European Wax Center Inc (EWCZ) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to European Wax Center's fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2023 earnings call. (Operator Instructions)

早安，女士們，先生們。謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加歐洲蠟中心的 2023 財年第四季和全年財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

On the call today are David Willis, Chief Executive Officer; and Stacie Shirley, Chief Financial Officer; and Andrea Wasserman, Chief Commercial Officer. I would now like to turn the conference over to Stacie for opening remarks. You may begin.

今天參加電話會議的是執行長 David Willis；和財務長 Stacie Shirley；首席商務官 Andrea Wasserman。我現在想將會議交給史黛西致開幕詞。你可以開始了。

Thank you, and welcome to European Wax Center's fourth quarter fiscal '23 earnings call. For today's call, David will begin with a brief review of our fourth quarter and full year performance and discuss our priorities for fiscal 2024. And I will provide additional details regarding our fiscal 2023 financial performance and our fiscal 2024 outlook. Following the prepared remarks, we will be available to take questions.

謝謝，歡迎參加歐洲蠟中心 23 年第四季財報電話會議。在今天的電話會議中，David 將首先簡要回顧我們第四季度和全年的業績，並討論我們2024 財年的優先事項。詳細資訊。在準備好發言後，我們將可以回答問題。

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 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. 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 or publicly release the results of any revision to our forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

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聯邦證券法意義上的前瞻性聲明，包括有關我們業務前景的聲明以及我們今天發布的收益報告中提到的其他事項。這些前瞻性陳述涉及許多風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果出現重大差異。請參閱我們向 SEC 提交的文件以及今天發布的收益報告，以了解可能影響我們業績的風險因素的更詳細描述。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意見，我們沒有義務根據新資訊或未來事件修改或公開發布對我們的前瞻性陳述的任何修改結果。

Also, during this call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which adjust our GAAP results to eliminate the impact of certain items. 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.

此外，在這次電話會議中，我們將討論非公認會計準則財務措施，這些措施調整我們的公認會計準則結果以消除某些項目的影響。您將在我們的收益報告中找到有關這些非 GAAP 財務指標的更多資訊以及這些非 GAAP 與 GAAP 指標的調整表。

A live broadcast of this call is also available on the Investor Relations section of our website at investors.waxcenter.com. I'll now turn the call over to David Willis.

本次電話會議的現場直播也可在我們網站的投資者關係部分觀看：investors.waxcenter.com。我現在將把電話轉給大衛威利斯。

Thank you, Stacie, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. We ended 2023 on a strong note with fourth-quarter performance in line with our expectations. We made progress on our strategy of expanding net new centers and driving in-center sales, which are both key to the European Wax Center growth story. Additionally, we were pleased with our ability to drive in-center reservations during the quarter, which capped off a solid year of growth for European Wax Center.

謝謝你，史黛西，大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們。我們以強勁的勢頭結束了 2023 年，第四季的業績符合我們的預期。我們在擴大淨新中心和推動中心內銷售的策略方面取得了進展，這兩者都是歐洲蠟像中心成長故事的關鍵。此外，我們對本季推動中心預訂的能力感到滿意，這為歐洲蠟像中心今年的穩健成長畫上了圓滿的句號。

In 2023, we opened 100 net new units driven by our committed franchisees and are proud to have delivered meaningful top-line and bottom-line growth across the Board, generating $955 million in system-wide sales, $221 million in revenue, and $76 million in adjusted EBITDA. Even in a challenging macroeconomic environment, the European Wax Center business model is consistent anchored by the resiliency of our core guests whose commitment to their personal care routines did not labor throughout the year.

2023 年，我們在忠誠的特許經營商的推動下淨開設了100 個新店，並自豪地實現了全面的營收和利潤顯著增長，實現了9.55 億美元的全系統銷售額、2.21 億美元的收入和7600 萬美元的收入調整後的 EBITDA。即使在充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境中，歐洲蠟療中心的商業模式始終以核心客人的彈性為基礎，他們對個人護理程序的承諾全年都沒有發揮作用。

Reflecting on my first six months as CEO, I could not be prouder of our teams. I want to thank our associates, franchisees, and in-center partners for their relentless focus on the work that drives results for our network and for living our values every day. This year, we're excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the European Wax Center brand. In 2004, our founders created this category of out-of-home waxing when they realized that waxing was an essential and recurring service often performed in salons as an afterthought. They introduced a high standard of professionalism by creating a business concept solely focused on a consistent, hygienic, and efficient wax experience.

回顧我擔任執行長的前六個月，我為我們的團隊感到無比自豪。我要感謝我們的員工、特許經營者和中心合作夥伴對工作的不懈關注，為我們的人脈帶來成果，並每天實踐我們的價值觀。今年，我們很高興慶祝歐洲蠟像中心品牌成立 20 週年。 2004 年，我們的創辦人意識到除毛是一項必不可少且經常性的服務，通常在沙龍中作為事後才進行，因此創建了這種戶外除毛服務。他們透過創造專注於一致、衛生和高效的蠟體驗的商業理念，引入了高標準的專業精神。

20 years later, we remain the undisputed leader in this industry. I believe that our leadership team and Board have advanced our founder's vision and set our company on a path to unlock the true potential of European Wax Center with an asset-light, predictable, high-growth franchise model.

20年後，我們仍然是這個行業無可爭議的領導者。我相信，我們的領導團隊和董事會已經推進了我們創始人的願景，並使我們的公司走上了一條道路，透過輕資產、可預測、高成長的特許經營模式釋放歐洲蠟中心的真正潛力。

In 2023, we achieved several milestones as a brand from strengthening our leadership team to deepening our relationships with our core guests and franchisees to innovating our product offerings. We worked to position European Wax Center for further growth. Importantly, we delivered on both of our key growth vectors, expanding our footprint through new net center openings and driving in-center sales, which benefits system-wide sales and same-store sales growth. I'll discuss both of these in more detail now.

2023 年，我們作為一個品牌實現了多個里程碑，從加強我們的領導團隊到加深我們與核心客人和特許經營者的關係，再到創新我們的產品。我們致力於將歐洲蠟中心定位為進一步發展。重要的是，我們實現了兩個關鍵成長方向，透過開設新的網路中心擴大我們的足跡並推動中心內銷售，這有利於整個系統的銷售和同店銷售成長。我現在將更詳細地討論這兩個問題。

I'll start with our unit growth vector. In 2023, we delivered over 10% unit growth for a second year in a row, surpassing 1,000 centers nationwide. And we are incredibly pleased to have met the high end of our fiscal 2023 net new unit guidance. We ended the year strong in Q4 by opening 18 net new centers across 13 different states. A 100% of our new center openings in 2023 came from existing franchisees, which speaks to the commitment and excitement they continue to have for the European Wax Center brand and our business model.

我將從我們的單位成長向量開始。 2023 年，我們連續第二年實現超過 10% 的單位成長，全國中心數量超過 1,000 個。我們非常高興能夠達到 2023 財年淨新單位指引的上限。我們在第四季度以強勁勢頭結束了這一年，在 13 個州開設了 18 個淨新中心。我們在 2023 年開設的新中心 100% 來自現有特許經營商，這表明他們對歐洲蠟像中心品牌和我們的商業模式仍然抱有承諾和興奮。

Looking ahead, in 2024, we expect to deliver 75 to 80 net new units in line with our high single digit unit growth algorithm. We're pleased that our franchisees remain well capitalized and committed to growing with our brand. Their continued demand underpins our robust development pipeline of over 370 commitments and provides us visibility to be able to continue to deliver against our high single digit unit growth algorithm for 2025 and over the long term.

展望未來，根據我們的高個位數單位成長演算法，我們預計將在 2024 年交付 75 至 80 個淨新單位。我們很高興我們的特許經營者保持充足的資本並致力於與我們的品牌一起成長。他們的持續需求支撐了我們超過 370 項承諾的穩健開發管道，並為我們提供了可見性，使我們能夠繼續實現 2025 年及長期的高個位數單位成長演算法。

In partnership with our franchisees, we are focused on growing the top line in existing centers, particularly through new guest acquisition while taking a deliberate approach to new center openings in 2024, with focus on markets with less development activity over the last few years. To support our franchisees, our operations team is putting an even greater focus on refining and evolving our new center openings best practices, which in turn enhances our already strong unit economics.

我們與我們的特許經營商合作，專注於增加現有中心的收入，特別是透過吸引新客人，同時採取審慎的方法在 2024 年開設新中心，重點關注過去幾年開發活動較少的市場。為了支持我們的特許經營商，我們的營運團隊更加重視完善和發展我們新中心開業的最佳實踐，這反過來又增強了我們本已強大的單位經濟效益。

One initiative we're particularly excited about is the network-wide launch of our improved data-driven pre-opening playbook. This playbook highlights some of our best-in-class centers that opened on day one with both the right number of new guests in their file and appropriately trained staff, which led to higher sales, revenue, and predictability compared to centers that opened without these elements. We believe this playbook will be a powerful tool for our franchisees moving forward.

我們特別興奮的一項舉措是在全網路範圍內推出改進的數據驅動的開業前手冊。本手冊重點介紹了我們一些一流的中心，這些中心在開業第一天就擁有適當數量的新客人和經過適當培訓的員工，與沒有這些中心開業的中心相比，這些中心帶來了更高的銷售額、收入和可預測性元素。我們相信這本手冊將成為我們的加盟商前進的強大工具。

Before I turn to our next growth vector, I wanted to touch on our recent brand conference. Just two weeks ago, our teams were in Las Vegas with our franchisees. We spent the time hearing from those across our team and our network, sharing best practices and aligning on areas of focus for the brand and franchisees moving forward. We celebrated the wins we've had over the last year, but more importantly, kept our focus on the growth and opportunity we have together ahead. Our franchisees walked away from the conference feeling excited and confident in the direction of European Wax Center.

在討論下一個成長向量之前，我想先談談我們最近的品牌會議。就在兩週前，我們的團隊與我們的特許經營商一起在拉斯維加斯。我們花時間聽取我們團隊和網路中成員的意見，分享最佳實踐，並協調品牌和特許經營商前進的重點領域。我們慶祝了去年所取得的勝利，但更重要的是，我們繼續關注未來的成長和機會。我們的加盟商離開會議時感到興奮並對歐洲蠟中心的方向充滿信心。

Turning to our second growth vector, driving in-center sales which benefits system-wide sales and same-store sales growth. I'll start with our guest trends in Q4. As expected, our core guests, which include both Wax Pass and routine guests remain consistent in their frequency and spend. These guests remain committed to their personal care routines and represent a recurring and reliable revenue stream for our brand.

轉向我們的第二個成長向量，推動中心內銷售，這有利於整個系統的銷售和同店銷售成長。我將從第四季的賓客趨勢開始。正如預期的那樣，我們的核心客人（包括 Wax Pass 和常規客人）的頻率和支出保持一致。這些客人仍然致力於他們的個人護理程序，並為我們的品牌帶來了經常性和可靠的收入來源。

In addition, exiting our third quarter earnings call, transactions among our less frequent guests remained stable. Driven by these stable transaction trends in our refined media strategy, full year 2023 system-wide sales revenue and same-store sales came in above the midpoint of the guidance we provided in November. As we discussed last quarter, we remain focused on driving visits from both new and existing guests as well as attracting more guests to the brand through our Attract More, Buy More, Visit More marketing strategies under Andrea's leadership. We believe that our evolved approach to our commercial and data insights capabilities as well as our data-driven marketing and media strategy will allow us to deliver a year of in-center sales growth at 5% to 7% for system-wide sales in 2% to 5% same-store sales growth in 2024.

此外，在第三季財報電話會議結束後，我們不常光顧的客人之間的交易保持穩定。在我們精細化媒體策略中這些穩定的交易趨勢的推動下，2023 年全年全系統銷售收入和同店銷售額均高於我們 11 月份提供的指引的中點。正如我們上季度討論的那樣，我們仍然專注於吸引新老客人的訪問，並在Andrea 的領導下透過我們的「吸引更多、購買更多、訪問更多」行銷策略吸引更多客人加入品牌。我們相信，我們不斷發展的商業和數據洞察能力方法以及數據驅動的營銷和媒體策略將使我們能夠在 2 年內實現一年內全系統銷售額 5% 至 7% 的增長。至5%。

There continues to be a vast opportunity to drive new guests to the brand. And as discussed last quarter, we engaged a new media agency focused on implementing a streamlined media strategy across all of our paid digital channels in search efforts. This strategy launched in Q4 with a singular focus of driving more guest reservations in centers.

仍然有巨大的機會吸引新客人加入品牌。正如上季所討論的，我們聘請了一家新媒體機構，專注於在我們所有付費數位管道的搜尋工作中實施簡化的媒體策略。該策略於第四季度推出，其唯一重點是推動中心的更多客人預訂。

A key pillar of our strategy is to optimize our approach to paid media by improving the efficiency of our media spend. I'm pleased to share that since our new media search and performance creative agency took over in Q4, we've seen an improvement in our average cost per reservation across various search engines and social media platforms. While it is still early and we understand it will take time for this strategy to be fully implemented, we are off to a solid start and have good early reads on the reach, frequency, targeting and creative that will drive further efficiencies in these channels.

我們策略的一個關鍵支柱是透過提高媒體支出的效率來優化我們的付費媒體方法。我很高興與大家分享，自從我們的新媒體搜尋和效果創意機構在第四季度接管以來，我們發現各種搜尋引擎和社交媒體平台的平均每次預訂成本有所改善。雖然現在還為時過早，而且我們知道這項策略的全面實施還需要時間，但我們已經有了一個良好的開端，並且對覆蓋範圍、頻率、定位和創意有良好的早期了解，這將進一步提高這些管道的效率。

We also see several areas of opportunity for us to continue to increase share of wallet from our existing guests. We've previously shared that we've been testing brow tinting in select centers. Historically, guests may have waxed their brows at European Wax Center but went somewhere else to get them tinted. Our team has worked to develop a proven brown tint formula, which guests have enthusiastically responded to. We've been very encouraged by our ongoing tests as we've learned that it is a lever to bring new guests to the brand, and we look forward to expanding this service to our network soon.

我們也看到了幾個領域的機會，可以繼續增加現有客人的錢包份額。我們之前曾分享過，我們一直在選定的中心測試眉毛染色。從歷史上看，客人可能會在歐洲蠟像中心打蠟，但會去其他地方染色眉毛。我們的團隊致力於開發一種經過驗證的棕色調配方，並得到了客人的熱烈回應。我們正在進行的測試讓我們深受鼓舞，因為我們了解到這是為該品牌帶來新客人的槓桿，我們期待很快將這項服務擴展到我們的網路。

Increasing frequency among our existing guests and converting non-core guests to Wax Pass user also remains a priority. As you know, Wax Pass holders visit more than twice as often and spend more than twice as much with the brand compared to our less frequent guests, making the Wax Pass membership program our most powerful frequency driver.

增加現有客人的使用頻率以及將非核心客人轉化為 Wax Pass 用戶仍然是我們的首要任務。如您所知，與不常來訪的客人相比，Wax Pass 持有者的訪問頻率是其兩倍多，在品牌上的花費是其兩倍多，這使得Wax Pass 會員計劃成為我們最強大的頻率驅動因素。

As we've evolved our data and technology functions, we've implemented key communication flows to encourage Wax Pass consideration and purchase in our marketing channels. Last quarter, wax passes and gift cards were available online for the first time in our brand's history, which proved successful in retaining both new and existing guests. In addition, through our guest survey work, we've learned that while guests are attracted to the Wax Pass, they are less likely to commit to purchasing a full nine-plus service Wax Pass until they visited and experienced the services we provide a few times.

隨著我們數據和技術功能的發展，我們實施了關鍵的溝通流程，以鼓勵在我們的行銷管道中考慮和購買 Wax Pass。上個季度，我們品牌歷史上首次在網路上提供蠟像通行證和禮品卡，事實證明這成功地留住了新舊客人。此外，透過我們的賓客調查工作，我們了解到，雖然賓客被 Wax Pass 所吸引，但他們不太可能承諾​​購買完整的九項以上服務 Wax Pass，直到他們參觀並體驗了我們提供的一些服務。 。

To encourage conversion and increase frequency and loyalty, we tested a three-plus-one Wax Pass offered only to new guests to incentivize trial by driving additional visits. We were pleased with the results of the test in the fourth quarter and plan to rollout this network-wide this spring.

為了鼓勵轉換並提高頻率和忠誠度，我們測試了僅向新客人提供的三加一蠟通行證，以透過增加訪問量來激勵試用。我們對第四季的測試結果感到滿意，並計劃於今年春天在全網路範圍內推廣。

On the operations side, we have implemented new leadership to oversee the local marketing team that supports and works directly with our franchisees. We've also repositioned our field trainers by embedding these experts in local markets to further aid and coach franchisees and center associates in driving ticket value and frequency in centers. These in turn drive system-wide sales. Ultimately, we are confident in our ability to drive new guests to the brand while increasing average ticket value and frequency among existing guests through the initiatives I've outlined, which we believe will help us achieve another strong year of top-line growth in 2024.

在營運方面，我們任命了新的領導層來監督當地行銷團隊，為我們的特許經營商提供支援並直接與我們合作。我們還透過將這些專家嵌入當地市場來重新定位我們的現場培訓師，以進一步幫助和指導特許經營商和中心員工提高門票價值和中心頻率。這些反過來又推動了整個系統的銷售。最終，我們對透過我概述的舉措吸引新客人加入該品牌同時提高現有客人的平均票價和頻率的能力充滿信心，我們相信這將幫助我們在 2024 年實現又一個強勁的收入增長年。

Before I pass it to Stacie, I wanted to touch on our laser hair removal pilot. As we've discussed over the last two quarters, we believe that offering additional hair removal modalities could be an effective method of attracting new guests to the brand, increasing share of wallet from existing wax guests, and enhancing our already robust four-wall economics over time.

在將其傳遞給 Stacie 之前，我想談談我們的雷射除毛試點。正如我們在過去兩個季度所討論的那樣，我們相信提供額外的脫毛方式可能是吸引新客人加入該品牌、增加現有蠟客人的錢包份額以及增強我們本已強勁的四牆經濟的有效方法隨著時間的推移。

We launched our pilot laser test in six New York area centers in Q4 and have been pleased with the results seen thus far. We were able to generate strong sales from both new and existing guests while minimizing cannibalization of existing core waxing services. Based on results to date, we are expanding our pilot test to more centers in New York this quarter and planning to make additional investments to support this test in other select states throughout the year. Stacie will provide more detail on this shortly.

我們在第四季度在紐約的六個地區中心啟動了試點雷射測試，並對迄今為止所看到的結果感到滿意。我們能夠從新客戶和現有客戶那裡獲得強勁的銷售業績，同時最大限度地減少對現有核心打蠟服務的蠶食。根據迄今為止的結果，我們將在本季度將試點測試擴展到紐約的更多中心，並計劃全年進行額外投資以支持在其他選定州進行的測試。 Stacie 很快就會提供更多相關細節。

While we see this as a potential additive opportunity to expand our brand in the model, European Wax Center remains the dominant player in our category with a strong and resilient core service offering waxing. As we introduce laser on a pilot basis, we believe we are uniquely positioned to leverage our scale and our footprint as the experts in out-of-home hair removal.

雖然我們認為這是在該模型中擴展我們品牌的潛在附加機會，但歐洲打蠟中心仍然是我們類別中的主導者，擁有強大而有彈性的打蠟核心服務。當我們試點引入雷射時，我們相信我們處於獨特的地位，可以利用我們作為戶外除毛專家的規模和足跡。

With that, I'd like to hand the call over to Stacie Shirley to review our financial performance and our guidance details for fiscal 2024. Stacie?

說到這裡，我想將電話轉交給 Stacie Shirley，以審查我們的財務表現和 2024 財年的指導細節。

Thanks, David. Before I begin my remarks, I'd like to remind everyone that in some instances, I will speak to adjusted metrics on this call. And as I mentioned, you can find reconciliation tables to the most comparable GAAP figures in our press release and 10-K filed with the SEC today.

謝謝，大衛。在開始演講之前，我想提醒大家，在某些情況下，我將在本次電話會議上討論調整後的指標。正如我所提到的，您可以在我們今天向 SEC 提交的新聞稿和 10-K 中找到最具可比性的 GAAP 數據的調節表。

Turning to our financial performance. As David mentioned, we delivered strong results in line with expectations, thanks in part to our core guests remaining committed to their waxing routines. Q4 system-wide sales increased 7.2% to $241.7 million, and total revenue increased 5.2% to $56.3 million. Top-line growth was primarily a result of unit expansion, including 18 net new centers during the quarter, same-store sales also increased 1.3%.

轉向我們的財務表現。正如大衛所提到的，我們取得了符合預期的強勁業績，這在一定程度上要歸功於我們的核心客人仍然致力於他們的打蠟程序。第四季全系統銷售額成長 7.2%，達到 2.417 億美元，總營收成長 5.2%，達到 5,630 萬美元。營收成長主要得益於單位擴張，包括本季新增 18 個中心，同店銷售額也成長 1.3%。

From a profit standpoint, fourth quarter gross margin improved approximately 240 basis points to 72%, primarily due to favorability in our wholesale margins. Fourth quarter SG&A decreased 6% to $13.7 million and as a percent of revenue was 24.4% compared to 27.3% last year. This decrease was driven by lower technology and insurance costs for the quarter, partially offset by increases in payroll and benefits and expenses related to the pilot of laser hair removal.

從利潤的角度來看，第四季毛利率提高了約 240 個基點，達到 72%，這主要是由於我們的批發利潤率較高。第四季銷售、管理及行政費用 (SG&A) 下降 6%，至 1,370 萬美元，佔營收的百分比為 24.4%，而去年為 27.3%。這一下降是由於本季度技術和保險成本下降造成的，但部分被與雷射除毛試點相關的工資、福利和費用的增加所抵消。

Q4 adjusted EBITDA was $19.3 million, an increase of 0.3% versus last year. Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA margins decreased 170 basis points to 34.2%, driven by higher advertising, some of which was a shift into the fourth quarter and expenses related to our laser pilot. GAAP net income increased 59.1% to $3.6 million, while adjusted net income declined from $48.7 million in Q4 2022 to $6 million in Q4 2023, primarily due to the income tax benefit recognized in fiscal 2022 from the release of a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets.

第四季調整後 EBITDA 為 1,930 萬美元，比去年增長 0.3%。第四季調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率下降 170 個基點至 34.2%，這主要是由於廣告費用增加，其中部分原因是轉移到第四季度以及與我們的雷射試點相關的費用。 GAAP 淨利潤成長59.1% 至360 萬美元，而調整後淨利潤從2022 年第四季的4,870 萬美元下降至2023 年第四季的600 萬美元，這主要是由於遞延稅項資產估值備抵的發佈在2022 財政年度確認了所得稅優惠。

For the full year, we opened 100 net new centers, approximately 10.6% unit growth above our long-term high single digit growth target. System-wide sales increased 6.3% to $955 million and total revenue increased 6.6% to $221 million, and same-store sales increased 2.9%. Top-line growth was driven by new centers opened and increased spending by guests at our centers.

全年，我們淨開設 100 個新中心，單位成長率比我們的長期高個位數成長目標高出約 10.6%。全系統銷售額成長 6.3%，達到 9.55 億美元，總營收成長 6.6%，達到 2.21 億美元，同店銷售額成長 2.9%。新中心的開幕以及客人在我們中心的消費增加推動了營收成長。

Full year SG&A increased 0.9% to $59.5 million and as a percent of revenue was 26.9% compared to 28.4% last year. This improvement was driven by lower professional fees and technology costs for the year. Adjusted EBITDA was $76 million, an increase of 6.1% compared to $71.6 million in fiscal 2022. Adjusted EBITDA margins decreased slightly by 10 basis points year over year to 34.4%, partially due to increased corporate marketing and expenses related to our laser pilot. Full year interest expense increased to $26.7 million from $23.6 million in 2022, primarily as a result of higher interest rates following our refinancing, which closed in April 2022.

全年 SG&A 成長 0.9%，達到 5,950 萬美元，佔營收的百分比為 26.9%，去年為 28.4%。這項改善是由於今年專業費用和技術成本下降所致。調整後EBITDA 為7,600 萬美元，比2022 財年的7,160 萬美元成長6.1%。 。全年利息支出從 2022 年的 2,360 萬美元增加到 2,670 萬美元，主要是因為我們在 2022 年 4 月結束的再融資後利率上升。

Lastly, adjusted net income declined to $22.5 million in 2023 from $71.5 million in 2022 due to the income tax benefit we recognized in fiscal 2022 related to the release of the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets. And GAAP net income decreases $12.3 million from $13.6 million in the prior year.

最後，由於我們在 2022 財年確認了與遞延所得稅資產估價備抵相關的所得稅優惠，調整後淨利從 2022 年的 7,150 萬美元下降至 2023 年的 2,250 萬美元。 GAAP 淨利潤比前一年的 1,360 萬美元減少了 1,230 萬美元。

Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with $52.7 million in cash and $394 million outstanding under our senior secured notes. Our $40 million revolver remains fully undrawn. Net leverage at the end of fiscal '23 was 4.4 times adjusted EBITDA. Keep in mind that we spent $30 million in fiscal 2023 to buy back stock. Excluding this, we would have been approximately 4 times levered.

談到資產負債表，本季結束時，我們的現金為 5,270 萬美元，優先擔保票據項下的未償現金為 3.94 億美元。我們的 4,000 萬美元左輪手槍仍未動用。 23 財年末的淨槓桿比率為調整後 EBITDA 的 4.4 倍。請記住，我們在 2023 財年花了 3,000 萬美元回購股票。如果排除這一點，我們的槓桿率大約是 4 倍。

Over the past 14 months, we fully utilize our $40 million stock buyback authorization. For fiscal 2024, we plan to continue to delever nearly an additional full turn to approximately 3.5 times based on our fiscal guidance that I'll give shortly. Net cash provided by operating activities was $55.6 million in fiscal 2023 compared to less than $1 million in investing outflows, the stable of our asset-light capital-light model.

在過去 14 個月裡，我們充分利用了 4,000 萬美元的股票回購授權。對於 2024 財年，我們計劃根據我很快給予的財政指導，繼續將槓桿率進一步降低近 3.5 倍。 2023 財年，經營活動提供的淨現金為 5,560 萬美元，而投資流出則少於 100 萬美元，這是我們輕資產輕資本模型的穩定表現。

Turning now to our updated outlook for 2024. As a reminder, both fiscal years 2022 and 2023 included a 53rd week. We will return to a 52-week year in fiscal 2024. We estimate that the contribution of the 53rd week is approximately equal to an average fourth-quarter week.

現在轉向我們對 2024 年的最新展望。我們將在 2024 財年恢復到 52 週的年份。

As David mentioned earlier, we plan to open 75 to 80 net new center openings in 2024, nearly all of our 2024 openings will be from existing franchisees. Looking at the current development schedule and commitments, the timing of these openings will be back-half weighted with an estimated one-third in the first half and approximately two-thirds in the second half. We expect seven net new openings in Q1.

正如 David 之前提到的，我們計劃在 2024 年淨開設 75 至 80 個新中心，幾乎所有 2024 年的空缺都將來自現有特許經營商。從目前的開發進度和承諾來看，這些職缺的時間將在後半段加權，預計三分之一將在上半年，約三分之二在下半年。我們預計第一季將淨新增 7 個職位。

From a top-line standpoint, we expect system-wide sales between $1 billion and $1.025 billion, which represents a growth rate of approximately 6.5% to 9% on a 52-week adjusted basis and total revenue between $225 million and $232 million. Beginning in 2024, we will renew the surcharge to franchisees that we put in place during COVID to help offset elevated supply chain costs, which will impact full year 2024 revenue.

從營收角度來看，我們預期全系統銷售額在10 億美元至10.25 億美元之間，這意味著52 週調整後的成長率約為6.5% 至9%，總營收在2.25 億美元至2.32億美元之間。從 2024 年開始，我們將更新在新冠疫情期間向加盟商徵收的附加費，以幫助抵消供應鏈成本上升，這將影響 2024 年全年收入。

We expect system-wide sales and revenue to be the lightest in Q1 and heaviest in Q2 consistent with last year and slightly more weighted towards Q3 versus Q4 compared to prior year. We also expect 2% to 5% same-store sales growth for the year. We anticipate Q1 to be the lowest with a consistent ramp up in same-store sales throughout the year as the in-center sales initiatives that David mentioned take root.

我們預計全系統的銷售額和收入在第一季最輕，在第二季最重，與去年一致，與去年相比，第三季的比重略高於第四季。我們也預計今年同店銷售額將成長 2% 至 5%。我們預計第一季將是最低的，隨著大衛提到的中心銷售計劃的紮根，全年同店銷售將持續成長。

Our overall top-line outlook assumes that our growth initiatives will help drive new guests to the brand and increase average ticket and frequency among existing guests as we progress through the year. We expect to drive relatively modest gross margin expansion. Our model naturally generates meaningful SG&A expense leverage, and we are reinvesting a portion of this in 2024 to support our strategic initiatives and growth.

我們的整體營收展望假設，隨著我們全年的進展，我們的成長舉措將有助於吸引新客人加入品牌，並提高現有客人的平均門票和頻率。我們預計毛利率將實現相對溫和的成長。我們的模型自然會產生有意義的 SG&A 費用槓桿，我們將在 2024 年將其中的一部分進行再投資，以支持我們的策略舉措和成長。

Our adjusted EBITDA outlook is approximately $75 million to $80 million. First, this range includes the full year impact from investments we made in key strategic hires in 2023. Second, this range includes approximately $4 million of operating expenses, which are foundational and mostly onetime in nature to support our expanded laser hair removal pilot that David discussed.

我們調整後的 EBITDA 前景約為 7,500 萬至 8,000 萬美元。首先，這個範圍包括我們在2023 年對關鍵策略招聘進行的投資對全年的影響。用於支持我們擴大的雷射除毛試點計畫。

The majority of these expenses will be incurred in the back half of this year. As David mentioned, we are still in the early stages of this pilot. And while we've seen encouraging results so far, we remain focused on our strong and resilient core service offering waxing.

這些費用大部分將在今年下半年產生。正如大衛所提到的，我們仍處於該試點的早期階段。儘管到目前為止我們已經看到了令人鼓舞的成果，但我們仍然專注於提供打蠟服務的強大而有彈性的核心服務。

Excluding the laser investment, we would expect to see approximately 130 basis points of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion for our core waxing business in 2024. We expect approximately $28 million of interest expense this year. We currently believe our 2024 effective tax rate will decrease to approximately 25% before discrete items.

不包括雷射投資，我們預計 2024 年我們的核心打蠟業務調整後 EBITDA 利潤率將擴大約 130 個基點。我們目前認為，2024 年不計離散項目的有效稅率將降至約 25%。

Given our capital structure, we expect our blended statutory tax rate will be 21% and expect it to increase over time as pre-IPO shareholders exchange their Class B shares for Class A shares. As a result, we expect adjusted net income between $22 million and $25 million.

考慮到我們的資本結構，我們預計混合法定稅率將為 21%，並且隨著 IPO 前股東將 B 類股票換成 A 類股票，該稅率會隨著時間的推移而增加。因此，我們預計調整後淨利潤將在 2,200 萬美元至 2,500 萬美元之間。

In summary, we are entering 2024 with confidence in the strength of our resilient asset-light model, the recurring predictable visits from our core guests, and well-capitalized franchisee base. We are pleased with the progress we've made in our in-center sales growth strategy and we'll focus on driving and obtaining new guests in 2024. We believe we are making investments in the right areas to extend our position as the undisputed hair removal category leader and continue to take share in this highly fragmented category.

總之，進入 2024 年，我們對彈性輕資產模式的實力、核心客人的定期可預測訪問以及資本充足的加盟商基礎充滿信心。我們對中心銷售成長策略所取得的進展感到高興，我們將在 2024 年專注於吸引和吸引新客人。清除類別的領導者，並繼續在這個高度分散的類別中佔據份額。

We'd now like to open up the call for questions. Operator?

我們現在要開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Randy Konik, Jefferies.

（操作員說明）Randy Konik，Jefferies。

Thanks a lot, and good morning, everybody. I guess, David, maybe we could get a little bit more of a deeper discussion on learnings from the brow test, the continued testing of laser. Maybe give us some perspective on what you're seeing in terms of lift and revenue per visit, what are you seeing -- the differences in the type of guests. And during to test those products, are they already waxed customers that are now trying an additional service or vice versa? It'd just be really helpful to understand what you're seeing more specifically.

非常感謝，大家早安。我想，大衛，也許我們可以對眉毛測試和雷射的持續測試中的學習進行更深入的討論。也許可以給我們一些關於您所看到的每次訪問的提升和收入方面的看法，您所看到的——客人類型的差異。在測試這些產品的過程中，他們是否已經為正在嘗試附加服務的客戶打蠟了，反之亦然？更具體地了解您所看到的內容確實很有幫助。

And then as it relates to just from a long-term store growth -- we're coming off the year, we had peak I think unit openings ever showing, a lot of underlying strength and demand from existing franchisees. What do you think is a doable, long-term thought around openings per year? Would we be thinking this 75 to 80 is the most realistic to think through over the medium term? Just that would be helpful as well. Thanks, guys.

然後，因為它與長期商店增長有關——我們即將結束這一年，我認為單位開業達到了高峰，現有特許經營商有很多潛在的實力和需求。您認為關於每年職缺的可行的長期想法是什麼？我們是否認為 75 到 80 是中期考慮的最現實的方案？只是這樣也會有幫助。多謝你們。

Sure, Randy, good to talk to you. Let maybe take those in reverse order, if that's okay. As it relates to our view on new units per year, the high single digit outlook for 2024 is in line with our long-term growth algorithm. We're taking a deliberate approach on markets this year. As you mentioned, Randy, we were well ahead of our high single digit algo the last two years. And we plan to focus on markets this year that have had less development activity over the last couple of years to allow those markets that were most active time to absorb those centers.

當然，蘭迪，很高興與你交談。如果可以的話，讓我們以相反的順序來處理。由於這與我們對每年新單位的看法有關，2024 年的高單位數前景符合我們的長期成長演算法。今年我們對市場採取了審慎的態度。正如您所提到的，蘭迪，過去兩年我們遠遠領先於我們的高個位數演算法。我們計劃今年專注於過去幾年開發活動較少的市場，以便讓那些最活躍的市場有時間吸收這些中心。

We believe delivering the high single digit unit growth after two years of exceeding these targets is candidly a testament to the strength of the overall model. We have a robust pipeline of licenses that gives us confidence and visibility to delivering high single digit unit growth, not just for 2024, but for 2025 and beyond. So overall, I think we continue to feel really good about our unit growth algorithm.

我們相信，在超過這些目標兩年後實現單位數的高單位增長，坦率地證明了整體模型的實力。我們擁有強大的授權管道，這使我們有信心和可見性來實現單位數的高單位成長，不僅在 2024 年，而且在 2025 年及以後。總的來說，我認為我們仍然對我們的單位成長演算法感覺非常好。

As it relates to laser, you may recall we had a handful of initial objectives we wanted to pressure test in this pilot. One is, can we attract more new guests to the brand with laser? Second is, can we increase share of wallet from our existing waxing guests? And the overall assessment was, can we enhance what we think are already robust four-wall economics?

由於它與雷射相關，您可能還記得我們想要在這個試點中進行壓力測試的一些初始目標。一是，我們能否透過雷射吸引更多新客人加入品牌？其次，我們能否增加現有打蠟客人的錢包份額？整體評估是，我們能否增強我們認為已經強勁的四牆經濟學？

So the trends to date have demonstrated encouraging results on all of these. The one franchisee that is participating in our six-center pilot at the New York has seen a net to want to extend to some additional centers in the same market. We still have some things to learn. So we do plan -- the purpose of extending the pilot into other centers in other markets this year is to really further learn some of the items that we haven't figured out with 19/20 weeks into our initial phase of the pilot.

因此，迄今為止的趨勢在所有這些方面都顯示出令人鼓舞的結果。參與我們在紐約的六中心試點的一家特許經營商已經看到了網絡，希望擴展到同一市場的其他一些中心。我們還有一些東西要學習。因此，我們確實計劃 - 今年將試點擴展到其他市場的其他中心的目的是真正進一步了解我們在試點初始階段 19/20 週內尚未弄清楚的一些項目。

I do want to remind Randy, you and everyone, that we continue to view laser as additive and accretive to our core business. We do remain the dominant player in our category. And we think our core business remains very strong.

我確實想提醒蘭迪、您和所有人，我們繼續將雷射視為我們核心業務的補充和增值。我們確實仍然是我們類別中的主導者。我們認為我們的核心業務仍然非常強勁。

As it relates to brow tinting, the original thought there was can we use brow tinting as a basket driver to increase dollars per ticket for our guests. And ultimately, we would like to use that as a behavioral change where we can maximize revenue in the same 15-minute window that we're using for the eyebrows. Eyebrow is number two service of all of our core service SKUs, so the play there is really can we get folks to buy two services and we optimize the same 15-minute window.

由於涉及眉毛染色，最初的想法是我們可以使用眉毛染色作為籃子驅動器來增加客人每張門票的美元。最終，我們希望將其作為一種行為改變，在與眉毛相同的 15 分鐘窗口內最大化收入。 Eyebrow 是我們所有核心服務 SKU 中排名第二的服務，因此我們確實可以讓人們購買兩項服務，並且我們優化相同的 15 分鐘視窗。

We've seen enough there in the tests. Our wax specialists are really encouraged by the brow tinting. The new formula is resonating with our guests. That's what's really driving our decision to roll this out network-wide later this year. Hopefully, I addressed (multiple speakers)

我們在測試中已經看到足夠多的東西了。我們的蠟染專家對眉毛染色感到非常鼓舞。新配方引起了我們客人的共鳴。這就是我們決定在今年稍後在全網路範圍內推出此功能的真正原因。希望我講話了（多個發言者）

To growth line, a quick follow-up just on capital structure. How do we --? You've got back a nice amount of stock. You fully completed the authorization on the share purchase program. How do you want to think about your optimal leverage ratios, your first four and the Board for future share repurchase activity? Just remind us how you think about capital structure in the business, given the healthy amount of strong and predictable cash flow. Thanks, guys.

對於成長線，快速跟進資本結構。我們如何──？你已經拿回了大量的庫存。您已完全完成本次股份購買計畫的授權。您希望如何考慮您的最佳槓桿率、前四個槓桿率以及董事會未來的股票回購活動？請提醒我們，考慮到強勁且可預測的健康現金流量，您如何看待企業的資本結構。多謝你們。

Yeah, thanks, Randy. So our asset-light, capital-light model does continue to enable us to generate meaningful free cash flow. So I think it really gives us flexibility. We will continue to evaluate best options on excess cash, how to deploy that and drive value for shareholders. We'll continue to evaluate that with our Board, Rand.

是的，謝謝，蘭迪。因此，我們的輕資產、輕資本模式確實繼續使我們能夠產生有意義的自由現金流。所以我認為這確實給了我們靈活性。我們將繼續評估多餘現金的最佳選擇，以及如何部署現金並為股東創造價值。我們將繼續與我們的董事會蘭德一起評估這一點。

Thanks, guys.

多謝你們。

Lorraine Hutchinson, Bank of America.

洛琳‧哈欽森，美國銀行。

Hi, this is Melanie on for Lorraine. I was just hoping you could break down the components of the 2024 comp guidance. What are the puts and takes to achieve the low end versus the high end? And is there any implication for price changes for the year? Thanks.

大家好，我是洛琳的梅蘭妮。我只是希望你能分解 2024 年薪資指南的組成部分。與高端相比，實現低端和高端的投入和成本是什麼？對今年的價格變動有什麼影響嗎？謝謝。

Yes. Hi, Melanie. This is Stacie and thanks for being on the call. The guidance we gave was 2% to 5% for the year. And as we look at that over the course of the year, we'll ramp as the number of initiatives that David spoke about, both in center and from a marketing perspective -- as those continue to gain traction. And so think of that as you go through the year, Q1 will be the lowest and we'll continue to ramp.

是的。嗨，梅蘭妮。我是史黛西，感謝您接聽電話。我們今年給的指導是 2% 到 5%。當我們在這一年中審視這一點時，我們將隨著大衛談到的舉措數量的增加而增加，無論是從中心還是從行銷的角度來看——隨著這些舉措繼續獲得關注。因此，想想這一年，第一季將是最低的，我們將繼續成長。

From a system-wide sales perspective, similarly, Q1 will be our lightest quarter with Q2 being the heaviest quarter, which is similar to what we've seen in the past. From a pricing perspective, we have not baked in an EWC corporate, enterprise-wide guidance, into our guide on the top line. However, as you know, our franchisees often take price where they think that it is appropriate. And we will continue to monitor, is there opportunity whether that is again a broad-based price increase recommendation or even service by service. But today, that's not necessarily baked into those projections.

同樣，從全系統銷售的角度來看，第一季將是我們最輕的季度，第二季度將是最重的季度，這與我們過去看到的情況類似。從定價的角度來看，我們尚未將 EWC 企業範圍的指導納入我們的營收指南中。然而，如您所知，我們的特許經營商經常採取他們認為合適的價格。我們將繼續關注是否有機會再次提出廣泛的漲價建議，甚至是逐項服務。但今天，這不一定會納入這些預測中。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Scot Ciccarelli, Truist.

斯科特·西卡雷利，真理論者。

Hey, good morning. This is actually Josh on for Scot. So another one on that '24 sales guidance, what have you guys baked in in terms of trends for the different guest cohorts, typically around that more episodic debt?

嗨，早安。這實際上是喬什（Josh）代表斯科特（Scot）。那麼，關於 24 世紀銷售指導的另一項內容是，你們對不同賓客群體的趨勢（通常圍繞著更偶發的債務）有何看法？

So we don't really break that out as far as you know how that would come into play on the guidance. But what I would tell you is as we exited Q4, I think from a macro perspective, not big changes, not necessarily deterioration, but not really an improvement. We had started to see an improvement in that, call it, non-core guest as we entered into Q4 as a result of a number of things that we were doing. But we haven't really -- we're not breaking that out.

因此，只要您知道這將如何在指導中發揮作用，我們就不會真正打破這一點。但我要告訴你的是，當我們退出第四季時，我認為從宏觀角度來看，不是大變化，不一定是惡化，但也不是真正的改善。當我們進入第四季時，由於我們正在做的一些事情，我們開始看到這方面的改進，稱之為非核心客戶。但我們還沒有真正解決這個問題。

Our Wax Pass or core gas, which is Wax Pass in our routine guests, those continue to be very strong, and their behavior has not changed as it relates to their spend and their frequency of visit. Again, that represents little more than 75% of our total system-wide sales.

我們的蠟通行證或核心氣體，即我們的常規客人中的蠟通行證，這些人仍然非常強大，他們的行為沒有改變，因為這與他們的支出和訪問頻率有關。同樣，這僅占我們全系統總銷售額的 75% 多一點。

The only thing I would add to that, Josh, is as we mentioned in our prepared remarks, we've onboarded this new media agency that's hyper-focused on driving incentive reservations. We have a number of initiatives focused on driving new guests to the brand. And we also, candidly, in this macroenvironment, believe we can control the things that we can control. So we're redeploying our field trainers to embed them in markets working with our franchisees to drive impact at the local level.

喬希，我唯一要補充的是，正如我們在準備好的演講中提到的那樣，我們已經加入了這家高度專注於推動激勵預訂的新媒體機構。我們採取了一系列旨在吸引新客人加入品牌的舉措。坦白說，在這個宏觀環境下，我們相信我們可以控制我們可以控制的事情。因此，我們正在重新部署我們的現場培訓師，將他們融入與我們的特許經營商合作的市場中，以提高在當地的影響力。

Now a number of those initiatives we would expect to see materialize in terms of ticket and transaction growth throughout the year. So we feel very good about our overall guidance, but it will build -- we do expect that to build throughout the year.

現在，我們預計其中一些舉措將在全年門票和交易成長方面實現。因此，我們對我們的整體指導感到非常滿意，但它會不斷增強——我們確實預計這一結果將在全年不斷增強。

Yeah, that's helpful. Thank you. And then one more follow-up, if you could talk about the trends you're seeing in terms of hiring or taking wax specialist. And then any thoughts there as it relates to the outlook for '24?

是的，這很有幫助。謝謝。然後是另一個後續行動，如果您能談談您在僱用或僱用蠟專家方面看到的趨勢。那麼對於 24 世紀的前景有什麼想法嗎？

You bet. So candidly, we ended the year we think in a very healthy position in terms of overall network levels of staffing. The average center had the requisite number of -- a target number of wax specialists. Our operations and industry relations teams supporting our franchisees made some good headway throughout 2023 and actually elevating the mix of our more experienced waxers relative to our less experienced waxers.

你打賭。坦白說，我們認為在今年結束時，我們的整體網路人員配置水準處於非常健康的位置。平均每個中心都擁有必要數量的－目標數量的蠟像專家。我們的營運和行業關係團隊為我們的特許經營商提供支持，在 2023 年取得了一些良好進展，實際上提高了我們經驗豐富的打蠟師相對於經驗不足的打蠟師的組合。

We've extended our beauty school partnership programs. I think we're now in 31 schools in 8 different states. So overall, I think we feel like the network is adequately staffed, and we are well positioned to support continued growth for the brand.

我們擴大了我們的美容學校合作夥伴計劃。我認為我們現在在 8 個不同州的 31 所學校開展業務。總的來說，我認為我們覺得該網絡配備了足夠的人員，並且我們有能力支持該品牌的持續成長。

Got it. That's helpful. Thank you.

知道了。這很有幫助。謝謝。

Korinne Wolfmeyer, Piper Sandler.

科琳·沃爾夫邁耶，派珀·桑德勒。

Hey, good morning, team, and thanks for the taking the questions. I'd like to touch a bit on the expectations for EBITDA for the year. I think you said about like excluding the laser investment about 130 basis points of margin expansion, is that how we should be thinking about the expansion beyond 2024? And then as you continue to roll out laser, should we expect further investments in the out years to help support that? Or is this more of a one-time thing here in 2024? Thank you.

嘿，早上好，團隊，感謝您提出問題。我想談談對今年 EBITDA 的預期。我認為您所說的不包括雷射投資約 130 個基點的利潤率擴張，是我們應該如何考慮 2024 年之後的擴張嗎？然後，當您繼續推出雷射時，我們是否應該期待未來幾年的進一步投資來幫助支持這一目標？還是這在 2024 年只是一次性的事？謝謝。

So we haven't given guidance, obviously, outside of 2024. But I think as you think about that, we typically show leverage on our SG&A. And then I would consider, some level of gross margin expansion would be built onto those numbers. So you would expect some level of expansion year over year for sure.

因此，顯然，我們沒有在 2024 年之外給予指導。然後我會考慮，一定程度的毛利率擴張將建立在這些數字的基礎上。因此，您肯定會期望逐年出現某種程度的擴張。

From a laser perspective, the investment that we're making this year, some of those are just one-time foundational type of investments, some of which are also to build the infrastructure that we would need to expand this test to further centers. And so there would continue to be investments, but not -- I wouldn't assume at this level.

從雷射的角度來看，我們今年所做的投資，其中一些只是一次性基礎類型的投資，其中一些也是為了建造我們將這項測試擴展到更多中心所需的基礎設施。因此，將會繼續進行投資，但不會——我不會假設在這個水平上。

Very helpful. Thank you. And then if you could just touch a little bit on what's driving the improvement that you saw in Q4 for those episodic guests, how much of it do you think is attributed to your increased marketing efforts that you've been implementing versus just general market improvements? Thanks.

很有幫助。謝謝。然後，如果您能簡單談談是什麼推動了您在第四季度看到的那些偶爾出現的客人的改善，您認為其中有多少是由於您一直在實施的加大的營銷努力而不是一般市場的改善？謝謝。

Hi, thanks for the question. This is Andrea. I'll take that one. So when we think about our marketing efforts, it's really focused on two segments of our guest population. First and foremost, bringing new guests to the brand, and secondarily, making sure that we're increasing the conversion of Wax Pass once we have guests in the fold.

你好，謝謝你的提問。這是安德里亞。我會接受那個。因此，當我們考慮我們的行銷工作時，它實際上集中在我們的客人群體的兩個部分。首先也是最重要的是，為品牌帶來新客人，其次，確保一旦有了客人，我們就能提高 Wax Pass 的轉換率。

And so that really is our focus as opposed to the smaller segment of the guest population that is more episodic as you said. That said, we do think about what will motivate that population. And we know which portion of that segment is responsive to promotions. We can be very tailored in doing that so that we're not promoting more often than necessary or doing things in a blanket way. And so some of that certainly does help as we think about the right times and tactics to use in increasing visits among that episodic guest.

因此，這確實是我們的重點，而不是像您所說的那樣，只有一小部分客人是偶爾發生的。也就是說，我們確實考慮了什麼會激勵這些人。我們知道該細分市場的哪一部分對促銷活動有反應。我們可以根據需要進行量身定制，這樣我們就不會進行不必要的促銷或以一攬子方式做事。因此，當我們考慮使用正確的時間和策略來增加偶爾出現的客人的訪問量時，其中一些確實會有所幫助。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Dana Telsey, Telsey Advisory Group.

達納‧特爾西，特爾西諮詢小組。

Hi, good morning, everyone. As you think about market pricing, how do you think about it this year as compared to last year? How do you think of pricing, whether it's for Wax Pass or different services? And given that you set the market pricing, any changes that you expect as we go through the year?

嗨，大家早安。當您考慮市場定價時，您如何看待今年與去年相比？您如何看待定價，無論是針對 Wax Pass 還是其他服務？鑑於您設定了市場定價，您預計這一年會有什麼變化嗎？

And then I believe that one thing you are working on was launching a new center opening playbook. It's upcoming first quarter. Where do you stand on that? What will be the differences? And is there a different cadence this year of the timing of new center openings versus last year? Thank you.

然後我相信你們正在做的一件事就是推出一個新的中心開放劇本。即將推出第一季。你對此持什麼立場？會有什麼差異？今年新中心開幕的時間安排與去年相比是否有不同？謝謝。

Hey, Dana, this is David. Let me start with the NCO playbook, and then I'll hand it off to Andrea on pricing. So I think we've talked on prior calls that we've been setting new centers that have opened over the last couple of years that had have performed the best.

嘿，達納，這是大衛。讓我從 NCO 劇本開始，然後我將其交給 Andrea 負責定價。因此，我認為我們在之前的電話會議中已經談到，我們一直在設立新的中心，這些中心在過去幾年中開業，表現最好。

We've refined our playbooks. We've made additions. These are not wholesale new written playbooks, but in some cases we've dramatically modified. These modifications are in form with data to be a bit more prescriptive on the pre-opening spend requirements and the channels where our franchisees should spend. All of that is important to ensure that they open with the requisite number of new guests in their file on day one. We also want to ensure post day one opening that they continue what are the marketing activities and the digital channels they should be using to ensure they can continue to drive momentum.

我們已經完善了我們的策略。我們做了補充。這些並不是全新編寫的劇本，但在某些情況下我們進行了大幅修改。這些修改以數據的形式體現，以便對開業前的支出要求和加盟商應該支出的管道做出更多規定。所有這些對於確保他們在開業第一天就擁有足夠數量的新客人非常重要。我們還希望確保第一天開業後，他們繼續進行行銷活動和他們應該使用的數位管道，以確保他們能夠繼續推動勢頭。

And then finally, we've analyzed both the headcount numbers and the levels of experience for our wax specialists in our center managers. And we've seen -- so we're being more prescriptive on what does the staffing model needs to look like in day one, what does it need to look like in month three, in month six. Ultimately, these centers have driven higher sales and greater predictability versus the average benchmark, and they're just faster revenue ramp. So we've dialed out the playbook. We shared that this was coming with our franchisees at our Vegas conference a couple of weeks ago. So we will be rolling this out across the network this year.

最後，我們分析了中心經理中蠟專家的人數和經驗程度。我們已經看到，因此我們對第一天、第三個月、第六個月的人員配置模型需要更加規範。最終，與平均基準相比，這些中心推動了更高的銷售額和更高的可預測性，而且它們的收入成長速度更快。所以我們已經制定了劇本。幾週前，我們在維加斯會議上與我們的特許經營商分享了這一點。因此，我們今年將在整個網路上推出這項服務。

As it relates to pricing, as you know, Dana, we always evaluate this. And when we make a recommendation to our network, it's typically informed with either guest survey work or price elasticity work. As it relates to the things we're looking at in 2024, I'll pass it over to Andrea to address that.

如您所知，Dana，這與定價有關，我們總是對此進行評估。當我們向我們的人脈提出建議時，通常會透過賓客調查工作或價格彈性工作來了解情況。由於它與我們在 2024 年關注的事情有關，我會將其轉交給 Andrea 來解決。

Sure. Hi, Dana. So when thinking about what the network needs to hear from us in terms of pricing insights, we're obviously looking at past trends for how the market has reacted, how our target audience has reacted to price changes. We're looking at the latest transaction trends; certainly thinking about our cost as well as very, very importantly four-wall margins for our franchisees; and then also thinking about what the rest of the market may be doing and what elasticity, as David said, we think that there is at this time. So we're always looking at that, always pulling in a wide array of data points to determine what insights we want to provide to our franchisees.

當然。嗨，達納。因此，當考慮網路需要從我們這裡聽到什麼定價見解時，我們顯然會關注過去的趨勢，了解市場的反應，我們的目標受眾對價格變化的反應。我們正在關注最新的交易趨勢；當然要考慮我們的成本以及非常非常重要的特許經營商的四壁利潤；然後還要考慮市場的其他部分可能會做什麼以及彈性如何，正如大衛所說，我們認為此時存在彈性。因此，我們一直在關注這一點，總是提取廣泛的數據點來確定我們想要為加盟商提供哪些見解。

Then I think you also asked the question about the timing of (inaudible) yeah, and so it will be back half weighted, a third roughly in the first half and two-thirds in the second half. And then we also talked about Q1 that we expect to open seven net centers.

然後我想你也問了關於（聽不清楚）是的時間安排的問題，所以它會被一半加權，大約三分之一在上半場，三分之二在下半場。然後我們也談到了第一季我們預計將開設七個網路中心。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Simeon Gutman, Morgan Stanley.

西蒙古特曼，摩根士丹利。

Hey, good morning, everyone. First question, Stacie, the extra weeks that we had, are you suggesting that sales and EBITDA are the right way --? They were even or is there a greater EBITDA contribution? And if you could just remind us why do we have 53 weeks two years in a row?

嘿，大家早安。第一個問題，史黛西，我們多花了幾週時間，你是否認為銷售和 EBITDA 是正確的方式——？他們的 EBITDA 貢獻是相等的還是更大？您能否提醒我們為什麼連續兩年有 53 週？

So the contribution, yeah, I think in rough estimates, it's about an average fourth-quarter week is what we're using for top-line and bottom-line guidance. And the reasons we had it for two years, I was not here for that. David, this was to get onto a regular retail calendar. This first year was -- to recall with that --

因此，是的，我認為粗略估計，大約是第四季度平均一周的貢獻，這就是我們用於頂線和底線指導的內容。我們之所以堅持了兩年，我不是為了這個才來這裡的。大衛，這是為了進入常規零售日曆。回想起來，第一年是──

I think second, you resist the line what everyone else as retail calendar.

我認為第二，你抵制其他人所說的零售日曆。

Okay. No worries, it's a minor question. The other one, this is back to the 2.5 comp, which you've gotten a lot of different ways. Because if 75% of your business is relatively recurring, try to think about it in different bucket, meaning, is the Wax Pass customer is a frequency or is there some ticket? I know you mentioned we're not -- we don't explicitly think about it that way or ticket. Trying to understand what is driving the business, is it mature versus immature stores? Any other breakdown that you can provide.

好的。不用擔心，這是一個小問題。另一個，這是回到 2.5 版本，你可以透過很多不同的方式獲得它。因為如果你的 75% 的業務是相對重複的，請嘗試在不同的桶中考慮它，也就是說，Wax Pass 客戶是頻率還是有一些票？我知道你提到我們不是——我們沒有明確地以這種方式思考這個問題。試著了解推動業務發展的因素，是成熟的商店還是不成熟的商店？您可以提供的任何其他詳細資訊。

As you know, as it's typical when we look at our comp, I mean the ramping centers are the biggest driver of that comp as we move into the 13th month. So that we would expect to be continue in this new year.

如您所知，當我們查看我們的比較時，這是典型的，我的意思是，當我們進入第 13 個月時，斜坡中心是該比較的最大驅動力。因此我們希望在新的一年裡繼續下去。

No, really, I mean, you're familiar enough with our model ramping as usually and has an outsized impact on the overall comp in terms of the number. And we're expecting this year that the ramping centers will be a bigger contributor to the comp then the mature centers.

不，真的，我的意思是，您像往常一樣熟悉我們的模型升級，並且在數量方面對整體比較有巨大的影響。我們預計今年成長中心將比成熟中心對競爭做出更大的貢獻。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Sure.

當然。

John Heinbockel, Guggenheim Securities.

約翰·海因博克爾，古根漢證券公司。

As you guys wanted to start with -- it looks like adjusting for the extra week, the AUV sort flat in '24 versus '23 so I guess down in the first half, up in the second. Would that be right news? When I think about the drivers of that, is that more the units that have opened in the last two years picking up or better performance from centers this year?

正如你們想要開始的那樣 - 看起來需要調整額外的一周，AUV 在 24 年與 23 年持平，所以我猜上半場下降，下半場上升。這是正確的訊息嗎？當我思考其驅動因素時，是過去兩年開業的單位數量有所增加，還是今年中心的表現更好？

And then I guess the last part of that, if I think about -- maybe David touch on the maturation curve, right? Because I think normally you've opened up it maybe 450 in year one, do you think with the playbook we can now do 500, 500 plus in year one?

然後我想最後一部分，如果我想一下——也許大衛觸及了成熟曲線，對嗎？因為我認為通常你在第一年可能會開放 450 個，你認為根據劇本，我們現在可以在第一年開放 500 個、500 個以上嗎？

I would tell you, John, on this most recent point, that would be the goal. We want to ramp faster. We are not immune to the elevated construction costs. When we went public in 2021, the average build-out cost was 350. That's crept up to 400 to 450. I think our development teams have done a great job, value engineering, cost out of the fixtures to partially absorb some of the elevated construction costs.

約翰，我會告訴你，就最近的這一點而言，這將是我們的目標。我們想要加快速度。我們無法免受建築成本上漲的影響。當我們在 2021 年上市時，平均建築成本為 350 美元。成本。

But when you factor that in with elevated labor costs in various markets, we want to ramp faster. And the 450 has been our historical ramp. Candidly, that's been consistent cohort to cohort to cohort. But the purpose of the NCA playbook is to drive the average center to the north of that. So our franchise owners can get to very attractive cash-on-cash returns faster.

但當你考慮到各市場勞動成本上漲時，我們希望加快成長速度。 450 一直是我們歷史上的坡道。坦白說，各個群體的情況都是一致的。但 NCA 戰術的目的是將平均中鋒推向北部。因此，我們的特許經營權所有者可以更快地獲得非常有吸引力的現金回報。

In terms of your questions on AUV being flat in terms of the overall drivers, I would say we're focused on, as we outlined in our prepared remarks, new guest acquisition across the brand for every center in driving greater rate and frequency throughout the system. So if I put aside the ramping centers, which you can get lost in how much of that is just natural ticket growth because of the match duration, we do expect to drive -- our mature centers continue to drive strong four-wall profitability.

關於您對AUV 在整體驅動力方面持平的問題，我想說，正如我們在準備好的評論中概述的那樣，我們的重點是每個中心的整個品牌的新客人獲取，以推動整個整個品牌的更高的速度和頻率。因此，如果我把不斷增長的中心放在一邊，你可能會迷失其中有多少只是由於比賽持續時間而產生的自然門票增長，我們確實希望推動——我們成熟的中心繼續推動強勁的四牆盈利能力。

But the initiatives that we've outlined for 2024, we expect to drive both more tickets, more guests into those centers, and a greater spend from the average ticket within those centers. So I don't know if that's directly addressing your question, John. But our goal this year with the priorities and initiatives that we've outlined is to drive improvement in what we think are already robust four-wall economics, but to drive improvement in our mature centers through both the addition of new guests and increased spend from existing guests.

但我們為 2024 年制定的舉措預計將吸引更多門票、更多客人進入這些中心，並提高這些中心內的平均門票支出。所以我不知道這是否直接解決了你的問題，約翰。但我們今年的目標以及我們概述的優先事項和舉措是推動我們認為已經強勁的四牆經濟的改進，同時通過增加新客人和增加支出來推動我們成熟中心的改進。

Well, as a follow-up, you've raised the point of higher CapEx, right? So I think about -- and I know you've done this in the past, like with the ancillary supplies, what else can you do to reduce the cost of operations for a franchisee? And that brings us back to -- I know you've been thinking about over the years supply chain on wax and getting that cost down and passing that along. Is that now more urgent than it might have been or same?

好吧，作為後續行動，您提出了更高的資本支出，對嗎？所以我想——我知道你過去已經這樣做過，就像輔助用品一樣，你還能做些什麼來降低特許經營商的營運成本？這讓我們回到——我知道你們多年來一直在考慮蠟的供應鏈，降低成本並傳遞下去。現在的情況比原來更緊急還是一樣？

I would say we've always do that with the high priority. I mean, we recently -- I think Stacie touched on this in her prepared remarks as we've been monitoring ocean freight. Couple of years ago, we put in place this freight surcharge to cover those elevated costs. Those have dropped down to a level where we could remove that, and that should generate a couple of million dollars on an annualized basis of savings.

我想說的是，我們始終高度重視這一點。我的意思是，我們最近 - 我認為史黛西在她準備好的演講中談到了這一點，因為我們一直在監測海運。幾年前，我們徵收了運費附加費來彌補這些增加的成本。這些已經下降到我們可以消除的水平，這應該會產生每年數百萬美元的節省。

If you think about all the stuff, that's not -- doesn't sound that exciting. But literally, the wax applicator blades, the table paper, the gloves that we use -- that our institutions use in providing the service, we are constantly monitoring the markets and working with our vendor partners to drive those costs down on an individual service basis. It's a few cents here, and they may be $1, but that ultimately adds up for our franchisees. So our supply chain team is -- candidly, it's not a new priority or an elevated priority. We've been doing this over the last several years, pre-COVID and post-COVID to ensure we can control what we can control to help our franchisees maximize profitability within their four walls.

如果你考慮一下所有的事情，那就不是——聽起來並不那麼令人興奮。但實際上，我們使用的塗蠟刀片、桌紙、手套——我們的機構在提供服務時使用它們，我們不斷監控市場並與我們的供應商合作夥伴合作，在個別服務的基礎上降低這些成本。這裡是幾美分，也可能是 1 美元，但這最終會為我們的特許經營商帶來好處。因此，我們的供應鏈團隊坦白說，這不是一個新的優先事項或更高的優先事項。在過去的幾年裡，無論是在新冠疫情之前還是之後，我們一直在這樣做，以確保我們能夠控制我們可以控制的事情，幫助我們的特許經營商在其四堵牆內最大限度地提高盈利能力。

Thank you, guys.

感謝你們。

Sure

當然

(Operator Instructions) Jonathan Komp, Baird.

（操作員說明）Jonathan Komp，Baird。

Yeah, hi, good morning. David, I wanted to just follow up a little further on the development plan. You touched on few markets digesting the growth the last few years. Can I just ask, are you seeing any divergences in the opening performance or volumes when you look across markets? And then as we think about the plans this year, just two-thirds back-weighted on openings, can you comment on the visibility since that looks quite a bit different from last year?

是的，嗨，早安。大衛，我想進一步跟進開發計劃。您談到了幾個消化過去幾年成長的市場。我可以問一下，當您觀察各個市場時，您是否發現開盤表現或交易量有任何差異？然後，當我們考慮今年的計劃時，只有三分之二的職缺受到了影響，您能否評論一下可見性，因為這看起來與去年有很大不同？

Yeah, I would say, John, thank you for the question. That overall performance is -- Heinbockel just mentioned in our question-and-answer session there. We continue to see AUVs at 450. But we want those to be higher to get our new centers faster to breakeven and a faster ramp to get to the very robust cash on cash returns. So we haven't seen a degradation in opening performance, but I would say we are motivated to open with faster ramps than what our brand has experienced over the last several years.

是的，我想說，約翰，謝謝你的提問。海因博克爾剛剛在我們的問答環節中提到了整體表現。我們繼續看到 AUV 為 450。因此，我們沒有看到開業性能下降，但我想說，我們有動力以比我們品牌過去幾年經歷的更快的速度開業。

I wouldn't look too much into the timing. The demand remains incredibly robust from both our existing partners, our growth partners, and we still have a number of folks looking for entry points into our network. So in terms of the timing and shaping of the NCS, I think first quarter last year, we're at 34. There was no real magic to that, delivering 34.

我不會太在意時間安排。我們現有的合作夥伴和成長合作夥伴的需求仍然非常強勁，而且仍然有許多人在尋找進入我們網路的切入點。因此，就 NCS 的時機和塑造而言，我認為去年第一季我們的排名是 34。

And our seven that we've guided to this year, just given we're so close to it in the first quarter, we wanted to be a bit more prescriptive. But I wouldn't look too much into that one-third front half, two-thirds back half. That's truly where just the timing of what we've slated to open this year is expected to fall.

我們今年指導的七個目標，只是考慮到我們在第一季非常接近這個目標，我們希望更加規範一些。但我不會太在意前半部的三分之一，後半部的三分之二。這確實是我們今年計劃開業的時間預計會下降的地方。

Okay. That's really helpful. And one follow-up, if I could just ask on the laser initiative. It looks like corporate started recruiting last month for a fairly senior role to lead that effort. So David, I'm wondering if you could just comment on what we should read into maybe the multiyear aspirations as you start to line up? It looks like maybe some more corporate resources behind that division.

好的。這真的很有幫助。還有一個後續問題，我能否詢問一下雷射倡議。看起來公司上個月開始招募一個相當高階的職位來領導這項工作。大衛，我想知道你是否可以評論一下，當你開始排隊時，我們應該解讀多年的願望？看起來該部門背後可能有更多的企業資源。

Yeah, John, of course. Great question. as I had mentioned earlier, we do view laser as an accretive and additive component to our core business. Our franchisee has been an amazing partner in terms of the effort and resources. He's invested to help us pilot this in the handful centers in New York.

是的，約翰，當然。很好的問題。正如我之前提到的，我們確實將雷射視為我們核心業務的增值和附加組件。我們的加盟商在努力和資源方面一直是個了不起的合作夥伴。他投資幫助我們在紐約的幾個中心進行試點。

Candidly, for our corporate staff, we have maintained focus on delivering our core business and supporting our franchisees and our core waxing business. So while this laser pilot, we've given this a fair amount of air cover because we didn't want to cut you off guard that were dabbling in this, but it's been a little bit of a night and weekends project for our corporate staff. We've seen enough in the trends to say it's certainly worth making a few investments in some dedicated resources to ensure we can further support this extended pilot. I hope that helps, John.

坦白說，對於我們的公司員工來說，我們一直專注於提供我們的核心業務並支持我們的特許經營商和我們的核心打蠟業務。因此，在這個雷射飛行員的過程中，我們給予了相當多的空中掩護，因為我們不想讓正在涉足這一領域的你們措手不及，但這對我們公司員工來說是一個晚上和周末的項目。我們已經看到足夠多的趨勢，可以說肯定值得對一些專用資源進行一些投資，以確保我們能夠進一步支持這項擴展試點。我希望這有幫助，約翰。

Yeah, very helpful. Thanks again.

是的，非常有幫助。再次感謝。

Thank you. And I'm showing no further questions in the queue at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. David Willis for any closing remarks.

謝謝。目前我在隊列中沒有顯示任何其他問題。現在我想將電話轉回給大衛威利斯先生，請他發表結束語。

Olivia, thank you for hosting today. And thank you, everyone, for your time on the call today. We look forward to speaking with you in the days and the weeks to come. Have a great day.

奧利維亞，謝謝您今天的主持。感謝大家今天抽空參加電話會議。我們期待在未來幾天和幾週內與您交談。祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以斷開連線。