Dollar Tree, Inc.

Please stand by. We're about to begin. Good day and welcome to the Dollar Tree Inc. 2Q 2022 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to hand the conference over to Randy Giler, VP of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator. Good morning and welcome to our call to discuss results for Dollar Tree's second fiscal quarter 2022. With me on today's call are Executive Chairman Rick Dreiling, President and CEO Mike Witinski, and CFO Kevin Wampler. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that various remarks that we will make about our expectations, plans, and prospects for the company constitute forward-looking statements under the purposes of the Safe Harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to risk and uncertainties, and our actual results may differ materially from those included in these forward-looking statements. For information on the risk and uncertainties that could affect our actual results, please refer to the Risk Factors, Business, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition, and Results of Operations sections in our annual report filed March 15, 2022, our Form 10-Q for the most recently ended fiscal quarter, our most recent press release, and Form 8-K, and other filings we make from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution against reliance on these forward-looking statements made today, and we disclaim any obligation to update or revise these statements except as may be required by law. Following our prepared remarks, Mike and Kevin will take your questions. Given the large number of those that would like to participate, I ask that you please limit your questions to one. I will now turn the call over to Rick.

Thank you, Randy. Good morning, everyone. Mike and I and our new board have been together for just over one quarter now. As planned and expected, change is underway, and we are moving at a fast pace. We are entirely focused on taking the right steps to transform this organization for the long term through growing and improving Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. We are 90 days further down the road from our last earnings call, and the opportunity and action steps needed continue to become more clear. Our main priorities are our associates, the distribution network and supply chain, Family Dollar's pricing, and the value proposition in both segments, store standards and technology. Additionally, and Mike will go into more detail, we have a great deal of work underway to improve the company's culture, designed to build an environment of accountability, empowerment, courageous leadership, transparency, and fostering two-way dialogue. and we are orchestrating these changes in one of the most unique and dynamic environments I've experienced in my retail career. Inflation is at its highest in decades as shoppers are experiencing higher costs related to food, fuel, rent, and more. Supply chains have been strained and inconsistent. Inventory levels are higher across retail and consumer shopping patterns continue to zig and zag. Let me be very clear. We are not here to take half measures or to defer high return capital and operating investments in order to manage earnings. We are honed in on taking steps necessary to seize the great opportunity for us and deliver to our shareholders, our associates, and our customers the great company they deserve. And by executing on this commitment, we will deliver the greatest possible risk-adjusted returns to our shareholders. We will not waiver from this strategy. You will hear from Mike and Kevin later in the call about some of the actions we're taking to fix Family Dollar. As you know, our new leadership team is taking shape and the team is moving to accelerate actions to improve the business. The most notable action is our decision to move forward with price investments that began in July and will carry into the second half, intended to close our historical gap in pricing to key competitors. We believe this is a necessary action to provide the right value proposition and a foundational step to improve Family Dollar long-term and that it will pay off handsomely. There is much more to do to enhance the results of Family Dollar and you will hear about some positive improvements beginning to be made later in the call. That said, the Refresh team has been together for about a quarter and we feel very confident in our ability to fix Family Dollar and materially improve its performance long-term and in the process create enormous value. We are a growth company. We are making change happen to create long-term shareholder value and enable the next waves of profitable growth for Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. On behalf of our board, I want to thank each of our teams for their efforts on delivering very good results for the second quarter. I'll now turn the call over to Mike.