株探米国株
日本語 英語
エドガーで原本を確認する
0001018840false00010188402022-08-252022-08-25

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 25, 2022

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 1-12107 31-1469076
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission File Number) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
6301 Fitch Path New Albany Ohio 43054
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (614) 283-6500


Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

    ☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
    ☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
    ☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
    ☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Class A Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value ANF New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
                                        Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐



Item 2.02. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On August 25, 2022, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (the “Company”) issued a news release (the “Release”) reporting the Company’s unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended July 30, 2022. A copy of the Release is included as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

In conjunction with the Release, the Company also made available additional unaudited quarterly financial information for the first quarter ended May 1, 2021, and for each of the quarters in the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022. The Company also made available additional unaudited financial information for the fiscal years ended January 29, 2022, January 30, 2021, February 1, 2020, and February 2, 2019. The additional financial information is included as Exhibit 99.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

In conjunction with the Release, the Company also made available an investor presentation of results for the second quarter ended July 30, 2022. The presentation, which is available under the “Investors” section of the Company’s website, located at corporate.abercrombie.com, is included as Exhibit 99.3 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. Information on the Company’s website is not, and will not be deemed to be, a part of this Current Report on Form 8-K or incorporated into any other filings the Company may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Company’s management conducted a conference call on August 25, 2022 to review the Company’s financial results for the second quarter ended July 30, 2022. A copy of the transcript of the conference call is included as Exhibit 99.4 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information in this Item 2.02, including the accompanying Exhibits, are being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(a) through (c) Not applicable

(d) Exhibits:

The following exhibits are included with this Current Report on Form 8-K:

Exhibit No. Description
99.1
99.2
99.3
99.4
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)




SIGNATURE


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Dated: August 29, 2022 By: /s/ Scott D. Lipesky
Scott D. Lipesky
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

EX-99.1 2 q22022pressrelease.htm EX-99.1 Document

ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO. REPORTS SECOND QUARTER RESULTS
Abercrombie delivers highest Q2 sales since 2015, offset by pressures at Hollister


New Albany, Ohio, August 25, 2022: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) today announced results for the second quarter ended July 30, 2022. These compare to results for the second quarter ended July 31, 2021. Descriptions of the use of non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations of GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures accompany this release.

Fran Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer, said “As the global macro environment deteriorated in the second quarter, we experienced a divergence in brand performance. Abercrombie delivered its highest Q2 sales since 2015 and its ninth consecutive quarter of average unit retail (“AUR”) growth. This was more than offset by Hollister, where we saw a greater than anticipated impact from inflation and a shift away from core categories to more fashion-driven product, contributing to lower-than-expected conversion and basket size.

We expect macro headwinds to persist and have taken action to adjust receipts across brands to fuel winning categories for late fall and holiday. In addition, we have right-sized the Hollister inventory receipt plan for holiday and beyond. Looking ahead, we will continue to monitor sales volumes and react with agility to ensure inventory turns appropriately, and we expect year-over-year inventory growth to have peaked in Q2 and to moderate significantly in the back half as we lap late receipts from last year.

Thus far in August, we have experienced a steady improvement in weekly sales trend, although total quarter-to-date remains in line with Q2. Our revised outlook reflects the uncertain environment for the back half. As we have successfully done over the last several years, we will continue to navigate near-term challenges and reduce spend where appropriate while executing to our long-term goals. We remain confident that we have the balance sheet and strategies in place to drive continued progress towards our 2025 Always Forward Plan introduced at our June 2022 Investor Day.”

Details related to net (loss) income per diluted share for the second quarter are as follows:
2022 2021
GAAP $ (0.33) $ 1.69 
Excluded items, net of tax effect (1)
(0.03) (0.01)
Adjusted non-GAAP $ (0.30) $ 1.70 
Impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates (2)
—  (0.09)
Adjusted non-GAAP constant currency $ (0.30) $ 1.61 
(1)Excluded items consist of pre-tax store asset impairment charges.
(2)The estimated impact from foreign currency is calculated by applying current period exchange rates to prior year results using a 26% tax rate.

A summary of results for the second quarter ended July 30, 2022 as compared to the second quarter ended July 31, 2021:
•Net sales of $805 million, down 7% as compared to last year on a reported basis and down 4% on a constant currency basis.
•Gross profit rate of 57.9%, down approximately 730 basis points as compared to last year. The year-over-year decrease was primarily driven by higher product costs, which contributed 750 basis points, and the adverse impact of exchange rates, which accounted for 30 basis points. These impacts where partially offset by higher AUR at Abercrombie.
•Operating expense, excluding other operating income, net, was up 4% compared to last year. The increase was driven primarily by inflation and higher digital fulfillment expenses partially offset by lower incentive-based compensation. Operating expense as a percentage of sales increased to 58.0% from 52.1% last year.
•     Operating loss of $2 million and $0 million on a reported and adjusted non-GAAP basis, respectively, as compared to operating income of $115 million and $116 million last year, on a reported and adjusted non-GAAP basis, respectively.
•Net loss per diluted share of $0.33 and $0.30 on a reported and adjusted non-GAAP basis, respectively, as compared to net income per diluted share last year of $1.69 and $1.70 on a reported and adjusted non-GAAP basis, respectively.
1


Net Sales
Net sales by brand and region for the second quarter are as follows:
(in thousands) 2022 2021 1 YR % Change
Net sales by brand:
Hollister (1)
$ 436,934  $ 514,483  (15)%
Abercrombie (2)
368,157  350,367  5%
Total company $ 805,091  $ 864,850  (7)%
Net sales by region: (3)
2022 2021 1 YR % Change
United States $ 578,086  $ 601,767  (4)%
EMEA 166,785  190,840  (13)%
APAC 27,778  41,228  (33)%
Other (4)
32,442  31,015  5%
International $ 227,005  $ 263,083  (14)%
Total company $ 805,091  $ 864,850  (7)%
(1)    Hollister includes the Hollister, Gilly Hicks and Social Tourist brands.
(2)    Abercrombie includes the Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids brands.
(3)    Net sales by geographic area are presented by attributing revenues to an individual country on the basis of the country in which the merchandise was sold for in-store purchases and on the basis of the shipping location provided by customers for digital orders.
(4)    Other includes all sales that do not fall within the United States, EMEA, or APAC regions.

Financial Position and Liquidity
As of July 30, 2022 the company had:
•Cash and equivalents of $370 million. This compares to cash and equivalents of $823 million and $922 million as of January 29, 2022 and July 31, 2021, respectively.
•Inventories of $708 million, with 92% of inventory current, defined as current season, long-lived, or future set. The second quarter lapped the lowest Q2 on hand inventory levels since the mid-2000s and the lowest total inventory in over a decade, driven by shipping delays and production shutdowns in Vietnam, where we had outsized exposure relative to industry average. Low on-hand inventories in 2021 led to missed sales opportunity in the back half. This year, we proactively pulled forward deliveries to ensure we have product for back-to-school and holiday. Compared to 2021, an increase of approximately 70% was driven by higher units on hand which contributed 28% to the increase. In-transit inventory was up $140 million, or 130%, contributing 34% to the increase and increased average unit costs contributed 8%.
•Long-term gross borrowings under the company’s senior secured notes of $308 million (the “Senior Secured Notes”) which mature in July 2025 and bear interest at a rate of 8.75% per annum.
•Borrowing available under the senior-secured asset-based revolving credit facility (the “ABL Facility”) of $359 million.
•Liquidity, comprised of cash and equivalents and borrowing available under the ABL Facility, of approximately $0.7 billion. This compares to liquidity of $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion as of January 29, 2022 and July 31, 2021, respectively.

Cash Flow and Capital Allocation
Details related to the company’s cash flows for the year-to-date period ended July 30, 2022 are as follows:
•Net cash used for operating activities of $260 million.
•Net cash used for investing activities of $52 million.
•Net cash used for financing activities of $135 million.

In the quarter, the company returned approximately $18 million to shareholders through the repurchase of approximately 1 million shares. For the year-to-date period ended July 30, 2022, the company repurchased approximately 4.3 million shares and has returned $118 million to shareholders through share repurchases. The company has $240 million remaining on the share repurchase authorization established in November 2021.

Depreciation and amortization was $66 million for the year-to-date period ended July 30, 2022.

Fiscal 2022 Full Year Outlook
The following outlook replaces all previous full year guidance. For fiscal 2022, the company now expects:
•Net sales to be down mid-single-digits from $3.7 billion in 2021 compared to previous outlook of flat to up 2%, driven by an assumed ongoing inflationary impact on consumer demand. The outlook also includes an estimated adverse impact of approximately 200 basis points from foreign currency.
2


•Operating margin in the range of 1 to 3%, down from previous outlook of 5 to 6% primarily reflecting lower sales due to an assumption of lower AURs needed to keep inventory current. Mitigating these factors will be actions to reduce certain expenses, and adjust inventory receipt levels and cadence by region in response to current market forces.
•Capital expenditures of approximately $150 million.

The company is withdrawing the previous effective tax rate outlook of mid 30s as there could be a higher effective tax rate due to our inability to recognize a tax benefit for certain losses incurred outside of the U.S.

Fiscal 2022 Third Quarter Outlook
For the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the company expects:
•Net sales to be down high-single-digits to fiscal third quarter 2021 level of $905 million. The level assumes a continuation of recent trends for the rest of the quarter and includes an estimated adverse impact of approximately 220 basis points from foreign currency.
•Operating income to be around break-even with the year-over-year decline driven by lower sales and an assumption of lower AURs needed to keep inventory current.
Conference Call
Today at 8:30 AM, ET, the company will conduct a conference call and provide additional details around its quarterly results and its outlook for the third quarter. To listen to the conference call, dial (800) 458-4121 or go to corporate.abercrombie.com. The international call-in number is (323) 794-2093. This call will be recorded and made available by dialing the replay number (888) 203-1112 or the international number (719) 457-0820 followed by the conference ID number 5110701 or through corporate.abercrombie.com. A presentation of second quarter results will be available in the “Investors” section at corporate.abercrombie.com at approximately 7:30 AM, ET, today. Important information may be disseminated initially or exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
This Press Release and related statements by management or spokespeople of A&F contain forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our third quarter and annual fiscal 2022 results, relate to our current assumptions, projections and expectations about our business and future events. Any such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various important factors, many of which may be beyond the company’s control. The inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by the company, or any other person, that the objectives of the company will be achieved. Words such as “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “are confident,” “will,” “could,” “outlook,” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, including any financial targets or estimates, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Factors that may cause results to differ from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the factors disclosed in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022, and otherwise in our reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the following factors: risks and uncertainty related to the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic and any other adverse public health developments; risks related to changes in global economic and financial conditions, and the resulting impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending, as well as other changes in consumer discretionary spending habits; risks related to recent inflationary pressures with respect to labor and raw materials and global supply chain constraints that have, and could continue, to affect freight, transit, and other costs; risks related to geopolitical conflict, including the on-going hostilities in Ukraine, acts of terrorism, mass casualty events, social unrest, civil disturbance or disobedience; risks related to our failure to engage our customers, anticipate customer demand and changing fashion trends, and manage our inventory commensurately; risks related to our failure to operate effectively in a highly competitive and constantly evolving industry; risks related to our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives, including our Always Forward Plan; risks related to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; risks related to fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate may result in volatility in our results of operations; and risks related to cybersecurity threats and privacy or data security breaches or the potential loss or disruption of our information systems.

3


Other Information
This document includes certain adjusted non-GAAP financial measures where management believes it to be helpful in understanding the company's results of operations or financial position. Additional details about non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of GAAP financial measures to non-GAAP financial measures can be found in the "Reporting and Use of GAAP and Non-GAAP Measures" section. Sub-totals and totals may not foot due to rounding. Net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share financial measures included herein are attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co., excluding net income attributable to noncontrolling interests.

As used in this document, unless otherwise defined "Hollister" refers to the company's Hollister, Gilly Hicks, and Social Tourist brands and "Abercrombie" refers to the company's Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids brands.

About Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is a leading, global, omnichannel specialty retailer of apparel and accessories for men, women and kids through five renowned brands. The iconic Abercrombie & Fitch brand was born in 1892 and aims to make every day feel as exceptional as the start of a long weekend. abercrombie kids sees the world through kids’ eyes, where play is life and every day is an opportunity to be anything and better anything. The Hollister brand believes in liberating the spirit of an endless summer inside everyone and making teens feel celebrated and comfortable in their own skin. Gilly Hicks, offering activewear, loungewear and underwear, is designed to give all Gen Z customers their daily dose of happy. Social Tourist, the creative vision of Hollister and social media personalities, Dixie and Charli D’Amelio, offers trend forward apparel that allows teens to experiment with their style, while exploring the duality of who they are both on social media and in real life.

The brands share a commitment to offering products of enduring quality and exceptional comfort that allow consumers around the world to express their own individuality and style. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operates approximately 730 stores under these brands across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as the e-commerce sites www.abercrombie.com, www.abercrombiekids.com, www.hollisterco.com, www.gillyhicks.com and www.socialtourist.com.
Investor Contact: Media Contact:
Mackenzie Gusweiler Mackenzie Gusweiler
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
(614) 283-6751 (614) 283-6192
Investor_Relations@anfcorp.com Public_Relations@anfcorp.com
4


Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Thirteen Weeks Ended Thirteen Weeks Ended
July 30, 2022 % of
Net Sales
July 31, 2021 % of
Net Sales
Net sales $ 805,091  100.0  % $ 864,850  100.0  %
Cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization 339,200  42.1  % 301,365  34.8  %
Gross profit 465,891  57.9  % 563,485  65.2  %
Stores and distribution expense 340,791  42.3  % 325,847  37.7  %
Marketing, general and administrative expense 124,168  15.4  % 123,913  14.3  %
Asset impairment 2,170  0.3  % 786  0.1  %
Other operating expense (income), net 953  0.1  % (1,848) (0.2) %
Operating (loss) income (2,191) (0.3) % 114,787  13.3  %
Interest expense, net 6,917  0.9  % 11,275  1.3  %
(Loss) income before income taxes (9,108) (1.1) % 103,512  12.0  %
Income tax expense (benefit) 5,634  0.7  % (6,944) (0.8) %
Net (loss) income (14,742) (1.8) % 110,456  12.8  %
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 2,092  0.3  % 1,956  0.2  %
Net (loss) income attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ (16,834) (2.1) % $ 108,500  12.5  %
Net (loss) income per share attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co.:
Basic $ (0.33) $ 1.77 
Diluted $ (0.33) $ 1.69 
Weighted-average shares outstanding:
Basic 50,441  61,428 
Diluted 50,441  64,136 



5


Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Twenty-Six Weeks Ended Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
July 30, 2022 % of
Net Sales
July 31, 2021 % of
Net Sales
Net sales $ 1,617,853  100.0  % $ 1,646,255  100.0  %
Cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization 702,416  43.4  % 587,636  35.7  %
Gross profit 915,437  56.6  % 1,058,619  64.3  %
Stores and distribution expense 678,334  41.9  % 641,355  39.0  %
Marketing, general and administrative expense 246,317  15.2  % 244,860  14.9  %
Asset impairment, exclusive of flagship store exit charges 5,592  0.3  % 3,450  0.2  %
Other operating income, net (2,889) (0.2) % (3,266) (0.2) %
Operating (loss) income (11,917) (0.7) % 172,220  10.5  %
Interest expense, net 14,224  0.9  % 19,881  1.2  %
(Loss) Income before income taxes (26,141) (1.6) % 152,339  9.3  %
Income tax expense (benefit) 3,447  0.2  % (823) 0.0  %
Net (loss) income (29,588) (1.8) % 153,162  9.3  %
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 3,715  0.2  % 2,894  0.2  %
Net (loss) income attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ (33,303) (2.1) % $ 150,268  9.1  %
Net (loss) income per share attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co.:
Basic $ (0.65) $ 2.43 
Diluted $ (0.65) $ 2.32 
Weighted-average shares outstanding:
Basic 51,262  61,914 
Diluted 51,262  64,803 
6


Reporting and Use of GAAP and Non-GAAP Measures
The company believes that each of the non-GAAP financial measures presented are useful to investors as they provide a measure of the company’s operating performance excluding the effect of certain items which the company believes do not reflect its future operating outlook, such as asset impairment charges, therefore supplementing investors’ understanding of comparability of operations across periods. Management used these non-GAAP financial measures during the periods presented to assess the company’s performance and to develop expectations for future operating performance. Non-GAAP financial measures should be used supplemental to, and not as an alternative to, the company’s GAAP financial results, and may not be calculated in the same manner as similar measures presented by other companies.

In addition, at times the company provides comparable sales, defined as the percentage year-over-year change in the aggregate of: (1) sales for stores that have been open as the same brand at least one year and whose square footage has not been expanded or reduced by more than 20% within the past year, with prior year’s net sales converted at the current year’s foreign currency exchange rate to remove the impact of foreign currency rate fluctuation, and (2) digital net sales with prior year’s net sales converted at the current year’s foreign currency exchange rate to remove the impact of foreign currency rate fluctuation.

The company also provides certain financial information on a constant currency basis to enhance investors’ understanding of underlying business trends and operating performance, by removing the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. The effect from foreign currency, calculated on a constant currency basis, is determined by applying current year average exchange rates to prior year results and is net of the year-over-year impact from hedging. The per diluted share effect from foreign currency is calculated using a 26% tax rate.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Schedule of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Thirteen Weeks Ended July 30, 2022
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
GAAP (1)
Excluded items Adjusted
non-GAAP
Asset impairment(2)
$ 2,170  $ 2,170  $ — 
Operating loss (2,191) (2,170) (21)
Loss before income taxes (9,108) (2,170) (6,938)
Income tax expense (3)
5,634  (611) 6,245 
Net loss attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ (16,834) $ (1,559) $ (15,275)
Net loss per diluted share attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ (0.33) $ (0.03) $ (0.30)
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding: 50,441  50,441 
(1)    “GAAP” refers to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
(2)    Excluded items consist of pre-tax store asset impairment charges of $2.2 million.
(3)    The tax effect of excluded items is the difference between the tax provision calculated on a GAAP basis and an adjusted non-GAAP basis.
7


Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Schedule of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Thirteen Weeks Ended July 31, 2021
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
GAAP (1)
Excluded items Adjusted
non-GAAP
Asset impairment(2)
$ 786  $ 786  $ — 
Operating income 114,787  (786) 115,573 
Income before income taxes 103,512  (786) 104,298 
Income tax benefit (3)
(6,944) (224) (6,720)
Net income attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ 108,500  $ (562) $ 109,062 
Net income per diluted share attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ 1.69  $ (0.01) $ 1.70 
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding: 64,136  64,136 
(1)    “GAAP” refers to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
(2)    Excluded items consist of pre-tax store asset impairment charges of $0.8 million
(3)    The tax effect of excluded items is the difference between the tax provision calculated on a GAAP basis and an adjusted non-GAAP basis.
8


Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Schedule of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 30, 2022
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
GAAP (1)
Excluded items Adjusted
non-GAAP
Asset impairment, exclusive of flagship store exit charges (2)
$ 5,592  $ 5,592  $ — 
Operating loss (11,917) (5,592) (6,325)
Loss before income taxes (26,141) (5,592) (20,549)
Income tax expense (3)
3,447  (1,529) 4,976 
Net loss attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ (33,303) $ (4,063) $ (29,240)
Net loss per diluted share attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ (0.65) $ (0.08) $ (0.57)
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding: 51,262  51,262 
(1)    “GAAP” refers to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
(2)    Excluded items consist of pre-tax store asset impairment charges of $5.6 million.
(3)    The tax effect of excluded items is the difference between the tax provision calculated on a GAAP basis and an adjusted non-GAAP basis.
9


Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Schedule of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 31, 2021
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
GAAP (1)
Excluded items Adjusted
non-GAAP
Asset impairment, exclusive of flagship store exit charges (2)
$ 3,450  $ 3,450  $ — 
Operating income 172,220  (3,450) 175,670 
Income before income taxes 152,339  (3,450) 155,789 
Income tax benefit (3)
(823) (673) (150)
Net income attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ 150,268  $ (2,777) $ 153,045 
Net income per diluted share attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ 2.32  $ (0.04) $ 2.36 
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding: 64,803  64,803 
(1)    “GAAP” refers to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
(2)    Excluded items consist of pre-tax store asset impairment charges of $3.5 million, which are principally the result of the impact of COVID-19 on store cash flows.
(3)    The tax effect of excluded items is the difference between the tax provision calculated on a GAAP basis and an adjusted non-GAAP basis.
10


Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Reconciliation of Constant Currency Financial Measures
Thirteen Weeks Ended July 30, 2022
(in thousands, except percentage and basis point changes and per share data)
(Unaudited)
2022 2021 % Change
Net sales
GAAP (1)
$ 805,091  $ 864,850  (7)%
Impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates (2)
—  (23,124) 3%
Net sales on a constant currency basis $ 805,091  $ 841,726  (4)%
Gross profit 2022 2021
BPS Change (3)
GAAP (1)
$ 465,891  $ 563,485  (730)
Impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates (2)
—  (16,117) 20
Gross profit on a constant currency basis $ 465,891  $ 547,368  (710)
Operating (loss) income 2022 2021
BPS Change (3)
GAAP (1)
$ (2,191) $ 114,787  (1,360)
Excluded items (4)
(2,170) (786) (20)
Adjusted non-GAAP $ (21) $ 115,573  (1,380)
Impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates (2)
—  (7,984) 100
Adjusted non-GAAP constant currency basis $ (21) $ 107,589  (1,280)
Net (loss) income per diluted share attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. 2022 2021 $ Change
GAAP (1)
$ (0.33) $ 1.69  $(2.02)
Excluded items, net of tax (4)
(0.03) (0.01) (0.02)
Adjusted non-GAAP $ (0.30) $ 1.70  $(2.00)
Impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates (2)
—  (0.09) 0.09
Adjusted non-GAAP constant currency basis $ (0.30) $ 1.61  $(1.91)

(1)    “GAAP” refers to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
(2)    The estimated impact from foreign currency is determined by applying current period exchange rates to prior year results and is net of the year-over-year impact from hedging. The per diluted share estimated impact from foreign currency is calculated using a 26% tax rate.
(3)    The estimated basis point change has been rounded based on the percentage change.
(4)    Excluded items consist of pre-tax store asset impairment charges of $2.2 million and $0.8 million for the current year and prior year, respectively.
11



Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)
(Unaudited)
July 30, 2022 January 29, 2022 July 31, 2021
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and equivalents $ 369,957  $ 823,139  $ 921,504 
Receivables 79,820  69,102  87,151 
Inventories 708,024  525,864  415,604 
Other current assets 104,887  89,654  77,392 
Total current assets 1,262,688  1,507,759  1,501,651 
Property and equipment, net 511,181  508,336  532,795 
Operating lease right-of-use assets 740,627  698,231  791,036 
Other assets 219,598  225,165  229,911 
Total assets $ 2,734,094  $ 2,939,491  $ 3,055,393 
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 408,297  $ 374,829  $ 289,475 
Accrued expenses 342,690  395,815  351,991 
Short-term portion of operating lease liabilities 202,699  222,823  219,453 
Income taxes payable 5,582  21,773  26,260 
Total current liabilities 959,268  1,015,240  887,179 
Long-term liabilities:
Long-term portion of operating lease liabilities $ 714,265  $ 697,264  $ 791,793 
Long-term borrowings, net 304,219  303,574  303,015 
Other liabilities 83,415  86,089  106,473 
Total long-term liabilities 1,101,899  1,086,927  1,201,281 
Total Abercrombie & Fitch Co. stockholders’ equity 661,788  826,090  956,566 
Noncontrolling interests 11,139  11,234  10,367 
Total stockholders’ equity 672,927  837,324  966,933 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 2,734,094  $ 2,939,491  $ 3,055,393 

12


Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
  Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
  July 30, 2022 July 31, 2021
Operating activities
Net cash (used for) provided by operating activities $ (259,733) $ 49,945 
Investing activities
Purchases of property and equipment $ (59,582) $ (35,269)
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment 7,972  — 
Net cash used for investing activities $ (51,610) $ (35,269)
Financing activities
Purchase of senior secured notes —  (46,969)
Payment of debt issuance or modification costs and fees —  (1,837)
Purchases of common stock (117,775) (135,249)
Other financing activities (17,649) (16,192)
Net cash used for financing activities $ (135,424) $ (200,247)
Effect of foreign currency exchange rates on cash $ (7,567) $ (2,547)
Net decrease in cash and equivalents, and restricted cash and equivalents $ (454,334) $ (188,118)
Cash and equivalents, and restricted cash and equivalents, beginning of period $ 834,368  $ 1,124,157 
Cash and equivalents, and restricted cash and equivalents, end of period $ 380,034  $ 936,039 
13


Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Store Count

Thirteen Weeks Ended July 30, 2022
Hollister (1)
Abercrombie (2)
Total Company (3)
United States International United States International United States International Total
April 30, 2022 352 156 171 49 523 205 728
New 6 1 1 7 1 8
Permanently closed (2) (2) (2)
July 30, 2022 358 155 172 49 530 204 734
Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 30, 2022
Hollister (1)
Abercrombie (2)
Total Company (3)
United States International United States International United States International Total
January 29, 2022 351 154 173 51 524 205 729
New 7 3 2 9 3 12
Permanently closed (2) (3) (2) (3) (4) (7)
July 30, 2022 358 155 172 49 530 204 734
(1)Hollister includes the company’s Hollister and Gilly Hicks brands. Locations with Gilly Hicks carveouts within Hollister stores are represented as a single store count. Excludes 9 international franchise stores as of July 30, 2022, 8 international franchise stores as of April 30, 2022 and January 29, 2022. Excludes 15 company-operated temporary stores as of July 30, 2022 and 13 company-operated temporary stores April 30, 2022 and 14 company-operated temporary stores January 29, 2022.
(2)Abercrombie includes the company's Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids brands. Locations with abercrombie kids carveouts within Abercrombie & Fitch stores are represented as a single store count. Excludes 16 international franchise stores as of July 30, 2022, 14 international franchise stores as of April 30, 2022 and January 29, 2022. Excludes 4 company-operated temporary stores as of July 30, 2022 and 5 company-operated temporary stores as of April 30, 2022 and January 29, 2022.
(3)This store count excludes one international third-party operated multi-brand outlet store as of each of July 30, 2022, April 30, 2022, and January 29, 2022.
14
EX-99.2 3 q22022quarterlyhistory.htm EX-99.2 Document

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Financial Information
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share data, store data, and comparable sales data)
Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2022
2018 2019 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2021 Q1 Q2 2022
Net sales $ 3,590,109  $ 3,623,073  $ 3,125,384  $ 781,405  $ 864,850  $ 905,160  $ 1,161,353  $ 3,712,768  $ 812,762  $ 805,091  $ 1,617,853 
Cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization 1,430,193  1,472,155  1,234,179  286,271  301,365  328,916  484,221  1,400,773  363,216  339,200  702,416 
Gross profit 2,159,916  2,150,918  1,891,205  495,134  563,485  576,244  677,132  2,311,995  449,546  465,891  915,437 
Stores and distribution expense 1,536,216  1,551,243  1,391,584  316,608  325,935  351,804  435,129  1,429,476  337,543  340,791  678,334 
Marketing, general and administrative expense 484,863  464,615  463,843  120,947  123,913  146,269  145,686  536,815  122,149  124,168  246,317 
Flagship store exit charges (benefits) 5,806  47,257  (11,636) (1,100) (88) 11  24  (1,153) —  —  — 
Asset impairment, exclusive of flagship store exit charges 11,580  19,135  72,937  2,664  786  6,749  1,901  12,100  3,422  2,170  5,592 
Other operating (income) loss, net (5,915) (1,400) (5,054) (1,418) (1,848) (1,320) (3,741) (8,327) (3,842) 953  (2,889)
Operating income (loss) 127,366  70,068  (20,469) 57,433  114,787  72,731  98,133  343,084  (9,726) (2,191) (11,917)
Interest expense, net 10,999  7,737  28,274  8,606  11,275  7,270  6,959  34,110  7,307  6,917  14,224 
Income (loss) before income taxes 116,367  62,331  (48,743) 48,827  103,512  65,461  91,174  308,974  (17,033) (9,108) (26,141)
Income tax expense (benefit) 37,559  17,371  60,211  6,121  (6,944) 16,383  23,348  38,908  (2,187) 5,634  3,447 
Net income (loss) 78,808  44,960  (108,654) 42,706  110,456  49,078  67,826  270,066  (14,846) (14,742) (29,588)
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 4,267  5,602  5,067  938  1,956  1,845  2,317  7,056  1,623  2,092  3,715 
Net income (loss) attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. $ 74,541  $ 39,358  $ (114,021) $ 41,768  $ 108,500  $ 47,233  $ 65,509  $ 263,010  $ (16,469) $ (16,834) $ (33,303)
1


Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2022
2018 2019 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2021 Q1 Q2 2022
Net income (loss) per share attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co.:
 Basic $ 1.11  $ 0.61  $ (1.82) $ 0.67  $ 1.77  $ 0.80  $ 1.18  $ 4.41  $ (0.32) $ (0.33) $ (0.65)
 Diluted $ 1.08  $ 0.60  $ (1.82) $ 0.64  $ 1.69  $ 0.77  $ 1.12  $ 4.20  $ (0.32) $ (0.33) $ (0.65)
Weighted-average shares outstanding:
 Basic 67,350  64,428  62,551  62,380  61,428  58,796  55,740  59,597  52,077  50,441  51,262 
 Diluted 69,137  65,778  62,551  65,305  64,136  61,465  58,700  62,636  52,077  50,441  51,262 
Hollister comparable sales (1) (2)
% (1) % Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided
Abercrombie comparable sales (1) (3)
% % Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided
Comparable sales (1)
% % Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided Not provided
Shares outstanding 66,227  62,786  62,399  61,935  59,692  57,037  52,985  52,985  50,442  49,471  49,471 
 Number of stores - end of period 861  857  735  731  733  735  729  729  728  734  734 
 Gross square feet - end of period 6,566  6,314  5,232  5,189  5,150  5,159  5,052  5,052  5,029  5,059  5,059 
(1) Comparable sales are calculated on a constant currency basis and exclude revenue other than store and online sales. The Company did not provide comparable sales results for fiscal 2020, fiscal 2021 or fiscal 2022 due to temporary store closures as a result of COVID-19.
(2) Hollister includes the Company's Hollister, Gilly Hicks, and Social Tourist brands.
(3) Abercrombie includes the Company's Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids brands.
2
EX-99.3 4 q22022investorpresentati.htm EX-99.3 q22022investorpresentati
INVESTOR PRESENTATION: SECOND QUARTER 2022


 
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995 This presentation and related statements by management or spokespeople of A&F contain forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements, including without limitation, statements regarding our third quarter and annual fiscal 2022 results, relate to our current assumptions, projections and expectations about our business and future events. Any such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various important factors, many of which may be beyond the company's control. The inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by the company, or any other person, that the objectives of the company will be achieved. Words such as "estimate," "project," "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "are confident," “will,” “could,” “outlook,” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, including any financial targets or estimates, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Factors that may cause results to differ from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the factors disclosed in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of the company 's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022, and otherwise in our reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the following factors: risks and uncertainty related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and any other adverse public health developments; risks related to changes in global economic and financial conditions and the resulting impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending, as well as other changes in consumer discretionary spending habits; risks related to recent inflationary pressures with respect to labor and raw materials and global supply chain constraints that have, and could continue, to affect freight, transit, and other costs; risks related to geopolitical conflict, including the on-going hostilities in Ukraine, acts of terrorism, mass casualty events, social unrest, civil disturbance or disobedience; risks related to our failure to engage our customers, anticipate customer demand and changing fashion trends and manage our inventory commensurately; risks related to our failure to operate effectively in a highly competitive and constantly evolving industry; risks related to our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives, including our Always Forward Plan; risks related to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; risks related to fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate may result in volatility in our results of operations; risks related to cybersecurity threats and privacy or data security breaches or the potential loss or disruption of our information systems; and risks associated with climate change and other corporate responsibility issues. OTHER INFORMATION The following presentation includes certain adjusted non-GAAP financial measures. Additional details about non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of GAAP financial measures to non-GAAP financial measures is included in the Appendix to this presentation. As used in the presentation, "GAAP" refers to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Sub-totals and totals may not foot due to rounding. Net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share financial measures included herein are attributable to Abercrombie & Fitch Co., excluding net income attributable to noncontrolling interests. As used in this presentation, unless otherwise defined, references to "Hollister" include the company's Hollister, Gilly Hicks, and Social Tourist brands and references to "Abercrombie" includes the company's Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids brands. 2


 
Safe Harbor and Other Information 2 Company Overview 4 Focus Areas 11 Q2 2022 Results 16 Updated Fiscal 2022 Outlook 24 Financial Position, Liquidity & Capital Allocation 26 Appendix 31 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3


 
COMPANY OVERVIEW 4


 
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is a global, digitally-led, omni-channel apparel and accessories retailer catering to kids through millennials with assortments curated for their specific lifestyle needs Our corporate purpose of 'Being here for you on the journey to being and becoming who you are' fuels our purpose-led brands and our global associates 5


 
The quintessential apparel brand of the global teen consumer, Hollister Co. believes in liberating the spirit of an endless summer inside everyone. At Hollister, summer isn’t just a season, it’s a state of mind. Hollister creates carefree style designed to make all teens feel celebrated and comfortable in their own skin, so they can live in a summer mindset all year long, whatever the season. At Gilly Hicks, we know everyone has their own unique happy place. We exist to help you find yours. Gilly Hicks focuses on activewear, loungewear and underwear designed to give all Gen Z customers their daily dose of happy. A global specialty retailer of quality, comfortable, made-to-play favorites, abercrombie kids sees the world through kids’ eyes, where play is life and every day is an opportunity to be anything and better everything. Social Tourist is the creative vision of Hollister and social media personalities Dixie and Charli D’Amelio. The lifestyle brand creates trend forward apparel that allows brand lovers to experiment with their style, while exploring the duality of who they are both on social media and in real life. Abercrombie & Fitch believes that every day should feel as exceptional as the start of the long weekend. Since 1892, the brand has been a specialty retailer of quality apparel, outerwear and fragrance - designed to inspire our global customers to feel confident, be comfortable and face their Fierce. 6


 
29% ~90% 734 GLOBAL, DIGITALLY-LED OMNICHANNEL RETAILER COMPANY-OPERATED RETAIL STORES CAPABILITY TO SHIP TO OVER 110 COUNTRIES GLOBAL BRANDS WHOLESALE PARTNERSHIPS, PRIMARILY INTERNATIONAL OF GLOBAL STORE FLEET WITH SHIP- FROM-STORE AND PURCHASE-ONLINE- PICK-UP-IN-STORE CAPABILITIES OF FISCAL 2021 NET SALES WERE DERIVED INTERNATIONALLY FISCAL 2021 DIGITAL SALES WERE ROUGHLY $1.7 BILLION Information provided on this slide is as of July 30, 2022 unless otherwise specified. COUNTRIES WITH STORE OPERATIONS 7 $1.7B 17 110+ 5 9 THE COMPANY'S PRODUCTS ARE SOLD GLOBALLY, PRIMARILY THROUGH ITS COMPANY-OWNED DIGITAL AND STORE CHANNELS, AS WELL AS THROUGH VARIOUS THIRD-PARTY ARRANGEMENTS


 
8 ALWAYS FORWARD PLAN


 
ALWAYS FORWARD PLAN EXECUTE FOCUSED BRAND GROWTH PLANS •data driven approach to store expansion •grow brand lovers through digital marketing and social selling ACCELERATE AN ENTERPRISE-WIDE DIGITAL REVOLUTION • "Know Them Better" - continued expansion and acceleration of investments in customer analytics to improve customer engagement • "Wow Them Everywhere" - continued investments in people, systems, and processes to improve the end-to-end customer experience OPERATE WITH FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE •operate with a more agile cost structure • seek expense efficiencies while protecting investments in digital, technology and store growth 2025 TARGETS: $4.1B - $4.3B REVENUES 8%+ OPERATING MARGIN LONGER-TERM GOAL OF $5B IN REVENUES AND A 10%+ OPERATING MARGIN 1 2 3 9 INTRODUCED 2025 FINANCIAL TARGETS AT JUNE 2022 INVESTOR DAY EMBODY OUR AUTHENTIC PURPOSE


 
10


 
2022 FOCUS AREAS 11


 
The following focus areas for fiscal 2022 serve as a framework to the company achieving sustainable growth and progressing toward the 2025 Always Forward Plan targets OUR FOCUS AREAS FOR 2022 • Execute brand growth plans, primarily focused on continuing momentum at Abercrombie & Fitch and delivering standalone store experiences at Gilly Hicks • Accelerate digital and technology investments in systems and people to increase agility, modernize foundational systems and improve the customer experience • Operate with a more agile cost structure, and seeking expense efficiencies while protecting investments in digital, technology and store growth to fund our strategic principles • Taking a data-driven approach to store expansion in under penetrated markets • Optimize our global distribution network to increase capacity and improve delivery speed to customers • Integrate environmental, social and governance practices and standards throughout the organization 12


 
AGGRESSIVELY INVESTING TO BE A BEST-IN-CLASS DIGITALLY-LED GLOBAL OMNI-CHANNEL RETAILER * In fiscal 2021, the company was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and experienced widespread temporary store closures, while the company’s digital operations continued to serve the customers during this unprecedented period. INVESTMENTS IN DIGITAL AND OMNICHANNEL CAPABILITIES OF $150M+ FISCAL 2017 - FISCAL 2021 FISCAL 2018 Digital sales penetration of 28%, <$1.0B FISCAL 2021* Digital sales penetration of 47%, $1.7B+ EXPECTED DIGITAL AND OMNICHANNEL INVESTMENTS FOR THE YEAR OF $60M+ FISCAL 2022 13


 
EXPECT TO SEE NET STORE OPENINGS IN 2022 WHILE MAINTAINING ROUGHLY FLAT SQUARE FOOTAGE 861 857 735 729 734 Total stores FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 Q2 22 GROSS SQUARE FOOTAGE (in thousands) FY 18 FY 19 FY 20 FY 21 Q2 22 6,566 6,314 5,232 5,052 5,059 14


 
GLOBAL FLEET WELL-POSITIONED; 91% OF U.S. STORES LOCATED IN A/B MALLS * Mall rating based on Green Street Advisors as of April 2022. YTD STORE ACTIVITY Q2 2022 STORE FLEET DETAIL HOLLISTER ABERCROMBIE TOTAL COMPANY # OF STORES % OF FLEET # OF STORES % OF FLEET # OF STORES % OF FLEET LEGACY STORES 184 36% 94 43% 278 38% UPDATED FORMATS 310 60% 87 39% 397 54% OUTLETS 18 4% 37 17% 55 7% FLAGSHIPS 1 —% 3 1% 4 1% TOTAL 513 100% 221 100% 734 100% HOLLISTER ABERCROMBIE TOTAL NEW STORES 9 2 11 REMODELS 1 — 1 RIGHT-SIZES — — — NEW EXPERIENCES 10 2 12 PERMANENT CLOSURES (2) (5) (7) 2 2 FY 2022 FY 2023+ 0 1 2 3 FLAGSHIP STORE CLOSURES/ LEASE EXPIRATIONS (1) (1) Includes the A&F Amsterdam, Netherlands as well as the A&F 5th Avenue, New York City locations. (2) Includes the Hollister 5th Avenue, New York City and the A&F Ginza, Japan locations. (2) Q2 2022 U.S. STORE FLEET * A MALL B MALL C MALL FLAGSHIPS TOTAL # OF STORES 211 222 41 2 476 % OF U.S. FLEET 44% 47% 9% —% 100% 15


 
Q2 2022 RESULTS 16


 
CEO COMMENTARY “As the global macro environment deteriorated in the second quarter, we experienced a divergence in brand performance. Abercrombie delivered its highest Q2 sales since 2015 and its ninth consecutive quarter of average unit retail (“AUR”) growth. This was more than offset by Hollister, where we saw a greater than anticipated impact from inflation and a shift away from core categories to more fashion-driven product, contributing to lower-than-expected conversion and basket size. We expect macro headwinds to persist and have taken action to adjust receipts across brands to fuel winning categories for late fall and holiday. In addition, we have right-sized the Hollister inventory receipt plan for holiday and beyond. Looking ahead, we will continue to monitor sales volumes and react with agility to ensure inventory turns appropriately, and we expect year-over-year inventory growth to have peaked in Q2 and to moderate significantly in the back half as we lap late receipts from last year. Thus far in August, we have experienced a steady improvement in weekly sales trend, although total quarter-to-date remains in line with Q2. Our revised outlook reflects the uncertain environment for the back half. As we have successfully done over the last several years, we will continue to navigate near-term challenges and reduce spend where appropriate while executing to our long-term goals. We remain confident that we have the balance sheet and strategies in place to drive continued progress towards our 2025 Always Forward Plan introduced at our June 2022 Investor Day.” 17 Fran Horowitz Chief Executive Officer


 
NET (LOSS) INCOME PER SHARE SIGNIFICANT ITEMS IMPACTING Q2 2022 RESULTS • Net sales decreased 7%, or $60M, as compared to last year. • Gross margin rate declined 730 basis points as compared to last year to 57.9%, driven by higher product costs and commodity inflation partially offset by higher average unit retail at Abercrombie. • Digital fulfillment expense increased $17M, reflecting an increase in digital shipping and handling and digital direct expense. • Asset impairment charges of $2M for this year versus $1M last year. (1) Adjusted non-GAAP results exclude the effect of certain items set out in the Appendix. (2) The estimated impact from foreign currency is calculated by applying current period exchange rates to prior year results using a 26% tax rate. Q2 2022 Q2 2021 GAAP $(0.33) $1.69 EXCLUDED ITEMS, NET OF TAX EFFECT (1) (0.03) (0.01) ADJUSTED NON-GAAP $(0.30) $1.70 IMPACT FROM FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES (2) — (0.09) ADJUSTED NON-GAAP ON A CONSTANT CURRENCY BASIS $(0.30) $1.61 18


 
TOTAL COMPANY NET SALES DOWN 7% COMPARED TO Q2 2021, TO $805M ABERCROMBIE $368M UP 5% TO LAST YEAR 45.7% OF TOTAL NET SALES HOLLISTER $437M DOWN 15% TO LAST YEAR 54.3% OF TOTAL NET SALES EMEA $167M DOWN 13% TO LAST YEAR 20.7% OF TOTAL NET SALES UNITED STATES (1) $578M DOWN 4% TO LAST YEAR 71.8% OF TOTAL NET SALES APAC $28M DOWN 33% TO LAST YEAR 3.5% OF TOTAL NET SALES OTHER (2) $32M UP 5% TO LAST YEAR 4.0% OF TOTAL NET SALES (1) Net sales by geographic area are presented by attributing revenues to an individual country on the basis of the country in which the merchandise was sold for in-store purchases and on the basis of the shipping location provided by customers for digital orders. (2) Other includes all sales that do not fall within the United States, EMEA, or APAC regions. NET SALES 19


 
(in thousands) Q2 2022 % OF NET SALES Q2 2021 % OF NET SALES 1 YR Δ BPS (3) STORE OCCUPANCY (1) $103,191 12.8% $107,277 12.4% 40 ALL OTHER (2) 237,600 29.5% 218,570 25.3% 420 STORES AND DISTRIBUTION 340,791 42.3% 325,847 37.7% 460 MARKETING, GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE 124,168 15.4% 123,913 14.3% 110 ASSET IMPAIRMENT 2,170 0.3% 786 0.1% 20 TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSE - GAAP $467,129 58.0% $450,546 52.1% 590 EXCLUDED ITEMS 2,170 0.3% 786 0.1% 20 TOTAL ADJUSTED OPERATING EXPENSE - NON-GAAP * $464,959 57.8% $449,760 56.2% 160 RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP OPERATING EXPENSE * Q2 non-GAAP operating expense is presented on an adjusted non-GAAP basis, and excludes the effect of certain items set out in the Appendix. (1) Includes operating lease costs, other landlord charges, utilities, depreciation and other occupancy expense. (2) Includes selling payroll, store management and support, other store expense, direct-to-consumer expense, and distribution center costs. (3) Rounded based on reported percentages. OPERATING EXPENSE 20


 
INCOME STATEMENT (1) Gross profit is derived from cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization. (2) Gross profit rate of 57.9% is down 730 basis points as compared to last year, primarily driven higher product costs and the adverse impact of exchange rates, partially offset by higher AUR at Abercrombie. GAAP (in thousands) Q2 2022   % OF NET SALES Q2 2021   % OF NET SALES NET SALES $805,091 100.0% $864,850 100.0% GROSS PROFIT (1) (2) 465,891 57.9% 563,485 65.2% OPERATING EXPENSE 467,129 58.0% 450,546 52.1% OTHER OPERATING INCOME, NET 953 0.1% (1,848) (0.2)% OPERATING (LOSS) INCOME (2,191) (0.3)% 114,787 13.3% INTEREST EXPENSE, NET 6,917 0.9% 11,275 1.3% (LOSS) INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES (9,108) (1.1)% 103,512 12.0% INCOME TAX (BENEFIT) EXPENSE 5,634 0.7% (6,944) (0.8)% NET (LOSS) INCOME $(16,834) (2.1)% $108,500 12.5% NET (LOSS) INCOME PER SHARE BASIC $(0.33) $1.77 DILUTED $(0.33) $1.69 WEIGHTED-AVERAGE SHARES BASIC 50,441 61,428 DILUTED 50,441 64,136 21


 
BALANCE SHEET (in thousands) JULY 30, 2022 JANUARY 29, 2022 JULY 31, 2021 CASH AND EQUIVALENTS $369,957 $823,139 $921,504 RECEIVABLES 79,820 69,102 87,151 INVENTORIES 708,024 525,864 415,604 OTHER CURRENT ASSETS 104,887 89,654 77,392 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS $1,262,688 $1,507,759 $1,501,651 PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET 511,181 508,336 532,795 OPERATING LEASE RIGHT-OF-USE ASSETS 740,627 698,231 791,036 OTHER ASSETS 219,598 225,165 229,911 TOTAL ASSETS $2,734,094 $2,939,491 $3,055,393 ACCOUNTS PAYABLE $408,297 $374,829 $289,475 ACCRUED EXPENSES 342,690 395,815 351,991 SHORT-TERM PORTION OF OPERATING LEASE LIABILITIES 202,699 222,823 219,453 INCOME TAXES PAYABLE 5,582 21,773 26,260 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES $959,268 $1,015,240 $887,179 LONG-TERM PORTION OF OPERATING LEASE LIABILITIES 714,265 697,264 791,793 LONG-TERM BORROWINGS, NET 304,219 303,574 303,015 OTHER LIABILITIES 83,415 86,089 106,473 TOTAL LONG-TERM LIABILITIES $1,101,899 $1,086,927 $1,201,281 TOTAL ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO. STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY 661,788 826,090 956,566 NONCONTROLLING INTEREST 11,139 11,234 10,367 TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $672,927 $837,324 $966,933 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $2,734,094 $2,939,491 $3,055,393 22


 
YEAR TO DATE PERIOD ENDED (in thousands) JULY 30, 2022 JULY 31, 2021 NET CASH (USED FOR) PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES $(259,733) $49,945 PURCHASES OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT (59,582) (35,269) PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT 7,972 — NET CASH USED FOR INVESTING ACTIVITIES $(51,610) $(35,269) PAYMENT OF DEBT ISSUANCE OR MODIFICATION COSTS AND FEES — (1,837) PURCHASES OF COMMON STOCK (117,775) (135,249) OTHER FINANCING ACTIVITIES (17,649) (16,192) NET CASH USED FOR FINANCING ACTIVITIES $(135,424) $(200,247) EFFECT OF FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES ON CASH (7,567) (2,547) NET DECREASE IN CASH AND EQUIVALENTS, AND RESTRICTED CASH AND EQUIVALENTS $(454,334) $(188,118) CASH AND EQUIVALENTS, AND RESTRICTED CASH AND EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $834,368 $1,124,157 CASH AND EQUIVALENTS, AND RESTRICTED CASH AND EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD $380,034 $936,039 STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 23 NET CASH USED FOR FINANCING ACTIVITIES


 
24 UPDATED FISCAL 2022 OUTLOOK 24


 
PREVIOUS FULL YEAR OUTLOOK (1) CURRENT FULL YEAR OUTLOOK NET SALES IN THE RANGE OF FLAT TO UP 2%(2) DOWN MID-SINGLE DIGITS(2) OPERATING MARGIN IN THE RANGE OF 5% TO 6% IN THE RANGE OF 1% TO 3%(3) EFFECTIVE TAX RATE MID 30s NA(4) CURRENT Q3 OUTLOOK NET SALES DOWN HIGH-SINGLE DIGITS(5) OPERATING INCOME AROUND BREAK-EVEN(3) EFFECTIVE TAX RATE NA(4) UPDATED FISCAL 2022 OUTLOOK (1) Released May 24, 2022 (2) The current full year outlook reflects an adverse impact of approximately 200 basis points from foreign currency, up from approximately 150 basis points in the previous outlook. (3) Reflecting lower sales due to an assumed inflationary impact on consumer and an assumption of lower AURs needed to keep inventory current. (4) The Company is withdrawing the previous effective tax rate outlook of mid 30s as there could be a higher effective tax rate due to our inability to recognize a tax benefit for certain losses incurred outside of the U.S. (5) The current Q3 outlook reflects an adverse impact of approximately 220 basis points from foreign currency. BASED ON THE EVOLVING OPERATING ENVIRONMENT, OUR UPDATED 2022 OUTLOOK REFLECTS IMPACTS FROM FOREIGN CURRENCY, HIGHER-THAN-EXPECTED COSTS, AND AN ASSUMED INFLATIONARY IMPACT ON CONSUMER SPENDING 25


 
FINANCIAL POSITION, LIQUIDITY & CAPITAL ALLOCATION 26


 
STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION AND LIQUIDITY CASH & EQUIVALENTS $370M AS COMPARED TO $922M LAST YEAR, AS COMPANY BROUGHT IN INVENTORY EARLIER THAN 2021 AND UTILIZED EXCESS CASH TO FUND SHARE REPURCHASES SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS NO BORROWINGS OUTSTANDING UNDER ABL FACILITY $359M OF BORROWING AVAILABLE UNDER ABL FACILITY AS OF JULY 30, 2022 GROSS LONG-TERM BORROWINGS $308M OUTSTANDING CONSISTENT WITH $308M LAST YEAR INVENTORIES $708M, UP 70% FROM LAST YEAR DUE PRIMARILY TO HIGHER IN-TRANSIT, UNITS ON HAND, AND INCREASED PRODUCT COSTS $1,170M $1,071M $729M Q2 2021 Q1 2022 Q2 2022 $0M $250M $500M $750M $1,000M $1,250M * Liquidity is comprised of cash and equivalents and borrowing available under the ABL Facility. 27


 
TOTAL COMPANY INVENTORY UP 70% COMPARED TO Q2 2021, TO $708 MILLION TOTAL +70% TO 2021 2021 INVENTORY AT COST REPRESENTED THE LOWEST Q2 LEVEL IN OVER A DECADE UNITS ON HAND 28% contribution 2021 UNITS ON HAND LOWEST SINCE MID-2000s INVENTORY FLOWS PLANNED EARLIER THAN 2021 IN-TRANSIT (1) 34% contribution UP $140M AS IMPACTS OF 2021 SUPPLY CHAIN CONGESTION AND VIETNAM PRODUCTION SHUTDOWN ARE LAPPED PRODUCT COSTS 8% contribution IMPACT OF HIGHER FREIGHT AND RAW MATERIAL COSTS (E.G., COTTON) THAN 2021 (1) Purchased inventory that is currently on its way to a distribution center or a physical store. INVENTORY 28


 
(in thousands) NET CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES CAPITAL EXPENDITURES FREE CASH FLOW (1) FY 2017 $287,658 $107,001 $180,657 FY 2018 $352,933 $152,393 $200,540 FY 2019 $300,685 $202,784 $97,901 FY 2020 $404,918 $101,910 $303,008 FY 2021 $277,782 $96,979 $180,803 (1) Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure and is computed by subtracting capital expenditures from net cash (used for) provided by operating activities, both of which are disclosed in the table above, preceding the measure of free cash flow. YEAR TO DATE PERIOD ENDED (in thousands) JULY 30, 2022 JULY 31, 2021 NET CASH (USED FOR) PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES $(259,733) $49,945 NET CASH USED FOR INVESTING ACTIVITIES $(51,610) $(35,269) NET CASH USED FOR FINANCING ACTIVITIES $(135,424) $(200,247) CASH FLOW SUMMARY 29


 
THE COMPANY REPURCHASED APPROXIMATELY 4.3 MILLION SHARES AND HAS RETURNED $118 MILLION TO SHAREHOLDERS DURING THE YEAR-TO-DATE PERIOD ENDED JULY 30, 2022 SHARE REPURCHASES (in thousands, except for average cost) NUMBER OF SHARES COST AVERAGE COST DIVIDENDS TOTAL FY 2017 — $— $— $54,392 $54,392 FY 2018 2,932 $68,670 $23.42 $53,714 $122,384 FY 2019 3,957 $63,542 $16.06 $51,510 $115,052 FY 2020 1,397 $15,172 $10.86 $12,556 $27,728 FY 2021 10,200 $377,290 $36.99 $— $377,290 YTD 2022 4,260 $117,775 $27.65 $— $117,775 (in thousands) FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY2021 Q2 2022 ENDING SHARES OUTSTANDING 68,195 66,227 62,786 62,399 52,985 49,471 SHARE REPURCHASES AND DIVIDENDS 30


 
APPENDIX 31


 
(1) The tax effect of excluded items, calculated as the difference between the tax provision on a GAAP basis and an adjusted non-GAAP basis. (in thousands) Q2 2022 GAAP EXCLUDED ITEMS Q2 2022 NON-GAAP ASSET IMPAIRMENT, EXCLUSIVE OF FLAGSHIP STORE EXIT CHARGES $2,170 $2,170 $— OPERATING LOSS (2,191) (2,170) (21) LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAXES (9,108) (2,170) (6,938) INCOME TAX BENEFIT (1) 5,634 (611) 6,245 NET LOSS $(16,834) $(1,559) $(15,275) NET LOSS PER DILUTED SHARE $(0.33) $(0.03) $(0.30) DILUTED WEIGHTED-AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING 50,441 50,441 (in thousands) Q2 2021 GAAP EXCLUDED ITEMS Q2 2021 NON-GAAP ASSET IMPAIRMENT, EXCLUSIVE OF FLAGSHIP STORE EXIT CHARGES $786 $786 $— OPERATING INCOME 114,787 (786) 115,573 INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES 103,512 (786) 104,298 INCOME TAX EXPENSE (1) (6,944) (224) (6,720) NET INCOME $108,500 $(562) $109,062 NET INCOME PER DILUTED SHARE $1.69 $(0.01) $1.70 DILUTED WEIGHTED-AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING 64,136 64,136 RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP RESULTS 32


 
NET SALES Q2 2022 Q2 2021 Δ % GAAP $805,091 $864,850 (7)% IMPACT FROM CHANGES IN FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES (1) — (23,124) 3% NON-GAAP CONSTANT CURRENCY BASIS $805,091 $841,726 (4)% GROSS PROFIT Q2 2022 Q2 2021 Δ BPS (2) GAAP $465,891 $563,485 (730) IMPACT FROM CHANGES IN FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES (1) — (16,117) 20 NON-GAAP CONSTANT CURRENCY BASIS $465,891 $547,368 (710) OPERATING (LOSS) INCOME Q2 2022 Q2 2021 Δ BPS (2) GAAP $(2,191) $114,787 (1,360) EXCLUDED ITEMS (3) (2,170) (786) (20) ADJUSTED NON-GAAP $(21) $115,573 (1,340) IMPACT FROM CHANGES IN FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES (1) — (7,984) 60 ADJUSTED NON-GAAP CONSTANT CURRENCY BASIS $(21) $107,589 (1,280) NET (LOSS) INCOME PER DILUTED SHARE Q2 2022 Q2 2021 Δ $ GAAP $(0.33) $1.69 $(2.02) EXCLUDED ITEMS, NET OF TAX (3) (0.03) (0.01) (0.02) ADJUSTED NON-GAAP $(0.30) $1.70 $(2.00) IMPACT FROM CHANGES IN FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES (1) — (0.09) 0.09 ADJUSTED NON-GAAP CONSTANT CURRENCY BASIS $(0.30) $1.61 $(1.91) (1) The impact from foreign currency is determined by applying current period exchange rates to prior year results and is net of the year-over-year impact from hedging. The per diluted share impact from foreign currency is calculated using a 26% tax rate. (2) The estimated basis point impact has been rounded based on the percentage change. (3) Excludes pre-tax store asset impairment charges. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP RESULTS 33


 




EX-99.4 5 anf-usq_transcriptx2022x.htm EX-99.4 anf-usq_transcriptx2022x
REFINITIV STREETEVENTS EDITED TRANSCRIPT ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call EVENT DATE/TIME: AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM GMT REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies.


 
C O R P O R A T E P A R T I C I P A N T S Fran Horowitz Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - CEO & Director Pamela Nagler Quintiliano Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - VP of IR Scott D. Lipesky Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - Executive VP & CFO C O N F E R E N C E C A L L P A R T I C I P A N T S Corey Tarlowe Jefferies LLC, Research Division - Equity Analyst Dana Lauren Telsey Telsey Advisory Group LLC - CEO & Chief Research Officer Janet Joseph Kloppenburg JJK Research Associates, Inc. - President Kelly Crago Citigroup Inc., Research Division - VP Marni Shapiro The Retail Tracker - Co-Founder Mauricio Serna Vega UBS Investment Bank, Research Division - Analyst P R E S E N T A T I O N Operator Good day, and welcome to the Abercrombie & Fitch Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2022 Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Pam Quintiliano. Please go ahead. Pamela Nagler Quintiliano - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - VP of IR Thank you. Good morning. And welcome to our second quarter 2022 earnings call. Joining me today on the call are Fran Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer; and Scott Lipesky, Chief Financial Officer. Earlier this morning, we issued our second quarter earnings release, which is available on our website at corporate.abercrombie.com under the Investors section. Also available on our website is an investor presentation. Please keep in mind that any forward-looking statements made on the call are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations and assumptions we mentioned today. A detailed discussion of these factors and uncertainties are contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, we will be referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures during the call. Additional details and a reconciliation of GAAP to adjusted non-GAAP financial measures are included in the release issued earlier this morning. With that, I will turn the call over to Fran. Fran Horowitz - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - CEO & Director Good morning. And thank you for joining us today to discuss our second quarter results. Before I get started, I would like to take a moment to thank our global teams for continuing to bring your best each and every day. 2 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
So it's been a couple of months since our Investor Day. And during that time, the retail landscape has continued to evolve rapidly. We're now in year 3 of 1 of the most dynamic environments that I have experienced in my 30-plus-year career in retail. The work we have done over the last several years to improve our enterprise-wide agility has enabled us to take decisive actions to navigate near-term challenges while remaining focused on executing to our long-term goals. At our June Investor Day, we provided our 2025 and long-term targets and introduced our Always Forward Plan, which is centered around the successful execution of 3 strategic principles: focused brand growth, an enterprise-wide digital revolution and operating with financial discipline. During the second quarter, despite well-documented consumer headwinds, we made progress against all 3. Let's start with our first principle: focused brand growth. I'm excited about the global opportunity of our brands, and I'm confident in their positioning. However, we've recently experienced a significant divergence in sales and gross margin trends amongst our 2 largest brands, Abercrombie adults and Hollister. When analyzing the Q2 spending behaviors, it has truly been a tale of 2 worlds. Challenges at Hollister, whose customer base tilts lower on the income scale compared to the Abercrombie adults brand, was the primary driver of our total company sales and operating margin miss relative to the outlook we provided on our Q1 call. For the second quarter, total company sales declined 7% and were down 4% on a constant currency basis. Abercrombie brands, which includes kids, grew 5% or 7% on a constant currency basis, led by ongoing strength in our primary growth opportunity, Abercrombie adults. As many of you have witnessed, Abercrombie adults has had an amazing turnaround over the last 3 years. We have successfully evolved the brand positioning, assortment and fits to cater to the lifestyle needs of our target young millennial customer, and we see additional runway ahead. During the second quarter, our Abercrombie adult customer was actively shopping for their weekend trips, weddings and going back to the office. Sales and conversion remained consistent month-to-month, and our promotions and markdowns were in line with plan, leading adults to achieve its best Q2 sales since 2015 and its highest Q2 AUR since 2005. Congratulations to the team. Women's remained a standout, delivering its best Q2 sales in AUR since 2008 with dresses, jeans and knits continuing to outperform. Throughout this summer, our dresses were popping up everywhere, from viral TikToks to press headlines, all celebrating the fit, comfort and style of our assortments. Men's results were also encouraging, delivering the highest Q2 AUR since 2013. We are seeing more green shoots as he rediscovers the brand and all the new product that caters to his lifestyle needs, such as the recent launch of our golf shop, which was very well received. Last, certainly but not least, response to our newest sub-brand, YPB or Your Personal Best, remains strong across genders. Abercrombie performance has been in sharp contrast to Hollister brand [sales] (added by company after the call), which declined 15% or 12% on a constant currency basis in the second quarter. As a reminder, this includes Gilly Hicks and Social Tourist. As global inflationary pressures mounted, we experienced a shift in our teens shopping behavior, resulting in lower conversion and basket size. While we tracked closely to apparel store traffic in the U.S., our customer was doing more browsing than buying and targeting special occasion items like women's dresses, where we registered our best ever Q2 sales, and men's woven shirts. Outside of these trending categories, our customers were searching for and responding to promotions. As back-to-school has kicked off, our Hollister customer shopping behavior has continued to deviate from our expectations. Demand has moved out of bottoms, which has been a top-performing category over the last several years into tops and dresses. As we've seen selling trends develop, we've had a swift call to action. We've adjusted our fall and holiday orders shifting into higher-trending categories and out of core. In addition, we are reimagining our store experience and assessing our go-to-market strategy, including the ideal balance between stores and digital as the world has reopened and our 3 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
team has returned to in-person shopping. We're continuing to look for additional areas of opportunity, and I'm confident that these steps will help Hollister get back on track even if the macro environment remains challenging. Rounding up the conversation on brands, similar to Hollister, abercrombie kids had a soft start to back-to-school season. At Gilly Hicks, active and lounge continued to outperform while at Social Tourist, we've been leaning into higher fashion assortments. Inventory management is a key component of our strategic brand growth principle. We ended the quarter with roughly 92% of our inventory current, defined as back-to-school and early fall product, new goods that haven't been set or longer-life items. This is in line with historic levels, reflecting the recent sell-through of summer seasonal goods at Hollister as we took markdowns to clear through warmer weather product. Total end of quarter inventories were up 70% to Q2 2021. And as a reminder, Q2 2021 inventory marked a decade plus low due to freight delays and our exposure to Vietnam production, which was our largest country of origin last year at roughly 40% and experienced significant COVID-related factory closures, which had an outsized impact on timing of receipts. Of the 70% increase, in-transit inventory was the largest driver, up $140 million or 130% to last year, contributing 34 points of the total increase as we lapped significant product delays. Our in-transit inventory is late fall and holiday goods that we want here before the peak season, unlike last year, when we were still receiving product after Christmas. Units on hand contributed another 28 points in line with our plan coming into the quarter as we lapped our lowest Q2 on-hand inventory levels since the mid-2000s. After not being able to keep up with sales demand in the back half of last year, in the spring, we decided to proactively pull forward deliveries to ensure in-stock positioning for this back-to-school and holiday seasons this year. And the final piece of the total increase is higher year-over-year product costs, which contributed 8 points. We have taken action to ensure that our inventories move closer to our sales expectations in the back half. We expect year-over-year inventory growth to peak in Q2 and moderate significantly in Q3 and Q4 as we anniversary the unprecedented number of late receipts we experienced last year and realized the benefits of recent moves taken to improve inventory turns and reduce receipts. We're keeping our eyes on Hollister inventory as it's slightly more elevated than we would like, reflecting the falloff we experienced in late June and the shift away from core categories. Assuming recent trends remain consistent, we expect to continue to leverage markdowns in Q3 to keep seasonal items turning. We are rightsizing Hollister inventory levels for holiday and beyond through a series of actions that included reducing receipts, utilizing box-and-hold strategies on certain core items and re-cadencing the timing of inventory sets. Beyond inventory management, evolving our store experience and opening new stores is also critical to the successful execution of our strategic brand growth principle. As a reminder, this year, we expect to open around 60 stores, heavily weighted to the third and fourth quarter. Our updated stores are an amazing representation of our brands today. New locations are smaller format and a mix of existing markets that we exited because we couldn't find the right deals as well as new markets that we have identified through data and analytics. On an average store basis, we anticipate that the new Abercrombie adult and Hollister stores opening in fiscal 2022 will contribute at least 2x the annual sales volume of our planned 30-store closures. At Abercrombie, we recently introduced an updated store design, the getaway shop, which is meant to evoke the aesthetic of a chic hotel lobby. For those of you who attended our Investor Day, the pop-up shop there had elements of this new design, which is roughly 4,500 square feet versus the chain average of 5,000 square feet. The first 2 locations just opened: 1 in Los Angeles and the other in Milan. And the remainder of new Abercrombie adult locations this year will be in the updated format. 4 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
These Abercrombie stores as well as others opening this year across brands stay true to our stringent real estate strategy: right size, right location, right economics. If we can't check the box on all 3, we will continue to walk away, and with just under 50% of our revenues derived digitally in fiscal 2021, we have the ability to do that. Now turning to our second strategic principle: enterprise-wide digital revolution. In the second quarter, we continued to make progress towards the longer-term digital technology and data aspirations discussed at our Investor Day. As a reminder, we have a large sophisticated global digital operation, with our digital sales reaching roughly $1.7 billion in 2021. Our goal is to deliver a best-in-class, seamless digital experience, and that is fueling our digital revolution across the company. In the customer experience space, we continued to listen to our customer, and through our new agile ways of working, we were able to deliver experience improvements across the omnichannel shopping journey. At the same time, we accelerated the pace of key multiyear technology modernization efforts, including upgrading our retail merchandising system, moving to the cloud and evolving our core data architecture. These efforts have and will continue to enable more organizational agility and improve our ability to leverage our rich data to drive decision-making across the company. And last, but certainly not least, our third strategic principle: operating with financial discipline. As the business became more challenging in the second quarter, we managed both customer and noncustomer-facing spend while prioritizing marketing and long-term strategic investments. Looking to the remainder of the year, we've made further adjustments, cutting approximately $35 million from the back half on top of volume-related expense decreases. Quarter-to-date, sales are running consistent with Q2 levels although trends have improved sequentially each week. As we look to the back half, we expect inflationary pressures to continue and potentially heighten in EMEA. We have taken action across brands and at a corporate level, reflecting these assumptions. While we are cautiously optimistic that inflation will moderate, we are not baking improvement into our updated outlook. At Abercrombie, we've tweaked back half receipts to reflect the potential for that customer to become more impacted by inflationary pressures. If the trend accelerates, we will be able to fulfill demand through chase and prepositioned future set items. At Hollister, we are assuming our customer will continue to be faced with tough decisions on where and how to spend their discretionary dollars. As mentioned, for the back half, we've chased into trending categories, reduced receipts, adjusted promotions and are employing box and hold where appropriate. As we've consistently done over the last few years, we will continue to control what we can control, and we'll remain flexible to quickly respond to unknowns. We remain committed to executing to the 2025 and longer-term goals we provided at our Investor Day and are confident in our ability to achieve these goals, including sales of $4.1 billion to $4.3 billion and a sustainable operating margin rate at or above 8% by the end of fiscal 2025. At the time we provided our targets, we assumed that Hollister customer would be more impacted by inflationary pressures in the near term and that annual growth would not be linear. That has not changed. And to be clear, we have multiple paths to achieve our goals. This fall and holiday, as we respond to the dynamic environment, we have the balance sheet to protect investments in the key areas that support our Always Forward Plan, and they include judiciously investing in digital talent and tools to revolutionize how we approach the customer experience, modernizing our core platforms across merchandising and data and investing in marketing and store openings to drive brand awareness and enhance our ability to drive top line growth in the months and years to come. I'm excited about our future. We've been faced with challenges in the past, and we've consistently overcome them from when I first arrived in late 2014, and we turned around Hollister to late 2019 when the reinvention of Abercrombie adults first began to gain traction. From closing flagships and rightsizing our store footprint to our performance during the pandemic, we have proven time and again our ability to evolve with our customer. 5 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
And with that, I'm going to turn it over to Scott to provide more detail on the quarter and our Q3 and updated full year outlook. Scott D. Lipesky - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - Executive VP & CFO Thanks, Fran, and good morning. For the second quarter, we delivered net sales of $805 million, down 7% to last year on a reported basis and down 4% on a constant currency basis. Sales were below our expectation for a low single-digit decline as the Hollister business softened as the quarter progressed. By brand, net sales at Abercrombie, which includes kids, rose 5% compared to 2021 on a reported basis and 7% on a constant currency basis, largely in line with internal expectations. Hollister, which includes Gilly Hicks and Social Tourist, declined 15% or 12% on a constant currency basis, reflecting mounting macro pressures on its core consumer, a shift in shopping behaviors versus last year and lower demand for core back-to-school categories. This compares to prior year growth of 30% and 20% for Abercrombie and Hollister, respectively. By region, net sales decreased 4% in the U.S. and declined 14% internationally or 5% on a constant currency basis. By region, EMEA was down 13% on a reported basis and 4% on a constant currency basis, and APAC was down 33% on a reported basis and 25% on a constant currency basis. In EMEA, strength in the U.K. and Middle East was offset by softness in Western Europe. In China, we experienced COVID-related pressures throughout the quarter but have seen a nice trend change as the country has reopened and mostly stayed open. Our gross profit rate was 57.9% versus 65.2% last year. Key drivers of the year-over-year change were the adverse impact of exchange rates of 30 basis points and higher product costs of 750 basis points. Relative to our expectations, FX was slightly worse than anticipated, while product cost pressure was in line. These impacts were partially offset by higher AUR driven by the Abercrombie adult brands. Looking to the back half of this year, we are modeling freight rates to remain relatively steady with Q2 levels. We expect to see freight flip to a tailwind as we anniversary elevated air rates and air usage due to Vietnam closures last year. This will be offset by rising product costs as we continue to see higher commodity costs flow through COGS this fall. We are encouraged by recent trends across freight and commodities, giving us cautious optimism that this year will be the peak and that we will begin to realize benefits in fiscal 2023. Moving on to inventories. We ended the quarter with inventory up 70% to last year, 92% of which is current. As Fran mentioned, our Q2 '21 total inventory at cost was the lowest in over a decade, and on-hand inventory, the lowest since the mid-2000s as we saw shipping times lengthen and experienced significant delays from the Vietnam shutdowns. Overall, our inventory is current, and we intend to keep it that way. We are keeping a close eye on Hollister inventory. Based on the greater-expected -- greater-than-expected falloff and trend in Q2, we've chased areas of strength, reduced receipts on slower moving categories and put plans in place to box and hold certain items. We will utilize markdowns as necessary to ensure the remaining inventory turns appropriately. Looking ahead, we expect to see total year-over-year inventory growth moderate in Q3 and approach 2021 levels in Q4 as we lap all late receipts from last year. I'll now cover the rest of our Q2 results on an adjusted non-GAAP basis. We excluded $2 million and $1 million of pretax asset impairment charges for this year and last year, respectively. Q2 operating expense, excluding other operating income, was $465 million compared to $450 million last year, driven by inflation and higher digital fulfillment expense, partially offset by lower incentive-based compensation. On digital fulfillment, we have seen temporary cost inefficiencies as we ramp up our new West Coast distribution center. We expect these inefficiencies to moderate in Q3. We are breakeven on the operating income line compared to operating income of $116 million last year. For tax, we recognized a tax expense on a pretax loss due to our inability to obtain a tax benefit for certain losses incurred outside the U.S. Net loss per share was $0.30 compared to net income per diluted share of $1.70 last year. 6 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
Our balance sheet remains strong. We ended the quarter with cash of $370 million and liquidity of $729 million. During the quarter, we repurchased 1 million shares for approximately $18 million. At quarter end, we had 49.5 million shares outstanding, down 21% from the start of 2021, with approximately $240 million remaining under our previously authorized share repurchase program. We remain committed to putting excess cash to work and expect shareholder returns to focus on share repurchases, pending liquidity levels, market conditions, share price and our ability to accelerate investments in the business. Turning to investments. We continue to expect fiscal '22 CapEx of approximately $150 million, with about half supporting digital and technology and half supporting stores and maintenance. We continue to expect to be a net store opener this year, with approximately 60 new stores globally weighted towards the back half. This year, we have approximately 250 leases up for renewal, which gives us great flexibility to react to the macro environment. We expect to close [approximately] (corrected by company after the call) 30 locations this year, pending negotiations with our landlord partners. I'll finish up with our thoughts on the remainder of the year. In our updated outlook, which replaces all previous full year guidance, we assume inflation-related pressure on consumer demand continues and that freight rates remain at current levels through year-end. For the full year, we are planning as follows: net sales to be down mid-single digits to 2021 level of approximately $3.7 billion. Embedded in this outlook is an estimated adverse impact of approximately 200 basis points from foreign currency slightly worse than our prior expectation. Operating margin in the range of 1% to 3%, down from our previous range of 5% to 6%, reflecting deleverage from lower sales and the potential for margin degradation to turn Hollister back-to-school inventory. For the effective tax rate, we're withdrawing the previous outlook of mid-30s as there could be a higher rate due to our inability to recognize a tax benefit for certain losses incurred outside of the U.S. For the third quarter, we are planning as follows: net sales to be down high single digits to 2021 level of approximately $905 million. Embedded in this outlook is an estimated adverse impact of approximately 220 basis points from foreign currency. The down high single digits assumes quarter-to-date sales trends continue. We are not assuming an improvement or falloff in that trend. And finally, operating income around breakeven. As we move through the back half, we intend to balance near-term profitability with long-term strategic investments. For 2022, we expect around $250 million or 700 basis points of cost pressure due to inflation compared to 2021. While we will not fully offset these headwinds this year, we are driving efforts to reduce the impact on profitability, including, but not limited to, tightly managing inventory receipts, taking select [ticket] (added by company after the call) increases in Abercrombie adults and reducing certain expenses. To date, on top of the volume-related savings we will realize on lower sales, we have reduced planned expenses for the back half by around $35 million through the following initiatives: slowed hiring while maintaining focus on areas necessary to support our aspirations in digital, data and technology; reduced or eliminated spend on noncritical projects and travel; and negotiated key contracts based on the current business environment. As we look to 2023 and beyond, we are cautiously optimistic that we'll start to see relief on product costs to help us recoup a portion of our operating margin lost to inflation this year. We are confident in the strategies we have in place to execute to our Always Forward Plan and build towards our 2025 goals, and we look forward to leveraging our strong liquidity to fund our investments through the months and quarters to come. With that, operator, we are ready for questions. 7 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
Q U E S T I O N S A N D A N S W E R S Operator (Operator Instructions) Our first question today comes from Dana Telsey of the Telsey Advisory Group. Dana Lauren Telsey - Telsey Advisory Group LLC - CEO & Chief Research Officer What a changed environment. As you think about the inventory levels -- I hope you can hear me. As you think about the inventory levels and the positioning as we go through the balance of the year, how are you planning for in-transit units on hand and product costs? And how will it differ by brand in certainly in this promotional environment? Fran Horowitz - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - CEO & Director Dana, I'll kick that one off. So it is really important for everyone to understand where we are with our inventory levels. So to begin with, 92% of our inventory is current, and we define current inventory by goods that are long life, goods that are early but actually have not even been set yet as well as current goods. Now if you take the 70% ahead of last year and you break it down, half of that, to your question, is in transit. So $140 million or 130% more than last year because we are anniversarying from last year, probably our lowest inventory levels in over a decade. Everyone managed through all of the supply chain pressures from last year. But additionally, we had 40% of our goods coming out of Vietnam last year. And at this point last year, those factories were all closed during -- due to COVID. Now if you take the balance of the 70 points, you take 28 of them, which is our on-hand units, and then 8, which are production costs. So it's very important to really break down and understand how -- why we are where we are. We disappointed our customer last year in the back half. We were not able to get goods. In fact, we started receiving goods still after Christmas last year. So I hope that helps. I don't know, Scott, if there's anything else that you like add. Scott D. Lipesky - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - Executive VP & CFO So yes, looking forward, we expect Q2 here on a year-over-year growth basis to be the peak. We'll moderate in Q3, and then we will moderate significantly in Q4 as we lap, like Fran just finished, with all those late receipts from Vietnam last year. As a reminder, we were receiving goods -- holiday goods into the last week of January, and we are not going to do that this year. So we'll see good moderation in inventory as that go through the back half. Operator Our next question comes from Corey Tarlowe of Jefferies. Corey Tarlowe - Jefferies LLC, Research Division - Equity Analyst Fran, first, I think we called out in the release that you've seen a little bit of an improvement so far in back-to-school. Maybe can you talk a little bit more about what you're seeing there, any trends either at Hollister or A&F and then specifically maybe some merchandise that's resonating really well with the consumer right now? 8 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
And then, Scott, as it relates to the promotional environment, what have you embedded in your outlook from a markdown perspective as we look throughout the back half? Fran Horowitz - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - CEO & Director Corey, so yes, a couple of things. We'll start with Abercrombie. It's exciting that second quarter really continuing to grow and see some nice AUR growth in the Abercrombie brand. And as we headed into the third quarter, continuing to see those key categories still resonating such as jeans and dresses. In Hollister, there was a significant shift in this consumer, greater than we have honestly seen and a quick, quick shift out of bottoms and into tops during Q2 and dresses particularly. This customer has really pressed on inflation and what they have -- can spend their money on. We're seeing the consumer come in and be very judicious on their spending. As we got into August, though, he and she started buying more tops maybe perhaps to go with some of those bottoms that they are waiting to buy on. So what we're seeing is a consumer shift much quicker in Hollister than we saw in Abercrombie. But what's resonating, I would say, #1, are dresses. Q2, we saw the best Q2 ever in Hollister dresses as well as Abercrombie, some exciting things happening and shifting consumer behavior. Scott D. Lipesky - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - Executive VP & CFO All right. Let me grab the promo piece. So as we went through Q2, once we saw the Hollister business soften a little bit, like many others, we've heard that kind of back of June into July, we saw the same exact trend here, specifically in the Hollister business. And once we saw that, we turned on some markdowns and promotions, kept that inventory current and kept it turning. At the same time, we have reduced receipts for holiday and beyond. So we feel good about the rightsized level of the receipt by -- for Hollister for holiday and beyond. So what we're going to focus on as we go through Q3 is just keeping that back-to-school inventory turning. Part of our reduction in the operating margin outlook is reflecting a little bit of margin pressure there in the Hollister business to keep that inventory turning, but feel good as we get to Q4 and beyond that we have rightsized that inventory level. Operator And we can go to Paul Lejuez of Citi. Kelly Crago - Citigroup Inc., Research Division - VP This is Kelly on for Paul. I'm just curious if maybe we could take a step back and just talk a little bit more about the Hollister brand. I know that certainly inflation is having an impact. It does seem like Hollister has been underperforming for a while. So is there anything -- any diagnosis you have of the brand? Are there changes that need to be made to potentially reposition the brand? And then also just on Europe, that did underperform. Is that mainly in the Hollister business? And just any color there because we have heard from others that Europe has actually been strong. So just curious of your thoughts there. 9 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
Fran Horowitz - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - CEO & Director Kelly, I'll kick off with Hollister. So as you recall, just a couple of months ago, we had our Investor Day, and we talked about our Always Forward Plan. And within that, we've discussed Hollister, which in the past 4 years, Hollister in the U.S. saw a 4% CAGR growth. So it continued to really resonate with that with the team. We did see a significant falloff for Q2, and we think part of that is macro. This consumer who is on the lower end of the income scale is definitely feeling a lot of pressure from inflation, but there's part of it that, of course, we own and we have to inspect and continually look through our business and really understand what's happening. So we saw a shift from bottoms to tops as I mentioned a little bit earlier, and the team got to work. They really got to work on the receipts. They made sure that those trending categories are in line for fourth quarter. We have a very agile and flexible supply chain here, and we can react to what's happening in the business. So we're controlling what we can control, and we are confident in the future of Hollister. Scott D. Lipesky - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - Executive VP & CFO Let's grab the EMEA side, second question. And what I would say with EMEA is it's bifurcating. We've seen great results in the U.K. more recently. We talked about that last quarter. We've also seen strong results in the Middle East. Where we haven't seen as strong results are in our next 2 biggest countries, so Germany and France. So while we're excited about the results we're seeing in U.K. and Middle East, we do have opportunity in Germany and France. And our teams are focused on that, and we'll be looking to address that as we go forward Q3 into Q4. We are committed to EMEA long term. It is our second largest region, and we do have opportunity there. As we go forward, we will adjust. Kelly Crago - Citigroup Inc., Research Division - VP Got it. Just to clarify, is that -- that's mainly on the Hollister brand, where we're seeing that weakness? Or is it kind of across the board? Scott D. Lipesky - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - Executive VP & CFO Across the board. Hollister is more highly penetrated into the EMEA region, but it's a similar trend across the board, both brands strongest in the U.K. and Middle East and then seeing softness in Germany and France. Operator (Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Janet Joseph Kloppenburg of JJK Research. Janet Joseph Kloppenburg - JJK Research Associates, Inc. - President Can you hear me? Fran Horowitz - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - CEO & Director Yes. 10 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
Janet Joseph Kloppenburg - JJK Research Associates, Inc. - President I just wanted to dig a little bit deeper on this change in preference at Hollister and maybe get your views, plan what's going on in denim and if things have slowed in that category. And then, Scott, if you could talk a little bit about the outlook for inventory at the end of the year and how you're planning it go forward, given the trends at Hollister. Also Fran love to hear about denim trends at A&F as well. Fran Horowitz - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - CEO & Director Okay. Let's face it all the way back up to the top here, Janet. So the shift that we saw in Hollister, as you know, back-to-school is traditionally a strong bottoms business, and we did see a very quick, very significant shift. Bottoms have been trending quite some time. The past 3 years, the consumer does have a lot of those newer fashion bottoms in their closet. And their wearing occasions have shifted a bit. So dresses were, as we mentioned, a record for us for Q2, super exciting. As we headed into August, what we saw in Hollister girls tops, we saw a nice shift in the trend. She's really responding to the tops that we're giving her. And with a limited amount of money to spend, they are making very judicious decisions. These decisions could be short term. We could see the bottoms open up as we -- as the weather changes, and we head into the back half of the third quarter. But with the information that we have today, we had to put our outlook based on what we currently know. A&F, we continue to see growth in that brand and in jeans. And the opportunity there is that consumer is actually going back to work and continuing on this 96-hour exciting weekend that we always talk about and their wearing occasions have shifted as well. So the offices have gotten more casual. They're going back to the office. They're wearing some of our fashion and dressed up denim to go back to the office in. So 2, the customers are diverging. The brands are diverging. And we're seeing different behavior between the 2. Scott D. Lipesky - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - Executive VP & CFO Okay, Janet. For the plan go forward. So we will -- the year-over-year growth rate will peak here in Q2, will moderate in Q3, and we'll get close to last year levels, 2021 levels as we get to Q4. At that point, we'll be lapping all of those late receipts from last year. In transit will be down. Units on hand will get pretty close to last year as we lap the late receipts. As we think about 2023, we are thinking about that today. As the business softened specifically in Hollister there in Q2 and that June, July time period, we have reduced receipts for Q4, have reduced receipts for Q1 and Q2 of the next year in the spring season because we want to get our brand to the chase mode. It's something that we talk about internally a lot. There is capacity out there. You've seen across the industry, many people taking out receipts for the back half and planning conservatively. So we are doing the same thing. So we feel good about our inventory plans for Hollister specifically, Q4 and into Q1 of next year. We will chase if we need to. And there, like I said, there is capacity out there to do that. Operator And we can go to Mauricio Serna of UBS Technology. Mauricio Serna Vega - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division - Analyst I guess I wanted to talk a little bit about freight. I mean what are you thinking in terms of the potential for recovery of freight costs that you have experienced, the pressures that you've experienced over the last year? How much do you see that could be like permanent? And how much do 11 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
you think you can recover probably next year? And maybe if you could talk a little bit about the monthly sales progression you saw throughout the quarter and how that exit rate compares to July, particularly. Scott D. Lipesky - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - Executive VP & CFO Let's start with freight. So we are cautiously optimistic about what we're seeing in the freight markets. Zooming into Abercrombie specifically, with the inventory issues we had coming out of Vietnam last year, we had a significant amount of air that we needed to use last Q3, Q4. That -- those higher rates and that higher usage hit us in Q4 last year and even carried over into Q1 and a little bit into Q2 of 2022. So we expect at Abercrombie for freight to actually become a tailwind this year. That's been planned throughout the year. We expect to see that come in this year. When you zoom out and think about freight rates in general, optimistic again that what we are seeing in the ocean shipping market and the air market, those rates have been coming in. We're optimistic that they'll stay there and continue at least stay there and can maybe continue to come in, and then we'll see that start to flow through in 2023. So no forecast yet as we go into the future, but optimistic that we have hopefully seen the peak here. Next question on the monthly sales progression. I would say our progression specifically in Hollister, let's kind of split the 2 brands. Our Hollister progression is really the progression you've been hearing out in the news at this point, fall off in that June into July period. We just talked about seeing some nicer trends here more broadly over the last couple of weeks, seeing a little bit of week-over-week improvement. We're not assuming that that's the start of a new trend. We're going to assume in our outlook that the trends that we've seen in Q2 are carrying forward for the back half of the year. And we're assuming they're going to be out there until they change. Abercrombie on that side, I saw consistent strength as we went throughout the quarter in Q2. So excited to see the momentum continue in that brand. Plus 5 or plus 7 in the quarter on a constant currency basis, with the Abercrombie adult brand actually being higher than that and kids bringing that down a little bit. So really optimistic that we'll continue to see that momentum continue in Abercrombie & Fitch. Operator Our next question comes from Marni Shapiro of The Retail Tracker. Marni Shapiro - The Retail Tracker - Co-Founder I'm hoping -- I want to dive a little bit more into Hollister, and then I have a quick customer file question. But in Hollister, it looks like -- or it sounds like the fashion is selling well where you have it. And I've noticed in the stores you have some really exceptional fashion for back-to-school, only it's a very small portion of the overall assortment. So I'm wondering if I'm seeing that right. And it's as much a matter of this customer is under pressure as it is getting the balance right in the store. And then if you could just touch on at Abercrombie with the customer file. Are you seeing that continue to grow at Abercrombie? And are you getting the attention of the older Gen Z customers into the store as well as just lapsed shoppers that maybe came back? 12 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call


 
Fran Horowitz - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - CEO & Director I'll kick off with the question on Hollister. Marni, so what we saw as an example in the second quarter, dresses were -- the best quarter we've ever seen in dresses for Hollister. So yes, the fashion to your point, is selling well and the consumer is responding to it, but they're very pressured right now. They have to be very judicious on what they're spending and how much they're buying. So we're continuing to monitor that, as Scott just went through on the receipt. And as we got into the third quarter, it is nice to see that our growth, tops have really started to accelerate. So yes, to answer your question, seeing nice selling on the fashion, just a bigger shift out of bottoms than anticipated. Scott D. Lipesky - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - Executive VP & CFO On the customer file, we continue to see growth in the Abercrombie & Fitch. Part of the comeback story of Abercrombie, we've pressed up our bets here in marketing for Abercrombie in the back half of last year. We're continuing to focus marketing this year. Even in light of what's happening more broadly in the industry, Abercrombie continues to be a standout, and we're going to continue to protect investments and marketing to Abercrombie. We love the product, where the assortment is. We love where the brand positioning is, and our goal was to get more people, more eyes on that brand. And so while we're happy with continued customer and new brand customer growth, our new customers coming into the brand, we want to continue to accelerate that because we love the story we have. Operator And as there are no further questions at this time, I would like to turn the conference back to Fran Horowitz for closing remarks. Fran Horowitz - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. - CEO & Director Thank you, everyone, for joining the call today. Scott and I would also like to thank our Head of Investor Relations, Pam Quintiliano. Sadly, this is her last call with us as she'll be leaving Abercrombie & Fitch to pursue another opportunity, and we wish her the best of luck. Operator Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's conference call. We thank you all for your participation, and you may now disconnect. D I S C L A I M E R Refinitiv reserves the right to make changes to documents, content, or other information on this web site without obligation to notify any person of such changes. In the conference calls upon which Event Transcripts are based, companies may make projections or other forward-looking statements regarding a variety of items. Such forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those stated in any forward-looking statement based on a number of important factors and risks, which are more specifically identified in the companies' most recent SEC filings. Although the companies may indicate and believe that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove inaccurate or incorrect and, therefore, there can be no assurance that the results contemplated in the forward-looking statements will be realized. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN EVENT TRANSCRIPTS IS A TEXTUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE APPLICABLE COMPANY'S CONFERENCE CALL AND WHILE EFFORTS ARE MADE TO PROVIDE AN ACCURATE TRANSCRIPTION, THERE MAY BE MATERIAL ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INACCURACIES IN THE REPORTING OF THE SUBSTANCE OF THE CONFERENCE CALLS. IN NO WAY DOES REFINITIV OR THE APPLICABLE COMPANY ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY INVESTMENT OR OTHER DECISIONS MADE BASED UPON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS WEB SITE OR IN ANY EVENT TRANSCRIPT. USERS ARE ADVISED TO REVIEW THE APPLICABLE COMPANY'S CONFERENCE CALL ITSELF AND THE APPLICABLE COMPANY'S SEC FILINGS BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT OR OTHER DECISIONS. ©2022, Refinitiv. All Rights Reserved. 15290321-2022-08-25T18:45:26.490 13 REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us ©2022 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Refinitiv content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 25, 2022 / 12:30PM, ANF.N - Q2 2022 Abercrombie & Fitch Co Earnings Call