Petmed Express Inc (PETS) 2021 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the 1-800-PetMeds conference call to review the financial results of the first fiscal quarter ended on June 30, 2021. At the request of the company, this conference call is being recorded.

歡迎參加 1-800-PetMeds 電話會議，審查截至 2021 年 6 月 30 日的第一財季財務業績。應公司要求，本次電話會議正在錄製中。

Founded in 1996, 1-800-PetMeds is America's most trusted pet pharmacy, delivering prescription and nonprescription pet medications and other health products for dogs, cats and horses direct to consumer. 1-800-PetMeds markets its products through national advertising campaigns, which direct consumers to order by phone or on the Internet and which aim to increase the recognition of the PetMeds family of brand names. 1-800-PetMeds provides an attractive alternative of obtaining pet medications in terms of convenience, price, ease of ordering and rapid home delivery.

1-800-PetMeds 成立於 1996 年，是美國最值得信賴的寵物藥房，直接向消費者提供狗、貓和馬的處方藥和非處方藥以及其他保健產品。 1-800-PetMeds 通過全國廣告活動營銷其產品，引導消費者通過電話或互聯網訂購，旨在提高 PetMeds 系列品牌的知名度。 1-800-PetMeds 在便利性、價格、易於訂購和快速送貨上門方面提供了一種有吸引力的寵物藥物替代品。

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to the company's Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Bruce Rosenbloom.

此時，我想將電話轉給公司的首席財務官 Bruce Rosenbloom 先生。

Thank you. I would like to welcome everybody here today. I would like to remind everyone that the first portion of this conference call will be listen-only until the question-and-answer session, which will be later in the call.

謝謝。我想歡迎大家今天來到這裡。我想提醒大家，本次電話會議的第一部分將是只聽，直到問答環節，這將在電話會議的後期進行。

Also, certain information that will be included in this press conference may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or the Securities and Exchange Commission that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on our beliefs as well as assumptions we have used based upon information currently available to us. Because these statements reflect our current views concerning future events, these statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual future results may vary significantly based on a number of factors that may cause the actual results or events to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these statements. We have identified various risk factors associated with our operation in our most recent annual report and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

此外，本次新聞發布會中將包含的某些信息可能包括 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》或證券交易委員會定義的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述可能涉及許多風險和不確定性。這些陳述是基於我們的信念以及我們根據目前可用的信息所使用的假設。由於這些陳述反映了我們目前對未來事件的看法，因此這些陳述涉及風險、不確定性和假設。實際的未來結果可能會因多種因素而有很大差異，這些因素可能導致實際結果或事件與這些陳述明示或暗示的未來結果、業績或成就存在重大差異。我們在最近的年度報告和提交給美國證券交易委員會的其他文件中確定了與我們的運營相關的各種風險因素。

For today's conference call, Gian Fulgoni, our Board Chairman, is joining us. Now we will review the financial results. We will compare our first fiscal quarter ended on June 30, 2021, to last year's quarter ended June 30, 2020, and in some cases, refer back to pre-pandemic time periods as well.

對於今天的電話會議，我們的董事會主席 Gian Fulgoni 將加入我們的行列。現在我們將審查財務結果。我們將比較截至 2021 年 6 月 30 日的第一個財政季度與截至 2020 年 6 月 30 日的上一財季，在某些情況下，還會回顧大流行前的時期。

In our first quarter of fiscal 2022, we faced a unique situation. We are coming off a very strong June quarter last year that was primarily driven by increased e-commerce demand as a result of the pandemic, causing many retail stores to close and many veterinarians to be unavailable. However, during the most recent quarter, while the pandemic was abating and retail stores and veterinarians were reopening, the advertising market was rapidly recovering with surging demand, drastically driving up the cost of advertising on a per-impression basis. As a result, given that the overall advertising spending for the quarter increased over the prior period, we delivered fewer ad impressions than in prior years. Our total net advertising for our income statement did, in fact, decrease due to increased cooperative marketing rebates, which were earned in the quarter.

在我們 2022 財年的第一季度，我們面臨著一種獨特的情況。去年 6 月季度我們的表現非常強勁，這主要是由於大流行導致電子商務需求增加，導致許多零售店關閉，許多獸醫無法使用。然而，在最近一個季度，雖然大流行正在減弱，零售店和獸醫正在重新開放，但廣告市場正在迅速復蘇，需求激增，大大推高了每次展示的廣告成本。因此，鑑於本季度的整體廣告支出比上一時期有所增加，我們投放的廣告展示次數少於往年。事實上，由於本季度獲得的合作營銷回扣增加，我們損益表的淨廣告總額確實有所減少。

For the first fiscal quarter ended on June 30, 2021, sales were $79.3 million compared to sales of $96.2 million for the same period the prior year, a decrease of 17.6%. The sales were relatively flat versus the quarter ended June 30, 2019, prior to the pandemic. The decreases in sales was due to decreases in both new order and reorder sales. Our sales were negatively impacted by a much more competitive market and a crowded advertising space with substantially higher costs compared to the same quarter last year.

截至 2021 年 6 月 30 日的第一財季，銷售額為 7930 萬美元，上年同期為 9620 萬美元，下降 17.6%。與大流行之前截至 2019 年 6 月 30 日的季度相比，銷售額相對持平。銷售額下降是由於新訂單和再訂單銷售額的下降。我們的銷售受到競爭更加激烈的市場和擁擠的廣告空間的負面影響，與去年同期相比成本大幅增加。

In addition, during the most recent quarter, there was a dramatic increase in veterinarian visits by pet owners who were unable to visit their veterinarians during the pandemic. We believe the increase in veterinarian visits was primarily due to pet owners needing to visit their veterinarians for their pets' annual exam and to renew their prescriptions. Since some pet owners purchase medications directly from their vets during their visit, the company believes this negatively impacted sales and especially reorder sales during the quarter.

此外，在最近一個季度，在大流行期間無法去看獸醫的寵物主人看獸醫的次數急劇增加。我們認為獸醫就診次數的增加主要是由於寵物主人需要拜訪他們的獸醫進行寵物的年度檢查並更新他們的處方。由於一些寵物主人在訪問期間直接從他們的獸醫那裡購買藥物，該公司認為這對本季度的銷售產生了負面影響，尤其是重新訂購的銷售。

Our reorder sales decreased by 11.8% to $70.9 million for the quarter compared to reorder sales of $80.4 million for the same quarter last year while for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, our reorder sales were $67.7 million. We would expect to see stronger reorder sales in the back half of fiscal 2022 as we anticipate more prescriptions being refilled.

我們的再訂單銷售額在本季度下降了 11.8% 至 7090 萬美元，而去年同期的再訂單銷售額為 8040 萬美元，而截至 2019 年 6 月 30 日的季度，我們的再訂單銷售額為 6770 萬美元。我們預計在 2022 財年下半年會看到更強勁的再訂購銷售，因為我們預計會有更多的處方被重新配藥。

A positive trend to highlight for the quarter was the continued increase in our average order size. Our average order value was approximately $95 for the quarter compared to $89 for the same quarter last year and $86 for the quarter ended June 30, 2019. The increase in AOV can be attributed to a shift in our product mix to more higher-priced prescription items and less lower-priced over-the-counter items, with prescription items having a higher gross margin profile in comparison to over-the-counter items.

本季度要強調的一個積極趨勢是我們的平均訂單量持續增加。我們本季度的平均訂單價值約為 95 美元，而去年同期為 89 美元，截至 2019 年 6 月 30 日的季度為 86 美元。AOV 的增加可歸因於我們的產品組合轉向價格更高的處方藥商品和價格較低的非處方商品，與非處方商品相比，處方商品的毛利率更高。

As I mentioned earlier, during the quarter ended June 30, 2021, the advertising market was extremely competitive, and this increased demand drove up ad prices dramatically. As a result, our advertising spending was less efficient than usual and delivered fewer ad impressions than in prior years. Because of this, we believe our advertising spending was less effective in the most recent quarter in its ability -- in its inability to attract new customers.

正如我之前提到的，在截至 2021 年 6 月 30 日的季度中，廣告市場競爭異常激烈，需求的增加推高了廣告價格。因此，我們的廣告支出效率低於往年，廣告展示次數也低於往年。正因為如此，我們認為我們的廣告支出在最近一個季度的能力——無法吸引新客戶——效率較低。

New order sales decreased 47% to $8.4 million for the quarter compared to $15.8 million for the same quarter of the prior year. We acquired approximately 92,000 new customers in our first fiscal quarter compared to 186,000 for the same period the prior year. However, we anticipate that advertising prices should revert back to more normal levels as the pandemic further subsides, which would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our media spending and thereby, continue to help us gain new customers. Encouragingly, reorder sales in the most recent quarter, while down versus a year ago, were up approximately 5% compared to the same period in 2019, pre pandemic.

本季度新訂單銷售額下降 47% 至 840 萬美元，而去年同期為 1580 萬美元。我們在第一財季獲得了大約 92,000 名新客戶，而去年同期為 186,000 名。然而，我們預計隨著大流行病的進一步消退，廣告價格應該會恢復到更正常的水平，這將提高我們媒體支出的效率和效果，從而繼續幫助我們贏得新客戶。令人鼓舞的是，最近一個季度的再訂購銷售額雖然與一年前相比有所下降，但與大流行前的 2019 年同期相比增長了約 5%。

For the first fiscal quarter, net income was $4.4 million or $0.22 diluted per share compared to $7.8 million or $0.39 diluted per share for the same quarter last year, a decrease to net income of 43%. There was a onetime charge of $717,000 related to the CEO separation agreement, which was incurred in the quarter. The company also incurred an additional $260,000 related to brand and marketing consulting fees within the quarter.

第一財季淨收入為 440 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.22 美元，而去年同期為 780 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.39 美元，淨收入下降 43%。本季度發生了與 CEO 離職協議相關的一次性費用 717,000 美元。該公司還在該季度內額外支付了 260,000 美元與品牌和營銷諮詢費相關的費用。

For the first fiscal quarter, our gross profit as a percentage of sales was 27.5% compared to 27.8% for the same period a year ago. The percentage decrease for the quarter can be attributed to some of the major manufacturers shifting their funding from discounting product costs to cooperative marketing rebates. There may be an opportunity to improve gross margins in the second half of fiscal year 2022 if the shift to prescription medications continue.

在第一財季，我們的毛利潤佔銷售額的百分比為 27.5%，而去年同期為 27.8%。本季度的百分比下降可歸因於一些主要製造商將其資金從貼現產品成本轉移到合作營銷回扣。如果繼續轉向處方藥，可能有機會在 2022 財年下半年提高毛利率。

During the balance of this year, we'll also continue investing in our e-commerce platform to better service our customers by adding additional features to our website to further drive sales, for example, like Autoship & Save, which was recently launched on our website about a week ago. Our customers responded very positively, and enrollment in Autoship & Save was very strong in its first week. We expect many more of our reorder sales to eventually transition to Autoship & Save by the end of our fiscal year.

在今年餘下的時間裡，我們還將繼續投資我們的電子商務平台，通過在我們的網站上添加更多功能來進一步推動銷售，以更好地服務我們的客戶，例如，最近在我們的網站上推出的 Autoship & Save大約一周前的網站。我們的客戶反應非常積極，第一周 Autoship & Save 的註冊人數非常多。我們預計到本財年結束時，更多的再訂購銷售最終會過渡到自動送貨和保存。

We had $111.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and $29.2 million in inventory with no debt as of June 30, 2021. The Board of Directors also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share on the company's common stock. The dividend will be payable on August 13, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 6, 2021.

截至 2021 年 6 月 30 日，我們擁有 1.118 億美元的現金和現金等價物以及 2920 萬美元的存貨，沒有債務。董事會還宣布了公司普通股每股 0.30 美元的季度股息。股息將於 2021 年 8 月 13 日支付給 2021 年 8 月 6 日營業結束時登記在冊的股東。

The company continues to be committed to returning capital to our stockholders. However, the declaration and payment of future dividends is discretionary and will be subject to a determination by the Board of Directors each quarter, following its review of the company's financial performance.

公司繼續致力於向我們的股東返還資本。然而，未來股息的宣布和支付是酌情決定的，將由董事會每季度在審查公司的財務業績後做出決定。

This ends the financial review. Let me turn it over to Gian, our Board Chairman, to say a few words.

財務審查到此結束。讓我把它轉交給我們的董事會主席 Gian 說幾句話。

Thank you, Bruce, and good morning, everyone. So I'd like to take this opportunity to make a few comments about the future of the company, which, despite the challenges of the most recent quarter, I believe remains exceedingly bright. So why do I say that? Well, there are numerous reasons.

謝謝你，布魯斯，大家早上好。因此，我想藉此機會對公司的未來發表一些評論，儘管最近一個季度面臨挑戰，但我相信它仍然非常光明。那我為什麼這麼說呢？好吧，有很多原因。

First, I would point out that the pet care market is growing rapidly, and many consumers have become new pet owners during the pandemic. Second, the market is rapidly shifting to online buying where PetMeds thrives. Third, many new products and services, which are often driven by technology and other innovations, are being introduced, and we anticipate making some selective strategic equity investments in these innovative enterprises by leveraging some of the capital that we have on hand.

首先，我要指出的是，寵物護理市場正在快速增長，許多消費者在疫情期間成為了新的寵物主人。其次，市場正迅速轉向 PetMeds 蓬勃發展的在線購買。第三，許多新產品和服務不斷推出，這些產品和服務往往是由技術和其他創新驅動的，我們預計將利用我們手頭的部分資金，對這些創新企業進行一些選擇性的戰略股權投資。

Fourth, we plan on revamping our marketing positioning and increasing our product offerings. We'll do that along with retooling our marketing strategies and tactics to further build our customer base and ensure that the company's success will continue in tomorrow's digital world. And finally, we're enhancing our leadership with 2 new experienced directors up for election by our shareholders this year, and our shareholder meeting is later this week.

第四，我們計劃改進我們的營銷定位並增加我們的產品供應。我們將這樣做，同時重組我們的營銷戰略和策略，以進一步建立我們的客戶群，並確保公司在明天的數字世界中繼續取得成功。最後，我們正在加強我們的領導力，今年有 2 名經驗豐富的新董事將由我們的股東選舉，我們的股東大會將在本週晚些時候舉行。

The search for our new CEO is well underway. We are seeing some very, very interesting candidates, and we anticipate being able to make an announcement there in the near future. So bottom line, we believe that the company's finest hours lie ahead.

尋找我們的新 CEO 的工作正在有條不紊地進行。我們看到了一些非常非常有趣的候選人，我們預計能夠在不久的將來在那裡發佈公告。因此，歸根結底，我們相信公司最輝煌的時刻就在眼前。

At this point, let me recognize Mendo Akdag, our outgoing CEO, who's led the company for over 20 years. And we thank him for his leadership and wish him well in his future endeavors. I'd also like to thank our over 200 dedicated employees, many of whom have been with us for more than a decade.

在這一點上，讓我認識我們即將離任的首席執行官 Mendo Akdag，他領導公司超過 20 年。我們感謝他的領導，並祝愿他在未來的工作中一切順利。我還要感謝我們 200 多名敬業的員工，他們中的許多人已經與我們一起工作了十多年。

So to sum up, today, the company is in an enviable financial position. We have a very strong balance sheet with $111 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt. And this provides us with the financial resources we believe are necessary to accomplish ambitious growth objectives.

總而言之，今天，該公司的財務狀況令人羨慕。我們的資產負債表非常強勁，現金和現金等價物達 1.11 億美元，沒有債務。這為我們提供了我們認為實現雄心勃勃的增長目標所必需的財務資源。

We are the leader in our space. We celebrated our 25th anniversary this year, and we've been operating profitably now for over 2 decades. We're proud that since the company's inception, we have served more than 11 million customers. And since declaring our first dividend back in 2009, we've returned over $200 million to our shareholders in dividends. In conjunction then with these accomplishments, we are, as I think you can tell, very excited by the opportunities that lie ahead for the company.

我們是我們所在領域的領導者。我們今年慶祝了成立 25 週年，我們現在已經盈利超過 20 年。我們感到自豪的是，自公司成立以來，我們已經為超過 1100 萬客戶提供服務。自 2009 年宣布首次派發股息以來，我們已向股東返還超過 2 億美元的股息。結合這些成就，我想你可以看出，我們對公司未來的機遇感到非常興奮。

So that ends our prepared remarks. And now Bruce and I will be happy to take your questions. So operator, we're now ready to take questions.

我們準備好的發言到此結束。現在布魯斯和我很樂意回答你的問題。接線員，我們現在準備好提問了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Ben Rose with Battle Road Research.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Battle Road Research 的 Ben Rose。

Yes. A few questions. It's been several months since you hinted at the potential to introduce new products. So I was hoping, either Bruce or Gian, if you could give us some insight into what kind of products you might be thinking of. Are these complementary to pet medications? Are they sort of adjacent segments that you might be addressing?

是的。幾個問題。自從您暗示有可能推出新產品以來已經過去了幾個月。所以我希望，無論是 Bruce 還是 Gian，你能否讓我們了解一下你可能會想到什麼樣的產品。這些是寵物藥物的補充嗎？它們是您可能要解決的相鄰細分市場嗎？

Yes. I think just I'll make a couple of comments, Bruce, and I'm sure you have some as well. I think that the market that we're in, which is really the health and wellness market, that there are a lot of products that we could add to our product mix but still remain within that broad definition of the market. There are also, as I mentioned in my comments, innovative technology-based products that are coming along that we may be able to carry in our product mix.

是的。我想我會發表一些評論，Bruce，我相信你也有一些評論。我認為我們所處的市場實際上是健康和保健市場，我們可以將很多產品添加到我們的產品組合中，但仍保持在市場的廣泛定義範圍內。正如我在評論中提到的，還有一些基於創新技術的產品正在出現，我們可以將它們納入我們的產品組合。

So I would imagine that the new CEO is going to be taking a very hard look at what can be done to expand the product line while taking care that the weight, if you will, of the products doesn't cause us a problem with the cost of shipping. Bruce, any other comments?

所以我可以想像，新任首席執行官將非常認真地研究可以做些什麼來擴展產品線，同時注意產品的重量，如果你願意的話，不會給我們帶來問題運費。布魯斯，還有其他意見嗎？

Yes. I mean we talked about this before, Ben. We're always continually looking to add more product offerings to our website. Most recently, we've added more Rx and high-end food SKUs -- premium dog food SKUs, gives us a better chance for profitability. But we're always exploring additional ways to acquire new customers through any partnerships, fulfillment or any value-added services, other new opportunities within the pet health space, as Gian mentioned. That will be our focus this year, and we'll give you more information in the later part of the year when we have something to report.

是的。我的意思是我們之前談過這個，本。我們一直在不斷尋求向我們的網站添加更多產品。最近，我們添加了更多 Rx 和高端食品 SKU——優質狗糧 SKU，為我們提供了更好的盈利機會。但正如 Gian 提到的，我們一直在探索通過任何合作夥伴關係、履行或任何增值服務以及寵物健康領域內的其他新機會來獲取新客戶的其他方法。這將是我們今年的重點，我們會在今年下半年有消息要報告時為您提供更多信息。

Okay. And if I may, just a couple more. One strategic question was -- noted your desire to potentially make selective strategic investments. Does this mean that you'd be looking more to invest in other companies as opposed to acquiring them outright?

好的。如果可以的話，再多幾個。一個戰略問題是 - 注意到您希望潛在地進行選擇性戰略投資。這是否意味著您會更多地投資於其他公司，而不是直接收購它們？

Well, we've always looked aggressively at acquisition and other investment opportunities in the past. There always seemed to be a little gap between the expectation of both the buyer and the seller. But we plan to be aggressive this year, and based on our press release and the comments we made today, I would probably say yes.

好吧，過去我們一直積極尋找收購和其他投資機會。買賣雙方的期望之間似乎總是存在一點差距。但我們計劃今年更加積極，根據我們的新聞稿和我們今天發表的評論，我可能會說是。

I think that...

我覺得...

Okay. And then -- I'm sorry.

好的。然後——對不起。

Yes. From my perspective, I've spent a lot of years in the technology sectors. And it's pretty clear that technology is rapidly accelerating in the pet care market broadly, often in times of -- in examples of new services. And I think that selective investments in those types of products, coupled with then the ability to introduce them broadly to our customer base, represents a pretty attractive opportunity that I think we should be pursuing.

是的。從我的角度來看，我在技術領域工作了很多年。很明顯，技術在廣泛的寵物護理市場中正在迅速加速，通常是在新服務的例子中。而且我認為，對這些類型的產品進行選擇性投資，再加上將它們廣泛介紹給我們的客戶群的能力，代表了一個非常有吸引力的機會，我認為我們應該追求。

Okay. That certainly makes sense. And then if I may, finally, the Autoship & Save. Bruce, can you start -- can you comment on how long that's been available? Did I hear you say that it's just been available in the last week? Or has it been -- if you could just let us know when that started.

好的。這當然有道理。最後，如果可以的話，Autoship & Save。 Bruce，你能開始嗎——你能評論一下它可用了多長時間嗎？我聽說你說它是上週才上市的嗎？或者已經 - 如果你能告訴我們什麼時候開始的話。

Correct. Yes, it was launched last week or maybe 8 or 9 days ago. We're really excited. I mean we're looking to add this for some time. Our customers have been asking for this feature, especially for the customers who order monthly medications. That's pretty critical, I think. I think -- we anticipate Autoship will continue to drive future reorder sales, and it will also strengthen our relationship with our customer base.

正確的。是的，它是上週或 8 或 9 天前推出的。我們真的很興奮。我的意思是我們希望在一段時間內添加它。我們的客戶一直要求此功能，特別是對於訂購每月藥物的客戶。我認為這非常關鍵。我認為 - 我們預計 Autoship 將繼續推動未來的再訂購銷售，並且還將加強我們與客戶群的關係。

Erin Wright with Crédit Suisse.

瑞士信貸的艾琳賴特。

I have a quick follow-up on that last question on Autoship. What percent of customers do you anticipate will use the offering? Or what's the goal there just based on the mix of business that's considered more chronic therapy or preventative? Would it be purely focused on some of that monthly flea and tick medication or other categories? Or what percentage of your customers do you anticipate that targeting?

我對關於 Autoship 的最後一個問題進行了快速跟進。您預計有多少百分比的客戶會使用該產品？或者僅基於被認為更長期治療或預防的業務組合的目標是什麼？它會純粹專注於某些每月一次的跳蚤和蜱蟲藥物或其他類別嗎？或者您預計該目標客戶的百分比是多少？

Yes. I don't think we're going to give any specific targets or internal targets at this time. But as you know, Erin, the overwhelming majority of what we sell, especially in the prescription medications, are those monthly, every 3 months, every 6 months. So that would qualify for a large portion of our business. So we'll give more updates as we go along, but we're very excited about the launch.

是的。我認為我們此時不會給出任何具體目標或內部目標。但正如你所知，艾琳，我們銷售的絕大多數產品，尤其是處方藥，都是每月一次、每 3 個月一次、每 6 個月一次。因此，這將符合我們業務的很大一部分。因此，我們會在進行過程中提供更多更新，但我們對發布感到非常興奮。

Okay. Great. And then how would you characterize the flea and tick season this year? I guess what are you seeing across that category of products this quarter? And how would you characterize the shift that you're seeing between the prescription-only product and the over-the-counter flea and tick products and how that's impacting your business financially?

好的。偉大的。那麼您如何描述今年的跳蚤和蜱蟲季節？我想您在本季度看到了該類別的產品是什麼？您如何描述您在僅限處方的產品與非處方跳蚤和壁蝨產品之間看到的轉變，以及這將如何影響您的業務財務？

Right. We really have seen -- it's been a tale of 2 different years. I mean last year, we saw a greater amount of over-the-counter products. And that's because many of the pet stores and -- obviously, veterinarians, pet stores and other brick-and-mortar stores were closed. So typically, we saw an unusual lift in over-the-counter products last year. This year was back to more normalized levels between -- the breakdown between Rx and OTC.

正確的。我們真的看到了 - 這是 2 年不同的故事。我的意思是去年，我們看到了更多的非處方產品。那是因為許多寵物店——顯然，獸醫店、寵物店和其他實體店都關門了。因此，通常情況下，去年我們看到場外交易產品出現異常增長。今年又回到了更加正常化的水平——Rx 和 OTC 之間的細分。

Okay. And then given some of the ad spend dynamics you were referring to, how should we be thinking about the quarterly progression of advertising spend for the balance of the year? And separately, for the balance of the year as well, should we anticipate further additional costs associated with the brand and marketing consulting fees similar to what was incurred in the first quarter?

好的。然後考慮到您提到的一些廣告支出動態，我們應該如何考慮今年剩餘時間內廣告支出的季度進展？另外，對於今年的餘額，我們是否應該預期與第一季度類似的品牌和營銷諮詢費用相關的進一步額外成本？

Right. That's a good question. When we look at overall ad spend for the quarter, it was, in fact, slightly up versus a year ago. However, when we looked at the net number, of course, with the manufacturer rebates that we received, looking at the income statement, you will see a decline in that spend.

正確的。這是個好問題。當我們查看本季度的整體廣告支出時，實際上與一年前相比略有上升。然而，當我們查看淨值時，當然，還有我們收到的製造商回扣，查看損益表，您會看到該支出有所下降。

We were aggressive with advertising, but the environment was a very difficult environment. On a per-impression basis, costs increased significantly as a result of the crowded advertising landscape, which, of course, delivered fewer overall ad impressions. Going forward, we will continue to be aggressive with our ad spending. Our budget is flexible. So depending on ROI, we may adjust it from time to time.

我們在廣告方面很激進，但環境非常艱難。在每次展示的基礎上，由於廣告環境擁擠，成本顯著增加，當然，整體廣告展示次數較少。展望未來，我們將繼續積極進取我們的廣告支出。我們的預算是靈活的。因此，根據投資回報率，我們可能會不時進行調整。

Rapid changes in that advertising landscape requires some real-time adjustments. I think overall, like I said, spending was up for the quarter, and we'll continue to be aggressive going forward. And I think as we move into the second half of the year, traditionally as we get out of season, we have some better opportunities on the ad front historically.

廣告領域的快速變化需要一些實時調整。我認為總體而言，就像我說的那樣，本季度的支出有所增加，我們將繼續積極進取。而且我認為，隨著我們進入下半年，傳統上隨著我們淡出季節，我們在廣告方面的歷史上有一些更好的機會。

Bruce, just to add a couple of comments. One of the things that is increasingly possible especially with digital media is to examine the degree to which there's an overlap across the different channels. Because if one doesn't do that, one risks delivering just increasing number of impressions with the same number of people. And I think there's a significant opportunity for us to review that in greater detail and make more informed decisions about where to put our ad dollars. So I'm not sure at this point how that would shake out, but I do -- in terms of the total dollars spent, but I think there are some pretty compelling opportunities to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our media spend.

Bruce，我想補充幾點意見。尤其是對於數字媒體，越來越有可能的事情之一是檢查不同渠道之間的重疊程度。因為如果一個人不這樣做，那麼就有可能在相同數量的人中提供越來越多的印象。而且我認為我們有一個重要的機會來更詳細地審查它，並就我們的廣告資金投入何處做出更明智的決定。所以我現在不確定這會如何改變，但我知道 - 就花費的總美元而言，但我認為有一些非常有吸引力的機會來提高我們媒體支出的效率和有效性。

And the consulting fees, will those continue?

還有諮詢費，這些會繼續嗎？

That's something that we'll be considering as the year progresses. I mean a lot will depend on when we bring new leadership in and what his preference will be. And if there is, we'll let you know if it's a material amount.

隨著時間的推移，這是我們將考慮的事情。我的意思是，很大程度上取決於我們何時引入新的領導層以及他的偏好。如果有的話，我們會告訴你它是否是一個重要的數額。

(Operator Instructions) Anthony Lebiedzinski with Sidoti & Company.

（操作員說明）Anthony Lebiedzinski 與 Sidoti & Company。

So my first question is for you, Gian, and thank you for joining the call here. Nice to get a perspective from the Board of Directors. So as you look to hire a new CEO, what are the top qualities that you're looking for, for your new leader? Just wanted to get your perspective.

所以我的第一個問題是給你的，吉安，感謝你加入這裡的電話會議。很高興從董事會那裡得到一個觀點。因此，當您希望聘請一位新 CEO 時，您希望新領導具備哪些頂級品質？只是想了解您的觀點。

Yes. That's a good question. Thank you. So I think that there's definitely certain experiences that we would look at as being important. E-commerce -- senior executive leadership of an e-commerce business is important. If we can add to that experience in the pet care markets, I'd say that's also important. But I would rank the e-commerce experience as being the most important there, somebody who has a desire and some experience in transformation of companies.

是的。這是個好問題。謝謝。所以我認為我們肯定會認為某些經歷很重要。電子商務——電子商務企業的高級行政領導很重要。如果我們可以增加寵物護理市場的經驗，我認為這也很重要。但我會把電子商務經驗列為最重要的，有人在公司轉型方面有願望和經驗。

And what's interesting at this point in time is that it used to be that digital transformations would be applied to companies that weren't yet digital. I think that increasingly today, we're seeing -- given the rate of change of digital technology, we're seeing some significant opportunities to revamp the operations of companies that are already digital. And so somebody who's been through transformations and has that kind of experience, that would also be pretty important to us. So I think those, I would say, are the most important categories that we're looking for.

在這個時間點有趣的是，過去數字化轉型將應用於尚未數字化的公司。我認為，在今天，我們越來越多地看到——鑑於數字技術的變化速度，我們看到了一些重大機會來改造已經數字化的公司的運營。因此，經歷過轉型並擁有這種經驗的人對我們來說也非常重要。所以我認為那些，我會說，是我們正在尋找的最重要的類別。

Got it. Okay. Yes, that's very helpful. And I guess we'll stay tuned for the announcement in regards to that.

知道了。好的。是的，這很有幫助。我想我們會繼續關注有關這方面的公告。

So PetMed traditionally has had a very strong cash-rich, debt-free balance sheet. Just wondering, from the Board's perspective, are you looking to maintain that same type of capital allocation? Or would you be willing to do anything differently with new leadership?

因此，PetMed 傳統上擁有非常強大的現金充裕、無債務的資產負債表。只是想知道，從董事會的角度來看，您是否希望維持相同類型的資本配置？或者你願意在新的領導下做些不同的事情嗎？

Yes, that's another good question. Yes, certainly, if you look at PetMeds as a -- an Internet-based company, its profitability has been surprisingly strong, right, given the number of companies that's in the tech space, certainly, that are out there growing rapidly but not yet making a profit. So I personally think that continuing to be nicely profitable is important. And I think that can be achieved. And I think we've kind of established a road map for how to achieve that.

是的，這是另一個好問題。是的，當然，如果你把 PetMeds 看作是一家基於互聯網的公司，它的盈利能力出奇地強勁，對吧，考慮到技術領域的公司數量，當然，這些公司正在快速增長但還沒有賺取利潤。所以我個人認為繼續保持良好的盈利很重要。我認為這是可以實現的。我認為我們已經為如何實現這一目標制定了路線圖。

In any situation, in my experience, where you have a change at the CEO level, it's very possible that there might be some investments required in the short term to establish the new strategic plan and the new path forward. But I would hope that, that would be done, as I say, in a short-term temporary basis that then leads to an acceleration in both top line and bottom line growth. I hope that helps.

在任何情況下，根據我的經驗，如果您在 CEO 級別發生變化，短期內很可能需要一些投資來建立新的戰略計劃和新的前進道路。但我希望，正如我所說，這將在短期臨時基礎上完成，然後導致收入和利潤增長加速。我希望這有幫助。

Got it. Yes. Okay. Yes, for sure. And then in terms of the ad spending, would you say -- are you still going to be mostly digital, you think? Or will you do more TV? Kind of just broadly thinking about the different media channels as far as advertising is concerned. What are your thoughts there?

知道了。是的。好的。是肯定的。然後就廣告支出而言，你會說 - 你認為你仍然主要是數字化的嗎？或者你會做更多的電視嗎？就廣告而言，只是廣泛考慮不同的媒體渠道。你有什麼想法？

Yes. So obviously, one of the trends that's just accelerated dramatically in large part because of the pandemic is connected TV, right, over-the-top distribution of content, a lot of it which is content that was being distributed on legacy TV and continues to be but now it's increasingly being delivered over the top. It's getting a significant audience, and so I don't think we can ignore it.

是的。很明顯，在很大程度上由於大流行而急劇加速的趨勢之一是聯網電視，對，內容的過度分發，其中很多是在傳統電視上分發的內容，並繼續是，但現在它越來越多地通過頂部交付。它吸引了大量的觀眾，所以我認為我們不能忽視它。

I think it's important to look at the -- as always, to look at the demographics of the users of these different video channels. That said, I can certainly refer back to work we did at Comscore , extensive work looking at the effectiveness of static display ads versus video. And it was pretty clear that video was significantly more effective.

我認為與往常一樣，重要的是要查看這些不同視頻頻道的用戶的人口統計數據。也就是說，我當然可以回顧一下我們在 Comscore 所做的工作，大量工作著眼於靜態展示廣告與視頻的有效性。很明顯，視頻的效果要好得多。

So I would imagine that there are some really attractive opportunities for us to put some money against connected TV and over-the-top and maybe to broaden our investments in video, and I'd certainly encourage the new CEO to look at those kinds of opportunities. But digital -- I mean over-the-top TV is digital, right, when all is said and done. And so this kind of this transition from what was TV content distributed over the air or via cable and now it is being distributed digitally. So the term digital becomes broader in today's world, but I think that there -- again, there are significant opportunities that we should be pursuing here.

所以我想，我們有一些非常有吸引力的機會來投資聯網電視和 Over-the-top，並可能擴大我們在視頻方面的投資，我當然會鼓勵新任首席執行官考慮這些類型機會。但是數字——我的意思是說，over-the-top 電視是數字的，對吧，總而言之。因此，這種從通過空中或通過電纜分發的電視內容轉變為現在以數字方式分發的內容。因此，數字一詞在當今世界變得更加廣泛，但我認為，我們應該在這裡尋求重要的機會。

Got it. Okay. And lastly for me, as far as the loyalty program, have you -- can you give us an update on what you've seen there and whether you expect to make any changes to that going forward?

知道了。好的。最後對我來說，就忠誠度計劃而言，你有沒有 - 你能告訴我們你在那裡看到的最新情況以及你是否希望對此做出任何改變？

With the loyalty plan, listen, we're always looking to improve on any of our -- anything that we have, especially when it concerns the website. We're very happy with the performance of the plan. To date, it has helped reorder sales from our initial launch.

有了忠誠度計劃，聽著，我們一直在尋求改進我們擁有的任何東西，尤其是與網站有關的東西。我們對該計劃的表現非常滿意。迄今為止，它已經幫助我們重新訂購了我們最初推出的產品。

But I think with adding Autoship & Save in conjunction with our loyalty plan -- and the loyalty plan may change, too. It's not -- the way we initially launched it may not be the way that plan will be looking in the future. So I think as we move forward, we'll see some changes. And when we make those changes, we'll let you know.

但我認為將 Autoship & Save 與我們的忠誠度計劃結合起來——忠誠度計劃也可能會發生變化。它不是——我們最初啟動它的方式可能不是該計劃未來的樣子。所以我認為隨著我們前進，我們會看到一些變化。當我們進行這些更改時，我們會通知您。

I'm showing no further questions. Mr. Rosenbloom, Mr. Fulgoni, I'll turn the call back over to you.

我沒有進一步的問題。 Rosenbloom 先生，Fulgoni 先生，我會把電話轉給你們。

Okay. Thank you. This wraps up today's call. We really appreciate your time. Thank you for joining us. Operator, this ends the conference call.

好的。謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們非常感謝您的寶貴時間。感謝您加入我們。話務員，電話會議到此結束。

Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。