(XELB) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Please be advised that reproduction of this call in whole or in part is not permitted without prior authorization of Xcel Brands. And as a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

請注意，未經 Xcel Brands 事先授權，不得全部或部分複制此電話。提醒一下，這個電話會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to turn the call over to Andrew Berger of SM Berger & Company. Thank you, Andrew, you may now begin.

我現在想把電話轉給 SM Berger & Company 的 Andrew Berger。謝謝你，安德魯，你現在可以開始了。

Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Xcel Brands First Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. We greatly appreciate your participation and interest. With us on the call today are Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Robert D'Loren; Chief Financial Officer, Jim Haran; and Executive Vice President of Business Development and Treasury, Seth Burroughs.

大家晚上好，感謝您加入我們，歡迎來到 Xcel Brands 2023 年第一季度財報電話會議。我們非常感謝您的參與和興趣。今天與我們通話的有董事長兼首席執行官 Robert D'Loren；首席財務官吉姆哈蘭；以及業務發展和財務執行副總裁 Seth Burroughs。

By now, everyone should have access to the earnings release for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023, which went out today. And in addition, the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission its quarterly report on Form 10-Q earlier today as well. The release and the quarterly report will be available on the company's website at www.xcelbrands.com. This call is being webcast, and a replay will be available on the company's Investor Relations website.

到目前為止，每個人都應該可以看到今天發布的截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日的第一季度收益報告。此外，該公司還在今天早些時候向美國證券交易委員會提交了 10-Q 表格的季度報告。該新聞稿和季度報告將在公司網站 www.xcelbrands.com 上發布。此電話會議正在進行網絡直播，重播將在公司的投資者關係網站上提供。

Before we begin, please keep in mind that this call will contain forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from certain expectations discussed here today. These risk factors are explained in detail in the company's most recent annual report filed with the SEC. Xcel Brands does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The dynamic nature of the current macroeconomic environment means that what is set on this call could change materially at any time.

在我們開始之前，請記住本次電話會議將包含前瞻性陳述。所有前瞻性陳述都受到風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與今天在這裡討論的某些預期存在重大差異。公司最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的年度報告詳細解釋了這些風險因素。 Xcel Brands 不承擔任何公開更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務，無論是由於新信息、未來事件或其他原因。當前宏觀經濟環境的動態性質意味著本次電話會議的設定可能隨時發生重大變化。

Finally, please note that on today's call, management will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA. Our management uses these non-GAAP metrics as measures of operating performance to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis and to identify business trends relating to the company's results of operations. Our management believes these financial performance measurements are also useful because they measure -- these measures adjust for certain costs and other events that management believes are not representative of our core business operating results. And thus, they provide supplemental information to assist investors in evaluating the company's financial results.

最後，請注意，在今天的電話會議上，管理層將參考某些非 GAAP 財務指標，包括非 GAAP 淨收入、非 GAAP 稀釋每股收益和調整後的 EBITDA。我們的管理層使用這些非 GAAP 指標作為經營業績的衡量標準，以幫助在一致的基礎上比較不同時期的業績，並確定與公司經營業績相關的業務趨勢。我們的管理層認為這些財務績效衡量指標也很有用，因為它們衡量的是——這些衡量指標會根據管理層認為不代表我們核心業務運營結果的某些成本和其他事件進行調整。因此，他們提供補充信息以幫助投資者評估公司的財務業績。

These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to net income, earnings per share or any other measure of financial performance calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. You may refer to the attachment to the company's earnings release or Part 1, Item 2 of the Form 10-Q for a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures.

這些非 GAAP 衡量指標不應孤立地考慮，也不應作為淨收入、每股收益或根據 GAAP 計算和列報的任何其他財務業績衡量指標的替代方案。您可以參考公司收益發布的附件或 10-Q 表第 1 部分第 2 項，了解非 GAAP 措施的對賬情況。

And now I'm pleased to introduce Robert D'Loren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Bob, please go ahead.

現在我很高興地介紹董事長兼首席執行官 Robert D'Loren。鮑勃，請繼續。

Thank you, Andrew. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I would like to start today's call with a discussion of our strategic transformation efforts. After that, our CFO, Jim Haran, will discuss our first quarter financial results in more detail.

謝謝你，安德魯。大家晚上好，感謝您加入我們。我想從討論我們的戰略轉型努力開始今天的電話會議。之後，我們的首席財務官 Jim Haran 將更詳細地討論我們第一季度的財務業績。

In the first quarter of 2023, we began a restructure of our business operation shifting from a wholesale licensing hybrid model to a high-touch licensing and livestream DTC business model with the ultimate goal of transforming our company into a modern asset-light and highly profitable livestream media and consumer products company. We expect the transition of our operating businesses to be substantially complete by the end of the second quarter of 2023.

在 2023 年第一季度，我們開始重組我們的業務運營，從批發許可混合模式轉變為高接觸許可和直播 DTC 業務模式，最終目標是將我們公司轉變為現代輕資產和高利潤的公司直播媒體和消費品公司。我們預計我們經營業務的轉型將在 2023 年第二季度末基本完成。

In summary, as a result of all of our restructuring efforts going forward, we expect to save approximately $13 million in operating expenses on an annualized basis, including approximately $6 million of reduced payroll costs and $7 million in lower operating cost. These cost savings started to be realized in the first quarter of 2023 and are expected to be substantially realized by the end of the second quarter of 2023. Our current financial forecast indicates that we will return to profitability this year to effectuate this transformation we have engaged with best-in-class business partners and entered into multiple new licensing agreements for which I will provide more details.

總而言之，由於我們未來的所有重組努力，我們預計每年可節省約 1300 萬美元的運營費用，包括約 600 萬美元的工資成本降低和 700 萬美元的運營成本降低。這些成本節約在 2023 年第一季度開始實現，預計將在 2023 年第二季度末基本實現。我們目前的財務預測表明，我們將在今年恢復盈利，以實現我們正在進行的轉型與一流的業務合作夥伴，並簽訂了多項新的許可協議，我將提供更多詳細信息。

We believe that the evolution of our operating model through these new arrangements powered by extraordinary livestream and social commerce technology will provide our company a competitive advantage and with significant cost savings going forward and allow us to reduce and better manage our exposure to operating risks, while providing our customers with exceptional quality at attractive prices. Also, we believe our livestream technology will enable us to fully engage with and entertain our customers in ways that were not possible in the past.

我們相信，通過這些以非凡的直播和社交商務技術為動力的新安排，我們的運營模式的演變將為我們公司提供競爭優勢和顯著的成本節約，並使我們能夠減少和更好地管理我們面臨的運營風險，同時以極具吸引力的價格為我們的客戶提供卓越的品質。此外，我們相信我們的直播技術將使我們能夠以過去不可能的方式與客戶充分互動和娛樂。

For our Judith Ripka brand, we have entered into a new licensing agreement to move the interactive television operations to JTV. This new arrangement and an agreement with JTV has an initial 5-year term with guaranteed minimum royalties. When the brand launches on JTV in the second quarter of '23, it will be a brand with significant on-air presence for the network in the first year and beyond. We believe this presents a fantastic and exciting opportunity to grow the brand on TV and online with our new partner going forward.

對於我們的 Judith Ripka 品牌，我們已經簽訂了一項新的許可協議，將互動電視業務轉移到 JTV。這項新安排以及與 JTV 達成的協議的初始期限為 5 年，並保證最低特許權使用費。當該品牌於 2023 年第二季度在 JTV 上推出時，它將成為第一年及以後在該網絡上具有重要播出影響力的品牌。我們相信，這提供了一個絕佳而令人興奮的機會，可以與我們的新合作夥伴一起在電視和網絡上發展品牌。

At the same time, we signed an additional license agreement with JTV for them to take over all operations of and product sourcing for the Judith Ripka e-commerce business. This agreement provides for royalties on net retail sales generated through e-commerce in conjunction with executing the JTV licenses in April, we sold JTV all of our jewelry inventory.

同時，我們與 JTV 簽署了額外的許可協議，讓他們接管 Judith Ripka 電子商務業務的所有運營和產品採購。該協議規定了通過電子商務產生的淨零售額的特許權使用費，並在 4 月份執行 JTV 許可，我們向 JTV 出售了我們所有的珠寶庫存。

Moving now to apparel in connection with the launch of our C. Wonder brand on HSN, we finalized and signed a license agreement with One Jeanswear Group, for them to take over the wholesale production operations related to the C. Wonder brand and other brands in our HSN show pipeline. This license has an initial term of 3 years with royalty and minimum sales requirements.

現在轉向服裝，在 HSN 上推出我們的 C. Wonder 品牌，我們與 One Jeanswear Group 敲定並簽署了許可協議，讓他們接管與 C. Wonder 品牌和其他品牌相關的批發生產業務我們的 HSN 節目管道。此許可的初始期限為 3 年，並附有特許權使用費和最低銷售要求。

For the Halston brand, we recently signed a strategic master license agreement with a soon-to-be announced industry-leading global wholesale apparel and accessories company under which they will take over and assume all of the existing licensing contracts for the brand together with apparel wholesale operations and distribution in department stores, e-commerce and other retailers. This is a 25-year license agreement, which includes a market rate royalty, certain royalty advances, escalating guaranteed minimum sales requirements and certain guaranteed payments. We will begin to realize revenues from this agreement in Q2 of this year and expect to realize even greater revenues in 2024 when this license launch it's -- launches new products under the Halston brand in spring 2024.

對於 Halston 品牌，我們最近與一家即將宣布的行業領先的全球服裝和配飾批發公司簽署了一項戰略性主許可協議，根據該協議，他們將接管並承擔該品牌以及服裝的所有現有許可合同百貨商店、電子商務和其他零售商的批發業務和分銷。這是一份為期 25 年的許可協議，其中包括市場費率特許權使用費、某些特許權使用費預付款、不斷升級的保證最低銷售要求和某些保證付款。我們將在今年第二季度開始從該協議中實現收入，並預計在 2024 年啟動該許可時實現更大的收入——2024 年春季以 Halston 品牌推出新產品。

Our partnership with this licensee, given their extensive production and distribution capabilities provides us with a tremendous opportunity to grow the brand and take Halston to the next level.

我們與這家被許可方的合作夥伴關係，鑑於他們廣泛的生產和分銷能力，為我們提供了一個巨大的機會來發展品牌並將 Halston 提升到一個新的水平。

With respect to our Longaberger brand, we are in the process of launching our latest version of livestream technology that we believe will revolutionize social commerce. We expect this business to turn the corner to profitability soon.

關於我們的 Longaberger 品牌，我們正在推出我們相信將徹底改變社交商務的最新版本的直播技術。我們預計該業務將很快轉虧為盈。

Regarding our interactive television business, the Isaac Mizrahi and LOGO by Lori Goldstein brands are performing well on QVC with sales in the first quarter of 2023 exceeding sales in the fourth quarter of 2022. C. Wonder launched on HSN at the end of March, and the launch show exceeded plan by 130%.

關於我們的互動電視業務，Isaac Mizrahi 和 Lori Goldstein 品牌的 LOGO 在 QVC 上表現良好，2023 年第一季度的銷售額超過了 2022 年第四季度的銷售額。C.Wonder 於 3 月底在 HSN 上線，以及發布會超出計劃 130%。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Jim to discuss our results and financial highlights for the first quarter.

現在我想把電話轉給吉姆，討論我們第一季度的業績和財務亮點。

Thanks, Bob, and good evening, everyone. I will briefly discuss our financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.

謝謝鮑勃，大家晚上好。我將簡要討論我們截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日的季度的財務業績。

Total revenue for the first quarter of 2023 was $6.1 million representing a decrease of approximately $2.7 million from the prior year quarter, but an increase of approximately $2 million from the fourth quarter of 2022. The year-over-year revenue decline from the prior year quarter compared with the current quarter was driven by a $3.7 million decrease and licensing revenue, primarily attributable to the sale of a majority interest in the Isaac Mizrahi brand in May 2022, and was partially offset by an increase of approximately $1 million in net sales, largely due to the sale of our C. Wonder apparel inventory to HSN as part of the restructuring and transformation of our business operating model.

2023 年第一季度的總收入為 610 萬美元，比去年同期減少約 270 萬美元，但比 2022 年第四季度增加約 200 萬美元。收入同比下降與本季度相比，本季度減少了 370 萬美元，許可收入主要歸因於 2022 年 5 月出售了 Isaac Mizrahi 品牌的多數股權，部分被淨銷售額增加約 100 萬美元所抵消，主要是由於將我們的 C. Wonder 服裝庫存出售給 HSN，作為我們業務運營模式重組和轉型的一部分。

On a sequential quarter basis, the increase in revenues from the prior year quarter to the current quarter was mainly driven by the sale of our C. Wonder apparel and along with increased royalties from the Lori Goldstein brand on QVC.

在連續季度基礎上，收入從去年同期到本季度的增長主要是由我們的 C.Wonder 服裝的銷售以及 QVC 上 Lori Goldstein 品牌的特許權使用費增加所推動的。

Gross profit margin from product sales decreased from approximately 40% in the first quarter of 2022 to approximately 30% in the current quarter. In conjunction with the exiting the wholesale operation portion of our business, and transitioning to production, sourcing, logistics and inventory management for our brands to best-in-class partners included liquidating inventory, which was primarily attributable to a lower gross margin percentages.

產品銷售的毛利率從2022年第一季度的約40%下降至本季度的約30%。結合我們業務的批發業務部分的退出，以及我們品牌向一流合作夥伴的生產、採購、物流和庫存管理過渡，包括清算庫存，這主要歸因於較低的毛利率百分比。

Our operating costs and expenses were $8.8 million for the current quarter, down by $1.3 million from $10.1 million in the prior year quarter. This decrease was primarily attributable to lower salaries and other operating costs related to the Isaac Mizrahi brand and reductions in staffing levels during the current quarter related to the restructuring and transformation of our business operating model.

我們本季度的運營成本和支出為 880 萬美元，比去年同期的 1010 萬美元減少了 130 萬美元。這一減少主要是由於與 Isaac Mizrahi 品牌相關的工資和其他運營成本降低，以及本季度與我們業務運營模式的重組和轉型相關的人員配置水平下降。

Operating costs and expenses also declined on a sequential quarter basis from $10.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 to $8.8 million in the first quarter of 2023. This decline was primarily related to our restructuring and transformation initiatives, including a combination of lower marketing and advertising expenses and administrative costs.

運營成本和支出也環比下降，從 2022 年第四季度的 1020 萬美元下降到 2023 年第一季度的 880 萬美元。這一下降主要與我們的重組和轉型計劃有關，包括較低的營銷和廣告組合費用和行政費用。

We expect that our operating costs and expenses will continue to decrease during the second quarter of 2023 and by the start of the third quarter, reached a run rate of other $4 million per quarter which is exclusive of depreciation and amortization.

我們預計我們的運營成本和費用將在 2023 年第二季度和第三季度初繼續減少，達到每季度 400 萬美元的運行率，不包括折舊和攤銷。

Below operating income, we recognized a $0.5 million equity method loss in the first quarter of 2023, in accordance with the distribution provisions governing the business venture with the Isaac Mizrahi brand, which was exclusively $0.5 million of amortization of intangibles. And however, we did not have significant amount of interest and finance expenses in the current quarter as we fully repaid all of our outstanding debt in the second quarter of 2022 and this compares favorably with the first quarter of 2022, in which we did not have any equity method loss but did recognize $0.7 million of interest and finance expense.

根據 Isaac Mizrahi 品牌企業的分配規定，在營業收入以下，我們在 2023 年第一季度確認了 50 萬美元的權益法虧損，這完全是 50 萬美元的無形資產攤銷。但是，由於我們在 2022 年第二季度全額償還了所有未償債務，因此本季度我們沒有大量的利息和財務費用，這與 2022 年第一季度相比要好，在第一季度我們沒有任何權益法損失，但確實確認了 70 萬美元的利息和財務費用。

For the current and prior year quarter, there was a zero tax benefit due to a tax valuation allowance recorded in each period.

對於本季度和上一年季度，由於每個期間記錄的稅收估值津貼，稅收優惠為零。

Overall, we had a net loss, excluding noncontrolling interests for the first quarter of 2023 of approximately $5.6 million or minus $0.29 per share compared with a net loss of $3.5 million or minus $0.18 per share in the prior year quarter. This represents an improvement, however, for the fourth quarter of 2022, net loss of $6 million or minus $0.30 per share.

總體而言，不包括 2023 年第一季度的非控股權益，我們的淨虧損約為 560 萬美元或每股減去 0.29 美元，而去年同期的淨虧損為 350 萬美元或每股減去 0.18 美元。然而，這代表了 2022 年第四季度的改善，淨虧損為 600 萬美元或每股減去 0.30 美元。

On a non-GAAP basis, we had a net loss for the current quarter of $3.6 million or minus $0.18 per share compared with a net loss of $1.9 million or minus $0.10 per share in the first quarter of 2022.

按非美國通用會計準則計算，我們本季度的淨虧損為 360 萬美元或每股負 0.18 美元，而 2022 年第一季度的淨虧損為 190 萬美元或每股負 0.10 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA was negative $3.2 million for the current quarter compared with negative $0.9 million in the prior year quarter. This represents an improvement, though, from the fourth quarter 2022 adjusted EBITDA of negative $5.9 million. For the balance of 2023, we expect our adjusted EBITDA to continue to improve throughout the year. And as Bob mentioned earlier, we currently project that as a result of the restructuring plan, we will achieve positive EBITDA in the back end of 2023.

本季度調整後的 EBITDA 為負 320 萬美元，而去年同期為負 90 萬美元。不過，與 2022 年第四季度調整後的 EBITDA 為負 590 萬美元相比，這是一個進步。對於 2023 年的餘額，我們預計我們調整後的 EBITDA 將在全年繼續改善。正如 Bob 之前提到的，我們目前預計，由於重組計劃，我們將在 2023 年底實現正 EBITDA。

And again, as a reminder, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS and adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP unaudited terms. Our earnings press release and Form 10-Q present a reconciliation of these items with the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

再次提醒，非 GAAP 淨收入、非 GAAP 稀釋每股收益和調整後 EBITDA 均為非 GAAP 未經審計條款。我們的收益新聞稿和 10-Q 表格顯示了這些項目與最直接可比的 GAAP 措施的調節。

Now turning to our balance sheet. As of March 31, 2023, the company had unrestricted cash of approximately $1.6 million and positive net working capital of $5 million, excluding the current portion of our lease obligations. The new strategic master license agreement with our new license for the Halston brand, which was executed in May 2023, included a certain upfront cash payment. Under our current financial projections, we believe this, coupled with our expense cuts and working capital position provides the company with adequate liquidity going forward.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表。截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日，公司擁有約 160 萬美元的不受限制現金和 500 萬美元的正淨營運資金，不包括我們租賃義務的流動部分。我們於 2023 年 5 月簽署了新的 Halston 品牌戰略主許可協議，其中包括一筆預付現金。根據我們目前的財務預測，我們相信這一點，再加上我們削減開支和營運資金狀況，將為公司提供充足的流動性。

And with that, I would like to turn the call back over to Bob. Bob?

有了這個，我想把電話轉回給鮑勃。鮑勃？

Thank you, Jim. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our prepared remarks. Operator?

謝謝你，吉姆。女士們，先生們，我們準備好的發言到此結束。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) And your first question comes from the line of Howard Brous with Wellington Shields.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Howard Brous 與 Wellington Shields 的合作。

Robert, first of all, I want to congratulate you on the significant changes and the vast opportunities that you are presenting to us. I have just a few questions. Clearly, the cash payments advance. Will that be disclosed other than in the subsequent 10-Q?

羅伯特，首先，我要祝賀你為我們帶來的重大變化和巨大機遇。我有幾個問題。顯然，現金支付是預付的。除了隨後的 10-Q 之外，是否會披露？

It will be in a follow-up 8-K, Howard.

它將在後續的 8-K 中出現，霍華德。

Okay. Using Halston as an example, do you have any other significant opportunities in the works like Halston?

好的。以Halston為例，你在Halston這樣的作品中還有其他重要的機會嗎？

So we have several new brands in our pipeline. We are in the process of launching something with Christie Brinkley on HSN and other similar celebrities on QVC, 2 on QVC, 1 more in HSN. Our Christian Siriano, launch with our C. Wonder brand on HSN is off to a great start, Howard. We did 130% of better than planned on the first TS launch show. And all of Christian shows so far have been quite strong. So we look forward to these new businesses with both HSN and QVC. And of course, now with our own livestream platform, we will be selling product directly, livestreaming with the celebrities that are working on our brands.

所以我們有幾個新品牌在我們的管道中。我們正在與 Christie Brinkley 一起在 HSN 和 QVC 上與其他類似名人一起推出一些東西，在 QVC 上推出 2 個，在 HSN 上再推出 1 個。霍華德，我們的 Christian Siriano 與我們的 C. Wonder 品牌一起在 HSN 上推出是一個良好的開端。在第一次 TS 發布會上，我們的表現比計劃好 130%。到目前為止，所有的基督教節目都非常強勁。因此，我們期待 HSN 和 QVC 的這些新業務。當然，現在有了我們自己的直播平台，我們將直接銷售產品，與為我們品牌工作的名人一起直播。

And just to add to that, we expect a significant increase in the Halston business under our new license agreement, and we expect to announce who we have done this with in early June.

除此之外，我們預計根據我們的新許可協議，Halston 業務將大幅增長，我們預計將在 6 月初宣布與誰合作完成了這項工作。

So looking at livestreaming, do you have any competition right now with livestreaming for these types of brands?

那麼在直播方面，這些類型的品牌現在在直播方面有競爭嗎？

Well, there's competition that comes from interactive television. There's competition from a lot of retailers that have been trying livestreaming, but I don't believe that there's any competitor out there that is working with a complete ecosystem from a technology perspective, quite the way it's being done in Asia, and that's the tack that we've built. So we are excited to be able to have this now complete and get it launched.

好吧，互動電視帶來了競爭。許多零售商一直在嘗試直播，但我認為沒有任何競爭對手從技術角度與完整的生態系統合作，就像在亞洲所做的那樣，這就是策略我們建造的。因此，我們很高興現在能夠完成並啟動它。

You talked about positive EBITDA towards the end of the year. You have a research report done by a lovely lady-named Debra Fiakas, Crystal Equity Research. And in her research model, she talks about, and I'm talking about 2024 and I know you don't give guidance, but are you comfortable, that's the only word I want to use with her numbers for 2024? Talking about '25 -- go ahead.

你在年底談到了積極的 EBITDA。 Crystal Equity Research 的一位名叫 Debra Fiakas 的可愛女士完成了一份研究報告。在她的研究模型中，她談到，我說的是 2024 年，我知道你沒有提供指導，但你覺得舒服嗎，這是我想用她的 2024 年數字來表示的唯一詞？談論'25 - 繼續。

There are 2 analysts that covers Howard, Sidoti and Debra. We're comfortable with the guidance that they've put out there. And we expect that the company will return to profitability in Q4 of this year and then generate significant EBITDA compared to what we will be reporting for the entire year of '23 going into '24 and beyond.

有 2 名分析師，負責 Howard、Sidoti 和 Debra。我們對他們在那裡發布的指南感到滿意。我們預計該公司將在今年第四季度恢復盈利，然後產生顯著的 EBITDA 與我們將報告的 23 年到 24 年及以後的全年報告相比。

As you know, we've been able to eliminate $13 million of overhead. Our target was $10 million. We exceeded that by $3 million, and we believe there may be a little more that we can take out without disrupting the business.

如您所知，我們已經能夠消除 1300 萬美元的間接費用。我們的目標是 1000 萬美元。我們超過了 300 萬美元，我們相信在不中斷業務的情況下，我們可以拿出更多的錢。

Your next question comes from the line of Anthony Lebiedzinski with Sidoti.

你的下一個問題來自 Anthony Lebiedzinski 與 Sidoti 的對話。

Yes. So certainly a lot of changes here ahead. So as far as the first quarter results, so revenue did come in better than what we had expected which was nice to see. It looks like most of the upside came from better-than-expected wholesale revenue. I know you talked about selling a good chunk of inventory, the C. Wonder to HSN. So how much of that $3.8 million in wholesale sales was actually attributable to the C. Wonder sales to HSN?

是的。所以肯定會有很多變化。因此，就第一季度業績而言，收入確實比我們預期的要好，這很高興看到。看起來大部分上行空間來自好於預期的批發收入。我知道您談到要向 HSN 出售大量庫存，即 C. Wonder。那麼，在這 380 萬美元的批發銷售額中，有多少實際上歸因於 C. Wonder 對 HSN 的銷售？

It's Jim. It was a little bit over half of our sales for the quarter were from C. Wonder to HSN. And as we communicated, that we're now going to be licensing that component at the end of this year. So this was just a transition of the C. Wonder business with HSN to...

是吉姆。本季度略多於一半的銷售額來自 C. Wonder 到 HSN。正如我們所傳達的那樣，我們現在將在今年年底獲得該組件的許可。所以這只是 C. Wonder 與 HSN 的業務向......

But just as a point of reference, Anthony. C. Wonder launched in late March on HSN. So what you're seeing is really just...

但作為參考，安東尼。 C. Wonder 於 3 月下旬在 HSN 上推出。所以你所看到的真的只是......

Right. So there's 2 pieces there. There's a royalty piece and then there's wholesales that we'll still continue to have wholesales into the second quarter. And those products than we sold in HSN will be receiving royalties on the retail sales of that product.

正確的。所以那裡有 2 件。有特許權使用費，然後是批發，我們仍將繼續批發到第二季度。而那些我們在 HSN 銷售的產品將收到該產品零售銷售的特許權使用費。

Got it. Okay. And then so when I look at the balance sheet for inventory at the end of the first quarter was $3.1 million. So it was actually up sequentially from fiscal year-end. So now -- so I guess, first, so just looking at the first quarter ending inventory. What is that left? I mean, obviously, you sold off a good chunk to HSN. But so what's left now in the inventory? And then -- how do we think about inventories by the end of the second quarter? And then by the end of the fiscal year, will there be much in terms of inventory left?

知道了。好的。然後，當我查看第一季度末庫存的資產負債表時，庫存為 310 萬美元。所以它實際上是從財年末開始連續上升的。所以現在——所以我想，首先，只看第一季度末的庫存。剩下的是什麼？我的意思是，很明顯，你把很大一部分賣給了 HSN。但是現在庫存中還剩下什麼？然後——我們如何看待第二季度末的庫存？然後到財政年度結束時，剩餘庫存會多嗎？

No. We sold 100% of our jewelry inventory in the JTV transaction.

沒有。我們在 JTV 交易中出售了 100% 的珠寶庫存。

So which represented more than half our inventory.

所以這代表了我們庫存的一半以上。

Which was half the inventory position, that is gone. And we expect by the end of June, we will have any apparel inventory.

那是庫存位置的一半，那就沒了。我們預計到 6 月底，我們將有任何服裝庫存。

Okay. Got you. Okay. All right. And then -- so as far as the annualized cost savings, I know you talked about increasing that from $10 million to $13 million. So have you been able to -- I just wanted to get a bit an understanding where is the additional $3 million coming from? And it sounds like that might be a tack conservative. So just wanted to get a better explanation for that?

好的。明白了好的。好的。然後——就每年節省的成本而言，我知道你談到將其從 1000 萬美元增加到 1300 萬美元。那麼，您是否能夠——我只是想了解一下額外的 300 萬美元從何而來？聽起來這可能是一種保守的策略。所以只是想得到更好的解釋？

So the cuts came $6 million from salaries and $7 million from operating overhead and within the salaries, it's primarily people who were involved in the wholesale businesses. And to some extent, some of our e-com businesses, including warehouse people, logistics, sourcing, team members, merchants, designers and then in operating overhead, a lot of warehousing shipping, inventory, marketing. So those expenses will no longer be part of our operating cost, and that's where most of the savings comes from.

因此，削減了 600 萬美元的工資和 700 萬美元的運營管理費用，在工資中，主要是從事批發業務的人員。在某種程度上，我們的一些電子商務業務，包括倉庫人員、物流、採購、團隊成員、商人、設計師，然後在運營開銷中，大量的倉儲運輸、庫存、營銷。因此，這些費用將不再是我們運營成本的一部分，而這正是大部分節省的來源。

Got it. Okay. And then as far as the Longaberger brand in one of the prior filings' you guys talked about possibly looking at divesting that, is that still on the table? Or have you reconsidered that?

知道了。好的。然後就 Longaberger 品牌而言，在之前的一份文件中你們談到可能正在考慮剝離它，它還在討論中嗎？還是你重新考慮過？

We're exploring it with what we -- in an ideal world, we'd like Longaberger to be part of our livestream marketplace, and we're exploring either divesting it and bringing it into our marketplace or licensing it out to an operator where they can operate and be part of our marketplace. The plan for the marketplace is to be focused on fashion, home and jewelry.

我們正在探索它——在一個理想的世界中，我們希望 Longaberger 成為我們直播市場的一部分，我們正在探索要么剝離它並將其引入我們的市場，要么將其許可給運營商他們可以經營並成為我們市場的一部分。該市場的計劃將專注於時尚、家居和珠寶。

(Operator Instructions) And your next question comes from the line of Debra Fiakas with Crystal Equity Research.

（操作員說明）您的下一個問題來自 Debra Fiakas 與 Crystal Equity Research 的合作。

I appreciate all the questions that were asked by the previous 2 participants, particularly in regard to the pretty significant increase in the savings that you expect. And if I -- I just want to clarify, this jump from an estimated $10 million to $13 million is largely due to salaries. Maybe if you could give us an idea of what your personnel force will look like, say, at the end of June or at the end of October or September, I should say?

我感謝前 2 位參與者提出的所有問題，特別是關於您期望的節省的顯著增加。如果我 - 我只是想澄清一下，從估計的 1000 萬美元到 1300 萬美元的增長主要是由於薪水。也許如果你能告訴我們你的人員隊伍會是什麼樣子，比如說，在 6 月底或 10 月底或 9 月，我應該說？

Sure. We -- pre-transition, we were at about 95 people in our New York office. And 6 outside traveling salespeople. And post June 30, we will be 40 people in New York. So a lot of the savings came from the cuts that we made that were all associated with supporting the wholesale businesses. And that's where we will be and we don't see any disruption in the business. All but a few of those people are gone. There will be a few that will leave by the end of June.

當然。我們 - 過渡前，我們在紐約辦事處約有 95 人。以及 6 名外部旅行推銷員。 6 月 30 日之後，我們將有 40 人在紐約。因此，很多節省來自我們所做的削減，這些削減都與支持批發業務有關。這就是我們將要去的地方，我們不會看到任何業務中斷。除了少數人之外，其他人都走了。到 6 月底會有一些人離開。

And then a part of the additional cost was the opportunity of the new Halston license. We were able to accelerate some of the costs associated with that business. So we're able to take advantage of that in 2023.

然後一部分額外成本是獲得新的 Halston 許可的機會。我們能夠加快與該業務相關的一些成本。所以我們能夠在 2023 年利用它。

Okay. Excellent. Well, I understand a little better now. And then I wanted to move on and you've already mentioned in your opening remarks and a little bit in the Q&A, your agreement regarding Halston. And it seems like 25 years is a long time, I mean this day and age. What is it -- I know we'll all eventually know who this master licensee is, but just for now, could you give us an idea of what it is about this licensee that gives you confidence that, one, they're good for their guarantees. They've guaranteed some minimum royalty payments and that they have, what is it that's going to allow them to increase your sales volume so dramatically? If you could maybe give us a little bit of a hint as to what you saw in them.

好的。出色的。好吧，我現在明白了一點。然後我想繼續，你已經在開場白中提到，在問答環節中也提到了你對 Halston 的看法。 25 年似乎是一段很長的時間，我指的是這個時代。它是什麼——我知道我們最終都會知道這個主要被許可人是誰，但就目前而言，你能否告訴我們這個被許可人是什麼讓你相信，一個，他們對他們的保證。他們已經保證了一些最低的特許權使用費，而且他們有，是什麼讓他們能夠如此顯著地增加你的銷量？如果你能給我們一些關於你在他們身上看到的東西的提示。

If history is any indicator of what's likely to happen, they have a track record of building multibillion dollar brands.

如果歷史是可能發生的事情的任何指標，那麼他們擁有建立數十億美元品牌的記錄。

Okay. So we'll see a good track record and they have a history of making their payments and so forth, so we can trust them with this 25-year term?

好的。所以我們會看到良好的記錄，他們有付款的歷史等等，所以我們可以相信他們有 25 年的任期？

Yes. They are an industry tighten.

是的。他們是一個行業緊縮。

Okay. Very good. I do have one additional question. That's in regard to just comments that you made related to your own efforts to reach your consumers, to reach your customers. You mentioned social commerce technology. And you also mentioned your livestream technology that you're going to deploy for Longaberger. I wondered if you could give us a little bit of color on what this technology is? How does that set you apart from what the next brand owner is doing?

好的。非常好。我還有一個問題。這是關於你所做的與你自己為接觸消費者、接觸客戶所做的努力有關的評論。你提到了社交商務技術。你還提到了你將為 Longaberger 部署的直播技術。我想知道你是否可以給我們一些關於這項技術的顏色？這如何讓您與下一個品牌所有者的做法區分開來？

There's 2 things that are happening in the industry today. One, short-form video content is winning. And the retail model is shifting from the one-to-many model to the many-to-many model. Amazon announced 2 weeks ago that they are now shifting to the many-to-many model. And by that, what I mean is the industry going forward, will rely on converting everyday customers into paid influencers. And it will be a business driven by sales by many people as opposed to one entity that is pushing product via either static images or short-form video content. And there aren't a lot of tech platforms that one can provide the everyday shopper or an influencer with the technology that they need.

今天這個行業正在發生兩件事。第一，短視頻內容正在獲勝。零售模式正在從一對多模式轉變為多對多模式。亞馬遜 2 週前宣布他們現在正在轉向多對多模式。就此而言，我的意思是該行業的發展將依賴於將日常客戶轉化為付費影響者。這將是一項由許多人的銷售驅動的業務，而不是通過靜態圖像或短視頻內容推銷產品的一個實體。並且沒有很多技術平台可以為日常購物者或有影響力的人提供他們所需的技術。

Think of it as a shoppable version of TikTok with appropriate reporting and the ability for brands to do the same thing in terms of converting whatever content they have into short-form video content. Clearly, we believe, and it's not just us, it's others that are conducting research in the sector that the future will be all about short-form video content and harnessing the power of shoppers and influencers to sell product.

將其視為 TikTok 的可購物版本，具有適當的報告，並且品牌能夠在將其擁有的任何內容轉換為短視頻內容方面做同樣的事情。顯然，我們相信，不僅是我們，還有其他在該領域進行研究的人都認為，未來將全都與短視頻內容有關，並利用購物者和有影響力的人的力量來銷售產品。

There are no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back to Mr. D'Loren for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我會將電話轉回給 D'Loren 先生，請他作結束語。

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for all of your time this evening. We greatly appreciate your continued interest and support in Xcel Brands. As always, stay fit, eat well and be healthy.

女士們，先生們，感謝你們今晚的所有時間。我們非常感謝您對 Xcel Brands 的持續關注和支持。一如既往，保持健康，吃得好，身體健康。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference call for today. You may all disconnect, and thank you for participating.

女士們，先生們，我們今天的電話會議到此結束。你們都可以斷開連接，感謝你們的參與。