羅斯百貨 (ROST) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Ross Stores' First Quarter 2023 Earnings Release Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

下午好，歡迎參加 Ross Stores 2023 年第一季度收益發布電話會議。 （操作員說明）

Before we get started, on behalf of Ross Stores, I would like to note that the comments made on this call will contain forward-looking statements regarding expectations about future growth and financial results, including sales and earnings forecasts, new store openings and other matters that are based on the company's current forecast of aspects of its future business. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical performance or current expectations. Risk factors are included in today's press release and the company's fiscal 2022 Form 10-K and fiscal 2023 Form 8-Ks on the file with the SEC.

在我們開始之前，我謹代表 Ross Stores 指出，在本次電話會議中發表的評論將包含有關未來增長和財務業績預期的前瞻性陳述，包括銷售和盈利預測、新店開業和其他事項這些數據基於公司當前對其未來業務各方面的預測。這些前瞻性陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與歷史業績或當前預期存在重大差異。風險因素包含在今天的新聞稿以及公司向 SEC 歸檔的 2022 財年 10-K 表格和 2023 財年 8-K 表格中。

And now I'd like to turn the call over to Barbara Rentler, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

現在我想將電話轉給首席執行官芭芭拉·倫特勒 (Barbara Rentler)。請繼續。

Good afternoon.

下午好。

Joining me on our call today are Michael Hartshorn, Group President, Chief Operating Officer; Adam Orvos, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Connie Kao, Group Vice President, Investor Relations.

今天參加我們電話會議的有集團總裁兼首席運營官 Michael Hartshorn； Adam Orvos，執行副總裁兼首席財務官；以及投資者關係集團副總裁 Connie Kao。

We'll begin our call today with a review of our first quarter 2023 performance, followed by our outlook for the second quarter and fiscal year. Afterwards, we'll be happy to respond to any questions you may have.

我們今天將首先回顧 2023 年第一季度的業績，然後展望第二季度和財年。之後，我們將很樂意回答您的任何問題。

As noted in today's press release, despite continued inflationary pressures impacting our low to moderate income customers, first quarter sales were relatively in line with our expectations. Total sales of $4.5 billion, up from $4.3 billion last year, while comparable store sales rose 1%. Earnings per share for the 13 weeks ended April 29, 2023, are $1.09 on net income of $371 million. These results compare to $0.97 per share on net earnings of $338 million for the 13 weeks ended April 30, 2022.

正如今天的新聞稿所述，儘管持續的通脹壓力影響了我們的中低收入客戶，但第一季度的銷售額相對符合我們的預期。總銷售額達 45 億美元，高於去年的 43 億美元，同店銷售額增長 1%。截至 2023 年 4 月 29 日的 13 週每股收益為 1.09 美元，淨利潤為 3.71 億美元。相比之下，截至 2022 年 4 月 30 日的 13 週，每股收益為 0.97 美元，淨利潤為 3.38 億美元。

Cosmetics and accessories were the strongest merchandise areas during the quarter, while the Midwest was the top-performing region. dd's DISCOUNTS performance in the first quarter continued to trail Ross, reflecting the aforementioned inflationary pressures that continues to have a larger impact on our lower income households. At quarter end, total consolidated inventories were down 16% versus last year. Average store inventories were up 2% at the end of the quarter. Packaway merchandise represented 42% of total inventories versus 43% last year.

化妝品和配飾是本季度表現最強勁的商品區域，而中西部是表現最好的區域。 dd 第一季度的 DISCOUNTS 表現繼續落後於 Ross，反映出上述通脹壓力繼續對我們的低收入家庭產生較大影響。截至季度末，綜合庫存總額較去年下降 16%。本季度末，商店平均庫存增加了 2%。包裝商品佔總庫存的 42%，而去年為 43%。

Turning to store growth. We opened 11 new Ross and 8 dd's DISCOUNTS locations in the first quarter. We continue to plan for approximately 100 new stores this year comprised of about 75 Ross and 25 dd's. As usual, these numbers do not reflect our plans to close or relocate about 10 stores.

轉向商店增長。我們在第一季度新開了 11 家 Ross 店和 8 家 dd's DISCOUNTS 店。今年我們繼續計劃開設約 100 家新店，其中包括約 75 家 Ross 店和 25 家 dd 店。與往常一樣，這些數字並不反映我們關閉或搬遷約 10 家商店的計劃。

Now, Adam will provide further details on our first quarter results and additional color on our outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2023.

現在，Adam 將提供有關我們第一季度業績的更多詳細信息，以及我們對 2023 財年剩餘時間的展望的更多信息。

Thank you, Barbara.

謝謝你，芭芭拉。

As previously mentioned, our comparable store sales were up 1% for the quarter, driven by an increase in transactions. First quarter operating margin of 10.1% was down from 10.8% in 2022. As expected, this decline primarily reflects higher incentive compensation versus last year when we underperformed our expectations.

如前所述，在交易量增加的推動下，本季度我們的可比商店銷售額增長了 1%。第一季度營業利潤率為 10.1%，低於 2022 年的 10.8%。正如預期的那樣，這一下降主要反映了與去年相比，我們的激勵薪酬有所提高，當時我們的表現低於我們的預期。

Cost of goods sold improved by 50 basis points due to a combination of factors. Merchandise margin was up 120 basis points, primarily due to lower ocean freight costs, while domestic freight costs declined by 60 basis points.

由於多種因素的影響，銷售成本改善了 50 個基點。商品利潤率上升 120 個基點，主要是由於海運成本下降，而國內貨運成本下降 60 個基點。

Partially offsetting these 2 favorable items were higher distribution expenses of 65 basis points, driven primarily by unfavorable packaway-related costs and deleverage from the opening of our Houston distribution center. Buying increased by 60 basis points due to higher incentive compensation and occupancy deleveraged 5 basis points.

配送費用增加了 65 個基點，部分抵消了這兩項有利因素，這主要是由於不利的包裝相關成本以及休斯頓配送中心開業帶來的去槓桿化所致。由於更高的激勵補償和入住率去槓桿化了 5 個基點，購買量增加了 60 個基點。

SG&A for the period rose 115 basis points, mainly due to higher incentive compensation and store wages versus last year. During the first quarter, we repurchased 2.2 million shares of common stock for an aggregate cost of $234 million. We remain on track to buy back a total of $950 million in stock for the year.

該期間的 SG&A 增長了 115 個基點，主要是由於激勵薪酬和商店工資比去年更高。第一季度，我們回購了 220 萬股普通股，總成本為 2.34 億美元。我們仍有望在今年回購總計 9.5 億美元的股票。

Now let's discuss our outlook for the remainder of 2023.

現在讓我們討論一下對 2023 年剩餘時間的展望。

For the 13 weeks ending July 29, 2023, comparable sales are forecast to be relatively flat. Second quarter 2023 earnings per share are projected to be $1.07 to $1.14 versus $1.11 for the 13 weeks ended July 30, 2022.

截至 2023 年 7 月 29 日的 13 週，可比銷售額預計將相對持平。 2023 年第二季度每股收益預計為 1.07 至 1.14 美元，而截至 2022 年 7 月 30 日的 13 週每股收益為 1.11 美元。

Our guidance assumptions for the second quarter of 2023 include the following: total sales are forecast to increase 1% to 4% versus the prior year. We plan to open 27 locations in the second quarter, including 18 Ross and 9 dd's DISCOUNTS locations. Operating margin for the second quarter is planned to be in the 9.8% to 10.1% range, down from 11.3% in 2022 as higher merchandise margin from lower ocean freight cost is forecast to be offset by an increase in expenses, primarily related to incentive compensation and store wages.

我們對 2023 年第二季度的指導假設包括以下內容：預計總銷售額將比上年增長 1% 至 4%。我們計劃在第二季度開設 27 家門店，其中包括 18 家 Ross 門店和 9 家 dd's DISCOUNTS 門店。第二季度的營業利潤率計劃在 9.8% 至 10.1% 範圍內，低於 2022 年的 11.3%，因為海運費成本較低帶來的商品利潤率上升預計將被費用增加所抵消，主要與激勵薪酬相關以及商店的工資。

We expect net interest income to be approximately $31 million. The tax rate is projected to be about 25%, and diluted shares outstanding are expected to be approximately 339 million.

我們預計淨利息收入約為 3100 萬美元。稅率預計約為25%，攤薄後流通股預計約為3.39億股。

Now turning to the full year. Based on our first quarter results and guidance for the second quarter, comparable store sales for the 52 weeks ending January 27, 2024, are still planned to be relatively flat. We now project earnings per share for the 53 weeks ending February 3, 2024, to be $4.77 to $4.99 compared to $4.38 for the 52 weeks ended January 28, 2023. This guidance includes an estimated benefit to full year 2023 earnings per share of approximately $0.15 from the 53rd week.

現在轉向全年。根據我們第一季度的業績和第二季度的指導，截至 2024 年 1 月 27 日的 52 週內可比商店銷售額仍計劃相對持平。我們現在預計截至 2024 年 2 月 3 日的 53 週每股收益為 4.77 至 4.99 美元，而截至 2023 年 1 月 28 日的 52 週每股收益為 4.38 美元。該指引包括對 2023 年全年每股收益的估計收益約為 0.15 美元從第53週開始。

Now I'll turn the call back to Barbara Rentler for closing comments.

現在我將把電話轉回芭芭拉·倫特勒 (Barbara Rentler) 以徵求結束意見。

Thank you, Adam.

謝謝你，亞當。

As noted on our last earnings call, we had expected fiscal 2023 to be another challenging year. This was especially true given the continued uncertainty in the macroeconomic, geopolitical and retail environment. As a result of today's uncertain external landscape, especially the prolonged inflationary pressures negatively impacting our customers' discretionary spend, shoppers are seeking even stronger values when visiting our stores. In response, we remain focused on delivering the most compelling bargains possible while diligently managing expenses and inventory to maximize our opportunities for growth.

正如我們在上次財報電話會議上指出的那樣，我們預計 2023 財年將是又一個充滿挑戰的一年。考慮到宏觀經濟、地緣政治和零售環境的持續不確定性，這一點尤其如此。由於當今外部形勢的不確定性，特別是長期的通脹壓力對客戶的可自由支配支出產生了負面影響，購物者在訪問我們的商店時尋求更強大的價值。作為回應，我們仍然專注於提供最有吸引力的討價還價，同時努力管理費用和庫存，以最大限度地提高我們的增長機會。

At this point, we'd like to open up the call and respond to any questions you may have.

此時，我們想打開電話並回答您可能提出的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) And the first question comes from the line of Matthew Boss with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自摩根大通的 Matthew Boss。

So Barbara, maybe given the pressure on your low to middle income or low to moderate income customer base that you cited, how do you feel today about your merchandise assortments across categories from that value perspective? And then how are you managing buys in the marketplace just given the current level of disruption across the apparel landscape today?

那麼芭芭拉，也許考慮到您提到的中低收入或中低收入客戶群面臨的壓力，從價值角度來看，您今天對跨類別的商品分類有何看法？那麼考慮到當今服裝行業的混亂程度，您如何管理市場上的購買？

The merchandise assortments from value perspective -- first, let me lead with, we weren't really satisfied with our results. So as I look across the different businesses, we had some businesses where the business didn't perform as well as we had expected, and we're addressing those issues. So let me start with that. As I look at value across the store, that has been a main focus for the merchants for the last few months. So I'd say that we've made progress across the board, but I still think that that is a major focus for us, offering the customer the best branded bargains possible at the best possible values we can put out there.

從價值角度來看的商品種類——首先，讓我先說，我們對我們的結果並不滿意。因此，當我審視不同的業務時，我們發現有些業務的表現沒有達到我們的預期，我們正在解決這些問題。那麼讓我從這個開始吧。當我審視整個商店的價值時，這一直是過去幾個月商家關注的主要焦點。所以我想說，我們已經在各個方面取得了進展，但我仍然認為這是我們的主要關注點，以我們可以提供的最佳價值為客戶提供盡可能最好的品牌交易。

So I would say we're on a journey, and everyone is -- really, the merchant team is highly focused on this. And I really think that that's an important part, especially for our mid- to lower-income customers.

所以我想說，我們正在一段旅程中，每個人——實際上，商家團隊都高度關注這一點。我確實認為這是一個重要的部分，特別是對於我們的中低收入客戶而言。

And then in terms of managing -- you're saying in terms of managing supply in the marketplace, is that how I interpret that question?

然後在管理方面——你是說在管理市場供應方面，我是這樣解釋這個問題的嗎？

Yes, just how you're managing buys given how much disruption there is in the overall apparel landscape? How much you're leaving, thinking about current open to buy and relative to maybe things opportunistic from a packaway perspective.

是的，考慮到整體服裝格局的混亂程度，您如何管理購買？你要離開多少，考慮當前的開放購買以及相對於從打包的角度來看可能是機會主義的事情。

Okay. Well, we have enough open to buy for both packaway and to chase the business. So right now, the plan is postured that we would chase the business as we're coming across and we're monitoring the speed of spending. And the hotel, same scenario. Hotel inventories are basically at the same rate as they were last year. And so the merchants are out in the market seeking out deals and based on those deals, we make those decisions. So if a deal comes in one business and that wasn't really even planned for that business, we might take that plan up.

好的。好吧，我們有足夠的空餘空間來購買打包商品和追逐業務。因此，現在的計劃是，我們將在遇到業務時追逐業務，並監控支出速度。還有酒店，同樣的場景。酒店庫存與去年基本持平。因此，商家在市場上尋找交易，並根據這些交易，我們做出這些決定。因此，如果某項業務達成交易，而該交易實際上並未計劃用於該業務，我們可能會採納該計劃。

So we're really looking for with the overarching idea that what we want to do is get best possible values on the floor. So the merchants go to the market, and then there's discussions about what's out there. I know you know that there is pretty broad-based availability out there, maybe across most businesses anyway, in most brands in the market because as you know, supply fluctuates by type of product and vendor. But you have to kind of be out there and be in it to really see what's out there and then come back and then decide where do we want to take the deal. But that is our focus in both companies, delivering the best branded bargains that we possibly can.

因此，我們真正尋求的總體理念是，我們想要做的是獲得盡可能最佳的價值。因此，商人會去市場，然後討論市場上有什麼。我知道您知道市場上的大多數品牌都有相當廣泛的可用性，也許在大多數企業中，因為如您所知，供應會根據產品和供應商的類型而波動。但你必須走出去，真正了解那裡發生了什麼，然後回來決定我們要在哪里達成交易。但這是我們兩家公司的重點，盡我們所能提供最好的品牌折扣。

And the next question comes from the line of Mark Altschwager with Baird.

下一個問題來自 Mark Altschwager 和 Baird 的對話。

So you're holding your comp guide for the year, though, you noted the consumer is looking for a deeper value and your merchants are focused on that. So I guess I'm wondering how the expected makeup of that flat comp has changed versus your expectations at the start of the year? And to the extent that there's perhaps some lower ticket involved, are there any margin implications we should be aware of?

因此，您保留了今年的比較指南，但您注意到消費者正在尋找更深層次的價值，而您的商家也專注於這一點。所以我想我想知道扁平化的預期構成與您年初的預期相比有何變化？如果涉及的票價可能較低，我們是否應該注意任何利潤影響？

Mark, it's Michael Hartshorn. Let me start by just talking a little bit about the first quarter. The comp in the first quarter was driven by a number of transactions, and that was -- for us, that's our proxy for traffic. It was up versus a year ago. So that's a good sign on customer traffic returning. The average basket was flat and it was flat on units per transaction, up on a lower AUR.

馬克，我是邁克爾·哈茨霍恩。讓我首先談談第一季度的情況。第一季度的業績是由大量交易推動的，對我們來說，這是我們的流量代理。與一年前相比有所上升。因此，這是客戶流量回歸的好兆頭。平均籃子持平，每筆交易的單位數持平，但 AUR 較低。

As far as how we're looking at the year, our outlook has not changed. We'll continue to manage the business with a conservative posture and be in a position to chase trends, chase the business and manage expense and inventory very conservatively.

就我們如何看待這一年而言，我們的前景沒有改變。我們將繼續以保守的態度來管理業務，能夠非常保守地追趨勢、追業務、管理費用和庫存。

On a stack basis as we move through the quarter, and as weather became more favorable, we did see trends improve on a multiyear basis. So what that says to us is, obviously, healthy traffic and a trend that, in our mind, hasn't changed and hasn't changed our outlook for the year.

從堆棧的角度來看，隨著本季度的進展，以及天氣變得更加有利，我們確實看到了多年趨勢的改善。因此，這顯然對我們來說是健康的流量和趨勢，在我們看來，這種趨勢沒有改變，也沒有改變我們今年的前景。

And the next question comes from the line of Paul Lejuez with Citigroup.

下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Paul Lejuez。

Curious about geographic dispersion, maybe if you could talk about some of your big states performance in those states, specifically California. How the trends look from the beginning of the quarter to the end of the quarter? And if maybe you could talk about apparel versus home performance.

對地理分佈感到好奇，也許您可以談談您在這些州（特別是加利福尼亞州）的一些大州的表現。從季初到季末的趨勢如何？也許您可以談談服裝與家居性能。

Sure, Paul. On trends during the quarter, as I just mentioned, on a stack basis, we did see -- and stack basis versus pre-COVID, we did see trends improve as we moved through the quarter with April being the strongest. Geographically, we mentioned the Midwest with the top-performing region for our larger markets. Texas was above the chain average. Florida was in line and California underperformed the chain average given the difficult weather throughout the quarter in the West. Merchandise-wise, accessories and cosmetics were the best-performing businesses as we said in the script. Overall, shoes performed above the chain average, while home was in line and apparel trailed.

當然，保羅。關於本季度的趨勢，正如我剛才提到的，在堆棧的基礎上，我們確實看到了——與新冠疫情之前相比，我們確實看到趨勢在整個季度有所改善，其中 4 月份是最強勁的。從地理位置上看，我們提到中西部地區是我們較大市場表現最好的地區。德克薩斯州高於環比平均水平。鑑於西部整個季度的惡劣天氣，佛羅里達州的表現符合環比平均水平，而加利福尼亞州的表現低於環比平均水平。正如我們在劇本中所說，就商品而言，配飾和化妝品是表現最好的業務。總體而言，鞋履的表現高於環比平均水平，家居用品表現良好，服裝表現落後。

Michael, can you just -- a little bit more on California. Any quantification of how much of it was below the chain? And did that gap close that between California and the rest of the chain by the end of the quarter?

邁克爾，你能不能再多講一點關於加州的事情。有多少數量是低於鏈條的？到本季度末，加州與產業鏈其他地區之間的差距是否縮小了？

It did close, it was -- we wouldn't get into the specifics, but it did underperform the chain average and it improved as weather improved.

它確實關閉了，我們不會透露具體細節，但它的表現確實低於環比平均水平，並且隨著天氣的好轉而有所改善。

And the next question is from the line of Lorraine Hutchinson with Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的洛林·哈欽森 (Lorraine Hutchinson)。

As you move through the quarter, did you see any signs of customers trading down into Ross or any other notable changes in consumer behavior?

在整個季度中，您是否看到任何跡象表明客戶轉向羅斯或消費者行為發生任何其他顯著變化？

I'd say overall, Lorraine, it was -- it's hard -- there's so many factors that go into sales. Obviously, the low-end customer continues to be pressured, whether it's ongoing inflation, reduction in SNAP benefits, lower tax refunds, but it was hard to see whether there's a trade down customer in that data.

洛林，我想說，總的來說，這很難——影響銷售的因素有很多。顯然，低端客戶繼續面臨壓力，無論是持續的通貨膨脹、SNAP福利的減少、退稅的降低，但很難從這些數據中看出是否存在降價客戶。

And the lower AUR in the quarter, was that all moving towards sharper price points? Or is there a mix component to that that we should factor in?

本季度 AUR 較低，這一切是否都在朝著更高的價格點發展？或者是否有我們應該考慮的混合成分？

That's really off of a sharper price point. It wasn't generated by mix.

這確實是一個更尖銳的價格點。它不是由混合生成的。

And the next question is from the line of Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

下一個問題來自查克·格羅姆和戈登·哈斯克特。

The merchandise margin had a nice uptick here in the first quarter relative to the last quarter. Can you talk about the drivers? I think you called out freight and then how you're thinking about that line item over the balance of the year?

與上季度相比，第一季度的商品利潤率有了很大的上升。能談談司機的情況嗎？我想您提到了運費，那麼您在今年剩餘時間內如何考慮該訂單項？

Yes. Chuck, this is Adam. So I mentioned the merchandise margin grew by 120 basis points in Q1. Ocean freight was clearly the most impactful component here driving the improvement. Our performance in merc margin was in line with what we embedded in our guidance for Q1. And assuming rates stay where they are, I expect that to continue as we move through the year.

是的。查克，這是亞當。所以我提到第一季度商品利潤率增長了 120 個基點。海運顯然是推動改善的最有影響力的部分。我們的商品利潤率表現與我們第一季度指導中的內容一致。假設利率保持不變，我預計這一情況將在今年繼續下去。

And the next question is from the line of Adrienne Yih with Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Adrienne Yih。

Barbara, I want to ask you about packaway, the 42% this year versus 43%. First and foremost, it sounds like you believe that your assortment is on trend, and then typically, when there are these kind of late weather breaks to kind of warmer weather across retail, it gives you the opportunity to chase into sort of known winters. Do you feel better about the assortment heading into the second quarter? And then, Adam, or Barbara, with frontline still being very promotional, does that somehow impede the ability to drive maybe higher AURs because the value is not as evident as it may be when frontline is a little bit less promotional?

芭芭拉，我想問你關於打包的問題，今年是 42%，而今年是 43%。首先也是最重要的，聽起來你相信你的品種正在流行，然後通常，當整個零售業出現這種較晚的天氣休息或溫暖的天氣時，它讓你有機會追逐某種已知的冬天。您對進入第二季度的產品類別感覺更好嗎？然後，Adam 或 Barbara，由於前線仍然非常促銷，這是否會在某種程度上阻礙推動更高 AUR 的能力，因為價值並不像前線促銷稍微少一點時那麼明顯？

Okay, Adrienne. So let's start with packaway, I think the first question was about packaway, the content at packaway? So the content at packaway, we feel good about that content at packaway. Last year at this particular moment in time was when we started to bring in goods because of all the carrier issues that went on with whenever things speeded up, we took good and put them into packaway as we told all of you that we use later on in the year, really our direct imports. So the packaway that we have in there now is really closed out great deals that we feel very good about. So the percent might be the same, but the content is different. So that's the first one.

好吧，艾德麗安。那麼讓我們從packaway開始，我認為第一個問題是關於packaway的，packaway的內容是什麼？所以 Packaway 的內容，我們對 Packaway 的內容感覺很好。去年，在這個特定的時刻，我們開始進口貨物，因為每當事情加快時，承運人都會出現問題，我們把它們裝進包裝袋，因為我們告訴大家，我們稍後會使用當年，確實是我們直接進口的。因此，我們現在的包裝確實已經完成了我們感覺非常好的大優惠。所以百分比可能相同，但內容不同。這是第一個。

The second one, in terms of the late weather break, I'm not sure I 100% understand what you mean by that.

第二個，就最近的天氣休息而言，我不確定我是否 100% 理解你的意思。

So oftentimes when it's been cold in the Northeast and many people were sort of -- retailers were sort of missing plan for -- just because it was colder than for longer. And in the past, it seems like those types of poor weather transitions have given you the opportunity, but I think you just answered it in your first one.

很多時候，當東北部天氣寒冷時，許​​多人——零售商有點錯過了計劃——只是因為天氣比以前更冷了。在過去，這些類型的惡劣天氣轉變似乎給了你機會，但我認為你只是在第一個答案中回答了這個問題。

Yes. Yes, you're saying were there additional great deals out there because weather is good. That's kind of ongoing. And the merchants, yes, are in the market, looking close out facing the business and all of that. So that's very different by type of business. Yes, there are -- so that's part of the supply availability that's out there.

是的。是的，您是說因為天氣好，那裡還有其他超值優惠嗎？這是一種持續的過程。是的，商人在市場上，近距離觀察著商業活動和所有這一切。因此，不同業務類型的情況非常不同。是的，有——所以這是現有供應的一部分。

And the spread, the kind of wide the spread from frontline to your pricing?

還有價差，是那種從前線到你們定價的價差？

I think you're just saying that they are promoting now, it's more promotional than it's been and then what's our relationship to the promotional environment?

我想你只是說他們現在正在促銷，比以前更加促銷，那麼我們與促銷環境的關係是什麼？

Yes. Does it make it harder to create that value notion when the frontline retailers are sort of every day sitting on the 50 half.

是的。當一線零售商每天都坐在 50 的一半時，是否會更難創造這種價值觀念？

Yes. Listen, look, I think the promotional environment is still very -- is still competitive. It's still a competitive market. We watch people get more promotional in the last few months. I don't think that that's going away. I think what has to happen is and what is happening is that the buyers have to be in the market, constantly working with vendors to understand 2 things. One, not only just brand availability, but also pricing because they need -- they know that they need to get -- they need to have their values be sharper. So they're competitive shopping, seeing what's going on in stores and then they're in the market and vendors are giving them the lay of the land, availability, I have -- what you're talking about the excess goods close out and also kind of where the pricing is, they're keeping that in mind because they're studying that.

是的。聽著，看，我認為促銷環境仍然非常有競爭力。這仍然是一個競爭激烈的市場。我們看到人們在過去幾個月裡得到了更多的促銷。我不認為這種情況會消失。我認為必鬚髮生的事情以及正在發生的事情是買家必須進入市場，不斷與供應商合作以了解兩件事。第一，不僅是品牌可用性，還有定價，因為他們需要——他們知道他們需要獲得——他們需要讓自己的價值觀更加清晰。所以他們是競爭性購物，看看商店裡發生了什麼，然後他們進入市場，供應商給他們提供土地佈局、可用性，我有——你所說的多餘的貨物被清倉，還有定價在哪裡，他們會牢記這一點，因為他們正在研究這一點。

So for a while, the world's got very different and there was much more regular price selling, particularly in department stores. We're watching as you're watching that erode and it's becoming more promotional. So those have been best practices for the company for years. And so that's what the merchants are doing to ensure that if they're watching it and then making some assumptions about what they believe could happen in front of them, which would be -- but traditionally done enough price prior to all of the things that have gone on since COVID has started and more regular price selling and all of that.

因此，有一段時間，世界變得非常不同，並且有更多的正常價格銷售，特別是在百貨商店。正如你們所看到的那樣，我們正在關注這種侵蝕，並且它變得更加具有促銷性。因此，這些一直是該公司多年來的最佳實踐。因此，這就是商家正在做的事情，以確保如果他們正在觀看它，然後對他們認為可能發生在他們面前的事情做出一些假設，這將是 - 但傳統上在所有事情之前就已經完成了足夠的價格自從新冠疫情開始以來，這種情況一直在持續，而且價格銷售更加正常，等等。

And the next question comes from the line of Ike Boruchow with Wells Fargo.

下一個問題來自艾克·博魯喬 (Ike Boruchow) 與富國銀行 (Wells Fargo) 的對話。

This is Kate on for Ike. I guess just to hone in on the gross margin piece, you guys had a decent amount of volatility in both distribution and buying buckets last year within COGS. Can you walk us through how you think those line items progress through the rest of the year, maybe direction or magnitude?

這是艾克的凱特。我想只是為了磨練毛利率部分，去年你們在銷貨成本方面的分銷和購買方面都出現了相當大的波動。您能否向我們介紹一下您認為這些訂單項在今年剩餘時間內的進展情況，可能是方向或幅度？

Yes. Kate, this is Adam. So we'll take them individually. So ocean freight costs, a significant tailwind in Q1. Again, given all the volatility we've seen over time, don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but kind of what's embedded in the guidance is we'll continue to see that as a tailwind as we go through the balance of the year. Domestic freight, we called out the 60 basis points of improvement year-over-year. Again, highly dependent here on fuel prices. And obviously, there's wage increases embedded in those costs. But assuming those things stay stable, would continue to expect that to be a tailwind for us as we go forward.

是的。凱特，這是亞當。所以我們將單獨對待它們。因此，海運成本是第一季度的一個重要推動因素。同樣，考慮到我們隨著時間的推移看到的所有波動，我們不想走得太遠，但指導中的內容是，當我們經歷平衡時，我們將繼續將其視為順風今年的。國內貨運方面，我們指出同比改善了 60 個基點。同樣，這里高度依賴燃料價格。顯然，這些成本中包含了工資上漲。但假設這些事情保持穩定，我們將繼續預計這將成為我們前進的順風車。

The biggest piece that we've called out for some time, offsetting those benefits are incentive costs. So we gave you the details of that approximately in the call comments, I would also say in the second quarter, when we look at it, will probably be the most impactful quarter for us from an incentive cost increase this year versus last year. We also commented on distribution expenses. So again, driven by timing of packaway and then the planned deleverage from our newer distribution center in Houston.

一段時間以來，我們呼籲抵消這些好處的最大部分是激勵成本。因此，我們在電話會議評論中向您提供了大約的詳細信息，我還會說，當我們看到第二季度時，這可能是今年與去年相比激勵成本增加對我們影響最大的季度。我們還評論了分銷費用。同樣，受到打包時間以及休斯頓新配送中心計劃去槓桿化的推動。

And the next question comes from the line of Alex Straton with Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自亞歷克斯·斯特拉頓 (Alex Straton) 與摩根士丹利 (Morgan Stanley) 的對話。

Great. So it feels like this is kind of an ongoing narrative for the last year that you're not super happy with the value you're offering the customer. Though historically, I think you've proven super consistent and successful there. So I'm just wondering, has anything changed in the buying organization? Or what do you think the buying team is getting wrong now? And maybe how you're thinking about correcting this or putting initiatives in place to perhaps get this back on track?

偉大的。因此，感覺這是去年持續存在的一種敘述，即您對為客戶提供的價值不太滿意。雖然從歷史上看，我認為你已經證明了超級一致和成功。所以我只是想知道，採購組織有什麼變化嗎？或者您認為採購團隊現在出了什麼問題？也許您正在考慮如何糾正這個問題或採取措施以使這個問題重回正軌？

Look, I think the value equation we've been working on for the last few months -- over the last year, moving towards getting to that value point, I think we're kind of at a different place now than where we were a few months ago, both in brands and in values on the floor. So I don't see it kind of the merchants aren't doing their job. I kind of see it as an evolution. And so we are very, very highly focused now on delivering compelling value as we watch our customers in both companies struggle with all the inflation and all the things that are going on around them, we've gotten pretty beary.

聽著，我認為我們過去幾個月一直在研究的價值方程式——去年，朝著達到這個價值點的方向發展，我認為我們現在所處的位置與以前不同。幾個月前，無論是品牌還是價值觀。所以我不認為商家沒有盡到自己的職責。我認為這是一種演變。因此，我們現在非常非常專注於提供令人信服的價值，因為我們看到兩家公司的客戶都在與通貨膨脹和周圍發生的所有事情作鬥爭，我們已經變得非常悲觀。

Let me put this way, we're very highly focused on delivering those values. So where we were, let's say, 6 months ago and how we're thinking about it now, continues to evolve. And so we want to make sure that we have a really wide assortment, fresh receipts, branded merchandise and where it's appropriate that we're sharpening our branded values to strengthen the offerings because of the competitive retail environment. So I don't feel like it's not necessarily working, I feel like it's evolving, and I think our business last year evolved as we went along, and it's important for us to make sure that we deliver really sharp value to our customers, particularly in this time frame. And now that the world is getting even more competitive and more promotional, we have to look through that lens also.

讓我這樣說，我們非常專注於傳遞這些價值觀。因此，我們在 6 個月前所處的位置以及我們現在的想法仍在不斷發展。因此，我們希望確保我們擁有真正廣泛的品種、新鮮的收據、品牌商品，並在適當的情況下，由於競爭激烈的零售環境，我們正在提高我們的品牌價值，以加強我們的產品。所以我不覺得它不一定有效，我覺得它正在不斷發展，我認為去年我們的業務隨著我們的發展而發展，對我們來說確保我們為客戶提供真正的價值非常重要，特別是在這個時間範圍內。現在世界競爭越來越激烈，促銷也越來越激烈，我們也必須從這個角度來看待。

So I think that we need to stay focused on it and do a better job on this and making sure that we really understand where it's appropriate that we are sharpening out our branded values. And so I don't think it's not working. I think it's much more of an evolution in all of our businesses.

因此，我認為我們需要繼續專注於此，並在這方面做得更好，並確保我們真正了解我們在哪些方面適合強化我們的品牌價值。所以我不認為它不起作用。我認為這更多的是我們所有業務的演變。

And our next question comes from the line of Simeon Siegel with BMO Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自蒙特利爾銀行資本市場部的西蒙·西格爾 (Simeon Siegel)。

Any change in the percent of sales being driven by top vendors versus last year and then just versus a historical trend. Just wondering if concentration of the largest vendors has changed at all? And then just because it's coming up fairly frequently, any updated thoughts on shrink.

與去年相比，以及與歷史趨勢相比，由頂級供應商推動的銷售百分比的任何變化。只是想知道最大供應商的集中度是否發生了變化？然後僅僅因為它出現得相當頻繁，任何關於收縮的最新想法都會消失。

I'll start. It's Michael, Simeon. On shrink, we -- the shrink was a little bit higher for us last year, wasn't meaningfully higher. We've assumed that it will stay at or slightly above those levels in our estimates, but no updates -- we typically update the financial impact of that when we take true up our physical inventory in the third quarter.

我開始吧。這是邁克爾，西蒙。在收縮方面，去年我們的收縮率有點高，但並沒有顯著提高。我們假設它將保持在或略高於我們估計的水平，但沒有更新——我們通常會在第三季度統計實際庫存時更新其財務影響。

And the percentage of our top vendors versus historical, I mean, that moves based up of supply, right? So one year, we could have a great deal of merchandise from one vendor, top vendor and then the next year, a little bit less, but a little bit more from someone else. So I think that it kind of moves around. I don't think it's changed that much. I don't know if we're defining as top vendors, but it hasn't changed that much. It changes more by the vendor itself and the availability that's out there.

我的意思是，我們的頂級供應商與歷史供應商的百分比是根據供應量變化的，對吧？因此，一年中，我們可以從一個供應商、頂級供應商那裡獲得大量商品，然後第二年，從其他供應商那裡獲得的商品會少一點，但會多一點。所以我認為它有點移動。我不認為它改變了那麼多。我不知道我們是否被定義為頂級供應商，但它並沒有改變那麼多。它更多地由供應商本身和現有的可用性進行改變。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from the line of Dana Telsey with the Telsey Advisory Group.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Telsey 諮詢小組的 Dana Telsey。

As you think about the performance of dd's and what's happening in the environment, was there any differential in dd's performance in the fourth quarter to the first quarter and what you saw? And then just lastly, on the Bed Bath & Beyond locations that are available, if you were to get any, would that be in addition to the current run rate of store openings this year? Or would it be part of it?

當您考慮 dd 的性能以及環境中發生的情況時，第四季度 dd 的性能與第一季度的性能有什麼差異以及您看到的情況嗎？最後，在 Bed Bath & Beyond 現有的門店中，如果您要購買任何門店，這是否會超出今年目前的開店速度？或者它會成為其中的一部分嗎？

Dana, on dd's, the sales trends continue to trail Ross' results during the first quarter. I wouldn't comment on the differential between fourth and first. Obviously, their customer faces even more macro headwinds relative to Ross', which is, I think, reflected in their underperformance. I would also say, though, similar to Ross, we are sharply focused on offering better values to help drive improved sales performance there.

達納，在 dd 上，第一季度的銷售趨勢繼續落後於羅斯的業績。我不會評論第四和第一之間的差異。顯然，相對於羅斯的客戶，他們的客戶面臨著更多的宏觀阻力，我認為這反映在他們的表現不佳上。不過，我還要說，與羅斯類似，我們非常注重提供更好的價值，以幫助提高那裡的銷售業績。

On Bed Bath & Beyond, it will no doubt provide opportunities for new store locations. We'll have to review each potential new site on a case-by-case basis to see if it's appropriate for us. But I would say, it's not going to impact our 100 store opening plan for this year.

On Bed Bath & Beyond 無疑將為新店選址提供機會。我們必鬚根據具體情況審查每個潛在的新站點，看看它是否適合我們。但我想說，這不會影響我們今年開100家店的計劃。

And our next question comes from the line of Bob Drbul with Guggenheim.

我們的下一個問題來自鮑勃·德布爾（Bob Drbul）與古根海姆（Guggenheim）的關係。

I guess just a question for me is as you think about what's happening in the macro, when you look at your good, better, best mix, are you migrating your offering to the lower end of the spectrum? I'm just curious just in terms of the buys or how you're thinking about the merchandising piece of it.

我想對我來說唯一的問題是，當你思考宏觀上正在發生的事情時，當你審視你的好、更好、最好的組合時，你是否正在將你的產品遷移到頻譜的低端？我只是對購買或您如何看待其中的銷售部分感到好奇。

Sure. So we have a good, better, best strategy, and that is really driven by the assortment that we put on the floor and the values we put out there. So we want a tiered strategy because we're going to track much more broader set of customers. But that can move based on supply, based on availability, based on our purchases. So it fluctuates as you go.

當然。因此，我們有一個好的、更好的、最好的戰略，這實際上是由我們投放的產品種類和我們在那裡提出的價值觀驅動的。因此，我們需要一個分層策略，因為我們將跟踪更廣泛的客戶群。但這可以根據供應、可用性和我們的購買情況而變化。所以它會隨著你的走而波動。

And your -- as you think about the rest of the year, you're not really buying for sort of more of a good environment versus a better versus best in your offering?

當你考慮今年剩下的時間時，你購買產品並不是為了更好的環境，還是為了更好的產品？

I think that depends by business. I think that I can't tell you that that is a company-wide strategy. I think that moves by business based on what the business is. And clearly, the dd's customer, in particular, is very price-sensitive, so really paying attention to the values we're putting on the floor or the pricing we're putting on the floor, both. So -- but even at dd's, these things, it moves around. So we are obviously conscious there, particularly with that customer.

我認為這取決於業務。我想我不能告訴你這是全公司範圍的戰略。我認為這取決於業務的內容。顯然，DD 的客戶尤其對價格非常敏感，因此要真正關注我們所提供的價值或我們所提供的定價。所以——但即使在 dd's，這些東西也會移動。所以我們顯然很清楚這一點，特別是對於那個客戶。

And the next question comes from the line of Brooke Roach with Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自布魯克·羅奇（Brooke Roach）與高盛的對話。

Given the ongoing inflationary pressures in the macro, I'm wondering if you can provide updated thoughts on the longer-term path to recapturing pre-COVID operating margins? Are there any initiatives that you're contemplating to help drive that recovery outside of sharpening values and driving additional market share capture?

考慮到宏觀上持續的通脹壓力，我想知道您是否可以提供有關重新奪回新冠疫情前營業利潤率的長期路徑的最新想法？除了提高價值和獲取更多市場份額之外，您是否正在考慮採取任何舉措來幫助推動經濟復甦？

Brooke, this is Adam. Thanks for the question. So our long-term operating margin improvements are to be highly dependent on us delivering strong sales over a sustained period of time. And then the question on how long do inflationary pressures persist, but -- over the longer term, we believe we can achieve gradual improvement in profitability. I think if you get into like, are there any structural questions related to that? We're seeing tangible benefit in freight cost, but we're still -- these costs still are not at pre-pandemic levels. And then we're seeing some wage pressures in the stores.

布魯克，這是亞當。謝謝你的提問。因此，我們長期營業利潤率的提高在很大程度上取決於我們在持續一段時間內提供強勁的銷售。然後是通脹壓力會持續多久的問題，但從長遠來看，我們相信我們可以實現盈利能力的逐步改善。我想如果你遇到這樣的問題，是否存在與此相關的結構性問題？我們看到了貨運成本的切實好處，但我們仍然——這些成本仍然沒有達到大流行前的水平。然後我們看到商店面臨一些工資壓力。

When you talk about -- we've guided to CapEx of $810 million. So a big component of that in addition to distribution center capacity, in addition to investing in the 100 new stores, a big chunk of that is technology investments that will drive further efficiencies within the stores and in our distribution centers. So more automation in our distribution centers and some store initiatives that we've touched on in the past.

當你談論時——我們指導資本支出為 8.1 億美元。因此，除了配送中心容量之外，除了投資 100 家新商店之外，其中很大一部分是技術投資，這將進一步提高商店和配送中心的效率。因此，我們的配送中心和我們過去提到的一些商店計劃中的自動化程度更高。

And the next question comes from the line of Laura Champine with Loop Capital.

下一個問題來自 Laura Champine 與 Loop Capital 的對話。

It's about the weather's impact on your comp in Q1. Is that something you can quantify or maybe if that's a tough one, maybe give us the discrepancy roughly between California and the rest of the chain?

這是關於天氣對第一季度比賽的影響。這是你可以量化的東西嗎？或者如果這是一個困難的問題，也許可以給我們提供加州與鏈條其他部分之間的大致差異？

Laura, it's hard to calculate. I mean, I think it -- suffice it to say, it didn't help our business. I would say California was slightly under the -- trailed the chain average and did improve as weather improved is what we'd say.

勞拉，這很難計算。我的意思是，我認為——可以這麼說，這對我們的業務沒有幫助。我想說的是，加利福尼亞州的情況略低於——落後於環比平均水平，並且隨著我們所說的天氣改善，情況確實有所改善。

And the next question comes from the line of Marni Shapiro with Retail Tracker.

下一個問題來自 Marni Shapiro 與 Retail Tracker 的合作。

I just wanted to clarify. I think you said the 53rd week adds about $0.15. Could we expect between like $350 million to $400 million in sales? Is that a decent number to use for that week? Or is it a little less because it's a January week? Just curious.

我只是想澄清一下。我想你說過第 53 週增加了約 0.15 美元。我們可以預期銷售額在 3.5 億到 4 億美元之間嗎？這個數字適合那週使用嗎？或者因為是一月的一周所以會少一點？只是好奇。

Probably a little bit less than that, Marni, given that it's, as you said, given that it's January, early February.

可能比這個少一點，Marni，正如你所說，鑑於現在是一月、二月初。

That's what I figured. And then this came up on other calls, it looks like your traffic is good that people are looking for sharper deals, but you obviously called out accessories and cosmetics beauty, which tends to have a lower AUR. Are people gravitating towards the lower-priced items? Or as you've seen the weather improve, have you seen apparel come back in slightly higher AUR, but they're looking for the apparel items that are on sale or just at the better prices. I'm curious sort of what the dynamic is there.

我就是這麼想的。然後在其他電話中也出現了這種情況，看起來您的流量很好，人們正在尋找更划算的交易，但您顯然呼籲配飾和化妝品美容，這些產品的 AUR 往往較低。人們是否傾向於購買低價商品？或者，當您看到天氣好轉時，您是否看到服裝的 AUR 略有上升，但他們正在尋找打折或價格更優惠的服裝商品。我很好奇那裡有什麼動態。

So apparel struggled in Q1. So I don't necessarily think it was driven off the prices. I think that the assortments were not necessarily where we wanted them to be. So depending upon what this discussion, that could have been the price, that could have been the product because there's a variety of factors in there. So I don't think I could take it down to a common denominator price or say, was it driven by markdowns or was it driven -- it really -- I would say, it was driven by the assortment when it's all said and done. Certainly, the weather didn't help, but I don't think the weather is a big enough impact, so I could sit here and say that. I think our assortments weren't necessarily where we wanted them to be. And so we're working on that, and we're going to continue to work on that. But it's not really based off of a price or one thing or -- we have our work cut out for us and the merchants are working on that now.

因此，服裝在第一季度陷入困境。所以我不一定認為它是被價格拉低的。我認為這些分類不一定是我們想要的。因此，根據討論的內容，這可能是價格，也可能是產品，因為其中有多種因素。所以我不認為我可以把它歸結為一個共同的價格，或者說，它是由降價驅動的還是由降價驅動的，或者是由降價驅動的——實際上是由品種驅動的，歸根結底，它是由品種驅動的。當然，天氣沒有幫助，但我認為天氣的影響還不夠大，所以我可以坐在這裡這麼說。我認為我們的品種不一定是我們想要的。所以我們正在努力，並且我們將繼續努力。但這並不是真正基於價格或一件事，或者——我們已經完成了我們的工作，商家現在正在努力。

It wasn't driven by mix. It was driven -- being sharper priced across the assortment.

它不是由混合驅動的。其推動因素是——整個產品系列的價格都更加銳利。

So it was across -- you saw the softness across the assortment in apparel. It wasn't specific -- AUR?

所以，你可以看到各種服裝的柔軟性。這並不具體——AUR？

You asked that was AUR driven by mix in the business. It was not driven by mix.

您問這是由業務混合驅動的 AUR。它不是由混合驅動的。

But on the apparel side, was the softness across the board, whether it was men's Polo shirts or women's dresses or kids, every department across the board was soft? Or were there certain spots even without disclosing if you don't want to, were there certain spots that were -- that really need a lot of work and other spots that were okay.

但服裝方面，是不是全線都軟了，無論是男裝Polo衫還是女裝、童裝，各個品類全線都軟了？或者是否有某些地方，即使你不想透露，也沒有透露，是否有某些地方確實需要大量工作，而其他地方還可以。

Well, obviously, we're not going to get into details, but within all the apparel businesses, like common sense to tell you that some businesses are better than others, right? So with that, we wouldn't get into specifics, but there's no -- you're asking is there like you're (inaudible). In one particular area? I don't know. I know what you're referring (inaudible) there.

嗯，顯然，我們不會討論細節，但在所有服裝業務中，常識告訴你有些業務比其他業務更好，對吧？因此，我們不會透露具體細節，但沒有——你是在問你是否像你一樣（聽不清）。在某一特定區域？我不知道。我知道你指的是什麼（聽不清）。

I was kind of thinking on the positive. Was there something that you're saying -- dress were killer.

我的想法是積極的。你有沒有說過——衣服是殺手。

Couldn't decide where you were going with that. Every business has businesses that were performing, some businesses didn't and so we're not going to get into specifics on that. What I would say is that the merchants are very diligently working on the assortments, whether it's delivering the right products, whether it's the values, I mean they're really highly focused on that right now.

無法決定你要去哪裡。每個企業都有表現良好的企業，有些企業則沒有，因此我們不會詳細介紹這一點。我想說的是，商家非常努力地進行產品分類，無論是提供正確的產品，還是價值觀，我的意思是他們現在非常關注這一點。

And the next question comes from the line of Corey Tarlowe with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自科里·塔洛和杰弗里斯的對話。

Barbara, just on the availability across your good, better, best spectrum that you have. Is there any better availability within any one of those 3 segments as you speak to your merchants?

芭芭拉，只是關於你所擁有的良好、更好、最好的範圍內的可用性。當您與商家交談時，這 3 個細分市場中的任何一個細分市場是否有更好的可用性？

You're just saying where does the supply -- the supply is pretty broad-based. I mean supply in most businesses, there's always more one vendor than the other, more on product than the other. I mean, it fluctuates overall, there's still a lot of supply. I wouldn't say it's bucketed in one of those 3 buckets. No, I would still say it's pretty broad-based.

你只是說供應在哪裡——供應的範圍相當廣泛。我的意思是，在大多數企業的供應中，一個供應商總是比另一個供應商多，產品比另一個供應商多。我的意思是，整體波動，供應量仍然很大。我不會說它被裝在這三個桶之一中。不，我仍然會說它的基礎相當廣泛。

Got it. And then just on the lower AUR common being driven by sharper price points. I guess within the context of the guide for the full year for flat comps, is the expectation that the AUR is likely to be lower throughout the rest of the year as well?

知道了。然後，在價格上漲的推動下，AUR 普遍較低。我猜想，在全年扁平比較指南的背景下，預計 AUR 在今年剩餘時間裡也可能會較低嗎？

The -- putting out better value doesn't necessarily mean that your AUR is going down. But what we're focused on is we're focused on delivering really sharp value. So depending upon what -- you're -- using your example of the good, better, best depending upon what that mix looks like, that doesn't necessarily mean the AUR is going down. What we're really trying to do is we're really trying to focus on sharpening our branded values for the customer. And so we think that's our path to driving sales, and we think that's our path ultimately to gaining market share. So those 2 don't necessarily go hand in hand.

提供更好的價值並不一定意味著您的 AUR 會下降。但我們關注的是我們專注於提供真正的價值。因此，取決於您使用的好、更好、最好的示例（取決於組合的外觀），這並不一定意味著 AUR 會下降。我們真正想做的是專注於為客戶提升我們的品牌價值。因此，我們認為這是我們推動銷售的途徑，也是我們最終獲得市場份額的途徑。因此，這兩者不一定齊頭並進。

And the next question comes from the line of Jay Sole with UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的 Jay Sole。

It looks like you beat the low end of your -- the guidance that you gave for EPS in the first quarter by about $0.10, but you're raising the low end of the full year guidance by about $0.12. Can you just tell us what the extra $0.02 is, where that's coming from?

看起來您超出了第一季度 EPS 指導的下限約 0.10 美元，但您將全年指導的下限提高了約 0.12 美元。您能告訴我們額外的 0.02 美元是多少嗎？它來自哪裡？

Yes. I think the better way to look at it is what we did on the top end. We beat the top end by 4, you lose a quarter in that, and then we raised the full year by the $0.04.

是的。我認為更好的看待它的方式是我們在高端所做的事情。我們以 4 的優勢擊敗了高端，你損失了四分之一，然後我們將全年提高了 0.04 美元。

And the next question comes from the line of Aneesha Sherman with Bernstein.

下一個問題來自阿尼莎謝爾曼和伯恩斯坦的對話。

So your guidance implies -- your 2-year stack comp for this quarter was minus 6%, and your guidance implies a deceleration of that stack to about minus 7% for Q2 and then a pickup in the back half to get kind of closer to 0 to your stack. Can you talk about how you're thinking about the progression through the year? And why are you more cautious about Q2 and then a little bit more optimistic for the back half of the year?

因此，您的指導意味著 - 本季度您的 2 年堆棧補償為 -6%，您的指導意味著第二季度該堆棧減速至約 -7%，然後在後半段有所回升，以接近0 到你的堆棧中。您能談談您對這一年的進展有何看法嗎？為什麼您對第二季度更加謹慎，而對下半年更加樂觀？

Sure, Aneesha. I think it's hard to look at these on a 2-year stack with all the fiscal stimulus and COVID. So we're really looking at it, pre-COVID, what's changed on a 4-year stack and how that's progressed over time. And we went into the year and had a plan in the first quarter. What we saw is that 4-year stack improved as we move through the quarter and weather improved and exited in a place that would support that stack guidance for the year.

當然，阿尼莎。我認為很難從兩年的財政刺激和新冠疫情的角度來看待這些情況。因此，我們確實在研究新冠疫情之前的四年堆棧發生了什麼變化以及隨著時間的推移如何進展。我們進入了這一年並在第一季度製定了計劃。我們看到的是，隨著本季度的進展，以及天氣的改善，4 年堆棧有所改善，並退出了支持今年堆棧指導的位置。

Okay. So just to clarify, you are embedding an improvement in the 4-year stack through the course of the year?

好的。澄清一下，您是否在這一年的過程中在 4 年堆棧中嵌入了改進？

Correct, yes.

正確，是的。

And the next question comes from the line of Krista Zuber with TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 Krista Zuber 和 TD Cowen 的對話。

It's Krista on for John. Just a quick question. On inventory, you've had several -- at least 2 quarters here of a fairly sizable declines. Just wondering how you're thinking about it through the balance of this year. And should we continue to expect declines on a quarterly basis through the end of the year? Or do you think at some point, you sort of pull in line with your sales growth expectations.

克里斯塔替約翰上場。只是一個簡單的問題。在庫存方面，至少有兩個季度出現了相當大的下降。只是想知道你在今年剩下的時間裡是如何看待這個問題的。我們是否應該繼續預期到年底每季度都會出現下降？或者您認為在某個時候，您的銷售增長預期符合您的預期。

Sure. It's -- if you look at the first quarter, for instance, we were down 16%, but we were up against elevated inventories last year when supply chain lead times eased, and we had a surplus of early receipts. So what you'd expect as we move through the year with the -- with that elevated inventory last year, it started to recede, in the third and fourth quarter and you get more comparable, but we should be lower given the excess inventory we had last year in the first half of the year.

當然。舉例來說，如果你看一下第一季度，我們下降了 16%，但去年供應鏈交付週期縮短後，我們的庫存增加了，而且我們的早期收貨出現了過剩。因此，當我們今年的庫存增加時，你會期望什麼——隨著去年庫存的增加，它開始消退，在第三和第四季度，你會變得更具可比性，但考慮到我們的庫存過剩，我們的價格應該更低。去年上半年就有過。

And at this time, I'm seeing no further questions. I'd like to pass it back over to Barbara Rentler for any closing comments.

目前，我沒有看到更多問題。我想將其轉回給芭芭拉·倫特勒（Barbara Rentler）以徵求結束意見。

Thanks for joining us today and for your interest in Ross Stores.

感謝您今天加入我們以及您對羅斯商店的興趣。

Thank you, everyone. This does conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a great day.

謝謝大家。今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。