European Wax Center Inc (EWCZ) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the European Wax Center's Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2022 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions)

早上好，女士們，先生們，感謝你們的支持。歡迎來到歐洲蠟像中心的 2022 財年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）

At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Bethany Johns, Director of Investor Relations. Ma'am, you may begin.

此時，我想將會議轉交給投資者關係總監 Bethany Johns。女士，您可以開始了。

Thank you and welcome to European Wax Center's Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2022 Earnings Call. With me today are David Berg, Chief Executive Officer; and David Willis, Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer. For today's call David Berg will begin with a brief review of our fourth quarter and full year performance and discuss our priorities for fiscal 2023. Then David Willis will provide additional details regarding our fiscal 2022 financial performance and our fiscal '23 outlook. Following the prepared remarks, David Berg and David Willis will be available to take questions.

謝謝，歡迎來到歐洲蠟中心的 2022 財年第四季度收益電話會議。今天和我在一起的是首席執行官 David Berg；首席財務官兼首席運營官 David Willis。在今天的電話會議上，David Berg 將首先簡要回顧我們第四季度和全年的業績，並討論我們 2023 財年的優先事項。然後 David Willis 將提供有關我們 2022 財年財務業績和 23 財年展望的更多詳細信息。在準備好的發言之後，David Berg 和 David Willis 將可以回答問題。

Before we start, I would like to remind you of our legal disclaimer. We will make certain statements today which are forward-looking within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements about the outlook of our business and other matters referenced in our earnings call and earnings release issued today. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to our SEC filings as well as our earnings release issued today for a more detailed description of the risk factors that may affect our results.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您我們的法律免責聲明。我們今天將發表某些符合聯邦證券法含義的前瞻性聲明，包括有關我們業務前景的聲明以及我們今天發布的財報電話會議和財報發布中提及的其他事項。這些前瞻性陳述涉及許多可能導致實際結果大不相同的風險和不確定性。請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件以及我們今天發布的收益報告，以更詳細地描述可能影響我們業績的風險因素。

Please also note that these forward-looking statements reflect our opinions only as of the date of this call. And we take no obligation to revise our publicly released results of any revision to our forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events. Also, during this call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which is just our GAAP results to eliminate the impact of certain items.

另請注意，這些前瞻性陳述僅反映我們截至本次電話會議之日的觀點。我們沒有義務根據新信息或未來事件修改我們公開發布的前瞻性陳述的任何修訂結果。此外，在這次電話會議中，我們將討論非 GAAP 財務措施，這只是我們的 GAAP 結果，以消除某些項目的影響。

You will find additional information regarding these non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of these non-GAAP to GAAP measures in our earnings release. A live broadcast of this call is also available on the Investor Relations section of our website at investors.waxcenter.com. I will now turn the call over to David Berg.

您將在我們的收益發布中找到有關這些非 GAAP 財務措施的更多信息以及這些非 GAAP 與 GAAP 措施的調節。我們網站 investors.waxcenter.com 的投資者關係部分也提供此次電話會議的現場直播。我現在將把電話轉給 David Berg。

Thank you, Bethany and good morning everyone. Thank you for joining the call today. We are incredibly pleased to deliver a strong Q4 performance and equally strong fiscal year. We continue to believe it's important that our sales and dues match and we delivered record top and bottom line results in line with the annual guidance we gave at the beginning of last year, despite a significant change in the consumer landscape during 2022, generating $899 million in system-wide sales and $71.6 million in adjusted EBITDA representing 13% and 12% growth respectively.

謝謝你，Bethany，大家早上好。感謝您今天加入電話會議。我們非常高興能夠提供強勁的第四季度業績和同樣強勁的財政年度。我們仍然認為，儘管 2022 年消費者格局發生了重大變化，但我們的銷售額和會費保持一致很重要，我們根據去年年初給出的年度指導，實現了創紀錄的頂線和底線業績，產生了 8.99 億美元全系統銷售額和調整後 EBITDA 為 7160 萬美元，分別增長 13% 和 12%。

The European Wax Center business model remains consistent. Our performance is anchored by the recurring nature of hair growth and our strong relationships with guests who continue to prioritize our personal care routines and our clean hygienic centers with a predictable, efficient and professional service that only our highly trained wax specialists can provide.

歐洲蠟像中心的商業模式保持一致。我們的業績取決於頭髮生長的周期性以及我們與客人的牢固關係，他們繼續優先考慮我們的個人護理程序和我們乾淨的衛生中心，提供只有我們訓練有素的蠟專家才能提供的可預測、高效和專業的服務。

I would like to thank our associates and our franchisee partners for driving our continued success in 2022 and for their steadfast commitment to living our values each and every day. We were recently certified by Great Places to Work, a recognition we share proudly with our team members. Thanks for their efforts, we've extended our leadership position in this highly fragmented out-of-home waxing category that European Wax Center created nearly 20 years ago.

我要感謝我們的員工和特許經營合作夥伴推動我們在 2022 年繼續取得成功，並感謝他們每天堅定地致力於踐行我們的價值觀。我們最近獲得了 Great Places to Work 的認證，我們自豪地與我們的團隊成員分享這一認可。感謝他們的努力，我們已經擴大了我們在歐洲蠟像中心近 20 年前創建的高度分散的戶外上蠟類別中的領導地位。

Let me give a quick recap on 2022. Throughout last year, I updated you on the progress we made against some of our 2022 priorities. First, we grew our pipeline of current and future wax specialists, planting the seeds that will support both existing centers and new center openings in the future. Second, we leveraged our scale to support our network by mitigating or offsetting much of their supply chain cost headwinds.

讓我快速回顧一下 2022 年。在去年，我向您介紹了我們在 2022 年的一些優先事項方面取得的進展。首先，我們發展了現有和未來蠟專家的管道，播下了支持現有中心和未來新中心開放的種子。其次，我們利用我們的規模通過減輕或抵消他們供應鏈成本的大部分不利因素來支持我們的網絡。

Third, we optimized our capital structure through a whole business securitization and returned approximately $220 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Fourth, we implemented an enterprise data warehouse that will serve as the backbone for enhanced marketing outreach to drive incremental engagement from our guests. And finally and most importantly, we delivered on both of our key growth vectors, unit growth and in-center sales growth. We generated over 10% new center growth and ended the year with our deepest pipeline ever. We also grew system-wide sales by 13% and same-store sales by 10.4%.

第三，我們通過整體業務證券化優化了我們的資本結構，並通過股息和回購向股東返還了約 2.2 億美元。第四，我們實施了一個企業數據倉庫，作為加強營銷推廣的支柱，以推動客人的增量參與。最後也是最重要的是，我們實現了我們的兩個關鍵增長向量、單位增長和中心銷售增長。我們創造了超過 10% 的新中心增長，並以我們有史以來最深的管道結束了這一年。我們的全系統銷售額也增長了 13%，同店銷售額增長了 10.4%。

Let me spend a minute and talk about the health of our guests. In 2022, our guests demonstrated their commitment to their waxing routines despite a difficult year for the consumer at large. Our highly trained wax specialists performed over 22 million services last year for more than 3.5 million people. We continue to attract new guests to the brand, converting them into repeat guests and ultimately into Wax Pass guests.

讓我花一分鐘時間談談客人的健康狀況。 2022 年，儘管對廣大消費者來說是艱難的一年，但我們的客人還是展示了他們對打蠟程序的承諾。我們訓練有素的蠟專家去年為超過 350 萬人提供了超過 2200 萬次服務。我們繼續為品牌吸引新客人，將他們轉化為回頭客，並最終成為 Wax Pass 客人。

Our Wax Pass program engenders brand loyalty with Wax Pass sales representing commitments to the brand that generate predictable visit frequency. Wax Pass holders represent nearly 40% of total guests and generate 2/3 of our annual visits and system-wide sales dollars.

我們的 Wax Pass 計劃通過 Wax Pass 銷售代表對品牌的承諾來產生品牌忠誠度，從而產生可預測的訪問頻率。 Wax Pass 持有人佔客人總數的近 40%，占我們年度訪問量和全系統銷售額的 2/3。

Compared to 2021, these guests have increased their frequency to nearly 7.5 visits per year, more than double the frequency and annual spend of our episodic non-Wax passholders. Wax Pass adoption remained robust in 2022 with 16% growth in Wax Pass sales during our customary Q4 promo period.

與 2021 年相比，這些客人的訪問頻率增加到每年近 7.5 次，是我們偶發性非 Wax 通行證持有人的頻率和年度支出的兩倍多。 Wax Pass 的採用在 2022 年保持強勁，在我們慣常的第四季度促銷期間，Wax Pass 的銷售額增長了 16%。

The bottom line is that our most loyal guests are driving the majority of our network sales and have not changed their waxing routines, demonstrating that they continue to view our services as non-discretionary even in a highly inflationary environment. We believe there is a continued opportunity to drive new guests to the brand and further engage existing guests. And I'll touch on those strategies in a few minutes.

最重要的是，我們最忠實的客人正在推動我們的大部分網絡銷售，並且沒有改變他們的打蠟程序，這表明即使在高度通脹的環境中，他們仍然認為我們的服務是非自由裁量權的。我們相信，有機會繼續吸引新客人加入該品牌並進一步吸引現有客人。我將在幾分鐘內介紹這些策略。

Overall, we are pleased with how our core guests is engaging with the brand and David Willis will cover shortly in our 2023 outlook, we expect mature center transaction trends remain consistent with the second half of 2022. That stability and the loyalty of our Wax Pass guests have continued into 2023 and our key assumptions and our outlook for this year.

總體而言，我們對我們的核心客人與該品牌的互動方式感到滿意，David Willis 將在不久的將來介紹我們的 2023 年展望，我們預計成熟中心的交易趨勢將與 2022 年下半年保持一致。我們 Wax Pass 的穩定性和忠誠度客人一直持續到 2023 年以及我們對今年的主要假設和展望。

Before I dive into our priorities for 2023, let me remind you where we fit into the highly fragmented hair removal landscape. European Wax Center created a category for professionalized out-of-home waxing. We are 6x larger than our closest branded competitor in unit count and 11x larger by system-wide sales.

在我深入探討 2023 年的優先事項之前，讓我提醒您，我們在高度分散的脫毛領域中處於什麼位置。歐洲蠟中心創建了一個專業的戶外脫蠟類別。我們在單位數量上比我們最接近的品牌競爭對手大 6 倍，在全系統銷售額上比我們大 11 倍。

Today, we remain the only nationwide brand in this space and we will continue to leverage our scale to extend our leadership position. We deliver a trusted service to our guests by providing a consistent, elevated experience through our highly trained wax specialists, our unparalleled hygiene protocols and our proprietary comfort wax. These differentiators in our operating model keep guests coming back to European Wax Center on a recurring basis.

今天，我們仍然是該領域唯一的全國性品牌，我們將繼續利用我們的規模來擴大我們的領導地位。我們通過訓練有素的蠟專家、無與倫比的衛生規程和專有的舒適蠟提供始終如一的優質體驗，為客人提供值得信賴的服務。我們運營模式中的這些差異化因素讓客人經常回到歐洲蠟像中心。

As we expand, we continue to penetrate a growing $18 billion addressable market and feel confident we are capturing our fair share of it. Despite our dominance, we have yet to reach 1/3 of our unit growth potential. We have significant whitespace for our continued expansion on our expected path for more than 3,000 locations in the U.S. Our franchisees are investing their own capital to develop this whitespace. In fact, 99% of our new centers in 2022 were opened by existing franchisees.

隨著我們的擴張，我們繼續滲透到一個不斷增長的 180 億美元的潛在市場，並且有信心我們正在抓住我們公平的份額。儘管我們佔據主導地位，但我們尚未達到單位增長潛力的 1/3。我們在美國 3,000 多個地點的預期路徑上繼續擴張有很大的空白。我們的特許經營商正在投資自己的資金來開發這個空白。事實上，我們 2022 年 99% 的新中心都是由現有加盟商開設的。

Our significant market opportunity is the foundation for our 2 growth vectors. First, expanding our footprint through new center growth and second driving in-center sales, which benefits both system-wide and same-store sales growth. I'll start with our unit growth vector. At over 400 licenses, our new center pipeline is the deepest in our brand's history. We delivered more than 10% unit growth year-over-year in 2022 and expect to deliver another 10% growth rate in 2023.

我們重要的市場機會是我們 2 個增長向量的基礎。首先，通過新中心的增長擴大我們的足跡，其次推動中心內的銷售，這有利於全系統和同店銷售的增長。我將從我們的單位增長向量開始。我們的新中心管道擁有 400 多個許可，是我們品牌歷史上最深的管道。我們在 2022 年實現了超過 10% 的同比增長，並預計在 2023 年再實現 10% 的增長率。

Nearly all of our 2023 openings will be located in existing markets with a focus on California, Texas, Florida, Illinois and Georgia. As of today's call, 2/3 of our targeted 95 to 100 new centers are already opened or under construction. Our franchisees are well-capitalized, coupled with a modest cost to build elevated interest rates have not impacted their appetite for expansion. Franchisee demand, especially among growth partners and multi-unit developers remains robust.

我們 2023 年幾乎所有的空缺職位都將位於現有市場，重點是加利福尼亞州、德克薩斯州、佛羅里達州、伊利諾伊州和佐治亞州。截至今天的電話會議，我們的目標 95 到 100 個新中心中有 2/3 已經開業或正在建設中。我們的特許經營商資本充足，再加上建立高利率的適度成本並未影響他們擴張的意願。特許經營需求，尤其是成長型合作夥伴和多單元開發商之間的需求依然強勁。

To support new centers, we will build on the momentum generated in 2022 by continuing to refine tools to help our franchisees recruit and optimize their wax specialist pipeline and enhance our already best-in-class unit economics. Our average center generates nearly $500,000 in sales in its first year of operations and nearly $800,000 in year 2. It breaks even in month 14 and reaches maturity in year 5, generating $1.1 million in sales with over 60% cash on cash returns. Make no mistake, these returns are already phenomenal. But we plan to put even more rigor around the preopening playbook for new centers to drive faster breakeven sales.

為了支持新中心，我們將在 2022 年產生的勢頭的基礎上繼續改進工具，幫助我們的加盟商招募和優化他們的蠟專家管道，並提高我們已經一流的單位經濟效益。我們的平均中心在運營的第一年產生近 500,000 美元的銷售額，第二年產生近 800,000 美元的銷售額。它在第 14 個月收支平衡，並在第 5 年達到收支平衡，產生 110 萬美元的銷售額，現金回報率超過 60%。別搞錯了，這些回報已經很驚人了。但我們計劃在新中心開業前的劇本上更加嚴格，以推動更快的盈虧平衡銷售。

Our most recent cohorts are opening at higher initial volumes than our historical average. We plan to leverage their best practices with a network to drive more momentum. We also recently launched enhanced reporting that enables better access to real time performance analytics. Ultimately, strong unit economics translate to a growing licensed pipeline to support our long-term unit growth targets. Existing franchisees make up more than 90% of our pipeline. Our smaller operators who opened almost half of our 2022 new centers are the backbone of our brand and continue to be critical to our success.

我們最近的隊列以高於歷史平均水平的初始量開放。我們計劃通過網絡利用他們的最佳實踐來推動更多動力。我們最近還推出了增強型報告，可以更好地訪問實時性能分析。最終，強大的單位經濟效益轉化為不斷增長的許可管道，以支持我們的長期單位增長目標。現有加盟商占我們渠道的 90% 以上。我們 2022 年開設了近一半新中心的小型運營商是我們品牌的支柱，並將繼續對我們的成功至關重要。

We continue to have growing interest from our institutional growth partners who represent 40% of existing centers, but 70% of our future pipeline. Both of these groups continue to demonstrate their steadfast commitment to our long-term growth. Turning to our second growth vector, driving in-center sales growth, which benefits both system-wide and same-store sales growth.

我們的機構增長合作夥伴對我們的興趣持續增長，他們佔現有中心的 40%，但占我們未來管道的 70%。這兩個集團繼續展示他們對我們長期增長的堅定承諾。轉向我們的第二個增長向量，推動中心銷售增長，這有利於全系統和同店銷售增長。

We are excited to drive even deeper engagement with our guests this year through our 3-pillared attract more, buy more and visit more strategy. The attract more pillar is focused on attracting new guests to European Wax Center. First, we are helping our network optimize our local marketing spend by increasing the number of regions in key states. By working together in regions, centers reduce the cost of acquiring new guests by more than 20%. Second, we recently engaged a new creative agency recognized in 2022 as the small ad agency of the year to enhance our creative assets and campaigns that reinforce EWC as the category killer in the space.

今年，我們很高興通過我們的 3 支柱“吸引更多、購買更多和訪問更多”戰略推動與客人更深入的互動。吸引更多支柱專注於吸引新客人到歐洲蠟像中心。首先，我們正在通過增加關鍵州的地區數量來幫助我們的網絡優化我們的本地營銷支出。通過區域合作，中心將獲得新客人的成本降低了 20% 以上。其次，我們最近聘請了一家新的創意機構，該機構在 2022 年被評為年度小型廣告機構，以增強我們的創意資產和活動，從而鞏固 EWC 作為該領域類別殺手的地位。

In Q2, we will launch a new campaign that celebrates inclusivity, reinforces our brand differentiators and projects irresistible competence for everyone. And lastly, because our retention rates remain strong, we will shift more of our digital media spend to early 2023 to attract new guests sooner and retain them all year long. We are pleased with the traction that we've seen thus far from our first quarter spend.

在第二季度，我們將推出一項慶祝包容性的新活動，加強我們的品牌差異化，並為每個人展示不可抗拒的能力。最後，由於我們的保留率仍然很高，我們將把更多的數字媒體支出轉移到 2023 年初，以更快地吸引新客人並全年留住他們。到目前為止，我們對第一季度支出的牽引力感到滿意。

Our second pillar, buy more, focuses on increasing the average ticket in centers. We will roll out strategic service recommendations in 2023 from both online booking and our app suggesting incremental services for guests to seamlessly add to their reservations. We are also elevating our retail strategy for 2023. It's better informed by guest behavior and seasonal considerations would focus limited time offers that sell out and drive product attachment.

我們的第二個支柱，購買更多，專注於增加中心的平均票價。我們將在 2023 年從在線預訂和我們的應用程序中推出戰略服務建議，為客人建議增量服務以無縫添加到他們的預訂中。我們還提升了 2023 年的零售戰略。它更好地了解客人的行為和季節性因素，將重點關注限時優惠，以售罄並推動產品依戀。

As a reminder, sales of retail products are a small piece of system-wide sales, but represent a larger portion of our product revenue as a franchisor. We believe both of these initiatives will work together to increase average dollars per ticket this year.

提醒一下，零售產品的銷售額只是整個系統銷售額的一小部分，但作為特許人，它占我們產品收入的很大一部分。我們相信這兩項舉措將共同努力，以增加今年每張機票的平均金額。

Our third pillar visit more is designed to increase frequency among our existing guests. Our network facing contest in 2022 successfully generated higher rebooking rates in-center which translates to more visits per guest per year, so we will carry on that initiative in 2023. We have also invested in resources to develop an integrated multichannel customer journey later this year, enabled by our enterprise data warehouse that we established in 2022. Our data and technology enhancements will enable us to leverage our enhanced CRM capabilities to deliver the right message to the right guest at the right time via the right platform.

我們的第三個支柱 visit more 旨在增加現有客人的頻率。我們在 2022 年面向網絡的競賽成功地產生了更高的中心重新預訂率，這轉化為每位客人每年更多的訪問量，因此我們將在 2023 年繼續該計劃。我們還投資了資源，以在今年晚些時候開發集成的多渠道客戶旅程，由我們於 2022 年建立的企業數據倉庫提供支持。我們的數據和技術改進將使我們能夠利用我們增強的 CRM 功能，在正確的時間通過正確的平台向正確的客戶傳遞正確的信息。

We kicked off this effort by rolling out SMS messaging capabilities a few weeks ago. We believe our CRM efforts will be the most effective driver of incremental guests behavior, especially amongst more episodic guests that presents the biggest opportunity. Our fragmented competitive set simply cannot make these types of investments and it gives us the opportunity to continue to take market share.

幾週前，我們通過推出 SMS 消息傳遞功能開始了這項工作。我們相信，我們的 CRM 工作將成為增加客人行為的最有效驅動力，尤其是在提供最大機會的更多偶發客人中。我們分散的競爭組合根本無法進行這些類型的投資，這讓我們有機會繼續佔據市場份額。

Lastly, we have refined and optimized our loyalty program for 2023 to reward the desired behaviors we seek, specifically maximizing re-bookings and referrals while minimizing the financial cost to the network. While EWC Rewards is a great tool, we recognize that our Wax Pass program is our most powerful loyalty driver and the leading indicator of future visits to our centers.

最後，我們改進和優化了 2023 年的忠誠度計劃，以獎勵我們尋求的理想行為，特別是最大限度地提高重新預訂和推薦，同時最大限度地降低網絡的財務成本。雖然 EWC 獎勵是一個很好的工具，但我們認識到我們的 Wax Pass 計劃是我們最強大的忠誠度驅動因素，也是未來訪問我們中心的領先指標。

As we execute on our attract more, buy more and visit more initiatives, we expect to attract new guests to the brand, convert them into repeat guests and drive valuable Wax Pass adoption. We expect these efforts coupled with our strong unit growth to drive 7% to 10% top line growth in 2023. And from a long term standpoint, our expanding network footprint drives continued revenue growth for us as a franchisor and gives us the ability to leverage our fixed cost profile, delivering margin expansion and generating significant cash flow. Over time, this translates to significant value creation for European Wax Center's franchisees and our shareholders.

隨著我們執行吸引更多、購買更多和訪問更多的計劃，我們希望吸引新客人加入該品牌，將他們轉化為回頭客，並推動有價值的 Wax Pass 採用。我們預計這些努力加上我們強勁的單位增長將在 2023 年推動 7% 至 10% 的收入增長。從長期的角度來看，我們不斷擴大的網絡足跡推動我們作為特許人的收入持續增長，並使我們能夠利用我們的固定成本概況，實現利潤率擴張並產生可觀的現金流。隨著時間的推移，這將為歐洲蠟像中心的特許經營商和我們的股東創造巨大的價值。

Before I hand it over to David Willis, our CFO and COO, I want to highlight the executive leadership changes we announced earlier this morning, which reflects our commitment to building a strong bench of leaders that will continue to execute on our growth strategy and propel European Wax Center forward. We have appointed Stacie Shirley as our next Chief Financial Officer and she will begin her role effective March 27.

在我將其交給我們的首席財務官兼首席運營官大衛威利斯之前，我想強調一下我們今天上午早些時候宣布的行政領導層變動，這反映了我們致力於建立一支強大的領導層，這些領導層將繼續執行我們的增長戰略並推動歐洲蠟像中心前鋒。我們已任命 Stacie Shirley 為我們的下一任首席財務官，她將於 3 月 27 日上任。

Stacie will succeed David, who has been promoted to President of the company. David, Stacie and I will work closely together over the next few months to ensure a seamless transition. We are thrilled to welcome Stacie as our next CFO. She is a proven leader with over 20 years of consumer industry and franchise expertise and she brings a unique understanding of our business and the guests we serve. The Board and I have complete confidence in her and I look forward to introducing her to many of you soon.

Stacie 將接替已晉升為公司總裁的 David。 David、Stacie 和我將在接下來的幾個月內密切合作，以確保無縫過渡。我們很高興歡迎 Stacie 成為我們的下一任首席財務官。她是一位公認的領導者，擁有超過 20 年的消費行業和特許經營專業知識，她對我們的業務和我們所服務的客人有著獨特的理解。董事會和我對她充滿信心，我期待很快將她介紹給你們中的許多人。

David, on behalf of the entire European Wax Center family, we thank you for your invaluable contributions to the success of our business and the execution of our financial objectives while wearing both CFO and COO hats. You stepped back into this role last year and have done a tremendous job steering us through our first full year as a public company. We have incredible confidence in you as President to execute on our growth strategy and further expand our footprint as a category leader in out-of-home waxing and I look forward to our continued partnership.

大衛，我們代表整個歐洲蠟像中心大家庭，感謝您在擔任首席財務官和首席運營官的同時，為我們業務的成功和財務目標的執行做出的寶貴貢獻。您去年重新擔任這一職務，並在指導我們度過上市公司的第一個完整年度方面做出了巨大貢獻。我們對您作為總裁執行我們的增長戰略並進一步擴大我們作為戶外打蠟領域領導者的足跡充滿信心，我期待著我們繼續合作。

With that I'd like to turn the call over you, David, to review our financial performance and our guidance details for fiscal 2023.

有了這個，我想把電話轉給你，大衛，審查我們的財務業績和我們 2023 財年的指導細節。

Thanks, David and good morning, everyone. I'd also like to offer Stacie a warm welcome to the European Wax Center family. I look forward to working closely with her in the coming months and I'm confident that her experience and leadership will deliver substantial value to all of our stakeholders.

謝謝，大衛，大家早上好。我還要熱烈歡迎 Stacie 加入歐洲蠟像中心大家庭。我期待在未來幾個月與她密切合作，我相信她的經驗和領導能力將為我們所有的利益相關者帶來巨大的價值。

Before I begin my remarks, I'd like to remind everyone that in some instances, I will speak to adjusted metrics on this call. You can find reconciliation tables to the most comparable GAAP figures in our press release in 8k filed with the SEC today.

在我開始發言之前，我想提醒大家，在某些情況下，我會在這次電話會議上談到調整後的指標。您可以在我們今天向美國證券交易委員會提交的 8k 新聞稿中找到與最具可比性的 GAAP 數據的調節表。

Turning to our financial performance. As David mentioned, we delivered solid results ahead of our expectations, thanks in part to strong Wax Pass sales in the quarter. Q4 system-wide sales increased 11.6% to $225.4 million and total revenue increased 18.7% to $53.5 million.

轉向我們的財務業績。正如大衛所提到的，我們取得了超出預期的穩健業績，部分原因是本季度 Wax Pass 的強勁銷售。第 4 季度全系統銷售額增長 11.6% 至 2.254 億美元，總收入增長 18.7% 至 5350 萬美元。

Top line growth was a result of unit expansion, including 33 net new centers during the quarter, coupled with a strong 6.3% same-store sales increase driven by all cohorts, including mature centers. Total revenue growth exceeded system-wide sales growth due to the medical supply arrangement with franchisees that began early in 2022, which generated approximately $12 million in total revenue for European Wax Center on an annualized basis.

收入增長是單位擴張的結果，包括本季度 33 個淨新中心，以及包括成熟中心在內的所有隊列推動的同店銷售額強勁增長 6.3%。由於與特許經營商的醫療供應安排於 2022 年初開始，總收入增長超過了全系統的銷售增長，按年計算，這為歐洲蠟像中心帶來了約 1200 萬美元的總收入。

As we've shared before, this arrangement optimizes the procurement process for our network. And while it was approximately 220 basis points diluted to gross margin rates in 2022, it is accretive to gross margin dollars. From a profit standpoint, Q4 adjusted EBITDA increased 25.9% to $19.2 million. Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA margins increased 210 basis points to 35.9%, primarily driven by SG&A leverage on top line growth and a favorable shift in the timing of advertising expense year-over-year. Adjusted net income grew from $8.5 million in Q4 of 2021 to $48.7 million in Q4 2022.

正如我們之前分享的那樣，這種安排優化了我們網絡的採購流程。雖然到 2022 年毛利率被稀釋了大約 220 個基點，但它增加了毛利率美元。從利潤的角度來看，第四季度調整後的 EBITDA 增長了 25.9% 至 1,920 萬美元。第四季度調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率增長了 210 個基點，達到 35.9%，這主要是由於 SG&A 對收入增長的槓桿作用以及廣告支出時間同比發生的有利轉變。調整後的淨收入從 2021 年第四季度的 850 萬美元增長到 2022 年第四季度的 4870 萬美元。

Fourth quarter GAAP net income of $2.3 million includes a $55.9 million expense related to the remeasurement of our tax receivable agreement liability and a $53.3 million income tax benefit triggered from the release of a valuation allowance on our related deferred tax assets. For the full year, we opened 91 net new centers, representing 10.7% unit growth, once again exceeding our long-term high-single-digit growth target. System-wide sales increased 12.8% to $898.6 million and total revenue increased 16% to $207.4 million. Same-store sales increased 10.4%, driven by both the price increase our franchisees implemented in Q1 of 2022 and by transaction growth across all center cohorts.

第四季度 GAAP 淨收入為 230 萬美元，其中包括與重新衡量我們的應收稅協議負債相關的 5590 萬美元費用，以及因釋放相關遞延稅資產的估值備抵而產生的 5330 萬美元所得稅收益。全年，我們淨開設了 91 個新中心，單位增長率為 10.7%，再次超過了我們長期的高個位數增長目標。全系統銷售額增長 12.8% 至 8.986 億美元，總收入增長 16% 至 2.074 億美元。同店銷售額增長 10.4%，這得益於我們的加盟商在 2022 年第一季度實施的價格上漲以及所有中心隊列的交易增長。

Adjusted EBITDA was $71.6 million, up 11.7% from $64.1 million in fiscal 2021. Adjusted EBITDA margins decreased 140 basis points year-over-year to 34.5%, primarily due to public company costs in the new medical supply arrangement, partially offset by operating expense leverage from top line growth. Full year interest expense increased to $23.6 million from $20.3 million in 2021 as a result of our whole business securitization that closed in April of last year, which locks in a fixed 5.5% rate on all of our long-term debt.

調整後的 EBITDA 為 7160 萬美元，比 2021 財年的 6410 萬美元增長 11.7%。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率同比下降 140 個基點至 34.5%，這主要是由於新醫療供應安排中的上市公司成本，部分被運營費用抵消頂線增長的槓桿作用。全年利息支出從 2021 年的 2030 萬美元增加到 2360 萬美元，這是由於我們於去年 4 月完成的整個業務證券化，鎖定了我們所有長期債務的固定利率 5.5%。

Lastly, adjusted net income grew to $71.5 million in 2022 from $29.7 million in 2021, while GAAP net income increased to $13.6 million from $4 million the prior year. In terms of the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with $44.2 million in cash and $398 million outstanding under our senior secured notes. Our $40 million revolver remains fully undrawn. Net leverage at the end of fiscal 2022 was 4.9x adjusted EBITDA and we expect to delever nearly an additional full turn in 2023 to approximately 4x based on our fiscal guidance that I'll cover shortly. Net cash provided by operating activities was $44.4 million in fiscal '22 compared to only $0.25 million in investing outflows, a signature of our asset-light, capital-light model.

最後，調整後的淨收入從 2021 年的 2970 萬美元增加到 2022 年的 7150 萬美元，而 GAAP 淨收入從上一年的 400 萬美元增加到 1360 萬美元。在資產負債表方面，我們在本季度結束時擁有 4,420 萬美元的現金和 3.98 億美元的優先擔保票據未償付。我們價值 4000 萬美元的左輪手槍仍未完全提取。 2022 財年末的淨槓桿率為調整後 EBITDA 的 4.9 倍，我們預計根據我將在稍後介紹的財政指導，在 2023 年將槓桿率再增加近一倍，達到約 4 倍。 22 財年經營活動提供的淨現金為 4440 萬美元，而投資流出僅為 25 萬美元，這是我們輕資產、輕資本模式的標誌。

We repurchased approximately $10 million of our Class A common stock during the fourth quarter with $30 million remaining under our current authorization. Our industry-leading free cash flow profile gives us continued optionality to deploy cash to the benefit of our model, our network and our shareholders.

我們在第四季度回購了大約 1000 萬美元的 A 類普通股，目前授權還剩餘 3000 萬美元。我們行業領先的自由現金流狀況使我們能夠繼續選擇部署現金，以造福於我們的模式、我們的網絡和我們的股東。

Now turning to our outlook for fiscal 2023. As David mentioned earlier, we plan to deliver more than 10% unit growth once again based on 95 to a 100 net new center openings this year with 45 to 50 expected openings in each half of the year. Our license pipeline is the deepest it's ever been with over 400 centers to be developed, representing unprecedented interest and firm commitments from existing franchisees and growth partners. We feel incredibly confident in our long-term goal of 3,000 European Wax Centers nationwide.

現在轉向我們對 2023 財年的展望。正如大衛之前提到的，我們計劃在今年新開 95 到 100 個新中心的基礎上再次實現 10% 以上的單位增長，預計每半年開張 45 到 50 個.我們的許可管道是有史以來最深的，有 400 多個中心有待開發，代表了現有特許經營商和增長合作夥伴前所未有的興趣和堅定承諾。我們對全國 3,000 個歐洲蠟像中心的長期目標充滿信心。

From a top line standpoint, we expect system-wide sales between $965 million and $990 million and total revenue between $222 million and $229 million, which implies a 7% to 10% growth for both metrics in 2023. We also expect mid-single-digit same-store sales growth. New centers continue to generate a strong maturity curve and their sales ramp in years 2 through 5 will drive our overall comp performance in 2023. In fact, as David mentioned, our recent cohorts are opening at higher average unit volumes than our historical averages.

從收入的角度來看，我們預計全系統銷售額在 9.65 億美元至 9.9 億美元之間，總收入在 2.22 億美元至 2.29 億美元之間，這意味著這兩個指標在 2023 年將增長 7% 至 10%。我們還預計中期單-同店銷售數字增長。新中心繼續產生強勁的成熟度曲線，它們在第 2 年到第 5 年的銷售增長將推動我們 2023 年的整體業績。事實上，正如大衛提到的那樣，我們最近的隊列以高於歷史平均水平的平均單位量開放。

As we shared with you on our last call, mature center transaction volumes have remained stable for the past 2 quarters and continue to remain stable through the first 2 months of 2023. While stable, these trends are slightly below our long-term growth algorithm. Our top line outlook assumes continued transaction stability supported by the unwavering loyalty of our recurring Wax Pass guests. It is important to note that our outlook does not assume any service price increases for 2023.

正如我們在上次電話會議上與您分享的那樣，成熟中心的交易量在過去兩個季度保持穩定，並在 2023 年前兩個月繼續保持穩定。雖然穩定，但這些趨勢略低於我們的長期增長算法。我們的頂線前景假設我們的 Wax Pass 常客堅定不移的忠誠度支持持續的交易穩定性。值得注意的是，我們的展望並未假設 2023 年服務價格會上漲。

We recommended modest price increases to our network in both 2021 and 2022 and we'll continue to analyze and evaluate consumer trends and behavior as we move throughout the year. Our gross margin outlook is approximately 71%, which reflects the wraparound impact of our medical supply arrangement that was implemented in late Q1 of last year. Underlying gross margins are largely stable from 2022. As a reminder, while outbound freight rates continue to remain elevated from historical levels, as a franchisor with scale, we have leveraged with both our suppliers and franchisees to mitigate cost increases and protect gross profit.

我們建議在 2021 年和 2022 年適度提高我們的網絡價格，並且我們將在全年移動時繼續分析和評估消費者趨勢和行為。我們的毛利率前景約為 71%，這反映了我們去年第一季度末實施的醫療供應安排的全面影響。從 2022 年開始，基礎毛利率基本穩定。提醒一下，雖然出境運費繼續保持歷史水平的高位，但作為具有規模的特許經營商，我們已經與我們的供應商和特許經營商一起利用來減輕成本增長並保護毛利潤。

We expect to deliver $77 million to $80 million of adjusted EBITDA, translating to modest margin expansion year-over-year. Our model naturally generates meaningful SG&A expense leverage and we are reinvesting a portion of this in 2023 to support our continued growth in evolution as a public company. First, we have the wraparound impact from associates hired in 2022 to support public company operations and compliance.

我們預計將實現 7700 萬至 8000 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，轉化為同比適度的利潤率增長。我們的模型自然會產生有意義的 SG&A 費用槓桿，我們將在 2023 年將其中的一部分進行再投資，以支持我們作為一家上市公司的持續發展。首先，我們從 2022 年聘用的員工那裡獲得了全面的影響，以支持上市公司的運營和合規性。

Second, we are making key strategic hires in development, field operations and finance to support our growing license pipeline and drive 4-wall profitability over time. And lastly, we are investing in our associates through larger merit increases given the inflationary macro environment. We believe rewarding our associates for their commitment to the brand is the right thing to do and in line with our corporate values.

其次，我們正在開發、現場運營和財務方面進行關鍵的戰略招聘，以支持我們不斷增長的許可渠道，並隨著時間的推移推動 4-wall 的盈利能力。最後，鑑於通貨膨脹的宏觀環境，我們正在通過更大的績效增長來投資於我們的員工。我們相信，獎勵員工對品牌的承諾是正確的做法，也符合我們的企業價值觀。

We are pleased that these investments should strengthen our leadership position over time and we expect to return to meaningful EBITDA margin expansion in fiscal 2024. We expect approximately $28 million of interest expense this year, slightly weighted to Q4 given the 53rd week in 2023. And with the valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets now fully released, we currently believe our 2023 effective tax rate will increase to approximately 18% before discrete items.

我們很高興這些投資會隨著時間的推移加強我們的領導地位，我們預計 EBITDA 利潤率將在 2024 財年恢復有意義的擴張。我們預計今年的利息支出約為 2800 萬美元，考慮到 2023 年第 53 週，略微佔第四季度的權重。和隨著我們遞延所得稅資產的估值準備金現已完全釋放，我們目前認為我們的 2023 年有效稅率將增加到大約 18%（不包括離散項目）。

Given our capital structure, we expect our effective tax rate to increase to the 25% statutory rate over time as pre-IPO shareholders exchanged their Class B shares for Class A shares. Incorporating these interest and tax estimates, we expect adjusted net income between $22 million and $24.5 million.

鑑於我們的資本結構，我們預計隨著 IPO 前股東將其 B 類股換成 A 類股，我們的實際稅率將隨著時間的推移增加到 25% 的法定稅率。結合這些利息和稅收估計，我們預計調整後的淨收入在 2200 萬美元至 2450 萬美元之間。

Before I open the call for Q&A, I'd like to provide some insights on the seasonality of our full year outlook. We expect same-store sales growth to be fairly consistent throughout the year. At a high level, the first half of the year will benefit from last year's service price increase, while the back half of the year will benefit from lapping the modest transaction headwinds we began seeing midway through 2022.

在開始問答之前，我想就我們全年展望的季節性提供一些見解。我們預計全年同店銷售增長將相當穩定。從較高的水平來看，今年上半年將受益於去年的服務價格上漲，而今年下半年將受益於我們在 2022 年中開始看到的適度交易逆風。

From a system-wide sales perspective, we believe that 2023 sales will be slightly more weighted to Q2 and Q4 as compared to prior year with the continued strength of Wax Pass sales generated in those quarters during our regular semiannual promotional periods. In terms of SG&A, we expect the payroll deleverage from the investments I mentioned earlier to be more concentrated in the back half of the year as associates are hired.

從全系統的銷售角度來看，我們認為 2023 年第二季度和第四季度的銷售額將比去年同期略高，因為在我們定期的半年度促銷期間，這些季度的 Wax Pass 銷售持續強勁。在 SG&A 方面，我們預計我之前提到的投資的工資單去槓桿化將更加集中在今年下半年，因為員工被雇傭了。

Additionally, we plan to shift our marketing spend within the year. Our marketing fund approximates 3% of system-wide sales, which means that as we grow our network and top line, our marketing budget expands as well. In 2023, our annual budget is increasing by approximately $2 million. As David alluded to in his opening comments, we plan to spend the vast majority of those incremental dollars in Q1 to attract more new guests to the brand earlier in the year. Therefore, we expect Q1 adjusted EBITDA margins near 30%, increasing to the mid-30%s margin rates for the remainder of the year.

此外，我們計劃在年內調整營銷支出。我們的營銷資金大約佔全系統銷售額的 3%，這意味著隨著我們的網絡和收入的增長，我們的營銷預算也會增加。 2023 年，我們的年度預算將增加約 200 萬美元。正如大衛在開場白中提到的那樣，我們計劃在第一季度花費絕大部分增量資金，以在今年早些時候吸引更多新客人加入該品牌。因此，我們預計第一季度調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率將接近 30%，並在今年剩餘時間內提高至 30% 左右的利潤率。

In summary, we are as confident as ever in the underlying strength of our business model in the predictable recurring visits from our Wax Pass holders. Transaction trends remain solid and franchisees are expanding their portfolios with us, driving continued momentum in unit growth. We are leaning into our marketing and CRM enhancements to attract more new guests to the brand and then drive them to visit more frequently and spend more money with us.

總而言之，我們對 Wax Pass 持有人可預測的重複訪問的商業模式的潛在優勢一如既往地充滿信心。交易趨勢依然穩固，特許經營商正在與我們一起擴大他們的投資組合，推動單位增長的持續勢頭。我們正致力於營銷和 CRM 改進，以吸引更多新客人加入該品牌，然後促使他們更頻繁地訪問我們並在我們這裡消費更多。

We are making investments in the right areas to extend our leadership position as a category killer and creator and as we continue taking share in this growing yet highly fragmented category. We'd now like to open up the call for questions. Operator?

我們正在正確的領域進行投資，以擴大我們作為品類殺手和創造者的領導地位，並繼續在這個不斷增長但高度分散的品類中佔據份額。我們現在想打開問題的電話。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) And our first question comes from Randy Konik from Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Randy Konik。

I wanted to kind of unpack and discuss deeper the repeated commentary around the positive initial volume increases you're seeing from the, I guess, more recent cohorts. Maybe can you give us some perspective on just how much that has changed versus, I guess, years past? And kind of some of the learnings you have on what's driving that would be super helpful as we think about openings in the next few years, which sound like they're going to be opening up at higher rates on year 1. So can we just unpack that a little bit?

我想更深入地討論圍繞你從最近的隊列中看到的積極的初始數量增加的重複評論。也許你能給我們一些觀點，看看與過去幾年相比發生了多少變化？當我們考慮未來幾年的空缺時，你對驅動因素的一些了解會非常有幫助，這聽起來像是他們將在第一年以更高的速度開放。那麼我們能不能打開包裝一點點？

Randy, David Willis. Thanks for the question. In terms of order of magnitude, the last couple of year cohorts are opening at about 10% to 15% higher than what our historical maturation curve would suggest. As we really diagnose that, we see some common themes overall. One, some consistent upfront marketing spend to really drive the new guest files. So when the center opens, they've got an existing book of guests they can market to.

蘭迪，大衛威利斯。謝謝你的問題。就數量級而言，過去幾年的隊列比我們的歷史成熟度曲線所暗示的高出約 10% 到 15%。當我們真正診斷出這一點時，我們總體上看到了一些共同的主題。第一，一些一致的前期營銷支出真正推動了新的客人檔案。因此，當該中心開業時，他們就有了一本可以向其推銷的客人。

The other thing that we've seen is our franchisees are hiring more waxers earlier in the cycle to support additional walk-in traffic and candidly just more transaction volume. Those are the 2 common threads. What we had referred to in terms of our focus this year is candidly further unpacking that and publishing to our network best practices. We plan to elevate those franchisees that are driving this level of the momentum with the NCOs, put them on the spotlight and tell the rest of the network, what they have found to work in their respective centers. So that at least gives you kind of a satellite view of what we're seeing with the NCI, Randy.

我們看到的另一件事是，我們的特許經營商在周期的早期僱用了更多的打蠟機，以支持更多的上門客流量，坦率地說，只是增加了交易量。這些是 2 個常見線程。我們在今年的重點中提到的是坦率地進一步拆包並發佈到我們的網絡最佳實踐。我們計劃提升那些與 NCO 一起推動這種勢頭水平的特許經營商，讓他們成為聚光燈下的焦點，並告訴網絡的其他成員，他們在各自的中心發現了什麼。因此，這至少可以讓您對我們在 NCI 上看到的情況有一個衛星視圖，Randy。

Super helpful. My last question is there's a lot of opportunity it seems around -- you talked about average dollar sales or services per transaction could drive that higher. If I recall in the last couple of years with COVID, there had been some probably some hesitation around let's say, base services. So maybe give us some perspective of where we are in state services as a proportion of where they usually have stood in the past? And then just some of the strategies you're working on to drive additional services per visit per customer going forward?

超級有幫助。我的最後一個問題是周圍似乎有很多機會——你談到每筆交易的平均美元銷售額或服務可能會推高這一點。如果我回想起過去幾年與 COVID 相關的情況，可能會在基本服務方面猶豫不決。那麼，也許可以給我們一些關於我們在國家服務中所處位置的觀點，作為他們過去通常所處位置的比例？然後是您正在製定的一些策略，以推動未來每位客戶每次訪問的額外服務？

Randy, thanks. It's David. See, I've got couple of things on that front. One of the things that we ran very successfully was a rebooking contest in center, where we incented our wax specialists and our guest service associates to ensure that before the guests left the center that they rebooked their next service. And we saw a nice lift in terms of rebooking, which gives us that confidence that when you rebook in center, you're highly likely to come back at your scheduled date going forward. So we've seen that be effective and we're going to continue to run that program in 2023 to drive that frequency of guests.

蘭迪，謝謝。是大衛。看，我在這方面有幾件事。我們舉辦的非常成功的活動之一是中心的重新預訂競賽，我們激勵我們的蠟專家和客戶服務助理確保客人在離開中心之前重新預訂下一次服務。我們在重新預訂方面看到了很好的提升，這讓我們有信心，當您在中心重新預訂時，您很可能會在未來的預定日期回來。因此，我們已經看到它是有效的，我們將在 2023 年繼續運行該計劃以提高客人的頻率。

Your specific question around face, we really haven't seen a significant difference in terms of our body face mix, there is a bulk of our guests continue to skew towards body services. We have expanded -- we have a test going on in 250 centers around brows. Now we've done a couple of things. One is that a real focused retraining on our brow waxing capability to make sure that that's best-in-class, particularly coming out of COVID when there wasn't as much space being done.

你關於面部的具體問題，我們確實沒有發現我們的身體面部組合有顯著差異，我們的大部分客人繼續傾向於身體服務。我們已經擴展了——我們在眉毛周圍的 250 個中心進行了測試。現在我們已經做了幾件事。一個是真正專注於我們的眉毛打蠟能力的再培訓，以確保這是一流的，特別是在沒有那麼多空間的情況下從 COVID 中脫穎而出。

And then second, we've introduced in these -- we're testing brow tinting in 250 centers. We're going to run that test for about another 30 days. We feel really good about the initial results that we have. So I think, Randy, we're going to -- we're cautiously optimistic that we can continue to see face percentages go up in 2023 as we add additional services.

其次，我們介紹了這些——我們正在 250 個中心測試眉毛染色。我們將再進行大約 30 天的測試。我們對我們的初步結果感到非常滿意。所以我認為，蘭迪，我們將——我們謹慎樂觀地認為，隨著我們增加額外的服務，我們可以在 2023 年繼續看到面子百分比上升。

And our next question comes from Jonathan Komp with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jonathan Komp 和 Baird。

Maybe a broader question. Just as you look back over the last few quarters and your ability to read and react to the lower frequency of some of your guests. Just any current thoughts on the economic sensitivity of your guests and coming into 2023, would you say you're better prepared to react to anything that may come up just given all the initiatives you've outlined today?

也許是一個更廣泛的問題。正如您回顧過去幾個季度以及您閱讀和應對某些客人頻率較低的能力一樣。關於客人的經濟敏感性以及進入 2023 年的任何當前想法，您是否會說，鑑於您今天概述的所有舉措，您是否已做好更好的準備來應對可能出現的任何事情？

Yes, listen, I think the good news is that we feel and have seen over the past few quarters, really sort of stable transactions in terms of across all of our guest profile. We always talk about sort of that Wax Pass holder. And the great news there is that Wax Pass holder continues to come 7.5x a year very regular, the top quintile coming 9.5x a year. So -- and generating 2/3 of our revenue. So we always ring-fence kind of that real solid Wax Pass holder.

是的，聽著，我認為好消息是我們在過去幾個季度中感受到並看到了我們所有客人檔案中真正穩定的交易。我們總是談論那種 Wax Pass 持有人。好消息是，Wax Pass 持有人繼續以每年 7.5 倍的速度非常規律地增長，排名前五分之一的人每年增長 9.5 倍。所以 - 並產生我們收入的 2/3。所以我們總是用圍欄圍住那種真正堅固的 Wax Pass 支架。

We talked certainly at the end of last year about that episodic guest. You may recall, John, we talked about -- we introduced a limited time offer of the 3 plus 1 Wax Pass to help that guest that might have had a little bit more of an economic pinch in the back half of 2022. We retargeted a percentage of those guests that bought the 3 plus 1 Wax Pass at the end of last year and saw a very nice mix. We offer them the opportunity to come on to the 9 plus 3 with a little bit of an incentive to do that and saw a nice lift in terms of folks that migrated up from 3 plus 1 to 9 plus 3%.

去年年底，我們確實談到了那位偶發嘉賓。你可能還記得，約翰，我們談到過——我們推出了 3 加 1 蠟通行證的限時優惠，以幫助那些在 2022 年下半年可能會遇到更多經濟困難的客人。我們重新定位了一個去年年底購買 3 plus 1 Wax Pass 並看到非常好的組合的客人的百分比。我們為他們提供了進入 9 加 3 的機會，並提供了一點激勵，並且從 3 加 1 遷移到 9 加 3% 的人方面看到了很好的提升。

So as we continue to talk about us getting folks on a 9 plus 3 Wax Pass is really our best loyalty program and then sending folks to do that. So I think we've got better opportunities as we've got a better visibility to CRM and brought new capabilities in to help drive that, where we can take a look at those guests that might have not come as often as they had been in 2021 and 2022 and really retarget them with very specific personalized targeted messaging to drive them back into the center. So we feel good about our opportunity with that guest and obviously continue to drive that loyal guests to stay on the regular routine that they've demonstrated over the years.

因此，當我們繼續談論讓人們獲得 9 加 3 Wax Pass 時，這確實是我們最好的忠誠度計劃，然後派人去做。所以我認為我們有更好的機會，因為我們對 CRM 有了更好的了解，並引入了新功能來幫助推動這一點，我們可以看看那些可能沒有像以前那樣經常來的客人2021 年和 2022 年，並通過非常具體的個性化目標消息真正重新定位他們，將他們帶回中心。因此，我們對與這位客人的機會感到滿意，並且顯然會繼續推動那些忠誠的客人保持他們多年來展示的常規活動。

Yes. Great. That's really helpful. Maybe one other question then just on the unit growth outlook. With you projecting another year above your high single-digit long-term growth target for new unit growth, should this be sort of a new run rate that we think about going forward given the pipeline that you have? And then just any updates you could share on a few of the more institutional franchise owners that you have in the system?

是的。偉大的。這真的很有幫助。也許另一個問題只是關於單位增長前景。隨著您預計新單位增長的高個位數長期增長目標再高出一年，鑑於您擁有的管道，這是否應該是我們考慮向前推進的新運行率？然後，您可以分享您在系統中擁有的一些更機構化的特許經營權所有者的任何更新嗎？

Yes, John, I don't think we're prepared to say this is the new long-term growth algorithm. While we're incredibly pleased to deliver this level of unit growth in back-to-back years and as David touched on, we feel incredibly confident about future development, I don't think we're there yet to say, let's assume 10-plus percent is the new baseline.

是的，約翰，我認為我們不准備說這是新的長期增長算法。雖然我們非常高興在背靠背幾年實現這種水平的單位增長，正如大衛所說，我們對未來的發展充滿信心，我認為我們還沒有說，讓我們假設 10 -加上百分比是新的基線。

We are -- our growth partners that we've talked about the prior quarters, while they represent 40% of existing centers in the system, they do represent 70% of that license pipeline yet to be developed. So we feel incredibly confident about their ability to keep growing their respective footprints in their respective markets. Having said that, we had a very nice balance of NCOs from franchisees of all sizes.

我們是——我們在前幾個季度討論過的增長合作夥伴，雖然他們代表了系統中現有中心的 40%，但他們確實代表了尚未開發的許可證管道的 70%。因此，我們對他們在各自市場中不斷擴大各自足蹟的能力充滿信心。話雖如此，我們在來自各種規模的特許經營商的 NCO 之間取得了很好的平衡。

In 2022, we had a very healthy percentage of our NCOs that were delivered from our smaller franchise group. So while we're excited about kind of the headline grabbing numbers that the larger institutional players have committed to, we're equally happy that we have smaller franchisees still willing to commit to opening another 1 or 2 centers within EWC.

2022 年，我們的 NCO 中有非常健康的比例來自我們較小的特許經營集團。因此，雖然我們對大型機構參與者承諾的一些引人注目的數字感到興奮，但我們同樣高興的是，我們有較小的特許經營商仍然願意承諾在 EWC 內再開設 1 或 2 個中心。

We have a question from Dana Telsey from Telsey Group.

我們有來自 Telsey Group 的 Dana Telsey 的問題。

As you think about the product sales and new product introductions and what you've developed in 2022, what is the outlook for 2023? And how do you think of the margin opportunity there? And the other thing, David, that you mentioned is that reporting for real-time analytics has been enhanced. What are you learning and what adjustments or enhancements are you gaining from that process that impact '23?

當您考慮產品銷售和新產品推出以及您在 2022 年開發的產品時，2023 年的前景如何？您如何看待那裡的保證金機會？大衛，你提到的另一件事是實時分析報告得到了增強。您正在學習什麼，您從影響 23 年的過程中獲得了哪些調整或增強？

Dana, let me address the retail question and then I'll let David talk about some of the analytics that were -- and kind of 2 pieces of that, Dana, that will impact. One is what are we utilizing here from field support or what we call our franchise business consultants, whether they have visibility to and how do they help drive profitability, but also what we're working on to allow the franchisees to have better visibility from a BI perspective at in-center.

Dana，讓我解決零售問題，然後我將讓 David 談談一些分析 - 以及其中的 2 個部分，Dana，這將產生影響。一個是我們在這裡從現場支持或我們所謂的特許經營業務顧問那裡利用了什麼，他們是否了解以及他們如何幫助提高盈利能力，還有我們正在努力讓特許經營商從中間的 BI 透視圖。

Retail product, we're pretty consistent in terms of what we think margin expectations are going to be in 2023 as they've been historically. I think one of the things that we really have learned is that limited time offers are really a great driver for us. That newness of product for our guests is critically important and build it such that we run out of supply so that there is a real high demand for the product. It gets excitement within the center and gets excitement within our guest profile to get new products. We just launched a new spring bag that's out in the centers. It's early days. The sales are going very, very well on that become accustomed to sort of the quarterly limited time offerings.

零售產品，我們認為 2023 年的利潤率預期與歷史上的情況非常一致。我認為我們真正學到的一件事是，限時優惠對我們來說確實是一個很好的推動力。對我們的客人來說，產品的新穎性是至關重要的，並且構建它使得我們用完供應，從而對產品有真正的高需求。它在中心內引起興奮，並在我們的客人資料中引起興奮以獲得新產品。我們剛剛推出了一款位於中心的新款彈簧包。現在還早。銷售非常非常好，這已經習慣了某種季度限時產品。

What's really important to us is that our Wax specialists and our GSAs educate the guests on why the aftercare products that we sell are so critical to the overall service. And that attachment rate is really what we look at, so that the guest gets the absolute the best service that they can pre-during and post wax. So that attachment effort continues to be focused on by our marketing and product teams as well as delivering that training out in the field by our operations team. [Hey Dana], you want to maybe just double click on the analytics.

對我們來說真正重要的是我們的蠟專家和我們的 GSA 教育客人為什麼我們銷售的善後產品對整體服務如此重要。附著率確實是我們所關注的，以便客人獲得他們可以在蠟前和蠟後獲得的絕對最好的服務。因此，我們的營銷和產品團隊將繼續關注附件工作，並由我們的運營團隊在現場提供培訓。 [嘿 Dana]，你可能只想雙擊分析。

Yes. So on the reporting day now first, talk about a new report we made available to our internal folks called the ops dashboard. And it gives, as David touched on, our field business consultants, real-time access to KPIs and profitability that they can in turn have those commercial conversations with our franchisees where KPIs may be lagging either benchmark averages or top quartile arms them to have a healthier commercial conversation with franchisees and where they can drive improvements within their centers.

是的。因此，在報告日，現在首先談談我們向內部人員提供的新報告，稱為操作儀表板。正如大衛談到的那樣，它為我們的現場業務顧問提供了對 KPI 和盈利能力的實時訪問，他們可以反過來與我們的特許經營商進行商業對話，在 KPI 可能落後於基準平均值或前四分之一的情況下，讓他們有一個與特許經營商進行更健康的商業對話，以及他們可以在何處推動其中心內的改進。

Specifically, one of the most popular tools that we use with our franchisees is what we call a sales opportunity tool and it's a very simple tool that shows our franchisees, if you sold one more Wax Pass for a week, here's what that drives for your center. If you converted one more guest will increase SPT by 10%. Here's what that means to your business on an annualized basis. In the second quarter, we will be launching to our network, better reporting to our center level associates have real-time access to their own KPIs. You may recall, a number of our franchisees provide incentive compensation as part of the waxers and the GSA's compensation package.

具體來說，我們與加盟商一起使用的最受歡迎的工具之一就是我們所說的銷售機會工具，它是一個非常簡單的工具，可以向我們的加盟商展示，如果您在一周內多售出一張 Wax Pass，這就是您的驅動力中心。如果您轉換了一位客人，SPT 將增加 10%。以下是按年計算對您的業務意味著什麼。在第二季度，我們將啟動我們的網絡，更好地向我們的中心級別報告，員工可以實時訪問他們自己的 KPI。您可能還記得，我們的一些特許經營商提供激勵性補償作為打蠟機和 GSA 補償方案的一部分。

This reporting will allow in-center level associates to receive real time how they are tracking on SPT Wax Pass sales, all those different KPIs that ultimately drive their respective bonuses based on whatever compensation structure that franchisees have in place within their centers. So all and we're excited about what we've already delivered, but we've got more cool stuff that we think can help not only our support for our field business consultants, but center-level associates drive better KPIs within the services.

該報告將使中心級別的員工能夠實時收到他們如何跟踪 SPT Wax Pass 銷售情況，所有這些不同的 KPI 最終會根據特許經營商在其中心內實施的任何薪酬結構來推動各自的獎金。因此，我們對已經交付的內容感到興奮，但我們有更多很棒的東西，我們認為它們不僅可以幫助我們支持我們的現場業務顧問，而且可以幫助中心級員工在服務中推動更好的 KPI。

Got it. And then just one other thing. How was California during the quarter and what are you seeing there? And just lastly, the Wax Pass promotion, last year, there was some date or timing shifts. How are you thinking about the Wax Pass promotion cadence this year?

知道了。然後只是另一件事。本季度加利福尼亞州情況如何？您在那裡看到了什麼？最後，Wax Pass 促銷活動，去年，日期或時間發生了一些變化。您如何看待今年的 Wax Pass 促銷節奏？

So I'll start with California. All in, we feel good about California. We've spoken on several of these calls that they were playing a bit of catch-up to the rest of the network, given when they started reopening their centers in the first quarter of 2021. All in, I think our California franchisees feel very good.

所以我將從加利福尼亞開始。總而言之，我們對加利福尼亞感覺良好。考慮到他們在 2021 年第一季度開始重新開放他們的中心，我們在其中的幾個電話中談到了他們正在追趕網絡的其他部分。總而言之，我認為我們的加利福尼亞特許經營商感覺非常好的。

I think the average franchisee would say they got adequate staff on hand. We continue to focus on leveling up to the most efficient level of waxers. But all of them were feeling really good and we continue to see significant development for NCOs in the state of California, Dana. It probably represents -- if I look at our license pipeline, that's probably the deepest pipeline is concentrated in California amongst our other top states.

我想一般的加盟商會說他們手頭有足夠的員工。我們繼續專注於升級到最高效的打蠟機水平。但他們所有人都感覺非常好，我們繼續看到加利福尼亞州達納的 NCO 取得重大進展。它可能代表——如果我看一下我們的許可證管道，那可能是最深的管道集中在我們其他頂級州中的加利福尼亞州。

Dana, on the Wax Pass promotions, where typically, the Wax Pass is you pay for 9 and get 11, so what we call 9 plus 2. We have, really, since the inception of the brand had a semiannual promotion on that in the months of May and June where you buy 9 and get 12 and then similarly in November and December buy 9, get 12 or 9 plus 3 as we call that. The only change we made in 2022 was that November-December time frame, we pulled that forward and started offering that in mid-October. We'll kind of see and that was really sort of what was going on from a macroeconomic standpoint. Folks were Black Fridays were getting announced in August and we just felt it was prudent for us to offer that a couple of weeks early.

Dana，關於 Wax Pass 促銷活動，通常情況下，Wax Pass 是您支付 9 並獲得 11，所以我們稱之為 9 加 2。實際上，自品牌成立以來，我們每半年舉辦一次促銷活動在 5 月和 6 月，你買 9 得到 12，然後類似地在 11 月和 12 月買 9，得到 12 或 9 加 3，我們稱之為。我們在 2022 年所做的唯一更改是 11 月至 12 月的時間框架，我們將其提前並在 10 月中旬開始提供。我們會看到，從宏觀經濟的角度來看，這確實是正在發生的事情。人們在 8 月宣布黑色星期五，我們只是覺得我們提前幾週提供這一點是明智的。

We'll see if we need to do that or not, but we don't anticipate any other promotional aspects of the Wax Pass except for the typical ones that we've done May, June and November and December as we look at 2023.

我們會看看是否需要這樣做，但我們預計 Wax Pass 不會有任何其他促銷方面，除了我們在 2023 年的 5 月、6 月、11 月和 12 月所做的典型促銷活動。

Our next question comes from John Heinbockel with Guggenheim Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自 John Heinbockel 和 Guggenheim Partners。

This is [William Markus] on for John Heinbockel. Just a quick question on the needed ability to source retail wax specialists and any efforts to further improve the productivity of existing ones? And a quick follow-up right after.

這是約翰·海因博克爾的 [William Markus]。只是簡單地問一下是否需要具備採購零售蠟專家的能力，以及為進一步提高現有專家的生產力所做的任何努力？並在之後進行快速跟進。

Yes, [Julio], we talk a lot about our wax specialist pipeline activities. And I would say that overall, we feel quite pleased with the progress that we've made. We had touched on, I think, on prior calls, some of the pilot programs that we ran in -- with 21 different beauty schools throughout 2022, the success that we've had with those in terms of engagement with prospects -- prospective waxers to our network. We now plan to roll that out to a broader network.

是的，[Julio]，我們談論了很多關於我們的蠟專家管道活動。我要說的是，總的來說，我們對我們取得的進展感到非常滿意。我認為，在之前的電話會議上，我們已經談到了我們在 2022 年與 21 所不同的美容學校開展的一些試點項目，以及我們在與潛在客戶的互動方面取得的成功——潛在的打蠟師到我們的網絡。我們現在計劃將其推廣到更廣泛的網絡。

I think we touched 750 students through the pilot programs. We had great engagement and conversion. We've made some enhancements to our careers page. We're starting to see better engagement and click-through and candidly submission rates for applications there. So all in, from a waxer pipeline perspective, I think we're feeling really good about some of the efforts we've undertaken over the last several quarters are starting to bear fruit for our franchisees. Kind of our barometer, Julio, is if there's a fair amount of chatter in the network, I need more waxers, we're not hearing that like we heard a couple of quarters ago.

我想我們通過試點項目感動了 750 名學生。我們有很好的參與度和轉化率。我們對職業頁面進行了一些改進。我們開始看到更好的參與度、點擊率和坦誠提交申請的比率。因此，總而言之，從打蠟管道的角度來看，我認為我們對過去幾個季度所做的一些努力感到非常滿意，這些努力開始為我們的特許經營商帶來成果。 Julio 是我們的晴雨表，如果網絡中有相當多的喋喋不休，我需要更多的打蠟機，我們不像幾個季度前聽到的那樣。

A lot of our operations teams are now really focused on retention strategies. So now that we've recruited adequate head count within centers, how do you retain those waxers? And most importantly, how do you level them up so you can get them to the most -- the highest level of efficiency and maximize revenue per wax (inaudible).

我們的許多運營團隊現在真正專注於保留策略。那麼既然我們已經在中心內招募了足夠的人數，您如何留住這些打蠟師？最重要的是，你如何將它們升級，以便你可以讓它們達到最大 - 最高效率水平並最大化每蠟收入（聽不清）。

Awesome. And the next was just thoughts on further promotional programs around maybe moving some of those casual guests and transitioning the cash or average cash up closer to the upper quartile type of consumer?

驚人的。接下來只是考慮進一步的促銷計劃，可能會轉移一些休閒客人並將現金或平均現金轉移到更接近上四分之一類型的消費者？

Yes, Julio, thanks for the question. We don't -- we are not a discount promotional brand. What we are going to do is lean into our enterprise data warehouse to really talk about what we call lapsed guests. So guests that may have visited us, but haven't been there in the past 6 months and send out to them some targeted messaging to drive them back into the center. If there's an opportunity to give them some incentive to do that, we'll do that. But we've got a couple of tools where we can do that via either reward points or some sort of incentive to come in for multiple services. But this is not a -- as you know, this is not a discounting brand.

是的，胡里奧，謝謝你的提問。我們不——我們不是折扣促銷品牌。我們要做的是深入我們的企業數據倉庫，真正談論我們所謂的流失客人。因此，可能已經訪問過我們但在過去 6 個月內沒有去過那裡的客人向他們發送一些有針對性的消息，以驅使他們回到中心。如果有機會激勵他們這樣做，我們就會這樣做。但是我們有一些工具，我們可以通過獎勵積分或某種激勵來獲得多種服務來做到這一點。但這不是——如您所知，這不是打折品牌。

We don't plan to be overly promotional, don't need to be, but it is our opportunity really as we get smarter and better muscle around understanding who those guests are to drive them back in and ensuring that we retain the guests that are most loyal to us to ensure that they stay on their same frequency of visit. So that's our game plan under that attract more, buy more, visit more strategy that 3-pillar strategy around how do we continue to drive sales and same-store sales comps.

我們不打算過度促銷，也不需要，但這確實是我們的機會，因為我們變得更聰明、更強大地了解那些客人是誰，以吸引他們回來，並確保我們留住那些客人對我們最忠誠，以確保他們保持相同的訪問頻率。因此，這就是我們的遊戲計劃，即吸引更多、購買更多、訪問更多的戰略，即圍繞我們如何繼續推動銷售和同店銷售的三支柱戰略。

Our next question comes from Kelly Crago from Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Kelly Crago。

I think at ICR, you were kind of thinking that the comp progression through the year would be a bit different than what you're seeing today. I believe you were pointing to more of a 3% to 4% growth rate in the first half as you were continuing to cycle through the weakness that you've been seeing in non-Wax Pass customer. And then maybe that was going to get back up to your long-term algo in the back half of highest singles. But I think now you're saying it's going to be more consistent. So I'm just curious what's changed.

我認為在 ICR，你有點認為全年的 comp 進展會與你今天看到的有所不同。我相信你指的是上半年 3% 到 4% 的增長率，因為你繼續循環克服你在非 Wax Pass 客戶中看到的弱點。然後也許這會回到你在最高單打後半部分的長期算法。但我想現在你是說它會更加一致。所以我只是好奇發生了什麼變化。

And then also, I believe you talked about some strong growth in January, but that might have been Omicron-related. So just curious if the momentum you're seeing in January has continued so far quarter to date?

然後，我相信你談到了 1 月份的一些強勁增長，但這可能與 Omicron 相關。所以只是好奇你在一月份看到的勢頭是否一直持續到本季度為止？

Yes, Kelly, I think we're 60 days past ICR. We continue to monitor transaction trends. And as we touched on in our prepared remarks, we've seen a lot of stability now for the last 8 months really. When I think about kind of how we exited fiscal 2022, comp actually accelerated throughout the fourth quarter. We had a very strong January. Keep in mind, our first quarter is typically probably our lightest top line from a system-wide sales perspective for the whole year.

是的，凱利，我認為我們已經過了 ICR 60 天。我們繼續監控交易趨勢。正如我們在準備好的評論中提到的那樣，在過去的 8 個月裡，我們確實看到了很多穩定性。當我考慮我們如何退出 2022 財年時，comp 實際上在整個第四季度都在加速。我們有一個非常強勁的一月。請記住，從全年系統範圍的銷售角度來看，我們的第一季度通常可能是我們最輕的收入。

But all in, I don't know that a lot has really changed other than we just have better visibility in terms of ticket trends that we've seen now for 8 months. And as we kind of run those through our budgets and forecast, that's kind of netting out to a fairly consistent comp expectations throughout all 4 quarters of 2023.

但總而言之，除了我們現在已經看到 8 個月的門票趨勢方面有了更好的可見性之外，我不知道是否真的發生了很多變化。當我們通過我們的預算和預測來運行這些時，在 2023 年的所有 4 個季度中都會得出相當一致的補償預期。

And just on the January momentum that you were seeing in when we last continue. I know you were kind of talking about it perhaps being Omicron-related, but just curious if...

就在我們上次繼續時你看到的一月份的勢頭上。我知道你在談論它可能與 Omicron 相關，但只是好奇是否......

Yes. Kelly, I think -- so if I remember right, ICR was the 9th or 10th of January. I think that was really -- those comments were related more to sort of the past few weeks of fiscal year 2022, where in calendar year December of 2021, we saw the Omicron impact and we saw a nice lift in the -- as we exited the year.

是的。凱利，我想——如果我沒記錯的話，ICR 是 1 月 9 日或 10 日。我認為那真的是——這些評論更多地與 2022 財年的過去幾周有關，在 2021 年 12 月，我們看到了 Omicron 的影響，我們看到了很好的提升——當我們退出時那一年。

Got it. And then just lastly for me. You said the transactions are running below where you would typically like to see them. Could you just break down exactly what the sort of the transactions versus ticket growth look like in the fourth quarter? And then just remind us, I guess when you think about through the year, it seems like maybe first half is more ticket-driven, second half more transactions-driven. I'm just curious if that's how we should be thinking about it. And also what will be driving the transaction growth in the back half of the year?

知道了。最後對我來說。您說交易的運行低於您通常希望看到的水平。您能否具體分析一下第四季度交易與票務增長的對比情況？然後提醒我們，我想當你考慮這一年時，似乎上半年更多是票務驅動，下半年更多是交易驅動。我只是很好奇我們是否應該這樣考慮它。以及下半年交易量增長的驅動因素是什麼？

Yes. So for Q4, transactions were basically flat. All of the comp in Q4 was really from a price perspective. As we look to 2023, given we don't plan in within our guidance to have taken service level pricing at Center, I would expect about 3/4 of our comp in 2023 to come from volume, both from ramping -- primarily from ramping centers and about 1/4 of comp to come from price.

是的。所以對於第四季度，交易量基本持平。第四季度的所有比較都是從價格角度來看的。展望 2023 年，鑑於我們沒有計劃在我們的指導範圍內採用 Center 的服務水平定價，我預計 2023 年我們約 3/4 的收入將來自數量，兩者都來自增長——主要來自增長中心和大約 1/4 的補償來自價格。

Recall when we take price, it takes about a full year to get the full benefit of that because we have such a high proportion of our service dollars that are on wax that are being redeemed on Wax Passes. So it typically takes a full year to get the full economic benefit of the service price increase. So we still will get a modest lift in comp from price, but most of that we expect to come from volumes, specifically the ramping centers.

回想一下，當我們計算價格時，大約需要一整年的時間才能從中獲得全部收益，因為我們的服務美元中有很大一部分是在蠟上兌換的，這些錢是在蠟上兌換的。因此，通常需要一整年的時間才能獲得服務價格上漲帶來的全部經濟效益。因此，我們仍然會從價格中獲得適度的提升，但我們預計其中大部分來自銷量，特別是爬坡中心。

We have a question from Simeon Gutman from Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的 Simeon Gutman 提出了一個問題。

Hi Dan, this is actually Hannah Pittock on for Simeon. You've kind of been talking all year about that dip in frequency from the low-frequency kind of non-habitual waxer customer. I'm wondering kind of how that trended through Q4 where it's sitting now. And then thinking about your comp cadence in '23, are you embedding some sequential improvement there in the health of the consumer, knowing obviously it's a relatively small percentage of your revenue?

嗨丹，這實際上是西蒙的漢娜皮托克。你一整年都在談論低頻非習慣性打蠟客戶的頻率下降。我想知道它現在所處的第四季度的趨勢如何。然後想想你在 23 年的競爭節奏，你是否在消費者健康方面嵌入了一些連續的改進，顯然知道這在你的收入中所佔的比例相對較小？

Hannah, this is David. So we are not assuming there is sequential improvement in that guests. We didn't see any change in behavior in Q4. As I mentioned earlier, we've really seen stability in our transaction trends specifically from those guests.

漢娜，這是大衛。所以我們不假設客人有連續的改善。我們沒有看到第四季度的行為有任何變化。正如我之前提到的，我們確實從這些客人那裡看到了交易趨勢的穩定性。

Now notwithstanding, we have kind of better data. We can peel the onion a bit more with our data warehouse. So we understand that's really a subset of guests most recently acquired in 2021, not so much related to guests acquired prior to 2021. So with that data, we can now arm our marketing team with who the guest segment is specifically that might have slowed down their visit frequency just a bit and that's exactly what we plan to do with our CRM strategy.

儘管如此，現在我們有更好的數據。我們可以用我們的數據倉庫多剝洋蔥。因此我們了解到，這實際上是 2021 年最近獲得的客人的一個子集，與 2021 年之前獲得的客人關係不大。因此，有了這些數據，我們現在可以讓我們的營銷團隊了解哪些客人細分可能已經放緩他們的訪問頻率只是一點點，而這正是我們計劃對我們的 CRM 策略所做的。

Make sense. Maybe one quick follow-up. You mentioned you expect to be back to kind of margin expansion in '24. Would you just walk us through kind of the structure of the investments that you're making, the extent to which they're onetime versus permanent parts of the base, but lever very quickly just due to the size.

合理。也許一個快速跟進。你提到你希望在 24 年恢復利潤率擴張。您能否向我們介紹一下您正在進行的投資的結構，它們是一次性與永久性部分的程度，但由於規模的原因，槓桿非常快。

Yes. So that's really associated with the OpEx investments that we've decided to make. In 2023, we touched on kind of the wraparound impact from our fiscal 2022 new hires to support us as a public company. We're making discrete investments in our development and operations teams that if you think about our -- as we continue to grow our network, we don't have to add a new development person or a new field business consultant every 10 or 20 centers, but every 80 to 100 centers, you're making fairly modest discrete investments to continue supporting that growth.

是的。所以這真的與我們決定進行的運營支出投資有關。在 2023 年，我們談到了 2022 財年新員工對支持我們作為一家上市公司的影響。我們正在對我們的開發和運營團隊進行離散投資，如果您考慮我們的 - 隨著我們繼續發展我們的網絡，我們不必每 10 或 20 個中心增加一名新的開發人員或一名新的現場業務顧問，但是每 80 到 100 個中心，您就會進行相當適度的離散投資以繼續支持這種增長。

We are making those investments in 2023. So I think when you factor in some additions we're making in finance that I think will continue to help drive our business as well. I would expect us to return to our better leverage at the adjusted EBITDA margin in 2024 and beyond. Thanks, Hannah.

我們將在 2023 年進行這些投資。所以我認為，當你考慮到我們在金融方面所做的一些補充時，我認為它們也將繼續幫助推動我們的業務。我預計我們將在 2024 年及以後以調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率恢復到更好的槓桿率。謝謝，漢娜。

Our next question comes from Scot Ciccarelli from Truist.

我們的下一個問題來自 Truist 的 Scot Ciccarelli。

This is [Josh] on for Scott. I just wanted to ask around the overall staffing levels for the Wax specialists. Just curious how that's trending, given the wage pressures out there in the market, I wanted to see if you're seeing any significant changes in turnover rates or anything else to note there?

這是斯科特的[喬什]。我只是想問一下 Wax 專家的總體人員配置水平。只是好奇這種趨勢如何，考慮到市場上的工資壓力，我想看看你是否看到離職率有任何顯著變化或其他需要注意的地方？

Josh, I would say our staffing levels have continued to improve kind of quarter-over-quarter within center. From a turnover perspective, I don't think we've seen dramatic shifts, positive or negative in terms of waxer-level turnover.

喬希，我想說我們的人員配置水平在中心內繼續提高，比上一季度有所提高。從營業額的角度來看，我認為我們在打蠟機營業額方面沒有看到戲劇性的變化，無論是積極的還是消極的。

You may recall, as we bring new waxers into the system, there's a decent amount of turnover in that first 90 days. If we can't -- if our franchisees can't -- the waxers can get to a certain level of proficiency within the first 3 months, so we tend to see a fair amount of turnover in those first 3 months. We've seen no dramatic changes in the most recent quarters versus history there.

您可能還記得，當我們將新的打蠟機引入系統時，前 90 天的營業額相當可觀。如果我們不能——如果我們的加盟商不能——打蠟師可以在前 3 個月內達到一定的熟練程度，因此我們往往會在前 3 個月看到相當數量的營業額。與那裡的歷史相比，我們在最近幾個季度沒有看到顯著變化。

Once our waxers are with us for a year, they tend to be pretty sticky to the brand. So I don't think we've seen any dramatic shifts in terms of turnover.

一旦我們的打蠟機與我們在一起一年，它們往往會對品牌產生粘性。所以我認為我們在營業額方面沒有看到任何戲劇性的變化。

And Josh, as David talked about in his earlier comments that we've had a hyper focus in working with our franchisees about attracting waxers into the pipeline and making sure that they come to work in EWC. And that focus is still ongoing, but also our operations team really working with our franchisees to say, how do you develop a great culture in your center to retain those wax specialists that have come back and work with us.

喬希，正如大衛在他之前的評論中所說的那樣，我們非常關注與我們的特許經營商合作，以吸引打蠟師進入管道並確保他們來 EWC 工作。這種關注仍在繼續，但我們的運營團隊也真正與我們的加盟商合作，說，你如何在你的中心發展一種偉大的文化，以留住那些回來和我們一起工作的蠟專家。

So I think, candidly, the strongest testament to the supply of waxers being adequate or back to normal is that our franchisees continue to sort of bode with their checkbooks and grow with us. So they are not seeing any kind of an impediment to their continued growth, north of 10% year-over-year growth last year and guiding to the same thing this year. So we keep a close year with our Franchise Advisory Council and all of our franchisees. And I think the fact that they continue to grow with us and not see that as any kind of turn to their growth is a great testament to the ability to get an adequate supply of wax specialists.

所以我認為，坦率地說，打蠟機供應充足或恢復正常的最有力證明是我們的加盟商繼續用他們的支票簿預示著並與我們一起成長。因此，他們沒有看到任何阻礙其持續增長的障礙，去年同比增長 10% 以上，今年也是如此。因此，我們與我們的特許經營諮詢委員會和我們所有的特許經營商保持密切的聯繫。而且我認為他們繼續與我們一起成長並且沒有看到任何形式的成長轉變這一事實很好地證明了獲得充足的蠟專家供應的能力。

We have a question from Korinne Wolfmeyer with Piper Sandler.

Korinne Wolfmeyer 和 Piper Sandler 提出了一個問題。

Congrats on a great quarter. Just to touch on some of the commentary on where the new centers are being built out. I believe you said they're more so going to be in existing markets. What is the path maybe longer term to moving more into those untapped market? Is it really just we need to get those franchise relationships? Is it about finding the right market and making sure they're ready to bring in a waxing center? Just what is the path to moving into more of those other markets?

祝賀一個偉大的季度。只是談談關於新中心建設地點的一些評論。我相信你說過他們會更多地進入現有市場。更長期地進入那些未開發市場的途徑是什麼？我們真的只需要獲得這些特許經營關係嗎？是關於找到合適的市場並確保他們準備好引進一個脫毛中心嗎？進入更多其他市場的途徑是什麼？

Yes, Korinne, thanks for the question. So last year, we opened centers in 32 different states. We saw the heaviest concentration of those NCOs coming in the states where we have already as the most significant presence is our franchisees really wanted to protect and expand their respective markets. So those states are California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Illinois saw a fair amount of NCO activity last year.

是的，Korinne，謝謝你的提問。所以去年，我們在 32 個不同的州開設了中心。我們看到這些 NCO 最集中在我們已經擁有最重要存在的州，因為我們的特許經營商確實希望保護和擴大他們各自的市場。所以這些州是加利福尼亞州、德克薩斯州、佛羅里達州、紐約州、新澤西州、伊利諾伊州，去年有相當數量的 NCO 活動。

So our franchisees are really developing centers where there's demand from guests. And so as we say, 70%, 75% of our whitespace resides in markets where we already have a presence. We've got just a lot of opportunity to continue expanding our footprint in the states where we have a presence. It's not to say that we won't go to new markets if there's both franchisee and guest demand there, but most of this -- most of the demand resides in states where we already have a presence. Hopefully, that helps.

因此，我們的加盟商實際上是在客人有需求的地方開發中心。正如我們所說，70%、75% 的空白區域位於我們已經存在的市場。我們有很多機會繼續擴大我們在我們開展業務的州的足跡。這並不是說如果那裡有加盟商和客人需求，我們就不會去新市場，但其中大部分 - 大部分需求存在於我們已經存在的州。希望這會有所幫助。

Yes, that's very helpful. And then can you just clarify quickly that 53rd week that's going to fall in Q4. And then I believe you touched briefly on kind of cadence of the top line, maybe a little bit heavier in Q2 and Q4. But can you just elaborate a little bit more on the cadence we should expect in '23?

是的，這很有幫助。然後你能否快速澄清第 53 週將在第四季度下降。然後我相信你簡要地談到了頂線的節奏，可能在第二季度和第四季度有點重。但是你能詳細說明一下我們在 23 年應該期待的節奏嗎？

Yes. So the 53rd week in 2023, you may recall we had a 53rd week in 2022. So we're just aligning kind of our fiscal calendar with retail calendars. In terms of a slightly stronger Q2 and Q4, we've seen that over the last couple of years -- actually, the last several years, you may recall, we run our traditional semiannual Wax Pass promotions in the second quarter and in the fourth quarter.

是的。所以 2023 年的第 53 週，你可能還記得我們在 2022 年有第 53 週。所以我們只是將我們的財政日曆與零售日曆保持一致。就略強的第二季度和第四季度而言，我們已經看到，在過去幾年中——實際上，過去幾年，你可能還記得，我們在第二季度和第四季度進行了傳統的半年一次 Wax Pass 促銷活動四分之一。

As it relate -- how does 2023 compare to 2022, I would say the second quarter and fourth quarter could be 50 to a 100 basis points heavier in both of those quarters relative to 2022. But that overall profile is not dramatically different than what the brands experienced over the last several years.

就此而言 - 2023 年與 2022 年相比如何，我想說第二季度和第四季度可能比 2022 年高 50 到 100 個基點。但總體情況與品牌經歷了過去幾年。

Thank you. And there are no other questions in the queue. I'd like to turn the call back to Mr. David Berg for closing remarks.

謝謝。隊列中沒有其他問題。我想將電話轉回給 David Berg 先生作結束語。

Well, thank you, everybody, for your time today on the call today. We certainly look forward to chatting with you over the next few days and weeks and continuing to deliver on our long-term growth objectives. But thank you for joining us on the call this morning.

好吧，謝謝大家今天抽出時間參加電話會議。我們當然期待在接下來的幾天和幾週內與您交談，並繼續實現我們的長期增長目標。但感謝您今天早上加入我們的電話會議。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。