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    William Forsberg • Craig-Hallum

    William Forsberg's questions to GEN Restaurant Group Inc (GENK) leadership

    William Forsberg's questions to GEN Restaurant Group Inc (GENK) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    William Forsberg from Craig-Hallum asked for a breakdown of Q1 same-store sales between average check and traffic, the expected cadence of unit growth for the rest of 2025, the rationale for expanding into South Korea, and an update on gift card redemption rates and their impact on customer spending.

    Answer

    CFO Thomas Croal broke down the Q1 comp, citing a 2.5% price increase and a 7% lift from the premium menu, which offset a 10-11% decline in customer traffic. CEO Wook Kim explained the South Korea expansion is driven by a lack of local competition for large-format, all-you-can-eat beef concepts and significantly lower build-out costs (25-30% of U.S. costs), which could yield a strong ROI even with lower sales. He also noted that gift card redemption has stabilized around 60-65% and that anecdotal evidence suggests users spend more on premium items and drinks.

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    William Forsberg's questions to GEN Restaurant Group Inc (GENK) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Asked for a breakdown of Q1 comps (check vs. traffic), the cadence of unit growth, the rationale and expectations for the South Korea expansion, and an update on gift card redemption rates and their impact on customer spending.

    Answer

    Executives broke down the Q1 comp into a price increase, a drop in customer base, and a lift from the premium menu. They detailed the South Korea strategy, highlighting the lack of competition, significantly lower build-out costs which could lead to strong ROI even with lower sales, and the large market potential. They reported that gift card redemption has stabilized around 60-65% and that, anecdotally, these customers tend to spend more.

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    William Forsberg's questions to Destination XL Group Inc (DXLG) leadership

    William Forsberg's questions to Destination XL Group Inc (DXLG) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    William Forsberg inquired about the product margin difference between private label and upscale brands, plans to adjust the assortment mix, any updates on brand awareness figures, and whether SG&A would be impacted by extending store hours for the holidays.

    Answer

    CEO Harvey Kanter explained that lower-priced private label brands carry higher margins, making the consumer trade-down beneficial to profitability. He noted an evolution, not a revolution, in assortment, with new lower-priced national brands being added for spring. Kanter stated there was no new brand awareness data for Q3 but acknowledged the return on ad spend for the prior campaign was challenging, leading to a pivot in marketing strategy. He confirmed there are no plans for material extensions of store hours, as tests showed it was not accretive to sales.

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    William Forsberg's questions to Destination XL Group Inc (DXLG) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Asked about the margin profile of lower-priced private label goods, plans to adjust the product assortment, any updates on brand awareness metrics from the recent ad campaign, and plans for extending store hours during the holidays.

    Answer

    Lower-priced private label brands carry the company's highest margins, so the consumer trade-down is beneficial to profitability. The company is evolving the assortment by adding some lower-priced national brands but is not making a drastic shift away from its core moderate-to-upper-moderate offering. There is no new brand awareness data since Q2; the large-scale campaign is paused due to challenging ROAS, but a new video campaign is planned for streaming and social media. Store hours will not be materially extended as it has proven not to be incremental.

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