Movado Group Inc (MOV) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everybody, and welcome to the Movado Group, Inc. First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, today's call is being recorded and may not be reproduced in full or in part without permission from the company.

大家好，歡迎來到 Movado Group, Inc. 2024 年第一季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，今天的通話正在錄音中，未經公司許可不得全部或部分複制。

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Rachel Schacter of ICR. Please go ahead.

此時，我想將會議轉交給 ICR 的 Rachel Schacter。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. With me on the call is Efraim Grinberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Sallie DeMarsilis, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Before we get started, I would like to remind you of the company's safe harbor language, which I'm sure you're all familiar with. The statements contained in this conference call, which are not historical facts, may be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual future results may differ materially from those suggested in such statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties, all of which are described in the company's filings with the SEC which includes today's press release.

謝謝。大家，早安。與我通話的是董事長兼首席執行官 Efraim Grinberg；執行副總裁、首席運營官兼首席財務官 Sallie DeMarsilis。在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家公司的安全港語言，我相信你們都很熟悉。本次電話會議中包含的陳述並非歷史事實，可被視為構成 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。由於以下原因，未來的實際結果可能與此類陳述中建議的結果存在重大差異許多風險和不確定性，所有這些都在公司提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中進行了描述，其中包括今天的新聞稿。

If any non-GAAP financial measure is used on this call, a presentation of the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to this non-GAAP financial measure will be provided as supplemental financial information in our press release.

如果在本次電話會議中使用任何非 GAAP 財務指標，將在我們的新聞稿中提供與該非 GAAP 財務指標最直接可比的 GAAP 財務指標的介紹，作為補充財務信息。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Efraim Grinberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Movado Group.

現在我想把電話轉給摩凡陀集團董事長兼首席執行官 Efraim Grinberg。

Thank you, Rachel. Good morning, and welcome to Movado Group's first quarter conference call. With me today is Sallie DeMarsilis, our COO and CFO. After I've had a chance to review the highlights of our first quarter results and our progress on our strategic initiatives, Sallie will then review our financial results in greater detail. We would then be glad to answer any questions you might have. As we had expected, the macroeconomic environment remained challenging during the beginning of the year, with inflation and rising interest rates continuing to affect purchases made by consumers of discretionary products in our key markets, the United States and Europe.

謝謝你，雷切爾。早上好，歡迎來到摩凡陀集團第一季度電話會議。今天和我在一起的是我們的首席運營官兼首席財務官 Sallie DeMarsilis。在我有機會回顧我們第一季度業績的亮點和我們在戰略計劃方面取得的進展之後，Sallie 將更詳細地回顧我們的財務業績。我們將很樂意回答您可能提出的任何問題。正如我們所預料的那樣，年初的宏觀經濟環境仍然充滿挑戰，通貨膨脹和利率上升繼續影響我們主要市場美國和歐洲的消費者對非必需品的購買。

Against that backdrop, we were pleased with the results that our teams delivered for the first quarter, which met our expectations while continuing to make progress with the key growth priorities we have for our business, delivering sought-after innovation and elevating our brand awareness. This, along with continued expense discipline, has us well positioned to improve our performance as we move throughout the year.

在此背景下，我們對我們的團隊在第一季度取得的成果感到滿意，這些成果符合我們的預期，同時繼續在我們業務的關鍵增長優先事項上取得進展，提供廣受歡迎的創新並提升我們的品牌知名度。這一點，連同持續的費用紀律，使我們能夠在全年移動時改善我們的績效。

Reviewing the first quarter in more detail. Sales were $144.9 million, an 11.3% decline versus last year's record first quarter and increased 7.5% from fiscal 2022's first quarter. Currency negatively impacted sales growth by 1.2% in the first quarter. Gross margin remained strong at 56.6%. Adjusted operating profit was $11.6 million as compared to $26.1 million in the previous year and earnings per share on an adjusted basis were $0.43 versus $0.82 last year. We ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet, including $198.3 million in cash while paying $29.9 million in dividends, which included $1 per share special dividend that our Board had approved when we announced fiscal 2023 results.

更詳細地回顧第一季度。銷售額為 1.449 億美元，比去年創紀錄的第一季度下降 11.3%，比 2022 財年第一季度增長 7.5%。匯率對第一季度的銷售額增長產生了 1.2% 的負面影響。毛利率保持強勁，為 56.6%。調整後營業利潤為 1160 萬美元，上年為 2610 萬美元，調整後每股收益為 0.43 美元，上年為 0.82 美元。我們以強勁的資產負債表結束了本季度，其中包括 1.983 億美元的現金，同時支付了 2990 萬美元的股息，其中包括我們董事會在宣布 2023 財年業績時批准的每股 1 美元的特別股息。

As we have talked about during our year-end conference call, we had expected a more difficult first half of the year as we were comparing against a very strong record first half last year. This year, the consumer in both the U.S. and Europe is facing both elevated inflation and rising interest rates. As many retailers have already reported, this is clearly affecting discretionary spending. From a geographical perspective, both our international and U.S. sales declined with the U.S. declining 15.7% and international sales decreasing 8.1% and or 6% on a constant currency basis.

正如我們在年終電話會議上談到的那樣，與去年上半年非常強勁的記錄相比，我們預計今年上半年會更加困難。今年，美國和歐洲的消費者都面臨著通貨膨脹和利率上升的雙重壓力。正如許多零售商已經報告的那樣，這顯然影響了可自由支配的支出。從地理角度來看，我們的國際和美國銷售額均有所下降，其中美國下降 15.7%，國際銷售額下降 8.1% 或按固定匯率計算下降 6%。

On the international front, we had strong growth in Brazil, the Middle East, China and travel retail that was offset by a decline in Europe. As retailers in key markets deal with slowing economic growth, they are very focused on making sure that they control their inventories. From a brand perspective, we are laying the foundation for an improving second half. In our Movado brand, we are beginning to introduce innovation through our Bold collection in our Bold Horizon family, which begins to fill price points that we had vacated over the last year. We're getting a very good response from consumers on this collection, which opens at $695. Our elevated automatic models continue to perform well, both at our wholesale partners and on our own website with penetration doubling from last year.

在國際方面，我們在巴西、中東、中國和旅遊零售市場實現了強勁增長，但被歐洲市場的下滑所抵消。由於主要市場的零售商應對經濟增長放緩，他們非常注重確保控制庫存。從品牌的角度來看，我們正在為下半年的改善奠定基礎。在我們的摩凡陀品牌中，我們開始通過我們的 Bold Horizo​​n 系列中的 Bold 系列引入創新，這開始填補我們去年騰出的價位。消費者對這個系列的反響非常好，該系列的開價為 695 美元。我們的高級自動模型在我們的批發合作夥伴和我們自己的網站上繼續表現良好，滲透率比去年翻了一番。

For Mother's Day, we drove our marketing program with both [still] lives and video content to emotionally connect with consumers, and we have produced similar content for Father's Day. For Mother's Day, we saw strong results from our TV campaigns, particularly on our website. Father's Day will also feature television in addition to our digital campaigns. Throughout the year, we will invest in refreshing the Movado brand image in a bolder and more impactful way, and we are excited to make this investment behind our most important brand.

在母親節，我們通過 [靜物] 生活和視頻內容來推動我們的營銷計劃，以在情感上與消費者建立聯繫，我們還為父親節製作了類似的內容。在母親節，我們的電視宣傳活動取得了很好的效果，尤其是在我們的網站上。除了我們的數字活動之外，父親節還將在電視上播放。全年，我們將以更大膽、更有影響力的方式投資更新摩凡陀品牌形象，我們很高興能為我們最重要的品牌進行這項投資。

In our licensed brands, we saw an 8.3% decline on a constant currency basis as consumers pulled back in our largest European markets. Somewhat offset by stronger trends in Brazil, the Middle East, China and travel retail. In all of our brands, we are driving innovation across the pricing matrix with a particular attention to introduce some value price points to reach consumers who have been impacted by inflation and slowing economies around the world. In Tommy Hilfiger, we saw a strong initial response to our new opening price point collections, Pipa for her and Norris for him and to our advertised styles, Lars and Monica.

在我們的授權品牌中，由於消費者退出我們最大的歐洲市場，我們看到按固定匯率計算下降了 8.3%。在一定程度上被巴西、中東、中國和旅遊零售的強勁趨勢所抵消。在我們所有的品牌中，我們都在整個定價矩陣中推動創新，特別注意引入一些超值價格點，以吸引受到通貨膨脹和全球經濟放緩影響的消費者。在 Tommy Hilfiger 身上，我們看到了對我們新開價系列的強烈初步反響，她的 Pipa 和他的 Norris 以及我們宣傳的款式 Lars 和 Monica。

In BOSS, where the parent brand has been highly energized by driving a new imaging campaign, we are seeing strong results from our new Troper collection, sporty, a 46-millimeter chronograph. We're also seeing a strong reception for our new Gregor family, a classically styled chronograph family. Both families opened at $279.

在 BOSS，母品牌通過推動新的形象宣傳活動獲得了極大的活力，我們看到了我們新的 Troper 系列運動型 46 毫米計時碼表的強勁成果。我們也看到我們的新 Gregor 系列受到熱烈歡迎，這是一個經典風格的計時碼表系列。兩個家庭的開盤價都是 279 美元。

We're also excited to partner with the BOSS brand's high-profile ambassadors with a new campaign, which will feature Suki Waterhouse as our ambassador for women, both for jewelry and watches that will launch in the fall. In our Coach watches, our signature SE collections continue to perform well, and we are seeing renewed demand in China, both at retail and online as that market reopens. We are continuing to partner with Curley Gao as our ambassador in China and with Jennifer Lopez in our global campaign.

我們也很高興能與 BOSS 品牌的知名大使合作開展一項新活動，Suki Waterhouse 將擔任我們的女性大使，該活動將於秋季推出珠寶和手錶。在我們的蔻馳手錶中，我們的標誌性 SE 系列繼續表現良好，隨著中國市場的重新開放，我們在零售和網上看到了新的需求。我們將繼續與 Curley Gao 合作，擔任我們在中國的大使，並在我們的全球活動中與 Jennifer Lopez 合作。

In Lacoste, we introduced a new interpretation of the iconic 12.12 Polo Shirt in a watch aluminum versions and a number of new colors, including Green Khaki. We're also introducing new 12.12 watches that connect with Lacoste sponsorship of 3 Netflix series, Stranger Things, Sex Education and Lupin. Our Calvin Klein rollout continues to progress extremely well. We are successfully collaborating with the parent brand on the marketing front to build category awareness in watches and jewelry for the Calvin Klein brand. Within CK, we are driving some exciting innovation at appealing price points, including the introduction of Sensation for Her, which features a new unexpected dial opening on a bracelet and charming a new asymmetrically designed bangle. For men, we are seeing a strong response for Ambitions, a new all-black chronograph bracelet.

在 Lacoste 中，我們推出了對標誌性 12.12 Polo 衫的全新詮釋，採用鋁製手錶版本和多種新顏色，包括綠色卡其色。我們還推出了新的 12.12 手錶，這些手錶與 Lacoste 贊助的 3 個 Netflix 系列、怪奇物語、性教育和盧平有關。我們的 Calvin Klein 推出繼續取得非常順利的進展。我們在營銷方面與母品牌成功合作，為 Calvin Klein 品牌在手錶和珠寶領域建立品類知名度。在 CK 內部，我們以極具吸引力的價格推動了一些激動人心的創新，包括推出 Sensation for Her，其特色是手鐲上的全新意想不到的錶盤開口和迷人的全新不對稱設計手鐲。對於男士，我們看到了對全新全黑計時手鍊 Ambitions 的強烈反響。

For the first quarter, we saw a 3.5% decline in our outlet business in a highly promotional environment in the U.S. We have seen improving traffic trends as we approach the Mother's Day holiday, which we did have a calendar shift as Mother's Day moved later into May against last year's timing. As we look at the balance of the year, we are operating in a highly uncertain environment. Interest rates have risen at a very rapid pace, which is meant to curtail consumer demand in order to slow inflation in most developed markets. While the environment remains uncertain, we will continue to invest in our brands and drive innovation in our marketing and products to assure that our businesses will emerge strongly as more clarity develops in the marketplace. Of course, we will continue to monitor -- we will continue to closely monitor our expenses and prudently manage our inventory. With a strong cash position and no debt, our balance sheet affords us the opportunity to invest behind driving long-term profitable growth.

第一季度，在美國高度促銷的環境下，我們的奧特萊斯業務下降了 3.5%。隨著母親節假期的臨近，我們的客流量趨勢有所改善，隨著母親節的推遲，我們確實進行了日曆調整可能與去年相反。當我們審視今年的餘額時，我們在一個高度不確定的環境中運營。利率以非常快的速度上升，這是為了抑制消費者需求，以減緩大多數發達市場的通貨膨脹。儘管環境仍然不確定，但我們將繼續投資於我們的品牌並推動營銷和產品的創新，以確保我們的業務將隨著市場更加明朗化而強勢崛起。當然，我們將繼續監控——我們將繼續密切監控我們的開支並謹慎管理我們的庫存。憑藉強勁的現金狀況和無債務，我們的資產負債表為我們提供了投資推動長期盈利增長的機會。

We are excited in the initiatives that we are investing behind, predominantly refreshing the Movado brand image beginning in the second half of the year and supporting our licensed brands in their most developed and emerging markets. Our teams are energized and focused on executing and delivering against our strategic objectives.

我們對我們正在投資的舉措感到興奮，主要是從今年下半年開始更新摩凡陀品牌形象，並在最發達和新興市場支持我們的授權品牌。我們的團隊充滿活力並專注於執行和交付我們的戰略目標。

I would now like to turn the call over to Sallie.

我現在想把電話轉給 Sallie。

Thank you, Efraim, and good morning. For today's call, I will review our financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 and balance sheet and then discuss our outlook. My comments today will focus on adjusted results. Please refer to the description of the special items included in our results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 in our press release issued earlier today, which also includes the table for GAAP and non-GAAP measures.

謝謝 Efraim，早上好。在今天的電話會議上，我將回顧我們 2024 財年第一季度的財務業績和資產負債表，然後討論我們的展望。我今天的評論將集中在調整後的結果上。請參閱我們今天早些時候發布的新聞稿中對我們 2024 財年第一季度和 2023 財年第一季度業績中包含的特殊項目的描述，其中還包括 GAAP 和非 GAAP 措施的表格。

Overall, we are pleased with our performance for the first quarter of fiscal 2024, despite being negatively impacted by a challenging macro environment and lapping a record performance last year. While down year-over-year, we achieved our internal expectations, continuing to deliver compelling offerings, maintaining expense discipline and returning value to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchase activity.

總體而言，我們對 2024 財年第一季度的業績感到滿意，儘管受到充滿挑戰的宏觀環境的負面影響，並在去年取得了創紀錄的業績。雖然同比下降，但我們實現了內部預期，繼續提供令人信服的產品，保持支出紀律，並通過股息和股票回購活動為股東回報價值。

Turning to a review of the quarter. For the first quarter of fiscal 2024, sales were $144.9 million as compared to $163.4 million last year, a decrease of 11.3%. In constant dollars, net sales decreased 10.1%. By segment, net sales decreased across owned brands, licensed brands and company stores. By geography, U.S. net sales decreased 15.7%. International net sales decreased 8.1% as compared to the first quarter of last year. On a constant currency basis, international net sales decreased 6%, with continued softening in our largest international market, Europe, partially offset by strong performances in certain markets such as the Middle East and Latin America.

轉向對本季度的回顧。 2024 財年第一季度銷售額為 1.449 億美元，去年同期為 1.634 億美元，下降 11.3%。按不變美元計算，淨銷售額下降 10.1%。按細分市場劃分，自有品牌、授權品牌和公司門店的淨銷售額均有所下降。按地域劃分，美國淨銷售額下降 15.7%。與去年第一季度相比，國際淨銷售額下降了 8.1%。按固定匯率計算，國際淨銷售額下降 6%，我們最大的國際市場歐洲的持續疲軟，部分被中東和拉丁美洲等特定市場的強勁表現所抵消。

Gross profit as a percent of sales was 56.6% compared to 59.2% in the first quarter of last year. The decrease in gross margin as compared to the abnormally high gross margin results of the same period last year was primarily driven by unfavorable channel and product mix and the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates, partially offset by lower shipping costs. The unfavorable channel and product mix from the prior year period is a result of sales shifts from our relatively higher margin brands to our relatively lower margin brands, lower sales in our higher-margin channels and product mix. We expect this tough comparison to continue in the second quarter went up against the same period of last year.

毛利潤佔銷售額的百分比為 56.6%，而去年第一季度為 59.2%。與去年同期異常高的毛利率結果相比，毛利率下降主要是由於不利的渠道和產品組合以及外幣匯率的不利影響，部分被較低的運輸成本所抵消。與去年同期相比不利的渠道和產品組合是由於銷售從我們利潤率相對較高的品牌轉移到利潤率相對較低的品牌，我們利潤率較高的渠道和產品組合的銷售額下降。我們預計這種艱難的比較將在第二季度繼續，與去年同期相比有所上升。

Operating expenses were $70.4 million as compared to $70.6 million for the same period of last year. The slight decrease was driven by lower marketing and performance-based compensation expenses, partially offset by an increase in payroll-related expenses. Primarily as a result of the reduction in sales and gross margin, operating income decreased by $14.5 million to $11.6 million as compared to the $26.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.

運營費用為 7040 萬美元，而去年同期為 7060 萬美元。略有下降的原因是營銷和基於績效的薪酬支出減少，部分被工資相關支出的增加所抵消。與 2023 財年第一季度的 2610 萬美元相比，營業收入減少 1450 萬美元至 1160 萬美元，這主要是由於銷售額和毛利率下降。

We recorded approximately $1 million of other nonoperating income in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, which is primarily comprised of interest earned on our global cash position. We recorded income tax expense of $2.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 as compared to $6.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2023. Net income in the first quarter was $9.7 million or $0.43 per diluted share as compared to $19.1 million or $0.82 per diluted share in the year ago period.

我們在 2024 財年第一季度錄得約 100 萬美元的其他非營業收入，主要包括我們全球現金頭寸所賺取的利息。我們在 2024 財年第一季度記錄的所得稅費用為 270 萬美元，而 2023 財年第一季度為 620 萬美元。第一季度淨收入為 970 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.43 美元，而 1910 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.82 美元去年同期的攤薄份額。

Now turning to our balance sheet. Cash at the end of the first quarter was $198.3 million as compared to $225.3 million in the prior year period. During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, we paid $29.9 million of dividends to our shareholders, comprised of a special cash dividend of $1 per share in addition to the regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share. Accounts receivable were $94 million. Inventory at the end of the quarter was $195.2 million, an increase of $15.2 million or 8.5% above the same period of last year, primarily due to the timing of receipts for Swiss brands, which have longer lead times, and business extension opportunities, such as our newest licensed brand, Calvin Klein for watches and jewelry.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表。第一季度末的現金為 1.983 億美元，而去年同期為 2.253 億美元。在 2024 財年第一季度，我們向股東支付了 2990 萬美元的股息，其中包括每股 1 美元的特別現金股息以及每股 0.35 美元的常規季度現金股息。應收賬款為 9400 萬美元。本季度末庫存為 1.952 億美元，比去年同期增加 1520 萬美元或 8.5%，這主要是由於交貨時間較長的瑞士品牌的收貨時間以及業務擴展機會，例如作為我們最新的手錶和珠寶授權品牌 Calvin Klein。

In the first quarter, we repurchased approximately 14,000 shares under our share repurchase program. Capital expenditures for the quarter were $2.3 million and depreciation and amortization expense was $2.6 million, which included $700,000 related to the amortization of acquired intangible assets of Olivia Burton and MVMT.

第一季度，我們根據股票回購計劃回購了大約 14,000 股股票。本季度的資本支出為 230 萬美元，折舊和攤銷費用為 260 萬美元，其中包括與 Olivia Burton 和 MVMT 收購的無形資產攤銷相關的 700,000 美元。

Now I would like to discuss our outlook. As Efraim mentioned, we are operating in a highly uncertain environment with inflation and rising interest rates continuing to affect purchases made by consumers of discretionary products in our key markets, the United States and Europe. Taking these factors into account, we continue to expect fiscal 2024 net sales in a range of approximately $725 million to $750 million.

現在我想談談我們的前景。正如 Efraim 提到的，我們在一個高度不確定的環境中運營，通貨膨脹和利率上升繼續影響消費者在我們的主要市場美國和歐洲購買可自由支配產品。考慮到這些因素，我們繼續預計 2024 財年的淨銷售額約為 7.25 億美元至 7.5 億美元。

Although for the year, we expect a sales decline of 3.6% to relatively flat, we continue to expect a bigger decline in the first half as we anniversary record results during the prior year. We would expect to see first half net sales to be down 9% to 12% from the same period of fiscal 2023. Assuming the current composition of channel and product mix and current FX rates, we continue to expect gross margin -- gross profit of approximately 56% of net sales. We are planning to prudently invest in our brand building initiatives, our employees and our customers, while we continue to tightly manage our discretionary spending, and therefore, we expect operating income in a range of $80 million to $85 million.

儘管今年我們預計銷售額將下降 3.6% 至相對持平，但我們繼續預計上半年的降幅會更大，因為我們在去年創下了周年紀念業績。我們預計上半年淨銷售額將比 2023 財年同期下降 9% 至 12%。假設當前渠道和產品組合的構成以及當前匯率，我們繼續預計毛利率——毛利潤為約占淨銷售額的 56%。我們計劃謹慎地投資於我們的品牌建設計劃、我們的員工和我們的客戶，同時我們繼續嚴格管理我們的可自由支配支出，因此，我們預計營業收入在 8000 萬至 8500 萬美元之間。

Assuming no changes in the current tax regulations, our outlook assumes a 22% effective tax rate and results in an expected range of earnings of $2.70 to $2.90 per diluted share. As it relates to share repurchases as of April 30, 2023, we had $20 million -- I'm sorry, $20.6 million remaining under our authorized share repurchase program. Subject to prevailing market conditions and business environment, we plan to utilize our share repurchase plan to offset dilution in fiscal 2024. This outlook does not contemplate significant further impact of economic deterioration and assumes no further significant fluctuations from prevailing foreign currency exchange rates.

假設當前稅收法規沒有變化，我們的前景假設有效稅率為 22%，預計每股攤薄收益為 2.70 美元至 2.90 美元。由於涉及截至 2023 年 4 月 30 日的股票回購，我們有 2000 萬美元——對不起，根據我們的授權股票回購計劃，還有 2060 萬美元。根據當前的市場條件和商業環境，我們計劃利用我們的股票回購計劃來抵消 2024 財年的稀釋。該展望並未考慮經濟惡化的進一步重大影響，並假設現行外幣匯率不會進一步大幅波動。

I would now like to open the call up for questions.

我現在想打開問題的電話。

(Operator Instructions) Our first questions come from the line of Oliver Chen with TD Cowen.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Oliver Chen。

So with the retail tightening -- with the retail inventory tightening different from what you expected in terms of what you're seeing you called it out. And also the mix impact -- the negative mix impact headwinds, were those in line with your expectations? Would love your take. And then on your cautious commentary, why was it the right time to reiterate guidance, given the caution we're seeing around inflation and the pressure around traffic in the middle-income customer?

因此，隨著零售收緊——零售庫存收緊與你所看到的不同，你就把它說出來了。還有混合影響——負面混合影響逆風，這些是否符合您的預期？會喜歡你的。然後關於您的謹慎評論，鑑於我們對通貨膨脹和中等收入客戶交通壓力的謹慎態度，為什麼現在是重申指導的正確時機？

Okay. So I think that the -- basically, we still believe that we're on plan for the year. And our plan was built assuming a certain level of stress on the consumer. And in the first half, we're comping against very, very strong numbers than last year's numbers. And in the second half, the comps, both at retail and our own comps, become better. So despite that, we still see a high level of uncertainty in the marketplace.

好的。所以我認為 - 基本上，我們仍然相信我們今年的計劃。我們的計劃是在假設消費者承受一定程度壓力的情況下制定的。在上半年，我們的數據比去年的數據非常非常強勁。在下半年，零售和我們自己的公司的公司都變得更好了。因此，儘管如此，我們仍然看到市場存在高度不確定性。

In terms of retail inventories, we did expect our retailers to be tight on inventory, and that's one reason that we did have a cautious tone, especially for the first half. Where from a retail perspective, the watch and -- especially the watch category is very skewed towards the second half of the year. So I think right now, we see everything basically on our plan, but have, I think, a fairly cautious outlook in terms of -- I think there's a lot of uncertainty. Nobody can tell you whether rates are going to stop going up, whether we're going into a recession or we're not going into a recession. So the opinions vary across the board. And we're also excited about the initiatives that we have in place for our brands, including the newness that we have coming, some price points that we're filling to be able to reach consumers who are maybe a little bit more economically stressed and giving them reasons to buy.

在零售庫存方面，我們確實預計我們的零售商庫存會吃緊，這是我們持謹慎態度的原因之一，尤其是上半年。從零售的角度來看，手錶——尤其是手錶類別在下半年非常傾斜。所以我認為現在，我們看到的一切基本上都在我們的計劃中，但我認為，我認為，在 - 我認為存在很多不確定性方面，前景相當謹慎。沒有人能告訴你利率是否會停止上升，我們是否會陷入衰退或不會陷入衰退。所以各方意見不一。我們也對我們為我們的品牌採取的舉措感到興奮，包括我們即將推出的新產品、我們正在填補的一些價格點，以便能夠接觸到可能在經濟上壓力更大的消費者，以及給他們購買的理由。

Okay. And what about geographically from China, Europe and trends you're seeing there? We're seeing some issues with regarding the reopening ex BB. And also, I would love your take on China as well as your retail section and outlet traffic level?

好的。中國、歐洲的地理分佈和您在那裡看到的趨勢如何？我們看到一些關於重新開放 ex BB 的問題。另外，我很想知道您對中國的看法以及您的零售部門和門店客流量水平？

So let's start with your first question. I think China for us is a small market. And we've seen it bounced back nicely in the first quarter against a very challenged first quarter last year. And we continue to make investments in China. It's really focused behind our licensed brands and believe that it represents a long-term opportunity for us. But I don't necessarily think that we're indicative of other categories or other products in China because it is a small market for us.

那麼讓我們從你的第一個問題開始。我認為中國對我們來說是一個小市場。我們已經看到它在第一季度很好地反彈，而去年第一季度非常具有挑戰性。我們繼續在中國投資。它真正專注於我們的授權品牌，並相信它代表了我們的長期機會。但我不一定認為我們在中國代表其他類別或其他產品，因為它對我們來說是一個小市場。

Europe, on the other side, is more highly stressed and is a very big market for us as retailers there are really focused on bringing down inventory. And I think, again, the comparable -- the comps become easier in the second half of the year in Europe. And we continue also, as I said earlier, to bring exciting new products across our licensed brand portfolio where Europe is a very important market for us.

另一方面，歐洲的壓力更大，對我們來說是一個非常大的市場，因為那裡的零售商真正專注於降低庫存。我再次認為，可比較的是，今年下半年歐洲的比賽變得更容易了。正如我之前所說，我們還將繼續在我們的授權品牌組合中推出令人興奮的新產品，歐洲對我們來說是一個非常重要的市場。

I think your last question was about traffic in the outlet stores. We are seeing decent traffic in the outlet stores and what we're not seeing are the China buyers the -- return to the outlet stores that had been there previously. So -- and I think that's going to take a while for -- to reemerge. But overall, we're not -- it's a highly promotional market on the outlet side. And while our margins on that side are slightly down from last year, we're still protecting our margins and protecting that business' profitability for the company.

我想你的最後一個問題是關於直銷店的客流量。我們看到奧特萊斯商店的客流量不錯，而我們沒有看到的是中國買家 - 回到以前去過的奧特萊斯商店。所以——我認為這需要一段時間——才能重新出現。但總的來說，我們不是——這是一個高度促銷的出口市場。雖然我們在這方面的利潤率比去年略有下降，但我們仍在保護我們的利潤率並保護該業務對公司的盈利能力。

Okay. In the U.S. retail marketing your retail partners, we have some concerns about promotions overall and inventories running in line to perhaps getting a little bit worse as some of the trends decelerate. I would love your take on the U.S. retail market. And then Sallie as we model inventory growth relative to sales, what should we expect in the back half? And how are you feeling about the freshness of your inventories?

好的。在美國零售業營銷您的零售合作夥伴時，我們對整體促銷和庫存運行有一些擔憂，隨著一些趨勢的放緩，可能會變得更糟。我希望您能談談對美國零售市場的看法。然後 Sallie，當我們模擬相對於銷售的庫存增長時，我們應該對後半部分有什麼期望？您如何看待庫存的新鮮度？

So I think -- as I've said several times on the call, I just think there's a lot of uncertainty now. And nobody knows what's going to happen with interest rates. And I think that is certainly having an effect on the economy and on consumers. There's still a strong job market, which is a positive. So -- but consumers have had to pay more for things that they need to buy. I think there's also been an increase in travel and dining out. And -- but that will eventually I think with higher interest rates also become somewhat stressed.

所以我認為——正如我在電話會議上多次說過的那樣，我只是認為現在存在很多不確定性。沒有人知道利率會發生什麼。我認為這肯定會對經濟和消費者產生影響。就業市場仍然強勁，這是積極的。所以 - 但消費者不得不為他們需要購買的東西支付更多費用。我認為旅行和外出就餐也有所增加。而且——但我認為隨著利率上升，這最終也會變得有些壓力。

So I think it's really operating in an uncertain environment and it's something that we're generally -- throughout now our history, we've been very good at adapting to the consumer needs. And it's a very consumer-focused company. And that's why we're reintroducing some opening price points, particularly in our licensed brand portfolio as consumers become stressed in other areas. And we've seen some very good initial responses to some of the things that we've brought to the market quickly.

所以我認為它確實是在一個不確定的環境中運作的，而且我們通常都是這樣——縱觀我們的歷史，我們一直非常擅長適應消費者的需求。這是一家非常以消費者為中心的公司。這就是為什麼我們要重新引入一些起始價格點，特別是在我們的授權品牌組合中，因為消費者在其他領域變得有壓力。我們已經看到了對我們迅速推向市場的一些東西的一些非常好的初步反應。

And your other pieces on inventory, Oliver, and we are modeling that our inventory becomes more in line throughout the year. There was a bit of timing of receipts for some of our Swiss product that has a longer lead time in that we actually assemble. So by the end of the year, we expect to be at or below last year's year-end numbers for your modeling purposes.

以及你關於庫存的其他部分，奧利弗，我們正在建模，我們的庫存在全年變得更加一致。我們的一些瑞士產品的收貨時間有點長，因為我們實際組裝的交貨時間更長。因此，到今年年底，我們預計將達到或低於去年年底的數字，以便您進行建模。

Okay, Sallie. And then as we model the back half, will the gross margin continue to have a negative mix impact? And would love your thoughts on key drivers for the back half of the gross margin line? Your balance sheet has always remained robust as well. What should we think about in terms of repurchase the dividends and special dividends as well?

好的，莎莉。然後當我們為後半部分建模時，毛利率是否會繼續產生負面的混合影響？並且會喜歡您對毛利率線後半部分的主要驅動因素的看法嗎？您的資產負債表也始終保持穩健。在回購股息和特別股息方面我們應該考慮什麼？

Okay. I'll start on gross margin and then we'll get to maybe some of the more the questions on dividends and the like. Gross margin, the challenge is the comparison to last year, really. This year, we should have no unusual call-outs. Last year, we happened to have abnormally strong margins, especially in the front half of the year. If you look at each quarter, they decelerated throughout the year. So it's going to be -- it's a tough comparison this quarter. If you go back to 2 years ago, we are above where we were 2 years ago. It's just a comparison to last year makes it difficult. So last year, you saw very large increases due to mix. This year, you're just seeing those come back down a little bit more in line, but still better than we were 2 years ago. So that may help you a little bit on the modeling side.

好的。我將從毛利率開始，然後我們可能會討論更多關於股息等的問題。毛利率，真正的挑戰是與去年的比較。今年，我們應該不會有不尋常的召集。去年，我們的利潤率恰好異常強勁，尤其是在上半年。如果你看每個季度，它們在全年都在減速。所以這將是 - 本季度這是一個艱難的比較。如果你回到 2 年前，我們會高於 2 年前的水平。這只是與去年的比較讓它變得困難。所以去年，由於混合，你看到了非常大的增長。今年，你只是看到那些回歸了一點點，但仍然比我們 2 年前好。因此，這可能會在建模方面對您有所幫助。

And then on the capital allocation, dividends and share repurchases, I think we're very generous with our $0.35 regular dividend per quarter, and we've talked about share repurchases being a tool to offset dilution.

然後在資本配置、股息和股票回購方面，我認為我們每季度 0.35 美元的定期股息非常慷慨，我們已經討論過股票回購是抵消稀釋的一種工具。

And then I think I wouldn't anticipate there being another special dividend. I think that was an event that we did at the beginning of the year when we had a -- we believed would be a way to return value to our shareholders. And now our focus is on our ongoing dividend as well as continuing to maintain a strong balance sheet throughout the year.

然後我想我不會期望會有另一個特別股息。我認為這是我們在年初所做的一項活動，當時我們有一個——我們相信這是一種向股東回報價值的方式。現在我們的重點是我們持續的股息以及全年繼續保持強勁的資產負債表。

Okay. Last question. I was a big fan of Movado Bold in the earlier innings of that. What's happening with the lower price point innovation? And also, how are you thinking about that distribution footprint, if that's a relevant of different driver? And what inning are you in terms of pivoting your portfolio to make sure you address opening price points as well?

好的。最後一個問題。在那之前的幾局中，我是 Movado Bold 的忠實粉絲。較低價位的創新發生了什麼？而且，如果與不同的驅動程序相關，您如何考慮該分佈足跡？在調整您的投資組合以確保您也能解決開盤價方面，您打算採取哪一局？

Sure. Okay. So I like the baseball analogy. I think that we're probably right now in the second or third inning, and we'll get to the seventh or eighth inning in the second half of the year in terms of filling opening price points. So we're excited about those opportunities. And we do have a lot of innovation coming in Bold. In fact, some of it reminiscent of some of our very early introductions. And so we're quite excited about that. Our retailers are excited about it as well. And we've already rolled out our first new product family this quarter and expect that to continue throughout the year.

當然。好的。所以我喜歡棒球類比。我認為我們現在可能在第二或第三局，我們將在下半年進入第七或第八局，以填補開盤價。所以我們對這些機會感到興奮。我們確實有很多 Bold 的創新。事實上，其中一些讓人想起我們早期的一些介紹。所以我們對此感到非常興奮。我們的零售商也對此感到興奮。我們已經在本季度推出了我們的第一個新產品系列，並預計將在全年繼續推出。

Thank you, Oliver. I would like to thank all of you for participating on today's call, and we look forward to talking to you after the second quarter. Thank you.

謝謝你，奧利弗。我要感謝大家參加今天的電話會議，我們期待在第二季度之後與您交談。謝謝。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。此時您可以斷開線路。享受你剩下的一天。