Q2 2025 Canada Goose Holdings Inc Earnings Call
As Carrie will discuss later, we also shifted the timing of some of our marketing spend as we build excitement for the first capsule from our Creative Director, Heiner Ackermann, to be unveiled later this month.
While this shift impacts future results, we expect to see benefits from this activity over the second half of the fiscal year, with more marketing dollars at work across several initiatives.
As a reminder, approximately 75% of our revenue and opportunity is still ahead of us this year based on our historical performance. We remain steadfast in our view that we can drive positive DTC comparable sales growth out of our stores in both the near and long term.
We are focused on executing with excellence for a busy holiday season and building an enduring brand that connects with our customers.
In the second quarter, we took concrete action for three key operating imperatives to set us up for success. That said, due to a softer second quarter and the weaker macro environment around us that has impacted consumer confidence, you will see that we introduced a lower range for guidance.
As a reminder, our three operating imperatives are, number one, setting the foundation for the next stage of our brand and product evolution, number two, implementing best-in-class luxury retail execution, and number three, simplifying the way that we operate.
I will share some insight into our first operating imperative while touching on some elements of our second and third imperatives, and both will be expanded upon later.
Thank you.
First, as it relates to preparing for the next stage of our brand and product evolution.
Through the first half of this fiscal year, we set the foundation for long-term product design and development at Canada Goose, opening our new design studio in Paris, and building a strong team that support Hydra in the execution of our product vision.
We've come a long way building the infrastructure and capabilities in just a matter of months and we are now just a few weeks out of launching HIDA's first capsule. I'm incredibly excited and incredibly proud of our team and the progress that they've made to get us ready for this very important milestone.
Just a couple of weeks ago, we started the Tees Hydros capsule with an exclusive launch in Iceland.
who hosted a group of industry-influenced and global media to experience his new collection against one of the most inspiring backdrops in the world.
I was there myself to see the overwhelmingly positive response to his capsule.
which will appear under the label Snogres. This is the brand name we operated under before we became Kennedy.
For this capsule, Haider reached deep into our archives as a source of inspiration to innovate in both our core and newer product categories. This new collection represents where we've come from and where we're going, and will sit alongside Canada Goose in the mainland.
Hire's vision and his respect for where we've been makes this new collection a perfect expression of our future.
In regard to our second and third operating imperatives, we have taken measured steps to simplify the way we work and advance our retail execution.
As a result, we are well-positioned for our peak selling season. We're having a product where it needs to be throughout our retail network, through readying our stores to greet guests as they arrive and offer them elevated shopping experiences.
You will hear more about these and other initiatives during today's call.
When we spoke to you first about our three operating imperatives at the beginning of our fiscal year, we knew that execution would not be easy. We are in the midst of a transformation, and the transformation of this magnitude takes time.
especially within the current musical backdrop.
I have spent my entire life in this industry. Trends and economic cycles come and go, but we have proven resilience through the evolution of our business. With this understanding, we are pushing forward, prioritizing content and focus on driving change for long-term impact, which has had some short-term impacts on itself.
We are committed to doing the hard things and making the hard decisions to fulfill our branch potential.
all of which is underpinned by a resilient business model.
A strong brand backed by a deep heritage of quality and craftsmanship, of vertical integration, and a deeply committed team.
As our key operating imperatives come together, we believe that our efforts will drive improvement in our overall business performance and enhance the strength of our brand. And with that, I will now turn it over to Carrie.
Carrie: Thanks Dani. Q2 was a productive quarter as our team continued to execute against our key operating imperatives while also preparing for peak, our season. We made significant progress on several fronts which I'm proud of and I'm excited to share with you shortly.
First though, let me start by putting our Q2 DTC Comparable Sales Results into context.
One of our biggest priorities in retail to fiscal is driving comp growth, but this fell short of our expectations in the quarter. Year over year DTC comp revenue declined 13% as performance in Asia Pacific and North America weighed on overall results.
While EMEA comp growth was down year over year, performance improved sequentially compared to our first quarter.
On a global basis, store traffic and conversion declined year over year, while e-commerce saw increased sessions, yet lower conversion.
The exception here was also in Mayo where store traffic was up significantly, reflecting the busy summer event season in the region. We were encouraged to see conversions start to improve across our key regions in September.
While consumer sentiment weakened during the quarter, our Q2 performance was further pressured by two decisions we made in line with our long-term strategy, a part of the transformation work we started last year.
Carrie: First, we made the deliberate decision to implement most of our marketing spend in the second half of Fiscal 25, as opposed to previous years where we typically wrap investments in Q2.
This enables us to fully support the launch of Hydra's first capsule ahead of holiday, Our Season of Strength, and showcase our elevated brand expression and consumer engagement strategies during our peak season, when it matters most.
Second, we are working towards a more productive and curated product department, focusing on icons and bestsellers, while we expand into other categories strategically. Compared to previous years, we made a conscious choice to limit the total volume of units this season, adding new styles where they were needed most by building on key product families.
The benefit of this decision is we're better able to engage our customers through clear storytelling, as well as giving space and focus in our DDC channels to Heider's new designs.
Carrie: While this means fewer new styles this season, this decision sets us up to deliver a more strategic offering to drive sales and conversion in the long term.
Carrie: Now let me share highlights from our Q2 Operating Imperatives, which aim to address these performance issues, starting with our Product and Brand Operating Imperatives.
From a product perspective, it's no secret that we occupy an enviable position of leadership in delivering the warmest outerwear, but we are fully focused on complementing that with new, innovative styles that expand into other categories and seasons. Early results are encouraging.
Our Spring-Summer 24 collection was positively received, in particular our apparel and everyday products, confirming the significant market opportunity for a full year assortment.
And more recently, we launched our Fall-Winter Collection in September, which delivers a more youthful attitude with relevant silhouettes and style-forward designs that don't compromise on function.
Carrie: Based on October sales results, which are substantially improved over Q2, this collection is resonating.
Carrie: Looking ahead, our category expansion story now includes eyewear, as we announced plans to launch our first collection in Spring 2025 in partnership with Marchand Eyewear. Our DNA of protection and craftsmanship translate well into eyewear, and we're excited to see this category come to life soon.
Lastly on the product front, we have hired a new head of merchandising who will start early in 2025 to lead and strengthen our long-term product strategy. This is a critical role that we have not had in the business for some time and will be a driving force in working with Hyder and his creative vision.
Together, they will build a product offering that strengthens the link between market demand and our product roadmap to drive both revenue and margin.
Turning to marketing activity highlights. In Q2, we continue to move the needle on the marketing front in targeted ways.
We launched an engaging campaign with our global brand ambassador and NBA star Shea Gilgis-Alexander, which delivered increased earned media, significant new subscribers, strong social engagement, as well as solid commercial results.
Carrie: In September, we joined the world of live streaming with the opening of a new sales channel on Chinese social platform Douyin. This is a powerful way for us to tell our brand story and engage customers in a more direct way on style and functional aspects of our products.
Our performance in these early days of duyas is strong and contributed meaningfully to our Asia-Pacific e-commerce revenue in Q2.
Carrie: and we were successful in expanding our audience both on social and our own community. Through consistent and targeted engagement we have grown the number of subscribers by over 30% year-over-year with the share of email attributed sales in our e-commerce revenue also growing significantly.
Carrie: In the near term, our attention and focus is on creating excitement for Hyder's Capsule and a bolder brand expression overall, and sustain that momentum through commercial and regional campaigns that also drive demand for our mainline collection.
Carrie: The exhibition we read in Iceland that Dani mentioned earlier reflects our experience-first marketing strategy, designed to make impressions, not buy them.
Carrie: The capsule campaign that follows will build on our authenticity and credibility as an experiential brand, amplified globally through a robust marketing campaign with investments throughout the funnel, including digital and out-of-home campaigns, regional events, and impactful retail theatre.
Carrie: Early data coming out of our campaign indicates that brand momentum is building, reflected through the level of earned media impressions globally, growth in our social following, an increase in U.S. search demand, and continued growth of our membership base.
Another critical component of our brand and product evolution imperative is our wholesale strategy. Our efforts to elevate the wholesale shopping experience started nearly 18 months ago and began to bear fruit in Q2.
Key second quarter achievements include positive sell-throughs with our top partners in EMEA, our largest wholesale market, which reverses prior year trends.
Carrie: Our brand is better positioned within strategic wholesale partners, including a men's pop-up in Gallery Lafayette alongside luxury peers, resulting in significantly higher sales compared to the same period last year.
Carrie: We also made significant progress in reducing the availability of our product with wholesale distributors that have historically not treated our product in a brand-aligned way. This has resulted in considerable improvement of our full price positioning.
Carrie: We also experienced solid travel retail growth as we gained deeper experience in this relatively new channel.
Carrie: And last but not least, in October, we introduced an elevated and bold visual expression at Selfridges in London, having just launched the Polar Bears International Pop-Up Experience, and taking over the entire window displays with our Fall-Winter collection.
Carrie: We're pleased with the progress we've made in our wholesale business and are on track to deliver our full-year outlets for this channel.
Carrie: Finally, let me touch on our second operating imperative, implementing best-in-class retail execution.
Carrie: In Q2, we grew our permanent retail store network, opening two new stores in Montreal, Canada, and Wuhan, China, and converted two temporary spaces into permanent stores, one in Birmingham, UK, and one in Shanghai, China. This brings our permanent store count to 72.
Carrie: We also expanded our store in Tokyo's luxury epicenter, the Ginza District, which now provides guests with an elevated flagship experience, including a beautiful VIP space and a renowned cold room.
Carrie: Last quarter, we laid out three streams of work to level up execution across our retail network. First, boosting our sales training. Second, strengthening store operations. And third, improving product availability.
Carrie: Our efforts here through the first half of the year have ensured our stores are well prepared to capitalize on the selling opportunities throughout our peak season. They are well staffed with labor optimized for weekend traffic. Employees are well trained to deliver that Canadian warmth experience.
Carrie: And our floors are well stocked for customers and the products they're looking for.
Carrie: I mentioned earlier we saw the most prominent evidence of this preparation in our EMEA stores where these initiatives were quickly implemented across the regional network and have led to steadily improving conversion.
Carrie: With a much larger store base, it's taking a little longer in North America, but we are applying that same playbook for success there and also in Asia-Pacific.
David.
David: We've made tremendous progress in the first half of our fiscal, and we are far from done as our journey of transformation continues.
Carrie: A change of this magnitude takes time, but we are on the right path.
Speaker Change: Near-term headwinds aside, we know what we are capable of delivering in Q3, and we are full steam ahead. I'll now pass it over to Beth.
Thanks, Carrie and good morning all.
Beth: The third operating imperative in Fiscal 25 is to simplify and focus the way we operate as an organization.
Beth: We are doing this through internal operating excellence and focused capital deployment.
Beth: We've made good progress on both of these fronts in our second quarter, which I'll take you through now.
Starting with Achieving Operating Excellence.
Beth: In Q2, we continue to simplify the way we work and ensure our spending is moving while investing in key areas to drive growth through the business.
to share some examples.
Beth: We've been aggressively reviewing our third-party vendors, which has resulted in the renegotiation or cancellation of numerous contracts in the first half of the year and yielded significant savings.
Beth: We also continue to evolve our teams in ways that reduce costs and improve their effectiveness.
Beth: We continue to prudently manage our headcount, hiring for only the most critical roles of the exercise discipline over our cost base.
Beth: While we've been hiring since the workforce reductions we implemented at the end of our last fiscal year in March, we have also been very judicious about when and whether roles are truly needed.
Beth: Our actions drove efficiency, with our Q2 FG&A expenses decreasing year over year.
Beth: This occurred despite investments in critical areas such as technology, infrastructure, product design, including scaling up the team in our Paris design studio.
Beth: However, it's important to note that due to slower top-line growth, SG&A as a percent of revenue increased year-over-year after normalizing for adjustments in both periods.
Beth: We acknowledge the importance of policy leverage, and we are not satisfied with this outcome.
Beth: However, we believe our focused investment and cost management strategies position us well to improve SG&A as a percent of revenue as we drive sales growth in the coming quarters.
Beth: We intend to continue implementing specific cost optimization initiatives and remain disciplined in allocating resources to investments that directly support revenue growth, no matter the market conditions.
Beth: We expect these actions, plus the scaling of revenue, to yield tangible improvements in SG&A efficiency.
Next, I'll speak about focused capital deployment.
Beth: As you'll recall, we made a decision to open a smaller number of stores in fiscal 25 while we focus on our existing base.
Beth: This, plus our general conservatism on capital deployment, has resulted in our CapEx declining significantly year-over-year in the second quarter, even while we invest in critical areas that drive revenue and strengthen the foundations of our business to support speed and scale.
Beth: We also made significant progress in right-sizing our inventory levels. Inventory at the end of our second quarter decreased 9% year-over-year, an acceleration from a 7% year-over-year decrease at the end of 2-1. It also marks our fourth consecutive quarter of decreasing our year-over-year inventory balance.
Beth: We realize this by temporarily lowering production levels with both our third-party contract manufacturing partners and in our own facilities.
Beth: We supplemented that with friends and family sales to continue exiting slow-moving inventory and non-carryover styles.
Beth: This resulted in a 0.9x inventory turnover for the 12-month period ending September 29, 2024, a 13% improvement year-over-year, accelerating from a 6% year-on-year improvement last quarter.
Beth: We expect to see continued movement in our inventory turnover in the second half of the year as demand increases in our peak season and our sales ramp up.
Beth: All of our efforts are contributing to improved inventory health within our operations and across our channels.
Beth: As we achieve those goals, we are gradually rescaling our production capacity to support both this year's peak season and the next fiscal year, while still staying focused on improving inventory terms.
Beth: I'll now pass it over to Neal to discuss our Q2 financial performance and outlook.
Thanks, Beth.
Neal: As you've heard so far today, we are making good progress across our execution levers.
Speaker Change: I'll start with reviewing our second quarter financial performance and then discuss our updated outlook.
Beth: Revenue in Q2 was down 5% year-over-year, or 6% on a constant currency basis, due to a decline in D2C revenue and a planned decrease in wholesale revenue, partially offset by an increase in other-channel revenue.
Beth: First, I will describe our regional performance on a year-over-year constant currency basis.
Beth: North America revenue decreased 3% on lower D2C and wholesale revenue, partially offset by higher sales activity in the other channel, primarily friends and family events.
Beth: Asia-Pacific revenue grew 3%, mainly due to higher travel retail revenue in Greater China, which is included in our wholesale business.
Beth: partially offset by lower D2C in the region, and revenue in EMEA down 17% primarily due to a planned decrease in wholesale revenue.
Beth: From a channel perspective, second quarter DTC revenue was down 5% or 6% on a constant currency basis due to softer demand in both our in-store and e-commerce channels.
Beth: D to C comparable sales were down 13% year-over-year due to the factors Carrie discussed earlier that impacted both traffic and conversion in the quarter.
Beth: August and September were the more challenging months in the quarter as consumer sentiment weakened.
Beth: It's worth repeating that despite consumer caution in our markets, we believe that being somewhat quieter on marketing ahead of the Hyder capsule launch later this fall dampened traffic as well.
Beth: We began to see some improvement toward the end of September as we started to ramp up our marketing and investment.
Beth: with the second drop of our fall-winter collection and the kickoff of this new goose campaign.
Beth: I would like to point out that Golden Week was a bright spot for us, with revenue in mainland China better than last year for a seven-day period.
Beth: While this is one week out of a full quarter, and not an indicator of the total period, it does demonstrate the strength of our brand in China.
Thank you for watching. Bye. Bye.
Beth: Our focus continues to be on the day-in, day-out retail execution.
Beth: And our expectation continues to be that these actions will result in positive comparable sales growth in fiscal 25.
We've seen a trajectory improvement.
Beth: positive comparable sales growth in October in several of our stores in mainland China, India, the US, and Canada.
although pockets of consumer pressure remain throughout those markets.
Beth: Online performance is lagging somewhat though it is being bolstered by the launch of Douyin and some early single-day sales in mainland China.
Beth: Mainland China performed well in October leading to a low single-digit increase in total D2C comparable sales growth for the month.
Beth: Q2 wholesale revenue was down 15% or 17% on a constant currency basis, reflecting our planned lower order book as we elevate the quality of this channel.
Beth: For the first half of the year, wholesale revenue was down 21%, which is in line with our full year outlook.
Beth: Well, the North American and EMEA order books are smaller year over year as planned.
Beth: There is improvement in both Greater China and Korea as we deepen our wholesale relationships, especially in key travel retail locations such as Hainan Island and airports.
Beth: Despite continued uncertainty about traditional and pure play digital wholesale partners, channel inventory is significantly improved year-over-year.
Beth: We are seeing stronger commercial alignment, as you heard from Carrie, about the brand's representation at our partners.
This gives us optimism about this channel moving forward.
Beth: Revenue in our Other Channel segment increased to $26.6 million in Q2 of FY25, up from $9.7 million in Q2 of FY24, primarily due to an increase in friends and family sales to exit slower-moving and discontinued income.
and Donna Duvall.
Beth: We expect to be much quieter on this front in the third quarter and are evaluating opportunities in early calendar 2025.
Beth: In addition, we have positive improvements from third-party sales from the knitwear manufacturing facility we acquired in Q3 of Fiscal 24, and employee sales, for which we implemented a new program in Q3 of Fiscal 24.
Let's now turn to gross profit.
Our second quarter gross profit decreased by 9% year-over-year.
Beth: Gross margin declined 260 basis points to 61.3%, primarily due to a higher proportion of non-heavy weight down revenue within our product mix.
Beth: We expect to expand gross margin over the balance of the fiscal year, driven by a more favorable D to C channel mix, lapping both the acquisition of a European knitwear manufacturer and introduction of our
Beth: updated employee sales program complemented by further cost efficiencies on production labor and more favorable overhead absorption we planned.
Thank you for joining us. Thank you.
Beth: Moving further down the P&L, our adjusted EBIT was $2.5 million, which was down from $15.6 million in the second quarter of last year. While we reduced overall SG&A expenses by nearly $15 million, top-line pressure resulted in a lower adjusted EBIT and lower adjusted EBIT margin.
and others. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Beth: We've mentioned several ongoing initiatives aimed at driving the top line while also demonstrating discipline and managing our cost base.
Beth: Lower SG&A in Q2 was primarily due to lower corporate SG&A spend and a shift in timing of our marketing spend to the back half of this fiscal year. This was primarily offset by higher costs associated with operating 10 more permanent stores year over year and increased technology and design studio investments.
Beth: Decreases in corporate SG&A spend was primarily due to savings that resulted from the workforce reductions implemented in fiscal 24 and significant costs associated with a transformation program in Q2 last year, which was included in our reported results and excluded from adjusted EBIT.
Beth: Lastly, on the income statement, Q2 adjusted net income attributable to shareholders was $5.2 million or $0.05 per diluted share compared to $16.2 million or $0.16 per diluted share in Q2 Fiscal 24.
Turning to our balance sheet.
At the end of the quarter, inventory was $473 million.
Beth: down 9% year-over-year driven by a noticeable decrease in finished goods.
Beth: We ended the quarter with $826 million of net debt compared with $852 million at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 24. We ended the period with approximately $282 million in unused borrowing capacity on our revolving credit facility.
Beth: Our net debt leverage at the end of the second quarter was 2.9 times adjusted EBITDA, compared with 3.3 times at the same time last year.
Beth: We expect to end the year with leverage below historical levels.
and many more. Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker Change: As a reminder, our capital allocation priorities towards driving shareholder value are first to invest in organic growth opportunity, including brand and product development, as well as in the expansion of our retail network.
Beth: Second, to invest in the foundational needs of the business, like leveling up our technology. And third, to ensure we have an efficient capital structure.
Turning now to our Fiscal 2025 Financial Outlook.
Beth: While our revenue for the first half of fiscal 25 is largely in line with our forecast, our D2C business has performed below our expectations.
Beth: Considering the weakening in consumer sentiment since we provided our initial outlook in May and our first half performance, we're taking the prudent decision to introduce a bottom range to our full year fiscal 25 guidance.
Beth: Full year fiscal 25 revenue is expected to range between an increase in the low single digits to a low single digit decline compared to fiscal 24.
Beth: We expect D to C comparable sales to also move in a similar range this year versus the prior year.
Beth: We continue to expect wholesale revenue to decrease 20% year-over-year, which is unchanged from our initial outlook.
Beth: Our gross margin outlook is also unchanged, which we expect will remain similar in FY25 compared to the previous year.
Beth: Due to the lower range we are providing on the top line, we expect non-IFRS adjusted EBIT margin to range between an increase of 60 basis points to a decline of 60 basis points over the prior year.
Beth: We have lowered the top end of our adjusted margin range from the 100 basis point increase in our initial outlook.
Beth: to reflect our increased investments in marketing activities compared to what we planned at the onset of the year and a change in our expected regional revenue mix towards Asia-Pacific.
Beth: We expect the lower mixed contribution and D to C comparable sales from North America and EMEA to compress margins given the higher fixed cost ruptures in these regions, particularly in our stores.
Beth: As a result, we expect non-IFRS adjusted net income per diluted share to increase in the mid-single-digit range with approximately 98 million shares and weighted average diluted shares outstanding.
Beth: Let me remind you, 75% of our revenue is historically recorded in the back half of our fiscal year and we are relentlessly working to drive positive comparable sales growth over that period.
Beth: To close out today's prepared remarks, I'd underscore that we're encouraged by the progress we're making to transform our operations and to evolve engagement with the Canada Goose brand despite difficult macro conditions.
Beth: Let me reiterate that a transformation of this magnitude takes time and things are moving in the right direction as we build stronger connections with our consumers and deliver elevated shopping experiences.
Beth: Our team is deeply engaged in executing across our three operating imperatives with an immediate focus on delivering sales during our peak season.
Beth: We continue to test and learn, and unlock opportunities across our brand, product, and D2C execution, and are confident in our ability to stabilize our revenue base, leading to improved and sustainable growth and profitability in the near and long term.
With that, I'll open the call up for questions.
Speaker Change: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad to raise your hand and join the queue. And if you'd like to withdraw that question, again press star 1.
Speaker Change: And we ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. Your first question comes from the line of Adrienne Yee with Barclays, please go ahead.
Adrienne Yee: Good morning, and thank you for all the detail and the color.
Dani, I guess...
Adrienne Yee: You know, we're, the macro aside, the macro kind of setting everybody back, let's call it a year, and it's not you specific, it's just macro generally.
Adrienne Yee: But as we think about kind of the things that you can control, let's say the notion that we kind of want to move some of the seasonality and not have so much concentrated in the back two quarters of the year, expansion into other categories, you know, more of the seasonally adjusted kind of like apparel for other seasons, can you talk about what the business looks
Beth: by channel mix and by region, by, you know, winter versus, you know, kind of non-seasonal apparel.
in three to five years.
Beth: So just kind of maybe like a re-landscape of that LRP that you had given us.
Beth: you know, probably pre-pandemic at this point, just to recalibrate where we are in that cycle. Thank you so much.
Speaker Change: Yeah, thank you for your question and I'll give some high-level commentary in color on the future. I mean, I think that we know that our opportunity remains tremendous and we know that our brand is extremely strong through multiple ways of research that we've been doing and we're very excited about that and we you know, from a product evolution point of view, we've evolved
Speaker Change: As you've seen, our product has evolved quite a bit over the last number of years, and the plans for that are to continue.
Speaker Change: We have a new merchandiser joining us soon, which will really help with that.
Speaker Change: and with our new design studio in Paris, which is, to me, one of the biggest things we're doing this year, most impactful and bold moves we're making to drive this business forward. We're really going to have strong designs, desirable products coming out of them.
Beth: coming out of that facility, which works together, of course, with our design capabilities here in Toronto and manufacturing capabilities.
Beth: in Canada. So I do believe that my vision is to see our product want to expand quite considerably with beautiful products that people really want to have.
Beth: and we'll be diligently to the local organization that can support that.
Beth: Adrienne, this is Beth. I'll add to that, while obviously we're not
specifically pointing to that that long-term guidance anymore.
Beth: There are many themes in that that remain very true. We have a significant amount of footprint expansion opportunity across all geographies. We have a significant amount of expansion of retail and D2C execution expense and opportunity, brand building opportunity that will continue to grow, consumer sentiment, which will create both D2C and wholesale revenue opportunities in multiple markets.
Beth: And we do expect to see our non-heavyweight down categories grow faster.
Beth: because they are just newer categories for us. But we also believe there's plenty of growth opportunities and in heavy way down as well. So the thematic elements that you heard in that long range plan, we certainly still feel are very much true, even though the specific revenue and EBIT forecast suggested by that, we pulled back on.
Speaker Change: Great. And then a quick one, just a follow-up for Neil, what was this shift in marketing dollars? How should we think about that hitting the SG&A line as we model out the SG&A for next quarter?
Speaker Change: And then are there any stores anywhere globally that are not hitting your four wall, your internal, your IRR metrics that would be under consideration for potential closing or is that kind of not even in the cards? Thank you.
Yeah, I'll take a second.
Speaker Change: Part of the question first, Adrienne, and thanks for your questions. No, we're not giving any consideration to that right now. The focus for, you know, the business top to bottom is about peak and peak execution and, you know, to the extent that we need to look beyond that, we will at the right time, but right now we're very focused on driving productivity and profitability out of every store, and as a reminder, our metrics in those stores are very, very strong.
Speaker Change: particularly in the quarters, but what I can tell you is on a year-to-year basis, we're going to be slightly up.
Speaker Change: in the marketing spend and we have been a little bit quieter in the first half than we will be in the second half of the year, obviously putting all of our heft behind.
Speaker Change: the Heider launch, which is coming soon, as well as some commercial marketing activities that we know that can drive some search volume and
Speaker Change: some of the other KPIs that help lead to revenue in the channels.
Speaker Change: Fantastic. Thank you very much and I'll see you next week.
Speaker Change: Your next question comes from the line of Rick Patel with Raymond James. Please go ahead.
Speaker Change: Hi, this is Josh Reiss filling in for Rick. Thanks for taking the question. I was hoping you can provide additional color behind your plans to improve on the comps for the remainder of the year. Curious how to really think about the opportunity to drive those higher productivity levels from a regional perspective.
Yeah, absolutely. It's Carrie here.
Carrie: One of the biggest things that we started in the first half is what I talked about before, making sure our stores are well stocked with inventory and we're in such a better position than we were this time last year, even six months ago. We've made considerable efforts on training our staff and then also making sure that we're staffed appropriately when we see the traffic. So all of those programs have been massive efforts in the first half and we started to see
Carrie: We're applying that same playbook to every region, and so we're really seeing that improvement in APAC. North America is taking a little bit longer, it's obviously a larger shore base, so really it's continuing what we've already started and making sure that we're just...
Speaker Change: being as aggressive as you have been in the first half. Hopefully, you know, with the influx of more marketing, we're gonna see a little bit more traffic, especially in our cop stores. So to me, it's really staying in the path of things that we've already done and hopefully seeing a lot more traction from those efforts.
Speaker Change: particularly China, where we see some level of resilience in the consumer that perhaps wasn't there in the second quarter. And so that gives us a degree of confidence.
Speaker Change: What we can do about the macro is really out of our control and so we're focused on how do we drive the traffic to the stores and then all the stuff that Carrie just referred to that helps lead to conversion once they're in there and I just don't think we can underscore enough how much effort there is around the world going into
Speaker Change: labor and training and ensuring that the luxury experience for the consumer is where it needs to be as we get
you know, deep into peaks.
Speaker Change: Thanks and one quick follow-up on Jeff's China component. Can you talk about, like I know you performed pretty well relative to
Speaker Change: the industry. Can you talk about what you're currently seeing from like the Chinese consumer, perhaps any more color on what you're seeing in China that can inform our expectations for the region for the rest of the year?
Speaker Change: Yeah, I think today the story's a little bit different than it probably was in the second quarter.
Speaker Change: We have continued open stores as planned. We know that, as you probably do, that the macro environment in China is a challenge. We're hopeful that the stimulus that came through will lead to something over the long term. We're not necessarily planning for that. What we do know is that our brand resonates with Chinese consumers wherever they are in the world.
Speaker Change: and they shop our stores in Canada, in the U.S., in Europe and especially in mainland China. Travel seems to be somewhat muted but you know again that's an over a long term those trends will correct.
Speaker Change: What we have seen, you know, in the past few weeks with both Golden Week and with Singles Day is some positive forward momentum. We're hopeful that that trajectory continues.
Speaker Change: And, you know, that gives us, as I said a few moments ago, some confidence that the Chinese consumer will continue to support candidate use.
Speaker Change: Just one add on there is the other the growth that we're seeing also in with our wholesale business whether it's travel retail that also gives us confidence you know there is demand out there our partners do want more inventory and so having been there yes it's a little quieter so
Speaker Change: We'll see if that stimulus really, you know, affects the luxury spender, but I think there's so many bright spots that are giving us confidence in both the mid and long term.
Thanks so much.
Speaker Change: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Oliver Chen with TD Cowen. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Bye.
Speaker Change: Hi, thank you. Regarding the new head of merchandising, what would be some key priorities? And as you think ahead with the innovation and the execution you're having with the new creative designer, how are you thinking about creating new icons and balancing new versus evergreen product and developing new evergreen icons as well? Thank you.
Speaker Change: Thanks, Oliver. This is Carrie here. So, our new head of merchandising, so...
Speaker Change: mentioned in my remarks that worth noting they'll be working very closely obviously with Haider and the team in broadening our assortment so again we've made such great progress in showing up as a lifestyle brand but there's so many more opportunities still ahead of us and as you said
Speaker Change: We're not trying to do more just for the sake of more. We want to do more that's better. And so, reflected by our current season offering, it's, you know, a lot of focus on bestsellers and icons because
Speaker Change: We don't want to just have this broad assortment that confuses customers. We want to have a very clear...
Speaker Change: well-mapped out, you know, distinctive voice that comes through our products. So whether it's eyewear that we're introducing, whether it's accessories, whether it's, you know, doubling down on some new icons that we're introducing for Heavyweight Down.
Speaker Change: you know, that's going to be the focus. So really understanding the consumer demand, listening to
Speaker Change: what they're asking for but then also really translating our DNA of who Canada Goose is and protection and performance and style.
Thank you for watching. Bye. Bye.
Speaker Change: Okay, Neil, as we think about the gross margin longer term, what should we know about puts and takes that you could articulate and also category mix dynamics? Thank you.
Speaker Change: Yeah, I mean, I think keeping in mind that you don't necessarily have a long-term view out, I'll speak sort of more qualitatively, Oliver. Clearly, product mix over the last, you know, many years has shifted away from heavyweight down in a way that excites us.
Speaker Change: both because it makes store economics really really attractive as we start to get deeper into the categories that
Speaker Change: as Carrie just alluded to, the merchandising leader will help alongside Heider. And so product mix perhaps creates a little bit of a headwind. I'm not certain that's the case, but
Speaker Change: It certainly is going to create a lot more dollars of gross profit and ultimately EBIT leverage as we look forward.
Speaker Change: We continue to be vertically integrated. That is a major competitive advantage for us.
Speaker Change: The team that exists both in our product development chain as well as inside our supply chain are laser-focused on delivering high-quality products that consumers love, but it allows us to control the manufacturing.
Speaker Change: in a cost environment that gives us informed decisions. And so we think, as I say, I think that gives us a competitive advantage over the long term. You know, I think beyond that.
Speaker Change: Certainly our view is over the long term we want to grow each revenue channel and we're going to do that responsibly through comp growth as well as some pricing, but pricing isn't necessarily the lever that we want to pull on. We want to pull on creating tremendous products for our consumers and growing volume through all of our channels.
Thanks, Neal and Carrie. Best regards.
We follow her.
Speaker Change: Your next question comes from the line of Brooke Roach with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Good morning and thank you for taking our question.
Speaker Change: I was hoping you could elaborate on your plans to drive an acceleration in comp trends in North America and how you're thinking about that growth opportunity between stores and online. And then separately, can you contextualize the number of days of wholesale inventory you have on hand by channel or by region in the channel? Thank you.
Speaker Change: Thanks Russ, Carrie here. So in terms of accelerating DCC comps in North America, so we talked about North America is a little more challenged on the store.
Carrie: Front is just a larger network, a little more mature, and so just hasn't come as fast as maybe some other regions, and so it's the same playbook that we talked about, so making sure that we're, you know, just being super diligent on, you know, whether it's traffic, labour, and matching labour hours.
Carrie: monitoring BA performance, making sure we've got the right inventory in those stores.
Carrie: It's really the same playbook. The only other thing I would say in North America is looking at just the state of the U.S. So Canada is actually, you know, remaining quite strong in an environment where the macro headwinds are there.
Carrie: I would say the luxury spending in the U.S. and the weakened consumer sentiment is impacting those stores a little bit more, and so we're looking at whether we need to put a little more in marketing investment. How do we make sure that we're being responsible to the different consumer demand patterns that we see by region? The brand health is not the same across the U.S., and so we're being very laser focused on a local level.
to drive that comp performance.
Carrie: In terms of wholesale channel, Beth, do you want to talk about inventory? Yeah, I'll take the question, Brooke, about inventory by channel and region. So I think there's really two stories here. There's the wholesale channel inventory story, which is that we are in a significantly lower inventory position in the channel this year than we were last year. That's obviously quite potential. Our pullback in wholesale revenue this year is $2.
Carrie: to create that so that those wholesalers can experience our sell-through, so that we are maintaining our full price proposition in wholesale as well as in retail. And so we see that coming to fruition, which we and our wholesale partners are pleased with. In DTC, it's the opposite. We were not in, as Carrie alluded to, a strong enough inventory position.
question.
Carrie: We had certain products that were well received by customers that were sold through too quickly, etc. So we were in a much stronger inventory position in our D to C channel now at the beginning of peak than we were last year and we expect that we'll retain and we're leveraging
the vertical integration you heard Neil talk about earlier.
Carrie: to capitalize on that and to chase sales opportunities when they do exist and we can get more product quickly enough. So that's really a tale of two channels there. By region, I don't think there's a lot of variation between regions. Those themes are pretty true across regions.
in each of those channels.
Great. Thank you so much. I'll pass it on.
Thanks, Jeff. Thanks, Pat.
Speaker Change: And that concludes our question and answer session. I would now like to turn the conference over to Ana Raman for closing comments.
Ana Raman: Thank you everyone for joining today's call. We look forward to giving you our next update with our Q3 results. We wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. Thank you.
Speaker Change: Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation and you may now disconnect.