Container Store Group Inc (TCS) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to The Container Store Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 The Container Store 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Caitlin Churchill of Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人，投資者關係部門的凱特琳·丘吉爾。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for joining us today for The Container Store's Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 Earnings Results Conference Call. Speaking today are Satish Malhotra, Chief Executive Officer; and Jeff Miller, Chief Financial Officer. After Satish and Jeff have made their formal remarks, we will open the call to questions.

大家下午好，感謝您今天參加我們的 Container Store 第四季度和 2022 財年盈利結果電話會議。今天發表講話的是首席執行官薩蒂什·馬爾霍特拉 (Satish Malhotra)；和首席財務官傑夫米勒。在薩蒂什和傑夫發表正式講話後，我們將開始提問。

Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that certain matters discussed in today's conference call are forward-looking statements relating to future events, management's plans or objectives for the business and the future financial performance of the company that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. The risk factors that may affect results are referred to in The Container Store's press release issued today and in our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on June 2, 2022, as updated by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements made today are as of the date of this call and The Container Store does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家，今天電話會議中討論的某些事項屬於前瞻性陳述，涉及未來事件、管理層的業務計劃或目標以及公司未來的財務業績，這些陳述存在風險和不確定性。實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述中的預期存在重大差異。今天發布的 The Container Store 新聞稿以及我們於 2022 年 6 月 2 日向 SEC 提交的 10-K 表格年度報告中提到了可能影響結果的風險因素，並更新了 10-Q 表格季度報告和向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他公開文件。今天做出的前瞻性陳述截至本次電話會議之日，集裝箱商店不承擔任何更新前瞻性陳述的義務。

Finally, the speakers may refer to certain adjusted or non-GAAP financial measures on this call. A reconciliation schedule of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is also available in The Container Store's press release issued today. A copy of today's press release and investor deck may be obtained by visiting the Investor Relations page of the website at www.containerstore.com.

最後，發言者可能會在本次電話會議上提及某些調整後或非公認會計原則的財務指標。 The Container Store 今天發布的新聞稿中還提供了非公認會計原則財務指標與最直接可比的公認會計原則指標的調節表。如需獲取今日新聞稿和投資者資料的副本，請訪問網站 www.containerstore.com 的投資者關係頁面。

I will now turn the call over to Satish.

我現在將把電話轉給薩蒂什。

Thank you, Caitlin, and thank you all for joining our call today. I'll begin today's discussion by reviewing highlights from our fourth quarter performance, and the great progress we made in fiscal 2022 against our strategic initiatives before discussing our current views and plans for 2023. Jeff will then review the details of our fourth quarter financial results followed by our outlook. We will then open up the call to questions.

謝謝凱特琳，也感謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議。在今天的討論開始時，我將回顧我們第四季度的業績亮點，以及我們在 2022 財年根據戰略舉措取得的巨大進展，然後討論我們當前的觀點和 2023 年的計劃。然後傑夫將回顧我們第四季度財務業績的詳細信息其次是我們的展望。然後我們將開始提問。

Excluding the impact of noncash impairment of goodwill, we delivered results for the quarter in line with our expectations. This included the anticipated decline in general merchandise and also Custom Space sales as a result of slower traffic and customers purchasing fewer spaces. As a reminder, we were up against a tough comparison given our decision to not anniversary a very successful 2/22/22 event from last year, along with the strategic discontinuation of our Closet Works wholesale business.

排除非現金商譽減值的影響，我們本季度的業績符合我們的預期。這包括由於交通放緩和客戶購買空間減少而導致一般商品和定制空間銷售的預期下降。提醒一下，鑑於我們決定不對去年非常成功的 2022 年 2 月 22 日活動進行週年紀念，以及我們的 Closet Works 批發業務的戰略終止，我們面臨著嚴峻的比較。

Given these factors and the ongoing challenging macroeconomic environment, fourth quarter consolidated net sales declined 15% and adjusted earnings per diluted share was $0.18 compared to $0.46 in the prior year.

考慮到這些因素以及持續充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境，第四季度合併淨銷售額下降了 15%，調整後每股攤薄收益為 0.18 美元，而上年同期為 0.46 美元。

During the fourth quarter and throughout fiscal 2022, despite the backdrop, we maintained a strong focus on executing our strategic initiatives of deepening our relationship with customers, expanding our reach and strengthening our capabilities. The following accomplishments would not have been possible without the unwavering support from our teams. And their efforts allowed us to plan numerous seeds for future growth.

在第四季度和整個 2022 財年，儘管存在這種背景，我們仍然高度重視執行深化與客戶關係、擴大影響範圍和增強能力的戰略舉措。如果沒有我們團隊的堅定支持，就不可能取得以下成就。他們的努力使我們能夠為未來的增長計劃大量的種子。

In fiscal 2022, we launched multiple new large-scale programs to improve our product offering and customer experience. 5 noteworthy accomplishments I want to discuss today include launching The Container Store Custom Spaces branding and Preston product offering, introducing new product categories to give customers a compelling reason to shop, significantly improving our e-commerce experience, relaunching our loyalty program and opening new small format stores in key markets.

2022 財年，我們啟動了多個新的大型計劃，以改善我們的產品供應和客戶體驗。我今天想討論的 5 項值得注意的成就包括推出 The Container Store Custom Spaces 品牌和 Preston 產品、推出新產品類別為客戶提供令人信服的購物理由、顯著改善我們的電子商務體驗、重新啟動我們的忠誠度計劃以及開設新的小型商店格式化主要市場的商店。

During the year, we introduced new branding, Custom Spaces, to move our offering beyond closets to key areas of the home, including closets, living and garage spaces. In addition, we brought to market our newest premium wood-based line Preston. We added a minimum of 2 Preston displays to all stores in our Custom Space studio and created a new destination on our website for customers to find inspiration and to connect with our newly established in-home design specialists.

這一年，我們推出了新品牌“定制空間”，將我們的產品從壁櫥擴展到家庭的關鍵區域，包括壁櫥、起居室和車庫空間。此外，我們還將最新的優質木質系​​列 Preston 推向市場。我們在定制空間工作室的所有商店中添加了至少 2 個 Preston 展示架，並在我們的網站上創建了一個新目的地，供客戶尋找靈感並與我們新成立的家庭設計專家聯繫。

During fiscal 2022, we had an average of 95 in-home design specialists who sold $75 million in total sales, with more than 1/4 of them selling over $1 million each in Custom Spaces. We began refining our general merchandise assortment to not only drive profitability but also to make room for new products that complement our core storage and organization solutions. We successfully launched several new categories to further entice customers and we're pleased with their performance thus far. These categories include home fragrances, sustainable cleaners and our new private label, Everything Organizer collection which features patent-pending designs.

2022 財年，我們平均有 95 名室內設計專家，總銷售額為 7500 萬美元，其中超過 1/4 的定制空間銷售額均超過 100 萬美元。我們開始完善我們的一般商品品種，不僅提高盈利能力，而且為補充我們的核心存儲和組織解決方案的新產品騰出空間。我們成功推出了幾個新類別以進一步吸引客戶，我們對他們迄今為止的表現感到滿意。這些類別包括家用香水、可持續清潔劑和我們新的自有品牌 Everything Organizer 系列，該系列採用正在申請專利的設計。

Also, we are very proud to have recently been named to Forbes Customer Experience All-Stars list, which we believe is a testament to our strong retail Net Promoter Score of 80 in Q4.

此外，我們最近入選《福布斯》客戶體驗全明星名單，我們對此感到非常自豪，我們相信這證明了我們第四季度零售淨推薦值高達 80 分。

To create a flagship experience across our brand touch points, we significantly improved our e-commerce platforms. During the year, we enhanced our BOPIS experience, which recently drove a record level BOPIS Net Promoter Score of 72. And we rolled out Express Checkout to all stores, which now accounts for 20% of all store transactions.

為了在品牌接觸點打造旗艦體驗，我們顯著改進了電子商務平台。這一年中，我們增強了 BOPIS 體驗，最近將 BOPIS 淨推薦值創下了 72 分的歷史新高。我們向所有商店推出了 Express Checkout，目前佔所有商店交易的 20%。

We're also pleased with the response to our mobile app as we've seen over 450,000 first-time downloads and a 4.8-star rating in the Apple App Store. Additionally, we improved the functionality and design of our website, including over 40% faster page speeds, timely customer communications and a redesign of our navigation. And it's now easier than ever to search, shop and check out online or to connect with an in-home Custom Space designer.

我們也對我們的移動應用程序的反響感到滿意，因為我們已經看到超過 450,000 次首次下載，並在 Apple App Store 中獲得了 4.8 星的評級。此外，我們還改進了網站的功能和設計，包括頁面速度提高了 40% 以上、及時的客戶溝通以及重新設計的導航。現在，在線搜索、購物和結帳或與家庭定制空間設計師聯繫比以往任何時候都更加容易。

Regarding our loyalty program, we launched Organized Insider this past year to not only attract new customers but also to reward a deeper level of engagement with existing customers. The new loyalty program has been well received and accounted for nearly 80% of total sales in fiscal 2022 and a 57% higher average ticket than non-loyalty members.

關於我們的忠誠度計劃，我們去年推出了 Organized Insider，不僅是為了吸引新客戶，也是為了獎勵與現有客戶進行更深層次的互動。新的忠誠度計劃廣受好評，佔 2022 財年總銷售額的近 80%，平均門票比非忠誠度會員高出 57%。

During the fiscal year, we enrolled nearly 900,000 new members to our program and with our new Vice President of Loyalty in place, we're looking forward to continuing to refine our program to further increase customer engagement.

在本財年中，我們的計劃吸引了近 900,000 名新會員，隨著新任忠誠度副總裁的就職，我們期待繼續完善我們的計劃，以進一步提高客戶參與度。

Finally, we are pleased to have opened 3 new small-format stores this past year in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Salem, New Hampshire; and Thousand Oaks, California. We are encouraged by the customer response to our new small-format stores as illustrated by our strong NPS scores which recently, for the month of April, averaged 87 across all 3, which gives us continued confidence in our long-term store expansion goals.

最後，我們很高興去年在科羅拉多州科羅拉多斯普林斯開設了 3 家新的小型商店；新罕布什爾州塞勒姆；和加利福尼亞州千橡市。我們對客戶對我們新的小型商店的反應感到鼓舞，正如我們最近 4 月份的 NPS 得分一樣，所有 3 個月的平均得分為 87，這讓我們對我們的長期商店擴張目標充滿信心。

As we look to fiscal 2023, we expect it to be a tough year, considering the intensified macroeconomic headwinds which are driving reduced traffic and lower average tickets. Despite this backdrop, we remain committed to investing in our long-term growth prospects while still proactively managing our cost structure. We believe the actions we are taking position us well to deliver on our goal of low double-digit operating margins when the macroeconomic environment improves.

展望 2023 財年，考慮到宏觀經濟逆風加劇導致客流量減少和平均票價下降，我們預計今年將是艱難的一年。儘管存在這種背景，我們仍然致力於投資於我們的長期增長前景，同時仍然積極管理我們的成本結構。我們相信，當宏觀經濟環境改善時，我們正在採取的行動將使我們能夠很好地實現兩位數營業利潤率的目標。

As we continue to focus on gaining market share in spaces over $2,000, which is an important enabler of our path to $2 billion in revenue, we aim to bring better awareness to our new Custom Space branding and provide a whole home solution to our customers. We plan to increase the number of in-home designers to 150 this year with design training focused on selling premium spaces.

隨著我們繼續專注於贏得 2,000 美元以上空間的市場份額（這是我們實現 20 億美元收入的重要推動因素），我們的目標是提高人們對我們新的定制空間品牌的認識，並為我們的客戶提供整體家居解決方案。我們計劃今年將室內設計師的數量增加到 150 名，設計培訓的重點是銷售優質空間。

In addition, we plan to build on the success Preston is having, and we have product enhancements planned for the year, including premium and drawer and toe kick lighting, mirrored glass, aluminum frame doors, slim shaker profiles and new on-trend colors like night sky blue and lakeshore green. This year, our customers-based campaigns are expected to not focus on an individual line but afford customers discount on any of our 3 lines, Elfa, Avera or Preston, and are planned to be evenly spaced throughout the year.

此外，我們計劃在普雷斯頓取得的成功的基礎上再接再厲，併計劃在今年進行產品增強，包括高級照明、抽屜和腳趾照明、鏡面玻璃、鋁框門、細長搖床型材和新的流行顏色，例如夜空藍色和湖岸綠色。今年，我們以客戶為基礎的活動預計不會集中在單個產品線上，而是為我們的 3 條產品線（Elfa、Avera 或 Preston）中的任何一條產品線的客戶提供折扣，併計劃全年均勻分佈。

We're also working to create a Custom Spaces portal for customers to review their design, sign their purchase agreement, manage their payment and track the status of the Custom Space life cycle from inspiration to installation.

我們還致力於創建一個定制空間門戶，供客戶審查其設計、簽署購買協議、管理付款並跟踪定制空間從靈感到安裝的生命週期狀態。

We are also exploring the ability for customers to experience their design space through virtual reality technology so they can visualize and interact with their space, making their purchasing decision easier. VR technology also enables us to showcase Custom Space finishes and accessories that we may not carry in every store, and we intend to start piloting this in late fall.

我們還在探索讓客戶通過虛擬現實技術體驗他們的設計空間的能力，以便他們可以可視化他們的空間並與其互動，從而使他們更容易做出購買決定。 VR 技術還使我們能夠展示定制空間的飾面和配件，而我們可能不會在每家商店都配備這些配件，我們打算在深秋開始試點。

As we look at general merchandise under the leadership of our new chief merchant, we are focused on continuing to refine our assortment in a manner that best aligns with our customers' shopping journey and has the most potential for growth including college, travel, dining and entertaining and home decor. We strategically started our college campaign earlier this year to line with parent and student prep time lines and we're thrilled to offer new college essentials like a single-serve coffeemaker, sleek desk laps, vintage fans and essential oil diffusers.

在新任首席商人的領導下，我們著眼於日用商品，我們專注於繼續完善我們的品類，以最符合客戶購物旅程的方式，並具有最大的增長潛力，包括大學、旅遊、餐飲和娛樂和家居裝飾。我們在今年早些時候戰略性地啟動了大學活動，以配合家長和學生的準備時間，我們很高興能夠提供新的大學必需品，例如單杯咖啡機、時尚的桌圈、老式風扇和精油擴散器。

For the second year, we are partnering with Dormify, the online destination for dorm decor. The partnership is expected to expand this year with 5 of our stores in key college markets featuring Dormify pop-up shops with selections of on-trend mix-and-match bedding and more. We're also excited about the ability to drop ship Dormify products from our website beginning in Q1. The benefit of drop ship allows us to expand our assortment without having to carry additional inventory, and we intend to expand this capability with additional vendors quickly thereafter.

這是我們第二年與宿舍裝飾在線目的地 Dormify 合作。預計今年合作夥伴關係將擴大，我們在主要大學市場的 5 家商店將設有 Dormify 快閃店，出售流行的混搭床上用品等商品。我們還對從第一季度開始從我們的網站上直接發貨 Dormify 產品的能力感到興奮。直運的好處使我們能夠擴大我們的產品種類，而無需攜帶額外的庫存，並且我們打算此後迅速與其他供應商一起擴大這種能力。

With regard to new products, we anticipate introducing nearly 1,000 new SKUs this year from innovative brands, such as Cadence and Canopy, both of which are entering brick-and-mortar stores for the very first time. The Cadence travel system will be exclusive to us and features customizable, magnetic and lead proof capsules to store personal care products in. As part of our college assortment, the Canopy humidifier features no mist technology, which is free from bacteria and particles, creating an optimized environment for beauty and wellness. These products will bring notable newness to The Container Store, and we are proud to partner with and help grow these innovative brands that have demonstrated success selling directly to customers. While we intend to continue focusing on our core offering of storage and organization, we are excited for this newness we are infusing into our assortment and we intend to embark on a new campaign to demonstrate to customers how our curated, innovative and solution-oriented products can help transform their lives.

在新產品方面，我們預計今年將推出來自創新品牌的近 1,000 個新 SKU，例如 Cadence 和 Canopy，這兩個品牌都是首次進入實體店。 Cadence 旅行系統將是我們獨有的，具有可定制、磁性和防鉛的膠囊，用於存儲個人護理產品。作為我們大學產品系列的一部分，Canopy 加濕器採用無霧技術，不含細菌和顆粒，創造了一種舒適的環境。優化美容和健康環境。這些產品將為 The Container Store 帶來顯著的新鮮感，我們很榮幸能夠與這些創新品牌合作並幫助其發展，這些品牌在直接向客戶銷售方面取得了成功。雖然我們打算繼續專注於我們的核心存儲和組織產品，但我們對我們將這種新穎性融入到我們的產品組合中感到興奮，並且我們打算開展一項新的活動，向客戶展示我們精心策劃的、創新的和以解決方案為導向的產品可以幫助改變他們的生活。

We intend to strengthen our e-commerce presence with a focus on expanding content and storytelling, introducing new ways to shop and enhancing our Custom Space and mobile app experience. Our content aims to highlight what makes products unique and encompasses more videos across our product detail pages. New ways to shop online include College Shop with a frictionless one-click experience so students or parents can add curated and bundled dorm essentials to their cart with ease. In addition, we're working on a New Arrivals online experience where customers can see and shop the amazing new products we're offering, and we anticipate launching this soon.

我們打算加強我們的電子商務業務，重點是擴展內容和講故事，引入新的購物方式並增強我們的自定義空間和移動應用程序體驗。我們的內容旨在突出產品的獨特之處，並在產品詳細信息頁面上包含更多視頻。在線購物的新方式包括大學商店，提供無摩擦的一鍵式體驗，以便學生或家長可以輕鬆地將精选和捆綁的宿舍必需品添加到購物車中。此外，我們正在開發新到貨在線體驗，客戶可以在其中查看和購買我們提供的令人驚嘆的新產品，我們預計很快就會推出。

Taking customers' feedback into account, we plan to consolidate orders so they are receiving fewer boxes and provide new ways to make appointments with our in-home designers throughout the site.

考慮到客戶的反饋，我們計劃整合訂單，以便他們收到更少的盒子，並提供新的方式與整個網站的室內設計師進行預約。

Regarding new stores. We expect to open 6 new stores during fiscal 2023 versus our original expectation of 9 stores due to delayed time lines given the current environment. The 3 stores that were originally slated for the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 are now expected to open in early fiscal 2024. We still believe there is substantial white space and a path to open at least 76 new stores over time. We expect and are planning for the challenging macro headwinds to continue for the entirety of this fiscal year with sales decline being more pronounced in the first half, while still negative in the second half. We are cognizant of the importance of cost management and are continuing to evaluate all areas of our business to ensure an efficient cost structure to position us well to deliver our long-term goal of low double-digit operating margins.

關於新店。我們預計在 2023 財年開設 6 家新店，而我們最初的預期是 9 家店，因為考慮到當前環境，時間線被推遲。原定於 2023 財年第四季度末開設的 3 家門店現在預計將於 2024 財年年初開業。我們仍然認為，仍有大量空白空間，並且隨著時間的推移，將開設至少 76 家新店。我們預計並正在計劃應對充滿挑戰的宏觀逆風將在整個財年持續，上半年銷售額下降更為明顯，而下半年仍為負值。我們認識到成本管理的重要性，並繼續評估我們業務的所有領域，以確保有效的成本結構，使我們能夠很好地實現低兩位數運營利潤率的長期目標。

We are prioritizing investments in the areas of the business that have continued to drive strong productivity while also investing in our strategic initiatives which we believe will position us well to gain market share when the macro environment improves. With that said, we made the very difficult decision to take immediate cost management actions, including elimination of open roles and a reduction of force of approximately 15% at our support center and less than 3% at our store and distribution center operations. These actions are intended to keep our SG&A expenses just below 50% of consolidated sales in fiscal 2023.

我們優先投資那些持續推動強勁生產力的業務領域，同時也投資於我們的戰略舉措，我們相信這些舉措將使我們在宏觀環境改善時能夠很好地獲得市場份額。話雖如此，我們做出了一個非常艱難的決定，即立即採取成本管理行動，包括取消空缺職位，並將支持中心的人員減少約 15%，將商店和配送中心的人員減少不到 3%。這些行動旨在使我們的 SG&A 支出略低於 2023 財年合併銷售額的 50%。

Despite these difficult decisions, we have a solid foundation and the right teams in place to make progress towards our long-term goal of $2 billion in sales and low double-digit operating margin.

儘管做出了這些艱難的決定，但我們擁有堅實的基礎和合適的團隊，可以在實現 20 億美元銷售額和低兩位數運營利潤率的長期目標方面取得進展。

With that, I'll hand it over to Jeff to discuss our results and outlook in more detail. Jeff?

接下來，我將把它交給傑夫，更詳細地討論我們的結果和前景。傑夫？

Thank you, Satish, and good afternoon, everyone. As Satish reviewed, after excluding the impact of goodwill impairment, we delivered fourth quarter results in line with our expectations despite the challenging macro environment and unique sales headwinds we faced due to not anniversarying our 2/22/22 event from last year and the discontinuation of the Closet Works wholesale business.

謝謝薩蒂什，大家下午好。正如 Satish 所評論的那樣，在排除商譽減值的影響後，儘管宏觀環境充滿挑戰，並且由於沒有慶祝去年 2 月 22 日的活動以及活動的終止，我們面臨著獨特的銷售阻力，但我們第四季度的業績符合我們的預期衣櫃工廠批發業務。

Consolidated net sales decreased 15% year-over-year to $259.7 million, including a 430 basis points negative impact from the unique sales headwinds I just mentioned.

綜合淨銷售額同比下降 15% 至 2.597 億美元，其中包括我剛才提到的獨特銷售不利因素帶來的 430 個基點的負面影響。

By segment, net sales for The Container Store retail business were $245.5 million or 14.3% decrease compared to $286.5 million last year. The decrease is inclusive of a comp store sales decrease of 13.1%, driven by the 14.2% decline in our general merchandise categories, which negatively impacted comp store sales by 870 basis points.

按部門劃分，The Container Store 零售業務的淨銷售額為 2.455 億美元，較去年的 2.865 億美元下降 14.3%。這一下降包括綜合商店銷售額下降 13.1%，這是由於我們的一般商品類別下降 14.2%，這對綜合商店銷售額產生了 870 個基點的負面影響。

Custom Spaces comp store sales declined 11.4% compared to fiscal 2021 and negatively impacted comp store sales by 440 basis points. The discontinuation of the Closet Works wholesale business in fiscal 2022, partially offset by sales from new stores, made up the remaining 120 basis points to the total 14.3% TCS net sales decline year-over-year.

與 2021 財年相比，Custom Spaces 比較店銷售額下降了 11.4%，對比較店銷售額產生了 440 個基點的負面影響。 2022 財年 Closet Works 批發業務的終止，部分被新店的銷售額所抵消，彌補了 TCS 淨銷售額同比下降 14.3% 的剩餘 120 個基點。

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, our online channel decreased 6.2% year-over-year, and our website-generated sales, which includes curbside pickup, decreased 8.3% compared to last year. Website-generated sales represented a total of 24% of TCS net sales in Q4 compared to 22.4% in Q4 of last year. Unearned revenue decreased to $15.7 million in Q4 this year versus $22.6 million last year driven by the pullback in customer spending that we are experiencing.

2022 財年第四季度，我們的在線渠道同比下降 6.2%，我們的網站銷售額（包括路邊取貨）比去年下降 8.3%。第四季度網站產生的銷售額佔 TCS 淨銷售額的 24%，而去年第四季度為 22.4%。由於客戶支出減少，今年第四季度的非勞動收入下降至 1570 萬美元，而去年為 2260 萬美元。

Elfa third-party net sales of $14.2 million decreased 25.3% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, Elfa third-party net sales decreased 17% year-over-year, primarily due to a decline in sales in the Nordic markets and Russia.

埃爾法第三方淨銷售額為 1420 萬美元，較 2021 財年第四季度下降 25.3%。排除外幣換算的影響，埃爾法第三方淨銷售額同比下降 17%，主要是由於銷往北歐市場和俄羅斯。

From a profitability standpoint, our consolidated gross margin for Q4 increased 190 basis points to 58.9% compared to 57% last year. By segment, TCS gross margin increased 50 basis points compared to last year, primarily due to decreased freight costs and favorable product and services mix, partially offset by more promotional discounting. Elfa gross margin increased 200 basis points compared to last year, primarily due to price increases, partially offset by higher direct material costs.

從盈利能力的角度來看，我們第四季度的綜合毛利率比去年的 57% 增長了 190 個基點，達到 58.9%。按細分市場劃分，TCS 毛利率比去年增加了 50 個基點，主要是由於貨運成本下降以及有利的產品和服務組合，但部分被更多的促銷折扣所抵消。 Elfa 毛利率比去年增加了 200 個基點，主要是由於價格上漲，但部分被直接材料成本上漲所抵消。

Consolidated SG&A dollars decreased to $124.3 million compared to $127.1 million in Q4 last year. As a percentage of sales, SG&A increased 630 basis points year-over-year to 47.9%. The increase is primarily due to the deleverage of compensation and benefits, occupancy and other costs on lower sales.

綜合 SG&A 美元下降至 1.243 億美元，而去年第四季度為 1.271 億美元。 SG&A 佔銷售額的百分比同比增長 630 個基點，達到 47.9%。這一增長主要是由於銷售額下降導致薪酬和福利、入住率和其他成本去槓桿化。

During the fourth quarter, we conducted impairment tests of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets and determined there was a total noncash impairment of goodwill in the amount of $197.7 million. Our net interest expense in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 increased to $4.8 million compared to $3.2 million last year. The year-over-year increase is due to a higher interest rate on our term loan and interest on borrowings on the revolving credit facility.

在第四季度，我們對商譽和無限期無形資產進行了減值測試，確定商譽的非現金減值總額為 1.977 億美元。 2022 財年第四季度我們的淨利息支出從去年的 320 萬美元增至 480 萬美元。同比增長是由於我們的定期貸款利率和循環信貸便利借款利息較高。

The effective tax rate for the quarter was negative 1.7%, compared to 31.5% in the fourth quarter last year. The decrease in the effective tax rate is primarily related to impairment charges taken during the fourth quarter, which negatively impacted the effective tax rate by 292 basis points.

本季度的有效稅率為負 1.7%，而去年第四季度的有效稅率為 31.5%。有效稅率的下降主要與第四季度提取的減值費用有關，這對有效稅率產生了 292 個基點的負面影響。

Net loss for the quarter on a GAAP basis, inclusive of the $197.7 million goodwill impairment charge, was $189.2 million or $3.85 per diluted share as compared to GAAP net income of $23.2 million or $0.46 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of last year. Adjusted net income was $8.8 million or $0.18 per diluted share as compared to last year's adjusted net income of $23.2 million or $0.46 per diluted share. Our adjusted EBITDA decreased to $29.2 million in the fourth quarter this year compared to $46.4 million in Q4 last year.

按 GAAP 計算，本季度淨虧損（包括 1.977 億美元的商譽減損費用）為 1.892 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 3.85 美元，而去年第四季度 GAAP 淨利潤為 2320 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.46 美元。調整後淨利潤為 880 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.18 美元，而去年調整後淨利潤為 2320 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.46 美元。今年第四季度，我們調整後的 EBITDA 降至 2920 萬美元，而去年第四季度為 4640 萬美元。

With respect to the full year, consolidated net sales declined 4.3% to $1.05 billion and GAAP net loss was $158.9 million or $3.21 per diluted share. Adjusted net income was $37.2 million or $0.75 per diluted share.

就全年而言，合併淨銷售額下降 4.3%，至 10.5 億美元，GAAP 淨虧損為 1.589 億美元，即稀釋後每股虧損 3.21 美元。調整後淨利潤為 3720 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.75 美元。

Turning to our balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $7 million in cash $167.9 million of total debt and total liquidity, including availability on our revolving credit facilities of $107 million. Our current leverage ratio is 1.4x.

轉向我們的資產負債表。本季度末，我們擁有 700 萬美元現金、1.679 億美元總債務和總流動資金，其中包括 1.07 億美元的循環信貸額度。我們目前的槓桿率為1.4倍。

We ended the quarter with consolidated inventory down 11.5% compared to the fourth quarter last year. The decline is the result of our prudent actions to reduce inventory purchases given the pullback in customer spending we are experiencing and expect to continue to see, given the challenging macro environment as well as lower freight costs.

本季度結束時，我們的綜合庫存比去年第四季度下降了 11.5%。這一下降是由於我們採取謹慎行動減少庫存採購的結果，因為我們正在經歷並預計將繼續看到客戶支出的減少，考慮到充滿挑戰的宏觀環境以及較低的貨運成本。

Capital expenditures were $64.2 million in fiscal 2022 versus $33.4 million in fiscal 2021, with the increase related primarily to investments in our stores and technology. Free cash flow this year was a use of $4.9 million versus $23.6 million generated last year.

2022 財年的資本支出為 6,420 萬美元，而 2021 財年為 3,340 萬美元，增長主要與我們的商店和技術投資有關。今年的自由現金流使用量為 490 萬美元，而去年則為 2,360 萬美元。

Now for our outlook. For the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we expect consolidated net sales to be approximately $200 million to $210 million, driven primarily by a comparable store sales decline in the 23% to 19% range. The expected consolidated revenue declines were also inclusive of a 250 basis point impact for the strategic discontinuation of our Closet Works wholesale business and, to a lesser extent, continued Elfa third-party sales headwinds. New store sales are expected to partially offset the impact of these headwinds.

現在談談我們的展望。對於 2023 財年第一季度，我們預計合併淨銷售額約為 2 億至 2.1 億美元，這主要是由於可比商店銷售額下降 23% 至 19%。預期綜合收入下降還包括戰略性終止 Closet Works 批發業務造成的 250 個基點的影響，以及較小程度上持續的 Elfa 第三方銷售阻力。新店銷售預計將部分抵消這些不利因素的影響。

We expect net loss per diluted share in the first quarter to be in the range of $0.19 to $0.13. After adjusting for an estimated $2 million of severance expense associated with the previously mentioned reductions in force, we expect adjusted net loss per diluted share to be in the range of $0.16 to $0.10. The implied year-over-year operating margin decline for the first quarter is expected to be more than entirely driven by SG&A expense due to fixed cost deleverage on lower sales.

我們預計第一季度攤薄後每股淨虧損將在 0.19 美元至 0.13 美元之間。在對與前述裁員相關的估計 200 萬美元遣散費進行調整後，我們預計調整後每股攤薄淨虧損將在 0.16 美元至 0.10 美元之間。預計第一季度隱含的同比營業利潤率下降將不僅僅是由於銷售下降導致的固定成本去槓桿化導致的銷售管理及行政費用 (SG&A) 費用造成的。

From a gross margin perspective, favorable product mix and freight are expected to be moderate tailwinds to gross margin in the first quarter. Interest expense for the first quarter is expected to be approximately $5 million, driven by higher interest rates and our effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 30%.

從毛利率角度來看，有利的產品組合和運費預計將對第一季度的毛利率產生溫和的推動作用。由於利率上升，第一季度的利息支出預計約為 500 萬美元，而我們的有效稅率預計約為 30%。

With respect to fiscal 2023, we expect consolidated net sales in the range of $885 million to $900 million, driven primarily by comparable store sales declines in the mid- to high teens. We expect more significant declines in comparable store sales in the first half of the fiscal year than the second half.

就 2023 財年而言，我們預計綜合淨銷售額將在 8.85 億美元至 9 億美元之間，這主要是由於可比商店銷售額下降了 10% 左右。我們預計本財年上半年的可比商店銷售額下降幅度將比下半年更為顯著。

This outlook also assumes a 100 basis point benefit related to the impact of new stores, inclusive of a partial offset due to the strategic discontinuation of our Closet Works wholesale business and continued Elfa third-party sales headwinds.

這一前景還假設與新店影響相關的 100 個基點收益，包括由於戰略性終止 Closet Works 批發業務和持續的 Elfa 第三方銷售逆風而產生的部分抵消。

From a gross margin perspective, favorable product mix and freight are expected to be moderate tailwinds to gross margin in fiscal 2023, partially offset by a more promotional environment. Our outlook, therefore, assumes a gross profit range of $525 million to $540 million.

從毛利率角度來看，有利的產品組合和運費預計將在 2023 財年對毛利率產生溫和的推動作用，但更多促銷環境將部分抵消這一影響。因此，我們的展望假設毛利潤範圍為 5.25 億美元至 5.4 億美元。

In an effort to minimize SG&A expense deleverage in this difficult macro environment, we made the decision to take immediate and proactive measures to reduce costs while still investing in our strategic initiatives. Our proactive cost-reducing actions include the previously mentioned elimination of our support center open roles and an almost 15% reduction in force at our support center. Furthermore, there is a planned reduction in force at our store and distribution center operations of less than 3% and reduced scheduled hours in line with current customer trends.

為了在當前困難的宏觀環境下盡量減少銷售、管理及行政費用去槓桿化，我們決定立即採取主動措施降低成本，同時仍投資於我們的戰略舉措。我們積極主動的成本削減行動包括前面提到的取消我們支持中心的空缺職位以及減少我們支持中心近 15% 的人員。此外，我們計劃將商店和配送中心運營人員減少不到 3%，並根據當前客戶趨勢減少預定工作時間。

In addition to payroll-related actions, we are proactively reducing marketing and other costs with the goal of keeping our SG&A expense as a percent of sales slightly below 50% for the full fiscal year. The total dollar impact of these actions on a quarterly basis are expected to reduce overall SG&A expense by approximately $10 million per quarter compared to last year, with the fourth quarter total dollar savings being slightly higher. For the full fiscal year, total SG&A reductions are expected to be almost $45 million when compared to last year.

除了與工資相關的行動外，我們還積極減少營銷和其他成本，目標是將整個財年的 SG&A 費用佔銷售額的百分比保持在略低於 50% 的水平。與去年相比，這些行動按季度產生的總體 SG&A 費用預計將每季度減少約 1000 萬美元，第四季度節省的總費用略高。與去年相比，整個財年的SG&A 削減總額預計將接近4500 萬美元。

Our outlook assumes operating margins of approximately 4% or $32 million to $40 million in operating profit. We expect net income per diluted share in fiscal 2023 to be in the range of $0.07 to $0.17. After adjusting for the estimated $2 million of severance expense previously mentioned as well as an approximate $5.6 million of discrete income tax expense expected to be recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2023 related to the expiration of certain stock options granted in connection with our initial public offering in 2013, we expect adjusted net income per diluted share to be in the range of $0.21 to $0.31.

我們的展望假設營業利潤率約為 4%，即營業利潤為 3200 萬至 4000 萬美元。我們預計 2023 財年攤薄後每股淨利潤將在 0.07 美元至 0.17 美元之間。在對前面提到的預計 200 萬美元遣散費以及預計將在 2023 財年第三季度記錄的與我們首次公開發行所授予的某些股票期權到期相關的約 560 萬美元離散所得稅費用進行調整後2013 年發行後，我們預計調整後每股攤薄淨利潤將在 0.21 美元至 0.31 美元之間。

Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $45 million to $50 million. And with this outlook, we aim to be free cash flow positive in fiscal 2023. Almost half of our planned capital expenditures are related to new stores planned to be opened in fiscal 2023 or the first quarter of 2024.

資本支出預計約為 4500 萬至 5000 萬美元。根據這一前景，我們的目標是在 2023 財年實現自由現金流為正。我們計劃的資本支出中近一半與計劃在 2023 財年或 2024 年第一季度開設的新店有關。

We had previously communicated plans to open 9 stores in fiscal 2023. As a result of delayed time lines due to the current environment, we now plan to open 6 stores primarily in the second half of fiscal 2023 and 3 new stores in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. The remaining capital is related to investment in e-commerce, technology infrastructure and software projects and, to a lesser extent, maintenance.

我們此前曾傳達過在 2023 財年開設 9 家門店的計劃。由於當前環境導致時間表延遲，我們現在計劃主要在 2023 財年下半年開設 6 家門店，並在 2023 財年第一季度開設 3 家新店。 2024 財年。剩餘資本用於電子商務、技術基礎設施和軟件項目的投資，以及較小程度上的維護。

Interest expense for fiscal 2023 is expected to be approximately $20 million, driven by higher interest rates. Our effective tax rate is expected to be in the range of 60% to 75%, which is inclusive of the previously mentioned discrete income tax expense expected to be recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.

在利率上升的推動下，2023 財年的利息支出預計約為 2000 萬美元。我們的有效稅率預計在 60% 至 75% 範圍內，其中包括前面提到的預計將在 2023 財年第三季度記錄的離散所得稅費用。

We remain committed to delivering on our long-term goal of $2 billion in sales and low double-digit operating margins, though the duration of the current macro headwinds has impacted our originally contemplated time line for achieving these goals.

我們仍然致力於實現 20 億美元銷售額和低兩位數營業利潤率的長期目標，儘管當前宏觀逆風的持續時間影響了我們最初設想的實現這些目標的時間表。

This concludes our prepared remarks. I'll now turn it over to the operator to begin the Q&A session.

我們準備好的發言到此結束。我現在將其移交給操作員以開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Steven Forbes with Guggenheim.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自古根海姆的史蒂文·福布斯。

This is [Andrew Meyer] on for Steven Forbes. Given the 2023 comp outlook, how will the event calendar look in 2023 compared to 2022? And do you expect to test price elasticity during 2023 or are you more committed to holding retail price levels?

我是史蒂文·福布斯的[安德魯·邁耶]。鑑於 2023 年比賽展望，2023 年的賽事日曆與 2022 年相比會如何？您是否預計在 2023 年測試價格彈性，還是更致力於維持零售價格水平？

Yes. I'll answer that in a couple of ways. First, what I will say is that our Q1 and full year guide still kind of continues to contend with the discontinuation of our Closet Work wholesale business but also considers a more pronounced decline in customer traffic and average basket and transactions.

是的。我將從幾個方面來回答這個問題。首先，我要說的是，我們的第一季度和全年指南仍然在繼續應對壁櫥工作批發業務的終止，但也考慮到客戶流量以及平均籃子和交易的更明顯下降。

And as you know, we believe that this small pronounced decline is really due to the current macro environment of higher interest rates and economic uncertainty that has resulted in customers reducing their discretionary spend.

如您所知，我們認為這種小幅明顯下降實際上是由於當前利率上升和經濟不確定性的宏觀環境導致客戶減少了可自由支配支出。

So as we think about our Q1 and full year guide, we will continue to be prudent with our promotional cadence. We are very thoughtful about ensuring that our customers have an opportunity to save more when they spend more with us. And also allowing them to benefit from a whole home approach by saving across all of our lines during our Custom Space campaigns versus only 1 specific line.

因此，當我們考慮第一季度和全年指南時，我們將繼續謹慎對待我們的促銷節奏。我們非常周到地確保我們的客戶在我們這裡消費更多時有機會節省更多。而且，在我們的定制空間活動期間，他們還可以從整個家庭的方法中受益，在我們的所有產品線中節省費用，而不僅僅是 1 個特定的產品線。

In fact, just recently, we ran a 6-day promotion for our customers where they had the opportunity to buy 1 and get 1 at 50% for general merchandise, and that event was actually quite successful in driving incremental gross profit. So we'll continue to understand the reaction of our customers during these very tough economic times and offering, again, incentives for them to purchase while still being mindful of profitable growth.

事實上，就在最近，我們為客戶舉辦了為期6天的促銷活動，他們有機會購買普通商品50％買1送1，並且該活動實際上非常成功地推動了毛利潤的增量。因此，我們將繼續了解客戶在經濟困難時期的反應，並再次為他們提供購買激勵，同時仍然關注利潤增長。

Great. Yes, that all makes sense. And secondly, can you break down the mid- to high teens comp guidance between the core categories of Custom Spaces and general merchandise for the full year?

偉大的。是的，這一切都有道理。其次，您能否細分全年定制空間和一般商品核心類別之間的中高青少年比較指導？

Yes. This is Jeff. Looking at the full fiscal year, the mid- to high-teen guide for the year, the assumptions underlying is that general merchandise, it will be more challenged during the year than our Custom Spaces. But I would say that both lines -- both categories will be challenged throughout the entire year.

是的。這是傑夫。縱觀整個財年，今年的中高位指南，基本假設是一般商品，今年將比我們的定制空間面臨更大的挑戰。但我想說，這兩條線——這兩個類別將在全年中受到挑戰。

Our next question is from Ryan Meyers with Lake Street Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 Lake Street Capital Markets 的 Ryan Meyers。

First one for me, the 3 store openings that we've already had now, I'm curious if you could give us some commentary on what you guys have seen as far as traffic levels, demand, ticket prices relative to the other store base. And if you see some of these smaller format stores really kind of taking off like you thought that they would.

第一個對我來說，我們現在已經開設了 3 家商店，我很好奇您能否給我們一些關於你們所看到的相對於其他商店基地的交通水平、需求、門票價格的評論。如果您看到其中一些小型商店確實像您想像的那樣蓬勃發展。

Yes. This is Satish. I would say, look, we're generally really pleased with the 3 stores that we opened in fiscal '22. We continue to attract new customers, almost 60% new across the 3 of them. and they are delivering superior Net Promoter Scores, as we mentioned, to date, 87 for April. And we're actually seeing also a very healthy Custom Space penetration across the 3 in total, almost at 37% of sales.

是的。這是薩蒂什。我想說，看，我們總體上對我們在 22 財年開設的 3 家商店非常滿意。我們繼續吸引新客戶，其中 3 個客戶中近 60% 是新客戶。正如我們所提到的，迄今為止，他們 4 月份的淨推薦值高達 87。事實上，我們還看到定制空間在這 3 個領域的滲透率非常健康，幾乎佔銷售額的 37%。

So generally, I'd say we're pleased with the performance. Obviously, it's still against a very tough macro environment and hence, why we are still bullish and committed to opening 6 new stores for fiscal '23. We still believe in growth expansion, and we definitely see a path to opening at least 76 because we still believe there's tremendous amount of white space out there.

總的來說，我想說我們對錶現感到滿意。顯然，宏觀環境仍然非常嚴峻，因此我們仍然看好並致力於在 23 財年開設 6 家新店。我們仍然相信增長擴張，而且我們肯定看到一條至少開設 76 家的道路，因為我們仍然相信那裡有大量的空白空間。

Yes. I would just add to that, the 6 stores that we're planning in fiscal '23, 3 of which are build-to-suit and 3 of them are full capital investment. So when we look at the excitement around the store expansion, what we're seeing from a new customer engagement, which is part of our overall strategy as we build out the marketplace and the level of Custom Spaces adoption by those customers in these new markets is encouraging to us.

是的。我想補充一點，我們計劃在 23 財年開設 6 家商店，其中 3 家是量身定制的，另外 3 家是全額資本投資的。因此，當我們看到商店擴張帶來的興奮感時，我們從新的客戶參與中看到了什麼，這是我們在構建市場時總體戰略的一部分，以及這些新市場中客戶對定制空間的採用水平對我們來說是鼓舞人心的。

Typically, it takes a little bit longer runway for us to build in the Custom Space business. But so far, results are promising despite the macro environment.

通常，我們需要更長的跑道來建立定制空間業務。但到目前為止，儘管宏觀環境不佳，但結果還是有希望的。

Got it. And then just kind of thinking about that sort of commentary on the 6 new store openings down from the 9 new store openings, I know you guys said that there's delays out there. But just wondering if you could kind of unpack that a little bit. I mean, do you feel like there's -- of the 3 stores that you're not going to open this year anymore, you felt like maybe in that specific geography it didn't make sense to open them or you're having a challenging time getting inventory or staffing? Or what is it just a little bit more detail around those delays, I think, would be helpful.

知道了。然後想想對 9 家新店開業後 6 家新店開業的評論，我知道你們說有延遲。但只是想知道你是否可以稍微解開一下。我的意思是，你是否覺得今年不再開設 3 家商店，你覺得也許在那個特定的地理位置開設它們沒有意義，或者你遇到了挑戰時間獲取庫存或人員配備？或者我認為關於這些延遲的更多細節會有所幫助。

Yes, Ryan. It's just a matter of timing. When you're putting together this many deals and different pieces, different reasons for each one. But they're pushing -- we expect those to be pushed into Q1 of 2024 and given the fact that these were slated to open at the very end of Q4 of fiscal '23. It's not a huge push, but it's outside the fiscal year.

是的，瑞安。這只是時間問題。當您將如此多的交易和不同的部分放在一起時，每一項都有不同的原因。但他們正在推動——我們預計這些將被推遲到 2024 年第一季度，並且考慮到這些項目原定於 23 財年第四季度末開業。這並不是一個巨大的推動，但它是在財政年度之外的。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Kate McShane with Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自高盛的 Kate McShane。

Two questions from us. One, I was wondering if you could maybe walk us through the cadence of comps during the quarter when maybe you saw the weaker months during the quarter? And then the second question is around inventory. How are you feeling about the quality of inventory you have on the books today that's coming in versus maybe what your expectation is now for comp and how you plan to manage that?

我們提出兩個問題。第一，我想知道您是否可以向我們介紹一下本季度的比較節奏，因為您可能看到了本季度較弱的月份？第二個問題是關於庫存的。您對今天即將到來的賬面上的庫存質量有何感受，與您現在對補償的期望相比，以及您計劃如何管理它？

Yes, Kate. When we look at the cadence of the quarter, the first couple of months were relatively consistent. We really saw a drop off. We were experiencing lower traffic volumes. We talked about that on our Q3 call. We saw a notable decline in that during the month of March, and we continue to see that in the month of April, which is what's driving our outlook view. So definitely got more challenging in the month of March.

是的，凱特。當我們觀察本季度的節奏時，前幾個月相對穩定。我們確實看到了下降。我們遇到了交通量下降的情況。我們在第三季度的電話會議上討論了這一點。我們在 3 月份看到了顯著下降，並且在 4 月份繼續看到這種情況，這是推動我們展望的因素。所以三月份肯定會變得更具挑戰性。

Thinking about inventory, we are actively monitoring our inventory levels, adjusting our buys for demand -- in relation to demand. And so right now, we feel really good about our in-stock inventory levels being appropriate to what we're targeting.

考慮到庫存，我們正在積極監控我們的庫存水平，根據需求調整我們的採購。因此，現在我們對庫存水平符合我們的目標感到非常滿意。

Yes. And I would just add -- this is Satish. I'd just add, we still believe that we've got great growth opportunities that complement our core storage and organization solutions as well when it comes to inventory. Really pleased with the results we're seeing from home fragrance, our plant-based cleaners and our Everything Organizer collection. And as I mentioned, we see even more growth categories coming in travel, home decor, dining and entertainment.

是的。我想補充一點——這是薩蒂什。我想補充一點，我們仍然相信我們擁有巨大的增長機會，可以補充我們的核心存儲和組織解決方案以及庫存。我們對家用香水、植物清潔劑和 Everything Organizer 系列所取得的成果感到非常滿意。正如我所提到的，我們看到旅遊、家居裝飾、餐飲和娛樂領域出現了更多的增長類別。

Back to school also presents us with a great opportunity for us to not only capitalize on our Dormify partnership, but also bring in new essentials, as I mentioned earlier, like vintage fans and coffee makers and diffusers. And we are very excited about our soon to be launched drop ship capabilities that allow us to expand our assortment with current vendors and into new categories without having to carry the inventory.

回到學校也為我們提供了一個很好的機會，我們不僅可以利用我們與 Dormify 的合作夥伴關係，還可以引入新的必需品，正如我之前提到的，例如老式風扇、咖啡機和擴香器。我們對即將推出的直運功能感到非常興奮，這使我們能夠與現有供應商擴大我們的產品種類並進入新的類別，而無需攜帶庫存。

Our next question is from Chris Horvers with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的克里斯·霍弗斯。

I just want to follow up on how the consumer's behavior has changed. I think in the last call, you talked about the consumer is still engaging on the custom closets side, it was just simply -- not simply, but doing 2 instead of 4 or 1 instead of 3. So how has that changed?

我只是想跟進消費者行為的變化。我想在上次通話中，您談到消費者仍然參與定製衣櫃方面，這只是簡單 - 不簡單，而是做 2 個而不是 4 個或 1 個而不是 3 個。那麼，情況發生了怎樣的變化呢？

And is it -- is it like the traffic trend has deteriorated further? Are you seeing some trade down in terms of the types of closets projects that the consumer is taking on? And then anything in terms of the number of custom closets that they might be doing?

交通趨勢是否進一步惡化？您是否發現消費者正在接受的壁櫥項目類型有所下降？那麼他們可能會做多少定製衣櫃呢？

Chris, look, a few comments, some that we've already stated before. I mean, generally, the customer that we're seeing right now is contending with even more with the high interest rates and economic uncertainty. And so they're pulling back on their discretionary spending. I wouldn't say we see them trading down. We see our Custom Space is still performing well for us, in particular, our Preston and Avera line, which is our more premium spaces.

克里斯，看，一些評論，其中一些我們之前已經說過了。我的意思是，總的來說，我們現在看到的客戶正在面臨更多的高利率和經濟不確定性。因此他們正在縮減可自由支配的支出。我不會說我們看到他們的交易下跌。我們看到我們的定制空間仍然表現良好，特別是我們的普雷斯頓和阿維拉系列，這是我們更優質的空間。

But they're -- in this current environment, and we are in a discretionary category, they are just thinking about when and how to make those purchases in this current environment. Traffic is, I would say, it's still double-digit down. We have seen a reduction in average ticket. When we give customers a compelling reason to come back, whether it's newness or back to college or a promotional campaign, they definitely do engage with us. And so we continue to try to understand the psychological nature of our customers and how best to engage with what they're having to contend with today with the offering that we have.

但他們——在當前的環境下，而我們處於可自由裁量的類別，他們只是考慮在當前的環境下何時以及如何進行這些購買。我想說，交通量仍然呈兩位數下降。我們看到平均票價有所下降。當我們給顧客一個令人信服的回來理由時，無論是新鮮感還是回到大學還是促銷活動，他們肯定會與我們互動。因此，我們繼續嘗試了解客戶的心理本質，以及如何通過我們提供的產品最好地應對他們今天所面臨的問題。

Understood. And then just on the April side, 2 follow-ups. One on the April side, there's some well-documented tax refund headwinds that really were acute to March and got less in April and a lot of retailers have seen some improvement in terms of the April trend. Do you think tax refunds had any impact in your business? And have you seen any sort of less worsening in April?

明白了。然後就在 4 月份，進行了 2 次後續行動。就 4 月份而言，有一些有據可查的退稅逆風，這些逆風在 3 月份確實很嚴重，而在 4 月份則有所減少，而且許多零售商都看到了 4 月份趨勢的一些改善。您認為退稅對您的業務有影響嗎？四月份情況是否有所緩解？

Chris, what I would say is that we've not historically seen impacts for tax refunds just given our customer demographic historically. So I wouldn't necessarily say that -- we noted something specifically related to that in the month of April. I would say the May trends continue in line with what we're expecting toward the entire quarter, and we'll just see how it plays out.

克里斯，我想說的是，僅考慮到我們歷史上的客戶群體，我們歷史上並沒有看到退稅的影響。所以我不一定這麼說——我們在四月份注意到了一些與此特別相關的事情。我想說，五月份的趨勢與我們對整個季度的預期一致，我們將拭​​目以待。

Got it. And then just my one last one, which is a lot of product that comes over on ocean freight. You're seeing on the furniture side some deflation set in as -- that drove such a surge on the cost of importing those items. How are you handling ocean freight? Obviously, you're seeing gross margin benefits, but are you also taking -- reinvesting some in price?

知道了。然後是我的最後一個，這是很多通過海運運來的產品。你會看到家具方面出現了一些通貨緊縮，導致進口這些物品的成本大幅上漲。你們如何處理海運？顯然，您看到了毛利率的提高，但您是否也在價格上進行了一些再投資？

Yes, Chris, we are seeing reduced freight rates on the ocean side and we're starting to see that average into our inventory, which I would say is -- it won't be as pronounced in the first quarter, but it will be more pronounced as we get further into the year, into the fiscal year, especially when you think about the first quarter gross margins being around -- the fact -- in comparison to Q4, the betterment we had in Q4 was really driven around the anniversary of a 2/22 event that also drove a lot of gen merch in the prior previous year and a lot more online selling with higher freight costs. So the 190 basis point improvement that we saw in Q4, I wouldn't expect to see that level in Q1 but as we move through the fiscal year, we're certainly seeing moderate tailwinds related to freight and the product mixes that we've assumed through the fiscal year.

是的，克里斯，我們看到遠洋一側的運費下降，我們開始在我們的庫存中看到這一平均值，我想說的是——第一季度不會那麼明顯，但會的隨著我們進入今年、進入財政年度，尤其是當你想到第一季度的毛利率時，這種情況會更加明顯——事實——與第四季度相比，我們第四季度的改善實際上是在周年紀念日左右推動的2/22 的活動也帶動了前一年大量的商品銷售，以及更多的在線銷售，運費更高。因此，我們在第四季度看到了 190 個基點的改善，我不希望在第一季度看到這個水平，但隨著我們進入本財年，我們肯定會看到與貨運和我們已經擁有的產品組合相關的溫和推動力。假設整個財政年度。

And then just on the pricing, how you're thinking about pricing like Elfa, I'm assuming, comes over on a boat?

然後就定價而言，你如何考慮像 Elfa 這樣的定價，我猜，是乘船過來的？

Yes. From a pricing and promotional perspective, we're looking at, as Satish mentioned, we're looking at different ways to engage our customer, making sure the more they engage, the more they save and finding ways to engage them such that we can drive overall profitability. So we're not necessarily taking price to take price, but we're looking at it more from an overall profitability perspective. And I would say that goes for both the general merchandise side and the Custom Space side. This fiscal year, fiscal '23, we mentioned on the call that we are going to have all 3 of our lines on promotion together featuring Custom Spaces throughout the home, which is a different promotional strategy that we'll have in each quarter of the year than what we've historically done, which has been each particular line on promotion where the other is not. So there is a little bit of shift in strategy from that perspective.

是的。從定價和促銷的角度來看，正如薩蒂什提到的，我們正在尋找不同的方式來吸引客戶，確保他們參與得越多，他們節省的錢就越多，並找到吸引他們的方法，這樣我們就可以推動整體盈利能力。因此，我們不一定要以價格來定價，而是更多地從整體盈利能力的角度來看待它。我想說這對於一般商品方面和定制空間方面都適用。本財年，即 23 財年，我們在電話會議上提到，我們將把所有 3 個系列一起促銷，並在整個家庭中提供定制空間，這是我們在每個季度都會採取的不同促銷策略。今年比我們歷史上所做的事情要好得多，這是每條特定的促銷路線，而另一條則不然。因此，從這個角度來看，策略發生了一些轉變。

There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the floor back over to CEO, Satish Malhotra for closing comments.

目前沒有其他問題。我想請首席執行官薩蒂什·馬爾霍特拉 (Satish Malhotra) 發表結束評論。

Yes. I just wanted to say, once again, thank you for joining us today and wish you a very good night.

是的。我只想再次感謝您今天加入我們並祝您度過一個美好的夜晚。

Thank you. This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。