Caleres Inc (CAL) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Caleres Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Daryl, and I will be your conference coordinator for today.

早上好，歡迎參加 Caleres 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。我叫達里爾，我將擔任你們今天的會議協調員。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Logan Bonacorsi, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。現在，我想將電話轉給投資者關係副總裁 Logan Bonacorsi。請繼續。

Good morning. Thank you for joining our Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call and Webcast. A press release with detailed financial tables as well as our quarterly slide presentation are available at caleres.com. 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.

早上好。感謝您參加我們的 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議和網絡廣播。包含詳細財務表格的新聞稿以及我們的季度幻燈片演示可在 caleres.com 上獲取。請注意，今天的討論包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述存在許多風險和不確定性。實際結果可能因各種風險因素而存在重大差異，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。請參閱今天的新聞稿和我們向 SEC 提交的文件，了解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。這些報告的副本可在線獲取。

In discussing the results of our operations, we'll be providing and referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures. You can find additional information regarding these non-GAAP financial measures as well as others used in today's earnings release and our presentation on the Investors section of our website. The company undertakes no obligation to update any information discussed in this call at any time.

在討論我們的運營結果時，我們將提供並參考某些非公認會計準則財務指標。您可以在我們網站的投資者部分找到有關這些非公認會計準則財務指標以及今天的收益發布和我們的演示中使用的其他指標的更多信息。該公司沒有義務隨時更新本次電話會議中討論的任何信息。

Joining me on the call today are Jay Schmidt, President and CEO; and Jack Calandra, Senior Vice President and CFO. We will begin this morning's call with our prepared remarks, and thereafter, we will be happy to take your questions.

今天與我一起參加電話會議的是總裁兼首席執行官傑伊·施密特 (Jay Schmidt)；以及高級副總裁兼首席財務官 Jack Calandra。我們將以準備好的發言開始今天早上的電話會議，隨後我們將很樂意回答您的問題。

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

我現在想把電話轉給傑伊。傑伊？

Thank you, Logan, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝洛根，大家早上好。

Once again, the Caleres team performed at a high level during the second quarter of 2023 delivering strong financial and operational results despite the challenging consumer demand environment. We leveraged our diversified structure, our powerful brands and our enhanced omni capabilities to drive earnings per share above the high end of our guidance range. This gain was achieved even with sales modestly below our initial expectations because we prioritize profitability and generated strong consolidated operating margins. Our ability to deliver bottom line results in a choppy consumer market demonstrates the desirability of our brands and the success of our efforts to tighten inventory and reduce promotion across our businesses.

儘管消費者需求環境充滿挑戰，但 Caleres 團隊在 2023 年第二季度再次表現出色，實現了強勁的財務和運營業績。我們利用多元化的結構、強大的品牌和增強的全方位能力，將每股收益推至高於指導範圍的高端。即使銷售額略低於我們最初的預期，我們仍然實現了這一收益，因為我們優先考慮盈利能力並產生了強勁的綜合營業利潤率。我們在動蕩的消費市場中實現盈利的能力證明了我們品牌的吸引力以及我們在收緊庫存和減少整個業務促銷方面所做的努力的成功。

We have also reduced expenses across the enterprise. These actions have yielded a fundamentally healthier Caleres. Indeed, we believe our diversified model and operational discipline sets us up to drive value in a variety of market conditions. The structural improvements we've implemented over the last several years coupled with our focus on cost control and commitment to our strategic initiatives positions us well for sustainable long-term growth.

我們還減少了整個企業的開支。這些行動讓卡萊雷斯從根本上變得更加健康。事實上，我們相信我們的多元化模式和運營紀律使我們能夠在各種市場條件下推動價值。我們在過去幾年中實施的結構性改進，加上我們對成本控制的關注和對戰略舉措的承諾，使我們能夠實現可持續的長期增長。

Now let's turn to some key highlights in the second quarter. We delivered adjusted earnings per share of $0.98. We grew market share in our Lead Brands, Sam Edelman, Allen Edmonds, Naturalizer and Vionic. We increased Famous Footwear's market share in shoe chains. We generated record second quarter gross margins in the Brand Portfolio. We achieved sequential improvement from the first quarter in the year-over-year sales trend at both Famous and Brand Portfolio.

現在讓我們來看看第二季度的一些關鍵亮點。我們的調整後每股收益為 0.98 美元。我們的主導品牌 Sam Edelman、Allen Edmonds、Naturalizer 和 Vionic 的市場份額有所增長。我們增加了 Famous Footwear 在鞋業連鎖店中的市場份額。我們的品牌組合第二季度毛利率創歷史新高。與第一季度相比，我們的名牌產品和品牌產品的銷售趨勢均實現了環比改善。

We maximized our inventory levels and managed them well, ending the period approximately 14% below 2022. We invested in consumer experience, analytics and marketing areas that are key to accelerate our strategic growth initiatives.

我們最大限度地提高了庫存水平並對其進行了良好的管理，最終比2022 年下降了約14%。我們在消費者體驗、分析和營銷領域進行了投資，這些領域對於加速我們的戰略增長計劃至關重要。

We returned approximately $20 million to shareholders via share repurchases and the quarterly dividend. And we utilized our free cash flow to reduce the borrowings under our asset-based revolving credit facility by $48 million from first quarter of 2023. This also represents a $105 million year-over-year decline in our borrowings.

我們通過股票回購和季度股息向股東返還約 2000 萬美元。自 2023 年第一季度起，我們利用自由現金流將基於資產的循環信貸額度下的借款減少了 4800 萬美元。這也意味著我們的借款同比減少了 1.05 億美元。

In recent years, we have prioritized debt reduction after funding our dividend as the top priority for free cash flow. During the second quarter, we reached our leverage ratio target of 1x debt to EBITDA. We anticipate strong levels of cash generation, and Jack will cover our capital priorities in more detail in a few moments.

近年來，我們在為股息提供資金之後優先考慮減少債務，作為自由現金流的首要任務。第二季度，我們達到了債務與 EBITDA 之比 1 倍的槓桿率目標。我們預計現金流量將強勁，傑克稍後將更詳細地介紹我們的資本優先事項。

Now let's move to our second quarter operating results. Overall, consolidated sales declined 5.8%, falling short of our expectations. Famous Footwear sales were about in line with our expectations, while Brand Portfolio revenues were somewhat below our initial view. Despite this, we generated strong consolidated gross margins of more than 45%. This was driven by continued improvement in the Brand Portfolio's gross margin as well as rigorous cost management across both segments. Faced with softer demand, we chose to prioritize profitability over promotions. As a result of all of these efforts, we achieved solid second quarter operating earnings.

現在讓我們來看第二季度的運營業績。總體而言，綜合銷售額下降 5.8%，低於我們的預期。名牌鞋類的銷售額大致符合我們的預期，而品牌組合收入則略低於我們最初的預期。儘管如此，我們仍實現了超過 45% 的強勁綜合毛利率。這是由於品牌組合毛利率的持續改善以及兩個部門嚴格的成本管理所推動的。面對需求疲軟，我們選擇將盈利能力置於促銷之上。由於所有這些努力，我們實現了穩健的第二季度運營收益。

Now let's turn to our operating segments, starting with the Brand Portfolio, which remains on track to deliver an increased earnings contribution this year in both dollars and rate. During the quarter, we experienced some seasonal weakness in sandals as consumers prioritize casual flats and sneakers. We also saw conservative ordering patterns by our wholesale partners. As you may remember last year, consumer demand surged as restrictions were lifted and our wholesale partners built their inventories.

現在讓我們轉向我們的運營部門，從品牌組合開始，該部門今年仍有望在美元和利率方面實現盈利貢獻增加。在本季度，我們經歷了涼鞋的季節性疲軟，因為消費者優先考慮休閒平底鞋和運動鞋。我們還看到批發合作夥伴的保守訂購模式。您可能還記得去年，隨著限制的取消以及我們的批發合作夥伴建立庫存，消費者需求激增。

As we move into the back half of 2023 though, these more difficult year-over-year comparisons ease, and we are ready with strong inventory in loafer, flat and sneaker styles that our consumers desire. In contrast, our own channels performed well in the second quarter. Our own e-commerce sales were up 8% year-over-year with standout performances from Lead Brands, Allen Edmonds and Vionic.

不過，隨著進入 2023 年下半年，這些更困難的同比比較會有所緩解，我們已經準備好消費者想要的樂福鞋、平底鞋和運動鞋款式的大量庫存。相比之下，我們自己的渠道在第二季度表現良好。我們自己的電子商務銷售額同比增長 8%，其中 Lead Brands、Allen Edmonds 和 Vionic 表現出色。

In addition, our brick-and-mortar business climbed more than 16% compared to the prior year. We continue to maximize top selling items and get the consumer what they want and faster by leaning into our Edit to Win initiative and utilizing our speed program that takes advantage of the fully recovered supply chain network. It's worth noting here that our speed capabilities enable us to pivot quickly in this dynamic market environment, and we are closing in on our goal of speed orders representing 20% of our inventory purchases.

此外，我們的實體業務比上年增長了 16% 以上。我們繼續致力於最大限度地提高最暢銷的產品，並通過依靠我們的“編輯致勝”計劃並利用我們充分利用完全恢復的供應鍊網絡的速度計劃，更快地獲得消費者想要的東西。值得注意的是，我們的速度能力使我們能夠在這個動態的市場環境中快速轉型，我們正在接近快速訂單佔庫存採購量 20% 的目標。

As a result, the Brand Portfolio delivered second quarter adjusted operating earnings of $28 million and achieved a 9% operating margin. This performance was driven by a 295 basis point improvement in gross margins due to higher initial margins, lower freight costs and strong inventory management. We believe our inventory is aligned with our top line trends due to careful category planning, this benefits our wholesale partners as well, leading to a healthier business across all channels and this sets the stage for a stronger second half for this segment.

結果，品牌組合第二季度調整後營業利潤為 2800 萬美元，營業利潤率為 9%。這一業績得益於較高的初始利潤、較低的貨運成本和強大的庫存管理，毛利率提高了 295 個基點。我們相信，由於仔細的品類規劃，我們的庫存與我們的營收趨勢保持一致，這也有利於我們的批發合作夥伴，從而使所有渠道的業務更加健康，這為該細分市場下半年的強勁發展奠定了基礎。

Now to the performance of our Lead Brands. As we indicated last quarter, our Lead Brands have significant growth potential, and we are strategically investing in these Lead Brands to power growth. We expect these brands will represent a higher percent of our total Caleres revenue in 2023 with opportunities to increase that penetration further over the long term via a number of different growth vectors.

現在來看看我們領先品牌的表現。正如我們上季度所指出的，我們的領先品牌具有巨大的增長潛力，我們正在對這些領先品牌進行戰略投資以推動增長。我們預計，到 2023 年，這些品牌將占我們 Caleres 總收入的比例更高，並有機會通過多種不同的增長載體，在長期內進一步提高滲透率。

Starting with Allen Edmonds. The brand delivered its 10th consecutive quarter of growth. Improvement was broad-based across all channels with sales up mid-single digits compared to the second quarter last year. We saw strength in our direct channels with brick-and-mortar up 5% and e-commerce up 13%, driven by increased traffic and conversion. I am pleased to note that we've seen significant increases in the brand's average unit retails compared to pre-pandemic levels. There's a lot to be excited about at Allen Edmonds.

從艾倫·埃德蒙茲開始。該品牌實現了連續第十個季度的增長。所有渠道都有廣泛的改善，與去年第二季度相比，銷售額增長了中個位數。在流量和轉化率增加的推動下，我們的直接渠道表現強勁，實體渠道增長了 5%，電子商務增長了 13%。我很高興地註意到，與大流行前的水平相比，我們看到該品牌的平均單位零售量顯著增加。艾倫·埃德蒙茲 (A​​llen Edmonds) 有很多令人興奮的事情。

Turning now to Vionic. Fresh off its new marketing campaign, emphasizing its Northern California routes, the brand saw a nice improvement in its e-commerce business during the second quarter. Early catalog performance helped deliver a 7-plus percent year-over-year increase in e-commerce with newness, particularly loafers and white sneakers driving the uplift. One of their new styles, the Uptown moc sold out during its spring launch and will be a top 10-style for fall. And Sam Edelman and Naturalizer continued to harness their significant brand strength to capture market share. For Sam Edelman, we saw strong consumer reaction to the brand's new Layla sneaker as well as an impressive performance at retail with their flats.

現在轉向 Vionic。剛剛結束新的營銷活動，強調其北加州航線，該品牌在第二季度的電子商務業務取得了良好的進展。早期的產品目錄表現幫助電子商務的新鮮度同比增長了 7% 以上，特別是樂福鞋和白色運動鞋推動了這一增長。 Uptown moc 是他們的新款式之一，在春季推出時就銷售一空，並將成為秋季的十大款式。 Sam Edelman 和 Naturalizer 繼續利用其重要的品牌優勢來佔領市場份額。對於 Sam Edelman，我們看到消費者對該品牌的新款 Layla 運動鞋反應強烈，而且他們的平底鞋在零售業也取得了令人印象深刻的表現。

Naturalizer capitalized on the Caleres speed-to-market capabilities I mentioned earlier to accelerate delivery of the Morrison 2.0 sneaker, a new evolution of its best-selling Lace Up sports shoe. Launched in early spring, the sneaker had grown to the #2 style in the Naturalizer brand. In addition, Naturalizer had stand out gross margin and operating contribution during the quarter. Now we also had sales growth and profitability improvements from our portfolio brands, especially LifeStride, Franco Sarto and Dr. Scholl's. As a reminder, these brands are growing assets within the portfolio that serve key consumer segments not currently served by our Lead Brands and benefit from our One Caleres capabilities.

Naturalizer 利用我之前提到的 Caleres 快速上市能力來加速 Morrison 2.0 運動鞋的交付，這是其最暢銷的 Lace Up 運動鞋的全新演變。這款運動鞋於早春推出，現已成為 Naturalizer 品牌的第二大款式。此外，Naturalizer 在本季度的毛利率和運營貢獻方面也表現出色。現在，我們的投資組合品牌，尤其是 LifeStride、Franco Sarto 和 Dr. Scholl's，也實現了銷售增長和盈利能力提高。提醒一下，這些品牌正在投資組合中不斷增長的資產，為我們的領先品牌目前尚未服務的關鍵消費者群體提供服務，並從我們的 One Caleres 能力中受益。

In each of these brands, the consumer responded to style, comfort and value. And we even had a viral success in the Dr. Scholl's brand with a Time Off sneaker, which was a TikTok favorite, and I may add, sold 75,000 pairs of retail during the second quarter.

在每個品牌中，消費者都對風格、舒適度和價值做出反應。我們甚至在 Dr. Scholl 品牌的 Time Off 運動鞋上取得了病毒般的成功，這款運動鞋是 TikTok 的最愛，我可以補充一下，第二季度零售了 75,000 雙。

Overall, the Brand Portfolio is performing well with the first half of 2023, providing a solid foundation on which to build. As year-over-year [comparisons ease,] we expect sales trends will improve and more importantly, the Brand Portfolio will make a larger and more meaningful contribution to the total company's operating performance this year.

總體而言，品牌組合在 2023 年上半年表現良好，為進一步發展奠定了堅實的基礎。隨著同比[比較的緩和]，我們預計銷售趨勢將會改善，更重要的是，品牌組合將為今年公司的整體經營業績做出更大、更有意義的貢獻。

Turning now to Famous Footwear. During the second quarter, Famous continued to navigate difficult spending trends among its target consumer and the challenging macroeconomic backdrop overall. Even in this environment, Famous outperformed its competitive set and increased market share in shoe chain. We saw strengthening sales trends as we move through the quarter, and we delivered an expected sequential quarterly improvement in Q2.

現在轉向著名鞋類。第二季度，Famous 繼續應對目標消費者的艱難消費趨勢和充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟背景。即使在這種環境下，Famous 也超越了其競爭對手，並增加了鞋業連鎖店的市場份額。隨著本季度的進展，我們看到了銷售趨勢的加強，並且我們在第二季度實現了預期的季度環比改善。

Our Kids business, a key differentiator for Famous was a bright spot again this quarter, increasing 5% over last year. Kids is an essential and growing category for Famous and our focus paid off as families continue to prioritize purchases of kids footwear. This strength is particularly important heading now into the back-to-school season. In total, Famous generated nearly $41 million in adjusted operating earnings and net sales down 5%, resulting in a return of sales of nearly 10%.

我們的兒童業務是 Famous 的一個關鍵差異化優勢，本季度再次成為亮點，比去年增長 5%。對於 Famous 來說，童裝是一個重要且不斷增長的類別，隨著家庭繼續優先購買童鞋，我們的關注得到了回報。在現在進入返校季節時，這種優勢尤其重要。 Famous 總共產生了近 4100 萬美元的調整後營業利潤，淨銷售額下降了 5%，導致銷售回報率接近 10%。

Famous sustained its gross margin rate of 46% from the first quarter as we continue to be strategic around our promotional approach. About 50% of our business is now excluded from BOGO promotions, up from about 30% pre-pandemic. As we are with the Brand Portfolio, we are prioritizing the health of our business at Famous Footwear over trying to capture lower quality sales. Looking more closely at back-to-school, we executed a number of strategies to capitalize on this important demand opportunity.

Famous 第一季度的毛利率保持在 46%，因為我們繼續圍繞促銷方法採取戰略性措施。我們大約 50% 的業務現在被排除在 BOGO 促銷活動之外，高於大流行前的約 30%。正如我們的品牌組合一樣，我們優先考慮 Famous Footwear 業務的健康發展，而不是試圖獲得較低質量的銷售。更仔細地審視返校季，我們執行了一系列策略來利用這一重要的需求機會。

First, we focused on amplifying newness to drive excitement, interest and relevance; second, we approached inventory in a measured and agile manner. While we built up inventory behind key brands, styles and patterns, we tightly managed our overall inventory position, which declined 2% compared to last year. In order to have the capacity to react aggressively to best sellers in season.

首先，我們專注於增強新鮮感，以激發興奮感、興趣和相關性；其次，我們以謹慎而敏捷的方式處理庫存。雖然我們建立了關鍵品牌、款式和圖案的庫存，但我們嚴格管理整體庫存狀況，與去年相比下降了 2%。為了有能力對當季暢銷品做出積極反應。

Finally, we continue to enhance, energize and modernize the store experience through our new prototype stores. While we don't anticipate comping last year's record back-to-school period, we do believe Famous is uniquely positioned to maintain its leadership status in shoe chains and deliver a solid performance.

最後，我們繼續通過新的原型店來增強、激發和現代化商店體驗。雖然我們預計不會與去年創紀錄的返校季相比，但我們確實相信 Famous 具有獨特的優勢，可以保持其在鞋業連鎖店中的領導地位並提供穩健的業績。

Looking ahead, the Famous team is extremely focused on fueling what's working from a product, marketing and digital perspective to maximize our earnings potential while managing inventory and expense levels. Overall, we believe in the power and agility of the brand and expect strong earnings in 2023 and beyond. In short, we continue to have great confidence in the long-term outlook for Famous, and we believe we can leverage our competitive advantages to accelerate our growth in this segment.

展望未來，Famous 團隊將極其專注於從產品、營銷和數字角度推動工作，以最大限度地提高我們的盈利潛力，同時管理庫存和費用水平。總體而言，我們相信該品牌的力量和敏捷性，並預計 2023 年及以後的收入將強勁。簡而言之，我們對 Famous 的長期前景仍然充滿信心，我們相信我們可以利用我們的競爭優勢來加速我們在這一領域的增長。

These include our leadership position with kids and the millennial family, our leading assortment of national brands are nationwide and largely off-mall retail footprint and our elevated consumer experience in store and online.

其中包括我們在兒童和千禧一代家庭中的領導地位，我們領先的民族品牌品種遍布全國且大部分不在商場零售，以及我們在商店和網上提升的消費者體驗。

So in summary, I'm extremely proud of our strong operational discipline and the financial performance we delivered in the second quarter. I believe the most recent quarter underscored yet again the advantages of our diversified structure and the one Caleres model. We remain confident in our ability to achieve our annual sales and earnings guidance for the year. Our brands are strong and enduring. Our strategies are clear and actionable and our teams are dedicated to exceeding the expectations of our consumers in this dynamic marketplace.

總而言之，我對我們強大的運營紀律和第二季度的財務業績感到非常自豪。我相信最近一個季度再次強調了我們多元化結構和單一 Caleres 模式的優勢。我們對實現今年的年度銷售和盈利指導的能力仍然充滿信心。我們的品牌強大而持久。我們的戰略清晰且可操作，我們的團隊致力於在這個充滿活力的市場中超越消費者的期望。

Moreover, we continue to believe the strong financial foundation we've built will enable us to consistently deliver our annual earnings baseline of more than $4 per share while generating strong levels of free cash flow and creating long-term value for our shareholders.

此外，我們仍然相信，我們所建立的強大財務基礎將使我們能夠始終如一地實現每股超過 4 美元的年盈利基準，同時產生強勁的自由現金流並為股東創造長期價值。

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

現在，我將把它交給傑克，讓他更詳細地了解我們的財務狀況。傑克？

Thanks, Jay, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝杰伊，大家早上好。

We maintained strong financial discipline across the company in the second quarter. This resulted in earnings per share that exceeded the upper end of our guidance and healthy cash flow, which enabled us to reduce debt, invest in our critical growth initiatives and returning cash to shareholders. In today's call, I'll provide additional details on our second quarter performance, discuss the progress we've made on our cost reduction initiatives, update you on our capital allocation plan and priorities and share our outlook for the third quarter and full year. My comments will be on an adjusted basis. Please see today's press release for a reconciliation of adjusted results.

第二季度，我們在整個公司範圍內保持了嚴格的財務紀律。這導致每股收益超過了我們指導的上限，並實現了健康的現金流，使我們能夠減少債務、投資於我們的關鍵增長計劃並向股東返還現金。在今天的電話會議中，我將提供有關我們第二季度業績的更多詳細信息，討論我們在成本削減計劃方面取得的進展，向您介紹我們的資本分配計劃和優先事項的最新情況，並分享我們對第三季度和全年的展望。我的評論將根據情況進行調整。請參閱今天的新聞稿，了解調整後的結果的核對錶。

Starting with Q2. Consolidated sales were $696 million, a 5.8% decrease versus last year. At Famous, sales were down 5.1% and comparable sales were down 4.3%, sales declines versus last year improved each month of the quarter. Brand Portfolio sales were $301 million, down 7.2% to last year, due to softness in seasonal categories, namely sandals and cautious buying behavior in the wholesale channel. While sales were down, we were able to protect margin with fewer markdowns and allowances.

從 Q2 開始。綜合銷售額為 6.96 億美元，比去年下降 5.8%。 Famous 的銷售額下降了 5.1%，可比銷售額下降了 4.3%，與去年相比，本季度每個月的銷售額下降幅度都有所改善。品牌組合銷售額為 3.01 億美元，比去年下降 7.2%，原因是季節性品類（即涼鞋）疲軟以及批發渠道的謹慎購買行為。雖然銷售額下降，但我們能夠通過減少降價和補貼來保護利潤。

Consolidated gross margin decreased 45 basis points to 45.2%, which reflected an increase in Brand Portfolio gross margin, offset by a decrease in Famous gross margin. Brand Portfolio gross margin was 41.3%, a 295 basis point increase versus last year. This gross margin was a record for the second quarter for the segment and was due to higher initial margins, lower ocean freight costs and disciplined inventory management. Famous gross margin was 46.2%, a 273 basis point decline versus last year. This decline reflects lower initial margins and a more normalized level of clearance pricing and activity given last year's clean inventory position. That said, clearance pricing and activity continue to compare favorably to 2019. SG&A expense was $263 million or 37.8% of sales. SG&A expense was $5.6 million lower than last year from lower variable expenses and incentive compensation costs.

綜合毛利率下降 45 個基點至 45.2%，反映出品牌組合毛利率的增長，但被知名品牌毛利率的下降所抵消。品牌組合毛利率為 41.3%，較去年增長 295 個基點。這一毛利率創下了該部門第二季度的記錄，這得益於較高的初始利潤、較低的海運成本和嚴格的庫存管理。名譽毛利率為46.2%，較去年下降273個基點。這一下降反映出初始利潤率較低，以及考慮到去年的清潔庫存狀況，清倉定價和活動水平更加正常化。儘管如此，與 2019 年相比，清倉價格和活動仍然有利。SG&A 費用為 2.63 億美元，佔銷售額的 37.8%。由於可變費用和激勵薪酬成本降低，SG&A 費用比去年減少了 560 萬美元。

Operating earnings were $51 million and operating margin was 7.4%. Operating margin was 9.2% at Brand Portfolio and 9.9% at Famous. Net interest expense was $5.1 million, double versus last year given a higher borrowing rate. The weighted average interest rate in Q2 was 6.7% versus 2.8% last year.

營業利潤為 5100 萬美元，營業利潤率為 7.4%。 Brand Portfolio 的營業利潤率為 9.2%，Famous 的營業利潤率為 9.9%。由於借款利率較高，淨利息支出為 510 萬美元，是去年的兩倍。第二季度的加權平均利率為 6.7%，而去年為 2.8%。

Diluted earnings per share were $0.98 in excess of the high end of our guidance, and EBITDA was $65 million or 9.4% of sales. Turning now to the balance sheet and cash flow. We ended the second quarter with $244 million in borrowings and no long-term debt. Inventory at the end of the second quarter was $661 million, down 14% versus last year, reflecting reductions in both in transit and on-hand inventory due to both accelerated receipts last year in Brand Portfolio as supply chain challenges started to resolve and disciplined inventory management across the business.

稀釋後每股收益比我們指導的上限高出 0.98 美元，EBITDA 為 6500 萬美元，佔銷售額的 9.4%。現在轉向資產負債表和現金流。截至第二季度末，我們的借款為 2.44 億美元，沒有長期債務。第二季度末的庫存為 6.61 億美元，比去年下降 14%，反映出在途庫存和現有庫存均減少，原因是去年供應鏈挑戰開始解決，品牌組合收貨加速，庫存受到嚴格控制。整個業務的管理。

By segment, inventory of Famous was down 2% versus last year. At Brand Portfolio, inventory was down 26% versus last year. In general, we feel good about the amount and composition of inventory in both segments. Regarding cash flow from operations, we generated $88 million during the quarter and deployed cash for strategic investments in the business, paid our quarterly dividend, reduced borrowings on our asset-based revolver and repurchased shares.

按細分市場來看，Famous 的庫存比去年下降了 2%。品牌組合的庫存比去年下降了 26%。總的來說，我們對這兩個細分市場的庫存數量和構成感到滿意。關於運營現金流，我們在本季度產生了 8800 萬美元，並部署現金用於業務戰略投資、支付季度股息、減少基於資產的循環貸款和回購股票的借款。

Specifically, we spent $10.3 million on capital expenditures, $2.5 million on our quarterly dividend, $17.4 million to buy back 763,000 shares at an average price of $22.86 and $47.5 million to reduce our borrowings. With the Q2 paydown, borrowings are approximately $105 million below Q2 last year and down $64 million year-to-date.

具體來說，我們花費了 1,030 萬美元用於資本支出，250 萬美元用於季度股息，1,740 萬美元以平均價格 22.86 美元回購 763,000 股股票，4,750 萬美元用於減少借款。考慮到第二季度的還款，借款比去年第二季度減少了約 1.05 億美元，今年迄今減少了 6400 萬美元。

As Jay mentioned, we reached our target leverage ratio of 1x on a debt to trailing 12-month EBITDA basis. While we continue to evaluate our capital allocation options and maintain a flexible approach, we believe at this time, the best use of free cash flow is to continue to reduce our borrowings. This will allow us to reduce interest expense in this higher rate environment and maximize liquidity. That said, we view buybacks as an effective means of returning capital to shareholders and with our valuation metrics still well below historical levels, we view Caleres stock as an attractive investment.

正如 Jay 提到的，我們的債務槓桿率達到了過去 12 個月 EBITDA 的 1 倍目標。雖然我們繼續評估我們的資本配置方案並保持靈活的方法，但我們相信目前自由現金流的最佳利用是繼續減少我們的借款。這將使我們能夠在高利率環境下減少利息支出並最大限度地提高流動性。也就是說，我們認為回購是向股東返還資本的有效手段，並且由於我們的估值指標仍遠低於歷史水平，我們認為 Caleres 股票是一項有吸引力的投資。

We have 5.6 million shares remaining under our current Board authorization, and we'll continue to consider share repurchases based on market conditions.

目前董事會授權下我們還剩 560 萬股，我們將繼續根據市場情況考慮股票回購。

Now turning to our outlook. Given our performance year-to-date and our forecast for the second half, we continue to expect full year earnings per share of $4.10 to $4.30. In addition, we still anticipate consolidated sales to be down 3% to 5% including the impact of the 53rd week, consolidated operating margin of 7.3% to 7.5%. We still expect to generate $20 million of in-year savings and $30 million to $35 million on an annualized basis from our cost reduction actions. For the in-year savings, $3 million was realized in Q1, $7 million was realized in Q2 and the remaining $10 million will be realized in the second half.

現在轉向我們的展望。鑑於我們今年迄今的業績和對下半年的預測，我們繼續預計全年每股收益為 4.10 美元至 4.30 美元。此外，我們仍預計綜合銷售額將下降 3% 至 5%，其中包括第 53 週的影響，綜合營業利潤率為 7.3% 至 7.5%。我們仍預計通過我們的成本削減行動，年內可節省 2000 萬美元，每年可節省 3000 萬至 3500 萬美元。對於年內節省，第一季度實現了 300 萬美元，第二季度實現了 700 萬美元，剩餘的 1000 萬美元將在下半年實現。

We continue to expect a onetime cash charge of about $4 million associated with this initiative. We took $1.6 million of that charge in the second quarter and expect to take the remaining charge in Q3. We still expect net interest expense of $17 million to $19 million, an effective tax rate of about 25% and shares outstanding of approximately 34.3 million, which assumes no additional share repurchases this year.

我們仍然預計與該計劃相關的一次性現金費用約為 400 萬美元。我們在第二季度收取了 160 萬美元的費用，預計在第三季度收取剩餘費用。我們仍然預計淨利息支出為 1,700 萬至 1,900 萬美元，有效稅率約為 25%，流通股數量約為 3,430 萬股（假設今年沒有額外的股票回購）。

In addition, we now expect capital expenditures of $50 million to $60 million versus our previous revised guidance of $55 million to $65 million. This decline reflects an adjustments of timing of certain projects, and we remain committed to investing in our strategic initiatives.

此外，我們現在預計資本支出為 5000 萬美元至 6000 萬美元，而之前修訂後的指導為 5500 萬美元至 6500 萬美元。這種下降反映了某些項目時間安排的調整，我們仍然致力於投資於我們的戰略舉措。

Finally, we are providing the following guidance for the third quarter. We expect net sales to be down low single digits and earnings per share of $1.30 to $1.35. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to the operator for questions. Operator?

最後，我們為第三季度提供以下指導。我們預計淨銷售額將下降至低個位數，每股收益將下降至 1.30 美元至 1.35 美元。這樣，我想將電話轉給接線員詢問問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our first questions come from the line of Dana Telsey with Telsey Advisory Group.

我們的第一個問題來自特爾西諮詢小組的達納·特爾西。

Can you talk a little bit about the puts and takes on the gross margin in the back half of the year across both businesses, how you're seeing it and planning as we go into the back half and what you're thinking about in terms of promo versus full price? And is there any difference by category?

您能否談談下半年這兩項業務的毛利率的看跌期權和承付金額，您如何看待這一情況並在我們進入下半年時進行規劃以及您的想法促銷與全價的區別？不同類別有什麼區別嗎？

Dana, this is Jack. Thank you for your question. In terms of -- I'll take it by business segment. So in terms of Famous, the tailwinds in gross margin as we go into the back half include, I think, the disciplined inventory management that we've demonstrated. We do expect to have fewer days on promotion, but the headwinds there would include lower initial margins and the more normalized level of clearance activity and pricing that I mentioned earlier.

達納，這是傑克。謝謝你的問題。就業務而言，我將按業務部門來劃分。因此，就 Famous 而言，我認為，當我們進入下半年時，毛利率的有利因素包括我們所展示的嚴格的庫存管理。我們確實預計促銷天數會減少，但不利因素包括初始利潤率較低以及我之前提到的清倉活動和定價水平更加正常化。

For Brand Portfolio, I would say there's more tailwinds there than headwinds. The tailwinds there also include the disciplined inventory management that we've demonstrated. But there, we have higher initial margins, continued ocean freight savings and a higher contribution of sales from direct to consumer, which as you know, is a more profitable business for us in that channel.

對於品牌組合，我想說順風多於逆風。那裡的有利因素還包括我們所展示的嚴格的庫存管理。但在那裡，我們擁有更高的初始利潤、持續的海運費節省以及直接面向消費者的更高的銷售貢獻，正如你所知，這對於我們在該渠道中來說是一項更有利可圖的業務。

Got it. And then as you're thinking about -- as you went through this back-to-school season, any learnings from back-to-school that can inform for holiday on the merchandising side, what you saw in either portfolio and any thoughts on the wholesale division with branded portfolio with some of those orders tightening, what do you see as getting this [bigger to] open again or anything you're seeing from the wholesale accounts in particular?

知道了。然後，當您思考時，當您經歷這個返校季節時，從返校中學到的任何可以為假期銷售提供信息的知識，您在任一投資組合中看到的內容以及對以下方面的任何想法擁有品牌產品組合的批發部門，其中一些訂單收緊，您認為如何讓這個[更大]再次開放，或者您特別從批發賬戶中看到什麼？

Okay. So Dana, this is Jay. I will start with your Brand Portfolio question. Our ongoing disciplined approach to inventory management really helps us to chase these top selling items in season through our speed programs. And we've been able to mitigate and navigate kind of some of the shifts in behavior. We saw a lot of positivity on the sneaker trend as we went into second quarter, and we're able to actually get enough inventory to make that a meaningful business as we walk into Q3. Our category business includes on flats and loafers. We're seeing really nice progress on that and really good sell-throughs on that, particularly with Classic Hardware and Classics being so strong. And finally, there is some newness in the dress business with Slingbacks coming in and really particularly on low heels. So we're really focused on getting these right categories and then all the way down to the items to really help move this business back.

好的。達納，這是傑伊。我將從您的品牌組合問題開始。我們持續嚴格的庫存管理方法確實有助於我們通過速度計劃追逐這些當季最暢銷的商品。我們已經能夠減輕和應對一些行為轉變。進入第二季度時，我們看到了運動鞋趨勢的很多積極因素，並且當我們進入第三季度時，我們實際上能夠獲得足夠的庫存，使其成為一項有意義的業務。我們的業務類別包括平底鞋和樂福鞋。我們看到這方面取得了非常好的進展，並且銷售情況非常好，特別是經典硬件和經典產品如此強勁。最後，隨著露跟鞋的出現，尤其是低跟鞋，連衣裙行業出現了一些新鮮事。因此，我們真正專注於獲得這些正確的類別，然後一直到真正幫助該業務恢復的項目。

And we still do get reorders from people on these really strong items selling. The conversation is very similar over at Famous Footwear. When we think about it, some of our biggest brands that are working well that we're trying to get back into them, we saw really good strength with our Nike business continues to perform and continue to kids. Our Converse business is very strong. Hey Dude is working well for the brand during this period. And then some really nice progress with New Balance, which we're excited about and looking to really expand that through as we get into third quarter.

我們仍然收到人們對這些銷售非常強勁的商品的重新訂購。 Famous Footwear 的對話非常相似。當我們想到這一點時，我們的一些運行良好的最大品牌正在努力重新進入它們，我們看到耐克業務的真正強大實力繼續表現並繼續為兒童服務。我們的匡威業務非常強勁。 Hey Dude 在此期間為該品牌運作良好。然後，新百倫取得了一些非常好的進展，我們對此感到興奮，並希望在進入第三季度時真正擴大這一進展。

So there's a lot of that going through that we're working on. Clearly, though, when you look at Famous, our kids has been a differentiator, and we're seeing that as we have continued to see outpace the whole organization by almost 10 points, which is really excited on that delta there. And that really is our competitive place. We outpace in the shoe chain channel in that category. We've done a lot of work on kids marketing and then also try-ons in stores and really seeing some good reaction there as we focus on that business. So that's really the biggest learning so far that we've seen.

因此，我們正在處理很多事情。不過，很明顯，當你看看Famous 時，我們的孩子是一個與眾不同的因素，我們看到這一點，因為我們繼續看到比整個組織快了近10 個百分點，這對那裡的三角洲來說真的很令人興奮。這確實是我們的競爭優勢。我們在該類別的鞋連鎖渠道中表現出色。我們在兒童營銷方面做了很多工作，然後還在商店試穿，當我們專注於這項業務時，確實看到了一些良好的反應。所以這確實是迄今為止我們所看到的最大的教訓。

Got it. And then, Jack, nice progress on the revolving credit, the debt paydown. What are you seeing for that going forward?

知道了。然後，傑克，循環信貸和債務償還方面取得了不錯的進展。您對未來有何看法？

Yes. Yes. So as I mentioned, Dana, we've hit that 1x debt-to-EBITDA target that we have outlined. I think just given certainly the continued macro uncertainty and consumer demand uncertainty and also just the higher interest rates that we're paying. As I mentioned, the average interest rate we paid in Q2 this year versus last year, I would say our most recent borrowings now are closer to 7%. And so I think those 2 reasons present a really compelling argument for continuing to pay that down. Obviously, we'll get some nice EPS benefit from continuing to reduce that interest expense as based on our guidance, we have somewhere between $0.34 and $0.38 of interest expense headwind of EPS and so we'll continue to focus on that in the near term. But again, as you know, we bought back shares in the second quarter. And so we are always looking to be flexible and opportunistic there. And I think the balance sheet that we now have, gives us that ability.

是的。是的。正如我所提到的，Dana，我們已經實現了我們概述的 1 倍債務與 EBITDA 的目標。我認為，考慮到持續的宏觀不確定性和消費者需求的不確定性，以及我們支付的更高的利率。正如我提到的，與去年相比，我們今年第二季度支付的平均利率，我想說我們最近的借款現在接近 7%。因此，我認為這兩個原因為繼續償還債務提供了真正令人信服的論據。顯然，根據我們的指導，我們將通過繼續減少利息支出來獲得一些不錯的每股收益收益，我們的每股收益利息支出阻力在0.34 美元到0.38 美元之間，因此我們將在短期內繼續關注這一點。但正如你所知，我們在第二季度回購了股票。因此，我們始終尋求靈活和機會主義。我認為我們現在擁有的資產負債表賦予了我們這種能力。

Our next questions come from the line of Laura Champine with Loop Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 Loop Capital Markets 的 Laura Champine。

I have a follow-on question about the Brand Portfolio business. Can you comment on -- anything of note within the different channels that you sell to on the wholesale side and how you expect that to trend as we head into Q3. Maybe if you can comment on what you're seeing so far this quarter.

我有一個關於品牌組合業務的後續問題。您能否評論一下您在批發方面銷售的不同渠道中值得注意的任何事情，以及您期望進入第三季度時的趨勢。也許您可以對本季度到目前為止所看到的情況發表評論。

Yes. Laura, it's Jay. I will -- yes, on the Brand Portfolio, we are seeing, I think, our -- as we said, our Lead Brands are continuing to taking share. Consumers are voting towards newness and that's where we're seeing the prioritization there. We sell in a dynamic way to some of our lead customers. So we sell both on brick-and-mortar upfront. We do a lot of direct-to-consumer online with them, and then we do work on a replenishment basis.

是的。勞拉，是傑伊。我會——是的，在品牌組合上，我認為，我們看到——正如我們所說，我們的領先品牌正在繼續佔據份額。消費者正在投票支持新鮮事物，這就是我們看到的優先順序。我們以動態的方式向一些主要客戶進行銷售。因此，我們預先在實體店銷售這兩種產品。我們在網上與他們進行了很多直接面向消費者的合作，然後我們在補貨的基礎上進行工作。

So our model hasn't changed. We're continuing to see that demand for newness, but that's really what we're seeing so far. We did see, obviously, a dynamic shift if you compare it to last year, where we were selling a lot of ankle-strap dress sandals and things to go out, we're now seeing a shift more toward, I'd say, very versatile footwear in terms of these flats and other styles and our customers are continuing to respond to that. But for sure, we're looking at it in a very dynamic mode right now.

所以我們的模型沒有改變。我們繼續看到對新鮮事物的需求，但這確實是我們迄今為止所看到的。顯然，如果你與去年相比，我們確實看到了一個動態的轉變，去年我們銷售了很多踝帶正裝涼鞋和外出用品，我想說，我們現在看到更多的轉變，這些平底鞋和其他款式的鞋子非常通用，我們的客戶正在繼續對此做出反應。但可以肯定的是，我們現在正在以一種非常動態的方式看待它。

Lastly, as we said, our direct-to-consumer business on our Brand Portfolio was up nicely in the quarter, and we continue to work toward that. So that's how we're working with everyone, but it does -- it's a very similar concept. We're just working with our partners in the same way.

最後，正如我們所說，我們品牌組合的直接面向消費者業務在本季度增長良好，我們將繼續為此努力。這就是我們與每個人合作的方式，但確實如此——這是一個非常相似的概念。我們只是以同樣的方式與我們的合作夥伴合作。

I guess I meant more about retail channels, meaning, how is your business with -- how are you using the off-pricers who continue to grow and is there a significant difference in trends at department stores as opposed to specialty? That's the direction I was hoping to go.

我想我更多的是關於零售渠道，意思是，你的業務如何——你如何利用持續增長的低價商，百貨商店的趨勢與專賣店的趨勢是否存在顯著差異？這就是我希望走的方向。

Okay. So just to refresh on that, our department store business for Q2 was down a little more than I would say other ones in the brick-and-mortar piece. Our shoe chain business was up in the quarter, which was nice. And then our off-price business is really more of a closeout piece for us right now. So that has not been as big a piece for us. So that's what I would say for the quarter right now. That's where we saw in Q2, and we'll continue to watch as we go forward.

好的。因此，回顧一下這一點，我們第二季度的百貨商店業務下降幅度比我所說的實體店中的其他業務要多一些。我們的鞋連鎖業務在本季度有所增長，這很好。然後，我們的折扣業務現在對我們來說實際上更像是一個收尾部分。所以這對我們來說並不是那麼重要。這就是我現在對本季度所說的內容。這就是我們在第二季度看到的情況，我們將繼續關注未來。

Our next questions come from the line of Mitch Kummetz with Seaport Research.

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

My first question is on Famous and it does have a few parts. Jay, you mentioned that Kids was up, I think you said 5%, that was 10 points better than the business as a whole. Can you tell us kind of how the rest of Famous broke out, maybe casual versus dress versus athletic? And then also on Famous -- maybe if you could just take that first.

我的第一個問題是關於 Famous 的，它確實有幾個部分。 Jay，你提到 Kids 上漲了，我想你說的是 5%，這比整個業務好 10 個百分點。你能告訴我們其他的 Famous 是如何爆發的嗎？也許是休閒裝、正裝還是運動裝？然後還有《Famous》——也許你可以先考慮一下。

Okay. So for sure, our casual business was better than our performance athletic business, the adult side. As we said, our kids business was up significantly. And then the other businesses, which were smaller that we break out was -- was down, but that was a small piece of a total. (inaudible) though, our lifestyle business was particularly strong. And then, I think, our lifestyle business, I should say, was particularly strong versus the performance piece of it right now. And then finally, Mitch, we did have, as I called out in the beginning, our sandal weakness was really similar across both channels, and it was down 11% in Famous and in the Brand Portfolio was down a similar amount in our total shipments.

好的。所以可以肯定的是，我們的休閒業務比我們的成人運動業務更好。正如我們所說，我們的兒童業務大幅增長。然後其他業務（我們細分的規模較小）也出現了下滑，但這只是整體業務的一小部分。 （聽不清）不過，我們的生活方式業務尤其強勁。然後，我認為，我應該說，我們的生活方式業務與現在的績效業務相比特別強勁。最後，米奇，正如我一開始所說的那樣，我們的涼鞋弱點在兩個渠道上都非常相似，Famous 的銷量下降了 11%，品牌組合的總出貨量也下降了類似的幅度。 。

Okay. And then on the comp, you're minus 4.3%, you said that sales declines improved each month, can you say where you ended the quarter? Like what was comp in July? And have you seen continued improvement into August? And then I guess lastly, in terms of that improvement, both 2Q versus 1Q or even over the course of 2Q, what would you attribute that to? Is some of it an improving macro? Or is it just more a function of more newness in the product.

好的。然後，在比較方面，您的增長率為-4.3%，您說每個月的銷售額下降幅度都有所改善，您能說出本季度結束時的情況嗎？比如七月份的補償是什麼？您是否看到八月份持續改善？最後，我想，就第二季度與第一季度相比，甚至在第二季度的過程中的改進而言，您將其歸因於什麼？其中一些是改進的宏嗎？或者它只是產品更新穎的功能。

So Mitch, our comps did improve as we move through the quarter. May was our worst month. We improved in June and then July significantly improved, too, but when we look at ahead so far, based on what we know, our guidance Famous really reflects really more of this historic trend of where we've been, and we do think we'll deliver against that trend that we put out there. And we've kind of hold everything against that for the -- certainly as we go into third quarter.

所以米奇，隨著本季度的進展，我們的業績確實有所改善。五月是我們最糟糕的一個月。我們在6 月有所改善，然後7 月也有了顯著改善，但當我們展望到目前為止，根據我們所知，我們的指導Famous 確實更多地反映了我們所處的歷史趨勢，我們確實認為我們將逆向我們提出的趨勢。當然，當我們進入第三季度時，我們已經採取一切措施反對這一點。

Yes. I would just -- just to add to Jay's comments. As a reminder, our back-to-school performance last year was a record performance. And so some of that comp -- we're up against some decent comps in the Famous business for back-to-school.

是的。我只是想補充一下傑伊的評論。提醒一下，我們去年的返校表現創下了紀錄。因此，我們在返校期間的著名業務中面臨著一些不錯的競爭。

Okay. And maybe with that being said, Jack, on the 3Q guide, you said sales down low single digits. Can you provide any color on how you think about that between Famous and BP? And is there any change to your, kind of, overall outlook for the year between those 2 businesses? It didn't sound like maybe BP was a little slower than you expected in 2Q. And I don't know if that changed how you're thinking about that business as a whole for the year.

好的。也許話雖這麼說，傑克，在第三季度指南中，你說銷售額下降了低個位數。您能提供一下您對 Famous 和 BP 之間的看法嗎？您對這兩家企業今年的總體前景有什麼變化嗎？聽起來英國石油公司第二季度的表現並沒有比你預期的慢一點。我不知道這是否改變了您對今年整個業務的看法。

Yes, Mitch. So we've -- I would say our base case in our guidance for Famous is basically a continuation of what we saw in Q2. So call it that minus 5%. Obviously, the guidance provides a range. And so if Famous does a little bit better, we're towards the higher end of that range, and a little bit worse, we'd be towards the lower end of that range. So I would say, Famous is pretty well set on what we've seen pretty consistently for the year because if we look at Q2 down 5% and then if you take out March out of Q1, that quarter was also down 5%. So I would say pretty consistent performance and that's what we've modeled.

是的，米奇。因此，我想說，我們對 Famous 的指導中的基本情況基本上是我們在第二季度看到的情況的延續。所以稱之為負5%。顯然，指導意見提供了一個範圍。因此，如果 Famous 做得更好一點，我們就會接近該範圍的高端，而如果做得差一點，我們就會接近該範圍的低端。所以我想說，Famous 與我們今年所看到的情況相當一致，因為如果我們看第二季度下降 5%，然後如果你從第一季度中剔除 3 月份，該季度也下降了 5%。所以我想說的是非常一致的性能，這就是我們所建模的。

In the case of Brand Portfolio, that's where they're up against some really -- we were up against some really tough compares in the first quarter -- I mean in the first half. So in the first half of 2022, our Brand Portfolio business was up 41%. But then in the back half of 2022, only up 7% and so part of our confidence, other than all the operating things that we've talked about in terms of inventory management and things like that, is we're just up against much easier comps going into the back half of this year on Brand Portfolio.

就品牌組合而言，他們確實面臨著一些真正的挑戰——我們在第一季度面臨著一些非常艱難的比較——我是說在上半場。因此，2022 年上半年，我們的品牌組合業務增長了 41%。但到 2022 年下半年，僅增長 7%，因此，除了我們在庫存管理等方面討論的所有運營事項之外，我們信心的一部分是，我們面臨著很多困難今年下半年品牌組合的比較會更容易。

Our next questions come from the line of Abbie Zvejnieks with Piper Sandler.

我們的下一個問題來自 Abbie Zvejnieks 和 Piper Sandler。

So just on the inventory, like how should we be thinking about inventory levels for the balance of the year? And then how are you thinking about managing, bringing in the newness that's driving demand versus keeping controlled inventory levels given the uncertain macro?

那麼就庫存而言，我們應該如何考慮今年剩餘時間的庫存水平？那麼，在宏觀形勢不確定的情況下，您如何考慮管理、引入推動需求的新鮮事物與保持受控庫存水平？

So Abbie, it's Jay. Just in how we're managing inventory is really -- we're kind of setting up a new normal for us, and we're really managing to a new inventory turn. So in looking at this, we really are driving newness. Continually, we think the consumer demands it, and we are chasing more product to our speed program, which is running at that -- moving towards that 20% of our receipts. So we aren't really seeing it as any detraction in terms of holding us back right now.

艾比，是傑伊。就我們管理庫存的方式而言，我們實際上正在為我們建立一個新常態，並且我們確實正在設法實現新的庫存周轉。因此，從這個角度來看，我們確實在推動創新。我們認為消費者持續不斷地需要它，並且我們正在按照我們的速度計劃追逐更多的產品，該計劃正以此為目標——朝著占我們收入的 20% 的目標前進。因此，我們現在並不認為它有任何阻礙我們前進的障礙。

And then the last thing I'll say is, in particular, in the Brand Portfolio, we had a lot of our product last year show way, way earlier up into second quarter than we had planned. So what you're going to kind of see is a more balanced flow with us through this disciplined management and we'll, I think, continue to be able to deliver the newness, but more importantly, chase it quickly. And that inventory amounts that we're now working on in turn allow us to really pivot and react more aggressively.

我要說的最後一件事是，特別是在品牌組合中，我們去年展示了很多產品，比我們計劃的要早得多。因此，你將看到的是，通過這種嚴格的管理，我們的流程更加平衡，我認為，我們將繼續能夠提供新鮮事物，但更重要的是，快速追趕它。我們現在正在處理的庫存量反過來又使我們能夠真正進行調整併做出更積極的反應。

And then, Jack, I think, you'd share some of the numbers there too.

然後，傑克，我想，你也會分享其中的一些數字。

Yes, Abbie, thanks for the question. Just to add to Jay's comments, for the back half, we expect to have lower inventory this year versus last year in both the third quarter and the fourth quarter. Now they won't be down as much as they were in the first half when they were down low teens, but we expect continued improvement year-over-year in that metric. We're always focused on both the quantity and the quality of inventory and certainly appreciate the importance of maintaining that healthy inventory to sales relationship.

是的，艾比，謝謝你的提問。補充一下傑伊的評論，對於下半年，我們預計今年第三季度和第四季度的庫存將低於去年。現在，它們的下降幅度不會像上半年下降到十幾歲以下時那樣嚴重，但我們預計該指標將繼續逐年改善。我們始終關注庫存的數量和質量，並且當然意識到保持健康的庫存與銷售關係的重要性。

Got it. And then just 1 more on the Brand Portfolio. I guess like in this environment, I would assume that your wholesale partners are like that you have a good capabilities for drop ship. Can you just talk about what you're doing in drop ship and if that increase as a percentage of the business as wholesale orders have tightened?

知道了。然後是品牌組合中的 1 個。我想在這種環境下，我會假設你的批發合作夥伴就像你有良好的直運能力。您能談談您在代發貨方面所做的事情嗎？隨著批發訂單的收緊，代發貨佔業務的百分比是否有所增加？

Yes. So we are funding our drop ship fully. There is -- it's a continued important portion of our business. Most likely, what we're seeing is our wholesale partners continue to want to receive newness in a very timely way so they can react to it. And yes, they are acting more conservatively, but again, reacting more toward the real product that is working. So our model continues as it has been with a very dynamic piece with it with both drop ship and then replenishment being a very important portion of this. And I think it's going to be similar for us versus how we've operated in Q2 and Q1. So I'm not seeing a different shift for that as we go into Q3.

是的。因此，我們正在為我們的運輸船提供全額資金。這是我們業務中持續重要的一部分。最有可能的是，我們看到的是我們的批發合作夥伴仍然希望非常及時地收到新消息，以便他們能夠做出反應。是的，他們的行為更加保守，但同樣，他們對真正有效的產品做出了更多的反應。因此，我們的模型繼續，因為它一直是一個非常動態的部分，其中直運和補貨是其中非常重要的部分。我認為我們的運營方式與第二季度和第一季度的運營方式類似。因此，當我們進入第三季度時，我沒有看到任何不同的轉變。

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the floor back over to Jay Schmidt for any closing comments.

謝謝。目前沒有其他問題。我現在想把發言權交還給傑伊·施密特，請其發表結束語。

Okay. Well, I'd like to thank everyone for joining us this morning. Before we close today, I'd like to thank the talented Caleres team for their hard work and dedication. We remain confident in our ability to create exceptional product to exceed our consumers' expectations and drive value for our shareholders. We also look forward to providing you with some additional detail around our long-term growth strategies at our upcoming Investor Day in October. So with that, I'd just like to say have a great holiday and we'll talk soon. Thank you.

好的。好吧，我要感謝大家今天早上加入我們。在今天結束之前，我要感謝才華橫溢的 Caleres 團隊的辛勤工作和奉獻精神。我們對創造卓越產品、超越消費者期望並為股東創造價值的能力充滿信心。我們還期待在即將到來的 10 月份投資者日向您提供有關我們長期增長戰略的更多詳細信息。因此，我只想祝您假期愉快，我們很快就會再談。謝謝。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。此時您可以斷開線路。享受你一天剩下的時間。