Haverty Furniture Companies Inc (HVT.A) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to Havertys' third-quarter 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 Havertys 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議正在錄音。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Richard Hare, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

現在我很高興介紹您的主持人，財務長理查德·黑爾 (Richard Hare)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and good morning. During this conference call, we'll make forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties.

謝謝接線員，早安。在本次電話會議中，我們將做出前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受風險和不確定性的影響。

Actual results may differ materially from those made or implied in such statements, which speak only as of the date they are made and which we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include economic and competitive conditions and other uncertainties detailed in the company's reports filed with the SEC.

實際結果可能與這些聲明中所做或暗示的結果有重大差異，這些聲明僅代表發布之日的觀點，我們不承擔公開更新或修改的義務。可能導致實際結果不同的因素包括經濟和競爭條件以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中詳述的其他不確定因素。

Our Chairman and CEO, Clarence Smith, will now give you an update on our results and our President, Steve Burdette, will provide additional commentary about our business.

我們的董事長兼執行長克拉倫斯史密斯 (Clarence Smith) 現在將向您介紹我們的業績更新，我們的總裁史蒂夫伯德特 (Steve Burdette) 將對我們的業務提供更多評論。

Good morning, thank you for joining our third-quarter conference call. Consolidated sales were $175.9 million, down 20.2% from last year. Earnings per common share were $0.29 versus a $1.02. We are seeing a cautious consumer, and we were impacted by the two hurricanes hitting our regions. We do believe that our customer is beginning to move back into the buying process based on an improvement in store traffic over the last month.

早上好，感謝您參加我們的第三季電話會議。綜合銷售額為 1.759 億美元，較去年下降 20.2%。每股普通股收益為 0.29 美元，去年同期為 1.02 美元。我們看到消費者很謹慎，而且我們地區遭遇的兩次颶風也對我們造成了影響。我們確實相信，基於上個月商店客流量的改善，我們的客戶正開始重新回到購買流程。

We expect to see better traffic and sales once the elections are behind us. During the third quarter, we were excited about the opening of our new Pembroke Pines store in North Miami. We are pleased with the store traffic, which is on par with our other recent openings in South Haven, Mississippi and Destin, Florida earlier this year. We expect to open three additional stores this year in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Greenwood, Indiana, south of Indianapolis, and we began our return to Houston, Texas after 43 years with our first store in the Woodlands area in December. We expect to end the year with 129 stores.

我們期望選舉結束後能看到更好的客流量和銷售情況。第三季度，我們對位於北邁阿密的彭布羅克派恩斯新店的開幕感到非常興奮。我們對門市的客流量感到滿意，與我們今年稍早在密西西比州南黑文和佛羅裡達州德斯汀開設的其他門市的客流量相當。我們預計今年將在佛羅裡達州聖彼得堡和印第安納波利斯南部的印第安納州格林伍德開設另外三家門市，我們將於 12 月在伍德蘭茲地區開設第一家門市，這是我們時隔 43 年後重返德州休士頓的第一步。我們預計到今年年底我們將擁有 129 家門市。

We're investing in store growth in our regions, which puts us in a strong position in the best markets in the country for future growth. Houston, the seventh largest market in the country, is our top priority for the next two years. It is the largest market in our distribution footprint where we don't have stores. We opened a second store in Baybrook in January 2025, and we have several more potential locations that we are pursuing. We're committed to having a significant position in the Greater Houston market. The Houston stores will provide additional operating leverage and be served by expanded distribution center in Dallas.

我們正在投資我們所在地區的門市成長，這使我們在該國最好的市場中佔據了未來成長的有利地位。休士頓身為全美第七大市場，是我們未來兩年的首要任務。這是我們分銷範圍內最大的沒有商店的市場。我們於 2025 年 1 月在 Baybrook 開設了第二家店，我們也正在尋找其他幾家有潛力的店址。我們致力於在大休士頓市場佔有重要地位。休士頓商店將提供額外的營運槓桿，並由達拉斯擴建的配送中心提供服務。

I'll turn the call over now to Steve Burdette, our President.

現在我將電話轉給我們的總裁史蒂夫·伯德特。

Thank you, Clarence, and good morning. Our third-quarter results were disappointing as we continue to face high interest rates and an unaffordable housing market and the buildup to the presidential election. We were glad to see the Fed cut the interest rate 50 basis points at their September meeting and remain cautiously optimistic that this will continue later this quarter and into 2025. With the election coming to a conclusion in less than a week, we are hopeful for a smooth transition leading up to the inauguration day, which should provide a lift to our business environment. Our Labor Day event, which is a key selling period for the quarter, was down in the mid-teens compared to last year, but there was an improvement over our Memorial Day event earlier this year, which was encouraging.

謝謝你，克拉倫斯，早安。由於我們繼續面臨高利率、難以承受的房屋市場和總統大選的臨近，我們的第三季業績令人失望。我們很高興看到聯準會在 9 月會議上將利率下調 50 個基點，並謹慎樂觀地認為這項舉措將在本季末乃至 2025 年持續下去。距離大選結束不到一周，我們希望就職典禮前能順利過渡，這將為我們的商業環境帶來提振。我們的勞動節活動是本季的關鍵銷售期，與去年相比，銷量下降了 15% 左右，但與今年早些時候的陣亡將士紀念日活動相比有所改善，這是令人鼓舞的。

As you know, we do not normally give a weather report, but due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in late September and Hurricane Milton in early October, we felt it necessary to update you on the impact to Havertys. We are glad to report that all our team members are safe. All our stores throughout Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, along with our Florida warehouse had minimal damage to report from the two storms other than a few roof leaks and power outages, which caused some extended closures.

如你所知，我們通常不提供天氣預報，但由於 9 月底的颶風海倫 (Hurricane Helene) 和 10 月初的颶風米爾頓 (Hurricane Milton) 造成的破壞，我們覺得有必要向您通報對哈弗蒂斯 (Havertys) 的影響。我們很高興地報告，我們團隊的所有成員都很安全。我們在佛羅裡達州、喬治亞州和卡羅來納州的所有商店以及佛羅裡達州的倉庫在兩次風暴中受到的損失很小，除了一些屋頂漏水和停電導致商店長時間關閉外。

With Hurricane Helene we had six markets and 11 stores that were closed from one to four days during the quarter. However, our Asheville, North Carolina store was closed for 19 days over September and October reopening on 10/16. With Hurricane Milton, there were five markets, 20 stores and one warehouse affected in early October. Most stores in the warehouse were back operating within two to five days with three stores closed 7 to 10 days.

由於颶風海倫，本季我們有 6 個市場和 11 家商店關閉了一到四天。不過，我們位於北卡羅來納州阿什維爾的商店在 9 月和 10 月關閉了 19 天，並於 10 月 16 日重新開業。十月初，受颶風米爾頓影響，有五個市場、20 家商店和一個倉庫受到影響。倉庫內的大多數商店在兩到五天內恢復營業，三家商店關閉了七到十天。

With these types of events of this magnitude, is it is not only the days you are closed, but the distraction that is caused before the storm getting prepared, and afterwards with the clean-up from the storm. It is a tremendous burden on our team members and our customers. Havertys is thankful and appreciative to our team members in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas for their unwavering commitment to their families, our customers and Havertys.

對於這種規模的事件，您不僅需要停工幾天，而且還需要在風暴前做好準備，以及在風暴過後進行清理工作，從而分散注意力。這對我們的團隊成員和客戶來說是一個巨大的負擔。Havertys 感謝並讚賞佛羅裡達州、喬治亞州和卡羅來納州的團隊成員對他們的家人、我們的客戶和 Havertys 的堅定承諾。

With regards to our website, due to continued A/B testing, we've made multiple modifications to the site to enhance personalization, navigation, and way finding. Additionally, we've added some new features like augmented reality to improve the overall user experience. From a merchandising standpoint, our decor and upholstery categories are the best performing driven by our design business. Bedding continues to perform within company averages, while bedroom and dining room are slightly below company averages. Overall, our store traffic continues to improve, but we are still seeing a more deliberate consumer, which has caused our closing rates to remain below our levels of last year.

關於我們的網站，由於持續的 A/B 測試，我們對網站進行了多項修改，以增強個人化、導航和路徑尋找。此外，我們還添加了一些新功能，例如增強現實，以改善整體用戶體驗。從商品銷售的角度來看，在設計業務的推動下，我們的裝飾和室內裝飾類別表現最佳。床上用品的表現繼續符合公司平均水平，而臥室和餐廳的表現略低於公司平均水平。整體而言，我們店舖的客流量持續改善，但我們仍然看到消費者更加謹慎，這使得我們的成交率仍低於去年的水平。

However, those customers that are buying are spending more as our average ticket continues to rise over 3% from last year to almost $3,500. Our design business continues to thrive by growing over 19% for the quarter as a percentage of our business. Our design and sales team remain focused on increasing the number of customers participating in design, which continues to grow at a double-digit pace. Our average ticket is the driver of our design business as it moved higher to approximately $7,300, which is roughly a 5% increase for the quarter. Our special order business continues to grow to 36% of our upholstery business, which is up 10% from last year.

然而，由於我們的平均票價比去年同期上漲了 3% 以上，達到近 3,500 美元，因此購票的顧客花費也更多了。我們的設計業務繼續蓬勃發展，本季占我們業務的比例成長了 19% 以上。我們的設計和銷售團隊仍然致力於增加參與設計的客戶數量，這一數量繼續以兩位數的速度成長。我們的平均票價是我們設計業務的驅動力，因為它上漲至約 7,300 美元，相當於本季增長了約 5%。我們的特殊訂單業務持續成長，占我們室內裝潢業務的 36%，比去年成長了 10%。

Our supply chain network was able to navigate through the port strike with no real impact on our customers. Our inventories continue to remain in excellent condition and were down 4% compared to Q2 and approximately 13% down from Q3 2023. Distribution, home delivery, and customer service continued to be focused on productivity and execution.

我們的供應鏈網路能夠安全度過港口罷工，且不會對我們的客戶造成實際影響。我們的庫存繼續保持良好狀態，與第二季度相比下降了 4%，與 2023 年第三季相比下降了約 13%。分銷、送貨上門和客戶服務繼續注重生產力和執行力。

While we continue to experience a difficult sales environment, we have all the reasons to remain optimistic about Havertys future. Our margins are strong. Our overall average ticket is growing. Our design average ticket is growing.

儘管我們繼續面臨困難的銷售環境，但我們有充分的理由對 Havertys 的未來保持樂觀。我們的利潤率很高。我們的整體平均票價正在上漲。我們的設計平均票價正在成長。

Traffic is improving. Closing percentages are stabilizing. Expenses are well controlled. Inventories are balanced. We are growing five stores a year in difficult times. And finally, we are debt-free with over $100 million cash in the bank.

交通狀況正在改善。收盤百分比正在趨於穩定。費用控制得很好。存貨平衡。在困難時期，我們每年都會增加五家店。最後，我們沒有債務，銀行裡有超過 1 億美元現金。

I want to thank all the Haverty team members across the company for their hard work and dedication to furnishing happiness to our customers at every point of contact.

我要感謝公司所有 Haverty 團隊成員的辛勤工作和奉獻精神，他們在每個接觸點都為我們的客戶帶來幸福。

Now I will turn the call over to Richard.

現在我將電話轉給理查。

Thanks, Steve. In the third quarter of 2024, we reported net sales of $175.9 million, a 20.2% decrease over the prior year quarter. Comparable store sales were down 20.5% over the prior-year period. Our gross profit margin decreased 60 basis points to 60.2% from 60.8%. The decrease was driven by the change in the LIFO reserve, which generated an immaterial impact on gross profit in 2024 compared to a positive impact of $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2023.

謝謝，史蒂夫。2024 年第三季度，我們報告淨銷售額為 1.759 億美元，比去年同期下降 20.2%。同店銷售額較去年同期下降 20.5%。我們的毛利率從60.8%下降了60個基點至60.2%。下降是由於後進先出儲備金的變化所致，這對 2024 年的毛利產生了微不足道的影響，而 2023 年第三季則產生了 230 萬美元的正面影響。

Excluding the impact of our LIFO reserve, our gross margins increased over 50 basis points over the prior year quarter. SG&A expenses decreased $11.8 million or 10.4% to a $100.9 million. As a percentage of sales, these costs approximated 57.4% of sales, up from 51.1% in the prior-year quarter. We experienced decreased selling costs, advertising, administrative, warehouse, and delivery expenses during the quarter. Other income expenses in the third quarter was $333,000, and interest income was approximately $1.6 million during the third quarter of 2024.

除去後進先出儲備的影響，我們的毛利率比去年同期增加了 50 個基點以上。銷售、一般及行政開支減少 1,180 萬美元，至 1.009 億美元，降幅 10.4%。以銷售額的百分比計算，這些成本約佔銷售額的 57.4%，高於去年同期的 51.1%。本季度，我們的銷售成本、廣告、管理、倉庫和運輸費用都有所下降。第三季的其他收入支出為 333,000 美元，2024 年第三季的利息收入約為 160 萬美元。

Income before income taxes decreased $16.1 million to $6.9 million. Our tax expense was $1.9 million during the third quarter of 2024, which resulted in an effective tax rate of 28.2% compared to an effective tax rate of 25.1% in the third quarter of 2023. Primary difference in the effective rate and statutory rate is due to expected state income taxes and nondeductible items for the year. Net income for the third quarter of 2024 was $4.9 million or $0.29 per diluted share on our common stock compared to net income of $17.2 million or $1.02 per share in the comparable quarter last year.

稅前收入減少 1,610 萬美元至 690 萬美元。2024 年第三季度，我們的稅費為 190 萬美元，有效稅率為 28.2%，而 2023 年第三季的有效稅率為 25.1%。實際稅率和法定稅率的主要差異是由於預期的年度州所得稅和不可扣除項目。2024 年第三季的淨收入為 490 萬美元，即每股普通股攤薄收入 0.29 美元，而去年同期的淨收入為 1,720 萬美元，即每股 1.02 美元。

Now turning to our balance sheet, at the end of the third quarter, our inventories were $88.7 million, which was down $5.3 million from December 31, 2023, and down $13.6 million versus Q3 2023. At the end of the third quarter, our customer deposits were $43.9 million, which was up $8.1 million from the December 31, 2023 balance and down $2.4 million versus the Q3 2023 balance. We ended the quarter with $121.2 million of cash and cash equivalents. We have no funded debt on our balance sheet at the end of the third quarter of 2024.

現在回顧我們的資產負債表，截至第三季末，我們的庫存為 8,870 萬美元，較 2023 年 12 月 31 日減少 530 萬美元，較 2023 年第三季減少 1,360 萬美元。萬美元。截至本季末，我們的現金和現金等價物為 1.212 億美元。截至 2024 年第三季末，我們的資產負債表上沒有已融資債務。

Looking at some of the uses of our cash flow, CapEx was $24.3 million for the first nine months of 2024. We also paid out $15.3 million of regular dividends in the first nine months of 2024. We didn't utilize our share repurchase program during the third quarter of 2024, and we have approximately $13.1 million of existing authorization in our buyback program.

看看我們現金流的一些用途，2024 年前九個月的資本支出為 2,430 萬美元。我們還在 2024 年前 9 個月支付了 1530 萬美元的定期股息。 我們在 2024 年第三季度沒有使用我們的股票回購計劃，我們的回購計劃中現有授權金額約為 1310 萬美元。

Our earnings release list out several additional forward-looking statements indicating our future expectations of certain financial metrics. I will highlight a few, but please refer to our press release for additional commentary. We expect our gross margins for 2024 to be between 60.0% and 60.5%. We anticipate gross profit margins will be impacted by our current estimates of product and freight costs.

我們的收益報告列出了幾個額外的前瞻性陳述，顯示我們對某些財務指標的未來預期。我將重點介紹其中幾點，但請參閱我們的新聞稿以了解更多評論。我們預計 2024 年的毛利率在 60.0% 至 60.5% 之間。我們預計毛利率將受到我們目前對產品和運費成本的估計的影響。

Our fixed and discretionary type SG&A expenses for 2024 are expected to be in the $279 million to $281 million range, which is a reduction in our previous estimate. We anticipate continued reductions in incentive compensation and professional fees during this year. The variable type costs within SG&A for 2024 are expected to be in the range of 19.6% to 19.9%. We anticipate continued reductions in third-party credit costs and delivery costs.

我們預計 2024 年的固定和可自由支配類型的銷售、一般和行政費用將在 2.79 億美元至 2.81 億美元之間，這比我們先前的估計有所減少。我們預計今年激勵性薪酬和專業費用將持續減少。2024 年銷售、一般及行政費用中的變動類型成本預計在 19.6% 至 19.9% 之間。我們預期第三方信貸成本和交付成本將持續降低。

Our planned CapEx for 2024 is $33 million, anticipated new or replacement stores, remodels and expansions account for $28 million. Investments in our distribution network are expected to be $2.5 million, and investments in our information technology are expected to be approximately $2.5 million. Our anticipated effective tax rate for 2024 is expected to be 28%. This projection excludes the impact of vesting of stock awards and any new potential tax legislation.

我們計劃 2024 年的資本支出為 3,300 萬美元，預計新建或更換商店、改造和擴建將花費 2,800 萬美元。我們對分銷網絡的投資預計為 250 萬美元，對我們的資訊技術的投資預計約為 250 萬美元。我們預計 2024 年的有效稅率為 28%。此預測不包括股票獎勵歸屬和任何潛在新稅法的影響。

This completes my commentary on the third-quarter financial results. Operator, at this time, we would like to open up the call for any questions.

我對第三季財務表現的評論就到此結束。接線員，現在，我們想開放通話以回答任何問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Michael Legg, The Benchmark Company.

麥可‧萊格 (Michael Legg)，The Benchmark Company。

I wanted to talk a little bit about the impact of the hurricanes and the damage to the housing and how you expect that to impact demand over the longer term as the housing is rebuilt. Could you just talk about any anticipated demand longer term from that?

我想談談颶風的影響和對房屋的損壞，以及您預計在房屋重建期間這將如何影響長期需求。能談談長期預期的需求嗎？

Yeah, Mike, we would expect it to be there. Our anticipation is probably it's going to be somewhere three to six months out before we start to see anything on that. Obviously, the two events were totally separate of each other, meaning Helene went up through Georgia and through North Florida. Obviously, most of the damage there and the impact will come out of Asheville, and we'll see how that recovers from that area. And I think that will be longer term.

是的，麥克，我們希望它在那裡。我們預計可能要等上三到六個月的時間才能看到任何進展。顯然，這兩件事是完全獨立的，這意味著海倫穿過喬治亞州和北佛羅裡達州。顯然，那裡的大部分損失和影響將來自阿什維爾，我們將看看該地區的恢復情況。我認為這將是長期的。

And then in Florida, which across -- went right across the state there, affecting Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, obviously, a big swath of our stores there. We anticipate there that we will see that probably a little bit quicker as they'll recover faster out of that from those areas. But I don't know specifically what to expect, but we would definitely expect a lift from it.

然後是佛羅裡達州，疫情蔓延至整個佛羅裡達州，影響了坦帕、奧蘭多、邁爾斯堡等地的大部分商店。我們預計，我們可能會更快地看到這一點，因為他們將從這些地區更快地恢復過來。但我不知道具體會有什麼結果，但我們肯定會期待它能帶來提升。

Yes, I would expect it also. And then just on the store opening, I mean, you've announced a bunch of stores. But as you look at the weak consumer, what do you -- how does that position you now for continued five store growth annually longer term?

是的，我也期望如此。然後關於商店開業，我的意思是，你已經宣布了許多商店的開業。但是當您看到疲軟的消費者時，您如何定位自己，以實現長期每年 5 家門市的持續成長？

We're not changing that. We think actually we may hit six stores net of five, but open six net -- and we have a relocation plan next year. So our plan is five stores. You heard my comments there that the real focus is Houston, we want to get positioned there, that's our priority. So we're not backing off of that plan.

我們不會改變這一點。我們認為，實際上我們可能會淨增五家店，但淨增六家店——而且我們明年有一個搬遷計劃。所以我們的計畫是五家店。你聽到了我的評論，真正的焦點是休斯頓，我們希望在那裡定位，這是我們的首要任務。所以我們不會放棄這個計劃。

In tough times you guys are doing a great job. Company is well fundamentally positioned. I look forward to continued results.

在困難時期，你們做得很好。公司基本面良好。我期待繼續取得成果。

Anthony Lebiedzinski, Sidoti & Company.

安東尼·萊比津斯基（Anthony Lebiedzinski），Sidoti & Company。

So I guess, first, can you guys just share maybe some monthly trends that you saw, whether it's written sales or delivered sales? And also as far as -- other than the storm-related impact, did you see any notable regional differences in terms of sales trends?

所以我想，首先，你們能否分享一下你們看到的一些月度趨勢，無論是書面銷售額還是交付銷售額？除了風暴帶來的影響之外，您是否發現銷售趨勢有明顯的地區差異？

Anthony, let me take the numbers part, and then Steve's got some commentary on the markets where the storms were impacted the most. But in terms of written business, it was pretty constant trend throughout the quarter. In July, we were down around 14%. It was around 15% in written business in August and slightly over 16% in September. So the average was 15.3%, so fairly consistent throughout.

安東尼，讓我來談談數字部分，然後史蒂夫對受風暴影響最嚴重的市場發表一些評論。但就書面業務而言，整個季度的趨勢相當穩定。7月份，我們的銷售額下降了約14%。8 月書面業務佔比約為 15%，9 月略高於 16%。所以平均值是 15.3%，所以總是相當一致。

On deliveries, we were down around 16% in July, around 18% in August. And then with that storm at the end, it kind of deferred some deliveries, so we were down around 25% in September for an average of 20.2% for the quarter. Overall, Steve gave a lot of commentary about the storms. From a financial impact, it was a very minimum impact in the third quarter. It impacted some deliveries, but not significant numbers, and we'll make those up in the fourth quarter.

就交付量而言，7月下降了約16％，8月份下降了約18％。然後由於最後的風暴，一些交貨被推遲了，所以 9 月我們的銷量下降了約 25%，本季平均銷量下降了 20.2%。總的來說，史蒂夫對這場風暴發表了許多評論。從財務影響來看，第三季的影響非常小。它對一些交付產生了影響，但影響並不大，我們將在第四季度彌補這些影響。

Yes, and Anthony, if you're looking at it from a regional or district standpoint, the Midwest and central districts have been outperforming our other districts in Florida and the West have been a little bit underperforming in those areas. But obviously, we know those -- that's our biggest concentration in Florida and Texas. So we're looking for those to bounce back certainly from the storm, which has caused obviously some disruptions there.

是的，安東尼，如果從地區或區域的角度來看，中西部和中部地區的表現一直優於佛羅裡達州的其他地區，而西部在這些地區的表現則略差。但顯然，我們知道這些——這是我們在佛羅裡達州和德克薩斯州最大的集中地。因此，我們希望這些國家能夠從這場顯然為當地帶來混亂的風暴中恢復過來。

Yes, understood okay. And then just in terms of -- just actually switching to the balance sheet. So nice job with inventory reduction and it was a very good cash flow quarter actually. Do you think you can further reduce inventories? Or do you think you're kind of more or less capped out?

是的，明白了。然後就—實際上只是切換到資產負債表。庫存減少的工作做得很好，實際上這是一個現金流非常好的季度。您認為可以進一步減少庫存嗎？還是您認為自己或多或少已經達到極限了？

Obviously, you're adding stores, so there's going to be some inventory build for that. But just overall, how do we -- how should we think about that?

顯然，您正在增加商店，因此會為此建立一些庫存。但總的來說，我們該如何看待這個問題？

Yes. I don't see inventories going down anymore, Anthony. And some of it may have been impacted by the port strike in anticipation of it and what happened there, some flow with some of that coming in. But we feel comfortable with where we are, and we feel like it can fluctuate up with the new stores we got coming, but it's not going to be any dramatic change. We feel our levels are pretty -- are in a good place right now.

是的。安東尼，我認為庫存不會再下降了。其中一部分可能是受到預期的港口罷工和那裡發生的事件的影響，一部分是隨著罷工的進行而流動的。但我們對目前的狀況感到滿意，我們覺得隨著新店的開設，情況可能會有所波動，但不會發生任何劇烈的變化。我們覺得我們的水平還不錯——目前處於良好狀態。

We can run a turn and get a good turn going and a good flow of the inventory. We just need more consistency. The Red Sea, we've been dealing with, the ports -- we've gotten all these disruptions that have caused some longer lead times. As those shorten up, then we get more continuity, more consistency with that inventory flow.

我們可以進行輪換，並獲得良好的輪換和庫存的良好流動。我們只是需要更多的一致性。我們一直在處理紅海、港口等問題——我們遇到了所有這些中斷，導致交貨時間更長。隨著這些時間的縮短，我們將獲得更強的連續性，庫存流也將更加一致。

Understood, and also, a few months ago, you guys changed your media buyers. So just wondering if you could comment on that, like as far as what you've seen so far and whether or not you plan to make any other changes to your marketing strategy?

明白，而且幾個月前你們更換了媒體購買者。所以只是想知道您是否可以對此發表評論，例如就您目前看到的情況以及您是否計劃對您的行銷策略做出任何其他改變？

We're very pleased with it. We've reported and you heard us talk about traffic is improving. And that -- they started it in April, and we gradually started seeing a slow improvement in traffic, and it's -- we're really pleased with what we're seeing so far through the third quarter. So I think we'll continue to go forward with that and their plan, which is still the same thing. We're using digital, using broadcast and over-the-top, communicating social.

我們對此非常滿意。我們已經報道過，您也聽到我們談論交通狀況正在改善。他們從四月就開始實施這個計畫了，我們逐漸看到流量在緩慢改善，我們對第三季迄今的表現感到非常滿意。因此我認為我們將繼續推進他們的計劃，計劃仍是同樣的事情。我們正在利用數位技術、廣播和 OTT 進行社交溝通。

So that's a big part of what we're doing, and we continue that.

這是我們正在做的很重要的一部分，而且我們會繼續這樣做。

Cristina Fernandez, Telsey Advisory Group.

克里斯蒂娜‧費爾南德斯 (Cristina Fernandez)，Telsey 顧問集團。

I wanted to ask about the traffic trend that you're seeing in October. Clarence, you mentioned that you've seen some improvement. Can you talk about what the delta has been? And is that translating into improved demand? Or is it still too early?

我想問一下您在十月看到的流量趨勢。克拉倫斯，你提到你已經看到了一些進步。能談談增量情況嗎？這是否意味著需求增加？或者現在還太早？

I think it's a little early, but it has improved. I mean we're seeing a little better traffic. It's not down as much. And recently, we've seen some improvement. We're not going to give you details on that.

我認為有點早，但已經有所改善。我的意思是我們看到交通狀況有所改善。跌幅沒有那麼大。最近，我們看到了一些改善。我們不會向您透露相關細節。

But we are encouraged with the recent feel of the customers coming in, the interest in our product and the fact that it's less negative than it was before. Steve?

但最近顧客們的感覺讓我們感到鼓舞，他們對我們的產品很感興趣，而且情況比以前不那麼糟糕了。史蒂夫？

I think, Cristina, the customer is still a little cautious. I mean, a little more deliberate, the elections and everything out there, high interest rates, but it is nice to see the traffic improving. I think we said earlier in the year, we were down -- we never gave specifics. But we said we're down, traffic was down double digits. And in the third quarter now -- toward the end of the third quarter, we started seeing in the mid-single digits as far as the decrease.

我覺得，克里斯蒂娜，這位顧客還是有點謹慎的。我的意思是，更加慎重一點，選舉和外面的一切，高利率，但看到交通改善是件好事。我想我們在今年早些時候就說過，我們處於低迷狀態——但我們從未透露具體細節。但我們說，我們的流量下降了，流量下降了兩位數。而現在到了第三季度，接近第三季末，我們開始看到中等個位數的降幅。

Cristina, one other comment there is, we're pleased with the new products we're bringing in. Those are some of our best sellers. Steve said, we've managed our inventories well. We also announced last week a major enhancement to our merchandise team. We brought in some new talent and we all were just at the furniture market this past week together, and they're learning us.

克里斯蒂娜，還有另一條評論，我們對推出的新產品感到非常滿意。這些是我們的一些暢銷商品。史蒂夫說：“我們的庫存管理得很好。”上週我們也宣布了對商品團隊進行重大擴充。我們引進了一些新的人才，上週我們一起去了家具市場，他們正在向我們學習。

We brought in Heidi Jones, who was in the business. She's been a retailer for 20 years. She was at our house. She's a Vice President now for us. And promoted an internal candidate who was very talented, Alice Anderson who has been with us for six years.

我們聘請了從事該行業的海蒂瓊斯 (Heidi Jones)。她已經從事零售商二十年了。她在我們家。她現在是我們的副總裁。並提拔了一位非常有才華的內部候選人，愛麗絲·安德森 (Alice Anderson)，她已經在我們公司工作了六年。

She's now managing our upholstery. And a new talent, Valerie Naples came from Ballard's who joined us. So we've got new talent, and we promoted some other folks in that department, all under John Gill. And we feel very good about where we currently are and some of the new energy and talent we have coming in. So it's a significant enhancement to our team, and we're encouraged by that.

她現在負責我們的室內裝潢。另外，還有一位新人，來自 Ballard's 的 Valerie Naples 也加入了我們。因此，我們引進了新的人才，並且提拔了該部門的其他一些人員，他們都在約翰·吉爾 (John Gill) 的領導下。我們對目前的狀況以及不斷湧入的一些新活力和人才感到非常滿意。所以這對我們的團隊來說是一個重大的提升，我們對此感到鼓舞。

I also wanted to ask around the big weekends, Labor Day. I know you mentioned it was disappointing, but a little bit better than Memorial Day. So maybe, Steve, like what's working, what's the consumer responding to? I noticed you did a little bit of a bigger financing offer. And what learnings will you take to the upcoming big selling periods?

我也想在勞動節這個週末詢問一下。我知道你說過這令人失望，但比陣亡將士紀念日好一點。那麼，史蒂夫，也許什麼是有效的，消費者對什麼有反應？我注意到你提供了一些金額較大的融資方案。您將從中吸取哪些經驗教訓來應對即將到來的大銷售期？

Yes, Cristina, I don't know that the consumer -- from our promotion standpoint, we haven't changed anything there. We feel very good where we are. We don't want to start chasing that and go aggressive with further discounting, we don't think that's the answer. Certainly, in this environment, with housing where it is and the election where it is, we don't think that would be. And then from a credit offering, the consumer is not -- we've got the aggressive offers out there, if needed for the consumer for the bigger tickets, but we're just not seeing the demand, and as a result of that we've seen credit costs.

是的，克里斯蒂娜，我不知道消費者——從我們的促銷角度來看，我們沒有改變任何事情。我們感覺現在的狀況非常好。我們不想開始追逐這一點並採取進一步的折扣措施，我們不認為這是解決方案。當然，在目前的環境下，考慮到住房和選舉的現狀，我們認為這種情況不會發生。然後從信貸提供來看，如果消費者需要更大額度的貸款，我們會向他們提供積極的優惠，但我們沒有看到需求，因此我們看到了信貸成本。

Richard, do you want to give some commentary on that?

理查德，你想對此發表一些評論嗎？

I was just going to add that our credit scores according to Synchrony are still very strong in the upper 700s. Our approval rates are still in-store upper 80s, low 90% and our delinquency rates are back to pre-pandemic levels. And our credit as a percent of sales is still a 1/3. So all those metrics are still strong in terms of the credit of our customer that's using Synchrony.

我只是想補充一點，根據 Synchrony 的數據，我們的信用評分仍然非常高，大約在 700 分左右。我們的店內核准率仍在 80% 以上、90% 以下，而我們的拖欠率已恢復到疫情前的水準。我們的信貸佔銷售額的百分比仍然為 1/3。因此，就使用 Synchrony 的客戶的信譽而言，所有這些指標仍然很強大。

So, as traffic improves, Cristina, I don't think it's an immediate impact. I mean people -- it is a shopping process they go through. And so we're still seeing big design sales. We reported out, I think, our design business is about 34 -- a little over 34% of our business. So we're excited about that.

因此，隨著交通狀況的改善，克里斯蒂娜，我認為這不會產生直接影響。我的意思是人們——這是他們經歷的購物過程。因此我們仍然看到設計銷售的強勁成長。我認為，我們報告稱，我們的設計業務約占我們業務的 34% 以上。我們對此感到很興奮。

We're still seeing extremely big sales from the customers. So we just -- we want to be consistent and provide the right service to our customers, and we're going to stay committed to that.

我們仍然看到來自客戶的銷售量非常大。所以我們只是——我們希望始終如一地為我們的客戶提供正確的服務，我們將繼續致力於這一點。

And the last question I had was on the Houston market. How many stores do you think that market -- or how many Haverty store can that market ultimately hold? How many can you have longer term?

我的最後一個問題是關於休士頓市場的。您認為該市場——或者該市場最終可以容納多少家 Haverty 商店？您可以長期持有多少？

Well, I don't know what we have longer term. But I think we would like to have five stores to cover the marketplace, at least around -- we're going to the outer perimeters mainly and positioning to where the growth areas are. It's a big market. I think we've got 8 or 10 stores around Atlanta. We probably wouldn't normally have that, but in Houston, that's our target to begin with.

嗯，我不知道我們的長期目標是什麼。但我認為我們希望有五家商店來覆蓋市場，至少是周圍地區——我們主要會去外圍地區，並定位在成長區域。這是一個很大的市場。我想我們在亞特蘭大有 8 到 10 家商店。通常我們可能不會這樣做，但在休士頓，這是我們的首要目標。

There are no further questions. I would like to turn the floor over to Richard for closing remarks.

沒有其它問題了。我想請理查作最後發言。

Well, we appreciate your participation in today's call, and before we conclude our call, Clarence Smith has a few closing remarks.

好吧，我們感謝您參加今天的電話會議，在我們結束電話會議之前，克拉倫斯史密斯想講幾句結束語。

I want to recognize on this call the loss of one of our industry and investor legends who would always be on this call, that's Budd Bugatch. Bud was 40-plus years at Raymond James. I've traveled the investment world with him, learned a lot about it. He was an incredible advocate for the furniture industry. He loved retail, and he loved merchandising.

在這次電話會議上，我想承認我們失去了一位始終出席這次電話會議的行業和投資者傳奇人物，他就是巴德·布加奇 (Budd Bugatch)。巴德在雷蒙詹姆斯公司工作了 40 多年。我和他一起遊歷了投資界，學到了很多。他是家具業的傑出倡導者。他熱愛零售業，也熱愛商品推銷。

He was a former furniture retailer, and we had many lively debates and discussions, always interested. A brilliant man. We lost him way too quickly and way too early, and we missed Budd, so just want to recognize that.

他曾是一名家具零售商，我們進行過許多激烈的辯論和討論，總是很感興趣。一位才華洋溢的人。我們失去他太快太早了，我們也想念巴德，我只是想承認這一點。

Thank you, Clarence. And we look forward to talking with each of you in the future when we release our fourth quarter results. Thank you.

謝謝你，克拉倫斯。我們期待在未來發布第四季業績時與你們每個人進行交流。謝謝。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. We thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。