GEN Restaurant Group Inc (GENK) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to GEN Restaurant Group, Inc. Q1 2026 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) This call is being recorded on Thursday, May 14, 2026. And now I would like to turn the conference over to Tom Croal, the company's Chief Financial Officer. You may begin.

各位女士、先生，下午好，歡迎參加 GEN Restaurant Group, Inc. 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）本次會議於 2026 年 5 月 14 日（星期四）錄音。現在我想把會議交給公司財務長 Tom Croal。請開始。

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon. By now, everyone should have access to our first quarter 2026 earnings release. If not, it can be found at www.genkoreanbbq.com in the Investor Relations section.

謝謝接線員，大家下午好。到目前為止，各位應該都已取得我們 2026 年第一季財報新聞稿。如尚未取得，可至 www.genkoreanbbq.com 的投資人關係（Investor Relations）專區查閱。

Before we begin our formal remarks, I need to remind everyone that our discussions today will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements regarding growth plans and potential new store openings as well as those types of statements identified in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and our subsequent reports filed with the SEC.

在我們開始正式發言之前，我需要提醒各位，我們今天的討論將包含依聯邦證券法所定義的前瞻性陳述，包括但不限於有關成長計畫與潛在新店開設的陳述，以及我們截至 2025 年 12 月 31 日止年度之 Form 10-K 年報與其後向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交之報告中所辨識的相關陳述。

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and therefore, you should not put undue reliance on them. These statements represent our views only as of the date of this call and are also subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we currently expect.

這些前瞻性陳述並非對未來績效的保證，因此您不應對其過度依賴。這些陳述僅代表我們截至本次電話會議日期的觀點，且亦受多項風險與不確定性影響，可能導致實際結果與我們目前預期存在重大差異。

We refer you to our recent SEC filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for a more detailed discussions of the risks that could impact our future operating results and financial condition. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

我們建議各位參閱我們近期向 SEC 提交的文件，包括 Form 10-K 年報與 Form 10-Q 季報，以取得可能影響我們未來營運成果與財務狀況之風險的更詳細討論。除法律要求外，我們不承擔因新資訊或未來事件而更新或修訂這些前瞻性陳述的任何義務。

During today's call, we will discuss some non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are available in our earnings press release and our SEC filings, which are available in the Investor Relations section of our website.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將討論一些非 GAAP 財務衡量指標，我們認為這些指標有助於評估我們的表現。此額外資訊的呈現不應被單獨視為或用以取代依 GAAP 編製之結果。非 GAAP 財務衡量指標與最直接可比之 GAAP 財務衡量指標之調節表，已載於我們的財報新聞稿與向 SEC 提交之文件中，並可於本公司網站投資人關係專區取得。

Now I'd like to turn it over to our Chairman and CEO, David Kim.

現在我想把時間交給我們的董事長兼執行長 David Kim。

Thank you, Tom, and good afternoon, everyone. In the first quarter of 2026, the economic challenges continued to impact customer traffic for all restaurant businesses. Just as we began seeing improvement in January, the increase in fuel prices because of the war has reduced customer discretionary spending. This impact has been particularly pronounced for GEN as approximately 45% of our stores in the US are in California, where gas prices have climbed to over $6 a gallon.

謝謝你，Tom，各位下午好。2026 年第一季，經濟挑戰持續影響所有餐飲業的來客數。就在我們於 1 月開始看到改善之際，因戰爭導致燃油價格上漲，降低了消費者的可支配支出。對 GEN 而言，這項影響尤其明顯，因為我們在美國約 45% 的門店位於加州，而當地汽油價格已攀升至每加侖 6 美元以上。

This has led to decrease in our same-store sales of approximately 8.8% for the quarter, although our same-store sales decline improved from 11.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025. In our continued response to the changing economic environment, several directional changes were made at the end of 2025 and in the first quarter of 2026 through initiatives designed to improve the company's value proposition.

這使得本季同店銷售約下滑 8.8%，不過相較於 2025 年第四季同店銷售下滑 11.7%，降幅已有改善。為持續因應變動的經濟環境，我們在 2025 年底及 2026 年第一季末推動了數項方向性調整，透過相關措施提升公司的價值主張。

First, during March of 2026, as part of an ongoing portfolio update, we entered into a partnership with Chubby Cattle International related to 5 of our restaurants. We will own 49% and Chubby Cattle will own 51% of these restaurants, which will be operated under the Chubby Cattle brand. Importantly, these joint ventures are far different than closing a restaurant as the locations remain open and continue generating value. The first two conversions took place on May 1, 2026, with two more scheduled for June 1, 2026, and the final conversion on August 1, 2026.

第一，於 2026 年 3 月，作為持續進行的門店組合更新的一部分，我們就其中 5 家餐廳與 Chubby Cattle International 建立合作夥伴關係。我們將持有 49%，Chubby Cattle 將持有 51%，這些餐廳將以 Chubby Cattle 品牌營運。重要的是，這些合資安排與關店截然不同，因為據點仍維持營業並持續創造價值。前兩家轉換已於 2026 年 5 月 1 日完成，另兩家預計於 2026 年 6 月 1 日完成，最後一家將於 2026 年 8 月 1 日完成轉換。

This transaction created a $4.5 million write-down, but we anticipate no further liability from the deal and expect these five restaurants to generate strong EBITDA going forward, of which we're entitled to 49%, enhancing our overall profitability. This will reduce our loss positions in these five restaurants starting in the second and third quarters of 2026.

此交易產生 450 萬美元的減損，但我們預期不會再因該交易產生進一步負債，並預期這五家餐廳未來將產生強勁的 EBITDA，其中我們可享有 49%，從而提升整體獲利能力。自 2026 年第二季與第三季起，這將降低我們在這五家餐廳的虧損狀況。

Second, we also have several operational initiatives currently in progress to improve the financial results of our restaurants. A, we're adjusting our menu to streamline options in response to stubborn increases in our food cost. B, we're enhancing our incentive program with restaurant managers to drive stronger store level execution and performance. C, we're testing new Boba drinks as well as Soju drinks, which have shown promising sales during the launch. D, following two quarters of research and preparation, we are exploring a new digital platform to enhance our customers' online experience.

第二，我們也正在推動多項營運措施，以改善餐廳的財務表現。A，我們正在調整菜單，以因應居高不下的食材成本上升並精簡選項。B，我們正強化與餐廳經理的獎勵計畫，以帶動更強的店級執行與績效。C，我們正在測試新的波霸飲品以及燒酒飲品，上市初期銷售表現令人鼓舞。D，經過兩季的研究與準備，我們正在探索新的數位平台，以提升顧客的線上體驗。

In parallel, we plan to roll out our GEN loyalty program in quarter two and have begun accepting cryptocurrency for payments. We're also preparing to launch our enhanced e-commerce website, which will offer an expanded selection of our GEN branded products.

同時，我們計畫於第二季推出 GEN 會員忠誠計畫，並已開始接受加密貨幣付款。我們也正準備上線升級版的電商網站，將提供更豐富的 GEN 自有品牌產品選擇。

Finally, we have made the strategic decision to slow restaurant developments to five to seven openings for the full year of 2026 and have proactively suspended construction on six additional stores. This disciplined capital allocation strengthens our balance sheet and reduces near-term expenses. We have also initiated an AI program to drive further efficiencies and reduce corporate overhead. As a further update, our Costco gift card program continues to contribute to our brand presence with cumulative sales since inception reaching over $30 million.

最後，我們做出策略性決定，將 2026 全年餐廳開發放緩至 5 至 7 家新店，並已主動暫停另外 6 家門店的施工。這種審慎的資本配置可強化資產負債表並降低短期費用。我們也已啟動 AI 計畫，以進一步提升效率並降低公司管理費用。另作更新，我們的 Costco 禮品卡計畫持續提升品牌能見度，自推出以來累計銷售已超過 3,000 萬美元。

In October 2025, we announced the creation of a new division within the company to develop and sell CPG products to grocery stores. We started by testing our products at over 30 locations in Southern California in October of 2025, and the customer response significantly exceeded our expectations. We are now confident in an estimated run rate of over 2,000 locations in supermarkets across the country. We plan to announce a financial forecast for the CPG division at the end of quarter two.

2025 年 10 月，我們宣布在公司內成立新事業部門，以開發並向雜貨通路銷售 CPG（消費性包裝商品）產品。我們於 2025 年 10 月先在南加州超過 30 個據點測試產品，顧客反應大幅超出預期。我們目前對於在全國各地超市達到超過 2,000 個據點的估計運行規模（run rate）充滿信心。我們計畫在第二季末公布 CPG 事業部門的財務預測。

Our retail product lineup under the exclusive GEN brand is anchored by our core meat offerings, complemented by a growing selection of additional products, spanning from beef jerky and beef chips, frozen sides, snack chips, sauces and seasonings, ready-to-drink beverages and Sojus sold under our GENJU brand. Here are our breakdown of our 56 SKUs; Core frozen meats, six SKUs; beef jerkies, six SKUs; frozen meat and sides, 12 SKUs; snack chips, six SKUs; sauces, and seasonings, six SKUs; ready-to-drink beverages, nine SKUs; Soju, 11 SKUs.

我們以 GEN 獨家品牌推出的零售產品組合，以核心肉品為主軸，並搭配日益擴充的其他產品，涵蓋牛肉乾與牛肉脆片、冷凍配菜、零食脆片、醬料與調味料、即飲飲品，以及以 GENJU 品牌銷售的燒酒。以下為我們 56 個 SKU 的分類明細：核心冷凍肉品 6 個 SKU；牛肉乾 6 個 SKU；冷凍肉品與配菜 12 個 SKU；零食脆片 6 個 SKU；醬料與調味料 6 個 SKU；即飲飲品 9 個 SKU；燒酒 11 個 SKU。

Part of the expansion of our ecosystem is our CPG placement, including Soju, with the number one beverage retailer, the West Coast, BevMo. Our growing line up of shelf-stable Korean snacks and beverages, as previously mentioned, represents a meaningful expansion of our non-meat product catalog. These single-serve formats are well suited for convenient-driven channels such as seven-eleven and other convenience stores, opening a significant growth opportunity beyond our core meat offerings. Additionally, at the end of May, Albertsons is launching a regional test of a full shelf-stable product lineups across 150 stores. And based on the projected numbers, we anticipate additional regions to follow.

我們生態系擴張的一部分，是將我們的 CPG 產品（包括燒酒）上架至西岸第一大飲料零售商 BevMo。正如先前所提，我們持續擴充的常溫保存韓式零食與飲品產品線，代表我們非肉類產品目錄的重大擴張。這些單人份規格非常適合 7-Eleven 等便利導向通路與其他便利商店，為我們在核心肉品之外開啟顯著的成長機會。此外，於 5 月底，Albertsons 將在 150 家門店啟動全系列常溫保存產品的區域性測試。根據預估數據，我們預期後續將擴展至更多區域。

With the strength of our restaurant labor force, GEN has deployed a trained team members to local grocery stores to demo our products, which have been highly successful in driving sell-throughs. Unlike many grocery demos, which are run by outside companies with no product knowledge, our restaurant staff brings first-hand expertise that creates a dynamic sales presentation and significantly lifts product sales. Combined with our well-known GEN brand and great-tasting Korean-inspired food, this makes it easy for our staff to introduce our products to new customers.

憑藉我們餐廳端的勞動力優勢，GEN 已派遣受過訓練的團隊成員至當地雜貨店進行產品試吃示範，並在帶動銷售轉化方面非常成功。不同於許多由外部公司執行、且缺乏產品知識的賣場試吃活動，我們的餐廳員工擁有第一手專業，能打造更具互動性的銷售展示，並顯著提升產品銷售。結合我們廣為人知的 GEN 品牌與美味的韓式風味食品，讓員工能更容易向新顧客介紹我們的產品。

Additionally, last week, we announced the launch of our Costco road show demonstration series, a multi-region initiative, bringing GEN signature ready-to-cook marinated meats to Costco members in Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Texas. Powered by our restaurant staff, this launch marks the next chapter in GEN's growing retail presence and supports our broader phased retail expansion strategy. We anticipate this will lead to permanent shelf space.

此外，上週我們宣布啟動 Costco 路演示範系列，這是一項跨多地區的計畫，將 GEN 招牌即烹醃製肉品帶給俄勒岡州、華盛頓州、阿拉斯加州與德州的 Costco 會員。此項啟動由我們的餐廳團隊提供支援，標誌著 GEN 零售版圖成長的下一篇章，並支持我們更廣泛、分階段的零售擴張策略。我們預期這將帶來永久上架的貨架空間。

Separately, we recently announced a major milestone in GEN's retail expansion, our first direct Southern California and Hawaii Regional Costco purchase order, securing freezer aisle placement for one SKU of our ready-to-cook marinated meat across approximately 40 Costco warehouse locations. Importantly, this order was issued without a preceding regional road show requirement, reflecting GEN's strong regional brand presence, proven retail execution and demonstrated customer demand.

另外，我們近期也宣布 GEN 零售擴張的一項重大里程碑：我們首次直接取得南加州與夏威夷區域 Costco 的採購訂單，讓我們的一項即烹醃製肉品 SKU 進駐冷凍走道，涵蓋約 40 家 Costco 倉儲門市。重要的是，該訂單在未先進行區域路演的前提下即獲發出，反映 GEN 在區域市場具備強勁的品牌能見度、經驗證的零售執行力，以及已展現的客戶需求。

We also plan to conduct road show activations within the Southern California and Hawaii locations not as a prerequisite for a placement but as demand-driven initiative to support the rollouts. By the end of 2026, we're confident in an estimated run rate of over 2,000 supermarket locations across the United States. We estimate that our CPG products could be carried in 7,000 to 8,000 locations by the end of 2027.

我們也計畫在南加州與夏威夷的門市進行路演活動，但並非作為取得上架的前置條件，而是作為以需求為導向的推廣措施，以支持上架推進。到 2026 年底，我們對於在美國超過 2,000 家超市據點的估計年化營運規模（run rate）充滿信心。我們估計到 2027 年底，我們的 CPG 產品可望進入 7,000 至 8,000 個據點。

With this expanded growth, we believe we can achieve a run rate of over $100 million in annual revenue in as soon as 3 years as we have stated previously. After accounting for slotting fees and promotional marketing estimates, the company projects EBITDA margins in the high teens.

隨著這項擴張成長，我們相信如先前所述，最快在 3 年內即可達成年化營運規模超過 1 億美元的年營收。在扣除上架費（slotting fees）與促銷行銷費用估計後，公司預期 EBITDA 利潤率可達高十位數百分比（high teens）。

GEN's strong brand recognition is a key driver behind our retail momentum and a testament to the connection we've built with customers through our restaurants, Costco gift cards and social media. This momentum is further amplified by the Korean culture wave, including globally dominated acts like BTS and BLACKPINK, along with the expanding influence of Korean streaming, food, fashion and lifestyle, all creating measurable tailwinds for the Korean BBQ as a retail category. Korean food remains underpenetrated yet the most sought-after cuisine in the three food category.

GEN 強勁的品牌辨識度是推動我們零售動能的關鍵因素，也證明我們透過餐廳、Costco 禮品卡與社群媒體與顧客建立的連結。此動能亦因韓流文化浪潮而進一步放大，包括 BTS、BLACKPINK 等全球主導級藝人，以及韓國串流內容、飲食、時尚與生活風格影響力的擴大，皆為韓式 BBQ 作為零售品類帶來可衡量的順風助力。韓國料理的滲透率仍偏低，但在三大料理品類中卻是最受追捧的料理。

As we grow this business, GEN will offer many Korean food SKUs under the GEN K-food ecosystem. At GEN, we have always had a strong operating model. When combined with meaningful expansion across both core and new concepts, we're executing with focus and discipline to create shareholder value.

隨著我們擴大此業務，GEN 將在 GEN K-food 生態系下提供多個韓式食品 SKU。在 GEN，我們一向擁有強健的營運模式。結合核心與新概念的具體擴張，我們正以專注與紀律執行，以創造股東價值。

Now I'd like to hand the call over to Tom for a detailed look at our first quarter of 2026 financial performance.

接下來我想把電話交給 Tom，請他詳細說明我們 2026 年第一季的財務表現。

Thank you, David. Since David already reviewed sales, I will begin with operating expenses. Cost of goods sold as a percentage of company restaurant sales increased to 38% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to 33.6% in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of approximately 440 basis points. A large portion of this increase reflects inflationary cost increases in addition to more new restaurants in operation and a minor impact from our premium menu.

謝謝你，David。由於 David 已經回顧了銷售，我將從營運費用開始。2026 年第一季，銷貨成本占公司餐廳銷售額的比例上升至 38%，相較於 2025 年第一季的 33.6%，增加約 440 個基點。此增幅很大一部分反映通膨帶來的成本上升，此外也因更多新餐廳投入營運，以及我們高端菜單帶來的輕微影響。

As a result of the inflationary impact on our meat prices, we implemented a $1 price increase at the majority of our restaurants in the first quarter of 2026, which equates to about a 2.5% price increase overall. Payroll and benefits as a percentage of company restaurant sales remained relatively flat in the first quarter of 2026, increasing from 31.7% in 2025 to 32.1% in the first quarter of this year.

由於通膨對肉品價格的影響，我們在 2026 年第一季於多數餐廳實施每人 1 美元的價格調升，整體約相當於 2.5% 的漲價。2026 年第一季，薪資與福利占公司餐廳銷售額的比例大致持平，從 2025 年的 31.7% 小幅上升至今年第一季的 32.1%。

Occupancy expenses as a percent of company restaurant sales increased by 184 basis points to 10.7% compared to the first quarter of last year. This is primarily due to higher rent at our 2025 and 2026 new locations along with the impact of decreases in same-store sales from 2025 to 2026. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, occupancy costs as a percentage of restaurant sales decreased 45 basis points from 11.2% to 10.7% in 2026.

店面占用成本（occupancy expenses）占公司餐廳銷售額的比例較去年第一季增加 184 個基點至 10.7%。主要原因是 2025 與 2026 年新據點租金較高，以及 2025 至 2026 年同店銷售下滑的影響。相較於 2025 年第四季，2026 年占用成本占餐廳銷售額的比例從 11.2% 降至 10.7%，下降 45 個基點。

Other operating expenses as a percentage of company restaurant sales increased 169 basis points to 12% compared to the first quarter of 2025, primarily due to the decrease in same-store sales. Other operating expenses in the first quarter of 2026 decreased by 38 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. G&A, excluding stock-based compensation during the first quarter, was $6.2 million compared to $5.7 million in the year ago period. This increase is primarily due to marketing and professional fees.

其他營運費用占公司餐廳銷售額的比例較 2025 年第一季增加 169 個基點至 12%，主要是同店銷售下滑所致。2026 年第一季的其他營運費用相較 2025 年第四季下降 38 個基點。第一季的 G&A（不含以股票為基礎之酬勞）為 620 萬美元，去年同期為 570 萬美元。此增幅主要來自行銷與專業服務費用。

In the first quarter, we had a net loss before income taxes of $7.5 million, which equated to $0.22 per diluted share of Class A common stock, compared to a net loss before income taxes of $2.1 million, which equated to $0.06 per diluted share of Class A common stock in the first quarter of 2025. If you look at adjusted net income, a non-GAAP measure, we had a net loss of $4.5 million or $0.14 per diluted share of Class A common stock in the first quarter of 2026 compared to adjusted net income of $1.4 million or $0.04 per share in the first quarter of last year.

第一季，我們的稅前淨損為 750 萬美元，折合 A 類普通股稀釋後每股虧損 0.22 美元；相較之下，2025 年第一季稅前淨損為 210 萬美元，折合 A 類普通股稀釋後每股虧損 0.06 美元。若看調整後淨利（adjusted net income，非 GAAP 指標），2026 年第一季我們的淨損為 450 萬美元，或 A 類普通股稀釋後每股虧損 0.14 美元；相較去年第一季調整後淨利為 140 萬美元，或每股 0.04 美元。

As a result of the decrease in sales and the inflationary-driven increase in costs, our restaurant adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2026 was $4 million or 7.4% of total revenue compared to $9 million or 15.6% in the first quarter of 2025. Restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margin was flat compared to the fourth quarter of 2025.

由於銷售下滑以及通膨推升成本，2026 年第一季我們的餐廳調整後 EBITDA 為 400 萬美元，約占總營收 7.4%；相較 2025 年第一季為 900 萬美元，約占 15.6%。餐廳層級調整後 EBITDA 利潤率相較 2025 年第四季持平。

Total adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2026 was negative $3.2 million as compared to $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2025. After removing pre-opening costs for both periods, adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2026 was negative $2.1 million compared to $3.3 million for the first quarter of 2025.

2026 年第一季的總調整後 EBITDA 為負 320 萬美元，而 2025 年第一季為 120 萬美元。若剔除兩期的開店前成本（pre-opening costs），2026 年第一季的調整後 EBITDA 為負 210 萬美元，相較 2025 年第一季為 330 萬美元。

Now turning to liquidity position. As of March 31, we had approximately $4.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. We have $15.5 million available from our revolving credit facility. As we previously discussed, we anticipate using a portion of our revolving credit facility this year as we continue to open new restaurants in the future and grow our grocery store initiatives.

接著談流動性狀況。截至 3 月 31 日，我們約有 440 萬美元的現金及約當現金。我們的循環信用額度尚有 1,550 萬美元可用。如先前所述，隨著我們今年持續開設新餐廳並推進雜貨通路計畫，我們預期將在今年動用部分循環信用額度。

In 2026, we have significantly slowed our new restaurant growth plans and focus our efforts on improving operations and margins at our existing restaurants and growth through our grocery store initiatives. Before concluding, I want to reiterate what we said on our last call. Our balance sheet reflects $164 million in lease liabilities as required under GAAP through the new ASC 842 lease accounting standard.

在 2026 年，我們已大幅放緩新餐廳成長計畫，並將重心放在提升既有餐廳的營運與利潤率，以及透過雜貨通路計畫推動成長。在結束前，我想重申我們在上次電話會議所說的：依 GAAP 規定，透過新的 ASC 842 租賃會計準則，我們的資產負債表反映了 1.64 億美元的租賃負債。

These are not financial obligations in the form of long-term debt but rather the accounting recognition of our future lease commitments. Importantly, they are offset by $140 million in operating lease assets. To wrap up, we anticipate opening five to seven stores by the end of the year 2026. We're targeting full year revenues of $215 million to $225 million and achieving restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margins of 15% to 15.5% in the second half of 2026. By the end of 2026, we anticipate being at an annual run rate approaching $250 million in revenue.

這些並非以長期債務形式存在的金融義務，而是對未來租賃承諾的會計認列。重要的是，這些負債由 1.40 億美元的營業租賃資產相抵。最後，我們預期在 2026 年底前開出 5 至 7 家門市。我們的全年營收目標為 2.15 億至 2.25 億美元，並在 2026 年下半年達成餐廳層級調整後 EBITDA 利潤率 15% 至 15.5%。到 2026 年底，我們預期年化營運規模將接近 2.5 億美元營收。

This concludes our prepared remarks. We'd like to thank you again for joining us on the call today, and we are now happy to answer any questions that you may have.

以上為我們預先準備的發言內容。再次感謝各位今天參與本次電話會議，我們現在很樂意回答各位可能有的任何問題。

Operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請開放提問線路。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Todd Brooks, Benchmark.

Todd Brooks，Benchmark。

Hey, guys. Good to talk to you. Thanks for taking my questions. Appreciate it. Tom, wondering if we can -- and David, I know that celebration season is important for the brand. We just came through Mother's Day, but we still have fuel prices going against us. Any commentary on kind of quarter-to-date trends that you're willing to share, and if we're seeing stabilization yet or if it's just being overwhelmed by kind of the growing macro pressure on the consumer?

嗨，各位。很高興和你們交流。謝謝你們回答我的問題，感謝。Tom，我想問一下——David，我知道慶祝季對品牌很重要。我們剛過完母親節，但燃油價格仍對我們不利。你們是否願意分享一些本季迄今（quarter-to-date）的趨勢評論？我們是否已看到趨勢穩定，還是說被消費者面臨的宏觀壓力加劇所淹沒？

We have gained a lot of improvement on the food cost side. But in terms of sales decrease, it's kind of the same as the first quarter. Consumers are definitely getting pressured because of things like the fuel costs and all that. Especially in California, we make up a good percent of our stores there. So we have not seen any improvements in sales part, but we definitely have seen -- we made a lot of good improvements on the food cost side.

我們在食品成本方面已取得很大的改善。但就銷售下滑而言，情況大致與第一季相同。消費者確實受到壓力，像是燃油成本等等。尤其是在加州，我們有相當比例的門店在那裡。因此在銷售端我們尚未看到改善，但在食品成本端我們確實——做出了很多不錯的改善。

Okay. Great. And then, Tom, just a thought. I know that you took the price increase during the quarter, which works out to about 250 basis points. But can you talk to what average check trends have been quarter-to-date? I'm just trying to figure out how to flow the price increase through for modeling and if there's any mix pressure against that?

好的，很好。接著，Tom，我有個想法。我知道你們在本季進行了漲價，折算約為250個基點。但你能談談本季迄今的平均客單（average check）趨勢嗎？我想了解在模型預估時該如何把漲價反映進去，以及是否有任何組合（mix）壓力抵消了漲價效果？

Right. In the first quarter, there was really no material change in our check. I think we've seen a pickup in the second quarter a little bit from the price increase.

對。第一季我們的客單其實沒有實質性的變化。我認為第二季因為漲價，客單有些微上升。

Okay, Great. And then, David, more of a strategic question for you. As we think about balancing the two sides of the house here, so we have a restaurant business where we're trying to really slow the growth, retrench operations a little bit, fortify the profitability of that business to support the balance sheet to really be able to unlock the growth that you see in front of you for the CPG opportunity, what steps -- what's the right restaurant operation look like for GEN K as far as number of units, geographic mix going forward to really stabilize to go after the growth opportunity that you see on the grocery CPG side? Thanks.

好的，很好。然後，David，這是比較策略性的問題。當我們思考如何平衡公司兩個業務面向：一方面是餐廳業務，我們正試圖放慢擴張、稍微收縮營運，並強化該業務的獲利能力以支撐資產負債表，從而真正釋放你們在前方看到的 CPG 成長機會；那麼，GEN K 的餐廳營運在你看來應該是什麼樣子——包括門店數量、未來的地理分布組合——才能真正穩定下來，進而把握你在雜貨通路 CPG 端看到的成長機會？謝謝。

Todd, I need a little clarity. Is it a question based on the growth of the restaurant side or growth on the CPG side? I'm sorry.

Todd，我需要你再說清楚一點。你是問餐廳端的成長，還是問 CPG 端的成長？不好意思。

No. With the struggles from a same-store sales standpoint on the restaurant side and kind of the EBITDA performance that we saw in the quarter, my sense is with things like the Chubby Cattle transaction, the suspending on the construction of the 6 units that we're trying to really stabilize the restaurant business, so it's not a big drag on EBITDA to kind of free up the balance sheet to support the growth in CPG.

不是。以餐廳端同店銷售的困難，以及我們本季看到的 EBITDA 表現來看，我的感覺是，透過像 Chubby Cattle 交易、暫停6家門店的建設等措施，我們是在努力讓餐廳業務先穩定下來，避免對 EBITDA 造成很大拖累，從而釋放資產負債表的空間來支持 CPG 的成長。

And the question was? I'm so sorry. It's my fault.

那你的問題是？真的很抱歉，是我的問題。

No. I must not be asking it well. What does the GEN restaurant operation look like at a rightsized level in your mind? And then at that level, it would free you up to grow CPG. I'm just trying to think of, okay, where do you see the GEN brand kind of shaking out versus the size of the operation right now?

不，是我可能沒有問得很好。你心目中 GEN 的餐廳營運在「適當規模」（rightsized）下應該長什麼樣？在那個規模下，就能讓你們更有餘裕去發展 CPG。我只是想理解：相較於目前的營運規模，你認為 GEN 品牌最終會落在什麼樣的規模？

The size of the restaurant operation will be the same or a little more. It's not as much as the fast growth we took the last two years, but the size will be just a tad more than where we are today because some stores were moving into the partnership with Chubby Cattle, and we still have a good four to five that we are finishing up building at this time.

餐廳營運規模會維持相同或略多一些。不會像過去兩年那樣快速擴張，但規模會比我們今天略大一點，因為有些門店會轉入與 Chubby Cattle 的合作夥伴關係中，而且我們目前仍有大約4到5家正在完成建置。

So that will come on board this year, and there will be some two, I think, or three next year. And then we can always assess it later at that time how these new stores come on board and how the same-store sales if it gets better. So that's how we see the restaurant side.

所以這些會在今年開出，明年我想還會有兩家或三家。之後我們也可以在那個時間點再評估，看看這些新店開出後的表現，以及同店銷售是否改善。這就是我們對餐廳端的看法。

But on the CPG side, we've been publishing for the last two weeks all these new contracts that we're getting. And we have a lot more. We just cannot disclose the lot more now is because it takes a long time from the time that we make the presentation, they commit. They have to put into their computer system. We have to put it into their distribution system.

但在 CPG 端，我們過去兩週一直在發布我們拿到的各種新合約。而且我們還有更多。之所以現在無法披露更多，是因為從我們做簡報、對方承諾開始，到他們把資料建到他們的電腦系統裡，再到我們把產品導入他們的配送系統，這中間需要很長時間。

They have to now put it out to the store level. There's a lag time that we're learning how that works. So once we get all those established, then we will announce it, okay? So we don't want to announce something that they said they will carry, but it takes 9 months to get it into the stores. But we have a lot more right now that we have gotten commitments that we're following through to get it into their stores. We just haven't announced it yet.

接著他們還得把產品鋪到門店層級。我們正在學習這個流程的時間落差（lag time）是怎麼運作的。所以等這些都建立完成後，我們就會公告，好嗎？我們不想公告對方說會上架，但實際要花9個月才進到門店。不過我們目前確實還有更多已取得承諾的案子，我們正在跟進把產品導入他們的門店，只是還沒公告而已。

Thanks, David.

謝謝你，David。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

JP Wollam, ROTH Capital Partners.

JP Wollam，ROTH Capital Partners。

Great. Thanks, guys, for taking my questions. Appreciate the time. Maybe just to start in terms of understanding kind of the comp environment? And maybe just Tom, for you, could you describe a little bit in terms of what your guys' expectation is that's baked into the revenue guide for the year? And I guess what I'm really curious about there is sort of how you're thinking about the back half of the year developing.

很好。謝謝各位回答我的問題，感謝你們的時間。也許先從理解同店（comp）環境開始？Tom，能否請你稍微說明一下，你們在今年的營收指引中所內含（baked into）的假設是什麼？我真正好奇的是，你們如何看待今年下半年會如何發展。

And last year, we had sort of the immigration issue. And now this year, we've got a bit more kind of pricing macro pressure. So how are you thinking about the customer base and your confidence that customers will be returning at some point versus sort of structural changes to what the customer base and AUVs are going forward?

去年我們有移民相關的議題。今年則有更多定價面的宏觀壓力。所以你們如何看待客群，以及你們對客戶在某個時間點回流的信心？相較之下，是否存在對客群結構與未來 AUV（單店年營收）水準的結構性改變？

Well, I can answer that. The sudden events that we've encountered as a retailer, these are very sudden non-expected events, okay? So it's like a unexpected car accident, I would say. So when these -- I mean tariff was a very big event, okay? We were not the only one that got caught in that sudden changes of course, we had the ICE issues so that's all died down. And especially in California, gas prices when the media says that average price is $4, it's $7 out in California. So that impacts a lot of people.

我可以回答。作為零售商，我們遇到的這些突發事件，都是非常突然、非預期的事件，好嗎？我會說就像一場意外車禍一樣。像關稅就是一個非常大的事件，好嗎？當然不只我們一家被這些突如其來的變化影響；我們也有 ICE 的問題，那些都已經淡化了。尤其在加州，媒體說平均油價是4美元，但在加州外面是7美元。所以這會影響很多人。

So until things start to stabilize -- and we've gone through this kind of cycles before several years back when prices were at the $7 and impacted us. I think everything will start to settle down. When we start settling down the customer base of that K-shaped economy because we're dealing with the lower -- middle to lower end part of our customer base, they have to come back, but I'm not a predictor of how the administration will have these very unexpected events that gets created.

所以要等情況開始穩定下來——而我們以前也經歷過類似循環，幾年前油價到7美元時也影響過我們。我認為一切會開始逐步平息。當我們面對這種 K 型經濟的客群逐漸穩定時，因為我們的客群偏向中低端到低端，他們必須回來，但我無法預測政府會如何產生這些非常非預期的事件。

Okay, It sounds good. And then thinking about some of the operational initiatives you talked about, I know we talked about them last quarter as well. I'm not sure if you can kind of parse out when exactly some of those took effect. But anything you can share in terms of kind of quantifiable impacts in the quarter-to-date in terms of restaurant-level margin from those initiatives?

好的，聽起來不錯。接著談到你們提到的一些營運改善措施，我知道上季我們也談過。我不確定你們是否能拆解一下那些措施具體是從何時開始生效。不過你們能否分享一些可量化的影響，例如本季迄今這些措施對餐廳層級毛利率（restaurant-level margin）的影響？

Yeah, so some of the initiatives that we are taking right now is the menu reduction. So that's almost done. So that's coming into place. We're testing some other types of products other than the Soju and the Boba. So all those actually are coming into play. We just got some numbers in but not enough.

是的，所以我們目前正在採取的一些措施之一是精簡菜單。這項工作幾乎已經完成，所以很快就會落地。我們也在測試除了燒酒和波霸之外的其他類型產品。這些其實都在推進中。我們剛拿到一些數據，但還不夠充分。

And we're being very careful how we roll these out because if we roll this out too quickly, we don't have enough bench strength or the ability to actually execute it the right way. So we're actually rolling out in a very small manageable way. And those manageable way of rolling out, we're seeing definite improvement in the margins of food cost.

而且我們在推行這些項目時非常謹慎，因為如果推得太快，我們的人才梯隊（bench strength）或實際執行到位的能力可能不足。所以我們實際上是以非常小、可控的方式逐步推出。透過這種可控的推進方式，我們看到食品成本毛利率確實有明顯改善。

And switching gears in terms of the retail business. But I think last time we spoke, the kind of estimated contribution for the year was around $10 million. And just seeing the sort of pace of distribution wins that you guys' press-released, I'm just curious if that number in the kind of expected contribution for the year has changed at all.

另外切換到零售業務。我記得上次我們談到時，對今年的預估貢獻大約是1,000萬美元。從你們新聞稿所公布的通路拓展（distribution wins）節奏來看，我想請教一下，這個今年預期貢獻的數字是否有任何變化？

It will change for sure. We are probably going to establish a projection on the next quarter, but no later than the third quarter. We have definite numbers coming in, and we will exceed that.

肯定會變。我們可能會在下一季建立一個預測，但最晚不會晚於第三季。我們已經有明確的數字進來，而且我們會超過那個數字。

Okay, And one last one, if I could. Again, just pointing to kind of the strength in some of these recent wins. I'm just wondering if there's anything sort of quantifiable you can share with us in terms of at existing stores, how are GEN meats performing on a velocity basis whether that's any kind of sales per week data or relative to the industry? I guess what can you share to kind of help us understand what's driving all these wins?

好的。最後一個問題，如果可以的話。再次回到近期一些合作勝利的強勁表現，我想知道你們是否能分享一些可量化的資訊：在既有門店中，GEN 肉品在銷售速度（velocity）方面表現如何？例如每週銷售數據，或相對於產業的比較？你們能分享什麼來幫助我們理解是什麼在推動這些勝利？

On the supermarket side or the restaurant side?

您是指超市端還是餐廳端？

On the supermarket side.

超市端。

we have a very strong brand, at least in the areas of where our restaurants are. And how we know this, these are certain data points. Number one, the buyers at these supermarket chains are customers of ours. The purchasing people that work for these grocery stores. That's we start that data point.

我們的品牌非常強，至少在我們餐廳所在的那些區域是如此。我們如何知道？有幾個數據點。第一，這些連鎖超市的採購人員本身就是我們的顧客，也就是在這些雜貨店工作的採購人員。這是我們的第一個數據點。

The second data point is when we see velocities, how much they're buying every week or every 2 weeks. Just going into grocery stores is not a good gauge. Well, a good gauge is what's the velocity after they purchase the product. Are customers buying it? That is continuously growing.

第二個數據點是我們觀察銷售速度，也就是他們每週或每兩週採購多少。單純進到雜貨店上架並不是好的衡量方式；更好的衡量方式是顧客買了產品之後的銷售速度如何。顧客是否持續回購？這個數字正在持續成長。

Third, we have not announced the -- all the other backlog negotiations that's completed and going through the process of onboarding because we only want to disclose what we're onboarding to be very clear because maybe the buyer changes and they change their mind and they don't come through with the PO. So we just want to make sure we go through that PO.

第三，我們尚未對外宣布——其他已完成談判、正在進行上架導入（onboarding）流程的所有積壓項目（backlog negotiations），因為我們只想披露正在導入的項目，以確保資訊非常清楚；畢竟可能採購人員更換、他們改變主意，最後沒有下採購單（PO）。所以我們希望確保先走完 PO 流程。

So that's one the real gauge is that when we have a team of people that we extract from our restaurants, those are the people that do a lot of upselling, they do very -- they're top-tier staff of ours. They actually help us and we run a separate P&L for the CPG division, still owned under GEN Korean BBQ, and they report to us every night after they're done with their demonstration and how many we sell.

所以其中一個真正的衡量方式是：我們從餐廳抽調出一支團隊，這些人很擅長加購推銷（upselling），而且是我們的頂尖員工。他們實際上協助我們；我們也為 CPG 事業部（仍隸屬於 GEN Korean BBQ 旗下）單獨編製一份損益表（P&L）。他們每天晚上在完成試吃示範後都會向我們回報，以及我們賣出了多少。

So in a lot of this grocery industry, a lot of these companies hire outside firms, not they don't, but the companies that sell into the grocery, the brands -- and let's just, for example, I'll take a bacon company, right? They'll hire companies to go and demonstrate their products.

在雜貨零售產業裡，很多公司會聘請外部公司——不是說他們不會，而是那些把產品賣進雜貨通路的公司、品牌——舉例來說，我以一家培根公司為例，他們會聘請公司去做產品示範。

But the demonstration companies are out there representing the brand, but they don't send their own employees who sell the brand into the grocery stores. In our case, we don't use outside firms. We send our own staff who is very knowledgeable about our products.

但這些示範公司是在外面代表品牌，卻不是由品牌自己的員工去雜貨店銷售。在我們的情況下，我們不使用外部公司；我們派出自家員工，他們對我們的產品非常了解。

And what we keep getting on the return every night of these tests -- we've done over 100 tests so far. And the next 3 months, we'll probably be doing about over 300 demos out there. And every demo that we get, the response from the customers is like a 60%. They already know our brand. They are familiar with our brand.

而我們每晚從這些測試所收到的回饋——到目前為止我們已做了超過100場測試。接下來3個月，我們可能會在外面做超過300場試吃示範（demos）。每一場示範得到的顧客回應大約有60%：他們本來就知道我們的品牌，也熟悉我們的品牌。

And even the ones that are not familiar, once they taste our product, it is very different. Our brand -- and I can't disparage other competitors' brands. But our brand taste-wise, we're very bold, and we're very strong. We'll stand behind that. So even when we go demonstrate 40 buyers at the grocery stores, when they taste our food, they say, you guys are much better. So we have strength in all different areas.

即使是不熟悉的人，一旦品嚐我們的產品，就會覺得非常不同。我們的品牌——我不能貶低其他競品品牌——但就口味而言，我們的風味很鮮明、很強烈，我們也願意為此背書。甚至當我們在雜貨店向40位採購試吃時，他們品嚐後會說你們的產品更好。所以我們在不同面向都有優勢。

Now will this strength carry to other states that we don't have a GEN brand out there? And that is going to be tested on the fourth quarter. Areas like Illinois, areas like Boston, okay? There are some big chains that have signed up with us that we are going to help them with our products in their shelves by doing demos for them.

那麼，這種優勢能否延伸到我們沒有 GEN 品牌據點的其他州？這會在第四季接受測試。例如伊利諾州、波士頓等地。有一些大型連鎖通路已經與我們簽約，我們將透過為他們做試吃示範，協助把我們的產品放上他們的貨架。

So we have a lot of ground staff on the ground getting data, and these data show -- by the way, when we do our demos at the store at the grocery level, the grocers continuously run out of our GEN products. So we don't -- these days, we don't go and do demos unless they have several hundred of our products there. It's that successful.

所以我們有很多一線人員在現場蒐集數據，而這些數據顯示——順帶一提，當我們在門店、在雜貨零售層級做示範時，零售商經常把我們的 GEN 產品賣到缺貨。所以現在我們不會去做示範，除非現場備有數百件我們的產品。就是這麼成功。

Not all brands that hire companies to go demonstrate their products don't even come close to where we heard and I cannot -- I will not verify this, but we just heard over the grapevine today that one of the CEOs of the company heard how successful we are with the demos, and we will be having a prolonged conversation with them.

並不是所有聘請公司去做產品示範的品牌都能接近我們所達到的成效。我不能——我不會證實這件事，但我們今天透過小道消息聽說，有一家公司的 CEO 聽到我們的示範活動有多成功，接下來我們會和他們進行一段深入的對話。

And once that conversation takes place and they take -- they already have an interest, we already go into that market. But if they do go forward with the whole chain, we will be announcing that. So there's a lot of positive momentum, but yet getting it into the store process is just taking a long time.

一旦那次對話發生，而且他們採取——他們已經有興趣，我們也已經進入那個市場。但如果他們真的推進到整個連鎖體系，我們會對外公告。所以正面動能很多，但把產品真正導入門店的流程就是需要很長時間。

Yeah, that's very helpful detail. I appreciate it. Best of luck, guys.

是的，這些細節非常有幫助。謝謝你們。祝你們好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. And that concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn it back to Mr. Kim for closing remarks.

謝謝。問答環節到此結束。我想把時間交回給 Kim 先生做結語。

Thank you very much for always believing in what our brand is. We are taking a very good look at the new direction, and we're very excited about the growth. Thank you very much.

非常感謝大家一直相信我們的品牌。我們正在非常仔細地審視新的方向，並且對成長感到非常興奮。非常感謝。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與。您現在可以掛斷電話線。