Flowers Foods Inc (FLO) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Flowers Foods third quarter 2025 results conference call. Please be advised that today's event is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your opening speaker today, JT Rieck, Executive Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

早上好，感謝您的耐心等待。歡迎參加 Flowers Foods 2025 年第三季業績電話會議。請注意，今天的活動將被錄影。現在，我謹將會議交給今天的開幕演講嘉賓，財務和投資者關係執行副總裁 JT Rieck。請繼續。

Hello, and good morning. I hope everyone had the opportunity to review our earnings release, listen to our prepared remarks and view the slide presentation that were all posted earlier on our Investor Relations website. After today's Q&A session, we will also post an audio replay of this call.

您好，早安。我希望大家都有機會查看我們之前發佈在投資者關係網站上的收益報告、聆聽我們準備好的發言稿並觀看幻燈片演示。今天的問答環節結束後，我們也會發布本次通話的錄音回放。

Please note that in this Q&A session, we may make forward-looking statements about the company's performance. Although we believe these statements to be reasonable, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.

請注意，在本次問答環節中，我們可能會對公司業績做出前瞻性陳述。儘管我們認為這些說法是合理的，但它們存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與預期有重大差異。

In addition to what you hear in these remarks, important factors relating to Flowers Foods business are fully detailed in our SEC filings. We also provide non-GAAP financial measures for which disclosure and reconciliations are provided in the earnings release and at the end of the slide presentation on our website. Joining me today are Ryals McMullian, Chairman and CEO; and Steve Kinsey, our CFO. Ryals, I'll turn it over to you.

除了您從這些演講中聽到的內容之外，與 Flowers Foods 業務相關的其他重要因素已在我們的美國證券交易委員會文件中進行了詳細說明。我們也提供非GAAP財務指標，相關揭露和調節表將在獲利報告和我們網站上的幻燈片簡報末尾提供。今天與我一同出席的有董事長兼執行長 Ryals McMullian 和財務長 Steve Kinsey。萊爾斯，我把它交給你了。

Okay. Thanks, JT. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to our third quarter call. Our proactive efforts to strategically align our portfolio with consumer demand are yielding positive results. By effectively targeting areas of opportunity with differentiated offerings, we're finding pockets of growth amid ongoing pressures in the bread category. To address these challenges, we're redefining traditional loaf, incorporating value and better-for-you attributes that align with evolving consumer preferences.

好的。謝謝，JT。大家早安。歡迎參加我們第三季財報電話會議。我們積極主動地調整產品組合以適應消費者需求，並且取得了積極的成果。透過有效瞄準具有差異化優勢的市場機會領域，我們在麵包品類持續面臨的壓力中找到了成長點。為了應對這些挑戰，我們正在重新定義傳統麵包，融入價值和更健康的屬性，以符合不斷變化的消費者偏好。

While it will take time, we're confident our strong portfolio of brands will successfully enable this transformation. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated Flowers team for their hard work and resilience during this period of change.

雖然這需要時間，但我們相信我們強大的品牌組合將成功推動這項轉型。我想藉此機會感謝我們敬業的花卉團隊，感謝他們在這段變革時期所付出的辛勤努力和展現出的韌性。

We are also grateful for the ongoing support of our shareholders as we strive to enhance long-term performance. And finally, I'd like to acknowledge that this will be Steve Kinsey's final earnings call after 18 years as our CFO. His contributions to Flowers have been invaluable, and we're deeply appreciative of his leadership throughout the years. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors. And with that, Daniel, we're ready for questions.

我們衷心感謝股東們一直以來的支持，我們將努力提升公司的長期表現。最後，我想說明的是，這將是史蒂夫金西擔任我們財務長 18 年後的最後一次財報電話會議。他對 Flowers 的貢獻是無價的，我們非常感謝他多年來的領導。我們祝福他未來一切順利。丹尼爾，好了，我們準備好回答你的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Scott Marks, Jefferies.

斯科特馬克斯，傑富瑞集團。

First thing I wanted to ask about, you made some comments in the prepared remarks about consumer sentiment reaching a low point for the year in Q3, but you also made comments about expecting category demand to normalize as the economy strengthens. So maybe if you can just help us understand how you're thinking about that and maybe what gives you confidence in the recovery of the category and the normalization of demand?

首先我想問的是，您在準備好的發言稿中提到，第三季消費者信心跌至年內低點，但您也表示，隨著經濟走強，預計品類需求將恢復正常。所以，您能否幫助我們了解您對此的看法，以及是什麼讓您對該品類的復甦和需求的正常化充滿信心？

Sure. Thanks, Scott. Of course, it's tough to pinpoint the exact time line, right? But we do think over time, the category will stabilize. This is a very large category. It's a staple in many households in the United States. I think we've just got to get some of this noise out of the way.

當然。謝謝你，斯科特。當然，要確定確切的時間線是很困難的，對吧？但我們認為隨著時間的推移，這個類別會趨於穩定。這是一個非常大的類別。它是美國許多家庭的必備食品。我認為我們必須先排除一些幹擾因素。

People are still very concerned about tariff situation. The job market now with the government shutdown and the disruption that, that has brought, I think it's going to take a little bit of time to work our way through that.

人們仍然非常關注關稅狀況。由於政府停擺及其帶來的混亂，目前的就業市場需要一些時間才能恢復正常。

So we do see the weakness continuing at least partway into '26 from where we stand right now, but we do think over time, it will stabilize. I think in the meantime, it's important for us to continue focusing on the consumer, continuing to invest in the consumer, bringing those both value and better-for-you offerings to the consumer, which is clearly where they're going, and that's what we intend to do.

所以從目前的情況來看，我們認為這種疲軟態勢至少會持續到 2026 年的部分時間，但我們認為隨著時間的推移，它會趨於穩定。我認為同時，對我們來說重要的是繼續關註消費者，繼續投資於消費者，為消費者帶來有價值且更有益於健康的產品和服務，這顯然是他們未來的發展方向，也是我們打算做的事情。

Appreciate that and then the second question for me would be, you talked about some of your newer investments pressuring margins a little bit, just investing to kind of generate consumer trial and ramp volumes. Maybe how should we be thinking about offsets to that within whether it's the supply chain efficiencies or any other offsets that you can call out for us?

非常感謝。那麼我的第二個問題是，您提到您的一些新投資對利潤率造成了一定的壓力，這些投資旨在吸引消費者試用並提高銷售量。或許我們應該如何考慮應對這種情況的補償措施，無論是提高供應鏈效率，還是您能指出的其他補償措施？

Yeah. You're spot on there, Scott. I mean we're focused on the long term. And so that means continuing to invest in the consumer. And we will continue to do that. I think you've seen us do that with all the innovation that we brought to market over the last several years.

是的。斯科特，你說得完全正確。我的意思是，我們著眼於長遠發展。所以這意味著要繼續投資消費者。我們將繼續這樣做。我想你們已經看到了，在過去幾年裡，我們透過各種創新產品推向市場。

But the truth of the matter is, I mean, all innovation tends to pressure margins in the short term. They're newer items. But as we build scale and as we make targeted CapEx investments to increase our throughput and efficiency, we expect those margins to improve.

但事實是，我的意思是，所有創新在短期內都往往會對利潤率造成壓力。它們是比較新的產品。但隨著我們擴大規模，並進行有針對性的資本支出投資以提高產量和效率，我們預計這些利潤率將會提高。

Steve Powers, Deutsche Bank.

史蒂夫鮑爾斯，德意志銀行。

Okay. Congrats again to you, Steve, and thanks for your help over the years. So first question, just maybe to follow up on Scott's initial question, just around the consumer and I guess, your sort of your planning stance into '26.

好的。再次恭喜你，史蒂夫，感謝你這些年來的幫助。第一個問題，或許可以接著 Scott 的最初問題，關於消費者，以及你們對 2026 年的規劃立場。

You talked about some signs of stabilization in the category over the course of 3Q, but then some weakening as the quarter came to an end. So I guess, just thinking about fourth quarter and sizing up '26 scenarios, are you expecting more or less the status quo to prevail? Or are you building in allowances for things to maybe get a little bit worse before they get better?

您提到第三季該類別出現了一些企穩跡象，但隨著季末的臨近，又出現了一些疲軟跡象。所以我想，考慮到第四季以及 2026 年各種情況的評估，您認為現狀基本上會保持不變嗎？或者，你是否預留了餘地，以應對情況在好轉之前可能會略微惡化的情況？

More towards the status quo with some opportunity for improvement. I mean you're spot on that in Q3, periods eight and nine, we saw the category begin to stabilize. But comping what, five named storms last year and zero this year was a pretty tough comp in period 10. So you could see the category did fall off in period 10. But since then, it started to migrate back to where it was trending in periods eight and nine.

更傾向於維持現狀，但仍有一些改進空間。我的意思是，你說的完全正確，在第三季第八和第九個時期，我們看到這個類別開始趨於穩定。但是，要比較去年第 10 期有 5 個命名風暴而今年一個也沒有的情況，這確實是一個相當艱難的比較。所以你可以看到，該類別在第 10 期確實有所下降。但從那時起，它開始朝著第八和第九時期的趨勢發展。

Yeah. Okay. Perfect. Yes. So more just the comparisons versus the storms of last year. Makes sense.

是的。好的。完美的。是的。所以更多的是與去年風暴的比較。有道理。

Yeah, that's right.

是的，沒錯。

Okay. And then the other question I wanted to ask is it was just around Simple Mills. It was a point of upside, at least versus our estimates in the quarter. And in the prepared remarks, talked about general strength and performance in line with your own expectations. Maybe just go a little bit deeper and highlight some of the areas where you've seen the most progress since acquisition and where as you integrate and build further, you see the most opportunity?

好的。然後我想問的另一個問題是，這件事發生在 Simple Mills 附近。至少與我們本季的預期相比，這是一個利好因素。在準備好的演講稿中，談到了整體實力和表現是否符合您的預期。或許可以更深入地探討一下，重點介紹一下自收購以來您取得最大進展的領域，以及隨著整合和進一步發展，您認為哪些領域最具發展機遇？

Yeah. The first thing I would call out is just the collaboration effort between our teams. The integration is going exceedingly well. We're finding areas of opportunity in customer engagement, in procurement, among other areas, and across their categories, they still continue to perform very well, and as we noted in the prepared remarks, in line with our expectations.

是的。首先我要強調的是我們團隊之間的協作努力。整合工作進展得非常順利。我們在客戶互動、採購等領域發現了機會，而且在各個類別中，他們的表現仍然非常好，正如我們在準備好的演講稿中提到的那樣，符合我們的預期。

We're very excited about next year for Simple Mills. Of course, we're not giving guidance today, but they do have quite a bit of new innovation coming for next year that we're all pretty fired up about, and so overall, Steve, we couldn't be more pleased.

我們對 Simple Mills 的明年充滿期待。當然，我們今天不會給出任何預測，但他們明年確實有很多創新產品即將推出，我們對此都非常興奮，所以總的來說，史蒂夫，我們非常滿意。

Jim Salera, Stephens.

吉姆·薩萊拉，史蒂芬斯。

Steve, it's been a pleasure working with you. Hopefully, you have a long vacation planned as we get into the beginning of next year, taking advantage of some time off. Ryals, I wanted to maybe ask a little bit more detail around the other segment because branded retail actually came in ahead of what we were modeling and the other piece came a little bit behind.

史蒂夫，和你一起工作非常愉快。希望您在明年年初的時候已經計劃好了一個長假，好好享受一下假期。Ryals，我想就另一個部分多問一些細節，因為品牌零售實際上比我們模擬的要好，而其他部分則稍微落後一些。

I would assume that's foodservice, just given some of the headwinds that QSR and the industry has been facing. But can you offer any color there, maybe kind of foodservice and your private label business performance?

我猜這指的是餐飲服務業，畢竟速食業和整個產業都面臨一些不利因素。但是，您能否提供任何顏色、某種餐飲服務以及您的自有品牌業務表現？

Yeah. Jim, the foodservice business has been under pressure, not surprisingly, given the economic environment and consumer sentiment. So that's really all that is. I would continue to note, though, that despite that weakness, the work that we've done over the last two to three years to improve the profitability of that business is still delivering very nicely on the bottom line. So that's good to see.

是的。吉姆，鑑於當前的經濟環境和消費者情緒，餐飲服務業面臨壓力並不令人意外。事情就是這樣。不過，我還是要指出，儘管存在這個弱點，但我們在過去兩三年為提高該業務盈利能力所做的工作，仍然對最終收益產生了非常好的影響。那真是個好消息。

But look, we would expect that to recover as the economy recovers. It tends to ebb and flow with that. So nothing terribly unusual there. Volumes were a little bit better in that other category, primarily due to vending. So you may note that as well.

但是，我們預期隨著經濟復甦，這種情況也會隨之恢復。它會隨著這種情況而起伏波動。所以沒什麼特別不尋常的。另一個類別的銷售量略好一些，這主要是由於自動販賣機的銷售。所以你也應該注意到這一點。

Private label is interesting because it has been weak. You can see that in the syndicated data, which may seem kind of strange given where we are economically. But the price gaps between private label and some of the lower-priced branded products have narrowed significantly. And so I would chalk it up to that.

自有品牌之所以有趣，是因為它一直表現疲軟。從聯合數據中可以看出這一點，考慮到我們目前的經濟狀況，這似乎有點奇怪。但自有品牌與一些價格較低的品牌產品之間的價格差距已經顯著縮小。所以我認為原因就在於此。

Okay. Is it a fair way to think about just because we have a little bit less visibility on foodservice. Is that kind of run at the same pace of industry traffic? Or is there a way for us to think about kind of incorporating that into our model?

好的。僅僅因為我們對餐飲服務了解得不夠多，就這樣想是否公平？這種運行速度與業界交通速度一致嗎？或者，我們是否可以考慮將其融入我們的模型中？

Yeah. You can look at traffic, would be a good indicator. And remember, our foodservice business is really broad, right? So it's broad line through the big distributors, but it's also QSR, which has clearly been under pressure. We compete across all those channels. So it's just general weakness across foodservice given the economic environment.

是的。你可以觀察交通狀況，這會是一個很好的指標。記住，我們的餐飲服務業務範圍非常廣泛，對吧？所以，它的銷售管道很廣泛，主要透過大型經銷商，但也包括快餐連鎖店，而快餐連鎖店顯然一直面臨著壓力。我們在所有這些管道上都展開競爭。所以，鑑於目前的經濟環境，整個餐飲服務業都表現疲軟。

Okay. And then if I could sneak in one more. You guys brought down your expectations for headwinds from tariff, but we've also recently seen some step-up in ag commodity prices. Can you just offer any thoughts around how we should kind of be putting together puts and takes as we think about modeling your '26 gross margins, if there's maybe opportunity for upside there or with kind of all the moving pieces, that should probably be a little bit more conservative from our view.

好的。如果我能再偷偷加一個就好了。你們降低了對關稅帶來的不利影響的預期，但我們最近也看到農產品價格上漲。您能否就我們如何建構 2026 年毛利率模型提出一些想法？是否存在上漲空間？或者考慮到所有不確定因素，我們認為應該採取更保守的做法。

I mean, Jim, Ryals has made a statement. Obviously, we're not prepared to give guidance for 2026 today. But what I would say, when you look kind of across the whole bucket, we are still expecting inflation. I mean wheat commodities are still very volatile.

我的意思是，吉姆，賴爾斯已經發表聲明了。顯然，我們今天還無法對 2026 年的情況做出預測。但我想說的是，從整體來看，我們仍然預期會出現通貨膨脹。我的意思是，小麥商品價格仍然波動很大。

There are other things that are going to be up next year. Obviously, we only had tariffs for part of the year this year. So when we give guidance on 2026, my guess is you'll see some inflationary pressure with regard to input costs.

明年還有其他東西要推出。顯然，今年我們只有部分時間徵收關稅。因此，當我們對 2026 年做出預測時，我的猜測是，你會看到投入成本方面存在一些通膨壓力。

Max Gumport, BNP Paribas.

馬克斯·古姆波特，法國巴黎銀行。

Congrats, Steve. First, on the dividend and on cash. So you noted you're reducing your expectations for CapEx this year as you focus on returning to a more normalized leverage ratio. I was hoping you can talk about the balance between pulling this lever, pulling down CapEx versus reconsidering whether the dividend is at an appropriate level.

恭喜你，史蒂夫。首先，關於股利和現金。您提到，由於您專注於恢復到更正常的槓桿率，因此您降低了今年的資本支出預期。我希望您能談談在採取這項措施（削減資本支出）與重新考慮股息是否處於適當水平之間取得平衡的問題。

And I'm really asking because it feels like an acknowledgment or an early admission that this combination of your leverage and the dividend are restraining to some degree, your ability to invest in the business.

我這麼問是因為這感覺像是承認或提前承認，你的槓桿和股息的結合在某種程度上限制了你對業務的投資能力。

Yeah, I mean, obviously, every quarter or throughout the year, we consider capital allocation. It's very important to us. I mean we're very focused on delivering shareholder value. I would say from a CapEx perspective, the pullback, while we are focused on our deleveraging, and this is part of the -- would be part of the strategy, a lot of it has to do with project cadence.

是的，我的意思是，很顯然，每個季度或全年我們都會考慮資本配置。這對我們來說非常重要。我的意思是，我們非常注重為股東創造價值。從資本支出角度來看，我認為，在我們專注於去槓桿化的同時，這種縮減——這也是策略的一部分——很大程度上與專案節奏有關。

We shifted some of the projects into next year. And then we did a reassessment of projects to make sure we're only doing the projects that deliver the best return. So I'd say it's exclusive of any consideration around dividends necessarily. And then on a quarterly basis, our Board considers the dividend. I don't want to get ahead of anything or speculate.

我們將部分項目延到明年進行。然後我們對專案進行了重新評估，以確保我們只做那些能帶來最佳回報的專案。所以我認為這完全不涉及股息方面的考慮。然後，我們的董事會按季度審議股利事宜。我不想妄下斷言或妄加猜測。

But the reality is the focus is always on delivering the shareholder value, and then based on the facts and circumstances at the time, the Board makes their decision from a dividend policy perspective. So I'd say really no difference in philosophically how we think about capital allocation. But obviously, we're aware of our leverage ratios, we're well aware of the payout ratio and all of that will go into consideration as we think about capital allocation going forward.

但現實情況是，重點始終是為股東創造價值，然後根據當時的實際情況，董事會從股利政策的角度做出決定。所以我覺得，從哲學角度來說，我們對資本配置的看法其實並沒有什麼不同。但很顯然，我們清楚我們的槓桿率，我們也清楚派息率，所有這些因素都會在我們考慮未來的資本配置時加以考慮。

Okay. And then coming back to margins. So this quarter, your gross margin was down 190 basis points. EBITDA margin was down 160 basis points, and that looks to be despite the tailwind you've actually had some lower ingredient costs as a percent of sales.

好的。然後我們再回到利潤率的問題上。所以本季，你們的毛利率下降了190個基點。EBITDA 利潤率下降了 160 個基點，這似乎是在利多因素（即原料成本佔銷售額的百分比下降）的影響下發生的。

So it feels like negative price mix and lower volumes are really starting to pressure your margins, given the competitive environment and the consumer environment don't seem to be swinging to positive at least in the early part of '26. It's not clear that either of those pressures will be dissipating in the near term. So I'm just curious how you're thinking about the potential need to navigate through several more quarters of margin pressure.

因此，鑑於競爭環境和消費環境至少在 2026 年上半年似乎不會好轉，負面的價格組合和較低的銷售似乎真的開始對你的利潤率構成壓力。目前還不清楚這兩種壓力是否會在短期內消散。所以我很好奇，您是如何看待未來幾季可能面臨的利潤率壓力的。

Yeah. When you look at the gross margin, I mean, obviously, there is the top line pressure. I mean Ryals talked about the consumer, and you've seen that we've had more promotional activity. So that is causing some of the gross margin pressure.

是的。當你查看毛利率時，我的意思是，很明顯，存在著營收壓力。我的意思是，Ryals談到了消費者，而且你們也看到了，我們開展了更多的促銷活動。所以這造成了一定的毛利率壓力。

But the largest item on gross margin actually has to do with Simple Mills and the fact they're 100% co-maned. So obviously, that's a higher cost product. So that is the key -- one of the key items that impacted gross margin overall for the quarter. We'll lap that February of next year.

但毛利率的最大影響因素實際上與 Simple Mills 有關，因為它們是 100% 共同管理的。很顯然，這是一款成本更高的產品。所以這就是關鍵所在——這是影響本季整體毛利率的關鍵因素之一。明年二月我們就能超越那個時候了。

So if the category were to stabilize or we would see some improvement in overall consumer sentiment, putting aside any inflationary environment, margins should benefit from that. And then on the SG&A side, if you recall, we converted a big part of our labor pool in California from independent distributors to company employees.

因此，如果該品類趨於穩定，或者我們看到整體消費者信心有所改善（暫且不考慮通膨環境），利潤率應該會從中受益。另外，在銷售、一般及行政費用方面，如果您還記得的話，我們將加州的大部分勞動力從獨立經銷商轉變為公司員工。

So that's a big driver of that. We'll lap that next year as well, and then overall labor costs have been up. So again, from SG&A as a percent of revenue, it does go back to kind of the pressure on the top line, but I'd say there's really no one item that I'd call out as overly impacting the overall EBITDA margin from SD&A except for labor.

所以這是造成這種情況的一個重要原因。明年我們也會達到這個水平，整體勞動成本也上漲了。所以，從銷售、一般及行政費用佔收入的百分比來看，這確實會給營收帶來壓力，但我認為，除了勞動成本之外，銷售、一般及行政費用中並沒有什麼項目會對整體 EBITDA 利潤率產生過大的影響。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Mitchell Pinheiro, Sturdivant & Co.

米切爾·皮涅羅，斯特迪文特公司

Steve, yeah, I wanted to just congratulate you on a heck of a run. And yes, it's certainly great working with you. And I guess you were the third CFO of Flowers I've known. So -- and I guess the longest of those runs. So again, congrats.

史蒂夫，是的，我只是想祝賀你跑得太棒了。是的，和你一起工作真是太棒了。我猜你是我認識的Flowers公司的第三位財務長。所以——我想這是其中最長的一次。再次恭喜。

So I have a question, Ryals. On one hand, we talked generational shift in your prepared remarks, and then we're also talking consumer weakness, especially at the low end, but they're still eating. They're still there, and bread has consistently evolved towards better for you. I mean it's just been a natural evolution. So nothing's really changed there. So I'm curious if you could try to tie sort of generational shift to the sort of economic weakness in your remarks.

萊爾斯，我有個問題。一方面，我們在你準備好的發言稿中談到了世代轉變，另一方面，我們也談到了消費者的疲軟，尤其是低端消費者，但他們仍然有消費需求。它們依然存在，而且麵包也不斷進化，變得越來越健康。我的意思是，這只是一個自然的演變過程。所以，那裡其實什麼都沒變。所以我很好奇，您能否在您的發言中嘗試將這種世代與經濟疲軟聯繫起來。

Yeah, I think it's more than just the economic weakness. Certainly, that plays a role, Mitch. I mean you've been around a long time, and you've seen when we enter periods of economic uncertainty, there's always trade down from traditional loaf to more value-oriented brands like private label or otherwise.

是的，我認為這不僅僅是經濟疲軟的問題。當然，這確實起到了一定作用，米奇。我的意思是，你從業很久了，你也看到了，每當我們進入經濟不確定時期，人們總是會從傳統的麵包轉向更注重性價比的品牌，例如自有品牌或其他品牌。

So I do think that, that does play a role in this, but the shift that we're really talking about is centered around traditional loaf, meaning the traditional 20-ounce soft variety and white breads, and there has definitely been a shift, frankly, that's been underway for several years now, but it has just accelerated over the last 12 to 18 months, where the category is really bifurcated into premium, differentiated, or value, and traditional loaf has really taken it on the chin because of that.

所以我認為，這確實在其中發揮了一定作用，但我們真正討論的轉變主要集中在傳統麵包上，指的是傳統的 20 盎司軟麵包和白麵包。坦白說，這種轉變已經持續了好幾年，但在過去 12 到 18 個月裡加速發展，麵包品類實際上已經細分為高端、差異化和經濟型三種，而傳統麵包因此受到了不小的衝擊。

That's very impactful for us, obviously, because we're very concentrated in that category, particularly given we have the number one brand and number one SKU in that category, but we are intent on redefining traditional loaf. We think we've got a great opportunity with the strength of our Nature's Own brand to lead the category in the transformation of that particular segment.

這對我們來說影響非常大，顯然，因為我們非常專注於這個類別，特別是考慮到我們在該類別中擁有排名第一的品牌和排名第一的 SKU，但我們決心重新定義傳統麵包。我們認為，憑藉 Nature's Own 品牌的強大實力，我們擁有絕佳的機會，引領該品類轉型升級。

We clearly acknowledge the challenges that we're facing in the short term, given that consumer shift, but we have growing optimism in the longer term, and that's primarily due to two things: one, our team, which I think is the best in the industry; and two, our portfolio of number one brands.

我們清楚地認識到，鑑於消費者的轉變，我們在短期內面臨著挑戰​​，但我們對長期前景越來越樂觀，這主要歸功於兩件事：第一，我們的團隊，我認為它是業內最好的；第二，我們擁有眾多一流品牌。

So we will continue to invest in the consumer, continue to innovate. You've seen us do that over the last several years, we're making significant progress, and while at the same time, working to optimize our cost structure. I mean you look in the quarter, Mitch, and you see Canyon up 6% in units, Dave's Killer Bread, up 10% in units.

因此，我們將繼續投資消費者，並繼續創新。過去幾年，你們已經看到我們一直在這樣做，我們取得了顯著的進展，同時我們也努力優化成本結構。我的意思是，米奇，你看看這個季度的數據，你會發現 Canyon 的銷量成長了 6%，Dave's Killer Bread 的銷量成長了 10%。

You've seen us enter into the small loaf category that definitely addresses a consumer need. And in the quarter, we gained 15 points, 15 full points of unit share, and we're already number two under that Nature's Own banner, and while that category is growing 85%, obviously, off of a small base, but significant growth. So I believe we're doing all the right things for the long pull while we try to mitigate the challenges in the short run.

您已經看到我們進入了小麵包品類，這無疑滿足了消費者的需求。本季度，我們的市佔率成長了 15 個百分點，整整 15 個百分點，在 Nature's Own 品牌下，我們已經位列第二。雖然該類別增長了 85%，但顯然，這是在較小的基數上實現的，而且增長幅度很大。所以我相信，我們正在為長遠發展做一切正確的事情，同時努力減輕短期內的挑戰。

So listen, I mean, Nature's Own has obviously been a tremendous success story, and it is weighted towards traditional loaf, but you also have Merita and Sunbeam and I don't know, Captain John Derst's bread and all these other breads underneath, where do they stand? I mean, is it -- I know they're important for regional shelf space and things like that, but I'm just curious, they seem to be left in the dust a little bit, and I'm curious if they're -- how strategic they are.

所以聽著，我的意思是，Nature's Own 顯然取得了巨大的成功，而且它以傳統麵包為主，但是還有 Merita、Sunbeam，還有 Captain John Derst 的麵包以及所有其他麵包，它們處於什麼位置呢？我的意思是，我知道它們對區域貨架空間之類的東西很重要，但我只是好奇，它們似乎有點被忽視了，我很好奇它們——它們的戰略意義有多大。

Yeah. That's been a change that's been underway for many years now, Mitch, and I would tell you that the regionals have been fairly deemphasized over the last eight years or so, 8 to 10 years, and the primary reason for that is retailer consolidation.

是的。米奇，這種變化已經持續多年了，我可以告訴你，在過去的八到十年裡，區域性零售商的地位已經大大降低了，而造成這種情況的主要原因是零售商的整合。

You can't run a national ad with Sunbeam, which you can with Wonder, and you can with Nature's Own. Now certainly, they do play important roles in particular markets like take Sunbeam in Atlanta or Bunny in Louisiana, they are still very important brands, but they're much smaller than they used to be. They've been supplanted by the likes of Nature's Own and Wonder over time.

你不能用 Sunbeam 投放全國性廣告，但你可以用 Wonder 投放，也可以用 Nature's Own 來投放。當然，它們在某些特定市場仍然扮演著重要的角色，例如亞特蘭大的 Sunbeam 或路易斯安那州的 Bunny，它們仍然是非常重要的品牌，但它們的規模比以前小得多。隨著時間的推移，它們已經被像 Nature's Own 和 Wonder 這樣的品牌所取代。

So okay. And then just last question on that is, I mean, it certainly would add complexity to -- not that you want to get rid of brands, but it certainly adds sort of unnecessary complexity to have these smaller brands, and so is that not a problem? Is that not an issue? Or do you have sort of a solution for that?

好的。最後一個問題是，我的意思是，這肯定會增加複雜性——並不是說你想取消品牌，但這些小品牌的出現肯定會增加一些不必要的複雜性，所以這不是個問題嗎？這不是個問題嗎？或者您有什麼解決辦法嗎？

Not so much with the regional brands, but I do agree with you overall regarding complexity, and that's one of the reasons we talk about a little bit of near-term margin pressure from all the innovation we're bringing forth because that does -- the small loafs are growing very, very fast, but it's still relatively small, right?

區域品牌的情況倒還好，但我總體上同意你關於複雜性的看法，這也是我們談到所有創新帶來的短期利潤壓力的原因之一，因為——小麵包的增長速度非常非常快，但仍然相對較小，對吧？

And you're introducing an additional complexity into a bakery that's accustomed to running really fast runs of Nature's Own Butter bread, for example. But it is what the consumer wants, and we're all about being there for today's and tomorrow's consumer, and over time, as I mentioned, as we make targeted investments in the bakeries to increase the efficiency and throughput of those products, those margins will begin to rise.

例如，你為一家習慣於快速生產 Nature's Own Butter 麵包的麵包店引入了額外的複雜性。但這正是消費者想要的，我們始終致力於服務當今和未來的消費者，而且正如我之前提到的，隨著時間的推移，當我們對麵包房進行有針對性的投資，以提高這些產品的效率和產量時，利潤率就會開始上升。

So it to me, I'm not very concerned about it. It's a short-term issue that I'm willing to undertake because I know I'm delivering for the consumer.

所以對我來說，我並不太擔心。這是一個短期問題，我願意承擔，因為我知道我正在為消費者謀福利。

Okay. And just a couple of things. You're down to 44 bakeries. Is that going to be the right number for a while? Or are there opportunities for additional consolidation?

好的。還有幾件事。現在只剩下 44 家麵包店了。這個數字在一段時間內都會是合適的嗎？或是是否存在進一步整合的機會？

Mitch, we're always evaluating our cost structure, and we know that we have further supply chain optimization to take place, where and when that will occur is too speculative, but it is certainly top of mind that we need to -- particularly in this environment and going forward, we need to be as efficient as we can possibly be. So removing complexity, increasing focus and making sure that we're optimized from a cost structure standpoint is top of mind.

米奇，我們一直在評估我們的成本結構，我們也知道我們需要進一步優化供應鏈，至於何時何地進行優化還很難說，但這絕對是我們最關心的問題——尤其是在當前環境下以及未來，我們需要盡可能提高效率。因此，消除複雜性、提高專注度並確保從成本結構角度進行最佳化是首要考慮因素。

I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn it back to Ryals McMullian, Chairman and CEO, for closing remarks.

我目前沒有其他問題要問。現在我謹將發言權交還給董事長兼執行長賴爾斯·麥克穆利安，請他作總結發言。

I want to thank everybody for taking time today and joining us for questions. We very much appreciate your interest in our company, and as always, we look forward to speaking with you again next year, actually. So take care. Thank you.

我要感謝大家今天抽空參加我們的提問環節。我們非常感謝您對我們公司的關注，而且一如既往，我們期待明年再次與您洽談。所以請多保重。謝謝。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線了。