QVC Group Inc (QVCGA) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Qurate Retail Inc. 2023 Year-end Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference will be recorded, February 28.

女士們，先生們，歡迎參加 Qurate Retail Inc. 2023 年終收益電話會議。 （操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議將於 2 月 28 日進行錄音。

I would now like to turn the call over to Shane Kleinstein, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將電話轉給投資者關係資深副總裁 Shane Kleinstein。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning. Before we begin, we'd like to remind everyone that this will include 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 filed by our company and QVC with the SEC.

謝謝，早安。在開始之前，我們想提醒大家，這將包括《1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法案》所定義的某些前瞻性陳述。

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 statement 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. Please note that we have published slides to accompany the earnings release.

這些前瞻性陳述僅代表本次電話會議之日的觀點，Qurate Retail 明確表示不承擔任何義務或承諾，以傳播本文所含任何前瞻性陳述的任何更新或修訂，以反映 Qurate Retail 對此的預期變化或此類陳述所依據的事件、條件或情況的任何變化。請注意，我們已經發布了與收益報告配套的幻燈片。

On today's call, we will address -- 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 note and schedules 1 through 3, can be found in the earnings press release issued today or our earnings presentation, which are available on our website.

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、自由現金流量和固定匯率。有關可比較 GAAP 指標的資訊以及所需的定義和對帳（包括初步說明和附表 1 至 3）可在今天發布的收益新聞稿或我們的收益報告中找到，這些內容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 CFO, Bill Wafford; and Qurate Retail Executive Chairman, Greg Maffei.

今天在財報電話會議上發言的有 Qurate Retail 總裁兼執行長 David Rawlinson； Qurate Retail Group 財務長 Bill Wafford；以及 Qurate Retail 執行主席 Greg Maffei。

Now I'll turn the call over to David Rawlinson.

現在我將電話轉給 David Rawlinson。

Thank you, Shane, and good morning to everyone. Thank you for joining us today and for your interest in Qurate Retail. 2023 was a transformative year for Qurate with a number of key achievements. In mid-2022, we were facing substantial challenges across the business and announced Project Athens to improve our execution, reinvigorate our core value proposition and return to significant OIBDA and free cash flow generation.

謝謝你，肖恩，大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們並關注 Qurate Retail。 2023 年對 Qurate 來說是轉型的一年，取得了許多重要成就。 2022 年年中，我們在整個業務中面臨著巨大的挑戰，並宣布了雅典項目，以改善我們的執行力，重振我們的核心價值主張，並恢復顯著的 OIBDA 和自由現金流生成。

We implemented initiatives to refresh our assortment, sharpen our pricing, enhance our programming, improve our productivity and reduce our cost to serve. I'm thrilled to say that the initiatives we put into action have yielded strong positive results as evidenced by the adjusted OIBDA growth we experienced in the second half of 2023 and the free cash flow generation over the year. We are encouraged by these results and look forward to continuing the momentum into 2024.

我們實施了一些措施來更新我們的產品組合、優化我們的定價、增強我們的程式設計、提高我們的生產力並降低我們的服務成本。我很高興地說，我們採取的舉措取得了強勁的積極成果，這從我們在 2023 年下半年經歷的調整後 OIBDA 增長和全年的自由現金流產生就可以看出。這些結果令我們感到鼓舞，並期待在 2024 年繼續保持這一勢頭。

Let me share several highlights from 2023. First, as anticipated, we generated strong adjusted OIBDA growth in the second half of the year with Q4 adjusted OIBDA of 73% as reported. This was primarily due to meaningful gross margin expansion of more than 200 basis points in 2023 with gross margin expansion for the last 3 consecutive quarters.

讓我分享一下 2023 年的幾個亮點。這主要是由於 2023 年毛利率大幅擴大超過 200 個基點，並且過去連續 3 個季度的毛利率都在擴大。

We substantially improved our merchandise assortment with higher quality products, which resulted in higher average selling prices and product margins. Fulfillment expense was favorable as a result of renegotiating ocean shipping and end market freight rates and executing a number of productivity enhancements. We reduced our inventory balance 22% year-over-year, making room for a pressure assortment and newer products, which benefited inventory obsolescence expense for the year. We also took down administrative costs at each of our businesses.

我們大幅改善了商品組合，增加了品質更高的產品，從而提高了平均售價和產品利潤率。由於重新協商了海運和終端市場運費並實施了一系列生產力增強措施，因此履行費用是有利的。我們的庫存餘額比去年同期減少了22%，為壓力分類和新產品騰出了空間，這有利於當年的庫存陳舊費用。我們也降低了各個業務部門的管理成本。

Second, we divested Zulily in May, delivering on Pillar 4 Project Athens to optimize our portfolio. Zulily has negatively impacted our profitability and cash profile with a $97 million adjusted OIBDA loss in 2022. The divestitures simplifies our portfolio and benefits our go-forward liquidity while allowing management to focus on our remaining businesses.

其次，我們在五月剝離了 Zulily，並實施了第四大支柱專案雅典，從而優化了我們的投資組合。 Zulily 對我們的獲利能力和現金狀況產生了負面影響，2022 年調整後的 OIBDA 虧損為 9,700 萬美元。

Third, we increased free cash flow $586 million in 2023. In the first half of the year, this was mainly driven by working capital improvements from accounts payable and inventory reduction actions. In the back half of the year, our free cash flow generation was significant -- was from significant adjusted OIBDA growth. Finally, we reduced gross debt by approximately $1 billion in 2023, fortifying our balance sheet.

第三，我們在 2023 年增加了 5.86 億美元的自由現金流。今年下半年，我們的自由現金流產生了可觀的收益，這得益於調整後的 OIBDA 的大幅成長。最後，我們在 2023 年減少了約 10 億美元的總債務，增強了我們的資產負債表。

This proves the business' ability to deliver on our commitments. We have fundamentally improved our execution capability through our transformation initiatives. As we enter 2024, we have confidence in our ability to sustain momentum in creating a more streamlined, profitable, cash producing and relevant company.

這證明了該企業履行承諾的能力。我們透過轉型措施從根本上提高了我們的執行能力。邁入 2024 年之際，我們有信心保持發展勢頭，打造一家更加精簡、盈利能力更強、現金流更足、相關性更強的公司。

Taking a closer look at fourth quarter performance, we built on continued momentum coming out of Q3 with strong adjusted OIBDA growth and gross margin expansion of 550 basis points. At QxH, revenue declined 4%. Units declined as we comped significant inventory liquidation sales from last year and from continued industry softness in consumer electronics. We also made deliberate choices to drive higher average selling prices and gross margins and to shift category mix.

仔細觀察第四季的表現，我們延續了第三季的良好勢頭，調整後的 OIBDA 成長強勁，毛利率擴大了 550 個基點。在 QxH，收入下降了 4%。由於去年庫存清算銷售大幅減少，且消費性電子產品產業持續疲軟，銷售量出現下滑。我們也慎重選擇提高平均銷售價格和毛利率並改變產品類別組合。

This reduced revenue, but the resulting revenue had higher initial margins which offset lower volume. In the U.S., similar to our retail peers, we did see customers start their shopping later in the holiday season. However, when the shopping did kick off, we had strong sell-throughs and key events, which drove sales.

這減少了收入，但由此產生的收入具有更高的初始利潤率，從而抵消了較低的銷售。在美國，與我們的零售同業類似，我們確實看到消費者在假期季節晚些時候開始購物。然而，當購物季真正開始時，我們的銷售量強勁，並舉辦了許多關鍵活動，從而推動了銷售。

We are pleased that QxH grew market share as top line performance largely outpaced discretionary retail for the second consecutive quarter. Throughout the year, we have maintained focus on obtaining new, higher-quality inventory that would excite our customers and provide them with value. We reinvigorated our programming and honed the special relationship our customers have with Host, which led to continued high engagement, growing total linear minutes viewed 15% compared to the prior year.

我們很高興看到 QxH 的市佔率有所成長，因為其營收表現連續第二季大大超過非必需零售業務。全年我們一直專注於獲取新的、更高品質的庫存，以讓客戶興奮並為他們提供價值。我們重振了我們的節目，並磨練了客戶與主持人之間的特殊關係，這帶來了持續的高參與度，與前一年相比，總線性觀看分鐘數增長了 15％。

Moving to QVC International. We are proud to report QVC International grew constant currency revenue and adjusted OIBDA for the second consecutive quarter in Q4. We experienced particular strength in the U.K. as inflation in Europe is stabilizing. Adjusted OIBDA growth was driven by improved product margins, rate efficiencies and inventory management.

轉向 QVC International。我們很高興地報告，QVC International 在第四季度連續第二個季度實現了固定匯率收入和調整後 OIBDA 的成長。由於歐洲通膨正在趨於穩定，我們在英國感受到了特別的強勁成長。調整後的 OIBDA 成長得益於產品利潤率、利率效率和庫存管理的提高。

Bill will provide more details. As we've said previously, QVC International is executing a series of initiatives that are on track to deliver substantial adjusted OIBDA improvement, reaching run rate through 2025. These initiatives include workforce reductions taken in Europe in the second half of 2023 as well as steps to optimize the organizational structure, drive margin opportunities and improve broadcast and content strategies.

比爾將提供更多細節。正如我們之前所說，QVC International 正在實施一系列計劃，這些計劃預計將實現大幅調整後的 OIBDA 改善，達到 2025 年的運行率。

One of the key initiatives in 2023 was the launch of integrated experience. It aims to turn QVC International into a seamless, integrated and immersive digital experience. In the U.K., our initial focus is gardening and in Germany, food and kitchen. Both have shown positive customer engagement and driven increased sales in their respective categories, and we believe we can scale to other category segments and markets over time.

2023年的一項重要舉措是推出綜合體驗。其目標是將 QVC International 打造成無縫、整合、沉浸式的數位體驗。在英國，我們最初的重點是園藝，在德國，則是食物和廚房。兩家公司都表現出了積極的客戶參與度，並推動了各自類別的銷售成長，我們相信，隨著時間的推移，我們可以擴展到其他類別細分市場和市場。

At Cornerstone, our businesses are focused on furniture and home decor, both of which are driven by new housing starts and household moves. With housing starts and home sales at historically depressed rates, Cornerstone's top line has been persistently impacted. In this difficult environment, we maintained our focus on cost management and generated substantial adjusted OIBDA growth in the fourth quarter.

在 Cornerstone，我們的業務專注於家具和家居裝飾，這兩者都是由新屋開工和家庭搬遷所推動的。由於新屋開工率和房屋銷售率處於歷史低位，Cornerstone 的營收持續受到影響。在這種困難的環境下，我們繼續專注於成本管理，並在第四季度實現了大幅調整後的 OIBDA 成長。

The improvement was primarily due to favorable supply chain costs as well as lower catalog and personnel expenses. Expanding physical retail presence has been a successful tool for driving sales, deeper customer engagement, and better access to design services and improved conversion. We opened 2 new retail stores in Columbus, Ohio and Denver, Colorado and relocated 1 in Q4.

這一改善主要歸因於有利的供應鏈成本以及較低的目錄和人員費用。擴大實體零售業務一直是推動銷售、更深入吸引客戶、更好地獲得設計服務和提高轉換率的成功工具。我們在俄亥俄州哥倫布市和科羅拉多州丹佛市開設了 2 家新零售店，並在第四季度搬遷了 1 家。

Back in the U.S., we saw strong performance in our streaming services, QVC Plus and HSN Plus in Q4 and throughout the year. Total minutes viewed on our own platforms and FAST channels increased 23% to $3.6 billion, representing 5% of our total U.S. minutes viewed in 2023. We see real opportunity in our streaming business. Though still a small percent of our overall revenue base, screening revenue grew more than 50% in 2023. We see similar growth rates continuing into 2024 as the business begins to scale.

在美國，我們的串流服務 QVC Plus 和 HSN Plus 在第四季度和全年表現強勁。我們自己的平台和 FAST 頻道上的總觀看分鐘數增長了 23%，達到 36 億美元，佔 2023 年美國總觀看分鐘數的 5%。儘管篩檢收入仍占我們整體收入的一小部分，但 2023 年的篩檢收入成長了 50% 以上。

Let me now address our customer count. As I will describe, we have seen substantial stabilization in our customer count and encouraging signs of customer behavior. We believe that we have the customers we need to execute on Project Athens.

現在讓我來談談我們的客戶數量。正如我將描述的，我們的客戶數量已基本穩定，客戶行為也出現了令人鼓舞的跡象。我們相信我們擁有執行雅典專案所需的客戶。

Consistent with historical averages, QxH existing customers made up half of total customer count that generated 90% of 2023 sales. They purchased 31 items in 2023 and spent $1,600 on average. The strength of engagement is even more evident, and our best customers in QVC U.S. who are defined as purchasing at least 20 times a year. They were 17% of the count which generated 76% of the sales in 2023. They purchased, on average, 76 items in the year and increased their average spend 9% year-on-year to $3,900.

與歷史平均值一致，QxH 現有客戶佔總客戶數量的一半，創造了 2023 年銷售額的 90%。他們在 2023 年購買了 31 件商品，平均花費 1,600 美元。參與度的力量更是顯而易見，我們在美國 QVC 的最佳客戶被定義為每年至少購買 20 次。他們佔總數的 17%，但在 2023 年卻創造了 76% 的銷售額。 他們平均一年購買了 76 件商品，平均支出同比增長 9%，達到 3,900 美元。

We substantially moderated the rate of decline and the customer filed as we progress through 2023. We've moderated the sequential decline of our trailing 12-month count to down less than $100,000 from Q3 compared to down nearly $400,000 from the same period last year. Lastly, we began acquiring more new customers.

隨著我們進入 2023 年，我們大幅減緩了下降率和客戶提交的申請。最後，我們開始獲得更多新客戶。

New customers grew for the second consecutive quarter in Q4 with growth accelerating to 21%. We are utilizing several channels to incentivize additional purchases among our new customers. To share just a few examples. We are sending welcome e-mails to introduce our host, top deals and frequently purchased items. We are leveraging improved analytics to expose new customers to personalize content, brands and categories based on their interactions with us, and we have developed a next purchase direct e-mail piece that features our top national brands in various ways to watch and engage with QVC.

第四季新客戶連續第二季成長，增幅加速至 21%。我們正在利用多種管道來激勵新客戶進行額外購買。僅分享幾個例子。我們正在發送歡迎電子郵件來介紹我們的主持人、最優惠的價格和經常購買的商品。我們正在利用改進的分析技術向新客戶提供個人化內容、品牌和類別，這些內容、品牌和類別基於新客戶與我們的互動，並且我們已經開發了下一次購買直接電子郵件，以各種方式展示我們的頂級國家品牌，以便客​​戶觀看並與 QVC 互動。

Rather than growing the file with expensive-to-obtain and hard-to-retain transient customers, for now, we are concentrating on stabilizing our customer file, retaining our best customers and returning to new customer growth year-over-year that will contribute to customer file growth over time. We believe this is the prudent and profitable path and gives us the stability we need to continue to deliver on Project Athens in 2024. We also believe it sets us up nicely for customer file growth in 2025.

目前，我們專注於穩定我們的客戶檔案，留住我們最好的客戶，並逐年恢復新客戶的成長，這將有助於客戶檔案的長期成長，而不是透過昂貴且難以保留的臨時客戶來擴大檔案。我們相信這是一條審慎且有利可圖的道路，為我們提供了在 2024 年繼續實現雅典項目所需的穩定性。

Now I would like to touch again, while Qurate's business model is differentiated across retail and the value we bring to customers, vendors and celebrities. Starting with vendors. Our platform continues to be very attractive to both new and existing vendors. We move meaningful volume and provide a scaled platform to connect with customers on a personal level and share product stories. We had impressive sell-through rates in Q4 across a range of price points and in particular, on higher end products where we were able to demonstrate compelling value for unique products.

現在我想再談一談，Qurate 的商業模式在零售以及我們為客戶、供應商和名人帶來的價值方面有所不同。從供應商開始。我們的平台對於新舊供應商都持續具有很大的吸引力。我們傳輸有意義的數據並提供一個可擴展的平台，以便在個人層面上與客戶聯繫並分享產品故事。在第四季度，我們在一系列價位的產品中都取得了令人印象深刻的銷售率，特別是高端產品，我們能夠展示出獨特產品的引人注目的價值。

For example, at QVC, we offered Fire Light Lab Grown Diamonds from 2 carats to 9 carats, ranging in price from $1,300 to $5,000. The entire collection was well received selling out across sizes and products, including a sold-out non-carat chimes bracelet. We also sold $5.7 million of an Ninja woodfire, electric smoker and outdoor grill, moving 19,000 units priced at $300 a piece. At HSN, we sold out of a Daymak ebike, with a price point in excess of $1,000 over Black Friday weekend.

例如，在 QVC，我們提供 2 克拉至 9 克拉的 Fire Light 實驗室培育鑽石，價格從 1,300 美元到 5,000 美元不等。整個系列深受好評，各種尺寸和產品均已銷售一空，其中包括已售罄的非克拉風鈴手鍊。我們還售出了價值 570 萬美元的 Ninja 木火爐、電動煙燻爐和戶外烤架，共售出 19,000 台，每台售價 300 美元。在 HSN，我們在黑色星期五週末售出了一輛 Daymak 電動自行車，售價超過 1,000 美元。

And Home Decor, we sold $6 million of Barefoot Dreams luxury throw on Cyber Monday. In Beauty, we sold 40,000 units of an ELEMIS cream in 1 day and 114,000 units of Beekman and Velocity gift wrap in 2 days. The scale of this platform is very difficult to replicate and attractive to existing and new vendors. We debuted a new brand in Tight, Sheertex, selling $2.4 million in just a couple of hours. We introduced a new leather handbag and luggage brand, HULKEN, that sold $340,000 in 11 minutes. QVC and HSN have always been a home for celebrities, engaging personalities and entrepreneurs. We welcome many familiar and new faces in the fourth quarter with a great pipeline planned for 2024. At QVC, Lawrence Zarian, launch BEAUTIFUL, an exclusive fashion collection of dresses, outwear and accessories.

在家居裝飾方面，我們在網路星期一售出了價值 600 萬美元的 Barefoot Dreams 奢華毛毯。美容領域，我們1天售出40,000組ELEMIS乳霜，2天售出114,000套Beekman和Velocity禮品包裝紙。該平台的規模很難複製，並且對現有和新的供應商都具有吸引力。我們在 Tight 推出了一個新品牌 Sheertex，僅用幾個小時就取得了 240 萬美元的銷售額。我們推出了新的皮革手袋和行李箱品牌HULKEN，11分鐘內銷售額達到34萬美元。 QVC 和 HSN 一直是名人、時尚達人和企業家的聚集地。我們在第四季度迎來了許多熟悉和新面孔，並計劃在 2024 年推出出色的產品線。

In connection with the launch, we conducted a satellite media tour with a nationally syndicated segment on Extra. At HSN, we teamed up with the legendary singer, Dolly Parton, for the presale of our debut rock album Rockstar. Iconic Singer, Chaka Khan, launched her own perfume. Singer, Katherine McPhee debut her jewelry line, Radiance by Absolute. Erin Andrews, launched her Sportswear line. Wolfgang Puck celebrated its 25th year with HSN, with a new cook wear line.

為了配合此次發表會，我們進行了衛星媒體巡迴報道，並在《Extra》節目中播放了全國聯合播出的片段。在 HSN，我們與傳奇歌手 Dolly Parton 合作預售我們的首張搖滾專輯《Rockstar》。標誌性歌手 Chaka Khan 推出了自己的香水。歌手凱瑟琳麥克菲推出她的珠寶系列 Radiance by Absolute。艾琳安德魯斯（Erin Andrews）推出了她的運動服系列。 Wolfgang Puck 推出全新主廚服飾系列，慶祝與 HSN 合作 25 週年。

During his time with HSN, he has generated more than $600 million in sales. Numerous other celebrities have teamed up with us recently and our 2024 celebrities lineup is fantastic. In January, Scarlett Johansson debuted a new beauty line called The Outset. Actress, Christina Ricci came on air as the new brand ambassador for Lancer Skincare. In March, self-taught cake artist and social media influencer, Yolanda Gampp, who has 4.5 million YouTube subscribers and 2.8 million Instagram followers will introduce a new bakeware line. Many other celebrities will join us this year, and we look forward to sharing more on future calls.

在 HSN 任職期間，他創造了超過 6 億美元的銷售額。最近，許多其他名人與我們合作，我們的 2024 年名人陣容非常精彩。今年 1 月，史嘉蕾喬韓森 (Scarlett Johansson) 推出了名為 The Outset 的全新美容產品系列。女演員克里斯蒂娜里奇 (Christina Ricci) 作為 Lancer Skincare 的新品牌大使亮相。 3 月份，自學成才的蛋糕藝術家、社群媒體影響者 Yolanda Gampp 將推出一系列全新的烘焙用具。今年還將有許多其他名人加入我們，我們期待在未來的通話中分享更多內容。

And finally, we continue to provide value to customers through compelling product values, exposure to their favorite host and celebrities and importantly, our engaging programming. Our programming is enhanced by destination and must see events, especially around the holiday season. We hosted a 49 hour nonstop holiday party across channels and platforms with fun holiday shopping and special pop-in personalities.

最後，我們繼續透過引人注目的產品價值、讓顧客接觸他們最喜歡的主持人和名人，以及更重要的，我們引人入勝的節目，為客戶提供價值。我們的節目安排因目的地和必看活動而更加豐富，尤其是在假日期間。我們舉辦了跨渠道和平台的 49 小時不間斷假日派對，其中包括有趣的假期購物和特別的人物表演。

680,000 customers shop the weekend including more than 40,000 new customers. The event generated 81 million views across social platforms. It features several live streams, including holiday guides to get together with Jimmy Garth, holiday Head-to-toe style with experts, Tendrils high chocolate cocktails and holiday recipes in 30 minutes with Fabio Viviani. We have also appeared on other powerful platforms to fuel engagement.

週末共有 68 萬名顧客購物，其中包括 4 萬多名新顧客。該活動在社群平台上的瀏覽量達到 8,100 萬次。它具有多個直播功能，包括與 Jimmy Garth 一起的假期指南、與專家一起的從頭到腳的假期風格、Tendrils 高巧克力雞尾酒和與 Fabio Viviani 一起的 30 分鐘假期食譜。我們也出現在其他強大的平台上，以促進參與。

QVC Host presented gift ideas on popular talk shows, including the Drew Barrymore show and the Tamron Hall show to promote our holiday gift brand. We remain excited about the value proposition that makes QVC and HSN unique, and we'll continue leveraging this model as we expand across platforms.

QVC Host 在熱門脫口秀節目中介紹了禮品創意，包括 Drew Barrymore 秀和 Tamron Hall 秀，以推廣我們的節日禮品品牌。我們仍然對 QVC 和 HSN 獨特的價值主張感到興奮，並且我們將在跨平台擴展時繼續利用這種模式。

Finally, I want to discuss an organizational change we announced yesterday. I'm pleased to announce that Stacy Bowe will be taking over as the President of HSN. Stacy has been serving as the Chief Merchant at QVC U.S. since joining the company in 2022 and has been one of the driving forces behind the improvement at QVC, including rapidly recalibrating our buying program, improving our inventory levels and bringing freshness and newness to the assortment. Prior to QVC, Stacy had a decorated career at G-III Apparel Group and Macy's.

最後，我想討論一下我們昨天宣布的組織變革。我很高興地宣布 Stacy Bowe 將接任 HSN 總裁。自 2022 年加入公司以來，Stacy 一直擔任 QVC 美國公司的首席商務官，並且是 QVC 改進的推動力之一，包括迅速重新調整我們的採購計劃、提高我們的庫存水平以及為產品組合帶來新鮮感和新穎性。在加入 QVC 之前，Stacy 曾在 G-III 服裝集團和梅西百貨公司工作，有著輝煌的職業生涯。

I would like to thank Rob Muller, who has distinguished 23 years of extraordinary contributions to the company, including serving for the last 2 years as President of HSN.

我要感謝羅布·穆勒 (Rob Muller)，他 23 年來為公司做出了傑出貢獻，包括過去兩年擔任 HSN 總裁。

In summary, our business reached an inflection point in the third quarter of 2023. We have made substantial progress in stabilizing revenue and growing cash flow and profitability. We look forward to continuing to drive improved results in 2024 while preparing the business for its future of multi-platform growth.

總結來說，我們的業務在2023年第三季到達了拐點，我們在穩定收入、增加現金流和獲利能力方面取得了實質的進展。我們期待在 2024 年繼續推動業績改善，同時為未來的多平台成長做好準備。

Now I'll turn the call to Bill to discuss the financial results of each of our businesses in more detail.

現在我將把電話轉給比爾，更詳細地討論我們每個業務的財務表現。

Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. Unless otherwise noted, my comments compare financial performance for the 3 months ended December 31, 2023, to the same period in 2022. Starting with QxH. Revenue declined 4% and primarily on lower unit volume. These pressures were partially offset by 3% growth in average selling price. As David mentioned, lower unit volume was in part a result of comping to liquidation sales in Q4 2022 to actively reduce inventory. While this negatively impacted revenue, it was accretive to profitability. Second, we saw higher returns in the fourth quarter, which are normalizing to pre-pandemic levels across the industry after an extended low period during the pandemic.

謝謝你，大衛，大家早安。除非另有說明，我的評論將截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日的 3 個月的財務表現與 2022 年同期進行比較。收入下降 4%，主要由於單位銷售下降。這些壓力被平均售價 3% 的成長部分抵消。正如 David 所提到的，單位銷售下降部分是由於 2022 年第四季進行清算銷售以積極減少庫存。雖然這對收入產生了負面影響，但卻增加了獲利能力。其次，我們在第四季度看到了更高的回報率，在經歷了疫情期間的長期低迷期之後，整個行業的回報率正在恢復到疫情前的正常水平。

From a category perspective, QxH experienced growth in apparel and jewelry. These gains were offset by a decline mainly in electronics, which accounted for 64% of QxH's revenue decrease. The decline in electronics is primarily driven by category softness across the industry, due to lack of innovation as well as the strategic pullback in the category as our merchandise team focuses on the higher-margin categories.

從類別來看，QxH 在服裝和珠寶方面都經歷了成長。這些收益被主要電子產品的下滑所抵消，電子產品的下滑佔 QxH 收入下降的 64%。電子產品銷售的下滑主要是由於整個行業類別銷售疲軟，這是由於缺乏創新以及我們的商品團隊將重點放在利潤率較高的類別上而導致的該類別的策略性撤退。

Apparels grew 3% due to strength in classic and contemporary apparel. Jewelry grew 8%, mainly on the strength of fine jewelry. Home revenue decreased 2%, mainly due to lower demand for home improvement and floor care, partially offset by growth in cleaning and fitness. Beauty declined 1% mainly due to lower demand for bath and body as well as our strategic decision to dedicate more airtime to launching and growing smaller brands in order to diversify our assortment. This was partially offset by strong performance in Beauty prices. Accessories declined 3%, primarily due to lower demand for loungewear, partially offset by strength in fashion accessories and footwear. Adjusted OIBDA margin increased 360 basis points with gross margin expansion of 450 basis points, primarily driven by favorable product margins, fulfillment and inventory obsolescence expense.

由於經典服裝和現代服裝的強勁增長，服裝業務增長了 3%。珠寶首飾成長 8%，主要得益於高級珠寶的強勁成長。家居收入下降 2%，主要由於家居裝飾和地板護理需求下降，但清潔和健身業務的成長部分抵消了這一影響。美容產品銷量下降了 1%，主要是因為沐浴和身體護理產品的需求下降，以及我們做出了策略決策，投入更多時間推出和發展小品牌，以實現產品組合多樣化。美容產品價格的強勁表現部分抵消了這一影響。配件下降 3%，主要原因是家居服需求下降，但時尚配件和鞋類需求強勁，部分抵消了這一影響。調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率增加了 360 個基點，毛利率擴大了 450 個基點，主要得益於有利的產品利潤率、履行和庫存過時費用。

Product margins increased 215 basis points driven by mix shift to higher-margin products and fewer clearance actions due to improved inventory health. Fulfillment expenses improved 155 basis points due to improved efficiency and PAT factor from Project Athens initiatives, less detention and demurrage costs and favorable rates from our new parcel carrier contract that went into effect in late July.

由於產品組合轉向利潤率更高的產品，以及庫存狀況改善導致清倉活動減少，產品利潤率增加了 215 個基點。由於雅典計劃舉措帶來的效率和 PAT 因素提高、滯留和滯期費用減少以及 7 月底生效的新包裹承運人合約帶來的優惠費率，履行費用改善了 155 個基點。

Inventory obsolescence declined, reflecting enhanced merchandise and assortment and comping 2022's Q4 inventory reductions. SG&A was unfavorable by approximately 75 basis points, primarily due to sales deleverage on administrative and marketing expenses. Bad debt expense accounted for approximately 20 basis points of pressure due to provisional adjustments, while our overall bad debt rates remain low and well under 2% of revenue.

庫存過時性下降，反映了商品和品種的增強以及 2022 年第四季的庫存減少。銷售、一般及行政開支下降約 75 個基點，主要由於管理和行銷費用的銷售去槓桿。由於臨時調整，壞帳費用造成了約 20 個基點的壓力，而我們的整體壞帳率仍然很低，遠低於收入的 2%。

Before moving on to QVC International. As noted in our earnings release, we conducted an annual impairment assessment and recognized a $326 million noncash goodwill impairment charge at QxH. This is included in operating income but excluded from adjusted OIBDA.

在前往 QVC International 之前。正如我們的收益報告中所述，我們進行了年度減損評估，並確認了 QxH 3.26 億美元的非現金商譽減損費用。這包含在營業收入中，但不包含在調整後的 OIBDA 中。

Moving to QVC International. My comments will focus on constant currency results. Revenue grew slightly, reflecting a 1% increase in average selling price, offset by a 1% decrease in unit volume. QVC U.K. letter performance, up low double digits with sales gains in all but one category and particular strength in home. Japan was down slightly and Germany declined mid-single digits. From a category perspective, QVC International experienced growth, mainly in home and beauty, with declines in apparel and accessories.

轉向 QVC International。我的評論將集中在固定匯率結果。收入略有成長，反映出平均銷售價格上漲 1%，但單位銷售量下降 1%。 QVC 英國門市業績表現優異，除一個品類外，其他所有品類的銷售額均實現成長，尤其本土產品表現強勁。日本略有下降，德國下降幅度達個位數中段。從類別來看，QVC International 實現了成長，主要集中在家居和美容領域，而服裝和配件領域則有所下滑。

Adjusted OIBDA increased 2% and adjusted OIBDA margin was flat. Gross margin increased 100 basis points, mainly due to improved product margins in the U.K. and Germany. QVC International benefited from fewer inventory clearance actions due to healthier inventories compared to last year lower supply chain costs from ocean containers in Europe and a mix shift to higher-margin products, including Beauty.

調整後的 OIBDA 成長 2%，調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率持平。毛利率增加了100個基點，主要由於英國和德國產品利潤率的增加。 QVC International 受益於較少的庫存清倉行動，原因是與去年相比庫存更加充足，歐洲海運貨櫃的供應鏈成本降低，以及產品組合轉向包括美容在內的高利潤產品。

Fulfillment was unfavorable, primarily due to $4 million of rent from the sale-leaseback transactions in January and increased labor costs. SG&A was unfavorable due to higher administration costs from outside services related to transformation actions and management and accruals, partially offset by lower marketing expense. QVC International is executing a series of transformation initiatives that are on track to deliver substantial adjusted OIBDA improvement reaching run rate through 2025.

履行情況不佳，主要由於 1 月售後回租交易的租金為 400 萬美元，且勞動成本增加。銷售、一般及行政開支不佳，原因是與轉型行動和管理及應計項目相關的外部服務的管理成本增加，但行銷費用的降低部分抵消了這一影響。 QVC International 正在實施一系列轉型計劃，這些計劃預計在 2025 年實現大幅調整後的 OIBDA 改善，達到運行率。

Moving to Cornerstone. Revenue declined 12% in the quarter. We experienced soft demand in most home categories as well as in apparel by Garnet Hill. Despite the decline in revenue, Cornerstone diligently managed costs and significantly grew adjusted OIBDA. Growth was primarily driven by decreased supply chain costs from lower ocean shipping rates and less detention and demurrage costs. These gains were partially offset by promotional activity and deleverage of marketing expense.

移至 Cornerstone。本季營收下降了 12%。我們發現大多數家居類別以及 Garnet Hill 服裝的需求疲軟。儘管收入下降，Cornerstone 仍努力管理成本並大幅提高調整後的 OIBDA。成長主要得益於海運費率下降以及滯留費和滯期費減少所導致的供應鏈成本下降。這些收益被促銷活動和行銷費用的去槓桿部分抵銷。

Turning to cash flow and the balance sheet. Full year capital expenditures were $230 million. For 2024, we anticipate capital expenditures to be approximately $235 million to $250 million. We spent $113 million on renewals of our TV distribution contracts in 2023.

轉向現金流和資產負債表。全年資本支出為2.3億美元。到 2024 年，我們預計資本支出約為 2.35 億至 2.5 億美元。我們在 2023 年續簽電視發行合約花費了 1.13 億美元。

Our TV distribution payments can fluctuate year-over-year depending on renewal cycles, though we continue to expect the 2-year average to be approximately $100 million. Free cash flow for 2023 was $577 million versus a use of $9 million last year. The year-over-year improvement was attributable to increased cash flow from operations driven by working capital improvements in the front half of the year and higher earnings in the back half of the year. This was partially offset by higher TV distribution payments year-over-year. We continue to expect higher adjusted OIBDA to benefit free cash flow in 2024.

我們的電視發行費用會根據續約週期而逐年波動，但我們仍預計兩年平均值約為 1 億美元。 2023 年的自由現金流為 5.77 億美元，而去年的使用量為 900 萬美元。年成長歸因於上半年營運資本改善和下半年獲利增加所推動的經營現金流增加。這被同比增加的電視發行費用部分抵消。我們繼續預期更高的調整後 OIBDA 將有利於 2024 年的自由現金流。

Looking at our debt profile. We repaid $138 million net on the revolver in the fourth quarter. Net debt at Qurate Retail Group reduced $209 million in the fourth quarter from the revolver paydown and strong cash generation. As of December 31, we had $857 million drawn on the QVC revolver with $2.3 billion in available capacity. In terms of cash balances, as of December 31, 2023, Qurate Retail had total cash of $1.1 billion, of which $307 million was at QVC Inc., $453 million was at Liberty Interactive, and $275 million was at Qurate Retail Inc.

看看我們的債務狀況。我們在第四季淨償還了1.38億美元的循環信貸。由於循環信貸償還和強勁的現金產生能力，Qurate Retail Group 的淨債務在第四季度減少了 2.09 億美元。截至 12 月 31 日，我們從 QVC 循環信貸提取的金額為 8.57 億美元，可用額度為 23 億美元。現金餘額方面，截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，Qurate Retail 的總現金為 11 億美元，其中 3.07 億美元在 QVC Inc.，4.53 億美元在 Liberty Interactive，2.75 億美元在 Qurate Retail Inc.

Our leverage ratio as defined by the QVC revolving credit facility was 2.4x. Note that covenant OIBDA includes the adjusted OIBDA of QVC, Inc. and Cornerstone, gains from the sale-leaseback transactions completed in the last 12 months and a portion of projected cost savings. Note that we delivered a redemption notice yesterday to redeem all remaining outstanding QVC 4.85% senior secured notes due in 2024 on March 28, which we will fund with cash and revolver capacity.

我們的槓桿比率依照 QVC 循環信貸安排定義為 2.4 倍。請注意，契約 OIBDA 包括 QVC, Inc. 和 Cornerstone 的調整後 OIBDA、過去 12 個月完成的售後回租交易的收益以及部分預計成本節省。請注意，我們昨天發出了一份贖回通知，以贖回所有剩餘未償還的 QVC 4.85% 優先擔保票據，這些票據將於 2024 年 3 月 28 日到期，我們將以現金和循環信貸額度為其提供資金。

In 2022 and 2023, we executed programs to increase our liquidity and position ourselves for the successful implementation of our transformation plan. We affirmed that our debt level is manageable and our current cushion is sufficient in relation to our 4.5x maximum net leverage covenant threshold stipulated in our credit facility. In 2023, we made substantial progress in the execution of our transformation initiatives and Qurate's second half results are a measure of our progress. We look forward to building on this momentum in 2024.

2022年和2023年，我們實施了增加流動性的計劃，為成功實施轉型計劃做好準備。我們確認，我們的債務水準是可控的，並且相對於我們信貸安排中規定的 4.5 倍最高淨槓桿契約門檻，我們目前的緩衝是足夠的。 2023年，我們在實施轉型計畫方面取得了實質進展，Qurate 下半年的業績就是衡量我們進展的標準。我們期待在 2024 年繼續延續這一勢頭。

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

現在，我將把電話轉給格雷格。

Thanks, Bill. Successful 2023 has been demonstrated on improved financial performance and business health. The second half of 2023 was a turning point as Athens took hold. We saw enhanced merchandising and pricing strategy. We also saw efficiencies in the fulfillment center post our fire elevated costs. as well as other administrative costs that we're taking out of the business.

謝謝，比爾。 2023年的成功已體現在財務業績和業務健康狀況的改善。 2023 年下半年是雅典崛起的轉捩點。我們看到了增強的商品推銷和定價策略。我們也看到，在火災導致成本上升之後，配送中心的效率有所提高。以及我們從業務中扣除的其他管理費用。

All of these drove significant adjusted OIBDA growth in the second half with $586 million of growth in cash flow year-over-year. We also position the business for the future, the future with multi-platform and digital strategies that we'll begin to take hold. We also continue to improve the balance sheet, reducing approximately $1 billion of debt in 2023, lowering the revolver balance by $218 million, including $138 million in the fourth quarter. We will continue to assess incremental opportunities to improve the balance sheet. We did deliver a notice to redeem the outstanding 2024 senior secured notes using cash on hand and our revolver capacity. We expect to continue to build momentum on these successes in 2024.

所有這些都推動了下半年調整後的 OIBDA 大幅成長，現金流年增 5.86 億美元。我們也為未來業務進行了定位，未來我們將開始實施多平台和數位策略。我們也繼續改善資產負債表，在 2023 年減少約 10 億美元的債務，將循環信貸餘額降低 2.18 億美元，其中第四季降低 1.38 億美元。我們將繼續評估改善資產負債表的增量機會。我們確實發出了一份通知，要求使用庫存現金和循環信貸能力贖回未償還的 2024 年優先擔保票據。我們期望在 2024 年繼續鞏固這些成功勢頭。

And with that, I'll open it up for Q&A, operator.

現在，我將開始問答環節，接線員。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Jason Bazinet with Citi.

（操作員指示）我們的第一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Jason Bazinet。

I just had a high-level question. I guess for '24, I think it's reasonable to anticipate revenues may not grow, but the Athens savings will sort of come in and allow you to grow EBITDA in '24. Is the high-level vision by the time you get to '25, the top line should be stable or growing? Or do you think it's more likely you'll still have some top line pressures, but there's additional costs as we move into -- to come out as we move into '25?

我剛才有一個高級問題。我想對於'24年來說，我認為預計收入可能不會增長是合理的，但雅典的儲蓄將會進來，並使你在'24年實現EBITDA的增長。高層的願景是，到 25 年，營業收入應該保持穩定或成長嗎？或者您認為更有可能的是，您仍會面臨一些營收壓力，但隨著我們進入25年，還會產生額外的成本？

Thank you for the thoughtful question. As we go through '24 into '25, I think we move into a more well-balanced top and bottom line growth story. It would certainly be the case. If we target stability very intentionally, both on top line revenue and stability in terms of customer file through the project Athens period through 2024, as you correctly point out, I think we're setting up after 2024 to have more balanced path to value creation on both the top and bottom line. And so preparing to be able to grow in the out years after the Project Athen's period.

感謝您提出這個深思熟慮的問題。隨著我們度過24年進入25年，我認為我們將進入一個更均衡的頂線和底線成長故事。確實如此。如果我們非常有意地以穩定性為目標，包括透過雅典計畫到 2024 年期間的營業收入和客戶檔案穩定性，正如您正確指出的那樣，我認為我們將在 2024 年之後建立更平衡的價值創造路徑，無論是在營業收入還是在利潤方面。從而為雅典計劃結束後的幾年內的發展做好準備。

Okay. Can I just ask one follow-up. You mentioned the focus on garden in the U.K. and kitchen in Germany. But are there any other things that are causing sort of the more positive results coming out of the international markets relative to the U.S.? I mean you're making progress on both, but you sort of slipped into growth mode on a constant currency basis? And then also, can you just talk a little bit more about that dichotomy?

好的。我可以再問一個問題嗎？您提到英國注重花園，而德國注重廚房。但有其他因素導致國際市場相對於美國市場出現更為正面的結果嗎？我的意思是您在兩方面都取得了進展，但是您在固定匯率基礎上是否進入了成長模式？另外，您能否再多談這種二分法？

Yes, sure. I think I'd say 2 things. One, there tend to be less competitive markets, both digital and the digital new customer acquisition space. And so we've taken advantage of that. They also tend to be more stable linear TV markets, let's cut, cord cutting in those markets. And there's been slightly more, I'd say, on average across all the markets, we operate in slightly more consistent consumer behavior to navigate.

是的，當然。我想我要說兩件事。一是市場競爭趨於不那麼激烈，無論是數位市場或數位新客戶獲取領域。因此我們利用了這一點。它們也傾向於成為更穩定的線性電視市場，讓我們切斷這些市場的有線電視連接。而且我想說，平均而言，在所有市場中，我們的營運會以更一致的消費者行為來引導。

I also think we have -- we're in the right footprint in the right countries, and we have a very stable well-tuned management teams who have done a nice job of operating those businesses. I think if you look historically, the international businesses have generally grow a little bit faster in terms of revenue than the U.S. business that is in part just due to some beneficial competitive environment. And so I think you'll continue to see strong performance out of our international businesses. We really like our footprint, and we like the dynamics in most of those countries.

我還認為，我們在正確的國家取得了正確的發展，我們擁有一支非常穩定、協調的管理團隊，他們在經營這些業務方面做得很好。我認為，如果回顧歷史，國際業務的收入成長通常比美國業務快一點，這在一定程度上是由於一些有利的競爭環境。因此我認為您將繼續看到我們的國際業務的強勁表現。我們真的很喜歡我們的足跡，我們也喜歡大多數國家的活力。

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

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的威廉·路透社。

I have 2. So the first is, you mentioned that you have been able to shift some of your product offering. Clearly, electronics is really weak and you have some pockets of strength in the U.S. accessories and apparel. I guess, is there any way you can quantify what amount of programming has been shifted to categories of strength and the opportunity to continue to do that in '24?

我有 2 個。顯然，電子產品市場確實很弱，而美國配件和服裝市場卻有一些優勢。我想，有什麼方法可以量化已經轉移到強度類別的編程量以及在'24年繼續這樣做的機會嗎？

Yes, it's a great question. So we have made shifts. I won't speak in specific numbers, but if you look at our own airtime, our most valuable live airtime, we gave more to jewelry, more to beauty, less to electronics, a slight increase in apparel. And I think those were the -- those tended to be the biggest moves in the quarter, fashion apparel and jewelry being the biggest increases and consumer electronics being the biggest decrease in terms of airtime.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。因此我們做出了改變。我不會說出具體的數字，但如果你看看我們自己的播出時間，我們最有價值的直播時間，我們給珠寶的投入更多，給美容的投入更多，給電子產品的投入較少，服裝的投入略有增加。我認為這些是本季最大的變動，時尚服飾和珠寶的播出時間增幅最大，而消費性電子產品的播出時間降幅最大。

Okay. And then my second question on the third quarter call, you mentioned you expected to repay both the '24s and '25s with cash or revolver drawings. Does that continue to be the case? And kind of relatedly, towards the end of the prepared remarks, you talked about taking advantage or continuing to pursue opportunistic? It sounded like asset sales or transactions that would bring in cash? Is there anything active going on there? And do you expect that there will be transactions of that leg this year?

好的。然後我的第二個問題是關於第三季電話會議的，您提到您希望用現金或循環信貸來償還 24 年期和 25 年期債券。這種情況會持續下去嗎？與此相關的是，在準備好的發言即將結束時，您談到了利用機會還是繼續追求機會主義？這聽起來像是資產出售或能帶來現金的交易？那裡正在發生什麼活動嗎？您預計今年會有該筆交易嗎？

So we expect -- we'll do the '24 is an expectation of '25 as a combination of cash on hand and revolver capacity. We don't anticipate any material transactions similar to what you saw in 2022 with sale leaseback activity or anything of that ilk.

因此，我們預計 - 我們將根據庫存現金和循環信貸容量對 24 年和 25 年進行預測。我們預計不會出現與 2022 年售後回租活動或類似活動類似的任何重大交易。

Our next question is from Carla Casella with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的卡拉·卡塞拉。

One follow-up on Bill's question. Can you just remind us how much owned property you still have and whether it's domestic or international?

對比爾的問題進行一次跟進。您能否提醒我們您還擁有多少房產以及是國內的還是國際的？

We -- Carla, this is Bill. Obviously -- we still have, obviously, the facility in St. Pete and then other kind of smaller international facilities as well in Japan and U.K. and so on. But -- and then also in terms of distribution centers in the U.S., but nothing that we're considering monetizing in the near term.

我們——卡拉，這是比爾。顯然——我們仍然在聖彼得堡設有設施，並且在日本、英國等地還設有其他較小的國際設施。但是 — — 就美國的配送中心而言，我們近期還沒有考慮將其貨幣化。

Okay. And then we'd like to see that the new customer counts increased sequentially for -- I think it's the first time since the pandemic. What does that tell us about the customer existing and the other basket? Does that -- are you seeing the conversion of new into existing at a different rate than in the past? Or any more color you can give us there?

好的。然後，我們希望看到新客戶數量連續增加——我認為這是疫情爆發以來的第一次。這告訴我們有關現有客戶和其他籃子的什麼資訊？您是否看到新事物轉換成現有事物的速度與過去不同？或者您能為我們提供更多詳細資訊嗎？

Yes, great question. You're right that this is the first time we've grown customers and new customers in a number of years. I would say it's too early to know exactly what that batch is going to be. One of the things that we track very carefully is purchase and repurchase rates across time. We found that to be a highly correlated predictor of customer quality over the life of the customer.

是的，很好的問題。您說得對，這是我們多年來第一次增加客戶和新客戶。我想說現在還無法確切知道這批產品的具體資訊。我們非常密切追蹤的事情之一是不同時期的購買率和回購率。我們發現，這是客戶生命週期中客戶品質的高度相關預測因子。

And I would say any time you increase the population of new customers, you change the mix of quality a little bit. And so we've seen some changes in mix. But on the whole, we're seeing that this group of customers is about the same shows, about the same attributes as previous crops of customers, especially when we've grown new customers. So they're a little more digital. They're finding us across our platforms. And so it is a customer that's sort of the next generation of customers.

我想說的是，每當你增加新客戶的數量時，你都會稍微改變品質組合。因此，我們看到了混合方面的一些變化。但總體而言，我們發現這群客戶與之前的一群客戶喜歡同樣的節目，並且具有相同的屬性，尤其是在我們發展新客戶的時候。因此它們更加數位化了。他們透過我們的平台找到了我們。因此，他們是下一代客戶。

I think one of the things we're really pleased about is we think it continues to show the relevance of our platform and that we continue to be attractive to new customers. I think looking at the data we see so far for the current crop of customers, we are optimistic about our ability to continue graduating those customers in the becoming Abbott and Elite and eventually best customers at about the same rate as what we've done previously.

我認為讓我們真正感到高興的事情之一是我們認為它繼續顯示了我們平台的相關性並且我們繼續對新客戶具有吸引力。我認為，從目前我們看到的當前一批客戶的數據來看，我們對繼續讓這些客戶成為雅培和精英客戶並最終成為最佳客戶的能力感到樂觀，而速度與我們之前所做的大致相同。

Okay. Great. And then one question. I was looking back through some older presentations from pre-pandemic. And you had talked about inventory, exposure of your inventory and that some of it -- you've done a great job of reducing inventory lately, but I'm also -- I think it's actually your inventory risk might be actually lower than it looks like because don't give the ability to return inventory to vendors in some cases? And how should we think about inventory at risk versus the balance?

好的。偉大的。然後還有一個問題。我回顧了一些疫情爆發前的老演講。您談到了庫存、庫存風險以及其中一些問題——您最近在減少庫存方面做得很好，但我還認為——實際上您的庫存風險可能比看起來的要低，因為在某些情況下，您無法將庫存退還給供應商？我們該如何看待風險庫存與平衡庫存？

Yes. No, no. Good question, Carla. I think from the structure of our agreements with our vendors, I mean, our risk profile on inventory is significantly less than it was for a couple of reasons. We reduced our days of supply significantly and to a more manageable rate that you would think for a retailer level of revenue, we'll be more commensurate with an appropriate level of turnover. Two, a large percentage of our inventory, our sales revenue to our customers is driven via drop ship, especially in the U.S. so coming straight from the vendor and the inventory is never on our balance sheet.

是的。不，不。好問題，卡拉。我認為，從我們與供應商的協議結構來看，由於一些原因，我們的庫存風險狀況明顯低於以前。我們大幅減少了供應天數，並將其降至更易於管理的水平，您會認為這對於零售商的收入水平而言，將與適當的營業額水平更加相稱。二，我們的庫存很大一部分，也就是我們向客戶銷售的收入都是透過直運實現的，尤其是在美國，所以直接來自供應商，庫存從未出現在我們的資產負債表上。

And then third, on -- depending on kind of the structure with the vendor, there are times when we do have -- when we have a returned item that we have the ability to return that to the vendor. And so it minimizes inventory exposure on those products as well.

第三，根據與供應商的結構類型，有時我們確實有——當我們有退回的物品時，我們有能力將其退還給供應商。這樣也最大限度地減少了這些產品的庫存風險。

Okay. Great. And then just one last one. Are you -- do you ship anything to the Red Sea and are you seeing any impacts there?

好的。偉大的。還有最後一個。您是否向紅海運送任何東西，您是否看到那裡有任何影響？

Yes. We do ship through the Red Sea. About 15% of our QVC U.S. and HSN volume goes through the Suez Canal, we've transitioned to some other vessel services to try to avoid the area. So in the U.S. in our largest businesses, we haven't seen a very big impact and we think our exposure is relatively limited.

是的。我們確實透過紅海運送貨物。我們約有 15% 的 QVC 美國和 HSN 貨量要經過蘇伊士運河，因此我們已轉向使用其他船舶服務以盡量避開該地區。因此，在美國，我們最大的業務並沒有受到太大的影響，而且我們認為我們的風險敞口相對有限。

In Europe, we do have more exposure, about 75% of our supply goes through the canal. We've experienced a delay in receiving some shipments, 10, 12 days, something in there. We've had a couple of shifts of our today's special value about, I think, 3 or 4 in January, and we have started to see higher costs for ocean containers. I would say none of these are nearly at the level of pain that we experienced during the pandemic. It's very manageable to day in terms of the disruption to our Europe operations, but they have seen some small effects.

在歐洲，我們確實有更多的曝光率，大約75％的供應都是透過運河進行的。我們在收到一些貨物時遇到了延遲，大概需要 10 到 12 天。我認為，我們在 1 月份有幾次班次達到了今天的特別價值，大約是 3 或 4 班次，而且我們已經開始看到海運貨櫃的成本上漲。我想說，這些都遠不及我們在疫情期間所經歷的痛苦程度。目前，我們歐洲業務受到的干擾還比較容易控制，但也受到了一些小影響。

Okay. And just sorry, one more somewhat related to that as well. Our China tariffs, we're seeing more press on that, how would that impact you? And is that something you're watching as a potential risk?

好的。非常抱歉，還有一件事也與此有關。我們看到有關中國關稅的報導越來越多，這會對您產生什麼影響？您是否認為這是一個潛在的風險？

Carla, we're always obviously cognizant of that. We haven't seen any significant uptick right now our teams, our procurement teams are pretty in tuned in terms of kind of how we think about time line of procurement and source of supply but that has not yet impacted us nor do we anticipate any time in the near future having a significant impact to margin.

卡拉，我們一直都很清楚這一點。目前我們還沒有看到任何顯著的上升，我們的團隊，我們的採購團隊在如何考慮採購時間表和供應來源方面非常一致，但這還沒有對我們產生影響，我們預計在不久的將來也不會對利潤產生重大影響。

Yes. We don't think -- yes, we don't -- go ahead, I'm sorry.

是的。我們不認為——是的，我們不認為——繼續吧，我很抱歉。

I was trying -- how much of your goods come from China today versus the last time this was an issue for pre-pandemic.

我想知道，與上次疫情前相比，你們今天有多少貨物來自中國。

Yes. We've diversified the supply chain since the pandemic. We're less reliant on China than we were a few years ago. We can get back to you with some high-level stats on supply. I think we've provided that in the past, and we can sort of update that for you, Carla.

是的。自疫情爆發以來，我們已經實現了供應鏈多元化。與幾年前相比，我們對中國的依賴減少了。我們可以向您提供一些有關供應的高級統計數據。我想我們過去已經提供過該信息，我們可以為您更新一下，卡拉。

Our next question is from the line of Hale Holden with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Hale Holden。

David, you sort of left the door open to grow subscribers in 2025. And I was wondering if you could just sort of help us bridge from where we are and how we get there and maybe a little bit more color on your confidence on it.

大衛，您為 2025 年用戶成長留下了空間。

Yes, it's a great question. I talked about our streaming service, which is growing quickly and is already about 5% of minutes viewed. So I think that will be part of it. I think you see in our linear service, continuing stabilization around plus or minus that 8 million customer mark and then our growing new customers with that service and digitally is what you see in the new customer numbers.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。我談到了我們的串流媒體服務，該服務正在快速成長，觀看時間已占到總時間的 5% 左右。所以我認為這將是其中的一部分。我想您可以看到，我們的線性服務繼續穩定在 800 萬客戶左右，然後我們透過這項服務不斷增長的新客戶，以及數位化的新客戶數量。

And so it's a combination of relative stability and existing customers relative stability and reactivated customers year-over-year and then driving growth through growth of new customer acquisition, growth of the streaming services and then growth of people watching content across other non-owned platforms.

因此，它是相對穩定性、現有客戶相對穩定性和逐年重新激活客戶的結合，然後透過新客戶獲取的成長、串流服務的成長以及其他非自有平台上觀看內容的人數的成長來推動成長。

Great. And then just as a second question, the TV distribution rights of $113 million in '23, if we're averaging $100 million over 2 years is the expectation in '24 that they're pretty de minimis?

偉大的。然後第二個問題，23 年的電視發行權為 1.13 億美元，如果我們以兩年平均 1 億美元計算，那麼 24 年的預期收入是否相當低？

I mean, I would not say de minimis, but I mean I think on the average of that, we should -- you'll see less than we were in '23.

我的意思是，我不會說最低限度，但我的意思是，我認為平均而言，我們應該 - 你會看到比23年更少。

Ladies and gentlemen, we take the last question from the line of Karru Martinson with Jefferies.

女士們、先生們，最後一個問題來自傑富瑞的卡魯馬丁森 (Karru Martinson)。

When we look at the 3% price increase in the fourth quarter and kind of carry that forward, what's our expectation for the ability to take price in 2024?

當我們看到第四季 3% 的價格上漲並將其延續下去時，我們對 2024 年的價格上漲能力有何預期？

Great question. I think we still believe we have some ability to take price. We were late in the cycle of taking price. I think a lot of other retailers took price before we did. I think we took it a little bit later in the cycle. But we think we still have some ability to take price. More importantly, I would say, we believe we still have the ability to drive some increases in average sale price because we've been lifting the level of quality of our assortment and our merchandise.

好問題。我認為我們仍然相信我們有能力承擔價格。我們在定價週期中已經落後了。我認為很多其他零售商在我們之前就已經定價了。我認為我們在周期的稍後階段才採取這項措施。但我們認為我們仍然有一定的價格能力。更重要的是，我想說，我們相信我們仍然有能力推動平均銷售價格的上漲，因為我們一直在提高我們的產品種類和商品的品質水準。

So when you see the price, I would think both in terms of some of it's taking price and some of it's a change in mix of the pricing level of the merchandise we're bringing in. I would also point out that we've had a headwind as electronics has gone down, electronics tends to be a higher-priced item. And so while it tends to be lower margin, it tends to be higher price and drive up average sale prices.

因此，當您看到價格時，我會認為，這既是價格上漲的一部分，也是我們進口商品定價水平組合的變化。因此，雖然利潤率往往較低，但價格往往會較高，從而推高平均銷售價格。

So as that become a lower percentage of our mix, that's been a bit of a headwind, and we've been overcoming that headwind in terms of average sell price. So if you saw some innovation in electronics and that coming back, I think that would be an even further tailwind to the amount of average sale price increase we're able to see in 2024. All of that said, as we go into 2024, we'd like to be a little bit less reliant on price and have a good balance between unit volume in price as we try to start -- continue driving revenue stability and start moving towards trying to drive revenue growth.

因此，隨著這在我們的產品組合中所佔的比例降低，這會產生一點阻力，而我們已經在平均售價方面克服了這種阻力。因此，如果您看到電子產品領域出現了一些創新，而這種創新又回來了，我認為這將進一步推動我們在 2024 年能夠看到的平均銷售價格上漲。

Okay. And my apologies if I missed this. Just on Project Athens when we look at that $300 million to $600 million OIBDA opportunity there. How much of that flow through '23? And how much should we think about the opportunity for 2024?

好的。如果我錯過了這一點，我深感抱歉。光是在雅典計畫中，我們就看到了 3 億至 6 億美元的 OIBDA 機會。其中有多少流經'23？而我們應該在多大程度上考慮2024年的機會？

It's a good question. So I think a fair amount of it flows through '23, you saw it really starting to come through in the back half of '23, of course. We see continued opportunities both because of the run rate increases from 2023. And because we're implementing new aspects of Project Athens that will be coming online as we're going through 2024. So we continue to see ability and a runway towards OIBDA growth and OIBDA margin expansion on the total business.

這是個好問題。所以我認為其中相當一部分流經'23年，當然，你會看到它在'23年下半年真正開始顯現。我們看到了持續的機會，這既是因為從 2023 年開始的運行率增加，也是因為我們正在實施雅典項目的新方面，這些方面將在 2024 年上線。

Okay. And then just lastly, I've noticed there was a -- it seems like a shift in the return policy, no longer printing return labels. Kind of what's the opportunity there reducing those return costs for you?

好的。最後，我注意到——退貨政策似乎發生了變化，不再列印退貨標籤。那麼，您有哪些機會可以降低退貨成本呢？

And our supply chain team has a number of continuous improvement initiatives. Some of these associated with Project Athens to drive efficiency through out. That was one of several in terms of kind of materiality that's not -- it's not going to hit your radar. Obviously, every -- we're going to do 100 of these things that are going to move the needle for us. In terms of improving PAT factor and getting more efficiency in each of our distribution centers. So I think it's just one of several you're going to see.

我們的供應鏈團隊有許多持續改進措施。其中一些與雅典項目相關，以提高效率。從實質方面來說，這是不會引起你注意的幾種情況之一。顯然，我們要做 100 件對我們有幫助的事。在改善 PAT 因子和提高每個配送中心的效率方面。所以我認為這只是你將看到的幾個現象之一。

The other thing I would say is it's less of a cost issue, but we have negotiated with our vendors on the parcel and brake side to increase the opportunities and the ways that our customers can return items. We think it's an improvement in the customer experience. Customer returns actually end up being very highly correlated with customer satisfaction over time. And so we've worked pretty hard, not just to get more efficient in the things we're doing in terms of returns, but also to make it easier for customers who have returns. And so we built -- we have a good returns program, and we feel good about the progress we're making, both in terms of efficiency and in terms of customer satisfaction.

我想說的另一件事是，這不是一個成本問題，但我們已經與包裹和煞車方面的供應商進行了協商，以增加客戶退貨的機會和方式。我們認為這是客戶體驗的改善。隨著時間的推移，客戶回報實際上與客戶滿意度高度相關。因此，我們非常努力，不僅為了提高退貨處理的效率，也為了方便退貨客戶。因此，我們建立了一個良好的回報計劃，並且我們對所取得的進展感到滿意，無論是在效率方面還是在客戶滿意度方面。

And thank you to our listening audience. With that, I think we're done, operator. We look forward to speaking to all of you next quarter, if not sooner. Thank you.

並感謝我們的聽眾。就這樣，我想我們就大功告成了，接線生。我們期待下個季度甚至更早與大家交談。謝謝。

Thank you. The conference of Qurate Retail has now concluded. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。 Qurate Retail 會議現已結束。感謝您的參與。現在您可以斷開線路了。