Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (CBRL) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Cracker Barrel Fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Cracker Barrel 2024 年第四季財政電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，正在記錄此事件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Adam Hanan, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議交給投資者關係總監 Adam Hanan。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Cracker Barrel's Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2024 Conference Call and Webcast. This morning, we issued a press release announcing our fourth quarter results. In this press release and on this call, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter ended August 2, 2024.

謝謝。早安，歡迎參加 Cracker Barrel 的 2024 財年第四季電話會議和網路廣播。今天早上，我們發布了新聞稿，宣布了第四季度的業績。在本新聞稿和本次電話會議中，我們將參考非公認會計準則財務指標，例如截至 2024 年 8 月 2 日的第四季度調整後 EBITDA。

Please refer to the footnotes in our press release for further details about these metrics. The company believes these measures provide investors with an enhanced understanding of the company's financial performance. This information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or earnings per share information prepared in accordance with GAAP. The last page of the press release include reconciliations from the non-GAAP information to the GAAP financials.

有關這些指標的更多詳細信息，請參閱我們新聞稿中的腳註。該公司相信這些措施可以讓投資者更了解公司的財務表現。此資訊不應單獨考慮，也不能取代根據 GAAP 編制的淨收入或每股盈餘資訊。新聞稿的最後一頁包括非公認會計原則資訊與公認會計原則財務數據的調節。

On the call with me this morning are Cracker Barrel's President and CEO, Julie Masino and Senior Vice President and CFO, Craig Pommells. Julie and Craig will provide a review of the business financials and outlook. We will then open up the call for questions.

今天早上與我通話的有 Cracker Barrel 總裁兼執行長 Julie Masino 和資深副總裁兼財務長 Craig Pommells。朱莉和克雷格將對企業財務狀況和前景進行審查。然後我們將開放提問。

On this call, statements may be made by management of their beliefs and expectations regarding the company's future operating results or expected future events. These are known as forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties that, in many cases, are beyond management's control and may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. We caution our listeners and readers in considering forward-looking statements and information.

在這次電話會議上，管理層可能會發表關於他們對公司未來營運表現或預期未來事件的信念和期望的聲明。這些被稱為前瞻性陳述，其中涉及風險和不確定性，在許多情況下，這些風險和不確定性超出了管理層的控制範圍，並可能導致實際結果與預期有重大差異。我們提醒聽眾和讀者考慮前瞻性陳述和資訊。

Many of the factors that could affect results are summarized in the cautionary description of risks and uncertainties found at the end of the press release and are described in detail in our reports that we file with or furnish to the SEC. Finally, the information shared on this call is valid as of today's date, and the company undertakes no obligation to update it, except as may be required under applicable law.

新聞稿末尾對風險和不確定性的警告性描述中總結了許多可能影響結果的因素，並在我們向 SEC 提交或提供的報告中詳細描述了這些因素。最後，本次電話會議中共享的資訊自今日起有效，本公司不承擔更新資訊的義務，除非適用法律可能要求。

I'll now turn the call over to Cracker Barrel's President and CEO, Julie Masino. Julie?

現在我將把電話轉給 Cracker Barrel 的總裁兼執行長 Julie Masino。朱莉？

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. Today marks Cracker Barrel's 50th birthday. This incredible milestone is one that few concepts have achieved and is a testament to the enduring appeal of our brand and the hard work by so many since Danny Evins founded Cracker Barrel in 1969. Their efforts lay the foundation for the investments we are making for our future, and we are grateful for the opportunity to build upon and continue this legacy.

早安，感謝您加入我們。今天是 Cracker Barrel 的 50 歲生日。這個令人難以置信的里程碑是很少有概念能夠實現的，它證明了我們品牌的持久吸引力以及自1969 年Danny Evins 創立Cracker Barrel 以來許多人的辛勤工作。產品所做的投資奠定了基礎。

This morning, we were pleased to report total revenue and adjusted EBITDA consistent with our guidance. We remain focused on operational excellence day in and day out. Our multiyear strategic transformation journey is off to a great start. I'll touch more on each of these in a moment, but there's a lot to be excited about.

今天早上，我們很高興地報告總收入和調整後的 EBITDA 與我們的指導一致。我們日復一日地專注於卓越營運。我們多年的策略轉型之旅有了一個好的開始。稍後我將詳細討論其中的每一個，但有很多值得興奮的地方。

We've hired a new dynamic CMO and are making progress on refining the brand. Our new menu items are resonating with guests. Our optimized pricing initiative is delivering strong flow-through and strong value perception scores. We're seeing a lift in traffic and sales in our remodeled pilot stores.

我們聘請了一位充滿活力的新首席行銷官，並在完善品牌方面取得了進展。我們的新菜單項目引起了客人的共鳴。我們優化的定價計劃正在提供強大的流通量和強大的價值感知分數。我們看到改造後的試點商店的客流量和銷售額都有所提升。

Our loyalty program has 6 million users after just one year and is delivering incremental sales and traffic. And our teams are highly engaged in executing at a high level, which is reflected in key improvements in employee and guest metrics. All of these are highlights from our five strategic pillars: refining the brand, enhancing the menu, evolving the store and guest experience, winning in digital and off-premise, and elevating the employee experience. I'll now dig into each one of these.

僅僅一年後，我們的忠誠度計畫就擁有了 600 萬用戶，並帶來了增量銷售和流量。我們的團隊高度參與高水準的執行，這反映在員工和客人指標的關鍵改進。所有這些都是我們五個策略支柱的亮點：完善品牌、增強菜單、發展商店和顧客體驗、在數位和店外取勝以及提升員工體驗。我現在將深入研究其中的每一項。

Our first pillar is focused on evolving the brand and reflecting this in all the ways we interact with guests. We've partnered with a top-tier agency and have conducted extensive qualitative and quantitative research that is informing our upcoming brand refinements. Our findings reiterated our numerous brand strengths and identified opportunities to increase brand love and ultimately drive increased consideration and traffic.

我們的第一個支柱是專注於發展品牌並在我們與客人互動的所有方式中體現這一點。我們與一家頂級機構合作，並進行了廣泛的定性和定量研究，為我們即將進行的品牌改進提供資訊。我們的調查結果重申了我們眾多的品牌優勢，並確定了增加品牌喜愛度並最終提高考慮度和流量的機會。

I'm thrilled that Sarah Moore has joined our team as Chief Marketing Officer and she is leading this work. Sarah brings nearly 20 years of hospitality experience, most recently as SVP of Marketing at MGM Resorts International, where she spearheaded marketing initiatives for a portfolio of world-class hospitality brands such as Bellagio, Aria and MGM Grand. Her expertise in digital marketing, loyalty programs and crafting innovative approaches that honor brand heritage while driving strong business results, coupled with her hospitality focused leadership and love for the brand, make her an ideal fit.

我很高興莎拉·摩爾作為首席行銷長加入我們的團隊，並領導這項工作。 Sarah 擁有近 20 年的酒店業經驗，最近擔任 MGM Resorts International 的營銷高級副總裁，負責領導 Bellagio、Aria 和 MGM Grand 等世界一流酒店品牌組合的營銷計劃。她在數位行銷、忠誠度計劃和製定創新方法方面的專業知識，在尊重品牌傳統的同時推動強勁的業務成果，再加上她專注於酒店業的領導力和對品牌的熱愛，使她成為理想的人選。

As I mentioned earlier, Cracker Barrel was founded 55 years ago today. And we're marking this milestone birthday in several ways. First, we're excited to be partnering with legendary athlete and Cracker Barrel superfan, Deion Sanders, and Coach Prime will be featured in our digital messaging. Additionally, to commemorate our birthday and show appreciation to all Cracker Barrel Rewards members, including both guests and employees, we're offering complementary servings of our Double Fudge Coca-Cola Cake, coffee and iced tea today through Sunday.

正如我之前提到的，Cracker Barrel 成立於 55 年前的今天。我們將透過多種方式來紀念這個具有里程碑意義的生日。首先，我們很高興能與傳奇運動員和 Cracker Barrel 超級粉絲 Deion Sanders 合作，Coach Prime 將出現在我們的數位訊息中。此外，為了紀念我們的生日並向所有 Cracker Barrel Rewards 會員（包括客人和員工）表示感謝，我們從今天到週日提供雙份軟糖可口可樂蛋糕、咖啡和冰茶的免費服務。

Our second pillar is to enhance the menu and make it more craveable for guests and easier to execute for our teams. This also includes optimizing our pricing while maintaining our strong value proposition. We're leaning into innovation and have introduced several new offerings in recent months. These included LTOs such as our sweet and spicy bee sting chicken tenders and sandwich featured in Q4, and our new fan-favorite Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie and fried apple French toast baked that are currently featured.

我們的第二個支柱是增強菜單，使其更受客人歡迎，也更容易為我們的團隊執行。這也包括優化我們的定價，同時保持我們強大的價值主張。我們正在致力於創新，並在最近幾個月推出了幾款新產品。其中包括 LTO，例如第四季度推出的甜辣蜂蜇雞柳和三明治，以及目前推出的深受粉絲喜愛的哈希布朗砂鍋牧羊人派和炸蘋果法式吐司。

We've also added several new offerings to our core menu. We introduced a new Sunrise Pancake special for $7.99. It's an incredible value. It includes two fluffy delicious buttermilk pancakes, two eggs and your choice of bacon or sausage. We also added several premium offerings featuring a New York strip, which is a quality upgrade from our previous steak.

我們還在核心菜單中添加了一些新產品。我們推出了新的日出煎餅特價，售價 7.99 美元。這是一個令人難以置信的價值。它包括兩個蓬鬆美味的酪乳煎餅、兩個雞蛋和您選擇的培根或香腸。我們還添加了幾種以紐約牛排為特色的優質產品，這是我們之前牛排的品質升級。

Additionally, we've augmented our daily dish menu by adding several daily specials such as our sweet and tangy Southern barbecue ribs, premium savory chicken and rice, and delicious, unctuous slow-braised pot roast. We've been pleased with the performance of these new offerings, and we're building an exciting innovation pipeline.

此外，我們還增加了每日特色菜，例如香甜濃鬱的南方燒烤排骨、優質美味的雞肉和米飯，以及美味、油滑的慢燉燉肉，從而豐富了我們的每日菜餚菜單。我們對這些新產品的性能感到滿意，並且我們正在建立令人興奮的創新管道。

Our menu enhancements go beyond the offerings themselves and also include how items are presented on the menu. We're very focused on strengthening our already strong value proposition, and one of the ways we're doing this is by implementing a barbell pricing strategy. As I mentioned earlier, we've already introduced new items at both the low and high end of the spectrum, and we'll be adding more.

我們的菜單增強功能不僅限於菜色本身，還包括菜單上菜色的呈現方式。我們非常注重加強我們已經很強大的價值主張，而我們這樣做的方法之一就是實施槓鈴定價策略。正如我之前提到的，我們已經在低端和高端領域推出了新產品，我們還將添加更多產品。

Additionally, we're continuing to highlight our early dinner deals. These offerings are an exceptional value, and the platform allows us to message compelling price points, which is especially important given the high level of promotions and discounting in the current environment.

此外，我們將繼續強調我們的早晚餐優惠。這些產品具有非凡的價值，該平台使我們能夠傳達令人信服的價格點，考慮到當前環境下的高水準促銷和折扣，這一點尤其重要。

Another way we are enhancing our menu is by driving efficiencies to improve profitability by reducing fixed labor and making back-of-house drops easier and more enjoyable. We're working with an industrial engineering firm, and we just completed the first phase of analysis and are now moving into the initial testing phase.

我們改進菜單的另一種方法是透過減少固定勞動力和使後勤服務更容易、更愉快來提高效率，從而提高獲利能力。我們正在與一家工業工程公司合作，我們剛完成了第一階段的分析，現在正在進入初始測試階段。

As part of this, we're rethinking back-of-house roles and responsibilities to improve production efficiencies and reduce waste. We believe this work will yield significant cost savings both in FY '25 and beyond, while also improving the quality of our scratch-made food. In the coming weeks, we will be launching an approximately 20-store test to validate key assumptions, and we plan to launch system-wide in Q3.

作為其中的一部分，我們正在重新考慮後台的角色和職責，以提高生產效率並減少浪費。我們相信這項工作將在 25 財年及以後大幅節省成本，同時也提高我們自製食品的品質。在接下來的幾週內，我們將啟動大約 20 家商店的測試來驗證關鍵假設，並計劃在第三季在全系統範圍內啟動。

The final aspect of menu enhancement is our work on price optimization and bolstering our strong value positioning. Our brand has always been synonymous with delivering great value to our guests, and we know this is particularly important right now. We are being much smarter and more sophisticated with our approach and improving the way we price so that each store hits the sweet spot based on consumer willingness to pay, competitor pricing and store operating costs.

菜單增強的最後一個方面是我們在價格優化和鞏固我們強大的價值定位方面的工作。我們的品牌一直是為客人提供巨大價值的代名詞，我們知道這一點現在尤其重要。我們的方法變得更加聰明和成熟，並改進了我們的定價方式，以便每家商店都能根據消費者的支付意願、競爭對手的定價和商店營運成本找到最佳點。

In most cases, this means increasing the pricing in stores, but in some cases, it means lowering it. For example, in Q1, approximately 150 stores moved to a higher pricing tier while approximately 70 stores moved to a lower tier. We've been pleased with our results to date. Our analysis indicates we are effectively passing through our price increases.

在大多數情況下，這意味著提高商店的定價，但在某些情況下，這意味著降低價格。例如，在第一季度，大約 150 家商店轉移到較高的定價層，而大約 70 家商店轉移到較低的定價層。我們對迄今為止的結果感到滿意。我們的分析表明，我們正在有效地應對價格上漲。

In addition to the strong flow-through, we have actually seen an improvement in our value scores following our August price increases. We will continue to monitor this closely and are prepared to adjust as necessary, but the data suggests this is a large opportunity and will be a key driver of improving our profitability.

除了強勁的流量外，我們實際上還發現，繼 8 月漲價之後，我們的價值分數有所提高。我們將繼續密切關注這一情況，並準備在必要時進行調整，但數據表明這是一個巨大的機會，並將成為提高我們獲利能力的關鍵驅動力。

Our third pillar is focused on the guest experience. And this encompasses operational execution store design and atmosphere and retail. Operational excellence and consistent execution are a top priority. We remain hyper-focused on the metrics that are most highly correlated with same-store sales growth.

我們的第三個支柱專注於賓客體驗。這包括營運執行商店設計、氛圍和零售。卓越營運和一致執行是首要任務。我們仍然高度關注與同店銷售成長最相關的指標。

Throughout fiscal '24, we invested in labor hours to support these objectives, and we continue to make improvements in these important leading indicators. Although we may not share this detail every quarter, I do want to provide some examples. Compared to the prior year quarter, hourly turnover improved by 13 percentage points.

在整個 24 財年，我們投入了工時來支持這些目標，我們繼續改進這些重要的領先指標。儘管我們可能不會每個季度都分享這個細節，但我確實想提供一些例子。與去年同期相比，每小時營業額提高了 13 個百分點。

CPE time, a key speed metric, improved by 7%. Average skill level for the key positions of cook and server increased by 1.5%. Google star rating increased from 4.1 to 4.2. And our internal net sentiment scores hit their highest levels since we relaunched the program last fall. And finally, off-premise missing item scores improved by 13%.

CPE 時間（一項關鍵的速度指標）縮短了 7%。廚師、服務生等關鍵職位平均技能水準提高1.5%。 Google 星級評分從 4.1 提高到 4.2。自去年秋天重新啟動該計劃以來，我們的內部淨情緒得分達到了最高水平。最後，場外缺失項目得分提高了 13%。

I want to give a huge shout out and thank you to our retail and restaurant teams for achieving these results. This is a testament to their vigilant focus on our guests and executing the day-to-day business. I believe we will sustain this momentum, and this will translate to increased visits over time.

我要大聲疾呼，感謝我們的零售和餐廳團隊取得這些成果。這證明了他們對我們的客人和執行日常業務的高度關注。我相信我們將保持這一勢頭，隨著時間的推移，這將轉化為訪問量的增加。

As I've mentioned before, store design and atmosphere are critical to the guest experience and to position us to win in the near and long term. That is why we're investing in more maintenance capital to ensure our stores meet our brand standards that they compare well to the competition and that they are desirable places to work.

正如我之前提到的，商店設計和氛圍對於顧客體驗至關重要，並使我們能夠在短期和長期內獲勝。這就是為什麼我們投資更多的維護資本，以確保我們的商店符合我們的品牌標準，與競爭對手相比，它們是理想的工作場所。

Our incremental investments are focused on areas we think are the most impactful to the guest and employee experience, things like exterior paints, parking lots, flooring and restrooms. To give a sense of the progress we're making here, in Q4 and Q1 to date, we've redone approximately 35 parking lots, updated 30 back-of-house and 30 front-of-house stores, and repainted the exterior on another 30 stores. This work is part of our defensive capital spending that is crucial to our success.

我們的增量投資主要集中在我們認為對客人和員工體驗影響最大的領域，例如外牆塗料、停車場、地板和衛生間。為了讓大家了解我們在第四季度和第一季迄今所取得的進展，我們重做了大約 35 個停車場，更新了 30 個後台商店和 30 個前台商店，並重新粉刷了外部另外30家商店。這項工作是我們防禦性資本支出的一部分，這對我們的成功至關重要。

Another important initiative of this pillar is our remodel program. In FY '25, a key objective is to understand which remodel packages resonate the most with guests and drive the strongest return on investment because this will inform our plans in subsequent years. In addition to the high, medium, low options we've previously spoken about, through our testing, we've also developed a fourth, even lower cost option, that we're calling a refresh.

該支柱的另一個重要舉措是我們的改造計劃。 25 財年的關鍵目標是了解哪些改造套餐最能引起客人的共鳴並帶來最大的投資回報，因為這將為我們接下來幾年的計劃提供資訊。除了我們之前談到的高、中、低選項之外，透過我們的測試，我們還開發了第四種，甚至成本更低的選項，我們稱之為刷新。

We are excited about the refresh option because it's provided a strong return in the initial pilot store and allows us to quickly address more stores at a lower cost. In addition to the 25 to 30 full remodels planned in fiscal '25, we also anticipate completing 25 to 30 refreshes.

我們對更新選項感到興奮，因為它在最初的試點商店中提供了強勁的回報，並使我們能夠以更低的成本快速解決更多商店的問題。除了計劃在 25 財年進行 25 至 30 次全面改造外，我們還預計完成 25 至 30 次更新。

Although I want to emphasize that it is still early, we are encouraged by the results of our remodel pilot stores. We have consistently seen traffic and sales growth across the four stores that were updated in fiscal '24. Guests have noted that the updated stores feel brighter and more open, but most importantly, remain authentically Cracker Barrel.

雖然我想強調現在還為時過早，但我們對改造試點店的結果感到鼓舞。我們一直看到 24 財年更新的四家商店的客流量和銷售額不斷增長。客人們注意到，更新後的商店感覺更明亮、更開放，但最重要的是，仍然保留了原始的 Cracker Barrel。

We've also received positive feedback from our employees and a common theme is that they feel energized by the investment and that the updates are improving their experience. We will continue to be thoughtful and disciplined with our remodel program. This is one of the biggest areas of planned investment in the coming years, and we are working diligently to ensure we get the investment algorithm right for our shareholders.

我們也收到了員工的正面回饋，一個共同的主題是他們因投資而感到充滿活力，更新正在改善他們的體驗。我們將繼續深思熟慮並嚴格執行我們的改造計劃。這是未來幾年計劃投資的最大領域之一，我們正在努力確保為股東提供正確的投資演算法。

We are taking the learning from our four pilot stores and applying to our first market test in Indianapolis, Indiana. For this 12-store test, we are bringing together elements from the remodel program along with new menu items and service standard enhancements to further refine our hypotheses around the remodel program and algorithm. It's going to take a few months to get a read, but we are excited about this test and look forward to sharing updates in the future.

我們正在從四家試點商店中汲取經驗，並將其應用於印第安納州印第安納波利斯的首次市場測試。對於這個 12 家商店的測試，我們將改造計劃中的元素以及新的菜單項目和服務標準增強結合在一起，以進一步完善我們圍繞改造計劃和演算法的假設。需要幾個月的時間才能閱讀，但我們對這次測試感到興奮，並期待將來分享更新。

Another aspect of this third pillar is our retail business. And here, we're focused on optimizing our assortments, improving the shopping experience, and driving profitability. We're continuing to lean into our seasonal themes, which have been a relative strength. We're encouraged by the guest response to our Halloween and harvest collections and we're seeing positive momentum in our everyday businesses. Additionally, this year, we're focused on supporting margins by enhancing our allocation, replenishment and inventory management capabilities.

第三個支柱的另一個面向是我們的零售業務。在這裡，我們專注於優化我們的品種、改善購物體驗並提高獲利能力。我們將繼續關注季節性主題，這是一個相對優勢。客人對我們的萬聖節和收穫系列的反應令我們深受鼓舞，我們在日常業務中看到了積極的勢頭。此外，今年我們的重點是透過增強我們的分配、補貨和庫存管理能力來支持利潤。

Our fourth pillar is to win in digital and off-premise. Today my comments will focus on digital. Before providing some additional detail, I want to note that we are committed to regularly updating you on our progress for the loyalty program. However, for some of the metrics I will be referencing, we intend to only provide updates on an annual basis.

我們的第四個支柱是在數位化和場外贏得勝利。今天我的評論將集中在數位方面。在提供一些額外的細節之前，我想指出的是，我們致力於定期向您更新忠誠度計畫的進度。然而，對於我將引用的一些指標，我們打算僅每年提供更新。

Cracker Barrel Rewards launched one year ago, and this is another way we are reinforcing our strong value proposition. We continue to see proof points that it is one of the most engaging and differentiated loyalty programs in full-service dining, and we're excited about it for several reasons.

Cracker Barrel Rewards 一年前推出，這是我們強化強大價值主張的另一種方式。我們不斷看到證據表明，它是全方位服務餐飲中最具吸引力和差異化的忠誠度計劃之一，我們對此感到興奮有幾個原因。

First, we're pleased with guest adoption. We currently have 6 million members, which has exceeded our initial expectations and is a testament to the appeal of the program. Second, our members are very valuable. They visit us 50% more often and their average check is 10% higher than nonmembers. They also have a strong proclivity for retail as their average retail basket spend is about 40% higher than nonmembers.

首先，我們對客人的採用感到高興。我們目前擁有600萬會員，這超出了我們最初的預期，也證明了該計劃的吸引力。第二，我們的會員非常有價值。與非會員相比，他們訪問我們的頻率高出 50%，平均支票高出 10%。他們對零售也有很強的偏好，因為他們的平均零售購物籃支出比非會員高出約 40%。

Third, we've demonstrated an ability to influence guest behavior and drive traffic, as evidenced by the increase in visit frequency of members pre and post-enrollment. Finally, we're excited about the robust guest data and insights this program provides. Over the past year, we've markedly improved our analytics capabilities. We are excited about the opportunity to unlock new insights and to directly communicate with our members to further drive sales and traffic.

第三，我們展示了影響客人行為和增加流量的能力，會員註冊前後訪問頻率的增加就證明了這一點。最後，我們對該計劃提供的可靠的賓客數據和見解感到興奮。在過去的一年裡，我們的分析能力得到了顯著提高。我們很高興有機會解鎖新的見解並直接與我們的會員溝通，以進一步推動銷售和流量。

We're continuing to test and learn to understand what resonates most. To give some examples, we've recently tested member-exclusive campaigns such as our Endless Summer Sweepstakes and other limited-time promotional offers such as PEG Accelerators and Kids Eat Free. The results of these tests affirm the potential of the program and the power of directly communicating with this valuable guest segment.

我們正在繼續測試並學習了解什麼最能引起共鳴。舉一些例子，我們最近測試了會員專屬活動，例如無盡夏季抽獎活動和其他限時促銷優惠，例如 PEG Accelerators 和 Kids Eat Free。這些測試的結果證實了該計劃的潛力以及與這一寶貴客戶群直接溝通的力量。

We remain so optimistic about this program. We believe it will be a long-term traffic driver and brand differentiator, and we will leverage its uniqueness and insights to drive profitable growth in the business.

我們對這個計劃仍然非常樂觀。我們相信它將成為長期的流量驅動因素和品牌差異化因素，我們將利用其獨特性和洞察力來推動業務的獲利成長。

Our final pillar is to enhance the employee experience. We're in the hospitality business and people, both employees and guests, are the heart of our business. To deliver an excellent employee experience, we'll continue to focus on staffing and retention to get and keep the right people.

我們的最後一個支柱是增強員工體驗。我們從事酒店業，員工和客人是我們業務的核心。為了提供卓越的員工體驗，我們將繼續專注於人員配置和保留，以吸引並留住合適的人才。

As I alluded to earlier, we continue to make great progress on turnover and are focused on further improvements. In Q4, hourly turnover was approximately 100% compared to 113% in the prior year quarter, and manager turnover was approximately 22% compared to 27% in the prior quarter.

正如我之前提到的，我們在營業額方面繼續取得巨大進展，並致力於進一步改進。第四季度，每小時流動率約為 100%，而去年同期為 113%；經理流動率約為 22%，而去年同期為 27%。

We're also focused on making jobs easier through simplification and upgrading our tools and training. In Q4 we launched a new human capital management system, and this system provides a modern foundation to support an improved employee experience. Additionally, it will improve our positioning as an employer of choice, and it will also deliver efficiencies that contribute to cost savings.

我們也致力於透過簡化和升級我們的工具和培訓來簡化工作。在第四季度，我們推出了新的人力資本管理系統，為支援改善員工體驗提供了現代化的基礎。此外，它將提高我們作為首選雇主的地位，並且還將提高效率，有助於節省成本。

Managers are especially critical to our success. So we're working diligently to improve their experience and streamline their jobs, so they can focus on what's most impactful, which is directing and coaching their teams and supporting an exceptional guest experience every shift, every day.

管理者對於我們的成功尤其重要。因此，我們正在努力改善他們的體驗並簡化他們的工作，以便他們能夠專注於最有影響力的事情，即指導和指導他們的團隊，並支持每天每班次的卓越賓客體驗。

Before handing it over to Craig, I want to reiterate that we were pleased to deliver results that were in line with our guidance, and that we're focused on executing our day-to-day business while making significant progress on our future. I'll now turn it over to Craig to review our financials and provide our outlook.

在將其交給克雷格之前，我想重申，我們很高興提供符合我們指導的結果，並且我們專注於執行日常業務，同時在未來取得重大進展。我現在將把它交給克雷格來審查我們的財務狀況並提供我們的前景。

Thank you, Julie, and good morning, everyone. Today we reported total revenue of $894.4 million, which was up 6.9% from the prior year quarter. This increase was primarily driven by an additional $62.8 million of revenue from the 53rd week. Restaurant revenues were $731.3 million, and retail revenues were $163.1 million. Comparable store restaurant sales increased 0.4% over the prior year. Pricing was approximately 4.2%. Our quarterly pricing consisted of approximately 0.2% carryforward pricing from fiscal 2023 and 4% new pricing from fiscal 2024.

謝謝朱莉，大家早安。今天，我們公佈的總收入為 8.944 億美元，比去年同期成長 6.9%。這一增長主要是由於第 53 週增加了 6280 萬美元的收入。餐廳收入為 7.313 億美元，零售收入為 1.631 億美元。可比商店餐廳銷售額比上年增長 0.4%。定價約4.2%。我們的季度定價包括 2023 財年約 0.2% 的結轉定價和 2024 財年 4% 的新定價。

Off-premise sales were approximately 17.2% of restaurant sales. Comparable store retail sales decreased 4.2% compared to the fourth quarter of the prior year. We saw declines across most categories, with food and decor seeing the largest declines. Although retail sales were soft, we were pleased with how the team effectively managed inventory levels, which were below prior year.

店外銷售額約佔餐廳銷售額的 17.2%。與去年第四季相比，可比商店零售額下降了 4.2%。我們發現大多數類別均出現下降，其中食品和裝飾品下降幅度最大。儘管零售銷售疲軟，但我們對團隊有效管理庫存水準的方式感到滿意，庫存水準低於去年。

Moving on to our fourth quarter expenses. Total cost of goods sold in the quarter was 30.4% of total revenue versus 30.8% in the prior year quarter. Restaurant cost of goods sold in the fourth quarter was 26% of restaurant sales versus 26.6% in the prior year quarter. This 60 basis-point decrease was primarily driven by menu pricing. Commodity inflation was approximately 1.1%, driven principally by higher pork and beef prices, partially offset by lower oil and poultry prices.

繼續我們第四季的支出。本季銷售商品總成本佔總收入的 30.4%，而去年同期為 30.8%。第四季餐廳銷售成本佔餐廳銷售額的 26%，去年同期為 26.6%。下降 60 個基點主要是由菜單定價推動的。商品通膨率約 1.1%，主要由豬肉和牛肉價格上漲推動，但部分被石油和家禽價格下跌所抵銷。

Fourth quarter retail cost of goods sold was 50.1% of retail sales versus 48.8% in the prior year quarter. This 130 basis point increase was primarily driven by discounts and markdowns. Our inventories at quarter-end were $181 million compared to $189.4 million in the prior year.

第四季商品零售成本佔零售額的 50.1%，去年同期為 48.8%。 130 個基點的成長主要是由折扣和降價推動的。季度末我們的庫存為 1.81 億美元，而去年同期為 1.894 億美元。

With regard to labor costs, our fourth quarter labor and related expenses were 37.5% of revenue versus 36.5% in the prior year quarter. This 100 basis point increase was primarily driven by our investment in additional labor hours to support the guest experience, hourly wage inflation of approximately 5%, and higher workers' compensation expense. Other operating expenses were 23.9% of revenue versus 23.3% in the prior year quarter. This 60 basis point increase was primarily driven by our investments in advertising and higher store maintenance.

就勞動成本而言，我們第四季的勞動力及相關費用佔收入的 37.5%，而去年同期為 36.5%。這 100 個基點的成長主要是由於我們為支持賓客體驗而投資額外工時、約 5% 的小時工資通膨以及更高的工人補償費用。其他營運支出佔收入的 23.9%，而去年同期為 23.3%。這 60 個基點的成長主要是由我們在廣告方面的投資和更高的商店維護費用所推動的。

Adjusted general and administrative expenses in the fourth quarter were 5.2% of revenue, and exclude approximately $5.1 million in professional fees related to our strategic transformation initiative. This compares to 4.5% in the prior year quarter. And the 70 basis point increase was primarily driven by investments related to our strategic transformation, a legal settlement, and a more normalized incentive compensation.

第四季調整後的一般和管理費用佔營收的 5.2%，不包括與我們的策略轉型計畫相關的約 510 萬美元的專業費用。相比之下，去年同期為 4.5%。 70個基點的成長主要是由與我們的策略轉型、法律和解以及更規範的激勵薪酬相關的投資所推動的。

Net interest expense for the quarter was $5.7 million compared to net interest expense of $4.5 million in the prior year quarter. This increase was primarily the result of higher weighted average interest rates and higher debt levels.

本季的淨利息支出為 570 萬美元，而去年同期的淨利息支出為 450 萬美元。這一增長主要是加權平均利率上升和債務水準上升的結果。

Our GAAP effective tax rate for the fourth quarter was negative 10.1%. On an adjusted basis, our effective tax rate for the quarter was negative 2.2%. Fourth quarter GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.81, and adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.98. These results include a benefit from the 53rd week of approximately $0.25. In the fourth quarter, adjusted EBITDA was $57.4 million, or 6.4% of total revenue, which includes a benefit from the 53rd week of approximately $5.8 million, compared to $70.4 million or 8.4% of total revenue in the prior year quarter.

我們第四季的 GAAP 有效稅率為負 10.1%。經過調整後，我們本季的有效稅率為負 2.2%。第四季 GAAP 每股攤薄收益為 0.81 美元，調整後每股稀釋收益為 0.98 美元。這些結果包括第 53 週的約 0.25 美元的收益。第四季度，調整後 EBITDA 為 5,740 萬美元，佔總營收的 6.4%，其中包括第 53 週約 580 萬美元的收益，而去年同期為 7,040 萬美元，佔總營收的 8.4%。

Now turning to our balance sheet and capital allocation. We continue to believe that we are well positioned with our balance sheet to execute our strategic plan over the next few years. The company's Board of Directors is committed to a balanced capital allocation approach, investing in the business to drive profitable growth continues to be the top priority, followed by returning cash to shareholders through our regular quarterly dividend and share repurchases.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表和資本配置。我們仍然相信，我們的資產負債表處於有利地位，可以執行未來幾年的策略計畫。公司董事會致力於平衡的資本配置方式，投資業務以推動獲利成長仍然是首要任務，其次是透過定期季度股利和股票回購向股東返還現金。

In the fourth quarter, we invested $47.4 million in capital expenditures and returned $28.9 million to shareholders in dividends. We ended the quarter with $476.7 million in total debt. Lastly, as we announced in today's press release, the Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 payable on November 13 to shareholders of record on October 18, 2024.

第四季度，我們投資了 4,740 萬美元的資本支出，並向股東返還了 2,890 萬美元的股息。本季結束時，我們的總債務為 4.767 億美元。最後，正如我們在今天的新聞稿中所宣布的那樣，董事會宣佈於 11 月 13 日向 2024 年 10 月 18 日登記在冊的股東派發 0.25 美元的季度股息。

Now turning to our fiscal 2025 outlook. I want to remind everyone that we view fiscal 2025 as an investment year as many of our strategic initiatives will be in the early stages, and that we expect to see significant improvement in our financial results in the back half of fiscal 2026 with further acceleration in fiscal 2027. While fiscal '25 is an investment year, there are several initiatives we're excited about that will improve the business model and help us achieve our target of growing fiscal '27 EBITDA margins by approximately 400 basis points over fiscal '24. I want to highlight a few.

現在轉向我們的 2025 財年展望。我想提醒大家，我們將 2025 財年視為投資年，因為我們的許多策略舉措將處於早期階段，並且我們預計 2026 財年下半年我們的財務業績將出現顯著改善，並進一步加速2027 財年。我想強調幾點。

First, we're implementing our optimized pricing strategy that allows us to effectively price above inflation, while simultaneously enhancing our overall value proposition, which will lead to margin expansion over time. Next, as Julie discussed, our loyalty program will be a meaningful traffic driver in the coming years. Currently, approximately 25% of transactions are associated with the loyalty program, and we expect this to increase further. As a result, the program provides an opportunity to improve the efficiency of our marketing spend by directly communicating with members with targeted messages.

首先，我們正在實施優化的定價策略，使我們能夠有效地定價高於通膨，同時增強我們的整體價值主張，這將導致利潤率隨著時間的推移而擴大。接下來，正如朱莉所討論的，我們的忠誠度計劃將在未來幾年成為有意義的流量驅動因素。目前，大約 25% 的交易與忠誠度計劃相關，我們預計這一比例將進一步增加。因此，該計劃透過有針對性的訊息直接與會員溝通，提供了提高行銷支出效率的機會。

Lastly, we're excited about the back-of-house optimization work. This is a significant cost savings opportunity, and it will improve our labor model by reducing overall costs while making back-of-house labor more variable and less fixed, allowing us to more efficiently flex up and flex down.

最後，我們對後台優化工作感到興奮。這是一個節省成本的重大機會，它將透過降低整體成本來改善我們的勞動力模式，同時使後台勞動力更加可變、更少固定，使我們能夠更有效地向上和向下彎曲。

Now turning to our guidance. For fiscal 2025, we expect total revenue of $3.4 billion to $3.5 billion; pricing of approximately 5%; the opening of two new Cracker Barrel stores and three to four new Maple Street units. Commodity inflation of 2% to 3%. And hourly restaurant wage inflation of 3% to 4%.

現在轉向我們的指導。 2025 財年，我們預計總營收為 34 億至 35 億美元；定價約5%；兩家新的 Cracker Barrel 店和三到四家新的楓樹街店開幕。商品通膨2%至3%。而餐廳的時薪漲幅為3%至4%。

We expect our general and administrative expenses will be elevated in fiscal '25 compared to the prior year, primarily due to investments related to our strategic transformation initiatives as well as more normalized incentive compensation. We expect the G&A as a percent of sales to normalize as our financial results improve in the second half of fiscal 2026 and into fiscal 2027.

我們預計 25 財年的一般和管理費用將比上一年增加，這主要是由於與我們的策略轉型計劃相關的投資以及更規範的激勵薪酬。我們預計，隨著 2026 財年下半年和 2027 財年財務表現的改善，一般管理費用佔銷售額的百分比將正常化。

Taking all of the above into account, we anticipate full year adjusted EBITDA of approximately $200 million to $215 million. As a reminder, beginning in Q3 of fiscal 2024, we modified our definition of adjusted EBITDA and are no longer adjusting for the noncash amortization of the asset recognized from the gains on sale and leaseback transactions. This will be an approximately $3.2 million noncash expense each quarter, and is expected to remain at a similar level over the remaining life of these leases.

考慮到上述所有因素，我們預計全年調整後 EBITDA 約為 2 億至 2.15 億美元。提醒一下，從 2024 財年第三季開始，我們修改了調整後 EBITDA 的定義，不再調整從售後回租交易收益中確認的資產的非現金攤提。這將是每季約 320 萬美元的非現金支出，預計在這些租賃的剩餘期限內將保持在類似水準。

Additionally, we are now including an add-back for noncash share-based compensation expense. Furthermore, our adjusted EBITDA guidance excludes consulting fees related to our strategic transformation, which we expect will be approximately $5 million to $10 million. It also excludes any expenses related to our proxy contest in connection with the company's upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

此外，我們現在還包括非現金股票補償費用的加回。此外，我們調整後的 EBITDA 指導不包括與我們的策略轉型相關的諮詢費用，我們預計該費用約為 500 萬至 1000 萬美元。它也不包括與我們與公司即將舉行的股東年會有關的代理權爭奪相關的任何費用。

We expect a full year GAAP effective tax rate of negative 7% to negative 11% and an adjusted effective tax rate of 0% to negative 4%. We anticipate capital expenditures of $160 million to $180 million. As a reminder, the increase in capital expenditures is driven by our investments in maintenance capital, our remodeling program, and our IT initiatives. As a result, we expect depreciation will be meaningfully higher in fiscal '25.

我們預計全年 GAAP 有效稅率為負 7% 至負 11%，調整後有效稅率為 0% 至負 4%。我們預計資本支出為 1.6 億至 1.8 億美元。需要提醒的是，資本支出的增加是由我們對維護資本、改造計畫和 IT 計畫的投資所推動的。因此，我們預計 25 財年的折舊將大幅上升。

Before wrapping up, I want to emphasize how proud I am of the progress we're making and how excited we are about our future. I'm confident that we will successfully execute our strategic transformation while simultaneously remaining focused on operational excellence in our day-to-day business.

在結束之前，我想強調我對我們正在取得的進步感到多麼自豪，並對我們的未來感到多麼興奮。我相信，我們將成功執行策略轉型，同時繼續專注於日常業務的卓越營運。

I'll now turn the call over to the operator for questions.

我現在將把電話轉給接線員詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) Brian Mullan, Piper Sandler.

（操作說明）Brian Mullan、Piper Sandler。

Just a question on the remodel plans for the current fiscal year. Can you just remind us or take us through the differences between the high to medium and the low options? And is there one of those that you are favoring at this point? Or is there a goal to set on one of those for fiscal '26 and beyond after you have the learnings?

只是關於本財年改造計畫的問題。您能否提醒我們或帶我們了解高、中、低選項之間的差異？目前您最喜歡其中之一嗎？或者在您學到教訓後，是否有為 26 財年及以後的目標設定一個目標？

And then just separately, you mentioned a new refresh option. If I understood you right in the prepared remarks, I think that was informed by what you're seeing in the pilot stores already. So just maybe elaborate on that refresh option, what makes a store good candidate and maybe what kind of sales uplift you're hoping to see?

然後，您單獨提到了一個新的刷新選項。如果我在準備好的評論中正確理解了您的意思，我認為這是您在試點商店中所看到的情況所告知的。因此，請詳細說明該更新選項，什麼使商店成為良好的候選者，以及您希望看到什麼樣的銷售提升？

Brian, it's Craig. So let me start out by actually talking about all of these. So we have the high and medium, low, which we've talked about before, and we laid out with a plan for 25 to 30 of those in fiscal '25. And we completed three of those in fiscal '24, and we've added the refresh option as well.

布萊恩，我是克雷格。因此，讓我從實際討論所有這些開始。因此，我們有高、中、低的產品，我們之前已經討論過，並且我們制定了 25 財年 25 到 30 個產品的計劃。我們在 24 財年完成了其中三項，並且還添加了刷新選項。

And the refresh option. I'm going to start with that one, to work up from there because they're all build. The refresh option really came out of the work that we did in fiscal '24. And what we realized as we went through that work is there was an opportunity for something at a lower cost that really included paint and decor and that seemed to accomplish a lot, then we were seeing good results. So that's the new one.

還有刷新選項。我將從那個開始，從那裡開始工作，因為它們都是建造的。刷新選項確實來自我們在 24 財年所做的工作。當我們完成這項工作時，我們意識到有機會以較低的成本做一些真正包括油漆和裝飾的事情，而且似乎取得了巨大的成就，然後我們看到了良好的結果。這就是新的。

As we move up from the refresh option, the low option adds on to that, and it lays on furniture, primarily furniture and lighting. And from low to medium, we start to do some flooring work and a little bit more extensive work on the interior and exterior. And the high has more flooring. In addition to the flooring in the restaurant portion of the business, we have flooring in the retail portion of the business, as well as a couple of other elements.

當我們從刷新選項向上移動時，低選項會增加這一點，它取決於家具，主要是家具和照明。從低到中，我們開始做一些地板工作，並在內部和外部進行更廣泛的工作。而且高層有更多的地板。除了餐廳部分的地板之外，我們還在零售部分以及其他一些元素中使用地板。

So fiscal '25 for us is really all about testing. We have these pilots in '24. We're encouraged by the pilots. But all of the -- everything that we're working through, we have targets, but the precision around that is going to be developed in fiscal '25 across all of those designs. So we're excited about that, and we'll share more in the future.

因此，25 財年對我們來說實際上就是測試。我們在 24 年就有了這些飛行員。我們受到飛行員的鼓舞。但我們正在努力完成的所有事情，我們都有目標，但圍繞目標的精確度將在 25 財年在所有這些設計中得到發展。所以我們對此感到很興奮，並且我們將在未來分享更多。

Okay. And then just a follow-up question. Just when you -- understanding there's different pricing tiers and you're seeing some success moving some stores up and down. Just as you put together the guidance for fiscal 2025, how are you thinking about menu pricing for the fiscal '25?

好的。然後是一個後續問題。就在您了解存在不同的定價等級並且您看到一些商店的上下移動取得了一些成功時。就像您整理 2025 財年指南一樣，您如何考慮 25 財年的菜單定價？

Yes. So we have 5% pricing for the year in the guidance, and that blends all of those together, everything that's down as well as up.

是的。因此，我們在指導下規定了今年 5% 的定價，並將所有這些因素（包括上漲和下跌的因素）混合在一起。

Dennis Geiger, UBS.

丹尼斯蓋革，瑞銀集團。

Wondering if you could talk a little bit about what you saw in the quarter from a customer standpoint. Any thoughts as it relates to some of those key cohorts, either age, income demographic, et cetera? And then specific to loyalty, maybe the incremental customers that you've been adding, if there's anything you could say about those, age-wise, how it's skewed? Great stats, I think, on the uplift that you're seeing from the program. But maybe just who is now in the program, who you've been adding to that, if there are commonalities there.

想知道您是否可以從客戶的角度談談您在本季看到的情況。對於其中一些關鍵群體（年齡、收入人口等）有什麼想法嗎？然後具體到忠誠度，也許是您一直在增加的增量客戶，您是否可以對這些客戶說些什麼，從年齡角度來看，它是如何傾斜的？我認為，關於您從該計劃中看到的提升，統計數據非常出色。但也許只是現在在這個計劃中的人，你已經添加到其中的人，如果那裡有共同點的話。

Sure. Thanks, Dennis. It's Julie. We really haven't seen a huge mix -- or a mix shift in the customers in Q4. We've seen a little uptick in our 65-plus group, which is positive because they had been down prior.

當然。謝謝，丹尼斯。是朱莉。我們確實沒有看到第四季度客戶的巨大組合或組合轉變。我們看到 65 歲以上群體的人數略有上升，這是積極的，因為他們之前一直在下降。

So it's nice to see that recovering a little bit. But other than that, the demographics have stayed pretty similar.

所以很高興看到它有所恢復。但除此之外，人口統計數據仍然非常相似。

We have seen a decline among the under $60,000 a year cohort in spending. So we're just kind of keeping our eye on that. We have great value for all guests and we continue to reinforce that with the barbell pricing strategy. Items like Early Dine as well as our Sunrise Pancake special, that's just such an amazing value, and if you're like me and you love our pancakes, it's a delicious way to start your day. So we feel really good about the shifts that we're seeing there, although they're very minimal, Dennis, honestly.

我們發現年收入低於 6 萬美元的人群的支出有所下降。所以我們只是關注這一點。我們為所有客人提供巨大的價值，並且我們將繼續透過槓鈴定價策略來強化這一點。像“提早用餐”以及我們的“日出煎餅”特色菜這樣的食物真是物超所值，如果您像我一樣並且喜歡我們的煎餅，那麼這是開始新的一天的美味方式。因此，丹尼斯，老實說，我們對在那裡看到的轉變感到非常滿意，儘管這些轉變非常小。

Loyalty, thanks for asking about that. We are so excited about this program. We're so excited to really understand the cohort better. We haven't really been spending a lot of time digging into them demographically. We've actually been spending more time thinking about their behavioral spending and really using that to test and learn ways to drive behavior.

忠誠，感謝您提出這個問題。我們對這個計劃感到非常興奮。我們很高興能夠更好地真正了解這個群體。我們並沒有真正花很多時間從人口統計角度深入研究他們。事實上，我們花了更多的時間思考他們的行為支出，並真正用它來測試和學習驅動行為的方法。

The demographics, from what we've seen and what we're setting, are relatively in line with the average Cracker Barrel guest. Again, we view this as more of a way to drive behavior, and that's really what we're looking at as we segment the population and really communicate with them directly to drive their behavior.

從我們所看到的和我們正在設定的情況來看，人口統計數據與 Cracker Barrel 客人的平均水平相對一致。同樣，我們認為這更多的是一種驅動行為的方式，這正是我們在對人群進行細分並真正與他們直接溝通以驅動他們的行為時所關注的。

And then I'll actually -- it is Craig, I'll jump in and add a little bit to that as well, just to build on what Julie was saying, a couple really more encouraging things despite the really challenging backdrop. We ended the quarter -- on average over the quarter, we actually exceeded Black Box's Casual Dining Index for the quarter and continue to exceed for family dining.

然後我會——這是克雷格，我也會加入進來，補充一點，只是為了在朱莉所說的基礎上，儘管背景確實充滿挑戰，但還是有一些更令人鼓舞的事情。我們在本季結束時——平均而言，我們實際上超過了 Black Box 的本季休閒餐飲指數，並繼續超過家庭餐飲指數。

And some more encouraging news in that regard is we've been doing a lot of work around dinner. Dinner has been challenged for a while, and we've shared that in the last few calls. And we added this Early Dine offer, as well as some other dinner news, and we're seeing that trend start to move in a really good direction. So we're starting to close the gap there. So some encouraging things kind of finishing out Q4 and going into Q1.

在這方面，一些更令人鼓舞的消息是我們圍繞晚餐做了很多工作。一段時間以來，晚餐一直受到挑戰，我們在最近幾次電話中分享了這一點。我們添加了這個早晚餐優惠，以及一些其他晚餐新聞，我們看到這種趨勢開始朝著非常好的方向發展。所以我們開始縮小這方面的差距。因此，一些令人鼓舞的事情結束了第四季並進入第一季。

Great. Very helpful guys. One more just on the cost savings side of things, a few to kind of put in here. Craig, on the G&A side, anything more specific to share for '25 beyond what you said already? Or is it a bit of a moving target where you want to maintain a little bit of flexibility there as it relates to that exact G&A number?

偉大的。非常有幫助的人。還有一個只是關於節省成本方面的事情，這裡有一些內容。克雷格，在 G&A 方面，除了您已經說過的內容之外，還有什麼更具體的內容可以分享 '25 的內容嗎？或者它是一個移動目標，您希望在與確切的一般管理費用數字相關時保持一點靈活性？

And related on the cost saving side of things, you talked about a few of the opportunities today. Is that $50 million to $60 million cumulative three years, is that still the same that it was, if anything has changed there or if any kind of net commentary there? Would just be curious.

與節省成本方面相關，您今天談到了一些機會。三年累計 5,000 萬至 6,000 萬美元，是否仍與以前一樣，是否有任何變化或是否有任何網路評論？只是好奇而已。

Awesome. I'll start with cost savings. Yes, we're still fully aligned with the $50 million to $60 million over the three years. In fiscal '25, we also have meaningful, what I would call, as gross cost savings as well, but it is an investment year. And as such, we really invest in that. We want to kind of keep building the momentum. So that's not going to net flow through in '25.

驚人的。我將從節省成本開始。是的，我們仍然完全同意三年內 5,000 萬至 6,000 萬美元的目標。在 25 財年，我們也實現了有意義的總成本節約，但這是一個投資年。因此，我們確實對此進行了投資。我們希望繼續建立這種勢頭。所以這不會在 25 年達到淨流量。

But as we've shared before, by the back half of '26 and into '27, we expect those benefits to really accelerate in EBITDA to start to pick up meaningfully. And I think you hit the nail on the head as it relates to G&A. It is an investment year. We're doing a lot to build the business. But, however, G&A as well, as we move into the back half of '26 and into '27, we expect that will start to normalize as overall financial performance improves.

但正如我們之前分享的那樣，到 26 年下半年到 27 年，我們預計這些收益將真正加速，EBITDA 開始顯著回升。我認為你擊中了要害，因為它與一般及行政費用有關。今年是投資年。我們正在做很多事情來發展業務。但是，隨著我們進入 26 年下半年和 27 年，一般管理費用也將隨著整體財務表現的改善而開始正常化。

Katherine Griffin, Bank of America.

凱瑟琳·格里芬，美國銀行。

Craig, I don't know if I missed it, but did you provide a breakdown of traffic and mix in the quarter? And then maybe you can also help us just understand like the pricing cadence of the year in terms of when you took pricing in the quarter. Just assuming like -- they're trying to get a picture, I guess, of the full year pricing at 5% you guided to and how much that implies for carryforward.

克雷格，我不知道我是否錯過了，但您是否提供了本季流量和組合的細分？然後也許您還可以幫助我們了解當年的定價節奏，也就是您在本季進行定價的時間。假設——我想，他們正試圖了解您指導的 5% 的全年定價，以及這意味著結轉多少。

Katherine, traffic for the quarter was approximately negative 4%. Negative 4%. Mix was approximately a positive 0.2%. And as you think about pricing for fiscal '25, we had multiple actions really in '24. We didn't have like two large ones. We had multiple throughout the year. So I'm not anticipating a whole lot of lumpiness, so to speak, as it relates to pricing in fiscal '25.

Katherine，本季的流量約為負 4%。負4%。混合率大約是正 0.2%。當你考慮 25 財年的定價時，我們實際上在 24 財年採取了多項行動。我們沒有像兩個大的。我們全年都有多個。因此，可以這麼說，我預計不會出現很大的波動，因為這與 25 財年的定價有關。

Okay. And then I think like something that the brand is known for is value. I imagine that's -- it's most appealing in the loyalty program and in your messaging. So I wanted to understand the -- how you're thinking about balancing, taking some more pricing with maintaining those value scores. I think just given that casual dining has relatively low frequency, what gives you confidence that you can maintain those, I don't know if they're rising value scores, against higher pricing?

好的。然後我認為該品牌因價值而聞名。我想這在忠誠度計劃和訊息傳遞中最有吸引力。所以我想了解——您如何考慮平衡、採取更多定價並保持這些價值分數。我認為考慮到休閒餐飲的頻率相對較低，是什麼讓你有信心能夠維持這些，我不知道他們是否在提高價格方面的價值分數？

Katherine, it's Julie. I'll take this one. Thanks for the question because value is so important to us at Cracker Barrel. To your point, it is a hallmark of the brand and something that our guests really take very seriously. And when they think about value at Cracker Barrel, it's, like at any concept or any brand, it's an equation, right?

凱瑟琳，是朱莉。我要這個。感謝您提出這個問題，因為價值對我們 Cracker Barrel 來說非常重要。就您而言，這是該品牌的標誌，也是我們的客人非常重視的東西。當他們思考 Cracker Barrel 的價值時，就像任何概念或任何品牌一樣，這是一個等式，對吧？

So it is about not only at the price point that they're paying, but all of those elements of service, all of the elements of the food and the experience that come together in that. Our guests have told us, we spent a lot of time thinking about this and researching it in the last year, that for them one of the most important pieces of that equation is the amount of food and the abundance and quality of the food that they receive from us at Cracker Barrel.

因此，這不僅關係到他們所支付的價格，還關係到所有這些服務要素、所有食物要素以及其中組合在一起的體驗。我們的客人告訴我們，去年我們花了很多時間思考這個問題並進行研究，對他們來說，這個等式中最重要的部分之一是食物的數量以及他們所吃的食物的豐富度和品質。從Cracker Barrel 接收我們的訊息。

So as we work on the strategic pricing initiative, one of the things that we have absolutely maintained is our focus on quality and our focus on a real full plate. When you leave Cracker Barrel, you are leaving hungry, and honestly, look around a Cracker Barrel the next time you're in, most people are leaving with leftovers for tomorrow or for later in the day. So we are absolutely focused on maintaining that.

因此，當我們致力於戰略定價計劃時，我們絕對堅持的一件事就是我們對品質的關注和對真正全盤的關注。當你離開餅乾桶時，你會餓著肚子離開，老實說，下次你進去時環顧一下餅乾桶，大多數人都會帶著明天或當天晚些時候的剩菜離開。所以我們絕對專注於維持這一點。

As we talked back in May when we were introducing the strategic transformation, the way we've really approached pricing is different for Cracker Barrel. We have taken a new approach, which really puts the barbell pricing strategy out there. So we have really focused on sharpening and, frankly, talking more about some of our lower entry price points. And to highlight that, we really have a key thing at breakfast, which is the Sunrise Pancake special for $7.99 to pancakes, two eggs and bacon or sausage, which is an amazing value. But then for dinner, we introduced our Early Dine deals.

正如我們在五月介紹策略轉型時所說的那樣，我們真正處理定價的方式對於 Cracker Barrel 來說是不同的。我們採取了一種新方法，真正實現了槓鈴定價策略。因此，我們確實專注於銳化，坦率地說，並更多地談論我們的一些較低的入門價格點。值得強調的是，我們的早餐確實有一個關鍵的東西，那就是日出煎餅特價，售價 7.99 美元，有煎餅、兩個雞蛋和培根或香腸，真是物超所值。但晚餐時，我們推出了早晚餐優惠。

And those are phenomenal again, huge value, start at $8.99, Monday through Friday, 4:00 to 6:00 PM. And what we've seen, Katherine, is as we've actually put that Early Dine out there, that the take rate on that continues to build. So we see that our guests are recognizing that value. They're coming in for it. They value the value as well as the delicious food that they're getting for it. And that's enabling us to really implement the barbell pricing strategy.

這些價格再次驚人，物超所值，週一至週五下午 4:00 至 6:00 起價為 8.99 美元。凱瑟琳，我們所看到的是，正如我們實際上推出的早晚餐服務一樣，其接受率持續上升。所以我們看到我們的客人正在認識到這價值。他們正為此而來。他們重視其價值以及由此獲得的美味食物。這使我們能夠真正實施槓鈴定價策略。

I also talked in my prepared remarks about how we've actually upgraded our quality of our steaks. So that is actually a higher price point item when you think about how the barbell strategy works. And we're seeing great response to that item, as well as one of our new items, which is the Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie, has been a wild success. And that's sort of in the upper tier of pricing, but people love that item and it's really drawing a lot of people to the dinner date part and also to that item.

我還在準備好的發言中談到了我們如何實際提升牛排的品質。因此，當您考慮槓鈴策略如何運作時，這實際上是一個更高價位的項目。我們看到了對該產品的巨大反響，以及我們的新產品之一，即哈希布朗砂鍋牧羊人派，取得了巨大的成功。這在定價中處於較高水平，但人們喜歡該商品，它確實吸引了許多人參加晚餐約會部分以及該商品。

So we're being very, very mindful of it. We are watching those value scores everywhere that we've taken price to make sure that people feel like we are upholding our kind of bond with them around what value means to them and the way that we execute at Cracker Barrel. So the data suggests we're on the right path. And just the responses that we're getting from our guests would also suggest that as well. So we feel really good about where we're landing on all of that.

所以我們非常非常注意這一點。我們在各個地方都在觀察這些價值得分，我們已經採取了價格，以確保人們感覺到我們在維護與他們的聯繫，圍繞價值對他們意味著什麼以及我們在 Cracker Barrel 的執行方式。因此，數據顯示我們走在正確的道路上。我們從客人那裡得到的回應也顯示了這一點。因此，我們對目前的進展感到非常滿意。

Jake Bartlett, Truist Securities.

傑克·巴特利特，Truist 證券公司。

Mine was just on the same-store sales guidance, the implied guidance in '25, and how that might be informed by more recent trends. I believe maybe, Craig, if you can just confirm that you're looking at positive low single digits same-store sales for the year. We heard earlier today from another company that industry sales had been -- had improved in August and then into September.

我的只是同店銷售指導，25 年的隱含指導，以及如何透過最近的趨勢來了解這項指導。克雷格，我相信，如果您能確認今年的同店銷售額為正的低個位數的話，也許可以。今天早些時候，我們從另一家公司獲悉，行業銷售在八月和九月都有所改善。

It looks to me like Cracker Barrel has likely seen the same. If you could just confirm that. And then if that is true, if you're seeing an improvement, do you attribute it to industry trends? Or do you think some of your initiatives are really starting to kind of -- to bear fruit already?

在我看來，Cracker Barrel 可能也看到了同樣的情況。如果你能證實這一點就好了。如果這是真的，如果您看到了改進，您會將其歸因於行業趨勢嗎？或者你認為你的一些措施真的已經開始產生成果了嗎？

Jake, so let me just start out with the first part. As we talked about our guidance is total sales $3.4 billion to $3.5 billion. If you take a [50- to 52-week basis] there, that does work out to about approximately a 1% sales growth year-over-year on a 50- to 52-week basis. And with the pricing on the restaurant side of about 5%, you could kind of back into roughly what we're thinking in terms of traffic.

傑克，讓我從第一部分開始。正如我們所說，我們的指引是總銷售額 34 億至 35 億美元。如果以 [50 到 52 週為基礎]，那麼在 50 到 52 週的基礎上，銷售額確實會年增約 1%。餐廳方面的定價約為 5%，您可以大致回到我們對流量的思考。

And what I would say on the recent trends is our guidance really contemplates that already, where we think the work that we're doing is working. I think it's all coming together and -- but it is a multiyear journey. We're very confident in the guidance. We're really encouraged by the momentum that we have across the whole host of metrics, and Julie talked about the operations metrics, the guest satisfaction metrics, the loyalty metrics, what we're seeing with Early Dine.

關於最近的趨勢，我想說的是，我們的指導確實已經考慮到了這一點，我們認為我們正在做的工作正在發揮作用。我認為這一切都在整合——但這是一個多年的旅程。我們對指導非常有信心。我們對所有指標的勢頭感到非常鼓舞，朱莉談到了營運指標、顧客滿意度指標、忠誠度指標以及我們在早晚餐中看到的情況。

However, the backdrop is challenging. I mean there are times that it's a little bit better or a little bit worse, but it is a challenging backdrop for sure, and that is contemplated in the guidance as well. So current trends are contemplated and a challenging backdrop is also contemplated.

然而，背景充滿挑戰。我的意思是，有時情況會好一點或差一點，但這肯定是一個具有挑戰性的背景，指南中也考慮到了這一點。因此，我們考慮了當前的趨勢，也考慮了具有挑戰性的背景。

The big thing for me is really like -- is really the three-year plan. How -- where are we working towards and how do we feel about that? And the signs that we're seeing right now are saying, hey, it's a three-year plan, but we're on our way, and we're feeling good about the progress.

對我來說最重要的是——真正的三年計畫。我們正在朝著什麼方向努力？我們現在看到的跡象表明，嘿，這是一個三年計劃，但我們正在路上，我們對進展感到滿意。

Okay. And on the 5% menu pricing, at the surface, it's obviously a big number in a challenging environment that you just mentioned. Can you try to disaggregate how much of that is driven by the tiers, the changing of -- moving the net restaurants to a higher tier versus like-for-like menu pricing at a given store? Probably hard to disaggregate, but I think the answer there would help us feel a little more confident that traffic is not going to be materially impacted by a 5% price increase.

好的。從表面上看，5% 的菜單定價在您剛才提到的充滿挑戰的環境中顯然是一個很大的數字。您能否嘗試分解其中有多少是由層級驅動的，以及將網路餐廳轉移到更高層級與給定商店的同類菜單定價的變化？可能很難分類，但我認為答案將幫助我們更有信心，相信流量不會受到 5% 價格上漲的重大影響。

Yes, I'll start, Jake, and then Craig can jump in if there are some things that I missed. So let's start with kind of the last part of your question, which is we have been testing our way through this since about March. And every single test that we have done, and that would give us a little bit of a lot more time, honestly, has proven out that we're actually able to flow through almost all of it.

是的，我會開始，傑克，然後如果我錯過了一些事情，克雷格可以介入。讓我們從你問題的最後一部分開始，大約從三月開始我們就一直在測試我們的方法。老實說，我們所做的每項測試都會給我們更多的時間，事實證明我們實際上能夠完成幾乎所有的測試。

It's not impacting traffic, or elasticity is frankly lower than what we had built into the plan. And so that gives us a lot of optimism, as well as looking again at those value scores that I talked to you about -- or that I talked to Katherine about. So we feel good about that side of things.

它不會影響流量，或者坦白說，彈性低於我們在計劃中建立的彈性。因此，這給了我們很大的樂觀情緒，並再次審視我與你們談論過的那些價值分數——或者我與凱瑟琳談論過的那些價值分數。所以我們對事情的這一面感覺很好。

With the moving pieces and the more strategic approach and the more sophisticated approach to pricing, it is hard to sort of disaggregate it a little bit. But what I will tell you again there is that we are watching it. We are watching what's going up. We're watching what goes down. We're watching the way that all of that is coming through. And it is, again, flowing through very, very nicely.

隨著變化的部分、更具策略性的方法和更複雜的定價方法，很難對其進行稍微分解。但我要再次告訴你的是，我們正在關注它。我們正在關注事態的發展。我們正在觀察發生了什麼事。我們正在觀察這一切的發生方式。而且它再次非常非常好地流過。

I want to remind you of something that I talked about back in May, which was, when we started the strategic pricing work, we did a ton of competitive analysis. We looked tons of research out there. On average, for like items with our competitors, we are priced 8% to 12% below them. It's a really important thing to remind everybody of, because even taking 5%, that doesn't close that gap, right? And that would just be sort of straight numbers on all of that.

我想提醒大家我在五月談到的一件事，那就是，當我們開始策略定價工作時，我們做了大量的競爭分析。我們進行了大量的研究。平均而言，對於與競爭對手類似的商品，我們的價格比他們低 8% 到 12%。提醒大家這點非常重要，因為即使採用 5%，也無法縮小差距，對吧？這只是所有這些的直接數字。

So in general, we have room, and our guests are telling us that we have room to take price. And so that's sort of the foundation of how we've actually kind of gone in and reassorted stores and the tiers, looked at where we have room.

所以總的來說，我們有空間，我們的客人告訴我們，我們有定價的空間。所以這就是我們實際上如何進入並重新分類商店和層級、查看我們有空間的地方的基礎。

This is a multivariate approach. We're looking at willingness to pay. We're looking at cost of living. We're looking at cost of operation and trying to really come through with the best way to take this price, in a way that doesn't kind of affect the same consumers and the same stores all the time, right? So that's really a big part of the strategy there.

這是一種多元方法。我們正在考慮支付意願。我們正在考慮生活成本。我們正在考慮營運成本，並試圖真正找到接受這個價格的最佳方式，以一種不會一直影響相同消費者和相同商店的方式，對嗎？所以這確實是該戰略的重要組成部分。

So that's giving us a lot of confidence in what we're doing and our ability to do it and to actually flow through the pricing. Important reason that we're taking it is because we want to flow it through. It's an important part of our drive to drive profitability.

因此，這讓我們對我們正在做的事情、我們的能力以及實際執行定價的能力充滿信心。我們接受它的重要原因是我們想讓它流通。這是我們提高獲利能力的重要組成部分。

And Jake, I'll build on that just a little bit. I think one of the things that's not as clear to everyone if you're kind of outside the company looking in, is our check average, our check average on the -- is we're mid-14s, right, mid-14 check average. Casual dining check average these days is in the $26 range. If you take out the steak-heavy folks, you're maybe in the $22, $23 range. So we are starting out from really a much lower point.

傑克，我將在此基礎上進一步發展。我認為，如果你是公司之外的人，那麼每個人都不太清楚的一件事是我們的支票平均值，我們的支票平均值是 - 我們是 14 歲左右，對，14 歲左右的支票平均的。如今休閒餐飲的平均帳單約在 26 美元左右。如果你除去那些喜歡吃牛排的人，你的價格可能在 22 美元到 23 美元之間。所以我們是從一個低得多的點開始的。

And the pricing, in addition to everything that Julie also said, is kind of what Katherine said earlier too, the additional value lever is the loyalty program. We're able to deliver not only just a share discount through the loyalty program, but we're also able to have offers. And we've been testing those offers over the year as an additional way to drive value and to drive incremental traffic. So it's a good question, and we've really pushed on a lot of levers to ensure that we get really good flow-through from the pricing. And so far, so good.

除了朱莉所說的一切之外，定價也是凱瑟琳之前所說的，附加價值槓桿是忠誠度計畫。我們不僅能夠透過忠誠度計劃提供股票折扣，而且還能夠提供優惠。我們一年來一直在測試這些優惠，作為推動價值和增加流量的額外方式。所以這是一個很好的問題，我們確實採取了很多手段來確保我們從定價中獲得真正良好的流通。到目前為止，一切都很好。

Andrew Wolf, CL King.

安德魯沃爾夫，CL金。

Wanted to follow up on the loyalty program. And first, could you just compare that $6 million -- 6 million active users to the legacy program? And assuming it's up somewhat or a lot, can you discern whether that's existing customers who you converted? Or is it like net new customers to Cracker Barrel?

想要跟進忠誠度計劃。首先，您能否將 600 萬美元（即 600 萬活躍用戶）與舊計劃進行比較？假設它有所上升或大幅上升，您能否辨別出這是否是您轉換的現有客戶？或者它就像 Cracker Barrel 的淨新客戶一樣？

Andrew, it's Julie. I'll jump in. We did not have a legacy program. So this is all new. We launched the loyalty program kind of in September last year. So it's about a year old. Now your question may be, were these already loyal customers to Cracker Barrel? Sure. But we don't have a lot of that pre-information, but what we can tell pre and post of the loyalty program implemented, these guests that are in the loyalty program today have a higher frequency than non-loyalty members, about a 50% higher frequency, and their check is higher.

安德魯，是茱莉。我會插話。所以這都是新的。我們在去年九月推出了忠誠度計畫。所以它大約一歲了。現在您的問題可能是，這些是 Cracker Barrel 的忠實客戶嗎？當然。但我們沒有太多預先信息，但我們可以在實施忠誠度計劃之前和之後得知，今天加入忠誠度計劃的這些客人比非忠誠度會員的頻率更高，大約為 50 % 頻率更高，他們的檢查也更高。

And as I said in my prepared remarks, they're spending more on retail. So we do know a lot more about them now. It's 6 million of all the guests that come to visit us in a year. Some of them probably were very loyal to us before we implemented this program last fall. But it's a new program and we continue to learn and be really optimistic about the results.

正如我在準備好的發言中所說，他們在零售方面的支出增加了。所以我們現在確實對它們有了更多的了解。一年來拜訪我們的客人中有 600 萬人。在我們去年秋天實施這個計劃之前，他們中的一些人可能非常忠誠於我們。但這是一個新計劃，我們將繼續學習並對結果感到非常樂觀。

Okay. I thought there was like a [PEGS] program that was sort of manual, but I'll just move on. Can you kind of discuss what the -- or what the '27 goal is in terms of penetration if you're at 25% of transactions now?

好的。我以為有一個 [PEGS] 程序是一種手動程序，但我會繼續前進。如果您現在的交易量為 25%，您能否討論一下 27 年的滲透率目標是什麼？

For the loyalty members?

對於忠誠會員？

Yes.

是的。

Yes, Andrew, I'll start with that one. We haven't -- we're at 25%, it's continuing to grow. At this point, we really haven't even defined what the top is. We've been doing a lot more testing. We think there's a lot more opportunity to go here. Really, as we'll continue to build capabilities, it's one of the areas that we're continuing to invest in. But we have not communicated a firm penetration target as yet.

是的，安德魯，我將從那個開始。我們還沒有——我們的比例是 25%，而且還在繼續成長。此時，我們實際上還沒有定義什麼是頂部。我們一直在做更多的測試。我們認為有更多的機會去這裡。事實上，隨著我們將繼續建立能力，這是我們繼續投資的領域之一。

Got it. Okay. The last thing, I just wanted to ask about the quarter. I think it's a travel-heavy quarter. Was the comp -- same-store sales improvement as you go between measuring between folks who traveled and local people live around the store around the restaurant, are you able to discern which cohort cut that way, you saw more improvement in?

知道了。好的。最後一件事，我只是想問一下這個季度的狀況。我認為這是一個旅行密集的季度。當您對旅行過的人和居住在餐廳周圍商店周圍的當地人進行衡量時，同店銷售是否有所改善，您是否能夠辨別出哪個群體以這種方式減少，您看到了更多的改善？

We do that periodically. We did not do it for this quarter. We've really been -- as Julie shared, there is -- what we've seen more is a big difference between the under 60,000 cohort versus the over 60,000, and we've continued to see softness with the under 60,000, and much more stable in the above 60,000.

我們定期這樣做。我們本季沒有這樣做。正如朱莉所說，我們確實看到了 60,000 歲以下人群與 60,000 歲以上人群之間的巨大差異，而且我們繼續看到 60,000 歲以下人群的疲軟狀態，而且很多比較穩定在6萬以上。

We also saw some improving trends with the over 65 -- over 65 group. And we've been focused on dinner. We've been focused on regaining our momentum at dinner, which has been a challenge for -- which has been a challenge for a while.

我們也看到 65 歲以上族群的一些改善趨勢。我們一直專注於晚餐。我們一直專注於在晚餐時恢復動力，這對我們來說一直是一個挑戰，一段時間以來一直是一個挑戰。

And I would just add on that real quick, Andrew. Remember, our Q4 last year was a real challenge from a traffic perspective. So we were really pleased to have to see some dramatic improvements in our traffic there. So kind of across all the segments, as Craig just mentioned.

我想快速補充一下，安德魯。請記住，從流量角度來看，去年第四季是一個真正的挑戰。因此，我們非常高興看到那裡的交通有了顯著改善。正如克雷格剛才提到的，所有細分市場都是如此。

Jon Tower, Citigroup.

喬恩·塔爾，花旗集團。

Maybe first off, just a clarification. The pricing action that you took, did that start in August or something that's hit a little bit later?

也許首先，只是澄清一下。你們採取的定價行動是從八月開始的還是稍後才開始的？

Jon, it's Craig. I'll start. The pricing action -- one of the things that we've done, and we've been doing this for a while, is we're taking more frequent pricing actions that are smaller, because guests respond better to that. And that's one of the reasons that we're not expecting a whole lot of lumpiness as it relates to pricing. So we had a series of pricing actions in '24 that will roll off, and we have a series of pricing actions in '25 that will roll on.

喬恩，我是克雷格。我開始吧。定價行動——我們已經做過的事情之一，而且我們已經這樣做了一段時間了，我們正在採取更頻繁、更小的定價行動，因為客人對此反應更好。這就是我們預計不會出現與定價相關的大量波動的原因之一。因此，我們在 24 年採取了一系列定價行動，並將在 25 年採取一系列定價行動。

Okay, so some -- what's -- I guess, the 5% was included in the August number, quarter-to-date number, with the --

好吧，所以一些 - 我猜，5% 包含在 8 月份的數字中，即季度至今的數字中，其中 -

Exactly, exactly.

完全正確。

Great. And then maybe just going to the advertising piece of the business. I know 2024 the company stepped up spend there. And I'm just kind of curious, given all the transition that the company's going through right now when looking at fiscal '25, do you anticipate another step-up in spend?

偉大的。然後也許只是去了解該業務的廣告部分。我知道到 2024 年公司會增加在那裡的支出。我只是有點好奇，考慮到公司在 25 財年正在經歷的所有轉變，您是否預計支出會再次增加？

And specifically, where do you see yourselves putting that money? Will it be focused more around value still as that's imperative to the core customers today? Or do you see it focused on some of these new menu items that you're talking about that have an attractive price point but might be a little bit more premium to the everyday value?

具體來說，您認為自己會把這些錢花在哪裡？它是否仍會更加關注價值，因為這對當今的核心客戶來說至關重要？或者您認為它專注於您正在談論的一些新菜單項目，這些項目具有有吸引力的價格點，但可能比日常價值更高一些？

Yes, Jon, thanks for the question. I'll start and then Craig can kind of jump in. We do not have a planned step-up in marketing spend as a percent of sales in '25. We did step that up last year. As we were -- as I talked about on a lot of the different calls, really testing and really refining our mix looking at that. And that's something that we're always doing.

是的，喬恩，謝謝你的提問。我先開始，然後克雷格可以插話。 我們沒有計劃在 25 年提高行銷支出佔銷售額的百分比。去年我們確實加強了這一點。正如我們在許多不同的電話中談到的那樣，我們正在真正測試並完善我們的組合。這也是我們一直在做的事情。

Especially with Sarah here, the team is really evaluating the mix. We're really doing a lot of media mix modeling right now to really find our way in through all the noise, because remember, it's noisy out there. Our competitors are spending a lot of money. They're screaming a lot of value. And so we've got to find our way in with those messages.

尤其是莎拉在這裡，團隊正在真正評估組合。我們現在確實做了很多媒體混合建模，以便真正找到穿過所有噪音的方法，因為記住，外面很吵。我們的競爭對手花了很多錢。他們尖叫著很多價值。所以我們必須找到處理這些訊息的方法。

Now in the last kind of Q4 and even in Q1, we've had some different messages out there. What I will say is that they're actually all resonating, right? When you think about the fact that we messaged early dinner -- Early Dine, that's been, as I mentioned earlier, that has been ticking up. The take rate has been going up on that.

現在，在最後一種第四季甚至第一季度，我們收到了一些不同的消息。我要說的是，它們實際上都產生了共鳴，對嗎？當你想到我們發訊息提早晚餐——提早用餐這一事實時，正如我之前提到的，這種情況一直在增加。接受率一直在上升。

And right now, we just switched over to the Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie, which has been a tremendous performer for us. So I think we're able to really just be uniquely Cracker Barrel. Find our guests, find our super fans, and really communicate with them in ways that are meaningful. Because we are able to deliver amazing value as well as these craveable, delicious menu items in our way.

現在，我們剛剛改用哈希布朗砂鍋牧羊人派，它對我們來說表現非常出色。所以我認為我們能夠真正成為獨一無二的 Cracker Barrel。找到我們的客人，找到我們的超級粉絲，並以有意義的方式與他們進行真正的交流。因為我們能夠以我們的方式提供令人驚嘆的價值以及這些令人渴望的美味菜單項目。

And that's really a big part of our goal to regain market share is to really speak to guests the way that they want to be spoken to and really continue to tell our story and delight them every step of the way. And I know with Sarah at the helm of the marketing organization will continue to refine that and move that forward in a really meaningful way.

我們重新獲得市場份額的目標的一個重要部分是真正以客人想要的方式與他們交談，並真正繼續講述我們的故事並讓他們在每一步中感到高興。我知道，在莎拉的領導下，行銷組織將繼續完善這一點，並以一種真正有意義的方式向前邁進。

Got it. And then maybe as you're going through the remodel process, I know you had some store closures last year, have you found perhaps there's more opportunity to clean up the portfolio with respect to incremental store closures? Are you pretty happy with where you sit today?

知道了。然後，也許在您經歷改造過程時，我知道您去年關閉了一些商店，您是否發現也許有更多機會來清理與增量商店關閉有關的投資組合？您對今天的坐姿還滿意嗎？

We're always looking at the store portfolio. We do it regularly. So what I'll say is, for right now, we don't have any planned close-ins, but we'll continue to evaluate it.

我們一直在關注商店的產品組合。我們定期這樣做。所以我要說的是，目前我們沒有任何計劃的接近，但我們將繼續評估它。

Got it. And then just last one for me. I should have asked this earlier. What's your average guest frequency today?

知道了。然後是我的最後一個。我應該早點問這個。今天您的平均訪客頻率是多少？

Yes. It's a good question. Right now, it's still a little under 2x a year, but that obviously doesn't take into account our loyalty members. So as we continue to learn more about them and the program, we'll be able to talk about that. They visit in -- they visit about 50% more often than a normal guest. So that's pretty exciting for us. So we'll continue to work on driving their frequency as we move forward.

是的。這是一個好問題。目前，每年仍略低於 2 倍，但這顯然沒有考慮到我們的忠誠會員。因此，當我們繼續更多地了解他們和該計劃時，我們將能夠討論這一點。他們來訪的次數比一般客人多約 50%。所以這對我們來說非常令人興奮。因此，隨著我們的前進，我們將繼續努力提高他們的頻率。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Julie Masino for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回朱莉·馬西諾 (Julie Masino) 發表閉幕詞。

I want to thank everybody for joining us today. It is the 55th birthday of Cracker Barrel, so it's an exciting day. And both Craig and I want to thank our 70,000-plus team members for their continued hard work and dedication to bringing the brand to life each and every day.

我要感謝大家今天加入我們。今天是 Cracker Barrel 的 55 歲生日，所以這是令人興奮的一天。克雷格和我都要感謝我們 70,000 多名團隊成員的持續辛勤工作和奉獻精神，讓品牌每天煥發活力。

I hope you took away that our transformation plan is well underway and on track. We're pleased with the progress the team is making and the initial results of our initiatives are promising. We're still in the early stages of this multiyear journey and there's much work to be done.

我希望您了解到我們的轉型計劃正在順利進行併步入正軌。我們對團隊所取得的進展感到滿意，我們的措施的初步結果令人鼓舞。我們仍處於這多年旅程的早期階段，還有很多工作要做。

But we are confident we are on the right path to deliver our imperatives of driving relevancy, which is really about capturing market share, delivering food and experiences that guests love, and growing profitability. And make no mistake, we will do this while continuing to maniacally focus on operational excellence every shift every day. We look forward to providing further updates on our progress, and thanks for your interest.

但我們相信，我們正走在正確的道路上，以實現推動相關性的要求，這實際上是為了佔領市場份額，提供客人喜愛的食物和體驗，以及提高盈利能力。毫無疑問，我們將在做到這一點的同時繼續瘋狂地關注每天每個班次的卓越運營。我們期待提供有關我們進展的進一步更新，並感謝您的關注。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。