Helen of Troy Ltd (HELE) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Helen of Troy's Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2024 Earnings Conference Call. The agenda for the call this morning is as follows: I'll begin with a brief discussion of forward-looking statements. Ms. Noel Geoffroy, the company's CEO, will comment on business performance and key accomplishments and then provide some perspective as we begin the new fiscal year.

謝謝運營商。大家早安，歡迎參加 Helen of Troy 2024 財年第四季財報電話會議。今天上午的電話會議議程如下：我將首先簡要討論前瞻性陳述。該公司執行長 Noel Geoffroy 女士將評論業務績效和主要成就，然後在新財年開始時提供一些觀點。

Then Mr. Brian Grass, the company's CFO, will review the financials in more detail and comment about current trends and expectations for the upcoming fiscal year. Following this, we will take questions you have for us today. This conference call may contain certain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectation with respect to future events or financial performance.

然後，該公司財務長 Brian Grass 先生將更詳細地審查財務狀況，並對當前趨勢和下一財年的預期發表評論。接下來，我們今天將回答您向我們提出的問題。本次電話會議可能包含某些基於管理層目前對未來事件或財務表現的預期的前瞻性陳述。

Generally, the words anticipates, believes, expects and other words similar are words identifying forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause anticipated results to differ materially from the actual results. This conference call may also include information that may be considered non-GAAP financial information.

一般來說，「預期」、「相信」、「預期」以及其他類似的詞語都是識別前瞻性陳述的詞語。前瞻性陳述受到許多風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致預期結果與實際結果有重大差異。本次電話會議也可能包括可能被視為非公認會計準則財務資訊的資訊。

These non-GAAP measures are not an alternative to GAAP financial information and may be calculated differently than the non-GAAP financial information disclosed by other parties. The company cautions listeners not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or non-GAAP information. Before I turn the call over to Ms. Geoffroy, I would like to inform all interested parties that a copy of today's earnings release has been posted to the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.helenoftroy.com.

這些非 GAAP 指標不能取代 GAAP 財務信息，且計算方式可能與其他方揭露的非 GAAP 財務資訊不同。該公司提醒聽眾不要過度依賴前瞻性陳述或非公認會計準則資訊。在我將電話轉給 Geoffroy 女士之前，我想通知所有有興趣的各方，今天的收益報告副本已發佈到公司網站 www.helenoftroy.com 的投資者關係部分。

The earnings release contains tables that reconcile non-GAAP financial measures to their corresponding GAAP-based measures. The release can be obtained by selecting the Investor Relations tab on the company's homepage and then the Press Releases tab.

收益發布包含將非公認會計準則財務指標與其相應的基於公認會計準則的指標進行協調的表格。可以透過選擇公司主頁上的「投資者關係」選項卡，然後選擇「新聞稿」選項卡來取得該新聞稿。

I will now turn the conference call over to Ms. Geoffroy.

我現在將電話會議轉給傑弗羅伊女士。

Thank you, Jack. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Today marks my first public remarks as Helen of Troy's CEO. I'm honored to lead this freight organization with an inspiring purpose of elevating lives and moments that matter everywhere, every day, and I am optimistic and energized by what lies ahead for the company.

謝謝你，傑克。大家好，感謝您今天加入我們。今天是我以 Troy 執行長 Helen 身分首次公開發表演說。我很榮幸能夠領導這家貨運組織，目標是提升每天、無所不在的生活和重要時刻，我對公司的未來感到樂觀和充滿活力。

Today, we reported fourth quarter results that came in ahead of our expectations. We exceeded the full year fiscal '24 consolidated net sales and adjusted EPS outlook we provided in January. During the fiscal year, we expanded gross profit margin by 390 basis points and increased adjusted operating margin by 50 basis points even as we use fuel generated by Project Pegasus to make incremental strategic investments in our business.

今天，我們公佈了第四季度業績，超出了我們的預期。我們超過了 1 月份提供的 24 財年全年合併淨銷售額和調整後每股收益前景。在本財年，我們的毛利率提高了 390 個基點，調整後營業利潤率提高了 50 個基點，儘管我們使用飛馬項目產生的燃料對我們的業務進行增量戰略投資。

We generated $269 million in free cash flow and strengthened our durable balance sheet by reducing our total debt by $269 million to $665.7 million. I'm pleased with the continued execution and consistency of our results, particularly in light of an ongoing difficult macroeconomic environment and the changes that our organization is navigating.

我們創造了 2.69 億美元的自由現金流，並透過將總債務減少 2.69 億美元至 6.657 億美元來加強我們的持久資產負債表。我對我們結果的持續執行和一致性感到滿意，特別是考慮到持續困難的宏觀經濟環境和我們組織正在應對的變化。

Today's results reflect the strength of our brand portfolio, the progress of our strategic initiatives and the talent and dedication of our associates, all of which provides us with a strong platform to build upon in fiscal '25 and beyond. During the past fiscal year, we made significant progress on the goals we set for ourselves.

今天的業績反映了我們品牌組合的實力、策略舉措的進展以及我們員工的才華和奉獻精神，所有這些都為我們在 25 財年及以後的發展提供了一個強大的平台。在過去的財年中，我們在為自己設定的目標上取得了重大進展。

I am pleased with the passion and engagement of the entire Helen of Troy team as we continue to embrace our new structure as a true global operating company. This structure includes next-level centralization of shared services to leverage our functional expertise, our first ever centralized marketing center of excellence to bring new capability and scale, business units that are even more focused on brand building and consumer-centric innovation and our newly formed North American regional market organization or NA RMO, which mirrors our international RMO to drive excellent end market execution.

我對整個 Helen of Troy 團隊的熱情和參與感到高興，我們將繼續擁抱我們作為真正的全球營運公司的新結構。這種結構包括利用我們的職能專業知識的共享服務的下一級集中化、我們​​首個集中的卓越營銷中心以帶來新的能力和規模、更加專注於品牌建設和以消費者為中心的創新的業務部門以及我們新成立的業務部門。

Despite fiscal '24 being one of the tougher macroeconomic years for discretionary consumer goods, we found a way to deliver our plan while navigating a number of challenges, including inflationary pressures, coupled with continued predictions of recession, lengthy COVID hangover effects impacting some of our categories, shifts in shopping patterns between brick-and-mortar and online, changes in the retailer landscape as they adjusted to consumer spending and shopping dynamics, and the effects of geopolitical events.

儘管24 財年是非必需消費品宏觀經濟情勢最為嚴峻的一年，但我們找到了一種方法來實現我們的計劃，同時應對一系列挑戰，包括通貨膨脹壓力，加上對經濟衰退的持續預測、長期的新冠疫情宿醉效應影響了我們的一些業務。

We braced for the impact of these challenges and responded by lowering inventories, reducing costs, leveraging our scale to find new growth opportunities and keeping a laser focus on ROI with the investment fuel generated by Project Pegasus. Last October, we unveiled Elevate For Growth, our exciting 6-year strategic plan that represents an important pivot for the company.

我們做好了應對這些挑戰的影響的準備，並透過降低庫存、降低成本、利用我們的規模尋找新的成長機會以及透過飛馬計畫產生的投資燃料來高度專注於投資回報率來應對。去年 10 月，我們推出了“Elevate For Growth”，這是我們令人興奮的 6 年策略計劃，代表公司的一個重要支點。

The plan emphasizes increased growth investment and a new portfolio management approach with defined criteria to make sharper resource allocation choices based on growth potential and return on investment. We also doubled down on delighting consumers with next-level brand building and innovation.

該計劃強調增加成長投資和新的投資組合管理方法，並制定明確的標準，根據成長潛力和投資回報做出更明智的資源配置選擇。我們也加倍努力透過更高水準的品牌建立和創新來取悅消費者。

We are striving for consumer obsession in all that we do. We committed to upgrading our data insight and analytic capabilities to solve business issues better and faster to enhance our productivity. Our new state-of-the-art distribution center in Galloway, Tennessee that opened in fiscal '24 is a great example of that.

我們所做的一切都致力於讓消費者著迷。我們致力於提升數據洞察和分析能力，更好更快地解決業務問題，從而提高我們的生產力。我們在田納西州加洛韋於 2024 財年開業的最先進的新配送中心就是一個很好的例子。

We did all this while still preserving the company's strong foundation, balance sheet and long-term investments that we believe will deliver a bright future for all Helen of Troy stakeholders. Before turning to our fourth quarter results, I want to highlight 4 foundational elements of Elevate for Growth that I spoke about during October's Investor Day.

我們在完成這一切的同時，仍然保留了公司堅實的基礎、資產負債表和長期投資，我們相信這些將為所有 Helen of Troy 利益相關者帶來光明的未來。在討論第四季業績之前，我想先強調一下我在 10 月投資者日期間談到的「提升成長」的 4 個基本要素。

These four elements excite me and give me confidence that we will emerge in a stronger position even as we navigate an environment where we expect consumers will continue to face tough choices when it comes to discretionary spending. First, we have a diversified and well-recognized family of trusted brands with an enviable reputation as a leader across multiple categories and geographies.

這四個要素令我興奮，讓我相信，即使我們預期消費者在可自由支配支出方面將繼續面臨艱難選擇，我們也將處於更有利的地位。首先，我們擁有多元化且廣受認可的值得信賴的品牌系列，作為多個類別和地區的領導者，擁有令人羨慕的聲譽。

Our brands continue to be highly rated by consumers and receive awards and recognition from prestigious periodicals and industry organizations such as Consumer Reports, Wired, Red Dot, Good Housekeeping, Beauty Publication, Food Network, and Forbes. We believe our strong brands have many opportunities to stretch into attractive adjacent spaces to further excite existing consumers and attract new ones.

我們的品牌持續受到消費者的高度評價，並獲得消費者報告、連線、紅點、Good Housekeeping、Beauty Publication、Food Network、福布斯等知名期刊和行業組織的獎項和認可。我們相信，我們的強大品牌有很多機會延伸到有吸引力的相鄰空間，以進一步激發現有消費者並吸引新消費者。

We identified new opportunities to expand distribution of our brands into incremental channels and customers, and those efforts paid off in fiscal '24 as we surpassed the internal goals we set for ourselves. For example, at one of our key mass customers, we secured higher-than-expected incremental distribution of our OXO outdoor grilling line and key Revlon hair appliances.

我們發現了將我們的品牌分銷擴大到增量管道和客戶的新機會，這些努力在 24 財年得到了回報，我們超越了為自己設定的內部目標。例如，在我們的一個主要大眾客戶中，我們確保了 OXO 戶外燒烤線和主要露華濃美髮器具的增量分銷高於預期。

We expect to further benefit from a full fiscal year of this new distribution in addition to even more opportunities in fiscal '25.

除了 25 財年的更多機會之外，我們預計還將進一步受益於這項新分配的整個財年。

Second, we are generating fuel from Project Pegasus to incrementally invest in growth opportunities and capabilities. This will enable us to strategically invest in our brands with precision marketing and further product and commercial innovation.

其次，我們透過飛馬座計畫生產燃料，以逐步投資於成長機會和能力。這將使我們能夠透過精準行銷以及進一步的產品和商業創新對我們的品牌進行策略性投資。

Third, we are advantageously positioned to fully leverage our operational and organizational scale and assets. I am delighted that our team is embracing our new global operating model to enable greater focus and centralized expertise. I am also excited to fully leverage our new state-of-the-art Tennessee distribution center to bring significant new scale and service capabilities that will set us up for years to come.

第三，我們具有充分利用我們的營運和組織規模和資產的優勢。我很高興我們的團隊正在採用新的全球營運模式，以實現更專注和集中的專業知識。我也很高興能夠充分利用我們最先進的新田納西州配送中心來帶來顯著的新規模和服務能力，這將為我們在未來幾年奠定基礎。

Finally, and most importantly, I'm energized as I continue partnering with our talented and exceptional associates to further build on our strong culture. I am proud of our ability to attract, develop, and retain a diverse team.

最後，也是最重要的是，當我繼續與我們才華橫溢、傑出的員工合作，進一步建立我們強大的文化時，我感到充滿活力。我為我們吸引、培養和留住多元化團隊的能力感到自豪。

I believe our culture is a competitive advantage that delivers benefits to all our stakeholders by bringing new perspectives, experiences, and expertise, resulting in great brands that elevate consumers' lives with thoughtful and effective solutions.

我相信我們的文化是一種競爭優勢，透過帶來新的視角、經驗和專業知識，為所有利益相關者帶來利益，從而打造出偉大的品牌，透過深思熟慮和有效的解決方案提升消費者的生活。

Turning now to fourth quarter business results. Consolidated net sales increased 1% as we benefited from growth in online, international, club channel sales in home and outdoor and Prestige hair care. These factors were partially offset by declines in air purifiers, fans, and heaters, driven by our SKU rationalization efforts and softer consumer demand and a decline in humidification reflecting cough, cold flu illness below the prior year and pre-COVID historical averages.

現在轉向第四季的業務業績。綜合淨銷售額成長了 1%，因為我們受益於家庭和戶外以及 Prestige 護髮產品的線上、國際、俱樂部通路銷售的成長。這些因素被空氣清淨機、風扇和加熱器的下降所部分抵消，這是由於我們的SKU 合理化努力和消費者需求疲軟以及加濕器的下降（反映咳嗽、感冒流感疾病低於上一年和新冠疫情前的歷史平均值）所致。

Adjusted diluted EPS was $2.45 or a 21.9% increase over the same period last year and also slightly ahead of our expectations. Overall, macro trends in the quarter reflected a consumer who remained cautious with their money and increasingly prioritize their discretionary spending on travel and other entertainment experiences over tangible goods.

調整後攤薄每股收益為 2.45 美元，比去年同期成長 21.9%，也略高於我們的預期。總體而言，本季的宏觀趨勢反映出消費者對金錢保持謹慎態度，並且越來越優先考慮在旅行和其他娛樂體驗上的可自由支配支出，而不是有形商品。

As we move into fiscal '25, we are seeing these trends intensify. Turning now to our segments. Home & Outdoor net sales increased 5.4% over the prior year period due to growth in the home category, insulated beverage ware, packs and travel and international.

當我們進入 25 財年時，我們看到這些趨勢正在加劇。現在轉向我們的部分。由於家居品類、保溫飲料器具、包裝和旅遊以及國際品類的成長，家居和戶外淨銷售額比去年同期成長 5.4%。

OXO remains the number one branded line in the kitchen utensils and canister food storage categories and gained share in kitchen utensils over the last 12-month period. The brand achieved strong results driven by distribution gains in the mass channel, the timing of club promotional programs, as well as strength in new distribution in grocery.

OXO 仍然是廚房用具和罐式食品儲存類別中排名第一的品牌系列，並在過去 12 個月內增加了廚房用具的份額。由於大眾通路的分銷收益、俱樂部促銷計劃的時機以及雜貨店新分銷的實力，該品牌取得了強勁的業績。

International was also a highlight in the quarter. Be and win where the shopper shops is one of our Elevate for Growth strategic choices. I am pleased to share that our NA RMO and Home & Outdoor teams have collaborated to secure exciting OXO distribution wins. At Walmart, our OXO Softworks kitchen gadget has expanded.

國際業務也是本季的一大亮點。在購物者購物的地方贏得勝利是我們「提升成長」的策略選擇之一。我很高興與大家分享，我們的 NA RMO 和 Home & Outdoor 團隊已經合作，確保了令人興奮的 OXO 分銷勝利。在沃爾瑪，我們的 OXO Softworks 廚房小工具已經擴展。

We added our grilling line, and we are pleased to gain additional placement for OXO in other key categories later in fiscal '25. This is notable as 90% of the US population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart store. Hydro Flask performed well online driven by continued positive reception to our new travel tumbler, seasonal colors and promotions, as well as post-holiday replenishment.

我們增加了燒烤系列，我們很高興在 25 財年晚些時候在其他關鍵類別中獲得 OXO 的額外排名。值得注意的是，90% 的美國人口居住在沃爾瑪商店 10 英里範圍內。 Hydro Flask 在網路上表現良好，這得益於我們的新旅行杯、季節性色彩和促銷以及節後補貨的持續積極反響。

We are excited about where we are heading on this key brand being consumer obsessed with Hydro Flask means launching on-trend color, design, style, customization, and personalization options. In addition, we need to offer different container and cap configurations to meet the needs of various consumer usage occasions, whether in the car, at the gym, in the park, around the house, or at school.

我們對這個關鍵品牌的發展方向感到興奮，消費者對 Hydro Flask 的痴迷意味著推出流行的顏色、設計、風格、客製化和個人化選項。此外，我們需要提供不同的容器和瓶蓋配置，以滿足各種消費者使用場合的需求，無論是在汽車中、在健身房、在公園、在房子周圍或在學校。

We are also evolving our marketing content and targeting with the support of our new marketing center of excellence, allowing us to better connect with our Hydro Flask consumer with the right message in the right place at the right time.

在我們新的卓越行銷中心的支持下，我們也不斷發展我們的行銷內容和目標，使我們能夠在正確的時間、正確的地點透過正確的資訊更好地與 Hydro Flask 消費者建立聯繫。

You'll see us expand on these concepts with new product offerings such as the new Sugar Crush Limited Edition available in bottles and travel tumblers featuring a beautiful waterfall of Pastel colors and the new insulated shaker bottle designed with an internal whisk ball perfect for mixing a smoothie or protein shake.

您將看到我們透過新產品擴展這些概念，例如新的 Sugar Crush 限量版瓶裝和旅行杯，具有美麗的柔和色彩瀑布，以及設計有內部攪拌球的新型隔熱搖搖瓶，非常適合混合冰沙或蛋白質奶昔。

You will also see us further expand distribution of Hydro Flask in fiscal '25. Osprey sales should strength internationally with growth in EMEA and APAC on strong demand for Travel pack. In North America, we made further inroads and key sporting goods retailers. For fiscal '24, overall U.S. brand share strengthened for luggage and we extended our number-one position in technical packs.

您還將看到我們在 25 財年進一步擴大 Hydro Flask 的分銷。隨著歐洲、中東和非洲和亞太地區對旅行包的強勁需求的增長，Osprey 的國際銷售應該會強勁。在北美，我們進一步進軍主要運動用品零售商。 24 財年，美國箱包品牌的整體份額得到加強，我們擴大了在技術包方面的第一名地位。

2024 marks Osprey's 50-year anniversary, and we were honored to be recognized on Outside Magazine. Osprey's focus remains on making the world's best pack suited for a wide range of activities featuring our unique and superior design, craftsmanship, and commitment to sustainability, all backed by our all-mighty guarantee.

2024 年是 Osprey 成立 50 週年，我們很榮幸獲得 Outside 雜誌的認可。 Osprey 的重點仍然是製造世界上最好的適合各種活動的背包，以我們獨特而卓越的設計、工藝和對永續發展的承諾為特色，所有這些都得到我們強大的保證的支持。

Our new collection continues to build on the brand's strengths and heritage, including new designs for different occasions like biking, day packs and inclusive sizes so everyone can experience the outdoors with the very best gear. Perfect examples are three new additions to Osprey's extended fit line of packs, which became available this spring and are already garnering positive consumer response on social media.

我們的新系列繼續以品牌的優勢和傳統為基礎，包括適合不同場合的新設計，如騎行、日用包和包容性尺寸，以便每個人都可以用最好的裝備體驗戶外活動。完美的例子是 Osprey 加長版背包系列的三款新產品，該產品於今年春天上市，並已在社交媒體上獲得了消費者的積極響應。

Osprey's Farpoint 55 Travel pack has also been a hit, achieving 4.6 stars on Amazon out of over 1,300 reviews. We believe Osprey has a bright future ahead, building on its strength, continuing to extend into new adjacencies and leveraging the Helen of Troy operational and organizational scale. Switching gears now to our Beauty & Wellness segment.

Osprey 的 Farpoint 55 旅行套裝也很受歡迎，在亞馬遜上獲得了 4.6 顆星的評價，超過 1,300 條評論。我們相信，Osprey 擁有光明的未來，憑藉其實力，繼續擴展到新的鄰接地區，並利用特洛伊海倫的營運和組織規模。現在轉向我們的美容與健康部分。

Net sales declined 2.5%, primarily driven by air purifiers, fans and heaters, reflecting softer consumer demand and our SKU rationalization efforts. We also saw a decline in humidification reflecting a cumulative cough, cold, and flu season illness instance below the prior year and pre-COVID historical averages.

淨銷售額下降 2.5%，主要受到空氣清淨機、風扇和加熱器的推動，反映出消費者需求疲軟以及我們的 SKU 合理化努力。我們也看到濕度下降，反映出咳嗽、感冒和流感季節疾病的累積病例低於前一年和新冠疫情前的歷史平均值。

These factors were partially offset by growth in hair appliances and thermometry, which helped drive overall international sales and growth in Prestige Hair Care. We also benefited from an incremental seven weeks of Curlsmith sales compared to the prior period as we acquired Curlsmith in April 2022.

這些因素被美髮器具和測溫技術的成長部分抵消，這有助於推動 Prestige Hair Care 的整體國際銷售和成長。由於我們在 2022 年 4 月收購了 Curlsmith，因此與前一期相比，Curlsmith 的銷售額增加了七週，我們也從中受益。

In Beauty, online sales for our volumizers strengthened in the quarter, and we also benefited from incremental doors and distribution in the mass channel across our hair tool portfolio. Drybar and Curlsmith, Prestige continued their momentum driven by their innovation pipeline and marketing support.

在美容領域，我們的豐髮劑的線上銷售在本季度有所加強，我們也受益於我們美髮工具產品組合中大眾通路的增加和分銷。 Drybar 和 Curlsmith, Prestige 在創新管道和行銷支援的推動下繼續保持發展勢頭。

As one example, our driver Hot Roller-club rollers arrived at our key retailers in early February and quickly became a consumer sought after innovation, making it our best selling tool in those retailers within weeks. In Wellness, the cough, cold, and flu season was below the prior year and pre-COVID historical averages for both our quarter and the fiscal year.

舉個例子，我們的驅動器 Hot Roller-club 壓路機於二月初到達我們的主要零售商，並迅速成為消費者追捧的創新產品，使其在幾週內成為這些零售商中最暢銷的工具。在健康方面，我們季度和本財年的咳嗽、感冒和流感季節均低於去年和新冠疫情前的歷史平均水平。

This impacted sales of our products designed to help relieve cough/cold and congestion symptoms such as humidifiers, inhalants and related consumables. As mentioned during our January call, we saw a softer start to the season. As the quarter progressed, influenza-like illnesses increased some and retailers were able to meet this consumer demand with their existing inventory.

這影響了我們旨在幫助緩解咳嗽/感冒和充血症狀的產品（例如加濕器、吸入劑和相關消耗品）的銷售。正如我們在一月份的電話會議中提到的，我們看到本賽季的開局較為疲軟。隨著本季的進展，類流感疾病增加，零售商能夠利用現有庫存來滿足消費者的需求。

Therefore, we have not seen incremental replenishment orders so far in Q1 of fiscal '25. International was a standout in the quarter, posting double-digit growth as we benefited from more focused strategic choices and must-win brands and markets, strength in distribution and distributor partnerships, and implemented a more integrated organizational structure of our EMEA team.

因此，我們在 25 財年第一季尚未看到增量補貨訂單。國際業務在本季度表現突出，實現了兩位數的成長，這得益於我們更加專注的戰略選擇、必勝的品牌和市場、分銷和分銷商合作夥伴關係的實力，以及歐洲、中東和非洲團隊實施了更一體化的組織結構。

Growth was driven by performance in EMEA with strong demand for both Braun and Revlon. Hydro Flask benefited from our new strategic outdoor sports lifestyle and travel initiatives in Europe, while leveraging Osprey's European distribution footprint to accelerate growth. We will continue to prioritize international growth, leveraging the must-win brand and market choices selected in Elevate for Growth.

歐洲、中東和非洲地區的業績推動了成長，對博朗和露華濃的需求強勁。 Hydro Flask 受益於我們在歐洲新的策略性戶外運動生活方式和旅行計劃，同時利用 Osprey 的歐洲分銷足跡來加速成長。我們將繼續優先考慮國際成長，利用「提升成長」中選擇的必勝品牌和市場選擇。

Looking ahead, as we face what we believe will be a tough environment of increasingly soft consumer discretionary spending, I'm confident that our strategic plan and efforts position us to achieve our fiscal '25 objectives, which Brian will take you through shortly.

展望未來，當我們面臨消費者可自由支配支出日益疲軟的嚴峻環境時，我相信我們的策略計劃和努力使我們能夠實現我們的 25 財年目標，布萊恩很快就會帶您完成這些目標。

In the current business environment, we believe it is imperative that we remain agile, invest incrementally to further strengthen our brands, leverage our organizational structure and scale and control our controllables. Elevate for Growth and Project Pegasus are about leveraging our organization to unleash its full potential and ensuring that the framework and our associates are fully equipped to keep up with the pace of change.

在當前的商業環境中，我們認為，我們必須保持敏捷，逐步投資以進一步強化我們的品牌，利用我們的組織結構和規模並控制我們的可控因素。 Elevate for Growth 和 Project Pegasus 旨在利用我們的組織充分發揮其潛力，並確保框架和我們的員工完全具備跟上變革步伐的能力。

Just last month, I was delighted to attend our new unified NA RMO annual sales meeting. The enthusiasm and power of this event was inspiring. You can feel the optimism, teamwork, and focus towards elevating our brands to deliver our growth goals. Globally, we have an outstanding worldwide organization that is motivated by our purpose and values and excited for our future.

就在上個月，我很高興能參加我們新的統一 NA RMO 年度銷售會議。這次活動的熱情和力量令人鼓舞。您可以感受到樂觀、團隊合作以及對提升我們的品牌以實現我們的成長目標的專注。在全球範圍內，我們擁有一個傑出的全球組織，它以我們的目標和價值觀為動力，並對我們的未來感到興奮。

Our purpose and value set a high bar, and this will remain the most important element of Helen of Troy. Elevating lives and moments that matter everywhere, every day is something that matters to all our stakeholders and importantly, can stand the test of time. I am excited and feel incredibly fortunate to have an exceptional team of determined associates whose dedication and passion will help further elevate our company in this next era.

我們的目標和價值設定了很高的標準，這將仍然是特洛伊的海倫最重要的元素。提升無所不在、每一天都重要的生活和時刻，對我們所有利害關係人來說都很重要，而且重要的是，能夠經受時間的考驗。我很興奮，也感到非常幸運，能夠擁有一支由堅定的員工組成的傑出團隊，他們的奉獻和熱情將有助於在下一個時代進一步提升我們的公司。

I am confident that the best is yet to come. Before turning the call over to Brian, I would also like to let the investment community know that at the end of May, Jack Jancin, Senior Vice President of Corporate Business Development, will be retiring after 40 years in the consumer products industry, 20 of them at Helen of Troy.

我相信最好的尚未到來。在將電話轉給 Brian 之前，我還想讓投資界知道，企業業務開發高級副總裁 Jack Jancin 將在 5 月底退休，他在消費產品行業工作了 40 年，在消費產品行業工作了 20 年。在特洛伊的海倫。

Many of you know Jack on the various events and meetings over the past 10 years. He has been instrumental to increasing Helen of Toys visibility within the financial community and leading our M&A activities. We are so grateful for his many years of service and contributions and would like to extend our warmest congratulations and best wishes for his future endeavors.

你們中的許多人都透過過去 10 年的各種活動和會議認識了 Jack。他對於提高 Helen of Toys 在金融界的知名度以及領導我們的併購活動發揮了重要作用。我們非常感謝他多年來的服務和貢獻，並對他未來的努力表示最熱烈的祝賀和最美好的祝愿。

I would also like to welcome [Tim Grace], our new Senior Vice President, Business Development and Investor Relations, who joined us on April 1. She brings a wealth of experience and fresh perspective to our team. Many of you also know Anne Rakunas, our Director of External Communications and Investor Relations, who will remain the main point of contact for all investor inquiries.

我還要歡迎我們新任業務開發和投資者關係高級副總裁 [Tim Grace]，她於 4 月 1 日加入我們。你們中的許多人也認識我們的外部溝通和投資者關係總監 Anne Rakunas，她將仍然是所有投資者詢問的主要聯絡人。

Now I will pass the call over to Brian.

現在我將把電話轉給布萊恩。

Thank you, Noel. I'm pleased to report fourth quarter results that again exceeded our expectations. We delivered net sales and adjusted EPS ahead of our outlook. We expanded gross profit and adjusted EBITDA margins, and our business continued to generate strong free cash flow.

謝謝你，諾埃爾。我很高興地報告第四季度的業績，再次超出了我們的預期。我們在展望之前交付了淨銷售額並調整了每股收益。我們擴大了毛利並調整了 EBITDA 利潤率，我們的業務繼續產生強勁的自由現金流。

As Noel mentioned, fourth quarter consolidated net sales increased 1% despite unfavorable impacts from SKU rationalization and the bankruptcy of Bed Bath & Beyond, driven by growth from OXO, Hydro Flask, Osprey, Drybar, Braun, Revlon, and Curlsmith. Growth was partially offset by declines in Honeywell, Vicks, Pur, and Hot Tools.

正如Noel 所提到的，儘管受到SKU 合理化和Bed Bath & Beyond 破產的不利影響，但在OXO、Hydro Flask、Osprey、Drybar、Braun、Revlon 和Curlsmith 成長的推動下，第四季綜合淨銷售額仍成長了1%。霍尼韋爾 (Honeywell)、維克斯 (Vicks)、普爾 (Pur) 和 Hot Tools 的下滑部分抵消了增長。

Gross profit margin improved 570 basis points to 49% compared to 43.3% in the same period last year, just slightly above our expectations for the quarter. Year-over-year improvement was due to lower inbound freight and commodity costs, a decrease in inventory reserve expense, lower trade discount promotional program expense, and a more favorable product mix within beauty and wellness, including the benefits of SKU rationalization.

毛利率較去年同期的 43.3% 提高 570 個基點至 49%，略高於我們對該季度的預期。同比改善是由於入境運費和商品成本降低、庫存儲備費用減少、貿易折扣促銷計劃費用降低以及美容和健康領域更有利的產品組合（包括 SKU 合理化的好處）。

These factors were partially offset by a less favorable customer and product mix within Home & Outdoor. GAAP operating margin for the quarter was 13.5% compared to 11.1% in the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, operating margin increased 320 basis points to 17%.

這些因素被家居和戶外領域不太有利的客戶和產品組合所部分抵消。本季 GAAP 營運利潤率為 13.5%，去年同期為 11.1%。調整後的營業利益率增加了 320 個基點，達到 17%。

The increase was driven by the gross profit improvement I just referred to, partially offset by increased marketing investment, higher annual incentive compensation expense, and higher expense associated with the ramp-up of our Tennessee distribution facility.

這一增長是由我剛才提到的毛利改善所推動的，但部分被行銷投資增加、年度激勵補償費用增加以及與田納西州分銷設施擴建相關的費用增加所抵消。

On a segment basis, home and outdoor adjusted operating margin increased 160 basis points to 18.7%, driven by lower commodity and inbound freight costs, lower trade discount promotional program expense, and a decrease in inventory reserve expense. These factors were partially offset by higher expense associated with the ramp-up of our Tennessee distribution facility, an increase in annual incentive compensation expense. and a less favorable customer and product mix.

以細分市場來看，受商品和入境貨運成本下降、貿易折扣促銷計劃費用降低以及庫存儲備費用減少的推動，家庭和戶外調整後營業利潤率增長了 160 個基點，達到 18.7%。這些因素被田納西州分銷設施擴建相關的更高費用以及年度激勵補償費用的增加所部分抵消。以及不太有利的客戶和產品組合。

Adjusted operating margin for beauty and wellness increased 440 basis points to 15.6%, driven by lower inbound freight, a decrease in inventory reserve expense, lower trade discount promotional program expense, decreased distribution expense, and a more favorable product mix, including the benefits of SKU rationalization.

美容和健康業務調整後的營業利潤率增長了440 個基點，達到15.6%，這是由於入境運費下降、庫存儲備費用減少、貿易折扣促銷計劃費用減少、分銷費用減少以及更有利的產品組合（包括以下優勢）推動的： SKU合理化。

These factors were partially offset by an increase in marketing investment and higher annual incentive compensation expense. Net income was $42.7 million or $1.79 per diluted share. Non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS grew 21.9% to $2.45 per share, primarily due to higher adjusted operating income in both segments, lower interest expense, higher interest income, and lower shares outstanding, partially offset by an increase in the adjusted effective tax rate.

這些因素被行銷投資的增加和年度激勵補償費用的增加部分抵消。淨利潤為 4,270 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.79 美元。非GAAP 調整後稀釋每股收益成長21.9%，達到每股2.45 美元，主要是由於兩個部門調整後營業收入增加、利息支出減少、利息收入增加以及流通股減少，但部分被調整後有效稅率的增加所抵消。

We continue to generate strong cash flow with cash from operations of $73.6 million in the fourth quarter, in line with our expectations. We ended the quarter with total debt of $666 million, a decrease of $269 million compared to fiscal '23. Our net leverage ratio was 2 times compared to 2.8 times at the same time last year.

我們持續產生強勁的現金流，第四季營運現金流為 7,360 萬美元，符合我們的預期。截至本季末，我們的債務總額為 6.66 億美元，比 23 財年減少了 2.69 億美元。我們的淨槓桿率為2倍，而去年同期為2.8倍。

Stepping back to look at the full fiscal year, I'm pleased with the consistency of our financial performance and our ability to meet or exceed our full year outlook commitments, including net sales, adjusted EBITDA margin, interest expense, adjusted EPS, free cash flow, and ending net leverage ratio. I'm also pleased with the improved performance in year-over-year sales and other key measures throughout the course of the year.

回顧整個財年，我對我們財務表現的一致性以及我們達到或超過全年展望承諾的能力感到滿意，包括淨銷售額、調整後的EBITDA 利潤率、利息支出、調整後的每股收益、自由現金流量和期末淨槓桿。我也對全年銷售業績和其他關鍵指標的改善感到滿意。

While full year consolidated sales declined 3.3%, this included the year-over-year declines from SKU rationalization and the Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy of approximately 3.4% combined and was slightly ahead of our full year outlook.

雖然全年綜合銷售額下降了 3.3%，其中包括 SKU 合理化和 Bed Bath & Beyond 破產導致的同比下降，合計約 3.4%，略高於我們的全年預期。

We improved gross margin by 390 basis points, driven by lower inbound freight, SKU rationalization, lower inventory reserve expense, and the favorable comparative impact of EPA compliance costs incurred in the prior year.

由於入境運費降低、SKU 合理化、庫存儲備費用降低以及上一年發生的 EPA 合規成本的有利比較影響，我們的毛利率提高了 390 個基點。

We improved adjusted EBITDA margin by 100 basis points despite structural headwinds and lower operating leverage even as we increased our marketing investment, $10 million beyond our original target. We generated free cash flow of $269.4 million, reaching the high end of our outlook, which helped us beat our original interest expense expectations, make $50 million of share repurchase not included in our original outlook and still end the year with leverage in line with expectations.

儘管存在結構性阻力和較低的營運槓桿，但我們仍將調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率提高了 100 個基點，儘管我們增加了行銷投資，超出了最初的目標 1000 萬美元。我們產生了2.694 億美元的自由現金流，達到了我們預期的上限，這幫助我們超出了最初的利息支出預期，使5000 萬美元的股票回購不包括在我們最初的預期中，並且年底槓桿率仍符合預期。

Finally, we made progress in our effort to optimize our brand portfolio through a potential divestiture and are actively engaged in a process that we hope to complete in the second quarter of fiscal '25. The likelihood, timing and potential impact of the divestiture cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, and therefore, is not included in our outlook.

最後，我們透過潛在的剝離在優化品牌組合方面取得了進展，並積極參與了我們希望在 25 財年第二季完成的進程。目前無法合理估計剝離的可能性、時間和潛在影響，因此不包括在我們的展望中。

We will make an announcement when we have more to share. And if the divestiture does occur, we will update our outlook at that time. Fiscal '25 begins our Elevate for Growth era, which provides our strategic road map through fiscal '30.

當我們有更多資訊要分享時，我們將發佈公告。如果剝離確實發生，我們將屆時更新我們的前景。 25 財年開始了我們的「提升成長」時代，它為我們提供了到 30 財年的策略路線圖。

We intend to further leverage our operational scale and assets, including our state-of-the-art Tennessee distribution center, improved go-to-market structure with the North America RMO and our expanded shared service capabilities to grow organic sales, further expand margins, and deploy capital through strategic acquisitions, share repurchases, and capital structure management.

我們打算進一步利用我們的營運規模和資產，包括我們最先進的田納西州配送中心、與北美 RMO 改進的進入市場結構以及我們擴大的共享服務能力，以增加有機銷售，進一步擴大利潤率，並透過策略收購、股票回購和資本結構管理來部署資本。

Turning to our full year outlook for fiscal '25. We have factored in a number of variables, including our view of lingering inflation, interest rates that are higher for longer, lower growth expectations from certain retailers, a softer consumer that is further prioritizing their more limited discretionary spend on experiences and services and the cough, cold, flu season in line with pre-COVID historical averages.

轉向我們對 25 財年的全年展望。我們考慮了許多變量，包括我們對持續通膨的看法、較長時間內較高的利率、某些零售商較低的增長預期、消費者的疲軟進一步優先考慮在體驗和服務上的有限可自由支配支出以及咳嗽、寒冷、流感季節與新冠疫情爆發前的歷史平均值一致。

In terms of retail inventory, while we see pockets of higher weeks on hand in some of our categories, we believe retail inventory is healthy overall, and we generally expect sell-in to closely match sell-through. With the fuel from Pegasus, the operational improvements we've made in our Elevate for Growth strategies, we believe we are well-positioned to navigate what we expect will be a softer consumer spending environment.

就零售庫存而言，雖然我們看到某些類別的庫存量增加，但我們認為零售庫存整體健康，而且我們通常預期銷售量與售出量密切相關。借助 Pegasus 的推動以及我們在「提升成長」策略中所做的營運改進，我們相信我們已做好準備應對我們預期的疲軟的消費者支出環境。

We expect net sales between $1.965 billion and $2.025 billion in fiscal '25, which implies a decline of 2% to growth of 1%. In terms of our net sales outlook by segment, we expect home and outdoor growth of 1% to 4% and the Beauty & Wellness decline of 4.5% to 1.5%, which includes a year-over-year headwind of approximately 1% related to the expiration of an out-license relationship of one of our Wellness brands.

我們預計 25 財年的淨銷售額將在 19.65 億美元至 20.25 億美元之間，這意味著下降 2% 到成長 1%。就我們按細分市場劃分的淨銷售額前景而言，我們預計家庭和戶外用品增長 1% 至 4%，美容與健康下降 4.5% 至 1.5%，其中包括與去年同期約 1% 的逆風我們的一個健康品牌的外部授權關係到期。

We expect GAAP diluted EPS of $6.68 to $7.45 for the full year and non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $8.70 to $9.20, which implies an adjusted diluted EPS decline of 2.4% to growth of 3.3%. We expect adjusted EBITDA margins to decline roughly 40 basis points as benefits from Pegasus and other gross profit improvements are reinvested for growth.

我們預計全年GAAP 稀釋後每股收益為6.68 美元至7.45 美元，非GAAP 調整後稀釋每股收益為8.70 美元至9.20 美元，這意味著調整後稀釋後每股收益將下降2.4%，增長3.3% 。我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率將下降約 40 個基點，因為 Pegasus 和其他毛利改善帶來的收益將再投資於成長。

You see the current softness in the environment as an opportunity to further invest in the health of our brands and grow our market share. As such, our outlook reflects a year-over-year increase in growth investment spending of roughly 100 basis points on top of an increase of 100 basis points in fiscal '24.

您將當前的疲軟環境視為進一步投資於我們品牌健康和擴大市場份額的機會。因此，我們的展望反映出成長型投資支出在 2024 財年成長 100 個基點的基礎上年增約 100 個基點。

Our adjusted EBITDA outlook also includes a year-over-year headwind of approximately 50 basis points from the expiration of the out-license relationship I referred to earlier and some expected margin compression from enterprise technology initiatives included in the Elevate for Growth strategic plan that are beginning in fiscal '25.

我們調整後的EBITDA 前景還包括由於我之前提到的外部許可關係到期而導致的同比逆風約50 個基點，以及Elevate for Growth 戰略計劃中包含的企業技術計劃帶來的一些預期利潤壓縮，這些計畫包括：從 25 財年開始。

In terms of Project Pegasus, we have updated our expectations to reflect the choices we are making to maximize the benefits of these initiatives while minimizing the transitional risk. We are maintaining the total estimated savings of $75 million to $85 million over the duration of the plan but have revised the cadence of estimated savings recognition now extending into fiscal '27.

就 Pegasus 專案而言，我們更新了我們的預期，以反映我們為最大限度地發揮這些措施的效益、同時最大限度地降低過渡風險而做出的選擇。在該計劃期間，我們將估計節省總額維持在 7,500 萬至 8,500 萬美元，但修改了估計節省確認的節奏，現已延伸至 27 財年。

After achieving our fiscal '24 Pegasus targets, we now expect the savings in fiscal '25 to be approximately 35% of the total and the balance of savings to fall across fiscal '26 and '27. We are also lowering the total estimated restructuring charges by $10 million. We now expect onetime pretax restructuring charges of approximately $50 million to $55 million over the duration of the plan compared to our previous estimate of $60 million to $65 million.

在實現我們的 24 財年 Pegasus 目標後，我們現在預計 25 財年的儲蓄將佔總數的 35% 左右，而儲蓄餘額將在 26 財年和 27 財年下降。我們還將預計重組費用總額降低了 1000 萬美元。我們現在預計該計劃期間的一次性稅前重組費用約為 5,000 萬至 5,500 萬美元，而我們先前的估計為 6,000 萬至 6,500 萬美元。

We continue to expect restructuring charges to be completed during fiscal '25. We expect the GAAP effective tax rate range of 19% to 21% for the full fiscal year and a non-GAAP adjusted tax rate range of 17.2% to 18.3%.

我們繼續預計重組費用將在 25 財年完成。我們預計整個財政年度的 GAAP 有效稅率範圍為 19% 至 21%，非 GAAP 調整後稅率範圍為 17.2% 至 18.3%。

We expect capital and intangible asset expenditures of between $30 million and $35 million for fiscal '25, which includes remaining equipment and technology of approximately $8 million associated with our new Tennessee distribution facility and initial capital expenditures related to the first phase of enterprise technology initiatives I referred to earlier.

我們預計25 財年的資本和無形資產支出將在3,000 萬至3,500 萬美元之間，其中包括與我們新的田納西州分銷設施相關的剩餘設備和技術約800 萬美元，以及與企業技術計劃第一階段相關的初始資本支出前面曾提到。

We expect free cash flow in the range of $255 million to $275 million and adjusted EBITDA of $324 million to $331 million. Net leverage ratio, as defined in our credit agreement, is expected to be between 1.25x and 1x by the end of fiscal '25. In terms of quarterly cadence of sales, we expect a decline of approximately 7% to 5% in the first quarter of fiscal '25 in a range of flat to 3% growth for each of the remaining quarters.

我們預計自由現金流在 2.55 億美元至 2.75 億美元之間，調整後的 EBITDA 為 3.24 億美元至 3.31 億美元。我們的信貸協議中定義的淨槓桿率預計到 25 財年末將在 1.25 倍到 1 倍之間。就季度銷售節奏而言，我們預計 25 財年第一季的銷售量將下降約 7% 至 5%，而其餘各季度的成長將持平至 3%。

We expect a slight decline in adjusted EPS for the first half of fiscal '25 with a decline of approximately 15% to 20% in the first quarter, and nearly offsetting growth in the second quarter. We expect adjusted EPS in the range of flat to 5% growth in the second half of fiscal '25.

我們預計 25 財年上半年調整後每股盈餘將小幅下降，第一季下降約 15% 至 20%，幾乎抵銷第二季的成長。我們預計 25 財年下半年調整後每股盈餘將維持持平至 5% 的成長。

In summary, we're pleased to provide an outlook with both net sales and adjusted EPS growth at the high end of our range, further implied gross margin expansion, a significant increase in growth investment, strong free cash flow, further balance sheet productivity, and capital deployment optionality.

總而言之，我們很高興提供淨銷售額和調整後每股收益增長均處於我們範圍高端的展望，進一步暗示毛利率擴張，增長投資顯著增加，強勁的自由現金流，進一步的資產負債表生產力，和資本部署的選擇性。

Our free cash flow outlook at the high end of the range implies a forward free cash flow yield of 11.6% using Monday's market capitalization. Our adjusted EBITDA outlook at the high end of the range implies an EV to forward EBITDA multiple of 9.1 times using Monday's market capitalization and our outstanding debt at the end of fiscal '24. We believe these are compelling metrics with strong underlying business fundamentals that compare favorably with our peer set and the market overall.

我們的自由現金流前景處於該範圍的高端，這意味著使用週一市值計算的遠期自由現金流收益率為 11.6%。我們調整後的 EBITDA 前景處於該範圍的高端，這意味著使用周一的市值和 24 財年末的未償債務，EV 的 EBITDA 倍數將達到 9.1 倍。我們相信這些都是令人信服的指標，具有強大的基礎業務基本面，與我們的同行和整個市場相比具有優勢。

And finally, I want to close by recognizing and congratulating Jack Jancin on his retirement after a distinguished career. I've been fortunate to work with Jack for almost 20 years now and have long admired his wisdom, leadership, charm, and sense of humor. His contributions to Helen of Troy are measurable and he will be missed, but I'm happy for him and all the blokes he will soon meet. Jack, I can only hope that you're better at retirement than I was.

最後，我想對傑克詹辛在完成傑出職業生涯後退休表示認可和祝賀。我有幸與傑克共事近 20 年，長期以來一直欽佩他的智慧、領導力、魅力和幽默感。他對特洛伊的海倫的貢獻是可以衡量的，人們會懷念他，但我為他和他即將見到的所有傢伙感到高興。傑克，我只能希望你退休後能比我更好。

And with that, I'll turn it back to the operator for questions.

然後，我會將其轉回給接線員詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) Peter Grom, UBS.

（操作員說明）Peter Grom，UBS。

Thanks, operator.

謝謝，接線生。

Good morning, everyone. Maybe just to start, Jack, thank you so much for all the help over the years, and we wish you nothing but the best of luck moving forward. Maybe just turning to the questions here. And I guess I had a couple of questions about the '25 outlook just in the context of what was outlined at the Investor Day.

大家，早安。也許只是開始，傑克，非常感謝您多年來的所有幫助，我們只祝您未來好運。也許只是轉向這裡的問題。我想我對 25 年的前景有幾個問題，就在投資者日概述的背景下。

And I totally understand that this is never supposed to be -- or never considered to be guidance. But just going back to that slide that shows the tailwinds or the building of lots of growth. There was a lot of those really expected to break your way this year. So can you maybe just help us understand what's really changed versus October?

我完全理解，這永遠不應該是——或永遠不會被認為是指導。但回到那張幻燈片，它顯示了順風車或大量增長的建立。今年有很多人真的希望能打破你的道路。那麼您能否幫助我們了解與 10 月相比真正發生了什麼變化？

And then just maybe a follow-up to that. Just kind of would love some perspective on the degree of comfort you have in the guidance at this point, right? It's not lost on many of those listening that oftentimes with the management transition, sometimes the outlook can embed a bit more flexibility. So just in the context of the phasing that seems to imply an improvement following a challenging 1Q, can you maybe just discuss your comfort or visibility of this outlook is achievable? Just kind of given the operating backdrop? Thanks.

然後也許只是後續行動。只是想了解一下您目前在指導中的舒適程度，對嗎？許多聆聽者並沒有忘記，隨著管理階層的過渡，有時前景可以包含更多的彈性。因此，就階段性而言，似乎意味著在充滿挑戰的第一季之後有所改善，您能否談談您對這一前景的舒適度或可見性是可以實現的？只是考慮到營運背景嗎？謝謝。

Okay. Peter, it's Brian, and I'm going to start and Noel can build. I'd say -- look, let's take this in sequence and start with Q1, and then we can talk about the whole year and the factors that are there the whole year, and then I'll go into what gives us confidence that we can hit that outlook.

好的。彼得，我是布萊恩，我要開始，諾埃爾可以建造。我想說——看，讓我們按順序討論，從第一季度開始，然後我們可以討論全年以及全年存在的因素，然後我將討論是什麼讓我們有信心我們可以達到這個前景。

With respect to Q1, we're now -- we now know how the cough, cold, flu season played out. We did not know that when we had Investor Day in October. And based on the way it's played out, we are expecting reduced replenishment orders in Q1, and that's what we've seen so far versus the same period last year when there was a stronger season and it drove solid replenishment in Q1 of last year.

關於第一季度，我們現在知道咳嗽、感冒、流感季節的情況如何。當我們十月份的投資者日時，我們並不知道這一點。根據目前的情況，我們預計第一季的補貨訂單將會減少，這是我們迄今為止所看到的，與去年同期相比，當時的季節更為強勁，這推動了去年第一季的強勁補貨。

We've also seen pockets of higher inventory in the Outdoor channel, both domestically and internationally. And so it will take a period of time to work through that inventory. And then we have seen some speed bumps in shipments during Q1 and resulting from the system integration of Curlsmith and certain other DTC platform enhancements, but we believe we're largely past those speed bumps now.

我們也看到國內和國際戶外通路的庫存增加。因此，需要一段時間來處理該清單。然後，我們看到第一季的出貨量出現了一些減速，這是由於 Curlsmith 的系統整合和某些其他 DTC 平台增強功能造成的，但我們相信我們現在基本上已經過去了這些減速。

And then some additional factors that impact the full year. Again, a lot of these we were not aware of in October, we've shared in other manufacturers and retailers have all [societed] an increasingly soft consumer environment. That was really a bit of a change versus what we saw in October.

然後是影響全年的一些其他因素。同樣，我們在 10 月並沒有意識到其中的許多內容，我們已經在其他製造商和零售商中分享了一個日益疲軟的消費者環境。與我們十月看到的情況相比，這確實發生了一些變化。

And hopefully, you've also seen lower growth expectations from certain retailers like Ulta, Amazon, Target, which have all come out with recent reports. We also had an expiration of an out-license relationship on one of our brands that we licensed the trademark to in exchange for royalty income, and that has a meaningful impact on revenue and earnings.

希望您也看到 Ulta、亞馬遜、Target 等某些零售商降低了成長預期，這些零售商最近都發布了報告。我們也向一個品牌授予了商標授權關係，以換取特許權使用費收入，這對收入和收益產生了重大影響。

It effectively dropped straight to the bottom line with respect to earnings. And again, that is not something we had complete visibility on when we gave Investor Day long-term guidance. I'm glad you pointed out it was long term and not fiscal '25 long-term guidance in October. And then lastly, what gives us confidence in improvement in kind of the last three quarters of the year.

它實際上直接下降到了盈利方面的底線。再說一遍，當我們在投資者日提供長期指導時，我們並沒有完全了解這一點。我很高興您指出這是長期的，而不是 10 月的 25 財年長期指導。最後，是什麼讓我們對今年最後三個季度的改善充滿信心。

We know we have incremental distribution that will layer in throughout the year, and we'll actually build. So it's a building -- kind of building layers of distribution throughout the year. In terms of absolute marketing spend, Q1 is our lowest level of spend. And so we anticipate the benefit of that incremental investment will accelerate over the course of the year.

我們知道我們的增量分發將在全年中分層，並且我們將實際構建。所以它是一座建築——一種全年分佈的建築層。就絕對行銷支出而言，第一季是我們支出的最低水準。因此，我們預期增量投資的效益將在今年加速顯現。

So there will be more spend over the course of the year, which will drive, we believe, more volume. We're doing repositioning on key brands like Hydro Flask and Drybar, but that is still early on, and it will take time to build momentum behind those efforts. And then we have new product innovation and refreshes weighted to quarters two through four.

因此，今年的支出將會增加，我們相信，這將推動銷售增加。我們正在對 Hydro Flask 和 Drybar 等關鍵品牌進行重新定位，但這還處於早期階段，需要時間來為這些努力建立動力。然後我們在第二季到第四季進行了新產品創新和更新。

So those will layer in later in the quarter. And then again, we saw speed bumps in shipments in Q1 as a result of system work that we were doing that we don't expect in the later quarters. So that's kind of the high-level summary of our entire fiscal '25 outlook, with a little bit of comparison to what we saw in October versus what we're seeing now.

因此，這些將在本季晚些時候逐步落實。再說一次，由於我們正在進行的系統工作，我們在第一季的出貨量出現了減速，而我們預計在後面的幾季中不會出現這種情況。這是對我們整個 25 財年展望的高度概括，並與 10 月的情況和現在的情況進行了一些比較。

No, I was just going to say I think Brian covered it well. I think -- I feel, especially in the last few levers that Brian pointed out on why better the rest of the year. I feel a good degree of confidence on the incremental distribution in particular. Those are areas where you have ongoing customer retailer conversations, you look at their planogram timing, et cetera. So things can change as the year goes along, but visibility to those things are solid, in my view.

不，我只是想說我認為布萊恩講得很好。我認為——我覺得，特別是在布萊恩指出的最後幾個槓桿中，為什麼今年剩下的時間會更好。我尤其對增量分佈充滿信心。在這些區域中，您可以與客戶零售商進行持續對話，查看他們的貨架圖時間等等。因此，隨著時間的推移，事情可能會發生變化，但在我看來，這些事情的可見性是可靠的。

Rupesh Parikh, Oppenheimer.

魯佩什·帕里克，奧本海默。

Good morning and thanks for taking my question. Also Jack, congrats and best wishes on retirement. So just starting out with the, I guess, the competitive promotional backdrop, would just love to hear the ways you guys are seeing on the competitive promotional front and then your expectations this year just on the promotional backdrop.

早安，感謝您提出我的問題。還有傑克，祝賀你退休，並祝他退休。因此，我想，從競爭性促銷背景開始，我很想聽聽你們在競爭性促銷方面看到的方式，然後是你們今年對促銷背景的期望。

Yes, I could start again. I mean, in Q4, we actually had less promotional expense. But going into next year with the softer consumer, yes, I think it's reasonable to expect that you could have pressure in terms of promotion and how will the competitive dynamic play out?

是的，我可以重新開始。我的意思是，在第四季度，我們的促銷費用實際上減少了​​。但進入明年，隨著消費者的疲軟，我認為可以合理地預期您在促銷方面可能會面臨壓力，競爭動態將如何發揮？

I mean I think at this point in time, we feel comfortable with how we're positioned, and we've made some adjustments, honestly, to position ourselves well and don't see a significant headwind. But again, that's one where the consumer -- or the customer competitive dynamics could change during the year, and we'll have to adjust. Noel, if you want to add.

我的意思是，我認為在這個時候，我們對自己的定位感到滿意，而且說實話，我們已經做了一些調整，以很好地定位自己，並且沒有看到重大的阻力。但同樣，消費者或客戶的競爭動態在這一年可能會發生變化，我們必須做出調整。諾埃爾，如果你想補充的話。

Yes. I don't see major shifts right now. We continue to watch. We continue to pay attention to what's out there. As Brian mentioned, we made a few select adjustments on some of our Hydro Flask items as we looked across our assortment and some of the competitive assortment and found a few places that we thought we could be a bit sharper. But I don't see major other changes unless dynamics kind of evolve over the course of the year.

是的。我現在沒有看到重大轉變。我們繼續關注。我們將繼續關注那裡的情況。正如布萊恩所提到的，當我們審視我們的產品系列和一些競爭產品系列時，我們對一些 Hydro Flask 商品做了一些選擇性調整，發現了一些我們認為可以更敏銳的地方。但我沒有看到其他重大變化，除非這一年動態發生變化。

And then my -- I guess, my follow-up question, this year -- this past fiscal year, very strong gross margin improvement. Is there any color you can just share in terms of gross margin expectations and the key points and takes that we should be thinking about on the gross margin line?

然後我的——我想，我的後續問題是，今年——上個財年，毛利率有了非常強勁的改善。您是否可以分享毛利率預期以及我們在毛利率線上應該考慮的要點和要點？

Yes, I can give you some color. We're trying not to guide to specific gross profit guidance for fiscal '25. But implied in our outlook is gross margin expansion, and you can understand the extent of it.

是的，我可以給你一些顏色。我們試圖不為 25 財年提供具體的毛利指導。但我們的展望中隱含的是毛利率的擴張，你可以理解它的程度。

If you consider that we have a drag of 100 basis points related to -- we called out in the earnings release how we have the drags of 100 basis points on increased marketing investment or growth investment, and then we have a 50 basis point compression coming from the loss of the out-license relationship.

如果你認為我們有 100 個基點的拖累，我們在財報中指出，增加營銷投資或增長投資會拖累 100 個基點，然後我們會壓縮 50 個基點由於失去外部許可關係。

And then overall, our adjusted EBITDA margin is contracting only 40 basis points. So at least, we're having at least expansion of 110 basis points implied through those comments. We -- again, we're not doing specifics with respect to gross margin, but hopefully, you get some idea of the dimensionality of the gross margin expansion for fiscal '25.

整體而言，我們調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率僅收縮了 40 個基點。因此，至少，這些評論暗示我們的通膨至少擴大了 110 個基點。我們再次強調，我們不會詳細說明毛利率，但希望您能對 25 財年毛利率擴張的規模有所了解。

Robert Labick, CJS Securities.

羅伯特‧拉比克 (Robert Labick)，CJS 證券公司。

This is Justin on for Robert. So going back to the Analyst Day, one of the messages or key messages in our view, was your ability to ratchet investment spending up and down depending on the macro environment and other factors to achieve a steady bottom line growth.

這是羅伯特的賈斯汀。因此，回到分析師日，我們認為的資訊或關鍵資訊之一是，您有能力根據宏觀環境和其他因素上下調整投資支出，以實現穩定的利潤成長。

So given the revenue outlook that you've laid out this morning, why do you think fiscal '25 is the right time to ramp up growth investment spending by 100 bps in addition to the incremental spend included in your Elevate for Growth plans?

因此，考慮到您今天早上列出的收入前景，為什麼您認為除了「提升成長」計畫中包含的增量支出之外，25 財年是將成長投資支出增加 100 個基點的合適時機？

Yes. I think as we looked at our brands and the need to be top of mind, aware -- build top-of-mind awareness, be available where our key shoppers are shopping. We needed to put some investment. I mean now, in my view, now is the time in these kind of trough consumer environments, these are the moments when you need to really invest in the strength of your brands.

是的。我認為，當我們審視我們的品牌時，我們需要先考慮、意識到——建立首要意識，在我們的主要購物者購物時提供幫助。我們需要投入一些投資。我的意思是，在我看來，現在是在這種低谷消費環境中的時候，這是你需要真正投資於你的品牌實力的時刻。

And so the 100 basis point investment is -- comes out of the fuel from Project Pegasus and where we will use the portfolio, the new portfolio strategy that we laid out. So we'll lean into those brands and invest in the areas that we think the ROI is very good.

因此，100 個基點的投資來自 Pegasus 專案的燃料，我們將使用投資組合，也就是我們制定的新投資組合策略。因此，我們將重點關注這些品牌，並投資於我們認為投資回報率非常好的領域。

We'll adjust throughout the year based on how the return on investment is playing out, how the responsiveness of the brands are playing out, but we believe this is the right time to invest in the strength and the health of our brands.

我們將根據投資回報的表現以及品牌的響應能力在全年進行調整，但我們相信現在是投資於我們品牌的實力和健康的正確時機。

Yes. The other thing I would add is that there are less Pegasus savings expected for fiscal '25 that did factor into kind of the algorithm and with less savings, there's more compression, but I agree with Noel now is the right time to do it. So we get a little leakage in terms of EPS, but again, the right thing to do.

是的。我要補充的另一件事是，預計25 財年Pegasus 節省的金額會減少，這確實會影響到演算法的種類，並且節省的金額越少，壓縮就越多，但我同意Noel 的觀點，現在是這樣做的正確時機。因此，我們在每股收益方面出現了一些洩漏，但同樣，這是正確的做法。

And we have no concerns about our ability to ultimately achieve the Pegasus savings. We'll just come a little bit later. And it's really tied to a piece of technology development that is taking a little bit longer to get that developed and in place, but we're comfortable that we're going to get there.

我們並不擔心我們最終實現 Pegasus 節省的能力。我們稍後會來。它確實與一項技術開發有關，該技術的開發和到位需要更長的時間，但我們對我們能夠實現這一目標感到滿意。

I appreciate the additional color there. And then one more follow-up. Your guidance calls for healthy cash flow generation and your target leverage of [1.25 to 1] at the end of the year. I assume that's exclusive of any potential buybacks. And then along those lines, could you talk about your willingness to be opportunistic and aggressive repurchasing shares, particularly in light of this modest leverage and possible share price weakness this morning.

我很欣賞那裡的額外顏色。然後還有一個後續行動。您的指導要求在年底實現健康的現金流產生和 [1.25 比 1] 的目標槓桿率。我認為這不包括任何潛在的回購。然後，您能否談談您是否願意機會主義和積極地回購股票，特別是考慮到今天早上這種適度的槓桿作用和可能的股價疲軟。

Yes. That's correct that our outlook does not include the impact of any share repurchase. But I would say our mindset is that we're open to buy with respect to capital deployment, which would include share repurchase, and we're looking at acquisitions as well. So I think we are in a position balance sheet-wise, where we're interested in deploying capital.

是的。我們的前景不包括任何股票回購的影響，這是正確的。但我想說，我們的心態是，我們對資本部署持開放態度，其中包括股票回購，而且我們也在考慮收購。因此，我認為我們在資產負債表方面處於有利的位置，我們有興趣部署資本。

Linda Bolton Weiser, D.A. Davidson.

琳達·博爾頓·韋瑟，D.A.戴維森。

So can you talk about just the Beauty area. I think you said that Hot Tools was down in FY24 and yet you have the consumables launch that would have helped that brand. So can you talk about that a little bit more? And is the consumables now ending the exclusivity at (inaudible)

那麼您能只談談美容領域嗎？我想你說過 Hot Tools 在 2024 財年倒閉了，但你推出的消耗品將有助於該品牌。那你能多談談這個嗎？消耗品現在是否結束排他性（聽不清楚）

So will you be expanding it? And then I thought you said Beauty was up in the fourth quarter. So kind of what were the roots of the Beauty being up in the fourth quarter, if I caught that correctly. Thank you.

那你會擴大它嗎？然後我以為你說美妝在第四季有上升。如果我沒聽錯的話，第四季美女的根源是什麼。謝謝。

Linda, it's Brian. I want to start because I want to clarify, we called out Hot Tools being down in the quarter, but it was up for the full fiscal year. So I just want to get that clear. Noel, if you want.

琳達，這是布萊恩。我想開始是因為我想澄清一下，我們稱熱門工具在本季有所下降，但整個財年卻有所上升。所以我只是想弄清楚這一點。諾埃爾，如果你願意的話。

Yes. And I think -- and driven by, as you pointed out, Linda, the launch of the liquids in addition to the tools drove Hot Tools up for the year. And I think as -- in terms of that line, it is -- it does continue to be at also we did continue to work with them to expand some of the [end caps], et cetera, on the Hot Tools liquids, and we are now looking to expand that further into other retail customers.

是的。我認為，正如你所指出的，琳達，在工具的推動下，除了工具之外，液體產品的推出推動了今年熱工具的成長。我認為，就這條線而言，它確實繼續存在，而且我們確實繼續與他們合作，擴大熱工具液體的一些[端蓋]等，並且我們現在正在尋求將其進一步擴展到其他零售客戶。

In terms of broader hair tools, I think I maintain a consumer-centric innovation across our portfolio of brands. We have Revlon, Hot Tools, Drybar, and now Curlsmith. So we really hit that good, better bath, which is a great position to be in, in a world of kind of the current consumer environment. We can meet the full range of consumer needs.

就更廣泛的美髮工具而言，我認為我在我們的品牌組合中保持以消費者為中心的創新。我們有 Revlon、Hot Tools、Drybar，現在還有 Curlsmith。因此，我們確實找到了更好的沐浴產品，在當前的消費環境中，這是一個很好的位置。我們可以滿足全方位的消費者需求。

Revlon offers consumers that great value. Our Revlon Volumizer is still the number one hot air tooling -- styling tool in the market. It's a price point that's much more accessible, plus we have a whole range of other appliances that have done well for us in mass retailers in particular.

露華濃為消費者提供了巨大的價值。我們的 Revlon Volumizer 仍然是市場上排名第一的熱風工具——造型工具。這是一個更容易獲得的價格點，而且我們還有一系列其他電器，特別是在大型零售商中，這些電器對我們來說表現良好。

And then on the higher end, I mentioned in my remarks, one of our newest innovations that drive our Roller Club, the Hot Rollers have done well for us. We just launched them in February, and it's already become our top-selling tool and some of the beauty retailers.

然後，在更高端的方面，我在發言中提到，作為我們推動滾軸俱樂部發展的最新創新之一，熱滾輪為我們帶來了很好的表現。我們剛剛在二月推出了它們，它已經成為我們和一些美容零售商最暢銷的工具。

So it's a good example of how when you meet the range of needs, with the range of brands that you have, you can cover the market and start to get the right momentum going.

因此，這是一個很好的例子，說明當您透過擁有的一系列品牌滿足一系列需求時，您可以覆蓋市場並開始獲得正確的動力。

And then in terms of -- you referred to some speed bumps that affected shipping in the fiscal first quarter. It sounds like they were very specific things. Is there any way to quantify the speed bump impact on revenue in the first quarter of '25? And then is any of that revenue just delayed revenue? Or is it completely lost due to these speed bumps that you had in shipments in first quarter?

然後，您提到了影響第一財季航運的一些減速帶。聽起來它們是非常具體的事情。有什麼方法可以量化 25 年第一季減速對營收的影響嗎？那麼這些收入是否只是延遲收入？或者由於第一季出貨量的這些減速而完全丟失了？

Yes. Linda, I mean we still work through system things. I don't think it would make a lot of sense to try and be so precise in terms of quantification. But yes, we were specific and it was isolated to 2 or 3 areas where in Curlsmith, we are integrating that business into our ERP system and are effectively done with that integration.

是的。琳達，我的意思是我們仍然透過系統的事情來工作。我認為嘗試如此精確的量化沒有多大意義。但是，是的，我們是具體的，它被隔離到 Curlsmith 的 2 或 3 個區域，我們正在將該業務整合到我們的 ERP 系統中，並有效地完成了該整合。

We're working out the kinks right now. But as we went through that, we did get some speed bumps in terms of shipments. And I would say, at this point in time, our view is that we probably won't recapture those shipments. So I would say the retailers will buy back what they need, but we're not -- they're not going to overbuy and kind of recoup what we weren't able to ship in the first quarter.

我們現在正在解決問題。但當我們經歷這個過程時，我們確實在發貨方面遇到了一些障礙。我想說，目前，我們的觀點是我們可能不會收回這些貨物。所以我想說零售商會回購他們需要的東西，但我們不會——他們不會過度購買並彌補我們第一季無法發貨的東西。

And then in the DTC, you probably are aware the brands where we have the highest DTC presence. We upgraded the platform in one of our businesses, and again, working through things there and likely won't recoup lost volume there. And then the other business was really just instituting changes and enhancements.

然後，在 DTC 中，您可能知道我們 DTC 存在率最高的品牌。我們升級了其中一項業務的平台，並再次解決了那裡的問題，很可能無法彌補那裡損失的數量。然後其他業務實際上只是進行更改和增強。

It wasn't really a platform upgrade. But as we continue and evolve and put new features in constant maintenance and attention is required, and we saw some declines there. So hopefully, that gives you what you need. It's a combination of probably goes across three different brands and not something that we expect to recoup, but we expect robust volume from our DTC platforms going forward.

這並不是真正的平台升級。但隨著我們的不斷發展和不斷發展，需要不斷維護和關注新功能，我們看到了一些下降。希望這能為您提供所需的東西。這可能是三個不同品牌的組合，我們預計不會收回成本，但我們預計 DTC 平台的銷售將強勁。

That's why we do the enhancements. And so maybe there's a little bit of lift later because we have those in place now, but not a recruitment of the shipments we lost specifically in the first quarter.

這就是我們進行增強的原因。因此，也許稍後會有一點提升，因為我們現在已經有了這些，但沒有補充我們在第一季特別損失的發貨量。

And then finally, in terms of the -- you seem very excited about the distribution expansion that you are getting in FY25. Can you quantify how much of the revenue growth you're guiding to is pipeline fill? And then how you comp that in FY26? I know this is looking out a long time.

最後，就 — — 您似乎對 2025 財年的分銷擴張感到非常興奮。您能否量化您所引導的收入成長中有多少是通路填充的？那麼您在 2026 財年如何計算呢？我知道這已經等了很久了。

But if the pipeline still is a significant contributor, do you expect to get more shelf space gains going out? And do you have visibility on that?

但如果管道仍然是重要的貢獻者，您是否期望獲得更多的貨架空間收益？您對此有了解嗎？

Yes. I would say, going after -- as you probably remember from the Investor Day going after white space distribution opportunities has been a key priority as we form the North American RMO. We were pleased with some progress that we made in '24.

是的。我想說，正如您可能還記得，在投資者日，追求空白分銷機會一直是我們組建北美 RMO 時的首要任務。我們對 24 年取得的一些進展感到高興。

We kind of set an internal goal for ourselves as this was a new organization and exceeded that. Some of that was some of the comments that I made in the remarks around OXO, Softworks, Gadgets, and OXO Grilling and Walmart are two nice examples there. So we got some in '24. We've got a positive outlook for some additional opportunities in fiscal '25.

我們為自己設定了一個內部目標，因為這是一個新的組織並且超越了這個目標。其中一些是我在 OXO、Softworks、Gadgets 的評論中發表的一些評論，OXO Grilling 和沃爾瑪就是兩個很好的例子。所以我們在 24 年得到了一些。我們對 25 財年的一些額外機會持樂觀態度。

And I think it will be an ongoing area that we continue to go after year in and year out. That's part of the beauty of the North American RMO where that becomes their focus. If it's not getting a whole new brand into distribution, sometimes it's just getting the right assortment in there. You're looking at A SKUs, B SKUs and really making sure you've got your highest velocity high-turning SKUs in the best retailers at the best time.

我認為這將是我們年復一年繼續研究的一個持續領域。這是北美 RMO 的魅力之一，也是他們關注的焦點。如果不是要分銷一個全新的品牌，有時只是在其中添加合適的品種。您正在查看 A SKU、B SKU，並真正確保您在最佳時間在最佳零售商處獲得最高流通量的高週轉 SKU。

So I don't think it's -- we get it and then it all goes away. I think in my experience, that's an ongoing activity that the North American RMO will be going after year in and year out.

所以我不認為這是——我們明白了，然後一切都消失了。我認為根據我的經驗，這是北美 RMO 年復一年持續進行的活動。

And I agree with everything Noel said, but I think it does when it does layer in the first time, like in the second, third and fourth quarters will cause some lumpiness compared to the first quarter, which is part of the reason why we have the cadence that we do with respect to sales in fiscal '25.

我同意諾埃爾所說的一切，但我認為當它第一次分層時，就像在第二、第三和第四季相比，與第一季相比，它會造成一些混亂，這也是我們有的部分原因我們在 25 財年的銷售方面所做的節奏。

But what we've seen with our new distribution that we had in fiscal '24 is strong replenishment, strong results. So we don't see it as a kind of you fill it in and then don't get the repeat business. We've been able to, in some cases, expand the business where we've added these layers of distribution. So we think it's good, sustainable, long-term growth strategy.

但我們在 24 財年的新分配中看到的是強勁的補充和強勁的業績。因此，我們不認為這是您填寫後就不會獲得重複業務的情況。在某些情況下，我們已經能夠透過添加這些分銷層來擴展業務。所以我們認為這是一個良好的、可持續的長期成長策略。

We plan to continue to use. And then just on your last point, I think it'd be premature to talk about the visibility and the drivers of this in fiscal year '26. We're really not to the point where we do that. Now obviously, if we get the sell-through, we get the benefits of everything we do in fiscal '25, but I think it's premature to talk about '26.

我們計劃繼續使用。關於你的最後一點，我認為現在談論 26 財年的可見性和驅動因素還為時過早。我們確實還沒有達到這樣做的地步。現在顯然，如果我們獲得銷售，我們將從 25 財年所做的一切中獲益，但我認為現在談論 26 財年還為時過早。

Okay. And then my final question is on M&A. You're talking about looking at a potential acquisition. It just seems like with Curlsmith integration issues and all the moving parts going on and other integration or other execution issues. It just seems not wise to me to be adding more onto the play with another acquisition.

好的。我的最後一個問題是關於併購。你正在談論尋找潛在的收購。看起來就像是 Curlsmith 整合問題以及所有正在進行的活動部件以及其他整合或其他執行問題。在我看來，透過另一次收購來增加更多內容似乎並不明智。

And I think before you had said you might actually do an acquisition before the divestiture. Is that still the case? And are you seeing the M&A valuation so attractive that, that's what's making you seem like very agreeable to doing another deal?

我認為您之前曾說過，您實際上可能會在剝離之前進行收購。現在還是這樣嗎？您是否認為併購估值如此有吸引力，以至於您似乎非常同意進行另一筆交易？

Yes. Look, first, let me say, M&A processes evolve. And so you can have a point of view at one period of time that completely changes the next period of time, and we're not going to lock ourselves into an acquisition that doesn't make sense just because we talked about being in the market for acquisitions.

是的。首先，我要說的是，併購流程不斷發展。因此，你可以在一個時期的觀點完全改變下一個時期的觀點，我們不會僅僅因為我們談論進入市場而將自己鎖定在一項沒有意義的收購中用於收購。

So yes, we did talk about one before. Things change, and we have to adjust. We -- yes, I think valuations are at a good point. We see this as an opportunity to buy attractive assets at reasonable valuations. And so we think it makes sense.

是的，我們之前確實討論過一個。事情發生了變化，我們必須做出調整。我們——是的，我認為估值處於一個很好的點。我們認為這是一個以合理估值購買有吸引力資產的機會。所以我們認為這是有道理的。

And then with respect to Curlsmith, we called it out because it had an impact on shipments, but the -- I think you have to have the perspective of when people do systems integrations, there can often be very big problems.

然後，關於 Curlsmith，我們指出了這一點，因為它對出貨量產生了影響，但是——我認為你必須有這樣的觀點：當人們進行系統整合時，通常會出現非常大的問題。

These were not very big problems. These were minor hiccups in the ability to ship and very complicated integrations that have to occur. This -- I actually would view as a success. It has a slight impact on Q1, but our integration of Curlsmith was largely successful. And so I would not see it as a reason to not do further acquisition.

這些都不是很大的問題。這些都是交付能力的小問題，並且必須進行非常複雜的整合。這實際上我認為是成功的。它對第一季有輕微影響，但我們對 Curlsmith 的整合基本上是成功的。因此，我不認為這是不進行進一步收購的理由。

Olivia Tong, Raymond James.

唐奧立，雷蒙德詹姆斯。

Great. Thank you and congrats. Congrats, Jack, on your retirement. Best of luck with everything and great working with you. I wanted to focus my questions more on your Q2 to Q4 expectations. I'm hoping you can provide additional color on the building blocks to drive the improvement in revenue because we obviously hear all the debate around consumer slowdown, increasing signs of that.

偉大的。謝謝你並恭喜你。傑克，恭喜你退休。祝一切順利，與您合作愉快。我想將我的問題更多地集中在您對第二季度到第四季度的預期上。我希望你們能夠在推動收入改善的基礎上提供更多的色彩，因為我們顯然聽到了有關消費者放緩的所有爭論，並且這種跡象越來越多。

So what is -- what would be driving retailers to increase your distribution of the macros who are not in favor? And let me leave it there and then I'll ask my next question.

那麼，是什麼推動零售商增加不受歡迎的宏指令的分銷呢？讓我把它留在那裡，然後我會問下一個問題。

Yes. I think the drivers that we see, the first, and you just touched on Olivia, is the further incremental distribution later in the year. And I think in the case of some of the opportunities we have, we have some really strong brands with strong consumer appeal that aren't in some retailers, and they're excited and anxious to get our brands on their shelves and in distribution.

是的。我認為我們看到的第一個驅動因素，以及您剛剛提到的奧利維亞，是今年稍後的進一步增量分配。我認為，就我們擁有的一些機會而言，我們擁有一些真正強大的品牌，具有強大的消費者吸引力，而這些品牌在某些零售商中是不存在的，他們很興奮也渴望將我們的品牌擺上貨架並進行分銷。

And so we feel good about it. I think the one that we shared is OXO Softworks and Walmart. I mean, that's one where Walmart's really pleased to have, I think, the brand on the shelf. It's a leading brand and one that their shoppers were looking for. So I feel confident and very good about those opportunities. The other one we talked about is the incremental marketing investment.

所以我們對此感覺良好。我認為我們分享的是 OXO Softworks 和沃爾瑪。我的意思是，我認為沃爾瑪非常高興在貨架上擁有該品牌。這是一個領先品牌，也是消費者正在尋找的品牌。所以我對這些機會充滿信心並且非常滿意。我們談到的另一件事是增量行銷投資。

We talked about bringing -- building kind of the first-ever marketing center of excellence within Helen of Troy. That team is now partnering with our business unit brand, trades, our full funnel experience plans and investing incrementally behind it so that we can drive even more interest, awareness, desire for our brands. And then I think the repositioning on a few of the key brands is also important to point out.

我們討論了在特洛伊的海倫建立有史以來第一個卓越的行銷中心。該團隊現在正在與我們的業務部門品牌、交易、我們的全通路體驗計劃合作，並在其背後逐步投資，以便我們能夠激發更多的興趣、意識和對我們品牌的渴望。然後我認為對一些關鍵品牌的重新定位也很重要。

If you look at Hydro Flask, and I talked quite a bit about that in the prepared remarks, some of the new items like the Sugar Crush that just came out, getting a lot of positive traction for new innovation like that, that's very appealing and investing behind that so that we get the word out of some of these new items that are very deviable.

如果你看看Hydro Flask，我在準備好的發言中談了很多，一些新產品，例如剛推出的Sugar Crush，為這樣的新創新帶來了很多積極的吸引力，這是非常有吸引力的，對此進行投資，以便我們從其中一些非常有偏差的新產品中獲得消息。

Hot -- drive -- that drive our hot rollers is another example of that. So when you put those innovations out, you've got to spend the marketing behind them to drive that awareness, the desire the purchase of those items. So those are the areas that we're excited about in the back half. They are a little bit more quarter two through four weighted than quarter one as Brian and I shared. And those are the things that give me strong confidence for us in that year to go.

驅動我們的熱輥的熱驅動器是另一個例子。因此，當你推出這些創新產品時，你必須在背後進行行銷來提高人們的意識和購買這些產品的慾望。這些都是我們在後半段感到興奮的領域。正如布萊恩和我分享的那樣，第二季到第四季的權重比第一季要高一些。這些都讓我對我們接下來的一年充滿信心。

Maybe I can ask a little bit about any divergence you're seeing between the more -- between performance and the more premium end of your portfolio versus the mid-price, specifically more around beauty appliances. Obviously, we've heard some commentary out of a key retailer. Are you seeing similar divergence in terms of performance? Or is your outlook more reflective of what they're saying and an expectation that that's going to happen even if you haven't seen it so far?

也許我可以問一下您所看到的性能和產品組合的高端產品與中等價格產品之間的差異，特別是在美容電器方面。顯然，我們已經聽到了一家主要零售商的一些評論。您是否在性能方面看到了類似的差異？或者你的看法是否更能反映他們所說的話以及即使你到目前為止還沒有看到這種情況將會發生的預期？

Yes. What I would say in the hair tools is, again, what I really like about our portfolio is that we cover the range. We have that good, better, best, Revlon, Hot Tools, driving Curlsmith at the high end. So wherever the consumer is, we have an opportunity to be there with the right kind of assortment price point, retailer channel, et cetera, to meet those needs.

是的。在美髮工具方面，我想說的是，我真正喜歡我們的產品組合的是我們涵蓋的範圍。我們有好、更好、最好的 Revlon、Hot Tools，推動 Curlsmith 走向高端。因此，無論消費者身在何處，我們都有機會以合適的品種價格點、零售商通路等來滿足他們的需求。

So I would say we had good performance at sort of the Revlon entry point and with some new broadened distribution in mass of kind of those opening price point, hair dryers, straighteners. There's a perfect match of central hair dryer, for example, at more of a $25 price point that's doing well, the Dry Max hair dryer at a below $40 price point, those sorts of tools that are resonating well when the consumers pinched.

所以我想說，我們在露華濃的切入點上表現良好，並且在開盤價格點、吹風機、直髮器等方面進行了一些新的擴大分銷。例如，中央吹風機的完美搭配，在 25 美元以上的價位上表現良好，Dry Max 吹風機在 40 美元以下的價位上，這些工具在消費者手頭拮据時引起了很好的共鳴。

But by the same to-again, as I mentioned, we're also seeing at the high end, really strong uptake on the drive or hot rollers that are a higher price point. So there's pockets of the market that's doing well if the innovation is appealing and the innovation draws them to it. I would say Prestige Liquids continues to grow. We continue to see that as a strong category.

但同樣，正如我所提到的，我們也看到在高端市場，對價格較高的驅動器或熱輥的需求非常強勁。因此，如果創新有吸引力並且創新吸引了他們，那麼市場上的某些部分就會表現良好。我想說 Prestige Liquids 繼續成長。我們仍然認為這是一個強大的類別。

As we've heard with some of the retailers, it's slowing a little bit versus where it was in the most recent few months, but that's an area that we continue to feel strongly about. It's an area that we continue to launch new innovation, whether it's on Curlsmith, with a new volume line, new items and Drybar, et cetera.

正如我們從一些零售商那裡聽到的那樣，與最近幾個月相比，成長速度有所放緩，但我們仍然對這個領域有強烈的感受。這是我們不斷推出新創新的領域，無論是在 Curlsmith 上，還是在新卷系列、新產品和 Drybar 等方面。

So I think the key here to sum it up is really to have strong innovation across all of the different price points and all of the different channels to meet the various consumers where they are. That's going to be key in this environment.

因此，我認為總結起來，關鍵是要在所有不同的價格點和所有不同的管道上進行強有力的創新，以滿足不同的消費者的需求。在這種環境下，這將是關鍵。

Susan Anderson, Canaccord Genuity.

蘇珊安德森，Canaccord Genuity。

Want to send my congrats to Jack as well on your retirement, you're definitely be missed. It was great working with you while you're at Helen of Troy. I guess maybe just to start out on just the outdoor category. I think you mentioned some pockets of higher retail inventory there. Are you seeing that also in some other categories and then in outdoor, I was just curious, is the weakness just across the packs? Or are you seeing weakness and maybe higher inventory in other areas as well?

我也想向傑克表示祝賀，祝賀你退休，我們一定會想念你的。當你在特洛伊的海倫時，與你一起工作真是太棒了。我想也許只是從戶外類別開始。我想你提到了那裡一些較高的零售庫存。您是否在其他一些類別中也看到了這一點，然後在戶外，我只是很好奇，弱點是否只是在整個包裝中？或者您是否看到其他領域的疲軟以及庫存增加？

Susan, yes, I would say retailer inventory is always a function of what's happening from a consumer standpoint. So you can see different adjustments that they make based on how the consumer is purchasing. But the one we called out was in Outdoor.

蘇珊，是的，我想說，從消費者的角度來看，零售商庫存始終是所發生情況的函數。因此，您可以看到他們根據消費者的購買方式做出不同的調整。但我們呼籲的那個是在戶外。

And as we looked across both domestically and internationally, we saw a little bit more elevated inventory, not necessarily in our areas per se, but kind of across their entire store inventory, which then reduces their open to buy in our areas and in other areas that they're kind of managing their total inventory levels.

當我們縱觀國內和國際市場時，我們發現庫存有所增加，不一定是在我們的地區本身，而是在他們的整個商店庫存中，這減少了他們在我們地區和其他地區的購買意願他們正在管理總庫存水準。

(inaudible) for us on Osprey, obviously, kind of the core of the business. We have a very strong number one position. We extended that number one position over the last year, but the category has slowed versus where it was. We do see growth in some of the other adjacent categories that Osprey has gone into. So some of the areas like duffels and travel packs and lifestyle packs, et cetera, show a little bit more growth.

（聽不清楚）對我們來說，「魚鷹」顯然是業務的核心。我們擁有非常牢固的第一個位置。去年我們擴大了第一名的位置，但該類別的成長速度較原來有所放緩。我們確實看到了 Osprey 所涉及的其他一些相鄰類別的成長。因此，一些領域，如行李袋、旅行包和生活方式包等，顯示出更多的成長。

But we called out kind of the pocket of inventory in outdoor because we were seeing it both domestically and internationally.

但我們呼籲戶外庫存的增加，因為我們在國內和國際上都看到了這種情況。

Got it. Okay, great. Thanks. And then I guess maybe just talk about OXO a little bit. It's obviously done very well with a lot of new innovation. I'm curious to hear about what you have coming out this year. And then also just the time line of the Walmart rollout in stores? Like how should we expect that to flow throughout the year?

知道了。好的，太好了。謝謝。然後我想也許只是談談 OXO。顯然它做得非常好，有很多新的創新。我很想知道你們今年推出了什麼產品。還有沃爾瑪在商店推出的時間軸嗎？例如我們該如何預期全年的流動情況？

Yes. OXO remains number one in kitchen utensils, canister food storage, some really nice adjacent categories like in coffee, kind of our baby and toddler feeding area, lots of new products constantly coming out on OXO. It's one of the hallmarks of the brand. In terms of Walmart, in particular, the kitchen utensil set has already happened.

是的。 OXO 在廚房用具、罐裝食品儲存、一些非常好的相鄰類別（例如咖啡）、我們的嬰兒和幼兒餵食區以及 OXO 上不斷推出的許多新產品方面仍然排名第一。這是該品牌的標誌之一。尤其是在沃爾瑪方面，廚具套裝已經出現了。

That's already in market. So you can see that as is grilling at kind of the expansion happened right towards the end of our fiscal '24. So that's out in stores now. And as I mentioned in my remarks, there's some other OXO categories that we anticipate expanding over the course of '25.

那已經在市場上了。所以你可以看到，正如我們所質疑的那樣，擴張發生在我們 24 財年即將結束時。所以現在商店有售。正如我在演講中提到的，我們預計在 25 年期間還會擴展一些其他 OXO 類別。

And then just one last question. So on Hydro Flask. So it sounds like, obviously, tumblers continue to do well. I'm curious just if you see any other, I guess, bottle formats coming out for fiscal '25 or if you expect kind of the tumbler to be the hot format and I guess, maybe more of the newness coming from colorways or types of accessories to go with those?

最後一個問題。所以在 Hydro Flask 上。所以聽起來，顯然，不倒翁的表現仍然很好。我很好奇，我想，您是否看到 25 財年推出的任何其他瓶子格式，或者您是否期望玻璃杯成為熱門格式，我想，也許更多的新鮮感來自色彩或類型要搭配那些配件？

Yes. I would say on Hydro Flask, tumblers do continue to be where a lot of the growth and where a lot of the energy is as we think about kind of the Gen Z female target that looks at these not only for the functionality, but also great design to match their personal style.

是的。我想說的是，在 Hydro Flask 上，玻璃杯確實仍然是大量增長和大量能量的地方，因為我們認為 Z 世代女性目標不僅關注這些產品的功能，而且還很棒設計以符合他們的個人風格。

I do think, as a result of what I just said, the colors, like Sugar Crush that we did a limited launch on in -- on DTC that moved very, very quickly. We've also got some customer exclusive. There's a blossom colorway that we've got in partnership with a sporting goods partner of ours. We've got another Pastel design and one of our major Prestige food partners.

我確實認為，由於我剛才所說的，顏色，例如我們在 DTC 上有限發布的 Sugar Crush，移動得非常非常快。我們還有一些客戶專屬的產品。我們與體育用品合作夥伴合作推出了花朵配色。我們有另一種粉彩設計，也是我們主要的 Prestige 食品合作夥伴之一。

So these sorts of things are very interesting to this consumer, right? They're very willing to purchase multiples if it's a color or design or a special dish that they have to have. And so I think that's going to continue to be an important area. Configurations of shapes, caps, et cetera, is also going to be important.

所以這類事情對這個消費者來說非常有趣，對吧？如果他們必須擁有某種顏色、設計或特殊菜餚，他們非常願意購買多件。所以我認為這將繼續成為一個重要領域。形狀、蓋子等的配置也很重要。

One of the other ones I mentioned that we launched that is off to a night start as the insulated shaker bottle. So really great for smoothies or protein shakes, et cetera. That's a new shape that's coming, and I think you can expect to see more configurations and more different formats as we go across the year to meet those different occasions as we've done more work to understand our target as well as distribution opportunities.

我提到的另一個產品是我們推出的，它是一個夜間啟動的保溫搖瓶。非常適合冰沙或蛋白質奶昔等。這是即將到來的新形狀，我認為您可以期待看到更多的配置和更多不同的格式，因為我們在這一年中以滿足這些不同的場合，因為我們做了更多的工作來了解我們的目標以及分銷機會。

This is a brand as we expand the target consumer where we need to be where those shoppers are shopping. So that's another opportunity. And then the personalization customization, that's also a big part of this category and our new capability in our facility in Tennessee will only make us better at that.

這是一個品牌，因為我們擴大了目標消費者，我們需要成為這些購物者購物的地方。所以這是另一個機會。然後是個性化定制，這也是這個類別的重要組成部分，我們田納西州工廠的新能力只會讓我們在這方面做得更好。

So I'm -- as I said in my remarks, I'm excited about some of the pivots that we're making both in the product innovation, the design, the marketing as we move forward on Hydro Flask. It's one of the other areas I'm excited and confident about in the rest of fiscal '25.

因此，正如我在發言中所說，隨著 Hydro Flask 的發展，我對我們在產品創新、設計和行銷方面所做的一些轉變感到興奮。這是我對 25 財年剩餘時間感到興奮和充滿信心的其他領域之一。

Great. That sounds exciting. Thanks so much. Good luck for the rest of the year.

偉大的。聽起來讓人興奮不已。非常感謝。祝今年剩下的時間一切順利。

All right. Thanks so much, everyone. We thank you for your interest and support, and we really look forward to speaking with many of you over the coming days and weeks. Thanks for joining us.

好的。非常感謝大家。我們感謝您的興趣和支持，我們非常期待在未來幾天和幾週內與您中的許多人交談。感謝您加入我們。

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

女士們、先生們，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。