National Vision Holdings Inc (EYE) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q4 2023 National Vision Holdings earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加國家願景控股 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Caitlin Churchill, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想把會議交給今天的發言人，投資者關係部門的凱特琳·邱吉爾。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to National Vision's fourth-quarter 2023 earnings call. Joining me on the call today are Reade Fahs, CEO; and Melissa Rasmussen, CFO. Patrick Moore, COO, is also with us and will be available during the Q&A portion of the call.

謝謝大家，大家早安。歡迎參加 National Vision 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。今天和我一起參加電話會議的是執行長 Reade Fahs；和財務長 Melissa Rasmussen。首席營運官帕特里克·摩爾 (Patrick Moore) 也與我們在一起，並將在電話的問答部分提供幫助。

Our earnings release issued this morning and the presentation accompanying our call are both available in the Investors section of our website, nationalvision.com. A replay of the audio webcast will be archived in the Investors section after the call.

我們今天早上發布的收益報告以及電話會議隨附的簡報都可以在我們網站Nationalvision.com的投資者部分中找到。電話會議後，音訊網路廣播的重播將存檔在投資者部分。

Before we begin, let me remind you that our earnings materials and today's presentation include forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors identified in the release and our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The release and today's presentation also include certain non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of these measures is included in our release and the supplemental presentation.

在開始之前，請允許我提醒您，我們的收益資料和今天的簡報包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》中定義的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期和預測有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於新聞稿和我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中確定的因素。該新聞稿和今天的演示還包括某些非公認會計原則措施。這些措施的協調包含在我們的新聞稿和補充演示中。

We also would like to draw your attention to slide 2 in today's presentation for additional information about forward-looking statements and non-GAAP measures. As a reminder, National Vision provides investor presentations and supplemental materials for investor reference in the Investors section of our website.

我們還想提請您注意今天簡報中的投影片 2，以了解有關前瞻性陳述和非公認會計準則措施的更多資訊。謹此提醒，National Vision 在我們網站的投資者部分提供投資者介紹和補充資料供投資者參考。

I will now turn the call over to Reade. Reade?

我現在將把電話轉給里德。里德？

Thank you, Caitlin. Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for joining us today.

謝謝你，凱特琳。大家，早安。感謝大家今天加入我們。

National Vision finished the year quite strong with top and bottom line results above our expectations for both the quarter and the year. I'd like to sincerely thank our teams for this accomplishment and their efforts throughout the year.

National Vision 全年業績表現強勁，營收和淨利潤均超出我們對本季和全年的預期。我衷心感謝我們的團隊所取得的成就以及他們一年來的努力。

Fourth-quarter net revenue grew 8% with adjusted comparable store sales growth of 5.7%. These results reflect ongoing strength within America's Best and sequential improvement in the Eyeglass World, further supported by crisp execution from our teams and successful marketing campaigns at the end of the year. This strong top-line performance, combined with disciplined expense management, enabled us to deliver better-than-expected adjusted operating income for the quarter and the year.

第四季淨收入成長 8%，調整後可比門市銷售額成長 5.7%。這些結果反映了美國最佳眼鏡行業的持續實力和連續改進，並得到我們團隊的清晰執行力和年底成功的營銷活動的進一步支持。這種強勁的營收業績，加上嚴格的費用管理，使我們能夠在本季和本年度實現優於預期的調整後營業收入。

For the year, total net revenue grew 6% and adjusted comparable store sales grew nearly 3%, resulting in adjusted earnings per share of $0.64 for fiscal 2023. Underlying our top-line performance in Q4 and full year was ongoing strength in our managed care business as our traditional budget-conscious customer base continued to feel the impact of inflation and other macro-related headwinds.

今年，總淨收入成長 6%，調整後可比商店銷售額成長近 3%，導致 2023 財年調整後每股收益為 0.64 美元。我們第四季和全年營收業績的基礎是我們的管理式醫療業務的持續強勁，因為我們傳統的注重預算的客戶群繼續感受到通貨膨脹和其他宏觀相關不利因素的影響。

For the year, managed care represented approximately 35% of overall revenues, an increase of approximately 250 basis points compared to our prior historical trend of one-third of sales. This is another indication of the ongoing trade-down behavior we see from customers with higher incomes than our traditional customer base.

今年，管理式醫療約佔總收入的 35%，與我們先前佔銷售額三分之一的歷史趨勢相比增加了約 250 個基點。這是我們從收入高於傳統客戶群的客戶那裡看到的持續以舊換新行為的另一個跡象。

We believe that managed care will continue to grow as a percentage of our business as we remain underpenetrated in this sector. And we believe more balance between our managed care and cash pay customers will make our business more resilient overall.

我們相信，管理式醫療在我們業務中所佔的比例將繼續成長，因為我們在該領域的滲透率仍然不足。我們相信，管理式醫療和現金支付客戶之間的更多平衡將使我們的業務整體更具彈性。

2023 was a year in which we began to transform our business to better compete in today's marketplace. When we started the year, we set out to enhance the foundation of ongoing profitable growth and we have made great progress. Specifically, we delivered improved retention of optometrists, record optometrist recruitment, and continued success of our remote exam initiatives.

2023 年是我們開始進行業務轉型的一年，以便更好地在當今市場中競爭。新年伊始，我們就著手加強持續獲利成長的基礎，並且取得了巨大進展。具體來說，我們提高了驗光師的保留率，記錄了驗光師的招募情況，並讓我們的遠距考試計畫持續成功。

We successfully expanded exam capacity. This was the second year of improvement in retention and a record year in recruiting more experienced and student hires. Notably, over 10% of all optometric graduates from the entire class of 2023 joined our network in 2023. Also, we're happy to welcome 20 doctors that were previously practicing at Walmart Vision Centers under our management.

我們成功擴大了考試容量。這是留任率連續第二年提高，也是招募經驗豐富的員工和學生員工創紀錄的一年。值得注意的是，2023 年整個班級的所有驗光畢業生中有超過 10% 於 2023 年加入了我們的網路。此外，我們很高興歡迎 20 位曾在我們管理下的沃爾瑪視力中心執業的醫生。

Regarding our remote exam initiative, remote care proved to be profitable in its second year of operations, an accomplishment we take pride in given that remote represents a complex multidimensional tech startup inside our more traditional bricks-and-mortar company. In 2023, we expanded remote capabilities into over 200 additional America's Best locations. And as of year end, we had nearly 550 America's Best locations remote enabled. Remote exams now represent over 5% of all exams. While it's still evolving and improving, we regard the remote program as a success and are confident it will continue contributing to our business and profits.

關於我們的遠距考試計劃，遠距照護在營運的第二年被證明是有利可圖的，鑑於遠端代表了我們更傳統的實體公司內部複雜的多維技術新創公司，我們對此感到自豪。2023 年，我們將遠端功能擴展到另外 200 多個美國最佳地點。截至年底，我們已為近 550 個美國最佳地點啟用了遠端功能。目前，遠距考試佔所有考試的 5% 以上。雖然它仍在不斷發展和改進，但我們認為遠端計劃是成功的，並相信它將繼續為我們的業務和利潤做出貢獻。

We also continued our store digitization efforts aimed at improving efficiency and productivity. The rollout of electronic health records or EHR in America's Best locations continues to advance. And in our corporate office, we began the first phase of implementation of the back-office ERP project to upgrade our financial system.

我們也持續進行商店數位化工作，旨在提高效率和生產力。美國最佳地點的電子健康記錄或 EHR 的推出繼續推進。在我們的公司辦公室，我們開始實施後台ERP專案的第一階段，以升級我們的財務系統。

We made progress in our objective to leverage omni-channel capabilities by continuing to test and progress programs that attract consumers across omni-channel offerings. We opened 70 new stores in 2023, including 17 new stores in the fourth quarter, continuing to capitalize on white space opportunities as store openings remain an important part of our strategic growth initiatives. And finally, we're very proud that our philanthropic efforts helped 1.4 million people around the world to see better.

透過持續測試和推進透過全通路產品吸引消費者的計劃，我們在利用全通路能力的目標方面取得了進展。我們在 2023 年開設了 70 家新店，其中第四季度開設了 17 家新店，並繼續利用空白空間機會，因為開店仍然是我們策略成長計畫的重要組成部分。最後，我們感到非常自豪的是，我們的慈善事業幫助世界各地 140 萬人獲得了更好的視力。

In addition to this work, we also took actions to adapt our business and cost structure as we enter 2024 and embark on the first chapter of the post-Walmart era. The transition of the Walmart stores is now complete. During the fourth quarter, we transitioned 4 of the 229 Walmart Vision Centers to Walmart, which prepared us for the smooth transition of the remaining 225 stores last week. I am deeply appreciative of the Walmart-based associates and optometrists for their resilience, commitment, and professionalism during this time of transition and for their decades of commitment and service to patients and customer care.

除了這項工作之外，隨著我們進入 2024 年並開啟後沃爾瑪時代的第一章，我們還採取了調整我們的業務和成本結構的行動。沃爾瑪門市的轉型現已完成。第四季度，我們將 229 家沃爾瑪視覺中心中的 4 家轉移到了沃爾瑪，這為我們上週順利過渡其餘 225 家商店做好了準備。我非常感謝沃爾瑪的員工和驗光師在這個過渡時期的韌性、承諾和專業精神，以及他們數十年來對病人和客戶照護的承諾和服務。

In addition, we streamlined our lab network by ending our outsourced lab relationship in China in anticipation of lower lab volumes due to the Walmart contract termination. This will enable us to leverage our fixed cost structure more effectively as we distribute the work between our four domestic labs and our remaining outsourced lab in Mexico, all of which can now match or beat the all-in cost of the China lab. Concurrently, this action diminishes our dependency on China, something we have been progressing towards for the past few years.

此外，由於沃爾瑪合約預計終止導致實驗室數量減少，我們透過結束在中國的外包實驗室關係來簡化我們的實驗室網路。當我們在四個國內實驗室和墨西哥剩餘的外包實驗室之間分配工作時，這將使我們能夠更有效地利用我們的固定成本結構，所有這些實驗室現在都可以匹配或超過中國實驗室的總成本。同時，這項行動減少了我們對中國的依賴，這是我們過去幾年一直在努力的方向。

We also implemented the various pricing and cost savings initiatives we discussed last quarter. These actions included approximately $15 million in pricing and a reduction of corporate overhead and other corporate costs, which we expect to result in $10 million of annual cost savings in fiscal 2024.

我們也實施了上季討論的各種定價和成本節約措施。這些行動包括約 1500 萬美元的定價以及減少公司管理費用和其他公司成本，我們預計這將在 2024 財年實現每年 1000 萬美元的成本節省。

With respect to our AC Lens operations, as we discussed in our third-quarter release, we will fulfill the remaining commitments in our Walmart and Sam's Club agreements to supply contact lens distribution and related services through the end of June and are on track to streamline our distribution network and wind down these operations by June 30.

至於我們的 AC Lens 業務，正如我們在第三季發布中所討論的那樣，我們將履行沃爾瑪和山姆會員店協議中的剩餘承諾，在 6 月底之前提供隱形眼鏡分銷和相關服務，並有望簡化流程我們的分銷網絡，並在6 月30 日之前結束這些業務。

Finally, as part of our ongoing detailed performance review of all our stores and markets, we found that there would be significant operational efficiencies and increased profitability for the business overall if we focused our California market exclusively on the America's Best brand versus dividing up the markets in the state as we have previously done.

最後，作為我們對所有商店和市場正在進行的詳細績效審查的一部分，我們發現，如果我們將加州市場完全集中在美國最佳品牌而不是分割市場，那麼整個業務的運營效率將會顯著提高，盈利能力也會提高。正如我們之前所做的那樣。

We are, therefore, planning to convert the 20 Eyeglass World California stores to America's Best. This conversion is expected to be complete by the end of the first quarter. Operational efficiencies will come in the form of reduced field overheads, leveraging of national advertising, better leveraging of optometrist deployment, and reduced travel.

因此，我們計劃將加州的 20 家 Eyeglass World 商店轉變為 America's Best。此次轉換預計將在第一季末完成。營運效率將透過減少現場管理費用、利用全國廣告、更好地利用驗光師部署以及減少差旅等形式來實現。

Looking ahead to 2024, we plan to build off the stronger foundation we established in 2023 and remain focused on executing against our initiatives, including expanding exam capacity, furthering our digitization efforts to improve efficiency and productivity, leveraging our omni-channel capabilities, and continuing to capitalize on our white space opportunity.

展望2024 年，我們計劃在2023 年建立的更堅實的基礎上繼續努力，並繼續專注於執行我們的舉措，包括擴大考試能力、進一步推進數位化工作以提高效率和生產力、利用我們的全通路能力以及繼續利用我們的空白機會。

With respect to expanding exam capacity, we will continue with our recruiting, retention, and remote efforts. We will continue to leverage the recruiting and retention initiatives put in place in 2023, including flexible scheduling options.

在擴大考試能力方面，我們將繼續進行招募、保留和遠距工作。我們將繼續利用 2023 年實施的招聘和保留計劃，包括靈活的日程安排選項。

Regarding our 2024 plans for remote, our remote capabilities are an important tool to leverage, especially amidst the changing optometric landscape. As we look at new store openings, we're taking into consideration the ability to implement the remote offering, especially as we monitor doctor availability in new and fill-in markets. In 2024, we expect to open 65 to 70 new stores, the vast majority of which will be in our America's Best brand, again this year.

關於我們的 2024 年遠端規劃，我們的遠端功能是一個重要的利用工具，尤其是在不斷變化的驗光環境中。當我們考慮開設新店時，我們正在考慮實施遠端服務的能力，特別是當我們監控新市場和填補市場的醫生可用性時。到 2024 年，我們預計將開設 65 至 70 家新店，其中絕大多數將在今年再次成為我們的美國最佳品牌。

As we mentioned on our last call, we plan to slow the pace of the rollout in 2024 as we near completion of the heavy initial implementation phase of this program and continue to monitor the evolving regulatory landscape. In 2024, we now plan to equip approximately 50 additional stores with remote exam capabilities. As Melissa will discuss, our plans for expanding our remote technology have evolved over this year, particularly with respect to the timing of our deployment to larger states such as Texas.

正如我們在上次電話會議中提到的，我們計劃在 2024 年放慢推出速度，因為我們即將完成該計劃的繁重初始實施階段，並繼續監控不斷變化的監管環境。到 2024 年，我們現在計劃為另外約 50 家商店配備遠距考試功能。正如梅麗莎將討論的那樣，我們擴展遠端技術的計劃在今年已經發生了變化，特別是在我們部署到德克薩斯州等較大州的時間方面。

While we continue to see opportunities to implement remote capabilities beyond the planned 600 stores by the end of 2024, we want to ensure we are taking a measured approach as we assess new states and markets. That said, we continue to expect to advance our electronic health records platform to over 400 of our America's Best stores by year end, and complete the digitization of our paper records for the entire America's Best fleet in 2024, which we believe will drive further efficiencies and productivity in our stores.

雖然我們繼續看到在 2024 年底之前在計劃的 600 家商店之外實施遠端功能的機會，但我們希望確保在評估新的州和市場時採取謹慎的方法。也就是說，我們仍然期望到年底將我們的電子健康記錄平台推廣到 400 多家 America's Best 門市，並在 2024 年完成整個 America's Best 車隊紙本記錄的數位化，我們相信這將進一步提高效率和我們商店的生產力。

As we discussed last quarter, we have initiated a review of our Eyeglass World operations. While we're pleased with the sequential improvement we delivered in Eyeglass World in the fourth quarter, there is still more work to be done. Eyeglass World is not yet performing to our standards and we're taking actions to improve results.

正如我們上季度討論的那樣，我們已經開始對眼鏡世界的運作進行審查。雖然我們對眼鏡世界第四季的連續改進感到滿意，但仍有更多工作要做。Eyeglass World 的表現尚未達到我們的標準，我們正在採取行動來改善結果。

First, we're taking pages from the America's Best playbook with respect to recruiting, retention, and remote initiatives. While there are distinct differences in the doctor models between America's Best and Eyeglass World, which make a full rollout of remote capabilities less feasible, we will be expanding remote into select Eyeglass World locations in 2024 as part of our overall remote deployment strategy. And we'll continue to evaluate opportunities over time.

首先，我們借鑒了美國最佳劇本中有關招聘、保留和遠端計劃的內容。雖然America's Best 和Eyeglass World 之間的醫生模式存在明顯差異，這使得全面推出遠端功能不太可行，但作為我們整體遠端部署策略的一部分，我們將在2024 年將遠端擴展到選定的Eyeglass World 地點。隨著時間的推移，我們將繼續評估機會。

Second, we made leadership changes within Eyeglass World, including adding one of our most experienced and highly respected America's Best leaders who brings a proven track record of driving results. Third, we have plans in place to better allocate marketing spend focused on driving results for Eyeglass World.

其次，我們在眼鏡世界內部進行了領導層變動，包括增加了一位經驗最豐富、最受尊敬的美國最佳領導者，他帶來了良好的業績記錄。第三，我們制定了計劃，更好地分配行銷支出，並專注於推動眼鏡世界的表現。

We believe the leadership changes and marketing adjustments we are making will drive improvements as we progress through 2024. As these operational improvements gain traction, we intend to increase the number of Eyeglass World new store openings.

我們相信，隨著 2024 年的進展，我們正在進行的領導層變動和行銷調整將推動我們取得進步。隨著這些營運改進的推動，我們打算增加眼鏡世界新店的開設數量。

Looking ahead, we also plan to continue our early-stage exploration of new technologies and leverage our investment in Toku Inc., a leader in applying AI-powered diagnostic and screening tools to retinal imaging. The eye is a treasure trove of medical information, and we look forward to, over time, potentially playing an expanded role in our patient's healthcare.

展望未來，我們也計劃繼續對新技術進行早期探索，並利用我們對 Toku Inc. 的投資，Toku Inc. 是將人工智慧驅動的診斷和篩檢工具應用於視網膜成像的領導者。眼睛是醫學資訊的寶庫，我們期待隨著時間的推移，它可能在患者的醫療保健中發揮更大的作用。

Before I close, I want to provide our current thoughts on the purchase cycle as we head into 2024. We and our industry have been waiting for a return to a more normalized purchase cycle, especially for cash pay customers since the COVID disruptions of 2020 and 2021. To date, the data has been inconsistent. And therefore, it's too soon to say the purchase cycles have normalized.

在結束之前，我想談談我們對 2024 年購買週期的當前想法。自 2020 年和 2021 年新冠疫情中斷以來，我們和我們的產業一直在等待回歸更正常化的購買週期，特別是對於現金支付客戶。迄今為止，數據不一致。因此，現在說購買週期已經正常化還為時過早。

While we had some encouraging signs in 2023 with a better back-to-school season and strong end-of-year sales, we are awaiting our next data point, which will come in March, typically our high seasonality period due to tax refunds. That said, our guidance, which Melissa will soon review, takes into account a softer-than-expected start to 2024. However, we are encouraged by the sequential improvement of revenues from January into February.

雖然我們在2023 年看到了一些令人鼓舞的跡象，例如更好的返校季節和強勁的年末銷售，但我們正在等待下一個數據點，該數據點將於3 月發布，通常是由於退稅而導致的旺季。也就是說，梅麗莎很快就會審查我們的指導意見，其中考慮到了 2024 年開局比預期疲軟的情況。然而，一月至二月收入的連續改善令我們感到鼓舞。

With that, I will turn the call over to Melissa to review our results and outlook in more detail.

這樣，我將把電話轉給梅麗莎，更詳細地審查我們的結果和前景。

Thank you, Reade, and good morning, everyone. Before I discuss our results, I would like to introduce our new Head of Investor Relations, Tamara Gonzalez. Tamara is an experienced Investor Relations professional well versed in the consumer sector having spent time on the sell side covering broadline retail companies after starting her career in Investor Relations at The Home Depot. We are excited to have her onboard as we further our Investor Relations efforts.

謝謝你，雷德，大家早安。在討論我們的結果之前，我想先介紹一下我們新投資者關係主管 Tamara Gonzalez。Tamara 是一位經驗豐富的投資者關係專業人士，精通消費領域，在 The Home Depot 開始投資者關係職業生涯後，曾在涵蓋廣泛零售公司的賣方工作過一段時間。我們很高興她能加入我們，進一步推進投資者關係工作。

Turning now to our results. As Reade said, we are pleased to have delivered fourth-quarter and full-year results that came in ahead of our expectations. Our strong year-end results were driven by crisp execution of our strategic initiatives and disciplined expense management, driving both top-line improvement in our growth brands and better-than-expected adjusted operating income.

現在轉向我們的結果。正如里德所說，我們很高興第四季和全年業績超出了我們的預期。我們強勁的年終業績得益於策略計畫的清晰執行和嚴格的費用管理，推動了我們成長品牌的營收改善和好於預期的調整後營業收入。

Throughout the fiscal year, we made solid progress in improving exam capacity and mitigating the impact of dark and dense stores on our results. For the year, on average, dark stores represented a low single-digit percentage of our America's Best fleet, which is in line with our historical norm and an improvement from the peak mid-single-digit percentage we saw in 2022. Dim stores on average for the year represented a high single-digit percentage of the America's Best fleet, reflecting a trend that is still higher than our historical norm, but an improvement compared to the prior year. As Reade noted, store openings remain an important part of our growth plan, and doctor availability as well as remote capabilities are key considerations in our expansion plans as we select locations for new store openings.

在整個財年中，我們在提高考試能力和減輕黑暗和密集商店對結果的影響方面取得了紮實的進展。今年，平均而言，暗店在我們的美國最佳車隊中所佔的比例較低，為個位數，這符合我們的歷史常態，並且比我們在2022 年看到的中個位數百分比峰值有所改善。今年平均昏暗的商店在美國最佳車隊中所佔的比例很高，反映了這一趨勢仍然高於我們的歷史正常水平，但與前一年相比有所改善。正如里德指出的那樣，新店開業仍然是我們成長計劃的重要組成部分，在我們選擇新店開業地點時，醫生的可用性以及遠端能力是我們擴張計劃中的關鍵考慮因素。

Now moving on to our fourth-quarter results in more detail. For the fourth quarter, net revenue increased 8% compared to the prior year, driven by adjusted comparable store sales growth of 5.7% and growth from new store sales. Adjusted comparable store sales were driven by an increase in customer transactions and to a lesser extent, higher average ticket. The timing of unearned revenue benefited revenue in the period by 20 basis points.

現在更詳細地討論我們的第四季業績。第四季淨收入較上年同期增長 8%，這得益於調整後的可比門市銷售額增長 5.7% 以及新店銷售額增長。調整後的可比商店銷售額是由客戶交易的增加以及在較小程度上平均門票的增加所推動的。未實現收入的時機使該期間的收入提高了 20 個基點。

We opened 16 new America's Best and 1 Eyeglass World store in the fourth quarter. Unit growth in our America's Best and Eyeglass World brands increased 4.4% on a combined basis over the total store base last year. And we ended the quarter with 1,413 stores.

我們在第四季新開了 16 家 America's Best 店和 1 家 Eyeglass World 店。去年，我們的 America's Best 和 Eyeglass World 品牌的銷量合計比總商店基數增長了 4.4%。本季結束時，我們擁有 1,413 家商店。

As a percentage of net revenue, costs applicable to revenue increased approximately 140 basis points compared with the prior-year quarter, driven primarily by higher optometrist-related costs and a lower service revenue, including warranty revenue as well as other mix and margin effects. These cost increases were offset by ongoing strength in exam revenue as well as a decrease in freight expense. For the quarter, the net impact from deleverage of optometrist-related costs and the increase in exam revenue was approximately 90 basis points, which is higher than previous quarters in the year due to timing of benefit-related accruals.

與去年同期相比，適用於收入的成本佔淨收入的百分比增加了約 140 個基點，這主要是由於驗光師相關成本增加和服務收入減少（包括保固收入以及其他組合和利潤效應）。這些成本增加被考試收入的持續強勁以及運費的減少所抵消。本季度，驗光師相關成本去槓桿化和考試收入增加的淨影響約為 90 個基點，由於福利相關應計費用的安排，該數字高於今年前幾季。

Adjusted SG&A expense as a percentage of revenue decreased 260 basis points compared with the fourth quarter of 2022. The decrease in adjusted SG&A as a percentage of net revenue was primarily driven by lower advertising, legal and professional expenses, and reflects disciplined expense management we have taken across the organization. Depreciation and amortization expense was $24.1 million, compared to $24.7 million in the prior-year period, and was slightly better than our expectations, primarily due to the intangible asset impairment recorded as a result of the termination of our Walmart partnership.

與 2022 年第四季相比，調整後的 SG&A 費用佔收入的百分比下降了 260 個基點。調整後的銷售、管理及行政費用佔淨收入的百分比下降主要是由於廣告、法律和專業費用減少，反映了我們在整個組織內採取的嚴格的費用管理。折舊和攤銷費用為 2,410 萬美元，去年同期為 2,470 萬美元，略優於我們的預期，主要是由於我們與沃爾瑪合作關係終止而記錄的無形資產減損。

Adjusted operating income was $0.3 million, compared to an adjusted operating loss of $6.8 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted operating margin increased 150 basis points to 0.1% compared to the prior-year period due primarily to factors previously discussed.

調整後營業收入為 30 萬美元，而去年同期調整後營業虧損為 680 萬美元。調整後營業利潤率較上年同期成長 150 個基點，達到 0.1%，這主要是由於先前討論的因素。

Net interest expense was $3.9 million, compared to $2.6 million in the prior-year period. The year-over-year interest increase was driven primarily by an increase of $3.1 million of noncash mark-to-market charges, which were offset by an increase in interest income of $1 million and a decrease in interest expense of $0.8 million compared to the prior-year period.

淨利息支出為 390 萬美元，去年同期為 260 萬美元。利息年增主要是由於非現金按市價計價費用增加了 310 萬美元，但與去年同期相比，利息收入增加了 100 萬美元，利息支出減少了 80 萬美元，這抵消了這一增加。去年同期。

As a reminder, our interest guidance excludes noncash mark-to-market and deferred financing costs, which totaled $4.3 million for the period. Excluding these costs, interest was a benefit of $0.4 million.

需要提醒的是，我們的利息指導不包括以市價計價的非現金成本和遞延融資成本，該期間總計 430 萬美元。除去這些成本，利息收益為 40 萬美元。

Our effective tax rate in the fourth quarter was 10.1%, primarily due to increases in unfavorable book-to-tax differences, which offset the tax benefit of the pretax book loss in the period. Adjusted diluted EPS was negative $0.02 per share in the fourth quarter, compared to negative $0.08 per share in the prior-year period.

我們第四季的有效稅率為10.1%，主要是由於不利的帳面稅負差異增加，抵銷了當期稅前帳面虧損的稅收優惠。第四季調整後攤薄每股收益為負 0.02 美元，去年同期為負 0.08 美元。

Turning to our financial results for fiscal 2023 compared to the prior-year period, net revenue increased 6%, driven by new stores and adjusted comparable store sales growth of 2.9%. The timing of unearned revenue positively impacted net revenue by 20 basis points. Adjusted operating margin declined 100 basis points compared to the prior-year period, driven primarily by the expected deleverage of optometrist-related costs and the normalization of our incentive compensation program.

談到我們 2023 財年的財務業績，與上年同期相比，在新店和調整後的可比商店銷售額增長 2.9% 的推動下，淨收入增長了 6%。非賺取收入的時機對淨收入產生了 20 個基點的正面影響。調整後營業利潤率與去年同期相比下降了 100 個基點，這主要是由於驗光師相關成本的預期去槓桿化以及我們的激勵薪酬計劃正常化所致。

For the year, adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.64, compared to $0.65 in fiscal 2022. Please note our adjusted results for the fourth quarter and full year exclude the impacts associated with onetime charges related to the termination of our Walmart partnership and related wind down of AC Lens operations, cost savings initiatives, charges related to our ERP rollout, and other nonrecurring items that are detailed in the reconciliation tables found in our press release.

今年調整後的稀釋每股收益為 0.64 美元，而 2022 財年為 0.65 美元。請注意，我們第四季度和全年的調整後業績不包括與終止沃爾瑪合作夥伴關係和相關AC Lens 業務縮減相關的一次性費用、成本節約計劃、與我們的ERP 部署相關的費用以及其他非經常性費用的影響。我們的新聞稿中的調節表中詳細列出了這些項目。

We are on track to substantially complete the first phase of our ERP project by the end of fiscal 2024. During 2023, we incurred approximately $2.5 million of expenses related to the project, of which approximately $2 million was capitalized. We continue to expect to incur approximately $11 million to $13 million in onetime expenses related to the first phase of the project, inclusive of the 2023 expenses.

我們預計在 2024 財年底前基本完成 ERP 專案的第一階段。2023 年期間，我們發生了約 250 萬美元的與該專案相關的費用，其中約 200 萬美元被資本化。我們仍預計與該計畫第一階段相關的一次性費用約為 1,100 萬至 1,300 萬美元，其中包括 2023 年的費用。

Turning next to our balance sheet, we ended the year with a cash balance of approximately $150 million and total liquidity of $444 million, including available capacity from our revolving credit facility. As of December 30, our total debt outstanding was $465 million, and for the trailing 12 months, we ended the year with a net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 1.9 times.

接下來看我們的資產負債表，我們年底的現金餘額約為 1.5 億美元，流動性總額為 4.44 億美元，其中包括循環信貸額度的可用能力。截至 12 月 30 日，我們的未償債務總額為 4.65 億美元，在過去 12 個月中，我們年底的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 比率為 1.9 倍。

In 2023, we generated operating cash flow of $173 million and invested $116 million in capital expenditures, primarily driven by investments in new stores, our labs, distribution center, doctor equipment, and in-store lab equipment. As we announced in November, we repurchased $100 million of our convertible senior notes for an aggregate cash repurchase price, inclusive of premium paid of $99.25 million.

2023 年，我們產生了 1.73 億美元的營運現金流，並投資了 1.16 億美元的資本支出，這主要是由對新店、實驗室、配送中心、醫生設備和店內實驗室設備的投資所推動的。正如我們在 11 月宣布的那樣，我們以現金回購總價回購了 1 億美元的可轉換優先票據，其中包括 9,925 萬美元的溢價。

We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet and healthy cash flow to support our growth and capital allocation priorities. In 2024, our first priority with respect to capital allocation will continue to be the investment in our growth through new store openings and technology investments as we continue to digitize our stores in corporate office.

我們繼續保持強勁的資產負債表和健康的現金流，以支持我們的成長和資本配置優先事項。2024年，我們在資本配置方面的首要任務將繼續是透過新店開業和技術投資來投資我們的成長，同時我們繼續將公司辦公室的商店數位化。

Our second priority will be our focus on our debt structure, given the pending May 2025 maturity of the convertible notes. As we demonstrated with the repurchase in November, we plan to take fiscally responsible actions with our outstanding balance and are monitoring the market for future opportunistic actions and other potential strategies.

鑑於可轉換票據將於 2025 年 5 月到期，我們的第二優先事項將是關注我們的債務結構。正如我們在 11 月的回購中所展示的那樣，我們計劃利用我們的未償餘額採取對財務負責的行動，並正在監控市場未來的機會主義行動和其他潛在策略。

Our third priority is returning excess cash to shareholders. While we do not expect to repurchase shares in the near term given our other stated priorities for 2024, we are pleased to announce a new repurchase authorization of $50 million in place through January 3, 2026, given our original repurchase authorization expired on December 30, 2023. We continue to evaluate opportunities to repurchase shares based on available investment opportunities, our financial position, and market conditions.

我們的第三個優先事項是將多餘的現金回饋給股東。雖然考慮到我們在2024 年確定的其他優先事項，我們預計短期內不會回購股票，但鑑於我們最初的回購授權已於12 月30 日到期，我們很高興地宣布，截至2026 年1月3 日，新的回購授權將達到5,000 萬美元。2023 年。我們將繼續根據現有的投資機會、我們的財務狀況和市場狀況評估回購股票的機會。

Moving now to the discussion of our 2024 outlook. For our 2024 fiscal year, we currently expect net revenue between $1.965 billion and $2.005 billion, supported by adjusted comparable store sales growth of 2% to 4% and new store sales based on our expectation to open between 65 and 70 new stores this year.

現在討論我們的 2024 年展望。對於2024 財年，我們目前預計淨收入將在19.65 億美元至20.05 億美元之間，這得益於調整後的可比商店銷售額增長2% 至4%，以及基於我們今年將開設65 至70 家新店的預期的新店銷售。

With respect to profitability for 2024, we expect adjusted operating income between $61 million and $76 million. This includes the range for depreciation and amortization of $95 million to $100 million. We expect adjusted diluted EPS to be between $0.50 per share and $0.65 per share, which assumes approximately 79 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding.

關於 2024 年的獲利能力，我們預計調整後的營業收入將在 6,100 萬美元至 7,600 萬美元之間。其中包括 9,500 萬至 1 億美元的折舊和攤提。我們預計調整後的稀釋後每股收益將在每股 0.50 美元至 0.65 美元之間，假設加權平均稀釋後流通股約為 7,900 萬股。

Our guidance range includes the expected revenue and profitability from Walmart and AC Lens operations through their respective contract terms. As laid out on slide 15 of our earnings presentation, we expect legacy segment revenue of approximately $16 million and adjusted operating income of $0.5 million in the first quarter. And AC Lens is expected to deliver approximately $129 million of revenue and $2 million of adjusted operating income in the first half of the year, split evenly across first and second quarter.

我們的指導範圍包括沃爾瑪和 AC Lens 業務在各自合約條款下的預期收入和獲利能力。正如我們財報第 15 張投影片所述，我們預計第一季傳統部門營收約為 1,600 萬美元，調整後營業收入為 50 萬美元。AC Lens 預計今年上半年將實現約 1.29 億美元的收入和 200 萬美元的調整後營業收入，第一季和第二季各佔一半。

In addition, our outlook for fiscal 2024 assumes a range of scenarios with respect to consumer sentiment, ongoing success with our America's Best brand, and performance improvement in Eyeglass World. As Reade noted, the year started softer than expected, but we have seen sequential improvement as the quarter has progressed.

此外，我們對 2024 財年的展望假設了一系列與消費者信心、美國最佳品牌持續成功以及眼鏡世界業績改善有關的情景。正如里德指出的那樣，今年開局比預期疲軟，但隨著本季的進展，我們看到了連續的改善。

While it is not our practice to provide quarterly guidance, given where we are in the quarter, we felt it appropriate to provide some direction for modeling purposes. We expect first-quarter adjusted comparable store sales to be flat to slightly negative compared to the prior year. This expectation incorporates a 40- to 50-basis-point drag from Walmart performance.

雖然我們的做法不是提供季度指導，但考慮到我們在本季度的情況，我們認為為建模目的提供一些指導是適當的。我們預計第一季調整後的可比商店銷售額與去年同期相比將持平或略有負值。這項預期包括沃爾瑪業績下降 40 至 50 個基點的影響。

The high end of our full-year guidance assumes further strengthening in trends as the year progresses, supported by continued strong performance in America's Best and improved performance in Eyeglass World, as well as improved consumer backdrop. The low end of our guidance assumes a weaker consumer environment impacting demand trends and less success in improving Eyeglass World's performance through the operational changes Reade discussed.

我們的全年指導上限假設隨著時間的推移，趨勢將進一步加強，這得益於美國最佳的持續強勁表現、眼鏡世界的改善表現以及消費者背景的改善。我們指引的低階假設消費環境疲軟影響需求趨勢，並且透過里德討論的營運變革改善 Eyeglass World 績效的成功率較低。

As we discussed on our last call, the profit gap created by the Walmart partnership termination would be addressed through non-headline pricing and expense actions, which were implemented before the end of fiscal 2023, allowing us to realize the full-year benefit in 2024, which more than offset this headwind. The pricing actions focused on stand-alone exams and targeted product offerings, which are expected to benefit 2024 by approximately $15 million.

正如我們在上次電話會議中討論的那樣，沃爾瑪合作夥伴關係終止造成的利潤差距將透過非標題定價和費用行動來解決，這些行動在2023 財年結束前實施，使我們能夠在2024 年實現全年效益，這足以抵銷這種逆風。定價行動主要集中在獨立考試和有針對性的產品供應上，預計將在 2024 年帶來約 1500 萬美元的收益。

In addition to the pricing actions, we also streamlined corporate overhead and third-party spend in the fourth quarter of 2023, which we expect will result in approximately $10 million of annualized cost savings in 2024. At the midpoint of our guidance range, we expect to deliver an adjusted operating income margin in line with fiscal 2023, which came in ahead of expectations due to operational improvement in America's Best and disciplined expense management.

除了定價行動之外，我們還在 2023 年第四季簡化了公司管理費用和第三方支出，我們預計這將在 2024 年節省約 1,000 萬美元的年度成本。在我們指導範圍的中點，我們預計將實現與 2023 財年一致的調整後營業利潤率，由於美國最佳的營運改善和嚴格的費用管理，該利潤率超出了預期。

We also expect gross margin expansion of approximately 200 basis points for the year. This assumes benefits from the pricing actions, margin expansion as we exit the lower margin Walmart and AC Lens businesses, and improved productivity. In addition, we expect adjusted SG&A to deleverage approximately 150 basis points, primarily driven by the year-over-year decline in revenue given the termination of Walmart business. This expectation also considers the $10 million of annualized cost savings as well as increased levels of annual operating expense related to cloud amortization and ongoing investments in our growth. We expect marketing spend dollars to be below 2023. But as Reade noted, we will be shifting marketing dollars to focus on driving improved Eyeglass World performance while continuing to leverage the strong national presence that America's Best holds.

我們也預計今年毛利率將成長約 200 個基點。這假設受益於定價行動、我們退出利潤率較低的沃爾瑪和 AC Lens 業務時的利潤率擴張以及生產力的提高。此外，我們預期調整後的銷售、管理及行政費用將去槓桿化約 150 個基點，主要是因為沃爾瑪業務終止導致營收年減。這項預期還考慮到每年節省 1000 萬美元的成本，以及與雲端攤銷和持續成長投資相關的年度營運費用水準的增加。我們預計 2023 年行銷支出將低於。但正如 Reade 指出的那樣，我們將把行銷資金轉移到提高 Eyeglass World 業績上，同時繼續利用 America's Best 強大的全國影響力。

Looking further ahead, we believe we are well positioned to achieve our mid-single-digit adjusted operating margin target in 2025. However, the composition of how we expect to get there has evolved. Remote is now more fully embedded in our normal course of business and, as we have discussed, is an important tool in delivering improved results within the America's Best brand, as reflected in our 2023 performance. We expect this capability to continue to be a healthy contributor to our overall financial results going forward. And its benefit is incorporated in our 2024 guidance along with our updated plans for deployment, which Reade reviewed.

展望未來，我們相信我們有能力在 2025 年實現中個位數的調整後營業利潤率目標。然而，我們期望如何實現這一目標的組成已經發生了變化。遠端現已更全面地融入我們的正常業務流程中，正如我們所討論的，它是在美國最佳品牌中提供改進成果的重要工具，正如我們 2023 年的業績所反映的那樣。我們預計這種能力將繼續為我們未來的整體財務表現做出健康的貢獻。它的好處已納入我們的 2024 年指南以及我們更新的部署計劃中，Reade 對此進行了審查。

In addition to remote, our 2025 margin target also included expectations related to returning to mid-single-digit adjusted comp performance driven by expanding exam capacity and improving consumer sentiment. We have been and continue to be acutely focused on the factors of comp that we can control with respect to exam capacity and pricing and are continuing to monitor the evolving trends within the optical purchase cycle that Reade discussed.

除了遠距之外，我們的 2025 年利潤率目標還包括與在擴大考試能力和改善消費者信心的推動下恢復到中位數調整後的比較績效相關的預期。我們一直並將繼續密切關注我們可以控制的考試容量和定價方面的競爭因素，並繼續監控里德討論的光學購買週期內不斷變化的趨勢。

Given these current views on remote and the progress we are making in driving improved top-line results, we now expect future margin expansions to come primarily from improved productivity, gross margin expansion and expense leverage across the company through 2024 and into 2025. As illustrated on slide 17, with the strong progress made in 2023 and assuming we deliver at least the midpoint of our 2024 expectations for adjusted operating margin, we will be well positioned to achieve mid-single-digit adjusted operating margin in 2025.

鑑於目前對遠端的看法以及我們在推動營收改善方面取得的進展，我們現在預計未來的利潤率擴張將主要來自於 2024 年至 2025 年整個公司生產力、毛利率擴張和費用槓桿的提高。如投影片17 所示，隨著2023 年取得的強勁進展，並假設我們至少達到2024 年調整後營業利潤率預期的中點，我們將有能力在2025 年實現中個位數的調整後營業利潤率。

As we have always said, our 2025 objective is not our end goal. And we will continue to drive further margin improvement going forward. I am proud of our team's dedication and focus on driving our initiatives to date and believe we remain well positioned to deliver our objectives, including driving value for our shareholders.

正如我們一直所說，2025 年目標並不是我們的最終目標。未來我們將繼續推動利潤率進一步提高。我為我們團隊的奉獻精神和專注於推動迄今為止的舉措感到自豪，並相信我們仍然有能力實現我們的目標，包括為股東創造價值。

Thank you for your time today. I will now turn the call over to Reade for closing remarks before we open the call for questions. Reade?

感謝您今天抽出時間。現在，在我們開始提問之前，我將把電話轉交給雷德進行結束語。里德？

Thank you, Melissa. To summarize, our stronger-than-expected end of the year was driven by crisp execution, including expanded exam capacity, disciplined expense management, continued strength in our managed care business, and effective marketing campaigns. For the full year, we delivered on our initiatives and drove strong improvement at America's Best. We executed on cost and pricing actions, which will benefit 2024 and more than offset the profitability gap from the Walmart partnership termination.

謝謝你，梅麗莎。總而言之，我們在年末取得的好於預期的成績是由清晰的執行力推動的，包括考試能力的擴大、嚴格的費用管理、管理式醫療業務的持續優勢以及有效的營銷活動。全年，我們兌現了我們的倡議並推動了美國最佳的強勁進步。我們執行了成本和定價行動，這將有利於 2024 年，並且足以抵消沃爾瑪合作夥伴關係終止帶來的獲利能力差距。

In 2024, we're committed to building off the stronger foundation we established in 2023. We remain focused on executing against our initiatives, which have a proven track record as demonstrated in the progress we've made with America's Best. We plan to continue to build on this progress at America's Best and drive improvement in Eyeglass World, all of which is incorporated in our guidance.

2024 年，我們致力於在 2023 年建立的更堅實的基礎上再接再厲。我們仍然專注於執行我們的舉措，這些舉措有著良好的記錄，我們與美國最佳公司取得的進展證明了這一點。我們計劃繼續在 America's Best 的進展基礎上繼續發展，並推動 Eyeglass World 的改進，所有這些都已納入我們的指導中。

We believe through this work, we are well positioned to drive long-term profitable growth, create value for shareholders, and further our mission to make quality eye care and eyewear more affordable and accessible for all. And with that, we will now turn the call over to the operator for questions.

我們相信，透過這項工作，我們有能力推動長期獲利成長，為股東創造價值，並進一步推進我們的使命，讓所有人都能負擔得起和使用優質的眼部護理和眼鏡。這樣，我們現在將把電話轉給接線員詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) Michael Lasser, UBS.

（操作員說明）Michael Lasser，UBS。

Good morning. Thank you so much for taking my question. Given the comp performance at Eyeglass World, along with your decision to rebrand the 20 locations in California, what's weighing on the performance of that business, especially given that it had been a strong performer historically?

早安.非常感謝您回答我的問題。考慮到 Eyeglass World 的業績表現，以及您對加州 20 個地點進行品牌重塑的決定，是什麼對該業務的業績產生了壓力，特別是考慮到它在歷史上一直表現強勁？

Thank you, Michael. So two things. Let me first unpack the California Eyeglass World piece a little bit. So we had 76 America's Best stores -- have 76 America's Best stores in California and 20 Eyeglass World stores. And the 20 Eyeglass World stores were split between Southern California, San Diego, and Northern California, Sacramento. So they were really far away from one another. And we had no America's Best stores in either Sacramento or San Diego. There was no overlap and it's a pretty big state.

謝謝你，麥可。所以有兩件事。首先讓我稍微解開加州眼鏡世界的部分。因此，我們擁有 76 家 America's Best 商店——在加州擁有 76 家 America's Best 商店和 20 家 Eyeglass World 商店。Eyeglass World 的 20 家商店分佈在南加州聖地牙哥和北加州薩克拉門托。所以他們之間的距離真的很遠。我們在薩克拉門託或聖地牙哥都沒有美國最佳商店。沒有重疊，這是一個相當大的州。

And so converting the 20 Eyeglass World stores over to America's Best helps us reduce field overhead, leverage national advertising, leverage optometrist deployment, reduce travel. It makes the state more profitable and the company more profitable. But it's a very unique situation there in California. And those California Eyeglass World stores were underperformers versus the average of the fleet. But we're really focused on profitability and this was the way to help profits while concurrently becoming more competitive in the state overall.

因此，將 20 家 Eyeglass World 商店轉變為 America's Best 有助於我們減少現場管理費用、利用全國廣告、利用驗光師部署、減少差旅。它使國家更有利可圖，公司也更有利可圖。但這在加州是一個非常獨特的情況。與平均水平相比，加州眼鏡世界商店的表現不佳。但我們真正關注的是獲利能力，這是在提高利潤的同時在整個州變得更具競爭力的方法。

Now to your other question about Eyeglass World in general, again, hey, positive comps in Q4, sequential growth in Q4, so that's nice. But we do think Eyeglass World is not yet performing to standard. We don't have the coverage levels we want yet there. And it's a little different from America's Best. America's Best is an employment model and Eyeglass World is pretty much split between employment model and a lease model.

現在，關於眼鏡世界的另一個問題，再次，嘿，第四季度的積極業績，第四季度的連續增長，所以這很好。但我們確實認為眼鏡世界的表現尚未達到標準。我們還沒有達到我們想要的覆蓋水平。它與美國最佳有所不同。America's Best 是一種僱用模式，而 Eyeglass World 則主要分為僱用模式和租賃模式。

And so we're working on various ways of recruiting, retaining, putting in remote and other things to address the coverage challenge there. As we mentioned, we just put in a leadership change there, and we are shifting marketing dollars because I think maybe we were underspending a bit behind that.

因此，我們正在研究各種招募、留住、遠端部署等方式，以解決那裡的覆蓋挑戰。正如我們所提到的，我們剛剛在那裡進行了領導層變動，並且我們正在轉移行銷資金，因為我認為我們可能在這方面支出不足。

But the outlook assumes a few scenarios in Eyeglass World, but we think we still have some work to do. Yes, it was a consistent strong performer from the time we bought it up through 2021, and we're getting it back on its feet again with the actions I just went through.

但前景假設了眼鏡世界的一些場景，但我們認為我們仍然有一些工作要做。是的，從我們收購它到 2021 年，它一直表現強勁，而且透過我剛剛採取的行動，我們正在讓它再次恢復正常。

Got you. My follow-up question is on the return to mid-single-digit margin in 2025. What comp is necessary in order to achieve that outcome? And if you do see a sluggish underlying optical retail market, how is that mid-single-digit expectation sensitized? Meaning, would there be other actions you could take to still achieve that outcome even if your comps are a bit lower?

明白你了。我的後續問題是關於 2025 年利潤率恢復到中個位數的問題。為了達到這個結果，需要什麼樣的補償？如果您確實看到基礎眼鏡零售市場低迷，那麼中個位數的預期是如何敏感的？意思是，即使你的報酬稍低一些，你是否還可以採取其他行動來實現這個結果？

Hi, Michael. Yes, the return to mid-single digit in 2025 has a couple of factors tied into that. As we think about the return to mid-single-digit operating margins, the comp that we have factored into that also includes a mid-single-digit comp range. And we expect to get to that point based upon the initiatives that we started last year and continue to accelerate into this year, which includes the improved recruiting and retention and the remote benefit that we've been experiencing to date. So with all of that combined, we expect that to lead to the mid-single-digit range in 2025.

嗨，邁克爾。是的，到 2025 年回歸到中個位數與幾個因素有關。當我們考慮恢復中個位數的營業利潤時，我們考慮的補償範圍也包括中個位數的補償範圍。我們期望在去年開始的舉措的基礎上達到這一點，並在今年繼續加速，其中包括改進招聘和保留以及我們迄今為止所經歷的遠距福利。因此，將所有這些綜合起來，我們預計 2025 年將達到中等個位數範圍。

Anthony Chukumba, Loop Capital Markets.

安東尼·楚昆巴（Anthony Chukumba），Loop 資本市場。

Good morning. Congrats on a strong finish to the year. So I guess my first question, in terms of the slow start that 2024 has gotten off to, and certainly encouraging to hear that you've seen sequential improvement. But is there any one or two things that you would point to that you think are driving that slow start, particularly coming off the just strong finish to 2023?

早安.恭喜您今年圓滿成功。所以我想我的第一個問題是，2024 年開局緩慢，聽到您看到連續的改進當然令人鼓舞。但您認為是否有任何一兩件事導致了緩慢的開局，特別是在 2023 年剛剛強勁結束的情況下？

Yeah. I mean certainly, the -- what they call the Arctic blast of early January was a big factor for us. And so that was fun. We don't think it's market share-related. We think that remains healthy. But yeah, the weather piece was a large component. And again, we're seeing sequential improvement into February.

是的。我的意思當然是，他們所說的一月初的北極爆炸對我們來說是一個重要因素。這很有趣。我們認為這與市場佔有率無關。我們認為這仍然是健康的。但是，是的，天氣部分是一個很大的組成部分。我們再次看到二月份的連續改善。

Got it. And I remember that Arctic blast well. Yeah, I probably wouldn't have gone out and gotten new glasses then either. I guess my second question --

知道了。我對北極爆炸記憶猶新。是的，那時我可能也不會出門買新眼鏡。我想我的第二個問題--

Can I add one other thing, Anthony? We're all reading about the slow and delayed tax refund information -- tax refunds getting to our customers. And a driver for us, Q1 performance is when that those tax refunds get into the hands of our consumer base.

我可以補充一件事嗎，安東尼？我們都在閱讀有關緩慢且延遲的退稅資訊——退稅到達我們的客戶手中。對我們來說，第一季業績的驅動因素是這些退稅到達我們的消費者群手中。

Got it. That all makes perfect sense. And then just one follow-up question. What are your expectations in terms of optometrist wage pressure in 2024? It is certainly encouraging to hear about the improvements in recruitment and retention, but just wanted to see what your thoughts were there. Thank you.

知道了。這一切都很有道理。然後是一個後續問題。您對2024年驗光師薪資壓力有何預期？聽到招募和留任方面的改進當然令人鼓舞，但只是想看看您的想法。謝謝。

Hi, Anthony. We have seen the low single-digit inflation in optometrist-related cost bump up to mid-single digits in '23, and we expect that to continue into '24 and beyond. We'll have continued pressure based on that. However, with pricing initiatives that we've put in place with exams, we feel that we'll be able to offset some of that pressure.

嗨，安東尼。我們看到驗光師相關成本的低個位數通膨在 23 年上升至中個位數，我們預計這種情況將持續到 24 年及以後。基於此，我們將面臨持續的壓力。然而，透過我們針對考試實施的定價舉措，我們認為我們將能夠抵消部分壓力。

Got it. Thank you so much. Keep up the good work.

知道了。太感謝了。保持良好的工作。

Paul Lejuez, Citi.

保羅‧勒胡埃斯，花旗銀行。

Hey, everyone. This is Brandon Cheatham on for Paul. Thanks for taking our question. I wanted to also ask on like America's Best versus Eyeglass World, if we could dig in on that. Do you think there's any cannibalization between the two brands? And then I understand the decision to convert some of the Eyeglass Worlds in California to America's Best. Is that something, if that's successful, you might look at doing in other states or regions?

嘿大家。我是布蘭登·奇塔姆（Brandon Cheatham）替補保羅。感謝您提出我們的問題。我還想詢問「美國最佳與眼鏡世界」之類的問題，我們是否可以深入探討這一點。您認為這兩個品牌之間存在著相互蠶食的情況嗎？然後我了解將加州的一些眼鏡世界轉變為美國的最佳決定。如果成功的話，您可能會考慮在其他州或地區這樣做嗎？

Thank you for that. A few things. First of all, to be clear, in California, there was clearly no cannibalization because America's Best and Eyeglass World were not -- there's no overlap in the markets there. Second, we have found, in general, these two brands can coexist in the same trading area well because they do have sort of a -- they have a different positioning. One is designed really for people who are very low cost driven, the free exam, absolute price -- absolute money out of pocket. The other has a broader assortment, more designer frames and are more time-conscious consumers.

謝謝你。一些東西。首先，需要明確的是，在加州，顯然不存在蠶食，因為 America's Best 和 Eyeglass World 沒有——那裡的市場沒有重疊。其次，我們發現，總的來說，這兩個品牌可以很好地共存於同一個交易區域，因為它們確實有某種——它們有不同的定位。一種是真正為那些非常低成本驅動的人設計的，免費考試，絕對價格——絕對自掏腰包的錢。另一個則擁有更廣泛的品類、更多的設計師鏡框以及更具時間意識的消費者。

So there is differentiation that goes on there between them. And we think that California is and was a pretty unique situation. So we're not currently discussing and thinking about doing this elsewhere.

因此，它們之間存在差異。我們認為加州現在和過去都是一個非常獨特的情況。因此，我們目前沒有討論和考慮在其他地方這樣做。

Got it. Thanks. And the pricing change that you took on stand-alone exams, can you detail the timing on that? And did you see consumers kind of shift their purchasing behavior after you took that pricing, that they take advantage more of the two pairs of glasses eye exam for $79?

知道了。謝謝。您在獨立考試中採取的定價變化，您能詳細說明具體時間嗎？在您採用該定價後，您是否看到消費者的購買行為有所改變，他們更多地利用了 79 美元的兩副眼鏡視力檢查服務？

So we took a pricing action for Eyeglass World in November, pricing for America's Best in December on exam pricing. And let me point out something on that, that it's a minority of people who end up paying for an exam in the America's Best experience. If you buy two pairs, the exam is free. The managed care customers who are now -- 35% of the business, their eye exam is paid for by their insurance. So those who in effect individually are pretty small in that way.

因此，我們在 11 月對 Eyeglass World 採取了定價行動，並在 12 月對 America's Best 的考試定價進行了定價。讓我指出一點，只有少數人最終支付了美國最佳體驗考試的費用。如果您購買兩對，則考試免費。現在佔該業務 35% 的管理式醫療客戶，他們的眼科檢查費用由保險支付。因此，從這方面來說，那些實際上單獨發揮作用的人是相當小的。

We also took some pricing action in the area of various medical services that our optometrists provide. That was in the summer that we did that. And that was -- we just realized that we were under the market on that. And that was one of the findings from the pricing study that we talked about in prior calls. And so again, medical services in summer; Eyeglass World, November; and America's Best in December.

我們也在驗光師提供的各種醫療服務領域採取了一些定價行動。那是在夏天，我們這麼做了。那就是——我們剛剛意識到我們在這方面處於市場之下。這是我們在之前的電話會議中討論過的定價研究的結果之一。夏季的醫療服務也是如此；眼鏡世界，十一月；和十二月美國最佳。

Got it. Thanks very much and good luck.

知道了。非常感謝，祝你好運。

Simeon Gutman, Morgan Stanley.

西蒙古特曼，摩根士丹利。

Hey, good morning, everyone. My first question, it's on the adjusted operating income for the year. At the midpoint, it's still lower than the prior year. And even if you net out the savings, the $25 million, some of that needs to annualize -- I think I get that -- versus what's being lost. I guess at the midpoint, there's still year-over-year decline or pressure.

嘿，大家早安。我的第一個問題是關於今年調整後的營業收入。中期來看，仍低於去年同期。即使你扣除節省下來的 2500 萬美元，其中一些也需要按年計算——我想我明白了——與損失的部分相比。我想在中期，仍然存在同比下降或壓力。

Melissa mentioned amortization costs maybe still weighing on it. But can you give us what's inside like the core? Even with the pricing actions, it looks like still declining year over year. So if you can talk about the drivers behind that, please.

梅麗莎提到攤銷成本可能仍在對其造成壓力。但你能告訴我們裡面有什麼東西嗎？例如核心？即使採取了定價行動，它看起來仍然逐年下降。所以請您談談背後的驅動因素。

Hi, Simeon. If you refer to page 17, you'll see that the midpoint of our guidance range is 3.4%, and we ended 2023 with an adjusted operating margin of 3.4%.

嗨，西蒙。如果您參閱第 17 頁，您會發現我們指引範圍的中點為 3.4%，而我們截至 2023 年的調整後營業利潤率為 3.4%。

Yeah, I was referring to the dollars.

是的，我指的是美元。

Oh, yes. The dollars -- with these dollars, we have worked in a range of scenarios. And with the loss of the Walmart and AC Lens business, while the adjusted margins will improve, we do have some factors incorporated in there with the top-line revenue loss.

哦是的。資金——利用這些資金，我們在一系列場景中開展了工作。隨著沃爾瑪和 AC Lens 業務的損失，雖然調整後的利潤率將會提高，但我們確實考慮到了一些因素導致營收損失。

The overall guide takes into consideration several scenarios at the high end, which include improved consumer sentiment, the productivity expansion, and improvement in our Eyeglass World performance. On the low end, we have the opposite of that as far as decreased consumer sentiment, which may lead to demand issues and less traction in improving our Eyeglass World brands.

整體指南考慮了高端的幾種場景，包括消費者信心的改善、生產力的提高以及眼鏡世界績效的改善。在低端市場，我們的情況恰恰相反，消費者信心下降，這可能會導致需求問題，並削弱我們改善眼鏡世界品牌的動力。

We've rationalized our home office and taken out various expenses as we said we would last year to offset the Walmart profit loss in addition to taking price increases. And with the two of those, we've more than offset it. However, we have, in fact, lost that business, which is a top-line impact.

我們已經對我們的家庭辦公室進行了合理化調整，並按照我們去年所說的那樣，除了漲價之外還削減了各種費用，以抵消沃爾瑪的利潤損失。有了這兩個，我們就足以抵銷它了。然而，事實上，我們已經失去了這項業務，這是對營收的影響。

And maybe as a follow-up -- and I apologize if this was asked -- on any of the headline pricing items, I don't know if anyone asked if that's exam or product, and are you seeing any elasticity or negative elasticity on some of these actions?

也許作為後續行動 - 如果有人問我這個問題，我很抱歉 - 對於任何標題定價項目，我不知道是否有人問這是考試還是產品，您是否看到任何彈性或負彈性其中一些行動？

When we refer to headline price, that's the two for $79 offer. That is the key headline price for America's Best. And we are not believing that that has affected our trend.

當我們提到總體價格時，這兩個報價為 79 美元。這是美國最佳酒店的主要標題價格。我們不認為這影響了我們的趨勢。

Brian Tanquilut, Jefferies.

布萊恩·坦奎魯特，傑弗里斯。

Good morning. Taji Phillips on for Brian. Thank you for taking my question. So my first question has to do with the guidance for same-store comps for the year. I appreciate the call out that Q1 will be softer, right? But just curious if you could provide some commentary on how we should be thinking about the ramp throughout the year?

早安.塔吉·菲利普斯 (Taji Phillips) 替補布萊恩 (Brian)。感謝您回答我的問題。所以我的第一個問題與今年同店比較的指導有關。我很欣賞第一季將會更加溫和的說法，對吧？但只是好奇您是否可以就我們應該如何考慮全年的坡道提供一些評論？

Yes. Hi, Taji. The rate throughout the year, first quarter is historically a very strong quarter for us. It's an important quarter for the overall year. And with that coming in flat to slightly negative, that has been factored into the overall guidance range. With that, we historically have seen increased comps as the year progresses, and that too has been built into the range of scenarios.

是的。嗨，塔吉。從全年來看，第一季對我們來說是歷史上非常強勁的季度。這是全年的重要季度。隨著這一數字持平或略有負值，這已被納入整體指導範圍。因此，從歷史上看，隨著時間的推移，我們看到了補償的增加，這也被納入了場景範圍中。

Okay. Great. And then looking to page 17, appreciate the breakdown of the margin progression through 2025. As we think about the three key drivers of that improvement, just curious if you could bucket them by importance or by influence on the margin, which is the most important or most key to actually drive that mid-single digits? Or is it essentially a split between all three?

好的。偉大的。然後查看第 17 頁，了解 2025 年獲利成長的細分。當我們思考這個改進的三個關鍵驅動因素時，只是好奇你是否可以按重要性或對邊際的影響來對它們進行排序，哪一個是真正推動中個位數的最重要或最關鍵的？或者它本質上是三者之間的分裂？

Yeah. So the path to mid-single-digit, adjusted comparable store sales is an important factor, as is gross margin expansion and expense management. So all three of the factors are certainly important in the path to mid-single-digit operating margins in '25.

是的。因此，調整後的可比較商店銷售額達到中個位數的道路是一個重要因素，毛利率擴張和費用管理也是如此。因此，這三個因素對於 25 年實現中個位數營業利潤率無疑都很重要。

Got it. And just one more question, if I can. I wanted to clarify on Michael's question earlier. When he was asking about like what improvement in mid-single-digit -- mid in the comps is necessary to reach your 2025 target, was that an application to Eyeglass World specifically where you're saying like mid-single digits needed for Eyeglass World to bridge to 2025? Do I have that right?

知道了。如果可以的話，還有一個問題。我想早些時候澄清邁克爾的問題。當他詢問要實現 2025 年目標需要在中個位數中實現哪些改進時，這是針對眼鏡世界的應用程序，特別是您所說的眼鏡世界需要中個位數的應用程序過渡到2025年？我有這個權利嗎？

No, that is for overall National Vision.

不，這是為了整體國家願景。

Adrienne Yih, Barclays.

艾德麗安‧易 (Adrienne Yih)，巴克萊銀行。

Good morning. Reade, just a couple of ones for you. The average managed care percentage from an industry standpoint, how should we be thinking about that maybe amongst your other competitors? Are there any accelerants to doing that -- getting that managed care higher? And what was the impetus for double -- the 250-basis-point improvement to 35%? Thanks. (multiple speakers)

早安.閱讀，只為您提供幾個。從行業的角度來看，管理式醫療的平均百分比，我們在您的其他競爭對手中應該如何考慮？是否有任何促進措施可以實現這一目標—提高管理式醫療水準？翻倍的推動力是什麼－提高了 250 個基點至 35%？謝謝。（多個發言者）

Absolutely. Thank you. So we have always been underpenetrated versus the category in managed care. A few reasons. One is because we're overdeveloped in cash pay because when it's your money and you don't have vision insurance, you seek out great value, and that's what we provide. In addition, when we bought America's Best in 2005, they didn't even accept insurance at that point in time. So we started from a base of zero.

絕對地。謝謝。因此，與管理式醫療類別相比，我們一直在滲透不足。有幾個原因。一是因為我們在現金支付方面過度發達，因為當這是你的錢而你沒有視力保險時，你會尋求巨大的價值，而這就是我們提供的。此外，當我們在2005年購買America's Best時，他們當時甚至不接受保險。所以我們從零開始。

For the majority of the category, especially the independents, especially the more mid- to high-end retailers, it is the majority of their business. So we are underpenetrated. We're pleased that it's been progressing in the way it has. And I think what that shows is that consumers are realizing that their managed care dollars go further with us than with other places. We do some marketing to reinforce that. And then, of course, there's a really nice word of mouth component to this business because you tend to have the same insurance as the person sitting next to you in your office or that you work with, so you can spread the word in that way.

對於大多數類別，尤其是獨立零售商，尤其是中高端零售商來說，這是他們的大部分業務。所以我們的滲透率還不夠。我們很高興它一直以現在的方式取得進展。我認為這表明消費者意識到他們的管理醫療費用在我們這裡比在其他地方更有價值。我們做了一些行銷來強化這一點。當然，這項業務有一個非常好的口碑因素，因為你往往與辦公室裡坐在你旁邊或與你一起工作的人擁有相同的保險，所以你可以透過這種方式傳播訊息。

So it's been steadily increasing for years, increased even more last year, and we think that it should continue to increase as a percentage of our sales. And I think that what's especially nice about that is as that grows, it makes us ever more resilient to difficult economic times. But we've got a long way to go before we're anywhere near a category average.

因此，多年來它一直在穩步增長，去年增長得更多，我們認為它占我們銷售額的百分比應該會繼續增長。我認為，特別好的一點是，隨著成長，它使我們對困難的經濟時期變得更有彈性。但要達到同類平均水平，我們還有很長的路要走。

Absolutely. And is there -- typically, I know last year, the cash comp customer, the cash comp was a little bit under pressure. It seems like the fourth quarter was an inflection in both -- well, managed care probably accelerated, but is this the inflection point in the cash comp, cash customer comp?

絕對地。我知道去年，現金補償客戶、現金補償都面臨一些壓力。看起來第四季是兩者的轉折點——嗯，管理式醫療可能會加速，但這是否是現金補償、現金客戶補償的轉折點？

Well spotted. Good job. Yes. Yes, indeed. Q4, we did have positive comps for cash pay consumers also. So yes, it was both. So that was very nice as well. Good catch.

發現得好。好工作。是的。確實是的。第四季度，我們確實也為現金支付消費者提供了正面的補償。所以是的，兩者都是。所以這也很好。接得好。

And again, what reinforced Q4 was based on -- it was primarily driven by transactions, not average ticket. And we do like to grow by customer count. That is the best way to be growing our business and the way we've historically done it -- majority through transactions more than average sales.

再說一次，第四季度的強化是基於——它主要是由交易驅動的，而不是平均門票。我們確實希望透過客戶數量來實現成長。這是發展我們業務的最佳方式，也是我們歷來的做法——主要是透過交易量高於平均銷售額。

Absolutely on the transactions. Melissa, for you. The 1Q comp guidance, so I guess when you guys have looked at correlation to tax refunds, I assume -- I mean, they're down, right? They're kind of double digit. That will fix itself over time due to the delay. So how highly correlated is that? And I think the answer is highly. So that's number one.

絕對是在交易上。梅麗莎，為了你。第一季的補償指導，所以我想當你們研究了與退稅的相關性時，我想——我的意思是，它們下降了，對吧？他們是兩位數。由於延遲，隨著時間的推移，這個問題會自行修復。那麼相關性有多高呢？我認為答案是高度的。所以這是第一。

And then any help on that flat to slightly negative comp? How should we think about deleverage, the gross margin? Should it be more measured over the four quarters or is it pretty even over the fourth quarter, we could start kind of like layering that in, in Q1 to offset the comp deleverage? Thanks so much.

那麼對於平坦到輕微負值的補償有什麼幫助嗎？我們該如何看待去槓桿、毛利率？是否應該在四個季度進行更多衡量，或者在第四季度是否相當均勻，我們可以開始在第一季將其分層以抵消補償去槓桿化？非常感謝。

Hi, Adrienne. As we think about the first quarter, we do certainly factor in tax refunds in that guidance, which we've got -- range is factored into the outlook that we've provided, and we feel comfortable with the first-quarter guidance that we've provided.

嗨，艾德麗安。當我們考慮第一季時，我們確實在該指導中考慮了退稅，我們已經將退稅範圍考慮到了我們提供的前景中，並且我們對我們提供的第一季度指導感到滿意已提供。

Now with that being said, if the first quarter comes in on the lower end, it is harder to leverage that cost structure that we have in place. As you move into the back half of the year, all of the gross margin expansion will come in the back half of the year once we have exited the Walmart and AC Lens business. So for modeling purposes, that's where you should see the gross margin improvement.

話雖如此，如果第一季處於較低水平，那麼就很難利用我們現有的成本結構。當你進入今年下半年時，一旦我們退出了沃爾瑪和 AC Lens 業務，所有毛利率的擴張都將在今年下半年實現。因此，出於建模目的，您應該看到毛利率的提高。

Dylan Carden, William Blair.

迪倫卡登，威廉布萊爾。

Appreciate it. Just trying to understand the deceleration in remote care rollout, and I guess, with the seeming discrepancy between about 60% of America's Best stores now having little capacity, only 5% of exams, if I had that statistic right. Is the deceleration more a result of cost consciousness in the year of some noise around costs? Or is it that you're seeing better progression on dim and dark stores from a recruitment standpoint? I guess maybe let's start there.

欣賞它。只是想了解遠端護理推廣的減速，我想，如果我的統計數據正確的話，大約 60% 的美國最佳商店現在容量很小，只有 5% 的考試容量，這之間似乎存在差異。今年的成本放緩是否更多是成本意識的結果？或者從招募的角度來看，您是否在昏暗的商店中看到了更好的進展？我想也許我們可以從這裡開始。

Hi, Dylan, it's Patrick. Good morning. You're right, remote has been a really important and high-impact program for us. You get a couple of my stats, which was 5% of all exams. And in states where we are running remote, it's significantly higher. The slowdown in the rollout this year or the deployment is really a function of our comfort level of taking our remote model into specific states.

嗨，迪倫，我是派崔克。早安.你是對的，遠程對我們來說是一個非常重要且影響深遠的計劃。你可以看到我的一些統計數據，佔所有考試的 5%。在我們進行遠端運行的州，這個數字要高得多。今年推出或部署的放緩實際上是我們將遠端模型置於特定狀態的舒適度的函數。

And so as of the end of 2023, we had taken it into all states that we consider effectively green, go states. There are a few large ones that we would really like to go to, but they're still in the yellow zone. We're monitoring that closely. And over time, telemedicine laws and approaches remain fluid, I think we'll have a shot at that. So this is really all about where do we feel good about taking our remote exams and doing that lawfully and according to set rules and regulations.

因此，截至 2023 年底，我們已將其納入我們認為有效的綠色、可行的所有州。有幾個大的我們很想去，但它們仍然在黃色區域。我們正在密切監視這一情況。隨著時間的推移，遠距醫療法律和方法仍然不穩定，我認為我們會嘗試這樣做。因此，這實際上是關於我們在哪裡參加遠距考試並按照既定規則和規定合法進行的。

I will say this. Even in light of us only taking it to 50 more ABs this year -- and that's basically mostly new stores -- there will be a few EGWs in there, we will continue to reap the benefits of getting better and better at remote for those 500-plus that we've already rolled it out to. So we've made great advances this year in terms of making remote way of life. It's having nice impacts for the business. But even in stores that have been running it for a year or so, hey, there's still low-hanging fruit to grab there as our store teams get more and more comfortable and our doctors get more and more productive.

我會這麼說。即使我們今年只將其帶到 50 家以上的 AB（基本上都是新店），那裡也會有一些 EGW，我們將繼續從這 500 家的遠端工作中獲得越來越好的好處。 -加上我們已經將其推出。因此，今年我們在打造遠距生活方式方面取得了巨大進步。它對業務產生了良好的影響。但即使在已經運行了一年左右的商店中，嘿，隨著我們的商店團隊變得越來越舒適，我們的醫生變得越來越高效，仍然有一些容易實現的目標。

Well, I guess that's where I was going to go with this. As you do slow the pace of the rollout, it's always felt to me like a pretty not an insignificant margin opportunity and that you're sort of cutting down on dead share time, which I think you run higher than the industry average. I mean, should you -- is there any embedded benefit this year or next to the mid-single-digit target from maturing remote capabilities that you can either quantify or speak towards?

嗯，我想這就是我要去的地方。當你放慢推出的速度時，我總是覺得這是一個相當重要的利潤機會，而且你在某種程度上減少了死共享時間，我認為你的運行速度高於行業平均水平。我的意思是，今年或接下來的中個位數目標是否會因成熟的遠端功能而帶來任何嵌入式好處，您可以量化或談論這些好處？

There are definitely benefits included in the guidance. We expect to see increasing levels of remote doctor productivity based on us getting the supply and demand balance that are aligned. And frankly, Dylan, we've seen some really nice improvements thus far this year that we think will aid our performance. And that's included in what Melissa shared.

指南中肯定包含一些好處。在我們實現供需平衡的基礎上，我們預期遠距醫師的生產力水準將會提高。坦白說，迪倫，今年到目前為止，我們已經看到了一些非常好的改進，我們認為這將有助於我們的表現。這包含在梅麗莎分享的內容中。

Got it. And finally, just on pricing, it sounds -- I know you've taken headline price up in the last couple of years at America's Best. But on more recent late '23 price, that sounds almost entirely related to exams. Any update or thinking around maybe peripheral product price opportunity? Yeah.

知道了。最後，就定價而言，聽起來——我知道過去幾年美國最佳酒店的整體價格已經上漲。但從最近 23 年末的價格來看，這聽起來幾乎完全與考試有關。有任何關於外圍產品價格機會的更新或思考嗎？是的。

We did that study last year. Pricing is a lever we use. We're always looking at different pieces. We thought the lowest hanging fruit came in the exam and medical services areas since we provide a nice added value there and where we are relative to competition. But we are -- we do not have -- we do not -- we're not planning on taking action right now. We're just sitting on what we've done and continuing to watch and learn. There was one Lens opportunity we also did take also.

我們去年做了這項研究。定價是我們使用的槓桿。我們總是在尋找不同的作品。我們認為最容易實現的目標是考試和醫療服務領域，因為我們在這些領域提供了很好的附加價值，並且相對於競爭而言。但我們——我們沒有——我們沒有——我們不打算立即採取行動。我們只是坐在我們已經做過的事情上，繼續觀察和學習。我們也確實抓住了一次鏡頭機會。

Got it. All right. And then on new openings, I mean, keeping -- yes? More speed not America's Best, it sounds like. But just a lot going on in the business to keep that number stable. Just how you're thinking about -- particularly as you're now at a relatively significant scale, why maybe that continues to make sense to maintain that level of new openings.

知道了。好的。然後在新的空缺職位上，我的意思是，保留——是嗎？聽起來更快的速度不是美國最好的。但為了維持這個數字的穩定，業界正在採取許多措施。正是你在思考——特別是當你現在處於相對較大的規模時，為什麼這對於維持新職缺的水平可能仍然有意義。

Hey, it's Patrick. I'll take that one. Unit growth remains a major component of our core strategy. We still have a lot of white space out there for AB and EGW, and we will continue to open stores. We opened 70 last year. We're driving at 65 to 70 this year. And so this is still a big part of our growth and market share expansion plan. This year, we expect it to be heavily skewed towards AB.

嘿，這是派崔克。我會接受那個。單位成長仍然是我們核心策略的重要組成部分。我們仍然有很多空白空間供 AB 和 EGW 使用，我們將繼續開設商店。去年我們開了70家。今年我們的駕駛速度是 65 到 70。因此，這仍然是我們成長和市場份額擴張計劃的重要組成部分。今年，我們預計它將嚴重偏向 AB。

We also expect the year to be fairly ratably spread across first and second half. We were a little more skewed to second half last year due to some timing delays, but we're expecting less of those this year. So it should be fairly smooth. But make no mistake, unit growth remains a full part of the strategy.

我們也預計今年上半年和下半年的情況將相當分散。由於一些時間上的延遲，我們去年下半年的情況稍有偏差，但我們預計今年的情況會減少。所以應該還是比較順利的。但毫無疑問，單位成長仍然是該策略​​的完整組成部分。

We are happy with kind of how our new stores performed last year. We are still seeing those stores hit the overall profitability metrics that we need. And there are no signals telling us not to keep doing that.

我們對去年新店的表現感到滿意。我們仍然看到這些商店達到了我們需要的整體獲利指標。並且沒有任何訊號告訴我們不要繼續這樣做。

And we have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Reade Fahs.

目前我們沒有進一步的問題。我現在將把電話轉回給 Reade Fahs。

Bella, thank you very much for your help today, and thank you to all of you for joining us today. We appreciate your interest and support and look forward to talking to you next on our Q1 earnings call. Thank you all very much.

貝拉，非常感謝您今天的幫助，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。我們感謝您的關注和支持，並期待在接下來的第一季財報電話會議上與您交談。非常感謝大家。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。