達樂 (DG) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Robert, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the Dollar General Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. Today is Thursday, December 1, 2022, (Operator Instructions). This call is being recorded. Instructions for listening to the replay of the call are available in the company's earnings press release issued this morning.

早上好。我叫羅伯特，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線員。此時，我想歡迎大家參加 Dollar General 2023 年第三季度財報電話會議。今天是 2022 年 12 月 1 日星期四（操作員說明）。此通話正在錄音中。收聽電話重播的說明可在公司今天上午發布的收益新聞稿中找到。

Now I'd like to turn the conference over to Mr. Kevin Walker, Vice President of Investor Relations. Kevin, you may now start your conference.

現在我想將會議轉交給投資者關係副總裁 Kevin Walker 先生。凱文，你現在可以開始你的會議了。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. On the call with me today are Jeff Owen, our CEO; and John Garratt, our CFO. Our earnings release issued today can be found on our website at investor.dollargeneral.com, under News and Events.

謝謝大家，早上好。今天和我通電話的是我們的首席執行官傑夫歐文；和我們的首席財務官 John Garratt。我們今天發布的收益報告可以在我們網站 investor.dollargeneral.com 的新聞和活動下找到。

Let me caution you that today's comments include forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements about our financial guidance, strategy, initiatives, plans, goals, priorities, opportunities, investments, expectations or beliefs about future matters and other statements that are not limited to historical fact.

請注意，今天的評論包括 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》中定義的前瞻性陳述，例如關於我們的財務指導、戰略、舉措、計劃、目標、優先事項、機會、投資、預期或信念的陳述未來事項及其他不限於歷史事實的陳述。

These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. These factors include, but are not limited to, those identified in our earnings release issued this morning, under Risk Factors in our 2021 Form 10-K filed on March 18, 2022, and any later filed periodic report, and in the comments that are made on this call.

這些陳述受風險和不確定因素的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期和預測存在重大差異。這些因素包括但不限於我們今天上午發布的收益報告中確定的因素、我們於 2022 年 3 月 18 日提交的 2021 年 10-K 表格中的風險因素以及任何後來提交的定期報告中確定的因素，以及打這個電話。

You should not unduly rely on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today's date. Dollar General disclaims any obligation to update or revise any information discussed in this call unless required by law. At the end of our prepared remarks, we will open the call up for your questions. (Operator Instructions)

您不應過分依賴前瞻性陳述，這些陳述僅代表今天的情況。除非法律要求，否則 Dollar General 不承擔任何更新或修改本次電話會議中討論的任何信息的義務。在我們準備好的評論結束時，我們將打開您的問題的電話。 （操作員說明）

Now it is my pleasure to turn the call over to Jeff.

現在我很高興將電話轉給 Jeff。

Thank you, Kevin, and welcome to everyone joining our call. I want to begin by thanking our entire team for their ongoing commitment to serving our customers, communities and each other.

謝謝你，凱文，歡迎大家加入我們的電話會議。首先，我要感謝我們整個團隊一直致力於為我們的客戶、社區和彼此提供服務。

The quarter was highlighted by strong performance on the top line, led by comp sales growth of 6.8% and included increases in traffic and in market share of both consumable and nonconsumable product sales.

本季度的亮點在於收入的強勁表現，其中 comp 銷售額增長 6.8%，其中包括消費品和非消費品銷售的流量和市場份額的增加。

During the quarter, we experienced significantly higher-than-anticipated cost pressures, including challenges within our internal supply chain, sales mix pressures and higher inventory damages and shrink, all of which impacted gross margin. We will elaborate more on these cost pressures in a bit.

在本季度，我們經歷了遠高於預期的成本壓力，包括我們內部供應鏈中的挑戰、銷售組合壓力以及更高的庫存損壞和收縮，所有這些都影響了毛利率。我們稍後會詳細說明這些成本壓力。

But despite these challenges, we delivered a double-digit increase in diluted earnings per share, along with strong same-store sales growth. As the economic environment continued to evolve during the quarter, we remain focused on serving the needs of our core customer.

但儘管存在這些挑戰，我們的攤薄後每股收益實現了兩位數的增長，同時同店銷售額也實現了強勁增長。隨著本季度經濟環境的不斷發展，我們仍然專注於滿足核心客戶的需求。

We continue to see customer behaviors in Q3 that we believe indicate they are feeling increased financial pressure, including reductions in the number of items purchased per basket and in discretionary spending, which was softer than anticipated during the quarter.

我們繼續看到第三季度的客戶行為，我們認為這表明他們感到財務壓力增加，包括每籃子購買的商品數量和可自由支配支出的減少，這比本季度的預期要疲軟。

Customers also continued to shift spending to more affordable options, such as items that are dollar price point and private brands, while also shopping closer to payday at the first of the month. Importantly, we are growing more productive with our core customer as well as seeing an increase in customers with annual household incomes up to $100,000.

客戶還繼續將支出轉移到更實惠的選擇上，例如美元價位的商品和自有品牌，同時也在月初臨近發薪日購物。重要的是，我們與核心客戶的合作效率不斷提高，並且家庭年收入高達 100,000 美元的客戶也在增加。

This growth underscores our belief that our value and convenience proposition resonates with a broad spectrum of customers and will continue to be important to all customers in this challenging economic environment. In turn, we remain focused on delivering value and convenience and continue to feel good about our pricing position relative to competitors and other classes of trade.

這種增長凸顯了我們的信念，即我們的價值和便利主張與廣泛的客戶產生共鳴，並將在這個充滿挑戰的經濟環境中繼續對所有客戶都很重要。反過來，我們仍然專注於提供價值和便利，並繼續對我們相對於競爭對手和其他貿易類別的定價地位感到滿意。

Further, we remain committed to offering products at the $1 price point, and we're pleased with the strong comp sales performance of these products during Q3, as they collectively outperformed the chain average. With nearly 19,000 stores, located within 5 miles of about 75% of the U.S. population, we believe we are well positioned to support our customers even in a challenging economic environment.

此外，我們仍然致力於以 1 美元的價格提供產品，我們對這些產品在第三季度的強勁銷售業績感到滿意，因為它們的整體表現優於連鎖平均水平。我們擁有近 19,000 家商店，距離約 75% 的美國人口不到 5 英里，我們相信即使在充滿挑戰的經濟環境中，我們也有能力為我們的客戶提供支持。

We're building on this foundation, I'm excited to share our real estate growth plans for next year. In fiscal 2023, we plan to execute approximately 3,170 projects in the United States including 1,050 new store openings as we continue to lay and strengthen the foundation for future growth. I'll share more details on these plans in just a few minutes, along with an update on our plans for our supply chain as we continue to support our significant growth.

我們正在這個基礎上建設，我很高興分享我們明年的房地產增長計劃。在 2023 財年，我們計劃在美國執行約 3,170 個項目，包括 1,050 家新店開業，以繼續為未來增長奠定和加強基礎。我將在短短幾分鐘內分享有關這些計劃的更多詳細信息，以及在我們繼續支持我們的顯著增長時更新我們的供應鏈計劃。

But first, let me recap some additional financial results for the third quarter. Our strong comp sales performance helped drive a net sales increase of 11.1% to $9.5 billion. From a monthly cadence perspective, the comp sales momentum we saw building in Q2 continued into all 3 months of Q3, with September being our strongest month of performance. And I'm pleased to note that Q4 sales are off to a strong start as well.

但首先，讓我回顧一下第三季度的一些額外財務業績。我們強勁的銷售業績幫助推動淨銷售額增長 11.1% 至 95 億美元。從每月節奏的角度來看，我們在第二季度看到的比較銷售勢頭一直持續到第三季度的所有 3 個月，其中 9 月是我們表現最強勁的月份。我很高興地註意到第四季度的銷售也有了一個良好的開端。

Our Q3 comp sales were primarily driven by an increase in average transaction amount, largely driven by inflation. And as we would expect during a more challenging economic environment, average units per basket were down.

我們第三季度的比較銷售主要是由平均交易金額的增加推動的，這主要是由通貨膨脹推動的。正如我們預期的那樣，在更具挑戰性的經濟環境中，每籃子的平均單位數量下降了。

As I mentioned earlier, we were excited to see a second consecutive quarter of increasing customer traffic contribute to the growth. With regards to the supply chain cost pressures I mentioned earlier, I want to touch on what happened and the actions we have taken to address these challenges. As a reminder, since the early days of the pandemic over 2 years ago, we have seen demand and sales grow at a robust pace.

正如我之前提到的，我們很高興看到連續第二個季度增加的客戶流量為增長做出了貢獻。關於我之前提到的供應鏈成本壓力，我想談談發生了什麼以及我們為應對這些挑戰所採取的行動。提醒一下，自 2 年前大流行初期以來，我們已經看到需求和銷售以強勁的速度增長。

In addition, the overall mix of products we are shipping has evolved significantly with the growth of our nonconsumable initiative in pOpshelf. As our distribution needs grew and evolved, we strategically designed permanent warehouse capacity solutions to support our growth.

此外，隨著我們在 pOpshelf 中非消費品計劃的發展，我們運送的產品的整體組合發生了顯著變化。隨著我們的分銷需求的增長和演變，我們戰略性地設計了永久倉庫容量解決方案來支持我們的增長。

We plan for them to be operational starting in the back half of this year while making greater use of temporary storage facilities in the near-term. However, as we move through Q3, we experienced unexpected delays in opening additional temporary storage facilities, primarily due to external challenges such as permitting.

我們計劃讓它們從今年下半年開始運營，同時在短期內更多地使用臨時存儲設施。然而，隨著我們進入第三季度，我們在開放額外的臨時存儲設施方面遇到了意外的延遲，這主要是由於許可等外部挑戰。

At the same time, seasonal goods came in earlier than anticipated. The resulting constraints from these factors led to more than $40 million and additional supply chain costs in Q3 compared to what we had previously expected.

與此同時，季節性商品的進貨比預期的要早。與我們之前的預期相比，這些因素造成的限制導致第三季度超過 4000 萬美元和額外的供應鏈成本。

These costs included retention fees incurred for delays in returning shipping containers. Costs associated with inefficiencies in moving freight within our distribution centers and higher transportation costs as a result of servicing stores from less-than-optimal distribution center alignments.

這些成本包括因延遲退回集裝箱而產生的保留費。與我們的配送中心內運輸貨物效率低下相關的成本，以及由於從不太理想的配送中心路線為商店提供服務而導致的更高運輸成本。

While these issues have resulted in a gross margin headwind in the back half of this year, the team has worked hard to move past these delays with the opening of additional storage and warehouse facilities, which have already begun to relieve some of the capacity pressures.

儘管這些問題導致了今年下半年的毛利率逆風，但該團隊一直在努力克服這些延誤，開設更多的倉儲設施，這些設施已經開始緩解部分產能壓力。

In fact, within the past few weeks, we increased capacity by more than 2 million square feet with the opening of 2 new permanent regional distribution hubs in Georgia and Texas, which will serve as intermediary facilities between import points and the rest of our distribution centers.

事實上，在過去幾週內，我們在佐治亞州和德克薩斯州開設了 2 個新的永久性區域配送中心，將產能增加了超過 200 萬平方英尺，這將作為進口點和我們其他配送中心之間的中介設施.

With the opening of both the temporary and permanent facilities, we believe we are well positioned to drive continued improvement as we move ahead, as we better optimize store alignment with distribution centers, lower capacity utilization within our existing footprint and improve the overall flow of goods.

隨著臨時和永久設施的開放，我們相信我們已經準備好在我們前進的過程中推動持續改進，因為我們更好地優化商店與配送中心的對齊，降低我們現有足跡內的產能利用率並改善整體貨物流動.

Of note, these regional hubs will be followed by the opening of our new combination distribution center in Nebraska, which is scheduled to begin shipping by the end of this fiscal year. In addition, our previously announced facilities in Arkansas, Colorado and Oregon are expected to come online over the next 18 months.

值得注意的是，在這些區域中心之後，我們將在內布拉斯加州開設新的聯合配送中心，該中心計劃於本財年末開始發貨。此外，我們之前宣布的位於阿肯色州、科羅拉多州和俄勒岡州的設施預計將在未來 18 個月內上線。

Collectively, all of these new distribution centers will ultimately result in a more than 20% increase in total capacity and position us well to support continued growth in the years to come.

總的來說，所有這些新的配送中心最終將導致總容量增加 20% 以上，並使我們能夠很好地支持未來幾年的持續增長。

Overall, while internal supply chain challenges have impacted our EPS outlook for 2022, we believe the significant growth in demand that contributed to these challenges is a testament to the growing relevance of Dollar General. And we are confident in our plans to support this growth going forward.

總體而言，雖然內部供應鏈挑戰影響了我們 2022 年的每股收益展望，但我們認為導致這些挑戰的需求顯著增長證明了 Dollar General 的相關性日益增強。我們對支持這種增長的計劃充滿信心。

Looking ahead, we remain focused on advancing our operating priorities and strategic initiatives from a position of strength, as we continue to distance and differentiate Dollar General from the rest of the retail landscape.

展望未來，我們將繼續專注於從優勢地位推進我們的運營優先事項和戰略計劃，因為我們將繼續與其他零售業者保持距離並將 Dollar General 區分開來。

We continue to operate in one of the most attractive sectors in retail. And as a mature retailer in growth mode, our transformational strategic actions have positioned us well for continued success, while supporting long-term shareholder value creation.

我們繼續在零售業最具吸引力的行業之一開展業務。作為一家處於增長模式的成熟零售商，我們的轉型戰略行動為我們的持續成功做好了準備，同時支持長期的股東價值創造。

With that, I will turn the call over to John.

有了這個，我會把電話轉給約翰。

Thank you, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. Now that Jeff has taken you through a few highlights of the quarter, let me take you through some of its important financial details, beginning with gross profit.

謝謝你，傑夫，大家早上好。既然 Jeff 已經向您介紹了本季度的一些亮點，那麼讓我向您介紹一些重要的財務細節，首先是毛利潤。

Unless we specifically note otherwise, all comparisons are year-over-year, all references to EPS refer to diluted earnings per share and all years noted refer to the corresponding fiscal year.

除非我們另有特別說明，否則所有比較均為同比，所有提及的每股收益均指稀釋後的每股收益，所有註明的年份均指相應的財政年度。

For Q3, gross profit as a percentage of sales was 30.5%, a decrease of 27 basis points. This decrease was primarily attributable to a higher LIFO provision, a greater proportion of sales coming from the consumable category as well as increases in distribution costs, markdowns, inventory shrink and damages partially offset by higher inventory markups.

第三季度，毛利潤佔銷售額的百分比為 30.5%，下降了 27 個基點。這一下降主要歸因於更高的後進先出法準備金、更大比例的銷售額來自消耗品類別以及分銷成本、降價、庫存縮減和損壞部分被更高的庫存加價所抵消。

Of note, product cost inflation was greater than anticipated, resulting in a LIFO provision of approximately $148 million during the quarter. And while we believe cost increases are beginning to moderate, we anticipate LIFO will continue to pressure Q4 as well.

值得注意的是，產品成本通脹高於預期，導致本季度後進先出法撥備約為 1.48 億美元。雖然我們認為成本增長開始放緩，但我們預計後進先出法也將繼續給第四季度帶來壓力。

SG&A as a percentage of sales was 22.7%, a decrease of 23 basis points. This decrease was driven by expenses that were lower as a percentage of sales, the most significant of which were retail labor, incentive compensation, hurricane-related disaster expenses and occupancy costs. These were partially offset by expenses that were greater as a percentage of sales, including utilities, repairs and maintenance and travel and training costs.

SG&A 佔銷售額的百分比為 22.7%，下降了 23 個基點。這一下降是由於支出佔銷售額的百分比較低，其中最重要的是零售勞動力、激勵補償、與颶風相關的災難支出和占用成本。這些部分被佔銷售額百分比較高的費用所抵消，包括公用事業、維修和保養以及差旅和培訓費用。

Moving down the income statement. Operating profit for the third quarter increased 10.5% to $736 million. As a percentage of sales, operating profit was 7.8%, a decrease of 4 basis points. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 22.8% and compares to 22.2% in the third quarter last year. Finally, EPS for the third quarter increased 12% to $2.33.

向下移動損益表。第三季度營業利潤增長 10.5% 至 7.36 億美元。營業利潤佔銷售額的百分比為 7.8%，下降了 4 個基點。我們本季度的有效稅率為 22.8%，而去年第三季度為 22.2%。最後，第三季度每股收益增長 12% 至 2.33 美元。

Turning now to our balance sheet and cash flow, which remains strong and provide us the financial flexibility to continue investing for the long-term, while delivering significant returns to shareholders.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表和現金流，它們仍然強勁，為我們提供了繼續長期投資的財務靈活性，同時為股東帶來可觀的回報。

Merchandise inventories were $7.1 billion at the end of the third quarter, an increase of 34.8% overall and 28.4% on a per store basis. Similar to the first half of the year, this increase primarily reflects the impact of product cost inflation, a greater mix of higher-value products, particularly in the home and seasonal categories, primarily due to the continued rollout of our non-consumables' initiative, and the early receipt of seasonal goods.

第三季度末商品庫存為 71 億美元，整體增長 34.8%，每家門店增長 28.4%。與今年上半年類似，這一增長主要反映了產品成本上漲的影響，更高價值產品組合的增加，尤其是家庭和季節性類別，這主要是由於我們的非消耗品計劃的持續推出, 及早收到季節性商品。

Importantly, we continue to believe the quality of our inventory is in good shape, and we anticipate that we will begin to see lower levels of inventory growth beginning in Q4.

重要的是，我們仍然相信我們的庫存質量狀況良好，我們預計從第四季度開始我們將開始看到較低水平的庫存增長。

Moving down the balance sheet. We issued $2.3 billion of senior notes during Q3, and we now expect to incur total interest expense of approximately $210 million for the full year, an increase of approximately $53 million over the prior year.

向下移動資產負債表。我們在第三季度發行了 23 億美元的優先票據，我們現在預計全年的利息支出總額約為 2.1 億美元，比上年增加約 5300 萬美元。

Turning to cash flow. Year-to-date through Q3, the business generated cash flows from operations totaling $1.2 billion, a decrease of 44%, primarily due to higher inventory purchases.

轉向現金流。從年初至今到第三季度，該業務產生的運營現金流總額為 12 億美元，下降了 44%，這主要是由於庫存採購增加。

Total capital expenditures through Q3 were $1.1 billion and included our planned investments in new stores, remodels and relocations, distribution and transportation projects and spending related to the strategic initiatives.

第三季度的總資本支出為 11 億美元，其中包括我們計劃在新店、改造和搬遷、分銷和運輸項目以及與戰略計劃相關的支出方面的投資。

During the quarter, we repurchased 2.3 million shares of our common stock for $546 million and paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.55 per common share outstanding for a total payout of $123 million. At the end of Q3, the remaining share repurchase authorization was $2.5 billion.

本季度，我們以 5.46 億美元的價格回購了 230 萬股普通股，並支付了每股已發行普通股 0.55 美元的季度現金股息，總支出為 1.23 億美元。截至第三季度末，剩餘的股份回購授權為 25 億美元。

Our capital allocation priorities continue to serve us well and remain unchanged. Our first priority is investing in high-return growth opportunities, including new store expansion and our strategic initiatives. We also remain committed to returning significant cash to shareholders, to anticipated share repurchases and quarterly dividend payments, all while maintaining our current investment-grade credit rating and managing to a leverage ratio of approximately 3x adjusted debt to EBITDAR.

我們的資本配置優先事項繼續為我們服務，並且保持不變。我們的首要任務是投資於高回報增長機會，包括新店擴張和我們的戰略舉措。我們還繼續致力於向股東返還大量現金、預期的股票回購和季度股息支付，同時維持我們目前的投資級信用評級，並設法將調整後債務與 EBITDAR 的槓桿率保持在約 3 倍。

Moving to an update on our financial outlook for fiscal 2022. On year-to-date sales performance and our expectations for the remainder of Q4, we are reiterating our fiscal 2022 full year expectations for net sales growth of approximately 11%, including an estimated benefit of approximately 2 percentage points from the 53rd week, and we are updating our expectation for same-store sales growth for Q4, which we expect same-store sales growth in the range of 6% to 7%, which would result in growth toward the upper end of our previous range of approximately 4% to 4.5%.

更新我們 2022 財年的財務展望。關於年初至今的銷售業績和我們對第四季度剩餘時間的預期，我們重申我們對 2022 財年全年淨銷售額增長約 11% 的預期，包括估計受益於第 53 週約 2 個百分點，我們正在更新我們對 Q4 同店銷售增長的預期，我們預計同店銷售增長在 6% 至 7% 的範圍內，這將導致增長向我們先前範圍的上限約為 4% 至 4.5%。

Turning to gross margin. We've experienced many challenges over the course of this year, including those related to product cost inflation, supply chain dynamics and the evolution of consumer spending. Since our last update and like many retailers, we have seen an increased headwind from lower-margin consumables, sales mix as customers face growing financial pressure. We expect this headwind to grow in Q4 as our guidance assumes customers continue to feel financial pressures and shift more of their spending to consumable items.

轉向毛利率。今年我們經歷了許多挑戰，包括與產品成本膨脹、供應鏈動態和消費者支出演變相關的挑戰。自我們上次更新以來，與許多零售商一樣，我們看到利潤率較低的消耗品和銷售組合帶來的阻力越來越大，因為客戶面臨越來越大的財務壓力。我們預計這種逆風將在第四季度增長，因為我們的指導假設客戶繼續感受到財務壓力並將更多支出轉移到消費品上。

And while we are making good progress toward resolving our storage capacity constraints, we expect some of the cost pressures we have experienced as a result of the delays will carry over into Q4, but will be largely resolved by Q1 of next year. Finally, we are seeing a greater headwind from inventory shrink and damages than we anticipated for the back half of this year.

雖然我們在解決存儲容量限制方面取得了良好進展，但我們預計我們因延遲而經歷的一些成本壓力將延續到第四季度，但到明年第一季度將在很大程度上得到解決。最後，我們看到今年下半年庫存縮減和損失帶來的阻力比我們預期的更大。

Overall, while we are confident in the actions, we are taking to address our supply chain challenges, we anticipate the total headwind to gross margin in Q4 from all of these factors will be higher than what we previously contemplated within our financial guidance. With all this in mind, we are updating our EPS guidance.

總體而言，雖然我們對這些行動充滿信心，但我們正在採取措施應對供應鏈挑戰，我們預計所有這些因素對第四季度毛利率的總體不利影響將高於我們之前在財務指引中預期的水平。考慮到所有這些，我們正在更新我們的 EPS 指南。

For the fourth quarter, we now expect to deliver EPS in the range of $3.15 to $3.30, which would result in a growth for the full year of approximately 7% to 8%. This is compared to our previous expectation of 12% to 14% EPS for the full year. Both the current and previous ranges include an estimated benefit of approximately 4 percentage points from the 53rd week. And our EPS outlook now assumes an effective tax rate toward the upper end of the previously provided range of 22% to 22.5%.

對於第四季度，我們現在預計每股收益在 3.15 美元至 3.30 美元之間，這將導致全年增長約 7% 至 8%。這與我們此前預期的全年每股收益 12% 至 14% 相比。當前和之前的範圍都包括從第 53 週開始大約 4 個百分點的估計收益。我們的 EPS 展望現在假設有效稅率接近先前提供的 22% 至 22.5% 範圍的上限。

We now expect capital spending for 2022 to be approximately $1.5 billion, which is at the top end of our previously stated range. Finally, our expectations for share repurchases remain unchanged from what we stated in our Q2 earnings release on August 25, 2022.

我們現在預計 2022 年的資本支出約為 15 億美元，處於我們之前所述範圍的上限。最後，我們對股票回購的預期與我們在 2022 年 8 月 25 日發布的第二季度財報中所述保持不變。

Overall, despite the near-term challenges, we are confident in the business and our outlook for the remainder of the year. While we plan to share 2023 guidance on the Q4 call, we feel good about the sales momentum going into next year, coupled with moderating cost pressures.

總體而言，儘管近期面臨挑戰，但我們對今年剩餘時間的業務和前景充滿信心。雖然我們計劃在第四季度電話會議上分享 2023 年的指導意見，但我們對明年的銷售勢頭感到滿意，同時成本壓力也有所緩和。

Let me provide some additional context as it relates to our Q4 outlook. As a reminder, we expect to continue realizing benefits from our initiatives, including DG Fresh and NCI through the remainder of the year. In addition, we expect the significant expansion of our private fleet, will drive additional benefits going forward despite anticipated continued internal supply chain pressures in the near-term.

讓我提供一些與我們第四季度展望相關的額外背景。提醒一下，我們希望在今年餘下的時間裡繼續從我們的舉措中獲益，包括 DG Fresh 和 NCI。此外，儘管預計短期內內部供應鏈壓力持續存在，但我們預計私人船隊的顯著擴張將帶來更多收益。

With regards to SG&A, we expect continued investments in our strategic initiatives as we further the rollouts. However, in aggregate, we continue to expect these initiatives will positively contribute to operating profit margin in 2022, as we expect our benefits to gross margin will more than offset the associated SG&A expense.

關於 SG&A，我們希望隨著我們進一步推出，繼續對我們的戰略計劃進行投資。然而，總的來說，我們繼續預計這些舉措將對 2022 年的營業利潤率做出積極貢獻，因為我們預計我們對毛利率的好處將超過相關的 SG&A 費用。

Consistent with Q2 and Q3, our outlook includes continued investments to further enhance the customer experience, primarily toward incremental labor hours to drive continued improvement in overall in-stock levels and customer experience.

與第二季度和第三季度一致，我們的展望包括繼續投資以進一步提升客戶體驗，主要是增加工時以推動整體庫存水平和客戶體驗的持續改善。

Finally, we also continue to pursue efficiencies and savings through our Save to Serve program, including Fast Track and are seeing savings in 2022, offsetting a portion of wage inflation. As always, we continue to be disciplined in how we manage expenses and capital with the goal of delivering consistent, strong financial performance, while strategically investing for the long-term. We're working hard to address the near-term challenges, most of which we believe will be behind us as we enter 2023.

最後，我們還通過“為服務而儲蓄”計劃（包括快速通道）繼續追求效率和節約，預計 2022 年將實現節約，抵消部分工資上漲。一如既往，我們在管理費用和資本方面繼續保持紀律，以提供一致、強勁的財務業績為目標，同時進行長期戰略投資。我們正在努力應對近期挑戰，我們相信其中大部分挑戰將在我們進入 2023 年時過去。

Importantly, we remain confident in our business model and our ongoing financial priorities to drive profitable same-store sales growth, healthy new store returns, strong free cash flow and long-term shareholder value.

重要的是，我們對我們的商業模式和持續的財務重點保持信心，以推動盈利的同店銷售增長、健康的新店回報、強勁的自由現金流和長期股東價值。

With that, I will turn the call back over to Jeff.

有了這個，我會把電話轉回傑夫。

Thank you, John. Let me take the next few minutes to update you on our operating priorities and strategic initiatives.

謝謝你，約翰。讓我在接下來的幾分鐘內向您介紹我們的運營重點和戰略計劃。

Our first operating priority is driving profitable sales growth. We are continuing to make significant progress executing against our robust portfolio of initiatives. Let me take you through some of the recent highlights.

我們的首要運營重點是推動盈利性銷售增長。我們將繼續在執行我們強大的計劃組合方面取得重大進展。讓我帶您了解一下最近的一些亮點。

Starting with our nonconsumable initiative, or NCI, which was available in more than 16,000 stores at the end of the third quarter. With over 75% of the assortment at $5 or less, this treasure hunt offering continues to resonate with customers who are seeking value. We continue to be pleased with the sales and margin performance we are seeing from our NCI offering, including market share growth in nonconsumable product categories.

從我們的非消耗品計劃 (NCI) 開始，該計劃在第三季度末已在 16,000 多家商店推出。超過 75% 的商品價格在 5 美元或以下，這種尋寶活動繼續引起尋求價值的客戶的共鳴。我們繼續對我們從 NCI 產品中看到的銷售和利潤率表現感到滿意，包括非消耗品類別的市場份額增長。

Looking ahead, we expect to realize ongoing benefits from this initiative throughout the remainder of the year and remain on track to complete the rollout across nearly the entire chain by year-end.

展望未來，我們希望在今年餘下的時間裡從這一舉措中獲得持續的好處，並繼續按計劃在年底前完成幾乎整個鏈條的推出。

Moving to our pOpshelf store concept, which further builds on our success and learnings with NCI. As a reminder, pOpshelf aims to engage customers by offering a fun, affordable and differentiated treasure hunt experience delivered through continually refreshed merchandise, a differentiated in-store experience and exceptional value with the vast majority of our items priced at $5 or less.

轉向我們的 pOpshelf 商店概念，它進一步建立在我們與 NCI 的成功和學習之上。提醒一下，pOpshelf 旨在通過不斷更新的商品提供有趣、價格實惠且差異化的尋寶體驗、差異化的店內體驗和卓越的價值來吸引客戶，我們絕大多數商品的價格都在 5 美元或更低。

We recently celebrated the 2-year anniversary of the first pOpshelf store, along with our 100th store opening. And we are pleased to see the concept continuing to resonate with customers.

我們最近慶祝了第一家 pOpshelf 商店成立 2 週年，以及我們的第 100 家商店開業。我們很高興看到這個概念繼續引起客戶的共鳴。

During the quarter, we opened 23 new pOpshelf locations, bringing the total number of stores to 103 located within 9 states. Additionally, we opened 15 new store-within-a-store concepts during Q3, bringing the total number of Dollar General market stores with a smaller footprint pOpshelf store included to a total of 40.

本季度，我們新開了 23 家 pOpshelf 門店，使位於 9 個州的門店總數達到 103 家。此外，我們在第三季度開設了 15 家新的店中店概念，使包含佔地面積較小的 pOpshelf 商店的 Dollar General 市場商店總數達到 40 家。

We remain on track to nearly triple the stand-alone pOpshelf store count this year, which would bring us to a total of nearly 150 stand-alone pOpshelf locations by year-end.

今年，我們仍有望將獨立的 pOpshelf 商店數量增加近兩倍，這將使我們在年底前擁有近 150 個獨立的 pOpshelf 地點。

Looking ahead, we plan to nearly double the pOpshelf store count next year, as our real estate plans for 2023 include opening approximately 150 additional locations, bringing the total number of pOpshelf stores to about 300 by the end of 2023. Overall, we remain excited about the pOpshelf concept and our goal of approximately 1,000 locations by year-end 2025.

展望未來，我們計劃明年將 pOpshelf 商店數量增加近一倍，因為我們 2023 年的房地產計劃包括開設大約 150 個額外地點，到 2023 年底使 pOpshelf 商店總數達到約 300 家。總的來說，我們仍然感到興奮關於 pOpshelf 概念和我們到 2025 年底實現約 1,000 個地點的目標。

Turning now to DG Fresh, which is a strategic, multiphase shift to self-distribution of frozen and refrigerated goods along with a focus on driving continued sales growth in these areas.

現在轉向 DG Fresh，這是一個戰略性的、多階段的轉變，轉向冷凍和冷藏商品的自我分銷，同時專注於推動這些領域的持續銷售增長。

As a reminder, we completed the initial rollout of DG Fresh across the entire chain in 2021 and are now delivering to nearly 19,000 stores from 12 facilities. The initial objective of DG Fresh was to reduce product cost on our frozen and refrigerated items, and we continue to be very pleased with the savings we are seeing.

提醒一下，我們於 2021 年在整個連鎖店完成了 DG Fresh 的初步推出，現在從 12 個設施向近 19,000 家商店提供配送服務。 DG Fresh 的最初目標是降低我們冷凍和冷藏產品的產品成本，我們對所看到的節省繼續感到非常滿意。

Another important goal of DG Fresh is to increase sales in frozen and refrigerated categories. We are pleased with the performance on this front including enhanced product offerings in stores and strong performance from our perishable department.

DG Fresh 的另一個重要目標是增加冷凍和冷藏類別的銷售額。我們對這方面的表現感到滿意，包括增強商店的產品供應和我們易腐部門的強勁表現。

Going forward, we expect to realize additional benefits from DG Fresh, as we continue to optimize our network further leverage our scale, deliver an even wider product selection and build on our multiyear track record of growth in cooler doors and associated sales.

展望未來，隨著我們繼續優化我們的網絡，進一步利用我們的規模，提供更廣泛的產品選擇，並鞏固我們多年來在冷藏門和相關銷售方面的增長記錄，我們預計將從 DG Fresh 中獲得更多收益。

And while produce is not included in our initial rollout, we continue to believe that DG Fresh provides a potential path forward to expanding our produce offering to more than 10,000 stores over time.

雖然我們最初推出的產品不包括農產品，但我們仍然相信，隨著時間的推移，DG Fresh 提供了將我們的農產品產品擴展到 10,000 多家商店的潛在途徑。

To that end, we offered Fresh produce in more than 3,000 stores at the end of Q3. And looking ahead, plan to add produce in approximately 2,000 stores in 2023, for a total of approximately 5,000 stores by the end of next year.

為此，我們在第三季度末在 3,000 多家商店提供新鮮農產品。展望未來，計劃在 2023 年在大約 2,000 家門店增加產品，到明年年底，門店總數約為 5,000 家。

Finally, DG Fresh has also extended the reach of our cooler expansion program. During Q3, we added more than 17,000 cooler doors across our store base, and we are on track to install more than 65,000 cooler doors in 2022.

最後，DG Fresh 還擴大了我們冷藏箱擴展計劃的範圍。在第三季度，我們在我們的商店基地增加了超過 17,000 個冷藏門，我們有望在 2022 年安裝超過 65,000 個冷藏門。

Importantly, despite the meaningful improvements we have made to date as a result of DG Fresh, we believe we still have significant incremental opportunity to drive additional returns with this initiative in the years ahead.

重要的是，儘管我們迄今為止因 DG Fresh 做出了有意義的改進，但我們相信在未來幾年我們仍然有很大的增量機會通過這一舉措推動額外回報。

Turning now to an update on our health initiative, branded as DG Wellbeing. The initial focus of this project is an expanded health offering, which consists of approximately 30% more feet of selling space and up to 400 additional items as compared to our standard offering. This offering was available in more than 3,200 stores at the end of Q3, and we plan to expand to a total of more than 4,000 stores by the end of 2022.

現在轉向我們的健康倡議的更新，品牌為 DG Wellbeing。該項目最初的重點是擴展健康產品，與我們的標準產品相比，它包括大約多 30% 的銷售空間和多達 400 種額外的項目。截至第三季度末，該產品已在 3,200 多家門店推出，我們計劃到 2022 年底將門店總數擴大到 4,000 多家。

As we seek to further connect customers with our expanded health offering, we have recently launched a partnership with a third-party payment platform to allow customers to use health plan supplemental benefits to purchase various health and wellness-related items in their local Dollar General stores.

在我們尋求進一步將客戶與我們擴展的健康產品聯繫起來時，我們最近與第三方支付平台建立了合作夥伴關係，允許客戶使用健康計劃補充福利在當地的 Dollar General 商店購買各種與健康和保健相關的物品.

And most recently, I'm excited to announce that we launched a pilot of a mobile health clinic provided by DocGo On-Demand to provide basic preventative and urgent care services at a small number of stores in Q3. We plan to test this offering in select stores over the next few months as we continue to work with customers on how to help bring affordable health and wellness closer to home, while further establishing Dollar General as a trusted health partner in the local community.

最近，我很高興地宣布，我們在第三季度啟動了 DocGo On-Demand 提供的移動健康診所試點，以在少數商店提供基本的預防和緊急護理服務。我們計劃在接下來的幾個月內在精選商店中測試此產品，因為我們將繼續與客戶合作，研究如何幫助將負擔得起的健康和保健帶到離家更近的地方，同時進一步將 Dollar General 打造成當地社區值得信賴的健康合作夥伴。

In addition to the gross margin benefits associated with the initiatives I just discussed, we continue to pursue other opportunities to enhance gross margin, including improvements in private brand sales, global sourcing, supply chain efficiencies and shrink and damage reduction.

除了與我剛才討論的舉措相關的毛利率收益外，我們繼續尋求其他機會來提高毛利率，包括改善自有品牌銷售、全球採購、供應鏈效率以及減少收縮和損壞。

Our second priority is capturing growth opportunities. Our proven high-return, low-risk real estate model has served us well for many years and continues to be a core strength of our business.

我們的第二要務是抓住增長機會。我們久經考驗的高回報、低風險房地產模式多年來一直為我們提供良好的服務，並將繼續成為我們業務的核心優勢。

In the third quarter, we completed a total of 798 real estate projects, including 268 new stores, 485 remodels and 45 relocations. For 2022, we now plan to execute approximately 2,945 real estate projects in total, including 1,025 new stores, 1,795 remodels and approximately 125 store relocations.

三季度，我們共完成房地產項目798個，其中新店268個，改造485個，搬遷45個。到 2022 年，我們現在計劃總共執行約 2,945 個房地產項目，包括 1,025 個新店、1,795 個改造和約 125 個店搬遷。

Looking ahead, as I mentioned earlier, we plan to execute approximately 3,170 projects in the United States in 2023 across our Dollar General and pOpshelf banners, including 1,050 new stores, 2,000 remodels and 120 relocations.

展望未來，正如我之前提到的，我們計劃在 2023 年通過我們的 Dollar General 和 pOpshelf 橫幅在美國執行大約 3,170 個項目，包括 1,050 家新店、2,000 家改造店和 120 家搬遷店。

Our ability to innovate our store formats continues to be an important strength of the business, and I want to take a moment to provide some additional color on our 2023 real estate strategy.

我們創新商店形式的能力仍然是我們業務的重要優勢，我想花點時間為我們的 2023 年房地產戰略提供一些額外的色彩。

Approximately 80% of our new stores and nearly all of our relocations will be in one of our larger store formats, which continue to drive increased sales productivity per square foot as compared to our traditional box.

我們大約 80% 的新店和幾乎所有的搬遷都將採用我們較大的商店格式之一，與我們的傳統盒子相比，這將繼續推動每平方英尺銷售效率的提高。

With regards to remodels, approximately 80% will be in our DGTP format, which will provide the opportunity for a significant increase in cooler count as well as the ability to add Fresh produce in many stores.

關於改造，大約 80% 將採用我們的 DGTP 格式，這將為顯著增加冷卻器數量以及在許多商店中添加新鮮農產品的能力提供機會。

In addition to our planned Dollar General and pOpshelf growth, we are very excited about our plans to expand internationally, and our goal is to open our first store in Mexico by the end of this fiscal year.

除了我們計劃的 Dollar General 和 pOpshelf 增長之外，我們對我們的國際擴張計劃感到非常興奮，我們的目標是在本財年末在墨西哥開設我們的第一家商店。

As a reminder, these stores, which will be branded under the name [MeSuper] Dollar General will be located in underserved communities in Northern Mexico. Looking ahead, we plan to have up to 35 stores open in Mexico by the end of 2023, as we look to extend our value and convenience proposition to a customer base that is similar to our core customer in the United States. These stores will be incremental to our planned 1,050 new store openings.

提醒一下，這些將以 [MeSuper] Dollar General 品牌命名的商店將位於墨西哥北部服務欠缺的社區。展望未來，我們計劃到 2023 年底在墨西哥開設多達 35 家門店，因為我們希望將我們的價值和便利主張擴展到與我們在美國的核心客戶類似的客戶群。這些商店將增加我們計劃開設的 1,050 家新店。

As we head into 2023, our real estate pipeline remains robust. We see more than 16,000 total opportunities for small box retail stores in the United States, including more than 12,000 for Dollar General stores, approximately 3,000 for pOpshelf and approximately 1,000 for DGX. With these opportunities and our existing footprint of more U.S. brick-and-mortar stores than any other retailer, we are excited about our ability to capture significant growth opportunities in the years ahead.

隨著我們進入 2023 年，我們的房地產渠道依然強勁。我們看到美國的小型零售店總共有 16,000 多個機會，其中 Dollar General 商店有 12,000 多個，pOpshelf 有大約 3,000 個，DGX 有大約 1,000 個。憑藉這些機會以及我們現有的美國實體店足跡比任何其他零售商都多，我們很高興能夠在未來幾年抓住重要的增長機會。

Next, our digital initiative, which is an important complement to our physical footprint, as we continue to deploy and leverage technology to further enhance convenience and access for customers.

接下來，我們的數字計劃是對我們物理足蹟的重要補充，因為我們將繼續部署和利用技術來進一步提高客戶的便利性和訪問權限。

Our efforts remain centered around creating a digital front porch for our customers, as we look to continue building engagement across our digital properties, including our mobile app. We ended Q3 with over 4.5 million monthly active users on the app, and expect this number to grow as we look to further enhance our digital offerings.

我們的努力仍然圍繞為我們的客戶創建數字前廊，因為我們希望繼續在我們的數字資產（包括我們的移動應用程序）中建立參與度。在第三季度結束時，我們的應用程序每月活躍用戶超過 450 萬，並且隨著我們希望進一步增強我們的數字產品，預計這一數字還會增長。

Our partnership with DoorDash continues to resonate with both new and existing customers as we look to extend the value offering of Dollar General, combined with the convenience of same-day delivery in an hour or less. This offering was available in more than 13,000 stores at the end of Q3, and we are very pleased with the year-to-date sales results.

我們與 DoorDash 的合作夥伴關係繼續引起新老客戶的共鳴，因為我們希望擴展 Dollar General 的價值提供，並結合一小時或更短時間內的當日送達的便利性。截至第三季度末，該產品在 13,000 多家商店有售，我們對年初至今的銷售結果感到非常滿意。

In addition, we are excited about the continued growth of our DG Media Network. We are seeing significant interest and participation from CPG companies and brands, who are seeking to connect with our more than 90 million unique profiles, especially our rural customers, who represent about 30% of the U.S.

此外，我們對 DG 媒體網絡的持續發展感到興奮。我們看到來自 CPG 公司和品牌的極大興趣和參與，他們正在尋求與我們超過 9000 萬獨特的個人資料建立聯繫，尤其是我們的農村客戶，他們代表了美國約 30% 的人口。

After establishing the foundation over the last few years, we are beginning to meaningfully grow this business. As we expand the program and enhance the value proposition for both customers and brand partners, while increasing the overall net financial benefit for the business.

在過去幾年建立了基礎之後，我們開始有意義地發展這項業務。隨著我們擴展該計劃並增強對客戶和品牌合作夥伴的價值主張，同時增加業務的整體淨財務收益。

Overall, our strategy consists of building a digital ecosystem specifically tailored to provide our customers with an even more convenient, frictionless and personalized shopping experience. And we are pleased with the growing engagement we are seeing across our digital properties.

總的來說，我們的戰略包括建立一個專門定制的數字生態系統，為我們的客戶提供更加方便、順暢和個性化的購物體驗。我們對我們在數字資產中看到的越來越多的參與感到高興。

Our third operating priority is to leverage and reinforce our position as a low-cost operator. We have a clear and defined process to control spending, which continues to govern our disciplined approach to spending decisions.

我們的第三個運營重點是利用和鞏固我們作為低成本運營商的地位。我們有一個清晰明確的支出控制流程，該流程將繼續指導我們嚴格的支出決策方法。

This approach, internally branded as Save to Serve, keeps the customer at the center of all we do, while reinforcing our cost control mindset. Our Fast Track initiative is a great example of this approach, where our current goals include increasing labor productivity in our stores and enhancing customer convenience.

這種方法在內部被稱為 Save to Serve，將客戶置於我們所有工作的中心，同時強化了我們的成本控制理念。我們的 Fast Track 計劃是這種方法的一個很好的例子，我們當前的目標包括提高我們商店的勞動生產率和提高客戶便利性。

The current focus of Fast Track is self-checkout, which provides customers with another flexible and convenient checkout solution, while also driving greater efficiencies for our store associates. Self-checkout was available in more than 10,500 stores at the end of Q3, and we continue to be pleased with our results, including strong customer adoption rates.

Fast Track 目前的重點是自助結賬，它為客戶提供了另一種靈活方便的結賬解決方案，同時也為我們的店員提高了效率。截至第三季度末，超過 10,500 家商店提供自助結賬服務，我們繼續對我們的結果感到滿意，包括強勁的客戶採用率。

We are also excited about our pilot in select stores, which provides customers the option to utilize self-checkout in all lanes, but also choose a staff register, if preferred.

我們也對我們在精選商店的試點感到興奮，它為客戶提供了在所有通道使用自助結賬的選項，但如果願意，也可以選擇員工登記冊。

We believe this full self-checkout option could further enhance our convenience proposition, while enabling store teams to dedicate even more time to serving customers. We are currently testing this layout in approximately 250 stores and are pleased with the early customer and associate response.

我們相信這種完全自助結賬選項可以進一步增強我們的便利性主張，同時使商店團隊能夠將更多時間用於為客戶提供服務。我們目前正在大約 250 家商店中測試這種佈局，並對早期的客戶和員工反應感到滿意。

Looking ahead, we are on track to expand our self-checkout offering to a total of up to 11,000 stores by the end of 2022, as we look to further extend our position as an innovative leader in small-box discount retail.

展望未來，我們有望在 2022 年底之前將我們的自助結賬服務擴展到總共多達 11,000 家商店，因為我們希望進一步擴大我們作為小型折扣零售創新領導者的地位。

Moving forward, the next phase of Fast Track consists of increasing our utilization of emerging technology and data strategies, which includes putting new digital tools in the hands of our field leaders. When combined with our data-driven inventory management, we believe these efforts will reduce store workload and drive greater efficiencies for our retail leaders and their teams.

展望未來，Fast Track 的下一階段包括增加我們對新興技術和數據策略的利用，其中包括將新的數字工具交到我們的領域領導者手中。當與我們的數據驅動庫存管理相結合時，我們相信這些努力將減少商店的工作量並提高我們的零售領導者及其團隊的效率。

We also continue to reduce costs through the expansion of our private fleet, which consisted of more than 1,300 tractors at the end of Q3. As a reminder, we have been focused on significantly expanding our private fleet in 2022, as we plan to more than double the number of tractors from 2021, which we expect will account for approximately 40% of our outbound transportation fleet by the end of the year.

我們還繼續通過擴大我們的私人車隊來降低成本，該車隊在第三季度末擁有 1,300 多台拖拉機。提醒一下，我們一直專注於在 2022 年大幅擴大我們的私人車隊，因為我們計劃從 2021 年起將拖拉機的數量增加一倍以上，我們預計到 2020 年底，拖拉機將占我們出境運輸車隊的約 40%年。

Our underlying principles are to keep the business simple, but move quickly to capture growth opportunities, while controlling expenses and always seeking to be a low-cost operator.

我們的基本原則是保持業務簡單，但快速行動以抓住增長機會，同時控制開支並始終尋求成為低成本運營商。

Our fourth operating priority is investing in our diverse teams through development, empowerment and inclusion. As a growing retailer, we continue to create new jobs and opportunities for personal and professional development and ultimately, career advancement.

我們的第四個運營重點是通過發展、授權和包容來投資於我們的多元化團隊。作為一家成長中的零售商，我們繼續為個人和職業發展以及最終的職業發展創造新的工作和機會。

Our internal promotion pipeline remains robust as evidenced by the more than 70% of our store employees at or above the lead sales associate position who were placed from within.

我們的內部晉升渠道依然強勁，超過 70% 的處於或高於首席銷售助理職位的門店員工都是從內部任命的。

In addition, approximately 15% of our growing private fleet team began their careers with us in either a store or distribution center. We are pleased with our turnover trends and staffing levels. And applicant flow continues to be strong, further validating our confidence that we are taking the right actions to attract and retain talent.

此外，我們不斷壯大的私人車隊中約有 15% 的人在商店或配送中心開始了他們的職業生涯。我們對我們的營業額趨勢和人員配備水平感到滿意。申請人流繼續保持強勁，進一步證實了我們正在採取正確行動吸引和留住人才的信心。

Ultimately, we believe the opportunity to develop a career with a growing and purpose-driven company is a unique, competitive advantage and remains our greatest currency in attracting and retaining talent.

歸根結底，我們相信有機會在一家不斷發展和以目標為導向的公司發展職業生涯是一種獨特的競爭優勢，並且仍然是我們吸引和留住人才的最大貨幣。

We also recently completed our annual Community Giving Campaign, where our employees came together to raise funds for a variety of important causes. And I was once again inspired by the generosity and compassion of our people.

我們最近還完成了一年一度的社區捐贈活動，我們的員工齊聚一堂，為各種重要事業籌集資金。我再次被我們人民的慷慨和同情所鼓舞。

We continue to add incredible talent across the organization in our stores, distribution centers, private fleet and at our store support center. As this new talent joins our tremendous team, I am continually reminded that the people of Dollar General are our greatest strength.

我們繼續在我們的商店、配送中心、私人車隊和我們的商店支持中心為整個組織增加令人難以置信的人才。隨著這位新人才加入我們龐大的團隊，我不斷地意識到 Dollar General 的員工是我們最大的力量。

In closing, I am excited about the future as we continue to make great progress against our operating priorities and strategic initiatives, with the number of initiatives we have in place and a unique and strong strategic planning process, we are confident in our plans to drive long-term sustainable growth, while creating meaningful shareholder value.

最後，我對未來感到興奮，因為我們將繼續在我們的運營優先事項和戰略計劃方面取得巨大進展，憑藉我們已經實施的計劃數量和獨特而強大的戰略規劃流程，我們對我們的計劃充滿信心長期可持續增長，同時創造有意義的股東價值。

Finally, as we are in the midst of our busy holiday season, I want to thank our approximately 173,000 employees for their commitment every day to serve our customers. I am excited about our work together as we head into the final weeks of our year.

最後，由於我們正處於繁忙的假期之中，我要感謝我們大約 173,000 名員工每天為我們的客戶服務的承諾。在我們進入一年的最後幾週時，我對我們的合作感到興奮。

With that, operator, we would now like to open the lines for questions.

有了這個，接線員，我們現在想打開問題熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Matthew Boss with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自摩根大通的 Matthew Boss。

Great. So Jeff, maybe first, could you elaborate on what you think is driving the sequential acceleration in same-store sales? I think traffic has now sequentially improved for the second straight quarter. What are you seeing across the income cohort?

偉大的。那麼傑夫，也許首先，你能否詳細說明你認為是什麼推動了同店銷售的連續加速？我認為流量現在已經連續第二個季度有所改善。您在整個收入人群中看到了什麼？

And then maybe just looking back at past periods of consumer pressure, how sustainable do you see the market share opportunity in front of us?

然後也許只是回顧過去的消費者壓力時期，您如何看待我們面前的市場份額機會？

Thanks, Matt. We are very pleased with our 6.8% comp sales increase. And as you mentioned, seeing traffic accelerate again for the second consecutive quarter was very nice to see, and also continuing to grow market share. We grew market share in our consumables and our nonconsumable business.

謝謝，馬特。我們對 6.8% 的銷售額增長感到非常滿意。正如你所提到的，看到流量連續第二個季度再次加速增長是一件非常令人高興的事情，而且市場份額也在繼續增長。我們增加了消耗品和非消耗品業務的市場份額。

And so when you think about that, our outperformance on sales really was driven in the consumables business, and it really is a testament to our going where the customer wants us to go. And that is something we've always done here at Dollar General. And I think it's a testament to the relevance of our box.

因此，當您考慮到這一點時，我們在銷售方面的出色表現確實是在消耗品業務中得到推動的，這確實證明了我們會去客戶希望我們去的地方。這是我們在 Dollar General 一直在做的事情。我認為這證明了我們盒子的相關性。

When you think about our box and how we've continued to make it a fuller fill in shop, it really speaks to our ability to serve a broad spectrum of customers. And as you mentioned, with customers -- our core customer, one thing that is encouraging to see is she's still gainfully employed. And we've long said that is the single greatest factor in her economic health. So it's encouraging to see that, and it's encouraging to see us grow productivity and share with her.

當您想到我們的盒子以及我們如何繼續使它成為一個更充實的商店時，它確實說明了我們為廣泛的客戶提供服務的能力。正如你提到的，對於客戶——我們的核心客戶，令人鼓舞的一件事是她仍然有工作。我們早就說過，這是她經濟健康的最大因素。因此，看到這一點令人鼓舞，看到我們提高生產力並與她分享也令人鼓舞。

And also the encouraging thing we saw this quarter is we grew share in all income levels. And so that's particularly good to see when you think about the higher income levels. One of the things we've been very pleased at is our ability to retain that COVID customer higher than we expected to over the course of several quarters, and we continue to see that here. And we also saw us grow share and customers in the $100,000 income level.

本季度我們看到的令人鼓舞的事情是我們在所有收入水平中的份額都有所增長。所以當你考慮更高的收入水平時，看到這一點特別好。我們一直非常高興的一件事是，在幾個季度的過程中，我們能夠比預期更高地留住 COVID 客戶，我們將繼續在這裡看到這一點。我們還看到我們在 100,000 美元收入水平上的份額和客戶不斷增長。

So when you step back and think about it, it again just points to our ability to serve multiple income cohorts. And that will set us up extremely well as we look to the future and our ability to not only make our core customer more productive, but also the ability to retain these new customers. So we feel real good about that.

因此，當您退後一步思考時，它再次表明我們有能力為多個收入群體提供服務。這將使我們在展望未來時表現得非常出色，我們不僅有能力提高核心客戶的生產力，而且有能力留住這些新客戶。所以我們對此感覺非常好。

And as I mentioned around the consumable business, we're pleased with the performance there. And I think the thing to keep in mind, as you step back and you think about where Dollar General is today, our consumable business is a much different business from a profitability standpoint due to our strategic initiatives.

正如我在消耗品業務中提到的那樣，我們對那裡的表現感到滿意。而且我認為要記住的是，當你退後一步並考慮 Dollar General 今天的位置時，由於我們的戰略舉措，從盈利的角度來看，我們的消費品業務是一個截然不同的業務。

When you think about NCI, our health offering, DG Fresh, it really has made that business a different business from a profitability standpoint. In fact, in the third quarter, our gross margin is 100 basis points higher than it was in 2019, just to give you a little bit of color there.

當你想到 NCI、我們的健康產品 DG Fresh 時，從盈利能力的角度來看，它確實使該業務成為一項不同的業務。事實上，在第三季度，我們的毛利率比 2019 年高了 100 個基點，只是為了給你一點顏色。

So again, we feel good about the top line. And as we look forward, we feel we're really well positioned to serve a multiple cohorts of customers in this economic environment. And I'd also say that we're excited to deliver more real estate projects in 2023 than we've ever done at Dollar General.

因此，我們再次對頂線感到滿意。展望未來，我們覺得我們確實有能力在這種經濟環境中為多個客戶群體提供服務。我還要說，我們很高興在 2023 年交付比 Dollar General 以往更多的房地產項目。

And I think it's a testament to the robust pipeline and then also the strategic initiatives. So I feel real good about where we are from a sales standpoint and our position to be able to serve our broad customer base as we look forward.

我認為這證明了強大的管道以及戰略舉措。因此，從銷售的角度來看，我對我們所處的位置以及我們能夠在我們期待的時候為我們廣泛的客戶群提供服務的位置感到非常滿意。

That's great. And then maybe, John, on gross margin and just to break down some of the components.

那太棒了。然後也許，約翰，關於毛利率，只是為了分解一些組成部分。

So do you see these warehouse costs and supply chain efficiency is more transitory and contained to the fourth quarter? Help us to think about LIFO going forward relative to the material gross margin headwind this year, should we anticipate should transportation as a tailwind now from here? And just what inning do you see the drivers of inventory markup in today?

那麼，您是否認為這些倉庫成本和供應鏈效率更短暫且包含在第四季度？幫助我們考慮 LIFO 相對於今年的物質毛利率逆風的前進，我們是否應該預期運輸現在從這裡成為順風？您在今天看到庫存加價的驅動因素是什麼？

Sure, Matt. I'll start with the question around the supply chain costs. And as we called out versus previous expectations, the supply chain costs were a significant headwind more than $40 million above our previous expectations for Q3. And we do see this as near-term. And we're making very good progress toward resolving our storage capacity constraints as more capacity comes online.

當然，馬特。我將從圍繞供應鏈成本的問題開始。正如我們所說的與之前的預期相比，供應鏈成本是一個重大的阻力，比我們之前對第三季度的預期高出 4000 萬美元。我們確實認為這是近期的。隨著更多容量上線，我們在解決存儲容量限制方面取得了很好的進展。

And we do believe some of these cost pressures, nonetheless, will carry over into Q4. However, we do expect this will largely be resolved in Q1 of next year. So as we look ahead, we anticipate supply chain costs, both internal and external in 2023 to be down quite a bit. We're obviously seeing it improving as others market for carrier costs as well. And so that as a potential tailwind going forward.

儘管如此，我們確實相信其中一些成本壓力將延續到第四季度。然而，我們確實預計這將在明年第一季度基本得到解決。因此，展望未來，我們預計 2023 年的內部和外部供應鏈成本將大幅下降。我們顯然看到它隨著其他運營商成本市場的改善而改善。因此，這是一個潛在的順風前進。

And then LIFO as well. We're seeing the pace that while it will continue to pressure, Q4, we are seeing the pace of cost increases continue to moderate. And as we look at next year, we'd expect less pressure from LIFO. So certainly, some near-term pressures between LIFO between the supply chain cost.

然後是後進先出法。我們看到，雖然它將繼續對第四季度施加壓力，但我們看到成本增長的步伐繼續放緩。展望明年，我們預計後進先出法的壓力會更小。因此，可以肯定的是，供應鏈成本之間的後進先出法之間存在一些近期壓力。

We also mentioned the sales mix shift and shrink and damages. But as we look to 2023 and beyond, we feel good about, as Jeff mentioned, one, the sales momentum in the business; but also moderating product cost and inflation, particularly around supply chain and LIFO.

我們還提到了銷售組合的轉變、收縮和損害。但展望 2023 年及以後，正如 Jeff 提到的那樣，我們對業務的銷售勢頭感到滿意；同時也緩和了產品成本和通貨膨脹，特別是圍繞供應鍊和後進先出法。

And as you look at the initiatives, we have that continue to contribute the other levers we have, not to mention our scale and where we're at in price, we don't see a need to invest. We feel that we're very well positioned as we look ahead to the future to continue expanding gross margin over the long-term.

當你看這些舉措時，我們有繼續貢獻我們擁有的其他槓桿，更不用說我們的規模和我們的價格，我們認為不需要投資。我們認為我們處於非常有利的位置，因為我們展望未來以繼續長期擴大毛利率。

That's a great color. Best of luck.

那是一種很棒的顏色。祝你好運。

You asked about markdowns as well. I didn't want to miss that question. As you look at markdown risk, while up from the unusually low levels last year, markdowns are still well below pre-pandemic levels. If you look at the majority of the inventory growth, it's really driven by inflation.

您還詢問了降價促銷。我不想錯過那個問題。當您查看降價風險時，雖然從去年異常低的水平有所上升，但降價仍遠低於大流行前的水平。如果你看一下大部分庫存增長，它實際上是由通貨膨脹驅動的。

The team has done a good job anticipating the mix shift in consumer demand and has proactively been adjusting orders. And as a result, we feel very good about the quality of the inventory, ability to mitigate the markdown risk. As always, we've set aside, what we believe is an appropriate markdown level for the upcoming Christmas season. And of course, this is all reflected in our guidance.

該團隊很好地預測了消費者需求的混合變化，並一直在積極調整訂單。因此，我們對庫存質量、降低降價風險的能力感到非常滿意。一如既往，我們已經預留了我們認為對即將到來的聖誕季來說合適的降價水平。當然，這都反映在我們的指南中。

Our next question comes from Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Simeon Gutman。

I think a follow-up, John, for you. So this year, you were going to grow earnings sort of in line with (inaudible) excluding the 53rd week, and now it's going to be below and yet you're doing more sales.

我想跟進，約翰，給你。所以今年，除了第 53 週外，你的收入增長與（聽不清）保持一致，現在它會低於第 53 週，但你的銷售額卻增加了。

So there's clearly something coiled up here in the model. I know you're not going to guide next year, but the theoretical framework is there should be some recapture. If there is recapture, are you inclined to let that flow? Or do you manage -- do you think the business just manages towards (inaudible) and I don't know if it's to reinvest or maybe we don't see all the recapture that I'm hinting at?

因此，模型中顯然盤繞著某些東西。我知道你明年不會指導，但理論框架應該有一些重新獲得。如果重新奪回，您是否傾向於讓它流動？或者你是否管理 - 你是否認為業務只是管理（聽不清）而且我不知道它是否是再投資或者我們可能沒有看到我暗示的所有重新奪回？

Sure. So as you mentioned, we won't be giving specific guidance on this call. We'll certainly share that on the March call. But I'll just start by reiterating that we feel great about the fundamentals of the business, the sales momentum, coupled with the moderating cost pressures that I just articulated. And as you called out, it is a 1 less week next year that's important to bear in mind.

當然。因此，正如您提到的，我們不會就此電話會議提供具體指導。我們肯定會在 3 月的電話會議上分享這一點。但我首先要重申，我們對業務的基本面、銷售勢頭以及我剛才闡述的緩和成本壓力感覺良好。正如您所說，明年要少一周，這一點很重要。

But again, as you look at the fundamentals of the business, they're very strong. We continue to see ourselves as 10% EPS growers over the long-term. Now we will always balance that with investing back in the business for the long-term, but feel we're very well positioned. And more to come for next year, but feel great about the momentum of the business fundamentals.

但同樣，當你審視業務的基本面時，它們非常強大。從長遠來看，我們繼續將自己視為 10% 的 EPS 增長者。現在，我們將始終在長期投資業務之間取得平衡，但我們覺得自己處於非常有利的位置。明年還會有更多，但對業務基本面的勢頭感到滿意。

Okay. And maybe my follow-up, maybe sticking with you on fourth quarter gross margin. I guess, we're trying to build to the pieces, supply chain, mix, shrink. And we're having trouble getting to the entire magnitude. Are you willing to share a little more magnitude by item, by driver? Because it doesn't feel like the consumables mix goes up enough to justify the mix. So there seems like there's something like markdown in there as well.

好的。也許我的後續行動，也許會堅持第四季度的毛利率。我想，我們正在努力構建碎片化、供應鏈、混合、收縮。而且我們很難達到整個規模。你願意按項目、司機分享更多的數量嗎？因為它感覺消耗品組合併沒有上升到足以證明組合的合理性。所以那裡似乎也有降價之類的東西。

So as you look at the drivers of the additional pressure on Q4, it's the same drivers as Q3, the order is a little bit different. As you look at what we anticipate as the key pressures on Q4 margins is still healthy flow-through, but less than previously expected.

因此，當您查看 Q4 的額外壓力的驅動程序時，它與 Q3 的驅動程序相同，順序略有不同。正如您所看到的那樣，我們預期第四季度利潤率的主要壓力仍然是健康的，但低於之前的預期。

The big difference is, first the mix shift. We did see a mix shift in the consumables as customers face financial pressures. We want to go where the customer goes, and like the sales we're seeing, but it does pressure your margin a little bit with the mix of the sales.

最大的區別是，首先是混合轉變。隨著客戶面臨財務壓力，我們確實看到了耗材的混合變化。我們想去客戶去的地方，就像我們看到的銷售一樣，但它確實對銷售組合的利潤率造成了一點壓力。

The other piece -- we did see -- we mentioned as we progressed through Q3 is a greater headwind from inventory shrink and damages. And that shrink can have a tail to that. Rest assured, the team knows how to deal with this and is taking actions to address it. But it does have a tail to it. And then while we are making good progress resolving our storage capacity constraints with the capacity online, we do believe, as we mentioned, that some of this will carry over into Q4, but be largely resolved by Q1.

另一件——我們確實看到了——我們在第三季度的進展中提到的是庫存縮減和損壞帶來的更大阻力。那個縮小可以有一個尾巴。請放心，團隊知道如何處理這個問題，並且正在採取行動解決它。但它確實有尾巴。然後，雖然我們在解決在線容量的存儲容量限制方面取得了良好進展，但我們確實相信，正如我們所提到的，其中一些問題將延續到第四季度，但在第一季度將在很大程度上得到解決。

So that's the big versus our previous expectations. Obviously, the other big one is LIFO. As you look at LIFO, we called out $148 million in Q3, while we believe the product cost headwind is beginning to moderate. The prior cost increases will continue to pressure Q4 LIFO, and you could do the math as you do -- as you spread that across the year. So that's really the key drivers.

所以這與我們之前的預期相比很大。顯然，另一個大的是後進先出法。當你看後進先出法時，我們在第三季度投入了 1.48 億美元，同時我們認為產品成本逆風開始緩和。之前的成本增加將繼續給第四季度後進先出法帶來壓力，你可以像往常一樣做數學——因為你把它分佈在一年中。所以這才是真正的關鍵驅動因素。

But again, I'll just reiterate, many of these are transitory in nature. And as we look ahead to the future, we feel we're well positioned to resume growing our gross margin over the long-term with the initiatives, the levers, our scale and the pricing position we're in.

但是，我再次重申，其中許多本質上都是暫時的。展望未來，我們認為我們已經做好準備，可以通過我們所處的舉措、槓桿、我們的規模和定價地位，在長期內恢復毛利率的增長。

Our next question comes from Corey Tarlowe with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Corey Tarlowe。

Congrats on the continued top line momentum and share gains that you've witnessed.

祝賀您所見證的持續的頂線勢頭和分享收益。

So with that in mind, maybe could you parse out a little bit what you're seeing in terms of how the customer is behaving because it's clear that traffic is up. The customer is visiting the store more and should -- maybe shifting a little bit into private label. Could you talk a little bit about what you're seeing in that regard and how you're investing to continue to support the growth in that segment?

因此，考慮到這一點，也許您可以根據客戶的行為方式分析一下您所看到的內容，因為很明顯流量增加了。顧客越來越多地光顧商店——也許會稍微轉向自有品牌。您能否談談您在這方面看到的情況以及您如何投資以繼續支持該領域的增長？

And then secondarily, as you see that mix shift happen more to the consumable side, how do you marry that with the continued growth that you're likely to see in NCI, which should actually help to underpin, I would say, better profitability as we look ahead?

然後其次，當你看到消費品方面更多地發生混合轉變時，你如何將其與你可能在 NCI 中看到的持續增長結合起來，這實際上應該有助於鞏固，我會說，更好的盈利能力我們展望未來？

Corey, this is Jeff. Thank you for your question. And I'll start with the customer.

科里，這是傑夫。謝謝你的問題。我將從客戶開始。

I'll reiterate the fact that her gainfully being employed is, again, a very important factor to economic health. And so when we talk to our customers, and I feel like our teams do that better than just about anybody. What we hear is she's feeling the pressure of energy prices and fuel and just the everyday needs are -- it's hard to -- for her to make ends meet.

我要重申一個事實，即她的有酬工作再次成為經濟健康的一個非常重要的因素。因此，當我們與客戶交談時，我覺得我們的團隊比任何人都做得更好。我們聽到的是，她感受到了能源價格和燃料的壓力，只是日常需求——這很難——讓她維持生計。

And so she's behaving pretty much exactly the way we would expect her to in times like this. So what we're seeing from her is, as you alluded to, she's coming to us more often. She's buying fewer items on each occasion. And one of the things that we're very pleased is we're being able to help serve her needs through affordability. And our leaning into the dollar price point, our customer is responding incredibly well to that.

因此，在這種時候，她的行為幾乎完全符合我們的預期。所以我們從她身上看到的是，正如你提到的，她更頻繁地來找我們。她每次都買更少的東西。我們非常高興的一件事是我們能夠通過負擔能力幫助滿足她的需求。我們傾向於美元價格點，我們的客戶對此反應非常好。

And I just -- a testament to our team and to our ability to go where the customer wants us to around our $1 price point and affordability.

我只是 - 證明了我們的團隊以及我們能夠以 1 美元的價格和可負擔性到達客戶希望我們去的地方。

But when you think about the consumable business, as you mentioned before, you got again, really step back and think about the strategic initiatives and how that has allowed us to really have a more profitable business there. And we've long used consumables to drive traffic and nonconsumables to build the basket.

但是，當您考慮消耗品業務時，正如您之前提到的，您再次真正退後一步，思考戰略舉措，以及這如何讓我們在那裡真正擁有更有利可圖的業務。長期以來，我們一直使用消耗品來推動流量，使用非消耗品來構建購物籃。

And so as we think about our -- excuse me, the nonconsumable, as you mentioned, certainly, we continue to be pleased with what we're seeing on NCI, and its ability to really provide that value. When you think about NCI, 80% of the items are $5 or less.

因此，當我們考慮我們的 - 對不起，非消耗品，正如你提到的，當然，我們繼續對我們在 NCI 上看到的內容及其真正提供該價值的能力感到滿意。當你想到 NCI 時，80% 的項目都是 5 美元或更少。

And so when you think about our ability to drive traffic through consumables, and then also see a little bit of our ability to rotate the product, the treasure hunt, our breadth strategy. We feel real good about our ability to help that customer continue to get the things they need and the things that they want.

因此，當您考慮我們通過消費品驅動流量的能力時，還會看到我們輪換產品、尋寶和我們的廣度策略的能力。我們對我們幫助客戶繼續獲得他們需要的東西和他們想要的東西的能力感到非常滿意。

One last thing I'll say around private brand. I mean, we continue to be very pleased with what we're seeing on penetration. But the other thing you got to keep in mind is our customer, again, she's very brand-focused as well. And it's very important to her. And that's where it's important to really lean into our scale.

關於自有品牌，我要說的最後一件事。我的意思是，我們仍然對我們在滲透率方面看到的情況感到非常滿意。但你要記住的另一件事是我們的客戶，同樣，她也非常注重品牌。而且對她來說很重要。這就是真正依靠我們的規模很重要的地方。

As John mentioned earlier, the ability of Dollar General and a limited SKU retailer to be able to trade out brands, if necessary for our customer is a really, really powerful way for us to serve for better. And we've said this before, but our customer treats a brand as a brand. And so it gives us the ability to make sure that we're providing her with the value she needs. And our merchant team does that probably better than anybody in retail, in my view.

正如約翰之前提到的，如果我們的客戶有必要，Dollar General 和有限 SKU 零售商能夠交易品牌的能力是我們更好地服務的一種非常非常強大的方式。我們之前已經說過，但我們的客戶將品牌視為品牌。因此，它使我們能夠確保我們為她提供她需要的價值。在我看來，我們的商家團隊在這方面做得可能比零售業的任何人都好。

So as you step back and think about it, we feel we're well positioned and really excited about our ability to continue to listen to our customer go where she wants us to go. And you combine that with the more profitable consumable business and our strategic initiatives and really set up nicely for us to continue to serve her, as we've done for many, many years in all economic cycles.

因此，當你退後一步思考時，我們覺得我們處於有利位置，並且對我們能夠繼續傾聽客戶的意見感到非常興奮，去她希望我們去的地方。你將其與利潤更高的消耗品業務和我們的戰略計劃相結合，並為我們繼續為她服務做好了很好的準備，就像我們在所有經濟周期中所做的那樣。

That's great. And then thanks for laying out the new store plans for next year. I think that helps to really provide a little bit more color as to the predictability and stability that we should expect ahead. Could you talk a little bit more about the strong returns that you're continuing to see on those new stores? And what we should expect more so from a continued ROIC standpoint as it relates to some of these new stores as we look ahead?

那太棒了。然後感謝您制定明年的新店計劃。我認為這有助於真正為我們未來應該期待的可預測性和穩定性提供更多色彩。您能否多談談您在這些新店中繼續看到的強勁回報？在我們展望未來時，從持續的 ROIC 角度來看，我們應該對其中一些新店有更多期待嗎？

Yes, Corey, I'll start and then I'll let John fill in on some of your questions around returns.

是的，科里，我會開始，然後讓約翰回答你關於回報的一些問題。

But our real estate model continues to be a huge strength of this business. I mean the low-risk and high-return model is incredibly powerful. And when you think about the retail landscape today, when you think about some of the challenges other retailers have talked about on the real estate front, I'm just very, very excited and proud of the fact that we're going to deliver more projects than we ever have at Dollar General in 2023.

但我們的房地產模式仍然是這項業務的巨大優勢。我的意思是低風險高回報模型非常強大。當你想到今天的零售格局，當你想到其他零售商在房地產方面談到的一些挑戰時，我感到非常、非常興奮和自豪，因為我們將提供更多2023 年我們在 Dollar General 擁有的項目比以往任何時候都多。

And with 1,050 new stores, it continues to just highlight our ability to serve the customer and our ability through format innovation, our real estate model, our technology, we're able to go where the customer needs us to go. And so feel great about that. And really pleased at the fact, through format innovation, this larger store we're opening, our new store performance has been incredibly positive.

憑藉 1,050 家新店，它繼續突出我們為客戶提供服務的能力，以及我們通過業態創新、我們的房地產模式、我們的技術的能力，我們能夠去客戶需要我們去的地方。所以感覺很好。並且非常高興的是，通過形式創新，我們正在開設的這家更大的商店，我們的新店業績非常積極。

And I'm very, very pleased at our ability to exceed our pro formas, and we continue to see that. So that larger store format is continuing to deliver higher sales per square foot, which is excited. And as you know, the large majority of our openings are in that larger footprint. But as you think about the next year in the future, I think the other thing that excites us here is the pipeline that we have.

我對我們超越備考的能力感到非常非常高興，我們將繼續看到這一點。因此，更大的商店格式繼續提供更高的每平方英尺銷售額，這令人興奮。如您所知，我們的大部分職位空缺都位於更大的佔地面積內。但是當你想到未來的明年時，我認為讓我們興奮的另一件事是我們擁有的管道。

And on the U.S. alone, we have 16,000 additional opportunities, and we feel great about our ability to capture those. And certainly, our fair share, which we've certainly demonstrated, but 12,000 additional for DG, 3,000 for pOpshelf and then 1,000 for DGX. So stepping back, you can probably hear in my excitement about the real estate and our ability to continue to grow here. And we feel like we're being very prudent in this environment, I'm very, very pleased with the team's performance here.

僅在美國，我們就有 16,000 個額外機會，我們對抓住這些機會的能力感到非常滿意。當然，我們的公平份額，我們已經證明了這一點，但 DG 額外增加了 12,000 個，pOpshelf 增加了 3,000 個，然後 DGX 增加了 1,000 個。所以退後一步，你可能會聽到我對房地產和我們在這裡繼續發展的能力的興奮。我們覺得我們在這種環境下非常謹慎，我對團隊在這裡的表現非常非常滿意。

So I'll kick it over to John for your return question.

所以我會把它交給 John 來回答你的回訪問題。

Yes. And just -- echoing Jeff's comments, we're very pleased with the results we're seeing. As he mentioned, we're above pro forma in sales, which puts us ahead of schedule in terms of the IRRs. Again, we target a 20% to 22% after-tax IRR based on the sales. And as we outperform in sales, that puts us a little ahead on the returns as well.

是的。只是 - 呼應 Jeff 的評論，我們對我們看到的結果非常滿意。正如他所提到的，我們的銷售額高於預估，這使我們在內部收益率方面領先於計劃。同樣，我們的目標是根據銷售額實現 20% 至 22% 的稅後 IRR。由於我們在銷售方面表現出色，這也讓我們在回報方面略微領先。

And feel not only great about the -- and again, it's always important to bear in mind that it includes the impact of cannibalization, which is very minimal, has been very consistent, just given the localized nature of the shop. We continue to see paybacks less than 2 years.

並且不僅對 - 而且再次重要的是要記住它包括蠶食的影響，這是非常小的，一直非常一致，只是考慮到商店的本地化性質。我們繼續看到不到 2 年的回報。

So it continues to be a fantastic investment that we continue to hit the gas on. And we're also really pleased with returns we get on our remodels as well, and we're doing not only a record number of overall projects this year, but a record number of remodels, which really helps drive the comp.

因此，我們繼續全力以赴，這仍然是一項了不起的投資。我們也對我們在改造中獲得的回報感到非常滿意，我們今年不僅完成了創紀錄數量的整體項目，而且進行了創紀錄數量的改造，這確實有助於推動競爭。

Our next question is from Michael Lasser with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Michael Lasser。

John, I want to hopefully get some frame of reference on 2 factors that are impacting the gross margin. So, a, you mentioned $40 million of supply chain costs that are above and beyond what you expected, does that go to $30 million in the fourth quarter? And if that's in the right ballpark, you used the term of beat, which you can interpret a lot of different ways. I think what most of the market wants to know is, does abate mean you're going to incur $70 million this year that will go away because those are extraordinary costs next year?

約翰，我希望就影響毛利率的兩個因素獲得一些參考框架。那麼，a，你提到 4000 萬美元的供應鏈成本超出了你的預期，第四季度會達到 3000 萬美元嗎？如果那是在正確的範圍內，你使用節拍這個詞，你可以用很多不同的方式來解釋它。我認為大多數市場想知道的是，減少是否意味著你今年將承擔 7000 萬美元，而這些費用將在明年消失？

And as part of that, the other piece of it is the LIFO, which the LIFO headwind because that's needs to be $450 million or so if we just add $100 million for the fourth quarter. If there's a linear path of this inflation, meaning it goes from 9, 8, 7, 6 so forth, would that LIFO headwind that's going to be, call it, $450 million this year, be like $300 million next year, so you get a $150 million benefit? Sorry for so many numbers and so much confusion.

作為其中的一部分，另一部分是後進先出法，這是後進先出法的逆風，因為如果我們在第四季度只增加 1 億美元，就需要 4.5 億美元左右。如果這種通貨膨脹有一個線性路徑，意味著它從 9、8、7、6 等等，那麼後進先出法的逆風會是今年 4.5 億美元，明年是 3 億美元，所以你得到1.5 億美元的收益？抱歉有這麼多數字和這麼多混亂。

No. No. Thank you, Michael. I'll try and tackle each of these. In terms of the carryover impact of the supply chain costs. We didn't give a specific number on that. It will be less, but still a meaningful impact to us.

不，不，謝謝你，邁克爾。我會嘗試解決每一個問題。在供應鏈成本的結轉影響方面。我們沒有給出具體數字。它會更少，但仍然對我們產生有意義的影響。

In terms of LIFO, the way to think about that is even though we don't anticipate -- we anticipate a slowdown in the number of price increases. The way you do that number is at a point in time, we project the full year impact of all the price increases we're aware of, and we spread that across the year. So that gets you in the game of what Q4 looks like. And as we look ahead to next year, it remains to be seen, but would anticipate a considerable reduction to that LIFO number.

就後進先出法而言，考慮這一點的方式是，即使我們沒有預料到——我們預計價格上漲的數量會放緩。你做這個數字的方式是在一個時間點，我們預測我們所知道的所有價格上漲的全年影響，並將其分佈在全年。這樣一來，您就可以參與 Q4 的遊戲。當我們展望明年時，它還有待觀察，但預計後進先出數量將大幅減少。

So as you look at -- as I mentioned, as you look ahead to next year, we think the supply chain costs will be down considerably because we won't have these near-term onetime costs, we don't anticipate because we think that will be resolved in Q1. And then the market is favorable in terms of just overall transportation costs, both foreign and domestic.

所以當你看到 - 正如我提到的那樣，當你展望明年時，我們認為供應鏈成本將大幅下降，因為我們不會有這些近期的一次性成本，我們沒有預期，因為我們認為這將在第一季度解決。然後就國外和國內的總體運輸成本而言，市場是有利的。

And of course, we continue to stand up our private fleet, which we're going to -- every time we convert, we take 20% out and we're going to double that in size this year. So that's certainly a significant savings driver for us as well. And so as you look ahead to next year, I think it's safe to assume that there's a number of tailwinds.

當然，我們將繼續建立我們的私人車隊，我們將繼續這樣做——每次我們轉換時，我們都會拿出 20%，今年我們的規模將翻一番。所以這對我們來說當然也是一個重要的儲蓄驅動因素。因此，當你展望明年時，我認為可以安全地假設有一些順風。

There's certainly some headwinds we mentioned. We'll have to wait and see what the mix does. We want to be there for the customer, and we'll go where she goes. So we have to see where that goes. As we said, shrink has a tail to it. And we're all over it. We know how to attack that, but it does have a bit of a tail.

我們提到了一些不利因素。我們將不得不拭目以待。我們想為客戶服務，我們會去她去的地方。所以我們必須看看它的去向。正如我們所說，收縮有尾巴。我們已經結束了。我們知道如何攻擊它，但它確實有一點尾巴。

So as you look ahead to next year, there's some puts and takes. But again, we feel like there's a lot of tailwinds when you think of LIFO, when you think of the supply chain costs and all the other levers that we've talked about, not to mention the initiatives.

所以當你展望明年時，有一些投入和需要。但同樣，當你想到後進先出法、供應鏈成本和我們討論過的所有其他槓桿時，我們覺得有很多順風，更不用說這些舉措了。

Okay. My follow-up question will be less a bit picky. I'm sorry. The -- we've seen now some cost pressure at Dollar General. This follows a significant decline in profitability your largest competitor. Should we take these as onetime event? Or is there anything to say that just the overall profitability of the small box value convenience sector is permanently under pressure or long-lasting under pressure because of some of the competitive dynamics? Because of the shift to consumables and other factors? Or would you expect that this is not a trend that's going to be long lasting?

好的。我的後續問題將不那麼挑剔。對不起。 - 我們現在已經看到 Dollar General 的一些成本壓力。這是在您最大的競爭對手的盈利能力大幅下降之後發生的。我們應該把這些當作一次性事件嗎？或者有什麼可以說的是，由於某些競爭動態，小盒子價值便利行業的整體盈利能力一直處於壓力之下或長期處於壓力之下？因為轉向消耗品和其他因素？還是您認為這不是一種會持續很長時間的趨勢？

Yes. I'll just reiterate, we see most of the pressures as transitory. When you look at the LIFO, when you look at the supply chain, we see that as transitory. We still feel very good about our nonconsumable products, and see this more as a transitory macro pressure.

是的。我只想重申，我們認為大部分壓力都是暫時的。當你看後進先出法時，當你看供應鏈時，我們認為這是暫時的。我們對我們的非消費品仍然感覺很好，更多地認為這是一種暫時的宏觀壓力。

Again, we're growing share. We're just kind of following the market trend, which people are just shopping more toward consumables versus discretionary items. But we're taking share and feel that will certainly do very well there as the economy improves.

同樣，我們的份額正在增長。我們只是在追隨市場趨勢，人們更傾向於購買消耗品而不是非必需品。但我們正在分享，並認為隨著經濟的改善，這肯定會做得很好。

And just structurally, we feel we're well positioned in terms of -- as we look at wages, we feel we're well positioned in terms of applicant flow and staffing levels. We feel we're investing appropriately in the business. We feel that our pricing is very appropriate.

就結構而言，我們覺得我們在工資方面處於有利地位——當我們看工資時，我們覺得我們在申請人流動和人員配置水平方面處於有利地位。我們覺得我們對業務的投資是適當的。我們覺得我們的定價非常合適。

And again, I think it's important to mention that as you look at Q3, yes, we were down 27 basis points in gross margin, but we're still about 1 point above pre-pandemic levels despite all these transitory pressures I mentioned. We're still a point above where we were back in 2019 and Q3.

再一次，我認為重要的是要提到第三季度，是的，我們的毛利率下降了 27 個基點，但儘管我提到了所有這些暫時的壓力，我們仍比大流行前水平高出約 1 個百分點。我們仍然比 2019 年和第三季度的水平高出一點。

Our next question is from Paul Lejuez with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗的 Paul Lejuez。

Curious on the storage capacity and supply chain inefficiencies. If there was a sales impact during the quarter as well as the cost impact that you talked about. Maybe if you could frame that, also, same question, if you expect there to be a sales impact in 4Q? And related to that, was the pressure any region in particular where you saw the cost and/or sales impact? And how much of a differential was there in terms of the performance of that region versus your others?

對存儲容量和供應鏈效率低下感到好奇。本季度是否存在銷售影響以及您談到的成本影響。也許如果你能提出同樣的問題，如果你預計第四季度會有銷售影響？與此相關的是，在您看到成本和/或銷售影響的任何地區是否存在壓力？該地區與其他地區的表現有多大差異？

Yes. Thanks. I'll tell you, as we said before, the delays of our temporary storage facilities, certainly, that unexpected delay did impact the quarter from a profitability standpoint. But again, I reiterate how pleased we were with the strong sales performance we saw. And the nice thing is like it normally is at DG, it's pretty broad-based. And so I think, again, that goes to the consistency of our ability to serve a customer across, not only a broad swath of the United States, but also around the income levels I mentioned earlier.

是的。謝謝。我會告訴你，正如我們之前所說，我們的臨時存儲設施的延遲，當然，從盈利能力的角度來看，這種意外的延遲確實影響了本季度。但我再次重申，我們對看到的強勁銷售業績感到非常高興。好消息是它通常在 DG，它的基礎非常廣泛。因此，我再次認為，這與我們為客戶提供服務的能力的一致性有關，不僅是美國廣大地區，而且圍繞我之前提到的收入水平。

And we're very pleased and excited that our temporary storage facilities are now online. We're also excited that our 2 new permanent regional hubs that are going to serve us extremely well. As we look to the future, they're also online. And of course, those things will take some time to get fully productive and to allow us to catch-up.

我們非常高興和興奮我們的臨時存儲設施現已上線。我們也很高興我們的 2 個新的永久區域中心將為我們提供非常好的服務。當我們展望未來時，他們也在線。當然，這些事情需要一些時間才能充分發揮作用並讓我們趕上進度。

So again, I would also mention we're pleased that we had in stock improvement year-over-year in Q3. So again, when you kind of bundle it all together, I think the team did a nice job of overcoming some of these challenges, to deliver for the customer, go where she wants us to go. I think that translated into our strong comp, our strong market share gains in both consumables and nonconsumables and a second consecutive quarter of sequential traffic increases.

所以，我還要提一下，我們很高興我們在第三季度的庫存同比有所改善。所以，當你把它們捆綁在一起時，我認為團隊在克服其中一些挑戰方面做得很好，為客戶交付，去她想讓我們去的地方。我認為這轉化為我們強大的競爭力，我們在消耗品和非消耗品方面的強勁市場份額增長以及連續第二個季度的連續流量增長。

So again, feel pleased about the top line and feel pleased about where we have opened up our capacity. And finally, I'll just mention, as you look forward over the next 18 months, bringing on 4 permanent facilities, that will increase our capacity by 20%. And is something we factored into our strategic plan and feel great about how that's going to serve us well and allow us to continue to grow this business in the years ahead.

因此，再次對頂線感到高興，並對我們開放能力的地方感到高興。最後，我只想提一下，正如你們所期待的那樣，在接下來的 18 個月內，引入 4 個永久性設施，這將使我們的產能增加 20%。這是我們在戰略計劃中考慮的因素，並且對這將如何為我們提供良好服務並讓我們在未來幾年繼續發展這項業務感到非常高興。

Our last question will be from Rupesh Parikh with Oppenheimer.

我們的最後一個問題將來自 Rupesh Parikh 和 Oppenheimer。

So just going back to your commentary on shrink. I was curious if you can provide more color in terms of what's driving the higher shrink lately opportunities you guys see to reduce that going forward? If there's any way to quantify how you think about the headwind for Q4 or even what you saw in Q3?

所以回到你對收縮的評論。我很好奇你們是否可以提供更多的顏色來說明是什麼導致了你們最近看到的減少收縮的機會？是否有任何方法可以量化您如何看待第四季度的不利因素，甚至是您在第三季度看到的情況？

Yes. So as we mentioned, we saw increased shrink later in Q3. We believe this is largely -- Rupesh, largely attributable to the inflationary environment, coupled with higher inventory levels. Overall, as you know, retail is seeing higher shrink in this environment. Now this can have a tail. So we did say we expect this to carry over into Q4. I think it's instructive as we listed out the gross margin drivers, I think that was the last on the list of drivers for Q3. But bear in mind, that was later in Q3.

是的。因此，正如我們所提到的，我們在第三季度晚些時候看到了收縮的增加。我們認為這主要是 - Rupesh，主要歸因於通貨膨脹環境，加上較高的庫存水平。總體而言，如您所知，零售業在這種環境下的收縮率更高。現在這可以有尾巴了。所以我們確實說過我們希望這會延續到第四季度。我認為這很有啟發性，因為我們列出了毛利率驅動因素，我認為這是第三季度驅動因素列表中的最後一個。但請記住，那是在第三季度晚些時候。

So we anticipate a larger -- probably a larger impact if you have a full quarter of that in Q4. But in Q3, it was the smallest of the items we called out. But again, we've done this drill many times. If you look at our shrink levels, they're still very low from a historical perspective, just not quite as low as we were at record levels recently. But the team knows how to execute against this, and I think we're putting the right tactics in place to address it.

因此，我們預計會產生更大的影響——如果您在第四季度有四分之一的影響，可能會產生更大的影響。但在第 3 季度，它是我們調出的最小的項目。但同樣，我們已經多次進行了這種演練。如果你看看我們的收縮水平，從歷史的角度來看它們仍然很低，只是不像我們最近的創紀錄水平那麼低。但是團隊知道如何解決這個問題，我認為我們正在製定正確的策略來解決這個問題。

We're increasing the amount of tagging with -- for our EAS units. We're leveraging technology like exception-based reporting, and we have very good process rigor and focus on this to tame it. But we'll have a little bit of tail until these actions take hold.

我們正在為我們的 EAS 單元增加標記的數量。我們正在利用基於異常的報告等技術，我們有非常嚴格的流程並專注於此來馴服它。但在採取這些行動之前，我們還有一些尾巴。

Great. And then maybe just one quick follow-up question. So just on trade-in, I know your team expect to trade in to continue into Q3, and I believe Q4 as well. At this point, the trade-in that you're seeing, is that consistent with what you'd see in a recession? Or is it -- would you say it still below what you typically see in downturn?

偉大的。然後也許只是一個快速的後續問題。因此，就以舊換新而言，我知道您的團隊希望以舊換新繼續進入第三季度，我也相信第四季度。在這一點上，您看到的以舊換新是否與您在經濟衰退時看到的一致？或者它是——你會說它仍然低於你在經濟低迷時通常看到的水平嗎？

Yes. Rupesh, as I said earlier, we're very pleased to be able to see that we're growing share in customers across all income levels. So that's encouraging. And really, again, I go back to the relevance of our brand of our box and our tremendous ability to listen and respond to what our customers are looking for.

是的。 Rupesh，正如我之前所說，我們很高興能夠看到我們在所有收入水平的客戶中的份額都在增加。所以這是令人鼓舞的。真的，我再次回到我們盒子品牌的相關性以及我們傾聽和回應客戶需求的巨大能力。

And certainly, I would tell you, the core customer is certainly behaving the way we expected her to. And also, as you think about it, one of the things that we continue to be pleased with is the fact that when we were introduced to that new customer during COVID, we continue to retain her at higher-than-expected levels.

當然，我會告訴你，核心客戶的行為肯定符合我們的預期。而且，正如您所想的那樣，我們繼續感到高興的一件事是，當我們在 COVID 期間被介紹給那個新客戶時，我們繼續以高於預期的水平留住她。

So I would say that as we sit here today, we feel real good about what we're seeing across all the income brackets. We feel real good about seeing the growth there. And I think we're very well positioned to continue to serve them.

所以我想說，當我們今天坐在這裡時，我們對所有收入階層所看到的情況感到非常滿意。看到那裡的增長，我們感到非常高興。而且我認為我們非常有能力繼續為他們服務。

And I think if you step back and think about Dollar General, we're an all-weather brand, and we've been doing this for many, many years, and we continue to do that. And so -- and we will continue to do that. We'll go where the customer wants us to go, which we did this quarter.

而且我認為，如果你退後一步想想 Dollar General，我們是一個全天候品牌，我們已經這樣做了很多很多年，而且我們會繼續這樣做。所以 - 我們將繼續這樣做。我們將去客戶希望我們去的地方，這是我們本季度所做的。

And we're also positioned to continue to do that as we move forward and continue to deliver on our strategic initiatives that really makes a more well-rounded shop and a greater appeal for a broad swath of customers.

我們還準備繼續這樣做，因為我們向前邁進，並繼續實施我們的戰略舉措，真正打造一個更全面的商店，並對廣大客戶產生更大的吸引力。

We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Jeff Owen for closing comments.

我們已經結束了問答環節。我現在想把電話轉回 Jeff Owen 以徵求意見。

Well, thank you for all the questions and your continued interest in Dollar General.

好吧，感謝您提出所有問題以及您對 Dollar General 的持續關注。

I just wanted to wrap up with 3 points. First, while we had some unanticipated challenges within our supply chain during the quarter, we're confident in the actions we've taken to address these near-term issues and expect continued improvement as we move through Q4 and into next year; second, we believe we are well positioned to keep growing market share, especially in an environment where customers are even more focused on value; and third, we believe our strong value and convenience proposition combined with our robust portfolio of strategic initiatives sets us up for a very long runway of growth.

我只想總結 3 點。首先，雖然我們在本季度的供應鏈中遇到了一些意想不到的挑戰，但我們對我們為解決這些近期問題所採取的行動充滿信心，並期望在我們進入第四季度和明年時繼續改進；其次，我們相信我們有能力保持市場份額的增長，尤其是在客戶更加關注價值的環境中；第三，我們相信我們強大的價值和便利性主張與我們強大的戰略計劃組合相結合，使我們能夠走上很長的增長道路。

And we couldn't be more excited about where the future is headed. I want to thank you again for listening, and I hope you have a great day.

我們對未來的發展方向感到非常興奮。我想再次感謝您的收聽，希望您今天過得愉快。

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

今天的會議到此結束。您此時可以斷開線路，我們感謝您的參與。