Wolverine World Wide Inc (WWW) 2019 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Wolverine World Wide, Inc., Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2019 Results Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Paul Feyen.

您好，歡迎參加 Wolverine World Wide, Inc. 2019 財年第四季度業績電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我將會議交給主持人保羅·費恩 (Paul Feyen)。

Good morning, and welcome to our fourth quarter 2019 conference call. On the call today are Blake Krueger, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President; and Mike Stornant, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

早上好，歡迎參加我們的 2019 年第四季度電話會議。今天參加電話會議的是我們的董事長、首席執行官兼總裁 Blake Krueger；以及我們的高級副總裁兼首席財務官 Mike Stornant。

Earlier this morning, we announced our financial results for the fourth quarter 2019. The release is available on many news sites or it can be viewed from our corporate website at wolverineworldwide.com. If you would prefer to have a copy of the news release sent to you directly, please call Francesca Filandro at (646) 677-1814.

今天早些時候，我們公佈了 2019 年第四季度的財務業績。該新聞稿可在許多新聞網站上找到，也可以從我們的公司網站 wolverineworldwide.com 上查看。如果您希望直接向您發送新聞稿副本，請致電 Francesca Filandro，電話 (646) 677-1814。

This morning's press release included non-GAAP disclosures, and these disclosures were reconciled with attached tables within the body of the release. Comments during today's earnings call will include some additional non-GAAP disclosures. There is a document posted on our corporate website titled WWW Q4 2019 Conference Call Supplemental Tables that will reconcile these non-GAAP disclosures to GAAP. The document is also accessible under the Investor Relations tab at our corporate website, wolverineworldwide.com, by clicking on the webcast link at the top of the page.

今天上午的新聞稿包括非公認會計原則披露，這些披露與新聞稿正文中的附表進行了核對。今天的財報電話會議上的評論將包括一些額外的非公認會計原則披露。我們的公司網站上發布了一份名為 WWW Q4 2019 電話會議補充表的文件，該文件將使這些非 GAAP 披露與 GAAP 保持一致。您還可以通過我們公司網站 wolverineworldwide.com 的“投資者關係”選項卡訪問該文件，方法是單擊頁面頂部的網絡廣播鏈接。

During our call, we are providing adjusted financial results which adjust for the impacts of environmental and related costs and a settlement, business development related expenses, reorganization costs, foreign exchange rate changes and the estimated impact of the coronavirus.

在我們的電話會議中，我們提供了調整後的財務業績，其中考慮了環境和相關成本以及結算、業務發展相關費用、重組成本、匯率變化以及冠狀病毒的估計影響的影響。

I'd also like to remind you that predictions and projections made during today's conference call regarding Wolverine World Wide and its operations are forward-looking statements under U.S. securities laws. As a result, we must caution you that as with any prediction or projection, there are a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. These important risk factors are identified in the company's SEC filings and in our press releases.

我還想提醒您，今天的電話會議中有關 Wolverine World Wide 及其運營的預測和預測屬於美國證券法規定的前瞻性聲明。因此，我們必須提醒您，與任何預測或預測一樣，有許多因素可能導致實際結果存在重大差異。這些重要的風險因素已在公司向 SEC 提交的文件和我們的新聞稿中確定。

With that being said, I'd like to turn the call over to Blake Krueger.

話雖如此，我想把電話轉給布萊克·克魯格。

Thanks, Paul. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. Earlier this morning, we reported strong fourth quarter revenue growth of over 5% on a constant currency basis, which marks our highest quarterly growth rate of the year. Our 2 largest brands, Merrell and Sperry, each delivered mid-teens growth. Our team's excellent performance against each pillar of our global growth agenda drove this success. Compelling new product stories for our key brands, nearly 21% growth from our owned e-commerce platform and over 10% growth in our international markets, with growth across all regions.

謝謝，保羅。大家早上好，感謝您加入我們。今天上午早些時候，我們報告稱，按固定匯率計算，第四季度收入強勁增長超過 5%，這是我們今年最高的季度增長率。我們最大的 2 個品牌 Merrell 和 Sperry 均實現了十幾歲左右的增長。我們的團隊在全球增長議程的每個支柱上的出色表現推動了這一成功。我們的主要品牌有引人注目的新產品故事，我們自有的電子商務平台增長了近 21%，國際市場增長了 10% 以上，所有地區都有增長。

Q4 revenue growth drove record adjusted earnings per share of $0.59, a 13.5% increase over last year. We're extremely pleased with these results, which reflect the strength of our brand portfolio, excellent effort and execution by our team and solid progress against our global growth agenda.

第四季度收入增長推動調整後每股收益創紀錄地達到 0.59 美元，比去年增長 13.5%。我們對這些結果感到非常滿意，這反映了我們品牌組合的實力、我們團隊的出色努力和執行力，以及我們在全球增長議程上取得的堅實進展。

For today's call, I'll provide some additional details on our Q4 results, and we'll also provide more insight on how we are driving our growth agenda to deliver accelerated growth over the next 2 years.

在今天的電話會議中，我將提供有關我們第四季度業績的更多詳細信息，我們還將提供有關如何推動增長議程以在未來兩年實現加速增長的更多見解。

Mike Stornant will then provide additional details on the fourth quarter and full year financial results. He will also cover our initial financial outlook for 2020 and touch on the impact of the China tariffs and the coronavirus.

隨後，邁克·斯托南特將提供有關第四季度和全年財務業績的更多詳細信息。他還將介紹我們對 2020 年的初步財務展望，並談到中國關稅和冠狀病毒的影響。

Starting with the Wolverine Michigan Group. Q4 revenue increased a strong 7.7% compared to the prior year and 8.1% on a constant currency basis. Merrell and Cat were both up mid-teens in the quarter. These gains were partially offset by a decline from the Wolverine brand and some of our smaller brands. Merrell's strong quarterly results were led by growth in all regions, including the U.S. Overall, the wholesale, e-commerce and retail store channels all saw year-over-year gains. For Merrell, growth came from both the performance and lifestyle product category, led by exceptionally strong performance in Hike, where the brand holds the #1 U.S. market share position. And Work, the brand's fastest growing category, which grew nearly 50% in the quarter. Nature's Gym, the brand's most athletic expression category which includes the Nova and the Antora collection for progressive trail running style, also posted nice gains in the quarter. And the important Lifestyle category grew as well driven by success in new collections like the Alpine Sneaker, Juno Clog and Hut Moc.

從密歇根狼獾集團開始。第四季度收入與去年同期相比強勁增長 7.7%，按固定匯率計算增長 8.1%。梅雷爾和卡特在本季度的股價均上漲了十幾歲。這些收益被金剛狼品牌和一些較小品牌的下滑部分抵消。梅雷爾強勁的季度業績得益於包括美國在內的所有地區的增長。總體而言，批發、電子商務和零售店渠道均實現了同比增長。對於 Merrell 來說，增長來自功能和生活方式產品類別，其中 Hike 的表現異常強勁，該品牌在該產品中佔據美國市場份額第一的位置。工作是該品牌增長最快的類別，本季度增長了近 50%。Nature's Gym 是該品牌最具運動表現力的類別，其中包括針對漸進式越野跑風格的 Nova 和 Antora 系列，該類別在本季度也取得了不錯的增長。Alpine Sneaker、Juno Clog 和 Hut Moc 等新系列的成功推動了重要的生活方式品類的增長。

The brand continues to aggressively pivot to digital direct channels as evidenced by the growth of the online consumer direct business of its wholesale customers and accelerated growth for merrell.com, which was up nearly 25% in Q4. Merrell stores also performed well in the quarter with comp store sales up mid-single digits. We expect Merrell's momentum to continue into 2020.

該品牌繼續積極轉向數字直銷渠道，其批發客戶的在線消費者直銷業務的增長以及 merrell.com 的加速增長就證明了這一點，該網站在第四季度增長了近 25%。Merrell 商店在本季度也表現良好，對比商店銷售額增長了中個位數。我們預計 Merrell 的勢頭將持續到 2020 年。

Cat's increase in the quarter was driven by strong international growth in [EMEA] and Latin America regions and robust growth in the e-commerce, which grew almost 55%. The CODE collection launched in the third quarter is the brand's largest product launch ever and has been received very well by consumers. New color offerings for CODE helped fuel continued momentum and the new Arctic Grip boot program also helped drive Q4 growth for Cat.

Cat 本季度的增長得益於 [EMEA] 和拉丁美洲地區的強勁國際增長以及電子商務的強勁增長（增長了近 55%）。第三季度推出的CODE系列是該品牌有史以來最大規模的產品發布，受到了消費者的一致好評。CODE 的新顏色產品有助於推動持續增長勢頭，新的 Arctic Grip 靴子計劃也有助於推動 Cat.4 的第四季度增長。

The Wolverine brand's results were down mid-single digits in Q4, but would have been up slightly except for lower sales to a financially challenged U.S. retail customer. This was partially offset by high single digit growth in e-commerce and robust growth in the Wolverine apparel category.

Wolverine 品牌的業績在第四季度下降了中個位數，但如果不是對陷入財務困境的美國零售客戶的銷售額下降，本應略有上升。這被電子商務的高個位數增長和金剛狼服裝類別的強勁增長部分抵消。

Moving to the Wolverine Boston Group. Revenue for the Boston Group was up 1.3% compared to the prior year and up 1.5% on a constant currency basis. Sperry had a very strong boot season and delivered mid-teens growth, and Keds delivered low single-digit growth.

搬到金剛狼波士頓集團。波士頓集團的收入比上年增長 1.3%，按固定匯率計算增長 1.5%。Sperry 的靴子季表現非常強勁，實現了十幾歲左右的增長，而 Keds 則實現了較低的個位數增長。

As expected, this growth was partially offset by Saucony, which declined at a low double-digit rate due to significantly lower closeout sales.

正如預期的那樣，這一增長被索康尼部分抵消，由於清倉銷售大幅下降，索康尼以低兩位數的速度下滑。

Sperry delivered its highest quarterly growth of the year driven by increases across all channels and with 50% growth in the boot category. The brand's growth in boots outpaced the market resulting in Sperry becoming the U.S. market share leader in the rain boot category. Sperry's e-commerce business was up nearly 20% in Q4, primarily driven by increased traffic and improved conversion, as the brand continued to elevate its storytelling, product exclusives and other investments within this important channel.

在所有渠道增長的推動下，Sperry 實現了今年最高的季度增長，其中靴子類別增長了 50%。該品牌在靴子領域的增長速度超過了市場的增長速度，導致 Sperry 成為美國雨靴類別市場份額的領先者。Sperry 的電子商務業務在第四季度增長了近 20%，主要是由於流量增加和轉化率提高，該品牌繼續提升其在這一重要渠道內的故事講述、產品獨家銷售和其他投資。

Sperry store revenue was up over 60%, spurred by new stores, improved conversion and a high single-digit increase in comp store sales. We're pleased with the momentum in Sperry business and expect continued growth in 2020, driven by the John Legend partnership and new product offerings.

受新店、轉化率提高以及對比店銷售額大幅個位數增長的推動，Sperry 店收入增長了 60% 以上。我們對 Sperry 業務的發展勢頭感到滿意，並預計在 John Legend 合作夥伴關係和新產品供應的推動下，2020 年將繼續增長。

Saucony's recovery has turned the corner with Q4 growth in the brand's core technical category, up nearly 10% due to excellent consumer reaction to new performance products. This healthy growth was muted by significantly lower closeout sales related to the brand's accelerated full price performance at retail.

由於消費者對新性能產品的良好反應，索康尼的複蘇已經出現，第四季度該品牌核心技術類別的增長接近 10%。由於該品牌零售全價表現加速，清倉銷售額顯著下降，從而削弱了這種健康的增長。

Saucony's healthier mix and focus on more profitable distribution resulted in nearly a 700-basis-point improvement in gross margin in Q4. The brand also continues to benefit from very good e-commerce performance with growth of over 25% in the quarter and over 37% growth for the year. The e-commerce channel benefited from the brand's digital direct investments and increased traffic.

索康尼更健康的產品組合和對利潤更高的分銷的關注導致第四季度毛利率提高了近 700 個基點。該品牌還繼續受益於非常好的電子商務業績，本季度增長超過 25%，全年增長超過 37%。電子商務渠道受益於品牌的數字直接投資和流量增加。

During the quarter, Saucony also launched 2 new technical running shoes, the Triumph 17 and the Guide 13. Both utilize the brand's new power run midsole cushioning technology, which provides enhanced flexibility, fit, durability and energy return, while weighing 1/3 less than comparable models.

本季度，索康尼還推出了兩款新技術跑鞋：Triumph 17 和 Guide 13。兩者均採用該品牌全新的 Power Run 中底緩震技術，提供增強的靈活性、貼合性、耐用性和能量回報，同時重量比同類型號輕 1/3。

During the quarter, Saucony received several industry awards across the road and trail running product categories related to the introduction of new franchise models. Just this week, the Triumph 17 won the prestigious Editor's Choice Award from Runner's World. We are very encouraged by the momentum in the Saucony business and the incredibly strong pipeline of new performance and lifestyle products planned for 2020, where we expect to see strong double-digit growth.

本季度，索康尼因推出新的特許經營模式而在公路和越野跑產品類別中獲得了多個行業獎項。就在本週，Triumph 17 榮獲《跑步者世界》著名的編輯選擇獎。我們對 Saucony 業務的發展勢頭以及計劃於 2020 年推出的令人難以置信的強大新性能和生活方式產品系列感到非常鼓舞，我們預計將實現兩位數的強勁增長。

Turning to our growth agenda. The strong Q4 results underscore the growing effectiveness of our global growth agenda, which is focused on a faster and more innovative product creation engine, a modern consumer-driven digital-direct DTC offense and steady growth in key international markets.

轉向我們的增長議程。第四季度的強勁業績突顯了我們全球增長議程的有效性不斷增強，該議程的重點是更快、更具創新性的產品創造引擎、現代消費者驅動的數字直接DTC 進攻以及主要國際市場的穩定增長。

The 2019 second half performance of Merrell, Sperry and Saucony, up nearly 10% on a combined basis, reflects our team's excellent execution against this agenda. The investments in our owned e-commerce business helped deliver growth of over 20% across the brand portfolio for the year with a meaningful improvement in operating margin.

Merrell、Sperry 和 Saucony 2019 年下半年業績合計增長近 10%，反映了我們團隊對此議程的出色執行力。對自有電子商務業務的投資幫助我們的品牌組合今年實現了 20% 以上的增長，營業利潤率顯著提高。

Capital investments made in 2019 for new stores, the acquisition of a distributor in Italy, and in our China joint venture totaled approximately $35 million and to better position the company for future growth.

2019 年，我們為新店、收購意大利經銷商以及中國合資企業進行的資本投資總計約 3500 萬美元，以更好地為公司未來的增長做好準備。

Our global growth agenda is focused on 3 primary elements. First, market-leading product and compelling product marketing stories. In 2019, we've recruited a Chief Merchant Officer to supplement the efforts of individual brands, help lead innovation and elevate our product creation process. This new role also oversees our centers of excellence for consumer and market research and advanced innovation concepts, with an emphasis on driving deeper consumer insights, increasing our learnings from big data and enhancing our trend analysis.

我們的全球增長議程重點關註三個主要要素。首先，市場領先的產品和引人注目的產品營銷故事。2019 年，我們招聘了一位首席商務官，以補充各個品牌的努力，幫助引領創新並提升我們的產品創造流程。這一新職位還負責監督我們的消費者和市場研究以及先進創新概念卓越中心，重點是推動更深入的消費者洞察、增加我們從大數據中的學習並加強我們的趨勢分析。

We are excited by the 2020 pipeline of on-trend and innovative product offerings across our brand portfolio, which includes the Saucony Endorphin, Sperry PLUSHWAVE, Merrell Antora and Nova, Wolverine Hellcat and Chaco Chillos collections. These new products are supported by powerful marketing stories that are more prominent within our digital channels.

我們對 2020 年品牌組合中一系列流行和創新產品感到興奮，其中包括 Saucony Endorphin、Sperry PLUSHWAVE、Merrell Antora 和 Nova、Wolverine Hellcat 和 Chaco Chillos 系列。這些新產品得到了強大的營銷故事的支持，這些故事在我們的數字渠道中更為突出。

The second pillar of our growth agenda is focused on our digital-direct DTC offense. For us, this means leveraging our commercial platforms and optimizing demand creation investments across all channels distribution, especially own DTC channel.

我們增長議程的第二個支柱是我們的數字直接 DTC 進攻。對我們來說，這意味著利用我們的商業平台並優化所有分銷渠道（尤其是自有 DTC 渠道）的需求創造投資。

In today's marketplace, digital and social engagement with the consumer drives brand heat, search interest and growth. Our owned e-commerce channel, which has averaged approximately 20% growth over the last 3 years, is expected to continue to be the highest growth channel for the company over the near term and is expected to generate at least $100 million of incremental revenue over the next 2 years.

在當今的市場中，消費者的數字和社交互動推動了品牌熱度、搜索興趣和增長。我們自有的電子商務渠道在過去 3 年平均增長約 20%，預計短期內將繼續成為公司增長最快的渠道，預計將在 2019 年創造至少 1 億美元的增量收入。未來2年。

Our efforts related to digital content creation will also help drive online growth with pure play e-tailers and our traditional customers who have also experienced accelerated growth in their digital direct channel.

我們在數字內容創建方面的努力也將有助於推動純電子零售商和傳統客戶的在線增長，他們的數字直接渠道也經歷了加速增長。

Finally, the third pillar of our global growth agenda is focused on international expansion. We have a long track record of driving brand success and growth on a global basis through a variety of business models. Today, about 34% of our global revenue is generated outside the U.S. and over 50% of our pairs are sold outside the U.S. We will continue to partner with our current international distributors to drive growth, but we'll also focus on exercising more direct control over select global markets to enhance the global reach and pull of our brands.

最後，我們全球增長議程的第三個支柱是國際擴張。我們在通過各種商業模式在全球範圍內推動品牌成功和增長方面擁有悠久的歷史記錄。如今，我們約 34% 的全球收入來自美國境外，超過 50% 的鞋子銷往美國境外。我們將繼續與現有的國際分銷商合作以推動增長，但我們也將專注於更直接地開展業務控制選定的全球市場，以增強我們品牌的全球影響力和吸引力。

We believe that our international business will add $150 million of incremental revenue over the next 2 years. The foundation we built over the last several years to drive the business has never been better. We own one of the strongest brand portfolios in the footwear industry and have an efficient operating platform and sufficient scale to drive innovation and speed. We have a strong balance sheet and a profitable operating model that provides us with the flexibility to invest in growth while creating value for our shareholders.

我們相信，我們的國際業務將在未來 2 年內增加 1.5 億美元的增量收入。我們在過去幾年中為推動業務發展奠定了前所未有的基礎。我們擁有鞋業最強大的品牌組合之一，並擁有高效的運營平台和足夠的規模來推動創新和速度。我們擁有強大的資產負債表和盈利的運營模式，使我們能夠靈活地投資增長，同時為股東創造價值。

Let me spend a few minutes providing our current view of the dynamic coronavirus situation. Our first priority is the safety and well-being of our employees and partners in China. And we are making every effort to support them. From a business standpoint, we separate the emerging impacts of the coronavirus into 2 buckets: revenue and supply chain.

讓我花幾分鐘時間介紹一下我們對冠狀病毒動態形勢的當前看法。我們的首要任務是我們在中國的員工和合作夥伴的安全和福祉。我們正在盡一切努力支持他們。從商業角度來看，我們將冠狀病毒的新影響分為兩類：收入和供應鏈。

As it relates to revenue, while the China market is a significant unlock in our international growth strategy, we are still in the early stages of development to generate in-country revenue. And our estimated revenue exposure from China is relatively insignificant, less than 2% of our total 2020 revenue is planned to come from China. The broader Asia Pacific region represents less than 10% of our global revenue, and we know that very low retail traffic in China and other markets, coupled with reduced tourism activity in the region will likely have a meaningful impact on certain countries in the short term.

就收入而言，雖然中國市場是我們國際增長戰略的重要釋放點，但我們仍處於創造國內收入的早期發展階段。我們預計來自中國的收入相對較小，計劃來自中國的收入占我們 2020 年總收入的不到 2%。更廣泛的亞太地區占我們全球收入的不到 10%，我們知道中國和其他市場的零售流量非常低，加上該地區旅遊活動的減少可能會在短期內對某些國家產生重大影響。

We have also assessed the global supply chain implications for products produced in China and nearby countries. We are fortunate to have greatly reduced our reliance on China's sourcing over the last 5 years. However, we expect some production delays from China factories and a potential slowdown in the supply of some raw materials sold by China vendors to manufacturers outside of China. This is being closely monitored, but will be difficult to quantify until our factory partners have more clarity on the return of workers from Chinese New Year.

我們還評估了中國及周邊國家生產的產品對全球供應鏈的影響。我們很幸運，在過去五年里大大減少了對中國採購的依賴。然而，我們預計中國工廠的生產會出現一些延遲，並且中國供應商向中國境外製造商出售的一些原材料的供應可能會放緩。我們正在密切監測這一情況，但在我們的工廠合作夥伴更清楚地了解農曆新年工人返回情況之前，很難量化。

So far, the return rate of workers to factories has been better-than-expected and is not expected to have a material impact on production in Q1. None of our factories are in the Wuhan region.

目前來看，工人復工率好於預期，預計不會對第一季度的生產產生實質性影響。我們的工廠都不在武漢地區。

Mike Stornant will provide more details on how this situation could impact our financial results and the flow of revenue growth in the first half of the year. We currently estimate that the first half revenue impact could be up to $30 million, and the first half profit impact could be up to $10 million. While this impact is relatively insignificant compared to the overall size of our business, this remains a very fluid situation.

邁克·斯托南特（Mike Stornant）將提供有關這種情況如何影響我們上半年的財務業績和收入增長流程的更多詳細信息。我們目前估計上半年收入影響可能高達 3000 萬美元，上半年利潤影響可能高達 1000 萬美元。雖然與我們業務的整體規模相比，這種影響相對較小，但這仍然是一個非常不穩定的情況。

We will continue to work closely with our international teams and sourcing partners to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus, but recognize the situation is fairly dynamic and subject to change.

我們將繼續與我們的國際團隊和採購合作夥伴密切合作，以減輕冠狀病毒的影響，但我們認識到情況是相當動態的，並且可能會發生變化。

In summary, we are very pleased with the momentum and performance of our brands in the fourth quarter and our strong finish to the year. We are confident in the strength and diversification of our brand portfolio, and most importantly, we're seeing positive results related to the implementation of our global growth agenda.

總而言之，我們對我們品牌第四季度的勢頭和表現以及今年的強勁收官感到非常滿意。我們對我們品牌組合的實力和多元化充滿信心，最重要的是，我們看到了與實施全球增長議程相關的積極成果。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Mike Stornant, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, who'll provide additional commentary on our fourth quarter and full year financial performance along with the initial outlook for 2020. Mike?

現在，我將把電話轉給我們的高級副總裁兼首席財務官 Mike Stornant，他將對我們第四季度和全年的財務業績以及 2020 年的初步展望提供更多評論。麥克風？

Thanks, Blake, and thank you all for joining us. We're very pleased with fourth quarter growth of 5%, especially in light of relatively weak U.S. retail conditions, the impact of 1 key work boot customer and some delivery delays for our international business late in the quarter.

謝謝布萊克，也感謝大家加入我們。我們對第四季度 5% 的增長感到非常滿意，特別是考慮到美國零售狀況相對疲弱、一位關鍵工作靴客戶的影響以及本季度末我們國際業務的一些交付延遲。

Our diverse portfolio, broad geographic reach and multiple distribution channels allowed us to deliver a strong quarter. As Blake noted in his comments, our 2 largest brands delivered mid-teens growth. Our own DTC businesses grew nearly 25% and our international businesses grew over 10%. Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 37.8% was lower-than-expected entering the quarter. This was due mostly to higher-than-expected closeout sales and retail promotional activity during the holiday season, which helped us to reduce our inventory and improve inventory positions at most retail channels. A shift in mix across brands and regions coupled with FX trends also negatively impacted the quarter's gross margin. We did see nice gross margin expansion for Saucony, e-commerce and stores. Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses of $168.1 million (sic) [$168.6 million] were significantly lower-than-expected despite a higher year-over-year increase in advertising to support DTC growth and our new business in Italy.

我們多樣化的產品組合、廣泛的地理覆蓋範圍和多種分銷渠道使我們能夠實現強勁的季度業績。正如布萊克在評論中指出的那樣，我們的兩個最大品牌實現了十幾歲左右的增長。我們自己的 DTC 業務增長了近 25%，我們的國際業務增長了 10% 以上。第四季度毛利率為 37.8%，低於進入季度的預期。這主要是由於節日期間的清倉銷售和零售促銷活動高於預期，這幫助我們減少了庫存並改善了大多數零售渠道的庫存狀況。跨品牌和地區的組合變化以及外匯趨勢也對該季度的毛利率產生了負面影響。我們確實看到索康尼、電子商務和商店的毛利率都有不錯的增長。儘管為支持DTC 增長和我們在意大利的新業務而進行的廣告同比增幅較高，但調整後的銷售、一般和管理費用為1.681 億美元（原文如此）[1.686 億美元]，仍顯著低於預期。

The lower quarterly expense structure was a result of disciplined expense management and lower year-over-year incentive compensation costs. As a result of these factors, adjusted operating margin was 10.1% in the quarter. The adjusted effective tax rate was 8.7% versus 11.8% in the prior year and benefited mostly from lower state income tax expense and other discrete items.

較低的季度費用結構是嚴格的費用管理和較低的同比激勵薪酬成本的結果。由於這些因素，本季度調整後的營業利潤率為 10.1%。調整後的有效稅率為 8.7%，而上一年為 11.8%，主要受益於國家所得稅費用和其他離散項目的降低。

Fourth quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.59, a record for the fourth quarter. During Q4, the company resolved 2 meaningful litigation matters related to its legacy tannery operations. Net cost of $58 million were recorded in Q4 related to settlements with the state of Michigan, 2 local townships and the 3M company.

第四季度調整後攤薄每股收益為 0.59 美元，創第四季度紀錄。第四季度，該公司解決了兩起與其遺留制革業務相關的有意義的訴訟事項。第四季度與密歇根州、兩個當地鄉鎮和 3M 公司的和解相關的淨成本為 5800 萬美元。

The reported loss per share was $0.01 and includes the settlement costs and other nonrecurring items. For the full year, revenue of $2.27 billion represented constant currency growth of 2.3%. Full year adjusted operating margin was 11.5%. Net interest and other expenses for the year were $25.1 million and the adjusted effective tax rate was 15.7%.

報告的每股虧損為 0.01 美元，包括結算費用和其他非經常性項目。全年收入為 22.7 億美元，按固定匯率計算增長 2.3%。全年調整後營業利潤率為 11.5%。本年度淨利息和其他費用為 2510 萬美元，調整後的有效稅率為 15.7%。

Full year adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.25, a record result for the company. Our full year reported earnings per share were $1.44 reflecting the litigation settlements noted above and other one-time charges. Our operating model has consistently generated healthy cash flows and in 2019, we generated over $220 million of operating cash flow, which includes $35 million of cash spent on legacy environmental matters.

全年調整後攤薄每股收益為 2.25 美元，創下該公司的創紀錄業績。我們全年報告的每股收益為 1.44 美元，反映了上述訴訟和解和其他一次性費用。我們的運營模式始終產生健康的現金流，2019 年，我們產生了超過 2.2 億美元的運營現金流，其中包括用於遺留環境問題的 3500 萬美元現金。

Given our strong balance sheet and further cash generation, we continued to invest in organic growth throughout the year, which directly benefited our accelerating DTC businesses and momentum of our biggest brands.

鑑於我們強勁的資產負債表和進一步的現金生成，我們全年繼續投資於有機增長，這直接有利於我們不斷加速的 DTC 業務和我們最大品牌的勢頭。

Now let's turn to the balance sheet. As discussed in prior quarters, we built up our inventory position throughout the year to mitigate the impact of potential new tariffs, support our new Saucony Italy business and stock our new stores for the holiday season. Strong growth in the fourth quarter, coupled with proactive closeout liquidations, allowed us to reduce inventories down to normalized levels. As expected, inventory was up less than 10% over the prior year, but up only 5% when adjusting for the impact of new stores, the new Italy business and the incremental cost of higher tariffs. This improved inventory position helped contribute to strong cash generation in the quarter and also reduces our markdown exposure in 2020.

現在讓我們轉向資產負債表。正如前幾個季度所討論的，我們全年都建立了庫存頭寸，以減輕潛在新關稅的影響，支持我們新的索康尼意大利業務，並為假期季節的新商店儲備庫存。第四季度的強勁增長，加上積極的清倉清算，使我們能夠將庫存減少到正常水平。正如預期，庫存比上年增長不到 10%，但在調整新店、意大利新業務以及關稅上漲的增量成本的影響後，庫存僅增長 5%。庫存狀況的改善有助於本季度強勁的現金生成，並減少了 2020 年的降價風險。

We ended the year with net debt just under $618 million, which was up versus last year as we strategically deployed capital to enhance shareholder value, including $320 million of opportunistic share repurchases, $34 million in dividends paid to shareholders and $35 million of strategic capital investments to drive growth.

年底，我們的淨債務略低於6.18 億美元，與去年相比有所增加，因為我們戰略性地部署資本以提高股東價值，其中包括3.2 億美元的機會性股票回購、向股東支付的股息3,400 萬美元以及3,500 萬美元的戰略資本投資推動增長。

At the end of 2019, our bank-defined leverage ratio was 2.05x, down nicely from the previous quarter. Total liquidity was approximately $1.3 billion. The company has significant flexibility to execute future actions to drive total shareholder return and we expect that our leverage ratio will improve throughout 2020.

2019 年底，我們的銀行定義槓桿率為 2.05 倍，較上季度大幅下降。總流動資金約為 13 億美元。該公司具有很大的靈活性來執行未來的行動，以推動股東總回報，我們預計我們的槓桿率將在 2020 年全年得到改善。

We are encouraged by the strong finish to 2019, with resulting accelerated revenue growth, very good earnings leverage, strong cash flow and a healthy balance sheet.

我們對 2019 年的強勁業績感到鼓舞，收入加速增長，盈利槓桿非常好，現金流強勁，資產負債表健康。

Now let me shift to our 2020 outlook, including the estimated impact from 2 important topics, China tariffs and the current coronavirus health crisis.

現在讓我談談 2020 年的展望，包括中國關稅和當前的冠狀病毒健康危機這兩個重要主題的估計影響。

Despite some positive U.S.-China trade negotiations in Q4, the footwear industry will still incur significant new tariff costs on U.S. imports from China during 2020. Less than 20% of our U.S. imports will be sourced from China in 2020. And our transition of production to other source countries remains on schedule. Despite our proactive efforts, we still expect to incur about $15 million in incremental costs associated with this trade dispute, including $12 million of incremental tariff expense and $3 million of discrete China migration costs. This 2020 cost includes about $5 million related to incremental tariffs that were incurred on product at the initially higher 15% rate in 2019, but won't be expensed until this inventory is sold in Q1 of 2020. Our sourcing teams continue to work on initiatives to minimize these costs, while our brands have selectively implemented price increases throughout the year.

儘管中美貿易談判在第四季度取得了一些積極成果，但 2020 年製鞋業仍將因美國從中國進口的產品而遭受巨額新關稅成本。到 2020 年，我們從中國進口的美國進口商品中將有不到 20%。我們的生產向其他來源國的轉移仍在按計劃進行。儘管我們積極努力，但我們仍預計會因這場貿易爭端而產生約 1500 萬美元的增量成本，其中包括 1200 萬美元的增量關稅費用和 300 萬美元的離散中國移民成本。2020 年的成本包括約 500 萬美元，與 2019 年最初按 15% 的較高稅率對產品產生的增量關稅相關，但在 2020 年第一季度銷售該庫存之前不會支出。我們的採購團隊繼續致力於最大限度地降低這些成本，而我們的品牌則全年有選擇地實施漲價。

As Blake noted, the coronavirus health crisis is a developing situation, reduced reliance on China sourcing and relatively small commercial exposure to the China market will help limit our direct risk related to this issue. Our healthy inventory position on core products should also help to mitigate the near-term exposure, especially for our wholesale and own DTC channels. However, this is a dynamic situation and the future implications are difficult to fully measure, especially beyond the first half of the year.

正如布萊克指出的那樣，冠狀病毒健康危機是一個正在發展的情況，減少對中國採購的依賴以及對中國市場相對較小的商業敞口將有助於限制我們與這一問題相關的直接風險。我們在核心產品上的健康庫存狀況也應該有助於減輕短期風險，特別是對於我們的批發和自有 DTC 渠道。然而，這是一個動態的情況，未來的影響很難完全衡量，尤其是在今年上半年之後。

The present estimated impact on first half revenue of $30 million and pretax profit of $10 million is incorporated into our full year outlook, which I will cover now. The strategic investments made in 2019 bode well for our global business moving forward. These drove progress in key areas, including accelerated momentum for our largest brands in the back half of the year and strong full year performance in DTC businesses. The key regional investments made in Europe and China will support ongoing international growth. We're well positioned for the future and we have refined and prioritized investments focused on the key pillars of our global growth agenda. We have a midterm goal to grow our own DTC businesses to 30% of global revenue as we continue to leverage the investments made in our e-commerce platform and mono-brand stores. We are also committed to annual double-digit growth from our international businesses over the midterm, as we leverage investments in Europe and Asia Pacific and look to other markets for further expansion.

目前對上半年收入 3000 萬美元和稅前利潤 1000 萬美元的估計影響已納入我們的全年展望中，我現在將對此進行介紹。2019年的戰略投資對我們全球業務的發展來說是個好兆頭。這些推動了關鍵領域的進展，包括下半年我們最大品牌的加速發展以及 DTC 業務全年的強勁表現。在歐洲和中國進行的關鍵區域投資將支持持續的國際增長。我們為未來做好了充分準備，並針對全球增長議程的關鍵支柱進行了完善和優先化的投資。我們的中期目標是，隨著我們繼續利用對電子商務平台和單一品牌商店的投資，我們自己的 DTC 業務將佔全球收入的 30%。我們還致力於在中期實現國際業務的年度兩位數增長，因為我們利用在歐洲和亞太地區的投資，並尋求其他市場的進一步擴張。

We will prioritize our biggest brands and expect to see consistent growth from Merrell and Sperry and a much stronger growth path for Saucony as the brand accelerates its recovery. While the prospects for growth in 2020 are very promising, our outlook is tempered by first half headwinds from the coronavirus situation and some continued softness in the U.S. wholesale channel. We expect 2020 reported revenue to be in the range of $2.29 billion to $2.34 billion, including $30 million of negative first half impact from the coronavirus and $10 million in negative impact from foreign currency.

我們將優先考慮我們最大的品牌，並期望看到 Merrell 和 Sperry 的持續增長，以及 Saucony 隨著品牌加速復蘇而走上更強勁的增長道路。儘管 2020 年的增長前景非常樂觀，但我們的前景受到上半年冠狀病毒形勢的不利因素以及美國批發渠道持續疲軟的影響。我們預計 2020 年報告收入將在 22.9 億美元至 23.4 億美元之間，其中包括上半年冠狀病毒帶來的 3000 萬美元的負面影響和外匯帶來的 1000 萬美元的負面影響。

This represents constant currency growth of nearly 3.5% at the top end of the range. The most prominent growth drivers for 2020 include, 20% growth from our global DTC business, 5% to 10% growth from our international markets despite the negative coronavirus implications and 4% to 8% combined growth from our 3 largest brands, Merrell, Sperry and Saucony, supported by a very strong global recovery from Saucony.

這意味著貨幣在該範圍的頂端保持近 3.5% 的持續增長。2020 年最突出的增長動力包括：我們的全球DTC 業務增長20%；儘管受到冠狀病毒的負面影響，國際市場仍實現5% 至10% 的增長；以及我們3 個最大品牌Merrell、Sperry 的綜合增長4% 至8%和索康尼，受到索康尼全球強勁復甦的支持。

Gross margin is expected to be approximately 41%, up 40 basis points versus last year. Strong improvement despite approximately $30 million of cost headwinds from 3 key areas including $15 million of incremental costs related to higher tariffs and China migration costs, $10 million related to foreign currency and $5 million related to a significant increase in ocean freight surcharges.

毛利率預計約為41%，比去年提高40個基點。儘管來自3 個關鍵領域的約3000 萬美元的成本阻力，包括與關稅上漲和中國移民成本相關的1500 萬美元的增量成本、與外匯相關的1000 萬美元以及與海運費附加費大幅增加相關的500 萬美元，但仍取得了強勁的改善。

We plan to offset these headwinds with lower negotiated product costs and strategic price increases that will be most prominent starting in June of this year. Total adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue are expected to be roughly flat to up slightly compared to the prior year. This includes over $20 million of increased costs related to incentive comp and employee benefit costs and nearly $20 million in additional costs related to new stores, the full operation of our Saucony Italy business and ongoing investment in our China joint venture.

我們計劃通過降低協商產品成本和戰略性提價來抵消這些不利因素，這將從今年 6 月開始最為突出。調整後的銷售、一般和管理費用總額佔收入的百分比預計與上年相比大致持平或略有上升。其中包括與激勵補償和員工福利成本相關的超過 2000 萬美元的增加成本，以及與新店、索康尼意大利業務的全面運營以及對中國合資企業的持續投資相關的近 2000 萬美元的額外成本。

We will also increase investment in our global e-commerce platform. Adjusted operating margin is expected to be approximately 12%, representing a 50 basis point improvement over last year. Reported operating margin is expected to be approximately 11%, including and an estimated $15 million for legal and consulting cost to manage the company's legacy environmental matter.

我們還將增加對全球電子商務平台的投資。調整後的營業利潤率預計約為 12%，比去年提高 50 個基點。報告的營業利潤預計約為 11%，其中包括估計 1500 萬美元的法律和諮詢費用，用於管理公司遺留的環境問題。

We expect 2020 net interest and other expenses of approximately $31 million. The effective tax rate is expected to increase to approximately 19%, and diluted weighted average shares outstanding are projected to be approximately 82.5 million shares.

我們預計 2020 年淨利息和其他費用約為 3100 萬美元。有效稅率預計將增至約19%，稀釋後加權平均流通股預計將約為8250萬股。

The ratio of net earnings available for EPS is expected to be 98%. Full year 2020 adjusted diluted earnings per share are expected in the range of $2.25 to $2.40, 6.5% growth at the top end of the range, which represents strong leverage on planned revenue growth. Excluding approximately $0.10 from FX and $0.10 from the coronavirus impact, full year adjusted diluted EPS would be projected in the range of $2.45 to $2.60 or growth of 15.5% at the top end of the range. Reported diluted earnings per share are expected in the range of $2.05 to $2.20. Our balance sheet position is very good entering the new year, and we expect another strong year of cash generation in 2020. Operating cash flow is projected to be approximately $240 million, up from $220 million in 2019.

預計可用於每股收益的淨利潤比例為98%。2020 年全年調整後攤薄每股收益預計在 2.25 美元至 2.40 美元之間，該範圍上限增長 6.5%，這對計劃收入增長具有強大的槓桿作用。排除約 0.10 美元的外匯影響和 0.10 美元的冠狀病毒影響，預計全年調整後攤薄每股收益將在 2.45 美元至 2.60 美元之間，或在該範圍的上限增長 15.5%。報告的稀釋後每股收益預計在 2.05 美元至 2.20 美元之間。進入新的一年，我們的資產負債表狀況非常好，我們預計 2020 年將是現金產生強勁的一年。運營現金流預計約為 2.4 億美元，高於 2019 年的 2.2 億美元。

Based on the recent litigation settlements noted above, we've included an information table on our website covering related multiyear cash flow projections. In 2020, we expect a positive cash impact of approximately $13.5 million related to these settlements. We expect our bank-defined leverage ratio to be under 2x at the end of the year. Capital expenditures are expected to range between $30 million and $35 million, with depreciation and amortization forecasted to be approximately $34 million.

根據上述最近的訴訟和解，我們在我們的網站上提供了一份信息表，涵蓋相關的多年現金流預測。2020 年，我們預計與這些和解相關的積極現金影響約為 1,350 萬美元。我們預計到今年年底，銀行規定的槓桿率將低於 2 倍。資本支出預計在 3000 萬至 3500 萬美元之間，折舊和攤銷預計約為 3400 萬美元。

Before we conclude, let me update you on our outlook for Q1. Solid mid-single digit combined performance from Merrell, Sperry and Saucony will once again be the highlight of the quarter, supported by 20% growth from our own DTC businesses. However, the impact from coronavirus will result in flat Q1 revenue for our international business.

在結束之前，讓我向您介紹我們對第一季度的最新展望。Merrell、Sperry 和 Saucony 穩健的中個位數綜合業績將再次成為本季度的亮點，這得益於我們自己的 DTC 業務 20% 的增長。然而，冠狀病毒的影響將導致我們的國際業務第一季度收入持平。

In addition, some of the Q4 softness in the U.S. retail market has continued into Q1. As a result, we expect revenue in the quarter to be approximately $500 million, including an estimated $15 million of direct impact from the coronavirus health crisis. We expect gross margin of approximately 41% and operating margin of approximately 8%. First quarter earnings per share are expected to be $0.30 to $0.32. This reflects certain headwinds that will moderate in future quarters, including $0.05 from the coronavirus health issue, $0.05 from higher tariffs, $0.03 from higher incentive compensation and employee benefit costs and $0.03 from FX. Our revenue outlook for Q2 is much stronger, and we are projecting mid-single digit growth after factoring in the coronavirus impact of approximately $15 million.

此外，美國零售市場第四季度的疲軟狀態也延續到了第一季度。因此，我們預計該季度的收入約為 5 億美元，其中包括冠狀病毒健康危機帶來的約 1500 萬美元的直接影響。我們預計毛利率約為 41%，營業利潤率約為 8%。第一季度每股收益預計為 0.30 至 0.32 美元。這反映出未來幾個季度將減弱的某些不利因素，包括冠狀病毒健康問題帶來的0.05 美元、關稅上漲帶來的0.05 美元、激勵薪酬和員工福利成本增加帶來的0.03 美元以及外匯帶來的0.03 美元。我們對第二季度的收入前景更加樂觀，在考慮到冠狀病毒約 1500 萬美元的影響後，我們預計將實現中個位數增長。

In closing, I want to emphasize that growth continues to be our primary focus and our leadership team remains incredibly focused on executing the initiatives and activities that will allow us to accelerate that growth. The progress we are seeing within our largest brands and our DTC and international platforms is evidence that the model is working. We will continue to be disciplined in managing the operating cost of the business and working capital which will position the company well as we further execute on our global growth agenda, leading to earnings leverage and increased cash flow generation.

最後，我想強調，增長仍然是我們的首要關注點，我們的領導團隊仍然非常專注於執行將使我們能夠加速增長的舉措和活動。我們在最大的品牌、DTC 和國際平台上看到的進展證明了該模式正在發揮作用。我們將繼續嚴格管理業務運營成本和營運資金，這將使公司在我們進一步執行全球增長議程時處於有利地位，從而提高盈利槓桿並增加現金流量的產生。

Thanks for your time this morning. And we will now turn the call back over to the operator.

感謝您今天早上抽出時間。現在我們將把電話轉回接線員。

(Operator Instructions) Our first questions come from the line of Jim Duffy with Stifel.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Jim Duffy 和 Stifel 的線路。

A couple of questions for me. Mike, to start, looking forward to comparisons in the fourth quarter of '20, can you speak in more detail around the specifics of gross margin pressure during the fourth quarter. You had strength in direct-to-consumer and international, which I would think would be a benefit. How much tariff impact did you see in the quarter? And can you size the impact of the clearance and promotional support?

有幾個問題問我。邁克，首先，期待 20 年第四季度的比較，您能否更詳細地談談第四季度毛利率壓力的具體情況。你們在直接面向消費者和國際化方面擁有優勢，我認為這將是一個好處。您在本季度看到關稅影響有多大？您能否衡量清倉和促銷支持的影響？

Yes, most of the downside in margin in Q4, Jim, was really driven from the closeout pressures that we saw in the business. As you know, we entered the quarter with inventories kind of at an elevated level for a lot of reasons cited earlier. We felt like we needed to take advantage of the quarter to move through that inventory, especially on any seasonal items that we would have had to clean the pipeline for 2020. I would say that we had strong at-once performance early in the quarter, and that sort of deteriorated as we got closer to the holiday season. And as we saw that demand start to decline, we emphasized the closeout channel and moved through the inventory. So positions us really well for first quarter margin improvement. And in terms of markdown exposure at retail, we think we've limited that by adjusting and reserving for that in the fourth quarter. So most of the impact in the quarter was related to that. There was some tariff and FX impact in Q4. It was a couple of million dollars on both of those items that we experienced in the quarter. And as it relates to 2020, we would expect less pressure on the closeout side and certainly on the promotional side, as we think about Q4 margins for 2020.

是的，吉姆，第四季度利潤率的大部分下降實際上是由我們在業務中看到的平倉壓力造成的。如您所知，由於前面提到的許多原因，我們進入本季度時庫存處於較高水平。我們覺得我們需要利用本季度的機會來清理庫存，特別是對於我們必須在 2020 年清理管道的任何季節性商品。我想說的是，我們在本季度初的表現一度強勁，但隨著假期的臨近，這種表現有所惡化。當我們看到需求開始下降時，我們強調了清倉渠道並清理庫存。因此，我們對於第一季度利潤率的改善非常有利。就零售降價風險而言，我們認為我們通過在第四季度進行調整和預留來限制這種情況。因此，本季度的大部分影響都與此有關。第四季度存在一些關稅和外匯影響。我們在本季度經歷的這兩項項目花費了幾百萬美元。就 2020 年而言，我們預計清倉方面以及促銷方面的壓力會較小，因為我們考慮 2020 年第四季度的利潤率。

And then as it relates to the SG&A guidance, you spoke to incremental expenses, $20 million in incentive comp, $20 million incremental for stores. Where are the areas where you're finding savings to hold the SG&A flat as a percent of revenue in the guide?

然後，由於與 SG&A 指導相關，您談到了增量支出、2000 萬美元的激勵補償、2000 萬美元的商店增量。您在哪些領域尋求節省，以保持指南中的 SG&A 佔收入的百分比不變？

Yes, some of the organizational changes and just areas of focus for us in the back half of 2019 were really on continuing to look for efficiency within the SG&A category of spend for the company. I think we've been successful at being able to do that. I'm really pleased though that we haven't really suffered in terms of the advertising or demand creation investments that we've made. We talked about $40 million invested in growth initiatives in our original plan for 2019, and we were able to spend about $38 million of that in the full year. So we really were able to find savings or improvements in other discretionary areas without impacting the investments that we were committed to for demand creation and growth. Especially on the e-commerce side, Jim, and as we got more momentum within the international platform as well. So -- but we are -- as you know, we continue to look at our cost structure globally. We have a complicated organization. And we -- I think we've done a good job of continuing to look for efficiencies there over the course of the last 6 to 9 months.

是的，2019 年下半年的一些組織變革和我們關注的重點領域實際上是繼續尋求公司 SG&A 支出類別的效率。我認為我們已經成功地做到了這一點。我真的很高興，儘管我們在廣告或需求創造投資方面並沒有真正受到影響。我們在 2019 年的最初計劃中談到了在增長計劃上投資了 4000 萬美元，全年我們能夠支出其中約 3800 萬美元。因此，我們確實能夠在其他可自由支配的領域找到節省或改進的方法，而不會影響我們致力於創造和增長需求的投資。尤其是在電子商務方面，吉姆，我們在國際平台上也獲得了更多動力。所以——但我們——如你所知，我們繼續在全球範圍內審視我們的成本結構。我們有一個複雜的組織。我認為，在過去 6 到 9 個月的時間裡，我們在繼續提高效率方面做得很好。

Our next questions come from the line of Jonathan Komp of Baird & Co.

我們的下一個問題來自貝爾德公司 (Baird & Co) 的喬納森·康普 (Jonathan Komp)。

Maybe first, Mike, just a clarification. I think in the prior response on gross margin, you talked about being well positioned for the first quarter. I just wanted to make sure I heard that correctly since it looks like you're guiding down gross margins, so maybe there's some mix or other impacts going on?

邁克，也許首先需要澄清一下。我認為在之前關於毛利率的回應中，您談到了第一季度的良好定位。我只是想確保我聽到的是正確的，因為看起來你們正在降低毛利率，所以也許存在一些混合或其他影響？

Yes. No, I think for -- in terms of the improvement on -- from Q4 to Q1, though, I think we're going to get more into a normalized level of gross margin for Q1, Jon. The big impact for us in the first quarter is sort of the carryover of the higher tariff costs in Q1 that will be related to the inventory that we bought in the latter part of 2019. Some of that was purchased at the higher tariff rate of 15%. As you know, that didn't get adjusted down until December. So we've got a little bit of a timing issue there for Q1. But if you separate out the tariff impact from the first quarter, our mix is healthy. We're going to see -- continue to see strong margins from our DTC business, and then Saucony, which is going to be our biggest brand in terms of growth in Q1, we'll continue to improve their gross margin in Q1 as well. So really, I think, for Q1, it's a little bit of FX and tariffs that are modestly impacting the margin expansion. But otherwise, we feel like we'll get back to normal.

是的。不，我認為，就從第四季度到第一季度的改善而言，我認為我們將更多地關注第一季度毛利率的標準化水平，喬恩。第一季度對我們的重大影響是第一季度較高關稅成本的結轉，這將與我們在 2019 年下半年購買的庫存有關。其中一些是按 15% 的較高關稅購買的。如您所知，直到 12 月才進行調整。因此，我們在第一季度遇到了一些時間問題。但如果你將關稅影響與第一季度分開，我們的組合是健康的。我們將繼續看到 DTC 業務的強勁利潤率，然後 Saucony 將成為我們第一季度增長最大的品牌，我們也將繼續提高第一季度的毛利率。因此，我認為，對於第一季度來說，確實有一點外彙和關稅對利潤率擴張產生了適度影響。但除此之外，我們感覺我們會恢復正常。

As we think about the back half of the year in gross margins and sort of stronger gross margin performance in maybe Q3 and Q4, it will really be off the benefit of those tariff costs moderating a bit from a comparative standpoint, and we won't start really seeing the true benefit from price increases until June or so. So the combination of that and the -- also the stronger mix as our DTC business continues to accelerate throughout the year. Those will be the factors that will allow us to see gross margin expansion strengthen in the back half of the year.

當我們考慮今年下半年的毛利率以及第三季度和第四季度的毛利率表現時，從比較的角度來看，這確實會受益於關稅成本略有下降，我們不會直到六月左右才開始真正看到價格上漲的真正好處。因此，隨著我們的 DTC 業務全年持續加速，這兩者的結合也是更強大的組合。這些因素將使我們在今年下半年看到毛利率擴張加強。

Okay, great. That's helpful. And then maybe a bigger picture, just kind of the state of the business in terms of where you expect it to be from the global growth agenda. And when you look at 2020 as a whole, just curious kind of where you stand across the brands in terms of driving growth? I know 4.5% kind of at the top end, adjusted for some of the factors, is getting back to mid-single-digit growth, but just curious how you're viewing the state of the business relative to where you expect it to be growing?

好的，太好了。這很有幫助。然後也許是一個更大的圖景，就是你期望它在全球增長議程中所處的位置的業務狀況。當您縱觀 2020 年整體時，您只是好奇在推動增長方面您在各個品牌中處於什麼位置？我知道 4.5% 的上限，根據一些因素進行調整後，正在回到中等個位數增長，但只是好奇你如何看待相對於你預期的業務狀況生長？

Yes, I think we're -- Jon, I think we're in a pretty good place, setting aside coronavirus for the moment. We had balanced growth in 2019 across the region. We actually grew in every region in Q4 and every region for the year. We expect a little more volatility in that this year depending on where the coronavirus takes us. I would say that with respect to consumer sentiment that remains fairly positive, we're seeing a little bit of a decrease in GDP growth across the world. In the U.S., I think the consumer volatility remains. There continues to be a shift to online, a shift to mobile. People seem to be making a fewer -- a few less trips to the malls, to stores. But we see a pretty balanced approach to 2020. With respect to our brands, we expect Saucony simply to have a blockbuster year. In 2020, we expect Merrell to be up mid-single digits to high single digits, and we expect mid-single-digit growth from Sperry. So good all-round performance by our biggest brands for sure. I would also say we expect pretty good performance from our DTC business. We had our store comp growth that really started in Q4 than Q3, has continued into this year as long as -- as well as our e-com growth. I think e-com growth year-to-date in 2020 and store comps are up over twice that of the industry as a whole. So we feel pretty positive there.

是的，我認為我們——喬恩，我認為我們處於一個非常好的位置，暫時將冠狀病毒放在一邊。2019 年，我們在整個地區實現了均衡增長。事實上，我們在第四季度的每個地區以及今年的每個地區都實現了增長。我們預計今年的波動性會更大一些，具體取決于冠狀病毒對我們的影響。我想說的是，就消費者信心仍然相當積極而言，我們看到全球 GDP 增長略有下降。在美國，我認為消費者的波動仍然存在。繼續向在線、移動設備轉移。人們似乎減少了去購物中心、商店的次數。但我們認為 2020 年將採取相當平衡的方式。就我們的品牌而言，我們預計索康尼將迎來一個轟動的一年。2020 年，我們預計 Merrell 的業績將實現中個位數到高個位數的增長，我們預計 Sperry 的業績將實現中個位數的增長。我們最大的品牌肯定會有如此出色的全面表現。我還想說，我們預計 DTC 業務會有相當好的表現。我們的商店業績增長從第四季度開始，比第三季度真正開始，一直持續到今年——以及我們的電子商務增長。我認為 2020 年迄今為止，電子商務和商店的增長率是整個行業的兩倍以上。所以我們在那裡感覺非常積極。

Okay, great. And maybe just lastly, quickly on coronavirus. Just curious if you're willing to share any detail on kind of the current delays or number of days, you're getting quoted by some of your factories and just how to think about the key windows over the next weeks or months going forward? And also if any of the specific brands are concentrated more or less in China, that would be helpful.

好的，太好了。也許最後，很快就冠狀病毒了。只是好奇您是否願意分享有關當前延誤或天數的任何詳細信息，您的一些工廠對您的報價，以及如何考慮未來幾週或幾個月的關鍵窗口？而且，如果任何特定品牌或多或少集中在中國，那也會有所幫助。

Yes. I mean, we don't really -- on the supply chain side, we really don't see an impact in Q1. People took off for Chinese New Year, it's almost 20% of our imports in any event from China into the U.S. or globally. So people seem to be returning from Chinese New Year. China government has been very aggressive here and that seems to be paying dividends. Most of our factories are -- and most of our key product lines are dual sourced, few remain in China, but most of them are outside of China. As we look to Q2 and beyond, we're trying to anticipate the impact right now, and we're working on some raw material substitutions in the event the coronavirus situation continues to accelerate. But on the supply chain side, not much of an impact in the first half.

是的。我的意思是，在供應鏈方面，我們確實沒有看到第一季度受到影響。人們紛紛出發過農曆新年，無論如何，這幾乎占我們從中國進口到美國或全球的 20%。看來人們已經從農曆新年回來了。中國政府在這方面一直非常積極，這似乎正在帶來回報。我們的大多數工廠都是——而且我們的大多數關鍵產品線都是雙重來源的，很少留在中國，但大多數都在中國境外。展望第二季度及以後，我們正在努力預測其影響，並且我們正在研究一些原材料替代品，以防冠狀病毒情況繼續加速。但在供應鏈方面，上半年影響不大。

I would say, the last part of your question, Jon, too, as far as the brands that are most exposed to the China production, it's in specialized categories like vulcanized shoes and some of our more technical work boot product that's moving a little bit later. So that would impact Keds -- our Keds business to a certain degree, Sperry on their vulcanized products, and some of the Wolverine and -- mostly Wolverine technical product. But I think, frankly, a little bit ahead of schedule on moving production out of China. And I think from that standpoint, it's good. But as Blake said, the other key part of this is making sure that we also have raw material suppliers outside of China too, and our sourcing team has been working on that for several months, just in line with the manufacturing migration that we're making there. So we feel relatively good about that. But certainly, a challenging situation for the industry.

我想說，喬恩，你問題的最後一部分，就最受中國生產影響的品牌而言，它屬於專業類別，例如硫化鞋和我們一些技術性更強的工作靴產品，這些產品正在發生一些變化之後。因此，這會在一定程度上影響 Keds——我們的 Keds 業務、Sperry 的硫化產品，以及一些 Wolverine 和——主要是 Wolverine 技術產品。但坦率地說，我認為將生產遷出中國有點提前了。我認為從這個角度來看，這很好。但正如布萊克所說，另一個關鍵部分是確保我們在中國以外也有原材料供應商，我們的採購團隊已經為此工作了幾個月，這與我們正在進行的製造業遷移保持一致。在那裡製作。所以我們對此感覺相對良好。但可以肯定的是，該行業面臨著充滿挑戰的局面。

Our next questions come from the line of Chris Svezia of Wedbush.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wedbush 的 Chris Svezia。

Just -- first, just to go to the commentary about mid-single-digit growth in Q2. I guess, just the confidence level in getting to that growth. Typically, it's more of an at once quarter versus Q1 and Q3 is more futures based. So just curious of visibility there. I just remember, next year, there -- last year, there was some color about accelerating growth in Q2, it didn't necessarily develop. So I'm just curious about your confidence, what you see in the order book, et cetera, to get to that level of growth in Q2, and what that might mean as you go into the back half?

首先，我們來看看有關第二季度中個位數增長的評論。我想，只是實現這種增長的信心水平。通常情況下，與第一季度相比，它更像是一個季度，而第三季度則更多地基於未來。所以只是好奇那裡的能見度。我只記得，明年，去年，有一些關於第二季度加速增長的色彩，但它不一定會發展。所以我只是好奇你的信心，你在訂單簿中看到的，等等，以達到第二季度的增長水平，以及當你進入後半段時這可能意味著什麼？

Yes, I would say, it's based on a couple of things. One, our current view of the order book, which reflects and supports that expectation for Q2 and also the continued performance of our DTC channels, stores and e-commerce, are exceeding our -- at the moment, year-to-date, they're exceeding our plans. So that also gives us some confidence as we enter into the second quarter.

是的，我想說，這是基於幾件事。一，我們目前對訂單的看法，反映並支持了對第二季度的預期，以及我們的 DTC 渠道、商店和電子商務的持續表現，目前，今年迄今，他們的表現超出了我們的預期。超出了我們的計劃。因此，當我們進入第二季度時，這也給了我們一些信心。

Okay. Okay. And I guess, you anticipate the international business to improve as well as you go into -- I think, in Q1, you referenced international being flat. I guess, you anticipate international to improve in Q2 as well?

好的。好的。我想，您預計國際業務將會改善，我認為，在第一季度，您提到國際業務持平。我想，您預計第二季度國際業務也會有所改善？

Right. Correct.

正確的。正確的。

Obviously, the biggest headwind in the first quarter, Chris, is U.S. wholesale. We've got some specific categories for us. And the weather hasn't been necessarily helpful to our boot business, whether it's lifestyle or work boots. And that -- those are usually important in the first quarter in terms of U.S. wholesale performance. That will be less of a headwind for us in Q2 as well. So that's important to know.

克里斯，顯然，第一季度最大的阻力來自美國批發市場。我們有一些特定的類別。天氣對我們的靴子業務不一定有幫助，無論是生活方式還是工作靴。就美國批發業績而言，這些通常在第一季度很重要。這對我們第二季度的阻力也不會那麼大。所以知道這一點很重要。

And we see some improvements in our Chaco business in Q2. The first half of the year is important for Chaco. Q1 is more challenging for that brand, lower closeouts for one, but overall, they're still positioning their new product line into the market. So the demand for that, we see improving in the second quarter. So that's another contributor. But overall, the focus here continues to be moderation within the U.S. wholesale channel.

我們看到第二季度 Chaco 業務有所改善。今年上半年對查科來說很重要。第一季度對該品牌來說更具挑戰性，清倉率較低，但總體而言，他們仍在將新產品線定位到市場。因此，我們看到第二季度的需求有所改善。這是另一個貢獻者。但總體而言，這裡的重點仍然是美國批發渠道的適度。

Okay, got it. Second question, just on the -- you laid out $100 million for e-commerce over the next 2 years, $150 million in revenues over the next 2 years on the international side. Based on the guidance you've given for this year and what that implies for 2021, and then you gave guidance there is pretty big improvement for 2021. I guess, what are the offsets? How should we think about what those are, and how that kind of plays into that thought process for 2021 over in that 2-year period?

好，知道了。第二個問題，您在未來兩年內為電子商務投入了 1 億美元，在國際方面投入了 1.5 億美元的收入。根據您今年給出的指導以及這對 2021 年的影響，然後您給出的指導表明 2021 年會有相當大的改進。我想，偏移量是多少？我們應該如何思考這些是什麼，以及這在 2 年期間如何影響 2021 年的思維過程？

I guess, the $100 million for e-commerce is really just a continuation over the next 2 years of around 20% growth. On the international side, again, setting aside the coronavirus, this was going to be a foundational year in China for our XTep joint venture. Obviously, we're not going to proceed with the original planned pace of store openings, but that's going to probably be delayed a little bit, hard to have a lot of visibility to that at the current moment. So we've got a number of initiatives on the international front that are going to deliver the growth over the next 2 years. I would say that the main offset is our current view of U.S. wholesale. So we're taking a cautious current view of the U.S. wholesale business. We see retailers pushing back a little bit on orders and in risk-taking given some of the volatility that existed in Q4, and it's continued into Q1. So that would probably be a bit of an offset to what we see is pretty robust growth in DTC. And even strong growth in the EMA region. Even though we have Brexit looming and some dire predictions there, the EMA region for us remains very strong, driven primarily by Merrell and Saucony, and we expect that to continue.

我想，電子商務的 1 億美元實際上只是未來兩年 20% 左右增長的延續。在國際方面，拋開冠狀病毒不談，今年將是我們 XTep 合資企業在中國奠基的一年。顯然，我們不會按照原來計劃的開店速度進行，但這可能會稍微推遲一點，目前很難對此有很多了解。因此，我們在國際方面採取了許多舉措，這些舉措將在未來兩年內實現增長。我想說，主要的抵消因素是我們目前對美國批發的看法。因此，我們目前對美國批發業務持謹慎態度。鑑於第四季度存在的一些波動，我們看到零售商在訂單和風險承擔方面略有推遲，並且這種情況一直持續到第一季度。因此，這可能會抵消我們所看到的 DTC 相當強勁的增長。EMA 地區甚至出現強勁增長。儘管英國脫歐迫在眉睫，並且出現了一些可怕的預測，但在梅雷爾和索康尼的推動下，我們的 EMA 區域仍然非常強勁，我們預計這種情況將持續下去。

Okay. Last one for me, just real quick. Just on the buyback, Mike. Just curious, you ended the year with a share count of roughly, call it, 80 million, 81 million. The guidance assumes 82.5 million for 2020. Just kind of how we think about the buyback? What's employed and why -- why such an increase in the fully diluted share count, you've got stock options, et cetera.

好的。對我來說最後一件事，真的很快。剛剛回購，邁克。只是好奇，今年結束時你的股票數量大約為 8000 萬、8100 萬股。該指南假設 2020 年為 8250 萬。我們如何看待回購？使用了什麼以及為什麼——為什麼完全稀釋的股票數量如此增加，你有股票期權，等等。

Yes. Yes, the share -- no, the share count on the loss calculation is slightly different, Chris, than the count would be on the adjusted results. So you would use about 82.6 million shares in the fourth quarter calculation for adjusted EPS, which is in line with the guidance for next year. So we typically guide to stock buybacks that will kind of offset any dilutive impact from share grants and things that happen naturally in the course of the first part of the year. So no significant buybacks incorporated into our outlook.

是的。是的，份額——不，克里斯，損失計算的份額計數與調整後結果的計數略有不同。因此，您可以在第四季度計算調整後每股收益時使用約 8260 萬股，這與明年的指導一致。因此，我們通常會進行股票回購，以抵消股票授予和今年上半年自然發生的事情帶來的稀釋影響。因此，我們的前景中沒有考慮到重大回購。

Our next question comes from the line of Matthew Degulis of KeyBanc Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Matthew Degulis。

So with Saucony, obviously, a great job on the quick turnaround. I'm curious how long the lag is between introducing a hit shoe like the Triumph and taking shelf space at specialty running, especially given how fragmented that industry is? And how much shelf space do you think you've taken back thus far? And do you think you're back to the pre 2018 levels?

因此，索康尼顯然在快速周轉方面做得很好。我很好奇推出像凱旋這樣的熱門鞋和在專業跑步領域佔據貨架空間之間的滯後有多長，特別是考慮到該行業的分散程度？您認為到目前為止您已經收回了多少貨架空間？您認為您回到了 2018 年之前的水平嗎？

Yes. When I look at the specialty run channel, at least in United States, it took us 1.5 years, maybe 2 years to get a new team in place, develop the product and start to fill those shelf spaces. So certainly, in the second half of '19, we believe Saucony took market share. As we look ahead, we think that's going to accelerate. We know we have several big introductions planned for May and after May in the year. So it will have some impact on quarter 2, but a bigger impact probably on Q3 and Q4. We think Saucony's continued to take market share. They won 20-some awards in 2019, and that pace has not slowed down so far this year. We know they're taking market share in trail run category and in the performance run category. I would say, using our new Italian business as a design hub for the original Lifestyle side of the business, we also have some really high expectations there. We're very enthusiastic about that possibility. So the Italian Saucony business is -- original business is very strong, and we're going to use that as a springboard for the rest of the world. So overall, Saucony is hitting on just about every cylinder right now, and we expect that to continue.

是的。當我觀察專業經營渠道時，至少在美國，我們花了 1.5 年，也許 2 年的時間來組建新團隊、開發產品並開始填補這些貨架空間。因此，我們相信索康尼在 19 年下半年佔據了市場份額。展望未來，我們認為這將會加速。我們知道我們計劃在今年 5 月和 5 月之後推出幾項大型產品。所以它會對第二季度產生一些影響，但可能對第三季度和第四季度影響更大。我們認為索康尼繼續佔據市場份額。他們在 2019 年獲得了 20 多個獎項，今年到目前為止，這一步伐並沒有放緩。我們知道他們正在越野跑類別和性能跑類別中佔據市場份額。我想說，利用我們新的意大利業務作為原來的生活方式業務的設計中心，我們在那裡也有一些非常高的期望。我們對這種可能性非常熱衷。因此，意大利索康尼的業務——原創業務非常強勁，我們將以此作為進入世界其他地區的跳板。總的來說，索康尼現在幾乎在每個氣缸上都在發揮作用，我們預計這種情況會持續下去。

That's helpful. And at Wolverine, I'm wondering what your vision for that brand is given Tom Kennedy is coming back to Michigan to run it. And where do you think you are in your implementing the global growth agenda at that brand?

這很有幫助。在金剛狼，我想知道你對這個品牌的願景是什麼，因為湯姆·肯尼迪將回到密歇根州經營它。您認為您在實施該品牌的全球增長議程方面處於什麼階段？

Yes. As you know, we brought 1 of our best and brightest back to Michigan. Tom worked with us closely in Michigan for several years before he went to Sperry and over the last 3 years, turned that brand around. Wolverine is a brand that we believe has tremendous untapped potential. And we needed seasoned, aggressive leadership there. So bringing Tom back was a pretty easy fit. He's also coming back to Michigan to run our licensed apparel and accessory programs and he's going to be with his apparel background, a member of our M&A team as well. The turnaround of the Wolverine brand return to growth is really in its very early stages. Wolverine had a great Q4, maintained its #1 position in the work market, actually gained market share there in the U.S. market. But when you look at Wolverine brand and the possibilities on the Lifestyle side, the possibilities on the apparel side, a lot of those upsides are untapped, and that's frankly why we asked Tom to return to Michigan.

是的。如您所知，我們將最優秀、最聰明的一位帶回了密歇根。Tom 在前往 Sperry 之前在密歇根州與我們密切合作了幾年，並在過去 3 年裡扭轉了該品牌的頹勢。我們相信金剛狼這個品牌具有巨大的未開發潛力。我們需要經驗豐富、積極進取的領導力。所以把湯姆帶回來是一件很容易的事。他還將回到密歇根州運營我們的授權服裝和配飾項目，憑藉他的服裝背景，他也將成為我們併購團隊的成員。金剛狼品牌恢復增長的轉變實際上還處於早期階段。Wolverine 第四季度表現出色，保持了其在工作市場上的第一名位置，實際上在美國市場上獲得了市場份額。但當你看看金剛狼品牌以及生活方式方面的可能性、服裝方面的可能性時，很多優點都尚未開發，坦率地說，這就是我們要求湯姆返回密歇根的原因。

Our next questions come from the line of Dana Telsey of Telsey Advisory Group.

我們的下一個問題來自 Telsey Advisory Group 的 Dana Telsey。

Would love to get a little bit more color on triangulating the pattern of wholesale orders or what the wholesale environment is like lately. What are you seeing changing? Is it in different category of wholesale channels where changes are occurring? And is there wholesale channels, which are more impactful for the coronavirus than others for a particular brand?

希望對批發訂單的模式或最近的批發環境有更多了解。您看到什麼變化？是不是不同品類的批發渠道正在發生變化？對於特定品牌來說，是否有批發渠道對冠狀病毒的影響比其他渠道更大？

Yes. On the latter part of your question, I don't really see a particular channel that might be more challenged. We all know that the value channels, the discount channels have been doing very well over the last couple of years. We expect that to continue. There's probably been and will continue to be more pressure on the mid-tier and then it's becoming a little bit of a barbell with the upper tier doing well, the value channels doing fairly well and the mid-tier struggling a bit. We really don't think that's going to change materially as we look ahead into 2020, at least with respect to the U.S. market. As far as the coronavirus is concerned, we really don't see that having a significant impact right now on any channel versus the other. I would say for brands or businesses that are anchored more in China for luxury brands that have a significant percentage of their sales in Greater China, it'll be certainly more material than it is to our business.

是的。關於你問題的後半部分，我確實沒有看到哪個特定渠道可能面臨更大的挑戰。我們都知道，價值渠道、折扣渠道在過去幾年表現非常好。我們預計這種情況會持續下去。中層可能已經並將繼續面臨更大的壓力，然後它變得有點像槓鈴，上層表現良好，價值渠道表現相當好，而中層則有點掙扎。展望 2020 年，我們確實認為這種情況不會發生重大變化，至少就美國市場而言是這樣。就冠狀病毒而言，我們目前確實沒有看到它對任何渠道產生重大影響。我想說，對於那些更多紮根於中國的品牌或企業，對於在大中華區銷售額佔很大比例的奢侈品牌來說，這肯定比我們的業務更重要。

Got it.

知道了。

Dana, the only other piece I'd add to is that where we see strength is even within a traditional retail channel, the dotcom or digital part of their business is obviously the category that's driving any growth and for us, our wholesale business would include that and it would also include any pure play e-tail customers that we have in the portfolio. So while the brick-and-mortar customer base will be the most under pressure, in general, we would still expect the digital segment to continue to be relatively strong and are putting more of our efforts behind that as well. As part of our digital direct offense. So the assets and the demand creation tactics that we're deploying for our own e-commerce business are going to leverage over to that category pretty seamlessly.

達納，我要補充的唯一另一件事是，即使在傳統零售渠道中，我們也看到了優勢，他們業務的網絡或數字部分顯然是推動任何增長的類別，對我們來說，我們的批發業務將包括它還包括我們投資組合中的任何純電子零售客戶。因此，雖然實體客戶群將面臨最大的壓力，但總的來說，我們仍然預計數字領域將繼續相對強勁，並為此投入更多努力。作為我們數字直接進攻的一部分。因此，我們為自己的電子商務業務部署的資產和需求創造策略將非常無縫地利用到該類別。

Got it. And when you think of the digital business, the cost of the digital business, delivery or shipping, how are you planning on that this year versus last year?

知道了。當您考慮數字業務、數字業務的成本、交付或運輸時，與去年相比，您今年的計劃如何？

It's fairly similar. I think we continue to get better in that space. We have very sophisticated distribution centers, good technology that allows us to manage that part of our business as it's evolved in the fastest-growing category for us over the last few years. We have a strong contract in place with logistics carriers, et cetera. So we'll see some increases, I think, in -- under normal conditions. But nothing that isn't going to cause us a problem. I would say that we continue to just see really good gross margin expansion for both our digital and store-based direct-to-consumer channels.

非常相似。我認為我們在這個領域會繼續變得更好。我們擁有非常先進的配送中心和良好的技術，使我們能夠管理這部分業務，因為它在過去幾年中發展成為我們增長最快的類別。我們與物流承運商等簽訂了強有力的合同。因此，我認為，在正常情況下，我們會看到一些增長。但沒有什麼不會給我們帶來問題。我想說的是，我們的數字和基於商店的直接面向消費者的渠道繼續看到非常好的毛利率擴張。

Our next questions come from the line of Erinn Murphy of Piper Sandler.

我們的下一個問題來自 Piper Sandler 的 Erinn Murphy。

I guess, my question is around the price increases you referenced taking in June. Can you just share a little bit more about what percent of your overall portfolio you'll be taking prices in? And then, I guess, against the backdrop, you've mentioned several times kind of weakness in the North American wholesale channel. What is the appetite for your retail partners to take price as we go deeper into the year?

我想，我的問題是關於你提到的六月份的價格上漲。您能否多分享一下您將考慮價格佔您的整體投資組合的百分比？然後，我想，在此背景下，您多次提到北美批發渠道的弱點。隨著今年的深入，您的零售合作夥伴對價格的興趣是什麼？

Yes, I think it's hard to give you an overall percentage. I'll see if we can kind of work that up, Erinn. But I would tell you that our -- most of our price increases were strategically taken. Certainly, you have the flexibility to do that on new product, new product introductions to make sure you're hitting your margin targets. But we also selectively took some price increases on carryover product, some of that tied to raw material, some of that tied to tariff when our research indicated we could do so without really having a material impact on demand. So they were taken across all of our brands very selectively and strategically, and I would say, on the sourcing side, we're probably having our fifth or sixth season of price decreases from our factory partners, and that's something I really haven't seen in my career ever that, that string of price decrease, that's also helping us some.

是的，我認為很難給你一個總體百分比。我會看看我們是否可以解決這個問題，Erinn。但我想告訴你，我們的大部分漲價都是戰略性的。當然，您可以靈活地在新產品、新產品推出時這樣做，以確保達到利潤目標。但我們也有選擇地對結轉產品進行了一些提價，其中一些與原材料有關，一些與關稅有關，因為我們的研究表明我們可以這樣做而不會對需求產生實質性影響。因此，他們非常有選擇性和戰略性地覆蓋我們所有的品牌，我想說，在採購方面，我們的工廠合作夥伴可能正在第五或第六季降價，這是我真正沒有做到的在我的職業生涯中，價格的一系列下降也對我們有所幫助。

Got it. And then, I guess, the second question is just on uses of cash. Can you just talk kind of what you're thinking about as we go into 2020, 2021? And then how are you prioritizing M&A within that?

知道了。然後，我想，第二個問題只是關於現金的使用。您能談談在我們進入 2020 年、2021 年時您的想法嗎？那麼您如何優先考慮其中的併購？

Sure. We're going to continue to make the growth investments that have proven to be successful over the last year or 2, talked about it a little bit already, but that's going to continue to be a focus on our digital offense, our direct-to-consumer businesses and then enhancing our international platform, where we have opportunities to do that. So #1 priority for cash and investment is on those growth opportunities. We did a good job in the fourth quarter of managing the balance sheet. We paid down debt in Q4. We recognize that we have plenty of flexibility and capacity to borrow and to be in a position to deploy more capital in the future. But our priorities in 2020 will be a little bit more focused on paying down debt, keeping the leverage ratio at the level that it is today as we consider M&A in the future as a more long-term strategy for the company in terms of capital deployment. We are very active in the market looking for assets as we have been for the last couple of years, that's not going to change. But we continue to be really selective about what assets we would pursue. And that's certainly part of our overall longer term growth strategy. But in terms of priority, maybe third or fourth on the list of cash deployment priorities for us right now.

當然。我們將繼續進行過去一兩年已被證明是成功的增長投資，已經討論過這一點，但這將繼續是我們的數字進攻、我們的直接營銷的重點-消費者業務，然後增強我們的國際平台，我們有機會做到這一點。因此，現金和投資的第一要務是這些增長機會。四季度我們的資產負債表管理工作做得很好。我們在第四季度償還了債務。我們認識到，我們有足夠的靈活性和能力來借款，並有能力在未來部署更多資本。但我們2020年的優先事項將更加關注償還債務，將槓桿率保持在今天的水平，因為我們認為未來的併購是公司在資本部署方面更長期的戰略。正如過去幾年一樣，我們在市場上非常積極地尋找資產，這一點不會改變。但我們仍然對我們要追求的資產進行真正的選擇性。這當然是我們整體長期增長戰略的一部分。但就優先順序而言，目前我們的現金部署優先順序可能是第三或第四。

Our next questions come from the line of Sam Poser of Susquehanna Financial Group.

我們的下一個問題來自薩斯奎哈納金融集團的 Sam Poser。

This is Will on for Sam. So just to go back to this weakness or softness that you're seeing in the U.S. wholesale markets, what brands are being most impacted for you guys? And what are you guys doing to sort of overcome the softness that you're seeing?

這是威爾為山姆主持的節目。那麼，回到您在美國批發市場看到的疲軟或疲軟，哪些品牌對你們來說受到的影響最大？你們正在做什麼來克服你們所看到的軟弱呢？

Well, I think, Will, with respect to your -- the latter part of your question, we're pivoting strongly to DTC channel. We know the content, social capabilities, big data capabilities we're investing in and improving there, it's not only going to help our own DTC business, but it's going to help the DTC business of our wholesale customers. And that has been, by far, their fastest-growing segment. I would say with respect to traditional wholesale in the U.S., some of our brands that would have potentially the most exposure there would be Sperry, for example. They have a very strong traditional wholesale business and pure-play business in the U.S.A. On the other hand, Sperry has one of the highest percentages of own DTC as well between the stores and e-commerce sites. So we're just seeing some general softness. It's really not applicable to a particular brand or category of footwear, just some reluctance on retailers to take risk in this environment, probably tied a little bit to a pretty volatile and somewhat soft Q4 for them.

威爾，我想，關於您問題的後半部分，我們正在大力轉向 DTC 渠道。我們知道我們正在投資和改進的內容、社交能力、大數據能力，這不僅會幫助我們自己的 DTC 業務，還會幫助我們批發客戶的 DTC 業務。到目前為止，這是他們增長最快的領域。我想說的是，就美國的傳統批發而言，我們的一些品牌可能在美國擁有最多的曝光度，例如 Sperry。他們在美國擁有非常強大的傳統批發業務和純業務業務。另一方面，Sperry 是自有 DTC 比例最高的公司之一，也是商店和電子商務網站之間的比例最高的公司之一。所以我們只是看到了一些普遍的疲軟。它確實不適用於特定品牌或類別的鞋類，只是零售商不願意在這種環境下冒險，可能與他們的第四季度相當不穩定且有些疲軟有關。

Got you. So I guess, the other thing I wanted to just hit on is for Sperry. Are you seeing any light at the end of the tunnel here for boat shoes. I know -- I mean, you're going to be lapping some very easy comparisons over these last couple of years, it's been such a weak category. And then I think you mentioned on the 3Q '19 call that you had 1 major customer that's planning on making boat shoes their #1 story for the spring season, I think is what you said. Is that still the case?

明白你了。所以我想，我想提到的另一件事是斯佩里。您是否看到了船鞋隧道盡頭的曙光？我知道——我的意思是，你將在過去幾年中進行一些非常簡單的比較，這是一個非常弱的類別。然後我想你在 19 年第三季度的電話會議上提到，你有一位主要客戶計劃將船鞋作為春季的第一大故事，我想這就是你所說的。現在還是這樣嗎？

That is still the case. I guess, with respect to boat shoes, we continue to see early signs, especially in the fashion of arena of a return of the boat shoe silhouette and trend. Boat shoes now account for -- maybe several years old -- years ago, they would have accounted for 70% of Sperry's business. Today, it's under 30%, and it's going to fall even more in 2020. And but as the -- by far, the dominant market leader at a 65% to 70% market share, it's Sperry's birthright and opportunity to inject some excitement into that silhouette and into that business. We think, for 2020, John Legend is going to be a big help there. The initial meetings with him and collaborations that we've had with him, he's been very focused on the -- on boat shoes.

現在仍然如此。我想，就船鞋而言，我們繼續看到早期的跡象，尤其是在時尚舞台上船鞋輪廓和趨勢的回歸。船鞋現在佔了——也許有幾年了——幾年前，它們會佔斯佩里業務的 70%。如今，這一比例已低於 30%，2020 年還會下降更多。但作為迄今為止佔據 65% 至 70% 市場份額的市場領導者，斯佩里與生俱來的權利和機會為這一輪廓和業務注入了一些興奮。我們認為，2020 年，約翰·傳奇 (John Legend) 將在這方面提供很大幫助。在與他的最初會面以及我們與他的合作中，他非常關注船鞋。

Great. That's great. And just one last one. Are you guys drop shipping? You talked about the growth in the digital business for your wholesale partners. Are you guys employing drop ship?

偉大的。那太棒了。還有最後一張。你們是代發貨嗎？您談到了批發合作夥伴的數字業務增長。你們僱用代運嗎？

We do. We do that. Yes, we do that on a kind of a strategic basis, depending on the different customers and the economics of that arrangement with the customer. But we certainly have the capabilities of doing it, as we mentioned before, with the sophistication of our distribution centers. But yes, overall, that's a tactic that we'll be looking at as another strategic avenue for us to grow that digital side of the business.

我們的確是。我們這樣做。是的，我們是在某種戰略基礎上這樣做的，具體取決於不同的客戶以及與客戶的安排的經濟性。但正如我們之前提到的，憑藉我們先進的配送中心，我們當然有能力做到這一點。但總的來說，我們將把這種策略視為發展業務數字化的另一個戰略途徑。

When we do, do that, we get paid for it.

當我們這樣做時，我們就會得到報酬。

Our final question comes from the line of Mitch Kummetz of Pivotal Research.

我們的最後一個問題來自 Pivotal Research 的 Mitch Kummetz。

On coronavirus. The $30 million sales hit, is there any way you can kind of break that out regionally? I mean, it sounds like China is a small business for you, but is it mostly China? Is it mostly other parts of Asia, like South Korea and Japan. Is there even a European or North American component to it? Obviously, Italy now has issues, maybe North America from a tourist standpoint. I was just hoping a little bit more color there. And then also on coronavirus, you guys mentioned that less than 20% of your global production in 2020 is China. Is that referencing finished goods production? Or is that in reference to the total supply chain when you factor in all the raw materials and where they're coming from. So that's coronavirus, and then I have a follow-up.

關于冠狀病毒。銷售額達到 3000 萬美元，有什麼辦法可以在區域範圍內突破這一數字嗎？我的意思是，聽起來中國對你來說是一個小企業，但主要是中國嗎？主要是亞洲其他地區，比如韓國和日本。其中是否有歐洲或北美的成分？顯然，意大利現在有問題，從遊客的角度來看，也許北美也有問題。我只是希望那裡有更多的顏色。關于冠狀病毒，你們提到 2020 年全球產量中不到 20% 來自中國。這是指成品生產嗎？或者是指當您考慮所有原材料及其來源時的整個供應鏈。這就是冠狀病毒，然後我有一個後續行動。

Sure. I mean, the 20% figure is finished product. We do know that there are a number of China vendors of raw material supplies, leather, eyelet, shoelaces and stuff. A large portion of raw material is available outside of China and our sourcing team has been working on that for some time. But the 20% figure really refers to finished products.

當然。我的意思是，20% 的數字是成品。我們確實知道有很多中國供應商供應原材料、皮革、孔眼、鞋帶等。很大一部分原材料可以在中國境外獲得，我們的採購團隊已經為此努力了一段時間。但20%這個數字實際上是指成品。

Yes. On the revenue side, Mitch, it's mostly international, certainly focused on the Asia Pac region, but it's not just China for us, obviously. Tourism is having an impact on other markets in and around that area and in other regions outside of Asia Pac as well. We also -- as you know, we also have our own leathers business, which in terms of just short-term demand and some of the delays in factory openings, et cetera, there's been a negative impact on the demand for our Wolverine leather as well, which is a fairly large percentage of the $30 million we're talking about, probably 1/3 of that. So it's not 1 country, but it's certainly heavily weighted to Asia Pacific and our leathers business with some implications in other markets outside of that region.

是的。在收入方面，米奇，它主要是國際性的，當然主要集中在亞太地區，但顯然不僅僅是我們的中國。旅遊業正在對該地區及其周邊地區以及亞太地區以外的其他地區的其他市場產生影響。如您所知，我們也有自己的皮革業務，就短期需求和工廠開工的一些延遲等而言，對我們的金剛狼皮革的需求產生了負面影響，因為嗯，這在我們談論的3000 萬美元中所佔的比例相當大，可能是其中的1/3。因此，它不是一個國家，但它對亞太地區和我們的皮革業務的影響肯定很大，對該地區以外的其他市場也有一定影響。

Okay, that's helpful. And then my follow-up, just in terms of the weak U.S. wholesale that you've been talking about. Can you maybe speak to the fall pre books that you're seeing? And within kind of the pre book, is the boot category more challenged than other categories, just given the weather issues? And is there any way you can say what kind of -- what percent of your fall business is boots versus other stuff?

好的，這很有幫助。然後是我的後續行動，就您一直在談論的美國批發疲軟而言。你能談談你正在看的秋季預讀書嗎？在預售書中，考慮到天氣問題，靴子類別是否比其他類別更具挑戰性？有什麼辦法可以告訴你，與其他產品相比，靴子在你的秋季業務中所佔的百分比是多少？

With respect to the boot issue, I don't have the phrasing right in front of me. And we probably wouldn't normally provide that anyway. But with respect to the boot category, we had a very -- our brands had a pretty strong Q4. So Sperry boots were up 50%, Merrell work boots were up 50%, Wolverine brand gained market share, #1 position, the Cat brand gained market share, #3 position in the U.S. market. So we're seeing pretty strong preorders for boots from our retail customers, simply because we performed in Q4 in the fall of 2019. So we're pretty bullish on boots in general.

關於啟動問題，我面前沒有這樣的措辭。無論如何，我們通常不會提供這種服務。但就靴子類別而言，我們的品牌在第四季度表現非常強勁。因此，Sperry 靴子上漲了 50%，Merrell 工作靴上漲了 50%，Wolverine 品牌獲得了市場份額，排名第一，Cat 品牌獲得了市場份額，在美國市場排名第三。因此，我們看到零售客戶對靴子的預訂量相當強勁，這僅僅是因為我們在 2019 年秋季第四季度的表現。所以我們總體上非常看好靴子。

As you know, overall, I mean, our work boot business is about 15% of our total -- our global revenue. And if you add in Lifestyle boots, obviously, on top of that. So it's a new important -- for sure, an important category. And I think, Blake had mentioned, a good strong category for us. And as far as the back half outlook on pre bookings in that category, we wouldn't comment on that. But it continues to be an area of focus for us and a strategic asset to the portfolio.

如您所知，總的來說，我的意思是，我們的工裝靴業務約占我們全球總收入的 15%。如果你加上生活方式靴子，顯然，最重要的是。所以這是一個新的重要的——當然，一個重要的類別。我認為，布萊克提到過，這對我們來說是一個很好的強大類別。至於該類別預訂的後半部分前景，我們不會對此發表評論。但它仍然是我們關注的一個領域，也是我們投資組合的戰略資產。

We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to management for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節已經結束。我現在將把電話轉回給管理層，讓他們發表結束語。

On behalf of Wolverine World Wide, I'd like to thank you for joining us today. As a reminder, our conference call replay is available on our website at wolverineworldwide.com. The replay will be available until March 25, 2020. Thank you, and good day.

我謹代表金剛狼世界感謝您今天加入我們。請注意，我們的電話會議重播可在我們的網站 wolverineworldwide.com 上查看。重播將持續到 2020 年 3 月 25 日。謝謝你，美好的一天。