美元樹 (DLTR) 2021 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the Dollar Tree's Third Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加美元樹 2021 年第三季度收益電話會議。今天的電話正在錄音。

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Randy Guiler. Please go ahead.

在這個時候，我想把會議交給 Randy Guiler。請繼續。

Thank you, Katie. Good morning and welcome to our call to discuss results for Dollar Tree's Third Fiscal Quarter 2021. With me on today's call are Mike Witynski and Kevin Wampler.

謝謝你，凱蒂。早上好，歡迎參加我們的電話會議，討論美元樹 2021 年第三財政季度的結果。今天與我通話的是 Mike Wiynski 和 Kevin Wampler。

Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that various remarks that we will make about our expectations, plans and prospects for the company constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and our actual results may differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements.

在開始之前，我想提醒大家，我們將對公司的期望、計劃和前景發表的各種評論構成前瞻性陳述，就 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》下的安全港條款而言。這些陳述受到風險和不確定性的影響，我們的實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述中的結果大不相同。

For information on the risks and uncertainties that could affect our actual results, please see the Risk Factors, Business and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections in our annual report on Form 10-K filed March 16, 2021, our Form 10-Q for the most recently ended fiscal quarter, our most recent press release and Form 8-K, and other filings we will make from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

有關可能影響我們實際結果的風險和不確定性的信息，請參閱我們於 2021 年 3 月 16 日提交的 10-K 表格年度報告中的風險因素、業務和管理層對財務狀況和運營結果的討論和分析部分，我們的最近結束的財政季度的 10-Q 表格、我們最近的新聞稿和 8-K 表格，以及我們將不時向證券交易委員會提交的其他文件。

We caution against reliance on these forward-looking statements made today, and we disclaim any obligation to update or revise these statements except as required by law. Following our prepared remarks, we will open the call to your questions. (Operator Instructions)

我們告誡不要依賴今天做出的這些前瞻性陳述，並且我們不承擔任何更新或修改這些陳述的義務，除非法律要求。在我們準備好的評論之後，我們將打開您的問題的電話。 （操作員說明）

I will now turn the call over to Mike Witynski, Dollar Tree's President and Chief Executive Officer.

我現在將把電話轉給 Dollar Tree 總裁兼首席執行官 Mike Wiynski。

Thank you, Randy. Good morning. Thank you for joining us on today's call. I would first like to take a moment to recognize our store associates, distribution center staff, our field leadership and our world-class merchants. Our teams are working around the clock to do everything they can to defend against the current inflationary environment, keep our shelves stocked and provide customers with undeniable value and great service and easy-to-shop, close-to-home store locations. Their hard work and dedication is critical to our company's success, and I'd like to extend sincere thanks for their unwavering commitment to our customers.

謝謝你，蘭迪。早上好。感謝您加入我們今天的電話會議。首先，我想花點時間認識一下我們的門店員工、配送中心員工、我們的現場領導和我們的世界級商家。我們的團隊夜以繼日地工作，盡其所能抵禦當前的通脹環境，保持貨架庫存充足，為客戶提供無可否認的價值和優質服務，以及易於購物、離家近的商店位置。他們的辛勤工作和奉獻精神對我們公司的成功至關重要，我衷心感謝他們對客戶的堅定承諾。

We experienced a strong finish to the third quarter. As shoppers are increasingly focused on value in this inflationary environment, we continue to see accelerated progress in our key strategic initiatives, including Dollar Tree Plus, Combo Stores and our H2 format.

我們經歷了第三季度的強勁表現。隨著購物者在這種通脹環境中越來越關注價值，我們繼續看到我們的關鍵戰略舉措取得了加速進展，包括 Dollar Tree Plus、Combo Stores 和我們的 H2 格式。

During the past quarter, freight costs were significantly higher than expected. Our fourth quarter outlook, which Kevin will provide later in the call, reflects the higher cost structure we experienced in the third quarter. However, our EPS for the third quarter was at the higher end of the range as the performance of the rest of the business offset these higher freight costs.

在過去的一個季度，貨運成本明顯高於預期。凱文稍後將在電話會議中提供我們的第四季度展望，這反映了我們在第三季度經歷的更高成本結構。然而，我們第三季度的每股收益處於該範圍的高端，因為其他業務的表現抵消了這些較高的運費成本。

Freight and supply chain disruptions, of course, continue to be our biggest challenge in the near term by far, and the impact will continue for a while. But this challenge is transitory. As we detailed last quarter, our team continues to take robust action to mitigate the impact of freight costs and supply chain disruptions. We believe that based on the steps that we have taken, we will benefit meaningfully as these challenges abate.

當然，到目前為止，貨運和供應鏈中斷仍然是我們近期面臨的最大挑戰，其影響還將持續一段時間。但這個挑戰是暫時的。正如我們上個季度詳述的那樣，我們的團隊繼續採取強有力的行動來減輕貨運成本和供應鏈中斷的影響。我們相信，根據我們所採取的步驟，隨著這些挑戰的減輕，我們將受益匪淺。

The Dollar Tree segment delivered a comp sales increase of 60 basis points against its toughest quarterly compare in nearly 3 years. On a 2-year comp stacked basis, this was a sequential improvement of 170 basis points from the prior quarter.

與近 3 年來最艱難的季度相比，Dollar Tree 部門的銷售額增長了 60 個基點。在 2 年的組合基礎上，這比上一季度連續提高了 170 個基點。

Discretionary continues to perform well with a 3.2% comp for the quarter. Consumables were impacted by assortment constraints and past dues. Our $3 and $5-plus assortment continues to resonate well with our shoppers as we had tremendous sell-through on our Halloween merchandise and fall decor. And for the year, our multi-price point merchandise will exceed our sales plan. And we will end this fiscal year with Dollar Tree Plus in nearly 600 stores, exceeding our previous target of 500 stores by the end of the year.

全權委託繼續表現良好，本季度為 3.2%。消耗品受到分類限制和逾期費用的影響。我們 3 美元和 5 美元以上的商品繼續在我們的購物者中產生良好的共鳴，因為我們的萬聖節商品和秋季裝飾品銷售量很大。今年，我們的多價位商品將超過我們的銷售計劃。我們將在本財年結束時在近 600 家門店開設 Dollar Tree Plus，超過我們之前在年底前達到 500 家門店的目標。

Family Dollar delivered a positive 2.7% comp against the 6.4% increase a year ago. This represented the third consecutive quarter that Family Dollar 2-year comp stack has exceeded 9%. The consumable side of the business comp'ed over 3%, while discretionary was slightly negative as we cycled stimulus dollars from the prior year. We are extremely pleased with the Family Dollar brand as the business continues to gain share.

Family Dollar 實現了 2.7% 的正增長，而一年前的增幅為 6.4%。這代表了 Family Dollar 2 年期組合連續第三個季度超過 9%。該業務的消耗品部分佔 3% 以上，而可自由支配的部分則略有負面，因為我們從上一年開始循環刺激資金。隨著業務繼續獲得份額，我們對 Family Dollar 品牌感到非常滿意。

Comps at both banners were driven by an increase in average ticket, partially offset by a decline in transaction comp. The last month of the quarter, October, represented the strongest comp for both banners.

兩個橫幅的補償均受到平均票價增加的推動，部分被交易補償的下降所抵消。本季度的最後一個月，即 10 月，代表了這兩個橫幅的最強組合。

Our digital offerings continue to evolve while we are steadfastly focused on best meeting our customers' changing needs. In October, we announced our expanded partnership with Instacart to now include same-day delivery from nearly 7,000 Dollar Tree stores. Nearly 100 million U.S. households now have delivery options from 13,000 of our store locations. We are very pleased with the initial results from the latest expansion.

我們的數字產品不斷發展，同時我們堅定不移地專注於最好地滿足客戶不斷變化的需求。 10 月，我們宣布擴大與 Instacart 的合作夥伴關係，現在包括近 7,000 家 Dollar Tree 商店的當日送達服務。近 1 億美國家庭現在可以從我們的 13,000 個門店選擇送貨。我們對最新擴展的初步結果感到非常滿意。

Turning to the $1.25 price point. Our leadership team has been planning for the expansion of this initiative since late summer. As you know, in September, we announced our plans to add price points above $1 to all Dollar Tree Plus stores and on a test-and-learn basis to select legacy Dollar Tree stores. As a result of the positive customer feedback and store performance during the initial phase, we have introduced the initiative to nearly 200 additional legacy Dollar Tree stores.

轉向 1.25 美元的價格點。自夏末以來，我們的領導團隊一直在計劃擴大這一舉措。如您所知，在 9 月，我們宣布計劃將所有 Dollar Tree Plus 商店的價格點提高到 1 美元以上，並在測試和學習的基礎上選擇傳統的 Dollar Tree 商店。由於在初始階段獲得了積極的客戶反饋和商店績效，我們已將該計劃引入近 200 家額外的舊式 Dollar Tree 商店。

In today's press release, we announced for the first time in Dollar Tree's 35-year history, we are lifting the $1 price point cap at all Dollar Tree stores on the majority of our assortment. The $1.25 price point enhances our ability to materially expand assortments, introduce new products and sizes, and provide families with more of their daily essentials. We will have greater flexibility to continue providing incredible value and help customers get the everyday items they need and celebratory and seasonal products that Dollar Tree is best known for.

在今天的新聞稿中，我們在 Dollar Tree 的 35 年曆史上首次宣布，我們將在所有 Dollar Tree 商店提高我們大部分產品的 1 美元價格上限。 1.25 美元的價格點增強了我們大幅擴大產品種類、推出新產品和尺寸以及為家庭提供更多日常必需品的能力。我們將擁有更大的靈活性，以繼續提供令人難以置信的價值，並幫助客戶獲得他們需要的日常用品以及 Dollar Tree 最著名的慶祝和季節性產品。

Additionally, we are now reintroducing many customer favorites and key traffic driving domestic and consumable products that Dollar Tree had previously discontinued due to the constraints of a $1 price point. The new price point will also enable us to mitigate historically high merchandising cost increases, including freight and distribution costs as well as higher operating costs such as wage increases.

此外，我們現在重新引入了許多客戶的最愛和主要流量，這些產品推動了 Dollar Tree 之前因 1 美元價格點的限製而停產的國內和消費品。新的價格點還將使我們能夠緩解歷史高位的銷售成本增長，包括貨運和分銷成本以及更高的運營成本，如工資增長。

Our teams are focused on speed, execution and customer research, and our shoppers are responding favorably. When surveyed, the majority of our customers indicated they were already aware of the previously announced new price point. And not surprisingly, many have also indicated they are seeing price increases across the market and that Dollar Tree is still providing the products they need at undeniable value.

我們的團隊專注於速度、執行和客戶研究，我們的購物者反應良好。在接受調查時，我們的大多數客戶表示他們已經知道之前宣布的新價格點。毫不奇怪，許多人還表示，他們看到整個市場的價格都在上漲，而且 Dollar Tree 仍在以無可否認的價值提供他們需要的產品。

We are extremely focused on flawless execution and are providing our leadership team out in the field with tools to support a seamless transition. Actions include: providing teams with a conversion checklist to ensure consistently exceed across markets and stores; dedicate adequate store hours to complete the preparation tasks, including removing the signage and display elements referring to the Everything's a Dollar; implementing the new signage regarding the $1.25 price point on displays, end caps and shelf strips throughout the store, posting clear communications to customers in entry ways and at the checkout; and we are equipping our store teams with messaging for responding to customer inquiries.

我們非常專注於完美的執行，並為我們在現場的領導團隊提供支持無縫過渡的工具。行動包括： 為團隊提供轉換清單，以確保在市場和商店中持續超越；投入足夠的商店時間來完成準備任務，包括移除與 Everything's a Dollar 相關的標牌和展示元素；在整個商店的顯示器、端蓋和貨架條上實施有關 1.25 美元價格點的新標牌，在入口處和結賬處向顧客張貼清晰的溝通；我們正在為我們的商店團隊提供消息，以響應客戶的詢問。

We have closely monitored the performance of the test stores and shopper reaction through extensive customer intercepts and third-party surveys since our initial test began. We will continue to gather feedback throughout the process to ensure we remain fiercely committed to our brand promise of providing customers with extreme value every day, along with more thrills, more fun and more new items every week.

自我們的初始測試開始以來，我們通過廣泛的客戶攔截和第三方調查密切關注測試商店的表現和購物者的反應。我們將在整個過程中繼續收集反饋，以確保我們始終堅定地致力於我們的品牌承諾，即每天為客戶提供極致價值，每週提供更多刺激、更多樂趣和更多新產品。

For 35 years, we've been able to manage through inflationary periods to maintain the Everything for $1 philosophy that distinguished Dollar Tree and made it one of the most successful retail concepts for 3 decades. However, we strongly believe this is the appropriate time to shift away from the constraints of the $1 price point in order to continue offering extreme value to our customers.

35 年來，我們一直能夠度過通貨膨脹時期，以維持使 Dollar Tree 與眾不同並使其成為 3 年來最成功的零售概念之一的 1 美元的一切理念。但是，我們堅信現在是擺脫 1 美元價格限制的適當時機，以便繼續為我們的客戶提供極致價值。

The independent surveys of shoppers across the U.S. have indicated that 77% of the shoppers were almost immediately aware of the price point change. And of those 77%, 31% already knew before they visited the store and 17% became immediately aware upon entering the store, while 29% were aware within minutes of entering the store. Critically, 91% of those surveyed indicated they would shop with the same or increased frequency. We will continue to monitor the success of these initiatives, and we believe we will see improvement in the survey results since now we have the ability to further expand the product offering and reintroduce key traffic-driving items.

對美國購物者的獨立調查表明，77% 的購物者幾乎立即意識到價格點的變化。在這 77% 的人中，31% 的人在去商店之前就知道了，17% 的人在進入商店後立即知道，而 29% 的人在進入商店後幾分鐘內就知道了。至關重要的是，91% 的受訪者表示他們會以相同或更高的頻率購物。我們將繼續監控這些舉措的成功，我們相信我們會看到調查結果有所改善，因為現在我們有能力進一步擴大產品供應並重新引入關鍵的交通驅動項目。

Upon validating the store execution, customer reception and the performance results were as anticipated. We expanded the program to nearly 200 additional stores across 3 major markets, and we are pleased to say the results have been relatively consistent. As expected, we are seeing lifts in comp sales, partially offset by a smaller decline in unit sales. We are seeing an initial lift to product margins that will normalize over time as our merchant teams evolve our assortments.

在驗證商店執行後，客戶接待和績效結果符合預期。我們將該計劃擴展到 3 個主要市場的近 200 家額外商店，我們很高興地說結果相對一致。正如預期的那樣，我們看到了複合銷售額的增長，部分被單位銷售額的小幅下降所抵消。隨著我們的商家團隊不斷發展我們的產品系列，我們看到產品利潤率的初步提升將隨著時間的推移而正常化。

Importantly, we expect this initiative will enable us to mitigate the higher freight other inflationary costs in order to return to our historical gross margin of 35% to 36% in fiscal 2022, while improving the merchandising we're providing for our customers.

重要的是，我們預計這一舉措將使我們能夠減輕較高的運費和其他通脹成本，以便在 2022 財年恢復到 35% 至 36% 的歷史毛利率，同時改善我們為客戶提供的商品。

All the steps I mentioned have set a solid foundation to streamline the execution of this important milestone in our company's history. We have been working hard to prepare this -- for this key strategic initiative to ensure that we are providing customers with great products while unlocking long-term shareholder value.

我提到的所有步驟都為簡化我們公司歷史上這一重要里程碑的執行奠定了堅實的基礎。我們一直在努力準備這一關鍵戰略計劃，以確保我們為客戶提供優質產品，同時釋放長期股東價值。

We are focused on aggressively executing our plan to roll out the new price point across the entire footprint of legacy Dollar Tree stores. Our teams will be introducing the new price point in more than 2,000 additional legacy Dollar Tree stores in December and complete the rollout to all stores by the end of the first quarter in fiscal 2022.

我們專注於積極執行我們的計劃，在舊式一元樹商店的整個足跡中推出新的價格點。我們的團隊將於 12 月在另外 2,000 多家舊式 Dollar Tree 商店中引入新的價格點，並在 2022 財年第一季度末完成向所有商店的推廣。

Concurrently, our company's merchants are working to continually enhance the offerings to drive traffic, capture market share and further grow customer loyalty. We are working with our suppliers, and we have already begun introducing new items every week, including seasonal, crafts, party supplies, food essentials and more.

同時，我們公司的商家正在努力不斷提升產品以增加流量、佔領市場份額並進一步提高客戶忠誠度。我們正在與我們的供應商合作，我們已經開始每週推出新產品，包括季節性、工藝品、派對用品、食品必需品等。

Beyond the changes at our legacy Dollar Tree stores, we are also continuing to expand the availability of a $3 and $5-plus assortment. As I noted a few moments ago, we will exceed our previous goal of now adding the Plus concept to nearly 600 stores by the end of the year. We plan to add the Plus assortment to another 1,500 stores in fiscal 2022 and complete at least 5,000 stores in total by the end of fiscal 2024.

除了我們傳統的 Dollar Tree 商店的變化之外，我們還在繼續擴大 3 美元和 5 美元以上的商品種類。正如我剛才提到的，我們將超越我們之前的目標，即到今年年底將 Plus 概念添加到近 600 家商店。我們計劃在 2022 財年將 Plus 產品系列添加到另外 1,500 家門店，並在 2024 財年末之前總共完成至少 5,000 家門店。

We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to improve performance of Dollar Tree by continuing to deliver extreme value to our customers at the new $1.25 price point, driving comp sales and improving store productivity, enhancing flexibility to better manage the overall business in an inflationary environment and as previously mentioned, returning Dollar Tree gross margins back to the change historical 35% to 36% annual range in fiscal 2022.

我們很高興有機會通過繼續以新的 1.25 美元價格點為我們的客戶提供極致價值、推動複合銷售和提高商店生產力、增強靈活性以在通貨膨脹環境中更好地管理整體業務以及作為前面提到，Dollar Tree 的毛利率在 2022 財年恢復到歷史 35% 至 36% 的年度變化範圍。

I will now hand the call over to Kevin to provide details on Q3 performance and our outlook.

我現在將電話轉給凱文，以提供有關第三季度業績和我們前景的詳細信息。

Thanks, Mike, and good morning. Our third quarter EPS of $0.96 per share was near the high end of our $0.88 to $0.98 guidance range. Consolidated net sales increased 3.9% to $6.42 billion, comprised of $3.42 billion at Dollar Tree and $3 billion at Family Dollar. Enterprise same-store sales increased 1.6% as we cycled a 5.1% increase from a year ago, representing a 6.7% increase on a 2-year stacked basis.

謝謝，邁克，早上好。我們第三季度每股 0.96 美元的每股收益接近我們 0.88 美元至 0.98 美元指導範圍的高端。合併淨銷售額增長 3.9% 至 64.2 億美元，其中 Dollar Tree 為 34.2 億美元，Family Dollar 為 30 億美元。企業同店銷售額增長 1.6%，因為我們比一年前循環增長 5.1%，相當於 2 年疊加增長 6.7%。

Comps for the Dollar Tree segment increased 0.6%. Family Dollar same-store sales increased 2.7%, cycling a strong 6.4% increase from last year. On a 2-year stacked basis, Dollar Tree comps increased 4.6%, which was a 170 basis point improvement from Q2, and Family Dollar increased 9.1%.

Dollar Tree 部門的 Comps 增長了 0.6%。 Family Dollar 同店銷售額增長 2.7%，比去年強勁增長 6.4%。在 2 年的疊加基礎上，Dollar Tree comps 增長了 4.6%，比第二季度提高了 170 個基點，Family Dollar 增長了 9.1%。

Dollar Tree's comp was comprised of a 1.8% increase in average ticket, partially offset by a 1.1% decline in traffic. Family Dollar experienced a 5.8% increase in average ticket, partially offset by a 3% decline in traffic.

Dollar Tree 的收入包括平均票價增長 1.8%，部分被客流量下降 1.1% 所抵消。 Family Dollar 的平均票價增長了 5.8%，部分被客流量下降 3% 所抵消。

Gross profit was $1.76 billion for the quarter. Gross margin was 27.5% compared to 31.2% in the prior year's quarter. Gross profit margin for Dollar Tree segment declined 470 basis points to 30.2% when compared to the prior year's quarter. Factors impacting the segment's gross margin performance included merchandise costs, including freight, increased 475 basis points driven by higher freight costs and lower initial mark-on, partially offset by favorable mix from increased sales of higher-margin discretionary merchandise.

本季度毛利潤為 17.6 億美元。毛利率為 27.5%，而去年同期為 31.2%。與去年同期相比，Dollar Tree 部門的毛利率下降 470 個基點至 30.2%。影響該部門毛利率表現的因素包括商品成本（包括運費），由於運費上漲和初始加價降低而增加了 475 個基點，部分被利潤率較高的可自由支配商品銷售增加所帶來的有利組合所抵消。

Occupancy costs increased 10 basis points as a result of loss of leverage due to a lower comparable store net sales increase and higher real estate tax expense. Distribution costs increased 10 basis points from higher depreciation costs related to 2 new distribution centers and higher hourly wages, partially offset by lower COVID-19-related expenses. And shrink improved 25 basis points related to favorable inventory results and a decrease in the shrink accrual rate.

由於可比商店淨銷售額增長較低和房地產稅費用增加，導致槓桿損失，佔用成本增加了 10 個基點。與 2 個新配送中心相關的較高折舊成本和較高的小時工資導致配送成本增加了 10 個基點，部分被較低的 COVID-19 相關費用所抵消。與有利的庫存結果和收縮應計率的下降有關，收縮改善了 25 個基點。

Gross profit margin for the Family Dollar segment declined 240 basis points to 24.4% in the third quarter. The year-over-year delta included the following: Merchandise costs, including freight, increased 220 basis points related to higher freight costs. Distribution costs increased 20 basis points compared to the prior year quarter due to higher wages, partially offset by lower COVID-19-related expenses. Markdown costs increased 20 basis points, primarily due to higher clearance markdowns. Occupancy costs increased 5 basis points, primarily due to higher real estate taxes, and shrink improved 30 basis points related to favorable inventory results and a decrease in the shrink accrual rate.

Family Dollar 業務的毛利率在第三季度下降 240 個基點至 24.4%。同比增長包括以下內容： 包括運費在內的商品成本增加了 220 個基點，這與運費成本上漲有關。由於工資上漲，分銷成本與去年同期相比增加了 20 個基點，部分被 COVID-19 相關費用的減少所抵消。降價成本增加了 20 個基點，主要是由於更高的清倉降價。入住成本增加了 5 個基點，主要是由於房地產稅增加，而收縮率提高了 30 個基點，這與有利的庫存結果和收縮應計率的下降有關。

Consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses improved 100 basis points to 22.7% of total revenue compared to 23.7% in Q3 last year. We cycled $35.3 million in COVID-19-related costs or 57 basis points in the prior year's quarter. For the third quarter, the SG&A rate for the Dollar Tree segment as a percentage of total revenue improved 50 basis points to 21.7% when compared to the prior year's quarter. Payroll costs improved 30 basis points, primarily due to lower COVID-19-related store payroll costs and lower incentive compensation expenses, partially offset by minimum wage increases and higher health insurance costs. And other SG&A decreased by 25 basis points, resulting from the benefit associated with the settlement of a contractual dispute and the realization of certain tax credits.

與去年第三季度的 23.7% 相比，綜合銷售、一般和管理費用佔總收入的 22.7% 增加了 100 個基點。我們在上一季度循環了 3530 萬美元的 COVID-19 相關成本或 57 個基點。第三季度，與去年同期相比，美元樹部門的 SG&A 佔總收入的百分比提高了 50 個基點至 21.7%。工資成本提高了 30 個基點，主要是由於與 COVID-19 相關的商店工資成本降低和激勵補償費用降低，部分被最低工資增長和更高的健康保險成本所抵消。其他 SG&A 下降了 25 個基點，這是由於與解決合同糾紛和實現某些稅收抵免相關的好處。

For Family Dollar, the third quarter SG&A rate as a percentage of total revenue improved 80 basis points to 21.4% compared to 22.2% in the prior year's quarter. Payroll costs decreased 65 basis points, primarily due to lower COVID-19-related store payroll costs and lower incentive compensation expenses, partially offset by minimum wage increases. Store facility costs decreased 30 basis points, primarily due to lower repair and maintenance expenses and lower telecommunication expenses. Depreciation and amortization expense increased 5 basis points due to expenditures associated with the store optimization program. And other SG&A expense increased 20 basis points, primarily due to increases in advertising and travel expenses and an increase in insurance costs related to general liability claims.

對於 Family Dollar，第三季度 SG&A 佔總收入的百分比從去年同期的 22.2% 提高了 80 個基點至 21.4%。工資成本下降了 65 個基點，主要是由於與 COVID-19 相關的商店工資成本降低和激勵補償費用降低，部分被最低工資增長所抵消。商店設施成本下降了 30 個基點，主要是由於維修和維護費用減少以及電信費用減少。由於與商店優化計劃相關的支出，折舊和攤銷費用增加了 5 個基點。其他 SG&A 費用增加了 20 個基點，主要是由於廣告和差旅費用的增加以及與一般責任索賠相關的保險費用的增加。

Corporate support and other expenses as a percentage of total revenue decreased approximately 30 basis points compared to the prior year quarter, primarily due to lower incentive compensation. Operating income was $310.5 million or 4.8% of total revenue in the third quarter. Our nonoperating expenses totaled $33.6 million, comprised primarily of net interest expense. Our effective tax rate was 21.7% compared to 22.8% in the prior year quarter.

與去年同期相比，企業支持和其他費用佔總收入的百分比下降了約 30 個基點，這主要是由於激勵薪酬降低。第三季度營業收入為 3.105 億美元，佔總收入的 4.8%。我們的營業外支出總計 3360 萬美元，主要包括淨利息支出。我們的有效稅率為 21.7%，而去年同期為 22.8%。

Company had net income of $216.8 million or $0.96 per diluted share as compared to net earnings of $330 million or $1.39 per diluted share in the prior year's quarter. Combined cash and cash equivalents at quarter end totaled $701.4 million compared to $1.42 billion at the end of fiscal 2020. Outstanding debt as of October 30 were $3.25 billion. The company did not repurchase shares during the quarter as it was preparing for the announcement and launch of its $1.25 price point initiative across the Dollar Tree stores. We currently have $2.5 billion remaining on our share repurchase authorization.

公司的淨收入為 2.168 億美元或每股攤薄收益 0.96 美元，而上一季度的淨收益為 3.3 億美元或每股攤薄收益 1.39 美元。季度末現金和現金等價物合計為 7.014 億美元，而 2020 財年末為 14.2 億美元。截至 10 月 30 日，未償債務為 32.5 億美元。該公司在本季度沒有回購股票，因為它正在準備宣布並在 Dollar Tree 商店推出其 1.25 美元的價格點計劃。目前，我們的股票回購授權剩餘 25 億美元。

Inventory for Dollar Tree at quarter end increased 15.2% from the same time last year, consisting primarily of a significant increase in goods on the water year-over-year. Comp store inventories are down 6.4% compared to a year ago when they were down 7.4%. Inventory for Family Dollar at quarter end increased 12.4% from the same period last year. Comp store inventories are up 7.2% after being down 13.2% in 2020.

Dollar Tree 季度末的庫存比去年同期增加了 15.2%，主要是水上貨物的同比大幅增加。與一年前的 7.4% 相比，比較商店的庫存下降了 6.4%。季末 Family Dollar 的庫存較去年同期增加 12.4%。對比商店庫存在 2020 年下降 13.2% 後增加了 7.2%。

Capital expenditures were $295.6 million in the third quarter versus $238.7 million in Q3 last year. For fiscal 2021, we expect the consolidated CapEx will be approximately $1.1 billion. Depreciation and amortization totaled $178.5 million for Q3 compared to $170.1 million in the third quarter last year. For fiscal 2021, we now expect consolidated depreciation and amortization to be approximately $715 million.

第三季度的資本支出為 2.956 億美元，而去年第三季度為 2.387 億美元。對於 2021 財年，我們預計合併後的資本支出約為 11 億美元。第三季度折舊和攤銷總額為 1.785 億美元，而去年第三季度為 1.701 億美元。對於 2021 財年，我們現在預計合併折舊和攤銷約為 7.15 億美元。

Our outlook for the remainder of 2021 includes the following assumptions. We have forecasted continued pressure on wages due to the current shortage of workers available for our stores and distribution centers. We expect shrink will continue to be a tailwind but not at the same rate as we are cycling improved results from the prior year. Higher sales, lower store inventory levels, technology and better processes continue to drive better results. Net interest expense is expected to be approximately $33.6 million in Q4 and approximately $133 million for fiscal 2021.

我們對 2021 年剩餘時間的展望包括以下假設。由於目前我們的商店和配送中心可用的工人短缺，我們預測工資將繼續承壓。我們預計收縮將繼續成為順風，但與我們循環改善上一年結果的速度不同。更高的銷售額、更低的商店庫存水平、技術和更好的流程繼續推動更好的結果。預計第四季度的淨利息支出約為 3360 萬美元，2021 財年約為 1.33 億美元。

We estimate consolidated net sales for the fourth quarter will range from $7.02 billion to $7.18 billion based on a low single-digit increase in same-store sales for the combined enterprise. Diluted earnings per share are estimated to be in the range of $1.69 to $1.79. As Mike mentioned earlier, freight costs were significantly higher than expected in the third quarter. Our fourth quarter outlook reflects the expectation of higher transportation costs. These costs will be offset by the benefit of the Dollar Tree stores that are transitioned to the $1.25 price point net of onetime costs to implement that change.

基於合併後企業同店銷售額的低個位數增長，我們估計第四季度的合併淨銷售額將在 70.2 億美元至 71.8 億美元之間。每股攤薄收益估計在 1.69 美元至 1.79 美元之間。正如邁克之前提到的，第三季度的運費成本明顯高於預期。我們的第四季度展望反映了運輸成本上升的預期。這些成本將被 Dollar Tree 商店的收益所抵消，這些商店轉變為 1.25 美元的價格點，扣除了實施該變更的一次性成本。

Consolidated net sales for full fiscal year 2021 are expected to range from $26.25 billion to $26.41 billion based on a low single-digit increase in same-store sales and 3.3% square footage growth. The company now estimates diluted earnings per share will range from $5.48 to $5.58. Freight costs for fiscal 2021 are now expected to be approximately $2 higher than fiscal 2020 expressed in terms of the impact on diluted earnings per share.

基於同店銷售額的低個位數增長和 3.3% 的平方英尺增長，預計 2021 財年的合併淨銷售額將在 262.5 億美元至 264.1 億美元之間。該公司現在估計每股攤薄收益將在 5.48 美元至 5.58 美元之間。現在預計 2021 財年的運費成本將比 2020 財年高出約 2 美元，以對攤薄每股收益的影響表示。

While much of the focus has been on transpacific ocean container rates, we are being impacted by all aspects of freight, including higher cost for inland transportation by truck and rail and higher diesel costs. Additionally, in the third quarter, we moved more containers than originally planned, which required utilizing the spot market at rates higher than forecasted. To echo Mike's comments, freight continues to be our biggest challenge in the near term. We believe the majority of the freight challenges are transitory. The rest of the business is performing much better in the near term.

雖然大部分重點都放在跨太平洋集裝箱運費上，但我們正受到貨運方方面面的影響，包括卡車和鐵路內陸運輸成本的上漲以及柴油成本的上漲。此外，在第三季度，我們運送的集裝箱比原計劃更多，這需要以高於預期的速度利用現貨市場。為了呼應邁克的評論，貨運仍然是我們近期最大的挑戰。我們認為大部分貨運挑戰都是暫時的。其他業務在短期內表現要好得多。

Our outlook assumes a tax rate of 22.1% for the fourth quarter and 22.7% for fiscal 2021. Weighted average diluted share counts are assumed to be 225.9 million shares for Q4 and 228.9 million shares for the full year. Our outlook does not include any share repurchases. We have $2.5 billion remaining on our existing share repurchase authorization.

我們的展望假設第四季度的稅率為 22.1%，2021 財年的稅率為 22.7%。加權平均攤薄股數假設第四季度為 2.259 億股，全年為 2.289 億股。我們的展望不包括任何股票回購。我們現有的股票回購授權還剩 25 億美元。

And I'll now turn the call back over to Mike.

現在我將把電話轉回給邁克。

Thanks, Kevin. As I mentioned earlier on the call, we ended the third quarter with momentum in the business, and that has certainly continued in both segments. Through the end of last week quarter-to-date, our comps were running at a 4.9% increase at Family Dollar and a 3% increase at Dollar Tree, and we are seeing positive trends as customers are planning to gather in person with family and friends to celebrate the holidays this year. The combination of shoppers seeking value in the inflationary environment, along with the acceleration of the company's initiatives, including Combo Stores and Dollar Tree Plus, bode well for the continued traction and store productivity. In 2022, we plan implementing the $3 and $5-plus assortment into 1,500 more Dollar Tree stores. We will also be adding 400 Combo Stores through new or renovated stores, and we plan to renovate 800 legacy Family Dollar stores into the H2 format.

謝謝，凱文。正如我之前在電話會議上提到的，我們在第三季度結束時業務勢頭強勁，而且這兩個領域肯定都在繼續。截至上週末為止，我們在 Family Dollar 上的銷售額增長了 4.9%，在 Dollar Tree 上增長了 3%，我們看到了積極的趨勢，因為客戶計劃與家人和朋友們今年慶祝節日。在通脹環境中尋求價值的購物者的結合，以及公司計劃的加速，包括 Combo Stores 和 Dollar Tree Plus，預示著持續的牽引力和商店生產力。 2022 年，我們計劃在 1,500 多家 Dollar Tree 商店實施 3 美元和 5 美元以上的分類。我們還將通過新的或翻新的商店增加 400 家 Combo 商店，我們計劃將 800 家傳統的 Family Dollar 商店翻新為 H2 格式。

Additionally, lifting the $1 constraint represents a monumental step for our organization, and we are enthusiastic about the opportunity to meaningfully improve our shoppers' experience and unlock value for our stakeholders. We will be relentless in our commitment to offer our customers the best value possible, albeit at a different price point, while guided by Dollar Tree's same founding principles.

此外，取消 1 美元的限制是我們組織邁出的重要一步，我們熱衷於有機會有意義地改善購物者的體驗並為我們的利益相關者釋放價值。我們將堅持不懈地致力於為我們的客戶提供可能的最佳價值，儘管價格不同，同時遵循 Dollar Tree 的相同創始原則。

We are extremely excited and confident about the opportunities in 2022 and beyond. We are very focused on the acceleration of the initiatives that are working for us and are operating with clarity, focus and speed. As I previously mentioned, we do expect Dollar Tree banner to return to its historical annual range of 35% to 36% gross margin in fiscal 2022.

我們對 2022 年及以後的機會感到非常興奮和充滿信心。我們非常專注於加速為我們工作的舉措，並以清晰、專注和快速的方式運作。正如我之前提到的，我們確實預計美元樹橫幅將在 2022 財年恢復其 35% 至 36% 的歷史年度毛利率範圍。

Before we go into Q&A, I would like to make a brief statement. We appreciate that many of you are focused on the Form 13D filed by Mantle Ridge 2 Fridays ago. So we will make a short statement about that, but we'll not entertain any questions on the topic. We believe Mantle Ridge has made a very smart investment. As we said, Dollar Tree's Board of Directors and management team are always open to listen to input and engaging with our shareholders, and we evaluate any ideas for constructive value creation with the best interest of all shareholders and stakeholders in mind.

在我們進入問答環節之前，我想做一個簡短的聲明。我們感謝你們中的許多人關注 Mantle Ridge 2 週五前提交的 13D 表格。因此，我們將就此發表簡短聲明，但我們不會就該主題提出任何問題。我們相信 Mantle Ridge 做出了非常明智的投資。正如我們所說，Dollar Tree 的董事會和管理團隊始終樂於聽取意見並與我們的股東互動，我們會以所有股東和利益相關者的最大利益來評估任何建設性價值創造的想法。

In keeping with our practice not to comment publicly on our private discussions with individual investors, we will not take any questions regarding Mantle Ridge. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

按照我們不公開評論我們與個人投資者的私下討論的慣例，我們不會回答有關 Mantle Ridge 的任何問題。感謝您的理解與合作。

Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

接線員，我們現在可以回答問題了。

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

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自摩根大通的 Matthew Boss。

So maybe first, the Dollar Tree banner. 2-year stacked comps back to mid-single digits in the third quarter, November holding the momentum despite supply-side constraints still remaining. I guess, could you just help speak to drivers of the stabilization? What's your confidence also in that 35% to 36% gross margin for next year? Meaning, do we need a material reset in freight? Or is the driver of this the pricing change across the fleet that you outlined today?

所以也許首先，美元樹橫幅。 2 年堆疊組合在第三季度回到中個位數，11 月保持勢頭，儘管供應方面的限制仍然存在。我想，你能幫忙和穩定的司機談談嗎？您對明年 35% 到 36% 的毛利率有什麼信心？意思是，我們需要在貨運中進行材料重置嗎？還是您今天概述的整個車隊的定價變化的驅動因素？

Thanks for the question. I would say the main driver of that is, as Kevin said, inside that forecast for next year, we are anticipating freight to pretty much look like it did this year. So the major change would be the $1.25 price point as the key enabler to mitigate that. And it's also going to give us the opportunity to bring in new items and a new assortment that will drive traffic in Dollar Tree and that will help offset where we've lost traffic this year historically.

謝謝你的問題。正如凱文所說，我想說的主要驅動因素是，在對明年的預測中，我們預計貨運量看起來和今年差不多。因此，主要的變化將是 1.25 美元的價格點作為緩解這種情況的關鍵推動因素。它還將讓我們有機會引入新產品和新品種，這將推動美元樹的流量，這將有助於抵消我們今年曆史上失去流量的地方。

And then, Mike, as a follow-up on Family Dollar, what do you believe the concept takes from this pandemic? Meaning, are you seeing new customers? What initiatives do you have to retain some of the new footsteps that you're seeing? And on the -- as we think about kind of where we go from here, what do you think the sustainable comp for the Family Dollar concept multiyear is from here as we exit the pandemic?

然後，邁克，作為家庭美元的後續行動，你認為這個概念從這次大流行中得到了什麼？意思是，你看到新客戶了嗎？您必須採取哪些舉措來保留您所看到的一些新腳步？關於 - 當我們考慮我們從這裡開始的地方時，你認為家庭美元概念多年的可持續補償是從這裡開始的，因為我們退出了大流行？

Yes. Thanks, Matt. So on the Family Dollar side, we believe that based on the fundamental changes our merchants have made in our price points and in our assortment on discretionary side, along with the continued growth we see on the consumables side, we believe that we will sustain our growth beyond the pandemic as we exit it.

是的。謝謝，馬特。因此，在家庭美元方面，我們相信，基於我們的商家在價格點和可自由支配方面的分類方面所做的根本變化，以及我們在消耗品方面看到的持續增長，我們相信我們將維持我們的當我們退出大流行時，增長超越大流行。

And it's evident in our 3 quarters in a row over a 9% 2-year stack of comp sales. And we're seeing our customers really gravitate to our assortment. You heard us say our consumables side is comping well, and they're buying more of the discretionary side as we get it in our stores. And we believe that long term, we can sustain that low single-digit growth. And it's really evident in our Combo Stores and our H2 format. So we're going to exceed our 1,250 H2 renovations, and we continue to see a 10% increase when we renovate those stores.

這在我們連續 3 個季度超過 9% 的 2 年組合銷售堆棧中很明顯。我們看到我們的客戶真的很喜歡我們的產品。您聽說我們說我們的消耗品方面表現良好，並且當我們在商店中購買時，他們正在購買更多可自由支配的方面。我們相信，從長遠來看，我們可以維持這種低個位數的增長。這在我們的組合商店和 H2 格式中非常明顯。因此，我們將超過 1,250 次 H2 翻新，當我們翻新這些商店時，我們將繼續看到 10% 的增長。

But more importantly is that Combo Store, that bringing these 2 great companies together allow us to drive a great format in rural America. And there's 3,000 towns that we've identified, and we're going to grow that store count by more than 400. And as we shared on the last quarter, and I think we have it posted on our website, our Combo Stores deliver 17% more than our pro forma than our new store expected. They grow 23% more when we renovate them. And when we relocate them, it's a 40% increase.

但更重要的是 Combo Store，它將這兩家偉大的公司聚集在一起，使我們能夠在美國農村地區推動一種偉大的格式。我們已經確定了 3,000 個城鎮，我們將把商店數量增加 400 多個。正如我們在上個季度分享的那樣，我認為我們已經將它發佈在我們的網站上，我們的 Combo Stores 提供了 17 個% 比我們的備考比我們的新商店預期的多。當我們對它們進行翻新時，它們的增長速度會增加 23%。當我們重新安置它們時，增加了 40%。

So those things are really driving not only top line, but our margin is stronger and it's translating into a more productive store. So I think our initiatives -- I think the foundational things that we fixed at Family Dollar and then with our key initiatives going forward will enable us to continue to grow single-store comp.

所以這些東西真的不僅推動了收入，而且我們的利潤率更高，而且它正在轉化為一家更有生產力的商店。所以我認為我們的舉措——我認為我們在 Family Dollar 中確定的基礎性事物以及我們未來的關鍵舉措將使我們能夠繼續發展單店組合。

Our next question comes from John Heinbockel with Guggenheim.

我們的下一個問題來自古根海姆的約翰·海因博克爾。

So Mike, let me start with -- you think the $1.25 price point will -- and you said majority, but what do you think that will apply to in terms of the assortment, number one? And then number two, tied to that, I know you're getting a lift on price. Is there any way to -- what you've seen on impact to volume on those items specifically and then also the store as a whole? Other than they're down, you must have a sense of how much they're down.

所以邁克，讓我開始 - 你認為 1.25 美元的價格點會 - 你說大多數，但你認為這將適用於什麼分類，第一？然後第二個，與此相關，我知道你的價格正在上漲。有沒有什麼辦法——你所看到的對這些商品的數量的影響，然後是對整個商店的影響？除了他們情緒低落之外，你必須知道他們情緒低落的程度。

Yes. Thanks. So on the -- the majority of the stores will be at the $1.25 price point. Just like as today, where Dollar Tree has Everything's for $1, but there are categories in food, in candy bars up at the front register, in our greeting cards and in some poster board where they're lower than $1. So if you can imagine, everything is just bringing in reset in that same footprint at the $1.25, and then those categories and items will be -- remain at the dollar price point.

是的。謝謝。因此，大多數商店的價格為 1.25 美元。就像今天一樣，Dollar Tree 的 Everything's 只需 1 美元，但食品類別、前台收銀台的糖果棒、我們的賀卡和一些海報板中的價格低於 1 美元。因此，如果您可以想像，一切都只是以 1.25 美元的價格在相同的足跡中進行重置，然後這些類別和項目將保持在美元價格點。

So it's the majority of the footprint inside of our store. And we will share -- as we continue to roll this out, we will share more details about the comp lift and the margin. But we see enough evidence that the comp -- between the comp lift and the margin expansion will help mitigate this burden of freight that we're experiencing this year and get us back to that historic 35% to 36% gross profit range.

所以它是我們商店內的大部分足跡。我們將分享 - 隨著我們繼續推出此功能，我們將分享有關補償提升和利潤率的更多細節。但我們看到足夠的證據表明，在補償提升和利潤率擴張之間的補償將有助於減輕我們今年所經歷的貨運負擔，並使我們回到歷史性的 35% 至 36% 的毛利潤範圍。

And then maybe just as a follow-up to that, how do you guys think about marketing the $1.25, right? You want people to experience it naturally, right? I don't think you want to call attention to it duly. So that is basically just, I'll see it when I come in the store; otherwise, you're not going to really do a lot of TV, radio, print around the strategy? Or how do you attack that?

然後也許只是作為後續行動，你們如何看待 1.25 美元的營銷，對吧？您希望人們自然地體驗它，對嗎？我認為你不想適當地引起人們的注意。所以基本上就是這樣，我到店裡就會看到；否則，你不會真的圍繞策略做很多電視、廣播、印刷品？或者你如何攻擊它？

Yes. Historically, Dollar Tree did not do a lot of external marketing. Everything was in the store and the excitement and the value of the product. And it's really driven because our assortment is always moving and never flowing. So we want to talk more about the great value that we can bring at that $1.25 price point, and they'll see that assortment that they see when they're in our store.

是的。從歷史上看，Dollar Tree 並沒有做很多外部營銷。一切都在商店裡，產品的興奮和價值。它真的很受驅動，因為我們的分類總是在移動，從不流動。所以我們想更多地談論我們可以在 1.25 美元的價格點上帶來的巨大價值，他們會看到他們在我們商店時看到的那種分類。

And our customers gave us -- they gave us credit for that when we did our customer research and customer intercepts. They were telling us that even at the $1.25, there's still great value and they're going to continue shopping here.

我們的客戶給了我們——當我們進行客戶研究和客戶攔截時，他們給了我們榮譽。他們告訴我們，即使是 1.25 美元，仍然物超所值，他們將繼續在這裡購物。

And then we could tell in some of the unit decline in some of the categories where our intuition we knew that we needed to improve some of our assortment and value in certain categories. So our merchants are working extremely hard at identifying those and getting those products flowing. And I would say new products and new product mix will be flowing through certainly the first half of the year as they change their mix and get everything aligned to the new $1.25 price point.

然後我們可以在某些類別中的某些單位下降中判斷出我們的直覺我們知道我們需要改進某些類別的某些分類和價值。因此，我們的商家正在努力識別這些產品並讓這些產品流通。我想說的是，新產品和新產品組合肯定會在今年上半年出現，因為它們會改變組合併使一切都與新的 1.25 美元價格點保持一致。

Our next question comes from Michael Lasser with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Michael Lasser。

So you had tested Dollar Trees Plus for a couple of years. You've been in planning process for the move to $1.25 price points since the end of the summer. The move to the full rollout is faster than the move to Dollar Tree Plus. Obviously, you're seeing a lot of inflation. So this is probably pushing the issue. How do you manage the risk that consumers are going to push back? They've become accustomed to expect $1 price point, and so you're going to have to manage around the cannibalization. At the same time, you do have a lot going on into next year. How do you ensure that you're going to get consistency in your execution as you're implementing more initiatives than you have had in quite some time?

所以你已經測試了 Dollar Trees Plus 好幾年了。自夏季結束以來，您一直在計劃將價格調整為 1.25 美元。轉向全面推出比轉向 Dollar Tree Plus 更快。顯然，你看到了很多通貨膨脹。所以這可能是推動這個問題。您如何管理消費者將抵制的風險？他們已經習慣於期望 1 美元的價格點，因此您將不得不應對自相殘殺。與此同時，明年你確實有很多事情要做。當您實施的計劃比您在相當長一段時間內實施的更多時，您如何確保執行的一致性？

Yes. Well, the $1.25 is -- our team has been very focused to bring clarity to it. We've got a very detailed plan for our operation teams. And the key to it is going and in cleansing the store. So we've got a team that is -- are doing that. Then we come in and we clearly sign it, and we're putting signage throughout the entire store so that customer understands the $1.25.

是的。嗯，1.25 美元是 - 我們的團隊一直非常專注於澄清它。我們為我們的運營團隊制定了非常詳細的計劃。它的關鍵是清理商店。所以我們有一個團隊正在這樣做。然後我們進來並清楚地簽名，我們在整個商店都貼上標牌，以便客戶了解 1.25 美元。

And then at the same time, our merchants are working hard today, and they have been working actually. On their last buy trip, it was with the intent of the $1.25 price point. So our assortment is better than ever, and we're so excited on the hard work that our merchant team is doing. In fact, they've already looked at and reviewed over 7,000 of our core items. It's almost 7,500 of our core items. They put them on a table. They've done a comp shop, so they bring in product from other competitors to make sure that at $1.25, this product still has unbelievable value for our customers and it resonates well with them. And then the ones that don't, we're working hard on and we're attacking, and we're bringing in those new items.

與此同時，我們的商家今天也在努力工作，而且他們一直在實際工作。在他們最後一次購買之旅中，它的目的是 1.25 美元的價格點。因此，我們的產品種類比以往任何時候都更好，我們對我們的商家團隊所做的辛勤工作感到非常興奮。事實上，他們已經查看並審查了我們的 7,000 多個核心項目。這幾乎是我們核心項目的 7,500 個。他們把它們放在桌子上。他們開了一家比較店，所以他們從其他競爭對手那裡引進產品，以確保這款產品在 1.25 美元的價格對我們的客戶來說仍然具有令人難以置信的價值，並且能引起他們的共鳴。然後那些沒有的，我們正在努力工作，我們正在攻擊，我們正在引入這些新項目。

And then beside that, we're bringing in additional items that we had to discontinue in the past. So now those items will be coming in. The customers responded to very favorably in the past, and we believe that will drive traffic. And most of those items are in your consumable side of the business, where we've seen softness over this year, where we've been limited to the $1 price point. We've lost some items. And we'll be able to bring meaningful value at $1.25 in our frozen section and in our food section. So we're really excited about our plan.

除此之外，我們還引入了過去不得不停止的其他項目。所以現在這些商品將會進來。過去客戶的反應非常好，我們相信這將推動流量。這些項目中的大多數都在您的業務的消耗品方面，我們在今年看到了疲軟，我們被限制在 1 美元的價格點。我們丟失了一些物品。我們將能夠在我們的冷凍區和食品區以 1.25 美元的價格帶來有意義的價值。所以我們對我們的計劃感到非常興奮。

And then the -- in our Dollar Tree Plus, the way we think about it, we -- that's sitting in about over 600 of our stores. And it's about 10% to 12% of the space in our stores, 200 linear feet. And the team is very good at; they've been delivering that all year. So next year, we are just going to deliver an expansion of that, so just grow, same exact product assortment, different seasonal items, of course, but the same categories, the same square footage that we've done to 600 stores this year. So it's something we've already done. We already know what it takes to get it done. And our stores are executing it very well. And our customers understand it in a store. It will be a $1.25 now, a $3 and $5 that's clearly marked, and they're responding very, very well to the $3 and $5 items.

然後 - 在我們的 Dollar Tree Plus 中，按照我們的想法，我們 - 坐在我們大約 600 多家商店中。它約占我們商店空間的 10% 到 12%，200 線性英尺。並且團隊非常擅長；他們一整年都在交付。所以明年，我們只是要提供一個擴展，所以只是增長，相同的產品分類，不同的季節性商品，當然，但相同的類別，相同的面積，我們今年對 600 家商店做了同樣的事情.所以這是我們已經做過的事情。我們已經知道完成它需要什麼。我們的商店執行得非常好。我們的客戶在商店裡就明白了。現在是 1.25 美元，3 美元和 5 美元的標有清楚的，他們對 3 美元和 5 美元的商品反應非常非常好。

And then if you think about that's in 2022. And then in 2023 for our Dollar Tree Plus, the growth will be twofold. We will grow more store count, but then also our merchants next year, while we're rolling out the same footprint to 1,500 stores next year, behind the scenes, at the same time, the merchants are going to be working really hard at more categories, more assortment. Can you go from a 10% of your store to 20% of your store? What kind of items can we really bring in at that $3 and $5 that will really drive more business to the stores?

然後如果你想想那是在 2022 年。然後在 2023 年，對於我們的 Dollar Tree Plus，增長將是兩倍。我們將增加店鋪數量，明年也會增加我們的商家，而我們明年將把相同的足跡擴展到 1,500 家店鋪，在幕後，與此同時，商家將在更多方面真正努力工作類別，更多的分類。你能從商店的 10% 到 20% 的商店嗎？我們能以 3 美元和 5 美元的價格真正帶來什麼樣的商品，從而真正為商店帶來更多業務？

So our lift is 6%, as we've -- and it's still hovering around at 6%. We think it can be more as we grow this going forward. So the $1.25, we got a great answer on. We're going to go with clarity and focus and speed from a marketing in-store execution, and then our merchants are working hard at analyzing every item to make sure it's got that great value. And then we're going to grow the Dollar Tree Plus as we did the 600 stores with focus.

所以我們的提升是 6%，就像我們一樣 - 它仍然徘徊在 6% 左右。我們認為隨著我們未來的發展，它可能會更多。所以 1.25 美元，我們得到了很好的答案。我們將從店內營銷執行中清晰、專注和快速地進行，然後我們的商家正在努力分析每件商品，以確保它具有巨大的價值。然後我們將像專注於 600 家商店一樣發展 Dollar Tree Plus。

Understood. My follow-up question is on your expectation to get to a 35% to 36% gross margin in your Dollar Tree business banner next year. It seems like that will drive a mid-teen increase at least in your gross profit dollars. So based on that, what type of EBIT improvement would you be looking for because you're probably going to see significant fixed cost leverage? And if you're going to roll out $1.25 price point and the freight pressure potentially rolls over, would you actually let your gross profit margin for the Dollar Tree banner rise above 36%, if all of this comes together at the same time? Or would you look to reinvest the upside back into the business?

明白了。我的後續問題是您期望明年在您的美元樹業務橫幅中獲得 35% 到 36% 的毛利率。看起來這至少會推動你的毛利潤增加十幾歲。因此，基於此，您將尋求哪種類型的 EBIT 改進，因為您可能會看到顯著的固定成本槓桿？如果你要推出 1.25 美元的價格點並且運費壓力可能會翻滾，如果所有這些同時發生，你真的會讓美元樹橫幅的毛利率上升到 36% 以上嗎？或者您是否希望將收益再投資於業務？

Yes. Michael, I think the way we think about it, obviously, is we are investing back into that product. We're always going to live by the rule that we've -- the mainstay of Dollar Tree, which is the product has to be an unbelievable value in the marketplace. And that's what the company was built upon, and that's what it will continue to be built upon. It's just the price point has changed.

是的。邁克爾，我認為我們的想法顯然是我們正在重新投資該產品。我們將始終按照我們的規則生活——Dollar Tree 的支柱，即產品必須在市場上具有令人難以置信的價值。這就是公司建立的基礎，也是它將繼續建立的基礎。只是價格點變了。

So to your question about the margin, obviously, it's a little early at this point to talk about next year. And obviously, we'll have a lot more information to share when we talk again on March 3 for end of the year, and we'll be able to give a better direction. A lot of moving pieces right now. We want to make sure we capture them all and give everybody the true picture of all those moving pieces. But we do obviously see a clear path to the 35% to 36% margin -- gross margin for Dollar Tree next year. So I think that's the most important thing that we can give you today, obviously, with more details to come as to all those moving pieces.

因此，對於您關於保證金的問題，顯然，現在談論明年還為時過早。很明顯，當我們在年底的 3 月 3 日再次討論時，我們將分享更多信息，我們將能夠給出更好的方向。現在有很多動人的作品。我們想確保我們捕捉到所有這些，並為每個人提供所有這些移動部件的真實畫面。但我們顯然確實看到了通往 35% 到 36% 利潤率的清晰道路——明年美元樹的毛利率。所以我認為這是我們今天可以給你的最重要的事情，很明顯，還有更多關於所有這些活動部分的細節。

Yes. And I'd just reiterate with the unlocking and moving to the $1.25 gives us the flexibility that we need to be able to manage and mitigate the high cost of, as you saw, 400 basis points in margin at Dollar Tree, and at the same time, really bring more value, greater items and a better assortment that will drive traffic and top line sales for our customers that they're so used to a Dollar Tree.

是的。我想重申一下，解鎖並轉向 1.25 美元給了我們所需的靈活性，我們需要能夠管理和減輕高成本，如您所見，Dollar Tree 的保證金為 400 個基點，同時時間，真正帶來更多價值，更多商品和更好的分類，這將為我們的客戶帶來流量和頂線銷售，他們已經習慣了美元樹。

So as Kevin stated, we're going to be more focused on getting the assortment right and driving traffic and long-term growth, and we can do that and confidently think we can get to the 35% to 36% range.

因此，正如凱文所說，我們將更加專注於正確分類並推動流量和長期增長，我們可以做到這一點，並自信地認為我們可以達到 35% 到 36% 的範圍。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Edward Kelly with Wells Fargo.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Edward Kelly。

I was hoping you could talk a little bit more about the testing process on the $1.25 price point so far. The initial release that you put out had $1.25 and $1.50 in the release. I was curious as to what that was about. When you did the test, were all of the tests just taking most of the assortment to $1.25 or there's some variation there? And then could you help us understand what the impact of elasticity is on the volumes are looking like?

我希望你能多談談到目前為止 1.25 美元價格點的測試過程。您發布的初始版本有 1.25 美元和 1.50 美元。我很好奇那是關於什麼的。當您進行測試時，是否所有測試都只是將大部分產品組合降到了 1.25 美元，還是有一些變化？然後你能幫助我們了解彈性對交易量的影響嗎？

Yes. Thanks. So we -- yes, we closely monitored it. The majority of the stores are at the $1.25, and that's what our focus is because that's really the price that we need to really bring great value and a meaningful differentiation in our assortment in the consumable side of the business that will drive traffic. So we are very focused on that. And we've been watching the sensitivity and the sales and the units and the response from the customer every week in every store and every market. And as we shared, that's been consistent across stores and markets.

是的。謝謝。所以我們——是的，我們密切關注它。大多數商店的價格為 1.25 美元，這就是我們關注的重點，因為這確實是我們真正需要的價格，才能真正帶來巨大的價值，並在我們的業務消耗品方面的分類中帶來有意義的差異化，從而推動流量。所以我們非常關注這一點。我們每週都在關注每個商店和每個市場的敏感度、銷售量、單位和客戶的反應。正如我們所分享的，這在商店和市場中是一致的。

And where we see the unit decline, it's where we expected it to be, and that's where the merchants are working really, really hard bringing in that new assortment. And that new assortment will be layering in, as I said, over time. So it's going to be over the next 6 months to bring in the assortment on those side to drive the traffic.

在我們看到該單位下降的地方，這就是我們預期的地方，這就是商家正在努力工作的地方，非常努力地引入新的產品。正如我所說，隨著時間的推移，新的分類將逐漸增加。因此，將在接下來的 6 個月內引入這些產品來增加流量。

And then while we are working the results of the stores and monitoring units and margin and comp, at the same time, we were doing in-depth consumer research and listening to our customers and doing customer intercepts and one-on-one surveys with the customers and hearing their response. And they have a lot of trust in Dollar Tree, and they believe that at $1.25, it's still going to be an undeniable value because of what they're seeing out in the marketplace. And they know that Dollar Tree hasn't raised its price in 35 years, so they've given us credit. And now that we -- our buyers are going to take that trust and make sure they deliver undeniable and a great assortment at that new price point. And we'll monitor that as we do our -- as we did at $1 and help drive the business, bring new items in, discontinue items and manage the business accordingly.

然後，在我們處理商店和監控單位的結果以及利潤和補償的同時，我們正在進行深入的消費者研究，傾聽我們的客戶，並與客戶進行客戶攔截和一對一調查客戶並聽取他們的回應。他們對 Dollar Tree 非常信任，他們相信 1.25 美元的價格仍然是不可否認的價值，因為他們在市場上看到了。他們知道 Dollar Tree 已經 35 年沒有漲價了，所以他們給了我們榮譽。既然我們——我們的買家將接受這種信任，並確保他們以新的價格點提供不可否認的、種類繁多的產品。我們將在我們做的時候監控這一點——就像我們以 1 美元做的那樣，幫助推動業務，引入新產品，停止產品並相應地管理業務。

And just a quick follow-up on that. How powerful is it to be able to bring items back you've discontinued over time or to be able to introduce new items? And then just getting back to the $1.50 because it was in your prior release, is that a price point that might make sense as you start introducing new items next year?

並對此進行快速跟進。能夠帶回您隨著時間的推移停止使用的物品或能夠引入新物品有多強大？然後回到 1.50 美元，因為它是在你之前的版本中，當你明年開始推出新產品時，這個價格點可能有意義嗎？

Well, right now, we can bring in very meaningful items that we discontinued at $1.25. And they are on the food and consumable side where you get a repeat customer and more frequency, so it's important to us.

好吧，現在，我們可以帶來非常有意義的商品，我們以 1.25 美元的價格停產。他們在食品和消費品方面，您可以獲得回頭客和更多的頻率，所以這對我們很重要。

And when we announced, we just wanted to have -- we had flexibility out there that we gave examples of $1.25 and $1.50 and our $3 and $5. We didn't say specifically that we would use those. So right now, we're -- we feel confident in the $1.25, the $3 and $5. And as we've said that on our Dollar Tree Plus, we're accelerating the 1,500. But by 2024, we'll have 5,000 stores that will be at $1.25, $3 and $5 that will be able to deliver a meaningful assortment. And it gives us the flexibility that we need to manage and mitigate these costs and deliver great products and drive our business.

當我們宣佈時，我們只是想要 - 我們有靈活性，我們給出了 1.25 美元和 1.50 美元以及我們的 3 美元和 5 美元的例子。我們沒有具體說我們會使用這些。所以現在，我們對 1.25 美元、3 美元和 5 美元充滿信心。正如我們在 Dollar Tree Plus 上所說的那樣，我們正在加速突破 1,500。但到 2024 年，我們將擁有 5,000 家商店，價格分別為 1.25 美元、3 美元和 5 美元，能夠提供有意義的分類。它為我們提供了管理和降低這些成本、交付出色產品和推動業務發展所需的靈活性。

Our next question comes from Kate McShane with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的 Kate McShane。

Just a question with regards to any kind of activity you saw from more inflationary headwinds and customers trading down and how you anticipate that to look in the fourth quarter relative to what you saw in the third quarter.

只是一個關於你從更多的通脹逆風和客戶交易中看到的任何類型的活動的問題，以及你預計第四季度相對於你在第三季度看到的情況如何。

Yes. Well, definitely, the customers are feeling the inflation. It's twofold right now. I mean our customers are benefiting from child tax credit stimulus. In October, they had a huge increase of SNAP benefits, and they're experiencing increase in hourly wages that you're seeing across the industry. So I think our customers are in a pretty good position, but they are also feeling a lot of pressure on other costs, the gas and fuel prices and energy for their homes.

是的。好吧，毫無疑問，客戶正在感受到通貨膨脹。現在是雙重的。我的意思是我們的客戶正在從兒童稅收抵免刺激中受益。 10 月，他們的 SNAP 福利大幅增加，他們的小時工資也在增加，你在整個行業都可以看到。所以我認為我們的客戶處於一個相當不錯的位置，但他們也對其他成本、天然氣和燃料價格以及他們家的能源感到壓力很大。

So I think right now, more than ever, they are going to be relying on great value. And that's why I think Dollar Tree and Family Dollar are in a great position to be able to offer that to them in 15,000 locations that are conveniently located.

所以我認為現在，他們將比以往任何時候都更加依賴巨大的價值。這就是為什麼我認為 Dollar Tree 和 Family Dollar 能夠在交通便利的 15,000 個地點向他們提供這種服務。

As far as trading down, we're still not seeing a lot of trade down. There's not a lot of promotion out there in national brands. Private brands are about as steady as they were throughout the first half of the year. So it's -- we haven't seen a big shift right now from the customer.

就交易下跌而言，我們仍然沒有看到很多交易下跌。民族品牌的促銷活動並不多。自有品牌與上半年一樣穩定。所以它 - 我們現在還沒有看到客戶的重大轉變。

Our next question comes from Brad Thomas with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Brad Thomas。

I was hoping to ask about labor a little bit more and hoping, Mike, you could talk a little bit about how you're dealing with getting good people now and any seasonal staff you've brought on board. And then just to continue to talk about the Dollar Tree side of the business, how you all are planning for some of that incremental complexity as you roll out the $1.25 price point from a labor perspective.

我希望能多問一些關於勞動力的問題，並希望邁克，你能談談你現在如何處理好人以及你帶來的任何季節性員工。然後只是繼續談論業務的美元樹方面，當你從勞動力的角度推出 1.25 美元的價格點時，你們所有人是如何計劃一些增加的複雜性的。

Thanks, Brad. So yes, there are still pressures, and it's market-driven both in our distribution centers. We've had to increase our hourly wages in our DCs and have done so, and that's embedded in our fourth quarter outlook, and we've made movements there. And I'd say we're seeing the same thing in our stores in markets we followed where we had to, to increase our labor rates to attract associates in our stores.

謝謝，布拉德。所以是的，仍然存在壓力，而且在我們的配送中心都是由市場驅動的。我們不得不增加我們在配送中心的小時工資，並且已經這樣做了，這已經包含在我們第四季度的展望中，我們已經在那裡採取了行動。而且我想說，我們在我們必須遵循的市場中的商店中看到了同樣的事情，以提高我們的勞動力率以吸引我們商店的員工。

And as you've seen across retail, people are still sitting on the sidelines and not working. So we are working hard at driving benefits, and we're raising our hourly wage where we need to and being a convenient place to work through other things of -- having their schedule on their phones, having a program called DailyPay, where they can get their pay. They don't have to wait for their paycheck, and our associates are liking that a lot, and there's a high use of that. So we're doing a lot of things to attract the hourly work out there in our stores to operate our stores effectively. But yes, it still is a tough environment out there.

正如你在零售業中看到的那樣，人們仍然坐在場邊不工作。因此，我們正在努力提高福利，我們正在根據需要提高我們的小時工資，並成為一個方便的工作場所——在他們的手機上安排他們的日程安排，有一個名為 DailyPay 的程序，在那裡他們可以得到他們的報酬。他們不必等待他們的薪水，我們的員工非常喜歡這一點，而且這種方式的使用率很高。因此，我們正在做很多事情來吸引我們商店的每小時工作，以有效地運營我們的商店。但是，是的，那裡仍然是一個艱難的環境。

And we have seen a little bit of a slip in our store manager turnover where last year during the pandemic, we hit our lowest turnover ever in store manager. And now there's -- I think there's a little bit of fatigue and it's creeped up a little bit on us, but our teams are working hard at filling those roles and attracting the talent we need.

而且我們看到我們的商店經理營業額略有下滑，去年在大流行期間，我們的商店經理營業額達到了有史以來的最低水平。現在有 - 我認為有一點疲勞，它有點蔓延到我們身上，但我們的團隊正在努力填補這些角色並吸引我們需要的人才。

Regarding managing the $1.25, there is -- as Kevin said, in our fourth quarter, there will be onetime costs of cleansing the store and then remarketing and resigning the store. But once that is set aside, it's really running the same play. They unload the truck, they put it up on the shelf. It's clearly marked already. So there really isn't any additional labor hours needed.

關於管理 1.25 美元，正如凱文所說，在我們的第四季度，將有一次性成本清理商店，然後再營銷和辭去商店。但一旦把它放在一邊，它真的在運行同樣的遊戲。他們卸下卡車，把它放在架子上。已經很清楚地標明了。所以真的不需要任何額外的工時。

And then on our Dollar Tree Plus, as we've rolled that out to 600 stores, we have not had to add any additional labor in those stores because the majority of those products are coming in pre-priced, the sections in the store are clearly marked $3 and $5 items, and now they'll be $1.25, $3 and $5. So there really isn't any additional labor needed in those stores either.

然後在我們的 Dollar Tree Plus 上，當我們將其推廣到 600 家商店時，我們不必在這些商店中增加任何額外的勞動力，因為這些產品中的大部分都是預先定價的，商店中的部分是清楚地標明了 3 美元和 5 美元的商品，現在它們將分別為 1.25 美元、3 美元和 5 美元。因此，這些商店也確實不需要任何額外的勞動力。

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。

This is Michael Kessler on for Simeon. I wanted to ask, not to beat a broken drum here with the price point. If I could squeeze in one more. Curious why not be more diverse with the price point? It sounds like you're really sticking to the $1.25. You could perhaps be even more precise with price points and manage to different SKUs and categories. So I'm curious kind of what went into that decision process? And am I interpreting, I guess, the strategy with the price point correctly in that regard?

這是西蒙的邁克爾凱斯勒。我想問，不要以價格點在這裡敲破鼓。如果我能再擠一個。好奇為什麼不在價格點上更加多樣化？聽起來你真的堅持 1.25 美元。您也許可以更精確地確定價格點並管理不同的 SKU 和類別。所以我很好奇那個決策過程是怎麼回事？我想我是否在這方面正確地解釋了具有價格點的策略？

And then bigger picture on that, is there an even longer-term vision of perhaps price points going up across the store and then you have a separate initiative with Plus at even higher price points and perhaps even melding these initiatives together, expanding Plus to even more of the store? Just I guess the longer-term vision would be interested to hear about as well.

然後更大的圖景是，是否有一個更長期的願景，即整個商店的價格點可能會上漲，然後你會以更高的價格與 Plus 進行單獨的計劃，甚至可能將這些計劃融合在一起，將 Plus 擴展到甚至更多的商店？只是我想長期願景也會有興趣聽到。

Yes. Thanks for the question. So first of all, moving off the $1 price point gives us the flexibility to manage our business and really drive the assortment that our customers are used to and bring value and simplicity to them. So the reason we moved to the $1.25 is, it allows us to do all 3 of those things.

是的。謝謝你的問題。因此，首先，降低 1 美元的價格點使我們能夠靈活地管理我們的業務，真正推動客戶習慣的分類，並為他們帶來價值和簡單性。所以我們搬到 1.25 美元的原因是，它允許我們做所有這 3 件事。

Our merchants are, I believe, the best in the industry, and they've been able to defend and get great product at $1. And we know the type of product we can get at that $1.25, and we'll be able to bring in exciting, great product that will drive the business and drive traffic into our stores and enable us to get back to that 35% to 36% margin. And it gives us the flexibility to manage our business going forward.

我相信，我們的商家是業內最好的，他們能夠以 1 美元的價格捍衛並獲得優質產品。我們知道 1.25 美元能買到什麼樣的產品，我們將能夠帶來令人興奮的、偉大的產品，這將推動業務並增加我們商店的客流量，並使我們能夠回到 35% 到 36 ％ 利潤。它使我們能夠靈活地管理未來的業務。

And it really brings simplicity. Simplicity is still very important to us as it's a single price point, our customers understand it and our shoppers, our customers and our associates understand it. So we'll manage this going forward. I think at first, we're going to go to $1.25, and then we'll be carrying that $1.25 into our Combo Stores as well. So our Combo Stores' baseline will be at $1.25 going forward, and it will be wrapped around that Dollar Tree brand and then have the great products at the Family Dollar on that side of the business as well. So moving off the $1 gives us the flexibility to make changes we need to, going into the future.

它確實帶來了簡單性。簡單對我們來說仍然非常重要，因為它是一個單一的價格點，我們的客戶理解它，我們的購物者、我們的客戶和我們的員工也理解它。因此，我們將在未來進行管理。我想一開始，我們將達到 1.25 美元，然後我們也將把這 1.25 美元帶入我們的組合商店。因此，我們的 Combo Stores 的基準線將是 1.25 美元，它將圍繞著 Dollar Tree 品牌，然後在 Family Dollar 的業務方面也擁有出色的產品。因此，放棄 1 美元讓我們能夠靈活地做出我們需要的改變，走向未來。

Okay. Great. And a quick follow-up on traffic. I think you guys said it was down at both banners. I guess, has that -- has it surprised you at all that we haven't seen more of a rebound in traffic relative to last year? Is it of any concern or it's not because tripping of ticket is up basically more than offsetting the traffic declines? And going forward, especially with higher price points at core Dollar Tree, is it -- would it be a fair expectation that traffic could remain down but being more than offset by ticket, how you're thinking about that?

好的。偉大的。并快速跟進流量。我想你們說它在兩個橫幅上都下降了。我想，有沒有 - 與去年相比，我們沒有看到更多的流量反彈，這讓你感到驚訝嗎？是否有任何擔憂，或者不是因為機票跳閘基本上超過了交通下降的抵消？展望未來，尤其是在核心美元樹的價格點較高的情況下，是否可以公平地預期流量可能會保持下降但被門票所抵消，您對此有何看法？

We think traffic is going to come back at Dollar Tree. Keep in mind, as Kevin said, with our -- we still have past dues that are 4.5x greater than what we normally have at Dollar Tree. So there is inventory that we wish we had that would drive that excitement in sales and traffic inside our Dollar Tree.

我們認為交通將在美元樹回來。請記住，正如凱文所說，我們的逾期費用仍然是美元樹通常的 4.5 倍。因此，我們希望我們擁有的庫存能夠推動我們的美元樹內的銷售和流量的興奮。

And then we have had some items we've had to discontinue that would be traffic-driving that -- where we were limited at the dollar price point. So we think looking forward, going to the $1.25, bringing in new assortment and then once we move beyond this transitory freight logistics issues that we have, getting that assortment that we want inside our store, the combination of those 2 things will get back to driving traffic at our Dollar Tree format.

然後我們有一些我們不得不停止的項目，這將是交通驅動的——我們在美元價格點上受到限制。因此，我們認為展望未來，將價格提高到 1.25 美元，引入新的分類，然後一旦我們超越了我們所面臨的這種暫時的貨運物流問題，在我們的商店中獲得我們想要的分類，這兩件事的結合將回到以我們的美元樹格式增加流量。

Our final question comes from Paul Lejuez with Citi.

我們的最後一個問題來自花旗的 Paul Lejuez。

Curious, as you bring back some of these discontinued items, do you expect the total SKU count to grow? Or will those be replacing existing SKUs? And then separately, can you just talk about your average ticket Dollar Tree? And how consistent that has been over time? And as you move to this $1.25 price point, what are your expectations for that average ticket?

好奇，當您帶回其中一些已停產的商品時，您是否預計總 SKU 數量會增加？或者那些會取代現有的 SKU？然後分開，你能談談你的平均門票美元樹嗎？隨著時間的推移，這有多一致？當您轉向這個 1.25 美元的價格點時，您對平均票價的期望是什麼？

Yes. On the assortment, that's the beautiful thing about Dollar Trees, we do not have planograms. Our merchants go out and get the very best product at the $1.25 price point. We surprise and delight our customers. We bring different products in depending on the seasons, and the front end of our store changes like the leaves on the tree. So we will continue to use that flexibility and drive the assortment we need that will be meaningful to our customers and in the key categories that drive traffic and then where they can celebrate their lives and live their lives and decorate their homes. So those are the -- that's how we manage the business before, and that's how we'll manage it going forward.

是的。在分類上，這就是美元樹的美妙之處，我們沒有貨架圖。我們的商家會以 1.25 美元的價格購買最好的產品。我們給客戶帶來驚喜和喜悅。我們根據季節帶來不同的產品，我們商店的前端就像樹上的葉子一樣變化。因此，我們將繼續利用這種靈活性並推動我們需要的分類，這些分類對我們的客戶和推動交通的關鍵類別有意義，然後他們可以慶祝他們的生活，過他們的生活並裝飾他們的家園。所以這些就是 - 這就是我們以前管理業務的方式，也是我們未來管理業務的方式。

And I'll let Kevin talk about the average ticket. But since the pandemic, our average ticket at Dollar Tree has been elevated, and it's been consistently elevated throughout. And we think that this $1.25 will help with that.

我會讓凱文談談平均票價。但自大流行以來，我們在 Dollar Tree 的平均票價一直在上漲，而且自始至終一直在上漲。我們認為這 1.25 美元將對此有所幫助。

Yes. I think just as a point of reference, pre-pandemic, the Dollar Tree price point has hovered right around that $8.50 range. And since the pandemic, it's been closer to the $10 mark. I think as we go forward with the $1.25 price point, I think it will remain elevated. So the question has always been, as traffic returned, would we see the average ticket come down? And to this point, we haven't really seen that aspect. But -- so overall, I think, in general, that the price -- the average ticket will remain elevated as we go forward.

是的。我認為作為一個參考點，在大流行前，美元樹的價格點一直徘徊在 8.50 美元左右。自大流行以來，它已接近 10 美元大關。我認為隨著我們向 1.25 美元的價格點前進，我認為它將保持高位。所以問題一直是，隨著流量的恢復，我們會看到平均票價下降嗎？到目前為止，我們還沒有真正看到這個方面。但是 - 總的來說，我認為，總的來說，隨著我們前進，平均票價將保持高位。

This concludes today's Q&A. I would now like to turn the call back over to Randy Guiler for closing remarks.

今天的問答到此結束。我現在想把電話轉回給 Randy Guiler 做結束語。

Thank you, Katie, and thank you for joining us on today's call. Our next earnings conference call to discuss Q4 and year-end results is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday March 2, 2022. Thank you and have a good day.

謝謝你，凱蒂，感謝你加入我們今天的電話會議。我們下一次討論第四季度和年終業績的收益電話會議暫定於 2022 年 3 月 2 日星期三舉行。謝謝大家，祝您有美好的一天。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes today's teleconference. You may now disconnect.

謝謝你們，女士們，先生們。今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。