Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Mitch Kummetz - Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc.
Mitch Kummetz - Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc.
I've got a few questions; let me start with the announcement that you made yesterday. And I'm just curious, it wasn't that long ago that you received an unsolicited bid from Sketchers and now you've made the decision to engage Houlihan Lokey to consider strategic alternatives, so what has changed over that period of time that's prompted you to now do what you're doing today?
Donald K. Carroll
I think, as stated in our press release, we're going to be looking at a wide range of strategic alternatives that could enhance shareholder value. We don't know what all these alternatives are going to be and we don't know where this process could take us. In fact, there is no assurance that this process will result in any changes or actions or transactions. So once it's been initiated, we'll also not be providing any updates until the process has terminated or a definitive agreement is reached. So there's nothing really more to say about the announcement.
Mitch Kummetz - Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc.
Let me ask you a couple of questions about your operations for the quarter, then. Lisa, you mentioned that G&A was up largely because of [debts] and infrastructure and operations in your international business. If I did the math right, I mean, I think your sales in your international business were roughly flat to last year; I think down a little bit from the second quarter. Could you talk a little bit about how you're proceeding with your international business given that you're investing in the business, but it wouldn't seem like you're getting much of a payoff, at least yet.
I know that you'd previously talked about expecting international sales to be up over last year. Is that still the expectation?
Lisa K. Peterson
We're not really giving any guidance on expectations as far as sales levels or really any guidance, but just to kind of talk generally about international and the expenses, one of the things that I would note is that there are some kind of year one operating costs that we're incurring such as SOX compliance costs, although definitely not the total increase. But that is additional kind of year one expenditures that we're bearing the cost of in Q3 and into Q4 that are year one costs. But we'll be continuing to analyze that model and try to create efficiencies going forward.
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