梅西百貨 (M) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to Macy's, Inc. Q3 2022 Earnings Call. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I will now turn the call over to Pam Quintiliano. Please go ahead, ma'am.

美好的一天，歡迎來到梅西百貨公司 2022 年第三季度財報電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音中。現在，我將把電話轉給 Pam Quintiliano。請繼續，女士。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us to discuss our third quarter 2022 results. With me on the call today are Jeff Gennette, our Chairman and CEO; and Adrian Mitchell, our CFO. Jeff and Adrian have prepared remarks that they'll share after which we'll provide time for your questions. Given the time constraints, we ask that participants in the Q&A, please limit their questions to 1 single-part question.

謝謝你，運營商。大家早上好，感謝您加入我們討論我們 2022 年第三季度的業績。今天和我一起打電話的是我們的董事長兼首席執行官 Jeff Gennette；和我們的首席財務官 Adrian Mitchell。 Jeff 和 Adrian 已準備好他們將分享的評論，之後我們將提供時間回答您的問題。鑑於時間限制，我們要求參與問答的參與者將他們的問題限制在 1 個單部分問題。

Along with our press release from earlier this morning, a slide presentation has been posted on the Investors section of our website, macysinc.com. In addition to information from our prepared remarks, the presentation includes supplementary data to assist you in your analysis of Macy's. Also note that unless otherwise noted the comparisons that we'll speak to this morning will be versus 2021. Comparisons to 2019 are provided where appropriate to best benchmark our performance given impacts from the pandemic.

除了我們今天上午早些時候發布的新聞稿外，我們網站 macysinc.com 的投資者部分還發布了幻燈片演示。除了我們準備好的評論中的信息外，該演示文稿還包括補充數據，以幫助您分析梅西百貨。另請注意，除非另有說明，否則我們今天上午要進行的比較將與 2021 年進行比較。在適當的情況下提供與 2019 年的比較，以最好地衡量我們在大流行病影響下的表現。

Keep in mind that all forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations and assumptions mentioned today. A detailed discussion of these factors and uncertainties is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

請記住，所有前瞻性陳述均受 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》安全港條款的約束。這些前瞻性陳述受風險和不確定因素的影響，可能導致實際結果與預期和假設存在重大差異今天提到。我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中包含對這些因素和不確定性的詳細討論。

In discussing the results of our operations, we will be providing certain non-GAAP financial measures. You can find additional information regarding these non-GAAP financial measures, as well as others used in our earnings release and our presentation on the Investors section of our website.

在討論我們的運營結果時，我們將提供某些非 GAAP 財務指標。您可以找到有關這些非 GAAP 財務措施的更多信息，以及我們在我們網站的投資者部分發布的收益和介紹中使用的其他信息。

Finally, as a reminder, today's call is being webcast on our website. A replay will be available approximately 2 hours after the conclusion of this call and is archived on our website for 1 year.

最後，提醒一下，今天的電話會議正在我們的網站上進行網絡直播。重播將在本次電話會議結束後約 2 小時提供，並在我們的網站上存檔 1 年。

With that, I will turn the call over to Jeff.

有了這個，我會把電話轉給傑夫。

Thanks, Pam. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. It's an exciting time at Macy's, Inc. Our teams are geared up for the peak holiday season, and earlier this morning, we shared our third quarter results where compelling product, disciplined inventory controls and solid execution drove strong top and bottom line results. Results are further proof that our Polaris strategy, first introduced in February of 2020, is working.

謝謝，帕姆。大家早上好，感謝您今天加入我們。這是梅西百貨公司激動人心的時刻。我們的團隊正在為假期旺季做好準備，今天早上早些時候，我們分享了第三季度業績，其中引人注目的產品、嚴格的庫存控制和穩健的執行推動了強勁的頂線和底線業績。結果進一步證明，我們於 2020 年 2 月首次推出的北極星戰略正在發揮作用。

Before getting started, I would like to thank our entire organization. Every single one of our colleagues has contributed to our success. Thanks to them. I am confident that we are serving our customer base and their unique needs better than ever across channels, categories, occasions and value brands. Our products, colleagues and customers mirror the diversity we see across the country. We are an anchor and a trusted resource for all of the communities that we serve. And while we are honored to uphold many of the traditions of the past, like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Santaland, we are also there for our current and potential customers as they celebrate the moments and holidays that are most meaningful to them.

在開始之前，我要感謝我們整個組織。我們的每一位同事都為我們的成功做出了貢獻。感謝他們。我相信，我們正在跨渠道、類別、場合和價值品牌更好地服務於我們的客戶群和他們的獨特需求。我們的產品、同事和客戶反映了我們在全國看到的多樣性。我們是我們所服務的所有社區的支柱和值得信賴的資源。雖然我們很榮幸能夠維護過去的許多傳統，例如梅西百貨的感恩節遊行和桑塔蘭，但我們也為我們的現有和潛在客戶提供服務，因為他們慶祝對他們來說最有意義的時刻和假期。

Being a modern department store is key to that relevancy. The concept of a trusted one-stop shop is timeless. It works, but only if it reflects the preferences and needs of our customer, and we have transformed our entire organization to do just that. With our breadth and diversity of product across multiple nameplates that are not tied to just 1 value band, category and user life stage, our position is a strength especially in the current environment where the styles our customers are looking for, the categories they are seeking and how much they are spending can differ dramatically from one season to the next. It also is what attracts new customers to us.

成為一家現代百貨公司是實現這種相關性的關鍵。值得信賴的一站式商店的概念是永恆的。它有效，但前提是它反映了我們客戶的偏好和需求，並且我們已經改變了我們的整個組織來做到這一點。憑藉我們跨多個銘牌的產品的廣度和多樣性，不僅與一個價值範圍、類別和用戶生命階段相關聯，我們的地位是一種優勢，尤其是在當前環境中，我們的客戶正在尋找他們正在尋找的風格，他們正在尋找的類別以及他們花多少錢在一個季節和下一個季節之間可能會有很大差異。這也是我們吸引新客戶的原因。

We are committed to providing quality, fashion newness, timely flows and relevancy through is, first, a curation of premium owned and market brands, which we bring to life at Macy's through our Own Your Style platform. Second, a disciplined approach to inventory, reflecting conservative buying and a healthy receipt reserve that ensures flexibility when our customer pivots and signals new interests. And third, a modernized supply chain and pricing science tools, which yield higher turnover, gross margin return on investments and higher cash flow. These attributes have been critical unlocks to our success.

我們致力於提供優質、時尚新穎、及時的流動和相關性，首先是優質自有品牌和市場品牌的策劃，我們通過我們的 Own Your Style 平台將這些品牌帶到梅西百貨。其次，一種嚴格的庫存方法，反映了保守的購買和健康的收貨儲備，以確保在我們的客戶轉向並發出新興趣時的靈活性。第三，現代化的供應鍊和定價科學工具，產生更高的營業額、毛利率投資回報率和更高的現金流。這些屬性是我們成功的關鍵。

Third quarter net sales of $5.2 billion were at the high end of our guidance provided on our second quarter call, declining 3.9% to last year and rising 3.1% to 2019. Customers continue to return to in-person post-pandemic shopping experiences, and we're searching for occasion-based product, including career in tailored sportswear, dresses and luggage rather than popular pandemic categories such as active, casual sportswear, sleepwear and soft home, that skew more heavily towards digital purchases. These factors contributed to the relative outperformance of brick-and-mortar sales, which declined 1% to last year. Digital sales declined 9% to last year. Relative to 2019, brick-and-mortar sales declined 9% and digital sales rose 35%.

第三季度 52 億美元的淨銷售額處於我們在第二季度電話會議上提供的指導的高端，比去年下降 3.9%，比 2019 年增長 3.1%。客戶繼續回到大流行後的面對面購物體驗，並且我們正在尋找基於場合的產品，包括定制運動服、連衣裙和行李箱的職業，而不是流行的流行類別，如運動、休閒運動服、睡衣和柔軟的家居，它們更傾向於數字購買。這些因素促成了實體店銷售的相對優異表現，與去年相比下降了 1%。數字銷售額比去年下降了 9%。與 2019 年相比，實體銷售額下降了 9%，數字銷售額增長了 35%。

During the quarter, Macy's digital traffic remained relatively consistent, but conversion softened, suggesting that while discovery is still occurring online, there has been a shift in in-person transactions. Regardless of where our customer ultimately makes a purchase, we strive to provide the best omnichannel experience throughout their journey. We are making digital investments to authentically communicate and serve their lifestyle needs whenever and however they choose to shop with us. That includes the introduction of personalization and live shopping, as well as the ongoing refinement of existing online platforms, including our mobile app where we registered an 11% rise in active customers on a trailing 12-month basis. Compared to our average Macy's customer, active app users spend more per transaction and per year.

本季度，梅西百貨的數字流量保持相對穩定，但轉化率有所下降，這表明雖然發現仍在網上進行，但面對面交易已經發生了變化。無論我們的客戶最終在哪裡購買，我們都努力在他們的整個旅程中提供最佳的全渠道體驗。我們正在進行數字投資，以便在他們選擇與我們一起購物時以任何方式真實地交流和滿足他們的生活方式需求。這包括個性化和實時購物的引入，以及對現有在線平台的持續改進，包括我們的移動應用程序，在過去 12 個月的基礎上，我們的活躍客戶增長了 11%。與梅西百貨的普通客戶相比，活躍的應用程序用戶每年在每筆交易中花費更多。

Turning to comps. Our owned plus licensed comparable sales declined 2.7%. Luxury nameplates, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury continued to outperform. Bloomingdale's posted 4.1% comp sales growth and expanded its active customer file by 9% on a trailing 12-month basis, while Bluemercury saw comp sales growth of 14% and grew its active customer file by 15%. Although in different stages of their revolution, we see a significant long-term growth opportunity for both nameplates.

轉向補償。我們擁有的加上許可的可比銷售額下降了 2.7%。奢侈品品牌 Bloomingdale's 和 Bluemercury 繼續跑贏大市。 Bloomingdale's 的同店銷售額在過去 12 個月內增長了 4.1%，活躍客戶檔案增加了 9%，而 Bluemercury 的同店銷售額增長了 14%，活躍客戶檔案增加了 15%。儘管處於革命的不同階段，我們看到了這兩個品牌的重要長期增長機會。

Macy's owned plus licensed comp sales declined 4%. On a trailing 12-month basis, active customer count grew by 2% and our Star Rewards active customer base, which is our most valuable customer, represented 70% of Macy's owned plus licensed comparable sales, 5 points higher than last year.

梅西百貨自有加上許可的組合銷售額下降了 4%。在過去 12 個月的基礎上，活躍客戶數量增長了 2%，我們最有價值的星級獎勵活躍客戶群佔梅西百貨自有和許可可比銷售額的 70%，比去年高出 5 個百分點。

Throughout the quarter, our customer responded well to our mix of full price, promotions and markdown items. When combined with selectively higher tickets, we realized our consecutive quarter of AUR gains. End-of-quarter inventories were better than expected, rising 4% to 2021 and down 12% to 2019. And we achieved adjusted EPS of $0.52, well above our guidance.

在整個季度中，我們的客戶對我們的全價、促銷和降價商品組合反應良好。結合選擇性更高的門票，我們實現了連續四分之一的 AUR 收益。季末庫存好於預期，到 2021 年增長 4%，到 2019 年下降 12%。我們實現了 0.52 美元的調整後每股收益，遠高於我們的指導。

While we are pleased with our progress, we are committed to doing more. Our customers are savvy and they have a lot of options. Our team is aligned on what it takes to be successful and relevant today and into the future. This includes, one, an improved shopping experience for all customers through reducing friction across omni touch points; two, more personalized offers and loyalty communications; three, a compelling mix of private label and branded product; and four, speedier checkout and delivery with the right service when our customer needs it. In addition to these ongoing initiatives, we are also enhancing other go-to-market strategies to inspire new and existing customers.

雖然我們對我們的進展感到滿意，但我們致力於做得更多。我們的客戶很精明，他們有很多選擇。我們的團隊在今天和未來的成功和相關性方面保持一致。其中包括，第一，通過減少全方位接觸點之間的摩擦，改善所有客戶的購物體驗；二、更個性化的優惠和忠誠度溝通；第三，自有品牌和品牌產品的引人注目的組合；第四，當我們的客戶需要時，通過正確的服務加快結帳和交付速度。除了這些正在進行的舉措外，我們還在加強其他上市戰略，以激勵新老客戶。

Last month, we introduced permanent Toys "R" Us shop-in-shops within all Macy's locations, providing an experience that does not exist on a national basis elsewhere. These shops are adjacent to the kids department, making it easier to discover with room for kids to explore in a space designed for them. We are encouraged by the initial response. Overall, the Toys "R" Us customer is younger and more diverse than our Macy's customer, and we have discovered that 85% of Toys "R" Us customers are cross-shopping. Toys "R" Us is a great example of finding a hole in the market and strategically filling it, gaining share and loyalty and creating lasting memories for children and adults alike.

上個月，我們在梅西百貨的所有地點推出了永久性的玩具“反”斗城店中店，提供全國其他地方不存在的體驗。這些商店毗鄰兒童部，讓孩子們更容易在專為他們設計的空間中探索。我們對最初的反應感到鼓舞。總體而言，玩具“反”斗城的顧客比梅西百貨的顧客更年輕、更多樣化，我們發現 85% 的玩具“反”斗城顧客都在交叉購物。 Toys “R” Us 是一個很好的例子，它在市場上找到了一個漏洞並有策略地填補它，獲得了份額和忠誠度，並為兒童和成人創造了持久的記憶。

Another example is the late September launch of Macy's digital marketplace. Marketplace features a collection of new brands, products and categories from third-party sellers, representing a low-risk way to introduce customers to new options without shouldering inventory liability. While not the first to do this, we believe our curated offerings will keep existing customers on our platform while bringing in new ones. Units per order are above the Macy's average, and we are seeing customers cross-shop with mixed bags, including owned, vendor direct and marketplace items, which is encouraging. And similar to Toys "R" Us, it further cements our status as a one-stop shop.

另一個例子是 9 月底推出的梅西百貨數字市場。 Marketplace 匯集了來自第三方賣家的新品牌、產品和類別，代表了一種向客戶介紹新選擇而無需承擔庫存責任的低風險方式。雖然不是第一個這樣做，但我們相信我們精心策劃的產品將使現有客戶留在我們的平台上，同時吸引新客戶。每筆訂單的單位數高於梅西百貨的平均水平，我們看到客戶交叉購買混合包，包括自有商品、供應商直銷商品和市場商品，這令人鼓舞。與玩具“反”斗城類似，它進一步鞏固了我們作為一站式商店的地位。

Another way we were staying close to our Macy's customer is by refining our in-person shopping experience. Market by Macy's, which we introduced in February of 2020, plays a unique role in our omnichannel market ecosystem. These off-mall stores are 25,000 to 50,000 square feet compared to our full-line average of roughly 185,000 square feet and offer a highly curated immersive shopping experience that celebrates discovery and convenience. Market by Macy's conversion rates are generally higher than that of our full-line stores, and these locations continue to outpace their respective trade areas and acquisition of new customers.

我們貼近梅西百貨客戶的另一種方式是改善我們的面對面購物體驗。我們於 2020 年 2 月推出的梅西百貨市場在我們的全渠道市場生態系統中發揮著獨特的作用。這些商場外商店的面積為 25,000 至 50,000 平方英尺，而我們的全線平均面積約為 185,000 平方英尺，並提供精心策劃的沉浸式購物體驗，以發現和便利為榮。梅西百貨的市場轉化率通常高於我們的全線商店，並且這些地點繼續超過各自的貿易區域和新客戶的收購。

Today, we operate 8 Market by Macy's. As we evaluate potential new locations, we are looking at areas where we have a strong digital presence, but no physical footprint, where it no longer makes sense for us to keep a full-line store and Market by Macy's can act as a replacement. A good example is the Market by Macy's in St. Louis, Missouri, which opened last week and is a mile away and less than 1/5 of the size of its mall-based predecessor.

今天，我們經營 8 Market by Macy's。當我們評估潛在的新地點時，我們正在尋找我們擁有強大數字業務但沒有實體足蹟的地區，在這些地區我們不再需要保留全線商店，而 Market by Macy's 可以作為替代品。一個很好的例子是梅西百貨在密蘇里州聖路易斯的市場，它於上週開業，距離一英里遠，不到其前身購物中心的 1/5。

All these initiatives taken together plus others like the ongoing reimagination of our private brands, our Own Your Style brand platform and our Macy's Media Network are a testament to our focus of reclaiming Macy's voice as a multigenerational influencer and arbiter of American fashion and helping customers connect with the product that empowers, inspires and speaks to their unique individual preferences.

所有這些舉措加上其他舉措，例如對我們自有品牌的持續重新構想、我們的 Own Your Style 品牌平台和我們的梅西百貨媒體網絡，都證明了我們專注於恢復梅西百貨作為美國時尚的多代影響者和仲裁者的聲音，並幫助客戶建立聯繫產品賦予他們獨特的個人喜好以力量、啟發和表達。

We are focused on remaining relevant by doing so in an authentic way that honors our rich and unparalleled heritage. That emphasis on bridging the past with our future at Macy's also applies to Bloomingdale's, where we are celebrating our 150th anniversary with a series of events and exclusive collaborations with top designers. The collections, along with pop-up shops and events with brands such as Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo and Dior speak to our relationships with both established players, as well as the next generation of luxury designers our customers are craving.

我們專注於以一種尊重我們豐富而無與倫比的傳統的真實方式來保持相關性。梅西百貨強調將過去與未來聯繫起來，這也適用於布魯明戴爾百貨公司，我們在這里通過一系列活動和與頂級設計師的獨家合作來慶祝我們的 150 週年。這些系列、快閃店和與 Ralph Lauren、Jimmy Choo 和 Dior 等品牌的活動都體現了我們與知名品牌以及我們的客戶渴望的下一代奢侈品設計師的關係。

Following 7 quarters of comp owned plus licensed sales growth, we are excited about the opportunity at Bloomingdale's and the expansion of our off-mall smaller format, Bloomie's, nameplate. Today, in the Chicago land area, we are opening our second Bloomie's. At 50,000 square feet, it serves as a replacement of the 206,000 square foot full-line Old Orchard location.

繼 7 個季度的 comp 擁有和許可銷售增長之後，我們對 Bloomingdale's 的機會以及我們的場外較小格式 Bloomie's 銘牌的擴展感到興奮。今天，在芝加哥地區，我們將開設第二家 Bloomie's。它佔地 50,000 平方英尺，可替代 206,000 平方英尺的全線老果園店。

Momentum has also continued to build at our other luxury nameplate, Bluemercury, where we registered our fourth consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth. Another way we're maintaining a close relationship with our customers, colleagues and communities and one which we are all proud of is the launch of S.P.U.R. Pathways in early November with our momentous capital. S.P.U.R. Pathways is a multiyear, multifaceted program that ultimately will provide up to $200 million of funding to diverse owned and underrepresented businesses.

我們的另一個奢侈品品牌 Bluemercury 的勢頭也繼續增強，我們連續第四個季度實現可比銷售額增長。我們與客戶、同事和社區保持密切關係的另一種方式是推出 S.P.U.R。 11 月初的途徑與我們重要的首都。 S.P.U.R. Pathways 是一項多年期、多方面的計劃，最終將為多元化的自有企業和代表性不足的企業提供高達 2 億美元的資金。

The program is designed to advance entrepreneurial growth, close wealth gaps and address systemic barriers among minority-owned businesses. S.P.U.R. Pathways also represents an ongoing evolution of our mission, everyone social purpose, commitment to people, communities and plant.

該計劃旨在促進企業發展、縮小貧富差距並解決少數族裔企業之間的系統性障礙。 S.P.U.R. Pathways 還代表了我們使命、每個人的社會目標、對人、社區和植物的承諾的不斷演變。

Before turning it over to Adrian, I would like to provide insight into the recent trends and our current thinking around the fourth quarter. In the middle of October, there was an unexpected slowdown in sales, which continued into November, markets that were unseasonably warm were the most affected. Over the past week, our sales performance has improved. We are evaluating the sustainability of recent trends and the drivers that we believe will impact holiday consumption.

在將其交給 Adrian 之前，我想介紹一下最近的趨勢以及我們目前對第四季度的看法。 10 月中旬，銷售意外放緩，並一直持續到 11 月，異常溫暖的市場受到的影響最大。過去一周，我們的銷售業績有所改善。我們正在評估近期趨勢的可持續性以及我們認為會影響假日消費的驅動因素。

When we think about last year, the consumer was flushed with cash and there was a pull forward of demand on well-documented inventory constraints. This year, consumer is hearing about a glut of inventory. They are under a tighter budget, feeling the impact of inflation on nondiscretionary items and beginning to deplete their savings.

當我們回想去年時，消費者現金充裕，而且有據可查的庫存限制導致需求提前。今年，消費者聽說庫存過剩。他們的預算更加緊張，感受到通貨膨脹對非自由支配項目的影響，並開始耗盡他們的積蓄。

With that in mind, we believe they are waiting until closer to holiday to make purchases, especially as there is an extra day, which is a Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We now expect holiday shopping patterns to be similar to 2019 and are taking the appropriate actions to support anticipated higher peaks around Black Friday, Cyber Week and the 2 weeks before Christmas.

考慮到這一點，我們相信他們會等到假期臨近時才進行購買，尤其是在感恩節和聖誕節之間的星期六還有額外的一天。我們現在預計假日購物模式將與 2019 年類似，並正在採取適當行動支持黑色星期五、網絡周和聖誕節前兩週預期的更高高峰。

The holidays are happening. Trips are booked, parties and family gatherings are planned. Consumers will be spending, but it is too early to tell how much they will allocate to outdooring categories. We are confident in the amount and composition of our inventory, timing of flows and marketing, but cognizant that we do not operate in a vacuum. The low end of our outlook assumes late October and early November sales trends continue. Pressure on the consumer persists and the promotional competitive landscape intensifies throughout the holiday and into January. The high end assumes that sales patterns will be consistent with our 2019 trends and reflects recent adjustments to our operating plan for holiday.

假期正在發生。旅行已預訂，派對和家庭聚會已計劃好。消費者將會支出，但現在判斷他們將在戶外類別中分配多少錢還為時過早。我們對庫存的數量和構成、流動時間和營銷充滿信心，但也認識到我們並非在真空中運作。我們的低端展望假設 10 月底和 11 月初的銷售趨勢繼續。消費者的壓力持續存在，促銷競爭格局在整個假期和 1 月期間愈演愈烈。高端假設銷售模式將與我們 2019 年的趨勢一致，並反映了我們最近對假期運營計劃的調整。

As we navigate this period of uncertainty, our financial health and operational disciplines, along with our experienced leadership team are key advantages. We are flexible, agile and well positioned for the fourth quarter and 2023. Here's why.

在我們度過這段不確定時期時，我們的財務健康和運營紀律以及我們經驗豐富的領導團隊是關鍵優勢。我們靈活、敏捷並且為第四季度和 2023 年做好了準備。這就是原因。

Our inventory is in great shape. We have roughly 55% newness for holiday, 30 percentage points higher than 2019, and we are not saddled with older receipts in pandemic category overstocks. Across nameplates, we have products and brands that cater to our customers' lifestyle needs with a variety of price points that will allow everyone, including last-minute shoppers to participate in the magic of holiday at Macy's, Inc. This includes exclusive cosmetics and fragrances from Dior and Armani, established brands such as UGG, Ralph Lauren, The North Face and Jordan, as well as newer additions, Kylie Cosmetics, NEST Candle, Friends and Pandora.

我們的庫存狀況良好。我們有大約 55% 的假期新貨，比 2019 年高出 30 個百分點，而且我們沒有背負大流行類別積壓的舊收據。我們的產品和品牌以各種價位滿足客戶的生活方式需求，讓每個人（包括最後一刻的購物者）都能在 Macy's, Inc 享受神奇的假期。這包括獨家化妝品和香水來自 Dior 和 Armani，UGG、Ralph Lauren、The North Face 和 Jordan 等知名品牌，以及新加入的品牌 Kylie Cosmetics、NEST Candle、Friends 和 Pandora。

With our strong vendor relationships and mix of private brand and licensed brands, we can chase into areas of strength that warrant it and have a flexible pricing model to quickly adjust promotions and markdowns if demand does not materialize. We believe we are taking in an appropriate cautious stance on our outlook given the myriad of unknowns. However, that does not temper our enthusiasm for holiday. We know our customer relies on us for an exceptional holiday experience, and as we have for the past several years, we'll deliver.

憑藉我們強大的供應商關係以及自有品牌和授權品牌的組合，我們可以追逐有實力的領域，並擁有靈活的定價模式，以便在需求沒有實現時快速調整促銷和降價促銷。鑑於無數未知數，我們認為我們對我們的前景採取了適當的謹慎態度。然而，這並沒有消磨我們度假的熱情。我們知道我們的客戶依賴我們來獲得非凡的假期體驗，正如我們在過去幾年所做的那樣，我們將交付。

With that, I'll pass it over to Adrian for a deeper look into the third quarter and details on the remainder of the year.

有了這個，我將把它傳遞給阿德里安，以便更深入地了解第三季度和今年剩餘時間的詳細信息。

Thanks, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. It has been 2 years since my first earnings call. At that time, I spoke to the 3 reasons I joined Macy's, Inc., our brand, our talented and dedicated team and the focus within our Polaris strategy on innovation and operational excellence, all designed to capitalize on the opportunities in the changing consumer landscape. I also shared that my initial focus was a return to financial health and the creation of additional capacity to invest in profitable sales growth while returning capital to our shareholders.

謝謝，傑夫，大家早上好。自從我第一次財報電話會議以來已經過去了 2 年。當時，我談到了我加入梅西百貨的 3 個原因、我們的品牌、我們才華橫溢、敬業的團隊，以及我們北極星戰略中對創新和卓越運營的關注，所有這些都是為了在不斷變化的消費者格局中把握機遇.我還分享了我最初的重點是恢復財務健康和創造額外的能力來投資於盈利的銷售增長，同時將資本返還給我們的股東。

Protecting our financial health is paramount. Beginning in August 2021, our teams took a series of aggressive actions to pay down over $1.8 billion of long-term debt and we ladder our fixed interest rate debt maturities. As a result, we are now benefiting from our vastly improved leverage ratio and more attractive debt maturity schedule.

保護我們的財務健康至關重要。從 2021 年 8 月開始，我們的團隊採取了一系列積極行動來償還超過 18 億美元的長期債務，並逐步提高固定利率債務的到期期限。因此，我們現在受益於大幅提高的槓桿率和更具吸引力的債務到期時間表。

Disciplined decisions around the governance of inventory are also a top priority. Effectively managing inventory gives us the flexibility and liquidity towards what consumers are buying at every customer touch point. This is imperative as it impacts all aspects of our business, including the health of our margin profile as well as the amount of cash we have available to both invest in strengthening our omnichannel capabilities and to return to shareholders.

圍繞庫存治理的紀律決策也是重中之重。有效管理庫存使我們能夠靈活和流動地處理消費者在每個客戶接觸點購買的商品。這是勢在必行的，因為它會影響我們業務的方方面面，包括我們的利潤狀況的健康狀況以及我們可用於投資加強我們的全渠道能力和回報股東的現金量。

The investments we have made in data and analytics from demand forecasting to inventory allocation, to pricing signs have laid the foundation for continued inventory control now and well into the future. We also have a disciplined approach to make pivotal decisions quickly across our entire enterprise.

我們在從需求預測到庫存分配再到定價信號的數據和分析方面所做的投資為現在和未來的持續庫存控制奠定了基礎。我們還採用嚴格的方法在整個企業中快速做出關鍵決策。

Now let me walk through the third quarter results and our 5 value creation levers before discussing our outlook for the remainder of the year. First is omnichannel sales. We generated $5.2 billion in net sales during the quarter, a decline of 3.9% versus the prior year. Comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis decreased by 2.7%.

在討論我們對今年剩餘時間的展望之前，現在讓我回顧一下第三季度的業績和我們的 5 個價值創造槓桿。首先是全渠道銷售。本季度我們實現了 52 億美元的淨銷售額，比上年下降 3.9%。自有加許可的可比銷售額下降了 2.7%。

During the third quarter, 20% of omnichannel markets grew sales year-over-year, accounting for about 15% of Macy's brand comparable owned plus license. We have been aggressive about rightsizing our store base, and we'll continue to prioritize asset monetization. However, we continue to see the importance of main locations within the best malls particularly as we build out our omnichannel ecosystem. We expect to announce less than 10 store closures in January, consistent with our decision to delay the closure of our full-line store base that we communicated last year.

第三季度，20% 的全渠道市場銷售額同比增長，約佔梅西百貨品牌可比自有品牌和許可品牌的 15%。我們一直積極調整我們的商店基礎，我們將繼續優先考慮資產貨幣化。然而，我們繼續看到最佳購物中心內主要位置的重要性，尤其是在我們構建全渠道生態系統時。我們預計 1 月份將宣布關閉的門店少於 10 家，這與我們去年傳達的推遲關閉全線門店的決定一致。

The second value creation lever is gross margin. For the quarter, gross margin was 38.7%, down 230 basis points from the prior year period and better than our expectation. The gross margin rate decline was driven by a 230 basis point decline in merchandise margin, reflecting an increase in promotional and clearance markdowns to sell lower moving categories at Macy's, including casual apparel, soft home and warmer weather seasonal goods.

第二個價值創造槓桿是毛利率。本季度，毛利率為 38.7%，比去年同期下降 230 個基點，好於我們的預期。毛利率下降的原因是商品利潤率下降了 230 個基點，反映出梅西百貨為銷售低移動類別（包括休閒服裝、軟家居用品和天氣暖和的季節性商品）而增加的促銷和清倉減價促銷活動。

Our pricing signs, including location-level pricing, continue to drive incremental margin benefit and improve the effectiveness of promotions for Macy's, Inc. We are in the mid-innings of our pricing work and are continuing to refine and invest in machine learning tools that will allow for more sophisticated competitive pricing and greater automation at scale. Partially offsetting the additional third quarter markdowns were higher ticket prices and favorable category mix shifts, driving a roughly 3% improvement in owned AUR for Macy's, Inc.

我們的定價標誌，包括位置級別定價，繼續推動增量利潤並提高梅西百貨公司促銷的有效性。我們正處於定價工作的中期，並將繼續改進和投資機器學習工具，這些工具可以將允許更複雜的競爭性定價和更大規模的自動化。票價上漲和有利的品類組合轉變部分抵消了第三季度的額外降價，推動梅西百貨自有 AUR 提高約 3%。

Delivery expense accounted for 4.3% of net sales, relatively consistent with last year. Higher fuel costs more than offset the impact of a 2 percentage point in digital penetration and reductions in delivery cost per package. We continue to get smarter about where demand is and how best to service that demand.

運費占淨銷售額的4.3%，與去年基本一致。更高的燃料成本抵消了數字滲透率提高 2 個百分點和每個包裹的交付成本降低的影響。我們將繼續更加了解需求在哪里以及如何最好地滿足該需求。

As part of our continued efforts to increase the productivity of our physical assets, we have converted space in 35 stores to serve as mini DCs. These semi-automated mini DCs totaling nearly 1 million square feet allow us to reduce shipping costs and split shipments, better utilize inventory in specific markets and regions and improved delivery speed, which will be an advantage this holiday season. They are relatively low-cost complements to our existing fulfillment network. We have also made the appropriate process and technology investments to streamline fulfillment activities in all remaining stores. The investments we're making in our supply chain, both upstream and downstream, our focus on simplifying our processes and modernizing our technology further enhancing our keepers to move products to our customers faster while driving greater supply chain cost efficiencies.

作為我們提高實體資產生產力的持續努力的一部分，我們已將 35 家商店的空間轉換為迷你 DC。這些總面積近 100 萬平方英尺的半自動化迷你 DC 使我們能夠降低運輸成本和拆分發貨，更好地利用特定市場和地區的庫存並提高交付速度，這將成為這個假期的優勢。它們是對我們現有履行網絡的相對低成本的補充。我們還進行了適當的流程和技術投資，以簡化所有剩餘商店的履行活動。我們在上游和下游的供應鏈上進行的投資，我們專注於簡化我們的流程和使我們的技術現代化，進一步增強我們的保管員將產品更快地運送給我們的客戶，同時推動更高的供應鏈成本效率。

The third value creation lever is inventory productivity. Inventory increased 4% year-over-year, which was better than our expectations and down 12% compared to '19. We have strategically brought in seasonal products earlier and have the added capacity to chase in-season trends. Inventory turnover for the trailing 12 months improved 15% from 2019 and was relatively flat to 2021 when levels were artificially low due to supply chain constraints.

第三個價值創造槓桿是庫存生產率。庫存同比增長 4%，好於我們的預期，與 19 年相比下降了 12%。我們戰略性地提早引進季節性產品，並有能力追逐季節性趨勢。過去 12 個月的庫存周轉率比 2019 年提高了 15%，與 2021 年持平，當時水平因供應鏈限製而被人為壓低。

Expense discipline is the fourth value creation lever. SG&A increased $84 million or 4.3% to $2.1 billion. SG&A as a percent of net sales was 39.3%, 300 basis points higher than last year. Compared to 2019, SG&A improved by 330 basis points. SG&A reflects the investments we had made in our colleagues as we continue to adjust compensation to remain competitive and attract the best talent. A reminder, in 2021, we benefited from an elevated number of job openings, the vast majority of which has since been filled. During the quarter, SG&A also benefited from Macy's Media Network, which generated net revenues of $31 million, up 21% from last year.

費用紀律是第四個價值創造槓桿。 SG&A 增加 8400 萬美元或 4.3% 至 21 億美元。 SG&A 占淨銷售額的百分比為 39.3%，比去年高出 300 個基點。與 2019 年相比，SG&A 提高了 330 個基點。 SG&A 反映了我們在不斷調整薪酬以保持競爭力和吸引最優秀人才的過程中對同事所做的投資。提醒一下，在 2021 年，我們受益於職位空缺數量的增加，其中絕大多數已經填補。本季度，SG&A 還受益於 Macy's Media Network，該網絡產生了 3100 萬美元的淨收入，比去年增長 21%。

Credit card revenues were $206 million, down $7 million from last year. As a percent of net sales, credit card revenues were consistent with the prior year 3.9%. Performance continued to be driven by lower bad debt levels than expected, larger balances within the portfolio and higher-than-expected spend on co-brand credit cards. After accounting for interest and taxes, these results generated better-than-expected adjusted diluted EPS of $0.52 versus $1.23 in 2021 and $0.07 in 2019.

信用卡收入為 2.06 億美元，比去年減少 700 萬美元。作為淨銷售額的百分比，信用卡收入與上一年的 3.9% 持平。業績繼續受到壞賬水平低於預期、投資組合餘額增加以及聯名信用卡支出高於預期的推動。在計入利息和稅收後，這些結果產生了好於預期的調整後攤薄每股收益 0.52 美元，而 2021 年為 1.23 美元，2019 年為 0.07 美元。

Lastly, the fifth value creation lever is capital allocation. Year-to-date through October, we generated $488 million of operating cash flow and invested $983 million in capital expenditures. Year-over-year, operating cash flow was impacted by outflows from accounts payable and accrued liabilities as well as a net outflow from the change in merchandise inventories net of merchandise accounts payable due to the timing of receipts and payments. Year-to-date, free cash flow, inclusive of proceeds from real estate, was an outflow of $373 million. For the full year, we expect that capital expenditures to be $1.2 billion, up from $1 billion, reflecting investments to improve our omnichannel capabilities and strengthen our competitive position in the marketplace.

最後，第五個價值創造槓桿是資本配置。從年初至今到 10 月，我們產生了 4.88 億美元的運營現金流，並投資了 9.83 億美元的資本支出。與去年同期相比，經營現金流受到應付賬款和應計負債流出的影響，以及由於收支時間而導致的商品庫存變動淨流出商品應付賬款的淨流出。年初至今，包括房地產收益在內的自由現金流流出 3.73 億美元。對於全年，我們預計資本支出將從 10 億美元增加到 12 億美元，這反映了為提高我們的全渠道能力和加強我們在市場中的競爭地位而進行的投資。

We are committed to our overall capital allocation strategy, which includes maintaining a healthy balance sheet and investment-grade credit metrics, investing in value-enhanced initiatives and capabilities and returning capital to shareholders through quarterly dividend and share repurchases. In light of the current macroeconomic environment, our focus is prioritizing liquidity and balance sheet health in order to maintain flexibility to respond quickly to a variety of opportunities and scenarios as they arise.

我們致力於我們的整體資本配置戰略，包括維持健康的資產負債表和投資級信用指標，投資於增值計劃和能力，以及通過季度股息和股票回購向股東返還資本。鑑於當前的宏觀經濟環境，我們的重點是優先考慮流動性和資產負債表的健康狀況，以保持靈活性，以便在出現各種機會和情況時迅速做出反應。

Next, I'll walk through our updated outlook for the fourth quarter and fiscal year. Full details of our updated guidance can be found within the presentation on our website. As we think about this critical fourth quarter, we believe that every sale has to be earned through fresh items that consumers want to purchase as well as quality and clear value.

接下來，我將介紹我們對第四季度和財政年度的最新展望。我們更新指南的全部細節可以在我們網站上的介紹中找到。當我們考慮這個關鍵的第四季度時，我們認為每筆銷售都必須通過消費者想要購買的新鮮商品以及質量和明確的價值來實現。

Our guidance range contemplates the risk associated with softening consumer demand and the impact of the broader competitive landscape. While we are comfortable with our inventory position, we will continue to proactively adjust promotions and take markdowns necessary to drive sell-throughs in slower moving categories and ensure that we do not carry inventory risk into 2023.

我們的指導範圍考慮了與消費者需求疲軟相關的風險以及更廣泛的競爭格局的影響。雖然我們對我們的庫存狀況感到滿意，但我們將繼續積極調整促銷活動並採取必要的降價措施，以推動移動速度較慢的類別的銷售，並確保我們不會將庫存風險帶入 2023 年。

In light of the late October and early November trends and the uncertain demand environment, we now forecast fourth quarter net sales of $8.16 billion to $8.4 billion. Gross margin for the quarter is expected to be no more than 270 basis points lower than 2021. For the fourth quarter, we expect adjusted earnings per share between $1.47 and $1.67.

鑑於 10 月底和 11 月初的趨勢以及不確定的需求環境，我們現在預測第四季度淨銷售額為 81.6 億美元至 84 億美元。本季度的毛利率預計將比 2021 年低不超過 270 個基點。對於第四季度，我們預計調整後的每股收益在 1.47 美元至 1.67 美元之間。

For the full year, our expectations for Macy's, Inc. is largely unchanged. We expect net sales of $24.3 billion to $24.6 billion. Digital as a percent of net sales to be approximately 33%. Gross margin down roughly 150 basis points from 2021. SG&A as a percent of net sales to rise approximately 120 basis points from 2021. Net credit card revenues of approximately 3.4% of net sales, up from our outlook of 3.3%. Asset sale gains of $75 million to $90 million. Benefit plan income of $21 million compared to our prior outlook of $25 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin of roughly 10.5% and interest expense of $180 million, down from $185 million.

對於全年，我們對梅西百貨的預期基本保持不變。我們預計淨銷售額為 243 億美元至 246 億美元。數字占淨銷售額的百分比約為 33%。毛利率比 2021 年下降約 150 個基點。SG&A 占淨銷售額的百分比將從 2021 年上升約 120 個基點。信用卡淨收入約占淨銷售額的 3.4%，高於我們預期的 3.3%。資產出售收益為 7500 萬至 9000 萬美元。福利計劃收入為 2100 萬美元，而我們之前的預期為 2500 萬美元。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率約為 10.5%，利息支出為 1.85 億美元，低於 1.85 億美元。

After interest and taxes, we are now estimating annual adjusted earnings per share of $4.07 to $4.27, reflecting increase in credit card revenues, lower benefit plan income, lower interest expense and a change in our shares outstanding expectation. Combined, these changes resulted in the $0.07 increase from our prior outlook. Our outlook does not consider the impact of any potential future share repurchases associated with our current share repurchase authorization.

扣除利息和稅項後，我們現在估計年度調整後每股收益為 4.07 美元至 4.27 美元，反映了信用卡收入的增加、福利計劃收入的減少、利息支出的減少以及我們股票流通預期的變化。綜合起來，這些變化導致我們之前的預期增加了 0.07 美元。我們的展望不考慮與我們當前的股票回購授權相關的任何潛在的未來股票回購的影響。

In closing, our strong inventory management practices along with our liquidity, investment-grade credit metrics and fixed interest rate debt and mid-pricing interest rate environment allow us to operate from a place of strength and flexibility, even when the broader macroeconomic environment is challenging. We believe we are well positioned to compete this holiday season. We have the tools, the data-driven processes and the talented teams to manage through this uncertain time, and are committed to building a better and more relevant Macy's, Inc. of the future.

最後，即使在更廣泛的宏觀經濟環境充滿挑戰的情況下，我們強大的庫存管理實踐以及我們的流動性、投資級信用指標和固定利率債務以及中等定價利率環境使我們能夠從一個強大和靈活的地方運營.我們相信我們有能力在這個假期競爭。我們擁有工具、數據驅動的流程和才華橫溢的團隊來管理這個不確定的時期，並致力於打造一個更好、更相關的梅西百貨公司的未來。

With that, I'll turn it back over to Jeff for some closing remarks.

有了這個，我會把它轉回給傑夫做一些結束語。

Thanks, Adrian. Although the macroeconomic environment is uncertain, we are confident in our ability in this holiday and beyond. We believe Macy's, Inc. is poised for a future of profitable growth. We are committed to making strategic investments to provide a positive and consistent shopping experience for our customers, rich careers for our colleagues and an attractive return for our investors. We will do this while bolstering our position as a leading modern department store.

謝謝，阿德里安。儘管宏觀經濟環境不明朗，但我們對這個假期及以後的能力充滿信心。我們相信 Macy's, Inc. 已為未來的盈利增長做好準備。我們致力於進行戰略投資，為我們的客戶提供積極和一致的購物體驗，為我們的同事提供豐富的職業生涯，並為我們的投資者提供有吸引力的回報。我們將在鞏固我們作為領先的現代百貨公司的地位的同時做到這一點。

And with that, we're going to open it up for questions.

有了這個，我們將打開它來提問。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our first question from Chuck Grom from Gordon Haskett.

（操作員說明）我們將從 Gordon Haskett 的 Chuck Grom 那裡回答我們的第一個問題。

Just had a question kind of near term, if I can. By backing into the midpoint of your sales guide, Adrian, it implies about, I think, around the negative 4% comp in the fourth quarter, which on a 3-year geostack is about 300 basis points of the slowdown from the third quarter number. I just wanted to confirm that's where October ended, and I guess, where November has started. And then more near term, when you look at the last week of improvement, are there any factors you can point to either regionally or from a category perspective?

如果可以的話，我只是有一個近期的問題。通過回到你的銷售指南的中點，阿德里安，這意味著，我認為，第四季度大約是負 4%，在 3 年的 geostack 中，這比第三季度的數字放緩了大約 300 個基點.我只是想確認那是 10 月結束的地方，我想，11 月是從那裡開始的。然後更近期，當您查看上週的改進時，您是否可以從區域或類別角度指出任何因素？

Absolutely, so I'll get it started, Chuck, and I'm sure Jeff will comment on some of the category pieces as well. As Jeff spoke about in his opening remarks, there's this uncertainty that Jeff has highlighted. And we've looked at a number of scenarios as we think about the fourth quarter looking not only at the overall trend for the third quarter but also looking at the last couple of weeks, which was slower than we had expected and also trickled into the early part of November. So look, as we navigate this uncertain period, our high end of guidance assumes that the consumer reverts back to the Q3 trends more broadly, outside of the last 2 weeks and that the holiday shopping patterns mirror a lot of what we would have experienced pre-pandemic.

當然，我會開始的，Chuck，我相信 Jeff 也會對某些類別的作品發表評論。正如傑夫在開場白中所說，傑夫強調了這種不確定性。當我們考慮第四季度時，我們已經研究了多種情況，不僅著眼於第三季度的總體趨勢，而且著眼於過去幾週，這比我們預期的要慢，而且還逐漸進入十一月初。所以看，當我們度過這個不確定的時期時，我們的高端指導假設消費者在過去 2 週之外更廣泛地恢復到第三季度的趨勢，並且假期購物模式反映了我們之前經歷的很多事情-大流行。

As we think about the low end of the guide, as you described, it assumes the continuation of the trend that we saw in late October into the early part of November. And so when we think about both ends of the guidance, the one thing that we are very disciplined around is making sure that both ends reflect also the markdowns to ensure that we drive the sell throughs for slower-moving categories that may vary based on what end of the range we actually end up on. So that's a bit of the context around how we're thinking about it.

當我們考慮指南的低端時，正如您所描述的，它假設我們在 10 月下旬看到的趨勢延續到 11 月上旬。因此，當我們考慮指導的兩端時，我們非常有紀律的一件事是確保兩端也反映降價，以確保我們推動銷售較慢的類別的銷售，這些類別可能會因什麼而異我們實際結束的範圍的盡頭。所以這就是我們思考它的一些背景。

And then, Chuck, on categories, the cold weather categories definitely responded better over the past week. So just increased sell-throughs and business and when you look at outerwear, you look at boots, sweaters, fleece, those categories. And the geography question, it's clearly got better in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, but it also got better in -- when you look at the southern part or the belt of the country as well. So an improvement, and we're watching the trends closely to see which trend line sticks.

然後，Chuck，在類別上，過去一周寒冷天氣類別的反應肯定更好。所以只是增加了銷量和業務，當你看外套時，你會看靴子、毛衣、羊毛，這些類別。地理問題，在東北部和中西部上部，情況顯然有所好轉，但在 - 當您查看南部或該國的地帶時，情況也有所好轉。所以有所改善，我們正在密切關注趨勢，看看哪條趨勢線是正確的。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our next question from Matthew Boss from JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）我們將從摩根大通的 Matthew Boss 那裡回答下一個問題。

Maybe key areas of the organization that you think are better positioned relative to 2019, how you believe this is driving results relative to your peer set? And then just opportunities you see for Macy's to take market share during holiday and into next year.

也許您認為組織的關鍵領域相對於 2019 年處於更好的位置，您認為這如何推動相對於同行的結果？然後你看到的只是梅西百貨在假期和明年佔據市場份額的機會。

Yes, Matt, I think I got most of your question, you were cut off a little bit at the front. But I would tell you that kind of pre and post pandemic kind of how I would characterize Macy's. I'd say the headline here is that we're a more modern department store. I talk about it in kind of 5 buckets. So the first one would be we have the right talent and team alignment and that everybody is very focused on executing the Polaris strategy with precision.

是的，馬特，我想我明白了你的大部分問題，你在前面被打斷了一點。但我會告訴你那種大流行前後我如何描述梅西百貨的特徵。我會說這裡的標題是我們是一家更現代的百貨公司。我用 5 個桶來談論它。因此，第一個是我們擁有合適的人才和團隊結盟，並且每個人都非常專注於精確執行北極星戰略。

I'd say the second thing that is a pre, post pandemic headline would be just we're in much better financial health. And when you look at it, we just have materially less leverage, little to no debt over the next 5 years. And I think we are executing a really disciplined capital allocation strategy.

我想說的第二件事是大流行前後的頭條新聞就是我們的財務狀況要好得多。當你看它時，我們的槓桿率大大降低，未來 5 年幾乎沒有債務。而且我認為我們正在執行一個非常有紀律的資本配置策略。

I think the third one is the big bucket, is inventory control. That starts with just really a big focus on strategic planning down into not only season, quarter, category, brand, et cetera that really translates into the buying team is more conservative than what they're buying. And they're also retaining a nice reserve so that they can respond in season. We have also pulled in more data science to really give us where the customer shifts are going by category, by brand, by value bands.

我認為第三個是大桶，是庫存控制。首先是非常關注戰略規劃，不僅是季節、季度、品類、品牌等等，這實際上轉化為採購團隊比他們購買的東西更保守。而且他們還保留了不錯的儲備，以便他們可以在季節做出反應。我們還引入了更多數據科學，以真正為我們提供客戶轉移的類別、品牌和價值範圍。

Also included in inventory control is a more modernized supply chain. And so we certainly have diversified our private brand manufacturing. We diversified our port entry and we're deploying more sophisticated forecasting and allocation tools.

庫存控制還包括更現代化的供應鏈。因此，我們當然已經使我們的自有品牌製造多樣化。我們使我們的港口進入多樣化，我們正在部署更複雜的預測和分配工具。

I'd say the fourth bucket just is, which I think is in the middle innings of our development is, pricing science and just a real disciplined focus on sell-throughs, turnover in GMROI and then using just increased automation to help us respond to that.

我想說第四個桶就是，我認為在我們發展的中間階段是，定價科學和真正有紀律的關註銷售率，GMROI 的營業額，然後使用增加的自動化來幫助我們響應那。

And then if I had to pick a fifth, I would say that and this is in the very early innings, it's just our vision and early execution with the private brand strategy. I think it's one of the biggest volume drivers that we're going to have in the future. And as we see it right now with the INC Women's brand, which has been revitalized as one of our best trending brands in the store, and we've got a lot of pipeline of new content coming, which we'll talk about in future calls.

然後，如果我不得不選擇第五個，我會說這是在很早的幾局中，這只是我們對自有品牌戰略的願景和早期執行。我認為這是我們未來將擁有的最大的銷量驅動因素之一。正如我們現在看到的那樣，INC 女裝品牌已經重新煥發活力，成為我們商店中最熱門的品牌之一，我們有很多新內容即將推出，我們將在未來討論電話。

So just as an overall comment, I just think that from where we were pre-pandemic, we just have a real pipeline of innovation coming with loyalty and personalization. What we're doing with Marketplace, it's a different company than we were back in March of 2020.

因此，作為一個整體評論，我只是認為從我們大流行前的地方來看，我們只有一條真正的創新渠道，伴隨著忠誠度和個性化。我們在 Marketplace 所做的事情與我們在 2020 年 3 月時不同。

The only other thing I would add, Matt, is that to Jeff's second point, we do have the financial capacity and the wherewithal to continue to invest in modernizing our business as a modern department store. When you just look at the math, we're stronger, we're more agile, we're financially healthier so that we can continue to make the investments in the business. And Jeff and I and the management team have a pipeline of other initiatives underway, but we're very much focused on profitable sales growth. That's our longer term focus.

馬特，我唯一要補充的是，對於傑夫的第二點，我們確實有財力和資金繼續投資，使我們的業務現代化，成為一家現代百貨公司。當你只看數學時，我們更強大，我們更敏捷，我們的財務狀況更健康，因此我們可以繼續對業務進行投資。傑夫和我以及管理團隊正在進行一系列其他計劃，但我們非常關注盈利性銷售增長。這是我們的長期重點。

We will take our next question from Omar Saad from Evercore Partners.

我們將接受來自 Evercore Partners 的 Omar Saad 的下一個問題。

I wanted to follow up on kind of the e-com stores mix. You guys alluded to e-com, obviously, giving back some of the gains and -- but keeping so many things well above pre-COVID levels of where stores are coming back. How do you think that plays out in the fourth quarter? I'm not sure if I quite discern what exactly your kind of e-com versus stores mix will be. But in terms of that this year in the holiday season, do you expect stores to be kind of continue that trend? And then what does that mean for margins for you guys as the e-com business has a lot of shipping costs during the holiday quarter typically? And then maybe quickly, what your third quarter comp would have looked like? Is that mid-October slowdown didn't happen? That would be helpful for us too.

我想跟進電子商務商店的組合。很明顯，你們提到了電子商務，回饋了一些收益——但讓很多事情遠高於 COVID 前商店恢復的水平。您如何看待第四季度的表現？我不確定我是否能辨別出您的電子商務與商店組合到底是什麼。但就今年的假日季而言，您預計商店會延續這種趨勢嗎？那麼這對你們來說意味著什麼，因為電子商務業務通常在假日季度有很多運輸成本？然後也許很快，你的第三季度補償會是什麼樣子？ 10 月中旬的經濟放緩沒有發生嗎？那對我們也有幫助。

Omar, first off, we're very focused on omnichannel, and that's the headline here. What I'd say on the digital versus the channel within the omnichannel stack is that digital is reverting back to kind of a mix between where we were pre-pandemic and where we were during the pandemic. So when you look at our digital penetration of the business in '19, it was 25%. During the pandemic, it was 40%. And as you heard from our call, we're now calling the 2022 at 33%, down from our initial estimation that it was going to be in the 37% range. So that has downshifted. We do expect that we're going to have a strong performance to 2019 across every quarter, and we're mapping on that. When you see what our trend was in digital in the third quarter versus 2019, we were up 35%. So that is a similar -- when you kind of think about that when you embed that into kind of our modeling for the fourth quarter on the high end of our guidance, that's where we see it.

奧馬爾，首先，我們非常專注於全渠道，這就是這裡的標題。關於數字與全渠道堆棧中的渠道，我要說的是，數字正在恢復到大流行前和大流行期間的混合狀態。因此，當您查看我們在 19 年的業務數字滲透率時，它是 25%。在大流行期間，這一比例為 40%。正如您從我們的電話中聽到的那樣，我們現在將 2022 年稱為 33%，低於我們最初估計的 37% 範圍。所以這已經降檔了。我們確實預計到 2019 年每個季度我們都會有強勁的表現，我們正在對此進行規劃。當您看到第三季度與 2019 年相比我們在數字領域的趨勢時，我們增長了 35%。所以這很相似——當你考慮到這一點時，當你將其嵌入到我們指導高端的第四季度模型中時，這就是我們看到的地方。

All shipping costs on any scenario that we have, have been contemplated. So that is a -- where you might have higher shipping costs if you're on the higher digital model. If you're on the lower digital model, you might have higher SG&A costs because it's that traffic might be shifting to stores. So those are the ways that we're looking at it in terms of how we're modeling it. But -- when I look at -- when you think about GMROI or you think about what we're doing with turnover, all of that is in our models on both ends of the guidance about which way it's going to go.

我們已經考慮了我們所擁有的任何情況下的所有運輸費用。所以這是一個 - 如果你使用更高的數字模型，你可能會有更高的運輸成本。如果你使用的是較低的數字模型，你可能會有更高的 SG&A 成本，因為流量可能會轉移到商店。因此，這些就是我們根據建模方式來看待它的方式。但是——當我看到——當你想到 GMROI 或者你想到我們在營業額方面所做的事情時，所有這些都在我們的模型中，在指導的兩端，關於它將會走向何方。

What we've done is -- when you look at the inventory allocation, we've got a lot of our inventory that is forward deployed. These 35 mini DCs that Adrian spoke of, it's about 1 million square feet of supply chain we didn't have last year. We are looking at all of our ship alone categories to get those closer to the customer to increase speed of delivery and also mitigate shipping costs. We've got great automation that's going on in our mega centers to make sure that we're hitting the customer expectations on time of delivery and reducing package cost. So all that kind of modernized supply chain applies to whatever comes our way with digital business in the fourth quarter.

我們所做的是——當你查看庫存分配時，我們有很多庫存是向前部署的。 Adrian 談到的這 35 個迷你 DC，是我們去年沒有的大約 100 萬平方英尺的供應鏈。我們正在研究我們所有的單獨發貨類別，以使它們更接近客戶，從而提高交付速度並降低運輸成本。我們在我們的大型中心進行了很好的自動化，以確保我們在交貨時間上達到客戶的期望並降低包裹成本。因此，所有這種現代化的供應鏈都適用於我們在第四季度數字業務中遇到的任何問題。

We will take the next question from Oliver Chen.

我們將接受 Oliver Chen 的下一個問題。

Jeff and Adrian, nice job on the quarter. October has been fairly volatile. I'm curious about your thoughts on the consumer and the price consciousness and what you're seeing and also what you might extrapolate going forward? Related to that, is this risk of promotional environment intensification, other folks don't have inventories as well in control. Would love your thoughts on how you may handle that because it really seems like others are over-inventoried.

傑夫和阿德里安，本季度表現出色。十月相當不穩定。我很好奇你對消費者和價格意識的看法以及你所看到的以及你可能推斷出的未來？與此相關的是，這種促銷環境加劇的風險，其他人也無法控制庫存。很想知道您如何處理這個問題，因為其他人似乎庫存過多。

Yes, let me start, Oliver. Let's start with the consumer. I think clearly, when we looked at it, it was unexpected, what we saw as kind of the downshift. And to Omar's question about what happened in the course of the quarter, the last couple of weeks of October, I think of that as being twice the negativity of the trend that we had in the first 11 weeks of the quarter. So we've been watching that one carefully to see, okay, is that where the customer or the consumer is going and when you started to think about where we were last year with all of the publicity that was going on about lack of supply and supply chain issues. And then if you don't get it now, you're not going to have it in time for Christmas. And you counter that with if you were to do all the polls of what the consumer articles have been on blood of inventory and wait for best prices. We really saw it in our conversion rate.

是的，讓我開始吧，奧利弗。讓我們從消費者開始。我清楚地認為，當我們看到它時，這是出乎意料的，我們看到的是一種降檔。對於奧馬爾關於本季度（10 月的最後幾週）發生了什麼的問題，我認為這是我們在本季度前 11 週的負面趨勢的兩倍。所以我們一直在仔細觀察那個，好吧，是客戶或消費者的去向，以及當你開始考慮我們去年的情況時，所有關於供應不足的宣傳和供應鏈問題。然後如果你現在不得到它，你就不會在聖誕節前得到它。如果你要對消費品庫存血量進行所有民意調查並等待最優惠價格，你就會反駁這一點。我們確實在轉化率中看到了這一點。

So what happened in the last couple of weeks of October was not a downshift in traffic. We didn't see less traffic coming on the websites or in our stores, which we now track through retail next. What we saw was a drop in conversion. And so that conversion was a market difference, not from what the trend had been from the previous weeks, but from what we were up against in 2021. So that's what kind of showed us that this is probably a -- this idea that there might have been a supply concern and that with the supply concern being off the table we'll go back to usual demand patterns. We're watching it carefully to see which way we're going. Obviously, we wanted to make sure that our guide comprehended that if it was a slowdown like we saw in the last 2 weeks of October and we took that all the way through the balance of the year versus this if it model 2019. That's where we're at.

因此，10 月最後幾週發生的事情並不是交通流量下降。我們沒有看到網站或我們商店的流量減少，我們現在通過零售跟踪這些流量。我們看到的是轉化率下降。因此，這種轉換是一種市場差異，不是來自前幾週的趨勢，而是來自我們在 2021 年所面對的情況。所以這向我們表明，這可能是一個——這個想法可能一直是供應問題，隨著供應問題的解決，我們將回到通常的需求模式。我們正在仔細觀察它，看看我們要走哪條路。顯然，我們想確保我們的指南理解，如果它像我們在 10 月的最後兩週看到的那樣放緩，並且我們在今年餘下的時間裡一直如此，而如果它是 2019 年的模型。這就是我們的地方在。

And I think in terms of the -- where our inventory is, because of the reserves that we have, we can peel that back, depending on whatever we're seeing in the environment, it's as much important for me to say that when we've got a category that's really hot and it's really working and there's an opportunity for us to get fresh inventory, which there's always opportunity, we're able to jump on that. If that doesn't materialize, then we'll just peel that back. So our intent is that by the end of the fourth quarter, we're going to be in a great inventory position and in the right mix of categories, brands and value bands to enter what our expectations are going to be for '23, which we'll talk about on the fourth quarter call.

而且我認為，就我們的庫存而言，由於我們擁有儲備，我們可以將其剝離，這取決於我們在環境中看到的任何情況，對我來說，當我們有一個非常熱門的類別，它真的很有效，我們有機會獲得新的庫存，這總是有機會，我們能夠抓住它。如果那沒有實現，那麼我們就把它剝掉。因此，我們的意圖是，到第四季度末，我們將處於良好的庫存狀態，並處於正確的類別、品牌和價值範圍組合中，以達到我們對 23 年的預期，我們將在第四季度電話會議上討論。

If I could just add a couple of things just to build on Jeff's point. The punchline for Jeff and I, as we feel good about the inventory position for holiday, not only are we looking at our inventory position versus last year, which is you know we're up about 4%, but we're actually down 12% to 2019. And really look, we're very excited about the level of newness, 55% newness for the holiday season.

如果我可以僅添加一些內容來構建 Jeff 的觀點。 Jeff 和我的妙語，因為我們對假期的庫存狀況感覺良好，我們不僅關注我們的庫存狀況與去年相比，你知道我們上漲了大約 4%，但實際上我們下降了 12% % 到 2019 年。實際上，我們對假日季節的新鮮度、55% 的新鮮度感到非常興奮。

To your question about the promotions, the inventory discipline that Jeff described is very much aligned with our pricing and markdown strategy. We will take the necessary markdowns based on demand versus the expectations we have week-to-week as we progress through the fourth quarter. And we know that customers from a pricing standpoint are looking for value. All the surveys that we've seen would indicate that the value is going to be an important driver for the customer.

關於你關於促銷的問題，Jeff 描述的庫存紀律與我們的定價和降價策略非常一致。隨著第四季度的進展，我們將根據需求與每週的預期進行必要的降價。我們知道，從定價的角度來看，客戶正在尋找價值。我們看到的所有調查都表明，價值將成為客戶的重要驅動力。

So as we think about our initial ticket, our promotions, our markdowns, we expect to manage through that as best we can, but the good news is we have the pricing signs to be able to do that, looking at sell-throughs, looking at the available inventory by location, looking at the product outdates. So we feel good about where we are starting the quarter, and we feel good about our plans going through the quarter.

因此，當我們考慮我們的初始機票、我們的促銷活動、我們的降價促銷時，我們希望盡我們所能來管理它，但好消息是我們有定價跡象能夠做到這一點，看看銷售率，看看在可用庫存中按位置查看產品過時情況。因此，我們對本季度開始的地方感覺良好，我們對整個季度的計劃感覺良好。

We will take our next question from Ashley Helgans from Jefferies.

我們將從 Jefferies 的 Ashley Helgans 那裡回答下一個問題。

Any initial learnings you can share about the new Marketplace model. And then we're just curious what's driving the larger basket sizes and units per order so much?

您可以分享有關新市場模型的任何初步知識。然後我們很好奇是什麼推動了更大的籃子尺寸和每個訂單的單位？

All right, so let's talk about Marketplace. So we launched it successfully earlier in the quarter. And I think the big thing on the Marketplace is that it's not a flip to switch like it's a fully formed organism on our site. We're adding new content every single day as we continue to scale this. Right now, we're really bringing on new brands, products and categories, really focused on premium third-party sellers. And the overall objective here is it's a low-risk way for us to introduce new customers or take care of existing customers on signals that where we didn't have content in either owned or VDF inventory in the past. And that's without shouldering the inventory liability.

好吧，讓我們談談 Marketplace。所以我們在本季度早些時候成功推出了它。而且我認為 Marketplace 上最重要的一點是，它不像我們網站上的一個完全成型的有機體那樣可以輕而易舉地切換。隨著我們繼續擴展，我們每天都在添加新內容。現在，我們真的在引進新的品牌、產品和品類，真正專注於優質的第三方賣家。這裡的總體目標是，這是我們引入新客戶或照顧現有客戶的一種低風險方式，表明我們過去在自有或 VDF 庫存中沒有內容的信號。而且這還沒有承擔庫存責任。

It's too early to quantify a lot of the detail with it, but let me just tell you a couple of headlines. The first one is that it's attracting younger customers. That's -- and when you think about that higher basket size and the higher units per order, a lot of that is mixed baskets between either owned inventory or VDF inventory. So that's a real positive sign. What I'd say is that when you have a new customer who's coming into Marketplace, almost all of them are cross-shopping in the balance of Macy's. We're excited about the fact that we're going to continue to develop this. We're excited about adding Bloomingdale's marketplace next year. And we're hitting our objectives. Too early to talk about any more specifics on it. We'll give you more detail on future calls.

現在用它來量化很多細節還為時過早，但讓我告訴你幾個標題。第一個是它吸引了年輕的顧客。那就是——當你考慮更高的籃子大小和每個訂單的更高單位時，其中很多是自有庫存或 VDF 庫存之間的混合籃子。所以這是一個真正的積極信號。我要說的是，當你有一個新客戶進入 Marketplace 時，幾乎所有客戶都在梅西百貨的餘額中交叉購物。我們很高興我們將繼續開發它。我們很高興明年加入 Bloomingdale 的市場。我們正在實現我們的目標。現在談論更多細節還為時過早。我們會在以後的通話中為您提供更多詳細信息。

Okay. Great. That's helpful. And then if I were to just throw in one more. Any color you...

好的。偉大的。這很有幫助。然後如果我再扔一個。任何顏色你...

We lost you, Ashley. Are you on mute?

我們失去了你，艾希禮。你在靜音嗎？

We'll take our next question from Kimberly Greenberger.

我們將從 Kimberly Greenberger 那裡接受下一個問題。

Ashley, if you're on the call. Kimberly, 2 secs. Ashley, if you're on the call. Just e-mail us your next question, and we'll take care of it. Kimberly, you're up.

Ashley，如果你在通話中。金伯利，2 秒。 Ashley，如果你在通話中。只需將您的下一個問題通過電子郵件發送給我們，我們會處理。金伯利，你起來了。

Jeff, obviously, it sounds to us like you're really navigating the short-term ups and downs pretty well. So I wanted to just turn an eye towards 2023. We understand you're not providing guidance for 2023 today. But we're just interested in understanding how you're thinking about it kind of big picture. We here on our side don't have a lot of visibility in sales trends. I'm not sure how you feel about that. So I'd love to hear your thoughts. And if you think that visibility is low as well, maybe you can talk through how you're approaching your spring and summer inventory buys. And Adrian, if you could just call out any notable headwinds or tailwinds that you see on the horizon in 2023, that would be super helpful.

傑夫，顯然，在我們看來，你真的很好地駕馭了短期的起伏。所以我只想著眼於 2023 年。我們知道你們今天沒有提供 2023 年的指導。但我們只是想了解您是如何從大局考慮的。我們這邊對銷售趨勢沒有太多了解。我不確定你對此有何感想。所以我很想听聽你的想法。如果您認為知名度也很低，也許您可以談談您是如何處理春季和夏季庫存採購的。阿德里安，如果你能說出你在 2023 年看到的任何顯著的逆風或順風，那將非常有幫助。

Kimberly, so let me start with -- some of this is predicated on how the balance of fourth quarter goes and what is -- what's the consumer buying through this time frame. But let me just say that we do think that this customer that this holiday is important to our consumers and the gift-giving is going to be important, family gatherings are going to be more plentiful than other. We look at hotel reservations, airline flights, just all the surveys that say how many nights they're going to spend away from their home with family members. This gifting season is going to be important.

金伯利，所以讓我開始——其中一些是基於第四季度的平衡如何以及是什麼——消費者在這個時間框架內購買了什麼。但我只想說，我們確實認為這個假期對我們的消費者很重要，送禮也很重要，家庭聚會會比其他聚會更豐富。我們查看酒店預訂、航班，以及所有表明他們將在外與家人一起度過多少個夜晚的調查。這個送禮季將很重要。

Now that is when you look at savings rates starting to deplete, you look at all the other, just the cumulative effects of inflation on our consumers across all discretionary and nondiscretionary spend. There may be a slowdown in as we think about the first quarter bind that they will be tapped out in terms of their budgets. So while not giving you any guidance for '23, we are looking very carefully at the base of your question, which is how might that come by quarter, and ensuring that we have the right supply and not oversupply of content. However, that quarter split might be out.

現在，當您看到儲蓄率開始下降時，您會看到所有其他因素，即通貨膨脹對我們消費者所有可自由支配和非自由支配支出的累積影響。當我們考慮到第一季度他們將在預算方面被挖掘出來時，可能會放緩。因此，雖然沒有給你 23 年的任何指導，但我們正在非常仔細地研究你的問題的基礎，即按季度出現的情況，並確保我們有正確的供應而不是內容供應過剩。但是，該季度拆分可能會結束。

So we think that the first quarter may be more pressed and we're thinking through that right now. We're making adjustments in our own ordering, obviously, watching our reserves very carefully on this. And so spring/summer, we have a better view of not sure yet about what fall holiday will look like, all that will obviously baked into our full guidance when we come back to you at the middle of February. So anything, Adrian, you would add?

所以我們認為第一季度可能會更加緊迫，我們現在正在考慮這個問題。顯然，我們正在調整我們自己的訂單，非常仔細地關注我們的儲備。因此，在春季/夏季，我們對不確定秋季假期會是什麼樣子有更好的看法，當我們在 2 月中旬回复您時，所有這些顯然都會融入我們的完整指導中。那麼，阿德里安，你會補充什麼嗎？

Yes, I'll just add a couple of things, and good morning, Kimberly. What I would say is that within the context of what Jeff described, we remain committed to our previously stated longer term targets, which are low single-digit sales growth and low double-digit adjusted EBITDA margins. And I think if you think about what Jeff shared a bit earlier with regards to how we're thinking about the business, I think that the actions that we've been taking to strengthen our competitive position is really important. So we have a healthy balance sheet, we're investing in new capabilities, we have a talented team, and we believe that positions us well for those longer term targets of profitable growth.

是的，我只想補充幾件事，早上好，金伯利。我要說的是，在 Jeff 所描述的背景下，我們仍然致力於實現我們之前提出的長期目標，即低個位數的銷售增長和低兩位數的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率。而且我認為，如果你考慮一下 Jeff 之前分享的關於我們如何看待業務的內容，我認為我們為加強我們的競爭地位而採取的行動非常重要。因此，我們擁有健康的資產負債表，我們正在投資於新的能力，我們擁有一支才華橫溢的團隊，我們相信這使我們能夠很好地實現利潤增長的長期目標。

We're investing in high-return initiatives. These are the things that will strengthen our capabilities to be able to really go to the marketplace in a stronger position with the consumer, really building on that foundation around disciplined inventory management, investing in talent and all the things that we've spoken about earlier.

我們正在投資於高回報計劃。這些將加強我們的能力，使我們能夠真正以更強大的消費者地位進入市場，真正建立在嚴格的庫存管理、人才投資和我們之前談到的所有事情的基礎上.

To your point about headwinds and tailwinds, I think the biggest headwind that still remains around inflation because that's really affecting the capacity for consumers to spend on discretionary categories. It's also -- as we look ahead, one of the headwinds we're also looking at is just what's the rate of demand? How much will demand slow in a rising interest rate environment? The tailwinds that we think we have is how we compete in the marketplace. We know that the consumer -- value is important to the consumer, customer experience is important to the consumer, relevance is important to the consumer. So we're really focused on what we can control and how we compete, and I think that could be a real tailwind for us.

關於逆風和順風的觀點，我認為最大的逆風仍然圍繞著通貨膨脹，因為這確實影響了消費者在可自由支配類別上的消費能力。這也是 - 當我們展望未來時，我們也在關注的逆風之一就是需求率是多少？在利率上升的環境下，需求會放緩多少？我們認為我們擁有的有利因素是我們在市場上的競爭方式。我們知道消費者——價值對消費者很重要，客戶體驗對消費者很重要，相關性對消費者很重要。所以我們真正專注於我們可以控制什麼以及我們如何競爭，我認為這對我們來說可能是一個真正的順風。

We'll take our next question from Dana Telsey from Telsey Group.

我們將從 Telsey Group 的 Dana Telsey 那裡回答下一個問題。

Nice to see the progress. As you think about the real estate portfolio, urban areas versus suburban areas, what you're seeing in Backstage? Is the performance different at all from what you're seeing in those areas? And then next year, as you think about supply chain broadly, how do you frame the tailwinds from supply chain and what it could mean to the business?

很高興看到進展。當您考慮房地產投資組合、市區與郊區時，您在 Backstage 看到了什麼？性能與您在這些區域中看到的完全不同嗎？然後明年，當你廣泛考慮供應鏈時，你如何構建供應鏈的順風以及它對企業意味著什麼？

Let me start with your first 2 points, Dana, and then I'll have Adrian take the supply chain question. What I'd tell you on the urban versus suburban, we definitely -- when you look at our downtown locations, as we talked about on the previous call, those definitely are some of our best-performing locations. Much of that is related to the return to office and just having just a lot of activity that is going around those particular buildings. We're seeing that with kind of the return of customers that we're basically avoiding those areas based on being during the pandemic. So that continues.

讓我從你的前兩點開始，Dana，然後我讓 Adrian 回答供應鏈問題。我要告訴你的關於城市與郊區的內容，我們肯定 - 當你看看我們在市中心的位置時，正如我們在上一次電話會議上談到的那樣，這些絕對是我們表現最好的一些位置。其中很大一部分與重返辦公室有關，並且只是在這些特定建築物周圍進行了很多活動。我們看到，隨著客戶的回歸，我們基本上是在大流行期間避開這些地區。這樣繼續下去。

We're having a good year when you think about Herald Square, Union Square, 59th Street at Bloomingdale's, you go downtown D.C., Philadelphia, State Street. All those stores are having a very strong year. So now they are still well below where they were during pre-pandemic. So there is a lot that needs to come back, and that is how we're looking at the potential tailwind, maybe not in '23 of international tourism. We thought it was coming back in '23, not certain with the exchange rates of where that's going to come out, but we're watching that one carefully to kind of get those buildings back to 2019 levels. So I mean that's how I would characterize that.

當你想到先驅廣場、聯合廣場、布魯明戴爾百貨公司第 59 街時，我們正在度過美好的一年，你會去華盛頓特區、費城、州街。所有這些商店都經歷了非常強勁的一年。因此，現在它們仍遠低於大流行前的水平。所以有很多東西需要回歸，這就是我們看待潛在順風的方式，也許不是在 23 世紀的國際旅遊業中。我們認為它會在 23 年回歸，不確定會出現什麼匯率，但我們正在仔細觀察，以使這些建築物恢復到 2019 年的水平。所以我的意思是我會這樣描述它。

When you think about Backstage, Backstage is equally doing well. I mean we now have it in 310 stores. We opened it just recently in Herald Square. It was already in our other kind of downtown flagships. It's doing quite well. So yes, there's really no difference between the performance of it in an opening price mall versus one that is in a premium mall. Backstage is just fantastic. And what I like about it is that it basically is adding to the basket of existing customers, and it's attracting new and more diverse, younger new customers. So everything we've been talking about on the evolution of our Backstage business since 2015 continues to pay dividends for us. So that's how I'd characterize that. I'll turn it to Adrian on supply chain.

當您想到 Backstage 時，Backstage 同樣做得很好。我的意思是我們現在在 310 家商店都有它。我們最近剛在先驅廣場開業。它已經出現在我們其他類型的市中心旗艦店中。它做得很好。所以，是的，它在開盤價購物中心的表現與在高級購物中心的表現真的沒有區別。後台真是太棒了。我喜歡它的一點是，它基本上是在增加現有客戶的數量，並且正在吸引新的、更多樣化、更年輕的新客戶。因此，自 2015 年以來我們一直在談論的關於 Backstage 業務發展的一切都繼續為我們帶來紅利。這就是我的特徵。我會把它交給供應鏈上的 Adrian。

Thank you, Jeff. Good morning, Dana. So with regards to supply chain, as we think about next year, there are 2 realities that we view in our planning. Number one is that goods will be flowing. We're certainly seeing the goods roll this year, which has positioned us very well for the holiday season. We're set on our floors, we're ready for holiday. But we believe the supply chain is going to continue to get healthier and healthier. But the key thing is that goods are flowing. I think what's important for us for next year is really thinking about inventory control.

謝謝你，傑夫。早上好，丹娜。因此，關於供應鏈，正如我們考慮明年的那樣，我們在計劃中看到了兩個現實。第一是貨物將流動。我們肯定會看到今年的貨物大量湧現，這使我們在假期中處於非常有利的地位。我們在我們的地板上安頓下來，我們準備好去度假了。但我們相信供應鏈將繼續變得越來越健康。但關鍵是貨是流動的。我認為明年對我們來說重要的是真正考慮庫存控制。

Inventory control and inventory discipline is just going to be really critical. As Jeff highlighted earlier, we're buying conservatively, and we built in the appropriate reserves going into next year to really be able to respond to any changing trends. And that's because we fundamentally changed the way we buy. We have a very integrated team end-to-end that's looking at sourcing and allocation and planning all the way to fulfilling orders for the customer.

庫存控制和庫存紀律將變得非常重要。正如 Jeff 之前強調的那樣，我們正在保守地購買，並且我們在明年建立了適當的儲備，以真正能夠應對任何變化的趨勢。那是因為我們從根本上改變了我們的購買方式。我們有一個非常完整的端到端團隊，負責採購、分配和規劃，一直到為客戶完成訂單。

The other thing that I think is important as we think about the spring season is that we're not planning to do any packaway inventory this year. We're planning to get into the next year in a clean inventory position because the packaway is just not a favorable thing for us as a fashion retailer. So as we mentioned a bit earlier, we're committed to the markdowns necessary to clear any aged inventory this season and make sure that strategically, we're in a better position to drive self-use and drive healthy margins going through the fourth quarter and into next year.

當我們考慮春季時，我認為另一件重要的事情是我們今年不打算做任何包裝庫存。我們計劃在明年進入一個乾淨的庫存狀態，因為打包對我們作為時尚零售商來說並不是一件好事。因此，正如我們之前提到的，我們致力於在本季度清理任何陳舊庫存所必需的降價，並確保在戰略上，我們在第四季度能夠更好地推動自用和推動健康的利潤率並進入明年。

We'll take our next question from Bob Drbul from Guggenheim Securities.

我們將從古根海姆證券公司的 Bob Drbul 那裡回答下一個問題。

Adrian, just a couple of questions on -- if you could talk more about the credit card business, and I think it was better than expected sort of what you're seeing, what came in better than expected, I think bad debt expense. But if you could maybe just address some of the factors there and how you're thinking about it sort of into Q4, but even more probably if you can give us some more color around the expectations into '23, that would be helpful.

阿德里安，只有幾個問題——如果你能多談談信用卡業務，我認為你所看到的比預期的要好，比預期的要好，我認為是壞賬費用。但是，如果您可以解決那裡的一些因素以及您如何在第四季度考慮它，但更有可能的是，如果您可以為我們提供更多關於 23 年預期的顏色，那將是有幫助的。

Yes, absolutely. So as we think about credit card going into Q4, what you'll see as a rate of sale is a seasonal adjustment. So we do have a lot of nonroyal customers that do come into our system in the fourth quarter. So they tend to use a variety of tenders to be on our proprietary credit card. So as a rate of sale, you'll actually see that soften in the fourth quarter, which is just a seasonal adjustment.

是的，一點沒錯。因此，當我們考慮進入第四季度的信用卡時，您會看到銷售率是季節性調整。所以我們確實有很多非皇室客戶在第四季度進入我們的系統。因此，他們傾向於使用我們專有的信用卡進行各種投標。因此，作為銷售率，您實際上會看到第四季度有所放緩，這只是季節性調整。

As we think about the credit card business in the near term and in the longer term, there are really 2 factors that we think about. The first factor is around bad debt. What we've seen is that bad debt levels have remained lower than expected for a prolonged period of time that drove very healthy credit card revenues this year and last year, but we do see evidence of that beginning to unwind as we're seeing more kind of payment opportunities and delinquency opportunities emerge. So we do feel that they will begin to be a more progressive reversion back on bad debt.

當我們考慮短期和長期的信用卡業務時，我們確實考慮了兩個因素。第一個因素是壞賬。我們所看到的是，壞賬水平在很長一段時間內一直低於預期，這推動了今年和去年的信用卡收入非常健康，但我們確實看到了這種情況開始平息的證據，因為我們看到更多出現了各種付款機會和拖欠機會。因此，我們確實認為他們將開始更積極地恢復壞賬。

The second lever we look at is just the usage. And what we're seeing is very healthy usage on the co-brand side as well as higher usage on the broader proprietary credit card within our nameplates and within our network. And so last year, as you can imagine, there's a lot of stimulus in the market. So there's a lot of cash payments and debit payments. But really, credit card is back. And so a lot of people are using their credit card, they're building larger balances, and that's really driven the health of our credit card business through the pandemic, year-to-date, and we project that to be healthy into the fourth quarter, as you see from our guide.

我們看的第二個槓桿就是用法。我們看到的是聯合品牌方面的使用非常健康，以及我們的銘牌和網絡中更廣泛的專有信用卡的使用率更高。所以去年，你可以想像，市場上有很多刺激措施。所以有很多現金支付和借記支付。但實際上，信用卡又回來了。因此，很多人都在使用他們的信用卡，他們正在建立更大的餘額，這確實推動了我們信用卡業務的健康度過了年初至今的大流行，我們預計它會在第四年保持健康季度，正如您從我們的指南中看到的那樣。

We will take our next question from Gaby Carbone from Deutsche Bank.

我們將接受來自德意志銀行的 Gaby Carbone 的下一個問題。

Congratulations on the nice results. So you've made a real improvement on your balance sheet over the past year. Just wondering if you can speak to how you're thinking about debt paydown and leverage along with your capital allocation priorities moving ahead.

祝賀你取得了不錯的成績。所以在過去的一年裡，你的資產負債表有了真正的改善。只是想知道你是否可以談談你是如何考慮債務償還和槓桿以及你的資本分配優先事項的。

We follow a very disciplined capital allocation strategy. And the first and most important thing is to make sure that we have a healthy balance sheet. So looking at controlling inventories, very key to that, as well as debt is an important part of that. We have committed coming into this year that, on an annual basis, we'll have a leverage ratio below 2x on an adjusted basis. And so we're very committed to that. And we're certainly looking at a variety of things as it relates to debt pay down.

我們遵循非常嚴格的資本配置策略。首先也是最重要的事情是確保我們擁有健康的資產負債表。因此，著眼於控制庫存，這非常關鍵，而債務也是其中的重要組成部分。我們已承諾進入今年，在調整後的基礎上，我們每年的槓桿率將低於 2 倍。因此，我們非常致力於此。我們當然正在研究與償還債務有關的各種事情。

The second thing, though, which is really important is investing in the business. We believe that the highest return for our shareholders is investing in high-return initiatives that drives profitable growth over the near, medium and long term. So really important for us to make sure that we're investing in those initiatives.

不過，第二件事非常重要，那就是對企業進行投資。我們認為，我們股東的最高回報是投資於能夠在近期、中期和長期內推動盈利增長的高回報計劃。確保我們正在投資這些計劃對我們來說非常重要。

And then the third piece is really returning capital back to our shareholders in the form of a predictable dividend and modest dividend, but also with excess cash being able to do share repurchases. As it relates to debt pay down, we're constantly looking at a lot of options and a lot of different scenarios. We do have the liquidity and the capacity right now. We don't have any material debt maturities for 4.5 to 5 years. So we're already in a very healthy position, but debt pay down is always an option that we look at.

然後第三部分實際上是以可預測的股息和適度股息的形式將資本返還給我們的股東，但也有多餘的現金能夠進行股票回購。由於它與償還債務有關，我們一直在尋找很多選擇和很多不同的場景。我們現在確實有流動性和能力。我們沒有任何 4.5 至 5 年到期的重大債務。所以我們已經處於非常健康的狀態，但償還債務始終是我們考慮的一個選擇。

We'll take our final question for today from Paul Lejuez from Citigroup.

我們將從花旗集團的 Paul Lejuez 那裡接受今天的最後一個問題。

Tracy Kogan filling in for Paul. You're seeing in your Market by Macy's stores, and maybe give us a little bit more detail about the assortments there and what percent of your full assortment is in those stores. And then so you talked about maybe relocating some Macy's stores to these off-mall formats. How many markets do you have maybe a weaker performing full-line Macy's store where you think there's an opportunity to relocate off-mall in a Market by Macy's format?

Tracy Kogan 代替 Paul。您在 Market by Macy's 商店中看到，也許可以向我們提供更多關於那裡的分類的詳細信息，以及您的全部分類在這些商店中的百分比。然後你談到可能將一些梅西百貨商店搬遷到這些場外格式。你有多少個市場可能是表現較弱的全線梅西百貨商店，你認為有機會以梅西百貨的形式重新定位商場外的商店？

So let me start with we're pleased so far with how Market by Macy's is performing. And so just to reemphasize what our strategy here. It really has 3 buckets and 3 purposes. The first one is just record as the overall comment is that about 60% of business in our categories that's done in brick-and-mortar is done off-mall. And so when looking at the majority of our portfolio being on-mall, that really served up an opportunity for us. Clearly, omnichannel sales is what we're really focused on. And when you look at wherever we have a sale or wherever we have a store, you have higher concentration of digital sales being done in those ZIP codes. So it really is this kind of irrefutable loop that goes on with customer activity.

因此，讓我首先說，到目前為止，我們對 Market by Macy's 的表現感到滿意。所以只是為了再次強調我們的戰略。它真的有 3 個桶和 3 個用途。第一個只是記錄，因為總體評論是我們類別中大約 60% 的實體業務是在商場外完成的。因此，當查看我們的大部分投資組合都在購物中心時，這確實為我們提供了機會。顯然，全渠道銷售才是我們真正關注的重點。而且，當您查看我們在何處進行銷售或在何處設有商店時，您會發現在這些郵政編碼中進行的數字銷售更加集中。因此，確實是這種無可辯駁的循環隨著客戶活動而持續。

So we had 3 objectives with respect to Market by Macy's. The first one was to what is a fill-in location wherein we already have a presence in that particular market, but we have ZIP codes that are underserved, and we're seeing that in our digital signals. That's where we put a number of our locations from Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Dallas Fort Worth.

所以我們有 3 個關於梅西百貨市場的目標。第一個是什麼是填充位置，我們已經在該特定市場中佔有一席之地，但我們的郵政編碼服務不足，我們在數字信號中看到了這一點。這就是我們從亞特蘭大、華盛頓特區、達拉斯沃思堡設立的一些地點。

Then we have this replacement location that's part of your question. That was one that we did last week. Really proud of the -- this is the first one that we've done. This was our Chesterfield Mall that was in St. Louis. And we found a very vital strip center that was a mile away from the Chesterfield Mall. In the Chesterfield Mall, it used to be a thriving center. Macy's was really all that was left. The balance of the mall was either closed or was no longer there. So we have this handoff when we opened the Market by Macy's in St. Louis in the Chesterfield Strip Center, then we closed the store. We worked on the handoff of customers, we picked all the great colleagues. We moved them over. That's had a very nice start.

然後我們有這個替換位置，這是您問題的一部分。那是我們上週做的。真的很自豪——這是我們所做的第一個。這是我們在聖路易斯的切斯特菲爾德購物中心。我們發現了一個非常重要的地帶中心，距離切斯特菲爾德購物中心一英里。在切斯特菲爾德購物中心，它曾經是一個繁榮的中心。梅西百貨真的是唯一剩下的了。商場的餘額要么關閉，要么不再存在。因此，當我們在聖路易斯的切斯特菲爾德大道中心開設梅西百貨市場時，我們進行了這種交接，然後我們關閉了商店。我們致力於客戶的交接，我們挑選了所有優秀的同事。我們把它們搬過來了。這是一個非常好的開始。

The third area that we're looking at, which gets to the other part of your question is how we're thinking about new markets, either where Macy's brand used to be or Bloomingdale's brand has not been or where it's a brand-new market for us. So I know that we are in 49 of the top 50 markets in the nation on the Macy's side. But I think we're only in 13 of the Bloomingdale's side. So really getting the Bloomie's brand into some of those markets is quite interesting to us. And then starting to do that on the Macy's side is something that you're going to see from us in 2023.

我們正在研究的第三個領域，也就是你問題的另一部分，是我們如何考慮新市場，無論是梅西百貨品牌曾經出現過的地方還是布魯明戴爾品牌還沒有出現過的地方，或者它是一個全新的市場為我們。所以我知道梅西百貨在全國前 50 大市場中有 49 個。但我認為我們只在 Bloomingdale 的 13 家。因此，真正讓 Bloomie's 品牌進入其中一些市場對我們來說非常有趣。然後開始在梅西百貨方面這樣做，這是你將在 2023 年從我們這裡看到的事情。

To the comment about curation, so you think about Market by Macy's is let's call it, 30,000 square feet and we have a full line store that's like 180,000 thereabouts. So we're making lots of decisions based on the localized environment about what brands we put in there, what turnover we expect, how quickly we're able to bring things in and get them out. And so -- and it's a very open palate. So we have lots of flexibility in those environments, lots of opportunities for us to make adjustments. So we're very dogged about sell-throughs and conversion. That's what the team is very focused on.

關於策展的評論，所以你想想梅西百貨的市場，我們稱之為 30,000 平方英尺，我們有一家大約 180,000 平方英尺的全線商店。因此，我們正在根據本地化環境做出很多決定，包括我們在那裡放置的品牌、我們期望的營業額、我們能夠以多快的速度將東西帶入和帶出。所以 - 這是一個非常開放的味覺。所以我們在這些環境中有很大的靈活性，我們有很多機會進行調整。所以我們非常關註銷售率和轉化率。這是團隊非常關注的。

I think the format and the locations we're picking is quite strong. So we need to make these stores work before we get to a scalable model. But as you can imagine, we're looking at that 60% of brick-and-mortar business being done off-mall, lots of opportunities when we get a model this scalable.

我認為我們選擇的格式和位置非常強大。因此，在我們獲得可擴展模型之前，我們需要讓這些商店發揮作用。但正如你可以想像的那樣，我們正在研究 60% 的實體業務是在商場外完成的，當我們獲得這種可擴展的模型時，會有很多機會。

That is all the time we have for question-and-answer session for today. Now I will turn the call over back to Gennette for closing remarks. Please go ahead, sir.

這就是我們今天問答環節的全部時間。現在我將把電話轉回給 Gennette 作結束語。請繼續，先生。

Hi, everybody. Thanks for your interest in Macy's, Inc. brands, and watch the parade. Everybody have a great Thanksgiving.

大家好你們好。感謝您對 Macy's, Inc. 品牌的關注，並觀看遊行。每個人都有一個美好的感恩節。

Thank you for joining today's call. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的電話會議。您現在可以斷開連接。