ROST
#Sure, <UNK>.
In the quarter, distribution costs were 55 basis points higher than last year.
And that's split fairly evenly between anniversarying the opening of our distribution center in the second quarter of last year and also the timing of packaway-related costs.
As we get into the second quarter, the impact of that DC will be about half of what it was in the first quarter and we'll have it fully anniversaried when we get to the back half of the year.
In terms of timing of packaway, if you recall, last year we got a benefit in the first quarter, we got a benefit in the third quarter, and took a charge in the fourth quarter.
So, we're up against those this year.
We had about half of the 55 basis points was a drag in this first quarter.
In our upcoming second quarter, the guidance assumes packaway is relatively flat.
Sure, <UNK>.
Sales were relatively consistent throughout the quarter.
Comp sales for March and April combined, which removes the impact of the Easter calendar shift, were very similar to what we saw in February.
Let me start in terms of the transition of ladies'.
The only other flavor I would put to it is that, really, what we found is that we had wrong fabrications and colors.
They were not appropriate.
So, our assortment was, I would say, off course.
In terms of the starts to the second quarter, we obviously wouldn't comment on that in the quarter that we're in, in terms of the back half.
But we're working on it.
We're drilling in, figuring out what's wrong, working on it, trying to fix things as quickly as possible.
But it's hard to predict.
So, we've got it embedded in our guidance and we're hoping to do better.
No, we're comfortable with what we have in packaway.
We don't think the two issues relate.
<UNK>, on inventory levels, we came into the year, our expectation was after many years of inventory reductions, that our expectation, we're going to operate the business with slightly lower inventory this year and that expectation hasn't changed.
In terms of supply, the supply is very broad-based.
There's a lot of supply in the market.
Actually, our strength in shoes is broad-based, both in brown shoe and athletic.
As is our strength in home ---+ it's broad-based between decorative home and bed and bath.
Both businesses are pretty healthy across the board.
AUR trend at both Ross and dd's is pretty stable, pretty consistent with the prior year.
In terms of the cash balance, we look at it time to time.
We are in the middle of a two-year authorization.
We'll look at it next year, along with our longer-term plans, and make a decision at that point.
No, that was unrelated and that's how we operate the business.
That was our plan and still is.
Actually, our history would show that the supply will keep coming.
As the department store sector, even though they have pulled back, their business is way off, it's very difficult, I think, for a vendor to get ahead of that.
So, history would show there would be plentiful supply as we go forward.
No.
Actually we felt good about our home business, our shoe business, and we're pretty pleased with our junior business.
It really was ladies' apparel.
What I would say is that we're working to fix it as quickly as possible.
We are a 1,300-store chain.
It takes a little bit of time.
But we've done this before and so that's why we have it built in our guidance.
Yes, I would say that's a fair assessment.
You're saying just pure product to product.
Okay, <UNK>.
That's a few different things.
I would say as she's coming into the store, in Q1, if she wasn't buying ladies apparel, based on our performance in home and in shoes and in other areas of the Company, that she bought other products.
And in terms of accessories, our accessory business is still difficult, really, based on our handbag business in particular, which is pretty much an industry-wide issue.
In terms of UPT, <UNK>.
<UNK>, the UPT has grown for us for a while.
It helped drive our comp last year.
Our perspective is that the consumer is coming in and that we have great bargains in the store and they are buying more per transaction.
It's hard to delineate the pieces of that.
The AUR.
I would say the AUR, sweater for sweater might be the same.
The value might be better.
So, when there's a lot of supply in the market and you get closeouts on, say, better or branded product that you could put out at a lower retail, the AUR could be the same, but the value could be significantly better.
I would say that the vendor community is pretty much open to doing business with us everywhere.
<UNK>, on guidance, we only give one quarter at a time.
We'll talk about Q3 after the second quarter.
But the second-quarter guidance assumes some increase in merchandise margin for the quarter.
<UNK>, what I think we're saying is we expect to achieve our original guidance despite the ladies' issue.
Because that's what happened for the full year.
We raised our full-year guidance by the penny in the quarter.
We've looked at it and any impact at all would be non material and we're comfortable with our guidance as we go forward.
<UNK>, on the guidance, just to repeat what <UNK> said earlier, the issues are going to take some time to fix.
We're focused as an organization to try to get that done quickly.
Despite that, like in the first quarter, we obviously missed some opportunities, thought we could have done better, thought we could have beat our original guidance.
The guidance going forward is unchanged and we hope we can do better.
In terms of the execution issues in ladies, really, it's a mix issue.
We bought wrong product, in fabrications, in colors.
We just didn't transition into spring product appropriately.
That's correct.
I think, as I said before, I believe that when our assortments in ladies apparel aren't up to the standards the customer comes to expect, that probably makes us a less compelling place to shop, and that would affect our traffic trends.
Thank you for joining us today and your interest in Ross Stores.
Have a great day.
