Signet Jewelers Ltd (SIG) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Signet Jewelers Fiscal 2023 Third Quarter Earnings Call. My name is Emily, and I will be coordinating your call today. (Operator Instructions) I will now hand the call over to our host, Vinnie Sinisi, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎來到 Signet Jewelers 2023 財年第三季度財報電話會議。我叫 Emily，今天我將負責協調您的來電。 （操作員說明）我現在將電話轉交給我們的主持人，投資者關係高級副總裁 Vinnie Sinisi。請繼續。

Good morning, and welcome to our third quarter earnings conference call. On the call today are Signet's CEO, Gina Drosos; and Chief Financial and Strategy Officer, Joan Hilson. During today's presentation, we will make certain forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical facts are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. We urge you to read the risk factors, cautionary language and other disclosure in our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to revise or publicly update forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

早上好，歡迎來到我們的第三季度收益電話會議。 Signet 的首席執行官吉娜·德羅索斯 (Gina Drosos) 今天參加電話會議；以及首席財務和戰略官 Joan Hilson。在今天的演講中，我們將做出某些前瞻性陳述。任何非歷史事實的陳述都存在許多風險和不確定性，實際結果可能存在重大差異。我們敦促您閱讀我們的 10-K 表年度報告、10-Q 表季度報告和 8-K 表當前報告中的風險因素、警示性語言和其他披露。除非法律要求，否則我們不承擔根據新信息或未來事件修改或公開更新前瞻性陳述的義務。

During the call, we'll discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. For further discussion of the non-GAAP financial measures as well as reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, investors should review the news release we posted on our website at www.signetjewelers.com/investors. With that, I'll turn the call over to Gina.

在電話會議期間，我們將討論某些非 GAAP 財務指標。如需進一步討論非 GAAP 財務指標以及非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比的 GAAP 指標的對賬，投資者應查看我們在網站 www.signetjewelers.com/investors 上發布的新聞稿。有了這個，我會把電話轉給吉娜。

Thank you, Vinnie, and thanks to all of you for joining us today. I want to begin by thanking the entire Signet team for a standout quarter in a challenging retail environment. Their passion for rising to every challenge and opportunity is inspiring. I'm particularly pleased that our Signet team was recognized this quarter by Fortune as one of the top 20 best workplaces in retail. This is a great reflection of the purpose, pride and excellence our team members bring to our customers every day. I'm proud to lead this exceptional team.

謝謝你，Vinnie，也感謝大家今天加入我們。首先，我要感謝整個 Signet 團隊在充滿挑戰的零售環境中取得了出色的表現。他們迎接每一個挑戰和機遇的熱情令人鼓舞。我特別高興的是，我們的 Signet 團隊在本季度被《財富》雜誌評為零售業 20 大最佳工作場所之一。這很好地反映了我們團隊成員每天為客戶帶來的目標、自豪和卓越。我很自豪能夠領導這支傑出的團隊。

There's one core message that I want you to take away from today's call. Signet is uniquely positioned to deliver consistent market share growth and value creation, given our #1 and growing leadership position in jewelry, an industry that tends to grow steadily from year-to-year and is more resilient to economic cycles than other parts of retail. We've established our strong position in this attractive industry over the past 5 years by making significant strategic pivots that are now creating a virtuous flywheel effect with compounding advantages that are accelerating positive momentum and growth.

我希望您從今天的電話會議中了解一個核心信息。鑑於我們在珠寶行業的第一和不斷增長的領導地位，Signet 具有獨特的優勢，可以實現持續的市場份額增長和價值創造，該行業往往逐年穩步增長，並且比零售業的其他部分更能適應經濟周期.在過去的 5 年裡，我們通過制定重要的戰略支點確立了我們在這個有吸引力的行業中的強勢地位，這些支點現在正在創造良性飛輪效應，並具有加速積極勢頭和增長的複合優勢。

First, we created a differentiated portfolio of banners that appeals to a broad diverse and growing mix of customers. Second, we've established a connected commerce presence that is resetting customer expectations for the experience they want to have with shopping for buying and owning fine jewelry. Third, we've built a flexible operating model that gives us multiple levers to pull so we can deliver our commitments even when faced with challenging economic or marketing conditions. And fourth, we are executing a disciplined capital allocation strategy that is delivering meaningful value creation. It's focused first on expanding market share growing the top line and consistently delivering double-digit annual operating margin. Since the beginning of our transformation in fiscal 2019, we've invested nearly $700 million in capital and over $900 million in acquisitions, far beyond any company in the industry.

首先，我們創建了一個差異化的橫幅組合，以吸引範圍廣泛且不斷增長的客戶組合。其次，我們已經建立了一個互聯的商業存在，正在重新設定客戶對購買和擁有高級珠寶的購物體驗的期望。第三，我們建立了靈活的運營模式，為我們提供了多種槓桿，因此即使面臨充滿挑戰的經濟或營銷條件，我們也能兌現承諾。第四，我們正在執行嚴格的資本配置策略，以創造有意義的價值。它首先專注於擴大市場份額，增加收入，並始終如一地提供兩位數的年度營業利潤率。自 2019 財年開始轉型以來，我們已投入近 7 億美元的資本和超過 9 億美元的收購，遠遠超過業內任何一家公司。

On the strength of these investments, we've accelerated growth and returned more than $1.3 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. We saw the benefits of this flywheel effect again in the third quarter. We beat expectations and are now raising full year guidance inclusive of Blue Nile. Revenue was nearly $1.6 billion, up 2.9% versus a year ago and up 33% compared to pre-pandemic levels. We generated non-GAAP operating income of $58 million, a strong result in a quarter that saw onetime COVID and supply chain induced benefits last year, but consistently lost money prior. In fact, Q3 fiscal '20 suffered operating losses of nearly $30 million. And we delivered non-GAAP operating margin ahead of expectations for the quarter. This improvement was largely driven by the positive impact of services, the health of our inventory and strategic assortment choices, including tiering-up, value engineering and balanced pricing. We achieved this despite Blue Nile losses, which we anticipated and more than covered without impacting our core businesses or distracting us from disciplined execution.

憑藉這些投資，我們加速了增長，並通過股票回購和派息向股東返還了超過 13 億美元。我們在第三季度再次看到了這種飛輪效應的好處。我們超出了預期，現在正在提高包括 Blue Nile 在內的全年指導。收入接近 16 億美元，比一年前增長 2.9%，比大流行前水平增長 33%。我們產生了 5800 萬美元的非 GAAP 營業收入，這是一個強勁的季度業績，去年曾看到 COVID 和供應鏈帶來的收益，但之前一直虧損。事實上，20 財年第三季度的運營虧損接近 3000 萬美元。我們實現了超出本季度預期的非 GAAP 營業利潤率。這種改善在很大程度上是由服務的積極影響、我們庫存的健康狀況和戰略分類選擇（包括分級、價值工程和平衡定價）推動的。儘管 Blue Nile 出現了虧損，但我們實現了這一目標，這是我們預料到的，而且超出了預期，不會影響我們的核心業務，也不會分散我們對紀律執行的注意力。

Now even in a challenging environment, we're heading into holiday with multiple points of strength. First, we're well stocked with significant newness and great value at all price points. And most importantly, we are not overstocked like much of retail. In fact, our inventory was down 2% in the quarter, excluding acquisitions, and with clearance at the lowest levels in recent history is healthier than it's been since our transformation began roughly 5 years ago. We've tiered up our assortment and nearly 30% of our assortment is new for holiday. Since Q3 fiscal '20, our inventory is down 17%, excluding acquisitions, with sell-down and clearance penetration down 13 points.

現在，即使在充滿挑戰的環境中，我們也將以多方面的力量進入假期。首先，我們在所有價位上都有充足的新品和物超所值的庫存。最重要的是，我們不像零售業那樣積壓庫存。事實上，我們的庫存在本季度下降了 2%，不包括收購，而且清倉處於近期歷史最低水平，比我們大約 5 年前開始轉型以來的情況更健康。我們對產品進行了分級，近 30% 的產品是假日新品。自 20 財年第三季度以來，我們的庫存下降了 17%，不包括收購，銷售和清倉滲透率下降了 13 個百分點。

In addition to being well stocked, we're well staffed. A key driver of our staffing strength is retention. At Kay, for example, staff turnover is 17% lower than it was last year. This ensures we have more experienced consultants on the floor, an important factor because consultants with at least 2 years of experience in our stores sell 2x more than consultants who've been with us for 6 months or less. And we're able to optimize labor costs by adjusting staffing plans dynamically in response to changing retail traffic. Using our proprietary store level data, we can flex to optimize coverage by hour when and where we need it, without being under or overstaffed. As a result, our sales per labor hour are up more than 70% versus fiscal '20.

除了庫存充足外，我們的人員配備也很充足。我們人員配置實力的一個關鍵驅動力是保留。例如，在 Kay，員工流動率比去年低 17%。這確保了我們有更多經驗豐富的顧問在場，這是一個重要因素，因為在我們商店至少有 2 年經驗的顧問的銷售額是在我們工作 6 個月或更短時間的顧問的 2 倍。我們能夠根據不斷變化的零售流量動態調整人員配置計劃，從而優化勞動力成本。使用我們專有的商店級數據，我們可以靈活地在需要的時間和地點按小時優化覆蓋範圍，而不會出現人員不足或人員過多的情況。因此，與 20 財年相比，我們每工時的銷售額增長了 70% 以上。

We're still facing macroeconomic headwinds and consumers' behaviors can be somewhat volatile, but we're prepared for this. Our flexible operating model is designed to sustain our financial commitments even in the face of these challenges. We are ready for strong holiday execution.

我們仍然面臨宏觀經濟逆風，消費者的行為可能會有些波動，但我們已為此做好準備。我們靈活的運營模式旨在即使面對這些挑戰也能維持我們的財務承諾。我們已準備好迎接強有力的假期執行。

Now I'd like to provide perspective on where we're headed longer term, and why Signet is so well positioned to deliver consistent market share growth and value creation year-over-year. My confidence in our long-term growth is grounded in both the attractiveness of the jewelry industry itself and in Signet's strong leadership position within the industry. Jewelry is different from the rest of retail. For example, cyclical industries like apparel, are more sensitive to economic volatility. Carry inventory was a relatively low residual value and sell products that consumers see as more discretionary. Conversely, customers place to higher value on jewelry. They see jewelry purchases as less discretionary because they're tied to special occasions and people in their lives, and jewelry retains its value or appreciates over time.

現在，我想就我們的長期發展方向以及為什麼 Signet 處於如此有利的位置來提供持續的市場份額增長和年復一年的價值創造提供看法。我對我們長期增長的信心既基於珠寶行業本身的吸引力，也基於 Signet 在行業內的強大領導地位。珠寶不同於其他零售。例如，服裝等周期性行業對經濟波動更為敏感。攜帶庫存是相對較低的剩餘價值，並銷售消費者認為更具自由裁量權的產品。相反，顧客對珠寶的評價更高。他們認為購買珠寶不太隨意，因為它們與特殊場合和生活中的人息息相關，而且珠寶會隨著時間的推移保持其價值或升值。

In addition, jewelry doesn't go out of style from season to season. This makes jewelry more resilient and as a result, more attractive than many other retail industries. It's an industry well designed for sustainable long-term growth. And Signet has an advantageous position in this attractive industry. Jewelry rewards the flywheel effect I described, which is a point of difference for Signet. Inventory is a good example. Over the past 5 years, we have transformed the way we plan, manage and optimize inventory.

此外，珠寶首飾不會隨著季節的變化而過時。這使得珠寶更具彈性，因此比許多其他零售行業更具吸引力。這是一個為實現可持續長期增長而精心設計的行業。 Signet 在這個有吸引力的行業中具有優勢地位。珠寶獎勵我描述的飛輪效應，這是 Signet 的一個不同點。庫存就是一個很好的例子。在過去的 5 年裡，我們改變了我們計劃、管理和優化庫存的方式。

We operate today with a disciplined, tightly integrated approach. First, we leverage our vendor relationships and purchasing scale to ensure quality and availability while managing cash and protecting margins. Second, we consumer test our assortments with the most advanced AI and data analytics capability in the industry. We believe our proprietary product concept testing capability is improving our new product success rate, enabling us to bring bigger ideas to market with greater confidence in speed. Third, we provide unrivaled inventory depth and transparency to both customers and our jewelry consultants.

今天，我們以一種紀律嚴明、緊密整合的方式運作。首先，我們利用我們的供應商關係和採購規模來確保質量和可用性，同時管理現金和保護利潤。其次，我們用業內最先進的人工智能和數據分析能力對我們的產品進行消費者測試。我們相信我們專有的產品概念測試能力正在提高我們的新產品成功率，使我們能夠以更快的速度將更大的創意推向市場。第三，我們為客戶和我們的珠寶顧問提供無與倫比的庫存深度和透明度。

Customers can work with our virtual and in-store consultants to find, see and purchase individual pieces across our multi-banner ecosystem. And finally, we provide a whole range of flexible fulfillment options, including buy online pick up in store, ship to store, curbside pickup, same-day delivery and now more than 25,000 secure consumer access clients.

客戶可以與我們的虛擬和店內顧問合作，在我們的多橫幅生態系統中查找、查看和購買單件商品。最後，我們提供一整套靈活的履行選項，包括在線購買店內提貨、送貨到店、路邊取貨、當天送達，現在有超過 25,000 個安全的消費者訪問客戶。

After launching the program just 2 years ago, customers are opting for a flexible fulfillment option in over 38% of online orders. These capabilities not only benefit our customers but also minimize stranded inventory across our fleet.

在 2 年前推出該計劃後，客戶在超過 38% 的在線訂單中選擇了靈活的履行選項。這些功能不僅有利於我們的客戶，而且可以最大限度地減少我們車隊中的滯留庫存。

Taken together, this holistic approach to inventory design, management and delivery is a significant competitive advantage, and it has driven significant inventory productivity gains with our core terms of 1.5x now nearly twice what they were when we began our transformation.

總而言之，這種庫存設計、管理和交付的整體方法是一個顯著的競爭優勢，它推動了庫存生產率的顯著提高，我們的核心條款是 1.5 倍，現在幾乎是我們開始轉型時的兩倍。

I'd like to turn now to progress we've made in the quarter on our 4 [wear-to-play] focus areas. Let's start with winning in big businesses. A good illustration is how we are growing market share and winning in bridal. It's the most important segment in fine jewelry, not only because of its high relative value, but also because bridal is the point of market entry for jewelry and lifetime value. It's the emotional and financial moment when long-term relationships are established between couples and with their jewelry consultants. 35% of new customers during Q3 made their first purchase at Signet through bridal. And over the past 3 years, roughly 1/3 of bridal engagement customers have returned for subsequent non-engagement purchases, wedding bands, fashion jewelry, statement pieces and gifts. This is a more than 40% higher repurchase rate versus non-bridal customers. An average transaction value of their second purchase has increased, up 23% compared to 3 years ago.

我現在想談談我們在本季度在 4 個 [wear-to-play] 重點領域取得的進展。讓我們從贏得大企業開始。一個很好的例子就是我們如何擴大市場份額並在婚紗領域取得成功。它是高級珠寶中最重要的部分，不僅因為它的相對價值高，而且因為婚禮是珠寶和終身價值的市場切入點。這是夫妻之間及其珠寶顧問之間建立長期關係的情感和財務時刻。第三季度，35% 的新客戶是通過婚慶在 Signet 進行的首次購買。在過去的 3 年裡，大約 1/3 的訂婚客戶回頭購買了後續的非訂婚商品、結婚戒指、時尚珠寶、個性單品和禮物。與非新娘客戶相比，回購率高出 40% 以上。與 3 年前相比，他們第二次購買的平均交易金額增加了 23%。

We've also continued to widen our customer funnel with Diamonds Direct and Blue Nile, 2 very strategic acquisitions that focus in bridal and have brought younger, more affluent and more diverse customers to our business. The good news is that over time, bridal is not cyclical. Engagements, weddings and anniversaries happen consistently year in and year out. COVID is presenting what is the first meaningful blip in engagement ring purchases in the past 4 decades. Calendar year 2021 represented a 40-year peak in engagements, which has been somewhat offset in 2022 and 2023, both expected to be down low double digits. We anticipated this blip in consumer dynamics and positioned ourselves to increase our share of bridal and lean into fashion and gifting. As engagements return to more normalized levels, we will be especially well positioned, given that maximizing lifetime value is an ongoing priority for us and a playbook that we are running across our entire business.

我們還通過 Diamonds Direct 和 Blue Nile 繼續擴大我們的客戶渠道，這兩項非常具有戰略意義的收購專注於婚慶業務，並為我們的業務帶來了更年輕、更富裕和更多樣化的客戶。好消息是，隨著時間的推移，婚禮不是周期性的。訂婚、婚禮和周年紀念日年復一年地舉行。 COVID 呈現了過去 4 年來訂婚戒指購買中第一個有意義的現象。 2021 日曆年的參與度達到了 40 年來的峰值，但在 2022 年和 2023 年有所抵消，預計兩者都將下降兩位數。我們預料到消費者動態會出現這種波動，並將自己定位為增加婚禮的份額，並傾向於時尚和禮品。隨著參與度恢復到更正常的水平，我們將處於特別有利的位置，因為最大化生命週期價值是我們持續的優先事項，也是我們在整個業務中運行的劇本。

Accelerating services is our second strategic focus area. As we said, we see services as a $1 billion business over time, and we're continuing to make steady progress towards that goal. The success of our loyalty program, Vault Rewards, is a good example. We already have 1 million Vault Rewards members in just the first year of the program. Our program is especially powerful because we're the only jewelry retailer that can offer this type of holistic loyalty approach across multiple banners and versus other specialty retail, we provide high value given the very nature of what we sell, particularly for the engagement and bridal experience.

加速服務是我們的第二個戰略重點領域。正如我們所說，隨著時間的推移，我們將服務視為一項價值 10 億美元的業務，並且我們將繼續朝著這一目標穩步前進。我們忠誠度計劃 Vault Rewards 的成功就是一個很好的例子。僅在該計劃的第一年，我們就已經擁有 100 萬名 Vault Rewards 會員。我們的計劃特別強大，因為我們是唯一一家可以跨多個橫幅提供這種整體忠誠度方法的珠寶零售商，與其他專業零售相比，我們提供高價值，因為我們銷售的產品的本質，特別是訂婚和婚禮經驗。

Jared was the first to roll this out in the first half of fiscal '23 and now has more than 30% of sales coming from its loyalty members. Kay and Zales followed with rollouts during the third quarter and are already seeing more than 25% of sales coming from loyalty members. In addition, loyalty members are spending 40% more per (inaudible) purchase than non-loyalty customers on average, and they are making second purchases 25% faster.

Jared 是第一個在 23 財年上半年推出此產品的公司，現在超過 30% 的銷售額來自其忠誠會員。 Kay 和 Zales 在第三季度緊隨其後，他們已經看到超過 25% 的銷售額來自忠誠會員。此外，忠誠會員的每次（聽不清）購買平均比非忠誠客戶多花費 40%，並且他們進行第二次購買的速度要快 25%。

In repair, we simplified our offerings with bundles that combine typical repair services. This improves both the customer and the employee experience by simplifying the offer and the operation. Earlier this year, bundles represented about 15% of our repair business. Today, 65% of paid repairs are part of a bundle. This is encouraging because bundles drive margin through AUR, which was up 18% versus year ago. With this success, we have further opportunity for growth. Our research indicates that only 40% of people who shop in malls even know that our banners do repairs. We see upside potential and have doubled our marketing spend on services versus a year ago, which is helping drive growth and customer awareness.

在維修方面，我們通過結合典型維修服務的捆綁包簡化了我們的產品。這通過簡化報價和操作來改善客戶和員工的體驗。今年早些時候，捆綁銷售約占我們維修業務的 15%。如今，65% 的付費維修屬於捆綁服務。這是令人鼓舞的，因為捆綁銷售通過 AUR 提高了利潤率，與去年同期相比增長了 18%。有了這次成功，我們就有了進一步發展的機會。我們的研究表明，在商場購物的人中，只有 40% 的人知道我們的橫幅廣告會進行維修。我們看到了上升潛力，與一年前相比，我們在服務方面的營銷支出增加了一倍，這有助於推動增長和客戶意識。

Our third wear-to-play strategy is to expand accessible luxury and value. accessible luxury continues to grow in importance. This top end of our market now represents approximately 30% of our business, up nearly 10 percentage points versus the pre-pandemic period. The shift towards higher-priced products is being driven by a combination of factors: our database ability to attract higher-income customers, the appeal of our high-value assortment and the ability to trade customers up the value chain and our price architecture. We've also added Diamonds Direct and Blue Nile, both of which have a strong presence in accessible luxury, contributing to the increase. These factors are working. We're seeing spending at higher price points in all our categories, engagement, anniversary and wedding bands and fashion. Overall, North America average transaction value increased 8% compared to last year and is up 27% versus pre-pandemic. We are equally committed to serve customers at the value end of the market. This is the cohort that is most impacted by economic pressures, and we want to ensure we are providing them with superior value as part of our portfolio strategy. To do this, we continue to innovate within our assortment to cut costs customers don't see or care about and to provide a breadth of financing options for every budget.

我們的第三個穿著即玩戰略是擴大可獲得的奢侈品和價值。無障礙奢侈品的重要性繼續增長。我們市場的這一高端市場現在約占我們業務的 30%，比大流行前時期增加了近 10 個百分點。向高價產品的轉變是由多種因素共同推動的：我們的數據庫吸引高收入客戶的能力、我們高價值產品組合的吸引力以及在價值鍊和我們的價格架構上交易客戶的能力。我們還增加了 Diamonds Direct 和 Blue Nile，這兩家公司在輕奢品領域都有很強的影響力，為增長做出了貢獻。這些因素正在發揮作用。我們看到在我們所有類別、訂婚、週年紀念和結婚戒指以及時尚方面的支出都在增加。總體而言，北美平均交易價值與去年相比增長了 8%，與大流行前相比增長了 27%。我們同樣致力於為市場價值端的客戶提供服務。這是受經濟壓力影響最大的群體，我們希望確保為他們提供卓越的價值，作為我們投資組合戰略的一部分。為此，我們繼續在我們的產品組合中進行創新，以削減客戶看不到或不關心的成本，並為每個預算提供廣泛的融資選擇。

Leading in digital is our fourth strategy. We are now delivering a digital data-driven connected commerce experience that is unrivaled in jewelry. One of the biggest differences in Signet today versus 5 years ago is the mix of customers we serve. We've added 22.5 million new customers since fiscal '19. As a result, our customer base is significantly stronger today than it was 5 years ago. It's younger, more multicultural, more affluent, more digitally savvy and more demanding in terms of total customer experience. No other jewelry company is as well positioned as Signet to meet these expectations. In recognition of this shift, we are continuing to enhance our digital capabilities and offerings. We introduced 2-way SMS just over a year ago, for example, and it now represents 14% of our digital support contacts year-to-date. In Q3 alone, 23% of all contacts were through our SMS channel. This matters. After texting with a jewelry expert, conversion is more than 15x higher than a typical e-commerce purchase. Interestingly, 60% of these purchases are made online and 40% are made in store. We also know that Net Promoter Scores are typically 15 points higher when a customer shops with one of our virtual consultants.

引領數字化是我們的第四個戰略。我們現在正在提供一種在珠寶行業無與倫比的數字數據驅動的互聯商務體驗。今天與 5 年前相比，Signet 最大的不同之一是我們服務的客戶組合。自 19 財年以來，我們增加了 2250 萬新客戶。因此，我們今天的客戶群比 5 年前要強大得多。它更年輕、更多元文化、更富裕、更精通數字技術並且對整體客戶體驗要求更高。沒有任何一家珠寶公司能像 Signet 一樣能夠滿足這些期望。認識到這一轉變，我們將繼續增強我們的數字能力和產品。例如，我們在一年多前推出了雙向 SMS，它現在占我們年初至今數字支持聯繫人的 14%。僅在第三季度，所有聯繫中就有 23% 是通過我們的 SMS 渠道進行的。這很重要。在與珠寶專家發短信後，轉化率比典型的電子商務購買高出 15 倍以上。有趣的是，這些購買中有 60% 是在網上進行的，40% 是在商店進行的。我們還知道，當客戶通過我們的一位虛擬顧問購物時，淨推薦值通常會高出 15 分。

We've enabled social sellings by equipping our jewelry consultants to curate personalized digital style guides and use them as a way to reach out to customers with clienteling support, driving both digital sales and store traffic. Customers can browse and buy directly from the style guides that connect directly via chat, SMS or social platforms. We also know that virtual appointments booked online have more than doubled since last year and sales attributed to virtual JCs have grown 150%.

我們讓我們的珠寶顧問能夠策劃個性化的數字風格指南，並將其作為一種通過客戶支持來接觸客戶的方式，從而推動數字銷售和商店客流量，從而實現社交銷售。客戶可以直接從通過聊天、短信或社交平台直接連接的風格指南中瀏覽和購買。我們還知道，自去年以來在線預訂的虛擬預約增加了一倍以上，虛擬 JC 帶來的銷售額增長了 150%。

Customers who engage in a virtual appointment convert 12x more than those who don't, and AOV is nearly 3x more. We're also adding enhancements specifically focused on mobile conversions because 87% of our website traffic is now coming from mobile devices. We see digital as much more than a stand-alone e-commerce capability. The power of digital is the ability it gives us to create a seamless connected commerce capability that no one in jewelry can match.

參與虛擬預約的客戶轉化率比不參與的客戶高 12 倍，AOV 高出近 3 倍。我們還添加了專門針對移動轉化的增強功能，因為我們現在 87% 的網站流量來自移動設備。我們認為數字不僅僅是一種獨立的電子商務能力。數字化的力量在於它使我們能夠創造一種無縫連接的商務能力，這是珠寶行業無法比擬的。

The final point I want to underscore is the strength of our financial position, which enables so much of the progress we're making. Disciplined cost management and our flexible operating model allow us to invest strategically in our core business and in acquisitions to expand market share, maintain appropriate levels of leverage and return cash to shareholders through repurchases and dividends, with the goal of becoming a dividend growth company.

我要強調的最後一點是我們財務狀況的實力，這使得我們正在取得如此大的進步。嚴格的成本管理和靈活的運營模式使我們能夠對核心業務和收購進行戰略性投資，以擴大市場份額，保持適當的槓桿水平，並通過回購和派息向股東返還現金，目標是成為一家股息增長型公司。

So to recap, jewelry is an attractive industry, and we're in an advantageous position within this industry. It's analogous to being the best house in a great neighborhood. And given our compounding advantages, we're growing share and investing in growth well ahead of the industry, which positions us for sustainable value creation. As important as our financial health is, it's only part of our story. As I said at the outset, the most important part of our success and of my confidence in our future is our culture of innovation and agility powered by rigorous executional discipline, our team continues to rise to every challenge and to go after every opportunity to serve our customers, grow our business and lead our industry. We (inaudible) many advantages that set us apart in the jewelry industry and in retail, but none is as important as the caliber of our people and the culture in which they're thriving.

總而言之，珠寶是一個有吸引力的行業，我們在這個行業中處於有利地位。這類似於成為一個大社區中最好的房子。鑑於我們的複合優勢，我們正在增加份額並投資於增長，遠遠領先於行業，這使我們能夠創造可持續的價值。與我們的財務健康一樣重要，這只是我們故事的一部分。正如我一開始所說，我們成功的最重要部分和我對未來的信心是我們的創新和敏捷文化，由嚴格的執行紀律提供動力，我們的團隊繼續迎接每一個挑戰，並抓住每一個服務機會我們的客戶，發展我們的業務並引領我們的行業。我們（聽不清）有許多優勢使我們在珠寶行業和零售業中脫穎而出，但沒有一個比我們員工的才能和他們賴以生存的文化更重要。

On that note, I'll turn it over to Joan.

在那張紙條上，我會把它交給瓊。

Thanks, Gina, and good morning, everyone. Our key message is that Signet is uniquely positioned among retailers to deliver consistent returns. We're doing this by growing market share, expanding margins and optimizing our balance sheet, all of which lead to long-term value creation. We are committed to delivering double-digit annual operating margin, which we're able to do with our flexible operating structure even when the top line environment is challenging. Beyond, we are continuing to take advantage of our balance sheet strength to consistently invest in our growth while returning cash to shareholders.

謝謝，吉娜，大家早上好。我們的關鍵信息是 Signet 在零售商中具有獨特的定位，可以提供一致的回報。我們通過增加市場份額、擴大利潤率和優化資產負債表來實現這一目標，所有這些都會帶來長期價值創造。我們致力於實現兩位數的年度營業利潤率，即使在頂線環境充滿挑戰的情況下，我們也能夠通過靈活的運營結構實現這一目標。此外，我們將繼續利用我們的資產負債表優勢，持續投資於我們的增長，同時向股東返還現金。

Before turning to the quarter, I'd like to share some additional perspective on our recent acquisition of Blue Nile. This acquisition is a great example of our ability to be agile as market share growth opportunities emerge. Our balance sheet strength and our ability to generate cash enables us to step in at the right time for the right assets at the right price. We've now been working with the Blue Nile team for just over 90 days. We see significant opportunities to maximize value by bringing together Blue Nile and James Allen, our 2 digitally native banners. This combination is driving prior synergies that we anticipated at the time of acquisition.

在轉向本季度之前，我想分享一些關於我們最近收購 Blue Nile 的其他觀點。此次收購是我們在市場份額增長機會出現時保持敏捷能力的一個很好的例子。我們的資產負債表實力和產生現金的能力使我們能夠在合適的時間以合適的價格介入合適的資產。現在，我們與 Blue Nile 團隊的合作剛剛超過 90 天。通過將我們的 2 個數字原生橫幅廣告 Blue Nile 和 James Allen 結合在一起，我們看到了實現價值最大化的重要機會。這種結合正在推動我們在收購時預期的先前協同效應。

We also see top line and margin opportunity by leveraging assortment, price architecture, data analytics and the integration of our merchandising capability. Importantly, Blue Nile enables us to grow our share in bridal with a slightly higher price/mix and a demographic that is different and additive to the top of our customer funnel. With all of this in mind, we are reaffirming our full year non-GAAP operating margin of 10.8%. Even with the dilutive impact of Blue Nile, which is offset by a greater line of sight into the efficiencies we see in our core business.

我們還通過利用分類、價格架構、數據分析和我們的營銷能力的整合看到了收入和利潤機會。重要的是，Blue Nile 使我們能夠以略高的價格/組合和不同的人口統計來增加我們在婚禮中的份額，並增加了我們客戶漏斗的頂部。考慮到所有這些，我們重申全年非 GAAP 營業利潤率為 10.8%。即使有 Blue Nile 的稀釋影響，這也被我們對核心業務效率的更大視線所抵消。

Now turning to the quarter. We exceeded the high end of our revenue guidance, excluding Blue Nile, despite a more than $20 million drag on the top line from the sharp decline of the pound and the Canadian dollar. On the bottom line, we exceeded the high end of guidance even with the impact of Blue Nile, which operated at a loss during the quarter. We delivered profitability during a historically challenging quarter and despite a negative high single-digit comp. In the 2 years prior to the pandemic, we had losses in Q3. We've reset that trend. Our results are a meaningful shift from pre-pandemic levels and reflects the impact of our always-on marketing, rigorous cost discipline and even earlier preparation for holiday.

現在轉向季度。儘管英鎊和加元的急劇下跌拖累了超過 2000 萬美元的收入，但我們超出了我們收入指導的高端（不包括 Blue Nile）。最重要的是，即使受到本季度虧損的 Blue Nile 的影響，我們也超過了指導的上限。我們在歷史上充滿挑戰的季度實現了盈利，儘管出現了負的高個位數補償。在大流行之前的兩年裡，我們在第三季度出現了虧損。我們已經重新設定了這一趨勢。我們的結果與大流行前的水平相比發生了有意義的轉變，反映了我們始終在線的營銷、嚴格的成本控制以及甚至更早的假期準備的影響。

For the quarter, we delivered total sales of $1.6 billion, up 2.9% year-over-year. On a constant currency basis, we were up 4.2%. Same-store sales were down 7.6%, which was attributable to consumer behavior shifts and macroeconomic pressure. Roughly half of the comp decline was attributable to lower price points, including Banter, which was down roughly 30%. We saw our strongest performance at higher price points. Our average transaction value in North America was up 8% in Q3, which reflects our mix shift to higher price points as we broaden our reach into accessible luxury with more targeted customer acquisitions, tiered on assortment and price architecture.

本季度，我們的總銷售額為 16 億美元，同比增長 2.9%。按固定匯率計算，我們上漲了 4.2%。同店銷售額下降 7.6%，這歸因於消費者行為轉變和宏觀經濟壓力。大約一半的 comp 下降歸因於較低的價格點，包括 Banter，它下降了大約 30%。我們以更高的價格看到了最強勁的表現。我們在北美的平均交易價值在第三季度增長了 8%，這反映了我們的組合轉向更高的價格點，因為我們通過更有針對性的客戶獲取、分類和價格架構來擴大我們對平易近人的奢侈品的影響力。

We also raised prices selectively as needed in response to inflationary pressures and we'll be closely with our vendors to ensure we can deliver the best pricing and value in the industry. Our fleet reflects our transitioning to higher price points as well. Sales for the quarter were up 33% compared to Q3 of FY '20 with roughly 450 fewer stores, which translates into a 45% increase in sales per square foot versus the pre-pandemic period. This is a result of a much stronger footprint we've established over the past few years. We have decreased our exposure to C malls by almost 20 points, and we've increased the off-mall stores to almost 40% of our fleet.

我們還根據需要有選擇地提高價格以應對通貨膨脹壓力，並且我們將與我們的供應商密切合作，以確保我們能夠提供業內最好的價格和價值。我們的機隊也反映了我們向更高價格點的過渡。與 20 財年第三季度相比，本季度的銷售額增長了 33%，門店數量減少了大約 450 家，這意味著每平方英尺的銷售額與大流行前相比增長了 45%。這是我們在過去幾年中建立的更強大足蹟的結果。我們已經將 C 級購物中心的風險降低了近 20 個百分點，並且我們已經將非購物中心商店增加到我們車隊的近 40%。

Turning now to services. North America revenue in Q3 increased roughly 8% on a year-over-year basis and nearly 16% versus FY '20. This growth was driven by increased awareness of our services offering and the success of service bundle. As we continue to improve attachments on warranty and repair, we are seeing both meaningful margin contribution and an increase in return visits. Even better services margin is over 20% higher than merchandise margin.

現在轉向服務。第三季度北美收入同比增長約 8%，與 20 財年相比增長近 16%。這種增長是由對我們提供的服務的認識提高和服務捆綁的成功推動的。隨著我們繼續改進保修和維修附件，我們看到有意義的利潤貢獻和回訪增加。更好的服務利潤率比商品利潤率高出 20% 以上。

Non-GAAP gross margin in Q3 was 35.2% of sales, down 220 basis points on a year-over-year basis. This reflects the expected impact of Diamonds Direct and Blue Nile, both of which carry a lower relative margin due to the higher [bio mix].

第三季度非美國通用會計準則毛利率為銷售額的 35.2%，同比下降 220 個基點。這反映了 Diamonds Direct 和 Blue Nile 的預期影響，由於 [生物組合] 較高，這兩家公司的相對利潤率較低。

Merchandise margin in our organic banners improved versus last year. This is a direct result of our disciplined inventory management, flexible fulfillment capabilities and higher-margin services partially offset by the deleverage of store fixed costs. Non-GAAP SG&A in Q3 was roughly $500 million or 31.4% of sales, deleveraged 80 basis points compared to last year but 215 basis points better than Q3 FY '20. This was primarily driven by strategic investments in IT and digital, and our flexible operating model enabled us to partially minimize the impact of a negative high single-digit comp on labor and other variable costs under our control.

我們有機橫幅的商品利潤率與去年相比有所提高。這是我們嚴格的庫存管理、靈活的履行能力和更高利潤的服務的直接結果，部分被商店固定成本的去槓桿化所抵消。第三季度的非 GAAP SG&A 約為 5 億美元，佔銷售額的 31.4%，與去年相比去槓桿化了 80 個基點，但比 20 財年第三季度好 215 個基點。這主要是由 IT 和數字戰略投資推動的，我們靈活的運營模式使我們能夠在一定程度上最大限度地減少負高個位數補償對我們控制下的勞動力和其他可變成本的影響。

Non-GAAP operating income was $58 million or 3.7% of sales. We continue to demonstrate the positive impact of the structural changes in our business. Our Q3 non-GAAP operating margin is more than 600 basis points higher than it was during the third quarter of FY '20, and we had an operating loss of 2.5%.

非 GAAP 營業收入為 5800 萬美元，佔銷售額的 3.7%。我們繼續展示我們業務結構變化的積極影響。我們第三季度的非美國通用會計準則營業利潤率比 20 財年第三季度高出 600 多個基點，營業虧損為 2.5%。

Now let's turn to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with approximately $330 million in cash and equivalents on hand. Since the end of Q2, we returned cash to shareholders through December 2, up $52 million in share repurchases or nearly 1 million shares, along with common dividend of $18 million, and we completed the cash purchase of Blue Nile. Further, our leverage ratio on a trailing 12-month basis currently stand at approximately 2x EBITDA, well below our previously stated goal of below 2.75x and down 50% from Q3 of FY '20.

現在讓我們轉向資產負債表。本季度結束時，我們手頭有大約 3.3 億美元的現金和等價物。自第二季度末以來，我們在 12 月 2 日之前向股東返還了現金，回購了 5200 萬美元的股票或近 100 萬股股票，以及 1800 萬美元的普通股息，我們完成了對 Blue Nile 的現金收購。此外，我們過去 12 個月的槓桿率目前約為 EBITDA 的 2 倍，遠低於我們先前設定的低於 2.75 倍的目標，並且比 20 財年第三季度下降了 50%。

Our capital investments are also an important differentiator. As an example, since we began our transformation, we have spent more than $300 million in strategic, digital and technology investments, a significant part of the $700 million of capital that we've invested in total. We have also invested in standard differentiation through the continued expansion of foundry and the freshness of our fleet. Looking forward, we expect capital investments this year of up to $215 million, down from our previous expectations, reflecting the impact of external supply chain constraints.

我們的資本投資也是一個重要的差異化因素。例如，自從我們開始轉型以來，我們已經在戰略、數字和技術投資上花費了超過 3 億美元，這在我們總投資的 7 億美元資本中佔了很大一部分。我們還通過不斷擴大鑄造廠和更新我們的車隊來投資於標準差異化。展望未來，我們預計今年的資本投資將高達 2.15 億美元，低於我們之前的預期，反映了外部供應鏈約束的影響。

We continue to buy back shares and have $570 million remaining in our authorization as of December 2. This reflects our belief that Signet's stock is significantly undervalued. The resilience of the jewelry industry and the disciplined execution of our strategies give us confidence that the market will soon recognize our unique ability in the jewelry industry to generate consistent shareholder returns.

我們繼續回購股票，截至 12 月 2 日，我們的授權剩餘 5.7 億美元。這反映了我們認為 Signet 的股票被嚴重低估的信念。珠寶行業的韌性和我們戰略的嚴格執行讓我們相信，市場很快就會認可我們在珠寶行業產生持續股東回報的獨特能力。

I'll close with our financial guidance for fiscal '23, which reflects current business trends and the inclusion of Blue Nile. Black Friday weekend was encouraging and met our expectations with our biggest Cyber Monday in our history. We are seeing shifts in consumer purchasing talents that indicate many consumers are waiting until later in the season to complete their shopping. We anticipate the strength in our assortment units will persist. Customers will continue to purchase at higher price points, and our holiday readiness will enable us to be there for customers with the product fulfillment options and value they expect.

我將結束我們對 23 財年的財務指導，它反映了當前的業務趨勢和 Blue Nile 的納入。黑色星期五週末令人鼓舞，並以我們歷史上最大的網絡星期一滿足了我們的期望。我們看到消費者購買能力發生了變化，這表明許多消費者要等到旺季晚些時候才能完成購物。我們預計我們的產品組合的優勢將持續存在。客戶將繼續以更高的價格購買，我們的假期準備將使我們能夠為客戶提供他們期望的產品履行選項和價值。

At the same time, we know that economic pressures and concerns will continue to exist. Foreign currency is expected to remain a headwind and our digitally native brands are likely to continue seeing the consumer shift back to store through holiday. We're approaching Q4 with a healthy balance of confidence and conservatism. Confidence driven by our overperformance in Q3, the inclusion of Blue Nile, our readiness for holiday and the strength of our operating model, and in an appropriate level of conservatism that reflects consumer and macroeconomic variables beyond our control.

與此同時，我們知道經濟壓力和擔憂將繼續存在。預計外幣仍將是不利因素，我們的數字本土品牌可能會繼續看到消費者在假期期間回到實體店。我們正以信心和保守主義的健康平衡接近第四季度。我們在第三季度的超常表現、Blue Nile 的納入、我們對假期的準備和我們運營模式的優勢，以及反映我們無法控制的消費者和宏觀經濟變量的適當水平的保守主義，都推動了我們的信心。

Keeping this in mind and reflecting current business trends, we are raising fourth quarter revenue guidance in the range of $2.59 billion to $2.66 billion, partially offset by the expected headwind related to the sharp decline of the British pound and Canadian dollar. We expect non-GAAP operating income guidance for the quarter in the range of $363 million to $404 million. Our guidance does not include a worsening of macroeconomic factors. Compared to last year, Q4 guidance includes merchandise margin expansion reflecting strength in our assortment architecture and inventory health. In addition, we continue to leverage efficient labor and advertising model, along with the flexibility to support further Q4 promotion.

牢記這一點並反映當前的業務趨勢，我們將第四季度的收入指引上調至 25.9 億美元至 26.6 億美元，部分抵消了與英鎊和加元大幅下跌相關的預期逆風。我們預計本季度的非 GAAP 營業收入指引在 3.63 億美元至 4.04 億美元之間。我們的指引不包括宏觀經濟因素的惡化。與去年相比，第四季度的指導包括商品利潤率的擴大，反映了我們的分類架構和庫存健康狀況的實力。此外，我們繼續利用高效的勞動力和廣告模式，以及支持第四季度進一步促銷的靈活性。

We are raising fiscal '23 diluted EPS guidance to $11.40 to $12 per share, including the Q3 beat and the impact of share repurchases through December 2. Quarter after quarter, I continue to be inspired not only by our team's dedication to customers but also by their strong sense of accountability to shareholders. They are both agile and discipline, which shows us time and again in our results that matter of the environment we're in.

我們將 23 財年的稀釋後每股收益指引提高至每股 11.40 美元至 12 美元，包括第三季度的業績和截至 12 月 2 日的股票回購的影響。一個又一個季度，我繼續受到鼓舞，不僅是我們團隊對客戶的奉獻精神，還有他們對股東的強烈責任感。他們既敏捷又自律，這在我們的結果中一次又一次地向我們展示了我們所處環境的重要性。

With that, we're happy to take your questions.

有了這個，我們很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question today comes from the line of Mauricio Serna with UBS.

（操作員說明）我們今天的第一個問題來自毛里西奧塞爾納與瑞銀的合作。

Can you hear me? I think it cut-off for a second. I guess I wanted to ask if you provide a little bit more context on how do you get to the fourth quarter sales guidance. Maybe you could break it down, like what does that imply for same-store sales growth and then like roughly the contribution from Blue Nile and Diamonds Direct.

你能聽到我嗎？我認為它會中斷一秒鐘。我想我想問你是否提供更多關於如何獲得第四季度銷售指導的背景信息。也許您可以將其分解，比如這對同店銷售增長意味著什麼，然後大概喜歡 Blue Nile 和 Diamonds Direct 的貢獻。

And also maybe on the fourth quarter gross margin, I recall last year, there was an impact on an inventory adjustment on the 4Q '21. So I just was wondering if you could provide like what was that impact that we should keep in mind for -- as we model the 4Q gross margin?

我記得去年第四季度的毛利率也可能對 21 年第四季度的庫存調整產生影響。所以我只是想知道你是否可以提供我們應該記住的影響是什麼——當我們為第四季度毛利率建模時？

Mauricio, let me give just some big-picture context and then Joan will jump in on some of the more specific details that you just asked about. I think first, let's start with the Q3 beat. It was broad-based. On the top line, we beat both on the core and on our pure-play banner, inclusive of James Allen and Blue Nile. And what I think is important is that this punctuates that Signet is not a COVID story. We're successfully executing on a multiyear turnaround of this company, which also led to outperformance on the bottom line in the sense that our core outperformed sufficiently to more than cover the anticipated Blue Nile losses.

Mauricio，讓我給出一些大背景，然後 Joan 將跳入您剛剛詢問的一些更具體的細節。我想首先，讓我們從第三季度開始。它具有廣泛的基礎。在頂線，我們擊敗了核心和純遊戲旗幟，包括 James Allen 和 Blue Nile。我認為重要的是，這表明 Signet 不是 COVID 故事。我們成功地執行了這家公司多年的扭虧為盈，從某種意義上說，我們的核心業績足以彌補預期的 Blue Nile 損失，這也導致了底線的優異表現。

On the guidance, we're -- I think, appropriately encouraged by the trends that we saw Black Friday weekend. Our omni traffic was up strong double digits. We saw strong AOV margin in line with expectations, but probably the most encouraging sign was Cyber Monday where we had record visits to our sites, low double digits. And purchases in the strong single digits.

在指導方面，我們 - 我認為，我們受到黑色星期五週末趨勢的適當鼓勵。我們的全向流量增長了兩位數。我們看到強勁的 AOV 利潤率符合預期，但最令人鼓舞的跡象可能是網絡星期一，我們的網站訪問量創下歷史新高，低兩位數。並以強勁的個位數購買。

So I think customers are beginning to shop. We think this holiday will come in later than usual customers that every income tier are looking for value. And so they're waiting a bit later to shop, but it's encouraging to see so much online traffic because we know that we see that first before we see purchases happening online and in-store because people in the jewelry category tend to browse first before they buy. So I think that's the positive side.

所以我認為顧客開始購物了。我們認為這個假期會比每個收入階層都在尋找價值的普通客戶來得晚。因此，他們會稍等片刻才能購物，但看到如此多的在線流量令人鼓舞，因為我們知道，在我們看到在線和店內購買發生之前，我們先看到了這一點，因為珠寶類別的人往往先瀏覽他們買。所以我認為這是積極的一面。

Obviously, we're still very mindful of the macroeconomic environment that we're in, customers, especially in the value tier are the most challenged. And so our expectations are that we continue to drive purchase at higher price points in the accessible luxury tier more so than value.

顯然，我們仍然非常關注我們所處的宏觀經濟環境，客戶，尤其是價值層的客戶面臨的挑戰最大。因此，我們的期望是，我們將繼續以更高的價格推動可獲得的奢侈品級別的購買，而不是價值。

And then to respond to the guidance question, Mauricio, our top line guidance for sales implies a 1 to 2 points change in the comp for our core businesses, and that largely relates to the impact of foreign currency exchange and to Gina's point, the impact on the lower price point performance in our business. And then basically, as we think about the gross margin for Q4, remember, we had some inventory charges. So there's a few puts and takes. We had inventory charges related to onetime accounting adjustments that were not anniversary-ing this year as well as the positive impact of our services business as well as other benefits that we're seeing come through are related to our inventory and the cleanliness of our inventory in terms of scrap and other inventory-related charges. So really a good margin story.

然後回答指導問題，Mauricio，我們的銷售頂線指導意味著我們核心業務的 comp 發生 1 到 2 個百分點的變化，這在很大程度上與外匯兌換的影響和 Gina 的觀點有關，影響關於我們業務中較低價格點的表現。然後基本上，當我們考慮第四季度的毛利率時，請記住，我們有一些庫存費用。所以有一些投入和投入。我們有與今年不是周年紀念日的一次性會計調整相關的庫存費用，以及我們服務業務的積極影響以及我們看到的其他好處與我們的庫存和我們庫存的清潔度有關在報廢和其他庫存相關費用方面。所以真的是一個很好的保證金故事。

On top of that, I would say, our merchandise margin mix itself is improving, and it's really structured around the higher price point assortment, value engineering our products to support our lower value price point customers and really just the overall health of the inventory. The impact of clearance sales is far less negative than it had been in the past.

最重要的是，我要說的是，我們的商品利潤率組合本身正在改善，它實際上是圍繞較高價位的產品組合構建的，對我們的產品進行價值工程以支持我們較低價位的客戶，實際上只是庫存的整體健康狀況。清倉大甩賣的負面影響遠不如過去。

And to Gina's point, over the Black Friday weekend, even while promotions were occurring within our business, we had a margin performance that met our expectations. So we're very pleased with the overall view.

就 Gina 而言，在黑色星期五週末，即使我們的業務正在進行促銷，我們的利潤率也達到了我們的預期。所以我們對整體觀點非常滿意。

Our next question comes from Lorraine Hutchinson with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Lorraine Hutchinson。

Can you provide some further details on Blue Nile, maybe what you're projecting for sales over the next several years. And then also, is it loss-making in the fourth quarter? Was that folded into the 4Q operating income guidance?

您能否提供有關 Blue Nile 的更多詳細信息，也許是您對未來幾年的銷售計劃。還有，它在第四季度是否虧損？這是否包含在第四季度營業收入指導中？

So with respect to Blue Nile and the guidance, we folded our view of Blue Nile -- it incurred a loss in the third quarter. We folded in its view for -- our view of that for the fourth quarter, which, in fact, is a slight loss and as well as when we think about Blue Nile, we think of it in a combination of the range. So it's a combination of our digitally-native banners. And as we are addressing synergies, we're seeing greater synergies than we had at the funded acquisition. We see opportunity at the top line as we reset assortments, integrating our merchandise capabilities. We see opportunity in margin expansion, merch margin expansion as well as the back off of synergies through SG&A. So all of that thinking is included within our guidance for the year. And as we progress through this year, we'll come back to you on our view for -- in the later years. But we see it all as positive.

因此，關於 Blue Nile 和指導，我們放棄了對 Blue Nile 的看法——它在第三季度出現虧損。我們放棄了它的觀點——我們對第四季度的看法，事實上，這是一個輕微的損失，而且當我們考慮 Blue Nile 時，我們將它考慮在範圍的組合中。所以它是我們數字原生橫幅的組合。在我們解決協同效應的過程中，我們看到了比資助收購時更大的協同效應。當我們重新調整分類、整合我們的商品能力時，我們在頂線看到了機會。我們看到了利潤率擴張、商品利潤率擴張以及通過 SG&A 協同效應退縮的機會。因此，所有這些想法都包含在我們今年的指導方針中。隨著我們今年的進展，我們會在以後的幾年裡向您反饋我們的看法。但我們認為這一切都是積極的。

And then just 1 follow-up, Joan, would you be able to quantify the inventory reserve that you'll be going up against in the fourth quarter this year?

然後只有 1 個後續行動，瓊，你能量化今年第四季度你將要面對的庫存儲備嗎？

We haven't quantified that, Lorraine. It was a reasonably large reserve that we don't need to [anniversary] this year, all about -- given the health of our business. And I'd just remind you that we're also -- the implied guidance is a negative comp on the top line when you're thinking about this cost leverage.

我們還沒有量化，洛林。這是一個相當大的儲備，我們今年不需要 [週年紀念]，所有關於 - 考慮到我們業務的健康狀況。我只想提醒你，我們也是——當你考慮這種成本槓桿時，隱含的指導是頂線的負面補償。

Our next question comes from Jim Sanderson with Northcoast Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Jim Sanderson。

Congratulations on a great quarter. I wanted to dig into the commentary you provided about your long-term outlook, talking about engagement in bridal. If bridal is about 40% of your sales mix, you're expecting some softness post-COVID, should we start to look at maybe mid- to high single-digit sales declines related to that segment in 2023 calendar year? Is that the right way to kind of look at that category?

祝賀一個偉大的季度。我想深入了解你提供的關於你的長期前景的評論，談論訂婚。如果婚禮約佔您銷售組合的 40%，您預計 COVID 後會出現一些疲軟，我們是否應該開始研究 2023 日曆年與該細分市場相關的中高個位數銷售額下降？這是查看該類別的正確方法嗎？

Yes. I think what I was trying to provide was some perspective on the stability actually of bridal over time, it's a very consistent part of the jewelry business. I mean, year in, year out, you have engagements, weddings, anniversaries. And if you look back pre-COVID, it was very, very steady. So about 2% growth of engagements and weddings year in, year out.

是的。我想我想提供的是關於新娘隨著時間的推移實際穩定性的一些觀點，這是珠寶行業非常一致的一部分。我的意思是，年復一年，你有訂婚、婚禮和周年紀念日。如果你回顧 COVID 之前，它非常非常穩定。因此，年復一年，訂婚和婚禮的增長率約為 2%。

COVID has caused a bit of a blip in the sense that last year, we saw an uptick in engagements. This current year that we're in, we've seen a downtick in engagements, but it's the peak ever or peak in the last 4 years anyway of weddings. So we shifted, we saw that coming, and we've shifted and we've really been working to own the wedding. So 2 wedding bands purchases, earings for the bridesmaids, watch for the groom, gifts for the mother of the bride, (inaudible) thing as an offset to slight downtick that we see in engagements.

從去年的意義上說，COVID 引起了一些波動，我們看到參與度有所上升。我們所在的今年，我們看到訂婚率有所下降，但不管怎樣，這是過去 4 年婚禮的高峰期或高峰期。所以我們改變了，我們看到了，我們已經改變了，我們真的一直在努力擁有婚禮。因此，購買 2 個結婚戒指、伴娘的耳環、新郎的手錶、新娘母親的禮物，（聽不清）作為我們在訂婚中看到的輕微下降的抵消。

Next year, we expect to see a slight downtick again in engagements, but then it normalizes all actually grows to get back to normal the year after, and we think normalizes ongoing after that. So it's really the first meaningful, I would call it a temporary blip that we've seen in how engagement and weddings have been working. But the great news is that with our consumer insight work, we predicted that and came around that so that we're really working on lifetime value. Our loyalty program and I gave a lot of stats in the call, has been a fantastic addition in that context because we're seeing most people come into the loyalty business through engagement, we're contacting previous engagement customers to bring them into the loyalty program, and then we're working lifetime value with them.

明年，我們預計參與度會再次出現小幅下滑，但隨後一切都會正常化，並在下一年恢復正常，我們認為此後正常化仍在進行中。所以這真的是第一個有意義的，我會稱之為我們在訂婚和婚禮如何運作中看到的暫時現象。但好消息是，通過我們的消費者洞察工作，我們預測並解決了這一點，因此我們真正致力於終身價值。我們的忠誠度計劃，我在電話中給出了很多統計數據，在這種情況下是一個很好的補充，因為我們看到大多數人通過參與進入忠誠度業務，我們正在聯繫以前參與過的客戶，讓他們加入忠誠度程序，然後我們與他們一起研究終生價值。

So I think the fact is that there will be less engagement next year, Signet would expect to grow share the engagement category and we expect also to grow our fashion and gifting business as we surround the wedding.

所以我認為事實是明年的參與度會降低，Signet 預計會增加參與度類別的份額，我們也希望在婚禮期間發展我們的時尚和禮品業務。

Okay. So a little bit of offset to maybe some slight tick down in the segment related to just the timing of the impact of COVID. Is that the message I want to take away?

好的。因此，在與 COVID 影響的時間相關的部分中，可能會略有下降。那是我要帶走的信息嗎？

Yes. It's really just a demographic fact. But what we do is leverage all the different aspects of our business to understand those and then offset that as we put together our business plans for the year ahead.

是的。這實際上只是一個人口統計事實。但我們所做的是利用我們業務的所有不同方面來理解這些，然後在我們制定來年的業務計劃時抵消這些。

The next question today comes from Will Gaertner with Wells Fargo.

今天的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Will Gaertner。

Look, I understand you're not going to be guiding here, but maybe can you just give us some color on the puts and takes of gross margin, operating margin into next year, how to think about Blue Nile and Diamonds Direct, how their impact on the business from a gross margin and an operating margin perspective?

聽著，我知道你不會在這裡指導，但也許你能給我們一些關於毛利率和營業利潤率的顏色，到明年的營業利潤率，如何考慮 Blue Nile 和 Diamonds Direct，他們如何從毛利率和營業利潤率的角度對業務的影響？

So Blue Nile carries a profile similar to Diamonds Direct and James Allen because it's largely -- it's predominantly in the bridal business, which carries a relatively lower margin, Will. So as you think about Blue Nile and it's merchandise content, that will affect its merchandise margin rate. When we think about integrating that with James Allen, we believe that we can continue to expand the operating margin as we influence the assortment architecture of Blue Nile.

所以 Blue Nile 的概況類似於 Diamonds Direct 和 James Allen，因為它主要是 - 它主要從事婚禮業務，其利潤率相對較低，Will。因此，當您考慮 Blue Nile 及其商品內容時，這將影響其商品利潤率。當我們考慮將其與 James Allen 整合時，我們相信隨著我們影響 Blue Nile 的分類架構，我們可以繼續擴大營業利潤率。

So the other point that I really make is that as we continue to grow our services business, which can attach to all of our businesses, all of our banners, that also carries a higher gross margin profile. I mentioned in my prepared remarks that it's 20% higher than other merchandise margin categories. So that's a positive. The other -- we have sourcing opportunities that we continue to explore. And while we give us room to be positioned to be flexible with our promotional strategy into Q4 and as well as into next year. So that's really the gross margin story. As we think about Blue Nile go forward, we've said in the past that it would be accretive as early as Q3 of next year. And as we look at it, we're really viewing the combined banner with James Allen.

所以我真正要說的另一點是，隨著我們繼續發展我們的服務業務，它可以附加到我們所有的業務，我們所有的旗幟，也具有更高的毛利率。我在準備好的評論中提到，它比其他商品保證金類別高 20%。所以這是積極的。另一個 - 我們有我們繼續探索的採購機會。雖然我們給了我們定位的空間，以便我們在第四季度和明年的促銷策略中保持靈活。所以這真的是毛利率的故事。當我們考慮 Blue Nile 的發展時，我們過去曾說過，它最早會在明年第三季度實現增長。當我們看到它時，我們真的看到了 James Allen 的組合橫幅。

So if you look in our 10-Q, you'll see digitally native banners. What we're really presenting to you is that this is a combined entity that really drives 2 commercial banners that play off of each other, attracting different customers with Blue Nile being slightly higher and slightly younger and more affluent, which really opens up the top of the funnel, but brings with a different margin profile.

因此，如果您查看我們的 10-Q，您會看到數字原生橫幅。我們真正向您展示的是，這是一個聯合實體，真正推動了 2 個商業橫幅，它們相互發揮作用，吸引了不同的客戶，Blue Nile 稍微高一點，稍微年輕一些，更富裕一些，這真的打開了頂部的漏斗，但帶來了不同的保證金概況。

So overall, really positive about Blue Nile, its impact on our business, our ability to manage its performance within the guidance that we've provided for this year. And as I said earlier, we will come back to you on our fourth quarter call with respect to looking into next year.

總的來說，對 Blue Nile 非常積極，它對我們的業務的影響，以及我們在今年提供的指導範圍內管理其績效的能力。正如我之前所說，我們將在第四季度電話會議上就明年的展望與您聯繫。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Paul Lejuez with Citi.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Paul Lejuez。

Two questions. One, I think you mentioned encouraging results of a Black Friday weekend met expectations. But you also said that you were seeing signs that the consumer was waiting for later in the season to complete their shopping. So just kind of curious how to square those 2 things.

兩個問題。第一，我想你提到黑色星期五週末的令人鼓舞的結果達到了預期。但您還表示，您看到了消費者正在等待本季晚些時候完成購物的跡象。所以只是有點好奇如何解決這兩件事。

And then curious if you could talk a little bit more about transactions versus ticket and in which categories you're seeing higher AURs versus where you might be seeing some pressure?

然後好奇你是否可以多談談交易與票證，以及在哪些類別中你看到更高的 AUR 與你可能會看到一些壓力的類別？

Sure. So I'll take the Black Friday and later in the season. So both of those things are true. We saw encouraging results over Black Friday. As I mentioned, we saw omni traffic up double digits. So a lot of people in stores, but a lot of people online and we saw our online revenue up mid-single digits. So that was great that we see people buying at the time, but a lot of people we see browsing. And they'll be waiting, we think, until later in the season, making sure they get the very best value that they can. We're well positioned for that. We're positioned with, I think, very strong merchandise offers, great newness, non-comps in digital experience, marketing, all of those things to drive closure of those customers.

當然。所以我會選擇黑色星期五和本季晚些時候。所以這兩件事都是真的。我們在黑色星期五看到了令人鼓舞的結果。正如我提到的，我們看到全向流量增長了兩位數。所以很多人在商店裡，但很多人在網上，我們看到我們的在線收入增長了中個位數。所以我們看到人們當時購買，但我們看到很多人在瀏覽，這真是太好了。我們認為，他們會一直等到賽季後期，以確保他們獲得盡可能高的價值。我們為此做好了準備。我認為，我們的定位是非常強大的商品報價、新穎性、數字體驗、營銷方面的非競爭性，所有這些都會推動這些客戶的關閉。

But at the beginning of our holiday season, especially with our highest ever Cyber Monday was encouraging.

但在我們的假期開始時，尤其是在我們有史以來最高的網絡星期一，這令人鼓舞。

And as we think about the sales equation, Paul, our conversions were relatively flattish. We mentioned we have a higher average transaction value but at a lower traffic, our transactions were down.

當我們考慮銷售等式時，保羅，我們的轉化率相對持平。我們提到我們的平均交易價值更高，但在流量較低的情況下，我們的交易量下降了。

Those are all the questions we have time for today. So I'll now turn the call back to management for any concluding remarks.

這些就是我們今天有時間回答的所有問題。因此，我現在將電話轉回管理層，聽取任何總結性意見。

Well, thanks, everyone. The point that I want to ensure that Joan and I have made this morning is that Signet is uniquely positioned to deliver consistent market share growth and value creation given our strong and growing leadership in jewelry, an attractive industry that tends to grow steadily from year-to-year and is more resilient to economic cycles than other retail industries. We've established our leadership position by strategically creating a virtual flywheel effect that is building positive momentum and growth that no other company in our industry is achieving.

嗯，謝謝大家。我想確保 Joan 和我今天上午提出的觀點是，鑑於我們在珠寶領域的強大且不斷增長的領導地位，Signet 具有獨特的優勢，能夠實現持續的市場份額增長和價值創造，珠寶是一個有吸引力的行業，每年都在穩步增長-比其他零售行業更能適應經濟周期。我們通過戰略性地創造虛擬飛輪效應確立了我們的領導地位，這種飛輪效應正在建立我們行業中其他公司無法實現的積極勢頭和增長。

We're raising the year integrating Blue Nile ahead of plan, continuing to deliver annual double-digit operating margin and maintaining the flexibility that comes with a strong, healthy balance sheet. We are ready for holiday and confident we can deliver the long-term growth to which we're committed. Thank you very much, and happy holidays.

我們提前計劃整合 Blue Nile 的年度，繼續實現年度兩位數的營業利潤率，並保持強大、健康的資產負債錶帶來的靈活性。我們已經為假期做好了準備，並且相信我們能夠實現我們承諾的長期增長。非常感謝，節日快樂。

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. This concludes our call, and you may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝大家今天加入我們。我們的通話到此結束，您現在可以斷開您的線路。