Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (SFM) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Sprouts Farmers Market fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Sprouts Farmers Market 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。（操作員指令）

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Susannah Livingston, Vice President Investor Relations and Treasury.

現在，我想將會議交給今天的發言人、投資者關係和財務副總裁蘇珊娜·利文斯頓 (Susannah Livingston)。

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. We are pleased you are joining Sprouts on our fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings call. Jack Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer; Curtis Valentine, Chief Financial Officer; and Nick Konat, President and Chief Operating Officer, are with me today. The earnings release announcing our fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results, the webcast of this call, and financial slides can be accessed through the investor relations section of our website at investors.sprouts.com.

謝謝大家，下午好。我們很高興您能參加 Sprouts 的 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。傑克·辛克萊（Jack Sinclair），執行長；柯蒂斯·瓦倫丁 (Curtis Valentine)，財務長；以及總裁兼營運長尼克·科納特（Nick Konat）今天也和我在一起。您可以透過我們網站 investors.sprouts.com 的投資者關係部分存取宣布我們 2024 年第四季度和全年業績的收益報告、本次電話會議的網路直播和財務幻燈片。

During this call, management may make certain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our expectations for 2025 and beyond. These statements involve several risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statement. For more information, please refer to the Risk Factors discussed in our SEC filings and the commentary on forward-looking statements at the end of our earnings release.

在本次電話會議中，管理階層可能會做出某些前瞻性陳述，包括有關我們對 2025 年及以後的預期的陳述。這些聲明涉及若干風險和不確定性，可能導致結果與前瞻性聲明中描述的結果有重大差異。欲了解更多信息，請參閱我們提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中討論的風險因素以及收益報告末尾對前瞻性陳述的評論。

Our remarks today include references to non-GAAP measures. Please see the tables in our earnings release to reconcile our non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP figures.

我們今天的評論中提到了非公認會計準則指標。請參閱我們的收益報告中的表格，以將我們的非 GAAP 指標與可比較 GAAP 數據進行協調。

With that, let me hand it over to Jack.

說完這些，讓我把它交給傑克。

Thanks, Susannah, and good afternoon, everyone. First, I'd like to extend my deepest gratitude to our dedicated team for their tireless efforts during the past few months. Our stores have been dealing with floods in the Carolinas, the Los Angeles wildfires, and the unfortunate airplane crash near our Philadelphia store. I want to take this opportunity to thank our team members for supporting one another, the communities we serve, and the families devastated by these events. And thank you to the firefighters and other first responders who did so much. I'm proud that the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, along with our customers is supporting firefighters and their families and the rebuilding effort for communities in Los Angeles.

謝謝，蘇珊娜，大家下午好。首先，我要向我們敬業的團隊在過去幾個月裡的不懈努力表示最深切的感謝。我們的商店一直在應對卡羅來納州的洪水、洛杉磯的山火以及費城商店附近不幸的飛機失事事件。我想藉此機會感謝我們的團隊成員相互支持、感謝我們服務的社區以及受這些事件影響的家庭。並向做出巨大貢獻的消防員和其他急救人員表示感謝。我很自豪 Sprouts 健康社區基金會與我們的客戶一起支持消防員及其家人以及洛杉磯社區的重建工作。

2024 was an outstanding year for Sprouts. It was one of tremendous execution and exceptional teamwork. Our teams across all areas of the business worked together to deliver a 13% increase in sales for the year, a 7.6% comp and a bottom line margin improvement of more than 70 basis points. This success is a testament to the team's focus on our target customers, delivering operational excellence daily and positioning sprouts to capitalize on the ongoing trends towards healthy eating.

2024 年對 Sprouts 來說是傑出的一年。這是一次出色的執行力和卓越的團隊合作。我們各個業務領域的團隊齊心協力，實現了全年銷售額成長 13%，年增 7.6%，底線利潤率提高超過 70 個基點。這項成功證明了團隊對目標客戶的關注，每天提供卓越的運營，並使豆芽充分利用當前健康飲食的趨勢。

Our target customers seek differentiated, attribute-driven healthy products. We believe these customers represent $200 billion of the $1.6 trillion food at home market. By maintaining our focus on their needs, we have established ourselves as a leader in trend-forward health and specialty products. This focus includes all aspects of our business: offering healthy products, and practicing responsible sourcing are fundamental to our purpose: to help people live and eat better.

我們的目標客戶尋求差異化、屬性驅動的健康產品。我們相信這些客戶代表了 1.6 兆美元國內食品市場中的 2,000 億美元。透過持續關注他們的需求，我們已成為潮流健康和特色產品的領導者。這項重點涵蓋了我們業務的各個面向：提供健康的產品和實行負責任的採購是我們宗旨的基礎：幫助人們生活得更好、飲食得更好。

Whilst we were delighted the Progressive Grocer has recognized our commitment to offering this unique assortment by naming us Retailer of the Year for 2024, what truly matters to us is the recognition we receive from our customers.

雖然我們很高興《Progressive Grocer》認可了我們提供這種獨特商品的承諾，並將我們評為 2024 年度零售商，但對我們來說真正重要的是我們從客戶那裡獲得的認可。

In 2024, we introduced approximately 7,100 new items including more than 300 new products under the Sprouts Brand such as grass-fed meatballs, organic pasture raised eggs, and the new Real Root line of premium health and beauty products. Our teams collaborated across functions to execute merchandising events that effectively highlighted our differentiated products such as our Summer Cherry Festival, and we continue to get better at helping our target customers find the right products for them.

2024 年，我們推出了約 7,100 種新產品，其中包括 Sprouts 品牌下的 300 多種新產品，例如草飼肉丸、有機牧場飼養雞蛋以及全新 Real Root 系列優質健康和美容產品。我們的團隊跨職能協作進行行銷活動，有效地突出了我們的差異化產品，例如我們的夏日櫻桃節，並且我們將繼續更好地幫助目標客戶找到適合他們的產品。

We ended the year with the company's best customer service scores, thanks to a service-orientated culture embodied by our store team members. We also streamlined our operations through disciplined inventory management across the stores, distribution channels, and support office, positively impacting our sustainable margin profile.

由於我們門市團隊成員所體現的以服務為導向的文化，我們以公司最佳的客戶服務評分結束了這一年。我們還透過對商店、分銷管道和支援辦公室進行嚴格的庫存管理來簡化我們的運營，對我們的可持續利潤狀況產生了積極影響。

Our customer engagement has continued to improve resulting in strong traffic across all of our channels and healthy new customer growth. Our marketing is geared to our target customers and is unique and differentiated, much like our product offering. We have seen strong success in leaning away from our conventional seasonal messaging to focusing on unique products and solutions. We continue to improve our ability to engage via social media by utilizing healthy eating trends and working with influencers who share our purpose of helping people live and eat better.

我們的客戶參與度持續提高，導致我們所有管道的流量強勁，新客戶數量健康成長。我們的行銷面向目標客戶，並且獨特且差異化，就像我們提供的產品一樣。我們擺脫了傳統的季節性宣傳，轉而關注獨特的產品和解決方案，並取得了巨大的成功。我們將繼續利用健康飲食趨勢，並與有共同目標（幫助人們生活得更好、飲食得更好）的有影響力的人合作，提高我們透過社群媒體參與的能力。

The addition of Uber Eats as a delivery partner has helped us grow our e-commerce sales to above $1 billion, a significant landmark for our e-commerce team.

加入 Uber Eats 作為配送合作夥伴幫助我們將電子商務銷售額成長到 10 億美元以上，這對我們的電子商務團隊來說是一個重要的里程碑。

In 2024, we expanded our footprint from sea to shining sea and added Wyoming as our 24th state. We opened 33 new stores which together performed robustly and surpassed previous year's performance and our early expectations. Our growth created approximately 3,300 new jobs. We promoted almost 20% of our 33,000 team members in 2024, while continuing to cultivate a workplace culture that we believe will sustain a profitable business for years to come. None of our achievements would be possible without our fantastic team.

2024 年，我們將足跡從大海拓展到閃亮的大海，並將懷俄明州作為第 24 個州。我們開設了 33 家新店，整體表現強勁，超越了去年的業績和早期的預期。我們的成長創造了約 3,300 個新的工作機會。2024 年，我們將提升 33,000 名團隊成員中的近 20%，同時繼續培育一種我們相信將在未來幾年維持盈利的業務的工作場所文化。如果沒有我們出色的團隊，我們的這些成就就不可能實現。

In summary, our achievements in 2024 have laid a strong foundation for the future, and we're only just getting started. We have significantly improved the talent in our business, and I'm excited to work alongside our team members as we continue to unlock our incredible potential.

總而言之，我們在 2024 年所取得的成就為未來奠定了堅實的基礎，而我們才剛起步。我們業務中的人才水平已經顯著提升，我很高興能夠與我們的團隊成員一起繼續釋放我們不可思議的潛力。

I'll discuss our 2025 journey in a few moments. For now, I'll hand it to Curtis to review our 2024 financial performance in the fourth quarter and the year, as well as our 2025 outlook. Curtis?

稍後我將討論我們的 2025 年旅程。現在，我將交給柯蒂斯來回顧我們 2024 年第四季和全年的財務業績，以及 2025 年的展望。柯蒂斯？

Thanks Jack, and good afternoon, everyone. For the fourth quarter, total sales were $2 billion, up $298 million or 17.5% (sic - see press release, "18%") from the same period last year. This increase was driven by comparable store sales growth of 11.5% and adding new stores. This strong comp performance was broad based and balanced across channels, geographies, baskets, and traffic.

謝謝傑克，大家下午好。第四季總銷售額為 20 億美元，較去年同期成長 2.98 億美元，增幅 17.5%（原文如此 - 請參閱新聞稿「18%」）。這一成長主要得益於同店銷售額成長 11.5% 以及新店擴張。這種強勁的業績表現基礎廣泛，並且在通路、地理、購物籃和流量方面保持平衡。

October was the strongest comp month with both of the other months in the quarter also showing double-digit comp growth. Our e-commerce sales grew approximately 37%, representing 14.5% of our total sales for the quarter with strong performance from all partners.

十月份是年銷售額成長最為強勁的月份，本季其他兩個月也均實現了兩位數的年成長。我們的電子商務銷售額成長約 37%，佔本季總銷售額的 14.5%，得益於所有合作夥伴的強勁表現。

In addition, Sprouts Brand contributed 23% to our total sales for the quarter. As we have seen throughout the year, the strong performance was in categories with the most differentiation. Sprouts has experienced exponential growth in attribute-driven categories, gaining popularity due to the quality and health benefits these products provide. This makes them a top choice for our customers to prioritize healthy eating year round, resulting in continued growth in our seasonal programs as we make attributes the Story of the Holidays at Sprouts.

此外，Sprouts 品牌為我們本季的總銷售額貢獻了 23​​%。正如我們全年所看到的，強勁表現出現在差異化最強的類別中。Sprouts 在屬性驅動類別中經歷了指數級增長，並因其提供的品質和健康益處而廣受歡迎。這使得它們成為我們客戶全年優先考慮健康飲食的首選，從而推動我們的季節性項目持續增長，因為我們將 Sprouts 的節日故事作為其特色。

This fourth quarter, we saw strength across our core business and seasonal business and that combination was the key to our success. Our fourth-quarter gross margin was 38.1%, an increase of 150 basis points from the same period last year. This is primarily due to leveraging our improvements in inventory management. In addition, our strong sales performance drove leverage in our supply chain and supply constraints further reduced shrink.

第四季度，我們的核心業務和季節性業務表現強勁，這種結合是我們成功的關鍵。我們第四季的毛利率為38.1%，比去年同期增加了150個基點。這主要是因為我們利用了庫存管理的改善。此外，我們強勁的銷售業績推動了供應鏈的槓桿作用，供應限制進一步減少了損耗。

SG&A for the quarter totaled $615 million, an increase of $101 million or approximately 60 basis points of deleverage from the same period last year. This deleverage was due to higher incentive compensation for our teams spending against our planned $15 million strategic investment in the business and increased e-commerce fees. This was partially offset by leverage from the higher sales.

本季銷售、一般及行政開支總計 6.15 億美元，較去年同期增加 1.01 億美元，或約 60 個基點的去槓桿率。去槓桿的原因是，我們團隊的激勵薪酬高於我們計劃的 1500 萬美元業務策略投資，以及電子商務費用的增加。但銷售額增加帶來的槓桿作用部分抵消了這種影響。

Store closure and other costs totaled approximately $4 million for the quarter. These are primarily related to costs associated with exiting leases related to our 2023 store closures. Depreciation and amortization, excluding depreciation included in the cost of sales was $35 million.

本季商店關閉和其他費用總計約 400 萬美元。這些主要與我們 2023 年關閉商店相關的退出租約相關的成本有關。折舊和攤提（不包括銷售成本中包含的折舊）為 3500 萬美元。

For the fourth quarter, our earnings before interest and taxes were $106 million. Interest income was approximately $2 million and our effective tax rate was 26.5%. Net income was $80 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.79, an increase of 61% compared to the same period last year.

第四季度，我們的息稅前利潤為 1.06 億美元。利息收入約為 200 萬美元，我們的有效稅率為 26.5%。淨收入為8,000萬美元，每股攤薄收益為0.79美元，較去年同期成長61%。

For the fiscal year 2024, total sales increased nearly 13% to $7.7 billion, driven by comparable store sales growth of 7.6% and strong new store performance. Comp sales for the entire year were supported by strong traffic and increased basket mainly due to product mix. Our focus on innovation and differentiated product assortments resonated well with our target customers driving overall sales. Additionally, we were thrilled to see the strong performance of our new stores across all regions.

2024 財年，總銷售額成長近 13%，達到 77 億美元，這得益於同店銷售額成長 7.6% 和新店表現強勁。全年同店銷售主要得益於強勁的客流量和購物籃的增加，這主要歸功於產品組合。我們對創新和差異化產品組合的關注與目標客戶產生了良好共鳴，從而推動了整體銷售。此外，我們很高興看到我們各個地區的新店都表現強勁。

Gross margin was 38.1%, an increase of 120 basis points compared to adjusted gross margin last year. The inventory and category management investments we have made in SG&A over the past few years showed positive results and drove this year's improvements in gross margin. Additionally, our strong sales performance is creating supply chain leverage.

毛利率為38.1%，較去年調整後的毛利率增加了120個基點。過去幾年我們在銷售、一般及行政開支方面進行的庫存和品類管理投資取得了積極的成果，並推動了今年毛利率的提高。此外，我們強勁的銷售業績正在創造供應鏈槓桿。

SG&A expenses for the year totaled $2.3 billion, an increase of $300 million or approximately 55 basis points of deleverage compared to adjusted SG&A last year. The deleverage is mainly attributable to higher incentive compensation for the teams, increased e-commerce fees linked to higher sales, and spending against our planned $15 million investment in the business.

全年銷售、一般及行政開支總計 23 億美元，與去年調整後的銷售、一般及行政開支相比增加了 3 億美元，或約 55 個基點的去槓桿率。去槓桿主要歸因於團隊的激勵薪酬提高、與銷售額提高相關的電子商務費用增加、以及我們計劃對該業務的 1,500 萬美元投資的支出。

Store closures and other costs totaled $13 million, primarily related to ongoing occupancy costs from our 2023 store closures. Depreciation and amortization, excluding depreciation included in the cost of sales, was $133 million.

商店關閉和其他成本總計 1300 萬美元，主要與我們 2023 年商店關閉產生的持續佔用成本有關。折舊和攤提（不包括銷售成本中包含的折舊）為 1.33 億美元。

For 2024, our earnings before interest and taxes were $504 million. Interest income was $2.2 million. Our effective tax rate was approximately 25%. Net income was $381 million and diluted earnings per share were $3.75, an increase of 32% compared to the prior year's adjusted diluted earnings.

到 2024 年，我們的息稅前利潤為 5.04 億美元。利息收入為220萬美元。我們的有效稅率約為25%。淨收入為 3.81 億美元，每股攤薄收益為 3.75 美元，較上年調整後稀釋收益成長 32%。

We ended the year with 440 stores across 24 states. For the years ahead, we have over 110 approved new stores and nearly 70 executed leases in the pipeline. A strong and healthy balance sheet has underpinned our financial performance. For the year we generated $645 million in operating cash flow which allowed us to invest $200 million in capital expenditures net of landlord reimbursement to grow our business.

截至年底，我們在 24 個州擁有 440 家門市。在未來的幾年裡，我們將有超過 110 家新店和近 70 份已執行的租約正在籌備中。強勁而健康的資產負債表支撐了我們的財務表現。我們全年產生了 6.45 億美元的營運現金流，這使我們能夠在扣除房東補償金後投資 2 億美元資本支出來發展業務。

We voluntarily paid down our outstanding balance of $125 million on our credit facility and returned $238 million to our shareholders by repurchasing 2.7 million shares. We ended the year with $265 million in cash and cash equivalents, zero balance on our $700 million revolver, and $20 million of outstanding letters of credit.

我們自願償還了信貸額度中 1.25 億美元的未償還餘額，並透過回購 270 萬股股票向股東返還了 2.38 億美元。截至年底，我們的現金和現金等價物為 2.65 億美元，7 億美元的循環信用貸款餘額為零，未償還信用證為 2,000 萬美元。

Our diluted weighted average shares outstanding were down 2% compared to last year, and we have repurchased 43% of our shares since we started our share repurchase program in 2015. We have $451 million remaining under our current share repurchase authorization. While we're pleased with our progress, significant opportunities remain. As we look ahead to our expectations for 2025, we remain focused on delivering earnings growth while investing to unlock future opportunities. The significant improvements made to our business give us confidence in our ability to drive long-term sustainable earnings growth.

我們的稀釋加權平均流通股數較去年同期下降了 2%，自 2015 年啟動股票回購計畫以來，我們已回購了 43% 的股票。我們目前的股票回購授權餘額為 4.51 億美元。雖然我們對所取得的進展感到滿意，但仍存在重大機會。展望2025年的預期，我們將繼續專注於實現獲利成長，同時進行投資以發掘未來機會。我們業務的重大改進使我們對推動長期可持續獲利成長的能力充滿信心。

For 2025, we expect total sales growth to be 10.5% to 12.5% and comp sales in the range of 4.5% to 6.5%. We anticipate comp sales to start the year stronger and moderate as we cycle the higher comps from late 2024. We plan to open at least 35 new stores. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes are expected to be between $590 million and $610 million, and adjusted earnings per share are expected to be between $4.52 and $4.68 assuming no additional share repurchases. That said, we do expect to continue to repurchase shares opportunistically.

預計 2025 年總銷售額成長率為 10.5% 至 12.5%，同店銷售額成長率介於 4.5% 至 6.5% 之間。我們預計，隨著 2024 年底開始推行更高的同店銷售額，今年初的同店銷售額將更加強勁且溫和。我們計劃開設至少 35 家新店。預計調整後的息稅前利潤將在 5.9 億美元至 6.1 億美元之間，假設不進行額外的股票回購，預計調整後的每股盈餘將在 4.52 美元至 4.68 美元之間。儘管如此，我們確實希望繼續適時回購股票。

We also expect our corporate tax rate to be approximately 25%. During the year, we expect capital expenditures net of landlord reimbursements to be between $230 million and $250 million.

我們也預計我們的公司稅率約為25%。我們預計今年扣除房東補償金的資本支出將在 2.3 億美元至 2.5 億美元之間。

To add a bit more color to the year, we anticipate a continued expansion of our gross margins. We plan to further reduce, shrink and leverage our supply chain, which will help offset the costs associated with the rollout of our loyalty program. Though we still have investments to support our growth, we expect slight SG&A leverage in 2025 as we lap higher incentive compensation from 2024, partially offset by pressure related to new store growth and strong e-commerce sales.

為了為今年增添更多色彩，我們預計毛利率將繼續擴大。我們計劃進一步減少、縮小和利用我們的供應鏈，這將有助於抵消與推出忠誠度計劃相關的成本。儘管我們仍有投資來支持我們的成長，但我們預計 2025 年的銷售、一般及行政費用槓桿率將略有下降，因為我們將從 2024 年開始獲得更高的激勵薪酬，但新店增長和強勁的電子商務銷售相關的壓力將部分抵消這一影響。

We are effectively managing our expenses while identifying opportunities for improvement. We continue to expect these investments will lead to profitable growth in the future as they have in our recent past.

我們正在有效地管理我們的開支，同時尋找改進的機會。我們繼續預期這些投資將在未來帶來獲利成長，就像我們最近所做的那樣。

Most of our CapEx spending will be for new stores, with the remainder focused on supply chain and technology enhancements, store refresh and maintenance, and merchandising initiatives. For the first quarter of the year, we continue to see momentum in the business and expect comp sales in the range of approximately 10% to 11% and adjusted earnings per share between $1.51 and $1.55. We also expect year-over-year improvement in gross margin by approximately 50 basis points as well as improvement in SG&A margin of approximately 75 basis points as we leverage higher sales.

我們的資本支出大部分將用於新店，其餘部分則集中於供應鏈和技術改進、店面更新和維護以及商品推銷計劃。今年第一季度，我們繼續看到業務發展勢頭，預計同店銷售額將成長約 10% 至 11%，調整後每股收益將在 1.51 美元至 1.55 美元之間。我們也預計，隨著我們利用更高的銷售額，毛利率將年增約 50 個基點，銷售、一般及行政開支利潤率將提高約 75 個基點。

And with that, I'll turn it back to Jack.

說完這些，我就把話題轉回給傑克。

Thanks, Curtis. Over the past year, we've made significant strides in our performance by continuing to establish a solid foundation for growth, highlighting our uniqueness, and living our purpose of helping people live and eat better. We have prioritized our target customers' needs by focusing on differentiated merchandising, marketing, and store formats, which positions us well to compete in any environment. There is more to come from this team.

謝謝，柯蒂斯。在過去的一年裡，我們繼續奠定堅實的成長基礎，凸顯我們的獨特性，並實踐幫助人們生活得更好、飲食得更好的宗旨，從而取得了長足的進步。我們透過專注於差異化的商品銷售、行銷和商店形式來優先考慮目標客戶的需求，這使我們能夠在任何環境中保持競爭力。這支球隊還將取得更多進步。

We're excited for 2025 as we build upon that strong foundation, focus on what's working well, and forge new capabilities for the future. We've got some exciting initiatives underway and that we believe will further propel our growth and success. These plans include showcasing more innovation in our stores, launching our loyalty program, strengthening our advantaged supply chain for fresher products, building exceptional stores that are enjoyable to shop in, and developing a best-in-class team dedicated to serving our customers.

我們對 2025 年充滿期待，因為我們將在堅實的基礎上再接再厲，專注於取得良好進展，並為未來打造新的能力。我們正在進行一些令人興奮的舉措，我們相信這些舉措將進一步推動我們的成長和成功。這些計劃包括在我們的商店展示更多創新、推出我們的忠誠度計劃、加強我們的優勢供應鏈以提供更新鮮的產品、打造令人愉快的購物體驗的卓越商店，以及發展一支致力於服務客戶的一流團隊。

Our target customers are now more engaged than ever before in the role food plays in their health and our ability to support them is a key reason why Sprouts is succeeding. They are discerning shoppers who scrutinize every ingredient, seek wellness benefits, explore culinary trends, and aspire to more sustainable and premium choices while looking to Sprouts as a trusted partner on their journey.

我們的目標客戶現在比以往任何時候都更專注於食物在他們的健康中所扮演的角色，而我們為他們提供支援的能力是 Sprouts 成功的關鍵原因。他們都是精明的購物者，會仔細檢查每種成分，尋求健康益處，探索烹飪趨勢，並渴望獲得更永續和更優質的選擇，同時將 Sprouts 視為旅途中值得信賴的合作夥伴。

In 2025, product innovation will focus on where we have been winning, specifically attribute-driven products that are unique in the marketplace. The foraging team will continue sourcing the best innovation in our space such as organics, clean ingredients, minimally processed, and pasture raised proteins while staying ahead of evolving trends.

2025 年，產品創新將集中在我們一直以來的成功領域，特別是市場上獨一無二的屬性驅動產品。覓食團隊將繼續在我們的領域尋找最好的創新，例如有機物、清潔成分、最低限度加工和牧場飼養的蛋白質，同時保持領先於不斷發展的趨勢。

Additionally, they will introduce more innovative Sprouts Brand items such as organic avocado tortilla chips, konjac noodles, organic reduced sugar preserves and organic acai chunks. Our Sprouts Brand is thriving, delivering growth and outpacing company performance while providing customers with products they trust.

此外，他們還將推出更多創新的 Sprouts 品牌產品，如有機酪梨玉米片、蒟蒻麵條、有機低糖果醬和有機巴西莓塊。我們的 Sprouts 品牌蓬勃發展，在為客戶提供信賴的產品的同時，實現了成長並超越了公司業績。

The two-year Sprouts rebranding initiative focusing on vibrant and clear messaging on our packaging is yielding positive results and will foster further growth. This year, we will market these exceptional products more effectively by emphasizing storytelling to highlight their uniqueness and attributes. The dedication of our team has led to an impressive product development pipeline planned for the next three years filled with new items tailored for those target customers.

為期兩年的 Sprouts 品牌重塑計畫專注於在包裝上傳達生動、清晰的訊息，正在產生積極成果並將促進進一步成長。今年，我們將透過講故事來更有效地推銷這些卓越的產品，以突出它們的獨特性和屬性。我們團隊的奉獻精神使我們計劃在未來三年內推出令人印象深刻的產品開發流程，其中充滿了為目標客戶量身定制的新產品。

Produce remains nearly 20% of our sales and is at the heart of our farmers market appeal. We have seen this business steadily grow thanks to strong cross functional effort and our commitment to freshness, variety and organics. The produce team is also focused on growing our sourcing partnerships to bring more unique varietals to our customers, inspiring them to explore new items. These initiatives will enhance organic, local, and national supply and most importantly, ensure exceptional freshness.

農產品仍占我們銷售額的近 20%，也是我們農夫市集吸引力的核心。由於強大的跨職能努力以及我們對新鮮度、多樣性和有機性的承諾，我們看到這項業務穩步成長。生產團隊也致力於發展我們的採購合作夥伴關係，為我們的客戶帶來更多獨特的品種，激勵他們探索新產品。這些措施將加強有機、本地和全國的供應，最重要的是，確保卓越的新鮮度。

In 2025, we will continue our strategic investment to attract new health enthusiasts and increase our share of wallets among existing customers. Our strategy focuses on engaging customers in the channels where they want to shop, whether in-store, delivery, or pickup. Our teams will double down on what works in stores by providing seamless customer experiences and educating shoppers through sampling.

2025年，我們將繼續進行策略性投資，以吸引新的健康愛好者並增加我們在現有客戶中的份額。我們的策略重點是吸引顧客在他們想要購物的管道購物，無論是店內、送貨還是自取。我們的團隊將加倍努力，加強店內的有效運作，提供無縫的客戶體驗，並透過樣品教育購物者。

Our e-commerce partners will continue to support us on our e-comm journey. Our merchandising team will collaborate with store teams to bring cross functional events to life such as our Sprouts Brand event, making it easy for customers to engage in a healthy living journey.

我們的電子商務合作夥伴將在我們的電子商務旅程中繼續支持我們。我們的行銷團隊將與商店團隊合作，舉辦跨職能活動，例如 Sprouts Brand 活動，讓顧客輕鬆參與健康生活之旅。

We embrace our uniqueness, which is reflected in our marketing as well. Our messaging is different. Our media selection is unconventional. Our social is engaging, and our in-store messaging emphasizes key attributes. We're also testing a new marketing campaign called that Sprouts Feeling, capturing the excitement customers feel when discovering something new, fresh, and healthy just for them.

我們擁抱我們的獨特性，這也反映在我們的行銷中。我們傳遞的訊息不同。我們的媒體選擇是不尋常的。我們的社交活動引人入勝，我們的店內訊息傳遞強調了關鍵屬性。我們也正在測試一項名為「Sprouts Feeling」的新行銷活動，捕捉顧客在發現專為他們提供的新鮮健康食品時所感受到的興奮感。

I'm particularly excited about our plans for personalization and loyalty. Customers love shopping at Sprouts, but we have a large opportunity to increase our share of wallet with them. Our loyalty rollout will be a key step in our customer engagement journey, providing invaluable data to help us understand our customers and customize how we serve their needs better. In turn, we expect to see them visit more often and add more items to their baskets.

我對我們的個人化和忠誠度計劃特別感到興奮。顧客們喜歡在 Sprouts 購物，但我們也有很大的機會增加我們的銷售額。我們的忠誠度推廣將成為我們客戶參與之旅的關鍵一步，它將提供寶貴的數據，幫助我們了解客戶，並客製化我們如何更好地滿足他們的需求。反過來，我們希望看到他們更頻繁地訪問並在購物籃中添加更多商品。

In our test markets, we've been focusing on sign ups and scans as a key metric of customer engagement and both have met and exceeded our expectations. In December, we expanded our loyalty test into a pilot across 24 additional stores and four markets.

在我們的測試市場中，我們一直專注於註冊和掃描作為客戶參與度的關鍵指標，並且兩者都滿足並超越了我們的預期。12 月，我們將忠誠度測驗擴展為試點，涵蓋另外 24 家門市和 4 個市場。

As we look to the rest of the year, we will continue our pilot through the second quarter as we add additional functionality. In the third quarter, we plan to launch our program in a phased rollout across all regions to continue through the rest of the year.

展望今年剩餘時間，我們將在第二季繼續試行並增加更多功能。我們計劃在第三季分階段在所有地區推出該計劃，並持續到今年年底。

We have made significant progress in developing an advantaged supply chain supporting our future growth. Over the past few years, we have implemented new systems, expanded existing space, and built new facilities as we prepared to self-distribute more categories. These investments have enabled us to take greater control of our supply chain operations.

我們在開發支援未來成長的優勢供應鏈方面取得了重大進展。在過去幾年裡，我們實施了新系統、擴大了現有空間並建造了新設施，為自行分銷更多類別做好準備。這些投資使我們能夠更好地控制我們的供應鏈營運。

Across 2025, we are transitioning to self-distribute our meat and seafood alongside produce, capitalizing on the capacity and capabilities we have created over the past few years. We will move through this transition gradually over the next year with support from third-party distributors as an interim step.

到 2025 年，我們將利用過去幾年累積的產能和能力，轉型為自主銷售肉類、海鮮和農產品。我們將在第三方經銷商的支持下，在未來一年內逐步完成這項轉變，作為過渡步驟。

Additionally, in 2025, we will continue to invest in our distribution network as we grow across the country.

此外，到 2025 年，隨著公司在全國範圍內的發展，我們將繼續投資我們的分銷網絡。

As for growth, we plan to open at least 35 stores for the year. These stores will be located entirely in our existing markets, further densifying our current footprint. While 2025 openings will create store density in our existing footprint, we will also set the table for future expansion into new regions as we build our market plans for the Midwest and the Northeast. We are confident in our journey to provide access to Sprouts in as many communities as possible.

至於成長，我們計劃今年至少開設 35 家門市。這些商店將全部位於我們現有的市場，進一步擴大我們目前的覆蓋範圍。雖然 2025 年的開幕將在我們現有的業務範圍內增加門市密度，但我們在製定中西部和東北部市場計劃時，也將為未來向新地區的擴張做好準備。我們有信心讓盡可能多的社區能夠使用 Sprouts。

Lastly, our team is at the heart of Sprouts, and we are dedicated to their growth and development. We are proud of the culture at Sprouts. It is a privilege to reinvigorate the culture that Sprouts founders created many years ago. As we grow, we will honor our roots and the journey that brought us here.

最後，我們的團隊是 Sprouts 的核心，我們致力於他們的成長和發展。我們為 Sprouts 的文化感到自豪。我很榮幸能夠重振 Sprouts 創辦人多年前創立的文化。隨著我們的成長，我們將尊重我們的根源和帶我們來到這裡的旅程。

Our commitment to culture has led to our team member retention reaching all-time highs. In 2025, we will strengthen our coaching and mentorship programs and continue developing future leaders, making Sprouts a place where people can truly flourish and grow. With our expansion through new store openings across the country, we are eager to offer even more career opportunities for our talented Sprouties. Our team is our greatest asset, and we are committed to fostering a culture that supports their success.

我們對文化的承諾使我們的團隊成員保留率達到了歷史最高水準。2025 年，我們將加強指導和輔導計劃，繼續培養未來的領導者，使 Sprouts 成為人們真正能夠蓬勃發展和成長的地方。隨著我們在全國開設新店，業務不斷擴張，我們渴望為有才華的 Sprouties 提供更多的職業機會。我們的團隊是我們最大的財富，我們致力於培養支持他們成功的文化。

In summary, we're excited about the future of Sprouts and the growth opportunities that 2025 will bring. We are even more excited about the years ahead. We have a clear strategic focus and a strong team committed to executing our initiatives at a high level. By taking care of our team members who in turn take care of our customers' needs, we are confident we will achieve strong financial performance and continue creating value for our shareholders. We look forward to sharing our progress with you in the coming quarters.

總而言之，我們對 Sprouts 的未來以及 2025 年將帶來的成長機會感到興奮。我們對未來的歲月更加充滿期待。我們擁有明確的策略重點和強大的團隊，致力於高水準地執行我們的計劃。透過照顧我們的團隊成員，他們反過來照顧我們客戶的需求，我們相信我們將實現強勁的財務表現並繼續為我們的股東創造價值。我們期待在接下來的幾個季度與您分享我們的進展。

With that, I'd like to turn it over for questions. Operator?

說到這裡，我想把這個問題提交給大家提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Leah Jordan, Goldman Sachs.

（操作員指示） Leah Jordan，高盛。

Thank you. Good afternoon, and great job on the quarter. I just wanted to start off on gross margin. You had said you expect continued expansion in the coming year, and I think, there are many things you've talked about, the category management that you've highlighted, but just seeing if you could provide more detail on the magnitude that you're thinking about expansion for this year and any puts and takes as we move through the year, as I know you have some laps with some stronger produce seasons last year?

謝謝。下午好，本季取得了很好的成績。我只是想從毛利率開始說起。您曾說過預計來年將繼續擴張，我想，您已經談到了很多事情，您強調了品類管理，但是您是否可以提供更多細節，說明您考慮今年擴張的規模以及全年的任何得失，因為我知道去年您的農產品產量有些較強勁？

Hi. Thanks, Leah. This is Curtis. Yes, so call it 25 to 30 basis points for the year. We kind of had the first quarter in the script at approximately [50 basis points], and then it will kind of settle to just slight leverage for the rest of the year. It's still shrink and supply chain leverage. Leverage from the sales, especially early in the year will be a factor in driving some of that leverage.

你好。謝謝，利亞。這是柯蒂斯。是的，所以今年的利率是 25 到 30 個基點。我們在第一季的計劃中將槓桿率設定為大約 [50 個基點]，然後在今年剩餘時間內，槓桿率將會穩定在略微的水平。這仍然是萎縮和供應鏈槓桿。銷售槓桿，尤其是年初的銷售槓桿，將成為推動部分槓桿的因素。

I think the only other note is, you know, late in the year, we certainly some of the supply constraints led to some better shrink this year. So that might put a little bit of pressure on the fourth quarter and later in the year next year from a shrink perspective. But it should be leverage each quarter.

我認為唯一需要注意的是，你知道，今年晚些時候，我們肯定會受到一些供應限制，導致今年出現更好的萎縮。因此，從萎縮的角度來看，這可能會給第四季度以及明年晚些時候帶來一點壓力。但每季都應該有槓桿。

Okay, very helpful. Thank you. And then I just wanted to ask about store growth. I saw you guys are planning to open at least 35 new stores this year. That is a slight acceleration from indoors from last year. But, you know, we're still not at the longer-term target of 10%. I think that's, you know, obviously in line with what you communicated so far, but just maybe an update on where we are and how you view the path back to 10%?Are you still seeing an issue with developers with interest rates still high? And then any color maybe on how we should think about the cadence of store openings this year as well?

好的，很有幫助。謝謝。然後我只想問一下有關商店增長的情況。我看到你們計劃今年開設至少 35 家新店。與去年相比，室內速度略有加快。但你知道，我們還沒有達到 10% 的長期目標。我認為這顯然與你迄今為止傳達的訊息一致，但也許只是關於我們目前的情況以及你如何看待回到 10% 的道路的更新？您還認為開發商的利率仍然過高嗎？那麼，我們該如何考慮今年商店開幕的節奏呢？

Yeah. Leah, we remain really focused on growing our business through new stores and we're continuing. We're certainly pushing hard to keep moving faster. We're being very judicious in the stores that we're picking and the sites that we're getting. We know there are 1,200 sites across the United States that could support Sprouts in terms of the target customer. And we also know that we have to get the exactly right place within those geographies to make sure it's going to work. So that's the first stage of it.

是的。利亞，我們仍然專注於透過開設新店來發展我們的業務，而且我們會繼續這樣做。我們確實在盡力加快步伐。我們在選擇商店和站點時非常謹慎。我們知道，就目標客戶而言，全美有 1,200 個站點可以支援 Sprouts。我們也知道，我們必須在這些地區找到適當的地點，才能確保它能夠發揮作用。這是第一階段。

Our model has been making sure that the stores that we open are working well, and that's coming to fruition in terms of what's happened in 2024, and we certainly expect that in 2025. So there are still some constraints. We're kind of wondering exactly what's going to happen with developers and what's going to happen with interest rates and what's going to happen with steel tariffs and those kinds of things. But by and large, we're confident in the number that we've talked for this year, and I'm confident we'll start to build more in the years ahead.

我們的模型一直在確保我們開設的商店運作良好，從 2024 年的情況來看，這一目標正在實現，我們當然希望在 2025 年也能實現。因此仍然存在一些限制。我們有點想知道開發商到底會發生什麼事，利率會發生什麼事，鋼鐵關稅會發生什麼事等等。但總的來說，我們對今年所談論的數字充滿信心，並且我相信我們將在未來幾年開始取得更多成就。

And then, Leah, just to add on to that, from a timing perspective, we'll do four in the first quarter here and then it's pretty smooth the rest of the year, quarter to quarter to quarter to get you to 35 and on the at least or the plus side ahead of 35 it would be all backloaded, it would be late in the year if we were to get past 35.

然後，利亞，再補充一點，從時間角度來看，我們在第一季度會做 4 個，然後今年剩餘時間就會很順利，一個季度接一個季度地做，直到達到 35 個，至少在 35 個之前，或者從積極的一面來看，它會全部延期，如果我們要超過 35 個，那將是今年晚些時候的事了。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

John Heinbockel, Guggenheim Securities.

古根漢證券的約翰‧海因博克爾 (John Heinbockel)。

So Jack, I wanted to start with your thoughts on the concept of brand tipping point, because you've had this acceleration in comps over the last nine months. And I know that if we take the first quarter and kind of look at 2Q through 4Q, it's sort of like a low-single-digit comp, two or three in the back half of the year, what's your thought on that? And I don't think you're changing the secular algo, but are we hitting a brand tipping point where that low-single digit is conservative because of your engagement and your brand awareness with the consumer broadly?

所以傑克，我想從你對品牌引爆點概念的看法開始，因為在過去的九個月裡，你的品牌在同店銷售中經歷了加速成長。我知道，如果我們看一下第一季度，然後再看一下第二季度到第四季度，就會發現它的銷售額同比增長了 2 到 3 個百分點，您對此有何看法？而且我認為您不會改變長期演算法，但是我們是否已經達到了品牌臨界點，在這個臨界點上，由於您的參與度和對消費者的品牌認知度，那個低個位數是保守的？

Yeah. It's a great question, John, and I'll let Curtis talk about the algorithm a little bit in terms of how that's working going forward, but significant opportunity in our business. The target customer is there's more of them out there and they can spend more with us.

是的。這是一個很好的問題，約翰，我將讓柯蒂斯稍微談論一下該演算法，了解它未來的運作方式，但這對我們的業務來說是一個重大機會。目標客戶越來越多，他們願意在我們這裡花更多的錢。

The share of wallet that we have is such that we believe as we work through our merchandising, our marketing, our loyalty, our personalization that we can get a greater share of wallet than existing customers and there's going to be more health focused customers in the future.

我們所擁有的錢包份額是這樣的，我們相信，透過我們的商品推銷、我們的行銷、我們的忠誠度和我們的個人化，我們可以比現有客戶獲得更大的錢包份額，並且未來還會有更多關注健康的客戶。

So we're very confident in the underlying opportunity that exists in the business. At the same time, we're being thoughtful and considerate as to what the opportunities are to achieve that in the short-term. But overall we're pretty confident that the number that we put down for 2025 we're comfortable with and there'll be more to come as we go through the course of the next year or two.

因此，我們對於該業務中存在的潛在機會非常有信心。同時，我們也在認真考慮短期內有哪些機會可以實現這一目標。但總體而言，我們對 2025 年設定的數字非常滿意，而且在未來一兩年內，還會有更多數字出現。

Yes, John, I'd just add, as Jack said, confident, but it's a long year ahead. There's a lot of macro. The two to four the algo is we'll deliver it every quarter in every environment is kind of the mindset to that. This year will be an interesting year for us. We're going to comp some mid- to high-single digit are now into double digits in the fourth quarter when we get there later this year. So that'd be the first time we've done that in 10-plus years as a company. So we're excited to see how that plays out. And certainly to the extent there's upside, we'll be talking to you about it every quarter from here on out.

是的，約翰，我只想補充一點，正如傑克所說，我很有信心，但未來的一年還很漫長。有很多宏。二到四的演算法是我們在每個環境中每季都會交付它，這就是這種心態。今年對我們來說將會是有趣的一年。今年晚些時候，我們將在第四季將中高個位數的銷售額提高到兩位數。這是我們公司成立十多年來第一次這樣做。所以我們很期待看到事情會如何發展。當然，只要存在上行空間，從現在開始我們每季都會與您討論。

And then maybe as a follow-up, the expansion of the supply chain opportunity, so meat, seafood, what's the thought on how far you can push that? And I don't think you want to do commissary type activity because of the quality and freshness impact, or maybe I'm wrong about that, but how far can you push the potential, what you can do out of your DCs?

然後也許作為後續行動，擴大供應鏈機會，所以肉類、海鮮，您認為能將其推到多遠？而且我認為您不想進行補給站類型的活動，因為這會影響品質和新鮮度，或者我可能錯了，但是您可以將潛力發揮到多大程度，您可以利用您的 DC 做些什麼？

Well, certainly, as we said in the script there, we've built capacity and capability in our business going forward. So we've got space to do more categories going forward and we've created the infrastructure in terms of having replenishment and being able to forecast the way we want to forecast. So we've got choice going forward.

嗯，當然，正如我們在腳本中所說的那樣，我們已經在未來的業務中建立了能力和實力。因此，我們有空間在未來開展更多的類別，並且我們已經創建了補貨和能夠按照我們想要的方式進行預測的基礎設施。因此我們在前進的道路上還有選擇。

And very specifically fresh foods, the fresh meat categories and the categories around fresh meat are the ones that we're working on this year. We can go beyond that. I think we've talked in the past. Potentially could we go down private label? Potentially could we go down some other categories? There's some merit, there's a lot of merit in working with some of our partners that help us in this, but we've got some opportunities to go further.

具體來說，新鮮食品、新鮮肉類類別以及圍繞新鮮肉類的類別是我們今年的致力於。我們可以超越這一點。我想我們以前談過。我們有可能推出自有品牌嗎？我們是否可以考慮下其他類別？與一些在這方面幫助我們的合作夥伴一起努力有一些好處，有很多好處，但我們還有一些機會可以走得更遠。

With regard to commissary, you're absolutely right. That's not something we're planning to do when our business has got so many states and so it's a complicated exercise and I think we would take care of it, if we took out of the stores and put it into commissary.

關於小賣部，您說得完全正確。當我們的業務涉及如此多的州時，我們並沒有計劃這麼做，因此這是一項複雜的工作，我認為，如果我們把這些從商店中拿出來放到小賣部，我們會處理好這個問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, John.

謝謝，約翰。

Mark Carden, UBS.

瑞銀的馬克卡登（Mark Carden）。

Good afternoon. Thanks so much for taking the questions, and very nice quarter, guys. To start, just another one on the top line, you guys continue to comp obviously a really strong rate. You're growing at a much faster pace than the industry overall. Do you have a sense of what channels you're taking the most market share from at this point, have you seen any changes? And then are you seeing any differences in the demographic profiles of your new shoppers relative to your existing base, even within that $200 billion bucket that you're going after?

午安.非常感謝你們回答這些問題，大家表現得非常好。首先，這只是頂線上的另一個數據，你們顯然繼續保持著非常強勁的成長率。你們的成長速度比整個產業快得多。您是否了解目前哪些管道佔據了最多的市場份額，您是否看到任何變化？那麼，即使在您追求的 2000 億美元範圍內，您是否看到新購物者的人口統計資料與現有群體相比有任何差異？

Yeah. Hey, Mark, this is Nick. Thanks for the question. As you look at where our growth is coming, it's very balanced. We're seeing a lot of balance in our growth, both whether that be channels, brick and mortar, e-comm or regions and parts of the country, we're seeing that growth, even our new stores and our existing stores both seeing strong growth, so there's good balance there.

是的。嘿，馬克，我是尼克。謝謝你的提問。如果你看看我們的成長方向，你會發現它是非常均衡的。我們看到我們的成長非常平衡，無論是通路、實體店、電子商務還是地區和國家部分地區，我們都看到了這種增長，甚至我們的新店和現有店都實現了強勁增長，所以這方面是很好的平衡。

And your question on the customer, the good news is we're seeing growth, a lot of new customer growth. We're also seeing our existing customers engage with us more both in the frequency in which they visit and how much they're spending with us. So again, kind of to the same theme of balance from a demographic standpoint, I tell you there hasn't been a lot of change. And for us, the most important thing is almost more the lifestyle and the type of customers we have.

關於客戶的問題，好消息是我們看到了成長，大量新客戶的成長。我們也發現，現有客戶與我們互動的次數和消費金額都在增加。因此，再次從人口統計角度回到平衡這一同一主題，我告訴你，並沒有太大的變化。對我們來說，最重要的幾乎是我們的生活方式和客戶類型。

Our customers are looking for ways to live and eat better and it's all about research and labels and things like organic and gluten free for them. So that's the more important sort of segment for us than a demographic. But I think we talked in the past, our core demographic still remains higher educated, higher income, skews a little bit more female, and that's consistent with what we're seeing in our new customer growth as well.

我們的客戶正在尋找更好的生活和飲食方式，而對他們來說，這一切都與研究、標籤以及諸如有機和無麩質食品有關。所以對我們來說，這是一個比人口統計更重要的細分市場。但我想我們過去談過，我們的核心人口結構仍然是受過高等教育、收入較高、女性略多，這與我們在新客戶成長中看到的情況一致。

Great, that's helpful. And then just on the potential tariff front, what proportion of your offering do you guys import overall? And then how easily can you mitigate some of the potential sourcing headwinds?

很好，很有幫助。那麼就潛在關稅方面而言，你們總共進口的產品比例是多少？那麼，您能多容易減輕一些潛在的採購阻力呢？

Yeah. I think as you kind of understand, Mark, the majority of food that we sell comes from the United States. We've got some dynamics around our fresh produce business from Central and South America. Exactly what's going to happen to tariffs? We've got no idea, and that's something that we will watch and we're ready to move with it. We'll work very closely with our partner growers. We'll work very closely with the opportunity to change sourcing if we need to. And we've got a -- we're going to make sure we manage our business irrespective of what and where comes from us on the tariff front. And that's kind of from a sourcing point of view, we might make a few changes, but I think we'll manage our price gaps and we'll manage our margin as we always do.

是的。馬克，我想你應該明白，我們銷售的大部分食品都來自美國。我們了解到中美洲和南美洲新鮮農產品業務的一些動態。關稅到底會發生什麼變化？我們沒有任何想法，但我們會關注此事並準備採取行動。我們將與我們的合作種植者密切合作。如果需要的話，我們將密切合作，尋找改變採購機會。並且，我們將確保不管關稅方面為我們帶來什麼、從何而來，我們都能妥善管理我們的業務。從採購的角度來看，我們可能會做出一些改變，但我認為我們會像往常一樣管理我們的價格差距並管理我們的利潤。

Great. Thanks so much. Good luck, guys.

偉大的。非常感謝。祝你們好運。

Thanks, Mark.

謝謝，馬克。

Rupesh Parikh, Oppenheimer & Co.

魯佩什·帕里克（Rupesh Parikh），奧本海默公司

Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. Also, congrats on a really strong quarter. So just going back to your comp momentum, so comps again accelerating Q4, you're continuing to see strong momentum. It sounds like quarter to date. Just any new factors contributing to the comp momentum acceleration that you're seeing in the business? And also just curious, quarter to date if you're seeing any impact related wildfires?

午安.感謝您回答我的問題。此外，恭喜您本季業績表現強勁。因此，回到您的同店銷售勢頭，同店銷售在第四季度再次加速，您將繼續看到強勁的勢頭。聽起來像是迄今為止的季度。您在業務中看到的哪些新因素有助於公司發展動能加速？另外我很好奇，本季迄今為止，您是否看到任何與影響相關的野火？

Hey Rupesh, this is Curtis. No real material changes in what's driving the comps. Nick hit on a little bit in the last answer. It's pretty broad and balanced. The acceleration, as we said last quarter, is coming from new stores and is coming from brick and mortar traffic, which we're really pleased with.

嘿，Rupesh，我是 Curtis。推動同店銷售額的因素並未發生實質的實質變化。尼克在最後的回答中提到了一點。它非常廣泛且平衡。正如我們上個季度所說，成長動力來自於新店和實體店客流量，我們對此感到非常滿意。

And then as it relates to the impact quarter to date from weather events or wildfires, no, those are typically pretty immaterial from us or for us. We don't see a lot there and we haven't seen a lot that would be material to us. I think maybe I'll just let Jack speak to the events in the first quarter there and the team member impact. But from a comp perspective, it's immaterial.

然後就迄今為止的天氣事件或野火的影響而言，這些對我們來說通常並不重要。我們在那裡看不到很多東西，也沒有看到很多對我們重要的東西。我想也許我會讓傑克談談第一季發生的事件以及團隊成員的影響。但從公司角度來看，這並不重要。

Yeah. And I think that, I think from a numbers point of view, you get a little bit of an upside down, a little bit of a downside and all nets off the same in terms of working it. But how our teams, particularly the fires in Los Angeles, we had a lot of people displaced from that. We had a lot of people. We didn't lose any stores, thank goodness. And some of the other people did so. But the way our teams and how resilient they were, as I said in the script, is something that inspires us in terms of how people support their communities through it. And we're continuing to support those team members that have been affected by it and it was a big deal for them.

是的。我認為，從數字的角度來看，你會得到一點點顛倒的結果，也得到一點點負面結果，但從運作方式來看，所有的淨結果都是一樣的。但我們的團隊，特別是洛杉磯的大火，讓很多人流離失所。我們有很多人。謝天謝地，我們沒有損失任何商店。其他一些人也這麼做了。但正如我在劇本中所說，我們團隊的運作方式和堅韌不拔的精神激勵著我們，讓我們看到人們如何透過這種方式來支持他們的社區。我們將繼續支持那些受到此影響的團隊成員，這對他們來說意義重大。

Great, thank you. And then maybe just my follow-up question, just on e-commerce, another strong year. Obviously, you added another partner. As you look at the outlook for 2025, how do you feel about the continued growth there? Are there new initiatives or just overall your feelings on being able to sustain the e-commerce momentum?

太好了，謝謝。然後也許只是我的後續問題，關於電子商務，又是強勁的一年。顯然，你又增加了一個合作夥伴。展望2025年，您對於其持續成長有何看法？有什麼新的舉措嗎？或者您大體上認為如何能夠維持電子商務的發展動能？

Yeah. Hi, Rupesh, it's Nick here. I think as I mentioned, we mentioned in the past that the e-commerce growth is really rooted in our differentiation, the fact that we have a lot of products that you can't find anywhere else lends itself to a lot of our customers who need them or seek them, getting them delivered or coming to our stores to pick them up.

是的。你好，Rupesh，我是 Nick。我想正如我所提到的，我們過去提到過，電子商務的成長實際上植根於我們的差異化，事實上，我們有很多在其他地方找不到的產品，這對於許多需要或尋找這些產品的客戶來說很有幫助，他們可以送貨上門或來到我們的商店取貨。

And I think, as we've mentioned for us, we look at it as wherever the customer needs us, we'll be there for them, whether it's in store or online. Across our three key partners on the growth itself, we have seen really, really strong growth, as we noted in the script on e-commerce. And that's been consistent across all three of our partners in the space and that the demand's also been strong in brick and mortar.

我認為，正如我們所提到的，無論客戶在哪裡需要我們，我們都會為他們提供服務，無論是在商店還是在網路上。正如我們在電子商務腳本中所指出的那樣，在我們三個主要合作夥伴的成長方面，我們看到了非常強勁的成長。我們在該領域的三個合作夥伴都一致認同這一點，實體店的需求也一直很強勁。

The good news that E-comm customer is an omnichannel customer. They shop our stores and they're high value. So to your question on the future, I mean, we think there's e-comm is going to continue to grow a little faster than our core business, which will drive, I think, strong sales both in brick and mortar and e-comm for us and good customer growth.

好消息是，電子商務客戶是全通路客戶。他們在我們的商店購物，而且價值很高。所以對於你關於未來的問題，我的意思是，我們認為電子商務將繼續比我們的核心業務增長得更快一些，我認為這將推動我們的實體店和電子商務銷售強勁，並帶來良好的客戶成長。

Great, thank you. I'll pass it along.

太好了，謝謝。我會傳達的。

Thanks, Rupesh.

謝謝，Rupesh。

Kelly Bania, BMO Capital Markets.

凱利·巴尼亞 (Kelly Bania)，BMO 資本市場。

Hi. Thanks for taking our questions. Jack, I think you made a comment you had about 7,100 new items this year. I think that's been similar pace for the past couple years. But I was just curious if you could talk about how many SKUs you have today? Are the same number of SKUs being transitioned out every year and just how you feel about that dynamic and that adoption of, SKUs that maybe are more competitive in mainstream grocery that you kind of pull out and just any change in the pace of that dynamic as you look forward?

你好。感謝您回答我們的問題。傑克，我想你曾經評論過今年你大約有 7,100 件新物品。我認為過去幾年的速度是類似的。但我只是好奇，您能否談談您現在有多少個 SKU？每年淘汰的 SKU 數量是否相同？您對這種動態有何看法？您淘汰的 SKU 在主流雜貨市場中可能更具競爭力，您展望未來這種動態的步伐有何變化？

It's certainly moving fast. And I think it has been moving fast over the last two or three years. We've got about 18,000 to 20,000 SKUs in our business, and we're rotating that kind of number because everyone basically there's only a finite amount of space. So things are coming out and coming in. And that's, I think, one of the things customers really like about us. They're getting a treasure hunt. They're not quite sure what's going to come next.

它確實發展得很快。我認為過去兩三年來它發展得很快。我們的業務中大約有 18,000 到 20,000 個 SKU，我們正在輪換這個數量的 SKU，因為每個人基本上都只有有限的空間。所以事情有來有往。我認為，這也是客戶真正喜歡我們的原因之一。他們正在進行尋寶活動。他們不太確定接下來會發生什麼事。

And when they come into the store, we're using this innovation center really effectively to bring people, bring products into our business and then if they work, they can move into the main site counters.

當他們進入商店時，我們會非常有效地利用這個創新中心來吸引人們，將產品帶入我們的業務，然後，如果他們願意，他們就可以進入主站點櫃檯。

So we're making, I think, part of the love being different that who we are is constantly changing our assortment. It's part of the excitement of coming into the store. There are some challenges in terms of replenishing and working behind that, but it's something that we're very anxious to do because I think it makes a difference and we can reinvent ourselves.

所以我認為，我們之所以喜歡與眾不同，部分原因在於我們不斷地改變我們的選擇。這是進入商店的興奮感的一部分。在補充和背後的工作方面存在一些挑戰，但這是我們非常渴望做的事情，因為我認為這會帶來改變，我們可以重塑自我。

We expect products that come into our business sell really, really well, then they'll end up in more conventional retailers going forward and we kind of celebrate that because then we can move on and keep reinventing ourselves. And that's why it's a lot excuse to change and it brings some challenges for the team but it's a really important part of our proposition, Kelly.

我們希望進入我們業務的產品能夠暢銷，然後它們最終會在更傳統的零售商那裡銷售，我們對此感到高興，因為這樣我們就可以繼續前進並不斷重塑自我。這就是為什麼有很多理由去改變，也給團隊帶來了一些挑戰，但這是我們主張的一個非常重要的部分，凱利。

Thank you, that's helpful. I just wanted to dig in a little bit more on the self-distribution comments. It sounds like meat and seafood this year. What is the impact to the P&L as you make this transition and what could be the longer-term benefits whether it's cost savings or additional SKUs or freshness that you can bring to the table?

謝謝，這很有幫助。我只是想更深入地探討一下自我分發的評論。聽起來今年喜歡吃肉和海鮮。當您進行這種轉變時，會對損益表產生什麼影響？您能帶來哪些長期利益（無論是節省成本、增加 SKU 還是新鮮度）？

Yeah. So working reverse, Kelly, this is Curtis. But yes, the benefit, you kind of nailed it right. It should be fresher product. More control of that product and at a lower cost, and it'll land in gross margin. So there should be some gross margin upside in the long term there. That'll be a 2026 and beyond story for us.

是的。那麼反過來想，凱利，這是柯蒂斯。但是的，好處確實如此，你說得對。這應該是更新鮮的產品。對該產品進行更多的控制並降低成本，就會帶來毛利率。因此長期來看毛利率應該會有一定的上升空間。對我們來說，這將是 2026 年及以後的故事。

2025 will be a transition year. We don't expect it to have a material impact. Transitions are always challenging and, fresh product especially. But we don't expect material impact from the transition. But we're not counting on any benefit in 2025 either.

2025年將是一個過渡之年。我們預計它不會產生實質影響。轉變總是充滿挑戰，新鮮的產品尤其如此。但我們預期此次轉型不會帶來實質影響。但我們也不指望 2025 年能獲得任何好處。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Krisztina Katai, Deutsche Bank.

德意志銀行的 Krisztina Katai。

Hi, good afternoon, and great quarter. So you have shown great progress on the marketing front and on the way Sprouts is now leveraging social media and influencers. How do you see it contributing to the improved customer frequency and overall unaided awareness of the Sprouts banner?

大家下午好，本季表現非常出色。所以，你們在行銷方面以及 Sprouts 利用社群媒體和影響力的方式上取得了巨大進步。您認為它對提高顧客頻率和 Sprouts 橫幅的整體無提示認知度有何貢獻？

And just with the exceptional strength that you're seeing in attribute-based products, just curious where the penetration of these products stands today and just what is the foraging team most excited about right now?

並且，鑑於您在基於屬性的產品中看到的卓越實力，您只是好奇這些產品目前的滲透率如何，以及覓食團隊現在最興奮的是什麼？

Hi Krisztina, it's Nick. You're right. I'm really proud of the work the marketers have been doing to drive traffic. But it’s underneath that a lot of customer growth, new customer growth and visits from existing customers.

你好，Krisztina，我是尼克。你說得對。我對於行銷人員為吸引流量所做的工作感到非常自豪。但背後是大量的客戶成長、新客戶的成長以及現有客戶的訪問。

I would tell you what's really helping us and driving us is we're differentiating our marketing as much as we differentiated our product offering and standing apart a couple of ways that have really been working well to do that to engage.

我想告訴你，真正對我們有幫助和推動我們前進的是我們不僅使我們的產品差異化，而且使我們的營銷也差異化，並通過一些確實行之有效的方式脫穎而出，吸引人們的關注。

One, we're having a lot of fun with authentic storytelling. We're talking to our target customer about what's most important to them. So for example, in the fourth quarter, a lot of traditional retailers will talk about seasonal items and product at a price.

首先，我們從真實的故事敘述中獲得了很多樂趣。我們正在與目標客戶討論對他們來說最重要的事情。例如，在第四季度，許多傳統零售商會談論季節性商品和產品的價格。

We spend time talking about vegan cinnamon rolls and our Sprouts Brand pizza kits that are targeted just for our customers. And that activity on social and our channels has gotten a ton of engagement we've talked about in the past. Our tailored media spend and messaging by region and market continues to pay dividends for us in the traffic it's driving.

我們花時間討論純素肉桂捲和專門針對我們客戶的 Sprouts Brand 披薩套餐。而且，社交和我們管道上的活動已經獲得了我們過去談到的大量參與。我們根據地區和市場量身定制的媒體支出和訊息傳遞繼續為我們帶來流量紅利。

And then I'm excited about our plans this year. We are launching, as Jack mentioned, a new brand campaign called that Sprouts Feeling. Customer’s love shopping us and in our research they've told us when they walk into our store and buy something there's this feeling that they can't describe that's unique that they don't feel anywhere else. And so we're going to bring that to life in our marketing this year and share that with new and existing customers to help continue to drive the traffic momentum we're on.

我對我們今年的計劃感到非常興奮。正如傑克所提到的，我們正在啟動一項名為「Sprouts Feeling」的新品牌活動。顧客喜歡在我們這裡購物，在我們的調查中，他們告訴我們，當他們走進我們的商店購買東西時，他們會產生一種無法形容的獨特感覺，這種感覺在其他地方是感受不到的。因此，我們將在今年的行銷中將這一點變為現實，並與新舊客戶分享，以幫助我們繼續推動流量動能。

And Krisztina, regarding the foragers, our foragers have got the best job in the world as far as I'm concerned and I would like to do the job. They are very excited about everything, the focus that they go around looking at trade shows and looking for opportunities. I think snacks has been a big opportunity for us. I think drinks have been a big opportunity for us. Non-alc is on fire. This whole non-alcohol space and vitamins and supplements has been a huge about 70% of our product is differentiated now, and we continue to push that agenda, and the foragers are doing a great job for us, Krisztina.

克里斯蒂娜，關於覓食員，就我而言，我們的覓食員擁有世界上最好的工作，我願意從事這項工作。他們對一切都感到非常興奮，他們的重點是到處參觀貿易展會並尋找機會。我認為零食對我們來說是一個巨大的機會。我認為飲料對我們來說是一個巨大的機會。無酒精飲料正在燃燒。整個非酒精產品領域以及維生素和補充劑領域已經佔據了巨大的份額，現在我們大約 70% 的產品都是差異化的，我們將繼續推動這一議程，而覓食者們也為我們做了很大的貢獻，Krisztina。

Great. Thanks. And just as a follow-up on the loyalty, you were doing it in two test markets initially during December. I saw it extend to Georgia where I actually signed up for it. So any of these sort of early inning learnings that you can share as it relates to customer frequency or the basket size, and are you able to measure wallet share changes in these early test markets that would give you excitement for the phase rollout in the back half of the year? Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。作為對忠誠度的後續跟進，您最初於 12 月在兩個測試市場進行了此項工作。我看到它延伸到了喬治亞州，事實上我也在那裡報名了。那麼，您可以分享一些與客戶頻率或購物籃大小相關的早期經驗嗎？您是否能夠衡量這些早期測試市場的錢包份額變化，這會讓您對今年下半年的分階段推出感到興奮嗎？謝謝。

Thanks, Krisztina, and appreciate you signing up and joining us. Thank you very much. I'm glad you got to see us in Georgia. I'm looking forward to the conference. What I will tell you is and we noted in the script, we're really pleased with the early indicators we're seeing with the program as Jack mentioned, they're exceeding our expectations and these are in areas as we look at like signups and scan rates. So early interest in the program and engagement in the program is really good and we're seeing that. To your question, yes, we certainly measure frequency basket retention in a handful of metrics within that.

謝謝，Krisztina，謝謝您註冊並加入我們。非常感謝。我很高興你能夠在喬治亞州見到我們。我很期待這次會議。我要告訴你的是，我們在腳本中指出，正如傑克所提到的，我們對該計劃的早期指標感到非常滿意，它們超出了我們的預期，這些是我們所關注的註冊量和掃描率等領域。因此，我們看到人們對該計劃的早期興趣和參與度非常好。對於您的問題，是的，我們確實用其中的一些指標來衡量購物籃保留頻率。

And as you mentioned, we feel pretty good about where those numbers are and what we're seeing so far from the 35 stores. We're in pilot, and as we noted, we're looking forward to a national rollout in the second half of the year to bring this to market to all of our customers.

正如您所說，我們對這些數字以及目前 35 家門市的表現感到非常滿意。我們目前處於試點階段，正如我們所指出的，我們期待在今年下半年在全國範圍內推出該技術，將其推向市場，惠及我們所有的客戶。

That's great. Thank you. I'll pass it along.

那太棒了。謝謝。我會傳達的。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Thanks, Krisztina.

謝謝，克里斯蒂娜。

Edward Kelly, Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的愛德華‧凱利。

Hi, everyone. Good afternoon and nice quarter. I wanted to ask about the gross wanted to ask about the gross margin guidance for Q1. I mean, it's been a long time, but, previously, like sort of pre-pandemic, Q1 was your highest gross margin quarter by quite a bit, at least in a belief that maybe there is some conservatism in the Q1 gross margin guide based upon, sort of how you're talking about it here, I guess. Do those historical trends still hold? Is that a fair assessment?

大家好。下午好，本季度過得非常愉快。我想問一下第一季的毛利率指引。我的意思是，這已經過去很長時間了，但是之前，比如在疫情之前，第一季度是你們毛利率最高的一個季度，至少從某種程度上來說，我們認為第一季度的毛利率指南可能存在一些保守性，就像你在這裡談論的那樣。這些歷史趨勢仍然成立嗎？這是一個公平的評價嗎？

I think it's changed for us, Ed This is Curtis. I think it's changed for us over time. And as we changed our strategy. It used to be stronger, more because of what we did in Q2 and Q3 with price and items diluting our margins. And so as we've changed the strategy and got more consistent day to day, week to week, quarter to quarter, in how we think about our business from a margin perspective that's kind of muted, how much Q1 was better than the other quarters.

我想這對我們來說已經改變了，艾德，這是柯蒂斯。我認為隨著時間的推移它已經發生了改變。隨著我們改變策略。它曾經更加強勁，更多的是因為我們在第二季和第三季對價格和項目的調整稀釋了我們的利潤率。因此，隨著我們改變策略，每天、每週、每季都變得更加一致，從利潤率的角度來思考我們的業務，第一季的表現比其他季度好多少。

And it's more about the other quarters coming up a little bit more and having more opportunity because that's the place where we had, those are the produce seasons, right? So that tended to be our biggest front page, ad price and item type promos in produce seasons in Q2 and Q3. So I think it's a little bit more about that than it is about the Q1 story.

這更多的是關於其他季度的更多發展和更多機會，因為那是我們所在的地方，那些是農產品季節，對吧？因此，這往往是我們在第二季和第三季農產品季節最大的頭版、廣告價格和商品類型促銷。因此，我認為這與 Q1 的故事相比，有更多的關聯。

Okay. And then just a gross margin follow-up related to shrink. Could you just talk a little bit more about the upside that you've been seeing there? You've been talking about product shortages. I'm sure, a very robust comp is probably helping with that as things normalize or I guess if things normalize from a comp perspective, do you give any of that shrink benefit back? I'm just kind of curious as to how we should be thinking about the outlook for that.

好的。然後只是與毛利率後續縮水有關。您能否再多談談您在那裡看到的優勢？您一直在談論產品短缺。我確信，隨著事態正常化，非常強勁的薪酬可能會對此有所幫助，或者我想，如果從薪酬角度來看事態正常化，你會返還任何縮水收益嗎？我只是有點好奇我們應該如何看待這個前景。

I don't think we give back on the shrink line. I think there's a little bit of extra benefit, more so from the supply constraint piece, I think, than it is from the strong sales that is there as well. But I don't think we give the sales leverage piece back when we get to a more normalized comp environment.

我認為我們不會在收縮線上做出讓步。我認為還有一點額外的好處，更多是來自供應限制方面，而不是來自強勁的銷售。但我不認為當我們進入更規範的薪資環境時，我們會放棄銷售槓桿部分。

I think it's really the supply constraint thing that could put some pressure to it, but it's not dramatic. The majority of what we're experiencing now is process efficiency and the improvement we've made in inventory and category management over the last 12 to 18 months. And again, it surprised us a bit through 2024.

我認為供應限制確實會給它帶來一些壓力，但並不嚴重。我們現在經歷的大部分是流程效率以及過去 12 到 18 個月在庫存和品類管理方面所取得的改進。2024 年的情況再次讓我們感到有些驚訝。

But the teams have done great job taking the tools we developed and the processes we've improved and finding that shrink and getting rid of it in our business. And so proud of the teams are doing a great job. And it's mostly that in 2024 and we should see a normalization of that in 2025.

但我們的團隊利用我們開發的工具和改進的流程，在業務中發現了缺陷並消除了它，做得非常出色。我為團隊的出色表現感到自豪。這主要發生在 2024 年，我們應該會在 2025 年看到其正常化。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

Thanks, Ed.

謝謝，埃德。

Robbie Ohmes, Bank of America.

美國銀行的羅比‧奧姆斯 (Robbie Ohmes)。

Oh, hey. Thank you. Hey, Jack. I wanted to ask a kind of a follow up question on Kelly Bania's question and it's about the capacity of the stores. I don't get in your stores enough. I wish you would open some over here on the East Coast. But the --

哦，嘿。謝謝。嘿，傑克。我想就凱利·巴尼亞的問題提出一個後續問題，關於商店的容量。我很少去你們的商店。我希望你能在東海岸開一些店。但--

The we'll be there soon, sir.

先生，我們很快就會到。

Thank you. Westchester County, hopefully.

謝謝。希望如此，威斯特徹斯特縣。

Yeah, maybe.

是的，也許吧。

In due course. In due course.

在適當的時候。在適當的時候。

Excellent. I mean, you're opening some, a little bit smaller sized stores. When I look back though, you're like versus 2019 pre-COVID, your sales per store are maybe up like 5% and I'm pretty sure your basket dollars are higher and is there -- how much -- let's say you kept comping at the comp that you just put up for this quarter. Is there -- would you say there's capacity constraint? Are you -- when you think about how strong your comps are, are your stores too small for your opportunity now, or is it they're actually, not too small and the ticket is much higher, and there's not super long lines and things like that?

出色的。我的意思是，你正在開一些規模稍微小一點的商店。不過，當我回顧過去時，與 2019 年新冠疫情之前相比，您每家商店的銷售額可能增長了 5%，而且我敢肯定您的購物籃金額更高了，那麼，假設您繼續按照本季度剛剛提出的標準進行銷售，那麼銷售額會有多少呢？您是否認為存在容量限制？當您考慮您的競爭對手的實力時，您是否會想，您的商店是否太小，無法抓住您現在的機會？或者，實際上，它們並不太小，而且票價要高得多，而且沒有超長的排隊線之類的？

No. I think we've done a really nice job of managing the volumes that are going through the stores. Remember, when we take it made the stores smaller. We didn't take any space away from the customer in that space. We took the space away from non-customer facing space, the back room and in the preparation areas. We cut that back and ended up with virtually some categories with a little bit more SKU and a little bit more space. So we didn't compromise that as we went smaller.

不。我認為我們在管理商店的貨量方面做得非常好。請記住，當我們採取它時，商店就會變小。我們並沒有佔用該空間內的任何顧客空間。我們將空間從不面向顧客的空間、後方的房間和準備區移開。我們削減了這一數量，最終實際上得到了一些擁有更多 SKU 和更多空間的類別。因此，我們在規模縮小的同時並沒有做出任何妥協。

As we look at the volumes going forward, I think we've got invested in self-checkout, which I think has significantly helped us change the dynamic at the front end. So we've been able to cope with additional volume there because there is a bit more traffic and the basket is growing as well. So I'm not worried about that at this stage.

當我們展望未來的數量時，我認為我們已經在自助結帳方面進行了投資，我認為這極大地幫助我們改變了前端的動態。因此，我們能夠應付那裡的額外數量，因為那裡的流量稍微大了一些，而且籃子也在變大。所以目前我並不擔心這個問題。

If we start producing 200 comps then maybe we have to start thinking about it. But the level we're at the moment, we've got plenty of room to grow in the stores that we've got. And we're continuing to build these 23,000 square foot stores and at the numbers we're looking at it’s a formula that's working for us at the moment.

如果我們開始生產 200 台電腦，那麼也許我們必須開始考慮這個問題。但就我們目前的水平而言，我們現有的商店還有很大成長空間。我們正在繼續建造這些 23,000 平方英尺的商店，從我們所看到的數字來看，這是目前對我們有效的模式。

That's helpful. And then just one follow up question also. The e-commerce penetration, do you think that kind of flattens out from here? It's a little bit flattish quarter to quarter here. Do you think it flattens out at around 15% or something of sales or do you kind of grows in line with overall comp, or do you think it continues to gain as a percent of sales?

這很有幫助。然後還有一個後續問題。您認為電子商務的滲透率從現在起會趨於平穩嗎？本季的季增略顯平穩。您認為它會穩定在銷售額的 15% 左右嗎，還是會隨著整體銷售額的成長而成長，或者您認為它會繼續以銷售額的百分比成長？

Robbie, this is Curtis. I think it'll continue to gain as a percentage of sales. I think the gain will be maybe smaller as we go forward. Obviously, adding partners the last two years accelerated some of that penetration growth. But we do expect it to outpace overall sales, just not quite like it has the last few years.

羅比，這是柯蒂斯。我認為它的銷售額百分比將繼續增長。我認為，隨著我們不斷前進，收益可能會越來越小。顯然，過去兩年增加合作夥伴加速了部分滲透率的成長。但我們確實預計它的銷量將超過整體銷量，只是不會像過去幾年那樣。

Got it, sounds great. Thanks so much.

明白了，聽起來很棒。非常感謝。

Ultimately, the customer is going to decide what our e-commerce mix is.

最終，客戶將決定我們的電子商務組合。

That makes sense. Thanks so much.

這很有道理。非常感謝。

Mike Montani, Evercore ISI.

麥克·蒙塔尼（Mike Montani），Evercore ISI。

Yeah. Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for taking the questions. I just wanted to maybe ask first off on the revenue side if you could discuss any of the work that you all may be doing, to partner with different healthcare payers to potentially find new pools of revenue that could be directed through that. And then kind of related to that is what you might be hearing on the snap front because there's been some discussion as about the potential to change the dollars in snap and make them more directed towards healthy eating. So I wanted to start with those questions.

是的。嘿，下午好。感謝您回答這些問題。我只是想先問一下，在收入方面，您是否可以討論一下您可能正在做的工作，與不同的醫療保健支付方合作，從而有可能找到可以通過這種方式獲得的新收入來源。與此相關的是，您可能在 Snap 方面聽到一些討論，關於改變 Snap 中的資金流向，使其更多地用於健康飲食的可能性。所以我想從這些問題開始。

Yeah, Mike, the question regarding healthcare. Healthcare is a really important factor in terms of our team members and how we work with the space. And I do think the trends in the industry around people thinking more about nutrition and what it does for their health and how that plays into the insurance markets and how that plays into.

是的，麥克，關於醫療保健的問題。對於我們的團隊成員以及我們如何利用空間而言，醫療保健是一個非常重要的因素。我確實認為，該行業的趨勢是人們更多地考慮營養及其對健康的影響以及營養如何影響保險市場。

It's not something we've got really much to say about right now, but it's certainly something we pay attention to and how that's going to work. And it's probably something we need to take another look at in terms of where we're at specifically going forward.

關於這一點我們現在並沒有太多可說的，但我們肯定會關注這一點以及它如何發揮作用。就我們目前的具體進展而言，我們可能需要重新審視這一點。

I think -- Mike, this is Curtis, I'd just add, I mean we're pretty heads down, focused on unit growth and getting our proposition out to as many communities as possible. So as Jack said, it's on the radar, but not something we're actively pursuing.

我認為——麥克，這是柯蒂斯，我想補充一下，我們非常專注於單位成長，並向盡可能多的社區傳達我們的主張。正如傑克所說，它在我們的關注範圍內，但不是我們積極追求的東西。

On the snap side of things. I think increasingly the jurisdictions that manage snap are evolving in terms of making it more healthy what you can buy on snap, which I think is an appropriate thing. And I think given what's going to happen around that pressure point on nutrition and health, I think that will continue to evolve. Snap's nothing like as big for us as it is for many other people, but it is a factor and we need to keep looking at it.

從事物的快慢來看。我認為，管理 Snap 的司法管轄區正在不斷發展，以使人們能夠在 Snap 上購買到更健康的東西，我認為這是一件合適的事情。我認為，考慮到營養和健康壓力點將會發生什麼，這種情況將繼續發展。Snap 對我們來說並不像對其他許多人那麼重要，但它是一個因素，我們需要繼續關注它。

Got you. And just on the expense side, if I could quickly, for Curtis, the store closure costs from 2023, do those run off anytime soon? Is there a movement to stop that?

明白了。僅就費用方面而言，如果我可以快速計算一下，對於 Curtis 來說，從 2023 年開始的商店關閉成本是否會很快用完？有什麼運動可以阻止這種現象嗎？

And then on supply chain, have you seen any disruptions there in terms of availability of fresh produce given some of what's going on with immigration and so forth?

那麼在供應鏈方面，考慮到移民等問題，您是否看到新鮮農產品的供應中斷？

I'll cover the SG&A piece, and I'll pass it to Nick on the produce side. So from an SG&A perspective or store closure specifically that you asked about. Yeah, that'll taper off over time. I mean we are working to get subleases. Some of those were shorter term end of life type leases and they'll eventually run out. So that should taper over time. I think the run rate late in the year is a decent starting point, but that should get smaller as we go kind of quarter to quarter to quarter, Mike.

我將負責銷售、一般及行政費用部分，然後交給生產方面的尼克。所以從銷售、一般及行政開支的角度或您具體詢問的商店關閉情況來看。是的，隨著時間的推移，這種情況會逐漸減少。我的意思是我們正在努力獲得轉租。其中一些是短期的終止租賃，它們最終會到期。因此，隨著時間的推移，這種情況應該會逐漸減少。我認為今年年底的運行率是一個不錯的起點，但隨著我們每季的推移，運行率應該會變得越來越小，麥克。

And then the only other bit of noise in that line is there's some disaster recovery. So when we do have the weather events and those types of issues that those funds to take care of team members and to get the stores, keep the stores running generators, things like that, that also hits in that bucket.

然後這條線路中唯一的另一點噪音是有一些災難復原。因此，當我們遇到天氣事件和類似的問題時，這些資金用於照顧團隊成員並獲得商店，保持商店運行發電機等，這些也屬於這一類。

And Mike, it's Nick here. On your question on produce, we really haven't seen any disruption to our source or supply on the produce front across our commodities at this stage.

麥克，我是尼克。關於您提到的農產品問題，目前我們確實沒有看到我們的農產品來源或供應受到任何中斷。

Great. Thank you, and good luck.

偉大的。謝謝你，祝你好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Scott Mushkin, R5 Capital.

斯科特·穆甚金（R5 Capital）。

Hey guys, thanks for taking my question. So I wanted to go back to something that John had said at the beginning of the call about a brand inflection and just kind of reflecting on some of the things that you guys are doing, bringing distribution in house, the marketing efforts. I was wondering what else you think you could do to cement that brand, the Sprouts Brand and consumers heads. Is it reinvesting some money into better specs and produce? I mean, what can you do beyond what you're doing that you've said on this call to really inflect the brand in a positive way and resonate with consumers and differentiate yourself in the market marketplace even more so?

嘿夥計們，謝謝你們回答我的問題。所以我想回到約翰在電話會議開始時所說的關於品牌轉型的事情，並反思一下你們正在做的一些事情，將分銷帶入公司內部，進行行銷工作。我想知道您認為還可以做些什麼來鞏固 Sprouts 品牌和消費者的影響力。是否將部分資金重新投資於更好的規格和產品？我的意思是，除了您在這次電話會議上所說的之外，您還能做些什麼來真正以積極的方式影響品牌，與消費者產生共鳴，並使自己在市場中脫穎而出？

Yeah. I think the reality of where we're at the moment still a lot of people don't know who Sprouts are and we've got plenty of opportunity to communicate. I'm very excited by what the loyalty and personalization work's going to do in terms of expanding the brand presence to people who should be more interested in it.

是的。我認為，目前的現實情況是，仍然有很多人不知道 Sprouts 是誰，而且我們有很多機會進行交流。我對忠誠度和個人化工作將如何擴大品牌影響力，讓更多對品牌更感興趣的人受益感到非常興奮。

And as we get more stores across the country, we're still in only 24 states, so how do we get to more states? So building more stores and communicate.

儘管我們在全國開設了更多門市，但我們的業務範圍仍然只涵蓋 24 個州，那麼我們如何才能覆蓋更多州？因此，建立更多的商店並進行交流。

Do we need to spend a little bit more on marketing going forward? Potentially, Although I think we're going to get much more efficient at our marketing, which I think we've shown over the course of the year that the whole process by which we're buying our media and thinking about our media, I think the work that teams have done in terms of social media, I think has made a big difference to us this year. And there's probably a lot more we can do in that space.

我們以後是否需要在行銷上多花點錢？潛在的，雖然我認為我們的行銷效率會大大提高，但我認為我們在今年已經展示了我們購買媒體和思考媒體的整個過程，我認為團隊在社群媒體方面所做的工作，我認為今年對我們產生了很大的影響。我們在這個領域可能還可以做更多的事情。

Nick, I don't know whether you want to add on a little bit in terms of what we can do.

尼克，我不知道你是否想就我們可以做的事情再補充一點。

No, I think you said, Scott, there's still a lot of room ahead of us in the things we're already working on. You mentioned on customer, on loyalty, on store growth and store density, continuing to differentiate our assortment and the partnerships we have long term with people who play in our space. There's certainly a lot of room for us to grow there.

不，我想你說過，史考特，在我們正在進行的工作中，我們還有很大的發展空間。您提到了客戶、忠誠度、商店成長和商店密度，繼續區分我們的產品組合以及我們與在我們領域內運營的人們建立的長期合作夥伴關係。我們在那裡確實有很大的發展空間。

Perfect. That's it from me, guys. Thanks.

完美的。朋友們，這就是我要說的了。謝謝。

Thanks very much.

非常感謝。

Robert Dickerson, Jefferies.

羅伯特·迪克森（Robert Dickerson），傑富瑞（Jefferies）。

Great, thanks so much. I just wanted to circle back to the comp guidance maybe one last time hopefully. There was another very large retailer grocer that spoke earlier today, and clearly, when they guided, it was a little underwhelming. There are a lot of questions in the call and there was this kind of like this idea that there is just a lot of uncertainty in the marketplace.

太好了，非常感謝。我只是想最後一次回顧公司指引。今天早些時候，另一家大型零售雜貨商也發表了講話，顯然，他們給出的指導意見有點令人失望。電話會議中提出了許多問題，有一種觀點認為，市場上存在著許多不確定性。

You speak to some of the larger CPG companies as well, who are just like kind of, right? In the near term, like kind of right now, are feeling a little less certain on kind of how to guide, right? Because of the environment. So with all that said, I'm just curious like, clearly when you guided for 2024, it was a heck of a lot lower than where the year ended.

您也和一些較大的 CPG 公司交談過，他們就是這樣的，對嗎？在短期內，就像現在一樣，對於如何引導感覺不太確定，對嗎？因為環境。所以說了這麼多，我只是很好奇，很明顯，當你預測 2024 年的時候，它比年底的時候要低得多。

As we sit here now and we think forward for 2025, with a great result in Q4 and another great result expected for Q1, like what could be a real kind of deciding factor for maybe that growth to not continue. And I realize you have, more challenging comp, but now they're in the base and you're opening up new stores. You open up new stores last year, so you still have new stores. I saw it. Even if the traffic really improved as widespread, like why couldn't that just be more widespread as we get through the back half of the year?

現在，我們坐在這裡展望 2025 年，如果第四季度取得優異成績，並且預計第一季度也將取得優異成績，那麼什麼可能是導致這種增長無法持續的真正決定性因素呢？我知道你們面臨著更具挑戰性的競爭，但現在他們都在基礎階段，而你們正在開設新店。你們去年開了新店，所以你們還有新店。我看見了。即使交通狀況確實得到普遍改善，但為什麼在進入下半年後，這種狀況不能得到更廣泛的改善？

And I'm not suggesting you do double digit comps, but just curious if you kind of agree with the environment is a little chunkier, there's a little less certainty in the marketplace. But clearly, if those trends continue, maybe the year does prove out a little bit better than you're guiding to. That's just the first question.

我並不是建議你做兩位數的比較，只是好奇你是否同意環境有點嚴峻，市場上的不確定性有點減少。但顯然，如果這些趨勢持續下去，也許今年的情況確實會比你預期的要好一些。這只是第一個問題。

Yeah. I think that I'll pass on to Curtis to talk a little bit about guidance and how we thought about guidance, but the specifics for me is in the nature. I know this sounds a little bit strange, but almost whatever happens, our customer base is so interested in food and what they eat, the nutrition of what they eat. Vegans will stay vegans whatever happens to the economy, and that whole challenge of what people want to buy and how they want to eat, our customers are more discerning than most. I think that shields us a little bit from the vagaries of ups and downs and what other people might or might not do.

是的。我想我會和柯蒂斯談談指導以及我們對指導的看法，但對我來說，具體內容取決於性質。我知道這聽起來有點奇怪，但幾乎無論發生什麼，我們的客戶群都對食物、他們吃的東西以及他們吃的東西的營養非常感興趣。無論經濟發生什麼變化，素食主義者都會繼續堅持素食主義，而對於人們想買什麼、想怎麼吃這一整個挑戰，我們的顧客比大多數人都更挑剔。我認為這可以在一定程度上保護我們免受人生起伏和其他人可能做或不做的事情的影響。

So we're pretty confident. We know the share of wallet that we have with our existing customers is relatively small. We just need to do a few things to get them growing. And we feel we'll have some comfort in the numbers going forward. But your challenge is right. There's a lot of uncertainty in the space going forward.

所以我們非常有信心。我們知道，現有客戶在我們心中的份額相對較小。我們只需做一些事情就能促進它們成長。我們覺得，未來的數字會帶給我們一些安慰。但你的挑戰是正確的。未來領域存在著許多不確定性。

I'll maybe let Curtis talk a little bit about it.

我或許會讓柯蒂斯談論這件事。

I think you kind of got it there, Rob. It's uncertainty. I think that's what we're looking at. And we had two big step changes in our business last year one in May and one in September, where we kind of got to a different plane. I think it's a different year from a guidance perspective.

我覺得你已經明白了，羅布。這是不確定性。我想這就是我們正在關注的。去年，我們的業務經歷了兩次重大變革，一次是在五月，一次是在九月，我們的業務已經達到了不同的水平。我認為從指導角度來說，今年是不同的一年。

Certainly, last year sitting here on the call the low-single-digit guide, I don't think anybody anticipated or thought we would accelerate like we did as quickly as we did throughout the year. So, we're just, again it's been 10-plus years since we've seen those types of comps here at Sprouts. We're excited to see how we comp over those, but we want to see a little bit of those data, a few of those data points before we get too overclocked about promising something 6, 9, 12 months down the line when there is a bunch of uncertainty.

當然，去年我們坐在這裡，聽到低個位數的指導意見，我想沒有人預料到或想到我們會像全年一樣快速加速。所以，我們只是再次說，距離我們在 Sprouts 看到這些類型的比較已經 10 多年了。我們很高興看到我們如何應對這些情況，但我們希望看到一些數據，一些數據點，然後我們才會過度承諾 6、9、12 個月後的事情，因為那時還存在著許多不確定性。

Yeah. Okay, makes complete sense. And then just maybe one more from me. Yes. I think you had said maybe in the prepared remarks or maybe it was Q&A. You have kind of line of sight on, let's say about 110 approved new stores kind of in the pipeline. Now, the stores you're opening this year are all within preexisting markets. So I'm just curious, as we kind of think out the next, I don't know, two, three, four years, whatever that timeline is, is the idea kind of post this year that we would still be opening a majority of those stores in those preexisting markets or as you start to build out, the Northeast and the Midwest that a much bigger percent of that 110 new stores are in new markets? That's all, thanks.

是的。好的，完全有道理。然後也許我還會再說一個。是的。我想您也許在準備好的發言中說過，也許是在問答環節。你大概可以預見，大約有 110 家新店正在籌備中。現在，您今年開設的商店都在現有市場內。所以我很好奇，當我們考慮未來兩年、三年、四年，無論時間表是怎樣的時候，我們的想法是，今年之後我們是否仍會在現有市場開設大部分門店，或者隨著我們開始在東北部和中西部地區擴張，110 家新店中更大比例的門市是否會開在新市場？“就這些了，謝謝。”

Yeah. Thanks, Rob. This is Curtis. The 110 that we have in the pipeline, the large majority of those are in the markets we're in today. If not, basically all of them.

是的。謝謝，羅布。這是柯蒂斯。我們目前正在籌備的 110 個項目，其中大部分都位於我們目前所在的市場。如果沒有的話，基本上都是。

And we are starting to plan for the Midwest, we're planning for the Northeast, but that'll be a couple-year journey. So for the next two years they'll all be -- that's including this year, 2025, 2026. They'll all be in our existing markets. And then when we get to 2027 and beyond. That's where we'll start to see some of those newer geographies.

我們正在開始規劃中西部地區，我們正在規劃東北地區，但這將需要幾年的時間。因此未來兩年它們都將如此 — — 包括今年、2025 年、2026 年。它們都將位於我們現有的市場中。然後當我們到達2027年及以後。我們從那裡開始看到一些較新的地理位置。

Mix wise, it'll be 50/50 for the next couple of years, and then we'll see when we get to 2027 and you know the plans that we're building in those markets. But I'd expect 50/50 for the next couple of years.

從組合角度來看，未來幾年將是 50/50，然後我們將在 2027 年看到我們在這些市場制定的計劃。但我預計未來幾年這一比例將是 50/50。

Okay, perfect. Thank you so much.

好的，完美。太感謝了。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Rob.

謝謝，羅布。

Chuck Cerankosky, Northcoast Research.

查克·塞蘭科斯基（Chuck Cerankosky），Northcoast Research。

Great quarter, guys. And looking back a little bit, it wasn't too long ago you're looking how to add those incremental items to the basket. And that seems to have been solved. What proportion of the basket now each basket now contains a new item or a recently foraged item. And you guys could define how that -- how you score that. But I'd be very interested to see how the attribute driven products are driving the comps.

大家，這一季表現棒極了。回想起來，不久之前您還在思考如何將這些增量商品加入購物籃。這個問題似乎已經解決了。現在每個籃子中含有新物品或最近搜尋的物品的比例是多少。你們可以定義如何──如何得分。但我非常感興趣的是看看屬性驅動產品是如何推動同店銷售的。

Well, I don't think we can give a specific answer on that, but the reality is we launched 7,000 new products, and all of them were in the attribute-based space. Everything we're launching is in this attribute-based space. So increasingly, our customers, what they're buying from us, and I think it's 70% of our products are differentiated. So everything we're buying is different to what other people are buying, I think. And the basket, the overall basket numbers are flattened out.

嗯，我認為我們無法就此給出具體的答案，但事實是我們推出了 7,000 種新產品，而且它們全部屬於基於屬性的領域。我們推出的所有產品都屬於這個基於屬性的空間。因此，我們的客戶越來越多地從我們這裡購買產品，我認為我們 70％ 的產品都是差異化的。所以我認為，我們購買的每件東西都與其他人購買的東西不同。而籃筐，整體的籃框數字已經趨於平穩。

Basket is stable. We've talked about that journey over the years and it's a 10 items per basket. And we stabilized there, last five, six quarters have all been in that same range. And so we've seen that MPT units per basket or yes, units per basket flatten out. And we're excited to try to start moving that thing forward with some of the initiatives we have in place, particularly loyalty and personalization.

籃子很穩定。多年來，我們一直談論這趟旅程，每個籃子裡有 10 件物品。我們在那裡保持穩定，過去五、六個季度都處於同一範圍內。因此，我們看到每籃子的 MPT 單位數，或者說每籃子的單位數趨於平穩。我們很高興嘗試透過我們已經實施的一些措施來推動這一目標的實現，特別是忠誠度和個人化。

And then a quick question about the self-distribution of proteins. What kind of capital commitment will that be annually?

然後是關於蛋白質自我分佈的一個簡單的問題。每年的資本投入是多少？

No, annual. Again, we've really made some of those capital investments historically as we've expanded space into the DCs. That really got the room for us. We'll have a few more moves to make there for the long-term scale of the business. But we started the investment last year specifically to prepare the DCs around for meats here this year. So some of that was in last year, the rest of it will hit this year.

不是，每年一次。再次，從歷史上看，隨著我們向資料中心擴展空間，我們確實進行了一些資本投資。這確實為我們提供了房間。為了業務的長期規模，我們將採取一些舉措。但是我們從去年就開始了投資，專門為今年的肉類供應做好準備。其中一部分是在去年實現的，其餘部分將在今年實現。

And then every opportunity we get to expand the geography from a DC perspective, we'll consider that going forward so it doesn't change the capital story dramatically on from a supply chain perspective and what's in our guidance.

然後，從 DC 的角度來說，我們得到的每一個擴大地理範圍的機會，我們都會考慮這一點，這樣它就不會從供應鏈的角度和我們的指導中顯著改變資本狀況。

And it's all in our capital guidance. And I think the issue, as you know, as you try and do meat in different products, you've got to change the temperature regimes a little bit, which has involved some investment in the DCs on top of the space that we've created.

這一切都在我們的資本指引之中。而且我認為，如你所知，當你嘗試將肉放入不同的產品中時，你必須稍微改變溫度製度，這需要在我們已經創造的空間上對 DC 進行一些投資。

Great. Thanks a lot. Good luck for this year.

偉大的。多謝。祝今年好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the call back over to Jack Sinclair for any closing remarks.

謝謝。現在我想將電話轉回給傑克辛克萊 (Jack Sinclair)，請他做最後發言。

Well, thank you, everyone, for their attention on the call. We really appreciate your interest in our business, and we look forward to updating you as the year goes on. Thanks, everyone. Have a good evening.

好吧，感謝大家對這次電話會議的關注。我們非常感謝您對我們業務的關注，我們期待在新的一年向您更新最新情況。謝謝大家。祝你晚上愉快。

Thank you. This concludes the conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。