Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Q3 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Meghan Frank: Yes. Thanks, John. I would say we’re pleased with the inventory level as we move into Q4, we’re obviously seeing some improvement in the supply chain environment. In terms of airfreight, we have seen that moderate throughout the year. We do have a large portion of our inventory that is core, about 45%, so that benefits us. We’re not putting a fine point on margin for next year but remain committed to modest operating margin expansion over the longer term. And we’ll come back and share more details on our outlook on our March call.

John Kernan: Got it. I guess just a quick follow-up. Would supply chain cost being more of a benefit this year or next year, excuse me, as some of the container costs come down, airfreight, obviously, already coming down. Our supply chain costs have benefited this year.

Meghan Frank: Yes. So, I — there’s two pieces of the supply chain cost. So one is usage and then one is CPU. We are seeing lead times improve. We had called out 70 days on average last quarter. We’re seeing them improve modestly, I’d say they’re still not back to historical levels there. But where we are seeing some positive movement is on the CPU front. So we continue to view that as an opportunity as we move into next year.

Operator: The next question is from Mark Altschwager with Baird. Please go ahead.

Mark Altschwager: Great. I’m curious what the early takeaways have been from the broader rollout of the like new initiative? What are you seeing in terms of guest spend for those who have turned in used product. And similarly, curious if you can share anything else regarding the Lululemon Studio launch and maybe shed some light on your expectations for the Studio Mirror revenue for this year and next.

Calvin McDonald: Great. Thanks for the question. So with the like new, it’s currently live in 50 states in an approximately 390 stores and we’re not sharing specific performance details, but where we are pleased with the results we’re seeing is really on twofold one, guest acquisition on the resale side, new to the brand and the opportunity to enter at a different price point. And then with our current guests, their spending based on trade-in, where they come in and get a variety of different trade-in values and gift cards. We are monitoring and seeing a positive response to that. So it’s a new pilot rollout initiative for us, and we’re pleased with the early results, and we’ll continue to monitor. But early, it’s been positive.

And from — sorry, on the studio side, I’ll break it down into two. From the essential membership tier, which is our free membership program, if you remember on Analyst Day, we indicated that we aim to have 80% of our guests to sign up for the program. And based on our glide path to that as guests come into our channels, be it online or in store, we’re running ahead of that. So we’re very happy with the sign-ups at this point. And it’s going to allow us to engage with that guest base through a variety of new benefits that we offer in a very — an exciting positive way. And with the introduction, the rebranding of Mirror into Studio as well, very pleased with the response, continuing to test and learn but we’re excited how the platform fits within community fits within our essential membership program and allows us to continue to innovate behind community and the connection with our guests.

So it’s early only a few months, but encouraged with the results we’re seeing.

Operator: The next question is from Michael Binetti with Credit Suisse. Please go ahead. Please go ahead.