The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: John Edward Heinbockel - Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Research Division - Analyst
: So Richard, core-on-core, food and sundries and nonfood were up, right? So it's kind of a 2-part on core-on-core. One, what drove
that, right? Was that predominantly mix?
And then secondly, fresh food was down. Where is fresh food versus '19? And are we kind of getting to the point where that erosion
is going to stop, right, because we're pretty close to '19?
Question: John Edward Heinbockel - Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Research Division - Analyst
: Okay. But the other categories that were up, right, is that predominantly mix, private brand and less big ticket?
Question: John Edward Heinbockel - Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Research Division - Analyst
: And then secondly, where are we on the personalization journey, right? Because I know you've done more data analytics in the last
couple of years. You've got the old loyalty program, right? So when you think about wallet share and targeting promotions and
e-mails and so forth, it looks like a huge opportunity. Where are we on that?
Question: Brandon Babcock Cheatham - Citigroup Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: Richard, this Brandon Cheatham on for Paul. I want to follow up on what you mentioned about the digital investments that you all
are making. It sounds like it's something that eventually you might monetize partnering with your vendors. How do you balance
that with your view that you really want your members in your warehouse? And how do you see that working kind of over the long
term?
Question: Brandon Babcock Cheatham - Citigroup Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: Got it. And if I could follow up on the membership side, you mentioned membership marketing. Are you seeing any difference in
promotions from your competitors for their memberships? How has that informed what you all are doing? And is there any major
change on promotions, on membership from your competitors?
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