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Can AI chatbots make holiday shopping easier?LUQUE, Paraguay — Sake is perhaps more Japanese than the world-famous sushi. It's brewed in centuries-old mountaintop warehouses, savored in the country’s pub-like izakayas, poured during weddings and served slightly chilled for special toasts. The smooth rice wine that plays a crucial role in Japan's culinary traditions was enshrined on Wednesday by UNESCO on its list of the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity." At a meeting in Luque, Paraguay, members of UNESCO’s committee for safeguarding humanity's cultural heritage voted to recognize 45 cultural practices and products around the world, including Brazilian white cheese, Caribbean cassava bread and Palestinian olive oil soap. Unlike UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which includes sites considered important to humanity like the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Intangible Cultural Heritage designation names products and practices of different cultures that are deserving of recognition. Japan's Takehiro Kano, ambassador to UNESCO, reacts after the traditional Japanese brewing of sake was officially named to UNESCO's "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" list during a World Heritage Convention in Asuncion, Paraguay on Wednesday. A Japanese delegation welcomed the announcement in Luque. “Sake is considered a divine gift and is essential for social and cultural events in Japan,” Kano Takehiro, the Japanese ambassador to UNESCO, told The Associated Press. The basic ingredients of sake are few: rice, water, yeast and koji, a rice mold that breaks down the starches into fermentable sugars like malting does in beer production. The whole two-month process of steaming, stirring, fermenting and pressing can be grueling. The rice — which wields tremendous marketing power as part of Japan's broader cultural identity — is key to the alcoholic brew. For a product to be categorized Japanese sake, the rice must be Japanese. Japanese sake, a nominee for UNESCO's "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" list, are displayed on Japan's delegation table, during a UNESCO World Heritage Convention in Asuncion, Paraguay, on Wednesday. The UNESCO recognition, the delegation said, captured more than the craft knowledge of making high-quality sake. It also honored a tradition dating back some 1,000 years — sake makes a cameo in Japan’s famous 11th century novel, “The Tale of Genji,” as the drink of choice in the refined Heian court. Now, officials hope to restore sake's image as Japan's premier alcoholic drink even as the younger drinkers in the country switch to imported wine or domestic beer and whiskey. Japanese breweries also expressed hope the listing could give a lift to the country's export economy as the popularity of sake booms around the world and in the United States amid heightened interest in Japanese cuisine. “I hope that this will also be an opportunity for Japanese people to take another look at sake, shochu and awamori, which are the essence of their culture," Hitoshi Utsunomiya, director of the trade group Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, said in Tokyo. "I would like them to try it even once and see what it tastes like,” he said. Sake exports, mostly to the U.S. and China, now rake in over $265 million a year, according to the association. Japan's Takehiro Kano, ambassador to UNESCO, reacts as the traditional Japanese brewing of sake was named to UNESCO's "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" list during a World Heritage Convention in Asuncion, Paraguay on Wednesday. Japan's delegation appeared ready to celebrate Wednesday — in classic Japanese style. After the announcement, Takehiro raised a cypress box full of sake to toast the alcoholic brew and cultural rite. “It means a lot to Japan and to the Japanese,” he said of the UNESCO designation. "This will help to renew interest in traditional sake elaboration.” In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he was “delighted” by UNESCO's recognition of traditional sake-making techniques, and he congratulated those dedicated to preserving and promoting the tradition. The crisp autumn air ushers in more than just pumpkin spice latte season. Consider cozying up inside with friends for a wine tasting and sharing delicious food and drinks with more complex flavors than cinnamon and sugar. Perhaps once thought of as stuffy affairs only for wine connoisseurs, today a tasting can be as casual as pouring a few bottles while doing another activity—say, bar games like darts or art activities like painting. The tasting can also be more traditional, especially if held at a winery or local wine shop, which is a great way to learn about what wines you might like to later serve at home. To host the ultimate wine tasting, it pays to do some R&D. One of the best aspects of hosting a wine tasting at home is that you get to establish the mood, tone, and guest list for the gathering—you can't pick a playlist when you sample wines at a bar or wine shop or make the dress code loungewear. So whether the mood is serious or playful, sophisticated or laid-back, the key to a successful tasting is enjoying and appreciating the wine and having fun with friends and family. Of course, there are a few other things to figure out along the way. Peerspace put together a few tips for hosting your wine-tasting party. A tasting party is all about sampling different wines and evaluating and hopefully enjoying them—and there are a variety of ways to do that. Would you like to host a playful gathering where each guest brings a mystery bottle of wine within a certain price range—a BYOB affair? Or would it be better to have more control over which wines are featured by curating and supplying all the wines as a host? This decision sets the tone—a tasting where guests contribute wine can be a bit of a free-for-all, whereas one where you select wines you supply allows guests to sit back and simply enjoy. And you don't have to break the bank to buy excellent wines—there are lots of wine experts ready to share their affordable picks. How much folks know about wine differs—and that's a good thing. Tastings are group learning experiences. Expertise isn't necessary to host or attend a tasting, but it is helpful to think about what will keep guests comfortable and having fun. Decide whether the vibe will be relaxed and laid-back, like friends sipping wine fireside, or more upbeat and formal. Think about elements like the atmosphere and the location, and consider whether folks will be seated or standing. Will you have a spirited playlist (couldn't resist) or live music? Do you want an expert to introduce each wine, or will you be that expert? Consider how guests will share their thoughts on what they are tasting. Do you want to just talk about them or do something more organized, like take notes or give ratings? Then supply notebooks or notecards and pencils, with categories or questions established ahead of time—all of which can reflect your evening's tone as well. Picking a theme is essential to curating the selection of wines—it's the organizing principle behind your selections. Otherwise, your tasting might as well be just walking down the wine aisle at the grocery store and taking sips from random bottles. There's too much wine out there not to be strategic about this. Plus, a theme helps you to tell the story of each wine better—it's the plot line of the night, if you will. Common themes are types of wine, regions they are from, or even price points—really, one can get as creative as they wish. For inspiration, check out local wine shops and see what they do for tastings. Often, they will follow seasonality and group wines in novel ways for their own in-house tastings. The bottom line is, however you do it, hosting the ultimate wine tasting should be fun. Wine can feel intimidating to many people, but most wine experts are passionate, inspired folks who want to share what they know and help you find wines you like. So visit your local wine store or winemaker and ask questions. There are good guides specifically concerning how to taste wine. Dig a little, taste a lot, and have fun. It's all research for your next ultimate wine tasting. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick. This story originally appeared on Peerspace and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. How many people to invite is a question largely informed by the answers to tip #1: Are you having a big, formal affair or an intimate catch-up with close friends? Or something in between? Whatever the case, an RSVP is essential because not only do you need to plan the setup of the space, but you must also make sure there's enough wine for everyone to taste, including each of the wines featured. There's nothing worse than a tasting that runs dry! The math to determine how much wine you need considers the size of the tasting pours—a full glass of wine at a restaurant is usually around 5 ounces, which yields around five glasses of wine from a standard bottle. For tastings, you'll want to do less, depending on how many wines you are featuring—say, 2 ounces if you'll be trying a lot of different wines. Experts agree, having more wine than you need is always a good idea—that way you can send guests home with a bottle should there be a prize at the end of the night. Don't let food be an afterthought for the festivities—after all, food can enhance particular qualities of wine and vice versa. There are many rules around what foods to pair with which wines, but consider this simple advice from Alder Yarrow's Vinography : "Stick with eating good food and drinking good wine." Since the focus is on the wines, allow the drinks to determine what food makes sense, but don't overthink it. Food is a supporting character here—at the very least, guests will need something to soak up all the alcohol (unless you are spitting it out). Eating foods that contain a mixture of protein, fats, and carbs when drinking helps increase the rate of alcohol elimination . Whether it's a full meal or heavy hors d'oeuvres, thoughtful noshes are necessary. Get local news delivered to your inbox!PARIS (AP) — Howling winds couldn’t stop Notre Dame Cathedral ’s heart from beating again. With three resounding knocks on its doors by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, wielding a specially designed crosier carved from fire-scorched beams, the monument roared back to life Saturday evening. For the first time since a devastating blaze nearly destroyed it in 2019, the towering Gothic masterpiece reopened for worship, its rebirth marked by song, prayer, and awe beneath its soaring arches. The ceremony, initially planned to begin on the forecourt, was moved entirely inside due to unusually fierce December winds sweeping across the Île de la Cité, flanked by the River Seine. Yet the occasion lost none of its splendor. Inside the luminous nave, choirs sang psalms, and the cathedral’s mighty organ, silent for nearly five years, thundered to life in a triumphant interplay of melodies. The restoration, a spectacular achievement in just five years for a structure that took nearly two centuries to build, is seen as a moment of triumph for French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious timeline — and a welcome respite from his domestic political woes . The evening’s celebration, attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including President-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, underscored Notre Dame’s enduring role as both a spiritual and cultural beacon. Observers see the event as Macron's, and his intention to pivot it into a fully fledged diplomatic gathering, while highlighting France’s ability to unite on the global stage despite internal political crises. Macron’s political woes Speaking inside the cathedral, Macron expressed “gratitude” Saturday to those who saved, helped, and rebuilt Notre Dame, his voice reverberating through the nave. “I stand before you ... to express the gratitude of the French nation,” he said, before voices raised in song flooded the space, filling it with harmonies not heard in over five years. “Tonight, the bells of Notre Dame are ringing again. And in a moment, the organ will awaken,” sending the “music of hope” cascading through the luminous interior to Parisians, France, and the world beyond, he said. The celebration is expected to give a much-needed boost to the embattled French leader, whose prime minister was ousted this week , plunging the nation’s politics into more turmoil. Macron has called Notre Dame’s reopening “a jolt of hope.” Observers say he hoped the occasion would briefly silence his critics and showcase France’s unity and resilience under his leadership — a rare moment of grace in a presidency now facing a grave crisis. Monumental feats of restoration Inside, 42,000 square meters of stonework — an area equal to six soccer pitches — were meticulously cleaned, revealing luminous limestone and intricate carvings. Overhead, 2,000 oak beams, nicknamed “the forest,” were used to rebuild the spire and roof, restoring the cathedral’s iconic silhouette. The thunderous great organ, with 7,952 pipes ranging from pen-sized to torso-wide, is resounding for the first time since the fire. Its newly renovated console, boasting five keyboards, 115 stops, and 30 foot pedals, was a marvel of restoration, reawakening a cornerstone of Notre Dame’s identity. Guests gradually filing into the cathedral for the evening reopening ceremonies were awestruck by the renovated interiors, many whipping out cellphones to capture the moment. “It’s a sense of perfection,” said François Le Page of the Notre Dame Foundation, which raised nearly half of the €900 million ($950 million) in donations for the restoration. He last visited in 2021, when the cathedral was cloaked in scaffolding. “It was somber,” he said. “It’s night and day.” Adding to the ceremony’s visual splendor, Archbishop Ulrich and the clergy donned vibrant liturgical garments designed by renowned French fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. Known for his eye-popping pop-art aesthetic, Castelbajac crafted 2,000 colorful pieces for 700 celebrants, blending modern elements with medieval touches. The Rev. Andriy Morkvas, a Ukrainian pastor who leads the Volodymyr Le Grand church in Paris, reflected on his first visit to Notre Dame in over a decade. “I didn’t recognize it,” he said. “God is very powerful; He can change things.” He expressed hope that the cathedral’s revival could inspire peace in his homeland, drawing strength from the presence of Ukraine’s president. “I think that will have a big impact,” he said. “I hope Notre Dame and Mary will help us resolve this conflict.” The reopening of Notre Dame comes at a time of profound global unrest, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East. For Catholics, Notre Dame’s rector said the cathedral “carries the enveloping presence of the Virgin Mary, a maternal and embracing presence.′′ “It is a magnificent symbol of unity,” Olivier Ribadeau Dumas said. “Notre Dame is not just a French monument — it is a magnificent sign of hope.” The international range of dignitaries coming to Paris underline the cathedral’s significance as a symbol of shared heritage and peace. Canadian visitor Noelle Alexandria, who had traveled to Paris for the reopening, was struck by the cathedral’s ability to inspire. “She’s been nearly ruined before, but she always comes back,” Alexandria said. “Not many of us could say the same after such tragedy, but Notre Dame can.” Historical details enrich the occasion Guests entered through Notre Dame’s iconic western façade, whose arched portals adorned with biblical carvings were once a visual guide for medieval believers. Above the central Portal of the Last Judgment, the Archangel Michael is depicted weighing souls, as demons attempt to tip the scales. These stone figures, designed to inspire both awe and fear, set the stage for a ceremony steeped in history. Inside, the hum of hundreds of guests awaiting the service filled the cathedral with human sounds once more — a stark contrast to the construction din that echoed there for years. Tuners restoring the great organ often worked through the night to find the silence needed to perfect its 7,952 pipes, ranging from pen-sized to torso-wide. Notre Dame echoed to the sound of a sustained standing ovation after the showing of a short movie that documented the gargantuan rebuilding effort. Outside, the word “MERCI” — thank you — was projected against the cathedral’s iconic western facade. The movie showed the terrible wounds left by the inferno — the gaping holes torn into its vaulted ceilings and the burned roof. But that was followed by images of all types of artisans, many using traditional handicraft techniques, who collectively restored Notre Dame to look better now than ever. "We went from night to light," said one of the workers in the movie. Security is tight for this global event Security will be high through the weekend, echoing measures taken during the Paris Olympics earlier this year. The Île de la Cité — the small island in the River Seine that is home to Notre Dame and the historic heart of Paris— is closed to tourists and non-residents. Police vans and barriers blocked cobblestoned streets in a large perimeter around the island, while soldiers in thick body armor and sniffer dogs patrolled embankments. A special security detail is following Trump. Public viewing areas along the Seine’s southern bank will accommodate 40,000 spectators, who can follow the celebrations on large screens. For many, Notre Dame’s rebirth is not just a French achievement but a global one — after the reopening, the cathedral is set to welcome 15 million visitors annually, up from 12 million before the fire. ___ Sylvie Corbet, Yesica Brumec, Marine Lesprit and Mark Carlson in Paris contributed. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through The AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Thomas Adamson And John Leicester, The Associated Press
In addition to the convenience and variety offered by online shopping, the economic climate is also playing a role in shaping consumer behavior. With signs of economic recovery on the horizon and consumer confidence on the rise, shoppers are more willing to open their wallets and indulge in year-end shopping sprees. The enticing promotions and discounts offered by e-commerce platforms during the "Double 12" event are expected to further stimulate consumer spending and drive sales growth.Posted: Friday, December 27, 2024. 2:39 pm CST. By Aaron Humes: Joshua Hall, 20, of San Antonio Village, Corozal District, remains missing. His family have increased the reward for information on his disappearance to $5,000. A family member wrote on social media today: “Our nephew is still at lost (sic). Please help the family share this post. We need our Josh back home to his family. We pray and hang on to hope, that we can find him with life.” The writer added, “I’m lost for words and all I can do is hope and pray. To all those families who loose their loved ones, I feel you! Pls share!!! God bless.” Hall was last seen on December 23 at 8:30 a.m., wearing a green shirt with lizard picture on the chest and black cargo pants, as well as black Nike flip-flops. He had left home on a pink bike with a basket attachment en route to the Corozal Town police station to sign in for the day. Records confirmed his signature at 8:58 am but officers on shift were not able to confirm his exit from the station or verify what he was wearing. His whereabouts thereafter are unknown. Family members say he was recently released from jail and was awaiting the birth of his baby daughter, and while he does not have a cellular SIM card he has social media and is not known to simply disappear and not check in. The family is asking for anyone who might have seen Joshua or know where he is to contact any of these numbers: 632-5603, 656-0635, 615-5851, 663- 5094 and 610-6094 (Missing person Belize), or contact the nearest police station. Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315. © 2024, BreakingBelizeNews.com. Content is copyrighted and requires written permission for reprinting in online or print media. Theft of content without permission/payment is punishable by law.
An archbishop’s knock formally restores Notre Dame to life as winds howl and heads of state look on
Intuit Inc. stock underperforms Friday when compared to competitorsNoneKicker Greg Zuerlein set to return for Jets, wide receiver Davante Adams optimistic about playing
simonkr Today, we return to the land of mortgage REITs. We typically stick to the land of real estate, and most publications from REITer’s Digest cover equity REITs which own equity interests in their real assets. However, the other side of REITs deserves love Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.Duluth ( DLTH -8.33% ) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Dec 05, 2024 , 9:30 a.m. ET Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: Operator Good morning, and welcome to Duluth Trading's third quarter financial results conference call. [Operator instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Nitza McKee, senior associate, IR; ICR. Please go ahead. Nitza McKee -- Investor Relations Thank you, and welcome to today's call to discuss Duluth Trading's third quarter financial results. Our earnings release, which was issued this morning, is available on our investor relations website at ir.duluthtrading.com under Press Releases. I'm here today with Sam Sato, president and chief executive officer; and Heena Agrawal, senior vice president and chief financial officer. On today's call, management will provide prepared remarks, and then we will open the call to your questions. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that the comments on today's call will include forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of words such as estimate, anticipate, expect, and similar phrases. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, involve estimates, projections, goals, forecasts, and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those that are described in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other SEC filings, as applicable. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this conference call and should not be relied upon as predictions of future events. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Sam Sato, president and chief executive officer. Sam? Sam Sato -- President and Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Nitza, and thank you all for joining today's call. Our third quarter performance did not meet our expectations. We felt the impact of a highly promotional environment and unseasonably warm weather, resulting in a net sales decline for the quarter of 8.1% with our direct and retail channel delivering similar year-over-year top-line results. Despite the macro and weather-related impacts, we are pleased to see growth in our average order value and a double-digit increase in digital tactics. That said, these were not enough to offset the year-over-year contraction in transactions. We ended the quarter with inventory levels higher than planned, driven by a combination of early planned receive for products to ensure we are in stock for the holiday selling season and cold weather goods in which sales were impacted by warmer weather. As a result, we began taking the necessary actions to increase our unit selling velocity beginning in late October, and I'm pleased to report that our top-line trends have meaningfully improved, leading into the all-important Black Friday week and continuing through Cyber Monday. As we enter the final peak selling weeks of the holiday season, we are committed to prudently managing our inventory and ending the fiscal year in a clean, high-quality position. In what remains a highly competitive market, we have an unwavering commitment to delivering value to our customers while also positioning our business for continued success in the future. Looking past fiscal 2024, leveraging our advanced sourcing and product innovation functions and in partnership with our new chief merchant, Eli Getson, we are significantly enhancing our go-forward assortment and inventory management. As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, we are building upon the success of our strategic initiatives, making meaningful progress on structural improvements, and embarking on Enterprise Planning, an end-to-end cross-functional initiative to significantly enhance our operational effectiveness and strategic planning processes. There is much work ahead of us, and we are laser-focused on improving our financial performance while driving operational excellence over both the near and long term. I'd like to provide you with an update on the key initiatives tied to our Big Dam Blueprint, the foundation of our omnichannel consumer strategy, which are on track with expected benefits materializing. First, an update on our sourcing and product innovation efforts, which remain a critical strategic unlock for the business. As a direct result of this initiative, we registered another quarter of gross margin expansion with over 200 basis points of improvement over Q3 last year. We continue to have line of sight to multiple years of significant product cost benefits. In addition to reducing product costs, this initiative enables us to bring to market high-quality, innovative products more frequently with increased speed to market. Regarding our fulfillment center network optimization plan to maximize service, capacity, and cost, we continue to leverage Adairsville's fully operational and highly automated fulfillment center capabilities. It's enabled structural improvements like exiting the Dubuque facility successfully on time and with a smooth transition of the volume into the remaining network. As we enter the peak holiday selling season, we are on track for Adairsville to process the majority of online orders and replenishment volume. In fact, over the Thanksgiving weekend through Tuesday, Adairsville processed 64% more units compared to last year with a significant reduction in our click-to-delivery time. Importantly, in Q3, we registered another quarter of cost per-unit fulfillment benefits with the variable CPU in Adairsville, 73% lower than the legacy facility. With the elimination of fixed costs from the exit of the Dubuque fulfillment center, we continue to anticipate annualized run-rate savings of approximately $5 million with expected benefits starting in the fourth quarter of this year, and we're evaluating further network optimization opportunities. Shifting to our channel strategy to serve a predominantly and growing omnichannel consumer. The mobile device is our No. 1 and most important digital customer touch point and represents a gateway to the brand. We continue to build on our success with our mobile-first strategy, fueling mobile penetration growth as a percentage of total across both visits and sales on our website. In the quarter, 71% of visits and 57% of sales came through a mobile device. We saw 15% growth in visits on mobile, and our conversion remains significantly higher than the industry average. Retail stores play a critical component of our omnichannel strategy. Two-thirds of new consumers prefer shopping in-store. In addition, our omnichannel consumers spend more on average per order and shop at more than twice the frequency of our single-channel consumers. Stores also offer services like returns; buy online, pick up in store; and fulfilling online orders, creating a seamless consumer experience. Combining a digital strategy with a relevant and productive store portfolio is critical to winning in an omnichannel ecosystem. And as part of our structural improvements, we are making great progress to revitalize our store portfolio. We're on track to open two new stores in priority markets in the second half of 2025. We've identified a handful of stores which no longer meet our higher hurdle rate requirements and our potential targets for closure or relocation. And additionally, we've launched local marketing campaigns in priority markets to drive retail traffic. With respect to our go-to-market brand and marketing strategy, we've switched our media marketing partner, and we're thrilled with the new enhancements to our next generation of consumer-centric capabilities they are bringing. We remain focused on upper funnel brand building and driving more traffic and conversion with target consumers. The underpinnings of our brands and sub-brands remain strong, and our level of newness in the quarter increased by 60 basis points over last year. Despite the challenging third quarter results, we registered several merchandising and product innovation wins. While our women's business declined this quarter, we continue to see strength across the first air category up 22% and in AKHG with growth of 6%. Our Heirloom Garden collection continues to perform well. Growth in first layer was driven by our Buck Naked and Amadeo collections, as well as newness offered in our pajama and loungewear business. We expanded our plus-size assortment, including our successful Adjustabust, a bonded zip-front bra with a sleek silhouette and crisscrossed back, offering extra support and security. Coupled with continued popularity of our TeeLUXE bra, our bra business grew by 20% this quarter. Within the women's AKHG business, customers continue to respond well to our signature mid-tops and bottoms, which drove overall AKHG quarter growth of 6%. Growth was driven by strength in several key collections, including Renew Bamboo, Roadless, and Trail Tech. These collections support our ongoing focus on outdoor recreation through performance attributes. Our Heirloom Garden collection continues to be a favorite for her as evidenced by growth over last year of nearly 70%. Bolstered by a variety of new prints, Heirloom Garden was the No. 1 women's apparel collection for every week in Q3. Our strategy of refreshing core colors with the introduction of multiple exciting prints continue to prove successful. Our men's business was more heavily impacted by unseasonably warm weather. However, we did see continued strength in our Dry on the Fly technology as recent expansions into tees and unders continue to resonate. Further, we intentionally extended the summer season with a focus on Dry on the Fly shorts, showcasing one of our key cooling technologies that resonated with warmer temperatures throughout the quarter. We launched our new Souped-Up Sweats collection early in Q3, Duluth's version of your basic sweats set with unbeatable comfort and durability, allowing for easier movement of working and even better for lounging. This fabrication made for both him and her is resonating well with our customers, and fleece will continue to be a major focus for us moving forward. Our new T-shirt flannel, which is the perfect blend of your favorite flannel's warmth and your most comfortable T-shirt's softness performed well this quarter. We saw further positive response in men's woven tops, driven by additional newness with our men's indigo twill and Oxford shirts, both of which are lighter-weight casual offerings in the standard fit. As we move into Q4, we're focused on driving volume with our largest seasonal categories, including flannels, shirt jacks, and line bottoms. We're excited about introducing new innovation in the outerwear category with our men's insulator jackets, which contain revolutionary solar ball insulation that transforms the sun's infrared energy into instantaneous warmth, no battery pack needed. And as the gift-giving season approaches, we will focus on cart builders with unders, socks, and hard goods and lean into cozy loungewear and pajama sets which are performing well, especially for her. As mentioned earlier, we onboarded our new advertising agency this quarter and increased our media spend with an enhanced focus on our target customer. The result was a double-digit increase in website traffic, driven by first-time visitors. We were pleased to see the significant increase and have shifted our focus on optimizing our lower funnel conversion tactics and retargeting efforts to capitalize on this traffic. We're excited about several key branding moments, including a feature gift guide segment that aired last week on Good Morning America, a strong presence in this year's college football playoff gains, and continuing our partnership with Yellowstone. As many of you have likely seen, Duluth Trading returned for a third year in partnership with Yellowstone to accelerate its highly anticipated fifth season, which premiered on November 11. Fan favorite stories from the Bunkhouse offers a behind-the-scenes look at Jefferson White's journey as Jimmy. Jefferson White embraces our belief in taking on life with your own two hands in some of our most innovative Duluth products while sharing candid behind-the-scene stories from life on set. He embodies the authenticity and resilience that define both the brand and Yellowstone iconic characters. Reflecting the hardworking spirit of the American frontier, the Loop products are designed for the can-doer lifestyle, capturing the grit, endurance, and timeless style that resonates with fans everywhere. The partnership spans all Duluth channels, website, paid social, and more, amplifying the shared values of quality and authenticity. In summary, we're realizing benefits from our long-term strategic initiatives, including product development and sourcing, logistics and supply chain, our mobile-first efforts, and go-to-market initiatives. We're delivering a high level of product newness and innovation, which is resonating with both existing and new customers. We are taking swift action on structural initiatives like completing Phase 2 of our fulfillment center network optimization plan and have made great progress on our retail store portfolio strategy. And we're embarking on a significantly enhanced end-to-end cross-functional enterprise planning process to drive operational excellence. Importantly, we remain in a strong financial position with quarter-end liquidity of $165 million. Finally, we're making great strides in our long-term strategic initiatives that will help us unlock the full profit potential of the enterprise, setting us up for future success. I look forward to sharing more on our fourth quarter call and will now turn it over to Heena to provide more details on our third quarter results. Heena? Heena Agrawal -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Thanks, Sam, and good morning. In the third quarter, we expanded our gross margin by 210 basis points. However, top-line sales declined 8.1%. Unusually warm weather impacted fall/winter seasonal sales. And as a result, our inventory levels increased at the end of the quarter. As Sam mentioned, we are taking swift actions to end the year clean on inventories. And as trends have improved, our second half-to-date top line is now tracking at minus 3%. We are pleased with the progress of our strategic initiatives as we saw a second consecutive quarter of gross margin expansion from our sourcing initiatives and reduction in fulfillment and transportation costs from the logistics network. Our structural improvements are on track. In Q3, we successfully completed Phase 2 of our fulfillment network optimization and exited one of our legacy fulfillment centers announced last quarter. As stated on the last two calls, our primary focus is to unlock the full profit potential of the enterprise and to strategically deploy capital to unlock growth opportunities. Realizing savings from Phase 2 of the fulfillment network, revitalizing the store portfolio to increase productivity and profitability, and allocating capital to omnichannel growth are key steps toward making structural changes to drive sustainable, profitable growth. In addition to our strategic initiatives and structural improvements, as Sam mentioned, we have launched Enterprise Planning, an end-to-end cross-functional initiative to significantly enhance our operational and planning processes. Providing a date to Phase 2 of our fulfillment center network, we completed the closure of our Dubuque, Iowa facility at the end of October. This incurred restructuring expenses of $7.7 million, which was spread between two quarters with $1.6 million recognized in Q2 and $6.2 million in Q3. We have begun to realize savings in Q4 for a full-year annualized run-rate savings of $5 million in 2025. Leveraging our most efficient and cost-effective Adairsville fulfillment center, we are now evaluating the next phase to continue to maximize network capacity and cost. We are pleased to share the progress on our retail store portfolio strategy. We have identified priority markets and are on track to open two new sites in the back half of 2025. As it relates to our existing fleet, we have established higher hurdle rate requirements due to new leases to enhance the productivity and profitability of our portfolio. As mentioned previously, almost 25% of our current store portfolio is coming up for renewal by 2026. We have also renewed our store marketing efforts in priority markets, launching local advertising, experiential events, and targeted digital marketing to drive traffic brand awareness and store awareness. Providing more color on the enterprise initiatives Sam mentioned, there are four key areas of focus to impact outcomes on a go-forward basis: first, streamline end-to-end cross-functional processes to drive operational excellence; second, assortments driven by target customer insights with a focus on the largest category opportunities; third, inventory management will be optimized through improved in-stock and productivity metrics that are directly tied to our financial goals; and lastly, activating a holistic go-to-market strategy to launch key product stories. Now speaking to our Q3 results. Today, we reported third quarter 2024 net sales of $127.1 million, down 8.1%, with gross margin expansion of 210 basis points versus last year to 52.3%. Our reported EPS loss is $0.85, and adjusted EPS loss is $0.41. Adjustments to EPS include $6.2 million in restructuring charges related to the exit of one of our legacy fulfillment centers as announced previously and a $10.1 million valuation allowance on our deferred tax asset. Adjusted EBITDA loss for the quarter was $6.8 million. Starting with the top line. Our Q3 2024 net sales declined to $127.1 million as fewer transactions were partially offset by higher order value fueled by higher units per transaction. Sales in the first half of the quarter were flat to last year. In the second half, unusually warmer weather impacted sales of our fall/winter goods. Direct channel sales declined 8.3% in the quarter. Mobile penetration of site visits and sales continued to increase over last year. Retail store sales declined 7.8%, driven by traffic decline, partially offset by increased conversion rates. Our women's business declined 4%, impacted by fall/winter seasonal goods. However, we continue to see strength in women's first layer, up 22%, AKHG up 6%, and her all-time favorite Garden Heirloom collection up nearly 70%. The men's business declined 10%, primarily driven by colder weather categories, including flannels, outerwear, and sweaters. However, our Dry on the Fly technology and our new Souped-Up sweats collection resonated well. Moving to gross margin. For the third quarter, our gross margin expanded 210 basis points to 52.3%, driven by improved product cost from our direct-to-factory sourcing initiative. Having sourced through the older, higher-cost inventory, our gross margin year to date is 90 basis points higher than last year. Partially offsetting the improvement in product costs was a lower AUR. Moving to third quarter SG&A expenses. SG&A expenses increased 1.2% to $82.9 million as a percentage of sales at 65.2%. It deleveraged by 600 basis points to last year, driven by a decline in sales. The continued efficiencies across logistics and fulfillment center network were offset by higher fixed costs and depreciation from foundational investments. For the quarter, advertising expenses increased to 15.3% of sales, deleveraging by 240 basis points, driven by lower sales. Variable or selling expenses, which include outbound shipping costs, as well as labor across our customer contact center, fulfillment centers, and store fleet, continued to improve leveraging by 100 basis points. The favorable leverage was driven by optimizing our outbound shipment network, new parcel agreements, and efficiencies across the fulfillment center network, particularly at Adairsville. Fixed expenses or general and administrative expenses increased 6.7%, deleveraging by 460 basis points, primarily from annualizing depreciation and fixed costs from strategic initiatives like the Adairsville investment initiated in Q3 of 2023, partially offset by cost savings initiatives. As mentioned earlier, we recognized $6.2 million in restructuring expenses from the exit of one of our legacy fulfillment centers and a $10.1 million valuation allowance on our deferred tax asset. Our Q3 adjusted net loss was $13.8 million or $0.41 per diluted share, compared to net loss of $10.5 million or $0.32 per diluted share last year. Importantly, adjusted EBITDA year to date is positive $5.7 million. Our inventory balance was up 33% or approximately $57 million. 97% of the inventory is in current products, and clearance inventory improved to 3% versus 4% last year. There were three main drivers of the increase year on year. The first was in transit inventory, which accounted for a third of the increase as we moved from agents to buying directly from factories. Another third of the increase was driven by higher inventory receipts on core year-round products to mitigate low-in-stock post-Black Friday week, a key learning from last year. The final third relates to fall/winter inventory, where sales were impacted due to unusually warmer weather, resulting in higher seasonal inventory levels at the end of the quarter. To reiterate, we are taking necessary and prudent actions to end the year clean on inventories. Our capital expenditures for the quarter were $5 million versus $9.9 million in the prior year, primarily used to invest in strategic digital capabilities as per our technology roadmap. We ended the quarter with $44 million of outstanding debt on our line of credit. We had $9.3 million of cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter. Our balance sheet remains strong with liquidity of $165 million. Now turning to our outlook for fiscal year 2024. We are reconfirming our full-year top-line sales guidance of $640 million which includes 60 basis points from the COSCO order and approximately 150 basis points of growth from the 53rd week. We expect to continue to benefit from lower year-over-year product costs. However, driven by higher promotional activity and our commitment to end the year clean on seasonal inventory levels, we are now projecting full-year gross margin reduction of approximately 125 basis points versus prior year. Our product sourcing and innovation efforts are expected to continue to reduce product cost and expand margins for the next several years as we increase the percentage of product sourced direct from factory. This, combined with the enterprise planning initiative, will significantly enhance our assortment and inventory management to not just fully capture the cost benefits of the sourcing initiative but also enable gross margin expansion. We expect SG&A, excluding the sales tax contingency, to deleverage by approximately 80 basis points versus prior year as we partially offset the increase in expenses from strategic investments with additional savings from efficiencies in fixed expenses like services and contracts and benefits from our fulfillment center network optimization initiative beginning in Q4. Advertising expenses are planned to be at approximately 10% of sales as we realize savings from our move to the new ad agency and refocus spend to drive shopper conversion. Variable or selling expenses will continue to leverage by approximately 50 basis points, driven by transportation savings from diversification of outbound carriers and continuing additional efficiencies. Fixed expenses or general and administrative expenses are expected to deleverage by approximately 170 basis points versus last year as higher depreciation and fixed costs associated with strategic initiatives are partially offset with cost savings efforts. With that, to summarize our full-year outlook, net sales of approximately $640 million; full-year gross margin reduction of approximately 125 basis points versus prior year; SG&A expenses, excluding the sales tax contingency, to deleverage by approximately 80 basis points versus prior year. Our capital expenditures are on track to be reduced by more than half to approximately $23 million. Our liquidity remains strong. We expect to end the year with no debt and liquidity of over $200 million. In closing, we are committed to taking actions to end the year clean on inventories, maximizing return from our strategic investments, delivering on structural initiatives to improve our business model, and implementing significantly enhanced enterprise planning processes to unlock growth and profitability. With that, we will open the call for questions. Questions & Answers: Operator [Operator instructions] The first question comes from Dylan Carden with William Blair. Please go ahead. Dylan Carden -- Analyst Thanks. Sorry if I missed this. You mentioned 25% of the fleet comes due by '26. Do you have a sense of what falls under your new threshold as far as sort of the -- even if it's a range, the magnitude of closures from here? Sam Sato -- President and Chief Executive Officer Hey, Dylan. Yes. So as we said, we've got about 25% that come due. We have, through our process that Heena has been working on, recalibrated our hurdle rates for profitability, and we're really assessing those store by store as we get into the time frame to renew or renegotiate. So we continue to have our eyes on those 25%. And as we get closer to renewal dates, we're vetting those much deeper in anticipation of either renewing, closing, or relocating. Dylan Carden -- Analyst Got it. And if I'm looking at the model -- as far -- I appreciate everything you've done on production and distribution efficiencies from a gross margin standpoint. What's sort of the primary driver to get you back above the line from an SG&A perspective? Sam Sato -- President and Chief Executive Officer Yes. I think -- well, a couple of things I'll say. One is I'm really pleased with the progress and traction our teams are making on those key initiatives tied to our Big Dam Blueprint. And as you know, some of it is timing in terms of when we start to realize those benefits clearly around our product development and sourcing initiative. We're starting to see that -- the logistics strategy with Adairsville. I'll take a moment just to celebrate. We're now lapping on about a year since Adairsville came online. It has processed something like 64% more units than a year ago at this time over the Black Friday weekend. And at CPU -- variable CPU costs are actually exceeding what we initially targeted. It's 73% lower than the legacy fulfillment center, so a lot of those things we're starting to see come into play now. It's enabled us to rationalize our fulfillment center network, and we were able to close Dubuque, and that on an annual run rate is about $5 million in savings. So I think over the next -- candidly, over the next handful of years, you'll continue to see the benefits of that work, in addition to some of the other structural things that Heena has been charged with. And over the next handful of years, I think you'll see our SG&A come closer into line where we expect it to be, and importantly, allow the benefits of these other initiatives like the product development and sourcing initiatives to really flow through to the bottom line. Heena Agrawal -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And I would add, in addition to the structural changes, which is around fulfillment center optimization, as well as improving overall store portfolio profitability. We are -- our capex this year was half of what -- less than half of what was last year, and that's kind of the growing run rate you are looking at, which will also improve the depreciation cost that flow into SG&A. So in addition to the structural, the equilibrium of capex to depreciation will help with the overall SG&A costs. Dylan Carden -- Analyst Got it. And also, it also feels like it's a store productivity issue. I think you kind of just blessed that there in your comments. I mean, where productivity is if you start closing stores, presumably, you get some of the productivity overall fleet productivity to improve, and I would think that should help a not a significant amount, given where kind of sales per square foot are at present. Heena Agrawal -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Yes. Like we said, we've established higher hurdle rates for when we renew, which gives us leverage and negotiating for lease renewals with options to either relocate or close as the case might be. And as we do that, it improves the overall health of the portfolio with the new sites, meeting much higher hurdle rates, the older sites that are being renewed also being held to those same standards improves our overall productivity, and our focus on omnichannel marketing for those priority markets to improve traffic to those stores. Sam Sato -- President and Chief Executive Officer Yes. And Dylan, I'll add to that because I want to be clear that you all understand. Strategically, retail stores, as we've always said, are an important part of our omnichannel ecosystem, and I think that's really important to understand. Our stores -- since at the end of 2023, all stores were four-wall profitable. This is really about, to your point, exactly as productivity is within our fleet of stores. And as we begin to open new stores, we're holding them to a higher productivity hurdle rate so that we're ensuring that we're getting the returns that we need and that those investments are aligned with our longer-term strategy. So I think in that regard, we're in a really good position because we've got 65 stores today. It's not as though we've got 500 that we've got to rationalize. And we think that we'll make good progress on that front, combined with some of the things I mentioned in my prepared remarks around our go-to-market strategy and localizing some of that. I think that we'll continue to see improvements in our retail store portfolio, both as we kind of renew and/or rationalize some locations, in addition to then adding some new locations with higher hurdle rates. Dylan Carden -- Analyst Great. Last one for me. The cool weather gear that you couldn't sell in September, October, is any of that -- can you pack any of that away? Or do you have to kind of clearance it by year end? Sam Sato -- President and Chief Executive Officer Yeah. So part of our strategy is exactly that. And again, I want to make sure that we're clear about what led to the current inventory scenario. And as Heena said, it's really three buckets. There's a timing issue relative to the in-transit bucket that we recognize ownership. That's about a third. There's a third that is tied directly to a planned early receipt of core goods because, as you know, we're writing these things further out. And last year, we went into Q4 a little lean and came out essentially out of stock, and that led to depressed inventory levels throughout Q4. And then the third is really based on our receipt of fall and winter goods. We didn't sell it in third quarter. largely because of some weather issues. And so as we look at going through Q4, there's two components that we're focused on. One is ensuring that the seasonal carryover of those receipts don't hurt us into next year, meaning they don't transition into clearance inventory levels. By the way, our clearance inventory levels currently are at about 3% of total, which is 100 bps less than a year ago and sequentially improved from 11% last quarter. But we want to ensure that as we go into next year, this carryover fall-winter doesn't impact our clearance level, which then continues to put further pressure on our margins. And so the seasonal things that are unique to this season, we will mark down, and we'll sell through that this quarter. There is core kind of seasonal products like black down puffer jackets that whatever we don't sell through, we're going to pack those away because we buy them every season, and it's a small amount of inventory but inventory nonetheless that we really don't need to mark down as we move into next year. So long answer to your question, but I think important articulation is, yes, there is goods within fall/winter that we will not have to mark down, and we'll be able to pack away for a short period of time. Dylan Carden -- Analyst Excellent. Thank you. Operator [Operator signoff] Duration: 0 minutes Call participants: Nitza McKee -- Investor Relations Sam Sato -- President and Chief Executive Officer Heena Agrawal -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Dylan Carden -- Analyst More DLTH analysis All earnings call transcripts
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Senate on Thursday began considering a ban on children younger than 16 years old from social media after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported the age restriction. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Senate on Thursday began considering a ban on children younger than 16 years old from social media after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported the age restriction. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Senate on Thursday began considering a ban on children younger than 16 years old from social media after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported the age restriction. The world-first bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts is likely to be passed by the Senate on Thursday, the Parliament’s final session for the year and potentially the last before elections, which are due within months. The major parties’ support for the ban all but guarantees the legislation will become law. But many child welfare and mental health advocates are concerned about unintended consequences. Unaligned Sen. Jacqui Lambie complained about the limited amount of time the government gave the Senate to debate the age restriction, which she described as “undercooked.” “I thought this was a good idea. A lot of people out there thought it was a good idea until we looked at the detail and, let’s be honest, there’s no detail,” Lambie told the Senate. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly carried the bill 102 votes to 13. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Once the legislation becomes law, the platforms would have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced. The platforms complained that the law would be unworkable, and urged the Senate to delay the vote until at least June next year when a government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies made its report on how young children could be excluded. Critics argue the government is attempting to convince parents it is protecting their children ahead of general elections due by May. The government hopes that voters will reward it for responding to parents’ concerns about their children’s addiction to social media. Some argue the legislation could cause more harm than it prevents. Criticisms include that the legislation was rushed through Parliament without adequate scrutiny, is ineffective, poses privacy risks for all users, and undermines parental authority to make decisions for their children. Opponents of the bill also argue the ban would isolate children, deprive them of the positive aspects of social media, drive them to the dark web, discourage children too young for social media to report harm and reduce incentives for platforms to improve online safety. Advertisement Advertisement
