USANA Health Sciences Inc (USNA) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the USANA Health Sciences second-quarter earnings call. My name is Jess, and I'll be your coordinator for today's event. Please note, this call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加 USANA 健康科學第二季財報電話會議。我叫傑西，我將擔任今天活動的協調員。請注意，此通話正在錄音。（操作員說明）

I will now hand over to your host, Andrew Masuda, to begin today's call. Thank you.

現在我將邀請主持人安德魯增田 (Andrew Masuda) 開始今天的電話會議。謝謝。

Thank you, Jess, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us to review our second quarter 2024 results. Today's conference call is being broadcast live via webcast and can be accessed directly from our website at ir.usana.com. Shortly following the call, a replay will be available on our website.

謝謝你，傑西，大家早安。感謝您與我們一起回顧我們 2024 年第二季的業績。今天的電話會議透過網路直播進行現場直播，您可以直接從我們的網站 ir.usana.com 存取。通話結束後不久，我們的網站上將提供重播。

As a reminder, during the course of this conference call, management will make forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of our company. Those statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ perhaps materially from the results projected in such forward-looking statements.

謹此提醒，在本次電話會議期間，管理階層將就我們公司的未來事件或未來財務表現做出前瞻性陳述。這些陳述涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述中預測的結果有重大差異。

Examples of these statements include those regarding our strategies and outlook for FY2024, as well as uncertainty related to the economic and operating environment around the world, our operations and financial results.

這些聲明的範例包括有關我們 2024 財年策略和前景的聲明，以及與全球經濟和營運環境、我們的營運和財務表現相關的不確定性。

We caution you that these statements should be considered in conjunction with disclosures, including specific risk factors and financial data contained in our most recent filings with the SEC.

我們提醒您，這些聲明應與揭露資訊結合起來考慮，包括我們最近向 SEC 提交的文件中包含的具體風險因素和財務資料。

I'm joined by our President and CEO, Jim Brown; our Chief Financial Officer, Doug Hekking; our Chief Commercial Officer, Brent Neidig, as well as other executives.

我們的總裁兼執行長吉姆布朗 (Jim Brown) 也加入了我的行列。我們的財務長 Doug Hekking；我們的首席商務長 Brent Neidig 以及其他主管。

Yesterday, after the market closed, we announced our second quarter results, and posted our management commentary document on the company's website. We'll now hear brief remarks from Jim before opening the call for questions.

昨天收盤後，我們公佈了第二季業績，並在公司網站上發布了管理層評論文件。在開始提問之前，我們現在將聽取吉姆的簡短發言。

Thank you, Andrew, and good morning, everyone. During the second quarter, we saw continued macroeconomic pressure in several of our key markets which continued to impact our associates' productivity and consumer spending. We continue to take action to strategically address these challenges, including making USANA's overall value proposition more attractive.

謝謝你，安德魯，大家早安。在第二季度，我們看到幾個關鍵市場持續面臨宏觀經濟壓力，這繼續影響我們員工的生產力和消費者支出。我們繼續採取行動從策略上應對這些挑戰，包括使USANA的整體價值主張更具吸引力。

Our strategy includes restructuring our commercial team to better drive our initiatives, heightening our focus on product innovation, increasing our efforts to engage our sales leaders with an associate first approach, expanding into India, and continuing to pursue M&A activities.

我們的策略包括重組我們的商業團隊以更好地推動我們的計劃、加強對產品創新的關注、加強以員工優先的方式吸引我們的銷售領導、擴展到印度以及繼續併購活動。

These strategic initiatives are a meaningful undertaking and are focused on driving long-term performance. This effort will be a multiyear endeavor and will take time to fully realize the rewards of these efforts.

這些策略舉措是一項有意義的事業，專注於推動長期績效。這項努力將是一項多年的努力，需要時間才能充分實現這些努力的回報。

Before providing a few highlights from the quarter, I'd like to provide an overview on the restructuring of our commercial team. Over the past several months, we have reorganized our sales, marketing and communications departments into one commercial team to better position us to execute our customer growth strategy.

在提供本季度的一些亮點之前，我想概述我們商業團隊的重組情況。在過去的幾個月裡，我們將銷售、行銷和傳播部門重組為商業團隊，以便更好地執行我們的客戶成長策略。

A significant part of this strategy is centered on our ability to deliver three fundamental things to our sales force -- best-in-class products, a simple message that highlights the benefits of these products, and an income opportunity that is simple, rewarding and worthy of our associates' time and effort.

這項策略的一個重要部分是圍繞我們為銷售人員提供三項基本服務的能力——一流的產品、強調這些產品優勢的簡單訊息以及簡單、回報豐厚的收入機會。

Accordingly, our new commercial team is comprised of 3 core global teams, product, opportunity and brand, as well as our regional and local business units. Our global teams are designed to do the following. The product team is responsible for ensuring that we bring innovative best-in-class nutritional products to the market.

因此，我們新的商業團隊由 3 個核心全球團隊、產品、機會和品牌以及我們的區域和本地業務部門組成。我們的全球團隊旨在完成以下任務。產品團隊負責確保我們將創新的一流營養產品推向市場。

Accordingly, this team is focused on increasing our market share and driving customer growth, with science remaining at the core of our business. The opportunity team is focused on delivering a rewarding compensation plan with an associate first approach offering for both part-time and full-time entrepreneurs.

因此，該團隊專注於增加我們的市場份額並推動客戶成長，而科學仍然是我們業務的核心。機會團隊致力於為兼職和全職企業家提供獎勵性薪酬計劃，並採用員工優先的方法。

The brand team will deliver USANA's story and brand framework which will align all company messaging, both internally and externally, improving messaging effectiveness, and bolstering our global reputation. I believe the collective output of the new commercial team will better position USANA to make these fundamental deliveries to our sales force and position USANA to achieve long-term customer growth.

品牌團隊將提供 USANA 的故事和品牌框架，從而協調所有公司內部和外部的訊息傳遞，提高訊息傳遞的有效性，並增強我們的全球聲譽。我相信新商業團隊的集體產出將使USANA能更好地向我們的銷售團隊提供這些基本服務，並使USANA實現長期客戶成長。

Now on to some strategic highlights for the quarter. I recently returned from India after spending a week in our offices in Gurgaon with our local leadership team and sales force. While I was there, I saw the energy and excitement for USANA's brand and products with our sales force and customers.

現在介紹本季的一些策略亮點。我最近從印度回來，與當地的領導團隊和銷售人員一起在古爾岡的辦公室度過了一周。當我在那裡時，我看到了我們的銷售人員和客戶對 USANA 品牌和產品的活力和興奮。

Our local leadership team led by Regional Vice President and Manning Director, Puneet Madan, continues to attract high-quality leaders, and we remain very excited about the long-term potential that this important market presents.

我們由區域副總裁兼人力總監 Puneet Madan 領導的當地領導團隊繼續吸引高素質的領導者，我們對這個重要市場所呈現的長期潛力仍然感到非常興奮。

As we have consistently communicated, sales contribution from this important opportunity is currently small, however, we plan to consistently and systematically build this market over the next several years. We also strengthened our leadership team across the company during the second quarter. Dr. Kathryn Armstrong joined USANA as our new Executive Vice President of R&D.

正如我們一直以來所傳達的那樣，這一重要機會對銷售的貢獻目前很小，但是，我們計劃在未來幾年內持續、有系統地建立這個市場。第二季我們也加強了整個公司的領導團隊。凱瑟琳阿姆斯壯 (Kathryn Armstrong) 博士加入 USANA，擔任我們新任研發執行副總裁。

Dr. Armstrong, received her PhD in Biochemistry from Notre Dame and is a seasoned scientific leader with 17 years of experience in consumer products, direct selling, and consulting. She brings a wealth of knowledge, technical prowess, and extensive expertise in product development and innovation. Dr. Armstrong will be instrumental in helping lead USANA's product development and innovative initiatives.

阿姆斯壯博士在聖母大學獲得生物化學博士學位，是一位經驗豐富的科學領導者，在消費品、直銷和諮詢領域擁有 17 年的經驗。她帶來了豐富的知識、技術實力以及產品開發和創新方面的廣泛專業知識。阿姆斯壯博士將在幫助領導 USANA 的產品開發和創新計劃方面發揮重要作用。

Peter Wang has been promoted to Global Vice President and General Manager of China. Peter joined USANA Baby Care in January of 2022. Since then, he has been instrumental in driving a transformation with our China sales business. He worked closely with the team to successfully launch China's Healthy Family strategy, which is focused on ensuring China's continued growth over the next several years.

Peter Wang 晉升為全球副總裁兼中國區總經理。Peter 於 2022 年 1 月加入 USANA 嬰兒護理中心。從那時起，他在推動我們中國銷售業務的轉型方面發揮了重要作用。他與團隊密切合作，成功啟動了中國健康家庭策略，該策略的重點是確保中國未來幾年的持續成長。

He has played a pivotal role in driving sales, building close relationships with sales leaders, optimizing our business model, creating innovative growth strategies, and developing our organization. I'm truly excited about Peter's future contributions as well as his dedication, enthusiasm, and leadership in this important market.

他在推動銷售、與銷售領導建立密切關係、優化我們的業務模式、制定創新成長策略和發展我們的組織方面發揮了關鍵作用。我對 Peter 未來的貢獻以及他在這個重要市場的奉獻、熱情和領導感到非常興奮。

I'll close by saying that we operate our business with a focus on building sustainable long-term success in the form of customer growth. I'm confident that successful execution of these strategies will position USANA to return to growth.

最後我要說的是，我們經營業務的重點是透過客戶成長的形式建立可持續的長期成功。我相信，這些策略的成功執行將使USANA恢復成長。

With that, I'll now ask the operator to please open the lines for questions.

現在，我將要求接線員打開提問線路。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Anthony Lebiedzinski, Sidoti & Co.

萊別津斯基 (Anthony Lebiedzinski)，Sidoti & Co.

Good mornin,g and thank you for taking the questions. So I mean, overall, I think you guys did a pretty good job of explaining your 2Q results in the press release and the management commentary, so I'll focus most of my questions on forward-looking topics.

早上好，謝謝您提出問題。所以我的意思是，總的來說，我認為你們在新聞稿和管理層評論中很好地解釋了第二季度的業績，所以我將把大部分問題集中在前瞻性主題上。

But first, I just wanted to follow-up, Jim, on one of the things that you said at the beginning of the call. One of the things that you're looking to do is to make value proposition more attractive. Can you expand on that, what that means in terms of pricing, or just how should we think about that? And then I have a couple of other questions.

但首先，吉姆，我只想跟進你在電話開始時所說的一件事。您想要做的事情之一就是使價值主張更具吸引力。您能否詳細說明一下，這在定價方面意味著什麼，或者我們應該如何考慮這一點？然後我還有其他幾個問題。

Yes, when I talk about the value proposition, you can get into specific products and how those are priced and how the opportunity rewards for the consumption of those products. But we always look at it as our team, our associates in the field, need to be value adding in general.

是的，當我談論價值主張時，您可以討論特定產品以及這些產品的定價方式以及消費這些產品的機會如何回報。但我們始終將其視為我們的團隊、我們在該領域的同事，總體上需要增加價值。

We want to supply more than just products and a great opportunity. We want to have other ads there that their customers and associates can then depend on to want to stay as a community, as a family with USANA.

我們希望提供的不僅僅是產品和絕佳的機會。我們希望在那裡投放其他廣告，讓他們的客戶和員工可以依賴這些廣告，希望與 USANA 成為一個社區、一個家庭。

But of course, it comes down to nuts and bolts as well on how we price our products. But we will continue, as I stated in the opening comments, to be a science-based company, and have premium products, and that's where we've had for the last 30 years, and we'll continue down that path.

但當然，這也取決於具體細節以及我們如何為產品定價。但正如我在開場白中所說，我們將繼續成為一家以科學為基礎的公司，並擁有優質產品，這就是我們過去 30 年所擁有的，我們將繼續沿著這條道路走下去。

Yes. Anthony, this is Doug. Maybe just chime in here. A lot of the value proposition, as we look at it, is conveying the differentiation of the products also the innovation that we have in the horizon that Jim mentioned. So there's a host of things that go in there.

是的。安東尼，這是道格。也許只是在這裡插話。正如我們所看到的，許多價值主張正在傳達產品的差異化以及吉姆提到的我們在視野中的創新。所以裡面有很多東西。

And so you probably should not perceive this as just pushing down a path of price adjustments. It's a value-add, and making sure the consumer understands the true differentiation of our products in addition to a great deal of product innovation on the horizon.

因此，您可能不應該認為這只是推動價格調整。這是一種增值，除了即將推出的大量產品創新之外，還確保消費者了解我們產品的真正差異化。

Got you. Okay. Thanks for that. And so just a follow-up on the product innovation side. I just wanted to get a better understanding of that. So as you're looking to focus more on new products, so I guess when you look at your product innovation now process, what's on average, the typical time frame when you guys think of an idea to bring out to the market?

明白你了。好的。謝謝你。這只是產品創新的後續行動。我只是想更好地理解這一點。因此，當您希望更多地關注新產品時，我想當您查看現在的產品創新流程時，你們想到將一個想法推向市場的平均時間範圍是多少？

So what is that now, and what's the expectation going forward with the changes that you're making? I know it's a simple question, maybe not a simple answer for you, but just wanted to get a better understanding of that.

那麼現在是什麼情況？我知道這是一個簡單的問題，也許對您來說不是一個簡單的答案，但只是想更好地理解這一點。

Yes. It's not really a simple answer. But I talked about it with the restructuring, and we've gone as far as restructure internally and have three product teams over our product lines in nutritionals, skin care and foods. And it takes about a year and a half to two years from the initial decision to go down a path on a product, the science, the testing and everything else, and we're just not happy with that.

是的。這確實不是一個簡單的答案。但我談到了重組，我們已經進行了內部重組，在營養品、護膚品和食品領域的產品線上建立了三個產品團隊。從最初決定走上產品、科學、測試和其他一切的道路，大約需要一年半到兩年的時間，我們對此並不滿意。

We think we should be able to do it within a year's time. And those teams will be the catalyst to get that done. They have ownership. They're looking at the entire product life cycle and of course, innovation in new ingredients or systems will help with that as well.

我們認為我們應該能夠在一年內做到這一點。這些團隊將成為實現這一目標的催化劑。他們擁有所有權。他們正在關注整個產品生命週期，當然，新成分或系統的創新也將有助於這一點。

But it's longer, and that's one of the reasons that we've made the decision to do some restructuring and get more of a team focus with cross-functional teams together to be able to get stuff done quicker.

但它更長，這就是我們決定進行一些重組並讓跨職能團隊更加關注團隊的原因之一，以便能夠更快地完成工作。

Got you. So this restructuring was completed, I believe, soon after, Jim, you became CEO. So as far as like, what's a reasonable time frame for you guys to see tangible benefits from this? I know it's going to take some time, but could we see something by next year? Or do you think it will take longer for that to play out?

明白你了。所以這個重組就完成了，我相信不久之後，吉姆，你就成為了執行長。那麼，就你們而言，要從中看到實際好處的合理時間範圍是多久？我知道這需要一些時間，但明年我們能看到一些成果嗎？還是你認為這需要更長的時間才能實現？

Hey Anthony, it's Brent here. I'll take that question. As Jim mentioned, historically, it takes upwards of three years in some instances to develop a product, and that's just not satisfactory for us. So with this restructure, we've been able to accelerate the time it takes from ideation to commercialization.

嘿，安東尼，我是布倫特。我來回答這個問題。正如吉姆所提到的，從歷史上看，在某些情況下開發產品需要三年以上的時間，這對我們來說並不令人滿意。因此，透過這次重組，我們能夠加快從構思到商業化的時間。

As Jim's repeatedly mentioned, we're scientific based, and science takes time. So we expect, especially on our most premium differentiated products, that scientific research aspect is still going to be time intensive. But once that science has come to a point where we want to take the product through the commercialization process, we believe that through our transformation that's taken place internally, we could see 50%, 75% improvements or reductions in the time it takes to bring a product to market.

正如吉姆一再提到的，我們以科學為基礎，而科學需要時間。因此，我們預計，尤其是在我們最優質的差異化產品上，科學研究方面仍需要大量時間。但是，一旦科學發展到我們希望將產品推向商業化的階段，我們相信，透過我們內部進行的轉型，我們可以看到 50%、75% 的改進或時間縮短。

More recently, we've seen from ideation to commercialization as quick as six months, which is a dramatic improvement for us internally. We're going to continue to push hard on that process to make it as quick as possible because the market is always changing, and we need to ensure that we're meeting the market where it's at, not trying to play catch up all the time.

最近，我們看到從構思到商業化僅需六個月，這對我們內部來說是一個巨大的進步。我們將繼續努力推動這一進程，使其盡可能快，因為市場總是在變化，我們需要確保我們滿足市場的需求，而不是試圖追趕所有的市場。

So we'll see improvements. We have some additional products that are going to come to market here soon this year, which we're happy about. We're planning many more upgrades and new products that are going to be launched in 2025. So we're already starting to see the fruits of the restructure, and it's only going to get quicker over time.

所以我們會看到改進。我們還有一些其他產品將於今年很快上市，我們對此感到很高興。我們計劃在 2025 年推出更多升級和新產品。因此，我們已經開始看到重組的成果，而且隨著時間的推移，它只會變得更快。

Yes. And Anthony, I would chime in, both Brent Neidig and Walter Noot had, as Jim assumed the mantle of CEO, took on additional responsibility. And so a good part of the back half of last year as Brent was meeting with everybody trying to go back and assess where it's at.

是的。安東尼，我想插話一下，隨著吉姆擔任首席執行官，布倫特·尼迪格和沃爾特·諾特都承擔了額外的責任。去年下半年的大部分時間，布倫特都在與每個人會面，試圖回顧並評估目前的情況。

And the bulk of the changes in the actual structure of the right people in the right places have been something that's really been more recent than that. And so I think you've got the structure in place. I think it's the right alignment, but I just want you to have a kind of a correct understanding of kind of timing of that.

合適的人在合適的地方的實際結構的大部分變化實際上是比這更新的事情。所以我認為你的結構已經就位了。我認為這是正確的調整，但我只是希望你對時機有正確的理解。

Yes. It was really this past quarter when we really made significant changes to the team size, to the structure. So within just a quarter, we've made dramatic improvements and it's only going to accelerate over time.

是的。正是在上個季度，我們才真正對團隊規模和結構做出了重大改變。因此，在短短一個季度內，我們就取得了巨大的進步，而且隨著時間的推移，這種進步只會加速。

That's great to hear. And then just switching gears. I know in the release and the commentary, you guys talked a little bit more about your acquisitions strategy there. As far as the pipeline, that you have, can you speak to that as far as what could be as far as potential acquisitions and then share buybacks, how are you guys thinking about that in light of the current stock price?

很高興聽到這個消息。然後只是切換齒輪。我知道在新聞稿和評論中，你們更多地談論了你們的收購策略。就您擁有的管道而言，您能談談潛在的收購和股票回購嗎？

This is Walter Noot. So for acquisitions, we've got a full pipeline. We've been talking to companies. I mean we've been very, very busy. And our biggest issue is that we want to make sure that we acquire companies that have a really good cash return.

這是沃爾特·諾特。因此，對於收購，我們擁有完整的管道。我們一直在與公司交談。我的意思是我們一直都非常非常忙碌。我們最大的問題是，我們希望確保收購具有良好現金回報的公司。

And so our -- that's why we spend a lot of time with our banks and vetting companies. I think things are opening up a little bit right now. If you look at just generally in the market, there seems to be more opportunities and more companies that are becoming available. And like I said, there's a huge list right now. So we're very excited.

這就是我們花大量時間與銀行和審查公司打交道的原因。我認為現在事情正在一點點開放。如果你看看市場的整體情況，你會發現似乎有更多的機會和更多的公司正在出現。就像我說的，現在有一個很大的清單。所以我們非常興奮。

Yes. And one other thing, too, when we're looking at business opportunities, we want a very strong management team that will stay on and run those businesses. We're looking at it from a long-term opportunity and not just something where you're just going in and trying to manage something and then go down the path of selling it. Ours is a long-term strategy to bring great businesses on to be part of the USANA structure.

是的。還有一件事，當我們尋找商機時，我們需要一個非常強大的管理團隊來留下來經營這些業務。我們從長期機會的角度來看待它，而不僅僅是你只是進入並嘗試管理某些東西，然後走上出售它的道路。我們的長期策略是讓優秀的企業成為 USANA 結構的一部分。

Yes. And Anthony, this is Doug. I'll follow on really on kind of the broader capital allocation narrative. It's a very similar discussion that we've had in the past. Jim leads a lot of these conversations with the Board about capital allocation and where we're at. And so at any given time, we're evaluating a number of different opportunities and evaluating this stuff.

是的。安東尼，這是道格。我將繼續關注更廣泛的資本配置敘述。這與我們過去進行過的討論非常相似。吉姆主持了許多與董事會有關資本配置和我們目前狀況的對話。因此，在任何特定時間，我們都會評估許多不同的機會並評估這些東西。

Share repurchase is definitely in our arsenal, but we're evaluating that in context of many of the other things that we're currently evaluating as well. So it is a discussion every quarter with the Board and we spend some amount of time on it. And so we'll get you updated. We really don't have any comments at this point as far as future plans in immediate near term.

股票回購肯定在我們的武器庫中，但我們正在根據我們目前正在評估的許多其他事情來評估這一點。因此，每個季度都會與董事會進行討論，我們會花費一些時間。我們會及時向您通報最新情況。對於近期的未來計劃，我們目前確實沒有任何評論。

Understood. Well, thank you very much and best of luck.

明白了。嗯，非常感謝你，祝你好運。

Linda Bolton-Weiser, D.A. Davidson.

琳達·博爾頓·韋瑟，D.A.戴維森。

Yes, hi. So I was curious, like what happened sort of in Mainland China region in the quarter. I guess I was rather encouraged by the performance last quarter with some growth there. And then it seems like the growth kind of went away even against, I think it was an easier prior year comparison. Is it just the promotions, that you ran promotions in the first quarter, but none in the second quarter? Maybe a little more color on China, thanks.

是的，嗨。所以我很好奇，就像本季中國大陸地區發生的事情一樣。我想我對上個季度的業績成長感到相當鼓舞。然後，即使與去年相比，成長似乎也消失了，我認為這是一個更容易的情況。是不是只是促銷，第一季有促銷，第二季沒有促銷？也許對中國有更多的了解，謝謝。

Linda, this is Doug. I'm going to give you kind of a brief response of kind of what we've said historically here, and then I'm going to let Brent respond who has far more market insight to that key market for us. We had said at the end of our first quarter stuff that we would expect a softer Q2 just because of the promotional cadence. China had both prior year and the sequential quarter, had a more prominent promotion calendar during those periods, and that's something that we had called out a little bit. But I think I gave you that context, and I'll let Brent go back and kind of respond.

琳達，這是道格。我將給你們一個簡短的回應，就像我們歷史上所說的那樣，然後我將讓布倫特回應，他對我們的關鍵市場有更多的市場洞察力。我們在第一季末曾說過，由於促銷節奏，我們預計第二季會出現疲軟。中國有上一年和上一季的數據，在這些時期有更突出的促銷日曆，這是我們已經指出的一點。但我想我已經給了你這個背景，我會讓布倫特回去並做出回應。

Hi Linda, there certainly was a softness in the results, and I think that was really primarily two-pronged. First and foremost was the cadence of the promotional calendar that we have. Now we try to space those things out according to market need, not necessarily to hit a revenue target, but really, what are the needs on the ground in the market.

嗨，琳達，結果肯定是溫和的，我認為這主要是兩方面的。首先也是最重要的是我們促銷日曆的節奏。現在，我們嘗試根據市場需求來安排這些事情，不一定要達到收入目標，但實際上，市場的實際需求是什麼。

And if you pile them on too quickly, too fast, then it can have more damaging effects long term than the positive upside. So I think the promotional calendar and then the second is you certainly heard in the news that there is certainly an economic softness headwinds that we're seeing within the market right now.

如果你把它們堆得太快、太快，那麼從長遠來看，它所產生的破壞性影響可能比積極的影響更大。因此，我認為促銷日曆，然後是您肯定在新聞中聽到的第二個消息，即我們目前在市場上看到的經濟疲軟的逆風。

And I think that was part of the issue. And that's one of the reasons why we continue to look at strengthening our value proposition so that even though there is economic softness, people are still willing to pay for premium solutions that are going to solve the need that they have in their life.

我認為這是問題的一部分。這就是我們繼續考慮加強我們的價值主張的原因之一，以便即使經濟疲軟，人們仍然願意為能夠解決他們生活需求的優質解決方案付費。

So the better we can cut through that noise within the marketplace, people will continue to choose USANA and that's what we're striving towards.

因此，我們越能消除市場中的噪音，人們就會繼續選擇USANA，這就是我們努力的目標。

Yes. And Linda, I would also say, and Brent's kind of brought this to the forefront. We're really excited about the management team over there and the elevation of Peter Wang. I think, really solid team that allows Brent to operate in a broader sense, so we're quite excited about the team structure there as well.

是的。我還要說，琳達和布倫特將這一點帶到了最前線。我們對那裡的管理團隊和 Peter Wang 的晉升感到非常興奮。我認為，真正可靠的團隊使布倫特能夠在更廣泛的意義上運作，因此我們對那裡的團隊結構也感到非常興奮。

Okay. And then I guess on the opposite side of it, the America's and Europe kind of region did quite a bit better actually than our projection. Can you call out something there that made the performance there sort of different and better?

好的。然後我想相反，美洲和歐洲地區的表現實際上比我們的預測好得多。您能指出一些使那裡的表演有所不同且更好的東西嗎？

Yes. I think it's just really the continued effort at addressing the current environment. The team has done a nice job. I would call out, I think Canada has done a really good job, and we've been pleased with some of the progress in Canada, I think, particularly in a sequential sense. And so I think we're getting some traction leaning into it.

是的。我認為這確實是針對當前環境的持續努力。該團隊做得很好。我想說，我認為加拿大做得非常好，我們對加拿大的一些進展感到高興，特別是在連續的意義上。所以我認為我們正在獲得一些關注。

Brent, more from kind of a --

布倫特，更多來自於--

Yes. We're really pleased with our leadership that we have here in market, and they've been aggressively going after our associate first strategy and reengaging local leaders, both in Canada and in the Americas. And that strategy is really, I think, starting to take hold and we're starting to develop some positive momentum that we're excited about.

是的。我們對我們在市場上的領導地位感到非常滿意，他們一直在積極推行我們的員工優先策略，並重新吸引加拿大和美洲的當地領導者。我認為，這項策略確實開始生效，我們開始發展一些令我們興奮的正面動力。

And that's going to really parlay into our Americas Europe convention that's taking place here this next month in Las Vegas. We're really excited about that, and many key initiatives that we're going to be launching in the second half of the year. So we're optimistic in the long-term trajectory of the market.

這將真正融入我們下個月在拉斯維加斯舉行的美洲歐洲會議。我們對此以及我們將在今年下半年推出的許多關鍵舉措感到非常興奮。因此，我們對市場的長期軌跡持樂觀態度。

Okay. And then with regard to your gross margin actually came in pretty much what I had projected. I'm just curious, and it's really stable seemingly. What is it that is making the gross margin stable despite the sales declines on the top line? Like how are you managing to maintain that gross margin?

好的。然後，你們的毛利率其實與我的預期差不多。我只是好奇，而且看起來確實很穩定。儘管銷售量下降，但什麼讓毛利率保持穩定？例如你是如何維持這個毛利率的？

Yes. I mean we've had a host of things and there's a lot of things that go into the equation. One, currency rates are operating against us. The nonvariable costs, we're seeing some pressure relative to a little bit softer top line. So all those things go into what you said.

是的。我的意思是我們已經做了很多事情，而且還有很多事情要考慮。第一，匯率對我們不利。就固定成本而言，我們看到了相對於稍微疲軟的營收的一些壓力。所以這一切都符合你所說的。

If you look dynamically at China, China has a robust gross margins. They make up a little bit bigger share of the overall. We see some improvements there. But we've also seen the operations team procurement team do a good job in kind of managing the environment. So it really is a combination of a variety of things.

如果你動態觀察中國，你會發現中國的毛利率很高。他們在整體中所佔的份額稍大一些。我們在那裡看到了一些改進。但我們也看到營運團隊採購團隊在管理環境方面做得很好。所以它確實是多種事物的組合。

There's a few risk factors there with currency, a little bit of softness on the top line. We do have a little bit of a mix dynamic relative to what we've seen as China has picked up a little bit, we see some improved gross margins just from there. And then I think just internal efforts to keep working on securing good prices and favorable outcomes factors in there as well.

貨幣方面存在一些風險因素，營收有些疲軟。相對於我們所看到的中國有所回升，我們確實有一些混合動態，我們看到毛利率從那裡開始有所改善。然後我認為，持續努力確保良好價格和有利結果的內部努力也是其中的因素。

Okay. And then I guess, just in a bigger -- one thing with the direct selling companies that I've been seeing over the years is a lot of times what the distributors want is like more training, more training and programs that can help them as well as their downlines, know better how to sell the product and how to actually go about their business on a day-to-day basis.

好的。然後我想，只是在更大的方面——我多年來看到的直銷公司的一件事是，很多時候經銷商想要的是更多的培訓，更多的培訓和計劃可以幫助他們以及他們的下線，更了解如何銷售產品以及如何實際開展日常業務。

I don't really hear you talking much about training initiatives. Is there anything there that you think you need to focus on more, or is it just not something that's relevant to your business?

我真的沒有聽到你談論太多關於培訓計劃的事情。您認為有哪些事情需要更多關注，或只是與您的業務無關？

Linda, it's Brent here, and you're speaking music to our ears. I think you really hit it on the head there, that part of that value proposition that we provide for our associate first strategy, is not only providing a rewarding compensation opportunity. And one of the things we're really working on is reducing the time to success which is how long it takes for an associate or one of our sellers to find quote-unquote success.

琳達，我是布倫特，你正在對我們的耳朵說音樂。我認為你確實擊中了要害，我們為員工優先策略提供的價值主張的一部分不僅是提供獎勵性的薪酬機會。我們真正致力於的事情之一是縮短成功時間，即我們的同事或我們的賣家需要多長時間才能獲得成功。

A big part of that is training. It's a massive part and it really plays into their effectiveness and ability to go out and portray the message to the prospects that they have. So I would say the training takes up much of our commercial team's resources to figure out how we can deliver in a very compelling, short, concise package all the information that a new person would need in order to be successful right out of the gate.

其中很大一部分是培訓。這是一個重要的部分，它確實影響了他們的效率和能力，以向他們所擁有的潛在客戶傳達訊息。因此，我想說，培訓佔據了我們商業團隊的大部分資源，以弄清楚我們如何能夠以非常引人注目的、簡短的、簡潔的方式提供新人一開始就取得成功所需的所有資訊。

That's one of the primary objectives of our brand team that Jim mentioned, is their sole focus is trying to figure out how to create a short concise compelling message in training material for our new sellers. And then as you go along the whole associate journey, once a person has been in for a certain period of time, their training needs change over time.

這是吉姆提到的我們品牌團隊的主要目標之一，他們唯一的重點是試圖找出如何在新賣家的培訓材料中創建簡短、簡潔、引人注目的訊息。然後，當你經歷整個員工旅程時，一旦一個人進入一段時間，他們的培訓需求就會隨著時間的推移而改變。

And we continue to provide education, certification resources on our products, on the opportunity really so that they can become their best self and their best customers so that they can present themselves in a very compelling way to all their prospects.

我們繼續提供有關我們產品的教育、認證資源和機會，使他們能夠成為最好的自己和最好的客戶，以便他們能夠以非常引人注目的方式向所有潛在客戶展示自己。

Okay. Thank you. That's all for me.

好的。謝謝。這就是我的全部。

Doug Lane, Water Tower Research.

道格·萊恩，水塔研究。

Good morning, everybody. Just looking at your revised guidance and trying to sort of back into some second half trends we can expect, I think the two things I'd just like to drill down on is in my math, the sales is looking to be in the second half somewhere close to flat to down maybe mid-single digits, which is obviously an improvement from the first half trend. So what drives you to believe that the trends will improve in the second half versus the first half?

大家早安。只是看看您修訂後的指導，並嘗試回到我們可以預期的一些下半年趨勢，我認為我想深入研究的兩件事是在我的數學中，銷售預計在下半年接近持平甚至下降，可能是中個位數，這顯然比上半年的趨勢有所改善。那麼，是什麼讓您相信下半年的趨勢將比上半年有所改善呢？

Yes. Doug, this is the alternative Doug, your alter ego here. I think a great deal of kind of what Jim talked about with the commercial team kind of what Brent is executing there. And some of the things we see in the product pipeline, the innovation, really is kind of what we outlined in those key strategic initiatives.

是的。道格，這是另一個道格，你的另一個自我。我認為吉姆與商業團隊談論的很多內容都類似於布倫特在那裡執行的內容。我們在產品管道中看到的一些東西，即創新，確實是我們在這些關鍵策略舉措中概述的內容。

One of the things that Brent has done and given direct to the team is this associate first and the effort and engagement to go back and get out and talk with them and just take any option we have to go back and engage with them is really a critical part about our business.

布倫特所做的並直接交給團隊的一件事就是讓這位同事先行，回去並出去與他們交談並採取任何我們必須回去與他們接觸的選擇的努力和參與確實是一種我們業務的關鍵部分。

And I think we really heard this in kind of loud tones coming out of COVID. And so to me, I think that's the number one thing. I think the timing and cadence of different promotional activity, as Brent said, we want to be smart. We want to do things that are value add to them and not overwhelm them. But we see some of the things that we have kind of planned and baked in are additive, but it's just one part of a kind of a broader approach and strategy. Jim, anything else or a big picture?

我認為我們確實從新冠疫情中聽到了這種響亮的聲音。所以對我來說，我認為這是第一件事。我認為不同促銷活動的時機和節奏，正如布倫特所說，我們要聰明一點。我們想做一些能為他們增加價值的事情，而不是壓倒他們。但我們看到我們計劃和烘焙的一些事情是附加的，但這只是更廣泛的方法和策略的一部分。吉姆，還有什麼或大局嗎？

Yes. I mean it's a cadence on promotions, and we're going to address that some in the third and fourth quarter. But it's really the strategy and getting the alignment there and like Doug talked about, our associate distributor-first strategy and getting them the tools to be successful.

是的。我的意思是這是促銷的節奏，我們將在第三和第四季解決這個問題。但這實際上是戰略並在那裡保持一致，就像道格談到的那樣，我們的副經銷商優先戰略，並為他們提供成功的工具。

Linda just talked about training, we didn't spend a lot of time on that, but that's probably one of the biggest jobs that our GMs across the world do is train and continue to support that distributor to find more consumers of our products.

琳達剛剛談到了培訓，我們沒有花很多時間在這上面，但這可能是我們在世界各地的總經理所做的最重要的工作之一，就是培訓並繼續支持經銷商找到更多我們產品的消費者。

Okay. Thank you. That's helpful, Jim. And I guess the second thing I want to focus on is the operating margin where you have, you revised your range, but not very much despite the sales shortfall. And again, according to my numbers, the first half operating margin was, what, 9.5%, 9.6%. And so you back into the second half, it's going to be below 9%.

好的。謝謝。這很有幫助，吉姆。我想我想關注的第二件事是你所擁有的營業利潤率，你修改了你的範圍，但儘管銷售不足，但幅度不大。再說一次，根據我的數據，上半年營業利潤率是，9.5%、9.6%。所以你回到下半年，它會低於 9%。

And I just wondered why despite the improving trends, although still possibly down sales, are the operating margin is going to be lower in the second half versus in the first half?

我只是想知道為什麼儘管趨勢有所改善，儘管銷售額仍可能下降，但下半年的營業利潤率會比上半年更低嗎？

Yes, I think it really is just the dynamic. We've seen a softer top line, the loss of leverage and some of the infrastructure costs. We've definitely been selective in paring back some infrastructure costs that we don't deem as adding value going forward and doing this other stuff.

是的，我認為這確實只是動態。我們看到營收疲軟、槓桿率下降以及一些基礎設施成本。我們肯定會選擇性地削減一些我們認為不會增加未來價值的基礎設施成本，並做其他事情。

At the same time, we've been investing in the strategic initiatives that Jim outlined in his opening remarks, and we'll continue to go back and invest in the future. And I would just say the strength in our balance sheet allows us to have that mentality and lean into things and lean into things, efforts that we think will help grow the company.

同時，我們一直在投資吉姆在開場白中概述的戰略舉措，我們將繼續回頭投資未來。我只想說，我們資產負債表的實力讓我們能夠擁有這種心態，並致力於不斷努力，我們認為這些努力將有助於公司的發展。

Okay. I mean that makes sense. If you up your investment and hopefully, your sales trends will improve. And just last thing on the tax rate, I know you talked about your commentary, and I get it, but I just -- the tax rate just shot up here these last couple of years and now into the 40% range after forever being in the upper 20%, low 30%. So just what is different about USANA today that's driving that higher tax rate?

好的。我的意思是這是有道理的。如果您增加投資，希望您的銷售趨勢將會改善。關於稅率的最後一件事，我知道你談到了你的評論，我明白了，但我只是 - 稅率在過去幾年裡剛剛飆升，在永遠處於 40% 的水平之後，現在進入了 40% 的範圍上層20%，下層30%。那麼今天的USANA到底有何不同導致了更高的稅率呢？

I think just the dynamics from a tax book standpoint of where that income sits. That's the primary thing. I think we've had several years of currency adjustments, some of those other stuff. And with our concentration in the US and our concentration of overhead here in the US, just the currency alone creates some operating leverage dynamics.

我認為，從稅簿的角度來看，收入的動態。這是首要的事情。我認為我們已經進行了幾年的貨幣調整以及其他一些調整。由於我們的業務集中在美國，管理費用也集中在美國，光是貨幣本身就創造了一些營運槓桿動態。

And I think the softness in sales and where we're at and where many of the investments are happening on these strategic initiatives is still domestic here.

我認為銷售疲軟、我們所處的位置以及這些戰略舉措的許多投資仍然是國內的。

I think there's some opportunity here, but there's nothing going to be kind of a real quick fix to that. And I think we're looking at things longer term to make sure we're making good decisions for the health of the company long term.

我認為這裡有一些機會，但沒有什麼可以真正快速解決這個問題。我認為我們正在著眼於更長遠的事情，以確保我們為公司的長期健康做出正確的決策。

Well, I mean, I know you're not giving guidance for next year in the out years, but just directionally, are we here to stay in the 40s? Or is there something you can do to get back into the 30s near term in the next year or two?

嗯，我的意思是，我知道你不會為明年的未來幾年提供指導，但只是方向性的，我們會停留在 40 年代嗎？或者你可以做些什麼來在未來一兩年內回到 30 多歲？

Well, as we go back and roll these strategic initiatives and execute much of what Brent and Walter and Jim's leadership is directing us to, I think that top line momentum will really help out. And we'll just see as we look to allocate some of the capital to different opportunities, that may have an impact on how some of that stuff looks as well.

好吧，當我們回顧並推出這些戰略舉措並執行布倫特、沃爾特和吉姆領導層指示我們做的大部分事情時，我認為頂線勢頭確實會有所幫助。當我們希望將一些資本分配給不同的機會時，我們就會看到，這可能也會對其中一些東西的外觀產生影響。

Okay. Thanks, Doug.

好的。謝謝，道格。

We currently have no questions in the queue. (Operator Instructions)

目前我們隊列中沒有任何問題。（操作員說明）

We have no further questions in the queue. So I will turn the call back over to your hosts for any closing remarks.

我們隊列中沒有其他問題了。因此，我會將電話轉回給東道主，讓其發表結束語。

Thank you, Jess, and thank you, everyone, for your questions and participation on today's conference call. If you have any remaining questions, please feel free to contact Investor Relations at 801-954-7210.

謝謝傑西，也謝謝大家在今天的電話會議上提出的問題和參與。如果您還有任何疑問，請隨時致電 801-954-7210 聯絡投資者關係部。

Thank you for joining today's call. You may now disconnect your lines.

感謝您參加今天的電話會議。現在您可以斷開線路。