Grocery Outlet Holding Corp (GO) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Grocery Outlet First Quarter 2020 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎來到 Grocery Outlet 2020 年第一季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，正在錄製此會議。

It is now my pleasure to introduce the host, John Rouleau. Thank you, and you may proceed, sir.

現在我很高興介紹主持人 John Rouleau。謝謝，您可以繼續了，先生。

Good afternoon, and welcome to Grocery Outlet's call to discuss financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2023. Speaking from management on today's call will be RJ Sheedy, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Charles Bracher, Chief Financial Officer. Following prepared remarks from RJ and Charles, we will open the call for questions. Please note that this conference call is being webcast live, and a recording will be available via telephone playback on the Investor Relations section of the company's website.

下午好，歡迎來到 Grocery Outlet 的電話會議，討論截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日的第一季度財務業績。在今天的電話會議上，管理層將由總裁兼首席執行官 RJ Sheedy 發言；和首席財務官 Charles Bracher。在 RJ 和 Charles 準備好的發言之後，我們將開始提問。請注意，此次電話會議正在網絡直播，錄音將通過公司網站投資者關係部分的電話回放提供。

Participants on this call may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal Securities Law. All statements that address future operating, financial or business performance or the company's strategies or expectations are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these statements.

本次電話會議的參與者可以根據聯邦證券法作出前瞻性陳述。所有涉及未來運營、財務或業務績效或公司戰略或預期的陳述均為前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述受各種風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致我們的實際結果與這些陳述存在重大差異。

A description of these factors can be found in this afternoon's press release as well as the company's periodic reports filed with the SEC all of which may be found on the Investor Relations section of the company's website or on sec.gov. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by law. These statements are estimates only and not a guarantee of future performance.

這些因素的描述可以在今天下午的新聞稿以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的定期報告中找到，所有這些都可以在公司網站的投資者關係部分或 sec.gov 上找到。公司不承擔修改或更新任何前瞻性陳述或信息的義務，除非法律要求。這些陳述僅為估計，並非對未來業績的保證。

During today's call, the company will also reference certain non-GAAP financial information, including adjusted items. Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP measures as well as the description, limitations and rationale for using each measure may be found in the supplemental financial tables included in this afternoon's press release and the company's SEC filings.

在今天的電話會議中，公司還將參考某些非 GAAP 財務信息，包括調整後的項目。 GAAP 與非 GAAP 措施的調節以及使用每項措施的描述、限制和理由可在今天下午的新聞稿和公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中包含的補充財務表中找到。

With that out of the way, I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. RJ Sheedy.

有了這個，我現在想把電話轉給 RJ Sheedy 先生。

Hello, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss our first quarter performance. Our results exceeded our expectations, driven by strong same-store sales growth, margin expansion and bottom line leverage. We delivered a 12% increase in comparable store sales, which combined with new store openings, led to a 16% increase in net sales. Our comp sales growth continues to be led by strong customer count, which increased 8% versus last year, while our average basket size increased 4%. Strong sales, margin and operating leverage drove a 100-basis-point increase in our adjusted EBITDA margin, which resulted in a 37% increase in adjusted EBITDA to $63 million.

大家好，下午好。感謝您今天加入我們討論我們第一季度的業績。在強勁的同店銷售增長、利潤率擴張和利潤槓桿的推動下，我們的業績超出了我們的預期。我們的可比店面銷售額增長了 12%，再加上新店開張，導致淨銷售額增長了 16%。我們的 comp 銷售增長繼續由強大的客戶數量引領，與去年相比增長了 8%，而我們的平均購物籃規模增長了 4%。強勁的銷售、利潤率和經營槓桿推動我們調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率增長 100 個基點，從而使調整後的 EBITDA 增長 37% 至 6300 萬美元。

We are proud of our results this quarter, along with our continued efforts to generate sustainable long-term growth. Our mission of touching lives for the better guides our decision-making and anchors us to our purpose of growth for positive impact. We will achieve this by executing on our 3 strategic pillars of: number one, strengthening our core model; number two, evolving our business; and number three, expanding our reach.

我們為本季度的業績以及我們為實現可持續的長期增長所做的持續努力感到自豪。我們的使命是讓生活變得更好，這指導了我們的決策制定，並使我們堅定了實現積極影響的增長目標。我們將通過執行我們的 3 個戰略支柱來實現這一目標：第一，加強我們的核心模型；第二，發展我們的業務；第三，擴大我們的影響範圍。

Strengthening our core model focuses on deepening our value, elevating operator support and increasing customer awareness, acquisition and retention. We have a differentiated and proven business model, and we are working to make it even stronger.

加強我們的核心模型側重於深化我們的價值、提昇運營商支持以及提高客戶意識、獲取和保留。我們擁有與眾不同且經過驗證的商業模式，我們正在努力使其更加強大。

Evolving our business is about introducing new capabilities to increase our relevancy and improve how we operate. Primary opportunities include expanding and enhancing our assortment, investing in technology to drive efficiencies and using data and analytics to improve all aspects of our business.

發展我們的業務就是引入新功能以提高我們的相關性並改善我們的運營方式。主要機會包括擴大和增強我們的產品種類、投資技術以提高效率以及使用數據和分析來改善我們業務的各個方面。

Expanding our reach allows us to take our highly-transportable unique model to new markets and customers. We will continue to grow our presence in existing territories, together with expansion into new geographies. We also see opportunities to further develop newer sales channels such as e-commerce to grow our brand and accelerate our reach to new customers.

擴大我們的業務範圍使我們能夠將我們高度便攜的獨特模型推向新市場和客戶。我們將繼續擴大我們在現有地區的影響力，同時擴展到新的地區。我們還看到了進一步開發電子商務等新銷售渠道的機會，以發展我們的品牌並加快接觸新客戶的速度。

We are pleased with the current trends in our business, and we continue to offer consumers the best value in food retail at a time when they need it most. Our compelling WOW! shopping experience is attracting new customers and existing customers are spending more with us. Consumers are feeling the strain of higher prices throughout the economy, and we are helping them save money by offering high-quality food at industry-leading values. We are seeing healthy trends across all customer income levels, and satisfaction levels are high with most customers expecting to maintain or increase their spend with us in the future.

我們對當前的業務趨勢感到滿意，我們將繼續在消費者最需要的時候為他們提供食品零售的最佳價值。我們引人注目的哇！購物體驗正在吸引新客戶，現有客戶在我們這里花費更多。消費者正感受到整個經濟中價格上漲的壓力，我們以行業領先的價值提供優質食品，幫助他們省錢。我們看到所有客戶收入水平都呈健康趨勢，大多數客戶希望在未來維持或增加他們在我們這裡的支出，滿意度很高。

Moving now to product. We are seeing an increase in the breadth and depth of offers as we expand and strengthen our supplier relationships. There is a lot of disruption in the marketplace today, which is leading to a very strong closeout environment. We recently held our annual supplier conference, where we met with many of our key suppliers. Some attendees were long-standing relationships, while others were newer to the GO family. We came away very encouraged with the opportunities in front of us and how we can partner more strategically to grow our shared businesses.

現在轉向產品。隨著我們擴大和加強供應商關係，我們看到報價的廣度和深度都在增加。今天的市場有很多混亂，這導致了一個非常強大的關閉環境。我們最近舉行了年度供應商會議，會見了我們的許多主要供應商。一些與會者是長期的關係，而其他人則是 GO 家族的新成員。我們對擺在我們面前的機會以及我們如何能夠更具戰略性地合作以發展我們的共同業務感到非常鼓舞。

Let me provide a couple of examples from the many deals that we have recently purchased to illustrate the types of opportunities we are seeing. Example #1 is the purchase of 170,000 cases of frozen chicken. This came from a supplier we've been doing business with for over 25 years. Our partner was left with excess inventory due to lower-than-expected promotional sales, and we were able to help them move the additional volume. We bought all of their excess inventory, moved it quickly through our supply chain, and were able to offer it to customers at a 60% savings.

讓我從我們最近購買的許多交易中舉幾個例子來說明我們所看到的機會類型。示例 #1 是購買 170,000 箱冷凍雞肉。這來自與我們開展業務超過 25 年的供應商。由於促銷銷售低於預期，我們的合作夥伴留下了過多的庫存，我們能夠幫助他們轉移額外的數量。我們購買了他們所有的過剩庫存，通過我們的供應鏈快速移動，並能夠以 60% 的成本將其提供給客戶。

Example #2 is the purchase of 120,000 cases of a leading brand of nutritional bars and drinks. In this situation, production ramped up through the pandemic, resulting in inventory that exceeded moderating demand levels. We partnered with this supplier to provide them with cost recovery while clearing out necessary space in their warehouse. We worked creatively to alleviate them of their supply chain challenge, and in turn, we're able to offer our customers great items at a 70% savings to elsewhere pricing.

示例 #2 是購買 120,000 箱領先品牌的營養棒和飲料。在這種情況下，生產在大流行期間有所增加，導致庫存超過了緩和的需求水平。我們與這家供應商合作，為他們提供成本回收，同時清理他們倉庫中的必要空間。我們創造性地工作以減輕他們的供應鏈挑戰，反過來，我們能夠以比其他地方的價格低 70% 的價格為我們的客戶提供優質商品。

These are just 2 examples of the thousands of WOW! deals that excite customers and drive trips and baskets with new and existing shoppers. Equally important to compelling products are the independent operators, who are at the heart of what makes Grocery Outlet unique and successful. They allow customers in their stores with localized deals, and they set themselves apart with their friendly service and community connection. Our IOs are energized by the current sales momentum, the new customers shopping their stores and the healthy mix of variety and amazing deals from our supplier partners.

這些只是成千上萬個 WOW 中的兩個例子！能夠激發客戶興趣並推動新老購物者出行和購物的交易。與引人注目的產品同樣重要的是獨立經營者，他們是 Grocery Outlet 獨一無二和成功的核心。他們允許顧客在他們的商店進行本地化交易，並通過友好的服務和社區聯繫使自己脫穎而出。我們的 IOs 受到當前銷售勢頭、新客戶購物以及我們供應商合作夥伴提供的多樣化和驚人交易的健康組合所激發。

We remain focused on supporting operators to drive sales and margin while improving their operating efficiency. One way we do this is by utilizing technology to modernize and simplify store processes and decision-making. We recently rolled out a new handheld technology application to improve how operators receive product and manage inventory levels. This new technology system reduces manual product receiving work and improves data accuracy, leading to greater efficiencies in stores. Later this year, we will be deploying new enhancements to our proprietary ordering platform, which will provide IO's additional data and insights to improve productivity and drive sales and margin.

我們仍然專注於支持運營商推動銷售和利潤，同時提高他們的運營效率。我們這樣做的一種方法是利用技術來現代化和簡化商店流程和決策。我們最近推出了一種新的手持技術應用程序，以改善操作員接收產品和管理庫存水平的方式。這種新技術系統減少了手動產品接收工作並提高了數據準確性，從而提高了商店的效率。今年晚些時候，我們將對我們專有的訂購平台部署新的增強功能，這將提供 IO 的額外數據和見解，以提高生產力並推動銷售和利潤。

We also continue to invest in training to better support our IOs to help them grow their businesses. We actively develop a library of online content and modules as a resource for IOs to learn new systems and best practices throughout the store. We also facilitate regional workshops where operators collaborate on a variety of topics, such as fresh merchandising, marketing and community partnership.

我們還繼續投資於培訓，以更好地支持我們的 IO，幫助他們發展業務。我們積極開發在線內容和模塊庫，作為 IO 學習整個商店新系統和最佳實踐的資源。我們還促進區域研討會，運營商可以在這些研討會上就各種主題進行協作，例如生鮮商品銷售、營銷和社區合作夥伴關係。

Turning now to store growth. We are pleased with the performance of our new stores, particularly those in developing markets, and we remain on track to open 25 to 28 net new stores this year. We continue to invest in real estate and construction resources, both internally and externally, to support our store growth and new market expansion. We are also actively engaging with new brokers and landlords and are considering opportunistic real estate as it becomes available from other retailers.

現在轉向商店增長。我們對我們新店的表現感到滿意，尤其是那些在發展中市場的新店，我們仍有望在今年淨開設 25 至 28 家新店。我們繼續在內部和外部投資房地產和建築資源，以支持我們的門店增長和新市場擴張。我們還積極與新的經紀人和房東接洽，並正在考慮從其他零售商那裡獲得機會主義房地產。

Recruiting and training new operators is equally important to successful store growth. Our pipeline of aspiring operators in training, or AOTs, is healthy. We continue to enhance our training program recently hosting a group of AOTs in our office for the return of GO University. This is a multi-day program where AOTs are immersed in training sessions with our Emeryville team as well as experienced operators. They learn everything from the history of Grocery Outlet to current best practices and everything in between. The group left with a deeper understanding of our business and culture and a high level of excitement for success in their future stores.

招聘和培訓新的經營者對於成功的商店增長同樣重要。我們有抱負的培訓操作員或 AOT 管道是健康的。我們繼續加強我們的培訓計劃，最近在我們的辦公室為 GO 大學的回歸舉辦了一組 AOT。這是一個為期多天的計劃，AOT 將沉浸在我們埃默里維爾團隊以及經驗豐富的操作員的培訓課程中。他們學習從 Grocery Outlet 的歷史到當前最佳實踐以及介於兩者之間的一切知識。該團隊對我們的業務和文化有了更深入的了解，並對他們未來商店的成功充滿了興奮。

Let me now share an example of an operator who has successfully grown awareness in sales for positive impact. Donta Rose is the operator of our Sharswood, Philadelphia store that opened last year. He grew up in the neighborhood and now working with his family, he is providing fresh, affordable food to consumers living in this urban community. Donta was recently recognized for his efforts and invited to the White House Conference for Health, Hunger and Nutrition. He spoke about the Grocery Outlet model and how it enables him to run a successful business supporting an underserved area. Donta's entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to his community embody the power of our unique business model and our mission of touching lives for the better.

現在讓我分享一個運營商成功提高銷售意識以產生積極影響的例子。 Donta Rose 是我們去年開業的費城 Sharswood 商店的經營者。他在附近長大，現在與家人一起工作，為生活在這個城市社區的消費者提供新鮮、實惠的食品。 Donta 最近的努力得到認可，並受邀參加白宮健康、飢餓和營養會議。他談到了 Grocery Outlet 模式，以及它如何使他能夠成功地經營一家支持服務欠缺地區的企業。 Donta 的創業精神和對社區的承諾體現了我們獨特的商業模式的力量和我們讓生活變得更美好的使命。

In closing, I would like to thank Donta and all of our independent operators for their hard work and dedication to making Grocery Outlet an amazing experience for our customers. I am excited about the current momentum in our business and the many opportunities in front of us. We remain focused on executing our strategic plan to drive long-term growth and positive impact.

最後，我要感謝 Donta 和我們所有的獨立運營商，感謝他們的辛勤工作和奉獻精神，使 Grocery Outlet 成為我們客戶的絕佳體驗。我對我們業務目前的發展勢頭和擺在我們面前的許多機會感到興奮。我們仍然專注於執行我們的戰略計劃，以推動長期增長和積極影響。

I will now turn the call over to Charles to discuss our financials.

我現在將電話轉給查爾斯討論我們的財務狀況。

Thanks, RJ. And good afternoon, everyone. Our first quarter results exceeded our expectations as we delivered strong same-store sales growth, margin expansion and expense leverage. Comparable store sales increased 12.1%, driven by a 7.9% growth in transactions and a 3.9% increase in average basket. Net sales increased 16.1% to $965.5 million as a result of our strong comp performance combined with the impact of 26 net new stores opened since the first quarter of 2022. During the quarter, we opened 3 new stores as planned, ending with 444 locations. We remain pleased with the performance of new stores, including sales volumes in newly-opened sites as well as the growth of recent vintages.

謝謝，RJ。大家下午好。我們的第一季度業績超出了我們的預期，因為我們實現了強勁的同店銷售增長、利潤率擴張和費用槓桿。可比店面銷售額增長 12.1%，受交易增長 7.9% 和平均購物籃增長 3.9% 的推動。由於我們強勁的業績表現以及自 2022 年第一季度以來新開 26 家淨門店的影響，淨銷售額增長 16.1% 至 9.655 億美元。本季度，我們按計劃開設了 3 家新店，共有 444 家門店。我們仍然對新店的表現感到滿意，包括新開店的銷量以及近期葡萄酒的增長。

Our first quarter gross margin increased 90 basis points to 31.1%, and gross profit increased 19.8% to $300.5 million. Gross margin came in ahead of our expectations and was driven by favorable buying and strong execution throughout the supply chain. SG&A expense increased 15.7% to $267.7 million compared to the first quarter of 2022. SG&A growth was driven by increased IO commission expense resulting from higher gross profit, store occupancy costs related to new store growth and costs related to resuming our annual IO conference. As a percentage of sales, SG&A decreased 10 basis points versus the prior year, primarily due to occupancy and fixed cost leverage. Please note that we are now including depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation expense in SG&A.

我們第一季度的毛利率增長了 90 個基點，達到 31.1%，毛利潤增長了 19.8%，達到 3.005 億美元。毛利率高於我們的預期，並受到整個供應鏈中有利的購買和強勁執行的推動。與 2022 年第一季度相比，SG&A 費用增長了 15.7%，達到 2.677 億美元。SG&A 的增長是由於毛利潤增加導致的 IO 佣金費用增加、與新店增長相關的店面佔用成本以及與恢復年度 IO 會議相關的成本推動的。作為銷售額的百分比，SG&A 比上一年下降了 10 個基點，這主要是由於入住率和固定成本槓桿。請注意，我們現在在 SG&A 中包括折舊和攤銷以及基於股票的補償費用。

Net interest expense increased 60.8% to $5.9 million due to the impact of higher interest rates on our variable cost debt, partially offset by a reduction in average borrowings outstanding versus the prior year. Our effective tax rate during the quarter was 36.4%, which was above our normalized rate due to the impact of equity awards that vested below their grant price.

淨利息支出增加 60.8% 至 590 萬美元，這是由於利率上升對我們的可變成本債務的影響，部分被平均未償還借款與上一年相比的減少所抵消。我們在本季度的實際稅率為 36.4%，高於我們的正常稅率，這是由於授予的股權獎勵低於授予價格的影響。

GAAP net income for the first quarter increased to $13.7 million or $0.14 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA increased 36.9% to $63.1 million for the quarter, and our adjusted EBITDA margin increased 100 basis points from the same period last year to 6.5% of sales. Adjusted net income increased 40.7% to $27 million or $0.27 per diluted share.

第一季度的 GAAP 淨收入增至 1370 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.14 美元。本季度調整後的 EBITDA 增長 36.9% 至 6310 萬美元，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率比去年同期增長 100 個基點，佔銷售額的 6.5%。調整後淨收入增長 40.7% 至 2700 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.27 美元。

During the quarter, we enhanced our financial flexibility and lowered our borrowing cost by entering into a new $300 million term loan and a $400 million revolving credit facility. As part of the refinancing, we paid down $60 million in debt, ending the quarter with $82.1 million of cash and $325 million of drawn debt. We generated $87.6 million in operating cash flow during the quarter and invested $38.5 million in CapEx, net of tenant improvement allowances, reflecting new store growth, upgrades to our existing fleet and ongoing technology and infrastructure investments. Our inventory balance at quarter end was $316.4 million and remains healthy in terms of quantity, mix and turnover.

本季度，我們通過簽訂新的 3 億美元定期貸款和 4 億美元循環信貸額度，增強了財務靈活性並降低了借貸成本。作為再融資的一部分，我們償還了 6000 萬美元的債務，在本季度結束時獲得了 8210 萬美元的現金和 3.25 億美元的提取債務。我們在本季度產生了 8760 萬美元的運營現金流，並在資本支出上投資了 3850 萬美元，扣除租戶改善津貼，反映了新店的增長、對我們現有車隊的升級以及正在進行的技術和基礎設施投資。我們在季度末的庫存餘額為 3.164 億美元，並且在數量、組合和營業額方面保持健康。

Next, let me provide some commentary on our outlook for the balance of the year. Given our strong first quarter performance and continued momentum, we are raising our guidance for the fiscal year. For the second quarter, we expect comp growth to be approximately 5% as we anniversary higher prior year growth. For the full year, we are raising our comp sales guidance to be in the range of 5% to 6%. Consistent with previous guidance, we expect to open between 25 and 28 net new stores for the year with openings weighted towards the back half. In the second quarter, we expect to open 2 stores and close 1 store, with the balance of our new stores evenly split between the third and fourth quarters. In total, we now project fiscal 2023 net sales of approximately $3.9 billion.

接下來，讓我對我們對今年餘下時間的展望發表一些評論。鑑於我們第一季度的強勁表現和持續的勢頭，我們正在提高對本財年的指導。對於第二季度，我們預計 comp 增長率約為 5%，因為我們比去年同期增長率更高。對於全年，我們將我們的 comp 銷售指導提高到 5% 到 6% 的範圍內。與之前的指引一致，我們預計今年將淨開設 25 至 28 家新店，並在下半年開設新店。第二季度，我們預計開店2家，關店1家，新店的餘額在第三季度和第四季度平分。總體而言，我們現在預計 2023 財年的淨銷售額約為 39 億美元。

We expect gross margin for the second quarter and full year of approximately 30.7%. This represents an increase in our full year guidance, reflecting our strong Q1 performance, along with normal seasonal margin moderation in the back half of the year.

我們預計第二季度和全年的毛利率約為 30.7%。這代表了我們全年指引的增加，反映了我們強勁的第一季度業績，以及下半年正常的季節性利潤率放緩。

With respect to the bottom line, we expect second quarter adjusted EBITDA of approximately 6.3% of sales. For the full year, we are raising our guidance for adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $240 million to $246 million.

關於底線，我們預計第二季度調整後的 EBITDA 約為銷售額的 6.3%。對於全年，我們將調整後的 EBITDA 指引提高到 2.4 億美元至 2.46 億美元之間。

Moving down the P&L. We continue to expect net interest expense of approximately $22 million for the year, which reflects projected forward interest rates on $300 million of outstanding debt. We forecast a normalized tax rate of 28% and average diluted shares outstanding of approximately 101.5 million. As a result, we are raising our full year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $0.96 to $1 per diluted share.

向下移動損益表。我們繼續預計今年的淨利息支出約為 2200 萬美元，這反映了 3 億美元未償債務的預期遠期利率。我們預測標準化稅率為 28%，平均稀釋流通股約為 1.015 億股。因此，我們將全年調整後的每股收益指引上調至每股攤薄後 0.96 美元至 1 美元的範圍。

With respect to CapEx, we continue to project approximately $155 million, net of tenant improvement allowances, reflecting new store growth and continued investments in our store base and business infrastructure. As a reminder, our CapEx guidance includes build-out costs for stores that will open over the next 18 to 24 months.

關於資本支出，我們繼續預計約 1.55 億美元，扣除租戶改善津貼，反映新店增長以及對我們的商店基地和業務基礎設施的持續投資。提醒一下，我們的資本支出指南包括將在未來 18 至 24 個月內開業的商店的擴建成本。

In closing, I want to thank our entire Grocery Outlet team and operator family for executing at a high level on behalf of our customers. We continue to deliver the best value in grocery retail, and we are excited about the growth runway ahead of us.

最後，我要感謝我們整個 Grocery Outlet 團隊和運營商家族代表我們的客戶高水平執行。我們繼續在雜貨零售領域提供最佳價值，我們對前方的增長跑道感到興奮。

We will now open the call up to your questions. Operator?

我們現在將開始回答您的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Robby Ohmes from Bank of America.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自美國銀行的 Robby Ohmes。

Can you guys hear me?

你們能聽到我說話嗎？

I'm sorry, we were responding. Yes.

對不起，我們正在回應。是的。

So my first question is just on inflation. Can you tell us how much of the strong same-store sales was inflation? And just your thoughts on what inflation looks like for the rest of the year for you guys?

所以我的第一個問題只是關於通貨膨脹。您能否告訴我們強勁的同店銷售額中有多少是通貨膨脹造成的？你們對你們今年餘下時間的通貨膨脹情況有何看法？

Yes. Robby, it's Charles. Let me provide a little color there. So you could see results for the first quarter. The majority of the comp came from traffic. We did continue to see benefit from the higher basket as well. So seeing -- continue to see high food inflation broadly across the store. It is moderating. As we look forward, that's our expectation that it will continue to disinflate over the balance of the year, particularly as we lap accelerating prior year numbers.

是的。羅比，是查爾斯。讓我在那裡提供一點顏色。所以你可以看到第一季度的結果。大部分補償來自流量。我們確實也繼續從更高的籃子中獲益。所以看到 - 繼續看到整個商店普遍存在高食品通脹。它正在緩和。展望未來，我們預計它將在今年餘下時間繼續抑制通脹，尤其是在我們加速前一年的數字時。

The one thing to keep in mind though, for us, given our model, the impact of inflation is a bit more muted because of the way we buy product and our ability to flex the assortment. So the headline number you see for inflation out there doesn't necessarily translate to us because we look forward, we expect to see it continue to moderate here as we progress through the balance of 2023.

不過要記住的一件事是，對我們來說，鑑於我們的模型，由於我們購買產品的方式和我們靈活組合的能力，通貨膨脹的影響要小一些。因此，您看到的通貨膨脹的標題數字不一定會轉化為我們，因為我們期待，我們預計隨著我們在 2023 年餘下時間的進展，它會在這裡繼續放緩。

That's really helpful. And then just another question that I get a lot is, can you talk about maybe even looking back about the -- how the IOs are doing? Are they, broadly speaking, as profitable as they historically have been? Or are they more profitable? Or are they -- are new IOs, is it more challenging to finance becoming a new IO because of interest rates? Maybe could you just -- is cost of labor pressuring the IOs? Like where are the IOs right now? Is this a good time for them? Or maybe some help with that would be great.

這真的很有幫助。然後我得到很多的另一個問題是，你能談談甚至回顧一下 - IOs 的表現如何？從廣義上講，它們是否像歷史上一樣有利可圖？或者他們更有利可圖？或者它們是新的 IO，由於利率的原因，融資成為新的 IO 更具挑戰性嗎？也許你可以 - 勞動力成本是否給 IO 帶來壓力？比如現在 IO 在哪裡？這對他們來說是個好時機嗎？或者也許這方面的一些幫助會很棒。

Yes. Sure, Robby. Thanks. Yes. So overall, operator financial health is good. The strong results here are certainly benefiting operators as they participate in the upside of both sales and gross profit growth. And just as a reminder, right, we split gross profit with them 50-50. So in a period where we're seeing 20% increase in gross profit, that certainly goes a long way to a healthy commission and then through their P&L bottom line profit for them. And that's coming off of what was a strong year -- a strong financial year in 2022.

是的。當然，羅比。謝謝。是的。因此，總體而言，運營商的財務狀況良好。強勁的業績無疑使運營商受益，因為他們參與了銷售額和毛利增長的上行。提醒一下，對，我們將毛利潤與他們分成 50-50。因此，在我們看到毛利潤增長 20% 的時期，這肯定對健康的佣金有很大幫助，然後通過他們的損益底線為他們帶來利潤。這是強勁的一年——2022 年強勁的財政年度。

So financially speaking, they're in good shape. They're optimistic given that comps are growing, traffic is growing. Inventory and variety are healthy. We all continue to be focused on driving sales and with healthy margin. And we continue to invest in stores, CapEx and other technology to improve sales and efficiencies for the operators.

所以從財務上來說，他們的狀況很好。他們很樂觀，因為 comps 在增長，流量在增長。庫存和品種健康。我們都將繼續專注於推動銷售並保持健康的利潤率。我們繼續投資於商店、資本支出和其他技術，以提高運營商的銷售額和效率。

They do still certainly are contending or have to contend with challenges as it relates to labor cost, which, of course, is a big expense for them and other operating costs. That's been the case for a while now, and we work closely with them. And we're always looking to make more investments, as I just mentioned, whether it's in CapEx or technology or other process improvements, to help them manage their P&L as efficiently as they can. And in a good operating environment like this, again, with recent results, the profitability overall is good.

他們確實仍在競爭或不得不應對與勞動力成本相關的挑戰，這當然對他們和其他運營成本來說是一筆巨大的開支。這種情況已經有一段時間了，我們與他們密切合作。正如我剛才提到的，我們一直在尋求進行更多投資，無論是在資本支出、技術還是其他流程改進方面，以幫助他們盡可能高效地管理損益。在這樣一個良好的經營環境中，再一次，根據最近的結果，整體盈利能力是好的。

And just very last one. I think you guys, during parts of COVID, maybe had to increase some of the loans to the IOs to the ones that we may be having a harder time. Are higher balances related to that being worked down in this environment now that we're in? Or how should we think about that?

只是最後一個。我認為你們，在 COVID 的部分期間，可能不得不將對 IO 的一些貸款增加到我們可能會遇到困難的那些貸款。現在我們所處的環境中，更高的餘額是否與正在減少的餘額有關？或者我們應該如何考慮？

Yes. Robby, it's Charles. Referring to operator AR, we continue to monitor that really closely. And recall, it really is much more for the operators about just that store ramp as they continue to build volumes and brand awareness in the early years of the store. They accumulate those balances, and they pay them down over time. And so as we track the loan portfolio and the progress the operators are making, feel really good about that path forward.

是的。羅比，是查爾斯。關於運營商 AR，我們將繼續密切關注它。回想一下，對於運營商來說，隨著他們在商店成立的最初幾年繼續建立銷量和品牌知名度，他們真正關心的只是商店的坡度。他們積累這些餘額，並隨著時間的推移償還它們。因此，當我們跟踪貸款組合和運營商取得的進展時，我們對這條前進的道路感到非常滿意。

The next question comes from Krisztina Katai from Deutsche Bank.

下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Krisztina Katai。

Congrats on a great quarter. I wanted to start with -- you mentioned that you're seeing both new customers and existing customers shop more with you. So can you talk a bit more about what you're seeing in the current consumer environment broadly, share anything potentially on where your quarter-to-date trends are running? And then as we think about the SNAP reduction, did that contribute at all to the comp upside given your strong value proposition?

祝賀一個偉大的季度。我想開始 - 你提到你看到新客戶和現有客戶都更多地與你一起購物。那麼，您能否更廣泛地談談您在當前消費者環境中看到的情況，分享任何可能與您的季度至今趨勢運行的地方有關的信息？然後，當我們考慮減少 SNAP 時，考慮到您強大的價值主張，這是否有助於提高薪酬？

Yes. Krisztina, thanks for the question. I'll take the first part of that, and then Charles can touch on a couple of things that you asked at the end there. So yes, in terms of customer trends, really encouraged by what we continue to see here, and I'd say that it's all the same positive trends as we talked about on our last call in February.

是的。克里斯蒂娜，謝謝你的提問。我先講第一部分，然後 Charles 可以談談你最後提出的一些問題。所以，是的，就客戶趨勢而言，我們在這裡繼續看到的情況真的很鼓舞，我想說的是，這與我們在 2 月份的最後一次電話會議上談到的一樣，都是積極的趨勢。

First, seeing strength across all customer types, all income levels. We do continue to see, as we noted, more new customers shopping our stores. Our survey data shows a higher average income customer shopping with us, which suggests that more customers are changing behaviors. They're looking for value. They're coming to us where they may have not shopped Grocery Outlet previously for the great value we provide on the many brands and items that we have throughout the stores. So those are all positive trends.

首先，看到所有客戶類型、所有收入水平的實力。正如我們所指出的，我們確實繼續看到更多新顧客在我們的商店購物。我們的調查數據顯示，與我們一起購物的平均收入更高的顧客，這表明更多顧客正在改變行為。他們正在尋找價值。他們來到我們這里之前可能沒有在 Grocery Outlet 購物過，因為我們在整個商店擁有的許多品牌和商品中提供了巨大的價值。所以這些都是積極的趨勢。

And then together with that, we've seen an increase in trip frequency and spend with existing customers. When they're in our store shopping, as we survey them regularly, the satisfaction levels are high, and there's a high intent to shop with us and spend more with us over the next 6 to 12 months as we ask in our survey. So all of those are very positive.

除此之外，我們還看到旅行頻率和與現有客戶的消費有所增加。當他們在我們的商店購物時，正如我們在調查中詢問的那樣，正如我們定期對他們進行的調查一樣，他們的滿意度很高，並且有很高的意願在接下來的 6 到 12 個月內與我們一起購物並在我們這裡消費更多。所以所有這些都是非常積極的。

And then we continue to lean into the investments and priorities that we've talked about to retain those customers. First and foremost, it's about inventory and value. And then together with the role that the operator plays, it's a very sticky experience and one that's very positive for consumers, which then leads to retention and future trips as we build -- continue to build that loyal customer base. And Charles, do you want to touch on the other part?

然後我們繼續關注我們已經討論過的投資和優先事項，以留住這些客戶。首先，它與庫存和價值有關。然後與運營商所扮演的角色一起，這是一種非常有粘性的體驗，對消費者來說非常積極，然後在我們建立的過程中導致保留和未來的旅行 - 繼續建立忠誠的客戶群。查爾斯，你想談談另一部分嗎？

Yes. Krisztina, it's Charles. With respect to SNAP, as we said on the last call, our point of view is that a reduction in SNAP benefits is not necessarily a headwind for our business. And that's been true historically if you look back over time, and we've comped positively through cycles of reduced SNAP funding.

是的。克里斯蒂娜，是查爾斯。關於 SNAP，正如我們在上次電話會議上所說，我們的觀點是 SNAP 福利的減少不一定對我們的業務不利。如果你回顧過去，這在歷史上是真實的，我們在減少 SNAP 資金的周期中取得了積極的進展。

And so looking at Q1 as those funding dollars were reduced in March, we did not see, as expected, a meaningful impact to comp. And so to us, that very much tells us that, again, this is just a tender type that our customer is using as opposed to a customer that we might be at risk of losing. So I feel really good about that SNAP performance. And then again, the expectation is as we move forward, this is yet one more sort of cumulative pressure to be added to consumers as they look to stretch their dollars. That's great in terms of how we're positioned to help them do that.

因此，從 3 月份這些資金減少的情況來看第一季度，我們沒有像預期的那樣看到對 comp 的有意義影響。所以對我們來說，這再次告訴我們，這只是我們的客戶正在使用的一種招標類型，而不是我們可能有失去風險的客戶。所以我對 SNAP 的表現感覺非常好。再說一遍，隨著我們的前進，人們期望這會增加一種累積壓力，因為他們希望花光自己的錢。就我們如何幫助他們做到這一點而言，這很好。

And if I could just squeeze in a follow-up, just on gross margin. 1Q came in much better than your guidance. So could you talk about the dynamics during the quarter? I think you mentioned favorable buying and also the supply chain and just overall how best to think about upside to the 30.7% number you gave us for both 2Q and the year.

而且，如果我可以緊跟進，就毛利率而言。 1Q 比您的指導要好得多。那麼你能談談本季度的動態嗎？我想你提到了有利的購買和供應鏈，以及總體上如何最好地考慮你給我們的第二季度和今年的 30.7% 的數字。

Sure. Yes. Really pleased with Q1 margin performance, particularly in light of ongoing cost inflation. As I said, the team and when I say the team, it really is end-to-end from the purchasing team to planning inventory management, supply chain teams managing and distributing product and then, of course, the IOs at store effectively manage the inventory through point of sale. So great performance.

當然。是的。對第一季度的利潤率表現非常滿意，尤其是考慮到持續的成本通脹。正如我所說，團隊，當我說團隊時，它真的是端到端的，從採購團隊到計劃庫存管理，供應鏈團隊管理和分配產品，當然，商店的 IOs 有效地管理通過銷售點存貨。如此出色的表現。

The buying environment is very good. We love to see that. But I'd just remind you that for us, we always take the view of managing the business for stable margins. It's normal to get these kind of quarter-to-quarter margin fluctuations given our buying model. Again, think about the fact that the assortment and the mix is always changing. So we manage for that long-term stability.

購買環境非常好。我們喜歡看到這一點。但我只想提醒你，對我們來說，我們始終採取管理業務以獲得穩定利潤的觀點。考慮到我們的購買模式，這種季度利潤率波動是正常的。再一次，想想分類和組合總是在變化的事實。因此，我們設法實現長期穩定。

Q1 was great to see as we look into Q2 here, tracking to a 30.7%, feeling great about that, which is allowing us to raise our full year guide for the year as well.

當我們在這裡查看第二季度時，第一季度很高興看到，跟踪到 30.7%，對此感覺很好，這也使我們能夠提高全年的全年指導。

The next question comes from Leah Jordan from Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自高盛的利亞喬丹。

This is Leah Jordan. I first wanted to check in and see what you're seeing in the promotional environment and if there's any differences by region? And then related to that, how do you view your price gaps currently in the everyday assortment?

這是利亞喬丹。我首先想檢查一下您在促銷環境中看到的情況，以及是否存在地區差異？然後與此相關的是，您如何看待目前日常品類中的價格差距？

Yes. Thanks for the question, Leah. The promotional environment remains stable. We're seeing, really across the board, other retailers remaining rational. In terms of how they're promoting items continue to be more targeted, I'd say, and specific in the offers or the discounts that they're offering and other related promotional activity. So really not a whole lot of change there. That's been the case for a while now. And then not a lot of change just to the competitive environment in general.

是的。謝謝你的問題，利亞。促銷環境保持穩定。我們看到，真正全面的是，其他零售商仍然保持理性。就他們如何促銷商品而言，我會說，並且在他們提供的優惠或折扣以及其他相關促銷活動中具體化。所以那裡真的沒有太多變化。這種情況已經有一段時間了。總體而言，競爭環境並沒有太大變化。

In terms of the value that we're providing, as you know, it's something that we manage very closely, and it's very strong. We continue to offer great value on the average basket. The target there for us is 40% relative to conventional retail, and that has maintained -- we manage that actively. And then together with that, many other metrics that we look at, and we're constantly managing. We always want to be delivering the best value overall to consumers no matter how they shop us, and we do have a wide variety of customer types and shopping occasions and ways customers shop us. And so we measure that value and the excitement that we deliver to them in the stores in a number of different ways.

正如您所知，就我們提供的價值而言，這是我們非常密切地管理的東西，而且非常強大。我們繼續提供物超所值的平均籃子。相對於傳統零售，我們的目標是 40%，並且一直保持著——我們積極地管理它。然後連同我們查看的許多其他指標一起，我們一直在管理。我們始終希望為消費者提供最大的整體價值，無論他們如何購物，我們確實擁有各種各樣的客戶類型、購物場合和客戶購物方式。因此，我們以多種不同方式衡量我們在商店中為他們提供的價值和興奮感。

And we've always said that in an environment like this when the consumer is as pressured as they are to stretch their dollar to afford the food that they normally purchase to feed themselves and their family, that value delta is worth even more than it is in times when maybe the need for value is a little bit less. So I'm really happy to be continuing to offer that value, and I think we're seeing that play forward in some of the comp trends and, more specifically, traffic and basket trends as customers are shopping us more.

我們總是說，在這樣的環境中，當消費者承受著壓力，他們不得不花錢買他們通常購買的食物來養活自己和家人時，這種價值增量甚至比現在更有價值在對價值的需求可能會少一些的時候。所以我真的很高興能繼續提供這種價值，而且我認為我們正在看到這種趨勢在一些競爭趨勢中發揮作用，更具體地說，隨著客戶更多地向我們購物，流量和購物車趨勢正在向前發展。

And for my follow-up, I wanted to check on the new unit pipeline. I understand the growth this year is still back half-weighted. But as you continue to build it out longer term, are you seeing any improvement to the timelines for permitting or construction? Or where are you really seeing any bottlenecks still?

對於我的後續行動，我想檢查新的單元管道。我知道今年的增長仍然是半加權的。但是隨著您繼續長期建設它，您是否看到許可或施工時間表有任何改進？或者您真正看到瓶頸的地方在哪裡？

Yes. Sure. So I think consistent with comments on the last call, we're still on track for the 25 to 28 net new stores this year, as we noted, with a return to the 10% run rate in the second half of this year as the stores are more back half-weighted, and then we continue to work towards the 10% annual target into 2024 and years looking forward.

是的。當然。因此，我認為與上次電話會議的評論一致，正如我們所指出的那樣，今年我們仍有望實現 25 至 28 家淨新店，今年下半年將恢復 10% 的運營率，因為商店的權重增加了一半，然後我們繼續努力實現 10% 的年度目標，直到 2024 年和未來幾年。

We do have a good lineup of stores. When we look out over the next 24 to 36 months, as you think about pipeline and lead times. And so we're tracking and doing the work there to continue to fill the pipeline and build out that lineup on stores -- of stores.

我們確實有很好的商店陣容。當我們展望未來 24 到 36 個月時，您會考慮管道和交貨時間。因此，我們正在跟踪並在那裡開展工作，以繼續填補渠道，並在商店——商店中建立這個陣容。

In terms of the challenges, I'd say they wouldn't -- they haven't necessarily eased any. The team continues to work hard to manage through them. We are still seeing extended lead times. We are still managing and working through challenges as it relates to construction and supply chain. But consistent with what we talked about on the last call as well, it has stabilized. And so as we've adjusted processes and expectations and lead times, we've seen that remain stable. And, as a result, still on track for delivering store count this year and targeting to be back on track and remaining at that 10% in the years looking forward.

就挑戰而言，我想說他們不會——他們不一定會減輕任何挑戰。團隊繼續努力通過它們進行管理。我們仍然看到交貨時間延長。我們仍在管理和應對與建築和供應鏈相關的挑戰。但與我們在上次電話會議上談到的一致，它已經穩定下來。因此，當我們調整流程、期望和交貨時間時，我們看到它們保持穩定。因此，今年仍有望實現門店數量的增長，並希望在未來幾年內回到正軌並保持在 10% 的水平。

The next question comes from Joe Feldman from Telsey Advisory.

下一個問題來自 Telsey Advisory 的 Joe Feldman。

Great. I don't recall hearing much about the Mid-Atlantic in your presentation. I was just curious if that region is performing any differently from the stores in the West Coast and if you're seeing any variance that way.

偉大的。我不記得在你的演講中聽到太多關於中大西洋的信息。我只是想知道該地區的表現是否與西海岸的商店有任何不同，以及您是否看到任何差異。

Yes, Joe, it's Charles. I continue to be really pleased with performance in our newer regions that are delivering comp at the top of the company average. So -- and that's true for both Southern California, continue to make nice progress there. We've got about 100 stores in market today and just pleased with the way we've been able to grow brand awareness and productivity in that market.

是的，喬，是查爾斯。我仍然對我們新地區的表現感到非常滿意，這些地區的表現在公司平均水平上名列前茅。所以 - 這對南加州來說都是如此，繼續在那裡取得不錯的進展。我們今天在市場上有大約 100 家商店，並且對我們能夠在該市場提高品牌知名度和生產力的方式感到滿意。

And then Mid-Atlantic, as you point out, the comps in that region continue to be at the top of the company average. Likewise, very much following the same playbook we have in Southern California. Making good progress there, building brand awareness, further densifying the region, and so just excited about our room for growth in that market going forward.

然後是中大西洋，正如您所指出的那樣，該地區的薪酬繼續處於公司平均水平的頂端。同樣，非常遵循我們在南加州的相同劇本。在那裡取得了良好的進展，建立了品牌知名度，進一步提高了該地區的密度，因此我們對未來在該市場的增長空間感到興奮。

That's great to hear. And maybe for my follow-up, wanted to ask you guys, you talked about the healthy pipeline of opportunistic purchases. And I was just curious how we should think about maybe the mix of WOW! products versus the regular products and how you're planning to continue to excite people with -- through merchandising in the store, maybe just get into that a little bit.

聽到這個消息我很高興。也許對於我的後續行動，想問你們，你們談到了機會主義購買的健康渠道。我很好奇我們應該如何考慮 WOW 的組合！產品與常規產品的對比，以及您計劃如何通過商店的商品銷售繼續激發人們的興趣，也許只是一點點。

Yes, sure. So we continue to be really encouraged by the pipeline of opportunistic products. As we said, it's broad-based across all categories. We're seeing really nice list, and we're engaging in a strategic way with many of our suppliers. So all of that feels good. It's positive momentum that we've had, I'd say, really throughout all of last year and then through the first part of this year as well.

是的，當然。因此，我們繼續受到機會主義產品管道的鼓舞。正如我們所說，它在所有類別中都有廣泛的基礎。我們看到了非常好的清單，我們正在與我們的許多供應商進行戰略合作。所以所有這些感覺都很好。這是積極的勢頭，我想說，在去年全年和今年上半年也是如此。

In terms of the mix, still generally 50-50. That's been pretty stable for a long period of time right now. I'd say more important than mix really is how we are delivering the best value across both the opportunistic and everyday sides of the business, those 2 parts of the assortment. And with the consumer view, they don't know the difference, right? For them, it's just, "Am I seeing the products that matter to me? And am I excited by the value?" And a big part of what we offer is newness and treasure hunt and excitement when they shop our stores. And we do that really across the entire assortment, whether it's opportunistic or every day.

就搭配而言，一般還是50-50。這在很長一段時間內都非常穩定。我想說比混合更重要的是我們如何在業務的機會主義和日常方面提供最佳價值，這兩個部分。從消費者的角度來看，他們不知道其中的區別，對嗎？對他們來說，只是，“我看到的產品對我來說重要嗎？我對它的價值感到興奮嗎？”當他們在我們的商店購物時，我們提供的很大一部分是新奇、尋寶和興奮。我們確實在整個分類中都這樣做，無論是機會主義的還是每天。

And so those are the things, as I mentioned earlier, the things that we manage closely, and all of that is in really good shape. And so the experience for the consumer is really strong, and we continue to focus on that. And then we continue to develop and get better at both opportunistic and every day to continue to make the assortment as relevant as possible and to deliver always the best value and levels of excitement to them as they're shopping our stores.

正如我之前提到的，這些就是我們密切管理的事情，所有這些都處於非常好的狀態。因此，消費者體驗非常好，我們將繼續關注這一點。然後我們繼續發展並在機會主義和每一天變得更好，以繼續使分類盡可能相關，並在他們購物時始終為他們提供最好的價值和興奮程度。

The next question comes from Oliver Chen from TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Oliver Chen。

It's Tom on for Oliver. Just a question on SKU expansion, Curious as to how we should expect the year to shape out relative to last year's, I think, 700 SKUs added. So are you still seeing opportunities for additional SKU expansion? And how would that essentially affect the timeline for development of private label offerings?

湯姆替奧利弗上場。只是一個關於 SKU 擴展的問題，我想知道與去年相比我們應該如何預期這一年會如何發展，我認為，增加了 700 個 SKU。那麼您是否仍然看到了額外 SKU 擴展的機會？這將如何從根本上影響自有品牌產品開發的時間表？

Yes. Tom, thanks. Yes. We -- SKU expansion is a normal part of our ongoing business. So to answer your question, yes, we continue to add SKUs to the assortment, approximately 150 new items that we brought in, in the first quarter of this year. And yes, you'll remember, we started talking about this initiative, I think, back in the fourth quarter in the second half of '21. And over that period of time since then, we've added close to 1,000 incremental SKUs.

是的。湯姆，謝謝。是的。我們 - SKU 擴展是我們正在進行的業務的正常部分。因此，為了回答您的問題，是的，我們在今年第一季度繼續將 SKU 添加到分類中，我們引入了大約 150 種新商品。是的，你會記得，我想，我們早在 21 世紀下半年的第四季度就開始談論這項倡議。從那以後的那段時間裡，我們增加了近 1,000 個增量 SKU。

So again, always looking to make the assortment more relevant, and we've had some really nice adds to the assortment. We always talk about NOSH, natural organic, specialty healthy. That continues to be a focus. Some really nice items and brands added within fresh categories more generally. Ethnic categories has been a nice area of expansion for us. Local and a great opportunity and differentiator for us in the role that the operator plays as it relates to more localized items. More recently, we've introduced an assortment of grab-and-go items, home meal replacement-type items and pleased with the results there so far. So that is ongoing and will continue, whether it's at the item level or subcategory level, and we'll continue to enhance the shopping experience.

因此，再次強調，我們總是希望使分類更相關，並且我們已經為分類添加了一些非常好的內容。我們總是談論 NOSH、天然有機、專業健康。這仍然是一個焦點。一些非常好的商品和品牌更普遍地添加到新鮮類別中。種族類別對我們來說是一個很好的擴展領域。本地化對於我們來說是一個很好的機會和差異化因素，因為運營商在涉及更多本地化項目時所扮演的角色。最近，我們推出了各種即取即走的商品、家庭代餐類商品，並且對目前的結果感到滿意。因此，無論是在商品級別還是子類別級別，這種情況正在並將繼續下去，我們將繼續提升購物體驗。

As it relates to private label, we're still excited about this as a long-term opportunity. We are building capabilities and setting the foundation this year. Think of it as an enhancement to the everyday assortment. This is not a replacement for opportunistic. There continues to be more than available for us to buy and to support growth, as we've talked about. But within the everyday side of the business, private label can really help us deliver more value. It can create more excitement for the customer. It can offer an additional reason to visit a store, think about unique destination items. And they can also serve to strengthen the treasure hunt. We're going to do this in a way that is appropriate and unique for us, and we're all excited about that as really a next step forward in terms of what the assortment provides.

由於它與自有品牌相關，我們仍然對這是一個長期機會感到興奮。今年我們正在建設能力並奠定基礎。將其視為對日常分類的增強。這不是機會主義的替代品。正如我們所討論的那樣，我們仍然可以購買和支持增長。但在日常業務中，自有品牌確實可以幫助我們創造更多價值。它可以為客戶創造更多的興奮。它可以提供額外的理由去商店，考慮獨特的目的地商品。而且它們還可以起到加強尋寶的作用。我們將以一種對我們來說合適且獨特的方式來做到這一點，我們都對此感到非常興奮，因為這確實是在產品種類方面向前邁出的下一步。

Too early to give anything more specifically than that as we're really just forming the strategy and doing some foundational work, but we'll certainly keep you up to date as we move through the year and into next year.

由於我們實際上只是在製定戰略並做一些基礎工作，因此現在提供比這更具體的內容還為時過早，但我們肯定會在今年和明年進入時讓您了解最新情況。

Great. That's very helpful. A follow-up on the digital business as a whole. Number one, on the pilot of the digital app, I believe, in Washington State, if you could just brief us on how that's going. And then on the third-party delivery side, just curious how penetration is trending and if those delivery services carry a higher UPT to essentially offset any disinflationary pressures.

偉大的。這很有幫助。對整個數字業務的跟進。第一，關於數字應用程序的試點，我相信，在華盛頓州，如果你能簡單地向我們介紹一下進展情況。然後在第三方交付方面，只是好奇滲透趨勢如何，以及這些交付服務是否具有更高的 UPT 以從根本上抵消任何反通脹壓力。

Yes, sure. So first on the app, we've been successfully piloting this new personalization app in our Washington stores since the end of last year. Really pleased. So far, we've received positive customer feedback. It's providing customers real-time visibility to the many great deals within those stores. It brings the treasure hunt outside of the 4 walls in a way that's unique to this new platform that we built. It digitizes our popular win, what you save promotion. There are a number of other features to that make it very engaging for customers, and we've heard that feedback directly from them.

是的，當然。所以首先在應用程序上，自去年年底以來，我們已經在我們華盛頓的商店成功試用了這款新的個性化應用程序。真的很高興。到目前為止，我們已經收到了積極的客戶反饋。它使客戶能夠實時了解這些商店中的許多超值優惠。它以我們構建的這個新平台所獨有的方式將尋寶活動帶到了 4 堵牆之外。它將我們流行的勝利數字化，即您節省的促銷活動。還有許多其他功能使其對客戶非常有吸引力，我們已經直接從他們那裡聽到了反饋。

Over time, of course, it will allow us to capture valuable data about shopping behaviors and, therefore, make it even more relevant in that we can communicate in a more customized specific way based on customer purchasing behavior over time. So love that it's already engaging for them, and it will become even more engaging as they use it and time moves forward.

當然，隨著時間的推移，它將使我們能夠捕獲有關購物行為的有價值數據，因此，它會變得更加相關，因為我們可以根據一段時間內的客戶購買行為，以更加定制化的特定方式進行交流。非常喜歡它已經吸引了他們，並且隨著他們使用它和時間的推移，它會變得更加吸引人。

We have started to roll it out to additional regions. That's actually happening right now, and we'll expect to have it in all of our stores by the end of the year. We're following more of a phased rollout approach. And from there, we'll grow the user base. And of course, we'll continue to make enhancements to the program and look forward to all the benefits that will come from that.

我們已經開始將其推廣到其他地區。這實際上正在發生，我們希望到今年年底在我們所有的商店都有它。我們正在遵循更多的分階段推出方法。從那裡，我們將擴大用戶群。當然，我們將繼續改進該計劃，並期待從中獲得所有好處。

And then quickly on e-commerce, really pleased with e-commerce growth. We're seeing nice incremental sales. We haven't disclosed specific penetration. Still small. Remember, we just rolled out 2 -- well, the 2 remaining platforms near the end of last year. So we're on all 3 major platforms right now: Instacart, Uber Eats, DoorDash. But still very young and still growing as a part of our business. It's a great way for us or has been a great way for us to acquire new customers, and so we've seen a lot of incrementality there.

然後快速發展電子商務，對電子商務的增長感到非常滿意。我們看到不錯的增量銷售。我們沒有透露具體的滲透率。還是小。請記住，我們剛剛在去年年底推出了 2 個——好吧，剩下的 2 個平台。所以我們現在在所有 3 個主要平台上：Instacart、Uber Eats、DoorDash。但仍然非常年輕，並且作為我們業務的一部分仍在成長。這對我們來說是一個很好的方式，或者一直是我們獲得新客戶的好方法，所以我們在那裡看到了很多增量。

And to the last part of your question, it's -- think of it as margin profit neutral for both Grocery Outlet and the operators and very seamless operationally. So all around, it's been a great program for us.

對於你問題的最後一部分，它是 - 將其視為雜貨店和運營商的利潤中性，並且在運營上非常無縫。所以總的來說，這對我們來說是一個很棒的項目。

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from John Heinbockel from Guggenheim Securities.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自古根海姆證券公司的 John Heinbockel。

In looking at opportunistic real estate, right, given this environment, are you primarily looking Mid-Atlantic? And what are you looking for? Because I know you did an acquisition in the Mid-Atlantic to get there in the first place. But when you think about formats, can you buy formerly-unionized locations? Sort of what are the constraints, right, in terms of the kind of acquisitions you'd be looking at? And how available are they today?

在考慮機會主義房地產時，在這種環境下，您主要是在尋找中大西洋地區嗎？你在找什麼？因為我知道你首先在大西洋中部進行了一次收購以到達那裡。但是當你考慮格式時，你可以購買以前工會化的位置嗎？就您要考慮的收購類型而言，有哪些限制，對吧？他們今天有多可用？

Yes. Thanks, John. Yes, so the first part of your question, we're looking at opportunistic real estate across all of the markets that we're operating in and then also in terms of our geographic expansion, what would be appropriate for us. So it's not just in the east.

是的。謝謝，約翰。是的，所以你問題的第一部分，我們正在研究我們經營的所有市場的機會主義房地產，然後就我們的地域擴張而言，什麼對我們合適。所以它不僅僅是在東方。

And then to the second part of your question, we're evaluating these opportunities, really no different than we would or than we do as we're identifying sites through brokers or through landlords, right? Of course, it needs to be the right size. It needs to have the right characteristics that we apply all the market data that we bring, customer data to better understand the potential there, cost of course and everything else.

然後是你問題的第二部分，我們正在評估這些機會，實際上與我們通過經紀人或房東確定地點時所做的沒有什麼不同，對吧？當然，它需要大小合適。它需要具有正確的特徵，我們應用我們帶來的所有市場數據，客戶數據以更好地了解那裡的潛力，當然還有成本和其他一切。

So really no different there. The difference is that we're evaluating perhaps bigger blocks of stores or sites that are available, and they've come up in a more specific or unique way. And as you well know, right, there is a lot of movement in retail or with other retailers right now, and so the growth plans that we have put us in a really good position to take advantage of it, but it needs to be right for us. And so that's where the evaluation comes in, and that's the work that we're doing as we're getting access to these lists and making sure that we're making smart decisions, both in terms of location and then also all the other attributes and economics of it, no different than we would a normal course of conversations with brokers and landlords.

所以那裡真的沒有什麼不同。不同之處在於，我們正在評估可能更大的可用商店或站點塊，並且它們以更具體或獨特的方式出現。正如你所知，對，現在零售業或與其他零售商有很多變化，因此我們的增長計劃使我們處於一個非常有利的位置來利用它，但它必須是正確的為了我們。這就是評估的用武之地，這就是我們在訪問這些列表時所做的工作，並確保我們在位置和所有其他屬性方面做出明智的決定和它的經濟學，與我們與經紀人和房東的正常對話過程沒有什麼不同。

Okay. And then maybe a follow-up. The IO pipeline, right, in terms of quantity and quality, right, because obviously, you've had some delays this year in expansion, right? So the IO pipeline is probably a little bit bigger than you planned. So is that still growing, right, in anticipation of '24 and '25? And then the quality, right? Because I think it's been a pretty high-quality capability wise over the last couple of years. Any change in who you're recruiting?

好的。然後也許是後續行動。 IO 管道，在數量和質量方面，對，因為很明顯，你今年在擴張方面有一些延遲，對吧？所以 IO 管道可能比您計劃的要大一點。那麼，在 24 和 25 年的預期中，它還在增長嗎？然後是質量，對嗎？因為我認為在過去的幾年裡，這是一種非常高質量的能力。你招募的人有什麼變化嗎？

It is. Yes. The IO pipeline is very healthy. We do manage it together, John, with the real estate pipeline. So you think about lead times there, it's not exactly the same, but we manage it closely based on future store openings and the recruiting and training process and time related to that as well. So we're able to keep those pretty well in sync.

這是。是的。 IO 管道非常健康。約翰，我們確實與房地產管道一起管理它。所以你想想那裡的交貨時間，它並不完全相同，但我們會根據未來的商店開業、招聘和培訓過程以及與之相關的時間來密切管理它。所以我們能夠很好地保持同步。

Yes, we are recruiting for -- certainly for operators as we think about 2024 stores and even out into 2025 because sometimes the decision-making process can be a longer time period for interested candidates, and so we're constantly managing those conversations, and both operator count and then also geographic preferences and how all those things come together.

是的，我們正在招聘 - 當然是針對運營商，因為我們考慮 2024 家商店甚至到 2025 年，因為有時決策過程對於感興趣的候選人來說可能需要更長的時間，因此我們不斷地管理這些對話，並且運營商數量以及地理偏好以及所有這些因素如何組合在一起。

The quality is really good. This continues to be a really attractive model for those thinking about joining us and opening up and running one of their own stores. So the pipeline is healthy in terms of quantity and quality, and it's really all of the things that have always attracted them over the years to this model. They can own and operate their own business. They operate independently with the support and scale of Grocery Outlet. They get to work with family. They get to give back the community. Certainly, there's income potential there that may not be available to them from wherever they're coming from, and that appeals to really a wide variety of potential operators.

質量真的很好。對於那些考慮加入我們並開設和經營自己的商店的人來說，這仍然是一個非常有吸引力的模式。因此，管道在數量和質量方面都是健康的，這確實是多年來一直吸引他們使用這種模式的所有因素。他們可以擁有和經營自己的企業。他們在 Grocery Outlet 的支持和規模下獨立運營。他們開始和家人一起工作。他們要回饋社區。當然，那裡有他們可能無法從任何地方獲得的收入潛力，這吸引了真正廣泛的潛在運營商。

And that profile there, I'd say, pretty consistent with what it's been. Continue to see those with Grocery Retail experience or other retail experience. And we've also seen some with, call it, maybe nontraditional experience. And then together with internals, right, as we refer to internal folks that have operated within the Grocery Outlet system, as we grow, that continues to be a bigger source of future operators just because you have more people that have been in the system for periods of time. So yes, everything there, feeling good and well supporting future growth goals.

我想說的是，那裡的個人資料與過去的情況非常一致。繼續看那些有雜貨零售經驗或其他零售經驗的人。我們也看到了一些可能具有非傳統體驗的人。然後與內部人員一起，對，因為我們指的是在 Grocery Outlet 系統中運營的內部人員，隨著我們的成長，這將繼續成為未來運營商的更大來源，因為您有更多的人在系統中工作時間段。所以是的，一切都在那裡，感覺良好並且很好地支持未來的增長目標。

The next question comes from Corey Tarlowe from Jefferies.

下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Corey Tarlowe。

RJ, I think you mentioned in your prepared remarks, there was a comment about your recent supplier conference. Could you just talk about the tone of the conversations that you had with your suppliers versus what you haven't heard in prior years? I think the availability has been a little bit better. What are some of the topics of discussion that people are bringing up this year that's new versus in prior years? Any color you could provide here would be really helpful.

RJ，我想你在準備好的發言中提到，有一條關於你最近的供應商會議的評論。您能否談談您與供應商的談話語氣與前幾年沒有聽到的談話語氣？我認為可用性要好一些。今年人們提出的與往年相比有哪些新的討論話題？您可以在此處提供的任何顏色都會非常有幫助。

Yes. Thanks, Corey. Yes, the tone was really positive. It's -- we love this meeting. It's a great chance for us to spend time with, as I mentioned, suppliers we've done business with for decades, but also suppliers where maybe the relationship is a little bit newer and so -- and an opportunity to step back, I'd say, from the day to day and think longer term and more strategically about the partnership that we have together, and those are always fun conversations.

是的。謝謝，科里。是的，語氣真的很積極。這是——我們喜歡這次會議。正如我提到的，這對我們來說是一個很好的機會，可以花時間與我們已經合作了幾十年的供應商合作，但也可以與供應商合作，這些供應商的關係可能有點新，所以 - 一個退後一步的機會，我'我會說，每天從更長遠的角度和更具戰略性的角度思考我們之間的伙伴關係，這些總是很有趣的對話。

If I were to compare it to a year ago, at that time, back in 2022, a lot of the conversation or more of the conversations were really around supply chain and allocations and ramping production back up and those things as we were still working through many of the impacts from COVID and the pandemic this year. And it's true with just the world in general, right, more of the normal type of conversations that we've always had throughout the years.

如果我將它與一年前進行比較，那時候，回到 2022 年，很多談話或更多談話實際上是圍繞供應鍊和分配以及恢復生產以及我們仍在努力的那些事情今年 COVID 和大流行的許多影響。就整個世界而言，這是真的，對，我們多年來一直進行的更多正常類型的對話。

And so we talk about how we can be a better partner to support them with opportunistic with many suppliers. It is a blend of opportunistic in every day with the number of stores that we have and growing. We certainly represent an attractive what a supplier would refer to as a primary sales channel there for everyday product. And so again, those are fun conversations to have and how we can grow our shared businesses together. So yes, great conversations. And then those -- we're talking to suppliers all the time, right? So they provide a great platform for us as the year moves forward and as we're working through opportunities together with them.

因此，我們討論瞭如何成為更好的合作夥伴，以機會主義的方式與許多供應商一起支持他們。它是每天機會主義與我們擁有和增長的商店數量的混合體。我們當然代表了一個有吸引力的供應商所說的日常產品的主要銷售渠道。因此，這些都是有趣的對話，以及我們如何共同發展我們的共同業務。所以是的，很棒的對話。然後那些 - 我們一直在與供應商交談，對嗎？因此，他們為我們提供了一個很好的平台，隨著時間的推移，我們正在與他們一起努力尋找機會。

Great. And then just for Charles, could you talk a little bit about how to think about the second quarter comp versus what you did in the first quarter? I think for the first quarter, you initially guided to something like, I believe it was, 10%. And then you posted a plus 12%, and you've talked about 8% new customer growth. But then the second quarter is I believe, plus 5% as far as how you're thinking about the guide. So could you maybe just talk about how to think about the trajectory for the comp in the coming quarter?

偉大的。然後就查爾斯而言，你能談談如何看待第二季度的比賽與第一季度的比賽嗎？我認為對於第一季度，你最初指導的是，我相信是 10%。然後你發布了 12% 的增長，你談到了 8% 的新客戶增長。但是我相信第二季度，就您對指南的看法而言，再加上 5%。那麼，您能否談談如何考慮下個季度 comp 的發展軌跡？

Sure. Yes, Corey, happy to do that. So Q2, we feel really good about the momentum we continue to drive and the start we've got here early in the quarter, especially the strength in traffic. That said, we're very mindful of the fact that we're right in the thick of lapping accelerating comps from last year. So you think about the uptick in comps in 2022 from the first quarter into the second quarter to the third quarter, across those was a 10-point increase in comp. And that was not only the impact of high inflation, but also the fact that we were building traffic as we progress the year.

當然。是的，科里，很高興這樣做。所以第二季度，我們對我們繼續推動的勢頭以及我們在本季度初的開端感到非常滿意，尤其是在交通方面的實力。就是說，我們非常注意這樣一個事實，即我們正處於去年的加速加速比賽中。所以你想想 2022 年從第一季度到第二季度再到第三季度的收入增長，其中收入增長了 10 個百分點。這不僅是高通貨膨脹的影響，而且隨著我們今年的進展，我們正在建設交通。

So the guide for Q2 is taking that into account as well as the fact that it continues to be a very fluid consumer and macro environment, lots of cross currents that we're keeping a close eye on in terms of inflation remaining very high. Yes, it's moderating. Interest rates, high; consumer credit. So all of those things taken together, we look at the Q2 guide and the implied guide for the balance of the year. And on a stacked basis, we feel like that's a balanced improvement guide.

因此，第二季度的指南考慮到了這一點，以及它仍然是一個非常不穩定的消費者和宏觀環境這一事實，我們在通貨膨脹方面密切關注的許多交叉電流仍然非常高。是的，它正在緩和。利率高；消費信貸。因此，將所有這些因素放在一起，我們將查看第二季度指南和今年剩餘時間的隱含指南。在堆疊的基礎上，我們覺得這是一個平衡的改進指南。

The next question comes from Karen Short from Crédit Suisse.

下一個問題來自 Crédit Suisse 的 Karen Short。

Just a couple of questions. First thing, I just want to clarify on gross margin specifically. So you said 30.7% gross margin for 2Q. So that implies 30.5-ish percent. Not to split here, but for second half, but that's a decent compression year-over-year in 2Q and then a slight expansion in the second half. So wanted a little clarification on that, and then I had a bigger picture question.

只是幾個問題。首先，我只想具體澄清一下毛利率。所以你說第二季度的毛利率為 30.7%。所以這意味著 30.5% 左右。不是在這里拆分，而是下半年，但這是第二季度的同比壓縮，然後在下半年略有擴張。所以想要對此進行一些澄清，然後我有一個更大的問題。

Yes. So Karen, think about the -- this is Charles. Think about the guide for the year, 30.7% in total, that reflects a strong Q1, the 30.7% for Q2. And then for the balance of the year, the fact that we very -- it's typical for us to see this normal seasonal moderation in margin as a result of just changes in product mix.

是的。凱倫，想想——這是查爾斯。想想今年的指南，總計 30.7%，這反映了第一季度的強勁表現，第二季度為 30.7%。然後在今年餘下的時間裡，我們非常 - 由於產品組合的變化，我們通常會看到這種正常的季節性利潤率放緩。

So you think about third quarter, the summer months, higher penetration of snacks and soda; and then the fourth quarter, holiday mix. That's the typical seasonal flow we see, and that's what's embedded in the full year margin guide for the year.

所以你想想第三季度，夏季，零食和汽水的滲透率更高；然後是第四季度，假日組合。這是我們看到的典型季節性流量，也是全年利潤率指南中的內容。

Okay. And then I don't think I've asked this question for a while. But with respect to the actual economics for an IO team opening a new store, can you just walk through an update on that specifically? Because obviously, when you IPO-ed, there was data on that. And I don't know that I've really asked the question or it's come up just as a topic because things have changed so much since 2019. Wondering if you could just give a little color and update on that.

好的。然後我想我已經有一段時間沒有問過這個問題了。但是關於 IO 團隊開設新店的實際經濟情況，您能否具體介紹一下更新情況？因為很明顯，當你進行 IPO 時，就有相關數據。而且我不知道我是否真的問過這個問題，或者它只是作為一個主題提出來的，因為自 2019 年以來情況發生了很大變化。想知道你是否可以提供一些顏色並對此進行更新。

And what -- Karen, just because it's a lengthy -- there's a lot there.

什麼——凱倫，只是因為它很長——那裡有很多。

Specifically net income to an IO. So I understand the gross margin component. I understand the interest expense component. But like what is their net actual take home as a team or, whatever, one unit -- per unit?

特別是 IO 的淨收入。所以我了解毛利率部分。我了解利息支出部分。但是就像他們作為一個團隊或一個單位的淨實際收入是多少——每個單位？

Yes, it's up versus 2019. So you think about the benefit that they've seen from top line flowing through, yes, it's -- they've seen increases in expenses. But in terms of the net impact to the IOs, very consistent to a little bit better than the model we talked about when we went public.

是的，與 2019 年相比有所上升。所以你想想他們從收入中看到的好處，是的，這是——他們看到了支出的增加。但就對 IO 的淨影響而言，與我們上市時談到的模型非常一致，甚至更好一點。

So can you get the range of numbers per unit?

那麼你能得到每個單位的數字範圍嗎？

Yes. So Karen, roughly, if you think about mature IO, we've always talked about $250,000 for bottom line income, and we're seeing levels for mature IOs in excess of that.

是的。所以凱倫，粗略地說，如果你考慮成熟的 IO，我們總是談論 250,000 美元的底線收入，我們看到成熟 IO 的水平超過了這個水平。

Okay. And then just the last question I had, is there any contemplation within your guidance for the potential for actual deflation in 4Q, not disinflation, but deflation?

好的。然後是我的最後一個問題，您的指導方針中是否考慮到第四季度實際通貨緊縮的可能性，不是通貨緊縮，而是通貨緊縮？

Yes. We don't expect there to be deflation. We do -- again, disinflation is our best point of view at this point. But the model -- even in a deflationary environment, the model is -- it's really where the flexibility of the model shines through, so we know we can perform in that environment as well. But current expectation is for continued inflation moderation.

是的。我們預計不會出現通貨緊縮。我們是——再說一次，通貨緊縮是我們目前最好的觀點。但是模型——即使在通貨緊縮的環境中，模型也是——它確實是模型靈活性的體現，所以我們知道我們也可以在那種環境中表現。但目前的預期是通脹持續放緩。

The next question comes from Simeon Gutman from Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Simeon Gutman。

This is Michael Kessler on for Simeon. One more on guidance. I think you beat by $6 million on EBITDA in Q1. And the full year was raised by about $3 million, I think, at the midpoint. So anything to note there as far as if there's any reason why the rest of the year should be any weaker than you thought originally? Or is this just conservative on the investment front that we should know about?

這是 Simeon 的 Michael Kessler。還有一個關於指導。我認為您在第一季度的 EBITDA 超過了 600 萬美元。我認為，在中點，全年籌集了大約 300 萬美元。那麼，有什麼要注意的，是否有任何理由說明今年餘下的時間應該比您原先想像的要弱？或者這只是我們應該了解的投資方面的保守？

Yes, it's -- Michael, it's Charles. So it really is just a matter of when you flow through the P&L, right? You think about our mid-single-digit comp guide for the year in total, gross margin at 30.7%, 20 basis points up year-over-year. We are driving expense leverage, which we feel really good about. And so I think as you're comparing against kind of the beat in Q1, it really is more about just flowing through those margin lines to get to our guidance. But we feel really good about how the P&L is shaping up, and particularly the leverage that we're driving so far in the year and the path ahead for 2023.

是的，是 Michael，是 Charles。所以這真的只是你何時通過損益表的問題，對吧？你想想我們全年的中個位數 comp 指南，毛利率為 30.7%，同比增長 20 個基點。我們正在推動費用槓桿，我們對此感覺非常好。因此，我認為當您與第一季度的節拍進行比較時，實際上更多的是通過這些利潤線來獲得我們的指導。但我們對損益表的形成方式感到非常滿意，尤其是我們在今年迄今為止推動的槓桿作用以及 2023 年的未來之路。

Okay. And one more on the IO front. Any changes with regards to the flow of applicants or interest levels, especially as rates have gone up? And maybe just a clarifying question. Do -- I know you guys lend often to the IOs when they take on a store? Has that changed at all as far as the rates that are being negotiated there are charged? And any updates on how you facilitate that process?

好的。還有一個在 IO 方面。申請者流量或興趣水平是否有任何變化，尤其是在利率上升的情況下？也許只是一個澄清問題。做 - 我知道你們在 IO 開店時經常藉錢給他們？就那裡正在協商的費率而言，情況是否發生了變化？關於您如何促進該過程的任何更新？

Yes. No, so I think your broader question, Michael, the pipeline remains healthy. No change in level of interest or number of folks coming to us or being interested in the model. As it relates to interest rates or really anything else, so that's all tracking really well to support growth.

是的。不，所以我認為你的問題更廣泛，邁克爾，管道仍然健康。興趣水平或來找我們或對模型感興趣的人數沒有變化。因為它與利率或其他任何東西有關，所以這一切都很好地跟踪以支持增長。

The next question comes from Michael Baker from D.A. Davidson.

下一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Michael Baker。戴維森。

Okay. Two real quick because it's getting on an hour. One, let me ask about SG&A. Incentive comp, I think incentive comp was a big increase last year, and so we thought it would be a savings this year. Can you talk about how much incentive comp hurt you last year as your comps accelerated and what you expect to save this year? But now that you're beating, maybe that goes away. So just how do we think about incentive comp in 2023?

好的。兩個真的很快，因為它開始一個小時了。第一，讓我問一下 SG&A。激勵補償，我認為激勵補償去年大幅增加，所以我們認為今年會節省開支。你能談談去年隨著你的補償加速，激勵補償對你造成了多少傷害，以及你今年希望節省什麼？但現在你在跳動，也許它就消失了。那麼我們如何看待 2023 年的激勵補償呢？

Yes, Michael, it's Charles. We do expect an incentive comp will be a -- will leverage incentive comp year-over-year as we have more of a normalized payout this year. You didn't really see the impact of that in the first quarter. It's really as we move into the second quarter and the balance of the year. Last year is when we started picking up those accruals. So we expect to see some SG&A benefit in Q2 through Q4. Offsetting that is the fixed cost leverage that we are driving in the business. As those -- as comp sales normalize, you get more of a moderating tailwind from fixed cost leverage. But yes, we expect to see some meaningful incentive comp leverage in the balance of the year.

是的，邁克爾，是查爾斯。我們確實預計激勵補償將是 - 將同比利用激勵補償，因為我們今年有更多的標準化支出。你在第一季度並沒有真正看到它的影響。這真的是我們進入第二季度和今年餘下時間的時候。去年是我們開始提取這些應計費用的時候。因此，我們預計在第二季度到第四季度會看到一些 SG&A 收益。抵消這是我們在業務中推動的固定成本槓桿。正如那些——隨著 comp 銷售正常化，你會從固定成本槓桿中獲得更多的緩和順風。但是，是的，我們希望在今年餘下時間看到一些有意義的激勵補償槓桿。

Okay. Understood. Last one. So gross -- the 90 basis points gross margin increase, I think, is the most I have in my model since your IPO. So I sort of want to ask as the anything unique in this quarter. But clearly, there was because it's the biggest gain you've had in quite a while. The guidance for the second quarter, I guess you said -- did you say did I hear that right, that's where you're tracking? Or that's sort of what you're assuming because you just assume it goes back to a normal rate and then you're not going to assume this unprecedented level? Or is that actually what you're seeing 10 weeks -- or not 10 weeks, but however many weeks through the quarter we have.

好的。明白了。最後一個。所以總的來說——我認為 90 個基點的毛利率增長是自你首次公開募股以來我模型中的最大增長。所以我有點想問這個季度有什麼獨特之處。但很明顯，這是因為這是你在很長一段時間內獲得的最大收穫。第二季度的指導，我猜你說過——你說我沒聽錯嗎，那是你追踪的地方？或者這就是你的假設，因為你只是假設它會回到正常水平，然後你不會假設這個前所未有的水平？或者這實際上是你在 10 週內看到的——或者不是 10 週，但無論我們在本季度有多少週。

Yes. So taking the second part first. So early in the second quarter, 30.7% is our expectation at this point based on what we know now. I think, again, just taking a step back as we think about, I mentioned, we managed the business for stable margins over time, but you get that normal fluctuation. Historically, you can look back over the years, and you see roughly a 1-point fluctuation, low to high and margin performance across cycles.

是的。所以先看第二部分。所以在第二季度初，根據我們現在所知道的，我們此時的預期是 30.7%。我想，再次退後一步，我提到，隨著時間的推移，我們管理業務以實現穩定的利潤率，但你會得到正常的波動。從歷史上看，你可以回顧這些年，你會看到大約 1 個點的波動，從低到高，以及跨週期的利潤率表現。

So it's incredibly tight on an annual basis. But just because of the nature of the model, the assortment change and the mix change in, you're going to see those quarter-over-quarter changes. And so particularly, when you're comparing a great Q1 this year versus Q1 last year, that was on the lower side. And then conversely, we're looking at Q2, which was high last year.

所以它每年都非常緊張。但僅僅因為模型的性質、分類變化和混合變化，你將看到這些季度環比變化。特別是，當你將今年的第一季度與去年的第一季度進行比較時，它處於較低的一邊。然後相反，我們正在關注去年第二季度的高位。

So I think there's a bit of that dynamic just the year-over-year in a particular quarter. But overall, we're really pleased with the way that we're managing margin, particularly in light of the cost environment.

所以我認為在特定的季度中，年復一年會有一些這種動態。但總的來說，我們對我們管理利潤率的方式非常滿意，特別是考慮到成本環境。

Okay. Makes sense. I'm going to try and squeeze one more if I could. Can you remind us the pace of comps last year? And so the spirit of the question is that 5% that you're looking for, for the quarter, is that what you've seen quarter-to-date? Or maybe you're above that, but comparisons get harder, so that's how you expect the quarter to end up?

好的。說得通。如果可以的話，我會試著再擠一個。你能提醒我們去年的比賽節奏嗎？所以這個問題的精神是，你正在尋找的那個季度的 5% 是你在本季度看到的嗎？或者，也許您高於此水平，但比較變得更加困難，所以這就是您期望本季度結束的方式嗎？

Yes. It's really a comparison thing. So you think again about the ramp of comp we saw last year as we're looking at stacked comps from Q1 into Q2 and informing our guide. For both the second quarter and the balance of the year, we're looking at it on a sort of a stacked comp basis as well as translating that into average weekly sales at the store to understand normal patterns, and that's the nature of the guide.

是的。這真的是一個比較的東西。因此，當我們查看從第一季度到第二季度的堆疊組合併告知我們的指南時，您再次考慮我們去年看到的組合的增加。對於第二季度和今年餘下時間，我們正在以一種疊加的比較為基礎來看待它，並將其轉化為商店的平均每週銷售額以了解正常模式，這就是指南的本質.

Got it. So it sounds like your stacked comps are pretty consistent because the second quarter stacked guidance is pretty much in line with first by 100 basis points or so.

知道了。所以聽起來你的堆疊比較非常一致，因為第二季度的堆疊指導與第一季度基本一致 100 個基點左右。

That's right.

這是正確的。

That does conclude our question-and-answer session. I'd now like to turn the call over to RJ Sheedy for closing remarks. Thank you, sir.

這確實結束了我們的問答環節。我現在想將電話轉給 RJ Sheedy 以作結束語。謝謝你，先生。

Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. We appreciate the support, and we look forward to updating you on the next call. Thanks.

謝謝大家今天加入我們。感謝您的支持，我們期待在下次通話時為您更新。謝謝。

Thank you very much, sir. And ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's conference. Thank you very much for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.

先生非常感謝您。女士們，先生們，今天的會議到此結束。非常感謝您加入我們。您現在可以斷開線路。