SpartanNash Co (SPTN) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. At this time all participants are in listen only mode. Later we will conduct a question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call over to Kayleigh Campbell, Head of Investor Relations.

早上好。此時所有參與者都處於只聽模式。稍後我們將進行問答環節。我現在想把電話轉給投資者關係主管 Kayleigh Campbell。

Good morning and welcome to the SpartanNash company Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2022 Conference Call. On the call today from the company, our President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Sarsam and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jason Monaco.

早上好，歡迎來到 SpartanNash 公司 2022 財年第四季度電話會議。今天，我們的總裁兼首席執行官 Tony Sarsam 和執行副總裁兼首席財務官 Jason Monaco 接到了公司的電話。

Now everyone should have access to the earnings release, which was issued this morning at approximately 07:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Copy of the earnings release, as well as the company's supplemental earnings presentation, visit SpartanNash website, @www.spartannash.com (inaudible) /investors. The call is being recorded and a replay will be available on the company's website.

現在，每個人都應該可以訪問東部時間今天早上 07:00 左右發布的收益報告。收益發布的副本，以及公司的補充收益介紹，請訪問 SpartanNash 網站，@www.spartannash.com（聽不清）/investors。通話正在錄音中，公司網站上將提供重播。

Before we begin the company would like to remind you that today's discussion will include a number of forward looking statements. The statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward looking statements. We will refer to SpartanNash earnings released from this morning, as well as the company's most recent SEC filings. We'll see a discussion of factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those forward looking statements.

在我們開始之前，公司想提醒您，今天的討論將包括一些前瞻性陳述。這些陳述受某些風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中表達的結果存在重大差異。我們將參考今天上午發布的 SpartanNash 收益，以及該公司最近提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件。我們將看到對可能導致公司實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述存在重大差異的因素的討論。

Please remember that all forward looking statements made today reflect our current expectations only. SpartanNash undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward looking statements. The company will also make a number of references to non-GAAP financial measures. The Company believe that these measures provide investors with useful perspective on the underlying growth trends of the business that has included in the earnings release a full reconciliation of certain non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measures, which can be found on SpartanNash website www.spartannash.com forward/investors. Now it is my pleasure to turn the call over to Tony.

請記住，今天所做的所有前瞻性陳述僅反映我們當前的預期。 SpartanNash 不承擔更新或修改這些前瞻性陳述的義務。公司還將多次提及非 GAAP 財務措施。公司認為，這些措施為投資者提供了有關業務潛在增長趨勢的有用觀點，這些趨勢已包含在收益發布中，某些非 GAAP 財務措施與最具可比性的 GAAP 措施的完全對賬，可在 SpartanNash 網站上找到www.spartannash.com 轉發/投資者。現在我很高興將電話轉給托尼。

Thank you Kayleigh. Good morning everyone. (inaudible) a transformational year at SpartanNash, our corporate identity, which we call our winning recipe, served to align our associates as they executed on our strategic plan. Our success in 2022 was made possible by our talented and hardworking associates who played a win.

謝謝凱莉。大家，早安。 （聽不清）SpartanNash 轉型的一年，我們的企業形象，我們稱之為製勝法寶，有助於我們的員工在執行我們的戰略計劃時保持一致。我們在 2022 年的成功歸功於我們才華橫溢、勤奮工作的同事，他們取得了勝利。

Speaking of our terrific associates before we dive into our 2022 results, I want to take a moment to recognize a group of associates who are Special Olympics Athletes. This month we've had a companywide fundraiser in our stores to support Special Olympics. We enjoyed a 39 year relationship with Special Olympics and we are proud to support our 16 associates who are actively training to compete in the upcoming Summer Games. We encourage anyone listening today to join us in supporting this great organization.

在我們深入研究 2022 年的結果之前，談到我們出色的同事，我想花點時間來表彰一群特奧會運動員。本月，我們在我們的門店舉行了全公司範圍的籌款活動，以支持特奧會。我們與特奧會有著 39 年的合作關係，我們很自豪能夠支持我們的 16 名員工，他們正在積極訓練以參加即將到來的夏季奧運會。我們鼓勵今天聆聽的任何人與我們一起支持這個偉大的組織。

All right. Turning to our performance, dynamic operating environment our teams have solid fourth quarter and fiscal 2022 results. Full year top line results were squarely in line with our most recent guidance as to having raised our expectations throughout the year and adjusted EBITDA came in around the top end of our guidance. This has an increase of nearly 14% compared to last year.

好的。談到我們的業績、動態的運營環境，我們的團隊在第四季度和 2022 財年取得了穩健的業績。全年營收結果完全符合我們最近的指導意見，即提高了我們全年的預期，調整後的 EBITDA 位於我們指導意見的最高端。這比去年增加了近 14%。

I'll call out three of the many highlights (inaudible) year. First, we secured cost savings in connection with our supply chain transformation. And this transformation involves optimizing our fleet mileage through the addition of a West Coast distribution solution. Of course, taking miles other system also advanced our sustainability progress.

我將列舉當年眾多亮點（聽不清）中的三個。首先，我們確保了與供應鏈轉型相關的成本節約。這種轉變涉及通過增加西海岸配送解決方案來優化我們的車隊里程。當然，其他系統也推動了我們的可持續發展進程。

Additionally, our sale rate continue to improve (inaudible) increased by 7% for the full year. And by the end of the year, we secured more than $25 million in run rate costing excessive supply chain helped enable us to gain share for our wholesale segments. We expect our supply chain transformation to make even greater strides in 2023, which includes custom operational plans for each distribution center. There are more savings and efficiencies to come as we strive to reduce footsteps and fingerprints in our process. I want to extend my sincere thanks to all supply chain associates for their progress in improving operational metrics in 2022. Thank you, teams.

此外，我們的銷售率繼續提高（聽不清），全年增長了 7%。到年底，我們獲得了超過 2500 萬美元的運行率，成本過高的供應鏈幫助我們獲得了批發部門的份額。我們預計我們的供應鏈轉型將在 2023 年取得更大進展，其中包括每個配送中心的定制運營計劃。隨著我們努力減少流程中的足跡和指紋，將會有更多的節省和效率。我想對所有供應鏈夥伴在 2022 年改善運營指標方面取得的進展表示衷心的感謝。謝謝你們，團隊。

The second highlight in the year is that we created additional consumer offerings through digital partnerships with DoorDash, Uber Technologies and (inaudible). We also leverage insights from our marketing innovation work to further our progress and own brands to unlock opportunities within our retail segments. Comparable store sales remained strong increasing 9.1% for the quarter and an increase of 110 basis points sequentially from Q3.

今年的第二個亮點是，我們通過與 DoorDash、Uber Technologies 和（聽不清）的數字合作夥伴關係創造了更多的消費者產品。我們還利用我們營銷創新工作的見解來推動我們的進步和擁有品牌，以釋放我們零售領域的機會。可比店面銷售額在本季度保持強勁增長 9.1%，比第三季度環比增長 110 個基點。

We also continue to deliver a unit share growth year over year, fueled in part by our strong own brands (inaudible) building on this momentum with investment in store renovations. Plan to renovate about a quarter of our stores by the end of 2025.

我們還繼續實現單位份額同比增長，部分原因是我們強大的自有品牌（聽不清）在這種勢頭的基礎上投資店面裝修。計劃到 2025 年底翻新約四分之一的門店。

The third highlight, we launched and made meaningful progress on our merchandising transformation, focused on creating enhanced offerings and value for our customers and store guests in several ways. To start we're making significant strides making sales profitability and customer loyalty drivers across our wholesale and retail segments.

第三個亮點，我們啟動了商品化轉型並取得了有意義的進展，重點是通過多種方式為我們的客戶和店內客人創造更好的產品和價值。首先，我們在提高批發和零售部門的銷售盈利能力和客戶忠誠度方面取得了重大進展。

Secondly, we're leveraging insights to enhance our category management capabilities. And we're improving our customer offerings to remain focused on our cost quality capabilities, which protect customers from unjustified vendor cost increases based on underlying commodity markets. And we're revamping our end-to-end fresh food offerings with an initial focus in produce.

其次，我們正在利用洞察力來增強我們的品類管理能力。我們正在改進我們的客戶產品，以繼續專注於我們的成本質量能力，這可以保護客戶免受基於基礎商品市場的不合理供應商成本增加的影響。我們正在改進端到端的新鮮食品供應，最初的重點是農產品。

Finally, we're investing in wholesale deals and new retail promotions to offer more value for our customers and store guests. Our focus innovation is an important ingredient in our winning recipe. We expect our merchandising transformation will have a meaningful impact to our business for years to come.

最後，我們正在投資批發交易和新的零售促銷活動，為我們的客戶和店內客人提供更多價值。我們的重點創新是我們制勝法寶的重要組成部分。我們預計我們的商品銷售轉型將在未來幾年對我們的業務產生有意義的影響。

I want to pivot now to discuss our inorganic growth. The M&A framework we share it on our investor day is now deployed. We finished the year strong by adding Great Lakes Foods to our distribution network. We're proud to welcome our newest associates in Menominee, Michigan, whom I had the pleasure of visiting recently. This acquisition brings 100 new customers to our portfolio and allows us to further optimize our supply chain network throughout the Midwest. We are excited about the opportunities this expansion provides.

我現在想談談我們的無機增長。我們在投資者日分享的併購框架現已部署。通過將 Great Lakes Foods 添加到我們的分銷網絡，我們以強勁的勢頭結束了這一年。我們很自豪地歡迎我們在密歇根州梅諾米尼的新同事，我最近有幸拜訪了他們。此次收購為我們的產品組合帶來了 100 個新客戶，並使我們能夠進一步優化整個中西部的供應鍊網絡。我們對這次擴張提供的機會感到興奮。

If we look ahead our team is energized by the progress we've made. And we are united in our commitment to our winning recipe. It goes without saying that all businesses are evolving in this dynamic operating environment. So we must stay focused on delivering value to our customers and store guests alike to remain competitive.

如果我們展望未來，我們的團隊會因我們取得的進步而充滿活力。我們團結一致致力於我們的製勝法寶。不用說，所有企業都在這個動態的運營環境中發展。因此，我們必須繼續專注於為我們的客戶和店內客人提供價值，以保持競爭力。

This morning, we provided our 2023 guidance and raised our 2025 long term sales target to $10.5 billion. We remain committed to achieving adjusted EBITDA of more than $300 million, which is an increase of at least 40% since 2021. We are confident in our ability to achieve this aggressive target as we continue firing on all cylinders to advance our mission of delivering the ingredients for a better life.

今天早上，我們提供了 2023 年的指導，並將 2025 年的長期銷售目標提高到 105 億美元。我們仍然致力於實現超過 3 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，自 2021 年以來至少增長了 40%。我們有信心實現這一雄心勃勃的目標，因為我們將繼續開足馬力推進我們的使命：更美好生活的成分。

Right, I'll now turn the call over to Jason to walk you through the financials in greater detail.

好吧，我現在把電話轉給傑森，讓你更詳細地了解財務狀況。

Thanks Tony and welcome to everyone joining us on today's call. Let's jump into the detailed results. Sales for the fourth quarter increased more than 10% to $2.3 billion versus 2021 fourth quarter sales of $2.1 billion. The growth versus prior year was driven by both the wholesale and retail segments which of which were favorably impacted by inflation.

謝謝托尼，歡迎大家參加今天的電話會議。讓我們進入詳細的結果。第四季度的銷售額增長超過 10%，達到 23 億美元，而 2021 年第四季度的銷售額為 21 億美元。與上一年相比的增長是由批發和零售部門推動的，其中批發和零售部門受到通貨膨脹的有利影響。

The profits that for the fourth quarter was $341 million or 14.8% of net sales compared to $323 million or 15.4% of net sales in the prior year's fourth quarter. Gross Profit dollar increase was driven by higher sales, while the rate decline was driven by cycling the higher inflation related price gains in the prior year and an increase in LIFO expense of $5.7 million or 21 basis points.

第四季度的利潤為 3.41 億美元，占淨銷售額的 14.8%，而去年第四季度的利潤為 3.23 億美元，占淨銷售額的 15.4%。毛利潤美元的增長是由更高的銷售額推動的，而利率下降是由上一年與通脹相關的價格上漲和 LIFO 費用增加 570 萬美元或 21 個基點的循環推動的。

The percent of sales, our reported operating expenses increased 58 basis points from prior year. Merely due to cycling the transition effect of the paid time off policy change in the prior year from a grant based time off policy to an accrual based policy. Transition resulted in a $21.4 million reduction in our balance sheet accrual and a corresponding one time gain in the prior year.

我們報告的營業費用佔銷售額的百分比比上一年增加了 58 個基點。僅僅是由於上一年帶薪休假政策變化的過渡效應從基於補助金的休假政策轉變為基於權責發生製的政策。過渡導致我們的資產負債表應計項目減少了 2140 萬美元，並在上一年相應地獲得了一次性收益。

Also contributing to the increase in expenses as a rate of sales were higher corporate administrative costs in the current year, which included upfront investments in the merchandising Transformation Initiative. Increases and expenses were partially offset by a reduction in the supply chain expenses driven by our supply chain transformation initiatives, as well as lower healthcare insurance costs.

本年度較高的公司管理成本也導致費用增加（佔銷售額的比例），其中包括對商品銷售轉型計劃的前期投資。增加和費用被我們的供應鏈轉型計劃推動的供應鏈費用減少以及醫療保險成本降低所部分抵消。

Reported fourth quarter net earnings were point $0.7 million representing a 97% decrease compared to net earnings of $22.2. million dollars in the prior year's fourth quarter. And earnings reflected a steep increase in interest rates, which represented a $5.1 million increase in expense, a drag of 0.11 cents on both reported and adjusted EPS. Overall, we delivered $47.2 million in adjusted EBITDA for the quarter, representing a nearly 10% increase compared to $43 million in the prior year's fourth quarter.

報告的第四季度淨收益為 70 萬美元，與 22.2 美元的淨收益相比下降了 97%。去年第四季度為 100 萬美元。收益反映了利率的急劇上升，這意味著費用增加了 510 萬美元，對報告和調整後的每股收益造成 0.11 美分的拖累。總體而言，本季度我們實現了 4720 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，與去年第四季度的 4300 萬美元相比增長了近 10%。

Into our segments, in the fourth quarter net sales and wholesale increased $151 million to $1.63 billion, increase of 10.2% when compared to the prior year's fourth quarter. The increase with due primarily to the inflationary impact on pricing, increase net sales by 11.8% compared to the prior year. The sales volumes were down modestly, 1.6% for the segment compared to prior year. We were up in our military channel over 6% due to continued strong demand.

進入我們的部門，第四季度淨銷售額和批發增加 1.51 億美元至 16.3 億美元，與去年第四季度相比增長 10.2%。增長主要是由於通貨膨脹對定價的影響，與上一年相比，淨銷售額增長了 11.8%。該部門的銷量與去年同期相比小幅下降了 1.6%。由於持續強勁的需求，我們的軍事頻道上漲了 6% 以上。

Wholesale segment adjusted operating earnings totaled $13.6 million in the quarter versus 2021 fourth quarter adjusted operating earnings of $7 million. For this fourth quarter operating earnings of $2.3 million compared to operating earnings of $10.1 million in the prior year's fourth quarter.

批發部門本季度調整後營業收入總計 1360 萬美元，而 2021 年第四季度調整後營業收入為 700 萬美元。第四季度的營業收入為 230 萬美元，而去年第四季度的營業收入為 1010 萬美元。

Decrease in reported operating earnings was due to cycling $10.1 million transition impact related to the PTO policy change in the prior year. Lower gross profit rate primarily driven by a $6.3 million increase in local expense and increases in corporate administrative costs. Increasing expenses were partially offset by reduced supply chain expenses.

報告的營業收入減少是由於與上一年 PTO 政策變化相關的 1010 萬美元的過渡影響。較低的毛利率主要是由於本地費用增加 630 萬美元和公司管理成本增加所致。增加的費用被減少的供應鏈費用部分抵消。

Retail sales came in at $678 million for the quarter compared to $613 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, increase of 10.5%. Comparable store sales momentum remained strong, increasing to 9.1% for the fourth quarter. Comparable store sales increased by 11.2% due to inflation, partially offset by a 2.1% decline in unit volumes.

本季度零售額為 6.78 億美元，而 2021 年第四季度為 6.13 億美元，增長 10.5%。可比店面銷售勢頭依然強勁，第四季度增至 9.1%。由於通貨膨脹，可比商店銷售額增長了 11.2%，部分被單位數量下降 2.1% 所抵消。

The first quarter retail adjusted operating earnings were $8.5 million compared to $13.6 million in 2021 fourth quarter. Reported operating earnings in the retail segment were $8.5 million compared to $23.3 million in the prior years fourth quarter. Decrease was due to cycling and $11.3 million transition impact related to the PTO policy change in the prior year for gross profit rate and increased corporate administrative costs.

第一季度經零售調整後的營業收入為 850 萬美元，而 2021 年第四季度為 1360 萬美元。報告的零售部門營業收入為 850 萬美元，而去年第四季度為 2330 萬美元。減少是由於循環和 1130 萬美元的過渡影響，與上一年 PTO 政策變化有關的毛利率和增加的公司管理成本。

Reported fiscal 2022 net earnings were $34.5 million, a decrease of over 50% compared to $73.8 million in the prior fiscal year. Overall, for the full year our adjusted EBITDA was $243 million, compared to $214 million in the prior year.

報告的 2022 財年淨收益為 3450 萬美元，與上一財年的 7380 萬美元相比下降了 50% 以上。總體而言，全年我們調整後的 EBITDA 為 2.43 億美元，而上一年為 2.14 億美元。

Into the balance sheet. Our leverage ratio remained strong, increasing slightly to two times compared to 1.8x that the prior year end. This includes higher long term debt and finance lease liabilities of $98 million for the year. The increases due primarily to funding acquisitions during fiscal 2022 totaling $41.5 million, as well as changes to working capital.

進入資產負債表。我們的槓桿率保持強勁，略增至兩倍，而去年年底為 1.8 倍。這包括本年度較高的 9800 萬美元長期債務和融資租賃負債。增加的主要原因是 2022 財年總計 4150 萬美元的資金收購，以及營運資本的變化。

The full year we generated $110 million of cash from operating activities, compared to $161 million in the prior year. Decrease was due primarily to changes in working capital Jeff mentioned. Fiscal 2022 we paid $29.7 million in cash dividends equal to 0.84 cents per common share. We also bought back more than a million shares of the company's stock for a total of $32.5 million. Total we returned more than $62 million to shareholders during the fiscal year.

全年我們從經營活動中產生了 1.1 億美元的現金，而上一年為 1.61 億美元。減少主要是由於傑夫提到的營運資金的變化。 2022 財年，我們支付了 2970 萬美元的現金股息，相當於每股普通股 0.84 美分。我們還以總計 3250 萬美元的價格回購了超過 100 萬股公司股票。在本財年，我們總共向股東返還了超過 6200 萬美元。

We ensure strong ongoing liquidity. This past November, we entered into an amendment to our credit agreement. Principle change changes at the amendment included an extension of the maturity date of our loans from December 18, 2023 to November 17, 2027. We also reset certain advanced rates for the borrowing base.

我們確保強勁的持續流動性。去年 11 月，我們對信貸協議進行了修訂。修訂後的原則變更包括將我們的貸款到期日從 2023 年 12 月 18 日延長至 2027 年 11 月 17 日。我們還為藉款基礎重置了某些預付利率。

As covered in today's press release we're providing our initial guidance for Fiscal 2023, which incorporates both the elements of our long term strategy and current expectations for the 2023 supply chain and grocery environment. Overall, we expect the strong results from this past year to continue into 2023. Net that sales expected to increase Fiscal 2022 within a range of $9.9 to $10.2 billion.

正如今天的新聞稿所述，我們正在為 2023 財年提供初步指導，其中包含我們長期戰略的要素以及當前對 2023 年供應鍊和食品雜貨環境的預期。總體而言，我們預計過去一年的強勁業績將持續到 2023 年。2022 財年的淨銷售額預計將增長 9.9 至 102 億美元。

Wholesale, we expect sales to grow between 4% and 7% inclusive of net sales from Great Lakes Foods. The projecting net trends in our independent customer base will be similar to that of our corporate retail segment. We also expect to see growth within other areas of our portfolio. Retail we believe sales will continue to increase, resulting and an expected comparable sales growth range of 2% to 5%.

批發方面，我們預計銷售額將增長 4% 至 7%，其中包括 Great Lakes Foods 的淨銷售額。我們獨立客戶群的預計淨趨勢將與我們的企業零售部門類似。我們還期望看到我們投資組合的其他領域的增長。零售我們認為銷售額將繼續增長，因此預計可比銷售額增長范圍為 2% 至 5%。

Our guidance includes an anticipated increase in our profitability over the prior year. The fiscal 2023 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $248 to $263 million compared to 2022 adjusted EBITDA of $243 million. Interest expense is expected to continue to increase significantly in Fiscal 2023. Our expectations for the higher rate environment are fully incorporated into our results.

我們的指引包括預期我們的盈利能力比上一年有所增加。 2023 財年調整後的 EBITDA 在 248 至 2.63 億美元之間，而 2022 年調整後的 EBITDA 為 2.43 億美元。預計 2023 財年的利息支出將繼續大幅增加。我們對更高利率環境的預期已完全納入我們的業績。

Currently anticipate interest expense to range from $37 to $42 million this year. Fiscal 2023 guidance reflects total planned capital expenditures in the range of $130 to $145 million for the fiscal year includes investments in both our core operations as well as our growth initiatives.

目前預計今年的利息支出將在 37 至 4200 萬美元之間。 2023 財年指引反映了本財年計劃資本支出總額在 130 至 1.45 億美元之間，包括對我們核心業務和增長計劃的投資。

We also wanted to give you some color on our expectations when looking at the cadence of our adjusted EBITDA throughout the year. In addition to our continued commitment to investing in our business to support future growth, we will be lapping a few notable impacts from Q1 of last year.

在查看我們全年調整後的 EBITDA 的節奏時，我們還想給您一些關於我們期望的顏色。除了我們繼續致力於投資我們的業務以支持未來增長之外，我們還將從去年第一季度開始獲得一些顯著影響。

In the first quarter of 2023 we will cycle significant inflation related price change benefits, also known as forward buy, nearly $10 million. In addition, we will also be cycling $4 million in retail wage investments that were implemented at the end of first quarter last year. We expect that our supply chain and merchandising transformation initiatives will offset some not all of these headwinds in the first quarter of 2023.

在 2023 年第一季度，我們將循環顯著的與通貨膨脹相關的價格變化收益，也稱為遠期購買，將近 1000 萬美元。此外，我們還將對去年第一季度末實施的 400 萬美元零售工資投資進行循環。我們預計我們的供應鍊和商品銷售轉型計劃將在 2023 年第一季度抵消部分而非所有這些不利因素。

Participate we will begin realizing benefits from our merchandising transformation in late Q1. These benefits along with continued cost savings from our supply chain transformation give us confidence that we will reach our adjusted EBITDA range this year and remain solidly on the path to achieving our long term targets.

參與我們將在第一季度末開始從我們的商品化轉型中獲益。這些好處以及我們供應鏈轉型帶來的持續成本節約讓我們相信，我們將在今年達到調整後的 EBITDA 範圍，並繼續堅定地實現我們的長期目標。

Moving ahead, we remain focused on our mission to deliver the ingredients for a better life. Despite uncertainties in the broader market we've built a strong foundation and continue to execute on our winning recipe. Actions were taken through our supply chain transformation, merchandising transformation, and other key initiatives are positioning us to effectively manage through this volatility. Look forward to building on our momentum in 2023 and beyond to further drive results and grow sustainable shareholder value. Now I'd like to turn the call back over to Tony.

展望未來，我們將繼續專注於我們的使命，為更美好的生活提供原料。儘管更廣泛的市場存在不確定性，但我們已經建立了堅實的基礎，並繼續執行我們的製勝法寶。通過我們的供應鏈轉型、商品銷售轉型和其他關鍵舉措採取的行動使我們能夠有效地應對這種波動。期待在 2023 年及以後繼續保持我們的勢頭，進一步推動業績並增加可持續的股東價值。現在我想把電話轉回給托尼。

Jason, In addition to reporting earnings today, we're also wrapping up a successful virtual customer Expo. We look forward to seeing our customers and vendors during our upcoming in person Expo this summer in Grand Rapids. And this year, we're inviting our sell side analysts to the event. Here, we can provide your teams with more details.

Jason，除了今天的收益報告外，我們還成功舉辦了一場虛擬客戶博覽會。我們期待在今年夏天在大急流城舉行的個人世博會期間見到我們的客戶和供應商。今年，我們邀請我們的賣方分析師參加此次活動。在這裡，我們可以為您的團隊提供更多詳細信息。

Before we open the call to questions I want to take a moment to recognize and impactful cultural shift. The people first company we prioritize our associates safety, recent actions remote safety include more accountability, and executive level review of all lot (inaudible) and additional safety training. We want each associates to return home safely to their loved ones every day. I'm proud to report that the investments we have made in this critical initiative have decreased our lost time incidents by 72% since 2020. Associate safety will continue to be a main area of focus and we have plans to roll out more addition in 2023.

在我們開始提問之前，我想花點時間來認識一下具有影響力的文化轉變。作為以人為本的公司，我們將員工的安全放在首位，最近採取的遠程安全措施包括更多的問責制，以及對所有批次（聽不清）和額外安全培訓的行政級別審查。我們希望每一位員工每天都能安全回家，回到他們所愛的人身邊。我很自豪地報告，自 2020 年以來，我們在這一關鍵舉措上的投資已將我們的誤工事件減少了 72%。員工安全將繼續是一個主要關注領域，我們計劃在 2023 年推出更多新增項目.

I'd like to take one more opportunity to thank our associates with (inaudible) with operational excellence. As part of our people first culture, we believe in meaningful recognition for their hard work. Over the past two years, we have implemented programs that recognize our associates and their achievement. Again, thank you to all of our associates and congratulations for an outstanding year. With that I'd like to turn the call back over to the operator and open up for your questions.

我想再利用一次機會感謝我們的同事（聽不清）的卓越運營。作為我們以人為本文化的一部分，我們相信對他們辛勤工作的有意義的認可。在過去的兩年裡，我們實施了一些計劃來表彰我們的員工和他們的成就。再次感謝我們所有的同事，並祝賀您取得了出色的一年。有了這個，我想把電話轉回接線員並打開你的問題。

(Operator Instructions). And our first question comes from Spencer Hanus from Wolfe Research.

（操作員說明）。我們的第一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Spencer Hanus。

Really helpful disclosure on the unit performance during the quarter but can you talk about how that trended versus three key results. And then as we looked at 2023, how are you thinking about the contribution from both units and then also inflation?

關於本季度單位業績的披露真的很有幫助，但你能談談這個趨勢與三個關鍵結果的關係嗎？然後當我們展望 2023 年時，您如何看待這兩個單位的貢獻以及通貨膨脹？

This is Jason, thanks for joining and for the question. Thinking about unit volumes themselves and the trends, n the last couple of quarters we've seen similar trends in Unit volumes in the business. But when I think about the go forward -- and you maybe pick this up a little bit in the cadence commentary in the earlier remarks.

我是傑森，感謝您的加入和提問。考慮單位數量本身和趨勢，在過去幾個季度中，我們看到了業務單位數量的類似趨勢。但是當我想到前進時——你可能會在之前的評論中對節奏的評論有所了解。

Yes, we're coming off of a record Q1 last year that Q1 included some of the kind of continued COVID bump from last year, as well as significant price change and inventory related benefits or oftentimes what we call forward buy. So we're projecting that we -- that our Q1 will be on kind of high single digits from an EBITDA standpoint.

是的，我們去年第一季度創下紀錄，第一季度包括去年 COVID 的一些持續增長，以及顯著的價格變化和庫存相關的好處，或者通常我們稱之為遠期購買。因此，我們預計我們 - 從 EBITDA 的角度來看，我們的第一季度將達到高個位數。

And that's really reflective of the broader environment coming off of a record year and frankly, some of the uncertainty in the market. At the same time, we feel really good about our long term plans. We feel good about where we're headed this year and this year is a great stepping stone as we talked about in our investor day towards that $300 million EBITDA growth.

這確實反映了創紀錄的一年後更廣泛的環境，坦率地說，市場存在一些不確定性。與此同時，我們對我們的長期計劃感到非常滿意。我們對今年的發展方向感到滿意，今年是我們在投資者日談到實現 3 億美元 EBITDA 增長的重要墊腳石。

Okay. So do you expect units to be down next year and then most of the growth could be driven by inflation or just how are you thinking about sort of those things next year?

好的。那麼，您是否預計明年單位數量會下降，然後大部分增長可能是由通貨膨脹推動的，或者您對明年的這些事情有何看法？

Yes. In 2023, our guidance reflects continued inflation albeit moderating through the year and continued weakness in unit volume. Importantly, our unit volume has outperformed the market, and we've grown share in that space. Throughout the year we've had some nice share performance and we expect that similar trend of slightly down volumes and stronger revenues to continue to play out. However, at the same time, when you think about the consumer and consumer sentiment, we see this as an uncertain time, and we want to plan accordingly.

是的。到 2023 年，我們的指引反映了持續的通貨膨脹（儘管全年有所緩和）和單位數量的持續疲軟。重要的是，我們的單位銷量跑贏了市場，我們在該領域的份額也有所增長。全年我們的股票表現都不錯，我們預計銷量略有下降和收入增加的類似趨勢將繼續發揮作用。然而，與此同時，當你考慮消費者和消費者情緒時，我們認為這是一個不確定的時期，我們希望做出相應的計劃。

And then just one more on the long-term guide. You raised the top line by about 5%, but you reiterated the EBITDA target. So just curious sort of what led to that decision around EBITDA and reiteration there.

然後是關於長期指南的更多內容。您將收入提高了約 5%，但重申了 EBITDA 目標。所以只是好奇是什麼導致了關於 EBITDA 的決定和那裡的重申。

Sure. Great question. So on the top line, we want to be respectful that inflation has frankly played a role in the revenue profile and that we're still committed to driving organic growth in the business. We took the range of revenue up as a result of that. And as a result of our successes thus far and our expectations for growth going forward.

當然。很好的問題。因此，最重要的是，我們要尊重通貨膨脹坦率地在收入狀況中發揮了作用，並且我們仍然致力於推動業務的有機增長。因此，我們提高了收入範圍。由於我們迄今取得的成功以及我們對未來增長的期望。

When you think about the margin profile or the EBITDA piece, what we've seen is really strong margin per unit increases but not necessarily margin percent increases because the nature of this business doesn't necessarily show or doesn't necessarily drive margin percent in a highly inflationary environment. So we continue to drive dollar growth, which we think creates long-term shareholder value and performance for our investors.

當您考慮利潤率概況或 EBITDA 部分時，我們看到的是單位利潤率確實強勁增長，但不一定會增加利潤率百分比，因為該業務的性質不一定顯示或不一定推動利潤率百分比高度通貨膨脹的環境。因此，我們繼續推動美元增長，我們認為這會為我們的投資者創造長期股東價值和業績。

Our next question comes from Andrew Wolf of CL King.

我們的下一個問題來自 CL King 的 Andrew Wolf。

Congratulations on ending such a year so solidly. So I wanted to ask about the acquisition of Great Lakes Foods. I might have missed this, but I'm trying to get a sense of the sales contribution, sort of if I did a pro rata based on the 100 customers they have versus the wholesale ex militaries, somewhat over 2,000 customers. And I thought the sales were about the same would be something over $200 million. Is that roughly close to the contribution or did you actually have an 8k filing or something that I maybe missed?

恭喜你這麼紮實地結束了這樣的一年。所以我想問一下關於收購 Great Lakes Foods 的事情。我可能錯過了這一點，但我試圖了解銷售貢獻，如果我根據他們擁有的 100 名客戶與批發前軍人（大約超過 2,000 名客戶）進行按比例分配。而且我認為銷售額大致相同會超過 2 億美元。這是否大致接近貢獻，或者您實際上是否有 8k 文件或我可能錯過的東西？

Yes, it's wee bit high. This is Tony. So we picked up that business in the Upper Peninsula and sort of Eastern Wisconsin. Great business for us, great folks overall, roughly 100 customers and roughly kind of $90 million to $100 million. So they're going to be smaller customers on average versus kind of the broader portfolio.

是的，它有點高。這是托尼。所以我們在上半島和威斯康星州東部接手了這項業務。對我們來說很棒的生意，總體上很棒的人，大約 100 個客戶和大約 9000 萬到 1 億美元的收入。因此，與更廣泛的投資組合相比，他們平均將成為較小的客戶。

Similar on the -- if I took out military from the case count, just on the traditional nonmilitary business, mainly independent supermarkets, it seems that would obviously be down somewhat more, is it more close to what the market -- sort of the grocery market at large is down sort of low to mid or mid-single digits in cases?

類似的是——如果我從案件數量中剔除軍事，就傳統的非軍事業務，主要是獨立超市，似乎顯然會下降更多，它是否更接近市場——比如雜貨店在案件中，整個市場的跌幅是低到中或中等個位數？

Yes, ex-military --

是的，前軍人——

The grocery (inaudible).

雜貨店（聽不清）。

Yes, ex-military channel unit volumes are down kind of mid-single digits in the -- in that space. Our military business, I'd be remiss if I didn't highlight, continues to perform very well. We delivered single-digit, mid-single-digit growth, unit volume growth in that business. That's coming off of mid-single-digit growth in the prior quarter and low single digit in the second quarter.

是的，在那個空間裡，前軍事渠道的單位數量下降了中個位數。如果我不強調，我們的軍事業務繼續表現良好。我們在該業務中實現了個位數、中等個位數的單位銷量增長。這是從上一季度的中個位數增長和第二季度的低個位數增長中脫穎而出的。

We've seen a really nice momentum change there as we've turned the business around, but also really focused on getting the right solutions for patrons, working together with DeCA and ensuring that those solutions are in place to drive performance. So we're really pleased with the trajectory there and really energized to continue to serve our veterans, active-duty military and all of our patrons.

隨著我們扭轉業務，我們看到了非常好的勢頭變化，但也真正專注於為顧客提供正確的解決方案，與 DeCA 合作並確保這些解決方案到位以推動績效。因此，我們對那裡的發展軌跡感到非常滿意，並充滿活力地繼續為我們的退伍軍人、現役軍人和我們所有的讚助人服務。

Got it. If I could ask maybe 1 or 2 more on Labor inflation was trending up for you last quarter at least, and I'm sure it's still up. Do you have a sense of -- do you have a -- like how are you feeling about normalization in wage rates in particular. Is there some normalization on the horizon or is it sort of too soon to call that?

知道了。如果我能再問 1 或 2 個關於勞工通貨膨脹至少在上個季度呈上升趨勢的問題，我相信它還在上升。你有沒有感覺 - 你有 - 比如你對工資率正常化的感覺如何。是否即將出現某種正常化，或者現在稱之為正常化還為時過早？

Yes. I think -- I don't think it's too soon to call some normal. This is Tony again. So we're seeing a better applicant flow right now based on the wage actions in '21 and '22. Our turnover rate is still not where we'd like it to be, but stabilizing is getting better. We actually hit our glide path of our turnover goals for most of the second half of last year. So we see good positive trends there.

是的。我認為——我認為現在說一些正常還為時過早。這又是托尼。因此，根據 21 年和 22 年的工資行動，我們現在看到更好的申請人流。我們的失誤率仍然沒有達到我們想要的水平，但穩定性越來越好。在去年下半年的大部分時間裡，我們實際上都實現了我們的營業額目標。所以我們在那裡看到了良好的積極趨勢。

And I think there's going to be some spot adjustments we'll have to make where there's some more difficult -- still some more difficult hotspots like drivers, for example. But I see it moderating this year and coming back maybe closer to what we would have seen in the 3, 4 year ago time frame.

而且我認為我們將不得不對一些更困難的地方進行一些現場調整 - 仍然是一些更困難的熱點，例如司機。但我認為它今年有所緩和，可能會回到我們在 3 年、4 年前的時間框架內看到的情況。

Our next question comes from Kelly Bania of BMO Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 BMO Capital Markets 的 Kelly Bania。

This is Ben Wood on for Kelly. Thank you for taking our questions. First, can you just walk us through any consumer behavior you're seeing in your stores or hearing from customers, any incremental trading down or increase in private label penetration or share shifts that may have happened over the quarter? And then kind of related on the supplier side of that is any new learnings from the merchandise initiative, do price increases appear to be abating, any insights there would be helpful.

這是凱利的本·伍德。感謝您接受我們的提問。首先，您能否向我們介紹一下您在商店中看到的或從客戶那裡聽到的任何消費者行為，任何增量交易下降或自有品牌滲透率增加或本季度可能發生的份額轉移？然後與供應商方面相關的是從商品計劃中學到的任何新知識，價格上漲似乎正在減弱，任何見解都會有所幫助。

Great. This is Tony. I'll take a crack at that. So a couple of things. So for the quarter, we had -- overall basket size is up about 8.5%. It was in dollars, a little better than it was the previous couple of quarters. We saw our traffic continue to be better than a year ago, about 1.5% for the quarter. And items that were also just a wee bit better than they were in Q2 and Q3.

偉大的。這是托尼。我會嘗試一下的。所以有幾件事。因此，對於本季度，我們的整體籃子規模增長了約 8.5%。它以美元計算，比前幾個季度好一點。我們看到我們的流量繼續比一年前好，本季度約為 1.5%。還有一些項目也比第二季度和第三季度好一點點。

So the overall, trips are of, units are down, of course, as Jason mentioned a moment ago. And overall, people are looking for that mix of value that I talked about in our last earnings call where you see a lot of folks are looking for getting a great deal or getting great cost on like items. And then once in a while splurging on something unique.

所以總的來說，旅行是，單位是下降的，當然，正如傑森剛才提到的那樣。總的來說，人們正在尋找我在上次財報電話會議上談到的那種價值組合，你會看到很多人都在尋求獲得大量交易或在類似商品上獲得高成本。然後偶爾揮霍一些獨特的東西。

So I'll give you a couple of examples. So we're seeing -- still seeing a movement in the meat, for example, to more grind and chicken, which is sort of expected. So our pounds are strong, but the overall the cost per pound, people are looking for ways to get to reasonable deals on protein. And so we saw more growth on hamburger and chicken during the quarter again.

所以我會給你幾個例子。所以我們看到 - 仍然看到肉的運動，例如，更多的研磨和雞肉，這是意料之中的。所以我們的磅數很高，但總的來說，每磅的成本，人們正在尋找方法來獲得合理的蛋白質交易。因此，我們在本季度再次看到漢堡包和雞肉的增長。

We're also seeing really strong growth on our own brands. Our own brands had a great quarter, overall, grew by 18.5%. Penetration of our own brands is up. It was up for the year and up in the quarter. That growth rate is about roughly 2.5x the growth rate of the national brands. So we see people who are finding own brands as a solid replacement, a good quality product at a lower price. And we saw that in every quarter of last year, and it was particularly strong in the fourth quarter.

我們也看到了我們自己品牌的強勁增長。我們自己的品牌有一個很好的季度，整體增長了 18.5%。我們自有品牌的滲透率正在上升。它在今年和本季度都有所上漲。該增長率約為民族品牌增長率的 2.5 倍。因此，我們看到人們正在尋找自有品牌作為堅實的替代品，以較低的價格提供優質的產品。我們在去年的每個季度都看到了這一點，而且在第四季度尤為強勁。

And I think --

我認為——

The second question about the suppliers also, I'll address that quickly. So we saw an -- obviously an extraordinary amount of pricing all throughout 2022. That wasn't any different, as matter of it was the strongest in the fourth quarter.

關於供應商的第二個問題，我會很快解決。所以我們看到了——顯然在整個 2022 年都有大量的定價。這沒什麼不同，因為它是第四季度最強勁的。

We are -- I would say we're seeing a reduction in the price request as we finished up the year. But still it was still significantly higher than what we would have seen maybe 2, 3 years ago. So while the pricing requests and the absolute pricing isn't at its peak level, it's still higher than we prefer.

我們 - 我會說我們看到今年結束時價格要求有所下降。但它仍然明顯高於我們可能在 2、3 年前看到的水平。因此，雖然定價請求和絕對定價沒有達到最高水平，但仍高於我們的預期。

The reason why as we talked in the last call about this merchandising transformation and really holding our suppliers accountable for, they obviously have a right to take pricing. We want to make sure that the -- that we're protective of our customers and our shoppers at the same time. And we're not seeing extraordinary pricing that may be out of line or a justified versus the cost inputs that they're seeing.

正如我們在上次電話會議中談到這種商品化轉型並真正讓我們的供應商負責的原因，他們顯然有權定價。我們希望確保——我們同時保護我們的客戶和購物者。而且我們沒有看到可能與他們所看到的成本投入不符或合理的非凡定價。

And we're looking for partnerships that can allow us to win with those suppliers and win for our customers. And we're getting really, really good response overall. So I think we're finding folks who want to win and want to look for opportunities to provide more deals and sort of stabilize the really extraordinary inflation that our shoppers and customers have seen in the last year or so.

我們正在尋找可以使我們與這些供應商並為我們的客戶取勝的合作夥伴關係。總體而言，我們得到了非常非常好的回應。因此，我認為我們正在尋找想要獲勝並希望尋找機會提供更多交易的人，並在某種程度上穩定我們的購物者和顧客在過去一年左右看到的真正異常的通貨膨脹。

Yes. And collectively -- this is Jason. Collectively, I think it's -- we can't reinforce enough the momentum that we're building in our own brand portfolio, and Tony alluded to this before earlier in the comments. In the quarter, our sales and our own brand and our retail operations were more than double the growth that we saw across all of our retail business, and that included not just dollars but unit growth. So we feel like we're bringing a terrific offering, bringing it to consumers and meeting them where they are with respect to their pocketbooks, providing the right value and ensuring that we build as much stickiness as possible so they continue shopping our stores.

是的。總的來說——這就是傑森。總的來說，我認為這是——我們無法充分加強我們在自己的品牌組合中建立的勢頭，托尼之前在評論中提到過這一點。在本季度，我們的銷售額、自有品牌和零售業務的增長是我們所有零售業務增長的兩倍多，這不僅包括美元增長，還包括單位增長。因此，我們覺得我們正在提供一個很棒的產品，將它帶給消費者並在他們的錢包方面與他們會面，提供正確的價值並確保我們建立盡可能多的粘性，以便他們繼續在我們的商店購物。

And then just one question longer term. You guys called out in your Analyst Day and your long-term targets, kind of looking at a $250 million to $100 or $125 million to $150 million in supply chain and merchandising transformation initiative benefits. And then you did -- it sounds like you did 25 this year. Are there any explicit targets you have for the year ahead or how do we think about the breakdown of that remaining supply chain and merchandise transformation initiative benefits in the long-term guide?

然後只是一個長期問題。你們在分析師日和長期目標中大聲疾呼，希望在供應鍊和商品銷售轉型計劃中獲得 2.5 億至 100 美元或 1.25 億至 1.5 億美元的收益。然後你做到了——聽起來你今年做了 25 次。您是否有未來一年的明確目標，或者我們如何看待長期指南中剩餘供應鍊和商品轉型計劃收益的分解？

Yes, Ben, we're -- we continue to progress both the supply chain and merchandising transformation work. They're both tracking consistent with our plan that we shared at the Investor Day, and we expect the merchandising transformation begin driving performance here by the end of the first quarter, and we expect continued momentum and additional savings in the -- in supply chain. Both of those -- Both of those are in this year's guidance and reflective of the long-term plan. And you mentioned the supply chain performance thus far. We exited the year with $25-plus million of performance on that. We expect that to be a strong base to next year or to this year's plan.

是的，本，我們——我們將繼續推進供應鍊和商品銷售轉型工作。他們都與我們在投資者日分享的計劃保持一致，我們預計商品化轉型將在第一季度末開始推動這裡的業績，我們預計供應鏈的持續勢頭和額外節省.這兩者 - 這兩者都在今年的指導中並反映了長期計劃。你提到了迄今為止的供應鏈績效。我們以 25 多萬美元的業績結束了這一年。我們預計這將成為明年或今年計劃的堅實基礎。

(Operator Instructions). And our next question comes from Chuck Cerankosky of Northcoast Research.

（操作員說明）。我們的下一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Chuck Cerankosky。

Can you comment, please, on the store remodeling objectives? I think you said 25% of the store base by 2025. What are sort of the priorities there, are there any geographic areas or banners that especially need like renovation. And how much of this is going to be a significant remodeling versus just to paint the stores sort of thing and what level of relocations might be involved in that, please?

您能評論一下商店的改造目標嗎？我想你說的是到 2025 年 25% 的商店基礎。那裡的優先事項是什麼，是否有任何地理區域或橫幅特別需要翻新。請問，其中有多少是重大改造，而不是僅僅粉刷商店之類的東西，其中可能涉及何種程度的搬遷？

A couple of -- a couple of points. So as far as the relocation right at the moment, we don't have any relocations that are planned in that mix. So -- and the remodels will be -- it won't be -- there'll be -- won't be just paint the store type of stuff. We would -- we do some of that, but those are sort of low-end sort of maintenance type of remodels or just kind of housekeeping.

幾點——幾點。因此，就目前的搬遷而言，我們沒有任何計劃中的搬遷。所以 - 改造將 - 它不會 - 會有 - 不會只是粉刷商店類型的東西。我們會 - 我們會做一些這樣的事情，但這些都是低端維護類型的改造或只是一種內務管理。

So these would be more substantial than just the simple refresh. But they'll run the gamut. We know some of them will be -- some of them will be in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of will be multimillion-dollar remodels as well. So it depends on the needs of the store and as we assess what the value of that remodel can be that will run the gamut.

因此，這些將比簡單的刷新更重要。但他們會包羅萬象。我們知道其中一些將是 - 其中一些將高達數十萬美元，其中一些也將是數百萬美元的改造。因此，這取決於商店的需求，並且在我們評估將運行整個範圍的改造的價值時。

So we have -- we did a handful of B&W's here in the Grand Rapids area this past year. And the performance has been really strong. So we had -- the 4 remodels you did here are growing at about twice the rate of the balance of our stores in the summer markets, so about 17% plus growth in those stores. We're seeing a good return in terms of the customers embrace of what we've done with the remodel, which is a little bit of a hint about where we're going to be focused probably a little bit more on the upmarket stores early on.

所以我們 - 去年我們在大急流城地區做了一些黑白照片。而且表現非常強勁。所以我們 - 你在這裡所做的 4 次改造的增長速度大約是我們夏季市場商店平衡速度的兩倍，因此這些商店的增長率約為 17%。就客戶對我們改造所做的工作的接受程度而言，我們看到了良好的回報，這有點暗示我們可能會更關注早期的高檔商店在。

So there's -- those are higher-volume stores and greater opportunity for return from those stores. But we also see that we have a need to make sure that all of our stores stay current and relevant with the shopper base. So by 2025, we do 1/4 of the stores, we'll keep marching after that. We want to make sure we have a predictable cadence of remodels that allow us to present the shopper what they want, they need as those needs change. So you'll see more of them even after 2025.

所以有 - 那些是更高容量的商店和從這些商店返回的更大機會。但我們也看到，我們需要確保我們所有的商店都與購物者群保持同步並保持相關性。所以到 2025 年，我們將經營 1/4 的商店，之後我們將繼續前進。我們想確保我們有一個可預測的改造節奏，使我們能夠向購物者展示他們想要的東西，他們需要隨著這些需求的變化而變化。所以即使在 2025 年之後你也會看到更多。

And Chuck, I'd add to that, in addition to the major remodels, we're doing -- and we talked about this at the Investor Day, we're going through banner consolidations. And included in those banner consolidations are not simply a change of the name on the front of the store or just some paint on the walls, but we're reintroducing loyalty programs, doing the 360 marketing program at those stores and reinvigorating the surrounding markets around those locales.

查克，我要補充一點，除了重大改造之外，我們還在做——我們在投資者日談到了這一點，我們正在進行橫幅整合。包括在這些橫幅整合中的不僅僅是改變商店前面的名稱或只是在牆上塗上一些油漆，而是我們正在重新引入忠誠度計劃，在這些商店進行 360 度營銷計劃並重振周邊市場那些語言環境。

So I think for us, it's not just reconstruct the store for the sake of doing it or just simply putting a new badge on it but ensuring that we've got the right brand promise to our shoppers and our consumers. And then we bring that brand and that brand promise to those consumers through loyalty and other means. And you'll also see those as part of the capital plan and even in 2023.

所以我認為對我們來說，這不僅僅是為了做這件事而重建商店，或者只是簡單地在上面放一個新徽章，而是確保我們對我們的購物者和消費者有正確的品牌承諾。然後我們通過忠誠度和其他方式將品牌和品牌承諾帶給這些消費者。你還會將這些視為資本計劃的一部分，甚至在 2023 年也是如此。

Our next question comes from Krisztina Katai from Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Krisztina Katai。

This is Jessica Taylor on for Krisztina. Thanks for taking our question. Just wanted to ask about your fill rates and whether they're at a level that you would have seen pre-pandemic or a place where you're happy with them. And to follow along with that, are you seeing that like the promotional environment remains rational or are you seeing that there's a pickup in promotion, are you able to pick up promotion based on better fill rates?

這是克里斯蒂娜的傑西卡泰勒。感謝您提出我們的問題。只是想詢問您的填充率，以及它們是否處於大流行前您會看到的水平或您對它們感到滿意的水平。隨之而來的是，您是否看到促銷環境保持理性，或者您是否看到促銷有所增加，您是否能夠根據更好的填充率進行促銷？

So a couple of things. So the fill rates are nowhere near what they were pre-pandemic. They are much better than they were last year, but to give you some perspective. As we finished up 2021, for example, and into the early 2022, we were seeing fill rates in the high 50s, 55%, 56%, 57%. We're now seeing fill rates that are in the low 70s. And they are -- and by the way, those fill rates from a year ago were the lowest fill rates we had in the pandemic are lower than they were when people got the original shocks right after the shutdown.

所以有幾件事。因此，填充率遠不及大流行前的水平。他們比去年好多了，但給你一些觀點。例如，當我們結束 2021 年並進入 2022 年初時，我們看到填充率高達 50%、55%、56%、57%。我們現在看到的填充率處於 70 年代的低水平。他們是——順便說一下，一年前的那些填充率是我們在大流行病中的最低填充率，低於人們在停工後立即受到最初衝擊時的填充率。

So they can -- they spent between the spring of 2020 and the early part of 2022, the fill rates from food suppliers continue to go down. They picked up -- they picked up in the back half of the year. We had -- Q4 was a pretty big improvement over the previous Q4. And so we're now -- as I mentioned earlier, we're sort of in the low to mid-70% fill rates, but those fill rates would have been in the mid-90s pre-pandemic, like the week before the pandemic.

所以他們可以——他們在 2020 年春季和 2022 年初之間度過，食品供應商的供貨率繼續下降。他們回升了——他們在今年下半年回升了。我們有——第四季度比上一個第四季度有了很大的改進。所以我們現在——正如我之前提到的，我們的填充率處於 70% 的中低水平，但這些填充率本來是在大流行前的 90 年代中期，就像前一周大流行。

And so we're seeing -- we are seeing more reliability. We're seeing some food suppliers are still really struggling and then dragging the number down. But the overall, we're seeing improvement there. My -- what we believe and the work we're doing right now with the combination of the merger transformation, and then as folks see the realities of the limits to which they can continue to take pricing, that the next adventure for the food -- the broader community is going to be how do we get back on track and how do we get back and for the CPG companies, how do you go back and growing share.

所以我們看到了——我們看到了更多的可靠性。我們看到一些食品供應商仍在苦苦掙扎，然後拖累了數量。但總的來說，我們看到了那裡的改善。我的 - 我們的信念和我們現在正在做的工作與合併轉型相結合，然後當人們看到他們可以繼續定價的限制的現實時，下一次食品冒險 - - 更廣泛的社區將是我們如何回到正軌以及我們如何回到 CPG 公司，你如何回到並增加份額。

So our belief is that we're seeing some early signs of that now, and we're seeing that they are opening up and running longer, doing the changeovers required to make sure they can meet supply needs that we have and our shoppers expect. And I think we'll see this year a very significant improvement on fill rates as the -- as that CPG community decided to go chase share again. And it will come with -- I believe it will come with more promotions too, and those are some of the discussions we're having with folks right now.

所以我們相信，我們現在看到了一些早期跡象，我們看到他們正在開放和運行更長的時間，進行必要的轉換以確保他們能夠滿足我們和我們的購物者期望的供應需求。而且我認為今年我們會看到填充率有非常顯著的改善，因為 CPG 社區決定再次追逐份額。它會帶來——我相信它也會帶來更多的促銷活動，這些是我們現在正在與人們進行的一些討論。

Maybe pivoting to promotional landscape, just to kind of close out that piece. Overall, on the -- kind of on the year, we saw promotional product count pick up early in the fourth quarter, but then it eased by the end of the quarter. So I'm not sure there's a whole lot to read into that yet.

也許轉向促銷景觀，只是為了結束那件作品。總體而言，在某種程度上，我們看到促銷產品數量在第四季度初有所回升，但在本季度末有所放緩。所以我不確定是否有很多內容需要閱讀。

More kind of -- if you kind of take a look at the whole year, the number of products that were promoted was more limited and not surprisingly, given the comments Tony described with respect to the supply chain, so more -- kind of more focused promotional products. And when we think about the environment itself and how we participated in played, SpartanNash has aligned from the standpoint of frequency and depth with our primary competitors, and we continue to do so.

更多——如果你看一下全年，促銷的產品數量更有限，考慮到托尼描述的關於供應鏈的評論，這並不奇怪，所以更多——更多重點推廣產品。當我們考慮環境本身以及我們如何參與比賽時，SpartanNash 從頻率和深度的角度與我們的主要競爭對手保持一致，我們將繼續這樣做。

There are no other questions at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Tony Sarsam for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我現在將把電話轉回給 Tony Sarsam 作結束語。

All right. Well, thank you, and thank you all for your participation in today's call. We look forward to updating you on our continued progress throughout the year. And with that, from our family to yours, we'd like to wish you all a very pleasant good morning.

好的。好的，謝謝大家，感謝大家參與今天的電話會議。我們期待著向您通報我們全年持續取得的進展。因此，從我們的家人到您的家人，我們希望祝大家早上好。

That concludes today's conference call. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的加入，祝您度過愉快的一天。