Funko, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNKO) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Steve Nave: Well, I mean, the things that I just mentioned, that’s about — that’s going to total about $40 million of nonrecurring expense that we got hit with in the fourth quarter that we’re not going to see going forward into 2024. There are some other headwinds in the number for this year, the annualization of any new hires that took place last year is the best example of that. But again, the cost takeout initiatives that Brian mentioned and that I’ve mentioned as well, are going to — you’re going to see a pretty dramatic reduction in our SG&A expenses over time.

Linda Bolton-Weiser: And will that be noticeable in third quarter 2023 or not until fourth quarter?

Steve Nave: It will be noticeable in third quarter.

Linda Bolton-Weiser: Okay. Got you. Thank you. And then one more thing on just the retail situation, I have a lot of my other companies talk about how specialty retailers didn’t stock up as much inventory, so they’re not reducing inventory because they never had it, but it’s the bigger big-box retailers that are more problematic. And I think you talked about that. However, Walmart said, their inventory was flat year-over-year in the last quarter. It seems like the problem is like fixed almost pretty much. So is that the case? And like why wouldn’t your sales growth then kind of snap back a little bit more quickly?

Brian Mariotti: Yes, Linda, this is Brian. Yes, I would say that you’re accurate on the first part. Definitely, specialty has not had the dip that some of our bigger partners did when they had some over inventory positions and they began basically canceling orders in late third quarter and also fourth quarter. We are seeing some rebound, but we’re also still seeing a little bit of conservative nature in terms of ordering with some of the bigger accounts. I mean the one thing that is in our favor and as has been is lack of concentration, right? I mean, no one retailer is more than 8% of our overall business. And then obviously, our number one customers ourselves at close to 15% for the quarter percent, which is our direct-to-consumer channels. But yes, I mean, it’s been a slow but starting to show take on our bigger retailers in terms of increasing their orders with exclusive content in the everyday items.

Linda Bolton-Weiser: Okay, allright. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

Brian Mariotti: Thank you Linda.

Operator: The next question on the line comes from Megan Alexander of JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Megan Alexander: Hi, thanks for taking my question. I guess maybe to follow up on that. Is there any way within the guide of the first quarter, at the midpoint, maybe down 25% that you could unpack the impact from maybe some normalizing seasonality, the impact of destocking. Just help us understand what the actual core underlying demand that you’re projecting there is and maybe what you’re expecting for POS. And are you seeing more destocking than your POS might suggest, given your inability to fulfill product? And when would you expect that dynamic to reverse?

Steve Nave: Yes, I think — so I think there’s a lot to unpack there, and it’s going to take a little bit of time to unpack that for you. But I mean great questions. Also, you’ve got to keep in mind that we are trying to comp an artificially high quarter in the first quarter of last year. So when we look at our sales guide for the first quarter, it’s taking into consideration that especially January and February of last year, had really sales, as a lot — supply chain challenges caused orders and replenishment orders specifically to move into — from like a November, December time line into January and February. So a big part of the basically flat to 5% growth, which is pretty muted, obviously, for the first quarter of this year as a result of that.