Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc (Delaware) (RMCF) 2026 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to today's conference call to discuss Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory's financial results for the fiscal fourth-quarter and full year 2026. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

各位女士、先生，早安。感謝各位撥冗等候。歡迎參加今日的電話會議，討論洛磯山巧克力工廠（Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory）2026 會計年度第四季及全年財務業績。（接線員指示）提醒各位，本次會議將被錄音。

Joining us on the call today are the company's Interim CEO, Jeff Geygan; and CFO, Carrie Cass.

今日與會者包括公司臨時執行長 Jeff Geygan，以及財務長 Carrie Cass。

Please be advised this conference call will contain statements that are considered forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties as well as assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements.

請注意，本次電話會議將包含依據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法》（Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995）所界定的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述受若干已知與未知的風險與不確定性以及假設影響，可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述所反映者存在重大差異。

These forward-looking statements are also subject to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the company's filings with the SEC. Do not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are being made only as of the date of this call. Except as required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

這些前瞻性陳述亦受公司不時在向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的文件中所描述的其他風險與不確定性影響。請勿過度依賴任何前瞻性陳述；該等陳述僅截至本次電話會議日期為止。除法律要求外，公司不承擔公開更新或修訂任何前瞻性陳述之義務。

And now I'll turn the call over to the company's Interim CEO, Jeff Geygan. Jeff, please go ahead.

接下來把電話交給公司臨時執行長 Jeff Geygan。Jeff，請開始。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Before I get into our broader business discussion, I want to address our fiscal fourth quarter. The results fell short of what we set out to achieve and accountability for that rests with me. The primary issue driving this shortfall was our packaged product assortment decision that did not align with our guest expectations, particularly with our boxed offerings.

謝謝，各位早安。在我進入更廣泛的業務討論之前，我想先談談我們的會計年度第四季。本季結果未達我們原先設定的目標，對此我負有責任。造成此落差的主要原因，是我們在包裝產品組合上的決策未能符合顧客期待，尤其是在盒裝產品方面。

We leaned too heavily into larger format boxes and a mix of large and mountain-sized pieces of candy that retrospectively did not align with guest preferences. That impacted revenue, having an outsized effect on profitability. For reference, our lowest margin sales are ingredients, followed by supplies, then bulk candy, and finally, our best margin item is a packaged product.

我們過度偏重較大規格的盒裝，以及大顆與「山型」尺寸糖果的混合配置；事後回顧，這並不符合顧客偏好。這影響了營收，並對獲利造成不成比例的衝擊。供各位參考，我們毛利率最低的銷售項目是原料，其次是耗材，再來是散裝糖果，最後毛利率最高的項目則是包裝產品。

Packaged sales for the quarter were roughly $1.5 million below expectations, affecting store sales and disproportionately impacting our e-commerce business, which is largely made up of packaged product. Since year-end, we've conducted extensive consumer research involving more than 1,000 participants which has provided us with a clearer understanding of where our packaged assortment strategy missed the mark.

本季包裝產品銷售約較預期少了 150 萬美元，影響門市銷售，並對我們以包裝產品為主的電商業務造成不成比例的影響。自年末以來，我們已進行涵蓋逾 1,000 名參與者的大規模消費者研究，使我們更清楚了解包裝組合策略在哪些地方未達標。

Current feedback points to demand for greater assortment variety, more small piece format offerings and a mix of items, including caramels, nuts, creams, coffee, solid molded chocolates and meltaways. We're addressing this situation now and expect to have a full lineup of reconfigured packaged items on store shelves by Labor Day.

目前回饋顯示，市場需要更豐富的品項多樣性、更多小顆粒規格的選擇，以及包含焦糖、堅果、奶油夾心、咖啡、實心模製巧克力與入口即化巧克力（meltaways）等的混合組合。我們正立即處理此情況，並預期在勞動節前讓重新配置的完整包裝產品系列上架至門市貨架。

Our offerings will include 28-, 14-, 6- and 4-piece sized assortments. Boxes will be slimmed down and use paper cups instead of plastic trays, allowing greater product flexibility and speed of change. We believe our updated box configuration and related content selection are better aligned with how stores and online guests want to be served with this item. We'll be using cup style packaging, which we believe will improve presentation, reduce production and packaging costs and lower our price points to improve competitive positioning while driving greater sales volumes.

我們的產品將包含 28 顆、14 顆、6 顆與 4 顆等不同尺寸的綜合組合。盒型將更為精簡，並以紙杯取代塑膠托盤，以提升產品彈性與變更速度。我們相信更新後的盒裝配置與相關內容選擇，更符合門市與線上顧客對此品項的購買與服務方式。我們將採用杯式包裝；我們認為這將改善呈現效果、降低生產與包裝成本，並下調價格帶以提升競爭定位，同時帶動更高的銷售量。

The quarter was also impacted by several other factors, most of which were temporary or onetime in nature. For example, we deliberately exited from a specialty markets customer relationship with a negative margin offering. This impacted revenue by nearly $1.5 million.

本季也受到其他數項因素影響，其中多數屬於暫時性或一次性因素。例如，我們刻意退出與某家專業市場客戶的合作關係，因其產品供應為負毛利。此舉使營收減少近 150 萬美元。

To round it out, we also experienced temporary disruptions related to our e-commerce transition. incurred costs associated with disposing of supplies of outdated packaging and faced an elevated level of professional service fees, all of which impacted fourth-quarter results. While these items created near-term pressure, they don't change our long-term strategic view. Our business transformation remains intact and on track.

此外，我們也因電商轉換而出現短期干擾；並產生處置過時包裝耗材的成本，以及面臨較高水準的專業服務費用，以上皆影響第四季結果。雖然這些項目在短期內造成壓力，但不會改變我們的長期策略觀點。我們的業務轉型仍然完整且按計畫推進。

What this does reinforce is the importance of disciplined execution as we remain adaptive in response to incoming data. What gives us confidence today is what we see across the balance of the business.

這也再次強化了紀律執行的重要性，因為我們會在回應新進數據時保持彈性調整。讓我們今日有信心的，是我們在業務其他面向所看到的表現。

Over the past year, we have implemented multiple price adjustments, influenced product mix and launched operational changes that materially improve the underlying economics of RMCF, both at the sales and production levels.

過去一年，我們已實施多次調價、調整產品組合，並推出營運變革，從銷售與生產層面實質改善 RMCF 的基礎經濟效益。

Based on our margin analysis of the products we sold in Q4 and continuing through our just concluded Q1, we achieved the highest gross margin mix in over two years. Our gross margin is now close to our long-term target, allowing us to shift more of our efforts towards revenue growth.

根據我們對第四季所售產品以及延續至剛結束的第一季之毛利分析，我們達成了兩年多以來最高的毛利組合。我們的毛利率目前已接近長期目標，使我們能將更多心力轉向營收成長。

The work we've done around price adjustments, production process review, SKU rationalization and other operational changes is producing measurable results. The fourth-quarter results don't fully reflect that progress, but the underlying data is clear and gives us conviction as we move forward.

我們在調價、生產流程檢視、SKU 精簡以及其他營運變革方面所做的工作，正在產生可衡量的成果。第四季結果尚未完全反映這些進展，但基礎數據十分明確，並在我們向前推進時提供了信心。

We're also working on the economics around e-commerce shipping, which has continued to be a pressure point for online sales. Historically, shipping costs on certain box products were too high relative to order value. We've negotiated corporate shipping rates that will materially improve our e-commerce cost structure.

我們也在改善電商運送的經濟性，這一直是線上銷售的壓力點。過去，某些盒裝產品的運費相對於訂單金額過高。我們已談妥企業運送費率，將實質改善我們的電商成本結構。

This is exactly how we've approached our transformational process since the beginning. We identify what isn't working, address it directly and move forward with improved processes. The results from this quarter and full year weren't what we wanted, but that doesn't change the fact that our business is in much better off structurally than it was when the transformation began: stronger data and analytics, better margin on revenue, improved production throughput, higher product quality and reduced scrap and waste levels.

這正是我們自轉型一開始以來的做法。我們找出行不通之處，直接加以處理，並以更完善的流程持續前進。本季與全年結果並非我們所期望，但這不改變一個事實：相較於轉型開始時，我們的業務在結構上已大幅改善——更強的數據與分析能力、更高毛利的營收結構、更佳的生產吞吐量、更高的產品品質，以及更低的報廢與浪費水準。

Looking at more recent developments, reviewing the franchise and retail store operations of our business, we continue to see encouraging performance trends in our newly designed and remodeled stores. Our Chicago State Street store is currently running at approximately $1.1 million in annualized sales, and we believe this location has meaningful upside yet to be realized.

就近期發展而言，在檢視我們業務中的加盟與零售門市營運後，我們持續在新設計與翻新門市中看到令人鼓舞的績效趨勢。我們位於芝加哥 State Street 的門市目前年化銷售約 110 萬美元，我們認為該據點仍有可觀的上行空間尚待實現。

We're also encouraged by the performance of our Charleston, South Carolina location, which is currently operating at an approximate $600,000 annualized run rate, consistent with our expectations for a brand-new store in a brand-new market, unlike Chicago, where we entered an existing market in which Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is already well known.

我們也對南卡羅來納州查爾斯頓據點的表現感到鼓舞；該店目前年化營收運行率約 60 萬美元，符合我們對於在全新市場開設全新門市的預期；不同於芝加哥，我們在芝加哥是進入一個 Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory 已廣為人知的既有市場。

This is important to realize when setting expectations for building in new versus existing markets. We believe Charleston will reach its run rate revenue within its first three years of operations, while we continue building brand awareness and local market familiarity.

在為新市場與既有市場的拓展設定預期時，理解這一點很重要。我們相信，隨著我們持續建立品牌知名度與在地市場熟悉度，查爾斯頓將在營運前三年內達到其運行率營收水準。

On the other hand, our company-owned store in Corpus Christi, Texas was remodeled and has since generated an approximate 10% to 15% sales increase following its reopening. We're also seeing encouraging trends at the Concord Mills, North Carolina store, which just recently completed its remodel. These are important proof points because they demonstrate our refreshed brand, stronger in-store presentation and new operating models are resonating with guests.

另一方面，我們在德州科珀斯克里斯蒂（Corpus Christi）的自營門市已完成翻新，重新開幕後銷售約提升 10% 至 15%。我們也在北卡羅來納州 Concord Mills 門市看到令人鼓舞的趨勢，該店近期剛完成翻新。這些都是重要的驗證點，因為它們顯示我們更新的品牌形象、更強的店內呈現，以及新的營運模式正在引起顧客共鳴。

RMCF recently acquired the franchise store in Nashville, Tennessee, providing another opportunity to test merchandising and guest engagement initiatives in a company-controlled environment. Company store acquisitions are typically accretive to earnings and provide a valuable learning and testing platform as we launch new products and product lines and develop new guest engagement concepts designed to drive store-level sales and improve profitability.

RMCF 最近收購了田納西州納什維爾的加盟店，為在公司自營環境中測試商品陳列與顧客互動計畫提供了另一個機會。公司門店收購通常能增厚每股盈餘，並在我們推出新產品與產品線、以及開發旨在帶動門店層級銷售並提升獲利能力的新顧客互動概念時，提供寶貴的學習與測試平台。

More broadly, we continue to believe there is a role for selective company-owned stores within the system. Today, we have four company-owned locations representing 3% of our domestic store census. It's reasonable to think company stores will represent between 5% and 10% of our store base in future years.

更廣泛而言，我們仍然相信在整個體系中，選擇性配置部分公司自營門店是有其角色的。目前，我們有四個公司自營據點，占我們國內門店總數的 3%。合理推估，未來幾年公司自營門店將占我們門店基礎的 5% 至 10%。

We believe to be good franchisors, we must understand how to run an excellent store so we can train our current and prospective operators with that knowledge. We measure franchisee success by store sales growth, average ticket dollar value, items per transaction and overall profitability. We think an ideal franchisee should aspire to own and operate a local area complex of multiple sites to maximize their franchise business value.

我們相信，要成為優秀的特許經營總部，我們必須了解如何經營一家卓越的門店，才能以此知識訓練現有與潛在的營運商。我們以門店銷售成長、平均客單價、每筆交易件數以及整體獲利能力來衡量加盟商的成功。我們認為理想的加盟商應以在當地擁有並經營由多個據點組成的區域型門店群為目標，以最大化其加盟事業價值。

We continue to measure stores owned per operator, and the number is creeping higher, now at 1.4 units. We're attracting and developing just these type of entrepreneurial operators as evidenced by our increasing area development agreements, or ADAs, which span both geographic and vertical markets, an exciting development and one that gives us great confidence our transformation is still in its early stages. Over time, we'll work to identify a handful of strategic locations to convert to company stores as we develop our long-term strategy that improves system economics, strengthens our operating visibility and creates additional testing capabilities.

我們持續衡量每位營運商擁有的門店數量，該數字正逐步上升，目前為 1.4 家。我們正吸引並培育這類具企業家精神的營運商，從我們日益增加的區域開發協議（ADA）可見一斑；這些協議橫跨地理市場與垂直市場，這是一項令人振奮的進展，也讓我們對轉型仍處於早期階段充滿信心。隨著我們制定可改善體系經濟效益、強化營運能見度並創造更多測試能力的長期策略，我們將逐步辨識少數具策略性的地點並轉為公司自營門店。

Our Nashville presence, for instance, could serve us strategically over time as we think about how we need to provide regional support and the distribution necessary to serve the Eastern Seaboard and parts of the Midwest. To date, we have no presence in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, DC or Atlanta, markets we intend to target through our franchise development initiatives. We have and are developing an ADA to build nine locations in Miami with two already underway and a third in the planning phases.

例如，我們在納什維爾的據點，隨著時間推進，可能在我們思考如何提供區域支援以及為美國東岸與中西部部分地區提供所需配送時，具備策略價值。截至目前，我們在波士頓、紐約市、費城、華盛頓特區或亞特蘭大尚無據點；這些市場是我們計畫透過加盟開發計畫鎖定的目標。我們已簽訂並正在推進一項 ADA，計畫在邁阿密建置九個據點，其中兩個已在進行中，第三個正處於規劃階段。

As we grow our East Coast presence, efficient and timely distribution and store service will be of paramount importance. We opened our newest location in Tinton Falls, New Jersey last Friday. It's located just minutes away from our Long Branch store, both of which are owned by a financially sophisticated and well-capitalized operator.

隨著我們擴大在東岸的布局，高效率且及時的配送與門店服務將至關重要。上週五我們在新澤西州廷頓瀑布（Tinton Falls）開設了最新據點。該店距離我們的朗布蘭奇（Long Branch）門店僅數分鐘車程，兩家門店皆由一位財務素養高且資本雄厚的營運商持有。

We're well underway in developing more expansive plans to support East Coast growth. We're also advancing opportunities in existing markets, including Chicago, where we have an additional franchise store lease under a letter of intent.

我們正在積極制定更具規模的計畫，以支援東岸成長。我們也在既有市場推進機會，包括芝加哥；我們在當地另有一家加盟店租約已進入意向書階段。

On the new development front for franchisee expansion, we recently added a new 6-store ADA, bringing committed future development to 40 locations over the next three to five years. This one is our first vertical market development agreement, which includes Rocky Mountain winter and summer resort locations. The operator currently owns our Vail and Breckenridge locations and is now focused on other high-end resorts in the Rocky Mountains. He has a proven and exceptional operational record with Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

在加盟商擴張的新開發方面，我們近期新增一項 6 店 ADA，使未來三到五年已承諾的開發量達到 40 個據點。這是我們第一個垂直市場開發協議，涵蓋落磯山脈的冬季與夏季度假勝地據點。該營運商目前擁有我們在韋爾（Vail）與布雷肯里奇（Breckenridge）的據點，現正聚焦於落磯山脈其他高端度假村。他在 Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory 擁有經驗證且卓越的營運紀錄。

In parallel, we are continuing to strengthen the operating platform that underpins the RMCF brand with a clear focus on helping franchisees increase sales and improve store level profitability. We've expanded the rollout of our upgraded POS platform across the system. That data and feedback have improved how we evaluate product mix, store performance and guest behavior.

同時，我們持續強化支撐 RMCF 品牌的營運平台，明確聚焦於協助加盟商提升銷售並改善門店層級獲利能力。我們已在整個體系擴大推行升級版 POS 平台。這些數據與回饋改善了我們評估產品組合、門店表現與顧客行為的方式。

The analytics have created game-changing insights and opportunities for our business. This POS data provides measurable insights into average basket size, transaction counts and items per transaction. The visibility is valuable not only for our corporate team, but also for our franchisees, giving us fact-based foundation for coaching and making merchandising and assortment decisions. Ultimately, we're creating an environment that helps store level personnel evolve from simply taking orders to actively driving sales and engagement with guests.

這些分析帶來了足以改變遊戲規則的洞察與商機。這些 POS 數據可量化地呈現平均購物籃金額、交易筆數與每筆交易件數。這種能見度不僅對我們的企業團隊有價值，對加盟商同樣重要，為我們提供以事實為基礎的根基，用於輔導以及做出商品陳列與品項組合決策。最終，我們正在打造一個環境，協助門店人員從單純接單，進化為主動推動銷售並提升與顧客的互動。

We continue to reinforce merchandising standards across the system, so the guest experience is more consistent and the Rocky Mountain Five Senses experience becomes more pronounced across all locations. This includes the smell of caramel, the site of beautifully crafted apples and colorful premium candies, the sounds of spatulas as they shape our handmade fudge, taste and feel that first bite of a delicious piece of chocolate or a caramel apple, all taken together create the Rocky Mountain moment that we've been delivering for over 45 years to each guest as they experience our local chocolate theatrics.

我們持續在整個體系強化商品陳列標準，使顧客體驗更一致，並讓 Rocky Mountain 的「五感體驗」在所有據點更為鮮明。這包括焦糖的香氣、精緻手作蘋果與繽紛高端糖果的視覺呈現、刮刀塑形我們手工軟糖（fudge）時的聲響，以及品嚐並感受第一口美味巧克力或焦糖蘋果的滋味與口感；這些元素交織在一起，創造出我們 45 年來在顧客體驗在地巧克力戲劇式製作時所傳遞的 Rocky Mountain 時刻。

We're more focused than ever on delivering the Five Senses and Rocky Mountain Moments experience as we work with franchisees to enrich each guest engagement and improve the overall in-store experience.

在與加盟商合作、豐富每一次顧客互動並提升整體店內體驗的過程中，我們比以往任何時候都更專注於交付「五感」與 Rocky Mountain Moments 的體驗。

Moving on. Our third-party delivery initiative is another area where we see encouraging data and financial results. Average basket size through these platforms are running roughly 2 times in-store transaction values. And surprisingly, roughly half these transactions are fulfilled through in-store pickup rather than direct delivery.

接下來。我們的第三方外送計畫是另一個我們看到令人鼓舞的數據與財務成果的領域。透過這些平台的平均購物籃金額約為店內交易金額的 2 倍。而令人意外的是，約有一半的交易是透過到店自取完成，而非直接外送。

This reinforces our view that third-party delivery is not simply a delivery channel, but also a guest acquisition channel, a convenience channel, an incremental order generation tool with higher average transaction values. With commissions remaining at or below 20% on negotiated agreements, we believe the economics will remain attractive as penetration increases.

這強化了我們的觀點：第三方外送不僅是配送通路，同時也是獲客通路、便利通路，以及能以更高平均交易金額帶來增量訂單的工具。在協商合約下，佣金維持在 20% 或以下，我們相信隨著滲透率提升，其經濟效益仍將保持吸引力。

We also have a white label version of order online that is without commission expense, yet fulfills in the same way as traditional third-party delivery. We have made this available to all of our locations through newly developed store websites, which are branded RMCF but curated to each local store's market and operator. This represents a meaningful shift in how we're supporting franchisees at the store level.

我們也提供一個無需支付佣金費用的白標版本線上訂購，但其履約方式與傳統第三方外送相同。我們已透過新開發的門店網站將其提供給所有據點；這些網站以 RMCF 品牌呈現，但會依各地門店的市場與營運商進行策劃。這代表我們在門店層級支援加盟商方式上的一項重要轉變。

On guest engagement, we're continuing to develop our loyalty and mobile app platform with our new app expected to launch late summer. We're also positioning for the rollout of our planned collaboration with Miraculous, the popular animated children's series, which will be centered on a limited time caramel apple promotion and in-store merchandising, which is planned to launch on September 15 and run through October 31. We're really excited by this partnership.

在顧客互動方面，我們持續開發會員忠誠與行動 App 平台，預計新 App 將於夏末推出。我們也正為與熱門兒童動畫系列《Miraculous》的既定合作做準備；該合作將以限時焦糖蘋果促銷與店內商品陳列為核心，預計於 9 月 15 日啟動並持續至 10 月 31 日。我們對這項合作夥伴關係感到非常興奮。

Taken together, these initiatives are intended to create more moments of discovery around the brand, drive repeat engagement and extend the Rocky Mountain experience beyond the four walls of our stores. We're placing greater emphasis on merchandising and assortment standards across the franchise system to create a consistent and repeatable guest experience.

綜合而言，這些計畫旨在為品牌創造更多探索時刻，推動重複互動，並將 Rocky Mountain 體驗延伸至門店四面牆之外。我們正更加重視在整個加盟體系中的商品陳列與品項組合標準，以打造一致且可複製的顧客體驗。

While many of these standards have historically existed within our franchise agreements, execution and enforcement have not always been uniform across locations. As part of this effort, we're working towards dedicating 60% of store selling space to products that define the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory brand.

雖然其中許多標準在歷史上已存在於我們的加盟協議中，但各據點的執行與落實並非始終一致。作為此項工作的部分內容，我們正朝向將門店 60% 的銷售空間專注於能定義 Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory 品牌的產品。

Our next phase of store-level SKU alignment is designed to ensure store guests can consistently find our most popular and highly demanded signature products, whether visiting a store in Long Branch, New Jersey or Los Angeles, California. Greater consistency across the system will strengthen brand presentation, improve the guest experience and support stronger store level sales and profitability.

我們下一階段的門店層級 SKU 對齊，旨在確保門店顧客無論是造訪新澤西州朗布蘭奇（Long Branch）的門店，或是加州洛杉磯的門店，都能一致地找到我們最受歡迎、需求最高的招牌產品。全系統更高的一致性將強化品牌呈現、改善顧客體驗，並支持更強的門店層級銷售與獲利能力。

The foundation is in place. We're focused on disciplined execution across the system, converting operational improvements into sustainable growth and positive earnings.

基礎已經就位。我們專注於在全系統進行有紀律的執行，將營運改善轉化為可持續的成長與正向獲利。

As we enter our new fiscal year, our priorities are clear. First, execute with precision in the package and e-commerce categories; second, build on the meaningful margin improvements we've already achieved; and third, convert the progress we're seeing in the retail performance, franchise development, digital engagement and cost disciplines into consistent positive financial results. We know what we need to do. We're executing to achieve it. Transformation is never linear, and we've not represented it to be.

隨著我們進入新的會計年度，我們的優先事項很明確。第一，在包裝與電商品類精準執行；第二，在我們已經達成的顯著毛利改善基礎上再接再厲；第三，將我們在零售表現、加盟發展、數位互動與成本紀律方面所看到的進展，轉化為穩定且正向的財務成果。我們知道該做什麼。我們正在執行以達成目標。轉型從來不是線性的，我們也從未將其描述為線性。

Where we encounter obstacles, we adapt and move forward, stronger and with better information. That's exactly what we're doing. We remain committed to long-term strategic thinking that transcends any single quarter's results. To borrow from Warren Buffett, games are won by players who focus on the playing field, not by those whose eyes are glued to the scoreboard.

當我們遇到障礙時，我們會調整並繼續前進，變得更強、也掌握更好的資訊。這正是我們正在做的事。我們仍然致力於超越任何單一季度結果的長期策略思維。借用華倫・巴菲特的話，贏得比賽的是專注於球場的選手，而不是眼睛緊盯記分板的人。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Carrie to walk you through our fourth-quarter and fiscal year financial results.

接下來，我把電話會議交給 Carrie，請她帶各位回顧我們第四季與全年度的財務結果。

Thank you, Jeff. Please note that unless stated otherwise, all comparisons are on a year-over-year basis.

謝謝你，Jeff。請注意，除非另有說明，所有比較皆為年對年（YoY）比較。

Total revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter was $6.8 million compared to $8.9 million in the same period last year. Product sales were $5.1 million compared to $7.1 million last year, and franchise and royalty fees were $1.6 million compared to $1.8 million in the same period last year. Total product and retail gross profit was a negative $0.9 million compared to a negative $0.8 million in the same period last year.

第四個會計季度的總營收為 680 萬美元，去年同期為 890 萬美元。產品銷售為 510 萬美元，去年為 710 萬美元；加盟與權利金費用為 160 萬美元，去年同期為 180 萬美元。產品與零售的總毛利為負 90 萬美元，去年同期為負 80 萬美元。

The decrease in revenue and gross profit primarily reflects the underperformance of our packaged assortment business, the deliberate reduction of certain low or negative margin specialty market business and select temporary items during the quarter that Jeff outlined earlier, partially offset by continued factory efficiency gains.

營收與毛利的下滑，主要反映我們包裝組合業務表現不如預期、以及 Jeff 先前提到我們在本季度刻意縮減部分低毛利或負毛利的特殊通路業務與部分臨時性品項；上述影響部分被工廠效率持續提升所抵銷。

Total costs and expenses were $9.8 million compared to $11.6 million in the same period last year. The decrease was primarily attributed to efficiencies obtained by relocating our consumer packaging operations back to our Durango production facility. Net loss was $3.4 million or a negative $0.38 per share compared to a net loss of $2.9 million or negative $0.37 per share in the same period last year.

總成本與費用為 980 萬美元，去年同期為 1,160 萬美元。下降主要歸因於我們將消費者包裝作業遷回杜蘭戈（Durango）生產基地所取得的效率提升。淨損為 340 萬美元，或每股虧損 0.38 美元；去年同期淨損為 290 萬美元，或每股虧損 0.37 美元。

Turning to the balance sheet. We ended our fiscal year with a cash balance of $1.2 million compared to $0.7 million at the end of the fiscal year '25. We also ended our fiscal year with total inventory of $4.1 million compared to $4.6 million last year. As of February 28, 2026, we have total debt outstanding of $6.6 million.

接著看資產負債表。本會計年度期末現金餘額為 120 萬美元，較 '25 會計年度期末的 70 萬美元增加。本會計年度期末總存貨為 410 萬美元，去年為 460 萬美元。截至 2026 年 2 月 28 日，我們未償還總負債為 660 萬美元。

This concludes our prepared remarks. We'll now open up for Q&A. Operator, back to you.

以上為我們的準備發言。接下來我們將開放問答。接線員，交給你。

(Operator Instructions) Andrew Rem, Odinson Partners.

（接線員指示）Andrew Rem，Odinson Partners。

I'm not sure exactly how to ask this question, but you mentioned changing the product assortment or product mix in your package assortment because that was what was disappointing in the quarter. How did you arrive at that original assortment?

我不太確定該怎麼問這個問題，但你提到因為本季令人失望的是包裝組合，所以你們正在調整包裝組合中的產品品項或產品組合。你們當初是如何決定那個原始組合的？

Andrew, good question. We use the data from the store level sales that we had at the time, which indicated that large-sized pieces and truffles were the most popularly demanded items and followed suit to build boxes around that.

Andrew，問得好。我們使用當時掌握的門店層級銷售數據，顯示大尺寸單品與松露巧克力是最受歡迎、需求最高的品項，因此我們就依此來設計盒裝組合。

Okay. So the change is that the -- now you're doing a consumer survey and that will kind of drive the assortment on a go-forward basis?

了解。所以現在的改變是——你們正在做消費者調查，未來將以此來推動產品組合的規劃？

That's correct. We didn't have the same level of survey when we initially started. And in fact, the 1,000 survey receipts we received included a number from our franchisees themselves as we service -- we surveyed both existing customers, prospective customers and added franchisees to that as we wanted to get feedback from them untarnished or separate from that of guests.

沒錯。我們在一開始時並沒有同等程度的調查。事實上，我們收到的 1,000 份調查回覆中，也包含不少來自我們加盟主的回覆，因為我們在服務——我們同時調查了既有顧客、潛在顧客，並把加盟主也納入其中，因為我們希望取得他們不受影響、或與顧客回饋相互獨立的意見。

So prior -- and going back further on the -- again, just focusing on the items that are in these package assortment boxes historically, previously, you hadn't or it hadn't been done based on data, and it sounds like it also wouldn't have been done based on consumer survey. But that -- what was the -- prior to using data, how has that arrived at?

所以先前——再往前追溯——同樣只聚焦在這些盒裝組合歷來所包含的品項，你們之前並不是依據數據來做的，而且聽起來也不是依據消費者調查。那麼——在使用數據之前，當時是怎麼決定的？

Well, the -- to be clear, the concepts of the previous boxes were determined from the data we had from store-level sales, which included -- was really long on truffles. And it turned out that our consumer or guest is most interested in buying a large truffle in store behind the candy case, but not necessarily in the package.

嗯——先澄清一下，先前盒裝組合的概念其實是根據我們掌握的門店層級銷售數據所決定的，其中——松露巧克力的比重確實很高。結果顯示，我們的消費者或顧客在門店糖果櫃檯後方最有興趣購買的是大顆松露巧克力，但不一定會在盒裝產品中購買。

Got it. Okay. You mentioned that you exited business with a specialty customer and you mentioned what the impact was in the quarter. Can you say what the impact is on an annualized basis since you'll need the next three quarters to kind of fully annualize that impact?

了解。好。你提到你們退出了一位特殊通路客戶的業務，也提到本季的影響。你能否說明若以年化基礎來看影響是多少？因為你們還需要接下來三個季度才能把影響完整年化。

The vast majority of the sales from that specialty market customer occurred in Q4.

該特殊通路客戶的銷售絕大多數發生在第四季。

Okay. So is that a seasonal customer? Is that way?

了解。所以那是一個季節性客戶嗎？是這樣嗎？

Yes, it was. And frankly, most of our specialty market customers are seasonal, where shipments occur generally in the fourth quarter around either the Christmas or Valentine's holiday, some to a lesser extent around Mother's Day. But our busiest single day of the year is Valentine's Day. Our busiest season, of course, is the Christmas holiday.

是的，是季節性的。坦白說，我們大多數特殊通路客戶都是季節性，出貨通常集中在第四季，主要圍繞聖誕節或情人節檔期，母親節檔期則相對少一些。但我們一年中最忙的一天是情人節。而我們最忙的季節，當然是聖誕節檔期。

And then you mentioned the remodel in Corpus Christi. Can you just give us a sense of when you do a remodel, is same-store sales, the bump, is that the primary way that you evaluate the effectiveness of a remodel? Or what are the other metrics that you guys focus on to help you determine the effectiveness of a remodel?

另外你提到科珀斯克里斯蒂（Corpus Christi）的改裝。你能否讓我們了解一下，當你們做門店改裝時，同店銷售的提升（bump）是否是你們評估改裝成效的主要方式？或者你們還會關注哪些其他指標，以協助判斷改裝的有效性？

Yeah, Andrew, it's a good question, and it's like a quadratic equation. There are a lot of variables in here. Obviously, the one that we measure most acutely is store sales, followed by profitability or mix, followed by basket size, average transaction value. But a lot -- once you start drilling down, a lot of that is your local operator.

是的，Andrew，這是個好問題，而且有點像二次方程式。這裡面有很多變數。顯然，我們最密切衡量的是門店銷售，其次是獲利能力或產品組合，其次是客單量、平均交易金額。但很多——一旦你開始往下拆解，其中很大一部分取決於你當地的經營者。

We happen to have an excellent store manager in our company-owned Corpus Christi store, which is why throughout my comments today, we've talked about qualitatively, how do we work with franchisees to help them develop stronger engagement with guests. We think that's critically important.

我們剛好在公司自營的科珀斯克里斯蒂門市有一位非常優秀的店經理，這也是為什麼在我今天的評論中，我們一直在從質性的角度談到：我們如何與加盟主合作，協助他們與顧客建立更強的互動與黏著度。我們認為這點至關重要。

However, we also get the qualitative information through various types of reviews, think Google, Yelp and so on. And we hear consistently with remodels, our guests love the new store design. And if you haven't been in one, it's self-evident when you walk in and you think, wow, this is really nice. Welcome to the 21st century.

不過，我們也會透過各種不同類型的評論取得質性資訊，例如 Google、Yelp 等等。而且我們一再聽到，經過翻新後，顧客非常喜歡新的店面設計。如果你還沒去過其中一家，你一走進去就會很直觀地感受到，心想：哇，這真的很棒。歡迎來到 21 世紀。

Peter Sidoti, Sidoti & Company.

Peter Sidoti，Sidoti & Company。

Two quick questions. One, how far along are you in terms of the turnaround at this point? In other words, when do you think you'll be in a position to start selling new -- aggressively marketing new franchises?

兩個簡短問題。第一，就目前而言，你們在扭轉局面（turnaround）方面進展到什麼程度？換句話說，你們認為何時會具備條件開始銷售新的——積極行銷新的加盟店？

Peter, we're already done that. Thank you for your question, by the way. Yeah, we're already done that. In fact, our franchise development department is quite busy. Evidence -- we've got 40 area development agreements that are ADAs, but we're also working with existing franchisees on one-offs. And there are a number of area development agreements that are in process right now that we hope to be able to communicate to you in the near future.

Peter，我們已經在做了。順帶一提，謝謝你的提問。是的，我們已經在做了。事實上，我們的加盟開發部門相當忙碌。證據是——我們已經有 40 份區域開發協議（ADA），同時我們也在與現有加盟主合作一些單店（one-off）案子。而且目前也有多份區域開發協議正在推進中，我們希望能在不久的將來向你們說明。

But we've got 40 queued up here. We have expectations to have more than that in the future. But bear in mind, on a base of 140 stores, it's 30%. So we got to build those out.

不過我們這裡已經排隊有 40 份了。我們預期未來會超過這個數量。但請記住，以 140 家門市為基礎，這相當於 30%。所以我們必須把這些店開出來。

Right. What's limiting your ability to sell more franchises at this point in time?

了解。那目前是什麼限制了你們銷售更多加盟店的能力？

That's a good question. I think just having the right qualified prospective developer operator. And we're working very diligently. We're out at trade shows and soliciting and clearly, we need to do more with SEO, but I'm pretty satisfied with what we've done with that development. And bear in mind, we have to make sure we get it right, which means we have to make sure that we can get the store opened inside of our target is six months, and we're trying to drive costs down.

這是個好問題。我想主要是要找到合適、具資格的潛在開發／營運者。我們正非常努力在做。我們會參加展會、主動招攬，而且很明顯我們在 SEO 上還需要做更多，但我對我們在開發方面所做的工作相當滿意。另外請記住，我們必須確保做對，這代表我們必須確保門市能在我們的目標——六個月內——開幕，同時我們也在努力降低成本。

Our franchise development team has done an excellent job on that. In my last talked, they've taken a meaningful percentage out of -- from the first to the most recent store, and there's further room for cost reduction in building stores, which to an operator is really important if they're looking at ROI, which the financially sophisticated operator will be.

我們的加盟開發團隊在這方面做得非常出色。在我上次談到時，他們已經從第一家到最近一家門市，實質降低了相當比例的成本；而在建店成本上仍有進一步下降的空間。對營運者而言，如果他們在看投資報酬率（ROI），這點非常重要——而財務上更成熟的營運者確實會這麼看。

Right. So in general, what percentage of new franchises are being sold to existing franchisees?

了解。那一般而言，新加盟店中有多少比例是賣給現有加盟主的？

Well, of the 40, there are 9 that are a brand-new guy and the 31 are with existing. And Peter, of course, our strategy was let's go to our existing customer, the guy that already knows and loves the brand. So that was the easy one. Then the next leg of the trip is let's go to outside guys and see if we can get interest there.

在這 40 份裡，有 9 份是全新的加盟主，另外 31 份是與現有加盟主合作。而且 Peter，當然，我們的策略是：先從現有客戶著手，也就是已經了解並喜愛這個品牌的人。所以那是比較容易的一步。接下來的下一段旅程就是：走向外部，看看能否在外部人士那裡取得興趣。

But I've been very clear, we want new franchisees that are multi-unit, have multi-unit capabilities. And I've said, and I'm not sure if I've said it on a public call, but I've said it many times, if a prospective franchisee doesn't want to open 10, 12 stores, probably not the right guy for us.

但我一直很清楚，我們想要的是多店型的新加盟主，也就是具備多店經營能力的加盟主。我也說過——我不確定我是否在公開電話會議上說過——但我說過很多次：如果一位潛在加盟主不想開 10、12 家店，可能就不是適合我們的人。

We wanted to put someone up, for example, in New York City or Manhattan, Long Island and say, hey, you want to build 10, 20, 30 stores here. Now you're talking. I'm very disinterested in a guy that wants to open one store somewhere on Long Island. It just doesn't make sense.

例如，我們希望在紐約市或曼哈頓、長島找一個人，然後說：嘿，你想在這裡打造 10、20、30 家店嗎？這樣才對。我對那種只想在長島某個地方開一家店的人興趣不大。那樣沒有意義。

All right. So I'll give up my franchise on Fire Island.

好吧。那我就放棄我在火島（Fire Island）的加盟權。

I know we talked about it, but if we build 30 now, we'll squeeze you in out there.

我知道我們談過這個，但如果我們現在先建 30 家，我們會把你也安排進去。

Just my other question is in terms of -- is there a target on when you think you'll be in a position to be positive cash flow generating?

我另一個問題是，就——你們是否有一個目標時間點，認為何時能夠開始產生正向現金流？

We haven't disclosed that. But between everyone and me on this call, it's as soon as possible. That's absolutely our goal.

我們尚未對外揭露這個。但在這通電話上，私下跟各位以及我自己說，就是越快越好。那絕對是我們的目標。

To turn the call back over for closing remarks.

接下來把電話交回去做結語。

I think we just want to thank everybody for your patience as we work through this transformation. We really have aspirational plans. It's frustrating for us, and I suspect for many investors that this quarter wasn't better, but it's not for lack of effort here, and we do have a high level of confidence in our plan of execution.

我想我們只是想感謝大家在我們推進這項轉型期間的耐心。我們確實有很具企圖心的計畫。這一季表現沒有更好，對我們來說很挫折，我想對許多投資人也是；但這並不是因為我們不努力。我們對執行計畫也有高度信心。

With that, I thank you. We will report Q1, which just ended on May 31. We'll report out 10-Q on July 14. We'll have a conference call shortly after that. So that's in the short six weeks, and I hope to be able to give you a lot more updates on how we're going to Peter's point with area developments and so on.

在此，謝謝各位。我們將公布第一季（Q1）業績，該季度已於 5 月 31 日結束。我們會在 7 月 14 日提交並公布 10-Q。之後不久我們會舉行電話會議。所以大約在接下來短短六週內，我希望能就 Peter 提到的區域開發等事項，提供更多更新。

Until then, thank you all, and feel free to reach out to Carrie and me if you have any other questions.

在那之前，謝謝大家；如果還有任何問題，歡迎隨時聯絡 Carrie 和我。

And this concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your phone lines at this time, and have a wonderful day. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以掛斷電話線，祝您有美好的一天。感謝您的參與。