諾德斯特龍百貨 (JWN) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Nordstrom Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. At this time, I'll turn the call over to Jamie Duies, Head of Investor Relations for Nordstrom. You may begin.

您好，歡迎參加 Nordstrom 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。此時，我會將電話轉給 Nordstrom 投資人關係主管 Jamie Duies。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，我們將參考投影片，這些投影片可以在nordstrom.com 的投資者關係部分中查看。我們的討論可能包括前瞻性陳述，因此請參閱包含我們安全港語言的幻燈片。

Participating in today's call are Erik Nordstrom, Chief Executive Officer; and Cathy Smith, Chief Financial Officer, who will provide a business update and discuss the company's fourth quarter performance. Please note that when discussing our results and outlook, we will be referring to them on an adjusted basis for EBIT, EBIT margin and earnings per share. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found at the end of this presentation and our Q4 2023 earnings press release, both of which are available on our website. And now I'll turn the call over to Erik.

執行長 Erik Nordstrom 參加了今天的電話會議；財務長 Cathy Smith 將提供業務最新情況並討論公司第四季的業績。請注意，在討論我們的業績和前景時，我們將參考調整後的息稅前利潤、息稅前利潤率和每股收益。與最直接可比較的 GAAP 衡量標準的調整可以在本簡報的末尾和我們的 2023 年第四季收益新聞稿中找到，兩者都可以在我們的網站上找到。現在我將把電話轉給埃里克。

Thank you, Jamie, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. I'll start with our fourth quarter performance and discuss our 2023 priorities and cover what we're focused on for 2024.

謝謝傑米，大家下午好。感謝您今天加入我們。我將從我們第四季度的業績開始，討論我們 2023 年的優先事項，並介紹我們 2024 年的重點工作。

We delivered a strong fourth quarter with net sales of $4.3 billion and earnings per share of $0.96. For the full year, our results were within or better than the guidance we laid out, and we accomplished what we set out to do: enhance the customer experience and drive better financial performance.

我們第四季業績強勁，淨銷售額為 43 億美元，每股收益為 0.96 美元。全年業績均在或優於我們所製定的指引，並且完成了我們的目標：增強客戶體驗並推動更好的財務表現。

Ahead of the holiday shopping season, our teams worked hard to deliver the right assortment as well as provide engaging experiences for our customers. As a result of these efforts, we achieved sequential improvement in net sales, profitability, number of customers and purchase trips in the fourth quarter.

在假期購物季到來之前，我們的團隊努力提供合適的產品組合，並為客戶提供引人入勝的體驗。由於這些努力，我們在第四季度實現了淨銷售額、獲利能力、客戶數量和購買行程的連續改善。

Throughout 2023, we remain focused on 3 priorities intended to drive better financial performance while keeping the customer at the center of everything we do. Our first priority was to improve Nordstrom Rack performance. One way that we did that was by opening 19 new stores in 2023. New Rack stores continue to be an excellent investment as they deliver well in excess of their cost of capital with a relatively short payback period.

2023 年，我們將繼續專注於 3 個優先事項，旨在推動更好的財務業績，同時將客戶置於我們一切工作的中心。我們的首要任務是提高 Nordstrom Rack 的效能。我們採取的方法之一是在 2023 年開設 19 家新店。新的 Rack 店仍然是一項出色的投資，因為它們的交付遠遠超過資本成本，且投資回收期相對較短。

However, it's not just the new stores that drove the Rack's impressive net sales growth in the fourth quarter as Rack comparable store sales also grew by high single digits. Our Rack digital business also improved in traffic and conversion in the fourth quarter, enabling sales, which contributed to NordstromRack.com's full year profitability. From a merchandise standpoint, we focused our efforts to improve our offering at the Rack as we know that delivering great brands at great prices is what our customers want.

然而，推動 Rack 在第四季度實現令人印象深刻的淨銷售額成長的不僅僅是新店，因為 Rack 可比商店銷售額也實現了高個位數成長。我們的 Rack 數位業務第四季度的流量和轉換率也有所改善，促進了銷售，從而為 NordstromRack.com 的全年盈利做出了貢獻。從商品的角度來看，我們專注於改善貨架上的產品，因為我們知道以優惠的價格提供優質品牌是我們的客戶所想要的。

Our second priority in 2023 was to increase inventory productivity. We continue to focus on managing inventory effectively as evidenced by the positive sales to inventory spread in the fourth quarter, which sets us up well from a merchandise standpoint as we start the new fiscal year. Additionally, our efforts to reduce the overhang of designer inventory met our target, and our overall newness of inventory is stronger than it was a year ago, given we had fewer aged items to clear through.

我們 2023 年的第二個優先事項是提高庫存生產力。我們繼續專注於有效管理庫存，第四季度的銷售與庫存利差就證明了這一點，這從商品的角度來看為我們在新財年開始時奠定了良好的基礎。此外，我們減少設計師庫存過剩的努力達到了我們的目標，而且我們的庫存整體新奇度比一年前更強，因為我們需要清理的舊貨較少。

Our third priority of 2023 was to optimize our supply chain capabilities, a continuation of efforts that began in 2022. In Q4, for the sixth consecutive quarter, the team delivered another 50-plus basis points of improvement in variable supply chain expense savings, while at the same time, improving our click to delivery speed.

我們2023 年的第三個優先事項是優化我們的供應鏈能力，這是從2022 年開始的努力的延續。在第四季度，該團隊連續第六個季度在可變供應鏈費用節省方面又實現了50 多個基點的改進，同時同時，提高我們的點擊交付速度。

Building on the momentum of our efforts to optimize our supply chain, we have made the strategic decision to relocate operations from our Fulfillment Center in San Bernardino, California, to our West Coast Omnichannel Center, just 25 miles away in Riverside. WCOC has been scaling for several years now and is well positioned to serve our customers across Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack banners following the investments we have made to enhance capabilities at the facility. It is our newest, most automated facility, offering a substantially lower processing cost per unit. We recorded a $32 million asset impairment and related charge due to this relocation.

基於我們努力優化供應鏈的勢頭，我們做出了策略決策，將業務從加州聖貝納迪諾的履行中心遷移到距離河濱僅 25 英里的西海岸全通路中心。 WCOC 多年來一直在擴大規模，在我們為增強設施能力而進行的投資之後，我們已做好充分準備為 Nordstrom 和 Nordstrom Rack 品牌的客戶提供服務。它是我們最新、自動化程度最高的設施，可大幅降低單位加工成本。由於此次搬遷，我們記錄了 3,200 萬美元的資產減損和相關費用。

We're pleased with the results of our efforts against our 3 priorities for 2023 as not only did they drive better financial outcomes for the company, but also supported our efforts to improve the customer experience. Next, I'd like to take a moment to discuss merchandise performance in the fourth quarter as Pete is away in market and unable to join us today.

我們對 2023 年 3 個優先事項的努力結果感到滿意，因為它們不僅為公司帶來了更好的財務成果，而且支持了我們改善客戶體驗的努力。接下來，我想花點時間討論第四季的商品表現，因為皮特不在市場上，今天無法加入我們。

We came into Q4 at a much healthier inventory position than in the prior year, resulting in fewer markdowns during the quarter, which helped to drive an expansion of our gross profit margin by 125 basis points. Active, Beauty and Women's Apparel were our best-performing categories in the fourth quarter, with strong growth versus the prior year.

進入第四季時，我們的庫存狀況比上一年要健康得多，導致本季降價減少，這有助於推動我們的毛利率擴大 125 個基點。運動、美容和女裝是我們第四季表現最好的類別，與前一年相比成長強勁。

The Active category was led by Shoes, with strength from brands like On Running and HOKA as well as apparel brand, Vuori. We leaned into Beauty with a strong gift selection for holiday as well as a 5x point promotion for our Nordy Club members. This offer drove incremental trips and conversion while creating a halo effect in other categories.

運動類產品以鞋類為主導，On Running 和 HOKA 等品牌以及服裝品牌 Vuori 等品牌也頗具實力。我們專注於美容，為我們的 Nordy Club 會員提供精選的節日禮物以及 5 倍積分促銷。這項優惠推動了增量旅行和轉化，同時在其他類別中產生了光環效應。

Fragrance was the top performer in Beauty at both banners, highlighted by brands such as Burberry, YSL and Marc Jacobs. At the Nordstrom banner, designer makeup drove strong growth from Chanel, Tom Ford and Dior while the skincare category improved compared with the previous year. At the Rack, the rollout of an expanded offering of haircare products supported our outsized growth.

香水在美容類別中表現最好，其中 Burberry、YSL 和 Marc Jacobs 等品牌尤為突出。在 Nordstrom 旗下，設計師彩妝帶動了 Chanel、Tom Ford 和 Dior 的強勁增長，而護膚品類別與前一年相比有所改善。在 Rack，擴大護髮產品系列的推出支持了我們的大幅成長。

The improvement in Women's Apparel was supported by seasonally relevant newness in addition to our turnaround with the young customer, which is an area we have a multiyear plan to improve. We are pleased with the progress in this area in Q4, which was led by our Nordstrom private brands. At the Nordstrom banner, dressier categories were the best performing. Brands such as Vince, Veronica Beard, and Cinq à Sept delivered solid growth. Overall, we exited 2023 with improved inventory levels versus the prior year, which provides us the opportunity to have a consistent flow of relevant product as we move towards spring.

除了我們對年輕客戶的轉變之外，女裝的改進還得到了與季節相關的新穎性的支持，這是我們有一個多年計劃要改進的領域。我們對第四季度在這一領域取得的進展感到高興，這是由我們的 Nordstrom 自有品牌引領的。在諾德斯特龍 (Nordstrom) 旗下，更考究的品類表現最好。 Vince、Veronica Beard 和 Cinq à Sept 等品牌實現了穩健成長。總體而言，2023 年結束時，我們的庫存水準比前一年有所改善，這為我們在邁向春季時提供了保持相關產品穩定流動的機會。

Turning to 2024. We're confident in our plan for the year. Building upon the work we did in 2023, we've refreshed our 3 key priorities for 2024: Driving Nordstrom banner growth, optimizing operationally, and building on momentum at the Rack.

展望2024年，我們對今年的計畫充滿信心。在 2023 年所做工作的基礎上，我們更新了 2024 年的 3 個關鍵優先事項：推動 Nordstrom 品牌成長、優化營運以及鞏固 Rack 的勢頭。

The first priority is to drive growth at our Nordstrom banner. Our customers value the relevance and inspiration that we offer. We aim to provide that by offering a compelling product mix along with creating an environment where they not only shop their favorite brands and products but also discover new ones. We will focus our Nordstrom banner efforts on digital-led growth supported by our stores.

首要任務是推動 Nordstrom 旗幟的成長。我們的客戶重視我們提供的相關性和靈感。我們的目標是透過提供引人注目的產品組合以及創造一個環境來實現這一點，讓他們不僅可以購買自己喜歡的品牌和產品，還可以發現新的品牌和產品。我們將把諾德斯特龍 (Nordstrom) 旗幟的努力重點放在我們商店支持的數位主導成長上。

One thing we're excited about is the launch of our digital markets on Nordstrom.com starting in April. By reimagining the way we work with our brand partners, we'll grow our curated online assortment to serve more customers on even more occasions through increasing our use of unowned inventory. Marketplace will allow customers to shop more products and sizes from their favorite brands while providing them more access to new and emerging brands.

讓我們興奮的一件事是我們的數位市場將於 4 月開始在 Nordstrom.com 上推出。透過重新構想我們與品牌合作夥伴的合作方式，我們將增加我們精選的線上產品種類，透過增加對無主庫存的使用，在更多場合為更多客戶提供服務。 Marketplace 將允許客戶從他們喜愛的品牌中購買更多產品和尺碼，同時為他們提供更多接觸新興品牌的機會。

As we do this, we're also creating a more personalized digital experience that makes it easy for our customers to navigate our growing assortment. Expanding our assortment through unowned inventory has the potential to drive GMV growth in addition to providing compelling economics. We'll also drive Nordstrom growth by amplifying the brands that matter most to our customers, along with ensuring we have the depth in these brands, consistently across our stores and online. Beauty will also continue to play a prominent role in our assortment and growth. Our efforts are designed to create more engagement in addition to improving retention while serving customers on more occasions with the breadth of assortment that they expect from us.

在這樣做的同時，我們也創造了更個人化的數位體驗，使我們的客戶能夠輕鬆瀏覽我們不斷增長的產品組合。透過無主庫存擴大我們的產品種類，除了提供令人信服的經濟效益外，還有可能推動 GMV 成長。我們還將透過擴大對客戶最重要的品牌來推動 Nordstrom 的成長，同時確保我們在商店和網路上始終如一地擁有這些品牌的深度。美容也將繼續在我們的品種和成長中發揮重要作用。我們的努力旨在除了提高保留率之外還創造更多的參與度，同時在更多場合為客戶提供他們期望我們提供的廣泛品種的服務。

Our second priority for 2024, operational optimization, builds upon the success that we've had in optimizing our supply chain capabilities. This entails a focus on driving faster fulfillment and delivery for our customers as well as maximizing our inventory value through its life cycle.

我們 2024 年的第二個優先事項是營運優化，它建立在我們優化供應鏈能力方面的成功之上。這需要專注於為我們的客戶推動更快的履行和交付，以及在整個生命週期中最大化我們的庫存價值。

We will continue our efforts to improve inventory integrity and optimize inventory positioning along with increasing the speed of product to the customer. We are making investments in systems and technology enablers to standardize and streamline our inventory processes, expanding the scale of our RFID utilization and improving the inventory movement within our business, all with the end goal of enhancing the customer experience and improving our cost position.

我們將繼續努力提高庫存完整性並優化庫存定位，同時提高向客戶交付產品的速度。我們正在對系統和技術推動因素進行投資，以標準化和簡化我們的庫存流程，擴大 RFID 使用規模並改善我們業務內的庫存流動，所有這些的最終目標是增強客戶體驗並改善我們的成本狀況。

Our third priority for 2024 is building on the momentum at the Rack. Opening new Rack stores is a profitable investment as well as a key way to reach more new customers and drive Rack banner growth. As we're opening more new stores, we're finding our performance and efficiency continues to improve. Expanding our network of stores brings our omnichannel services closer to the customer, giving them more reasons and opportunities to engage with us.

我們 2024 年的第三個優先事項是鞏固 Rack 的勢頭。開設新的 Rack 商店是一項有利可圖的投資，也是吸引更多新客戶和推動 Rack 橫幅成長的關鍵方式。隨著我們開設更多新店，我們發現我們的業績和效率不斷提高。擴大我們的商店網路使我們的全通路服務更貼近客戶，讓他們有更多理由和機會與我們互動。

We consistently hear how customers enjoy the convenience of shopping between our banners, taking advantage of the services we offer, including cross-banner in-store returns, Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store and alterations. In 2023, we opened 19 new stores, and our intent is to open 22 new stores in 2024. Rack stores continue to be a growth engine for our company as they are our largest source of new customer acquisition, accounting for over 40%.

我們不斷聽到客戶如何利用我們提供的服務（包括跨橫幅店內退貨、線上購買、店內取貨和改簽）享受在我們的橫幅之間購物的便利。 2023年，我們開設了19家新店，我們的目標是在2024年開設22家新店。貨架店仍然是我們公司的成長引擎，因為它們是我們最大的新客戶獲取來源，佔比超過40%。

Growing our store count also supports long-term customer retention. In fact, roughly 1/4 of retained Rack customers migrate to the Nordstrom banner within 4 years. We aim to deliver top line Rack growth led by stores and supported by enhanced digital capabilities in 2024. To that end, in addition to growing the number of Rack stores, we also intend to continue the profitable momentum at Nordstromrack.com. By leveraging our digital assets, our suite of omnichannel offerings will enable us to grow our selection online as well as enhance the customer experience as we strive to deliver great brands at great prices for our customers regardless of how they choose to shop.

增加我們的商店數量也有助於長期保留客戶。事實上，大約 1/4 的保留 Rack 客戶在 4 年內遷移到 Nordstrom 旗下。我們的目標是到 2024 年實現以商店為主導並以增強的數位能力為支援的 Rack 營收成長。為此，除了增加 Rack 商店數量外，我們還打算繼續 Nordstromrack.com 的獲利勢頭。透過利用我們的數位資產，我們的全通路產品套件將使我們能夠增加線上選擇並增強客戶體驗，因為我們努力以優惠的價格為客戶提供優質品牌，無論他們選擇如何購物。

Before I turn it over to Cathy for a review of the financials, I want to thank our teams for their focus on exceptional service to our customers and execution of the day-to-day business while remaining steadfast on our priorities. We're proud of the efforts that we undertook in 2023 as well as the outcomes that enhance the customer experience and drove improved financial results.

在我將其交給 Cathy 進行財務審查之前，我要感謝我們的團隊專注於為客戶提供卓越服務和執行日常業務，同時堅定不移地堅持我們的優先事項。我們對 2023 年所做的努力以及增強客戶體驗和改善財務表現的成果感到自豪。

Through a clear set of priorities, we're confident that we'll end 2024 as an even stronger company. And with that, I'll hand it over to Cathy.

透過一系列明確的優先事項，我們有信心在 2024 年結束時成為更強大的公司。這樣，我就把它交給凱西。

Thanks, Erik, and thank you all for joining us today. Although it was mentioned in the forward-looking statement at the beginning of this call, when I speak to our results and outlook, it will be on an adjusted basis for EBIT, EBIT margin and EPS, for which the relevant reconciliations can be found at the end of this presentation and in our earnings release, both of which are available on our website.

謝謝艾瑞克，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。儘管在本次電話會議開始時的前瞻性聲明中提到了這一點，但當我談到我們的業績和前景時，它將在息稅前利潤、息稅前利潤率和每股收益的基礎上進行調整，相關調節表可以在以下網址找到：本簡報的結尾和我們的收益發布中，兩者都可以在我們的網站上找到。

I'll begin by covering our fourth quarter results, then provide some additional commentary about our transition from retail to cost accounting, discuss our outlook for 2024 and quarterly timing and close with our capital allocation priorities. For the fourth quarter, we reported earnings per share of $0.96 compared with $0.74 in the year ago quarter. We were pleased with the financial results and momentum throughout the year and that we delivered on our guidance.

我將首先介紹我們第四季度的業績，然後對我們從零售到成本會計的過渡提供一些額外的評論，討論我們對 2024 年的展望和季度時間安排，最後討論我們的資本配置優先事項。第四季度，我們公佈的每股收益為 0.96 美元，而去年同期為 0.74 美元。我們對全年的財務表現和勢頭以及我們實現的指導感到滿意。

In Q4, we finished with year-over-year increases in gross margin, EBIT and EPS, despite net sales that were essentially flat on a like-for-like basis. Net sales increased 2% in the fourth quarter, which includes a benefit of 460 basis points related to the 53rd week and 250 basis points unfavorable impact from the wind down of Canadian operations.

在第四季度，儘管淨銷售額同比基本持平，但我們的毛利率、息稅前利潤和每股收益仍同比增長。第四季淨銷售額成長 2%，其中包括與第 53 週相關的 460 個基點的收益和加拿大業務縮減帶來的 250 個基點的不利影響。

Total GMV increased 2% in the fourth quarter. Nordstrom banner net sales decreased 3%, including a 410 basis point benefit related to the 53rd week and a 355 basis point negative impact from the wind down of Canadian operations. Nordstrom banner GMV decreased 3% in the fourth quarter. Nordstrom Rack net sales increased 15%, including a benefit of 580 basis points related to the 53rd week.

第四季總 GMV 成長 2%。 Nordstrom 旗下淨銷售額下降 3%，其中包括與第 53 週相關的 410 個基點的收益以及加拿大業務縮減帶來的 355 個基點的負面影響。 Nordstrom 旗下商品 GMV 在第四季下降了 3%。 Nordstrom Rack 淨銷售額成長 15%，其中與第 53 週相關的收益增加了 580 個基點。

Throughout the year, we saw steady progress quarter-over-quarter in the top line as we focused on this growth driver. Although digital sales in the fourth quarter decreased 2% compared with the same period in fiscal 2022, we saw quarter-over-quarter sales improvement. Digital sales represented 38% of total sales during the quarter.

全年，由於我們專注於此成長動力，我們的營收逐季穩定成長。儘管第四季的數位銷售額與 2022 財年同期相比下降了 2%，但我們看到環比銷售額有所改善。數位銷售額佔該季度總銷售額的 38%。

Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, of 34.4% increased 125 basis points compared with the same period last year due to lower markdowns, lower buying and occupancy costs and leverage on higher sales. Ending inventory decreased 3% in the quarter. We are pleased with the progress on inventory productivity we delivered this year.

毛利潤佔淨銷售額的比例為 34.4%，與去年同期相比增長了 125 個基點，原因是降價幅度較小、購買和入住成本較低以及銷售槓桿較高。本季期末庫存下降 3%。我們對今年庫存生產力方面的進展感到滿意。

As Erik mentioned, we exited the year with improved inventory levels versus last year, which set us up well to start the new fiscal year. Reported SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales increased 85 basis points in the fourth quarter, including a $32 million supply chain asset impairment and related charge. Excluding the charge, SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were in line with the year ago quarter as the impact of higher labor costs was offset by improvements in variable costs from supply chain efficiencies and leverage on higher sales.

正如艾瑞克所提到的，我們在今年結束時庫存水準比去年有所改善，這為我們開始新的財政年度奠定了良好的基礎。第四季報告的 SG&A 費用佔淨銷售額的百分比增加了 85 個基點，其中包括 3,200 萬美元的供應鏈資產減損和相關費用。不計入該費用，SG&A費用佔淨銷售額的百分比與去年同期持平，因為勞動成本上升的影響被供應鏈效率和銷售額增加帶來的可變成本改善所抵消。

Our supply chain initiatives continue to deliver strong results over the last year. Our EBIT margin for the fourth quarter was 5.7% versus 4.5% in the year ago quarter, and we ended the fourth quarter with $1.4 billion in available liquidity, including over $600 million in cash. Our balance sheet and financial position remain solid.

我們的供應鏈計劃在去年繼續取得強勁成果。我們第四季的息稅前利潤率為 5.7%，而去年同期為 4.5%，第四季結束時我們擁有 14 億美元的可用流動資金，其中包括超過 6 億美元的現金。我們的資產負債表和財務狀況依然穩健。

Next, I want to take a moment to speak about our fiscal 2024 conversion from the retail method of accounting for inventory to the cost method. This shift to operating in units and cost lays the foundation for us to deliver on our business priorities more effectively. We will see profitability at the item level, guiding us in executing with intention and speed. We anticipate that utilizing cost accounting for financial reporting purposes in 2024 will result in a slight headwind in our 2024 results. More on that in a moment.

接下來，我想花點時間談談我們在 2024 財年從庫存會計零售法轉換成成本法的。這種以單位和成本營運的轉變為我們更有效地實現業務重點奠定了基礎。我們將看到專案層面的獲利能力，引導我們有目的地和快速地執行。我們預計，在 2024 年利用成本會計進行財務報告將導致我們 2024 年的業績出現輕微阻力。稍後會詳細介紹。

Turning to our outlook for the year, I'll start by discussing the current environment and related assumptions underlying our guidance. We expect 2024 to be a year of continued momentum toward the long-term strength and durability of our business. We continue to see a cautious consumer that is mindful of discretionary purchases in light of inflation, higher interest rates and the resumption of student loan payments. Regardless of the external environment, we will remain focused and expect to make progress on the 3 2024 priorities that Erik discussed, following the solid execution against our 2023 priorities.

談到我們今年的展望，我將首先討論當前的環境和我們指導的相關假設。我們預計 2024 年將是我們業務保持長期實力和持久性的持續勢頭的一年。我們仍然看到謹慎的消費者，考慮到通貨膨脹、利率上升和學生貸款支付的恢復，他們會謹慎購買。無論外部環境如何，我們都將保持專注，並期望在紮實執行 2023 年優先事項之後，在 Erik 討論的 3 個 2024 年優先事項上取得進展。

In 2024, we expect full year revenue in the range of a decline of 2% to an increase of 1%, which includes a headwind of approximately 135 basis points from the 53rd week in 2023's results. We expect revenue to follow a typical quarterly cadence. In 2023, our credit card revenue represented slightly over 3% of net sales. We anticipate credit card revenues should be closer to 3% of net sales in 2024.

2024年，我們預計全年營收將下降2%至成長1%，其中包括與2023年第53週業績相比約135個基點的逆風。我們預計收入將遵循典型的季度節奏。 2023 年，我們的信用卡收入佔淨銷售額的比例略高於 3%。我們預計 2024 年信用卡收入將接近淨銷售額的 3%。

Now that we are consistently opening new Rack stores, we will be providing comparable sales data on a quarterly basis beginning in Q1. As such, we expect total company comparable sales in a range of a decrease of 1% to an increase of 2% in 2024 versus 52 weeks in 2023.

既然我們不斷開設新的 Rack 商店，我們將從第一季開始按季度提供可比較的銷售數據。因此，我們預計 2024 年公司總可比銷售額將比 2023 年的 52 週下降 1% 至成長 2%。

Turning to profitability. We expect EBIT margin in the range of 3.5% to 4%, with EBIT reflecting slight pressure due to the aforementioned conversion from retail to cost accounting and modest increases in SG&A to support Rack growth. We expect a 2 percentage point increase in our effective tax rate, relative to 2023, to be back at our typical rate of 27%.

轉向盈利能力。我們預計息稅前利潤率在 3.5% 至 4% 之間，息稅前利潤反映出由於上述從零售向成本核算的轉換以及 SG&A 的適度增長以支持 Rack 增長而帶來的輕微壓力。我們預計，相較於 2023 年，我們的有效稅率將增加 2 個百分點，回到 27% 的典型稅率。

From an earnings per share perspective, we anticipate full year results in the range of $1.65 to $2.05, again, weighed upon modestly by the accounting method change as well as the anticipated increase in our effective tax rate relative to 2023. Although we don't typically focus on our guidance on a quarter-by-quarter basis, I would like to offer a few comments on our expectations for the cadence of the year.

從每股收益的角度來看，我們預計全年業績將在 1.65 美元至 2.05 美元之間，同樣，會計方法的變化以及相對於 2023 年有效稅率的預期增長會帶來適度的壓力。通常關注我們逐季的指導，我想就我們對今年節奏的預期發表一些評論。

The estimated timing of markdown recognition under the retail method versus the cost method is anticipated to weigh heavier on the first half results, primarily in Q1. Under the retail method of accounting, last year's Q1 benefited modestly to the timing of markdown recognition in Q4 2022. However, under the cost method, we do not anticipate that to repeat. We expect this Q1's results to be near breakeven to a slight loss and Q2 to have about 1/3 of the year's earnings. As the year progresses, with our anniversary sale almost entirely in the second quarter as 1 week shifts back out of Q3, the rest of the year should follow a more traditional cadence as the estimated headwind from the change in accounting method lessens throughout the year.

預計零售法與成本法下的降價確認時間將對上半年業績產生更大影響，主要是在第一季。在零售會計法下，去年第一季略微受益於 2022 年第四季的降價確認時間。但是，在成本法下，我們預計這種情況不會重演。我們預計第一季的業績將接近盈虧平衡，略有虧損，第二季的獲利將佔全年的 1/3 左右。隨著時間的推移，我們的周年紀念銷售幾乎全部發生在第二季度，因為從第三季度向後移了1 週，今年剩餘時間應該遵循更傳統的節奏，因為會計方法變化帶來的估計阻力全年都會減少。

Turning to capital allocation, our priorities remain the same. The first is investing in the business to better serve our customers and support long-term growth. We continue to plan for capital expenditures of 3% to 4% of net sales. Our second priority is reducing our leverage. We remain committed to an investment-grade credit rating through a combination of earnings improvement and debt reduction and continue to target a leverage ratio below 2.5x.

在資本配置方面，我們的優先事項保持不變。首先是投資業務，以更好地服務客戶並支持長期成長。我們繼續計劃將資本支出佔淨銷售額的 3% 至 4%。我們的第二要務是減少槓桿。我們仍然致力於透過獲利改善和債務削減相結合來實現投資級信用評級，並繼續將槓桿率設定為低於 2.5 倍。

We have a bond maturity of $250 million in April that we intend to retire using cash on hand. Our third priority is returning cash to shareholders. Last week, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share.

我們的 2.5 億美元債券將於 4 月到期，我們打算使用手頭現金償還該債券。我們的第三個優先事項是向股東返還現金。上週，我們的董事會宣布季度現金股利為每股 0.19 美元。

In closing, we made great progress against our priorities and delivered on our guidance for the year in 2023. I'm looking forward to the progress that we'll make this year and getting after the growth opportunities we have, both at Nordstrom banner and the Rack. As I mentioned earlier, we expect 2024 to be a year of continued momentum toward the long-term strength and durability of our business.

最後，我們在優先事項上取得了巨大進展，並實現了 2023 年的指導。我期待今年我們將取得的進展，並抓住我們在 Nordstrom 旗幟和機架。正如我之前提到的，我們預計 2024 年將是我們業務維持長期實力和持久發展勢頭的一年。

We thank you for your interest in Nordstrom. And with that, Jamie, we are ready for questions.

我們感謝您對 Nordstrom 的興趣。傑米，我們準備好回答問題了。

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

謝謝你，凱西。 （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 Ashley Owens with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Ashley Owens。

This is Chandana on for Ashley today. So looking at Rack store openings, I think you mentioned intent to open 22 new stores in 2024. Could you speak to the cadence of those openings throughout the year? And maybe if you could help us break down how much of the Rack banners growth this year will come from new stores versus same stores?

這是 Chandana 今天為 Ashley 做的節目。因此，看看 Rack 商店的開業情況，我認為您提到了在 2024 年開設 22 家新店的意圖。您能談談全年這些新店開業的節奏嗎？也許您可以幫我們分析一下今年的貨架橫幅成長有多少來自新店與同店？

Chandana, this is Cathy. So first off, throughout the course of the year, just like in 2023, we'll see -- there'll be a spring cohort and a fall cohort. We don't specifically time them one or the other, but you'll see that it's spread through the course of the year. We're -- we continue to be very, very excited about the Rack opportunity. They have continued to drive a strong return on investment. They're a great source of new customer acquisition to the Nordstrom banner, and they have great economics. So we continue to be excited about them as we move forward.

錢達納，這是凱西。因此，首先，在這一年中，就像 2023 年一樣，我們會看到——將會有一個春季隊列和一個秋季隊列。我們沒有具體安排其中一個或另一個的時間，但您會發現它在一年中傳播。我們仍然對 Rack 機會感到非常非常興奮。他們繼續推動強勁的投資回報。他們是 Nordstrom 品牌獲取新客戶的重要來源，並且具有良好的經濟效益。因此，在我們前進的過程中，我們繼續對它們感到興奮。

Our next question comes from the line of Ashley Helgans with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Ashley Helgans 和 Jefferies 的對話。

It's Blake on for Ashley. First, I wanted to ask on the sales guide range for 2024. Just any color you can give on expectations by banner, and then your expectations for AUR versus transactions? And maybe if you could talk about what that was for those 2 items in 2023.

布萊克替補阿什利。首先，我想問一下 2024 年的銷售指南範圍。您可以透過橫幅對預期給出任何顏色，然後您對 AUR 與交易的預期？也許您可以談談 2023 年這兩項的情況。

Maybe, Blake, I'll start and Erik can answer on as well. So with regards to the guidance for revenue, so first, let me parse a little bit of comp versus revenue -- comp guidance versus revenue. Comp guidance is a little stronger as we think about -- it's a 52- to 52-week impact, so I just want to acknowledge the revenue guidance is versus the extra week we had in 2023.

布萊克，也許我可以開始，艾瑞克也可以回答。因此，關於收入指導，首先，讓我分析一下比較與收入－比較指導與收入。正如我們所考慮的那樣，Comp 指導要強一些——這是 52 到 52 週的影響，所以我只想承認收入指導是與 2023 年額外一周相比的。

That said, though, to your question, we're excited to grow where the market is growing. We're going to grow with Rack and the off-price channel. You're going to see us continue to lean into that growth driver for us, and then you'll see -- we expect digital to grow as the market is, but we're going to be below the market's growth as we move from this year into next. We're very, very focused on driving digital growth. We know that things like choice count matter there, and so we're excited about the marketplace comment that Erik shared in the remarks. That will help obviously drive choice count.

儘管如此，對於你的問題，我們很高興能在市場成長的地方成長。我們將與 Rack 和折扣管道一起成長。你會看到我們繼續依靠這種成長動力，然後你會看到——我們預計數位化將隨著市場的發展而成長，但隨著我們從今年進入明年。我們非常非常專注於推動數位成長。我們知道像選擇這樣的事情在那裡很重要，因此我們對埃里克在評論中分享的市場評論感到興奮。這顯然將有助於推動選擇數量。

We're focused on assortment for digital, and we're going to continue to drive that lower price point like that under $100 price point to drive growth there, and then the overall experience in digital. So we're continuing to focus on driving there. And then the last place of growth would be the Nordstrom stores. Erik talked about that in his prepared remarks. Expect that to be a little bit more in the flattish range as you think about by the banner in the channel, but we're really excited about having the assortment in the stores that matter most for our customers. We have a concerted effort on making sure that we do that this year, having great service and experience that we're known for.

我們專注於數位產品種類，我們將繼續推動較低的價格點，例如 100 美元以下的價格點，以推動那裡的成長，然後是數位領域的整體體驗。所以我們將繼續專注於在那裡開車。最後的成長點將是 Nordstrom 商店。埃里克在他準備好的演講中談到了這一點。正如您透過頻道中的橫幅所想到的那樣，預計這一範圍會更加平坦，但我們真的很高興能夠在商店中擁有對我們的客戶最重要的品種。我們齊心協力，確保今年能夠做到這一點，並提供眾所周知的優質服務和經驗。

So that will hopefully help you with a little bit of color around each of the banners and channels inside that guidance. And then on AUR, that one is difficult to predict. We're all expecting, I think, for AURs to start to come down, but that's going to be a little bit more difficult to predict.

因此，這將有望幫助您在該指南中的每個橫幅和頻道周圍添加一些顏色。然後在 AUR 上，這一點很難預測。我認為，我們都期待 AUR 開始下降，但這會更難預測。

Yes. I guess like other color I'd add. One more detail. First of all, store traffic. Store traffic continues to be on the soft side, although traffic at the Nordstrom banner stores did improve sequentially throughout the year. It is AUR that is in both banners helping to drive improved selling prices, which is leading in average trip value going up. Digitally, also some soft traffic, but again, average order value and average selling price, both of those increased at both Nordstrom.com and rack.com.

是的。我想就像我會添加的其他顏色一樣。還有一個細節。首先，店鋪流量。儘管 Nordstrom 旗艦店的客流量全年確實有所改善，但商店客流量仍然疲軟。兩個旗幟中的 AUR 都有助於提高銷售價格，從而導致平均旅行價值上升。數位方面，也有一些軟流量，但平均訂單價值和平均售價在 Nordstrom.com 和rack.com 上均有所成長。

That's super helpful. I appreciate the color. And then our follow-up is on EBIT margins. Can you just elaborate on the puts and takes for those this year? I know you said the accounting change and then you're investing in store growth. The guide is 3.5% to 4%, slightly below 4% this year. What's -- any more detail you can kind of give for us on the headwinds next year? And then would love to hear any commentary on what kind of top line do you need in the future or any other initiatives you need to see on the top line in order to get margin expansion.

這非常有幫助。我很欣賞它的顏色。然後我們的後續行動是息稅前利潤率。能詳細說明一下今年的看跌期權嗎？我知道您說過會計變更，然後您正在投資商店成長。指導值為3.5%至4%，略低於今年的4%。關於明年的逆風，您可以為我們提供更多細節嗎？然後很想聽到關於您未來需要什麼樣的營收的任何評論，或者您需要在營收上看到的任何其他舉措，以獲得利潤擴張。

Yes. So thanks. We're very focused on continuing to drive both market share gains as well as margin expansion. So know that that's where our focus is. Inside the guide for 2024, to answer your question, though, we made great progress in gross margin expansion this year in 2023, the year we just concluded. We would expect to continue to drive a little bit of gross margin expansion. It is being offset, though, by some SG&A headwinds, so expense headwinds. While we continue to drive productivity in places like supply chain, we're offsetting it with investments in new Rack store openings and a little bit of inflation in things like labor that we're not fully offsetting.

是的。那謝謝啦。我們非常專注於繼續推動市場份額的成長和利潤率的擴大。所以要知道這就是我們的重點。不過，在2024年的指南中，為了回答你的問題，我們剛結束的2023年，今年的毛利率擴張取得了很大進展。我們預計將繼續推動毛利率的小幅擴張。不過，它被一些 SG&A 不利因素以及費用不利因素所抵消。雖然我們繼續提高供應鏈等領域的生產力，但我們正在透過新開 Rack 商店的投資以及我們沒有完全抵消的勞動力等方面的一點通貨膨脹來抵消它。

Our next question comes from the line of Ed Yruma with Piper Sandler.

我們的下一個問題來自 Ed Yruma 和 Piper Sandler。

Two quick ones for me. I guess, first, if you could give us an update on some of your kind of city center, big box Nordstrom stores. I know for some period of time, they were pressured by traffic trends, but we'd kind of love to hear any color you have there.

對我來說兩個快點。我想，首先，您能否向我們介紹一下您所在城市中心的大型 Nordstrom 商店的最新情況。我知道在一段時間內，他們受到流量趨勢的壓力，但我們很想聽聽您那裡的任何顏色。

And then as a follow-up, on some of the newer Rack stores, would love to understand maybe the return profile. Have they been ramping as quickly as you had expected, particularly those in new markets?

然後作為後續行動，在一些較新的 Rack 商店中，我很想了解退貨情況。它們的成長速度是否如您預期的那麼快，特別是在新市場？

Yes, this is Erik. I'll take the first one. Cathy can get second one. Yes, we have really not seen that difference between urban and suburban stores through '23 like we did kind of through the pandemic for a couple of years. Some of our fastest-growing stores this past year or our big urban flagship stores, in particular, New York has shown real strong growth.

是的，這是埃里克。我就拿第一個。凱茜可以獲得第二個。是的，我們確實沒有看到城市和郊區商店之間的差異，直到 23 年，就像我們在大流行期間看到的那樣。去年我們一些成長最快的商店或我們的大城市旗艦店，特別是紐約，顯示出了真正強勁的成長。

On the Rack stores, the return profile, to answer your question. As you know, it's kind of a new muscle. We started rebuilding this last year, so in 2023, we opened 19 stores kind of in 2 cohorts, a spring cohort and a fall cohort. We took all the learnings we had from the earlier ones into the later ones. We'll take the learnings from both of those into this year as we continue to evolve a little bit around the edges. So things like the amount of investment in a new store, how much we support it with inventory, all of those things. They just keep getting better and better.

關於Rack商店，返回簡介，回答您的問題。如您所知，這是一種新肌肉。我們去年開始重建，所以到 2023 年，我們開設了 19 家商店，分成 2 組，一個是春季組，一個是秋季組。我們將早期的所有經驗都運用到了後來的學習中。今年，我們將繼續從這兩個領域汲取經驗教訓，並繼續在邊緣發展。例如新店的投資金額、我們的庫存支持量等等。他們只是變得越來越好。

They come out really strong, as you would imagine. We are working to make sure we sustain that growth throughout the duration though. We are great about supporting with lots of inventory upfront and lots of marketing, and we need to make sure we continue to do that. All in, though, we're really, really excited about the great return on investment, great acquisition of new customers for our total banner -- our total brand.

正如你所想像的那樣，他們表現得非常強大。不過，我們正在努力確保在整個期間內保持這種成長。我們非常樂意提供大量的前期庫存和大量的營銷支持，並且我們需要確保繼續這樣做。不過，總而言之，我們對巨大的投資回報以及我們的整體品牌——我們的整體品牌——大量新客戶的獲得感到非常非常興奮。

Our next question comes from the line of Brooke Roach with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自布魯克·羅奇（Brooke Roach）與高盛的對話。

I was hoping to get an update on what you're seeing on profitability of the dot-com business. It sounds like you saw some nice improvement in rack.com's profitability this year. Where does that sit today compared to full line and total company margin rates? And what's the opportunity for continued improvement in 2024?

我希望了解您所看到的網路業務盈利能力的最新情況。聽起來您看到今年rack.com 的獲利能力有了一些不錯的改善。與全線利潤率和公司總利潤率相比，現在的利潤率處於什麼位置？ 2024年持續改善的機會是什麼？

Maybe I'll start, but obviously, Erik can add on as well. So it has been a distinct effort of ours to get the Rack digital business profitable. As we've spoken to, it is profitable for 2023, the full year. Really proud of the work that the team has done to drive that business improvement. The Nordstrom.com business, though, is actually quite profitable. It's one of our most profitable channels, and so we'll continue to have that Nordstrom.com digital business lead our growth in the Nordstrom banner. It's a great vehicle for us, and it's how the customer is choosing to shop.

也許我會開始，但顯然，艾瑞克也可以補充。因此，我們為使 Rack 數位業務盈利而付出了巨大的努力。正如我們所說，它將於 2023 年全年實現盈利。對該團隊為推動業務改進所做的工作感到非常自豪。不過，Nordstrom.com 的業務其實是相當有利可圖的。這是我們最賺錢的管道之一，因此我們將繼續讓 Nordstrom.com 數位業務引領我們在 Nordstrom 旗幟下的成長。這對我們來說是一個很棒的工具，也是顧客選擇購物的方式。

Going forward, though, to your question on where is maybe rack.com versus Nordstrom.com, still growing or still expanding in margin. We'll continue to work on that. Some of the fundamental things we worked on in '23 were things like inventory integrity that allows us to then start turning on omnichannel capabilities more completely for our customers as they come into Rack. So where -- we'll continue to expand rack.com's profitability, but pleased with both of them that they're solidly in the black and Nordstrom.com is well past that.

不過，接下來的問題是，rack.com 與 Nordstrom.com 的利潤率仍在成長或擴大。我們將繼續致力於此。我們在 23 年所做的一些基本工作包括庫存完整性等，這使我們能夠在客戶進入 Rack 時開始更全面地為他們啟用全通路功能。因此，我們將繼續擴大rack.com 的盈利能力，但對他們兩家公司都感到滿意，因為他們已經實現了盈利，而Nordstrom.com 則遠遠超過了這一點。

Yes, Brooke, I'd just -- I'd add on -- first, I think in the context, you look at our digital business, first and foremost, we look at it through the customer lens, which is a customer experience that cuts across digital and physical. Almost every customer does that. So we really look at how we can leverage our physical and digital assets to serve the customer better.

是的，布魯克，我只是- 我想補充一下- 首先，我認為在這種情況下，你看看我們的數位業務，首先也是最重要的是，我們透過客戶視角來看待它，這是一種客戶體驗跨越數位和實體。幾乎每個顧客都會這樣做。因此，我們真正研究如何利用我們的實體和數位資產來更好地為客戶服務。

That being said, if you look back over our bigger actions over the last couple of years, we have taken some -- made some decisions and some tough ones that were really about reducing unprofitable sales. So growth in Canada would be a part of that, doing -- shutting down store fulfillment out of our rack.com business is another example.

話雖如此，如果你回顧過去幾年我們採取的更大行動，我們已經採取了一些決定，做出了一些艱難的決定，這些決定實際上是為了減少無利可圖的銷售。因此，加拿大的成長將成為其中的一部分，關閉我們的rack.com 業務中的商店配送是另一個例子。

So as we look at it, to Cathy's point of -- the financial model in our digital business is really strong, and it scales well. It scales really well. We have, over the last couple of years, really address the unprofitable parts of the business. Both platforms are very much poised for growth, and we need growth out of both of them.

因此，正如我們所看到的那樣，就凱西的觀點而言，我們數位業務的財務模型非常強大，而且擴展性很好。它的擴展性非常好。在過去的幾年裡，我們確實解決了業務中無利可圖的部分。這兩個平台都已經做好了成長的準備，我們也需要它們的成長。

Cathy, if I could just ask one quick follow-up. You gave some helpful color on the credit card revenue at close to 3% of sales in 2024. Can you elaborate on the assumptions that are embedded within that, and what the impact is of the late fee changes in credit revenue based on the announcement today?

凱茜，我能否快速詢問一下。您對 2024 年信用卡收入佔銷售額的比例接近 3% 給出了一些有用的描述。您能否詳細說明其中包含的假設，以及根據今天的公告，滯納金變化對信貸收入的影響是什麼？

Yes, happy to. And interesting timing on the announcement today for sure, given it's our day of earnings release. So I want to start with reminding us that the average credit quality of our portfolio tends to be higher than some of our peers, so therefore, late fees are a smaller piece of the overall credit revenue to our P&L. So I'll start there.

是的，很高興。鑑於今天是我們發布財報的日子，今天的公告無疑是一個有趣的時機。因此，我想先提醒我們，我們投資組合的平均信貸品質往往高於一些同行，因此，滯納金在我們損益表的整體信貸收入中所佔的比例較小。所以我將從這裡開始。

We do expect there to be some legal challenges, too. I suspect as soon as the federal register actually registers the new regulation, we'll see some legal challenges, and we'll continue to monitor that. But most importantly, the estimate -- our best estimate has been included in our guidance that we've given today.

我們確實預計也會出現一些法律挑戰。我懷疑，一旦聯邦登記冊真正登記了新法規，我們就會看到一些法律挑戰，我們將繼續對此進行監控。但最重要的是，我們的最佳估計已包含在我們今天給出的指導中。

So we've been monitoring it. We expect there will be continued pressure both politically and from consumers on late fees. And so we did build that into our guidance the best estimate we have.

所以我們一直在監控它。我們預計政治上和消費者對滯納金的壓力將持續存在。因此，我們確實將我們擁有的最佳估計納入了我們的指導中。

Your next question comes from the line of Dana Telsey with Telsey Advisory Group.

您的下一個問題來自 Telsey Advisory Group 的 Dana Telsey。

Good afternoon, everyone. Just expanding on some of the merchandising comments, with Active, Beauty and Women's Apparel being the most improved this year -- this quarter, last quarter, I believe accessories was in that mix. What was different this quarter from last quarter with accessories and what are you seeing there?

大家下午好。只是擴展一些商品銷售評論，其中活力、美容和女裝是今年進步最大的——本季、上季度，我相信配件也在其中。本季配件與上季有何不同？您從中看到了什麼？

And then also just following up on the merchandise margin. Any impacts on Red Sea or how you're thinking about freight costs and delivery costs for this year embedded in the margin?

然後也只是跟進商品利潤。對紅海有何影響，或者您如何考慮今年包含在利潤中的運費和交付成本？

Yes, accessories, handbags in particular, which is a big category in accessories for I think for everyone, has not been as strong kind of through the year. So we continue to see that. That being said, every single merchandise category that we have did improve sequentially from Q3 to Q4. So we're also encouraged about that.

是的，配件，尤其是手袋，我認為對每個人來說都是配件中的一個大類別，但今年的表現並不那麼強勁。所以我們繼續看到這一點。話雖如此，從第三季到第四季度，我們所做的每個商品類別都在連續改善。所以我們對此也感到鼓舞。

On the merch margin question, we really don't see at this point, an effect from what's going on in the Red Sea on our merch margin. We have some portion of our goods that's delayed a bit, but we don't see any material effect to our results.

關於商品利潤問題，我們目前確實沒有看到紅海發生的事情對我們的商品利潤的影響。我們的部分貨物延遲了一點，但我們認為這不會對我們的結果產生任何實質影響。

Our next question comes from the line of Oliver Chen with TD Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 Oliver Chen 和 TD Cowen 的對話。

This is Neil Goh on for Oliver today. Nice to see inventories managed pretty well in line with sales growth. What are your expectations on inventory management throughout the year? And then how would you describe the promo environment leading into spring summer? And any implications on merch margins as we get through the fiscal year?

這是尼爾吳今天為奧利佛做的節目。很高興看到庫存管理與銷售成長保持一致。您對全年庫存管理有何期望？那麼您如何描述進入春夏的促銷環境呢？當我們度過本財年時，對商品利潤有什麼影響？

Neil, maybe I'll give a start and then Erik can add. So on inventory growth, to your point, thank you for the comment on inventory productivity or the management of inventory. I think the team did a terrific job of building some new disciplines and really being sensitive to the trends and chasing into it. I think we're poised really well as we ended the year in inventory health. As we ended the year and then begin the new year, allows us to have some newness, which is always important for customers. So very, very excited about where inventory is at and the progress we've made around inventory productivity.

尼爾，也許我會先開始，然後艾瑞克可以補充。因此，關於庫存成長，就您的觀點而言，感謝您對庫存生產力或庫存管理的評論。我認為團隊在建立一些新學科以及真正對趨勢敏感並追逐它方面做得非常出色。我認為我們在年底的庫存健康狀況方面已經做好了準備。當我們結束了這一年，然後開始新的一年時，讓我們有一些新鮮感，這對客戶來說總是很重要。對於庫存狀況以及我們在庫存生產力方面取得的進展非常非常興奮。

As we move through the year, we'll be prudent. So we're going to continue the same disciplines of making sure we're chasing into demand. The team's really excited to be at a year where we feel like we're on the front foot there. And so that's nice. So we would expect that when you think about inventory. We're going to continue to support Beauty. We're going to continue to support the new Rack stores. So that will continue to be a little bit of a place that will support with extra inventory. And then on promotional environment, maybe I'll ask Erik to opine on that as we think about it going forward.

隨著這一年的到來，我們將保持謹慎。因此，我們將繼續遵循同樣的原則，確保我們能夠滿足需求。團隊對這一年感到非常興奮，我們感覺自己處於領先地位。這很好。因此，當您考慮庫存時，我們預計會發生這種情況。我們將繼續支持美麗。我們將繼續支援新的 Rack 商店。因此，這將繼續成為一個需要額外庫存支援的地方。然後在促銷環境方面，也許我會請艾瑞克在我們考慮未來時對此發表意見。

Yes, Neil, I'd say we really are not seeing an elevated promotional environment. We didn't see it through Q4. We're not seeing it right now. So as best as we can tell, we don't anticipate an unusually elevated promotional environment.

是的，尼爾，我想說我們確實沒有看到更好的促銷環境。我們在第四季度沒有看到這一點。我們現在還沒有看到它。據我們所知，我們預期促銷環境不會異常高漲。

Next question comes from the line of Michael Binetti with Evercore ISI.

下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Michael Binetti。

This is Warren Cheng on for Michael. I just had a follow-up on Brooke's question on the CFPB ruling. The last time you broke out credit income, I think that was back in 2015, late fees were low teens percentage of the credit card revenue stream. Is that still a fair benchmark used for today's business? And I also just wanted to clarify your comment that your best estimate for the outcome is already included in the guidance today. Could you just elaborate on what that means?

我是麥可沃倫鄭 (Warren Cheng)。我剛剛跟進了布魯克關於 CFPB 裁決的問題。上次你公佈信用收入時，我想那是在 2015 年，滯納金在信用卡收入流中所佔的比例很低。對於當今的業務來說，這仍然是一個公平的基準嗎？我也只是想澄清您的評論，即您對結果的最佳估計已包含在今天的指南中。您能詳細說明一下這意味著什麼嗎？

Yes, happy to, Warren. So first off, I didn't know that we actually supplied that information in 2015. So thank you for the information there. Obviously, that's been a long time ago, and the business continues to evolve. That said, our loyalty customers are still our best customers. And as you know, a good portion of them pulled the Nordstrom card. The comment I shared around our best estimate of the impact of the CFPB ruling that came out today is included in our guidance. It is. It's exactly what we had estimated. I know there's been a ton of speculation. I don't know if we just -- we're fortunate there, but our team, I think, estimated that we knew it'd be coming out, and there's going to be -- obviously, all of the guidance had said it's going to be about where it came out at. So we tried to include that in our guidance we gave today. With regards to the amount of late fees as a percentage of our income, we haven't disclosed that, but it is less than our competitors, given the quality of our credit portfolio.

是的，很高興，沃倫。首先，我不知道我們實際上在 2015 年提供了這些資訊。所以感謝您提供的資訊。顯然，這已經是很久以前的事了，而且業務還在不斷發展。也就是說，我們的忠誠客戶仍然是我們最好的客戶。如你所知，他們中的很大一部分人都拿到了諾德斯特龍 (Nordstrom) 卡。我對今天公佈的 CFPB 裁決影響的最佳估計所發表的評論已包含在我們的指導中。這是。這正是我們的估計。我知道有很多猜測。我不知道我們是否只是 - 我們在那裡很幸運，但我認為我們的團隊估計我們知道它會出現，並且將會 - 顯然，所有指導都說它是將是關於它出現的地方。因此，我們試圖將其納入我們今天提供的指導中。至於滯納金占我們收入的百分比，我們尚未披露，但考慮到我們信貸組合的質量，這一比例低於我們的競爭對手。

Got it. That's very helpful. And then I just had a follow-up on the Rack business. I was wondering if we could focus for a second on the new Rack stores that have opened in the last 12 months. How does the productivity stack up against the base? And then can you also discuss the ramp behavior for these stores relative to product cohorts and also versus your expectations?

知道了。這非常有幫助。然後我就對 Rack 業務進行了跟進。我想知道我們是否可以關註一下過去 12 個月內新開的 Rack 商店。生產力與基礎相比如何？然後，您是否還可以討論這些商店相對於產品群體以及您的期望的成長行為？

Sure. Warren, this is Erik. Yes, our new stores productivity is a little above our average on a sales per square foot basis. So they do tend to be smaller volume stores. As you imagine, we've -- our portfolio to date has been in -- we start with the best locations. And -- but the average size of our stores is a bit smaller than what we had previously. So productivity is really good. The ramp -- we do see an opportunity for us to build upon the excitement we get at a Rack opening, particularly we go to new markets. We get really strong traffic and a lot of energy in the community. For some of those communities there where we don't have a Nordstrom store, it's the first entry of our company into that market.

當然。沃倫，這是艾瑞克。是的，我們新店的生產力略高於我們每平方英尺銷售額的平均值。因此，它們確實往往是銷量較小的商店。正如你想像的那樣，我們——迄今為止我們的投資組合——我們從最好的地點開始。而且——但是我們商店的平均規模比以前小一些。所以生產力真的很好。坡道－我們確實看到了一個機會，可以在機架開業時的興奮感上再接再厲，特別是我們進入新市場。我們在社區中獲得了非常強大的流量和大量的能量。對於我們沒有 Nordstrom 商店的一些社區來說，這是我們公司首次進入該市場。

So we do think we have opportunities to build upon that knowledge of the second year -- of the first year and continue to drive the growth. And I think that's kind of the main takeaway for Rack businesses. The focus on our key strategic brands really cuts across all aspects of the Rack business. The new stores, comp business, our online business, and we think there's still a lot of opportunities there for us to really leverage, which we think is a competitive advantage. The access to these coveted brands that customers associate with Nordstrom. And as we continue to focus and emphasize those strategic brands, it really is lifting all boats.

因此，我們確實認為我們有機會在第二年和第一年的知識基礎上繼續推動成長。我認為這是 Rack 業務的主要收穫。對我們關鍵策略品牌的關注確實涉及機架業務的各個方面。新商店、比較業務、我們的線上業務，我們認為我們仍然有很多機會可以真正利用，我們認為這是一種競爭優勢。接觸到這些令顧客與 Nordstrom 產生聯繫的令人垂涎的品牌。當我們繼續關注和強調這些戰略品牌時，它確實讓所有的人都舉起了船。

Our next question comes from the line of Lorraine Hutchinson with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的洛林‧哈欽森 (Lorraine Hutchinson)。

I wanted to ask about the supply chain initiatives. They've been very successful in reducing your distribution costs. What inning would you say we're in of that program? And where do you see the expected benefits on a go-forward basis?

我想問一下供應鏈計畫。他們在降低您的分銷成本方面非常成功。你認為我們處於該節目的第幾局？您認為未來的預期收益在哪裡？

Yes, I'll start. Cathy can chime in. If I leave something out, you may note we changed our wording a bit from optimizing supply chain to optimizing operationally. And the point with that really is internally that it's not just about technically our supply chain network that we see opportunities in addition to continuing to drive productivity out of our network, to managing our inventory throughout its life cycle.

是的，我要開始了。凱茜可以插話。如果我遺漏了一些內容，您可能會注意到我們對措辭進行了一些更改，從優化供應鏈改為優化營運。真正的要點是，從技術上講，我們的供應鏈網絡不僅僅是我們的供應鏈網絡，我們還看到了機會，除了繼續提高我們網絡的生產力，在整個生命週期管理我們的庫存之外。

You look at our model, it is unique. Most retailers have stores and have a digital business. We also have 2 banners, and the banners are connected. The life cycle of our product or a lot of it starts in the Nordstrom banner, and it ends up in the Rack. So there's a lot of choices for us to make in pricing and placement of that inventory, and we see opportunities to gain value in better managing product through its entire life cycle.

你看看我們的模型，它是獨一無二的。大多數零售商都擁有商店並擁有數位業務。我們還有2個橫幅，並且橫幅是相連的。我們的產品或大部分產品的生命週期始於 Nordstrom 橫幅，最終出現在 Rack 中。因此，我們在庫存的定價和佈局方面有很多選擇，我們看到了透過更好地管理產品整個生命週期來獲得價值的機會。

So I would say the supply chain -- we really have a strong team in supply chain. And by leveraging them beyond the narrow laws of supply chain, really leveraging across the whole operational sides of our business, we see continued opportunities to drive productivity.

所以我想說的是供應鏈——我們在供應鏈方面確實擁有一支強大的團隊。透過超越供應鏈的狹隘法則，真正利用我們業務的整個營運方面，我們看到了提高生產力的持續機會。

We have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. And with that, I'll turn it back to Jamie Duies for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節已經結束。接下來，我將把它轉回 Jamie Duies 做總結演講。

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. Thanks again for your interest in Nordstrom.

感謝您參加今天的電話會議。我們的網站將提供為期一年的重播以及幻燈片演示和準備好的評論。再次感謝您對 Nordstrom 的關注。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

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。