ROST
#Sure, <UNK>.
When we talk about our long-term model, we've said that low double-digit EPS growth is our long-term model.
And that's based on a comp between 3% to 4%.
So that's really what the most important driver of achieving that low double-digit growth.
The other thing I'd say in terms of SG&A and occupancy, the leverage points for both of those have not changed.
Currently, our guidance assumes SG&A for the year is about 3% and occupancy is about 4%.
Sure.
As we mentioned in the remarks, the 4% comp was driven by both traffic and the size of the average basket.
And the higher basket was driven mainly from higher units per transaction.
So for us, that's always about the merchandise and the assortment we put in front of the customer, and that's what we think is driving it.
Sure.
So <UNK>, just a little bit of a recap in terms of what we've done.
Last year, we moved minimum entry wage rate to $9.
And as we've mentioned on a previous call this year, we took our minimum hourly rate up to $10 for eligible store associates.
But our expectation is that there's going to continue to be wage pressure in the general economy over the next several years.
We also know that in some states, some very important states like California, there is already legislation that's passed or close to being passed that's going to set up multiple years of minimum wage increases.
So those are things that we're looking at.
And as part of our budget and longer-term planning process, we will look for ways to offset some of those minimum wage increases.
It will get harder over time.
I think we've done a good job so far, as <UNK> <UNK> said, in absorbing those wage rate increases in the last couple of years.
But there's probably a limit to how much we can absorb.
So that's our expectation over the next few years.
<UNK>, yes, I think that 90-store, give or take a few stores, is the level we have been running at for the last several years now, and it's a level we're pretty comfortable with in terms of availability of good sites and our operational capabilities in terms of being able to open stores in a high quality way.
So yes, we feel good about that number.
In terms of the new region, the Midwest, we entered the Midwest four or five years ago now.
I would say we're very pleased with how it's going.
You'll have heard on these calls over the last couple of years, well certainly over the last year and a half, the Midwest has been one of our top-performing regions.
So we are very good about the business we're building there.
Tracy, it's <UNK>.
I will answer that just telling you some general outline of the regional performance.
The strength in comp was relatively broad-based.
As we mentioned in our comments, the Midwest and California were our strongest regions.
The Midwest, as <UNK> O'Sullivan just said, has been very strong over the last several years.
California for us likely benefited from more seasonal weather during the quarter.
And then of our larger markets, Florida and Texas were in line with the chain.
In terms of absolute comp, on ladies, that's not something we would disclose on a call like this.
But suffice it to say, ladies did underperform the chain, but that is somewhat of an improvement versus Q1.
Yes.
Sure.
The ladies business, it's a very big business, and at our size it's not the easiest business to turn around.
I don't have ---+ we continually are making progress, but I don't have a definitive date of when I think it ---+ I could say at a certain period of time we're going to be 100% set.
It's a work in progress, so we feel like we're correcting the right things.
We think we've identified our issues.
But that's a very big business and a very long haul, so I really couldn't give you a definitive timeframe.
In terms of holiday, we will have an emphasis on gift-giving, the way we did last year.
It will be broad-based throughout the entire box.
Obviously, the key classifications, the home businesses, which are traditionally good gift-giving businesses.
But really we see that throughout the entire box everywhere.
<UNK>, no, the short answer is no.
Our marketing strategy and message has been fairly consistent over the years.
The message is pretty straightforward that we offer the best values in apparel and home fashions.
That still the strategy, still the message.
So no significant changes.
Not at this point, no.
No.
We plan, as you'll appreciate, with the nature of retail real estate, we have a pipeline of stores that we plan to open.
So at this point, our 2017 openings are fairly far along.
And as I said in an earlier answer, or an answer to an earlier question, we're pretty happy with that 90 or so level of new store openings.
Well, the home business, our performance has been very broad-based.
Obviously, the merchants are out there continually looking for better values and broader assortments, but in grand total, home it's very broad based.
What I would say about ladies is we've done a lot of drill-down, a lot of analysis to understand what issues need to be corrected.
And obviously, when you do anything like that and you look within your four walls, you're really going in and saying ---+ reviewing everything from processes to total assortments.
So I would say, no stone left unturned.
Really, you're looking every component of it.
We ended pretty cleanly.
Yes, the guidepost from last year, frankly, is going to change based on the volume this year.
I think the best guidepost is to take the difference between EPS growth between Q3 and Q4 and the primary difference there is the timing of pack-away.
And <UNK>, in terms of filling the sales gap to get to the 4%, as we said in our comments, our home and our shoe business has been very strong.
No, there was acceleration in that trend and those businesses.
Thank you for joining us today and for your interest in Ross Stores.
Have a great day.
