Lulu’s Fashion Lounge Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LVLU) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Crystal Landsem: Yes. Thank you for the question. So as noted during my prepared remarks, we are comping against very high 62% comp in Q1 of last year, which is really setting up for a challenging quarter. We anticipated this in our guidance in the 9 to 10 weeks in so far, I had cited the 15%, roughly mid-teens negative comp is in line with what we expected. So that’s more or less contemplated in, I would say, as far as what’s driving the negative comp overall, it’s macro — it’s continued macroeconomic pressures that have not yet wholly subsided. With that said, we are very confident in terms of our overall strategies to move forward. We have an extremely nimble cost structure that allows us to pull back a lot of variable cost structure where we can really pull back and make adjustments as needed.

Janine Stichter: Great. And then just on the broad promotional environment and what you’re seeing quarter-to-date?

Mark Vos: I can speak to the promotional environment. We basically see a continuation of Q4. And in that sense, it’s not getting less, so to say, and that is also — we play — or need to play a role in that. Everybody is loud and doing all kinds of offers. And we also need to make sure that we are heard every now and then. We do that in various ways. It’s not just 1 single type of promo. We have a diverse set of promos that we execute against. They have different goals, different outcomes, whether that is engagement or reengagement of certain customer groups, whether that is focused on increasing sell-through in particular categories or whether that is simply rewarding customers or driving downloads on our app, right? So there’s a wide variety of that.

And so we use that as surgically as possible across — not always, I would say, but specifically now to make sure that we’re hitting all the things that we have set out to do. Janine, welcome to the coverage. Look forward to working with you.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line from Mark Altschwager with Baird.

Mark Altschwager: I guess just first, I was hoping to clarify on some of the adjusted EBITDA commentary. I think you said you expect the year to follow typical seasonality, which would be lower profitability maybe in Q4. But just given the more intense sales and gross margin pressure you’re pointing to in Q1, is that still the case or maybe just any more granularity on how we should be thinking about that adjusted EBITDA margin for the first quarter?

Crystal Landsem: Yes. Thanks, Mark, for the question. So I think that’s a good call out and worthy of highlighting for the group because we do typically highlight our lowest profitability and lowest sales quarter of the year is in a normal year Q4. I would say Q1 is giving Q4 a little run for their money this year just in terms of the promotional environment that we’re in and the negative sales comps that we’re having a comp against the 62% comp from Q1 of last year and 27% in Q2. That’s up Q1, I would say, this year to be a little more challenged. And so we may see that distinction between Q4 being our lowest profit, lowest sales month. But sort of moderated a little bit with Q1, and you may look at those to be a little bit more similar this year than what they’ve been in prior years. We still expect to see Q2 being our peak season in Q3 still maintain that as far as what you’ve seen historically there.

Mark Vos: Mark, that’s not dissimilar than what we have always had for Q1 was just ahead of Q4. So it’s not as dramatic a shift as it may seem and that the big shoulders of the business flow through are Q2 and Q3.