Five Below Inc (FIVE) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Five Below Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions). Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Christiane Pelz, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）。請注意此事件正在被記錄。我現在想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁克里斯蒂安·佩爾茲 (Christiane Pelz)。請繼續。

Thanks, Gary. Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for joining us today for Five Below's Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. On today's call are Joel Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Kristy Chipman, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. After management has made their formal remarks, we will open the call to questions. Please limit yourselves to one question to enable us to accommodate everyone in the queue.

謝謝，加里。大家下午好，感謝您今天加入我們參加 Five Below 2023 年第三季財務業績電話會議。出席今天電話會議的有總裁兼執行長喬爾·安德森 (Joel Anderson)；財務長兼財務主管克里斯蒂·奇普曼 (Kristy Chipman)。管理層發表正式講話後，我們將開始提問。請只回答一個問題，以便我們能夠容納隊列中的每個人。

I need to remind you that certain comments made during this call may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to and within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended. Such forward-looking statements are subject to both known and unknown risks and uncertainties and that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Those risks and uncertainties are described in the press release and our SEC filings.

我需要提醒您的是，在本次電話會議中發表的某些評論可能構成前瞻性陳述，並且是根據經修訂的1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款並在其含義範圍內發表的。此類前瞻性陳述受到已知和未知的風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與此類陳述有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性在新聞稿和我們向 SEC 提交的文件中進行了描述。

The forward-looking statements made today are as of the date of this call. We do not undertake any obligation to update our forward-looking statements. If you do not have a copy of today's press release, you may obtain one by visiting the Investor Relations page of our website at fivebelow.com. I will now turn the call over to Joel.

今天發表的前瞻性聲明截至本次電話會議之日。我們不承擔任何更新前瞻性陳述的義務。如果您沒有今天新聞稿的副本，您可以造訪我們網站 Fivebelow.com 的投資者關係頁面以取得一份。我現在將把電話轉給喬爾。

Thank you, Christiane, and thanks, everyone, for joining us for our third quarter 2023 earnings call. We are very pleased with Five Below's financial performance and operational execution in the third quarter. We exceeded our guidance on sales, comps and earnings and our comparable sales results were remarkably consistent with the first two quarters of the year.

謝謝 Christiane，也謝謝大家參加我們的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我們對 Five Below 第三季的財務表現和營運執行感到非常滿意。我們超越了銷售、比較和收益方面的指導，我們的可比銷售結果與今年前兩個季度非常一致。

We opened a record 74 new stores while continuing to successfully convert stores to the new Five Beyond format, which also drove new customers to our stores. The Five Beyond format now accounts for approximately 50% of the comparable store base.

我們開設了創紀錄的 74 家新店，同時繼續成功地將商店轉變為新的 Five Beyond 模式，這也吸引了新客戶來到我們的商店。 Five Beyond 模式目前約佔同類商店基數的 50%。

In addition, we made progress on optimizing inventory and finalized preparations for the holiday.

此外，我們在優化庫存方面取得了進展，並完成了假期準備。

Now on to the specific results for the third quarter. We delivered sales growth of over 14% to $736 million and a 2.5% comp sales increase, which continued to be driven by transactions. Comp transactions, which are our proxy for traffic increased approximately 3%. This increase represented our fourth consecutive quarter of positive comp transactions. We believe this demonstrates the relevancy of our extreme value and fun shopping experience.

現在我們來看看第三季的具體業績。在交易的推動下，我們的銷售額成長了 14% 以上，達到 7.36 億美元，同期銷售額成長了 2.5%。我們的流量代理交易量增加了約 3%。這一成長代表我們連續第四個季度實現積極的補償交易。我們相信這證明了我們的極致價值和有趣的購物體驗的相關性。

Diluted earnings per share for the third quarter came in at $0.26, $0.01 above the high end of our guidance. Many of the trends we've seen through several quarters continued throughout the third quarter, and we assured our assortment reflected them.

第三季稀釋後每股收益為 0.26 美元，比我們指引的上限高出 0.01 美元。我們在幾個季度中看到的許多趨勢在整個第三季度仍在繼續，我們保證我們的產品系列反映了這些趨勢。

As we have shared with you in prior quarters, we continue to see our customers focused on needs-based product, which for us is primarily seen in our consumables offering in the candy world and beauty department. In addition, our unwavering focus on value is strongly resonating with our customer as reflected in discretionary category strength in games and toys and our seasonal offering with Halloween.

正如我們在前幾個季度與您分享的那樣，我們繼續看到我們的客戶專注於基於需求的產品，對我們來說，這主要體現在我們在糖果世界和美容部門提供的消耗品中。此外，我們對價值的堅定不移的關注引起了客戶的強烈共鳴，這反映在遊戲和玩具的可自由支配品類優勢以及萬聖節的季節性產品中。

Hello Kitty, Squish, anime and Collectibles were also very popular and the license business returned to a more normalized sales level. In what most would consider a still challenging backdrop, we performed well and made progress against the five key strategic pillars that support Five Below's long-term triple double vision. I'll provide a quick update on each.

Hello Kitty、Squish、動漫和收藏品也很受歡迎，授權業務恢復到更正常的銷售水平。在大多數人認為仍然充滿挑戰的背景下，我們表現良好，並在支持「五以下」長期三雙願景的五個關鍵策略支柱方面取得了進展。我將提供每個方面的快速更新。

The first pillar is store expansion, the driver of our long-term growth. In the third quarter, we opened a record 74 new stores across 31 states. One of these openings on Alaska, Wisconsin made our top 25 fall grand opening list. We remain on track to achieve the goal of opening over 200 stores and expect to complete new store openings next week.

第一個支柱是門市擴張，這是我們長期成長的驅動力。第三季度，我們在 31 個州開設了創紀錄的 74 家新店。其中一家位於威斯康辛州阿拉斯加的開幕酒店躋身我們秋季開業前 25 名之列。我們仍有望實現開設 200 多家門市的目標，並預計下週完成新店開幕。

Our real estate teams have built a strong pipeline of new stores for 2024 and have also started working on 2025 stores. As we have been able to secure leases earlier in the year, we are making meaningful progress towards returning to historical store opening cadence where we complete the majority of our store openings by Thanksgiving. This will also result in progress towards a 50-50 store opening cadence for the first half versus second half of the year.

我們的房地產團隊已經為 2024 年建立了強大的新店儲備，並開始了 2025 年新店的建設工作。由於我們已經在今年早些時候獲得了租約，因此我們在恢復歷史開店節奏方面取得了有意義的進展，即我們在感恩節之前完成了大部分開店工作。這也將導致上半年與下半年相比，開店節奏將達到 50-50 家。

Moving to the second pillar, store potential. We announced the new Five Beyond prototype in March of 2022 and have been very pleased with the customer response and the performance of the stores converted into this format. These stores are driving traffic, they're attracting new customers and they're retaining more current customers. They are driving a mid-single-digit comp outperformance in the first year post conversion and the small subset of stores that have entered their second year post conversion are delivering a positive comp.

轉向第二個支柱，儲存潛力。我們在 2022 年 3 月發布了新的 Five Beyond 原型，並對客戶的反應以及轉換成這種格式的商店的表現感到非常滿意。這些商店正在增加客流量，吸引新客戶並留住更多現有客戶。他們在轉換後的第一年推動了中等個位數的業績表現，而進入轉換後第二年的一小部分商店正在提供積極的業績。

As I said earlier, at the end of the third quarter, approximately 50% of the store comp base was in this format, and we will continue to convert stores next year. Beyond the conversions, we also see a large opportunity to evolve the Five Beyond product assortment and over time, grow the penetration of these products, which will benefit top line sales.

正如我之前所說，到第三季末，大約 50% 的商店結構採用這種格式，明年我們將繼續對商店進行轉換。除了轉換之外，我們還看到了發展「五之外」產品種類的巨大機會，並且隨著時間的推移，提高這些產品的滲透率，這將有利於頂線銷售。

The third pillar is product and brand strategy. As you know, delivering WOW product is who we are and what we do and is key to our success. Our merchants hunt down new disruptive product at extreme value with the flexibility of our 8 worlds. They have ample opportunity to adjust as trends change. For example, in Q3, our merchants grew the Halloween assortment, sourcing new to core and costumes, including incredible huge inflatables for the front yard and light up face masks.

第三個支柱是產品和品牌策略。如您所知，提供令人驚嘆的產品是我們的身份和工作，也是我們成功的關鍵。我們的商家利用我們 8 個世界的靈活性，以極高的價值尋找新的顛覆性產品。他們有充足的機會隨著趨勢的變化而調整。例如，在第三季度，我們的商家增加了萬聖節品種，採購新的核心和服裝，包括用於前院的令人難以置信的巨大充氣玩具和發光面罩。

Our customers love the new products we brought this assortment to life through our social media channels. Five Below's presence on social media is growing. The focus on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. We believe we have established Five Below as the go-to brand for value and fun, though a big opportunity remains to increase brand awareness.

我們的客戶喜歡我們透過社群媒體管道將這個品種帶入生活的新產品。 「五人以下」在社群媒體上的影響力正在不斷增長。重點關注 TikTok、Facebook、Instagram 和 YouTube。我們相信，我們已經將「五以下」打造成價值和樂趣的首選品牌，儘管提高品牌知名度的巨大機會仍然存在。

The investments we have made thus far in integrating data and analytics with digital marketing are delivering. We are pleased with the positive trends we've seen in both customer acquisition and retention.

迄今為止，我們在將數據和分析與數位行銷整合方面所做的投資正在發揮作用。我們對在客戶獲取和保留方面看到的正面趨勢感到高興。

The fourth pillar, inventory optimization is another area where we have made meaningful progress in order to drive sales and maximize profits. As I mentioned before, this is a pillar Ken is leading as COO. Our teams are focused on improving inventory productivity by leveraging more sophisticated processes, technology and analytics. We are developing methods that will improve our ability to predict demand further optimize inventory levels and track the movement of product through the supply chain. As a result of the team's efforts under this pillar, we are well positioned with inventory levels going into the all-important holiday season.

第四個支柱，庫存優化是我們為了推動銷售和利潤最大化而有意義進展的另一個領域。正如我之前提到的，這是 Ken 作為營運長領導的支柱。我們的團隊致力於透過利用更複雜的流程、技術和分析來提高庫存效率。我們正在開發方法，以提高我們預測需求的能力，進一步優化庫存水準並追蹤產品在供應鏈中的流動。由於團隊在這一支柱下的努力，我們在進入最重要的假期季節時的庫存水平處於有利地位。

The fifth pillar, crew innovation focuses on the store crew and the pipeline of talent that is critical to achieving our aggressive growth. At this time of the year, our primary focus is on hiring and training seasonal associates in time for the holidays. Over 20,000 seasonal associates will be working in our stores and ship centers, integrating each of these seasonal workers takes a lot of effort, and I want to thank the stores, the ship centers and the recruiting teams for going the extra mile to ensure their smooth onboarding and a great shopping experience for our customers in the peak selling weeks.

第五個支柱是員工創新，重點關注商店員工和人才管道，這對於實現我們的積極成長至關重要。每年的這個時候，我們的主要重點是在假期期間及時招募和培訓季節性員工。超過 20,000 名季節性員工將在我們的商店和船舶中心工作，整合每一位季節性工人都需要付出很大的努力，我要感謝商店、船舶中心和招聘團隊加倍努力以確保他們的順利進行在銷售高峰週為我們的客戶提供入職和良好的購物體驗。

In summary, we are very pleased with our third quarter financial results and operational accomplishments. As I've mentioned in the past, we turned from a store wants in quarters 1 through 3, into a store needs in the fourth quarter. Our customers need to buy gifts, whether for their kids or their nieces, nephews her grandchildren or even office coworkers and we are the perfect place to find that awesome gift at an incredible value. Our merchants have sourced in our amazing line, fresh and trend-right products at outstanding values.

總之，我們對第三季的財務表現和營運成就感到非常滿意。正如我過去所提到的，我們從第一季到第三季的商店需求轉變為第四季的商店需求。我們的客戶需要購買禮物，無論是給他們的孩子、侄女、侄子、孫子，還是辦公室同事，我們是尋找物超所值的精美禮物的完美場所。我們的商家以卓越的價值從我們令人驚嘆的產品系列中採購了新鮮且符合潮流的產品。

We believe our customers will love our holiday assortment ranging from warm and fuzzy plush lounge, pants and blankets, holiday Tees, Marvel action figures and more. While the biggest holiday weeks are still ahead of us, we are really pleased with the start to our fourth quarter. With that, I'll turn it over to Kristy to review the financials and our outlook in more detail.

我們相信，我們的客戶一定會喜歡我們的節日系列，包括溫暖毛茸茸的毛絨休閒服、褲子和毯子、節日 T 卹、漫威動作玩偶等。雖然最重要的假期週仍在等待著我們，但我們對第四季的開始感到非常滿意。這樣，我將把它交給克里斯蒂來更詳細地審查財務狀況和我們的前景。

Thanks, Joel, and good afternoon, everyone. I will begin my remarks with a review of our third quarter results and then provide guidance for the fourth quarter and the full year. As Joel said, we are pleased to report results that exceeded our guidance.

謝謝喬爾，大家下午好。我將首先回顧我們第三季度的業績，然後為第四季度和全年提供指導。正如喬爾所說，我們很高興報告超出我們指導的結果。

Our sales for the third quarter of 2023 increased 14.2% to $736.4 million, from $645 million reported in the third quarter of 2022. Comparable sales increased by 2.5%, with a comp transaction increase of 3.1%, partially offset by a comp ticket decrease of 0.6%. This decrease in comp ticket was driven by lower units per transaction, partially offset by an increase in the average unit retail price, similar to what we have seen for several quarters now.

我們2023 年第三季的銷售額成長了14.2%，達到7.364 億美元，而2022 年第三季報告的銷售額為6.45 億美元。可比銷售額成長了2.5%，贈券交易增加了3.1%，部分被贈券門票減少所抵銷。0.6%。贈券的減少是由於每筆交易的單位數量減少造成的，但部分被平均單位零售價格的上漲所抵消，這與我們現在幾個季度所看到的情況類似。

We opened 74 new stores across 31 states in the third quarter compared to 40 new stores opened in the third quarter last year. We continue to be pleased with the productivity of our new locations. We ended the quarter with 1,481 stores, an increase of 189 stores or growth of approximately 15% versus 1,292 stores at the end of the third quarter of 2022.

第三季度，我們在 31 個州開設了 74 家新店，而去年第三季則開設了 40 家新店。我們對新地點的生產力仍然感到滿意。截至本季末，我們擁有 1,481 家門市，與 2022 年第三季末的 1,292 家門市相比，增加了 189 家門市，增幅約為 15%。

Gross profit for the third quarter of 2023 was up 7.2% to $222.8 million versus $207.8 million in the third quarter of 2022. Gross margin decreased by approximately 190 basis points to 30.3% as anticipated. This decline was primarily driven by recording actual shrink results for the stores that completed their physical inventories in August as well as recording the true-up of shrink reserves for the full chain, which we shared during our last quarter's earnings call.

2023 年第三季的毛利成長 7.2%，達到 2.228 億美元，而 2022 年第三季為 2.078 億美元。毛利率下降約 190 個基點，達到預期的 30.3%。這一下降主要是由於記錄了 8 月完成實體庫存的商店的實際減損結果以及記錄了整個連鎖店的減損儲備的真實情況，我們在上個季度的財報電話會議上分享了這一點。

As a percentage of sales, SG&A for the third quarter of 2023 decreased approximately 90 basis points to 28.1% versus last year's third quarter, driven primarily by the timing of marketing spend and leverage on certain store-related expenses. Operating income finished at $16.1 million versus $20.9 million in the third quarter of 2022, resulting in a decrease in operating margin of approximately 100 basis points to 2.2%.

與去年第三季相比，2023 年第三季的銷售、管理及行政費用佔銷售額的百分比下降了約90 個基點，至28.1%，這主要是由於行銷支出的時機和某些商店相關費用的槓桿作用所致。營業收入最終為 1,610 萬美元，而 2022 年第三季為 2,090 萬美元，導致營業利潤率下降約 100 個基點至 2.2%。

Net interest income was $3.4 million as compared to $0.5 million in the third quarter of 2022 as we benefited from higher interest rates and a larger average cash balance versus last year. Our effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2023 was 25.4% compared to 24.6% in the third quarter of 2022. Net income for the third quarter of 2022 was $14.6 million versus net income of $16.1 million last year.

淨利息收入為 340 萬美元，而 2022 年第三季為 50 萬美元，因為我們受益於較高的利率和比去年更大的平均現金餘額。我們 2023 年第三季的有效稅率為 25.4%，而 2022 年第三季為 24.6%。2022 年第三季的淨利為 1,460 萬美元，而去年的淨利為 1,610 萬美元。

Earnings per diluted share for the third quarter was $0.26 compared to last year's earnings per diluted share of $0.29. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately 500,000 shares at an average price of $158.63, for a total of approximately $80 million.

第三季稀釋後每股收益為 0.26 美元，去年同期稀釋後每股收益為 0.29 美元。本季度，我們以平均價格 158.63 美元回購了約 50 萬股股票，總計約 8,000 萬美元。

We ended the third quarter with $163 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments and no debt, including nothing outstanding on our $225 million line of credit. Inventory at the end of the third quarter was $763 million as compared to $702 million at the end of the third quarter last year. On an average per-store basis, inventory decreased 5.1% year-on-year. As last year, we strategically ordered inventory earlier to ensure strong in-stock position. We are pleased with the level and quality of our inventory going into this holiday season.

截至第三季末，我們擁有 1.63 億美元的現金、現金等價物和投資，沒有債務，包括我們 2.2​​5 億美元的信貸額度中沒有任何未償債務。第三季末的庫存為 7.63 億美元，而去年第三季末的庫存為 7.02 億美元。以每店平均計算，庫存年減5.1%。與去年一樣，我們策略性地提前訂購了庫存，以確保充足的庫存。我們對進入這個假期的庫存水準和品質感到滿意。

Now on to guidance for the fourth quarter and full year. My remarks on full year guidance will refer to the 53-week year unless otherwise noted. Our guidance does not include any potential future impact from share-based accounting or share repurchases.

現在討論第四季和全年的指導。除非另有說明，我對全年指導的評論將指 53 週的一年。我們的指導不包括基於股份的會計或股份回購的任何潛在的未來影響。

As Joel mentioned, we are pleased with our November results and start to the fourth quarter. For the fourth quarter of 2023, net sales are expected to be in the range of $1.32 billion to $1.35 billion, an increase of 17.6% to 20.2%. Comp sales for the quarter are anticipated to increase between 2% and 3%. And we are on track to open over 60 stores before the end of the quarter as 43 have already opened in November. We expect an operating margin of 20.5% to 20.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023. The approximate 50 basis points of leverage at the midpoint is due to the anticipated freight benefits, partially offset by the shrink headwind as well as lapping benefits from lower incentive comp and certain cost management strategies we put in place last year.

正如喬爾所提到的，我們對 11 月的業績和第四季的開始感到滿意。 2023年第四季，淨銷售額預計在13.2億美元至13.5億美元之間，成長17.6%至20.2%。本季的比較銷售額預計將成長 2% 至 3%。我們預計在本季末之前開設 60 多家商店，11 月已開設 43 家商店。我們預計 2023 年第四季的營業利潤率為 20.5% 至 20.8%。槓桿率中點約為 50 個基點是由於預期的貨運收益，部分被收縮逆風以及較低激勵帶來的重疊收益所抵消我們去年實施的補償和某些成本管理策略。

As it relates to shrink, we are working on many initiatives throughout the organization to help mitigate the anticipated increase we have forecasted, and we will update you on the progress of these efforts at year-end. The estimated effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 26%.

由於與縮減相關，我們正在整個組織內採取許多舉措，以幫助減輕我們預測的預期成長，我們將在年底向您通報這些工作的進展。估計有效稅率預計約26%。

Net income is expected to be in the range of $201 million to $211 million, representing a growth rate of approximately 17.3% to 23.2% over 2022.

淨利潤預計在2.01億美元至2.11億美元之間，較2022年增長率約為17.3%至23.2%。

Diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 is expected to be $3.64 to $3.80 versus $3.07 in diluted earnings per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, with the share repurchases in the third quarter contributing approximately $0.03.

2023 財年第四季的稀釋每股盈餘預計為 3.64 至 3.80 美元，而 2022 財年第四季的稀釋每股收益為 3.07 美元，其中第三季的股票回購貢獻約 0.03 美元。

For the full year of fiscal 2023, we are increasing the low end of our expected sales by $40 million to $3.54 billion and are reiterating the high end of expected sales at $3.57 billion, representing a sales increase in the range of 15.1% to 16%. Comp sales are expected to increase approximately 2.5% which implies a 17.8% compound annual growth rate or CAGR on total sales for the 4-year period since 2019.

對於 2023 財年全年，我們將預期銷售額的下限提高 4,000 萬美元，達到 35.4 億美元，並重申預期銷售額的上限為 35.7 億美元，即銷售額增長 15.1% 至 16% 。預計比較銷售額將成長約 2.5%，這意味著自 2019 年以來的 4 年期間總銷售額的複合年增長率或複合年增長率為 17.8%。

We are still expecting operating margin of 11.1% at the midpoint compared with 11.2% in 2022. The effective tax rate for the year is expected to be approximately 25.5%.

我們仍預期營業利益率為中位數 11.1%，而 2022 年為 11.2%。預計全年有效稅率約為 25.5%。

Net income is expected to be in the range of $300 million to $310 million, representing a growth rate of approximately 14.7% to 18.5% over 2022. Diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $5.40 to $5.56, implying year-over-year growth of 15.1% to 18.6%. On a 52-week comparative basis, growth for diluted earnings per share is implied to be 13.4% to 16.8%. Our fully diluted share count estimate for the year is 55.6 million shares reflecting a lower share count as a result of the shares we repurchased in September. The benefit related to the share repurchases completed in the third quarter is approximately $0.03 for the full year.

淨利潤預計在 3 億至 3.1 億美元之間，較 2022 年增長率約為 14.7% 至 18.5%。稀釋每股收益預計在 5.40 至 5.56 美元之間，即同比同比增長15.1%至18.6%。在 52 週比較基礎上，稀釋每股盈餘預計成長 13.4% 至 16.8%。我們今年完全攤薄後的股票數量預計為 5,560 萬股，反映出我們 9 月回購股票導致股票數量減少。與第三季完成的股票回購相關的全年收益約為 0.03 美元。

With respect to CapEx, we still plan to spend in total approximately $335 million in gross CapEx, excluding the impact of tenant allowances. This reflects the opening of over 200 new stores, converting over 400 store locations to the Five Beyond format commencing expansions to our distribution centers in Georgia and Arizona and investing in technology.

就資本支出而言，我們仍計劃總資本支出總計約 3.35 億美元，不包括租戶津貼的影響。這反映了我們開設了 200 多家新店，將 400 多家店面轉變為 Five Beyond 模式，開始擴大我們在喬治亞州和亞利桑那州的配送中心，並投資於科技。

In summary, we delivered a better-than-expected third quarter, and while we have over 2/3 of the holiday shopping season ahead of us, we are pleased with the beginning of the fourth quarter. In this uncertain macro environment, we continue to see strong transaction growth from both new and returning customers and new store performance is in line with our expectations, demonstrating continued relevancy of the brand and our Triple-Double strategy.

總而言之，我們第三季的業績好於預期，雖然假期購物季還有 2/3 以上，但我們對第四季的開始感到滿意。在這個不確定的宏觀環境下，我們繼續看到新客戶和回頭客的交易量強勁增長，新店業績符合我們的預期，證明了該品牌和我們的三雙策略的持續相關性。

We will remain disciplined in the deployment of capital and in managing expenses while we continue to use our strong balance sheet to fuel the growth that is in front of us. For all other details related to our results and guidance, please refer to our earnings press release. And with that, I would like to turn the call back over to the operator for the question-and-answer session. Operator?

我們將在資本部署和費用管理方面保持紀律，同時繼續利用強大的資產負債表來推動我們面前的成長。有關我們的業績和指導的所有其他詳細信息，請參閱我們的收益新聞稿。這樣，我想將電話轉回給接線生進行問答環節。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question today comes from Michael Lasser with UBS.

（操作員說明）我們今天的第一個問題來自瑞銀集團的邁克爾·拉瑟（Michael Lasser）。

Given what you've seen in the business recently and the other puts and takes that you know about heading into next year. If you were to comp in 2024 at a similar level that you did this year in the low to mid-single-digit range, what type of operating margin expansion could Five Below produce, especially in light of the Triple Double strategy over the long term, where even if you were to push out the goal to reach a 14% operating margin by a year, it would necessitate that you achieve 100 basis points of margin expansion each year for the next few years.

考慮到您最近在行業中看到的情況以及您了解的明年的其他看跌期權和採取的行動。如果您要在 2024 年以與今年類似的低至中個位數範圍內的水平進行比較，那麼「五以下」會產生什麼類型的營業利潤率擴張，特別是考慮到長期的「三雙」策略，即使您將營業利潤率達到14% 的目標延後一年，您也需要在接下來的幾年裡每年實現100 個基點的利潤率擴張。

Michael, great question, but it's probably really too early to foreshadow that for you. Given everything we shared with you on the last call around shrink, we obviously think our mitigation efforts are working. We've reserved at the higher rate, and -- but we now have to do all those physical inventories in January.

邁克爾，很好的問題，但現在為你預示這一點可能還為時過早。鑑於我們在上次電話會議上與您分享的有關收縮的所有信息，我們顯然認為我們的緩解措施正在發揮作用。我們以更高的價格預訂，而且 - 但我們現在必須在一月份進行所有這些實體庫存。

We do believe those are all in the base now or will be in the base of 2024 on an annual basis. And I think it's just safe to say that at this point in time, we continue to believe we can leverage at the 3% level. And if you give us till our call in March, it's a great question you should challenge this again to answer as we think about the years going forward.

我們確實相信這些現在都在基地中，或每年都會在 2024 年基地中。我認為可以肯定地說，目前我們仍然相信我們可以將槓桿率保持在 3% 的水平。如果你在三月的電話會議之前給我們答复，那麼當我們思考未來幾年時，你應該再次挑戰這個問題並回答這個很好的問題。

The next question is from Seth Sigman with Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的塞思‧西格曼。

I wanted to focus on the Five Beyond format. Can you elaborate on the performance that you're seeing as you enter year two? I realize it's early, just a select number of stores, but any color on how those are performing? And just any other learnings or modifications that you might be making as you work through the rest of the chain?

我想重點關注「超越五」的形式。您能詳細說明一下您進入第二年時所看到的表現嗎？我意識到現在還為時過早，只是選擇了一些商店，但是這些商店的表現如何？在完成鏈條的其餘部分時，您可能會進行任何其他學習或修改嗎？

Yes. Look, as I said in my prepared remarks, it is a small sample size, and -- but all signals of that first wave of groups that popped into the year two and Q3 is that they're comping positive. And so we obviously need to get to Q4 here, we'll have another big chunk of stores entering year two, plus we'll have a second quarter of those or in year two.

是的。看，正如我在準備好的發言中所說，樣本量很小，而且 - 但第二年和第三季度出現的第一波群體的所有信號都表明，他們的業績比較積極。因此，我們顯然需要進入第四季度，我們將有另一大塊商店進入第二年，我們將有第二季或第二年的商店。

But as it stands right now, we are not seeing anything that would indicate that they would give back any of the gains they got in year one of the conversion and seem to be comping more in line with what the chain is comping. So more to come on that, but we did want to give you some early reads on it. And we'll certainly, as we set up 2024 have a really good base of stores that are in that year two mark, but feel really good about it.

但就目前情況而言，我們沒有看到任何跡象表明他們會回饋在轉換的第一年獲得的任何收益，並且似乎與連鎖店的情況更加一致。關於這一點還有更多內容，但我們確實想為您提供一些有關它的早期讀物。當我們設定 2024 年時，我們肯定會擁有非常好的商店基礎，這些商店在這一年中已經有兩個標誌，但我們對此感覺非常好。

The next question is from Edward Kelly with Wells Fargo.

下一個問題來自富國銀行的愛德華‧凱利。

Just a follow-up, Joel, on Five Beyond. As we think about the go-forward and half the store base or half the comp base anyway in Five Beyond. So help us, I guess, understand like the benefit that continues to roll in, in '24? And then you mentioned increased penetration also helping comp going forward. I don't know if any of that is in year 2 of the Five Beyond that you mentioned or is that incremental? And then just thoughts around what that could mean over time in terms of Five Beyond continuing to help drive comp at the business?

喬爾，這只是《五之外》的後續作品。當我們考慮「超越五」中的前進和一半商店基礎或一半補償基礎時。所以，我想，請幫助我們理解 24 年持續帶來的好處？然後你提到滲透率的提升也有助於競爭的發展。我不知道您提到的「超越五個」的第二年是否有這些內容，或者是漸進的？然後思考一下，隨著時間的推移，這對於「五之外」繼續幫助推動業務競爭意味著什麼？

Yes. Look, Ed, it's a great question. I think it's too early for us to kind of like foreshadow 2024 for you. Obviously, we sit here and the easy math to do on 2020 -- on Q3 is our Five Beyond stores comp mid-single digits and our non-Five Beyond stores comped relatively flat, and that blended out to a 2.5% comp.

是的。聽著，艾德，這是一個很好的問題。我認為現在為您預示 2024 年還為時過早。顯然，我們坐在這裡，對2020 年進行簡單的數學計算——在第三季度，我們的5 家Beyond 商店的銷售額為中個位數，而我們的非5 家Beyond 商店的銷售額相對持平，混合後的銷售額為2.5%。

As the penetration of conversion stores increases, that should be a positive tailwind to comps into next year. And then the fact that we're not seeing a -- as we come into year two, a negative comp, that should be a positive too. But what you're asking me for is to quantify 2024. It's just too early to put all that together for you. But I don't think we see any headwinds on it as we look out to 2024 and 2025.

隨著轉換商店滲透率的增加，這應該會對明年的業績產生積極的推動作用。事實上，當我們進入第二年時，我們沒有看到負面的補償，這也應該是正面的。但你要求我量化 2024 年。現在為你把所有這些放在一起還為時過早。但展望 2024 年和 2025 年，我認為我們不會看到任何阻力。

The next question is from Matthew Boss with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Matthew Boss。

Congrats on another nice quarter. So Joel, on third quarter same-store sales, maybe relative to your guide 3 months ago, where did you see upside by category? And could you speak to the progression of comps as the third quarter progressed? Maybe elaborate on early holiday trends? And then maybe just one for Kristy or Ken. Could you elaborate on new store performance from some of the latest cohorts of stores?

恭喜又一個美好的季度。 Joel，關於第三季同店銷售，也許相對於您三個月前的指導，您認為按類別劃分的上升空間在哪裡？能否談談第三季的業績進展？也許詳細說明一下早期的假期趨勢？然後也許只是克里斯蒂或肯的一份。能否詳細介紹一下最新一批商店的新店表現？

Yes. Thanks, Matt. And look, as I said in my prepared remarks, some of the areas we saw the biggest strengths was games and toys, and seasonal and specifically calling out Halloween, that's an area we've really started to grow, and Michael and his team have done a great job on that. And clearly, with us exceeding guidance would tell you that as the quarter progressed, business certainly got stronger. I don't know, Kristy, did you have?

是的。謝謝，馬特。看，正如我在準備好的演講中所說，我們看到最大優勢的一些領域是遊戲和玩具，以及季節性的，特別是萬聖節，這是我們真正開始發展的領域，邁克爾和他的團隊已經在這方面做得很好。顯然，我們超越的指導會告訴您，隨著本季的進展，業務肯定會變得更加強勁。我不知道，克里斯蒂，你有嗎？

Yes. On new store performance, Matt, Q3 was in line with Q1 and 2, which were in the mid-80s to low 90. And Q4 at the midpoint, you'll find is pretty consistent with that as well coming in close to the mid-80% range for new store productivity.

是的。在新店業績方面，馬特，第三季度與第一季度和第二季度一致，都在80 年代中期到90 左右。而第四季度在中點，你會發現與這一點非常一致，也接近中間水平新店生產力的-80%範圍。

The next question is from John Heinbockel with Guggenheim Securities.

下一個問題來自古根漢證券公司的約翰·海因博克爾。

So Joel, what do you think when you pull out Five Beyond, right? You sort of referenced the flat comp. What do you think the stores can combat below the $5 price point. I know Michael has always challenged the merchants right to find good dollar items and $2 items. Where is that opportunity? Is that a low single-digit comp? And is it really new product innovation?

那麼喬爾，當你推出《超越五》時，你有什麼想法，對嗎？你有點參考了平面補償。您認為商店可以對抗 5 美元以下的價格點嗎？我知道麥可一直挑戰商家尋找優質商品和 2 美元商品的權利。那個機會在哪裡？這是一個低個位數的補償嗎？這真的是新產品創新嗎？

Yes. Are you talking about in the conversion store, John?

是的。約翰，你是在談論改造商店嗎？

No, I'm just saying, overall, right? Stores beyond the $5 price point, right? Should probably comp low single digits or no?

不，我只是說，總體而言，對嗎？商店的價格超過 5 美元，對嗎？是否應該計算低個位數？

Yes. No, absolutely. And we continue to see that. And I called out toys. That was largely a Five Below business in Q3. Our candy business has been really strong. That's almost 100% Five Below business. And I think the thing we've been most pleased with on the conversion stores, we're not getting all that comp from Five Beyond, we're getting it from the box and we're getting it from the box in the form of more transactions.

是的。不，絕對是。我們繼續看到這一點。我喊出了玩具。這在第三季主要是「五以下」業務。我們的糖果業務非常強勁。這幾乎是 100% 低於五的業務。我認為我們在改裝商店中最滿意的事情是，我們沒有從五之外獲得所有補償，我們從盒子裡得到它，我們從盒子裡得到它的形式更多交易。

And so look, I'll take footsteps all day long. And I think we have the opportunity for our penetration in Five Beyond to continue to grow. But it's still kind of a mid-single-digit number for our Five Beyond stores so there's a lot of upside to that. And in the meantime, the 5 below businesses are really driving the business.

所以你看，我會整天踩著腳步。我認為我們有機會繼續擴大在「五之外」的滲透率。但對於我們的 Five Beyond 商店來說，這仍然是一個中等個位數的數字，因此還有很多好處。同時，以下 5 項業務正在真正推動業務發展。

And Michael and the merchants, I think this Q4, as any of you get out in the stores, the value message is probably as strong as we've ever been in there. That seasonal wall all Five Below, which is a change for us. We took the Five Beyond off the seasonal wall this year. We've got a whole $1 statement in there for holiday. So we've really screened value, and that's all driving it at Five Below.

麥可和商家們，我認為今年第四季度，當你們中的任何一個人走進商店時，價值訊息可能是我們在商店裡所經歷過的最強烈的。季節性牆全部低於五，這對我們來說是一個變化。今年我們將「五之外」從季節性牆上取下來。我們有一張 1 美元的假期賬單。因此，我們確實篩選了價值，這就是推動「五以下」的全部因素。

The next question is from Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的西蒙古特曼。

Joel, just a quick follow-up to John's question. Are the units per trip in the Five Beyond and those stores that are doing mid-single, are those trending up too or it's all traffic?

喬爾，我是對約翰問題的快速跟進。五之外的每次旅行的單位數量以及那些正在做中單的商店，這些單位是否也呈上升趨勢，或者都是客流量？

And then the real question is another stab at '24, and I'm going to paraphrase the way you answered the question earlier, you mentioned shrink. If you do comp algo is 2 to 3 or maybe a little bit better, what are the puts and takes? And you laid out shrink to something that could be a good or a bad guide to the P&L. Are there any other ones, investments, distribution center, anything on SG&A that we should think about?

然後真正的問題是 24 年的另一個問題，我將解釋你之前回答問題的方式，你提到了收縮。如果你的比較演算法是 2 比 3 或可能好一點，那麼看跌期權和拿走選擇權是多少？你制定了一些收縮計劃，這些內容可能是損益表的好或壞指南。 SG&A 方面還有其他什麼、投資、配送中心等我們應該考慮的嗎？

Yes. Look, we -- Simeon, real quick on the units per trip, that is still negative. We are just seeing more transactions, our proxy for traffic and we would expect that to continue the better part into next year. And that's just a sign that the customer is being very discerning on what they're buying. But we expect with the increased trips, that's going to more than make up for it because our total basket is still very healthy compared to where it was pre-COVID.

是的。看，我們——西蒙，每次行程的單位數很快，但這仍然是負數。我們只是看到更多的交易，我們的流量代理，我們預計這種情況將持續到明年。這只是一個跡象，表明客戶對他們購買的商品非常挑剔。但我們預計，隨著出行次數的增加，這將足以彌補這一點，因為與新冠疫情爆發前相比，我們的總購物籃仍然非常健康。

And then the puts and takes for next year, Simeon, I'm going to punt on that one a little bit and that we're not ready here that we are all focused on Q4 and everything and not ready to give guidance on 2024. But in general, I don't see a lot of headwinds next year unless something changes macro-wise. We think we've pretty much got shrink in the mix for it. And with the continuation of COVID -- I mean if conversion, not COVID, that should all help well in terms of providing more leverage. I expect 2024 to be a more normal year. We'll welcome that.

然後是明年的看跌預測，Simeon，我要稍微押註一下，我們還沒有準備好，我們都專注於第四季度和一切，還沒有準備好為 2024 年提供指導。但總的來說，除非宏觀方面發生變化，否則我認為明年不會有太多阻力。我們認為我們已經為此縮小了組合。隨著新冠疫情的持續，我的意思是，如果是轉化，而不是新冠疫情，那麼這應該有助於提供更多槓桿作用。我預計 2024 年將是更正常的一年。我們對此表示歡迎。

The next question is from Paul Lejuez with Citi.

下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Paul Lejuez。

Curious what you think are the biggest areas of opportunity for this holiday, something maybe that didn't go according to plan, maybe it wasn't executed perfectly last year, just where you have opportunity to improve this year? And then just second, as you look out to the first half, I'm curious what you're seeing in terms of product costs, input costs, is it a tailwind? Is it a headwind as you look into the first half, just as we think about the gross margin line for next year?

好奇你認為這個假期最大的機會領域是什麼，也許有些事情沒有照計畫進行，也許去年沒有完美執行，只是今年你有機會改進的地方？第二，當你展望上半年時，我很好奇你在產品成本、投入成本上看到了什麼，這是順風車嗎？當你展望上半年時，就像我們思考明年的毛利率線一樣，這是否是一個逆風？

Yes. I mean you asked what didn't go well. I'd like to reflect on what did go well. And I'll tell you, our inventory in stocks are significantly better than what they've been in the last two years. So I think we're really set up nicely from an inventory perspective.

是的。我的意思是你問的是哪裡進展不順利。我想反思哪些方面進展順利。我會告訴你，我們的庫存明顯比過去兩年好。所以我認為從庫存角度來看我們的設定確實很好。

In terms of inputs for next year, if we do see significant inputs, Paul, I hope we get back to reinvesting that gross margin benefits back into product. That is something we pause for the last couple of years due to all the headwinds of supply chain challenges and inflation and that type of thing. But I think what we're seeing is the inputs being tailwinds, not headwinds, both in freight, both in raw materials, labor, overseas, but don't expect us to take a material increase in gross margin as we will start to reinvest some of that again, which hasn't happened in a couple of years.

就明年的投入而言，如果我們確實看到重大投入，保羅，我希望我們能夠重新將毛利率收益重新投資到產品中。由於供應鏈挑戰和通貨膨脹等各種不利因素，我們在過去幾年中暫停了這項工作。但我認為我們看到的是貨運、原材料、勞動力、海外的投入都是順風而不是逆風，但不要指望我們的毛利率會大幅增加，因為我們將開始再投資又發生了一些這樣的事情，這已經是幾年前沒有發生過的事了。

The next question is from Jeremy Hamblin with Craig-Hallum Capital Group.

下一個問題來自 Craig-Hallum Capital Group 的 Jeremy Hamblin。

I'll add my congratulations. I wanted to ask about the Five Beyond section and with the success that you're seeing in that, you've used it really as an opportunity to expand the WOW factor in your stores. I think largely, you've stated $25 and below price point, but you guys have a history of kind of testing and learning and wanted to just understand, is there a price point where you feel like it just doesn't make sense given the history of the store and the value offering. Is this something where we could start seeing $50 product that's in that Five Beyond section?

我會補充我的祝賀。我想問一下“超越五”部分，隨著您在其中看到的成功，您確實將其用作擴大商店中令人驚嘆的因素的機會。我認為很大程度上，你們已經規定了 25 美元及以下的價格點，但你們有某種測試和學習的歷史，並且想了解，是否有一個價格點讓您覺得它沒有意義，因為商店的歷史和價值提供。這是我們可以開始在“五之外”部分看到 50 美元產品的地方嗎？

Yes. Thanks, Jeremy, for the shout out. But I would tell you, we are not even contemplating anything above $25 at this point in time. And in fact, if anything, shoot, I was with Michael, just a couple of hours ago, and he's already got so many new ideas for next year based on what he's seeing success in this year. And I think I've said on a couple of calls it took us 3 to 5 years to perfect Five Below, this is all pretty public.

是的。謝謝傑里米的大聲喊叫。但我想告訴你，目前我們甚至沒有考慮任何超過 25 美元的價格。事實上，如果有的話，拍攝，就在幾個小時前，我和邁克爾在一起，他已經根據今年所看到的成功為明年提出了很多新想法。我想我已經在幾次電話會議上說過，我們花了 3 到 5 年的時間來完善《五下》，這都是相當公開的。

It's taking Michael and the merchants a few years to perfect Five Beyond. And we're learning classifications that excel. We're learning times a year, those classifications will work. And so we haven't earned the right or have the need to go above $25. There are so many great items they've got in that $6 to $25 range, and that's where the focus is. But I do have expectations that, that penetration will continue to increase as the customers really responding positively to this new format of Five Below in the front, Five Beyond in the back and keeping that separation. And now we've got to keep growing both just like John Heinbockel was asking about Five Below and you're asking about Five beyond, I think both of those are upsides for many years to come.

麥可和商人花了幾年的時間來完善「五之外」。我們正在學習出色的分類。我們每年都會學習幾次，這些分類會起作用。因此，我們還沒有獲得超過 25 美元的權利或需求。他們有很多 6 美元到 25 美元範圍內的優質商品，這就是重點。但我確實預計，隨著客戶真正對這種新格式做出積極反應，這種滲透率將繼續增加，即前面五個以下，後面五個以上並保持這種分離。現在我們必須繼續增長，就像約翰·海因博克爾問的是“五以下”，而你問的是“五”之外，我認為這兩者在未來很多年都是有利的。

The next question is from Krisztina Katai with Deutsche Bank.

下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Krisztina Katai。

Joel, I wanted to ask you since you talk about the product pipeline, both for holiday and going into '24. I know you're not providing guidance for next year, but a lot of general merchandise categories are now deflationary, consumables could potentially move in that direction. So I was wondering if that is opening up any new avenues for you from a merchandising perspective?

Joel，我想問你，因為你談到了產品線，無論是假期還是進入 24 世紀。我知道您不會提供明年的指導，但許多一般商品類別現在都處於通貨緊縮狀態，消費品可能會朝這個方向發展。所以我想知道這是否從行銷的角度為您開闢了新的途徑？

Well, somewhere I thought you were going with that, Krisztina, I thought you're talking about is it going to be a negative to us being deflationary. I -- it's more of the question I was answering a couple of questions ago about the inputs into it. And those are deflationary, that will benefit us. And at the same time, that will also allow us to reinvest some of those gross margin wins back into the product like we've done for years.

嗯，在某個地方，我以為你會這麼說，克里斯蒂娜，我以為你在談論這會對我們的通貨緊縮產生負面影響。我——這更多的是我之前回答的幾個關於輸入的問題。這些都是通貨緊縮的，這將使我們受益。同時，這也將使我們能夠像多年來所做的那樣，將部分毛利率收益重新投資到產品中。

I think the other big opportunity is we're seeing significant capacity overseas in terms of containers, and that also is a nice input into the gross margin line. So all in all, everything is pointing a little bit to at least steady, if not deflationary. And some of that will flow through and others of it will take to improve the product quality.

我認為另一個巨大的機會是我們看到海外貨櫃的巨大產能，這也是對毛利率的一個很好的投入。總而言之，一切都顯示即使不是通貨緊縮，至少也趨於穩定。其中一些將流通，另一些將用於提高產品品質。

The next question is from Michael Montani with Evercore ISI.

下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Michael Montani。

I just wanted to ask about the store growth outlook into next year and beyond. Do we feel that we're in a point to do kind of high teens growth? Or is there some constraints we need to consider there? And then secondly, there's some fascinating initiatives, right, in terms of helium, piercings, potential for loyalty. Just kind of love to get your latest thinkings and learnings from those things.

我只是想問一下明年及以後的商店成長前景。我們是否覺得自己正處於青少年高速成長的時刻？或者我們需要考慮一些限制嗎？其次，有一些令人著迷的舉措，對吧，在氦氣、穿孔、忠誠度潛力方面。只是喜歡從這些事情中獲得最新的想法和經驗。

Yes. Look, as I said in my prepared remarks, the store growth pipeline is really in a great spot, it hasn't been in that spot in 4 years. There's two angles we're focused on. One is getting the pipeline full and the other is getting back to closer to a 50-50 opening cadence first half to second half. And both those, the teams have made great progress on, and we'll be in great shape for next year in '25.

是的。看，正如我在準備好的發言中所說，商店的成長管道確實處於一個很好的位置，它已經有 4 年沒有出現過這樣的情況了。我們關注兩個角度。一個是讓管道充滿，另一個是回到上半場到下半場接近 50-50 的開場節奏。在這兩個方面，球隊都取得了很大的進步，我們明年的 25 年將處於良好的狀態。

But in terms of exact counts and that type, you're probably a tidge high on the count. I think we've kind of indicated more mid-teens over the last couple of calls, and then we'll give you exact numbers at either ICR or your beginning call. And then everything else you pointed to is it's just more upside. Helium balloons, ear piercing, those services, loyalty, again, those just are all incremental as we continue to look at this thing long term and beyond.

但就精確計數和類型而言，您的計數可能很高。我想我們在過去的幾次通話中已經表明了更多的青少年，然後我們會在 ICR 或您開始通話時給您確切的數字。然後你指出的其他一切都只是更多的好處。氦氣球、耳洞、這些服務、忠誠度，再說一次，當我們繼續長期和更長遠地看待這件事時，這些都是增量的。

The next question is from Brad Thomas with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

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

Joel, as we look at your results relative to what we're hearing across the retail landscape, what really stands out is nearly every retailer is calling out discretionary categories as being down in some cases, down very significantly. And so I think your results really do stand out here.

喬爾，當我們將您的結果與我們在整個零售領域聽到的情況進行對比時，真正引人注目的是，幾乎所有零售商都稱非必需品類在某些情況下下降了，而且下降得非常顯著。所以我認為你的結果在這裡確實很突出。

I was wondering if you could just talk a little bit more about what you may be seeing from kind of a cyclical perspective. Are you seeing repeat customers pulling back on the average ticket size? How much are you seeing maybe in terms of trading down and new customers coming in, trying to stretch a buck? What are you seeing maybe that puts more into context why you're all doing so well right now?

我想知道您是否可以從週期性的角度多談談您可能會看到的情況。您是否發現回頭客的平均票價有所下降？您可能會看到多少在降價交易和新客戶湧入、試圖節省開支方面的情況？你看到了什麼，也許這更能說明為什麼你們現在都做得這麼好？

Thanks, Brad. I think that it speaks to why a couple of questions ago about units per transaction. I mean certainly, that's a sign that the customer is being very discerning. And that's why you've got to win with transactions or traffic, which has been very positive.

謝謝，布拉德。我認為這說明了為什麼之前有幾個關於每筆交易單位的問題。我的意思是，這當然表明客戶非常挑剔。這就是為什麼你必須透過交易或流量取勝，這是非常積極的。

I think why we're winning with discretionary, and I said in my prepared remarks, Q1 through 3, our store is largely a store wants. In Q4, and Q4 starts in October, our stores a store needs. And the last place history has shown, my long tenure in the kids space, is that parents cut out on their kids. And so nieces and nephews and grandparents and parents are certainly worried about stretching their dollars further and we're seeing the trade down. But as we look at what we're seeing here in Q4, we're a destination for value, and that's resonating really nice with the customer.

我認為為什麼我們以自由裁量取勝，我在我準備好的發言中說過，第一季到第三季度，我們的商店很大程度上是商店想要的。在第四季度，第四季度從十月開始，我們的商店有商店需要。歷史表明，我在兒童領域的長期任職，最後一個地方是父母對孩子的排斥。因此，侄女、侄子、祖父母和父母肯定擔心進一步花更多的錢，而我們看到交易正在下降。但當我們看看第四季度所看到的情況時，我們是一個價值目的地，這與客戶產生了很好的共鳴。

The next question is from Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

下一個問題是查克·格羅姆和戈登·哈斯克特提出的。

I'm curious if you can maybe shine a little light into your conversation with Michael that you held a couple of hours ago, if you will, in terms of what he's seeing from suppliers and are they starting to innovate more after a couple of years of just trying to plow through unit volumes. Just curious what you're seeing on that front? And anything from a trend that has you excited?

我很好奇你是否可以透露一下你幾個小時前與邁克爾進行的談話，如果你願意的話，就他從供應商那裡看到的情況而言，幾年後他們是否開始進行更多創新只是試圖通過單位體積。只是好奇你在這方面看到了什麼？有什麼趨勢讓你興奮嗎？

Look, I think, while I never give away any secrets with Michael, any of you that have toured stores with him, know he's never had a lack of ideas and this is some of the most upbeat I've seen to merchants. Don't forget, we just opened our India office this year. I was out there personally about a month ago with Michael for the kickoff to that.

聽著，我想，雖然我從不洩露邁克爾的任何秘密，但你們中任何一個和他一起參觀過商店的人都知道，他從來不缺乏想法，這是我見過的對商人來說最樂觀的想法之一。別忘了，我們今年剛開設了印度辦事處。大約一個月前，我親自和麥可一起參加了這次活動的啟動。

We had over 50 factories there. It's another example that will help us innovate. It will help us move faster. It will help us keep costing down and it really starts to spread out our supply chain to other countries. And so that's just one example where Michael is excited. But I think like always, our 8 worlds allow us to kind of really ebb and flow from one category to the next as trends change.

我們在那裡有超過 50 家工廠。這是另一個幫助我們創新的例子。它將幫助我們更快地行動。它將幫助我們降低成本，並真正開始將我們的供應鏈擴展到其他國家。這只是麥可感到興奮的一個例子。但我認為一如既往，我們的 8 個世界讓我們能夠隨著趨勢的變化從一個類別真正地潮起潮落到下一個類別。

And I called out several of those trends in my prepared remarks. And -- but the merchants are excited and they're already -- I was down in our mock store today, and we're looking at back-to-school for next year. So we're well ahead of '24 on the merchandise cycle. And a lot of positive stuff out there that, obviously, Chuck, I can't get into the specifics, but I feel really good about.

我在準備好的發言中指出了其中的一些趨勢。而且——但商家們很興奮，他們已經——我今天在我們的模擬商店裡，我們正在考慮明年的返校情況。因此，我們的商品週期遠遠領先 24 世紀。還有很多正面的東西，顯然，查克，我無法透露具體細節，但我感覺非常好。

The next question is from Kate McShane with Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自高盛的 Kate McShane。

I just wanted to ask about the competitive landscape. It seems like at least in the mass channel that they are focused on a particular price point and lower more signage and marketing around that than I believe I've seen the last couple of years. Just wondered how you're thinking about your positioning in the competitive landscape. Obviously, there's the value component of five and below. But just with regards to what you're seeing from other competitors, any insight there?

我只是想問一下競爭格局。看起來至少在大眾通路中，他們專注於特定的價格點，並且圍繞該價格點的標誌和行銷比我相信我過去幾年看到的要低。只是想知道您如何考慮自己在競爭格局中的定位。顯然，存在 5 及以下的值分量。但就您從其他競爭對手看到的情況而言，有什麼見解嗎？

It's a great question. It's a really great observation on your part. I think there's several retailers out there doing a great job in their own space, trying to communicate value. And they're doing that through price point, they're doing it to product. They're doing it through features and benefits. And it's certainly, I would assume, resonate with the customer. That's something we've done since the day we started this business. And you marry that value message up in a Five Below with a great experience.

這是一個很好的問題。這對你來說真是一個很棒的觀察。我認為有幾家零售商在自己的領域做得很好，試圖傳達價值。他們透過價格點、產品來做到這一點。他們透過功能和優勢來做到這一點。我認為這肯定會引起客戶的共鳴。這是我們自開展這項業務之日起就一直在做的事情。您可以將這價值訊息與「五以下」中的美好體驗結合。

And we're not always perfect, we've got some stores that struggle. But overall, we deliver a really great experience for our value customer. And then layer in on that for us, it's about being trend right. And I think you'll see some great trends in our stores this year. So hopefully, that gives you some example. I think it is certainly resonating with a lot of competitors out there in the retail space. And then we got to bring it home in our stores with some fun.

我們並不總是完美的，我們有一些商店正在苦苦掙扎。但總的來說，我們為我們的價值客戶提供了非常好的體驗。然後對我們來說，這就是順應趨勢。我想今年您會在我們的商店中看到一些很棒的趨勢。希望這能給你一些例子。我認為這肯定引起了零售領域許多競爭對手的共鳴。然後我們就可以帶著一些樂趣把它帶回家。

The next question is from Jason Haas with Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Jason Haas。

So I think previously, you were expecting to have stronger comps in 4Q relative to 3Q. And I look at what's implied by the guidance now. It looks like we're now going to see -- you're expecting to see comps that are similar in 4Q to 3Q. So -- and cognizant of the fact that you're calling out a strong start to the quarter. I think you've cited that there's been a dynamic where people are shopping closer to need so they're buying closer to holidays. So I'm curious if that's just conservatism or is it possible that we will see even stronger demand as we get closer to the holiday season here?

所以我認為之前，您預計第四季的業績會比第三季更強。我現在看看該指南的含義。看起來我們現在將看到 - 您期望看到第四季度到第三季度的相似情況。因此，並認識到您正在呼籲本季度的強勁開局。我想你已經提到過，人們會在更接近需要的時候購物，因此他們會在假期臨近時購買。所以我很好奇這是否只是保守主義，或者隨著我們接近假期，我們是否有可能看到更強勁的需求？

Yes. Kristy, I might need you to help me out in thinking through that. But my recollection is we -- I think Q4 certainly isn't lower than what we thought it was a quarter ago. And I think if you take our prior guidance to the full year, Kristy was, what? 1% to 3%. And now we've taken it up to 2.5% on the year. So you're going to have to help me jog my memory there, Jason, on what you're referring to, but from my...

是的。克里斯蒂，我可能需要你幫我思考這個問題。但我的記憶是——我認為第四季肯定不會低於我們一個季度前的預期。我認為，如果您將我們之前的全年指導視為克里斯蒂，什麼？ 1%到3%。現在我們已將這一比例提高到了 2.5%。所以你必須幫我回憶一下你所指的內容，傑森，但是從我的…

Yes, I just meant that from 3Q to 4Q, I think the implication was more like we go from, I don't remember exact but I think it was like a 1% comp to 2%, a 2% comp or something like that. So there's going to be an acceleration. It sounds like you have seen that acceleration. So why not raise 4Q isn't really my question.

是的，我只是說從第三季度到第四季度，我認為這更像是我們從哪裡開始，我不記得確切的了，但我認為這就像1% 的補償到2%、2% 的補償或類似的東西。所以將會有一個加速。聽起來你已經看到那種加速度了。所以為什麼不提高 4Q 並不是我真正的問題。

Yes. I think it'd be really irresponsible of us to raise it any higher than we've got it right now. We've still got 70%, 75% of the quarter in front of us. And so -- but I'll tell you what this would be a really great quarter kind of finishing in the 2% to 3% range.

是的。我認為我們將其提高到比現在更高的水平是非常不負責任的。我們還剩下本季 70%、75% 的時間。所以，但我會告訴你，如果季度業績能達到 2% 到 3% 的水平，那將是一個非常好的季度。

The next question is from Anthony Chukumba with Loop Capital.

下一個問題來自 Loop Capital 的 Anthony Chukumba。

Congrats as well on the strong quarter. So we're starting to get some questions about Temu and whether that's a threat to Five Below. I certainly have my opinion on that, but would love your perspective on that.

也恭喜季度的強勁表現。因此，我們開始收到一些有關 Temu 的問題，以及這是否對「五人以下」構成威脅。我對此當然有自己的看法，但希望您對此有看法。

Yes. Look, I think I've answered a Temu question probably every quarter here. And what's amazing, when you look at our comp consistency, quarter-on-quarter-on-quarter, we've been within tens of basis points of 2.5% comp Q1, Q2, Q3, thinking about Jason's question a little bit further. Last question, part of Q4 is don't forget we're up against a much harder compare than we were those other 3 quarters. And so that layers into Q4 on a 2-year stack even being better.

是的。看，我想我可能每個季度都會在這裡回答一個 Temu 問題。令人驚訝的是，當你看看我們的季度環比一致性時，我們在第一季、第二季、第三季的2.5% 的環比範圍內相差了數十個基點，進一步思考Jason 的問題。最後一個問題，第四季的一部分是不要忘記我們面臨著比其他三個季度更艱難的比較。因此，在 2 年堆疊上分層到第四季度甚至更好。

So -- but we watch Temu as much as anybody else. I think they're an online player and the natural place to go is for people to shift their online purchases from retailer A to Temu. Our online presence is -- penetration is so low. It's probably why we haven't seen a big impact in our business from that perspective. But we'll continue to watch them and see where they go. But as you can see in the consistency of our results, it really hasn't had an impact for us yet.

所以——但我們和其他人一樣關注 Temu。我認為他們是線上玩家，人們自然會將線上購物從零售商 A 轉移到 Temu。我們的線上存在是——滲透率很低。從這個角度來看，這可能是我們的業務沒有受到重大影響的原因。但我們將繼續觀察他們，看看他們會去哪裡。但正如您在我們結果的一致性中看到的那樣，它實際上還沒有對我們產生影響。

(Operator Instructions) The next question is from Joe Feldman with Telsey Advisory Group.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自 Telsey Advisory Group 的 Joe Feldman。

I wanted to ask one more on real estate. And just curious what you guys are seeing in terms of real estate costs, in terms of lease costs or rental rates or -- and also the cost to build. Are there -- is that easing at all? Or because I know it was a bit of pressure the past year or two. And I'm just wondering go forward if you're seeing that easing up at all?

我想再問一個關於房地產的問題。只是好奇你們在房地產成本、租賃成本或租金率或建造成本方面看到了什麼。有沒有——這種情況有緩解嗎？或者因為我知道過去一兩年有點壓力。我只是想知道你是否看到這種情況有所緩解？

I think it continues to increase slightly year-over-year. But I think overall, our rents are pretty close to flat. It certainly hasn't risen at the same rate that we saw inflation rise. I think the bigger challenge has been just the last couple of years, landlords just weren't building.

我認為它繼續同比小幅增長。但我認為總體而言，我們的租金非常接近持平。它的上升速度肯定沒有達到我們所看到的通膨上升的速度。我認為更大的挑戰是在過去幾年，房東只是沒有建造。

And so I think with the number of bankruptcies that happened this year, that was really positive and starting to fill up the pipeline of stores and I think that may continue into next year as well. But we really taken much more control of our destination, are building many more ourselves than relying just on the landlord. And as we get into ICR and the likes we'll be able to give you kind of specific numbers on next year.

因此，我認為今年發生的破產數量確實是積極的，並且開始填滿商店的管道，我認為這種情況也可能持續到明年。但我們確實對目的地有了更多的控制權，我們自己建造了更多的東西，而不僅僅是依賴房東。當我們進入 ICR 等領域時，我們將能夠為您提供明年的具體數字。

But you can tell from my prepared remarks, Joe, the '24 pipeline is pretty full. Our rate of first half to second year grew significantly over this year. And we're feeling like the hardest part of real estate is behind us.

但喬，你可以從我準備好的發言中看出，24 年的管道已經相當滿了。我們上半年到第二年的成長率比今年有顯著成長。我們感覺房地產最困難的部分已經過去了。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Joel Anderson for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回喬爾安德森 (Joel Anderson) 致閉幕詞。

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everybody, for joining us for our Q3 call and our holiday outlook. Look, in summary, our teams are focused on delivering incredible value, trend-right products and a really fun shopping experience for the holidays as well as building for the long-term future. I hope to see you all in our stores. I wish all of you and your families a terrific holiday. We will look forward to speaking with you again at the ICR conference in January. Thanks, and have a great December. Bye.

謝謝運營商，也謝謝大家參加我們的第三季電話會議和假期展望。總而言之，我們的團隊致力於為假期提供令人難以置信的價值、順應潮流的產品和真正有趣的購物體驗，並為長遠的未來做好準備。我希望在我們的商店見到大家。我祝福大家和你們的家人有個愉快的假期。我們期待在一月份的 ICR 會議上再次與您交談。謝謝，祝十二月愉快。再見。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。