J. Jill, Inc.

Good morning. My name is Chris and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the JGL first quarter 2022 earnings conference call. On today's call are Clara Spofford, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Mark Webb, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. And if you'd like to withdraw your question, please press star one again. Before we begin, I need to remind you that certain comments made during these remarks may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to and within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended. Such forward-looking statements are subject to both known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Those risks and uncertainties are described in the press release and JGL's SEC filings. The forward-looking statements made on this recording are as of June 8, 2022, and JGL does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. JGL may refer to certain adjusted or non-GAAP financial measures during these remarks. A reconciliation schedule showing the GAAP versus non-GAAP financial measures is available in the press release issued June 8, 2022. If you do not have a copy of today's press release, you may obtain one by visiting the Investor Relations page of the website at jgl.com.

I'll now turn the call over to Claire.

Thank you, Operator, and hello, everyone. Thank you for your interest in JHL. For today's call, I'll review highlights of our first quarter performance and provide an update on our strategy focused on driving profitable growth before turning the call over to Mark to review our financial performance and outlook in more detail. We anticipated a strong Q1 this year compared to last year. However, our results were better than expected and demonstrated strength throughout the quarter. Net sales were up 22% to $157 million, compared to $129 million for the prior year quarter. And adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 was $31 million, compared to $17 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. Our performance was a result of our ability to execute against our disciplined operating model, focused on inventory management, full-price selling, and flowing newness. Our loyal and engaged customer base responded well to our assortment, and our position is more relevant than ever as consumers continue to trend toward a premium casual lifestyle. While we are encouraged by our results and our customer response, we know inflationary pressures are increasingly driving consumer behavior. However, our customers tend to be more resilient to economic pressures than the average consumer. Our data shows that she has an average household income of $150,000 plus, and for many of our customers, her discretionary dollars are her own to spend with children out of the home. We, like all retailers, continue to navigate a dynamic and uncertain macro environment. I'm proud of how our teams continue to be nimble and responsive while remaining focused on our commitment to our operating model and our customers. During the quarter, we continue to see a great response from our customers to our product assortment. She was extremely receptive to the newness we flowed regularly and continued to purchase at full price. Woven tops and dresses were the two standout categories that she responded best to as she began to travel, attend occasions, and shop for work again. These novelty fashion categories also had the highest AUR increases in the quarter, but saw no price resistance. When she saw something she liked, she bought it. Her responsiveness is a testament to the quality of our fabrications and our compelling product mix. Now let me talk to you about some of the things I mentioned on our last earnings call related to our growth strategy and the early progress we're making. We are focused on driving growth in high-potential sub-brands and categories. Our portfolio of sub-brands, Core, Pure Jill, Wherever, and Fit all demonstrate different design ethos and offer her a mix of casual and refined apparel based on her needs. We leverage our portfolio to flex and adapt penetrations based on consumer needs and shifts in trend. This allows us to grow organically and meet the evolving needs of our customers all within the premium casual space. Whether she's buying versatile work, comfortable travel, or premium casual clothes for attending occasions or meeting with friends, we offer her variety for all her different use educations. We have a fabric-first approach to design, leveraging premium fabrications across our balanced assortment of key franchises. We also have coverage of extended sizes, allowing us to meet the needs of a broad sector of customers. This breadth and diversity of assortment provide a lot of opportunity for organic growth across many usage occasions and needs. With regard to our customer, we are also encouraged by the health of our customer file and the trends we're seeing in our file growth and value, with a 7% increase over Q1 2021. We've talked in the past about the loyalty of our customer base. Her average tenure with us as a brand is 10 years. we have segment-leading retention rates. The growth we saw in our customer file was augmented by an increase in spend per customer, reflecting the value she's perceiving in the product and delivering increased profitability per customer. As I mentioned on the last call, we see an opportunity to modernize the JGL brand and value proposition to increase relevance for our current customers and position JGL for the next cohort of customers with a focus on growing our share of the market for women 45 plus. This leads me to another growth opportunity we see with focused strategic brand and performance marketing programs. We've conducted a thorough customer insight plan including primary research with thousands of existing and prospective customers. The learnings developed from this work are guiding the brand strategy evolution and value proposition refinement. As we move forward, we will enhance brand, social, and digital performance marketing efforts. We have an opportunity to tell our story more broadly and strategically to introduce the next generation of customers to our relevant value proposition and our compelling product assortment. We'll build on the success we've seen in video commerce on channels like Facebook Live and Instagram and engage influencers who reflect a variety of consumers to drive deeper engagement. We're also building brand activations that illustrate our brand message and products and generate content that we will share through paid, owned, and earned media. Turning to our channel, We believe we have growth opportunities in both the direct-to-consumer channel and in brick-and-mortar. Our customer likes the very personal relationship she has with our brand, and our welcoming and friendly community is core to her experience with us. Historically, this has most palpably been felt in our stores, as customers engage with our associates and with each other. The work we've done to optimize our economics in our stores has yielded opportunities for replacement and new store openings in key markets. The team is already working to identify the top potential locations for new store unit growth over the next three years, and we feel there's an opportunity to open stores in 20 to 25 locations in the near to midterm. We are also working to optimize our online experience and believe that we have growth potential there. For example, this quarter we launched our fabric guide online to illustrate the quality and features of our fabrics, a foundation of our design philosophy. Enhancements like this are proven to deepen engagement with our customers, and we will continue to build on these and other initiatives throughout the year. We are focused on driving our growth strategy while we continue to navigate this variable environment, but we feel really good about the results we are delivering. With that, I'm going to hand it over to Mark to share more detail on our financial results.