RL
#Okay, thank you, <UNK>.
So, when it comes to the product part of the Way Forward Plan it is all going to be about going back to the core of what made us iconic and the core of what drives the business and the core of what the consumer already loves.
So, the core for us is what we have been known for, which is classic iconic style.
And how you will see that refocus and evolving the core, the work that we are doing, how you will see that is that you will gradually see it in spring 2017.
And then gradually season by season you will see the core being focused on in terms of we will make sure that we have an updated classic iconic style that has an effortless twist that makes it current today.
So, it is about ---+ you will see that the core from everything from placement to presentation to marketing, it will cut through and it will be one message and it will be a core that is updated and relevant for today.
Thank you, <UNK>.
So, when it comes to trade-offs what has been very encouraging to see is that coming back to the work behind ---+ the drivers behind moving from 15 to 9 to start with and adding the eight-week test pipeline.
It comes very much back to the disciplined approach of working cross functionally from design idea all the way into the store and reading the sales and responding to that.
So, working with Halide and her team and putting sourcing at the table up front together with design and merchandising has led to that we have been able to move towards the nine-month lead time, have an eight-week speed, increase the quality at the same time as we see costs on comparable products go down.
So, Halide has ---+ like everyone else working on the Way Forward Plan, she has started ---+ she and her team have started focusing on the core.
And that is what will make the biggest difference from a consumer perspective and from a business perspective.
And very encouraging to see that we were able to cut the lead times, increase the quality, decrease the price at the same time ---+ decrease the cost price.
Yes, thank you, <UNK>.
So, the criteria with which we selected stores for closure was really twofold.
One was is the store strategic in strengthening the brand.
And then secondly, the overall level of profitability were the major drivers and the major criteria that we looked at.
Yes, we are looking at possibly closing more than 50 stores.
There were some stores that went through our initial evaluation using those criteria that we may have felt were strategic and that we could turn the productivity around in the stores.
And we are going back and just validating that and questioning that.
Next question, please.
Yes, so the first quarter was benefited from a few things that we consider to be kind of one time in nature.
So, one was the significant favorable sales mix shifts that we experienced from product, geography and a channel perspective.
We don't see that magnitude of favorability on the go forward.
With respect to the impact on inventory reserves, that is really commentary relative to the guidance that we gave.
That as we were working through and executing on our inventory initiatives, whether they are restructuring or other initiatives, what we found is that we did not have to record the level of inventory reserves that we had initially estimated when we gave our guidance.
So, it was just a function of refinement of our restructuring and inventory management activities that were going to be one time in nature relative to the visibility we had when we gave guidance, versus how we are seeing things play out as we look at the plans materializing relative to the forecast going forward.
Okay, and we will take one final question, please.
Yes, so e-commerce comps were down mid-single-digits.
We had better performance in Europe than we experienced in North America.
In North America our top-line revenue was impacted by two things primarily.
One, again, was the pricing harmonization that we talked about.
And then also cutting back on our promotions.
We cut back significantly on the length of the promotions, the number of promotions and the discount rate depth relative to how we've historically operated.
That is really what drove the North American performance.
And longer-term, in terms of the e-commerce role in the Way Forward is going to have a really important part.
We have mentioned a number of times before that we are going to follow the consumer where the consumer is going.
The consumer is clearly going to e-commerce and mobile first.
We are developing an e-commerce platform since a while back; we are on target to deliver that.
That is going to enable us to not only build a flagship online that is highly aspirational and stands for everything that is Ralph original edition about life in style and be very focused on the core product strategy, the icon strategy and it is going to be very shoppable at the same time.
So, when it comes to its role short-term here and now over the next six months, it is going to be a part of Jeff's strategy that he is developing for North America because that is multi-channel and e-commerce is going to play an important role.
Okay, that was the final question.
I look at <UNK> here and she smiles and nods.
So before we close I just want to say on behalf of Ralph, myself and the Board I would like to thank <UNK> for all his contributions to the Company over the last 12 years.
It is going to be your final quarterly call.
Thank you from all of us.
And to all of you, thanks for joining on the call today, look forward to speaking again next quarter.
