諾德斯特龍百貨 (JWN) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Nordstrom Fourth Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 Nordstrom 2021 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）作為提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

At this time, I'll turn the call over to Heather Hollander, Head of Investor Relations for Nordstrom. You may begin.

此時，我將把電話轉給 Nordstrom 投資者關係主管 Heather Hollander。你可以開始了。

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us. Before we begin, I want to mention that we'll be referring to slides, which can be viewed in the Investor Relations section on nordstrom.com. Our discussion may include forward-looking statements, so please refer to the slide with our safe harbor language.

下午好，感謝您加入我們。在開始之前，我想提一下，我們將參考幻燈片，可以在 nordstrom.com 的“投資者關係”部分查看。我們的討論可能包括前瞻性陳述，因此請使用我們的安全港語言參考幻燈片。

Participating in today's call are Erik Nordstrom, Chief Executive Officer; Pete Nordstrom, President and Chief Brand Officer; and Anne Bramman, Chief Financial Officer, who will provide a business update and discuss the company's fourth quarter performance. And now I'll turn the call over to Erik.

參加今天電話會議的有首席執行官 Erik Nordstrom； Pete Nordstrom，總裁兼首席品牌官；和首席財務官 Anne Bramman，她將提供業務更新並討論公司第四季度的業績。現在我將把電話轉給 Erik。

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. Our fourth quarter results were marked by sequential sales improvement, strong digital growth, improved profitability and continued progress in executing on our long-term strategy.

下午好，感謝您今天加入我們。我們第四季度的業績以連續銷售改善、強勁的數字增長、提高的盈利能力以及執行我們的長期戰略的持續進展為標誌。

Looking back on the fiscal year, revenue increased 38% versus 2020 and we delivered an EBIT margin of 3.4%, in line with our guidance.

回顧本財年，收入與 2020 年相比增長了 38%，我們實現了 3.4% 的息稅前利潤率，符合我們的指導。

Importantly, we've made progress on our strategic initiatives and have line of sight to achieving, in the coming year, the financial targets we presented at our 2021 Investor Event. Our team continues to work with urgency to build additional capabilities to better serve customers, expand market share and deliver greater profitability.

重要的是，我們在戰略舉措方面取得了進展，並有望在來年實現我們在 2021 年投資者活動中提出的財務目標。我們的團隊繼續加緊工作，以建立更多的能力，以更好地為客戶服務、擴大市場份額並提供更大的盈利能力。

We are laser focused on the 3 key areas we outlined in the third quarter: improving Nordstrom Rack performance, increasing profitability and optimizing our supply chain and inventory flow.

我們專注於我們在第三季度概述的 3 個關鍵領域：提高 Nordstrom Rack 性能、提高盈利能力以及優化我們的供應鍊和庫存流。

Starting with Nordstrom Rack. Last quarter, we undertook a thorough analysis of the business and developed prescriptive plans to optimize the customer experience and improve our performance. As we raised inventory levels and improved average price points in our stores, we posted a sequential sales improvement of 320 basis points in the fourth quarter.

從 Nordstrom 機架開始。上個季度，我們對業務進行了全面分析，並製定了規範性計劃，以優化客戶體驗並提高我們的績效。隨著我們提高庫存水平並改善商店的平均價格點，我們在第四季度公佈了連續 320 個基點的銷售增長。

Though we are in the early stages of implementation, the Rack results and improving store customer satisfaction scores reaffirm our confidence in the plans we've outlined.

儘管我們處於實施的早期階段，但貨架結果和提高商店客戶滿意度分數再次證實了我們對我們概述的計劃的信心。

Nordstrom Rack is a unique mix of brands with limited distribution in the off-price sector. Customers are drawn to the Rack to purchase sought-after brands at a terrific price. Rack faces a unique challenge as off-price procurement of the same top brands that we carry at Nordstrom is particularly difficult in the current environment with production constraints and lower levels of clearance product.

Nordstrom Rack 是一個獨特的品牌組合，在低價領域的分銷有限。顧客被吸引到貨架上以極好的價格購買廣受歡迎的品牌。 Rack 面臨著一個獨特的挑戰，因為在當前生產限制和清倉產品水平較低的環境下，我們在 Nordstrom 擁有的相同頂級品牌的低價採購尤其困難。

As a result, we are executing a multilayered plan to both expand our offerings of the most coveted brands we carry as well as source from new vendors to ensure we have the selection our customers want.

因此，我們正在執行一項多層次的計劃，以擴大我們擁有的最令人垂涎的品牌的產品，並從新供應商處採購，以確保我們擁有客戶想要的選擇。

In Q4, we improved our in-stock position at the Rack by increasing the flow of inventory, making more frequent deliveries to our stores, partnering with brands to prioritize Rack deliveries and focusing our sourcing efforts on core categories that matter most to customers such as shoes and apparel.

在第四季度，我們通過增加庫存流量、更頻繁地向我們的商店交付、與品牌合作以優先考慮貨架交付並將我們的採購工作集中在對客戶最重要的核心類別上來改善我們在貨架上的庫存狀況，例如鞋子和服裝。

We're also increasing our opportunistic use of pack and hold inventory, allowing us to buy larger quantities of select relevant items when available then hold a portion of it to deploy in periods with high demand, tight supply or system constraints.

我們還增加了對打包和保留庫存的機會性使用，使我們能夠在可用時購買大量精選的相關物品，然後保留一部分以在需求高、供應緊張或系統受限的時期進行部署。

As we improve our supply of premium brands and fine-tune our assortment to better align with customer needs, we expect to achieve a better balance of price points at the Rack.

隨著我們改善優質品牌的供應並微調我們的品種以更好地滿足客戶需求，我們希望在貨架上實現更好的價格平衡。

Finally, we are taking action to strengthen Rack's brand awareness and drive traffic. We are pleased with the results of our "More Reasons to Rack" marketing campaign, which showed a meaningful increase in future purchase intent.

最後，我們正在採取行動加強 Rack 的品牌知名度並增加流量。我們對“More Reasons to Rack”營銷活動的結果感到滿意，這表明未來購買意向顯著增加。

Through this comprehensive set of actions, we anticipate continued improvement in Rack performance throughout fiscal 2022. To be clear, we are confident in our ability to profitably grow our Rack business and won't be satisfied until we do so.

通過這一系列全面的行動，我們預計機架性能將在整個 2022 財年持續改善。需要明確的是，我們對實現機架業務盈利增長的能力充滿信心，並且在我們這樣做之前不會感到滿足。

Turning to profitability. We delivered significant improvement in merchandise margin this quarter. Pete will take you through our progress to date and our plans to deliver incremental improvement in 2022 through strategic pricing and category management.

轉向盈利能力。我們在本季度實現了商品利潤率的顯著改善。 Pete 將帶您了解我們迄今為止的進展以及我們計劃在 2022 年通過戰略定價和類別管理實現增量改進。

Within SG&A, we rationalized our overhead cost structure in 2020 and remain committed to sustaining our expense discipline. Given the significant macro-related pressure in fulfillment and labor costs that we're facing currently, the team is taking action to mitigate the overall impact from those pressures, including optimizing our supply chain to drive efficiencies.

在 SG&A 內部，我們在 2020 年合理化了間接成本結構，並繼續致力於維持我們的費用紀律。鑑於我們目前在履行和勞動力成本方面面臨的重大宏觀相關壓力，團隊正在採取行動減輕這些壓力的整體影響，包括優化我們的供應鏈以提高效率。

We expect that the supply chain optimization workstreams we began implementing this quarter will enhance the customer experience and drive top line growth while also driving efficiencies in labor and fulfillment in 2022. Pete will provide more detail on our plans for supply chain improvement in a moment.

我們預計，我們本季度開始實施的供應鏈優化工作流程將提升客戶體驗並推動收入增長，同時還將推動 2022 年的勞動力和履行效率。Pete 稍後將提供有關我們供應鏈改進計劃的更多細節。

Turning to fourth quarter performance. In addition to sequential improvement in our Rack banner, we saw strong enterprise digital growth of 23% versus 2019 and increased utilization of the interconnected capabilities delivered by our market strategy.

轉向第四季度的業績。除了 Rack 橫幅的連續改進之外，我們還看到與 2019 年相比，企業數字化增長了 23%，並且我們的市場戰略提供的互連功能的利用率有所提高。

Nordstrom banner sales were flat, while gross merchandise value, or GMV, increased 2% in the fourth quarter versus 2019. We continue to see significant disparity in geographic performance. The Southern U.S., where 44% of our stores were located, was a source of strength for the Nordstrom banner, outperforming the Northern U.S. by approximately 7 percentage points. Notably, suburban locations outperformed our urban locations by 10 percentage points in the fourth quarter as city centers have been disproportionately impacted by the effects of the pandemic.

Nordstrom 橫幅銷售額持平，而第四季度的商品總價值（GMV）與 2019 年相比增長了 2%。我們繼續看到地域表現的顯著差異。我們 44% 的門店位於美國南部，是 Nordstrom 旗幟的力量來源，其表現比美國北部高出約 7 個百分點。值得注意的是，由於城市中心受到大流行的影響，郊區位置的表現比我們的城市位置高出 10 個百分點。

In addition to the 3 focus areas that I've discussed, the team continues to make progress in the key strategic growth priorities we laid out at our Investor Event last year, winning in our most important markets and increasing our digital velocity.

除了我討論過的 3 個重點領域之外，該團隊繼續在我們去年在投資者活動中製定的關鍵戰略增長優先事項上取得進展，贏得了我們最重要的市場並提高了我們的數字化速度。

Starting with our priority to win in our most important markets. We are leveraging a strong store fleet that positions us physically closer to the customer. Our strategy links our omnichannel capabilities at the local market level, allowing us to drive customer engagement through better service and greater access to product no matter how customers choose to shop.

從我們在最重要的市場取勝的首要任務開始。我們正在利用強大的商店車隊，使我們在物理上更接近客戶。我們的戰略將我們在當地市場層面的全渠道能力聯繫起來，使我們能夠通過更好的服務和更多的產品訪問來推動客戶參與，無論客戶如何選擇購物。

This platform is a unique differentiator, delivering unmatched convenience and providing customers with 4x more product available for next-day pickup, a 1-day reduction in average shipping time and the ability to pick up orders at the Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local or Nordstrom Rack location of their choice.

該平台具有獨特的優勢，提供無與倫比的便利性，並為客戶提供 4 倍以上的次日取貨產品，平均運輸時間縮短 1 天，並能夠在 Nordstrom、Nordstrom Local 或 Nordstrom Rack 地點取貨他們的選擇。

We continue to scale the enhanced options we launched in 2020, like the expansion of order pickup and ship to store to all Nordstrom Rack locations, with order pickup reaching a record high 11% of Nordstrom.com sales this quarter. And 1/3 of next-day Nordstrom.com demand was picked up at Rack stores, demonstrating the power of integrating capabilities across our 2 banners and across our digital and physical platforms.

我們繼續擴展我們在 2020 年推出的增強選項，例如將訂單取貨和運送到所有 Nordstrom Rack 地點的商店擴大，訂單取貨在本季度 Nordstrom.com 銷售額中達到創紀錄的 11%。第二天 Nordstrom.com 需求的 1/3 是在 Rack 商店獲得的，這展示了跨我們的 2 個橫幅以及跨我們的數字和物理平台集成功能的能力。

We are encouraged by increases in order pickup demand, a leading indicator of future growth as customers utilizing in-store pickup have higher engagement and spend 3.5x more than customers who don't utilize the service.

我們對訂單取貨需求的增長感到鼓舞，這是未來增長的領先指標，因為使用店內取貨的客戶參與度更高，支出是不使用該服務的客戶的 3.5 倍。

Increasing Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store utilization is advantageous as it is both our highest satisfaction customer experience and most profitable customer journey. Customers clearly value the strength of our omnichannel model as evidenced by a dramatic increase in spend when they engage across our multiple channels, banners and services. For example, the average customer that shops across both banners, in-store and online, spends over 12x more than a customer utilizing a single channel and banner.

提高在線購買、店內提貨利用率是有利的，因為它既是我們最高滿意度的客戶體驗，也是最有利可圖的客戶旅程。客戶顯然重視我們的全渠道模式的優勢，當他們參與我們的多個渠道、橫幅和服務時，他們的支出急劇增加就證明了這一點。例如，在店內和網上同時使用橫幅購物的顧客的平均消費是使用單一渠道和橫幅的顧客的 12 倍以上。

We also continue to evolve our approach to get closer to our customers than ever before, building deeper connections through our loyalty program and differentiated service model. Our Nordy Club loyalty program is a powerful engagement driver with 67% sales penetration in 2021. Our core customers remain highly engaged with loyalty customer accounts exceeding 2019 levels.

我們還繼續改進我們的方法，以比以往任何時候都更接近我們的客戶，通過我們的忠誠度計劃和差異化服務模式建立更深層次的聯繫。我們的 Nordy Club 忠誠度計劃是一個強大的參與驅動力，到 2021 年銷售滲透率為 67%。我們的核心客戶仍然高度參與忠誠度客戶賬戶，超過 2019 年的水平。

We're also pleased to see customers responding well to our assortment and services with new customer acquisition activity returning to 2019 levels. We continue to advance our digital tools, including virtual style boards and style links to allow our salespeople to offer our customers highly relevant recommendations, both in-store and digitally.

我們也很高興看到客戶對我們的分類和服務反應良好，新的客戶獲取活動恢復到 2019 年的水平。我們繼續推進我們的數字工具，包括虛擬樣式板和样式鏈接，以使我們的銷售人員能夠為我們的客戶提供高度相關的建議，包括店內和數字化。

This year, remote selling sales volume increased 63% versus last year. We're encouraged by the results of this program with very high customer satisfaction scores and average customer spend over 6x that of an average Nordstrom customer.

今年，遠程銷售的銷量比去年增長了 63%。我們對該計劃的結果感到鼓舞，該計劃的客戶滿意度得分非常高，平均客戶支出是普通 Nordstrom 客戶的 6 倍以上。

With regard to increasing our digital velocity, we maintained strong growth at Nordstrom.com and NordstromRack.com this quarter with digital sales increasing 23% over the fourth quarter of 2019. With continued growth in digital, our total penetration has increased by 9 percentage points over the past 2 years to 44%. In the fourth quarter, we also saw a record high mobile app usage with mobile users representing approximately 70% of total digital traffic.

在提高我們的數字速度方面，本季度我們在 Nordstrom.com 和 NordstromRack.com 保持強勁增長，數字銷售額比 2019 年第四季度增長 23%。隨著數字業務的持續增長，我們的總滲透率增加了 9 個百分點在過去 2 年中達到 44%。在第四季度，我們還看到了創紀錄的移動應用使用率，移動用戶約佔總數字流量的 70%。

Though we still have much work to do on our transformation, the progress we've made gives us confidence in our strategic plans and business outlook for 2022. We believe there is a meaningful opportunity ahead for us to better serve customers by improving Rack performance and transforming our supply chain, leading to increased profitability and shareholder value creation.

儘管我們在轉型方面仍有許多工作要做，但我們取得的進展讓我們對 2022 年的戰略計劃和業務前景充滿信心。我們相信，我們有一個有意義的機會，可以通過提高機架性能和改變我們的供應鏈，從而提高盈利能力和股東價值創造。

We have line of sight to achieving the financial targets outlined at our 2021 Investor Event while building the capabilities to profitably grow market share beyond that. We look forward to sharing our continued progress in the quarters ahead.

我們有能力實現 2021 年投資者活動中概述的財務目標，同時建立能夠盈利地增加市場份額的能力。我們期待在未來幾個季度分享我們的持續進展。

As we look back on the year and look forward to 2022, we'd like to thank our outstanding team for their tireless dedication to serving customers, building new capabilities and evolving our company. Our people are truly our greatest asset.

回顧這一年，展望 2022 年，我們要感謝我們優秀的團隊在為客戶服務、建立新能力和發展公司方面的不懈奉獻。我們的員工確實是我們最大的資產。

With that, I'll turn it over to Pete.

有了這個，我會把它交給皮特。

Thanks, Erik, and good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to talk about our category performance during the fourth quarter then follow with an update on our initiatives to increase gross margin, improve supply chain and inventory flow, and transform our merchandising model.

謝謝，Erik，大家下午好。我想談談我們在第四季度的品類表現，然後更新我們提高毛利率、改善供應鍊和庫存流動以及轉變我們的銷售模式的舉措。

Starting with the category performance. We were pleased to see continued strength in our luxury categories in the fourth quarter with designer and fine jewelry posting strong double-digit growth over 2019. Beauty also had a double-digit increase driven by strong growth in our Nordstrom banner and the launch of an expanded offering in the Rack.

從品類表現開始。我們很高興看到我們的奢侈品類別在第四季度繼續走強，設計師和高級珠寶在 2019 年實現了兩位數的強勁增長。在我們的 Nordstrom 橫幅的強勁增長和推出機架中的擴展產品。

And pandemic-related categories continued to outperform, particularly home and active with sales up 52% and 22%, respectively, compared to 2019 levels. Our core categories in apparel and shoes, which collectively make up more than 70% of our business, are not quite back to 2019 levels but they are recovering. We saw signs of renewing customer interest in post-pandemic occasion-based categories with improving trends in dresses, men's sportswear, outerwear and women's shoes.

與大流行相關的類別繼續表現出色，尤其是家庭和活躍類別，與 2019 年的水平相比，銷售額分別增長了 52% 和 22%。我們的服裝和鞋類核心品類合計占我們業務的 70% 以上，尚未完全恢復到 2019 年的水平，但它們正在復蘇。我們看到，隨著連衣裙、男士運動裝、外套和女鞋的趨勢不斷改善，消費者對大流行後基於場合的類別重新產生了興趣。

Now on to our initiatives. We believe we have a meaningful opportunity to improve both the customer experience and our financial outcomes through our efforts around merchandising and inventory flow. This quarter, we made significant progress improving our merchandise margin versus 2019.

現在談談我們的倡議。我們相信，我們有一個有意義的機會，可以通過我們圍繞商品銷售和庫存流動的努力來改善客戶體驗和財務成果。本季度，與 2019 年相比，我們在提高商品利潤率方面取得了重大進展。

As we entered the holiday season, our team focused on driving sales and engaging customers through our compelling holiday offering while also increasing profitability. Leveraging advanced analytical tools, we identified opportunities to expand holiday gifting and increase our promotional effectiveness by optimizing the pace and depth of markdowns.

隨著我們進入假日季節，我們的團隊專注於通過我們引人注目的假日產品來推動銷售和吸引客戶，同時提高盈利能力。利用先進的分析工具，我們發現了通過優化降價的速度和深度來擴大節日禮物和提高促銷效果的機會。

We're very encouraged by the results with merchandise margins up 235 basis points over 2019, and we see more opportunity to drive additional margin improvements in '22.

我們對商品利潤率比 2019 年增長 235 個基點的結果感到非常鼓舞，我們看到在 22 年有更多機會推動利潤率進一步提高。

To provide the best possible assortment for our customers, we are also using a data-driven, customer-centric approach to optimize our category management. Through this work, we are defining the role of each category at Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack and then optimizing our assortment for the role each category plays.

為了為我們的客戶提供最好的分類，我們還使用數據驅動、以客戶為中心的方法來優化我們的品類管理。通過這項工作，我們正在定義 Nordstrom 和 Nordstrom Rack 中每個類別的角色，然後針對每個類別所扮演的角色優化我們的分類。

Our goal is to attract new customers, increase share of wallet with existing customers and improve merchandise margins by focusing on the most highly sought-after items.

我們的目標是吸引新客戶，增加現有客戶的錢包份額，並通過專注於最受歡迎的商品來提高商品利潤率。

Women's Denim is a great example of the potential in our category management work. Denim has always been an important category for our customers and a strong performer for us too. But our analysis highlighted an opportunity to lean into it as more of a destination category. In response to our analysis, we increased inventory depth for the most highly sought-after jeans to ensure that we are in-stock for our customers, piloted a dedicated in-store Women's Denim shop to better highlight our extensive selection and make it easier to shop, and planned a campaign aligned with April's Earth Month to showcase a curated group of denim brands with a focus on sustainability. We are very pleased with the initial results we've seen with our category management initiative and plan to build on this momentum in 2022.

女裝牛仔是我們品類管理工作潛力的一個很好的例子。牛仔布一直是我們客戶的重要類別，也是我們的強勁表現。但我們的分析強調了將其作為更多目的地類別的機會。根據我們的分析，我們增加了最受歡迎牛仔褲的庫存深度，以確保我們為客戶提供庫存，試行了專門的店內女裝牛仔店，以更好地突出我們廣泛的選擇，並更容易店，併計劃與四月的地球月相匹配的活動，以展示一組精選的牛仔品牌，重點關注可持續性。我們對我們的品類管理計劃所取得的初步成果感到非常滿意，併計劃在 2022 年繼續鞏固這一勢頭。

While we continue to develop these merchandising capabilities, we're simultaneously focused on improving our supply chain and inventory flow. We've all been dealing with global supply chain disruptions for a while now with product scarcity, order cancellations and shipment delays.

在我們繼續發展這些銷售能力的同時，我們同時專注於改善我們的供應鍊和庫存流動。一段時間以來，我們都一直在應對全球供應鏈中斷，包括產品稀缺、訂單取消和發貨延遲。

Entering the fourth quarter, we took an aggressive approach to securing product for the holiday season and early spring. This helped to ensure that we are in stock for our customers. However, these supply chain challenges have recently begun to improve a bit, and order cancellations weren't as significant as we anticipated. As a result, our ending inventory was higher than planned but we expect to cut our sales to inventory spread in half by the end of the first quarter.

進入第四季度，我們採取了積極的方法來確保假期和早春的產品。這有助於確保我們為客戶提供庫存。然而，這些供應鏈挑戰最近開始有所改善，訂單取消並沒有我們預期的那麼嚴重。因此，我們的期末庫存高於計劃，但我們預計到第一季度末我們的銷售額與庫存差將減少一半。

We've learned a lot from our experience navigating pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and revolving our network processes and capabilities across several fronts. First, improving the consistency and predictability of unit flow through our network; second, improving velocity and throughput in our distribution and fulfillment centers; third, increasing delivery speed; and finally, expanding the selection for in-store shopping as well as same day and next day pickup.

我們從應對與流行病相關的供應鏈中斷以及在多個方面改變我們的網絡流程和能力的經驗中學到了很多東西。首先，提高通過我們網絡的單位流的一致性和可預測性；第二，提高我們配送和履行中心的速度和吞吐量；第三，提高交貨速度；最後，擴大了店內購物以及當日和次日取貨的選擇範圍。

These actions will improve the customer experience, increase sell-through and reduce markdowns by allowing us to place the right assortment with the right depth closer to the customer. They will also help us improve our expense efficiency. We expect to see benefits from these actions beginning in the first half of fiscal 2022 with more to follow in the second half.

這些行動將改善客戶體驗、增加銷售量並減少降價，讓我們能夠將合適深度的合適分類放置在離客戶更近的地方。它們還將幫助我們提高開支效率。我們預計從 2022 財年上半年開始，這些行動將受益，下半年還會有更多。

As we look ahead, we are excited about the ongoing transformation of our business and our plans to deliver enhanced experiences to our customers and value to our shareholders.

展望未來，我們對業務的持續轉型以及為客戶提供增強體驗和為股東創造價值的計劃感到興奮。

We continue to scale our Nordstrom Media Network, which allows our brand partners to directly connect with Nordstrom customers through on and off-site media campaigns to increase traffic, sales and engagement. We grew the concept in 2021 with some of our best brands, and we're pleased with the value it brought to our customers and partners. We look forward to expanding this program over the next 2 to 3 years.

我們繼續擴展我們的 Nordstrom 媒體網絡，使我們的品牌合作夥伴能夠通過現場和場外媒體活動直接與 Nordstrom 客戶聯繫，以增加流量、銷售和參與度。我們在 2021 年與我們的一些最佳品牌一起發展了這一概念，我們對它為我們的客戶和合作夥伴帶來的價值感到高興。我們期待在未來 2 到 3 年內擴大該計劃。

We are also delivering newness, selection and inspiration to our customers by partnering with brands in new ways. Our alternative partnership models have gained approximately 300 basis points as a percent of Nordstrom banner GMV since 2019, reaching 10% today.

我們還通過以新的方式與品牌合作，為我們的客戶提供新鮮感、選擇和靈感。自 2019 年以來，我們的替代合作模式佔 Nordstrom 旗幟 GMV 的百分比已增加約 300 個基點，如今已達到 10%。

We launched over 300 new brands and partnerships this year, including Open Edit, Farm Rio, Fanatics and ASOS DESIGN. We also grew and scaled top brands through 2021, including Nike, Ugg, Tory Burch, Adidas, Free People and Luxottica. We've also scaled brands that started out as direct-to-consumer partners such as SKIMS, On Running, LL Bean, Good American and Vuori. And we continued to grow our business in designer and luxury brands, including Chanel, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Dior and Burberry.

今年我們推出了 300 多個新品牌和合作夥伴，包括 Open Edit、Farm Rio、Fanatics 和 ASOS DESIGN。到 2021 年，我們還發展壯大了頂級品牌，包括 Nike、Ugg、Tory Burch、Adidas、Free People 和 Luxottica。我們還擴大了最初作為直接面向消費者的合作夥伴的品牌，例如 SKIMS、On Running、LL Bean、Good American 和 Vuori。我們繼續發展設計師和奢侈品牌的業務，包括 Chanel、Gucci、Saint Laurent、Dior 和 Burberry。

After growing choice count by 50% this year, we entered 2022 with record-high selection. We'll continue to significantly expand our choice count, leveraging our category management process and enhanced analytics to deliver a curated, relevant assortment that attracts new customers while expanding wallet share with our existing customers.

在今年的選擇數量增加了 50% 之後，我們以創紀錄的選擇進入 2022 年。我們將繼續顯著擴大我們的選擇數量，利用我們的類別管理流程和增強的分析來提供精心策劃的相關分類，以吸引新客戶，同時擴大與現有客戶的錢包份額。

In closing, as we enhance our capabilities, the customer remains at the center of our work. We are transforming our approach and leveraging deeper insights to give the customer more choices while increasing relevance and profitability. As we improve our supply chain and merchandising ecosystems, we'll deliver a better experience through faster and more flexible fulfillment, providing newness at the right price with the right quantities where and when our customers want it, all while improving our agility and productivity.

最後，隨著我們能力的提高，客戶仍然是我們工作的中心。我們正在轉變我們的方法並利用更深入的洞察力為客戶提供更多選擇，同時提高相關性和盈利能力。隨著我們改進我們的供應鍊和銷售生態系統，我們將通過更快、更靈活的履行提供更好的體驗，在客戶需要的時間和地點以合適的價格和合適的數量提供新品，同時提高我們的敏捷性和生產力。

With that, I'll turn it over to Anne to discuss our financial results.

有了這個，我會把它交給安妮來討論我們的財務結果。

Thanks, Pete. I'd like to begin with a review of our results, then take you through our outlook for fiscal 2022.

謝謝，皮特。我想先回顧一下我們的業績，然後帶您了解我們對 2022 財年的展望。

Overall, net sales increased 23% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in fiscal 2020 and decreased 1% compared to the same period in fiscal 2019. Total revenue finished the year up 38%, in line with our guidance.

總體而言，第四季度淨銷售額與 2020 財年同期相比增長 23%，與 2019 財年同期相比下降 1%。全年總收入增長 38%，符合我們的預期。

From this point forward, I'll speak to comparisons versus 2019 unless otherwise noted.

從現在開始，除非另有說明，否則我將與 2019 年進行比較。

In the fourth quarter, Nordstrom banner sales were flat while GMV increased 2%. As alternative vendor partnership models have become a more significant portion of the business, GMV provides an additional measure of our top line performance.

第四季度，Nordstrom 橫幅銷售額持平，而 GMV 增長 2%。隨著替代供應商合作模式已成為業務中更重要的部分，GMV 為我們的頂線績效提供了額外的衡量標準。

Nordstrom Rack sales declined 5% in the fourth quarter, a sequential improvement of 320 basis points over the third quarter, as we raised inventory levels and improved average price points in our stores. And as Erik mentioned, we are executing a multilayer plan to improve Rack's performance and capture market share in the off-price sector.

由於我們提高了庫存水平並提高了商店的平均價格點，Nordstrom Rack 第四季度的銷售額下降了 5%，比第三季度連續提高了 320 個基點。正如 Erik 所提到的，我們正在執行一項多層計劃，以提高 Rack 的性能並在低價領域佔領市場份額。

Our digital business continues to grow with fourth quarter sales increasing 23%.

我們的數字業務繼續增長，第四季度銷售額增長 23%。

Gross profit as a percentage of net sales increased 340 basis points primarily due to increased promotional effectiveness, fewer markdowns and leverage in buying and occupancy costs.

毛利潤占淨銷售額的百分比增加了 340 個基點，這主要是由於促銷效果的提高、降價幅度的減少以及購買和占用成本的槓桿作用。

Ending inventory increased 19%, with approximately half of the inventory increase due to planned investments to ensure in-stock merchandise availability. As Pete indicated, we plan to reduce our sales to inventory spread by half by the end of the first quarter.

期末庫存增加了 19%，其中大約一半的庫存增加是由於計劃投資以確保庫存商品的可用性。正如皮特所指出的，我們計劃在第一季度末將我們的銷售與庫存差額減少一半。

Total SG&A as a percentage of net sales increased 340 basis points in the fourth quarter as a result of continued macro-related fulfillment and labor cost pressures. We made purposeful investments in both store and fulfillment center staffing as we prioritize serving our customers and navigating the continued COVID-related disruption. These increased expenses were partially offset by continued benefits from resetting the cost structure in 2020 and a $32 million noncash asset impairment charge in 2019.

由於持續的宏觀相關履約和勞動力成本壓力，SG&A 總額占淨銷售額的百分比在第四季度增加了 340 個基點。我們對商店和履行中心的人員配備進行了有針對性的投資，因為我們優先為客戶提供服務並應對與 COVID 相關的持續中斷。這些增加的費用被 2020 年重置成本結構的持續收益和 2019 年 3200 萬美元的非現金資產減值費用部分抵消。

EBIT margin was 6.8% of sales for the fourth quarter, an improvement of 10 basis points. For the year, EBIT margin was 3.4%, toward the high end of our guidance.

第四季度息稅前利潤率為銷售額的 6.8%，提高了 10 個基點。全年息稅前利潤率為 3.4%，接近我們指引的高端。

We continue to strengthen our financial position, ending the year with $1.1 billion in liquidity, including $800 million fully available on our revolver a leverage ratio of 3.2x.

我們繼續加強我們的財務狀況，以 11 億美元的流動性結束這一年，其中包括 8 億美元在我們的左輪手槍上完全可用，槓桿率為 3.2 倍。

Now turning to our outlook for fiscal 2022. I'll begin by outlining the macroeconomic assumptions underlying our projections.

現在轉向我們對 2022 財年的展望。我將首先概述我們預測的宏觀經濟假設。

We expect that wage growth and higher employment levels will support consumer spending in 2022. Potential headwinds include the impact of inflation, which could reduce overall discretionary income, and geopolitical risk to the economy and financial markets. We are seeing encouraging early signs of a resumption of activities such as travel, in-person social events and return to office after being delayed by the Omicron variant.

我們預計工資增長和更高的就業水平將支持 2022 年的消費者支出。潛在的不利因素包括通貨膨脹的影響，這可能會降低整體可自由支配收入，以及經濟和金融市場的地緣政治風險。我們看到令人鼓舞的早期跡象表明，在被 Omicron 變體推遲後，旅行、面對面的社交活動和重返辦公室等活動已經恢復。

At the same time, we continue to be prepared for the potential of further pandemic-related disruptions in consumer behavior and global supply chain. Taking all these factors into consideration, we are assuming a roughly even balance of upside and downside macroeconomic risk relative to current conditions and are planning accordingly.

與此同時，我們繼續為消費者行為和全球供應鏈可能出現的與流行病相關的進一步中斷做好準備。考慮到所有這些因素，我們假設相對於當前狀況的宏觀經濟上行和下行風險大致平衡，並正在相應地進行規劃。

Our 2022 outlook reflects our plans to drive top line growth through our interconnected digital and physical assets and deliver continued improvement in Nordstrom Rack performance.

我們的 2022 年展望反映了我們計劃通過互連的數字和物理資產推動收入增長，並持續改善 Nordstrom 機架性能。

As we derive more benefits from our pricing and category management improvements as well as planned mid-single-digit average retail price increases, we expect continued merchandise margin improvement.

隨著我們從我們的定價和品類管理改進以及計劃中個位數的平均零售價增長中獲得更多收益，我們預計商品利潤率將繼續提高。

Finally, we plan to partially offset inflationary freight and labor costs with greater productivity from the actions we were taking to optimize our supply chain. Today, we are providing our fiscal 2022 business outlook with comparisons to 2021.

最後，我們計劃通過我們為優化供應鏈而採取的行動提高生產力，從而部分抵消通貨膨脹的運費和勞動力成本。今天，我們提供了 2022 財年的業務展望，並與 2021 年進行了比較。

For the fiscal year 2022, we expect revenue growth of 5% to 7%. We anticipate that seasonality between the first and second half of the year will be consistent with pre-COVID levels, resulting in higher year-over-year growth rates in the first half as we lap softer comparisons from early 2021.

對於 2022 財年，我們預計收入增長 5% 至 7%。我們預計，今年上半年和下半年之間的季節性將與 COVID 之前的水平保持一致，導致上半年的同比增長率更高，因為我們從 2021 年初開始進行較軟的比較。

We also expect that year-over-year sales growth will be roughly consistent between Q1 and Q2, with the Anniversary Sale shifting back to the second quarter. We expect EBIT margin of approximately 5.6% to 6% for the full year. We anticipate that EBIT margin improvements will also be consistent between the first and second half of 2022 as a result of increased operating leverage, improvements in gross and profit margins and greater expense efficiencies.

我們還預計第一季度和第二季度的銷售額同比增長將大致保持一致，週年慶銷售將回到第二季度。我們預計全年息稅前利潤率約為 5.6% 至 6%。我們預計，由於經營槓桿的增加、毛利率和利潤率的提高以及費用效率的提高，2022 年上半年和下半年的息稅前利潤率也將保持一致。

Our plan assumes that first quarter EBIT will be slightly better than breakeven. Our effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 27% for the fiscal year. Given solid top line growth, coupled with progress on our productivity initiatives, we expect diluted earnings per share of $3.15 to $3.50 for the year, which excludes the impact of share repurchases, if any.

我們的計劃假設第一季度息稅前利潤將略好於盈虧平衡點。我們本財年的有效稅率預計約為 27%。鑑於收入增長穩健，加上我們的生產力計劃取得進展，我們預計今年每股攤薄收益為 3.15 美元至 3.50 美元，其中不包括股票回購的影響（如果有的話）。

Turning now to capital allocation. Our first priority is investment in the business to serve our customers and deliver the highest quality experience. We're planning capital expenditures at normalized levels of 3% to 4% primarily to support supply chain and technology capabilities.

現在轉向資本配置。我們的首要任務是投資業務以服務我們的客戶並提供最高質量的體驗。我們計劃將資本支出保持在 3% 到 4% 的正常水平，主要是為了支持供應鍊和技術能力。

Our second priority is reducing our leverage. We are committed to an investment-grade credit rating and remain on track to decrease our leverage ratio to approximately 2.5x by the end of 2022.

我們的第二個優先事項是降低我們的槓桿率。我們致力於投資級信用評級，並有望在 2022 年底前將我們的槓桿率降低至約 2.5 倍。

Our third priority is returning cash to shareholders. Subject to completion of our year-end audit and the related certification process with our bank group, we expect to be in a position to resume returning cash to shareholders in the first quarter. We anticipate completing that process by mid-March and discussing with our Board shortly thereafter the resumption of a quarterly dividend at an appropriate rate.

我們的第三個優先事項是向股東返還現金。在完成我們的年終審計和與我們銀行集團的相關認證程序後，我們預計將能夠在第一季度恢復向股東返還現金。我們預計在 3 月中旬之前完成該過程，並在此後不久與我們的董事會討論以適當的比率恢復季度股息。

As you've heard today, we delivered results in line with our guidance and demonstrated progress against our strategic initiatives. We now have a clear line of sight to achieving our Investor Event targets in the coming year. Though there is more work ahead, the early indicators we're seeing with improving Rack performance and increased merchandise margin give us confidence in our plan.

正如您今天所聽到的，我們根據我們的指導交付了成果，並展示了我們的戰略舉措取得的進展。我們現在對在來年實現我們的投資者活動目標有了明確的看法。儘管還有更多工作要做，但我們看到的改善機架性能和增加商品利潤率的早期指標使我們對我們的計劃充滿信心。

We also made significant progress on our merchandising strategies throughout 2021. Choice count is now at an all-time high with more than 300 new brands launched last year, and growth in alternative partnership models, all of which position us to grow sales by delivering newness, selection and inspiration to our customers. Our stores and fulfillment centers are fully staffed and ready to serve customers no matter how they want to shop.

我們在整個 2021 年的銷售策略上也取得了重大進展。選擇數量現在處於歷史最高水平，去年推出了 300 多個新品牌，並且替代合作模式的增長，所有這些都使我們能夠通過提供新穎性來增加銷售額，選擇和啟發我們的客戶。我們的商店和履行中心配備齊全，隨時準備為客戶提供服務，無論他們想如何購物。

We continue to act with a sense of urgency to achieve greater profitability and cash flow as we optimize across platforms and drive scale.

隨著我們跨平台優化和擴大規模，我們將繼續以緊迫感採取行動，以實現更高的盈利能力和現金流。

In closing, we remain excited about the future of our business, the work ahead and our ability to deliver significant shareholder value over the long term.

最後，我們仍然對我們業務的未來、未來的工作以及我們長期為股東創造重大價值的能力感到興奮。

I'd like to now turn it over to Heather for Q&A.

我現在想把它交給 Heather 進行問答。

Thank you, Anne. (Operator Instructions) We'll now move to the Q&A session.

謝謝你，安妮。 （操作員說明）我們現在進入問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Omar Saad with Evercore ISI.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自與 Evercore ISI 的 Omar Saad。

Nice job, especially on the profitability. It's great to see. I had a question -- my first question on the guidance. Sales were, I think, kind of little slightly down versus pre-COVID in the quarter. You're guiding for mid-single digits, slightly better. What are the key kind of building blocks that give you comfort in that kind of acceleration you see in '22? Is it kind of there are already signs of this kind of post-January Omicron acceleration? Is it the seeing the return of occasion demand? Is there something in the customer data you're seeing, maybe some of the older customers or maybe some of the more Northern markets that have been impacted by COVID more, coming back strongly? I'd love to kind of get more flavor for some of the underlying color behind your expectation for that acceleration? And then I have a quick follow-up.

幹得好，尤其是在盈利能力方面。很高興看到。我有一個問題——我關於指導的第一個問題。我認為，與本季度的 COVID 之前相比，銷售額略有下降。您正在指導中個位數，略好一些。什麼是關鍵的構建塊，讓您在 22 年看到的那種加速中感到舒適？是不是已經有跡象表明這種 1 月後的 Omicron 加速？是看到場合需求的回歸嗎？您看到的客戶數據中是否有某些東西，可能是一些年長的客戶，或者可能是一些受 COVID 影響更大的北方市場，並且強勢回歸？我很想為您對加速的期望背後的一些潛在顏色提供更多的味道？然後我有一個快速跟進。

I'm going to start with the conversation on the guidance and then I invite Pete and Erik to weigh in if they have any incremental thoughts on that.

我將從關於指導的對話開始，然後我邀請 Pete 和 Erik 參與討論，如果他們對此有任何增量想法。

So first of all, our guidance is really on the top line of 5% to 7% up to -- '21 versus '22. And it's really on 2 pieces to it. And I think you already start to see the progress in this in Q4 as we're coming out of the quarter. But really, the guidance is based on expecting the top line growth to be driven by improved performance at the Nordstrom Rack and steady growth at Nordstrom.

所以首先，我們的指導實際上是在 5% 到 7% 的最高水平——'21 與 '22。它真的是 2 件。而且我認為隨著我們即將結束本季度，您已經開始在第四季度看到這方面的進展。但實際上，該指導是基於預期收入增長將受到 Nordstrom Rack 業績改善和 Nordstrom 穩定增長的推動。

And it's really leveraging our market strategy and all the advancements we have in merchandising plus some of the work that we've been doing in category management and supply chain improvement across the board.

它確實利用了我們的市場戰略和我們在銷售方面的所有進步，以及我們在品類管理和供應鏈改進方面所做的一些工作。

We expect that our customer -- we're continuing to see progress with our customers coming out of Omicron. And we are encouraged by what we're seeing both on a trend basis and a macro basis as well as we see customers coming -- we see consumers in general coming back to doing things like travel, socializing occasions and some return to work.

我們希望我們的客戶——我們將繼續看到我們的客戶從 Omicron 中脫穎而出。我們對我們在趨勢基礎和宏觀基礎上所看到的以及我們看到客戶的到來感到鼓舞——我們看到消費者普遍回歸做旅行、社交場合和一些重返工作崗位之類的事情。

We did balance all that out with the headwinds and tailwinds on the inflationary pieces to it and on par really just kind of equal each other out from the top and bottom line.

我們確實平衡了所有這一切與通脹因素的逆風和順風，並且實際上從頂線和底線來看，實際上彼此相等。

Yes. Omar, this is Erik. I'd just to add that off of Anne's comment on the external factors we see kind of balancing each other out, it's really about our internal efforts. And we continue to see kind of slow, steady, consistent progress quarter-to-quarter. And we have continued signs that's occurring.

是的。奧馬爾，這是埃里克。我想補充一下安妮對我們看到的相互平衡的外部因素的評論，這實際上是關於我們的內部努力。我們繼續看到一種緩慢、穩定、一致的季度進展。我們繼續有跡象表明這種情況正在發生。

We have a lot of effort going on in our Rack business. And while we saw some improvements last quarter, we have a ways to go. And we're hard at work on that, and we like our plans and believe there's opportunity for continued improvement there.

我們在機架業務方面付出了很多努力。雖然我們在上個季度看到了一些改進，但我們還有很長的路要走。我們正在為此努力工作，我們喜歡我們的計劃，並相信那裡有繼續改進的機會。

The Nordstrom banner business has been steady and very healthy. And the 2 geographic data points we continue to see, which give us an encouragement about the whole country opening up is, number one, the difference between North and South. Our Southern Nordstrom [markets outperformed our Northern Nordstrom markets] (corrected by company after the call) by 7 percentage points. And then the more urban stores versus suburban stores, our urban stores are 10 percentage points behind.

Nordstrom 橫幅業務一直穩定且非常健康。我們繼續看到的兩個地理數據點，讓我們對整個國家的開放感到鼓舞，第一，南北差異。我們的Southern Nordstrom [市場表現優於我們的Northern Nordstrom 市場]（在電話會議後由公司更正）7 個百分點。然后城市商店與郊區商店相比，我們的城市商店落後了 10 個百分點。

And it's pretty obvious when you're in these locations, the vast majority of workers in these really dense employment areas have not come back. And that's just starting to happen and we expect that not only will that help these locations. These locations are some of our biggest stores. So we see some opportunities. We do a lot of scenario planning, so we're prepared for volatility. But the direction of travel does give us confidence.

很明顯，當你在這些地方時，這些真正密集的就業地區的絕大多數工人都沒有回來。這才剛剛開始發生，我們預計這不僅會幫助這些地點。這些地點是我們最大的一些商店。所以我們看到了一些機會。我們做了很多場景規劃，所以我們為波動做好了準備。但行進的方向確實給了我們信心。

Omar, you said a second question?

奧馬爾，你說的是第二個問題？

Quickly, you guys obviously have a really big digital footprint at this point and a lot of traffic, sounds like a lot of it is on mobile. Maybe talk a little bit about your 3p/marketplace, advertising services, ways you can leverage that traffic? And when -- what's the kind of time line to see -- have those types of items be more impactful on the bottom line?

很快，你們顯然在這一點上有一個非常大的數字足跡和大量的流量，聽起來很多都是在移動設備上。或許談談您的 3p/市場、廣告服務以及您可以利用該流量的方式？什麼時候——要看到什麼樣的時間線——這些類型的項目對底線的影響更大？

Yes, I'll start. For Nordstrom Media [Network] (corrected by company after the call) or our advertising platform, we started that and had a good response there. So again, a way of monetizing the traffic on our site and scale of our business, which I think it is the most important thing. When you look at our digital business, it's large. It's a big chunk of our business and gets a lot of traffic.

是的，我會開始的。對於 Nordstrom Media [Network]（在電話會議後由公司更正）或我們的廣告平台，我們開始這樣做並在那裡得到了很好的回應。再說一次，一種將我們網站上的流量和我們的業務規模貨幣化的方式，我認為這是最重要的事情。當您查看我們的數字業務時，它非常龐大。這是我們業務的很大一部分，並獲得了大量流量。

It is one of the key attributes that allow us to be the softer partner for a lot of up-and-coming brands, especially digitally native brands that we can expose their brands to a lot of people that wouldn't see them otherwise.

這是使我們能夠成為許多新興品牌的軟合作夥伴的關鍵屬性之一，尤其是數字原生品牌，我們可以將他們的品牌展示給很多原本不會看到它們的人。

We've talked about alternative models for a while and have seen a lot of growth there. We think that's going to continue and grow quite a bit more. So we're focused on our platform -- technology platform to enable more ways to bring product to our customers and support different models. So I feel confident you'll continue to see that area grow for us.

我們已經討論了一段時間的替代模型，並且在那裡看到了很多增長。我們認為這種情況會繼續下去，而且還會進一步增長。因此，我們專注於我們的平台——技術平台，以提供更多方式將產品帶給我們的客戶並支持不同的模型。因此，我相信您將繼續看到該領域為我們發展。

Omar, I would just add, you're already starting to see that when we talk about our GMV, particularly with the Nordstrom banner. It's -- we're up 2% with our sales with -- our GMV included in that. So we're already starting to see some of that in that business.

奧馬爾，我想補充一下，當我們談論我們的 GMV 時，你已經開始看到這一點，尤其是在 Nordstrom 的旗幟下。這是 - 我們的銷售額增長了 2% - 我們的 GMV 包括在其中。因此，我們已經開始在該業務中看到其中的一些內容。

Next is Oliver Chen with Cowen and Co.

接下來是 Cowen and Co. 的 Oliver Chen。

Regarding the Rack division, as we look ahead, what are your thoughts about the good, better, best in the pricing architecture now? What are the big opportunities? And roughly, what inning are you on in terms of what's underway?

關於機架部門，展望未來，您對現在定價架構中的好、更好、最好有什麼看法？什麼是大機會？粗略地說，就正在進行的事情而言，你在哪一局？

And then also on the inventory composition now, I would be just curious about categories where you may not have had enough and then the nature of categories where you had too much, as well as how you're thinking about processes just to do your best to manage supply versus demand on a sustainable value-creating basis going forward?

然後還有現在的庫存構成，我只是好奇你可能沒有足夠的類別，然後你有太多的類別的性質，以及你如何考慮流程只是為了做到最好在可持續的價值創造基礎上管理供需關係？

Yes. This is Pete. I think relative to the Rack opportunity, as you know, we've tried some different things. That started with really broadening the aperture of our price strategy there and offering some lower prices in an attempt to gain new customers.

是的。這是皮特。我認為相對於 Rack 機會，如您所知，我們嘗試了一些不同的事情。首先是真正擴大我們在那裡的價格策略的範圍，並提供一些更低的價格以試圖獲得新客戶。

And that works, I think -- but what we've also learned is you can't do that at the expense of the existing stuff that we have that customers really truly value, our existing customers. And that's kind of the more premier-type brands that we have some unique access to.

我認為這很有效——但我們也了解到，你不能以犧牲我們擁有的客戶真正重視的現有東西、我們現有的客戶為代價來做到這一點。這就是我們可以接觸到的更高級的品牌。

So I think what we've confirmed ourselves is we have a really good situation with our existing customers, the people that love Nordstrom Rack. And we need to build upon that by expanding what we do, not trading off what we do.

因此，我認為我們已經確認自己與現有客戶的關係非常好，他們喜歡 Nordstrom Rack。我們需要在此基礎上擴大我們所做的事情，而不是權衡我們所做的事情。

And so I think there's a lot of opportunity for us to improve the balance of our offer and to be more surgical about how we apply it geographically. We have better ability to do that through better insights and just the learnings that we've had over this last year.

因此，我認為我們有很多機會來改善我們的報價平衡，並對我們如何在地理上應用它進行更多的手術。通過更好的洞察力和去年我們所學到的知識，我們有更好的能力做到這一點。

So as to what inning it's in, I don't think that game ever ends. It's going to keep going into extra innings because there's just -- it continues to evolve, we continue to learn and we're investing a lot of energy in working on that. I mean it's important for us to improve our Rack business. And we have certainly sharpened our resolve and our rigor over this last year with what we've learned and have a lot of confidence about where we're going.

至於它在哪一局，我認為那場比賽永遠不會結束。它將繼續進入額外的局，因為只是 - 它繼續發展，我們繼續學習，我們正在投入大量精力來解決這個問題。我的意思是改進我們的機架業務對我們來說很重要。在過去的一年裡，我們確實提高了我們的決心和嚴謹性，我們所學到的東西對我們的前進方向充滿信心。

In terms of the inventory composition, yes, the headline numbers don't really tell the whole story because a big part of what we lived through this last year was kind of trying to chase in to and react to what was happening in real time with COVID. So you heard us talk about, for example, our big improvements in categories like home and active.

就庫存構成而言，是的，標題數字並不能真正說明整個故事，因為我們去年所經歷的很大一部分是試圖實時追踪發生的事情並做出反應冠狀病毒病。例如，您聽到我們談論我們在家庭和活躍等類別方面的重大改進。

And that's all true, but at the same time, while that was a really good business and some other businesses weren't, things came back quicker than we could have anticipated largely last summer and fall. And then we found ourselves in a position of chasing inventory and stuff that traditionally we've been pretty strong at, any occasion types of dressing. And that's everything from travel to return to work to any kind of social occasions.

這一切都是真的，但與此同時，雖然這是一項非常好的業務，而其他一些業務卻不是，但事情的恢復速度比我們去年夏天和秋天的預期要快。然後我們發現自己處於追逐庫存和傳統上我們非常擅長的東西的位置，任何場合類型的著裝。這就是從旅行到返回工作再到任何社交場合的一切。

And so what we're seeing now really over the last several months is strong momentum on return with those types of franchise categories that we traditionally have done well with. But it's also true that we built up success with those expanding categories too.

因此，在過去幾個月中，我們現在真正看到的是，我們傳統上做得很好的那些類型的特許經營類別的回歸勢頭強勁。但是，我們也通過這些不斷擴大的類別取得了成功，這也是事實。

So again, it's somewhat like the Rack thing. I think it's looking at it across the entire spectrum and focusing on the balance of where we need to go. And the volatility of -- simmers down a little bit because it was pretty lumpy. I think it gives us a lot of confidence that we have the broad assortment that it's going to be really good and effective for us.

再說一次，它有點像 Rack 的東西。我認為它在整個範圍內審視它，並專注於我們需要去的地方的平衡。而--的波動性會稍微降低一點，因為它非常不穩定。我認為這給了我們很大的信心，因為我們擁有廣泛的品種，這對我們來說非常好和有效。

So it's -- I think there's a lot for us to be focused on in terms of where we're going to invest going forward.

所以它 - 我認為在我們未來的投資方向方面，我們有很多需要關注的地方。

Next is Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

接下來是 Chuck Grom 和 Gordon Haskett。

Anne, I was hoping you could help bridge the gap for us from last year's 3.4% operating margin to the 5% to 6% operating margin guidance for this year between gross margin and SG&A? And also if you could elaborate on why you're expecting the first quarter to be close to breakeven? That's my first question.

安妮，我希望你能幫助我們縮小從去年 3.4% 的營業利潤率到今年毛利率和 SG&A 之間 5% 到 6% 的營業利潤率指導的差距？如果你能詳細說明為什麼你預計第一季度將接近盈虧平衡？這是我的第一個問題。

Chuck, yes, let me give you a little bit of context around it. So while we don't necessarily guide to specific lines in our P&L, what I can share with you is that, really, we talked about we have got mid-single-digit price increases that are basically offsetting the inflationary cost pressures that we've seen both in our supply chain fulfillment as well as the labor cost, which all run through our SG&A line just as a reminder.

Chuck，是的，讓我給你一些關於它的背景信息。因此，雖然我們不一定會指導損益表中的特定行，但我可以與您分享的是，實際上，我們談到了中個位數的價格上漲，這基本上抵消了我們的通脹成本壓力。我們已經看到了我們的供應鏈履行以及勞動力成本，所有這些都貫穿我們的 SG&A 線，只是為了提醒一下。

The biggest piece of the improvement, so over half of it is really coming from leverage that we're getting from top line growth. And the remainder of that bridge is really coming from the initiatives that Pete and Erik had talked about in their scripts and their opening comments between the merchandise margin work that we've been doing, the category management pieces to this that we've seen nice progress and early success in the fourth quarter that are going to continue into next year, as well as the efficiencies that Pete talked about in his comments regarding fulfillment supply chain efficiencies.

改進的最大部分，因此其中超過一半實際上來自我們從頂線增長中獲得的槓桿作用。這座橋的其餘部分真的來自 Pete 和 Erik 在他們的劇本中談到的倡議以及他們在我們一直在做的商品保證金工作之間的開場評論，我們已經看到了不錯的類別管理部分第四季度的進展和早期成功將持續到明年，以及皮特在他關於履行供應鏈效率的評論中談到的效率。

So that's really the -- if I had to give a high level piece of that, that is really the components of the bridge.

所以這真的是——如果我必須給出一個高水平的部分，那就是橋的組成部分。

As far as Q1, that's always a very small quarter for us in general. While we did guide to the split on sales growth, first half, second half and it being more weighted from a growth rate perspective in the first half given the comps that we have, the comparisons we have to '21, it's always been a really small quarter for us. And with that, you do get a little bit less deleverage on the quarter.

就第一季度而言，總體而言，這對我們來說總是一個非常小的季度。雖然我們確實指導了銷售增長的拆分，上半年，下半年，並且考慮到我們擁有的比較，從上半年的增長率角度來看，它的權重更大，我們必須與 21 年進行比較，這一直是一個真正的我們的小季度。有了這個，你在本季度的去槓桿化程度確實有所降低。

Okay. That's very helpful. And then you touched on my second question. You referenced this, the mid-single-digit AUR increase. Can you remind us, I guess, what your AUR was in 2021 or maybe in the fourth quarter? And I guess how do you test to that? Have you seen any demand destruction and just your degree of confidence in raising retails to that degree?

好的。這很有幫助。然後你談到了我的第二個問題。你引用了這個，中間個位數的 AUR 增加。你能提醒我們，我猜，你的 AUR 在 2021 年或第四季度是多少？我猜你是怎麼測試的？您是否看到任何需求破壞以及您對將零售業提高到那個程度的信心程度？

Yes. So in general, I would say it's really split between the 2 banners. So for the Nordstrom banner, it's really -- we work with our brand partners and fix with the pricing in the industry.

是的。所以總的來說，我會說它真的在兩個橫幅之間分開。因此，對於 Nordstrom 的旗幟，它真的是 - 我們與我們的品牌合作夥伴合作並修復行業定價。

The Rack is really we have a little bit more room to look at price elasticity. We did do some testing in Q4 primarily in Rack. And we haven't seen the customer pull back on purchases or any resistance at all. So that gives us a lot of confidence as we head into this year.

機架實際上是我們有更多的空間來看待價格彈性。我們確實在第四季度做了一些測試，主要是在 Rack 中。而且我們還沒有看到客戶撤回購買或任何阻力。因此，當我們進入今年時，這給了我們很大的信心。

So what you're hearing us talk about is both what we're seeing in the market and hearing from our brand partners but also some of the work that we've done in the quarter as well heading into next year.

所以你聽到我們談論的既是我們在市場上看到的，也是從我們的品牌合作夥伴那裡聽到的，也是我們在本季度以及明年所做的一些工作。

Next is Simeon Siegel with BMO Capital Markets.

接下來是 BMO Capital Markets 的 Simeon Siegel。

Congrats on the quarter. The alternative brand story is really exciting. Congrats on the progress there. Just can you speak to where you think the delta between GMV and sales should go over time and what the margin impact should be for that evolution?

祝賀本季度。另類品牌的故事真的很令人興奮。祝賀那裡的進展。您能否談談您認為隨著時間的推移，GMV 和銷售額之間的增量應該在哪里以及這種演變對利潤率的影響應該是什麼？

And then just my follow-up, any way to quantify the inventory growth between units versus cost? And to the earlier point, what percent of inventory is pack and hold?

然後只是我的後續行動，有什麼方法可以量化單位與成本之間的庫存增長？更早一點，打包並持有的庫存百分比是多少？

Erik, do you want to talk a little bit about where we're seeing the GMV go? And then I can fill in with some of the other questions.

Erik，你想談談我們看到 GMV 的去向嗎？然後我可以填寫其他一些問題。

Yes. We really don't have precision to apply on what GMV will be versus sales. Directionally, to Anne's earlier point, GMV is going to continue to be a bigger gap, between that and sales. These alternative models will be a bigger chunk of our total business. That's what we're working on, and we've seen really strong results from that.

是的。我們真的沒有精確的方法來計算 GMV 與銷售額之間的關係。從方向上看，就安妮早先的觀點而言，GMV 將繼續成為更大的差距，與銷售額之間的差距。這些替代模型將在我們的總業務中佔據更大的份額。這就是我們正在做的事情，我們已經看到了非常強大的結果。

And I would step back and also add it's -- there's the financial model to it, but it's also super important of what the brands are. So being a coveted retail partner for the best brands in the world is something that -- its been super important for our business for many years and it continues to be. There is a real good story that we continue to see and have proof points with our brand partners of being able to grow the pie for both of us.

而且我會退後一步並添加它 - 它有財務模型，但它對於品牌是什麼也非常重要。因此，成為令人垂涎的世界上最好品牌的零售合作夥伴是——多年來，它對我們的業務非常重要，而且仍然如此。有一個真正的好故事，我們繼續看到並與我們的品牌合作夥伴有證據表明能夠為我們雙方共同做大蛋糕。

So then it becomes negotiation on how you split up that pie, and that's gone really well. So that's -- having the right brand partners is a big part of it, but there is a platform capability part of it that we continue to really work at. And I would say the direction should not be linear on that. It's as we build out our capabilities, it greatly enhances our ability to scale more choice.

然後就變成了關於如何分割那個餡餅的談判，而且進展非常順利。所以這就是——擁有合適的品牌合作夥伴是其中很大一部分，但其中有一個平台能力部分，我們將繼續真正努力。我會說方向不應該是線性的。當我們建立自己的能力時，它極大地增強了我們擴大更多選擇的能力。

And the example we've had recently has been with Fanatics and being able to add, I believe it's almost 50,000 customer choices onto our site in a much more accelerated way than we were able to previously, is a good example of where we're trying to go, where we can take coveted brands, take adjacent categories to what we sell and really drive some incremental business by adding significantly more customer choice.

我們最近的例子是 Fanatics 並且能夠添加，我相信有近 50,000 個客戶選擇以比我們以前更快的方式進入我們的網站，這是我們在哪裡的一個很好的例子嘗試去，我們可以採用令人垂涎的品牌，將相鄰的類別與我們銷售的產品相結合，並通過增加更多的客戶選擇來真正推動一些增量業務。

And then on the -- I would just say in general, between how we're thinking about our inventory positioning, as Pete talked about, we're really focused on making sure that we've got the right assortment, we're leaning in on areas that we're seeing customers really starting to come back and respond to the occasion base of things.

然後 - 我只想說一般來說，在我們如何考慮我們的庫存定位之間，正如皮特所說，我們真的專注於確保我們有正確的分類，我們傾向於在我們看到客戶真正開始回來並響應事件基礎的領域。

And part of our strategy and what you're seeing as far as the guide for '22 is really based on getting that inventory closer to the customer because it does help reduce our cost to serve customers, as well as it gets the -- a bigger assortment in front of customers more quickly for same-day and next-day deliveries and particularly for specific markets.

我們戰略的一部分以及您在 '22 指南中看到的內容實際上是基於讓庫存更接近客戶，因為它確實有助於降低我們為客戶服務的成本，並且它獲得了 -更快速地在客戶面前為當日和次日交付，特別是針對特定市場提供更多種類的產品。

As we think about the overall guide as well, we balance everything from price points to inventory. We are anticipating that we should drive more, I would say, profitability per unit as we go through the year as we continue to balance and have a more even flow of our inventory units.

當我們考慮整體指南時，我們會平衡從價格點到庫存的所有內容。我們預計，隨著我們繼續平衡並擁有更均勻的庫存單位流動，我們應該在這一年中推動更多的單位盈利能力。

And so just when thinking about the inflation, any delta between inventory units versus at cost, just how you're thinking about EC?

因此，當考慮通貨膨脹時，庫存單位與成本之間的任何差異，您是如何考慮 EC 的？

I don't think it's a meaningful piece of what you're going to see as far as sales to inventory spreads. Certainly, everyone's seeing increases in freight costs, landed cost, that type of thing. But in general, that's part of -- as we talked about the mid-single-digit pricing change, it really contemplates some of those components in that guide.

就銷售到庫存的價差而言，我認為這不是您將看到的有意義的一部分。當然，每個人都看到貨運成本、到岸成本等這類事情的增加。但總的來說，這是 - 當我們談到中個位數的定價變化時，它確實考慮了該指南中的一些組件。

Our last question comes from Tracy Kogan with Citi.

我們的最後一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Tracy Kogan。

I was wondering if you could talk about your EBIT margin guidance and what that assumes for Rack versus full pricing. I'm wondering if the EBIT margin improvement is more driven by a recovery in Rack? And if that's the case, where do you assume Rack gets to relative to historical levels?

我想知道您是否可以談談您的 EBIT 利潤率指導以及 Rack 與全價的假設。我想知道 EBIT 利潤率的提高是否更多地是由 Rack 的複蘇推動的？如果是這樣的話，你認為 Rack 相對於歷史水平在哪裡？

And then secondly, I was wondering if you could just give us a little more detail on your overall SG&A dollar growth expectations for '22?

其次，我想知道您是否可以向我們提供更多關於您對 22 年的整體 SG&A 美元增長預期的詳細信息？

Yes. Thanks for the question, Tracy. I would just say we don't typically guide by segment on EBIT margin. What we'll do is give some rather context around our top line, how we're thinking about the growth in general.

是的。謝謝你的問題，特蕾西。我只想說我們通常不會按細分市場來指導息稅前利潤率。我們要做的是圍繞我們的收入提供一些相當背景，我們如何考慮總體增長。

Prior to COVID, both of our -- both our Nordstrom Rack and our Nordstrom divisions, in general, operated at parity around EBIT. Clearly, as the Rack continues to improve and we get more top line growth, we will see more leverage in our expense base, which would help drive more our profitability.

在 COVID 之前，我們的 Nordstrom Rack 和 Nordstrom 部門一般都在 EBIT 附近以平價運營。顯然，隨著機架的不斷改進和我們獲得更多的收入增長，我們將在我們的費用基礎上看到更多的槓桿作用，這將有助於提高我們的盈利能力。

But what I would just say in general, as we think back on this, we're expecting to see top line growth both in Rack as it continues to recover and also steady growth in our Nordstrom banner, which will both contribute to our bottom line EBIT rates.

但總的來說，我想說的是，當我們回想這一點時，我們預計 Rack 的收入將隨著它繼續復甦而增長，而且我們的 Nordstrom 旗幟也將穩步增長，這都將有助於我們的底線息稅前利潤。

And then the SG&A dollar growth?

然後是 SG&A 美元的增長？

Yes. We typically don't give guidance on specific line items. What we did try to do is give you a bridge on where our EBIT rates were and how we're thinking about efficiencies both in our merchandise margins throughout the year.

是的。我們通常不會就特定訂單項提供指導。我們試圖做的是為您提供一座橋樑，讓您了解我們的息稅前利潤在哪裡，以及我們如何考慮全年商品利潤率的效率。

And we're also continuing to see, working on efficiencies, productivity in our supply chain component of SG&A, which will help offset some of the inflationary pressures we're seeing on wages and freight costs.

我們還繼續看到，我們在 SG&A 的供應鏈組件中致力於提高效率和生產力，這將有助於抵消我們在工資和運費成本方面看到的一些通脹壓力。

We want to thank you for joining today's call. A replay, along with the slide presentation and prepared remarks, will be available for 1 year on our website. Thank you for your interest in Nordstrom.

我們要感謝您參加今天的電話會議。重播，連同幻燈片演示和準備好的評論，將在我們的網站上提供 1 年。感謝您對 Nordstrom 的關注。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation. Enjoy the rest of your day.

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。享受你一天的剩餘時間。