卡洛馳 (CROX) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Crocs, Inc. Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎來到 Crocs, Inc. 2022 年第四季度和全年收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意正在記錄此事件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Cori Lin, Vice President, Corporate Finance. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給公司財務副總裁 Cori Lin。請繼續。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for the Crocs Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Call. Earlier this morning, we announced our latest quarterly and annual results, and a copy of the press release may be found on our website at crocs.com.

大家早上好，感謝您今天加入我們參加 Crocs 第四季度和 2022 年全年收益電話會議。今天早上早些時候，我們公佈了最新的季度和年度業績，新聞稿的副本可在我們的網站 crocs.com 上找到。

We would like to remind you that some of the information provided on this call is forward-looking and accordingly, is subject to the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the acquisition of HEYDUDE and the benefits thereof, Crocs' strategy, plans, objectives, expectations, financial or otherwise and intentions, future financial results and growth potential, anticipated product portfolio, our ability to create and deliver shareholder value and statements regarding potential impacts to our business related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

我們想提醒您，本次電話會議中提供的一些信息是前瞻性的，因此受聯邦證券法安全港條款的約束。這些陳述包括但不限於關於收購 HEYDUDE 及其收益的陳述、Crocs 的戰略、計劃、目標、期望、財務或其他方面和意圖、未來財務業績和增長潛力、預期的產品組合、我們的能力創造和傳遞股東價值和關於 COVID-19 大流行對我們業務的潛在影響的聲明。這些陳述涉及已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素，這些因素可能導致我們的實際結果、業績或成就與前瞻性陳述明示或暗示的任何未來結果、業績或成就存在重大差異。

Crocs is not obligated to update these forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of future events, except as required by applicable law. We caution you that all forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors section of our annual report on Form 10-K and our subsequent filings with the SEC. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially from those described on this call. Please refer to the Crocs annual report on Form 10-K as well as other documents filed with the SEC for more information relating to these risk factors.

Crocs 沒有義務更新這些前瞻性陳述以反映未來事件的影響，適用法律要求的除外。我們提醒您，所有前瞻性陳述都受到我們 10-K 表格年度報告的風險因素部分以及我們隨後向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中描述的風險和不確定性的影響。因此，實際結果可能與本次電話會議中描述的結果存在重大差異。有關這些風險因素的更多信息，請參閱 10-K 表格中的 Crocs 年度報告以及向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件。

Adjusted gross profit, adjusted gross margin, adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses, adjusted income from operations and operating margin, adjusted income tax benefit and effective tax rate, adjusted basic and diluted earnings per common share are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of these amounts to their GAAP counterparts is contained in the press release we issued earlier this morning.

調整後的毛利、調整後的毛利率、調整後的銷售、一般和管理費用、調整後的營業收入和營業利潤率、調整後的所得稅收益和有效稅率、調整後的基本和稀釋後每股普通股收益都是非公認會計原則衡量指標。這些金額與其 GAAP 對應金額的對賬包含在我們今天上午早些時候發布的新聞稿中。

Joining us on the call today are Andrew Rees, Chief Executive Officer; and Anne Mehlman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Following their prepared remarks, we will open the call for your questions.

今天與我們一起參加電話會議的還有首席執行官 Andrew Rees；執行副總裁兼首席財務官 Anne Mehlman。在他們準備好的發言之後，我們將開始徵集您的問題。

At this time, I'll turn the call over to Andrew.

這時候，我會把電話轉給安德魯。

Thank you, Cori, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，Cori，大家早上好。

As you saw in our press release issued this morning, we delivered extraordinary 2022 results, including record $3.5 billion in sales and industry-leading adjusted operating margins of 27.7%. These results underscore the high consumer demand globally for the Crocs brand, the growing momentum of the HEYDUDE brand and our ability to consistently deliver strong profitability while investing for the future. Looking forward to 2023, we expect another year of robust revenue growth, top-tier margins and significant cash flow generation.

正如您在今天上午發布的新聞稿中看到的那樣，我們在 2022 年取得了非凡的業績，包括創紀錄的 35 億美元銷售額和行業領先的調整後營業利潤率 27.7%。這些結果凸顯了全球消費者對 Crocs 品牌的高需求、HEYDUDE 品牌的增長勢頭以及我們在為未來投資的同時持續提供強勁盈利能力的能力。展望 2023 年，我們預計又是收入強勁增長、利潤率最高和產生大量現金流的一年。

Now let me share a few highlights from the full year of 2022. Total revenues grew 54% as we added a second fast-growing brand, HEYDUDE. Crocs brand revenues were $2.7 billion, increasing 19% on a constant currency basis. Crocs brand International growth was exceptional at 47% constant currency for 2022 and accelerating to 75% constant currency growth for Q4 in both Asia and EMEALA. HEYDUDE brand revenues exceeded initial expectations and reached nearly $1 billion on a pro forma basis and delivered over $275 million in adjusted operating income.

現在讓我分享 2022 年全年的一些亮點。隨著我們增加了第二個快速增長的品牌 HEYDUDE，總收入增長了 54%。 Crocs 品牌收入為 27 億美元，按固定匯率計算增長 19%。 Crocs 品牌國際增長非常出色，2022 年的固定匯率為 47%，第四季度在亞洲和歐洲、中東和非洲地區的固定匯率增長率加速至 75%。 HEYDUDE 品牌的收入超出了最初的預期，在預估基礎上達到近 10 億美元，調整後的營業收入超過 2.75 億美元。

Consolidated digital revenues grew 58% to represent 37.8% of 2022 revenues, exceptional adjusted gross margins of 54% even with significant freight and inflationary pressures. Adjusted income from operations increased 42% to nearly $1 billion and adjusted operating margins of nearly 28%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 31% to $10.92. And strong cash flow allowed us to reduce gross leverage from 3.1x upon the acquisition of HEYDUDE to 2.25x at year-end.

綜合數字收入增長了 58%，佔 2022 年收入的 37.8%，即使在巨大的運費和通脹壓力下，調整後的毛利率也高達 54%。調整後的運營收入增長了 42%，達到近 10 億美元，調整後的運營利潤率接近 28%。調整後每股攤薄收益增長 31% 至 10.92 美元。強勁的現金流使我們能夠將毛槓桿率從收購 HEYDUDE 時的 3.1 倍降至年底的 2.25 倍。

As we transition to 2023, I want to give you additional insights into 3 of our long-term growth drivers for the Crocs brand: sandals, international and innovation in both, product and marketing as well as provide an update on HEYDUDE.

在我們過渡到 2023 年之際，我想就 Crocs 品牌的 3 個長期增長動力提供更多見解：涼鞋、國際化以及產品和營銷方面的創新，並提供 HEYDUDE 的最新動態。

Sandals, an important growth initiative for Crocs, allowing us to extend into the adjacent $30 billion global sandal category, where we believe our molded technologies, accessible price points, strong go-to-market will allow us to compete effectively in a relatively fragmented market. The category also provides an additional entry point to the Crocs brand for consumers who may not choose to engage with the clog. We know our sandals resonate with consumers since sandal consideration is now on par with that of clogs. And we already have a sizable $310 million Sandal business.

涼鞋，Crocs 的一項重要增長計劃，使我們能夠擴展到鄰近的價值 300 億美元的全球涼鞋類別，我們相信我們的模製技術、平易近人的價位和強大的上市能力將使我們能夠在相對分散的市場中有效競爭.該類別還為可能不選擇穿木底鞋的消費者提供了一個額外的 Crocs 品牌切入點。我們知道我們的涼鞋會引起消費者的共鳴，因為現在對涼鞋的考慮與對木底鞋的考慮不相上下。我們已經擁有價值 3.1 億美元的可觀涼鞋業務。

Within Sandals, we refined our focus on 4 subcategories: Everyday, Style, Street/Sport and Adventure. The Everyday category offers broad-reaching classics for everyone and includes our personalizable slides, 2 straps and flips. Our Style category is female-centric, trend-driven and includes styles such as the Brooklyn, Crush and Mega Crush. Our Street/Sport category is rooted in street style with a focus on him, but inclusive of her and includes our new Echo and Mellow franchises. Finally, our Adventure category has functional design for the whole family and includes our All-Terrain and Swiftwater franchises.

在涼鞋中，我們細化了對 4 個子類別的關注：日常、風格、街頭/運動和冒險。 Everyday 類別為每個人提供影響廣泛的經典產品，包括我們的個性化拖鞋、2 條肩帶和翻蓋。我們的風格類別以女性為中心，以趨勢為導向，包括 Brooklyn、Crush 和 Mega Crush 等風格。我們的街頭/運動類別植根於街頭風格，重點關注他，但也包括她，包括我們新的 Echo 和 Mellow 特許經營權。最後，我們的 Adventure 類別具有適合全家的功能設計，包括我們的 All-Terrain 和 Swiftwater 特許經營權。

2022 for the Crocs brand sandals was a year of 2 halves. In the first half, sandal revenues declined due to the lack of newness following the Vietnam factory shutdowns in 2021. In the second half of 2022, Sandals grew by 31% and as we introduced a strong cadence of newness such as the Crush, Mellow and Echo supported by effective sandal-specific marketing.

2022 年對於 Crocs 品牌涼鞋來說是兩個半年。上半年，由於 2021 年越南工廠關閉後缺乏新鮮感，涼鞋收入有所下降。2022 年下半年，涼鞋增長了 31%，因為我們引入了強勁的新鮮節奏，例如 Crush、Mellow 和有效的涼鞋特定營銷支持迴聲。

We're incredibly confident in Sandal growth in 2023, given planned newness and a significant increase in marketing allocated to sandals and the strong Crocs brand trajectory in important sandal markets such as India and Southeast Asia. With respect to newness in our Style category, we're planning additional height and new [uppers] in our popular Brooklyn franchise. In our Street/Sport category, we continue to use innovative technology in our Mellow franchise, and we'll launch a new flip during the year.

我們對涼鞋在 2023 年的增長充滿信心，因為計劃中的新穎性和分配給涼鞋的營銷顯著增加，以及 Crocs 品牌在印度和東南亞等重要涼鞋市場的強勁發展軌跡。關於我們 Style 類別的新穎性，我們計劃在我們廣受歡迎的布魯克林特許經營中增加高度和新 [uppers]。在我們的街頭/運動類別中，我們繼續在我們的 Mellow 特許經營中使用創新技術，並且我們將在年內推出新的翻轉。

With the new product introductions, marketing investments and regional brand momentum, we expect sandals to be our fastest-growing product category in 2023, reaching approximately $400 million in sales.

憑藉新產品的推出、營銷投資和區域品牌勢頭，我們預計涼鞋將成為 2023 年增長最快的產品類別，銷售額將達到約 4 億美元。

Moving to another important growth driver for the Crocs brand, our international markets. We have now seen 8 consecutive quarters of strong double-digit growth outside of North America. We anticipate even greater growth as a Crocs brand has approximately 1/3 of penetration internationally than it has here in the U.S. The drivers of this growth are in essence the same drivers of growth that we saw in the U.S. First, focusing on our iconic clog and driving relevance with innovation and collaborations. Second, leveraging Jibbitz for personalization and consumer engagement. Third, expanding our addressable market with sandals. And finally, always on social and digital marketing to continuously engage our existing and new consumers.

轉向 Crocs 品牌的另一個重要增長動力，即我們的國際市場。我們現在已經看到北美以外地區連續 8 個季度實現兩位數的強勁增長。我們預計會有更大的增長，因為 Crocs 品牌在國際上的滲透率大約是其在美國的滲透率的 1/3。這種增長的驅動力本質上與我們在美國看到的增長驅動力相同。首先，關注我們的標誌性木底鞋並通過創新和合作推動相關性。其次，利用 Jibbitz 實現個性化和消費者參與。第三，通過涼鞋擴大我們的目標市場。最後，始終通過社交和數字營銷不斷吸引我們現有的和新的消費者。

Our unique playbook for Crocs has been successful in the U.S. and across all of our key focus markets. In EMEALA, Western Europe grew revenues by 38% constant currency with the United Kingdom up 105% constant currency. In Asia, South Korea grew over 30% constant currency despite having an already high level of penetration. India grew 91% constant currency. Additionally, we see our global brand building activities having a halo in many of our distributor markets, resulting in triple-digit revenue growth in Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

我們獨特的 Crocs 策略在美國和我們所有的重點市場都取得了成功。在 EMEALA，西歐的收入增長了 38%（固定匯率），英國增長了 105%（固定匯率）。在亞洲，儘管滲透率已經很高，但韓國仍以固定匯率增長了 30% 以上。印度固定匯率增長了 91%。此外，我們看到我們的全球品牌建設活動在我們的許多分銷商市場上都有光環，導致拉丁美洲、中東和東南亞的收入實現三位數增長。

China has been a unique case. As you know, we completed the repositioning of our China business in 2021. Since then, China has been constrained by COVID lockdowns, yet we still invested in our team and in marketing to build brand relevance. We have seen green shoots in the second half of 2022. Revenues grew 35% constant currency. As China reopens and the consumer returns to more normalized shopping, we're excited about the prospect of building significant Crocs brand presence in 2023 and beyond. While still a smaller base than we would like, we expect China to grow approximately 30% in 2023.

中國是一個獨特的案例。如您所知，我們在 2021 年完成了中國業務的重新定位。從那時起，中國一直受到 COVID 封鎖的限制，但我們仍然投資於我們的團隊和營銷以建立品牌相關性。我們看到了 2022 年下半年的複蘇跡象。按固定匯率計算，收入增長了 35%。隨著中國重新開放以及消費者恢復更加正常的購物，我們對在 2023 年及以後建立重要的 Crocs 品牌影響力的前景感到興奮。雖然基數仍低於我們的預期，但我們預計中國在 2023 年將增長約 30%。

Products and marketing innovations is another important driver of the Crocs brand. Our marketing calendar is extremely robust as we look to put more Crocs on more consumers. In 2023, we expect to have record new product introductions, some of which I mentioned when discussing sandals. Product newness will be critical to our always-on brand drumbeat as well as a strong pipeline of more than 60 global brand partnerships across a healthy mix of celebrities, mega brands and licenses of which 25% will be regionally led.

產品和營銷創新是 Crocs 品牌的另一個重要驅動力。我們的營銷日曆非常強大，因為我們希望為更多消費者提供更多 Crocs。 2023 年，我們預計將推出創紀錄的新產品，其中一些我在討論涼鞋時提到過。產品新穎性對於我們始終如一的品牌鼓聲以及由 60 多個全球品牌合作夥伴組成的強大管道至關重要，這些合作夥伴涵蓋名人、大型品牌和許可的健康組合，其中 25% 將由區域主導。

We will invest in a record amount of marketing dollars over $200 million to drive the Crocs brand relevance, amplifying our products and engaging new and existing consumers. This will be achieved by maintaining our digitally led and social first approach to engage consumers through digital first drops, social innovation and brand ambassadors.

我們將投資超過 2 億美元的創紀錄營銷資金，以推動 Crocs 品牌的相關性，擴大我們的產品並吸引新老消費者。這將通過保持我們以數字為主導和社交第一的方法來實現，以通過數字第一滴、社會創新和品牌大使吸引消費者。

Turning now to HEYDUDE. Today represents our first full year of ownership, and we've accomplished a lot. The integration is on track, although there is still much work to be done. We've developed a clear plan for the brand, and the future is bright. With respect to recent accomplishments, there are many. We have updated the brand identity and clarified its purpose and meaning. We've expanded the line with several new icons to be trialed in 2023, staffed the entire leadership team and hired over 150 roles, stabilized and expanded the manufacturing footprint, developed a business systems road map, expanded distribution capabilities to handle the immediate throughput needs, turned over many international distributors and spent nearly $60 million of marketing in the second half alone, which on an annualized basis was almost 4x the amount spent in 2021.

現在轉向 HEYDUDE。今天是我們擁有所有權的第一個完整年，我們取得了很多成就。整合正在進行中，儘管仍有許多工作要做。我們已經為品牌制定了清晰的計劃，未來一片光明。關於最近的成就，有很多。我們更新了品牌標識並闡明了其目的和含義。我們已經擴大了生產線，增加了幾個將於 2023 年試用的新圖標，為整個領導團隊配備了人員並僱用了 150 多個職位，穩定並擴大了製造足跡，制定了業務系統路線圖，擴大了分銷能力以應對即時的吞吐量需求，僅在下半年就換來了許多國際分銷商並花費了近 6000 萬美元的營銷費用，按年率計算幾乎是 2021 年支出金額的 4 倍。

We've also seen great initial results exceeding our expectations. Brand revenues in 2022 grew 70% on a pro forma basis, driven by wholesale partner expansion in the United States. DTC revenues were approximately 36% of sales. Gross margins have been lower than anticipated due to channel mix, unfavorable preacquisition freight contracts and higher inventory handling costs as we work to expand the HEYDUDE distribution center to support the billion and growing brand. Even with this, HEYDUDE generated over $275 million in adjusted operating income, a $0.31 adjusted operating margin. While we have more to do, we are incredibly excited about our results thus far, the potential for the HEYDUDE brand and the value this acquisition will generate for shareholders.

我們還看到了超出預期的出色初步結果。在美國批發合作夥伴擴張的推動下，2022 年品牌收入預計增長 70%。 DTC 收入約佔銷售額的 36%。由於渠道組合、不利的收購前貨運合同和更高的庫存處理成本，毛利率低於預期，因為我們努力擴大 HEYDUDE 配送中心以支持這個十億且不斷增長的品牌。即便如此，HEYDUDE 的調整後營業收入仍超過 2.75 億美元，調整後營業利潤率為 0.31 美元。儘管我們還有更多工作要做，但我們對迄今為止的成果、HEYDUDE 品牌的潛力以及此次收購將為股東創造的價值感到無比興奮。

The addition of HEYDUDE has brought other benefits as well. It enables us to access a larger addressable market which is now approximately $160 billion on a global basis versus $40 billion prior to the acquisition. We are now far more diversified from a product perspective with casual HEYDUDE silhouettes representing 27% of '22 revenues on a pro forma basis, clogs representing 57% of consolidated revenues. Finally, we substantially leveraged our shared services across the 2 brands, further supporting our industry-leading operating margins.

HEYDUDE 的加入還帶來了其他好處。它使我們能夠進入更大的潛在市場，該市場目前在全球範圍內約為 1600 億美元，而收購前為 400 億美元。從產品的角度來看，我們現在更加多元化，休閒 HEYDUDE 款式佔 22 年預估收入的 27%，木底鞋佔綜合收入的 57%。最後，我們充分利用了兩個品牌的共享服務，進一步支持了我們行業領先的營業利潤率。

Before I turn the call over to Anne, I'm incredibly proud that our 5-year annualized TSR of 54% would have placed Crocs, Inc. as the #2 best-performing company in the S&P 500. This exceptional performance is a testament to our strategy, our execution and our talented team.

在我把電話轉給安妮之前，我非常自豪，我們 5 年 54% 的年化股東總回報率將使 Crocs, Inc. 成為標準普爾 500 指數中排名第二的最佳表現公司。這種出色的表現證明了這一點對我們的戰略、我們的執行力和我們才華橫溢的團隊。

I want to express my gratitude to the entire Crocs, Inc. organization for their hard work and commitment to delivering best-in-class growth and profitability. 2022 was a transformational year as we integrated HEYDUDE. But the Crocs and HEYDUDE brands enter 2023 with incredible strength and momentum. I'm confident in our brands, our team and our demonstrated ability to deliver sustainable growth, profitability and shareholder value.

我要感謝整個 Crocs, Inc. 組織的辛勤工作和致力於實現一流的增長和盈利能力。 2022 年是轉型的一年，因為我們整合了 HEYDUDE。但 Crocs 和 HEYDUDE 品牌以令人難以置信的實力和勢頭進入 2023 年。我對我們的品牌、我們的團隊以及我們實現可持續增長、盈利能力和股東價值的能力充滿信心。

With that, Anne will now review our financial results in more detail.

有了這個，安妮現在將更詳細地審查我們的財務業績。

Thank you, Andrew, and good morning, everyone. I'll begin with a recap of our fourth quarter results. All revenue growth rates will be cited on a constant currency basis, unless otherwise stated. For a reconciliation of the non-GAAP amounts mentioned to their equivalent GAAP amounts, please refer to our press release.

謝謝安德魯，大家早上好。我將首先回顧一下我們第四季度的業績。除非另有說明，否則所有收入增長率將以固定貨幣為基礎引用。有關提及的非 GAAP 金額與其等效 GAAP 金額的對賬，請參閱我們的新聞稿。

Our fourth quarter results were outstanding with $945 million in consolidated revenues, a 64.8% increase to prior year, aided by the addition of HEYDUDE. We continue to deliver top-tier profitability with adjusted gross margin of 53.3%, adjusted operating margin of 26% and adjusted earnings per share of $2.65, up 23% to fourth quarter of last year. Strong profitability and tight working capital management enabled us to repay $300 million on our term loan B facility in the quarter.

得益於 HEYDUDE 的加入，我們第四季度的業績非常出色，綜合收入為 9.45 億美元，比去年同期增長 64.8%。我們繼續實現頂級盈利能力，調整後毛利率為 53.3%，調整後營業利潤率為 26%，調整後每股收益為 2.65 美元，比去年第四季度增長 23%。強勁的盈利能力和嚴格的營運資金管理使我們能夠在本季度償還 3 億美元的定期貸款 B。

I will now detail our revenue highlights by brand, beginning with the Crocs brand. During the quarter, we sold 27 million pairs of shoes, an increase of 20.8% over last year. Our average selling price in Q4 was $23.95, a 6.8% decline on a reported basis and a 3.6% decline on a constant currency basis. As a slight decline in North America associated with higher DTC promotions, offset constant currency ASP increases internationally. Importantly, while the North American markets became more promotional in the second half of the year and helped rightsize channel inventories to a healthy level, the Crocs brand was still less promotional in the fourth quarter and for the full year than pre-pandemic.

我現在將按品牌詳細介紹我們的收入亮點，首先是 Crocs 品牌。本季度，我們售出了 2700 萬雙鞋，比去年同期增長 20.8%。我們在第四季度的平均售價為 23.95 美元，按報告價格下跌 6.8%，按固定匯率計算下跌 3.6%。由於 DTC 促銷活動在北美略有下降，抵消了國際不變貨幣 ASP 的增長。重要的是，雖然北美市場在下半年變得更加促銷，並幫助將渠道庫存調整到健康水平，但 Crocs 品牌在第四季度和全年的促銷活動仍低於大流行前。

From a product perspective, for the fourth quarter, results continue to be driven by our key product pillars: Clogs, Sandals and Jibbitz. Sales of clogs increased 9% to become 79% of Crocs brand revenues with growth of our profitable classic clog franchise outpacing that of other clogs. Sandals grew 53% in the quarter to represent 10% of brand revenues. Jibbitz continued to drive consumer engagement and grew 13% to become 8% of brand revenues.

從產品的角度來看，第四季度的業績繼續由我們的主要產品支柱推動：木底鞋、涼鞋和 Jibbitz。木底鞋的銷售額增長了 9%，佔 Crocs 品牌收入的 79%，我們盈利的經典木底鞋特許經營權的增長速度超過了其他木底鞋。涼鞋在本季度增長了 53%，佔品牌收入的 10%。 Jibbitz 繼續推動消費者參與，增長了 13%，佔品牌收入的 8%。

For the full year, clogs were 77% of brand revenues, sandals were 12% and Jibbitz grew 27% to become 8% of brand revenues.

全年來看，木底鞋佔品牌收入的 77%，涼鞋佔 12%，Jibbitz 增長 27%，佔品牌收入的 8%。

Now let's review Crocs brand highlights by region for the quarter. North America revenues of $457 million were relatively flat from 2021 as strong DTC growth of 18%, an indicator of underlying consumer demand was largely offset by a 25% decline in wholesale. DTC comparable sales for North America increased 13%, on top of 53% DTC comparable sales growth in the fourth quarter of 2021. Digital led the growth driven by brand strength and newness.

現在讓我們按地區回顧本季度的 Crocs 品牌亮點。北美的收入為 4.57 億美元，與 2021 年相比相對持平，因為 DTC 強勁增長 18%，這是潛在消費者需求的一個指標，在很大程度上被批發量下降 25% 所抵消。在 2021 年第四季度 DTC 可比銷售額增長 53% 的基礎上，北美的 DTC 可比銷售額增長了 13%。在品牌實力和新穎性的推動下，數字技術引領了增長。

Wholesale declined as we continue to proactively manage market health with our partners in the fourth quarter. Brick-and-mortar channel inventory in North America is very healthy with on-hand inventory levels down double digits versus prior year. Similar to the third quarter, Crocs brand growth was led by international with both, Asia and EMEALA revenues, up 75% in the quarter.

由於我們在第四季度繼續與我們的合作夥伴一起積極管理市場健康，批發業務有所下降。北美的實體渠道庫存非常健康，現有庫存水平比上一年下降了兩位數。與第三季度類似，Crocs 品牌增長由國際品牌引領，亞洲和 EMEALA 收入在本季度增長了 75%。

Asia Q4 revenues were $91 million, up 74.8% from last year. As Andrew mentioned, we saw broad-based growth across all channels in all of our key focus markets. South Korea and India continued to outperform and grew strong double digits during the quarter and the year. China faced periodic COVID lockdowns, however, grew 38% for the quarter, following 34% growth in Q3. EMEALA revenues increased an exceptional 75.6% over Q4 2021 despite our exit of direct Russia operations. Momentum has been building over the last 2 years and resulted in broad-based growth in our direct and distributor markets. Overall, we are extremely pleased with the underlying strength of the Crocs brand internationally.

亞洲第四季度收入為 9100 萬美元，比去年增長 74.8%。正如安德魯所提到的，我們在所有主要重點市場的所有渠道中都看到了基礎廣泛的增長。韓國和印度繼續跑贏大盤，並在本季度和全年實現兩位數的強勁增長。然而，中國面臨週期性的 COVID 封鎖，繼第三季度增長 34% 之後，本季度增長了 38%。儘管我們退出了在俄羅斯的直接業務，但 EMEALA 的收入比 2021 年第四季度增長了 75.6%。過去 2 年的勢頭一直在增強，並導致我們的直銷和分銷市場實現了廣泛的增長。總的來說，我們對 Crocs 品牌在國際上的潛在實力感到非常滿意。

Turning to HEYDUDE. Revenues were $279 million, growing 36.6% from Q4 of '21. Digital sales were particularly strong during holiday and constituted 51.6% of brand sales in the quarter. We remain confident in the potential of the brand and look forward to sharing our growth strategies and plans in the future.

轉向 HEYDUDE。收入為 2.79 億美元，比 21 年第四季度增長 36.6%。數字銷售在假日期間尤為強勁，佔本季度品牌銷售額的 51.6%。我們對品牌的潛力充滿信心，並期待在未來分享我們的增長戰略和計劃。

From a channel perspective, digital remains our top priority for both brands as it enables us to meet our consumers in their preferred channel. During Q4 2022, our consolidated digital business, which combines e-commerce and e-tail, grew 80% on top of 41% growth in Q4 of 2021. Digital penetration for the quarter was 45.1%, up from 40.3% last year and 34.2% in 2019. Our digital growth benefited from product newness, refined user experience and additional marketing activities that drove strong traffic. Consolidated adjusted gross margin for the quarter was 53.3%, down approximately 1,000 basis points from last year. About half of the compression to consolidated adjusted gross margin is related to the addition of the HEYDUDE brand.

從渠道的角度來看，數字化仍然是我們兩個品牌的首要任務，因為它使我們能夠通過他們喜歡的渠道與消費者見面。 2022 年第四季度，我們結合電子商務和電子零售的綜合數字業務在 2021 年第四季度增長 41% 的基礎上增長了 80%。本季度數字滲透率為 45.1%，高於去年的 40.3% 和 34.2% % 在 2019 年。我們的數字增長得益於產品的新穎性、完善的用戶體驗以及帶來強勁流量的額外營銷活動。本季度綜合調整後毛利率為 53.3%，比去年下降約 1,000 個基點。約一半的合併調整後毛利率壓縮與 HEYDUDE 品牌的加入有關。

Crocs brand adjusted gross margin was 56.1% or 760 basis points lower than prior year, which was an [atypical] year as we took price ahead of inflation and had an overall lack of promotions in the industry. The decline in adjusted gross margin is attributable to approximately 340 basis points of promotions, 180 basis points of inflationary costs and 180 basis points of higher freight and inventory handling costs. Currency negatively impacted gross margins by 70 basis points. HEYDUDE brand gross margin for the quarter was 46.4% as positive channel mix was offset by the continued effect of legacy freight contract costs, higher inventory storage costs as we work to expand distribution center capabilities to support the larger business and a holiday promotional activity.

Crocs 品牌調整後的毛利率比上一年低 56.1% 或 760 個基點，這是一個 [非典型] 的年份，因為我們將價格先於通貨膨脹，並且行業整體缺乏促銷活動。調整後毛利率的下降歸因於大約 340 個基點的促銷活動、180 個基點的通貨膨脹成本以及 180 個基點的較高運費和庫存處理成本。匯率對毛利率產生了 70 個基點的負面影響。 HEYDUDE 品牌本季度的毛利率為 46.4%，這是因為積極的渠道組合被遺留貨運合同成本的持續影響所抵消，我們努力擴大配送中心能力以支持更大的業務和假期促銷活動而增加的庫存存儲成本。

Our Q4 adjusted SG&A at 27.3% of revenues improved by 780 basis points compared to prior year. This excludes $18 million of costs in Q4, primarily related to the shutdown of our Russia direct operations and the HEYDUDE acquisition and integration. For full year 2022, adjusted SG&A leveraged 490 basis points to 26.7%. The significant decrease in adjusted SG&A rate for the quarter and the full year is due to leverage of shared services across both brands given as we invested over $215 million this year in additional marketing, talent and infrastructure to support future growth.

我們第四季度調整後的 SG&A 佔收入的 27.3%，與去年同期相比提高了 780 個基點。這不包括第四季度的 1800 萬美元成本，主要與我們俄羅斯直接業務的關閉以及 HEYDUDE 的收購和整合有關。對於 2022 年全年，調整後的 SG&A 槓桿率為 490 個基點至 26.7%。本季度和全年調整後的 SG&A 率顯著下降是由於我們今年在額外的營銷、人才和基礎設施上投資超過 2.15 億美元以支持未來增長，從而利用了兩個品牌的共享服務。

Our fourth quarter adjusted operating margin declined 260 basis points to 26% compared to 28.6% for the same period last year as gross margin pressures offset SG&A leverage. Fourth quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 23.3% to $2.65.

我們第四季度調整後的營業利潤率下降 260 個基點至 26%，而去年同期為 28.6%，因為毛利率壓力抵消了 SG&A 槓桿。第四季度調整後的攤薄每股收益增長 23.3% 至 2.65 美元。

For the full year 2022, let me recap a few highlights. Total revenues grew 54% to $3.55 billion with Crocs brand revenues increasing 19% on a constant currency basis on top of 65% growth in 2021 and HEYDUDE brand revenues reaching nearly $1 billion on a pro forma basis. Crocs Brand International growth was exceptional at 47% constant currency. Adjusted income from operations [increased] 42% to $986 million and adjusted operating margin of 27.7% remains industry-leading. Full year adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 31% to $10.92.

對於 2022 年全年，讓我回顧一些亮點。總收入增長 54% 至 35.5 億美元，其中 Crocs 品牌收入在 2021 年增長 65% 的基礎上按固定匯率計算增長 19%，而 HEYDUDE 品牌收入在備考基礎上達到近 10 億美元。 Crocs Brand International 以 47% 的固定匯率增長非常出色。調整後的運營收入 [增加] 42% 至 9.86 億美元，調整後的運營利潤率為 27.7%，保持行業領先。全年調整後攤薄每股收益增長 31% 至 10.92 美元。

We concluded 2022 with a strong liquidity position, comprised of $192 million of cash and cash equivalents and $749 million of borrowing capacity on our revolver. Through strong cash flow generation and tight working capital management, we pre-paid $300 million on the Term Loan B during Q4, reducing total borrowings to $2.3 billion and gross leverage of 2.25x and net leverage to approximately 2.1x. We remain focused on deleveraging to under 2x gross leverage by the middle of 2023.

到 2022 年，我們的流動性狀況良好，包括 1.92 億美元的現金和現金等價物以及 7.49 億美元的循環借貸能力。通過強勁的現金流產生和嚴格的營運資金管理，我們在第四季度預付了 3 億美元的定期貸款 B，將總借款減少至 23 億美元，將總槓桿率降至 2.25 倍，將淨槓桿率降至約 2.1 倍。我們仍然專注於到 2023 年中期去槓桿化，將總槓桿率降至 2 倍以下。

Our inventory balance at December 31, 2022, was $472 million inclusive of $169 million of HEYDUDE inventory. The Crocs brand inventory balance was $303 million, a 42% increase over prior year and continues to decline sequentially, down 7% versus the third quarter. Our higher inventory reflects revenue growth, higher costs and inventory and a very low level of inventory last year due to limited availability with the factory closures. While HEYDUDE inventory is slightly elevated from pre-acquisition purchases, Crocs brand inventory is very healthy. Our entire team is extremely focused on inventory health, especially as we grow.

截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們的庫存餘額為 4.72 億美元，其中包括 HEYDUDE 庫存的 1.69 億美元。 Crocs 品牌庫存餘額為 3.03 億美元，比上年增長 42%，並繼續下降，比第三季度下降 7%。我們更高的庫存反映了收入增長、更高的成本和庫存，以及去年由於工廠關閉導致可用性有限而導致的非常低的庫存水平。雖然 HEYDUDE 庫存略高於收購前的採購量，但 Crocs 品牌庫存非常健康。我們整個團隊都非常關注庫存健康，尤其是在我們成長的過程中。

In 2022, capital expenditures were $104 million, a little over half of this investment was in our distribution centers as we expand and automate our facilities. The balance of the investment was in our information technology, retail fleet and corporate offices, all of these investments support future growth. And as I mentioned, we will continue to invest in the business to fuel and sustain growth.

2022 年，資本支出為 1.04 億美元，其中略多於一半的投資用於我們的配送中心，因為我們擴展了我們的設施並實現了自動化。投資的餘額用於我們的信息技術、零售車隊和公司辦公室，所有這些投資都支持未來的增長。正如我提到的，我們將繼續投資於該業務以推動和維持增長。

Now turning to the future. I would like to share our current outlook for Q1 and then full year 2023. For Q1, we expect consolidated revenues to grow approximately 27% to 30% at current currency rates, with the Crocs brand growing double digits. We expect adjusted operating margin to be between 24% and 25% and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.06 to $2.19. For the full year 2023, our guidance contemplates some conservatism as we are cautious about the impact of macroeconomic events, particularly on the U.S. and European consumer as the year progresses. Even with this, we continue to expect revenue growth of 10% to 13%, assuming current currency rates.

現在轉向未來。我想分享我們目前對第一季度和 2023 年全年的展望。對於第一季度，我們預計綜合收入按當前匯率計算將增長約 27% 至 30%，其中 Crocs 品牌增長兩位數。我們預計調整後的營業利潤率將在 24% 至 25% 之間，調整後的攤薄每股收益為 2.06 美元至 2.19 美元。對於 2023 年全年，我們的指導考慮了一些保守主義，因為我們對宏觀經濟事件的影響持謹慎態度，尤其是隨著時間的推移對美國和歐洲消費者的影響。即便如此，假設當前匯率，我們仍預計收入將增長 10% 至 13%。

For Crocs brand revenues, we expect to grow 6% to 8% and 9% to 11% in constant currency with growth in all regions and all channels. For HEYDUDE brand revenues, we expect growth to be in the mid-20s on a reported basis. We expect consolidated adjusted operating profit margins of approximately 26%. This includes an anticipated benefit to Crocs brand gross margin, associated with lower inbound freight rates and the claw back of air freight, slightly offset by channel mix and the growth in sandals.

對於 Crocs 品牌收入，我們預計隨著所有地區和所有渠道的增長，按固定匯率計算將增長 6% 至 8% 和 9% 至 11%。對於 HEYDUDE 品牌收入，我們預計增長將在 20 多歲左右。我們預計綜合調整後的營業利潤率約為 26%。這包括 Crocs 品牌毛利率的預期收益，與較低的入境運費和空運回扣相關，但被渠道組合和涼鞋的增長略微抵消。

For the full year 2023, we expect our underlying non-GAAP tax rate, which approximates cash tax paid to be approximately 20%. Our GAAP tax rate will be approximately 24%. We anticipate non-GAAP earnings per share to be approximately $11 to $11.31 in 2023, which does not assume any impact from potential future share repurchases. It also incorporates increased interest expense on our floating rate debt associated with the current rate environment.

對於 2023 年全年，我們預計我們的基本非 GAAP 稅率約為 20%，該稅率近似於已支付的現金稅。我們的 GAAP 稅率約為 24%。我們預計 2023 年的非 GAAP 每股收益約為 11 美元至 11.31 美元，這並未假設未來潛在股票回購的任何影響。它還包括與當前利率環境相關的浮動利率債務的利息支出增加。

To support growth for both brands, we expect to invest approximately $165 million to $180 million in capital expenditures. Investments include expansion of our distribution capabilities, including our new HEYDUDE DC [and] Las Vegas, implementation of new technology systems for HEYDUDE and expansion of our corporate facilities to support our growth. In 2023, we estimate approximately $30 million of onetime charges, primarily related to the aforementioned capital investments and are fairly balanced across COGS and SG&A.

為了支持這兩個品牌的增長，我們預計將投資約 1.65 億至 1.8 億美元的資本支出。投資包括擴大我們的分銷能力，包括我們新的 HEYDUDE DC [和] Las Vegas，為 HEYDUDE 實施新技術系統以及擴展我們的公司設施以支持我們的增長。到 2023 年，我們估計約有 3000 萬美元的一次性費用，主要與上述資本投資有關，並且在 COGS 和 SG&A 之間相當平衡。

We expect the combined brands to generate significant cash flow, allowing us to achieve 2x or less gross leverage by the middle of this year. Our capital allocation priorities are first to invest in the business and second, to balance deleveraging with the ultimate goal of reaching 1x to 1.5x net leverage and resuming our historically successful share repurchase program.

我們預計合併後的品牌將產生可觀的現金流，使我們能夠在今年年中實現 2 倍或更低的總槓桿率。我們的資本配置優先事項首先是投資業務，其次是平衡去槓桿化與達到 1 倍至 1.5 倍淨槓桿率的最終目標，並恢復我們歷史上成功的股票回購計劃。

In summary, throughout 2022, we delivered strong revenue growth, profitability and cash flow. With the underlying strength of the core Crocs business and the addition of HEYDUDE, we are confident we have positioned ourselves for sustained profitable growth, strong cash flow generation and significant value creation for our shareholders.

總之，在整個 2022 年，我們實現了強勁的收入增長、盈利能力和現金流。憑藉核心 Crocs 業務的潛在實力和 HEYDUDE 的加入，我們有信心為持續的盈利增長、強勁的現金流產生和為股東創造重要價值做好準備。

At this time, I'll turn the call back over to Andrew for his final thoughts.

此時，我會將電話轉回給安德魯，聽取他的最後想法。

Thank you, Anne. Crocs, Inc. had an exceptional year in 2022. The Crocs brand is resonating strongly with consumers throughout the world, and we're confident in continued growth led by sandals and International. The HEYDUDE acquisition is exceeding expectations. Integration is going well, and we have a clear plan for growth. I could not be more excited for the future and the tremendous value creation opportunity for shareholders.

謝謝你，安妮。 Crocs, Inc. 在 2022 年度過了非凡的一年。Crocs 品牌在全球消費者中引起強烈共鳴，我們對涼鞋和 International 引領的持續增長充滿信心。對 HEYDUDE 的收購超出了預期。整合進展順利，我們有明確的增長計劃。我對未來和為股東創造巨大價值的機會感到無比興奮。

Operator, please open the call for questions.

接線員，請打開電話提問。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question today will come from Jonathan Komp of Baird.

（操作員說明）我們今天的第一個問題將來自 Baird 的 Jonathan Komp。

And can I ask a follow-up on the first quarter guidance? I believe you said the Crocs brand should grow double digits. Could you give a little more color how that might look geographically? And then a bigger picture question for 2023 for the Crocs brand, are you expecting North America to grow for the full year? And could you comment on some of the drivers across some of the product initiatives [and] the channel performance you're expecting?

我可以詢問有關第一季度指導的後續信息嗎？我相信你說過 Crocs 品牌應該增長兩位數。你能給它在地理上的樣子多一點顏色嗎？然後是 2023 年 Crocs 品牌的一個更大的問題，您是否預計北美全年會增長？您能否評論一些產品計劃中的一些驅動因素 [和] 您期望的渠道績效？

Sure. Jonathan. So let me start with full year and then I'll talk about Q1. So for full year, as shared, we expect the Crocs brand to go 6% to 8%, which is about 9% to 11% given constant currency. And growth is really going to be powered by international, but the U.S. will grow. I think we're currently cautious about the consumer in the U.S., especially in the back half, but we're still anticipating growth over last year driven -- and that growth is really going to be driven by sandals and newness. And we do expect North America to have good growth in Q1 as well.

當然。喬納森。所以讓我從全年開始，然後我會談談第一季度。因此，對於全年，我們預計 Crocs 品牌將增長 6% 至 8%，按固定匯率計算約為 9% 至 11%。增長確實將由國際推動，但美國將會增長。我認為我們目前對美國的消費者持謹慎態度，尤其是在後半段，但我們仍然預計去年會推動增長——而這種增長實際上將由涼鞋和新品推動。我們確實預計北美在第一季度也會有良好的增長。

And then from just an overall channel perspective, we still expect DTC to lead the growth in our North America region for this year as that -- we continue to focus, especially on our e-comm side.

然後從整體渠道的角度來看，我們仍然預計 DTC 今年將引領我們北美地區的增長——我們將繼續關注，尤其是在我們的電子商務方面。

Yes. And just about maybe a tad or color to that, John. I think one of the reasons that DTC is leading the growth, that's where we have the newness the fastest, right? We were able to bring a lot of new sandals and new styles to our DTC environments in Q4, and they are showing up faster as you'd expect in our DTC environments, both e-comm and in store. In Q1, we're extremely pleased at this point with the performance we're seeing, and we're excited as those new products supported by in our social digital marketing flows to wholesale.

是的。約翰，也許只是一點點或顏色。我認為 DTC 引領增長的原因之一是我們擁有最快的新事物，對嗎？我們能夠在第四季度為我們的 DTC 環境帶來許多新涼鞋和新款式，並且它們在我們的 DTC 環境中的出現速度正如您所期望的那樣快，包括電子商務和實體店。在第一季度，我們對我們所看到的表現感到非常滿意，我們很高興我們的社交數字營銷支持的新產品流向批發。

That's great. And then one follow-up just on the outlook for the Crocs brand gross margin. It looks like you quantified a little over 400 basis points from airfreight investment and then higher freight and inventory handling in 2022. So as we think about some of those costs coming back into the business as a benefit, would you expect Crocs brand gross margin to be back to the 58% level? Or could you maybe just give some color on the puts and takes you see there?

那太棒了。然後是關於 Crocs 品牌毛利率前景的後續行動。看起來您從空運投資以及 2022 年更高的運費和庫存處理量中量化了 400 多個基點。因此，當我們考慮其中一些成本作為收益重新回到業務中時，您是否期望 Crocs 品牌的毛利率回到58%的水平？或者你能不能給看跌期權一些顏色，然後帶你去看看？

Yes. Let me -- yes, that's a great question. So let me just take a minute to recap. So 2022, obviously, we're anniversarying a high point from 2021. So our cross-brand adjusted gross margin finished at 56.7%, which is about a 500-basis point decline to 2021. And as you mentioned, we had about 220 basis points of air freight that will come back and then about 190 basis points of higher freight inventory handling costs that we talked about coming back over the year. And then the rest was really related to inflationary costs. We had promotions were about 90 basis points and then currency.

是的。讓我——是的，這是一個很好的問題。所以讓我花點時間回顧一下。很明顯，到 2022 年，我們迎來了 2021 年以來的高點。因此，我們的跨品牌調整後毛利率為 56.7%，比 2021 年下降了約 500 個基點。正如您提到的，我們有大約 220 個基點將返回的空運點，然後是我們在過去一年中談到的更高的貨運庫存處理成本大約 190 個基點。然後其餘的確實與通貨膨脹成本有關。我們有大約 90 個基點的促銷活動，然後是貨幣。

For 2023, we do believe that Crocs brand will be largely in line with our long-term expectations of about 58% gross margin. And then HEYDUDE is expected to increase year-over-year but will ramp slower throughout the year, because we need to continue to work through the subscale D&L network. So our overall consolidated adjusted gross margins for this year, we're projecting to be about 55% to 55.5% including obviously the impact of HEYDUDE. And we will continue -- just one side note, we will continue to provide gross margin color by brand for the remainder of the year.

對於 2023 年，我們確實相信 Crocs 品牌將在很大程度上符合我們約 58% 毛利率的長期預期。然後 HEYDUDE 預計將同比增長，但全年增長速度將放緩，因為我們需要繼續通過子規模 D&L 網絡開展工作。因此，我們今年的整體綜合調整後毛利率預計約為 55% 至 55.5%，其中顯然包括 HEYDUDE 的影響。我們將繼續 - 只是一個旁注，我們將在今年剩餘時間內繼續按品牌提供毛利率顏色。

Our next question today will come from Tom Nikic of Wedbush Securities.

我們今天的下一個問題將來自 Wedbush Securities 的 Tom Nikic。

I want to ask -- so I believe you said North America wholesale was down 25% in Q4. And I think on the Q3 call, you kind of gave us like the wholesale sell-through. It's going to give us a better indication of the demand for the brand in the wholesale channel. How did the sell-throughs look in North America wholesale for Q4?

我想問 - 所以我相信你說過北美批發在第四季度下降了 25%。我認為在第三季度的電話會議上，你有點像批發銷售一樣給了我們。這將使我們更好地了解批發渠道對品牌的需求。第四季度北美批發市場的銷售情況如何？

Yes. I would say, Tom, we were very happy with the performance of North American wholesale in Q4. We ended the year with inventories in channel down double digits, and that was one of our kind of primary goals was to make sure that we took -- it was obviously going to be a promotional quarter. We anticipated that. And we took advantage of that promotional quarter to make sure we're clearing out of end-of-season goods and also enabling our wholesale partners to effectively compete in what would be a promotional pump period. So we're very happy with the performance of the wholesale business. It was important to keep our inventories in line. And as we kind of look at our in-channel inventories, we think we're very well positioned for 2023.

是的。我會說，湯姆，我們對第四季度北美批發的表現非常滿意。年底時，我們的渠道庫存下降了兩位數，這是我們的主要目標之一，就是確保我們取得了成功——這顯然將成為一個促銷季度。我們預料到了。我們利用那個促銷季度來確保我們清理季末商品，並使我們的批發合作夥伴能夠在促銷旺季有效競爭。所以我們對批發業務的表現非常滿意。保持我們的庫存一致很重要。當我們審視我們的渠道內庫存時，我們認為我們在 2023 年處於非常有利的位置。

Okay. I got to also ask on the inventory growth for the core Crocs brand. I realize it's kind of coming down sequentially. But -- optically, it still is a pretty big number, plus I believe it's low 40s. How should we kind of think about that working its way down over the course of '23? And do you see any risk that you're potentially over-inventoried with core Crocs brand?

好的。我還詢問了核心 Crocs 品牌的庫存增長情況。我意識到它是按順序下降的。但是——從視覺上看，它仍然是一個相當大的數字，而且我相信它只有 40 多歲。在 23 年的過程中，我們應該如何考慮它的工作方式？您是否看到任何可能存在核心 Crocs 品牌庫存過多的風險？

Yes. I would say, Tom, I think there's a couple of ways -- a couple of things to think about. One is, yes, it's a 40% growth over the same period last year. But if you remember that same period last year was an exceptional low, because it was immediately after the Vietnam factory closures, right? So on a normalized basis, we actually think the Crocs inventory is very well positioned relative to our future growth plans. So on a normalized basis, it puts us at approximately 4 turn, which is where we'd like to be from an inventory to sales ratio. We think that's kind of one of the best in the industry, that's best-in-class in terms of working capital management. And it allows us to have healthy core inventories and fill out one's demand, it allows us to bring in new products at the rate we want to but not have excess inventories on that. So we think it's about where we want it to be, given what we expect for future growth.

是的。我會說，湯姆，我認為有幾種方法——需要考慮一些事情。一個是，是的，它比去年同期增長了 40%。但如果你還記得去年同期是一個異常低的時期，因為那是在越南工廠關閉之後，對吧？因此，在正常化的基礎上，我們實際上認為 Crocs 庫存相對於我們未來的增長計劃處於非常有利的位置。因此，在標準化的基礎上，它使我們處於大約 4 轉，這是我們希望從庫存到銷售比率的地方。我們認為這是業內最好的之一，在營運資金管理方面是一流的。它使我們能夠擁有健康的核心庫存並滿足一個人的需求，它使我們能夠以我們想要的速度引進新產品，但不會有過多的庫存。因此，考慮到我們對未來增長的預期，我們認為這是關於我們希望它成為的地方。

Understood. And if I could just sneak one more in for you. The $30 million of onetime charges that you're expecting for 2023, can you give us a little bit more color as to what that comes from? I guess, the description in the press release was kind of investments for growth which normally are kind of included in the adjusted numbers, but I'm just kind of curious like what those onetime targets are.

明白了。如果我能再偷偷給你一個。您預計 2023 年的 3000 萬美元一次性費用，您能否給我們更多的顏色來說明它的來源？我想，新聞稿中的描述是一種增長投資，通常包含在調整後的數字中，但我只是有點好奇那些曾經的目標是什麼。

Sure. There's kind of 3 buckets. The majority of those are things that were just consistent in how we talk about it. So its distribution center overlap where we might be transitioning distribution center. So it's kind of overlap on as we're bringing up the HEYDUDE distribution center costs where we're playing duplicate rent and things like that. Also same with -- we're making some changes as we talked about, some investments in some corporate headquarters to expand and so we're paying some duplicate rent there. So those are the majority of the charges. And then the other one is we're implementing a new ERP system for HEYDUDE. And those costs, we typically call out as a onetime as we don't typically implement ERP systems.

當然。大約有 3 個桶。其中大部分是我們談論它的方式一致的事情。所以它的配送中心與我們可能正在過渡的配送中心重疊。因此，當我們提出 HEYDUDE 配送中心成本時，這有點重疊，我們正在玩重複租金和類似的東西。也一樣——正如我們所說的，我們正在做一些改變，對一些公司總部進行一些投資以擴大規模，所以我們在那裡支付了一些重複的租金。所以這些是大部分費用。然後另一個是我們正在為 HEYDUDE 實施新的 ERP 系統。而這些成本，我們通常稱之為一次性成本，因為我們通常不實施 ERP 系統。

Our next question today will come from Abbie Zvejnieks from Piper Sandler.

我們今天的下一個問題將來自 Piper Sandler 的 Abbie Zvejnieks。

So how should we think about the cadence of gross margin in terms of tailwinds from [lapping] air freight versus the promotions and the greater mix of HEYDUDE revenue? And then just on the HEYDUDE inventory composition, I think you said it's a bit elevated. Can you just talk about the reasons for this? Is this due to changes in wholesale partner behavior or more so on logistics? Just any color there would be helpful.

那麼我們應該如何考慮空運的順風與促銷以及 HEYDUDE 收入的更大組合方面的毛利率節奏？然後就 HEYDUDE 庫存構成而言，我認為你說它有點高。能不能簡單說說這其中的原因？這是由於批發合作夥伴行為的變化還是物流方面的變化？任何顏色都會有幫助。

Yes. Thank you, Abbie. Let me start with gross margin, and I'll let Andrew talk about the HEYDUDE inventory. So from a gross margin perspective, from a Crocs brand, I expect it to be a pretty normal cadence throughout the year, so a return to seasonal patterns. Q1 tends to be low just given the wholesale channel mix in the quarter. So I would just model that out as kind of normal kind of seasonal patterns given the guidance. I think from a HEYDUDE perspective, we do expect, as I mentioned earlier, to be lower in the first half as we're still rolling through some of those higher freight and storage costs. And then as we get into rolling off those costs as well as into a better sized distribution center, we expect that to increase into the back half of the year. And that plays into our overall gross margin that we talked about from 55% to 55.5%.

是的。謝謝你，艾比。讓我從毛利率開始，我會讓安德魯談談 HEYDUDE 庫存。因此，從毛利率的角度來看，從 Crocs 品牌來看，我預計全年都會有一個非常正常的節奏，因此會回歸季節性模式。考慮到本季度的批發渠道組合，第一季度往往較低。因此，根據指導，我只是將其建模為一種正常的季節性模式。我認為從 HEYDUDE 的角度來看，正如我之前提到的，我們確實預計上半年會降低，因為我們仍在經歷一些較高的運費和倉儲成本。然後，當我們開始削減這些成本並建立一個規模更大的配送中心時，我們預計到今年下半年成本會增加。這影響了我們所說的從 55% 到 55.5% 的整體毛利率。

Yes. And I think on the second part of your question, Abbie, around HEYDUDE inventories, yes, we feel that the HEYDUDE inventories are heavier than we'd want to be on a go-forward basis. And I'd say it was principally related to a number of factors. One is inbound receipts that were ordered pre our acquisition that were probably not the right composition that we would have liked in terms of we -- no, [there] was probably heavier on things that haven't sold us quickly. So we're going to have to work our way through those. There was also just the process of getting the whole planning function up and running effectively, so that we can match demand with supply effectively, and we've been pretty good at that historically. On the Crocs brand, we have not been as good at that on HEYDUDE over the last year, but I think we're confident we'll get there.

是的。我認為關於你的問題的第二部分，Abbie，圍繞 HEYDUDE 庫存，是的，我們認為 HEYDUDE 庫存比我們希望的更重。我想說這主要與許多因素有關。一個是在我們收購之前訂購的入站收據，這可能不是我們希望的正確組合——不，[那裡] 可能更重一些沒有很快賣給我們的東西。所以我們將不得不努力解決這些問題。還有就是讓整個規劃功能有效啟動和運行的過程，這樣我們就可以有效地將需求與供應相匹配，而且我們在這方面一直做得很好。在 Crocs 品牌方面，去年我們在 HEYDUDE 上的表現不如 HEYDUDE，但我認為我們有信心做到這一點。

We -- I think we have plenty of opportunities to sell this inventory over the coming year. We're not panicked about it, but it's a little bit heavier than we'd like at this point.

我們——我認為我們有很多機會在來年出售這些庫存。我們並不對此感到恐慌，但它比我們現在想要的要重一點。

I think it's on our owned inventory, just if I can voice over. One, just a quick note is that that's our own inventory, we're actually very satisfied with inventory that we have in channel from [cadence] perspective.

我認為它在我們自己的庫存中，如果我可以配音的話。第一，快速說明一下，那是我們自己的庫存，我們實際上對 [節奏] 渠道中的庫存非常滿意。

Yes. Got it. And then on the -- on promotions, should we think about this as like more of a normalized level, especially as you guys are bringing in more newness and more like fashion risk? Or how are you thinking about the go-forward promotional environment?

是的。知道了。然後關於——關於促銷，我們是否應該將其視為更正常化的水平，尤其是當你們帶來更多新鮮事物和更像是時尚風險時？或者您如何看待未來的促銷環境？

Yes. So from a promotional standpoint, I mean, I think Q4 played out exactly as we anticipated from promotions on the Crocs side, especially. I think for this year, we expect it to be normalized promotion environment. Again, I don't think it has to do with more of our product mix. I think it has more of a just a return to the norm of a promotional environment against a very low promotional environment in '21. As we said in our prepared remarks, we're still actually less promotional than we were pre-pandemic. So I do expect promotions to maintain and pretty much be in line from this point going forward.

是的。所以從促銷的角度來看，我的意思是，我認為第四季度的表現完全符合我們對 Crocs 方面的促銷活動的預期，尤其是。我認為今年，我們希望它成為常態化的促銷環境。同樣，我認為這與我們更多的產品組合無關。我認為它更像是在 21 年非常低的促銷環境下回歸促銷環境的常態。正如我們在準備好的發言中所說的那樣，我們實際上仍然沒有大流行前那麼促銷。因此，我確實希望從這一點開始，促銷活動能夠保持並且幾乎保持一致。

Our next question today will come from Laura Champine of Loop.

我們今天的下一個問題將來自 Loop 的 Laura Champine。

Congratulations on the international growth in Q4. If growth continues to be sort of mixed towards international, how is that likely to impact gross margins if the mix continues to shift in that direction in 2023?

祝賀第四季度的國際增長。如果增長繼續向國際方向混合，如果混合在 2023 年繼續向該方向轉變，這將如何影響毛利率？

Yes, it does depend a little bit on where that growth occurs. So if it occurs in our direct-to-consumer channels like anywhere else in the world, then that's obviously helpful from a gross margin standpoint. Obviously, we've had really strong distributor growth, which is a headwind to gross margin but carries no SG&A. So the higher the distributor growth that [they] outperformed, it will impact gross margins a little bit, but again, be accretive overall because there's no SG&A associated with it.

是的，這確實在一定程度上取決於增長發生的地點。因此，如果它像世界其他任何地方一樣發生在我們直接面向消費者的渠道中，那麼從毛利率的角度來看，這顯然是有幫助的。顯然，我們的經銷商增長非常強勁，這對毛利率不利，但沒有 SG&A。因此，[他們] 表現出色的分銷商增長越高，這將對毛利率產生一點影響，但同樣會整體增加，因為沒有與之相關的 SG&A。

And that would be embedded. Obviously, we've embedded good international growth into our guidance. So that would be embedded in our current margin guidance from a [cost] perspective.

那將是嵌入式的。顯然，我們已經將良好的國際增長納入了我們的指導方針。因此，從 [成本] 的角度來看，這將嵌入我們當前的利潤率指導中。

And are you incorporating sort of a stable mix of distributor versus DTC? Or do you think the outsized growth in distributors continues through this year?

您是否將分銷商與 DTC 進行了某種穩定的組合？或者您認為分銷商的超額增長會持續到今年嗎？

No, it's a pretty stable mix. Actually, I think last year, we had really strong distributor growth as we saw tourism return to a lot of markets, and we saw some restock. I think this year, it's actually a much more balanced mix between DTC and distributor.

不，這是一個非常穩定的組合。實際上，我認為去年我們的分銷商增長非常強勁，因為我們看到許多市場的旅遊業回歸，並且我們看到了一些補貨。我認為今年，DTC 和分銷商之間的組合實際上更加平衡。

Our next question today will come from Sam Poser of Williams Trading.

我們今天的下一個問題將來自 Williams Trading 的 Sam Poser。

I have a small handful. Number one, you mentioned that you're going to increase the marketing, I would assume for both brands pretty aggressively. What kind of ROI are you assuming on those increased investments?

我有一小把。第一，你提到你將增加營銷，我認為這兩個品牌都非常積極。您假設這些增加的投資有什麼樣的投資回報率？

So yes, I think I would say we're going to increase our dollar spend, Sam. But we're investing at about the same rate that we have invested historically. So if you remember, we've run the Crocs brand at between kind of 7% and 8% of sales in terms of marketing. That includes both, our brand marketing and a lot of our digital marketing and our social marketing, and we're maintaining that rate. But obviously, as the brand has grown over the last several years, that dollar amount is a lot more significant. And that's 1 of the important factors around scale in this business. If you have scale and you invest as a percentage of sales, you can reach a lot more consumers.

所以是的，我想我會說我們將增加我們的美元支出，山姆。但我們的投資速度與歷史上的投資速度大致相同。因此，如果您還記得的話，就營銷而言，我們以 7% 到 8% 的銷售額運營 Crocs 品牌。這包括我們的品牌營銷以及我們的許多數字營銷和社交營銷，我們將保持這一速度。但顯然，隨著該品牌在過去幾年中不斷發展壯大，這一金額要大得多。這是該業務規模的重要因素之一。如果你有規模並且按照銷售額的百分比進行投資，你就可以接觸到更多的消費者。

From a HEYDUDE's perspective, it will be an increase over last year, because we underinvested in the first half of the year as we were digesting the brand. We did invest at rate -- at about a similar rate in the back half of the year for the HEYDUDE brand. So it will be an increase in the first half and then similar in the back half. But of course, we're also getting growth there as well. So the dollar amount will be larger.

從HEYDUDE的角度來看，會比去年有所增長，因為我們上半年在消化品牌的時候投入不足。我們確實以一定的速度進行了投資——與 HEYDUDE 品牌在今年下半年的投資速度差不多。所以上半場會增加，後半場會類似。但當然，我們也在那裡取得了增長。所以美元金額會更大。

Well, let me follow up on that. The -- when you went into 2022 and you said we're going to invest X, was the return on your investment higher than what you anticipated?

好吧，讓我跟進一下。 - 當你進入 2022 年並且你說我們要投資 X 時，你的投資回報率是否高於你的預期？

The return on investment was consistent with our expectations.

投資回報符合我們的預期。

All right. Then what -- and what is the expectation for 1Q North American wholesale? Is it going to look like Q4 -- just look to Q4 more similar and then DTC similar as well? Is that sort of how to think about it in North America, given it appears retailers' hesitancy to step up at the moment?

好的。那麼 - 對 1Q 北美批發的預期是什麼？它會看起來像 Q4 嗎——只看 Q4 更相似，然後 DTC 也相似嗎？考慮到零售商目前似乎不願加強，在北美是這樣考慮的嗎？

Yes. I mean, Sam, I'll take that. We don't guide by channel, by region, we never have. But what I would say is I think the way to think about it -- I think what you're trying to get at is how healthy is the wholesale channel? And do we expect sell-in to kind of normalize with sell-through, right? And as we kind of think about the first half of 2023, we're pretty confident that sell-in will normalize, we'll sell through, because we've got our kind of in-channel inventories down double digits at year-end. We're very confident that we're kind of well positioned within channel inventories. The only challenges that we could expect are some of our partners are still heavy, some are not, but are heavy with other brands and trying to manage constrained DCs and open-to-buy constraints. So we are focused -- we are dealing with that, and that's a little bit of an unknown. We are starting to deliver substantial newness to our North American wholesale. I think we're confident in that at this point, but some of that is a bit unknown.

是的。我的意思是，山姆，我會接受的。我們不按渠道、按地區進行指導，我們從來沒有。但我要說的是，我認為思考它的方式——我認為你想要了解的是批發渠道的健康程度？我們是否希望銷售量隨著銷售量的增加而正常化，對嗎？當我們考慮到 2023 年上半年時，我們非常有信心銷售量會正常化，我們會銷售一空，因為我們的渠道內庫存在年底時下降了兩位數.我們非常有信心我們在渠道庫存中處於有利地位。我們可以預期的唯一挑戰是我們的一些合作夥伴仍然很重，有些不是，但對其他品牌很重，並試圖管理受約束的 DC 和開放購買約束。所以我們很專注——我們正在處理這個問題，這有點未知。我們開始為我們的北美批發市場提供大量新品。我認為我們目前對此充滿信心，但其中一些還不為人知。

So -- but I think in the first half of 2023, we'll definitely see a normalization of North American wholesale, sell-in and sell-out.

所以——但我認為在 2023 年上半年，我們肯定會看到北美批發、銷售和銷售的正常化。

And then can you tell me the -- what is your assumed like sort of net gross interest expense, the interest expense you're expecting for the full year?

然後你能告訴我——你假設的淨利息支出是多少，你預計全年的利息支出是多少？

Yes. So from an interest rate perspective, so our guidance obviously assumes higher interest rate expense than last year, driven by the full year of debt related to HEYDUDE in the rate environment. So as a reminder, we locked in $700 million of fixed rate debt at an average rate of 4.2%. And then the balance of our debt is the $1.7 billion Term Loan B that's floating rate, which is SOFR plus [350.] So on average, it's like 7.7%, if you want to model the interest rate. And then obviously, we paid down $550 million of debt in 2022, and we anticipate really strong cash flow this year and significant pay down against this year, which will offset some, but interest will be higher this year than it was last year.

是的。因此，從利率的角度來看，我們的指導顯然假設利率支出高於去年，這是由利率環境中與 HEYDUDE 相關的全年債務推動的。因此提醒一下，我們鎖定了 7 億美元的固定利率債務，平均利率為 4.2%。然後我們的債務餘額是 17 億美元的浮動利率定期貸款 B，它是 SOFR 加上 [350]。所以平均來說，如果你想對利率建模的話，它大約是 7.7%。然後很明顯，我們在 2022 年償還了 5.5 億美元的債務，我們預計今年的現金流會非常強勁，而且與今年相比會大幅減少，這將抵消一些，但今年的利息將高於去年。

And our next question is from Jim Duffy of Stifel.

我們的下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Jim Duffy。

I have a couple of questions around margins for the brands and the regions. First, on HEYDUDE, you've had some unforeseen challenges. The HEYDUDE margins, however, still running at 31%, which is above your original objective of 26%, 27%. I guess I'm curious, does that make you rethink the margin opportunity for the HEYDUDE brand?

我有幾個關於品牌和地區利潤率的問題。首先，在 HEYDUDE 上，您遇到了一些無法預料的挑戰。然而，HEYDUDE 的利潤率仍為 31%，高於您最初設定的 26%、27% 的目標。我想我很好奇，這是否讓您重新考慮 HEYDUDE 品牌的利潤機會？

Yes. Jim, thank you so much. I do believe that the margins we're very pleased with, overall, the operating margins. One thing when we originally guided, HEYDUDE [to] operating margins, we hadn't pulled out the shared service cost from both brands. So now we've pulled that out. And so both brands are running higher operating margins. And then we have obviously pulled out the shared service cost to get to our overall operating margin guide of 26%. So obviously, last year, we ran higher. We delivered 27.7%, but our long-term guide is around 26% as we continue to invest in both brands to support the growth.

是的。吉姆，非常感謝你。我確實相信我們對總體營業利潤率感到非常滿意。有一件事，當我們最初指導 HEYDUDE [到] 營業利潤時，我們沒有從兩個品牌中提取共享服務成本。所以現在我們已經把它拉出來了。因此，這兩個品牌的營業利潤率都更高。然後我們顯然已經剔除了共享服務成本，以達到我們 26% 的整體營業利潤率指南。很明顯，去年，我們跑得更高。我們交付了 27.7%，但我們的長期指導是 26% 左右，因為我們繼續投資這兩個品牌以支持增長。

Helpful. And, Anne, I know you don't want to get into regional margin guidance, but for the Crocs brand, can you speak to the mixed direction in the regional profit pools? Will you see a meaningful shift towards international? Or does planned investments and growth for international -- you'll keep the margin mix of the regions -- or excuse me, the profit mix of the region is relatively consistent?

有幫助。而且，安妮，我知道你不想進入區域利潤指導，但對於 Crocs 品牌，你能談談區域利潤池中的混合方向嗎？您會看到向國際化的有意義的轉變嗎？還是計劃的國際投資和增長——你會保持地區的利潤組合——或者對不起，該地區的利潤組合相對一致？

Yes. So a couple of things there. Obviously, from an operating margin perspective, all of our regions are very profitable. As we continue to scale international markets, we will continue to see that profitability expand. In Asia, we've been investing significantly in China to support that growth. And so as those Asian markets scale, then obviously, it drives leverage and continues to expand our profit margins. So I don't expect a significant operating margin change based on our international mix.

是的。所以有幾件事。顯然，從營業利潤率的角度來看，我們所有的地區都非常有利可圖。隨著我們繼續擴大國際市場，我們將繼續看到盈利能力的擴大。在亞洲，我們一直在中國大量投資以支持這種增長。因此，隨著這些亞洲市場規模的擴大，很明顯，它會推動槓桿作用並繼續擴大我們的利潤率。因此，根據我們的國際組合，我預計營業利潤率不會發生重大變化。

Our next question is from Mitch Kummetz of Seaport Research.

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

First question on HEYDUDE. So you gave the guide in reported. I think by my math, the pro forma works out to be kind of mid-teens growth year-over-year. I'm curious to know if you expect that to be kind of a straight line cadence over the quarters? I know that the growth has been moderating a little bit, I think, as you're lapping larger numbers. And I would think that as you go through the year, you continue to kind of lap larger numbers. So I'm wondering if we should be thinking of that sort of mid-teens on a straight-line basis pro forma. Or do you expect that to kind of moderate as the year goes by?

關於 HEYDUDE 的第一個問題。所以你給了報告中的指南。我認為根據我的數學計算，備考結果是同比增長了十幾歲。我很想知道你是否希望這在季度中是一種直線節奏？我知道增長已經有所放緩，我認為，因為你正在處理更大的數字。而且我認為，隨著你度過這一年，你會繼續獲得更大的成績。所以我想知道我們是否應該在直線基礎上考慮那種十幾歲的人。或者你認為隨著時間的推移這種情況會有所緩和嗎？

Yes. Mitch, I think obviously, Q1 is highest growth just as we didn't own them for a full year, so as you mentioned. On a reported basis, we haven't guided by quarter, I think we see good growth throughout the year. As Andrew also mentioned, we're cautious in the back half of the year, just given -- cautious on the Crocs brand but also just cautious overall on the consumer. So we've incorporated that into our guidance for the back half of the year.

是的。米奇，我認為顯然，第一季度是最高的增長，因為我們整整一年都沒有擁有它們，所以正如你提到的那樣。在報告的基礎上，我們沒有按季度進行指導，我認為我們全年都會看到良好的增長。正如安德魯還提到的那樣，我們在今年下半年持謹慎態度，剛剛給出——對 Crocs 品牌持謹慎態度，但對消費者整體也持謹慎態度。因此，我們已將其納入我們下半年的指導方針。

Okay. And then on the Crocs business, maybe just a couple of questions. You mentioned Clogs growth in the quarter, and I think it was said that the Classic kind of outperformed the Clog's category overall. I'm curious to know how lined Clogs performed in the quarter. I believe that was a pretty healthy business for you guys last year in Q4. And I'm curious how that lapped this year?

好的。然後關於 Crocs 業務，也許只是幾個問題。你提到了本季度的 Clogs 增長，我認為據說經典款的整體表現優於 Clog 的類別。我很想知道帶襯裡的木底鞋在本季度的表現如何。我相信去年第四季度對你們來說這是一項非常健康的業務。我很好奇今年情況如何？

And then, I guess, secondly, on Sandals, Andrew, you referenced kind of 4 kind of big Sandal segments there. I'm kind of curious if -- how that kind of performed by segment in the back half and then sort of the outlook for '23? I assume that the kind of the everyday piece is the biggest of those segments. And I'm wondering if you're seeing kind of outsized growth there versus the others? And if that would be expected to continue in '23?

然後，我想，其次，關於涼鞋，安德魯，你在那裡提到了 4 種大涼鞋部分。我有點好奇——後半部分的表現如何，然後是 23 年的前景？我認為日常用品是這些細分市場中最大的一部分。而且我想知道你是否看到與其他人相比那裡有某種超大的增長？如果這種情況有望在 23 年繼續下去？

Okay. A lot of questions there. So Classic has performed extremely well in Q4. It performed extremely well all year long, right? And as kind of we mentioned in our prepared remarks, as we look to gain share in a lot of international markets, it's important that we really cement and land the Classic, and we've been doing an exceptional job of that. So that's been driving strong classic growth. Classics also continue to do -- [online] Classic continues to do extremely well in the U.S. From a Lined perspective, Lined -- a Lined business in the U.S. peaked last year. So that was probably a high watermark of consumer takeaway of Lined that moderated a little bit this year. and we expect that to moderate in the future, right? We think we're going to reset the line business at a little bit of a lower level. It's a very important component for our fourth quarter business. We think we've got some really strong innovation coming into that area. I would say international for Lined is a completely different story.

好的。那裡有很多問題。所以 Classic 在第四季度的表現非常出色。全年表現都非常好，對吧？正如我們在準備好的評論中提到的那樣，當我們希望在許多國際市場上獲得份額時，重要的是我們要真正鞏固和登陸經典，我們在這方面做得非常出色。因此，這一直在推動強勁的經典增長。 Classics 也繼續做——[在線]Classic 在美國繼續做得非常好。從 Lined 的角度來看，Lined——美國的 Lined 業務去年達到頂峰。因此，這可能是 Lined 消費者外賣的一個高水位線，今年有所緩和。我們預計未來會緩和，對嗎？我們認為我們將在較低的水平上重新設置生產線業務。這是我們第四季度業務的一個非常重要的組成部分。我們認為我們已經在該領域取得了一些非常強大的創新。我想說 Lined 的國際化是一個完全不同的故事。

So on an international basis, Line still has a lot of incremental penetration opportunities in those markets that kind of demand a winter line products. So I think Northern Europe, think northern parts of Asia, right? So a bit of a different story in lined in different parts of the world.

因此，在國際範圍內，Line 在那些需要冬季系列產品的市場中仍有很多增量滲透機會。所以我認為北歐，亞洲北部地區，對吧？因此，世界不同地區的故事有點不同。

And from a Sandals perspective, yes, we talked about H2 for Sandals, 30% plus growth. And you're right that if you think about Q4 growth in Sandals, it was 50-plus percent. So 50-plus percent growth rate for Q4 in Sandals, really driven by a lot of those new styles that we've brought to market, as well as strong sell-in of Sandals to our distributor markets and some of those distributor markets are Sandal heavy if you think about Southeast Asia.

從 Sandals 的角度來看，是的，我們談到了 Sandals 的 H2，即 30% 以上的增長。你是對的，如果你考慮第四季度涼鞋的增長，它是 50% 以上。因此，涼鞋第四季度的增長率超過 50%，這實際上是受到我們推向市場的許多新款式的推動，以及涼鞋向我們的分銷商市場的強勁銷售，其中一些分銷商市場是涼鞋如果你想到東南亞，那就很重了。

Our next question is from Jay Sole of UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Jay Sole。

This is Mauricio Serna on behalf of Jay Sole. Congratulations on the results. Maybe I wanted to ask a little bit more -- if you could provide more details on the European business, how is that performing, and what are your expectations for this year in that particular business when we look at it from a wholesale and DTC perspective? Also, as we think about the gross margin outlook for 2023, when do you think we lap a return to more normalized promotional levels? And lastly, on the health of the balance sheet, it seems that you're on track to getting to your target leverage ratio. Should we expect the company to resume buyback activity as soon as second half of 2023 and at a similar rate as what you were doing prior to the HEYDUDE acquisition?

我是 Jay Sole 的 Mauricio Serna。祝賀結果。也許我想多問一點——如果你能提供更多關於歐洲業務的細節，它的表現如何，以及當我們從批發和 DTC 的角度來看你對今年特定業務的期望時？此外，當我們考慮 2023 年的毛利率前景時，您認為我們什麼時候會回到更正常的促銷水平？最後，關於資產負債表的健康狀況，您似乎有望達到目標槓桿率。我們是否應該期望公司最早在 2023 年下半年恢復回購活動，並以與收購 HEYDUDE 之前類似的速度進行回購？

So Mauricio, I'll give you a little color on EU and then Anne will talk about gross margin and balance sheet.

所以毛里西奧，我會給你一些關於歐盟的顏色，然後安妮會談談毛利率和資產負債表。

So look, the EMEALA business, our EMEALA segments, which obviously Europe, Middle East, Africa and LatAm performed extremely well in the fourth quarter. 75% growth is obviously exceptional. If we kind of isolate down to Europe, we're seeing very strong trajectory for the Crocs brand in the European market. I think in our prepared remarks, we called out as an example of that, 105% growth in the U.K., which is obviously an important market in Europe. So we're seeing very strong trajectory for the brand that's showing up, both in our DTC business which in Europe is primarily digital and it's also showing up in our wholesale business. As we look to 2023, I don't think we're going to lap 75% growth, but we still see very strong trends in our European business. So we're very confident. And that's really about the brand trajectory. The brand is getting traction. And we are not seeing significant pullback from the consumer for our brand. I'm not saying that's not true across broader product categories, but they still have -- they're still buying crocs.

所以看，歐洲、中東、非洲和拉丁美洲的 EMEALA 業務，我們的 EMEALA 部門，在第四季度表現非常出色。 75% 的增長顯然是個例外。如果我們稍微隔離到歐洲，我們會看到 Crocs 品牌在歐洲市場的發展軌跡非常強勁。我想在我們準備好的發言中，我們舉了一個例子，英國增長了 105%，這顯然是歐洲的一個重要市場。因此，我們看到品牌的發展軌跡非常強勁，無論是在我們的 DTC 業務中，在歐洲主要是數字業務，還是在我們的批發業務中。展望 2023 年，我認為我們不會超過 75% 的增長率，但我們仍然看到我們歐洲業務的強勁趨勢。所以我們很有信心。這真的與品牌軌蹟有關。該品牌越來越受歡迎。而且我們沒有看到消費者對我們品牌的顯著回落。我並不是說在更廣泛的產品類別中情況並非如此，但他們仍然 - 他們仍在購買鱷魚。

Yes. And then I think your second question (inaudible) on gross margin outlook. And so as I mentioned, I think from a margin perspective, Q4 played out exactly as we anticipated with margins as well as the promotional environment. I think our seasonal promotions and liquidation of each inventory was very successful. And that continues. Q1, January tends to be you're cycling through the liquidation period, and then you get to more normalized throughout the quarters. I think from a return of the promotional environment, we're still less promotional than we were pre-pandemic. And so we feel like we're at a pretty normalized level this year. I don't see anything that's out of the ordinary.

是的。然後我認為你的第二個問題（聽不清）是關於毛利率前景的。正如我所提到的，我認為從利潤率的角度來看，第四季度的利潤率和促銷環境完全符合我們的預期。我認為我們的季節性促銷和每個庫存的清算都非常成功。這還在繼續。第一季度，一月份往往是你在清算期循環，然後你在整個季度變得更加正常化。我認為從促銷環境的回歸來看，我們的促銷活動仍然不如大流行前。因此，我們覺得今年我們處於相當正常的水平。我看不出有什麼不尋常的地方。

And then your second question on capital allocation. We're -- we paid down $550 million of debt in 2022, which we're really pleased with. And our priority during 2023 is to continue to pay down debt to get to that 2x gross leverage and then continue past that. Then we have some options of how we want to allocate. So at current interest rates, we would equally pay down debt, that will be a priority as we target to get 1x to 1.5x net leverage, and then we will also look at resuming our share repurchases at that point.

然後是關於資本配置的第二個問題。我們——我們在 2022 年償還了 5.5 億美元的債務，我們對此感到非常高興。我們在 2023 年的首要任務是繼續償還債務以達到 2 倍的總槓桿率，然後繼續超過這個水平。然後我們有一些關於如何分配的選項。因此，以目前的利率，我們同樣會償還債務，這將是我們的首要任務，因為我們的目標是獲得 1 倍至 1.5 倍的淨槓桿率，然後我們還將考慮在那個時候恢復我們的股票回購。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is from Aubrey Tianello with BNP Paribas.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自法國巴黎銀行的 Aubrey Tianello。

I wanted to start out with the SG&A outlook for 2023. Just given you're being a little more cautious with your view on the revenue guide for this year, a little lower than the long-term algo. Can you just -- any more detail on where you're able to pull back on SG&A to preserve the 26% EBIT margin?

我想從 2023 年的 SG&A 展望開始。只是考慮到您對今年收入指南的看法更加謹慎，略低於長期算法。你能不能更詳細地說明你可以在什麼地方減少 SG&A 以保持 26% 的息稅前利潤率？

Yes, sure. So in 2023, we plan to invest principally in marketing and talent. And that -- as Andrew mentioned earlier on the call, we -- for marketing, we invest as a percentage of sales of 7% to 8%. So obviously, if revenue was to significantly decline, that's area we look at pulling back on, although it's usually we try not to because we want to really preserve the brand. So I don't think it's necessary for us to pull back from an SG&A standpoint to hit the 26%. Obviously, we're investing more year-over-year because this year, in 2022, we were over the 26%. But if business doesn't turn out as expected, we can pull SG&A levers and pretty quickly deleverage given the flexibility of our cost structure.

是的，當然。因此，在 2023 年，我們計劃主要投資於營銷和人才。而且 - 正如安德魯早些時候在電話會議上提到的那樣，我們 - 對於營銷，我們的投資佔銷售額的百分比為 7% 到 8%。所以很明顯，如果收入顯著下降，那是我們考慮撤回的領域，儘管通常我們盡量不這樣做，因為我們想真正保護品牌。因此，我認為我們沒有必要從 SG&A 的角度撤回以達到 26%。顯然，我們比去年同期投資更多，因為今年，在 2022 年，我們超過了 26%。但是，如果業務沒有按預期進行，我們可以拉動 SG&A 槓桿，並且鑑於我們成本結構的靈活性，可以很快地去槓桿化。

Yes. Yes. I think -- really, I emphasize, Aubrey, our perspective is the opposite of your question, which is with growth in the business and expansion in gross margins, we're actually able to continue to invest to drive future growth from an SG&A.

是的。是的。我認為 - 真的，我強調，奧布里，我們的觀點與你的問題相反，即隨著業務的增長和毛利率的擴大，我們實際上能夠繼續投資以推動 SG&A 的未來增長。

Got it. Yes. Got it. And then maybe just one on HEYDUDE. Just given the amount of growth in the last couple of years has been so impressive, can you help us understand how much more room there is domestically for the brand in terms of wholesale door penetration? How far along you are with that process, and how much opportunity is left in the U.S.?

知道了。是的。知道了。然後可能只是 HEYDUDE 上的一個。鑑於過去幾年的增長量如此可觀，您能否幫助我們了解該品牌在批發門滲透率方面在國內還有多少空間？你在這個過程中走了多遠，在美國還有多少機會？

Yes. Great question. So we've made really good progress in our first year of ownership in sort of wholesale door penetration in the U.S., right? So we're really pleased with the progress we've made and as you kind of implied in your question, that has fueled our growth. As we look at 2023, we do feel like there is incremental door penetration, and there's still long-term door penetration available in the U.S. There are still a number of key and significant customers that we have not yet penetrated that we're obviously working on. And I think in addition to that, there's a lot of share by door opportunity, right?

是的。很好的問題。所以我們在我們的所有權的第一年就在美國的批發門滲透方面取得了非常好的進展，對吧？因此，我們對我們取得的進展感到非常高興，正如您在問題中暗示的那樣，這推動了我們的發展。當我們展望 2023 年時，我們確實感覺到門滲透率正在增加，並且在美國仍有長期的門滲透率可用。仍有許多我們尚未滲透的關鍵和重要客戶，我們顯然正在努力在。而且我認為除此之外，還有很多按門分享的機會，對吧？

So as we continue to bring new styles to market, as we continue to drive greater brand awareness for the HEYDUDE brand consistently across the U.S. If you remember, when we purchased the brand, its awareness was regional, I would describe it as. So as we invest in marketing to drive awareness, we will see both door penetration. We'll share expansion of share by door, and we will see, we believe, an increase in rates of sell-through.

因此，隨著我們繼續將新款式推向市場，隨著我們繼續在美國各地不斷提高 HEYDUDE 品牌的品牌知名度。如果您還記得，當我們購買該品牌時，它的知名度是區域性的，我將其描述為。因此，當我們投資營銷以提高知名度時，我們將看到兩門滲透率。我們將通過門共享擴大份額，我們相信，我們將看到銷售率的增加。

So that will be somewhat constrained in 2023, because we're dealing with a constrained distribution network where our D&L capabilities are not consistent with our growth potential. So -- but over the long run, we see lots of runway for North American growth in HEYDUDE.

因此，這在 2023 年會受到一定程度的限制，因為我們正在處理一個受限的分銷網絡，我們的 D&L 能力與我們的增長潛力不一致。所以 - 但從長遠來看，我們看到 HEYDUDE 的北美增長有很多跑道。

Great. And then maybe if I could just follow up quickly on that. Any update on the timeframe for expanding internationally with HEYDUDE? And is there -- is any of that reflected in the guide for the year?

偉大的。然後也許我可以快速跟進。關於與 HEYDUDE 進行國際擴張的時間表有任何更新嗎？年度指南中是否反映了這些內容？

Yes. I think actually, one point I just want to go back in my last answer and add to it. I think [PD] released some information just recently and indicated that HEYDUDE was, I think, one of, if not the fastest-growing brand in the U.S. in Q4, so -- in dollar terms. So that's obviously exceptional. From an international perspective, yes, we're super clear, right? So our game plan for 2023 is to continue to test the brand internationally.

是的。我想實際上，有一點我只想回到我上一個答案並添加到它。我認為 [PD] 最近發布了一些信息，表明 HEYDUDE 是，我認為，如果不是第四季度美國增長最快的品牌之一，那麼——以美元計算。所以這顯然是例外。從國際的角度來看，是的，我們非常清楚，對吧？因此，我們 2023 年的遊戲計劃是繼續在國際上測試該品牌。

That will involve direct distribution with some select wholesale customers and a digital presence in the U.K. and Germany that will come up later sort of in the second to third quarter. It will also involve distribution with some key wholesale partners in the sort of Middle East -- sorry, in the Southern Europe and the Middle East. So we've been -- that's our plan for HEYDUDE International. We think it's critically important that we get really strong feedback from these important markets. We've done a lot of research associated with kind of brand receptivity, but that's our plan. It's relatively modest in terms of dollars. In '23, it's all about testing and positioning for the future.

這將涉及與一些精選批發客戶的直接分銷以及在英國和德國的數字業務，這將在第二至第三季度晚些時候出現。它還將涉及與中東地區一些主要批發合作夥伴的分銷——對不起，在南歐和中東。所以我們一直 - 這是我們對 HEYDUDE International 的計劃。我們認為從這些重要市場獲得真正強烈的反饋至關重要。我們做了很多與品牌接受度相關的研究，但這是我們的計劃。就美元而言，它相對適中。在 23 年，一切都是關於未來的測試和定位。

At this time, we will conclude our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Andrew Rees for any closing remarks.

屆時，我們將結束我們的問答環節。我想將會議轉回給 Andrew Rees，聽取任何閉幕詞。

Thank you very much, everybody. Appreciate everybody's interest and great questions this morning. And as you can tell from our prepared remarks and also the answers to our questions, we're incredibly confident in terms of how our brand is positioned or brands are positioned for another exciting year in 2023. Thank you.

非常感謝大家。感謝大家今天早上的興趣和重要問題。正如您從我們準備好的評論和對我們問題的回答中可以看出的那樣，我們對我們的品牌定位或品牌在 2023 年又一個激動人心的一年的定位充滿信心。謝謝。

The conference has now concluded. We thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.

會議現已結束。我們感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開線路。