柯爾百貨 (KSS) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Briana, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the Kohl's Corporation third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Please note that this call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝你的支持。我叫 Briana，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。現在，我歡迎大家參加 Kohl's Corporation 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。請注意，此通話正在錄音。 （操作員說明）

I'll now turn the conference over to Mark Rupe. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我將把會議交給馬克魯普 (Mark Rupe)。請繼續，先生。

Thank you. Certain statements made on this call, including projected financial results and the company's future initiatives, are 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 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.

謝謝。本次電話會議所做的某些陳述，包括預期的財務表現和公司的未來舉措，均為前瞻性陳述。此類陳述存在某些風險和不確定性，可能導致科爾的實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述中的預測有重大差異。此類風險和不確定性包括但不限於Kohl's 最新10-K 表格年度報告第1A 項中描述的風險和不確定性，以及Kohl's 向SEC 提交的其他文件中可能不時補充的風險和不確定性，所有這些風險和不確定性明確地透過引用併入本文。

Forward-looking statements relate to the date initially made, and Kohl's undertakes no obligation to update them. In addition, during this call, we make reference to non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliation of 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.

前瞻性陳述涉及最初做出的日期，科爾士百貨不承擔更新這些陳述的義務。此外，在本次電話會議中，我們參考了非公認會計準則財務指標。非 GAAP 財務指標的調整可以在作為我們向 SEC 提交的 8-K 表格附件提交的投資者簡報中找到，也可以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 So if you're listening to a replay of this call, it is possible that the information discussed is no longer current, and Kohl's undertakes no obligation to update such information.

請注意，此通話將會被錄音。不過，本次通話的重播不會更新。因此，如果您正在收聽本次電話會議的重播，則討論的資訊可能不再是最新的，並且 Kohl's 不承擔更新此類資訊的義務。

With me this morning are Michael Bender, our Independent Chair of the Board; Tom Kingsbury, our CEO; and Jill Timm, our Chief Financial Officer.

今天早上和我在一起的是我們的獨立董事會主席 Michael Bender；湯姆·金斯伯里，我們的執行長；和我們的財務長吉爾蒂姆。

I will now turn the call over to Michael.

我現在將把電話轉給邁克爾。

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 Tom and Jill to review our third quarter results. We will then take some Q&A.

謝謝你，馬克。感謝您今天早上加入我們。我將提供一些簡短的介紹性發言，然後我將把它交給湯姆和吉爾審查我們的第三季業績。然後我們將進行一些問答。

As I shared last night, Tom Kingsbury will step down as CEO effective January 15, 2025, and will stay on in an advisory role to the new CEO and retain his position on the Board through his retirement in May of 2025. On behalf of the Board, management and all our associates, I want to thank Tom for his leadership and ongoing service to Kohl's.

正如我昨晚分享的那樣，湯姆·金斯伯里(Tom Kingsbury) 將於2025 年1 月15 日辭去首席執行官職務，並將繼續擔任新首席執行官的顧問，並在2025 年5 月退休之前保留其在董事會的職位。

Tom has a lot of history with Kohl's, as many of you know, and we are grateful for him stepping in to lead us through our transformation over the past couple of years. I'm excited to share that the Board has appointed a retail veteran Ashley Buchanan as CEO effective January 15.

正如你們許多人所知，湯姆與 Kohl's 有著悠久的歷史，我們非常感謝他在過去幾年中介入並帶領我們完成轉型。我很高興地告訴大家，董事會已任命零售業資深人士阿什利·布坎南 (Ashley Buchanan) 為首席執行官，自 1 月 15 日起生效。

Ashley has been CEO of Michaels Companies since 2020 and prior to that, held a variety of senior executive roles at Walmart and Sam's Club during his 13 years at the company. His vast retail experience, leading operations, merchandising and e-commerce will bring a steady, proven leader to Kohl's, as we continue to transform the business and drive future growth.

Ashley 自 2020 年起擔任 Michaels Companies 的首席執行官，在此之前，他在公司工作的 13 年期間曾在沃爾瑪和山姆會員店擔任過各種高級管理職位。他豐富的零售經驗、領導的營運、銷售和電子商務將為 Kohl's 帶來穩定、可靠的領導者，幫助我們繼續實現業務轉型並推動未來成長。

Ashley has driven change by setting a clear vision, empowering teams and practicing organizational accountability for results. We know he will be a great leader and bring a new perspective in our next chapter.

阿什利（Ashley）透過設定清晰的願景、授權團隊和實行組織對結果負責來推動變革。我們知道他將成為一位偉大的領導者，並為我們的下一章帶來新的視角。

I'll now turn over the call to Tom to discuss our third-quarter results.

我現在將電話轉給湯姆，討論我們的第三季業績。

Thank you, Michael, and good morning, everyone. I would first like to thank Michael, the broader Board and management team and our associates for the opportunity to lead this great company during the past couple of years. Kohl's long-term opportunity is significant, and I look forward to supporting Ashley through the transition.

謝謝你，邁克爾，大家早安。我首先要感謝邁克爾、更廣泛的董事會和管理團隊以及我們的同事，讓我有機會在過去幾年裡領導這家偉大的公司。科爾的長期機會是重要的，我期待著支持阿什利完成過渡。

Turning to our third quarter results. They did not meet our expectations and were frankly disappointing. Sales have been a challenge for us throughout 2024 and weakened further in Q3. Over the last several quarters, we have implemented a significant amount of change across our assortment, value strategies and in-store experience. We believe these actions will make us more competitive over the long term.

轉向我們第三季的業績。他們沒有達到我們的期望，坦白說令人失望。整個 2024 年銷售一直是我們面臨的挑戰，並在第三季進一步疲軟。在過去的幾個季度中，我們在品類、價值策略和店內體驗方面實施了重大變革。我們相信，從長遠來看，這些行動將使我們更具競爭力。

However, we undervalued the short-term impact this change could add on our sales performance. Comparable sales in the third quarter declined 9% as sales remained soft in our apparel and footwear businesses.

然而，我們低估了這項變化可能對我們的銷售業績產生的短期影響。由於我們的服裝和鞋類業務的銷售仍然疲軟，第三季的可比銷售額下降了 9%。

Although we had a strong collective performance across our key growth areas, including Sephora, Home Decor, Gifting and Impulse and also benefited from the opening of Babies"R"Us shops in 200 of our stores. These are unable to offset the declines in our core business. We are not satisfied with our performance and are taking aggressive action to reverse the sales to clients. We must execute at a higher level and ensure we are putting the customer first in everything we do.

儘管我們在絲芙蘭、家居裝飾、禮品和衝動等關鍵成長領域取得了強勁的集體業績，並且還受益於我們 200 家商店中 Babies"R"Us 商店的開業。這些都無法抵銷我們核心業務的下滑。我們對自己的業績並不滿意，正在採取積極行動扭轉對客戶的銷售。我們必須在更高的水平上執行，並確保我們所做的一切都將客戶放在第一位。

As Jill will discuss later in the call, our updated fiscal year 2024 guidance reflects the continuation of the sales pressure we have seen this year and our expectation for a highly competitive holiday season.

正如吉爾稍後將在電話會議中討論的那樣，我們更新的 2024 財年指導反映了我們今年看到的銷售壓力的持續以及我們對競爭激烈的假期季節的預期。

My main focus today will be discussing the key drivers of our sales weakness and the actions we are taking to stabilize the sales trend now and going forward. In assessing our business during the third quarter, we identified three areas that led to our underperformance. They include a decline in traffic, especially early in the quarter during the back-to-school season; our reduction in receipts in our private apparel brands, which impacted our ability to drive sales in our key value items; and categories where we have lost traction that represented opportunities for us going forward, such as fine jewelry, petites and apparel and legacy home products.

我今天的主要重點將討論我們銷售疲軟的關鍵驅動因素，以及我們為穩定當前和未來的銷售趨勢所採取的行動。在評估第三季的業務時，我們發現了三個導致業績不佳的領域。其中包括交通量下降，尤其是在本季初的返校季節；我們自有服裝品牌的收入減少，這影響了我們推動關鍵價值產品銷售的能力；以及我們失去吸引力的類別，這些類別為我們提供了前進的機會，例如高級珠寶、小型服裝和傳統家居產品。

Let's start with the first area, which is the decline in traffic. In Q3, transactions declined approximately 3% after increasing approximately 2% in Q2. This change represented the entire deceleration in comparable sales in Q3 versus Q2. Softness in transactions was most notable early in the quarter, during the back-to-school season with August being the weakest month.

我們先從第一個面向開始，就是流量的下降。第三季交易量繼第二季成長約 2% 後下降約 3%。這一變化代表了第三季可比銷售額相對第二季的整體減速。交易疲軟在本季初、返校季期間最為明顯，其中八月是最疲軟的月份。

Our children's business was especially challenged in apparel during this time, though improved late in the quarter. We are highly focused on driving traffic. In response to the softer trends experienced in Q3, we are increasing our touch points with our most engaged customers through more targeted offers and direct mail if they have shown a greater responsiveness to this form of marketing.

在此期間，我們的兒童服裝業務尤其受到挑戰，儘管在本季末有所改善。我們高度關注增加流量。為了應對第三季的疲軟趨勢，我們將透過更有針對性的優惠和直郵來增加與最活躍客戶的接觸點（如果他們對這種行銷形式表現出更大的反應）。

In addition, given that our customer continues to be pressured, we are showcasing the great value we are offering this holiday across our merchandise assortment and our marketing message. We will also lean into social and digital marketing to continue to drive new customer acquisition and see a significant opportunity to capitalize on the nearly 4 million new Kohl's Rewards members added in 2024 with targeted rewards-only events during the holiday season.

此外，鑑於我們的客戶繼續面臨壓力，我們將透過我們的商品種類和行銷訊息展示我們在這個假期提供的巨大價值。我們還將依靠社交和數位行銷來繼續推動新客戶的獲取，並看到利用 2024 年增加的近 400 萬新 Kohl's Rewards 會員的重大機會，並在假期期間舉辦有針對性的僅限獎勵活動。

The second area is a reduction in receipts in our private apparel brands, which impacted our ability to drive sales in our key value items. Over the past 18 months, we have managed inventory very tightly, largely driven by new processes implemented by operating with more open-to-buy liquidity and clearing goods on a more regular basis.

第二個領域是我們自有服飾品牌的收入減少，這影響了我們推動關鍵價值產品銷售的能力。在過去的 18 個月裡，我們非常嚴格地管理庫存，這主要是透過利用更多開放購買流動性和更定期地清算貨物而實施的新流程推動的。

At the same time, we increased our inventory investments in our key growth categories such as Sephora, home decor, gifting and impulse. And we have also brought in a significant number of new market brands to capitalize on trend-right merchandise.

同時，我們增加了絲芙蘭、家居裝飾、禮品和衝動等關鍵成長類別的庫存投資。我們也引進了大量新市場品牌來利用潮流商品。

Together, these investments led to meaningfully lower receipt levels in the private apparel brands, which our customers rely on. In Q3, private brand inventory decreased more than 20% as compared to the prior year and for several of our key brands, it decreased even more.

這些投資共同顯著降低了我們客戶所依賴的自有服裝品牌的收入水準。第三季度，自有品牌庫存比去年同期下降了20%以上，其中幾個主要品牌的下降幅度更大。

Given the importance of opening price points in the current environment, not having the appropriate level of private brands hurt our ability to serve our customers. This had an outsized impact in our women's business where we have the highest private brand penetration. It was also evident in our men's and children's businesses. And although we are pleased with the positive sell-throughs we are seeing as newness in our private brands hits the selling floor.

鑑於當前環境下開放價格點的重要性，沒有適當水準的自有品牌會損害我們服務客戶的能力。這對我們擁有最高自有品牌滲透率的女性業務產生了巨大影響。這在我們的男士和兒童業務中也很明顯。儘管我們對積極的銷售情況感到滿意，但我們看到自有品牌的新產品正在進入銷售市場。

We simply did not have enough private brands inventory given our investments in market brands and our key growth categories. I want to be clear though, we continue to believe our market brand strategy and investments into the key growth categories are the right long-term strategic moves. We simply must do a better job of balancing these initiatives while managing the core business.

考慮到我們對市場品牌和關鍵成長類別的投資，我們根本沒有足夠的自有品牌庫存。但我想澄清的是，我們仍然相信我們的市場品牌策略和對關鍵成長類別的投資是正確的長期策略舉措。我們必須在管理核心業務的同時更好地平衡這些舉措。

Let me now share the immediate actions we are taking to regain balance across our assortment. Number one, we have already begun to balance our buys in the near term to ensure we have the proper inventory support for our key private brands. This is evident in our in-transit inventory levels, which consists primarily of our private brands increasing 40% when compared to the prior year. These goods are now hitting the selling floor in time for holiday.

現在讓我分享我們正在採取的立即行動，以恢復我們產品種類的平衡。第一，我們已經開始在短期內平衡我們的採購，以確保我們為我們的主要自有品牌提供適當的庫存支援。這在我們的在途庫存水準上顯而易見，主要由我們的自有品牌組成，與前一年相比增加了 40%。這些商品現在正趕上假期進入銷售市場。

Additionally, we are ensuring that we are leveraging market brands opportunistically through a chase approach as we build our presence rather than a replacement for our private brands, which have been taking place. While it will take some time to reposition our inventory, we do expect our actions to deliver improved relative trends in Q4 with greater benefit in early 2025.

此外，我們確保在建立自己的影響力時，透過追逐方式機會主義地利用市場品牌，而不是取代我們正在發生的自有品牌。雖然重新定位我們的庫存需要一些時間，但我們確實預期我們的行動將改善第四季的相對趨勢，並在 2025 年初帶來更大的效益。

And the third area is categories where we have lost traction that represent opportunities for us going forward. The most notable example of this was our exit from the fine jewelry business, a category that has been highly valued by our customers. As we introduced shops into our stores, the fine jewelry business was largely displaced which resulted in a persistent headwind to our sales performance for many periods.

第三個領域是我們失去吸引力的類別，這些類別代表我們前進的機會。最顯著的例子是我們退出高級珠寶業務，該業務一直受到客戶的高度重視。當我們在店內引入商店時，高級珠寶業務大部分被​​取代，這導致我們的銷售業績在許多時期持續受到阻力。

On a positive note, we are excited to reintroduce fine jewelry to our customers this holiday season in 200 of our stores. We will also have an expanded in-aisle placement of bridge jewelry in all stores, which will build up the positive sales growth we saw in Q3 for fashion and bridge jewelry.

從積極的方面來看，我們很高興能在這個假期期間在我們的 200 家商店向顧客重新推出高級珠寶。我們還將在所有商店中擴大過道內的過橋珠寶擺放位置，這將促進我們在第三季度看到的時尚和過橋珠寶的積極銷售增長。

Overall, we expect much stronger performance in the jewelry category in Q4 based on our initiatives. In addition to jewelry, we also see opportunities in petite, intimates and our legacy home business. In petite, we meaningfully reduced our presence in 2022, a move that at the time was in conjunction with actions to reduce inventory.

整體而言，根據我們的舉措，我們預期第四季珠寶類別的表現會更加強勁。除了珠寶之外，我們還看到了嬌小的內衣和我們傳統的家居業務的機會。簡而言之，我們在 2022 年有意義地減少了我們的存在，而這項舉措當時與減少庫存的行動相結合。

This was a shortsighted decision that we are committed to resolving. In 2024, we increased our petites offering and expanded the assortments through all stores this quarter. Based on this, we expect our petites business to build in Q4 and into 2025, continuing the initial momentum we began to see in Q3.

這是一個短視的決定，我們致力於解決這個問題。 2024 年，我們在本季度增加了小型產品，並擴大了所有商店的品種。基於此，我們預計我們的小型業務將在第四季度持續到 2025 年，延續我們在第三季開始看到的最初勢頭。

In intimates, we continue to see sales pressure in Q3. As I touched on last quarter, we have struggled with some of the key brands in our assortments due in part to lack of inventory depth, which is important in this highly sized intensive category.

在內衣方面，我們繼續看到第三季的銷售壓力。正如我在上個季度談到的那樣，我們在產品類別中的一些關鍵品牌上遇到了困難，部分原因是缺乏庫存深度，這對於這個規模龐大的密集型類別非常重要。

During Q3, we accelerated newness and enhanced step across all brands, which led to better results as we move through the quarter, including a 500 basis point trend improvement in October. We expect trends to further build in Q4, driven by better inventory support and incremental newness supported in key marketing events.

在第三季度，我們加快了所有品牌的創新步伐並加強了步伐，這使得我們在本季度取得了更好的業績，包括 10 月份的趨勢改善了 500 個基點。我們預計，在更好的庫存支援和關鍵行銷活動支援的增量新穎性的推動下，第四季度趨勢將進一步增強。

And in our legacy home business, sales within kitchen electrics, floor care and bedding remain challenging. However, we are optimistic that our efforts will gain traction this holiday season driven by increased innovation, new brand introductions and a stronger value messaging.

在我們的傳統家居業務中，廚房電器、地板護理和床上用品的銷售仍然充滿挑戰。然而，我們樂觀地認為，在創新的增加、新品牌的推出和更強大的價值訊息的推動下，我們的努力將在這個假期獲得牽引力。

Our efforts include launching our new private bedding and bath brand in all stores, new assortments in floor care and compelling promotions targeted at kitchen electrics, which is a highly price-sensitive category.

我們的努力包括在所有商店推出新的私人床上用品和浴室品牌、地板護理的新品種以及針對廚房電器（這是一個對價格高度敏感的類別）的引人注目的促銷活動。

So to summarize, we have identified the key areas of our business that have pressured our performance, and we are taking aggressive action to reverse the sales declines. We expect that fixing these areas, while continuing to benefit from our key growth initiatives, will improve the overall sales trend starting in Q4 with full benefit accruing in 2025.

總而言之，我們已經確定了對我們業績造成壓力的關鍵業務領域，並且我們正在採取積極行動來扭轉銷售下滑的局面。我們預計，解決這些領域的問題，同時繼續受益於我們的關鍵成長舉措，將從第四季度開始改善整體銷售趨勢，並在 2025 年全面受益。

Now let me provide an update on the progress we have made in our key growth categories that are going to drive the business in Q4 and serve as a foundation for growth going forward.

現在，讓我介紹一下我們在關鍵成長類別方面取得的最新進展，這些類別將推動第四季度的業務發展，並為未來的成長奠定基礎。

Starting first with Sephora, which continued to deliver strong growth in Q3, with total beauty sales increasing 15%. Comparable beauty sales increased 9%, which was an acceleration on a two-year basis as compared to the second quarter.

首先是絲芙蘭，該公司在第三季繼續強勁成長，美容品總銷售額成長了 15%。可比美容產品銷售額成長 9%，與第二季度相比，兩年間成長速度有所加快。

Fragrance, bath and body, and skin care were especially strong in the quarter. And brands, including and Sephora Collection drove solid growth.

香水、沐浴和身體護理以及皮膚護理在本季尤其強勁。包括 Sephora Collection 在內的品牌推動了穩健成長。

Looking ahead, we are confident in our ability to continue driving strong Sephora growth. For holiday, we have significantly expanded our gifting assortment, building off of last year's success, and we see cross-shopping as a key opportunity to capitalize on and Sephora will be in more than 1,050 of our stores this holiday, 15% more than last year.

展望未來，我們對持續推動絲芙蘭強勁成長的能力充滿信心。在節日期間，我們在去年成功的基礎上大幅擴展了禮品種類，我們認為交叉購物是一個重要的利用機會，絲芙蘭將在這個節日進入我們超過 1,050 家商店，比去年增加 15%年。

Now let me provide an update on our progress in building our business in the underpenetrated categories of home decor, gifting, impulse, and beauty care. In Q3, sales from these categories continue to build.

現在，讓我介紹一下我們在家居裝飾、禮品、衝動和美容護理等滲透不足的類別中建立業務的最新進展。第三季度，這些類別的銷售額持續成長。

Let me highlight a few of the key takeaways. In our home business, sales of seasonal and everyday decor increased more than 50% year over year. And we also experienced solid growth across many other areas such as storage, wall art our glassware and pets.

讓我強調一些關鍵要點。在我們的家居業務中，季節性和日常裝飾品的銷售額同比增長超過 50%。我們在許多其他領域也經歷了穩健的成長，例如儲存、牆壁藝術、玻璃器皿和寵物。

In Impulse, we drove sales growth of more than 40% as we expanded queue lines to 200 more stores in the third quarter. We expect strong growth to continue as we enter the holiday season with queue lines in 435 of our stores.

在 Impulse，我們在第三季將排隊擴大到 200 家以上，推動銷售額成長超過 40%。隨著我們進入假期季節，我們預計將繼續強勁增長，435 家商店都在排隊。

And I'm happy to share that we successfully launched Babies"R"Us shops in 200 of our stores and online during Q3. We are broadening our reach with young families requiring new younger customers to Kohl's that are shopping multiple categories, including children's, accessories and women's. We also introduced a Babies"R"Us registry in early October and are already seeing thousands of expectant others register.

我很高興與大家分享，第三季我們在 200 家商店和網路上成功推出了 Babies"R"Us 商店。我們正在擴大對年輕家庭的影響範圍，這些年輕家庭需要新的年輕顧客到 Kohl's 購物，這些顧客購買多種品類，包括兒童、配件和女裝。我們也在 10 月初推出了「Babies"R"Us」註冊中心，目前已經有數千名準媽媽註冊了。

We expect our baby gear business to continue to grow as awareness builds, as we recognize the benefits from registry sites as we open more shops in the coming years. Collectively, we continue to see these underpenetrated categories representing a significant opportunity in the coming years.

我們預計，隨著意識的增強，我們的嬰兒用品業務將繼續成長，因為隨著我們在未來幾年開設更多商店，我們認識到註冊網站的好處。總的來說，我們仍然認為這些滲透不足的類別代表著未來幾年的重大機會。

Together with Sephora, the key growth categories represent high-teens percent of our business today, and they are growing rapidly and are expected to have a long runway of growth.

與絲芙蘭一起，關鍵成長類別占我們當今業務的百分之十以上，而且它們正在快速成長，預計將有長期成長。

Now I'd like to share how we are approaching the holiday season. Kohl's is known for providing great holiday value, and this year will be no different. We will continue to establish ourselves as a key gifting destination with an expanded selection of products across apparel, such as sweaters, fleece and holiday outfitting, stocking stuffers and toys at compelling price points, Sephora gift sets, box jewelry and cold weather bedding from brands like Importantly, our key growth categories as well as seasonally relevant businesses like toys, jewelry and home increased by approximately 1,000 basis points in penetration and will benefit our results in Q4 as compared to Q3.

現在我想分享我們如何迎接假期。科爾百貨 (Kohl's) 因提供超值假期而聞名，今年也不例外。我們將繼續將自己打造成重要的禮品目的地，提供更多服裝產品選擇，例如毛衣、羊毛和度假裝、價格極具吸引力的聖誕禮物和玩具、絲芙蘭禮品套裝、盒裝珠寶和各品牌的寒冷天氣床上用品重要的是，我們的關鍵增長類別以及玩具、珠寶和家居等季節性相關業務的滲透率增加了約1,000 個基點，與第三季度相比，這將有利於我們第四季度的業績。

From a marketing perspective, we will amplify Kohl's cash and rewards, deliver targeted offers to drive engagement and leverage influencers and social media engagement. We expect this holiday will be highly competitive given the late Thanksgiving. Our focus will be on maximizing the big shopping days.

從行銷角度來看，我們將增加 Kohl's 的現金和獎勵，提供有針對性的優惠以提高參與度，並利用影響力和社交媒體參與度。鑑於感恩節臨近，我們預計這個假期將會非常有競爭力。我們的重點將是最大限度地利用大型購物日。

As it relates to our more recent performance, November sales are off to a marked improvement relative to Q3 comps. We have seen solid fall seasonal demand as well as the initial benefit from the investments we have made in our private brand inventory. In addition, we have seen heightened customer engagement during the start to the holiday.

由於與我們最近的業績相關，11 月份的銷售額相對於第三季的業績有顯著改善。我們看到了強勁的秋季季節性需求以及我們對自有品牌庫存的投資的初步效益。此外，我們也發現假期開始期間客戶參與度有所提高。

That said, there still remains a lot of holiday shopping in front of us, and we are focused on executing a great customer experience. Before turning it over to Jill, I also want to highlight that we remain highly focused on expense management. In Q3, we managed expenses down 5% compared to last year and it will remain a priority of ours as we work to stabilize our sales performance.

也就是說，我們面前仍然有很多假期購物，我們專注於提供良好的客戶體驗。在將其交給吉爾之前，我還想強調我們仍然高度關注費用管理。第三季度，我們的費用比去年下降了 5%，這仍然是我們努力穩定銷售業績的首要任務。

In addition, our balance sheet remains in a solid position and we expect to drive significant cash flow generation in Q4, which will reduce our revolver balance meaningfully by year-end. Jill will share more on this in a moment.

此外，我們的資產負債表仍然穩健，我們預計第四季度將產生大量現金流，這將在年底前大幅減少我們的循環餘額。吉爾稍後將分享更多相關內容。

To summarize my comments today, I want to leave you with three things. First, we continue to have strong conviction in our ability to reposition Kohl's for future growth. So recognize that we moved too quickly in some areas. We are focused on improving sales through driving traffic, increasing receipts in our private apparel brands and regaining momentum in categories where we lost traction.

總結我今天的評論，我想跟大家講三件事。首先，我們仍然堅信我們有能力重新定位科爾的未來成長。因此，我們要認識到我們在某些​​領域行動得太快了。我們致力於透過增加客流量、增加自有服裝品牌的收入以及在我們失去吸引力的類別中恢復勢頭來提高銷售。

Second. Our investments in key growth areas continue to deliver solid results. Sephora at Kohl's continues to drive strong sales growth and bring in new customers, and we continue to build our business in home decor, impulse, gifting, and baby care, all of which are positioned to deliver incrementally this holiday season as they grow in penetration.

第二。我們在關鍵成長領域的投資持續帶來堅實的成果。 Kohl's 的絲芙蘭繼續推動強勁的銷售成長並吸引新客戶，我們繼續在家居裝飾、衝動、禮品和嬰兒護理領域建立業務，隨著滲透率的增長，所有這些業務都將在這個假期期間逐步交付。

And third, the holidays have always been an important time for Kohl's. And this year, we will deliver even more value through our expanded gifting assortment. While we expect the holiday to be highly competitive, we are well positioned from a product and marketing perspective to improve our sales trend.

第三，假期對科爾百貨來說一直是個重要的時刻。今年，我們將透過擴大禮品種類來提供更多價值。雖然我們預計假期將競爭激烈，但從產品和行銷的角度來看，我們處於有利位置，可以改善我們的銷售趨勢。

I want to thank all of our Kohl's associates across the organization for their efforts to position us for a successful holiday season. I hope those listening today will get a chance to visit our stores over the coming weeks. Jill?

我要感謝整個組織內所有 Kohl's 員工為我們度過一個成功的假期所做的努力。我希望今天收聽的人在未來幾週內有機會參觀我們的商店。吉爾？

Thank you, Tom, and good morning, everyone. For today's call, I will provide additional details on our third quarter results as well as an update on our fiscal year 2024 guidance.

謝謝你，湯姆，大家早安。在今天的電話會議中，我將提供有關第三季業績的更多詳細資訊以及 2024 財年指導的最新資訊。

Net sales decreased 8.8% in Q3 and are down 6.1% year-to-date. Comparable sales declined 9.3% in Q3 and declined 6.4% year-to-date. In Q3, transactions were down, while conversion improved, and our average basket size has remained lower as compared to last year.

第三季淨銷售額下降 8.8%，今年迄今下降 6.1%。第三季可比銷售額下降 9.3%，年初至今下降 6.4%。第三季度，成交量下降，但轉換率有所提高，我們的平均購物籃規模仍低於去年。

Digital sales outperformed store sales in the quarter, so both were down to last year. Other revenue, which is primarily our credit business, decreased 3.6% in the quarter, which was slightly better than our expectations. Year-to-date, Other revenue declined 4.6%.

本季數位銷售優於實體店銷售，因此兩者均低於去年同期。其他收入（主要是我們的信貸業務）本季下降 3.6%，略優於我們的預期。年初至今，其他收入下降 4.6%。

Moving down the P&L. Third-quarter gross margin was 39.1%, up 20 basis points versus last year. The increase was driven by inventory management and lower freight expense, partially offset by higher digital penetration and increased promotional activity. Year-to-date gross margin was 39.4%, an increase of 42 basis points.

損益表向下移動。第三季毛利率為39.1%，較去年同期成長20個基點。這一增長是由庫存管理和較低的貨運費用推動的，但部分被數位化滲透率的提高和促銷活動的增加所抵消。年初至今毛利率為39.4%，成長42個基點。

SG&A expenses declined 5.1% to $1.3 billion in Q3, benefiting from tightly managed expenses across the organization given the sales decline, especially in corporate and store-related expenses. Year-to-date, SG&A expenses have decreased 3.4% compared to last year. Depreciation expense in the quarter was $184 million, down $4 million from last year.

第三季 SG&A 費用下降 5.1%，至 13 億美元，這得益於銷售額下降導致整個組織嚴格管理費用，尤其是公司和商店相關費用。年初至今，SG&A 費用比去年下降了 3.4%。該季度折舊費用為 1.84 億美元，比去年減少 400 萬美元。

On a year-to-date basis, depreciation was $560 million, down $2 million to the prior year. Interest expense was $76 million in the quarter, down $13 million from last year. The decline is primarily related to lower long-term debt outstanding. Year-to-date, interest expense decreased $17 million to [$145 million]. Net income for the quarter was $22 million and earnings per diluted share was $0.20. Year-to-date, net income was $61 million and earnings per diluted share was $0.55.

年初至今，折舊額為 5.6 億美元，比前一年減少 200 萬美元。本季利息支出為 7,600 萬美元，比去年減少 1,300 萬美元。下降主要與長期未償債務減少有關。年初至今，利息支出減少了 1,700 萬美元，達到 [1.45 億美元]。該季度淨利潤為 2,200 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 0.20 美元。年初至今，淨利潤為 6,100 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 0.55 美元。

Moving on to the balance sheet and cash flow. We ended Q3 with $174 million of cash and cash equivalents. Inventory at quarter end was down 3% compared to last year, with on-hand inventory down 7% at the end of the quarter. As Tom indicated, we are focused on better balancing our inventory levels with a renewed emphasis in our private brands, which is reflected in the 40% increase in in-transit inventory at quarter end.

接下來是資產負債表和現金流量。第三季結束時，我們擁有 1.74 億美元的現金和現金等價物。季末庫存較去年下降 3%，季末現有庫存下降 7%。正如 Tom 所指出的，我們的重點是更好地平衡我們的庫存水平，並重新重視我們的自有品牌，這反映在季度末在途庫存增加了 40%。

We remain highly focused on managing inventory efficiently with the goal of increasing turns. Year-to-date, operating cash flow was $52 million, while year-to-date adjusted free cash flow was a use of $376 million.

我們仍然高度關注有效管理庫存，以提高週轉率。年初至今，營運現金流為 5,200 萬美元，而年初至今調整後自由現金流為 3.76 億美元。

Now let me touch on a couple of our capital allocation priorities. Capital expenditures year-to-date were $367 million, significantly less than the $495 million last year, driven by fewer Sephora openings. We are still planning 2024 CapEx of approximately $500 million consisting of investment in 350 Impulse queuing lines, a 144 small shop openings, the launch of 200 Babies"R"Us shops and six new store openings, including one relocation.

現在讓我談談我們的幾個資本配置優先事項。由於絲芙蘭開業數量減少，今年迄今的資本支出為 3.67 億美元，遠低於去年的 4.95 億美元。我們仍計劃 2024 年約 5 億美元的資本支出，包括投資 350 條 Impulse 排隊線、開設 144 家小商店、開設 200 家 Babies"R"Us 商店和開設 6 家新店，其中包括 1 家搬遷。

After investing in the business, strengthening the balance sheet and returning capital to shareholders also remain top priorities. We ended Q3 with $749 million on our revolver. This was higher than last year's revolve balance of $625 million, with the increase largely attributable to the retirement of the May 2025 bonds earlier this year.

投資業務後，加強資產負債表和向股東返還資本也仍然是首要任務。第三季結束時，我們的左輪手槍銷售額為 7.49 億美元。這高於去年 6.25 億美元的循環餘額，增加的主要原因是今年稍早收回了 2025 年 5 月債券。

We remain focused on paying down our revolver balance and rebuilding our cash position and expect significant cash flow generation in Q4 to further efforts on this front. Looking ahead, we will continue to monitor our options with respect to the July 2025 notes and will likely address them closer to maturity given the favorable coupon rate.

我們仍然專注於償還我們的左輪餘額和重建我們的現金狀況，並預計第四季度將產生大量現金流，以進一步在這方面做出努力。展望未來，我們將繼續監控 2025 年 7 月票據的選擇，並可能考慮到優惠的票面利率，在接近到期時處理這些選擇。

As for shareholder returns, we continue to prioritize the payment of our dividend at current levels. In Q3, we distributed $55 million in dividends to our shareholders. And as previously disclosed, the Board on November 13 declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share payable to shareholders on December 24.

至於股東回報，我們繼續優先按當前水準支付股息。第三季度，我們向股東發放了 5,500 萬美元的股息。如同先前所揭露的，董事會於 11 月 13 日宣布，將於 12 月 24 日向股東派發每股 0.50 美元的季度現金股利。

Now let me share some detail on our updated outlook for 2024. As you heard this morning, we are taking aggressive actions to stabilize our sales trend as we reposition Kohl's for future growth. As a result, we are approaching our financial outlook for the year prudently, taking into account our year-to-date performance and it will take time for our actions to deliver the intended outcome.

現在讓我分享一些關於我們更新的 2024 年展望的細節。因此，考慮到我們今年迄今的業績，我們正在謹慎對待今年的財務前景，我們的行動需要時間才能實現預期結果。

For the full year, we currently expect net sales to be in the range of a 7% decrease to an 8% decrease versus 2023 as compared to our previous guidance range of a decrease of 4% to 6%. Comparable sales to be in the range of a 6% decrease to a 7% decrease. Our previous full year comparable sales guidance range was a 3% decrease to a 5% decrease.

對於全年，我們目前預計淨銷售額將比 2023 年下降 7% 至 8%，而我們先前的指導範圍為下降 4% 至 6%。可比銷售額下降 6% 至 7%。我們之前的全年可比銷售指導範圍是下降 3% 至 5%。

For the fourth quarter, our guidance implies comparable sales in the range of a 5% decrease to an 8% decrease. Other revenue is expected to be down mid-single digits for the full year. We expect gross margin to be at the high end of our previous guidance of 40 to 50 basis points expansion as compared to last year. And for SG&A, we now expect SG&A dollars to be down 3.2% to 3.5% for the year as compared to our previous guidance of a 2% to 3% decline for the year.

對於第四季度，我們的指導意味著可比銷售額下降 5% 至 8%。預計全年其他收入將下降中個位數。我們預計毛利率將達到我們先前指導的上限，即與去年相比成長 40 至 50 個基點。對於 SG&A，我們現在預計今年的 SG&A 美元將下降 3.2% 至 3.5%，而我們之前的指導是今年下降 2% 至 3%。

We expect operating margin to be in the range of 3% to 3.2% as compared to our prior guidance range of 3.4% to 3.8%, and EPS to be in the range of $1.20 and to $1.50. This compares to our prior guidance of $1.75 to $2.25.

我們預計營業利潤率將在 3% 至 3.2% 之間，而我們先前的指導範圍為 3.4% 至 3.8%，每股收益將在 1.20 美元至 1.50 美元之間。相比之下，我們之前的指導價為 1.75 美元至 2.25 美元。

With that, Tom and I are happy to take your questions at this time.

至此，湯姆和我很高興此時回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Bob Drbul, Guggenheim.

（操作員說明）Bob Drbul，古根漢。

Tom, best of luck on your retirement and thanks for all the help over the last few years and actually many years, we go back.

湯姆，祝你退休好運，感謝過去幾年甚至很多年以來的所有幫助，我們回去了。

Thanks, Bob.

謝謝，鮑伯。

Two questions for you. The first one, just when you look at the traffic trends, I think the aggressive actions that you lay out, which ones do you think will be the biggest impact to your traffic, I guess, in Q4, but also into '25?

有兩個問題問你。第一個，當你查看流量趨勢時，我認為你所採取的積極行動，你認為哪些會對你的流量產生最大的影響，我想，在第四季度，但也會進入'25？

And then the second question is, Jill, on the credit card, can you just give us an update just in terms of the trends, in terms of some of the conversions and if it's actually playing to the way that you thought it would this fall and heading into holiday?

第二個問題是，吉爾，關於信用卡，您能否向我們介紹趨勢、一些轉化的最新情況，以及它是否真的按照您認為的今年秋天的方式發揮作用？

Well, first of all, I think the key for driving increased traffic and we're seeing that already in November is really showcasing the great values that we have on the selling floor. Today, the merchants really went out there and bought some really, really great product at great values. So really showcasing that.

嗯，首先，我認為增加流量的關鍵是我們在 11 月就看到，真正展示了我們在銷售場所擁有的巨大價值。今天，商家們真的走出去，以超值的價格購買了一些非常非常好的產品。所以真的展示了這一點。

We do that every year, but we really have a heightened approach this year based on what happened in the third quarter. We've gone over it multiple times. Also, really targeting our most engaged customers. I think that's really important. We probably didn't do enough of that in the third quarter. So we distorted it in our efforts in the fourth quarter through more targeted offers and more direct mail.

我們每年都會這樣做，但根據第三季發生的情況，今年我們確實採取了更嚴格的方法。我們已經討論過很多次了。此外，真正針對我們最活躍的客戶。我認為這非常重要。我們在第三季可能做得還不夠。因此，我們在第四季度的努力中透過更有針對性的優惠和更多的直郵來扭曲它。

So really think that's going to be important. We're really leading into social and digital marketing to drive new customer acquisition as well trying to leverage the 4 million new rewards members that we have. So I really think that those three things have and will drive increased traffic in the fourth quarter. Jill?

所以我真的認為這很重要。我們確實在社交和數位行銷方面處於領先地位，以推動新客戶的獲取，並嘗試利用我們擁有的 400 萬新獎勵會員。因此，我確實認為這三件事已經並將推動第四季度的流量增加。吉爾？

Yes. And Bob, in terms of credit, I think overall credit is kind of performing where we expected obviously weighed down by the softer sales that we saw for the quarter. We are seeing payment rates are starting to drop, but all of which we anticipated, which I think you saw our other revenue line come in a little bit better than how we set expectations.

是的。鮑勃，就信貸而言，我認為整體信貸的表現符合我們的預期，顯然受到本季銷售疲軟的影響。我們看到付款率開始下降，但所有這些都是我們預期的，我認為您看到我們的其他收入線比我們設定的預期要好一些。

As we go into the fourth quarter, we'll start benefiting a little bit from co-brands. We did launch our co-brand in mid-September. So those cards were just getting in mailboxes as we were kind of looking in October. So by the time they spend, and you see that revolving interest coming into the portfolio, it's really going to be a Q4, but much more predominantly a 2025 benefit for us.

當我們進入第四季度時，我們將開始從聯合品牌中受益。我們確實在九月中旬推出了我們的聯合品牌。所以這些卡片剛剛進入郵箱，就像我們在十月尋找的那樣。因此，當他們花錢時，你會看到循環利息進入投資組合，這實際上將是第四季度，但更主要的是我們 2025 年的收益。

As the customer continues to use it, we see those balances revolve and we get the benefit of those interest income numbers. But I think we're expecting it to be in that mid-single-digit range as we close out the year. So really performing the way we expected it to this year.

隨著客戶繼續使用它，我們會看到這些餘額不斷變化，並且我們將從這些利息收入數字中受益。但我認為，當我們年底時，我們預計它將處於中個位數範圍內。今年的表現確實符合我們的預期。

Mark Altschwager, Baird.

馬克·阿爾茨瓦格，貝爾德。

First, Tom, why is now the right time to be passing the torch? A lot of balls in the year right now with some of the strategic changes you've been making. I guess, what are the guardrails you have in place to limit disruption through the transition? And is your successor aligned in terms of a lot of this element on the strategic agenda or should investors be bracing for some bigger changes in the periods ahead?

首先，湯姆，為什麼現在是傳遞火炬的最佳時機？今年有很多事情，你已經做出了一些策略改變。我想，你們有哪些措施來限制過渡期間的干擾？您的繼任者是否在策略議程上的許多要素方面保持一致，或者投資者是否應該為未來一段時期的一些更大變化做好準備？

Well, the answer the last part first: Ashley is very much aligned with the strategy that we have in place right now. He spent a lot of time with our Board of Directors, time with me. Obviously, there -- as always, there will be some changes and modifications and he'll want to obviously put his fingerprints on the strategies and what you would expect.

好吧，先回答最後一部分：艾希莉與我們目前製定的策略非常一致。他花了很多時間與我們的董事會和我在一起。顯然，一如既往，將會有一些變化和修改，他會明顯地在策略和你的期望上留下自己的印記。

From my timing, I signed up for two years. And two years would be up in May of 2025. I came in to help out the company in the transition. And it's not an exact science in terms of hiring somebody. We are fortunate to have Ashley come and decide to join us. And this is the way the timing worked out overall.

從我的時間來看，我報名了兩年。到 2025 年 5 月，兩年就到了。就僱用某人而言，這並不是一門精確的科學。我們很幸運有 Ashley 來並決定加入我們。這就是整體時間安排的方式。

So the team is in a good place, and we have significant guardrails in terms of making sure that there isn't any big issues. But that's how the timing came about, and we just felt that it was best to do it now. I think, Michael, do you want to weigh in on this?

所以團隊處於一個很好的位置，我們有重要的防護措施來確保不出現任何大問題。但時機就是這樣，我們覺得最好現在就去做。我想，邁克爾，你想對此發表意見嗎？

Yes, sure. Yes, markets -- it's Michael Bender here. And just to add on to Tom's comments both about his tenure here. So first of all, I want to reinforce what we've said in all of our announcements about how grateful we are about what Tom has done over the past couple of years-or-so in his role. He's brought a number of really positive things to the business. Inventory discipline, merchant discipline. He's brought new brands to the business.

是的，當然。是的，市場——我是麥可‧本德。我想補充一下湯姆關於他在這裡的任期的評論。因此，首先，我想重申我們在所有公告中所說的內容，即我們對湯姆在過去幾年左右的職位上所做的事情深表感激。他為公司帶來了許多非常積極的事情。庫存紀律，商人紀律。他為公司帶來了新品牌。

So we're excited about the impact that Tom has had. As far as the transition goes, we knew that we had, as Tom mentioned, the time-based agreement with him starting in May of 2023 that would expire next year. And so as we talked about it with Tom and the Board, we engaged in what we felt was a very robust succession planning process.

因此，我們對湯姆所產生的影響感到興奮。就過渡而言，正如 Tom 所提到的，我們知道我們與他簽訂了從 2023 年 5 月開始的基於時間的協議，該協議將於明年到期。因此，當我們與湯姆和董事會討論這個問題時，我們參與了我們認為非常健全的繼任計畫流程。

And as you know, really strong CEOs are not hard -- are hard to find. And so when we were able to attract Ashley to the business and identified him as the ideal candidate, with an availability date of mid-January, that made sense to us to continue to move that process. We're pleased that he can start in the January timeframe that will allow Ashley for an orderly transition with Tom staying on as an adviser, as we've said, and a Board member until May.

如您所知，真正強大的執行長並不難找到。因此，當我們能夠吸引 Ashley 加入該業務並確定他是理想的候選人（且可用日期為 1 月中旬）時，我們認為繼續推進該流程是有意義的。我們很高興他可以在一月份開始工作，這將使阿什利能夠有序過渡，而湯姆將繼續擔任顧問（正如我們所說），並擔任董事會成員直至五月。

So we're excited about that, specifically around the question about change in strategy, as Tom mentioned, we feel like we've got a plan in place that we are executing against. What Ashley brings and what the Board sees in him that we like and what brought him to close out the agreement to bring him on board several things that I mentioned. He knows customers, he follows the data and he follows what customers want and then bring solutions to them.

因此，我們對此感到興奮，特別是圍繞戰略變化的問題，正如湯姆所提到的，我們覺得我們已經制定了一個正在執行的計劃。阿什利帶來了什麼，董事會在他身上看到了我們喜歡的東西，以及是什麼促使他完成了讓他加入董事會的協議，我提到了幾件事。他了解客戶，追蹤數據，追蹤客戶的需求，然後為他們提供解決方案。

There's evidence of that in both his experience running Michaels as well as Walmart. Ashley is a merchant, so he knows product. He's got deep digital chops and has demonstrated expertise and how to integrate digital into physical settings, which is an important part of the Kohl's business. He's obsessed with the customer experience and understands how to drive that positively from an efficiency standpoint and making sure that customers have a great experience.

他經營邁克爾斯和沃爾瑪的經歷都證明了這一點。阿什利是一名商人，所以他了解產品。他擁有深厚的數位技術，並展示瞭如何將數位技術融入物理環境的專業知識，這是 Kohl's 業務的重要組成部分。他沉迷於客戶體驗，並且了解如何從效率的角度積極推動客戶體驗並確保客戶獲得良好的體驗。

He knows how to operate at scale. Kohl's is a big business, so over 1,000 stores. So it's important for us to have someone sitting in the chair that understands how to operate at scale. And then lastly, I would say that from a character standpoint, Ashley is a principal inspiring leader of people. And our culture here at Kohl's is really important for us to continue to maintain and grow and evolve. And Ashley, we feel all of the Board members and the team have felt really comfortable with that.

他知道如何大規模地運作。 Kohl's 是一家大企業，擁有 1,000 多家商店。因此，對我們來說，有一個懂得如何大規模運作的人坐在椅子上非常重要。最後，我想說，從性格的角度來看，阿什利是一位主要的鼓舞人心的領導者。科爾百貨的文化對於我們持續維持、成長和發展非常重要。阿什利（Ashley），我們認為所有董事會成員和團隊都對此感到非常滿意。

He's excited about getting started and already has a number of requests for information about the business, although he doesn't start until mid-January. He's been in a number of our stores. He's been developing a point of view on our digital business by ordering items online and checking that out. So we have someone who's excited about stepping into the role.

他對開始工作感到很興奮，並且已經收到了許多有關該業務資訊的請求，儘管他要到一月中旬才開始工作。他去過我們的許多商店。他透過線上訂購商品並進行查看，對我們的數位業務形成了自己的看法。所以我們有人對擔任這個角色感到興奮。

And with Tom's support in the transition, we feel good about the progress that we'll be able to continue to make while we focus on making sure that these next six to eight weeks as we move through the balance of holiday period, will be strong.

在湯姆在過渡過程中的支持下，我們對能夠繼續取得的進展感到滿意，同時我們專注於確保接下來的六到八週，在假期的剩餘時間裡，將會強勁。

Thank you for all of that detail. Jill, if I could follow up on credit, you spoke briefly about the co-brand rollout. I know initially, when we thought the late fee change could result in a pretty significant change to the existing credit revenue stream, the co-brand was thought to be an offset to that, which would imply pretty material revenue contribution as we look into 2025. Can you just walk us through the current thoughts there if the late fee change doesn't happen I guess, why wouldn't that be significant upside due to the current run rate of credit revenue?

謝謝你提供的所有細節。吉爾，如果我可以跟進的話，您簡單地談到了聯合品牌的推出。我最初知道，當我們認為滯納金變化可能會為現有信貸收入流帶來相當大的變化時，聯合品牌被認為是對此的抵消，這意味著在我們展望2025 年時，這將意味著相當大的收入貢獻您能否向我們介紹一下目前的想法，如果滯納金沒有發生變化，我想，由於當前的信貸收入運行率，為什麼不會有顯著的上升空間？

Sure. So I think from the co-brand, when we decided to launch co-brand. It was really to reach the younger customer, which we know didn't really want to have a private label credit card in their pocket. So this is a new product that we could continue to evolve our loyalty through the card but let them do it with a Visa card in their wallet.

當然。所以當我們決定推出聯合品牌時，我就從聯合品牌開始思考。這實際上是為了吸引年輕客戶，我們知道他們並不真正希望口袋裡有一張自有品牌信用卡。因此，這是一個新產品，我們可以透過該卡繼續提高我們的忠誠度，但讓他們用錢包裡的 Visa 卡來做到這一點。

Obviously, one of the benefits to that was it's much more driven off of interest versus late fees because you run a bigger balance off of a card that you can use outside the four walls of poles. And obviously, then we also benefited from some of the interchange fees.

顯然，這樣做的好處之一是，與滯納金相比，它更能減少利息，因為你可以從一張可以在四堵牆外使用的卡上獲得更大的餘額。顯然，我們也從一些交換費中受益。

So if we do not end up having any risk from the legislation, there would be that benefit that we've outlined in regards to the co-brand. Of course, the bulk of that, as we stated, would be more in 2025. There will be some benefits coming through in Q4, but really need to get that card in the customer's hands, get them shopping with it and having those balances revolve before you're going to start seeing a lot of that revenue flow through.

因此，如果我們最終不會面臨立法帶來的任何風險，那麼就會有我們在聯名品牌方面概述的好處。當然，正如我們所說，其中大部分將在 2025 年增加。你開始看到大量收入流入之前。

So as we approach 2025, we'll look at really kind of where that legislation lies and give you guidance that would include, I think, a nice benefit from our co-brand launch, and that would build throughout the year.

因此，當我們接近 2025 年時，我們將真正研究該立法的具體內容，並為您提供指導，我認為其中包括從我們的聯合品牌推出中獲得的巨大好處，這將在全年內實現。

Excellent. And best of luck over holiday.

出色的。祝你假期好運。

Right. Thanks, Mark.

正確的。謝謝，馬克。

Oliver Chen, TD Cowen.

奧利佛·陳，TD·考恩。

Tom, you brought a lot of constructive things organization, including speed, agility and new categories. How would you diagnose the issues around the unintended consequences of some of these changes relative to the highly competitive promotional environment?

湯姆，你為組織帶來了很多建設性的東西，包括速度、敏捷性和新類別。您如何診斷與競爭激烈的促銷環境相關的某些變化所帶來的意外後果的問題？

And then second, as we look forward, fixing the core, it's been a multiyear issue in terms of apparel and embracing younger customers and also trying to get sustainably positive comps. But what's your take on what may need to be done to fix the core in terms of the new CEO coming?

其次，正如我們展望的那樣，解決核心問題，在服裝和擁抱年輕客戶以及努力獲得可持續的積極競爭方面，這一直是一個多年的問題。但您對新任執行長上任後可能需要採取哪些措施來解決核心問題有何看法？

And lastly (inaudible) replacement, I didn't quite understand that comment in terms of that strategy that you're undertaking, looking forward as well.

最後（聽不清楚）替換，我不太理解您正在採取的策略方面的評論，也期待著。

First of all, obviously, one of the unintended consequences was the fact that we under-placed our private and exclusive brands. I would say that was one of the biggest issues that we had. We obviously, need to make sure that we're more realistic in terms of our approach to how we're placing goods, that we have the right balance between the market brands, the private brands. We put -- again, put too much pressure on the turn of the private brands.

首先，顯然，意想不到的後果之一是我們低估了我們的私人和獨家品牌。我想說這是我們遇到的最大問題之一。顯然，我們需要確保我們在放置商品的方法上更加現實，確保我們在市場品牌和自有品牌之間保持適當的平衡。我們再次對自有品牌的轉型施加了太大的壓力。

We thought we could do more with a lot less, and that didn't work out for us. It's just -- we're in the learning mode, and that was a big lesson for us, which obviously was big unintended consequence. I think all of us have learned from that overall.

我們以為我們可以用更少的錢做更多的事，但這對我們來說並沒有成功。只是——我們正處於學習模式，這對我們來說是一個很大的教訓，這顯然是一個巨大的意想不到的後果。我認為我們所有人都從中吸取了教訓。

So that's important. We've already gone through, and for 2025, we've gone through the vendor matrix very, very carefully to ensure that we have the right receipt reduction ratios making sure that we aren't putting too much pressure on any of the brands, that we're being much more realistic in terms of how we're approaching it.

所以這很重要。我們已經完成了，對於 2025 年，我們非常非常仔細地檢查了供應商矩陣，以確保我們擁有正確的收據減少率，確保我們不會對任何品牌施加太大壓力，我們在處理問題的方式上變得更加現實。

As far as chase versus replacement, making sure that we're utilizing our open-to-buy to go after goods when they're checking much more aggressively versus using our open-to-buy to replace things like our private and exclusive brands. We just need to buy it upfront correctly, which, obviously, we failed to do that, which resulted in the issue that we had with our private and exclusive brands. I don't know if you want to weigh in on any of that?

就追逐與替換而言，確保我們在他們更積極地檢查時利用我們的開放購買來追尋商品，而不是使用我們的開放購買來替換我們的私人和獨家品牌等產品。我們只需要正確地預先購買它，顯然我們沒有做到這一點，這導致了我們的私人和獨家品牌出現問題。不知道你是否願意參與其中？

Yes. I think the biggest thing you saw, Oliver, was we get excited about some of the market brands, but we're also trying to really tightly manage inventory, and so there became a trade-off there. Unfortunately, the unintended consequence was that we were down over 20% in our private and exclusive brands. And those are brands that really are opening price point. And so when we're looking to drive value for our customer, we disappointed in not having brands that wanted at this opening price point.

是的。奧利弗，我認為你看到的最重要的事情是我們對一些市場品牌感到興奮，但我們也在努力嚴格管理庫存，因此存在權衡。不幸的是，意想不到的結果是我們的自有品牌和獨家品牌的股價下跌了 20% 以上。這些品牌確實正在開啟價格點。因此，當我們希望為客戶創造價值時，我們對沒有在這個開盤價點上想要的品牌感到失望。

And so that became a big headwind that we needed to overtake. You saw in our inventory numbers, we were down 3%, but we are actually saying we're down 7% on hand. And the difference of that is really our proprietary brand. They were in transit, which we take ownership of and they're setting, as we speak. So as we saw those first couple of weeks of November pan out, we saw some of the newness in our proprietary brands hit.

因此，這成為我們需要克服的一大阻力。你在我們的庫存數字中看到，我們下降了 3%，但實際上我們說的是我們現有的庫存下降了 7%。其中的區別實際上是我們的專有品牌。它們正在運輸途中，我們擁有它們的所有權，正如我們所說，它們正在設置。因此，當我們看到 11 月的前幾週取得成功時，我們看到我們的專有品牌中出現了一些新事物。

We're seeing great sell-throughs. And I think those are one of the actions that we took that led to the market improvement that we referenced to our November results. So it was something that just takes a while to get back into given the length of time in terms of the import process. But now that we're in it, we're definitely seeing a benefit from that.

我們看到了巨大的銷售量。我認為這些是我們採取的導致市場改善的行動之一，我們在 11 月的業績中提到了這一點。因此，考慮到導入過程的時間長度，需要一段時間才能恢復正常。但現在我們已經參與其中，我們肯定會從中受益。

So I think this is really continuing the discipline. We think managing our inventory down mid-single digits is the right answer to drive churn but we just have to have a little bit more discipline in staying close to those core brands our customers want and using the market brands to really bring in that element of fashion and staying true more to that, that pyramid than we did during Q3.

所以我認為這確實是在延續紀律。我們認為，將庫存控制在個位數左右是減少客戶流失的正確答案，但我們只需要更加嚴格地遵守客戶想要的核心品牌，並利用市場品牌真正引入這一元素。三季更忠於金字塔。

Okay. Jill, on the guidance, what did you say it assumed for the inventory growth relative to sales in light of what you need to do to inventories? And final question on promos. What's embedded in guidance for merchandise margins and promotions? And does some of that relate to what you're seeing quarter-to-date, et cetera?

好的。吉爾，在指導中，根據您需要對庫存採取的措施，您對庫存相對於銷售的成長有何假設？最後一個關於促銷的問題。商品利潤和促銷指南中包含哪些內容？其中一些是否與您本季至今所看到的情況有關，等等？

Yes. I think for inventory, we're going to still expect it down mid-single digit, that's where we think it's the best to run the business. We're getting back into the proprietary brands like we spoke to, but we'll balance that with less of the market brands on the table.

是的。我認為就庫存而言，我們仍預期其會下降到個位數中間，這是我們認為經營業務的最佳時機。我們正在回歸我們所談到的專有品牌，但我們將透過減少市場品牌來平衡這一點。

So we feel like that's the right place to be as we end the year, and that's what I would expect us to be running the business going forward. We have a large opportunity to improve our turn as we spoke to, but we're going to do that in a paced approach so we don't do things too quickly as maybe we learned our lesson this year in doing that.

因此，我們覺得在年底時這是正確的選擇，這也是我期望我們未來經營業務的地方。正如我們所說，我們有很大的機會改進我們的回合，但我們將以有節奏的方式做到這一點，這樣我們就不會做得太快，因為也許我們今年已經吸取了這樣做的教訓。

In terms of margin, we are expecting it to be promotional. It always is promotional during Q4. So we're set to do that. I think a couple of things that we found worked well for us through the last couple of years is doing more targeted offers. So as Tom just mentioned, we did that in Q3.

就利潤率而言，我們預計它會促銷。第四季總是有促銷活動。所以我們準備這麼做。我認為過去幾年我們發現對我們有效的幾件事是提供更有針對性的優惠。正如湯姆剛才提到的，我們在第三季做到了這一點。

It definitely drives our behavior, particularly around our most loyal customers. So we know that, that's a way for us to drive their behavior and have them see value.

它肯定會驅動我們的行為，特別是圍繞著我們最忠實的客戶。所以我們知道，這是我們推動他們的行為並讓他們看到價值的一種方式。

We do expect our proprietary brands to do much better than we thought in Q3 with the inventory investments that we're making, which obviously carry a better merch margin. So as we think about our margin for Q4, that's why we think we can get to the high end of the guide for the year, which would imply Q4 has a little bit of a step-up in terms of what we saw in Q3.

我們確實預計我們的自有品牌在第三季的庫存投資會比我們想像的要好得多，這顯然會帶來更好的商品利潤。因此，當我們考慮第四季度的利潤率時，這就是為什麼我們認為我們可以達到今年指南的高端，這意味著第四季度比我們在第三季度看到的有所提升。

And then last, just we're in a clean position from an inventory perspective. And Q4 is typically a big order from a clearance. So we do expect that will be a benefit for us as well. So those are kind of the pieces of the puzzle we put together to feel confident in giving the kind of the guide on the margin for the year.

最後，從庫存角度來看，我們處於乾淨的位置。第四季通常是清倉後的大訂​​單。所以我們確實希望這對我們來說也有好處。因此，我們將這些拼圖拼湊在一起，以便有信心提供今年的邊緣指南。

Chuck Grom, Gordon Haskett.

查克·格羅姆，戈登·哈斯克特。

Good luck, Tom, with everything. Can you guys just talk about the steps to recapture some of the lost customers that you may have alienated over the past couple of years by deemphasizing the private brands and the jewelry counters? I guess on one hand, it's a big opportunity; on the other hand, it's sometimes very hard to do.

湯姆，祝你一切順利。你們能談談如何透過淡化自有品牌和珠寶櫃檯來重新奪回過去幾年中你們可能疏遠的一些流失的客戶嗎？我想，一方面，這是一個很大的機會；另一方面，這是一個巨大的機會。另一方面，有時很難做到。

Yes. I think this is going to come down to our investment in marketing, Chuck. And I think you saw -- we've run a pretty tight SG&A for the year. In Q4, you're seeing maybe a little bit, if do the math for what we guided the year, a little bit more of an investment in SG&A, and that SG&A is going to come into marketing.

是的。我認為這將取決於我們對行銷的投資，查克。我想你也看到了──我們今年的銷售管理及行政費用相當嚴格。在第四季度，你可能會看到，如果對我們今年的指導進行數學計算，那麼對 SG&A 的投資可能會增加一些，而且 SG&A 將進入行銷領域。

So we know the holidays when we attract the most new customers to our store it's when our loyals see the best value that we have. So you're going to see that we're going to lean into Kohl's cash. I think right now, you're seeing our iconic [15 of 50] Kohl's Cash, which really resonates particularly with that most loyal customer.

因此，我們知道，當我們吸引最多的新顧客來到我們的商店時，我們的忠實顧客就會看到我們擁有的最大價值。所以你會看到我們將依賴科爾的現金。我想現在，您正在看到我們標誌性的 [15 of 50] Kohl's Cash，它確實引起了最忠實客戶的共鳴。

So leaning into those type of events, so we can bring them in and show that we have value targeted offers has been something that we continue to lean into, and we see work to drive that consumer behavior.

因此，我們將繼續致力於進行此類活動，以便將它們帶入並表明我們擁有有價值的目標產品，並且我們看到了推動消費者行為的工作。

And then we're going to not only be in broadcast and digital and social from a new customer perspective, but we're going to lean back into direct mail and really go back to attract those customers who we know react to direct mail flyer and tell them, guess what, we do have your jewelry is back in stock, particularly around the 200 stores that we're going to have those fine jewelry counters in to make sure they know we have it and we're not going to disappoint them, and we've heard them and their feedback, and we're reacting to it.

然後，我們不僅會從新客戶的角度進入廣播、數位和社交領域，而且我們將重新轉向直郵，並真正回去吸引那些我們知道對直郵傳單有反應的客戶，告訴他們，猜猜看，我們確實為您的珠寶重新補貨了，特別是在200 家商店附近，我們將在這些商店中設立高級珠寶櫃檯，以確保他們知道我們有珠寶，而且我們不會讓他們失望，我們已經聽到了他們和他們的回饋，我們正在對此做出反應。

I think we've mentioned on the call in our bridge and fashion jewelry in Q3, we actually had a positive comp. So we are starting to get that message out and the consumer is reacting to it, and we think we can build on that in Q4 as well.

我想我們在第三季的橋樑和時尚珠寶電話會議上提到，我們實際上有一個積極的競爭。因此，我們開始傳達這個訊息，消費者正在對此做出反應，我們認為我們也可以在第四季以此為基礎。

And then petites. I think that's another area that was just unfortunately a miss (inaudible) petites. It's not a substitute (inaudible) bring that back in. And so how we can market and make sure that now that we have it in Q4 and really ensure that when they come in, they have that trip assurance that they're going to able to find that assortment back in our stores is a big deal, and that's going to be to a customer who was more loyal to us, so we know we can bring them back into these targeted offers and through the reach of marketing that we're going to make a big investment in, in Q4.

然後是嬌小的。我認為這是另一個不幸的是錯過（聽不清楚）嬌小的區域。這不是替代品（聽不清楚）將其帶回來。中的品種是一件大事，這對對我們更忠誠的客戶來說是一件大事，所以我們知道我們可以將他們帶回這些有針對性的優惠中，並通過我們的營銷範圍將在第第四季進行大量投資。

Okay. Great. And then I guess on the new product offerings, particularly Sephora which remains strong, like you said, a two-year stack improvement. I mean there's concerns in the marketplace that, that comp tailwind could moderate. So I guess, what's the game plan to offset that potential deceleration? And can you discuss any improvement you've made on cross-selling across the store when somebody purchases a Sephora product?

好的。偉大的。然後我想在新產品上，特別是絲芙蘭，它仍然很強大，就像你說的，兩年的堆疊改進。我的意思是，市場擔心競爭的順風可能會減弱。所以我想，抵銷潛在減速的計畫是什麼？當有人購買絲芙蘭產品時，您能否討論一下您在整個商店的交叉銷售方面所做的任何改進？

Sure. I think first, we're so excited about Sephora. So I think that's why we did the two-year stack. That was just for you, Chuck, because I know you like those metrics. I actually like this one a lot. Our customer loves it, and they keep coming back in for it. Gift and fragrance was an outperformer in Q3. And as you can imagine, as we go into Q4, it's a large gifting opportunity for us, and we're going to really lean into that.

當然。我想首先，我們對絲芙蘭感到非常興奮。所以我認為這就是我們進行兩年堆疊的原因。這只是為了你，查克，因為我知道你喜歡這些指標。我其實非常喜歡這個。我們的客戶喜歡它，並且他們不斷回來購買它。禮品和香水在第三季表現出色。正如您可以想像的那樣，當我們進入第四季度時，這對我們來說是一個巨大的送禮機會，我們將真正致力於這一點。

We had great success with our gift boxes last year. We're doubling down on that this year. So everything Sephora, I think, is definitely continuing to work. But as we have less new stores opening, the comps will moderate. And you have it exactly right. Our biggest opportunity is continue to drive that shop.

去年我們的禮品盒取得了巨大成功。今年我們將加倍努力。所以我認為絲芙蘭的一切肯定會繼續發揮作用。但由於我們開設的新店較少，競爭將會放緩。你說得完全正確。我們最大的機會是繼續經營這家商店。

And I think we continue to see the shop. There's not a lot of change there, but that remains the biggest opportunity. I think some of it being we disrupted with juniors, moving that to the front of the store and then not having some of the products, particularly like our product, which is our opening price point is a great fashion brand that has loved. We didn't have that product for them.

我想我們會繼續參觀這家商店。那裡沒有太多變化，但這仍然是最大的機會。我認為其中一些原因是我們對初級產品的干擾，將其移到商店前面，然後沒有一些產品，特別是像我們的產品，這是我們的開盤價，是一個深受喜愛的偉大時尚品牌。我們沒有為他們提供該產品。

Women's, we probably saw the biggest step change as that was much more impacted than other areas through our proprietary brands. So we need to bring the product in and then invite them in to shop again. I think the third thing is Babies"R"Us as that continues to roll out. It's a younger customer. We're coming in with serving their families at a much earlier time in that moment, and we're seeing that really resonate younger customers, more diverse in the stores that we brought them into.

女裝方面，我們可能看到了最大的變化，因為我們的專有品牌對女裝的影響比其他領域大得多。所以我們需要把產品帶進來，然後邀請他們再購物。我認為第三件事是《Babies"R"Us》，因為它仍在繼續推出。這是一位年輕的顧客。在那一刻，我們會更早為他們的家人提供服務，我們看到這確實引起了年輕顧客的共鳴，我們帶他們進入的商店更加多樣化。

And we're really excited about the amount of registries that we've seen. It just launched in October and the amount of registries have surpassed our expectations. So we know that's all sales coming in front of us as well. So I think you hit it on the head, we have a big opportunity in the cross shop, but we're definitely focused on it, but we have to get back in stock on the things that they've come to know us for and things that they want before we will probably see that metric move.

我們對所看到的註冊數量感到非常興奮。它於 10 月剛剛推出，註冊量已經超出了我們的預期。所以我們知道這也是我們面前的所有銷售。所以我認為你擊中了要害，我們在交叉商店中有很大的機會，但我們肯定會專注於它，但我們必須重新獲得他們認識我們的東西的庫存，並且在我們可能會看到該指標在改變之前，他們想要的東西。

Okay. Great. And one quick last one for me. Just we've found 53 minutes, and nobody has talked about the weather, which is pretty remarkable. But your business historically has always been very weather-sensitive. So is there any way to handicap how much of your sales were held back from the warmer temps over the past couple of months?

好的。偉大的。最後一件事對我來說很快。我們只發現了 53 分鐘，沒有人談論天氣，這非常了不起。但您的業務歷來對天氣非常敏感。那麼，有沒有辦法可以減少過去幾個月因氣溫升高而導致的銷售額下降呢？

Yes. Weather has always been like a huge impact in Q3 for us. It's the number one correlated sales driver in q3. Our fall seasonal were well below our company average.

是的。天氣對我們來說一直是第三季的巨大影響。這是第三季排名第一的相關銷售驅動因素。我們的秋季銷售遠低於公司平均。

Yes. We had a significant drop in fall-related product in the third quarter. We haven't really talked about it, but it did negatively impact us. The good news is, looking at the fourth quarter, weather, knock on wood, it continues to be as it is colder than last year. But yes, it hurt us in the third quarter.

是的。第三季度，我們的秋季相關產品大幅下降。我們還沒有真正談論過它，但它確實對我們產生了負面影響。好消息是，從第四季的情況來看，天氣仍然比去年更冷。但是，是的，這在第三季傷害了我們。

When you have such a high penetration of apparel and footwear, as we do, it hurts us. That's one reason why we're trying to build our beauty business and while we're trying to build our home business and all the things that are not so negatively impacted by the weather.

當服裝和鞋類的滲透率如此之高（就像我們一樣）時，我們就會受到傷害。這就是我們努力建立美容業務以及家庭業務和所有不受天氣負面影響的事物的原因之一。

Yes. And I would just say that part of the market improvement is fall seasonal started selling when it cooled off, and that has definitely been a positive tailwind into Q4. And the other thing, as Tom mentioned, apparel becomes less of a focus in Q4. So really a lot of our initiatives around home, gifting, Sephora become a bigger portion of our penetration as we go into the holiday period as well.

是的。我只想說，市場改善的部分原因是秋季季節性降溫時開始銷售，這絕對是第四季的積極推動力。另一件事，正如湯姆所提到的，服裝在第四季不再受到關注。因此，隨著假期的到來，我們圍繞著家居、送禮、絲芙蘭的許多舉措也成為我們滲透率的更大一部分。

Dana Telsey, Telsey Group.

達納‧特爾西，特爾西集團。

As you think about a big picture view of what's happening and where we are now, how much of it would you say, Tom, is internal that can be corrected over time? How much of it was the macro factors? And if you could push 1 button to accelerate something, what would that be?

湯姆，當你對正在發生的事情和我們現在所處的位置進行全面思考時，你會說其中有多少是可以隨著時間的推移而糾正的內部問題？其中宏觀因素佔多少？如果你可以按 1 個按鈕來加速某個東西，那會是什麼？

One button. Well, I think that the macro did impact us. Obviously, the customer, as we've been saying all along, has been squeezed. We had tough sales with our lower-income consumer overall with everything that was impacting them in terms of inflation, et cetera.

一鍵。嗯，我認為宏觀確實對我們產生了影響。顯然，正如我們一直以來所說的那樣，客戶受到了擠壓。整體而言，我們對低收入消費者的銷售很困難，因為通貨膨脹等因素對他們產生了影響。

And that hurt us. I don't know, to put numbers to it overall. We think that most of the things that has happened, they're fixable, in general. We should be able to offset any kind of macro issues in terms of product assortments and improving our marketing. We think that we can work to fix everything. I don't know if there's a total easy fix.

這傷害了我們。我不知道，總之要加上數字。我們認為，大多數已經發生的事情一般來說都是可以解決的。我們應該能夠在產品分類和改善行銷方面抵消任何宏觀問題。我們認為我們可以努力解決一切問題。我不知道是否有簡單的解決方案。

But I think if we can continue to work on our execution, we should be able to capture the business that we really feel we can have. But it's up to us to fix it. And we're always going to have some sort of macro-type issue. We feel we're in a good place right now for fourth quarter because of all the efforts we've put into gifting, in terms of all the things we've done, in terms of in our home business to try to build that business, our impulse business, et cetera, our seasonal business, but we feel that if we can continue good execution, we'll be in a good place.

但我認為，如果我們能夠繼續努力執行，我們應該能夠獲得我們真正認為可以擁有的業務。但這取決於我們來解決它。我們總是會遇到某種宏觀類型的問題。我們覺得第四季度我們現在處於一個良好的位置，因為我們在禮品方面付出了所有努力，就我們所做的所有事情而言，就在我們的家庭業務而言，試圖建立這項業務，我們的衝動業務，等等，我們的季節性業務，但我們認為，如果我們能夠繼續良好的執行，我們將處於一個好的位置。

And Jill, anything on the puts and takes of expenses, given that you're managing so carefully, how you're thinking about labor cost this year compared to last year as we go through the season?

吉爾，考慮到您管理得如此仔細，與去年相比，在我們經歷這個季節時，您如何看待今年的勞動成本？

Sure. I think you saw we called out stores has done a phenomenal job managing expenses, and we really have a great variable model based on when we see our sales coming in, obviously, also benefiting from our inventory management having less units to touch to that process as well as the clean inventory not having to take as many markdowns.

當然。我想你已經看到我們稱商店在管理費用方面做得非常出色，而且我們確實有一個很棒的變量模型，該模型基於我們何時看到我們的銷售收入，顯然，這也受益於我們的庫存管理，涉及該流程的單位較少以及乾淨的庫存，不必進行那麼多的降價。

So I would say we want to make sure that we have a great experience for our customers during holiday. So you will see that we're going to invest in that labor in the store, but we also have a model that we can pull back when we don't have

所以我想說，我們希望確保在假期期間為客戶提供良好的體驗。所以你會看到我們將投資商店的勞動力，但我們也有一個模型，當我們沒有時我們可以撤回

So I think that's been a key contributor to our expense management. But I would just say across all lines of this area, everyone is really shown up to pull back in terms of, hey, the sales weren't there, we need to pull back from an expense perspective. The one place that we will lean into in Q4, like I mentioned, will be marketing.

所以我認為這是我們費用管理的關鍵因素。但我想說的是，在這個領域的所有方面，每個人都確實表現出了撤退的態度，嘿，銷售不存在，我們需要從費用的角度撤退。正如我所提到的，我們在第四季度將重點關注的一個領域是行銷。

So I think that's the one step change that you'll see from the beginning part of the year into Q4. We know we have an opportunity to reengage with some of the customers that we disappointed with the exits of fine jewelry, petites, et cetera. So we need to make them aware that we have it.

所以我認為這是從今年年初到第四季你會看到的一步變化。我們知道我們有機會重新吸引一些因高級珠寶、小件珠寶等產品的退出而感到失望的客戶。所以我們需要讓他們知道我們擁有它。

We need to make them aware that they can find that value (inaudible) and then continuing to drive that new customer growth that we've seen all year as well as bring people into our loyalty program, and we're really proud with the 4 million sign-ups we've had, but we know we can build on that tremendously during Q4 as well.

我們需要讓他們意識到他們可以找到這種價值（聽不清楚），然後繼續推動我們全年看到的新客戶成長，並將人們納入我們的忠誠度計劃，我們對這 4 個客戶感到非常自豪我們已經擁有數百萬註冊用戶，但我們知道我們也可以在第四季度在此基礎上取得巨大進展。

Paul Lejuez, Citigroup.

保羅‧勒胡埃斯，花旗集團。

Just a couple of quick ones. Curious where you think you might be moving customers to what other retailers might be taking share? Second, as you get into private brands, again, in a little bit of a bigger way, petites, jewelry, what are you giving up in terms of floor space? What might feel the pressure? And then curious if you're thinking any differently about closing stores?

只是幾個快速的。好奇您認為您可能會將客戶轉移到其他零售商可能會分享的地方嗎？其次，當你進入自有品牌時，再一次，以更大的方式，嬌小的珠寶，就佔地面積而言，你會放棄什麼？什麼可能會感受到壓力？然後好奇您對於關閉商店是否有不同的想法？

Okay. I'm going to start with the store closures. I think you know we've always talked a lot about the health of our store base. We generate a lot of cash from our stores.

好的。我將從商店關閉開始。我想你知道我們一直在談論我們商店基礎的健康狀況。我們從商店中賺取大量現金。

We have the luxury being in convenient locations and off mall, which has always been helpful. With that said, we're always evaluating our fleet to optimize it. And I think you're -- we're always going to have moves that I would consider more from a hygiene perspective, Paul. But I would definitely say that there are places that we'll look at.

我們擁有便利的地理位置和遠離購物中心的奢華，這一直很有幫助。話雖如此，我們始終在評估我們的機隊以對其進行最佳化。我認為，我們總是會採取一些行動，我會從衛生角度更多地考慮，保羅。但我肯定會說，我們會關註一些地方。

But over 90% of our stores are still four-wall cash positive. So it's a difficult financial decision to make it. But obviously, on the periphery from a hygiene perspective, there's going to be some opportunities for us to address those underperformers, which we will do.

但我們 90% 以上的商店仍然是四牆現金正數。因此，做出這個決定是一個困難的財務決定。但顯然，從衛生角度來看，我們將有一些機會來解決那些表現不佳的問題，我們會這樣做。

In terms of getting up floor space when we make the investments back in private brands, I think we've also talked about, we have a lot of space. Our average store is over 80,000 square feet. We've been able to bring in Babies"R"Us and some other brands without having to really give up floor space. I think this is where we were saying we replaced a lot of our private brands instead of doing a case with the market brand.

在我們對自有品牌進行投資時增加佔地面積方面，我想我們也討論過，我們有很多空間。我們的商店平均面積超過 80,000 平方英尺。我們已經能夠引進 Babies"R"Us 和其他一些品牌，而不必真正放棄佔地面積。我想這就是我們所說的我們更換了很多自有品牌而不是用市場品牌做案例的地方。

And so we're going to just come back into having floor space dedicated to our private brands, but there isn't anything we really have to give up. We'll still have market brands. It will just be much more in a fashion bringing in, get it out faster versus a replacement of a proprietary brand. But I don't think we ever feel like we have been making choices because the floor space is really there in the box that we own today.

因此，我們將重新擁有專門用於我們自有品牌的佔地面積，但我們沒有什麼真正必須放棄的。我們仍然會有市場品牌。與更換專有品牌相比，它更時尚地引進、更快淘汰。但我認為我們從來沒有覺得我們一直在做出選擇，因為佔地面積確實就在我們今天擁有的盒子裡。

And then in terms of customer share loss. I think we continue to monitor it. Obviously, being down. I think it's going to a lot of the winners that you've seen put their numbers out there. I think it gets pretty spread. So you can see it across whether it be Amazon off-price, et cetera. I think there's a trade-down that typically happens as well. So we know from a customer demographic, our upper income customers are doing and faring better than our lower income customers.

然後是客戶份額損失。我認為我們會繼續監控它。顯然，是低落了。我認為你所看到的許多獲勝者都會將他們的數字放在那裡。我認為它得到了廣泛傳播。所以你可以看到它是否是亞馬遜折扣等等。我認為通常也會發生一種折衷的情況。因此，我們從客戶群中了解到，我們的高收入客戶的表現和表現都比低收入客戶好。

So they become much more discerning in their purchases, either not buying as much because they can't afford to or they're finding an alternative, and that's where, obviously, when we didn't have that proprietary brand opening price point value, they found other options this quarter, which is why, again, it'll double down in the marketing that we're going to go after them to bring them back in, particularly once we have that inventory in place, which hopefully, Paul, if you get out to the store, you'll see is there already, and you can find yourself a great sweater.

因此，他們在購買時變得更加挑剔，要么因為買不起而沒有購買太多，要么正在尋找替代品，顯然，當我們沒有專有品牌的開盤價時，他們在本季度找到了其他選擇，這就是為什麼我們會再次加強行銷力度，讓他們回來，特別是一旦我們有了庫存，希望保羅，如果你去商店，你會發現已經在那裡了，你可以找到一件很棒的毛衣。

Thanks to everyone listening on the call today. We wish you a wonderful holiday season. Thank you.

感謝今天收聽電話會議的所有人。我們祝福您有個美好的假期。謝謝。

This will conclude today's conference call. Thank you all for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。