美元樹 (DLTR) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

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

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Dollar Tree, Inc. 2021 年第四季度收益電話會議。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, sir.

在這個時候，我想把會議交給 Randy Guiler。請繼續，先生。

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

謝謝你，阿什利。早上好，歡迎參加我們的電話會議，討論 Dollar Tree 2021 年第四季度和全年的業績。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，我們將對公司的預期、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 and our most recent press release and Form 8-K and other filings we make from time to time with the SEC.

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 表格和我們最近的新聞稿以及我們不時向 SEC 提交的 8-K 表格和其他文件。

We caution against reliance on these forward-looking statements made today, and we disclaim any obligation to update or revise these statements except as may be 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'll 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 and thank you for joining us on today's call. I'm extremely proud of the team's strong performance during our transformative fourth quarter. We delivered comparable sales increases at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, both representing improvements from the prior quarter on a 2-year stack basis. Our EPS of $2.01 exceeded our $1.69 to $1.79 guidance range.

謝謝你，蘭迪。早上好，感謝您加入我們今天的電話會議。我為球隊在變革性的第四季度的強勁表現感到非常自豪。我們在 Dollar Tree 和 Family Dollar 實現了可比的銷售額增長，兩者都代表了上一季度在 2 年堆棧基礎上的改進。我們 2.01 美元的每股收益超出了我們 1.69 美元至 1.79 美元的指導範圍。

Importantly, we recently completed a successful conversion to $1.25 price point across all Dollar Tree stores in the United States, more than 2 months ahead of schedule, which significantly enhances our ability to provide a meaningful assortment at extreme values to our shoppers. We continue to have terrific performance on other key strategic initiatives, including the expansion of our $3 and $5-plus assortments to another 1,500 Dollar Tree stores as well as our Combo Stores and H2 renovations at Family Dollar.

重要的是，我們最近成功地將美國所有 Dollar Tree 商店的價格點轉換為 1.25 美元，比原計劃提前了 2 個多月，這顯著增強了我們為購物者提供有意義的超值商品的能力。我們在其他關鍵戰略舉措上繼續取得出色表現，包括將我們的 3 美元和 5 美元以上的商品擴展到另外 1,500 家 Dollar Tree 商店以及我們在 Family Dollar 的組合商店和 H2 翻新。

The Dollar Tree segment delivered a comp sales increase of 3.1%, cycling a 2.4% increase from the prior year's quarter. A 5.5% 2-year stack quarterly comp was our best of the year and represented a sequential improvement of 90 basis points from Q3. Discretionary continues to perform extremely well at a 5.4% comp.

Dollar Tree 部門的銷售額增長了 3.1%，比去年同期增長了 2.4%。 5.5% 的 2 年堆棧季度比較是我們今年最好的，比第三季度連續提高了 90 個基點。全權委託以 5.4% 的回報率繼續表現出色。

We are continuing to experience record sell-throughs of our seasonal and holiday merchandise. The strongest performing categories included candy, Christmas seasonal, party celebrations, crafts and stationery. For the quarter, discretionary represented more than 57% of our sales, up 130 basis points from the prior year's quarter.

我們的季節性和假日商品繼續創下銷售記錄。表現最強勁的類別包括糖果、聖誕季節、派對慶典、工藝品和文具。本季度，非必需品占我們銷售額的 57% 以上，比去年同期增加 130 個基點。

For the Dollar Tree banner, December was the strongest comp month of the quarter as we were cycling a slight negative from the prior year. November was a low single-digit positive comp, and January was our lowest comp month as we cycled the strongest comp month of the prior year's quarter.

對於 Dollar Tree 橫幅來說，12 月是本季度表現最強勁的月份，因為我們與去年相比略有下降。 11 月是一個低個位數的正補償，而 1 月是我們最低的補償月份，因為我們循環了上一年季度最強的補償月份。

Family Dollar delivered a positive 1.7% comp against the 8.1% increase a year ago. This represented the fourth consecutive quarter that Family Dollar 2-year comp stack exceeded 9%. The consumable side of the business comped just below a positive 3%, while the discretionary was a low single-digit negative as we are cycling stimulus dollars from the prior year. The Family Dollar business continues to gain share. The strongest-performing categories include pet, candy and snack and beverage. For the quarter, consumables represented just over 73% of sales.

Family Dollar 實現了 1.7% 的正增長，而一年前的增幅為 8.1%。這代表了 Family Dollar 2 年期組合連續第四個季度超過 9%。該業務的消耗品方面的比例略低於正值 3%，而可自由支配的部分則為低個位數負值，因為我們正在循環使用上一年的刺激資金。 Family Dollar 業務繼續獲得份額。表現最強勁的類別包括寵物、糖果和零食和飲料。本季度，消耗品僅佔銷售額的 73% 以上。

At Family Dollar, November was our strongest comp month of the quarter, closely followed by December. Both periods were above the quarterly comp of 1.7%. January was a negative comp as we cycled a double-digit comp from the prior year related to the release of stimulus dollars. Additionally, retail in January was impacted by Omicron variant, much colder and stormier weather than the prior year and the lapsing of the monthly child tax credit advanced payments.

在 Family Dollar，11 月是我們本季度表現最強勁的月份，緊隨其後的是 12 月。兩個時期均高於 1.7% 的季度增幅。 1 月份是一個負補償，因為我們從上一年循環了與刺激美元釋放相關的兩位數補償。此外，1 月份的零售業受到 Omicron 變體、比前一年更冷、更暴風雨的天氣以及每月兒童稅收抵免預付款的失效的影響。

The comps at both banners were again driven by an increase in average ticket, partially offset by a decline in transaction count.

兩個橫幅的補償再次受到平均門票增加的推動，部分被交易數量的下降所抵消。

Last week, we completed the rollout of our $1.25 price point initiative to every Dollar Tree store across the U.S., more than 7,800-plus stores. This milestone completed more than 2 months ahead of our targeted date is a testament to the commitment and teamwork between our support teams, our merchandising organizations and our field leadership teams, demonstrating our ability to execute. This strategic endeavor will enable Dollar Tree to ultimately drive store traffic and productivity, customer loyalty and operating performance while enhancing our ability to navigate the business through higher periods of higher cost.

上週，我們在美國的每家 Dollar Tree 商店（超過 7,800 家商店）中完成了 1.25 美元價格點計劃的推廣。這一里程碑比我們的目標日期提前了兩個多月完成，證明了我們的支持團隊、我們的銷售組織和我們的現場領導團隊之間的承諾和團隊合作，證明了我們的執行能力。這項戰略性努力將使 Dollar Tree 最終能夠推動商店流量和生產力、客戶忠誠度和運營績效，同時增強我們在更高成本時期駕馭業務的能力。

We have been considering this move for some time. In recent years, we have lost many items that are customer favorites and key traffic-driving consumable products from our assortment due to the constraints of the $1 price point. Additionally, we have been operating through a higher cost environment as it relates to inflation, tariffs, supply chain and labor costs. The new $1.25 price point enhances our ability to materially expand our assortments, introduce new products and sizes and provide families with more of their daily essentials at a great value.

我們一直在考慮這一舉措。近年來，由於 1 美元價格點的限制，我們已經從我們的分類中丟失了許多客戶最喜歡的商品和關鍵的流量驅動消費品。此外，由於與通貨膨脹、關稅、供應鍊和勞動力成本有關，我們一直在成本較高的環境中運營。新的 1.25 美元價格點增強了我們大幅擴展產品種類、推出新產品和尺寸以及為家庭提供更多超值日常必需品的能力。

In preparation for this move, our merchandising teams have taken on the Herculean task of reviewing thousands of product SKU by SKU or item by item to reassess the value through comp shops of our competitors. Many of our products, especially on the seasonal and discretionary side, are still considered to be an extreme value at the new $1.25 price point.

為了準備這一舉措，我們的銷售團隊承擔了一項艱鉅的任務，即逐個 SKU 或逐項審查數千個產品 SKU，以通過競爭對手的競爭重新評估價值。我們的許多產品，尤其是季節性和可自由支配的產品，在新的 1.25 美元價格點上仍然被認為是超值的。

For those products that are considered new or to be reinvested in with the larger quantities or package sizes, we have a clear -- a very clear and focused and urgent plan to bring that product into our stores. These assortment changes will be taking place throughout the year, but we do expect 50% of the categories, new and revested in products, to be in the store by midyear. Example of the products already in the stores are carbonated beverages and salty snacks, all at the $1.25 price point.

對於那些被認為是新產品或以較大數量或包裝尺寸進行再投資的產品，我們有一個明確的 - 一個非常明確且集中且緊急的計劃，將該產品帶入我們的商店。這些分類變化將在全年發生，但我們確實預計到年中將有 50% 的類別（新產品和翻新產品）上架。商店中已有的產品包括碳酸飲料和鹹味零食，價格均為 1.25 美元。

I could not be more proud of our team's smooth execution of the transition to the $1.25 price point. Initially, we rolled out the program to a diverse segment of more than 100 stores across the U.S. Then we expanded to nearly 200 stores across 3 metropolitan markets. And starting in December, we embarked on 7 waves of multistate introductions. The signage, training and talking points equipped our field leadership teams to execute the store's checklist to complete the transitions. The teams embraced the project, rolled up their sleeves and got it done. Feedback from our shoppers has indicated they clearly understood the change in pricing. Stores were easy to shop, and the signage was very clear.

我為我們的團隊順利過渡到 1.25 美元的價格而感到無比自豪。最初，我們將該計劃推廣到美國 100 多家商店的多元化細分市場，然後我們擴展到 3 個大都市市場的近 200 家商店。從 12 月開始，我們開始了 7 波多州介紹。標牌、培訓和談話要點使我們的現場領導團隊能夠執行商店的清單以完成過渡。團隊接受了這個項目，捲起袖子完成了它。我們購物者的反饋表明，他們清楚地了解定價的變化。商店很容易購物，標牌非常清晰。

The key has always been and always will be enabling us to deliver extreme value to our customers. We are focused on exceeding shopper expectations for the value at $1.25, just like we have been at the $1 price point for more than 30 years.

關鍵一直是並且將永遠是使我們能夠為客戶提供極高的價值。我們專注於以 1.25 美元的價格超越購物者的預期，就像我們 30 多年來一直處於 1 美元的價格點一樣。

We have been closely tracking the performance of converted stores on a daily basis item by item, category by category. We have seen relatively consistent reaction in performance across various demographics, geographies and store sizes. Among our findings are the following. Our new and reinvested SKUs are driving improved performance in their categories, including in the food, snack and beverage, which are all very important traffic-driving categories. Our seasonal and discretionary continue to outperform consumable, but we believe this can balance out as we continue to modify the assortment on the consumables and deliver greater value for our customers.

我們一直在逐項、逐個類別地每天密切跟踪轉換商店的表現。我們在不同的人口統計、地域和商店規模中看到了相對一致的表現反應。我們的發現如下。我們新的和再投資的 SKU 正在推動其類別的績效改善，包括食品、零食和飲料，這些都是非常重要的流量驅動類別。我們的季節性和非必需品繼續優於消耗品，但我們相信這可以平衡，因為我們繼續修改消耗品的分類並為我們的客戶提供更大的價值。

As you would expect, we are seeing comp lift sales to the stores that have transitioned to the $1.25, partially offset by a decline in unit sales in the teens. As we go through the year, we expect to see a greater lift to the gross margin in the first half of the year as we sell through the current inventory.

正如您所料，我們看到商店的銷售額已過渡到 1.25 美元，部分被青少年單位銷售額的下降所抵消。隨著我們度過這一年，我們預計上半年的毛利率將有更大的提升，因為我們通過當前庫存進行銷售。

And importantly, as I have stated before, we have confidence we can get back to our historic 35% to 36% annual gross margin range this year even with the continuation of elevated freight costs. And as we reinvest in the key categories to deliver extreme value, we expect to see improved traffic and productivity as we move throughout the year.

重要的是，正如我之前所說，我們有信心今年可以恢復到歷史性的 35% 至 36% 的年度毛利率範圍，即使貨運成本持續上漲。隨著我們對關鍵類別的再投資以提供極高的價值，我們希望在全年移動時看到流量和生產力的改善。

I've shared much about the $1.25 price point as it is where many investors are focused, and it is transforming our company. But I want to be clear that we are very pleased with the continued progress we are seeing across each of our strategic initiatives.

我已經分享了很多關於 1.25 美元的價格點，因為它是許多投資者關注的地方，它正在改變我們的公司。但我想明確表示，我們對我們在每項戰略舉措中看到的持續進展感到非常高興。

Regarding Dollar Tree Plus, we finished the year with a multi-price product in approximately 660 stores, well beyond our original target of 500 stores. At Dollar Tree, our $3 and $5-plus assortment will be expanded to another 1,500 stores in fiscal '22. Customers are responding very well to holiday, seasonal and discretionary categories, and we will continue to grow and improve this initiative.

關於 Dollar Tree Plus，我們在今年結束時在大約 660 家門店推出了多價產品，遠遠超出了我們最初的 500 家門店目標。在 Dollar Tree，我們 3 美元和 5 美元以上的商品將在 22 財年擴展到另外 1,500 家商店。客戶對假期、季節性和非必需品類別的反應非常好，我們將繼續發展和改進這一舉措。

At Family Dollar, our Combo Stores are working. Customers love shopping the best of Family Dollar and Dollar Tree in one easy-to-shop local store in their community. The stores are driving a material comp sales lift, increased productivity, higher gross margins and improved operating performance. We ended the year with more than 240 Combo Stores and are planning to add another 400 Combo Stores this year.

在 Family Dollar，我們的組合商店正在運作。客戶喜歡在社區內一家易於購物的當地商店購買最好的 Family Dollar 和 Dollar Tree。這些商店正在推動材料銷售的提升、生產力的提高、毛利率的提高和經營業績的改善。今年年底，我們擁有超過 240 家 Combo Store，併計劃今年再增加 400 家 Combo Store。

We ended the year with 3,815 Family Dollar stores in the H2 format. We are planning for another 800 H2 store reservations in fiscal 2022, which we believe will bring our store fleet current and will enable us to reallocate time, effort, resources and capital from the renovation program to other value-creating initiatives as we move forward.

我們以 H2 格式結束了 3,815 家 Family Dollar 商店。我們計劃在 2022 財年再預訂 800 家 H2 商店，我們相信這將使我們的商店隊伍保持最新，並使我們能夠在前進的過程中將翻新計劃中的時間、精力、資源和資金重新分配到其他創造價值的計劃上。

I will now hand the call over to Kevin to provide details on Q4 performance and our outlook for fiscal 2022.

我現在將電話轉給凱文，以提供有關第四季度業績和我們對 2022 財年展望的詳細信息。

Thanks, Mike, and good morning. For the quarter, consolidated net sales increased 4.6% to $7.08 billion, comprised of $3.92 billion at Dollar Tree and $3.16 billion at Family Dollar. Enterprise same-store sales increased 2.5% as we cycled a 4.9% increase from a year ago, representing a 70 basis point improvement from Q3 to 7.4% on a 2-year stacked basis. Comps for the Dollar Tree segment increased 3.1%. Family Dollar same-store sales increased 1.7%, cycling a strong 8.1% increase from last year. On a 2-year stacked basis, Dollar Tree comps increased 5.5%, which was a 90 basis point improvement from Q3. And Family Dollar increased 9.8%, which was a 70 basis point improvement from Q3.

謝謝，邁克，早上好。本季度，合併淨銷售額增長 4.6% 至 70.8 億美元，其中 Dollar Tree 為 39.2 億美元，Family Dollar 為 31.6 億美元。企業同店銷售額增長 2.5%，而我們比一年前循環增長 4.9%，這意味著從第三季度提高 70 個基點至 7.4%（以 2 年疊加為基礎）。 Dollar Tree 板塊的 Comps 增長了 3.1%。 Family Dollar 同店銷售額增長 1.7%，比去年強勁增長 8.1%。在 2 年的疊加基礎上，Dollar Tree comps 增長了 5.5%，比第三季度提高了 90 個基點。 Family Dollar 增長 9.8%，比第三季度提高 70 個基點。

Dollar Tree's comp was comprised of a 6% increase in average ticket, partially offset by a 2.8% decline in traffic. Family Dollar experienced a 4.6% increase in average ticket, partially offset by a 2.7% decline in traffic.

Dollar Tree 的收入包括平均票價增長 6%，部分被流量下降 2.8% 所抵消。 Family Dollar 的平均票價增長了 4.6%，部分被流量下降 2.7% 所抵消。

Gross profit was $2.14 billion for the quarter. Gross margin was 30.2% compared to 31.8% in the prior year's quarter. Gross profit margin for the Dollar Tree segment declined 50 basis points to 35.6% when compared to the prior year's quarter.

本季度毛利潤為 21.4 億美元。毛利率為 30.2%，而去年同期為 31.8%。與去年同期相比，Dollar Tree 部門的毛利率下降 50 個基點至 35.6%。

Factors impacting the segment's gross margin performance included merchandise costs, including freight, increased 110 basis points driven by higher freight costs, partially offset by increased initial mark-on and increased sales of higher-margin discretionary merchandise. This increase was partially offset by shrink that improved 30 basis points related to favorable inventory results and a decrease in the shrink accrual rate.

影響該部門毛利率表現的因素包括商品成本，包括運費，由於運費上漲而增加了 110 個基點，但部分被增加的初始加價和更高利潤的可自由支配商品的銷售所抵消。這一增長被收縮部分抵消，收縮改善了 30 個基點，這與有利的庫存結果和收縮應計率的下降有關。

Distribution costs improved approximately 20 basis points, resulting primarily from lower COVID-19-related expenses and sales leverage, partially offset by higher hourly wages. And occupancy costs decreased approximately 10 basis points as a result of the leverage from the comp sales increase in the quarter.

分銷成本提高了大約 20 個基點，主要是由於與 COVID-19 相關的費用和銷售槓桿降低，部分被更高的小時工資所抵消。由於本季度銷售增長的槓桿作用，入住成本下降了約 10 個基點。

Gross profit margin for the Family Dollar segment declined 320 basis points to 23.4% in the fourth quarter. The year-over-year delta included the following: merchandise costs, including freight, increased 220 basis points related to higher freight costs and an unfavorable sales mix, partially offset by higher initial mark-on. Markdowns increased 90 basis points, primarily related to our recent product recall in our Arkansas distribution center in 404 Family Dollar stores.

Family Dollar 業務的毛利率在第四季度下降了 320 個基點至 23.4%。同比變化包括以下內容：包括運費在內的商品成本增加了 220 個基點，這與較高的運費成本和不利的銷售組合有關，部分被較高的初始加價抵消。降價幅度增加了 90 個基點，主要與我們最近在阿肯色州 404 家一元店的配送中心召回產品有關。

Consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses increased 40 basis points to 22.1% of total revenue compared to 21.7% in Q4 last year. For the fourth quarter, the SG&A rate for the Dollar Tree segment as a percentage of total revenue increased 50 basis points to 20.6% when compared to the prior year's quarter.

綜合銷售、一般和管理費用佔總收入的比例從去年第四季度的 21.7% 上升 40 個基點至 22.1%。第四季度，美元樹部門的 SG&A 率佔總收入的百分比與去年同期相比增加了 50 個基點至 20.6%。

Other SG&A increased approximately 50 basis points, resulting from higher card transaction fees and operating taxes, along with marketing and store supply costs associated with the transition to the $1.25 price point.

其他 SG&A 增加了大約 50 個基點，原因是卡交易費用和營業稅增加，以及與過渡到 1.25 美元價格點相關的營銷和商店供應成本。

Payroll costs increased 10 basis points, resulting primarily from higher store hourly payroll costs due to minimum wage increases and higher health care costs, partially offset by lower incentive compensation. And depreciation cost decreased 15 basis points primarily due to lower store impairment write-offs and leverage due to the increase in comp store sales.

工資成本增加了 10 個基點，主要是由於最低工資增加和醫療保健成本增加導致商店每小時工資成本增加，部分被較低的激勵補償抵消。折舊成本下降了 15 個基點，主要是由於商店減值沖銷和槓桿率下降，因為商店銷售額增加。

For Family Dollar, the fourth quarter SG&A rate as a percentage of total revenue increased 10 basis points to 20.7% compared to 20.6% in the prior year's quarter. Other SG&A expense increased 25 basis points primarily due to lower miscellaneous income, an increase in card transaction fees and an increase in insurance costs related to general liability claims. Depreciation and amortization expense increased 15 basis points due to higher store asset impairment charges and expenditures associated with the store renovation program.

對於 Family Dollar，第四季度 SG&A 佔總收入的百分比從去年同期的 20.6% 上升 10 個基點至 20.7%。其他 SG&A 費用增加 25 個基點，主要是由於雜項收入減少、卡交易費用增加以及與一般責任索賠相關的保險費用增加。由於商店資產減值費用和與商店翻新計劃相關的支出增加，折舊和攤銷費用增加了 15 個基點。

Store facility costs increased 5 basis points primarily due to higher repairs and maintenance expenses, including snow removal, partially offset by lower telecommunication expenses. And payroll expenses improved 35 basis points, primarily due to lower incentive compensation and field management vacancies, partially offset by higher store hourly payroll, resulting from higher labor rates.

商店設施成本增加 5 個基點，主要是由於更高的維修和維護費用，包括除雪，部分被較低的電信費用抵消。工資支出增加了 35 個基點，主要是由於較低的激勵薪酬和現場管理職位空缺，部分被較高的商店小時工資所抵消，原因是勞動力價格較高。

Corporate support and other expenses as a percentage of total revenue were flat when compared to the prior year's quarter at 1.4%. Operating income was $578.8 million or 8.2% of total revenue in the fourth quarter. Nonoperating expenses totaled $79.6 million, comprised primarily of net interest expense, including debt extinguishment costs of $46.5 million associated with our debt refinancing in the quarter. The effective tax rate was 9% compared to 22.3% in the prior year's fourth quarter, resulting primarily from a deferred tax benefit related to state entity restructuring.

與去年同期相比，企業支持和其他費用佔總收入的百分比持平，為 1.4%。第四季度營業收入為 5.788 億美元，佔總收入的 8.2%。營業外支出總計 7960 萬美元，主要包括淨利息支出，包括與本季度債務再融資相關的 4650 萬美元的債務清償成本。實際稅率為 9%，而去年第四季度為 22.3%，主要是由於與國家實體重組相關的遞延稅收優惠。

Company had net income of $454.2 million or $2.01 per diluted share. This compared to net earnings of $502.8 million or $2.13 per diluted share in the prior year's quarter. Combined cash and cash equivalents at year-end totaled $984.9 million compared to $1.42 billion at the end of fiscal 2020. Outstanding debt as of January 29 was $3.45 billion.

公司的淨收入為 4.542 億美元或每股攤薄收益 2.01 美元。相比之下，上一季度的淨收益為 5.028 億美元或每股攤薄收益 2.13 美元。年底現金和現金等價物合計為 9.849 億美元，而 2020 財年末為 14.2 億美元。截至 1 月 29 日的未償債務為 34.5 億美元。

For the year, the company repurchased $950 million in shares at an average price of $103.75. The company did not repurchase shares during the fourth quarter as our Board has engaged in discussions with Mantle Ridge. We currently have $2.5 billion remaining on our share repurchase authorization.

全年，該公司以平均 103.75 美元的價格回購了 9.5 億美元的股票。由於我們的董事會已與 Mantle Ridge 進行討論，該公司在第四季度沒有回購股票。目前，我們的股票回購授權剩餘 25 億美元。

Compared to the prior year, inventory levels increased 39% at Dollar Tree and 17% at Family Dollar. The higher levels of inventory are comprised of significant increases in goods on the water year-over-year as we rebuild inventory levels as well as increased capitalized freight costs based on much higher rates during the year. We do not anticipate any additional material inventory markdowns related to the recent Family Dollar voluntary product recall.

與去年相比，Dollar Tree 的庫存水平增加了 39%，Family Dollar 的庫存水平增加了 17%。較高的庫存水平包括水上貨物的同比顯著增加，因為我們重建庫存水平以及基於年內更高的費率增加的資本化貨運成本。我們預計不會出現與最近的 Family Dollar 自願產品召回相關的任何其他材料庫存降價。

Capital expenditures were $271.6 million in the fourth quarter versus $191.8 million in Q4 last year. For fiscal 2022, we expect that consolidated CapEx will be approximately $1.3 billion, which will be focused on 590 new stores, consisting of 400 Family Dollar and 190 Dollar Tree stores; 1,500 Dollar Tree Plus additions and 800 Family Dollar H2 renovations; the addition or replacement of frozen or refrigerated capability to select Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores; supply chain construction and upgrades and information technology system projects.

第四季度的資本支出為 2.716 億美元，而去年第四季度為 1.918 億美元。對於 2022 財年，我們預計合併後的資本支出約為 13 億美元，將集中在 590 家新店，其中包括 400 家 Family Dollar 和 190 家 Dollar Tree； 1,500 Dollar Tree Plus 加建和 800 Family Dollar H2 裝修；增加或更換選擇 Dollar Tree 和 Family Dollar 商店的冷凍或冷藏能力；供應鏈建設升級和信息化系統項目。

Depreciation amortization totaled $188.7 million for Q4 compared to $182.9 million in the fourth quarter last year. For fiscal 2022, we expect consolidated depreciation and amortization to be approximately $750 million.

第四季度折舊攤銷總額為 1.887 億美元，而去年第四季度為 1.829 億美元。對於 2022 財年，我們預計綜合折舊和攤銷約為 7.5 億美元。

Our initial outlook for fiscal 2022 includes the following assumptions. For same-store sales for the enterprise, we are forecasting low to mid-single-digit positive comps for the year. Considerations for 2022 include the following: the company incurred approximately $33.5 million in COVID-19-related costs in fiscal 2021. We expect these costs to be minimal in fiscal 2022. We will be cycling the third round of stimulus check that totaled an estimated $386 billion in March of 2021. And later in the year, we will be cycling the monthly advanced child tax credit payments that began in July of 2021.

我們對 2022 財年的初步展望包括以下假設。對於企業的同店銷售，我們預測今年的正銷售額將在中低個位數之間。 2022 年的考慮因素包括：公司在 2021 財年發生了大約 3350 萬美元的 COVID-19 相關成本。我們預計這些成本在 2022 財年將是最低的。我們將循環進行第三輪刺激檢查，總額估計為 386 美元2021 年 3 月的 10 億美元。今年晚些時候，我們將循環從 2021 年 7 月開始的每月預付兒童稅收抵免。

We expect continued pressure on store and DC payroll based on competitive markets, states increasing minimum wages, unemployment levels and completing the company's many initiatives. We expect to incur more than $165 million in store minimum wage changes and market adjustments. In addition, we are investing more than $30 million in DC hourly wages. We continue to partially offset these average hourly rate increases through productivity and efficiency initiatives.

我們預計，基於競爭激烈的市場、各州提高最低工資、失業率和完成公司的許多舉措，商店和配送中心的工資將繼續承受壓力。我們預計商店最低工資變動和市場調整將產生超過 1.65 億美元。此外，我們還在 DC 小時工資上投入了超過 3000 萬美元。我們繼續通過生產力和效率舉措部分抵消這些平均小時費率的增長。

Import and domestic freight will present cost pressures due to the annualization of fiscal 2021 rates in the first half of 2022. In addition, diesel fuel prices are expected to be significantly higher in 2022. We cannot predict future currency fluctuations, so we've not adjusted our outlook for the currency rate changes.

由於 2022 年上半年的 2021 財年費率年化，進口和國內貨運將帶來成本壓力。此外，預計 2022 年柴油價格將大幅上漲。我們無法預測未來的貨幣波動，因此我們沒有調整了我們對匯率變化的展望。

Net interest expense is expected to be approximately $33 million for Q1 and approximately $129 million for fiscal 2022. We estimate consolidated net sales for the first quarter will range from $6.63 billion to $6.78 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 $1.95 to $2.10.

第一季度的淨利息支出預計約為 3300 萬美元，2022 財年約為 1.29 億美元。基於同店銷售額的低個位數增長，我們估計第一季度的合併淨銷售額將在 66.3 億美元至 67.8 億美元之間對於合併後的企業。每股攤薄收益估計在 1.95 美元至 2.10 美元之間。

Consolidated net sales for full fiscal 2022 are expected to range from $27.22 billion to $27.85 billion. The company estimates diluted earnings per share will range from $7.60 to $8, which at the high end implies a consolidated operating income margin of 9%.

整個 2022 財年的合併淨銷售額預計在 272.2 億美元至 278.5 億美元之間。該公司估計每股攤薄收益將在 7.60 美元至 8 美元之間，高端意味著合併營業利潤率為 9%。

Our outlook assumes a tax rate of 24.3% for the first quarter and 24.1% for fiscal 2022. Our weighted average diluted share counts are assumed to be 226.5 million shares for Q1 and 226.7 million shares for the full year.

我們的展望假設第一季度的稅率為 24.3%，2022 財年的稅率為 24.1%。我們的加權平均稀釋後股票數量假設為第一季度的 2.265 億股和全年的 2.267 億股。

Our outlook does not include any share repurchases. And as previously mentioned, we currently have $2.5 billion remaining on our existing share repurchase authorization.

我們的展望不包括任何股票回購。如前所述，我們現有的股票回購授權目前剩餘 25 億美元。

I'll turn the call back over to Mike.

我會把電話轉回給邁克。

Thanks, Kevin. I am more encouraged and enthusiastic about our business and the opportunity than ever before. After a few years of Dollar Tree delivering operating margins lower than we like, I believe we are poised to benefit from our initiatives to deliver materially improved operating performance.

謝謝，凱文。我對我們的業務和機會比以往任何時候都更加鼓舞和熱情。在美元樹幾年的營業利潤率低於我們的預期之後，我相信我們準備好從我們的舉措中受益，以提供實質性改善的經營業績。

Because of our team's dedication, focus and execution, we have one of the most important milestones behind us: converting more than 7,800 stores to the new pricing strategy, providing value to our customers and a meaningful assortment is at the forefront. And as we reinvest in and market the extreme value assortment at Dollar Tree, we are confident store traffic and productivity will improve throughout the year, which will contribute to shopper loyalty.

由於我們團隊的奉獻精神、專注和執行力，我們擁有了最重要的里程碑之一：將 7,800 多家商店轉換為新的定價策略，為我們的客戶提供價值，並且有意義的分類處於最前沿。隨著我們在 Dollar Tree 對超值商品進行再投資和營銷，我們相信商店的客流量和生產力將全年提高，這將有助於提高購物者的忠誠度。

Value and convenience is more important than ever to our customer in today's environment. We are dedicated, aligned and focused. The ability to execute our key initiatives is paying off and setting a solid foundation for improved operating performance. We delivered an EPS of $5.80 in fiscal 2021, and the high end of our guidance range this year is $8, representing a 38% increase.

在當今環境中，價值和便利性對我們的客戶來說比以往任何時候都更加重要。我們敬業、一致和專注。執行我們關鍵計劃的能力正在獲得回報，並為提高運營績效奠定了堅實的基礎。我們在 2021 財年實現了 5.80 美元的每股收益，今年我們指導範圍的上限為 8 美元，增長了 38%。

I believe we are at an inflection point to exhibit our earnings power in the years ahead. This year, we are laser-focused on meeting our customer needs while driving our initiatives that are delivering the best returns. These initiatives, combined with our robust balance sheet, will position us to deliver long-term value for our stakeholders, customers, associates, suppliers and our shareholders.

我相信我們正處於一個轉折點，可以在未來幾年展示我們的盈利能力。今年，我們專注於滿足客戶需求，同時推動實現最佳回報的計劃。這些舉措與我們穩健的資產負債表相結合，將使我們能夠為我們的利益相關者、客戶、員工、供應商和股東創造長期價值。

I would like to once again thank every one of our more than 200,000 associates for all they have accomplished over the past 2 years through the unprecedented challenges presented with COVID-19 supply chain issues and labor shortages. Our teams are there every day to serve millions of shoppers across the U.S. and Canada. We have accomplished quite a lot in the last 18 months but, in many ways, I feel that we are just getting started. But the future is bright for Dollar Tree and Family Dollar.

我要再次感謝我們 200,000 多名員工中的每一位，感謝他們在過去 2 年中通過 COVID-19 供應鏈問題和勞動力短缺帶來的前所未有的挑戰所取得的成就。我們的團隊每天都在為美國和加拿大的數百萬購物者提供服務。在過去的 18 個月裡，我們取得了很多成就，但在很多方面，我覺得我們才剛剛開始。但對於美元樹和家庭美元來說，未來是光明的。

Before we take your questions, I'd like to provide a brief update on our ongoing engagement with Mantle Ridge. We continue to have constructive dialogue with Mantle Ridge and our shareholders. And indeed, we have been meeting weekly with Paul Hilal of Mantle Ridge and Rick Dreiling. Accordingly, we will not be addressing any Mantle Ridge-related questions during the Q&A portion of our earnings call.

在我們回答您的問題之前，我想簡要介紹一下我們與 Mantle Ridge 的持續合作。我們繼續與 Mantle Ridge 和我們的股東進行建設性對話。事實上，我們每週都會與 Mantle Ridge 的 Paul Hilal 和 Rick Dreiling 會面。因此，在財報電話會議的問答部分，我們不會解決任何與 Mantle Ridge 相關的問題。

Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

接線員，我們現在可以回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) We will now take our first question from Scot Ciccarelli of Truist Securities.

（操作員說明）我們現在將向 Truist Securities 的 Scot Ciccarelli 提出第一個問題。

So Mike, given your comments on the decline in units at Dollar Tree, is it fair to assume that the Dollar Tree stores are roughly generating high single-digit comps after the price conversion? And then secondly, are you surprised at the magnitude of the unit decline? I guess it doesn't quite seem to reconcile with some of the comments that the consumers have been really accepting the price changes, so any color there would be helpful.

所以邁克，鑑於你對美元樹單位下降的評論，假設美元樹商店在價格轉換後大致產生高個位數的組合是否公平？其次，您對單位下降的幅度感到驚訝嗎？我想這似乎與消費者真正接受價格變化的一些評論不太一致，所以任何顏色都會有幫助。

Yes. Thanks. And so on the unit decline, I mean, we have the same exact sensitivity models that many of you do on, units, comps, transactions and then margin enhancement. And going into it, we've been watching this for the last 18 to 24 months. And because of the vendor cost increases on our key consumable items that drive traffic for the last 18 months, vendors have eliminated items, downsized items or raised the price on items that we have lost in our assortment. And over those 18 to 24 months, we have seen unit declines and transaction reduction because of that.

是的。謝謝。等等單位下降，我的意思是，我們有與你們中的許多人所做的完全相同的敏感性模型，單位，補償，交易，然後是保證金增加。在過去的 18 到 24 個月裡，我們一直在關注它。並且由於過去 18 個月推動流量的關鍵消耗品供應商成本增加，供應商已經淘汰了商品、縮小了商品尺寸或提高了我們在分類中丟失的商品的價格。在這 18 到 24 個月裡，我們看到了單位數量的下降和交易量的減少。

So it wasn't a surprise to us. We knew where we needed to invest our dollars. And as we rolled this out and tested it, it really confirmed -- and our customers told us, here's where we needed to do our work. And that's why it does 3 things for us. We're able to improve our assortment and move to the $1.25 and really bring back items that consumers like and that are extreme value and high traffic-driving categories. And that will improve our traffic and our consumable sales going forward.

所以這對我們來說並不意外。我們知道我們需要在哪裡投資我們的美元。當我們推出並測試它時，它確實證實了 - 我們的客戶告訴我們，這就是我們需要做的工作。這就是為什麼它為我們做了三件事。我們能夠改進我們的分類並轉向 1.25 美元，並真正帶回消費者喜歡的、具有極高價值和高流量驅動類別的商品。這將改善我們的流量和我們未來的消耗品銷售。

The other thing it does is it enables us to, again, I keep saying, get back to 35% to 36% gross profit margins in this high-cost environment. And then lastly, it allows us to improve our operating performance in a higher-cost environment. And offsetting, and as Kevin said and we shared, our high end of our range, EPS range, is $8, a 38% increase. And that's absorbing the $600 million in freight that we assumed last year. And then Kevin just shared another $200 million in labor between the stores and DCs.

它所做的另一件事是，它使我們能夠再次，我一直說，在這種高成本環境中恢復到 35% 到 36% 的毛利率。最後，它使我們能夠在更高成本的環境中提高我們的運營績效。抵消，正如凱文所說和我們分享的那樣，我們範圍的高端，每股收益範圍，是 8 美元，增長了 38%。這吸收了我們去年假設的 6 億美元的運費。然后凱文剛剛在商店和配送中心之間分擔了另外 2 億美元的勞動力。

So that's why this strategy is so important to us. And the unit decline, as we see the new items come in, we see the customers responding very quickly. And many of you even pointed out, as you've done your store inspections, you've seen some of the new products in our carbonated beverage, in our salty snacks, in our meat snacks, and we expect those sales to slowly improve. And even with the unit decline where it's at, you've seen how it's translated to an improved operating income, as you saw that we beat fourth quarter by $0.25.

所以這就是為什麼這個策略對我們如此重要。並且單位下降，當我們看到新產品進來時，我們看到客戶的反應非常迅速。你們中的許多人甚至指出，當您進行商店檢查時，您已經在我們的碳酸飲料、鹹味零食、肉類零食中看到了一些新產品，我們預計這些銷售將慢慢改善。即使單位數量下降，您也已經看到它如何轉化為營業收入的提高，正如您看到我們在第四季度以 0.25 美元的優勢擊敗了我們一樣。

So no, we're not surprised. But yes, we are working diligently to get the new product in to reverse that trend that's been existing for 18 months and really deliver what the customer wants at that extreme value on both the consumable side to drive traffic and the discretionary side that they know us for.

所以不，我們並不感到驚訝。但是，是的，我們正在努力讓新產品投入使用，以扭轉已經存在 18 個月的趨勢，並在消耗品方面以極高的價值真正交付客戶想要的東西，以增加流量和他們了解我們的可自由支配方面為了。

We'll take our next question from Matthew Boss of JPMorgan.

我們將向摩根大通的 Matthew Boss 提出下一個問題。

Congrats on the nice quarter. So on the top line, could you help provide maybe a comp forecast by banner if we broke apart the low single-digit comp guide for the first quarter? Mike, what are you seeing from your low-income customers so far in February and just how best to think about the delta between low single digits in the first quarter and low to mid-single digits for the year on the comp side?

恭喜這個美好的季度。因此，最重要的是，如果我們分解第一季度的低個位數薪酬指南，您能否通過橫幅提供可能的薪酬預測？邁克，到目前為止，您從 2 月份的低收入客戶那裡看到了什麼，以及如何最好地考慮第一季度的低個位數與年度低到中個位數之間的增量？

Yes. We're not -- we haven't broken it out by banner. But our customer, last year, as you know, they were -- they had a lot of stimulus dollars in their hands between the stimulus dollars, the child tax credit and then the food stamp environment and then the extra unemployment, and many of those are going away. So not only are they going away, but then on the other side, it's the highest inflation you've seen in 40 years.

是的。我們不是 - 我們沒有通過橫幅將其分解。但是我們的客戶，去年，如你所知，他們手頭有很多刺激資金，包括刺激資金、兒童稅收抵免、食品券環境和額外失業，以及其中許多正在離開。因此，它們不僅會消失，而且另一方面，這是 40 年來最高的通貨膨脹。

So they are starting to see pressure on their rent bills, their heating bills, their gas bills, their utilities and their food bills. So we think that this value segment that we're in and this undeniable value that we're going to deliver at a $1.25 and our great values at Family Dollar at convenient locations are really poised well to deliver what the customer is looking for.

因此，他們開始看到房租、取暖費、煤氣費、水電費和食品費的壓力。因此，我們認為我們所處的這個價值細分市場以及我們將以 1.25 美元的價格提供的不可否認的價值以及我們在便利地點的 Family Dollar 的巨大價值確實可以很好地滿足客戶的需求。

Maybe just a follow-up, Kevin, on gross margin. Is it -- could you walk through maybe some of the moving pieces embedded this year in the forecast? Specifically, what are you embedding for freight and how best to think about gross margin drivers from here at both the Dollar Tree banner and Family Dollar?

也許只是毛利率的跟進，凱文。是不是——你能不能介紹一下今年預測中嵌入的一些動態因素？具體來說，您在貨運方面嵌入了什麼，以及如何在 Dollar Tree 橫幅和 Family Dollar 中最好地考慮毛利率驅動因素？

Yes. I think as you look at the gross profit section of the P&L, so obviously, the biggest headwind continues to be freight. And as I spoke to the first half in particular -- so as we went through 2021, rates climbed quarter-to-quarter until that kind of finally flattened out at the back half of Q3.

是的。我認為當您查看損益表的毛利潤部分時，很明顯，最大的不利因素仍然是運費。當我特別談到上半年時——當我們度過 2021 年時，利率逐季度攀升，直到第三季度後半段最終趨於平緩。

So the first half of the year continues to see some pretty good pressure there. And that shouldn't be a surprise to anybody, I think. And as we look at the year, we do not see things getting better in the supply chain world of -- and moving product and the rates that are required to continue to move goods.

因此，今年上半年繼續看到一些相當不錯的壓力。我認為，這對任何人來說都不應該是一個驚喜。當我們回顧這一年時，我們並沒有看到供應鏈領域的情況變得更好——移動產品以及繼續運送貨物所需的費率。

And it's not just the rates to pay for the goods. It's also the rates you pay. Once you got -- once it gets into the port, it's costing more to move the product. So drayage is more, storage costs are more. Everybody is trying to charge for equipment. So there's a lot of pressure on a lot of different places as it relates to moving products. So I think that's a big one.

這不僅僅是為商品支付的費率。這也是您支付的費率。一旦你得到了——一旦它進入港口，移動產品的成本就會更高。所以拖運越多，倉儲成本就越高。每個人都試圖為設備收費。因此，與移動產品有關的許多不同地方都面臨著很大的壓力。所以我認為這是一個很大的問題。

The other one is diesel costs. Diesel costs are up basically, I think, just over $1 year-over-year at this point in time right now. So that adds a significant amount to the pressure as well as we think about it.

另一個是柴油成本。我認為，目前柴油成本基本上同比上漲了 1 美元多一點。因此，這大大增加了我們的壓力。

And then again, I think -- to your point, I think we faced stimulus dollars, in particular in the Family Dollar business, in Q1. Discretionary business, if you remember, a year ago in Q1 Family Dollar, had a very large comp, a double-digit comp. So we would see unfavorable mix in Q1 as it relates to our Family Dollar business.

再說一次，我認為 - 就你的觀點而言，我認為我們在第一季度面臨刺激美元，特別是在家庭美元業務中。如果你還記得的話，全權委託業務，一年前在第一季度的家庭美元中，有一個非常大的補償，一個兩位數的補償。因此，我們會在第一季度看到不利的組合，因為它與我們的家庭美元業務有關。

So those are some of the things that are -- some of the moving pieces that are kind of going on. And then I think the other thing that we think about from a -- and Mike kind of talked about it already, is the investment, the reinvestment in the product that we're making at Dollar Tree. The consumers let us know where we need to continue to look at our value proposition. The merchants are doing a great job working through that, and we're flowing new goods, and we'll continue to flow goods throughout the year. So I think that will be an important piece of it.

所以這些是一些正在發生的事情——一些正在發生的事情。然後我認為我們從一個考慮的另一件事 - 邁克已經談到了它，是投資，對我們在 Dollar Tree 製作的產品的再投資。消費者讓我們知道我們需要在哪裡繼續關注我們的價值主張。商家在這方面做得很好，我們正在流通新商品，我們將繼續全年流通商品。所以我認為這將是其中的一個重要部分。

We'll take our next question from Michael Lasser of UBS.

我們將向瑞銀的邁克爾·拉塞爾提出下一個問題。

What is the comp lift that you are getting from $1.25 price point? And how wide does the lift vary across stores and geographies? And as part of that, how has it -- the move to $1.25 impacted customer shopping sequences? Have you seen some customers who just aren't coming back after realizing the price change?

您從 1.25 美元的價格點獲得的補償提升是多少？電梯在不同商店和地區之間的差異有多大？作為其中的一部分，它是如何影響到 1.25 美元的客戶購物順序的？您是否見過一些客戶在意識到價格變化後就不再回來了？

Yes. Thanks, Michael. And we did -- the consumer was a huge important part of this and our ability to deliver meaningful assortment to them. And we did consumer research, in-depth research, back in October, and we just recently finished it up.

是的。謝謝，邁克爾。我們做到了——消費者是其中非常重要的一部分，我們有能力為他們提供有意義的分類。早在 10 月，我們就進行了消費者研究，深入研究，我們最近才完成。

And I've seen some of the analysts have done their own in-depth research. And the most important thing is, is the research tells us that they trust Dollar Tree and that Dollar Tree is the most recognized and trusted brand in the value $1 segment. Period. This is after the $1.25 price change.

我已經看到一些分析師進行了他們自己的深入研究。最重要的是，研究告訴我們他們信任美元樹，美元樹是價值 1 美元細分市場中最受認可和信任的品牌。時期。這是在 1.25 美元的價格變動之後。

They expressed the likelihood to continue to shop of above 85%. They still want to recommend our stores above 77% of our shoppers. And there's an emotional connection still. Our customers still believe they're getting a good value for the money. And we receive higher marks than our competitors at a good value even at a $1.25.

他們表示繼續購物的可能性超過 85%。他們仍然希望在 77% 以上的購物者中推薦我們的商店。並且仍然存在情感聯繫。我們的客戶仍然相信他們物有所值。而且我們獲得了比競爭對手更高的分數，即使是 1.25 美元也很划算。

So our customer, bringing our customer along, is critical. And the reason that that's enabling that is on our discretionary side, it's $1.25. Our comp shops still tell us where we are winning. And our -- when I said a Herculean task, our merchants starting last fall, so November, December and January and a little bit into February, went item by item. They did complete category reviews and reviewed item by item, line by line and went out and comp-shop them, every item, and brought it in and wanted to make sure that at a $1.25, this item still stood up as a great value to the competitive market. And where we saw that, we see the unit sales where we would expect them. And then to your point, you see unit declines where we aren't competitive, and we knew that over the last 18 months.

所以我們的客戶，帶著我們的客戶，是至關重要的。實現這一點的原因在於我們的自由裁量權，它是 1.25 美元。我們的comp商店仍然告訴我們我們在哪裡獲勝。我們的 - 當我說一項艱鉅的任務時，我們的商人從去年秋天開始，所以 11 月、12 月和 1 月以及稍微到 2 月，逐項進行。他們做了完整的類別審查，逐項審查，逐行審查，然後出去比較購買它們，每件商品，然後把它帶進來，並希望確保在 1.25 美元的價格下，這件商品仍然物超所值競爭激烈的市場。在我們看到這一點的地方，我們看到了我們期望的單位銷售額。然後就您的觀點而言，您會看到我們沒有競爭力的單位下降，我們在過去 18 個月中就知道這一點。

But what the breaking the $1 does and going to $1.25 is really it lets us get the new assortment in, and we're so excited about it. They -- over the last 3 months, our entire merchant team not only went through a line review category by category, but they also did our January trip. And our January trip that we bought for the back half of this year is some of the most exciting items that we've had, and our customers are going to be wild about it compared to what they're seeing in the marketplace.

但是打破 1 美元並達到 1.25 美元的真正原因是它讓我們獲得了新的分類，我們對此感到非常興奮。他們——在過去的 3 個月裡，我們的整個商家團隊不僅按類別進行了線路審查，而且還進行了我們一月份的旅行。我們為今年下半年購買的一月份旅行是我們擁有的一些最令人興奮的商品，與他們在市場上看到的相比，我們的客戶會對此感到瘋狂。

And then the new items where we're delivering, we're seeing an improvement in unit sales as we bring those in. And we absolutely believe that throughout the next 6 to 7 months, as the consumable side and those new items start to flow in, we will see units just begin to come up, and we will see our sales come up accordingly. And we will maintain that customer loyalty from our customers. They still believe we're the #1 value in the $1 segment because they're seeing the inflation, the highest in 4 decades. So they see what's happening in the marketplace, and they trust us. Our merchants have worked very hard. And I think over the first half of the year, we will slowly get better and better in units and in our traffic going forward.

然後是我們交付的新產品，隨著我們的引進，我們看到單位銷量有所改善。我們絕對相信，在接下來的 6 到 7 個月內，隨著消耗品和這些新產品開始流動在，我們會看到單位剛剛開始出現，我們會看到我們的銷售額相應上升。我們將保持客戶對客戶的忠誠度。他們仍然認為我們是 1 美元細分市場中的第一大價值，因為他們看到了 4 年來最高的通貨膨脹。所以他們看到了市場上正在發生的事情，他們信任我們。我們的商家非常努力。而且我認為在今年上半年，我們將在單位和流量方面慢慢變得越來越好。

And the most important thing, even with the extra cost that Kevin talked about in our freight in the first half, we still believe we can deliver that 35% to 36% margin. So it's the flow-through that's going to be so important while we're bringing in the new items to drive that top line.

最重要的是，即使凱文在上半年談到我們的運費額外成本，我們仍然相信我們可以提供 35% 到 36% 的利潤。因此，當我們引入新產品以推動收入增長時，流通將變得非常重要。

And to answer your question, across geographies, we really don't see any difference in unit declines across geographies, competitive makeup or demographics. It's really similar. And when we had a foot in both camps, our $1.25 stores moved very similar to our $1 stores. There was not a -- the gap didn't get worse or better. It just moved very similar. So it was very consistent across that perspective, too, which gave us permission to move as quick as possible to get that new assortment in and really leverage this for our customers going forward.

為了回答您的問題，跨地區，我們確實沒有看到跨地區、競爭構成或人口統計的單位下降有任何差異。它真的很相似。當我們涉足兩個陣營時，我們 1.25 美元的商店與我們的 1 美元商店非常相似。沒有 - 差距沒有變得更糟或更好。它只是移動非常相似。因此，從這個角度來看，它也非常一致，這使我們能夠盡快採取行動，將新的分類納入其中，並真正為我們的客戶未來利用這一點。

Mike, in the past, you've helpfully provided the comp lift that Dollar Tree saw from the Dollar Tree Plus, which is 6%. Is there an equal number that you can give us for the $1.25? And then how do you turn this into a longer-term comp driver for the business to make sure it just doesn't have -- it's not just a one-and-done impact for 2022 and then the business goes back to experiencing some challenges longer term? Because, for example, does this open the door to move from $1.25 to $1.50 that could provide even more missionizing flexibility to drive the business down the road?

Mike，在過去，您提供了 Dollar Tree 從 Dollar Tree Plus 中看到的 6% 的補償提升。您能給我們 1.25 美元的相同數量嗎？然後，您如何將其轉變為企業的長期競爭驅動因素，以確保它沒有——這不僅僅是對 2022 年的一次性影響，然後企業又會重新經歷一些挑戰長期？因為，例如，這是否打開了從 1.25 美元到 1.50 美元的大門，從而可以提供更大的使命靈活性來推動業務發展？

Yes. So what $1.25 going forward enables us to do is -- really going forward, the $1.25 will allow us to bring in great assortment to drive traffic and meet the customers' need at a fixed price point and differentiate us just like we've been differentiated for 30 years. We think the $1.25 allows us to do that.

是的。因此，1.25 美元的未來使我們能夠做的是——真正地向前發展，1.25 美元將使我們能夠引入種類繁多的產品來增加流量並以固定的價格點滿足客戶的需求，並使我們與眾不同，就像我們已經與眾不同一樣30 年。我們認為 1.25 美元可以讓我們做到這一點。

But to your point, then how do you continue to drive our comp store sales at the Dollar Tree Plus? That's why we're accelerating that to another 1,500 stores. And I've shared we want to get to 5,000 stores going forward. So we think that the growth in Dollar Tree, similar to a lot of you have referred to Dollarama up in Canada, we believe that this is going to be a point where we can continue to drive comp store sales, improved assortment with our $1.25, $3 and $5 assortment.

但就您的觀點而言，那麼您如何繼續推動我們在 Dollar Tree Plus 商店的銷售呢？這就是我們將其加速到另外 1,500 家商店的原因。我已經分享了我們希望在未來達到 5,000 家商店。所以我們認為，Dollar Tree 的增長，就像你們很多人提到加拿大的 Dollarama 一樣，我們相信這將是我們可以繼續推動 comp 商店銷售的一個點，以 1.25 美元改善分類， 3 美元和 5 美元的分類。

So going forward, we're going to do 1,500 this year. We're going to continue to grow another large amount of stores the following year. And then we're also at Dollar Tree Plus items at the $3 and $5, we're planning for and looking to expand it in 2023, so not only grow the store count but expand the assortment and depth inside the store. So that will enable continuous comp growth year-over-year as we move forward.

所以展望未來，我們今年將做 1,500 個。明年我們將繼續增加大量的商店。然後我們還在 Dollar Tree Plus 商品中以 3 美元和 5 美元的價格出售，我們計劃並希望在 2023 年擴大它，因此不僅增加商店數量，而且擴大商店內的分類和深度。因此，隨著我們的前進，這將實現持續的薪酬同比增長。

And to answer your question on the -- we just completed the assortment. We will share more as we get forward on the comp store growth with the unit decline. It is -- we are very confident we can be in that low to mid-single-digit comps. But even at that, it translates and flows through at a higher margin and leveraging throughout the P&L to a 38% increase in our EPS. So that's why we're very excited about the improvement that this year will bring.

為了回答你的問題——我們剛剛完成了分類。隨著單位數量的下降，隨著我們在綜合商店增長方面取得進展，我們將分享更多信息。它是 - 我們非常有信心我們可以在低到中個位數的組合中。但即便如此，它也以更高的利潤率轉化和流動，並在整個損益表中發揮槓桿作用，使我們的每股收益增加了 38%。所以這就是為什麼我們對今年將帶來的改進感到非常興奮。

And as we move forward, now that we have the whole fleet on there in the prior quarters, we'll definitely share more details because it will be the whole fleet and inconsistent time frame. Throughout the last 3 months, we were -- just in December, we had a few thousand stores, but it was during the Christmas. January, we're rolling out more stores, but it was in a cycling. January was a tough month for retail. And then February was in our cycling bad weather from last year, and we had one of the best Valentine's we've ever had.

隨著我們向前推進，既然我們在前幾個季度擁有了整個艦隊，我們肯定會分享更多細節，因為這將是整個艦隊和不一致的時間框架。在過去的 3 個月裡，我們——就在 12 月，我們有幾千家商店，但那是在聖誕節期間。一月份，我們推出了更多的商店，但那是在騎自行車。一月份對零售業來說是艱難的一個月。然後二月是我們去年騎自行車的惡劣天氣，我們度過了有史以來最好的情人節之一。

So there's just been a lot of moving parts. So once it stabilizes and we have the whole fleet down here, we'll absolutely share it. But it is doing exactly what we thought it would, and it's delivering that EPS we expect it to.

所以只是有很多活動的部分。所以一旦它穩定下來，我們把整個艦隊都放在這裡，我們絕對會分享它。但它完全按照我們的預期行事，並且提供了我們期望的每股收益。

And just to clarify, just because you don't want to provide it at this point, the market should not interpret it that the response -- the comp lift response has been disappointing?

澄清一下，僅僅因為你現在不想提供它，市場不應該解釋它的反應——補償提升反應令人失望？

Not at all. No. No, and it's evident by our 25% beat in the fourth quarter and 38% increase in EPS. This is -- and the key is this really enables us -- I can't stress enough, it enables us to bring back those key items on the consumable side that, over the last 18 to 24 months, have just slowly disappeared. And they were one by one. It wasn't all at once. But over time, we lost unit sales on the consumables and comps out of the consumables, which ultimately lost transactions counts the last 18 months. And you've seen it in our reporting every quarter.

一點也不。不，不，這從我們第四季度 25% 的業績和 38% 的每股收益增長中可以看出。這是——關鍵是這真的使我們能夠——我怎麼強調都不為過，它使我們能夠帶回那些在過去 18 到 24 個月內慢慢消失的消耗品方面的關鍵物品。他們一個接一個。這不是一下子發生的。但隨著時間的推移，我們失去了消耗品的單位銷售和消耗品中的補償，這最終失去了過去 18 個月的交易數。您已經在我們每個季度的報告中看到了這一點。

What this enables us to do is bring back all of those items and then even more new items. And I'm so excited about the assortment that you're going to see flowing in there, and our customers are excited. Our end caps with the brand name leaders of carbonated beverage, 4 feet of meat snacks that we brought back are really going to be key traffic-driving items that we see will accelerate as they increase throughout the first half of this year.

這使我們能夠做的是帶回所有這些項目，然後是更多的新項目。我對你將看到的種類繁多的產品感到非常興奮，我們的客戶也很興奮。我們帶回的碳酸飲料品牌領導者的端蓋，4 英尺長的肉類零食確實將成為關鍵的交通驅動項目，我們認為隨著今年上半年的增長，這些項目將加速增長。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from John Heinbockel of Guggenheim.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自古根海姆的 John Heinbockel。

I want to start with what do you think happens to total assortment inside the Dollar Tree, let's say, over the next year and then broader than that, right? Because you don't want the assortment, I would imagine, to get significantly larger than it's been historically. And then what do you do with -- and you guys don't have the kind of tight planograms that some others do. Can you go back and do a strategic re-planogramming and space allocation, maybe giving more to consumables? And when would that happen?

我想從你認為美元樹內的總分類會發生什麼開始，比方說，在接下來的一年裡，然後比這更廣泛，對吧？因為你不希望分類，我想，比歷史上的要大得多。然後你怎麼辦——你們沒有其他人那樣的緊湊貨架圖。你能回去做一個戰略性的重新規劃和空間分配，也許給消耗品更多？那什麼時候會發生？

Yes. No, it's a great call. We can't -- this line item review, we went category by category. And we strategically looked at what drives traffic and give it the appropriate space needed. And we aren't planogrammed, and that enables us to bring in great new items and bring out closeout items and invest in wow items and throw the hunt items to really get the customer excited about seeing newness in our stores.

是的。不，這是一個很棒的電話。我們不能 - 這個訂單項審查，我們逐個類別進行。我們戰略性地研究了推動交通的因素，並為其提供了所需的適當空間。而且我們沒有貨架圖，這使我們能夠引入很棒的新商品並帶出收尾商品並投資於令人驚嘆的商品並扔掉狩獵商品以真正讓客戶對在我們的商店中看到新事物感到興奮。

And as we look at the store, the $1.25 items, and then there's $3 and $5, I believe, going forward, we will move -- we will monitor the productivity in dollars and profitability. And our stores are -- we don't have a shelf stretcher inside our stores. You're right. There is the only a set amount of linear footage. But we believe we can continue to optimize based on the customers' reaction on the $3 and $5. And when we have those category -- those items, they are highly productive and deliver higher pending profit and more efficiencies throughout the supply chain and inside the store.

當我們查看商店時，1.25 美元的商品，然後是 3 美元和 5 美元，我相信，展望未來，我們將採取行動——我們將監控以美元為單位的生產力和盈利能力。我們的商店是——我們的商店內沒有貨架擔架。你是對的。只有固定數量的線性鏡頭。但我們相信我們可以繼續根據客戶對 3 美元和 5 美元的反應進行優化。當我們擁有這些類別時——那些商品，它們的生產力很高，並在整個供應鍊和商店內部提供更高的未決利潤和更高的效率。

So we will manage that going forward. And I -- we'll continue to look at the space we need for the right consumables to drive the traffic. And then we will grow the discretionary based on the productivity and continue to manage that going forward. Just as we have over the last 35 years, we've flexed the space accordingly.

因此，我們將在未來進行管理。而且我 - 我們將繼續研究我們需要合適的消耗品來推動交通的空間。然後，我們將根據生產力增加可自由支配的份額，並繼續管理它。正如我們在過去 35 年中所做的那樣，我們相應地調整了空間。

And then maybe as a follow-up to that, right? So you talked about reinvesting some of this gross margin benefit. Is that more likely to be in consumables, right, to drive traffic for discretionary? And once you get to that 35% to 36%, would you like to run that kind of margin-neutral? And whatever benefit you get on EBIT margin is leveraged, right, from the higher comp?

然後也許作為後續行動，對吧？因此，您談到了將部分毛利率收益進行再投資。這更有可能是消耗品，對吧，為可自由支配的流量增加流量？一旦你達到 35% 到 36% 的比例，你願意以這種利潤率中性的方式運行嗎？無論您從息稅前利潤率上獲得什麼好處，都可以從較高的薪酬中得到槓桿作用嗎？

Yes. We'd like to definitely get to 35% to 36%, but we believe there may be upside beyond that. And as you just said, it's the stick and runner that a retailer always does. They want to do what they need to, to have great value and drive that top line and then at the margin that they need to deliver continuous improvement in EPS.

是的。我們肯定希望達到 35% 到 36%，但我們相信可能會有更多的上升空間。正如你剛才所說，這是零售商總是做的棒和跑步者。他們想要做他們需要做的事情，擁有巨大的價值並推動收入增長，然後在他們需要持續改進每股收益的邊際。

We'll take our next question from Paul Lejuez of Citi.

我們將向花旗的 Paul Lejuez 提出我們的下一個問題。

Maybe just going back to the Dollar Tree comp impact from the move to $1.25. I think you said you didn't want to give a specific number, but you did share that units were down mid-teens. And I think, all else equal, if units weren't down, you would have seen a 25% comp lift, if my simple math is right. So can you just confirm that you're actually seeing a net high single-digit to low double-digit comp lift in those stores?

也許只是回到 1.25 美元對美元樹的影響。我想你說過你不想給出一個具體的數字，但你確實分享了單位數量下降了十幾歲。而且我認為，在其他條件相同的情況下，如果單位沒有下降，如果我的簡單數學是正確的，你會看到 25% 的組合提升。那麼您能否確認您實際上在這些商店中看到了從高個位數到低兩位數的淨增長？

And if that is the case, is that how you're planning that concept comp for F'22? And are you ordering units down in that mid-teens rate that you've experienced thus far or something better than that? And then just -- I guess I'll ask my follow-up now. I'm just curious which categories you're seeing more or less elasticity.

如果是這樣的話，你是如何計劃 F'22 的概念組合的？你是在以你迄今為止所經歷的十幾歲的速度訂購單位，還是比這更好？然後只是 - 我想我現在會問我的後續行動。我只是好奇您看到哪些類別或多或少具有彈性。

Yes. So as I said before, we haven't shared the comp on the rollout because we just got everything rolled out. But we have shared, we believe, in our forecast going forward in our guidance is low to mid-single-digit comps that we're very confident we can achieve. And even with that, the lower units and the comp in that range still delivers a 38% growth in our EPS.

是的。所以正如我之前所說，我們沒有在推出時分享陣容，因為我們剛剛推出了所有內容。但我們相信，在我們的指導中，我們已經分享了我們對未來的預測是低到中個位數的組合，我們非常有信心能夠實現。即便如此，該範圍內的較低單位和比較仍然使我們的每股收益增長了 38%。

And what was the second part of the question? Oh, the categories. The elasticity is it's exactly where we thought it would. Our customer gives us -- we have such great value. And I've said this before, when we go to buy and create our seasonal items on the discretionary side, we go out in the comp shop, and we find $5 and $7 items. And we -- our merchants will make those items at the $1. That's why we're known for such great value on the discretionary side.

問題的第二部分是什麼？哦，分類。彈性正是我們認為的那樣。我們的客戶給了我們——我們有如此巨大的價值。我之前說過，當我們去自由裁量權購買和創造我們的季節性商品時，我們會在 comp shop 裡找到 5 美元和 7 美元的商品。而我們——我們的商家將以 1 美元的價格生產這些商品。這就是為什麼我們在自由裁量權方面以如此巨大的價值而聞名。

So when we move to $1.25, our discretionary units are still selling very, very well. And our customer research tells us that, and our sales tell us that. And then it also, as I've shared on the consumables side is where we're seeing the unit decline. But as we bring in those new items, the unit decline -- in fact, the categories are positive comp, where I've shared the last 18 months, they were negative and we were losing units. Where we've already introduced the items and they're flowing in, it's absolutely reversed and starting to trend in a positive nature.

因此，當我們升至 1.25 美元時，我們的可自由支配單位仍然賣得非常非常好。我們的客戶研究告訴我們這一點，我們的銷售告訴我們這一點。然後，正如我在消耗品方面所分享的那樣，我們看到單位下降的地方也是如此。但是當我們引入這些新項目時，單位下降 - 事實上，這些類別是積極的，我分享了過去 18 個月，它們是負面的，我們正在失去單位。在我們已經介紹了這些項目並且它們正在流入的地方，它完全被逆轉並開始呈積極趨勢。

Good. So how does that influence your plan units in terms of managing inventory?

好的。那麼，這對您的計劃單位在管理庫存方面有何影響？

Yes. So we're planning to feed that growth that we talked about. And we're buying on the discretionary side, like we always buy, to continue to drive our seasonal and our discretionary side. And the good thing is we're getting every consumable item we can't right now in the marketplace. And our new items that we're bringing in, we're buying as many as we can. And the time line to replenish that is most of that is domestic. So we can keep feeding the sales growth and unit growth as it happens.

是的。因此，我們計劃滿足我們談到的增長。就像我們一直購買的那樣，我們在可自由支配方面購買，以繼續推動我們的季節性和可自由支配方面。好消息是我們現在可以在市場上買到我們現在買不到的所有消耗品。我們帶來的新產品，我們盡可能多地購買。補充的時間線大部分是國內的。因此，我們可以在發生時繼續推動銷售增長和單位增長。

We'll take our next question from Edward Kelly of Wells Fargo.

我們將向富國銀行的 Edward Kelly 提出下一個問題。

Mike, I wanted to ask you, rolling out the $1.25 without the new product makes it difficult for you to showcase what this ultimately means for your customers over the long term. Are you -- I mean it doesn't sound like it, but based upon what you've seen so far in like looking forward, are you concerned at all about the gap in time between the $1.25 and when the new product comes in and what that could potentially do to customer loyalty?

邁克，我想問你，在沒有新產品的情況下推出 1.25 美元讓你很難展示這最終對你的客戶意味著什麼。你是不是——我的意思是聽起來不像，但根據你迄今為止所看到的，你是否關心1.25美元和新產品上市之間的時間差？這可能會對客戶忠誠度產生什麼影響？

And then as part of this question, can you just talk a bit more about how the merchandising from here changes the cadence around that? What percentage of the SKUs are actually going to change for customers? How important is bringing things back, right, that you haven't sold historically? Any additional color on all that would be great.

然後作為這個問題的一部分，你能多談談這裡的商品如何改變周圍的節奏嗎？有多少百分比的 SKU 實際上會為客戶改變？把你以前沒有賣過的東西帶回來有多重要？任何額外的顏色都會很棒。

Yes. It's extremely important to bring back items that they haven't seen. And as I've reiterated several times, in the last 18 to 24 months, we've seen our discretionary sales decline and over -- especially -- it has accelerated. As everybody has seen throughout last year, our vendors were getting pressure, costs were increasing, and inflation is at the 4 decades high.

是的。帶回他們沒見過的物品非常重要。正如我多次重申的那樣，在過去的 18 到 24 個月中，我們已經看到我們的可自由支配銷售額下降並且超過 - 特別是 - 它加速了。正如大家在去年全年看到的那樣，我們的供應商壓力越來越大，成本越來越高，通貨膨脹率達到了 4 年來的最高水平。

So we needed to move for several reasons: one, to quickly get in that assortment that we wanted; and number two, we needed to be simple for the organization. We can't have our merchants buying $1 assortment and $1.25 assortment and mixing it up. We need it to be crystal clear for them. And they went to task in the last 3 to 4 months and went through that entire line, item by -- line review and category review item by item. And now the items are flowing back in.

所以我們需要搬家有幾個原因：第一，快速進入我們想要的分類；第二，我們需要讓組織變得簡單。我們不能讓我們的商家購買 1 美元的分類和 1.25 美元的分類並將它們混合在一起。我們需要它對他們來說一清二楚。他們在過去的 3 到 4 個月內完成了任務，並逐項審查了整行，逐項審查和類別審查。而現在這些物品又流回來了。

So we didn't want to confuse our customers and confuse our merchants and confuse our operators. So we moved to $1.25 as fast as we did. And we're bringing our customers along with us. Absolutely, we're afraid of our customer thought process. That's why we did in-depth research back in October when we first introduced it. And our customers told us, because of the increases they're seeing in the marketplace, the $1.25 is still an extreme value.

所以我們不想迷惑我們的客戶，迷惑我們的商家，迷惑我們的運營商。因此，我們以最快的速度升至 1.25 美元。我們正在把我們的客戶帶到我們身邊。當然，我們害怕客戶的思考過程。這就是我們在 10 月份首次推出它時進行深入研究的原因。我們的客戶告訴我們，由於他們在市場上看到的價格上漲，1.25 美元仍然是一個極值。

They also told us after we moved to $1.25, Dollar Tree is their #1 trusted store, by far, in the $1 segment and value segment. And I think some of you have done research stating the same thing, that Dollar Tree's trust and brand loyalty is still there.

他們還告訴我們，在我們搬到 1.25 美元後，Dollar Tree 是他們值得信賴的第一家商店，到目前為止，在 1 美元細分市場和價值細分市場。而且我認為你們中的一些人已經做了同樣的研究，即美元樹的信任和品牌忠誠度仍然存在。

And now as these new items at the $1.25 flow in, it's even going to increase from there. And we -- it's very important for us to get this item in as soon as possible. And that's why we believe that throughout the year, as this flows in, we will see the units improve in the categories that we've addressed.

現在，隨著這些 1.25 美元的新產品流入，它甚至會從那裡增加。而且我們——對我們來說，盡快收到這個項目非常重要。這就是為什麼我們相信，隨著這一年的到來，我們將看到這些單位在我們已經解決的類別中得到改善。

The categories on the discretionary side are already a great value because the market has moved significantly around us. So we think we're in a great position. When the customer's stressed more than ever, highest inflation in 4 decades, they're getting pressure on their rents, on their fuel for their cars, on their heating bills and on their food bills, they're going to come to Dollar Tree and Family Dollar now more than ever because of the great value that we have.

可自由支配的類別已經很有價值，因為市場在我們周圍發生了很大變化。所以我們認為我們處於一個很好的位置。當客戶的壓力比以往任何時候都大，這是 4 年來最高的通貨膨脹，他們在房租、汽車燃料、取暖費和食品費方面面臨壓力，他們將來到美元樹和由於我們擁有的巨大價值，Family Dollar 現在比以往任何時候都更加重要。

And just a quick follow-up. On the gross margin on Dollar Tree, why wouldn't the early part of the year, particularly the first half, be much higher than 35% to 36% just given what's going on from a pricing standpoint and then that normalized towards the end? Is that a fair assessment?

只是一個快速的跟進。關於美元樹的毛利率，為什麼從定價的角度來看，今年年初，特別是上半年的毛利率不會遠高於 35% 到 36%，然後在年底趨於正常化？這是一個公平的評價嗎？

I think as we think about it, Ed, there is that possibility. Obviously, because we haven't changed as much of a product, it's in process. But again, I think the other side of that is just a little bit of the freight market and the diesel costs and some things like that. Obviously -- we obviously hope there's upside to that, but we still got to go out and work through the quarter and prove it at the end of the day.

我認為當我們考慮它時，Ed，有這種可能性。顯然，因為我們沒有對產品進行太多更改，所以它正在進行中。但同樣，我認為另一面只是貨運市場和柴油成本之類的東西。顯然——我們顯然希望這有好處，但我們仍然必須走出去努力度過這個季度，並在一天結束時證明這一點。

We will now take our final question from Simeon Gutman of Morgan Stanley.

我們現在將向摩根士丹利的 Simeon Gutman 提出最後一個問題。

So I guess my one question is when we look at the guidance on the face, it looked -- it felt a bit conservative. Mike, you mentioned the units down mid-teens, and then there's some higher inventory costs. I wanted to ask you if there's points of conservatism. You mentioned that as you roll out new units, you're seeing a new product. The units look like they're getting better. I don't know much on -- how the costs flow through throughout the year, but can you talk about the points of conservatism that could be in this model throughout the year?

所以我想我的一個問題是，當我們看到臉上的指導時，它看起來 - 感覺有點保守。邁克，你提到了十幾歲左右的單位，然後有一些更高的庫存成本。我想問你是否有保守主義的觀點。您提到，當您推出新產品時，您會看到一種新產品。這些單位看起來正在變得更好。我不太了解 - 全年成本是如何流動的，但你能談談這個模型全年可能存在的保守主義觀點嗎？

Yes. We're -- and I'll toss it to Kevin on a few line items. But overall, we just got completed, and the merchants just went through their line-by-line items. So we -- it is a wait and see. We think that we're going to see traction throughout the year to drive the comp and the improved unit decline and reverse its course. So we've put out based on what we know now to be a model of the low to mid-digit comps, and the most important thing is at that higher margin price point. So we think there's -- as we see, if the items start flowing in faster than what we want, then yes, we believe that then there could be some higher sales.

是的。我們是——我會在幾個項目上把它扔給凱文。但總的來說，我們剛剛完成，商家只是逐行瀏覽了他們的項目。所以我們 - 這是一個觀望。我們認為我們將在全年看到牽引力來推動競爭和改進的單位下降並扭轉其進程。因此，我們根據我們現在所知道的中低位數組合模型推出了產品，最重要的是在更高的利潤率價格點。所以我們認為 - 正如我們所看到的，如果商品開始流入的速度比我們想要的要快，那麼是的，我們相信那時可能會有更高的銷售額。

Yes. I think as we look at it, as we've talked about some of the things, the bigger headwinds, obviously, labor is a big one. At the end of the day, with the continued investments that we continue to make and the workforce, and so I think we have to think about that. But I think, again, as Mike has said many times, as this assortment changes, it does give us the opportunity to potentially, hopefully, outperform this guidance at the end of the day. But I don't know that it makes sense to go beyond where we're at, at this point, to Mike's point, given the fact that we've just got all the stores converted.

是的。我認為，當我們看到它時，正如我們已經談到了一些事情，更大的阻力，顯然，勞動力是一個很大的阻力。歸根結底，隨著我們繼續進行的持續投資和勞動力，我認為我們必須考慮這一點。但我認為，正如邁克多次說過的那樣，隨著這種分類的變化，它確實給了我們機會，有希望地在一天結束時超越這個指導。但我不知道在這一點上超越我們所處的位置是否有意義，因為我們剛剛完成了所有商店的轉換。

It's been somewhat lumpy from a business standpoint given the January time frame and with Omicron and weather between January and February. So there's a lot of different things as -- so I think Mike's statement about getting into the first quarter, and hopefully, all of this all kind of settles out, it will give us a much better read and give us, obviously, the data that we'll be able to speak to and make changes if changes are warranted.

考慮到 1 月的時間框架以及 Omicron 和 1 月至 2 月之間的天氣，從商業角度來看，這有點不穩定。所以有很多不同的事情——所以我認為邁克關於進入第一季度的聲明，希望所有這一切都能解決，它會給我們一個更好的閱讀，顯然，給我們數據如果需要更改，我們將能夠與之交談並進行更改。

Yes. And I would just reiterate, this is a trend. Moving beyond the $1 price point enable us to unlock our assortment and really deliver a 38% improvement in our EPS. And for long term, the way I think about it, it continues to move beyond that. And then we're bringing in 1,500 more Dollar Tree Pluses and growing that year after year going forward and how that's going to leverage our sales and productivity of our stores and margin dollars.

是的。我只想重申，這是一種趨勢。超越 1 美元的價格點使我們能夠解鎖我們的產品類別，並真正實現每股收益 38% 的提升。從長遠來看，按照我的想法，它會繼續超越這一點。然後我們將帶來 1,500 多個 Dollar Tree Plus，並在未來年復一年地增長，這將如何利用我們商店的銷售額和生產力以及利潤。

And then when you look at our Combo Stores on the Family Dollar side and getting 400 of those going, all of our initiatives will keep driving our top line at a better margin rate and enhance the EPS as we go forward, not only this year but in the years to come.

然後，當您查看我們在 Family Dollar 方面的組合商店並獲得 400 家商店時，我們所有的舉措都將繼續以更高的利潤率推動我們的收入，並在我們前進的過程中提高每股收益，不僅是今年，而且在未來幾年。

And we will now take our final question from Michael Montani of Evercore.

我們現在將向 Evercore 的 Michael Montani 提出最後一個問題。

I just wanted to ask on the inventory side, if you could help us to understand what is the build there in terms of units versus pricing given some of the accounting and how we can get comfortable with that relative to sales. And then I just had a follow-up question.

我只是想在庫存方面問一下，您是否可以幫助我們了解在某些會計方面的單位與定價方面的構建情況，以及我們如何才能適應與銷售相關的情況。然後我有一個後續問題。

Yes. I think if you look at inventory, obviously, the number, they sound like big increases. You got to remember that -- a couple of things. One, there's more -- we've been -- we've had a backlog trying to get inventory moved for some time now. We still have a backlog of inventory. It's taking longer to get goods from Asia through the ports and into our distribution centers. So there's an element of the goods on the water being higher that are just because of the fact that it's taking -- instead of being 30 to 40 days, it's now 50 to 60 days to get goods from one place to the other.

是的。我認為，如果您看一下庫存，顯然，數字聽起來像是大幅增加。你必須記住——幾件事。一，還有更多——我們一直在——我們已經積壓了一段時間，試圖移動庫存。我們仍有積壓的庫存。從亞洲通過港口進入我們的配送中心需要更長的時間。因此，水上貨物的一個因素是更高的，這僅僅是因為它需要花費 - 而不是 30 到 40 天，現在從一個地方到另一個地方需要 50 到 60 天。

I think the other side of it is, as I spoke to, is the freight rates that we've talked about all this past year, the additional $600 million of freight, a large -- obviously, that gets capitalized into inventory and doesn't come through the P&L until you sell those goods. So there's a large portion of freight costs that are also part of this build. And what you got to remember is Dollar Tree import's significantly more than Family Dollar, so that's why the Dollar Tree side of it is higher.

我認為另一方面是，正如我所說的那樣，我們在過去一年中一直在談論的運費，額外的 6 億美元運費，很明顯，被資本化為庫存並且沒有在您出售這些商品之前，不要通過損益表。因此，運輸成本的很大一部分也是此構建的一部分。你要記住的是，美元樹進口的價值遠遠超過家庭美元，所以這就是美元樹的一面更高的原因。

We feel very good about our inventory position. I mean, obviously, I would tell you that our merchants would like to have more goods than they have right now. In certain categories in particular, it's -- but -- so we feel very good about where we're at from an inventory perspective. And I think if we compared it probably to 2 or 3 years ago -- probably 3 years ago, it would probably look pretty reasonable if we looked at it on a store basis.

我們對我們的庫存狀況感覺非常好。我的意思是，很明顯，我會告訴你，我們的商人希望擁有比現在更多的商品。特別是在某些類別中，它是 - 但是 - 所以我們從庫存的角度對我們所處的位置感覺非常好。而且我認為，如果我們將其與 2 或 3 年前進行比較 - 可能是 3 年前，如果我們從商店的角度來看，它可能看起來很合理。

Okay. And then just a follow-up on the ticket, if I could, for Family Dollar. If I heard correctly, that was up, I think, 4.8%. So can you just give some color there in terms of like units per transaction versus inflation and mix?

好的。然後，如果可以的話，只是對 Family Dollar 的票進行跟進。如果我沒聽錯的話，我認為上漲了 4.8%。那麼，您能否在每筆交易的類似單位與通貨膨脹和混合方面給出一些顏色？

Yes. I think as you look at it, I think there is some, obviously, inflation in that number. And I don't have it broken out, but I would guess it's probably about half of that number potentially, maybe about 2% as we look at the price increases that have been incurred over the last 12 months in particular. So that's probably about where it falls out.

是的。我認為當你看到它時，我認為這個數字顯然存在一些通貨膨脹。而且我沒有打破它，但我猜它可能是這個數字的一半左右，可能是大約 2%，因為我們特別關注過去 12 個月內發生的價格上漲。所以這可能是它失敗的地方。

I would now like to turn the call back to Mr. Guiler for any additional or closing remarks.

我現在想將電話轉回給 Guiler 先生，以獲取任何補充或結束語。

Thank you, Ashley. Thank you for joining us for today's call. Our next earnings conference call to discuss Q1 results is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 26, 2022. Have a good day.

謝謝你，阿什利。感謝您加入我們今天的電話會議。我們下一次討論第一季度業績的收益電話會議暫定於 2022 年 5 月 26 日星期四舉行。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you. That now concludes the call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝你。現在結束通話。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。