好市多 (COST) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to Costco Wholesale Corporation's Fiscal Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，感謝你們的支持。現在，我歡迎大家參加 Costco Wholesale Corporation 2024 財年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員指令）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Richard Galanti, CFO. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給財務長理查德·加蘭蒂 (Richard Galanti)。請繼續。

Thank you, Demi, and good afternoon to everyone. I will start by stating that these discussions will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results and/or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements.

謝謝你，黛米，祝大家下午好。我首先要說明的是，這些討論將包括 1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法案所定義的前瞻性陳述。

The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those outlined in today's call as well as other risks identified from time to time in the company's public statements and reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company does not undertake to update these statements, except as required by law. Comparable sales and comparable sales excluding impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange are intended as supplemental information and are not a substitute for net sales presented in accordance with GAAP.

這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於今天電話會議中概述的風險以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的公開聲明和報告中不時發現的其他風險。前瞻性陳述僅代表其作出之日的觀點，除非法律要求，否則本公司不承諾更新這些陳述。可比銷售額和不包括汽油價格和外匯變化影響的可比銷售額旨在作為補充信息，不能替代按照 GAAP 呈現的淨銷售額。

In today's press release, we reported operating results for the second quarter of fiscal '24, the 12 weeks ended February 18 as well as February retail sales for the 4 weeks ended this past Sunday, March 3. Reported net income for the 12-week second quarter came in at $1.743 billion or $3.92 per diluted share, up from $1.466 billion or $3.30 per diluted share in the 12-week second quarter last year. This year's results included a tax benefit of $94 million or $0.21 per diluted share due to the deductibility of the $15 per share special dividend to the extent received by our employee 401(k) plan participants.

在今天的新聞稿中，我們報告了 2024 財年第二季度的經營業績，即截至 2 月 18 日的 12 週，以及截至 3 月 3 日上週日的 4 週的 2 月份零售額。今年的業績包括 9,400 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.21 美元的稅收優惠，這是由於我們員工 401（k）計劃參與者所獲得的每股 15 美元特別股息可扣除。

Net sales for the second quarter were $57.33 billion, an increase of 5.7% from the $54.24 billion in the second quarter last year. Net sales were negatively impacted by approximately 1.5% in the U.S. and worldwide from the shift of the fiscal calendar as a result of the 53-week 2023 fiscal year. The following comparable sales reflect comparable locations year-over-year and comparable retail weeks. For the -- in the U.S., we reported a 4.3% comparable, excluding gas deflation and FX, the 4.3% would have been 4.8%. Canada reported comp for the quarter, 9.2%, 9.0% ex gas and FX. Other international, 8.6% and 8.2% ex gas and FX. Total company of 5.6% reported for the quarter and 5.8% excluding gas deflation and FX. E-commerce was an 18.4% reported and an 18.2% excluding FX.

第二季淨銷售額為573.3億美元，較去年第二季的542.4億美元成長5.7%。由於 2023 財年為 53 週，財政日曆的轉變對美國和全球的淨銷售額產生了約 1.5% 的負面影響。以下可比較銷售額反映了年比地點和年比零售週的情況。在美國，我們報告的可比成長率為 4.3%，不包括天然氣通貨緊縮和外匯，4.3% 應為 4.8%。加拿大公佈本季的銷售額年增 9.2%，其中天然氣和外匯銷售額年增 9.0%。其他國際市場，天然氣和外匯除外，分別為 8.6% 和 8.2%。本季公司總營收為 5.6%，若不包括天然氣通貨緊縮及外匯，則為 5.8%。電子商務佔報告數字的 18.4%，不包括外匯則為 18.2%。

In terms of second quarter comp sales metrics, our traffic or shopping frequency increased by 5.3% worldwide and 4.3% in the U.S. Our average transaction or ticket was up 0.3% worldwide and up 0.1% in the U.S. And foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar positively impacted sales by approximately 0.2%, while gasoline price deflation negatively impacted sales by approximately 0.4% minus.

就第二季的可比銷售指標而言，我們的全球客流量或購物頻率增長了 5.3%，美國增長了 4.3%。我們的平均交易或票價在全球範圍內上漲了 0.3%，在美國上漲了 0.1%。

Moving down the income statement to membership fee income. We reported membership fee income of $1,111,000,000, up $84 million or up 8.2% year-over-year in the quarter. In terms of renewal rates, at second quarter end, our U.S. and Canada renewal rate came in at 92.9%, which is up 0.1% from Q1 and 12 weeks earlier. And the worldwide rate came in at 90.5%, similar to the last quarter. Membership growth continues. We ended the second quarter with 73.4 million paid household members, up 7.8% versus last year, and 132.0 million cardholders, up 7.3%, with continuing growth throughout the quarters. At Q2 end, we had 33.9 million paid executive members, an increase of 646,000 during the 12-week second quarter. Executive members represent a little over 46% of paid members and a little over 73% of worldwide sales.

將損益表下移至會員費收入。我們報告本季的會員費收入為 11.11 億美元，比去年同期增加 8,400 萬美元，增幅為 8.2%。在續約率方面，截至第二季末，我們的美國和加拿大續約率為 92.9%，較第一季和 12 週前上漲了 0.1%。全球範圍內的失業率也達到了 90.5%，與上一季持平。會員數持續成長。截至第二季度，我們擁有 7,340 萬付費家庭成員，比去年增長 7.8%，持卡人總數為 1.32 億，增長 7.3%，並且整個季度都持續增長。截至第二季末，我們擁有 3,390 萬名付費高階主管會員，比第二季 12 週內增加了 646,000 名。高級會員佔付費會員的 46% 多一點，佔全球銷售額的 73% 多一點。

Moving down the income statement line next to the gross margin. Our reported gross margin in the second quarter was higher year-over-year by 8 basis points, coming in at 10.80% compared to 10.72% last year in the quarter and up 4 basis points excluding gas deflation. Writing down the little matrix that we usually do with 2 columns, both reported and excluding gas deflation, first line item is core merchandise, plus 5% -- plus 5 basis points year-over-year on a reported basis and plus 2% ex deflation -- gas deflation; ancillary and other, plus 7% and plus 6%; 2% Reward, minus 7% and minus 7%; LIFO, plus 3% and plus 3%. And all told, total reported, again, gross margin year-over-year up 8 basis points and up 4, excluding gas deflation.

沿著毛利率旁的損益表線往下移動。我們報告的第二季毛利率年增了 8 個基點，達到 10.80%，而去年同期為 10.72%，若不包括天然氣通貨緊縮，則上升了 4 個基點。寫下我們通常用兩列組成的小矩陣，包括報告的和不包括的天然氣通貨緊縮，第一行項目是核心商品，加上 5% - 根據報告的基礎，同比增長 5 個基點，加上 2% 的通貨緊縮 - 天然氣通貨緊縮；輔助和其他，加 7% 和加 6%；獎勵2%，減7%，減7%；後進先出法，加 3%，再加 3%。總體而言，報告顯示，毛利率年增 8 個基點，扣除天然氣通貨緊縮因素後上漲 4 個基點。

In terms of the core margin on their own sales, again, while the number I just read you was a plus 5 basis points and plus 2 ex gas deflation, in terms of core margin on their own sales, our core-on-core margins were up 25 basis points year-over-year, with food and sundries and nonfoods being positive year-over-year and fresh being negative. Ancillary and other businesses gross margin were higher by 7 basis points and higher by 6 ex gas. The increase year-over-year was driven largely by e-com and partially offset by gas.

就其自身銷售的核心利潤率而言，雖然我剛剛告訴您的數字是正 5 個基點，扣除汽油通貨緊縮因素後為正 2 個基點，但就其自身銷售的核心利潤率而言，我們的核心利潤率同比增長了 25 個基點，其中食品、雜貨和非食品類商品的利潤率同比增長為正增長為正增長的利潤。輔助及其他業務毛利率上升了 7 個基點，除天然氣外上升了 6 個基點。同比成長主要是由電子商務推動的，部分被天然氣所抵消。

2% Reward, again, higher 7 basis points -- lower by 7 basis points, both with and without gas deflation, with higher sales penetration coming from our Executive Members. LIFO plus 3 basis points. We had a $14 million LIFO credit in the second quarter this year compared to no LIFO charge or credit in the second quarter of last year.

2% 的獎勵，再次提高 7 個基點 — — 降低 7 個基點，無論是否考慮天然氣通貨緊縮，我們的執行成員的銷售滲透率更高。後進先出法加 3 個基點。今年第二季度，我們有 1,400 萬美元的後進先出法 (LIFO) 信貸，而去年第二季度則沒有後進先出法費用或信貸。

Moving to SG&A. Our reported SG&A in the second quarter was higher year-over-year by 3 basis points, or minus 3 would be higher, coming in this year at 9.14% compared to last year's 9.11%. And the higher 0.3 would have been lower by 1 basis point, excluding gas deflation. In terms of Q2 year-over-year, the operations component of SG&A, doing the matrix, was 11 basis points higher or minus 11; ex gas deflation, minus 8, so 8 basis points higher. Central, plus 4 and plus 5 basis points. Stock compensation, plus 4 and plus 4. And total would be 3 basis points higher year-over-year and plus 1 basis point or 1 basis point lower year-over-year or better.

轉向銷售、一般及行政開支。我們報告的第二季銷售、一般及行政開支年增了 3 個基點，或者說是負 3 個基點，今年為 9.14%，而去年為 9.11%。而更高的 0.3 將會降低 1 個基點，不包括天然氣通貨緊縮。與去年同期相比，銷售、一般及行政開支的營運部分按矩陣計算上升了 11 個基點，即下降了 11 個基點；除天然氣通貨緊縮外，減去 8，因此高出 8 個基點。中央、加 4 個基點和加 5 個基點。股票薪酬，加上 4 和加上 4。

With regard to the operations component being higher by 11 reported and 8 excluding deflation. As compared to a year ago, during the past year, we included 2 -- last March's extra top of scale increase in wages, which was about a 2 basis point hit to the SG&A line. As well in the first quarter of this year, we raised the starting wage in the U.S. and Canada. We estimate the impact of that new wage also was roughly 2 basis points, so about 4 basis points of that 8 -- or 4 basis points of that 11 were related to those wage increases more than normal.

就營運部分而言，報告的數字高出 11 個，不包括通貨緊縮則高出 8 個。與一年前相比，在過去的一年中，我們納入了 2——去年 3 月的額外最高工資增長，這對銷售、一般和行政費用 (SG&A) 線造成了約 2 個基點的衝擊。今年第一季度，我們也提高了美國和加拿大的起薪。我們估計新工資的影響也大約為 2 個基點，因此這 8 個基點中的約 4 個基點 - 或者這 11 個基點中的 4 個基點與工資增長的關係比正常情況更為密切。

Below the operating income line, central, I mentioned, was better by 4 to 5 basis points, and the rest was pretty much straightforward. Below the operating income line, interest expense was $41 million this year versus $34 million last year. And interest income and other for the quarter was higher by $102 million year-over-year. This was driven by an increase in interest income due to higher interest rates and higher average cash balances as well as FX, which was favorable versus last year. We'll see less benefit from interest income going forward following the January payment of the $6.7 billion special dividend.

在營業收入線以下，我提到的中心水準提高了 4 到 5 個基點，其餘部分則相當簡單。在營業收入線以下，今年的利息支出為 4,100 萬美元，而去年為 3,400 萬美元。本季的利息收入和其他收入比去年同期增加了 1.02 億美元。這是由於利率上升、平均現金餘額增加以及外匯匯率導致利息收入增加，與去年相比有所改善。在一月份支付了 67 億美元特別股息之後，我們將看到未來的利息收入收益減少。

In terms of income taxes, our tax rate in the second quarter came in at 22.1% compared to 26.1% in Q2 last year. As discussed earlier, this year's rate benefited from the tax deductibility of a special dividend paid to 401(k) participants. The fiscal '24 effective tax rate, including discrete items, is currently projected to be in the 26% to 27% range. And excluding the special dividend tax benefit in Q2, our Q2 tax rate instead of being -- coming in at 22.1% would have been 26.3%. Overall, reported net income was up 18.9% in the quarter on a reported basis. And again, excluding the special dividend-related income tax benefit, it would have been up 12.5% year-over-year.

在所得稅方面，我們第二季的稅率為 22.1%，而去年第二季為 26.1%。如前所述，今年的稅率受益於向 401（k）計劃參與者支付的特別股息的免稅優惠。目前預計24財年有效稅率（包括單一項目）將介於26%至27%之間。而且，如果不考慮第二季的特殊股息稅收優惠，我們第二季的稅率將從 22.1% 上升至 26.3%。總體而言，本季報告淨收入年增 18.9%。並且，若不包括特別股利相關的所得稅收益，則較去年同期成長 12.5%。

A few other items of note. In terms of openings in the second quarter, we opened 4 net new warehouses, including 3 new locations in the U.S. Actually, 2 of them were Costco Business Centers and 1 new Costco wholesale warehouse and 1 unit, and our sixth in China, in mid-January in Shenzhen. That's our sixth in China. There's been a lot of press about it. We have an estimated 10,000 people were at opening, and there are just under 200,000 members currently, including more than 20,000 members signed up from Hong Kong. And we've seen all kinds of things over there from tour agencies doing bus trips over to shop.

還有一些其他值得注意的事項。就第二季的開業數量而言，我們淨開設了 4 個新倉庫，其中 3 個位於美國。這是我們在中國的第六次。很多媒體都對此進行了報告。開業時我們估計有1萬人，目前會員人數接近20萬，其中香港的會員超過2萬。我們在那裡看到了各種各樣的東西，旅行社組織了去商店的巴士旅行。

For the full year '24, we estimate 30 total openings, including 2 relos, so for a net increase of 28 new units. And that puts the remainder of fiscal '24, for Q3 and 4, we plan on opening a total of 15 net new locations: 11 in the U.S., 2 in Japan and 1 each in Korea and China. Regarding CapEx, fiscal second quarter spend was approximately $1.03 billion. And for the year, it remains in the north of $4.4 billion to $4.6 billion, in that range.

就 2024 年全年而言，我們預計總共將開設 30 家門市，其中包括 2 家重新開業門市，因此將淨增 28 家新門市。這樣，在 24 財年的剩餘時間裡，也就是第三季和第四季度，我們計劃總共開設 15 家新店：美國 11 家，日本 2 家，韓國和中國各 1 家。至於資本支出，第二財季支出約 10.3 億美元。今年的預算赤字仍維持在 44 億美元至 46 億美元之間。

One additional comment on China. This past Monday, we launched, in our Pudong, China location, the ability for our members to order online about 400 items from our -- of our items to be delivered that day. And the delivery will be within about an 8-kilometer radius of the warehouse itself. It's getting a lot of social media attention over there, and we plan to launch it in the other 4 Shanghai area locations by month end, as well as in Shenzhen sometime the following month.

關於中國還有一點評論。上週一，我們在中國浦東的門市推出了一項服務，讓我們的會員可以在線上訂購我們約 400 件商品，當天即可送貨。 配送範圍將在倉庫本身約 8 公里半徑範圍內。它在那裡引起了很多社交媒體的關注，我們計劃在月底前在上海地區的其他 4 個地點推出它，並於下個月在深圳推出它。

In terms of e-commerce, e-commerce sales in Q2 ex FX increased 18.2%. E-comm showed strength in several areas, led by sales of gold and very recently, silver. As well, appliances were very, very strong, as was gift cards and e-tickets. As well, Costco Logistics enjoyed record-breaking deliveries. Much of that -- and many of those items are sold via e-commerce. In Q2 of '24, we completed over 1 million deliveries, up 28% versus Q2 a year ago. In terms of e-commerce sales over the past few months, we believe we've done a much better job explaining to our members the significant value propositions we offer compared to traditional competitors in several big-ticket categories.

電子商務方面，第二季（不含外匯）電子商務銷售額成長了 18.2%。電子商務在多個領域表現強勁，其中以黃金銷售和最近的白銀銷售最為強勁。此外，家用電器、禮品卡和電子票也非常非常強大。此外，Costco Logistics 的配送量也創下了紀錄。其中大部分——很多物品都是透過電子商務銷售的。 2024 年第二季度，我們完成了超過 100 萬份交付，比去年同期成長了 28%。就過去幾個月的電子商務銷售而言，我們認為，與幾個大件商品類別中的傳統競爭對手相比，我們在向會員解釋我們提供的重要價值主張方面做得更好。

Under the "Why Buy at Costco?" banner and "The price you SEE is the price you PAY!" banner, we share with our members what's included in the price of appliances, tires, televisions, computers, and mattresses. You can see these online on our website of "Why Buy at Costco?" Just to give you one example, if you take a 4-set of high-end tires compared to a traditional retailer, we include, of course, installation, rotation, balancing, a 5-year road hazard warranty. Typically, that's a lot less road hazard warranty in other places or you'd have to pay for extra, ongoing flat repairs, nitrogen and disposal of the prior tires. Just one of the examples where the price of the tires itself might be very close to us. When you put in all the differences of those additional items, it's anywhere from a 15% to 25% savings on any of these items.

在“為什麼要在 Costco 買東西？”橫幅和“您看到的價格就是您支付的價格！”在橫幅廣告中，我們與會員分享家電、輪胎、電視、電腦和床墊價格中包含的內容。您可以在我們「為什麼在 Costco 購物？」網站上在線查看這些內容。舉個例子，如果你與傳統零售商相比購買了 4 套高端輪胎，我們當然包括安裝、換位、平衡和 5 年道路危險保固。通常情況下，其他地方的道路危險保固要少得多，或者您必須支付額外的費用、持續的爆胎維修、氮氣和之前輪胎的處理費用。這只是其中一個例子，輪胎本身的價格可能與我們非常接近。當您把所有這些額外項目的差額加起來時，任何這些項目都可以節省 15% 到 25% 的費用。

Next on my list, I'll talk about costconext.com, a couple of comments on the seller platform. This allows -- costconext.com allows our members to exclusive access to direct-to-consumer sites for top quality brands at Costco value pricing. Currently, there are about -- there are 70 Costco Next brand sites, with 15 additional sites in development. We will likely end this calendar year with about 90 sites and continue to grow from there. Costco Next offers everything from home improvement to apparel, to pet, to home, to kitchen to electronics, to accessories as well as sports, bicycles and toys. You should check it out. It's a pretty good site.

接下來我將談論costconext.com，以及一些關於賣家平台的評論。這使得 costconext.com 允許我們的會員以 Costco 優惠價格獨家訪問直接面向消費者的頂級品牌網站。目前，Costco Next 品牌門市數量約 70 家，另有 15 家門市正在開發中。我們很可能在今年年底擁有約 90 個站點，並且將繼續成長。 Costco Next 提供從家居裝飾到服裝、寵物、家居、廚房、電子產品、配件以及運動、自行車和玩具等各種商品。你應該檢查一下。這是一個相當不錯的網站。

Progress continues to be made in our e-comm, mobile, and digital efforts. A couple of recent enhancements. In February, we rolled out our new native mobile application homepage on iOS. The native homepage now loads in less than 2 seconds compared to 8 seconds previously. Needless to say, that's important when about 60% of our e-comm business, both visitors and orders, are now done via our mobile app and browser. And last week, we rolled out Apple Pay to all members online, both web and mobile, on February 28. App downloads during the quarter were up 2.8 million and currently total around 33 million.

我們的電子商務、行動和數位化努力不斷取得進展。最近有幾項改進。二月份，我們在 iOS 上推出了新的原生行動應用程式主頁。原生首頁的載入時間現在少於 2 秒，而之前需 8 秒。毋庸置疑，這一點很重要，因為我們現在大約 60% 的電子商務業務（包括訪客和訂單）都是透過我們的行動應用程式和瀏覽器完成的。上週，我們於 2 月 28 日向所有網路和行動會員推出了 Apple Pay。

On the product side, a couple of other new items to comment on. In our food courts, we recently replaced the churro with an awesome freshly baked 5.5-ounce chocolate chip cookie for $2.49. It is awesome. It's a great-tasting -- and a great-tasting turkey sandwich for $6.99, with the rollout of the latter being completed this week. In addition, we recently opened our first fully operated sushi offering in Issaquah, Washington across the street from our headquarters, with 2 more planned to open in the very near future. This operation is what we have successfully done for years -- for many years throughout our Asia Costcos in several countries over there. The sushi program has proven to be a category where we can be successful in both quality and price, and we're looking forward to seeing more of that in the future.

在產品方面，還有其他一些新項目需要評論。在我們的美食廣場，我們最近用新鮮出爐的美味 5.5 盎司巧克力曲奇餅乾取代了油條，售價 2.49 美元。太棒了。這是一種味道鮮美的火雞三明治，售價 6.99 美元，後者將於本週推出。此外，我們最近在華盛頓州伊薩誇總部對面開設了第一家全面運營的壽司店，並計劃在不久的將來再開設兩家。這項業務是我們多年來在多個國家的亞洲 Costco 門市中成功開展的業務——多年來一直如此。事實證明，壽司計畫是我們可以同時在品質和價格方面取得成功的一個類別，我們期待在未來看到更多這樣的項目。

A couple of comments about inflation. In the last quarter, in the first quarter, we estimated that year-over-year inflation was approximately 0 to 1%. We'll now say that in Q2, it was essentially flat. And notwithstanding essentially flat, we're taking price reductions where we can. Anecdotally, everything from simple items like reading glasses from $18.99 to $16.99, the 48-count of Kirkland signature batteries from $17.99 to $15.99, a 24-count of Pellegrino from $16.99 to $14.99 and even 4 pounds of frozen Three Berry fruit blend from $14.99 down to $10.99 with new crop pricing. So we continue to do that. We always want to be the first out there trying to lower prices.

關於通貨膨脹的幾點評論。上個季度，也就是第一季度，我們估計年比通膨率約為 0 至 1%。我們現在可以說，在第二季度，它基本上持平。儘管價格基本上持平，我們仍會盡可能降低價格。據了解，從簡單的老花眼鏡等物品的價格從 17.99 美元降到 15.99 美元，24 顆的 Pellegrino 的價格從 16.99 美元降到 14.99 美元，甚至 4919 美元，這甚至是 1949 美元到 14.991 美元新作物的價格。因此我們會繼續這樣做。我們總是想成為第一個嘗試降低價格的人。

Many new items in sporting goods and lawn and garden are being set with lower prices year-over-year. And overall -- mostly due to reduced freight costs and lower commodity costs versus a year ago. And overall, our inventories and SKUs are in good shape across all channels. Overall, we have a good -- we've had good seasonal sell-through during the quarter.

許多體育用品、草坪花園用品等新品的價格較去年同期都有所下降。總體而言——主要是由於與一年前相比運費和商品成本降低。總體而言，我們所有通路的庫存和 SKU 狀況良好。總體而言，本季我們的季節性銷售情況良好。

In terms of shipping and supply chain issues, we've been asked about that often, of late. There are some delays, generally just a couple or 3 weeks but mostly now planned for. First, there was an issue a while back about with the Panama Canal challenges, then, of course, the Red Sea challenges. A lot of that has to do with changing the way ships are being routed. No meaningful pricing issues because a lot of in-place contracts.

關於運輸和供應鏈問題，最近我們常被問到這個問題。有一些延遲，通常只有幾週或三週，但大多數都已經計劃好了。首先，不久前出現了有關巴拿馬運河挑戰的問題，然後當然還有紅海挑戰。這很大程度與改變船舶航線有關。由於存在大量現有合同，因此不存在有意義的定價問題。

Finally, turning to our February sales results, the 4 weeks ended this past Sunday, March 3, compared to the same retail calendar weeks last year. As reported in our release, net sales for the month came in at $18.21 billion, an increase of 6.9% versus $17.04 billion for the same 4 retail weeks last year. Again, just to -- announcement -- we did an announcement earlier today. The U.S. reported comp of 3.4% for February, ex gas and FX, 4.1%; Canada, 8.4% and 8.3%; other international, 10.8% and 11.3%; for a total company of 5.0% reported and 5.6% ex gas and FX, with e-comm coming in at a 16.2% reported and a 16.0% ex FX.

最後，來看看我們二月的銷售結果，與去年同期的零售日曆週相比，四周的銷售結果截至 3 月 3 日（上週日）。根據我們在新聞稿中報道，當月淨銷售額為 182.1 億美元，較去年同期的 170.4 億美元成長 6.9%。再次聲明，只是為了 — — 公告 — — 我們今天早些時候已經發布了公告。美國公佈 2 月零售額年增 3.4%，其中天然氣和外匯銷售額年增 4.1%；加拿大，分別為8.4%和8.3%；其他國際，分別為10.8%和11.3%；該公司總體報告佔 5.0%，不含天然氣和外匯佔比 5.6%，其中電子商務報告佔 16.2%，不含外匯佔比 16.0%。

Our comp traffic or frequency for February was up 6.2% worldwide and up 5.0% in the U.S. Foreign currencies year-over-year relative to the dollar negatively impacted total and comparable sales as follows: Canada by about 0.1% negative, other international by approximately 0.5% and total company by approximately 0.1%. Gasoline price deflation negatively impacted total reported comp sales by approximately 0.5%. And the average worldwide selling price per gallon of gas was down approximately 3.5% versus last year. Worldwide, the average transaction for February was down about 1.1%, which includes the negative impacts from FX and gas deflation.

我們 2 月的全球可比流量或頻率增加了 6.2%，美國成長了 5.0%。汽油價格下跌對報告的總銷售額產生了約 0.5% 的負面影響。全球每加侖汽油的平均價格比去年同期下降了約 3.5%。全球範圍內，2 月的平均交易量下降了約 1.1%，其中包括外匯和天然氣通貨緊縮帶來的負面影響。

In terms of regional and merchandising categories, the general highlights are as follows: U.S. regions with the strongest comps were Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. In terms of other international and local currencies, we saw strength in Mexico, Australia, and Korea. Moving to merchandise highlights. Food and sundries were positive in the mid-single digits. Fresh foods were up high single digits, and nonfoods were positive mid-single digits. And ancillary businesses were up in the low single digits. Food court, pharmacy, and optical were top performers, with gas down low single digits on a lower price per gallon.

就區域和商品類別而言，整體亮點如下：美國表現最強勁的地區是中西部、東南部和東北部。就其他國際和本地貨幣而言，我們看到墨西哥、澳洲和韓國的貨幣走強。轉向商品亮點。食品和雜貨銷量呈中個位數成長。新鮮食品價格上漲了高個位數，非食品價格則上漲了中個位數。輔助業務則僅成長個位數。美食廣場、藥局和眼鏡店表現最佳，汽油每加侖價格較低，價格下降個位數。

In terms of upcoming releases, we will announce our March sales results for the 5 weeks ending Sunday, April 7, on the following Wednesday, April 10, after market close. And lastly, before I turn it back to Demi for Q&A, I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to many of you who have turned in each quarter, some for many years, to allow me to share with you Costco's results, both our ups and our downs and thankfully, many more ups and downs and provide some fun and informative color on how we're doing along the way.

對於即將發布的產品，我們將在 4 月 10 日星期三收盤後公佈截至 4 月 7 日星期日的五週的 3 月份銷售業績。最後，在我將問答環節交還給 Demi 之前，我想花點時間對你們中的許多人說聲謝謝，感謝你們每個季度的參與，有些人已經參與了很多年，讓我與你們分享 Costco 的業績，包括我們的起起落落，幸運的是，還有更多的起起落落，並以展示我們和信息豐富的方式。

Since going public in December of 1985, I have hosted all but one call. It has been an absolute privilege and honor to do so, so thank you all. As you know, in early February, it was announced that I will be ceding the role of CFO to Gary Millerchip effective March 15 after our second quarter 10-Q is filed, and retire, including from our Board, next January. It's a bit surreal of late but what a wonderful journey it has been with such a great company and great people, including many of you on the call today. I have certainly been very fortunate.

自 1985 年 12 月上市以來，除一次電話會議外，我主持了所有電話會議。能夠這樣做絕對是一種榮幸，所以感謝大家。如你所知，2 月初，我們宣布，在提交第二季 10-Q 報表後，我將從 3 月 15 日起將財務長一職移交給 Gary Millerchip，並於明年 1 月退休，包括退出董事會。最近感覺有點不真實，但能與如此偉大的公司和優秀的員工（包括今天電話會議中的許多人）一起度過這段旅程真是美妙。我確實非常幸運。

The good news, Gary joined Costco last week and, along with David and Josh, will continue to provide to you all the transparency and straightforwardness that we are known for. It will be a positive and seamless transition. With that, I will be happy to turn it back to Demi to open it up for Q&A.

好消息是，Gary 上週加入了 Costco，他將與 David 和 Josh 一起，繼續為您提供我們所聞名的透明度和直率。這將是一個積極且無縫的過渡。說完這些，我很樂意將話題交還給 Demi，讓她開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

（操作員指示）您的第一個問題來自摩根士丹利的西緬古特曼 (Simeon Gutman)。

Richard, best wishes to you. Thank you for all your guidance. That's a metaphor since you don't give guidance. My first question is on the -- this is like a parting question on membership, and I want to make sure this framework sounds right. I know you said it's "if not, when," and part of the thought process is there were enough levers in the business, product savings, cost savings, to be able to drive an appropriate level of like profit growth from the business. And when that no longer presents itself, that's when membership price increase could come through. And that could come through earlier than that, but that was one framework we were thinking in as we wait to hear when it happens.

理查德，祝你一切順利。感謝您的所有指導。這是一個比喻，因為你沒有給指引。我的第一個問題是關於——這就像是關於會員資格的離別問題，我想確保這個框架聽起來正確。我知道您說過“如果不是，那麼何時”，而思考過程的一部分是業務中有足夠的槓桿，產品節省、成本節省，以便能夠推動業務利潤增長到適當的水平。當這種情況不再出現時，會員價格就會上漲。這可能會更早實現，但這是我們在等待實現時思考的框架。

Sure. And by the way, it's when, not if, still. But really, we're -- joking aside, we're not that smart in terms of figuring out exactly why. I mean we know that all the factors that we believe would -- if we wanted to do it when we feel comfortable in terms of renewal rates, new member sign-ups, loyalty, all those things are continuing in the right direction. It really is a function -- and I don't think it would be done simply because, hey, things have slowed down a little bit, let's do it now.

當然。順便說一句，問題仍然是何時，而不是是否。但實際上，玩笑歸玩笑，我們並沒有那麼聰明，無法弄清楚究竟為什麼。我的意思是，我們知道我們相信的所有因素——如果我們想在續約率、新會員註冊、忠誠度等方面感到滿意的時候做這件事，那麼所有這些事情都會朝著正確的方向發展。這確實是一個功能——我不認為它會被簡單地完成，因為，嘿，事情已經慢了一點，讓我們現在就做它。

We like the fact that we're performing well. We like the fact that all -- most -- all metrics are going in the right direction in our business right now. We've got plenty of runway left. And given the economy and given everything else, it's us, it's Costco. So I think it is simply still not trying to be cute about it. It's not some big analytical formula. It's simply a measure of, we will, at some point, I'm sure, do it. And I've been joking with Gary, it will be on his watch, not mine.

我們對自己表現良好的情況感到滿意。我們喜歡這樣一個事實：目前，我們業務中的所有指標（大多數）都朝著正確的方向發展。我們還有足夠的跑道。考慮到經濟和其他所有因素，我們就是 Costco。所以我認為這仍然不是在試圖表現得可愛。這不是什麼複雜的分析公式。這只是一種衡量標準，我確信，在某個時候，我們會這樣做。我一直在和加里開玩笑，這將由他來掌管，而不是我。

And then maybe one more, Richard, is another question. Used to -- the business has comped very consistently over time. And you used to say, I regret when it won't comp north of 4 to 5 because that's where it may be tougher to leverage our expenses. If you think about that framework, does it still apply? And then as you hand the baton to Gary, and even Ron, do you spend more? Or are there ways where the cost structure of the business can actually be altered to lower that leverage threshold point?

然後也許還有一個問題，理查德。過去—隨著時間的推移，業務一直非常穩定。您曾經說過，當價格無法達到 4 到 5 點時，我會感到遺憾，因為那時我們的開支可能會更難利用。如果您考慮一下該框架，它仍然適用嗎？然後，當你將接力棒交給加里，甚至羅恩時，你會花更多錢嗎？或者是否有辦法實際改變業務成本結構以降低槓桿門檻點？

Right. Well, whether it's -- I would say it's probably more likely to go up a little bit and down just because of whatever goes on in life, and the inflation that happened. But I got to look back at the last few years, we and others were helped through the crisis of COVID. And we haven't given a lot of that back. If I look at our SG&A, I remember when in fiscal '19, it came in at 10.04%, I'm looking at these numbers here. And even in '20, it was at 10.30% in the first quarter before COVID.

正確的。嗯，不管怎樣——我想說，它更有可能略有上漲和下跌，僅僅是因為生活中發生的任何事情以及發生的通貨膨脹。但回顧過去幾年，我們和其他人都得到了幫助，度過了新冠疫情危機。但我們並沒有給予太多回報。如果我看我們的銷售、一般和行政費用，我記得在 19 財年，它達到了 10.04%，我正在看這裡的數字。即使在 2020 年，新冠疫情爆發之前的第一季度，該比例也達到了 10.30%。

And then in fiscal '21, it was 9.65% and then down to 8.88%, and now it's up -- fiscal '23, it was 9.08%. So notwithstanding, I remember when it was slightly above 10, we said, well, it's never going to get below 10 again. And a lot of factors continue to change. But just the sheer high productivity that we have is, frankly, higher than we thought. Some of that was gained through COVID because of everything else going on. But we haven't given it back. The good news, we haven't given it back and the good news continues to be that we're -- we seem to continue to be able to take market share.

然後在 21 財年，這一比例為 9.65%，隨後下降到 8.88%，現在又上升了——23 財年，這一比例為 9.08%。所以儘管如此，我記得當它略高於 10 時，我們說，好吧，它永遠不會再低於 10 了。而且很多因素還在不斷地改變。但坦白說，我們所擁有的生產力比我們想像的還要高。其中一部分是透過 COVID 獲得的，因為還有其他事情發生。但我們還沒歸還。好消息是，我們還沒有放棄，而且好消息是，我們似乎能夠繼續佔領市場份額。

I think the fact that on big-ticket items, there's less SG&A. We continue to change the pack sizes of things for less freight, whatever it is, all the freight would be, that would be SG&A. But it is still a lot about sales at the end. And if you ask the rhetorical question, if comps went to 0, what would that mean? That would be tough on SG&A, but we'd figure other things out.

我認為事實是高價位商品的銷售、一般及行政開支較少。我們不斷改變物品的包裝尺寸以減少運費，無論是什麼，所有的運費都是銷售、一般和行政費用。但最終還是與銷售有關。如果你問一個反問句，如果 comps 降至 0，那代表什麼？這對於銷售、一般及行政開支來說會很困難，但我們會想出其他辦法。

Next question comes from the line of Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

下一個問題來自 Gordon Haskett 的 Chuck Grom。

Richard, congrats on a great career that someone started basically day 1 at the company. My question is on culture. You've always said, it was customers first, employees second, shareholders third, and that philosophy has clearly played out. So looking at it, I'm curious how the new team is going to keep this culture intact and resist pressure from some of the non-founders of the company going forward.

理查德，恭喜你從公司第一天起就開啟了偉大的職業生涯。我的問題是關於文化的。您總是說，顧客第一，員工第二，股東第三，這個理念顯然已經充分體現。所以從這個角度來看，我很好奇新團隊將如何保持這種文化的完整，並抵抗來自公司一些非創辦人的壓力。

Well, first of all, nothing has changed. It's not unlike the same question I think that was asked of Jim Sinegal after 28 years before he retired. And before we knew who his successor was going to exactly be, and I remember the Board asking, if you're 100 in terms of extreme value and extreme taking care of the customer and the employee and everybody else, whoever takes your place, what would they be in? He paused for a minute and said, "I have no doubt that will be at least in the mid-90s, if not higher."

嗯，首先，什麼都沒有改變。我認為，這與吉姆辛內加爾 (Jim Sinegal) 退休前 28 年後被問到的問題並無二致。在我們知道誰將是他的繼任者之前，我記得董事會曾問過，如果你在極端價值和極端照顧客戶、員工和其他人方面做到 100%，那麼無論誰來接替你的位置，他們會做什麼？他停頓了一下，然後說：“我相信這個數字至少會達到 95 年代末，甚至更高。”

And frankly, after Craig was made that, in my view, whatever that number was, it increased towards 100 just because that's what we do. And that culture is so ingrained here. And when we talk about changing management, I always joke when people ask me as CFO how I'm important -- am I important to the strategic whatever of the company? The fact is we're run by merchants and operators, and we're there to serve and help them and certainly add our voice. But the fact of the matter is, and Craig for 12 years and now, and Ron, you have people that have been here for 35, 40 years and have -- were born and raised and have grown up in this culture. And it is so intact. Just last week when Gary joined us, he had to go through the required 2-hour Costco orientation, which includes obey the law, take care of your customer, take care of your employees, respect your supplier. And then if you do that, you can reward the shareholder. It is -- that's the one thing I can sleep very well at night.

坦白說，在克雷格出現之後，在我看來，無論這個數字是多少，它都會增加到 100，因為這就是我們所做的事情。這種文化在這裡已經根深蒂固。當我們談論管理層變動時，當人們問我，作為財務官，我有多重要時，我總是開玩笑地說——我對公司的策略重要嗎？事實上，我們是由商家和營運商經營的，我們在這裡為他們提供服務和幫助，當然也為他們發出自己的聲音。但事實是，克雷格已經在這裡工作了 12 年，現在還有羅恩，你們這些人已經在這裡工作了 35 到 40 年，他們在這種文化中出生、成長和長大。而且它還如此完好。就在上週，當 Gary 加入我們時，他必須接受 Costco 必修的 2 小時培訓，其中包括遵守法律、照顧你的客戶、照顧你的員工、尊重你的供應商。如果你這樣做了，你就可以獎勵股東。是的──這是讓我晚上能睡得安穩的一件事。

That's great. Thanks, Richard. Enjoy your retirement.

那太棒了。謝謝，理查。享受你的退休生活。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Next question comes from the line of Michael Lasser with UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀的麥可‧拉瑟 (Michael Lasser)。

Best of luck, Richard. You mentioned previously that most of the metrics are moving in the right direction. Can you highlight which metrics are not moving in the right direction? And especially from a membership per club standpoint, are there any signs that some of the more mature locations are either reaching a saturation or starting to see a peak in that metric?

祝你好運，理查德。您之前提到，大多數指標都在朝著正確的方向發展。您能否強調一下哪些指標沒有朝著正確的方向發展？特別是從每個俱樂部的會員數量的角度來看，是否有跡象表明一些較成熟的地點要么達到飽和，要么開始看到該指標的峰值？

No. First of all, when I said most, I was just trying to be human that nobody is perfect. Everything is working in the right direction right now. And actually, I wasn't talking just about membership metrics. But in general, knock on wood, things are working pretty well. When I -- when we sit in at our monthly budget meeting, more times than not, we get pretty excited about what's going on from a new merchandising standpoint, newness, buying with conviction and be aggressive and assertive out there. I mean what we saw with just even these -- that simple example I gave you with changes to big-ticket items and why buy them at Costco, we saw great changes in numbers. So we know that we've got a lot of levers to be able to pull to make this thing work. And so no, I just said, honestly, I said most because nobody is perfect. I didn't have any particular examples.

不。目前一切都在朝著正確的方向發展。實際上，我談論的不僅僅是會員指標。但整體來說，事情進展得相當順利。當我們參加每月預算會議時，大多數時候，我們都會對從新的商品推銷角度發生的事情感到非常興奮，新鮮感、堅定的購買意願以及積極主動的態度。我的意思是，我們看到的只是這些——我給你舉的那個簡單的例子，高價商品的變化以及為什麼在好市多購買它們，我們看到了數字的巨大變化。所以我們知道，我們需要利用很多槓桿才能讓這件事情成功。所以不，我只是說，老實說，我說大多數是因為沒有人是完美的。我沒有任何具體的例子。

Understood. My follow-up question is on the -- what seems like an inflection in the discretionary business. To what degree is Costco experiencing improvement in the gen merch categories as a result of aggressive changes, either like you had cited with the way you're communicating with the customer or the member or aggressive actions to take down prices? And if you are pulling those levers hard, is there an opportunity to move even more aggressively to drive the discretionary business? Because it does seem like Costco's experiencing a rebound in some of these areas more so than the rest of retail.

明白了。我的後續問題是關於——這似乎是一個可自由支配業務的轉捩點。透過採取積極的變革（如您提到的與客戶或會員溝通的方式，或採取積極的降價措施），Costco 的一般商品類別在多大程度上得到了改善？如果您全力推動這些舉措，是否有機會更積極地推動可自由支配業務的發展？因為看起來 Costco 在某些領域的反彈似乎比其他零售業更強勁。

Yes. And absolutely, what is it? It's called -- it used to be NPD, it's Circana, which is that industry that shows you how you are on different product -- nonfood product categories versus the industry. When we look at something like appliances in the last several weeks or a couple of months, the industry is flat and we're up north of 20%. Same thing with tires, more than that percent. And so now that, you can't say let's do everything and everything will be up 20%, 30% because that's not going to happen.

是的。當然，它是什麼？它被稱為——以前是 NPD，現在是 Circana，這個行業向您展示了您在不同產品——非食品產品類別與行業相比的情況。當我們觀察過去幾週或幾個月的家電產品時，我們發現整個產業表現平穩，而我們的成長率卻超過了 20%。輪胎也是一樣，超過這個百分比。所以現在你不能說讓我們做所有事情，然後所有事情都會上漲 20% 或 30%，因為那是不可能發生的。

But at the end of the day, the focus of the buyers, as an example, is coming up with new ways to do things, to have great pricing and to constantly improve that pricing and figure out how to do that with our global buying power with -- every time there's a commodity price increase. Given an item of business, we have buyers that are in charge of 20 and 30 items, if not less, not 200, 300 items in a category. They know a lot more, in our view, about every cost component of that. And I think I feel very good that we do a very good job. I'm not suggesting others don't, but I know we do a very good job of getting on the phone immediately and working those issues. And as soon as we can get a savings, we're out there first pass to get on. And that's just our religion. Now we're able to do that partly because our sales have been relatively strong, and we've lapped some things from last year that have helped.

但歸根結底，買家的關注點在於，每當商品價格上漲時，他們就會想出新的方法來做事，確定好價格，並不斷優化定價，並想辦法利用我們的全球購買力來做到這一點。給定一個業務項目，我們有負責 20 到 30 個項目的採購員，甚至有 200、300 個項目屬於同一類別。我們認為，他們對其中的每一個成本組成部分都了解得非常清楚。我對我們的工作感到非常高興，我們做得很好。我並不是建議其他人不這樣做，但我知道我們在立即打電話解決這些問題方面做得很好。一旦我們能夠得到節省，我們就會在第一時間出發。這只是我們的宗教。現在我們之所以能夠做到這一點，部分原因是我們的銷售相對強勁，而且我們已經完成了去年的一些有幫助的事情。

Next question comes from the line of Peter Benedict with Baird.

下一個問題來自貝爾德的彼得·本尼迪克特 (Peter Benedict)。

And my congratulations as well. Well done. It's been a pleasure. Wondering if you can maybe talk about Kirkland, the penetration, what's going on there. Any member shopping behavior around kind of private brand versus branded? And maybe what some of the branded packaged good companies are doing to maybe get some volumes up. Just curious about your view on that.

我也向你表示祝賀。做得好。我很榮幸。想知道您是否可以談論 Kirkland 及其滲透情況以及那裡發生的事情。會員的購物行為是否有私人品牌和品牌？也許一些品牌包裝商品公司正在採取措施來提高銷售量。只是好奇你對此的看法。

There's not a lot of trade down. Although when we -- we sometimes have more control over certain private label CPG items that we're able to drive more business. And so we're seeing an increased penetration of that versus some of the brand sometimes. But then that gets the brands to the table to work -- to provide more value on the branded as well. We want to be both.

貿易下滑的現象並不多。儘管有時我們對某些自有品牌 CPG 產品有更多的控制權，但我們能夠推動更多的業務。因此，我們有時會看到其相對於某些品牌的滲透率有所提高。但這也會讓品牌參與進來，為品牌提供更多價值。我們希望兩者兼而有之。

But we haven't really seen -- that was a question that happened as the economy was -- the question is, are we going into a recession a couple of years ago and inflation was peaking at 7%, 8%, 9%. And are we seeing a difference? So we did see -- if you look back over the last 20 years, and without looking at the exact numbers, it seems like every year we grow 0.25% to 0.5% of increased Kirkland Signature penetration. And then there was 1 year when we were asked a couple of years ago, it seemed like there was 1.5% to 2%, even 2% change in penetration. So people were, in my view, switching a little bit out. But that's changed. We don't see that as much as anymore.

但我們還沒有真正看到——這是經濟出現時出現的問題——問題是，我們是否會在幾年前陷入衰退，當時通膨率達到 7%、8%、9% 的峰值。我們看到差異了嗎？所以我們確實看到——如果回顧過去 20 年，即使不看具體數字，似乎每年 Kirkland Signature 的滲透率都會增加 0.25% 到 0.5%。幾年前我們被問到的時候，似乎滲透率有 1.5% 到 2% 甚至 2% 的變化。因此，在我看來，人們正在稍微改變一下。但情況已經改變。我們現在已經不再看到這種現象了。

Got it. And then just on Costco Logistics, you gave some delivery numbers there. Just maybe step back a little bit, the penetration of Costco Logistics within the business. How meaningful is that at this point? What's left in terms of maybe growing that? Is that just going to go with the big ticket trends? Or are there, I don't know, internal initiatives to kind of drive further penetration of Costco Logistics?

知道了。然後就在 Costco Logistics 上，您給了一些送貨號碼。或許稍微退一步來看，Costco Logistics 在該業務內的滲透率。此時此刻這有多大意義？從可能的成長角度來看，還剩下什麼呢？這僅僅是在順應大趨勢嗎？或者，是否存在一些內部措施來推動 Costco Logistics 的進一步滲透？

What it's done strategically, I hate to overuse that word, it's allowed us to be much better on value and delivery times and quality and brought the delivery cost down on big-ticket items, particularly appliances and big screen televisions, mattresses and furniture, indoor and outdoor patio furniture and indoor furniture, some sporting goods.

它的戰略作用，我不想過度使用這個詞，它讓我們在價值和交貨時間和品質方面做得更好，並降低了高價位商品的運輸成本，特別是家電和大螢幕電視、床墊和家具、室內和室外露台家具和室內家具以及一些體育用品。

And in the -- before we bought Innovel, we're now called Costco Logistics in the spring of 2020. And the year before that, in the U.S., we did about 2.2 million drops. So the drop is anything from dropping off a sofa to delivering and installing a new refrigerator, freezer, or a washer-dryer and taking the old away for disposal. Both of those are dropped, recognizing the extreme difference there. But we did about 2.2 million drops in the U.S., none of which we did ourselves.

在我們收購 Innovel 之前，我們在 2020 年春季更名為 Costco Logistics。因此，放下是指放下一張沙發，到運送和安裝一台新冰箱、冰櫃或洗衣機烘乾機，然後將舊的拿走處理掉。由於認識到了其中的極端差異，這兩項都被放棄了。但我們在美國進行了約 220 萬次投放，其中沒有一次是我們自己進行的。

With the acquisition of Innovel, I think for the -- probably over the last -- with this 1 million this quarter, a rough number of 4 million drops, which I believe about 70% of them -- over 4 million drops and about 70% of them is us. We've reduced the delivery times. We've just introduced in some categories like 2-hour windows where you can -- or 3-hour windows where you can choose, 2-hour windows where you can choose. So we're constantly getting better, and we've greatly improved the value.

隨著對 Innovel 的收購，我認為——可能在過去——本季度的 100 萬滴，大約是 400 萬滴，我相信其中大約 70%——超過 400 萬滴，其中大約 70% 是我們自己的。我們縮短了交貨時間。我們剛剛引入了一些類別，例如您可以選擇的 2 小時窗口或 3 小時窗口，您可以選擇的 2 小時窗口。因此我們不斷進步，並且大大提高了價值。

And when you look at something a category like appliances, we're still a very low percentage of the industry. And the fact it was up 20-plus percent last month -- or last quarter is a function of some of the things we're doing in terms of shouting out how good of a deal it is and doing a better job of that. But we think we have an opportunity to continue to grow those categories, recognizing they're all meaningful categories but they're all small percentages of our total. That's one of the nice things about us that we have lots of different categories.

而當你觀察諸如家用電器之類的類別時，我們在整個行業中所佔的比例仍然很低。事實上，上個月或上個季度，該數字上漲了 20% 多，這得益於我們所做的一些事情，例如宣傳這是一筆多麼好的交易，並努力使之變得更好。但我們認為我們有機會繼續擴大這些類別，並認識到它們都是有意義的類別，但它們佔總數的百分比都很小。我們的優點之一就是我們擁有許多不同的類別。

Got it. Great. Well, thanks again, and best of luck, Richard.

知道了。偉大的。好吧，再次感謝你，祝你好運，理查德。

Next question comes from the line of Rupesh Parikh with Oppenheimer.

下一個問題來自奧本海默公司的 Rupesh Parikh。

Richard, I also want to offer my congratulations on your retirement. So just going back to the core-on-core margins. They're up, I think, 25 basis points this quarter. Just curious what drove that strong performance, if there's anything particular driving that?

理查德，我也想對你退休表示祝賀。因此，只需回到核心對核心的利潤率。我認為，本季它們上漲了 25 個基點。只是好奇是什麼推動瞭如此強勁的表現，有什麼特別的推動因素嗎？

Well, on the nonfood side, the biggest thing is -- well, not the -- a piece of it is comparing to last year where we had extra markdowns. I think -- we probably talked about it last time that nonfood was, a year ago, have been down year-over-year because of some of the supply chain challenges we had when such things were coming in late after the season in case some of the big-ticket items for overseas containers. So that was probably a chunk of it.

嗯，在非食品方面，最大的問題是——嗯，不是——與去年相比，我們有額外的降價。我想——我們上次可能討論過這個問題，一年前，非食品類商品的銷售額同比下降，原因是我們遇到了一些供應鏈挑戰，當這些商品在季末進入時，可能會影響到一些高價商品的海外集裝箱運輸。這可能就是其中的一部分。

On the fresh food side, I said it was down year-over-year a little. Fresh is competitive and we're being ever competitive on it as well. And -- but again, I don't view any of that as being terribly meaningful in terms of is that a big change that is coming. There's always something that's up a little bit and there's another thing that's down a little bit.

就新鮮食品方面而言，我認為其同比有所下降。生鮮市場競爭激烈，我們也將持續增強生鮮市場的競爭力。而且——但我再說一遍，我不認為這些對於即將到來的巨大變化來說具有什麼重大意義。總是有一些東西稍微上升，而另一件事稍微下降。

Great. And then maybe just one follow-up question. On the expense side, you guys did have better expense controls this quarter. So just curious what changed sequentially because the growth rate did decelerate by a few percentage points.

偉大的。然後可能只有一個後續問題。在費用方面，本季你們的費用控制確實更好了。所以只是好奇發生了什麼連續變化，因為成長率確實下降了幾個百分點。

I can't think off the top of my head other than -- actually, someone across the table just said the word focus. At our budget meetings, which happen every 4 weeks with 150-plus people in town from all over the world, those are the kind of things we look at. And I think the operators are doing a better job of budgeting. And one of the things, I think, that came out at the last budget meeting in terms of budgeting, if you budget sales a little higher and they came in 1% lower, you got to control your labor costs. And so a lot of it has to do with focus and being meaningful to that. We certainly don't try to control expenses by not doing a wage increase when we think we need to. And we certainly have done that.

我腦子裡除了——實際上，桌子對面的某個人剛剛說了“焦點”這個詞之外什麼也想不起來。我們每四周召開一次預算會議，來自世界各地的 150 多人齊聚一堂，討論的就是這些事情。我認為運營商在預算方面做得更好了。我認為，在上次預算會議上，就預算而言，提出的一項建議是，如果你將銷售額預算提高一點，而實際銷售額卻下降了 1%，那麼你就必須控制勞動成本。所以很多事情都跟專注和意義有關。當我們認為需要增加工資時，我們當然不會透過不增加工資來控制開支。我們確實這樣做了。

Our next question comes from the line of Scott Mushkin with R5 Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 R5 Capital 的 Scott Mushkin。

Richard, I feel like we should be like raising your jersey to the rafters like superstars retiring here. Never came without you, to tell you the truth. So congratulations.

理查德，我覺得我們應該像在這裡退休的超級明星一樣，將你的球衣升到屋頂上。說實話，我從來沒有在沒有你的情況下來過。恭喜你。

Thank you.

謝謝。

So we'll have to see the CFO Hall of Fame. So a couple of things, some of your comments that you made. You're doing this delivery in 1 hour in China, I think you said going from 1 club to 3. Is that something you envision that can expand outside of China? And how should we think about that maybe even vis-à-vis the U.S.?

因此我們必須去看看財務長名人堂。所以有幾件事，是你提出的一些評論。您在中國用 1 小時就完成了送貨，我記得您說過要從 1 家店擴展到 3 家店。那我們該如何看待這個問題，甚至是相對於美國呢？

Well, in a way, we're doing same-day here with a few people, most notably Instacart and a little bit was shipped down in the Southeast. And I think we've got a test in Texas with Uber. But at the end of the day, we have that same-day delivery already as function. Over there, it is a third party that's doing it, like Instacart or these other ventures here. So it's just, it's new. It's not something that's new to the warehouse club industry in China. You could look elsewhere and find it too, but it's certainly something that makes sense. And again, in part because the social media, there's been a lot of publicity in just, I mean from the day it launched 3 days ago, it's gone nuts in terms of how many page hits it's getting and all that stuff. But it's just part of the business.

嗯，從某種意義上說，我們在這裡與一些公司合作進行當日送達服務，最著名的是 Instacart，還有一小部分是從東南部運送的。我認為我們已經在德克薩斯州對 Uber 進行了測試。但最終，我們已經實現了當日送達的功能。在那裡，是由第三方在做這件事，例如 Instacart 或這裡的其他企業。所以它只是新的。這對中國的倉儲俱樂部產業來說並非什麼新鮮事。您也可以在其他地方找到它，但它肯定是有意義的。再一次，部分原因是社群媒體，僅僅在三天前推出就得到了大量的宣傳，它的頁面點擊量等等都達到了瘋狂的程度。但這只是業務的一部分。

Got it. And then we talked about this over the years, and I think you said you're going to do 28 net new clubs this year. What's the capacity of the organization? Where do you see -- do you envision that going to 35 and 40? Like how should we think of it as we move out 3 to 5 years? Is it something that's going to trend up?

知道了。然後我們這些年來一直在談論這個問題，我想你說過今年要新增 28 個俱樂部。該組織的能力如何？您認為——您是否預計這個數字會達到 35 和 40？例如，我們在 3 到 5 年後該如何看待它？這是會呈現上升趨勢的事物嗎？

I think -- who knows? But I think generally, it probably trends up a little. There's a few years there, excluding the year that when COVID hit, that we only did like 13 because there were shutdowns in certain countries of construction and as well as the U.S. But if you look back, excluding that year over a 3- or 5-year period, plus or minus a couple of years there, it was about 23 a unit -- without looking at numbers, about 23 units a year. At the time, you said, what do you see over the next 10 years? What we saw collectively was somewhere in the -- hopefully targeting, let's say, 25 for the next 5 years per year and then going up to 25 to somewhere in the high 20s and if not, 30. I think that's generally the sense that we feel.

我認為──誰知道呢？但我認為總體來說，它可能呈現略微上升趨勢。有幾年，除了新冠疫情爆發的那一年，我們只做了 13 個單位，因為某些國家的建築業以及美國都停工了。當時您說，您對未來 10 年有什麼看法？我們總體上希望在未來 5 年內每年實現 25 個目標，然後上升到 25 個，或 20 個出頭，如果不是，那就 30 個。

Could we do more? Yes. Are we comfortable doing it this way? Yes. I think part of that is such a hands-on business. I get to say that from sitting here in headquarters most of the time, not traveling like my colleagues do in operations, but Ron is a great example. I mean he and several regional executives and operations, if there's an opening somewhere, or not an opening, they're out visiting usually at least 2, if not, 3 weeks a month around for 3 or 4 days, jumping around, visiting locations, not only existing locations but new sites.

我們還能做得更多嗎？是的。我們這樣做舒服嗎？是的。我認為這其中的一部分就是實踐性很強的業務。我可以這麼說，因為我大部分時間都坐在總部，不像我的同事那樣在營運部門出差，但羅恩就是一個很好的例子。我的意思是，他和幾位地區高管及營運人員，如果某個地方有空缺，或者沒有空缺，他們通常每月至少出去走訪 2 週，如果沒有，則 3 週，每次 3 到 4 天，到處走訪，不僅訪問現有地點，還訪問新地點。

And so I think from a standpoint -- and the other thing is, particularly in newer countries, you want to get the first one opened, so you can train 50 or 80 people that want to move to the next location in that city that will help that one go. And we were very fortunate a few years back in the first Shanghai, in Minhang, in China, where we had a number of employees from Taiwan that wanted to move and be promoted into new locations, new jobs over there. So that helps us when we have 1 then 2 then 4 then whatever.

因此我認為從某個角度來看——另一件事是，特別是在較新的國家，你希望開設第一家店，這樣你就可以培訓 50 或 80 名想要搬到該城市下一個地點的人，以幫助開設第一家店。幾年前，我們非常幸運，在第一個上海閔行區，我們有許多來自台灣的員工，他們希望調動到那裡的新地方，從事新的工作。因此，當我們有 1，然後是 2，然後是 4，然後是其他數字時，這會對我們有所幫助。

So we take it slow. All I know is we're all very busy and particularly the operators and merchants as well. And so that's kind of the paradigm, I think, that we're going to continue to work at something in the 25 range and then heading up. Just a month -- just a quarter ago, I think our budget for this year was 32 and now -- or 31, now it's 28. And that's simply timing. There's 2 or 3 that pushed that for whatever construction delays or you found something, there's oil delays or whatever it might be, you might have moved from mid- to late summer to early fall, which is the new fiscal year. So I'm feeling pretty good that we're going to open 25-plus for the next couple of years and then probably 28-plus and go on from there.

因此我們慢慢來。我只知道我們都很忙，特別是電信商和商家。所以，我認為這是一種範例，我們將繼續努力，在 25 的範圍內實現某個目標，然後逐步提高。就在一個月前——就在一個季度前，我想我們今年的預算是 32，而現在——或者說 31，現在是 28。有 2 或 3 個因素推動了這一進程，無論出現什麼施工延誤，或者你發現了什麼問題，例如石油延誤或其他什麼原因，你可能已經從夏季中後期轉移到了初秋，也就是新的財政年度。因此，我感覺非常好，我們將在未來幾年開設 25 家以上門市，然後可能開設 28 家以上門市，並以此為基礎繼續發展。

Next question comes from the line of Greg Melich with Evercore ISI.

下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Greg Melich。

Richard, you mentioned the word surreal, the feeling of retiring. I'd say it's almost as surreal, the $4.99 chicken. So thank you for all the help over the years. I would say -- I guess 2 things I want to touch on. One is ticket pressure. It looks like just in the most recent sales, with traffic growing more and more that you're seeing some AUR pressure. Is that 0% inflation turning to deflation as the merchants are seeing into March and April?

理查德，你提到了超現實這個詞，退休的感覺。我想說這隻售價 4.99 美元的雞肉幾乎同樣令人難以置信。所以感謝您多年來的幫助。我想說——我想談兩件事。一是票務壓力。看起來就像在最近的銷售中，隨著流量越來越增長，您會看到一些 AUR 壓力。正如商家所看到的，3 月和 4 月，0% 的通膨是否會轉變為通貨緊縮？

Well, I think that if the -- again, the inflation number is a calculation based on costs and mix. I think it's probably -- I would look too closely if the average ticket was up a couple -- a few tenths in the quarter, and then it was down 1% -- down in February by a tenth. And that's still relatively close. Some of it is a mix change, I'm sure. And some of it is some of the examples I gave you about lower pricing. Even if the underlying cost hasn't changed, some of it may be in terms of how we package and we take advantage of that. And that's on the sales side and not on -- not the exact costs from yesterday.

嗯，我認為，如果——再說一次，通貨膨脹數字是基於成本和組合計算的。我認為，如果平均票價在本季度上漲了百分之幾，然後在二月下降了十分之一，那麼我就會仔細觀察。這仍然比較接近。我確信其中一些是混合變化。其中有些就是我給你的一些關於降低定價的例子。即使基礎成本沒有改變，部分成本可能與我們如何包裝以及我們利用這一點有關。這是銷售方面的數據，不是昨天的具體成本。

So looking ahead, that number, flat, looks pretty good from what the merchants are seeing today?

那麼展望未來，從商家今天看到的情況來看，這個持平的數字看起來相當不錯？

Yes. I think when I went to the last budget meeting 2 weeks ago, I think there's -- in the presentations, there's a lot of -- I used the phrase a few minutes ago, upscaling. I think that phrase buying with conviction. I mean I think the buyers are looking ahead right now in an offensive way and a positive way. Hopefully, we'll be right. But we feel, so far, we're being right.

是的。我想，當我在兩週前參加上次預算會議時，我認為——在簡報中，有很多——幾分鐘前我用過這個短語，升級。我認為「放心購買」這句話。我的意思是，我認為買家現在正以一種進攻性和積極性的方式展望未來。希望我們是對的。但我們覺得，到目前為止，我們是對的。

I wanted to follow up with my second question on the Instacart side of e-commerce penetration. What would e-commerce penetration be now in the U.S. if you included the Instacart delivery and the other deliveries?

我想繼續問第二個問題，關於 Instacart 在電子商務滲透方面的情況。如果包括 Instacart 配送和其他配送，現在美國的電子商務滲透率是多少？

Yes. Instacart's 1.5% to 2%, something below 2% but more than 1.5%, which is still on a $200 million retailer, is a lot. And we don't include that because that -- the in-store person comes in, buys it and checks out at the front end, so we don't include that. So you'd add -- depending on rounding, you'd add 1% to 2% to the top line number.

是的。 Instacart 的 1.5% 到 2%，略低於 2%，但高於 1.5%，對於一家價值 2 億美元的零售商來說，這個比例還是比較大的。我們不包括這個，因為店內人員進來，購買商品並在前端結帳，所以我們不包括這個。因此，您需要添加 — — 根據四捨五入，您需要在頂行數字上添加 1% 到 2%。

Well, thanks for everything, and enjoy retirement.

好吧，感謝一切，享受退休生活。

I hope to see you all.

我希望見到你們大家。

Next question comes from the line of Kelly Bania with BMO Capital.

下一個問題來自 BMO Capital 的 Kelly Bania。

Thanks, Richard. And I have to add my congratulations to you. It's been a pleasure. Just wanted to ask where Costco stands with retail media and advertising dollars. I think the last update I had was in the range of a few hundred million. Or just curious if you're willing to share with us where that stands today, what kind of growth that is experiencing and just the company's thought process on investing in that down the line.

謝謝，理查。我還要向你表示祝賀。我很榮幸。只是想問 Costco 在零售媒體和廣告費用方面的地位如何。我記得我上次的更新次數是在幾億左右。或者只是好奇您是否願意與我們分享目前的情況，正在經歷什麼樣的成長，以及公司對未來投資的思考過程。

Well, without giving numbers out, we know there's an opportunity there more than we've done in the past. In the last 6 or 8 months, we brought on people that are seasoned in this business to help us. And it's a point of focus. We know that there's money out there. We've always been very successful in other forms of vendor buckets, whether it's end caps or advertising in our own Costco connection, and of course, over the last several years, some advertising online or banners or placement.

好吧，無需給出數字，我們知道那裡比過去有更多的機會。在過去的 6 到 8 個月裡，我們聘請了在該行業經驗豐富的人才來幫助我們。這是一個焦點。我們知道那裡有錢。我們在其他形式的供應商桶方面一直非常成功，無論是端蓋還是我們自己的 Costco 連接中的廣告，當然，在過去幾年中，也有一些在線廣告或橫幅或展示位置。

But there's a lot more that can be done there. Rest assured, whatever it is, we're going to use it to -- just like when we always said, if we can save $1 on buying something, we're going to give $0.80 or $0.90 to the customer. I think that mantra will continue on this side as well. But there's certainly ability for more dollars out there. Some of our big retail competitors have talked about doubling in 5 or 6 years what they have. I think, again, it's a lower market share for us, so there's a little more opportunity for us to continue to grow that.

但還有很多事情可以做。請放心，無論是什麼，我們都會用它來——就像我們常說的，如果我們在購買某件東西時可以節省 1 美元，我們就會給客戶 0.80 美元或 0.90 美元。我想這個咒語在我們這邊也會繼續延續。但肯定還有更多的資金可用。我們的一些大型零售競爭對手曾表示要在五、六年內將現有規模翻倍。我認為，我們的市場佔有率較低，因此我們還有更多機會繼續成長。

And maybe just -- can I just follow up with the decision to roll out Apple Pay? Costco is pretty notorious for being strict on the payment method you could use. So just maybe the thought process on that, what you expect that to do for your e-commerce business and any economics you can share?

也許只是——我可以跟進推出 Apple Pay 的決定嗎？好市多 (Costco) 對付款方式的要求非常嚴格，這一點是出了名的。那麼，您對此的思考過程是什麼？

Yes. There's not -- on e-comm, there's not as many stored cards for our members. And as we're doing more with a digital wallet, that will help as well. So it's something that -- it should help.

是的。在電子商務上，我們的會員儲存的卡片並不多。而且隨著我們越來越多地使用數位錢包，這也會有所幫助。所以它應該會有所幫助。

Next question comes from the line of Oliver Chen with TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Oliver Chen。

This is Katy on for Oliver, and of course, best wishes to you in your retirement. Just wanted to talk a little bit about the Kirkland price gap versus national brands. I know you touched on the Kirkland brand a little bit earlier on the call. But how has that price gap changed, especially year-over-year? And how -- has there been any impact to unit elasticity, given that price discrepancy?

我是凱蒂 (Katy)，代表奧利佛 (Oliver) 向您致意，當然，也祝您退休後一切順利。只是想談談 Kirkland 與國家品牌之間的價格差距。我知道您在早些時候的電話會議中談到了 Kirkland 品牌。但價格差距發生了怎樣的變化，特別是與去年同期相比？考慮到價格差異，這對單位彈性有何影響？

Well, we definitely have seen an impact from it. I mean, historically, the view was it has to be at least as good, if not better, quality than the leading national brand and at least a 20% savings as compared to what we sell the national brand for. And that -- those metrics continue in that regard. I think what we've seen when we look at some of the items that have risen greatly in price like paper products, on a percentage basis over the last several years because of freight costs, because of pulp prices, because of energy, all those things have dramatically increased.

嗯，我們確實看到了它的影響。我的意思是，從歷史上看，人們的觀點是，它的品質至少要與領先的全國性品牌一樣好，甚至更好，而且與我們銷售的全國性品牌相比，至少要節省 20%。而且 — — 這些指標在這方面持續延續。我認為，我們看到，當我們看到一些價格大幅上漲的商品，例如紙製品，按百分比計算，過去幾年裡，由於運費、紙漿價格、能源等原因，所有這些商品的價格都大幅上漲。

And what used to be -- I don't know the exact numbers, but for an 18-pack of -- a 24-pack of toilet tissue or a 15-pack or 18-pack of paper towels, you've got price points in the high 20s, if not low to mid-30s. And where we can show a dramatic savings on that, we've seen dramatic changes in unit market share towards Costco -- towards Kirkland Signature. But that's something that's been an iterative process over many years. Probably goes up and down a little bit. I'd say it's gone up a little bit in terms of a little more of a penetration in the last couple of years.

而以前的——我不知道具體的數字，但一包 18 片裝的衛生紙，或者一包 24 片裝的衛生紙，或者一包 15 片裝或 18 片裝的紙巾，價格都在 20 多美元，甚至 30 多美元。我們可以顯示出顯著的節省，我們看到單位市場份額向 Costco 和 Kirkland Signature 發生了顯著變化。但這是一個多年來不斷反覆的過程。可能會稍微上下波動。我想說，過去幾年，它的滲透率上升。

Great. And then just a follow-up on the store discussion and unit growth. Can you just provide a little bit of color on how the international store openings are performing just from a productivity angle? How is that versus the more tenured stores as well as the domestic stores?

偉大的。然後只是對商店討論和單位增長的後續討論。您能否從生產力角度簡單介紹一下國際門市開幕的情況？與歷史較長的商店以及國內商店相比，情況如何？

I don't think there's a big difference. In new markets, it's always a little slower. So like when we opened originally in Iceland or Sweden or Auckland or some of those are -- or France several years ago. You're always going to start -- or frankly, Japan 20 years ago, you tend to start out lower. In some cases, it's also a question -- some local vendors may not want to -- local country vendors may not want to sell you because they want to upset all the big traditional that have all the market share before we enter.

我認為沒有什麼大的差別。在新市場中，速度總是會慢一些。就像我們幾年前在冰島、瑞典、奧克蘭或法國開設新店一樣。你總是要從低處開始——或者坦白地說，20 年前的日本，你往往從較低的位置開始。在某些情況下，這也是一個問題——一些當地供應商可能不想——當地鄉村供應商可能不想賣給你，因為他們想打亂在我們進入之前佔據所有市場份額的所有傳統大廠商。

And once we get 2 or 3 open, they talk to you a little more. And so I think all those things help us as we grow. Certainly, it's changed a little bit in the last few years. China being the most recent example, when we opened the first one in Minhang, in Shanghai, what, about 4 years ago, it made international news based on just the sheer number of members who signed up and everything. So we have a lot faster start, I think. Each year, we have a lot faster start than the year before. And so I don't see a big difference there.

一旦我們有 2 或 3 個機會，他們就會和你多聊聊。所以我認為所有這些都有助於我們的成長。當然，最近幾年情況有所改變。以中國為例，大約四年前，當我們在上海閔行開設第一家分會時，僅憑報名的會員數量就成為了國際新聞。所以我認為我們的起步會快很多。每年，我們的起步都比前一年快很多。因此我認為兩者之間沒什麼大區別。

We certainly -- if you look in the U.S., I mean, I think one thing that's interesting is this fiscal year, we're going to open, whatever, 28 units. And I think of the 28, 20-plus are in the U.S., which is -- some people have asked, has it slowed down internationally? No, international takes a little longer to do. But what's interesting is we have a lot more runway than we ever thought possible. If you had asked us 5 years ago, by now, how many would we be putting in this year in the U.S., we would not have said 20-plus. It's got to slow down at some point. But the volumes that we're now doing in these locations, we've got to bleed some of that off. And so that's one good point. And then we still got plenty of going on overseas. And you'll see that continue to ramp up as well.

當然——如果你看看美國，我的意思是，我認為有趣的一件事是，這個財政年度，我們將開設 28 家分店。我認為這 28 個病例中有 20 多個在美國，有人問，國際上這種成長是否已經放緩？不，國際業務需要更長的時間。但有趣的是，我們擁有的跑道比我們想像的要多得多。如果五年前你問我們，到目前為止，今年我們會在美國投入多少，我們不會說20多個。到了某個時候它必須慢下來。但就目前我們在這些地方的工作量而言，我們必須減少一些。這是一個很好的觀點。我們在海外還有很多事情要做。而且您還將看到這一趨勢持續上升。

Next question comes from the line of Scot Ciccarelli with Truist.

下一個問題來自 Truist 的 Scot Ciccarelli。

It seems like you guys have done some things to cut down on membership sharing, food court usage from nonmembers, et cetera. Richard, are you seeing something in the business that gives you concern that there's a growing issue from things like membership sharing?

看來你們已經做了一些事情來減少會員資格共享、非會員使用美食廣場等等。理查德，你在業務中是否發現一些讓你擔心的問題，例如會員共享問題越來越嚴重？

No. I think part of it is -- first of all, I think the storyline sometimes is a little greater than the reality. During COVID, we did a little bit more -- there was a little bit more membership sharing. You had individuals where one family member, maybe not the one that had one of the 2 memberships, was coming into shop with mom or dad's credit card, and we allowed it. And then with the advent of self-checkout over the last several years, when you walk in the front door and you just flash your card and do they look at it or not, who knows? People would get in. And if you're going through self-checkout, you're not having to show your membership card to the cashier. And so there's probably an increasing but still small level of abuse of that privilege. And -- but we also had complaints from members saying, "I pay. Why shouldn't they?" So the view was we needed to just shore that up a little bit, and we did. We did it over a period of 6 months, I think about 6 months where we -- first, there was warnings and then ultimately changed. Are we getting some new sign-ups from it? Absolutely. But it's -- relative to the 60 million or 70 million members, it's not terribly meaningful, but it's more fair and the right thing to do.

不，我認為部分原因是——首先，我認為故事情節有時比現實更誇張。在疫情期間，我們做了更多的事情——會員共享更多了。有些人的家庭成員（可能不是擁有兩個會員資格之一的家庭成員）帶著媽媽或爸爸的信用卡進入商店，我們允許這樣做。隨著過去幾年自助結帳技術的出現，當你走進前門時，你只要出示你的卡，他們會看還是不看，誰知道呢？人們會進來。因此，濫用這項特權的情況可能正在增加，但程度仍然較小。但是，我們也收到一些會員的抱怨，他們說：“我付錢，他們為什麼不付錢？”因此，我們的觀點是，我們需要稍微鞏固這一點，我們也確實這麼做了。我們花了 6 個月的時間來完成這項工作，我想大概 6 個月的時間裡，我們先發出警告，然後最終做出改變。我們能從中獲得一些新註冊嗎？絕對地。但相對於 6,000 萬或 7,000 萬會員來說，這雖然意義不大，但卻更加公平，是正確的做法。

Yes. I mean that was actually -- you started to answer it. So like you've seen some acceleration in membership. Should we kind of expect to see that in the future, like what we've seen with Netflix, for example, as they cut down member sharing?

是的。我的意思是那實際上是——你開始回答它了。所以你已經看到會員數量增加。我們是否應該期待在未來看到這種情況，就像 Netflix 一樣，因為他們減少了會員共享？

Right. Well, it seems like Netflix had a much bigger issue or the ability to share was much easier because, first of all, it's electronic. In this sense, you still have to show a card when you walked in. And we're actually doing testing on that, too, in terms of having your card be scanned and reviewed when you walk in. And we've done that in the U.K., I believe, for a few years. And so it's all about just -- I would say it's as much hygiene as anything else. And it will be slightly profitable to the extent that we're making sure everybody -- I think we signed up more members than were nonmembers than lost the small sales that, that nonmember did.

正確的。嗯，看起來 Netflix 的問題更大，或者說分享的能力更容易，因為首先它是電子的。從這個意義上講，你走進去時仍然需要出示一張卡。所以這一切都只是——我想說這和其他事情一樣，都與衛生有關。如果我們確保每個人都能獲得輕微的利潤——我認為我們簽約的會員數量比非會員數量要多，而不是非會員所損失的少量銷售額。

Makes sense. Thanks again, and enjoy the next stage.

有道理。再次感謝，享受下一階段。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Next question comes from the line of John Heinbockel with Guggenheim Securities.

下一個問題來自古根漢證券公司的 John Heinbockel。

Congratulations, Richard. Enjoy your retirement. You'll be missed. So I wonder when you think about -- you don't have many pain points in your clubs. But when you think about kind of throughput and things like, I know you tested BOPUS and costs really didn't make sense there, things like that and/or Scan and Go. Do you think there are some unlocks here to do more volume and/or reduce any pain points?

恭喜你，理查德。享受你的退休生活。我們會想念你的。所以我想知道當你想到——你的俱樂部裡沒有很多痛點。但是當您考慮吞吐量等因素時，我知道您測試過 BOPUS，但成本確實沒有意義，諸如此類的事情和/或 Scan and Go。您是否認為這裡有一些可以解鎖的功能，可以增加銷售量和/或減少任何痛點？

I think the biggest challenge with pain points, first of all, is flow of merchandise and pallets through the system, which we continue to work on and improve. Never -- if you announced this 10 years ago, will you ever have 150 of your 600 U.S. locations doing over $300 million and 40 of them doing over $400 million? The answer would be no, no way, even with inflation. The fact is we're doing a lot more volume than we've ever thought we would do.

我認為最大的挑戰和痛點首先是商品和托盤在系統中的流動，我們正在繼續努力並改進這一點。永遠不會——如果你 10 年前就宣布了這一點，你在美國 600 家門市中，會不會有 150 家門市的營業額超過 3 億美元，有 40 家門市的營業額超過 4 億美元？答案是否定的，不可能，即使有通貨膨脹。事實上，我們所做的工作量比我們曾經想像的要多得多。

And so the biggest answer of not only making it a little more efficient but driving more sales is cannibalizing. We find existing members that sometimes will say, "I don't want to go there. It's too busy today." And by opening up that third or fourth unit in that city, we're seeing not an increase by 1/3 or 1/4 of the membership base but a significant increase in sales. And I can't think of anything specifically. We're always doing things with -- oh, David mentioned something here. One of the things we're -- we should be doing shortly is having warehouse inventory online.

因此，最大的答案就是不僅要提高效率，還要推動更多的銷售。我們發現現有的成員有時會說：“我不想去那裡。今天太忙了。”透過在城市開設第三或第四家分店，我們看到的會員數量不僅增加了 1/3 或 1/4，而且銷售額也大幅增加。我實在想不出什麼特別的事。我們總是在做一些事情——哦，大衛在這裡提到了一些事情。我們很快就要做的事情之一就是將倉庫庫存放到網路上。

So when you go online to -- now I say that, a couple of people in the room are smiling and says, it may be a few months or a few -- more than a few months, but it will be soon. But at the end of the day, if you look at something to buy online and we have it in a location or 2 in the ZIP code where you typically shop -- in the location you would shop physically, we'll let you know you can buy there. And in many cases, it will be cheaper if you go pick it up yourself because the online costs might be higher -- is typically higher, particularly on the nonfood items. So I think that's something that will help that as well.

因此，當你上網時——現在我這麼說，房間裡的幾個人笑著說，這可能需要幾個月或幾個月——幾個月以上，但很快就會到來。但最終，如果您想在網上購買某件商品，而我們在您通常購物的郵遞區號區域內的一兩個地點有該商品——即您實體購物的地點，我們會告訴您可以在那裡購買。在很多情況下，你自己去取會更便宜，因為網路上的成本可能更高——通常更高，尤其是非食品類商品。所以我認為這也會有幫助。

And secondly, is there any way to tell, you think about e-mail outreach. I mean it seems to be getting better and more call to action. I think about the 7 days of spring, which you're in the middle of now. Is there any way to tell the productivity of that outreach? And is that driving some of the e-comm pickup?

其次，有沒有什麼方法可以告訴你，你有考慮過電子郵件推廣嗎？我的意思是它似乎變得越來越好並且更有號召力。我想到春天的七天，你現在正處於其中。有什麼方法可以判斷這次外展活動的生產力嗎？這是否會推動電子商務的回升？

Absolutely. And yes, there is a way to tell. We are looking at it. Again, without going into a lot of detail, a couple of years ago, we brought in a new person in charge from IT in terms of all digital. He's built a team there working closely with merchants and operators but mostly with merchants in terms of doing these types of things. And we've seen, again, lots of improvements with our app, with our desktop. It's getting less clunky by the day and more ability to do some items to drive sales and some promotions like that.

絕對地。是的，有一種方法可以告訴。我們正在觀察它。同樣，我們不必太詳細地闡述，幾年前，我們從 IT 部門引進了一位新負責人，負責所有數位事務。他在那裡建立了一個團隊，與商家和營運商密切合作，但主要是與商家一起做這類事情。我們再次看到我們的應用程式和桌面有了很大的改進。它變得越來越不笨重，並且越來越能夠做一些事情來推動銷售和類似的促銷。

Our next question comes from the line of Chris Horvers with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Chris Horvers。

We'll miss you, Richard, and welcome aboard, Gary. So on the MFI, did you mention how much the FX impacted total MFI growth year-over-year? And more broadly, it seems like it's becoming more competitive to acquire customers in the club channel. Couponing amongst your peers has really accelerated over the past year. Is that what you've observed? And do you think it's still escalating? And how are you responding?

我們會想念你的，理查德，歡迎加入，加里。那麼關於 MFI，您是否提到外匯對 MFI 整體成長的年成長有多大影響？更廣泛地說，在俱樂部管道獲取客戶的競爭似乎變得更具競爭力。在過去的一年裡，同儕之間使用優惠券的現象確實顯著增加。這是你所觀察到的嗎？您認為事態還會繼續升級嗎？您如何回應？

I got to tell you, we -- in the last 12 months, we opened like 3% new locations, and we had a 7-plus percent increase in new members. So we're not trying -- we do have a few promotional things, but I would say we have not increased the types of things we do at all. And you're right. At other places, there's not a day that goes by you can't get a deep discount, much deeper than we've even ever done on an ongoing basis. And so no, we're not doing anything different. I mean are we pleasantly surprised by the rate of new sign-ups? Yes, it's nice to hear and have. And I think the fact that things like social media has helped us with the value proposition. And so no, we're not doing a lot of things in that regard.

我必須告訴你，在過去的 12 個月裡，我們開設了約 3% 的新店，新會員人數增加了 7% 以上。所以我們並沒有嘗試——我們確實做了一些促銷活動，但我想說我們根本沒有增加所做的事情的類型。你說得對。在其他地方，你每天都可以獲得大幅折扣，甚至比我們一直以來提供的折扣還要大得多。所以，我們沒有做任何不同的事情。我的意思是，新註冊用戶的數量是否讓我們感到驚訝？是的，很高興聽到這個消息。我認為像社群媒體這樣的事實幫助我們實現了價值主張。所以，我們在這方面沒有做很多事情。

And just from a technical question, one of your peers talks about 10-year renewal rate. The 93% that you quote, does that include like the year 1 renewal or in anyone that comes to the door on one of those digital coupons?

僅從技術問題來看，您的一位同事談到了 10 年續約率。您提到的 93% 是否包括第一年的續約，還是包括任何拿著數位優惠券上門的人？

Yes, it does. And we've been doing the same way forever.

是的。我們一直以來都是這麼做的。

Next question comes from the line of Robby Ohmes with Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Robby Ohmes。

Richard, my congrats as well. You will be missed very much. Listen, just a quick question. I love the credit card rewards program. It's amazing. It's like the best thing that's ever happened to me, the Citi card you guys do. Is there any issuer change with the late fees or anything going on that could change the rewards program or anything there?

理查德，我也向你表示祝賀。我們會非常想念你的。聽著，我只想問一個簡單的問題。我喜歡信用卡獎勵計劃。這太神奇了。你們的花旗卡是我一生中遇到的最好的事情。發行人是否會對滯納金做出任何改變或發生任何可能改變獎勵計劃或任何內容的事情？

Well, that's the new recent headline of that happening and we'll have to wait and see. Look, at the end of the day, it may change the economics. There are other levers that we've talked to them in the past, our issuing bank, about what we could do, but nothing is done at this point.

好吧，這是最近發生的新事件的頭條新聞，我們只能拭目以待。瞧，到最後它可能會改變經濟。我們過去曾與其他管道，也就是我們的發卡銀行，討論過我們可以做些什麼，但目前還沒有任何進展。

Got it. And congrats on your retirement.

知道了。恭喜您退休。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Next question comes from the line of Laura Champine with Loop Capital.

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

I wish you a long and happy retirement, Richard. It is -- I'm going to go out on a nitpick on the renewal rate. If renewal rate's flat overall but 10 bps better U.S. and Canada, that seems to imply it's not as good in international markets. Is that just some of the sampling that went on in China or what do you think might be driving that?

我祝福您退休生活幸福長存，理查德。是的——我要對續約率進行一番挑剔。如果續約率整體持平，但美國和加拿大的續約率高出 10 個基點，這似乎意味著國際市場表現不佳。這僅僅是在中國進行的一些採樣嗎？

Well, that's exactly what it is. When -- first of all, if you just take the total number of members divided by total number of warehouses, I think we're about close to 70,000 households per location. When we opened a unit in not only China but other countries in Asia, we'll have anywhere from 80,000 to 150,000 members that sign up, many of whom are lookie-loos and a year later don't renew. We will start in some new countries with -- once the first batch renew for the first time, you might have a renewal rate in the 50s or at best, low 60s. And then it just, over the next 4 or 5 years, it continues to grow to something that's higher than that. Not -- that's more extreme than we saw 30 years ago in the U.S. and Canada. But nonetheless, that's exactly what you see. So when you -- just opening the 1 unit in Shenzhen or whatever we opened 1.5 years ago in China, that's going to affect the international renewal rate.

嗯，事實確實如此。首先，如果你將會員總數除以倉庫總數，我認為每個地點大約有 70,000 個家庭。當我們在中國和其他亞洲國家開設分會時，我們會有 8 萬到 15 萬名註冊會員，其中許多人都是臨時會員，一年後就不會再續約了。我們將從一些新的國家開始——一旦第一批客戶首次續約，續約率可能會達到 50%，或者最好是 60% 以下。然後，在接下來的 4 到 5 年裡，它將繼續增長到更高的水平。不是——這比我們 30 年前在美國和加拿大看到的情況更加極端。但無論如何，這正是你所看到的。因此，當您在深圳開設 1 家分店或我們 1.5 年前在中國開設的任何分店時，這將影響國際續約率。

When we look at all other countries, when we look at the 13 -- the 11 other operations outside of U.S. and Canada, that renewal rate generally ticks up a little bit every year like the U.S. and Canada. In U.S. and Canada, by the way, it's been helped also with increased penetration of Executive Members. We have that in several countries but not all countries. The smallest countries, we don't have it in a number of units, and also with auto-renewal, which has helped us in the last several years. And that's, I don't believe, everywhere.

當我們看所有其他國家時，當我們看到美國和加拿大以外的其他 13 個（11 個）業務時，更新率通常每年都會略有上升，就像美國和加拿大一樣。順便說一句，在美國和加拿大，它也有助於提高執行成員的滲透力。在某些國家我們也有這種情況，但並非所有國家都有。對於最小的國家，我們沒有以數字為單位的數據，而且還有自動更新功能，這在過去幾年裡對我們很有幫助。但我相信，這種情況並不存在於任何地方。

Got it. That's helpful. Once those clubs mature, the clubs in China, other clubs, new clubs in Asian markets, et cetera, do they tend to -- can you serve a higher number of households there? Meaning, would you expect them to be sustainably above that 70 or so households that you have in an average club?

知道了。這很有幫助。一旦這些俱樂部成熟，中國的俱樂部、其他俱樂部、亞洲市場的新俱樂部等等，它們是否傾向於——能否為那裡更多的家庭提供服務？意思是，您是否期望這些家庭的數量能夠持續高於普通俱樂部中約 70 個家庭的數量？

Well, the answer is it is and it does. So the answer is yes. I was at an opening -- I was at 2 months after opening in Osaka, Japan back in October. And on a Sunday, a random Sunday, I was not there on business, but a random Sunday, went over there, you couldn't move in the place. And it was great. It was a wonderful picture to see. So yes, I think that despite the fact that not everybody has cars and despite the fact that people have smaller housing arrangements, value plays well.

嗯，答案是肯定的，而且確實如此。所以答案是肯定的。去年 10 月，我參加了一場開幕典禮——開幕式結束兩個月後，我在日本大阪參加了開幕典禮。在一個星期天，一個隨機的星期天，我沒有去那裡出差，但是在一個隨機的星期天，我去了那裡，你無法在那個地方走動。這真是太棒了。這是一幅非常美妙的照片。所以是的，我認為儘管並非每個人都有汽車，儘管人們的住房規模較小，但價值仍然發揮著重要作用。

Our last question comes from the line of Corey Tarlowe with Jefferies.

我們的最後一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Corey Tarlowe。

Congratulations on your retirement. As it relates to big-ticket discretionary items, it seems like that category has improved a little bit. Just wanted to get a little bit of understanding as to what you've seen the underlying that improvement in trends? And then secondarily, on AI, just curious with the recent technology enhancements that the business has made, how you see that impacting the business on a go-forward basis.

恭喜您退休。就高價位的非必需品而言，該類別的情況似乎有所改善。只是想稍微了解一下您所看到的趨勢改善的根本原因是什麼？其次，關於人工智慧，我很好奇最近公司在技術方面的進步，您認為這些進步將如何影響未來的業務。

Sure. Well, in terms of big-ticket discretionary, I think we completely believe that it's some of the things we're doing on our side to better explain the value. I mean it was almost like you did that and sales skyrocketed. 20% and 30% increases in some of those big-ticket categories just over the last couple of months, even if a piece of it is a year-over-year comparison, which I don't even know if it is or it isn't, at the end of the day, it was very evident to us.

當然。嗯，就大額可自由支配的開支而言，我認為我們完全相信我們正在採取的一些措施是為了更好地解釋其價值。我的意思是，這幾乎就像你那樣做了，銷量就猛漲了。僅在過去幾個月裡，一些高價位類別的商品就增長了 20％ 和 30％，即使其中一部分是與去年同期相比，我什至不知道是不是這樣，但最終，這對我們來說是非常明顯的。

And then the other comment I mentioned, particularly like in appliances, we're still a very, very small percentage of the total industry. And so it's easier to take market share when you're such a small percent of something so I think that will continue. As regards to AI, we're just in the early innings of that. We've had third-party AI companies, large companies, including ones that are headquartered in Seattle, come out and talk to us. There's a whole list of things that we're doing with -- working with IT and our CEO and our heads of operations and merchandising to see where and how it might fit. But that will be a question for Gary in the future.

然後我提到的另一條評論，特別是在家用電器領域，我們在整個行業中仍然只佔非常非常小的比例。所以當你只佔有很小的份額時，你就更容易搶佔市場份額，所以我認為這種情況會持續下去。就人工智慧而言，我們才剛剛處於早期階段。我們已經有第三方人工智慧公司、大型公司，包括總部位於西雅圖的公司出來與我們交談。我們正在做的一系列事情——與 IT 部門、我們的 CEO 以及我們的營運和銷售主管合作，以確定它適合哪裡以及如何適合。但這將是加里將來要面對的問題。

Well, thank you, everyone. Again, it's been fun. The thing I'll miss most about the job is talking to everybody because I like talking, and it's been a great story to tell but it's been an absolute privilege. And I appreciate it. So have a good day, and I'm sure we'll be speaking to some of you shortly over the next few days with additional questions. Have a good day.

好吧，謝謝大家。再說一次，這很有趣。我最懷念這份工作的事情就是和每個人交談，因為我喜歡交談，這是一個很棒的故事，但這絕對是一種榮幸。我對此表示感謝。祝大家有美好的一天，我相信我們將在接下來的幾天內與你們中的一些人討論更多問題。祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

女士們，先生們。今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。