Vera Bradley Inc (VRA) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Vera Bradley Second Quarter Fiscal 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Mark Dely, Chief Administrative Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Vera Bradley 2023 財年第二季度收益電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。此時，我想將會議轉交給首席行政官 Mark Dely 先生。請繼續，先生。

Good morning, and welcome, everyone. We'd like to thank you for joining us for today's call. Some of the statements made during our prepared remarks and in response to your questions may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to and within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended.

早上好，歡迎大家。我們要感謝您加入我們今天的電話會議。在我們準備好的評論中以及針對您的問題所作的一些陳述可能構成根據經修訂的 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款並在其含義範圍內做出的前瞻性陳述。

Such forward-looking statements are subject to both known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expect. Please refer to today's press release in the company's most recent Form 10-K filed with the SEC for a discussion of known risks and uncertainties.

此類前瞻性陳述受已知和未知風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們預期的結果大不相同。有關已知風險和不確定性的討論，請參閱該公司最近向 SEC 提交的 10-K 表格中的新聞稿。

Investors should not assume that the statements made during the call will remain operative at a later time. We undertake no obligation to provide any information discussed on today's call. I will now turn the call over to Vera Bradley's CEO, Rob Wallstrom. Rob?

投資者不應假設電話會議期間的聲明將在以後繼續有效。我們沒有義務提供今天電話會議中討論的任何信息。我現在將把電話轉給 Vera Bradley 的首席執行官 Rob Wallstrom。搶？

Thank you, Mark. Good morning, and thank you for joining us on today's call. John Enwright, our CFO, also joins me today. While total company second quarter revenues of $130.4 million were modestly below our expectations, and we continue to experience gross margin pressures due to logistics costs, we drove product innovation at both Vera Bradley and Pura Vida, initiated meaningful cost reduction actions and completed $6 million of share repurchases, while maintaining a solid debt-free balance sheet.

謝謝你，馬克。早上好，感謝您加入我們今天的電話會議。我們的首席財務官 John Enwright 今天也加入了我的行列。儘管公司第二季度的總收入為 1.304 億美元，略低於我們的預期，而且由於物流成本，我們繼續面臨毛利率壓力，但我們推動了 Vera Bradley 和 Pura Vida 的產品創新，採取了有意義的成本削減行動並完成了 600 萬美元的股票回購，同時保持穩健的無債務資產負債表。

We are continuing to see bifurcation in the spending of our customer base. At Vera Bradley, direct full-price channel comparable revenues were nearly flat to last year and up double digits to fiscal 2020. Additionally, our Vera Bradley indirect channel continued to experience a healthy year-over-year rebound.

我們繼續看到客戶群的支出出現分歧。在 Vera Bradley，直接全價渠道可比收入與去年幾乎持平，與 2020 財年相比增長兩位數。此外，我們的 Vera Bradley 間接渠道繼續經歷健康的同比反彈。

However, inflationary pressures, especially higher gas prices continue to negatively impact the traffic and spending in our Vera Bradley factory stores. However, as gas prices are easing, we have seen a recent improvement in our factory traffic and revenues.

然而，通脹壓力，尤其是較高的汽油價格繼續對我們 Vera Bradley 工廠商店的客流量和支出產生負面影響。然而，隨著天然氣價格的緩和，我們最近看到我們的工廠交通和收入有所改善。

We are taking decisive actions to strengthen our core brands and the overall enterprise. We have begun implementation of targeted cost reductions of $25 million, which are expected to be fully realized in fiscal 2024. These cost reductions will help offset inflationary expense pressures and the recessionary spending behavior from lower income households.

我們正在採取果斷行動來加強我們的核心品牌和整體企業。我們已經開始實施 2500 萬美元的目標成本削減，預計將在 2024 財年完全實現。這些成本削減將有助於抵消通脹費用壓力和低收入家庭的經濟衰退支出行為。

Expense savings are being derived across various areas of the company including retail store efficiencies, marketing expenses, information technology contracts, professional services, logistics and operational costs and corporate payroll. In addition, we are continuing to evaluate and execute strategic price increases for both brands to offset rising raw material and freight costs.

公司的各個領域都在節省開支，包括零售店效率、營銷費用、信息技術合同、專業服務、物流和運營成本以及公司工資。此外，我們將繼續評估和執行兩個品牌的戰略性提價，以抵消原材料和運費成本的上漲。

At our Vera Bradley brand, we remain confident in our core strategy by continuing to innovate and build on our lifestyle merchandising focus. We are continuing to optimize the travel category, which is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, maximizing back-to-campus opportunities with strategic assortment enhancements and continuing with powerful product collaborations like Disney and Harry Potter.

在我們的 Vera Bradley 品牌中，我們通過繼續創新和鞏固我們的生活方式營銷重點，對我們的核心戰略充滿信心。我們將繼續優化幾乎恢復到大流行前水平的旅行類別，通過戰略性的分類增強來最大限度地增加返校機會，並繼續與迪士尼和哈利波特等強大的產品合作。

And we are excited about expanding our home assortments this fall and adding cloud slip bonds and miles to our Vera Bradley footwear franchise next month. Pure Vida's e-commerce revenues continue to be affected by the shift in social and digital media effectiveness and escalating digital media cost.

我們很高興今年秋天擴大我們的家居產品種類，並在下個月為我們的 Vera Bradley 鞋類專營權增加雲滑債券和里程。 Pure Vida 的電子商務收入繼續受到社交和數字媒體有效性轉變以及數字媒體成本不斷上升的影響。

At Pura Vida, we are evolving our business model from one that is largely dependent on e-commerce and digital marketing to one that is a true omnichannel business with a more diversified marketing base. This will take time, but we are taking the actions to make this transformation happen and return the brand to long-term growth.

在 Pura Vida，我們正在將我們的業務模式從主要依賴電子商務和數字營銷的模式轉變為真正的全渠道業務，並擁有更多元化的營銷基礎。這需要時間，但我們正在採取行動實現這一轉變，並使品牌恢復長期增長。

Our #1 priority is to build a more diverse, innovative, effective and performance-based marketing program to drive e-commerce sales, and we are bolstering our internal marketing and data analytics talent. Most importantly, we are in the process of implementing a comprehensive customer data platform for Pura Vida to build a single coherent, complete view of each customer so that we can better target and personalize marketing and become less reliant on third-party marketing.

我們的首要任務是建立一個更加多樣化、創新、有效和基於績效的營銷計劃來推動電子商務銷售，我們正在加強我們的內部營銷和數據分析人才。最重要的是，我們正在為 Pura Vida 實施一個全面的客戶數據平台，以建立每個客戶的統一、完整的視圖，以便我們能夠更好地定位和個性化營銷，並減少對第三方營銷的依賴。

In the meantime, we are continuing to work with our micro influencers, expanding our TikTok presence, launching impactful ads on Connected TV, optimizing SMS and aggressively exploring other methods to effectively reach our customers day in and day out.

與此同時，我們將繼續與我們的微影響者合作，擴大我們的 TikTok 影響力，在聯網電視上發布有影響力的廣告，優化短信並積極探索其他方法，以日復一日地有效接觸我們的客戶。

Pura Vida's future growth will be a balance of online growth and growth in physical distribution channels. stores will play a key role in driving new customer acquisition as we continue to diversify our marketing platforms. During the quarter, we opened a new Pura Vida store in the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine, South California. And in August, we opened a third location at Broadway at the beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Pura Vida 未來的增長將是在線增長和實體分銷渠道增長的平衡。隨著我們繼續使我們的營銷平台多樣化，商店將在推動新客戶獲取方面發揮關鍵作用。本季度，我們在南加州爾灣的爾灣光譜中心開設了一家新的 Pura Vida 商店。 8 月，我們在南卡羅來納州默特爾比奇海灘的百老匯開設了第三家分店。

Like our original location opened last year in San Diego's Westfield UTC Mall, both new locations are exceeding our expectations. We will open a 4 store at the SanTan Village in Metro, Phoenix in September. Stores can play a key role in driving new customer acquisition as we continue to diversify our marketing platforms, and they demonstrate the power a retail presence has in driving digital sales, omnichannel loyalty and spending. For example, we continue to experience a double-digit differential in our San Diego e-commerce business relative to the rest of the country since that store opened.

就像我們去年在聖地亞哥韋斯特菲爾德 UTC 購物中心開設的原店一樣，這兩個新店都超出了我們的預期。我們將於9月在鳳凰城Metro的三潭村開設4家店。隨著我們繼續使我們的營銷平台多樣化，商店可以在推動新客戶獲取方面發揮關鍵作用，並且它們展示了零售存在在推動數字銷售、全渠道忠誠度和支出方面的力量。例如，自該店開業以來，我們在聖地亞哥的電子商務業務相對於全國其他地區的電子商務業務繼續經歷兩位數的差異。

We look forward to the impact of more stores in the future. On the product front, we continue to build customer excitement and engagement through collaborations like Disney, Harry Potter, Hello Kitty and the World Surf Lake partnering with key influencers, offering theme collections centered around key events like Shark Week and the launch of our demi-fine collection featuring 18-carat gold plated, sterling silver and natural stones.

我們期待未來更多門店的影響。在產品方面，我們繼續通過迪士尼、哈利波特、Hello Kitty 和世界衝浪湖與主要影響者的合作來激發客戶的熱情和參與度，提供圍繞鯊魚周等重要活動的主題系列和我們的半成品發布。以 18 克拉鍍金、純銀和天然寶石為特色的精美系列。

Looking to the balance of the year and even into next year, we are planning for the macro environment to remain challenging. And despite the strength in Pura Vida store business and opportunity for new store openings, we expect it to take time to return Pure Vida's e-commerce business to growth as rebuilding and transforming the marketing program is underway.

展望今年的平衡，甚至到明年，我們計劃宏觀環境仍然充滿挑戰。儘管 Pura Vida 商店業務實力雄厚，新店開業機會也很多，但我們預計，隨著營銷計劃的重建和轉型正在進行中，Pure Vida 的電子商務業務需要時間才能恢復增長。

We are taking critical actions that will further strengthen both core brands and our company as a whole, not only to successfully manage through this period but to position us for the future. Our teams are focused and our cash position and balance sheet remains strong.

我們正在採取關鍵行動，進一步加強核心品牌和我們公司的整體實力，不僅是為了成功度過這一時期，而且為我們的未來定位。我們的團隊專注，我們的現金狀況和資產負債表保持強勁。

We have successfully managed through challenging business cycles before, and I am confident that we will manage through this period as well. We look forward to returning both brands to steady growth. Now let me turn the call over to John to review the financial results. John?

我們之前成功地度過了充滿挑戰的商業周期，我相信我們也將度過這段時期。我們期待兩個品牌恢復穩定增長。現在讓我把電話轉給約翰來審查財務結果。約翰？

Thanks, Rob, and good morning. Let me go over a few highlights for the second quarter. The numbers I will discuss today are all non-GAAP and exclude the charges outlined in today's release, totaling $32.2 million on an after-tax basis. The major components of this total are a write-down of Pura Vida goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges of $18.2 million, $7 million of severance charges and consulting fees primarily associated with cost-saving initiatives, and $5.6 million of inventory-related charges for the write-down of masks and other inventory as well as fees related to the cancellation of certain orders for the spring 2023 goods.

謝謝，羅伯，早上好。讓我回顧一下第二季度的一些亮點。我今天要討論的數字都是非公認會計原則，不包括今天發布的費用，稅後總計 3220 萬美元。這一總額的主要組成部分是減記 Pura Vida 商譽和無形資產減值費用 1820 萬美元、主要與成本節約舉措相關的 700 萬美元遣散費和諮詢費，以及 560 萬美元的存貨相關費用。口罩和其他庫存的減記以及與取消 2023 年春季商品某些訂單相關的費用。

For complete detail of items excluded from the non-GAAP numbers as well as a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP numbers, please reference today's press release. Consolidated net revenues totaled $130.4 million compared to $147 million in the prior year second quarter. Consolidated net income totaled $2.4 million or $0.08 per diluted share compared to $9.5 million or $0.28 per diluted share last year.

有關非 GAAP 數字中排除的項目的完整詳細信息以及 GAAP 與非 GAAP 數字的對賬，請參考今天的新聞稿。合併淨收入總計 1.304 億美元，而去年第二季度為 1.47 億美元。合併淨收入總計 240 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.08 美元，而去年為 950 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.28 美元。

Vera Bradley Direct segment revenues totaled $87 million, a 10.4% decrease from $97.1 million last year. Comparable sales declined 13.8% in the second quarter. Vera Bradley Indirect segment revenues totaled $17.3 million, a 2.9% increase over $16.8 million in the prior year second quarter.

Vera Bradley Direct 部門收入總計 8700 萬美元，比去年的 9710 萬美元下降 10.4%。第二季度可比銷售額下降了 13.8%。 Vera Bradley 間接部門收入總計 1730 萬美元，比去年第二季度的 1680 萬美元增長 2.9%。

Pura Vida segment revenues totaled $26 million, a 21.3% decrease from $33.1 million last year. Second quarter gross margin totaled $67.8 million or 52% compared to $80.4 million or 54.6% last year. The current year rate was negatively impacted by higher inbound and outbound freight expense, deleverage of overhead costs and channel mix changes, partially offset by price increases.

Pura Vida 部門的收入總計 2600 萬美元，比去年的 3310 萬美元下降 21.3%。第二季度毛利率總計 6780 萬美元或 52%，而去年同期為 8040 萬美元或 54.6%。本年度費率受到更高的進出港運費、間接成本去槓桿化和渠道組合變化的負面影響，部分被價格上漲所抵消。

Consolidated SG&A expense totaled $64 million or 49.1% for the current quarter compared to $68 million or 46.2% last year. As expected, Vera Bradley's SG&A current year expenses were lower than prior year, primarily due to a reduction in variable related expenses due to lower sales volume and other cost reduction initiatives.

本季度合併 SG&A 費用總計 6400 萬美元或 49.1%，而去年同期為 6800 萬美元或 46.2%。正如預期的那樣，Vera Bradley 本年度的 SG&A 費用低於上年，主要是由於銷量下降和其他降低成本的舉措導致可變相關費用減少。

The company's second quarter consolidated operating income totaled $3.9 million or 3% of net revenues compared to $13.4 million or 9.1% of net revenues in the prior year. Now let's turn to the balance sheet. Total quarter end inventory was $179.6 million compared to $148 million at the end of the second quarter last year.

公司第二季度合併營業收入總計 390 萬美元，占淨收入的 3%，而去年同期為 1340 萬美元，占淨收入的 9.1%。現在讓我們轉向資產負債表。季度末總庫存為 1.796 億美元，而去年第二季度末為 1.48 億美元。

We have $24 million of additional inventory in transit this year as we continue to navigate delays in the supply chain and ensure we have adequate inventory coverage going into the fall and holiday selling periods. Cash, cash equivalents and investments at quarter end totaled $38.3 million compared to $76.5 million at the end of last year's second quarter.

今年我們有 2400 萬美元的額外庫存在途，因為我們繼續應對供應鏈中的延誤，並確保我們在秋季和假日銷售期間有足夠的庫存覆蓋。季度末的現金、現金等價物和投資總額為 3830 萬美元，而去年第二季度末為 7650 萬美元。

A key reason for the lower cash position is due to the inventory build of $31.6 million over last year. We remain in a solid cash position with a debt-free balance sheet. We will continue to take a conservative approach to cash particularly in this volatile and challenging environment. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately $6 million of our common stock, representing 1 million shares at an average price of $6.11.

現金狀況較低的一個關鍵原因是庫存比去年增加了 3160 萬美元。我們保持穩健的現金狀況，資產負債表無債務。我們將繼續對現金采取保守的態度，尤其是在這個動盪和充滿挑戰的環境中。在本季度，我們回購了大約 600 萬美元的普通股，代表 100 萬股，平均價格為 6.11 美元。

We have $29.3 million remaining under our $50 million repurchase authorization. Now let's shift to our fiscal 2023 outlook. We expect the challenging macroeconomic environment to continue for the balance of the year and anticipate it will take additional time to return Pure Vida e-commerce business to growth. High gas prices and other inflationary pressures will continue to impact the Vera Bradley factory channel, and there will be a continued pressure on gross margin.

在我們的 5000 萬美元回購授權下，我們還有 2930 萬美元。現在讓我們轉向我們的 2023 財年展望。我們預計，充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境將在今年餘下時間繼續存在，並預計 Pure Vida 電子商務業務將需要更多時間才能恢復增長。高油價和其他通脹壓力將繼續影響維拉布拉德利工廠渠道，毛利率將持續承壓。

As a result, we have adjusted our outlook for the balance of the fiscal year. All forward-looking guidance numbers that I will discuss are non-GAAP. For fiscal '23, we expect consolidated net revenues of $480 million to $490 million compared to $540.5 million in fiscal 2022. We expect our consolidated gross margin will range from 53.7% to 54.1% compared to 53.3% last year.

因此，我們調整了對本財年餘額的展望。我將討論的所有前瞻性指導數字都是非公認會計原則。對於 23 財年，我們預計綜合淨收入為 4.8 億美元至 4.9 億美元，而 2022 財年為 5.405 億美元。我們預計我們的綜合毛利率將在 53.7% 至 54.1% 之間，而去年為 53.3%。

We expect year-over-year increase is primarily related to incremental inbound and outbound freight expense and expected deleverage on overhead costs, more than offset by price increases. Consolidated SG&A expense should range from $246 million to $250 million compared to $258.8 million in fiscal 2022.

我們預計同比增長主要與增加的進出境貨運費用以及間接成本的預期去槓桿化有關，但被價格上漲所抵消。綜合 SG&A 費用應在 2.46 億美元至 2.5 億美元之間，而 2022 財年為 2.588 億美元。

The reduction in SG&A expense is being driven by cost reduction initiatives and a reduction in compensation expense marketing and other variable related expenses due to the expected sales decline from last year. We expect consolidated diluted EPS of $0.20 to $0.28 compared to $0.57 last year.

SG&A 費用的減少是由成本削減舉措以及薪酬費用營銷和其他可變相關費用的減少推動的，原因是預期的銷售額比去年下降。我們預計合併攤薄後每股收益為 0.20 美元至 0.28 美元，而去年為 0.57 美元。

Net capital spending should total approximately $8 million to $10 million compared to $5.5 million in the prior year. Operator, we will now open the call for questions.

與上一年的 550 萬美元相比，淨資本支出總額應約為 800 萬至 1000 萬美元。接線員，我們現在開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) And we'll take our first question from Oliver Chen with Cowen and Company.

（操作員說明）我們將向 Cowen and Company 的 Oliver Chen 提出第一個問題。

Could you speak to the inventory in terms of the status of it with having coverage yet taking the write-downs. Why was this the right time for the write-down? And what does that mean going forward? You also have some cancellations. So I would love to understand the composition of inventory because it sounds like some things are working, but clearly, some are not.

您能否就存貨的狀況與存貨談一談，涵蓋但仍進行減記。為什麼現在是減記的合適時機？這意味著什麼？你也有一些取消。所以我很想了解庫存的構成，因為聽起來有些事情正在發揮作用，但很明顯，有些事情沒有。

Yes. Oliver, -- good question. For the write-downs, it was more specific to certain categories. So as we looked at our mask inventory, we had built the mask inventory based on the pandemic. And we had expected to continue to work through that inventory. With some of the changes from the CDC as well as just consumer behavior. We're not seeing -- really seeing that sell-through. So that was the vast majority of the write-down in both brands, it was associated with mask inventory.

是的。奧利弗，——好問題。對於減記，它更具體到某些類別。因此，當我們查看我們的口罩庫存時，我們已經根據大流行建立了口罩庫存。我們曾期望繼續處理該庫存。隨著 CDC 的一些變化以及消費者行為的變化。我們沒有看到 - 真正看到銷售。因此，這兩個品牌的大部分減記都與口罩庫存有關。

If you look at the remainder, it really was associated with tech accessories and think about it as kind of older iPhone accessories that ultimately, we're also not seeing the sell-through as people have moved on to newer models. So really, that was the basis of the write-down and why we took the write-down at this time.

如果您查看其餘部分，它確實與技術配件有關，並將其視為一種較舊的 iPhone 配件，最終，隨著人們轉向更新型號，我們也沒有看到銷售量。真的，這就是減記的基礎，也是我們此時進行減記的原因。

In inventory, the growth year-over-year is really being driven by 2 things. It's really been driven by the in-transit inventory is about a 100% higher than it was at this point last year in the second quarter, just to ensure we have the appropriate product in place for the holiday season as well as incremental freight expenses that has burdened the inventory.

在庫存方面，同比增長實際上是由兩件事推動的。這實際上是由在途庫存比去年第二季度的這一點高出約 100% 推動的，只是為了確保我們為假日季節準備了合適的產品以及增加的運費已經加重了庫存負擔。

Year-over-year, we've seen that increase from where we were in the first half of the year. Obviously, the back half of the year, the freight expense was exacerbated last year, and we're seeing some benefit or we should see a little bit of benefit to that given how freight is being less challenged this year versus last year.

與去年同期相比，我們已經看到與上半年相比有所增加。顯然，今年下半年，運費費用去年有所增加，我們看到了一些好處，或者我們應該看到一些好處，因為今年的運費與去年相比受到的挑戰較少。

Okay. And the comps being down $13.8 million, what happened in terms of the volatility, it's the biggest negative portion of traffic? And what's implied in your guidance for what you're seeing? And did you close more stores than you expected to? Or was that already in your plans?

好的。補償減少了 1380 萬美元，就波動而言發生了什麼，這是流量的最大負面部分？對於你所看到的，你的指導暗示了什麼？您是否關閉了比預期更多的商店？或者這已經在你的計劃中了？

So this year, ultimately, we're close about -- we're going to close about the number of stores that we anticipated as we continue to look for next year, we're still working through what that means next year. In regards to the comps, the comps are being driven really from the business, the outlet business. We're seeing better performance in our full-price business, whether that is in full-line stores or that's on verabradley.com. And we're taking the expected trend that we saw in the first half of the business in those channels and assuming that they're similar in the back half of the year.

因此，今年，最終，我們將關閉 - 我們將關閉我們預期的商店數量，因為我們將繼續尋找明年，我們仍在努力解決明年這意味著什麼。關於補償，補償實際上是由業務驅動的，即奧特萊斯業務。我們在全價業務中看到了更好的表現，無論是在全線商店還是在 verabradley.com 上。我們正在採用我們在這些渠道業務上半年看到的預期趨勢，並假設它們在下半年相似。

Okay. And on the Pura Vida side, the issues around digital marketing have been apparent within the industry at large for a while. What's happening now with the state of digital marketing and the path ahead for that business. What are the key hurdles and things that you need to do to improve it more structurally and have it be more sustainably growing over time?

好的。而在 Pura Vida 方面，圍繞數字營銷的問題在整個行業中已經很明顯了一段時間。數字營銷的現狀和該業務的未來發展道路現在正在發生什麼。您需要做哪些關鍵障礙和事情才能在結構上對其進行改進並使其隨著時間的推移更加可持續地增長？

I think from the Pura Vida marketing, Oliver, I think a few things. One, you're right that they're definitely in this direct-to-consumer market. Everybody is feeling the impact. For us at Pura Vida, we've been bringing in both outside teams as well as supplementing talent to move our reliance on what I'll call the meta platform for lack of a better term, in terms of Instagram, Facebook and in those platforms and starting to push more into first-party marketing, building up our CDP platform and also looking at other alternatives.

我認為從 Pura Vida 營銷，奧利弗，我想到了一些事情。一，你說得對，他們肯定在這個直接面向消費者的市場中。每個人都感受到了影響。對於 Pura Vida 的我們來說，我們一直在引入外部團隊並補充人才，以轉移我們對我稱之為元平台的依賴，因為在 Instagram、Facebook 和這些平台方面缺乏更好的術語並開始更多地推動第一方營銷，建立我們的 CDP 平台並尋找其他替代方案。

So in other words, they're launching Connected TV program. here in this quarter coming up. So we're looking at new ways of doing that. But long term, we believe that part of the fix to the marketing challenge is also going to be this diversification into omnichannel as you've seen with other direct-to-consumer companies that what we've seen in San Diego, it has been encouraging to see such a significant relative improvement in the San Diego market.

換句話說，他們正在推出聯網電視節目。本季度即將到來。所以我們正在尋找新的方法來做到這一點。但從長遠來看，我們認為解決營銷挑戰的一部分也將是多元化進入全渠道，正如您在其他直接面向消費者的公司中看到的那樣，我們在聖地亞哥看到的情況一直是看到聖地亞哥市場出現如此顯著的相對改善令人鼓舞。

If we continue to see that, which the early signs, and it's only been weeks and months in the other stores, we're seeing similar behavior in the other locations that we think that stores in and themselves will play a very important part in stabilizing the Pura Vida business as we go forward.

如果我們繼續看到這種情況，這是早期的跡象，而且其他商店只有幾周和幾個月的時間，我們會在其他地方看到類似的行為，我們認為商店本身將在穩定中發揮非常重要的作用在我們前進的過程中，Pura Vida 的業務。

Okay. And on the merchandise margins and price increases, could you update us on your thoughts there? It feels like the environment has gotten worse, yet you've been able to get some price increases. What are you thinking about what's embedded for merchandise margins and also inflation of the COGS relative to price increases going forward?

好的。關於商品利潤和價格上漲，您能告訴我們您的想法嗎？感覺環境變得更糟了，但你已經能夠獲得一些價格上漲。您如何看待商品利潤的嵌入以及與未來價格上漲相關的 COGS 通脹？

So from a merchandise margin perspective, we're actually seeing -- the price increases are being accepted and we're seeing improvement year-over-year. Really, the challenge that we're seeing is associated with logistics costs. We're actually seeing from logistics costs some benefit potentially in the back half of the year, and we're thinking we'll see that benefit into next year just given some of the inflationary pressures on the macro economy.

因此，從商品利潤率的角度來看，我們實際上看到 - 價格上漲正在被接受，並且我們看到同比有所改善。實際上，我們所看到的挑戰與物流成本有關。我們實際上在今年下半年從物流成本中看到了一些潛在的好處，並且我們認為，鑑於宏觀經濟面臨一些通脹壓力，我們將在明年看到這種好處。

So we would expect to see some benefit from those inflationary costs, i.e., freight into the back half and into next year. In regards to product cost, we're still working through some of the challenges associated with that. But we don't anticipate a significant increase in some of our raw material costs into next year given some of the macro events that are happening and how the economy generally speaking, from a worldwide perspective is not as strong as it was this time last year.

因此，我們預計會從這些通脹成本中看到一些好處，即運往下半年和明年的運費。在產品成本方面，我們仍在努力解決與之相關的一些挑戰。但是，鑑於正在發生的一些宏觀事件以及總體而言，從全球角度來看，經濟狀況不如去年這個時候那麼強勁，我們預計明年我們的一些原材料成本不會顯著增加.

We are still assessing whether or not -- whether it makes sense to continue to push prices, and we'll continue to do that through the remainder of this year and as we look into next year.

我們仍在評估是否 - 繼續推高價格是否有意義，我們將在今年剩餘時間內繼續這樣做，並展望明年。

I think though from a price increase, Oliver, what we're doing is we took pretty broad price increases across both brands in the beginning of the year and kind of been working through that in the first half of the year. I think as we look at going forward, it's going to be more micro adjustments on those price increases. So not as much across the board.

我認為，儘管從價格上漲來看，奧利弗，我們正在做的是我們在年初對兩個品牌進行了相當廣泛的價格上漲，並且在今年上半年一直在努力。我認為，當我們展望未來時，將對這些價格上漲進行更多的微調。所以沒有那麼全面。

We think in a lot of cases, we've kind of -- the consumer has accepted, but we can already begin to see that there are some resistance in a few items. So it's going to be a much more detailed adjustment in prices as we go through the next 12 months.

我們認為在很多情況下，我們已經——消費者已經接受了，但我們已經開始看到一些商品存在一些阻力。因此，在接下來的 12 個月裡，價格將進行更詳細的調整。

Okay. Very helpful. On the balance sheet and cash balance. What should we know about working capital and the source or use of cash flow in terms of 3Q, 4Q? Your cash balance went down $38.3 million in the year. Should we be worried about that?

好的。非常有幫助。關於資產負債表和現金餘額。 3Q、4Q的營運資金和現金流的來源或用途，我們應該知道些什麼？你的現金餘額在這一年減少了 3830 萬美元。我們應該為此擔心嗎？

Yes. I would -- obviously, everything is continuing on kind of performance in the back half of the year. I would say, as we think about how we're looking at cash and cash utilization in the first half of the year, we spent some money increasing from an inventory's perspective as well as a usage of cash associated with share repurchases. We would like to be more conservative on the back half of the year in both of those uses of cash. And as we currently forecast, we expect our cash balance to grow by the end of the year, but that's all contingent on our performance.

是的。我會 - 很明顯，在今年下半年，一切都在繼續保持這種表現。我想說，當我們考慮如何看待上半年的現金和現金利用率時，我們從庫存的角度增加了一些資金，以及與股票回購相關的現金使用。我們希望在今年下半年在這兩種現金使用方面更加保守。正如我們目前預測的那樣，我們預計我們的現金餘額將在年底前增長，但這完全取決於我們的表現。

Okay. Rob, on the consumer, the bifurcation trend has continued, and you called it out early and then plenty of retail companies just even taken guidance out. What are you seeing now with the consumer? Does the volatility concern you? We certainly have a lot of negatives and positives as the consumers still have spending power.

好的。 Rob，在消費者方面，分叉趨勢仍在繼續，你很早就提出來了，然後很多零售公司甚至都採取了指導方針。您現在對消費者有何看法？波動性是否與您有關？我們當然有很多負面和正面，因為消費者仍然有購買力。

Yes. I think a couple of things. I think, one, what we're seeing from a spending behavior, the biggest story for us is the impact of gas prices on the factory channel, we'll be perfectly honest, even not so much just total discretionary spending, but just the ability to go out to factory stores generate the traffic there that we're seeing the impact. So that's our biggest concern. So gas prices in and of themselves is the #1 impact we're seeing.

是的。我認為有幾件事。我認為，一，我們從消費行為中看到，對我們來說最大的故事是汽油價格對工廠渠道的影響，我們會非常誠實，甚至不僅僅是總可自由支配支出，而只是去工廠商店的能力產生了我們看到的影響那裡的流量。所以這是我們最大的擔憂。因此，天然氣價格本身就是我們看到的第一大影響。

So it's been good as gas prices started to moderate a little bit. We saw traffic beginning to rebound in factory stores relative to trend. And we began to see that come through on the revenue line. So we're hoping that the gas price situation continues to moderate, and that could be helpful.

因此，隨著汽油價格開始有所放緩，這一切都很好。相對於趨勢，我們看到工廠店的客流量開始反彈。我們開始在收入線上看到這一點。因此，我們希望天然氣價格形勢繼續緩和，這可能會有所幫助。

Overall, it's been interesting watching the consumer. I know all of us are thinking about the back half and what's going to be happening with the consumer. But as we think about what's been happening in July and August, we haven't seen an overall further deterioration. And I think a lot of it is that gas price piece that's been rebounding and moderating. So we're hopeful that where we see the consumer today as we move through the year will be similar to what we see in the back half. It's not robust by any means, but we're not seeing further deterioration, which is good.

總的來說，觀察消費者很有趣。我知道我們所有人都在考慮後半部分以及消費者將會發生什麼。但是，當我們考慮 7 月和 8 月發生的事情時，我們並沒有看到整體進一步惡化。而且我認為其中很大一部分是一直在反彈和緩和的天然氣價格部分。因此，我們希望我們今天看到的消費者在這一年中將與我們在下半年看到的相似。它無論如何都不強大，但我們沒有看到進一步惡化，這很好。

Okay. And then I wonder if you could just talk briefly about the key product initiatives both Vera and Pura Vida that we should be focused on just a few priorities, we know you've done a lot of innovative partnerships and the Pura Vida brand is definitely mission-focused.

好的。然後我想知道您是否可以簡單地談談 Vera 和 Pura Vida 的關鍵產品計劃，我們應該只關注幾個優先事項，我們知道您已經建立了很多創新的合作夥伴關係，Pura Vida 品牌絕對是使命-專注。

Well, I think a couple of things. I think, one, if you think about the product assortment, there's a couple of different ways we look at the product innovation. So from a licensing standpoint, that's been very successful across both brands, that's been very impactful, not only in driving some revenue and excitement, but really in customer acquisitions. So those programs are really important to bringing new customers in. It makes the marketing efficiency stronger.

嗯，我想了幾件事。我認為，第一，如果您考慮產品分類，我們會以幾種不同的方式看待產品創新。因此，從許可的角度來看，這兩個品牌都非常成功，這非常有影響力，不僅在推動一些收入和興奮方面，而且在客戶獲取方面。因此，這些計劃對於吸引新客戶非常重要。它使營銷效率更高。

So we continue to see that we'll continue to look for those partnerships and keep them exciting as we move forward and just stay tuned for more new exciting announcements there. If you get into specifics in terms of product categories across the 2 brands at Vera Bradley, they continue to do a lot of innovation. We have things not only our core innovation that we've seen coming through, but also in newness. So like the Vera Bradley footwear launch in fall is going to be an important launch for us, we're going to watch that.

因此，我們繼續看到我們將繼續尋找這些合作夥伴，並在我們前進的過程中讓他們保持興奮，並繼續關注那裡更多令人興奮的新公告。如果您詳細了解 Vera Bradley 兩個品牌的產品類別，他們會繼續進行大量創新。我們不僅擁有我們已經看到的核心創新，而且還擁有新事物。因此，就像秋季推出的 Vera Bradley 鞋履對我們來說將是一個重要的發布，我們將拭目以待。

At Pura Vida, there's 2 things we're looking at. One, the consumer still is very, very engaged in the core bracelet business, particularly as travels rebounded that we're seeing that, that business kind of take a pop back up, which is encouraging to see. And then at the same time, they've launched into this demi-fine collection, which is just a higher price point, a higher quality and the initial response has been very positive there and really has helped us to kind of reengage deeper that 25- to 35-year-old customer, which has historically been part of the magic of Pura Vida both this kind of young teenage customer as well as this 25- to 35-year-old customer. So those are the areas that I would say are the most important to be watching.

在 Pura Vida，我們正在關注兩件事。第一，消費者仍然非常非常熱衷於核心手鍊業務，特別是隨著我們看到的旅行反彈，該業務開始復蘇，這是令人鼓舞的。然後同時，他們推出了這個半精品系列，它只是一個更高的價格點，更高的質量，最初的反應非常積極，真的幫助我們重新參與到更深的 25 - 對於 35 歲的顧客，這在歷史上一直是 Pura Vida 魔力的一部分，無論是這類年輕的青少年顧客，還是這位 25 至 35 歲的顧客。所以這些是我想說的最重要的領域。

The only thing I would add to that, Rob, if you think about Pura Vida in the stores, the apparel business, when the consumer gets the opportunity to touch and feel and the quality of the apparel business, we're seeing them engage with that product much more broadly than they do when they're online. So as we open up more stores, there will be an opportunity for that category.

Rob，我唯一要補充的是，如果您考慮商店中的 Pura Vida，服裝業務，當消費者有機會觸摸和感受以及服裝業務的質量時，我們看到他們參與該產品比他們在線時更廣泛。因此，隨著我們開設更多商店，該類別將有機會。

Okay. And on the charges, the biggest one was an $18.2 million Pura Vida asset impairment charge. What was underlying that valuation from accounting or market valuation perspective? And then the $0.8 million of store impairment, could you just provide a little more details about what that's related to the $0.6 million of store impairment?

好的。在這些費用中，最大的一筆是 1820 萬美元的 Pura Vida 資產減值費用。從會計或市場估值的角度來看，該估值的基礎是什麼？然後是 80 萬美元的商店減值，您能否提供更多關於這與 60 萬美元的商店減值相關的細節？

Sure. So if you think about the Pura Vida impairment, the majority of that is associated with a goodwill impairment or trade name impairment. And really, on an annual basis, we do a test after we made that purchase, and we look at future cash flows.

當然。因此，如果您考慮 Pura Vida 減值，其中大部分與商譽減值或商品名稱減值有關。實際上，我們每年都會在購買後進行測試，並查看未來的現金流。

Given the current performance of the brand and the near-term expected performance of the brand, based on just the expected cash flows we had to write down that goodwill and that trade name. In regards to the store impairment, we looked at really -- it's the same thing. We look at future cash flows of those individual stores compared to the current asset value for those stores and based on the expected cash flows, we needed to write off some of those assets.

鑑於該品牌的當前表現和該品牌的近期預期表現，僅基於預期現金流，我們必須減記該商譽和該商品名稱。關於商店減值，我們真的看過 - 這是同一件事。我們將這些商店的未來現金流量與這些商店的當前資產價值進行比較，並根據預期現金流量，我們需要註銷其中一些資產。

Should we be concerned about incremental write-offs? I mean I guess this is a review process that has to be done regularly from an accounting regulation perspective, is that a true statement and Rob, as you step back and what do you think are the key risk factors that you're monitoring?

我們應該擔心增量註銷嗎？我的意思是我想這是一個必須從會計監管的角度定期進行的審查過程，這是一個真實的陳述和 Rob，當你退後一步時，你認為你正在監控的關鍵風險因素是什麼？

So I'll just answer the first question, right? So yes, we have to regularly review the goodwill balance. So we'll do that on a quarterly basis as a review, we do an actual test on an annual basis, which is done in the second quarter. So we'll continue to review it.

那我就回答第一個問題吧？所以是的，我們必須定期審查商譽餘額。因此，我們將每季度進行一次審查，我們每年進行一次實際測試，這是在第二季度完成的。因此，我們將繼續對其進行審查。

Based on what we've put forward and our expectations for the business, we would say if we perform to that expectation, and we shouldn't see another write-down.

根據我們提出的內容和我們對業務的期望，我們會說如果我們的表現達到預期，我們不應該看到另一個減記。

And then I think your second part of the question, Oliver, what I'll do is talk about the risks and opportunities because I think both are really important. So from a risk standpoint, taken it by brand, at Vera Bradley, I would say the #1 risk factor at this point is gas. If gas rebounds almost then we're back $5, $6, $7, $8 a gallon as we go in the back half of the year but that will suppress the factory channel.

然後我認為你的問題的第二部分，奧利弗，我要做的是談論風險和機遇，因為我認為兩者都非常重要。因此，從風險的角度來看，在 Vera Bradley 的品牌中，我會說此時的第一大風險因素是汽油。如果汽油幾乎反彈，那麼我們將在今年下半年回到每加侖 5 美元、6 美元、7 美元、8 美元的水平，但這將抑制工廠渠道。

So I would say gas is by far the largest risk. At Pura Vida, I think it's just a matter of the recovery, this digital marketing and how -- what was big asset for the business was its ability to manage digital marketing and not having the same impact. We've got to get the marketing platform reset. So getting that reset is the biggest risk in the Pura Vida business. But I think it's important to talk about opportunity because if you back up and you think about what's going to company, I think that there's 3 big macro impacts that have impacted us.

所以我想說天然氣是迄今為止最大的風險。在 Pura Vida，我認為這只是複蘇、數字營銷以及如何進行的問題——對企業來說，重要的資產是它管理數字營銷的能力，而不是產生同樣的影響。我們必須重置營銷平台。因此，重置是 Pura Vida 業務中最大的風險。但我認為談論機會很重要，因為如果你支持並考慮對公司的影響，我認為有 3 大宏觀影響影響了我們。

So one is the logistics cost. The logistics costs that are flowing through our P&L right now are what we would probably consider peak from what we're seeing. We're beginning to see logistics costs, particularly the international inbound shipping begin to moderate. And so that hopefully will be a tailwind as we move forward and can help us. So that's encouraging.

所以一是物流成本。目前流經我們損益表的物流成本可能是我們所看到的峰值。我們開始看到物流成本，特別是國際入境運輸開始放緩。因此，這有望成為我們前進的順風，並可以幫助我們。所以這是令人鼓舞的。

I actually think that that's a positive on the logistics as we move through the end of the year, particularly as we are able next year to redo contracts since we're able to get the capitalized costs, working through the balance sheet, but that will be a profit improvement that you'll definitely see as we move into next year, which is encouraging to see. So one of the macros is logistics and duty that will get better. So that's good news.

實際上，我認為這對我們在年底前的物流是積極的，特別是因為我們能夠在明年重新簽訂合同，因為我們能夠通過資產負債表獲得資本化成本，但這將當我們進入明年時，您肯定會看到利潤改善，這是令人鼓舞的。因此，其中一個宏觀因素是後勤和職責會變得更好。所以這是個好消息。

The second real big one has been this gas price impact in factory. So as gas prices moderate, which we think we're hoping to see that, that will be a lift. And then the third one has just really been this performance marketing with Pura Vida. And as we have more stores that will help us, as we get all of the work that we're investing now in terms of the data platform and rebuilding the performance marketing organization, I think that that's another big lift.

第二個真正的大問題是工廠的天然氣價格影響。因此，隨著天然氣價格溫和，我們認為我們希望看到這一點，這將是一個提升。然後第三個就是真正的 Pura Vida 績效營銷。而且隨著我們有更多的商店可以幫助我們，隨著我們在數據平台和重建績效營銷組織方面獲得我們現在投資的所有工作，我認為這是另一個很大的提升。

But I think that the 3 things that have affected our business in terms of gas, logistics and this digital media shift are just big macro ones that we were more exposed overall withing the industry. So we're working through them, but I think we're working through them and it will get better as we move into next year.

但我認為，在天然氣、物流和這種數字媒體轉變方面影響我們業務的三件事只是我們在整個行業中更多地接觸到的宏觀宏觀因素。所以我們正在努力解決這些問題，但我認為我們正在努力解決這些問題，隨著我們進入明年，情況會變得更好。

Okay. And last question. So one, on the digital marketing and performance. Was that an issue of Vera Bradley brand? And/or are there any highlights there? And second, regarding the inventory cancellations (inaudible) were active, which parts of the inventory did you do that with in terms of the compensation?

好的。最後一個問題。第一，關於數字營銷和績效。這是維拉布拉德利品牌的問題嗎？和/或那裡有什麼亮點嗎？其次，關於庫存取消（聽不清）是活躍的，您在補償方面對庫存的哪些部分進行了處理？

John, do you want to take some of the inventories.

約翰，你想拿一些存貨嗎？

Regarding, your question -- Inventory, I didn't actually hear the specific question, Oliver.

關於你的問題——庫存，我實際上並沒有聽到具體的問題，奧利弗。

John, in terms of the inventory cancellations, which ones did you -- mean which parts of the inventory needed to be canceled?

約翰，就庫存取消而言，您指的是哪些部分需要取消？

So we looked at future orders that made in all categories, quite honestly. So we looked at where we expected the sales to come in on a forward basis into next year and where we were -- we expected to sit in inventory.

因此，我們非常誠實地查看了所有類別的未來訂單。因此，我們研究了我們預計明年的銷售額將在何處以及我們所處的位置——我們預計將處於庫存中。

And we looked at opportunities where we felt that there was -- we could offset some of the liability based on new sales expectations and obviously, with the inventory growing year-over-year. So it wasn't specific to a particular category or specific to opportunistic ability to cancel some orders, really.

我們研究了我們認為存在的機會——我們可以根據新的銷售預期抵消一些負債，顯然，隨著庫存逐年增長。因此，它並不是特定於特定類別或特定於取消某些訂單的機會主義能力，真的。

Yes. I think the only thing I would add to that, Oliver, if you just think about what's been happening in our factory channel, right, this gas price has gone up, business has slowed. So getting that inventory back in line is probably one of the primary drivers of that cancellation. So don't think about it as, oh well, a category is not working or an items not working, that's not really it. It's just an overall demand, and it gave us the opportunity to just kind of moderate that inventory risk as we went into next year. So.

是的。我想我唯一要補充的一點，奧利弗，如果你想想我們工廠渠道發生的事情，對，天然氣價格上漲了，業務放緩了。因此，讓庫存恢復正常可能是取消的主要驅動因素之一。所以不要認為它是，哦，一個類別不工作或一個項目不工作，那不是真的。這只是一個整體需求，它讓我們有機會在進入明年時緩和庫存風險。所以。

Yes, I think it's more channel-specific versus categorie-specific. That's a good way to think about it.

是的，我認為它更特定於渠道而不是特定於類別。這是一個很好的思考方式。

Yes. I think your second question, Oliver, was what about Vera Bradley in digital marketing. So I think there's 2 different aspects. First of all, one of the great assets at Vera Bradley is we have a very strong first-party marketing. we control our customers, we communicate with them directly. We're not as dependent upon third-party marketing for our known customer base.

是的。奧利弗，我認為你的第二個問題是維拉布拉德利在數字營銷方面的情況。所以我認為有兩個不同的方面。首先，Vera Bradley 的一項重要資產是我們擁有非常強大的第一方營銷。我們控制我們的客戶，我們直接與他們溝通。對於我們已知的客戶群，我們並不依賴第三方營銷。

We use the third-party marketing more for acquisition. And then what the team has been able to do here over the last couple of years of building out our highly detailed analytical performance marketing base. They are -- they've been able to mitigate some of the cost by rebalancing, refocusing. They have a few more tools in the toolbox, shall we say.

我們更多地使用第三方營銷來獲取。然後是團隊在過去幾年中建立我們高度詳細的分析績效營銷基礎的能力。他們是——他們已經能夠通過重新平衡、重新聚焦來降低一些成本。容我們說，他們的工具箱裡還有更多工具。

And so what we're doing is taking a lot of those learnings that we've already implemented at Vera Bradley and beginning to leverage back against Pura Vida to learn from. But the biggest difference in Vera Bradley is not that they haven't experienced some of the same challenges, they've been a little bit more effective in finding workarounds, but to -- it's not as impactful to the total business as it is at Pura Vida.

所以我們正在做的是吸取我們已經在 Vera Bradley 實施的大量經驗，並開始利用 Pura Vida 來學習。但 Vera Bradley 最大的不同不是他們沒有經歷過一些相同的挑戰，他們在尋找解決方法方面更加有效，但對整個業務的影響不如現在普拉維達。

All right. Next, we'll take questions from Joe Gomes with NOBLE Capital.

好的。接下來，我們將回答來自 NOBLE Capital 的 Joe Gomes 的問題。

You talk about the positive impact of opening Pura Vida stores. You got the one additional one in Phoenix to open. I think in September, you mentioned. Can you kind of give us a game plan of what you see on a go-forward basis of new store openings in Pura Vida?

您談到開設 Pura Vida 門店的積極影響。你在鳳凰城又開了一個。我想在九月，你提到過。您能否給我們一個關於您在 Pura Vida 新店開業的基礎上所看到的遊戲計劃？

Yes, Joe, I can jump into that one. So first of all, we do have the new store in SanTan that's opening. We are now anniversarying our UTC store in San Diego. So we're obviously going to start watching that from a comp performance standpoint. And once we kind of evaluate, I would say, this fall, how all the new stores are performing. It'll really form our go-forward real estate strategy. But I do believe there's significant opportunity for stores in the Pura Vida brand going forward.

是的，喬，我可以跳進去。所以首先，我們確實在三潭開設了新店。我們現在正在為我們在聖地亞哥的 UTC 商店進行週年紀念。所以我們顯然要從比較性能的角度開始觀察。一旦我們評估一下，我會說，今年秋天，所有新店的表現如何。這將真正形成我們前進的房地產戰略。但我確實相信 Pura Vida 品牌的商店在未來有很大的機會。

Okay. And then you talked about the $25 million cost reduction initiatives which is kind of at the high end of what you talked about previously. Wondering how did you get to the high end? And two, how much of that did impact the second quarter? Because I think in the first quarter call, you mentioned you did expect to see some of that flow through in the second quarter.

好的。然後你談到了 2500 萬美元的成本削減計劃，這是你之前談到的高端項目。想知道你是如何到達高端的嗎？第二，這對第二季度有多大影響？因為我認為在第一季度的電話會議中，您提到您確實希望在第二季度看到其中的一些流動。

Yes. So we saw a little bit in the second quarter flow through because we weren't finalized with all the plans really in the middle part of the second quarter. But we obviously on a quarterly basis, given performance, we look at opportunities to make savings regardless if it was associated with the $25 million. And we will see some of that benefit, which is built into our guidance in the back half of the year.

是的。所以我們在第二季度看到了一些進展，因為我們沒有在第二季度中期完成所有計劃。但我們顯然每季度都會考慮到業績，我們會尋找節省的機會，無論它是否與 2500 萬美元有關。我們將看到其中的一些好處，這些好處已納入我們在今年下半年的指導中。

How we ended up at the high end, we really just looked at kind of opportunity and really the teams, all worked together based on where we see current performance and where we expect the business to be next year on areas that we felt we could slim down. And so it really was a collective effort amongst both brands and the corporate team to come up with that value.

我們如何最終進入高端市場，我們真的只是看到了一種機會，真的是團隊，所有這些都基於我們對當前表現的看法以及我們對明年業務在我們認為可以縮小的領域的預期情況進行合作下。因此，這確實是品牌和企業團隊之間的集體努力，才能提出這個價值。

Okay. And just one of the things that you had talked about in the past has been M&A being part of the growth strategy given the transition going forward here, do we still see M&A as part of the growth plan and the growth strategy, I guess? Or is that going to kind of take a backseat to getting and working on the 2 existing brands?

好的。您過去談到的其中一件事是，考慮到這裡的過渡，併購是增長戰略的一部分，我猜我們是否仍將併購視為增長計劃和增長戰略的一部分？或者這是否會在獲得和開發兩個現有品牌時退居二線？

That's a great question, Joe. I think that what the Board and the team's focus is, number 1 is getting the 2 core brands strong. Vera Bradley, overall, we think is in a pretty good place, but we need to see the macro environment improve there. The Pura Vida, we need to get the performance marketing really working and get that brand really turned around. And the Board is very focused on getting those 2 things accomplished first before highly focusing shall we say, on M&A activity.

這是一個很好的問題，喬。我認為董事會和團隊的重點是，第一是讓兩個核心品牌變得強大。維拉布拉德利，總的來說，我們認為情況不錯，但我們需要看到那裡的宏觀環境有所改善。 Pura Vida，我們需要讓績效營銷真正發揮作用，讓這個品牌真正扭轉局面。董事會非常專注於首先完成這兩件事，然後我們高度關注併購活動。

I think we're always open to any version of shareholder return, but I don't think that the M&A activity is going to be a primary focus over the next 12 months. And as we get through the transition, I think that the Board and the new CEO will kind of align on what role does M&A play as we move forward.

我認為我們總是對任何形式的股東回報持開放態度，但我認為併購活動不會成為未來 12 個月的主要焦點。隨著我們完成過渡，我認為董事會和新任首席執行官將在我們前進的過程中就併購所扮演的角色達成一致。

And our next question will come from Eric Beder with SCC Research.

我們的下一個問題將來自 SCC Research 的 Eric Beder。

I want to do a follow-up on the $25 million in savings. How much of that is going to be incremental next year? What should we be thinking about in terms of the flow up? And I know you mentioned there's going to be some in the back half. How much of that is going to be [iniscernible] thinking about that?

我想跟進節省的 2500 萬美元。明年將增加多少？在向上流動方面我們應該考慮什麼？我知道你提到後半部分會有一些。考慮到這一點，其中有多少是[難以辨認的]？

Yes. So if you think about kind of how much -- your question is how much are we going to achieve this year versus the full run rate next year. And I think there's an opportunity this year probably to achieve, call it, 40% of the total. There might be more opportunity, but we're looking at kind of the timing associated with that.

是的。因此，如果您考慮多少 - 您的問題是我們今年將實現多少與明年的全面運行率。我認為今年可能有機會實現，稱之為，總數的 40%。可能會有更多機會，但我們正在研究與此相關的時機。

Okay. So if I look at some of the prior things you've gone through almost 2 years of the Harry Potter piece, that's how it's time come up. How -- what have you taken away from that? Are there collaborations in terms of how long they should be? And how do you keep them fresh going forward?

好的。因此，如果我看看你在哈利波特作品中經歷了近 2 年的一些先前的事情，那就是時候了。怎麼樣——你從中得到了什麼？就應該多長時間而言，是否有合作？以及如何讓它們保持新鮮感？

I think there are a couple of things that we've learned from our collaborations is; first of all, they are a great way to bring customers into the brand. We've had success in bringing new customers in and converting them into the brand, which has been very encouraging across both Vera Bradley and Pura Vida. So we think that it definitely plays an important role. We have seen that it is important to keep that licensing pipeline fresh and continue to look for the right opportunities and find new ways of doing things.

我認為我們從合作中學到了一些東西：首先，它們是將客戶帶入品牌的好方法。我們在吸引新客戶並將他們轉化為品牌方面取得了成功，這對 Vera Bradley 和 Pura Vida 來說都是非常令人鼓舞的。所以我們認為它肯定起著重要的作用。我們已經看到保持許可渠道新鮮並繼續尋找合適的機會並尋找新的做事方式非常重要。

So whenever we introduce a new licensing, the first one quite often is the largest launch. And then the other ones are more follow-ups. I think the follow-up plays a role, but I think we have to continue to be fresh, continue to look for new opportunities. And you've seen us do that in both brands, right, like last Christmas, when we did the peanuts colab at Vera Bradley, that was fresh and new and hardly impactful, and you're seeing the same type of thing at Pura Vida. So I think we have to keep that pipeline fresh as we move forward.

因此，每當我們引入新的許可時，第一個通常是最大的發布。然後其他的是更多的後續行動。我覺得後續起到了作用，但我覺得我們要不斷的保持新鮮，不斷的尋找新的機會。你已經看到我們在兩個品牌中都這樣做了，對吧，就像去年聖誕節，當我們在 Vera Bradley 做花生 colab 時，那是新鮮的，新的，幾乎沒有影響力，你在 Pura Vida 看到同樣類型的東西.所以我認為我們必須在前進的過程中保持這條管道的新鮮。

And I think just to add on to it, I think it's the execution of product. So at Pura Vida, if we're in the second release of Disney Harry Potter, and we're seeing good success in the second release and probably a little bit better success than we saw in the first release. And I just think that speaks to kind of how the product evolves over time, too. And product and marketing execution.

而且我認為只是補充它，我認為這是產品的執行。所以在普拉維達，如果我們在迪士尼哈利波特的第二個版本中，我們在第二個版本中看到了很好的成功，而且可能比我們在第一個版本中看到的要好一點。我只是認為這也說明了產品如何隨著時間的推移而發展。以及產品和營銷執行。

Because what was encouraging is that for Harry Potter, they did put some video out. And so I think it's a combination of both the product and marketing.

因為對於哈利波特來說，令人鼓舞的是，他們確實發布了一些視頻。所以我認為這是產品和營銷的結合。

Okay. Store base for Vera Bradley, you got about 65 or so full-price, 77-or-so outlets. What should we be thinking longer term? Are those about where you want to be for these pieces of the chain and then the assets have gone up and the spot prices continue to decline. What should we be thinking about that?

好的。 Vera Bradley 的商店基地，您有大約 65 家左右的全價商店，77 家左右的商店。從長遠來看，我們應該考慮什麼？是那些關於你想為這些鏈條的位置，然後資產上漲並且現貨價格繼續下跌的那些。我們應該怎麼想？

Yes. I would continue to think that we'll close some full-price stores ultimately still working through that for next year and what the number will be, but I think we'll see that number come down. And we still think there's still some opportunity in the factory channel for Vera Bradley for next year and into the years after that. But I don't know if we'll be opening 6 a year because that's typically what we've opened up in the past few years, but we still think there's opportunity to increase that.

是的。我會繼續認為我們將關閉一些全價商店，最終仍然會在明年解決這個問題，數量會是多少，但我認為我們會看到這個數字下降。而且我們仍然認為維拉布拉德利明年和之後的幾年在工廠渠道中仍有一些機會。但我不知道我們是否會每年開放 6 個，因為這通常是我們在過去幾年中開放的，但我們仍然認為有機會增加這一點。

But the organization and team is looking at other opportunities from a full-price perspective for Vera Bradley, we're not going to continue to close all the doors that we're just looking at opportunities and how we can -- how and where we can speak to our consumer a little bit better.

但是組織和團隊正在從全價的角度為 Vera Bradley 尋找其他機會，我們不會繼續關閉所有的大門，我們只是在尋找機會以及我們可以如何——我們如何以及在哪裡可以更好地與我們的消費者交談。

Okay. And last quarter, you guys did some online, I guess, flash sales for the outlets. What was the response to that? And is that something that's going to continue to expand going forward? Because I know you tried to keep the outlet sales outside of the online in the website.

好的。上個季度，你們在網上做了一些，我猜是網點的限時搶購。對此有何回應？這是否會在未來繼續擴大？因為我知道您試圖將奧特萊斯銷售保持在網站在線之外。

So we -- on a monthly basis, we have on -- we have, call it, flash sale, what we call online outlet. And that's up every month, and it's been up for 2 years, 3 years that we've been doing it. It has more -- I think your question maybe you -- had more factory product, outlet product than we have had previously. And as we work through inventory, I would expect it to continue to have a higher percentage of factory product than it's had historically as we work through our inventory values this year.

所以我們 - 每個月，我們都有 - 我們有，稱之為，閃購，我們稱之為在線出口。每個月都在增加，我們已經做了 2 年、3 年了。它有更多——我想你的問題可能是你——比我們以前擁有更多的工廠產品、出口產品。當我們處理庫存時，我預計它的工廠產品百分比將繼續高於歷史上的百分比，因為我們今年處理了我們的庫存值。

Yes. No, I think everything John said is definitely what the focus. I think the other thing to keep in mind is that as John said, we've had the online outlet now for a few years. And what it really does is help us liquidate. So what you're seeing is that because factory inventory is building, we're putting more factory in there. If we were in a different situation, we have more full line, we would adjust it. So it's a very efficient liquidation channel for us, and we'll continue to do that. But we don't -- at this point, we have not executed that as a primary growth channel. We've just used it as a primary liquidation channel.

是的。不，我認為約翰所說的一切絕對是重點。我認為要記住的另一件事是，正如約翰所說，我們已經擁有在線商店幾年了。它真正做的是幫助我們清算。所以你看到的是，由於工廠庫存正在增加，我們正在那裡投入更多的工廠。如果我們處於不同的情況，我們有更多的完整線路，我們會調整它。所以這對我們來說是一個非常有效的清算渠道，我們將繼續這樣做。但我們沒有——在這一點上，我們還沒有將其作為主要的增長渠道來執行。我們剛剛將其用作主要清算渠道。

All right. And we have no additional questions at this time. I'll turn the call back to Rob Wallstrom for closing remarks.

好的。我們目前沒有其他問題。我將把電話轉回給 Rob Wallstrom 以結束髮言。

Before I close, I wanted to give you a brief update on the CEO search. As you know, I recently announced my planned retirement but my plans are to remain in the CEO role until my successor is named, which is expected by the beginning of 2023. The Board has formed a search committee and a national search is underway.

在結束之前，我想簡要介紹一下 CEO 搜索的最新情況。如您所知，我最近宣布了我的退休計劃，但我的計劃是繼續擔任首席執行官一職，直到我的繼任者被任命為止，預計在 2023 年初任命。董事會已經成立了一個搜索委員會，並且正在進行全國搜索。

As the Board searches for the next CEO, they are in the desirable position of having 2 iconic brands with a loyal and dedicated customer bases, a solid balance sheet and a talented leadership team. The board takes very seriously its responsibility to find the right CEO, and we'll continue our focus on building consistent, sustainable growth over the long term.

在董事會尋找下一任 CEO 時，他們處於理想的位置，擁有 2 個標誌性品牌，擁有忠誠和專注的客戶群、穩健的資產負債表和才華橫溢的領導團隊。董事會非常重視尋找合適 CEO 的責任，我們將繼續專注於實現長期持續、可持續的增長。

We are preparing for the macro environment to remain challenging through the remainder of this year and into next year. We know it will take time, but we are taking decisive actions that will further strengthen both core brands and our enterprise as a whole. Our challenges have been largely driven by the macro environment, but we have a solid foundation with our 2 unique brands, strong customer loyalty and amazing cultures. I am confident that the company will return to growth as the economic headwinds and cost pressures begin to rescind. Thank you for joining us today, and we look forward to speaking with you on December 7 on our third quarter earnings call.

我們正在為宏觀環境做準備，在今年剩餘時間和明年繼續充滿挑戰。我們知道這需要時間，但我們正在採取果斷行動，進一步加強核心品牌和整個企業的實力。我們的挑戰在很大程度上是由宏觀環境驅動的，但我們擁有兩個獨特的品牌、強大的客戶忠誠度和令人驚嘆的文化，奠定了堅實的基礎。我相信，隨著經濟逆風和成本壓力開始消退，公司將恢復增長。感謝您今天加入我們，我們期待在 12 月 7 日的第三季度財報電話會議上與您交談。

And this concludes today's call. We thank you again for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。我們再次感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。