柯爾百貨 (KSS) 2022 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day. My name is Chantelle, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Kohl's Corporation Q2 2022 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

再會。我叫 Chantelle，今天我將擔任您的會議接線員。在這個時候，我想歡迎大家參加 Kohl's Corporation 2022 年第二季度收益電話會議。提醒一下，今天的電話會議正在錄音中。 （操作員說明）

Thank you. Mark Rupe, you may begin your conference.

謝謝你。 Mark Rupe，你可以開始你的會議了。

Thank you. Certain statements made on this call, including projected financial results and the company's future initiatives, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Kohl's intends forward-looking terminology such as believes, expects, may, will, should, anticipates, plans or similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause Kohl's actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements.

謝謝你。在本次電話會議上做出的某些陳述，包括預計的財務業績和公司未來的舉措，是 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。 Kohl's 打算使用前瞻性術語，例如相信、預期、可能、將會、應該、預期、計劃或類似的表達方式來識別前瞻性陳述。此類陳述受到某些風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致 Kohl 的實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述中的預測結果大不相同。

Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those that are described in Item 1A in Kohl's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 and as may be supplemented from time to time in Kohl's other filings with the SEC, all of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Forward-looking statements relate to the date initially made, and Kohl's undertakes no obligation to update them.

此類風險和不確定性包括但不限於 Kohl 2022 財年第一季度關於 10-K 表和 10-Q 表的最新年度報告中第 1A 項中描述的風險和不確定性，並且可能會不時補充Kohl 向 SEC 提交的其他文件中的時間，所有這些文件均通過引用明確併入本文。前瞻性陳述與最初發表的日期有關，Kohl's 不承擔更新這些陳述的義務。

In addition, during this call, we will make reference to non-GAAP financial measures. Information necessary to reconcile these non-GAAP financial measures can be found in the investor presentation filed as an exhibit to our Form 8-K filed with the SEC and is available on the company's Investor Relations website.

此外，在本次電話會議中，我們將參考非 GAAP 財務指標。協調這些非公認會計原則財務措施所需的信息可在作為提交給美國證券交易委員會的 8-K 表格的證據提交的投資者演示文稿中找到，並可在公司的投資者關係網站上找到。

Please note that this call will be recorded. However, replays of this call will not be updated. So if you're relistening to a replay of this call, it is possible that the information discussed is no longer current, and Kohl's undertakes no obligation to update such information.

請注意，此通話將被錄音。但是，不會更新此通話的重播。因此，如果您正在重新收聽此電話的重播，則所討論的信息可能不再是最新的，並且 Kohl's 不承擔更新此類信息的義務。

With me today are Michelle Gass, our Chief Executive Officer; and Jill Timm, our Chief Financial Officer. I will now turn the call over to Michelle.

今天和我在一起的是我們的首席執行官 Michelle Gass；和我們的首席財務官 Jill Timm。我現在將把電話轉給 Michelle。

Thank you, Mark. Good morning, and welcome to Kohl's second quarter earnings conference call.

謝謝你，馬克。早上好，歡迎參加科爾的第二季度財報電話會議。

Since our last earnings call in May, as all of you know, a weakening macro environment, high inflation and dampened consumer spending are having broad implications across much of retail, especially in discretionary categories like apparel. Given our penetration in these categories, this is disproportionately impacting Kohl's.

眾所周知，自我們 5 月份的上一次財報電話會議以來，宏觀環境疲軟、高通脹和消費者支出下降對零售業產生了廣泛影響，尤其是在服裝等非必需品類別中。鑑於我們在這些類別中的滲透率，這對 Kohl's 產生了不成比例的影響。

Our second quarter results reflect a middle-income customer that has become more cost-conscious and is feeling greater pressure on their budgets. Therefore, we are seeing customers make fewer shopping trips, spend less per transaction and shift towards our value-oriented private brands.

我們的第二季度業績反映了一個中等收入客戶變得更加註重成本並且對他們的預算感到更大的壓力。因此，我們看到客戶購物次數減少，每筆交易花費更少，並轉向我們以價值為導向的自有品牌。

We have responded to this dynamic environment, taking action to adjust our plans and adapt to a softer demand outlook. We've increased promotions. We are being aggressive on clearing excess inventory. We are pulling back on receipts. And we are managing expenses diligently. We acknowledge that many others are taking similar actions, which will likely make for a more promotional environment in the near term.

我們已對這種動態環境做出反應，採取行動調整我們的計劃並適應疲軟的需求前景。我們增加了促銷活動。我們正在積極清理多餘的庫存。我們正在撤回收據。我們正在努力管理開支。我們承認許多其他人正在採取類似的行動，這可能會在短期內營造出更具促銷性的環境。

Our updated full year guidance contemplates lower sales and margin pressure from a more difficult economic backdrop and a more competitive landscape. We have navigated difficult retail environments in the past, and I'm confident that we will successfully manage through the current uncertainty. We have the right long-term strategy and initiatives and a formidable foundation featuring a differentiated brand portfolio, strong value position and a convenient and broad-reaching omnichannel platform.

我們更新的全年指導考慮到更困難的經濟背景和更具競爭性的環境帶來的更低的銷售和利潤率壓力。我們過去曾經歷過艱難的零售環境，我相信我們將成功應對當前的不確定性。我們擁有正確的長期戰略和舉措，以及具有差異化品牌組合、強大價值地位和便捷且覆蓋面廣的全渠道平台的強大基礎。

We are also continuing to make progress in our strategic transformation and now have nearly 600 of our stores recently refreshed and reflecting our forward vision as the leading destination for the active and casual lifestyle, with Sephora as a key cornerstone. We are seeing outsized performance in these stores relative to the balance of the chain, and we are looking forward to continuing the rollout to reach 850 Sephora at Kohl's shops in 2023.

我們還在戰略轉型中繼續取得進展，目前近 600 家門店最近煥然一新，體現了我們作為積極和休閒生活方式的領先目的地的前瞻性願景，絲芙蘭是關鍵的基石。相對於連鎖店的平衡，我們看到這些商店的表現非常出色，我們期待在 2023 年繼續在 Kohl's 商店推廣到 850 家絲芙蘭。

Kohl's is a financially strong company with a proven history of prudent balance sheet management and significant cash flow generation. Our $500 million accelerated share repurchase underscores our steadfast confidence in Kohl's future and focus on creating shareholder value, especially given the current valuation of our company.

Kohl's 是一家財務實力雄厚的公司，在審慎的資產負債表管理和產生大量現金流方面有著久經考驗的歷史。我們 5 億美元的加速股票回購凸顯了我們對 Kohl 未來的堅定信心，並專注於創造股東價值，尤其是考慮到我們公司目前的估值。

As Jill will discuss in more detail, we remain firmly committed to the health of our balance sheet, and we will plan our capital allocation decisions going forward to continue to reflect this priority. With that perspective, let me turn to our comments on the quarter.

正如吉爾將更詳細地討論的那樣，我們仍然堅定地致力於資產負債表的健康，我們將規劃我們的資本分配決策，以繼續反映這一優先事項。從這個角度來看，讓我轉向我們對本季度的評論。

Second quarter comparable sales declined 7.7%. We saw a benefit early in the quarter from spring seasonal selling, though, as we progressed through May and into June, it became increasingly clear that inflationary pressures were beginning to impact our customer spending, especially our middle-income customers. June was the most challenging month in the quarter. In July, we took actions to drive demand, which improved the trend.

第二季度可比銷售額下降了 7.7%。我們在本季度初從春季季節性銷售中看到了好處，但是，隨著我們從 5 月進入 6 月，通脹壓力開始影響我們的客戶支出，尤其是我們的中等收入客戶，這一點變得越來越明顯。六月是本季度最具挑戰性的月份。 7 月，我們採取措施拉動需求，這改善了趨勢。

From a channel perspective, digital sales were flat to last year, benefiting from higher conversion rates, driven largely by our implementation of a lower free shipping threshold to be more competitive. The Kohl's app accounted for 40% of digital sales in the second quarter, doubling in penetration in recent years.

從渠道的角度來看，數字銷售與去年持平，這得益於更高的轉化率，這主要是由於我們實施了更低的免費送貨門檻以提高競爭力。 Kohl's 應用程序在第二季度佔數字銷售額的 40%，近年來滲透率翻了一番。

In total, digital sales accounted for 28% of net sales, up from 26% last year. Store sales declined 10%, resulting from less traffic and smaller basket sizes, primarily driven by the overall macro pressures I mentioned earlier. Stores fulfilled 37% of digital sales in Q2.

總體而言，數字銷售額占淨銷售額的 28%，高於去年的 26%。商店銷售額下降了 10%，原因是客流量減少和購物籃尺寸變小，這主要是由於我之前提到的整體宏觀壓力。商店在第二季度完成了 37% 的數字銷售額。

Our private brands outperformed national brands for the second consecutive quarter, with sales growth achieved in many of our key brands. This is another indication of our ability to fulfill the needs of our customers looking for greater value during this time. It's clear that there has been a significant shift with the consumer over the past few months, and we expect this to persist for the foreseeable future.

我們的自有品牌連續第二個季度跑贏民族品牌，我們的許多關鍵品牌實現了銷售增長。這再次表明我們有能力滿足在此期間尋求更大價值的客戶的需求。很明顯，在過去幾個月中，消費者發生了重大轉變，我們預計這種情況在可預見的未來將持續存在。

As an organization, we are focused on ensuring we can navigate this period successfully. This includes our inventory management efforts, clearing out excess goods, while also pulling back on receipts and being expense-disciplined. And while we do this, it's important that we continue to execute on our transformation strategy.

作為一個組織，我們專注於確保我們能夠成功度過這一時期。這包括我們的庫存管理工作，清理多餘的貨物，同時還收回收據並嚴格控制費用。在我們這樣做的同時，重要的是我們繼續執行我們的轉型戰略。

Even amidst a very challenging backdrop, our transformed stores with Sephora are outperforming the balance of the chain. So now let me give you a little more color on Sephora.

即使在非常具有挑戰性的背景下，我們與絲芙蘭一起改造的商店的表現也超過了連鎖店的平衡。所以現在讓我給你更多關於絲芙蘭的顏色。

Our game-changing partnership with Sephora continues to deliver on its promise of transforming Kohl's into a leading beauty destination. We have successfully opened nearly 600 Sephora shops during the past year, including 400 in 2022.

我們與絲芙蘭的改變遊戲規則的合作夥伴關係繼續兌現其將 Kohl's 轉變為領先美容目的地的承諾。在過去的一年裡，我們成功開設了近 600 家絲芙蘭店鋪，其中 2022 年將達到 400 家。

In the 200 stores opened last year, we have maintained a high single-digit percent lift relative to the balance of the chain. And in the nearly 400 stores opened this year, we are seeing a mid-single-digit percent sales lift, which is consistent with the initial performance in the first 200 stores. As these Sephora openings follow the curve of last year's openings, we would expect sales to accelerate in the months to come.

在去年新開的 200 家門店中，相對於連鎖店的餘額，我們保持了較高的個位數百分比提升。在今年新開的近 400 家門店中，我們看到了中個位數百分比的銷售額增長，這與前 200 家門店的初始表現一致。由於這些絲芙蘭的開張量與去年的開張量相同，我們預計未來幾個月的銷售量將加速增長。

From a product perspective in Q2, we saw strength across all beauty categories, including skin care, makeup and fragrance. Top-selling brands have been the Sephora Collection, Fenty, Charlotte Tilbury, NARS and Too Faced.

從第二季度的產品角度來看，我們看到了所有美容品類的實力，包括護膚、彩妝和香水。最暢銷的品牌是絲芙蘭系列、Fenty、Charlotte Tilbury、NARS 和 Too Faced。

We have acquired more than 1 million new customers since launching last August, which is encouraging, given that this occurred in less than half of our fleet, many of which have just been opened for a very short period of time. The new customers are younger and more diverse and shop more frequently than our average customer.

自去年 8 月推出以來，我們已經獲得了超過 100 萬新客戶，這是令人鼓舞的，因為這發生在我們機隊不到一半的情況下，其中許多機隊剛剛開業很短的時間。與我們的普通客戶相比，新客戶更年輕、更多樣化、購物頻率更高。

I am especially proud of the strength of our partnership with Sephora. Our collective teams worked very closely together, with the common goal of driving the business for both the short and long term. What we have achieved together in less than 1 year is remarkable, and we're just getting started. We see a long runway of growth ahead.

我為我們與絲芙蘭的強大合作關係感到特別自豪。我們的集體團隊緊密合作，共同目標是推動業務的短期和長期發展。我們在不到一年的時間里共同取得的成就是了不起的，我們才剛剛開始。我們看到未來的增長之路很長。

As planned, we will open another 250 shops in 2023, taking our total to 850 2,500-square feet shops. Given the success of the partnership we are seeing to date, we are working with Sephora to design a smaller footprint concept for our remaining 300 stores, creating a Sephora presence across our entire store base. We are in the early stages of this concept, and we'll keep you posted on this exciting development.

按照計劃，我們將在 2023 年再開 250 家店鋪，使我們的店鋪總數達到 850 家 2,500 平方英尺。鑑於迄今為止我們所看到的合作夥伴關係的成功，我們正在與絲芙蘭合作，為我們剩餘的 300 家門店設計一個佔地面積更小的概念，從而在我們的整個門店基礎上建立絲芙蘭的存在。我們正處於這一概念的早期階段，我們會及時通知您這一激動人心的發展。

We are also innovating and experimenting together to drive productivity and improve the overall customer experience even further. We're currently testing cross-company BOPUS, where purchases made on Sephora's website, sephora.com, can be picked up at Kohl's stores, creating an incredibly seamless and convenient experience for our customers.

我們還在共同創新和試驗，以進一步提高生產力並改善整體客戶體驗。我們目前正在測試跨公司 BOPUS，在 Sephora 的網站 sephora.com 上購買的商品可以在 Kohl 的商店取貨，為我們的客戶創造了難以置信的無縫和便捷體驗。

And next month, Kohl's will begin to accept any Sephora gift card, regardless of where customers bought it. Later this year, we will significantly expand our holiday gifting assortment and increase our marketing investment, setting us up well in the 600 stores and digitally for a big traffic driver during holiday.

下個月，Kohl's 將開始接受任何絲芙蘭禮品卡，無論客戶在何處購買。今年晚些時候，我們將顯著擴大我們的節日禮品種類並增加我們的營銷投入，在 600 家門店中建立良好的形象，並以數字方式為節日期間的大客流量提供支持。

We are excited about all that is ahead for Sephora and the impact this partnership will have on our business. And as a reminder, we are just completing the build-out of this year's 400 stores so the vast majority of Sephora's business impact is still in front of us.

我們對絲芙蘭未來的一切以及這種合作夥伴關係將對我們的業務產生的影響感到興奮。提醒一下，我們剛剛完成了今年 400 家門店的擴建，因此絲芙蘭的絕大多數業務影響仍在我們面前。

Let me now provide some more color on how other categories performed in the quarter, starting with active. Active is an important category for Kohl's, and it is a key component of our overall active and casual lifestyle vision. In recent years, we have invested significantly in strengthening our product offering, elevating our merchandising and expanding dedicated space to active in our stores.

現在讓我提供一些關於本季度其他類別的表現的更多顏色，從活躍開始。 Active 是 Kohl's 的一個重要類別，它是我們整體積極和休閒生活方式願景的關鍵組成部分。近年來，我們在加強我們的產品供應、提升我們的商品銷售和擴大專門的空間以活躍於我們的商店方面進行了大量投資。

These efforts drove strong growth in active sales, including more than 40% growth in 2021, and increasing it to 24% of our total sales, up from just 14% 5 years ago. During the second quarter, while active apparel performed better than the company, with strong growth in our athleisure and outdoor offerings, total active sales underperformed the company due in part to supply chain-related challenges in athletic footwear and the strong growth achieved last year.

這些努力推動了活躍銷售額的強勁增長，包括 2021 年超過 40% 的增長，並將其從 5 年前的 14% 增加到我們總銷售額的 24%。在第二季度，雖然運動服裝的表現優於公司，我們的運動休閒和戶外產品增長強勁，但運動總銷售額低於公司，部分原因是運動鞋的供應鏈相關挑戰以及去年實現的強勁增長。

Turning to our women's business. Sales slightly outpaced the company, with underlying strength in areas where we invested over the past 18 months. We saw continued momentum in dresses, driven by a greater emphasis both in-store and digitally, as well as in our more elevated casual offerings such as wear-to-work, with growth in our key private brands of Nine West, Simply Vera Vera Wang, Lauren Conrad and Sonoma.

轉向我們的女性業務。銷售額略高於公司，在過去 18 個月我們投資的領域具有潛在優勢。我們看到了連衣裙的持續發展勢頭，這得益於店內和數字化的更加重視，以及我們更高級的休閒產品（例如上班穿），以及我們的主要自有品牌九西、Simply Vera Vera 的增長王，勞倫康拉德和索諾瑪。

Offsetting this strength was weakness in our juniors business, which accounted for a majority of the women's decline in Q2. We attribute the juniors underperformance to a portion of our juniors' fashion assortment not resonating with our customer, which we, of course, corrected, and to the temporary disruption in the nearly 400 stores refreshed in 2022, where juniors were repositioned within the store. On this latter point, we are expecting the impact to improve as customers get more comfortable with the new layout as well as enhanced navigation signage we are adding to these stores.

抵消這一優勢的是我們的初級業務的疲軟，這佔第二季度女性下降的大部分。我們將初級產品的表現不佳歸因於我們的初級時尚品類中的一部分沒有引起我們的客戶的共鳴，我們當然已經糾正了這一點，以及在 2022 年更新的近 400 家商店的暫時中斷，初級產品在商店內重新定位。關於後一點，我們預計隨著客戶對新佈局以及我們在這些商店中添加的增強型導航標牌更加滿意，影響會有所改善。

Turning to men's. It also slightly outperformed the company in Q2, driven by the successful new brand introductions over the past year, including Tommy Hilfiger, Hurley and Calvin Klein. We also saw solid results in young men's, tailored dress and Big & Tall.

轉向男裝。在過去一年成功推出的新品牌（包括 Tommy Hilfiger、Hurley 和 Calvin Klein）的推動下，它在第二季度的表現也略優於公司。我們還看到了年輕男士、定制連衣裙和 Big & Tall 的穩健成果。

Outdoor continues to be a strong growth contributor in men's, with momentum in our key national brands, Eddie Bauer and Columbia. Given this success, we are expanding our outdoor brands to more stores this fall, including Eddie Bauer, Under Armour Outdoor and Columbia's PFG collection.

戶外繼續成為男裝的強勁增長貢獻者，我們的主要民族品牌 Eddie Bauer 和 Columbia 勢頭強勁。鑑於這一成功，我們將在今年秋季將我們的戶外品牌擴展到更多商店，包括 Eddie Bauer、Under Armour Outdoor 和 Columbia 的 PFG 系列。

And lastly, our home and children's business underperformed. The home category continues to normalize following strong demand during the pandemic. And our children's business experienced declines in the tweens, boys and girls departments due to softness in seasonal classifications and basics as well as in toys and sleepwear, which were up against strong growth comparisons.

最後，我們的家庭和兒童業務表現不佳。在大流行期間需求強勁之後，家庭類別繼續正常化。由於季節性分類和基本款以及玩具和睡衣的疲軟，我們的兒童業務在青少年、男孩和女孩部門經歷了下滑，這與強勁的增長相比。

From a profitability perspective, as Jill will discuss in more detail, the lower earnings relative to last year were primarily driven by the decline in sales and gross margin and the significant step-up in investments in our strategic growth initiatives of Sephora store openings and store refreshes.

從盈利能力的角度來看，正如吉爾將更詳細地討論的那樣，與去年相比較低的收益主要是由於銷售額和毛利率的下降以及我們對絲芙蘭開店和門店戰略增長計劃的投資顯著增加刷新。

As it relates to the back-to-school season, we are focused on delivering compelling value across key categories, and we are supporting this with promotional events and more targeted offers. To date, overall back-to-school trends are in line with our expectations.

由於它與返校季有關，我們專注於在關鍵類別中提供引人注目的價值，我們通過促銷活動和更有針對性的優惠來支持這一點。迄今為止，整體返校趨勢符合我們的預期。

Before I turn it over to Jill, let me touch on the actions we are taking to drive shareholder value. As announced this morning, we entered into a $500 million accelerated share repurchase agreement. This underscores our confidence in Kohl's future and our focus on creating shareholder value. In addition, we remain firmly committed to our current dividend.

在我把它交給吉爾之前，讓我談談我們為推動股東價值而採取的行動。正如今天上午宣布的那樣，我們簽訂了一項價值 5 億美元的加速股票回購協議。這凸顯了我們對科爾未來的信心以及我們對創造股東價值的關注。此外，我們仍然堅定地致力於我們目前的股息。

With that, I want to close by saying that 2022 has turned out to be very different than we anticipated. The weakening economic backdrop and inflationary pressures have created headwinds for our customers, our industry and our business. We are leveraging our agility and responding with the customer at the center of our focus. Kohl's has navigated many difficult periods in the past, and I'm confident we will successfully manage through this dynamic period as well.

至此，我想最後說，2022 年的結果與我們的預期大不相同。疲軟的經濟背景和通脹壓力給我們的客戶、我們的行業和我們的業務帶來了不利因素。我們正在利用我們的敏捷性並以客戶為中心做出回應。 Kohl's 過去曾經歷過許多困難時期，我相信我們也將成功度過這個充滿活力的時期。

I want to thank our incredible associates around the country for all you do. We have been challenged in many ways over the past couple of years, and this team continues to step up to meet every challenge with tremendous agility and commitment. I can't thank you enough for your dedication to Kohl's and for providing excellent service to our customers every day.

我要感謝我們在全國各地令人難以置信的同事所做的一切。在過去的幾年裡，我們在很多方面都受到了挑戰，這個團隊繼續以極大的敏捷性和承諾迎接每一個挑戰。我非常感謝您對 Kohl's 的奉獻以及每天為我們的客戶提供優質服務。

With that, let me turn it over to Jill, who will give you more details on our financial results.

有了這個，讓我把它交給吉爾，他會給你更多關於我們財務業績的細節。

Thank you, Michelle, and good morning, everyone. For today's call, I'm going to review our second quarter results, discuss our capital allocation actions and then provide details on our updated 2022 guidance outlook.

謝謝你，米歇爾，大家早上好。對於今天的電話會議，我將回顧我們的第二季度業績，討論我們的資本配置行動，然後提供我們更新的 2022 年指導展望的詳細信息。

Starting with the second quarter results. Comparable sales declined 7.7% and net sales were down 8.5%. Lower store traffic and smaller basket sizes were the primary drivers of the decline. Although we did see an increase in average ticket, it was less than historical as our customers shifted towards our opening price point for private brands. Other revenue, which is primarily credit revenue, was flat to last year.

從第二季度的結果開始。可比銷售額下降 7.7%，淨銷售額下降 8.5%。較低的商店客流量和較小的購物籃尺寸是下降的主要驅動因素。儘管我們確實看到了平均票價的增長，但隨著我們的客戶轉向我們的自有品牌開盤價，這一增長低於歷史水平。其他收入，主要是信貸收入，與去年持平。

Turning to gross margin. Q2 gross margin was 39.6%, down 290 basis points from last year, driven primarily by elevated freight expenses, product cost inflation and increased promotional activity. SG&A expenses increased 3.4% to $1.3 billion, driven largely by investments in our key strategic initiatives.

轉向毛利率。第二季度毛利率為 39.6%，比去年下降 290 個基點，主要受運費上漲、產品成本上漲和促銷活動增加的推動。 SG&A 費用增長 3.4% 至 13 億美元，主要是由於對我們關鍵戰略計劃的投資。

During the quarter, we invested an incremental $36 million to last year to support the Sephora store openings, store refreshes and reflows. In addition, we incurred $9 million of expense related to the strategic review process. We also experienced increases in wages and transportation costs that led to additional expense deleverage. Depreciation expense of $206 million was $4 million lower than last year due to reduced technology capital spend.

在本季度，我們比去年增加了 3600 萬美元，用於支持絲芙蘭門店的開業、門店更新和回流。此外，我們還發生了與戰略審查流程相關的 900 萬美元費用。我們還經歷了工資和運輸成本的增加，導致額外的費用去槓桿化。由於技術資本支出減少，折舊費用為 2.06 億美元，比去年減少 400 萬美元。

In total, our Q2 operating margin was 6.5%. Net income for the quarter was $143 million, and earnings per diluted share was $1.11. To summarize, the lower earnings per share relative to last year was primarily driven by the lower sales and gross margin and the significant step-up in investments and our strategic growth initiatives of Sephora store openings and store refreshes.

總體而言，我們第二季度的營業利潤率為 6.5%。本季度淨收入為 1.43 億美元，每股攤薄收益為 1.11 美元。總而言之，與去年相比，每股收益較低的主要原因是銷售額和毛利率下降以及投資的顯著增加以及我們在絲芙蘭開店和門店更新方面的戰略增長計劃。

Turning to the balance sheet. Our inventory at quarter end increased 48% compared to Q2 2021. This increase was driven by lower-than-expected sales in Q2, along with 3 unique factors.

轉向資產負債表。與 2021 年第二季度相比，我們在季度末的庫存增加了 48%。這一增長是由第二季度低於預期的銷售額以及 3 個獨特因素推動的。

First, $269 million of the increase was due to elevated in-transit inventory as we built in additional order lead times to ensure we met customer demand given the supply chain disruption. Second, $220 million of the increase was related to our investment in beauty inventory to support the 400 Sephora shops opening in 2022. And third, we continue to leverage pack-and-hold for late holiday receipts, such as sleepwear and fleece, which added $82 million of inventory. This merchandise will be set in Q3 ahead of the holiday season.

首先，增加的 2.69 億美元是由於在途庫存增加，因為我們增加了訂單交貨時間，以確保在供應鏈中斷的情況下滿足客戶需求。其次，增加的 2.2 億美元與我們對美容庫存的投資有關，以支持 2022 年開業的 400 家絲芙蘭商店。第三，我們繼續利用打包和持有的方式來處理晚假日收據，例如睡衣和羊毛，這增加了8200萬美元的庫存。該商品將在假日季節前的第三季度推出。

Excluding these 3 unique factors, our inventory would have increased 27% to 2021 and decreased 8% to 2019 levels. We have taken action to address inventory, including increasing promotions, being aggressive on clearing excess inventory and pulling back on receipts. Given our updated business outlook, we now expect inventory to end the year up high teens as compared to 2021.

排除這 3 個獨特因素，我們的庫存到 2021 年將增加 27%，到 2019 年將減少 8%。我們已採取措施解決庫存問題，包括增加促銷活動、積極清理多餘庫存和減少收貨。鑑於我們更新的業務前景，我們現在預計年底庫存將比 2021 年高出十幾歲。

Turning to cash flow. Operating cash flow was a use of $86 million in second quarter due to lower sales and higher inventory levels. Capital expenditures for the quarter were $327 million, driven mainly by Sephora build-outs and related store refreshes. We are now planning for approximately $825 million of capital expenditures in 2022.

轉向現金流。由於銷售額下降和庫存水平上升，第二季度運營現金流為 8600 萬美元。本季度的資本支出為 3.27 億美元，主要受絲芙蘭擴建和相關商店更新的推動。我們現在計劃在 2022 年進行大約 8.25 億美元的資本支出。

Now let me give you an update on our capital allocation strategy and plans. We are focused on our strong balance sheet with a long-term objective of maintaining an investment-grade rating. We also remain committed to our current dividends. We will balance these overarching objectives while also capitalizing on unique opportunities to repurchase our shares at an attractive valuation, as is evident in today's announcement of a $500 million ASR.

現在讓我向您介紹我們的資本配置策略和計劃的最新情況。我們專注於我們強大的資產負債表，長期目標是維持投資級評級。我們還繼續致力於我們目前的股息。我們將平衡這些總體目標，同時利用獨特的機會以有吸引力的估值回購我們的股票，正如今天宣布的 5 億美元 ASR 所證明的那樣。

We expect our balance sheet and cash flow metrics to be more challenging in 2022 and, most notably, at the end of Q3 as we build receipts ahead of the holiday. Importantly, we fully intend to return our balance sheet to a position of historical strength with an objective of leverage of 2.5x. We will continue to focus our shareholder returns by prioritizing the dividend while also employing liability management to retire our 2023 bond maturities next year, totaling $275 million.

我們預計我們的資產負債表和現金流指標在 2022 年將更具挑戰性，尤其是在第三季度末，因為我們在假期前建立了收入。重要的是，我們完全打算將我們的資產負債表恢復到歷史實力的位置，目標是 2.5 倍的槓桿率。我們將繼續通過優先考慮股息來關注我們的股東回報，同時還採用負債管理來讓我們明年到期的 2023 年債券到期，總計 2.75 億美元。

In addition, we are assessing the current retail environment and leveraging a competitive process to determine potential opportunities to monetize a select portion of our real estate assets. As we have done in the past, we will focus on opportunities that will enhance our financial flexibility and maintain our healthy balance sheet.

此外，我們正在評估當前的零售環境，並利用競爭過程來確定將我們房地產資產的選定部分貨幣化的潛在機會。正如我們過去所做的那樣，我們將專注於能夠提高我們的財務靈活性並保持我們健康的資產負債表的機會。

During the second quarter, we paid $64 million or $0.50 per share in dividends to shareholders. In addition, as previously disclosed, on August 9, the Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share, payable to shareholders on September 21. We did not repurchase any shares in the second quarter given the strategic review process. For the full year 2022, we plan to return approximately $900 million in capital to shareholders through our dividend and share repurchase activity.

在第二季度，我們向股東支付了 6400 萬美元或每股 0.50 美元的股息。此外，如先前披露的那樣，董事會於 8 月 9 日宣布了每股 0.50 美元的季度現金股息，將於 9 月 21 日支付給股東。鑑於戰略審查程序，我們在第二季度沒有回購任何股票。在 2022 年全年，我們計劃通過股息和股票回購活動向股東返還約 9 億美元的資本。

Now let me provide details on our updated outlook for 2022. We are updating our annual guidance to reflect our year-to-date performance and incorporate continued uncertainty in the macro environment. We now expect net sales to decline in the range of negative 5% to negative 6% versus 2021. We expect sales to remain soft given the challenging economic backdrop. However, we do expect our partnership with Sephora to further contribute incrementally to our business, with 600 shops opened during the key holiday season.

現在讓我詳細介紹一下我們更新的 2022 年展望。我們正在更新我們的年度指引，以反映我們年初至今的表現，並納入宏觀環境中持續的不確定性。我們現在預計與 2021 年相比，淨銷售額將下降 5% 至 6%。鑑於充滿挑戰的經濟背景，我們預計銷售額將保持疲軟。然而，我們確實希望我們與絲芙蘭的合作能夠進一步為我們的業務做出增量貢獻，在關鍵的假日季節開設了 600 家商店。

For operating margin, we expect it to be in the range of 4.2% to 4.5%. We expect gross margin in the second half of the year to contract similarly to our Q2 gross margin performance, driven by product cost inflation and increased promotional environment and elevated freight costs.

對於營業利潤率，我們預計它將在 4.2% 至 4.5% 的範圍內。我們預計下半年的毛利率將與我們第二季度的毛利率表現類似，受產品成本膨脹和促銷環境增加以及運費上漲的推動。

Our guidance also assumes SG&A expense in the second half of the year to benefit from lapping last year's Sephora rollout expenses and the lack of holiday-based retention incentives this year. For the year, we expect SG&A expense to increase approximately 1.5%. And for EPS, we expect it to be in the range of $2.80 to $3.20.

我們的指導還假設下半年的 SG&A 費用將從去年的絲芙蘭推出費用和今年缺乏基於假期的保留激勵措施中受益。今年，我們預計 SG&A 費用將增加約 1.5%。對於每股收益，我們預計它將在 2.80 美元至 3.20 美元之間。

In summary, while 2022 has turned up quite differently than we planned, we are confident in our ability to navigate the uncertainty and continue to position the business for future sales and earnings growth. With that, we are happy to take your questions at this time.

總而言之，雖然 2022 年的情況與我們的計劃完全不同，但我們有信心駕馭不確定性並繼續為未來的銷售和盈利增長定位業務。有了這個，我們很高興在這個時候回答你的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Mark Altschwager with Baird.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自貝爾德的 Mark Altschwager。

To start out, can you talk about your confidence in the 7% to 8% longer-term operating margin goal? Just the environment and the 2022 outlook has changed quite a bit since you outlined those goals. Maybe help us understand the pieces that need to come together, both internally and with the external environment, to make that possible.

首先，您能否談談您對 7% 至 8% 的長期營業利潤率目標的信心？自從您概述了這些目標以來，環境和 2022 年的前景已經發生了很大變化。也許可以幫助我們了解需要在內部和外部環境中組合在一起的部分，以使這成為可能。

Mark, this is Jill. So obviously, we still have strong conviction in our long-term financial framework. We think it's the right framework that we'll run the company from. And this is obviously a moment in time where there's a lot of macro environment and negative sentiment on the consumer that's weighing down on our structure. But I think 7% to 8% is absolutely where we're going to run this.

馬克，這是吉爾。所以很明顯，我們對我們的長期財務框架仍然有堅定的信念。我們認為這是我們運營公司的正確框架。這顯然是一個有很多宏觀環境和消費者負面情緒影響我們結構的時刻。但我認為 7% 到 8% 絕對是我們要運行的地方。

Right now, obviously, working through the inventory is important and getting ourselves back in line from a sales perspective. I think the strategies we have in front of us with Sephora, and we'll talk more about that. Obviously, you heard from Michelle on the call, that continues to be a positive for us. We still feel great with the active performance that we're seeing, especially as we refill that to the front of the store.

現在，顯然，處理庫存很重要，並且從銷售的角度讓我們自己恢復正常。我認為絲芙蘭擺在我們面前的策略，我們將對此進行更多討論。顯然，您從 Michelle 的電話中聽到，這對我們來說仍然是積極的。我們仍然對我們所看到的積極表現感到非常滿意，尤其是當我們將其重新填充到商店前面時。

And then, I think, as you see, our SG&A expense is only being up 1.5%. So really working through that despite the big investment we made this year to roll out the Sephora shops to over 400 doors. So I think both Michelle and I and the leadership team also are very convicted in running at 7% to 8% long term despite, I think, the moment in time that we're working through right now. But I think the health of the financial framework that we've established, that's really helping us successfully navigate these uncertain times.

然後，我認為，如您所見，我們的 SG&A 費用僅增長 1.5%。因此，儘管我們今年進行了巨額投資，將絲芙蘭商店推廣到 400 多家門店，但我們確實在努力解決這個問題。因此，我認為 Michelle 和我以及領導團隊都非常確信長期以 7% 到 8% 的速度運行，儘管我認為，我們現在正在努力的時刻。但我認為，我們建立的財務框架的健康狀況確實有助於我們成功度過這些不確定的時期。

And maybe just one more. Just from a capital allocation perspective, just given the reduced sort of free cash flow outlook, why is the $500 million ASR still the right move today? And then CapEx, it looks like you tightened up the plans a little bit for this year. Is $2.5 billion over the next 3 years still the right way to think about it? Or have you made any adjustments to those plans given the change in the outlook?

也許只有一個。僅從資本配置的角度來看，考慮到自由現金流前景的減少，為什麼 5 億美元的 ASR 在今天仍然是正確的舉措？然後是資本支出，看起來你今年稍微收緊了計劃。未來 3 年 25 億美元仍然是正確的思考方式嗎？或者鑑於前景的變化，您是否對這些計劃進行了任何調整？

Again, I think, always, our capital allocation starts with CapEx. And this year, we did tighten it a little bit. But obviously, the big portion of our CapEx is the investment back in our stores, really, to support the Sephora shops, and that was happening early spring. It is part of the long-term framework we just spoke about. So that's why we continue to lean into that.

同樣，我認為，我們的資本配置總是從資本支出開始。今年，我們確實收緊了一點。但顯然，我們資本支出的很大一部分是對我們商店的投資，實際上是為了支持絲芙蘭商店，而這發生在早春。這是我們剛才談到的長期框架的一部分。所以這就是為什麼我們繼續傾向於這一點。

We'll continue that into next year. And as Michelle alluded to, we're looking for and working with Sephora on that solution to all of our stores. So I think, obviously, we'll manage that CapEx based on the returns that we see. But Sephora, being a big one for us, as we look out, is always our first and foremost.

我們將繼續這樣做到明年。正如米歇爾所暗示的那樣，我們正在尋找並與絲芙蘭合作，為我們所有的商店提供解決方案。所以我認為，顯然，我們將根據我們看到的回報來管理資本支出。但絲芙蘭對我們來說是一個大品牌，正如我們所關注的，它始終是我們的首要任務。

We also stand very convicted to the dividend. And you saw that and heard that both from Michelle and I today that the dividend becomes our second investment. In terms of the share buyback, we've always said this would be opportunistic, and we've used that in the context of that framework. And I think looking today at our valuation, we feel this is a very opportunistic time for us to buy back shares and really return that value to our shareholders.

我們也對股息非常有罪。你看到了，今天我和米歇爾都說股息成為我們的第二項投資。在股票回購方面，我們一直說這將是機會主義的，我們已經在該框架的背景下使用了它。而且我認為今天看看我們的估值，我們覺得這是我們回購股票並將該價值真正返還給股東的非常機會主義的時刻。

So obviously, given the tightened cash position, you could say, well, is it opportunistic? I think want to buy low, Mark, and we feel like this is a big time for us to do that, which is why we were pretty aggressive at the $500 million ASR. We feel very confident that we're going to build back to a normal cash position back into 2023, so really just accelerating some of those repurchases in 2022 and taking advantage of the current environment.

很明顯，鑑於現金狀況收緊，你可以說，嗯，這是機會主義的嗎？我認為想要低價買入，馬克，我們覺得這是我們這樣做的好時機，這就是為什麼我們在 5 億美元的 ASR 上非常激進。我們非常有信心，我們將在 2023 年恢復正常的現金狀況，因此實際上只是在 2022 年加速其中一些回購併利用當前環境。

Our next question comes from Bob Drbul with Guggenheim.

我們的下一個問題來自古根海姆的 Bob Drbul。

Just picking up on the capital allocation. You made some comments on the real estate, what you're seeing out there. Just wondering if you could give us a little more color in terms of what you've learned from the process, in terms of the value of either sale leaseback at your stores or the FCs or the DCs and sort of how you might use that capital. Is -- would it largely be more share repurchase? Would you consider a special dividend? Can you just maybe talk about that a little bit?

剛剛開始進行資本配置。你對房地產發表了一些評論，你所看到的。只是想知道您是否可以就您從該過程中學到的東西，就您的商店或 FC 或 DC 的售後回租的價值以及您可能如何使用該資本而言，給我們更多的色彩.是——主要是更多的股票回購嗎？你會考慮特別股息嗎？你能稍微談談嗎？

And then the second question is focused on Sephora. On the Sephora rollout, can you give us some comments on maybe how the earliest stores are doing? If you have any numbers on new customers and/or cross-shopping, that would be great.

然後第二個問題集中在絲芙蘭。關於絲芙蘭的推出，你能給我們一些關於最早的商店如何做的評論嗎？如果您有關於新客戶和/或交叉購物的任何數字，那就太好了。

So Bob, I'll start with capital allocation. Really, I mean, we're always focused on opportunities that are going to enhance our financial flexibility and really help us maintain the balance sheet. So when we talk about looking at potential opportunities to monetize real estate assets, I mean, obviously, the market is quite volatile right now. So we're doing a competitive analysis of that, really helping understand what we can get.

所以鮑勃，我將從資本分配開始。真的，我的意思是，我們始終專注於能夠提高我們財務靈活性並真正幫助我們維持資產負債表的機會。因此，當我們談論尋找將房地產資產貨幣化的潛在機會時，我的意思是，顯然，目前市場非常不穩定。所以我們正在對此進行競爭分析，真正有助於了解我們能得到什麼。

I would say, right now, we see industrials in terms of the DCs. EFCs have a better rate than what we're seeing from a store perspective. But also, key to that is understanding what that means from lease terms and our -- the long-term components of those contracts.

我想說，現在，我們從 DC 的角度來看待工業。 EFC 的比率比我們從商店的角度看到的要好。而且，關鍵是從租賃條款和我們的 - 這些合同的長期組成部分理解這意味著什麼。

I think as that money comes in, does it get utilized for share buyback or a special dividend? I would say, most likely, we would want to return it back to shareholders. Typically, we've seen that as an opportunistic -- opportunity with a share buyback. But that would be something that we continue to evaluate based on what we would see as a deal that, again, maintains our financial flexibility and the health of our balance sheet.

我認為當這筆錢進來時，它會被用於股票回購還是特別股息？我想說，最有可能的是，我們希望將其返還給股東。通常，我們將其視為機會主義——股票回購的機會。但這將是我們繼續根據我們認為的交易來評估的事情，該交易再次保持我們的財務靈活性和資產負債表的健康。

Great. Bob, Michelle here. I'll answer your question on Sephora. We continue to be really pleased with the partnership and how the overall concept is doing, both in our stores and digitally.

偉大的。鮑勃，米歇爾在這裡。我會在絲芙蘭回答你的問題。我們繼續對合作夥伴關係以及整體概念在我們的商店和數字方面的表現感到非常滿意。

I think to your question on the first wave of doors we opened, so these first 200 doors, those are generating about a high single-digit lift relative to stores that don't have Sephora. I'll call it balance of chain or that half of the chain that doesn't have it. So high single digits, very pleased with that.

我認為對於你關於我們打開的第一波門的問題，所以前 200 扇門相對於沒有絲芙蘭的商店產生了大約個位數的提升。我將其稱為鏈的平衡或沒有它的那一半鏈。這麼高的個位數，很滿意。

We're seeing that clearly come from beauty purchases, but we're also seeing it come from other purchases that the customer is making. Our baskets are attaching close to about 50%. And so they're putting women's, they're putting accessories and active into the basket, and we think that will only grow.

我們看到這顯然來自美容購買，但我們也看到它來自客戶正在進行的其他購買。我們的籃子附著率接近 50%。所以他們把女裝、配飾和運動鞋放進籃子裡，我們認為這只會增長。

I also think what's encouraging -- so this latest wave of stores, the 400 doors, which -- they're just opening as we speak, as we had expected, but they're starting out just as those first 200 doors did. So they're in the mid-single-digit lift range against balance of chain or the non-Sephora doors. That's where the first 200 started.

我還認為令人鼓舞的是——所以最新一波的商店，400 家門店——正如我們所預期的那樣，它們剛剛開業，但它們的開端就像前 200 家門店一樣。因此，它們在鏈條或非絲芙蘭門的平衡中處於中個位數的提升範圍內。這就是前 200 個開始的地方。

So like anything, as the customer gets to know Sephora there, gets used to the concept, we expect that to grow and ramp, not unlike if you were building a new store and you have that comp growth over a couple of years. I think contributing to that, in those first 200 doors, again, the ramp we're seeing, is frequency. So customers who are shopping Sephora are shopping more frequently than, call it, the average shopper. So I think that's really encouraging.

因此，就像任何事情一樣，隨著客戶在那裡了解絲芙蘭，習慣了這個概念，我們預計它會增長和增長，就像你正在建立一家新商店並且你在幾年內擁有這種複合增長一樣。我認為，在前 200 扇門中，我們再次看到的斜坡是頻率。因此，購買絲芙蘭的顧客比普通購物者更頻繁地購物。所以我認為這真的很令人鼓舞。

And then the other data point around new customers. So we've quantified in the doors we've opened, again, the first 200 were up roughly close to a year, and then these 400 just opened. But we calculated about 1 million new customers, which we're really encouraged. They're significantly younger. They are more diverse. So really, in the spirit of the partnership, we could not be more pleased.

然後是圍繞新客戶的其他數據。因此，我們已經在我們打開的門中進行了量化，前 200 個再次增加了將近一年，然後這 400 個剛剛打開。但是我們計算了大約 100 萬新客戶，我們對此感到非常鼓舞。他們明顯年輕。他們更加多樣化。所以真的，本著夥伴關係的精神，我們非常高興。

I think it's important to set the expectations in terms of the results. Yes, the majority of the stores are just opening so the opportunity is all ahead of us. While we're at a year anniversary of the partnership, truly in terms of the business impact, we're in the very, very early days. And like I said, the upside is ahead of us.

我認為根據結果設定期望很重要。是的，大多數商店剛剛開業，所以機會就在我們面前。雖然我們正處於合作一周年之際，但就業務影響而言，我們還處於非常非常早期的階段。就像我說的，上行空間就在我們面前。

Our next question comes from Gaby Carbone with Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Gaby Carbone。

So on a 3-year basis, your updated sales guidance doesn't really assume any improvement for the remainder of the year. Just was wondering if you could maybe dig into the trends you saw exiting the quarter. You mentioned you took actions in July to improve demand. And then on back-to-school, is it trending in line with your expectations? Just wondering if you can provide a bit more color there on the early read.

因此，在 3 年的基礎上，您更新的銷售指南並沒有真正假設在今年剩餘時間裡有任何改善。只是想知道您是否可以深入了解您在本季度看到的趨勢。您提到您在 7 月份採取了行動來改善需求。然後在返校時，它的趨勢是否符合您的期望？只是想知道您是否可以在早期閱讀中提供更多顏色。

Sure. Gaby, Michelle here. Thanks for the question. So first, to start with the quarter, I think as I said in my remarks, we actually did see July show some improvement from the earlier part of the quarter. June was our toughest month. So we started with seeing some encouraging spring seasonal selling. Things really fell off in that kind of late May and into June.

當然。蓋比，米歇爾在這裡。謝謝你的問題。因此，首先，從本季度開始，我認為正如我在講話中所說，我們確實看到 7 月份與本季度早些時候相比有所改善。六月是我們最艱難的一個月。因此，我們開始看到一些令人鼓舞的春季季節性銷售。在那種五月下旬到六月，事情真的很糟糕。

As we looked at the correlation to the inflationary pressures that was having a massive impact to our business, we took a number of actions in July in terms of driving value. That's clearly what the customer wants, and the customer was responding. So that was encouraging. And we recognize that the environment is going to be promotional. It's going to be very value-driven. And so that is reflected in our guide.

當我們研究對我們的業務產生巨大影響的通脹壓力的相關性時，我們在 7 月份就推動價值採取了一些行動。這顯然是客戶想要的，並且客戶正在響應。所以這是令人鼓舞的。我們認識到環境將是促進性的。這將是非常受價值驅動的。這反映在我們的指南中。

In terms of the back half of the year, our guidance would suggest that we'll be in that mid-single-digit range. So we're showing a, call it, modest improvement from the first half, and that is Sephora. I mean, we are seeing the impact by Sephora, as I was just speaking to in the prior question. And so as those stores ramp up, as they're open, I mean, this will be our first holiday with 600 doors open. We're really excited about that. We have a lot of things planned.

就今年下半年而言，我們的指導表明我們將處於中個位數的範圍內。所以我們展示了一個，稱之為，從上半年開始的適度改善，那就是絲芙蘭。我的意思是，我們看到了絲芙蘭的影響，正如我在上一個問題中所說的那樣。因此，隨著這些商店的增加，隨著它們的營業，我的意思是，這將是我們第一個開放 600 家門的假期。我們對此感到非常興奮。我們計劃了很多事情。

But we're also being very prudent. I mean, we are in the discretionary category business largely. Beauty has proven to be quite resilient. But besides that, I mean, all the unpacking we've done with the customer is they're feeling tremendous pressure on their budgets as inflation has taken hold in more essential categories like food and gas, and they're spending less in apparel.

但我們也非常謹慎。我的意思是，我們主要從事非必需品類業務。事實證明，美麗是相當有彈性的。但除此之外，我的意思是，我們對客戶所做的所有拆箱工作都是因為通貨膨脹已經在食品和天然氣等更重要的類別中佔據了主導地位，他們的預算壓力很大，而且他們在服裝上的支出減少了。

So it's an industry challenge. It's also a big challenge for Kohl's. That being said, we're not going to sit still. We're going to show up. We're going to be relevant. Like I said, value will be a key overarching message, both for back-to-school and as we get to holiday.

所以這是一個行業挑戰。這對科爾士來說也是一個很大的挑戰。話雖如此，我們不會坐以待斃。我們要出現了。我們將是相關的。就像我說的，價值將是一個關鍵的總體信息，無論是返校還是假期。

We have great private brands that stand for value. A number of those outperformed, and we're showing positive comp brands like Sonoma or Jumping Beans in kids. So the customer is going there. And this is our second quarter where our private brands actually outperformed our national brands.

我們擁有代表價值的偉大自有品牌。其中一些表現出色，我們正在向兒童展示 Sonoma 或 Jumping Beans 等積極的品牌。所以客戶要去那裡。這是我們的第二季度，我們的自有品牌實際上優於我們的民族品牌。

So all of those things, again, point to a customer that is under a lot of financial pressure and so we have to make sure we're showing up in a relevant way. But clearly, and what we saw in the second quarter is, fewer trips and less in their basket. It's important to note, as we made comments in the remarks, that we're seeing this largely in our middle-income customers.

因此，所有這些再次指向一個承受著巨大財務壓力的客戶，因此我們必須確保我們以相關的方式出現。但很明顯，我們在第二節看到的是，他們的出手次數和籃下次數都減少了。重要的是要注意，正如我們在評論中發表的評論一樣，我們主要在中等收入客戶中看到了這種情況。

Interestingly, in our higher-income customers, we're actually seeing more customers, and they're spending more. So it correlates, again, to where the economy is creating, like I said, pressure. We're really seeing in that middle-income customer. So we're just being really thoughtful and prudent as we look at the balance of the year and not expecting to see a massive shift in the environment. If that happens, great, but we want to make sure that we can be relevant.

有趣的是，在我們的高收入客戶中，我們實際上看到了更多的客戶，而且他們的支出也更多。因此，正如我所說，它再次與經濟正在創造壓力的地方相關聯。我們真的看到了那個中等收入的客戶。因此，當我們看到今年的餘額時，我們只是非常周到和謹慎，並不期望看到環境發生巨大變化。如果發生這種情況，很好，但我們要確保我們可以相關。

As it relates to your question on back-to-school, as I said, it's about in line with our expectations. We're still relatively early in the season. We're seeing strength in categories like backpacks, kids footwear and those younger kid sizes. I'd say, where we have not yet seen the pickup in our business in areas like denim, kids uniforms or those older kid sizes. So again, a little bit of mixed results here in line with our expectations. But I think, most importantly, we're doing a lot to drive that value message during the back-to-school season.

正如我所說，這與您關於返校的問題有關，這與我們的預期相符。我們還處於本賽季的早期階段。我們在背包、童鞋和年幼兒童尺碼等類別中看到了實力。我想說的是，我們還沒有看到我們在牛仔布、兒童制服或大童尺碼等領域的業務有所回升。同樣，這裡有一點好壞參半的結果符合我們的預期。但我認為，最重要的是，我們正在做很多事情來在返校季傳遞這種價值信息。

Your next question comes from Oliver Chen with Cowen and Company.

您的下一個問題來自 Cowen and Company 的 Oliver Chen。

On the juniors front, you spoke about an opportunity there. Approximately what percentage of mix and what do you see ahead for the opportunities to improve that as well as timing? And then, Jill, on the inventory situation and the promotions and what you'll do to proactively clear, what should we know about timing and guardrails? And there could be a customer that requires more promotions than you expect as well given the dynamic nature of the environment.

在青少年方面，你談到了那裡的機會。大約有多少比例的混合以及你認為未來改進的機會和時機是什麼？然後，吉爾，關於庫存情況和促銷活動，以及您將採取哪些措施來主動清理，我們應該了解什麼有關時間和護欄的信息？考慮到環境的動態特性，可能會有一個客戶需要比您預期更多的促銷活動。

Sure. So Oliver, I'll take your question on juniors first. I think there's 2 things going on. One is, in our Sephora doors, we made a lot of changes and moved things -- a lot of things around. I mean, all thoughtful, we had piloted it. Juniors was one of the areas that got a significant move. So -- and again, to set context, the stores are doing very well. So the net effect of all the changes, beauty, moving active to the front, et cetera, that's working.

當然。所以奧利弗，我會先回答你關於大三學生的問題。我認為有兩件事正在發生。一個是，在我們的絲芙蘭門中，我們做了很多改變並移動了一些東西——很多東西。我的意思是，經過深思熟慮，我們已經試行了它。青少年是取得重大進展的領域之一。所以 - 再一次，為了設置上下文，商店做得很好。所以所有變化的淨效果，美麗，移動到前面，等等，這是有效的。

Juniors, in particular, it moved off of the right front pad of the store into a new location. And so we are seeing a disruption there. The team is on it. They're adding incremental signage. We're doing some things around mannequins. And the customer is going to get used to that new destination for juniors. It takes some time when you move things around in a store for the customer to get more acclimated to that. So that was one.

尤其是青少年，它從商店的右前墊移到了一個新的位置。因此，我們看到了那裡的中斷。團隊正在努力。他們正在添加增量標牌。我們正在圍繞人體模型做一些事情。客戶將習慣於青少年的新目的地。當你在商店裡搬東西時，顧客需要一些時間來適應它。所以這是一個。

I think second and operating with great urgency is that we didn't have the assortment right. There was too much fashion, not enough of the basics. Some of the fashion choices were a little too young, I would say. That's been course-corrected. I'd say one of the things that has hurt us is with all supply chain disruption that's happened, we were not able to get in and out of some of those items.

我認為第二個非常緊迫的操作是我們沒有正確的分類。有太多的時尚，沒有足夠的基礎。我想說，有些時尚選擇有點太年輕了。這已經被糾正了。我想說，傷害我們的一件事是發生了所有供應鏈中斷，我們無法進出其中一些物品。

So as we look ahead on supply chain, we're already seeing that today, where the time is coming back, but over the last couple of years, 18 months, those time lines have gotten long. And as you well know, as it relates to young women and juniors, those cycles can change pretty rapidly. So we bought too much of some of the more fashion-trend product, and the customer wasn't going there.

因此，當我們展望供應鏈時，我們已經看到今天，時間又回來了，但在過去的幾年裡，18 個月，這些時間線變長了。眾所周知，由於它與年輕女性和青少年有關，這些週期可能會迅速變化。所以我們買了太多更時尚的產品，而顧客並沒有去那裡。

I also think, relative to some of the inflationary pressures, one of the things we're seeing broadly about women's is this desire to have more of the basics or staples and things they can get a lot of use out of and flexibility as opposed to those fashion pieces. So we've got to rebalance, and the team's on it.

我還認為，相對於一些通脹壓力，我們廣泛看到的關於女性的一件事是渴望擁有更多基本款或主食，以及她們可以大量使用的東西和靈活性，而不是那些時尚單品。所以我們必須重新平衡，團隊也在努力。

Then in terms of inventory and promotions, Oliver, we're actively working down inventory. We've done that through cutting receipts. We've been aggressive on clearance as well as promotions. Obviously, as we go into the important holiday period, we want to make sure we're still flowing freshness, and we have those gifting opportunities for our customers. So we'll continue to watch that move into the holiday period.

然後在庫存和促銷方面，奧利弗，我們正在積極減少庫存。我們通過削減收據做到了這一點。我們在清關和促銷方面一直很積極。顯然，當我們進入重要的假期期間，我們希望確保我們仍然保持新鮮感，並且我們為我們的客戶提供這些禮物的機會。因此，我們將繼續觀察進入假期期間的情況。

But we do expect to be up high teens as we end the year, which actually puts us right back in line with where we were in 2019, and that's even with funding 600 additional Sephora doors. So I feel good with the metrics and the moves we're making in terms of getting inventory back in balance.

但我們確實預計到今年年底會漲到十幾歲，這實際上讓我們回到了 2019 年的水平，即使是在為另外 600 扇絲芙蘭門提供資金的情況下也是如此。因此，我對指標和我們在使庫存恢復平衡方面所做的舉措感覺良好。

In terms of promotional environment, we are expecting a heightened promotional environment. I mean holiday is always promotional. I think given everything we're seeing, as Michelle mentioned around value, that's something Kohl's has always stood for. We've always been promotional, so we really know how to lean in here.

在促銷環境方面，我們期待更好的促銷環境。我的意思是假期總是促銷活動。我認為鑑於我們所看到的一切，正如 Michelle 提到的價值，這是 Kohl's 一直代表的東西。我們一直在宣傳，所以我們真的知道如何在這裡靠攏。

And so as you see the guide on the margin, you'll see we don't expect it to get any better than what we saw in Q2. And that was really being aggressive through promotions in both July and promotions in July. As we go to the back half of the year, we will start lapping some of the freight costs, as we had mentioned, in Q4.

因此，當您在邊緣看到指南時，您會看到我們預計它不會比我們在第二季度看到的更好。通過 7 月的促銷活動和 7 月的促銷活動，這真的很激進。隨著我們進入今年下半年，我們將在第四季度開始計算一些運費成本，正如我們之前提到的。

So freight today, although a dynamic environment, we are seeing some of those costs come down. They're still higher than last year. But then in Q4, we start lapping some of those higher costs. So although the margin isn't improving, it's going to change buckets, really, from being more freight-pressured into more of those promotions and clearance activities to make sure that we can move into 2023 feeling good with the inventory composition.

所以今天的貨運，雖然是一個動態的環境，但我們看到其中一些成本下降了。他們仍然高於去年。但隨後在第四季度，我們開始計算其中一些較高的成本。因此，儘管利潤率沒有提高，但它確實會改變水桶，從承受更大的貨運壓力到更多的促銷和清關活動，以確保我們可以進入 2023 年，對庫存構成感覺良好。

Our next question comes from Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

我們的下一個問題來自 Chuck Grom 和 Gordon Haskett。

Just a couple of housekeeping things. Jill, can you hold our hands on how you're thinking about the comps in both the third and fourth quarter? And then, also, in the second quarter, your credit revenue, I believe, was flat year-over-year, which was a big change from the first quarter. Can you just walk us through, I guess, why and then how you're thinking about that line item in the back half of the year?

只是一些家務。吉爾，你能談談你對第三節和第四節比賽的看法嗎？然後，在第二季度，我相信您的信貸收入與去年同期持平，這與第一季度相比是一個很大的變化。我猜你能不能告訴我們，為什麼以及你在下半年如何考慮這個項目？

Chuck, I'm sorry, can you repeat the first? Q3, Q4, I didn't hear what you were referencing.

查克，對不起，你能重複第一個嗎？ Q3，Q4，我沒聽到你在說什麼。

Just the comps and how you're thinking about the comp cadence in the back half.

只是比賽以及你如何考慮後半場的比賽節奏。

Got it. Yes. I would say, we expect that Q4 should be a little better than Q3. If you remember last year, we had lacked inventory. I think we quantified about $250 million of a sales liability because we were out of stock, and we couldn't flow the inventory given the supply chain disruption that we were experiencing.

知道了。是的。我想說，我們預計第四季度應該比第三季度好一點。如果您還記得去年，我們的庫存不足。我認為我們量化了大約 2.5 億美元的銷售負債，因為我們缺貨，而且鑑於我們正在經歷的供應鏈中斷，我們無法流動庫存。

This year, obviously, we feel much better-suited. We're flowing those receipts. We've written in the time to ensure that we are going to bring the receipts in timely. We've actually made a lot of proactive moves on how those goods were coming in. So we feel very set on bringing those in.

今年，顯然，我們感覺更適合了。我們正在處理這些收據。我們已及時寫信以確保我們將及時帶來收據。實際上，我們已經就這些商品的進入方式採取了很多積極主動的措施。因此，我們非常願意將這些商品引入。

In fact, you saw in-transit being up because we did write those orders earlier to make sure that we were flowing goods, both for back-to-school and holiday, on time. So I'd say, that's going to outsize benefit Q4 as well as the ramp-up of Sephora.

事實上，您看到運輸中的貨物增加了，因為我們確實早些時候寫了這些訂單，以確保我們在返校和假期期間準時運送貨物。所以我想說，這將大大增加第四季度的收益以及絲芙蘭的增長。

So as Michelle said, the longer time they're open, the better we're seeing that performance. So as we now have all 600 doors open, we continue to see that benefit. So I think you'll see a little bit better benefit in Q4 for those 2 reasons in terms of that.

所以正如米歇爾所說，他們開放的時間越長，我們看到的表現就越好。因此，由於我們現在打開了所有 600 扇門，我們繼續看到這種好處。因此，鑑於這兩個原因，我認為您會在第四季度看到更好的收益。

Some of the credit revenue, I think, over time, our credit customer has stayed incredibly healthy. And so we're seeing, despite sales down, a really flat credit customer. We've proactively managed the risk of this portfolio. We've done this in the past. In fact, Chuck have spent a lot of time studying back to the last recession. And we've managed through this with a pretty healthy portfolio because we manage the risk pretty proactively.

我認為，隨著時間的推移，我們的信貸客戶的一些信貸收入一直保持得非常健康。因此，儘管銷售額下降，但我們看到的信用客戶確實持平。我們已主動管理該投資組合的風險。我們過去已經這樣做了。事實上，查克花了很多時間研究上一次經濟衰退。我們已經通過一個非常健康的投資組合來管理這個問題，因為我們非常主動地管理風險。

So as we've seen things move, we've been able to make those moves as well. So I would expect that our credit revenue should stay relatively flat throughout the year. Obviously, we'll continue to monitor that environment and the consumer. But at this point in time, we feel very good with that health of the credit customer.

因此，當我們看到事情發生變化時，我們也能夠做出這些動作。因此，我預計我們的信貸收入全年應保持相對平穩。顯然，我們將繼續監控該環境和消費者。但此時此刻，我們對信貸客戶的健康狀況感到非常滿意。

Okay. Great. And then on the inventory front, the slide that you guys provide is helpful. On the 27% that you call out as core, how are you feeling about the currency of that balance right now given some of the changing consumer preferences that we're seeing in apparel over the past few months?

好的。偉大的。然後在庫存方面，你們提供的幻燈片很有幫助。在您稱為核心的 27% 中，鑑於過去幾個月我們在服裝中看到的一些不斷變化的消費者偏好，您現在對這種餘額的貨幣有什麼看法？

Yes. What I'd say, the 2 biggest components of that increase are women's, which, as you remember last year, women's was in a huge transition. We called out the fact that they were lacking inventory. So we weren't able to really keep up with that trend that we were seeing from a women's perspective. If I actually look at it versus '19, it's still down double digits. So although we're up relative to last year, it's actually down in that low double digits to 2019.

是的。我想說的是，這一增長的兩個最大組成部分是女性，正如你去年所記得的那樣，女性正處於巨大的轉變中。我們指出了他們缺乏庫存的事實。所以我們無法真正跟上我們從女性角度看到的趨勢。如果我真的把它與 19 年相比，它仍然下降了兩位數。因此，儘管我們相對於去年有所上升，但實際上到 2019 年下降了兩位數。

The second big piece of that inventory increase is active. Obviously, active is a core strategy. We've made a big investment, especially as we moved that active to the front of the store. We've expanded the space that we've given active. And quite honestly, active is pretty seasonless. So when I look at markdown liability, it's not a huge fashion business, so it definitely has a longer life cycle. So it doesn't give me as much pause in terms of getting through that excess inventory. So that -- those 2 pieces are 2/3 of the increase, and then the rest of it is really through the balance of the store.

庫存增加的第二大部分是活躍的。顯然，主動是一項核心策略。我們進行了大筆投資，尤其是當我們將活動搬到商店前面時。我們已經擴大了我們給予積極的空間。老實說，活躍是非常無季節的。所以當我看降價責任時，它不是一個巨大的時尚業務，所以它肯定有更長的生命週期。因此，就處理多餘的庫存而言，它並沒有給我太多的停頓。所以——那 2 件是增加的 2/3，然後其餘部分實際上是通過商店的餘額。

Our next question comes from Blake Anderson with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Blake Anderson。

Wanted to ask a follow-up on that previous inventory question. You just talked about the categories. Are you anticipating a continued ramp in private label in the second half? Just curious how you're planning for private label versus national-branded buys for the second half.

想就之前的庫存問題提出後續問題。你剛才談到了類別。您是否預計下半年自有品牌將繼續增長？只是好奇你在下半年如何計劃自有品牌與國家品牌的購買。

Yes. I would say, we've seen proprietary brands outperform our national brands for 2 quarters. We know the customer is really looking for value. So obviously, we want to make sure that we're going to deliver on that, and that is going to be through a lot of our proprietary brands. We continue to see outperformance in brands like Jumping Beans, Sonoma and Lauren Conrad. So those are the places that you'll see our store will continue to balance into.

是的。我想說，我們已經看到自主品牌連續兩個季度的表現優於我們的民族品牌。我們知道客戶真正在尋找價值。很明顯，我們希望確保我們能夠實現這一目標，這將通過我們的許多專有品牌實現。我們繼續看到 Jumping Beans、Sonoma 和 Lauren Conrad 等品牌的出色表現。因此，您將看到我們的商店將繼續平衡這些地方。

But that's not to forgo the fact that we are seeing great performance out of our new brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein. So it will be a balance, but obviously, the merchants would move to where they saw the trend going. And so you will see that we'll have that proprietary brand, especially in that women's side of the business, obviously, is much more proprietary-driven so we can feed into the value-oriented customer.

但這並不是要放棄這樣一個事實，即我們看到 Tommy Hilfiger、Calvin Klein 等新品牌的出色表現。所以這將是一個平衡，但很明顯，商家會轉移到他們看到趨勢的地方。因此，您會看到我們將擁有該專有品牌，尤其是在女性業務方面，顯然，更多的是專有驅動，因此我們可以為以價值為導向的客戶提供服務。

Got it. That's really helpful. And then was wondering if you could provide, just directionally, at least, maybe the different factors in gross margin between supply chain, promotions and cost inflation. Didn't know if you could size those up maybe in Q2 and then how you think about those 3 different factors, how big each one is in the second half.

知道了。這真的很有幫助。然後想知道你是否可以提供，至少是定向的，也許是供應鏈、促銷和成本通脹之間毛利率的不同因素。不知道您是否可以在第二季度擴大規模，然後您如何考慮這三個不同的因素，下半場每個因素有多大。

Yes. I would say that freight and promotions were probably the biggest 2 pieces in Q2, freight being a big portion and then, obviously, in July, becoming much more promotional to ensure that we were delivering value. And those were targeted offers to really look at and address the seasonal inventory that we had to ensure that we could continue to minimize the markdown liability as we moved into Q3, which is a normal time that you would clear that out.

是的。我想說運費和促銷可能是第二季度最大的兩部分，運費佔很大一部分，然後，顯然，在 7 月份，為了確保我們提供價值，它變得更加促銷。這些是有針對性的報價，以真正查看和解決季節性庫存問題，我們必須確保在進入第三季度時我們可以繼續最大限度地減少降價責任，這是您清除這一點的正常時間。

As we move into Q3 and Q4, freight will still stay a little elevated in Q3. Although, as I mentioned, we are seeing costs come down there, but it's a pretty dynamic environment, and they are still higher than last year. In Q4, we start lapping freight, so it will be less of a component of our headwinds. We do expect promotions to remain heightened through the Q3 and especially into Q4. I think holiday is always outsized from a promotional environment.

隨著我們進入第三季度和第四季度，第三季度運費仍將保持小幅上漲。雖然，正如我所提到的，我們看到成本在那裡下降，但這是一個非常動態的環境，而且仍然高於去年。在第四季度，我們開始計算運費，因此它不會成為我們逆風的一部分。我們確實預計促銷活動將在第三季度尤其是第四季度繼續加強。我認為假期總是比促銷環境大。

And then the last piece is just the cost inflation. And we had mentioned to you that we expected cost inflation to start impacting us really Q3 and then into Q4. So I think Q3 will be pressured off of cost, freight. And then as we move into Q4, I would say, it's going to be more about cost and promotions.

最後一點就是成本膨脹。我們已經向您提到，我們預計成本通脹將開始真正影響我們第三季度，然後到第四季度。所以我認為第三季度將受到成本和運費的壓力。然後當我們進入第四季度時，我會說，這將更多地關注成本和促銷活動。

Our next question comes from Paul Lejuez with Citigroup.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Paul Lejuez。

It's Tracy Kogan filling in for Paul. First, I was wondering if you guys could kind of compare the conversion you're seeing at Sephora with the conversion you've been seeing over the years from the Amazon Returns. Are you -- I think you expected to get a better conversion from those Sephora shoppers, but just wondering if that's turned out to be true.

是特蕾西·科根（Tracy Kogan）代替保羅。首先，我想知道你們是否可以將您在絲芙蘭看到的轉換與您多年來從亞馬遜退貨中看到的轉換進行比較。你是 - 我認為你希望從那些絲芙蘭購物者那裡獲得更好的轉化，但只是想知道這是否是真的。

And then my second question is, I was wondering if you were changing your strategy. I think you had said you were expecting to open 100 smaller-format stores over the next couple of years. I'm just wondering if you're rethinking that.

然後我的第二個問題是，我想知道您是否正在改變策略。我想您曾說過您希望在未來幾年內開設 100 家小型商店。我只是想知道你是否正在重新考慮這一點。

Sure. Tracy, Michelle here. I can actually answer both of those. So in terms of Sephora, I don't know if the right comparison is Amazon Returns. Since you brought that up, I'd say we continue to be pleased with that partnership, where we're actually seeing conversion continue to do well with those customers, and it's a great source of new customers for us. So that continues.

當然。特蕾西，米歇爾在這裡。我其實可以回答這兩個。所以就絲芙蘭而言，我不知道正確的比較是亞馬遜退貨。自從您提出這一點以來，我想說我們繼續對這種夥伴關係感到滿意，我們實際上看到這些客戶的轉化率繼續表現良好，這對我們來說是新客戶的重要來源。所以繼續。

In our Sephora stores, what we do look at is how those Sephora stores are doing relative to non-Sephora stores. And as I mentioned earlier, we are seeing, really, all the stores outperform the chain. Those first 200 are even higher. They're in that high single-digit range. And then the newer stores, the 400, are in that kind of mid-single-digit range.

在我們的絲芙蘭門店中，我們關注的是那些絲芙蘭門店相對於非絲芙蘭門店的表現。正如我之前提到的，我們確實看到所有商店的表現都優於連鎖店。前 200 個甚至更高。它們處於高個位數範圍內。然後是較新的商店，即 400，處於那種中個位數的範圍內。

And related, we are seeing new customers. We're seeing traffic and we are seeing increased conversion. So to your question, we're seeing better overall conversion with the traffic we have coming into those stores as they're buying beauty with Sephora and as they're adding other things to their basket.

與此相關的是，我們正在看到新客戶。我們看到了流量，我們看到了增加的轉化率。所以對於你的問題，我們看到更好的整體轉化率隨著我們進入這些商店的流量，因為他們正在使用絲芙蘭購買美容產品，並且他們正在將其他東西添加到他們的購物籃中。

So really, on all levels, as we said all along, Sephora is a game changer for us. It's our #1 initiative. And I think in the spirit of the partnership, as we look forward, Jill was talking about the capital investment. This is a moment in time as it relates to the headwinds we're facing.

所以真的，在各個層面上，正如我們一直說的那樣，絲芙蘭對我們來說是一個改變遊戲規則的人。這是我們的#1 倡議。我認為本著夥伴關係的精神，正如我們所期待的那樣，吉爾正在談論資本投資。這是一個時刻，因為它與我們面臨的逆風有關。

The good news is we have a healthy balance sheet. We're financially strong. We can make those investments and really continue to have an unwavering conviction around our strategy going forward, hence why we're building out the 850 doors. Because, yes, Sephora is a cornerstone to that, but it's also about the entire transformation and how we're elevating merchandising and how we're moving things around the store and refreshing the stores. So we are going forward kind of full tilt on that.

好消息是我們擁有健康的資產負債表。我們財力雄厚。我們可以進行這些投資，並真正繼續對我們未來的戰略有堅定的信念，這就是為什麼我們要建造 850 扇門。因為，是的，絲芙蘭是這方面的基石，但它也關乎整個轉型，以及我們如何提升商品銷售，以及我們如何在商店中移動物品並刷新商店。因此，我們將全力以赴。

And then as we announced today, we're working with Sephora in creating a concept that will then -- will add to the remainder of the store. It's about 300, the balance of fleet. So we'll have a Sephora presence across our entire store base and digital. And that is very powerful because we'll be able to say, at any Kohl's, you can come in and have a Sephora experience. So that is news we're sharing for the first time this morning, and it's really exciting on our go-forward path.

然後正如我們今天宣布的那樣，我們正在與絲芙蘭合作創建一個概念，然後將其添加到商店的其餘部分。大約300，艦隊的餘額。因此，我們將在我們的整個商店基地和數字商店中擁有絲芙蘭的存在。這非常強大，因為我們可以說，在任何 Kohl's，您都可以進來體驗絲芙蘭。所以這是我們今天早上第一次分享的消息，在我們前進的道路上真的很令人興奮。

And then in terms of the small-store strategy, Tracy, we're still convicted on those small stores. We've done a lot of testing. We feel good with where they are. We're also being balanced in our approach. So we're looking for those markets that make sense. We're also taking into consideration the current market conditions.

然後就小店戰略而言，Tracy，我們仍然對那些小店有罪。我們已經做了很多測試。我們對他們在哪裡感覺很好。我們的方法也很平衡。所以我們正在尋找那些有意義的市場。我們也在考慮當前的市場狀況。

So I would say, we are still planning to open 100 stores over the next several years, but it will be paced, and I think more of a ramp-up towards those latter years versus in the beginning part as we kind of learn more on how to merchandise them, putting (inaudible) store, which is going to look very different than any store that we've opened, much more locally relevant. So you're going to walk in, and it's going to feel different than when you walk into a Kohl's store. So really understanding how the customer reacts to those type of changes so that we can take those learnings and apply it when we start opening those more in mass.

所以我想說，我們仍計劃在未來幾年內開設 100 家門店，但它會按節奏進行，而且我認為隨著我們了解更多關於如何推銷它們，放置（聽不清）商店，這看起來與我們開設的任何商店都非常不同，更具當地相關性。所以你要走進去，感覺會與走進 Kohl's 商店時不同。因此，要真正了解客戶對這些類型的更改的反應，以便我們可以在開始大規模開放這些更改時吸取這些經驗並加以應用。

Our next question comes from Omar Saad with Evercore Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自與 Evercore Partners 的 Omar Saad。

Most of them answered already, and I was hoping you could give a little bit more color on the category performance. It sounds like home underperformed. I know it sounds like your middle-income consumer [led] the color on the income side, which is great. But maybe across categories, are you seeing some of those broader-winning categories significantly underperform? Are there categories where you're seeing outperformance?

他們中的大多數人已經回答了，我希望你能給類別表現多一點色彩。聽起來家裡表現不佳。我知道這聽起來像你的中等收入消費者 [led] 收入方面的顏色，這很棒。但也許在各個類別中，您是否看到其中一些更廣泛的獲勝類別表現明顯不佳？有沒有你看到表現優異的類別？

And then I also wanted to ask, Michelle, maybe you could talk about, as we enter this kind of elevated promotional environment across the industry, do you think that -- down the road, do you think the industry and Kohl's can return to a lower promotional level that we've [deployed] over the last year or 2? Or are we kind of back to that pre-COVID norm, [past the] promotions, highly hypercompetitive marketplace as we just think beyond the current kind of situation and (inaudible)? Is there an opportunity for Kohl's and the industry keep some of the margin discipline that you guys (inaudible) over the years?

然後我還想問，米歇爾，也許你可以談談，當我們進入整個行業的這種提升的促銷環境時，你是否認為——在未來，你認為行業和 Kohl's 可以回到我們在過去一年或兩年[部署]的較低促銷級別？或者我們是否有點回到 COVID 之前的規範，[過去的]促銷活動，高度競爭激烈的市場，因為我們只是想超越當前的情況和（聽不清）？ Kohl's 和該行業是否有機會保持多年來你們（聽不清）的一些利潤紀律？

Yes. Great. Thanks, Omar, for those 2 questions. I'll take those. First, to give you a little bit more color on our categories. So starting -- you brought up home. So 2 categories that underperformed, home and children's, I mean, those had significant outperformance, as you know, the last couple of years. And we are seeing, like in home, sort of broad-based challenges as it relates to that middle-income customer, as you pointed out.

是的。偉大的。謝謝，奧馬爾，這兩個問題。我會拿那些。首先，讓您對我們的類別有更多的了解。所以開始 - 你長大了。所以有兩個表現不佳的類別，家庭和兒童，我的意思是，如你所知，在過去的幾年裡，它們的表現明顯優於其他類別。正如您所指出的，我們看到，就像在家裡一樣，與中等收入客戶有關的廣泛的挑戰。

That said, as we look to the back half, while we're doing a lot of things to make sure that we've got sharp price points and newness, especially for the holiday time period. So yes, customers are going to have to be a bit more picky around where they are purchasing gifts and et cetera. So we need to show up both with value and with compelling product.

也就是說，當我們回顧後半部分時，雖然我們正在做很多事情以確保我們有清晰的價格點和新穎性，尤其是在假期期間。所以，是的，客戶將不得不對他們購買禮物等的地方更加挑剔。因此，我們需要展示價值和引人注目的產品。

And I will tell you, on the home front, the team is bringing in a lot of newness across the board in categories that we haven't played in that much, like outdoor recreation, to just give you an example.

我會告訴你，在主場方面，球隊正在全面引入許多我們沒有玩過的類別的新事物，比如戶外休閒，這只是給你一個例子。

I think similarly, with kids, we're seeing -- where we're seeing some bright spots in the kids business today is in that younger kids and toddlers, Jumping Beans. We're seeing pressure in older kids in some categories, I'd say, like denim. Maybe that will pick up as back-to-school continues on, but we're doing a lot of things again around that assortment.

我認為類似地，對於孩子，我們正在看到 - 我們在今天的兒童業務中看到的一些亮點是那些年幼的孩子和蹣跚學步的孩子，Jumping Beans。我們在某些類別中看到大孩子的壓力，我想說，比如牛仔布。也許隨著返校的繼續，這種情況會有所改善，但我們正在圍繞該分類再次做很多事情。

And then you take toys and -- has been tough the first half of the year. But as you know, the business in toys is really the fourth quarter. And the team has been working with all of our partners to make sure we're showing up with not only great value but a lot of newness. We have a dramatically expanded assortment with LEGO. Starting in October, we're doing some proprietary partnership deals with them, which will be great, we believe, will resonate with our customers. And then in terms of top-selling toys on the toy side, 2/3 of our top items are going to be new.

然後你拿玩具和 - 今年上半年一直很艱難。但如你所知，玩具業務實際上是第四季度。團隊一直在與我們所有的合作夥伴合作，以確保我們不僅展示了巨大的價值，而且展示了很多新鮮感。我們的樂高產品種類大大增加。從 10 月開始，我們將與他們進行一些專有的合作夥伴關係交易，我們相信，這將是很棒的，會引起我們的客戶的共鳴。然後就玩具方面的暢銷玩具而言，我們 2/3 的暢銷玩具將是新的。

So I feel like as we look forward, those categories, which have had the biggest challenge in the front half, there's some good plans. But we are still going back to the guide. We're still being really prudent because, while we're going to put our best foot forward, we also know that there are headwinds that are kind of bigger than us.

所以我覺得在我們向前看的時候，那些在前半場面臨最大挑戰的類別，有一些很好的計劃。但我們仍然要回到指南。我們仍然非常謹慎，因為雖然我們要全力以赴，但我們也知道存在比我們更大的逆風。

Other color, I'd say, on the footwear side, we're seeing outperformance in casual and, call it, athleisure brands like Vans. On the athletic, I think, 2 things. One is we're up against -- we know some very big numbers by our brand partners. We still unequivocally believe in the active category. This is a point in time it's normalizing. But all our data is showing that the consumer is going to want to continue to dress in that sort of active and casual athleisure outdoors. So we're really committed to that.

其他顏色，我想說，在鞋類方面，我們看到休閒鞋的表現出色，稱之為 Vans 等運動休閒品牌。在運動方面，我認為，有兩件事。一個是我們正在反對 - 我們知道我們的品牌合作夥伴的一些非常大的數字。我們仍然堅定地相信活躍的類別。這是它正常化的時間點。但我們所有的數據都表明，消費者將希望繼續穿著那種活躍和休閒的戶外運動休閒裝。所以我們真的致力於這一點。

But as it relates to active footwear, we're up against that. And secondly, we've continued to have pretty significant supply chain disruptions on that. So we're not in the right stock that we need to be. It's probably going to take us [6 months] to fully normalize that. Like I said, the team, with our brand partners, they're all over it.

但由於它與活動鞋類有關，我們反對這一點。其次，我們繼續在這方面造成相當嚴重的供應鏈中斷。所以我們沒有我們需要的正確庫存。我們可能需要 [6 個月] 才能完全正常化。就像我說的那樣，團隊和我們的品牌合作夥伴都全力以赴。

And then as it relates to the apparel side of things, as I mentioned, on active, while the footwear has been tougher, our active apparel, including athleisure outdoor, that's outperforming the company.

然後，正如我所提到的，當它與服裝方面有關時，在運動鞋方面，雖然鞋類更加堅韌，但我們的運動服裝，包括戶外運動休閒，表現優於公司。

On women's, we talked about juniors being tough. The core women's business actually had quite solid performance and substantially outperformed the company. Areas where we've been investing like dresses, elevated casuals, so brands like Simply Vera, Lauren Conrad, Nine West, as they go back to work or go out, that's really resonating, and even categories like plus size, where we've made investments.

在女子組上，我們談到了青少年的強硬。核心女裝業務實際上表現相當穩健，遠超公司。我們一直在投資的領域，比如連衣裙、高級休閒裝，所以像 Simply Vera、Lauren Conrad、Nine West 這樣的品牌，當他們回去工作或外出時，這真的很能引起共鳴，甚至像加大碼這樣的類別，我們已經進行了投資。

And then lastly, men's. Men's has been a steady, solid performer. We're continuing to see that on both sides, the private brands like Sonoma as well as the new brands we're bringing in like a Hurley, Eddie Bauer and, of course, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. So really important for us to maintain that balance, show up with value overall and be really relevant for the customer. So that was your first question.

最後是男裝。男裝一直表現穩定、紮實。我們繼續在雙方看到這一點，包括 Sonoma 等自有品牌以及我們引入的新品牌，如 Hurley、Eddie Bauer，當然還有 Calvin Klein 和 Tommy Hilfiger。對我們來說，保持這種平衡非常重要，展現整體價值並與客戶真正相關。所以這是你的第一個問題。

The second question on the promotional environment. We're seeing a dynamic we just haven't seen before. I mean, certainly, that consumer confidence, the 40-year high inflation, I mean, this is a very dynamic time. And I think all retailers are having to, like I said, show up in a relevant way. And it -- that the business cut off very quickly, so we're working through inventory, as are many others.

第二個關於促銷環境的問題。我們看到了前所未有的動態。我的意思是，當然，消費者信心，40 年的高通脹，我的意思是，這是一個非常有活力的時期。而且我認為所有零售商都必須，就像我說的那樣，以相關的方式出現。而且 - 業務很快就中斷了，所以我們正在處理庫存，就像許多其他人一樣。

As Jill alluded to and talked about, our inventory position in our core categories, that's not our entire issue. We've got some onetime, which are good investments, like beauty. So when you look at the core, it perhaps doesn't look as dramatic as when you look at the total.

正如吉爾提到並談到的那樣，我們在核心類別中的庫存位置，這不是我們的全部問題。我們曾經有過一些很好的投資，比如美容。因此，當您查看核心時，它可能不像您查看總數時那樣引人注目。

But that said, we've got to take care of it. So we're clearing out the goods, we're cutting out receipts, and we are being more promotional. I do think things will normalize. None of us have a crystal ball. We don't know when that happens. But I'd say, for Kohl's, we are committed in our longer-term journey of having a healthy balance of promotions, but importantly, price clarity, investing more in price and overall elevating our portfolio, having that balance of private brands, but also national brands that the customer is paying a premium price, the apparel brands I just spoke to and then clearly Sephora.

但話雖如此，我們必須照顧它。所以我們正在清理貨物，我們正在削減收據，並且我們正在進行更多的促銷活動。我確實認為事情會正常化。我們都沒有水晶球。我們不知道什麼時候會發生。但我想說，對於 Kohl's，我們致力於在長期的旅程中保持促銷活動的健康平衡，但重要的是，價格清晰，在價格上進行更多投資並整體提升我們的產品組合，擁有自有品牌的平衡，但還有客戶支付高價的民族品牌，我剛剛談到的服裝品牌，然後顯然是絲芙蘭。

So I'll sum it up to say we feel like we're putting our best foot forward in the back half. We're being prudent with our guide. We have great confidence in our long-term strategy. We're seeing that play out as we open these Sephora doors. And in the moment, we'll be agile and responsive to what the customer needs.

所以我總結一下，我們覺得我們在後半區發揮了最好的一面。我們對導遊很謹慎。我們對我們的長期戰略充滿信心。當我們打開這些絲芙蘭門時，我們看到了這種情況。此刻，我們將靈活應對客戶的需求。

Our next question comes from Priya Ohri-Gupta with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Priya Ohri-Gupta。

Just wondering if we could speak a little bit about your cash balance. It looks like it's fairly low, and we haven't seen a level this low in quite some time. So if you could, first, just speak to sort of where we should expect you to run your cash balance over the next 2 to 4 quarters.

只是想知道我們是否可以談談您的現金餘額。看起來它相當低，而且我們已經有一段時間沒有看到這麼低的水平了。因此，如果可以的話，首先，只需談談我們應該期望您在接下來的 2 到 4 個季度內運行現金餘額的地方。

And then secondly, given sort of the elevated cash use in third quarter as you build inventory, what are some of the actions that you anticipate to help shore up the cash needs that you have in the short term, ahead of any potential real estate monetization?

其次，考慮到第三季度隨著您建立庫存而增加的現金使用量，在任何潛在的房地產貨幣化之前，您預計會採取哪些行動來幫助支撐您在短期內的現金需求?

Sure. Thanks, Priya. I would say, so obviously, our cash balance was weighted on a couple of things. One is, as we talked about, the sales drop happened quickly in June. We're making receipt cuts, but obviously, couldn't react as fast enough as the sales had been dropping. So we will continue to tighten inventory as you see that happening in the back half of the year. Specifically, as we end the year, we said we'd only be up high teens relative to where we're sitting today.

當然。謝謝，普里亞。我會說，很明顯，我們的現金餘額是基於幾件事來衡量的。一個是，正如我們所談到的，銷售量在 6 月份迅速下降。我們正在削減收據，但很明顯，我們的反應速度不夠快，因為銷售額一直在下降。因此，正如您在今年下半年看到的那樣，我們將繼續收緊庫存。具體來說，當我們結束這一年時，我們說相對於我們今天所處的位置，我們只會處於青少年時期。

I think, second, we obviously always prioritize investment in the company, and that didn't change this year in terms of the Sephora shops. We didn't want to cut back on what we see as our long-term growth strategy with Sephora. That theme is working. We're attracting new customers. Those stores are outperforming. So a lot of the CapEx, where we may have pulled back in the past, we want to lean into given it was such a growth factor for us as we move forward.

我認為，第二，我們顯然總是優先考慮對公司的投資，而今年在絲芙蘭商店方面並沒有改變。我們不想削減我們與絲芙蘭的長期增長戰略。該主題正在發揮作用。我們正在吸引新客戶。這些商店表現出色。所以很多資本支出，我們過去可能已經撤回，我們想要傾斜，因為它是我們前進的一個增長因素。

I think you'll see us continue to manage down expenses tightly. We're going to continue to be aggressive from an inventory perspective. But we will expect, as we mentioned, Q3 to be a little tighter because, as you mentioned, it's a natural inventory build. And we're not going to want to cut that inventory, and we'll want that freshness as we move into the all-important holiday season.

我想你會看到我們繼續嚴格控制開支。從庫存的角度來看，我們將繼續積極進取。但正如我們所提到的，我們預計第三季度會更緊一些，因為正如你所提到的，這是一個自然的庫存構建。而且我們不想削減庫存，我們會在進入最重要的假日季節時想要那種新鮮感。

So I would expect you're going to see our cash balances lower than you have normally seen them. But I feel very confident with the actions that we're taking. We're going to build ourselves back to a normal cash balance, a normal operating cash flow as we move into 2023.

所以我希望你會看到我們的現金餘額低於你通常看到的水平。但我對我們正在採取的行動充滿信心。隨著我們進入 2023 年，我們將把自己恢復到正常的現金餘額和正常的經營現金流。

Thanks, everyone.

感謝大家。

Great. Thank you. Thanks, everyone, for listening on the call this morning. Have a great day.

偉大的。謝謝你。謝謝大家，今天早上收聽電話。祝你有美好的一天。

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。