Nicholas Coe
Analyst · Michelle Tan with Goldman Sachs
Thank you, Sharon, and good morning, everyone. At Bath & Body Works, we're pleased with the results of the third quarter. We delivered sales on operating income growth versus last year's strong performance. We continued to -- continue to deliver improved results by maintaining focus on 3 key categories: our Signature Collection, the anti-bac soap and sanitizing business and our home fragrance assortment. The customer also responded well to the increased presence of seasonally relevant fragrances and forms. Performance improved versus last year in Signature Collection, driven by the successful launch of the new fragrance, Paris Amour. The anti-bac business delivered growth in our soap and PocketBac collections by increasing novelty and fashion newness in our seasonally relevant fragrances. Home fragrance performance continues to be driven by candles in new seasonal fragrances, as well as growth in forms and novelty in our diffuser and SCENTPORTABLE categories. Transactions were up versus last year, driven by traffic and continued improvement in our conversion rate. So with that backdrop, let me take you through the financial results for the quarter as detailed on Page 15 of your materials. Bath & Body Works third quarter comps were up 9%. Total sales for the quarter were $504 million, up 8% or $36 million -- up $36 million versus last year. For the quarter, the operating income was $41 million, up $9 million or 28% from last year. Operating income as a percentage of sales was 8% in the quarter and up to last year. Gross margin rate in the quarter was flat to last year. Merchandise margin rate declined somewhat, but was offset by leverage on buying and occupancy expense. The decline in merchandise margin rate was driven primarily by increasing costs, and we were able to leverage SG&A expenses versus last year. We also finished the quarter with inventory levels down to last year. We continue to drive inventories down year-over-year while maintaining a high stock -- high in-stock positions. The BBW Direct channels have delivered strong sales and operating income growth versus last year. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, we will continue to introduce newness and innovation in both form and in fragrances. This month, we began our holiday theme with animation in the windows and front-of-shop focus on our holiday collections, home fragrance items, and gifts. Throughout the month, the shop will be focused on new fragrances, great seasonal gifts and the launch of our newest Signature Collection fragrance, the Enchanted. We're excited about the assortment and the visual appeal of our stores. Our overall focus continues to be about getting faster and better understanding in satisfying our customer needs, while providing them with a world-class in-store experience. In addition to focusing on products and fragrant launches -- fragrance launches, we will continue to test and weigh the results of new product offerings and promotional strategies while maintaining flexibility in our inventory to act quickly to our customers' needs. With that, I'll turn the discussion over to Martyn.