“We expect it to be a very promotional retail environment and now you have geopolitics into the mix, and it is our toughest compare for the year. So given everything going on externally, we think it's prudent to remain very conservative in running the business in the fourth quarter.”

In context

“would expect that really to be the main driver on merchandise margin. All other components should be pretty consistent with last year. Operator: The next question comes from the line of Mark Altschwager with Baird. Mark Altschwager: Great. I guess, first, your plan for the fourth quarter top line hasn't really changed despite comps exceeding the high end of your plan by a couple of hundred basis points in the third quarter. Curious, does that give you more confidence in the upside case? Or are there things you've seen in recent trends that would suggest a more material quarter-over-quarter deceleration is the right expectation? Michael Hartshorn: It's Michael again. I would say, for the most part, it's -- there's a lot going on in the external environment, whether it's a macro economy. We expect it to be a very promotional retail environment and now you have geopolitics into the mix, and it is our toughest compare for the year. So given everything going on externally, we think it's prudent to remain very conservative in running the business in the fourth quarter. Mark Altschwager: And maybe a follow-up for Barbara. The North American wholesale channel continues to be challenging for many vendors, given the dynamic macro. I'm curious what you're hearing with respect to product availability heading into calendar '24? Barbara Rentler: Well, currently, there's a lot of availability in the market, as I know you know that. Here's a look at availability at this point. Vendors -- in this environment, vendors are really looking for ways to increase their market share. And so they've shifted some of their business towards the growing retail channels. So if, in fact, they get less bookings, we talked about them having less bookings for fall and there's still availability. So bookings are one thing. Then how much they decide to bring in to drive market sha”