勞氏公司 (LOW) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Lowe's Companies Fourth Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Rob, and I'll be your operator for today's call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I'll now turn the call over to Kate Pearlman, Vice President of Investor Relations.

大家早上好，歡迎參加勞氏公司 2021 年第四季度收益電話會議。我的名字是 Rob，今天我將擔任您的接線員。提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。我現在將把電話轉給投資者關係副總裁 Kate Pearlman。

Thank you, and good morning. Here with me today are Marvin Ellison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Bill Boltz, our Executive Vice President, Merchandising; Joe McFarland, our Executive Vice President, Stores; and Dave Denton, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，早上好。今天和我在一起的是董事長兼首席執行官馬文·埃里森（Marvin Ellison）；我們的商品銷售執行副總裁比爾·博爾茨（Bill Boltz）； Joe McFarland，我們的商店執行副總裁；以及我們的執行副總裁兼首席財務官 Dave Denton。

I would like to remind you that our notice regarding forward-looking statements is included in our press release this morning, which can be found on Lowe's Investor Relations website. During this call, we will be making comments that are forward-looking, including our expectations for fiscal 2022. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied as a result of various risks, uncertainties and important factors, including those discussed in the risk factors, MD&A and other sections of our annual report on Form 10-K and our other SEC filings. Additionally, we'll be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these items to U.S. GAAP can be found in the quarterly earnings section of our Investor Relations website.

我想提醒您，我們關於前瞻性陳述的通知已包含在我們今天上午的新聞稿中，該新聞稿可在 Lowe 的投資者關係網站上找到。在本次電話會議中，我們將發表前瞻性評論，包括我們對 2022 財年的預期。由於各種風險、不確定性和重要因素，包括風險中討論的那些，實際結果可能與明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異因素、MD&A 和我們關於 10-K 表格的年度報告和我們其他 SEC 文件的其他部分。此外，我們將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標。這些項目與美國公認會計原則的對賬可以在我們的投資者關係網站的季度收益部分找到。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Marvin.

有了這個，我會把電話轉給馬文。

Thank you, Kate, and good morning, everyone. Our results once again beat expectations this quarter, with comparable sales up 5% for the total company and 5.1% for the U.S. on top of over 28% growth last year. This resulted in comp sales of 34.5% for the total company and up 35.2% for the U.S. on a 2-year basis. These results capped of outstanding financial results for fiscal 2021 with sales of $96.3 billion, up 6.9% on a comparable basis and earnings per share of $12.04, up 36% on an adjusted basis.

謝謝你，凱特，大家早上好。我們本季度的業績再次超出預期，在去年增長超過 28% 的基礎上，整個公司的可比銷售額增長了 5%，美國的可比銷售額增長了 5.1%。這導致整個公司的複合銷售額在兩年內增長了 34.5%，在美國增長了 35.2%。這些業績以 2021 財年的傑出財務業績為上限，銷售額為 963 億美元，可比增長 6.9%，每股收益為 12.04 美元，調整後增長 36%。

With these outstanding results, 100% of our stores earned a quarterly Winning Together profit-sharing bonus. This $94 million payout is $24 million above the target payment level. And in recognition for their hard work throughout the pandemic in 2021, we are awarding an incremental discretionary bonus of $265 million to our frontline associates. Altogether, we rewarded our frontline associates with bonuses of over $350 million in the fourth quarter. As Joe will discuss later in the call, financial support of our frontline associates is consistent with our commitment to being an employer of choice in the retail industry. Our Total Home strategy continues to gain momentum, as we grow our share of wallet with both Pro and DIY as they increasingly rely on Lowe's as a one-stop solution for all their project needs. In looking at our results this quarter, I'm particularly encouraged that our growth was broad based and balanced across product categories, across both DIY and Pro, both online and in-store.

憑藉這些出色的業績，我們 100% 的門店獲得了季度共贏利潤分享獎金。這筆 9400 萬美元的支出比目標支付水平高出 2400 萬美元。為了表彰他們在 2021 年整個大流行期間的辛勤工作，我們將向一線員工提供 2.65 億美元的增量酌情獎金。總的來說，我們在第四季度獎勵了我們的一線員工超過 3.5 億美元的獎金。正如喬稍後將在電話會議中討論的那樣，對我們一線員工的財務支持與我們成為零售行業首選雇主的承諾是一致的。我們的 Total Home 戰略繼續獲得動力，隨著我們在 Pro 和 DIY 錢包中的份額增加，因為他們越來越依賴 Lowe's 作為滿足其所有項目需求的一站式解決方案。在查看我們本季度的業績時，我特別感到鼓舞的是，我們的增長基礎廣泛，並且在產品類別（包括 DIY 和 Pro，在線和店內）之間保持平衡。

In Pro, we delivered growth of 23% and 54% on a 2-year basis. And we are building on our momentum with the Pro with the launch of our new Pro loyalty program, MVPs Pro Rewards and Partnership Program. We redesigned our loyalty program based on feedback from our Pro customers who expressed a desire for a business partnership rather than a series of stand-alone transactions. Our data shows that Pros who leverage our loyalty and credit offering spend 300% more than Pros not engaged in these programs. Our Pro business is off to a strong start this year, and we're excited about the national launch of our MVPs Pro loyalty program. I look forward to providing updates on this critical initiative throughout the year. Now turning to our DIY customer, where we delivered growth on top of exceptionally strong demand last year. Later in the call, Bill will discuss how we continue to grow our DIY market share by elevating our private brands product assortments in our home decor category.

在 Pro 中，我們在 2 年的基礎上實現了 23% 和 54% 的增長。我們正在通過推出新的 Pro 忠誠度計劃、MVPs Pro Rewards 和合作夥伴計劃來鞏固 Pro 的勢頭。我們根據 Pro 客戶的反饋重新設計了我們的忠誠度計劃，他們表示希望建立業務合作夥伴關係，而不是一系列獨立交易。我們的數據顯示，利用我們的忠誠度和信用服務的專業人士的支出比未參與這些計劃的專業人士多 300%。我們的 Pro 業務今年開局良好，我們對在全國推出 MVPs Pro 忠誠度計劃感到興奮。我期待全年提供有關這一關鍵舉措的最新信息。現在轉向我們的 DIY 客戶，我們在去年異常強勁的需求之上實現了增長。稍後在電話會議中，比爾將討論我們如何通過提升我們在家居裝飾類別中的自有品牌產品種類來繼續擴大我們的 DIY 市場份額。

On Lowes.com, sales grew 11.5% on top of 121% growth in the fourth quarter of 2020, which represents a 2-year comp of 147% and nearly 11% sales penetration. Our intuitive online shopping experience and expanded on-trend assortments are resonating with our customers. And while we're pleased that our online sales have more than doubled over the past 2 years, we still have tremendous growth opportunity in front of us. And as part of our efforts to enhance our omnichannel experience, we are expanding our same-day and next-day fulfillment capabilities.

在 Lowes.com 上，銷售額在 2020 年第四季度增長 121% 的基礎上增長了 11.5%，這代表了 147% 的兩年比較和近 11% 的銷售滲透率。我們直觀的在線購物體驗和擴展的流行品類正與我們的客戶產生共鳴。雖然我們很高興我們的在線銷售額在過去 2 年中增長了一倍多，但我們面前仍有巨大的增長機會。作為我們努力提升全渠道體驗的一部分，我們正在擴大我們的當日和次日履行能力。

With that in mind, we're actively piloting several gig network solutions, including partnering with Instacart in several markets with same-day DIY home delivery. And building on the success we gained in the Florida and Ohio Valley regions with our market delivery strategy, we completed the conversion of our third geographic area, the Carolina region, during the fourth quarter. By way of reminder, in the market-based delivery model, big and bulky products flow from our supply chain directly to customers' homes. This replaces the highly inefficient store delivery model where each store acts as its own distribution and transportation center for these products. As we continue to expand our market-based delivery model, we're freeing up space in our 10,000 square foot store back rooms, which on average are considerably larger than our competition. And we are testing out different options to drive both greater in-store fulfillment and expanded delivery alternatives for both Pro and DIY customers. In a few minutes, Bill will discuss our continued investments in online as we create a best-in-class integrated omnichannel shopping experience.

考慮到這一點，我們正在積極試行多種演出網絡解決方案，包括在多個市場與 Instacart 合作，提供當日 DIY 送貨上門服務。在我們通過市場交付戰略在佛羅里達州和俄亥俄河谷地區取得成功的基礎上，我們在第四季度完成了第三個地理區域——卡羅萊納州地區的轉換。提醒一下，在基於市場的交付模式中，大而笨重的產品從我們的供應鏈直接流向客戶家中。這取代了效率低下的商店交付模式，在這種模式下，每個商店都充當這些產品的自己的配送和運輸中心。隨著我們繼續擴大以市場為基礎的交付模式，我們正在騰出 10,000 平方英尺的商店後室空間，這些空間平均比我們的競爭對手大得多。我們正在測試不同的選項，以便為 Pro 和 DIY 客戶推動更大的店內履行和擴展交付選擇。幾分鐘後，比爾將討論我們在創建一流的綜合全渠道購物體驗時對在線的持續投資。

During the quarter, operating margin expanded approximately 115 basis points, leading to diluted earnings per share of $1.78, which is a 34% increase as compared to adjusted diluted earnings per share in the prior year. These results reflect our disciplined focus on driving operating leverage through our perpetual productivity improvement initiatives or PPI, as well as the ongoing benefits of our new pricing strategies. Joe and Dave will discuss these initiatives in further detail later in the call. Turning to our results in Canada where performance lagged the U.S. The Canadian leadership team continues to drive productivity through proven technology and processes that have delivered great results in the U.S. Before I close, I'd like to share my perspective on the home improvement market, as well as our opportunity to continue to win share. Our outlook for the home improvement industry remains strong, supported by a very healthy consumer balance sheet, especially for homeowners and continuing home price appreciation. Persistent solid demand for homes despite an uptick in interest rates is also expected to support residential investment. In fact, we're encouraged by the strengthening millennial household formation trends that will support home buying in the coming years.

本季度，營業利潤率增長約 115 個基點，攤薄後每股收益為 1.78 美元，與上年調整後的攤薄後每股收益相比增長 34%。這些結果反映了我們對通過我們的永久生產力改進計劃或 PPI 來推動運營槓桿的嚴格關注，以及我們新定價策略的持續收益。 Joe 和 Dave 將在稍後的電話會議中更詳細地討論這些舉措。談到我們在加拿大的業績，那裡的業績落後於美國。加拿大領導團隊繼續通過在美國取得巨大成果的成熟技術和流程來提高生產力。在我結束之前，我想分享我對家居裝修市場的看法，以及我們繼續贏得份額的機會。我們對家居裝修行業的前景依然強勁，這得益於非常健康的消費者資產負債表，尤其是對於房主而言，以及房價的持續升值。儘管利率上升，但對房屋的持續強勁需求也有望支持住宅投資。事實上，我們對千禧一代家庭形成趨勢的加強感到鼓舞，這將支持未來幾年的購房。

Other trends remain favorable, including baby boomers' increasing preference to-age-in-place. And with the extension of remote work for some employees, we're expecting a permanent step-up in repair and maintenance cycle. And as a reminder, 50% of the homes in the U.S. are over 40 years old and will continue to require investments for upkeep and approximately 2/3 of Lowe's annual sales are generated from repair and maintenance activity. Therefore, we're encouraged that the macro environment for home improvement remains very supportive.

其他趨勢仍然有利，包括嬰兒潮一代越來越偏愛原地養老。隨著一些員工遠程工作的延長，我們預計維修和維護週期會永久增加。提醒一下，美國 50% 的房屋已使用 40 年以上，並且將繼續需要投資進行維護，Lowe 大約 2/3 的年銷售額來自維修和維護活動。因此，我們感到鼓舞的是，家裝的宏觀環境仍然非常有利。

As we close the year, we continue to give back to the communities where we operate, with total donations of $100 million in 2021 well over our pre-pandemic levels. And we're pleased that our efforts to enhance our brand reputation while supporting our associates and driving long-term value for our shareholders and was recently recognized by Fortune Magazine as they named Lowe's the #1 Most Admired Specialty Retailer for the second year in a row. This is the first time in our history that we received this recognition in back-to-back years.

在這一年結束之際，我們將繼續回饋我們經營所在的社區，到 2021 年的捐款總額為 1 億美元，遠高於大流行前的水平。我們很高興我們努力提升品牌聲譽，同時支持我們的員工並為我們的股東推動長期價值，最近被《財富》雜誌認可，因為他們連續第二年將 Lowe's 評為最受尊敬的專業零售商。排。這是我們歷史上第一次連續幾年獲得這種認可。

In closing, I'd like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to our frontline associates. As I travel the country every week visiting stores, I continue to be struck by their commitment to supporting our communities while providing excellent customer service. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Bill.

最後，我想向我們的前線員工表示衷心的感謝。當我每週在全國各地訪問商店時，我繼續對他們在提供卓越客戶服務的同時支持我們的社區的承諾感到震驚。有了這個，我會把電話轉給比爾。

Thanks, Marvin, and good morning, everyone. In the fourth quarter, U.S. comparable sales increased 5.1% and 35.2% on a 2-year basis. We delivered positive comps in all 3 merchandising divisions in the quarter with growth across Pro and DIY customers. Growth was well balanced with 12 of 15 merchandising departments comping positive and was broad-based on a 2-year basis with all 15 departments up more than 18% in that time frame.

謝謝，馬文，大家早上好。第四季度，美國可比銷售額在 2 年的基礎上分別增長了 5.1% 和 35.2%。我們在本季度的所有 3 個銷售部門都提供了積極的業績，Pro 和 DIY 客戶的增長都在增長。增長平衡良好，15 個採購部門中有 12 個實現了正增長，並且在 2 年的基礎上，所有 15 個部門在該時間段內的增長都超過了 18%。

Beginning with our Home Decor merchandising division, flooring and appliances delivered the strongest comps in the quarter. In flooring, vinyl flooring once again led the way as we continue to see consumer preference shifting towards this affordable and stylish solution. Lowe's already offers a wide selection of vinyl flooring products, including several Pergo WetProtect options. And this year, we look forward to extending our own trusted STAINMASTER brand with its high performance characteristics and lifetime stain-resistant warranty across a full range of flooring products, including laminate, tile and vinyl. Within appliances, sales of ranges, cooktops, along with dishwashers were the strongest in the quarter. As we continue to extend our private brand offering, we recently launched Origin 21 across several product categories in home decor. This is our new modern brand designed for the trend-setting millennial consumer, while our ever popular allen + roth brand is tailored to the more traditional style.

從我們的家居裝飾銷售部門開始，地板和電器在本季度提供了最強勁的業績。在地板方面，隨著我們繼續看到消費者偏好轉向這種經濟實惠且時尚的解決方案，乙烯基地板再次引領潮流。 Lowe's 已經提供多種乙烯基地板產品，包括多種 Pergo WetProtect 選項。今年，我們期待著將我們值得信賴的 STAINMASTER 品牌擴展到全系列地板產品，包括層壓板、瓷磚和乙烯基，其高性能特性和終身防污保修。在電器中，灶具、灶具和洗碗機的銷售額在本季度最為強勁。隨著我們繼續擴展我們的自有品牌產品，我們最近在家居裝飾的多個產品類別中推出了 Origin 21。這是我們為引領潮流的千禧一代消費者設計的全新現代品牌，而我們廣受歡迎的 Allen + roth 品牌則為更傳統的風格量身定制。

Now turning to our performance in hardlines. The team delivered an exceptional holiday season. Customers were active early and shopped often in our trim and tree category, which drove excellent sell-through in this holiday category. Seasonal, outdoor living and lawn and garden delivered standout performances, as customers continue to enhance their outdoor living spaces with new grills, patio heaters, fire pits, as well as live goods for the yards and garden. With the home serving as a center for entertainment, our customers are making the most of their homes, inside and out.

現在轉向我們在強硬派方面的表現。該團隊帶來了一個非凡的假期。客戶很早就很活躍，並且經常在我們的裝飾和樹木類別中購物，這推動了這個假日類別的出色銷售。季節性的戶外生活和草坪和花園表現出色，因為客戶繼續通過新的烤架、庭院加熱器、火坑以及庭院和花園的生活用品來改善他們的戶外生活空間。隨著家庭作為娛樂中心，我們的客戶正在充分利用他們的家，無論是室內還是室外。

We continue to build on our #1 position in outdoor power equipment with further share gains in battery outdoor power equipment, as we drove over 37% growth in this area for the quarter and over 118% on a 2-year basis. Both DIY and Pro customers enjoy the convenience, reliability and the power of our innovative battery-powered products available in the EGO, Kobalt, CRAFTSMAN and Skill brands. In this spring, we are thrilled to expand our exclusive lineup of EGO battery products with their new 52-inch zero-turn riding mower with features that include a fabricated deck and power to mow up to 4 acres on a single charge. Also new for EGO is the industry's most powerful handheld battery-powered blower with power that will outperform the leading gas blower with 765 cubic feet per minute of blowing capacity. These new products will complement our existing lineup and assortments from powerful brands, such as John Deere, Honda, Husqvarna, Aaron's and CRAFTSMAN. This spring, we will launch our new Origin 21 patio collections, as well as our new style selection replacement cushions. These cushions are made with 100% recycled plastic bottles and they are fade-resistant, UV-protected as well as easy to clean.

我們繼續鞏固我們在戶外動力設備領域的第一地位，並在電池戶外動力設備領域進一步擴大份額，因為我們在本季度推動了該領域超過 37% 的增長，並且在 2 年的基礎上增長了超過 118%。 DIY 和 Pro 客戶都可以享受我們在 EGO、Kobalt、CRAFTSMAN 和 Skill 品牌中提供的創新電池供電產品的便利性、可靠性和強大功能。今年春天，我們很高興通過其全新的 52 英寸零轉向騎乘式割草機擴展我們獨家的 EGO 電池產品陣容，該割草機的特點包括一個裝配式甲板和一次充電即可割草多達 4 英畝的動力。 EGO 的另一個新功能是業界最強大的手持式電池供電鼓風機，其功率將超過領先的燃氣鼓風機，每分鐘 765 立方英尺的鼓風能力。這些新產品將補充我們現有的陣容和強大品牌的分類，如約翰迪爾、本田、Husqvarna、Aaron's 和 CRAFTSMAN。今年春天，我們將推出新的 Origin 21 庭院系列，以及我們新的款式選擇替換靠墊。這些靠墊由 100% 回收塑料瓶製成，具有防褪色、防紫外線且易於清潔的特點。

Now turning to the building products division. Our comps were very strong driven by broad-based balanced growth across lumber, electrical, rough plumbing, millwork and building materials. We are pleased with the continued momentum we are building with the Pro as we work to expand our brand and product offerings to meet their project needs.

現在轉向建築產品部門。在木材、電氣、粗管道、木製品和建築材料的廣泛平衡增長的推動下，我們的業績非常強勁。在我們努力擴展我們的品牌和產品以滿足他們的項目需求的過程中，我們對 Pro 的持續發展勢頭感到高興。

New this year will be a full range of CertainTeed roofing, insulation and gypsum products. As a leading manufacturer of building products for both residential and commercial construction, CertainTeed is an important strategic partner that we are proud to add to Lowe's as we continue to enhance our Pro offering in the building materials category. We also continue to build out our Pro power tool program with the introduction of the new DEWALT power stack battery technology, which is the smallest and most energy-densed battery pack on the market. These new products and new brands are strong additions to our Pro brand arsenal, which already includes other great brands like Bosch, Eaton, Estwing, FastenMaster, FLEX, GRK, ITW, LESCO, Little Giant, Lufkin, Mansfield, Marshalltown, Metabo, SharkBite, Simpson Strong-Tie, SPAX, Spyder and Werner.

今年將推出全系列的CertainTeed 屋頂、絕緣材料和石膏產品。作為住宅和商業建築建築產品的領先製造商，CertainTeed 是重要的戰略合作夥伴，我們很自豪地加入 Lowe's，因為我們將繼續增強我們在建築材料類別中的 Pro 產品。我們還繼續通過引入新的 DEWALT 電源組電池技術來構建我們的 Pro 電動工具計劃，這是市場上最小、能量密度最高的電池組。這些新產品和新品牌是我們 Pro 品牌庫的有力補充，其中已經包括其他偉大品牌，如 Bosch、Eaton、Estwing、FastenMaster、FLEX、GRK、ITW、LESCO、Little Giant、Lufkin、Mansfield、Marshalltown、Metabo、SharkBite , Simpson Strong-Tie, SPAX, Spyder 和 Werner。

Moving to Lowes.com. As Marvin mentioned, we delivered sales growth of 11.5% in the quarter and 147% on a 2-year basis in the fourth quarter. We are focused on further enhancing our omnichannel capabilities in 2022 across 3 key areas: expanding our online assortment; enhancing the user experience; and improving fulfillment. First, we are expanding our Lowes.com assortment to meet our customers' design and lifestyle needs. For example, within Lowe's Livable Home products, we will offer a range of products to help our customers adapt to their changing mobility needs. At the same time, we will continue to enhance the user experience with continued upgrades to the visualization and configuration tools, like kitchen visualizer and Measure Your Space.

搬到 Lowes.com。正如馬文所說，我們在第四季度實現了 11.5% 的銷售額增長和 147% 的 2 年增長。到 2022 年，我們將專注於在 3 個關鍵領域進一步增強我們的全渠道能力：擴大我們的在線分類；提升用戶體驗；和提高履行。首先，我們正在擴展我們的 Lowes.com 產品系列，以滿足客戶的設計和生活方式需求。例如，在 Lowe's Livable Home 產品中，我們將提供一系列產品來幫助我們的客戶適應他們不斷變化的移動需求。同時，我們將通過持續升級可視化和配置工具（如廚房可視化工具和 Measure Your Space）來不斷提升用戶體驗。

Finally, as we continue to improve our fulfillment capabilities, our customers can now track their appliance delivery in real time, and we will soon be leveraging enhanced technology to further streamline the buy online, pick-up in store experience for our customers through an improved store execution process. As we look ahead to spring, we are well positioned to capitalize on what we expect to be another strong spring season. Consistent with our approach over the past year, we have worked hard to land our spring product early. Through an expansion of our network of coastal holding facilities, we are better able to manage the flow of imported product enabling us to quickly flow product where needed as spring arrives across the country. As one of the largest importers in the U.S., we continue to leverage our scale and carrier relationships to secure capacity and work to mitigate and manage the impact of cost increases across our supply chain. Before I close, I'd like to extend my appreciation to our merchants and inventory and supply chain teams, along with our vendors for their hard work and continued support.

最後，隨著我們不斷提高履行能力，我們的客戶現在可以實時跟踪他們的設備交付，我們很快將利用增強的技術通過改進的改進來進一步簡化客戶的在線購買和店內取貨體驗存儲執行過程。當我們展望春天時，我們已經準備好利用我們預期的又一個強勁的春季。與我們過去一年的做法一致，我們一直在努力儘早推出我們的春季產品。通過擴大我們的沿海倉儲設施網絡，我們能夠更好地管理進口產品的流動，使我們能夠在全國各地春天到來時迅速將產品運送到需要的地方。作為美國最大的進口商之一，我們繼續利用我們的規模和承運人關係來確保產能，並努力減輕和管理成本增加對整個供應鏈的影響。在結束之前，我要感謝我們的商家、庫存和供應鏈團隊，以及我們的供應商的辛勤工作和持續的支持。

Thank you, and I'll now turn the call over to Joe.

謝謝，我現在把電話轉給喬。

Thanks, Bill, and good morning, everyone. I would like to begin by thanking our frontline associates for delivering tremendous results in 2021. In recognition of their outstanding efforts, we awarded the discretionary year-end bonus of $6,000 for assistant store managers, $1,000 for department supervisors, $800 for full-time hourly associates and $400 for part-time hourly associates. As Marvin mentioned, the combination of Winning Together and this discretionary year-end bonus will result in a payout of over $350 million for our frontline associates this quarter. As someone who started his career in home improvement as an hourly associate, I understand how meaningful this type of financial recognition is for our hourly associates. At Lowe's, our people are truly our most valuable asset. When it comes to recruiting and retaining top talent, we strive to be an employer of choice. From the moment that a candidate applies for a position at Lowe's, we are committed to creating a positive impression. We have invested in leading technology that accelerates the hiring process, so that we are processing applications in a matter of minutes rather than the weeks that the manual process required as recently as last year. We also continue to improve our onboarding process so that our new hires can quickly come up to speed, leveraging the technology and product knowledge that is readily available to them on their handheld mobile devices via the Lowe's University application. As I mentioned on our last call, we are also leveraging our new Lowe's University in-store training labs to provide the ongoing training that our associates need to build their skills and confidence so they can continue to progress in their career.

謝謝，比爾，大家早上好。首先，我要感謝我們的前線員工在 2021 年取得了巨大的成果。為了表彰他們的傑出努力，我們為助理店長頒發了 6,000 美元、部門主管 1,000 美元、全職每小時 800 美元的酌情年終獎金兼職員工和每小時 400 美元的兼職員工。正如馬文所說，Winning Together 和這種可自由支配的年終獎金相結合，將為本季度我們的一線員工支付超過 3.5 億美元。作為一個以小時工開始他的家庭裝修職業生涯的人，我理解這種類型的財務認可對我們的小時工來說是多麼有意義。在 Lowe's，我們的員工確實是我們最寶貴的資產。在招聘和留住頂尖人才方面，我們努力成為首選雇主。從候選人申請勞氏職位的那一刻起，我們就致力於營造積極的印象。我們已投資於加速招聘流程的領先技術，因此我們可以在幾分鐘內處理申請，而不是去年手動流程所需的幾週時間。我們還繼續改進我們的入職流程，以便我們的新員工能夠快速上手，利用他們通過勞氏大學應用程序在手持移動設備上隨時可用的技術和產品知識。正如我在上次電話會議中提到的那樣，我們還利用我們新的勞氏大學店內培訓實驗室來提供我們的員工所需的持續培訓，以建立他們的技能和信心，以便他們能夠在職業生涯中繼續進步。

Over the last 3 years, we have created valuable career opportunities for our associates with the incremental 10,000 department supervisor roles and 1,600 ASM positions that we have added. Since 2018, we have also invested well over $2 billion in incremental wage and equity programs for our frontline associates to ensure that we continue to offer a strong competitive wage and benefit package to our associates. I'm really pleased to report that our investments to position Lowe's as an employer of choice are paying off. Heading into spring, we anticipate being even better positioned than last year from a hiring perspective. And we are also confident that we will continue to drive productivity in our operations through our perpetual productivity improvement or PPI initiatives.

在過去 3 年中，我們增加了 10,000 個部門主管職位和 1,600 個 ASM 職位，為我們的員工創造了寶貴的職業機會。自 2018 年以來，我們還為一線員工投資了超過 20 億美元的增量工資和股權計劃，以確保我們繼續為員工提供具有競爭力的工資和福利方案。我很高興地報告，我們將 Lowe's 定位為首選雇主的投資正在獲得回報。進入春季，從招聘的角度來看，我們預計會比去年更好。我們也相信，我們將繼續通過我們的永久生產力改進或 PPI 計劃來提高我們的運營生產力。

As a reminder, this is not a single win. It is a series of improvements that are scaling across our stores over time. In fact, we are working on over 20 different PPI initiatives in our store operations this year. To highlight just a few key PPI initiatives, we have just launched a new store inventory management system, or SIMs across all of our stores. This platform gives store associates real-time visibility to inventory in their store. This includes inventory in the home bay location as well as product in the top stock and cap, off-shelf and back stock room. This new system will eliminate the countless nonproductive hours associates have been spending looking for product.

提醒一下，這不是一次勝利。這是一系列改進，隨著時間的推移在我們的商店中擴展。事實上，我們今年在門店運營中開展了 20 多項不同的 PPI 計劃。為了突出幾個關鍵的 PPI 舉措，我們剛剛推出了一個新的商店庫存管理系統，或在我們所有商店中使用的 SIM 卡。該平台使商店員工可以實時查看商店中的庫存。這包括 homebay 位置的庫存以及頂級庫存和上限、現成和後備庫中的產品。這個新系統將消除員工花費在尋找產品上的無數非生產時間。

I'm also excited about our continuing efforts to eliminate the ancient green screen technology with the launch of our simplified user interface to other selling stations throughout the store. First introduced at our front-end registers, we are beginning to implement this new technology across the sales floor. With this new platform, we are accelerating the associate training process and facilitating cross-training in other departments. This new technology will free up our associates to focus on providing excellent customer service while reducing customer wait time. While these 2 initiatives are just a few of the PPI deliverables planned for this year, we expect that these 2 initiatives alone will drive $100 million in productivity this year. Looking forward, we will continue to leverage technology to reduce manual tasking for our associates while also enabling them to deliver better service to our Pro and DIY customers. I would like to close once again by thanking our store associates for their continued hard work and dedication and the great results we achieved together this year. With that, I will turn it over to Dave.

我也很高興我們繼續努力消除古老的綠屏技術，推出我們簡化的用戶界面到整個商店的其他銷售站。首先在我們的前端收銀台引入，我們開始在整個銷售大廳實施這項新技術。借助這個新平台，我們正在加快員工培訓流程並促進其他部門的交叉培訓。這項新技術將使我們的員工騰出時間，專注於提供卓越的客戶服務，同時減少客戶等待時間。雖然這 2 項舉措只是今年計劃的 PPI 可交付成果中的一小部分，但我們預計僅這 2 項舉措今年將推動 1 億美元的生產力。展望未來，我們將繼續利用技術來減少員工的手動任務，同時讓他們能夠為我們的專業和 DIY 客戶提供更好的服務。我想再次感謝我們的店員繼續努力工作和奉獻精神以及我們今年共同取得的豐碩成果。有了這個，我會把它交給戴夫。

Thank you, Joe. I'll begin this morning with a few comments on the U.S. economy as it relates to the home improvement sector. As Marvin indicated, the consumer backdrop remains favorable, as we are confident that home improvement demand will remain strong despite an uptick in interest rates. Historically, when interest rates have risen against a strong economic backdrop, the home improvement sector has delivered solid growth. During these periods, housing affordability was supported by growth in jobs and personal income, which offset the impact of higher borrowing costs. Today, housing affordability remains above the pre-pandemic average. The market is expecting moderately higher interest rates in the coming quarters. But keep in mind, rates are increasing off historic lows. Home equity has increased due to rising home prices and consumer savings are about $2.5 trillion higher than pre-pandemic levels, positioning consumers for continued residential investments. Given all these factors, we are expecting another strong year of demand in the home improvement market.

謝謝你，喬。今天早上我將首先對與家居裝修行業相關的美國經濟發表一些評論。正如馬文所說，消費環境依然有利，因為我們相信儘管利率上升，家居裝修需求仍將保持強勁。從歷史上看，當利率在強勁的經濟背景下上升時，家居裝修行業實現了穩健增長。在此期間，住房負擔能力受到就業和個人收入增長的支持，抵消了較高借貸成本的影響。如今，住房負擔能力仍高於大流行前的平均水平。市場預計未來幾個季度利率會適度上升。但請記住，利率正在從歷史低點上升。由於房價上漲，房屋淨值增加，消費者儲蓄比大流行前水平高出約 2.5 萬億美元，使消費者能夠繼續進行住宅投資。鑑於所有這些因素，我們預計家居裝修市場的需求將再次強勁增長。

Now let me turn to capital allocation. We remain committed to be best-in-class when it comes to our ability to create value for our shareholders through our strong capital allocation program. In 2021, we generated $8 billion in free cash flow driven by outstanding operating results, and we returned $15.1 billion to our shareholders through both share repurchases and dividends. During the fourth quarter, we paid $551 million in dividends and repurchased approximately 16 million shares for $4 billion. This brought the total to $13.1 billion in share repurchases for the year, ahead of our expectations of $12 billion. This reflected better-than-expected financial performance and our commitment to return excess cash to shareholders.

現在讓我談談資本配置。在通過我們強大的資本分配計劃為股東創造價值的能力方面，我們仍然致力於成為一流的。 2021 年，我們在出色的經營業績的推動下產生了 80 億美元的自由現金流，並通過股票回購和分紅向股東返還了 151 億美元。在第四季度，我們支付了 5.51 億美元的股息，並以 40 億美元的價格回購了大約 1600 萬股股票。這使本年度的股票回購總額達到 131 億美元，高於我們預期的 120 億美元。這反映了好於預期的財務業績以及我們向股東返還多餘現金的承諾。

Capital expenditures were $597 million in the quarter and nearly $1.9 billion for the full year as we continue to invest in strategic initiatives to both drive growth and enhance returns across the business. Our balance sheet remains very healthy. Adjusted debt-to-EBITDAR stands at 1.98x, well below our long-term leverage target of 2.75x. As I mentioned at our December 15 investor update, we are planning to return to our leverage target over the next 2 years, driven by our shareholder-focused capital allocation strategy.

本季度資本支出為 5.97 億美元，全年資本支出接近 19 億美元，因為我們繼續投資於戰略計劃，以推動業務增長並提高整個業務的回報。我們的資產負債表仍然非常健康。調整後的債務與 EBITDAR 之比為 1.98 倍，遠低於我們 2.75 倍的長期槓桿目標。正如我在 12 月 15 日的投資者更新中提到的那樣，在我們以股東為中心的資本配置戰略的推動下，我們計劃在未來 2 年內恢復我們的槓桿目標。

With that, I'd like to turn to the income statement. In the fourth quarter, we reported diluted earnings per share of $1.78, an increase of 34% compared to adjusted diluted earnings per share last year. This increase reflected better-than-expected sales growth, improved gross margin rate and favorable SG&A leverage, driven by our productivity initiatives. In the quarter, sales were $21.3 billion, reflecting a comparable sales increase of 5%. Comparable average ticket increased 9.4% and with higher ticket sales in appliances, flooring and seasonal and outdoor living and 90 basis points of commodity inflation in both lumber and copper. In the quarter, comp transaction count decreased 4.4%, but on a 2-year basis, comp transactions increased 8.9%. We continue to gain traction with our Total Home strategy as reflected in Pro growth of 23% and positive DIY comps on top of extremely strong DIY growth last year.

有了這個，我想轉向損益表。第四季度，我們公佈的攤薄後每股收益為 1.78 美元，與去年調整後的攤薄後每股收益相比增長了 34%。這一增長反映了在我們的生產力舉措的推動下，銷售增長好於預期、毛利率提高以及良好的 SG&A 槓桿。本季度銷售額為 213 億美元，可比銷售額增長 5%。可比平均票價上漲 9.4%，電器、地板、季節性和戶外生活的門票銷售額增加，木材和銅的商品價格上漲 90 個基點。本季度，補償交易數量減少了 4.4%，但在 2 年的基礎上，補償交易增加了 8.9%。我們繼續通過我們的 Total Home 戰略獲得牽引力，這反映在 Pro 增長 23% 和積極的 DIY 組合上，而去年 DIY 增長非常強勁。

On Lowes.com, sales increased 11.5% in the quarter. U.S. comp sales increased 5.1% in the fourth quarter and 35.2% on a 2-year basis. We saw acceleration in both our Pro and our DIY comp sales trends from our third quarter performance. By month, our U.S. comparable sales were up 8.1% in November, up 7.4% in December and down 1.3% in January. Recall that we cycled over government stimulus in late December and early January of last year. But looking at U.S. comp growth on a 2-year basis from 2019 to 2021, November sales increased 33.8%, December increased 37.4% and January increased 33.9%.

在 Lowes.com 上，本季度銷售額增長了 11.5%。美國第四季度的複合銷售額增長了 5.1%，兩年增長了 35.2%。從第三季度的表現來看，我們的 Pro 和 DIY 組合銷售趨勢都在加速。按月計算，我們的美國可比銷售額 11 月增長 8.1%，12 月增長 7.4%，1 月下降 1.3%。回想一下，我們在去年 12 月底和 1 月初循環了政府刺激計劃。但從 2019 年到 2021 年的兩年美國複合增長率來看，11 月份的銷售額增長了 33.8%，12 月份增長了 37.4%，1 月份增長了 33.9%。

Gross margin was 32.9% of sales in the fourth quarter, up 115 basis points from last year. Product margin rate increased 65 basis points, driven by our disciplined pricing and cost management strategies. Improvements in both shrink and credit revenue benefited gross margin by 50 basis points and 25 basis points, respectively. These benefits were partially offset by roughly 30 basis points of pressure related to higher transportation and importation costs, as well as the expansion of our supply chain network. I'd like to spend just a moment addressing the recent increase in lumber prices. We are confident that we have an effective strategy to carefully manage our inventory and rapidly adjust pricing. Although we are planning for our lumber margins to be compressed when prices decline, we are confident in our outlook for gross margin rate to be up slightly in 2022.

第四季度毛利率為銷售額的 32.9%，比去年增加 115 個基點。在我們嚴格的定價和成本管理策略的推動下，產品利潤率提高了 65 個基點。收縮和信貸收入的改善分別使毛利率提高了 50 個基點和 25 個基點。這些好處被與較高的運輸和進口成本以及我們的供應鍊網絡擴展相關的大約 30 個基點的壓力部分抵消。我想花一點時間來談談最近木材價格的上漲。我們相信我們有一個有效的策略來仔細管理我們的庫存和快速調整定價。儘管我們計劃在價格下跌時壓縮我們的木材利潤率，但我們對 2022 年毛利率將小幅上升的前景充滿信心。

Turning to SG&A. We levered 15 basis points versus LY, driven by higher sales and our relentless focus on productivity. This quarter, we incurred $50 million of COVID-related expenses as compared to $165 million of COVID-related expenses last year. This reduction in these expenses generated 60 basis points of SG&A leverage. Additionally, we incurred $150 million of expenses related to the U.S. stores reset in the fourth quarter of last year. As we did not incur any material expenses related to this project in '21, this generated approximately 75 basis points of SG&A leverage versus LY. These benefits were pressured by 100 basis points related to the discretionary year-end bonus of $215 million for our store-based frontline associates. Operating profit was over $1.8 billion in the quarter, an increase of 21% versus LY. Operating margin of 8.7% for the quarter increased 115 basis points over last year, largely driven by higher gross margin rate, as well as favorable SG&A leverage. The effective tax rate was 25.3% in the quarter, which is in line with prior year. At year-end, inventory was $17.6 billion, up $920 million from Q3 and in line with seasonal trends and consistent with our effort to land spring products earlier. Driven by both improved operating performance and a disciplined capital allocation strategy, we delivered return on invested capital of 35% for the year, up 760 basis points from 2020.

轉向SG&A。在更高的銷售額和我們對生產力的不懈關注的推動下，我們比 LY 槓桿了 15 個基點。本季度，我們發生了 5000 萬美元的 COVID 相關費用，而去年為 1.65 億美元。這些費用的減少產生了 60 個基點的 SG&A 槓桿。此外，我們在去年第四季度發生了與美國商店重置相關的 1.5 億美元費用。由於我們在 21 年沒有產生與該項目相關的任何重大費用，因此與 LY 相比，這產生了大約 75 個基點的 SG&A 槓桿。這些福利受到 100 個基點的壓力，與我們在商店的一線員工 2.15 億美元的可自由支配年終獎金有關。本季度營業利潤超過 18 億美元，比 LY 增長 21%。本季度的營業利潤率為 8.7%，比去年增加了 115 個基點，主要是由於較高的毛利率以及有利的 SG&A 槓桿。本季度的有效稅率為 25.3%，與去年同期持平。到年底，庫存為 176 億美元，比第三季度增加 9.2 億美元，與季節性趨勢一致，也與我們更早推出春季產品的努力一致。在改善的經營業績和嚴格的資本分配策略的推動下，我們全年實現了 35% 的投資資本回報率，比 2020 年提高了 760 個基點。

Now turning to our 2022 financial outlook. We closed out 2021 ahead of the expectations that we presented at our December 15 investor update. Month-to-date, February, U.S. comparable sales trends are in line with our fourth quarter performance on a 2-year basis. And based on the continued momentum that we are seeing in Pro sales, as well as higher expectations for commodity inflation, we are raising our sales outlook for 2022 to a range of between $97 billion to $99 billion for the year, representing comparable sales of down 1% to up 1%.

現在轉向我們的 2022 年財務展望。我們在 12 月 15 日投資者更新中提出的預期之前結束了 2021 年。 2 月至今，美國的可比銷售趨勢與我們在 2 年的基礎上的第四季度業績一致。基於我們在 Pro 銷售中看到的持續勢頭，以及對商品通脹的更高預期，我們將 2022 年的銷售前景提高到今年 970 億美元至 990 億美元之間的範圍內，相當於下降的可比銷售額1% 至 1%。

Now please keep in mind that our outlook assumes that lumber pricing will return to a more normalized level in the second half of the year. We continue to expect Pro to outpace DIY in 2022. Keep in mind that we are cycling over an estimated 300 basis points of stimulus in the first quarter. Also, as a reminder, our 2022 sales outlook includes a 53rd week, which equates to approximately $1 billion to $1.5 billion in sales. We now expect gross margin rate in 2022 to be up slightly as compared to the prior year. With higher projected sales, improving gross margin outlook and continued execution of our PPI initiatives, we are raising our outlook for operating margin to a range of 12.8% to 13% from a prior range of 12.5% to 12.8% for the full year. We are also raising our outlook for diluted earnings per share to a range of $13.10 to $13.60 from a prior range of $12.25 to $13. In 2022, we continue to expect capital expenditures of approximately $2 billion and share repurchases of approximately $12 billion. Finally, we are raising our outlook for return on invested capital to above 36% from our original outlook of approximately 35%. In closing, we are off to a great start in 2022. We have significant runway ahead of us to both grow our market share, expand operating margins and deliver meaningful long-term shareholder value.

現在請記住，我們的展望假設木材定價將在下半年恢復到更加正常的水平。我們繼續預計 Pro 在 2022 年將超過 DIY。請記住，我們在第一季度的刺激計劃將超過 300 個基點。此外，提醒一下，我們 2022 年的銷售前景包括第 53 週，這相當於大約 10 億至 15 億美元的銷售額。我們現在預計 2022 年的毛利率將比上一年略有上升。隨著預計銷售額的提高、毛利率前景的改善以及 PPI 計劃的持續執行，我們將全年營業利潤率的前景從之前的 12.5% 至 12.8% 提高至 12.8% 至 13% 的範圍。我們還將稀釋後的每股收益預期從之前的 12.25 美元至 13 美元提高到 13.10 美元至 13.60 美元。 2022 年，我們繼續預計資本支出約為 20 億美元，股票回購約為 120 億美元。最後，我們將投資資本回報率預期從最初的約 35% 提高至 36% 以上。最後，我們將在 2022 年迎來一個良好的開端。我們前面有很長的路要走，既要增加我們的市場份額，擴大營業利潤率，又要提供有意義的長期股東價值。

And with that, we are now ready for questions.

有了這個，我們現在準備好提問了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Kate McShane with Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自高盛的 Kate McShane。

I wondered if you could maybe talk a little bit more about inflation, how you're viewing inflation as part of the comp sales guide for 2022.

我想知道您是否可以多談談通貨膨脹，以及您如何將通貨膨脹視為 2022 年銷售指南的一部分。

Yes. Kate, thank you for the question. As we think about next year, if you look at our guide of down 1 to up 1, we would expect units to be modestly down and our average ticket offsetting that almost dollar for dollar.

是的。凱特，謝謝你的問題。當我們考慮明年時，如果您查看我們的從下降 1 到上升 1 的指南，我們預計單位會適度下降，而我們的平均票價幾乎可以抵消美元兌美元。

Okay. And based on what you said about February, it does seem like there may have been an acceleration from what you saw in January into February on a 1 year. Is it right that you're seeing better trends in February than January? Should we really just be thinking about things on a 2-year stack?

好的。根據您對 2 月的說法，從 1 月到 2 月的 1 年，您看到的情況似乎確實有所加速。您在 2 月份看到的趨勢比 1 月份更好，這對嗎？我們真的應該只考慮 2 年的堆棧嗎？

Kate, it is true, we are seeing better trends in February than January. But on a 2-year basis, you need to think about it, our trends in February, consistent with the 2-year trends for the fourth quarter, which is really solid.

凱特，這是真的，我們看到 2 月份的趨勢比 1 月份要好。但是在 2 年的基礎上，你需要考慮一下，我們 2 月份的趨勢與第四季度的 2 年趨勢一致，這真的很穩固。

Our next question comes from the line of Mike Baker with D.A. Davidson.

我們的下一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Mike Baker。戴維森。

On the Pro side, in the past, you've talked about it as being anywhere between 22% and 25%. Your orange competitor yesterday bumped there, talk of what the Pro is to 50%. They used to say somewhere in the low to mid-40s. I understand that it's hard to get the exact number, but any update on what you think on an annual basis the Pro penetration is? And then more importantly, what do you think it can get to?

在 Pro 方面，過去，您曾談到它介於 22% 和 25% 之間。你的橙色競爭對手昨天撞到了那裡，談論 Pro 是 50%。他們過去常說在 40 多歲到中期的某個地方。我知道很難獲得確切的數字，但是您對每年 Pro 滲透率的看法有什麼更新嗎？然後更重要的是，您認為它可以達到什麼目的？

Yes. Look, I think your first statement is directionally correct on what and where the penetration is. We just know the business continues to be very strong. If you think about 23% comps in the quarter and 54% on a 2-year basis, I mean, we feel great about that business. And I think you noted, we spent quite a bit of time over the last 3-plus years making not only investments in adding products to our assortment, but also our service levels fulfillment. And we're very pleased, as I mentioned in my prepared comments with the launch of our new Pro loyalty program. And as I mentioned as well, we're seeing a 300% increase in Pro sales for Pros engaged in our loyalty and credit program. And so Pro is going to be a significant part of our growth this year, and we still feel very encouraged by the progress.

是的。看，我認為您的第一個陳述在滲透的內容和位置上是方向正確的。我們只知道業務繼續非常強勁。如果您考慮本季度的 23% 和 2 年的 54%，我的意思是，我們對這項業務感覺很好。我想你已經註意到了，在過去 3 年多的時間裡，我們花費了大量時間，不僅投資於將產品添加到我們的分類中，而且還投資於我們的服務水平實現。正如我在準備好的評論中提到的，我們非常高興推出新的 Pro 忠誠度計劃。正如我也提到的，我們看到參與我們的忠誠度和信用計劃的專業人士的專業銷售額增長了 300%。因此，Pro 將成為我們今年增長的重要組成部分，我們仍然對取得的進展感到非常鼓舞。

Okay. And as a follow-up, DIY, you said up on strong gains last year, fair to say up in the low single digits, slightly up something in that range, just what the math suggests?

好的。作為後續行動，DIY，你說去年的強勁增長，公平地說是低個位數，在這個範圍內略有上升，這正是數學所暗示的？

That's correct. We saw expansion in growth in both, obviously, the Pro, but importantly, the DIY as well.

這是正確的。我們看到 Pro 的增長明顯，但重要的是 DIY 也有增長。

Our next question comes from the line of Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Simeon Gutman。

My first question is on EBIT margin. Now that it looks like you could get to 13% in '22. If you look at the model in the out years, and I know you haven't really given anything past this, is the correct way to think about moving past 13%, it's productivity-driven, meaning it's all throughput as sales per foot keeps rising?

我的第一個問題是息稅前利潤率。現在看起來你可以在 22 年達到 13%。如果您查看過去幾年的模型，並且我知道您實際上沒有給出任何超出此範圍的信息，這是考慮超過 13% 的正確方法，它是生產力驅動的，這意味著所有吞吐量都是隨著每英尺銷售額保持不變上升？

Yes, I think that is correct. Simeon, we're excited about in December to come back as a complete management team and really outline the building blocks for our progression above and beyond our 13% level as we think about our EBIT margins. But yes, I think about productivity as the main driver of that, as we continue to lean into both the Pro business, as well as healthy growth in our DIY business.

是的，我認為這是正確的。 Simeon，我們很高興在 12 月作為一個完整的管理團隊回來，並在我們考慮息稅前利潤率時真正概述了我們在 13% 水平以上的進步的基石。但是，是的，我認為生產力是其主要驅動力，因為我們繼續傾向於 Pro 業務以及 DIY 業務的健康增長。

And my follow-up is on inventory. There's been -- there's this big divergence in Q4 now between you and Home Depot. And if we try adjusting to see if there's a catch-up, it doesn't look like it's the case. And so I guess, Marvin, when you got to Lowe's, I think it was the first and maybe even the second spring where you put Lowe's on the offensive in terms of inventory. So the question for you is, are you pleased with what you've bought so far? And are you pleased with the visibility of what's coming in for this spring and even for the year?

我的後續行動是庫存。你和家得寶之間在第四季度出現了巨大的分歧。如果我們嘗試調整以查看是否有追趕，看起來情況並非如此。所以我猜，Marvin，當你來到 Lowe's 時，我認為這是你在庫存方面讓 Lowe's 處於攻勢的第一個甚至可能是第二個春天。所以對你來說，問題是，你對到目前為止所購買的東西滿意嗎？你對今年春天甚至今年的情況感到滿意嗎？

Short answer is, absolutely. I give a lot of credit to Bill and the merchant team, Don Frieson and the supply chain team for working in a very collaborative fashion to make sure that not only are we fully good about what we have from a product category, but also the quality of the inventory. And as Dave mentioned in his prepared comments, the coastal holding facilities that we established on both the East and Western Coast have given us the ability to land import product early, take possession of it, which on a temporary basis, will elevate inventory levels, but we feel that's a prudent thing to do to make sure that we have that product available out of that global supply chain, so we can get it to our RDCs and our stores. But we do feel good about where we are. We feel good about the investments we've made in job like [qualities] with Pros. And we think headed in the spring, which, as you know, is a significant sales period for us, we're in really good shape.

簡短的回答是，絕對的。我非常感謝 Bill 和商家團隊、Don Frieson 和供應鏈團隊以非常協作的方式工作，以確保我們不僅充分了解我們從產品類別中獲得的產品，而且還確保質量的庫存。正如戴夫在他準備好的評論中提到的那樣，我們在東海岸和西海岸建立的沿海儲存設施使我們有能力及早登陸進口產品並擁有它，這將暫時提高庫存水平，但我們認為這是一個謹慎的做法，以確保我們從全球供應鏈中獲得該產品，以便我們可以將其送到我們的 RDC 和我們的商店。但我們確實對自己所處的位置感覺良好。我們對我們在 Pros 的 [quality] 等工作中所做的投資感覺良好。我們認為在春季，正如你所知，這對我們來說是一個重要的銷售時期，我們的狀態非常好。

Our next question comes from the line of Scot Ciccarelli with Truist Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自於 Truist Securities 的 Scot Ciccarelli。

Obviously, business is still exceptional but what kind of impact are you projecting from higher interest rates on the housing market? And what is your framework for those projections?

顯然，業務仍然很出色，但您預計更高的利率會對房地產市場產生什麼樣的影響？您對這些預測的框架是什麼？

Yes. Scot, kind of in my prepared remarks, we talked about that interest rates do have an impact to some degree. But if you go back and historically look at periods of time when interest rates have risen, at the same time, we had really good economic backdrop. Actually, the home improvement sector has benefited from that. And I think if you cycle into '22, you see that same kind of economic climate now. So we feel like the demand profile of the sector is really healthy, number one. And number two, many of the efforts that we're embarking upon and actually beginning to gain some traction, we're going to actually disproportionately take share in the marketplace. So we feel like we're really nicely positioned to deliver a really solid '22 and think about the future growth of this business in a really healthy manner.

是的。蘇格蘭人，在我準備好的評論中，我們談到了利率確實在一定程度上產生了影響。但如果你回過頭來看看利率上升的歷史時期，與此同時，我們的經濟背景非常好。實際上，家裝行業已從中受益。而且我認為，如果您進入 22 世紀，您現在會看到同樣的經濟環境。因此，我們認為該行業的需求狀況非常健康，排名第一。第二，我們正在進行的許多努力實際上開始獲得一些牽引力，我們實際上將在市場上不成比例地佔據份額。因此，我們覺得我們非常有能力提供一個非常穩固的 '22，並以一種非常健康的方式思考這項業務的未來增長。

Scot, this is Marvin. Just one point to add. I do think that home improvement oftentimes gets combined with home building relative to interest rates. And obviously, the sectors are entirely different. And I think that we look at historically, that's why I think Dave's comments are so important that historical trends will show convincingly that high interest rates, combined with other positive macro indicators, do not have a negative impact on home improvement. Now home buying, I'm sure it's a totally different equation, but we want to make sure that there's a line of delineation between the 2 sectors.

斯科特，這是馬文。只需要補充一點。我確實認為，相對於利率而言，房屋裝修通常與房屋建設相結合。顯然，這些行業完全不同。我認為我們從歷史角度來看，這就是為什麼我認為戴夫的評論如此重要，以至於歷史趨勢將令人信服地表明，高利率與其他積極的宏觀指標相結合，不會對家庭裝修產生負面影響。現在購房，我敢肯定這是一個完全不同的方程式，但我們要確保這兩個部門之間有一條界限。

So just to be clear, guys. So there -- at this point, there's no assumed degradation in sales trends because of higher interest rates?

所以要說清楚，伙計們。那麼 - 在這一點上，假設銷售趨勢不會因為更高的利率而下降？

That's correct.

這是正確的。

Our next question comes from the line of Chris Horvers with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Chris Horvers。

Can I just -- can you just delve into the factors a bit more about what's driving the increase in the comp outlook in 2022? So to what extent are you expecting a higher level of market growth versus what you laid out in December? To what extent are you assuming more share gains? And then how does that compare to your expectations on price inflation and how lumber will play out?

我能不能 - 你能更深入地研究一下推動 2022 年競爭前景增長的因素嗎？那麼，與您在 12 月份的預期相比，您預計市場增長在多大程度上會有所提高？你在多大程度上假設更多的股票收益？那麼這與您對價格通脹的預期相比如何以及木材將如何發揮作用？

Yes. I think there's really 3 things that are driving our increase in our guide from a top line perspective. One is we do think the market is going to perform a bit better. And by the way, we still think we're going to -- and believe and plan for us outpacing the market from a growth perspective. Secondly, we are seeing higher levels of commodity inflation than what we planned back in December, largely in lumber. So that is ticking our sales progression up slightly in the first half of the year. And then third, we're seeing really strong sustainable performance in our Pro business. And that demand has been really consistent through Q4 and we're leaning into Q1 in a very consistent manner -- in healthy manner from a Pro business perspective.

是的。從頂線的角度來看，我認為確實有 3 件事在推動我們增加指南。一是我們確實認為市場的表現會好一些。順便說一句，我們仍然認為我們會 - 從增長的角度相信併計劃我們超越市場。其次，我們看到商品通脹水平高於我們在 12 月的計劃，主要是木材。因此，這使我們的銷售進度在今年上半年略有上升。第三，我們在 Pro 業務中看到了非常強勁的可持續表現。這種需求在第四季度一直保持一致，我們正以非常一致的方式進入第一季度——從專業業務的角度來看是以健康的方式。

Chris, I'm going to just add a little commentary on the Pro business, this is Marvin. We did a cost survey stated Pro that we issued out publicly. And just a couple of interesting data points. When we talk to Pros and DIY customers, both said that they see continued investment in the home. The DIY, I said at a pace of 50% today, we're going to do DIY projects and a roughly 50% say they would hire Pro. And then when you talk to our Pro customers, we have in detail, they continue to let us know that their book of business is more robust than they've ever seen it. They have projects lined out for balance of this year. Some projects may carry over into '23. And health of that business is very strong. And I think all the investments that we made in our merchandise assortments, in our service levels, in our stores, in our supply chain is driving that business. Again, 2-year comp in Pro is 54%, that's pretty good.

克里斯，我只想對 Pro 業務添加一點評論，我是 Marvin。我們進行了一項成本調查，表明我們公開發布了 Pro。只有幾個有趣的數據點。當我們與專業人士和 DIY 客戶交談時，他們都表示他們看到了對家庭的持續投資。 DIY，我今天以 50% 的速度說，我們要做 DIY 項目，大約 50% 的人說他們會僱用 Pro。然後，當您與我們的 Pro 客戶交談時，我們會詳細介紹，他們繼續讓我們知道，他們的業務賬簿比以往任何時候都更加穩健。他們為今年的餘額安排了項目。一些項目可能會延續到 23 年。該業務的健康狀況非常強勁。我認為我們在商品分類、服務水平、商店和供應鏈中所做的所有投資都在推動這項業務。同樣，Pro 中的 2 年補償率為 54%，這非常好。

Understood. And then can you also talk about the gross margin a little bit, the shrink and the credit performance were quite strong and gross margin came in better than expected. How do these sort of proceed into 2022? And what's elevating your gross margin outlook relative to what you talked about in December?

明白了。然後你能不能談談毛利率，收縮和信貸表現相當強勁，毛利率好於預期。這些如何進入 2022 年？相對於您在 12 月所談論的內容，是什麼提升了您的毛利率前景？

Yes. Listen, I think first and foremost, we're just extremely pleased with the performance from a shrink perspective. I think the store teams and the loss prevention teams have just done an excellent job of managing that. And now it's becoming a bit of a tailwind for us as opposed to a headwind, which was historic. I think as we lean into '22, think about a few things happening.

是的。聽著，我認為首先，從縮小的角度來看，我們對性能非常滿意。我認為商店團隊和防損團隊在管理這方面做得非常出色。現在它對我們來說有點順風，而不是逆風，這是歷史性的。我認為當我們進入 22 世紀時，想想發生的一些事情。

In general, for the full year, we expect the gross margin to be up slightly, product margin to really lead the charge there as we really manage pricing costs very effectively. Our shrink and credit programs, think about that was largely neutral to our performance versus '22 versus '21. And then we'll have a little bit of headwind as we think about both rates and supply chain and our continued build out in the supply chain ecosystem.

總的來說，我們預計全年毛利率會略有上升，產品利潤率將真正領先，因為我們確實非常有效地管理定價成本。我們的收縮和信貸計劃，想想這對我們的表現與 '22 和 '21 相比基本上是中性的。然後，當我們考慮費率和供應鏈以及我們在供應鏈生態系統中的持續建設時，我們會遇到一點阻力。

Next question comes from the line of Michael Lasser with UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Michael Lasser。

Marvin, I think you mentioned earlier today that about half of Lowe's sales growth in the second half of last year was due to product inflation. Home Depot mentioned yesterday they got around 800 basis points of comp benefit from product inflation. At what point does the consumer start to push back or the industry experience an elastic response from all the inflation that's being passed through, especially as there's a return to normalcy, mobility increases and the interest in other categories shift on a return to normalcy?

馬文，我想你今天早些時候提到，Lowe 去年下半年的銷售額增長大約有一半是由於產品通脹。家得寶昨天提到，他們從產品通脹中獲得了大約 800 個基點的補償收益。什麼時候消費者開始退縮，或者行業對正在經歷的所有通貨膨脹產生彈性反應，特別是在恢復正常、流動性增加以及對其他類別的興趣在恢復正常時發生轉變的情況下？

Well, Michael, look, I'll give you just a more of a philosophical perspective based on the trends that we see. So we are very confident that there are certain trends that will sustain. You have millennial household formation trends that are much more robust than any of us had anticipated pre pandemic. You're also seeing the investments in the home that will maintain simply because there are so many millions of people working from home permanently that even as we hope and pray the pandemic will dissipate, you still will have millions of people who permanently work from home that's going to drive certain investments in repair and maintenance that we think will [sustain going past] 2022.

好吧，邁克爾，聽著，我會根據我們所看到的趨勢給你更多的哲學觀點。因此，我們非常有信心，某些趨勢將持續下去。千禧一代的家庭形成趨勢比我們任何人在大流行前預期的要強勁得多。您還看到對家庭的投資將維持下去，這僅僅是因為有數百萬人永久在家工作，即使我們希望並祈禱大流行會消散，您仍然會有數百萬人永久在家工作這將推動某些維修和維護投資，我們認為這些投資將持續到 2022 年。

And the work that the merchants and the finance team has done to drive cost out and to make sure that whatever price increase is driven by inflation we are pushing toward our customers, we're still doing that at a very competitive price because we're taking a multitude of actions to ensure that we're trying to drive other factors of cost out. Look, you know this, I think we're one of the only large retailers that reported -- that's reporting an increase in gross margin for the quarter and for the year from a basis points standpoint. And also we're guiding that for the balance of '22, we're going to see gross margin rate continue to improve. That gives you an indication that we have some degree of confidence we can manage this. I'll let Dave provide more of the financial specifics on kind of what we've seen and what we see going forward.

商家和財務團隊所做的工作是為了降低成本並確保無論通脹是由我們向客戶推動的價格上漲所推動的，我們仍然以極具競爭力的價格來做這件事，因為我們是採取多種行動以確保我們正在努力消除其他成本因素。聽著，你知道這一點，我認為我們是僅有的幾個報告的大型零售商之一——從基點的角度來看，該季度和全年的毛利率都有所增加。而且我們正在指導 22 年的餘額，我們將看到毛利率繼續提高。這表明我們有一定程度的信心，我們可以做到這一點。我會讓戴夫提供更多關於我們所看到的和我們所看到的未來的財務細節。

Yes, Michael, I would just add that -- to Marvin's comments here, we really put in a very robust process and analytical tools around this, such that we're measuring and monitoring as we take increases from a cost perspective. First, we push back on that when appropriate. We take a portfolio approach to adjusting our pricing and then we measure and monitor the performance from a unit velocity perspective. And we adjust as needed, when we need to do that such that we get the best price point from a consumable perspective, but importantly, what also drives the economic value here at Lowe's.

是的，邁克爾，我只想補充一點——在馬文在這裡的評論中，我們確實為此建立了一個非常強大的流程和分析工具，這樣我們就可以從成本的角度來衡量和監控增長。首先，我們會在適當的時候推回這一點。我們採用組合方法來調整定價，然後從單位速度的角度衡量和監控績效。我們會根據需要進行調整，當我們需要這樣做時，我們可以從消耗品的角度獲得最佳價格點，但重要的是，什麼也推動了 Lowe's 的經濟價值。

My follow-up question is Lowe's has some very interesting initiatives that are either in the early stages or just about to launch, most notably the supply chain transformation and the launch of the Pro loyalty program. So could you give a breakdown of the financial impact that you've seen from both of those programs as you've tested them and then what you factored in as far as the contribution from each of those in the year ahead?

我的後續問題是，Lowe's 有一些非常有趣的舉措，這些舉措要么處於早期階段，要么即將推出，最引人注目的是供應鏈轉型和 Pro 忠誠度計劃的推出。那麼，您能否詳細說明您在測試這兩個項目時所看到的財務影響，以及您在未來一年中每個項目的貢獻所考慮的因素？

Well, maybe I'll take the contribution. Just from a planning perspective, these programs are well planned and well thought out. We have a substantial financial model associated with that. We test and learn as we go. And so we have a -- we feel like our plan for 2022, we have a very good line of sight to performance being driven out of those 2 programs. So first and foremost, we kind of checked that box. And then I'll let Marvin chat about the programs you like.

好吧，也許我會接受貢獻。僅從規劃的角度來看，這些計劃都經過精心策劃和深思熟慮。我們有一個與之相關的實質性財務模型。我們邊走邊測試和學習。所以我們有一個 - 我們覺得我們的 2022 年計劃，我們對這兩個項目的表現有很好的看法。所以首先，我們檢查了那個框。然後我會讓馬文聊聊你喜歡的節目。

No, look, I'll just repeat what I said on the Pro. We tested a loyalty program. All of 2021, we've made different tweaks to it based on feedback and surveys from our Pro customers. We feel like we have a program that's going to drive differentiation and adoption. And as I mentioned, when customers engage in the Pro loyalty and our credit program, we're seeing a 300% increase in sales. And then we think that we're going to see some level of retention and engagement with our Pro customers based on the loss that will be happening within the next couple of weeks. So again, excited about the test and learn environment we've created. And to Dave's point, I mean we put a lot of robust processing in place to ensure that we have good visibility to what we think each of these programs will deliver.

不，看，我將重複我在 Pro 上所說的話。我們測試了一個忠誠度計劃。 2021 年全年，我們根據 Pro 客戶的反饋和調查對其進行了不同的調整。我們覺得我們有一個計劃來推動差異化和採用。正如我所提到的，當客戶參與 Pro 忠誠度和我們的信用計劃時，我們看到銷售額增長了 300%。然後我們認為，根據未來幾週內將發生的損失，我們將看到一定程度的保留和與 Pro 客戶的互動。再次，對我們創建的測試和學習環境感到興奮。就戴夫而言，我的意思是我們實施了很多強大的處理，以確保我們對我們認為每個程序將提供的內容有很好的了解。

The next question is from the line of Steven Zaccone with Citi.

下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Steven Zaccone。

I had a question on the DIY side of the business. So it sounds like most of the guidance raise is contemplated on the Pro and then commodity inflation. But can you comment if your DIY outlook has changed in 2022? And then larger picture on DIY, there's a thesis we'll eventually see a give back of spending in the category, but it seems to still be accelerating as of late and is still strong. What are you seeing in terms of purchase activity or project sizes from your customers that gives you confidence in the sustained strength in DIY?

我有一個關於業務 DIY 方面的問題。因此，聽起來大部分指導性上調都是針對 Pro 的，然後是商品通脹。但是，如果您的 DIY 前景在 2022 年發生了變化，您能否發表評論？然後是關於 DIY 的大圖，有一個論文我們最終會看到該類別的支出回饋，但它似乎最近仍在加速並且仍然很強勁。您從客戶的購買活動或項目規模方面看到了什麼讓您對 DIY 的持續實力充滿信心？

Steve, thanks for the question. Our DIY sales were very, very strong in 2020. So year-over-year, we had tough comparison, we were able to grow that business even on top of some really aggressive sales last year. One of the things that we're leaning into as part of our Total Home strategy is private brands. And private brands specifically in the core-related categories. I'm going to let Bill Boltz talk a little bit about what we're leaning in there and how we believe that, that's going to give us some level of continued growth and differentiation.

史蒂夫，謝謝你的問題。我們的 DIY 銷售在 2020 年非常非常強勁。因此，與去年同期相比，我們進行了艱難的比較，即使在去年一些非常激進的銷售之上，我們也能夠發展該業務。作為我們的 Total Home 戰略的一部分，我們傾向於做的事情之一是自有品牌。而自有品牌則專門在核心相關品類中。我將讓比爾·博爾茨談談我們在其中的傾向以及我們如何相信這一點，這將給我們帶來一定程度的持續增長和差異化。

Yes. Thanks, Marvin. And just a little more color around the DIY business. I think as we head into spring, as we mentioned in our prepared remarks, we talked about a couple of key private brands that will play a big role in the spring with the Origin 21, which we're excited about that. That's a new modern brand. So you'll see it introduced in patio. You'll see it in some of decor categories in our stores. And then allen + roth, we've worked really hard over the last 18 months to enhance that brand. And so that's more of a traditional style. And so that will play a big role as well.

是的。謝謝，馬文。並且在 DIY 業務中增加了一點色彩。我認為，正如我們在準備好的評論中提到的那樣，當我們進入春天時，我們談到了幾個關鍵的自有品牌，它們將在春天與 Origin 21 一起發揮重要作用，我們對此感到很興奮。那是一個新的現代品牌。所以你會看到它在露台上介紹。您會在我們商店的一些裝飾類別中看到它。然後是 Allen + roth，在過去的 18 個月裡，我們一直在努力提升這個品牌。所以這更像是一種傳統風格。因此，這也將發揮重要作用。

And then we're really excited about the expansion of STAINMASTER. STAINMASTER, as you know, we acquired a year ago. It was largely a carpet brand, but we have opportunities to use that in other categories in flooring, really building off of its characteristics. And then along the same lines, as we look into the spring season, our live goods and nursery business very strong, has been on a really nice run over the last couple of years, and that plays a large role in our DIY business as we go into spring as well. So we're really -- we're optimistic around the DIY business as we had in the first half of the year.

然後我們對 STAINMASTER 的擴展感到非常興奮。 STAINMASTER，如您所知，我們在一年前收購了。它主要是一個地毯品牌，但我們有機會在地板的其他類別中使用它，真正建立了它的特點。然後沿著同樣的思路，當我們展望春季時，我們的生活用品和托兒所業務非常強勁，在過去幾年裡一直運行良好，這在我們的 DIY 業務中發揮了重要作用，因為我們也進入春天。所以我們真的 - 我們對今年上半年的 DIY 業務持樂觀態度。

And Steve, we're students of history, and we know that one of the strategic mistakes historically at Lowe's was to overcompensate and over-penetrate in private brands in Pro-related categories. And so Bill and his team have been very, very specific to continue to lean in to national brands on the Pro side. But on the DIY side, specifically home decor, the customers are telling us overwhelmingly that they love our design capabilities of private brand. And so we're going to lean into that for differentiation and also for a margin rate benefit. And again, we think we're off to a great start.

史蒂夫，我們是歷史系的學生，我們知道 Lowe's 歷史上的戰略錯誤之一是過度補償和過度滲透與 Pro 相關類別的自有品牌。所以比爾和他的團隊一直非常非常具體地繼續傾向於在專業方面的民族品牌。但在 DIY 方面，特別是家居裝飾，客戶絕大多數都告訴我們，他們喜歡我們自有品牌的設計能力。因此，我們將傾向於差異化和利潤率收益。再一次，我們認為我們有了一個良好的開端。

Our next question comes from the line of Liz Suzuki with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Liz Suzuki。

How much market share do you think you've taken in the last 3 years? And if the supply chain disruptions normalize and some of your smaller competitors are able to get product again, do you see some of those share gains moderating?

您認為您在過去 3 年中佔據了多少市場份額？如果供應鏈中斷正常化並且您的一些較小的競爭對手能夠再次獲得產品，您是否看到其中一些份額增長放緩？

Liz, it's a fair question. But I will repeat what I've said a couple of different times. Home improvement does not have great market share data that we can glean very specific answers to. What I can tell you based on just our on-the-ground analysis is that we are, in fact, taking market share. It's hard to grow a business this size by over 35% on a 2-year basis and it's not coming from somebody. We also are aware that there are winners and losers in retail based on the efficiency of your supply chain. We are fortunate that we are one of the largest importers of containers. And we have great supplier relationships that the merchants continue to foster. So do we believe that we're winning? We do. Do we think we'll continue to take market share in 2022? As Dave said earlier, we absolutely believe we will. And we think we'll take it across Pro and on -- and DIY, both in-store and online. But again, it's hard to give you a lot of specificity because the data set is not (inaudible).

麗茲，這是一個公平的問題。但我將重複我所說的幾次。家裝沒有很好的市場份額數據，我們可以收集到非常具體的答案。根據我們的實地分析，我可以告訴你的是，我們實際上正在佔領市場份額。這種規模的企業很難在兩年內增長超過 35%，而且這不是來自某人。我們也知道，根據您的供應鏈效率，零售業存在贏家和輸家。我們很幸運，我們是最大的集裝箱進口商之一。我們與商家建立了良好的供應商關係。所以我們相信我們會贏嗎？我們的確是。我們認為我們會在 2022 年繼續佔據市場份額嗎？正如戴夫之前所說，我們絕對相信我們會的。我們認為我們會在 Pro 和其他平台上使用它——以及 DIY，無論是店內還是在線。但同樣，很難給你很多特異性，因為數據集不是（聽不清）。

And Liz, but from our internal data, we continue to -- our data suggests that we're performing 200 to 300 basis points ahead of the market pretty consistently. And that will be our expectations going forward as well to outperform the market.

還有麗茲，但從我們的內部數據來看，我們繼續——我們的數據表明，我們的表現非常一致地領先於市場 200 到 300 個基點。這也將是我們對未來表現優於市場的期望。

Great. And just, I mean, how much do you think that the expansion into home decor and new product categories increases your total addressable market?

偉大的。只是，我的意思是，你認為向家居裝飾和新產品類別的擴張在多大程度上增加了你的潛在市場？

It's a great question. We can only go by the feedback that we receive from our customers when we do surveys and we do different types of focus groups and what they are telling us is that they are more brand-agnostic when it comes to home decor-related categories and they are more concerned with quality and good style and price. And what Bill and his team has done with the launch of Origin 21 and with the continued improvement in allen + roth as an example, gives us a lot of confidence and we're really excited about STAINMASTER.

這是一個很好的問題。我們只能根據我們在進行調查時從客戶那裡收到的反饋來進行調查，並且我們會進行不同類型的焦點小組，他們告訴我們的是，當涉及到與家居裝飾相關的類別時，他們與品牌無關，而且他們更關心質量和良好的風格和價格。 Bill 和他的團隊在 Origin 21 的推出以及 Allen + roth 的持續改進中所做的一切，給了我們很大的信心，我們對 STAINMASTER 感到非常興奮。

As Bill mentioned, you're going to see it going into more hard-surface flooring, but we have some other really exciting ideas that we'll be sharing over the next couple of quarters, but we're going to extend this very, very recognizable and high-quality brand in the other home improvement categories that customers, I think, will be very excited about.

正如比爾提到的，你會看到它進入更多的硬表面地板，但我們還有其他一些非常令人興奮的想法，我們將在接下來的幾個季度分享，但我們將非常擴展這一點，我認為客戶會非常興奮的其他家居裝飾類別中非常知名和高質量的品牌。

Rob, we're going to take one more question, please.

Rob，請我們再回答一個問題。

The final question will be coming from Eric Bosshard with Cleveland Research.

最後一個問題將來自 Cleveland Research 的 Eric Bosshard。

Two things, if I could. First of all, the last 2 years have been relatively unique in terms of pricing and promotion and mix with a pretty aggressive consumer and Pro customer. As you think about '22, and it sounds like you think '22 kind of largely feels like the last couple of years, is your strategy the same with pricing, promotion and mix? Or do those efforts normalize a bit towards what we had seen historically?

兩件事，如果可以的話。首先，過去 2 年在定價和促銷方面相對獨特，並且與相當激進的消費者和專業客戶混合在一起。當你想到 '22 時，聽起來你認為 '22 在很大程度上感覺就像過去幾年一樣，你的定價、促銷和組合策略是否相同？或者這些努力是否使我們在歷史上看到的東西正常化了一點？

Eric, I think they're going to be fairly consistent. Our plan is fairly consistent in '22 versus '21. And -- but I'll let Bill comment on that, too.

埃里克，我認為他們會相當一致。我們的計劃在 22 年與 21 年相當一致。而且——但我也會讓比爾對此發表評論。

Yes, Eric, it's Bill. And so as you know, over the last couple of years, we've been on this journey of getting to more of an everyday competitive price and trying to wind down what has historically been here a very high low approach to marketing and promotion. And we've very successfully been able to do that. And that's now given us the runway to continue to provide value in a number of different ways to our consumers, both through special buys, special values, unique offerings. And so that's the journey we're on and that's what we're excited about. But being able to get off of that, what historically high-low approach allows us to be in this everyday competitive price in the home improvement business and that's what we wanted to be on.

是的，埃里克，是比爾。如您所知，在過去的幾年裡，我們一直在努力獲得更具競爭力的日常價格，並試圖結束歷史上非常高低的營銷和促銷方法。我們已經非常成功地做到了這一點。現在，這為我們提供了繼續以多種不同方式為我們的消費者提供價值的跑道，包括特殊購買、特殊價值、獨特產品。這就是我們正在進行的旅程，這就是我們感到興奮的地方。但是能夠擺脫這種情況，歷史上的高-低方法使我們能夠在家居裝修業務中以這種日常具有競爭力的價格，這就是我們想要的。

Okay. And then secondly, within the guide for '22, which I think you spoke to negative units and price offsetting that to get to comp dollar growth, haven't had a negative unit plan or outlook in quite some time for your business. I'm curious how you'd marry that up then with your inventory strategy and also with how you manage labor specifically in terms of the investment or the growth in both of those areas in a year where the outlook is reasonably for negative units?

好的。其次，在 22 年的指南中，我認為您談到了負單位和價格抵消以補償美元增長，在相當長的一段時間內您的業務沒有負單位計劃或前景。我很好奇您如何將其與您的庫存策略以及您如何在投資或這兩個領域的增長方面特別管理勞動力的方式結合起來，在這一年中，負單位的前景是合理的？

So Eric, I'll take the first part of it, and I'm going to let Joe just talk a little bit about how our new labor system allows us to make real-time adjustments by store, by department based on ticket and transaction. You have to understand that one of the reasons why you're going to see negative units is because the DIY customer in the heart of the pandemic made types of purchases that they're not going to make in an era where there is less concern around the virus and less nesting at home.

所以埃里克，我會講它的第一部分，我會讓喬稍微談談我們的新勞動力系統如何讓我們根據票和交易按商店，按部門進行實時調整.您必須了解，您會看到負數單位的原因之一是，處於大流行中心的 DIY 客戶進行了一些他們不會在周圍關注較少的時代進行的購買病毒和少在家裡築巢。

We had cleaning purchases that drove a lot of transactions, not a lot of ticket. We had a lot of garden purchases and drove a lot of transactions, not a lot of tickets because people were at home and they were staying busy. Categories like paint, a lot of activity, not a lot of ticket. And so as we normalize year-over-year, we've got to see those activities are not sustainable. So when we say that the ticket is not as though we believe that we're seeing less customer traffic, we're just seeing DIY customers have different projects than they had when they were confined to their homes and staying busy with just random different projects around the house.

我們進行了清潔採購，促成了很多交易，而不是很多票。我們購買了很多花園商品，促成了很多交易，而不是很多門票，因為人們都在家，而且他們很忙。像油漆這樣的類別，很多活動，而不是很多門票。因此，隨著我們逐年正常化，我們必須看到這些活動是不可持續的。因此，當我們說門票並不是因為我們認為我們看到的客戶流量減少了，我們只是看到 DIY 客戶的項目與他們被限制在家中並忙於隨機不同的項目時不同房子周圍。

And that's the difference. So when we look at that, we just made it really transparent around how we view the inputs to what's driving sales. And we have no concerns that we're having a traffic issue or we have a customer demand issue. This is just more normalizing over unique activity in the middle of the pandemic. So I'll let Joe talk about our labor system and how we can manage it based on all those inputs.

這就是區別。因此，當我們看到這一點時，我們只是讓我們如何看待推動銷售的投入變得非常透明。而且我們不擔心我們遇到交通問題或我們有客戶需求問題。這只是比大流行期間的獨特活動更加正常化。所以我會讓喬談談我們的勞動系統，以及我們如何根據所有這些投入來管理它。

Thanks, Marvin. And Eric, you remember just a few years ago, we put together just a topnotch workforce management team, and we developed a labor model that is activity based. So this labor model has served us well as sales have taken off and exceeded expectations from an appropriate leverage standpoint and does the same in balancing out the ticket and transaction. We're very pleased with our staffing and our outlook for '22.

謝謝，馬文。埃里克，你還記得幾年前，我們組建了一個一流的勞動力管理團隊，我們開發了一種基於活動的勞動力模型。因此，這種勞動力模式為我們提供了很好的服務，因為從適當的槓桿角度來看，銷售額已經起飛並超出了預期，並且在平衡票據和交易方面也是如此。我們對我們的人員配備和對 22 年的展望感到非常滿意。

Thank you all for joining us today. We look forward to speaking with you on our first quarter earnings call in May.

感謝大家今天加入我們。我們期待在 5 月的第一季度財報電話會議上與您交談。

This will conclude today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines at this time.

今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。你現在可以在這個時候斷開你的線路。