你能提醒我們你在百貨商店渠道銷售了多少產品嗎？正如一些百貨公司所報告的那樣，他們談到了一些庫存挑戰，儘管可能不一定在您的類別中，並且他們已經取消了收據之類的東西。我只是想知道其中一些活動是否完全滲透到品牌組合業務中，因為也許他們只是總體上對消費者和環境變得更加謹慎？

Yes. I'll add a few things and then Jay can jump in too. Mitch, it's about 20%. The department stores are roughly 20% of our total Brand Portfolio business. And that's been around that range, I'd say, for the last couple of years. The great advantage that we have with that, though, is it's not just what we're selling into the brick-and-mortar there, right? We also have a great opportunity, they do tremendous businesses digitally. And then we do a lot of our business drop-shipped, too. So as the consumer is looking for certain brands and products, that capability that we have really helps us address those opportunities with the consumer.

是的。我會添加一些東西，然後 Jay 也可以加入。米奇，大約是 20%。百貨公司約占我們品牌組合總業務的 20%。我想說，在過去的幾年裡，這一直在這個範圍內。然而，我們擁有的最大優勢不只是我們向那裡的實體店出售的東西，對吧？我們也有一個很好的機會，他們以數字方式開展了巨大的業務。然後我們也做很多業務直接發貨。因此，當消費者正在尋找某些品牌和產品時，我們擁有的這種能力確實有助於我們抓住消費者的這些機會。

I'm sure, Jay, you could comment a little on kind of what you're seeing with how the department store is now thinking about some of their opportunities.

我敢肯定，傑伊，你可以就你所看到的關於百貨公司現在如何考慮他們的一些機會的方式發表一些評論。

Yes. I would say that the -- there's -- while people are still cautious, we're really looking at the business with our sales and our inventory kind of being in line going forward and watching that very closely, using the drop-ship capability that we have to really fuel additional growth. But we're seeing that measured.

是的。我想說的是 - 雖然人們仍然很謹慎，但我們真的在關注我們的銷售和庫存的業務，並且我們正在密切關注這一點，使用直銷能力我們必須真正推動額外的增長。但我們看到的是衡量的。

And then our retail inventories, while up to '21 commensurate with the sales, are still down to 2019 by about 13%. So we're really -- when we said we're kind of bringing them back in a new way, we really are bringing them back in a new way and watching that to make sure it doesn't get out of line.

然後，我們的零售庫存雖然高達 21 年與銷售額相稱，但到 2019 年仍下降約 13%。所以我們真的 - 當我們說我們正在以一種新的方式把它們帶回來時，我們真的是以一種新的方式把它們帶回來，並觀察它以確保它不會脫節。

Next question is coming from Steve Marotta from CL King & Associates.

下一個問題來自 CL King & Associates 的 Steve Marotta。

Diane, it might be a little bit early in the season, but can you maybe comment on the fact that back-to-school might, here, just be long tailed and not necessarily muted overall when you look at the entirety of the season?

黛安，這個賽季可能有點早，但你能評論一下這樣一個事實嗎，當你看整個賽季時，回到學校可能只是拖長了尾巴，而且總體上不一定是沉默的？

Yes. It's hard to know yet, Steve. I know that it seems like it was building 7 to 10 days later than kind of what we had expected, and it's -- we're yet to see whether or not that -- you catch all of that? Or is that business not going to materialize? Or is it going to come later? So I think we've got a couple more weeks to see it to understand what that's going to look like. And as I mentioned, August has been a bit better than that 4% that I've talked about, that was a continuation from second quarter, but we want to make sure that we see it.

是的。很難知道，史蒂夫。我知道它的建造時間似乎比我們預期的晚了 7 到 10 天，而且——我們還沒有看到——你明白了嗎？還是該業務不會實現？還是以後會來？所以我認為我們還有幾個星期的時間來看看它會是什麼樣子。正如我所提到的，8 月份比我談到的 4% 好一點，這是第二季度的延續，但我們希望確保看到它。

Because it is a little unusual. The consumer sentiment, the inventory levels, the -- what they have in their closet, what they don't. It's a little more of a shift, again, this year. So trying to make sure that we take all of that into consideration and give a good and reasonable outlook for that back-to-school season. But we sure hope so. We hope we have to see it continue longer into September.

因為它有點不尋常。消費者情緒，庫存水平，他們衣櫥裡有什麼，沒有什麼。今年又是一個轉變。因此，我們要努力確保我們將所有這些都考慮在內，並為那個返校季提供一個良好而合理的前景。但我們當然希望如此。我們希望我們必須看到它持續到 9 月。

Sure. I understand. My follow-up question. Ken, can you talk a little bit about costing expectations maybe for the first half and second half of next year, not necessarily, obviously, to the penny, considering that you're still taking orders and it's a lot of moving targets, but also considering that, largely, commodity costs are rolling off, there's chatter of capacity that's coming online or that's now available in factories where it might not have been earlier, and that generally costing is rolling off or has seemingly peaked. And wondering how that is affecting your unit costing in the first half of next year and the second half as well?

當然。我明白。我的後續問題。肯，你能談談明年上半年和下半年的成本預期嗎考慮到大宗商品成本在很大程度上正在下降，有傳言說產能即將上線，或者工廠現在可能沒有更早的產能，而且通常成本正在下降或似乎已經達到頂峰。想知道這對明年上半年和下半年的單位成本有何影響？

Yes. So I don't think we're seeing a ton of costing rolling off. What I would say on our pricing is the demand for our brands, I think, the strength there has allowed us to continue to hold our price and price increases, if you will, into the second half. Our initial guidance for the year had us holding our total gross profit margin flat, and that was giving back 100 basis points at Famous and seeing a couple of hundred basis point improvement. And that was with an assumption that we were going to be able to continue to hold the price increases we took for spring into fall, and that's happening.

是的。所以我認為我們並沒有看到大量的成本下降。我對我們的定價要說的是對我們品牌的需求，我認為，那裡的實力使我們能夠繼續保持我們的價格和價格上漲，如果你願意的話，到下半年。我們今年的初步指導讓我們的總毛利率保持不變，這就是在 Famous 回饋 100 個基點並看到幾百個基點的改善。這是假設我們將能夠繼續保持我們從春季到秋季的價格上漲，而且這種情況正在發生。

Ocean freight is something that we're starting to see come down a little bit, more so than product cost. But that really won't show up until those goods come in through inventory and then are sold back through and we realize the profit on those products. So we're not seeing a big reduction right now across the board in cost.

海運是我們開始看到的一點點下降，比產品成本還要低。但這真的不會出現，直到這些商品通過庫存進入然後被賣回並且我們意識到這些產品的利潤。所以我們現在沒有看到成本全面下降。

I don't know, Jay, if there's anything that you would add to that around pricing or costing?

我不知道，Jay，您是否會在定價或成本方面添加任何內容？

No, we haven't seen that come through yet, although the supply chain is normalizing, I would say. And so we're going to get back to a more normalized flow so -- but not yet have we seen the component prices coming down.

不，我們還沒有看到這一點，儘管供應鏈正在正常化，我想說。因此，我們將恢復到更加正常化的流程——但我們還沒有看到組件價格下降。

So more to come there, Steve, kind of as we get into starting to lay out our specifics around next year.

史蒂夫，當我們開始在明年左右開始製定我們的細節時，還有更多的事情要做。

Thank you. We've reached end of our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Diane for any further or closing comments.

謝謝你。我們的問答環節已經結束。我想將發言權轉回給 Diane，以獲取任何進一步的或結束的評論。

Thanks, everyone for joining us this afternoon. We appreciate it, and we look forward to speaking with you along the way and on the third quarter call as well. Take care.

謝謝大家今天下午加入我們。我們對此表示感謝，我們期待在此過程中以及在第三季度電話會議上與您交談。小心。

Thank you. That does conclude today's teleconference and webcast. You may disconnect your line at this time, and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation today.

謝謝你。今天的電話會議和網絡直播到此結束。你可以在這個時候斷開你的線路，並有一個美好的一天。我們感謝您今天的參與。