QVC Group Inc (QVCGA) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Qurate Retail earnings call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎來到 Qurate Retail 財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，正在錄製此會議。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Shane Kleinstein. You may begin.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人 Shane Kleinstein。你可以開始了。

Thank you, and good morning. Before we begin, we'd like to remind everyone that this call includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results could differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those mentioned in the most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed by our company and QVC with the SEC.

謝謝，早上好。在我們開始之前，我們想提醒大家，本次電話會議包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的某些前瞻性陳述。實際事件或結果可能因許多風險和不確定性而存在重大差異，包括我們公司和 QVC 向美國證券交易委員會提交的最新 10-K 和 10-Q 表格中提到的那些。

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this call, and Qurate Retail expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Qurate Retail's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

這些前瞻性陳述僅在本次電話會議之日有效，Qurate Retail 明確表示不承擔任何義務或承諾傳播對此處包含的任何前瞻性陳述的任何更新或修訂，以反映 Qurate Retail 對此的預期的任何變化或任何此類聲明所依據的事件、條件或情況的任何變化。

Please note that we have published slides to accompany the earnings release. On today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted OIBDA, adjusted OIBDA margin, free cash flow and constant currency. Information regarding the comparable GAAP metrics, along with required definitions and reconciliations, including preliminary notes, Schedules 1 through 4, can be found in the earnings press release issued today or our earnings presentation, which are available on our website.

請注意，我們已經發布了幻燈片以配合收益發布。在今天的電話會議上，我們將討論某些非 GAAP 財務指標，包括調整後的 OIBDA、調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率、自由現金流和不變貨幣。有關可比較的 GAAP 指標的信息，以及所需的定義和調節，包括初步說明、附表 1 至 4，可以在今天發布的收益新聞稿或我們的收益演示中找到，這些信息可在我們的網站上找到。

Today speaking on the earnings call, we have Qurate Retail President and CEO, David Rawlinson; Qurate Retail Group's new CFO, Bill Wafford; and Qurate Retail Executive Chairman, Greg Maffei. And with that, I will turn the call over to David Rawlinson.

今天在財報電話會議上發言的有 Qurate Retail 總裁兼首席執行官 David Rawlinson； Qurate Retail Group 的新首席財務官 Bill Wafford；和 Qurate Retail 執行主席 Greg Maffei。有了這個，我會把電話轉給大衛·羅林森。

Thank you, Shane, and good morning to everyone. Thank you for joining us today and for your interest in Qurate Retail. We saw meaningful improvement in revenue trends in the first quarter at our largest businesses, QVC US. and QVC International, both of which declined only low single digits even against the challenged retail backdrop. Performance was soft at our smaller businesses, HSN, Cornerstone and Zulily. Volume remains pressured due to our customer file, which I will discuss in more detail shortly.

謝謝你，謝恩，大家早上好。感謝您今天加入我們並感謝您對 Qurate Retail 的關注。我們在第一季度看到我們最大的業務 QVC US 的收入趨勢有了顯著改善。和 QVC International，即使在零售業充滿挑戰的背景下，這兩家公司的銷售額也僅下降了個位數。我們的小型企業 HSN、Cornerstone 和 Zulily 的業績表現疲軟。由於我們的客戶文件，成交量仍然面臨壓力，我將在稍後詳細討論。

While we have multiple efforts underway to reactivate customer groups, we expect the impact of these initiatives to take several quarters. Against this backdrop, we are intensely focused on near-term factors within our control, most notably cost management and driving increased sales price. We believe we are on track to deliver our objectives for Project Athens, our 3-year plan to establish revenue stability, margin expansion and incremental free cash flow generation. Our turnaround is well underway, and we are encouraged by early signs of stabilization, particularly at QVC US.

雖然我們正在進行多項努力以重新激活客戶群，但我們預計這些舉措的影響將持續幾個季度。在這種背景下，我們非常關注我們控制範圍內的近期因素，最顯著的是成本管理和推動銷售價格上漲。我們相信我們正在按計劃實現雅典項目的目標，這是我們建立收入穩定性、利潤率擴張和增加自由現金流生成的 3 年計劃。我們的轉變正在順利進行，我們對穩定的早期跡象感到鼓舞，尤其是在 QVC US。

HSN is slightly behind QVC US. and implementing similar pricing strategies and their performance was also impacted by promotional shipping offers tested in the quarter that did not drive the expected volume gains and have since been discontinued. They were also impacted by reduced marketing spend.

HSN 略落後於 QVC US。並實施類似的定價策略，它們的業績也受到本季度測試的促銷運輸優惠的影響，這些促銷優惠沒有推動預期的銷量增長，因此已經停止。他們還受到營銷支出減少的影響。

Focusing on QxH. Our adjusted OIBDA in the quarter included $35 million of headwind from 2 specific items, nearly 60% was transformation costs related to Project Athens that impacted our SG&A. And the remainder was primarily an adjustment related to processing returns in the wake of the December 2021 fire at our Rocky Mount fulfillment center. Rocky Mount was our primary return center for QVC US. This represented a true-up related to a backlog and processing returns following the fire.

專注於 QxH。我們在本季度調整後的 OIBDA 包括來自 2 個特定項目的 3500 萬美元逆風，近 60% 是與影響我們的 SG&A 的雅典項目相關的轉型成本。其餘部分主要是在 2021 年 12 月落基山運營中心發生火災後處理退貨相關的調整。落基山是我們 QVC US 的主要退貨中心。這代表了與火災後積壓和處理退貨相關的調整。

Despite these headwinds, I'm pleased with the significant progress we made in initial margins from our pricing and merchandising efforts. We expect to see material improvement in our profitability in the back half of this year. Free cash flow improved $174 million year-over-year mainly due to increased cash from operations that reflected working capital improvements. We continue to have strong liquidity, and we believe our capital structure has the runway to get us through this transition. Bill will discuss each of our businesses and free cash flow in more detail momentarily.

儘管存在這些不利因素，但我對我們在定價和銷售方面的初始利潤率取得的重大進展感到高興。我們預計今年下半年我們的盈利能力將有實質性改善。自由現金流同比增加 1.74 億美元，這主要是由於反映營運資本改善的運營現金增加。我們繼續擁有強勁的流動性，我們相信我們的資本結構有能力讓我們度過這一轉變。比爾稍後將更詳細地討論我們的每項業務和自由現金流。

Looking at trends in the retail industry. The environment continues to be very promotional as most retailers did not reduce inventory to the extent we did in 2022. Inflation remains elevated, interest rates are rising, and consumer sentiment is low by historic standards. Against this backdrop, we are focusing on actions within our control, including meaningful cost-cutting initiatives. As we said on our last call, QVC US and HSN eliminated approximately 400 positions in late February that is expected to generate $60 million in all-in run rate savings with $50 million benefiting 2023. We have not experienced any meaningful disruption from the workforce reductions and they're operating efficiently.

觀察零售業的趨勢。由於大多數零售商沒有像我們在 2022 年那樣減少庫存，因此環境仍然非常有利。通貨膨脹率仍然很高，利率正在上升，消費者信心處於歷史低位。在此背景下，我們專注於我們控制範圍內的行動，包括有意義的成本削減舉措。正如我們在上次電話會議上所說，QVC US 和 HSN 在 2 月下旬裁減了大約 400 個職位，預計將產生 6000 萬美元的總運行率節省，其中 5000 萬美元將使 2023 年受益。我們沒有因裁員而受到任何有意義的干擾他們正在高效運作。

In March, Zulily eliminated 85 positions that are expected to create annual savings of approximately $14 million with $11 million benefiting 2023.

3 月，Zulily 裁減了 85 個職位，預計每年可節省約 1,400 萬美元，其中 1,100 萬美元將惠及 2023 年。

We actively renegotiated import freight contracts during the past 6 months to take advantage of lower market rates. As a result, our rates for import rate declined 30% year-over-year and more than 60% from their peak in August 2021. It will take time for these savings to flow through our P&L as freight costs are included in product costs and the impact of P&L once the item is sold.

我們在過去 6 個月積極重新談判進口貨運合同，以利用較低的市場價格。因此，我們的進口率同比下降了 30%，比 2021 年 8 月的峰值下降了 60% 以上。由於運費包含在產品成本和商品售出後損益的影響。

We have additional cost-saving initiatives in process throughout our business. As a reminder, as part of Project Athens, we expect the OIBDA improvement in 2023 will be mostly cost and margin driven and weighted towards the back half of the year, reaching run rate in 2024.

我們在整個業務過程中都有額外的成本節約計劃。提醒一下，作為雅典計劃的一部分，我們預計 2023 年 OIBDA 的改善將主要由成本和利潤驅動，並在今年下半年加權，並在 2024 年達到運行率。

Turning to our customer file. I want to acknowledge that this is a key focus as we execute our transformation. I've talked previously about the roll-off of less sticky customers that came in during the pandemic, who made purchases online, but often didn't interact with our core video commerce offering. In addition, the Rocky Mount buyer had a material impact on our customer count, significantly impacting our merchandise assortment, order-to-delivery times and overall customer satisfaction. Our customers are accustomed to a higher level of service from our brands.

轉向我們的客戶檔案。我想承認這是我們執行轉型時的一個重點。我之前談到過大流行期間出現的粘性較低的客戶的流失，他們在網上購物，但通常不與我們的核心視頻商務產品互動。此外，落基山買家對我們的客戶數量產生了重大影響，顯著影響了我們的商品分類、訂單到交貨時間和整體客戶滿意度。我們的客戶習慣於從我們的品牌中獲得更高水平的服務。

As we show on Slide 7 in our earnings presentation, our existing customers generated nearly 90% of sales in the trailing 12 months. New and reactivated customers have a significant influence on our customer count as they represent 46% of total customers, yet make up only 10% of our sales. Therefore, as we undergo our transformation, we have heightened our focus on existing customers through merchandise, pricing and programming strategies.

正如我們在收益演示中的幻燈片 7 中顯示的那樣，我們現有客戶在過去 12 個月中產生了近 90% 的銷售額。新客戶和重新激活的客戶對我們的客戶數量有重大影響，因為他們佔客戶總數的 46%，但僅占我們銷售額的 10%。因此，在我們進行轉型時，我們通過商品、定價和規劃策略加強了對現有客戶的關注。

We are seeing encouraging results. Existing customers purchased on average 30 items and their spend grew to $1,500 per customer in the 12 months ended March 31. They increased their spend. This increase in their spend was important to the moderation in QxH's revenue decline relative to 2022, and we are actively focused on driving this continued growth.

我們看到了令人鼓舞的結果。在截至 3 月 31 日的 12 個月內，現有客戶平均購買 30 件商品，每位客戶的支出增加到 1,500 美元。他們增加了支出。他們支出的增加對於緩和 QxH 相對於 2022 年的收入下降非常重要，我們正積極專注於推動這一持續增長。

We have several initiatives already underway to retain and reactivate customers. Many of these efforts come from enhancing fundamental execution through Project Athens work streams. Starting with our merchandise strategy. We meaningfully improve the freshness of our merchandise, enhanced programming, brought back day of urgency and our TSV offerings and focused on driving higher average sales price.

我們已經採取了幾項措施來留住和重新激活客戶。其中許多努力來自於通過雅典項目工作流程加強基本執行。從我們的商品策略開始。我們有意義地提高了我們商品的新鮮度，增強了編程，帶回了緊迫的一天和我們的 TSV 產品，並專注於推動更高的平均銷售價格。

As previously communicated, QxH reduced inventory 25% in FY 2022. As a result, we were able to bring in fresh merchandise in Q1. At QVC, we experienced success with new brands, including Canyon Retreat, our own private label apparel offering. The jewelry brand, Effy as we embark on an enhanced jewelry strategy and OMI WellBeauty supplements in our wellness category. Managing towards higher average sales price and driving incremental spend among our customers is important in driving top line improvement while our customer funnel is replenished.

如前所述，QxH 在 2022 財年將庫存減少了 25%。因此，我們能夠在第一季度引入新鮮商品。在 QVC，我們通過新品牌取得了成功，包括我們自己的自有品牌服裝產品 Canyon Retreat。珠寶品牌 Effy 在我們的健康類別中著手加強珠寶戰略和 OMI WellBeauty 補充劑。在我們的客戶漏斗得到補充的同時，管理更高的平均銷售價格和推動客戶的增量支出對於推動收入增長非常重要。

We are driving average sales price through tailored price increases as well as managing our product assortment into higher-priced subcategories, especially within the payroll and accessories for our best customers over index.

我們通過量身定制的價格上漲以及將我們的產品分類管理到價格更高的子類別中來推動平均銷售價格，特別是在我們最好的客戶超過指數的工資單和配件中。

For example, throughout the pandemic, our customers naturally rotated in the purchasing more loungewear. Our customer is saturated now in this category. And after cleaning out this inventory, our merchandising team has seen strength at higher-priced apparel subcategories such as dresses and denim. We also leaned in the higher price point accessories including leather handbags, we saw good traction in Q1 and will continue to be a focus. Electronics remains a challenging category across the industry, reflecting a lack of innovation, which especially impacts our HSN business, where the category is more highly penetrated. While still an important component of the overall mix, we did emphasize reliance on this category in Q1.

例如，在整個大流行期間，我們的客戶自然而然地輪流購買更多的家居服。我們的客戶現在在這個類別中已經飽和。在清理完這些庫存後，我們的銷售團隊看到了連衣裙和牛仔布等價格較高的服裝子類別的優勢。我們還傾向於包括皮革手袋在內的價格較高的配飾，我們在第一季度看到了良好的吸引力，並將繼續成為焦點。電子產品在整個行業中仍然是一個具有挑戰性的類別，反映出缺乏創新，這尤其影響了我們的 HSN 業務，該類別的滲透率更高。雖然仍然是整體組合的重要組成部分，但我們確實在第一季度強調了對這一類別的依賴。

The pricing efforts are materializing in our results with QxH average sales price up 2%. Average spend per customer increased 11% in the first quarter because of Project Athens' initiatives. Going forward, we are better leveraging the insights of our pricing strategies and data analysts to enhance our merchandise planning strategy and augment our pricing capabilities. We will track all pricing decisions rigorously so the team can better analyze, measure and recommend pricing actions to drive sales and margin.

定價努力正在我們的結果中實現，QxH 平均銷售價格上漲 2%。由於 Project Athens 的舉措，第一季度每個客戶的平均支出增加了 11%。展望未來，我們將更好地利用我們的定價策略和數據分析師的見解來增強我們的商品規劃策略並增強我們的定價能力。我們將嚴格跟踪所有定價決策，以便團隊能夠更好地分析、衡量和推薦定價行動，以推動銷售和利潤。

We also improved our service promise to customers. At QxH, 84% of packages were shipped within 48 hours in Q1, up from 69% in Q1 2022. And our order to delivery time decreased by half a day. We still have work to do here and aim to further reduce our order to delivery times.

我們還改進了對客戶的服務承諾。在 QxH，84% 的包裹在第一季度的 48 小時內發貨，高於 2022 年第一季度的 69%。我們的訂單到交貨時間減少了半天。我們在這裡仍有工作要做，目標是進一步縮短訂單到交貨時間。

There are several other efforts underway tailored to serving our best customers. We are inviting customers to exclusive live shows and live stream events to meet with host and get early access to brand launches. We're offering targeted special promotions on product. We're making outbound calls from customer service to show appreciation for our best customers and address any concerns. Key hosts are making outbound calls and sending thank you notes and videos, leveraging the trust and relationships they uniquely share with our customers. We look forward to learning from these efforts, adapting from those that do not work well and leaning into those that do.

還有一些其他工作正在進行中，旨在為我們最好的客戶提供服務。我們邀請客戶參加獨家現場表演和直播活動，與主持人會面並搶先體驗品牌發布。我們提供有針對性的產品特別促銷活動。我們正在撥打客戶服務電話，以表達對我們最好的客戶的感謝並解決任何疑慮。主要房東撥打外撥電話並發送感謝信和視頻，充分利用他們與客戶之間獨特的信任和關係。我們期待從這些努力中吸取教訓，從那些效果不佳的地方進行調整，並轉向那些效果很好的地方。

QVC and HSN are leveraging celebrities just as we've done throughout our history. Our platforms continue to be a relevant home for these personalities to launch and promote their brands, telling their stories and demonstrating their products live. In Q1, QVC teamed up with Carla Hall to launch our new product line Sweet Heritage, a collection of kitchen and food items. Carla is a trained chef, popular TV personality from Top Chef and culinary author with nearly 0.5 million Instagram followers.

正如我們在整個歷史中所做的那樣，QVC 和 HSN 正在利用名人。我們的平台仍然是這些名人發布和推廣品牌、講述故事和現場展示產品的重要場所。在第一季度，QVC 與 Carla Hall 合作推出了我們的新產品系列 Sweet Heritage，這是一個廚房和食品系列。 Carla 是一名訓練有素的廚師、Top Chef 的熱門電視名人和烹飪作家，在 Instagram 上擁有近 50 萬粉絲。

Additionally, HSN collaborated with Christian Siriano to launch C. Wonder, a collection of ready-to-wear apparel styles exclusive to HSN. Christian is an award-winning fashion designer with more than 2 million Instagram followers.

此外，HSN 還與 Christian Siriano 合作推出了 C.Wonder，這是 HSN 獨有的成衣系列。 Christian 是一位屢獲殊榮的時裝設計師，在 Instagram 上擁有超過 200 萬粉絲。

In March, we named actor, best selling author and disability advocate, Selma Blair as QVC US's brand ambassador for accessibility. We launched a dedicated, accessible and adaptive merchandise category with hundreds of products spanning fashion, home, electronics and beauty. This makes QVC one of the first U.S. retailers to curate a full lifestyle of accessible products into a single multi-category offering.

3 月，我們任命演員、暢銷書作家和殘疾倡導者 Selma Blair 為 QVC US 無障礙品牌大使。我們推出了一個專門的、可訪問的和自適應的商品類別，其中包含數百種產品，涵蓋時尚、家居、電子產品和美容。這使得 QVC 成為首批將無障礙產品的完整生活方式整合到單一多類別產品中的美國零售商之一。

From a programming perspective, we conducted our first live audience shows in 2 years within the Kitchen with David and a cooking show to launch the Carla Hall new culinary product line. We invited on those loyal customers to join us in the studio and held a meet and greet prior to the shows. Both shows strong ways to further enhance our customer relationship. For 6 weeks, from February into March, QVC US air the pilot program, called Over 50 & Fabulous, connecting with our core demographics. Mally Roncal hosted the show, which featured a different topic each week, including empty nesting, menopause, life advice and treating yourself. The pilot's objectives were to drive viewership, increase digital traffic, create social engagement, bring in new customers and of course, generate sales.

從節目的角度來看，我們在 2 年內與 David 一起在 Kitchen 內進行了第一次現場觀眾表演，並舉辦了一場烹飪表演，以推出 Carla Hall 新的烹飪產品線。我們邀請那些忠實的客戶加入我們的工作室，並在演出前舉行了見面會。兩者都展示了進一步加強客戶關係的有力方法。在 6 週的時間裡，從 2 月到 3 月，QVC US 播出了名為“50 歲以上和精彩”的試點計劃，該計劃與我們的核心人口統計數據相關聯。 Mally Roncal 主持了這個節目，每週都有不同的主題，包括空巢、更年期、生活建議和善待自己。試點的目標是提高收視率、增加數字流量、創造社會參與度、吸引新客戶，當然還有產生銷售。

On average, 595,000 households tuned in to the on-air program. 12 shows on qvc.com Facebook, QVC Plus and YouTube had more than 8.7 million video views and reached more than 16 million people. 3/4 of the digital visitors were new to qvc.com and 60% of sales were consistently from our most loyal customers. And overwhelmingly, we received positive customer feedback on social platforms. We plan to continue the pilot [monthly], testing, learning and adapting. Then we plan to resume the weekly cadence in Q3 for another 6 to 8 weeks.

平均而言，有 595,000 戶家庭收聽了直播節目。 qvc.com Facebook、QVC Plus 和 YouTube 上的 12 個節目的視頻觀看次數超過 870 萬，覆蓋人數超過 1600 萬。 3/4 的數字訪問者是 qvc.com 的新用戶，60% 的銷售額始終來自我們最忠實的客戶。絕大多數情況下，我們在社交平台上收到了積極的客戶反饋。我們計劃 [每月] 繼續試點、測試、學習和適應。然後我們計劃在第三季度恢復每週節奏，持續 6 到 8 週。

In early April, QVC International launched the key initiative, the integrated experience, which aims to turn QVC International into the ultimate shopping destination for specific categories. Initially, we are focused on 2 categories. We launched Gardening in the U.K. in early April and expect to start Food in Germany in Q2. It incorporates TV, web and app content into one simplified experience, offering customers differentiated product assortments, innovative programming and live experiences across platforms. It allows like-minded people to share their knowledge and learn from each other. These capabilities are being brought to life in a portable and scalable way, which will allow us to deploy them across multiple markets and additional focus categories.

4 月初，QVC International 推出了一項關鍵舉措，即整合體驗，旨在將 QVC International 打造成特定品類的終極購物目的地。最初，我們專注於 2 個類別。我們於 4 月初在英國推出了 Gardening，預計第二季度將在德國推出 Food。它將電視、網絡和應用程序內容整合到一個簡化的體驗中，為客戶提供差異化的產品分類、創新的節目和跨平台的現場體驗。它允許志同道合的人分享他們的知識並相互學習。這些功能正在以可移植和可擴展的方式實現，這將使我們能夠在多個市場和其他重點類別中部署它們。

Shifting now to our Streaming business and our actions to create new revenue streams. We continue to grow engagement on our streaming platforms. The total minutes viewed on our app-based streaming services increased 13% year-over-year. We reduced marketing spend in the quarter but are planning to support streaming more aggressively in the second half of the year. In mid-March, we launched a beta of our next-generation video and live stream shopping platform and app called sune spelled s-u-n-e. The format is mobile (inaudible) first, short form and (inaudible). The shopping content and brands featured are unique, entertaining and engaging.

現在轉向我們的流媒體業務和我們創造新收入來源的行動。我們繼續增加在我們的流媒體平台上的參與度。在我們基於應用程序的流媒體服務上觀看的總分鐘數同比增長 13%。我們在本季度減少了營銷支出，但計劃在下半年更積極地支持流媒體。 3 月中旬，我們推出了名為 sune spelled s-u-n-e 的下一代視頻和直播購物平台和應用程序的測試版。格式首先是移動（聽不清）、短格式和（聽不清）。購物內容和品牌特色獨特、有趣且引人入勝。

We are targeting different customers than our traditional audience, Gen Z and young millennials who are digitally native and actively shopping via video content on other platforms. It seeks to develop personal connections between these customers, influencers and new up and coming brands and founders. During the public beta phase, we will look to scale, add more functionality, expand brand and product assortment and further personalize the shopping experience.

我們的目標客戶不同於我們的傳統受眾、Z 世代和年輕的千禧一代，他們是數字原生代並通過其他平台上的視頻內容積極購物。它尋求在這些客戶、有影響力的人與新興品牌和創始人之間建立個人聯繫。在公開測試階段，我們將著眼於擴大規模、增加更多功能、擴大品牌和產品種類並進一步個性化購物體驗。

Now turning to our non-video commerce businesses, starting with Cornerstone. Performance softened in Q1. This is partly due to comping its all-time best first quarter in 2022, but also reflect saturation in the home and home furniture market.

現在轉向我們的非視頻商務業務，從 Cornerstone 開始。第一季度表現疲軟。這在一定程度上是由於 2022 年第一季度創下歷史最佳，但也反映了家居和家居家具市場的飽和。

Zulily's performance was disappointing. National brands are performing well, but we are seeing pressure in unbranded vendors. We took additional cost actions in March that will benefit future quarters. Bill will discuss more momentarily.

祖莉莉的表現令人失望。民族品牌表現良好，但我們看到了非品牌供應商的壓力。我們在 3 月份採取了額外的成本措施，這將使未來幾個季度受益。 Bill 稍後會詳細討論。

In closing, we're seeing improved revenue stabilization at our largest video commerce businesses, good initial innovation in our customer experiences and continued opportunities to reduce costs. Our results are still far from where we want, and we recognize we have a lot of work to do to get the business to where it needs to be. We are intensely focused on delivering our Project Athens revenue, OIBDA and free cash flow outcomes.

最後，我們看到我們最大的視頻商務業務的收入穩定性有所提高，我們的客戶體驗進行了良好的初步創新，並且持續有機會降低成本。我們的結果仍遠未達到我們想要的水平，我們認識到我們還有很多工作要做才能使業務達到所需的水平。我們非常專注於交付雅典項目的收入、OIBDA 和自由現金流成果。

I would like to thank Jim Hathaway for serving as interim CFO of QRG. We greatly appreciate his hard work during this transition, and I look forward to continuing to work with him as CFO of QVC. I would also like to welcome Bill Wafford, Qurate Retail Group's new CFO. We are excited to have him on board to leverage his 25 years of experience in corporate finance, management consulting and executive leadership across retail, consumer goods and digital businesses.

我要感謝 Jim Hathaway 擔任 QRG 的臨時首席財務官。我們非常感謝他在過渡期間的辛勤工作，我期待著繼續與他一起擔任 QVC 的首席財務官。我還要歡迎 Qurate Retail Group 的新任首席財務官 Bill Wafford。我們很高興他加入公司，以利用他在零售、消費品和數字業務領域 25 年的企業財務、管理諮詢和行政領導經驗。

I'll turn the call to Bill to discuss the details of each of our businesses.

我會把電話轉給比爾，討論我們每項業務的細節。

Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. I'm very pleased to join David and the entire team. I look forward to speaking with many of you over the coming quarters. Unless otherwise noted, my comments compare financial performance for the 3 months ended March 31, 2023, to the same period in 2022.

謝謝你，大衛，大家早上好。我很高興加入大衛和整個團隊。我期待著在接下來的幾個季度與你們中的許多人交談。除非另有說明，否則我的評論將截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日的三個月的財務業績與 2022 年同期進行了比較。

Starting with QxH. Revenue declined 5%, primarily on lower unit volume, reflecting fewer customers and reduced shipping and handling revenue, primarily at HSN. These pressures were partially offset by 2% growth in average selling price from a mix of elevated product assortment and price increase. From a category perspective, QxH experienced declines mainly in electronics, beauty and home. We did, however, experience a moderation in the rate of year-over-year decline for most categories versus Q1 '22. This improvement reflects our elevated merchandise strategy and focused to lean into higher price and margin categories and products at QVC and HSN and our reduced focus on electronics.

從 QxH 開始。收入下降 5%，主要是由於單位數量減少，反映客戶減少以及運輸和處理收入減少，主要是在 HSN。這些壓力被產品種類增加和價格上漲共同導致的平均售價 2% 的增長所部分抵消。從品類來看，QxH的下滑主要集中在電子、美妝和家居。然而，與 22 年第一季度相比，我們確實經歷了大多數類別的同比下降速度有所放緩。這一改進反映了我們提升的商品戰略，並專注於 QVC 和 HSN 的更高價格和利潤的類別和產品，以及我們對電子產品的關注減少。

QVC U.S. is further along in these efforts and top line performance meaningfully approved in the first quarter. HSN is focusing on similar pricing and merchandise strategies though as a higher penetration of electronics, which impacted its relative performance. Home revenue declined 2%, which is a material improvement from the mid-teens decline in Q1 '22. In Q1 '23, we experienced lower demand largely for kitchen electrics and cleaning, partially offset by strong growth in food. Apparel was essentially flat on top of low single-digit growth in Q1 '22. This year's performance was primarily due to strength in denim, dresses and swimwear, partially offset by contemporary apparel.

QVC 美國在這些努力中走得更遠，第一季度的頂線業績得到了有意義的批准。 HSN 專注於類似的定價和商品策略，儘管電子產品的滲透率更高，這影響了其相對錶現。家庭收入下降了 2%，與 22 年第一季度的十幾歲中期下降相比有了實質性的改善。在 23 年第一季度，我們對廚房電器和清潔的需求下降，部分被食品的強勁增長所抵消。服裝在 22 年第一季度的低個位數增長基礎上基本持平。今年的表現主要歸功於牛仔布、連衣裙和泳裝的強勁表現，部分被現代服裝所抵消。

We are rotating airtime into these areas of strength and emphasizing higher price point in subcategories in our mix. Beauty declined 6%, mainly due to weakness in beauty devices and hair care. Electronics revenue declined 25% in part due to category softness in the market. We are strategically pulling back on electronic airtime as we focus on higher margin fashion categories where our best customers over index. Adjusted OIBDA declined $86 million or 38% with adjusted OIBDA margin decreasing 470 basis points. We are incurring certain costs associated with our transformation, some of which are included in adjusted OIBDA and some such as severance are below the line.

我們正在將播出時間輪換到這些優勢領域，並強調我們組合中子類別的更高價格點。美容業務下降 6%，主要是由於美容設備和護髮業務疲軟。電子產品收入下降了 25%，部分原因是市場類別疲軟。我們正在戰略性地縮減電子通話時間，因為我們專注於利潤率較高的時尚類別，我們的最佳客戶超過了指數。調整後的 OIBDA 下降了 8600 萬美元或 38%，調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率下降了 470 個基點。我們正在產生與轉型相關的某些成本，其中一些包含在調整後的 OIBDA 中，而一些如遣散費則低於該線。

The expected Project Athens $300 million to $600 million run rate OIBDA opportunity we articulated to the market is net of associated costs. There will be some timing impact as we incur costs while the transformation initiatives are put in place, but before benefits reach run rate. In particular, in the first quarter, our adjusted OIBDA was pressured by $21 million of costs associated with Project Athens transformation that were included in SG&A. These costs are nonrecurring in nature or nonoperating in nature -- sorry, and we expect to incur additional expense associated with the transformation through 2023, after which these costs should dissipate.

我們向市場闡明的預期雅典項目 3 億至 6 億美元的運行率 OIBDA 機會是扣除相關成本的。會有一些時間上的影響，因為我們在實施轉型計劃時產生成本，但在收益達到運行率之前。特別是，在第一季度，我們調整後的 OIBDA 受到 SG&A 中包含的與雅典項目轉型相關的 2100 萬美元成本的壓力。這些成本本質上是非經常性或非經營性的——抱歉，我們預計到 2023 年將產生與轉型相關的額外費用，之後這些成本應該會消失。

Now looking at the rest of our QxH adjusted OIBDA performance. Gross profit declined 160 basis points, mainly due to fulfillment and product margin pressure, partially offset by favorable inventory obsolescence. While product margins decreased, initial product margins improved 180 basis points driven by price increases and a favorable mix in the higher-margin products. These gains were offset by reduced shipping and handling revenue due to lower volume and the shipping promotions at HSN.

現在看看我們 QxH 調整後的 OIBDA 性能的其餘部分。毛利下降 160 個基點，主要是由於履約和產品利潤壓力，部分被有利的庫存報廢所抵消。雖然產品利潤率下降，但在價格上漲和高利潤率產品的有利組合的推動下，初始產品利潤率提高了 180 個基點。由於銷量下降和 HSN 的航運促銷活動，航運和手續費收入減少抵消了這些收益。

Also, as David mentioned, we incurred a $14 million true-up in the first quarter to catch up in processing returns following the Rocky Mount fire. As a reminder, Rocky Mount was our primary returns facility and due to the complexities of processing returns in multiple locations, and the lack of a common IT system, we revised our estimate for a return provision in the first quarter.

此外，正如大衛所提到的，我們在第一季度進行了 1400 萬美元的調整，以趕上落基山大火後的退貨處理。提醒一下，落基山是我們的主要退貨設施，由於在多個地點處理退貨的複雜性，以及缺乏通用的 IT 系統，我們修改了第一季度退貨準備金的估計。

Fulfillment expenses reflect higher outbound freight rates and wages, largely due to inflation. Fulfillment center rent from the sale-leaseback transactions completed in '22 of approximately $8 million, higher returns processing costs and increased drop ship penetration. These pressures were partially offset by less detention and demurrage costs. Inventory obsolescence favorability was a result of the 33% year-over-year inventory reduction at QxH. Operating expenses were unfavorable approximately 60 basis points, primarily due to increased commissions from our mix of scripted sales and expanded linear distribution.

履行費用反映了更高的出境運費和工資，這主要是由於通貨膨脹。 22 年完成的售後回租交易產生的運營中心租金約為 800 萬美元，退貨處理成本更高，直船滲透率更高。這些壓力被較少的滯留費和滯期費部分抵消了。庫存過時優惠是 QxH 庫存同比減少 33% 的結果。運營費用不利約 60 個基點，這主要是由於我們的腳本銷售組合和擴大線性分銷的佣金增加。

SG&A was unfavorable approximately 240 basis points. $21 million of the SG&A pressure is from the aforementioned transformation-related costs associated with Project Athens. We had approximately 55 basis points of sales deleverage and modest expense associated with building our livestream business soon, which launched in beta in March. Marketing expenses decreased year-over-year, primarily due to less spending on core media.

SG&A 不利約 240 個基點。 2100 萬美元的 SG&A 壓力來自上述與雅典項目相關的轉型相關成本。我們有大約 55 個基點的銷售去槓桿化和適度的費用，這些費用與很快建立我們的直播業務相關，該業務於 3 月推出了測試版。營銷費用同比下降，主要是由於核心媒體支出減少。

Moving to QVC International. My comments will focus on constant currency results. Revenue declined 3%, primarily on lower unit volume and reduced shipping and handling revenue. QVC Japan was essentially flat, experiencing high inflation as well as reduced viewership in March due to the country's strong interest in the world [baseball] classic. Our largest European businesses, Germany and the U.K., declined in the mid-single digits and experienced soft consumer sentiment in part attributed to historic inflation.

搬到 QVC 國際。我的評論將集中在不變的貨幣結果上。收入下降 3%，主要是由於單位數量減少以及運輸和處理收入減少。由於該國對世界 [棒球] 經典賽的濃厚興趣，QVC 日本 3 月份基本持平，經歷了高通脹和收視率下降。我們最大的歐洲企業，德國和英國，出現了中等個位數的下滑，消費者信心疲軟，部分原因是歷史性的通貨膨脹。

QVC International increased average selling price 5% due to price increases and favorable product shift into higher price point home products in Germany and health fitness and apparel in Japan. From a category perspective, QVC International experienced declines in Electronics, Jewelry & Home, which were partially offset by gains in apparel, accessories and beauty.

QVC International 將平均售價提高了 5%，原因是價格上漲以及有利的產品轉向德國的更高價位家居產品和日本的健康健身和服裝。從品類角度來看，QVC International 在電子、珠寶和家居領域出現下滑，但部分被服裝、配飾和美容產品的增長所抵消。

Adjusted OIBDA decreased 23%, and adjusted OIBDA margin declined 330 basis points, primarily driven by higher administration -- administrative and fulfillment costs. Gross margin declined mainly due to fulfillment expenses, which reflect higher warehouse labor costs in Germany and the U.K. and $4 million in rent following the sale leaseback transaction in January of this year. SG&A was unfavorable mostly due to higher fixed costs from wages, benefits and outside services.

調整後的 OIBDA 下降了 23%，調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率下降了 330 個基點，這主要是由於行政管理和履行成本增加所致。毛利率下降的主要原因是履行費用，這反映了德國和英國倉庫勞動力成本的增加以及今年 1 月售後回租交易後 400 萬美元的租金。 SG&A 不利的主要原因是工資、福利和外部服務的固定成本較高。

Moving to Cornerstone. Revenue declined 13% in the first quarter. Cornerstone was comping its all-time best first quarter in the prior year, and on a 2-year basis, revenue grew 4%. While our business managed its inventory balances very effectively heading into the first quarter, the broader home industry remained highly promotional in the first quarter, requiring Cornerstone to increase promotions to stay competitive. We experienced softness in home accessories, outdoor furniture and kitchen as well as in apparel at Garnet Hill.

搬到基石。第一季度收入下降了 13%。 Cornerstone 在去年的第一季度創下了歷史最好成績，並且在 2 年的基礎上，收入增長了 4%。雖然我們的業務在進入第一季度時非常有效地管理其庫存餘額，但更廣泛的家居行業在第一季度仍然高度促銷，需要 Cornerstone 增加促銷以保持競爭力。我們在 Garnet Hill 體驗了家居飾品、戶外家具和廚房以及服裝的柔軟性。

Adjusted OIBDA decreased $27 million, mainly due to volume decreases, increased promotional activity, higher marketing and warehouse expense as well as higher fixed cost overhead due to opening new stores in Austin, Texas and Charleston, South Carolina in the first quarter as well as in West Palm, Florida in September of 2022. These headwinds were partially offset by lower inbound logistics costs.

調整後的 OIBDA 減少 2700 萬美元，主要是由於第一季度在得克薩斯州奧斯汀和南卡羅來納州查爾斯頓開設新店以及在2022 年 9 月，佛羅里達州西棕櫚。這些逆風被較低的入站物流成本部分抵消。

Looking at Zulily. Revenue declined 17%, mostly due to lower unit volume and reduced shipping and handling revenue. These pressures were partially offset by a 9% increase in average selling price due to a favorable product mix within national brands and footwear. Adjusted OIBDA loss increased $13 million, largely due to lower product margins reflecting shipping, handling and site promotions as well as increased marketing expense and higher inventory obsolescence. These headwinds were partially offset by lower fulfillment and fixed costs.

看著祖莉莉。收入下降 17%，主要是由於單位數量減少以及運輸和處理收入減少。由於民族品牌和鞋類的有利產品組合，平均售價上漲 9% 部分抵消了這些壓力。調整後的 OIBDA 損失增加了 1300 萬美元，這主要是由於產品利潤率下降，反映出運輸、處理和現場促銷以及營銷費用增加和庫存報廢率增加。這些不利因素被較低的履行和固定成本部分抵消。

Now turning to the balance sheet and cash flow. Total capital expenditures were $54 million in Q1, and we spent $38 million on renewals of our TV distribution contracts, an increase of $36 million over prior year. As a reminder, TV distribution contracts are generally renewed on a 2-year cycle. Total free cash flow for the first 3 months of 2023 was a use of $70 million versus a use of $244 million last year. The year-over-year improvement was primarily attributable to increased cash flow from operations, partially offset by higher TV distribution payments. The operating cash flow increase was largely driven by working capital improvements from inventory receivables and payables. QxH inventory was down 33% year-over-year.

現在轉向資產負債表和現金流量。第一季度的總資本支出為 5400 萬美元，我們在電視發行合同的續籤上花費了 3800 萬美元，比上年增加了 3600 萬美元。提醒一下，電視發行合同通常以 2 年為周期續簽。 2023 年前 3 個月的自由現金流總額為 7000 萬美元，而去年為 2.44 億美元。同比改善主要歸因於運營現金流的增加，部分被較高的電視發行費用所抵消。經營現金流量的增加主要是由於存貨應收賬款和應付賬款的營運資金改善所致。 QxH 庫存同比下降 33%。

Looking at our debt profile. On March 31, we had $1.3 billion drawn on the QVC revolver with $1.9 billion in available capacity. Looking at our cash balances. As of March 31, Qurate Retail had total cash of $1.3 billion, of which $421 million is at QVC, Inc. Our leverage ratio, as defined by the QVC revolving credit facility was 2.5x. Note that covenant OIBDA includes the adjusted OIBDA of QVC, Cornerstone and Zulily as well as gains on sale leaseback transactions for the 4 quarters following such transactions. And as of the beginning of this year also includes a portion of expected cost savings. Our covenant OIBDA for purposes of our leverage ratio as of March 31 includes approximately $225 million of such savings.

看看我們的債務狀況。 3 月 31 日，我們在 QVC 左輪手槍上提取了 13 億美元，可用容量為 19 億美元。查看我們的現金餘額。截至 3 月 31 日，Qurate Retail 的現金總額為 13 億美元，其中 4.21 億美元在 QVC, Inc.。根據 QVC 循環信貸額度的定義，我們的槓桿率為 2.5 倍。請注意，契約 OIBDA 包括 QVC、Cornerstone 和 Zulily 的調整後 OIBDA 以及此類交易後 4 個季度的售後回租交易收益。並且截至今年年初還包括一部分預期的成本節約。截至 3 月 31 日，就我們的槓桿率而言，我們的契約 OIBDA 包括大約 2.25 億美元的此類儲蓄。

Finally, on an administrative note, on May 1, we received notice from NASDAQ that QRTE.A's closing bid price had fallen below $1 per share for 30 consecutive business days. This notice begins a period of 180 calendar days to regain compliance, which means the stock needs to have a closing bid of $1 or more for 10 consecutive business trading days for continued listing on NASDAQ. Additionally, we may be able to take advantage of an additional 180-day compliance period, which means we could have up to 360 days.

最後，在一份行政通知中，我們在 5 月 1 日收到納斯達克的通知，稱 QRTE.A 的收盤價已連續 30 個工作日跌破每股 1 美元。本通知從 180 個日曆日開始重新合規，這意味著股票需要連續 10 個交易日的收盤價達到或超過 1 美元才能繼續在納斯達克上市。此外，我們可以利用額外的 180 天合規期，這意味著我們最多可以有 360 天。

Importantly, for our management, we are focused on executing our transformation and driving improved financial performance. We took significant action throughout '22 to create liquidity and position ourselves to execute Project Athens. We have sufficient cushion relative to our 4.5x maximum net leverage covenant threshold in our credit facility. Our suppliers and partners have been very supportive of Qurate's businesses and as we manage through our transformation, and we continue to look forward to continuing these long-standing relationships.

重要的是，對於我們的管理層而言，我們專注於執行轉型並推動改善財務業績。我們在整個 22 年採取了重大行動來創造流動性，並為執行雅典計劃做好準備。相對於我們信貸額度中 4.5 倍的最大淨槓桿契約門檻，我們有足夠的緩衝。我們的供應商和合作夥伴一直非常支持 Qurate 的業務，並且在我們管理轉型的過程中，我們繼續期待繼續保持這些長期合作關係。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Greg.

有了這個，我會把電話轉給格雷格。

Thank you, David and Bill. We were pleased to see the performance improvement at our 2 largest businesses, QVC U.S. and QVC International, with revenue only down single digits in a very choppy retail market. This is a significant improvement. I'd also note we took actions to rightsize costs during the quarter what will mostly benefit future periods. We were disappointed by the orbit of pressure during the quarter. But it's worth reiterating that the improvement in underlying operations at QxH was masked by $14 million related to the revised returns provision and $21 million of transformation-related costs incurred during the period.

謝謝你，大衛和比爾。我們很高興看到我們最大的兩個業務 QVC 美國和 QVC 國際的業績有所改善，在非常動蕩的零售市場中收入僅下降個位數。這是一項重大改進。我還要指出，我們在本季度採取了調整成本的行動，這將主要有利於未來時期。我們對本季度的壓力軌道感到失望。但值得重申的是，QxH 基礎運營的改善被與修訂後的退貨條款相關的 1,400 萬美元和在此期間產生的 2,100 萬美元的轉型相關成本所掩蓋。

As was noted before, we believe the capital structure we have has runway to get us through our transition and we have a covenant of 2.5x leverage -- currently leverage relative to the 4.5x covenant the revolver. We do expect upcoming free cash flow will be applied to debt repayment and will manage towards our stated leverage target of 2.5x. We did repay $214 million of the 2023 maturity in March this year -- this quarter. And we also settled $153 million of exchanges on the 1.75% charter bonds during the quarter, plus $94 million that settled after quarter end. These bonds have an October '23 put call date, which was pulled forward in timing with these recent exchanges.

如前所述，我們相信我們擁有的資本結構可以幫助我們完成轉型，並且我們有 2.5 倍槓桿的契約——目前杠桿率相對於左輪手槍的 4.5 倍契約。我們確實預計即將到來的自由現金流將用於償還債務，並將實現我們規定的 2.5 倍槓桿率目標。我們確實在今年 3 月——本季度——償還了 2023 年到期的 2.14 億美元。我們還在本季度結算了 1.75% 特許債券的 1.53 億美元交換，以及在季度末結算的 9400 萬美元。這些債券的看跌期權日期為 10 月 23 日，隨著最近的這些交易，該日期被提前。

I would also note there is no [DTL] associated with these 1.75% charter bond retirements. We will continue to assess other opportunities to improve our balance sheet.

我還要指出，沒有與這些 1.75% 的特許債券退休相關的 [DTL]。我們將繼續評估其他改善資產負債表的機會。

And with that, operator, I'd like to open up the line for Q&A.

有了這個，接線員，我想打開問答熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Carla Casella with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自摩根大通的 Carla Casella。

So you mentioned that your best customers remain that same cohort. Can you just say what percentage of sales came from your best customers and what the retention rate is there? I think last year, it was like a 70% of your sales came from those best customers and they had really high retention.

所以你提到你最好的客戶仍然是同一批人。您能說說最好的客戶佔銷售額的百分比以及保留率是多少嗎？我想去年，你 70% 的銷售額來自那些最好的客戶，他們的保留率非常高。

Yes. Thank you. I appreciate the question. So we'll make a distinction between existing and best. So about 90% of our sales come from existing customers and the majority of that is from our best customers. I don't think we have a specific breakout as best as a percentage of existing for the quarter, but I can get you that number. We've continued to see -- as to the retention point, we've continued to see very strong retention of our best customers essentially in line with historical trends in the 90% range.

是的。謝謝。我很欣賞這個問題。所以我們會區分現有的和最好的。因此，我們大約 90% 的銷售額來自現有客戶，其中大部分來自我們最好的客戶。我不認為我們有一個特定的突破作為本季度現有的百分比最好，但我可以給你那個數字。我們繼續看到——關於保留點，我們繼續看到我們最好的客戶的保留非常強勁，這與 90% 範圍內的歷史趨勢基本一致。

Okay. Great. And then on the debt side, you said $94 million more of the charter exchangeables were put in after quarter end. Was that funded with the cash that's sitting at LINTA or at QVC? And can you just update us on how much cash is sitting at LINTA?

好的。偉大的。然後在債務方面，你說在季度結束後又投入了 9400 萬美元的可交換包租合同。是用 LINTA 或 QVC 的現金資助的嗎？你能告訴我們 LINTA 有多少現金嗎？

Ben Oren, maybe you should take this.

本奧倫，也許你應該接受這個。

Yes, sure. The $94 million has not yet been exchanged for cash. That's in the process of doing the volume-weighted average price period, but that will be serviced from cash at the QVC level that will be sent to Liberty Interactive under the debt service carve-out. Liberty Interactive's cash balance is still largely close to the number from the prior quarter results.

是的，當然。這 9400 萬美元尚未兌換成現金。這是在進行成交量加權平均價格期的過程中，但將通過 QVC 級別的現金提供服務，這些現金將根據償債條款被發送給 Liberty Interactive。 Liberty Interactive 的現金餘額仍基本接近上一季度業績的數字。

Okay. Great. And I'm just curious why you drew so much on the revolver given that you're sitting on so much cash at all the different entities?

好的。偉大的。我很好奇為什麼你在左輪手槍上抽了這麼多錢，因為你在所有不同的實體都坐擁這麼多現金？

Primarily drawing on the revolver was related to paying off the maturity in March that is at the QVC entity, and we repaid a separate portion of the QVC global revolver with the proceeds of the sale leaseback. So it's really just a paydown and then a redraw. We did net less debt for Qurate Retail, Inc. over the quarter.

主要是利用左輪手槍與償還 3 月份 QVC 實體的到期日有關，我們用售後回租的收益償還了 QVC 全球左輪手槍的單獨部分。所以這真的只是一個支付，然後重新繪製。我們在本季度確實減少了 Qurate Retail, Inc. 的債務。

Our next question comes from Jason Haas with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Jason Haas。

So David, could you just talk about how the -- what the cadence looked like through the quarter for the business? And any color on what you've seen in the quarter-to-date period in April?

所以大衛，你能談談這個季度的業務節奏如何嗎？您在 4 月份的季度至今期間看到的任何顏色？

Yes. Thank you, Jason. Good to hear your voice. We saw, I'd say, moderate levels of improvement as we went through the quarter. Pretty consistent performance at QVC US and QI and then some improvement at HSN going through the quarter. April as you know, we don't give forward guidance. And so I don't want to speak too much about April, but I would just say, I think in the larger retail industry, the move of Easter had a real impact both on consumer behavior and under the comparability of the month. So it's a little bit of a hard month to get a read.

是的。謝謝你，傑森。很高興聽到你的聲音。我想說，我們在整個季度中看到了適度的改善。 QVC US 和 QI 的表現相當穩定，然後在整個季度中 HSN 有所改善。如您所知，四月，我們不提供前瞻性指導。因此，我不想過多談論 4 月份，但我只想說，我認為在更大的零售業中，復活節的舉措對消費者行為和當月的可比性都產生了真正的影響。所以這個月有點難讀。

But I think April across the industry was reasonably strong, maybe a little bit flattish to down if you normalize out all of the timing noise, but we didn't see dramatic changes in trends and sort of by part of the addressable market in April.

但我認為整個行業的 4 月份相當強勁，如果你將所有的時間噪音標準化，可能會有點平穩到下降，但我們沒有看到趨勢的巨大變化，4 月份部分可尋址市場也沒有看到變化。

How did results come in versus your internal expectations for 1Q? And are you still expecting stable revenue and double-digit OIBDA growth this year?

與您對第一季度的內部預期相比，結果如何？您是否仍然期待今年穩定的收入和兩位數的 OIBDA 增長？

Yes. So we still feel good about our expectations about Project Athens. I think as Bill pointed out, there are some onetime transformation cost that could be above and below the line that we've experienced as we go through. I think after that, we feel very good about hitting the double-digit OIBDA. We feel good about stable revenue, and we certainly feel good about our free cash flow expectations, and we would reiterate those.

是的。所以我們仍然對我們對雅典計劃的期望感到滿意。我認為正如 Bill 所指出的那樣，有一些一次性的轉型成本可能會高於或低於我們經歷過的線。我想在那之後，我們對達到兩位數的 OIBDA 感到非常高興。我們對穩定的收入感覺良好，我們當然對我們的自由現金流預期感覺良好，我們會重申這些。

And a lot of the margin and profitability improvements in the second half, and we've done a lot already to lay the groundwork for some of that. We've talked about the reductions in force. We've talked about the benefits we're already starting to see in pricing and elevating assortment and how that droved higher average sale prices. We continue to expect some favorable product margin in the second half, including product margin that's not pricing related. And then we expect fulfillment to turn favorable due to less detention and demurrage, some lower import freight rate and then lapping the increase in fulfillment center rents from the sale and leaseback that we did last year.

下半年利潤率和盈利能力有了很大提高，我們已經做了很多工作來為其中的一些奠定基礎。我們已經談到了部隊的減少。我們已經討論了我們已經開始在定價和提升分類方面看到的好處，以及這如何推動更高的平均銷售價格。我們繼續預計下半年會有一些有利的產品利潤率，包括與定價無關的產品利潤率。然後我們預計由於滯留和滯期費減少，進口運費降低，然後通過我們去年所做的售後回租增加履行中心租金，我們預計履行情況將變得有利。

That's great. And the free cash flow expectation for, I think it's $300 million to $500 million run rate starting in the second half of this year. Is that still the right framework to think about free cash flow?

那太棒了。我認為從今年下半年開始的自由現金流預期為 3 億至 5 億美元。這仍然是考慮自由現金流的正確框架嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Our next question comes from William Reuter with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 William Reuter。

The first one, I think you mentioned that there were $225 million of pro forma savings that were included in your OIBDA for covenant purposes. How much of that should we see in the financial results during 2023?

第一個，我想你提到過你的 OIBDA 中有 2.25 億美元的備考儲蓄用於契約目的。我們應該在 2023 年的財務業績中看到多少？

William, this is Bill. Yes, I think as you run throughout the year and a lot of those, David talked about margin expansion throughout the year. I think you'll see all of that roll through our OIBDA line as we get -- as we finalize 2023 coming in -- primarily through enhanced gross margin via the different moving parts.

威廉，這是比爾。是的，我認為當你全年運行時，大衛談到了全年的利潤率擴張。我認為當我們最終確定 2023 年即將到來時，您會看到所有這些都通過我們的 OIBDA 線滾動，主要是通過不同的移動部件提高毛利率。

Okay. Great. And then the second, when you had laid out the Project Athens expectations, you talked about free cash flow. Is there any way to think about what you believe the aggregate OIBDA savings will be over the course of the entire project?

好的。偉大的。然後第二個，當你列出雅典計劃的期望時，你談到了自由現金流。有什麼方法可以考慮您認為在整個項目過程中總的 OIBDA 節省是多少？

I think we've talked about through the full span the Project Athens, which sort of mostly ends at run rate 2024, $300 to $600 million worth of OIBDA margin expansion on top of the 2022 base year is the way we've talked about it and we would reiterate that.

我認為我們已經討論了整個雅典項目，該項目主要以 2024 年的運行速度結束，我們討論的方式是在 2022 年基準年之上增加價值 300 至 6 億美元的 OIBDA 利潤率我們要重申這一點。

Okay. And then just lastly for me, you mentioned that you've negotiated some better freight contracts. How much of your ocean freight do you pay for versus the ocean freight that is paid for from some of your vendors that may deliver the product directly to the U.S. or whatever country you're being sold in?

好的。最後對我來說，你提到你已經談判達成了一些更好的貨運合同。您支付的海運費與您的一些供應商支付的海運費相比，這些供應商可能將產品直接運送到美國或您要銷售的任何國家/地區？

It's a good question. I don't have a number for you offhand. I can get that. I will say, keep in mind, we take possession of a lot of our inventory, and we also have a fairly large proportion of our sales from proprietary brands. So we certainly have a pretty significant portion of the load from ocean and air.

這是個好問題。我沒有你的電話號碼。我可以得到那個。我要說的是，請記住，我們擁有大量庫存，我們也有相當大比例的銷售額來自專有品牌。所以我們肯定有相當大一部分來自海洋和空氣的負載。

Our next question comes from Hale Holden with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Hale Holden。

David, I was wondering if you could give us some more color on the price increases that have been successful at QVC US. Are those per unit or mix? How is your customer responding to them? And how sustainable do you think that is in the face of a potentially weaker consumer as we go through the year?

大衛，我想知道你是否可以給我們更多關於 QVC US 成功提價的顏色。是每單位還是混合？您的客戶對他們的反應如何？在我們度過這一年之際，面對潛在的消費者疲軟，您認為這有多可持續？

Yes, it's a great question. I'd say a couple of things. First, we didn't -- we weren't in a position to take much price last year when a lot of our competitors took price because we were being relatively aggressive on inventory. And so we didn't have some of the freshness and uniqueness that you really need to be able to drive excitement and value. And so some of the prices just being able to get clean and having new freshness.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。我想說幾件事。首先，我們沒有 - 去年我們的許多競爭對手都採取了價格，因為我們在庫存方面相對激進，因此我們無法採取太多價格。因此，我們沒有一些你真正需要的新鮮感和獨特性來推動興奮和價值。因此，一些價格能夠變得乾淨並具有新的新鮮度。

But I would also say we've been more deliberate in terms of which subcategories we're emphasizing and so some of it is a mix shift of going towards higher category items. You might think about cloth handbags versus leather handbags and other changes like that. So it's been partially a mix, partially us taking some actual price and then partially a lower reliance on promotions and clearance. And we think that continues to be achievable. We have not seen any negative response from customers. We're being very deliberate to do it with the scaffold and not a sledgehammer. We're also being very deliberate to do it in ways that remain very competitive whenever we're doing, especially at today's special value relative to the market pricing.

但我還要說，我們在強調哪些子類別方面更加慎重，因此其中一些是轉向更高類別項目的混合轉變。您可能會想到布製手提包與皮革手提包的對比，以及類似的其他變化。所以它部分是混合的，部分是我們採用一些實際價格，然後部分是降低對促銷和清倉的依賴。我們認為這仍然是可以實現的。我們沒有看到客戶有任何負面反應。我們非常慎重地使用腳手架而不是大錘來完成它。我們也非常謹慎地以在我們做的時候保持非常有競爭力的方式來做這件事，特別是在今天相對於市場定價的特殊價值。

One of the things we've worked on is part of Project Athens is having better market intelligence, having a better sense of where the market competitive prices and what an actual value to that price is. And so we're remaining focused on making sure we're continuing to deliver extraordinary value for our customers even as we think there continue to be opportunities to get more price and to continue to drive up the average spend for our existing customers.

我們所做的其中一件事是雅典計劃的一部分，即擁有更好的市場情報，更好地了解市場競爭價格的位置以及該價格的實際價值。因此，我們仍然專注於確保我們繼續為客戶提供非凡的價值，即使我們認為仍然有機會獲得更高的價格並繼續提高現有客戶的平均支出。

Great. And I forgot what you guys called this, but the QVC installment payment that you offer your customers. I think 3 to 6 installments potentially on some items. I was wondering if you had seen any changes in payment activity on that or differences in take rates through the quarter?

偉大的。我忘了你們怎麼稱呼這個，而是你們為客戶提供的 QVC 分期付款。我認為某些項目可能需要分期付款 3 到 6 期。我想知道您是否看到了付款活動的任何變化或整個季度的收費率差異？

Yes. I think you're talking about our sort of Easy Pay. Usually, those are 3 to 5 payments, usually 3 to 4 payments. We've seen similar penetration to -- as a percentage of total sales to sort of historical levels. We're also continuing to see very strong performance. I will say our performance relative to things like bad debt levels and those instruments our class leading always have been. And we're continuing to see class-leading performance.

是的。我認為您是在談論我們的 Easy Pay。通常，這些是 3 到 5 次付款，通常是 3 到 4 次付款。我們已經看到類似的滲透率——佔總銷售額的百分比達到歷史水平。我們也繼續看到非常強勁的表現。我會說我們的表現與壞賬水平和我們班級領導一直以來的那些工具有關。我們將繼續看到一流的性能。

Some slight increases in sort of default and that sort of thing, but mostly in the noise. And so we continue to feel. Feel good about that offer and what it offers to consumers. We're continuing to see relatively high take rates. I will say, as we continue to have a focus on cash, we are looking at ways to be surgical in how we use that tool to make sure we're not over using it, but the performance of EasyPay and FlexPay it's equivalent at HSN has continued to be strong.

默認值和諸如此類的事情略有增加，但主要是噪音。所以我們繼續感受。對該優惠及其為消費者提供的服務感到滿意。我們繼續看到相對較高的接受率。我要說的是，隨著我們繼續關注現金，我們正在尋找對我們如何使用該工具進行外科手術的方法，以確保我們不會過度使用它，但 EasyPay 和 FlexPay 的性能與 HSN 相當一直持續堅挺。

Our next question comes from Karru Martinson with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Karru Martinson。

When we look at the customer count, I was kind of under the impression when we start to see kind of the bottoming of the declines as we cycle through the pandemic cohort. I mean, what's the outlook here as we drop off those longer term or those pandemic customers? And where do you see that going this year?

當我們查看客戶數量時，當我們開始看到大流行隊列中的下降觸底時，我有點印象深刻。我的意思是，當我們放棄那些長期客戶或那些流行病客戶時，這裡的前景如何？你認為今年會怎樣？

Yes. Appreciate the question. I'd say a number of things. I think a number of things are going on with the customer file. I think you correctly identified one of them, which is these pandemic cohorts, and we're now at, I think, the tailwind of cycling through some of those. I talked in my prepared remarks a bit about the Rocky Mount Fire. We have more data and analysis now that just shows -- that had a big impact on our customer file. We simply disappointed a lot of customers through that period, and we're starting to see some stability now that our performance is improving. We have seen real moderation.

是的。感謝這個問題。我會說很多事情。我認為客戶檔案有很多問題。我認為您正確地識別了其中之一，即這些流行病人群，我認為，我們現在正處於順風順水的過程中。我在準備好的發言中談到了落基山大火。我們現在有更多的數據和分析表明——這對我們的客戶檔案產生了重大影響。在那段時間裡，我們只是讓很多客戶失望了，現在我們開始看到一些穩定性，因為我們的表現正在改善。我們看到了真正的節制。

So if you look at QxH actually, and if you were to look at it on an average daily customer count basis, we're at in Q1, we were essentially flat to where we were in Q3. So that takes out a bit of the holiday Q4 noise. But in Q1, we're about where we were in Q3. So we have seen very substantial stabilization. And then with our -- as I mentioned, the vast majority of our sales are actually with our existing customers, even though our customer count tends to move more with new and reactive customers. And so we think we can drive a lot of value with that 90% of sales even as we continue to work on the things that are going to be most attractive to rebuilding and then growing our customer file from where we have been.

因此，如果您實際查看 QxH，並且如果您以平均每日客戶數量為基礎查看它，我們在第一季度，我們基本上與第三季度持平。這樣就消除了第四季度假期的一些噪音。但在第一季度，我們與第三季度的情況差不多。因此，我們看到了非常可觀的穩定。然後我們——正如我提到的，我們的絕大部分銷售實際上是來自我們現有的客戶，儘管我們的客戶數量往往更多地與新的和反應性客戶一起移動。因此，我們認為，即使我們繼續致力於最有吸引力的事情，我們也可以通過這 90% 的銷售額帶來很大的價值，然後從我們過去的地方重建和擴大我們的客戶檔案。

The average spend numbers, $1,500 highs we've seen in a while, a number of items and frequency highs we've seen in a while, the ability to do that while getting price all makes us very encouraged. And then on the new and reactive, I think a lot of the things I talked about, Carla Hall, Christian Siriano, Selma Blair, those all help -- those are all names with people or people that are known, but may not to people who may not know us, the lot of shows reengaging the TSVs, we've had much better TSV strategies that's helped bring in some new customers.

平均支出數字，我們在一段時間內看到的 1,500 美元的高點，我們在一段時間內看到的一些項目和頻率高點，在獲得價格的同時做到這一點的能力都讓我們感到非常鼓舞。然後關於新的和反應性的，我想我談到的很多事情，Carla Hall、Christian Siriano、Selma Blair，這些都有幫助——這些都是有名的人或為人所知的人，但可能不為人所知誰可能不認識我們，很多節目重新使用 TSV，我們有更好的 TSV 策略，這有助於吸引一些新客戶。

And then, of course, I talked about on the streaming side and the live streaming side, some of the early efforts we have underway. So we have a very broad full attack on the customer file issue. We think we'll continue to see improvement as we go throughout the year. But we also think there are pretty large opportunities with our relatively stable existing customer file.

然後，當然，我談到了流媒體和直播方面，我們正在進行的一些早期工作。因此，我們對客戶文件問題進行了非常廣泛的全面攻擊。我們認為我們將在全年繼續看到改進。但我們也認為我們相對穩定的現有客戶檔案有相當大的機會。

Okay. And when you talk to the capital structure has the runway to get you through the Project Athens' turnaround, when we look at your cash flow generation, I mean, how are you planning on addressing the '24 and '25 maturities here given the Project Athens' time line?

好的。當你談到資本結構有跑道讓你通過雅典項目的轉變時，當我們看你的現金流產生時，我的意思是，你打算如何解決這裡的'24和'25到期問題雅典的時間線？

Ben, maybe you could take a cut at that.

本，也許你可以從中分一杯羹。

Yes, sure. For now 2024 and 2025 will be a combination of cash on hand or borrowings under the revolver, but we do have a number of other alternatives that we look at regularly.

是的，當然。目前，2024 年和 2025 年將是手頭現金或循環貸款的組合，但我們確實有許多其他的選擇，我們會定期考慮。

Our last question for today comes from Carla Casella with JPMorgan.

我們今天的最後一個問題來自摩根大通的 Carla Casella。

The $50 million of savings that you talked about in the quarter, how much of that was QxH? Is that all?

您在本季度談到的 5000 萬美元節省，其中有多少是 QxH？這就是全部？

Carla, just to clarify, are you referencing the run rate savings from the reduction. [Which is] an annualized number for this year?

卡拉，澄清一下，你指的是減少後的運行率節省。 [這是]今年的年化數字？

Is that $50 million an annualized number? I guess that's what I'm just clarifying. I guess it would almost all be Qurate sites, right?

5000 萬美元是年化數字嗎？我想這就是我要澄清的。我猜它幾乎都是 Qurate 網站，對吧？

You're talking about in relationship to the reduction in force?

你說的是與力量減少的關係？

Yes.

是的。

Yes. So the reduction in force, we expect $60 million in run rate savings. We expect about $50 million of that to come in this year. That's all QxH. So that doesn't include, for example, the Zulily actions that I talked about and some of the actions we may take in any other businesses as we go throughout the year.

是的。因此，減少人力，我們預計可以節省 6000 萬美元的運行率。我們預計今年將有大約 5000 萬美元到賬。這就是全部 QxH。因此，這不包括，例如，我談到的 Zulily 行動以及我們在全年開展的任何其他業務中可能採取的一些行動。

Okay. And then are you looking at any further sale-leaseback opportunities? Are there any major properties you can call out that you still have that are owned, U.S. or international?

好的。然後你在尋找任何進一步的售後回租機會嗎？有沒有你可以說出的你仍然擁有的主要財產，美國的或國際的？

We do have additional properties. We look at our options regularly, nothing planned at this time.

我們確實有額外的屬性。我們會定期查看我們的選擇，目前沒有任何計劃。

Okay. Great. And then have you disclosed the OIBDA you get from the Japanese joint venture approximate here on an LTM basis and then how it's trending in the quarter?

好的。偉大的。然後你有沒有披露你從日本合資企業獲得的 OIBDA 在 LTM 基礎上的近似值，然後它在本季度的趨勢如何？

I don't think we've disclosed that previously. We can take a look at what we can say and get back to you. We have not...

我認為我們之前沒有透露過這一點。我們可以看看我們能說些什麼，然後回复您。我們還沒有...

And then in the press release, you mentioned that you're assessing other opportunities to improve the balance sheet. Could that include purchasing bonds in the market? I know in the past, you've bought some of the Liberty bonds back in the market, but small amounts. I just thoughts on both debt repayment or bond buyback (inaudible) QVC or LINTA?

然後在新聞稿中，您提到您正在評估其他改善資產負債表的機會。這是否包括在市場上購買債券？我知道過去你在市場上購買了一些 Liberty 債券，但數量很少。我只是想償還債務或債券回購（聽不清）QVC 或 LINTA？

Carla, we're going to announce the actions that we take with respect to the balance sheet after they're taken.

卡拉，我們將在採取行動後宣布我們對資產負債表採取的行動。

Understood. Understood. (inaudible). And then you mentioned -- I think I got this right. You said that the covenant calculation, you're adding back $225 million of projected cost savings. Is that the amount of the savings over a certain period like 1 year or 18 months? Or is that currently amount capped by the covenant?

明白了。明白了。 （聽不清）。然後你提到——我想我是對的。你說契約計算，你要加回 2.25 億美元的預計成本節約。那是一定時期（例如 1 年或 18 個月）內的儲蓄金額嗎？還是目前的金額受公約限制？

Carla, that's the amount that we expect to realize in 2023.

卡拉，這是我們預計在 2023 年實現的金額。

Okay. That's great. And then just one more. Do you have a forecast for cash taxes or expectations?

好的。那太棒了。然後還有一個。您對現金稅或預期有預測嗎？

12% to 14%, we're sticking with that guidance at this point in time.

12% 到 14%，我們目前堅持這一指導。

Thank you. And I think that's it, operator. Thank you to all of our listening audience for your time and your questions. We hope to speak with you again next quarter, if not sooner, and have a great Friday.

謝謝。我想就是這樣，接線員。感謝所有聽眾抽出寶貴時間提出問題。我們希望下個季度再次與您交談，如果不是更早的話，祝您週五愉快。

Thank you.

謝謝。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。