梅西百貨 (M) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Macy's, Inc. Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加梅西百貨公司 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）謹此提醒，此通話正在錄音。

I would now like to turn the call over to Pamela Quintiliano, Vice President of Investor Relations. Ms. Quintiliano, you may now begin.

我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係副總裁 Pamela Quintiliano。昆蒂利亞諾女士，您現在可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. With me on the call today are Tony Spring, our CEO; and Adrian Mitchell, our COO and CFO. Along with our fourth quarter 2020 press release, a presentation has been posted on the Investors Section of our website, macysinc.com, and is being displayed live during today's webcast.

謝謝你，接線生。大家早安，感謝您加入我們。今天與我一起參加電話會議的是我們的執行長 Tony Spring；以及我們的營運長兼財務長阿德里安·米切爾 (Adrian Mitchell)。除了 2020 年第四季新聞稿外，我們網站 Macysinc.com 的投資者部分還發布了演示文稿，並在今天的網路廣播中現場展示。

Unless otherwise noted, the comparisons we provide will be versus 2022. Comparisons to 2019 are provided where appropriate to best benchmark performance. All references to our prior expectations, outlook or guidance refer to information provided on the November 16 earnings call, unless otherwise noted. 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. 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 viewed on the Investors section of our website. Today's call is being webcast on our website. A replay will be available approximately 2 hours after the conclusion of this call.

除非另有說明，我們提供的比較將與 2022 年進行比較。在適當的情況下提供與 2019 年的比較，以獲得最佳基準性能。除非另有說明，所有提及我們先前的預期、展望或指引的內容均指 11 月 16 日財報電話會議上提供的資訊。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。這些前瞻性陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與今天提到的預期和假設有重大差異。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。在討論我們的營運結果時，我們將提供某些非公認會計準則財務指標。您可以在我們網站的投資者部分找到有關這些非公認會計準則財務指標以及其他資訊的更多資訊。今天的電話會議正在我們的網站上進行網路直播。本次電話會議結束後約 2 小時將提供重播。

With that, I'll turn it over to Tony.

有了這個，我會把它交給東尼。

Thanks, Pam. It's great to be here on my first call as CEO. We have a lot to cover this morning, including our fourth quarter results, our outlook for fiscal 2024 and our strategy, A Bold New Chapter, which is designed to accelerate financial improvement and deliver sustainable, profitable growth.

謝謝，帕姆。很高興能夠參加我作為執行長的第一次電話會議。今天早上我們有很多內容要介紹，包括第四季度業績、2024 財年展望以及我們的戰略“大膽新篇章”，該戰略旨在加速財務改善並實現可持續的盈利增長。

Taking a step back, this holiday season, we offered an improved omnichannel experience with effective merchandising and a clear demonstration of value. Fourth quarter and full year adjusted EPS were above our most recent guidance reflecting better-than-expected gross margin, SG&A and other revenues and higher asset sale gains. We are a company defined by the quality of our people and we could not have accomplished these results without the enthusiasm and dedication of our teams across stores, distribution centers and our corporate offices.

退一步來說，這個假期，我們透過有效的行銷和清晰的價值展示提供了改進的全通路體驗。第四季和全年調整後每股收益高於我們最新的指導，反映出優於預期的毛利率、SG&A 和其他收入以及更高的資產銷售收益。我們是一家以員工素質為核心的公司，如果沒有商店、配送中心和公司辦公室團隊的熱情和奉獻精神，我們不可能取得這些成果。

Throughout the year, our consumer proved to be more resilient than expected. While there was pressure from ongoing reallocation of spend to nondiscretionary items, our focus on new and relevant private and national brands enabled us to effectively compete. The likelihood of a recession is now lower than it was a year ago. Inflation has slowed, but so has labor and wage growth. As such, we expect our consumer to remain under pressure. It is against this backdrop that we share our vision from modern Macy's, Inc that takes a holistic view of our portfolio of brands.

全年來看，我們的消費者比預期更有彈性。儘管持續將支出重新分配到非自由支配項目帶來了壓力，但我們對新的相關私人和國家品牌的關注使我們能夠有效競爭。現在經濟衰退的可能性比一年前還要低。通貨膨脹已經放緩，但勞動力和薪資成長也已放緩。因此，我們預期消費者仍將面臨壓力。正是在這種背景下，我們分享了現代梅西百貨公司的願景，即對我們的品牌組合進行全面的審視。

It is the thoughtful culmination of comprehensive research and reflection that began in Ernest early last year. A Bold New Chapter is designed to return Macy's, Inc.'s enterprise growth, unlock shareholder value and better serve our customers. It builds on our 5 growth vectors as newly identified and stress tested areas of opportunity and is supported by our financial disciplines. Over the next 3 years, we intend to: one, strengthen the Macy's nameplate and return it to top line growth; two, accelerate luxury growth; and three, simplify and modernize end-to-end operations.

這是歐內斯特去年初開始的全面研究和反思的深思熟慮的頂峰。大膽的新篇章旨在回報梅西百貨公司的企業成長、釋放股東價值並更好地服務我們的客戶。它以我們的 5 個成長向量為基礎，作為新確定和壓力測試的機會領域，並得到我們財務紀律的支持。在接下來的三年裡，我們打算：第一，強化梅西百貨品牌並使其恢復營收成長；二、加速奢侈品成長；第三，簡化端到端運作並使之現代化。

We view fiscal 2024 as a transition and investment year as we begin to implement real change for our customers. Beginning in 2025, we expect Macy's, Inc. to deliver low single-digit comp growth, mid-single-digit EBITDA dollar growth and a return to pre-pandemic levels of free cash flow. As we look across our omnichannel enterprise, we are taking a balanced portfolio approach to establish the right mix of on and off mall Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury stores in the best locations and markets. By the end of 2026, we plan to close approximately 150 underproductive Macy's locations and reprioritize investments in our roughly 350 remaining locations, inclusive of full line, furniture and current off-mall doors, grow our Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury store basis by a combined roughly 20% and monetize $600 million to $750 million of assets, primarily related to stores and distribution center closures.

我們將 2024 財年視為過渡和投資年，因為我們開始為客戶實施真正的變革。從 2025 年開始，我們預計梅西百貨公司將實現低個位數的複合成長率、中個位數的 EBITDA 美元成長率，並恢復到疫情前的自由現金流水準。當我們審視我們的全通路企業時，我們正在採取平衡的投資組合方法，在最佳地點和市場建立商場內外梅西百貨、布魯明戴爾百貨和 Bluemercury 商店的正確組合。到2026 年底，我們計劃關閉約150 家生產力低下的梅西百貨門市，並重新調整對大約350 個剩餘門市的投資優先順序，包括全線產品、家具和目前的商場外門市，將我們的Bloomingdale's 和Bluemercury門市數量合計增加約20 家% 並將 6 億至 7.5 億美元的資產貨幣化，主要與商店和配送中心關閉有關。

In setting our Bold New Chapter strategy, we've been our own toughest critics, we have challenged the status quo, identified what we've gotten right and where we could have done better. We also conducted external focus groups and service with current lapse and potential customers. We're driving a higher level of accountability amongst our teams to ensure we keep up with customers evolving taste, needs and preferences.

在製定「大膽新篇章」策略時，我們一直是自己最嚴厲的批評者，我們挑戰現狀，確定我們做得對的地方以及我們可以做得更好的地方。我們也針對現有客戶和潛在客戶進行了外部焦點小組和服務。我們正在提高團隊的責任感，以確保我們能夠跟上客戶不斷變化的品味、需求和偏好。

As I now turn to discussing each element of A Bold New Chapter in more detail, I'd like to stress that this work is already underway. We are moving swiftly and methodically. While some aspects should take time to bear fruit, others are intended to have a more immediate impact.

當我現在開始更詳細地討論《大膽的新篇章》的每個要素時，我想強調這項工作已經在進行中。我們正在迅速而有條不紊地採取行動。雖然某些方面需要時間才能取得成果，但其他方面則旨在產生更直接的影響。

The first component is strengthening the Macy's nameplate. Coming from Bloomingdale's, I have approached Macy's with an outsider's point of view. There are a few brands that have the deep heritage and a strong emotional connection with its customer. But as we conducted service and focus groups with some of our 41 million active multigenerational customers, it became increasingly clear that the needs are not being fully met. They want an omnichannel shopping environment that's neat, easy and convenient and edited and updated selection of relevant trending products, clarity on value and pricing and greater availability of colleagues to find product and complete a purchase.

第一個組成部分是加強梅西百貨的銘牌。我來自布魯明代爾百貨公司，以局外人的角度接觸梅西百貨。有一些品牌擁有深厚的底蘊並與顧客有著強烈的情感連結。但當我們對 4,100 萬活躍的多代客戶中的一些進行服務和焦點小組調查時，越來越明顯的是，需求沒有得到充分滿足。他們想要一個整潔、簡單、方便的全通路購物環境，編輯和更新相關熱門產品的選擇，清晰的價值和定價，以及同事更容易找到產品並完成購買。

This list is similar to what I first encountered at Bloomingdale's. While there are certainly differences, the core formula for success is the same. It's going back to basics and balancing the art and science of retail. By putting the customer first, which has always been my priority, we improved Bloomingdale's sales profit and Net Promoter Scores. We will do the same for Macy's. First, by focusing our resources and optimizing our store footprint to meet the customer where they are; second, revitalizing the assortment to improve the relevance and value; and third, modernizing the shopping environment to ensure a convenient, easy and frictionless customer experience across channels.

這份清單與我第一次在布魯明代爾遇到的清單類似。雖然肯定存在差異，但成功的核心公式是相同的。它回歸基礎並平衡零售的藝術和科學。透過將客戶放在第一位（這一直是我的首要任務），我們提高了 Bloomingdale 的銷售利潤和淨推薦值。我們將為梅西百貨做同樣的事情。首先，透過集中我們的資源並優化我們的商店足跡來滿足客戶的需求；二是盤活品類，提高關聯性與價值；第三，現代化購物環境，確保跨通路的便利、輕鬆、無摩擦的顧客體驗。

Strengthening the Macy's nameplate should result in healthier sell-throughs and more productive stores, benefiting Macy's sales and margin profile and returning the nameplate to growth. The first step is to close and monetize underproductive locations so that we can prioritize the investments in stores that will lead us to a healthier future. Over the past 10 months, we have refined our approach to closures and have developed an even more sophisticated framework to evaluate our assets. Our thresholds to keep the store open have become more stringent. In the past, we may have continued operating an underproductive store that was 4-wall cash flow positive. The bar has now been raised. We have conducted extensive internal and external analysis of our Macy's fleet center by center and market by market. We have compared value to operate versus value to close and look at demand in each market to determine the right construct of stores and digital with a focus on being in the strongest centers. This is not a onetime exercise. Given rapidly shifting market dynamics and consumer preferences, it will be an always-on practice.

加強梅西百貨的品牌應該會帶來更健康的銷售和更高的商店生產力，有利於梅西百貨的銷售和利潤狀況，並使品牌恢復成長。第一步是關閉生產力低下的地點並將其貨幣化，以便我們可以優先考慮對商店的投資，這將引領我們走向更健康的未來。在過去的 10 個月裡，我們改進了關閉方法，並開發了一個更複雜的框架來評估我們的資產。我們維持商店營業的門檻變得更加嚴格。過去，我們可能會繼續經營一家生產力低但四壁現金流為正的商店。現在門檻已經提高了。我們對梅西百貨車隊逐一中心、逐個市場進行了廣泛的內部和外部分析。我們比較了營運價值與關閉價值，並研究了每個市場的需求，以確定正確的商店和數位結構，重點放在最強大的中心。這不是一次性的練習。考慮到快速變化的市場動態和消費者偏好，這將是永遠在線的做法。

Through our work, we have identified approximately 150 Macy's stores for closure over the next 3 years. We call these our non-go-forward locations. In fiscal 2023, they represented about 25% of Macy's, Inc.'s gross square footage but less than 10% of its sales. The roughly 350 remaining Macy's inclusive of full line, furniture and our current small formats are referred to as go-forward locations. In fiscal 2023, comp sales of Macy's go-forward locations outperformed non-go-forward locations by approximately 500 basis points and the 4-wall adjusted EBITDA rate outperformed by about 950 basis points. Simply put, the value to monetize non-go-forward locations is higher than the value to operate. We expect to close about 50 non-go-forward stores by the end of this fiscal year and prioritize our focus where we have the most opportunity to improve square footage productivity and better serve our customer.

透過我們的工作，我們已確定在未來 3 年內關閉約 150 家梅西百貨商店。我們將這些稱為非前進位置。 2023 財年，它們約佔梅西百貨公司總面積的 25%，但佔銷售額的不到 10%。剩下的大約 350 家梅西百貨公司（包括全系列產品、家具和我們目前的小型店）被稱為「前進店」。 2023 財年，梅西百貨前進門市的公司銷售業績優於非前進門市約 500 個基點，四牆調整後 EBITDA 率優於非前進門市約 950 個基點。簡而言之，非前進地點的貨幣化價值高於營運價值。我們預計在本財年結束前關閉約 50 家非前進商店，並優先考慮我們最有機會提高平方英尺生產力並更好地服務客戶的領域。

Over the next 3 years, we estimate non-go-forward store monetization proceeds of roughly $500 million to $650 million and asset sale gains of about $250 million to $350 million. We will make sure the economics of each closure and monetization transaction makes sense. Working together with our real estate advisers, our team has generated over $2.4 billion of real estate monetization proceeds from 2015 to 2023, and we will leverage that expertise and those relationships as we continue to refine and assess our base. Importantly, our healthy balance sheet allows us to be opportunistic on timing of the closures to deliver the highest value for our shareholders.

未來 3 年，我們預計非前瞻性商店貨幣化收益約為 5 億至 6.5 億美元，資產出售收益約 2.5 億至 3.5 億美元。我們將確保每筆關閉和貨幣化交易的經濟效益都有意義。透過與我們的房地產顧問的合作，我們的團隊從 2015 年到 2023 年已創造了超過 24 億美元的房地產貨幣化收益，我們將利用這些專業知識和這些關係，繼續完善和評估我們的基礎。重要的是，我們健康的資產負債表使我們能夠在關閉時間上抓住機會，為股東創造最高價值。

We have recently stopped all but required maintenance investments in our non-go-forward locations. We plan to reallocate some of the capital to our go-forward fleet and we'll work closely with our vendor partners on joint business plans. We will also work with non-go-forward location colleagues to support and place them into open roles and nearby locations whenever possible. In addition, we'll educate our customers on the proximity of our go-forward stores and access to our digital platforms.

我們最近停止了在非推進地點的所有必要的維護投資。我們計劃將部分資金重新分配給我們的前進機隊，我們將與我們的供應商合作夥伴密切合作制定聯合業務計劃。我們還將與非前沿位置的同事合作，盡可能為他們提供支援和安排到空缺職位和附近的位置。此外，我們還將向客戶介紹我們的未來商店的位置以及對我們數位平台的存取權限。

Exiting stores allows us to prioritize our highest return on all opportunities and open more small format off-mall Macy's. At the end of the year, we operated 12 small formats. As previously disclosed, we plan to open up 30 more in the next 2 years, including 12 this year, informed by the real estate analysis discussed earlier. With these additional stores, we will have a better understanding of our competitive positioning and long-term potential.

退出商店使我們能夠優先考慮所有機會的最高回報，並在商場外開設更多小型梅西百貨。截至年底，我們經營了12個小業態。如同先前所揭露的，根據先前討論的房地產分析，我們計劃在未來 2 年內再開設 30 個，其中今年 12 個。透過這些額外的商店，我們將更了解我們的競爭定位和長期潛力。

Having the right footprint in location is important, but we must also have the right product that a value that we know appeals to our customer. That is why we are revitalizing the Macy's assortment. Recently, we shifted our merchant responsibilities to a full category approach rather than a separate teams for owned and licensed. Consolidating roles creates more accountability. There is increased focus on the nuances that make each category thrive. With increased visibility and awareness across the entire categories, merchants should be able to provide more consistency in product and experience and reduce duplication. Bloomingdale's successfully adopted this model several years ago.

擁有正確的位置很重要，但我們也必須擁有正確的產品，其我們所知道的價值能夠吸引我們的客戶。這就是我們重振梅西百貨品種的原因。最近，我們將商家職責轉向全類別方法，而不是單獨的自有和授權團隊。鞏固角色會產生更多責任。人們越來越關注使每個類別蓬勃發展的細微差別。隨著整個品類的可見度和認知度的提高，商家應該能夠提供更一致的產品和體驗，並減少重複。布魯明戴爾百貨公司幾年前就成功採用了這種模式。

It resulted in stronger relationships with our partners, diversified product and choice across price points and helped us grow market share. We also continue to rebuild our private brand portfolio, which capitalizes on white space opportunities that complement market brands and give customers more reasons to shop with us. Private brands have higher merchandise margins and profit contributions relative to market brands. In fiscal 2023, private brands represented about 15% of Macy's sales versus 16% in 2022, reflecting the exit of several heritage women's brands, including Alfani and Karen Scott. We expect to complete all private brand exits this year. Longer term, we expect private brand volumes to grow as we reimagine existing brands and introduce others, including our latest State of Day.

它增強了我們與合作夥伴的關係，提供了多樣化的產品和跨價位的選擇，並幫助我們擴大了市場份額。我們也繼續重建我們的自有品牌組合，利用空白機會補充市場品牌，讓客戶有更多理由在我們這裡購物。相對於市場品牌，自有品牌具有更高的商品利潤和利潤貢獻。 2023 財年，自有品牌約佔梅西百貨銷售額的 15%，而 2022 年這一比例為 16%，反映出包括 Alfani 和 Karen Scott 在內的多個傳統女裝品牌的退出。我們預計今年將完成所有自有品牌的退出。從長遠來看，隨著我們重新構想現有品牌並推出其他品牌（包括我們最新的 State of Day），我們預計自有品牌數量將會成長。

With a rationalized and focused existing store fleet and better product, we also want to improve the omnichannel experience. Reflecting learnings from our research, we know we can better serve our customer. We plan to increase resources and investments to improve the experience in our roughly 350 remaining go-forward Macy's locations. We will test and learn and not bite off more than we can chew. We'll be thoughtful, methodical and unemotional in our approach. In fiscal 2023, we had a small number of incubator stores, which tested new ideas that were based on customer feedback and prioritized conversion. Comps outperformed the broader Macy's fleet by over 350 basis points.

憑藉合理化、集中化的現有門市隊伍和更好的產品，我們也希望改善全通路體驗。根據我們的研究經驗，我們知道我們可以更好地為客戶服務。我們計劃增加資源和投資，以改善我們剩餘的約 350 家梅西百貨門市的體驗。我們將進行測試和學習，並且不會貪多嚼不爛。我們的方法將深思熟慮、有條不紊、不帶感情色彩。在 2023 財年，我們擁有少量孵化器商店，這些商店根據客戶回饋和優先轉換來測試新想法。 Comps 的表現比梅西百貨的整體表現高出 350 個基點以上。

That's given us confidence to expand the pilot to 50 doors, which we refer to as our First 50 Program. The First 50 Program is purposely different from past pilots. It centers on the customer and is representative of our go-forward geographic footprint, balanced across volume tiers, in stores with strong vendor engagement, supported by more associates on the floor to serve customers and focused on merchandising and visual presentation. We are conducting additional tests in the first 50 doors this year and plan to apply pertinent learnings to a broader set of go-forward locations beginning in fiscal 2025.

這讓我們有信心將試點範圍擴大到 50 個門，我們稱之為「First 50 計畫」。 First 50 計劃有意與過去的試點有所不同。它以客戶為中心，代表了我們前進的地理足跡，在不同數量層次之間保持平衡，在具有強大供應商參與的商店中，由更多員工在現場為客戶提供支持，並專注於商品推銷和視覺呈現。今年，我們將在前 50 個門進行額外測試，並計劃從 2025 財年開始將相關知識應用到更廣泛的前進地點。

Now let's turn to digital, which is also an important part of the Macy's current and future customer experience. We view digital as the gateway for customers to research, discover, connect and transact with Macy's. It's imperative that we show up with inspiring content at the right place, time and value. Our digital team is relentlessly seeking to better understand our customers' pain points across mobile, app and desktop platforms. We have reevaluated our foundation to improve search and navigation tools. Customers will be offered personalized communications and recommendations that have a definitive Macy's point of view, culminating an efficient and speedy checkout. Rewriting this digital journey should generate greater loyalty and increased conversion. We also expect growth of Marketplace and Macy's Media Network, both of which were designed to improve profitability and increase customer engagement.

現在讓我們轉向數位化，這也是梅西百貨當前和未來客戶體驗的重要組成部分。我們將數位化視為客戶研究、發現、聯繫梅西百貨並進行交易的門戶。我們必須在正確的地點、時間和價值上展示鼓舞人心的內容。我們的數位團隊不斷尋求更了解客戶在行動、應用程式和桌面平台上的痛點。我們重新評估了改進搜尋和導航工具的基礎。客戶將獲得具有梅西百貨明確觀點的個人化溝通和建議，從而實現高效、快速的結帳。重寫這數位化旅程應該會產生更高的忠誠度和更高的轉換率。我們也預期 Marketplace 和梅西百貨媒體網路將會成長，這兩個網站的目的都是為了提高獲利能力和提高客戶參與度。

To conclude on the Macy's nameplate, our focused omnichannel portfolio will empower us to provide a better customer experience. We intend to fuel go-forward locations and our digital channels with curated and compelling assortments, have a better in-stock position and appropriate investments to create a more welcoming environment and enhanced service. Our new Chief Marketing Officer, who joined us in December is working closely across teams to align omni touch points to customer expectations and create a modern brand platform for all of our communications, more to come as the year progresses.

總結梅西百貨的銘牌，我們專注的全通路產品組合將使我們能夠提供更好的客戶體驗。我們打算透過精心策劃和引人注目的品種來推動前進的地點和我們的數位管道，擁有更好的庫存位置和適當的投資，以創造一個更受歡迎的環境和增強的服務。我們新任首席行銷長於12 月加入我們，正在跨團隊密切合作，使全方位接觸點與客戶期望保持一致，並為我們的所有溝通創建一個現代化的品牌平台，隨著時間的推移，還會有更多溝通平台。

As I shared earlier, we view fiscal 2024 as a transition and investment year and we expect to return Macy's, Inc. to consistent comp sales and EBITDA dollar growth beginning in 2025. Longer term, we aspire to have a compelling physical and digital portfolio in the strongest markets. We are one Macy's, Inc. and our future relies on our ability to offer customers the optionality to shop how, where, when and for what they desire.

正如我之前分享的那樣，我們將2024 財年視為過渡和投資年，我們預計梅西百貨公司(Macy's, Inc.) 從2025 年開始將實現穩定的銷售額和EBITDA 美元增長。從長遠來看，我們渴望在最強的市場。我們是梅西百貨公司的一員，我們的未來取決於我們為顧客提供選擇方式、地點、時間和購買商品的能力。

As Macy's rebuilds, our luxury nameplates, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury are poised for acceleration, which brings us to the second component of our Bold New Chapter, luxury growth. During my 10-year leading Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, we strengthened relationships with our customers and vendor partners. Both nameplates have been outperformers within our portfolio and are viewed as leaders in identifying up-and-coming trends and brands. They provide a mix of accessible and aspirational product, top-notch customer service and an elevated omnichannel shopping experience that's warm and inviting, but doesn't take itself too seriously. Over the next 3 years, we plan to take advantage of our leadership position to more aggressively grow our luxury nameplates. While cognizant of luxury brand headwinds with the aspirational customer stepping back, we believe Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury are uniquely positioned within the broader retail landscape.

隨著梅西百貨的重建，我們的奢侈品品牌 Bloomingdale's 和 Bluemercury 也準備好加速發展，這讓我們進入了大膽新篇章的第二個組成部分：奢侈品成長。在我領導 Bloomingdale's 和 Bluemercury 的 10 年期間，我們加強了與客戶和供應商合作夥伴的關係。這兩個品牌在我們的產品組合中都表現出色，被視為識別新興趨勢和品牌的領導者。他們提供了觸手可及、令人嚮往的產品、一流的客戶服務以及溫馨誘人但又不那麼嚴肅的全通路購物體驗。未來三年，我們計劃利用我們的領導地位更積極地發展我們的奢侈品牌。儘管我們認識到奢侈品牌面臨的逆風以及有抱負的顧客的退出，但我們相信 Bloomingdale's 和 Bluemercury 在更廣泛的零售領域具有獨特的地位。

Today, Bloomingdale's current foothold is predominantly coastal. The adage that fashion trends begin in L.A., New York or Miami, and then migrate no longer holds true. With the rapid growth of social media and recent population ships, the fashion playing field has leveled and psychographics have moved.

如今，布魯明代爾目前的立足點主要是沿海地區。 「時尚潮流始於洛杉磯、紐約或邁阿密，然後遷移」的說法不再成立。隨著社群媒體和最近人口流動的快速增長，時尚競爭環境變得平坦，心理統計也發生了變化。

Of the top 50 designated market areas in the U.S., the Bloomingdale's nameplate is physically only in 14. This morning, we're announcing the accelerated rollout of our small format Bloomingdale's, which we call Bloomies and our outlets. At the end of fiscal 2023, we operated just 33 Bloomingdale's, 3 Bloomies and 21 outlets, which we refer to collectively as the Bloomingdale's nameplate. Over the next 3 years, we plan to open a combined 15 Bloomies and outlets across new and existing markets. Bloomingdale's also has a strong digital presence, offering compelling content updated regularly in a highly curated marketplace. Currently, about 80% of Bloomingdale's digital sales are in markets where we have physical stores. We believe that entering new markets should only benefit the digital business further.

在美國前 50 個指定市場區域中，只有 14 個擁有 Bloomingdale 的實體店名。今天早上，我們宣布加速推出我們的小型 Bloomingdale's（我們稱之為 Bloomies 和我們的直營店）。截至 2023 財年末，我們只經營 33 家 Bloomingdale’s、3 家 Bloomies 和 21 家直營店，我們將其統稱為 Bloomingdale’s 品牌。未來 3 年，我們計劃在新市場和現有市場開設 15 家 Bloomies 和專賣店。布魯明戴爾百貨公司還擁有強大的數位影響力，在精心策劃的市場中提供定期更新的引人注目的內容。目前，Bloomingdale 約 80% 的數位銷售來自我們擁有實體店的市場。我們相信，進入新市場只會進一步使數位業務受益。

We have taken the time to prove out the Bloomies and Bloomingdale's outlet concept before committing capital to this accelerated rollout. We are doing the same at Bluemercury where we have the opportunity to be the fastest-growing luxury beauty retailer and own a greater piece of the approximately $90 billion North American beauty market. Customers love Bluemercury's elevated skincare, beauty, spa offerings and high-touch customer service. We operated 159 locations at the end of the fiscal year. Our latest remodels located in Bronxville, New York and New Caney, Connecticut have been well received and will serve as the foundation for the New Blue, which encompasses our total omni evolution, inclusive of updated branding.

在投入資金加速推出之前，我們已經花時間證明了 Bloomies 和 Bloomingdale 的直營店概念。我們在 Bluemercury 也在做同樣的事情，我們有機會成為成長最快的奢侈美容零售商，並在價值約 900 億美元的北美美容市場中佔有更大的份額。顧客喜歡 Bluemercury 的高級護膚、美容、水療產品和高品質的客戶服務。截至本財年末，我們經營 159 個地點。我們在紐約布朗克斯維爾和康乃狄克州新卡尼的最新改造受到了好評，並將成為 New Blue 的基礎，其中涵蓋了我們的全面發展，包括更新的品牌。

They'll have an expanded assortment, elevated aesthetics, centralized customer service hubs, integrated spa facilities and technology to support relationship selling. Over the next 3 years, we anticipate at least 30 Bluemercury store openings and remodeling roughly 30 others. Learnings from these stores will guide long-term expansion plans. Similar to other nameplates, digital remains a meaningful opportunity for Bluemercury.

他們將擁有更多的品種、更高的美學、集中的客戶服務中心、整合的水療設施和技術來支援關係銷售。未來 3 年，我們預計將開設至少 30 家 Bluemercury 商店，並改建約 30 家其他商店。從這些商店中汲取的經驗教訓將指導長期擴張計劃。與其他品牌類似，數位化對於 Bluemercury 來說仍然是一個有意義的機會。

To close out the discussion on luxury, we have a high degree of confidence in the Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury nameplates, which are healthy, accretive and have strong investment profiles. Now is the time to capitalize on this momentum, and we expect these investments that we are making will fuel sales growth and margin expansion.

最後，我們對 Bloomingdale's 和 Bluemercury 品牌充滿信心，它們健康、增值且具有強大的投資前景。現在是利用這一勢頭的時候了，我們預計我們正在進行的這些投資將推動銷售成長和利潤率擴張。

Turning to the third and final component of our Bold New Chapter Strategy, simplifying and modernizing end-to-end operations. We are committed to delivering a more efficient operating model that better serves our customers. Over the next 3 years, we have plans to rationalize and monetize our supply chain asset portfolio, streamline fulfillment, improved inventory planning and allocation and deliver a more scalable technology platform. A modern operation is our objective throughout the company, aligning to the anticipated future omni demand provides synergistic cost savings and allows us to improve our ways of working. To support that, in January, we reduced our corporate workforce by 13%. We took out layers of management, consolidated positions and offshore selected roles. At the same time, we remain focused on hiring the best talent to support our view of the future.

轉向我們大膽新篇章策略的第三個也是最後一個組成部分，即簡化和現代化端到端運作。我們致力於提供更有效率的營運模式，更好地為客戶服務。在接下來的三年裡，我們計劃對我們的供應鏈資產組合進行合理化和貨幣化，簡化履行，改進庫存規劃和分配，並提供更具可擴展性的技術平台。現代化營運是我們整個公司的目標，與預期的未來全方位需求保持一致，提供協同成本節約，並使我們能夠改善我們的工作方式。為了支持這一點，我們在一月份將公司員工人數減少了 13%。我們取消了管理階層、合併職位以及離岸選定的角色。同時，我們仍然致力於聘請最優秀的人才來支持我們對未來的看法。

Adrian is leading the end-to-end operations work. He will now provide more detail before discussing our fourth quarter results and forward outlook. Adrian?

Adrian 負責領導端到端營運工作。現在，他將在討論我們第四季度的業績和前瞻性展望之前提供更多細節。阿德里安？

Thank you, Tony, and good morning, everyone. Over the past several years, we've taken proactive steps to fortify our operations, including strengthening our balance sheet, managing expenses and tightening inventory controls. This provides the foundation for our Bold New Chapter, which is designed to return Macy's, Inc. to sustainable, profitable growth, provide meaningful free cash flow generation and enhance shareholder value. Our new strategy gives us the opportunity to simplify and modernize our supply chain, planning and allocation and technology operations, which should drive improved inventory productivity and ultimately, better sales. Efforts should result in about $100 million of cost savings this fiscal year, an increase to an annual run rate savings of approximately $235 million by 2026.

謝謝你，托尼，大家早安。在過去的幾年裡，我們採取了積極主動的措施來加強我們的運營，包括加強我們的資產負債表、管理費用和加強庫存控制。這為我們的大膽新篇章奠定了基礎，該篇章旨在使梅西百貨公司恢復可持續的盈利增長，提供有意義的自由現金流生成並提高股東價值。我們的新策略使我們有機會簡化和現代化我們的供應鏈、規劃和分配以及技術運營，這將推動提高庫存效率，並最終提高銷售。透過努力，本財年可節省約 1 億美元的成本，到 2026 年，年運行率節省將增加約 2.35 億美元。

Savings will fund the investments necessary to support our strategy, offset inflationary cost pressures and constrained fulfillment expense and SG&A dollar growth and are factored in our near and longer-term outlook. For supply chain, we should benefit from consolidating capacity as we close centers with higher processing costs and monetize select assets. In addition, we plan to further reduce fulfillment costs by increasing automation across several facilities. Our efforts should result in faster and more reliable deliveries, greater efficiencies and a rightsized distribution center network. The inventory planning and allocation changes underway should help improve how we flow products from vendors to customers.

節省的資金將為支持我們的策略所需的投資提供資金，抵消通貨膨脹的成本壓力以及受限的履行費用和銷售、一般行政費用的增長，並在我們的近期和長期前景中得到考慮。對於供應鏈來說，我們應該從整合產能中受益，因為我們關閉了加工成本較高的中心，並將精選資產貨幣化。此外，我們計劃透過提高多個設施的自動化程度來進一步降低履行成本。我們的努力應該帶來更快、更可靠的交付、更高的效率和合理規模的配送中心網路。正在進行的庫存規劃和分配變更應該有助於改善我們將產品從供應商流向客戶的方式。

They should provide quick replenishment in stores and fulfillment centers, reduce split shipments and lead to higher in stocks, particularly for best-selling items. We also plan to streamline and automate business processes. We will leverage this across the Macy's Inc. portfolio. These efforts are already underway and encompass reducing dependency on expensive software and hardware by consolidating our vendor base simplifying our application portfolio by moving over 90% from on-premise to the cloud and eliminating mainframe applications, which reduces expensive consumption.

他們應該在商店和履行中心提供快速補貨，減少分批發貨並導致庫存增加，特別是對於暢銷商品。我們還計劃簡化和自動化業務流程。我們將在梅西百貨公司的產品組合中利用這一點。這些努力已經在進行中，包括透過鞏固我們的供應商基礎來減少對昂貴軟體和硬體的依賴，透過將90% 以上從本地遷移到雲端來簡化我們的應用程式組合，並消除大型主機應用程序，從而減少昂貴的消耗。

Embedded in our end-to-end operations is AI, which helps speed up decision-making through access to real-time data and tools. As an organization, we continue to build our data science and AI capabilities in areas such as forecasting, inventory allocation, workload optimization and pricing. We are also experimenting with generated AI that should help improve customer and colleague experiences.

人工智慧嵌入到我們的端到端營運中，它透過存取即時數據和工具來幫助加快決策速度。作為一個組織，我們繼續在預測、庫存分配、工作負載優化和定價等領域建立資料科學和人工智慧能力。我們也正在嘗試產生人工智慧，這應該有助於改善客戶和同事的體驗。

With that, let's turn to our fourth quarter results. Let's start with omnichannel sales. Net sales of $8.12 billion were down 1.7% to last year with comparable owned plus licensed sales down 4.2%. The 53rd week contributed $252 million to net sales. For the quarter, owned AUR rose 5.5%, driven primarily by changes in product and category mix. Other revenue, which is comprised of net credit card revenues and Macy's Media Network was $255 million, down 20% from the prior year and better than expectations. Parsing that out, Credit card revenues decreased 26% from prior year to $195 million and Macy's Media Network rose 5% to $60 million. By nameplate, Macy's net sales declined 2.5% and comparable sales declined 4.7% on an owned plus licensed basis. Go-forward locations owned plus licensed comparable sales outperformed non-go-forward by about 500 basis points. Both Backstage store within stores and off-mall small formats continue to outperform full-line stores.

接下來，讓我們來看看第四季的業績。讓我們從全通路銷售開始。淨銷售額為 81.2 億美元，比去年下降 1.7%，可比自有銷售額和授權銷售額下降 4.2%。第 53 週貢獻了 2.52 億美元的淨銷售額。本季度，自有 AUR 上漲 5.5%，主要是由於產品和類別組合的變化。其他收入（包括信用卡淨收入和梅西百貨媒體網路收入）為 2.55 億美元，比上年下降 20%，優於預期。考慮到這一點，信用卡收入較上年下降 26% 至 1.95 億美元，而梅西百貨媒體網路收入則增加 5% 至 6,000 萬美元。從銘牌上看，梅西百貨的淨銷售額下降了 2.5%，自有加許可的可比銷售額下降了 4.7%。擁有的前進地點加上許可證的可比銷售額比未前進的地點高出約 500 個基點。店內 Backstage 店和商場外的小型店的表現均繼續優於全線商店。

Within Private Brands, INC outperformed the Macy's Women's Apparel segment on a year-over-year basis and On 34th is now one of our top 10 ready-to-wear brands. And Marketplace GMV on a 13-week basis grew by 145% from last quarter. At Bloomingdale's, net sales were up 3.5% and comparable sales were down 1.6% on an owned plus licensed basis. Marketplace GMV on a 13-week basis grew by roughly 770% on a sequential basis. Bluemercury posted its 12th consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth with net sales up 7.8% and comparable sales up 2.3%.

在自有品牌中，INC 的表現較去年同期優於梅西百貨女裝細分市場，On 34th 現已成為我們十大成衣品牌之一。 13 週的 Marketplace GMV 較上季成長了 145%。 Bloomingdale's 的淨銷售額成長了 3.5%，而自有加授權的可比較銷售額則下降了 1.6%。 13 週市場 GMV 環比成長約 770%。 Bluemercury 公佈可比銷售額連續第 12 季成長，淨銷售額成長 7.8%，可比銷售額成長 2.3%。

Turning to gross margin. Our fourth quarter gross margin rate was well ahead of expectations rising 340 basis points to 37.5%. Merchandise margin was up 260 basis points to last year. We were disciplined in our approach to markdowns and clearance. Delivery expense as a percent of sales improved 80 basis points as better inventory allocation led to reductions in packages per order and delivery distance.

轉向毛利率。我們第四季的毛利率遠超預期，上升 340 個基點至 37.5%。商品利潤率比去年增加了 260 個基點。我們在降價和清倉方面遵守紀律。配送費用佔銷售額的百分比增加了 80 個基點，因為更好的庫存分配導致每個訂單的包裹數量和配送距離減少。

Now let's discuss inventory productivity. Year-end inventories were up 2% to last year and down 16% to 2019, reflecting our desire to own more seasonally appropriate transitional product. We had more open to buy than the prior quarter and comparable period last year with improved composition, freshness and volume.

現在我們來討論一下庫存生產力。年末庫存比去年增長 2%，比 2019 年下降 16%，反映出我們希望擁有更適合季節的過渡產品。與上一季和去年同期相比，我們有更多的開放購買機會，成分、新鮮度和數量都有所改善。

Next, expense discipline. SG&A expense was $2.4 billion, down 2% from the prior year, driven by ongoing expense management, partially offset by investments in our business. As a percent of total revenue, SG&A was 28.7%, 10 basis points higher than last year, driven by the decline in total revenue. Adjusted diluted EPS was $2.45 versus $1.88 in the prior year. In the fourth quarter, we recognized approximately $1 billion of impairment, restructuring and other costs, which were excluded from adjusted diluted EPS. Included in the $1 billion was roughly a $950 million noncash asset impairment charge, primarily related to the approximately 150 locations planned for closure over the next 3 years and the remaining associated with corporate assets.

其次，費用紀律。 SG&A 費用為 24 億美元，比上年下降 2%，這主要得益於持續的費用管理，但部分被我們業務的投資所抵消。由於總收入下降，SG&A 佔總收入的百分比為 28.7%，比去年高出 10 個基點。調整後攤薄每股收益為 2.45 美元，前一年為 1.88 美元。第四季度，我們確認了約 10 億美元的減損、重組和其他成本，這些成本不包括在調整後的稀釋每股收益中。 10 億美元中包括約 9.5 億美元的非現金資產減損費用，主要與計劃在未來 3 年內關閉的約 150 個地點以及其餘與公司資產相關的地點有關。

Turning to cash and capital allocation. We ended the year with over $1 billion of cash in our balance sheet. We generated $1.3 billion of operating cash flow and had $993 million of capital expenditures. Free cash flow, inclusive of proceeds from real estate sales with an inflow of $398 million, and we paid $181 million in dividends.

轉向現金和資本配置。年底，我們的資產負債表上有超過 10 億美元的現金。我們產生了 13 億美元的營運現金流，資本支出為 9.93 億美元。自由現金流，包括流入 3.98 億美元的房地產銷售收益，我們支付了 1.81 億美元的股息。

Now turning to our fiscal 2024 outlook. As a reminder, we view 2024 as a transition and investment year for Macy's Inc. The improvements in First 50, small format, digital and luxury are not expected to offset the anticipated deceleration in non-go-forward location performance as we limit investments in these stores. Before we get into the details of our outlook, there are several important elements to consider, including that we are renaming owned plus licensed sales comp or O+L, to owned plus licensed plus marketplace or O+L+M. Marketplace has been included in O+L results since its introduction, so there is no historical restatement. Going forward, we will provide relative performance of Macy's nameplate sales performance for go-forward versus non-go-forward stores. In addition, Macy's nameplate has fully converted to cost accounting. We do not expect any material financial impact as a result of this transition.

現在轉向我們的 2024 財年展望。提醒一下，我們將2024 年視為梅西百貨(Macy's Inc.) 的轉型和投資年。First 50、小型、數位和奢侈品方面的改進預計不會抵消非前進位置業績的預期減速，因為我們限制了以下領域的投資：這些商店。在詳細介紹我們的前景之前，有幾個重要因素需要考慮，包括我們將自有加許可銷售公司或 O+L 重新命名為自有加許可加市場或 O+L+M。 Marketplace 自引入以來就已包含在 O+L 業績中，因此沒有歷史重述。展望未來，我們將提供梅西百貨銘牌銷售業績的前進商店與非前進商店的相對錶現。此外，梅西百貨的銘牌已全面轉為成本計算。我們預計這一轉變不會產生任何重大的財務影響。

And lastly, the proposed credit card late fee ruling is not embedded in our outlook. We will incorporate if and when the ruling is finalized and the timing of implementation and changes are known.

最後，擬議的信用卡滯納金裁決並未納入我們的前景中。如果裁決最終確定，且執行和變更的時間已知，我們將予以納入。

With that, let's turn to our annual guidance for fiscal 2024. Please note the heightened clearance markdowns taken in the second quarter of last year on seasonal products are not expected to be repeated and all asset sale gains are anticipated to occur in the fourth quarter. With that, we expect net sales of $22.2 billion to $22.9 billion. We are modeling a 1% to 4% decline in Macy's Inc. net sales with the disparity between the performance of go-forward and non-go-forward locations widening. We expect Macy's Inc. O+L+M comp sales, inclusive of non-go-forward locations and digital to be down approximately 1.5% to up approximately 1.5%. Macy's nameplate, excluding non-go-forward locations, comparable O+L+M sales to be down 1% to up 2.5% and luxury nameplates comparable O+L+M sales to be about flat to up 2.5%. We expect total revenues of $22.9 billion to $23.6 billion, with other revenue at about 2.9% of net sales.

接下來，讓我們轉向 2024 財年的年度指引。請注意，去年第二季對季節性產品採取的大幅降價預計不會重複，所有資產銷售收益預計將在第四季度出現。據此，我們預計淨銷售額將達到 222 億美元至 229 億美元。我們預計梅西百貨公司的淨銷售額將下降 1% 到 4%，因為前進和非前進地點之間的業績差距正在擴大。我們預計梅西百貨 (Macy's Inc.) 的 O+L+M 綜合銷售額（包括非前進門市和數位店）將下降約 1.5% 至成長約 1.5%。梅西百貨（不包括非前進門市）的可比 O+L+M 銷售額將下降 1% 至成長 2.5%，奢侈品牌可比 O+L+M 銷售額將持平至成長 2.5%。我們預計總收入為 229 億美元至 236 億美元，其他收入約佔淨銷售額的 2.9%。

We expect credit card revenues, excluding any impact for the proposed late fee ruling to be approximately 74% of other revenue or about $475 million to $490 million compared to 80% or $619 million last year. We also expect gross margin rate as a percent of net sales to be 39.2% to 39.5%, benefiting from ongoing inventory controls, higher full price sell-throughs, lower promotions and private brand expansion. SG&A to be 36.6% to 36.8% of total revenue. With our heightened focus on experience, we are allocating spend to customer-facing investments designed to fuel future sales growth across the portfolio. And we expect full year adjusted EBITDA as a percent of total revenue of 8.5% to 8.9%.

我們預計信用卡收入（不包括擬議的滯納金裁決的影響）將佔其他收入的約 74%，即 4.75 億至 4.9 億美元，而去年這一比例為 80%，即 6.19 億美元。我們也預期毛利率佔淨銷售額的百分比將為 39.2% 至 39.5%，受益於持續的庫存控制、更高的全價銷售量、更少的促銷活動和自有品牌擴張。 SG&A 佔總營收的 36.6% 至 36.8%。隨著我們對體驗的高度重視，我們將支出分配給面向客戶的投資，旨在推動整個產品組合未來的銷售成長。我們預計全年調整後 EBITDA 佔總營收的百分比為 8.5% 至 8.9%。

We are also planning a reduction in overall capital spend to approximately $875 million. After interest and taxes, we expect adjusted diluted EPS of $2.45 to $2.85, which does not assume any share repurchases. And we anticipate $130 million to $150 million of asset sale proceeds and $90 million to $115 million of asset sale gains, primarily reflecting the at least 50 plant closures this year. We will continue to deploy capital prudently to ensure financial flexibility and invest in long-term profitable growth.

我們還計劃將總資本支出減少至約 8.75 億美元。扣除利息和稅項後，我們預計調整後的攤薄每股收益為 2.45 美元至 2.85 美元，其中不考慮任何股票回購。我們預計資產出售收益為 1.3 億至 1.5 億美元，資產出售收益為 9,000 萬至 1.15 億美元，主要反映了今年至少 50 家工廠的關閉。我們將繼續審慎配置資本，確保財務靈活性並投資於長期獲利成長。

For the first quarter of 2024, we expect net sales of $4.72 billion to $4.87 billion. As a reminder, we are anniversarying a change in our Macy's return policy, which benefited the first quarter of 2023 by approximately $80 million relative to the current quarter. Total revenues of $4.85 billion to $5 billion with other revenue at about 3% of net sales. We expect credit card revenues, excluding any impact for the proposed late fee ruling to be approximately 77% of other revenue or about $110 million compared to 85% or $162 million last year. We expect gross margin rate to be down no more than 40 basis points to last year, reflecting a normalized clearance and promotional cycle compared to the first quarter of last year when we did not have enough spring transitional product. Adjusted EPS to be between $0.10 and $0.16 which assumes no asset sale gains. Please note, last year's change in return policy benefited EPS by $0.07 in the first quarter relative to the current quarter.

2024 年第一季度，我們預計淨銷售額為 47.2 億美元至 48.7 億美元。謹此提醒，我們正在慶祝梅西百貨退貨政策的變更，該政策為 2023 年第一季帶來的收益較本季增加了約 8,000 萬美元。總收入為 48.5 億至 50 億美元，其他收入約佔淨銷售額的 3%。我們預計信用卡收入（不包括擬議的滯納金裁決的影響）將佔其他收入的約 77%，即 1.1 億美元，而去年這一比例為 85%，即 1.62 億美元。我們預期毛利率較去年下降不超過40個基點，反映出與去年第一季我們沒有足夠的春季過渡產品相比，清倉和促銷週期正常化。假設資產出售沒有收益，調整後每股收益在 0.10 美元至 0.16 美元之間。請注意，去年退貨政策的變化使第一季每股收益較本季增加了 0.07 美元。

And finally, end of quarter inventories to be relatively flat to last year.

最後，季末庫存與去年同期相對持平。

Beginning in fiscal 2025 under our Bold New Chapter Strategy, we expect Macy's, Inc. inclusive of the remaining non-go-forward locations that have not yet closed to achieve annual O+L+M comp sales growth in the low single-digit range. Annual SG&A dollar growth below the historic rate of inflation of 2% to 3%. Annual adjusted EBITDA dollar growth in the mid-single-digit range. Capital spend to be below 2024 levels as we remain disciplined with our uses of capital and free cash flow to return to pre-pandemic levels, allowing us to provide meaningful value for our shareholders.

從 2025 財年開始，根據我們的大膽新篇章策略，我們預計梅西百貨公司（包括尚未關閉的剩餘非前進門市）將實現年度 O+L+M 銷售額增長在低個位數範圍內。年度 SG&A 美元成長率低於 2% 至 3% 的歷史通膨率。年度調整後 EBITDA 美元成長率在中個位數範圍內。資本支出將低於 2024 年的水平，因為我們仍然嚴格控制資本和自由現金流的使用，以恢復到疫情前的水平，從而使我們能夠為股東提供有意義的價值。

In summary, we ended fiscal 2023 with momentum and in a position of financial strength with over $1 billion of cash on our balance sheet. We entered this year committed to making the tough decisions necessary to return to sustainable and profitable sales growth. While 2024 is a transition and investment year, our plan for future value creation is clear. We have the wherewithal to invest in growth, and the team to pursue the transformative actions required to strengthen Macy's, Inc. We are confident this will result in top and bottom line expansion, meaningful cash flow generation and shareholder value creation. We will keep you updated on our progress against the financial and operational goals we set out today.

總之，我們在 2023 財年結束時勢頭強勁，財務實力雄厚，資產負債表上有超過 10 億美元的現金。今年我們致力於做出必要的艱難決定，以恢復可持續和有利可圖的銷售成長。雖然 2024 年是轉型年和投資年，但我們對未來價值創造的計畫是明確的。我們有足夠的資金來投資成長，也有團隊來採取必要的變革行動來加強梅西百貨公司的實力。我們相信，這將帶來營收和利潤的擴張、有意義的現金流產生和股東價值創造。我們將隨時向您通報我們今天所製定的財務和營運目標的進度。

With that, I would like to hand it back over to Tony.

說到這裡，我想把它交還給東尼。

Thanks, Adrian. Let me briefly touch on the announcement that Arkhouse Management has nominated 9 individuals to stand for election to the Macy's Inc. Board of Directors at our Annual 2024 meeting. As we have shared, our Board is evaluating these candidates and will present it's recommendation in our proxy statement. These nominations followed the December 1, 2023 unsolicited nonbinding proposal from Arkhouse and Brigade and for additional details, we refer you to the 2 press releases that we have already issued on this matter. As the purpose of today's call is to discuss our financial results and outlook as well as our Bold New Chapter Strategy, we ask that you keep your questions and comments focused here.

謝謝，阿德里安。讓我簡單介紹一下 Arkhouse Management 已提名 9 名個人在 2024 年年度會議上競選梅西百貨 (Macy's Inc.) 董事會成員的公告。正如我們所分享的，我們的董事會正在評估這些候選人，並將在我們的委託書中提出其建議。這些提名是在 Arkhouse 和 Brigade 於 2023 年 12 月 1 日主動提出的非約束性提案之後進行的，有關更多詳細信息，請參閱我們已經就此事發布的 2 份新聞稿。由於今天電話會議的目的是討論我們的財務表現和前景以及我們大膽的新篇章策略，因此我們要求您將問題和評論集中在此處。

Before turning to Q&A, I'd like to end with this. Evolution is in our DNA. In 1858, R.H. Macy opened a Dry Goods store on 14th Street and Sixth Avenue. In 1902, he created a new shopping district with Herald Square, and we've been a cultural touch point ever since. We are leaders not followers. While we have missed the mark in some years, we're self-aware and have developed a bold strategy to deliver a better experience for our customers. As an organization, we are fully aligned on returning Macy's, Inc. to top and bottom line growth accelerating free cash flow generation and unlocking shareholder value. We have the team in place to execute.

在開始問答之前，我想以此結束。進化存在於我們的 DNA 中。 1858 年，R.H. 梅西百貨 (R.H. Macy) 在第 14 街和第六大道交叉口開設了一家乾貨店。 1902 年，他創建了一個新的購物區先驅廣場，從那時起我們就成為了一個文化接觸點。我們是領導者而不是追隨者。雖然我們多年來未能實現目標，但我們有自我意識，並制定了大膽的策略，為客戶提供更好的體驗。作為一個組織，我們完全同意梅西百貨公司恢復營收和利潤成長，加速自由現金流的產生並釋放股東價值。我們有團隊來執行。

Our senior leaders are a powerful group recently hired external and internal talent with years of institutional knowledge. This team, with their diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, are emblematic of our vision for the new modern Macy's, Inc. With Adrian and I, they are leading our people and evolving our culture to bring our vision to reality. As we embark on our pivotal new chapter, we are confident that we are building a stronger Macy's, Inc. that is well positioned to thrive and create meaningful value for all of our stakeholders.

我們的高階領導者是一個強大的團隊，最近聘請了具有多年機構知識的外部和內部人才。這個團隊擁有不同的背景和觀點，象徵著我們對新的現代梅西百貨公司的願景。與阿德里安和我一起，他們正在領導我們的員工並發展我們的文化，以將我們的願景變為現實。當我們開啟關鍵的新篇章時，我們相信我們正在建立一個更強大的梅西百貨公司，它處於有利地位，能夠蓬勃發展並為所有利益相關者創造有意義的價值。

With that, operator, we are ready for questions.

接線員，我們已經準備好回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Matthew Boss with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自摩根大通的 Matthew Boss。

So Tony, on the Bold New Strategy -- the Bold New Chapter Strategy, could you walk through near-term actions that you're prioritizing to strengthen the Macy's nameplate and just elaborate on the competitive advantage you see from executing your portfolio company approach multi-year? And then for Adrian, could you just help speak to sales trends post holiday, what you're seeing out there? And how best to think about comps in the first half versus back half of the year?

那麼，東尼，關於大膽的新策略——大膽的新篇章策略，您能否介紹一下您為加強梅西百貨品牌而優先考慮的近期行動，並詳細說明您在執行投資組合公司方法中看到的競爭優勢-年？那麼阿德里安（Adrian），您能幫忙談談假期後的銷售趨勢嗎？您看到了什麼？如何最好地考慮上半年和下半年的比較？

Thanks, Matt. The focus on the Macy's nameplate is threefold. One is to address the underproductive assets within the franchise. Hopefully, that will be about 50 assets monetized this year. If you recall from the comments in the opening remarks, there's a big delta in sales performance between the go-forward fleet and the non-go-forward fleet on both comp store sales and 4-wall EBITDA.

謝謝，馬特。梅西百貨的銘牌有三個重點。一是解決特許經營權內生產力低下的資產。希望今年能有約 50 項資產貨幣化。如果您還記得開場白中的評論，那麼前進車隊和非前進車隊之間的銷售業績在比較商店銷售和 4 牆 EBITDA 方面都有很大的差異。

In terms of actions that we're taking, we have focused ourselves on the First 50 to make sure that those stores are emblematic of what the future of Macy's brand will be, and that's elevated merchandise assortments, more powerful visual presentations, additional staffing in areas like women's shoes and ready-to-wear. The other piece, I would say, is ensuring that our digital experience is more consistent. It's providing product pools that allow you to have selection and choice without fatigue and making sure that there's a level of inspiration throughout the brand touch points with the consumer. And finally, it's leaning into the breadth of our portfolio. So it's opening stores while we're closing stores, looking at Macy's small-format opportunities, expanding the reach of Bloomingdale's and leaning into the growth opportunity in Bluemercury.

就我們正在採取的行動而言，我們將重點放在前 50 家商店上，以確保這些商店能夠象徵梅西百貨品牌的未來，即提升商品種類、更強大的視覺展示、增加人員配備女鞋和成衣等領域。我想說的另一件事是確保我們的數位體驗更加一致。它提供的產品池讓您可以毫無疲勞地進行選擇，並確保在整個品牌與消費者的接觸點上有一定程度的靈感。最後，它傾向於我們產品組合的廣度。因此，我們在關閉商店的同時開設商店，尋找梅西百貨的小型機會，擴大布魯明戴爾百貨的覆蓋範圍，並抓住 Bluemercury 的成長機會。

Adrian?

阿德里安？

In terms of the sales trend, let me frame it this way. When we think about our performance in the fourth quarter, our sales were very much in line with our expectations. And when we think about some of the testing and investment that we did in the fourth quarter, we believe that brings us into momentum into this transition and investment year of 2024. As we think about the first quarter, there are a few things that I think is important to note. The first is that there's about an $80 million benefit last year from our return policy change from 90 days to 30 days. So we're lapping that this year in terms of first quarter.

就銷售趨勢而言，我這樣說一下。當我們考慮第四季度的業績時，我們的銷售額非常符合我們的預期。當我們思考我們在第四季度所做的一些測試和投資時，我們相信這為我們進入 2024 年的轉型和投資年帶來了動力。當我們思考第一季時，我認為有一些事情認為重要的是要注意。首先，去年我們將退貨政策從 90 天改為 30 天，帶來了約 8,000 萬美元的收益。因此，我們今年第一季的表現就是如此。

From a bottom line standpoint, just reiterate that there aren't any asset sale gains expected in the first quarter, but we had asset sales gains in the first quarter of last year. As we think about the second quarter, we will not -- we do not plan to repeat the elevated levels of clearance markdowns that we had last year. So from that perspective, we will not be lapping that. But from a sales standpoint, we're making the investments necessary for growth. We've done a number of testing coming out of last year that have been scaled is 2022 and the First 50, which gives us confidence and conviction of the traction around the top line sales that we actually have provided in our guidance. The key thing to keep in mind is as we think about 2025, we expect to get back to low single-digit comp sales growth.

從利潤的角度來看，重申一下，預計第一季不會出現任何資產出售收益，但我們在去年第一季實現了資產出售收益。當我們考慮第二季度時，我們不會——我們不打算重複去年的高水準清倉降價。因此，從這個角度來看，我們不會對此表示歡迎。但從銷售的角度來看，我們正在進行成長所需的投資。我們從去年開始就進行了多項測試，這些測試的規模已擴大到 2022 年和前 50 名，這讓我們對我們在指導中實際提供的營收牽引力充滿信心和信念。需要記住的關鍵一點是，當我們考慮 2025 年時，我們預計將恢復到較低的個位數銷售成長率。

In the fourth quarter, when we tested our assortment changes, we saw a 350 basis point improvement in trend in those stores. Our staffing changes also showed and yielded favorable results, and we expect to have more traction on our Bold New Strategy or Bold New Chapter Strategy initiatives as we progress through the year in stores, in digital and marketing in different parts of our business. Quarter-to-date, we're not providing any update on quarter-to-date performance. We have a lot of the quarter still ahead of us. We're reporting a little bit earlier this year than we did last year and prior years. So we look forward to sharing with you our updated view on first quarter later in the year.

在第四季度，當我們測試品種變化時，我們發現這些商店的趨勢改善了 350 個基點。我們的人員配置變動也顯示並產生了良好的結果，隨著我們在商店、數位和行銷等不同業務領域的進展，我們預計我們的「大膽新策略」或「大膽新篇章策略」計劃將獲得更大的吸引力。到目前為止，我們沒有提供任何有關本季至今業績的更新。本季還有很多工作要做。我們今年的報告比去年和往年更早。因此，我們期待在今年稍後與您分享我們對第一季的最新看法。

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

我們的下一個問題來自 Oliver Chen 和 TD Cowen 的對話。

As we think about the guidance on the negative to positive comp, what are key factors that could drive upside or downside as you monitor a fairly volatile environment? And Adrian, what's incorporated for merchandise margin? You've done a very good job managing inventories tightly and merchandise margin, would love to know on the guidance, what you're thinking. And then as we look forward to follow up, there's a lot of things happening quite positively with marketplace and advertising as well as luxury as you think about Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury and seeing the momentum there. How do we dimensionalize what -- how those factors will contribute to sales and margins? And if they can help how they'll contribute to both of those to generate more consistently positive revenue growth?

當我們考慮從負面到正面的比較的指導時，當您監控相當不穩定的環境時，哪些關鍵因素可能會推動上行或下行？ Adrian，商品利潤包含哪些內容？您在嚴格管理庫存和商品利潤方面做得非常好，很想知道您的想法。然後，當我們期待跟進時，當你想到 Bloomingdale's 和 Bluemercury 並看到那裡的勢頭時，市場、廣告以及奢侈品方面發生了很多積極的事情。我們如何衡量這些因素將如何影響銷售和利潤？如果他們能夠幫助他們如何為這兩個方面做出貢獻，以產生更持續的正收入成長？

Thanks, Oliver. I'll take the first piece of it. So I think in terms of the range on our sales forecast, we have a lot of newness in the spring season, whether that be the composition of our inventory in the first quarter, more seasonally appropriate, the right mix of both newness as well as transitional product. I think it's the lapping of the expansion of Nike. So we were not up against Nike until the third quarter of this year. It's the introduction of Under Armour into more stores. I think it's the -- being up against less exiting of the private brand portfolio and the full year of On 34th and the reimagination of INC. So I think that from within the Macy's construct on both private brand and new market brands, we feel like we're entering 2024 with more upside and the headwinds come down a little bit.

謝謝，奧利佛。我要拿第一塊。因此，我認為就我們的銷售預測範圍而言，我們在春季有很多新產品，無論是第一季的庫存組成，還是更適合季節，新產品和新產品的正確組合過渡產品。我認為這是耐吉擴張的一圈。所以直到今年第三季我們才與耐吉對抗。這是將 Under Armour 引入更多商店。我認為這是 - 面對自有品牌組合的退出以及 On 34th 的全年和 INC 的重新構想。所以我認為，從梅西百貨對自有品牌和新市場品牌的構建來看，我們覺得進入2024年，我們將迎來更多的上漲空間，而阻力也會減弱。

As it relates to the contribution of Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, they're clearly smaller parts of our portfolio today. They have ample opportunity for growth. Both are leaders within their categories. The beauty market is obviously far bigger than our fair share today. And Bloomingdale's is coming off of several years of good performance and has the opportunity to capitalize on the disruption in the marketplace. They are not solely a luxury brand, which means they have growth potential across a number of different categories with a very loyal multi-generational customer.

由於它與 Bloomingdale's 和 Bluemercury 的貢獻有關，因此它們顯然是我們今天投資組合中較小的部分。他們有充足的成長機會。兩者都是各自類別中的領導者。美容市場顯然遠大於我們今天的公平份額。布魯明戴爾百貨公司經歷了幾年的良好業績，並有機會利用市場的混亂。它們不僅僅是一個奢侈品牌，這意味著它們在多個不同類別中都具有成長潛力，擁有非常忠誠的多代客戶。

Oliver, it's great to be with you this morning. Let me speak to your comment around merchandise margin and gross margin. We've been very disciplined on inventory management over the years, and that continues to serve us quite well. With the 340 basis point improvement over last year in the fourth quarter merchandise margin, it's a combination of managing our inventory well and we've talked a lot about volume, about freshness and about composition, but also it's about managing our gross margin expense appropriately like delivery expense. We spoke to a number of the initiatives that we're doing as we look at our end-to-end operations.

奧利弗，很高興今天早上和你在一起。讓我談談您對商品利潤率和毛利率的評論。多年來，我們在庫存管理方面一直非常嚴格，這仍然對我們很有幫助。第四季的商品利潤率比去年提高了340 個基點，這與我們良好的庫存管理相結合，我們已經討論了很多關於數量、新鮮度和成分的問題，但也與適當管理我們的毛利率費用有關例如送貨費用。我們在審視端到端營運時談到了我們正在採取的一些舉措。

And what you see with the 80 basis point improvement in delivery expense, it's really around better allocation and simplifying our fulfillment processes, so we're benefiting from that. As we continue to think about these disciplines going forward, I'm really excited about what it means on the cost accounting. We are now fully on cost accounting. From an inventory management standpoint, we're now able to focus our energies less on markdown management, but much more so on the demand and selling of our products more than ever before. From a margin standpoint by having SKU level profitability, we can make really good decisions about the SKUs we keep versus the SKUs we edit, and for the SKUs we keep, what's the most profitable subchannel to place it? Should it be owned in our network? Should it be licensed or should it be marketplace?

您所看到的交付費用提高了 80 個基點，這實際上是為了更好的分配和簡化我們的履行流程，所以我們正在從中受益。當我們繼續思考這些學科的發展時，我對它對成本會計的意義感到非常興奮。我們現在完全進行成本核算。從庫存管理的角度來看，我們現在能夠將精力更少地集中在降價管理上，而是比以往更專注於產品的需求和銷售。從利潤的角度來看，透過擁有SKU 水準的獲利能力，我們可以對我們保留的SKU 與我們編輯的SKU 做出非常好的決策，對於我們保留的SKU，放置它最有利可圖的子管道是什麼？它應該屬於我們的網路嗎？應該獲得許可還是進入市場？

And then the third piece is just the cultural change that Tony and I talked a lot about shifting from -- away from a focus of markdown management to really selling and serving the customer well. So we're very, very pleased with that. When we think about marketplace, we're excited about it from 2 dimensions. One is just the customer experience, broader assortment, great style, edited selection, but also again, from a profit pool standpoint, being able to have that additional flexibility and that additional dimension of carrying assortment that may be more profitable for us on marketplace versus in our own distribution channel. So merchandise margin, gross margin will continue to be a focus for us, and we're excited about the additional initiatives we plan to bring online within the operations of the organization across the portfolio for the next several years.

第三部分是托尼和我經常談論的文化變革——從降價管理的重點轉向真正的銷售和服務客戶。所以我們對此非常非常滿意。當我們思考市場時，我們會從兩個維度對它感到興奮。一是客戶體驗、更廣泛的品種、出色的風格、經過編輯的選擇，但同樣，從利潤池的角度來看，能夠擁有額外的靈活性和攜帶品種的額外維度，這可能對我們在市場上比在市場上更有利可圖在我們自己的分銷管道中。因此，商品利潤率、毛利率將繼續成為我們關注的焦點，我們對計劃在未來幾年在整個投資組合的組織運營中實施的其他舉措感到興奮。

Our next question comes from the line of Brooke Roach with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自布魯克·羅奇（Brooke Roach）與高盛的對話。

I was hoping you could provide a little bit more context on the plan to close the 150 Macy's stores and invest in the First 50. What actions are you taking to protect the e-commerce sales and retain customers that may be impacted by these closures? And within the First 50, can you speak to how this plan compares to previous top [door] strategies such as the Growth 50 strategy, which we saw a few years ago?

我希望您能提供更多有關關閉150 家梅西百貨商店並投資前50 家梅西百貨商店的計劃的背景信息。您正在採取哪些行動來保護電子商務銷售並留住可能受到這些關閉影響的客戶？在前 50 強中，您能否談談該計劃與先前的頂級策略（例如我們幾年前看到的成長 50 強策略）相比如何？

Thank you, Brooke, for the question. First, as it relates to the decision on the closure of the 150, I really just want to underscore the dimension and difference between the go-forward fleet and the non-go-forward fleet. The 150 stores represent 25% of our gross square footage at Macy's, Inc., but less than 10% of our sales. It was a 500 basis point difference between the sales performance in 2023 between those stores and our go-forward stores, and over 950 basis points difference in our EBITDA performance on a 4-wall basis between the go-forward fleet and the non-go-forward fleet. So the economics obviously makes sense. But what I would say is the team spent greater part of 6.5, 7 months doing a complete diagnostic on our entire portfolio looking at demographic, psychographics, digital demand, the condition of the center, the condition of our store, capital required to bring the stores to standard.

謝謝布魯克的提問。首先，因為它涉及關閉150的決定，我只想強調前進機隊和非前進機隊之間的維度和差異。這 150 家商店佔梅西百貨公司總面積的 25%，但不到我們銷售額的 10%。 2023 年，這些商店與我們的前行商店之間的銷售業績存在500 個基點的差異，而我們的EBITDA 績效（以4 牆為基礎）在前行車隊與非前行車隊之間存在超過950 個基點的差異- 前進艦隊。所以經濟學顯然是有道理的。但我想說的是，團隊花了 6.5 到 7 個月的大部分時間對我們的整個投資組合進行了全面診斷，包括人口統計、心理統計、數字需求、中心狀況、我們商店的狀況、帶來商店符合標準。

And I think we made a decision on our go-forward fleet that was far more comprehensive than it would have been in the past. So I feel good about the go-forward fleet, the decisions we've made and the value to monetize is greater than the value to operate in these stores. So relative to the differences between the First 50 and any other focused store plan previously, this one is rooted in the customer feedback. We talked to 60,000 customers to understand what they were looking for from the Macy's brand. It was an enjoyable shopping experience. It was clear and easy to understand value, and it was a compelling product.

我認為我們對前進機隊所做的決定比過去更全面。因此，我對前進的車隊、我們所做的決定以及貨幣化的價值大於這些商店的營運價值感到滿意。因此，相對於 First 50 和之前任何其他重點商店計劃之間的差異，此計劃植根於客戶回饋。我們與 60,000 名顧客進行了交談，以了解他們對梅西百貨品牌的需求。這是一次愉快的購物體驗。它的價值清晰易懂，是一款引人注目的產品。

So these First 50 stores are going to have elevated merchandise assortments. They're going to have better visual presentations. They're going to have additional staffing in important areas like women's shoes and women's ready-to-wear. They're going to have the kind of eventing that a local store is looking for. And then finally, your question about digital demand recapture, we have stores in these markets beyond the stores we're closing. Not every market, but most markets. So we'll be looking at neighboring stores to capture that demand as well as digital outreach to make sure that we lose as little as possible.

因此，這些前 50 名商店的商品種類將會增加。他們將有更好的視覺呈現。他們將在女鞋和女裝成衣等重要領域增加人員配置。他們將舉辦當地商店正在尋找的那種活動。最後，關於數位需求重新捕獲的問題，除了我們要關閉的商店之外，我們在這些市場上還有商店。不是每個市場，而是大多數市場。因此，我們將關注鄰近的商店來捕捉這一需求，並進行數位推廣，以確保我們的損失盡可能少。

Adrian?

阿德里安？

Just to build on Tony's point, I would just add a few more things. The first thing is with regards to the monetization, we expect to close these stores as soon as possible without compromising value for our shareholders. And as you know, we have a track record over the past several years since 2015 of over $2.4 billion of sales proceeds. We've monetized real estate last year, we had good real estates, so we're encouraged by that. The second thing just building on Tony's point, is the ability to distort investments and our energy of our leadership team on the 350 go-forward fleet, which we believe have the capacity to grow. They're in solid locations. Customers are shopping them. We've done the research. But more importantly, as we think about this combination of really optimizing our fleet, which includes the omni market, not just the stores, we believe that we can unlock value for our shareholders with the strategy.

為了以托尼的觀點為基礎，我想補充一些內容。首先是關於貨幣化，我們希望在不損害股東價值的情況下盡快關閉這些商店。如您所知，自 2015 年以來的過去幾年，我們的銷售收入超過 24 億美元。去年我們已經將房地產貨幣化，我們擁有良好的房地產，所以我們對此感到鼓舞。基於托尼觀點的第二件事是，我們有能力扭曲 350 艘前進機隊的投資和領導團隊的精力，我們相信這些機隊有能力成長。它們位於堅固的位置。顧客正在購買它們。我們已經做了研究。但更重要的是，當我們考慮真正優化我們的車隊（包括全方位市場，而不僅僅是商店）的組合時，我們相信我們可以透過該策略為股東釋放價值。

Our next question comes from the line of Ashley Helgans with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Ashley Helgans 和 Jefferies 的對話。

It's Blake on for Ashley. I wanted to ask on the evolution of the medium-term EBITDA guide. I know previously, you had mentioned low double-digit margin range. Now it's a mid-single-digit growth, which is above comp growth. Just wondering about that evolution, how much the store closures impact is having on it? And then talk about the factors that would still be able to get you maybe to that low double-digit range, if possible?

布萊克替補阿什利。我想問中期 EBITDA 指南的演變。我知道您之前曾提到過低兩位數的利潤範圍。現在是中等個位數成長，高於同期成長率。只是想知道這種演變，商店關閉對其產生了多大影響？然後談談仍然能夠讓你達到低兩位數範圍的因素（如果可能的話）？

The important thing that we would say here is that we're pursuing A Bold New Chapter Strategy, which is designed for profitable growth. That's what we expect of ourselves, and that's what our shareholders and our Board expect of us. We are committed to driving EBITDA expansion under the strategy. But with this strategy, we've effectively changed how we're measuring our progress. What Tony and I have spoken to on this call are the financial and operating outcomes that we expect and are holding ourselves accountable to track our progress, but we remain very committed to EBITDA expansion and very committed to that growth. As we talked about, starting next year, we expect EBITDA to expand at the mid-single-digit range.

我們在這裡要說的重要一點是，我們正在追求大膽的新篇章策略，該策略旨在實現獲利成長。這是我們對自己的期望，也是我們的股東和董事會對我們的期望。我們致力於在該策略下推動 EBITDA 擴張。但透過這項策略，我們有效地改變了衡量進展的方式。東尼和我在這次電話會議上談到的是我們期望的財務和營運成果，並讓我們自己負責追蹤我們的進展，但我們仍然非常致力於 EBITDA 擴張，並非常致力於這種成長。正如我們所討論的，從明年開始，我們預計 EBITDA 將擴大到中個位數範圍。

And that's about a better customer experience, the cost disciplines that we're putting in place, the healthy and elevated gross margin profile that we continue to sustain because of our inventory discipline, our inventory discipline as well as our cost accounting practices that are coming online this year. So we are very pleased with how we're approaching it, but we expect and commit to continued EBITDA expansion going forward.

這關係到更好的客戶體驗、我們正在實施的成本紀律、由於我們的庫存紀律、我們的庫存紀律以及即將實施的成本會計實踐，我們將繼續維持健康且較高的毛利率狀況。今年上線。因此，我們對我們的實現方式感到非常滿意，但我們期望並致力於未來 EBITDA 的持續擴張。

Got it. That's very helpful. And then our follow-up is on the increased focus on just having a relevant merchandise assortment. I was wondering if you could talk about how much you're maybe leaning into existing brands versus adding entirely new brands versus private label? And maybe just talk about any other structural or organizational changes you're making to really kind of ramp up that assortment relevance.

知道了。這非常有幫助。然後我們的後續行動是更重視擁有相關的商品分類。我想知道您是否可以談談您對現有品牌、添加全新品牌和自有品牌的傾斜程度？也許只是談論您正在做出的任何其他結構或組織變革，以真正提高品種的相關性。

Sure, Blake. I think the importance of the merchandise assortment is the right combination of work on refreshing and modernizing our private brands, which I think we've spoken to a good amount over the last few quarters. We feel like we are making solid progress. The go-forward performance of our private brand fleet is well performing to our plan. And we just need to get through the remaining disposition of the private brands that are not go-forward. So far, I feel good about the work that we've done in private brand, have a little more work to do to exit the remaining private brands, but that should be a growth vehicle for us in the years to come. In terms of market brands, we're excited about Nike. We're excited about the additional launch or expansion of Under Armour. We have a number of other brands that we'll be launching over the course of the year.

當然，布萊克。我認為商品分類的重要性在於我們自有品牌的更新和現代化工作的正確結合，我認為我們在過去幾個季度已經對此進行了大量討論。我們感覺我們正在取得紮實的進展。我們自有品牌機隊的前進表現很好地履行了我們的計劃。我們只需要完成剩餘的不能繼續發展的自有品牌的處置。到目前為止，我對我們在自有品牌所做的工作感到滿意，要退出剩餘的自有品牌還有更多工作要做，但這應該成為我們未來幾年的成長工具。就市場品牌而言，我們對耐吉感到興奮。我們對 Under Armour 的額外推出或擴展感到非常興奮。我們將在今年推出許多其他品牌。

But this is an exercise that exists within the merchant organization now that we have a full category responsibility and looking at both owned and licensed, inclusive of how we capitalize on the growth of Marketplace. We want to have an assortment that offers a range and variety but doesn't have the level of redundancy. There's a level of SKU rationalization that we're going through to make sure that in every category, we are offering the customer something that we can both be in stock on and the size and color basis but offer them also compelling value and relevancy. So I would say more work to come, but very pleased with the initial results in private brand and the work we're beginning now in Ernest & Market brands.

但這是商業組織內部存在的活動，因為我們負有完整的品類責任，並考慮自有和許可，包括我們如何利用市場的成長。我們希望產品種類豐富、品種多樣，但又不存在冗餘。我們正在對 SKU 進行一定程度的合理化，以確保在每個類別中，我們都為客戶提供我們既有庫存、尺寸和顏色基礎的產品，同時也為它們提供令人信服的價值和相關性。因此，我想說還有更多的工作要做，但對自有品牌的初步成果以及我們現在在 Ernest & Market 品牌中開始的工作感到非常滿意。

Our next question comes from the line of Paul Lejuez with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Paul Lejuez。

Just a couple of quick ones. Curious about your transaction versus ticket assumptions within your comp expectations both for this year and as you think about the longer-term dynamic. Second, Backstage, just curious what these -- this new plan, this new restructuring plan, what does it mean for the Backstage business? And then last Adrian, probably a few Marketplace, the accounting on Marketplace sales, how does that work? What are you recording in terms of sales? How does that flow through the P&L?

只是幾個快速的。對您今年的預期和考慮長期動態的交易與門票假設感到好奇。其次，Backstage，只是好奇這些——這個新計劃，這個新的重組計劃，對 Backstage 業務意味著什麼？最後阿德里安，可能是一些市場，市場銷售的會計，它是如何運作的？您的銷售記錄是多少？它如何流經損益表？

Thanks, Paul, for the questions. As it relates to the opportunity in off-price, we see Backstage as being an important vehicle, not just for productivity but also capturing the value-conscious consumer at Macy's. And obviously, Bloomingdale's off-price continues to outperform, and we see that as a growth vehicle for that brand as well. So off-price to luxury, Backstage remains an important ingredient in our overall value equation. In terms of transaction and ticket assumptions for 2024, we see a low single-digit growth in AUR. The traffic being slightly down to a year ago and conversion holding somewhat stable.

謝謝保羅提出的問題。由於它涉及折扣機會，我們認為 Backstage 是一個重要的工具，不僅可以提高生產力，還可以吸引梅西百貨注重價值的消費者。顯然，布魯明戴爾的折扣繼續表現出色，我們也將其視為該品牌的成長工具。因此，從低價到豪華，Backstage 仍然是我們整體價值方程式中的重要組成部分。就 2024 年的交易和門票假設而言，我們認為 AUR 呈現低個位數成長。流量較一年前略有下降，轉換率保持穩定。

So the consumer remains under pressure, I'm not going to worry about what we can control. But the team is highly focused on leaning into the things that we've worked on over the last several months, which is creating a better and more compelling assortment, making sure that we're working much harder to modernize our marketing and digital exposure and working in store to make sure that the presentation is better than it's been in the past. I'm excited about the visual investments we've made and certainly the focus we have on our First 50.

因此，消費者仍然面臨壓力，我不會擔心我們可以控制什麼。但團隊高度專注於過去幾個月我們所做的工作，這些工作正在創造更好、更引人注目的產品組合，確保我們更加努力地實現行銷和數位曝光的現代化，在店內工作，以確保展示效果比過去更好。我對我們所做的視覺投資以及我們對前 50 名的關注感到興奮。

Paul, just let me give you 3 metrics, and then I'll walk through kind of how it flows through with Marketplace; comp sales growth, net sales and EBITDA. When we look at our comp sales growth, we call it O+L+M, that is reflected from a Marketplace GMV standpoint in our comp sales number. For every dollar of GMV, we get what we call a take rate or commission rate, which we call kind of Marketplace revenue. And that is actually reflected in our net sales. The operation there operates a lot like our licensed sales business. So that take rate is a percentage of the GMV. The EBITDA pretty much flows through. There are some expenses of our team and our licensing around the Marketplace platform. But what's nice about the EBITDA benefit is with scale assortment on the marketplace, the rate of EBITDA increases pretty rapidly. And again, our focus on Marketplace is about the experience. But what we're seeing is a lot of opportunity for growth as we've seen Q3 to Q4 and as we think about future years.

Paul，讓我給你 3 個指標，然後我將介紹它如何在 Marketplace 中流動；比較銷售成長、淨銷售額和 EBITDA。當我們觀察我們的比較銷售成長時，我們稱之為 O+L+M，這反映在我們的比較銷售數字中，從市場 GMV 的角度來看。對於每一美元的 GMV，我們都會得到所謂的佣金率或佣金率，我們稱之為市場收入。這實際上反映在我們的淨銷售額中。那裡的運作很像我們的特許銷售業務。因此，轉換率是 GMV 的百分比。 EBITDA 幾乎全部流轉。我們的團隊和 Marketplace 平台的授權會產生一些費用。但 EBITDA 效益的好處是，隨著市場上品種的規模化，EBITDA 的成長速度相當快。再說一遍，我們對 Marketplace 的關注點是體驗。但正如我們看到的第三季到第四季以及我們對未來幾年的思考一樣，我們看到的是許多成長機會。

I guess I would also add -- I would add, Paul, that the team is highly focused on the incrementality in Marketplace. So the opportunity to pursue brands in categories where we don't have an existing assortment, and we're seeing the best build on those areas in particular.

我想我還要補充一點──保羅，我要補充一點，團隊高度關注市場的增量。因此，我們有機會在我們沒有現有品種的類別中追求品牌，而且我們特別看到了這些領域的最佳品牌。

Our next question comes from the line of Dana Telsey with Telsey Advisory Group.

我們的下一個問題來自 Telsey Advisory Group 的 Dana Telsey。

As you think about the store closures that you're doing, is there any -- as you think on the remaining base, what's the geographic set? How do you think of off-mall and on-mall? What does the portfolio look like? And then on the private brand expansion and extension saw State of Day this week or last week, how are you thinking about the growth of that going forward and the potential accretion to gross margin?

當你考慮正在關閉的商店時，是否有任何 - 當你考慮剩餘的基礎時，地理範圍是什麼？您如何看待商場外和商場內？投資組合是什麼樣的？然後，在本週或上週的自有品牌擴張和延伸方面，您如何看待未來的成長以及毛利率的潛在成長？

Thanks, Dana, for the questions. We believe in store. So I think these are always tough conversations, not only for the colleagues affected and for our brand partners. But when these stores, 25% of our gross square footage only 10% -- a little less than 10% of our sales, they're underproductive. And we have to focus on making sure that we have the best stores, not the largest number of stores. So yes, we want to have both strong on-mall presence, some of the best stores in the country. We want to also pursue off-mall to make sure that we have availability and convenience and where a lot of footsteps are going today. But we're going to remain a majority mall-based freestanding store company with the right complement of off-mall stores to Macy's and Bloomingdale's more convenient.

謝謝達納提出的問題。我們相信商店。因此，我認為這些始終是艱難的對話，不僅對於受影響的同事，對於我們的品牌合作夥伴也是如此。但是，當這些商店占我們總面積的 25%、僅占我們銷售額的 10%（略低於 10%）時，它們的生產力就很低。我們必須專注於確保我們擁有最好的商店，而不是最多的商店。所以，是的，我們希望擁有強大的商場影響力，以及全國最好的商店。我們也希望在購物中心以外的地方發展，以確保我們有可用性和便利性，以及今天很多人都會去的地方。但我們仍將保持一家以購物中心為基礎的獨立商店公司的地位，並在梅西百貨和布魯明代爾百貨公司之外開設適當的店外商店，以更加方便。

We're excited about the launches day-to-day. It's gotten a nice early response from the consumer. It's only 2.5 weeks on the floor. So pleased there. And I think as we've stated on private brand, this is our opportunity to make sure we're filling in white space, make sure that we are complementing our market brands. It obviously offers greater margin and greater profit contribution than our market brands. But we also know that our market brands are the majority of our business. So this is a healthy balance that we, as merchants need to make sure that we maintain the right relevant market brands, the right range and variety of price points, and we complement that with the missing elements in white space and price points and value with what we do in private brands.

我們對每天的發布感到興奮。它很快就得到了消費者的良好反響。只待了 2.5 週。在那裡很高興。我認為正如我們在自有品牌上所說的那樣，這是我們確保填補空白、確保我們補充我們的市場品牌的機會。顯然，它比我們的市場品牌提供了更大的利潤和更大的利潤貢獻。但我們也知道，我們的市場品牌是我們業務的主要部分。因此，這是一個健康的平衡，作為商家，我們需要確保我們保持正確的相關市場品牌、正確的價格範圍和品種，並且我們用空白、價格點和價值中缺失的元素來補充這一點我們在自有品牌中所做的事情。

Our next question comes from the line of Michael Binetti with Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Michael Binetti。

I just want to ask on, I guess, on the gross margin for first quarter guided down after a pretty impressive beat in fourth quarter. Could you walk us through the puts and takes a little bit? I get the transition from fourth quarter to first quarter with the return policy change. Adrian, I think you might have said there's no impact from the revenue recognition change. But then the transition from gross margins being down in first quarter to being up for the rest of the year and I think up pretty meaningfully. Maybe you could just help walk us through that transition a little?

我想我只想問一下，在第四季度取得了令人印象深刻的成長之後，第一季的毛利率是否有所下降。您能向我們介紹一下看跌期權和看跌期權嗎？隨著退貨政策的變化，我從第四季過渡到第一季。阿德里安，我想你可能已經說過收入確認的變化沒有影響。但隨後毛利率從第一季下降到今年剩餘時間上升，我認為成長非常有意義。也許你可以幫助我們完成這個轉變？

Absolutely. Let me just talk a little bit about expectations for the first quarter versus full year. First, the prior year first quarter relative to this year included the $80 million that I referenced a little bit earlier. And that equates to about $0.07 of EPS as I mentioned a little bit earlier in my opening comments. The second thing is our expected Q1 gross margin reflects a more normalized clearance and markdown cycle compared to the first quarter of last year when we remember they did not have enough spring seasonal products. So that's important to mention as we think about a little bit higher inventory coming into the quarter, but having that transitional product to drive both top and bottom line. The third thing I would say is, look, we're investing in our customer experience.

絕對地。讓我簡單談談第一季與全年的預期。首先，去年第一季相對於今年的營收包括我之前提到的 8,000 萬美元。正如我在開場白中提到的，這相當於每股收益約 0.07 美元。第二件事是，與去年第一季相比，我們預期的第一季毛利率反映了更正常化的清倉和降價週期，當時我們記得他們沒有足夠的春季季節性產品。因此，這一點很重要，因為我們考慮到本季的庫存會增加一點，但擁有過渡產品來推動營收和利潤。我要說的第三件事是，我們正在投資客戶體驗。

So based on the research and the test that we've run, both Tony and I have spoken to that quite a bit in our opening remarks, we believe that we have to invest in the customer experience to grow and grow profitably. And so as we think about also one last thing about asset sale gains, we don't anticipate asset sale gains in the first quarter. We expect that to be all in the fourth quarter of this year but we did have asset sale gains in the first quarter last year. So that's kind of the composition of how we think about kind of the margin profile in the first quarter relative to the full year.

因此，根據我們進行的研究和測試，托尼和我在開場白中都談到了這一點，我們相信我們必須投資於客戶體驗才能實現成長和獲利成長。因此，當我們考慮有關資產出售收益的最後一件事時，我們預計第一季不會出現資產出售收益。我們預計這一切將在今年第四季實現，但去年第一季我們確實取得了資產出售收益。這就是我們如何看待第一季相對於全年的利潤狀況的組成。

Is that specific to the gross margins up as much as they are in 2Q to 4Q?

這是否是針對第二季至第四季的毛利率成長而言的？

Well, I think what you'll see with regards to gross margin specifically, we continue to expect to have a healthy level of gross margin. As I mentioned a bit earlier, inventory disciplines are very mature within our business now. The new capabilities that we're bringing online with regards to cost accounting, we're excited about. We have a number of process and simplification initiatives as part of our end-to-end work to manage and bring down our delivery expense. You saw some of that benefit in our early testing in Q4 when you saw a 80 basis point difference. So the disciplines in gross margin and the disciplines in delivery expense as part of that, that will continue and only continue to get better. But we do want to recognize that as we think about bottom line margin and EBITDA that we're investing in the customer experience to grow. So I wanted to make sure that you had kind of a full view of our margin profile.

嗯，我想你會看到具體的毛利率，我們仍然期望擁有健康的毛利率水準。正如我之前提到的，庫存規則現在在我們的業務中已經非常成熟。我們對成本核算方面推出的新功能感到非常興奮。作為我們端到端工作的一部分，我們採取了許多流程和簡化措施來管理和降低我們的交付費用。您在我們第四季度的早期測試中看到了一些好處，當時您看到了 80 個基點的差異。因此，毛利率的規定和作為其中一部分的交付費用的規定將繼續下去，而且只會繼續變得更好。但我們確實想認識到，當我們考慮利潤率和 EBITDA 時，我們正在投資於客戶體驗以實現成長。所以我想確保您對我們的利潤狀況有一個全面的了解。

Okay. If I could sneak in a second one. On the credit income, you're guiding it down 30% for the year that excludes the potential regulation change on late fees, but it was down 30% in the fourth quarter. I'm trying to figure out why it would still be down as much or if that's just a conservative assumption on your part.

好的。如果我能偷偷溜進第二個就好了。關於信貸收入，您將今年的信貸收入引導下降 30%（不包括滯納金方面潛在的監管變化），但第四季度下降了 30%。我試圖弄清楚為什麼它仍然會下降那麼多，或者這只是你的保守假設。

Well, if you look at what's happening in the broader industry in retail, what you see are a combination of things. The first thing is that the consumer remains under pressure. And as a result, what we're seeing across the industry are higher credit card balances and higher delinquencies really returning to more normalized levels. As you know, Mike, the last few years had an abnormally low or historically low level of net credit losses, delinquencies as folks were flushed with cash. But now we're back to more normal times. And so what's reflected in our credit card revenues, which does exclude the impact from late fee ruling is really the increase in net credit losses as we are more in a normalized environment.

好吧，如果你看看更廣泛的零售業正在發生的事情，你會看到一些事情的組合。首先是消費者仍然面臨壓力。結果，我們在整個行業中看到信用卡餘額增加和拖欠率上升，真正回到了更正常化的水平。如你所知，麥克，過去幾年的淨信貸損失和拖欠率異常低或處於歷史低水平，因為人們現金充裕。但現在我們又回到了更正常的時期。因此，我們的信用卡收入（不包括滯納金裁決的影響）所反映的實際上是淨信用損失的增加，因為我們更處於正常化的環境中。

Our next question comes from the line of Bob Drbul with Guggenheim Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自古根漢證券公司的鮑伯‧德布爾 (Bob Drbul)。

Can you spend a little bit more time on the inventory? I guess, the plans around the inventory and how you're thinking about inventory throughout the year? Just -- I guess I'm just curious if you think that with some of the newness that you're bringing in, will that be the plan for the full year as you think about fall and into holiday, just especially as it relates to sales?

你能多花一點時間在庫存上嗎？我想，圍繞庫存的計劃以及您全年如何考慮庫存？只是 - 我想我只是很好奇，如果你認為你帶來的一些新鮮事物，這會是你考慮秋季和假期時的全年計劃，特別是因為它與銷售量？

Bob, let me take the first part of that, and I'm sure Adrian will add. Our plans incorporate the liquidity to buy into the newness that we've described and to be able to chase into opportunities as they occur. So we retain an inventory reserve in each of our areas of business to make sure that we both have made commitments to brands that require that, and at the same time, hold back the flexibility to should opportunities arise or should softness occur that we can pull back as necessary. But all of that has been incorporated into our forecast. And I think that inventory should be on or around flat to last year as we begin to improve sales.

鮑勃，讓我先講第一部分，我相信阿德里安會補充。我們的計劃將流動性納入我們所描述的新事物中，並能夠在機會出現時抓住機會。因此，我們在每個業務領域都保留庫存儲備，以確保我們都對有此要求的品牌做出了承諾，同時，在機會出現或出現疲軟時我們可以保留靈活性。必要時返回。但所有這些都已納入我們的預測中。我認為，隨著我們開始改善銷售，庫存應該與去年持平或持平。

Just to build on Tony's comments, there's another dimension of inventory that we're focused on this year with our data science tools, and that's really around continuing to get better on the allocation side. So as we think about the style, the brand, the color and size allocated by market, allocated by channel, allocated by store, we see that there are opportunities to drive the top line by actually increasing product availability and stocks by putting in some new procedures. And this is one of those places where the data science and being able to scale that data science with some new capabilities is something that we're leaning into. But we believe with all the work that's being done to have the right product in the assortment, we also want to make sure it's in the right place. And that will also complement our ability to grow the top line as well.

在托尼的評論的基礎上，我們今年透過數據科學工具關注庫存的另一個維度，這實際上是圍繞在分配方面繼續變得更好。因此，當我們考慮按市場分配、按渠道分配、按商店分配的款式、品牌、顏色和尺寸時，我們發現有機會通過投入一些新產品來實際增加產品可用性和庫存來推動營收。程序。這是數據科學以及能夠透過一些新功能擴展數據科學的領域之一，也是我們正在關注的領域。但我們相信，除了為在分類中提供正確的產品所做的所有工作外，我們還希望確保它位於正確的位置。這也將補充我們增加收入的能力。

Great. Can I just credit -- ask a credit question as well. In this quarter, there was a note around the impact of sort of better contractual profit sharing within your partner. Can you just talk about how you're positioning? I guess, what drove the better-than-expected sort of contractual profit? And then as you think about the prospects of the credit filing, the late fee filing proposal, just where you think there might be opportunities if something were to be implemented negatively?

偉大的。我可以只信用──也問一個信用問題嗎？在本季度，有一個關於合作夥伴內部更好的合約利潤分享的影響的說明。能簡單談談你的定位嗎？我想，是什麼推動了合約利潤好於預期呢？然後，當您考慮信用備案的前景、滯納金備案提案時，您認為如果採取消極措施，可能有機會？

Absolutely, Bob. It's a good question. So the terms of our Citi agreement is pretty much predetermined. So there's clearly a little bit of benefit in terms of how we think about the profit sharing based on the level of credit card revenues and receivables that we actually build. I think the more important conversation is how do we actually increase usage of our credit card. And there's a lot of work that's happening around our loyalty program around the use of our credit card to drive engagement with our customer and just thinking about that program more broadly. There's real opportunity there. We don't have customers that are tapping out on their spend on average.

當然，鮑伯。這是一個好問題。因此，我們花旗協議的條款幾乎是預先決定的。因此，根據我們實際建立的信用卡收入和應收帳款水準來考慮利潤分享，顯然有一點好處。我認為更重要的對話是我們如何真正增加信用卡的使用。我們的忠誠度計劃正在進行大量工作，圍繞著使用信用卡來推動與客戶的互動，並更廣泛地考慮該計劃。那裡有真正的機會。我們沒有平均支出的客戶。

We actually see that our customers do have capacity to spend and do have capacity to use our card because they are already shoppers at Macy's or Bloomingdale's. From a mitigation standpoint, we're already thinking through and partnering with Citi on mitigation factors for if and when the late fee ruling is actually implemented. As I mentioned a bit earlier with Mike, we have not included the late fee impact in our outlook for this year, but we're working on mitigation factors in case that were to happen. And so that's something that we're very thoughtful about working through and trying to get ahead of.

實際上，我們看到我們的客戶確實有能力消費並且有能力使用我們的卡，因為他們已經是梅西百貨或布魯明代爾百貨的購物者。從緩解的角度來看，我們已經在考慮是否以及何時實際實施滯納金裁決的緩解因素，並與花旗合作。正如我之前與麥克提到的那樣，我們沒有將滯納金的影響納入今年的展望中，但我們正在研究緩解因素，以防這種情況發生。因此，這是我們非常深思熟慮地解決並努力超越的事情。

Our next question comes from the line of Alex Straton with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自 Alex Straton 與摩根士丹利的對話。

Perfect. Just a couple from me. Just first, can you walk us through how maybe you factored in the 53rd week reversal into your guidance, just so we can understand how that flows through the year? And then secondly, just on the long-term targets, can you break down that low single-digit comparable sales growth number for me in terms of kind of how you arrived at that level as comfortable?

完美的。只是我的一對。首先，您能否向我們介紹一下您如何將第 53 週的反轉納入您的指導，以便我們能夠了解這一情況如何貫穿這一年？其次，就長期目標而言，您能否為我分解這個較低的個位數可比銷售成長數字，以及您如何輕鬆達到該水準？

Let me take the second part of the question first, Alex. In terms of our low single-digit sales target, it reflects the delta that we see today between our go-forward fleet versus our non-go forward fleet. So first, it's based on store sales. There's an opportunity in our existing Macy's and Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury fleet to grow comp sales starting in 2025 when you exclude the non-go-forward locations. Second, it's the return of growth in digital, which is a breakdown between lower growth in our own digital business and accelerated growth in the Marketplace business.

讓我先回答問題的第二部分，亞歷克斯。就我們的低個位數銷售目標而言，它反映了我們今天看到的前進機隊與非前進機隊之間的差異。首先，它是基於商店銷售額。從 2025 年開始，當您排除非繼續經營的門市時，我們現有的梅西百貨 (Macy's)、布魯明戴爾百貨 (Bloomingdale's) 和 Bluemercury 店群中有機會增加贈品銷售額。其次，是數位成長的回歸，這是我們自己的數位業務成長放緩與市場業務加速成長之間的細分。

And then finally, it's beginning to add versus the lead from our private brand portfolio or making sure that all the work that we've done in analytics on our assortments with SKU rationalization and the pursuit of brands that are missing from our portfolio begin to take hold. So there's an ample opportunity to grow across all 3 nameplates by making sure that our assortments are appropriate, as Adrian talked about, making sure that our inventory is accurately allocated between the channels and getting into a more normalized environment where we're not up against as many discontinued private brands.

最後，它開始增加我們自有品牌組合的領先優勢，或者確保我們在 SKU 合理化分類分析中所做的所有工作以及對我們組合中缺少的品牌的追求開始發揮作用抓住。因此，正如阿德里安所說，透過確保我們的品種合適，我們有充足的機會在所有3 個品牌上實現成長，確保我們的庫存在通路之間準確分配，並進入一個我們不會遇到對手的更規範化的環境與許多停產的自有品牌一樣。

So the 53rd week last year was about $252 million of our sales coming out of the fourth quarter. As we think about 2024, we're making the adjustments with regards to the calendar and promotional shifts given that 53rd week. I think the way to think about it from our perspective, from a comp standpoint is we're focused on more full price sell-through getting the right combination of assortment in terms of variety, breadth and depth and also making sure that we're actually positioning our content to the customer across channels in a way that allows us to have more full price sell-through and less discounts. And so we're navigating that throughout the year, but we're encouraged with the traction that we're seeing, particularly in the test and First 50 stores. We're pleased with the traction that we're seeing, and we'll continue to keep you updated as that evolves throughout the year.

因此，去年第 53 週我們第四季的銷售額約為 2.52 億美元。當我們考慮 2024 年時，我們正在對第 53 週的日曆和促銷班次進行調整。我認為從我們的角度來看，從比較的角度來看，我們專注於更全價的銷售，在品種、廣度和深度方面獲得正確的品種組合，並確保我們實際上，跨渠道向客戶定位我們的內容，使我們能夠獲得更多的全價銷售和更少的折扣。因此，我們全年都在努力實現這一目標，但我們對所看到的吸引力感到鼓舞，特別是在測試店和前 50 家商店中。我們對所看到的吸引力感到滿意，並且我們將繼續向您通報全年的最新進展。

Ladies and gentlemen, our final question this morning comes from the line of Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

女士們先生們，我們今天早上的最後一個問題來自查克·格羅姆和戈登·哈斯克特。

Congrats, Tony, on the new position again. Just on the transaction decline in the fourth quarter. I was wondering if you could parse that out across your various income cohorts that you cater to. And then, Adrian, on the first quarter comp guide, is that on a shifted basis or a non-shifted basis, given the 53rd week last year?

恭喜托尼，再次擔任新職務。就第四季的交易量下降而言。我想知道您是否可以在您所迎合的各種收入群體中分析這一點。然後，阿德里安（Adrian），根據去年的第 53 週，第一季的比較指南是在轉移的基礎上還是在不轉移的基礎上？

I think the comment about the decline in fourth quarter transactions, was more pronounced at Macy's than at Bloomingdale's or Bluemercury, although all segments are under pressure. And the decision is more today about buying those things that people are looking for that sometimes are a higher AUR and then we get fewer units versus customers not shopping. So we're really trying to follow the customer in this regard, make sure that the inventories are shifted to where we see the business happening. It's always one of the advantages, I think, of being a multi-category and multi-brand retailer is that we have the opportunity to have content, where, when and how the customer shops as long as we're paying attention to the most important signals.

我認為有關第四季度交易量下降的評論在梅西百貨比在布魯明戴爾百貨或 Bluemercury 更為明顯，儘管所有部門都面臨壓力。今天的決定更多的是購買人們正在尋找的東西，有時這些東西的 AUR 較高，然後我們得到的單位數量就會少於不購買的客戶。因此，我們確實在這方面努力追蹤客戶，確保庫存轉移到我們看到業務發生的地方。我認為，成為多品類和多品牌零售商的優勢之一就是，只要我們專注於最重要的內容，我們就有機會獲得客戶購物的內容、地點、時間和方式。重要訊號。

As we think about the first quarter comp, it really just reflects the calendar shifts that we're doing with regards to our promotions and the calendar coming out of a 53rd week. We're encouraged with some of the traction that we're seeing with regards to tests coming out of the fourth quarter. But from our perspective, the number of the ships that I mentioned earlier is how we're approaching it.

當我們考慮第一季的比較時，它實際上只是反映了我們在促銷方面所做的日曆變化以及第 53 週的日曆。我們對第四季度的測試所看到的一些牽引力感到鼓舞。但從我們的角度來看，我之前提到的船隻數量就是我們正在接近的目標。

Okay. I'll circle back later with you, Adrian. And then just bigger picture, on revitalizing the assortment and your comment earlier, Tony, on duplication. I think it's pretty interesting. Just wondering if you could maybe size up the opportunity, what you learned at Bloomingdale's with this endeavor, how long it took to take to start to see some of the benefits?

好的。我稍後會和你一起回來，阿德里安。然後是更大的前景，關於振興品種和你之前的評論，托尼，關於重複。我認為這很有趣。只是想知道您是否可以評估這個機會，您在布魯明代爾百貨公司透過這項努力學到了什麼，需要多長時間才能開始看到一些好處？

Look, it's a process that every merchant and every planning partner has to go through in order to have the most compelling assortment in every category. We work in multiple seasons at one time. We're obviously executing the spring season, planning the fall season and in some areas are beginning to buy the spring '25 season. So I would say it's a multi-season exercise, but it's not a multiyear exercise. It starts with the ability to kind of ebb and flow or shrink or grow depending on what's happening in the particular business segment. When something occurs where jackets are important or blazers are important, you want to have a more robust assortment of blazers. And when you return to a moment where sweaters are more important, you need to downsize the amount of blazers you carry and augment the amount of sweaters.

看，這是每個商家和每個規劃合作夥伴都必須經歷的過程，以便在每個類別中擁有最引人注目的品種。我們同時在多個季節工作。顯然，我們正在執行春季，計劃秋季，並在某些地區開始購買 25 年春季。所以我想說這是一次多賽季的演習，但不是一次多年的演習。它首先具有根據特定業務部門發生的情況而變化或收縮或增長的能力。當出現夾克很重要或西裝外套很重要的情況時，您想要擁有更堅固的西裝外套品種。當你回到毛衣更重要的時代時，你需要減少你攜帶的西裝外套的數量並增加毛衣的數量。

And you don't want to have all black sweaters and you don't want all of them to be embellish. So the ability to kind of look at your assortment as the customer will see it, make sure that you're serving a multigenerational customer with a variety of price points, understanding where brand is important, where price is important and where style may be important. And sometimes it's all 3. I think in my kind of learning and listening with the Macy's team over the last 6 to 8 months, the team is really leaning into this. I think you'll see the assortments improve as we move sequentially through the quarters this year and then make meaningful improvement as we get into 2025.

而且你不想擁有全黑的毛衣，也不希望它們都是裝飾性的。因此，能夠以客戶所看到的方式審視您的產品組合，確保您為不同價位的多代客戶提供服務，了解品牌在哪些方面很重要，價格在哪些方面很重要，以及風格在哪些方面可能很重要。有時都是 3。我認為，在過去 6 到 8 個月裡，透過我與梅西百貨團隊的學習和傾聽，團隊確實傾向於這一點。我認為，隨著我們今年各個季度的順序推進，您會看到產品種類有所改善，然後在進入 2025 年時做出有意義的改進。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our question-and-answer session. I'll turn the floor back to Mr. Spring for any final comments.

女士們先生們，我們的問答環節到此結束。我將把發言權交還給斯普林先生，徵求最後的意見。

Thank you, operator. We look forward to updating all of you on our Bold New Chapter Strategy progress in the coming quarters. Hope everyone has a great day.

謝謝你，接線生。我們期待在未來幾季向大家通報我們大膽新篇章策略的最新進展。希望每個人都有美好的一天。

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

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。