羅斯百貨 (ROST) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Ross Stores third-quarter 2024 earnings release conference call. (Operator Instructions)

下午好，歡迎參加 Ross Stores 2024 年第三季財報發布電話會議。 （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.

在我們開始之前，我謹代表 Ross Stores 指出，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、新店開業以及其他基於公司當前對其未來業務各方面的預測的事項。

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 2023 Form 10-K and fiscal 2024 Form 10-Qs and 8-Ks on file with the SEC.

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績效或當前預期有重大差異。風險因素包含在今天的新聞稿以及公司向 SEC 備案的 2023 財年 10-K 表格以及 2024 財年 10-Q 和 8-K 表格中。

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

現在我想將電話轉給執行長芭芭拉·倫特勒 (Barbara Rentler)。

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

午安.今天參加我們電話會議的還有集團總裁兼營運長 Michael Hartshorn； Adam Orvos，執行副總裁兼財務長；以及投資者關係集團副總裁 Connie Kao。

Before we get started, on behalf of our Board and the entire company, we are excited to welcome Jim Conroy to Ross Stores as CEO-elect next month. Following a two-month transition, Jim will assume the CEO role on February 2, 2025. Jim is a talented and proven retail executive with a demonstrated track record of developing and leading successful management teams and creating tremendous value for shareholders.

在我們開始之前，我們代表我們的董事會和整個公司，很高興歡迎吉姆·康羅伊 (Jim Conroy) 下個月加入羅斯商店 (Ross Stores)，擔任當選首席執行官。經過兩個月的過渡後，Jim 將於2025 年2 月2 日擔任執行長一職。創造巨大價值方面有著良好的記錄。

As I previously announced, I will move into an advisory role at the beginning of fiscal 2025 and will support Jim and our other senior executives or merchandising-related strategies through March of 2027.

正如我之前宣布的，我將在 2025 財年年初擔任顧問角色，並將在 2027 年 3 月之前為吉姆和我們的其他高階主管或銷售相關策略提供支援。

Now let's turn to our earnings results. As noted in today's press release, we are disappointed with our third quarter sales results as business slowed from the solid gains we reported in the first half of 2024.

現在讓我們來看看我們的獲利結果。正如今天的新聞稿所述，我們對第三季的銷售業績感到失望，因為業務較 2024 年上半年報告的穩健成長放緩。

Although our low to moderate income customers continued to face persistently high cost on necessities, pressuring the discretionary spending, we believe we should have better executed some of our merchandising initiatives.

儘管我們的中低收入客戶繼續面臨持續高昂的必需品成本，給可自由支配的支出帶來壓力，但我們相信我們應該更好地執行一些銷售計劃。

In addition, we estimate a combination of severe weather during the quarter from Hurricane Helene and Milton along with unseasonably warm temperatures also negatively impacted comps by about 1%.

此外，我們估計本季颶風海倫和米爾頓的惡劣天氣以及異常溫暖的氣溫也對公司業績產生了約 1% 的負面影響。

Despite the below planned sales results, earnings were ahead of our expectations. Operating margin for the quarter was up 75 basis points to 11.9% versus 11.2% last year, as lower incentive freight and distribution costs more than offset the planned decline in merchandise margin.

儘管銷售業績低於計劃，但盈利超出了我們的預期。本季營業利潤率成長 75 個基點，達到 11.9%，而去年同期為 11.2%，因為較低的激勵貨運和分銷成本足以抵消商品利潤率的計劃下降。

Total sales for the period grew to $5.1 billion, up from $4.9 billion in the prior year with comparable store sales up 1%. Earnings per share for the 13 weeks ended November 2, 2024, were $1.48, compared to earnings per share of $1.33 last year. Net income for the period rose to $489 million versus $447 million in the prior year period.

這段期間的總銷售額從去年的 49 億美元增至 51 億美元，同店銷售額成長 1%。截至 2024 年 11 月 2 日的 13 週每股收益為 1.48 美元，而去年每股收益為 1.33 美元。該期間淨利潤增至 4.89 億美元，去年同期為 4.47 億美元。

For the first nine months, earnings per share were $4.53 on net earnings of $1.5 billion compared to $3.74 per share on net income of $1.3 billion for the same period last year. Sales for the year-to-date period grew to $15.2 billion with comparable store sales up 3% over last year. For the third quarter of Ross, cosmetics, accessories and children were the strongest merchandise areas, while California and Texas were the best-performing readings.

前 9 個月，每股收益為 4.53 美元，淨利潤為 15 億美元，而去年同期每股收益為 3.74 美元，淨利潤為 13 億美元。今年迄今銷售額成長至 152 億美元，同店銷售額比去年成長 3%。在羅斯第三季度，化妝品、配件和兒童是表現最強勁的商品領域，而加州和德州是表現最好的商品領域。

Similar to the second quarter, dd's DISCOUNTS strong value of fashion offerings continue to resonate with its shoppers with comp gains exceeding Ross' results. At quarter end, total consolidated inventories were up 9% versus last year, while average store inventories were up 1%.

與第二季類似，dd 時尚產品折扣的強勁價值繼續引起消費者的共鳴，其綜合收益超過了 Ross 的業績。截至季末，綜合庫存總額比去年同期增加 9%，而平均商店庫存增加 1%。

Packaway merchandise represented 38% of total inventories compared to 39% last year. During the third quarter, we also completed our expansion program for 2024 with the addition of 43 new Ross and four dd DISCOUNT stores.

包裝商品佔總庫存的 38%，而去年為 39%。第三季度，我們也完成了 2024 年的擴張計劃，新增了 43 家 Ross 商店和 4 家 dd DISCOUNT 商店。

For the year, we added a total of 89 locations comprised of 75 Ross and 14 dd. We plan to close and/or relocate seven locations in the fourth quarter and expect to end the year with 1,831 Ross stores and 354 dd DISCOUNT locations.

今年，我們總共增加了 89 個地點，其中包括 75 個 Ross 地點和 14 個 dd 地點。我們計劃在第四季度關閉和/或搬遷 7 家店，預計到年底將擁有 1,831 家 Ross 門市和 354 家 dd DISCOUNT 門市。

Now Adam will provide further details on our third-quarter results and fourth-quarter guidance.

現在，亞當將提供有關我們第三季度業績和第四季度指導的更多詳細資訊。

Thank you, Barbara. As previously stated, comparable store sales rose 1% in the quarter. Operating margin increased 75 basis points to 11.9%. Cost of goods sold improved by 70 basis points in the quarter. buying levered by 65 basis points, mainly due to lower incentives while distribution and domestic freight costs declined by 50 and 40 basis points, respectively.

謝謝你，芭芭拉。如前所述，本季可比商店銷售額成長了 1%。營業利益率成長 75 個基點，達到 11.9%。本季銷售成本改善了 70 個基點。購買槓桿增加了 65 個基點，主要是由於激勵措施降低，而分銷和國內貨運成本分別下降了 50 和 40 個基點。

Occupancy rose by 25 basis points, while merchandise margin decreased by 60 basis points. SG&A costs for the period improved by 5 basis points primarily due to lower incentive costs. During the third quarter, we repurchased 1.8 million shares of common stock for an aggregate cost of $262 million. We remain on track to buy back a total of $1.05 billion in stock for the year. Now let's discuss our fourth quarter guidance.

入住率上升 25 個基點，而商品利潤率下降 60 個基點。該期間的 SG&A 成本改善了 5 個基點，主要是由於激勵成本降低。第三季度，我們回購了 180 萬股普通股，總成本為 2.62 億美元。我們仍有望在今年回購總計 10.5 億美元的股票。現在讓我們討論第四季的指導。

For the 13 weeks ending February 1, 2025, we continue to project comparable store sales to increase 2% to 3%. Earnings per share for the fourth quarter are planned to be in the range of $1.57 to $1.64 compared to $1.82 in the fourth quarter of 2023. This guidance range includes an unfavorable impact of approximately $0.03 per share primarily from the timing of Packaway-related expenses that benefited the third quarter.

在截至 2025 年 2 月 1 日的 13 週內，我們繼續預期可比商店銷售額將成長 2% 至 3%。第四季每股收益計畫在 1.57 至 1.64 美元之間，而 2023 年第四季為 1.82 美元。 該指引包括每股約 0.03 美元的不利影響，主要來自 Packaway 相關費用的時間安排，第三季受益。

Based on our year-to-date results and our fourth quarter forecast, earnings per share for the 52 weeks ending February 1, 2025, are now expected to be in the range of $6.10 to $6.17 versus $5.56 last year. As a reminder, last year's fourth quarter and full year results included an extra week that benefited earnings by approximately $0.20.

根據我們今年迄今的業績和第四季度的預測，截至 2025 年 2 月 1 日的 52 週的每股收益目前預計在 6.10 美元至 6.17 美元之間，而去年為 5.56 美元。提醒一下，去年第四季和全年業績包括額外一周的收益，收益約為 0.20 美元。

The operating statement assumptions that support our fourth quarter guidance include the following: Total sales are projected to decline 1% to 3%. As a reminder, last year's extra week contributed $308 million to sales. We expect operating margin to be in the range of 11.2% to 11.5% versus 12.4% last year.

支持我們第四季指引的營運報表假設包括以下內容： 總銷售額預計將下降 1% 至 3%。提醒一下，去年額外增加的一周為銷售額貢獻了 3.08 億美元。我們預計營業利潤率將在 11.2% 至 11.5% 之間，而去年為 12.4%。

Last year's fourth quarter included an 80 basis point benefit from the extra week. This outlook reflects lower merchandise margin as we continue to increase the penetration of quality branded merchandise, partially offset by lower incentive and freight expenses.

去年第四季度，額外一週帶來了 80 個基點的收益。這一前景反映出商品利潤率下降，因為我們繼續提高優質品牌商品的滲透率，但部分被較低的激勵和運費支出所抵消。

Net interest income is estimated to be about $35 million. Our tax rate is expected to be approximately 24%. And weighted average diluted shares outstanding are projected to be about $329 million.

淨利息收入預計約3500萬美元。我們的稅率預計約為 24%。加權平均稀釋後流通股預計約 3.29 億美元。

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

現在我將把電話轉回芭芭拉以徵求結束意見。

Thank you, Adam. To sum up, we believe we have opportunities to improve our merchandise execution and remain confident that our ongoing focus and commitment to delivering the most compelling value as possible, will best position our company for profitable growth over the near and long term.

謝謝你，亞當。總而言之，我們相信我們有機會改善我們的商品執行，並堅信我們持續關注和致力於提供盡可能最具吸引力的價值，將使我們的公司在短期和長期內實現盈利增長。

At this point, we'd like to open up the call and respond to any questions you might 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) Matthew Boss, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示）Matthew Boss，摩根大通。

Great. Thanks. So Barbara, could you elaborate maybe on the opportunities to improve merchandising execution that you cited any assortment changes for holiday or just your confidence in 2 to 3 comps for the fourth quarter?

偉大的。謝謝。那麼芭芭拉，您能否詳細說明一下改善商品執行的機會，您提到了假期的任何品種變化，或者只是您對第四季度 2 到 3 個比較的信心？

And then, Adam, as we think about gross margin, maybe just gross margin relative to plan, especially on the merchandise margin side in the third quarter? And any differences in drivers as we think about fourth quarter puts and takes relative to the third?

然後，亞當，當我們考慮毛利率時，也許只是相對於計劃的毛利率，特別是第三季的商品利潤率？當我們考慮第四季的投入和產出相對於第三季時，驅動因素有何差異？

Sure, Matt. So first, opportunities to changes in the assortment. I think we had some execution issues in a couple of businesses that we've identified and that we think we can correct, didn't probably move as quickly as we should have in some things where there were some, I would say, shift in the world from a product perspective.

當然，馬特。首先，品種變化的機會。我認為我們在一些我們已經發現的業務中存在一些執行問題，我們認為我們可以糾正這些問題，但在某些事情上可能沒有像我們應該採取的那樣快地採取行動，我想說的是，有些事情發生了轉變從產品的角度看世界。

So I feel like that's an opportunity, and we missed some volume there. And also as we continue to iterate on our brand strategy and keep improving the brand strategy listening to the customer and making those changes.

所以我覺得這是一個機會，但我們錯過了一些交易量。此外，我們將繼續迭代我們的品牌策略並不斷改進品牌策略，傾聽客戶的意見並做出這些改變。

So that continues. In terms of the fourth quarter and the acceleration and guiding to 2% to 3%, as you get into the fourth quarter, many of the businesses that are really important during the holiday season, and I know you know this, whether it's gifting or cosmetics, those businesses, accessories have been strengths for us.

就這樣繼續下去。就第四季度而言，加速並引導至 2% 至 3%，當你進入第四季度時，許多在假期期間非常重要的業務，我知道你知道這一點，無論是送禮還是化妝品、那些業務、配件一直是我們的優勢。

So as we go into that period, we're going to some of our strongest businesses and also gifting last year in a lot of our home world was very good, and we're building on that. So I feel like those businesses should do well during the period. They're doing well now.

因此，當我們進入這個時期時，我們將開展一些最強大的業務，去年在我們家鄉的許多地方的捐贈都非常好，我們正在以此為基礎。所以我覺得這些業務在這段期間應該表現良好。他們現在過得很好。

And that gives us the confidence on the 2% to 3%. And again, we'll continue to iterate on our other strategies in the remainder of the box, where we had some execution issues, we are in the process of fixing them. And obviously, we had some weather issues in Q3 that -- who knows what will happen from a weather perspective across the country for any of us, but we also had some of that.

這讓我們對 2% 到 3% 充滿信心。再次，我們將繼續在盒子的其餘部分中迭代我們的其他策略，其中我們遇到了一些執行問題，我們正在修復它們。顯然，我們在第三季度遇到了一些天氣問題——誰知道從全國各地的天氣角度來看我們中的任何人會發生什麼，但我們也遇到了一些問題。

And Matt, on your question on Q3 and Q4, I'd probably start with merchandise margin. And I mentioned it declined by 60 basis points in Q3. Now that result benefited from better-than-expected drink results as we completed our physical inventory process and trued up our results in Q3.

馬特，關於你關於第三季和第四季的問題，我可能會從商品利潤開始。我提到第三季下降了 60 個基點。現在，這一結果得益於好於預期的飲料業績，因為我們完成了實體庫存流程並調整了第三季的業績。

And then looking forward to Q4, probably an uptick in pressure for merchandise margin as we continue to push off for more brands that are sharply priced to deliver the strong value proposition that we want for our customers in the holiday season. Domestic freight, we mentioned was 40 basis points.

然後展望第四季度，商品利潤率的壓力可能會上升，因為我們繼續推出更多昂貴的品牌，以在假期季節為客戶提供我們想要的強大價值主張。國內運費，我們提到的是40個基點。

It was worth 40 basis points in Q3. I would expect that to be pretty consistent in Q4. I'll always caveat it with fuel costs, but assuming they stay where they are would expect that to be comparable. Distribution costs, again, were another source of strength for us. We mentioned the Packaway shift that we have to take into account.

第三季價值 40 個基點。我預計第四季的情況會非常一致。我總是會警告燃料成本，但假設它們保持在原位，預計燃料成本是可比的。分銷成本再次成為我們的另一個力量來源。我們提到了必須考慮的 Packaway 轉變。

So that will -- that was worth $0.03. That will put pressure on us in Q4. Incentives both -- on both sides will continue to be favorable. We would expect in fourth quarter as we're again up against 2023, where we are outperforming in a significant way. And then lastly, obviously, we have the 53rd week impact that we talked about.

那麼這將價值 0.03 美元。這將給我們第四季帶來壓力。雙方的激勵措施將繼續有利。我們預計第四季將再次迎來 2023 年，屆時我們的表現將大幅優於其他公司。最後，顯然，我們談到了第 53 週的影響。

Great color. Best of luck.

顏色很棒。祝你好運。

Mark Altschwager, Baird.

馬克·阿爾茨瓦格，貝爾德。

Thank you for taking my question. Barbara, you're going to be passing the reins here in a few months but remaining in an advisory role. Maybe speak a little bit more to your areas of focus as you transition your responsibilities. Relatedly, merchant team still seems to be in the early innings of this value strategy or brand strategy iterating there. I guess, any changes to expect there, or could anything change there with the new leadership?

謝謝你回答我的問題。芭芭拉，幾個月後你將移交這裡的權力，但仍擔任顧問角色。當你轉移職責時，也許可以多談談你的重點領域。與此相關的是，商家團隊似乎仍處於這種價值策略或品牌策略迭代的早期階段。我想，預計會有什麼變化，或是新領導層會發生什麼變化嗎？

Okay. My areas of focus, obviously, will be to spend time with Jim and help him on board and to spend my time on merchandising. It will be an advisory role heavily focused on merchandising. I don't foresee any changes to our strategy because our brand strategy is really the key to our market share gains. I don't foresee that.

好的。顯然，我的重點領域是花時間與吉姆在一起並幫助他加入，並將我的時間花在推銷上。這將是一個主要專注於銷售的諮詢角色。我預期我們的策略不會發生任何變化，因為我們的品牌策略確實是我們增加市場佔有率的關鍵。我沒有預見到這一點。

And -- but it will continue to iterate, and that's really where I will spend my time. Obviously, Jim is a very seasoned CEO. And he complements the strengths that we have in merchandising and our operational team. So I feel like Jim is a great add. And the team -- it will be a good combination together.

而且──但它會繼續迭代，這才是我真正要花時間的地方。顯然，吉姆是一位經驗豐富的執行長。他補充了我們在銷售和營運團隊方面的優勢。所以我覺得吉姆是一個很棒的補充。還有團隊——這將是一個很好的組合。

And my role will be to make sure that merchandising continues going forward and that Jim gets transitioned appropriately.

我的職責是確保銷售工作繼續前進，並確保吉姆得到適當的過渡。

Thank you. Best of luck over the holiday.

謝謝。祝你假期好運。

Paul Lejuez, Citigroup.

保羅‧勒胡埃斯，花旗集團。

Thanks, guys. A couple of quick ones. Treating with the execution issues related at all to the strategy of moving more towards recognizable brands, and how quick you can fix those issues. And Adam, any quantification of that shrink benefit, how much it helped the merch margin line? And then also curious if you could talk about the performance of some of your initial store openings in the Northeast. Thanks.

謝謝，夥計們。幾個快速的。處理與更多地轉向知名品牌的策略相關的執行問題，以及解決這些問題的速度。亞當，對這種縮減收益的量化，它對商品利潤線有多大幫助？我也想知道您是否可以談談您在東北部最初開設的一些商店的業績。謝謝。

Okay. The execution issues are potentially merchandise, I would say merchandise mix issue is not so much on the brand thing. However, the brand strategy, we keep iterating on that and keep listening to the customer because we keep making changes as we go.

好的。執行問題可能是商品問題，我想說商品組合問題與品牌問題無關。然而，在品牌策略上，我們不斷迭代並不斷傾聽客戶的意見，因為我們不斷做出改變。

So obviously, as we started this in the beginning, I said each business is at different points at the starting point to where we are now. And so we keep responding to what the customer is telling us. So I would say that across the board will continue to do. And just something for just execution issues, which we can fix.

顯然，當我們一開始就開始做這件事時，我說過每項業務​​都處於不同的起點和現在的位置。因此，我們不斷回應客戶告訴我們的訊息。所以我想說，全面的行動將繼續下去。只是針對執行問題，我們可以解決這些問題。

Paul, it's Michael Hartshorn. On the shrink, we don't break out shrink separately. What I would say is we -- and you know this covering us from over the years as we completed our fiscal inventory in the third quarter. We had assumed that shrink was going to be worse for a couple of reasons. One, just the external landscape, but also the increased number of brands in the store.

保羅，我是麥可‧哈茨霍恩。關於收縮，我們不會單獨分解收縮。我想說的是，你知道，這涵蓋了我們多年來的情況，因為我們在第三季完成了財政庫存。由於幾個原因，我們認為收縮會變得更糟。一、不只是外部景觀，還有店內品牌數量的增加。

So what that meant is we accrued more going up to physical inventory. And so we took a benefit, a larger benefit in Q3 that helped EBIT margin not only versus what we guided but versus last year. For the year, though, shrink looks like it's going to be about flat to 2023, again, with the upside in the third quarter. Your last question, Paul, was on the Northeast. It's too early to comment on the overall store productivity, but we are pleased with what we've seen thus far.

所以這意味著我們累積了更多的實體庫存。因此，我們在第三季度獲得了更大的收益，不僅與我們的指導相比，而且與去年相比，息稅前利潤率都有所提高。不過，就今年而言，到 2023 年，收縮率似乎仍將持平，第三季將出現上升。保羅，你的最後一個問題是關於東北部的。現在評論商店的整體生產力還為時過早，但我們對迄今為止所看到的情況感到滿意。

Thanks, guys. Good luck.

謝謝，夥計們。祝你好運。

Lorraine Hutchinson, Bank of America.

洛琳‧哈欽森，美國銀行。

Thank you. Good afternoon. As the branded strategy continues to evolve, do you view this as a multiyear merchandise margin headwind? And are there other offsets that you're working on to ease some of this pressure in 2025 and beyond?

謝謝。午安.隨著品牌策略的不斷發展，您是否認為這是多年商品利潤率的逆風？您是否正在採取其他措施來緩解 2025 年及以後的部分壓力？

Lorraine, our expectation is over time that as we build our brand relationships and as we learn what works best with our customer that over time, it would be earnings accretion. And we'd expect slight improvements of margins over time.

Lorraine，我們的期望是，隨著時間的推移，隨著我們建立品牌關係，當我們了解最適合我們的客戶時，隨著時間的推移，這將是收入的增長。我們預計隨著時間的推移，利潤率會略有改善。

Chuck Grom, Gordon Haskett.

查克·格羅姆，戈登·哈斯克特。

Thanks. Good afternoon and congrats on your upcoming time, Barbara. Can you talk about the cadence of sales throughout the quarter? And then also the composition of the comp between traffic and ticket? And then if you could double click on ticket between UBT and AUR. Thank you.

謝謝。下午好，祝賀你即將到來的時間，芭芭拉。您能談談整個季度的銷售節奏嗎？那麼流量和門票的組成又是怎麼樣的呢？然後您是否可以雙擊 UBT 和 AUR 之間的票證。謝謝。

Sure. On the cadence during the quarter, comps were strongest early in the quarter as the weather became more difficult gradually as we move through the quarter. We did see improvements in sell-throughs in markets when the weather became more seasonal. As we said in the commentary, the comps were driven by traffic. The other components of comp were relatively neutral.

當然。就本季的節奏而言，隨著本季天氣逐漸變得更加困難，競爭在本季初期最為強勁。當天氣變得更加季節性時，我們確實看到市場銷售有所改善。正如我們在評論中所說，比賽是由流量驅動的。比較的其他組成部分相對中性。

Siegel, BMO Capital Markets.

西格爾，BMO 資本市場。

Thanks. Hi, everyone. Good afternoon. Can you dig in a little bit more to the brand strategy pivot, I guess, just first, maybe to contextualize how meaningful is the shift within the mix? Maybe how's the early reception. Just curious if you're seeing learnings from our feedback from vendors or consumers.

謝謝。大家好。午安.我想，您能否進一步深入了解品牌策略支點，首先，或許可以了解組合中的轉變有多麼有意義？也許早期的接待情況如何。只是好奇您是否從供應商或消費者的反饋中看到了教訓。

And then maybe just following up on the Lorraine, just recognizing the merch margin pressure now, I'm just wondering ultimately with better brands. Do you think you get to raise price there to fix that margin pressure is still on this take before maybe the customers can accept those higher price points at the stronger value? Thank you.

然後也許只是跟進洛林，現在才認識到商品利潤壓力，我只是想知道最終會有更好的品牌。您是否認為您可以提高價格來解決仍然存在的利潤壓力，然後客戶才能以更高的價值接受更高的價格點？謝謝。

Okay. On the early customer acceptance, I'll say, of our branches, in many of these businesses, these are not major branches, right? And so emphasize that the brand shift is good, better, best, all values and pricings moderate and above.

好的。關於早期客戶的接受度，我想說，我們的分支機構，在許多這樣的業務中，這些都不是主要的分支機構，對嗎？因此強調品牌轉變是好的、更好的、最好的、所有價值和定價適中及以上。

And so in some businesses, the brand shifts aren’t that great because they were already at the, I would say, appropriate level that the customer is responding to and really like, and so we didn't do it. In other areas, we felt like we needed to make bolder moves and ladies, we felt like we needed to make bolder moves that we have.

因此，在某些企業中，品牌轉變並不是那麼好，因為我想說，它們已經達到了客戶回應和真正喜歡的適當水平，所以我們沒有這樣做。在其他領域，我們覺得我們需要採取更大膽的行動，女士們，我們覺得我們需要採取我們現有的更大膽的行動。

And so we -- again, we're at different journeys and different acceptance levels by the customer based on what the product is and the area that it is. So it's not just a straight line that I could say, hey, this is where we are completely on the journey. Some places, we feel that we're there. And in other places, we feel like we have a long road to go and not a long road. That's probably better. We have a ways to go in figuring out exactly what it is she wants.

因此，我們再次強調，根據產品的內容和領域，我們處於不同的旅程，客戶的接受程度也不同。所以我可以說，這不僅僅是一條直線，嘿，這就是我們完全踏上旅程的地方。有些地方，我們感覺自己在那裡。而在其他地方，我們感覺我們還有很長的路要走，又感覺路不長。那可能更好。我們有很多方法可以弄清楚她到底想要什麼。

And that really tends to be more in our ladies business. And as you know, ladies is a tougher business. And so we're learning. Merchants are shifting as the customer is voting, and we want to get that right mix of the right brands that you like and a mix of good, better, best at the level that she enjoys, and we want to just make sure that the entire thing that we're giving compelling values there, particularly in ladies as ladies is a hub business always compared to other parts of apparel.

這在我們的女士業務中確實更常見。如你所知，女士是一項更艱難的行業。所以我們正在學習。隨著顧客投票，商家也在發生變化，我們希望獲得您喜歡的正確品牌的正確組合，以及她喜歡的水平的好、更好、最好的組合，我們只想確保整個我們在那裡賦予了令人們信服的價值，特別是在女士方面，因為與服裝的其他部分相比，女士始終是一個中心業務。

And so would you expect AUR to naturally progress higher through this, or is it not that meaningful?

那麼你會期望 AUR 透過這個自然而然地進步，還是沒有那麼有意義？

No, not necessarily. It's not an AUR strategy. It's really a brand and value strategy. So we're not going in and saying, we want to raise our AUR by X. We're putting out different brands at different levels in a good, better, best.

不，不一定。這不是 AUR 策略。這實際上是一種品牌和價值策略。因此，我們不會說，我們希望將我們的 AUR 提高 X。

And then -- and it's seeking its own level with customers. We can see what they like more than others and making adjustments as we go because some businesses didn't have to make as bigger move perhaps as the lady business had to make, but it's not an AR strategy. It's a value strategy at old brand here so that we're addressing all the customer base, right?

然後——它正在尋求自己與客戶的關係。我們可以看到他們比其他人更喜歡什麼，並隨時進行調整，因為有些企業不必像女性企業那樣採取更大的舉措，但這不是 AR 策略。這是老品牌的價值策略，這樣我們就能滿足所有客戶群的需求，對吧？

So we have customers who like every price point, and we want to make sure that we fine-tune that so that we can consider that we can still give that treasure hunt experience to all customers in the store. So it's a learning and adjustment as we go.

因此，我們有喜歡每個價位的顧客，我們希望確保對其進行微調，以便我們可以認為我們仍然可以為商店中的所有顧客提供尋寶體驗。所以這是我們不斷學習和調整的過程。

And we think that ladies will continue to improve as time goes on and some other businesses are, again, summer tweaks and some are bigger moves and the merchant team is very, very on this, and we are very focused on value because delivering compelling value is really the single most important thing we need to do for our future and for market share gains.

我們認為，隨著時間的推移，女士們將繼續進步，其他一些業務再次在夏季進行調整，有些是更大的舉措，商家團隊非常非常重視這一點，我們非常關注價值，因為提供引人注目的價值這確實是我們為了未來和增加市場佔有率所需做的最重要的事情。

Great. Thanks very much. Good luck.

偉大的。非常感謝。祝你好運。

Adrienne Yih, Barclays.

艾德麗安‧易 (Adrienne Yih)，巴克萊銀行。

Good afternoon. Barbara, congratulations on your retirement, your upcoming retirement as well. So just to like -- sorry, another question on this. Have you given any color on what the brand penetration or the tweaking that you've done, like how much tweaking? Is it mid-single-digit percent of the assortment. And I know it's going to be very, very hard to do that on a global basis.

午安.芭芭拉，恭喜你退休，也恭喜你即將退休。所以只是想——抱歉，還有一個問題。您是否對品牌滲透率或所做的調整進行了說明，例如調整了多少？它是品種中個位數的百分比嗎？我知道在全球範圍內做到這一點將非常非常困難。

But any color there on the amount more in brands? And then, Michael, or Adam, perhaps if you can help give us some color on the differential. And I guess it will be different per brand, what the differential to the current merch margin is relative to what a brand might be like the increased brand penetration. And I guess my final just like wrap up on that. Back when you were doing 14%, 15% operating margins, the gross margin was 100 change, higher 29%.

但品牌中的數量是否有較多的顏色？然後，邁克爾或亞當，也許你可以幫助我們提供一些有關差異的資訊。我想每個品牌都會有所不同，目前商品利潤率的差異是相對於品牌滲透率增加的情況而言的。我想我的期末考就這樣結束了。當你的營業利益率為 14%、15% 時，毛利率為 100 倍，提高了 29%。

So if we do have merch margin pressure, is the offset to come from leverage from just gaining higher than your historical 1 to 2 comp? Is that the -- how we should think about it? Thank you.

因此，如果我們確實存在商品利潤率壓力，那麼槓桿作用是否會因僅獲得高於歷史 1 比 2 比較的收益而產生抵消？這是我們該如何思考的嗎？謝謝。

I'll start with your last question first, it's Michael. How we see our operating margins going forward. Obviously, we have a model over time driven partly by new store growth, comp growth, which has historically been in the 3% to 4% range and some operating margin improvement in the middle and in our share buyback.

我先從你的最後一個問題開始，我是麥可。我們如何看待未來的營業利益率。顯然，隨著時間的推移，我們有一個模型，部分是由新店成長、競爭對手成長（歷史上一直在3% 到4% 的範圍內）以及中間和股票回購中的一些營業利潤率改善所驅動。

We have initiatives throughout the company, whether it's technology investments, whether it's cost control to be able to offset any impact to merchant margins. As I said, though, earlier, over the longer term, we believe that we can grow merchant margins from this base based on our vendor relationships as this gains traction and also as we learn more about what the customer wants.

我們在整個公司都採取了舉措，無論是技術投資，還是成本控制，以抵消對商家利潤的影響。不過，正如我之前所說，從長遠來看，我們相信，隨著供應商關係的發展，以及我們更了解客戶的需求，我們可以在此基礎上增加商家的利潤。

And in terms of the penetration, I mean that's -- it's hard to do you right. You can't do it at a global level. It's different by business. And so it's hard to do that. I think that the thing -- as we started this whole brand thing and as I sit back, and we've been talking about -- we talked about brands, we always had brands in the store.

就滲透力而言，我的意思是——很難做到正確。你無法在全球範圍內做到這一點。因業務而異。所以很難做到這一點。我認為這件事——當我們開始整個品牌的事情時，當我坐下來，我們一直在談論——我們談論品牌時，我們商店裡總是有品牌。

I mean our business model is to have brands. What we realized is that in some getting surveys and feedback and everything in some areas, we needed more. What more is, it's something that I can't pick a number and say, hey, this is what we're going to march to because the customer has to decide what that is. I think the most important thing for us to recognize and for everyone to recognize is that we're responding to what she is saying, right? And so -- and then making changes to it.

我的意思是我們的商業模式是擁有品牌。我們意識到，在某些領域的調查和回饋以及一切方面，我們需要更多。更重要的是，我不能選擇一個數字並說，嘿，這就是我們要邁向的目標，因為客戶必須決定那是什麼。我認為最重要的是我們要認識到，每個人都認識到我們正在對她所說的話做出回應，對吧？所以——然後對其進行更改。

It's hard to just pick a -- it can't pick percent. In some areas, if we were talking about an area like shoes, we would have said we were highly branded. We are highly branded. We were highly branded, there weren't so many changes. So it's just -- it depends what it is.

很難只選擇一個——它不能選擇百分比。在某些領域，如果我們談論像鞋子這樣的領域，我們會說我們是高度品牌化的。我們是高度品牌化的。我們的品牌知名度很高，沒有太多改變。所以這只是——這取決於它是什麼。

I can't give you 1 number. And the other thing, it will seek its own level, and we'll know when we've got to like in some businesses where we feel like we are where we want to be in some of those well now, although by deterrence, we'll know by the merch count or know by how quickly the merchandise is moving through the store.

我不能給你1個號碼。另一方面，它會尋求自己的水平，我們會知道什麼時候我們必須喜歡某些業務，我們覺得我們現在在其中一些業務中處於我們想要的位置，儘管通過威懾，我們通過商品數量或商品在商店中移動的速度即可了解。

And I think that's really the way to go, which is why it's hard to just quantify here's where we're going is the biggest mistake we can make us picking a number and just really forging forward to a very large number that maybe is incorrect.

我認為這確實是要走的路，這就是為什麼很難量化我們要去的地方，這是我們可能犯的最大錯誤，我們選擇一個數字，然後真的向前邁進一個可能不正確的非常大的數字。

So we started out with a number to begin, and we keep iterating again on what she's what she's telling us. And that can be different by products, and it can be different by where I am in some of our businesses for classifications.

所以我們從一個數字開始，然後我們不斷重複她告訴我們的內容。這可能因產品而異，也可能因我在某些業務中的分類而有所不同。

Brooke Roach, Goldman Sachs.

布魯克·羅奇，高盛。

Good afternoon. Thank you for taking our question. Barbara, can you comment on what you're seeing in the macro backdrop for the Ross Stores consumer outside of the weather events that we saw this quarter, have you seen any change in the way that the consumer is engaging with the brand? And then as a follow-up, it sounds like dd is still outperforming the Rough stores banner. What insights are you gleaning from that regarding your low-income consumer, or is that an execution differential? Thank you.

午安.感謝您提出我們的問題。芭芭拉（Barbara），除了我們本季看到的天氣事件之外，您能否評論一下羅斯商店消費者在宏觀背景下看到的情況？任何變化？然後作為後續行動，聽起來 dd 的表現仍然優於 Rough 商店旗幟。您從中收集到了哪些關於低收入消費者的見解，或者這是執行差異？謝謝。

It's Michael Hartshorn. I'll start with the dds. First, it potentially is the dd's Group and merchants have done a very nice job, and we're happy with the adjustments we've been able to make in the dd's chain. They've been able to improve our value and fashion offerings and it's resonated very well with the customer and dd's outcome across for the quarter. One other bright spot for dd's is the newer markets where we slowed growth have improved.

我是麥可·哈特肖恩。我將從 dds 開始。首先，可能是 dd 集團和商家做得非常好，我們對 dd 連鎖店所做的調整感到滿意。他們已經能夠提高我們的價值和時尚產品，這與客戶和 dd 在本季度的成果產生了很好的共鳴。 DD 的另一個亮點是我們放緩成長的新市場已經有所改善。

But we need to see, given that their sales volume started at levels below our expectations, we'll need to see sustained growth there before we ramp up new store growth in some of those newer markets.

但我們需要看到，鑑於他們的銷量開始時低於我們的預期，我們需要看到那裡的持續成長，然後才能在一些較新的市場上增加新店的成長。

And Brooke, give me more favor around what you want as you're saying the customer engaging with the brand. You're just saying that --

布魯克，請給我更多關於你想要的東西的支持，因為你說的是客戶與品牌的互動。你只是說——

Is there any change in the macro or consumer engagement with your business as we've moved through the early holiday season outside of the weather events?

隨著我們度過了天氣事件之外的早期假期，宏觀或消費者對您業務的參與度是否有任何變化？

You mean just as the customer -- now that weather is gone, is the business improving? And is the customer shopping again?

你的意思是，就像客戶一樣──現在天氣已經過去了，生意有改善嗎？顧客又來購物了嗎？

Yes.

是的。

I think when -- I think if we went through the third quarter, I think it starts -- the third quarter started off strong and weather came. And then obviously, as Michael said before, as the weather changed by region, we watch the consumer come back. So part of it is weather. And then there's a lot of shifts going on as holidays coming earlier this year. So I think part of it is just that.

我認為當——我想如果我們經歷了第三季度，我認為它開始了——第三季度開始強勁，天氣也來了。顯然，正如邁克爾之前所說，隨著地區天氣的變化，我們看到消費者回來了。所以部分原因是天氣。隨著今年假期的提前到來，將會有許多變化。所以我認為部分原因就是這樣。

And I think an earlier Christmas, I think might change a little bit of the dynamic to how the customer is going to shop. It's been a long time since we had Christmas week 4. So -- but yes, coming out of the weather, the customer did come back.

我認為提前聖誕節可能會改變顧客購物方式的一些動態。距離聖誕節第四週已經過去很久了。

Brooke, from just a customer basis on whether income basis or age basis, we have not -- we did not in Q3. We haven't seen over time a significant shift on that basis either.

布魯克，僅從客戶基礎來看，無論是收入基礎還是年齡基礎，我們都沒有——我們在第三季沒有。隨著時間的推移，我們也沒有看到在此基礎上發生重大轉變。

Alex Straton, Morgan Stanley.

亞歷克斯‧斯特拉頓，摩根士丹利。

Perfect. Thanks so much. I just wanted to focus on the fourth quarter guidance. Is it correct that the outlook hasn't changed much from last time we spoke, except for the Packaway shift, or have some pieces within their move? And then just on the comp acceleration that you're still embedding, should I just assume that that's reflective of what you're seeing quarter-to-date, or what gives you the confidence there?

完美的。非常感謝。我只想關注第四季的指導。與我們上次談話相比，除了 Packaway 的轉變之外，前景沒有太大變化，或者在他們的行動中有一些部分，這是正確的嗎？然後，就您仍在嵌入的比較加速而言，我是否應該假設這反映了您本季至今所看到的情況，或者是什麼給了您信心？

On the guidance, it hasn't changed. The only thing that's changed is pack away. On the guidance itself, first, the unfavorable weather had a negative impact on the third quarter that we're not expecting in the fourth quarter. We'll see how it plays out.

在指導上，它沒有改變。唯一改變的是收拾行李。就指引本身而言，首先，不利的天氣對第三季產生了負面影響，而我們預計第四季不會產生負面影響。我們將看看結果如何。

As Barbara mentioned earlier, as we move into the fourth quarter, many of our merchandise areas that have been performing well are important fourth quarter and holiday businesses.

正如芭芭拉之前提到的，隨著我們進入第四季度，我們許多表現良好的商品領域都是第四季度和假日業務的重要業務。

And then finally, the guides base. We feel good about our assortments. We have planned for the holiday, especially in gift giving.

最後是導遊基地。我們對我們的品種感覺良好。我們已經為假期做好了計劃，特別是在送禮方面。

Michael Binetti, Evercore.

邁克爾·比內蒂，Evercore。

Hey, guys. Congrats on the quarter. This is a really big margin beat for 1 comp guidance. Is there any near-term change in the leverage point we should think about? Or could you help us contextualize what you think this -- in this quarter would not repeat in the theoretical, if we saw 1 comp again. And then on the branded goods strategy, maybe you could just help us understand if the underlying merch margin decelerate or accelerate versus 2Q?

嘿，夥計們。恭喜本季。對於 1 家公司的指導來說，這是一個非常大的利潤率。我們應該考慮的槓桿點近期是否有變動？或者您能否幫助我們將您的想法具體化——如果我們再次看到 1 個比較，本季理論上不會重複。然後，在品牌商品策略方面，也許您可以幫助我們了解潛在的商品利潤率與第二季度相比是減速還是加速？

If we exclude the shrink true-up, are we past the peak of the branded goods pressure, or what -- maybe what would cause it to accelerate or continue to moderate?

如果我們排除收縮調整，我們是否已經過了品牌商品壓力的峰值，或者什麼——也許什麼會導致它加速或繼續放緩？

Yeah. Michael, on the first piece, so our EPS beat, we talked about merchandising -- merchandise coming in better than expected related to shrink. I would say also felt good about just our overall cost management within the quarter. So multiple parts of the P&L benefiting. Now does that change our leverage point? No, we still think 3 to 4 percent comp growth is the right place for us to leverage.

是的。邁克爾，在第一篇文章中，我們的每股盈餘超出了預期，我們討論了商品推銷——與收縮相關的商品進貨好於預期。我想說的是，我們對本季的整體成本管理也感覺良好。因此損益表的多個部分都受益。現在這會改變我們的槓桿點嗎？不，我們仍然認為 3% 到 4% 的複合成長率是我們利用槓桿的正確位置。

The shrink is obviously a onetime piece, right, because we true up in third quarter as we always do. And then of course, the Packaway is onetime in nature. So I think the only other moving part that we haven't talked about, EPS benefited by higher interest income. That -- embedded in our guidance is some pressure assuming further rate cuts the balance of the year.

收縮顯然是一次性的，對吧，因為我們像往常一樣在第三季實現了目標。當然，Packaway 本質上是一次性的。因此，我認為我們還沒有討論的唯一另一個動態部分是每股盈餘受益於更高的利息收入。我們的指引中包含了假設今年剩餘時間進一步降息的一些壓力。

Michael, we don't -- our leverage point hasn't changed. As Adam said, we had a lot of one-timers in the in the quarter. Looking forward and even longer term, the leverage point is pretty constant between 3% and 4%.

邁克爾，我們沒有——我們的槓桿點沒有改變。正如亞當所說，本季我們有很多一次性的球員。展望未來，甚至更長遠來看，槓桿點相當穩定在 3% 至 4% 之間。

Dana Telsey, Telsey Advisory Group.

達納‧特爾西，特爾西諮詢小組。

Hi. Good afternoon, everyone. As you think about the implementation potentially of tariffs going forward, how do you think of your assortment and pricing relative to the tariff the tariffs that may come into place and remind us of what happened last time. And then when you think about some of the changes in management like with dds, any holes to fill or with this branded strategy is anything shifting within dds also given the improved results that we've seen there? Thank you.

你好。大家下午好。當您考慮未來實施關稅的可能性時，您如何看待相對於可能實施的關稅的分類和定價，並提醒我們上次發生的情況。然後，當您考慮管理方面的一些變化（例如 dds）時，任何需要填補的漏洞或這種品牌策略是否會在 dds 內發生任何變化，也考慮到我們在那裡看到的改進結果？謝謝。

Dana, on the tariffs, where we'll be closely monitoring any developments there. I'm sure everybody across the industry is doing so. It's too early to say what the potential impact could be on us and the rest of retail. Our focus in the case of a tariff increase would be to maintain a pricing umbrella versus traditional retailers and offer the best values to the customer. We will not be a leader in raising prices.

達納，關於關稅，我們將密切關注那裡的任何進展。我確信整個行業的每個人都在這樣做。現在判斷這對我們和其他零售業可能產生什麼潛在影響還為時過早。在關稅增加的情況下，我們的重點是維持相對於傳統零售商的定價保護傘，並為客戶提供最佳價值。我們不會成為提價的領導者。

And in terms of dd, dd has their strategy in place that they've been working on, and that will just continue. So there won't be any other new strategies or additional changes. They'll just be building upon these successes.

就 dd 而言，dd 已經制定了他們一直在努力的策略，而這項策略將會繼續下去。因此不會有任何其他新策略或額外變更。他們只會在這些成功的基礎上再接再厲。

Ike Boruchow, Wells Fargo.

艾克·博魯喬（Ike Boruchow），富國銀行。

Hey, guys. Adam, sorry if I missed it, could you give us maybe an update on freight in the fourth quarter. And then maybe just high-level state of the union domestic and ocean into next year, just how we should expect that line item to progress based on what you have in front of you right now?

嘿，夥計們。亞當，抱歉，如果我錯過了，您能為我們提供一下第四季度貨運的最新情況嗎？然後，也許只是明年的國內和海洋高層狀況，我們應該如何期望該項目根據您現在面臨的情況取得進展？

Yeah. Ike, on the domestic side, so we're 40 basis points of improvement in Q3, probably expect something similar in Q4. It's been tracking pretty consistently all year. On the Ocean side, it was a negligible impact in the quarter in the short term would expect that. Obviously, we're watching some of the potential disruptions and watching for the resolution of the strike issue that would impact the East Coast ports in the Gulf Port.

是的。艾克，在國內方面，所以我們在第三季提高了 40 個基點，可能預期第四季也會出現類似情況。它全年的追蹤情況相當一致。在海洋方面，預計短期內該季度的影響可以忽略不計。顯然，我們正在關註一些潛在的干擾，並關注將影響墨西哥灣港口東海岸港口的罷工問題的解決。

So we're watching all those things. But with what we know right now, I don't see that as anything other than neutral. And then we'll have to see, as we'll come back and talk to you at the beginning of the year on how we see '25 and beyond once we get into the bidding process for next year.

所以我們正在關注所有這些事情。但據我們目前所知，我認為這只是中立的。然後我們必須看看，因為我們將在今年年初回來與大家討論，一旦我們進入明年的競標過程，我們將如何看待 '25 及以後的情況。

Jay Sole, UBS.

傑伊·索爾，瑞銀集團。

Great. Thank you. Barbara, just wondering if there was anything related to inventory availability or just timing of buying that contributed to some of the issues for an execution that you cited that impacted Q3? Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。芭芭拉，只是想知道是否有任何與庫存可用性或購買時機相關的因素導致了您提到的影響第三季度的執行的一些問題？謝謝。

Well, in terms of inventory availability, it's favorable. Again, some businesses have more availability than others. In terms of the impact of buying to Q3, I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Jay, by that, just that we have buying -- that we were buying, or just -- or did that contribute to the quarter's performance? I'm not sure what you want me to answer.

嗯，就庫存可用性而言，這是有利的。同樣，有些企業比其他企業擁有更多的可用性。就購買對第三季度的影響而言，我不確定我是否理解你的意思，傑伊，我們只是購買了——我們正在購買，或者只是——或者這對本季度的業績做出了貢獻？我不確定你想讓我回答什麼。

Right. Like perhaps like did you buy too much inventory too soon, not leave enough open to buy. Did you --

正確的。也許就像你是否太快購買了太多庫存，沒有留下足夠的空餘空間來購買。你有沒有——

No, I don't think that was part of the issue. And in fact, in seasonal businesses, we leave money open things like outdoor or whatever because history would tell us that you don't know how it's going to start. And so we believe the merchants leave liquidity so that we don't get caught with that. So no, I don't think it has to do with the speed of what we bought or I think it's just some of the choices we made or didn't make, but it has nothing to do with that.

不，我認為這不是問題的一部分。事實上，在季節性業務中，我們將資金保留在戶外等領域，因為歷史告訴我們，你不知道它會如何開始。因此，我們相信商家會留下流動性，這樣我們就不會陷入困境。所以不，我不認為這與我們購買東西的速度有關，或者我認為這只是我們做出或沒有做出的一些選擇，但與此無關。

Marni Shapiro, Retail Tracker.

Marni Shapiro，零售追蹤者。

Hey, guys. Thanks. Congratulations on hire, and Barbara, you will be missed. I have a quick question for you. The dollar stores collectively have been under a lot of pressure and have made announcements that they're closing a lot of stores. And I'm curious if you could just give us a little insight into how many -- if any of your dd stores or Ross stores, in fact, compete with them in similar areas. Is there an opportunity as they close stores if you've seen some of those stores closed already, and you've seen the customer for certain items shifted over to you.

嘿，夥計們。謝謝。恭喜你受聘，芭芭拉，我們會想念你的。我有一個簡單的問題想問你。一元商店集體承受著很大的壓力，並宣布將關閉許多商店。我很好奇您能否讓我們了解您的 dd 商店或 Ross 商店中有多少家（如果有的話）實際上在類似領域與他們競爭。如果您看到其中一些商店已經關閉，並且您已經看到某些商品的顧客轉移到您身上，那麼他們關閉商店時是否有機會。

if you could just frame that a little bit because it's obviously a big retail conversation.

如果你能稍微概括一下這一點，因為這顯然是一個大型零售對話。

Yeah. I don't have the exact number of stores. Obviously, smaller footprint, a lot more consumables than what we have in dds. So I would say it's hard to see any impact, very different merchandise mix. So could there be some upside potentially, but given what's in the box, I don't see it as a huge upside.

是的。我沒有具體的商店數量。顯然，與我們的 dds 相比，佔地面積更小，消耗品更多。所以我想說，很難看到任何影響，非常不同的商品組合。所以可能會有一些潛在的好處，但考慮到盒子裡的東西，我不認為這是一個巨大的好處。

It's really consumable, Marni. That's really -- their business is so big and dd does business in consumables, but I think that's -- I think in what they have in there, I think that's probably -- to Michael's point, that's probably the biggest overlap/potential opportunity.

這真的是消耗品，瑪尼。這確實是——他們的業務如此之大，而且dd 從事消費品業務，但我認為——我認為他們在那裡擁有的東西，我認為這可能——就邁克爾的觀點而言，這可能是最大的重疊/潛在機會。

Aneesha Sherman, Bernstein.

阿尼莎謝爾曼，伯恩斯坦。

Thank you for taking my question. Barbara, if I can ask a follow-up on the brand strategy. So you talked about good, better, best. Are you seeing any differences in the performance of the good versus the best in terms of sell-through and velocity?

謝謝你回答我的問題。芭芭拉，我能否詢問一下品牌策略的後續情況。所以你談到了好、更好、最好。您是否發現優質產品與最佳產品在銷售率和速度上的表現有何差異？

And then a follow-up on the weather comments. You said the weather comment weather impact to comp was about 1%. As we've come out of some of the weather issues, have you seen the comp run rate in those impacted stores improve by about that magnitude coming out of the back half of the quarter?

然後是天氣評論的後續。你說天氣評論天氣對comp的影響大約是1%。當我們擺脫了一些天氣問題時，您是否看到那些受影響商店的競爭運行率在本季度後半段出現了大約同樣的幅度改善？

Aneesha, on the weather, yes, we did. And I said previously, we did see improvements in sell-throughs in markets where weather became more seasonable within Q3.

Aneesha，關於天氣，是的，我們做到了。我之前說過，我們確實看到第三季天氣變得更加季節性的市場的銷量有所改善。

And then on a good, better, best, we turn goods overall very quickly in the store. I mean there's always some turn differential, but the overall turn on apparel is very fast. So I think what we own -- I would put it this way, well, we own the right goods at the right value, it all turns very quickly. If we own the run good, it doesn't turn as quickly. So -- but overall, the entire box, we turn -- we drive receipts is our mission to drive receipts not on inventory.

然後，很好，更好，最好，我們在商店裡的貨物整體轉得非常快。我的意思是，總是有一些週轉差異，但服裝的整體週​​轉速度非常快。所以我認為我們擁有什麼——我會這樣說，嗯，我們以正確的價值擁有正確的商品，這一切都變化得很快。如果我們掌控得好，事情就不會那麼快轉變。因此，但總的來說，我們轉向整個盒子，我們推動收據是我們的使命，推動收據而不是庫存。

So churn is always on our mind. But it's again, to be honest, it's really about the value you're putting on the floor, the products and the value, it always comes back to the product and the value and then it will turn quickly because the customer now is in the treasure hunt environment, if I don't buy it, it won't be there next week.

因此，客戶流失始終是我們關注的焦點。但說實話，這實際上是關於你放在地板上的價值、產品和價值，它總是回到產品和價值，然後它會很快轉變，因為客戶現在處於尋寶環境，如果我不買，下週就沒有了。

John Kernan, TD Cowen.

約翰·克南，TD·考恩。

Excellent. Thank you for taking my question. Maybe just to go back on the real estate theme, off-price, whether it's Ross Stores, dd, your competitors at TJX and Burlington, a lot of store growth plans in the next two, three, five years. How is the real estate availability for Ross Stores and across really regionally Northeast, West, Southeast, whole countries -- what's your view on the overall availability outlook and the quality of real estate for all pricing until right now?

出色的。謝謝你回答我的問題。也許只是回到房地產主題，折扣，無論是羅斯商店，dd，你在 TJX 和伯靈頓的競爭對手，未來兩年、三年、五年的很多商店增長計劃。羅斯商店以及整個東北、西部、東南地區以及整個國家的房地產供應狀況如何？

Sure, John. I'd say overall, we feel good about what we have in the real estate landscape and we have a healthy pipeline for the next couple of years. I would say real estate is tight. There's not a lot of new centers being constructed. And for us, there's increased interest from other retailers and the types of real estate that we typically prefer.

當然，約翰。我想說，總的來說，我們對房地產領域的情況感到滿意，並且在未來幾年我們擁有健康的管道。我會說房地產緊張。正在興建的新中心並不多。對我們來說，其他零售商和我們通常喜歡的房地產類型的興趣也在增加。

That said, we have a very strong team that has a methodical process of developing a healthy real estate pipeline to support our growth plans over the next number of years.

也就是說，我們擁有一支非常強大的團隊，有一套系統化的流程來開發健康的房地產管道，以支持我們未來幾年的成長計畫。

Laura Champine, Loop Capital Markets.

勞拉·尚平 (Laura Champine)，Loop 資本市場。

Thanks for squeezing me in. Your incoming CEO has got a difficult comp with a 40-year veteran of off-price merchandising. And I'm curious that will likely change the structure of his direct reports or responsibility set? And also, Barbara, to the extent that you're comfortable talking about it. I think this is a pretty insular industry, especially as you move up the ranks. Why is now a good time to bring someone in from outside off-price from a smaller company?

感謝您邀請我加入。我很好奇這可能會改變他的直接報告或職責範圍的結構嗎？還有，芭芭拉，只要你願意談論它就可以了。我認為這是一個相當孤立的行業，尤其是當你晉升時。為什麼現在是從小公司以優惠價格從外部引進人員的好時機？

Okay. So responsibility reporting to him will be to 1 25-year-plus veteran and the other 30-year-plus veteran. So I think from a merchant perspective and tenure and below that level, the group -- the average tenure is around 20 years below then. So I feel like I think that's fine. I actually think it's good.

好的。因此，向他報告的責任將由一名 25 歲以上的退伍軍人和另一名 30 歲以上的退伍軍人承擔。因此，我認為從商人的角度和任期來看，如果低於這個水平，該群體的平均任期大約比當時低 20 年。所以我覺得我覺得這樣就很好。其實我覺得挺好的

I think -- so he's got a very strong bench below him that understands off price, and yes, I mean I'm very comfortable that the mix is good. And actually, I think Jim complements some of the talent that we have in the organization. In terms of timing, look, 1.5 years ago, when -- in June '23, we announced internally, externally that I was going to step down.

我認為——所以他下面有一個非常強大的替補，他們了解折扣，是的，我的意思是我對這種很好的組合感到非常滿意。事實上，我認為吉姆補充了我們組織中的一些人才。就時間安排而言，1.5 年前，23 年 6 月，我們在內部和外部宣布我要辭職。

And the agreement was that with the Board that if we found the right person, looking internally, externally, the whole thing was when we found the right person that we would hire that person, I would move to an advisory role. So I don't know if it's necessarily the timing with where we are at the brand strategy.

與董事會達成的協議是，如果我們找到合適的人選，從內部和外部進行考察，整個事情就是當我們找到合適的人選時，我們就會僱用該人，我將擔任顧問角色。所以我不知道這是否一定與我們的品牌策略所處的時機有關。

I think the single most important thing is to have the right person. And that, to me, is in the handoff, that's critical, right? So I do think Jim is the right person. And so -- and obviously, there's a lot of tenure loss of people who have been here a long time, not only me, but Michael and Norman, there's a lot of people who have been here a long time. So Jim will learn the business.

我認為最重要的是找到合適的人。對我來說，這就是交接，這很關鍵，對嗎？所以我確實認為吉姆是合適的人選。因此，顯然，在這裡工作了很長時間的許多人失去了終身職位，不僅是我，還有邁克爾和諾曼，還有很多在這裡工作了很長時間的人。所以吉姆將學習這門生意。

But I don't -- it had nothing to do with -- we have our brand strategy. We're not going to -- when you find the right person, or, I mean, you know when it's right, it's right, and Jim is the right person. And so that really was a decision, and I was part of that decision. So I feel good about it. And clearly, we're going to make sure that Jim is successful because we have him pretty surrounded by true off-price that veterans who have been doing it.

但我不知道——這與我們有自己的品牌策略無關。我們不會——當你找到合適的人時，或者，我的意思是，你知道什麼時候是對的，那就是對的，而吉姆就是合適的人選。所以這確實是一個決定，而我也是這個決定的一部分。所以我對此感覺很好。顯然，我們將確保吉姆取得成功，因為我們讓他周圍都是真正的低價老兵，他們一直在這樣做。

I'm getting older as I'm saying this to you -- for years and years and years, but that's really what we've done. And that's really why the timing is earlier, but, again, when you find the right person, I'm sure you've all done searches, everyone knows this fall, when you find the right person, you really have to jump on going to say, jump on the opportunity being off price, right? So everything is opportunistic. And so I think the timing is good for the company, and he'll be supported all along the way.

當我對你說這些的時候，我已經長大了——很多年了，但這確實是我們所做的。這就是為什麼時機要早一些，但是，再說一遍，當你找到合適的人時，我相信你們都已經搜索過，每個人都知道今年秋天，當你找到合適的人時，你真的必須繼續前進也就是說，把握降價的機會，對嗎？所以一切都是機會主義的。所以我認為這個時機對公司來說是有利的，他將一路得到支持。

And ladies and gentlemen, at this time, there are no further questions. Now I'd like to turn the floor back over to Barbara Rentler for any closing comments.

女士們先生們，現在沒有其他問題了。現在我想把發言權交還給芭芭拉·倫特勒（Barbara Rentler），徵求結束語。

Thank you for joining us today and I hope everybody has a happy holiday.

感謝您今天加入我們，希望大家都有一個愉快的假期。

And ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。