Xcel Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:XELB) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Robert D’Loren: We have found that the alignment is there. It works. And the only thing I would add to that is there’s a very big difference. And doing something scripted as opposed to doing something live unscripted. And you can tell whether someone is going to work or not in a 1-hour meeting. So we think I’m good at it. We do have the number one and number 3 fashion shows on QVC. We’ve learned what works.

Debra Fiakas: Excellent. Thank you. That was very helpful. And I also wanted to bring up, of course, a big announcement that was made this morning in your industry, Tapestry agreeing to acquire the Michael Kors group that’s now Capri Holdings. Some big numbers being tossed around. And I wondered what kind of impact do you think that big deals like that and all the consolidation we see at the luxury level. What impact, if any, does it have on your aspirations to acquire additional brands? Is there any impact on valuation in the groups where you’re looking? Or does it actually increase the number of targets that are showing up and saying, hey, we want to find somebody to talk to.

Robert D’Loren: So it’s an interesting question. As these companies begin to consolidate, it takes another very big transaction for them to move the needle. So in some ways, it’s good for us because we’re not looking for $1 billion transactions. We’re looking for brands that fit into our economic profile, if you will. And quite frankly, a new social media brands are not something that, at least for the moment, are a high focus for Capri or companies like that. So we think we’re uniquely positioned as a company to attract mid-tier companies and/or smaller players to come to a platform that is very forward thinking and understand where everything is going at the moment with streaming and [Technical Difficulty] social commerce. So we’re excited. Today’s acquisition was certainly big within the industry.

James Haran: Debra, I would also add, when you look at the environment, there’s a lot of brands that are either direct-to-consumer or traditional brands in our industry. As Bob mentioned on the call, it’s a challenging time in retail in our industry, especially as interest rates have come up, a lot of these brands that went through COVID and survived COVID in the era of cheap financing no longer have that option. So we’re seeing a lot of brands, a lot of businesses that in the M&A world, we feel like it’s our opinion that M&A in the apparel industry is going to actually skyrocket over the next 12 months. As always, and as Bob mentioned, we are very careful in terms of what we look at and the types of brands and what we look at, but we do see a lot of deal flow right now and we think it’s only going to increase over the next 12 months.

Debra Fiakas: Excellent. Thank you. And then if I could just squeeze in one question that probably has a very simple answer, for Jim. I just want to clarify a $4 million quarterly run rate for operating expenses. Jim, I think you said this was to be achieved by the end of 2023. And might that then be suggestive of seeing the $4 million for the first time in, say, the first quarter of this next year?