JOANN Inc. (NASDAQ:JOAN) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Wade Miquelon: I’d also say as we sit here, I read on as we look at the fall of decor, it appears that people were less inclined to spend money there. But on the holiday sales, there, I think a bit of that way I talked about that sewer missing out where they were waiting a little bit longer than last year, looking for deals versus last year. People were afraid there wouldn’t be anything to buy because of supply chains. And I think that’s part of why we are saying that our most recent read here is showing some pretty good signs of traction.

William Reuter: Perfect. Very helpful. Thank you very much.

Operator: The next question will be from Paul Kearney from Barclays. Please go ahead.

Paul Kearney: Hey, everybody. Thanks for taking my question. Just a quick clarification. On the $200 million of cost savings, I think you said some of this is from the excess import freight costs that was already recognized. One, is that correct?

Scott Sekella: So, Paul, it’s Scott. Yes, I mean, a good chunk of the $200 million is going to be from reduced ocean freight, but we haven’t really recognized that. We are just going to see the first P&L benefit here in Q4 around $15 million to $20 million. It was — the ocean freight was still a headwind from a P&L perspective in Q3.

Wade Miquelon: And so recall, a lot of these savings will eliminate our add back real cash savings with elimination of add back, which we are going to phase out next year. And then how far below what we’ve called normalized will remain to be seen as we get through it. Again, we are pretty encouraged by the current spot markets out there and some of the other signs, but not everything will be in the adjusted EBITDA component.

Paul Kearney: Okay. Thanks. And secondly, can you just comment maybe on the promotional environment you’re seeing? Has it become deeper following Black Friday events? And how is it kind of progress to the holiday season? And what are you expecting that to look like into next year? Thanks.

Chris DiTullio: Sure, Paul. It’s Chris. The promotional environment in many ways is still a very rational environment that we’ve talked about. I would say the one area being the exception, I would say, from both us and competitors has been some of the seasonal categories that we referenced. So whether that was fall product in Q3 or some holiday product here in Q4, that’s been where we’ve chosen to be competitive and aggressive and ensuring we win the day. But I would say on the balance of our business, which, again, most of our business is basic versus being seasonal, still pretty rational.

Paul Kearney: Thanks. Best of luck.

Wade Miquelon: Yes, I just would add on our media competitor space, last year, it was hard to get products in. One of our competitors was very thin, product came in a little bit later. This year, I think everybody has had a lot of product in stock. And so I think it’s been an environment where there’s plenty to buy out, a lot more than it was a year ago.

Operator: Thank you. And the next question will come from Laura Champine with Loop Capital. Please go ahead.

Laura Champine: Hey, thanks for taking my question. On the $200 million in cost savings that you’ve targeted, how much of that are you expecting to come from you from macro things such as the spot rate improving, et cetera? And how much of it do you need to drive internally with your own execution?