Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU) 2007 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the lululemon athletica fourth-quarter and full-year 2007 earnings results conference call. This call is being recorded. At this time for opening remarks and introductions, I would like to turn the call over to Ms. Jean Fontana of ICR. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加 Lululemon Athletica 2007 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。此通話正在錄音。現在，我想請 ICR 的 Jean Fontana 女士進行開場發言和介紹。請繼續。

Good morning. Thank you for joining lululemon athletica's conference call to discuss fourth-quarter and year-end results for fiscal 2007. A copy of today's press release is available in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.lululemon.com, or alternatively as furnished on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission available on the Commission's website at www.SEC.gov.

早安.感謝您參加 lululemon sportsa 的電話會議，討論 2007 財年第四季度和年終業績。今天的新聞稿副本可在公司網站 www.lululemon.com 的投資者關係部分獲取，或者也可按所提供的方式獲取向證券交易委員會提交的8-K 表可在委員會網站www.SEC.gov 上取得。

Today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay for 30 days shortly after the call in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website. Hosting today's call it is Bob Meers, the Company's Chief Executive Officer; John Currie, the Company's Chief Financial Officer; and Christine Day, the Company's President and COO.

今天的電話會議正在錄音，電話會議結束後 30 天內可在公司網站的投資者關係部分重播。今天的電話會議由公司執行長 Bob Meers 主持。 John Currie，公司財務長；以及公司總裁兼營運長 Christine Day。

All participants on today's call are advised that the discussion may include forward-looking statements reflecting management's current forecasts of certain aspects of the Company's future. In many cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as will, expects, plans, believes, potential, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, but they involve a number of risks and uncertainties.

今天電話會議的所有參與者均應注意，討論可能包括反映管理層當前對公司未來某些方面的預測的前瞻性陳述。在許多情況下，您可以透過意願、期望、計劃、相信、潛力等術語或這些術語的否定或其他類似術語來識別前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述是基於管理階層目前的預期，但涉及許多風險和不確定性。

Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of such risks and uncertainties, which include the described in our SEC filings. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

由於此類風險和不確定性（包括我們向 SEC 文件中所述的風險和不確定性），實際結果和事件發生的時間可能與前瞻性聲明中的預期有重大差異。我們敦促您在評估本文中的前瞻性陳述時仔細考慮這些因素，並告誡您不要過度依賴此類前瞻性陳述，這些前瞻性陳述完全符合本警示性聲明的要求。

Now I would like to turn the call over to lululemon's Chief Executive Officer, Bob Meers.

現在我想將電話轉給 lululemon 執行長 Bob Meers。

Thank you and good morning. I want to thank everyone for joining us to discuss our fourth quarter and fiscal '07 results. I'm joined today, as Jean said, by John Currie, our CFO, and Christine Day, our newly appointed President and Chief Operating Officer, and a group of other senior managers in the Company. Following my remarks, I will turn the call over to John to review our financial highlights.

謝謝你，早安。我要感謝大家加入我們討論我們的第四季和 07 財年業績。正如 Jean 所說，今天與我一同出席的還有我們的財務長 John Currie、我們新任命的總裁兼營運長 Christine Day，以及公司的其他高階主管。在我發言之後，我將把電話轉給約翰，以回顧我們的財務亮點。

With the end of fiscal 2007, our first year as a public Company, we ended with a significant number of accomplishments to be proud of and very good momentum as we enter 2008. We successfully opened 27 new stores in North America, growing our store base by 59% during the fiscal '07 year. We finished the year with a very strong quarter, posting comparable store sales growth of 41% and achieving sales per square foot of -- at 1710 at year end.

2007 財年結束時，我們作為上市公司的第一年，在進入2008 年時，我們取得了許多值得自豪的成就，並且勢頭非常好。我們在北美成功開設了27 家新店，擴大了我們的店面基礎07 財年成長了 59%。我們以非常強勁的季度結束了這一年，可比商店銷售額增長了 41%，年底每平方英尺銷售額達到 1710 平方英尺。

Despite the challenging retail environment, we continued to experience success in both Canada and the United States and we are confident with our ability to grow our business in 2008. We continue to attract healthy, active minded individuals to the lululemon brand.

儘管零售環境充滿挑戰，我們在加拿大和美國繼續取得成功，並且我們對 2008 年業務成長的能力充滿信心。我們繼續吸引健康、思想活躍的個人加入 lululemon 品牌。

A few more highlights on fourth-quarter and fiscal year results. We posted revenue growth of 101% over last year in the quarter and executed our store expansion plan by successfully opening 10 stores in North America in the fourth quarter, resulting in 27 new store openings for the fiscal year for a total of 81 stores worldwide. As previously mentioned, we posted strong comparable store sales growth for the quarter, resulting in an annual comparable store sales growth of 34% compared to 2006.

有關第四季和財年業績的更多亮點。我們本季的營收比去年同期成長了 101%，並執行了門市擴張計劃，第四季度在北美成功開設了 10 家門市，導致本財年新開店 27 家，全球門市總數達到 81 家。如前所述，我們公佈了本季度可比商店銷售額的強勁增長，導致年度可比商店銷售額與 2006 年相比增長了 34%。

We were extremely pleased with the success of our fall and winter productline, which contributed to an unprecedented escalation in sales demand in November. In order to maintain our sales momentum throughout the holiday season, we did incur a higher than expected air freight charges associated with delivering product to the stores on time and keeping our stores in stock for our guests. We believe that our ability to maintain our growth throughout the quarter and increased market share demonstrates the success of our supply chain initiatives and also the dedication we have to making sure that our stores meet our guests' expectations.

我們對秋冬產品線的成功感到非常高興，這促成了 11 月銷售需求的空前升級。為了在整個假期期間保持銷售勢頭，我們確實支付了高於預期的空運費用，這些費用與按時將產品運送到商店以及為客人保持商店庫存有關。我們相信，我們在整個季度保持成長和增加市場份額的能力證明了我們供應鏈計劃的成功，以及我們為確保我們的商店滿足客人期望而付出的努力。

We achieved operating margin of 18.2% for the year. That is up 250 basis points from the prior year after excluding a onetime charge for a settlement of a lawsuit in 2006. We are very pleased with our ability to leverage our growth -- leverage ourselves despite moving two distribution centers, setting ourselves up for ERP implementation in early 2008, opening 27 new stores, adding public Company costs, and continuing to enhance our senior leadership team with key appointments across a number of areas. And we exceeded our revised EPS expectations and grew our annual net income by 302%.

我們全年的營業利益率為 18.2%。在扣除2006 年訴訟和解的一次性費用後，這一數字比上一年增長了250 個基點。我們對利用增長的能力感到非常滿意——儘管搬遷了兩個配送中心，為ERP 做好了準備，但我們還是利用了自身的優勢該計劃於 2008 年初實施，開設了 27 家新店，增加了上市公司成本，並透過在多個領域進行關鍵任命，繼續增強我們的高級領導團隊。我們超出了修正後的每股盈餘預期，年度淨利成長了 302%。

Consistent with previous years, we used the post holiday's markdowns and two warehouse sales to allow us to clean up our inventory position at year end. Strong fourth-quarter sales results coupled with post holiday clearance strategies have put us in a very lean inventory position and now it enables us to build inventory levels throughout the first quarter and into the year with fresh new assortment of product.

與往年一樣，我們利用假期後的降價和兩次倉庫銷售來清理年底的庫存狀況。第四季強勁的銷售業績加上假期後的清倉策略使我們的庫存狀況非常緊張，現在它使我們能夠在整個第一季和全年以全新的產品種類建立庫存水準。

We also announced today that we are closing four stores in Japan. We've been working on Japan since I came to the Company when it was an initial franchise. Japan represents less than 1.5% of our fiscal 2007 revenues, but in our estimation was taking a disproportionate amount of management time, attention, and putting an additional strain on our supply chain. After reevaluating our operating performance in Japan and our priorities, we have chosen to focus our efforts and resources on our real top priorities, which include growing North American store expansion and the new development of an e-commerce business solution which we believe will be significantly important to lululemon in the future.

我們今天也宣布將關閉日本的四家商店。自從我來到公司時，我們就一直致力於日本業務，當時該公司還是一家特許經營公司。日本占我們 2007 財年收入的不到 1.5%，但據我們估計，日本佔據了過多的管理時間和注意力，並給我們的供應鏈帶來了額外的壓力。在重新評估我們在日本的營運表現和優先事項後，我們選擇將我們的努力和資源集中在我們真正的首要任務上，其中包括北美商店的不斷擴張以及電子商務業務解決方案的新開發，我們相信這將顯著對 lululemon 的未來很重要。

This is a big year for lululemon athletica and a very important year at that. With the many management and infrastructure upgrades, we know that our execution abilities have been enhanced. Throughout this organization, we remain focused on creating great guest experience, building community within each store, and delivering innovative technical yoga-inspired athletic apparel. Our educators are on the front line of this effort. And as always, we want to thank them for their efforts.

今年對 lululemon sports 來說是重要的一年，也是非常重要的一年。透過多次管理和基礎設施的升級，我們知道我們的執行能力得到了增強。在整個組織中，我們始終致力於創造卓越的顧客體驗，在每家商店內建立社區，並提供以瑜伽為靈感的創新技術運動服裝。我們的教育工作者處於這項努力的第一線。一如既往，我們要感謝他們的努力。

Looking ahead, we plan on opening 35 stores in North America in fiscal 2008. We plan to focus our new openings on filling in existing markets which we entered in 2007, and in addition, we enter selected new markets which include Hawaii, Michigan, Connecticut, and Eastern Canada. We have already begun to establish a presence in these markets by preceding them with new market openings with our showroom locations.

展望未來，我們計劃在2008 財年在北美開設35 家商店。我們計劃將新開店的重點放在填補2007 年進入的現有市場上，此外，我們還將進入一些選定的新市場，包括夏威夷、密西根州、康乃狄克州和加拿大東部。我們已經開始在這些市場上建立業務，在這些市場之前，我們的陳列室位置開闢了新的市場。

We have also successfully implemented our first phase of our new ERP system, which went live in February concentrating on warehouse and distribution. This improved system infrastructure will enable us efficiently to flow inventory to the stores, while also allowing us to execute our new store expansion efforts.

我們也成功實施了新 ERP 系統的第一階段，該系統於 2 月上線，重點關注倉庫和配送。這種改進的系統基礎設施將使我們能夠有效地將庫存流向商店，同時也使我們能夠執行新店擴張工作。

As I have said before, we will continue to build our distinctive community-based approach to retail as well as our innovation in product, quality, and offer in order to attract new customers to our brand and create brand loyalty. Our sales momentum, our culture, our store experience, our brand of technical product we offer to keep us extremely encouraged about our future.

正如我之前所說，我們將繼續建立獨特的社區為基礎的零售方式以及產品、品質和服務方面的創新，以吸引新客戶使用我們的品牌並建立品牌忠誠度。我們的銷售動力、我們的文化、我們的商店體驗、我們提供的科技產品品牌讓我們對未來充滿信心。

In summary, we are very pleased with our fourth quarter and fiscal year results. We exceeded our expansion target, delivered strong comp store sales growth, established strong infrastructure to support our Company as we continue to grow through 2009 and beyond. Our business momentum is strong. We are pleased with how we are positioned during these challenging economic times in the United States.

總之，我們對第四季和本財年的業績非常滿意。我們超額完成了擴張目標，實現了強勁的同店銷售成長，建立了強大的基礎設施來支持我們公司在 2009 年及以後的持續成長。我們的業務勢頭強勁。我們對我們在美國經濟充滿挑戰的時期的定位感到滿意。

I would like now to turn the call over to John Currie to discuss our financial details of the quarter, and I will follow John with some remarks on our CEO transition.

我現在想將電話轉給約翰·柯里 (John Currie)，討論我們本季度的財務細節，我將跟隨約翰就我們的首席執行官過渡發表一些評論。

Thanks, Bob. Again, this quarter we are very pleased with our ability to continue to gain momentum, a testimony to the strength of the lululemon brand and our product offering.

謝謝，鮑伯。同樣，本季我們對繼續獲得動力的能力感到非常滿意，這證明了 lululemon 品牌和我們產品的實力。

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, total net revenue increased 101.3% to $105.1 million, as compared to $52.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Our corporate-owned store sales represented 88% of this total at $92.5 million, an increase of 117.1% over 2006. This increase was driven by a combination of the 73% increase in our corporate store base from the fourth quarter of 2006, coupled with the reported comparable store sales increase of 41%. The strengthening of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar contributed 17% of this comp store sales growth, meaning that on a constant dollar basis, our comp store sales increased 24%.

2007 財年第四季的淨收入總額成長了101.3%，達到1.051 億美元，而2006 年第四季的淨收入為5,220 萬美元。我們公司自有商店的銷售額佔總收入的88%，達到9,250 萬美元，成長了117.1%。與2006 年相比，成長了%。這一增長是由我們的公司商店基數較2006 年第四季度增長73% 以及報告的可比商店銷售額增長41% 共同推動的。加幣兌美元走強對該比較店銷售額成長貢獻了 17%，這意味著在美元不變的基礎上，我們的比較店銷售額成長了 24%。

This comparable store sales growth reflects revenue growth of stores open at least 12 months. Our newer stores not yet in our comparable store base also continued to perform above our expectations for the quarter.

這一可比商店銷售成長反映了開業至少 12 個月的商店的收入成長。我們尚未進入可比較商店基地的新商店也繼續超出我們對本季的預期。

Franchise and other revenues, which include wholesale, phone sales, and showrooms, totaled $12.6 million and represented the other 12% of total revenue in the fourth quarter. Gross profit for the fourth quarter increased 111.8% to $56.8 million and gross margin expanded by 270 basis points to 54.1%. Strong merchandise margins coupled with leverage on our occupancy costs contributed to this increase.

特許經營和其他收入（包括批發、電話銷售和陳列室）總計 1,260 萬美元，佔第四季度總收入的另外 12%。第四季毛利成長 111.8%，達到 5,680 萬美元，毛利率成長 270 個基點，達到 54.1%。強勁的商品利潤加上我們的入住成本的槓桿作用促成了這一增長。

SG&A expenses were $35.1 million for the quarter or 33.4% of total revenues, compared to $24.7 million or 47.2% of total revenues in the fourth quarter of last year. Last year's fourth quarter included $7.2 million of one-time legal settlement expenses. So excluding this cost, SG&A would have been 33.4% of sales last year.

本季的 SG&A 費用為 3,510 萬美元，佔總營收的 33.4%，而去年第四季的 SG&A 費用為 2,470 萬美元，佔總營收的 47.2%。去年第四季包括 720 萬美元的一次性法律和解費用。因此，如果排除此成本，SG&A 將佔去年銷售額的 33.4%。

Leverage obtained on SG&A expenditures were offset by increased selling costs relating to the opening of 10 new stores in the quarter and additional airfreight charges. As Bob mentioned earlier, in an effort to maintain high service, and in stock levels in our stores, and continue to gain market share, we consciously incurred higher than normal airfreight costs on products shipped to the stores during the busy preholiday period.

SG&A 支出的槓桿作用被本季度開設 10 家新店相關的銷售成本增加以及額外的空運費用所抵消。正如鮑勃之前提到的，為了保持我們商店的高服務和庫存水平，並繼續獲得市場份額，我們有意識地在繁忙的節前期間為運送到商店的產品支付了高於正常空運成本。

Gross margin expansion and SG&A leverage resulted in an operating income of $21.7 million or 20.6% of sales as compared to $2.2 million or 4.1% of sales a year ago. Again, last year's fourth quarter included the legal settlement and excluding this cost, operating income would have been 18% of sales in 2006.

毛利率擴張和 SG&A 槓桿作用使營業收入達到 2,170 萬美元，佔銷售額的 20.6%，而一年前為 220 萬美元，佔銷售額的 4.1%。同樣，去年第四季的法律和解費用已包括在內，若排除此項費用，營業收入將佔 2006 年銷售額的 18%。

Tax expense was $7.5 million for the quarter or a rate of 34% versus 61.8% last year. As discussed on our Q3 conference call, we worked with legal and accounting advisers to make adjustments to our intercompany transfer pricing rates, which had historically inflated our tax provision. These adjusted rates are reflected in our fourth-quarter tax revision. The result in net income available to common shareholders was therefore $14.6 million or $0.21 per share. Our weighted average diluted shares outstanding for the quarter were 70.6 million.

本季稅費為 750 萬美元，稅率為 34%，而去年為 61.8%。正如我們在第三季電話會議上討論的那樣，我們與法律和會計顧問合作，對我們的公司間轉讓定價率進行了調整，該利率歷來誇大了我們的稅務撥備。這些調整後的稅率反映在我們第四季的稅務修訂中。因此，普通股股東可獲得的淨利潤為 1,460 萬美元，即每股 0.21 美元。本季我們的加權平均稀釋後流通股為 7,060 萬股。

Turning to the key balance sheet highlights, we ended the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents totaling approximately $53.3 million. Inventory at the end the quarter was $39.1 million or up 46.8% from the end of the fourth quarter last year.

談到資產負債表的主要亮點，在第四季度結束時，我們的現金和現金等價物總計約為 5,330 萬美元。本季末庫存為 3,910 萬美元，比去年第四季末成長 46.8%。

Consistent with previous years, we used post holiday markdowns and held two warehouse sales, which allowed us to clean up our inventory position for year-end. During February, we have brought in fresh spring inventory and we expect to continue to build inventory levels during Q1 to meet spring and summer demand. We are very pleased with make up of our year-end inventory, having less aged inventory than we have had in the past few year ends, but also with our inventory flows to meet our needs for spring goods.

與往年一樣，我們採用了節後降價促銷，並舉行了兩次倉庫銷售，這使我們能夠清理年底的庫存狀況。 2 月份，我們引入了新的春季庫存，預計第一季將繼續建立庫存水平，以滿足春季和夏季的需求。我們對年終庫存的補充感到非常滿意，老化庫存比過去幾年年末有所減少，而且我們的庫存流量也滿足了我們對春季商品的需求。

Capital expenditures were $30 million for 2007. These expenditures related to our new store buildup costs and costs related to the implementation of our new ERP system, which became operational in February of 2008. We are very pleased with the success of our ERP implementation and we are already beginning to see the results of our enhanced execution abilities.

2007 年的資本支出為 3000 萬美元。這些支出與我們的新店建設成本和實施新 ERP 系統相關的成本有關，該系統於 2008 年 2 月投入運行。我們對 ERP 實施的成功感到非常高興，我們我們已經開始看到我們增強執行能力的結果。

Turning to the highlights of our fiscal year performance, for fiscal 2007, total net revenue increased 84.5% to $274.7 million as compared to $148.9 million in 2006. This increase was driven by a combination of a 73% increase in our corporate store base coupled with the reported comp store sales increase of 34%. On a constant dollar basis, our comp store sales increase was 24%. At the end of the fiscal year, we were operating 81 stores, 40 of those in Canada, 34 in the United States, and seven international.

談到我們財年業績的亮點，2007 財年的總淨收入增長了 84.5%，達到 2.747 億美元，而 2006 年為 1.489 億美元。這一增長是由我們的企業商店數量增長 73% 以及據報道，比較商店銷售額成長了34%。以不變美元計算，我們的比較商店銷售額成長了 24%。截至本財政年度末，我們經營 81 家商店，其中 40 家在加拿大，34 家在美國，7 家在國際。

Operating income increased 209% to $50.1 million from $16.2 million in 2006. Operating margin was 18.2% in 2007, as compared to 10.9% in 2006. Net income for 2007 was $30.8 million or $0.45 per diluted share, as compared to $7.7 million or $0.11 per diluted share last year. Before the legal settlement charges, last year's earnings per share were $0.18.

營業收入從2006 年的1,620 萬美元增加到5,010 萬美元，成長了209%。2007 年營業利潤率為18.2%，而2006 年為10.9%。2007 年淨利潤為3,080 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益0.45 美元，而2007 年淨利為770 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益0.11 美元去年每股攤薄後的每股收益。在法律和解費用之前，去年的每股收益為 0.18 美元。

I want to turn to our outlook for fiscal 2008. Our long-term growth targets continue to include net revenue growth of approximately 25% and diluted EPS growth in excess of 25%. In addition, we are now introducing guidance for fiscal year 2008 and for the first quarter based on our current business trends. We expect diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2008 in the range of $0.70 to $0.72 per share.

我想談談我們對 2008 財年的展望。我們的長期成長目標繼續包括約 25% 的淨收入成長和超過 25% 的稀釋後每股盈餘成長。此外，我們現在根據當前的業務趨勢推出 2008 財年和第一季的指導。我們預計 2008 財年攤薄後每股收益將在每股 0.70 美元至 0.72 美元之間。

Our annual earnings guidance reflects 35 new store openings and comparable store sales growth in the low teens or high single digits on a constant dollar basis. Total sales for the year are projected to be between $370 million and $375 million. As well, due to the amendments to our purchasing processes and transfer pricing policies, we expect our reported tax rate to be approximately 33% in 2008, with some seasonal shift to the rate depending on the mix of Canadian and U.S. profits in each particular quarter.

我們的年度獲利指引反映了 35 家新店開業，以及以固定美元計算，可比商店銷售額增長在低十幾位數或高個位數。今年的總銷售額預計在 3.7 億至 3.75 億美元之間。此外，由於我們對採購流程和轉讓定價政策的修改，我們預計 2008 年報告的稅率約為 33%，根據每個特定季度加拿大和美國利潤的組合，稅率會出現一些季節性變化。

We expect the quarterly tax rate to be lower than the annual rate in the first half of the year and higher in the second half of the year. Finally, we expect to have approximately 71 million shares outstanding for the year. These results reflect projected capital expenditures of approximately $36 million and the diluted loss per share of approximately $0.02 associated with closing our Japan operations during the year, part of which will be reflected in Q1 and part in Q2. We are working together with our joint venture partner Descente Ltd. to wind down the store operations in Japan with expected completion in the second quarter of 2008.

我們預計上半年季度稅率將低於年率，下半年將高於年率。最後，我們預計今年流通股數約為 7,100 萬股。這些結果反映了預計資本支出約 3,600 萬美元，以及與年內關閉日本業務相關的攤薄每股虧損約 0.02 美元，其中一部分將反映在第一季度，部分反映在第二季度。我們正在與合資夥伴 Descente Ltd. 合作，逐步結束在日本的商店業務，預計於 2008 年第二季完成。

For the first quarter of 2008, we expect comparable store sales growth in the high 20%s on a reported basis or midteens percents on constant dollar basis, plus three new store openings in North America during the quarter. We expect diluted earnings per share between $0.11 and $0.12, which compares to $0.05 in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. We also want to point out here that while we are projecting a currency benefit in the first quarter, we expect to begin to lap this benefit in the second half of the year, which will have an impact on our reported comp store sales. We will give more details on quarterly guidance as the year progresses.

對於 2008 年第一季度，我們預計可比商店銷售額按報告數據計算將增長 20% 以上，按固定美元匯率計算將增長 15% 左右，並且本季度將在北美開設 3 家新店。我們預計稀釋後每股收益將在0.11 美元至0.12 美元之間，而2007 財年第一季的每股收益為0.05 美元。我們還想在此指出，雖然我們預計第一季會出現貨幣收益，但我們預計這一數字將開始下降。下半年將受益，這將對我們報告的比較店銷售產生影響。隨著時間的推移，我們將提供有關季度指導的更多詳細資訊。

So with that, let me turn it back to Bob.

那麼，讓我把它轉回鮑伯身上。

Thanks, John. I now want to take a minute to discuss our other press release today that names Christine Day as lululemon athletica's new President and Chief Operating Officer, and we have designated her as our CEO designate. Christine joined us in January of this year and has made an immediate impact on our business and the entire organization. Her diverse background in operations in finance and her strategic leadership abilities and her longtime experience in senior management for a high-growth, culturally rich retail organizations such as Starbucks, quickly gave Chip, me, and the Board of Directors every confidence that Christine is the right person to lead lululemon into the next phase of our growth.

謝謝，約翰。現在我想花一點時間討論我們今天發布的另一篇新聞稿，其中任命 Christine Day 為 lululemon Attenta 的新總裁兼首席營運官，我們已指定她為我們的候任首席執行官。 Christine 於今年一月加入我們，對我們的業務和整個組織產生了直接影響。她在財務營運方面的多元化背景、她的策略領導能力以及她在星巴克等高成長、文化豐富的零售組織擔任高階主管的長期經驗，很快就讓奇普、我和董事會充滿信心，相信克里斯汀是帶領 lululemon 進入下一階段發展的合適人選。

Having joined lululemon in 2005, I have seen our Company grow from a small Canadian-based private company to a publicly-listed company with successful retail locations throughout the United States and internationally. The Company has given careful consideration over the last number of months in planning our successor for my role, and I have been personally very involved in recruiting Christine.

自 2005 年加入 lululemon 以來，我見證了我們公司從一家加拿大小型私人公司成長為一家在美國和國際各地擁有成功零售店的上市公司。在過去的幾個月裡，公司在規劃我的職位的繼任者時進行了仔細的考慮，我個人也積極參與了克里斯汀的招募工作。

I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished as a team and have every confidence she will lead this Company to new successes when she transitions to the CEO role in June 30 of 2008. I will remain available to her and the Company in an advisory capacity throughout the remainder of the year and I look forward to watching the Company's progress in the years to come.

我對我們作為一個團隊所取得的成就感到非常自豪，並堅信，當她於2008 年6 月30 日接任執行長職務時，她將帶領公司取得新的成功。我將繼續以顧問身份為她和公司提供服務在今年剩下的時間裡，我期待看到公司在未來幾年的進步。

With that, I am ready to turn the call back to the operator for questions.

這樣，我就準備將電話轉回接線生詢問問題。

(OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS) Lyn Walther, Wachovia Securities.

（操作員說明）Lyn Walther，美聯證券。

Congratulations on a great quarter. A couple questions for you. If you could just maybe update us on the new store productivity? How are the new stores performing in some of those newer markets? I think you mentioned Texas as -- and maybe Washington D.C. as a little bit slower to ramp. Just wondering how those are performing right now?

恭喜您度過了一個美好的季度。有幾個問題想問你。您能否向我們介紹一下新商店生產力的最新情況？新商店在一些較新的市場中表現如何？我想你提到德州——或許還有華盛頓特區——成長速度有點慢。只是想知道這些現在表現如何？

Thanks, Lyn, thanks for the nice comments on the year and the quarter. Our stores are doing very well. On average outperforming our targets very, very nicely. Washington D.C. has caught up by making sure our showroom, our community-based marketing, training program, recruiting, and management is in place and as we had said in our 35 store expansion, the D.C. area is going to be filled in very, very robustly during the course of the year.

謝謝林恩，感謝您對本年度和本季的好評。我們的商店生意很好。平均而言，非常非常好地超出了我們的目標。華盛頓特區已經迎頭趕上，確保我們的陳列室、基於社區的營銷、培訓計劃、招聘和管理到位，正如我們在 35 家商店擴張中所說，華盛頓特區將被非常非常多的人填滿。年內表現強勁。

Texas is doing very well. We still have some -- two problem stores that I think are problems, below our expectations, but two doing nicely and we have identified some expansion possibilities, moved a regional manager into the marketplace, opened two more showrooms. Really put a SWAT team in place to institute our brand in there and the rest of the markets are doing quite well. So I am very happy with that. Two new markets, Las Vegas and Hawaii, have gotten off to an incredibly strong start for us.

德克薩斯州表現非常好。我們仍然有一些——我認為有兩家問題商店，低於我們的預期，但有兩家做得很好，我們已經確定了一些擴張的可能性，將一名區域經理調入市場，然後開設了兩個陳列室。確實組建了一支特警隊來在那裡建立我們的品牌，其他市場的表現也相當不錯。所以我對此感到非常高興。拉斯維加斯和夏威夷這兩個新市場為我們帶來了令人難以置信的強勁開局。

Maybe if you could just talk about operations, some of the changes going on there with Mike micro leaving. I'm sure Christine has some ideas about how maybe she wants to do things a little bit differently. Maybe if she could talk about what she is focusing on now or planning to work on over the next few months.

也許你可以只談談運營，邁克微離開後發生的一些變化。我確信克里斯汀對她想要如何做一些不同的事情有一些想法。也許她可以談談她現在的重點是什麼或計劃在接下來的幾個月裡做什麼。

Sure.

當然。

Good morning, Lyn. This is Christine. I think that there has been a great base laid in the development and the expansion plans for the U.S. So I am really pleased coming in with the real estate selection and the operating capability of the Company. Some just simple changes, we've been increasing the number of assistant managers in the stores so that we are increasing the amount of time people have before they open stores. We have also been building the bench and the pipeline, externally bringing people in a little sooner so that we have seasoned operators opening our stores.

早上好，林。這是克里斯汀。我認為在美國的開發和擴張計劃已經奠定了良好的基礎，所以我很高興能夠了解公司的房地產選擇和營運能力。有些只是簡單的改變，我們一直在增加商店助理經理的數量，以便增加人們在開店之前的時間。我們也一直在建造工作台和管道，更快地從外部引入人員，以便我們有經驗豐富的經營者開設我們的商店。

We have made a few changes in the training programs, and most importantly, we've made changes in making sure that we have showrooms in now a year in advance in new market openings. And we have increased the hiring of our community leaders in advance as well. So all of those changes are helping the numbers change, which Bob spoke to a few moments ago.

我們對培訓計畫做了一些改變，最重要的是，我們做出了一些改變，以確保我們在新市場開放前一年就擁有陳列室。我們也提前增加了社區領袖的招募。因此，所有這些變化都有助於數字的變化，而鮑勃剛才談到了這一點。

And, Lyn, I just want add that prior to Mike's deciding to leave the Company and since Christine has joined the Company, we have been very actively involved in a senior executive search from the apparel industry, with strong background in the area of product development, design, planning, merchandising, logistics, sourcing, distribution, and our ability to complement Christine's background as a very strong operator with financial background. And we are very happy with the reception we have been happening to people wanting to join our Company and move to the Vancouver area. So very shortly we expect to be able to make some very strong announcements on additional senior executive hires.

Lyn，我只想補充一點，在 Mike 決定離開公司之前以及 Christine 加入公司以來，我們一直非常積極地參與服裝行業高級管理人員的搜尋工作，他們在產品開發領域擁有強大的背景、設計、規劃、銷售、物流、採購、分銷，以及我們作為具有財務背景的強大運營商的背景的補充能力。我們對想要加入我們公司並搬到溫哥華地區的人們所受到的接待感到非常高興。因此，我們預計很快就能就額外聘用高階主管發布一些非常強而有力的公告。

Okay, great. Thanks. Good luck to you, Bob, and congratulations, Christine.

好的，太好了。謝謝。祝你好運，鮑勃，恭喜你，克里斯汀。

Brad Cragin, Goldman Sachs.

布拉德·克拉金，高盛。

Christine, I wonder if you might be able to elaborate a little bit more on some of the similarities and differences you have found at lululemon, and what attracted you to the Company? Basically what those differences are versus your prior experience?

Christine，我想知道您能否詳細說明一下您在 lululemon 發現的一些相似點和不同點，以及是什麼吸引您加入該公司？與您之前的經驗相比，這些差異基本上是什麼？

Thank you, Brad. I think there are -- obviously what I was attracted to is another premium brand with an exceptional product and a tremendous culture. So I have really felt quite at home in even the short time I have been here. It feels very, very seamless to me. The people are fantastic and I think the ability to attract that talent level that we're seeing here in this organization reminds me very much of the early days at Starbucks.

謝謝你，布拉德。我認為，顯然，吸引我的是另一個擁有卓越產品和深厚文化的優質品牌。所以即使我來這裡的時間很短，我也確實感到賓至如歸。對我來說，這感覺非常非常無縫。這裡的員工都很棒，我認為我們在這個組織中看到的吸引人才的能力讓我想起了星巴克的早期時光。

I would also say for the growth mode and where the Company is at, the system investments are way ahead of the curve from the early days at Starbucks. I've been pleased with that. So I think the opportunity that this organization has, I am as excited about it as I was when I joined Starbucks 20 years ago. And I believe this organization has tremendous potential and I love the community aspect of what we stand for at lululemon and that is also very similar to the local grassroots marketing at Starbucks.

我還想說，就成長模式和公司所處的位置而言，系統投資遠遠領先星巴克早期的曲線。我對此很滿意。所以我認為這個組織所擁有的機會，我對此感到興奮，就像我20年前加入星巴克一樣。我相信這個組織具有巨大的潛力，我喜歡我們在 lululemon 所代表的社區方面，這也與星巴克的當地草根行銷非常相似。

So I think there are a lot of parallels and then I think some new things as well. I'm very excited to be on the retail side of the business, getting into the fashion side. So -- and then the high-performance athletic wear, which is the personal space that I enjoy. So I think there's a lot of great synergy that I'm looking forward to being part of.

所以我認為有很多相似之處，然後我也想到了一些新的東西。我很高興能夠從事零售業務，進入時尚產業。那麼——然後是高性能運動服，這是我喜歡的個人空間。因此，我認為我期待成為其中的一部分，產生許多巨大的協同作用。

Okay, and then John, just a follow-up for you. Can you just elaborate on the impact of the airfreight in the quarter, how much of an impact was that? Perhaps how much did FX impact the SG&A expenses?

好的，然後約翰，我想對您進行後續跟進。您能否詳細說明本季空運的影響，影響有多大？也許外匯對 SG&A 支出的影響有多大？

Okay, well airfreight shows up in two places. Airfreight from factories to our DCs is in our gross margin. Airfreight from the DCs to the stores is in our SG&A. Roughly just about $1 million above what we'd expected in impacting the gross margin and about $1.5 million above our expectations to get product from the DCs to the stores during the real preholiday crunch.

好吧，空運出現在兩個地方。從工廠到配送中心的空運已計入我們的毛利率。從配送中心到商店的空運包含在我們的 SG&A 中。這比我們對影響毛利率的預期高出約 100 萬美元，比我們在真正的節前緊縮期間將產品從配送中心運送到商店的預期高出約 150 萬美元。

Then going forward do you see that as an ongoing need or with the new ERP system, is that something you think you will be able to mitigate the future?

那麼展望未來，您是否認為作為持續的需求或使用新的 ERP 系統，您認為您將來能夠緩解這個問題？

I think you have hit the nail on the head. The reason for putting in and have implemented already the first phase of our ERP system is to be able to handle the types of volumes that we saw during the fourth quarter. So with these systems in place in '08, we would not expect to see a repeat.

我認為你說得一針見血。投入並實施 ERP 系統第一階段的原因是能夠處理我們在第四季度看到的數量類型。因此，隨著 08 年這些系統的到位，我們預計不會再出現類似情況。

I just -- Brad, just a counter to that, we were not planning on 41% comps. So consequently I would not want to have the inventory laying around waiting for that to happen. I do believe our ERP systems have already shown some substantial benefits in our planning and merchandising group and product flow as we get used to working with that system and get comfortable with the capabilities it has for us to get product flow to the stores. However, I hope we continue to have such strong growth that we are putting pressure on our logistics and supply chain teams to scramble and keep us in stock.

我只是 - Brad，只是反駁一下，我們沒有計劃 41% 的比較。因此，我不想讓庫存閒置等待這種情況的發生。我確實相信，我們的ERP 系統已經在我們的規劃和銷售團隊以及產品流程中顯示出了一些實質性的優勢，因為我們已經習慣了使用該系統，並熟悉了它為我們提供產品流到商店的功能。然而，我希望我們繼續保持如此強勁的成長，以至於我們給我們的物流和供應鏈團隊施加壓力，要求他們爭先恐後地保持庫存。

Okay, thank you.

好的謝謝。

Lorraine Maikis, Merrill Lynch.

洛林麥基斯，美林證券。

You spoke at ICR about a 20% operating margin goal for '08. Do you still expect to achieve that?

您在 ICR 上談到 08 年營運利潤率目標為 20%。您還期望實現這一目標嗎？

Actually what I spoke about was a 20% operating margin for '09. And our guidance for 2008, that I have just gone through, when you go through your models, you'll see that there's leverage above our operating margin in '07, but not quite to the 20% for 2009 and I continue to expect that for 2009.

實際上我所說的是 09 年 20% 的營業利潤率。我剛剛瀏覽過我們對 2008 年的指導，當你瀏覽你的模型時，你會發現槓桿率高於我們 07 年的營業利潤率，但還沒有達到 2009 年的 20%，我仍然預計這一點2009年。

Okay, great. Just thinking about e-commerce, do you have any type of timeframe that you can provide us on when you expect that to be up and running?

好的，太好了。就電子商務而言，當您期望電子商務啟動並運行時，您是否可以向我們提供任何類型的時間表？

Yes, we've talked about this in last couple of conference releases as we have been investigating the possibility. We think that we have made in our plans for '08 substantially internal investments and we have not counted on any revenue stream coming from at. Ideally we would like to have a solution in place and active by the end of this fiscal year.

是的，我們在最近幾次會議發布中討論了這一點，因為我們一直在調查這種可能性。我們認為，我們在 08 年的計劃中已經進行了大量的內部投資，我們沒有指望來自內部的任何收入來源。理想情況下，我們希望在本財年結束前製定解決方案並投入使用。

Okay, then finally could you just share with us any learnings from the Japanese business? And as you look to potentially go abroad over the next few years, how will you do it differently?

好的，最後可以跟我們分享一下日本企業的經驗教訓嗎？當您希望在未來幾年內出國時，您將如何採取不同的做法？

I think that you have to have a strong brand in the United States that creates a must have demand in the international marketplaces and so I think we were premature in entering Japan, not -- I would not say that for Australia. I think Australia is very well preseeded. I think that we know that we have a winning formula that we can see when we short cut the winning formula in the U.S. in Texas or even in some of our Canadian markets as stores get up to a substantially slower ramp. And so we need to make sure that we do not short cut training, site selection, store size, recruiting, community-based marketing, and absolutely seeding the market with our Company's philosophy and culture as well as our product.

我認為你必須在美國擁有一個強大的品牌，才能在國際市場上創造必需的需求，所以我認為我們進入日本還為時過早，而不是——我不會對澳洲這麼說。我認為澳洲已經做好準備了。我認為我們知道我們有一個成功的公式，當我們在美國德州甚至加拿大的一些市場縮短成功公式時，我們可以看到，因為商店的成長速度要慢得多。因此，我們需要確保我們不會在培訓、選址、商店規模、招聘、社區行銷等方面走捷徑，並絕對用我們公司的理念和文化以及我們的產品來播種市場。

Then in Japan, I guess basically there was the uniqueness of the country as the people dress appropriately for where they go. So people would dress appropriately for work, for dining, for shopping, and for exercising. And it is premature for us to expect them to stay in lululemon athletic gear all day long, as we have seen, which really contributes to the high growth we are experiencing in North America. And that was unique to the Japanese market.

然後在日本，我想基本上有這個國家的獨特性，因為人們穿著得體，適合他們去的地方。因此，人們會在工作、用餐、購物和運動時穿著得體。正如我們所看到的，我們期望他們整天穿著 lululemon 運動裝備還為時過早，這確實有助於我們在北美經歷的高速成長。這對日本市場來說是獨一無二的。

We do not see it unique to many of the European countries. We think that our expansion and continued expansion in Australia and Europe will be at the appropriate time, probably in 2009. Christine should be able to speak to that better than I.

我們並不認為這是許多歐洲國家所獨有的。我們認為我們在澳洲和歐洲的擴張和持續擴張將在適當的時間進行，可能是在 2009 年。Christine 應該比我更能表達這一點。

I just also think it was for us a case of where the dollar is best invested? And for right now, that is North America and our time and attention. But having spent a lot of time in both the Japanese and the Australian markets, I am much more positive about our ability to drive success in Australia at this time and we have a great partner there with a lot of experience in this business. I think we've made the right decision with Japan for now.

我也認為這對我們來說是美元最好投資的例子？目前，這就是北美以及我們的時間和注意力。但在日本和澳洲市場度過了很多時間後，我對我們目前在澳洲取得成功的能力更加樂觀，而且我們在那裡有一個在該行業擁有豐富經驗的優秀合作夥伴。我認為我們目前對日本做出了正確的決定。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Michelle Tan, UBS.

米歇爾·譚，瑞銀。

It is actually Nicole Shevins, just filling in for Michelle. So I just wanted to see if you are seeing any disparity in the productivity between the mall-based locations and the street locations?

其實是妮可·謝文斯（Nicole Shevins），只是代替米歇爾。所以我只是想看看您是否發現商場地點和街道地點之間的生產力有差異？

No, and it is a little different. I think in Canada you have much more of a mall-based shopping experience and in the U.S., it is a balance between shops, malls, and the street locations. Both are performing very well for us in the U.S.

不，而且有點不同。我認為在加拿大，您有更多基於購物中心的購物體驗，而在美國，這是商店、購物中心和街道位置之間的平衡。兩者在美國的表現都非常好。

Okay, great. Then have there been any regional disparities, any differences in the coasts versus the middle of the country?

好的，太好了。那麼，沿海地區與中部地區是否有地區差異？

No, I think you have some different shopping habits between the northern climes and the southern climes based on things like outerwear etc., but overall, great reception in both -- in both conditions.

不，我認為北方氣候和南方氣候之間有一些不同的購物習慣，例如外套等，但總的來說，兩種情況下都受到很好的歡迎。

Great, thank you.

太好了謝謝。

Paul Lejuez, Credit Suisse.

保羅·勒胡埃斯，瑞士信貸。

Can you tell us, remind us how many U.S. stores are in the comp base and how those stores performed in the fourth quarter? Second, just as you guys are getting the e-commerce site up and trust running, how much of the dollars to get that going hits your P&L versus CapEx? Just wondering if you could share the magnitude there. Then last, if you could help us with openings by quarter, we would appreciate that.

您能否告訴我們，提醒我們比較基礎上有多少家美國商店以及這些商店在第四季度的表現如何？其次，正如你們正在建立電子商務網站並信任其運作一樣，與資本支出相比，實現該網站運作所需的資金有多少會影響您的損益？只是想知道你是否可以分享那裡的規模。最後，如果您能幫助我們按季度安排職缺，我們將不勝感激。

Your first question, in the comp base, we have a total of 38 stores and nine of those are in the U.S. as of the end of the year. They are -- we do not break out Canada/U.S., but they are comping extremely high. Sorry, what was your second question? When you give me too many questions (multiple speakers) --

你的第一個問題，截至今年年底，我們共有 38 家商店，其中 9 家位於美國。他們是——我們沒有單獨列出加拿大/美國，但他們的競爭非常高。抱歉，您的第二個問題是什麼？當你給我太多問題時（多位發言者）—

E-commerce dollars.

電子商務美元。

We have budgeted -- in the guidance I've given you there is inclusion of somewhere between $0.5 million and $1 million of startup costs relating to e-commerce and we have not assumed in that guidance any revenues from e-commerce until next year.

我們已經制定了預算——在我給你們的指導中，包含了50 萬到100 萬美元之間與電子商務相關的啟動成本，並且我們在該指導中沒有假設明年之前會從電子商務中獲得任何收入。

That means running through the P&L there is $0.5 million to $1 million?

這意味著從損益表來看，有 50 萬到 100 萬美元？

Yes.

是的。

Got you, and how about on the CapEx side? Are there additional dollars being spent there?

明白了，資本支出方面怎麼樣？那裡還有額外的錢可以花嗎？

Have not included that in the CapEx numbers at this point. But we will give greater guidance on our e-commerce plans as the year progresses.

目前尚未將其包含在資本支出數字中。但隨著時間的推移，我們將對我們的電子商務計劃提供更多指導。

Okay, got you. Then just the openings by quarter?

好的，明白了。那麼只是季度的空缺職位？

Three openings in the first quarter. Presently the second quarter is likely to be somewhere at least 10, maybe a bit higher, but of course the exact timing clustered around quarter end. I don't want to commit to a specific number. And the balance in Q3 and Q4.

第一季三個空缺。目前，第二季可能至少為 10，也許更高一些，但當然，確切的時間集中在季度末左右。我不想承諾具體數字。以及第三季和第四季的餘額。

Any international this year?

今年有國際賽嗎？

Possibly some additional stores in Australia.

可能在澳洲還有一些其他商店。

Great. Thanks and good luck.

偉大的。謝謝，祝你好運。

Liz Dunn, Thomas Weisel.

莉茲鄧恩，湯瑪斯韋塞爾。

Congratulations on a great quarter. My first question relates to SG&A. I know you've mentioned some need to invest in some key areas and then the e-commerce investment. Can you just give us a sense of how much SG&A should be up year-over-year and what are the various buckets? Related to the fourth quarter, how much did currency impact SG&A?

恭喜您度過了一個美好的季度。我的第一個問題與SG&A 有關。我知道您提到需要在一些關鍵領域進行投資，然後是電子商務投資。您能否讓我們了解一下 SG&A 應同比增長多少以及各個類別是什麼？與第四季相關，貨幣對 SG&A 的影響有多大？

Well, in terms of 2008, I think it is drilling into too much detail to talk about specific buckets. As I just mentioned, we have budgeted $0.5 million to $1 million in e-commerce. Our expectations of spend on Japan and international are perhaps less than they were a quarter ago, but that is the key initiative in terms of growth spend in 2008.

嗯，就 2008 年而言，我認為討論的細節太多，無法討論特定的領域。正如我剛才提到的，我們在電子商務方面的預算為 50 萬至 100 萬美元。我們對日本和國際支出的預期可能低於一個季度前，但這是 2008 年成長支出的關鍵措施。

Okay, so the balance will just support the growth of the business? All right, then the currency question?

好吧，那麼餘額只能支持業務的成長嗎？好吧，那麼貨幣問題呢？

It's hard to answer that. The Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar bounced around in 2007. It would seem to be stabilized somewhere close to par, and that is our expectation in the guidance that we have given.

很難回答這個問題。加幣兌美元匯率在 2007 年反彈。它似乎穩定在接近平價的水平，這就是我們在給出的指引中的預期。

Okay, then I had a question just on your evolution of the brand. I know you have previously mentioned introducing swim and cycling in 2008. Is that still on track? How is running doing? How does the organization need to evolve as you begin to introduce different categories from a staffing perspective at the stores and from a design perspective? And then one more kind along those lines, Christine, do you do yoga?

好的，然後我有一個關於您品牌演變的問題。我知道您之前提到在 2008 年引入游泳和自行車。現在還在進行中嗎？跑步怎麼樣？當您開始從商店的人員配置和設計角度引入不同的類別時，組織需要如何發展？還有一種說法是，克莉絲汀，你做瑜珈嗎？

Let me not answer for Christine on yoga. First of all, our plans for swim and cycling triathlon gear is still on plan, doing very, very -- coming in very shortly in the swim side and the cycling side. Running is doing incredibly well. That was an instant hit and did not require a lot of rework on both the men's and women's side, and we continue to introduce new product into the stores being received very well in all climates.

讓我不為克里斯汀回答瑜珈問題。首先，我們的游泳和自行車鐵人三項裝備計劃仍在計劃中，做得非常非常——很快就會在游泳方面和自行車方面投入使用。跑步效果非常好。這立即引起了轟動，並且不需要在男裝和女裝方面進行大量返工，我們繼續向商店推出新產品，在各種氣候條件下都受到很好的歡迎。

Dances, we had talked about in the previous quarter, we readjusted our dance focus to give us an opportunity to let a younger girl enter our franchise with a technical reason for being, and the dance line has responded very, very strongly.

舞蹈，我們在上一季談過，我們重新調整了舞蹈重點，讓我們有機會讓一個年輕的女孩因為技術原因進入我們的特許經營權，舞蹈陣容的反應非常非常強烈。

As we continue to evolve from yoga inspiration to exercise gear, we have introduced a variety of products designed for the fit plus 40 marketplace and that looks like it is being totally incremental to our business. Our bra business has started to catch on and our men business continues to grow very strongly.

隨著我們不斷從瑜珈靈感發展到運動裝備，我們推出了各種專為 fit plus 40 市場設計的產品，看起來它完全是我們業務的增量。我們的胸罩業務已經開始流行，我們的男士業務繼續強勁成長。

As you talk about our need to evolve, it all lies in community-based marketing. It all really relies on making sure that our ambassador mix is a combination of running coaches, cycling coaches, triathletes, dancers, fitness experts, Pilates experts, yogis, and that we are involved in the community based on being able to influence and attract people who are in the activities that we plan on introducing.

當您談到我們的發展需要時，這一切都在於基於社群的行銷。這一切實際上取決於確保我們的大使組合是跑步教練、自行車教練、鐵人三項運動員、舞者、健身專家、普拉提專家、瑜伽士的組合，並且我們基於能夠影響和吸引人們的能力參與社區誰參與了我們計劃推出的活動。

I will turn this over to Christine not just to answer the yoga question, but to give her perspective on new categories and what evolution she sees from her educated point of view.

我將把這個問題交給克里斯汀，不僅是為了回答瑜伽問題，也是為了讓她對新類別以及她從受過教育的角度看到的進化有什麼看法。

So in answer to the question, yes, I do yoga, reformer Pilates, and I am a runner. So I enjoy our whole assortment. And I would also say on the swimming, it has actually reached the stores here in the Vancouver area, but it is not the high-performance technical swimming line that will ultimately move into this one. It was part of an initiative as a test and trial and it was around also using our excess fabric. So it is little bit more of a fun line in the stores right now.

所以回答這個問題，是的，我做瑜珈、普拉提普拉提，而且我是跑者。所以我很喜歡我們的整個品種。我還要說的是，在游泳方面，它實際上已經到達了溫哥華地區的商店，但最終不會進入這個商店的高性能技術游泳系列。這是一項測試和試驗計劃的一部分，而且還使用了我們多餘的布料。所以現在在商店裡它是一個更有趣的產品線。

I think -- I am very excited about the triathlete and with adding the cycling year and then we have a tremendous customer base for that particularly here in the Canadian market. I think it starts to get us into a broader customer reach. From a store perspective, it integrates very well into our merchandising assortment and it is a really easy cross train, because most of our guests come in looking for pieces that they can use already. So we are actually just picking up a need that we already see in the store.

我認為，我對鐵人三項運動員和自行車年的增加感到非常興奮，然後我們擁有龐大的客戶群，特別是在加拿大市場。我認為這開始讓我們接觸到更廣泛的客戶。從商店的角度來看，它很好地融入了我們的商品分類，並且是一個非常簡單的交叉列車，因為我們的大多數客人進來尋找他們已經可以使用的物品。所以我們實際上只是在挑選我們已經在商店中看到的需求。

Okay, great. Thank you.

好的，太好了。謝謝。

Howard Tubin, RBC Capital Markets.

霍華德‧圖賓，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場。

Thanks very much. Really outstanding quarter, guys. Could you -- do you think you are taking market share from anyone or are you kind of creating your own market?

非常感謝。夥計們，這個季度真的很出色。您是否認為您正在從任何人手中奪取市場份額，或者您正在創建自己的市場？

I think the market is expanding. I think as we have talked, we are introducing ourselves into a growing macro consumer trend and this is a global trend of healthy living, exercise, and stress reduction. Candidly it plays very well in a recessionary market as well as an affluent market. I cannot say that I can specifically take a look at anyone that we are targeting, but obviously we do see people coming in with other people's product on and leaving with our product on.

我認為市場正在擴大。我認為正如我們所說，我們正在將自己引入不斷增長的宏觀消費趨勢，這是健康生活、運動和減輕壓力的全球趨勢。坦白說，它在經濟衰退的市場和富裕的市場中都表現得很好。我不能說我可以具體觀察我們所針對的任何人，但顯然我們確實看到人們帶著別人的產品進來，帶著我們的產品離開。

So I would say the majority of our growth is market expansion and then we are having good, strong conversion from existing megabrands and niche brands and developing a loyal customer base because of our product performance.

因此，我想說，我們的成長主要是市場擴張，然後我們從現有的大品牌和小眾品牌中獲得了良好、強勁的轉化，並由於我們的產品性能而發展了忠實的客戶群。

Great, thanks. John, do you have any sense of where inventory will end -- or inventory will be at the end of the first quarter in terms of growth versus last year?

萬分感謝。約翰，您是否知道庫存將在哪裡結束，或者與去年相比，第一季末的庫存將增長多少？

I don't want to pick a number, but as we mentioned, inventory at the end of the year was very lean. The warehouse sales, etc. really gave us a good starting point. If you look at year-over-year, you might even look at that as being too lean, but that is not the case. Our inventories are building nicely for the spring and summer.

我不想選擇一個數字，但正如我們所提到的，年底的庫存非常少。倉庫銷售等確實給了我們一個很好的起點。如果你逐年查看，你甚至可能會認為它過於精簡，但事實並非如此。我們的春季和夏季庫存狀況良好。

I just want to add to that. I'm not going to give a number, so I can let John sit back down. But we were very pleased with our post holiday markdowns, which were less than we had had in terms of depth, less than we had had in previous years and stronger in terms of reception on both our in-store post holiday markdowns as well as our warehouse sales.

我只想補充一點。我不會給出具體數字，所以我可以讓約翰坐下來。但我們對節後降價感到非常滿意，從深度來看，降價比前幾年要少，但在店內節後降價以及我們的店內降價的接受度方面都更強。倉庫銷售。

So coming into the -- coming at year-end at that moment in time, our inventories appeared to be substantially leaner than you would have expected on a dollar basis. But that gives us the opportunity to allow our supply chain to build quality inventory coming into this quarter. We do expect an increase both in dollars and in forward-looking months.

因此，進入年底時，我們的庫存似乎比您以美元計算的預期要少得多。但這使我們有機會讓我們的供應鏈在本季建立優質庫存。我們確實預計美元和未來幾個月都會有所成長。

That's great. Just one final question. With some changes at the top in terms of senior management, is Chip still actively involved and does he plan to stay actively involved?

那太棒了。最後還有一個問題。隨著高階主管的一些變動，奇普是否仍積極參與並計劃繼續積極參與？

Chip is very actively involved. He is the inspiration for the Company, and he is the heart and soul of what we are trying to scale. He is very involved in the product end of the business and is doing an excellent job of building succession in that category. We have institutionalized not only a good design team of athletes in Vancouver, but we have migrated a design center to Los Angeles. We've hired a designer in Europe and we continue to invite in freelance designers to present their ideas on lululemon from Brazil, Asia, and other European markets. And he is at the forefront of that.

Chip 非常積極地參與其中。他是公司的靈感來源，也是我們努力擴大規模的核心和靈魂。他積極參與業務的產品端工作，並且在該類別的繼任者建設方面做得非常出色。我們不僅在溫哥華建立了一支優秀的運動員設計團隊，而且還將一個設計中心遷移到了洛杉磯。我們在歐洲聘請了一名設計師，並將繼續邀請自由設計師來展示他們對來自巴西、亞洲和其他歐洲市場的 lululemon 的想法。他處於這方面的最前沿。

He is also very instrumental in working with our team on advanced fabrications and we have been very successful, soon to announce a senior executive joining our Company with very strong advanced material background from one of the leading athletic brands. She will join our Company very quickly and head up that group.

他在與我們團隊在先進製造方面的合作也發揮了重要作用，我們非常成功，很快就宣布一位高級管理人員加入我們公司，他來自領先的運動品牌之一，擁有非常強大的先進材料背景。她很快就會加入我們公司並領導該團隊。

Then in just store layout, Chip has a very strong vision in terms of store, guest experience, and how stores should be viewed in a marketplace. And his energy level on that has not waned at all.

然後，在商店佈局方面，奇普在商店、顧客體驗以及商店在市場中的形象方面有著非常強烈的願景。而他在這方面的精力絲毫沒有減弱。

That's great. Thanks a lot. Keep up the good work, guys.

那太棒了。多謝。繼續努力，夥計們。

Janet Kloppenburg, JJK Research.

珍妮特·克洛彭堡，JJK 研究中心。

Good morning and congratulations. Christine, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the store layout? You have a reasonably small box and you're adding several product categories. And I'm wondering if you're thinking that you need to expand the box size or if there are some efficiencies you can gain as you layer in these new product categories?

早上好，恭喜你。克里斯汀，我想知道你能談談商店的佈局嗎？您有一個相當小的盒子，並且要新增多個產品類別。我想知道您是否認為需要擴大包裝盒尺寸，或者在這些新產品類別中分層時是否可以獲得一些效率？

Bob, it sounds like you are bringing on a lot of new management in the next few months. Are there any key management roles that are vacant and you don't currently have a candidate ready to come on?

鮑勃，聽起來您將在接下來的幾個月內引入許多新的管理層。是否有任何關鍵管理職缺，而您目前還沒有準備好接替的候選人？

Lastly, John, if we think about the costs associated with the e-commerce build, should we think about the SG&A level particularly in the fourth quarter of '08, maybe not having the benefit we think it does because of the airfreight expenditures this year -- in '07? Thank you.

最後，約翰，如果我們考慮與電子商務建設相關的成本，我們是否應該考慮 SG&A 水平，尤其是 08 年第四季度的水平，也許不會因為今年的空運支出而獲得我們認為的好處——07年？謝謝。

Okay, on the box size, we are really committed to staying under that 3000 square foot mark and our ideal space is in that 2500 to 2700, maybe 2800 square feet. We do practice for the most part survival of the fittest. Our merchandise is basically slated to come in and out on about a six weeks cycle, which allows us a lot of flexibility in the pieces and in the setup. Besides the core, which are obviously the pants and the crops and the tanks and the bra, the rest of the space is quite flexible. And so in our layout, what we do is we time the new pieces in with the new collections and they show up in the front of store in the hot wall or on what we call the table and the mid rack fixtures in the stores.

好的，就盒子尺寸而言，我們確實致力於保持在 3000 平方英尺以下，而我們理想的空間是 2500 到 2700 平方英尺，也許是 2800 平方英尺。我們的練習大部分是為了適者生存。我們的商品基本上預計以大約六週的周期進出，這使我們在零件和設定方面具有很大的靈活性。除了核心部分（顯然是褲子、作物、背心和胸罩）之外，其餘的空間都相當靈活。因此，在我們的佈局中，我們所做的就是將新單品與新系列搭配在一起，然後它們出現在商店前面的熱牆中，或者我們所說的桌子和商店中架上的固定裝置上。

So we are working on -- have just begun work on the new store prototype that will allow us that ultimate flexibility, also adjusting for local preferences. And so we should have some updates on that towards later in the year, but we do see ourselves staying in that smaller box.

因此，我們正在研究——剛開始研究新的商店原型，這將使我們能夠實現最終的靈活性，同時也可以根據當地的喜好進行調整。因此，我們應該在今年稍後對此進行一些更新，但我們確實認為自己仍處於較小的範圍內。

Christine, will the stores that are open this year be under the store prototype (inaudible) and then you may evolve that prototype for '09?

Christine，今年開業的商店是否會採用商店原型（聽不清楚），然後您可能會在 09 年改進該原型？

That is probably correct. I mean, any time we have a good idea, we're going to test it in the store and they might see some individual pieces that we're testing as we develop and refine what that prototype will look like.

這可能是正確的。我的意思是，任何時候我們有一個好主意，我們都會在商店中進行測試，他們可能會看到我們在開發和完善原型時測試的一些單獨的部件。

Okay, on your second question as it relates to key hires, no, we do not have any vacancies where we don't have targeted short lists. And we have been planning this throughout the course of fiscal '07 in terms of needs. I would say that the biggest area that we are working on in the short timeline is in the area of logistics and distribution, and then a senior executive to lead that team who has strong apparel -- athletic and fashion apparel background in planning merchandising, in-store visual display, and supply chain logistics. But each of the team heads in that area are more than competent to be able to carry on the job. They have been reporting directly to me since Mike decided to resign.

好的，關於你的第二個問題，因為它與關鍵招募有關，不，我們沒有任何空缺職位，我們沒有目標短名單。我們在 07 財年的整個過程中一直根據需求進行規劃。我想說的是，我們在短時間內工作的最大領域是物流和分銷領域，然後由一位在規劃銷售方面擁有強大服裝——運動和時尚服裝背景的高級管理人員來領導該團隊， -店面視覺展示、供應鏈物流。但該領域的每個團隊負責人都非常有能力勝任這項工作。自從麥克決定辭職以來，他們一直直接向我報告。

Janet, on your IT question, let me make some comments and then come back and tell me if I have addressed your specific question. The additional IT support costs for the new system are in our numbers. In '08, what you do need to understand is we will have depreciation on the new IT system, which was not in '07. That will be $2 million to $2.5 million per year of depreciation.

Janet，關於您的 IT 問題，讓我發表一些評論，然後回來告訴我我是否已經解決了您的具體問題。新系統的額外 IT 支援成本已在我們的數字中。在 08 年，您需要了解的是，我們將對新 IT 系統進行折舊，而 07 年則沒有。每年折舊 200 萬至 250 萬美元。

And I believe part of your question was -- and we talked about this before -- I would expect that with these new systems in the latter part of 2008, we should be able to reduce spend on airfreight particularly the airfreight that we incurred in '07 to get goods from the DCs to our stores.

我相信您的部分問題是——我們之前討論過這一點——我希望透過 2008 年下半年的這些新系統，我們應該能夠減少空運支出，特別是我們在 ' 07 將貨物從配送中心運送到我們的商店。

So there should be some opportunity then in the fourth quarter of '08 -- given that, the unusual airfreight charges that you experienced in '07?

因此，考慮到您在 07 年經歷的不尋常的空運費用，08 年第四季應該會有一些機會？

Yes, I would expect the portion of the airfreight that is in SG&A we should be able to do a lot better next year.

是的，我預計 SG&A 中的空運部分我們明年應該能夠做得更好。

John, I am seeing some companies with greater investment on the e-commerce side get -- feel it on the SG&A line. That's why I'm asking the question. I have seen that pressure SG&A over the last several quarters. And I (multiple speakers)

約翰，我看到一些在電子商務方面投入更多的公司在 SG&A 線上感受到了這一點。這就是我問這個問題的原因。在過去的幾個季度裡，我已經看到了銷售管理費用（SG&A）所面臨的壓力。而我（多位發言者）

I was going to say there is a significant amount in our guidance, in our expectations of IT personnel to support the systems.

我想說的是，我們對 IT 人員支援系統的指導和期望中有很大一部分內容。

Okay, I just wanted you guys to know that I loved your April fools joke in the stores.

好吧，我只是想讓你們知道我喜歡你們在商店裡的愚人節笑話。

What joke?

什麼笑話？

Have you seen Bob in it yet?

你有看過鮑伯在裡面嗎？

That's just not pretty.

那不太漂亮。

Dana Telsey, Telsey Advisory Group.

達納‧特爾西，特爾西諮詢小組。

Good morning, everyone. Can you tell us a little bit about product costs, what you are seeing there in terms of the IMU opportunity? And then lastly, as you think about your stores particularly that you are opening in the U.S. now, how are the stores that you are opening today different from the first few stories that you have opened? What is different and how is the U.S. market different there or worse than what you had expected? Thank you.

大家，早安。您能否告訴我們一些有關產品成本的信息，以及您在 IMU 方面看到的機會？最後，當您考慮您的商店，特別是您現在在美國開設的商店時，您今天開設的商店與您最初開設的幾家商店有何不同？有什麼不同？美國市場有何不同或比您預期的更糟？謝謝。

Okay, so in terms of IMUs, we are seeing offsets. Certainly we hear a lot about the prices going up in both the materials, raw materials, manufacturing costs, particularly in China and the transportation costs. But we're getting more efficiencies because we are placing larger orders and because of our growth getting strong cooperation both from our fabric suppliers and manufacturers. We have placed our orders through October of this year, and so we are pretty confident we know our IMUs in costing as it relates to the majority of the year. I'm not feeling a lot of pressure at this stage of the game, and feel like we can hold onto our guidance nicely.

好的，就 IMU 而言，我們看到了偏移。當然，我們聽到很多關於材料、原材料、製造成本（特別是在中國）和運輸成本的價格上漲。但我們的效率正在提高，因為我們下了更大的訂單，而且我們的成長得到了布料供應商和製造商的強大合作。我們已經在今年 10 月之前下了訂單，因此我們非常有信心了解我們的 IMU 的成本計算，因為它與一年中的大部分時間有關。在遊戲的這個階段我並沒有感受到太大的壓力，並且感覺我們可以很好地堅持我們的指導。

And that would include some new fabrics that we're looking at testing because we want to continue to keep pushing ourselves for innovation and although we are very, very happy with the growth of our core product and our core replenishment business, we don't want to fall in the trap of falling asleep at the switch.

這將包括我們正在考慮測試的一些新面料，因為我們希望繼續不斷推動自己創新，儘管我們對我們的核心產品和核心補貨業務的增長非常非常滿意，但我們不想要陷入在開關處睡著的陷阱。

In terms of stores, I would say the biggest thing you are going to see in the United States is filling in the markets. '07 was high-risk for us, because we entered a number of new markets with single store operations and since our brand does not rely on athletic endorsement and heavy mass media, it really requires a word-of-mouth attraction. Store needs to be found in terms of being a gathering point for fitness activities. Ambassadors need to be drawn to us based on their understanding and wanting to be part of our brand, our culture, and our brand philosophy.

就商店而言，我想說你在美國看到的最重要的事情是填補市場。 07年對我們來說是高風​​險的，因為我們透過單店經營進入了許多新市場，而且我們的品牌不依賴體育運動的認可和大量的大眾媒體，所以它確實需要口碑的吸引力。商店需要成為健身活動的聚集點。大使需要基於他們的理解並希望成為我們的品牌、我們的文化和我們的品牌理念的一部分而被我們吸引。

And as we enter second and third stores in markets, Dana, they actually get off to a faster start than the new introductions. And I would say that that is pretty much across the board. I don't see a big difference in the United States. The beauty of lululemon is there is no confusing it with any of the other brands, whether it be a niche brand or the large athletic brands. Our Company brand image is so inclusive that when you decide lululemon's manifesto, lululemon's culture, lululemon's productline, lululemon's guest experience fits your need, then that I think applies whether it is in Florida or in Toronto.

當我們進入市場的第二和第三家商店時，Dana，他們實際上比新推出的商店起步更快。我想說，這幾乎是全面的。我不認為美國有什麼大的差別。 Lululemon 的美妙之處在於它不會與任何其他品牌混淆，無論是小眾品牌還是大型運動品牌。我們公司的品牌形象具有很強的包容性，當您確定lululemon 的宣言、lululemon 的文化、lululemon 的產品線、lululemon 的賓客體驗符合您的需求時，我認為無論是在佛羅裡達州還是在多倫多，這都適用。

And I do not believe that there is anything other than taking into consideration regional weather differences that we need to be attuned to because you don't have those whether differences in Canada that you have in the United States. And I believe the new markets we've entered like Vegas and Hawaii have been exceptionally strong received for us and the rest of them are fill-in markets.

我認為除了考慮地區天氣差異之外，我們沒有其他需要適應的地方，因為加拿大沒有美國那樣的差異。我相信我們進入的新市場（如維加斯和夏威夷）對我們來說非常受歡迎，其餘市場都是填補市場。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

That will conclude our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over for any additional or closing remarks.

我們的問答環節就到此結束。我想將會議轉回，以便發表補充或結束語。

I would like Christine to close the conference call.

我希望克里斯汀結束電話會議。

Well, I am very excited to be on my first call with you and thank you for your support and for sharing it up with the greater earnings announcement for the Company. I just want to say it is my honor to be part of this management team and to have been selected by Bob in particular. He has been a tremendous mentor for me in this transition. I'm glad he is not running out the door too quickly, but he will be here and with us for some time to come. But we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us and a tremendous team to help us get there and we are really, really excited even in the current market conditions with our growth opportunity and the performance of our stores.

嗯，我很高興第一次與您通話，感謝您的支持並與我們分享公司更大的收益公告。我只想說，我很榮幸能成為這個管理團隊的一員，特別是被鮑伯選中。在這個轉變過程中，他對我來說是一位偉大的導師。我很高興他沒有太快跑出家門，但他會在這裡並與我們在一起一段時間。但我們面前有一個巨大的機會，還有一支強大的團隊來幫助我們實現這一目標，即使在當前的市場條件下，我們對我們的成長機會和商店的業績也感到非常非常興奮。

So we are very confident in the next quarter and we look forward to speaking to next time. Thank you.

因此，我們對下個季度非常有信心，並期待下次談話。謝謝。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that will conclude today's conference. We do thank you for your participation.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，今天的會議到此結束。我們非常感謝您的參與。