Grocery Outlet Holding Corp (GO) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Grocery Outlet's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加雜貨店 2024 年第一季獲利結果電話會議。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Christine Chen, VP of Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人，投資者關係副總裁 Christine Chen。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Good afternoon, and welcome to Grocery Outlet's call to discuss financial results for the first quarter for the period ending March 30, 2024. Speaking from management on today's call will be RJ Sheedy, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Lindsay Gray, Interim Chief Financial Officer and SVP of Accounting. Following prepared remarks from RJ and Lindsay, 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，歡迎參加 Grocery Outlet 的電話會議，討論截至 2024 年 3 月 30 日的第一季度財務業績。 Lindsay Gray，臨時財務長兼會計資深副總裁。在 RJ 和 Lindsay 準備好的演講之後，我們將開始提問。請注意，本次電話會議正在進行網路直播，錄音將在公司網站的投資者關係部分透過電話播放提供。

Participants on this call may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. 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 actual results to differ materially from these statements. 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.

本次電話會議的參與者可能會做出聯邦證券法意義內的前瞻性聲明。所有涉及未來營運、財務或業務績效或公司策略或預期的聲明均為前瞻性聲明。這些前瞻性陳述受到各種風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與這些陳述有重大差異。這些因素的描述可以在今天下午的新聞稿以及公司向 SEC 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。

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. We will be speaking to you today about our business results, progress and ongoing impact of our systems transition, strategic growth initiatives and outlook for 2024.

大家下午好，感謝您加入我們。今天，我們將與您討論我們的業務成果、進展和系統轉型的持續影響、策略成長計劃以及 2024 年展望。

Our sales and customer growth remained strong during the first quarter as we continue to deliver unbeatable value with an exciting treasure hunt experience. We are delivering continued increases in traffic and sales and our business fundamentals are healthy. Our low first quarter margins were the result of both expected and unexpected impacts from our systems transition. We've made good progress since our last call, resolving known issues and have ended the IO commission support program as planned. However, our results were incrementally impacted by unforeseen systems transition costs that surfaced at the end of the quarter. We are all very disappointed with our poor Q1 results, and we are committed to getting these system impacts behind us very soon.

我們的銷售和客戶成長在第一季保持強勁，我們繼續透過令人興奮的尋寶體驗提供無與倫比的價值。我們的流量和銷售額持續成長，我們的業務基本面也很健康。我們第一季的利潤率較低是系統轉型的預期和意外影響的結果。自上次通話以來，我們取得了良好進展，解決了已知問題，並按計劃結束了 IO 委員會支援計劃。然而，我們的業績逐漸受到本季末出現的不可預見的系統轉換成本的影響。我們都對第一季糟糕的業績感到非常失望，我們致力於盡快消除這些系統影響。

Let me start with business performance and then comment on the systems transition. Our first quarter sales exceeded our expectations, increasing 7.4%, driven by a 3.9% increase in comparable store sales, which accelerated throughout the quarter. Transaction count growth remained strong at 7%. Food inflation remains high, and we continue to deliver a compelling assortment of high-quality wow items that are driving traffic and sales growth. We opened 6 new stores in the quarter and recent vintage performance continues to ramp well and in line with expectations.

讓我從業務績效開始，然後評論系統轉型。我們第一季的銷售額超出了我們的預期，成長了 7.4%，這得益於可比商店銷售額成長 3.9%，整個季度的成長速度都在加速。交易數量成長依然強勁，達 7%。食品通膨仍然很高，我們繼續提供令人信服的高品質令人驚嘆的商品，推動客流量和銷售成長。我們在本季開設了 6 家新店，近期的復古業績持續良好成長，符合預期。

First quarter gross margin of 29.3% was 110 basis points below our expectations and includes approximately 210 basis points of impact from our systems transition issues. In late August, we upgraded our product, inventory, financial and reporting platforms. This transition has disrupted our business operationally and financially over the past 8 months as we discussed on our last 2 calls. In February, there were 2 large remaining system issues impacting profit. One was related to warehouse product expiry data and the other related to store level reporting. We have since resolved both of these and the negative impact to first quarter gross margin came in as expected at about 100 basis points.

第一季毛利率為 29.3%，比我們的預期低 110 個基點，其中包括系統轉型問題約 210 個基點的影響。 8月下旬，我們升級了產品、庫存、財務和報告平台。正如我們在最近兩次電話會議中所討論的那樣，這一轉變在過去 8 個月裡擾亂了我們的業務運營和財務。 2 月份，還有兩個影響利潤的大型系統問題。一個與​​倉庫產品過期資料相關，另一個與商店層級報告相關。此後我們已經解決了這兩個問題，對第一季毛利率的負面影響正如預期的那樣達到了約 100 個基點。

We've reduced warehouse shrink close to normal levels with better data visibility and accurate store-level reporting enabled us to end the commission support program in March. Lindsay will speak later about some residual expense from the commission support program that will extend through the end of the second quarter. While we are encouraged by this progress, we are disappointed that we did not foresee the additional 110 basis points of margin impact. This was quantified during catch-up invoice processing and final margin reconciliation at the end of the quarter. Delayed payment processes during Q1, combined with poor data visibility, contributed to this miss versus guidance. We are disappointed by this as it is below our performance and forecasting standards.

我們已將倉庫縮減率降低到接近正常水平，並提供了更好的數據可視性和準確的商店級報告，使我們能夠在 3 月結束佣金支援計畫。林賽稍後將談到委員會支持計劃的一些剩餘費用，該計劃將持續到第二季​​末。雖然我們對這項進展感到鼓舞，但我們對沒有預見到額外 110 個基點的利潤率影響感到失望。這是在季度末的追趕發票處理和最終利潤對帳過程中進行量化的。第一季支付流程的延遲，加上資料視覺性不佳，導致了這與預期的偏差。我們對此感到失望，因為它低於我們的績效和預測標準。

We have recently improved our payables process in the new system and have also increased our data visibility. Both of these improvements will enable us to manage the business back to historical margin levels and forecast with the same consistency as we did before.

我們最近改進了新系統中的應付帳款流程，並提高了資料可見度。這兩項改進將使我們能夠將業務管理回歷史利潤水平，並以與以前相同的一致性進行預測。

We continue to work through remaining system functionality and performance enhancements under the leadership of our new COO, Ramesh Chikkala. He has already provided great expertise to help us accelerate progress since he joined in January. We also continue to bring on many additional new resources to increase our in-house SAP capabilities. This decreases our reliance on third-party consultants and builds our internal expertise to manage these systems going forward.

在新任營運長 Ramesh Chikkala 的領導下，我們將繼續致力於剩餘的系統功能和效能增強。自從一月加入以來，他已經提供了豐富的專業知識來幫助我們加速進展。我們也持續引入許多額外的新資源來增強我們的內部 SAP 能力。這減少了我們對第三方顧問的依賴，並建立了我們的內部專業知識來管理這些系統的發展。

The team continues to focus on optimizing systems for efficiencies, enhancing functionality and improving visibility to operating data throughout the business. We are all frustrated by the size and duration of this disruption. It has been costly and our recent execution is well below our expectations. But this disruption is also temporary and fixable, and we are on the right path forward. We have made a tremendous amount of progress since last year, and we look forward to completing the work and seeing business results revert back to more normal levels very soon.

該團隊繼續專注於優化系統以提高效率、增強功能並提高整個企業營運數據的可見度。我們都對這次破壞的規模和持續時間感到沮喪。成本高昂，而且我們最近的執行情況遠低於我們的預期。但這種破壞也是暫時的、可以修復的，我們正走在正確的道路上。自去年以來，我們已經取得了巨大進展，我們期待完成工作並看到業務成果很快就恢復到更正常的水平。

Let me turn now to our healthy business fundamentals and growth initiatives. Recent customer surveys show that our brand awareness continues to increase, and our Net Promoter Score is near an all-time high. Customers are spending more of their dollars with us, and they indicate a high intent to spend even more in the next 12 months. Customers are very satisfied with product selection, reflecting healthy inventory and variety across all regions. Furthermore, we are seeing increases in satisfaction and spend across all customer segments with particular strength among middle to higher income customers.

現在讓我談談我們健康的業務基礎和成長計劃。最近的客戶調查顯示，我們的品牌知名度不斷提高，我們的淨推薦值接近歷史最高水準。客戶在我們這裡花費的錢越來越多，他們表現出在未來 12 個月內花費更多的強烈意願。客戶對產品選擇非常滿意，反映了所有地區的健康庫存和品種。此外，我們看到所有客戶群的滿意度和支出都在增加，其中中高收入客戶的實力尤其強勁。

The closeout buying environment remains very strong, and we are seeing great availability of product across all categories. We are highly selective in our purchasing decisions as we buy only a fraction of the available product we are offered. And our growing size and scale make us an even better partner as we were able to take more variety in volume across the wider geography.

清倉購買環境仍然非常強勁，我們看到所有類別的產品都有大量供應。我們在購買決策時非常挑剔，因為我們只購買所提供的可用產品的一小部分。我們不斷擴大的規模和規模使我們成為更好的合作夥伴，因為我們能夠在更廣泛的地區提供更多品種的產品。

We've also recently seen more opportunities as a result of $0.99 only entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy. We look forward to helping suppliers with surplus inventory challenges that were previously directed elsewhere. We recently held our annual supplier conference, where we met with many of our key partners. Some attendees were long-standing relationships while others were newer to the GO family. During this meeting, we engaged in strategic conversations to identify new opportunities and to form more integrated partnerships. New suppliers that attended the conference represent a group of over 600 new relationships that we established last year, and we are on track to add a similar number this year as well. We came away from the conference very encouraged with the opportunities in front of us and how we can strengthen partnerships further to grow our shared business.

我們最近也看到了更多機會，因為 0.99 美元才進入第 11 章破產法。我們期待幫助供應商應對以前在其他地方遇到的過剩庫存挑戰。我們最近舉行了年度供應商會議，並會見了許多主要合作夥伴。有些與會者是 GO 家族的長期合作夥伴，而有些則是新加入的。在這次會議期間，我們進行了策略對話，以發現新的機會並形成更一體化的合作夥伴關係。出席會議的新供應商代表了我們去年建立的 600 多個新關係，今年我們也有望增加類似的數量。會議結束後，我們對眼前的機會以及如何進一步加強合作關係以發展我們的共同業務感到非常鼓舞。

Transitioning now to our stores. Operators have been doing a great job selecting localized assortments and executing value merchandising to represent the WOW! shopping experience to their customers. They and their teams also engage with shoppers in a personalized way that is truly unique to this model. We see this resonating with strong results in customer count and sales growth.

現在轉移到我們的商店。營運商在選擇在地化品種和執行價值行銷方面做得非常出色，以代表 WOW！為顧客帶來購物體驗。他們和他們的團隊也以這種模式真正獨特的個人化方式與購物者互動。我們看到這與客戶數量和銷售成長的強勁成果產生了共鳴。

Year-to-date, operator income has increased. Voluntary turnover levels remain low and interest in becoming an operator continues to be at an all-time high. Becoming an IO is a highly selective process as we accept less than 1% of interested candidates from our annual leads of over 30,000. Our selective recruiting process, combined with a comprehensive training program continues to produce high-quality operators. We look forward to being together with all operators during our annual regional roadshow that starts this Friday and extends through all of next week. This is an opportunity to update them on business initiatives, hear their feedback and input, and strengthen the partnership that makes this business so unique.

年初至今，營運商收入有所增加。自願離職率仍然很低，而成為營運商的興趣仍然處於歷史最高水平。成為 IO 是一個嚴格篩選的過程，因為我們在每年 30,000 多名潛在客戶中只接受不到 1% 的興趣候選人。我們的選擇性招募流程與全面的培訓計畫相結合，不斷培養出高素質的操作員。我們期待與所有運營商一起參加從本週五開始並持續到下週的年度區域路演。這是一個向他們介紹業務計劃最新情況、聽取他們的反饋和意見並加強使該業務如此獨特的合作夥伴關係的機會。

Turning now to store growth. Our new stores are opening ahead of schedule and are performing to plan. We opened 6 stores during the first quarter, increasing our store count to 474 locations at quarter end. We've opened 6 additional new stores so far in the second quarter and are positioned well for openings in the second half of the year. In addition, we completed the United Grocery Outlet acquisition on April 1, which added 40 stores across 6 new states. Given the health of our store opening schedule, we now expect to add 58 to 62 new stores this year, including UGO. The midpoint of this range represents store growth of 13% over last year. We remain in a strong position to deliver 10% new store growth in 2025. Our 2025 pipeline is robust, and our organic real estate activities are now focused on building the 2026 and 2027 pipeline. We also continue to evaluate opportunistic real estate as a complement to our organic growth efforts.

現在轉向商店增長。我們的新店提前開業，並按計劃進行。我們在第一季開設了 6 家商店，到季末將商店數量增加到 474 家。到目前為止，我們在第二季已經新開了 6 家新店，並為今年下半年的開幕做好了準備。此外，我們於 4 月 1 日完成了對 United Grocery Outlet 的收購，在 6 個新州增加了 40 家商店。鑑於我們開店計畫的順利進行，我們現在預計今年將新增 58 至 62 家新店，其中包括 UGO。該範圍的中點表示商店比去年增長了 13%。我們仍然有能力在 2025 年實現 10% 的新店成長。我們也繼續評估機會主義房地產，作為我們有機成長努力的補充。

We successfully completed the UGO acquisition on April 1, and integration is proceeding well. Fully integrating the business and rebranding the stores will take time, but we are very encouraged by the progress so far. We have many levers to accelerate sales growth in partnership with the United Grocery Outlet team. Our near-term integration focus is on expanding the assortment, investing in store refreshes and new fixtures and introducing some of our marketing programs to the Southeast region. We also look forward to leveraging the multi-temp distribution center to access more opportunistic product that can benefit both Grocery Outlet and UGO stores.

我們於4月1日成功完成UGO的收購，整合工作進展順利。全面整合業務和重塑商店品牌需要時間，但我們對迄今為止所取得的進展感到非常鼓舞。我們與 United Grocery Outlet 團隊合作，擁有多種手段來加速銷售成長。我們近期的整合重點是擴大產品種類、投資商店更新和新設備以及將我們的一些行銷計劃引入東南地區。我們也期待利用多臨時配送中心獲得更多機會主義產品，使 Grocery Outlet 和 UGO 商店受益。

Next, we completed the rollout of our personalization app to all Grocery Outlet stores during the first quarter. The app allows us to communicate our weekly deals to customers and customize their treasure hunt experience. We are encouraged by the initial customer response with over 400,000 total downloads so far and Q1 sales penetration of 6%. Over time, we believe the app will create increased customer loyalty through greater engagement, which will help drive trip frequency and share of wallet.

接下來，我們在第一季完成了向所有 Grocery Outlet 商店推出個人化應用程式。該應用程式使我們能夠向客戶傳達每週優惠並自訂他們的尋寶體驗。我們對最初的客戶反應感到鼓舞，迄今為止總下載量已超過 40 萬次，第一季銷售滲透率為 6%。隨著時間的推移，我們相信該應用程式將透過更大的參與度來提高客戶忠誠度，這將有助於提高旅行頻率和錢包份額。

Finally, we are very excited to be introducing our private label program to stores in the third quarter. As we have previously discussed, this is a program that we have been working on for the past year, which we believe will become another key differentiator providing even more value and excitement for our customers. The first items to hit the stores will be in the beverage and grocery categories. These initial products will be followed by additional items in both of these categories as well as within the dairy, household and baking categories. In addition to better value an inventory consistency for our customers, these initial products will deliver better margin for Grocery Outlet and IOs. We remain on track to introduce approximately 100 new private label SKUs by the end of the year.

最後，我們非常高興能夠在第三季向商店推出我們的自有品牌計劃。正如我們之前討論的，這是我們在過去一年中一直致力於的一個計劃，我們相信這將成為另一個關鍵的差異化因素，為我們的客戶提供更多價值和興奮。第一批進入商店的商品將是飲料和雜貨類別。這些初始產品之後將在這兩個類別以及乳製品、家庭和烘焙類別中推出其他產品。除了為我們的客戶更好地重視庫存一致性之外，這些初始產品還將為雜貨店和 IO 帶來更好的利潤。我們仍有望在今年底前推出約 100 個新的自有品牌 SKU。

In closing, I remain very confident in our business fundamentals and our ability to realize our long-term growth potential. Our differentiated model and value proposition continued to be the drivers of our strong sales growth. We are a unique specialty discount retailer with a long history of consistently high top line sales growth, and our future growth algorithm remains intact.

最後，我對我們的業務基本面和實現長期成長潛力的能力仍然充滿信心。我們的差異化模式和價值主張仍然是我們強勁銷售成長的驅動力。我們是一家獨特的專業折扣零售商，長期以來一直保持高收入銷售成長，並且我們未來的成長演算法保持不變。

Our mission is touching lives for the better, and the positive impact that we have on people increases as our business grows. We are aggressively pursuing the tremendous white space in front of us of operating over 4,000 stores in the U.S., and we look forward to introducing our brand to new communities as we expand.

我們的使命是讓生活變得更美好，隨著我們業務的發展，我們對人們的正面影響也隨之增加。我們正在積極尋求在美國經營 4,000 多家商店的巨大空白，並期待隨著我們的擴張將我們的品牌引入新的社區。

I want to thank our amazing IOs for their partnership and for delivering outstanding service and value to our customers. Thanks also to the entire GO team for their dedication and perseverance, which enable us to support our IO partners and customers. I also want to say thank you to all Grocery Outlet partners and shareholders for their support and patience as we have worked through the systems transition. This is a great business, and we are committed to getting results back on track to achieve our bright expectations for future growth.

我要感謝我們出色的 IO 的合作以及為我們的客戶提供卓越的服務和價值。也要感謝整個 GO 團隊的奉獻和堅持，這使我們能夠支持我們的 IO 合作夥伴和客戶。我還要感謝所有 Grocery Outlet 合作夥伴和股東在我們完成系統過渡過程中的支持和耐心。這是一項偉大的業務，我們致力於讓業績重回正軌，以實現我們對未來成長的美好期望。

And now I would like to introduce you to Lindsay Gray, Interim CFO and SVP of Accounting to discuss our financials.

現在我想向您介紹臨時財務長兼會計高級副總裁林賽·格雷 (Lindsay Gray)，與您討論我們的財務狀況。

Thanks, RJ, and good afternoon, everyone. Our first quarter results reflect strong top line sales growth, driven by a 7% increase in comp transactions. The integration of our new systems led to higher-than-anticipated costs, which impacted our margins, leading to results below our expectations.

謝謝，RJ，大家下午好。我們第一季的業績反映了強勁的營收成長，這是由比較交易成長 7% 推動的。我們新系統的整合導致成本高於預期，這影響了我們的利潤，導致結果低於我們的預期。

Net sales increased 7.4% to $1.04 billion due to a 3.9% increase in comparable store sales. Comp transaction growth of 7% was partially offset by a 2.9% decline in our average basket. We opened 6 new stores during the quarter, ending with 474 locations. We remain pleased with the performance of new stores and store openings are tracking ahead of schedule.

由於可比商店銷售額成長 3.9%，淨銷售額成長 7.4%，達到 10.4 億美元。 7% 的比較交易成長被我們的平均籃子 2.9% 的下降部分抵消。本季我們新開了 6 家門市，門市數量達到 474 家。我們對新店的業績仍然感到滿意，而且新店開業正在提前進行。

Our first quarter gross profit increased 1.1% to $303.9 million. Our gross margin rate of 29.3% was impacted by our system integration, which we estimate was approximately 210 basis points in the quarter, 110 basis points higher than we originally expected, as RJ previously discussed. SG&A expense increased 13.3% to $303.4 million compared to the first quarter of 2023. This includes $12.4 million from commission support that we elected to provide as a result of our system upgrades. It also includes increased depreciation and amortization expense and higher store occupancy costs related to new store growth.

我們第一季的毛利成長 1.1%，達到 3.039 億美元。我們 29.3% 的毛利率受到系統整合的影響，我們估計本季毛利率約為 210 個基點，比我們最初預期的高 110 個基點，正如 RJ 之前討論的那樣。與 2023 年第一季相比，SG&A 費用增加 13.3%，達到 3.034 億美元。它還包括增加的折舊和攤提費用以及與新店成長相關的更高的商店佔用成本。

Net interest expense decreased 46.3% to $3.2 million, driven by a reduction in net borrowings versus the prior year. We recognized a tax benefit of $1.6 million during the quarter, a result of pretax book loss combined with excess tax benefits related to the exercise of stock options. GAAP net loss for the first quarter was $1 million or $0.01 per share. Adjusted EBITDA was $39.4 million for the quarter, and our adjusted EBITDA margin was 3.8% of sales. Adjusted net income was $8.8 million for the quarter or $0.09 per diluted share.

由於淨借款較前一年減少，淨利息支出下降 46.3% 至 320 萬美元。我們在本季度確認了 160 萬美元的稅收優惠，這是稅前帳面虧損加上與行使股票選擇權相關的超額稅收優惠的結果。第一季 GAAP 淨虧損為 100 萬美元，即每股 0.01 美元。本季調整後 EBITDA 為 3,940 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為銷售額的 3.8%。本季調整後淨利為 880 萬美元，或攤薄後每股收益 0.09 美元。

Turning to our balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $66.9 million of cash. Inventory at the end of the quarter totaled $362.7 million. Total debt was $291 million at the end of the first quarter with net leverage less than 1x adjusted EBITDA.

轉向我們的資產負債表。本季結束時，我們的現金為 6,690 萬美元。該季度末的庫存總額為 3.627 億美元。第一季末總負債為 2.91 億美元，淨槓桿比率低於調整後 EBITDA 的 1 倍。

Now on to guidance. Forecasting has been difficult during the system transition as we have not had good visibility to our normal business reporting and tools. Compounding this have been data integration issues and new processes that we and our operators are adapting to within new applications. Our guidance takes us into consideration as we complete final stages of our stabilization work.

現在開始指導。在系統過渡期間進行預測非常困難，因為我們對正常業務報告和工具沒有良好的可見性。使這一問題更加複雜的是資料整合問題以及我們和我們的營運商正在新應用程式中適應的新流程。當我們完成穩定工作的最後階段時，我們的指導會考慮到我們。

Our fiscal 2024 guidance continues to assume incremental sales of approximately $125 million, adjusted EBITDA of $7 million and a modest benefit to adjusted EPS from the acquisition of UGO. For the full year, we are now projecting comp sales growth in the range of 3.5% to 4.5%, up from 3% to 4% to reflect better-than-expected first quarter sales. We expect comp growth in the second quarter to be approximately 3.2%, which reflects a 100 basis points Easter shift out of Q2 into Q1. We now expect to add a total of 58 to 62 net new stores this year, up from 55 to 60. This includes the 40 newly acquired United Grocery Outlet stores as well as 18 to 22 new Grocery Outlet stores. In total, we continue to project fiscal 2024 net sales of $4.3 billion to $4.35 billion.

我們的 2024 財年指引繼續假設增量銷售額約為 1.25 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 700 萬美元，並且收購 UGO 會為調整後每股收益帶來適度的好處。對於全年，我們目前預計同銷量成長在 3.5% 至 4.5% 範圍內，高於預期的 3% 至 4%，以反映優於預期的第一季銷售。我們預計第二季的複合成長率約為 3.2%，這反映出復活節從第二季到第一季的轉變為 100 個基點。我們目前預計今年將淨增 58 至 62 家新店，從 55 家增至 60 家。總體而言，我們繼續預期 2024 財年淨銷售額為 43 億至 43.5 億美元。

For the full fiscal year, we now project gross margin of approximately 30.5%. We expect gross margin for the second quarter of approximately 30.0%, which includes an estimated 100 basis point impact from the systems transition. This is due to residual expense from our commission support program as we finish store physical inventory counts in the second quarter. We expect gross margins to increase sequentially in the back half of the year.

對於整個財年，我們目前預計毛利率約為 30.5%。我們預計第二季的毛利率約為 30.0%，其中包括系統轉型帶來的約 100 個基點的影響。這是由於我們在第二季完成商店實體庫存盤點後佣金支援計畫產生的剩餘費用。我們預計下半年毛利率將環比上升。

For the full fiscal year, we now expect adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $252 million to $260 million. We expect second quarter adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 5.4%, which also includes some residual SG&A expense from the end of the commission support program. For the year, we now expect D&A to grow in the mid-20s on a percentage basis, reflecting an updated forecast for the impact of store growth, the United Grocery Outlet acquisition and infrastructure reinvestments. We expect stock-based compensation of approximately $34 million. Net interest expense is anticipated to be approximately $21 million. We continue to forecast a normalized tax rate of 30%. We now expect average diluted shares outstanding of approximately 101 million, down from 102 million due to lower share count from share repurchases.

對於整個財年，我們目前預計調整後 EBITDA 將在 2.52 億美元至 2.6 億美元之間。我們預計第二季調整後 EBITDA 利潤率約為 5.4%，其中還包括佣金支持計畫結束後的一些剩餘 SG&A 費用。今年，我們預計 D&A 將以百分比計算在 20 多歲左右成長，反映了對商店成長、聯合雜貨店收購和基礎設施再投資影響的最新預測。我們預計股票薪酬約為 3400 萬美元。淨利息支出預計約 2,100 萬美元。我們繼續預測正常化稅率為 30%。由於股票回購帶來的股份數量減少，我們目前預計攤薄後的平均已發行股數約為 1.01 億股，低於 1.02 億股。

We now expect CapEx, net of tenant allowances of approximately $175 million, reflecting higher new store growth and consistent investments in existing fleet upgrades, including anticipated UGO store capital improvements, as well as ongoing investments in technology, supply chain and infrastructure. We now expect full year adjusted EPS to be in the range of $0.89 to $0.95 per diluted share.

我們現在預計扣除租戶津貼後的資本支出約為1.75 億美元，反映出更高的新店成長和對現有店群升級的持續投資，包括預期的UGO 店資本改善，以及對技術、供應鏈和基礎設施的持續投資。我們目前預計全年調整後每股攤薄每股收益將在 0.89 美元至 0.95 美元之間。

In closing, I would like to take a moment to thank our incredible team of independent operators and employees for continuing their hard work and dedication to serving our customers. Our underlying business remains strong, and we are well positioned for long-term growth.

最後，我想花點時間感謝我們令人難以置信的獨立運營商和員工團隊繼續努力工作並致力於為我們的客戶提供服務。我們的基礎業務仍然強勁，並且為長期成長做好了準備。

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

我們現在將開始電話會議，回答您的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Robbie Ohmes with Bank of America.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自美國銀行的 Robbie Ohmes。

My first question is just maybe RJ, can you walk us through why this couldn't kind of happen again in the second quarter? Why we -- as you progress through this quarter, you couldn't have variances and kind of have this happen similar to what happened in the first quarter.

我的第一個問題可能是 RJ，你能告訴我們為什麼這種情況不會在第二季再次發生嗎？為什麼我們——當你在本季度取得進展時，你不可能出現差異，並且會發生類似於第一季發生的情況。

Sure. Yes, Robbie. First, let me say again that we're disappointed that we're still experiencing these issues. And to this extent, it was a big upgrade with a lot of learnings along the way and work continues. That said, we do continue to make good progress cleaning up many of the data integration issues we've been dealing with. We've been learning new processes as mentioned. And important to note that we've been bringing back critical reporting and visibility, which led to some of the impact in the [misversus] guidance in the first quarter.

當然。是的，羅比。首先，讓我再說一遍，我們對仍然遇到這些問題感到失望。從這個意義上說，這是一次重大升級，一路上學到了很多東西，工作仍在繼續。也就是說，我們確實在解決我們一直在處理的許多資料整合問題方面繼續取得良好進展。如前所述，我們一直在學習新流程。值得注意的是，我們一直在恢復關鍵報告和可見性，這對第一季的[錯誤]指導產生了一些影響。

More recently, Ramesh has brought great leadership to the team. He's helping us be better organized with our cleanup efforts and approach. It's given us much better time lines and knowledge of the work remaining with the right plan to pursue it. So we feel good about the progress there. We've also been increasing third-party support where needed as well as hiring more talent to the team. We've been adding our own SAP capabilities, which has reduced our reliance on consultants in this area, all of this to just give us better control together with the progress that we've made. We're in a better place now than we were a couple of months ago. So feel good about that and feel like we are -- and we do have our arms around where we are and still what's in front of us.

最近，拉梅什為團隊帶來了出色的領導力。他幫助我們更好地組織我們的清理工作和方法。它為我們提供了更好的時間表和對剩餘工作的了解，並制定了正確的計劃來實現它。所以我們對那裡的進展感到滿意。我們還根據需要增加了第三方支持，並為團隊聘請了更多人才。我們一直在添加自己的 SAP 功能，這減少了我們對這一領域顧問的依賴，所有這些都是為了讓我們能夠更好地控制我們所取得的進展。我們現在的處境比幾個月前更好。因此，對此感覺良好，並感覺我們確實如此 - 我們確實擁抱我們所在的地方，並且仍然是我們面前的東西。

I'll also mention just 2 in terms of the work that we're focused on right now, 3 primary areas. One is continuing to bring more operating data and metrics back online to help us manage the business. The second one is optimizing the system for improved functionality. And then the third area is improving the system for process efficiencies. And so again, while we're disappointed by the size and duration of the impact, it is temporary, it is fixable. We fixed a lot and we're aware of the work that's remaining.

我也會提及我們目前關注的工作中的 2 個，即 3 個主要領域。一是繼續將更多營運數據和指標重新上線，以幫助我們管理業務。第二個是優化系統以改進功能。第三個領域是改進系統以提高流程效率。同樣，雖然我們對影響的規模和持續時間感到失望，但它是暫時的，是可以修復的。我們修復了很多問題，並且知道剩下的工作。

And as far as the guidance goes, as Lindsay said, forecasting has clearly been difficult due to more limited visibility. The good news is that we have brought back visibility to help us better manage the business and better forecast. And all of that considered, we're trying to be and we are being, we believe, prudent with our updated guidance. In terms of Q2, and then for the year, we think it accurately reflects where we are right now, what's in front of us, while also taking into consideration some recent variations that we've seen relative to expectations.

正如 Lindsay 所說，就指導意見而言，由於能見度有限，預測顯然很困難。好消息是，我們恢復了可見性，以幫助我們更好地管理業務並更好地進行預測。考慮到所有這些，我們正在努力並且我們相信我們正在對更新的指導保持謹慎。就第二季以及今年而言，我們認為它準確地反映了我們現在的處境、我們面前的情況，同時也考慮到了我們最近看到的相對於預期的一些變化。

And underlying, just maybe the last comment here, underlying all of this -- important to say that we continue to be really pleased with business fundamentals. They are healthy. We're seeing great top line growth. Our new systems, while still impacting us on the P&L, they are supporting daily business operations well. And also pleased that we've been able to make great progress on some of our long-term initiatives. So all of that sets us up well, not just for this year but for growth as we look forward.

從根本上說，也許是這裡的最後一條評論，是所有這一切的基礎——重要的是，我們仍然對業務基本面感到非常滿意。他們很健康。我們看到收入大幅成長。我們的新系統雖然仍然對我們的損益產生影響，但它們很好地支援了日常業務運作。我們也很高興能夠在一些長期計劃上取得巨大進展。因此，所有這些都為我們奠定了良好的基礎，不僅是為了今年，也是為了我們未來的成長。

And my follow-up is that, I think you mentioned IO interest kind of being at all-time highs. What -- why is that? Is it something in the environment, and there's been no sort of loss of confidence related to the systems disruptions on the IO pipeline.

我的後續行動是，我認為您提到 IO 興趣處於歷史最高水平。什麼——這是為什麼？這是環境中的問題嗎？

Speaking first to just where IOs are relative to the systems, I'd say they're very encouraged to have store level reporting back, which has enabled them to manage the business as they did before. We're all happy that the improvements have allowed us to come off of the protection program. So that's good for them and for us. They're starting to see the benefits of the system now that we've stabilized a lot of it compared to what we had before. That's a positive. And then as we do continued work to bring back data visibility along with functionality, along with efficiencies as well, they'll enjoy even more of those benefits. So all of that is feeling really good to them. We've been in close communication with them throughout. And the partnership is strong. I think it's made the partnership even stronger what we've (inaudible) worked through together. So that's where they are in terms of the systems.

首先談到 IO 與系統的關係，我想說他們非常鼓勵獲得商店級別的報告，這使他們能夠像以前一樣管理業務。我們都很高興這些改進使我們擺脫了保護計劃。所以這對他們和我們都有好處。他們開始看到該系統的好處，因為與以前相比，我們已經穩定了許多系統。這是積極的。然後，當我們繼續努力恢復資料可見性、功能和效率時，他們將享受更多這些好處。所以這一切對他們來說感覺真的很好。我們自始至終都與他們保持密切溝通。而且合作關係很牢固。我認為這使得我們（聽不清楚）共同努力的合作關係變得更加牢固。這就是他們在系統方面的情況。

In terms of just interest in the business and on the recruiting side and where the pipeline stands, I'd say it's the same things that have always attracted people to this model. They have the opportunity to own and operate their own business. Many of them are working together side by side with family as the partnership is and oftentimes extended family, helping them working in the store. The independence is a big part of why they come here. They get to order their own product, they get to merchandise it, how they see fit, they cater to the needs of their local customer, they love that, they love the opportunity to give back. It's a big part of our mission and resonates strongly with operators coming in. And of course, there's financial upside as well. There's no cap to the commission. And as they grow their sales and manage margin in their stores, they get to enjoy in that along with the benefit that it has to the business.

就對業務、招聘方面以及管道的興趣而言，我想說，正是這些因素一直吸引著人們採用這種模式。他們有機會擁有並經營自己的事業。他們中的許多人與家人並肩工作，因為合作夥伴關係通常是大家庭，幫助他們在商店工作。獨立是他們來到這裡的一個重要原因。他們可以訂購自己的產品，他們可以以他們認為合適的方式進行銷售，他們滿足當地客戶的需求，他們喜歡這樣，他們喜歡回饋的機會。這是我們使命的重要組成部分，並且與進來的運營商產生了強烈的共鳴。佣金沒有上限。當他們增加銷售額並管理商店的利潤時，他們就可以享受其中以及它對業務的好處。

And so all of those things -- they understand and those that have been part of the recruiting process have understood some of the system challenges. They view it similarly to us and existing operators as temporary in nature, and we are getting past it and they think about the long-term growth potential of this business and all of the attributes that come with being an operator, which continue to be really attractive.

因此，所有這些事情——他們理解，參與招募過程的人也理解一些系統挑戰。他們與我們和現有運營商類似，認為它本質上是暫時的，我們正在克服它，他們考慮這項業務的長期增長潛力以及作為運營商所帶來的所有屬性，這些屬性仍然是真正的吸引人的。

The next question comes from Krisztina Katai with Deutsche Bank.

下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Krisztina Katai。

I wanted to follow up on the system conversion issues that you experienced and just ask if, in particular, what is still negatively impacting you as we sit here in the second quarter. And RJ, I think you said the Grocery Outlet will return to more normalized operations. I think the word set was very soon. So how best to think about the time line for this to be fully behind us? And do you still think that gross margin can reach 31% or higher once these issues are behind us?

我想跟進您所經歷的系統轉換問題，並詢問當我們在第二季度坐在這裡時，特別是哪些因素仍然對您產生負面影響。 RJ，我想你說過雜貨店將恢復更正常化的運作。我認為單字設定很快。那麼如何最好地考慮這一切完全過去的時間表呢？當這些問題過去後，您是否仍然認為毛利率可以達到31%或更高？

Yes. Let me speak first to the residual impact cost in the second quarter, and then I'll talk to the second part or the longer-term view part of your question. We did -- we fixed store level reporting at March, already talked about that, which has allowed us to end the commission protection program going forward.

是的。讓我先談談第二季的殘餘影響成本，然後我會談談你問題的第二部分或長期觀點部分。我們做到了——我們在三月固定了商店級別的報告，已經討論過這一點，這使我們能夠終止未來的佣金保護計劃。

Important to note that store margins and IO commissions are determined when we take physical inventory counts in the store, typically this happens 3 to 4x per year for the average store. And this residual costs that we are talking about in the second quarter relates to certain elements of margin and commission, which can only be calculated after a full inventory period has been completed. Those counts are happening now, and they will be complete for all stores in June. So this is what is reflected in the 100 basis points lower margin that we talked about as residual cost in the second quarter. It also relates to within our guidance for slightly higher commission and SG&A for the commission that also will be paid in the second quarter.

值得注意的是，商店利潤率和 IO 佣金是在我們統計商店中的實際庫存數量時確定的，對於普通商店來說，這種情況通常每年發生 3 到 4 次。我們在第二季討論的剩餘成本與保證金和佣金的某些要素有關，只有在完整的庫存期完成後才能計算。這些統計工作正在進行中，並將於 6 月完成所有商店的統計工作。這就是我們所說的第二季剩餘成本下降 100 個基點的利潤率所反映的。這也與我們的指導中略微較高的佣金以及也將在第二季支付的佣金的銷售及一般管理費用有關。

What's important to note about this is that it's time down specific to the physical inventory count schedule. This is not a situation where we need to fix something that's still not working in the system. And we're in the middle of that work. That's been fixed. It's just residual and according to the physical accounts and the way that margin and commission is calculated. So that's the explanation for the ongoing cost in Q2 as we quantify that.

需要注意的是，具體到實際庫存盤點計畫的時間有所減少。在這種情況下，我們不需要修復系統中仍然無法正常運作的東西。我們正在進行這項工作。這已經解決了。這只是剩餘的，根據實際帳戶以及保證金和佣金的計算方式。這就是我們量化第二季持續成本的原因。

In terms of our belief or conviction in the underlying health of gross margin, I will tell you that the product margin pressure that we've been experiencing is entirely due to the system transition issues and more specifically, data visibility and more difficulty managing margin as a result. That's both for us and for the operators. We both play an important role in managing margin. We've quantified it specific to what we've discussed, these different issues that we've been experiencing it. And the underlying health of margin is there.

就我們對毛利率基本健康狀況的信念或信念而言，我會告訴您，我們所經歷的產品利潤壓力完全是由於系統轉換問題，更具體地說，數據可見性和管理利潤的難度更大一個結果。這對我們和營運商來說都是如此。我們都在管理利潤方面發揮著重要作用。我們已經根據我們所討論的內容以及我們所經歷的這些不同問題對其進行了量化。利潤率的基本健康狀況就在那裡。

We're continuing to see great list of deals. Opportunistic supply continues to be really healthy. We're managing everyday side of the business really well. And so the underlying health and structure of the margin is there. And once we get past this impact in the second quarter, we do believe that we will revert back and you'll see the more normalized margins for the business as we get into the third quarter and fourth quarter, and that's reflected in guidance for the year. You can look at or do the math on the margin in the second half, and you'll see the expectation there is to refer back to healthier levels.

我們繼續看到大量優惠。機會主義供應仍然非常健康。我們對日常業務的管理非常好。因此，利潤率的基本健康狀況和結構就在那裡。一旦我們在第二季度克服了這種影響，我們確實相信我們會恢復正常，當我們進入第三季度和第四季度時，您會看到業務利潤率更加正常化，這反映在對年。你可以在下半年查看或計算利潤，你會看到人們期望回到更健康的水平。

And just as a follow-up, also, I guess, regarding gross margins, but you mentioned that $0.99 only is liquidating, and they were certainly a large part of the secondary sourcing market. I just love to get your thoughts on how you think about the benefit that Grocery Outlet can see to further capitalize on the favorable buying environment. And do you foresee any potential gross margin benefit as a result of that in the medium to long term?

作為後續行動，我想，關於毛利率，但你提到 0.99 美元只是清算，而且它們肯定是二級採購市場的很大一部分。我只是想了解您如何看待 Grocery Outlet 進一步利用有利的購買環境所帶來的好處。您預計中長期內會因此而帶來任何潛在的毛利率收益嗎？

Thanks, Krisztina. In regards to $0.99 only, yes, we do -- and we have already started to see some benefit there. As I mentioned in my comments, we've seen product come our way that was previously directed to them and that we do expect that to be ongoing as they were a notable participant in the space for opportunistic product. And so we're excited about helping suppliers with the opportunities there where they previously would have sold to $0.99 only. So that helps us, of course, with offering great value to customers. As it relates to opportunistic products, we enjoy healthy margins there and helps the assortment overall. So we're excited for that.

謝謝，克里斯蒂娜。僅就 0.99 美元而言，是的，我們確實這樣做——而且我們已經開始看到這方面的一些好處。正如我在評論中提到的，我們已經看到以前針對他們的產品出現在我們面前，我們確實希望這種情況能夠持續下去，因為他們是機會主義產品領域的著名參與者。因此，我們很高興能夠幫助供應商抓住這些機會，而以前他們的售價僅為 0.99 美元。當然，這有助於我們為客戶提供巨大的價值。由於它涉及機會主義產品，我們在那裡享有可觀的利潤，並有助於整體品種的發展。所以我們對此感到興奮。

I'll also mention, just while we're on this topic, we see some potential real estate opportunities here as well. So we are looking at some of the real estate that's come available from the $0.99 only situation to see if there's any there that can fit our real estate portfolio. We're mindful of growth rate next year and other components that go into growth that we've talked about in the past. But we do want to take advantage of good real estate opportunities as they're available there, as they're going through that process. So we look forward to anything that might come there.

我還要提到，就在我們討論這個主題時，我們也在這裡看到了一些潛在的房地產機會。因此，我們正在研究一些僅售 0.99 美元的房地產，看看是否有適合我們的房地產投資組合的房地產。我們關註明年的成長率以及我們過去討論過的其他成長因素。但我們確實希望利用良好的房地產機會，因為它們正在經歷這個過程。所以我們期待任何可能發生的事情。

And then last, I'd say it's a good opportunity to attract customers to Grocery Outlet. We do have some overlap with them. It's a different shop, but we have overlap with them. And certainly so in markets where stores are in close proximity, and so we've been doing some work to target those customers to help them look to save money with us where previously they may have been shopping with $0.99 only, potentially store operators as well, store employees for operators, and so we think there are a number of areas where we could benefit from those stores closing.

最後，我想說這是一個吸引顧客來到雜貨店的好機會。我們確實與他們有一些重疊。這是一家不同的商店，但我們與他們有重疊。當然，在商店距離很近的市場中也是如此，因此我們一直在做一些工作來瞄準這些客戶，幫助他們在我們這裡省錢，而以前他們可能只花 0.99 美元購物，也可能是商店經營者，營運商的商店員工，因此我們認為我們可以從這些商店的關閉中受益於許多領域。

The next question comes from Oliver Chen with TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Oliver Chen。

What happened with respect to customer impact? And how have you been managing that process as well. And I also would love your thoughts on pricing in terms of a private label opportunity or pricing trends that you're seeing. We're seeing a lot of bifurcation across the sector with pricing and other retailers as well.

對客戶的影響發生了什麼事？您是如何管理流程的？我也很想聽聽您對自有品牌機會或您所看到的定價趨勢的定價的想法。我們看到整個行業在定價和其他零售商方面存在許多分歧。

Oliver, thanks for the questions. In terms of customer impact, it was really minimal in the first quarter, came in below our expectations. We talked before about 50 basis point potential impact to Q1 comps. We think it came in well below that. Inventory has been healthy, variety is healthy. As far as the ongoing impacts of the systems go really not impacting the customer experience, I mentioned that. It's supporting daily operations well. And so we don't see it really in the customer experience or in the comps that were part of our Q1 results. So we feel good about that.

奧利佛，謝謝你的提問。就客戶影響而言，第一季的影響確實很小，低於我們的預期。我們之前討論過 50 個基點對第一季比較的潛在影響。我們認為它的排名遠低於此。庫存健康，品種健康。我提到過，就係統的持續影響而言，確實不會影響客戶體驗。它很好地支援了日常運營。因此，我們在客戶體驗或第一季業績的比較中並沒有真正看到這一點。所以我們對此感覺良好。

To your question around pricing and value, always paying close attention to value. We're managing pricing accordingly to what competitors are doing. The promotional environment remains very rational. It's increased a little bit, but nothing that we haven't seen before. We're offering great value. We see it in results from customer surveys and satisfaction levels. We're certainly seeing it in traffic trends and overall top line growth. So we feel good about that.

對於您關於定價和價值的問題，始終密切注意價值。我們根據競爭對手的做法來管理定價。促銷環境仍然非常理性。它增加了一點，但沒有我們以前見過的。我們提供巨大的價值。我們從客戶調查和滿意度的結果中看到了這一點。我們確實在流量趨勢和整體營收成長中看到了這一點。所以我們對此感覺良好。

And then you mentioned private label. We're really excited about introducing private label in the third quarter this year. As I've mentioned before, private label will be an enhancement to our everyday assortment in a couple of different ways. One is value. I always think about value first. These items will provide better value for customers relative to items that they may be replacing, and that is the case with some of them. Other items that we're introducing are new adds to the assortment and better value certainly to what they might be paying elsewhere. And we also think about better margin for the business. That's for operators and for gross realities. We share that with commissions.

然後你提到了自有品牌。我們對今年第三季推出自有品牌感到非常興奮。正如我之前提到的，自有品牌將以幾種不同的方式增強我們的日常品種。一是價值。我總是先考慮價值。相對於他們可能更換的物品，這些物品將為客戶提供更好的價值，其中一些物品就是這種情況。我們推出的其他商品是品種中的新產品，並且肯定比他們在其他地方支付的價格更有價值。我們也考慮提高業務利潤率。這適用於運營商和現實情況。我們與佣金分享這一點。

And so we look forward to introducing few items we talked about, categories, grocery and beverage, we're starting there and then getting into some additional categories, dairy household and baking. The value of these items provide. And then lastly, I'd say another point of differentiation. Many of these items -- well, it will all be unique to us, but many of them will be more unique items, whether in the NOSH space, different formulations, new adds to the shop that create another reason for customers to shop our stores beyond just the value that they provide.

因此，我們期待介紹我們討論過的一些項目，類別、雜貨和飲料，我們從那裡開始，然後進入一些其他類別，乳製品家庭和烘焙。這些物品提供的價值。最後，我想說另一個區別點。其中許多商品對我們來說都是獨一無二的，但其中許多商品將是更獨特的商品，無論是在NOSH 空間、不同的配方、商店的新產品，這些都為顧客在我們的商店購物創造了另一個理由不僅僅是它們提供的價值。

A follow-up. We know you've made a lot of progress on the mobile app. Just any thoughts there in terms of engagement and transactions. And the other question we've been getting is around labor costs, given that we're in a pretty tight labor market as well. Are there any things we should know in terms of modeling that and/or independent operators and their margins.

後續行動。我們知道您在行動應用程式方面取得了很大進展。只是關於參與和交易方面的任何想法。我們遇到的另一個問題是關於勞動成本，因為我們也處於一個相當緊張的勞動市場。在建模和/或獨立運營商及其利潤方面，我們應該了解什麼？

We successfully completed the rollout to all remaining stores. That was back in the middle of the second quarter. It included all of California and Nevada. That was the group that was remaining. So that all went well. We're really pleased with customer adoption and feedback so far. I mentioned over 400,000 downloads and 6% of sales on track with what we expected, and we expect it to continue to grow from here. So the engagement is really strong.

我們成功完成了所有剩餘商店的推廣。那是在第二節中期。它包括整個加利福尼亞州和內華達州。這就是剩下的那群人。所以一切都很順利。到目前為止，我們對客戶的採用和回饋感到非常滿意。我提到超過 40 萬次下載和 6% 的銷售量符合我們的預期，我們預計它會繼續成長。所以參與度真的很強。

And then, of course, as customers continue to use the app on their shopping trips, that will give us valuable data and it will increase engagement further still as we'll be able to message more specifically to who they are and the items that they're buying. So we're off and running there and look forward to all the benefits that we'll provide.

當然，隨著客戶在購物過程中繼續使用該應用程序，這將為我們提供有價值的數據，並且進一步提高參與度，因為我們將能夠更具體地向他們發送信息，告訴他們是誰以及他們購買的商品。所以我們就出發去那裡，期待我們將提供的所有好處。

And then as far as continued [cost] pressures go with operators, yes, wages, operating costs continue -- operators continue to be very resilient and resourceful about how they're managing this. We manage it in partnership with them. We have been growing the top line. We've had some margin pressures here recently. We've protected operators from that. So their income has grown year-over-year. And then we continue to prioritize work to help them be more efficient and help them grow their profit along with how we manage and think about profit growth on our P&L.

然後，就營運商持續面臨的[成本]壓力而言，是的，工資、營運成本仍在繼續——營運商在如何管理這一點方面仍然非常有彈性和足智多謀。我們與他們合作管理它。我們的收入一直在成長。我們最近遇到了一些利潤壓力。我們已保護營運商免受此類影響。所以他們的收入逐年成長。然後，我們繼續優先考慮幫助他們提高效率並幫助他們增加利潤的工作，以及我們如何管理和思考損益表上的利潤成長。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Mark Carden with UBS.

（操作員指令）我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的馬克·卡登。

So digging into the store growth acceleration a bit, this is the first time we've seen an intra-year tick up in quite a while. Is it being driven by fewer building headwinds? Are you seeing more opportunistic locations you might have originally anticipated? Just assuming it's a bit early for the $0.99-only locations. So I just wanted to dig in a bit more on what drove that decision?

因此，深入研究一下商店成長的加速情況，這是我們相當長一段時間以來第一次看到年內的成長。它是由建築阻力減少所推動的嗎？您是否看到了更多您最初預期的機會主義地點？只是假設對於僅售 0.99 美元的地點來說還為時過早。所以我只是想更深入地了解是什麼推動了這個決定？

Mark, for this year, think of it as just management of the process. We've been able to get stores opened a little bit earlier than anticipated on that schedule. The construction team is operating really well. We've talked a lot over the past couple of years about some of the challenges and the adjustments that we've made. And so I'd say that those things are operating smoothly for how we've adapted the resources that we brought in and how we're managing the process overall. That, in parallel with the ongoing work of recruiting and training operators to be ready, that's important too, to make sure that they're ready to take those stores. And so because we are managing the process as well as we are, we're taking advantage of some of those opportunities and therefore, then increased guidance for the year.

馬克，今年，將其視為流程管理。我們已經能夠讓商店比預期的時間表早一點開業。施工隊運作得非常好。在過去的幾年裡，我們已經就一些挑戰和我們所做的調整進行了許多討論。所以我想說，由於我們如何調整我們引入的資源以及我們如何管理整個流程，這些事情正在順利運作。這與正在進行的招募和培訓操作員做好準備的工作同時進行，這也很重要，以確保他們準備好佔領這些商店。因此，由於我們正在很好地管理流程，因此我們正在利用其中的一些機會，因此增加了今年的指導。

It doesn't reflect the opportunities that are in front of us, certainly not $0.99. You think about that as a 2025 opportunity, and we continue to look at other lists as well. And so we love where we're at in terms of the pipeline. Certainly, what's happening this year, pipeline for next year, '26, '27, coming together really well. And again, for us, just trying to be mindful of the rate of growth and make sure that we've got all the right pieces in place. We're investing in the infrastructure ahead of growth so that when we do open these stores, we open them successfully.

它沒有反映我們面前的機會，當然不是 0.99 美元。您認為這是 2025 年的機會，我們也會繼續關注其他清單。因此，我們喜歡我們目前的管道狀況。當然，今年發生的事情，明年 26 年、27 年的籌備工作，進展得非常好。再說一遍，對於我們來說，只是要注意成長率並確保我們已將所有正確的部分就位。我們在成長之前投資基礎設施，以便當我們開設這些商店時，我們能夠成功開設它們。

The next question comes from Corey Tarlowe with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自科里·塔洛和傑弗里斯。

RJ, it sounded like in response to a prior question that it was your expectation that you're returning to a more normalized margin in the back half, along with that, is it also the expectation that these systems implementation issues should be resolved by the end of the second quarter? Or is it that the financial impact from these issues is resolved, yet the implementation is still likely to be ongoing? Is there any way to dimensionalize the timing and duration of the remaining tasks that you have left and as well as the impact of those issues.

RJ，聽起來像是在回答之前的問題，您期望在後半段恢復到更正常化的利潤率，除此之外，是否也期望這些系統實施問題應該由第二季度末？或者這些問題帶來的財務影響是否已解決，但實施仍可能繼續進行？有什麼方法可以衡量您剩餘的任務的時間和持續時間以及這些問題的影響。

Yes. We do believe that the large and notable impact will be in the second quarter for what's remaining. There may be some spillover into the second half of the year. As I mentioned, we are trying to be prudent in our guidance as we think about the progression here from Q2 into Q3 and into Q4. Albeit, if I think about what's meaningful from a P&L standpoint is being really contained for the most part to the second quarter.

是的。我們確實相信，對剩餘的影響將在第二季產生巨大而顯著的影響。下半年可能會有一些外溢效應。正如我所提到的，當我們考慮從第二季度到第三季度再到第四季度的進展時，我們在指導中試圖保持謹慎。儘管如此，如果我從損益表的角度考慮什麼是有意義的，那麼大部分內容實際上都被限制在第二季了。

The work will continue ongoing. And I say that we'll always be enhancing these systems. We will be working beyond the second quarter in terms of operating data, visibility, functionality, efficiencies, the things that I talked about previously. And so that will certainly continue through the rest of the year to make them even better and to capture these benefits for part of why we implemented these new systems to begin with. But not -- when you think about the impact on the P&L, as I mentioned, we've got this residual cost of the commission program that's tied down. So we'll be through at the end of the second quarter. And then there may be some minimal impacts into the second half of the year. None of which -- that's all reflected in our guidance. None of which would change any of that in terms of what we know, for where we are and the work that's ahead of us still.

這項工作將繼續進行。我說我們將始終增強這些系統。我們將在第二季之後在營運數據、可見度、功能、效率以及我之前談到的方面開展工作。因此，這肯定會在今年剩餘的時間裡繼續下去，使它們變得更好，並抓住這些好處，這也是我們實施這些新系統的部分原因。但事實並非如此——當你考慮對損益表的影響時，正如我所提到的，我們已經得到了佣金計畫的剩餘成本。所以我們將在第二季末結束。然後到下半年可能會產生一些最小的影響。這些都沒有反映在我們的指導下。就我們所知、我們所處的位置以及我們面前的工作而言，這些都不會改變。

That's very helpful. I just had one follow-up on the comp. Is there any way to dimensionalize traffic versus ticket for what you saw in the quarter?

這非常有幫助。我剛剛對比賽進行了一次跟進。對於您在本季度看到的情況，是否有任何方法可以將流量與門票進行維度化？

Corey, this is Lindsay. So traffic versus ticket. So traffic was up 7%. Ring was down 2.9% year-over-year due to lower units. But we're really pleased that comps continue to be driven by these strong transactions. Absolute inflation remains high, and so the customers are still prioritizing value. So we're seeing both new and existing customer increases with pretty high satisfaction, minimal system impact to comp. So really encouraged by the strong transactions. The ring was down 2.9% due to lower units, both from higher trip frequency and moderating inflation.

科里，這是林賽。所以流量與門票。因此流量增加了 7%。由於單位數量減少，季減 2.9%。但我們真的很高興看到這些強勁的交易繼續推動公司業績的成長。絕對通膨仍然很高，因此客戶仍然優先考慮價值。因此，我們看到新客戶和現有客戶都以相當高的滿意度成長，對公司的系統影響最小。強勁的交易確實令人鼓舞。由於行程頻率增加和通膨放緩，單位數量減少，季減 2.9%。

The next question comes from Joe Feldman with Telsey Advisory.

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

I wanted to ask about SNAP and how that's impacted your business, if at all. If I recall, it's around 10% of sales, and I know you have a lot of exposure to California. And I think they were the last state to just stop with some of the benefits that -- and how you're thinking about it for this year ahead, like will that have an impact on spending for you guys?

我想詢問 SNAP 的情況以及它對您的業務有何影響（如果有的話）。如果我沒記錯的話，這大約佔銷售額的 10%，而且我知道您對加州有很多了解。我認為他們是最後一個停止提供一些福利的州——以及你如何看待未來一年的福利，例如這會對你們的支出產生影響嗎？

Joe, this is Lindsay. I'll take that question. So yes, so we did -- we did see an impact from EBT in Q1, but consistent with our expectations. So we've seen that EBT reduction, but it really is just a migration to other tender types. EBT for us is really just a tender type. Our EBT today is back to about pre-COVID levels. So our model, we believe it just really much appeals to that value-minded customer. So even as we've seen the EBT benefits drop, it does add cumulative pressure to these consumers to stretch their dollars. So we don't see them leading our stores. It's really just a change out of their tender type. So some of it does have an immediate impact on traffic. Some of it takes time, but we really feel good looking at all the trips we're driving into the store when you look at our traffic numbers.

喬，這是林賽。我來回答這個問題。所以，是的，我們確實這麼做了——我們確實看到了第一季 EBT 的影響，但與我們的預期一致。因此，我們已經看到了 EBT 的減少，但這實際上只是向其他投標類型的遷移。 EBT對我們來說其實只是一種溫柔的類型。今天我們的 EBT 已恢復至新冠疫情前的水平。因此，我們相信我們的模型非常吸引註重價值的客戶。因此，儘管我們看到 EBT 福利有所下降，但它確實給這些消費者增加了揮霍金錢的累積壓力。所以我們看不到他們領導我們的商店。這其實只是他們溫柔類型的改變。所以其中一些確實會對交通產生直接影響。其中一些需要時間，但當你查看我們的客流量數據時，我們真的感覺很好，看看我們開車進入商店的所有行程。

The next question comes from John Heinbockel with Guggenheim.

下一個問題來自古根漢的約翰·海因博克爾。

One quick one and then one more -- one strategic. The impact on the physicals or the way that plays in here, right, is what -- that relates to a product that is out of code, right, and I guess, has to be thrown away as opposed to shrink. I don't know if you're seeing anything with shrink. And then my strategic question right is when you think about the role of private brand, so 100 items initially, I don't know if you have an idea where that -- where your ultimate target is? And what do you think the interplay of that is with the treasure hunt. If you keep the items separate, there's no impact. And I guess you'll endeavor to do that, make sure there's minimal overlap between the two?

一個快速的，然後又一個——一個戰略性的。對物理特性或這裡的遊戲方式的影響，對吧，這與不符合代碼的產品有關，對吧，我想，必須扔掉而不是縮小。我不知道你是否看到了收縮帶來的任何東西。然後我的策略問題是，當你考慮自有品牌的角色時，最初有 100 個項目，我不知道你是否知道你的最終目標在哪裡？您認為這與尋寶有何交互作用？如果您將這些項目分開，則不會產生任何影響。我想你會努力做到這一點，確保兩者之間的重疊最小化？

John, yes, on the physical inventories, you think about margin as it relates to store inventory management. So that's really what gets reflected in the physical inventories that we take. Yes, there's shrink, but also, in this case, prior to having the reporting fixed, which was in March, you had some other components to margin markdowns, price adjustments, throwaways, those things as well that show up there. So that's what would be reflected in this residual cost. And then go forward, we're on the normal -- everything is recording as properly within the system and commissions are the full or the regular 50-50 split.

約翰，是的，在實際庫存方面，您會考慮利潤率，因為它與商店庫存管理有關。這確實反映在我們的實體庫存中。是的，確實有收縮，但在這種情況下，在 3 月修復報告之前，你還有一些其他的組成部分，包括利潤降價、價格調整、丟棄的東西，這些東西也出現在那裡。這就是剩餘成本中所反映的內容。然後繼續前進，我們處於正常狀態——一切都在系統內正常記錄，佣金是全額或常規的 50-50 分成。

And then for your question on private brands and treasure hunt, we think it can enhance the treasure hunt. So certainly, there are some items within our planned private label assortment that will be more commodity-based. They'll be in the stores all the time. And like I said, we'll offer better value. And in some cases, it will be, well, really in all places -- all cases, high-quality items. And so there'll be -- certainly be an enhancement there. And then the treasure hunt aspect of our business is a really important one. We do intend to have a treasure hunt component to the private label assortment. There's lots of different ways to do that. Seasonal products certainly lend themselves to that being in and out of those items as the seasons come and go. And then just on a regular everyday basis, we look forward to having the treasure hunt element be a part of the assortment there as well, where we are pulsing in and out of items and creating that newness and excitement within private label, the same that it exists within the branded side from an opportunistic standpoint.

然後對於你關於自有品牌和尋寶的問題，我們認為它可以增強尋寶。當然，我們計劃的自有品牌品種中有一些商品將更加基於商品。他們會一直在商店裡。正如我所說，我們將提供更好的價值。在某些情況下，它確實會在所有地方 - 所有情況下，都是高品質的物品。所以一定會有一個增強。我們業務的尋寶方面非常重要。我們確實打算在自有品牌產品中加入尋寶元素。有很多不同的方法可以做到這一點。季節性產品當然適合隨著季節的來去而進出這些產品。然後，在日常的基礎上，我們期待著尋寶元素也成為那裡分類的一部分，在那裡我們不斷地進出物品，並在自有品牌中創造新鮮感和興奮感，就像從機會主義的角度來看，它存在於品牌方面。

The next question comes from Jeremy Hamblin with Craig-Hallum.

下一個問題來自傑里米·漢布林和克雷格·哈勒姆。

Sorry, but I want to come back to the commission support and what the range of impact is in Q2? I wasn't sure if that was the $12.4 million is what you're embedded in your guidance. That's part one.

抱歉，我想回到委員會的支持以及第二季的影響範圍是什麼？我不確定這 1240 萬美元是否是您在指導中所包含的內容。這是第一部分。

Part two is just the cumulative effect over the course now of 4 quarters, which I think sounds like it's more than $50 million, but wanted to see if you could quantify the cumulative effect of kind of the systems update issues?

第二部分只是目前 4 個季度的累積效應，我認為聽起來超過 5000 萬美元，但想看看您是否可以量化某種系統更新問題的累積效應？

And then lastly, related to this is if you're looking for physical inventories is kind of completing the process here and adjustments, is there risk that when that comes back by the end of June that it could be worse than what you had embedded here in your guidance?

最後，與此相關的是，如果您正在尋找實際庫存，完成此處的流程和調整，是否存在這樣的風險：當該庫存在6 月底返回時，情況可能會比您在此處嵌入的情況更糟糕在你的指導下？

Jeremy, this is Lindsay. I can take those questions. So first, to your question on commission support, so happy to quantify those. So the impact to overall for Q1 for us for these system issues was approximately $24 million, and about half of that is commission support for our operators. That's the 12.4% that I mentioned -- we mentioned earlier. For Q2 for our guide, we're estimating about a $9 million impact from the systems transitions overall. And about, again, half of that will be this kind of trailing off of commission support now that margin protection has ended -- now that operator protection has added. Overall, we've quantified this over the last few quarters. Overall, the impact that the systems transition has had on us is about $65 million, and about half of that is the operator commission support.

傑里米，這是林賽。我可以回答這些問題。首先，關於你關於佣金支持的問題，很高興能對這些進行量化。因此，這些系統問題對我們第一季的整體影響約為 2,400 萬美元，其中約一半是對我們營運商的佣金支援。這就是我之前提到的 12.4%。對於我們的指南，我們估計第二季系統轉型的整體影響約為 900 萬美元。再說一次，其中一半將是佣金支援的減少，因為保證金保護已經結束——現在營運商保護已經增加。總的來說，我們在過去幾季對此進行了量化。總體而言，系統轉型對我們的影響約為 6,500 萬美元，其中約一半來自營運商佣金支援。

And then the physical inventory question that you had. So we track these daily as they're taking place, and we're monitoring the results every day. And so our forecast for the commission support in Q2, we feel is a pretty good estimate just because we're tracking these daily and we're keeping on top of the results we're seeing coming in from the stores. So we feel pretty good about the numbers that we baked into the Q2 guide.

然後是您遇到的實際庫存問題。因此，我們每天都會追蹤這些事件的發生，並且每天都會監控結果。因此，我們對第二季佣金支持的預測，我們認為這是一個相當不錯的估計，因為我們每天都在追蹤這些，我們一直在關注來自商店的結果。因此，我們對第二季指南中的數據感到非常滿意。

The next question comes from Leah Goldman (sic) [Leah Jordan] with Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自高盛的 Leah Goldman（原文如此）[Leah Jordan]。

I just wanted to see if you could help us understand why your comp guide is going up but your net sales guide is staying the same. Is this just a knock-on impact from the UGO stores? Or is there any change in your expectation for new store performance?

我只是想看看您是否可以幫助我們理解為什麼您的比較指南會上升，但您的淨銷售額指南保持不變。這只是 UGO 商店的連鎖反應嗎？或者您對新店業績的預期有什麼改變嗎？

Leah, this is Lindsay. So it's truly just due to rounding, nothing that's changed within our guidance.

利亞，這是林賽。因此，這確實只是由於四捨五入所致，在我們的指導範圍內沒有任何變化。

That's helpful. And then I just wanted to go back to the IO pipeline discussion. It sounds like things are tracking for your new store growth to get back to 10% in '25. That will be a big step-up on new stores, plus you have the transition of the UGO stores as well. So just a bigger step-up in IO needs next year. And given the time line with the training that they need, have all of the IOs been selected at this point? Where are you in that process? And any color on the background and quality of those would be helpful as well.

這很有幫助。然後我只想回到 IO 管道討論。聽起來您的新店成長率預計在 25 年恢復到 10%。這將是新店的一大進步，而且 UGO 店也將進行轉型。因此，明年 IO 需求將有更大的提升。考慮到他們所需培訓的時間線，此時是否已選擇所有 IO？在這個過程中你處於什麼位置？背景上的任何顏色和品質也會有幫助。

Leah, no, they've not all been selected. So think about the lead time for IO recruiting and training as being about a year. It can flex be shorter in some cases and -- or longer in other cases. And that we manage that in parallel with the real estate pipeline. So we think about and why we think about and we always manage to a good healthy growth rate, we're mindful of not growing too fast, in large part because of the operator pipeline and making sure we get qualified people in there running the stores. We're in a great position to do that for next year. We continue to recruit for the stores that we plan to open for any that we might take advantage opportunistically that adds to the current pipeline, and we've got the lead time in front of us still to do that.

莉亞，不，他們還沒有全部被選中。因此，IO 招募和培訓的準備時間約為一年。在某些情況下它可以變短，在其他情況下可以變長。我們與房地產管道並行管理。因此，我們思考，為什麼我們思考，我們總是能夠實現良好的健康成長速度，我們注意不要成長太快，很大程度上是因為營運商管道，並確保我們有合格的人員在那裡經營商店。明年我們有能力做到這一點。我們將繼續為計劃開設的商店進行招募，以增加當前的管道，並且我們仍然有足夠的時間來做到這一點。

In terms of quality, I think your question was for incoming operators. It's a big part of both the recruiting and training process, really important that we're recruiting high-quality operators to come in and that we set them up for success. We have a very rigorous multistep process from a recruiting standpoint, and we need to make sure it's the right fit for them and certainly the right fit for us.

就品質而言，我認為你的問題是針對新來的運營商的。這是招募和培訓過程的重要組成部分，對於我們招募高素質的操作員並為他們的成功做好準備非常重要。從招募的角度來看，我們有一個非常嚴格的多步驟流程，我們需要確保它適合他們，當然也適合我們。

And then there's another important part of the process when they come in and they're in training, not everyone makes it through training. There is a healthy percentage of attrition that happens in training, and that's important to make sure, again, that the fit is right and that the capabilities are there for anything that maybe wasn't identified in the recruiting process. And so that gets us to then when they are ready to apply for the store. I'd say the third filter, an important one, is that we select the right fit for the store. For the community that we're going into and for what the operator is looking for certainly in terms of where to live and what type of store to operate because we do have stores across all different types of markets.

然後，當他們進來並接受培訓時，還有另一個重要的部分，並不是每個人都能通過培訓。培訓中會出現一定比例的人員流失，因此再次確保合適的人選以及具備應對招聘過程中可能未發現的任何能力的能力非常重要。這樣我們就可以知道他們準備好申請商店了。我想說第三個過濾器，也是一個重要的過濾器，是我們選擇適合商店的產品。對於我們要進入的社區以及經營者正在尋找的內容，當然包括居住地點和經營什麼類型的商店，因為我們確實在所有不同類型的市場上都有商店。

The next question comes from Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的西蒙古特曼。

Also a follow-up on the gross margin and the systems issues. The prior quarter's gross margin went up a bunch. And now there's this give back. You were still going through integration and systems issues while the growth went up. What was discovered or new in this period that was different from the prior? And then besides, obviously, the cost of inventory being higher, was there any other costs that are being run through gross margin -- that are run through gross margin that are not explicit product cost there's other labor that's tied to it.

還有毛利率和系統問題的後續行動。上一季的毛利率大幅上升。現在有這樣的回饋。在成長的同時，您仍然遇到整合和系統問題。這段時期有哪些與以往不同的發現或新發現？除此之外，顯然，庫存成本更高，是否還有其他成本透過毛利率計算——這些成本透過毛利率計算，不是明確的產品成本，還有與之相關的其他勞動力。

Simeon, for the first quarter, this additional 110 basis point impact, we identified this on the back end of the quarter. It was quantified during catch-up in voice processing and margin reconciliation. So we had some delayed payment processes due to the new systems, but really, the main cause was limited data visibility for how we manage and forecast margin. It was a bigger issue in the first quarter than it was in the fourth quarter because of the amount of time that we've been managing the business with limited data. Think about last year, as we implemented the new systems, we had inventory already in the system, in the warehouse, in the stores, we had POs written with product landing that carry forward really into -- well into the fourth quarter and resulted in the margin that we reported.

Simeon，對於第一季度，額外的 110 個基點影響，我們在季度末確定了這一點。它是在語音處理和餘裕調節的追趕過程中進行量化的。因此，由於新系統的原因，我們的付款流程出現了一些延遲，但實際上，主要原因是我們管理和預測利潤的資料可見度有限。第一季的問題比第四季更大，因為我們用有限的資料管理業務的時間較長。想想去年，當我們實施新系統時，我們的系統、倉庫、商店中已經有了庫存，我們編寫了包含產品落地的採購訂單，這些訂單真正延續到第四季度，並導致我們報告的利潤。

We're a data-driven organization. Margin visibility is especially important for an opportunistic model like ours. We're negotiating costs. We're setting prices. We're managing gross margin daily. And we're constantly balancing retails with value margin, along with the volume decisions that we make, how much we choose to buy relative to other items that are in the assortment. And all of that comes back to how we negotiate costs with our suppliers. So it's a very dynamic margin management approach that we take. It's a unique characteristic of our model. It's a strength, quite frankly. It's enabled us to deliver consistently steady and strong margins throughout our entire history. We've discussed it as one of the ways we uniquely manage healthy margin during inflationary time periods. And so therefore, data and tools are critical for how dynamic the decision-making is, both for us and then for operators. As I mentioned, they use tools and data as well to manage margin in a very dynamic way at the store level.

我們是一個數據驅動的組織。對於像我們這樣的機會主義模型來說，保證金可見性尤其重要。我們正在協商費用。我們正在定價。我們每天都在管理毛利率。我們不斷平衡零售與價值邊際，以及我們所做的數量決策，我們選擇相對於品種中的其他商品購買多少。所有這些都回到了我們如何與供應商協商成本的問題。所以這是我們採取的一種非常動態的保證金管理方法。這是我們模型的獨特特徵。坦白說，這是一種力量。它使我們能夠在整個歷史中始終保持穩定和強勁的利潤率。我們已經將其作為我們在通貨膨脹時期管理健康利潤率的獨特方式之一進行了討論。因此，數據和工具對於我們和營運商的決策動態至關重要。正如我所提到的，他們還使用工具和數據在商店層面以非常動態的方式管理利潤。

And so what's happened here is we got off track in the first quarter. We've had limited visibility until just recently. And so we lost track of where margin was trending. The good news is that we were able to bring that back once we identified exactly where we were and for the work that we've been doing, that happened several weeks ago and the recovery has already begun. So we've been able to -- I'm talking down at the subclass, class department level for how we manage margin, able to strike that right balance between value and margin for the business with the right information on a weekly basis where it hasn't been there. It's been more limited as far as those operating metrics go to help us make those decisions.

所以這裡發生的事情是我們在第一季偏離了軌道。直到最近我們的能見度仍然有限​​。因此我們失去了利潤趨勢的追蹤。好消息是，一旦我們準確地確定了我們所處的位置以及我們一直在做的工作，我們就能夠將其帶回來，這發生在幾週前，並且恢復已經開始。因此，我們能夠——我在子類、類部門層級談論我們如何管理利潤，能夠每周利用正確的資訊在業務價值和利潤之間取得適當的平衡。就那些幫助我們做出決策的營運指標而言，它更加有限。

And again, buying fundamentals are healthy. So this is really about getting back to better margin management or the normal margin management that we've always had in this business. And with the increased visibility that we brought online recently, we've been able to do that.

再說一次，購買基本面是健康的。因此，這實際上是為了恢復更好的利潤管理或我們在該業務中一直採用的正常利潤管理。隨著我們最近在網路上提高知名度，我們已經能夠做到這一點。

As far as just going to answer the second part of your question, just other cost and gross margin. So gross margin, as we've always had, includes product costs and all the costs that we incur to get product to the store. So that's always included distribution costs as well.

至於回答你問題的第二部分，只是其他成本和毛利率。因此，正如我們一直以來的那樣，毛利率包括產品成本以及我們將產品運送到商店所產生的所有成本。因此，這也始終包括分銷成本。

But not an impact to -- as far as the margin pressures here, they've been specific to the systems issues. There aren't other costs or higher costs in some of these other components.

但就利潤壓力而言，這並沒有影響，它們是針對系統問題的。其中一些其他組件沒有其他成本或更高的成本。

Right. And RJ, knowing like there'll be some time to recover, but you mentioned the buying fundamentals are healthy. The prior several quarters, we saw a step-up in gross margin from the prior run rate to that. I know you're asked this earlier, where did the gross margin settle out? Does it settle out to where we were running in 2023? Or does it settle out to the pre-'23 run rate before we had the system issues?

正確的。 RJ 知道需要一段時間才能恢復，但您提到購買基本面是健康的。在之前的幾個季度中，我們看到毛利率從先前的運行率上升到了先前的水平。我知道您之前被問過，毛利率是從哪裡來的？它會穩定在我們 2023 年運行的位置嗎？或者在我們遇到系統問題之前，它是否會恢復到 23 年前的運作率？

When you look at our guidance, you'll see in the back half of the year, it's in between, which is to say, beginning of 2023 in the second quarter, in particular, last year was really a historical high point for us. We talked about that at the time. So we do expect margin in the second half to be at a nice healthy rate, again, to increase sequentially from the number that we've guided to in the second quarter and then increasing from there at a healthy rate and above historical averages. That's not at the same level as it was in the second quarter. Again, that was particularly high and the highest we've seen in a really, really long time.

當你看我們的指導時，你會發現在今年下半年，它處於中間階段，也就是說，2023年初的第二季度，特別是去年對我們來說確實是一個歷史高點。我們當時就討論過這個問題。因此，我們確實預計下半年的利潤率將再次保持在一個良好的健康水平，從我們在第二季度指導的數字開始連續增長，然後以健康的速度增長並高於歷史平均水平。這與第二季的水平不同。同樣，這個數字特別高，是我們很長一段時間以來所見過的最高水平。

At this time, I would like to turn the call back to management for closing comments.

此時，我想將電話轉回管理層以徵求結案意見。

Thanks, everyone, for joining us, and we look forward to talking with you again on the next call. Thanks, and take care.

感謝大家加入我們，我們期待在下次通話中再次與您交談。謝謝，保重。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a great day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。