Hibbett, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIBB) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Jared Briskin: We will answer that.

Mike Longo: Well, we are not going to answer quarter-to-date, but we do feel good about the launch calendar in the fourth quarter and the support that we have regarding allocations in the fourth quarter. Specific to Nike Connected. It’s really will affect both channels as we go forward. Bill will give a little more color here in a moment on what we did across all the channels from a Connected membership perspective. But specific to the product, there is additional focus around our business with regard to access points that will both impact brick and mortar, as well as digital. We will certainly have an enhanced profile of vendor direct offering that will affect primarily the digital space. And then just a general focus of our business being elevated around additional support of inventory in the most coveted products.

So we feel really good about where we stand. Our relationship and partnership has been incredible. And this will help to reinforce that as we continue to put forth a great experience for consumers. Bill?

Bill Quinn: Yeah. Sam, to give you a little bit more on Connected. So it will definitely help with acquisition and retention for both channels. So what we are seeing is definitely some good sign-up rates for the Connected program, which is positive. We are doing Connected Member events drive engagement at our stores, as well as a member-only products. So we are talking with our customers, customers are happening. The basic gist of it is, it’s more that the program is more valuable, because you are getting more than just Hibbett and as a result of that we are starting to see new customer sign-ups increasing overall.

Sam Poser: Thanks. And just one last thing, can you give us any variation between what you are seeing out Hibbett and City Gear.

Mike Longo: It’s pretty consistent, Sam. I think, obviously, both of our brands are highly focused on the fashion consumers. So it’s been pretty consistent.

Sam Poser: Thanks very much. Continue the success.

Mike Longo: Thank you.

Bill Quinn: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from Cristina Fernandez from Telsey Advisory Group. Please proceed.

Cristina Fernandez: Hi. Good morning and congratulations on the better results. I wanted to ask about the channel mix you are seeing, particularly with the strong performance in e-commerce. Do you think it’s more due to the product launches or consumers looking for promotions, which had been more, I guess, significant online? Well, first sort of, yeah, the trends in e-commerce? And then, I guess, what initiatives are you taking to drive more traffic in stores, which has been a challenge for a few quarters now? Thank you.

Jared Briskin: Yeah. Hi. Good morning, Cristina. It’s Jared. I will start. I think from a channel perspective, obviously we are hyper focused on both channels. Our ability to gain additional access and inventory levels and a lot of the most coveted products is certainly driving additional engagement from a digital perspective. So we believe a lot of that is due to the strength of our Footwear business and less about the promotional activity from a digital perspective. Bill, I think, I have hinted to you, I am sure you will have some commentary around this.

Bill Quinn: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So the — as Jared said, the strength of the Footwear business really drove that e-commerce penetration for the quarter. We believe that will continue just based on what we are looking at here for Q4. So we did raise guidance for digital to flat-to-single-digit positive. As far as driving store traffic and what we are doing around that, our biggest acquisition and retention vehicle is our loyalty program and we are doubling down on that. We have a variety of initiatives to continue improving that program, as well as Connected, obviously. We are also doing a lot around launches, particularly in-store to drive higher sell-throughs and more traffic around that as well.

Operator: Our next question comes from Justin Kleber from Robert W. Baird. Please proceed.

Justin Kleber: Hi, guys. This is Justin Kleber. Thanks for taking the questions and congrats on the partnership with Nike.

Mike Longo: Hi.

Justin Kleber: I want to ask a question on margin, kind of two parts. Just first on the product margin decline of 130 basis points in the quarter. Can you parse that out maybe a bit at least directionally between Apparel and Footwear and kind of what’s really driving that decline? And then just longer term, your new operating margin outlook for this year 7.6% to 8%. I guess, barring some economic shock, do you guys feel this level is kind of the new baseline now for operating margins and we can either hold or maybe you can expand as we look out into the future? Thank you.

Jared Briskin: Hey, Justin. It’s Jared. Good morning. Thank you. I will start with regard to the product, it’s really across both Footwear and Apparel. I mean, as we said, we are making great progress. Secondly, the team has done an incredible job of managing the inventory, getting the inventory lower, and as we have said, we feel great about where do you expect the plans in the four quarter. But we still have some work to do to get to an optimal level of content. So that’s across both categories. I would also say that typically the seasonal products early in the season tends to be very margin rich. So some of the challenges around seasonal Apparel in the latter part of the quarter didn’t help us as much as we might have expected with regard to margin from a product standpoint. Bob.