Sally Beauty Holdings Inc (SBH) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Sally Beauty Holdings Conference Call to discuss the company's Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2023 results. (Operator Instructions) Now I would like to turn the call over to Jeff Harkins, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer for Sally Beauty Holdings.

大家早安，歡迎參加 Sally Beauty Holdings 電話會議，討論公司 2023 年第四季和全年財報。 （操作員說明）現在我想將電話轉給 Sally Beauty Holdings 投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管 Jeff Harkins。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. With me on the call today are Denise Paulonis, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Marlo Cormier, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝。大家早安，感謝您加入我們。今天與我一起參加電話會議的是總裁兼執行長 Denise Paulonis；和財務長 Marlo Cormier。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that management's remarks on this call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家，管理階層在這次電話會議上的言論可能包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。

Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in the Risk Factors section of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC.

由於各種重要因素，包括我們最新 10-K 表格年度報告和向 SEC 提交的其他文件的風險因素部分中討論的因素，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述所示的結果存在重大差異。

Any forward-looking statements made on this call represent our views only as of today and we undertake no obligations to update them. The company has provided a detailed explanation and reconciliations of its adjusting items and non-GAAP financial measures in its earnings press release and on its website.

本次電話會議中所做的任何前瞻性陳述僅代表我們今天的觀點，我們不承擔更新這些陳述的義務。該公司在其收益新聞稿和網站上提供了對其調整項目和非公認會計原則財務指標的詳細解釋和調節。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Denise to begin the formal remarks.

現在我想把電話轉給丹尼斯，讓她開始正式發言。

Thank you, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. We're pleased to report full year financial results in line with the expectations we laid out at the beginning of fiscal 2023. We also advanced our strategic priorities during the year, engaging our Sally customers and BSG stylists through new concepts and services, product innovation and distinctive omnichannel experiences.

謝謝你，傑夫，大家早安。我們很高興報告全年財務業績，符合我們在2023 財年年初制定的預期。我們也在這一年中推進了我們的策略重點，透過新概念和服務、產品創新吸引我們的Sally 客戶和BSG 造型師以及獨特的全通路體驗。

We delivered a comparable sales increase of 1.4% and net sales of $3.73 billion, down 2.3% versus a year ago on 308 fewer stores. We also maintained our healthy gross margin profile above 50% and captured $50 million of expense savings under our DC and store optimization program, while investing in wages and our strategic initiatives. In turn, we achieved adjusted operating margin of 9.1% and adjusted EBITDA of $459 million.

我們的可比銷售額成長了 1.4%，淨銷售額為 37.3 億美元，較上年同期下降 2.3%，門市數量減少了 308 家。我們也維持了 50% 以上的健康毛利率，並透過配送中心和商店優化計畫節省了 5,000 萬美元的費用，同時投資於薪資和策略性舉措。反過來，我們的調整後營業利潤率為 9.1%，調整後 EBITDA 為 4.59 億美元。

Additionally, the business generated strong free cash flow of $159 million. We concluded the year with fourth quarter results in line with our expectations. The primary shift in trend line we saw from Q3 to Q4 was on the Sally side, where the increase in average unit retail price year-over-year was lighter in Q3 -- in Q4 than Q3 as we lapped some pricing actions from the prior year, and saw a modestly higher mix of products sold on promotion as customers continue to seek value.

此外，該業務還產生了 1.59 億美元的強勁自由現金流。我們以第四季的業績結束了這一年，符合我們的預期。我們看到從第三季到第四季的趨勢線的主要轉變是在莎莉方面，第三季平均單位零售價格同比增幅較小——第四季比第三季要輕，因為我們放棄了先前的一些定價行動隨著客戶繼續尋求價值，促銷活動中銷售的產品組合略有增加。

We believe the business remains healthy, most notably in our core categories of color and care, where we are holding share. Stepping back for a moment to look at fiscal 2023 as a whole. At the beginning of the year, we outlined a set of new strategic initiatives designed to advance our vision for the future and position us to achieve our long-term growth target of low to mid-single-digit top line growth and low double-digit operating margins.

我們相信業務保持健康，尤其是在我們持有份額的色彩和護理核心類別中。退後一步來審視 2023 財年的整體情況。今年年初，我們概述了一系列新的策略舉措，旨在推進我們對未來的願景，並使我們能夠實現中低個位數收入成長和低兩位數成長的長期成長目標營業利潤率。

Our 3 core initiatives include; enhancing our customer centricity, growing our high-margin owned brands and amplifying innovation, and increasing the efficiency of our operations. Our teams have delivered strong execution against these priorities over the past year, and I am pleased to share several highlights.

我們的 3 項核心舉措包括：加強我們以客戶為中心的態度，發展我們的高利潤自有品牌並擴大創新，並提高我們的營運效率。在過去的一年裡，我們的團隊針對這些優先事項提供了強大的執行力，我很高興與大家分享幾個亮點。

First, we introduced new value-added services and concepts, including Studio by Sally, Cosmo Prof Direct and most recently, Happy Beauty Company, which represents a new growth opportunity beyond our core. We delivered a robust pipeline of product innovation in both BSG and Sally, and increased our own brand penetration at Sally from 33% of sales in fiscal 2022 to 34% in fiscal 2023.

首先，我們推出了新的增值服務和概念，包括 Studio by Sally、Cosmo Prof Direct 以及最近的 Happy Beauty Company，這代表著超越我們核心的新增長機會。我們在 BSG 和 Sally 提供了強大的產品創新管道，並將我們自己的品牌在 Sally 的滲透率從 2022 財年銷售額的 33% 提高到 2023 財年的 34%。

We completed a broad-based store optimization program, which enabled us to increase the productivity and profitability of our fleet while delivering an engaging omnichannel experience to our customers. Through this, we recaptured $50 million of savings from the program and exercised prudent cost control across the organization.

我們完成了一項廣泛的商店優化計劃，使我們能夠提高車隊的生產力和盈利能力，同時為客戶提供引人入勝的全通路體驗。透過這項舉措，我們從該計劃中重新節省了 5000 萬美元，並在整個組織內實施了審慎的成本控制。

In the fourth quarter, BSG completed the strategic asset acquisition of Goldwell of New York, which adds 5 store locations to our Cosmo Prof fleet and 15 direct sales consultants to our team in this important market. The acquisition also brings several high-profile brands, such as Goldwell and Deva Curl, to our 28 Cosmo Prof locations in the upstate New York market.

第四季度，BSG 完成了對紐約 Goldwell 的策略性資產收購，這為我們的 Cosmo Prof 車隊增加了 5 家門市，並為我們在這個重要市場的團隊增加了 15 位直銷顧問。此次收購也為我們位於紐約州北部市場的 28 家 Cosmo Prof 門市帶來了 Goldwell 和 Deva Curl 等多個知名品牌。

We strengthened our balance sheet in fiscal 2023 with the refinancing of our term loan as well as reducing our ABL balance to 0 at year-end. And lastly, we returned value to shareholders through $15 million of share repurchases in Q4.

透過定期貸款再融資以及年底將 ABL 餘額降至 0，我們在 2023 財年強化了資產負債表。最後，我們在第四季透過 1500 萬美元的股票回購為股東回報了價值。

Looking at fiscal 2024, we are prioritizing top line growth and profitability and remain focused on returning value to shareholders. We expect to generate strong cash flow from operations of at least $260 million, which will allow us to reinvest for growth while maintaining a healthy balance sheet and continuing to repurchase shares. More on that later.

展望 2024 財年，我們優先考慮營收成長和獲利能力，並繼續專注於為股東回報價值。我們預計將從至少 2.6 億美元的營運中產生強勁的現金流，這將使我們能夠進行再投資以實現成長，同時保持健康的資產負債表並繼續回購股票。稍後會詳細介紹。

Now let me touch on our strategic initiatives designed to drive top line growth, best serve our customers and expand our reach. First is customer centricity. Our DIY customers and professional stylists value the services, education and innovation we provide. Moreover, they are loyal and highly engaged.

現在讓我談談我們旨在推動收入成長、最好地服務我們的客戶並擴大我們的影響力的策略性舉措。首先是以客戶為中心。我們的 DIY 客戶和專業造型師重視我們提供的服務、教育和創新。此外，他們忠誠且高度投入。

At fiscal year-end, we had more than 16 million loyalty members at Sally U.S. and Canada, representing 78% of sales, up from 77% in fiscal 2022. And our BSG Rewards credit card purchases comprised 9% of our sales for the year.

截至本財年末，我們在美國和加拿大的 Sally 擁有超過 1600 萬忠誠會員，佔銷售額的 78%，高於 2022 財年的 77%。我們的 BSG 獎勵信用卡購買額占我們當年銷售額的 9% 。

Let's talk about the concepts and services we're bringing to both of these customer segments as well as potential new shoppers. I'll start with Studio by Sally, which we launched at the beginning of fiscal 2023. We've been piloting 6 locations in various markets, and we're pleased with the level of customer engagement as we take key learnings into fiscal 2024 and build our expansion plans. We're prepared to relocate or remodel up to 30 existing stores to our studio concept later this year as we continue to read and react in the coming quarters.

讓我們談談我們為這兩個客戶群以及潛在的新購物者提供的概念和服務。我將從Studio by Sally 開始，它是我們在2023 財年年初推出的。我們已經在不同市場的6 個地點進行了試點，我們對客戶參與度感到滿意，因為我們將重要的經驗教訓帶入了2024 財年及製定我們的擴張計畫。我們準備在今年稍後將多達 30 家現有商店搬遷或改造為我們的工作室概念，因為我們將在未來幾個季度繼續閱讀並做出反應。

Longer term, we believe there's opportunity to scale to over 100 studio locations with most of those stores being relocations or conversions. Of note, we're seeing about 30% of the service customers are new to Sally, and over 40% of all customers have already made a repeat purchase after their initial services.

從長遠來看，我們相信有機會擴展到 100 多個工作室地點，其中大多數商店正在搬遷或改建。值得注意的是，我們發現大約 30% 的服務客戶是 Sally 的新客戶，超過 40% 的客戶在初次使用服務後已經重複購買。

Additionally, we're gaining great customer insights from this new concept that could be implemented across the rest of our Sally fleet in terms of product assortment and store navigation.

此外，我們從這個新概念中獲得了豐富的客戶洞察，該概念可以在我們的 Sally 車隊的其他產品分類和商店導航方面實施。

Moving now to Licensed Colorist On Demand. This is a successful initiative at Sally that is enabling us to provide a higher level of touch and service to our customers. We launched the capability online in the fourth quarter to 17 states. In addition, we completed the online rollout to all 50 states during October. Early response so far has validated Sally Beauty as the authority in hair color was over 30% of the customers that engage in this service being new to Sally and conversion rates running about 45%.

現在轉向按需授權調色師。這是 Sally 的一項成功舉措，使我們能夠為客戶提供更高水準的接觸和服務。我們在第四季度向 17 個州推出了線上功能。此外，我們還在 10 月完成了所有 50 個州的線上推廣。迄今為止的早期反應已證實 Sally Beauty 是染髮領域的權威，參與這項服務的客戶中有超過 30% 是 Sally 的新手，轉換率約為 45%。

Additionally, 4 out of 5 customers are giving very high remarks on their experience. By the end of fiscal 2024, we anticipate having close to 100 licensed colors serving our DIY customers via the platform.

此外，五分之四的客戶對他們的體驗給予了很高的評價。到 2024 財年末，我們預計將有近 100 種授權顏色透過該平台為我們的 DIY 客戶提供服務。

Finally, turning to e-commerce. In August, we launched a digital marketplace selling initiative with walmart.com, which will be expanding to other online sites in fiscal 2024 to fuel digital sales growth and attract new customers to our Sally brand. In the first half of the year, we'll be adding DoorDash and Instacart utilizing in-store fulfillment to minimize shipping expense and drive greater flow-through to the bottom line.

最後，轉向電子商務。 8 月，我們與 walmart.com 啟動了數位市場銷售計劃，該計劃將在 2024 財年擴展到其他線上網站，以推動數位銷售成長並吸引新客戶購買我們的 Sally 品牌。今年上半年，我們將增加 DoorDash 和 Instacart，利用店內配送來最大限度地減少運輸費用並推動更多的利潤流轉。

On the BSG side, we're building customer centricity through our Cosmo Prof Direct initiative which is continuing to gain traction. We ended fiscal 2023 with over 4,500 digital storefronts and 12 states officially rolled out on the platform.

在 BSG 方面，我們正在透過 Cosmo Prof Direct 計劃建立以客戶為中心的理念，該計劃正在繼續獲得關注。截至 2023 財年，我們擁有超過 4,500 個數位店面，並在 12 個州正式推出該平台。

This platform eliminates a lot of pain points for the professional stylists by enabling them to compete in a digital world, serve as a trusted resource to their clients and ultimately make more money for themselves.

該平台使專業造型師能夠在數位世界中競爭，成為客戶值得信賴的資源，並最終為自己賺更多錢，從而消除了專業造型師的許多痛點。

They can set up an online storefront with the assortment they want and not have to go out-of-pocket to buy and hold inventory. We're continuing to educate our Sally's customers on how to utilize this platform as well as equipping them with new marketing tools.

他們可以建立一個線上店面，提供他們想要的商品種類，而不必自掏腰包購買和持有庫存。我們將繼續教育莎莉的客戶如何利用這個平台，並為他們配備新的行銷工具。

Finally, our newest customer centricity growth vehicle is Happy Beauty Co. Our recently launched value concept that we believe has the potential to be a significant top line driver. After opening our first test location in the DSW market in Q3, we now have 10 pilot stores in operation in the DSW and Phoenix markets as of the end of September.

最後，我們最新的以客戶為中心的成長工具是 Happy Beauty Co。我們最近推出的價值理念，我們相信它有潛力成為重要的營收驅動力。繼第三季在 DSW 市場開設第一個測試店後，截至 9 月底，我們在 DSW 和鳳凰城市場已有 10 家試點店投入營運。

Currently, we are seeing average ticket values running in the $25 range, including 5 units per transaction on average, both exceeding our initial base case. We're beginning to build awareness through a dedicated marketing push that commenced this fall.

目前，我們看到平均門票價格在 25 美元範圍內，其中平均每筆交易 5 個單位，都超出了我們最初的基本情況。我們開始透過今年秋天開始的專門行銷活動來提高知名度。

Looking at the long term, our analysis tells us there's an opportunity for 500 to 1,000 locations across the U.S. We'll be reading performance in the coming quarters as we consider additional openings and the potential for expansion into fiscal 2025.

從長遠來看，我們的分析告訴我們，美國各地有 500 到 1,000 個地點的機會。我們將在未來幾個季度閱讀業績，同時考慮額外的空缺職位和擴展到 2025 財年的潛力。

Moving on to our second strategic initiative, own brand growth and product innovation. We delivered great innovation to both our DIY customers and the Sally's community in fiscal 2023. At BSG, we launched brands like Amika, Wella's Ultimate Repair and Danger Jones and expanded our distribution with Color Wow.

延續我們的第二個策略舉措，自有品牌成長和產品創新。 2023 財年，我們為 DIY 客戶和 Sally 社群提供了偉大的創新。在 BSG，我們推出了 Amika、Wella's Ultimate Repair 和 Danger Jones 等品牌，並透過 Color Wow 擴大了我們的分銷範圍。

At Sally, we expanded our own brand portfolio with the launch of bondbar, a new line of pro-quality bonding product at accessible price points. And we followed that up with the launch of a new bondbar color line in Q4 that is gaining traction. We have an equally robust pipeline of innovation planned for fiscal '24 in both our own and third-party brands.

在 Sally，我們推出了 bondbar，擴大了我們自己的品牌組合，這是一個價格實惠的新系列專業品質黏合產品。隨後，我們在第四季度推出了新的 bondbar 顏色系列，該系列越來越受歡迎。我們計劃在 24 財年為我們自己的品牌和第三方品牌提供同樣強大的創新管道。

In our BSG segment, we are focused on growing our core and taking advantage of new opportunities. In fiscal '24, you can expect to see us engaging ourselves through several actions. We'll be bringing innovation across blonding, glossing and express coloring, expanding key brands, including Amika, Color Wow, Goldwell, Schwarzkopf, Moroccan Oil and Wella. Focusing on conscious beauty and textured hair, delivering new technology in tools and appliances, introducing new hair care brands and leveraging our updated nail assortments and nail walls.

在 BSG 領域，我們專注於發展我們的核心業務並利用新機會。在 24 財年，您可以期待看到我們透過多項行動參與其中。我們將在金髮、光澤和快速染色領域帶來創新，擴大主要品牌，包括 Amika、Color Wow、Goldwell、Schwarzkopf、Moroccan Oil 和 Wella。專注於有意識的美麗和質感頭髮，提供工具和器具的新技術，推出新的護髮品牌，並利用我們更新的指甲品種和指甲牆。

In our Sally segment, we expect to drive growth in national brands through innovation in color, care and textured hair. On the proprietary side, we'll be launching new products in some of our most iconic and well-known brands, including bondbar and ION. As bondbar continues to enjoy momentum, we'll be expanding our assortment in color and care in the spring, including new lighteners, clarifying shampoo and a purple shampoo leader.

在我們的 Sally 部門，我們希望透過色彩、護理和質感頭髮的創新來推動國家品牌的成長。在專有方面，我們將推出一些最具代表性和知名品牌的新產品，包括 bondbar 和 ION。隨著 Bondbar 繼續保持強勁勢頭，我們將在春季擴大我們的色彩和護理品類，包括新的增白劑、澄清洗髮精和紫色洗髮精領導者。

Our Ion brand has new tools and appliances planned for spring and fall as well as the new Sun-Care line coming ahead of next summer. As I mentioned earlier, our own brand penetration reached 34% of sales in fiscal 2023. We expect that will grow by approximately 200 basis points in fiscal 2024, further advancing our goal to achieve 50% over the coming years.

我們的 Ion 品牌計劃在春季和秋季推出新工具和電器，並在明年夏季推出新的防曬系列。正如我之前提到的，我們的自有品牌滲透率在2023 財年達到銷售額的34%。我們預計到2024 財年這一數字將增長約200 個基點，進一步推進我們在未來幾年實現50 % 的目標。

Moving now to initiative #3, capturing efficiencies and optimizing our capabilities. Underpinning our Fuel for Growth initiative, is a mandate to rethink the way we work, generate cost savings and modernize key parts of our business. Our transition to pool distribution, for example, has been a big win that not only helped us navigate difficult macro conditions, but also lowered our transportation costs and enabled our change in thin shipping frequency.

現在轉向措施#3，提高效率並優化我們的能力。我們的成長動力計劃的基礎是重新思考我們的工作方式、節省成本並使我們業務的關鍵部分現代化。例如，我們向聯合配送的轉變是一次巨大的勝利，不僅幫助我們應對困難的宏觀條件，而且還降低了我們的運輸成本，並實現了我們對運輸頻率的改變。

In turn, the execution of the new shipping frequency is allowing us to capture efficiencies across transportation and labor productivity while improving or maintaining in-stock levels. We'll be expanding this to 80% of the fleet in fiscal '24.

反過來，新的運輸頻率的執行使我們能夠提高運輸效率和勞動生產率，同時提高或維持庫存水準。我們將在 24 財年將其擴展到 80% 的機隊。

We have identified approximately $20 million of cost savings that are expected to benefit gross margin and SG&A in fiscal 2024 and with most of the benefit expected to be realized in the second half of the year. These efficiency and optimization initiatives are expected to help us offset inflationary pressures and continued growth investments in fiscal 2024, more on this shortly from Marlo.

我們已確定約 2,000 萬美元的成本節約預計將有利於 2024 財年的毛利率和銷售管理費用（SG&A），其中大部分收益預計將在今年下半年實現。這些效率和優化措施預計將有助於我們抵銷 2024 財年的通膨壓力和持續成長的投資，Marlo 不久將對此進行更多介紹。

In addition, we also recently engaged an external partner to assist with uncovering additional opportunities in areas such as non-trade spend, inventory efficiency, supply chain, automation and outsourcing that will benefit fiscal 2025.

此外，我們最近還聘請了一位外部合作夥伴，協助在非貿易支出、庫存效率、供應鏈、自動化和外包等領域發現更多機會，這些機會將有利於 2025 財年。

Building on our strong foundation, we're focused on creating the Sally Beauty Holdings of the future. We have demonstrated our ability to develop and deploy new growth concepts and have tremendous conviction that we're on the right path to reignite top line and improve profitability.

建立在我們堅實的基礎上，我們致力於創建未來的莎莉美容控股公司。我們已經證明了我們開發和部署新增長理念的能力，並堅信我們正走在重振營收和提高獲利能力的正確道路上。

Our outlook for 2024 reflects a few key factors. First, our strategic initiatives, including product innovation, territory expansion and new concepts and services, are expected to deliver 200 to 300 basis points of growth this year.

我們對 2024 年的展望反映了幾個關鍵因素。首先，我們的策略性舉措，包括產品創新、領土擴張以及新概念和服務，預計今年將實現200至300個基點的成長。

Second, our outlook assumes that continuing pressure on consumer spending will offset the anticipated growth from our strategic initiatives. To that end, against the more normalized macro backdrop, we believe our positioning and initiatives would enable us to drive low single-digit comp growth this year.

其次，我們的前景假設消費者支出的持續壓力將抵銷我們策略舉措的預期成長。為此，在更正常化的宏觀背景下，我們相信我們的定位和舉措將使我們今年能夠推動較低的個位數複合成長率。

Longer term, we remain confident that our initiatives are setting us up to achieve a low to mid-single-digit top line growth algorithm with low double-digit operating margin.

從長遠來看，我們仍然相信，我們的舉措將使我們能夠實現低至中個位數的營收成長演算法和低兩位數的營業利潤率。

In closing, I want to thank our talented teams across the organization and our shareholders for their continued support.

最後，我要感謝整個組織的才華橫溢的團隊以及股東的持續支持。

Now I'll turn the call to Marlo to discuss our financial results, capital priorities and fiscal 2024 outlook.

現在我將致電 Marlo，討論我們的財務表現、資本優先事項和 2024 財年展望。

Thank you, Denise, and good morning, everyone. In the final quarter of the year, we navigated a tough top line environment while maintaining strong gross margins and strict cost control, and we landed our full year financial guidance that we laid out at the beginning of the year. We also utilized our strong cash flow in the quarter to strengthen our balance sheet, complete a small but important strategic acquisition and return value to shareholders through share repurchases.

謝謝你，丹尼斯，大家早安。今年最後一個季度，我們在艱難的營收環境中度過了難關，同時保持了強勁的毛利率和嚴格的成本控制，並實現了年初制定的全年財務指引。我們也利用本季強勁的現金流來強化資產負債表，完成一項小而重要的策略收購，並透過股票回購為股東回報價值。

Looking at the P&L. Fourth quarter consolidated net sales declined 4% to $921 million on 308 fewer stores. Consolidated comparable sales declined 2%, primarily reflecting the macro factors and consumer spending patterns we've seen in recent quarters. Global Ecommerce sales were down 4% on a constant currency basis to $87 million and represented 9% of total net sales.

看看損益表。第四季合併淨銷售額下降 4%，至 9.21 億美元，門市數量減少 308 家。綜合可比銷售額下降 2%，主要反映了我們最近幾季看到的宏觀因素和消費者支出模式。以固定匯率計算，全球電子商務銷售額下降 4%，至 8,700 萬美元，佔總淨銷售額的 9%。

Turning to gross profit. We maintained strong adjusted gross margins, which came in at 50.6%, up 50 basis points to last year. The increase can be attributed to higher product margin in both the Sally and BSG segment, as well as lower distribution and freight costs resulting from our initiatives to drive supply chain efficiency.

轉向毛利。我們維持強勁的調整後毛利率，達到 50.6%，比去年增長 50 個基點。這一成長可歸因於 Sally 和 BSG 部門產品利潤率的提高，以及我們提高供應鏈效率的措施所帶來的分銷和貨運成本的降低。

Fourth quarter adjusted SG&A expenses totaled $387 million, down more than $10 million to last year. This year-over-year improvement primarily reflects the savings from our DC consolidation and store optimization plan as well as lower advertising costs, partially offset by higher labor expenses.

第四季調整後的銷售、管理及行政費用總計 3.87 億美元，比去年同期減少超過 1,000 萬美元。這項同比改善主要反映了我們的資料中心整合和商店優化計劃帶來的節省以及廣告成本的降低，但部分被較高的勞動力支出所抵消。

Notably, the wage investments we made in fiscal 2023 have resulted in lower employee turnover and increased retention in stores, driving improved customer experiences, which we see in our high NPS scores.

值得注意的是，我們在 2023 財年進行的工資投資降低了員工流動率，提高了商店的保留率，從而改善了客戶體驗，這在我們的高 NPS 得分中得到了體現。

As a reminder, on a full year basis, our DC consolidation and store optimization plan enabled us to capture approximately $50 million of expense savings and $10 million of operating income benefit. Looking at fiscal 2024, we expect SG&A dollars to be up modestly versus prior year.

提醒一下，我們的配送中心整合和商店優化計劃使我們全年節省了約 5000 萬美元的費用，並獲得了 1000 萬美元的營業收入收益。展望 2024 財年，我們預期 SG&A 美元將比前一年小幅成長。

This primarily reflects increased investments in labor, strategic growth initiatives and upper funnel marketing, partially offset by the benefit from our Fuel for Growth initiatives, which are expected to be realized in the second half of the year.

這主要反映了對勞動力、策略性成長計劃和上漏斗行銷的投資增加，但部分被我們的「成長燃料」計劃的收益所抵消，該計劃預計將在今年下半年實現。

Moving to earnings. Our gross margin performance and continued cost control drove adjusted operating margin of 8.6%, adjusted EBITDA margin of 11.9% and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.42. On a full year basis, we delivered adjusted operating margin of 9.1%, adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.3% and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.83.

轉向盈利。我們的毛利率表現和持續的成本控制推動調整後營業利潤率達到 8.6%，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率達到 11.9%，調整後稀釋每股收益達到 0.42 美元。全年調整後營業利益率為 9.1%，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 12.3%，調整後稀釋每股收益為 1.83 美元。

Looking at segment results. Sally Beauty comparable sales declined 1%, while net sales were down 5% on 291 fewer stores in operations versus a year ago. At constant currency, Sally Ecommerce sales declined 7% to $32 million and represented 6% of segment net sales for the quarter.

查看細分結果。 Sally Beauty 可比銷售額下降 1%，淨銷售額下降 5%，營運門市比去年同期減少 291 家。以固定匯率計算，Sally 電子商務銷售額下降 7%，至 3,200 萬美元，佔該季度部門淨銷售額的 6%。

For the Global Sally Beauty segment, Color was down 3% and Care was flat. At Sally U.S. and Canada, Color and Care both decreased by 6%, including the impact of store closures. We believe the category data reflects macro-driven pressure on consumer spending and would highlight that market data shows our market share for Color increased over the prior year and Care remained stable.

對於全球 Sally Beauty 細分市場，色彩下降了 3%，而護理則持平。在 Sally 美國和加拿大，顏色和護理均下降了 6%，其中包括商店關閉的影響。我們認為，品類數據反映了宏觀驅動的消費者支出壓力，並強調市場數據顯示我們的色彩市場份額比前一年有所增加，而護理市場份額保持穩定。

Adjusted gross margin at Sally expanded 90 basis points to 59.2%, reflecting strong product margins and higher owned brand penetration as well as lower distribution in freight hub. Segment operating margins expanded by 50 basis points to 15%.

Sally 調整後毛利率擴大 90 個基點至 59.2%，反映出強勁的產品利潤率和較高的自有品牌滲透率以及貨運樞紐的較低分銷。部門營業利益率擴大 50 個基點，達到 15%。

Moving to the BSG segment. Comparable sales declined 2%, while net sales were down 3% on 17 fewer stores. On a constant currency basis, BSG Ecommerce sales decreased 3% to $55 million or 14% and of segment net sales for the quarter. Of note in the quarter, we lapped the ramp-up of our Regis business last year.

轉向 BSG 部分。可比銷售額下降 2%，淨銷售額下降 3%，門市減少 17 家。以固定匯率計算，BSG 電子商務銷售額下降 3%，至 5,500 萬美元，佔本季部門淨銷售額的 14%。值得注意的是，本季我們的瑞吉斯業務去年取得了成長。

The Color category was up 2%, while Care declined 8% at BSG on a total sales basis. Adjusted gross margin at BSG increased 40 basis points to 39.3%, reflecting higher product margins and a favorable mix shift between our higher-margin storage business and lower margin full service business. Segment operating margin expanded 350 basis points to 11.5%.

以總銷售額計算，BSG 的顏色品類成長了 2%，而護理類別則下降了 8%。 BSG 調整後的毛利率成長了 40 個基點，達到 39.3%，反映出產品利潤率的提高以及利潤率較高的儲存業務和利潤率較低的全方位服務業務之間的有利組合轉變。部門營業利益率擴大 350 個基點至 11.5%。

Moving to the balance sheet and cash flow. We ended the fiscal year with $123 million of cash and cash equivalents and no outstanding balance under our ABL, which we paid down in Q4. At the end of the year, our net debt leverage ratio stood at 2.1x. Our inventory balance at the end of the year was $975 million, up 4% from the close of fiscal 2022.

轉向資產負債表和現金流量。本財年結束時，我們擁有 1.23 億美元的現金和現金等價物，ABL 下沒有未清餘額，我們已在第四季度支付了這些餘額。截至年底，我們的淨債務槓桿率為2.1倍。我們年底的庫存餘額為 9.75 億美元，比 2022 財年末成長 4%。

That level is in line with our expectations and reflect a healthy overall position, including strong in-stock levels. We generated strong cash flow from operations in fiscal 2023 of $249 million, including $117 million in the fourth quarter. Free cash flow generation was $159 million for the full year and $90 million in Q4.

這一水準符合我們的預期，反映了健康的整體狀況，包括強勁的庫存水準。 2023 財年，我們的營運產生了 2.49 億美元的強勁現金流，其中第四季的現金流為 1.17 億美元。全年自由現金流量為 1.59 億美元，第四季為 9,000 萬美元。

During the fourth quarter, we deployed cash to repay the $16 million outstanding balance on our ABL and repurchased $15 million of our shares. And we ended the fiscal year with $580 million remaining under our share repurchase plan. We also utilized our strong cash flow to acquire the assets of Goldwell of New York, a $9 million deal has significantly strengthened BSG's position in a strategically important market.

第四季度，我們動用現金償還 ABL 的 1,600 萬美元未償餘額，回購了 1,500 萬美元的股票。在本財年結束時，我們的股票回購計畫還剩 5.8 億美元。我們也利用強大的現金流收購了紐約 Goldwell 的資產，這筆 900 萬美元的交易大大加強了 BSG 在具有重要戰略意義的市場中的地位。

One final note on the balance sheet. In the final weeks of the fiscal year, we were able to reprice our term loan B from SOFR plus 250 basis points to SOFR plus 225 basis points, which will result in $1 million of annual interest expense savings beginning in fiscal 2024.

資產負債表上的最後一項註記。在本財年的最後幾週，我們能夠將定期貸款 B 從 SOFR 加 250 個基點重新定價為 SOFR 加 225 個基點，這將從 2024 財年開始每年節省 100 萬美元的利息費用。

We're pleased to be entering the new year in a solid financial condition with the optionality to invest in our strategic growth vehicles while continuing to optimize our capital structure and return value to shareholders.

我們很高興以穩健的財務狀況進入新的一年，可以選擇投資我們的策略成長工具，同時繼續優化我們的資本結構並為股東回報價值。

Turning now to our fiscal 2024 outlook. We remain focused on driving top line growth through product innovation expanded distribution at BSG, the execution of our strategic initiatives and new growth base vehicles. Additionally, our Fuel for Growth initiative positions us to capture gross margin and SG&A benefits while also investing for growth and returning value to shareholders through our share repurchase program.

現在轉向我們的 2024 財年展望。我們仍然專注於透過產品創新、擴大 BSG 的分銷、執行我們的策略計劃和新的成長基礎工具來推動營收成長。此外，我們的「成長燃料」計畫使我們能夠獲得毛利率和銷售管理費用收益，同時也透過我們的股票回購計畫投資於成長並為股東回報價值。

We expect net sales and comparable sales to be approximately flat to the prior year, reflecting growth from our strategic initiatives and investments in new concepts as well as expanded distribution in the BSG segment, offset by our expectation that consumer spending will continue to be affected by macro headwinds.

我們預計淨銷售額和可比銷售額將與上年大致持平，反映出我們的戰略舉措和對新概念的投資以及 BSG 部門擴大分銷的增長，但我們預計消費者支出將繼續受到宏觀逆風。

As Denise mentioned, our Fuel for Growth initiative is expected to drive both cost of goods and SG&A savings in fiscal 2024. We have identified $20 million of opportunity, including a combination of COGS and SG&A benefits that are expected to be realized in the second half of the year. We expect gross margin to remain above 50%.

正如 Denise 所提到的，我們的「成長燃料」計畫預計將在 2024 財年推動商品成本和 SG&A 節省。我們已經確定了 2000 萬美元的機會，包括預計將在下半年實現的 COGS 和 SG&A 效益的組合今年的。我們預計毛利率將維持在50%以上。

Adjusted operating margin is expected to be at least 9%. Operating cash flow is expected to be at least $260 million, and we're planning full year capital expenditures similar to recent years at about $100 million. Of note, now that our ABL balance has been paid off, we expect our strong cash generation to be utilized in a hybrid approach to invest in the business, reduce our debt levels and buy back shares.

調整後的營業利潤率預計至少為 9%。營運現金流預計至少 2.6 億美元，我們計劃全年資本支出與近幾年類似，約 1 億美元。值得注意的是，既然我們的 ABL 餘額已經還清，我們預計我們強勁的現金產生能力將用於混合方式投資業務、降低債務水平和回購股票。

Two key call outs on that front. First, it is reasonable to expect a share repurchase amount in the first quarter, similar to our most recent fourth quarter. Second, we believe a leverage ratio in the range of 1.5x to 2x is appropriate for our business.

這方面有兩個關鍵點。首先，預計第一季的股票回購金額是合理的，與我們最近的第四季類似。其次，我們認為 1.5 倍至 2 倍的槓桿率適合我們的業務。

Looking more broadly at the shape of fiscal 2024, I'll share some incremental color to assist with modeling and help you understand how we're thinking about the cadence of the year. First, we anticipate that comparable sales performance will build throughout the year, with slight improvement quarter-to-quarter. Q1 will be the softest period of the year reflecting the only quarter of top line impact from the lapping of our December 2022 store closures from our Store Optimization Program.

更廣泛地審視 2024 財年的情況，我將分享一些增量色彩，以協助建模並幫助您了解我們如何考慮今年的節奏。首先，我們預計全年可比較的銷售業績將會增強，並且逐季略有改善。第一季將是一年中最疲軟的時期，反映出我們的商店優化計劃於 2022 年 12 月關閉商店對營收產生影響的唯一一個季度。

To that end, we expect first quarter net sales to be down 2% to 4% and comparable sales to be approximately flat to down 2%, with net sales reflecting about 200 basis points of headwind from store closures. The impact of the closures on top line, taken together with our solid gross margin profile is expected to result in Q1 operating margin of approximately 7.5%.

為此，我們預計第一季淨銷售額將下降 2% 至 4%，可比銷售額將大致持平至下降 2%，其中淨銷售額反映了商店關閉帶來的約 200 個基點的阻力。關閉對營收的影響，加上我們穩健的毛利率狀況，預計第一季營業利潤率將達到約 7.5%。

As a reminder, for the remainder of fiscal 2024, we will not have any further impact from the December 2022 store closures. Additionally, given the strong contribution profile of our current portfolio, we do not anticipate another tragic closures in the foreseeable future. In fiscal 2024, we expect net store count to be approximately flat.

謹此提醒，在 2024 財年剩餘時間內，2022 年 12 月門市關閉不會對我們產生任​​何進一步影響。此外，鑑於我們目前投資組合的強勁貢獻，我們預計在可預見的未來不會再發生悲劇性的倒閉。到 2024 財年，我們預計淨商店數量將大致持平。

As Denise noted, the outlook we're providing today contemplates the positive impact of our strategic initiatives, offset by macro factors that continue to pressure consumer spending. We appreciate your time this morning.

正如丹尼斯指出的那樣，我們今天提供的前景考慮了我們的策略舉措的積極影響，但被繼續給消費者支出帶來壓力的宏觀因素所抵消。我們非常感謝您今天早上的寶貴時間。

Now I'll ask the operator to open the call for Q&A.

現在我將要求接線員打開電話進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) The first question is from the line of Oliver Chen from TD Cowen.

（操作員說明） 第一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Oliver Chen。

Denise and Marlo, regarding the next quarter's guidance, what's underpinning the flat to down to? And as you articulated, consumer spending pressure, I would love to hear how that's manifesting and if it's manifesting in traffic. Also at the Sally division, the comp was a little bit light relative to street expectations. Would love either contrast -- what's happening there.

Denise 和 Marlo，關於下一季的指導，支撐持平的因素是什麼？正如您所闡述的，消費者支出壓力，我很想聽聽這是如何體現的，以及是否體現在交通中。同樣在莎莉分部，相對於街頭的期望來說，比賽有點輕。會喜歡這兩種對比——那裡發生的事情。

Second question is, you have a lot of great modernization initiatives, including merchandise as well as store concepts, which ones would you say impact traffic and/or younger customer exposure most, if you had to help prioritize the needle movers?

第二個問題是，您有很多偉大的現代化舉措，包括商品和商店概念，如果您必須幫助優先考慮針推動者，您認為哪些對流量和/或年輕客戶的影響最大？

Absolutely. It's Denise, I will start with those. Thanks for the questions. Let me start with Q1. In Q1, we expect to see the benefit from the strategic initiatives that we're working on. As we indicated, we believe for the full year, there are 200 to 300 basis points of comp goodness for us.

絕對地。我是丹尼斯，我將從這些開始。感謝您的提問。讓我從 Q1 開始。在第一季度，我們預計會看到我們正在進行的策略性舉措帶來的好處。正如我們所指出的，我們相信全年的利潤率將提高 200 至 300 個基點。

It will also be the last quarter where we see benefit to comp sales from the store closures last year. But we are expecting that more than offsetting that in Q1, we expect the trend from Q4 to continue. One important trend is the rapid in the care category at BSG. And then in general, just the macro headwinds that are out there.

這也將是我們看到去年商店關閉對公司銷售帶來好處的最後一個季度。但我們預計，這不僅會抵消第一季的影響，而且預計第四季的趨勢將持續下去。一個重要趨勢是 BSG 照護類別的快速發展。總的來說，就是存在的宏觀阻力。

Importantly, we see sequential comp improvement throughout the year. As the year progresses, strategic initiative benefits are going to accelerate, and the negative impact of that softness in the care category at DSG really lessens in Q2 and dissipates further as we get through the second half. So Q1, by all means, the lightest quarter of the year, but I think really well understood the trends that we're operating underneath that.

重要的是，我們看到全年薪酬持續改善。隨著時間的推移，策略性舉措的好處將會加速，DSG 護理類別的疲軟帶來的負面影響在第二季確實有所減輕，並在下半年進一步消散。因此，無論如何，第一季是一年中最清淡的季度，但我認為我們非常了解我們在此基礎上運營的趨勢。

More broadly, I think your second question was just about consumer trends and what we're seeing. Overall, consumer and purchasing trends in our mind are largely consistent with Q3. Within that, Sally customers just remain frugal. They buy what they need versus perhaps what they want or a more impulse type of purchase. We actually saw transactions and UPT trends largely consistent with Q3.

更廣泛地說，我認為你的第二個問題是關於消費者趨勢和我們所看到的。整體而言，我們心目中的消費者和購買趨勢與第三季基本一致。其中，莎莉的顧客只是保持節儉。他們購買他們需要的東西，而不是他們想要的東西或更衝動的購買類型。我們實際上看到交易和 UPT 趨勢與第三季基本一致。

And then Color and Care, the core categories remain the strongest performers. And based on the share data we have, we believe we're holding share in both of those categories.

然後是顏色和護理，核心類別仍然是表現最強勁的。根據我們掌握的份額數據，我們相信我們在這兩個類別中都持有份額。

When you asked about the impact of Sally comp, the impact to sales in Sally compared to the prior quarter trend was really driven by average unit retail prices being up only 4% in Q4 compared to being up 7% in Q3.

當您詢問 Sally comp 的影響時，與上一季趨勢相比，Sally 銷售額的影響實際上是由平均單位零售價格第四季度僅上漲 4% 推動的，而第三季度則上漲了 7%。

Two factors, the first one is by far the largest. We lapped price increases from that quarter last year. And so just less flow-through as we did that lapping. And then we did see a modest mix shift to products brought on promotion. We didn't promote more, but we did see customers gravitate a bit more to those value offerings.

有兩個因素，第一個是迄今為止最大的。我們經歷了去年該季度的價格上漲。因此，當我們進行研磨時，流量就會減少。然後我們確實看到了促銷帶來的產品組合的適度轉變。我們沒有進行更多促銷，但我們確實看到客戶更傾向於這些價值產品。

And on the BSG side of the equation, I call it Steady-Eddie, right? Styles behavior really was pretty consistent over the past few quarters. Comps were consistent. Color was a little bit stronger in the quarter. Care pretty consistent with what we saw in Q3. We did see an interesting little shift in transactions being down a bit, but ticket growth made up the other side of that. So in fact, our comp was actually slightly stronger than the prior quarter. So we're monitoring those trends.

在等式的 BSG 方面，我稱之為 Steady-Eddie，對嗎？在過去的幾個季度裡，風格的行為確實非常一致。比較是一致的。本季顏色稍強一些。關心與我們在第三季看到的非常一致。我們確實看到交易量出現了一個有趣的小變化，略有下降，但門票增長彌補了這一點。事實上，我們的業績比上一季略強。所以我們正在監控這些趨勢。

But I think in our minds right now, it's pretty consistent behavior. We believe we're holding share and in general, living in a world where macro is just having consumers be a little bit more frugal.

但我認為現在在我們看來，這是非常一致的行為。我們相信我們正在持有份額，而且總的來說，生活在一個宏觀經濟只是讓消費者更節儉的世界。

And then I think your second question, Oliver, was really around modernization. And when we're thinking about our initiatives, which ones can really impact traffic, which ones can impact a younger customer. A couple of pieces I would call out. On the Studio side, we think that is a traffic gainer.

然後我認為你的第二個問題，奧利佛，實際上是圍繞著現代化。當我們考慮我們的措施時，哪些措施可以真正影響流量，哪些措施可以影響年輕客戶。我會指出幾件事情。在工作室方面，我們認為這是一個流量增益。

If someone comes in for a service, and they want that service experience. And they might be a customer who doesn't shop as frequently, it could change their transaction behavior and have them shopping with us more often.

如果有人來尋求服務，並且他們想要這種服務體驗。他們可能是不那麼頻繁購物的顧客，這可能會改變他們的交易行為，讓他們更頻繁地在我們這裡購物。

Similarly, when we think about innovation and our own brands right? Those are things that are real traffic drivers to us. And with the type of brands we're bringing in, they are definitely geared towards not just a younger consumer, but appealing to a younger consumer.

同樣，當我們考慮創新和我們自己的品牌時，對嗎？這些對我們來說是真正的流量驅動因素。對於我們引入的品牌類型，它們肯定不僅面向年輕消費者，而且還吸引年輕消費者。

So on the BSG front with things like Danger Jones, Amika, very, very kind of high-profile brands. Certainly, that stylist shopper out there. And then our own brands front with bondbar, our continued focus on Strawberry Leopard, things that definitely gear towards a bit of that younger consumer.

因此，在 BSG 方面，有 Danger Jones、Amika 等非常非常高調的品牌。當然，還有那個造型師購物者。然後我們自己的品牌以 bondbar 為首，我們繼續關注 Strawberry Leopard，這些產品絕對適合年輕消費者。

And then the one we hope will build over time and help traffic is really our Licensed Colorist On Demand program. We have just launched into all 50 states. And with that, we are seeing about 30% of the customers taking advantage of that consultation being new to Sally, and we're starting to see them do repeat purchases as well.

然後，我們希望隨著時間的推移建立並幫助流量的項目實際上是我們的許可調色師點播計劃。我們剛剛在所有 50 個州推出。由此，我們看到大約 30% 的客戶利用了 Sally 不熟悉的諮詢服務，並且我們開始看到他們也進行了重複購買。

So when we think about that, that's traffic building. And usually, if you're new to the category, you're trying to understand how do I color. This is a great way to kind of bring people in and give them the confidence to do that. So I believe that hit all of your questions.

所以當我們想到這一點時，那就是流量建設。通常，如果您是該類別的新手，您會嘗試了解我如何著色。這是一種吸引人們參與並讓他們有信心這樣做的好方法。所以我相信這解決了你所有的問題。

The next question is from Korinne Wolfmeyer from Piper Sandler.

下一個問題來自 Piper Sandler 的 Korinne Wolfmeyer。

My first one is on operating margin. It does look like it came in a little bit towards the lower end of the range. And then I think you did mention some added wage pressure and some other things going on.

我的第一個是營業利益率。看起來確實有點接近該範圍的下限。然後我認為你確實提到了一些額外的工資壓力和其他一些正在發生的事情。

Can you just touch on what -- on the operating line, and I guess, the SG&A line, what is within your control to start to bring down a little bit more versus what are things that maybe will likely persist into next year? I know you gave a little bit of color on the cadence, but anything more specifically, you can think about in terms of modeling the cadence of SG&A over the course of fiscal '24?

您能否談談在營運方面，我猜，SG&A 方面，您可以控制哪些方面開始減少一點，哪些方面可能會持續到明年？我知道您對節奏進行了一些說明，但更具體地說，您可以考慮對 24 財年期間的 SG&A 節奏進行建模？

Thanks, Korinne. As you think about operating margin and kind of areas as we're looking forward to influence that really comes down to our Fuel for Growth initiatives on top of all the sales growth initiatives that we're driving. But thinking about areas that we've been working through, we've now started to see some of the benefits come through in our supply chain with our shipping frequency, and we're seeing that flow through now just in a test environment. We're now working to ramp that up. We will be looking to bring about 80% of our fleet online with that.

謝謝，科琳。當您考慮營業利潤率和我們期待影響的領域時，這實際上取決於我們正在推動的所有銷售成長計​​劃之上的「成長燃料」計劃。但考慮到我們一直在努力的領域，我們現在已經開始看到我們的供應鏈中透過我們的運輸頻率帶來的一些好處，而我們現在只是在測試環境中看到了這種流動。我們現在正在努力加大力度。我們將尋求使我們約 80% 的機隊實現線上化。

But when we look to 2024, we've talked about a $20 million benefit that we're working to deliver as we go through that. It's about 75% of all to the SG&A line, 25% on the margin line. So within the margin, we've got expansion opportunities both within our own brand penetration, but also with the Fuel for Growth activities that we'll be driving. And that's happening largely in the back half of the year. as we start to deliver more on that.

但當我們展望 2024 年時，我們談到了我們正在努力實現的 2000 萬美元的效益。大約 75% 用於 SG&A 線，25% 用於利潤線。因此，在利潤範圍內，我們不僅在自己的品牌滲透方面獲得了擴張機會，而且在我們將推動的成長燃料活動方面也獲得了擴張機會。這主要發生在今年下半年。當我們開始在這方面提供更多資訊時。

From an SG&A point of view, again, more back half loaded. We'll have higher dollars overall. But from a cadence perspective, we'll start to see leverage as we get into the back half of the year. and that's being driven by the Fuel for Growth efforts. Things that we have in flight again that are going to continue to ramp. We are putting in energy management systems within our stores. We're also implementing LED lights across the fleet.

從SG&A 的角度來看，同樣是半載。總體而言，我們的美元將會更高。但從節奏的角度來看，隨著進入今年下半年，我們將開始看到槓桿作用。這是由「成長燃料」努力推動的。我們再次推出的東西將繼續增加。我們正在商店內安裝能源管理系統。我們也在整個車隊中安裝 LED 燈。

Like I said, we'll continue to ramp up the shipping frequency and a lot of the benefits that we're getting within our transportation efforts. And then we're also working on nontrade spend. So as we're going through contract negotiations, those will continue to come online as well as we get through the year.

就像我說的，我們將繼續提高運輸頻率以及我們在運輸工作中獲得的許多好處。然後我們也致力於非貿易支出。因此，當我們正在進行合約談判時，這些談判將在我們度過這一年的同時繼續上線。

The next question is from Ashley Helgans from Jefferies.

下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Ashley Helgans。

I know you mentioned about traffic but do you think consumers trade down at all in any categories or even trade out. And then anything you can tell us about your expectations for the promotional landscape.

我知道您提到了流量，但您認為消費者是否會在任何類別中進行降價甚至淘汰。然後您可以告訴我們您對促銷環境的期望。

Sure. I think when we think about trade down or trade out, it's not really what we're seeing our customers do. As I mentioned in the prepared remarks, what we are seeing customers do is search more for value. So they do gravitate a bit more to when something is on promotion, more likelihood to be buying it on promotion.

當然。我認為，當我們考慮以舊換新或以舊換新時，我們看到的客戶實際上並不是這麼做的。正如我在準備好的演講中提到的，我們看到客戶所做的是尋找更多價值。因此，當某樣東西正在促銷時，他們確實更容易被吸引，更有可能在促銷時購買它。

And so with that, we certainly see a little shift in behavior from what we had seen earlier in the year about a little bit more frugality. The trend that's persistent from the beginning of the year as people does not buying things that they don't need.

因此，我們肯定會看到人們的行為與今年早些時候相比有所轉變，即更加節儉一點。這種趨勢從今年年初就持續存在，因為人們不會購買不需要的東西。

So we talk all year along that things like styling tools have seen less demand simply because that's a bit more of a -- you only buy it if you need it, unless you feel like you have extra money in your wallet. So a general sense of frugality, but not much more than that in terms of new trend or new behavior.

因此，我們一整年都在談論造型工具之類的需求減少，只是因為這更像是——只有在需要時才購買，除非你覺得錢包裡有多餘的錢。這是一種普遍的節儉意識，但僅在新趨勢或新行為方面就節儉了。

And if you could remind me, what was your second question again?

如果你能提醒我，你的第二個問題是什麼？

And then just anything you can tell us about your expectations for the promotional landscape as we move into the next fiscal year?

那麼，當我們進入下一個財年時，您能告訴我們您對促銷前景的期望嗎？

Absolutely. So overall, what we saw, if I separate Sally and BSG, so promotional activity at Sally this past year was generally consistent through fiscal 2023. So what we put out there on promotion. In Q4, we saw a bit of step up in the mix of products sold on promotion, as I just mentioned in terms of how people are searching for value. We expect value to be important as we go through '24.

絕對地。總的來說，我們看到，如果我將 Sally 和 BSG 分開，去年 Sally 的促銷活動到 2023 財年基本上保持一致。所以我們在促銷方面推出了哪些內容。在第四季度，我們看到促銷銷售的產品組合增加，正如我剛才提到的人們如何尋找價值。我們預計，隨著 24 年的到來，價值將變得非常重要。

In BSG, promotional activity was up modestly through '23. We expect that to remain constant in '24 as stylists also continue to seek out deals. When we think about that holistically, the way we're planning for the year is because our customers are remaining conservative, we're going to stay conservative on pricing.

在 BSG，促銷活動在 2023 年略有增加。我們預計 24 年這一趨勢將保持不變，因為造型師也會繼續尋求交易。當我們從整體考慮這一點時，我們今年的計劃是因為我們的客戶保持保守，我們將在定價上保持保守。

And we'll also, though, continue to lean in where we see that there's a UPT opportunity, we'll lean on promotions. Importantly, our vendor partners are continuing to be supportive and aligned with that strategy.

不過，我們也會繼續關注有 UPT 機會的地方，我們將依靠促銷。重要的是，我們的供應商合作夥伴將繼續支持並遵守該策略。

So good confidence about our gross margin level staying above 50%, continuing to execute the business we did but being realistic that customers are searching for value and finding the right ways to do that. Underpinning it all is the focus on our strategic initiatives. Our strategic initiatives will actually help us drive units.

我們對毛利率水準保持在 50% 以上充滿信心，繼續執行我們所做的業務，但要現實的是，客戶正在尋找價值並找到正確的方法來實現這一目標。支撐這一切的是我們對策略舉措的關注。我們的策略舉措實際上將有助於我們推動各部門的發展。

And at the end of the day, while we might not see as much coming through from pricing as we've seen in the last few years, that comp growth from the strategic initiatives is all about customers leaning in and buying more units.

歸根結底，雖然我們可能不會像過去幾年那樣看到定價帶來的好處，但策略舉措帶來的公司成長完全取決於客戶的青睞和購買更多單位。

Your next question is from Simeon Gutman from Morgan Stanley.

您的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的西蒙古特曼。

This is Zack on for Simeon. You guided to a flat comp and 9% margin. What can happen if the comp is negative or weaker than expected? How much cushion do you have for the 9% guidance? And in an adverse scenario, what type of negative comp would potentially jeopardize that 9%?

這是西蒙的紮克。您指導的是持平的薪資和 9% 的利潤率。如果比較結果為負或弱於預期會發生什麼？對於 9% 的指導，您有多少緩衝？在不利的情況下，哪種類型的負面補償可能會危及這 9% 的利益？

So guiding to the 9% is about where we are right now today. So flattish sales and overcoming some cost increases, typical cost increases like merit as an example, is what we're working to offset with our Fuel for Growth as well as to continue to invest in our strategic growth initiatives.

因此，對 9% 的指導就是我們現在所處的位置。因此，銷售持平和克服一些成本增加，典型的成本增加，例如績效，是我們正在努力透過成長燃料來抵消的，並繼續投資於我們的策略成長計劃。

So we feel good about the gross margins, at least 9%. As sales trend differences come to be -- we do have good cost management that we've been able to deploy over the years. You should have seen us do that. So feel like we can protect that.

所以我們對毛利率感覺良好，至少9%。隨著銷售趨勢差異的出現，我們確實擁有多年來能夠部署的良好成本管理。你應該看到我們這樣做。所以感覺我們可以保護它。

On the upside though, we talked about the growth initiatives, delivering 200 to 300 basis points. So in a more normalized environment, if the macro pressures were to dissipate, we see top line modest growth, and that's where we see some nice expansion on the operating margin line.

不過，從好的方面來看，我們討論了成長舉措，實現了 200 到 300 個基點的成長。因此，在更正常化的環境中，如果宏觀壓力消散，我們會看到營收適度成長，這就是我們看到營業利潤率出現良好擴張的地方。

Our next question is from the line of Olivia Tong from Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自 Raymond James 的 Olivia Tong。

First, just on the Q1 guide, I just wanted to understand that a little bit better because the comp guy seems fairly straightforward and the closures haven't yet lapped in Q1. But you talk to what's driving the 7.5% op margin target versus the 9% for the year.

首先，就第一季指南而言，我只是想更好地理解這一點，因為補償人員看起來相當簡單，而且第一季的封閉尚未完成。但您談到了是什麼推動了 7.5% 的營運利潤率目標，而不是今年的 9%。

The key driver there is the ramp of our Fuel for Growth initiatives. So we're lapping the last quarter, our store closures from last year. So our sales number is a bit more pressured, which as you'd expect, pressures a bit SG&A leverage. But what really happens through the year is the Fuel for Growth initiatives, the $20 million that will be incremental is more realized later in the year than it is in Q1, which is really what's driving the operating margin being a bit softer in Q1, fully in line with our expectations as we're getting through that last quarter of the store closure impact.

關鍵驅動力是我們「成長燃料」計畫的推進。因此，我們正在回顧上個季度，即去年我們關閉的商店。因此，我們的銷售數字面臨更大的壓力，正如您所料，這對 SG&A 槓桿造成了一些壓力。但今年真正發生的是成長燃料計劃，今年稍後將比第一季更多地實現 2000 萬美元，這確實是導致第一季度營業利潤率稍微疲軟的原因，完全符合我們的預期，因為我們正在經歷最後一個季度商店關閉的影響。

You also have a bit of a ramp -- a sequential improvement, modest, but through the year with the top line as well. Beyond just the store closures, you've got the ramp of the strategic initiatives as well.

你也有一點進步——連續的進步，雖然幅度不大，但全年的收入也有所提高。除了關閉商店之外，您還可以採取策略性舉措。

And then can you just touch a little bit more on the Walmart partnership you mentioned? I don't recall you talking about that before, but just what exactly is it? And -- and how many -- and what's involved in that, whether there's a store component as well?

那麼您能否再談談您提到的沃爾瑪合作關係？我不記得你以前說過這個，但到底是什麼？還有——有多少——以及其中涉及什麼，是否還有商店組件？

Sure. As you guys know, we've been out there and participating on amazon.com with our marketplace for a number of years now. The initiative we have in place right now is recently fully launching our own brands on to the Walmart marketplace. So it's a digital play. It's really for us to get access to a new customer base that might not shop regularly at Sally today but that we can introduce them to our own brands.

當然。如你們所知，我們多年來一直在 amazon.com 上參與我們的市場。我們目前採取的舉措是最近在沃爾瑪市場上全面推出我們自己的品牌。所以這是一個數字遊戲。我們確實能夠接觸到新的客戶群，他們今天可能不會經常在 Sally 購物，但我們可以向他們介紹我們自己的品牌。

And opportunity to sell through Walmart to accomplish that, but also opportunity for them to learn about the brands and learn a bit more about Sally. So we're excited about that and then furthering that growth within the digital space in Sally. We'll look as the first half of the year moves on to also start to participate in some other marketplaces, including Instacart and DoorDash.

透過沃爾瑪進行銷售來實現這一目標的機會，也是他們了解品牌並更多地了解莎莉的機會。因此，我們對此感到興奮，並在 Sally 的數位空間內進一步推動這一成長。我們將在今年上半年開始參與其他一些市場，包括 Instacart 和 DoorDash。

Got it, but just to clarify, this doesn't impact your Amazon related actions in anyway?

明白了，但我想澄清一下，這不會影響您與亞馬遜相關的操作嗎？

Not at all, not at all. This is a build on to that. So just understanding that marketplace has been a great vehicle no matter who the partner happens to be, to be introducing some of our own brands and expanded the reach of those owned brands. Is the focus on walmart.com today. It will -- it's also the focus on amazon.com today, and that will continue.

一點也不，一點也不。這是在此基礎上的基礎。因此，只要了解市場一直是個很好的工具，無論合作夥伴是誰，都可以引入我們的一些自有品牌並擴大這些自有品牌的影響力。今天的焦點是walmart.com。它將——這也是亞馬遜今天的焦點，而且這種情況將會持續下去。

And at this time, there are no further questions in queue. Please continue.

此時，隊列中沒有其他問題了。請繼續。

Well, I just want to thank everyone for joining the call today and thank all of our associates around the world. We delivered fiscal 2023 results in line with the expectations we laid out at the beginning of the year.

好吧，我只想感謝大家今天加入電話會議，並感謝我們在世界各地的所有同事。我們交付的 2023 財年業績符合年初制定的預期。

We also advanced our strategic priorities in the year with the launch of new concepts and services, product innovation and distinctive omnichannel experiences for our Sally customers and BSG stylists. We're looking forward to successful 2024 and appreciate your interest in the company. Thank you.

我們也推動了今年的策略重點，為 Sally 客戶和 BSG 造型師推出了新概念和服務、產品創新和獨特的全通路體驗。我們期待 2024 年取得成功，並感謝您對公司的興趣。謝謝。

Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Event Conferencing. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與與使用 AT&T Event Conference。您現在可以斷開連線。