目標百貨 (TGT) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Target Corporation's Second Quarter Earnings Release Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded, Wednesday, August 16, 2023.

女士們先生們，感謝你們的支持。歡迎參加目標公司第二季度收益發布電話會議。 （操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次會議將於 2023 年 8 月 16 日星期三進行錄製。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. John Hulbert, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁約翰·赫爾伯特先生。請繼續，先生。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on our Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call.

大家早上好，感謝您參加我們的 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。

On the line with me today are Brian Cornell, Chair and Chief Executive Officer; Christina Hennington, Chief Growth Officer; John Mulligan, Chief Operating Officer; and Michael Fiddelke, Chief Financial Officer. In a few moments, Brian, Christina, John and Michael will provide their insights on our second quarter performance, along with our outlook and priorities for the remainder of the year. Following their remarks, we'll open the phone lines for a question-and-answer session.

今天和我一起在線的是董事長兼首席執行官布萊恩·康奈爾 (Brian Cornell)；克里斯蒂娜·亨寧頓 (Christina Hennington)，首席增長官；約翰·穆里根，首席運營官；和首席財務官邁克爾菲德爾克。稍後，布萊恩、克里斯蒂娜、約翰和邁克爾將提供他們對我們第二季度業績的見解，以及我們對今年剩餘時間的展望和優先事項。在他們發表講話後，我們將開通電話線路進行問答。

This morning, we're joined on this conference call by investors and others who are listening to our comments via webcast. Following the call, Michael and I will be available to answer your follow-up questions.

今天早上，投資者和其他通過網絡廣播收聽我們評論的人加入了我們的電話會議。通話結束後，邁克爾和我將回答您的後續問題。

And finally, as a reminder, any forward-looking statements that we make this morning are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those described in this morning's earnings press release and in our most recently filed 10-K.

最後，提醒一下，我們今天早上做出的任何前瞻性陳述都受到風險和不確定性的影響，包括今天早上的收益新聞稿和我們最近提交的 10-K 中描述的風險和不確定性。

Also in these remarks, we refer to non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted earnings per share. Reconciliations of all non-GAAP numbers to the most directly comparable GAAP number are included in this morning's press release, which is posted on our Investor Relations website.

在這些評論中，我們還提到了非公認會計準則財務指標，包括調整後每股收益。所有非 GAAP 數據與最直接可比的 GAAP 數據的對賬均包含在今天上午的新聞稿中，該新聞稿發佈在我們的投資者關係網站上。

With that, I'll turn it over to Brian for his thoughts on the second quarter and his priorities for the remainder of the year. Brian?

接下來，我將向 Brian 詢問他對第二季度的想法以及今年剩餘時間的優先事項。布萊恩？

Thanks, John, and good morning, everyone. In the second quarter, our team and our business model showed remarkable resilience in the face of multiple headwinds in the external environment. While these headwinds have led to a temporary slowdown in the pace of our business, that doesn't mean our team is standing still. Throughout the company, our team remains focused on staying agile and flexible as we continue to serve our guests and to listen carefully to them in this very dynamic environment.

謝謝約翰，大家早上好。第二季度，面對外部環境的多重阻力，我們的團隊和業務模式表現出了非凡的韌性。雖然這些不利因素導致我們的業務節奏暫時放緩，但這並不意味著我們的團隊會停滯不前。在整個公司中，我們的團隊始終致力於保持敏捷性和靈活性，在這個充滿活力的環境中繼續為客人提供服務並仔細傾聽他們的意見。

And we're fortunate to have a business model that's inherently flexible by design. We offer a balanced multi-category assortment that's focused on our guests' wants and needs, allowing us to stay relevant in any environment and to quickly pivot as our guest priorities change. And our unique stores as hubs model, a concept we pioneered in the retail industry, allows us to serve our guests quickly, flexibly and reliably on every shopping journey, whether it takes place in a store or on a digital device.

我們很幸運能夠擁有一種設計本質上靈活的商業模式。我們提供均衡的多類別產品，專注於客人的需求，使我們能夠在任何環境中保持相關性，並隨著客人優先事項的變化而快速調整。我們獨特的商店作為中心模式是我們在零售行業首創的概念，使我們能夠在每次購物旅程中快速、靈活和可靠地為客人提供服務，無論是在商店還是在數字設備上進行。

By continuously listening to, learning from and engaging with our guests and then refining our playbook with their insights, we'll continue to achieve our purpose of delivering everyday joy for all the families we serve while reinforcing our strong culture of caring, growing and winning together.

通過不斷傾聽、向客人學習並與客人互動，然後根據他們的見解完善我們的行動手冊，我們將繼續實現為我們服務的所有家庭提供日常歡樂的目標，同時強化我們關愛、成長和獲勝的強大文化一起。

As you'll recall, in the first half of 2022, we were faced with excess inventory, driven by a rapid change in consumer spending patterns. In the face of that challenge, the team took important steps a year ago, allowing us to quickly adjust our inventory down to the proper level. Those critical decisions have allowed our team to operate efficiently while focusing on serving our guests. They've enabled the presentation of fresh, seasonally appropriate assortments throughout the year and provided the flexibility to lean into share opportunities in key seasons, like Back-to-School and Back-to-College. And importantly, last year's inventory actions laid the groundwork for the recovery in profitability we've achieved so far this year.

您可能還記得，2022 年上半年，由於消費者支出模式的快速變化，我們面臨著庫存過剩的問題。面對這一挑戰，團隊一年前採取了重要步驟，使我們能夠迅速將庫存調整到適當的水平。這些關鍵決策使我們的團隊能夠高效運作，同時專注於為客人服務。他們能夠全年展示新鮮的、適合季節的品種，並提供在關鍵季節（例如返校和返校）分享機會的靈活性。重要的是，去年的庫存行動為我們今年迄今實現的盈利能力復甦奠定了基礎。

Our team also played a critical role in our second quarter profit performance. As we began to see softening sales trends early in the quarter, the team in our stores and supply chain responded with speed and agility. Their discipline, along with ongoing efficiency efforts, allowed our profit performance to exceed our original expectations despite a meaningful shortfall on the top line.

我們的團隊在第二季度的利潤表現中也發揮了關鍵作用。當我們在本季度初開始看到銷售趨勢疲軟時，我們商店和供應鏈的團隊迅速而敏捷地做出了反應。他們的紀律以及持續的效率努力使我們的利潤表現超出了我們最初的預期，儘管營收大幅下降。

More specifically, for the quarter just ended, operating income expanded by more than $800 million compared with a year ago. And despite the fact we've experienced more than a percentage point of cumulative profit pressure from higher shrink since 2019, our EPS of $3.86 through the first half of the year is more than 50% higher than in 2019. While this is encouraging progress, we are confident we'll see further meaningful increases in our profitability over time.

更具體地說，在剛剛結束的季度，營業收入比去年同期增長了超過 8 億美元。儘管自2019 年以來，我們因收縮幅度加大而遭受了超過一個百分點的累積利潤壓力，但今年上半年我們的每股收益為3.86 美元，比2019 年高出50% 以上。雖然這是令人鼓舞的進步，我們相信，隨著時間的推移，我們的盈利能力將進一步大幅提高。

On the top line, Q2 results were below our expectations as comparable sales decreased 5.4%. Within the quarter, comp trends softened from the second half of May into June, before we saw a meaningful recovery in both traffic and comps in July. In the month, we were especially pleased with trends around Independence Day holiday, along with Circle Week, which also resulted in the addition of more than 0.5 million new Target Circle members.

從營收來看，第二季度業績低於我們的預期，可比銷售額下降了 5.4%。在本季度內，從 5 月下半月到 6 月，競爭趨勢有所放緩，然後我們在 7 月份看到流量和競爭均出現有意義的複蘇。本月，我們對獨立日假期以及 Circle Week 的趨勢感到特別滿意，這也導致 Target Circle 新增超過 50 萬名新會員。

Consistent with recent industry trends, second quarter comps reflected continued growth in our frequency categories, offset by notable software results in our more discretionary categories. Across channels, sales were strongest in our stores, while results in our digital channel were led by continued growth in our Drive-Up service. Consistent with our stores as hubs strategy, more than 97% of our second quarter sales were fulfilled by our stores.

與最近的行業趨勢一致，第二季度的比較反映了我們的頻率類別的持續增長，但被我們更自由的類別中顯著的軟件業績所抵消。在各個渠道中，我們商店的銷售最為強勁，而我們的數字渠道的業績則得益於我們的駕車服務的持續增長。根據我們以門店為中心的戰略，我們第二季度超過 97% 的銷售額是由我們的門店完成的。

As we've described for more than a year now, the divergence of sales trends between our frequency and discretionary categories is being driven by multiple cross currents that are affecting the U.S. consumer. These include the impact of inflation in frequency categories, like Food & Beverage and Essentials, causing these categories to absorb a much-higher portion of consumers' budgets. In addition, consumers are choosing to increase spending on services, like leisure travel, entertainment and food away from home, putting near-term pressure on discretionary products. And finally, the rollback of government efforts to support consumers during the pandemic, including stimulus payments, enhanced child care tax credits and the suspension of student loan payments, presents an ongoing headwind that consumers continue to manage.

正如我們一年多以來所描述的那樣，我們的頻率類別和非必需品類別之間的銷售趨勢的差異是由影響美國消費者的多種交叉潮流所驅動的。其中包括食品飲料和必需品等頻率類別的通貨膨脹的影響，導致這些類別吸收了消費者預算的大部分。此外，消費者選擇增加休閒旅行、娛樂和外出美食等服務支出，給非必需品帶來短期壓力。最後，政府在大流行期間支持消費者的努力的倒退，包括刺激性支出、加強兒童保育稅收抵免和暫停學生貸款支付，給消費者帶來了持續的阻力。

Beyond these factors in the second quarter, many of our store team members faced a negative guest reaction to our Pride assortment. As you know, we have featured a Pride assortment for more than a decade. However, after the launch of the assortment this year, members of our team began experiencing threats and aggressive actions that affected their sense of safety and well being while at work.

除了第二季度的這些因素之外，我們的許多商店團隊成員還面臨著顧客對我們的驕傲系列的負面反應。如您所知，十多年來我們一直推出 Pride 系列。然而，今年推出該產品系列後，我們團隊的成員開始遇到威脅和攻擊性行為，影響了他們工作時的安全感和幸福感。

I want to make it clear: We denounce violence and hate of all kinds, and the safety our team and our guests is our top priority. So to protect the team in the face of these threatening circumstances, we quickly made changes, including the removal of items that were at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.

我想明確表示：我們譴責各種暴力和仇恨，我們團隊和客人的安全是我們的首要任務。因此，為了在面臨這些威脅的情況下保護團隊，我們迅速做出了改變，包括刪除了最嚴重的對抗行為的核心項目。

Pride is one of many heritage moments that are important to our guests and our team, and we'll continue to support these moments in the future. They are just one part of our commitment to support a diverse team, which helps us serve a diverse set of guests. And as we talk to these guests, they consistently tell us that Target is their happy place, somewhere they can go to escape and recharge. So as we navigate an ever-changing operating and social environment, we're committed to staying close to our guests and their expectations of Target.

驕傲是對我們的客人和我們的團隊來說很重要的眾多傳統時刻之一，我們將來將繼續支持這些時刻。它們只是我們支持多元化團隊的承諾的一部分，這有助於我們為多元化的客人提供服務。當我們與這些客人交談時，他們不斷地告訴我們 Target 是他們快樂的地方，是他們可以逃離喧囂、恢復活力的地方。因此，當我們應對不斷變化的運營和社會環境時，我們致力於貼近客人以及他們對 Target 的期望。

Specific to Pride and Heritage months, we're focused on building assortments that are celebratory and joyous with wide-ranging relevance, being mindful of timing, placement and presentation, leaning into segmentation and leveraging our digital experience and reconsidering the mix of owned brands, national brands and external partners within these assortments. Our goal is to ensure we continue to celebrate moments that are special to our guests while acknowledging that, every day, for millions of people, they want Target to serve as a refuge in their daily lives.

具體到驕傲月和傳統月，我們專注於打造具有廣泛相關性的喜慶和歡樂的品種，注意時機、佈局和展示，傾向於細分並利用我們的數字經驗，並重新考慮自有品牌的組合，這些類別中的民族品牌和外部合作夥伴。我們的目標是確保我們繼續慶祝對客人來說特別的時刻，同時承認，每天，對於數百萬人來說，他們希望塔吉特成為他們日常生活中的避難所。

In addition to these more recent challenges, our team continues to face an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime. As you'll hear in more detail from Michael, shrink in the second quarter remained consistent with our expectations, but well above the sustainable level where we expect to operate over time. And unfortunately, safety incidents associated with theft are moving in the wrong direction. During the first 5 months of this year, our stores saw a 120% increase in theft incidents involving violence or threats of violence. As a result, we're continuing to work tirelessly with retail industry groups and community partners to find solutions to promote safety for our store teams and our guests.

除了這些最近的挑戰之外，我們的團隊還繼續面臨數量令人無法接受的零售盜竊和有組織的零售犯罪。正如您將從邁克爾那裡聽到的更多細節，第二季度的收縮仍然符合我們的預期，但遠高於我們預期隨著時間的推移而運營的可持續水平。不幸的是，與盜竊相關的安全事件正朝著錯誤的方向發展。今年前 5 個月，我們商店涉及暴力或暴力威脅的盜竊事件增加了 120%。因此，我們將繼續與零售行業團體和社區合作夥伴不懈合作，尋找解決方案以提高商店團隊和客人的安全。

Looking ahead, as you'll hear from both Christina and John, our team is focused on moving forward and preparing for the biggest seasons of the year. And given the current consumer and economic backdrop, we've adjusted our guidance for the remainder of the year, consistent with a cautious planning approach that has served us so well during the first half of the year. Against this cautious backdrop, our team is laser-focused on delivering newness, quality and affordability, reinforced by a commitment to retail fundamentals.

展望未來，正如您從克里斯蒂娜和約翰那裡聽到的那樣，我們的團隊正專注於前進並為一年中最重要的季節做好準備。考慮到當前的消費者和經濟背景，我們調整了今年剩餘時間的指導，這與今年上半年對我們很有幫助的謹慎規劃方法一致。在這種謹慎的背景下，我們的團隊專注於提供新穎、優質和實惠的產品，並通過對零售基本面的承諾來強化這一點。

Given the rapid growth and the volatility our business has experienced over the last several years, we have an opportunity to refocus our team on 4 key factors that determine where consumers choose to shop: Being reliably in stock; highlighting affordability throughout our assortment, presentation and marketing; leveraging the proximity of our stores to the guests we serve; while ensuring a seamless differentiated, easy and inspiring guest experience on every trip, every day. These areas have always been a source of strength, and we want to ensure we continue to differentiate our experience from our competitors.

鑑於我們的業務在過去幾年中經歷了快速增長和波動，我們有機會重新將我們的團隊的重點放在決定消費者選擇購物地點的 4 個關鍵因素上： 可靠的庫存；在我們的產品分類、展示和營銷中強調價格實惠；利用我們的商店與我們服務的客人的距離；同時確保每天的每一次旅行都能為賓客提供無縫、差異化、輕鬆且鼓舞人心的體驗。這些領域一直是我們的力量源泉，我們希望確保我們繼續將我們的經驗與競爭對手區分開來。

Within our merchandising, we'll continue to invest in our industry-leading owned brand portfolio, along with the expansion of key national brand partnerships like Ulta Beauty, Levis, Apple and Disney. We'll focus on deepening the relationship with over 100 million Target Circle members and leveraging the power of our Roundel ad business to integrate relevant offers and promotions throughout the fall. And we'll continue to drive awareness of our industry-leading Drive-Up service and highlight the recent addition of new guest-focused options, including Drive-Up returns and the ability to have a Starbuck beverage delivered with your order.

在我們的銷售範圍內，我們將繼續投資於行業領先的自有品牌組合，同時擴大 Ulta Beauty、Levis、Apple 和 Disney 等主要國內品牌合作夥伴關係。我們將重點深化與超過 1 億 Target Circle 會員的關係，並利用 Roundel 廣告業務的力量在整個秋季整合相關優惠和促銷活動。我們將繼續提高人們對我們行業領先的駕車服務的認識，並重點介紹最近增加的以客人為中心的新選項，包括駕車退貨以及隨訂單配送星巴克飲料的功能。

Of course, we'll also continue to invest in our physical assets to position us for continued future growth. But the bulk of these investments are happening in our stores as we add new locations, complete full store remodels, enhance the efficiency of our same-day services and add new locations for our Ulta Beauty partnership, Disney store concept or enhanced Apple experience.

當然，我們還將繼續投資於我們的實物資產，為我們未來的持續增長做好準備。但這些投資的大部分都發生在我們的商店中，因為我們增加了新地點，完成了全面的商店改造，提高了當日服務的效率，並為我們的Ulta Beauty 合作夥伴關係、迪士尼商店概念或增強的蘋果體驗增加了新地點。

In the supply chain, we're continuing to invest in upstream replenishment capabilities, along with the expansion of our network of sortation centers, which deliver meaningful savings while increasing the speed of our last-mile delivery.

在供應鏈中，我們繼續投資於上游補貨能力，同時擴大我們的分揀中心網絡，這可以在提高最後一英里交付速度的同時節省大量成本。

So now before I turn the call over to Christina, I want to pause and take stock of where our business is today. And I think it's helpful to pull back the lens because 2023 is the fourth year in a row in which the external backdrop has been far different from anything we've ever experienced. Yet today, as a result of our team's consistent efforts to listen, understand and serve our guests, Target is a much different company than it was 4 years ago. We have the right strategy, guest relevance and team to deliver sustainable long-term growth.

因此，在將電話轉給克里斯蒂娜之前，我想暫停一下，評估一下我們今天的業務狀況。我認為拉回鏡頭是有幫助的，因為 2023 年是外部背景連續第四年與我們經歷過的任何事情都大不相同。然而，今天，由於我們團隊不斷努力傾聽、理解和服務客人，Target 已與 4 年前截然不同。我們擁有正確的戰略、賓客相關性和團隊來實現可持續的長期增長。

Through the first half of 2023, our total revenue of just over $50 billion was about 39% higher than the $36 billion we delivered in 2019. This growth reflects significant increases across our entire business in all 5 merchandising categories in both our stores and digital channels and in our Roundel ad business. And this growth reflects an increase in guest engagement, as measured by the number of visits they're making to Target. And today, despite the challenges we faced in recent quarters, the number of guest trips through the first half of 2023 was more than 169 million higher or more than 21% higher than in 2019. Our team delivered this growth during a time of exceptional uncertainty and volatility. I want to end my remarks by acknowledging that accomplishment.

到2023 年上半年，我們的總收入略高於500 億美元，比2019 年的360 億美元高出約39%。這一增長反映了我們整個業務在商店和數字渠道的所有5 個商品類別中的顯著增長以及我們的 Roundel 廣告業務。這種增長反映了賓客參與度的提高（以賓客訪問 Target 的次數來衡量）。如今，儘管我們在最近幾個季度面臨挑戰，但2023 年上半年的旅客出行人數仍比2019 年增加了1.69 億人次，即增長了21% 以上。我們的團隊在異常不確定的時期實現了這一增長和波動性。我想通過承認這一成就來結束我的發言。

And I also want to recognize the team members in our stores and distribution centers for the way they quickly responded to the recent and unexpected slowdown in our top line sales trends. It's because of their discipline and agility that we've continued to provide an outstanding shopping experience while delivering better-than-expected profitability so far this year. On behalf of all our stakeholders, I want to thank our entire team for their continued extraordinary efforts.

我還想表彰我們商店和配送中心的團隊成員，他們對最近我們的頂線銷售趨勢意外放緩做出了快速反應。正是由於他們的紀律和敏捷性，我們今年迄今為止才繼續提供出色的購物體驗，同時實現了好於預期的盈利能力。我謹代表我們所有的利益相關者，感謝我們整個團隊持續做出的非凡努力。

Now I'll turn the call over to Christina.

現在我將把電話轉給克里斯蒂娜。

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. Despite the multiple headwinds we were faced on the top line, there were a number of things to like in the second quarter. Of the many notable bright spots, our team's agile execution in service of our guests and each other rises to the top.

謝謝布萊恩，大家早上好。儘管我們在營收方面面臨多重阻力，但第二季度還是有很多值得喜歡的事情。在眾多顯著的亮點中，我們團隊為客人和彼此服務的敏捷執行力名列前茅。

Consumers continue to face difficult choices with every purchase. Whether managing their budgets in the face of higher prices or planning for resuming student loan payments, our guests are facing multiple ongoing challenges. With inflation rates moderating, however, we've started to see consumer confidence begin to recover from recent lows. And while we're maintaining an appropriately cautious outlook today, we're hopeful that conditions can improve with time. In the meantime, even as consumers continue to spend with caution, our guests continue to embrace newness and seasonally relevant moments, all with an unwavering focus on affordability.

消費者在每次購買時仍然面臨艱難的選擇。無論是在價格上漲的情況下管理預算，還是計劃恢復學生貸款支付，我們的客人都面臨著多重持續的挑戰。然而，隨著通脹率放緩，我們開始看到消費者信心開始從近期低點恢復。雖然我們今天對前景保持適當謹慎的態度，但我們希望情況能夠隨著時間的推移而改善。與此同時，儘管消費者繼續謹慎消費，但我們的客人仍繼續擁抱新鮮事物和與季節相關的時刻，所有這些都堅定不移地關注負擔能力。

In the second quarter, comparable sales were down 5.4%, softer than our expectations coming into the quarter. Frequency categories continue to grow, partially offsetting the softness we saw in discretionary categories. Essentials & Beauty grew in the mid-single digits, led by Beauty, which delivered comp growth in the low double digits. Within our Beauty offering, core Beauty delivered double-digit growth while sales from Ulta Beauty at Target more than doubled compared with a year ago, showing why we're so enthusiastic about this exclusive partnership.

第二季度可比銷售額下降 5.4%，低於我們對本季度的預期。頻率類別繼續增長，部分抵消了我們在非必需類別中看到的疲軟狀態。必需品和美容品類實現了中個位數增長，其中美容品類領銜，實現了低兩位數的複合增長率。在我們的美容產品中，核心美容業務實現了兩位數的增長，而 Target 的 Ulta Beauty 銷售額比一年前增長了一倍多，這表明我們為何對這一獨家合作夥伴關係如此熱衷。

Food & Beverage sales were in the low single digits, and we saw particular strength in snacks, candy and beverages. Conversely, discretionary categories softened further from recent trends, with Apparel, Home and Hardlines all seeing comp declines in the low double digits to mid-teens in the second quarter, several percentage points softer than in the first quarter. Even as trends in these categories remain quite soft overall, there are pockets of newness that are working quite well, and we're doubling down on investments in those areas.

食品和飲料銷售額處於較低的個位數，我們看到零食、糖果和飲料的銷售尤其強勁。相反，非必需品類別較近期趨勢進一步疲軟，第二季度服裝、家居和硬裝品類的同比跌幅均在兩位數至十幾歲之間，比第一季度小了幾個百分點。儘管這些類別的趨勢總體上仍然相當疲軟，但仍有一些新事物運作良好，我們正在加倍加大對這些領域的投資。

For example, our Entertainment business within Hardlines continues to see healthy growth in the mid-single digits, driven by newness in books and renewed growth in vinyl records. With that in mind and knowing how our guests can't get enough of Taylor Swift, we proactively secured an exclusive vinyl offering that Swifties bought in droves. Additionally, in Home, we've seen incredible demand for Stanley tumblers and cups. So we worked in partnership with Chip and Joanna Gaines to add exclusive new colors to the line as part of our beloved owned brand, Hearth & Hand, found only at Target.

例如，在書籍的新穎性和黑膠唱片的重新增長的推動下，我們的 Hardlines 娛樂業務繼續保持中個位數的健康增長。考慮到這一點，並了解我們的客人對泰勒·斯威夫特 (Taylor Swift) 的喜愛程度，我們主動獲得了泰勒·斯威夫特 (Taylor Swift) 成群結隊購買的獨家黑膠唱片。此外，在家居領域，我們看到對 Stanley 玻璃杯和杯子的巨大需求。因此，我們與 Chip 和 Joanna Gaines 合作，為該系列添加了獨特的新顏色，作為我們深愛的自有品牌 Hearth & Hand 的一部分，該品牌僅在 Target 出售。

As you heard from Brian, we anticipated some of the headwinds at play throughout the second quarter. including the continued pullback in discretionary spending. Other headwinds were incremental, including the strong reaction to this year's Pride assortment. Our goal is for our assortment to resonate broadly and deliver on the Target brand promise. In this case, the reaction is a signal for us to pause, adapt and learn so that our future approach to these moments balances celebration, inclusivity and broad-based appeal.

正如您從布萊恩那裡聽到的那樣，我們預計第二季度會出現一些不利因素。包括可自由支配支出的持續縮減。其他不利因素也在不斷增加，包括對今年驕傲系列的強烈反應。我們的目標是讓我們的產品系列引起廣泛共鳴並兌現 Target 品牌承諾。在這種情況下，這種反應是我們暫停、適應和學習的信號，以便我們未來應對這些時刻的方法能夠平衡慶祝、包容性和廣泛的吸引力。

As we move ahead, we're confident that if we stay close to our guests, consistently execute on our retail fundamentals and continue investing in our assortments, services and experiences, we will position Target for continued growth over the long term. After all, as a guest-led company, we have been listening to and learning from our guests for decades.

在我們前進的過程中，我們相信，如果我們與顧客保持密切聯繫，始終如一地執行我們的零售基本原則，並繼續投資於我們的品種、服務和體驗，我們將使 Target 實現長期持續增長。畢竟，作為一家以賓客為主導的公司，幾十年來我們一直在傾聽賓客的意見並向他們學習。

As an example, last year, we heard loud and clear that Target Circle members love exclusive events. So we repurposed last year's Deal Days and made our Target Circle Week in July bigger than ever with incremental promotions and new ways to engage. In fact, we enrolled well over 0.5 million new guests during this event alone, more than 3.5x higher than in an average week.

舉個例子，去年，我們清楚地聽到 Target Circle 成員喜歡獨家活動。因此，我們重新調整了去年的促銷日的用途，並通過增量促銷和新的參與方式，使 7 月份的目標圈週規模比以往任何時候都更大。事實上，僅在本次活動期間，我們就吸引了超過 50 萬新客人，比平均一周高出 3.5 倍多。

Additionally, Beauty guests told us for years how they would love the convenience of completing their beauty trip with access to prestige beauty products while shopping at Target. This led to the development of a unique partnership with Ulta Beauty to meet those needs. And today, based on the strong results we've seen so far, we continue to expand the footprint of these new shop-in-shops.

此外，多年來，美容客人告訴我們，他們非常喜歡在 Target 購物時能夠方便地完成美容之旅並獲得優質美容產品。為此，我們與 Ulta Beauty 建立了獨特的合作夥伴關係，以滿足這些需求。今天，基於我們迄今為止所取得的強勁成果，我們繼續擴大這些新店中店的足跡。

When our guests, who already love our Drive-Up service, told us that they wanted us to add Starbucks and the ability to make returns, we quickly built, piloted and are now rolling out those capabilities across the chain, and we're seeing incredibly high Net Promoter Scores from our guests.

當我們的客人已經喜歡我們的駕車服務時，他們告訴我們他們希望我們增加星巴克和退貨的能力，我們迅速建立、試點，現在正在整個連鎖店推廣這些功能，我們看到我們的客人獲得了令人難以置信的高淨推薦值。

And well before the recent release of the long-awaited Barbie Movie, we collaborated with our vendor partners to secure exclusive items across multiple categories while adding a splash of pink style for Barbie fans of all ages. Barbie, along with Disney's The Little Mermaid, are the most recent examples of our long record of success in securing timely, relevant product lines supporting key movie licenses across toys, apparel, home, beauty and food, which have allowed us to consistently capture between 30% and 60% market share with these properties.

早在期待已久的《芭比大電影》最近上映之前，我們就與供應商合作夥伴合作，確保了多個類別的獨家商品，同時為所有年齡段的芭比粉絲增添了一抹粉色風格。芭比娃娃和迪士尼的《小美人魚》是我們長期以來在獲得及時、相關的產品線方面取得成功的最新例子，這些產品線支持玩具、服裝、家居、美容和食品等領域的主要電影許可，這使我們能夠始終如一地捕捉這些房產分別佔據 30% 和 60% 的市場份額。

While we continue to take a conservative inventory position overall, these examples show that we are still leaning into key opportunities. We know our guests want to celebrate culturally and seasonally relevant moments, and we'll be leaning into those moments in a big way in the third quarter and the upcoming holiday season. And our guests have told us that affordability; availability; and easy, convenient and consistently joyful shopping experience are more important than ever.

雖然我們總體上繼續採取保守的庫存頭寸，但這些例子表明我們仍在抓住關鍵機會。我們知道我們的客人想要慶祝與文化和季節相關的時刻，我們將在第三季度和即將到來的假日季節大力關注這些時刻。我們的客人告訴我們，負擔得起；可用性;輕鬆、便捷、始終如一的愉悅購物體驗比以往任何時候都更加重要。

While I've shared in prior calls that we're always focused on retail fundamentals, we're further sharpening our focus on 4 key aspects: Comprehensive affordability, in-stock levels, leveraging our proximity to our guests and the overall shopping experience.

雖然我在之前的電話會議中表示，我們始終關注零售基本面，但我們正在進一步加強對 4 個關鍵方面的關注：綜合承受能力、庫存水平、利用我們與客人的距離以及整體購物體驗。

For a great example look no further than our Back-to-School and Back-to-College assortments. We know our guests are approaching Back-to-School with a value-conscious, deal-driven mindset, so we're leaning into savings for teachers and college students, including our 20% off Teachers Appreciation and Student Savings events. We're also featuring ultra low everyday prices all season long, with school supplies starting as low as $0.25, and key items such as lunch boxes and graphic tees at compelling $5 price points. And just in time for Back-to-School, we're launching new Good & Gather products, including an assortment of new lunchbox-sized items.

我們的返校和返校系列就是一個很好的例子。我們知道我們的客人帶著價值意識和優惠驅動的心態來迎接返校節，因此我們傾向於為教師和大學生提供優惠，包括我們的 20% 折扣教師感謝活動和學生優惠活動。我們還提供整個季節的超低日常價格，學校用品起價為 0.25 美元，午餐盒和圖案 T 恤等重要商品的價格為 5 美元。正好趕上返校，我們推出了新的 Good & Gather 產品，包括各種午餐盒大小的新產品。

Back-to-College is always a big season for Target. This year, we're leaning into affordability as well as proximity to college-bound students. This includes strategic inventory bets and allocations in key markets where there are the greatest market share opportunities to ensure we're in stock and ready to play offense during this critical season.

對於 Target 來說，重返大學始終是一個重要的季節。今年，我們傾向於考慮負擔能力以及與即將上大學的學生的距離。這包括在關鍵市場的戰略庫存押注和分配，這些市場有最大的市場份額機會，以確保我們有庫存並準備好在這個關鍵季節發起進攻。

Of course, affordability goes well beyond a single season like Back-to-School. In fact, with many consumers making their decisions on where to shop based on affordability, we're highlighting the comprehensive value we provide through our $30-plus billion owned brand portfolio.

當然，負擔能力遠遠超出了像返校季這樣的單一季節。事實上，隨著許多消費者根據承受能力來決定去哪裡購物，我們正在強調我們通過價值超過 30 億美元的自有品牌組合提供的綜合價值。

For example, Threshold, our flagship owned brand in Home, just received a major facelift. With new branding, stronger price points and a clarified aesthetic to help guests mix and match affordable styles for their homes, this beloved brand will be even easier to love. And just in time for the holidays, we'll be launching new owned brands while expanding others, including the launch of a new kitchenware line that will make everyday meal prep easier while offering incredible quality and durability. Look for lots of newness on store shelves and online later this Fall.

例如，我們在 Home 領域的旗艦自有品牌 Threshold 剛剛進行了重大改款。憑藉新的品牌、更強大的價格點和清晰的審美，幫助客人為自己的家混合搭配價格實惠的風格，這個深受喜愛的品牌將更容易受到喜愛。正好趕上假期，我們將推出新的自有品牌，同時擴大其他品牌，包括推出新的廚具系列，該系列將使日常膳食準備變得更容易，同時提供令人難以置信的質量和耐用性。今年秋季晚些時候，您可以在商店貨架和網上尋找大量新品。

As John will cover in more detail, we continue to invest heavily in our in-store experience, which starts with new stores and remodels that incorporate our latest and greatest offerings, including Apple, Levi's and Disney experiences, as well as the additional Ulta Beauty at Target locations. And just like we remodel our stores to reflect our latest thinking and guest feedback into the shopping experience, we'll begin rolling out a remodel of our digital experience this quarter.

正如約翰將更詳細地介紹的那樣，我們將繼續大力投資店內體驗，首先是新店和改造，融入我們最新和最棒的產品，包括 Apple、Levi's 和 Disney 體驗，以及額外的 Ulta Beauty在目標位置。就像我們改造商店以將我們最新的想法和顧客反饋反映到購物體驗中一樣，我們將於本季度開始推出數字體驗的改造。

Based on guest feedback, we're investing to create a digital experience that enhances the love of discovery while balancing the ease of navigation. This will include different landing experiences, more personalized content, enhanced search functionality, ease of navigation and other updates to bring more joy and convenience to our digital guests.

根據客人的反饋，我們正在投資創造一種數字體驗，以增強對探索的熱愛，同時平衡導航的便捷性。這將包括不同的著陸體驗、更個性化的內容、增強的搜索功能、便捷的導航和其他更新，為我們的數字客人帶來更多歡樂和便利。

Through it all, our teams continue to exhibit a commitment to excellence in the pursuit of helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. Regardless of the external environment, our team consistently shows up and rises to the moment. I'm incredibly proud to work alongside such a talented team. Thank you for all you do to bring that Target magic to life day in and day out.

自始至終，我們的團隊都不斷展現出追求卓越的承諾，致力於幫助所有家庭發現日常生活的樂趣。無論外部環境如何，我們的團隊始終如一地表現出來並迎頭趕上。我非常自豪能夠與這樣一個才華橫溢的團隊一起工作。感謝您日復一日為將 Target 魔力帶入生活所做的一切。

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

這樣，我就把電話轉給約翰。

Thanks, Christina. Like Brian and Christina, I want to start by thanking our amazing team. This quarter's better-than-expected profitability was a testament to their agility and resilience as they successfully managed through multiple challenges.

謝謝，克里斯蒂娜。和布萊恩和克里斯蒂娜一樣，我首先要感謝我們出色的團隊。本季度好於預期的盈利能力證明了他們成功應對多重挑戰的敏捷性和韌性。

And while the team deserves credit for this performance, they got an assist from this year's leaner inventory position which offered more room to maneuver than a year ago when the team was dealing with excess inventory. This year, with unclouded facilities, a renewed focus on retail fundamentals and our continued work to enhance efficiency, the team delivered an impressive increase in profitability in the face of a challenging top line.

雖然團隊的這一表現值得讚揚，但他們從今年更精簡的庫存狀況中得到了幫助，這比一年前團隊處理過剩庫存時提供了更多的迴旋餘地。今年，憑藉無雲的設施、重新關注零售基本面以及我們持續努力提高效率，面對充滿挑戰的營收，該團隊實現了令人印象深刻的盈利增長。

Across the entire supply chain, we're benefiting from much more favorable conditions than a year ago. Perhaps most notable is in global shipping, where second quarter import lead times were nearly 30 days shorter than last year and within a couple of days of pre-pandemic levels. In our domestic supply chain, because of strong partnership with our vendors, we're seeing improvement on multiple performance metrics, including fill rates and on-time arrivals. And at our regional distribution centers, inbound backlogs have been reduced by more than a day since last year.

在整個供應鏈中，我們受益於比一年前更加有利的條件。也許最值得注意的是全球航運，第二季度的進口交貨時間比去年縮短了近 30 天，與大流行前的水平相差幾天。在我們的國內供應鏈中，由於與供應商建立了牢固的合作夥伴關係，我們看到了多個績效指標的改善，包括填充率和準時到達率。在我們的區域配送中心，自去年以來，入庫積壓已減少了一天多。

In the new flow centers we've opened over the last couple of years, we're also seeing improvements across multiple performance metrics as these new buildings continue to scale up towards capacity. In support of their primary role in replenishing store inventory, these facilities were designed and equipped to support our stores as hubs strategy with newly developed automation that can assemble customized, presorted and sequence shipments for every store they serve.

在我們過去幾年開設的新流動中心中，隨著這些新建築不斷擴大容量，我們還看到了多個性能指標的改進。為了支持他們在補充商店庫存方面的主要作用，這些設施的設計和裝備是為了支持我們的商店作為中心戰略，採用新開發的自動化技術，可以為他們服務的每個商店組裝定制、預分類和排序的發貨。

With these shipments, stores see faster replenishment times, require less labor to unload a trailer and maintain lower levels of backroom inventory. More precisely, stores being serviced by these new facilities have seen a 20% reduction in lead times, enabling them to respond more quickly to changes in guest demand. Also notable, stores serviced by these new facilities are benefiting from improvements in in-stock levels while maintaining lower levels of backroom inventory.

通過這些發貨，商店可以看到更快的補貨時間，卸載拖車所需的勞動力更少，並保持較低水平的後台庫存。更準確地說，由這些新設施提供服務的商店的交貨時間縮短了 20%，使他們能夠更快地響應顧客需求的變化。同樣值得注意的是，由這些新設施提供服務的商店受益於庫存水平的提高，同時保持較低的後台庫存水平。

Beyond store replenishment, we're operating these new flow centers in a way that's unique within the industry. In the same way we pioneered ways to leverage the proximity, inventory and assets in our stores to quickly and efficiently fulfill digital orders, we're leveraging those same characteristics of our flow centers to fulfill certain digital orders beyond their primary role in replenishing store inventories.

除了商店補貨之外，我們還以業內獨特的方式運營這些新的流動中心。同樣，我們開創了利用商店中的鄰近性、庫存和資產來快速有效地履行數字訂單的方法，我們正在利用流動中心的相同特徵來履行某些數字訂單，而不僅僅是補充商店庫存的主要作用。

In light of our focus on retail fundamentals throughout the supply chain, our stores are seeing meaningful improvements in their in-stocks, even with 17% lower inventory on our balance sheet than a year ago. In the second quarter, overall in-stocks were a full percentage point better than first quarter and more than 2 points better than last year. We've seen even bigger improvements on our top items and in our top stores. And this year, we sat with meaningfully better in-stocks on key seasonal programs, including Back-to-School and Back-to-College, than we saw a year ago.

鑑於我們對整個供應鏈零售基本面的關注，我們的商店的庫存量出現了有意義的改善，儘管我們的資產負債表上的庫存比一年前減少了 17%。第二季度，整體庫存量比第一季度好整整一個百分點，比去年好2個百分點以上。我們看到我們的頂級商品和頂級商店有了更大的改進。今年，我們在關鍵季節性計劃（包括返校和返校）上的庫存明顯比一年前更好。

Our new sortation centers are delivering outstanding results. These facilities operate downstream from our stores and help to increase the speed and efficiency of last-mile delivery. Up to 70% of the packages processed by these facilities stay in the local market, allowing us to partner with Shipt to handle the last mile. This integration with Shipt allows us to achieve meaningful efficiency and cost savings while offering much greater speed of delivery to our guests.

我們的新分揀中心正在取得出色的成果。這些設施在我們商店的下游運營，有助於提高最後一英里配送的速度和效率。這些設施處理的包裹中，高達 70% 留在當地市場，使我們能夠與 Shipt 合作處理最後一英里。與 Shipt 的集成使我們能夠實現有意義的效率和成本節約，同時為我們的客人提供更快的交付速度。

More specifically, in markets where we operate a sortation center, the average click-to-deliver time is nearly 1.5 days shorter than the network average, with about 1/3 of the packages arriving in only 1 day. As we continue to open new buildings and test and iterate on their operating model, we expect these speed metrics will continue to improve in the future.

更具體地說，在我們運營分揀中心的市場中，平均點擊送達時間比網絡平均時間短近 1.5 天，約 1/3 的包裹僅在 1 天內到達。隨著我們繼續開設新建築並測試和迭代其運營模式，我們預計這些速度指標未來將繼續提高。

Today, based on the proven success of this strategy, we have 10 sortation centers already operating and expect to open at least 6 more over the next few years. This current group of sortation centers is expected to process more than 35 million packages in 2023, representing a more than 20% increase from a year ago and a more than sixfold increase from 2021.

如今，基於這一戰略的成功，我們已經運營了 10 個分揀中心，並預計在未來幾年內將開設至少 6 個分揀中心。目前這批分揀中心預計到 2023 年將處理超過 3500 萬個包裹，比一年前增長 20% 以上，比 2021 年增長六倍以上。

As I described in our call 3 months ago, store teams this year have been focused on reinforcing best practices that support the retail fundamentals Christina highlighted earlier. In particular, this year, we've been investing to provide incremental training and reporting on several key factors that play a critical role in providing a great shopping experience, including staffing and scheduling; setting, filling and replenishing merchandise presentations; and protecting the safety of our guests and our team.

正如我在 3 個月前的電話會議中所描述的，商店團隊今年一直致力於加強支持克里斯蒂娜之前強調的零售基本面的最佳實踐。特別是，今年，我們一直在投資提供增量培訓和報告，涉及在提供良好購物體驗方面發揮關鍵作用的幾個關鍵因素，包括人員配置和日程安排；設置、填寫和補充商品展示；保護我們的客人和我們團隊的安全。

Throughout this year, our store teams have been progressing through a strategically sequenced training program designed to reinforce these best practices at key moments, like Back-to-School and Back-to-College. The goal is to provide an elevated, consistent experience every day in every store across the country.

今年全年，我們的商店團隊一直在進行戰略性有序的培訓計劃，旨在在關鍵時刻（例如返校和返校）強化這些最佳實踐。我們的目標是每天在全國每家商店提供優質、一致的體驗。

Since we've rolled out this training, we've seen broad-based improvement on performance metrics tied to critical guest outcomes, including pricing accuracy, locating items for digital orders and setting key seasonal programs more quickly and completely. And in support of the goal of achieving greater consistency in the level of execution across our nearly 2,000 stores, we've implemented a new rapid response process to help individual locations recover more quickly when they begin to see a decline in key metrics.

自從我們推出這項培訓以來，我們看到與關鍵客戶結果相關的績效指標得到了廣泛的改進，包括定價準確性、定位數字訂單的商品以及更快、更完整地設置關鍵季節性計劃。為了支持在近 2,000 家門店的執行水平上實現更高一致性的目標，我們實施了新的快速響應流程，以幫助各個門店在關鍵指標開始下降時更快地恢復。

Also in stores, as Christina mentioned, we are really pleased with the early results from nationwide rollout of Drive-Up returns and the ability to add a Starbucks order to a Drive-Up trip. We've long said that Drive-Up receives the highest satisfaction rating of any service we provide. And as proud as we are of what we've already accomplished, we continually push ourselves to find new ways to further differentiate Drive-Up. And when we ask our guests how we could do that, they told us that adding Starbucks and taking returns were at the top of their list.

同樣在商店中，正如克里斯蒂娜提到的，我們對全國范圍內推出“駕車送達”退貨服務以及在“駕車送達”旅行中添加星巴克訂單的功能的早期結果感到非常滿意。我們長期以來一直表示，在我們提供的所有服務中，Drive-Up 獲得了最高的滿意度評價。儘管我們對已經取得的成就感到自豪，但我們不斷推動自己尋找新的方法，以進一步使 Drive-Up 脫穎而出。當我們詢問客人如何做到這一點時，他們告訴我們，添加星巴克和退貨是他們的首要任務。

To ensure that we could consistently execute on these new services while maintaining the high bar we've attained for satisfaction, we applied a disciplined test-and-iterate approach to the rollout, beginning with small-scale tests in the second half of 2022. Following a successful test of Drive-Up returns, we launched the service nationwide in April and May, and the results have been outstanding. Once a guest arrives at a Drive-Up lane, the average wait time for a team member to process their return is within 3 minutes, consistent with our standards for a traditional Drive-Up order.

為了確保我們能夠始終如一地執行這些新服務，同時保持我們所達到的高滿意度，我們在推出過程中採用了嚴格的測試和迭代方法，從 2022 年下半年的小規模測試開始。繼成功測試“免下車”退貨服務後，我們於四月和五月在全國范圍內推出了這項服務，效果非常出色。客人到達得來速車道後，團隊成員處理退貨的平均等待時間不超過 3 分鐘，這與我們傳統得來速訂單的標準一致。

As we began testing the addition of Starbucks to Drive-Up, and given the complexities of making and promptly delivering a hot or cold beverage after our guest arrives, we wanted to put the process through an intensive period of testing and refinement. And today, based on what we've learned during the test period, we're confident we can scale up this service while consistently maintaining our service standards. As a result, we're currently in the process of rolling out Starbucks at Drive-Up nationwide and plan to complete the rollout by the end of October, just in time for pumpkin spice latte season.

當我們開始測試將星巴克添加到 Drive-Up 中時，考慮到在客人到達後製作和及時提供熱飲或冷飲的複雜性，我們希望對該流程進行密集的測試和改進。今天，根據我們在測試期間學到的知識，我們有信心能夠擴大這項服務，同時始終保持我們的服務標準。因此，我們目前正在全國范圍內推出星巴克 Drive-Up 服務，併計劃在 10 月底之前完成推出，正好趕上南瓜香料拿鐵季節。

So now before I finish my remarks, I want to provide a brief update on this year's new store openings. As you know, we plan to open about 20 new locations this year, ranging in size from 20,000 to 137,000 square feet. In the second quarter, we completed and opened another 5 new stores, bringing our year-to-date total to 11.

因此，在我結束髮言之前，我想簡單介紹一下今年新店開業的最新情況。如您所知，我們計劃今年開設約 20 個新店，面積從 20,000 平方英尺到 137,000 平方英尺不等。第二季度，我們又竣工並開設了 5 家新店，使年初至今的門店總數達到 11 家。

Highlight of our second quarter projects was the opening of our first new offshore location since 2021, a new store in the Oahu Windward Mall, bringing our store count in Hawaii up to 9. At 132,000 square feet and featuring a Starbucks, Ulta Beauty, CVS, Snack Bar and 18 Drive-Up stalls, this is one of the largest stores we'll open in 2023. And I'm happy to say that it had one of the strongest openings of the year, reflecting outstanding execution by our team. Like our other stores in Hawaii, this new location is expected to be one of the most productive in the chain. And during its first week, it generated the second-highest sales volume out of the most recent 175 stores we've opened.

我們第二季度項目的亮點是自2021 年以來第一家新的離岸店的開業，即歐胡島Windward Mall 的一家新店，使我們在夏威夷的門店數量達到9 家。面積132,000 平方英尺，設有星巴克、Ulta Beauty、CVS 、小吃店和18 個免下車攤位，這是我們將在2023 年開設的最大的商店之一。我很高興地說，它是今年開業最強勁的商店之一，反映了我們團隊出色的執行力。與我們在夏威夷的其他商店一樣，這個新店預計將成為連鎖店中生產力最高的商店之一。在開業第一周，它的銷量在我們最近開設的 175 家商店中名列第二。

I also want to pause and acknowledge the devastating wildfires that hit Maui in Hawaii. Thankfully, members of our team there are safe, though some have lost homes, had to evacuate or are providing shelter for family and friends. Our nearby stores remain open, helping guests to get much-needed essentials while donating masks and other emergency supplies. In addition, Target has announced a $1 million donation to help national and local disaster partners, and our team member giving fund is collecting donations from team members across the country to help their colleagues impacted by these wildfires.

我還想停下來承認襲擊夏威夷毛伊島的毀滅性野火。值得慶幸的是，我們那裡的團隊成員都很安全，儘管有些人失去了家園，不得不撤離或正在為家人和朋友提供庇護。我們附近的商店仍然營業，幫助客人獲得急需的必需品，同時捐贈口罩和其他緊急物資。此外，Target 還宣布捐贈 100 萬美元來幫助國家和地方救災合作夥伴，我們的團隊成員捐贈基金正在收集全國各地團隊成員的捐款，以幫助受野火影響的同事。

So as I turn the call over to Michael, I want to end with where I started and highlight the tireless efforts of the best team in retail. The last 4 years have been anything but business as usual, and through it all, our team has consistently maintained their focus on what matters most: Taking care of our guests and taking care of each other. I couldn't be more proud to work alongside them and learn from them every day.

因此，當我將電話轉給邁克爾時，我想以我的起點結束並強調零售業最佳團隊的不懈努力。過去 4 年一切都與往常不同，但自始至終，我們的團隊始終專注於最重要的事情：照顧我們的客人並互相照顧。能夠每天與他們一起工作並向他們學習，我感到非常自豪。

That, I'll turn it over to Michael.

那我會把它交給邁克爾。

Thanks, John. As John just mentioned, our team and operating model continue to navigate through a host of challenges on the top line, but our business is showing its resilience.

謝謝，約翰。正如約翰剛才提到的，我們的團隊和運營模式繼續應對營收方面的一系列挑戰，但我們的業務正在展現出韌性。

More specifically, we're really pleased with the strength of our second quarter profit performance, which further validates the cautious planning approach and lean inventory position we've maintained throughout the year. This positioning, combined with our continued efficiency efforts, allowed us to make meaningful progress toward our profit recovery goals even in the face of softer-than-expected sales, giving us further confidence that our strategy is sound, we have the right team and our business is positioned for continued progress in the years ahead.

更具體地說，我們對第二季度的強勁利潤表現感到非常滿意，這進一步驗證了我們全年保持的謹慎規劃方法和精益庫存狀況。這種定位，加上我們持續的效率努力，使我們能夠在銷售低於預期的情況下，在實現利潤恢復目標方面取得有意義的進展，使我們進一步相信我們的戰略是正確的，我們擁有合適的團隊和我們的團隊。業務已做好準備，將在未來幾年持續取得進展。

Total revenue was down 4.9% in the second quarter. Total sales also decreased by that same amount while other revenue grew 1.3%. Within other revenue, we continue to see strong growth from our Roundel ad business, which offset declines in credit card profit sharing and other small income items compared with last year. Comparable sales were down 5.4% in Q2, reflecting a 4.8% decline in traffic.

第二季度總收入下降 4.9%。總銷售額也下降了同樣的數額，而其他收入則增長了 1.3%。在其他收入中，我們繼續看到 Roundel 廣告業務的強勁增長，抵消了信用卡利潤分成和其他小額收入項目與去年相比的下降。第二季度可比銷售額下降 5.4%，反映出客流量下降 4.8%。

Among the factors affecting our top line performance, comps and discretionary categories continue to reflect challenging trends in the industry, which softened further in Q2. A second factor was lower inflation in food, beverages and essentials as we compare to over peak inflation a year ago. Furthermore, traffic and top line trends were affected by the reaction to our Pride assortment, which launched in the middle of May. And lastly, our results reflected the comparison over last year's clearance and promotional activity, which affected weekly comp trends in certain categories, particularly in the digital channel. While each of these factors played a role in the quarter, it's not possible to reliably quantify the separate impact of each one.

在影響我們營收表現的因素中，比較和可自由支配類別繼續反映出該行業具有挑戰性的趨勢，該趨勢在第二季度進一步疲軟。第二個因素是與一年前通脹峰值相比，食品、飲料和必需品的通脹較低。此外，我們於 5 月中旬推出的 Pride 系列產品的反應也影響了流量和營收趨勢。最後，我們的結果反映了與去年清倉和促銷活動的比較，這影響了某些類別（尤其是數字渠道）的每週比較趨勢。雖然這些因素中的每一個都在本季度發揮了作用，但不可能可靠地量化每個因素的單獨影響。

In terms of the monthly cadence in Q2, comp sales in May were down a little more than 3%, moved down to a decline of just over 7% in June, then made an encouraging recovery to minus 5% in July. Monthly traffic followed a similar cadence and actually recovered a bit faster than sales in July.

就第二季度的月度節奏而言，5 月份的比較銷售額下降了略多於3%，6 月份的降幅略高於7%，然後在7 月份出現了令人鼓舞的複蘇，達到負5% 。每月的流量也遵循類似的節奏，實際上比 7 月份的銷售額恢復得更快一些。

Even with unexpectedly soft sales, inventories remain very well controlled. At the end of the second quarter, balance sheet inventory was 17% lower than a year ago. This reflects our cautious planning approach, the agility of our team in responding to softer sales trends and the benefit of a faster global supply chain which enabled shorter lead times. Among our merchandising categories, discretionary inventory was down 25% at the end of Q2, partially offset by increases in our frequency categories and strategic investments and long-term share opportunities.

即使銷售出乎意料地疲軟，庫存仍然得到很好的控制。第二季度末，資產負債表庫存比去年同期下降 17%。這反映了我們謹慎的規劃方法、我們團隊應對疲軟銷售趨勢的敏捷性以及更快的全球供應鏈帶來的好處，從而縮短了交貨時間。在我們的商品類別中，可自由支配庫存在第二季度末下降了 25%，部分被我們的頻率類別、戰略投資和長期共享機會的增加所抵消。

Importantly, as John mentioned, even with much leaner inventories, we've seen meaningful in-stock improvements across our network. We were really pleased with our second quarter gross margin performance, which was enabled by our ongoing work to navigate this volatile environment. Our Q2 gross margin rate of 27% was 5.5 percentage points higher than a year ago. This increase reflects multiple benefits within merchandising, including lower markdowns and other inventory-related costs, along with the benefit of lower freight and transportation costs.

重要的是，正如約翰提到的，即使庫存少得多，我們也看到了整個網絡的庫存改善。我們對第二季度的毛利率表現非常滿意，這得益於我們持續努力應對這一動蕩的環境。我們第二季度的毛利率為 27%，比去年同期高出 5.5 個百分點。這一增長反映了商品銷售的多重好處，包括較低的降價和其他庫存相關成本，以及較低的貨運和運輸成本的好處。

Beyond merchandising, we also saw about 0.5 point of benefit in digital fulfillment and supply chain due to a lower mix of digital sales and a favorable mix of same-day services within the digital channel. Offsetting these benefits was a 90 basis point headwind from inventory shrink, in line with our expectations.

除了商品銷售之外，由於數字銷售組合的減少以及數字渠道內當日服務的有利組合，我們還發現數字履行和供應鏈方面獲得了約 0.5 個百分點的收益。庫存縮減 90 個基點的阻力抵消了這些好處，這符合我們的預期。

One note. Consistent with the first quarter, category mix did not affect our gross margin rate compared with last year, and we saw a similar deceleration across all 5 of our core merchandising categories between Q1 and Q2 of this year.

一張紙條。與第一季度一致，與去年相比，品類組合併沒有影響我們的毛利率，而且今年第一季度和第二季度我們所有 5 個核心商品類別都出現了類似的減速。

Our second quarter SG&A expense rate was 1.7 percentage points higher than last year. This increase reflects the deleveraging impact of lower sales, combined with the impact of higher costs, including continued investments in paying benefits for our team and inflationary pressures throughout our business. These pressures were partially offset by disciplined cost management across our team.

我們第二季度的 SG&A 費用率比去年高 1.7 個百分點。這一增長反映了銷售額下降的去槓桿化影響，加上成本上升的影響，包括為我們的團隊支付福利的持續投資以及整個業務的通脹壓力。我們團隊嚴格的成本管理部分抵消了這些壓力。

On the D&A expense line. The Q2 rate was about 20 basis points higher than last year, reflecting the deleveraging impact of lower sales on a 3.9% increase in dollars.

在 D&A 費用行上。第二季度利率比去年高出約 20 個基點，反映出銷售額下降對美元增長 3.9% 的去槓桿化影響。

Altogether, our Q2 operating margin rate of 4.8% was about 4x higher than last year, reflecting a meaningful recovery from last year's inventory actions. On the bottom line, our second quarter GAAP and adjusted EPS of $1.80 was significantly higher than last year and above the high end of our guidance range. While we expected to see a big improvement in profitability this quarter, I can't emphasize enough the importance of our team's agility in delivering this performance, something that's even more notable given that shrink drove nearly a full point of profit pressure versus last year.

總的來說，我們第二季度的營業利潤率為 4.8%，比去年高出約 4 倍，反映出去年庫存行動的顯著復甦。總而言之，我們第二季度的 GAAP 和調整後每股收益為 1.80 美元，明顯高於去年，並且高於我們指導範圍的上限。雖然我們預計本季度盈利能力將大幅改善，但我無法充分強調我們團隊在實現這一業績方面的敏捷性的重要性，考慮到與去年相比，利潤壓力幾乎增加了整整一個點，這一點就更值得注意了。

Now I want to turn briefly to capital deployment and start with our priorities, which have served us well for decades. First, we fully invest in our business, in projects that meet our strategic and financial criteria. Then we look to support our dividend and build on more than 50 years of consecutive annual increases. And finally, we return any excess cash through share repurchase over time within the limits of our Middle A credit ratings.

現在我想簡要談談資本部署，並從我們的優先事項開始，這些優先事項幾十年來一直為我們服務。首先，我們全力投資於我們的業務、符合我們戰略和財務標準的項目。然後，我們希望支持我們的股息，並在 50 多年連續年度增長的基礎上再接再厲。最後，我們會在中等 A 信用評級的範圍內通過股票回購來返還多餘的現金。

So far this year, we've made capital expenditures of $2.8 billion and continue to expect full year CapEx in the $4 billion to $5 billion range. In the second quarter, we paid $499 million in dividends compared with $417 million last year, reflecting a 20% increase in the per share dividend. And finally, we didn't repurchase any shares in Q2 as we continue to focus on strengthening our balance sheet and restoring our debt metrics to levels that support our Middle A credit ratings.

今年到目前為止，我們的資本支出已達 28 億美元，並繼續預計全年資本支出在 40 億至 50 億美元之間。第二季度，我們支付了 4.99 億美元的股息，而去年為 4.17 億美元，每股股息增長了 20%。最後，我們在第二季度沒有回購任何股票，因為我們繼續專注於加強我們的資產負債表並將我們的債務指標恢復到支持我們的中 A 信用評級的水平。

And we're encouraged by the progress we've already made, as the combined benefit of a significant profit recovery and lean inventory position have driven a meaningful improvement in operating cash flow. More specifically, our operations have generated $3.4 billion in cash through the first half of this year compared with a slightly negative number through the first half of last year.

我們對已經取得的進展感到鼓舞，因為顯著的利潤恢復和精益庫存狀況的綜合效益推動了運營現金流的顯著改善。更具體地說，今年上半年我們的業務創造了 34 億美元的現金，而去年上半年則略有負數。

I'll end my comments on the quarter with our after-tax return on invested capital, which measures our current profit performance in the context of our long-term investments. For the second quarter, our trailing 12-month after-tax ROIC was 13.7%. While still healthy in absolute terms and more than 2 percentage points higher than the first quarter, it remains well below the level where we expect to operate over time.

我將以我們的稅後投資資本回報率來結束對本季度的評論，該回報率衡量我們在長期投資的背景下當前的利潤表現。第二季度，我們過去 12 個月的稅後 ROIC 為 13.7%。雖然從絕對值來看仍然健康，並且比第一季度高出 2 個百分點以上，但仍遠低於我們預期的長期運營水平。

Now I'll turn to our expectations for Q3 and the remainder of the year. And today, as we assess the economic and industry backdrop, we continue to see a mixed picture. On the positive side, GDP, employment and overall consumer spending have been resilient, and we're beginning to see a recovery in consumer confidence. On the other side of the ledger, while we're happy to see inflation rates begin to moderate, that's likely to cause some near-term pressure on dollar comps in our frequency categories. In addition, the upcoming resumption of student loan repayments will put additional pressure on the already strained budgets of tens of millions of households. Against this backdrop, we remain cautious in our planning, an approach that has served us really well so far this year.

現在我將談談我們對第三季度和今年剩餘時間的預期。今天，當我們評估經濟和行業背景時，我們仍然看到了喜憂參半的情況。從積極的一面來看，國內生產總值、就業和總體消費者支出一直保持彈性，我們開始看到消費者信心的複蘇。另一方面，雖然我們很高興看到通脹率開始放緩，但這可能會對我們頻率類別中的美元比較造成一些短期壓力。此外，即將恢復學生貸款償還將給數千萬家庭本已緊張的預算帶來額外壓力。在此背景下，我們在規劃中保持謹慎態度，今年到目前為止，這種方法對我們很有幫助。

On the top line, we're now planning for comparable sales in a wide range centered around a mid-single-digit decline for the remainder of the year, consistent with what we experienced in July and the second quarter overall. This updated sales expectation is meaningfully softer than our expectation at the beginning of the year.

在營收方面，我們現在計劃在今年剩餘時間內實現以中個位數下降為中心的大範圍可比銷售額，這與我們 7 月份和第二季度的整體經歷一致。更新後的銷售預期明顯低於我們年初的預期。

With this change in the top line, we've also adjusted our bottom line guidance and now expect full year GAAP and adjusted EPS in the $7 to $8 range compared with our prior range of $7.75 to $8.75. While multiple factors will determine where our actual results wind up in comparison to this expected range, the single most important variable will be the pace of our sales as we're confident we'll continue to benefit from our efficiency efforts and lean inventory position.

隨著營收的變化，我們還調整了利潤指引，現在預計全年 GAAP 和調整後每股收益將在 7 美元至 8 美元範圍內，而之前的範圍為 7.75 美元至 8.75 美元。雖然有多種因素將決定我們的實際結果與預期範圍相比，但最重要的一個變量將是我們的銷售速度，因為我們有信心我們將繼續受益於我們的效率努力和精益庫存狀況。

In the third quarter, we're expecting GAAP and adjusted EPS in a range from $1.20 to $1.60 on a wide range of comparable sales centered around a mid-single-digit decline. In terms of quarterly EPS cadence, I want to take note of a couple of unique circumstances this year. The first is shrink and how that is expected to play out over the next 2 quarters.

在第三季度，我們預計 GAAP 和調整後每股收益將在 1.20 美元至 1.60 美元之間，可比銷售額將出現中個位數下降。就季度每股收益節奏而言，我想注意今年的一些獨特情況。第一個是收縮以及預計未來兩個季度將如何發揮作用。

As I mentioned earlier, based on the high loss rates we're continuing to see, second quarter shrink was consistent with our expectations, and our full year shrink expectations remain unchanged. However, we expect the year-over-year comparisons will look meaningfully different between Q3 and Q4. In Q3, we expect the dollar and rate pressure from shrink will be roughly consistent with the first half of the year at around 90 basis points. However, in Q4, we expect to see a small amount of year-over-year favorability from shrink.

正如我之前提到的，基於我們繼續看到的高損失率，第二季度的收縮與我們的預期一致，我們全年的收縮預期保持不變。然而，我們預計第三季度和第四季度的同比比較將出現顯著差異。第三季度，我們預計美元和縮水帶來的利率壓力將與上半年大致一致，在 90 個基點左右。然而，在第四季度，我們預計會因萎縮而出現少量同比好感度。

I want to stress that this anticipated change in quarterly comparisons does not reflect an expectation that underlying loss rates will begin to improve in Q4. As Brian mentioned, we're working hard, both inside our stores and with government and community partners, to achieve lower loss rates over time. And our long-run expectation is that shrink rates will moderate from today's unsustainable levels.

我想強調的是，季度比較的預期變化並不反映潛在損失率將在第四季度開始改善的預期。正如布萊恩提到的，我們正在商店內部以及與政府和社區合作夥伴一起努力工作，以隨著時間的推移實現更低的損失率。我們的長期預期是，收縮率將從目前不可持續的水平開始放緩。

But so far, we've only seen indications that loss rates might soon be reaching a plateau, but have not yet seen evidence that loss rates will begin to come down. So the only reason for the expected change in year-over-year comparisons is the cadence of how shrink was recognized by quarter in the back half of last year, a period when loss rates increased rapidly, resulting in higher shrink accruals at year-end. Because we've seen more consistent loss rates in 2023, quarterly accruals have been more consistent throughout this year.

但到目前為止，我們只看到損失率可能很快達到穩定水平的跡象，但尚未看到損失率將開始下降的證據。因此，預計同比比較發生變化的唯一原因是去年下半年按季度確認損耗的節奏，這一時期損失率迅速上升，導致年末應計損耗較高。由於我們看到 2023 年的損失率更加一致，因此今年的季度應計費用更加一致。

Another important consideration is that 2023 is a 53-week accounting year, so the fourth quarter will include an extra week of sales and profits. We estimate that the extra week will add about $1.7 billion in sales and results in about 30 basis points of operating margin leverage on the quarter. I'll note that the extra week will not affect our comparable sales as we base that calculation on periods of equal length.

另一個重要的考慮因素是，2023 年是一個為期 53 週的會計年度，因此第四季度將包括額外一周的銷售額和利潤。我們估計，額外的一周將增加約 17 億美元的銷售額，並使本季度的營業利潤率提高約 30 個基點。我要指出的是，額外的一周不會影響我們的可比銷售額，因為我們是根據相同長度的時期進行計算的。

As I get ready to end my remarks, I want to add my thanks to the entire Target team. From the flexibility they built into our business plans, to their responsiveness in the face of this quarter's top line volatility, and their continued work to enhance our long-term efficiency, they're clearly demonstrating their amazing resilience and showing why we're confident that we work with the best team in retail.

當我準備結束髮言時，我想向整個 Target 團隊表示感謝。從他們在我們的業務計劃中所體現的靈活性，到他們面對本季度收入波動的反應能力，以及他們為提高我們的長期效率所做的持續努力，他們清楚地展示了他們驚人的彈性，並展示了我們為何充滿信心我們與零售業最好的團隊合作。

With that, I'll turn the call back over to Brian.

這樣，我會將電話轉回給布萊恩。

Before we turn to your questions, I want to pause and reinforce why we're so confident in our long-term prospects, which position us for profitable growth in the years ahead.

在回答您的問題之前，我想暫停一下並強調為什麼我們對我們的長期前景如此充滿信心，這使我們在未來幾年實現盈利增長。

Retail is an ongoing journey: The continuous process of listening to consumers and rapidly evolving to meet their preferences. To do that well, you need to have the right assets in place which allow you to quickly evolve as your guests' wants, needs and preferences change. And we're proud of the way we have built and strengthened Target's assets over the last decade.

零售是一個持續的旅程：傾聽消費者的聲音并快速發展以滿足他們的偏好的持續過程。為了做好這一點，您需要擁有合適的資產，以便您能夠隨著客人的需求和偏好的變化而快速發展。我們對過去十年建立和加強塔吉特資產的方式感到自豪。

During this time, we pioneered and built a unique stores as hubs model and invested in new supply chain capabilities to support that model. We invested billions of dollars in our existing store base, modernizing their shopping experience while optimizing those facilities to support digital fulfillment. We opened new locations in markets that had never been served by a Target store, and we continue to evolve our new store design. We developed and launched industry-leading same-day services, which received some of the highest guest satisfaction ratings of anything we do.

在此期間，我們開創並建立了獨特的商店作為中心模式，並投資於新的供應鏈能力來支持該模式。我們在現有商店基礎上投資了數十億美元，實現購物體驗現代化，同時優化這些設施以支持數字化履行。我們在 Target 商店從未服務過的市場中開設了新店，並繼續改進我們的新商店設計。我們開發並推出了行業領先的當日送達服務，在我們所做的任何事情中獲得了最高的客戶滿意度評級。

Within our assortment, we innovated to make our Food and Beauty businesses even stronger and gained huge amounts of market share along the way. We built an even stronger portfolio of industry-leading owned brands which today generate more than $30 billion in annual sales. We also strengthened our portfolio of national brand partners with Ulta Beauty as the most recent example. At the same time, we developed and launched our Roundel ad business, which leverages the power of our guest base and vendor relationships, to deepen the bond between our guests, our vendors at Target.

在我們的產品類別中，我們進行創新，使我們的食品和美容業務更加強大，並在此過程中獲得了大量的市場份額。我們建立了更強大的行業領先自有品牌組合，如今年銷售額超過 300 億美元。我們還加強了國內品牌合作夥伴的投資組合，最近的例子就是 Ulta Beauty。與此同時，我們開發並推出了 Roundel 廣告業務，該業務利用我們的客戶群和供應商關係的力量，加深客戶與 Target 供應商之間的聯繫。

We also built and launched Target Circle, which has quickly become one of the largest loyalty programs in the United States, providing us with even deeper insights about our guests and how we can serve them.

我們還建立並推出了 Target Circle，該計劃已迅速成為美國最大的忠誠度計劃之一，使我們能夠更深入地了解我們的客人以及我們如何為他們提供服務。

And finally, we invested in our team, the best team in retail, by rapidly increasing their hourly wages and the benefits we provide while building stronger pathways to career development and advancement and designing operational processes to enhance their safety and job satisfaction.

最後，我們對我們的團隊（零售業最好的團隊）進行了投資，迅速提高了他們的小時工資和我們提供的福利，同時建立了更強有力的職業發展和晉升途徑，並設計了運營流程以提高他們的安全和工作滿意度。

With all of these assets in place today, we're not standing still. We're uniquely prepared to navigate into the future, including any uncertainties we'll face. We're committed to carefully listening to our guests and to our team and continuing to invest in capabilities and assets that will best serve our guests, even as their wants and needs and expectations evolve from where they are today.

今天，所有這些資產都已就位，我們並沒有停滯不前。我們已經做好了獨特的準備來迎接未來，包括我們將面臨的任何不確定性。我們致力於認真傾聽客人和我們團隊的意見，並繼續投資於能夠最好地服務於客人的能力和資產，即使他們的需求和期望與今天相比發生了變化。

Since no one knows what the future will bring and when new opportunities and challenges will arise, the company's best position to thrive over time are the ones with the tools to adapt. And with our stores, our brands, and our vendor partners, our capabilities and our great team, we have everything we need to deliver long-term growth and success.

由於沒有人知道未來會發生什麼，以及何時會出現新的機遇和挑戰，因此，擁有適應工具的公司最能隨著時間的推移而蓬勃發展。憑藉我們的商店、我們的品牌、我們的供應商合作夥伴、我們的能力和我們優秀的團隊，我們擁有實現長期增長和成功所需的一切。

With that, we'll turn to Q&A. Christina, John, Michael and I will be happy to take your questions.

接下來，我們將轉向問答環節。克里斯蒂娜、約翰、邁克爾和我很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Rupesh Parikh with Oppenheimer.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Rupesh Parikh 和 Oppenheimer。

So I was hoping to get more color in terms of what you guys are seeing quarter-to-date. And then if you have any initial reads on what you're seeing with the Back-to-School season.

因此，我希望能夠根據你們本季度至今所看到的情況獲得更多的信息。然後，如果您對返校季的情況有任何初步了解。

Michael, I'm happy to start. Rupesh, obviously, it's very early in the season. But for the first 10 days of August, we're very pleased with the results we're seeing. They were very consistent with what we saw in the month of July as guests turn to Target for their Back-to-School and Back-to-College shopping.

邁克爾，我很高興開始。魯佩什，顯然，現在還處於賽季初期。但在 8 月的前 10 天，我們對所看到的結果非常滿意。這與我們在 7 月份看到的情況非常一致，因為客人轉向 Target 進行返校和返校購物。

Yes. I don't have much to add to that. We knew the Back-to-School and Back-to-College seasons would be important for us. They always are. Second-biggest seasonal moment for us only next to the holiday season. And it was a season where we expected to have some share opportunities.

是的。我對此沒有太多要補充的。我們知道返校季和返校季對我們來說很重要。他們總是如此。對我們來說，僅次於假期的第二大季節性時刻。這是一個我們期望有一些分享機會的季節。

So like Brian said, 10 days in, so just getting started with the quarter, but we're pleased with what we see so far. And the exciting thing about the balance of the year is we've got a lot of those seasonal moments to come. And we know our business performs so well across all categories in those seasonal moments.

正如 Brian 所說，10 天后，本季度才剛剛開始，但我們對迄今為止所看到的情況感到滿意。今年剩下的時間裡令人興奮的事情是我們還有很多季節性的時刻即將到來。我們知道，在這些季節性時刻，我們的業務在所有類別中都表現出色。

Michael, the only thing I would add as we think about Back-to-School, and particularly Back-to-College, is we expect the shopping season to extend into September, in fact, throughout the month of September. So we're off to a solid start, it's still very early. But we think this will be a Back-to-School season that extends into September.

邁克爾，當我們考慮返校，特別是返校時，我唯一要補充的是，我們預計購物季將延續到 9 月，事實上，整個 9 月。所以我們有了一個良好的開端，但現在還為時過早。但我們認為這將是一個延續到九月的返校季。

Great. And then maybe one follow-up question. So at your Analyst Day, you indicated expectations for achieving a 6% operating margin rate as early as FY '24. Just given that weaker top line, is that still in the realm of possibility, of getting up to 6% in your next fiscal year?

偉大的。也許還有一個後續問題。因此，在分析師日，您表示預計最早將在 2024 財年實現 6% 的營業利潤率。考慮到收入較弱，下一個財年增長至 6% 的可能性是否仍然存在？

Fair question, Rupesh, and one I'm sure we'll come back to over time. Right now, we're laser-focused on delivering a strong back half of the year. We're pleased with the profit recovery we saw in the second quarter. When we headed into this year, the path to 6% was paved with meaningful profit rate improvement in 2023. And I couldn't be more thrilled with the progress the teams are making towards that, as evidenced by the strong profit performance in Q2. And we'll continue to plan cautiously and set the team up for as much agility as possible in the back half of the year. And I would expect that progression on profit to continue through the balance of this year, but more to come at the right time on what we think that long-term trajectory looks like.

這是一個公平的問題，魯佩什，我相信隨著時間的推移我們會回來討論這個問題。目前，我們專注於在今年下半年實現強勁增長。我們對第二季度的利潤復甦感到滿意。當我們進入今年時，2023 年利潤率的顯著提高為我們通往6% 的道路鋪平了道路。第二季度強勁的利潤表現證明了團隊在實現這一目標方面取得的進展讓我感到無比興奮。我們將繼續謹慎計劃，並讓團隊在今年下半年盡可能保持敏捷性。我預計利潤的增長將在今年餘下時間裡持續下去，但在我們認為的長期軌跡上，在適當的時間會出現更多的增長。

Our next question is from Kate McShane with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的 Kate McShane。

We wondered if you could talk through gross margins maybe a little bit more. We were curious about how much more markdowns were versus plan given the softness on the discretionary side and some of the merchandising challenges. And what was the offset -- the meaningful offset there?

我們想知道您是否可以多談談毛利率。考慮到可自由支配方面的疲軟和一些銷售方面的挑戰，我們很好奇降價幅度與計劃相比有多少。偏移量是多少——有意義的偏移量？

Yes. Kate, I'm happy to start and welcome, Christina, if you want to add any more color. But the biggest story on the markdown front. I mean, I think we described the promotional environment is rational and really as expected for the quarter. On a year-over-year basis, clearly, as you know, Kate, we saw meaningful improvement from last year's excess markdowns and cost to clear inventory. And so as you think about the 5-plus point improvement in margin rate year-over-year, the vast majority of that improvement comes from being cleaner from an inventory respective and saving those costs from last year.

是的。凱特，我很高興開始並歡迎克里斯蒂娜，如果你想添加更多的色彩。但最重要的故事是在 Markdown 方面。我的意思是，我認為我們描述的促銷環境是合理的，並且確實符合本季度的預期。凱特，正如你所知，與去年同期相比，我們顯然看到了去年過度降價和清理庫存成本的顯著改善。因此，當你想到利潤率同比提高 5 個多點時，絕大多數的改善都來自於庫存的清理以及去年成本的節省。

And so again, just one more example of, by planning the business cautiously, by positioning with flexibility, and by the team reacting to some of the sales trends we saw in the quarter with urgency, we've been able to keep inventory really clean. If you look at the balance sheet, you'll see as clean of an inventory picture exiting the quarter as we started with, with inventories down 17% in total, down 25% in the discretionary categories. So we feel well managed on the inventory front, and that's showing up with markdowns playing out as expected.

再說一遍，通過謹慎地規劃業務、靈活地定位以及團隊對我們在本季度看到的一些銷售趨勢做出緊急反應，我們已經能夠保持庫存真正乾淨。如果您查看資產負債表，您會發現本季度的庫存情況與我們開始時一樣清晰，庫存總量下降了 17%，可自由支配類別的庫存下降了 25%。因此，我們感覺庫存方面管理得很好，降價也正如預期的那樣顯現出來。

Yes, Michael. I wouldn't have a lot to add. We're pleased with the team's agility and we believe that the environment is rational, and we're continuing to build back our profit in light of the circumstances.

是的，邁克爾。我沒有太多要補充的。我們對團隊的敏捷性感到滿意，我們相信環境是合理的，我們將根據情況繼續恢復我們的利潤。

And a follow-up question comes on the heels, I think, of the first question that was asked. But wanted to get a little bit more detail about any changes in consumer behavior within the discretionary categories, especially as traffic got better into July? And just how you're thinking of the discretionary categories in the back half of the year.

我認為，後續問題是在提出的第一個問題之後出現的。但想要更詳細地了解可自由支配類別內消費者行為的任何變化，特別是隨著進入 7 月份的流量有所好轉？以及您如何看待下半年的可自由支配類別。

Yes. Kate, I think we've continued to see the same trends over really the last year now. Well, I think we see a very resilient U.S. consumer, and I think so much of that is fueled by the strength in the labor market. We continue to see a consumer who is facing high inflationary pressure in Food & Beverage and Essential categories that's absorbing a bigger portion of their wallet.

是的。凱特，我認為去年我們繼續看到了同樣的趨勢。嗯，我認為我們看到了一個非常有彈性的美國消費者，我認為這在很大程度上是由勞動力市場的強勁推動的。我們繼續看到消費者在食品飲料和必需品類別中面臨高通脹壓力，這些類別佔用了他們更大的錢包。

I think as they think about discretionary spending, we've seen a rotation in their wallet from goods into services. You're seeing the uptick in travel and leisure, what's happening in entertainment. So those trends, we expect to continue into the back half of the year. We'll watch it carefully. I think our inventory position allows us the ability to chase into demand, and we'll be ready when we see demand changing as we enter the holiday season. But I think the consumer is still taking a very cautious approach to discretionary spending in the goods sector.

我認為，當他們考慮可自由支配支出時，我們已經看到他們的錢包從商品轉向服務。你會看到旅行和休閒的增加以及娛樂業的發展。因此，我們預計這些趨勢將持續到今年下半年。我們會仔細觀察。我認為我們的庫存狀況使我們有能力追逐需求，當我們進入假期季節時看到需求變化時，我們就會做好準備。但我認為消費者對商品領域的可自由支配支出仍然採取非常謹慎的態度。

Our next question is from Oliver Chen with TD Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Oliver Chen。

Regarding traffic, what's your forecast for traffic that's embedded in guidance? Do you expect it to continue to be in the negative low or negative mid-single-digit range?

關於流量，您對指南中嵌入的流量有何預測？您預計它會繼續處於負低位或負中個位數範圍內嗎？

Also, as we dive a little deeper into the discretionary product assortment, what do you see as opportunities in apparel? And how are you thinking about your overall private label assortment in terms of rebalancing and/or the portfolio relative to non-private label?

此外，當我們更深入地研究非必需產品種類時，您認為服裝領域的機會是什麼？您如何看待您的整體自有品牌品種在重新平衡和/或相對於非自有品牌的投資組合方面的情況？

Christina, do you want to talk about some of the plans we have in place for the back half of the year, some of the newness we have in our assortment, and some of the exciting new changes we're going to make from an owned brand standpoint?

克里斯蒂娜，你想談談我們今年下半年制定的一些計劃嗎？我們產品類別中的一些新產品，以及我們將從自有產品中做出的一些令人興奮的新變化品牌立場？

Yes, I'd be happy to. So Oliver, thanks for the question. On the discretionary portfolio, we continue to build our assortment strategy for the long term. We fully believe in our multi-category portfolio, that it offers us an ability to meet the guests' needs in a variety of different times.

是的，我很樂意。奧利弗，謝謝你的提問。在全權委託投資組合方面，我們繼續制定長期的品種策略。我們完全相信我們的多類別產品組合，它使我們能夠滿足客人在不同時期的需求。

At the moment, given where the consumer is spending, we're, of course, leading on the strength of our Food & Beverage portfolio and Essentials & Beauty, with Beauty really being a highlight with double-digit growth both in Ulta Beauty at Target as well as our core business.

目前，考慮到消費者的消費方向，我們當然憑藉食品和飲料產品組合以及必需品和美容產品的實力處於領先地位，其中美容確實是一個亮點，塔吉特的 Ulta Beauty 都實現了兩位數的增長以及我們的核心業務。

Within discretionary, what we're seeing is that there are things that are very much working around newness and innovation. And as you pointed out, our owned brand portfolio plays a huge role in delivering against those goals. We design, we create, we source, we build assortments that -- where we can control a lot of those elements.

在自由裁量權範圍內，我們看到有些事情在很大程度上圍繞著新鮮感和創新而發揮作用。正如您所指出的，我們的自有品牌組合在實現這些目標方面發揮著巨大作用。我們設計、我們創造、我們採購、我們構建品種——我們可以控制其中的許多元素。

And we've introduced a lot of newness whether you think about, even in the last quarter, taking advantage of the hot trend with family tumblers and introducing that and embedding that in Hearth & Hand. We have just relaunched our own brand, Threshold, which is our signature Home brand, with updated aesthetics and great price points and new branding. We continue to lean on opportunities. You'll see us launch a kitchenware brand later this quarter, which we're really excited about for its value, but incredible quality and durability.

我們引入了很多新鮮事物，無論你是否想到，即使是在上個季度，利用家庭玻璃杯的熱門趨勢並將其引入並嵌入到 Hearth & Hand 中。我們剛剛重新推出了自己的品牌 Threshold，這是我們的標誌性家居品牌，具有更新的美學、優惠的價格和新的品牌。我們繼續依靠機遇。您將在本季度晚些時候看到我們推出一個廚具品牌，我們對其價值、以及令人難以置信的質量和耐用性感到非常興奮。

But beyond those opportunities to introduce innovation, it's really taking advantage of the opportunities where guests can do more in one store at Target, and that happens during those seasonal times, where we can leverage both the strength of Food & Beverage as well as Home or Apparel to complete the trip. And Back-to-School, Back-to-College, as Michael mentioned, is a terrific time for us to showcase the strength of our portfolio.

但除了這些引入創新的機會之外，它還真正利用了客人可以在塔吉特的一家商店做更多事情的機會，而這種情況發生在季節性時期，我們可以利用食品和飲料以及家居或家居的優勢。服裝來完成這次旅行。正如邁克爾提到的，重返校園、重返大學是我們展示我們產品組合實力的絕佳時機。

So we'll keep doing what we're doing. We're leaning into different categories, but we're planning appropriately so that we can be responsive in the market.

所以我們會繼續做我們正在做的事情。我們正在傾向於不同的類別，但我們正在適當規劃，以便我們能夠對市場做出反應。

And Oliver, on traffic, as you know, we don't break out a separate traffic forecast. And so kind of the build that goes into our top line guide is embedded in all the things that underlie it. But a couple of thoughts that, one, I'll just reiterate from my comments.

奧利弗，關於交通情況，如您所知，我們不會發佈單獨的交通預測。我們的首要指南中的構建嵌入到其底層的所有內容中。但有幾點想法，第一，我將重申我的評論。

We were pleased with the sequential improvement in July in the quarter, and we saw traffic improve at a slightly faster rate than dollars did as we saw that improvement. And then if you zoom all the way back out, versus 2019, if you look at the first 6 months of this year compared to 2019, I mean, we've got almost well over 20% higher traffic coming to our business than we were pre-pandemic. That translates to 170 million or so more guests interactions with Target in store and online. And so the deeper guest engagement we've built is evidenced by our traffic growth over time, critically important to our prospects going forward.

我們對本季度 7 月份的環比改善感到滿意，並且我們看到流量改善的速度略快於美元的改善速度。然後，如果你把數據全部拉回​​來，與2019 年相比，如果你看看今年前6 個月與2019 年相比，我的意思是，我們的業務流量比以前高出幾乎20%以上大流行前。這意味著大約有 1.7 億客人在實體店和網上與 Target 互動。因此，隨著時間的推移，我們的流量增長證明了我們建立的更深層次的賓客參與度，這對我們未來的前景至關重要。

I'll try to tie those 2 questions together. During the balance of the year, you'll continue to see us lean into seasonal moments. We know those are very important moments for our guests, those are traffic-driving moments for Target. And to Christina's point, we'll combine great newness with affordability throughout those seasons.

我會嘗試將這兩個問題聯繫在一起。在這一年的剩餘時間裡，您將繼續看到我們傾向於季節性時刻。我們知道這些對於我們的客人來說是非常重要的時刻，對於塔吉特來說也是交通繁忙的時刻。對於克里斯蒂娜來說，我們將在整個季節中將新穎性與實惠性結合起來。

If you're in our stores today or looking at target.com, you're seeing us lean into this Back-to-School season with great affordability. We'll continue to do that as we enter the Halloween season, get ready for the holidays, combining that great Target newness with great affordability that meet the needs of our guests.

如果您今天在我們的商店或瀏覽 target.com，您會發現我們以實惠的價格迎接這個返校季。當我們進入萬聖節季節時，我們將繼續這樣做，為假期做好準備，將塔吉特的新穎性與滿足客人需求的實惠性結合起來。

So we'll be cautious as we plan for the back half of the year, but we'll lean into those big seasonal moments where we know the guest expects Target to be there to meet their needs.

因此，我們在計劃下半年時會保持謹慎，但我們會重點關注那些重要的季節性時刻，我們知道客人希望塔吉特能夠滿足他們的需求。

Brian, one follow-up. Inclusivity has always been important to Target as well as thinking about stakeholders. What are your thoughts in terms of appealing to the broad array of customers going forward and strategies there, particularly around LGBTQIA+?

布萊恩，後續行動之一。對於 Target 來說，包容性以及對利益相關者的思考始終很重要。對於未來吸引廣大客戶以及相關戰略（特別是圍繞 LGBTQIA+）的策略，您有什麼想法？

Oliver, at the heart of our purpose is our commitment to bring joy to all the families we serve. And that really is all families. So we want to make sure Target is that happy place for all of our guests, a place where they can recharge and enjoy those shopping experiences, and you should expect to see us continue to do that over the years to come.

奧利弗，我們的核心目標是致力於為我們服務的所有家庭帶來歡樂。這確實是所有家庭。因此，我們希望確保 Target 成為所有客人的快樂之地，一個他們可以充電並享受購物體驗的地方，您應該期望看到我們在未來幾年繼續這樣做。

Our next question is from Michael Lasser with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團 (UBS) 的邁克爾·拉瑟 (Michael Lasser)。

The perception is that Target gained a lot of share over the last few years. And now as its traffic is under pressure, guests are either going elsewhere or Target is losing market share. So what levers can Target pull in order to recapture those who would become disenfranchised or are seeking out value or discretionary goods at other retailers? And how much might it cost to regain those guests that are now shopping elsewhere?

人們認為塔吉特在過去幾年中獲得了很大的市場份額。現在，由於客流量面臨壓力，客人要么去其他地方，要么塔吉特正在失去市場份額。那麼，塔吉特可以利用哪些槓桿來重新吸引那些可能被剝奪權利或正在其他零售商處尋找有價值或非必需商品的人呢？重新獲得那些現在在其他地方購物的顧客可能要花多少錢？

Michael, I might start by zooming out a bit and kind of looking at our performance over several years. Since the start of the pandemic, we've added over $30 billion of top line growth, a significant increase since 2019. And importantly, that's been driven by an increase in trips and transactions, guests spending more time shopping in our stores.

邁克爾，我可能會首先稍微縮小一下範圍，看看我們幾年來的表現。自疫情爆發以來，我們的收入增長了超過 300 億美元，自 2019 年以來大幅增長。重要的是，這是由旅行和交易增加推動的，客人在我們的商店花更多時間購物。

I think the strategy we have in place and have had in place for years will serve us well going forward. We'll continue to make sure we're investing in a great in-store experience. Making sure that we are recommitting to retail fundamentals, which means being in stock every time you shop, providing great affordability, making sure we're leveraging our proximity, providing a great guest experience. That extends into the work we'll do from a fulfillment standpoint. We continue to see our guests turn to Target for same-day services, whether it's Drive-Up or Pick-Up or having something delivered to their home through Shipt.

我認為我們已經實施並已實施多年的戰略將為我們未來的發展提供良好的幫助。我們將繼續確保我們投資於卓越的店內體驗。確保我們重新致力於零售基本原則，這意味著您每次購物時都有庫存，提供良好的負擔能力，確保我們利用我們的地理位置，提供良好的賓客體驗。從實現的角度來看，這延伸到我們要做的工作中。我們不斷看到我們的客人向 Target 尋求當日送達服務，無論是駕車取貨還是提貨，還是通過 Shipt 將物品送貨上門。

Our owned brand portfolio is now a $30 billion brand portfolio. It's a trusted portfolio of brands that provides great quality and style and affordability. So we'll continue to invest in the strategy that served us so well over the last few years and I believe will continue to serve us well going forward.

我們的自有品牌組合現已達到 300 億美元的品牌組合。這是一個值得信賴的品牌組合，提供卓越的品質、風格和實惠的價格。因此，我們將繼續投資於過去幾年為我們提供良好服務的戰略，我相信未來也將繼續為我們提供良好服務。

Understood. Our follow-up question is on the operating expense outlook. In light of the traffic declines, presumably, you're adjusting your labor. And on top of that, you're in the midst of harvesting $2 billion to $3 billion of savings over the next couple of years. So can you give us a sense for how your operating dollar growth is going to look in the back half of the year? And are there any onetime factors that are going to benefit your operating expense dollar growth that would not be sustainable moving forward?

明白了。我們的後續問題是關於運營費用前景。鑑於流量下降，您可能正在調整您的勞動力。最重要的是，您將在未來幾年內節省 20 億至 30 億美元。那麼，您能否讓我們了解一下您今年下半年的營業收入增長情況？是否有任何一次性因素會對您的運營費用美元增長有利，但未來無法持續？

Yes, I'm happy to take that one, Michael. I mean, obviously, on the SG&A line, leverage matters. And so the softness we saw in the second quarter showed up in some deleverage on some of those more fixed expenses, especially in an inflationary environment. We still got a fair amount of inflation. And importantly, investments in our team, in wage and benefits on that line as well.

是的，我很高興接受這個，邁克爾。我的意思是，顯然，在SG&A 方面，槓桿很重要。因此，我們在第二季度看到的疲軟表現在一些較固定支出的去槓桿化上，尤其是在通脹環境下。我們仍然面臨相當程度的通貨膨脹。重要的是，對我們團隊、工資和福利的投資。

But I'll say the team's flexibility in the quarter, not just in SG&A, but across the P&L, was really remarkable. And that starts with well-managed inventories. And we talked about the implications for markdowns on the gross margin line there. But managing inventory well flows across the whole system.

但我要說的是，該團隊在本季度的靈活性，不僅在銷售管理費用方面，而且在損益表方面，都非常出色。這始於管理良好的庫存。我們討論了降價對毛利率線的影響。但管理好庫存在整個系統中的流動。

I mean, we were heavy last year. That makes us more efficient -- more inefficient in stores when the back rooms are full. It makes us more inefficient in our distribution centers when we're managing a lot of inventory. And so we're seeing the benefits of that cleaner inventories position across the system, and I would expect those benefits to continue.

我的意思是，去年我們很重。這使我們的效率更高，而當庫房滿了時，商店的效率就會降低。當我們管理大量庫存時，這會使我們的配送中心效率變得更低。因此，我們看到了整個系統中更清潔的庫存狀況的好處，我希望這些好處能夠持續下去。

And we've got a team that's really focused on managing costs and expense well in the current environment. And that work on efficiency, to translate the scale gains we've seen over the last few years into a more efficient operation, I would expect that to continue to be fuel in the quarters and years to come on the efficiency front.

我們擁有一支真正專注於在當前環境下管理好成本和費用的團隊。而效率方面的工作，將我們在過去幾年中看到的規模增長轉化為更高效的運營，我預計這將繼續成為未來幾個季度和幾年效率方面的動力。

Operator, we have time for one last question today.

接線員，今天我們有時間回答最後一個問題。

Our last question is from Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

我們的最後一個問題來自摩根士丹利的西蒙·古特曼。

I wanted to ask, I don't know the way in which you look at the consumer, whether it's in quintiles or deciles. Can you give us a sense, if you look at the comp that the business is performing, how that spreads across your best customer, your middle customer and then maybe your most occasional customer? And if there's anything we could glean from that and think about how it recovers.

我想問，我不知道你們是如何看待消費者的，是五分之一還是十分之一。如果您查看企業正在執行的比較，您能否給我們一種感覺，它如何分佈在您的最佳客戶、中間客戶以及可能是您最偶爾的客戶中？如果我們可以從中收集到什麼並思考它如何恢復。

Christina, do you want to share some of the insights we have about the different guests that are shopping our stores today?

克里斯蒂娜，您想分享一下我們對今天在我們商店購物的不同客人的一些見解嗎？

Yes. I think, obviously, we've seen the -- as Brian talked about, we've seen a rotation in their wallet. And so the guests that are more engaged with our discretionary businesses are now leaning more on into our frequency businesses.

是的。我認為，顯然，我們已經看到了——正如布萊恩所說，我們已經看到了他們錢包的輪換。因此，更多參與我們的全權委託業務的客人現在更傾向於我們的頻率業務。

But I would tell you a very compelling proof point that came out of the second quarter is how we performed during Target Circle Week. Target Circle Week was Target's opportunity to demonstrate value and give back value to our most loyal customers. This was a shift from prior years, where we did Target Deal Days, and the guests really responded to our actions.

但我想告訴你，第二季度出現的一個非常令人信服的證據是我們在“目標圈週”期間的表現。 Target Circle Week 是 Target 向我們最忠實的客戶展示價值並回饋價值的機會。這與前幾年的情況有所不同，前幾年我們舉辦了“目標優惠日”活動，客人們對我們的行動做出了真正的回應。

In fact, it was our single-largest Target Circle Week ever. We acquired an incremental 500,000-plus guests, which is more than 3.5x the average weeks' acquisition rate, into that loyalty program. A loyalty program, by the way, that already has 100 million members. And so the depth to which we're relating to our guests is going to continue to be fueled by our ability to understand them and serve them uniquely, and Target Circle is one way that we're going to do that.

事實上，這是我們有史以來規模最大的 Target Circle 週。我們的忠誠度計劃新增了 500,000 多名客人，這是平均週獲取率的 3.5 倍多。順便說一句，這是一個已經擁有 1 億會員的忠誠度計劃。因此，我們了解客人並為他們提供獨特服務的能力將繼續加深我們與客人的聯繫，而 Target Circle 就是我們實現這一目標的一種方式。

And then the follow-up, maybe for Michael. If you look at the margin recovery of the business that could happen over, call it, the next year or so, is there anything that stands in the way of it? Meaning if we see comps recover and bounce back, especially that means your signature categories recover, is there any reason why we shouldn't see margins continue along that path? I know you said we'll answer it when we get back to the back half of the year. But is there anything that stands in the way of that margin recovery?

然後是後續行動，也許是針對邁克爾的。如果你看看業務的利潤率恢復可能會在明年左右發生，那麼有什麼阻礙它嗎？這意味著，如果我們看到比較恢復並反彈，特別是這意味著您的簽名類別恢復，是否有任何理由我們不應該看到利潤沿著這條道路繼續下去？我知道你說過我們會在下半年回答這個問題。但有什麼因素阻礙了利潤率的恢復嗎？

I think it's the factors we've been talking about for a while now, Simeon. And to see a return to positive comp growth in some of those higher-margin discretionary categories, that would be a welcome benefit to margin, for sure.

我認為這是我們已經討論了一段時間的因素，西蒙。如果看到一些利潤率較高的非必需品類別恢復正增長，這肯定會對利潤率帶來可喜的好處。

One of the things we'll need to continue to watch is the pressure we've seen from shortage. If You go back to where we were pre-pandemic, I mean, that is one of the single biggest margin headwinds in the business. And so the path of stabilization, we were pleased to see shortage come in as we forecasted in Q2, but that's still a material headwind on a year-over-year basis, on a 2-year basis. And so I think that will be an important variable to watch going forward as well.

我們需要繼續關注的事情之一是我們看到的短缺壓力。如果你回到大流行前的情況，我的意思是，這是該行業最大的利潤阻力之一。因此，在穩定的道路上，我們很高興看到短缺正如我們在第二季度預測的那樣出現，但與去年同期相比，在兩年的基礎上，這仍然是一個重大阻力。因此，我認為這也將是未來值得關注的一個重要變量。

Michael, on that note, as we wrap up the call today, I certainly want to thank our entire team for their efforts throughout the quarter.

邁克爾，就此而言，在我們今天結束電話會議時，我當然要感謝我們整個團隊在整個季度所做的努力。

I particularly want to recognize our asset protection teams. We've talked a lot over the last couple of quarters about the pressures we've been facing with organized retail crime, and I really appreciate the work that our asset protection teams do each and every day to keep our guests safe, our team safe and allow us to operate safely each and every day.

我特別想表彰我們的資產保護團隊。在過去的幾個季度中，我們多次談論了我們面臨的有組織零售犯罪的壓力，我非常感謝我們的資產保護團隊每天為確保我們的客人和團隊的安全所做的工作並讓我們每天都能安全運營。

So thank you all for joining us. We look forward to talking to you later this year. That wraps up our second quarter call.

感謝大家加入我們。我們期待今年晚些時候與您交談。我們的第二季度電話會議到此結束。

Goodbye.

再見。