MillerKnoll, Inc.

I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Vice President of Investor Relations, Carola Mangolini.

Good evening and welcome to Miller & Norrell's second quarter fiscal 2024 conference call. I am joined by Andy Owen, Chief Executive Officer, and Jeff Stutz, Chief Financial Officer. Also available during the Q&A session is John Michael, President of America's Contract, and Debbie Probst, President of Global Retail. Before I turn the call over to Andy, please remember our safe harbor regarding forward-looking information. During the call, management may discuss information that is forward-looking and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results to be different than those expressed or implied. Please evaluate the forward-looking information in the context of these factors, which are detailed in today's press release. The forward-looking statements are as of today, and we assume no obligation to update or supplement these statements. We may also refer to certain non-GAAP financial metrics, which are reconciled and described in our press release posted on our investor relations website at millernol.com. With that, I will turn the call over to Andy.

Andy? Thanks, Carola. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining our call. Miller Noll has delivered another quarter of strong financial performance, marked by a 28.3% year-over-year increase in adjusted earnings per share. Our second quarter results speak to the benefits of strategic emphasis we have placed on diversifying our business model, the benefits of our synergy capture, and the resilience of our company as we continue to navigate various global challenges. By leveraging the synergies across our collective and focusing on what is within our control, The team drove year-over-year margin improvement in all three areas of our business, again. And while we face relative high interest rates and geopolitical concerns, positive signs are emerging throughout our industry. Metrics such as project funnel activity, order intake, and recent measures of dealer optimism reflect that CEO confidence is improving. As it pertains to each of our segments, revenues for America's contract declined quarter-over-quarter, but we delivered another quarter of margin expansion mainly due to positive price dynamics and synergy capture. Since our integration with Miller Knoll, we have invested resources into our dealer network, and we continue to see the fruits of this labor. Our immersive dealer training session this fall was one of our best attended sessions to date. Cross-selling is up from the same period last year, along with digital tool adoption. The faster and easier we can make our processes, the more we see a direct correlation to a larger share of the wallet and higher sales. We're also delighted to see how our dealers are investing in their showrooms to tell the story of all our brands and products. Similarly, we opened our first Miller & Noll showroom this past quarter in Dallas. The first of its kind, this showroom showcases Herman Miller & Noll, as well as an immersive Miller & Noll area designed with settings from a variety of our collective brands. Spaces like this, which integrate our wide portfolio of solutions under one roof, will continue to enhance our leading position within the contract furniture industry. Consistently, our corporate customers express their desire to discover innovative ways to foster team connections and enhance the overall quality of the work experience. This includes the creation of more purposeful, inclusive spaces, even in situations where downsizing may be a factor. Corporate leaders seek guidance and information about available options, and our team is actively responding to these requests by offering carefully curated and thoroughly researched solutions. As an observation, we perceive a stabilization in return to office trends. In the fall, we conducted a survey involving 5,000 people across nine countries relevant to our business. The results indicated that 49% are employed by organizations with full in-office policies, while 37% work for organizations with hybrid policies. Notably, only about 13.6% of organizations have adopted a remote-first approach. Shifting our attention to the international contract and specialty segments, We continue to see strength in healthcare, tech, and the financial services vertical. We continue to focus on these market-resilient sectors where our products compete strongly due to our scale, agile manufacturing capabilities, and distribution network. We are continuing to help our existing dealers transition to selling our full Miller Knoll portfolio while also attracting strong new dealers to our international network. This quarter, we also saw demand increase in our specialty businesses, including a double-digit increase within our luxury trade-focused business, Holly Hunt. Turning to global retail, the team delivered its strongest day in the company's history with a record-breaking number of orders, followed by a record number of shipments in a single day. We were thrilled to see customers turn to us as a destination for key furniture pieces, with November being the largest sales month ever for our retail business. Investments in our digital capabilities excellent customer service, and enhanced marketing capabilities, along with the focus of driving traffic to our largest banners and improved reliability, all played crucial roles in bolstering sales this period. Our team also adopted an agile, strategic approach to this critical period that resonated with our customers in its highly promotional environment and significantly contributed to driving demand toward our highest margin brands and collections. Design within reach remains a key avenue for reaching retail customers. In 2024, we have plans to enhance our DWR spaces through incremental assortment displays and enhanced store design services. We will leverage revenue opportunities and also increase our brand awareness, enabling new customers to sit in their very first Eames lounge chair and personally experience some of our most iconic designs, while also getting to know newer designers and third-party brands. Furthermore, as we continue to expand our e-commerce business and enhance AI and visualization tools in order to enhance conversions. Throughout this quarter, we continued to innovate and reimagine our product portfolio. We reintroduced Knoll's classic model 31 and 33 designs for purchase, launched a high-profile limited edition gaming chair with G2 Esports, and at Herman Miller, we debuted a new nesting chair and further expanded our essential OE1 workspace collection for our contract clients. Not One introduced a playful new lounge chair, which received many notable accolades, and Maharam celebrated 20 years of continued collaboration with iconic British designer Paul Smith. Shifting gears, this past quarter we issued our first Better World Report as Miller Knoll. This report is a broad view of our efforts across the environmental, social, and governance areas. Also during this quarter, and for the 15th consecutive year, we received a top score from the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. Inclusion and a sense of belonging are integral elements within our organizational culture and of the experiences we design, and it's an honor to have our commitment to equality recognized in this way. In November, we organized our annual company-wide day of purpose, providing our employees across the globe a day away from the office to contribute to their communities and ensuring our U.S. team members are able to participate in regional elections. Our associates organized over 150 day of purpose events around the world. This initiative brought greater support to our commitment to improve our local communities and our planet. We reaffirmed once more that when we come together as one Millernold family, we can achieve more. In summary, while remaining agile and nimble in this environment, we will continue to focus on meeting our customers' needs, increasing our employee engagement, and adding value to our shareholders. This is an exciting time for us, strengthening our business and accelerating as the market rebounds. As always, we appreciate your support. Now I'll ask Jeff to walk us through the financials. Jeff?