Vera Bradley Inc (VRA) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Vera Bradley Second Quarter Conference Call for Fiscal 2024. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Mark Dely, Vera Bradley's Chief Administrative Officer.

早安，女士們，先生們。謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加維拉·布拉德利 (Vera Bradley) 2024 財年第二季電話會議。（操作員說明）謹此提醒，今天的會議正在錄製中。我現在想將電話轉給維拉·布拉德利 (Vera Bradley) 的首席行政官馬克·戴利 (Mark Dely)。

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. 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 for the company's most recent Form 10-K filed with the SEC for a discussion of known risks and uncertainties. Investors should not assume that the statements made during the call will remain operative at a later time. We undertake no obligation to update any information discussed on today's call.

早上好，歡迎大家。我們感謝您參加今天的電話會議。我們在準備好的發言中以及在回答您的問題時所做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。此類前瞻性陳述受到已知和未知的風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期有重大差異。請參閱今天的新聞稿，以了解該公司向 SEC 提交的最新 10-K 表格，以了解已知風險和不確定性的討論。投資者不應假設電話會議期間所做的聲明將在以後繼續有效。我們沒有義務更新今天電話會議中討論的任何資訊。

I will now turn over the call to Vera Bradley's CEO, Jackie Ardrey. Jackie?

我現在將把電話轉給維拉·布拉德利 (Vera Bradley) 的首席執行官傑基·阿德雷 (Jackie Ardrey)。傑基？

Thank you, Mark. Good morning, and thank you for joining us on today's call. We are very pleased with the meaningful year-over-year improvement in second quarter earnings driven by significant gross margin expansion and successful company-wide expense reduction efforts. As a company, we are doing a better job of being attentive to our cost structure and are being very intentional on how we invest our dollars to drive long-term profitable growth.

謝謝你，馬克。早安，感謝您參加今天的電話會議。我們對第二季獲利的年比顯著改善感到非常高興，這得益於毛利率的大幅成長和全公司範圍內費用削減的成功努力。作為一家公司，我們在關注成本結構方面做得更好，並且非常有意識地考慮如何投資資金以推動長期獲利成長。

Our transformational efforts continue to bear fruit, and I'd like to thank all of our associates across the country for their contributions to this very important work.

我們的轉型努力持續取得成果，我要感謝全國各地的所有同事為這項非常重要的工作所做的貢獻。

During the quarter, we carefully managed our debt-free balance sheet, adding to our cash position while continuing to strategically improve our inventory position. One of our key goals this year is to stabilize revenues. We are continuing to make progress on that front with second quarter consolidated revenues of $128.2 million, only modestly below last year. Total second quarter revenues for the Vera Bradley brand were down 1.2% from last year. Vera Bradley direct revenue declines resulted from store closures over the last year while we saw a small comparable store gain in our full-line stores.

在本季度，我們仔細管理我們的無債務資產負債表，增加我們的現金頭寸，同時繼續策略性地改善我們的庫存頭寸。我們今年的主要目標之一是穩定收入。我們在這方面繼續取得進展，第二季綜合收入為 1.282 億美元，僅略低於去年。 Vera Bradley 品牌第二季總營收比去年下降 1.2%。 Vera Bradley 的直接收入下降是由於去年商店關閉造成的，而我們的全線商店的可比商店略有增長。

The successful return of the Vera Bradley annual outlet sale offset weakness in our factory outlet stores in addition to compensating for the elimination of one online outlet sale during the quarter. The remainder of our e-commerce sales continued to perform well. Lastly, Vera Bradley indirect revenues were up slightly to last year.

Vera Bradley 年度直銷店的成功回歸除了彌補本季取消的一項線上直銷店銷售之外，還抵消了我們工廠直銷店的疲軟表現。我們其餘的電子商務銷售持續表現良好。最後，維拉布拉德利的間接收入比去年略有成長。

Pura Vida year-over-year sales declined 3.6%, primarily related to a shortfall in wholesale revenues, which we believe should improve in the second half of the year.

Pura Vida 銷售額年減 3.6%，主要與批發收入不足有關，我們認為下半年情況應該會有所改善。

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to realize the benefits of changes in our performance-based marketing program. In general, at both brands, customers have responded enthusiastically to our collaborations into product offerings when they are innovative and trend-right even as they have been more selective in their discretionary spending in light of the current macro environment. We continue to make meaningful progress on Project Restoration focusing on four key pillars of the business for each brand: Consumer, Brand, Product and Channel. Through the first half of fiscal 2024, we have progressed as expected. We believe execution of Project Restoration will drive long-term profitable growth and deliver value to our shareholders.

實現我們基於績效的行銷計劃變革的好處。總體而言，在這兩個品牌中，儘管考慮到當前的宏觀環境，客戶在可自由支配的支出上更加挑剔，但當他們創新且緊跟潮流時，他們對我們在產品供應方面的合作反應熱烈。我們繼續在專案恢復方面取得有意義的進展，重點關注每個品牌業務的四個關鍵支柱：消費者、品牌、產品和管道。 2024 財年上半年，我們的進展符合預期。我們相信專案恢復的執行將推動長期獲利成長並為我們的股東帶來價值。

Let me give you a bit more detail on Project Restoration's 4 key pillars and some of the initiatives we currently have underway. First, at Vera Bradley, for the Consumer, we are focusing on restoring brand relevancy, targeting casual and feminine 35- to 54-year-old women who value both fashion and function. For the Brand, we are working to strategically market our distinctive and unique position as a feminine fashionable brand that connects with consumers on a deep emotional level. For the Product, we are refocusing on core categories and items we are best at, by continually innovating and expanding within our core products.

讓我向您詳細介紹專案恢復的 4 個關鍵支柱以及我們目前正在進行的一些舉措。首先，在 Vera Bradley，針對消費者，我們致力於恢復品牌相關性，目標族群是注重時尚和功能的 35 至 54 歲休閒女性。對於該品牌來說，我們正在策略性地行銷我們作為女性時尚品牌的獨特地位，在深刻的情感層面上與消費者建立聯繫。對於產品，我們透過在核心產品內不斷創新和擴展，重新專注於我們最擅長的核心類別和專案。

Over the next 12 months, we will elevate our colorful feminine heritage, keeping it distinctive but more trend relevant through updated print and design and we will continue to enter into strategic adjacent lifestyle item introductions that makes sense for our customers.

在接下來的12 個月裡，我們將提升我們豐富多彩的女性傳統，透過更新的印花和設計來保持其獨特性，但更貼近潮流，我們將繼續推出對我們的客戶有意義的策略性相鄰生活方式產品。

Our performance fabrics, Featherweight, Performance Twill, ReActive and Ultralight are trending well with the core customer being younger with a higher household income. This remains a big opportunity for us, both now and in our plans for future transformation. Patterns will always be our signature, but coordinating solids continue to be a key opportunity for us as well. We will expand our solid offerings this fall, including our reintroduction of a small collection of leather goods next month.

我們的高性能布料、Featherweight、Performance Twill、ReActive 和 Ultralight 趨勢良好，核心客戶更年輕，家庭收入更高。無論是現在還是我們未來的轉型計劃，這對我們來說仍然是一個巨大的機會。圖案永遠是我們的標誌，但協調的實體仍然是我們的關鍵機會。今年秋天，我們將擴大我們的實體產品範圍，包括下個月重新推出一小部分皮革製品。

Product collaborations are an important part of our brand expression. Our first Hello Kitty collaboration launched in June was a great success and we are also seeing strong customer response from our much anticipated Peanuts collection launched just this month. We are especially thrilled about our NFL collection introduced in August just in time for football season. Our product innovation and new pipeline is robust for next year, and I look forward to sharing more details in the months to come.

產品合作是我們品牌表達的重要組成部分。我們在 6 月推出的首次 Hello Kitty 合作取得了巨大成功，本月剛推出的備受期待的 Peanuts 系列也得到了強烈的客戶反響。我們對 8 月正好趕上橄欖球賽季推出的 NFL 系列感到特別興奮。明年我們的產品創新和新產品線將非常強勁，我期待在未來幾個月分享更多細節。

And finally, for the channel, we are accelerating our digital-first focus and online presence, building a balanced footprint that more clearly differentiates full line from factory outlet stores and targeting relationships with strategically aligned wholesale partners. As part of this, our recent site rebranding and navigation changes have been successful in reducing bounce rate and driving conversion and sales. We are taking a comprehensive approach to reversing the trends in Vera Bradley's factory outlet channel through a thorough multipronged approach, including potential pricing adjustments and targeted marketing initiatives aimed to drive traffic and average order size.

最後，對於通路，我們正在加速我們的數位優先重點和線上業務，建立平衡的足跡，更清晰地將全線產品與工廠直銷店區分開來，並瞄準與策略一致的批發合作夥伴的關係。作為其中的一部分，我們最近的網站品牌重塑和導航變更成功地降低了跳出率並推動了轉換和銷售。我們正在採取全面的方法，透過徹底的多管齊下扭轉 Vera Bradley 工廠直銷管道的趨勢，包括潛在的價格調整和旨在提高流量和平均訂單規模的有針對性的行銷舉措。

Now turning to Pura Vida. For the consumer, we are sharpening our focus on 18- to 24-year-old young women, the original target audience of the brand. For the brand, we have recentered our brand ethos on living life to the fullest. Our marketing today authentically shares real moments, places and faces. Our [Live Free] campaign launched in June accentuated travel, adventure, friendship and freedom and created engagement and excitement in our customer base. The campaign included a nationwide tour to adventurous U.S. destinations by several social media influencers and customers.

現在轉向普拉維達。對於消費者，我們正在加強對18至24歲年輕女性的關注，這是該品牌最初的目標受眾。對於該品牌，我們將品牌精神重新定位為充分享受生活。我們今天的行銷真實地分享真實的時刻、地點和臉孔。我們於 6 月推出的 [Live Free] 活動強調旅行、冒險、友誼和自由，並在我們的客戶群中創造了參與和興奮。該活動包括由幾位社交媒體影響者和客戶前往美國冒險目的地進行全國巡迴演出。

We are utilizing our newly launched comprehensive customer data platform to more strategically target customers and potential customers with a deep focus on retention. Additionally, we have seen improved marketing efficiency this year at both brands.

我們正在利用新推出的綜合客戶數據平台，更有策略性地瞄準客戶和潛在客戶，並專注於保留客戶。此外，我們今年也看到兩個品牌的行銷效率都有所提升。

For the product, we are focusing on delivering unique fun, playful designs that are affordable and accessible with a key emphasis on bracelets and jewelry as well as other strategic adjacent categories. Our new summer collection, featuring both string and metal jewelry has resonated with our customers. We recently launched our men's collection with some items selling out quickly. This collection still targets our core customer, who ultimately is purchasing these items for the men in her life. Our custom bracelets from Harper charms to engravable items to building your own bracelets, are working and continue to be a growth opportunity.

對於產品，我們專注於提供獨特、有趣、俏皮的設計，這些設計價格實惠且易於使用，重點關注手鐲和珠寶以及其他戰略相鄰類別。我們全新的夏季系列以繩索和金屬首飾為特色，引起了客戶的共鳴。我們最近推出了男士系列，其中一些商品很快就售空了。該系列仍然針對我們的核心客戶，他們最終是為她生命中的男人購買這些物品。我們的訂製手鍊，從 Harper 吊飾到可雕刻物品，再到打造您自己的手鍊，正在發揮作用，並將繼續成為一個增長機會。

We will continue to pursue high-profile collaborations like Hello Kitty, Shark Week and Harry Potter that are always fan favorites and bring new customers to the brand. And we are continually adding items to our charity program that matter most to our customers, like the Hawaii Wildfires relief bracelet. Additionally, for both brands, we have terrific holiday gifting programs in place.

我們將繼續追求 Hello Kitty、Shark Week 和 Harry Potter 等備受粉絲喜愛的高調合作，並為該品牌帶來新客戶。我們不斷在我們的慈善計劃中添加對我們的客戶最重要的物品，例如夏威夷野火救災手環。此外，對於這兩個品牌，我們都制定了很棒的節日禮物計劃。

And then finally, for the channel, we have a strong focus on driving e-commerce growth and strategic expansion of wholesale by pursuing strategic partnerships and expanding larger existing accounts. Also, we are beginning to refine and develop an expansion plan for our existing store model in both brands. To gain both operational and strategic efficiency, we moved the Pura Vida store operations under the Vera Bradley team during the quarter.

最後，對於通路來說，我們非常注重透過尋求策略合作夥伴關係和擴大現有客戶來推動電子商務成長和批發策略擴張。此外，我們開始完善並制定兩個品牌現有商店模式的擴張計劃。為了獲得營運和策略效率，我們在本季將 Pura Vida 商店營運移交給了 Vera Bradley 團隊。

We are taking actions to stabilize and then steadily grow Pura Vida's revenues and to reverse the trends in Vera Bradley's factory outlet channel. Our team is focused on generating long-term revenue increases, expanding gross margin and ensuring strong financial discipline and cost control, which we expect will drive long-term profitable growth.

我們正在採取行動穩定並穩定成長 Pura Vida 的收入，並扭轉 Vera Bradley 工廠直銷通路的趨勢。我們的團隊專注於實現長期收入成長、擴大毛利率並確保強有力的財務紀律和成本控制，我們預計這將推動長期獲利成長。

Now let me turn the call over to CFO, Michael Schwindle, to review the financial results. Michael?

現在讓我將電話轉給財務長 Michael Schwindle，以審查財務表現。麥可？

Thanks, Jackie, and good morning, everyone. Let me begin with a few highlights from our second quarter but before I do, for the sake of clarity, I will discuss -- all the numbers I'm discussing today are non-GAAP and exclude the charges outlined in today's press release for a complete detail of items excluded from the non-GAAP numbers as well as a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP, please reference today's release.

謝謝，傑基，大家早安。讓我先介紹第二季的一些亮點，但在此之前，為了清楚起見，我將討論一下——我今天討論的所有數字都是非公認會計原則的，不包括今天新聞稿中列出的費用。有關非GAAP 資料中排除的項目的完整詳細資訊以及GAAP 與非GAAP 的調節表，請參考今天的新聞稿。

Our second quarter consolidated net revenues totaled $128.2 million compared to $130.4 million in the prior year second quarter. Consolidated net income totaled $10.2 million or $0.33 per diluted share compared to $2.4 million or $0.08 per diluted share last year. Vera Bradley Direct segment revenues totaled $85.7 million, a 1.5% decrease from $87 million in the prior year. We permanently closed 19 full-line and 2 factory outlet stores and opened 3 factory outlet stores over the last 12 months. Our comparable sales declined 5.3%, primarily due to weakness in the factory outlet channel that Jackie noted earlier. This year, the direct segment revenues also included sales from the Vera Bradley annual outlet sale which was not held last year.

我們第二季的合併淨收入總計 1.282 億美元，而去年第二季的合併淨收入為 1.304 億美元。合併淨利潤總計 1,020 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.33 美元，而去年為 240 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.08 美元。 Vera Bradley Direct 部門收入總計 8,570 萬美元，比前一年的 8,700 萬美元下降 1.5%。在過去 12 個月裡，我們永久關閉了 19 家全線商店和 2 家工廠直營店，並開設了 3 家工廠直營店。我們的可比銷售額下降了 5.3%，這主要是由於 Jackie 早些時候指出的工廠直銷管道的疲軟。今年，直接部門收入還包括去年未舉行的 Vera Bradley 年度直銷銷售的銷售額。

Vera Bradley Indirect segment revenues totaled $17.4 million, a 0.2% increase over $17.3 million last year. Pura Vida segment revenues totaled $25.1 million, a 3.6% decrease from $26 million in the prior year, reflecting a decline in [sales] to wholesale count and a modest decline in e-commerce sales. partially offset by new store growth resulting in noncomparable retail store sales.

Vera Bradley 間接部門營收總計 1,740 萬美元，比去年的 1,730 萬美元成長 0.2%。 Pura Vida 部門營收總計 2,510 萬美元，比前一年的 2,600 萬美元下降 3.6%，反映出批發數量的[銷售額]下降以及電子商務銷售額的小幅下降。部分被新店成長抵消，導致零售店銷售不可比擬。

Second quarter gross margin totaled $72 million or 56.2% of net revenues compared to $67.8 million or 52% of net revenues in the prior year. The current year gross margin rate was favorably impacted by lower year-over-year inbound and outbound freight expense and the sell-through of previously reserved inventory, partially offset by an increase in [conditional] activity. As a reminder, our prior year gross margin was materially impacted by high inbound and outbound freight expense as well as a deleverage of our [revenue] costs.

第二季毛利率總計 7,200 萬美元，佔淨收入的 56.2%，而去年同期毛利率為 6,780 萬美元，佔淨收入的 52%。本年度的毛利率受到進出境運費年減以及先前保留庫存的售完的有利影響，但部分被[有條件]活動的增加所抵消。提醒一下，我們上一年的毛利率受到高額進出境運費以及[收入]成本去槓桿化的嚴重影響。

SG&A expenses totaled $58.3 million or 45.5% of net revenues compared to $64 million or 49.1% of net revenues in the prior year. This reduction from the prior year reflects the early [sets] of our company-wide cost reduction initiatives across various areas of the organization. Second quarter consolidated operating income totaled $14 million or 10.9% of net revenues compared to $3.9 million or 3% of net revenues last year.

SG&A 費用總計 5,830 萬美元，佔淨收入的 45.5%，而前一年為 6,400 萬美元，佔淨收入的 49.1%。與前一年相比的下降反映了我們在組織各個領域早期實施的全公司範圍的成本削減措施。第二季合併營業收入總計 1,400 萬美元，佔淨收入的 10.9%，而去年同期為 390 萬美元，佔淨收入的 3%。

Turning to the balance sheet. Our [quarter 2] cash and cash equivalents totaled $48.5 million compared to $38.3 million at the end of last year's second quarter. We continue to have no borrowings on our $75 million ABL facility. And subsequent to quarter end, we completed renegotiation of our ABL agreement and the modifications, among other things, convert the interest calculation from LIBOR to SOFR as well as enhance our future ability to expand ABL, if necessary. We are confident that our access to liquidity and capital is sufficient to address our needs for the foreseeable future.

轉向資產負債表。我們的[第二季]現金和現金等價物總額為 4,850 萬美元，而去年第二季末為 3,830 萬美元。我們的 7500 萬美元 ABL 融資中仍然沒有借款。季度末後，我們完成了 ABL 協議的重新談判和修改，其中包括將利息計算從 LIBOR 轉換為 SOFR，並在必要時增強我們未來擴展 ABL 的能力。我們相信，我們所獲得的流動性和資本足以滿足我們在可預見的未來的需求。

Inventory was $139.3 million at the end of the quarter compared to $179.6 million at the end of the second quarter last year. We have taken strategic actions to reduce our inventory levels, and we believe we are appropriately positioned as we enter the fall selling season. During the quarter, we also repurchased approximately 120,000 shares at an average price of $5.16 per share, totaling approximately $683,000, $26.3 million remain under the $50 million share repurchase authorization that expires in December of 2024.

本季末庫存為 1.393 億美元，而去年第二季末庫存為 1.796 億美元。我們已採取策略行動來降低庫存水平，我們相信，在進入秋季銷售季節時，我們處於適當的位置。本季度，我們也以每股 5.16 美元的平均價格回購了約 120,000 股股票，總額約為 683,000 美元，截至 2024 年 12 月到期的 5,000 萬美元股票回購授權尚有 2,630 萬美元。

As Jackie said earlier, we are very pleased with our performance year-to-date as well as with our progress on the transformation, I likewise thank all of our associates for their hard work and commitment to these efforts.

正如 Jackie 早些時候所說，我們對今年迄今為止的表現以及轉型進展感到非常滿意，我同樣感謝所有員工的辛勤工作和對這些努力的承諾。

So as we look forward, based on the first half performance as well as our initiatives underway and the current macroeconomic trends and expectations, we are updating certain components of our guidance for the fiscal year. And as a reminder, our forward-looking guidance numbers are on a non-GAAP basis.

因此，展望未來，根據上半年的業績以及我們正在進行的舉措以及當前的宏觀經濟趨勢和預期，我們正在更新本財年指導的某些組成部分。提醒一下，我們的前瞻指導數字是基於非公認會計原則的。

We now expect consolidated net revenues of between $490 million and $500 million for the year, as a reminder, net revenues totaled $500 million last year. We also expect a consolidated gross margin rate of 53% to 53.8% compared to 51.4% in the prior year. This year's gross margin rate is expected to be favorably impacted by lower year-over-year freight expense, cost reduction initiatives and the sell-through of previously reserved inventory, but partially offset by an increase in promotional activity.

我們現在預計今年的綜合淨收入將在 4.9 億至 5 億美元之間，提醒一下，去年的淨收入總額為 5 億美元。我們也預期綜合毛利率為 53% 至 53.8%，而前一年為 51.4%。預計今年的毛利率將受到年比運費下降、成本削減舉措以及先前保留庫存的銷售的有利影響，但部分將被促銷活動的增加所抵消。

Consolidated SG&A expense is expected to be between $237 million and $243 million compared to $245.3 million last year. The decline in SG&A expense is being driven by our company-wide cost reduction initiatives, partially offset by restoring (inaudible) long-term incentive compensation to more normalized levels. in addition to incremental marketing investment intended to accelerate customer file growth. This result in anticipated consolidated operating income of $24 million to $28 million compared to $12.3 million last year and a diluted earnings per share of $0.57 to $0.65 compared to $0.24 last year.

綜合銷售、管理及行政費用預計在 2.37 億美元至 2.43 億美元之間，而去年為 2.453 億美元。 SG&A 費用的下降是由我們全公司範圍內的成本削減舉措推動的，但透過將（聽不清楚）長期激勵薪酬恢復到更正常的水平來部分抵消。除了旨在加速客戶檔案成長的增量行銷投資。這導致預計綜合營業收入為 2,400 萬至 2,800 萬美元，而去年為 1,230 萬美元，攤薄每股收益為 0.57 至 0.65 美元，而去年為 0.24 美元。

We also continue to expect net capital spending of approximately $5 million this year versus $8.2 million last year. And this reflects investments associated with new Vera Bradley [outlet stores] as well as technology and logistics enhancements. As a result, our free cash flow anticipates to be between $40 million and $45 million compared to a cash usage in last year of $21.7 million.

我們也繼續預計今年的淨資本支出約為 500 萬美元，而去年為 820 萬美元。這反映了與新維拉布拉德利（Vera Bradley）[直銷店]相關的投資以及技術和物流的增強。因此，我們的自由現金流預計在 4,000 萬至 4,500 萬美元之間，而去年的現金使用量為 2,170 萬美元。

So that concludes our formal remarks. I would like to open the call to questions now.

我們的正式發言到此結束。我現在想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question comes from Nick Gomes with NOBLE Capital.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 NOBLE Capital 的 Nick Gomes。

It's Joe Gomes this morning. So I kind of wanted to start out, last quarter, you mentioned and you also this quarter about programs to drive traffic and increased the average basket size and I was wondering if you could just give us a little more color on some of the types of programs that you're working on and what the early days you're seeing out of those programs and where you think you might see that further in the second half of this year.

我是今天早上的喬‧戈麥斯。所以我有點想從上個季度開始，您提到了，本季度您也提到了有關增加流量和增加平均籃子大小的計劃，我想知道您是否可以給我們一些關於某些類型的更多信息您正在開展的項目以及您在這些項目的初期看到了什麼，以及您認為今年下半年可能會進一步看到什麼。

Sure. So overall, we were seeing a definite issue with traffic, particularly to our outlet stores earlier in the quarter, and there's a multipronged marketing approach that we've taken that includes paid media in all different ways that we're testing, and -- so that's part of the program. So it's paid media, it's mall takeovers, and it's other opportunities that we have, just nontraditional media forms that we're testing and really taking a very cautious but thorough approach to testing and learning what is driving traffic in which market.

當然。因此，總的來說，我們發現流量存在明顯問題，特別是本季早些時候的直銷店，我們採取了多管齊下的營銷方法，其中包括我們正在測試的各種不同方式的付費媒體，並且——這是計劃的一部分。因此，這是付費媒體，是商場收購，還有我們擁有的其他機會，只是我們正在測試的非傳統媒體形式，並且確實採取了非常謹慎但徹底的方法來測試和了解是什麼在推動哪個市場的流量。

So we started out with a fairly small test and expanded it. We've expanded it twice now, and we're continuing to do that very carefully evaluating what programs are working for which markets.

因此，我們從一個相當小的測試開始，然後對其進行了擴展。我們現在已經將其擴展了兩次，並且我們將繼續非常仔細地評估哪些計劃適用於哪些市場。

Great. And also maybe give us a little more color or detail on how the collaborations with Disney, Hello Kitty -- again, I know it's really early days, NFL, are all working out?

偉大的。也許還可以給我們更多關於與迪士尼、Hello Kitty 的合作的色彩或細節——再說一次，我知道現在還為時過早，NFL 一切都進展順利嗎？

Sure. We're very pleased with the results of these collaboration efforts, especially Hello Kitty really resonated with both existing and new customers in the quarter, and NFL initially is that we're very happy with the results there. So it will be -- it continues to be a key part of our strategy now and for the future.

當然。我們對這些合作努力的結果感到非常滿意，尤其是 Hello Kitty 在本季度真正引起了現有客戶和新客戶的共鳴，而 NFL 最初我們對那裡的結果非常滿意。因此，它將繼續成為我們現在和未來策略的關鍵部分。

Okay. One last one for me, if I may, and I'll get back in queue. You did talk a little bit about the Pura Vida stores and kind of how you put them under the Vera Bradley retail management now. And I know you had said in the past, you kind of wanted to take a step back and evaluate the stores before committing to opening new stores, it's now been another quarter. Kind of where are you in that process or thinking about opening new Pura Vida stores?

好的。如果可以的話，給我最後一張，然後我會重新排隊。您確實談到了 Pura Vida 商店以及您現在如何將它們置於 Vera Bradley 零售管理之下。我知道您過去曾說過，在承諾開設新店之前，您想退一步評估一下商店，現在又過去了一個季度。您在這個過程中處於什麼階段，或者正在考慮開設新的 Pura Vida 商店？

This is Michael. Listen, we have been monitoring, especially during the summer season, which is particularly important for the Pura Vida brand. We have been very, very pleased with the stores we have in place. We opened one in Myrtle Beach last year, has done very well as well as the other stores have continued to perform very well. We've seen some nice increases as well. So we're looking at our options now as we round out the summer season and we go into the fall and we start to think about next year, we're looking at our options on that.

這是麥可.聽著，我們一直在監測，尤其是在夏季，這對 Pura Vida 品牌來說尤其重要。我們對我們現有的商店非常非常滿意。去年我們在默特爾比奇開了一家店，生意非常好，其他商店也繼續表現出色。我們也看到了一些不錯的成長。因此，隨著夏季的結束和秋季的到來，我們現在正在考慮我們的選擇，我們開始考慮明年，我們正在考慮我們的選擇。

(Operator Instructions) Next, we go to the line of Eric Beder with SCC Research.

（操作員說明）接下來，我們轉到Eric Beder 與SCC Research 的線路。

A quick question, you've had a number -- you continue to aggressively reduce the inventory levels. Are we kind of at the normalized level here? And this is how we should be thinking about it going forward? Or are there other opportunities to continue to reduce the inventory and increase productivity?

一個簡單的問題，你已經得到了一個數字——你繼續積極地降低庫存水準。我們現在處於正常化水平了嗎？這就是我們未來該如何思考的？還是有其他機會繼續減少庫存、提高生產力？

Thanks, Eric. I think as we look at the inventory -- look at the productivity of the inventory, there's a lot of opportunities we still see in our inventory position. But at the same time, we're also thinking about that in context to next year's rollout of new lines in some of our areas. So we're having to take a relatively cautious approach.

謝謝，埃里克。我認為，當我們查看庫存時，看看庫存的生產率，我們在庫存狀況中仍然看到很多機會。但同時，我們也在考慮明年在某些領域推出新線路的情況。所以我們必須採取相對謹慎的態度。

There's also a little bit of a physicians do no harm kind of perspective, we have to make sure that we don't reduce any inventories in a way that is dysfunctional or harmful in the longer term. So we're being very conservative and judicious about that, but I think we have some opportunities as we look forward.

還有一點醫生不會造成傷害的觀點，我們必須確保我們不會以長期來看不正常或有害的方式減少任何庫存。因此，我們對此非常保守和明智，但我認為我們展望未來有一些機會。

When you look at the Vera Bradley stores, one of the things you've implemented is kind of set pricing for a specific silhouette and that's changed a little bit during each month. What's been the response to that piece? I know it's kind of simplified, the shopping experience, and if that's something we're going to see more of maybe potentially in the outlet stores also?

當您查看 Vera Bradley 商店時，您實施的其中一項措施是針對特定款式設定定價，並且每個月都會發生一些變化。那篇文章的反應如何？我知道購物體驗有點簡化，如果這是我們在直銷店中可能會看到更多的東西？

So we've done this both in the full-line and the outlet stores. And we started it with just a style spotlight in the full-line stores, and we've extended it to outlet stores as well.

所以我們在全線商店和直銷店都這樣做了。我們一開始只是在全線商店中聚焦時尚，現在我們也將其擴展到直銷店。

We're definitely monitoring the success. It's really -- of course, it depends on the item and the price point. But the strategy is sound, and you will likely see us continue to use that -- this pricing strategy for the rest of the year.

我們肯定會監控成功情況。當然，這取決於商品和價格。但這個策略是合理的，你可能會看到我們在今年剩餘時間繼續使用這個定價策略。

And you and your team have been there for less than 9 months. How far along do you think the stores and online are to what you would envision it to be and when should we be, as investors and analysts and shoppers, thinking about, hey, this good store completely encompasses what new management thinks. How should we think about that time line?

而您和您的團隊在那裡待了不到 9 個月。你認為商店和網上商店離你的想像還有多遠？作為投資者、分析師和購物者，我們什麼時候應該思考，嘿，這家好商店完全包含了新管理層的想法。我們該如何考慮這個時間線？

So as I remarked earlier today, we do have -- we were able to affect some of the product lines that you'll start to see mostly in full-line, but at a fairly minimal level this fall. So you'll see the introduction of leather, you'll see some more solid, maybe not quite as much in outlet. But you'll see a gradual shift over the next couple of months until mid-next year when really the culmination of all of our efforts and our supply chain time line, catches up to what we ultimately think is our go-forward result of Project Restoration.

正如我今天早些時候所說，我們確實能夠影響一些產品線，您將在今年秋天開始看到這些產品線大部分是全線的，但影響程度相當小。所以你會看到皮革的介紹，你會看到一些更堅固的，也許在出口中沒有那麼多。但在接下來的幾個月裡，直到明年年中，你會看到逐漸的轉變，屆時我們所有努力和供應鏈時間線的真正巔峰，將趕上我們最終認為是我們項目的前進結果恢復。

This concludes today's question-and-answer session. We'll now turn the floor to Jackie Ardrey, for any additional or closing remarks.

今天的問答環節到此結束。現在請 Jackie Ardrey 發表補充或結束語。

Before I close, I would like to thank all of our associates once again for their collaboration and support of Project Restoration, for being resourceful and innovative and for embracing the mindset of diligent expense management. This year by focusing on stabilizing sales, expanding gross margin and controlling expenses, we believe we can, at a minimum, nearly double year-over-year operating income and more than double EPS.

在結束之前，我要再次感謝我們所有的員工對專案恢復的合作和支持，感謝他們的足智多謀和創新精神以及勤奮費用管理的心態。今年，透過穩銷售、擴毛利率、控費用，我們相信至少可以實現營業收入較去年同期成長近一倍，每股盈餘成長一倍以上。

We are excited about the opportunities for both brands. We are also committed to returning both of our brands to profitable growth and generating strong cash flow through Project Restoration. This should deliver value to our shareholders over the long-term. Thank you for joining us today, and we look forward to sharing our progress with you on our third quarter call on December 6.

我們對這兩個品牌的機會感到興奮。我們也致力於透過專案恢復使我們的兩個品牌恢復獲利成長並產生強勁的現金流。從長遠來看，這將為我們的股東帶來價值。感謝您今天加入我們，我們期待在 12 月 6 日的第三季電話會議上與您分享我們的進展。

This concludes today's teleconference. We thank you for your participation. You may disconnect your lines at any time.

今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開線路。