Baozun (BZUN) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Baozun (NASDAQ: BZUN)
Q3 2024 Earnings Call
Nov 21, 2024, 6:30 a.m. ET

Contents:

• Prepared Remarks
• Questions and Answers
• Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by for Baozun's third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After management's prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded.

I will now turn the meeting over to your host for today's call, Ms. Wendy Sun, senior director of corporate development and investor relations of Baozun. Please proceed, Wendy.

Wendy Sun -- Senior Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Development

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Our third-quarter 2024 earnings release was distributed earlier before this call and is available on our IR website at ir.baozun.com as well as on PR Newswire services. We have also posted a PowerPoint presentation that accompanies our comments to the same IR website where they are available for your download.

On the call today from Baozun, we have Mr. Vincent Qiu, chairman and chief executive officer; Ms. Catherine Zhu, chief financial officer; Mr. Arthur Yu, president of Baozun e-commerce; and Mr.

Should you invest $1,000 in Baozun right now?

Before you buy stock in Baozun, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Baozun wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $894,029!*

Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of November 18, 2024

Ken Huang, chief financial officer of Baozun brand management. Mr. Qiu will first share our business strategy and company highlights; followed by Ms. Zhu, who will discuss our financials and outlook; and then by Mr.

Yu and Mr. Huang to share more about our e-commerce and brand management business separately. They will all be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session that follows. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that this conference call contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S.

Securities Act of 1933, as amended; the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the company's control, which may cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties, or factors is included in the company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and its announcement notice or other documents published on the website of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. All information provided in this call is as at the date hereof and is based on assumptions that the company believes to be reasonable as of this date. And the company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Finally, please note that unless otherwise stated, all figures mentioned during this conference call are in RMB. In addition, we may elect to use adjusted in place of non-general accepted accounting principles, or non-GAAP, in order to reduce overall confusion that may cause from our discussions about financials and operations related to the Gap brand. It is now my pleasure to introduce our chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Vincent Qiu.

Vincent, please go ahead.

Vincent Qiu -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Wendy. Hello, everyone, and thank you, all, for your time. I'm pleased to report that Baozun is well on track with advancing our strategic transformation. Our total revenues grew by 13% year over year, reflecting the strength of our revitalized approach and a consistent operational alignment.

Both BEC and BBM have enhanced key growth drivers. BEC achieved a 14% revenue increase, driven by improvements in both services and product sales. Notably, the Douyin business grew by triple digit year over year, directly resulting from our strategic integration with location and our commitment to launching innovations that capitalize on emerging trends. These initiatives have strengthened our presence on Douyin, further reinforcing Baozun's leadership in digital commerce.

BBM has also resumed growth with 10% year-over-year increase, the first apple-to-apple revenue expansion since our acquisition and, in fact, following years of top-line contraction from Gap brand in China. Our efforts to build partnerships have been instrumental in integrating global resources with local insights and networks, and we anticipate sustained top-line growth momentum in 2025. Hunter has also made solid progress as we continue refining product categories and optimizing our channel network. This momentum was highlighted by the recent launch of a pop-up store in Shanghai high fashion district, Zhongyuan.

The opening generated remarkable attention during golden week, attracting widespread visibility that drives traffic and sales. These initiatives bolster Hunter's brand equity and further underscore our brand management capabilities and the localization of brand appeal. In summary, Q3 has been a pivotal quarter of growth and progress across our business segments. I am confident about sustaining this momentum.

Now, let me pass to Catherine for financial updates.

Catherine Zhu -- Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Vincent, and hello, everyone. Now, let me share with you our third-quarter 2024 financial results in more detail. Please turn to Slide number 3. Baozun Group's total net revenues increased by 13% year over year to 2.1 billion.

Of this, e-commerce revenue grew 14% to 1.8 billion, while brand management revenue grew 10% to 331 million. Breaking down the e-commerce revenue by business model, services revenue increased by 15% to 1.3 billion for the quarter. This growth was primarily driven by a 40% year-over-year increase in revenue from digital marketing and IT solutions, as well as improved performance in emerging channels, such as Douyin and Tencent mini programs. BEC product sales' revenue resumed growth for the first time since the launch of our transformation plan, rising 10% year over year to 454 million.

This growth was mainly driven by stronger performance in the beauty and cosmetics categories, along with increased contributions from our self-incubated brands and those under the exclusive distribution business model. BBM product sales totaled 330 million for the quarter, reflecting an 11% year-over-year growth compared with the same period of last year. This growth was mainly attributable to our product segmentations and merchandising plans. Please turn to Slide number 4.

From a profitability perspective, our blended gross margin at the group level for product sales was 28.1%, and gross profit increased by 2% to 220 million. Breaking this down by our key business lines, gross margin for e-commerce product sales were 10.2% for the quarter. The decrease in gross margin for e-commerce product sales was mainly due to a higher proportion of promotional rebates, mostly cash rebates from brand partners, compared to the greater portion of procurement rebates in the same period of last year. On a like-for-like comparison basis, gross margin for e-commerce expanded by approximately 500 basis points from the same period of last year.

Gross margin for BBM was 52.9%, relatively flat compared to the previous quarter. Now, turning to bottom-line items, please refer to Slide number 5. During the quarter, our adjusted loss from operations totaled 85 million, an improvement of 5 million from a loss of 90 million a year ago. This included an adjusted operating loss of 30 million from e-commerce segment, an improvement of 10 million, compared with 40 million in the same period of last year.

BBM's adjusted operating loss totaled 55 million, compared to 50 million in the same period of last year. Our adjusted net loss attributable to shareholders for the quarter was 67 million, an improvement of 12.5% year over year from 76 million in the same period of last year. As of September 30, 2024, our cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short term investments totaled 2.7 billion. Lastly, we continue to execute our share repurchase program.

Year to date, we have repurchased approximately 3.6 million ADS for $9.9 million through the open market, reflecting our confidence in the company's future. Please note that our stock repurchase program must adhere to applicable U.S. and Hong Kong statutes and regulations, as well as compliance requirements of NASDAQ and Hong Kong Stock Exchange, including but not limited to daily trading volume, trading windows, and impact on management's voting rights. Year to date, we have repurchased approximately 6% of our total shares outstanding at the beginning of the year.

As of today, the remaining amount of shares as authorized by our board for our share repurchase program effective through January 2025 is $10 million. Let me now pass the call over to Arthur to update you on BEC, our e-commerce business.

Arthur Yu -- President, Baozun E-commerce

OK. Thank you, Vincent and Catherine. And hello, everyone. We are glad to report that BEC continued its growth in Quarter 3, achieving a 14% year-over-year revenue increase.

Our services revenue further accelerated its upward trend and grew 15% year over year. Product sales also made a notable recovery to achieve a 10% year-over-year growth following years of contraction. We believe the improving top-line momentum reflects the progress of our strategy to transform BEC business toward a healthier, more diversified, and resilient model. Now, please turn to Slide number 6 for operational highlights on services.

Our core categories, including apparel and luxury, displayed consistent growth, setting a solid foundation for service revenues. Our brand partners are actively engaging with us on creative content and omnichannel marketing to boost brand awareness online. Our continued innovations in digital marketing had earned us several prestigious industry recognitions, including the top-notch award of best e-commerce agency of the year at the recent ROI Festival. In terms of omnichannel expansion, our Douyin business achieved triple-digit growth year over year.

We focused on brand-centric live streaming and delivered several high-impact projects. This included a brand live stream for a leading luxury automotive brand and a sales-driven live stream for an international theme park brand. In addition, we hosted multiple high-profile fashion show live streams, significantly enhancing both brand visibility and sales conversions for our brand partners. Beyond Douyin, we also recorded high growth on emerging platforms like Tencent's mini program and Little Red book.

As a right partner on Little Red book, we have made it a strategic focal point and will continue to upgrade operations and marketing services to drive substantial growth for our clients on this recent content-driven platform. Now, turning to product sales as highlighted on Slide number 7. The growth turnaround in product sales was mainly driven by our efforts in prioritizing high-quality business lines and the completion of optimization of low-margin projects in previous quarters. Categories such as beauty and cosmetics, kids and baby, and home and furnishings achieved strong double-digit growth.

We also expanded our category metrics with new initiatives in apparel and trendy toys, further strengthening our diversification and business resilience. Regarding our exclusive distribution business, we are focusing on China expansion and brand marketing. Among the brands we operate, the British high-end kitchenware brand Joseph Joseph sales performance this quarter far exceeded our expectations. We anticipate continued top-line growth and improved profitability for our product sales business in the coming quarters.

In addition to building a healthy top-line growth, we also implemented efficiency-enhancing measures through the application of AIGC tools. During the quarter, we launched our intelligent customer service assistant as ways to quickly understand and respond to consumer needs, delivering personalized high-quality service. Finally, let me provide a quick update on the recent Double 11 shopping festival. Our total order revenue reached a record high with double-digit year-over-year growth.

Among all brand partners we participate in the campaign, more than half achieved year-over-year growth, and 20% of the brands more than doubled their gross sales. Across channels, including Tmall, JD, Douyin and Vipshop, we all achieved double-digit growth. While the recent Double 11 was encouraging, the high -- the record-high return rate also dragged down overall operating efficiency. As we headed into Quarter 4, we remain cautious due to persistent macroeconomic pressures and a slower-than-expected consumer recovery.

We are committed to helping brands succeed in the competitive market in China. Now, let -- now, I will pass to Ken for an update on BBM.

Ken Huang -- Chief Financial Officer, Baozun Brand Management

Thank you, team, and thank you, all. Please turn to Slide number 8 for additional insights into BBM's progress through Q3. I'm pleased to report that BBM achieved a 10% year-over-year revenue growth, making the first top-line turnaround for Gap Inc. in recent years on an apple-to-apple basis.

More encouragingly, Q3 demonstrated steady sales momentum with sequential improvements from July through September. This goes to reflects the earlier success of our strategic initiatives despite the ongoing macro challenges. Close collaboration with Gap Inc.'s global resources remains central to our development plan. This close partnership enables us to tailor products to local preferences while preserving global brand integrity.

We also incorporated the global campaigns, such as [Inaudible] for regional appeal, to create a seamless and satisfying experience for our customers. We continue to optimize planning and execution across design and supply chains to enhance efficiency and the consistency from concept to delivery, ensuring better alignment of product availability with demand. During the quarter, we introduced channel-specific exclusive products and implemented a more strategic pricing regime aligned with product and lifecycle. On Douyin in particular, we participated in the Superbrands show for both adults and kids and baby, which drove the channel to account for over 40% of our online sales for the quarter.

We expect exclusive products to continue being a major driver of our online sales in the coming months. This approach enabled us to achieve higher conversions while maintaining stable gross margins. In Q3, we opened 24 new stores, including high-performing stores, such as Urumqi, Xi'an, Shaoxing, as well as Beijing and Shanghai. These new stores delivered strong conversion rates, healthy gross margins, and impressive monthly productivity in terms of sales per square meter.

As mentioned in our previous communication, we continue to fine tune our new store opening philosophy to maximize store productivity while capitalizing on opportunities in emerging markets. Additionally, we have enriched the shopping environment to be family friendly and enjoyable for all ages. Going forward, our expansion strategy will focus on quality locations, high-traffic neighborhood areas in emerging cities. At the same time, we are leveraging local partnerships in new Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities to ensure that new openings align with market demand and the long-term potential.

We believe collaborating with strong local partners will not only enhance our success but also mitigate market risks. A recent nationalwide roadshow with existing and potential landlords and franchise partners highlighted the increased confidence and commitment to the brand growth. They stressed appreciation for Gap's consistent brand identity and our flexibility in localizing products and operations. We are on track to meet our annual target of 50 new stores, increasing total store footage year over year by the end of 2024.

Additionally, we opened two new Hunter stores, one in Shanghai and one in Singapore, bringing the total number of offline stores to 146 under our management by the end of Q3. In summary, despite the challenges of our gradual consumer recovery, we remain disciplined in our strategic direction. Our focus on localized engagement, coupled with Gap's global brand strength, positions us well to expand our footprint, drive top line growth, and maintain healthy gross margins. That concludes our prepared remarks.

Thank you. Operator, we are now ready to begin the Q&A session.

Questions & Answers:

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator instructions] At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question today comes from Alicia Yap with Citigroup.

Please go ahead.

Alicia Yap -- Analyst

Hi. Thank you. Good evening, management. Thanks for taking my questions.

Congratulations on the solid results. I have two questions. First is that can management elaborate the overall performance during this year's Singles Day, specifically, which category performed better than your expectation and which category performing slightly worse than your expectation? And then, how is your Gap China sales during the Singles Day? Also wondering if there's any differentiated shopping behavior that you observed this year compared to the previous year. And then second question is related to your advertising tool.

So, with more platforms are rolling out the AI advertising tool -- so, how will Baozun actually embrace the AI technology to capture even bigger opportunity? So, have you seen or do you anticipate that could be more smaller brands, especially the domestic brands, might be more eager or need to seek help from Baozun on helping them to do the better targeting digital ad campaign in the future? Thank you.

Arthur Yu -- President, Baozun E-commerce

Hi, Alicia. This is Arthur. Thank you for the question. Let me -- let me provide some answers for the two questions.

The first one regarding the performance of the Singles Day for this year, I think we delivered actually a solid performance from our own perspective. So, basically, the categories which are our strength like the apparel, sports, and luxury, all performed pretty well during the Double 11 campaign. The ones which are not meeting our expectations are the small appliances and also travel, which is the hotel and theme park, which are slightly below our expectation. The key character for this year is actually [Inaudible] is a true omnichannel Double 11.

So, basically, as I mentioned earlier, all the major channels under us has shown a double-digit growth, which means our business model is toward more an omnichannel business model. And also, there is a character which we have seen is the period of Double 11 has become longer, and also the return rate and cancellation rate has been higher. So, this made the campaign period more challenging. But the service provider like Baozun actually stand out during this period because our service capability and also our infrastructure and IT provide a stable service to the brand which they really like.

So, this is what I would like to further comment on Double 11. Regarding to AIGC, we actually started to apply the AIGC technology to our business operation a couple of years ago. And from our perspective, AI will help the business from two aspects. Number one is improve the efficiency.

As I mentioned in the prepared notes -- so, in this quarter, we -- we successfully adopted a new tool called [Inaudible], which is helping our customer service agents to simplify the way they do work, improving the service quality, at the same time, reducing the average lead time for each of the operations. So, this is one. And the second thing the AI can help our operations is to give a better informed decision-making tool to our brand. And from Baozun, we recently pushed out what we call Baozun business intelligence, which are helping the brand to collect and analyze the market data to inform them with a better merchandising and planning strategy.

So, those are how we applied AIGC tools in the day-to-day operations, and we have seen the good result from those.

Alicia Yap -- Analyst

Thank you. Maybe you can address the related question.

Ken Huang -- Chief Financial Officer, Baozun Brand Management

Yes. And for the sales of Gap's performance on Double 11, I can explain. And the -- our ranking total -- the final ranking in men's apparel on Tmall actually increased three positions compared to last year. The sales on both GMV and net sales increased by double digits, and this performance is not only on Tmall platform.

This year, we even performed stronger on JD and other platforms. So, in total we are satisfied with our performance of Gap sales on Double 11. Thank you.

Alicia Yap -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

The next question comes from Frank Tao with CMBI. Please go ahead.

Frank Tao -- CMB International -- Analyst

Thank you. Hi, management. Thanks for taking my question. I have a question regarding your business operating strategy.

We've noticed a slowdown trend in the GMV rate of live streaming e-commerce platforms this year. And I would like to ask how does management see this trend, and will there be some adjustment to your business operating strategy in the coming quarters? Thank you.

Arthur Yu -- President, Baozun E-commerce

OK, thank you. This is Arthur. I will comment, and then maybe, Vincent, add more if it is required. So, basically, from my point of view, as I mentioned, we are already omnichannel operations.

So, the trend in the different channels will not fundamentally change our operations because what we are now offering, the service and solution to our brand, is to helping them to better planning which [Inaudible] platform should they put more resource and emphasis going forward to do the e-commerce business. And based on that, we have developed a lot of tools and a lot of the -- and a lot of the analysis to help them make a decision in terms of how to decide where to put resources onto. So, this is the first one. And the second one, given our -- our stronghold is on Tmall, and during this year's Double 11 and 618, we have seen a strong recovery in terms of the overall Tmall performance.

That is also a good sign which helps us to drive our business forward.

Vincent Qiu -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Yeah. I think -- this is Vincent. So, right now, our capability is already established across all the channels and all the service components. That means that we have the capability to deliver services to each of the platforms in -- no matter it is a streaming commerce or not.

And also -- so, we support all the channels. And just as I mentioned, our business intelligence right now can have a close look of all the channels' dynamics and tell us a little about the future trends, so we can allocate resources, depends on the -- the judgment for the future potential of each of the platforms to get a better result. Thank you.

Frank Tao -- CMB International -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

The next question comes from Thomas Chong with Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Unknown speaker -- -- Analyst

Thanks, management, for taking my question. So, I have two questions. My first question is about, so how is the monthly sales performance in recent months post Double 11? And my second question is how should we think about like the outlook for categories like luxury apparel, FMCG, and consumer electronics and appliance. Thanks.

Arthur Yu -- President, Baozun E-commerce

OK, thank you for the question. I think given this year's Double 11, there's a lot of highway promotion and big discounts given by all the platforms. Post Double 11, we have seen a softening sales from all categories. But with the weather getting colder, especially for the apparel category, we hope there will be a recovery in terms of the sales going into the December.

So, this is overall. In terms of the luxury apparel and FMCG, those categories, I think, overall, we have seen the growth rate being flat year over year. And our outlook into the next year is -- is relatively cautious. Having said that, I think what Baozun has been doing is to -- is to be able to provide a high-quality service for the brand partners we operate.

Given the current market conditions, all the brand partners are starting to put a lot of emphasis in terms of their infrastructure and capability building, which means they like the partners like Baozun who has a very good capability across all the omnichannel, which helped them to become a partner -- to help them to make -- to make a decision in terms of how to drive the business forward.And I think with that, we think even though the overall market outlook is relatively cautious, but under this market, there are huge opportunities for Baozun to operate and to succeed. Thank you.

Unknown speaker -- -- Analyst

Thanks.

Operator

[Operator instructions] And the next question comes from [Inaudible] with CITIC. Please go ahead.

Unknown speaker -- -- Analyst

Hello, good evening, management. Thanks for taking my question. Congrats on the solid quarter. And I have two questions.

The first is that JD.com has also invested a lot in the clothing category for this year's Double 11 campaign, and the growth rate is also very impressive. So, how is Baozun's layout in this channel? And my second question is that we have seen many media reported that the return rate of the Ralph Lauren brand is very high. So, what are Baozun's comments on this? And has there been a significant increase in consumer return rates, especially in the clothing category and for the brand operated by Baozun? Thank you.

Arthur Yu -- President, Baozun E-commerce

OK, thank you for the question. This is Arthur. Yes, we have also seen a good performance from JD platform. And Baozun has been working very closely with JD as a strategic partner to drive the growth of the apparel and sports categories.

And in 2023 and 2024, we have been voted as the most high-level strategic partner, [Inaudible] partner, which means we have -- we have achieved a result. They think we are a good partner to them. So, basically, from a performance wise, our Gap brand is one of the top-performing brands in JD. And also from a luxury brand perspective, top 10 brands operating in JD, five of them are operated by Baozun.

So, this means how we help JD to push that forward. But having said that, overall size in terms of the apparel and sports category on JD is small -- is still very small compared with Tmall, which represents a huge opportunity for Boazun to further succeed in this platform. Now, turning to Ralph Lauren. So, we also -- we also noticed the news about the high return and cancellation for Ralph Lauren.

We are very sorry to see that, but we are not in a position to comment. This is our -- our -- our brand business. But what I can share with you is how we help Ralph Lauren to smooth the negative impact in terms of the cancellation because we operate the technology in terms of e-commerce for Ralph Lauren. And during the Double 11 period, once there is a cancellation, our system can help Ralph Lauren business to -- to put the product back onto the shelf within a very short period, sometimes only within a couple of minutes.

Which means even though there is a high cancellation rate, but the impact to the brand is very minimal. So, as a result, the cancellation rate is very high, but the impact to the business is minimized to the levels which are not impacting business hugely. And what -- and what I can share with you is the net GMV target on Ralph Lauren for Baozun, we have exceeded that target. So, yeah.

And also the brands are happy with our service. In terms of the overall apparel, high return and cancellation is still an issue even though we tried from an operational perspective to solve that problem. But still from this year's overall performance, we still see a high single-digit increase in terms of the return and cancellation rate overall. I hope that answers your question.

Unknown speaker -- -- Analyst

Thank you. That's very clear. And I want to ask a more one more question. We have seen that the output of Baozun BBM department is quite encouraging compared to our observation for brands in apparel industry.

So, can management share more about the top-line trends as well? Thank you.

Ken Huang -- Chief Financial Officer, Baozun Brand Management

For BBM, I think first is the big portion is still a Gap, but also Hunter also performing very well on Q3. And for Gap, as explained before, because our online growth in Q3 is very encouraging, especially our performance on Douyin Superbrand show, as well as our product -- product and commercial strategy such -- like what you ask the question about JD, when a brand are facing the different platform strategies, this requires the brand to have a more flexible product strategy and also commercial strategy to be more -- faster responsive to the platform. And this flexibility in Baozun BBM helps us to increase our online sales higher than our expectations. And for offline, although the overall traffic is not fully recovered, but quarter to quarter is improving.

And with our expansion into the new -- new Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities and the new stores performance, especially the sales per square meter, also help us to increase our sales performance. I hope this answer your questions. Thank you.

Unknown speaker -- -- Analyst

Very clear. Thank you.

Operator

[Operator instructions] The next question comes from Jack Hou with Huatai Securities. Please go ahead.

Jack Hou -- Huatai Securities -- Analyst

Hi. Thanks, management, for taking my questions. Congratulations on the solid results. And I have two questions for you.

The first one is about with this year's Double 11 promotion, maybe we saw a slightly warming consumption sentiment versus third quarter. We all know Baozun operates many brands and many categories. So, how does Baozun expect the consumption trend and opportunities in the next year? And I have a follow-up on our outlook for next year as well. As we are approaching the end of this year, could management share some color on our outlook for next year, maybe on top line and margin? Thank you very much.

Arthur Yu -- President, Baozun E-commerce

OK, thank you. I will take the first question. For the second one, maybe Vincent and Catherine, in terms of outlook for Baozun. So, the first one, in terms of the outlook for consumption, we think for next year, the overall consumption will further stabilize So, after the up and downs during the COVID period, a lot of the brands choose to be cautious on the China market.

From a Baozun perspective, we have seen the brands want to spend more money in terms of building their internal capability, which we will put more emphasis on helping them to do so. And from our own perspective, we will focus more on service quality and innovation as a key to maintain our stronghold in terms of apparel, luxury, and sports. At the same time, we will use our capability in those core categories to expand into other new categories which -- to drive the growth. So, this is from a Baozun perspective.

Vincent, Catherine, do you want to comment on the outlook?

Vincent Qiu -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Sure, yeah. The second one, yes. Looking forward, we think two things. Number one is that we are seeing that more and more policies and initiatives from the government.

We think this will better the economy in general. So, we have a reason to be a little more optimistic for next year. And also, I think most importantly, our focus will be in optimizing our operations to make our own business better. This is even more important than the others.

So, I think next year for us in all the aspects of the business operations, we will look into the potential seriously and make that to be realized, you know, more in 2025. Thank you.

Jack Hou -- Huatai Securities -- Analyst

Very helpful. Thank you.

Operator

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to the company for any closing remarks.

Wendy Sun -- Senior Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Development

Thank you, operator. On behalf of Baozun management team, we would like to thank you all for your participation in today's call. If you require any further information, feel free to reach out to us. Thank you for joining us today.

This concludes the call.

Operator

[Operator signoff]

Duration: 0 minutes

Call participants:

Wendy Sun -- Senior Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Development

Vincent Qiu -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Catherine Zhu -- Chief Financial Officer

Arthur Yu -- President, Baozun E-commerce

Ken Huang -- Chief Financial Officer, Baozun Brand Management

Alicia Yap -- Analyst

Frank Tao -- CMB International -- Analyst

Unknown speaker -- -- Analyst

Jack Hou -- Huatai Securities -- Analyst

More BZUN analysis

All earnings call transcripts

This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.

The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Baozun. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.