Columbia Sportswear Co (COLM) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to the Columbia Sportswear Fourth Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Andrew Burns. Please proceed.

問候。歡迎參加 Columbia Sportswear 2023 年第四季財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我將會議交給主持人安德魯伯恩斯。請繼續。

Good afternoon, and thanks for joining us to discuss Columbia Sportswear Company's fourth quarter results. In addition to the earnings release, we furnished an 8-K containing a detailed CFO commentary and financial review presentation explaining our results. The document is also available on our Investor Relations website, investor.columbia.com.

下午好，感謝您加入我們討論哥倫比亞運動服裝公司第四季的業績。除了收益發布之外，我們還提供了一份 8-K，其中包含詳細的財務長評論和解釋我們結果的財務審查簡報。文件也可在我們的投資者關係網站 Investor.columbia.com 上取得。

With me today on the call are Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tim Boyle; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Jim Swanson; and Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Peter Bragdon.

今天與我一起參加電話會議的有董事長、總裁兼執行長 Tim Boyle；執行副總裁兼財務長吉姆‧斯旺森；執行副總裁、首席行政官兼總法律顧問 Peter Bragdon。

This conference call will contain forward-looking statements regarding Columbia's expectations, anticipations or beliefs about the future. These statements are expressed in good faith and are believed to have a reasonable basis. However, each forward-looking statement is subject to many risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from what is projected.

本次電話會議將包含有關哥倫比亞對未來的期望、預期或信念的前瞻性聲明。這些陳述是善意表達的，並被認為有合理的基礎。然而，每項前瞻性陳述都面臨許多風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與預測有重大差異。

Many of these risks and uncertainties are described in Columbia's SEC filings. We caution that forward-looking statements are inherently less reliable than historical information. We do not undertake any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this conference call to conform the forward-looking statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

哥倫比亞向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中描述了許多這些風險和不確定性。我們提醒您，前瞻性陳述本質上不如歷史資訊可靠。我們不承擔在本次電話會議日期後更新任何前瞻性陳述以使前瞻性陳述與實際結果或我們的預期變化保持一致的責任。

I'd also like to point out that during the call, we may reference certain non-GAAP financial measures, including constant currency net sales. For further information about non-GAAP financial measures and results, including a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures and an explanation of management's rationale for referencing these non-GAAP measures, please refer to the supplemental financial information section and financial tables included in our earnings release and the appendix of our CFO commentary and financial review.

我還想指出，在電話會議期間，我們可能會參考某些非公認會計準則財務指標，包括固定匯率淨銷售額。有關非 GAAP 財務指標和結果的更多信息，包括 GAAP 與非 GAAP 指標的調整表以及管理層參考這些非 GAAP 指標的理由的解釋，請參閱我們的補充財務資訊部分和財務表格。收益發布以及我們財務長評論和財務審查的附錄。

Following our prepared remarks, we will host a Q&A period during which we will limit each caller to 2 questions, so we can get to everyone by the end of the hour.

在我們準備好的演講之後，我們將舉辦問答環節，在此期間我們將每個來電者最多提出 2 個問題，以便我們能夠在一小時結束前聯繫到每個人。

Now I'll turn the call over to Tim.

現在我將把電話轉給提姆。

Thanks, Andrew, and good afternoon. I'm proud of what our global workforce was able to achieve in 2023 as we navigated a challenging environment. One of our top priorities throughout the year was executing in the inventory reduction plan. I'm pleased to report that we exited the year with inventories down 27% compared to last year. This inventory reduction helped us generate over $600 million in operating cash flows for the year. International markets were another bright spot, growing 7% on the year.

謝謝安德魯，下午好。我為我們的全球員工在 2023 年在充滿挑戰的環境中所取得的成就感到自豪。我們全年的首要任務之一是執行庫存削減計劃。我很高興地報告，今年結束時，我們的庫存比去年下降了 27%。庫存減少幫助我們在當年創造了超過 6 億美元的營運現金流。國際市場是另一個亮點，年增 7%。

In constant currency, China full year net sales grew low 30%. The investments in talent and operational improvements we've made over the last several years are yielding results. Our Europe-direct business grew low double-digit percent, reflecting strong execution across our product, brand and marketplace strategies.

以固定匯率計算，中國全年淨銷售額低成長 30%。過去幾年我們對人才和營運改善的投資正在取得成果。我們的歐洲直銷業務實現了兩位數的低成長，反映出我們在產品、品牌和市場策略方面的強大執行力。

We also generated healthy growth in Japan, up low double-digit percent and Canada, up mid-single-digit percent for the year. In the U.S., the marketplace proved more difficult. Consumer demand and traffic tapered off throughout the year. In the fourth quarter, a warm winter impacted cold weather categories.

我們在日本也實現了健康成長，全年實現了兩位數的低成長，在加拿大也實現了中個位數的成長。在美國，市場變得更加困難。全年消費者需求和客流量逐漸減少。第四季度，暖冬影響了寒冷天氣類別。

I'd note that the onset of winter weather more recently has boosted sell-through. This helps us and our retail partners work through seasonal inventories and mitigate the impact of carryover inventory in future seasons. Overall, 2023 net sales increased 1% to $3.5 billion. In this muted growth environment, we experienced SG&A deleverage and our operating margin performance was well short of my personal goal for the business.

我注意到，最近冬季天氣的到來提振了銷售量。這有助於我們和我們的零售合作夥伴處理季節性庫存，並減輕未來季節結轉庫存的影響。整體而言，2023 年淨銷售額成長 1%，達到 35 億美元。在這種低迷的成長環境中，我們經歷了SG&A去槓桿化，我們的營業利潤率表現遠低於我個人的業務目標。

Our balance sheet is strong. We exited the year with $765 million in cash and no debt. This provides resiliency during turbulent periods and allows us to continue to fund growth initiatives while returning capital to shareholders. In 2023, we repurchased $184 million in stock and paid out $73 million in dividends. Our commitment to returning capital to investors is evident in our track record. Since the beginning of 2018, we've repurchased over $1 billion in stock, which resulted in a 14% reductions in year-end shares outstanding. Over this time period, we also increased our quarterly dividend by 36%, from $0.22 to $0.30.

我們的資產負債表強勁。這一年結束時，我們擁有 7.65 億美元現金，沒有任何債務。這在動盪時期提供了彈性，使我們能夠繼續為成長計畫提供資金，同時向股東返還資本。 2023年，我們回購了1.84億美元的股票，並支付了7,300萬美元的股利。我們對向投資者返還資本的承諾在我們的業績記錄中顯而易見。自 2018 年初以來，我們已回購了超過 10 億美元的股票，這導致年末流通股減少了 14%。在此期間，我們還將季度股息提高了 36%，從 0.22 美元增加到 0.30 美元。

Looking ahead, we expect 2024 to be a challenging year. Retailers are placing orders cautiously, and economic and geopolitical uncertainty remains high. Our spring and fall order books reflect these challenges. The impact of these headwinds is most pronounced in the U.S. We are projecting growth in many markets outside of North America. Our initial net sales outlook for '24 is a decline of 2% to 4%. We're seeking opportunities to maximize sales in this environment, and my personal goal is to exceed this outlook.

展望未來，我們預期 2024 年將是充滿挑戰的一年。零售商下訂單謹慎，經濟和地緣政治不確定性仍然很高。我們的春季和秋季訂單反映了這些挑戰。這些不利因素的影響在美國最為明顯。我們預期北美以外的許多市場都會成長。我們最初對 2024 年淨銷售額的預期是下降 2% 至 4%。我們正在尋找在這種環境下最大化銷售額的機會，我個人的目標是超越這個前景。

Despite our cost containment actions to date, we expect the net sales decline to result in operating margin contraction. To mitigate further erosion in profitability and to improve the efficiency of our operations, we are implementing a multiyear profit improvement program. When the benefits of this program are combined with the cost savings that we anticipated from normalized inventory levels, we believe we can reach $125 million to $150 million in annualized savings by 2026.

儘管我們迄今為止採取了成本控制措施，但我們預計淨銷售額下降將導致營業利潤率收縮。為了減輕盈利能力的進一步侵蝕並提高營運效率，我們正在實施一項多年利潤改善計劃。當該計劃的好處與我們預期透過標準化庫存水準節省的成本相結合時，我們相信到 2026 年，我們的年度節省金額可達到 1.25 億至 1.5 億美元。

In our initial 2024 financial outlook, we are including approximately $75 million to $90 million in realized cost savings, net of severance and related costs of up to $5 million. We are focused on 4 areas of cost reduction and realignment. The first area of focus is operational cost savings. In addition to eliminating expenses associated with carrying excess inventory, we are optimizing our distribution network and driving cost efficiencies throughout our supply chain. We are also optimizing our technology cost structure while increasing the throughput and agility of our digital technology teams.

在我們最初的 2024 年財務展望中，我們包括約 7,500 萬至 9,000 萬美元的已實現成本節省，扣除高達 500 萬美元的遣散費和相關成本。我們重點關註四個領域的成本削減和調整。第一個重點領域是節省營運成本。除了消除與庫存過剩相關的費用外，我們還優化我們的分銷網絡並提高整個供應鏈的成本效率。我們也正在優化技術成本結構，同時提高數位技術團隊的吞吐量和敏捷性。

The second area of focus is organizational cost saving. Our overall head count and personnel expenses have outpaced the growth of our business. We're executing a workforce reduction plan, primarily impacting our U.S. corporate teams. This represents at least a 3% to 5% reduction in our U.S. corporate personnel costs. This work will be done with respect and thoughtfulness, consistent with our core values while taking the actions required to get back to sustainable growth. We expect the vast majority of these actions to be completed by the end of March.

第二個重點領域是節省組織成本。我們的總人數和人員開支超過了業務的成長。我們正在執行一項裁員計劃，主要影響我們的美國公司團隊。這意味著我們美國企業的人員成本至少減少了 3% 到 5%。這項工作將以尊重和深思熟慮的方式完成，符合我們的核心價值觀，同時採取必要行動恢復永續成長。我們預計其中絕大多數行動將在三月底完成。

The third area of focus includes operating model improvements. We are streamlining decision rights and our ways of working to drive improvements in our operating efficiency and execution of strategic priorities.

第三個重點領域包括營運模式改善。我們正在簡化決策權和工作方式，以推動提高營運效率和策略優先事項的執行。

The last area of focus is indirect or noninventory spending. We are focused on driving cost savings in this area from our strategic sourcing and vendor rationalization outside of our supply chain. It's important to note that we are not cutting back on demand creation investments. At the same time, we believe there's an opportunity to optimize the efficiency of our marketing spend to drive greater returns. Steps are being taken to amplify the impact of this spending.

最後一個重點領域是間接或非庫存支出。我們致力於透過供應鏈以外的策略採購和供應商合理化來推動這一領域的成本節約。值得注意的是，我們並沒有削減需求創造投資。同時，我們相信有機會優化行銷支出的效率，以帶來更大的回報。正在採取措施擴大這項支出的影響。

We anticipate these cost savings will ramp up over the course of '24 and '25, with the full benefit being realized in 2026. This profit improvement program is an integral component of our goal to restore operating margins to a low-teens percent rate. We've achieved this level of operating margin performance before, and we're confident it's achievable again.

我們預計這些成本節約將在 24 年和 25 年期間逐步增加，並在 2026 年實現全部效益。這項利潤改善計劃是我們將營業利潤率恢復到百分之十幾的目標的一個組成部分。我們之前已經達到了這樣的營業利潤率水平，並且我們有信心再次實現這一目標。

I will now review fourth quarter financial results. Net sales were at the low end of our guidance range and operating income was below plan, reflecting the compounding effects of a difficult U.S. environment, and a warm winter. Overall, net sales decreased 9% year-over-year to $1.1 billion. The decline was primarily driven by our wholesale business, which declined 17%. On-time fall '23 shipments shifted a greater portion of sales into the third quarter this year relative to last year. The impact of this timing shift was greater than $100 million in the fourth quarter when compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

我現在將回顧第四季的財務表現。淨銷售額處於我們指導範圍的低端，營業收入低於計劃，反映出美國困難的環境和暖冬的複合影響。整體而言，淨銷售額年減 9%，至 11 億美元。下降的主要原因是我們的批發業務下降了 17%。與去年相比，23 年秋季準時發貨將大部分銷售額轉移到了今年第三季。與去年第四季相比，這一時間轉變對第四季的影響超過 1 億美元。

Direct-to-consumer net sales declined 4% with weakness concentrated in the U.S. Gross margin expanded 20 basis points as lower inbound freight costs and favorable channel mix more than offset promotional activity. SG&A expenses were essentially flat as higher DTC expenses were offset by lower demand creation spending on lower net sales and incentive compensation expense.

直接面向消費者的淨銷售額下降 4%，疲軟主要集中在美國。由於入境貨運成本下降和有利的通路組合抵消了促銷活動的影響，毛利率擴大了 20 個基點。 SG&A 支出基本上持平，因為 DTC 支出的增加被淨銷售額和激勵補償支出減少帶來的需求創造支出減少所抵消。

For the full year, our demand creation as a percent of sales increased slightly to 6% compared to 5.9% last year. We incurred a $25 million noncash prAna impairment charge during the quarter, which impacted diluted earnings per share by $0.31. Diluted earnings per share in the quarter decreased 23% to $1.55.

就全年而言，我們的需求創造佔銷售額的百分比略增至 6%，而去年為 5.9%。本季我們產生了 2,500 萬美元的非現金 prAna 減損費用，這對攤薄每股收益產生了 0.31 美元的影響。該季度稀釋後每股收益下降 23% 至 1.55 美元。

I will now review fourth quarter year-over-year net sales growth by region. For this review, I'll reference constant currency growth rates. U.S. net sales decreased 12%. U.S. wholesale decreased high-teen percent, primarily driven by on-time fall shipments which shifted sales into the third quarter relative to last year. U.S. DTC net sales decreased high single-digit percent. Across both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce, softer consumer traffic and weather weighed on results. Our DTC business performed well during peak sales windows like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but fell off during nonpeak periods.

我現在將按地區回顧第四季度的淨銷售額同比增長情況。在本次評論中，我將參考恆定的貨幣成長率。美國淨銷售額下降 12%。美國批發量下降了百分之十以上，主要是由於按時出貨量下降，導致銷售與去年相比轉移到了第三季。美國 DTC 淨銷售額下降了高個位數百分比。無論是實體店還是電子商務，消費者流量疲軟和天氣都影響了業績。我們的 DTC 業務在黑色星期五和網路星期一等銷售高峰時段表現良好，但在非高峰時段表現不佳。

Brick-and-mortar was relatively flat driven by the contribution from new stores opened over the last year as well as incremental sales from temporary clearance locations. U.S. e-commerce net sales were down high teens percent. SOREL.com was particularly hard hit in the fourth quarter as shifting consumer trends, coupled with warm weather, impacted demand.

由於去年開設的新店以及臨時清倉地點的增量銷售的貢獻，實體店的銷售相對持平。美國電子商務淨銷售額下降了百分之十幾。由於消費者趨勢的轉變以及溫暖的天氣影響了需求，SOREL.com 在第四季度受到的打擊尤其嚴重。

Latin America, Asia Pacific region, or LAAP, net sales increased 7%. China net sales increased high-teens percent, led by strong DTC performance. The team drove e-commerce growth across several platforms during the key 11.11 holiday period.

拉丁美洲、亞太地區（LAAP）的淨銷售額成長了 7%。在強勁的 DTC 業績帶動下，中國的淨銷售額成長了百分之十。該團隊在關鍵的「11.11」假期期間推動了多個平台的電子商務成長。

Transit, our premium China-specific collection, performed well this season, highlighting our continued efforts to create localized product that resonates with Chinese consumers. Under the strategy of our new leadership team, we're now gaining traction in this important market. We expect China to again be one of the fastest-growing parts of our business in 2024.

我們專為中國打造的優質系列全順 (Transit) 在本季表現出色，凸顯了我們在打造能引起中國消費者共鳴的本地化產品方面的持續努力。在我們新領導團隊的策略下，我們現在在這個重要市場上獲得了關注。我們預計，到 2024 年，中國將再次成為我們業務成長最快的地區之一。

Japan net sales increased mid-single digit percent led by wholesale and, to a lesser extent, e-commerce growth. During the quarter, we built on the momentum of our SAPLAND boot collection by expanding distribution to wholesale and e-commerce. The collection celebrates the sister city connection between Sapporo and Portland in a boot that combines style with performance. The SAPLAND was a key pillar of growth in the quarter and sell-through of the collection was exceptionally strong across all channels.

日本的淨銷售額在批發和電子商務成長的帶動下實現了中個位數成長。本季度，我們透過將分銷範圍擴大到批發和電子商務，鞏固了 SAPLAND 靴子系列的發展勢頭。該系列以一款將風格與性能融為一體的靴子來慶祝札幌和波特蘭之間的姐妹城市聯繫。 SAPLAND 是本季成長的關鍵支柱，該系列在所有通路的銷售量都異常強勁。

Korea net sales declined low teens percent as we continue to reset the business. Our team in Korea is focused on building a sustainable growth model with several multiyear initiatives across talent, distribution, marketing and product. We saw traction on our reset strategy in the fourth quarter through digital commerce expansion and authentic outdoor brand experiences like The Hike Society.

隨著我們繼續調整業務，韓國淨銷售額下降了百分之十幾。我們在韓國的團隊致力於透過人才、分銷、行銷和產品方面的多項多年計劃來建立永續成長模式。透過數位商務擴張和 The Hike Society 等真實的戶外品牌體驗，我們在第四季度看到了重置策略的牽引力。

LAAP distributor markets increased low 20%, reflecting earlier shipment of spring '24 orders. We have phenomenal distribution partners around the world that are operating over 400 full-price Columbia-branded stores with many more planned for '24. In many of these markets, the Columbia brand is the leader in the outdoor market. Recently, our partners have opened some truly unique stores across Asia and the Americas.

LAAP 經銷商市場低點成長 20%，反映出 24 年春季訂單較早出貨。我們在世界各地擁有出色的分銷合作夥伴，經營著 400 多家哥倫比亞全價品牌商店，並計劃在 24 年開設更多商店。在許多此類市場中，哥倫比亞品牌是戶外市場的領導者。最近，我們的合作夥伴在亞洲和美洲開設了一些真正獨特的商店。

In November, a Columbia store opened in Namche, Nepal, which is a 4-day yak track from the nearest airport. This store positions Columbia at the gateway of Mount Everest, serving outdoor adventures as their journey to base camp begins. In globally renowned fishing destinations Puerto Vallarta and Lima, Peru, our distributor partners opened PFG retail concepts. These stores highlight our innovative products to adventurer anglers from around the world. It's inspiring to see the power of the Columbia brand brought to life in so many unique destinations.

11 月，Columbia 專賣店在尼泊爾 Namche 開業，這裡距離最近的機場只有 4 天的犛牛賽道。這家商店將 Columbia 定位在珠穆朗瑪峰的入口處，為他們前往大本營的旅程開始提供戶外探險服務。在全球著名的漁業目的地巴亞爾塔港和秘魯利馬，我們的經銷商合作夥伴開設了 PFG 零售概念。這些商店向來自世界各地的冒險釣魚者展示我們的創新產品。看到哥倫比亞品牌的力量在如此多獨特的目的地得到體現，真是令人鼓舞。

Europe, Middle East and Africa region, or EMEA, net sales decreased 7%. Europe-direct net sales decreased low single-digit percent driven by on-time fall '23 wholesale shipments, which shifted sales into the third quarter relative to last year. This was largely offset by robust DTC growth. Europe-direct was one of our top-performing markets in 2023, and the Columbia brand is well positioned in the marketplace.

歐洲、中東和非洲地區（即 EMEA）的淨銷售額下降了 7%。歐洲直接淨銷售額下降了個位數百分比，原因是 23 年批發發貨準時下降，這將銷售轉移到第三季（與去年相比）。這在很大程度上被 DTC 的強勁成長所抵消。 Europe-direct 是我們 2023 年表現最好的市場之一，哥倫比亞品牌在市場中處於有利地位。

As we noted on the last conference call, we expect growth to decelerate in this market in '24, given economic and geopolitical pressures.

正如我們在上次電話會議上指出的那樣，鑑於經濟和地緣政治壓力，我們預計 24 年該市場的成長將放緩。

Our EMEA distributor business declined low 20% driven by on-time fall '23 shipments, which shifted sales into the third quarter relative to last year. Recently, the ocean freight disruptions on the Red Sea have been in the news. We have experienced some impacts to the flow of spring '24 production, but our in-window delivery rates to wholesale customers are still well above 90% and cancellation exposure related to the delay is low as of right now. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

由於 23 年出貨準時率下降，我們的 EMEA 經銷商業務下降了 20%，與去年相比，這將銷售轉移到了第三季。最近，紅海海運中斷事件成為新聞焦點。我們的 24 年春季生產流程受到了一些影響，但我們對批發客戶的窗口內交貨率仍然遠高於 90%，目前與延遲相關的取消風險很低。我們將繼續密切關注事態發展。

Canada net sales declined 29% driven by on-time fall '23 shipments, which shifted sales into the third quarter relative to last year. This was partly offset by DTC growth. In Canada, we continue to invest in our strategic wholesale partners. In 2023, we opened several shop-in-shops with Mark's and Sports Experts. We've been pleased with their performance and expect to open more in 2024.

由於 23 年出貨量按時下降，加拿大的淨銷售額下降了 29%，這將銷售轉移到了第三季（相對於去年）。這部分被 DTC 的成長所抵銷。在加拿大，我們繼續投資我們的策略批發合作夥伴。 2023 年，我們與 Mark's 和 Sports Experts 合作開設了多家店中店。我們對他們的表現感到滿意，並預計在 2024 年開設更多餐廳。

Looking at performance by brand. Columbia brand net sales decreased 7% during the quarter and increased 2% on the year. While fourth quarter weather proved challenging, particularly in the U.S., Columbia's full year growth reflects the strength of the brand in international markets. This fall, we continue to build momentum around Omni-Heat Infinity with an expanded assortment. Despite a warm winter, Omni-Heat Infinity showed strong growth on the year. Omni-Heat Infinity technology continues to draw praise for its lightweight performance and was included in several best of lists from Outside Magazine and Men's Health.

按品牌查看業績。 Columbia 品牌本季淨銷售額下降 7%，較去年同期成長 2%。儘管第四季的天氣充滿挑戰，尤其是在美國，但哥倫比亞的全年成長反映了該品牌在國際市場的實力。今年秋天，我們將繼續透過擴大品種來圍繞 Omni-Heat Infinity 打造勢頭。儘管冬季溫暖，但 Omni-Heat Infinity 全年仍呈現強勁成長。 Omni-Heat Infinity 技術因其輕量化效能而繼續受到讚譽，並被列入《Outside》雜誌和《Men's Health》的多個最佳清單中。

Of note, Columbia's new Arch Rock Double Wall Elite Jacket won an important 2024 Travel Award from Good Housekeeping magazine.

值得注意的是，Columbia 的新款 Arch Rock Double Wall Elite 外套榮獲《Good Housekeeping》雜誌頒發的 2024 年重要旅遊獎。

On the partnership front, we launched our eighth Star Wars collaboration, which was one of our most exciting yet. The latest collection was inspired by the iconic rebel flight suit worn by Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy. The line generated significant brand heat and key styles sold out quickly. Marketing efforts for this collection included a video featuring our NASCAR athlete, Bubba Wallace and the original Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill. The video went viral, earning millions of impressions on Columbia's social channels.

在合作方面，我們啟動了第八次星際大戰合作，這是我們迄今為止最令人興奮的合作之一。最新系列的靈感源自原三部曲中盧克天行者所穿的標誌性反抗軍飛行服。該系列產生了巨大的品牌熱度，主要款式很快就售罄。該系列的營銷工作包括一段以我們的 NASCAR 運動員 Bubba Wallace 和原版盧克天行者 Mark Hamill 為主角的影片。該影片迅速走紅，在哥倫比亞的社交頻道上獲得了數百萬次的點擊量。

As we look ahead, we forecast Columbia brand sales to be about flat in 2024. Despite external pressures, we will not pull back on our innovation pipeline nor our demand creation spending rate. We're seeking opportunities to maximize sales despite retailer cautiousness. The Columbia brand's vision is to be the #1 outdoor brand in the world. We are embracing this growth mindset as we optimize our product, brand and marketplace strategies.

展望未來，我們預計 2024 年 Columbia 品牌銷售額將基本持平。儘管面臨外部壓力，我們不會縮減創新通路或需求創造支出率。儘管零售商持謹慎態度，但我們仍在尋找最大化銷售額的機會。 Columbia 品牌的願景是成為世界第一戶外品牌。在優化我們的產品、品牌和市場策略時，我們正在擁抱這種成長心態。

I'll spend the next few minutes highlighting the actions we're taking to accelerate Columbia's growth trajectory. In addition to serving existing customers with accessible outdoor essentials, we're focusing on bringing younger consumers into the brand. This target consumer craves the purpose-built, high-performing products from brands they know and trust. Consumers trust the Columbia brand for its quality, value and reliability. We want to further emphasize innovation, performance and style. To do this, we're investing in products, channels and brand experiences that fuel their active lifestyles.

我將在接下來的幾分鐘內重點介紹我們為加速哥倫比亞的成長軌跡所採取的行動。除了為現有客戶提供方便的戶外必需品外，我們還致力於將年輕消費者帶入該品牌。這個目標消費者渴望來自他們了解和信任的品牌的專用高性能產品。消費者信任哥倫比亞品牌的品質、價值和可靠性。我們希望進一步強調創新、性能和風格。為此，我們投資於產品、通路和品牌體驗，以推動他們積極的生活方式。

To reach these new consumers, our Chief Product Officer, Woody Blackford, is focusing on reenergizing Columbia's product line. The foundation of our success is creating iconic products that are differentiated, functional and innovative. In the coming seasons, we will be elevating innovation and style with new collections as well as updates to our most iconic products. We're optimizing our color and style counts to focus our efforts on fewer, more powerful collections with clear purpose. I'm confident that we can continue delivering exceptional products to our core consumer while introducing new products that appeal to consumers seeking greater performance and style.

為了吸引這些新消費者，我們的首席產品長伍迪布萊克福德 (Woody Blackford) 致力於重振哥倫比亞的產品線。我們成功的基礎是創造差異化、功能性和創新性的標誌性產品。在接下來的幾季中，我們將透過新系列以及最具代表性的產品更新來提升創新和風格。我們正在優化顏色和款式數量，將精力集中在目標明確、數量更少、功能更強大的系列上。我相信，我們能夠繼續為核心消費者提供卓越的產品，同時推出新產品來吸引尋求更高性能和風格的消費者。

In footwear, we're developing product franchises that propel long-term growth. Our innovation-led process that has fueled our success in apparel can be directly applied to footwear. We developed classics like the Newton Ridge, which remained a top-selling style today. We've expanded our performance offerings with the Facet and Peakfreak collections. We are introducing product platforms like Omni-MAX, which can be applied across several product categories, delivering versatility, scale and unmatched comfort to consumers.

在鞋類領域，我們正在開發可推動長期成長的產品特許經營權。我們以創新為主導的流程推動了服裝領域的成功，也可以直接應用於鞋類領域。我們開發了 Newton Ridge 等經典款式，至今仍是最暢銷的款式。我們透過 Facet 和 Peakfreak 系列擴展了我們的性能產品。我們正在推出 Omni-MAX 等產品平台，它可以應用於多個產品類別，為消費者提供多功能性、規模和無與倫比的舒適度。

We are also refreshing our most popular PFG styles and creating new ones that attract younger, active consumers. PFG is the leading fishing apparel brand in the U.S. with dozens of iconic styles that have stood the test of time. We're focused on strengthening this position and extending it to reach new anglers around the world.

我們還更新了最受歡迎的 PFG 款式，並創造出吸引年輕、活躍消費者的新款式。 PFG 是美國領先的釣魚服裝品牌，擁有數十種經得起時間考驗的標誌性款式。我們致力於加強這一地位並將其擴展到世界各地的新釣魚者。

On the marketing front, we're targeting a more balanced, full-funnel approach, emphasizing mid-funnel investments to drive consideration from new consumers. I believe we can more efficiently deploy our advertising spend to capture additional share and drive growth.

在行銷方面，我們的目標是採取更平衡的全通路方法，強調通路中部投資以吸引新消費者的考量。我相信我們可以更有效地部署廣告支出，以獲取更多份額並推動成長。

We've spoken about unlocking the marketplace of the future, a digitally led omnichannel marketplace that elevates the consumer experience. We want columbia.com to be the best expression of the brand, highlighting our latest products and innovations with enriched brand storytelling. We want every consumer, even those who do not make a purchase, to come away with a positive marketing message about Columbia's differentiated innovation and brand heritage. We're investing in our online consumer experience with an enhanced membership program and a more seamless shopping experience, including improved landing pages, product discovery and search capabilities.

我們談到了解鎖未來的市場，這是一個數位主導的全通路市場，可以提升消費者體驗。我們希望 columbia.com 成為品牌的最佳表達，透過豐富的品牌故事來突顯我們的最新產品和創新。我們希望每一位消費者，即使是那些沒有購買的消費者，都能獲得有關哥倫比亞差異化創新和品牌傳統的積極行銷訊息。我們正在透過增強的會員計劃和更無縫的購物體驗來投資我們的線上消費者體驗，包括改進的登陸頁面、產品發現和搜尋功能。

I also believe our DTC brick-and-mortar fleet can serve core consumers as well as strengthening brand perception by delivering the best brand experience possible. We're focused on enhancing our assortments and in-store presentations to tell better brand stories and to drive sales.

我還相信，我們的 DTC 實體車隊可以為核心消費者提供服務，並透過提供盡可能最佳的品牌體驗來增強品牌認知。我們專注於增強我們的產品種類和店內展示，以講述更好的品牌故事並推動銷售。

From a wholesale marketplace perspective, we're focused on elevating our product assortment and enhancing our in-store retail presentations. We are working closely with our best-in-class strategic partners to bring new consumers to the brand. As we differentiate the marketplace, we will work closely with strategic retail partners to bring new collections to the consumer led by innovation and style.

從批發市場的角度來看，我們專注於提升我們的產品種類並增強我們的店內零售展示。我們正在與一流的策略合作夥伴密切合作，為該品牌帶來新消費者。隨著我們差異化市場，我們將與策略零售合作夥伴密切合作，以創新和風格為主導，為消費者帶來新系列。

Shifting to our emerging brands. In November, we announced Cory Long as our new SOREL Brand President. Cory is a veteran of the footwear and apparel industry with leadership experience across an array of growth brands. His leadership and consumer champion mindset will be key in fueling the next era of SOREL growth.

轉向我們的新興品牌。 11 月，我們宣布 Cory Long 擔任新任 SOREL 品牌總裁。 Cory 是鞋類和服裝行業的資深人士，擁有一系列成長型品牌的領導經驗。他的領導力和消費者冠軍心態將成為推動 SOREL 下一個時代發展的關鍵。

SOREL brand net sales decreased 18% in the quarter and 3% on the year. In the fourth quarter, shifting consumer trends, coupled with weather impacted demand. Weak sell-through performance this season is weighing on wholesale orders. As a result, we expect 2024 to be a challenging year with net sales forecast to decline approximately 20%.

SOREL 品牌本季淨銷售額下降 18%，較去年同期下降 3%。第四季度，消費趨勢的變化以及天氣影響了需求。本季銷售表現疲軟，對批發訂單帶來壓力。因此，我們預計 2024 年將是充滿挑戰的一年，淨銷售額預計將下降約 20%。

When we acquired SOREL over 20 years ago, it was a men's utility boot brand with minimal sales. Since then, the brand successfully evolved into a women's-led footwear brand with hundreds of millions in annual sales. The next phase in the brand embraces SOREL's heritage and the opportunity to serve all consumers globally by bringing the most style in the outdoors and the most outdoors in style. The team is thoughtfully refining the product line and marketing strategies to accelerate growth in 2025 and beyond. I remain confident SOREL has meaningful long-term growth potential.

20 多年前，當我們收購 SOREL 時，它只是一個銷售量很少的男士實用靴品牌。此後，該品牌成功演變為以女裝為主導、年銷售額數億的鞋履品牌。品牌的下一階段將秉承 SOREL 的傳統，並透過帶來最時尚的戶外風格和最戶外的風格來服務全球所有消費者。該團隊正在精心完善產品線和行銷策略，以加速 2025 年及以後的成長。我仍然相信 SOREL 具有有意義的長期成長潛力。

Mountain Hardwear net sales decreased 11% in the fourth quarter and 7% on the year. The decline in the quarter was driven by lower fall '23 wholesale shipments, partially offset by DTC growth. Despite a challenging sales environment, I'm confident Mount Hardwear's product line and brand positioning are on track. The brand won 2 coveted ISPO Awards in the fourth quarter for its new Alpine RT Pack and Spectre Sleeping Bag.

Mountain Hardwear 第四季淨銷售額下降 11%，較去年同期下降 7%。本季的下降是由於 23 年秋季批發出貨量下降所致，但 DTC 成長部分抵消了這一影響。儘管銷售環境充滿挑戰，但我相信 Mount Hardwear 的產品線和品牌定位正走上正軌。該品牌在第四季度憑藉新款 Alpine RT Pack 和 Spectre 睡袋榮獲兩項令人垂涎的 ISPO 獎。

In 2024, we have the opportunity to further elevate its presentation in e-commerce and with strategic wholesale partners. Mountain Hardwear net sales are forecast to increase mid-single digit percent in 2024.

2024 年，我們有機會進一步提升其在電子商務以及與策略批發合作夥伴的合作。 Mountain Hardwear 的淨銷售額預計到 2024 年將成長中個位數百分比。

prAna net sales decreased 29% in the quarter and 21% on the year. The prAna team remains focused on repositioning the brand and unlocking its growth potential. They have made great progress reducing excess inventory and strengthening the brand's product and marketing strategies for future seasons. We anticipate modest growth in 2024, weighted towards the second half of the year as we stabilize the business and lay the foundation for growth.

prAna 本季淨銷售額下降 29%，年減 21%。 prAna 團隊仍然專注於重新定位品牌並釋放其成長潛力。他們在減少過剩庫存以及加強品牌未來季節的產品和行銷策略方面取得了巨大進展。我們預計 2024 年將實現溫和成長，尤其是下半年，因為我們穩定了業務並為成長奠定了基礎。

I'll review our 2024 financial outlook. This outlook and commentary include forward-looking statements. Please see our CFO commentary and financial review presentation for additional details and disclosures related to these statements.

我將回顧我們 2024 年的財務前景。本展望與評論包含前瞻性陳述。請參閱我們的財務長評論和財務審查簡報，以了解與這些報表相關的更多詳細資訊和揭露資訊。

For the full year, we expect net sales to decline in the range of 2% to 4%. Gross margin is expected to expand approximately 100 to 150 basis points to 50.6% to 51.1%. The improvement in gross margin is primarily driven by improved inventory health, favorable product costs and channel mix. SG&A is expected to grow in '24, driven by higher DTC, incentive compensation and enterprise technology expenses, partially offset by lower supply chain costs and the impact of our cost reduction actions.

我們預計全年淨銷售額將下降 2% 至 4%。毛利率預計將擴大約100至150個基點至50.6%至51.1%。毛利率的改善主要是由於庫存健康狀況的改善、有利的產品成本和通路組合所推動的。 SG&A 預計將在 24 年成長，原因是 DTC、激勵性薪資和企業技術支出增加，但供應鏈成本下降和我們的成本削減行動的影響部分抵消了這一增長。

Based on the projected decline in net sales and SG&A growth, operating margin is expected to contract between 50 and 130 basis points to 7.6% to 8.4%. We forecast diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $3.45 to $3.85. Despite the earnings decline, we expect strong operating cash flow of at least $300 million in the year.

根據預期的淨銷售額下降和 SG&A 成長，營業利潤率預計將收縮 50 至 130 個基點，至 7.6% 至 8.4%。我們預計稀釋後每股收益將在 3.45 美元至 3.85 美元之間。儘管獲利下降，我們預計今年至少將有 3 億美元的強勁營運現金流。

Before answering your questions, I'd like to welcome Charlie Denson to our Board of Directors. Charlie is a veteran of the industry, having served as the President of the NIKE Brand for 13 years. His product and marketing expertise will be immensely valuable as we look to reaccelerate the business. Overall, I'm confident in our team, our strategies and our ability to achieve the significant long-term growth opportunities we see across the business. We're investing in our strategic priorities to accelerate profitable growth; create iconic products that are differentiated, functional and innovative; drive brand engagement with increased focus, demand creation investments; enhance consumer experience by investing in capabilities to delight and retain consumers; amplify marketplace excellence that is digitally led omnichannel and global; and empower talent that's driven by our core values.

在回答您的問題之前，我謹歡迎查理·丹森加入我們的董事會。 Charlie 是該行業的資深人士，曾擔任 NIKE 品牌總裁 13 年。當我們希望重新加速業務發展時，他的產品和行銷專業知識將非常有價值。總的來說，我對我們的團隊、我們的策略以及我們實現整個業務中重大長期成長機會的能力充滿信心。我們正在對策略重點進行投資，以加速獲利成長；創造差異化、功能性和創新性的標誌性產品；透過加強關注、創造需求的投資來推動品牌參與；透過投資取悅和留住消費者的能力來增強消費者體驗；擴大數位化主導的全通路和全球市場的卓越性；並賦予由我們的核心價值驅動的人才。

That concludes my prepared remarks. We welcome your questions for the remainder of the hour. Operator, could you help us with that?

我準備好的發言就到此結束。我們歡迎您在剩下的時間裡提出問題。接線員，您能幫助我們嗎？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Bob Drbul from Guggenheim.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自古根漢的鮑伯‧德布爾（Bob Drbul）。

So Tim, two questions for you. The first one is, when you look at your full year projections, how much of the order book on the wholesale side is complete at this point? And then the second point around sort of the U.S. market is, could you just comment on where you think the channel is, especially with some of the more recent weather that you've been positive over the last few months or a month or so?

提姆，有兩個問題想問你。第一個是，當您查看全年預測時，目前批發方面的訂單有多少是完成的？關於美國市場的第二點是，您能否評論一下您認為的通道在哪裡，特別是考慮到您在過去幾個月或一個月左右的時間裡一直保持樂觀的一些最近的天氣？

As it relates to our order book, we're I would say in the range of high 80s to [90]%. It's a focus for the company and (inaudible) conclude everything by the middle of March, somewhere in that range, where we have full complete view. Remember, we take orders and cancels every day. And so we're going to continue to focus on building the book stronger as we get further in the market.

由於它與我們的訂單簿相關，我想說我們的範圍在 80% 到 [90]% 之間。這是公司的重點，並且（聽不清楚）在三月中旬之前完成所有工作，在這個範圍內的某個時間，我們可以全面了解情況。請記住，我們每天都會接受訂單和取消訂單。因此，隨著我們在市場上的進一步發展，我們將繼續專注於讓這本書更強大。

As it relates to the U.S.A. market conditions, we think that they've improved substantially since the first of the year. Our business -- our DTC business has been incredibly successful. And I know that our retailers have had great success liquidating leisure products after the first of the year. So I'm expecting it's going to be a reasonably good marketplace to sell into for fall '24.

由於這與美國市場狀況有關，我們認為自今年年初以來，美國市場狀況已大幅改善。我們的業務—我們的 DTC 業務取得了令人難以置信的成功。我知道，我們的零售商在年初後在清算休閒產品方面取得了巨大成功。因此，我預計這將是 24 年秋季銷售的一個相當好的市場。

Got it. And then if I could just follow up on China. Can you expand a little bit more just in terms of the success that you're seeing, the encouraging results in China and the outlook that you talked about?

知道了。然後我是否可以跟進中國的情況。您能否進一步談談您所看到的成功、中國令人鼓舞的成果以及您談到的前景？

Sure. Well, remember, we've been operating in China for many, many years, both through a distributor and then as a joint venture and then as our own business. And we really underperformed historically there, I would say, in the last several years. Our new team -- we call it our new team. Pierre Lion, who's a veteran of the industry, has been focused on that market, and we're just now seeing some of the key results. He's built a great organization, which is highly focused on localizing the product and engaging with not only the consumers there but some of the large [global retail] operations. Our expectations is that, that business is going to lead the geographies for us and be very, very successful. [We expect] great metrics right now.

當然。好吧，請記住，我們在中國已經經營了很多很多年，先是透過經銷商，然後是合資企業，然後是我們自己的企業。我想說，在過去幾年裡，我們確實在歷史上表現不佳。我們的新團隊—我們稱之為我們的新團隊。皮埃爾·萊恩（Pierre Lion）是該行業的資深人士，他一直專注於該市場，我們現在才看到一些關鍵成果。他建立了一個偉大的組織，該組織高度專注於產品本地化，不僅與那裡的消費者互動，還與一些大型[全球零售]業務互動。我們的期望是，該業務將在我們的地區處於領先地位，並且非常非常成功。 [我們期望]現在有很好的指標。

The next question comes from Laurent Vasilescu with BNP.

下一個問題來自法國巴黎銀行的 Laurent Vasilescu。

I want to ask a couple of questions here. Last quarter, the entire Q&A was focused on PFAS. I didn't hear anything about PFAS in the prepared remarks. But I was just curious to know where do we stand with that from a legislative standpoint, from an inventory standpoint? And do you think you'll be able to clear through that when it comes to the New York and California deadlines for 2025?

我想在這裡問幾個問題。上季度，整個問答都集中在 PFAS 上。我在準備好的演講中沒有聽到任何有關 PFAS 的內容。但我只是想知道從立法的角度、庫存的角度來看我們對此有何立場？您認為當談到 2025 年紐約和加州的最後期限時，您能解決這個問題嗎？

Yes. So the reason we haven't mentioned those words, we're well organized and controlled within our own inventories. We have a modest amount of inventory of PFAS remaining to be liquidated, which will easily be taken care of during the year.

是的。因此，我們之所以沒有提到這些話，是因為我們在自己的庫存內組織良好並且控制得很好。我們還有少量 PFAS 庫存需要清算，這一年很容易處理。

As it relates to legislation in other jurisdictions other than California and New York, there's been noise around the system to grow (inaudible) on this topic as there are no other areas that we know right now that will be anywhere near the deadlines of the California and New York office. I think you can talk about the impact of the threat on our retailers. I think that's been part of the issue where we have (inaudible) confidence from our retail team -- retail partners, excuse me.

由於它涉及加州和紐約州以外的其他司法管轄區的立法，因此圍繞該主題的系統周圍存在噪音（聽不清），因為我們目前所知沒有其他領域會接近加州的最後期限和紐約辦事處。我想你可以談談威脅對我們零售商的影​​響。我認為這是問題的一部分，我們的零售團隊（零售合作夥伴，請原諒）對我們有（聽不清楚）信心。

Okay. Very helpful, Tim. And maybe, Jim, a question for you. I think in the CFO commentary, you talked about expected benefits of $75 million to $90 million in profit improvement across gross profit and SG&A. Maybe can you just unpack that a little bit more, how much of it is coming through gross profit versus SG&A expenses? And how do we think about that cadence over the course of the year, first half, second half?

好的。非常有幫助，蒂姆。吉姆，也許有個問題想問你。我認為在 CFO 評論中，您談到了毛利和 SG&A 方面利潤改善的預期收益為 7500 萬至 9000 萬美元。也許你可以稍微解釋一下，其中有多少是來自毛利與銷售管理費用？我們如何看待今年上半年、下半年的節奏？

Yes, you bet, Laurent. As it relates to the breakdown in terms of how to think about it, between cost of goods sold and SG&A, approximately $20 million, I'll speak to the high end of the range, that $75 million to $90 million. On the high end of the range, the cost of goods sold comes on about $20 million. And that's comprised of freight optimization work that our team has been working on as well as packaging savings and we're well along in terms of the execution in lining those savings up. The balance is in SG&A.

是的，你敢打賭，洛朗。由於它涉及如何考慮它的細目，銷售成本和銷售成本、一般管理費用之間大約為 2000 萬美元，我將談論該範圍的高端，即 7500 萬美元到 9000 萬美元。在該範圍的高端，銷售成本約為 2000 萬美元。其中包括我們團隊一直致力於的貨運優化工作以及包裝節省，我們在執行這些節省方面進展順利。餘額計入SG&A。

And what I would say about that is $30 million of that relates to the normalization of our inventory. And you'll recall that we incurred pretty heavy inventory carrying costs in '23 related to distribution, third-party logistics and termination-related costs of this and the recovery of the vast majority of that. And then there's another $30 million or $40 million rather savings that are tied up in operational cost savings across our business as well as some organizational cost savings Tim touched on, that does include, unfortunately, head count reductions and there's a component of indirect spend.

我想說的是，其中 3000 萬美元與我們庫存的正常化有關。您會記得，我們​​在 23 年發生了相當沉重的庫存持有成本，這些成本與分銷、第三方物流和終止相關成本以及其中絕大多數的回收有關。然後還有另外 3000 萬或 4000 萬美元的節省，這些節省與我們整個業務的運營成本節省以及蒂姆提到的一些組織成本節省有關，不幸的是，這確實包括人員減少和間接支出的一部分。

So that really breaks it down. In terms of being able to quantify that over the course of the year on a quarterly basis, that would be tough to do. Much of the execution around this, we're targeting to have done late in Q1. And so you'd expect it to be Q2 through the balance of the year.

所以這真的打破了它。就能夠按季度對一年中的情況進行量化而言，這將是很難做到的。我們的目標是在第一季末完成大部分圍繞此的執行。因此，您預計今年剩餘時間將是第二季。

Very clear. And then maybe just last question, Jim. Obviously, over the course of December and January, there's a lot of questions around the Red Sea -- recognize probably right now, it's just the logistics challenge of a 2-week delay. But just curious to know with spot rates -- I recognize a lot of companies go through contracts, but spot rates going up 3x, 4x versus November and potential surcharges, can you maybe just kind of walk through maybe just what would be the impact if the rates hold over the course of the next 2 quarters at these levels?

非常清楚。也許只是最後一個問題，吉姆。顯然，在 12 月和 1 月期間，紅海周圍存在著許多問題 - 現在可能認識到，這只是兩週延誤帶來的後勤挑戰。但只是好奇地想知道即期匯率 - 我知道很多公司都會簽訂合同，但即期匯率比 11 月上漲 3 倍、4 倍以及潛在的附加費，您能否簡單介紹一下，如果在接下來的兩個季度中利率會維持在這些水準嗎？

All We can speak to thus far is we've got long-term contracts in place with certain of our ocean carriers. And to date, we have not been incurring, by and large, those spot rates that are in the market nor are we incurring the surcharges. So thus far, we don't anticipate that having a meaningful impact on our business. (inaudible).

到目前為止，我們能說的只是我們與某些海運承運人簽訂了長期合約。到目前為止，我們基本上沒有產生市場上的即期匯率，也沒有產生附加費。到目前為止，我們預計這不會對我們的業務產生有意義的影響。 （聽不清楚）。

The next question comes from Abbie Zvejnieks with Piper Sandler.

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

Just in terms of the gross margin expansion for the year, I understand the guidance for the first half. So I guess what gives you confidence in the expansion in the second half? And is that this PFAS issue that could drive more promotional cadence of that product like implied in that guide already? And then just secondly, how -- I think you talked a lot about SOREL, but how are you thinking about the footwear business at Columbia for this year?

僅就今年的毛利率擴張而言，我理解上半年的指導。那我想是什麼讓您對下半年的擴張充滿信心呢？這個 PFAS 問題是否會像該指南中已經暗示的那樣，推動該產品的更多促銷節奏？其次，我認為您談論了很多關於 SOREL 的事情，但是您如何看待哥倫比亞今年的鞋類業務？

I'll touch on the first part of that and then pass it over to Tim, as it relates to the footwear part of the question. As it pertains to the gross margin, I think keep in mind, the single biggest driver when you consider the year in its entirety in the gross margin expansion that we've got planned, we're in a much healthier shape in terms of the underlying quality of our inventory throughout 2023. We were working through a fair amount of excess inventory, the overall assortment of what we'll have within our business, across our DTC business and our retail stores themselves will be a better assortment. So that gives us some of -- it gives us that confidence in terms of what you're seeing in the gross margin. (inaudible) pertains to (technical difficulty) we're providing here today.

我將觸及第一部分，然後將其傳遞給蒂姆，因為它與問題的鞋類部分有關。由於它與毛利率有關，我認為請記住，當你考慮我們計劃的全年毛利率擴張時，最大的推動因素是，我們在以下方面處於更健康的狀態： 2023 年我們庫存的基本質量。我們正在處理相當數量的過剩庫存，我們的業務、DTC 業務和零售店本身的整體分類將是一個更好的分類。因此，這給了我們一些——它給了我們對毛利率的信心。 （聽不清楚）涉及我們今天在這裡提供的（技術難度）。

Okay. Andrew, can you hear us?

好的。安德魯，你聽得到我們說話嗎？

(inaudible) this on the right inventory level. As it relates to the Columbia footwear, Columbia is that heavy presence in winter footwear as well, although we do have a new set of products launching in spring '24 called Omni-MAX, which is a full contingency of platforms, including uppers and [sheared] midsoles and outsoles, which has been very well received. And then as it relates to our international business, the footwear component of our international business is much larger. So we have a lot of confidence in that we've got the right approach to the business, and we'll continue to invest in that area as well.

（聽不清楚）這是在正確的庫存水準上。正如與Columbia 鞋類相關的那樣，Columbia 在冬季鞋類中也佔有重要地位，儘管我們確實在24 年春季推出了一套名為Omni-MAX 的新產品，這是一個完整的平台組合，包括鞋面和 [剪裁]中底和外底，深受好評。然後，由於與我們的國際業務相關，我們國際業務的鞋類部分要大得多。因此，我們對我們擁有正確的業務方法充滿信心，並且我們也將繼續在該領域進行投資。

Our next question comes from Paul Lejuez with Citigroup.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Paul Lejuez。

It's Tracy Kogan filling in for Paul. I had two questions. The first, I was wondering if your first quarter guidance contemplates the improvement in performance you've been seeing in January or if it's more based on what you were seeing in fourth quarter. And then I was hoping you could talk more about the U.S. DTC channel and what you attribute the difference in performance in e-comm versus bricks-and-mortar too in the fourth quarter.

崔西·科根 (Tracy Kogan) 接替保羅。我有兩個問題。首先，我想知道您的第一季指導是否考慮了您在一月份看到的業績改善，或者是否更多地基於您在第四季度看到的情況。然後我希望您能更多地談論美國 DTC 管道，以及您對第四季度電子商務與實體店表現差異的歸因。

Yes. Tracy, as it relates to the first quarter and the outlook that we provided, certainly, January has gotten off to a brisk start within our D2C business from a growth standpoint, and we've seen the same thing as it relates to the wholesale sell-through within our wholesale distribution. Those updates or that impact on the business has been updated in our Q1 outlook. We did build the overall trend for the quarter based on what we were seeing in the fourth quarter. So we've adjusted January, but we've been a bit conservative as you think about the balance of the quarter just knowing how challenging marketplace conditions were in Q4. And as it relates to the other part of your question on Q4 and our retail business, I'll let Tim...

是的。特雷西，因為它涉及到第一季和我們提供的前景，當然，從成長的角度來看，一月份我們的D2C 業務已經有了一個良好的開端，我們也看到了與批發銷售相關的同樣的情況-透過我們的批發分銷。這些更新或對業務的影響已在我們的第一季展望中更新。我們確實根據第四季度的情況構建了本季的總體趨勢。因此，我們對一月進行了調整，但我們有點保守，因為您只知道第四季度的市場條件有多麼具有挑戰性，就可以考慮本季的餘額。由於這與您關於第四季度和我們零售業務的問題的其他部分有關，我會讓蒂姆…

Yes, I think we're seeing in our business as well as our wholesale partners that brick-and-mortar businesses tend to do better today than the digital businesses. So we see a move from the consumer to move closer to that, see and feeling it as opposed to doing digital. And then as it relates to our own e-comm business, a portion of the weakness is our structured move away from highly promotional events to have the brand being better representative full price in our own e-comm business. And we talked during the prepared remarks about how we're planning to bank on the future of each of the brand, but we would expect over time to have less promotional activity.

是的，我認為我們在我們的業務以及批發合作夥伴中看到，如今實體企業往往比數位企業做得更好。因此，我們看到消費者正在採取行動，更加接近這一點，看到並感受到它，而不是數位化。然後，由於它與我們自己的電子商務業務相關，因此我們的部分弱點是我們從高度促銷活動中採取的結構化舉措，以使該品牌在我們自己的電子商務業務中更好地代表全價。我們在準備好的發言中討論了我們計劃如何依靠每個品牌的未來，但我們預計隨著時間的推移，促銷活動將會減少。

The next question comes from John Kernan with TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 John Kernan。

This is Krista Zuber on for John. Just sort of more of a big-picture question, if I could, on the long-term operating margin target. I think, Tim, you said you're now sort of targeting a low-teens operating margin. Kind of how do you see the pathway towards that over sort of a time frame developing from here? And I have one follow-up.

我是約翰的克里斯塔祖伯。如果可以的話，這更像是一個關於長期營業利潤率目標的宏觀問題。我想，提姆，你說過你現在的目標是達成較低的營業利益率。您如何看待從現在開始在一段時間內實現這一目標的道路？我還有一個後續行動。

Well, clearly, there has to be revenue enhancement. So I mean we're expecting that the investments we're making during this period and even in the prior year will be extended and will yield revenue growth. This is what's going to be important to the business. We see the kinds of revenue growth that we're excited about internationally. We need to get that kind of growth domestically as well. So I'm confident that we can grow the operating margins back to those numbers. We've historically hit those numbers or greater as the company's history as a public company. We'll have to be very mindful of our expenses, continue to manage those in a way that our investors are used to seeing us manage those.

嗯，很明顯，必須增加收入。所以我的意思是，我們預計我們在此期間甚至上一年進行的投資將延長，並將帶來收入成長。這對企業來說很重要。我們看到了令我們興奮的國際收入成長。我們也需要在國內實現這種成長。因此，我相信我們可以將營業利潤率提高到這些數字。作為一家上市公司，我們歷史上曾達到這些數字或更高。我們必須非常注意我們的開支，並繼續以我們的投資者習慣看到我們管理這些開支的方式來管理這些開支。

Got it. And then just on the inventory basis, can you just give us a little sense of kind of what you're seeing in the wholesale channels with your key wholesale partners and sort of the expectation of where you see inventory leveling out, given all your plans for reorganization restructuring in fiscal '24?

知道了。然後，就庫存而言，您能否向我們介紹一下您在主要批發合作夥伴的批發渠道中所看到的情況，以及考慮到您的所有計劃，您對庫存趨於平穩的預期24 財年重組？

Right. Well, we saw significant conservatism in our wholesale partners' purchasing patterns, not only in preparation for fall '24, but also in preparation for spring '24, where there was a lot of noise about PFAS, et cetera. So I think the purchasing has been made by our retail partners -- actually, wholesale partners has been on the conservative side. We're prepared to help a bit, this inventory that will be -- have available, but we're not going to take risks on inventory to dissatisfy anything that they've forgotten to purchase or purchased and (inaudible). So my expectations are that the inventories at retail will be like reduced and would be in a much healthier position.

正確的。嗯，我們看到批發合作夥伴的採購模式顯著保守，不僅是為了準備 24 年秋季，也是為了準備 24 年春季，當時有很多關於 PFAS 等的噪音。所以我認為採購是由我們的零售合作夥伴進行的——實際上，批發合作夥伴一直持保守態度。我們準備好提供一些幫助，這些庫存將是可用的，但我們不會冒庫存風險來滿足他們忘記購買或購買的任何東西（聽不清楚）。因此，我的預期是，零售庫存將會減少，並且處於更健康的狀態。

And I think, Krista, just to put that in context, when we look at where retailers' inventory levels are in the channel currently, and this is specific to the U.S. for the Columbia and the SOREL brands. Inventory in the channel is actually down year-on-year. So it gives you some sense for we believe it to be quite healthy despite the fact that retailers are being oddly cautious, as Tim has done.

我認為，Krista，當我們查看目前通路中零售商的庫存水準時，我們需要將這一點放在上下文中，這是特定於美國的 Columbia 和 SOREL 品牌的。渠道庫存實際上比去年同期下降。因此，這給了你一些感覺，因為我們相信它是相當健康的，儘管零售商像蒂姆所做的那樣異常謹慎。

The next question comes from Alex Perry with Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Alex Perry。

I just wanted to ask about the overall promotional environment. I guess how should we think about the promo environment right now compared to last year? And then Jim, how do we square that away with your comments that inventory seems to be in a much healthier place compared to last year?

我只是想問整體的推廣環境。我想與去年相比，我們該如何看待現在的促銷環境？然後吉姆，我們如何與您的評論相一致，即庫存似乎比去年更健康？

Well, I can speak to the company's promotional activities have moderated. Certainly, as I said earlier, in the e-comm space, so we can be in a better position with the brand's health in our most visible environment. I would expect that as inventories moderate across the channel, that you're going to see much less promotional activity. So of course, it depends on the particular retailer and what their own financial fiscal health is. But I think in general, you'll see less promotional activity.

嗯，我可以講一下公司的促銷活動有主持。當然，正如我之前所說，在電子商務領域，我們可以在最明顯的環境中更好地維護品牌的健康狀況。我預計，隨著整個通路的庫存減少，促銷活動將會減少。當然，這取決於特定的零售商及其自身的財務狀況。但我認為總的來說，你會看到更少的促銷活動。

And that's, by and large, Alex, that was reflected in our outlook as well. As our inventory is cleaner, as the retailers' inventory is clean, that's more or less reflected, I think in the front part of the year, Q1. Certainly, they're working to clean up remaining inventory that have coming out of the fall season, so there are some promotions out there. But as Tim touched on, increasingly as we go throughout the year and that further normalizes and is healthy, that should be a net positive to how we're thinking about gross margin.

總的來說，亞歷克斯，這也反映在我們的前景中。由於我們的庫存更加乾淨，零售商的庫存也更加乾淨，我認為這或多或少反映在今年的第一季。當然，他們正在努力清理秋季後剩餘的庫存，因此有一些促銷活動。但正如蒂姆所說，隨著我們全年的發展，這種情況越來越正常化並且是健康的，這應該對我們如何看待毛利率產生積極的影響。

The next question comes from Mauricio Serna with UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的 Mauricio Serna。

Great. Maybe just thinking about the sales guidance from that 2% to 4% decline, what does that imply for the underlying growth of the outdoor category? Any differences that you're seeing between apparel and footwear? And maybe is there like any impact that you could attribute to your efforts or your initiatives to reduce the PFAS product or the destocking that's happening because of that?

偉大的。也許只要考慮一下 2% 到 4% 下降的銷售指引，這對戶外類別的潛在成長意味著什麼？您認為服裝和鞋類有什麼區別嗎？也許您可以將影響歸因於您為減少 PFAS 產品或因此而發生的庫​​存減少所做的努力或舉措？

Yes. Our basic underlying products have not changed. We've merely changed the chemistry, the supply to the product to a chemical that has equal performance but no PFAS. And I think there is, frankly, some moderation in demand on outdoor products certainly in the U.S. So we're seeing that. But at the end of the day, balance sheet matters. When there's a moderation in terms of total demand, that's going to impact less financially capable companies more quickly than it will us.

是的。我們的基礎底層產品沒有改變。我們只是改變了化學成分，將產品的供應改為具有相同性能但不含 PFAS 的化學物質。坦白說，我認為美國對戶外產品的需求肯定有所放緩，所以我們看到了這一點。但歸根究底，資產負債表很重要。當總需求放緩時，對財務能力較差的公司的影響將比我們更快。

Got it. And then just a quick follow-up. On the gross margin, I see like the cadence is like some 70, 110 basis point expansion first quarter. And then the first half is like slightly up. So like I guess that, that implies some contraction in the second quarter. So I just wanted to understand what's behind that. And very lastly, two quick follow-up on the temporary outlet stores. How does that work in terms of like how long are they supposed to be open, given they're called temporary? And how -- [shouldn't] those like impact your gross margin because of, I guess, like they tend to be more promotional?

知道了。然後進行快速跟進。就毛利率而言，我認為第一季的擴張節奏約為 70、110 個基點。然後上半場就略有上升。就像我猜的那樣，這意味著第二季度會出現一些收縮。所以我只是想了解背後的原因。最後，對臨時直銷店進行了兩次快速跟進。鑑於它們被稱為臨時的，那麼它們應該開放多長時間，這是如何運作的？我想，這些東西[不應該]會影響你的毛利率，因為它們往往更具促銷性？

Yes. Let me talk about the outlet, temporary outlet stores first, and maybe I'll ask Jim to talk about the gross margin topic. So when we knew at the beginning of last year, even the last part of the prior year that we had too much inventory, there were two strategies that we took to liquidate the inventory. One was to approach the typical vendors that would buy this kind of stuff, T.J. Maxx and et cetera, that we have a long history with, and there was so much inventory around frankly that it became much clearer that we could clear these inventories through our own temporary stores if we can open them profitably, which we have been able to do. So we're going to maintain the stores as long as it's necessary to complete the final liquidation of the excess inventory. And then we'll take -- analyze how many of them ultimately end up being kept. By far, the majority of them will be likely closed during 2024.

是的。我先談談奧特萊斯，臨時奧特萊斯店，也許我會請吉姆談談毛利率的話題。因此，當我們在去年年初，甚至去年下半年就知道我們的庫存過多時，我們採取了兩種策略來清算庫存。其一是聯絡那些會購買此類產品的典型供應商，T.J. Maxx 等公司與我們有著悠久的歷史，而且坦率地說，周圍有如此多的庫存，因此越來越清楚的是，如果我們能夠盈利地開設臨時商店，我們可以通過自己的臨時商店清理這些庫存，而我們已經能夠做到這一點。做。因此，只要有必要完成多餘庫存的最終清算，我們就會維持商店。然後我們將分析其中有多少最終被保留。到目前為止，其中大多數可能會在 2024 年關閉。

Yes. Mauricio, as it pertains to the gross margin and why we would expect greater gross margin expansion in Q1 as compared to the first half. Bear in mind, through the third quarter, we still anticipate lower inbound freight costs. Those will carry through basically the first quarter. And we've seen about a 300 basis point benefit in Q2 through Q4 of '23. And so it's the continuation of that into Q1. And then there's an offset to the degree we are continuing to work through certain of our inventory liquidation efforts.

是的。 Mauricio，因為它與毛利率有關，以及為什麼我們預計第一季的毛利率將比上半年更大。請記住，到第三季度，我們仍然預計入境貨運成本將會下降。這些基本上將持續到第一季。我們已經看到 23 年第二季到第四季的收益大約有 300 個基點。這是第一季的延續。然後，我們繼續進行某些庫存清算工作，這會產生一定程度的抵銷。

And then I should mention in the second quarter of last year, we did have some inventory obsolescence provisions that were favorable, but it will be -- make a difficult comp. And then Tim was just pointing out to me as well, our distributor business from a growth standpoint carry the lower gross margin. So that will have an impact here in the first quarter or rather Q2.

然後我應該提到去年第二季度，我們確實有一些有利的庫存過時條款，但這將是 - 做出一個困難的比較。然後提姆也向我指出，從成長的角度來看，我們的經銷商業務的毛利率較低。因此，這將在第一季或更確切地說第二季產生影響。

(Operator Instructions) We appear to have no further questions in queue. I'd like to turn the call back to management for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）我們似乎沒有其他問題在隊列中。我想將電話轉回給管理階層，讓他們發表結束語。

Thank you, operator. This is Tim. So I just want to point out, I'm personally very disappointed [with the results] that we provided today. Our global team is focused on returning and surpassing the levels of growth and profitability that we historically produced. So we look forward to talking to you next quarter about how well we're doing on that plan. Thank you.

謝謝你，接線生。這是蒂姆。所以我只想指出，我個人對我們今天提供的結果感到非常失望。我們的全球團隊致力於恢復並超越我們歷史上創造的成長和獲利水準。因此，我們期待在下個季度與您討論我們在該計劃上的進展。謝謝。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束，此時您可以掛斷電話了。感謝您的參與。