Signet Jewelers Limited (SIG) 2026 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Signet Jewelers fiscal year 2026 fourth-quarter earnings call. Please note, this event is being recorded.

早安，歡迎參加 Signet Jewelers 2026 財年第四季財報電話會議。請注意，本次活動正在錄影。

Joining us on the call today are Rob Ballew, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Capital Markets; J.K. Symancyk, Chief Execute Officer; Joan Hilson, Chief Operating and Financial Officer. At this time, I would like to turn the conference call over to Rob. Please go ahead.

今天參加電話會議的有：投資者關係和資本市場高級副總裁 Rob Ballew；執行長 J.K. Symancyk；營運長兼財務長 Joan Hilson。現在，我想把電話會議交給羅布。請繼續。

Good morning. Thank you for joining us for today's earnings conference call. During today's discussion, we will make certain forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical facts are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially.

早安.感謝您參加今天的財報電話會議。在今天的討論中，我們將做出一些前瞻性陳述。任何非歷史事實的陳述都存在許多風險和不確定性。實際結果可能與實際情況有重大差異。

We urge you to read the risk factors, cautionary language and other disclosures 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.

我們敦促您閱讀我們的年度報告（10-K 表格）、季度報告（10-Q 表格）和當前報告（8-K 表格）中的風險因素、警示性語言和其他揭露資訊。除法律另有規定外，我們不承擔因新資訊或未來事件而修訂或公開更新前瞻性聲明的義務。

During the call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. For further discussion of the non-GAAP financial measures as well as the reconciliation 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 ir.signetjewelers.com.

在電話會議中，我們將討論一些非GAAP財務指標。有關非GAAP財務指標的進一步討論以及非GAAP財務指標與最直接可比較的GAAP指標的調節，投資者應查看我們在公司網站ir.signetjewelers.com上發布的新聞稿。

With that, I'll turn the call over to J.K.

接下來，我將把電話交給 J.K.

Thanks, Rob, and good morning, everyone. I'd like to start the call this morning with a thank you to the Signet team. This past year highlighted your agility in the face of new obstacles and your commitment when presented with opportunity. Thank you for your dedication to Grow Brand Love in the crucial first year of our strategy. There are two key takeaways I'd like to leave you with today.

謝謝羅布，大家早安。今天早上，我想先感謝 Signet 團隊。過去一年，你展現了面對新挑戰的敏捷性和抓住機會的決心。感謝您在策略實施的關鍵第一年對提升品牌好感度所做出的貢獻。今天我想和大家分享兩個重要的重點。

First, as we announced last week, we delivered at or above the high end of our adjusted operating income and EPS guidance range amidst unprecedented tariffs, record gold costs and a measured consumer while generating 20% more free cash flow on a simplified operating model.

首先，正如我們上週宣布的那樣，在史無前例的關稅、創紀錄的黃金價格和謹慎的消費環境下，我們實現了調整後的營業收入和每股收益預期範圍的高端目標，同時在簡化的運營模式下產生了 20% 的額外自由現金流。

Second, building on recent positive sales momentum, fiscal '27 will focus on accelerating core performance through sharper brand differentiation, broader customer reach, and a more seamless in-store and digital experience.

其次，在近期積極的銷售動能基礎上，2027 財年將著重透過更鮮明的品牌差異化、更廣泛的客戶覆蓋率以及更無縫的店內和數位體驗來加速核心業績。

Looking back over this first year of Grow Brand Love, our heightened focus on our three largest brands, Kay, Zales and Jared proved to be a critical factor in delivering positive same-store sales for the year. In fact, we delivered positive comps for the vast majority of the past year. Within that performance, Kay, Zales and Jared delivered over 3% combined comp sales growth.

回顧「培養品牌忠誠度」計畫的第一年，我們對旗下三大品牌 Kay、Zales 和 Jared 的高度重視，被證明是實現當年同店銷售額成長的關鍵因素。事實上，在過去一年的大部分時間裡，我們的業績都實現了正成長。在這一業績中，Kay、Zales 和 Jared 的同店銷售額合計成長超過 3%。

Further, the team's focus on cost management as well as leveraging value engineering, vendor relationships and country of origin pivots have delivered adjusted operating income growth even as we digest a reset to short-term incentive compensation, record gold prices and elevated tariffs.

此外，團隊專注於成本管理，並利用價值工程、供應商關係和原產國調整，即使在我們消化短期激勵薪酬重置、創紀錄的金價和高關稅的情況下，也實現了調整後營業收入的增長。

Now more specific to the fourth quarter, performance in each month of the quarter improved on both a 1- and 2-year comp basis, and included a positive performance for the 10 peak holiday selling days as well as the balance of the quarter.

現在更具體地來看第四季度，該季度每個月的業績與過去 1 年和 2 年的比較相比都有所改善，包括 10 個假日銷售高峰日以及該季度剩餘時間的積極業績。

Turning to fiscal '27, sales momentum continued into the year with a positive Valentine's Day performance, which has continued quarter-to-date. This momentum leads me to my next key takeaway today. Our Grow Brand Love imperatives will evolve in year two of our strategy. The first year of Grow Brand Love returned the business to growth, a result we look to amplify.

展望 2027 財年，銷售勢頭延續到了年底，情人節期間的業績表現良好，並且這一勢頭一直延續到本季度末。這個勢頭引出了我今天要重點闡述的下一個內容。在策略的第二年，我們提升品牌喜愛度的首要任務將會持續發展。「培養品牌愛心」計畫的第一年就使公司恢復了成長，我們希望能夠擴大這一成果。

We're applying learnings from this past year to refine each of the strategy's imperatives. I'll outline the key updates to these imperatives and then spend the balance of my remarks, taking a deeper look at the first.

我們將運用過去一年的經驗教訓來完善該策略的每項要務。我將概述這些要務的關鍵更新，然後用剩餘的發言時間深入探討第一項要務。

Our first imperative, shifting from a banner mindset to a brand mindset, remains foundational. Over the past year, we strengthened brand positioning across the portfolio. which clarified our path toward building distinct, highly desired brands. In fiscal '27, we will advance this work.

我們首要的任務，即從橫幅思維轉變為品牌思維，仍然是根本性的。過去一年，我們加強了旗下所有品牌的定位，這明確了我們打造獨特、備受追捧的品牌的路徑。在 2027 財年，我們將繼續推動這項工作。

Our second imperative, focusing on our core to earn the right to expand into adjacencies, delivered results this year as our core brands drove the majority of growth. In fiscal '27, we will leverage our scale to unlock additional portfolio value. This includes improving inventory turns, managing exposure to tariffs and commodity volatility and enhancing pricing architecture to reflect each brand's customer profile. Our scale also positions us to win in growth avenues such as services and with an integrated diamond strategy.

我們的第二個要務是專注於核心業務，以此贏得向鄰近領域擴張的權利。今年，核心品牌推動了大部分成長，這項要務取得了成效。在 2027 財年，我們將利用我們的規模優勢來釋放更多的投資組合價值。這包括提高庫存週轉率、管理關稅和商品波動風險，以及改善定價架構以反映每個品牌的客戶特徵。我們的規模也使我們能夠在服務等成長領域以及透過綜合鑽石策略取得成功。

Our final imperative included restructuring the operating model to support strategy. In fiscal '27, we will continue to strengthen our operating model through strategic real estate actions, ongoing brand portfolio optimization and developing a higher-performing organization to ensure opportunity for our team and bench strength for our future.

我們最後一項當務之急是重組營運模式以支援策略。在 2027 財年，我們將繼續透過策略性房地產行動、持續的品牌組合優化以及打造更高績效的組織來加強我們的營運模式，以確保我們的團隊有機會，並為我們的未來儲備實力。

Now I'd like to drill in on shaping distinct and coveted brands. In fiscal '26, we placed an outsized focus on our three largest brands that represent roughly 70% of revenue. For fiscal '27, we're sharpening our go-to-market strategy for these brands and taking action to evolve assortment and product design and elevate the customer experience, both in-store and online.

現在我想深入探討如何打造獨特且令人嚮往的品牌。在 2026 財年，我們格外重視我們三大品牌，它們約佔總營收的 70%。2027 財年，我們將改善這些品牌的市場推廣策略，並採取行動改善產品組合和產品設計，提升線上線下的顧客體驗。

We're also transforming our approach to marketing to support these efforts. A critical step forward is enhancing the customer experience through redesigning Kay, Zales and Jared websites. While we operate an effective platform, we recognize that the front-end experience needs improvement.

我們也在改變行銷方式，以支持這些努力。向前邁出的關鍵一步是透過重新設計 Kay、Zales 和 Jared 網站來提升客戶體驗。雖然我們經營著一個高效的平台，但我們也意​​識到前端體驗需要改進。

The redesign for each of these brands will provide customers with a more curated selection informed by their behavior with improved navigation. Our site refresh will better align to a purchase journey that is emotional and highly considered through more intuitive features and design, enhanced product discovery and improved storytelling. We expect this to be complete by Q3 in order to take full advantage of the holiday shopping season.

這些品牌的重新設計將根據顧客的行為，為他們提供更精心挑選的產品選擇，並改善導航功能。我們的網站更新將透過更直觀的功能和設計、增強的產品發現和改進的故事講述，更好地契合以情感為基礎、經過深思熟慮的購買流程。我們預計將在第三季完成這項工作，以便充分利用假日購物季。

Additionally, we expect to implement a new content management system next year that will provide further improvements. Moving to the in-store customer experience. We've seen an incremental low single-digit comp increase from renovations. Building on this performance we're accelerating renovations to touch 30% more stores this year, equating to nearly 10% of the fleet with a particular focus on brands and markets that represent the best opportunities.

此外，我們預計明年將實施一套新的內容管理系統，這將帶來進一步的改進。轉向店內顧客體驗。我們看到，翻新工程帶來了個位數的增量式同店銷售成長。在此基礎上，我們將加快翻新步伐，今年將翻新 30% 的門市，相當於近 10% 的門市，尤其專注於那些最具發展潛力的品牌和市場。

These efforts are integrated with marketing campaigns and product activations. As we look to further differentiate our brands and experiences both in-store and online, we'll also be focusing on distinct product design and unique assortment architecture. Along with more frequent and relevant new product, we will continue lowering complexity and duplication through SKU rationalization.

這些舉措與行銷活動和產品推廣活動相結合。為了進一步提升我們在實體店和線上的品牌及體驗差異化，我們也將專注於獨特的產品設計和獨特的商品組合架構。除了更頻繁、更相關的新產品之外，我們將繼續透過 SKU 合理化來降低複雜性和重複性。

These actions are designed to focus on a more productive assortment that leads to other operating efficiencies, ultimately leading to a positive contribution to margin. Our efforts to further distinguish each of our brands will be supported by a transformation of our marketing approach. At the center of this work is a renewed focus on brand-relevant content and storytelling. This is a full funnel strategy supported by three key levers.

這些措施旨在專注於更有效率的產品組合，從而提高其他營運效率，最終為利潤率做出積極貢獻。我們將透過變革行銷方式進一步凸顯旗下每個品牌的獨特性。這項工作的核心是重新聚焦於與品牌相關的內容和故事敘述。這是一個由三大關鍵槓桿支撐的全通路策略。

First is maximizing key demand periods; second, is generating an amplifying brand moments; and finally, is growing a stronger and more engaged social media presence. Further, we're taking a more disciplined approach to performance metrics, which will increase accountability to facilitate change faster and create more impactful decision-making.

首先是最大限度地利用關鍵需求期；其次是創造能夠提升品牌影響力的時刻；最後是建立更強大、更具互動性的社群媒體影響力。此外，我們正在採取更嚴格的績效指標方法，這將提高問責制，從而更快地促進變革，並做出更有影響力的決策。

To be clear, this is about an increase in impact, not an increase in budget. This evolution of our go-to market strategy built on enhanced customer experience, online and in-store as well as marketing transformation is designed to drive brand consideration. We believe that each point of increase in purchase consideration across Signet's brands equates to $100 million of revenue. Summarizing my key takeaways today. First, as we announced last week, we delivered at the high end of our fiscal 2026 guidance range amidst unprecedented tariffs, record gold costs and a measured consumer while generating 20% more free cash flow on a simplified operating model.

需要明確的是，這裡指的是擴大影響力，而不是增加預算。我們此次市場進入策略的演變，建立在提升線上和線下顧客體驗以及行銷轉型的基礎上，旨在提升品牌認知度。我們相信，Signet 旗下各品牌購買意願每提高一點，就能帶來 1 億美元的收入。今天的主要收穫總結如下。首先，正如我們上週宣布的那樣，在史無前例的關稅、創紀錄的黃金價格和謹慎的消費環境下，我們實現了 2026 財年業績指引範圍的高端目標，同時在簡化的營運模式下產生了 20% 的額外自由現金流。

Second, as we started with positive sales momentum, fiscal '27 will focus on accelerating core performance through sharper brand differentiation, broader customer reach and a more seamless in-store and digital experience.

其次，由於我們開局銷售勢頭良好，2027 財年將專注於透過更鮮明的品牌差異化、更廣泛的客戶覆蓋面以及更無縫的店內和數位體驗來加速核心業績。

With that, I'd like to turn it over to Joan.

接下來，我想把麥克風交給瓊。

Thanks, J.K., and good morning, everyone. Before discussing our fourth quarter results, I'd like to comment on our efforts to unlock portfolio value and further achieve benefits of scale. We've completed a review of our portfolio and have identified synergies as well as opportunities to integrate stand-alone smaller brands into brands of size to augment core performance and to focus on brands with higher growth potential.

謝謝J.K.，大家早安。在討論我們第四季度業績之前，我想談談我們為釋放投資組合價值和進一步實現規模效益所做的努力。我們已經完成了對產品組合的審查，並確定了協同效應以及將獨立的小品牌整合到大品牌中的機會，以增強核心業績並專注於具有更高成長潛力的品牌。

Previously, we were supporting eight distinct independent businesses. We've changed our focus to a portfolio of brands with four core engines. This has impacted the way we focus resources, including capital and time. These changes are leveraging scale on the back end more than we have historically and sharpening focus.

在此之前，我們支持八家不同的獨立企業。我們已將重點轉向擁有四大核心引擎的品牌組合。這影響了我們集中資源的方式，包括資金和時間。這些變化比以往更多地利用了後端規模，並更加重視重點。

To this end, we are aligning select brands within our portfolio to prioritize our larger consumer brands and amplify growth opportunities, maximize the benefits of shared resources and expand customer reach. all in an effort to drive sustainable comp performance. More specifically, Blue Nile plays a distinct role as a premium brand serving a broader age range with a more affluent customer. We are evolving Blue Nile to achieve an elevated luxury position anchored in the enduring value of natural diamonds.

為此，我們正在調整旗下部分品牌，優先發展規模較大的消費品牌，擴大成長機會，最大限度地發揮共享資源的優勢，並擴大客戶覆蓋範圍，所有這些都是為了推動可持續的同店銷售成長。更具體地說，Blue Nile 扮演著獨特的角色，它是一個高端品牌，服務於更廣泛的年齡層和更富裕的客戶群。我們正在發展 Blue Nile，以期在天然鑽石的持久價值基礎上，實現更高層次的奢侈品地位。

This allows Blue Nile to distinguish itself at the highest end of the Signet portfolio, expanding our customer reach among households with higher income without diluting accessibility to customers across the portfolio. To support our growth aspirations for Blue Nile, we will leverage the James Allen brand as a proprietary collection and transition complementary products and styles to the Blue Nile website.

這使得 Blue Nile 能夠在 Signet 產品組合的高端領域脫穎而出，擴大我們在高收入家庭中的客戶覆蓋範圍，同時又不削弱對整個產品組合中客戶的可及性。為了支持 Blue Nile 的發展目標，我們將利用 James Allen 品牌作為自有品牌系列，並將配套產品和款式過渡到 Blue Nile 網站。

Over the second quarter, we will be sunsetting the jamesallen.com site. We also see additional opportunity for other brands within the portfolio to utilize the custom capabilities and technology of James Allen. Further, the Rocksbox private label fashion assortment will become a distinct proprietary collection within Kay. Rocksbox will operate within the Kay team rather than as a stand-alone brand. We expect a bottom line financial impact from this transition to be minimal.

第二季度，我們將停止營運 jamesallen.com 網站。我們也看到，旗下其他品牌有機會利用 James Allen 的客製化能力和技術。此外，Rocksbox 自有品牌時裝系列將成為 Kay 旗下一個獨立的專有系列。Rocksbox 將在 Kay 團隊內部經營，而不是作為獨立品牌運作。我們預期此次轉型對公司最終財務表現的影響微乎其微。

Rounding out our portfolio, the U.K. brands and Peoples brands are performing well and are generally self-sustaining. At this time, we believe the cash generation from these businesses as well as the potential tax cost of exiting these brands significantly outweighs any potential sale proceeds.

作為我們產品組合的補充，英國品牌和人民品牌表現良好，通常能夠自我維持。目前，我們認為這些業務產生的現金流以及退出這些品牌可能產生的稅收成本遠遠超過了任何潛在的出售收益。

Finally, we continue to evaluate the long-term role of Banter, our high-margin and capital-light brand, which is currently positioned as mid value within our portfolio. To reinforce this brand mindset, we are further centralizing support functions that operate inside brands today to provide for brand leader focus on go-to-market priorities. This change will be most pronounced for digital brands and Diamonds Direct, particularly in our contact centers as well as in the fulfillment and technology teams.

最後，我們將繼續評估 Banter 的長期作用，Banter 是我們高利潤、輕資本的品牌，目前在我們投資組合中定位為中等價值品牌。為了強化這種品牌理念，我們正在進一步集中目前在品牌內部運作的支援功能，以便品牌領導者能夠專注於市場推廣的優先事項。對於數位品牌和 Diamonds Direct 而言，這種變化將最為明顯，尤其是在我們的聯絡中心以及履行和技術團隊中。

Additionally, to better achieve benefits of scale, we have implemented an integrated diamond sourcing process, which will provide better management of our virtual diamond marketplace, drive further vertical integration and elevate the natural diamond offering available for our brands, particularly Blue Nile.

此外，為了更好地實現規模效益，我們實施了一體化的鑽石採購流程，這將更好地管理我們的虛擬鑽石市場，推動進一步的垂直整合，並提升我們品牌（尤其是 Blue Nile）可獲得的天然鑽石產品。

We've also established a fully integrated jewelry service network that is now in a position to provide additional capacity for custom services, B2B repair and repair jewelry purchased from other retailers. This will build on the momentum we've generated in recent years as well as continue to support the growth of our service plan program.

我們還建立了一個完全一體化的珠寶服務網絡，現在能夠為定制服務、B2B維修以及維修從其他零售商購買的珠寶提供額外的產能。這將鞏固我們近年來取得的進展勢頭，並繼續支持我們的服務計劃項目的發展。

Operating model optimization also focuses on maximizing the performance of our fleet as we reduce exposure to declining venues and target underpenetrated high-growth trade areas. This strategy includes a learning agenda this year to test new formats, fixtures within formats and new experiential designs. Our portfolio review, centralization efforts and fleet optimization we believe will further deliver operating efficiency and free cash flow conversion.

營運模式優化還著重於最大限度地提高我們車隊的績效，同時減少對衰落場所的投入，並瞄準滲透率低但增長迅速的貿易區域。該策略包括今年的學習計劃，旨在測試新的形式、形式內的比賽安排以及新的體驗設計。我們相信，透過投資組合審查、集中化工作和車隊優化，將進一步提高營運效率和自由現金流轉換率。

Now turning to the quarter. Revenue for the quarter was $2.3 billion with a comp decrease of 0.7%. Excluding James Allen and the net impact of weather, comps grew 1%. November and the first half of December was the slowest period of the quarter, down around 3%. We implemented broader promotions ahead of our high-volume days in December to deliver a positive performance in the back half of the month with further improvement in January.

現在來看季度部分。本季營收為 23 億美元，年減 0.7%。剔除 James Allen 和天氣的淨影響，同店銷售額成長了 1%。11 月和 12 月上半月是本季最淡季，下降了約 3%。我們在 12 月銷售旺季到來之前實施了更廣泛的促銷活動，以期在 12 月下半月取得積極的業績，並在 1 月進一步改善。

By category, this quarter's results reflect mid-single-digit comp growth in services. and low single-digit declines in bridal and fashion. AUR grew 5%, up in all categories.

按類別劃分，本季業績反映出服務業實現了中位數個位數的同店銷售成長，而婚紗和時尚產業則出現了低個位數的下滑。AUR成長5%，所有類別均有所成長。

Moving to gross margin. We delivered approximately $1 billion, down roughly 60 basis points. We saw a 30 basis point decrease in merchandise margins to the prior year. reflecting higher commodity costs and tariffs, partially offset by assortment architecture, pricing and growth in services. Cost reductions allowed us to achieve the high end of our adjusted operating income guidance of $327 million for the quarter.

接下來討論毛利率。我們交付了約 10 億美元，下降了約 60 個基點。商品毛利率較前一年下降了30個基點，反映出商品成本和關稅上漲，但部分被商品組合結構、定價和服務成長所抵銷。成本削減使我們實現了本季調整後營業收入預期上限 3.27 億美元。

Excluding incentive comp reset, SG&A was roughly flat in rate and dollars. Inclusive of the incentive comp reset, SG&A rate was up roughly 80 basis points. For the full year fiscal '26, comp sales grew 1.3%, gross margin expanded 30 basis points and adjusted operating income grew to $515 million while delivering 7% adjusted diluted EPS growth.

不計激勵性薪酬調整，銷售、一般及行政費用在費率及金額上基本持平。在計入激勵性薪酬調整後，銷售、一般及行政費用率上漲了約 80 個基點。2026 財年全年，同店銷售額成長 1.3%，毛利率成長 30 個基點，調整後營業收入成長至 5.15 億美元，同時實現了 7% 的調整後攤薄每股收益成長。

Turning to the balance sheet. Inventory ended the quarter flat to last year at $1.9 billion. Cash ended the quarter at $875 million with total liquidity of roughly $2 billion and an undrawn ABL. As a reminder, we consider an excess liquidity at the end of the year over $1.5 billion as available for returns to shareholders or further organic investments. Free cash flow for the year was approximately $525 million, up 20% to last year on higher earnings, lower cash taxes and working capital efficiency.

接下來看一下資產負債表。本季庫存與去年同期持平，為19億美元。本季末現金餘額為 8.75 億美元，總流動資金約 20 億美元，還有一筆未提取的資產抵押貸款。再次提醒，我們認為年底超過 15 億美元的盈餘流動資金可用於向股東返還收益或進行進一步的有機投資。本年度自由現金流約 5.25 億美元，較上年增加 20%，主要得益於更高的收益、更低的現金稅和更高的營運資本效率。

As a reminder, our capital allocation priorities are organic growth and return of excess cash to shareholders while maintaining a conservative balance sheet. We repurchased $205 million or more than 3 million shares in fiscal '26 at an average purchase price of roughly $66. This includes approximately $27 million or nearly 300,000 shares in the fourth quarter. The total repurchases for the year represented more than 7% of shares outstanding. The remaining repurchase authorization at the year-end was approximately $518 million.

再次提醒大家，我們的資本配置重點在於實現內生成長，並將多餘的現金回饋給股東，同時維持穩健的資產負債表。我們在 2026 財年回購了價值 2.05 億美元（超過 300 萬股）的股票，平均購買價格約為每股 66 美元。這其中包括第四季約 2700 萬美元或近 30 萬股股票。該年度的總回購股份佔已發行股份的7%以上。截至年底，剩餘的回購授權額約為 5.18 億美元。

Now turning to guidance. We are coming into the year with positive momentum and traction in our core brands. The high guide for the year assumes a fairly consistent comp performance quarter-to-quarter while the low guide allows for flexibility in consumer spending.

現在進入指導環節。今年伊始，我們的核心品牌展現了積極的發展動能和強勁的成長動能。今年的高預期是基於季度間同店銷售業績相對穩定的假設，而低預期則允許消費者支出存在一定的彈性。

For the full year, we expect the comp sales range to be down 1.25% to up 2.5% with total revenue between $6.6 billion and $6.9 billion. Total revenue this year will be impacted by $60 million to $80 million of lost sales contribution from the transition of James Allen. Also, we plan to exclude digital brands from our Q2 through Q4 comp sales reporting as we repositioned both James Allen and Blue Nile.

我們預計全年同店銷售額將下降 1.25% 至成長 2.5%，總營收將在 66 億美元至 69 億美元之間。由於 James Allen 的離職，今年的總收入將減少 6,000 萬至 8,000 萬美元的銷售額。此外，由於我們對 James Allen 和 Blue Nile 進行了重新定位，我們計劃將數位品牌從第二季到第四季的同店銷售報告中排除。

Further, our revenue guidance assumes approximately 100 store closures, leading to a low single-digit decline in square footage. We anticipate merchandise margin rate for the year will be relatively flat at the midpoint of guidance. We believe the combined incremental impact of tariffs and commodity increases is lower than the headwind we mitigated last year.

此外，我們的收入預期假設關閉約 100 家門市，這將導致門市面積出現個位數百分比的下降。我們預計今年的商品毛利率將保持相對平穩，處於預期值的中點。我們認為，關稅和商品價格上漲帶來的綜合增量影響低於我們去年緩解的不利因素。

We also have a longer lead time to address these headwinds with the following actions: select pricing actions related to commodities, reduced off-holiday discounting, increased LGD mix, assortment architecture and to a lesser degree, benefits from gold hedges.

我們還有更長的準備時間來應對這些不利因素，具體措施如下：選擇與大宗商品相關的定價措施、減少非假日折扣、增加LGD組合、產品組合架構，以及在較小程度上，從黃金避險中獲益。

We expect adjusted operating income between $470 million and $560 million. We expect adjusted EPS between $8.80 and $10.74 per share.

我們預計調整後營業收入在 4.7 億美元至 5.6 億美元之間。我們預計調整後每股收益在 8.80 美元至 10.74 美元之間。

At the high end of these ranges, we expect to leverage our fixed cost base to drive operating margin expansion. Finally, for the year, we expect $150 million to $180 million in capital expenditures, inclusive of a somewhat higher spend on our real estate compared to last year. This includes over 200 renovations and up to 20 repositions as well as up to 10 store openings.

在這些範圍的高端，我們預計將利用我們的固定成本基礎來推動營業利潤率的提高。最後，我們預計今年的資本支出為 1.5 億美元至 1.8 億美元，其中包括比去年略高的房地產支出。這包括 200 多項翻新工程、20 多項重新定位工程以及 10 家新店開業。

For the first quarter, we expect comp sales range to be up 0.5% to 2.5% with adjusted operating income between $66 million and $77 million. We expect merchandise margins to be somewhat lower in the first quarter, generally offset by leverage in SG&A.

我們預計第一季同店銷售額將成長 0.5% 至 2.5%，調整後營業收入將在 6,600 萬美元至 7,700 萬美元之間。我們預期第一季商品毛利率會略有下降，但通常會被銷售、一般及行政費用的槓桿效應所抵銷。

Before we turn to Q&A, I'd like to thank the team for delivering strong progress in the first year of our Grow Brand Love strategy as well as driving momentum to start fiscal '27.

在進入問答環節之前，我想感謝團隊在「培養品牌喜愛度」策略的第一年取得了顯著進展，並為 2027 財年的開始注入了強勁動力。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to questions.

現在我想把電話交給各位提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Paul Lejuez, Citigroup.

Paul Lejuez，花旗集團。

On the gross margin line and just comments right there, Joan, lots of moving pieces. Maybe talk about the headwinds and tailwinds in 1Q. I think you said 1Q would be lower. And which pieces will change as you move throughout the year? And then maybe, J.K. can you just talk about what worked over Valentine's Day, how that compares to what worked during the holiday season? And what were the learnings from this past holiday that you'll apply to 2026?

瓊，關於毛利率那一欄，還有很多需要注意的地方，有很多變數。或許可以談談第一季的逆風和順風。我記得你說過第一季業績會更低。隨著一年中搬家，哪些物品會改變？那麼，J.K.羅琳，您能否談談情人節期間哪些做法奏效，與假日期間哪些做法奏效相比，有哪些不同之處？從上一次的假期中，你學到了哪些經驗並打算應用在2026年？

So to start with the GMM rate for the year. At the midpoint, what we said is that it would be flat. As we look into the first quarter, we would see a little bit more pressure on the GMM rate as we work through the wrap of Q1 -- in Q1 of tariffs as well as the higher commodity prices. What we -- and we will continue to work with our assortment architecture and some of the gold hedges and so forth as we progress through the year.

首先來看今年的GMM利率。中期我們說過，情況會比較平穩。展望第一季度，隨著第一季的結束，我們將看到 GMM 利率面臨更大的壓力——第一季受到關稅以及大宗商品價格上漲的影響。我們—而且我們將繼續完善我們的產品組合架構，並在今年內繼續進行一些黃金對沖等工作。

But the first half definitely has a little bit more pressure, and we believe the back half begins to neutralize in terms of the GMM impact related to tariffs and commodities, but continue to do much of the same work that was successful for us in the back half of fiscal '26 to work to mitigate the impact of these costs.

但上半年壓力肯定更大一些，我們認為下半年與關稅和商品相關的 GMM 影響會開始抵消，但我們將繼續開展在 2026 財年下半年取得成功的許多相同工作，以減輕這些成本的影響。

Thanks, Paul. I appreciate the question on holiday and really Valentine's Day. I mean our business overall continued to strengthen as we came through the quarter. When you look at Q4 in particular, the softness map to what we saw more macro as consumer softness in really November and the first part of -- first week or 10 days of December. As we got to the peak holiday selling period for us, we saw positive comps in our business, and that momentum continued to build through January and not only carried through Valentine's Day, but has carried through the quarter.

謝謝你，保羅。我很感謝你提出的關於假期和情人節的問題。我的意思是，隨著季度的推進，我們公司的整體業務持續走強。特別是從第四季度來看，疲軟的趨勢與我們在 11 月和 12 月的前一周或前 10 天看到的宏觀消費疲軟趨勢相吻合。隨著我們進入假日銷售高峰期，我們的業務出現了積極的同店銷售增長，而且這種勢頭一直持續到一月份，不僅延續到了情人節，而且延續到了整個季度。

So one of the big learnings, I think, for us from the prior year was really how to focus the assortment over those peak selling days. That actually worked well for us at Christmas, and I think it was part of what really led to building momentum through the quarter.

所以，我認為，我們從前一年學到的一個重要教訓是如何在銷售高峰期集中精力進行商品組合。這在聖誕節期間對我們非常有效，我認為這在一定程度上促成了我們本季業績的穩定成長。

We certainly carried that muscle memory into Valentine's Day, and we're better positioned, and I would actually say better balanced across all of the brands, which is maybe a little different than where we were a year ago.

我們當然將這種肌肉記憶帶到了情人節，而且我們現在的處境更好了，我什至會說所有品牌之間的平衡也更好了，這可能與我們一年前的情況略有不同。

From a learning standpoint, I do think despite the macro consumer malaise that was going on with consumer sentiment and all of the noise in November this past year, I do think we recognize that maybe the quarter kind of falls into three distinct selling periods for us. And we've been pretty good at post holiday and have built on that momentum. I think we got better this past year at the peak selling days, those 10 days and the key price points leading into Christmas where I think we got an opportunity to sharpen our game and how we're looking forward to plans for this year is the early selling period in November, absent that noise is a little bit different consumer.

從學習的角度來看，儘管去年 11 月消費者情緒低迷，市場一片混亂，但我認為我們意識到，對我們來說，這個季度可能大致可以分為三個不同的銷售期。節慶後我們表現相當不錯，並且延續了這種勢頭。我認為去年我們在銷售高峰期（即聖誕節前的 10 天）和關鍵價格節點上做得更好，我們有機會提升我們的競爭力。我們期待今年的計畫是 11 月初的銷售期，如果沒有那段時間的干擾，消費者的情緒會有所不同。

It's a little bit different price point and a little different selling model digitally than what the balance of the year looks like. It's a little less assortment driven, a little more key item driven. And I think that's one of the takeaways that we look at that we think can help us strengthen the opportunity for Q4 moving forward.

與今年其他產品相比，它的價格定位和數位銷售模式略有不同。它不太注重商品種類，更注重重點商品。我認為這是我們關注的要點之一，我們認為這有助於我們加強第四季度的發展機會。

Got it. And Joan, just one quick follow-up. The tariff assumptions that you used for the guidance this year and maybe India specifically?

知道了。瓊，還有一個後續問題。今年您在發布指導意見時，特別是針對印度的關稅假設是什麼？

Generally speaking on that, for the year, we believe that the tariff and commodity increases are lower than the headwinds that we experienced last year that we mitigated and we have a longer lead time to address with some of the balanced actions that I talked about in my prepared remarks. . So I believe that we are in a position to offset a good portion of it. But in the guide itself, we would expect GMM rate will be flat at the midpoint with some decline at the low end of guide.

總的來說，我們認為今年的關稅和商品價格上漲幅度低於去年我們所經歷的不利因素（我們已經緩解了這些不利因素），而且我們有更長的準備時間來採取我在準備好的發言稿中提到的一些平衡措施。。所以我相信我們有能力抵消其中很大一部分影響。但就該指南本身而言，我們預計 GMM 率在中點將保持平穩，而在指南的低端將有所下降。

Are you assuming rates equal to the pre-Supreme Court decision? Or are you building in where we are now?

您是否假設利率與最高法院裁決前的利率相同？還是說你們打算在我們現在所在的地方繼續建造？

We're building in where we are now. And essentially, it's a mid-teen rate that we are looking at for the balance of the year, the impact to margin with that is something that we're able to -- we believe, to manage to a flat position at the midpoint.

我們正在這裡進行建設。基本上，我們預計今年剩餘時間利率將維持在十幾個百分點左右，我們相信，這對利潤率的影響能夠控制在中間水準。

Lorraine Hutchinson, Bank of America.

洛琳‧哈欽森，美國銀行。

Could you give us an update on the lab grown diamond business? How did it perform over holiday for both fashion and bridal? What did pricing look like for LGD specifically? And then what's your outlook for the year on this product?

能為我們介紹一下實驗室培育鑽石產業的最新進展嗎？假期期間，它在時裝和婚紗領域的表現如何？LGD的具體定價情況如何？那麼，您對該產品今年的發展前景有何展望？

Yes. I mean I think we've gotten to the point where we see a distinct market for both, Lorraine. And if you look at the industry more broadly over the course of the year, actually it was growth in both natural and lab grown at an industry level. Now I would say in natural, that skews more towards higher end and is probably more of an AUR story. That's certainly what we saw in our business and where we see there to be greater opportunity.

是的。我的意思是，我認為我們已經到了能夠區分兩者市場的地步，洛林。如果從更廣闊的視角來看待這一年中的整個產業，實際上，無論是天然種植還是實驗室培育，產業層面都實現了成長。現在我會說，就自然界而言，這更偏向高端，而且可能更符合 AUR 的風格。這正是我們在業務中看到的，也是我們認為有更大機會的地方。

Lab-grown diamond fashion in particular, continues to grow at a higher rate. And I'll remind you that a lot of that is because diamonds are less penetrated in the fashion category. And so the -- maybe differently than we've talked about center stone based bridal and engagement business. In fashion, there's not a lot of center stone presence period, let alone diamond. And so the opportunity for growth there, we continue to see as outsized relative to the rest of diamond jewelry.

尤其是實驗室培育鑽石的時尚潮流，正以更高的速度持續成長。我還要提醒大家，這很大程度是因為鑽石在時尚領域的滲透率較低。所以——也許和我們之前討論的以中心石為基礎的婚禮和訂婚業務有所不同。在時尚界，很少有以主石為主石的款式，更不用說鑽石了。因此，我們認為，相對於其他鑽石珠寶產業而言，該領域的成長機會仍然非常巨大。

And it's because it's stretching the category. But to be clear, as we look at this year, we really see an opportunity for growth in both parts of the business. We see them as distinct value propositions for customers that even overlap with the same customer, depending on use case, let alone being a little more price point sensitive, I suppose.

這是因為它拓展了該類別的範圍。但需要明確的是，展望今年，我們確實看到了業務兩個部分都存在成長的機會。我們認為它們對客戶而言是不同的價值主張，即使對同一客戶而言，根據使用情況的不同，它們的價值主張也會有所重疊，更不用說它們對價格點更加敏感了。

The only other thing, I guess, I would add kind of following up on the other part of your question, what's happened with the pricing, we've seen it really be stable, I guess, would be the word that I would use. Not a lot of volatility. There's actually periods during the latter part of the year where we saw the cost side of both actually see some slight increases.

我想補充一點，算是對你問題的另一部分——價格方面——的補充。我們看到價格確實很穩定，我想用「穩定」這個詞來形容就是價格穩定。波動性不大。實際上，在今年下半年，我們看到這兩方面的成本都出現了一些小漲。

And so I don't see any -- I know one of the questions is how do we think about deflation or cost pressure on, frankly, either side of that equation. And we really have seen stability, both on the wholesale cost side as well as on the retail architecture with us and competitors and feel like there's a little more normal run rate in that business today.

所以，我沒看到任何——我知道其中一個問題是，坦白說，我們應該如何看待通貨緊縮或成本壓力，無論從哪個角度來看。我們已經看到，無論是批發成本方面，還是我們和競爭對手的零售架構方面，都出現了真正的穩定性，感覺如今這個行業的運作速度更加正常了。

And what was the penetration of lab grown for holiday in fashion and bridal?

那麼，實驗室培育的節慶服飾在時尚和婚紗領域的滲透率如何呢？

The penetration for lab grown in total, we're closer to half and half when you look at -- we're under 50% for bridal. When you look at lab grown fashion, it actually grew to just north of 20%. And on the year, that's higher than what the run rate was for the year. The year coming into it was probably setting at about 15%.

實驗室培育的鑽石總滲透率，我們接近一半——但對於新娘來說，我們的滲透率低於 50%。當你觀察實驗室培育的時尚產品時，它實際上已經成長到略高於 20%。而且，這一數字高於全年的平均水平。年初時，這一數字可能設定在 15% 左右。

Your next question is from Randy Konik from Jefferies.

你的下一個問題來自傑富瑞集團的蘭迪·科尼克。

I guess, Joan, for you, I think you made a comment in the script that said something in the effect of $2 billion of liquidity, I think you like to have $1.5 billion. With the balance sheet having no debt and near $1 billion of cash, and it sounds like this year, you'll be generating another banner year of free cash flow, while you stepped up the buyback in '25 through '24, and it looks like the dividend is increasing. Could we expect, given that comment of $2 billion versus $1.5 billion, could you get even more aggressive with share repurchases ahead?

我想，瓊，對你來說，我記得你在劇本裡說過類似「20億美元的流動資金」之類的話，但我認為你更喜歡15億美元。資產負債表上沒有債務，現金接近 10 億美元，而且聽起來今年自由現金流又將創下新高。同時，在 2024 年至 2025 年期間，你們加強了股票回購力度，而且股利似乎也在增加。鑑於您先前提到的 20 億美元對 15 億美元，我們是否可以預期您未來會採取更積極的股票回購策略？

Just how do you think about that cash flow and putting it to work? And is there anything in the horizon over the next few years that would prevent the business that looks like it's becoming very, very stable and predictable from generating around $0.5 billion of free cash a year going forward into perpetuity? I just want to get your thoughts there.

您是如何考慮這筆現金流並加以利用的？未來幾年內，是否存在任何可能阻礙這家看起來非常穩定且可預測的企業每年持續產生約 5 億美元自由現金流的因素？我只是想聽聽你的想法。

Yes. Thanks, Randy. So as you mentioned, we had a $2 billion liquidity at the end of the year. It's $500 million over our target and it does provide some dry powder for us for organic investment, and we talked about the capital investment in our fleet. J.K. mentioned the website redesign and some of those technology investments, there will be some investment with the Blue Nile transition as well.

是的。謝謝你，蘭迪。正如您所提到的，我們在年底擁有 20 億美元的流動資金。這比我們的目標高出 5 億美元，這確實為我們提供了有機投資的可用資金，我們也討論了對船隊的資本投資。J.K.提到了網站的重新設計和一些技術投資，Blue Nile的過渡也會有一些投資。

So from an organic investment, we'll continue to invest in our fleet, the strategic priorities and frankly, invest in capabilities that are going to support the go-to-market strategies of our brand. And next is we want to maintain a conservative balance sheet, but we also find it very important to return capital to shareholders.

因此，我們將透過有機投資，繼續投資於我們的機隊、策略重點，坦白說，也將投資於能夠支持我們品牌市場推廣策略的能力。其次，我們希望維持穩健的資產負債表，但我們也認為向股東返還資本非常重要。

And as we look forward, we believe shares remain attractive with an implied 15% free cash yield on last year's free cash flow. So there's nothing in our way to continue to exercise that capital priorities I just outlined. It's part of our capital allocation priorities that are important. And so we'll continue to do that.

展望未來，我們認為該股仍具有吸引力，其隱含的自由現金流收益率為去年自由現金流的 15%。因此，我們完全可以繼續執行我剛才概述的資本優先事項，沒有任何障礙。這是我們重要的資本配置優先事項之一。所以我們會繼續這樣做。

Year-to-date, we've repurchased $45 million or almost 500,000 shares already through March 17. So clearly, it's something that we intend to engage in this year. and we have a $518 million or so of share repurchase authorization available to us at the end of the year.

截至 3 月 17 日，今年以來我們已經回購了價值 4,500 萬美元或近 50 萬股的股票。很顯然，這是我們今年打算參與的事情。到年底，我們還有大約5.18億美元的股票回購授權可供使用。

Got it. And just on the, I mean, let's say, on the horizon, do you feel like you're at a place where we can generate this amount of free cash annually going forward? Are there any kind of weird impediments in the way that would prevent that?

知道了。那麼，就目前而言，我的意思是，比如說，展望未來，您是否覺得我們能夠每年產生這麼多的自由現金流？是否存在某種奇怪的障礙會阻止這種情況發生？

We don't see anything in our way. We target a very healthy free cash flow conversion. And what I would say there is that the components of free cash flow that I articulated in my remarks, Randy, included strong earnings contributing to that as well as working capital efficiencies, which we -- that we came in flat for the year on inventory. We continue to drive -- we were flat on turn this year coming out of the fourth quarter. And so we continue to drive those levers as well as really working with our strategic vendors to maintain a healthy terms that can benefit both of us.

我們看不到任何阻礙。我們的目標是實現非常健康的自由現金流轉換率。蘭迪，我想說的是，我在演講中闡述的自由現金流組成部分包括強勁的盈利能力以及營運資本效率，而我們——我們今年的庫存水平持平。我們繼續前進——今年第四季我們一度陷入困境。因此，我們將繼續利用這些槓桿，並與我們的策略供應商密切合作，以維持對雙方都有利的健康條款。

Great. And last question, I guess, for J.K. You talked about SKU productivity or looking at product architecture and kind of rationalizing the number of SKUs, it sounds like across the different brands. Can you give us a little bit more perspective on, a little quantification on where you're going to do that, how much, how you think it will help drive the business, improve inventory turnover? Just give us a little more color there would be very helpful.

偉大的。最後一個問題，我想問J.K.。您談到了SKU生產力，或者說是審視產品架構，並對SKU數量進行合理化，聽起來像是針對不同的品牌。您能否更詳細地說明一下，您打算在哪裡實施這項計劃，投入多少資金，以及您認為這將如何幫助推動業務發展，提高庫存週轉率？如果能再添加一些色彩描述就太好了。

Sure. Thanks for the question, Randy. I just think the more we can leverage scale across the business on those things that are commoditized, the more efficient we can be with inventory, the more we can navigate, and frankly, some of the moving parts that are the world we're operating in today.

當然。謝謝你的提問，蘭迪。我認為，我們越能利用業務規模優勢來處理那些商品化的產品，我們的庫存管理就越高效，我們就越能更好地應對，坦白說，也越能更好地駕馭我們今天所處環境中一些不斷變化的因素。

One of the things I'm proudest of as it relates to our team this past year is the work to simplify our operating model really put us in a position to continue to raise our guide in the face of one hurdle after another relative to tariffs and cost increases, et cetera. We not only became a stronger business, we actually were a better partner to our suppliers, able to work better together all with a more focused inventory assortment.

在過去一年裡，我最引以為傲的是我們團隊在簡化營運模式方面的工作，這使我們能夠在面對關稅和成本上漲等一系列挑戰時，繼續提高我們的指導價。我們不僅發展壯大了業務，而且實際上也成為了供應商更好的合作夥伴，能夠更好地合作，並擁有更集中的庫存組合。

So when I look at it, I still think there's room for us to go. We reduced on the order of magnitude of 20-ish percent or so SKUs out of the Kay assortment moving forward as we sit on a spring floor set today. And I think there's still opportunity within a business like that.

所以，從我的角度來看，我仍然認為我們還有發展的空間。鑑於我們今天擺在春季展廳的景象，我們已將 Kay 系列產品中的 SKU 減少了約 20%。我認為像這樣的企業仍然蘊藏著機會。

I think the other opportunity that may not show up in a total SKU count number, but where we do have items that are a little more commoditized getting to a similar base where we're able to pull from one pool of inventory across multiple brands will make us that much more efficient, will help us leverage cost. And ultimately, that adds up to margin rate opportunity for us moving forward.

我認為另一個機會可能不會體現在 SKU 總數上，但對於那些商品化程度較高的商品來說，如果能建立一個類似的庫存池，讓我們能夠跨多個品牌從同一個庫存池中調貨，這將大大提高我們的效率，並有助於我們降低成本。最終，這將為我們未來的利潤率創造機會。

I would just add to that, that the core engine discussion and really focusing on the four major brands, including Blue Nile, will also help us as we roll a smaller brand like Rocksbox into Kay and James Allen into the Blue Nile website and Diamonds Direct falling under the accessible luxury family within our business is also going to help us ramp with the SKU rationalization aspect of it and continue to help us improve our turns. 0.1 turn is worth $100 million to us and an improvement is worth $100 million to us in free cash flow.

我還要補充一點，核心引擎的討論，以及真正聚焦於包括Blue Nile在內的四大主要品牌，將有助於我們整合Rocksbox等規模較小的品牌，將其併入Kay，將James Allen併入Blue Nile網站，同時將Diamonds Direct納入我們業務中的輕奢品牌範疇。這些措施也將有助於我們加快SKU精簡流程，並持續提升我們的周轉率。 0.1的周轉率提升對我們而言價值1億美元，而周轉率的提升則能為我們帶來1億美元的自由現金流。

So the teams can really wrap their mind around what that can help us drive in our business because it's going to provide room to bring in fresh receipts and support our fashion strategy as well.

這樣一來，各個團隊就能真正理解這能如何幫助我們推動業務發展，因為它將為引入新的收入來源提供空間，並支持我們的時尚策略。

And I think the last point, I guess, I'd make is I talked about the places where we should work from a shared pool of inventory, this work also helps us eliminate overlap. Candidly, even as we look at some of the challenges with brands like Blue Nile, James Allen, the number of SKUs that may overlap and set in both places we think causes confusion. It certainly makes us less efficient as a business.

我想最後一點是，我之前談到了我們應該利用共享庫存池的地方，這項工作也有助於我們消除重疊。坦白說，即使我們審視像 Blue Nile、James Allen 這樣的品牌所面臨的一些挑戰，以及可能重疊並在兩個地方設置的 SKU 數量，我們認為這會導致混亂。這無疑會降低我們的企業效率。

We're not leveraging the flow-through with each of the brands at the rate that we should. And so there are some known costs, but there's also some hidden cost opportunities as it relates to margin, and frankly, top line revenue that come with a more focused assortment.

我們沒有以應有的速度利用各個品牌之間的流量效應。因此，雖然存在一些已知的成本，但與利潤率相關的也存在一些隱藏的成本機會，坦白說，更集中的產品組合還能帶來更高的收入。

So we've seen that work. We're seeing the benefit of it, and we -- I think what we're doing to further realign and focus across these four main fronts of our business, if you will, will, to Joan's point, I think it's going to help us be that much better.

所以我們已經看到這種方法奏效了。我們看到了這樣做的好處，而且我認為，正如瓊所說，我們正在做的進一步調整和專注於我們業務的這四個主要方面，將會幫助我們做得更好。

Ike Boruchow, Wells Fargo.

艾克·博魯喬夫，富國銀行。

Two for me. I don't know if this is for J.K. or Joan, but can you just talk about some merch margin understanding what happened in the fourth quarter? You had to get a little bit more promotional when things were off to the tough start. But you kind of mentioned merch margin should stay down in the first quarter.

我兩個。我不知道這是問J.K.還是Joan的，但你們能不能談談第四季商品利潤率的狀況？開局不利的時候，你必須加強宣傳力道。但你剛才也提過，第一季商品利潤率應該會維持較低水準。

It sounds like Valentine's Day was good, and you guys are positive. Just can you kind of walk us through the puts and takes of selling margin, what you're doing in the first quarter. And then based on the year, it sounds like you're expecting things to improve from here. Just sort of trying to understand that better.

聽起來你們情人節過得還不錯，你們都很樂觀。您能否給我們詳細介紹一下賣出保證金的買賣操作，以及您在第一季採取的策略？根據今年的情況來看，你似乎預期情況會從現在開始好轉。我只是想更好地理解這一點。

Sure. Let me -- we'll probably tag team it, to be honest, because I totally understand the question. I would say, at a macro level, for Q4, part of the story is promotion, part of the story is tariffs, if I'm really trying to oversimplify this.

當然。讓我來——說實話，我們可能會合作完成，因為我完全理解這個問題。如果我真的要過於簡化地概括的話，我會說，從宏觀層面來看，第四季的情況一部分是促銷，一部分是關稅。

I think the reality of all the moving parts and in particular, the way that inventory flows to land for the holidays, we talked about this a bit before. we land goods, we set a base retail price, and then we have follow-on replenishment that comes to give us depth for the holiday. And that's always the way it works. We need to land goods early to establish price because we can't do anything promotionally unless we've established that baseline price.

我認為，所有環節的運作，特別是假日期間的庫存週轉方式，都讓我們意識到問題的嚴重性。我們之前也稍微討論過這個問題。我們先把貨物運到倉庫，設定一個基本零售價，然後透過後續的補貨來確保假日期間的庫存充足。事情總是這樣。我們需要儘早將貨物運送到市場以確定價格，因為如果我們沒有確定基準價格，我們就無法進行任何促銷活動。

Ike, one of the things that happened this year is the goal line kept moving in the sense of tariff rates changed as we were going through that process. So part of it is the starting point you established in terms of the strategy going into the holiday and the fact that there wasn't a stable baseline cost to establish those retails against.

艾克，今年發生的一件事是，目標線一直在變化，因為在我們進行這個過程的過程中，關稅稅率發生了變化。部分原因是你在製定假日策略時所確定的起點，以及沒有穩定的基準成本來確定這些零售價格的事實。

And then to your point, when those costs kept moving, we also found ourselves in a situation where the consumer more broadly was softer in November. And the blunt instrument that we really have to flex during that holiday time period is promotion. And with as many broad off promotions as there are in our business, the ability to be as surgical around mix with all of those variables is just a little more challenged in the period.

正如您所說，當這些成本持續上漲時，我們也發現，11 月消費者的整體需求有所下降。而在假期期間，我們真正需要動用的直接手段就是促銷。在我們這個行業中，促銷活動種類繁多，因此，在這個時期，要精準地將所有這些變數結合起來，難度就更大了。

So I would say it's partly a choice around promo and partly the case of navigating a race where both the path and the finish line kept moving around a little bit on us. And I think we're still working through that. Obviously, there's still some moving parts as it relates to tariffs. But I'll also remind you of Joan's comments. I mean, we did a nice job of, I think, navigating that unknown this year.

所以我覺得這部分是宣傳方面的選擇，部分是因為比賽路線和終點線都在不斷變化，我們需要找到合適的應對方法。我認為我們仍在努力解決這個問題。顯然，關稅方面仍存在一些變數。但我還要提醒你一下瓊的評論。我的意思是，我認為我們今年在應對未知挑戰方面做得很好。

We developed that set of muscles as it relates to flexibility in our supply chain and the agility to move, whether it be country of origin or think about the buy windows that may make sense or how to consolidate and work on cost, we'll certainly look to those things as we move forward.

我們已經培養了這套能力，以提高供應鏈的靈活性和行動的敏捷性，無論是原產國，還是考慮合理的採購窗口，亦或是整合資源和降低成本，我們肯定會在未來的工作中關注這些方面。

The benefit or the confidence that we have as it relates to margin, particularly for the year is we've got kind of roughly half the size of headwind, and we've got significantly more time to be able to manage it. So I think we're well positioned to do it.

就利潤率而言，我們的優勢或信心，特別是就今年而言，在於我們面臨的不利因素大約只有原來的一半，而且我們有更多的時間來應對。所以我認為我們完全有能力做到這一點。

I think any time you've got that kind of external macro, there's always the risk of some lumpiness and how it flows through. But I'm also really proud of what our team did to manage it and the way that we've built our plan and our business to be able to protect the bottom line and manage a little bit of that noise in gross merch margins, I think, really positions us well for this year.

我認為，任何時候遇到這種外在宏觀因素，總是會存在一些不平衡和執行不良的風險。但我也為我們的團隊在應對這種情況方面所做的工作感到非常自豪，以及我們制定計劃和業務的方式，從而能夠保護利潤底線並控製商品毛利率方面的一些幹擾，我認為這真的讓我們為今年做好了充分的準備。

Got it. And then again to both of you, just more of a modeling question, so maybe for Joan. Just so the comp revenue spreads like 10 basis points in the first quarter, you're transition -- you're sunsetting James Allen and then removing Blue Nile from the comp base. So that spread widens the rest of the year.

知道了。然後，再問你們兩個一個建模方面的問題，所以也許對瓊來說是這樣。為了讓同店銷售額在第一季成長 10 個基點，你們正在過渡——你們正在逐步淘汰 James Allen，然後從同店銷售額中剔除 Blue Nile。因此，這種差距在一年中的剩餘時間將進一步擴大。

Can you just kind of like -- just so we all kind of know like the puts and takes on how everything should flow compress revenue for the year? Can you just kind of let us know how this all should take place?

您能簡單說明一下嗎－這樣我們大家都能大致了解一下，關於全年收入的分配和影響？您能簡單告訴我們一下這一切該如何進行嗎？

Sure. So as we noted, Q1 will have the impact of James Allen in the comp. And as we progress through Q2, Q3 and Q4 because of the amount of effort and change and repositioning with the Blue Nile brand and then the sunsetting of James Allen, we're pulling them out of comps as we progress through the year.

當然。正如我們所指出的，Q1 將受到 James Allen 在競爭中的影響。隨著我們進入第二季、第三季和第四季度，由於 Blue Nile 品牌投入了大量精力、進行了變革和重新定位，以及 James Allen 品牌的退出，我們將在一年中逐步將它們從同類產品中移除。

The impact of James Allen was roughly 1 point in Q4, a little over 1 point and the impact in Q1, we would expect to be similar as we look through the balance of the year, like it's early to kind of forecast what we think the impact would be, which is one of the reasons why we want to take it out of the comp but what I mentioned is that $60 million to $80 million comes out of revenue, and that would likely be $20 million to $30 million of top line revenue over the course of the balance of the year.

詹姆斯艾倫對第四季的影響大約是 1 個百分點，略高於 1 個百分點，對第一季的影響，我們預計在今年剩餘時間也會類似。現在預測其影響還為時過早，這也是我們想將其從同店銷售額中剔除的原因之一。但我之前提到過，這筆費用會從營收中扣除 6,000 萬至 8,000 萬美元，而這筆費用很可能在今年剩餘時間裡從總營收中扣除 2,000 萬至 3,000 萬美元。

So if that helps to mention it, that's how we're thinking about it internally. And of course, working to transition as much volume as we can from the James Allen brand over to Blue Nile where appropriate with the complementary SKUs and the proprietary James Allen selection, the teams are doing a fantastic job in navigating this here for us in the first quarter and then leveraging the James Allen capabilities and a brand -- the tip of the spear there will be with Kay where we can see more custom product coming in the Kay brand because they're now -- they will be able to more so in the back half of the year to leverage the custom capability that James Allen provides. So that's the dimension of the revenue. That's how we're thinking about it.

所以，如果這樣說對您有幫助的話，這就是我們內部的考慮方式。當然，我們也在努力將盡可能多的 James Allen 品牌產品轉移到 Blue Nile 品牌，並盡可能使用互補的 SKU 和 James Allen 的專屬產品系列。在第一季度，我們的團隊在這方面做得非常出色，他們成功地幫助我們實現了這一目標。接下來，我們將充分利用 James Allen 的能力和品牌優勢——Kay 將是其中的佼佼者，我們將看到 Kay 品牌推出更多客製化產品，因為他們現在——今年下半年將能夠更好地利用 James Allen 提供的客製化能力。這就是收入的維度。我們也是這麼想的。

And just to bear in mind -- Go ahead.

還有一點要記住──繼續。

I'm sorry. Can you just help us, can you quantify just the size of Blue Nile since you're removing it from the comp base for the year, just so we know how to kind of model that impact?

對不起。您能否幫我們量化一下 Blue Nile 的規模，因為您已將其從今年的薪酬基數中移除，這樣我們才能知道如何模擬其影響？

Yes. What we said is that it's $60 million to $80 million coming out. Last year, the total revenue was roughly $150-ish million -- Blue Nile, sorry, the question you asked. So it's $350 million for Blue Nile. And James Allen is what I had articulated. So trying to move as much of James Allen over to Blue Nile as we can and then send it into the other brands.

是的。我們之前說過，最終的預算是 6,000 萬到 8,000 萬美元。去年總收入約 1.5 億美元——Blue Nile，抱歉，回答你提出的問題。所以，Blue Nile公司獲得了3.5億美元的投資。而我之前提到的正是詹姆斯艾倫。所以我們要盡可能地把 James Allen 的產品轉移到 Blue Nile，然後再推廣到其他品牌。

Jeff Lick, Stephens.

傑夫·利克，史蒂芬斯。

Congrats on a great year and a great start to this year. J.K. or Joan, I was wondering if I just kind of formulate a simple mental model of, this past year, you generated $687 million of EBITDA on $6.8 billion of revenue. and then you take, call it, the $40 million of kind of still wrapping around from the Grow Brand Love that you still have of the $100 million. And then if you just use your math of the SG&A that you disclosed, that implies that incentive comes about $17 million, so call it $57 million.

恭喜你度過了精彩的一年，也恭喜你今年開局順利。J.K. 或 Joan，我想知道，如果我簡單地建立一個思維模型，假設去年你們的收入為 68 億美元，EBITDA 為 6.87 億美元。然後，你們把「品牌忠誠度提升計畫」中剩餘的 4,000 萬美元（也就是你們仍然擁有的 1 億美元的一部分）也算進去。然後，如果你只用你披露的銷售、一般及行政費用的計算方法，那就意味著這筆激勵大約是 1700 萬美元，所以就叫它 5700 萬美元吧。

And if you add that to the $687 million, that gets you to about $744 million of EBITDA, just -- so I just think about it if you just do what you did last year, you come pretty close to making your high end of your EBITDA guidance. And obviously, you guys have a high end of your revenue guidance at $6.9 million. So could you just walk through the puts and takes of that model and where I might be off or what's going to be harder, what's not going to be as hard?

如果把這筆錢加上 6.87 億美元，EBITDA 就達到了 7.44 億美元左右——所以我想，如果你像去年那樣做，就能非常接近 EBITDA 預期的上限。顯然，你們的營收預期上限為 690 萬美元。那麼，您能否詳細解釋一下該模型的投入和產出，以及我可能存在的偏差，或者哪些方面會比較困難，哪些方面不會那麼困難？

Yes. So on the full year, we expect -- from a modeling perspective, we expect at the midpoint margins to be flat. And we see on the high end of the guide, a modest increase in merchandise margin and at the low end, a modest decrease. Where we begin to get some leverage is in the SG&A and believe that what we've been able to do there is with the wraparound of the cost savings in the front half of the year, which was roughly $40 million, $15 million in the first quarter, Jeff. And then in the second and third quarters, we tend to see more of that flow through because some of it relates to contracts on that.

是的。因此，從模型角度來看，我們預計全年中期利潤率將保持不變。我們看到，在指南的高端，商品毛利率略有上升；而在低端，商品毛利率略有下降。我們開始獲得一些優勢的地方在於銷售、一般及行政費用，我們相信我們能夠做到這一點，是因為上半年節省的成本得到了有效利用，大約節省了 4000 萬美元，其中第一季節省了 1500 萬美元，傑夫。然後在第二季度和第三季度，我們往往會看到更多這樣的流動，因為其中一些與相關合約有關。

But we feel very good about the $40 million SG&A ramp. We also, from a business perspective, the way that the brands really position their plans for this year is we focus on comp growth, but we focus on flow through. And each brand must deliver different levels of flow-through based on their -- the type of product they sell. So brands that sell more loose goods as opposed to finished goods will have a different margin structure, merchandise margin structure than those that don't.

但我們對 4000 萬美元的銷售、管理及行政費用成長感到非常滿意。從商業角度來看，品牌今年制定計畫的方式是，我們專注於同店銷售成長，但我們也關注銷售滲透率。每個品牌都必須根據其所售產品的類型提供不同程度的流通服務。因此，銷售大量商品較多的品牌與銷售成品較少的品牌相比，其毛利率結構和商品毛利率結構會有所不同。

So we balance flow through, and we feel very good about how the businesses operate and the discipline in the business on the SG&A side. So really leveraging SG&A here in the face of what is more of a flattish margin. for gross margin for the year is the structure of our model as we look at fiscal '27.

因此，我們實現了資金流轉的平衡，並且我們對業務的運作方式以及銷售、一般及行政費用方面的業務紀律感到非常滿意。因此，在毛利率相對穩定的情況下，充分利用銷售、管理及行政費用（SG&A）是我們實現全年毛利率目標的關鍵。這是我們在展望2027財年時所採用的模型架構。

The teams are very well aligned. I'd remind you that on a slightly positive comp sales, we can leverage gross margin. On a low single-digit comp sales, we leveraged SG&A and EBIT. So that's the structure that our teams operate within, and we're all aligned.

兩隊配合非常默契。我想提醒您，在同店銷售額略有成長的情況下，我們可以提高毛利率。在同店銷售額低個位數成長的情況下，我們利用了銷售、管理及行政費用和息稅前利潤。這就是我們團隊的運作結構，我們所有人都目標一致。

And then just a quick follow-up, Joan, just a point of clarification. Did you say 0.1 increase in turn? I mean because I think you guys are a little under 2, so call it 1.9, going to 2, that would equate to a $100 million increase in free cash flow, which, I guess, just given what you're doing -- what you did last year, that would mean a 20% increase in free cash flow. Is that roughly right?

瓊，最後還有一個問題要補充說明，澄清一下。你剛才說的是每次增加0.1嗎？我的意思是，因為我認為你們目前的自由現金流略低於 2，所以我們姑且算作 1.9，如果達到 2，那就相當於自由現金流增加了 1 億美元，我想，考慮到你們正在做的事情——你們去年所做的事情，這意味著自由現金流增長了 20%。大致如此嗎？

Yes, as we begin to turn our inventory, now doing that is in the face of inventory transition as J.K. was articulating. What the teams are doing is really leveraging that muscle to bring in and transition the assortment. So -- but yes, that's what the math would say. .

是的，正如 J.K. 所闡述的那樣，當我們開始週轉庫存時，現在正面臨庫存轉型的問題。各團隊正在做的，是真正利用這種優勢來引進和過渡產品系列。所以——沒錯，數學計算就是這麼顯示的。。

Great. Best of luck in 2026.

偉大的。祝您2026年一切順利。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Jon Keypour, Goldman Sachs.

Jon Keypour，高盛集團。

Just a quick bookkeeping question. You'd mentioned sourcing and ops coming out of the UAE. Just given everything that's happening, just wondering if you're seeing any impact or if you've been able to pivot fairly quickly. And then tacking on to that kind of similar topic,anything you're seeing from a cost of crude in terms of how maybe sourcing freight, that kind of thing is flowing through?

我有一個關於記帳的小問題。你之前提到過採購和營運都來自阿聯酋。鑑於目前發生的一切，我想知道你是否感受到任何影響，或者你是否能夠迅速做出調整。然後，再延伸一下類似的話題，您從原油成本觀察到的任何情況，例如貨運方式等等，是如何影響原油價格的？

Yes, I appreciate the question. And the short answer is no, we really haven't seen anything. The longer answer is, on the supply chain side, the -- I mean we don't have tons of trailers moving back and forth. I mean, we got high-value inventory, and it's pretty small cube. So I've worked in every category of retail.

是的，感謝您的提問。簡而言之，答案是否定的，我們真的什麼都沒看到。更詳細的解釋是，從供應鏈的角度來看——我的意思是，我們沒有大量的拖車來回運輸。我的意思是，我們有高價值的庫存，但倉庫卻很小。所以，我在零售業的各個領域都工作過。

I can actually say this is first time that I have not actually looked at the price of oil and worried about what freight cost was going to be to me from a supply chain standpoint. So we're in good shape there. I would say more broadly on the disruption front, we have built a much more flexible supply chain in really in advance of all of the mitigation efforts around tariffs.

我可以毫不誇張地說，這是我第一次沒有關注石油價格，也沒有從供應鏈的角度擔心運費會為我帶來多少成本。所以，我們那邊情況良好。更廣泛地說，就應對中斷而言，我們已經建立了一個更靈活的供應鏈，這實際上早於所有關稅緩解措施的推出。

And so the flexibility and redundancy that we've built in to being able to source goods from multiple countries, including increased flexibility here in the US around what we choose to cast or may finish here is stronger than where we were a year ago, and we're really well positioned.

因此，我們能夠從多個國家採購商品，包括在美國選擇鑄造或完成哪些工序，從而提高了靈活性和冗餘性，這比一年前我們的情況要好得多，我們現在處於非常有利的地位。

I say all that, we also haven't seen any disruption as it relates to goods certainly for Valentine's Day, for Mother's Day receipts. I mean, any of those countries that may be in that sort of flight path or adjacent to any of those areas, we've actually been able to manage it all fine. So nothing to call out.

綜上所述，我們也沒有看到任何與商品相關的供應中斷，尤其是情人節和母親節的收據。我的意思是，任何可能位於該航線上或與該區域相鄰的國家，我們實際上都能夠很好地應對。所以沒什麼好挑剔的。

I know there's been a few articles that have surfaced. But to be honest, we're not seeing that in the industry either. So I think we're really well positioned to navigate the environment we're operating in and don't really see it as an issue.

我知道已經有一些文章流傳出來了。但說實話，我們在業界也沒有看到這種情況。所以我認為我們完全有能力應付我們所處的經營環境，並不認為這是一個問題。

Got it. And then just a follow on. You had mentioned, I think, last week that Zales was a little bit weaker out of the big three. I'm just wondering what you -- what's driving that and if that's evolved at all? Or I guess, where you see that kind of panning out for the year?

知道了。然後就是後續。我記得你上週提到過，在三大巨頭中，札萊斯的實力稍弱一些。我只是想知道——是什麼在驅動你這樣做，以及這種行為是否有所演變？或者說，你覺得今年的情況會是這樣嗎？

Yes, I appreciate it. Actually, the good news is we've -- the Zales business, I think, has refocused. We've seen strength through Valentine's into the quarter and return to more of the normal run rate within that business. I think part of the challenge of Q4 was a little bit more distorted exposure to a middle income and lower income customer in November. And that's certainly I think, part of the story.

是的，我很感激。實際上，好消息是，我認為 Zales 的業務已經重新調整了方向。我們看到，情人節過後，本季業務表現強勁，並逐漸恢復正常水平。我認為第四季面臨的部分挑戰是，11 月對中低收入客戶群的接觸略顯扭曲。這當然也是故事的一部分。

I do think there are some things as we work through assortment transition in that business where we could focus key items around selling period better and that there are some adjustments that we can make that will actually strengthen the business that maybe got exposed by some of that consumer pressure.

我認為，在我們進行業務組合轉型的過程中，我們可以更好地圍繞銷售週期集中重點商品，並且可以做出一些調整，這些調整實際上會加強可能因消費者壓力而暴露出來的業務。

So in particular, I think the one thing we learned was we built an essentials program that really was less promotional and a little more baseline price driven, and that works really, really well during the year. But that gift-giving customer that plays at the lower end price points in our business really does look for promotion during the quarter and building a little more promotional assortment to supplement what we do on our base assortment, I think, is something that will actually strengthen the holiday selling period for sales, absent all the other macro stuff that was going on.

所以，我認為我們學到的最重要的一點是，我們建立了一個基本款計劃，這個計劃促銷力度較小，更注重基本價格，而且在一年中效果非常好。但是，在我們業務中，那些喜歡購買價格較低商品的送禮顧客確實會在本季度尋找促銷活動，我認為，在基本商品系列的基礎上增加一些促銷商品種類，實際上會加強假日銷售期的業績，即使沒有其他宏觀因素的影響。

Mauricio Serna, UBS Financial.

毛里西奧‧塞爾納 (Mauricio Serna)，瑞銀金融集團。

Great. Maybe could you start by speaking on what your quarter-to-date looks like relative to your guidance for the quarter? And then as you look into your outlook for the year, like how should we think about bridal versus fashion growth? And same question, how are you thinking about AUR versus unit growth?

偉大的。或許您可以先談談本季迄今的業績與您對本季的預期相比如何？然後，在展望今年的發展前景時，我們該如何看待婚紗產業與時尚產業的成長？同樣的問題，您如何看待平均使用率與單位成長率之間的關係？

So we're off to a really good start on the top line this year in the first quarter with the comps that we're seeing at Valentine -- that we saw at Valentine's Day continue through the quarter. All of our core brands and most of our smaller brands are running plus comps quarter-to-date.

今年第一季度，我們的營收開局非常不錯，這得益於情人節當天的同店銷售成長——這種成長勢頭在整個季度都得以延續。我們所有核心品牌和大多數小品牌本季至今的業績都高於同店銷售額。

James Allen, as I mentioned earlier, is -- continues to be compressing the comp in the quarter. So we feel very good about what we're seeing in the quarter and believe we have real momentum coming into the year. I think for the year, as we think about bridal and fashion, on a comp basis, I mean, we really think on the high end, we're sitting at -- looking at a low single-digit sales comp and fashion similar.

正如我之前提到的，James Allen 繼續壓縮本季的同店銷售。因此，我們對本季的業績感到非常滿意，並相信我們今年將保持強勁的發展勢頭。我認為就今年而言，當我們考慮婚紗和時裝時，從同店銷售的角度來看，我的意思是，我們真的認為高端市場，我們目前的銷售額和時尚類產品都處於個位數低位的同店銷售水平。

And we continue to expect to see AUR up over the course of the year, which -- with some compression on unit performance with that. So -- we are, we believe, positioned to start the year for good selling within our assortments and believe we have the inventory in the -- in most of our brands in the right composition to drive business.

我們預計今年平均使用率 (AUR) 將持續上升，但同時，單位效能也會受到一定程度的壓縮。因此，我們相信，我們已做好準備，在新的一年裡，我們的產品系列將迎來良好的銷售開端，並且我們相信，我們的大多數品牌都擁有合適的庫存組合，能夠推動業務成長。

Understood. And then just a follow-up on maybe specifically on holidays, given your learnings on what happened with last fourth quarter. How are you thinking about growth in holiday when I look at your low and high end of the guidance?

明白了。然後，鑑於您從上個第四季發生的事情中學到的經驗，或許可以具體跟進假期方面的問題。根據您給予的業績指引的下限和上限，您如何看待假期季節的成長？

And also just digging into one of your comments on the merchandise margin. You talked about off holiday promotional strategy. Maybe could you just speak on like what -- if promotions are going to be either a tailwind or a headwind this year? And maybe how does that vary according to maybe like which quarter we're in, maybe more promotions in Q4? Just thinking like, yes, like promotions, it's like a tailwind or a headwind for this year merchandise margins?

另外，我也想深入探討您對商品利潤率的評論。您談到了非假日促銷策略。您能否談談今年的促銷活動究竟是順風還是逆風？或許這會根據我們所處的季度而有所不同，例如第四季度可能會有更多促銷活動？我只是在想，促銷活動對今年的商品利潤率來說是順風還是逆風？

So the comment we made earlier is that we -- our guide assumes a fairly consistent quarter-on-quarter comp for the year and at the high end -- at the low end, we've given ourselves some room for -- some flexibility for the consumer macro. The comment that we made around discounting is really off-holiday discounting, recognizing that to J.K. comments that holiday -- high selling at holiday is different than the balance of the year for us.

因此，我們之前的評論是，我們的指南假設全年季度環比相當穩定，並且在高端——在低端，我們給自己留了一些空間——一些靈活性，以適應消費者宏觀經濟的變化。我們之前提到的折扣實際上是非假日折扣，我們意識到 J.K. 的評論也表明，假日期間的銷售旺季與我們一年中其他時間的銷售旺季有所不同。

So we see the opportunity throughout the 10 months of the year to reduce discounting, take select price actions as it relates to commodities, which we do throughout the year and mindful of compliance on rest periods and so forth, and then really leaning into the assortment architecture, which includes mix of products that carry a higher margin.

因此，我們看到一年中的 10 個月都有機會減少折扣，針對大宗商品採取選擇性的價格措施（我們全年都會這樣做），並注意遵守休息期等規定，然後真正著力於產品組合架構，其中包括利潤率較高的產品組合。

Fashion in -- with LGD is one of those opportunities and continues to be so, and the teams are very focused on a balanced assortment there at the right price points. And then as well in the natural diamond space, we see opportunities across price points. And so we'll be managing architecture and then the assortment that way to really look at the year with a -- at the midpoint, we're looking at flat margin with trying to leverage the SG&A line to mitigate any pressure that we might see on our gross margin.

時尚－與 LGD 的合作就是這樣的機會之一，而且這種情況還會持續下去，團隊非常注重在合適的價格點上提供均衡的產品系列。此外，在天然鑽石領域，我們也看到了各個價位的機會。因此，我們將透過管理架構和產品組合來真正審視這一年——在年中，我們預計利潤率將保持不變，並試圖利用銷售、一般及行政費用來減輕我們可能看到的毛利率壓力。

Jim Sanderson, Northcoast Research.

吉姆·桑德森，北海岸研究公司。

Just following it up on the previous discussion about average unit revenues and unit volumes. Can you walk through the math, so to speak, for your expectations for the bridal category with respect to units and AUR?

我接著之前關於平均單位收入和單位銷售的討論繼續說下去。您能否詳細解釋一下您對婚禮用品類別在數量和平均入住率方面的預期？

So what I mentioned is that we saw at a comp level, bridal would be a low single digit up or down for the year. that's the guide assumption underneath our top line assumption. And then units would be at the high end, given the AUR growth, we would see a low single-digit decline at the high end and a potential of a mid-single-digit decline, excuse me, at the low end of that guide.

我剛才提到的是，從同業比較來看，婚紗銷售額全年只會出現個位數的成長或下降。這是我們整體績效預測的指導性假設。那麼，考慮到 AUR 的成長，單元數量將處於高端，我們預計高端單元數量將出現個位數百分比的下降，而低端單元數量則可能出現個位數百分比的下降，抱歉，應該是個位數百分比的下降。

Understood. And just wanted to shift over briefly to your real estate portfolio strategy. You've got low single-digit declines in square footage. But how does that convert or play a role in the revenue guidance you've gotten? And is there some recapture there from remodels as well? Just how we should think of it?

明白了。我只想簡單談談您的房地產投資組合策略。建築面積的降幅僅為個位數。但這對於您所獲得的收入預測有何影響或作用呢？那麼，透過房屋改造也能收回一些成本嗎？我們該如何看待這個問題？

Yes. I mean, J.K. mentioned it in his prepared remarks that we're seeing nice lift in renovation plan that we've been engaged in. So we've really increased that to include 10% of the fleet this year really targeted towards growth markets, which in an effort to really drive as much increment in top line as we can, those investments are focused on the brands that are furthest along, which Jared is -- has a significant investment this year.

是的。我的意思是，J.K.在他的準備好的發言稿中提到，我們一直在進行的翻新計劃取得了不錯的進展。因此，我們今年確實將這一比例提高到 10%，專門針對成長型市場，為了盡可能地提高收入，這些投資集中在發展最快的品牌上，而 Jared 今年就進行了大量投資。

And we're also investing in Kay in markets where we really want to protect and grow volume. So those are reflected in our view of revenue for the year. I think that and as well as the low single-digit decline in square footage is also reflected, Jim, in our outlook.

我們還在一些我們真正想要保護和擴大交易量的市場投資 Kay。因此，這些因素都反映在我們對全年收入的預期中。吉姆，我認為，除了建築面積個位數的低降幅之外，我們的展望也反映了這一點。

Yes, it is. The only thing I'd add is on the low single-digit decline in square footage, it's disproportionately weighted to kiosks. I mean these are -- it is a much lower impact as you think about revenue overall and pretty focused in that regard.

是的。我唯一要補充的是，在面積出現個位數百分比下降的情況下，小賣部所佔比例過高。我的意思是，這些——從整體收入的角度來看，它們的影響要小得多，而且在這方面也相當集中。

So I think really thoughtful strategy to kind of the places that are, frankly, not productive and then to focus the investment in the areas where we can get outsized returns and know that there's more opportunity for growth.

所以我認為，應該制定一個深思熟慮的策略，把資源投入到那些坦白說效率不高的地方，然後把投資集中在那些我們可以獲得超額回報並且有更多成長機會的領域。

All right. And that will be -- those closures will be evenly spread throughout the year for the most part. So is that the right way to look at that?

好的。而且，這些停業措施大部分會平均分佈在全年。所以，這種看待這個問題的方式正確嗎？

Well, they'll be invested pre-holiday. We want to it all done before holiday, yes.

他們會在假期前進行投資。是的，我們希望在假期前把所有事情都完成。

Between now and Q3, I would say, is the way to think about it, Jim.

吉姆，我認為應該從現在到第三季這段時間來考慮這個問題。

All right. Understood. Last question for me. You've got a very strong cash position balance sheet. Any change in philosophy on M&A as you look to opportunities going forward?

好的。明白了。最後一個問題。你們的現金狀況非常穩健。展望未來，您在併購方面的理念是否有所改變？

No, not at all. I mean we continue to really see the opportunity to create value balance between two decision points. First and foremost, we're going to continue to look for ways to invest in organic growth in the business and gain some leverage and strength against a stronger core.

不，完全不是。我的意思是，我們仍然看到在兩個決策點之間創造價值平衡的機會。首先，我們將繼續尋找投資於業務有機成長的方法，並以此獲得一些槓桿作用和實力，從而增強核心競爭力。

And as Joan dimentionalized in her comments, we also see opportunities to return capital to shareholders via buyback and our balance in those two things as we look forward, but also see some great opportunities for organic growth ahead.

正如瓊在她的評論中提到的那樣，我們也看到了透過股票回購向股東返還資本的機會，展望未來，我們將在這兩者之間取得平衡，但我們也看到了未來有機成長的一些巨大機會。

There are no further questions at this time. I will now hand the call back to J.K. Symancyk for the closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題了。現在我將電話交還給 J.K. Symancyk，請他作總結發言。

Okay. Thank you. Listen, folks, I'll close the way that I started today, and that's by thanking our team. This was a year that tested agility and discipline and our people delivered, staying focused on the quarter, executing Grow Brand Love and living our purpose of inspiring love.

好的。謝謝。各位，最後我要用今天開始時的方式來結束，那就是感謝我們的團隊。今年是對敏捷性和紀律性的考驗，我們的員工不負眾望，始終專注於季度目標，執行「提升品牌愛」計劃，並實踐了我們「激發愛」的宗旨。

I'm so proud of what our team accomplished and the momentum that we've built heading into fiscal '27. Thank you for your time this morning, and we look forward to speaking again next quarter. Thank you.

我為我們團隊的成就以及我們在進入 2027 財年時所建立的勢頭感到非常自豪。感謝您今天上午抽出時間，我們期待下個季度再次與您交流。謝謝。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the conference has now ended. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。現在您可以斷開線路了。