Monro (MNRO) FY Conference June 10, 2025 10:30 AM ET Speaker0 Well, good morning. Thank you all for joining us. My name is Brian Nagel. I'm a senior equity research analyst here at Oppenheimer covering consumer growth and ecommerce. So this is our twenty fifth annual Oppenheimer consumer growth and ecommerce conference. We very much appreciate all of you attending. So I'm pleased to have with us our next presenting company, Monroe, and two of the company's senior executives, Brian D'Ambrosia, and investor r ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Sales decreased by 4.9% to $295 million in Q4, primarily due to six fewer selling days compared to the previous year, resulting in a sales decrease of $18.9 million [22] - Comparable store sales increased by 2.8% but decreased by 3.6% when unadjusted for days [22] - Net loss was $21.3 million compared to net income of $3.7 million in the same period last year, with diluted loss per share at $0.72 compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.12 [25] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Tire units were up mid-single digits in Q4, driven by growth in units above 10% during March [22] - Gross margin decreased by 250 basis points year-over-year, primarily due to higher material costs and increased technician labor costs [23] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The average vehicle life of cars on the road is over 12.5 years, with vehicle miles traveled returning to pre-COVID levels [8] - The company gained tire market share in higher margin tiers during the quarter [22] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company plans to close 145 underperforming stores, which generated approximately 5% of total sales in fiscal 2025, to improve profitability [11] - Focus areas for improvement include enhancing customer experience, driving profitable customer acquisition, and increasing merchandising productivity [10] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the company's ability to execute the performance improvement plan and capitalize on positive industry trends [19] - The company expects to see year-over-year comparable store sales growth in fiscal 2026, driven by the improvement plan [27] Other Important Information - The company generated $132 million in cash from operations during fiscal 2025, maintaining a strong financial position [26] - The company expects to incur store closure costs of approximately $10 million to $15 million primarily during the first quarter of fiscal 2026 [28] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you provide details on the gross margins and the impact of self-funded promotions? - Management indicated that self-funded promotions, including tire promotions, have been consistent and are expected to keep gross margins pressured due to baseline cost increases and potential tariff impacts [36][37] Question: What is the strategy for customer acquisition and improving the Monro experience? - Management is reallocating marketing investments towards targeting repeat customers who appreciate a range of services, aiming to attract higher value customers [39][40] Question: Can you break down the decline in gross margin in more detail? - The decline was attributed to 160 basis points related to material costs and 80 basis points due to technician labor costs, with some deleverage on fixed occupancy costs [47] Question: What are the dynamics between traffic and ticket in the quarter? - Store traffic was down low single digits while ticket was up mid-single digits, indicating a positive trend in recent months [50] Question: What is the common denominator for the store closures? - The closures are spaced throughout the network, focusing on stores that are unlikely to meet the desired earnings profile [57]