Traeger, Inc. (NYSE:COOK) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Dom Blosil: Yes. I think on the second question, we’re always open to making adjustments. I think right now, we feel pretty good about how we’ve laid out our pricing strategy and some of the adjustments that we’ve made. But we’ll always evaluate trends and sensitivities around price versus volume and adjust accordingly as needed. But as of right now, we feel pretty good about where we sit. In terms of that dynamic between kind of, let’s say, above $1,000 below $1,000, we’ve definitely seen a shift below $1,000. So the mix has shifted quite a bit down into that $1,000 sub-$1,000 price band. And I think that, in our view, makes sense in part because we did take some pricing down in those products that sit sub $1,000, where we see a little bit more sensitivity to price, which in turn has driven an uplift in volumes.

And so that’s definitely something that’s playing out and has been a slight shift in what we’ve seen historically, at least over the last, call it, 12 to 18 months, where there was maybe a little bit more resiliency in the premium prices above $1,000 and kind of that mix split was maybe a little bit more even and now it’s favoring sub-$1,000.

Peter Keith: Okay. Great. Maybe, I guess, on a — well, not a related note, but pricing is a factor. So just trying to think about the puts and takes to the gross margin as we enter 2024, just particularly considering the strong gross margin expansion you just saw. So just Dom maybe you could lay out not quantifying them, but some of the key drivers, I would think supply chain costs continue to be a benefit, FX continues to be a benefit, meter probably helps. And then pricing, should we think about you guys lapping that at some point in early 2024?

Dom Blosil: Yes. Yes, the nail on the head. I think those are exactly how we think about it. So you survey our gross margin task for strategy and you think about controllables versus the uncontrollables in the short term and what we’re seeing now is the uncontrollables working in our favor, right? So meaningful tailwinds in inbound transportation, we’ve actually seen outbound transportation rates, not necessarily kind of a macro dynamic per se, but we pulled some levers to really optimize rates there. So there are some things in the short term that are materializing. And I think what’s exciting about that is the fact that we’re now building confidence that these things are structural. And then kind of the medium to longer-term initiatives are consistent with what you had mentioned and what we’ve talked about on past calls, right?

So if you think about strategic sourcing broadly, unlocking margin expansion via new product offerings continuing to optimize our value chain leaning into direct import as one example of that. These are things that we’ll continue to execute on that we think will provide incremental benefits or expansion to gross margin, but it’s great to see that the assist of macro has really taken shape this year, and we believe is structural and should continue to benefit gross margin over the medium to longer term as we then kind of layer on controllables that take a little bit of time to materialize, but are kind of building and clarity and then certainly confidence that we can action those. And then to your point, just like lapping some of the initial price dilution via taking prices down.

Peter Keith: Yes. All right. And one last question I just had for Jeremy. So you’ve done a good job of highlighting the success of Home Depot, but where are you with any of your other retail partners? Are you getting more space in stores? Are you getting downsized at all? And what’s the thought in terms of potentially bringing on more retail partners in 2024?