柯爾百貨 (KSS) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Dennis, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Kohl's Corporation Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Mark Rupe, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

早上好。我叫丹尼斯，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線員。此時，我想歡迎大家參加 Kohl's Corporation 2022 年第三季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）我現在想將會議轉交給投資者關係高級副總裁 Mark Rupe。請繼續。

Thank you. Certain statements made on this call, including projected financial results and the company's future (inaudible) 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. 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 Item 1A of Part 2 of the company's quarterly report on 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.

謝謝你。在本次電話會議上作出的某些陳述，包括預計的財務結果和公司的未來（聽不清）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、應該、預期、計劃或類似的表達方式來識別前瞻性陳述。此類陳述受某些風險和不確定因素的影響，這可能導致 Kohl's 的實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述中預測的結果存在重大差異。此類風險和不確定性包括但不限於 Kohl 最近的 10-K 表年度報告第 1A 項和公司第一季度 10-Q 表季度報告第 2 部分第 1A 項中描述的風險和不確定性2022 財年，並可能不時在 Kohl 向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中進行補充，所有這些文件均通過引用明確併入本文。前瞻性陳述與最初作出的日期有關，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. Please note that this call will be recorded. However, replays of this call will not be updated. So if you're listening to a replay of this call, it is possible that the information discussed is no longer current.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. Today's call will be abbreviated as compared to past earnings calls. We are planning the call to last approximately 40 minutes.

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 GAAP 財務措施所需的信息可以在作為我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的 8-K 表格的附件提交的投資者介紹中找到，並且可以在公司的投資者關係網站上找到。請注意，此通話將被錄音。但是，不會更新此通話的重播。因此，如果您正在收聽此電話的重播，則討論的信息可能不再是最新的。 Kohl's 不承擔更新此類信息的義務。與過去的財報電話會議相比，今天的電話會議將會縮短。我們計劃通話持續大約 40 分鐘。

With me this morning are Peter Boneparth, our Independent Chair of the Board; and Jill Timm, our Chief Financial Officer. I will now turn the call over to Peter.

今天早上和我在一起的是我們的獨立董事會主席 Peter Boneparth；和我們的首席財務官 Jill Timm。我現在將電話轉給彼得。

Thank you, Mark, and thank you for joining us this morning. I'm going to provide some brief introductory remarks, and then I'll turn it over to Jill to review our third quarter results. We will then take some Q&A. As we shared last week, Michelle Gass decided to step down as CEO to become the successor CEO at Levi's, a valued brand partner of ours. On behalf of the Board, management and all of our associates, I want to thank Michelle for her contribution to Kohl's during the past 9 years.

謝謝你，馬克，感謝你今天早上加入我們。我將提供一些簡短的介紹性評論，然後我將把它交給吉爾來回顧我們的第三季度業績。然後我們將進行一些問答。正如我們上週分享的那樣，米歇爾·加斯決定辭去首席執行官一職，成為我們重要品牌合作夥伴李維斯的繼任首席執行官。我代表董事會、管理層和所有員工，感謝 Michelle 在過去 9 年中對 Kohl's 所做的貢獻。

Our efforts to strategically transform Kohl's through brand introductions and partnerships like Sephora and her focus on building an inclusive and collaborative culture will benefit the company for years to come. Michelle is an outstanding leader, and we look forward continuing to work closely with her in the future. We have plans in place to facilitate a smooth transition. The Board appointed Tom Kingsbury as Interim CEO. Many of you know Tom from his leadership and success of Burlington. He's highly regarded and an exceptional operator with a keen focus on inventory management. I knew Tom from his early days of Byline, and I personally have always had a great deal of respect for his professionalism, retail acumen and integrity. Tom is no stranger to Kohl's. He calls Milwaukee Home. He's been on the board since 2021 and has been intimately involved in working with Michelle and the team. He is the perfect fit to lead the company during this interim period, and we greatly appreciate his willingness to serve in this capacity. We expect him to hit the ground running.

我們通過品牌介紹和像絲芙蘭這樣的合作夥伴關係對 Kohl's 進行戰略轉型的努力，以及她對建立包容和協作文化的關注，將使公司在未來幾年受益。米歇爾是一位傑出的領導者，我們期待在未來繼續與她密切合作。我們制定了促進平穩過渡的計劃。董事會任命 Tom Kingsbury 為臨時首席執行官。你們中的許多人都知道湯姆是因為他在伯靈頓的領導才能和成功。他備受推崇，是一位非常專注於庫存管理的出色操作員。我從 Tom 早年加入 Byline 就認識他，我個人一直非常尊重他的專業精神、零售敏銳度和正直誠信。 Tom 對 Kohl's 並不陌生。他稱密爾沃基為家。自 2021 年以來，他一直在董事會任職，並密切參與了與米歇爾和團隊的合作。他是在此過渡期間領導公司的最佳人選，我們非常感謝他願意擔任這一職務。我們希望他能一炮而紅。

Given the recent volatility in our business and consumer behavior, the significant macroeconomic headwinds, along with the unexpected CEO transition, we will not be giving guidance for the fourth quarter and are withdrawing our prior outlook for the year. We also want to make sure that the company has the flexibility to take the actions necessary in the fourth quarter to best position the business for 2023. We continue to have strong conviction in our strategies and is our intent to resume providing guidance on our Q4 call in late February for the new fiscal year 2023.

鑑於近期我們的業務和消費者行為的波動、重大的宏觀經濟逆風以及意外的 CEO 換屆，我們將不會提供第四季度的指引，並撤回我們之前對今年的展望。我們還希望確保公司能夠靈活地在第四季度採取必要的行動，為 2023 年的業務做好最佳準備。我們繼續堅信我們的戰略，並打算繼續為我們的第四季度電話會議提供指導2 月下旬，新的 2023 財年。

Now let me spend a few minutes on our next steps. The Board last week formed a committee to oversee the search for a new CEO. Michael Bender, our current Chair of the Nominating and ESG Committee will be leading our efforts with help from Christine Day, Margaret Jenkins as well as Tom and I. Kohl's is a great company with bright prospects, and this is an attractive role and opportunity in the retail industry. We are excited to engage with candidates.

現在讓我花幾分鐘時間談談我們的後續步驟。董事會上周成立了一個委員會來監督新首席執行官的尋找。我們的提名和 ESG 委員會現任主席邁克爾·本德 (Michael Bender) 將在克里斯汀·戴 (Christine Day)、瑪格麗特·詹金斯 (Margaret Jenkins) 以及湯姆和我的幫助下領導我們的工作。Kohl's 是一家前景光明的偉大公司，這是一個有吸引力的角色和機會零售業。我們很高興與候選人接觸。

Let me share with you some of the key characteristics we are looking for in a new CEO. Kohl's has always been known for brands, value and convenience, so it's important that we land to Canada that has great brand-building experience understands our go-to-market value proposition and has deep omnichannel expertise. In addition, we are looking for a leader that can build great teams and drive stellar results while furthering the innovative spirit and conclusive and collaborative culture. We don't have a timeline for you on how long it will take, but we know that the process is underway, and that Tom has agreed to remain interim CEO until a permanent successor is named.

讓我與您分享我們希望新 CEO 具備的一些關鍵特徵。 Kohl's 一直以品牌、價值和便利著稱，因此我們登陸加拿大非常重要，加拿大擁有豐富的品牌建設經驗，了解我們的上市價值主張，並擁有深厚的全渠道專業知識。此外，我們正在尋找一位能夠建立優秀團隊並取得出色成果，同時發揚創新精神和具有決定性的協作文化的領導者。我們沒有關於需要多長時間的時間表，但我們知道該過程正在進行中，並且湯姆已同意在任命永久繼任者之前繼續擔任臨時首席執行官。

This company has been through a lot over the last couple of years. I want to thank our shareholders for the time you've invested in engaging with us as well as thank you for your continued support during this transition period. We are committed to finding the next great CEO to successfully position Kohl's to drive sales, grow earnings and create shareholder value. This Board is also committed to supporting Tom, the management team and the entire associate base during this interim period. I will now turn over the call to Jill to discuss our third quarter results.

這家公司在過去幾年經歷了很多。我要感謝我們的股東投入時間與我們合作，並感謝您在此過渡期間的持續支持。我們致力於尋找下一位偉大的 CEO 來成功地定位 Kohl's 以推動銷售、增加收益和創造股東價值。該董事會還致力於在此過渡期間為 Tom、管理團隊和整個員工群體提供支持。我現在將把電話轉給吉爾，討論我們第三季度的業績。

Thank you, Peter, and good morning everyone. Before I get started, I too want to thank Michelle for her leadership and partnership over the past decade. Let me now review our third quarter results and business performance.

謝謝你，彼得，大家早上好。在開始之前，我也想感謝米歇爾在過去十年中的領導和夥伴關係。現在讓我回顧一下我們第三季度的業績和經營業績。

As we shared last week, Net sales were down approximately 7%. Our operating margin was 4.7% and diluted EPS was $0.82. Our performance during the third quarter was relatively in line with our expectations as the organization continued to manage the business effectively in a challenging macroeconomic environment.

正如我們上週分享的那樣，淨銷售額下降了約 7%。我們的營業利潤率為 4.7%，稀釋後每股收益為 0.82 美元。我們在第三季度的業績相對符合我們的預期，因為該組織在充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境中繼續有效地管理業務。

Persistently high inflation continues to dampen consumer spending and our business, given our exposure to discretionary categories like apparel and home goods, which are facing disproportionate pressure.

鑑於我們面臨著不成比例的壓力的服裝和家居用品等可自由支配的類別，持續高通脹繼續抑制消費者支出和我們的業務。

During the quarter, we saw our middle-income customers continue to purchase fewer items per trip and trade down to our value-oriented private brands. From a channel perspective, store sales outperformed digital and improved sequentially in Q3 due in part to having more Sephora shops open and our investment in labor to enhance execution across the store.

在本季度，我們看到我們的中等收入客戶每次旅行購買的商品繼續減少，並轉向我們以價值為導向的自有品牌。從渠道的角度來看，實體店銷售額在第三季度優於數字渠道，並且環比有所改善，部分原因是有更多的絲芙蘭實體店開業，以及我們在勞動力方面的投資，以提高整個實體店的執行力。

Digital sales were down 8% to last year, but still up nearly 20% to the third quarter of 2019. Digital accounted for 29% of sales.

數字銷售額比去年下降了 8%，但到 2019 年第三季度仍增長了近 20%。數字銷售額佔銷售額的 29%。

From a product perspective, sales of our private brands increased slightly to last year, with strong performance in our top private brands, including Sonoma, Croft & Barrow, Jumping Beans, Nine West, Tek Gear and Lauren Conrad. Accessories with our best-performing line of business up mid-teens percent driven by strong performance from Sephora beauty sales. We continue to see mid- to high single-digit percent sales lifts in stores with Sephora relative to the balance of the chain. This was partially offset by lower sales of jewelry, driven by in-store displacements. Our core women's business outperformed the company average and excluding juniors was flat to last year. We maintain momentum in dresses though experienced weakness in juniors and intimates, which we are working to improve.

從產品角度來看，我們自有品牌的銷售額較去年略有增長，我們的頂級自有品牌表現強勁，包括 Sonoma、Croft & Barrow、Jumping Beans、Nine West、Tek Gear 和 Lauren Conrad。在 Sephora 美妝銷售的強勁表現推動下，我們表現最佳的配飾業務增長了百分之十幾。我們繼續看到絲芙蘭商店的銷售額相對於連鎖店的平衡有中高個位數百分比的提升。這部分被店內轉移導致的珠寶銷售額下降所抵消。我們的核心女性業務表現優於公司平均水平，不包括青少年業務與去年持平。我們在連衣裙方面保持勢頭，儘管我們正在努力改善初級和內衣方面的疲軟。

As it relates to some of our other categories, active underperformed in Q3 versus the company driven by continued softness in active footwear. Our outdoor business continues to outperform with growth from Eddie Bauer and Lands' End.

由於它與我們的其他一些類別相關，因此在第三季度的活躍表現不及受運動鞋類持續疲軟推動的公司。隨著 Eddie Bauer 和 Lands' End 的增長，我們的戶外業務繼續表現出色。

In footwear, we are pleased with the growth achieved in our draft casual business, especially in boots. And lastly, men's performed in line when home and children's underperformed the company average.

在鞋類方面，我們對草稿休閒業務取得的增長感到滿意，尤其是靴子業務。最後，當家庭和兒童表現不及公司平均水平時，男性表現一致。

Now let me turn to the rest of the income statement. Q3 gross margin was 37.3%, down 263 basis points from last year. The decline was driven by an ongoing increase in freight costs, which pressured margin by 150 basis points. Product cost inflation, which was a 50 basis point headwind, as well as elevated shrink levels. Our margin continued to benefit from our pricing and promotional optimization strategies. SG&A expenses decreased 3.3% to $1.3 billion, benefiting primarily from the lack of holiday-based retention incentives this year and lapping last year's Sephora rollout expenses. And through disciplined expense management, we were able to offset some of the continued wage headwinds. Depreciation expense of $202 million was $8 million lower than last year, due to reduced technology capital spend. Interest expense of $81 million was $15 million higher than last year due to Sephora related lease amendments and increased borrowings.

現在讓我轉向損益表的其餘部分。 Q3毛利率為37.3%，較去年下降263個基點。下降的原因是運費成本持續增加，這使利潤率下降了 150 個基點。產品成本通脹，這是一個 50 個基點的逆風，以及更高的收縮水平。我們的利潤率繼續受益於我們的定價和促銷優化策略。 SG&A 費用下降 3.3% 至 13 億美元，主要受益於今年缺乏基於假期的保留激勵措施以及去年的絲芙蘭推出費用。通過嚴格的費用管理，我們能夠抵消一些持續的工資逆風。由於技術資本支出減少，折舊費用為 2.02 億美元，比去年減少 800 萬美元。由於與絲芙蘭相關的租賃修訂和借款增加，利息支出為 8100 萬美元，比去年增加了 1500 萬美元。

Net income for the quarter was $97 million. And as previously reported, earnings per diluted share was $0.82.

該季度的淨收入為 9700 萬美元。正如之前報導的那樣，每股攤薄收益為 0.82 美元。

Turning to the balance sheet and cash flow. Our inventory at quarter end increased 34% to last year with our Sephora at Kohl's beauty investments contributing 5 percentage points of the increase. When compared to third quarter of 2019, inventory was flat. During Q3, we set the pack and hold merchandise on the sales floor and in transit normalized. We feel good about the progress we are making to reduce inventory and continue to expect further improvement by year-end, remaining adult and responsive to the demand environment.

轉向資產負債表和現金流量。我們在季度末的庫存比去年增加了 34%，我們在 Kohl's 美容投資中的絲芙蘭貢獻了 5 個百分點的增長。與 2019 年第三季度相比，庫存持平。在第 3 季度，我們在銷售現場和運輸途中設置了包裝和存放商品的常態化。我們對我們在減少庫存方面取得的進展感到滿意，並繼續期望在年底前進一步改善，保持成熟並響應需求環境。

Operating cash flow was $121 million in the third quarter. Capital expenditures for the quarter were $185 million, driven mainly by Sephora and new stores. We opened 5 new stores in 2022, 4 of which occurred in early November, and relocated another 4 stores. During the quarter, we paid $57 million or $0.50 per share in dividends to shareholders.

第三季度的經營現金流為 1.21 億美元。本季度的資本支出為 1.85 億美元，主要由絲芙蘭和新店推動。我們在 2022 年開了 5 家新店，其中 4 家發生在 11 月初，並搬遷了另外 4 家店。本季度，我們向股東支付了 5700 萬美元或每股 0.50 美元的股息。

In addition, as previously disclosed on November 9, the Board declared another quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share payable to shareholders on December 21. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, we completed our $500 million accelerated share repurchase program. In total, we received 17.9 million shares, which resulted in an average price of approximately $28 per share. From an accounting perspective, we recognized 11.8 million shares in Q3 and we'll recognize the remaining 6.1 million shares in Q4.

此外，正如此前於 11 月 9 日披露的那樣，董事會於 12 月 21 日宣布再次向股東派發每股 0.50 美元的季度現金股息。本季度末，我們完成了 5 億美元的加速股票回購計劃。我們總共收到了 1790 萬股股票，平均價格約為每股 28 美元。從會計角度來看，我們在第三季度確認了 1180 萬股，我們將在第四季度確認剩餘的 610 萬股。

Now let me provide an update on our capital structure and capital allocation priorities. Starting first with our revolving credit facility. As expected, we increased our usage of the revolver during the third quarter, driven by our seasonal inventory build ahead of holiday and to execute the $500 million accelerated share repurchase program.

現在讓我介紹一下我們的資本結構和資本分配優先事項的最新情況。首先從我們的循環信貸額度開始。正如預期的那樣，我們在第三季度增加了左輪手槍的使用，這是由於我們在假期前建立了季節性庫存，並執行了 5 億美元的加速股票回購計劃。

At the end of the third quarter, our outstanding revolver balance was $668 million. Importantly, we expect to fully repay our revolver borrowings in early December, as we move through the key parts of the holiday selling season.

截至第三季度末，我們未償還的循環貸款餘額為 6.68 億美元。重要的是，隨著我們度過假期銷售旺季的關鍵部分，我們預計將在 12 月初全額償還我們的循環借款。

We have consistently communicated that our long-term objective is to maintain our investment-grade rating, supported by prudent balance sheet management, and a leverage target of 2.5x. Our philosophy and objectives have not changed on this front. Looking forward, our capital allocation actions will prioritize the dividend, followed by returning our balance sheet to its historical strength. We plan to pay down our 2 bond maturities totaling $275 million in 2023. We are not planning on repurchasing any additional shares until our balance sheet is strengthened on a path towards our leverage target of 2.5x. We viewed the recently completed $500 million ASR as a pull forward from 2023. And, we recently completed a robust process where we engaged with dozens of industry participants to assess potential asset monetization opportunities for our owned real estate.

我們一直表示，我們的長期目標是在審慎的資產負債表管理和 2.5 倍的槓桿率目標的支持下，維持我們的投資級評級。在這方面，我們的理念和目標沒有改變。展望未來，我們的資本配置行動將優先考慮股息，其次是讓我們的資產負債表恢復到歷史強勢。我們計劃在 2023 年償還總額為 2.75 億美元的 2 筆債券。在我們的資產負債表得到加強以實現我們 2.5 倍的槓桿率目標之前，我們不打算回購任何額外的股票。我們將最近完成的 5 億美元 ASR 視為從 2023 年開始的推動力。而且，我們最近完成了一個穩健的流程，我們與數十家行業參與者合作，評估我們擁有的房地產的潛在資產貨幣化機會。

This included robust engagements with large, fully integrated real estate service firms, specialty real estate advisory and brokerage firms, large institutional real estate investors and specialty real estate investment and private equity firms.

這包括與大型、完全整合的房地產服務公司、專業房地產諮詢和經紀公司、大型機構房地產投資者以及專業房地產投資和私募股權公司的穩固合作。

Given the market volatility and current rate environment, we have concluded that it's best to stay the course and continue with our existing process of regularly evaluating our real estate to maximize asset value, drive long-term profitability and optimize the portfolio with a focus on maintaining balance sheet health and financial flexibility. We will continue to take advantage of favorable opportunities as they arise, but not engage in a transformative sales-leaseback transaction at this time.

鑑於市場波動和當前的利率環境，我們得出的結論是，最好堅持到底並繼續我們現有的定期評估房地產的流程，以最大限度地提高資產價值，推動長期盈利能力並優化投資組合，重點是維持資產負債表健康和財務靈活性。我們將繼續利用出現的有利機會，但此時不會進行變革性的售後回租交易。

Let me share a few comments on our forward outlook. For holiday, knowing how important value is to customers this year, we are amplifying our value messaging through our holiday brand campaign as well as by featuring our private brands more prominently in our marketing and leaning into our iconic Kohl's Cash and Kohl's Rewards programs across key promotional events. Our key product focus areas include an expanded support gifting assortment, increased newness and greater exclusivity in toys, tech and pet, active and cozy apparel and special occasion outfitting such as holiday dresses. Gifting is an important theme in our messaging, and we look forward to serving our customers once again this holiday season, both online and in-store, including our now over 600 stores with Sephora at Kohl's shop.

讓我就我們的前瞻性展望發表一些評論。對於假期，我們知道今年價值對客戶的重要性，我們正在通過我們的假期品牌活動以及通過在我們的營銷中更突出地展示我們的自有品牌以及在關鍵的關鍵領域採用我們標誌性的 Kohl's Cash 和 Kohl's Rewards 計劃來擴大我們的價值信息促銷活動。我們的主要產品重點領域包括擴大支持禮品種類、增加玩具、科技和寵物、運動和舒適服裝以及節日禮服等特殊場合服裝的新穎性和更獨特性。送禮是我們信息傳遞中的一個重要主題，我們期待在這個假期再次為我們的客戶提供在線和店內服務，包括我們現在在 600 多家絲芙蘭商店的 Kohl's 商店。

As it relates to our financial outlook. As Peter stated in his opening remarks, we remain committed to and confident in our strategy. However, we are not providing fourth quarter sales and earnings guidance at this time. It is the prudent thing to do given the recent unpredictable trends in our business, the significant macroeconomic headwinds, along with the unexpected CEO transition. We also want to make sure that we have the flexibility to take the actions necessary to best position the business for 2023.

因為它關係到我們的財務前景。正如彼得在開場白中所說，我們仍然致力於我們的戰略，並對我們的戰略充滿信心。但是，我們目前不提供第四季度的銷售和收益指導。考慮到我們業務中最近不可預測的趨勢、重大的宏觀經濟逆風以及意外的 CEO 換屆，這是謹慎的做法。我們還希望確保我們能夠靈活地採取必要的行動，為 2023 年的業務做好最佳定位。

Let me share a few qualitative comments on recent trends and select financial commentary. In recent weeks, the environment has become more unpredictable to forecast. Following fairly stable trends in August and September, sales decelerated in late October with softness continuing into November as compared to last year. We believe this is primarily a function of a later start to holiday shopping as compared to 2021 when customers were concerned about scarcity of inventory. Given our expectation that the challenging environment will continue in the short term, we're taking actions across multiple fronts to ensure that we are best positioned. We are planning inventory commitments conservatively, executing expense savings opportunities and reducing capital expenditures. We will do this while continuing to invest in our key future growth initiatives. Our partnership with Sephora remains extremely strong, and we are both incredibly focused on building support at Kohl's to $2 billion in sales.

讓我分享一些關於近期趨勢的定性評論和精選的金融評論。最近幾週，環境變得更加難以預測。繼 8 月和 9 月相當穩定的趨勢之後，與去年相比，10 月下旬銷售放緩，11 月持續疲軟。我們認為，這主要是因為與 2021 年相比，假日購物開始得較晚，當時客戶擔心庫存不足。鑑於我們預計充滿挑戰的環境將在短期內持續存在，我們正在多方面採取行動以確保我們處於最佳位置。我們正在保守地規劃庫存承諾，執行費用節省機會並減少資本支出。我們將在這樣做的同時繼續投資於我們未來的關鍵增長計劃。我們與絲芙蘭的合作關係仍然非常牢固，我們都非常專注於為 Kohl's 提供 20 億美元的銷售額支持。

In 2023, we'll open 250 additional Sephora at Kohl's shops, bringing the total to 850, as well as make progress on developing a smaller footprint concept for our remaining 300 stores.

到 2023 年，我們將在 Kohl's 門店新開 250 家絲芙蘭，使總數達到 850 家，並在為我們剩餘的 300 家門店開發更小占地面積概念方面取得進展。

In closing, I want to extend a special thank you to all of our associates. I admire your commitment to putting our customers first each and every day and I greatly value your dedication to Kohl's. The holiday season is a special time for so many reasons, both personally and for our business. I'm excited to see more and more of our customers experience the elevated store environment with Sephora and benefit from our value-driven holiday promotional strategies. With that, Peter and I are happy to take your questions at this time.

最後，我要特別感謝我們所有的同事。我欽佩您每天都將客戶放在首位的承諾，我非常重視您對 Kohl's 的奉獻精神。假期是一個特殊的時期，原因有很多，無論是對個人還是對我們的業務。我很高興看到越來越多的顧客體驗絲芙蘭提升的商店環境，並從我們以價值為導向的假日促銷策略中受益。有了這個，彼得和我很高興在這個時候回答你的問題。

(Operator Instructions) And your first question is from the line of Mark Altschwager with Baird.

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

First, Peter, with respect to the CEO search, could you expand on the key attributes the Board is looking for? Are you looking for an individual who can execute on the current strategy, the company has outlined or perhaps looking to shape things up a bit? And finally, is there a scenario where Tom continues in the role for more than an interim basis?

首先，Peter，關於 CEO 搜尋，您能否詳細說明董事會正在尋找的關鍵屬性？您是否正在尋找能夠執行公司概述的當前戰略或可能希望稍微調整一下的人選？最後，是否存在 Tom 繼續擔任該職位的時間超過臨時基礎的情況？

Yes. Thanks, Mark, as regard to your first question, just to elaborate, the Board and the current management team and Tom are fully aligned that the strategy that we've embarked upon is the right one. So we're not looking for a CEO who's coming in to change the strategy that we've embarked on. What we are looking for is a very strong operator, as I said, somebody who can drive sales, somebody can drive earnings per share. And then somebody who understands the basic tenants behind the Kohl's value proposition and the brand strategy. So, what we are confident in it is that this is amongst the top red jobs in retail and that the search firm is going to lead to us to somebody who can run this business for a long time. As it relates to Tom's ongoing involvement, Tom has committed to us that he will be interim CEO until we find one. So -- while there's no end in date that, it's very clear that his assignment at this point is interim. We couldn't be asking for a better leader at this time given his background and his support of Kohl's along the way.

是的。謝謝，馬克，關於你的第一個問題，只是為了詳細說明，董事會和現任管理團隊以及湯姆完全一致認為我們已經開始的戰略是正確的。所以我們不是在尋找一位 CEO 來改變我們已經開始的戰略。我們正在尋找的是一個非常強大的運營商，正如我所說，有人可以推動銷售，有人可以推動每股收益。然後是了解 Kohl's 價值主張和品牌戰略背後的基本租戶的人。因此，我們有信心的是，這是零售業最熱門的紅色職位之一，獵頭公司將帶領我們找到可以長期經營這項業務的人。由於這與湯姆的持續參與有關，湯姆已向我們承諾，他將擔任臨時首席執行官，直到我們找到一位臨時首席執行官。所以 - 雖然日期沒有結束，但很明顯他此時的任務是臨時的。考慮到他的背景和他對 Kohl's 的一路支持，我們現在找不到更好的領導者了。

And Jill, I know you don't like to provide a lot of monthly detail, but given the decision to withdraw the guide, any more color you can give us on the volatility in late October and early November, would be helpful just as we try to get a sense of what the run rate is kind of exiting the quarter and into early Q4. And then on gross margin, you called out some of the puts and takes in Q3 on freight and costs and shrink. Just any thoughts on what those factors look like in Q4 relative to Q3 based on what you see today?

吉爾，我知道你不喜歡提供很多月度細節，但鑑於決定撤回指南，你能給我們更多關於 10 月底和 11 月初波動的顏色，就像我們一樣試著了解本季度結束和第四季度初的運行率是多少。然後在毛利率方面，你在第三季度調用了一些看跌期權，並在運費、成本和收縮方面取得了進展。根據您今天看到的情況，您對第四季度相對於第三季度的這些因素有何看法？

I think for sales, we mentioned in the call, we saw stable sales in August and September. It was a late part of October that we really saw softness. You can read that into it actually underperformed the quarter. We saw softness continue in November. What I would say is it's moderately better. So we are seeing some improvement. Like we mentioned, we are looking to see that shopper reverting back to more of that pre-pandemic 2019 shopping period because last year, we did see an acceleration due to the scarcity of inventory. But given the volatility and really the uncertainty in the macro environment, we just don't have a lot of visibility into that, which led us to partially withdraw or why we wanted to withdraw the guidance today.

我認為對於銷售，我們在電話中提到，我們在 8 月和 9 月看到了穩定的銷售。十月下旬，我們才真正看到了疲軟。您可以將其讀入實際上表現不佳的季度。我們看到 11 月繼續走軟。我要說的是它稍微好一點。所以我們看到了一些改進。就像我們提到的那樣，我們希望看到購物者更多地回到 2019 年大流行前的購物時期，因為去年，我們確實看到由於庫存稀缺而加速。但考慮到宏觀環境的波動性和不確定性，我們只是對此沒有太多了解，這導致我們部分撤回或為什麼我們今天想撤回指導。

In terms of margin, we had talked a lot about freight being a headwind all year. We knew we would start lapping that as a headwind in Q4. So that will actually moderate. But what does come back in Q4, as you saw, we called out, is that cost inflation. So where freight will moderate cost inflation actually elevates. So we'll see a similar pressure there. And then shrink is just really ongoing. I think you've heard about that more macro. So we've continued to see shrink as a headwind for us. We're doing a lot of things to try to manage that with, of course, the first and foremost priority of us keeping our associates and our customers safe as we go through from that perspective. So I think that's kind of the color I can give you as we move into the fourth quarter. But I would say just overall, it's the uncertainty and the lack of visibility we have, not that we don't have a conviction and confidence in the strategy that we're employing.

就利潤率而言，我們一直在談論貨運是全年的逆風。我們知道我們將在第四季度開始將其視為不利因素。所以這實際上會緩和。但是，正如您所看到的，我們呼籲，第四季度真正回歸的是成本通脹。因此，運費將緩和成本通脹的地方實際上會上升。所以我們會在那裡看到類似的壓力。然後收縮真的在進行中。我想你聽說過更多的宏。因此，我們繼續將收縮視為我們的逆風。我們正在做很多事情來嘗試管理它，當然，從這個角度來看，我們的首要任務是確保我們的員工和客戶的安全。所以我認為這就是我們進入第四季度時我可以給你的顏色。但我想說的是，總的來說，這是我們所擁有的不確定性和缺乏可見性，而不是我們對我們正在採用的戰略沒有信心和信心。

Your next question is from the line of Bob Drbul with Guggenheim.

你的下一個問題來自古根海姆的 Bob Drbul。

I just want to sort of follow up on Mark's questions. But I don't know if this is Peter or Jill or both. But can you just talk about the decision to actually withdraw the guidance versus maybe a wider range. Any framework that you can give us around Q4, but even into '23 as you think about how you want to position the business to '23. I think that would be pretty helpful. And then I do have a follow-up.

我只想跟進一下 Mark 的問題。但我不知道這是彼得還是吉爾，或者兩者兼而有之。但是你能不能談談實際撤回指導的決定，而不是更廣泛的範圍。您可以在第四季度左右為我們提供的任何框架，甚至在您考慮如何將業務定位到 23 年時進入 23 年。我認為這會很有幫助。然後我確實有一個後續行動。

Yes, Bob, maybe I'll start and toss it over to Jill. The -- so as you know, I've been doing this a long time, as have many members of our Board as has Jill, and I would say that the visibility for the fourth quarter has been as difficult as any period, I could remember. So what you have, as we've said, is on the one hand, you had last year a situation where nobody had an inventory. Everybody, as a result, all customers were inclined to buy early and so you had these big numbers early in the quarter, so people had a lot of conviction. Of course, by the end of the quarter, people had inventory problems and issues, and we had that as well. Now you flip over, everybody has a lot of inventory. The customers, obviously, we're anticipating a highly promotional calendar. And then we saw this pronounced slowdown in October going into November was that consumer behavior? Was that weather? Was that the elections? I don't think anybody really knows it's probably a combination of all those 3 factors. You then combine that in our minds, with obviously an unexpected CEO transition and our judgment call, which frankly is a 51-49 call. Our judgment, it was very important to give Tom and the team the latitude in the fourth quarter to execute on our basic strategy, which is to drive value and sales during a very promotional environment. You've heard from other competitors, I think it's consistent with what everybody is saying out there. I think everybody believes that Christmas will come but I don't think any guy out there today knows for sure exactly what's going to happen. I don't know, Jill, if you have anything to add to that?

是的，鮑勃，也許我會開始，然後把它交給吉爾。 - 如你所知，我已經這樣做了很長時間，我們董事會的許多成員和吉爾也是如此，我想說第四季度的可見度與任何時期一樣困難，我可以記住。所以，正如我們所說，一方面，去年你遇到了沒有人有庫存的情況。結果，每個人，所有客戶都傾向於提早購買，所以您在本季度初就有了這些大數字，所以人們有很多信念。當然，到本季度末，人們遇到了庫存問題和問題，我們也有。現在你翻過來，每個人都有很多存貨。客戶，顯然，我們期待一個高度促銷的日曆。然後我們看到 10 月到 11 月的這種明顯放緩是消費者行為嗎？那是天氣嗎？那是選舉嗎？我認為沒有人真正知道這可能是所有這 3 個因素的組合。然後，您將其與我們的想法結合起來，顯然是意外的 CEO 過渡和我們的判斷電話，坦率地說，這是 51-49 的電話。我們的判斷是，在第四季度給予湯姆和團隊執行我們基本戰略的空間非常重要，該戰略是在非常促銷的環境中推動價值和銷售。你從其他競爭對手那裡聽說過，我認為這與那裡每個人所說的一致。我想每個人都相信聖誕節會到來，但我認為今天沒有人確切地知道會發生什麼。我不知道，吉爾，你有什麼要補充的嗎？

No, I would echo sentiment. I think it's really about the unpredictability and the volatility and the trends that we've seen over the last several weeks. It's not that we're not confident in the strategy. As we enter into the holiday season, we know it's going to be very focused on value. It's a core tenant Kohl's. So this affords us the opportunity to make sure that we can compete, go after the market share, we're set up really well. We have 600 Sephora shops. We have a lot of newness across the store, including smart home, Pet leaning into successful areas like outdoor and dress. So we have confidence in the strategy. I think it's much more about the uncertainty and the unpredictability of the macro environment that Peter had mentioned.

不，我會回應情緒。我認為這真的與我們在過去幾週看到的不可預測性和波動性以及趨勢有關。這並不是說我們對戰略沒有信心。當我們進入假期時，我們知道它將非常關注價值。這是核心租戶Kohl's。所以這讓我們有機會確保我們能夠競爭，追求市場份額，我們的設置非常好。我們有 600 家絲芙蘭商店。我們在整個商店都有很多新鮮事物，包括智能家居、寵物進入戶外和服飾等成功領域。所以我們對戰略有信心。我認為更多的是關於彼得提到的宏觀環境的不確定性和不可預測性。

Got it. And Jill, I just -- I have a follow-up question. So I think, one of the brands that you called out was Lauren Conrad brand, one of the products that seems to be creating a lot of chatter is the women's LC Lauren Conrad mid-rise leggings. And I was just wondering if that's enough to really sort of carry the brand if any comments around how that is performing in stock? Or how important it will be to you in the fourth quarter.

知道了。吉爾，我只是 - 我有一個後續問題。所以我認為，您提到的品牌之一是 Lauren Conrad 品牌，其中一款似乎引起大量討論的產品是女士 LC Lauren Conrad 中腰緊身褲。我只是想知道，如果對庫存表現有任何評論，這是否足以真正承載該品牌？或者在第四季度對你來說有多重要。

Well, Lauren, we did call out. I think we have called out, has been a successful brand for us and is really resonating with our customer. I personally am a Lauren Conrad shopper, as everyone knows and who doesn't love a great pair of leggings. So I think it's just really indicative of the success of -- her leggings are doing well, but really just of the brand in general. And we talked about women, the core women's business was flat on the quarter. So when you take out juniors, which we've talked about, we're working through some of the issues we have there. So we feel really happy with how women's is performing. And overall, Lauren is just a great brand. We're happy with the partnership and I'm really happy that you actually know about the Lauren Conrad legging. So apparently, our special marketing is broad reaching.

好吧，勞倫，我們確實打電話了。我認為我們已經大聲疾呼，對我們來說已經成為一個成功的品牌，並且確實引起了我們客戶的共鳴。我個人是 Lauren Conrad 的購物者，眾所周知，誰不喜歡一條漂亮的緊身褲。所以我認為這真的表明了成功——她的緊身褲做得很好，但實際上只是整個品牌的成功。我們談到了女性，核心女性業務在本季度持平。因此，當您刪除我們已經討論過的初級產品時，我們正在解決我們在那裡遇到的一些問題。所以我們對女性的表現感到非常滿意。總的來說，勞倫是一個偉大的品牌。我們很高興與您建立合作夥伴關係，我真的很高興您真正了解 Lauren Conrad 緊身褲。很明顯，我們的特殊營銷影響廣泛。

Your next question is from the line of Gaby Carbone with Deutsche Bank.

你的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Gaby Carbone。

So on inventory, last quarter, you mentioned it would likely be at maybe high teens at the end of the year, which kind of brings you back in line with 2019 levels. Curious if that's kind of how you're still thinking about it. I understand you aren't providing guidance. And then just on the promotional front. Just curious of your activity and kind of how you're thinking about the holiday maybe is still going to be better than what you saw in 2019.

所以關於庫存，上個季度，你提到年底可能會達到十幾歲，這讓你回到了 2019 年的水平。很好奇你是否還在考慮它。我知道你沒有提供指導。然後只是在促銷方面。只是對您的活動以及您對假期的看法感到好奇，也許仍然會比您在 2019 年看到的更好。

Sure. In terms of inventory, I think inventory is actually right where we expect it to be. I think we talked in Q2. We knew we weren't going -- we were going to make improvement, but it wouldn't be a large amount of improvement because we wanted to protect holiday. We wanted to make sure we were flowing those fresh receipts, which we did. So a lot of that benefit would come to us after we flowed the holiday receipts. So we're still very focused on inventory. I know just talking with Tom, it's a key focus of his as well. So you will see that we are positioning ourselves with the flexibility to make sure that we enter 2023, clean and ready to be successful in that year. So I would say we're going to continue to focus and bring that down. I'm happy with the fact that we're flat to '19 from an inventory perspective, even with the investments we're making into beauty. So the progress is right where we expected it to be. In terms of the holiday period, I mean, holiday is always unique. And we know there's a lot of business still in front of us for holiday. We know it's going to be promotional. When Peter started this call, he talked about the core values of Kohl's and value, convenience and brands. And so we're going to really lean into that. We have the iconic Kohl's cash. We have our Kohl's Rewards program. We're going to use our Kohl's credit value offering as well to really drive that business through the holiday season and make sure that we're competitive, and I think that's another portion of what the actions we took, this is really going to give us the flexibility to compete and make sure we're getting that market share.

當然。在庫存方面，我認為庫存實際上就在我們預期的位置。我想我們在第二季度談過。我們知道我們不會去——我們會做出改進，但不會有很大的改進，因為我們想保護假期。我們想確保我們正在流動這些新收據，我們做到了。因此，在我們發放假期收據後，我們會得到很多好處。所以我們仍然非常關注庫存。我知道只是與湯姆交談，這也是他的一個重點。所以你會看到我們正在靈活地定位自己，以確保我們進入 2023 年，乾淨利落，並準備好在那一年取得成功。所以我想說我們將繼續關注並降低它。我很高興從庫存的角度來看我們持平到 19 年，即使我們在美容方面進行了投資。所以進展就在我們預期的地方。就假期而言，我的意思是，假期總是獨一無二的。我們知道假期還有很多事情要做。我們知道這將是促銷活動。當 Peter 開始這個電話時，他談到了 Kohl's 的核心價值以及價值、便利性和品牌。因此，我們將真正依靠它。我們有標誌性的 Kohl's 現金。我們有 Kohl's Rewards 計劃。我們還將使用我們的 Kohl's 信用價值產品來真正推動該業務度過假期，並確保我們具有競爭力，我認為這是我們採取的行動的另一部分，這真的會給我們具有競爭的靈活性並確保我們獲得該市場份額。

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

我們的下一個問題來自 Oliver Chen 和 Cowen 的對話。

Peter, and Jill, nice job on Lauren Conrad as well. As we look ahead and there are some certain environments, which categories do you think might have more promotional intensity? And would love your general views on what's happening with the consumer with these cross currents because there's still as low unemployment and some savings, but the consumer is just becoming much more price conscious.

彼得和吉爾，勞倫康拉德也做得很好。展望未來，在某些特定環境下，您認為哪些類別的促銷力度可能更大？並且會喜歡你對消費者在這些交叉流中發生的事情的一般看法，因為失業率仍然很低並且有一些儲蓄，但消費者只是變得更加註重價格。

Yes, I can definitely start on this one. Well I'll start with the consumer because you talked about it. We mentioned on the call in Q2 and now again, we're seeing it as our lower income customers and higher income customers are growing. We're really seeing that squeeze and who is our core customer, which is the middle income. And that continues into this quarter as well as we watch that customer move. So we know value is important. We also thought Oliver and how they voted in the quarter. They've migrated both in Q2 and Q3 to our proprietary brands. So they've outperformed national brands for the last 2 quarters, which is really the first time that we've seen that in a long time. So we know value is definitely going to win this holiday season, and we need to lean into that. We talked a lot about newness, but even in our Sephora shop, we know that we have an opportunity to elevate gifting. So we'll be doing that. But we're going to have gifts that even start at $35. So really leaning to the fact that we're bringing in a little bit lower income customer and how can we make sure that we're fulfilling their needs across the store. In terms of the promotional intensity, I mean, I definitely think it's going to be widespread. I don't know if there's any particular category that's going to have more promotional intensity than others. I just want you to know that, that is a core fundamental of who Kohl's is, and we're prepared to compete this holiday.

是的，我絕對可以從這個開始。好吧，我將從消費者開始，因為你談到了它。我們在第二季度的電話會議上提到過，現在我們再次看到，我們的低收入客戶和高收入客戶正在增長。我們真的看到了這種擠壓，誰是我們的核心客戶，也就是中等收入。這種情況一直持續到本季度，我們也看到了客戶的動向。所以我們知道價值很重要。我們還想到了奧利弗以及他們在本季度的投票方式。他們在第二季度和第三季度都遷移到了我們的專有品牌。所以他們在過去兩個季度的表現優於民族品牌，這真的是我們很長時間以來第一次看到這種情況。所以我們知道價值肯定會贏得這個假期，我們需要依靠它。我們談了很多關於新奇的事情，但即使在我們的絲芙蘭店裡，我們也知道我們有機會提升禮品。所以我們會這樣做。但我們將提供 35 美元起的禮物。所以真的傾向於這樣一個事實，即我們正在引入收入較低的客戶，以及我們如何確保我們在整個商店滿足他們的需求。就促銷強度而言，我的意思是，我絕對認為它會很普遍。我不知道是否有任何特定類別的促銷力度會比其他類別更大。我只想讓你知道，這是 Kohl's 的核心基礎，我們準備好在這個假期競爭。

Your next question is from the line of Omar Saad with Evercore Partners.

你的下一個問題來自 Evercore Partners 的 Omar Saad。

Jill, could you do a deeper dive on the inventory balance how you feel about the positioning, especially kind of COVID winning categories versus kind of recovery and occasion-driven categories. Do you feel like you're well positioned from an inventory standpoint as consumers return to some of their pre-pandemic shopping behaviors and categories they're shopping in? Or are you comfortable where you're at?

吉爾，你能否更深入地了解一下你對定位的看法，尤其是 COVID 獲勝類別與恢復類別和場合驅動類別的對比。隨著消費者恢復到大流行前的一些購物行為和他們正在購物的類別，從庫存的角度來看，您是否覺得自己處於有利位置？或者你覺得你在哪裡舒服嗎？

Sure. I think from an inventory perspective, last year, as we called out, we were low on inventory. So we really needed to build back. And I think the 2 big places that we've built back in first and foremost was women's. So if we go back over time, we took a transition in women's. We did a lot of exiting out of underperforming brands and then we're trying to bring back in that newness. And it was tough to do last year, given the supply chain disruption. So we were definitely under inventory. I think we feel well positioned from an inventory perspective for women's we're seeing that resonate with the customer, dresses specifically, has been a new category for us, right? We haven't always participated in it, but we know that dresses and dress casual are more important. So we funded into that inventory, and it's definitely been performing for us. You'll see even into the holiday period, we're going to have more dresses really around that holiday occasional dressing as well. So feel good and well positioned from that perspective.

當然。我認為從庫存的角度來看，去年，正如我們所說，我們的庫存很低。所以我們真的需要重建。我認為我們首先建立的兩個重要場所是女性。因此，如果我們回到過去，我們會在女性方面進行轉型。我們做了很多退出表現不佳的品牌，然後我們正試圖恢復這種新鮮感。鑑於供應鏈中斷，去年很難做到。所以我們肯定有庫存。我認為，從我們看到的與客戶產生共鳴的女裝庫存角度來看，我們感覺自己處於有利位置，特別是連衣裙，對我們來說是一個新類別，對吧？我們並沒有一直參與其中，但我們知道連衣裙和休閒裝更重要。因此，我們為該庫存提供了資金，它肯定為我們發揮了作用。你甚至會看到，即使是在假期期間，我們也會有更多的連衣裙真正圍繞著假期的偶爾著裝。因此，從這個角度來看，感覺良好且定位良好。

In home, we're actually moving back into some of our electronics smart home TVs, things that we haven't necessarily participated in, but we know our big Black Friday deal drivers for people to come to the store. So I think the newness that they're bringing in an electronics is great. And then we're also expanding our outdoor business. And so you're going to see things like tents and coolers and seating. So that's really going to build off about the strength that we've had over the past quarter. And then I think last is active is a place that you've seen softness. But on the apparel side, we're still trending well. So you're going to see that we move that to the front of the store with Sephora, you're going to see that we're going to have a great array of product, but really going to see more on our flex and tech gear because of the value orientation of those products, which are going to be much more important during the holiday season. So I think as I look across inventory, I feel like the progress we made is where we expect it to be, we feel good with the content that we have as we head into holiday, and then we will have the flexibility to make any moves that we need to, to make sure we enter 2023 from a strong position.

在家裡，我們實際上正在回到我們的一些電子智能家居電視，我們不一定參與的事情，但我們知道我們的黑色星期五大交易推動人們來到商店。所以我認為他們引入電子產品的新意很棒。然後我們也在擴大我們的戶外業務。所以你會看到像帳篷、冷卻器和座位這樣的東西。因此，這真的會鞏固我們在過去一個季度所擁有的實力。然後我認為最後一個活躍的地方是您已經看到的柔軟度。但在服裝方面，我們的趨勢仍然不錯。所以你會看到我們將它與絲芙蘭一起搬到商店的前面，你會看到我們將擁有大量的產品，但實際上會看到更多關於我們的彈性和技術齒輪，因為這些產品的價值導向，這將在假期期間變得更加重要。所以我認為，當我查看庫存時，我覺得我們取得的進展是我們預期的，我們對進入假期時所擁有的內容感覺良好，然後我們將可以靈活地採取任何行動我們需要這樣做，以確保我們以強勢地位進入 2023 年。

Got it. And then maybe any quick thoughts on what's going on in the active footwear side of the business? And any levers you can pull to get that going again?

知道了。然後也許對業務的活動鞋類方面發生了什麼有什麼快速的想法？你可以拉動什麼槓桿讓這一切再次發生？

Yes. I think right now, it's about the supply chain and just getting the newness then. When we do get newness, it sells well. We just don't have enough of it. From my understanding, we should start seeing a flow happen more in Q1. So we expect spring of '23, we'll start pushing that back into a positive zone. But I would say what I'm excited about in footwear Omar is the dress side of the business is really coming through we actually ran positive comps there, and we have a great boot business happening as well, which is a good statement as we move into the holiday period. So I think active footwear will lag a little bit, but really excited about the dress side of the business.

是的。我認為現在，它是關於供應鏈的，然後才獲得新鮮感。當我們獲得新品時，它就會賣得很好。我們只是沒有足夠的。根據我的理解，我們應該開始看到第一季度更多的流量發生。所以我們預計 23 年春天，我們將開始將其推回到正區域。但我要說的是，我對 Omar 鞋類業務感到興奮的是，業務的服裝方面確實正在實現，我們實際上在那裡進行了積極的競爭，我們也有很好的靴子業務，這是一個很好的聲明，因為我們移動進入假期。所以我認為運動鞋會有點滯後，但對服裝方面的業務真的很興奮。

Your next question is from the line of Ashley Helgans with Jefferies.

你的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Ashley Helgans。

It's Blake on for Ashley. I wanted to ask 2 questions. One on the promotions and just the impact to gross margins. So I think you mentioned freight is a headwind in Q3 and then product cost inflation. I don't know if you could hone in a little bit more on the gross margin impact from promotions? And then maybe any directional read how we should be thinking about Q4 or promotions.

布萊克替阿什莉上場。我想問2個問題。一個關於促銷以及對毛利率的影響。所以我認為你提到運費是第三季度的逆風，然後是產品成本通脹。我不知道您是否可以進一步了解促銷對毛利率的影響？然後可能有任何方向性的閱讀我們應該如何考慮第四季度或促銷活動。

I think, as you know, we have had a strategy around our pricing and promotion and really optimizing that. So we actually called that out as a benefit to our margin in the third quarter, really helping offset some of these headwinds as well as helping us when we had to clear through some inventory offset that. What I'd actually say is we're optimizing those promotions to be much more effective as well. So much more targeted offers, much more personalized offers, eliminating a lot of stackability, which was confusing for the customer because they had to do math. So really making sure that the offers that we're putting in are meaningful to the customer to drive their behavior. So that strategy is still being employed, pricing being really important during this holiday season to make sure that we're being competitive and then underlying where is that extra benefit we can get from Kohl's cash specifically and then of course, all offers.

我認為，正如你所知，我們已經制定了定價和促銷策略，並真正優化了它。所以我們實際上稱這是對我們第三季度利潤率的好處，確實有助於抵消其中的一些不利因素，並在我們不得不通過一些庫存抵消時幫助我們。我實際上要說的是，我們正在優化這些促銷活動，使其更加有效。這麼多更有針對性的報價，更加個性化的報價，消除了很多可堆疊性，這讓客戶感到困惑，因為他們必須做數學。因此，真正確保我們提供的優惠對客戶有意義，以推動他們的行為。因此，該策略仍在採用，定價在這個假期期間非常重要，以確保我們具有競爭力，然後潛在的是我們可以從 Kohl 的現金中獲得額外的好處，當然還有所有優惠。

As we move into holiday, it's always promotional. It's something that Kohl's has thrived in over the years as we know how to be promotional. We know how to lean in and out. And I think the agility that we have today is a new muscle that you haven't seen in years past. So we're going to be able to make those moves much more quickly, dependent on what we're seeing from a consumer perspective. So we're able to promote to be competitive, promote to see the product is moving and promote much more in a targeted manner to move consumer behavior. So I feel that, this actually plays to a strength of Kohl's, and we're set up to take advantage of that in the fourth quarter.

當我們進入假期時，它總是促銷。這是 Kohl's 多年來蓬勃發展的領域，因為我們知道如何進行促銷。我們知道如何進出。而且我認為我們今天擁有的敏捷性是您過去幾年從未見過的新肌肉。因此，我們將能夠更快地採取這些行動，這取決於我們從消費者的角度所看到的情況。因此，我們能夠提升競爭力，提升產品的吸引力，並以有針對性的方式提升消費者行為。所以我覺得，這實際上發揮了科爾的優勢，我們準備在第四季度利用這一優勢。

That's great to hear. And then also on Sephora, just wondering, you've had some of those stores now for about a year or year plus. So just wondering if you could comment a little more broadly on how those stores are comping. And then how do you expect that customer to hold up under inflation versus your chain average?

聽到這個消息我很高興。然後在絲芙蘭，只是想知道，你已經擁有其中一些商店大約一年或一年多了。所以只是想知道你是否可以更廣泛地評論一下這些商店的競爭情況。然後，與您的連鎖店平均水平相比，您如何期望該客戶在通貨膨脹下堅持下去？

Sure. What I would say is, one, we're still seeing great performance from Sephora. They're up mid- to high single digits, so outperforming the balance of the chain. So we feel good. The stores obviously just count for 1 month of the quarter but it is positive. So we feel great that they are comping. I think that we're seeing in a beauty sales. I think that we're seeing across is that beauty people need it. They see this as a need. We've always said this is a traffic driver for us. It's why they come back. And even during inflationary times, they need to replenish their lipstick or makeup for cosmetics and skin care. So we feel like this is definitely a thing that can continue to drive our business during the holiday period like I mentioned on the call, we know last year, gifting was something that outperformed for us. So you're going to see a much more expanded gifting assortment this year. We're going to have some very good value price points to really take into accountability of the uncertainty and the inflationary environment that we're in. And we're going to do this all with a much more elevated marketing support and partnership with Sephora. So I think we feel great with the strategy as it unfolds. We feel great as those first 200 stores start hitting their comp year, and we feel really well set up for the holiday period.

當然。我要說的是，第一，我們仍然看到絲芙蘭的出色表現。它們是中高個位數，因此超過了連鎖店的平衡。所以我們感覺很好。商店顯然只計算本季度的 1 個月，但這是積極的。所以我們對他們的表現感到非常高興。我認為我們在美容銷售中看到。我認為我們看到的是美麗的人需要它。他們認為這是一種需要。我們一直說這是我們的交通司機。這就是他們回來的原因。甚至在通貨膨脹時期，他們也需要補充口紅或化妝品以進行化妝品和皮膚護理。所以我們覺得這絕對可以在假期期間繼續推動我們的業務，就像我在電話中提到的那樣，我們知道去年，送禮對我們來說表現出色。因此，今年您將看到更多種類的禮品。我們將有一些非常有價值的價格點，以真正考慮到我們所處的不確定性和通貨膨脹環境的責任。我們將通過更高的營銷支持和與絲芙蘭的合作來實現這一切.所以我認為我們對這個戰略的展開感覺很好。我們感覺很棒，因為前 200 家商店開始迎來他們的補償年度，我們感覺為假期做好了很好的準備。

Your next question is from the line of Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

你的下一個問題來自 Chuck Grom 與 Gordon Haskett 的對話。

Good to see the progress on inventory, Jill. Last quarter, you guys provided a really nice slide on packing that across different buckets, Kohl in transit, Sephora, packet hold. I was wondering if you could maybe frame out those buckets for us, how does this go around?

很高興看到庫存方面的進展，吉爾。上個季度，你們提供了一個非常好的幻燈片，介紹了跨不同桶的包裝，運輸中的科爾，絲芙蘭，小包。我想知道你是否可以為我們設計出這些桶，這是怎麼回事？

Yes. So it made it a lot easier on us, Chuck. Honestly, the pack and hold is on the floor. So it is literally not a difference to last year. Obviously, we didn't buy into that inventory. So that went away in third quarter. And then we mentioned on the Kohl in transit really just kind of came back in line. I think you saw across the supply chain disruption. We had written in a lot of extra time that wasn't needed because the ports are pretty clear. There's capacity in that -- in the shipping lanes. So we were able to really normalize that. So we didn't have to call it out. The one thing we did call out is about 500 basis points for beauty. So as we now have the 600 stores open, we made that investment into inventory. So that was the only reconciling item. So really trying to simplify what we're looking at. But even with beauty flat to 2019. So we do feel good the progress, but more progress to come, as we mentioned, going through Q4.

是的。所以這讓我們輕鬆多了，查克。老實說，收拾行李就在地板上。所以這實際上與去年沒有區別。顯然，我們沒有購買該庫存。所以這在第三季度消失了。然後我們在運輸途中提到的 Kohl 真的有點回到隊列中。我想你看到了整個供應鏈中斷。我們寫了很多不需要的額外時間，因為端口非常清晰。那是有能力的——在航道上。所以我們能夠真正將其正常化。所以我們不必大聲疾呼。我們所做的一件事是關於美容的大約 500 個基點。因此，由於我們現在開設了 600 家商店，我們將這筆投資用於庫存。所以這是唯一的協調項目。所以真的想簡化我們正在看的東西。但即使到 2019 年美妝持平。所以我們確實對進展感到滿意，但正如我們提到的那樣，我們會在第四季度取得更多進展。

All right. I think that was our last question. So I just want to thank you, everyone, for listening on the call today, and wish you a wonderful holiday season.

好的。我認為這是我們的最後一個問題。所以我只想感謝大家今天的電話會議，並祝你們度過一個愉快的假期。

Thank you all for joining Kohl's Corporation Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. This does conclude today's call. You may now disconnect.

感謝大家參加科爾公司 2022 年第三季度收益電話會議。今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。