V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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And so we’ll see a moderating promotional environment is our view moving forward. We know we’re going to see that in our own channels. And in the wholesale business, inventories are going to be down a lot and the fact that we’re actually moderating our assumptions in wholesale means we’re going to sell in less and that probably even helps that picture to some degree. So we feel good about where we’re heading there and we’ll see, we’ll begin to see benefits in terms of favorability on the promotional line, I think as we move even over the next couple of quarters. The benefits of business mix will continue to be quite strong given kind of where the revenue is coming from by geography and by channel and I’d say clear visibility to easing product costs both in terms of FOBs but in particular on the freight line.

So we’ll have some, we’ll have a little bit of benefit there as you think about the net impact of price versus calls. So with more clarity and understanding where we sit, feel good about margins. And then SG&A we’re going to be very careful. We’ll continue to maintain pretty strict controls around how we’re spending our money and as we’ve shown even here in Q1 when revenue is a little more difficult, we’ll be very prudent and careful from a spending standpoint.

Dana Telsey: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next questions come from the line of Simeon Siegel with BMO Capital Markets. Please proceed with your questions.

Simeon Siegel: Thanks. Hey, everyone. Good afternoon and welcome. So just maybe elaborate a little bit more on how you’re doing the promotional landscape. I know you’re talking about what you can control and not, but any color there that you can dig into? And then sorry if I missed it, did you say what Vans brands do you see how that performed that would be helpful? Thank you.

Matt Puckett: Yes, we didn’t say what Vans needed to be was, but let me come back to that. In terms of the promotions, I think first and foremost the inventory positions are going to be a lot cleaner than where we were last year. We know where our own inventory position is as we head into the fall holiday season and with the actions that our partners have taken and obviously what’s contemplated in our in our outlook for the year with much lower wholesale volume. We’re going to be much better positioned there. And remember too, for us our promotions last year and our level of discounts were impacted by some of our own self-inflicted wounds right, where we were late in shipping and we had to offer additional discounting to secure some of those volumes.

And so we’re up against that. We’re not going to repeat any of that given where we sit today from an inventory standpoint and really where the supply chain fits and their ability to service the business and deliver on time. So inventories are going to be cleaner. Certainly the wholesale marketplace is taking a more prudent and cautious approach. Our internal view of inventories will be, position us to be a lot cleaner. I will say the one place where we’ll continue to be pretty aggressive in promotions and we’ve contemplated this in our outlook obviously is in our own outlet stores. That’s where we’re moving through the excesses and we’ve carried forward some excess inventory as we’ve talked about from last year that’s contemplated and how we’re feeling those stores as we move through the balance of the year.

And so we’ll continue to be pretty aggressive there, but it will be more comparable to last year versus, I would say worse. And we’ll see nice benefits in our full price channels and in our wholesale business. And from a Vans standpoint in the first quarter we were down right at double digits from a DTC perspective.

Simeon Siegel: Got it. Thank you. And then just lastly if I can, within the gross margin mix benefit, any way to help think about what’s coming from channel versus geography and how to think about that going forward? Thank you.

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