10-K: Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)
Published on March 30, 2022
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended
or
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission file number:
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
|
||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
|
(Address of principal executive offices) |
(Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
(Title of class) |
(Trading Symbol) |
(Name of each exchange on which registered) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ◻
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
⌧ |
|
Accelerated filer |
☐ |
|
Non-accelerated filer |
☐ |
Smaller reporting company |
||
Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ◻
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
As of July 30, 2021, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second quarter, the approximate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates was $
As of March 25, 2022,
RH
INDEX TO FORM 10-K
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND MARKET DATA
This annual report contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “short-term,” “non-recurring,” “one-time,” “unusual,” “should,” “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risk and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected. We derive many of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based upon many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors and it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results and matters that we identify as “short term,” “non-recurring,” “unusual,” “one-time,” or other words and terms of similar meaning may in fact recur in one or more future financial reporting periods. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, or cautionary statements, are disclosed in Item 1A—Risk Factors, Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and elsewhere in this annual report. All forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements, as well as other cautionary statements. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this annual report in the context of these risks and uncertainties.
We cannot assure you that we will realize the results or developments we expect or anticipate or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect us or our operations in the way we expect. The forward-looking statements included in this annual report are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Risk Factors Summary
We operate in a rapidly changing environment that involves a number of risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, prospects, operating results or cash flows, including those highlighted in this Risk Factors Summary. These summary risks provide an overview of many of the risks we are exposed to in the normal course of our business. As a result, the following summary risks do not contain all of the information that may be important to you, and you should read them together with the more detailed discussion of risks that affect our business disclosed in Item 1A—Risk Factors.
We are undertaking a large number of business initiatives at the same time, and if such initiatives are not successful, they may have a negative effect on our results of operations.
We have experienced significant fluctuations in the growth rate of our business and our high rates of growth may not be sustained in future time periods.
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant and widespread risks to our business as well as to the business environment and the markets in which we operate, including the resulting lags in manufacturing and inventory receipts.
Changes in consumer spending may adversely affect our revenue and results of operations, including as a result of economic downturns and the cyclicality of the luxury housing sector.
We may be adversely affected by any disruptions in our ability to obtain quality merchandise, including products that are produced by artisans and specialty vendors, particularly in light of the fact that our supply chain has not yet fully recovered from the dislocations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
We face various risks related to the quality of our products, including risks to our brand and reputation as well as risks from product liability and product recalls.
If we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand or market for our product offerings or fail to successfully manage our mailings or other promotional programs, our business could be adversely affected.
We could be adversely affected by competition in the home furnishings sector.
We are subject to risks associated with our dependence on foreign manufacturing and imports.
Our results may be adversely affected by fluctuations in raw materials, energy and transportation costs and currency exchange rates.
We are subject to risks associated with occupying substantial amounts of space, including future increases in occupancy costs and other risks related to real estate development.
We may be adversely affected by factors beyond our control that affect our ability to open new stores within the time frames we initially target.
Reductions in the volume of mall and other in-store traffic or the closing of shopping malls as a result of changing consumer demographic patterns could adversely affect our sales.
Our results of operations may be harmed if we encounter issues with our distribution centers, furniture home delivery centers and other aspects of our supply chain and customer delivery network.
We are subject to risks related to our reliance upon independent third-party transportation providers.
Our operations have significant liquidity and capital requirements and depend on the availability of adequate financing and sources of capital on reasonable terms and we have elected to raise substantial amounts of capital through debt which exposes our business to risks related to obligations of indebtedness.
If we lose key personnel or are unable to hire qualified personnel, our business may be harmed.
Material damage to, or interruptions in, our information systems, including cybersecurity breaches or cyber fraud, could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations, and we may be exposed to certain risks associated with protecting our customers’ information.
We may be affected by legal and regulatory proceedings in which we are involved from time to time, including litigation, claims, investigations and regulatory and other proceedings.
Intellectual property claims by third parties or our failure or inability to protect our intellectual property rights could diminish the value of our brand and weaken our competitive position.
Compliance with laws, including laws relating to our business activities outside of the U.S., may be costly or otherwise adversely affect the way we do business.
Labor organizing and other activities could adversely affect us.
Fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate and realization of our deferred tax assets, including net operating loss carryforwards, may result in volatility of our results of operations.
Changes to accounting rules or regulations may adversely affect our results of operations.
We may be unsuccessful in identifying acquisition opportunities or unsuccessful in completing or realizing the expected benefits of acquisitions we undertake.
Our total assets include intangible assets with an indefinite life, goodwill, tradename and trademarks, and long-lived assets, principally property and equipment and lease right-of-use assets; changes to estimates or projections used to assess the fair value of these assets may cause us to incur impairment charges that could adversely affect our results of operations.
If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting may be adversely affected.
Risks of natural or man-made disasters, acts of war, terrorism or widespread illness.
Risks related to our common stock price, including volatility or declines regardless of our operating performance.
We face various risks in connection with our share repurchase program.
Expectations of our company relating to environmental, social and governance factors may impose additional costs and expose us to new risks.
Risks related to our convertible notes financings, including our related bond hedge and warrant transactions, and the possible dilution we may experience in connection with the exercise at maturity of the warrants issued in connection with such convertible notes financings.
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Overview
RH (collectively, “we,” “us,” or the “Company”) is a curator of design, taste and style in the luxury lifestyle market. Our curated and fully integrated assortments are presented consistently across our sales channels in sophisticated and unique lifestyle settings. We offer dominant merchandise assortments across a number of categories, including furniture, lighting, textiles, bathware, décor, outdoor and garden, and child and teen furnishings. Our retail business is fully integrated across our multiple channels of distribution, consisting of our retail locations, websites and Source Books. We position our Galleries as showrooms for our brand, while our websites and Source Books act as virtual and print extensions of our physical spaces. We operate our retail locations throughout the United States, Canada, and the U.K., and have an integrated RH Hospitality experience in 13 of our Design Gallery locations, which includes Restaurants and Wine Bars.
We have experienced a significant improvement in our business during fiscal 2021 despite the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption it has caused in our business operations beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and throughout fiscal 2021. Our performance demonstrates both the desirability of our exclusive products and our ability to overcome supply chain challenges, including port delays, which impacted our ability to convert business demand into revenues at normal historical rates. We have continued to navigate changes in operational restrictions based upon changes in local conditions and regulations, and as pandemic-related restrictions continue to be lifted in fiscal 2022 we may see consumer spending patterns shift away from spending on the home and home-related categories, such as home furnishings, and consumers return to pre-COVID consumption trends, such as spending on travel and leisure, and other activities.
For more information, refer to Item 1A—Risk Factors—The COVID-19 pandemic poses significant and widespread risks to our business as well as to the business environment and the markets in which we operate and Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Overview.
Key Value-Driving Strategies
In order to drive growth across our business, we are focused on the following long-term key strategies and business initiatives:
Product Elevation. We have built the most comprehensive and compelling collection of luxury home furnishings under one brand in the world. Our products are presented across multiple collections, categories and channels that we control, and their desirability and exclusivity has enabled us to achieve industry-leading revenues and margins. Our customers know our brand concepts as RH Interiors, RH Modern, RH Beach House, RH Ski House, RH Outdoor, RH Baby & Child, RH TEEN and Waterworks. Our strategy to elevate the design and quality of our product will continue as we introduce RH Contemporary in 2022. We also have plans to introduce RH Couture Upholstery, RH Bespoke Furniture and RH Color over the next several years.
Gallery Transformation. Our product is elevated and rendered more valuable by our architecturally inspiring Galleries. We believe our strategy to open new Design Galleries in every major market will unlock the value of our vast assortment, generating a revenue opportunity for our business of $5 to $6 billion in North America. We believe we can significantly increase our sales by transforming our real estate platform from our existing legacy retail footprint to a portfolio of Design Galleries that is sized to the potential of each market and the size of our assortment. In addition, we plan to incorporate hospitality into most of the new Design Galleries that we open in the future, which further elevates and renders our product and brand more valuable. We believe hospitality has created a unique new retail experience that cannot be replicated online, and that the addition of hospitality drives incremental sales of home furnishings in these Galleries.
Brand Elevation. We are evolving the brand beyond curating and selling product to conceptualizing and selling spaces by building an ecosystem of Products, Places, Services and Spaces designed to elevate and render our product more valuable while establishing the RH brand as a thought leader, taste and place maker. We believe our seamlessly integrated ecosystem of immersive experiences inspires customers to dream, design, dine, travel and live in a world thoughtfully curated by RH, creating an impression and connection unlike any other brand in the world. Our hospitality efforts will continue to elevate the RH brand as we extend beyond the four walls of our Galleries into RH Guesthouses, where our goal is to create a new market for travelers seeking privacy and luxury in the $200 billion North American hotel industry. Additionally, we are creating bespoke experiences like RH Yountville, an integration of Food, Wine, Art & Design in the Napa Valley, RH1 & RH2, our private jets, and RH3, our luxury yacht that is available for charter in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, where the wealthy and affluent visit and vacation. These immersive experiences expose new and existing customers to our evolving authority in architecture, interior design and landscape architecture.
Digital Reimagination. Our strategy is to digitally reimagine the RH brand and business model both internally and externally. Internally our multi-year effort began with the reimagination of our Center of Innovation & Product Leadership to incorporate digitally integrated visuals and decision data designed to amplify the creative process from product ideation to product presentation. Externally our strategy is designed to come to life digitally as we launch The World of RH, an online portal where customers can explore and be inspired by the depth and dimension of our brand. The World of RH will include rich, immersive content with simplified navigation and search functionality, all designed to enhance the shopping experience and render our product and brand more valuable. We believe an opportunity exists to create similar strategic separation online as we have with our Galleries offline, reconceptualizing what a website can and should be.
Global Expansion. We believe that our luxury brand positioning and unique aesthetic have strong international appeal, and that pursuit of global expansion will provide RH a substantial long-term market opportunity to build a $20 to $25 billion global brand over time. Our view is that the competitive environment globally is more fragmented and primed for disruption than the North American market, and there is no direct competitor of scale that possesses the product, operational platform, and brand of RH. As such, we are actively pursuing the expansion of the RH brand globally with the objective of launching international locations in Europe, beginning in 2022 with the opening of RH England, The Gallery at the Historic Aynhoe Park. We have secured a number of locations in various markets in the United Kingdom and continental Europe for future Design Galleries and are in lease or purchase negotiations for additional locations.
Products and Product Development
We have positioned RH as a lifestyle brand and design authority by offering expansive merchandise assortments. We are merchants of luxury home furnishings and our products embody our design aesthetic and reflect inspiration from across the centuries and around the globe.
We have developed a proprietary product development platform that is fully integrated from ideation to presentation. Key aspects of our product development platform are:
Organization—We have established a collaborative, cross-functional organization leading our product development, sourcing, merchandising, inventory and creative teams. Our product teams are focused on maximizing the sales potential of each product category across all channels, which eliminates channel conflicts and functional redundancies.
Process—For many of our products, we work closely with our network of artisan partners who possess specialized product development and manufacturing capabilities and who we consider an extension of our product development team. We collaborate with our global network of specialty vendors and manufacturers to produce artisanal pieces of high quality and value on a large scale, including both distinctive original designs and reinterpretations of antiques.
Facility—We have built the RH Center of Innovation & Product Leadership, a facility that supports the entire product development process from product ideation to presentation across all channels.
Our proprietary organization, process and facility enhance our ability to introduce more new products with each collection. In addition, our product development platform, sourcing capabilities and significant scale enable us to reduce our product costs.
Sales Channels
We distribute our products through a fully integrated sales platform comprising our retail locations, including RH Galleries and Waterworks Showrooms, in addition to our websites, Source Books, Trade and Contract, and Outlets. We believe the level of integration among all of our channels and our approach to the market distinguish us from other retailers. We encourage our customers to shop across our channels, which complement one another, and have aligned our business and internal organization to be channel agnostic.
Retail Locations
As of January 29, 2022, our retail locations comprise RH Galleries and Waterworks Showrooms:
AVERAGE LEASED SELLING |
||||
|
COUNT |
|
SQUARE FOOTAGE (1) |
|
RH |
||||
Design Galleries (2) |
27 |
33,500 |
||
Legacy Galleries |
36 |
7,500 |
||
Modern Galleries |
1 |
12,800 |
||
Baby & Child and TEEN Galleries |
3 |
2,800 |
||
Total Galleries |
67 |
|||
Waterworks Showrooms |
14 |
4,100 |
||
Total retail locations |
81 |
(1) | Average leased selling square footage is calculated based on total leased selling square footage divided by total locations. Leased selling square footage is retail space at our retail locations used to sell our products, as well as space for our restaurants. Leased selling square footage excludes backrooms at retail locations used for storage, office space, food preparation, kitchen space or similar purpose, as well as exterior sales space located outside a retail location, such as courtyards, gardens and rooftops. |
(2) | Thirteen of our Design Galleries include an integrated RH Hospitality experience. |
Our Galleries reinforce our luxury brand aesthetic and are highly differentiated from other home furnishings retailers. We have revolutionized the customer experience by showcasing products in a sophisticated lifestyle setting, consistent with the imagery and product presentation featured on our websites and in our Source Books. Products in our Galleries are presented in fully appointed rooms, emphasizing collections over individual pieces. This presentation inspires our customers to consider purchasing a full collection of products to replicate the design aesthetic experienced in our Galleries. In addition, our associates use iPads and other devices to allow customers to shop our entire merchandise assortment while in a retail location.
We believe situating our Galleries in desirable locations, such as iconic buildings and luxury retail malls, is critical to the success of our business. New sites are identified based on a variety of store-specific factors – including unique architecture, geographic location, demographics, and proximity to affluent consumers – in addition to our ability to negotiate favorable economic terms and to procure permits and complete construction in a timely manner. We pursue a market-based sales strategy, whereby we assess each market’s overall sales potential and how best to approach the market across all of our channels. We customize square footage, as well as Source Book circulation, to maximize each market’s sales potential and increase our return on invested capital.
We believe our integrated RH hospitality experience, which includes Restaurants and Wine Bars, has created a unique new retail experience that cannot be replicated online, and that the addition of hospitality drives incremental sales of home furnishings in these Galleries. We plan to incorporate hospitality into most of the new Galleries that we open in the future.
We have identified key learnings from our real estate transformation that have supported the development of a multi-tier market approach described below that we believe will optimize both market share and return on invested capital.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 3 |
First, we have developed prototype Design Galleries that are innovative and flexible blueprints that enable us to more quickly place our disruptive product assortment and immersive retail experience into the market. The prototype model is a standard we will continue to utilize and innovate based on key learnings from more recent Design Gallery openings. The prototype has approximately 40,000 leased selling square feet, inclusive of our integrated hospitality experience, presents our assortments across our businesses and contains interior design offices and presentation rooms where design professionals can work with clients on their projects. The prototype model is capital efficient and accelerates the development process. Our most recently opened Design Galleries in Dallas, Texas, Oak Brook, Illinois and Jacksonville, Florida are prototype Design Galleries, and an upcoming prototype location includes Palo Alto, California, which is expected to open in the second half of fiscal 2022. We anticipate the prototype Design Galleries will represent the format of most of our upcoming Design Galleries in North America.
Second, we will continue to develop and open larger Bespoke Design Galleries in the top metropolitan markets, similar to those we opened in New York and Chicago. These iconic locations are highly profitable statements for our brand, and we believe they create a long-term competitive advantage that will be difficult to duplicate. We will be opening our Bespoke Design Gallery, RH San Francisco, The Gallery at the Historic Bethlehem Steel Building, in spring 2022 and expect to open additional Bespoke locations in the coming years.
Third, we will continue to open indigenous Bespoke Galleries in the best second-home markets where the wealthy and affluent visit and vacation. These Galleries are tailored to reflect the local culture and are sized to the potential of each market. Examples of current indigenous Bespoke Galleries include our location in Yountville, California, as well as our Gallery under development in Aspen, Colorado.
The cadence of our Gallery openings depends upon a number of factors. We plan to expand our product sales to additional international markets and have signed leases for Design Galleries in several locations outside of North America, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
4 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
The following tables present our retail location metrics:
|
YEAR ENDED |
|||||||||
|
JANUARY 29, |
JANUARY 30, |
||||||||
|
2022 |
2021 |
||||||||
|
|
|
TOTAL LEASED |
|
|
TOTAL LEASED |
||||
SELLING SQUARE |
SELLING SQUARE |
|||||||||
COUNT |
FOOTAGE (1) |
COUNT |
FOOTAGE (1) |
|||||||
|
(in thousands) |
(in thousands) |
||||||||
Beginning of period |
|
82 |
|
1,162 |
|
83 |
|
1,111 |
||
RH Design Galleries: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Dallas Design Gallery |
1 |
38.0 |
— |
— |
||||||
Oak Brook Design Gallery |
|
1 |
37.7 |
— |
— |
|||||
Jacksonville Design Gallery |
1 |
37.7 |
— |
— |
||||||
Marin Design Gallery |
|
— |
— |
1 |
32.9 |
|||||
Charlotte Design Gallery |
|
— |
— |
1 |
32.4 |
|||||
RH Modern Galleries: |
|
|||||||||
Dallas RH Modern Gallery |
(1) |
(3.9) |
— |
— |
||||||
RH Baby & Child and TEEN Galleries: |
||||||||||
Santa Monica Baby & Child and TEEN Gallery |
(1) |
(7.3) |
— |
— |
||||||
RH Legacy Galleries: |
||||||||||
Tysons legacy Gallery (relocation) |
— |
8.5 |
— |
— |
||||||
Dallas legacy Gallery |
(1) |
(8.4) |
— |
— |
||||||
Oak Brook legacy Gallery |
(1) |
(10.0) |
— |
— |
||||||
Raleigh legacy Gallery |
— |
— |
1 |
4.4 |
||||||
Charlotte legacy Gallery |
— |
— |
(1) |
(7.0) |
||||||
Corte Madera legacy Gallery |
— |
— |
(1) |
(7.0) |
||||||
Westport legacy Gallery |
— |
— |
(1) |
(6.5) |
||||||
St. Louis legacy Gallery (relocation) |
— |
— |
— |
2.9 |
||||||
Waterworks Showrooms: |
||||||||||
New York 59th Street Showroom |
— |
— |
(1) |
(1.4) |
||||||
End of period |
|
81 |
|
1,254 |
|
82 |
|
1,162 |
||
Total leased square footage at end of period (2) |
1,672 |
1,559 |
||||||||
Weighted-average leased square footage (3) |
|
|
1,602 |
|
|
1,536 |
||||
Weighted-average leased selling square footage (3) |
1,197 |
1,141 |
(1) | Leased selling square footage is retail space at our retail locations used to sell our products, as well as space for our restaurants. Leased selling square footage excludes backrooms at retail locations used for storage, office space, food preparation, kitchen space or similar purpose, as well as exterior sales space located outside a retail location, such as courtyards, gardens and rooftops. |
Leased selling square footage includes approximately 4,800 square feet as of both fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020 related to an owned retail location.
(2) | Total leased square footage includes approximately 5,400 square feet as of both fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020 related to an owned retail location. |
(3) | Weighted-average leased square footage and leased selling square footage are calculated based on the number of days a retail location was opened during the period divided by the total number of days in the period. |
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 5 |
The following list shows the number of retail locations in each U.S. state, each Canadian province and in the U.K. where we operate as of January 29, 2022:
LOCATION |
|
COUNT |
|
LOCATION |
|
COUNT |
|
LOCATION |
|
COUNT |
Alabama |
|
1 |
|
Massachusetts |
|
2 |
|
Tennessee |
|
1 |
Arizona |
|
2 |
|
Michigan |
|
1 |
|
Texas |
|
7 |
California |
|
19 |
|
Minnesota |
|
1 |
|
Utah |
|
1 |
Colorado |
|
2 |
|
Missouri |
|
1 |
|
Virginia |
|
2 |
Connecticut |
|
3 |
|
Nevada |
|
1 |
|
Washington |
|
1 |
Florida |
|
6 |
|
New Jersey |
|
2 |
|
District of Columbia |
|
1 |
Georgia |
|
2 |
|
New York |
|
4 |
|
Alberta |
|
2 |
Illinois |
|
3 |
|
North Carolina |
|
2 |
|
British Columbia |
|
1 |
Indiana |
|
1 |
|
Ohio |
|
3 |
|
Ontario |
|
1 |
Kansas |
|
1 |
|
Oklahoma |
|
1 |
|
London (1) |
|
1 |
Louisiana |
|
1 |
|
Oregon |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
Maryland |
|
1 |
|
Pennsylvania |
|
2 |
|
Total |
|
81 |
(1) | The London retail location is a Waterworks Showroom. |
We continually analyze opportunities to selectively consolidate retail locations in connection with openings of our Design Galleries or close retail locations that have been under-performing or are no longer consistent with our brand positioning. In many cases, we continue to operate a retail location until our lease has expired in order to effect the closure in a cost-efficient manner.
Websites
Our primary RH websites, www.rh.com, www.rhmodern.com, www.rhbabyandchild.com and www.rhteen.com, provide our customers with the ability to chat with a designer and purchase our merchandise online. We sell Waterworks products online through www.waterworks.com.
Our websites allow our customers to experience the unique lifestyle settings reflected in our Source Books and throughout our Galleries and Showrooms, and to shop all of our current product assortment. We update our websites regularly to reflect new products, product availability and occasional special offers.
The RH websites also offer room-based navigation, which allows the customer to envision and shop items by room or by product, expanding on the richness of the online experience. Customers can search the websites for products by size or color, browse through our extensive product categories and see detailed information about each item and collection, such as dimensions, materials and care instructions. Additionally, customers can select color swatches and view merchandise displayed with different color and fabric options.
Source Books
We produce a series of catalogs, which we refer to as Source Books, to showcase our merchandise assortment. Our Source Books include RH Interiors, RH Modern, RH Outdoor, RH Baby & Child and TEEN, RH Beach House, RH Ski House and RH Rugs. Additionally, we plan to launch the RH Contemporary Source Book in fiscal 2022. Our Source Books are one of our primary branding and advertising vehicles. We have found that merchandise assortments displayed in our Source Books contribute to increased sales of those products across all of our channels. As in our Galleries, our Source Books present our merchandise in lifestyle settings that reflect our unique design aesthetic. Our Source Books also feature profiles of select artisan vendors and other compelling editorial content regarding home décor. All creative work on our Source Books is coordinated in-house in our RH Center of Innovation & Product Leadership, providing us greater control over the brand image presented to our customers, while also reducing our Source Book production costs.
6 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
Our Source Book mailings serve as a key driver of sales through both our retail locations and websites. Our customers respond to the Source Books across all of our channels, with sales trends closely correlating to the assortments that we emphasize and feature prominently in our Source Books, websites and Galleries. Our Source Books, in concert with our websites, are a cost-effective means to test new products, and allow us to launch categories in a disciplined, expeditious and cost-effective manner. We continue to evaluate and optimize our Source Book strategy based on our experience.
We maintain a database of customer information, including information from our RH Members Program. Our customer database includes sales patterns, detailed purchasing information and certain demographic information, as well as mailing and email addresses. We mail our Source Books to addresses within this database and to addresses provided to us by third parties. The database, which is maintained in accordance with our privacy policy disclosed on our website, supports our ability to analyze our customers’ buying behaviors across sales channels, facilitates the development of targeted marketing strategies, and supports prospecting new customers. We segment our customer files based on multiple variables, and we tailor our Source Book mailings and emails in response to the purchasing patterns and product needs of our customers. We continue to improve the segmentation of customer files and the expansion of our customer database.
Trade and Contract
In the Trade channel, we work directly with residential interior designers and decorators purchasing products for their clients’ residential projects. We also sell directly to consumers who make purchases with the assistance of their residential interior designer or decorator. Our Contract business supplies products to large-scale, luxury hospitality, commercial and residential development projects globally, working directly with hotel ownership groups and brands, commercial property owners, single-family and multi-family builders and developers and their ecosystem of architecture, interior design and purchasing business partners. These channels enable us to reach new business customers and the consumers they influence.
Outlet Stores
Our outlet stores are branded as RH Outlet or Restoration Hardware Outlet and are typically located in outlet malls. Our outlet stores serve as a key part of our reverse logistics platform and provide an efficient means to sell primarily returned merchandise and, to a lesser extent, discontinued and overstock merchandise outside of our core sales channels. As of January 29, 2022, we operated 38 outlet stores.
Marketing and Advertising
Our Galleries, websites and Source Books are the primary branding and advertising vehicles for the RH brands. In addition, we employ a variety of marketing and advertising techniques to drive customer traffic across all our channels, strengthen and reinforce our brand image and acquire new customers. These include targeted Source Book circulation, email communications, promotional mailings, print advertisements, and public relations activities and events. We use our customer database to tailor our programs and increase the efficiency of our marketing and promotion initiatives. We leverage our marketing and advertising expenses across all our channels as we seek to optimize the efficiency of our investment.
The highly differentiated design aesthetic and environment of our Galleries drives customer traffic not only to our physical spaces but also to our websites. Our Source Books and targeted emails further reinforce the RH brand image and drive sales across all of our sales channels. We also participate in a wide range of other marketing, promotional and public relations activities. These campaigns include media coverage in design, lifestyle, culture/society and specialty publications, as well as in-Gallery events related to new Gallery openings and product launches. In addition, we engage in print advertising in brand-relevant publications such as Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Luxe Interiors + Designs, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, WSJ. Magazine, Business of Home and others. We believe that these efforts drive increased brand awareness, leading to higher sales over time.
RH Members Program
The RH Members Program reimagines and simplifies the shopping experience. For an annual fee, the RH Members Program provides a set discount every day across all RH brands, excluding RH Hospitality and Waterworks, in addition to other benefits including complimentary interior design services through the RH Interior Design program and eligibility for preferred financing plans on the RH Credit Cards. The RH Members Program allows our customers to shop for what they want, when they want, and receive the greatest value, which has resulted in orders and sales being more evenly distributed throughout the year. During fiscal 2021, our members drove approximately 97% of sales in our core RH business, and we had approximately 459,000 members at year end. Our core RH business reflects the product categories that the membership discount can be applied to, and, as a result, sales generated via Outlet, Contract, Hospitality or Waterworks are excluded. We believe our membership model enhances the customer experience, renders our brand more valuable, improves operational execution and reduces costs.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 7 |
Sourcing
Our sourcing strategy focuses on identifying and using vendors that can provide the quality materials and fine craftsmanship that our customers expect of our brand. We work closely with vendors and manufacturers to ensure that our high standards of quality and timely delivery of merchandise are met. We seek to ensure the consistent quality of our manufacturers’ products by selectively inspecting pre-production samples, conducting periodic site visits to certain of our vendors’ production facilities and selectively inspecting inbound shipments at our distribution facilities. In fiscal 2021, we sourced approximately 75% of our purchase dollar volume from approximately 29 vendors. In fiscal 2021, one vendor accounted for 11% of our purchase dollar volume. Based on total dollar volume of purchases for fiscal 2021, 69% of our products were sourced from Asia, with 34% sourced from China, 15% from the United States and the remainder from other countries and regions. In addition, we perform limited manufacturing activities in the United States.
We have a limited number of long-term merchandise supply contracts, but we believe that we generally have strong relationships with our product vendors. Although we transact business primarily on an order-by-order basis, we typically work with most of our vendors over extended periods of time, and many vendors continue to make long-term capacity investments to serve our increasing demands. We develop close relationships with our vendors in order to achieve significant cost savings and improve our product development process by eliminating the use of most third-party purchasing agents in favor of a model in which we directly manage our vendors.
Distribution and Delivery
We manage the distribution and delivery of our products through our distribution centers. We currently operate three furniture fulfillment centers and one small-parcel fulfillment center servicing RH products, which are located strategically in four markets throughout the United States. We have one fulfillment center in the United States servicing Waterworks products. In addition, we continue to develop our supply chain in the U.K. and Europe in connection with our global expansion and plan to use third-party providers to serve our customers.
We operate portions of our home delivery services in 22 key markets to leverage operating costs and improve our customers’ delivery experience, while reducing returns and damage to our products. We offer a white glove home delivery service for our larger merchandise and furniture categories, where third-party personnel deliver fully assembled items to the location of our customers’ choice. We believe there is an opportunity to improve the customer experience by taking greater control of the home delivery experience over time. We believe that many third-party furniture delivery providers are designed to support mass and mid-market companies and that significant opportunity exists for developing improved solutions for the luxury market. We believe we have dramatically enhanced the customer experience while reducing return rates, damages and deliveries per order by enhancing the quality of our delivery providers through metric-based accountability standards.
We believe our supply chain and fulfillment operations allow us to manage customer orders and distribute merchandise to our customers in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
Competition
The home furnishings sector is highly competitive. We believe that we compete primarily on the basis of the design, style and quality of our products, the breadth of our assortment of high-quality merchandise and the luxury positioning of our brand. We believe that customers respond favorably to the style and presentation of our products and that we offer consumers a substantial assortment of curated merchandise selections as part of a lifestyle experience. We continue to elevate our product assortment and create separation between our brand and that of many of our competitors.
We compete with the interior design trade and specialty stores, as well as antique dealers and other merchants that provide unique items and custom-designed product offerings at higher price points, by providing a broader product assortment at an exceptional value based both upon the price and quality of our products. We also compete with national and regional home furnishing retailers and department stores, in addition to mail order catalogs and online retailers focused on home furnishings, by offering what we believe is superior quality, highly distinctive design styles and a sophisticated lifestyle presentation in our product offering.
We also believe that our success depends in substantial part on our ability to originate and define product trends, as well as to timely anticipate, gauge and react to changing consumer demands. Certain of our competitors are larger and have greater financial, marketing and other resources than us. However, many smaller specialty retailers may lack the financial resources, infrastructure, scale and national brand identity necessary to compete effectively with us. We believe we are positioned to gain market share from both of these segments and drive growth.
8 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
Our People
At RH, we believe deeply that the “right” people are our greatest asset. As of January 29, 2022, we had approximately 6,500 associates, of which approximately 800 were part-time associates. As of that date, approximately 2,300 of our associates were based in our retail locations and outlets. None of our employees are represented by a union, and we have had no labor-related work stoppages. We believe that relations with our associates are good.
The success of our business depends upon our ability to retain continued service of certain key personnel, particularly our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gary Friedman, and to attract, retain and motivate qualified leaders throughout our Company, as well as qualified associates across all parts of our organization, including Galleries, Restaurants, distribution centers, home delivery centers and customer care centers, both in the United States and internationally. Our goal is to have the most qualified person in every position throughout our organization. As we are headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, a highly dynamic and competitive market for talent, we seek to provide competitive compensation for our people in order to attract and retain the best available talent.
We do not discriminate against any applicant or associate and have a policy outlining these principles. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, discipline, job assignments, benefits, transfer and discharge. We maintain a diverse workforce. RH is an equal opportunity employer, and we believe in meritocratic hiring. We strongly believe our performance is enhanced by a workforce comprising individuals with diverse backgrounds, skills and experience that align with the needs of our business. We are committed to operating our environments with the highest safety standards to ensure the health and well-being of our guests and team members.
Our culture is driven by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and the senior leadership team, who instill a company-wide commitment to our values of People, Quality, Service and Innovation. We believe our distinct corporate culture allows us to attract highly talented individuals who are passionate, driven and who share our vision. We expect our values to be maintained throughout our business, including our supply chain. We require our vendors to adhere to our Vendor Code of Conduct, which can be found on the Investor Relations section of our website, located at ir.rh.com under “Governance / Environmental, Social & Governance.”
Intellectual Property
The “RH,” “Restoration Hardware,” “RH Interiors,” “RH Modern,” “RH Outdoor,” “RH Baby & Child,” “RH TEEN,” “RH Beach House,” “RH Ski House,” “RH Rugs” and “Waterworks,” and “Waterworks Studio” trademarks, among others, are registered or are the subject of pending trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and with the trademark registries of several foreign countries. Each of our trademark registrations is perpetually renewable provided that we use or continue to use the trademarks in commerce in the particular geographic market and for the goods or services covered by the registration. In addition, we own many domain names, including “rh.com,” “restorationhardware.com,” “rhmodern.com,” “rhbabyandchild.com,” “rhteen.com,” “rhbeachouse.rh.com,” “rhskihouse.rh.com,” “waterworks.com” and others that include our trademarks. These domain names are perpetually renewable. We own design patents or pending design patent applications to protect the ornamental appearance of several of our products. These design patents are valid for 15 years from their date of issuance. We own copyrights, including copyright registrations or pending applications, for our website and for several of our Source Books. We believe that our trademarks, design patents, and copyrights have significant value and we vigorously protect them against infringement.
Fluctuation in Quarterly Results
Our quarterly results vary depending upon a variety of factors, including changes in our product offerings and the introduction of new merchandise assortments and categories, changes in retail locations, the timing of Source Book releases, and the extent of our realization of the costs and benefits of our numerous strategic initiatives, among other things. For example, we have historically experienced some seasonality in our business trends as our sales are typically higher in the second fiscal quarter, which correlates to a peak selling season for outdoor items including outdoor furniture. As a result of these factors, our working capital requirements and demands may fluctuate during the year. Unique factors in any given quarter may affect period-to-period comparisons, and the results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that we may achieve for a full fiscal year.
Corporate Information
The Company was formed as a Delaware corporation on August 18, 2011. On November 7, 2012, the Company completed an initial public offering. On December 15, 2016, Restoration Hardware Holdings, Inc. filed a Certificate of Amendment to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to change its name to “RH,” effective January 1, 2017.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 9 |
Regulation and Legislation
We are subject to numerous regulations, including labor and employment laws, customs, laws governing truth-in-advertising, consumer protection, privacy, safety, real estate, environmental and zoning and occupancy laws, and other laws and regulations that regulate retailers and govern the promotion and sale of merchandise and the operation of our retail and hospitality locations, outlets and warehouse facilities, in the United States and other international locations in which we operate presently or plan to in the future, as well as in jurisdictions from which we source our products. We believe we are in material compliance with laws applicable to our business.
Where You Can Find More Information
We are required to file or furnish annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information as required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, like us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is www.sec.gov.
We maintain public internet sites at www.rh.com and www.restorationhardware.com and make available, free of charge, through these sites our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements and Forms 3, 4 and 5 filed on behalf of directors and executive officers, as well as any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The charters for our Board of Directors’ Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, as well as our Code of Business Conduct, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Ethics governing our chief executive and senior financial officers and other related materials are available on our websites. The information on our websites is not part of this annual report.
Our Investor Relations Department can be contacted at RH, 15 Koch Road, Corte Madera, California 94925, Attention: Investor Relations; telephone: 415-945-3500; e-mail: investorrelations@rh.com.
10 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Certain factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, in addition to other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes. The events and consequences discussed in these risk factors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and future prospects. In that event, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business.
Risks Related to Our Business
We are undertaking a large number of business initiatives at the same time, including international expansion and exploring opportunities to expand into new categories and complementary businesses. If these initiatives are not successful, they may have a negative impact on our results of operations.
We are undertaking a large number of new business initiatives at the same time in order to support our future growth. We have multiple growth initiatives and innovation in our development pipeline, including efforts to expand our business through (i) international expansion of our business, (ii) enhancement of our merchandise assortment including improvements to quality of our products and services, (iii) launching new business initiatives including real estate development and an expanded scope of RH Hospitality as well as other new categories of products and services. We have introduced a number of new product categories such as RH Modern and are in the process of launching other major new offerings such as RH Contemporary, a new collection that bridges the gap between RH Interiors and RH Modern. We are continuing to pursue a substantial expansion of the RH Hospitality offering which includes integrated Restaurants and wine bars in a number of our Galleries and will also incorporate standalone restaurants and guesthouses as well as other innovations such as our private jets RH1 and RH2, and our luxury yacht RH3. We are also investing in other new business initiatives including through business acquisitions and investment in joint ventures such as a number of real estate development projects such as the RH Ecosystem in Aspen, Colorado, which will include retail locations, hospitality concepts, residential properties, and workforce housing projects.
We can provide no assurances that customers will respond favorably to our new product offerings, Galleries or complementary businesses or that we will successfully execute on such business initiatives. Such new business opportunities may not achieve market acceptance or may only achieve market acceptance in limited geographic areas or at certain Design Galleries. In addition, developing and testing new and multiple business opportunities and strategies often requires knowledge in areas of expertise that may be new to our organization and may require significant time from our senior leadership team as well as substantial resources. We can provide no assurances that we will be successful in expanding our operations into any new businesses and product lines.
Any new businesses we enter may also expose us to additional laws, regulations and risks, including the risk that we may incur ongoing operating expenses in such businesses in excess of revenues, which could harm our financial condition and results of operations. The financial profile of any such new businesses may be different than our current financial profile, which could affect our financial performance and the market price for our common stock.
We are undertaking a substantial effort to expand our business internationally by establishing a new retail presence in global markets including Europe and the U.K. International expansion will expose us to new risks related to operating internationally, including, but not limited to, risks related to currency fluctuation, supply chain and product sourcing, new regulatory regimes applicable to our products, Galleries and employees, global health emergencies such as the coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) pandemic, and the consequences of international economic or political events including but not limited to the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union in January 2020, commonly referred to as “Brexit,” which has resulted in considerable change in the regulatory framework governing business in the U.K. and which may negatively impact the luxury market or our plans to operate in the U.K. We may be unsuccessful in adapting our operations to address such risks. We also may be unsuccessful in accurately selecting which international markets would support demand for our products or sizing our Gallery openings to such markets. We may determine to curtail and/or slow our international expansion initiative as part of our efforts to manage liquidity in response to overall market conditions and to address priorities in the different capital requirements of our business. Expanding our business internationally will also require that we develop operational expertise in new markets and regulatory regimes, and an inability to adapt our business quickly and efficiently to support our international expansion could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 11 |
As of January 29, 2022, we have an integrated RH Hospitality experience in 13 of our locations, including Restaurants and Wine Bars, and based on the success of our hospitality offering to date, we plan to incorporate an integrated RH Hospitality offering in many of the new Galleries that we open in the future. We continue to refine and develop the RH Hospitality model as we seek to optimize this part of our business and its integration with the operation of our Gallery locations. Although we have experienced a number of positive business outcomes from the RH Hospitality operations, there can be no assurance that these benefits will be sustained, that we will avoid operational or other complications from the hospitality business or that new aspects of our hospitality offering such as the launch of guesthouses will be successful.
We often have in the past, and may in the future, incur significant costs for any new initiative before we realize any corresponding revenue with respect to such initiative. For example, as we continue to develop and invest in new business formats and initiatives such as the redevelopment of existing historical buildings into our larger format Design Galleries in select major metropolitan markets and the introduction of guesthouses, we may incur substantial investments before the location is open to customers and is able to generate revenue, and we anticipate that a number of Galleries to be opened during the next several years will continue to require this form of significant upfront investment before they generate revenue from the food and beverage offerings. Some of these projects have taken substantially more time and investment in contrast to our initial expectations and as a result may have difficulty recouping our costs and investment in some of these developments or our payback on investment could take much longer than we had initially targeted.
In addition, we are continuing a number of new initiatives to improve the operations of our business, including ongoing refinements to our organizational structure. Some of the improvements we are pursuing include changing the ways we source and deliver our products to our customers, as well as streamlining and realigning the senior leadership and personnel structure in our home office operations. We have also focused on elevating the customer experience, which includes improving our distribution and delivery of products and architecting a new fully integrated back-end operating platform, inclusive of the supply chain network, the home delivery experience as well as a new metric-driven quality system and company-wide decision data. We have focused on rationalizing our SKU count and optimizing inventory, which includes selling slower moving, discontinued and other inventory through markdowns and our outlet channel, as well as enhancing and optimizing our product sourcing capabilities and adding new management information systems.
If we are not successful in managing the large number of new initiatives that are underway, we might experience an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Given the large number of organizational initiatives we are pursuing, as well as the complexity and untested nature of many of these efforts, there can be no certainty that we will be successful in executing on these initiatives. We may not experience the operational or financial benefits we expect these improvements to generate and we may face unanticipated costs related to pursuing these initiatives such as personnel turnover, senior leadership distraction, or compliance and quality control risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
All of the foregoing risks may be compounded due to various factors including the rapidly changing macroeconomic conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or any economic downturn. If we fail to achieve the intended results of our current business initiatives, or if the implementation of these initiatives is delayed or abandoned, diverts our senior leadership team’s attention or resources from other aspects of our business or costs more than anticipated (including, as a result of personnel turnover or compliance and control risks), we may experience inadequate return on investment for some of these business initiatives, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
We have experienced significant fluctuations in the growth rate of our business and high levels of growth may not be achieved in future periods.
We have experienced significant fluctuations in the growth rate of our business. We may continue to experience wide fluctuations in our quarterly performance. We are currently engaged in a number of growth initiatives, including investments to elevate our brand and improvements to our products and customer experience. There can be no assurance that these efforts will be successful or that we will not encounter other operational difficulties that may have a material negative impact on growth and profitability. In addition, these initiatives may have near-term material negative impacts on growth and profitability as we incur costs or pursue strategies that may not contribute to our profits and margins until future periods, if at all. Some factors affecting our business, including macroeconomic conditions and government policies are not within our control. In prior periods, our results of operations have been adversely affected by weakness in the global economic environment such as slowdowns in the housing market. In addition, our rates of revenue growth have sharply fluctuated from quarter to quarter and we expect volatility in the rates of our growth to continue in future quarterly periods. Unique factors in any given quarter may affect period-to-period comparisons in our revenue growth, including:
12 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
the overall economic and general retail sales environment including factors affecting the housing market such as housing prices, the pace of housing construction and secondary market transactions in the housing market as well as other activities in the housing sector;
the availability of our products and the impact of delays or disruption in our supply chain;
consumer preferences and demand;
other factors affecting the retail business sector including issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic,
the state of the mortgage industry and other aspects of consumer credit tied to housing, including the availability and pricing of mortgage refinancing and home equity lines of credit;
the number, size and location of stores we open, close, remodel or expand in any period;
changes in Source Book circulation, and the number of pages in our Source Books and timing of mailing;
our ability to efficiently source and distribute products;
changes in our product offerings and the introduction, and timing thereof, of introduction of new products and new product categories;
our competitors introducing similar products or merchandise formats;
the timing of various holidays, including holidays with potentially heavy retail impact; and
the success of our marketing programs and any promotional efforts.
Due to these factors, our results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that we may achieve for a full fiscal year. Our results of operations may also vary relative to corresponding periods in prior years. We may take certain pricing, merchandising or marketing actions that could have a disproportionate effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations in a particular quarter or selling season, and as a result we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations are not necessarily meaningful and cannot be relied upon as indicators of future performance. We cannot assure you that we will succeed in offsetting any increases in our expenses with improved efficiency or price increases for our products and services or that cost increases associated with our business will not have an adverse effect on our financial results.
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant and widespread risks to our business as well as to the business environment and the markets in which we operate.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a widespread impact on our customers and on our merchandise supply chain, on the overall business climate in the U.S. and globally, and on financial and consumer markets. Depending on the future course of the pandemic, including potential further outbreaks with new strains or variants of the virus, we may experience further impact to our product supply chain including delays in inventory receipts and backorders as well as restrictions on and closures of our physical operations with respect to Galleries, Outlets and Restaurants. Future adverse developments in connection with the COVID-19 crisis, including new strains or variants of the virus, evolving international, federal, state and local restrictions and safety regulations in response to COVID-19 risks, changes in consumer behavior and health concerns, the pace of economic activity, or other similar issues could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition in future periods. The evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world may continue to have an adverse impact on elements of our supply chain including the manufacture, supply, distribution, transportation and delivery of our products and our inventory levels. There have been substantial disruptions with respect to the global supply chain as a result of the pandemic. The presence of the virus and the response to the health crisis in various countries is likely to have a continuing impact on our supply chain, for example by affecting the speed at which the factories that manufacture our products are able to resume normal operations and production levels after closures.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 13 |
Changes in consumer spending and factors that influence spending of the specific categories of consumers that purchase from us, including the health of the high-end housing market, may significantly impact our revenue and results of operations.
We target consumers of high-end home furnishings as customers for our products. As a result, we believe that our sales are sensitive to a number of factors that influence consumer spending generally, but are particularly affected by the financial health of and demand levels from the higher-end customer demographic. In addition, not all macroeconomic factors are highly correlated in their impact on lower end housing versus the higher-end customer. Demand for lower priced homes and first-time home buying may be influenced by factors such as employment levels, interest rates, demographics of new household formation and the affordability of homes for the first-time home buyer. The higher-end of the housing market may be disproportionately influenced by other factors including the number of foreign buyers in higher-end real estate markets in the U.S., activity in luxury and second home markets, the number of second and third homes being built and sold, stock market valuation and overall equity market conditions, global economic uncertainty, inflation, decreased availability of income tax deductions for mortgage interest and state income and property taxes, and the perceived prospect for capital appreciation in higher-end real estate. The stock market recently has experienced periods of significant volatility and there have been declines in some asset prices. Increases in interest rates may affect asset valuations and may dampen growth in and consumer optimism about the U.S. housing market and could depress home buying and/or prices in the higher-end of the housing market. We believe that the purchasing patterns of our customers are influenced by a number of factors much more than the overall housing market including activity in the high-end and secondary housing segment as well as the health and volatility of the stock market. Previous declines in the stock market and periods of high equity market volatility have correlated with a reduction in consumer demand for our products. We believe that a number of these factors have in the past had, and may in the future have, an adverse impact on the high-end retail home furnishings sector and affect our business and results. These factors may make it difficult for us to accurately predict our operating and financial results for future periods and some of these factors could contribute to a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
If we fail to successfully and timely deliver merchandise to our customers and manage our supply chain commensurate with demand, our results of operations may be adversely affected.
We must successfully manage our supply chain and vendors in order to produce sufficient quantities of products that our customers wish to purchase in a timely manner. We must manage our inventory levels, including predicting the appropriate levels and type of inventory to stock within each of our distribution centers, such that our “in stock” position in merchandise correlates well to consumer demand and expected delivery times. Because much of our merchandise requires that we provide vendors with significant ordering lead times, often before market factors are known, we may not be able to source sufficient inventory to meet demand if our products prove more popular than anticipated. In addition, our current initiatives to streamline and optimize our inventory levels may not be successful and implementing such initiatives may complicate our efforts to manage our supply chain. To the extent our business initiatives result in new product lines or service offerings or further expansion into new markets, we may need to establish new vendor relationships or supply chain operations, which may expose us to new counterparty, regulatory, market or other risks and which may not be successful. We have experienced periods in which some of our vendors were not able to meet customer demand for certain products resulting in significant back orders for goods, higher rates of cancellation on orders in process and, in some instances, loss of customer sales when orders could not be completed in a timely manner. During the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing in fiscal 2021, disruptions in the global supply chain have adversely affected our business including leading to substantial back orders and deferred sales. There can be no assurance as to how long such conditions in the supply chain will persist or exactly how they may continue to affect our business during fiscal 2022 and beyond. For example, increases in costs for shipping merchandise from China to the United States could increase our costs. In addition, the seasonal nature of some of our products requires us to carry a significant amount of inventory prior to certain selling seasons. If we are unable to accurately predict and track demand, we may be required to mark down the price of certain products in order to sell excess inventory or we may be required to sell such inventory through our outlet stores or warehouse sales. If the dislocations in our supply chain do not recover as quickly as we anticipate, we may be delayed in our ability to convert business demand into revenues and we may experience increased costs for merchandise. For these reasons, our results of operations in any given quarterly period may be adversely affected. We expect these factors to continue from time to time as we add new product assortments and new merchandise categories into our business.
14 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
Merchandise purchased from our vendors that is defective or otherwise does not meet our product quality standards could damage our reputation and brand image and harm our business, and we may not have adequate remedies against our vendors for such merchandise.
Some of our merchandise has failed to meet our expectations and objectives concerning quality. Our emphasis on merchandise quality is increasing as we strive to elevate our brand. In recent periods we have recalled products due to quality or other issues and may recall others in the future. Despite our ongoing efforts to improve customer satisfaction, we may fail to maintain the level of quality for some of our products that is necessary to satisfy our customers. For example, our vendors may not adhere to our quality control standards, and we may not identify a quality deficiency before merchandise ships to our stores or customers. Failure to supply our customers with high-quality merchandise in a timely and effective manner, additional product recalls, or any perception that we are not maintaining adequate sourcing and quality control processes could damage our reputation and brand image and lead to an increase in product returns or exchanges or in customer litigation (including class-action lawsuits), increasing routine and non-routine litigation costs. In addition, social media may magnify any harm to our business, reputation and brand image. We are changing many aspects of our business processes, including improving product quality and enhancing sourcing and product availability, which may complicate our supply chain and quality control processes and result in quality issues or product recalls. Even if we detect that merchandise is defective or otherwise not in compliance with our product quality standards, we may not be able to return such products to the vendor or obtain a refund or other indemnification from the vendor. The limited capacities of certain of our vendors may constrain the ability of such vendors to replace any defective merchandise in a timely manner. Similarly, the limited capitalization and liquidity of certain of our vendors and their lack of insurance coverage for product recall claims may result in such vendors being unable to refund our purchase price or pay applicable penalties or damages associated with any such defects or resulting product recalls.
Our business depends on the strength of our brand and continuing investments in our brand will be an important requirement for our future success.
Our business depends in part on a strong brand image, and we continue to invest in the development of our brand and the marketing of our business. We believe that our brand image has contributed significantly to the success of our business to date. Our increased focus on elevating RH as a luxury brand further increases the importance of our brand image, position and reputation. We also believe that maintaining and enhancing our brand is integral to the future of our business and the implementation of our strategies for expansion. This will require us to continue making investments in areas that support the strength of our brand. Our brand image may be diminished if new products, services or other businesses fail to maintain or enhance our distinctive brand image. Additionally, our reputation could be jeopardized if we fail to maintain high standards for merchandise and service quality. With the growth in importance and the impact of social media, any negative publicity from product defects, recalls or service failures may be magnified and reach a large portion of our customer base in a short period of time, which could harm the value of our brand and, consequently, our financial performance. We may also suffer reputational harm if we fail to maintain high ethical, social and environmental standards for all of our operations and activities, if we fail to comply with local laws and regulations, if we fail to deliver high-quality merchandise, or if we experience other negative events that affect our image. Any failure to maintain a strong brand image could have an adverse effect on our sales and results of operations.
As a luxury brand, we rely on a number of initiatives to sustain our image and to promote our products in the marketplace. Our physical retailing presence, primarily in the form of our galleries, is one of the most important initiatives that we use to display our product offering. We also use our website and other digital efforts, as well as our Source Books, to showcase a larger portion of our assortment. We continue to adjust and refine our strategy based on a variety of factors, including the success of the various changes that we adopt. During fiscal 2021, we increased our investment in certain digital initiatives and we expect to continue these initiatives. Expenditures on our catalog strategy have historically represented a substantial portion of our expense in marketing and promoting our business. We are adjusting our strategies with respect to the use of Source Books. There can be no assurance that we will be successful as we make changes in order to optimize our Source Book strategy including with respect to the cadence and timing of mailings, the format of the Source Books and the use of the Source Books as a marketing and promotional tool including with respect to prospecting for new customers. If we fail to adequately adjust our catalog strategy to meet our goals, or if our catalog strategy is unsuccessful, our results of operations could be negatively impacted. Future increases in shipping rates, paper costs or printing costs would have a negative impact on our results of operations to the extent that we are unable to offset such increases through increased sales or by raising prices, by implementing more efficient printing, mailing, delivery and order fulfillment systems, or by using alternative direct-mail formats. If the performance of our catalogs declines, if we misjudge the correlation between our catalog circulation and net revenues, or if our catalog circulation optimization strategy is not successful, our results of operations could be negatively impacted.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 15 |
Competition in the home furnishings sector may adversely affect our future financial performance.
The home furnishings sector is highly competitive. We compete with the interior design trade and specialty stores, as well as antique dealers and other merchants that provide unique items and custom-designed products at higher price points. We also compete with national and regional home furnishing retailers and department stores and will face new competitors as we expand our business into new geographic markets. In addition, we compete with mail order catalogs and online retailers focused on home furnishings. There are an increasing number of online and digital centric business models in the home furnishings sector and the impact of these competitors on other home furnishing businesses is uncertain. There can be no assurance that such competitors will not be more successful than us, based on imitation or otherwise, or that we will be able to continue to maintain a leadership position in style and innovation in the future. Increased competition also has resulted, and may in the future result, in potential or actual litigation between us and our competitors related to a variety of activities, including hiring practices. If we are not successful in such litigation, our business could be harmed.
We are subject to risks associated with our dependence on foreign manufacturing and imports for our merchandise.
Based on total dollar volume of purchases for fiscal 2021, 69% of our products were sourced from Asia, with 34% sourced from China, 15% from the U.S. and the remainder from other countries and source regions. We expect the amount of products that we source from China will be lower in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021, but the exact product mix in terms of vendor factory locations is subject to a range of different factors and is inherently difficult to predict with accuracy. In addition, some of the merchandise we purchase from vendors in the U.S. also depends, in whole or in part, on vendors located outside the U.S. As a result, our business highly depends on global trade, as well as any trade and or other factors that impact the specific countries where our vendors’ production facilities are located. Our future success will depend in large part upon our ability to maintain our existing foreign vendor relationships and to develop new ones and any changes in trade dynamics that might dictate changes in the locations for sourcing of products. In addition, we face risks related to the ability of our vendors to scale their operations whether in connection with new products we introduce or new production manufacturing locations added to our supply chain, which in some cases would require substantial ongoing investments to support additional capacity. In addition, we have previously encountered difficulties in the ability of our vendors to scale production commensurate with demand from our customers. While we rely on long-term relationships with many of our vendors, we do not rely on long-term contracts with our vendors and generally transact business with them on an order-by-order basis.
Many of our imported products are subject to existing duties, tariffs, anti-dumping duties and other similar trade restrictions that may limit the quantity or affect the price of some types of goods that we import into the U.S. and Canada. In addition, substantial regulatory uncertainty exists regarding international trade relations and trade policy. An introduction of new duties, tariffs, quotas or other similar trade restrictions, or increases in existing duties or tariff rates, on products imported into the U.S. and Canada, whether actual, pending or threatened, may have a negative impact on our results of operations. Significant uncertainty exists as to whether and when tariffs may be reduced or imposed, and what countries may be implicated. Given that we cannot reasonably predict the timing or outcomes of trade actions by the U.S. government or other countries, the impact of such actions on our business and results of operations remains uncertain. Additionally, such uncertainties, even if not directly applicable to our imported products, may have a negative influence on the domestic and international economy generally and indirectly reduce market demand for our products.
The U.S. has imposed tariffs on certain products imported into the U.S. from China and could propose additional tariffs. A significant subset of our products sourced from China has been affected by increased tariffs imposed in 2018 and 2019. In January 2020, the U.S. and China signed a “Phase One” trade agreement pursuant to which, among other things, the U.S. will modify its Section 301 tariff actions and which suspended the tariff on this additional set of goods. Further, as of February 14, 2020, the 15 percent tariff implemented on September 1, 2019 was reduced to 7.5 percent. While the trade deal remains effective, there is no guarantee that the agreement will be honored by either party, and it could be subject to further revision or renegotiation. The Biden Administration has indicated that it will not take immediate action to modify these existing tariffs, there is substantial uncertainty regarding the possible application of additional tariffs with respect to China and other countries as well as potential retroactive liabilities for additional duties. In addition, the U.S. Government has imposed import restrictions under the Withhold Release Orders for goods such as cotton products from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“XUAR”) and under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which may induce greater supply chain compliance costs and delays to us and to our vendors. We may not be able to anticipate the exact contours of tariffs and other burdens on global trade that become applicable and our efforts to respond to these circumstances may be inadequate. In particular, we may not be able to receive or sustain adequate pricing concessions from our vendors with respect to applicable tariffs and any applicable pricing increases that we seek to pass through to our customers may not be successful in achieving our objectives. Our sales may fall in response to any price increases and our vendors may not be able to support the level of pricing concessions that we seek.
16 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
Our dependence on foreign imports makes us vulnerable to other risks associated with products manufactured abroad, including, among other things, risks of damage, destruction or confiscation of products while in transit to our U.S. distribution centers, product quality control charges on or assessment of additional import duties, tariffs, anti-dumping duties and quotas, loss of “most favored nation” trading status by our foreign trading partners with the U.S., work stoppages, including without limitation as a result of events such as longshoremen strikes, transportation and other delays in shipments, including without limitation as a result of heightened security screening and inspection processes or other port-of-entry limitations or restrictions in the U.S., freight cost increases, political unrest, economic uncertainties, including inflation, foreign government regulations, trade restrictions, increased labor costs and other similar factors that might affect the operations of our vendors in specific countries such as China or related to Russia. Due to the recent developments in Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions imposed on certain regions of Ukraine and on Russia, Russian entities, and Russian financial institutions, our supply chain may be impacted by applicable restrictions and the scope of such restrictions is subject to ongoing change in response to the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, due to countermeasures (“countersanctions”) imposed by the Russian government, the sourcing of certain products that use Russian wood may be affected. While we do not directly source wood from Russia, the global impact of the unprecedented trade restrictions on Russia and by Russia could require us to change our practices and impose greater compliance measures to protect us from sanctions or countersanctions. We are continually monitoring the evolving sanctions and regularly review our sourcing practices for compliance purposes.
In addition, there is a risk of compliance violations by our vendors, which could lead to adverse consequences related to the failure of our vendors to adhere to applicable manufacturing requirements or other applicable rules or regulations. Any such noncompliance could have an adverse impact on our business and may result in product recalls, regulatory action, product liabilities, investigation by governmental agencies and other similar adverse consequences. Any failure by our vendors outside the U.S. to adhere to applicable legal requirements or our global compliance standards, such as fair labor standards and prohibitions on forced labor and child labor, could give rise to a range of adverse consequences, including supply chain disruption, potential liability, harm to our reputation and brand, and boycotts by consumers or special interest groups, any of which could negatively affect our business and results of operations.
Our growth strategy and performance depend on our ability to purchase quality merchandise in sufficient quantities at competitive prices, including products that are produced by artisans and specialty vendors. Any disruptions we experience in our ability to obtain quality products in a timely fashion or in the quantities required could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We purchase substantially all of our merchandise from a number of third party vendors. Many such vendors are the sole sources for particular products, and we generally transact business with such vendors on an order-by-order basis without any long-term or other contractual assurances of continued supply, pricing or access to new products with our vendors. Therefore, we may be dependent on particular vendors that produce popular items, and any vendor could discontinue selling to us at any time. In addition, the expansion of our business into new U.S. or international markets or new product categories could put pressure on our ability to source sufficient quantities of our products from such vendors. In the event that one or more of our vendors is unable or unwilling to meet the quantity or quality of our product requirements, we may not be able to develop relationships with new vendors in a manner that is sufficient to supply the shortfall. We also may be required to develop such new vendor relationships in response to changes in our supply chain. Even if we do identify such new vendors, we may experience product shortages and customer backorders as we transition our product requirements to incorporate alternative suppliers.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 17 |
Furthermore, our growth strategy includes expanding our product assortment, and our performance depends on our ability to purchase our merchandise in sufficient quantities at competitive prices. However, many of our key products are produced by artisans, specialty vendors and other vendors that are small, undercapitalized or that may have limited production capacity, and we have from time to time in prior periods experienced supply constraints that have affected our ability to supply high demand items or new products due to such capacity and other limits in our vendor base. A number of our vendors, particularly our artisan vendors, may have limited financial or other resources and operating histories and may receive various forms of credit from us, including with respect to payment terms or other arrangements. In some cases, we have advanced payments to vendors in order to assist a vendor in funding additional merchandise production to meet our orders. These advance payments are normally unsecured. Vendors may become insolvent and their failure to repay our advances, and any failure to deliver products to us, could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. Because the arrangements with our vendors are generally not exclusive, many of our vendors might be able to sell similar or identical products to our competitors or directly to consumers. Our competitors may enter into arrangements with suppliers that could impair our ability to sell those suppliers’ products, including by requiring suppliers to enter into exclusive arrangements, which could limit our ability to enter into arrangements with such suppliers or otherwise access their products. Such competitors may also purchase products in significantly greater volume that we do, which may enable them to sell the products at reduced cost or flood the market with similar products. Any difficulties that we experience in our ability to obtain products in sufficient quality and quantity from our vendors could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our results may be adversely affected by fluctuations in raw materials, energy and transportation costs and currency exchange rates.
Increases in the prices of the components and raw materials used in our products and other costs such as transportation could negatively affect the sales of our merchandise and our product margins. For example, in recent periods the cost of our products have come under pressure from increased prices for raw materials and shipping and other costs including in part as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our business may also be affected by changes in currency exchange rates and as we expand our business internationally, we may be increasingly exposed to risks related to currency values. Changes in prices for raw materials, energy and transportation and fluctuations in exchange rates are dependent on a number of factors beyond our control, including macroeconomic factors that may affect commodity prices (including prices for oil, lumber and cotton); changes in supply and demand; general economic conditions; inflation; significant political events; labor costs; duties and tariffs and other similar factors. Depending on the nature of changes in these different factors that affect our business, we may experience an adverse impact on our business for different reasons including increased costs of operation or lower demand for our products. Changes in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies, including the Chinese Yuan, may increase our vendors’ cost of business and ultimately our cost of goods sold and our selling, general and administrative costs. If we are unable to pass such cost increases on to our customers or the higher cost of the products results in decreased demand for our products, our results of operations could be harmed.
We are subject to risks associated with occupying substantial amounts of space, including future increases in occupancy costs. We are pursuing various alternatives to traditional leasing of our Gallery locations that may subject us to a range of risks related to real estate development including risks related to construction and development of locations, risks related to the financing of commercial real estate and the market for commercial real estate.
We lease nearly all of our retail store locations, our outlet stores, our corporate headquarters, other storage and office space, and our distribution and home delivery facilities. The initial lease term of our retail locations generally ranges from ten to fifteen years, and certain leases contain renewal options for anywhere from ten to twenty-five years. The initial lease term for one of our future Design Galleries is forty-six years and contains a renewal option for five years. Most leases for our retail locations provide for a minimum rent, typically including escalating rent amounts, plus a percentage rent based upon sales after certain minimum thresholds are achieved, as well as common area maintenance charges, real property insurance and real estate taxes.
18 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
We are currently pursuing several other models for the transformation of our real estate beyond a traditional leasing approach including a real estate development model, a joint venture model and a capital light model. While these alternative models are designed to achieve superior financial returns to traditional real estate lease structures for a retail business, some of these new ways of operation will expose us to a range of different risks. Various aspects of our multi-tier real estate strategy may expose us to new forms of risk versus our traditional leasing model. Our strategies include (1) our “capital light” leasing deals, where a substantial portion of the capital requirement would be funded by the landlord; (2) our real estate development model where we expect either to do a sale-leaseback transaction or to pre-sell the property and structure the transaction such that the capital to build the project is advanced by the buyer during construction; and (3) various joint venture approaches, where we share the upside of the development with third parties including the developer/landlord.
In fiscal 2020, we entered into equity method investments in connection with real estate development initiatives in Aspen, Colorado. The investments include properties that will be developed into retail locations, hospitality concepts, residential developments and workforce housing projects. We have also selected Aspen as the location to develop the first RH Ecosystem inclusive of an RH Bespoke Gallery, RH Guesthouse, RH Bath House & Spa, RH Restaurants and our first RH Residences. We plan to operate the RH branded businesses and be a real estate investor and partner for the remaining properties.
These new approaches might cause us to pursue complicated real estate transactions and may require additional capital investment and could present different risks related to the ownership and developments of real estate compared to those risks associated with a traditional store lease with a landlord, including greater financial exposure if our plans for the relevant real estate are not as successful as we originally anticipate or if the value of the real estate we acquire or invest in subsequently decreases. Pursuing multiple different paths for addressing our real estate needs may create various other risks including increased complexity and challenges related to the time and costs of real estate development and construction as well as the need for additional capital and risks related to resale of real estate projects. These risks could distract our senior leadership team’s focus, strain our operational resources and personnel, or expose us to new regulatory or tax regimes in which we must develop expertise.
Several of our new real estate development strategies expose us to additional risks related to operating in commercial real estate from a development perspective. Such risks include the cost and financing of the acquisition of real estate interests, market risks related to real estate prices, the time and costs related to developing real estate projects including construction and development risks and other factors that affect the commercial real estate industry more generally. We have not historically operated directly in all phases of real estate development including managing all aspects of construction of large scale real estate projects. With respect to projects such as the future Gallery and Guesthouse in Aspen, we are broadly undertaking increased development risk with respect to our real estate investments and these risks could increase our financial exposure to development cost overruns or other negative factors stemming from these real estate development efforts. Although our strategy in assuming greater risk and responsibility for real estate development in certain projects such as the Aspen project is designed to achieve greater financial returns and a higher overall return on investment, we could face increased downside risks if we encounter difficulties in implementing these strategies such as cost overruns or delays in construction.
If we decide to close an existing or future store, we may nonetheless have continuing obligations with respect to that property pursuant to the applicable lease or ownership arrangements, including, among other things, paying the base rent for the balance of the lease term. Our ability to re-negotiate favorable terms on an expiring lease, to arrange for the sale of an owned property or to negotiate favorable terms for a suitable alternate location could depend on conditions in the real estate market, competition for desirable properties, our relationships with current and prospective landlords and other factors that are not within our control. Our inability to enter into new leases or renew existing leases on terms acceptable to us or be released from our obligations under leases or other obligations for stores that we close could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 19 |
A number of factors that affect our ability to successfully open new stores within the time frames we initially target or optimize our store footprint are beyond our control, and these factors may harm our ability to execute our strategy to transform our real estate, which may negatively affect our results of operations.
We are focused on sizing our assortments and our stores to the potential of the market by adjusting the square footage and number of stores on a geographic market-by-market basis. We plan to optimize our real estate by continuing to open larger square footage Galleries in key markets and relocating or closing selected stores in these or adjacent markets. In addition, we have developed prototype Design Galleries that are suited to many smaller North American markets, we intend to continue to open indigenous Bespoke Galleries in the second home markets such as our initiative in Aspen, Colorado, and we intend to open larger Bespoke Design Galleries in the top international markets. When we address the introduction of new stores in a particular market or changes to, or closure of, existing stores, we must make a series of decisions regarding the size and location of new stores (or the existing stores slated to undergo changes or closure) and the impact on our other existing stores in the area or being without presence or “out of the market.”
Our ability to maximize the productivity of our retail store base, depends on many factors, including, among others, our ability to:
identify suitable locations, the availability of which is largely outside of our control;
size the store locations to the market opportunity;
retain customers in a certain geographic market when we close stores in such market or an adjacent market;
negotiate acceptable new lease terms or lease renewals, modifications or terminations;
efficiently build and equip new stores or remodel existing locations;
source sufficient levels of inventory to meet the needs of changes in our store footprint in a timely manner;
successfully integrate changes in our store base into our existing operations and information technology systems;
obtain or maintain adequate capital resources on acceptable terms;
avoid construction or local permit delays, construction accidents and injuries and cost overruns in connection with the opening of new stores or the expansion or remodeling of existing stores;
maintain adequate distribution facilities, information systems and other operational systems to serve our new stores and remodeled stores; and
address competitive, merchandising, marketing, distribution and other challenges encountered in connection with expansion into new geographic areas and markets.
We have experienced delays in opening some new stores and may experience further delays in the future. We also have incurred higher levels of capital and other expenditures associated with the opening of some of our new Gallery locations. In addition, construction costs and the price of building materials related to construction have experienced substantial price increases in recent years. While we are adopting various measures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our real estate development efforts with respect to opening new Galleries, the strategies may not be effective and may not have the effects that we anticipate. Any of the above challenges or other similar impediments could delay or prevent us from completing store openings and adversely affect the return on investment that we target from these initiatives. To the extent that we experience delays in the opening of a store or cost overruns, our results of operations will be negatively affected as we could incur various costs during a delay without associated store revenue at such location and such delays and increased costs could impact our overall return on investment and profit goals for some locations. Unfavorable economic and business conditions and other events could also interfere with our plans to expand or modify store footprints. Changes in regulation or increases in building or construction costs including with respect to the cost of building materials could result in unanticipated increases in real estate development costs or delays in the completion of our real estate projects. Our failure to effectively address challenges such as those listed above could adversely affect our ability to successfully open new stores or change our store footprint in a timely and cost-effective manner and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
20 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
Reductions in the volume of mall and other in-store traffic or the closing of shopping malls as a result of changing demographic patterns could adversely affect our sales.
Although many of our most recently opened Design Galleries are developed outside of the shopping mall setting, a significant portion of our existing footprint of legacy Galleries is currently located in shopping malls. Sales at stores located in malls are derived, in part, from the volume of traffic in those malls. These stores benefit from the ability of the malls to generate consumer traffic in the vicinity of our stores and the continuing popularity of the malls as shopping destinations and positive experiences. However, in recent years there has been a shift in consumer preferences to purchasing certain products online rather than in stores. The decline in shopping malls may in turn adversely affect the financial health of other retailers and mall operators leading to store closures and a decline in the productivity of mall shopping environments due to the network effect of mall operations. A continuation of adverse trends affecting mall operations could have a negative impact on the sales generated by our stores currently located in shopping malls.
If we are unable to successfully optimize and operate our distribution centers, furniture home delivery centers and other aspects of our supply chain and customer delivery network, or if we are not able to fulfill orders and deliver our merchandise to our customers in an effective manner, our business and results of operations will be harmed.
Our business depends upon the successful operation of our distribution centers, furniture home delivery centers and other aspects of our supply chain and customer delivery network, as well as upon our order management and fulfillment services and the re-stocking of certain inventories within our stores. The efficient flow of our merchandise requires that our facilities have adequate capacity to support our current level of operations and any anticipated increased levels that may follow from any growth of our business.
We are currently engaged in efforts to improve the quality of our customer experience, which includes making changes to the way in which we operate our distributions centers, furniture home delivery centers and other aspects of our supply chain and customer delivery network. Additionally, we are in the process of architecting and implementing a new fully integrated back-end operating platform, inclusive of the supply chain network, the home delivery experience as well as a new metric driven quality system and enhanced corporate decision data. Some of these efforts may require us to make significant expenditures in periods in the near term, which may also have a negative effect on our results of operations if there is no associated increase in revenues or decrease in returns or if any such effect is less than anticipated. There can be no assurance however that any of these efforts will be successful or that we will not encounter additional difficulties in achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction.
We are also engaged in initiatives to rationalize our SKU count, and in order to realize the anticipated benefits of such initiatives, including through lower inventories and reduced working capital, we have focused on optimizing the use of our distribution centers, furniture home delivery centers and outlets. For example, we have consolidated our distribution center network and we are in the process of opening new outlet and home delivery center locations and reconfiguring our furniture home delivery centers and outlets in order to streamline our operations. While we believe that optimizing and consolidating our distribution centers and other aspects of our supply chain and customer delivery network will allow us to more efficiently manage our inventory and optimize our uses of capital, in the short term such strategy may result in additional costs, including increased freight costs and lease early termination fees. Furthermore, in the past, during periods of significant customer growth and demand, we have found that our distribution centers often run at capacity. If we fail to accurately anticipate the future capacity requirements of our distribution centers, we may experience delays and difficulties in fulfilling orders and delivering merchandise to customers in a timely manner. Furthermore, we may be unable to remedy such issues quickly as opening additional distribution and home delivery facilities can face operational difficulties, such as disruptions in transitioning fulfillment orders to the new distribution facilities, competition for distribution facility space and problems associated with operating new facilities or reducing the size and changing functions of existing facilities. These difficulties can result in a negative experience for our customers. Any delays in fulfilling orders and delivering merchandise to customers, or related negative experience of our customers, could harm our results of operations.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 21 |
We currently rely upon independent third-party transportation providers for the majority of our product shipments, which subjects us to certain risks.
We currently rely upon independent third-party transportation providers for product shipments from our vendors to our stores and to our customers outside of certain areas. Our utilization of third-party delivery services for shipments is subject to risks, including increases in fuel prices, which would increase our shipping costs, as well as strikes, work stoppages and inclement weather, which may impact shipping companies’ abilities to provide delivery services that adequately meet our shipping needs. For example, strikes or even threat of strikes involving longshoreman and clerical workers at ports in the past have completely shut down such ports for periods of time, impacting retail and other industries. If we change shipping companies, we could face logistical difficulties that could adversely affect deliveries and we would incur costs and expend resources in connection with such change. Moreover, we may not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those received from the third-party transportation providers we currently use, which in turn would increase our costs.
Our operations have significant liquidity and capital requirements and depend on the availability of adequate financing and sources of capital on reasonable terms. We have elected to raise substantial amounts of capital through debt which exposes our business to risks related to obligations of indebtedness including the terms and conditions of debt financing and the need to manage our financial resources in order to repay such debt in accordance with its terms.
We have historically relied on the availability of debt financing as one primary source of capital in order to fund our operations, including borrowings under our revolving line of credit under our ABL Credit Agreement. We have also incurred indebtedness to finance other strategic initiatives, including our share repurchase programs, and we may continue to incur indebtedness to support such initiatives in future time periods.
We completed convertible debt financings in fiscal 2014 ($350 million), fiscal 2015 ($300 million), fiscal 2018 ($335 million) and fiscal 2019 ($350 million) for an aggregate principal amount of $1,335 million. We have completed repayment of the first two of these convertible notes financings in connection with their final maturity in an aggregate principal amount of $650 million. In addition, holders of a substantial portion of the remaining two series of convertible notes have elected to exercise the early conversion option applicable with respect to these convertible notes. We had $294 million remaining in aggregate principal amount of these remaining two series of convertible notes outstanding as of January 29, 2022. Based upon the strength in our common stock price, we expect that holders of these remaining two series of convertible notes may continue to elect early conversion of such notes in advanced of the scheduled maturity dates.
On October 20, 2021, RHI entered into a Term Loan Credit Agreement with respect to an initial term loan in an aggregate principal amount equal to $2.0 billion with a maturity date of October 20, 2028. Our existing indebtedness and any other indebtedness we may incur in the future could have significant consequences on our future operations and financial results, including:
making it more difficult for us to meet our payments and other obligations;
reducing the availability of our cash flows to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or strategic investments and other general corporate requirements, and limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for these or other purposes;
subjecting us to increased interest expense related to any indebtedness we may incur with variable interest rates;
limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to (and increasing our vulnerability to), changes in our business, the industry in which we operate and the general economy; and
placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt or are less leveraged.
Any of the foregoing factors could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or ability to meet our payment obligations.
Our ABL Credit Agreement and Term Loan Credit Agreement contain various restrictive covenants, including, among others, limitations on the ability to incur liens, make loans or other investments, incur additional debt, issue additional equity, merge or consolidate with or into another person, sell assets, pay dividends or make other distributions, or enter into transactions with affiliates. These restrictive covenants may limit the amount of borrowings available to us under our ABL Credit Agreement and our operational and financial flexibility. We may face financial and contractual consequences to the extent we are not able to maintain our compliance with such covenants, which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
22 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
We will have significant capital requirements for the operation of our business in the near term if we are to continue to pursue all of our current business initiatives. We have substantial capital requirements related to investments in our business, our real estate strategy, our international expansion, the development of new businesses and our significant number of concurrent initiatives. We have invested significant capital expenditures in remodeling and opening new Galleries, and these capital expenditures have increased in the past and may continue to increase in future periods as we open additional Design Galleries, which may require us to undertake upgrades to historical buildings or construction of new buildings. During fiscal 2021, our adjusted capital expenditures were $254 million, inclusive of cash received related to landlord tenant allowances of $22 million. The exact scope of our capital plans in future fiscal years, including fiscal 2022, will depend on a variety of factors including the level of gross capital expenditures that we undertake in our business, the amount of any proceeds from the sale of assets, including sales of real estate, and the way that our business performs. We may elect to pursue additional capital expenditures beyond those that are anticipated during any given fiscal period inasmuch as our strategy is to be opportunistic with respect to our investments and we may choose to pursue certain capital transactions based on the availability and timing of unique opportunities.
At various times we have elected to incur substantial levels of aggregate indebtedness in connection with our business including in connection with our share repurchase program. Although we have previously been successful in reducing such indebtedness due in part to the strong cash flow of our business, we may in the future elect to incur further debt in addition to the $2.0 billion of debt that we raised in October 2021 in connection with our Term Loan Credit Agreement. Existing and future increases in debt and in the aggregate level of our indebtedness could expose us to greater risks in the event of a financial or operational downturn or other events including unanticipated adverse developments that affect our financial performance or the ability to access financial markets. To the extent we pursue additional debt as a source of liquidity, our capitalization profile may change and may include significant leverage, and as a result we may be required to use future liquidity to repay such indebtedness and may be subject to additional terms and restrictions which affect our operations and future uses of capital. Our ability to raise funds will depend in part on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time and we cannot assure you that we will be able to raise necessary funds on favorable terms, if at all, or that future financing requirements would not be dilutive to holders of our capital stock. If we fail to raise sufficient additional funds, we may not be able to meet our payment obligations under our convertible senior notes and other debt obligations. We may also be required to delay or abandon some of our planned future expenditures or aspects of our current operations.
In addition, while we anticipate that we should be able to repay our debt maturities as they come due, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient financial resources at the maturity of any specific indebtedness, whether upon its stated maturity or otherwise. In particular, we may need to incur additional debt or refinance existing debt in order to achieve repayment of existing debt. If the Company is not able to arrange financing to repay its debt obligations, or to extend the maturities of existing debt or otherwise refinance the Company’s obligations as needed, we may experience a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
Our business is dependent on certain key personnel; if we lose key personnel or are unable to hire additional qualified personnel, our business may be harmed.
The success of our business depends upon our ability to retain continued service of certain key personnel, particularly our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gary Friedman, and our ability to attract and retain additional qualified key personnel in the future. We have experienced a number of changes in our senior leadership in recent years and face risks related to losses of key personnel and to any such changes that occur in key senior leadership positions. Any disruption in the services of our key personnel could make it more difficult to successfully operate our business and achieve our business goals and could adversely affect our results of operation and financial condition. These changes could also increase the volatility of our stock price.
Many of our key personnel periodically travel together while on company business. We do not have a policy that prohibits key officers and directors from flying together, whether flying commercially or in our corporate aircraft. We face risks related to any loss of key personnel that might arise as a result of such travel arrangements. In addition, we do not maintain key man life insurance policies on any of our key personnel. As a result, we may not be able to cover the financial loss we may incur in losing the services of any of our key personnel.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 23 |
Competition for qualified employees and personnel is intense, particularly in the retail and hospitality industry. In addition, the San Francisco Bay Area, where our headquarters are located, is a high cost of living location in which there is vigorous competition for qualified personnel. The process of identifying personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to carry out our goals is often lengthy and the cost of securing the right talent can be substantial. Our success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified senior leadership, marketing and sales personnel, and store managers, and upon the continued contributions of these people. In addition, our complex operations require the services of qualified and experienced senior leadership personnel, with expertise in the areas including information technology and supply chain management. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in attracting and retaining qualified executives and personnel. In addition, we are pursuing a dynamic business model which is subject to a number of new business initiatives as we seek to optimize our business and financial performance. As a result of the ongoing evolution of our business, we frequently implement changes to our organizational design in order to more closely align our senior leadership structure with the needs of the business. In connection with such changes to our senior leadership structure, we also implement changes in personnel and reductions in force as a result of which we may incur severance costs and other reorganization charges and expenses. Changes in our organizational structure may also have an impact on retention of personnel.
Inasmuch as our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain a sufficient number of store and other employees who understand and appreciate our corporate culture and customers. Turnover in the retail industry and food and beverage industry is generally high. Excessive employee turnover will result in higher employee costs associated with finding, hiring and training new store employees. If we are unable to hire and retain store and other personnel capable of consistently providing a high level of customer service, our ability to open new stores, service the needs of our customers and expand our food and beverage business may be impaired, the performance of our existing and new stores and operations could be materially adversely affected and our brand image may be negatively impacted.
Material damage to, or interruptions in, information systems as a result of external factors, staffing shortages, cybersecurity breaches or cyber fraud, or difficulties in updating our existing software or developing or implementing new software could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations, and we may be exposed to risks and costs associated with protecting the integrity and security of our customers’ information.
We depend largely upon our information technology systems in the conduct of all aspects of our operations, many of which we have only adopted and implemented within the past several years or are in the midst of implementing. These systems can be complex to develop, maintain, upgrade and protect against emerging threats, and we may fail to adequately hire or retain adequate personnel to manage our information systems, we may fail to accurately gauge the level of financial and managerial resources to invest in our information systems, or we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of resources invested in our information systems particularly as our business changes as a result of the many initiatives that we are pursuing. Any material interruptions or failures in our systems or the products or systems of our third party vendors or other third parties that we share data with may have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.
Over the last several years, there has been a substantial increase in the scope of reported cybersecurity attacks. During this time, we have experienced numerous cybersecurity attacks and have had to expend increasing amounts of human and financial capital to address this issue. We expect that these cybersecurity attacks will continue and that the scope of sophistication of these efforts may increase in future periods. While we aim to remediate known vulnerabilities on a timely basis, and to adopt countermeasures to address risks, we do not expect that our efforts will eliminate these risks or result in 100% success in thwarting attacks. Any failure to address vulnerabilities in a timely and comprehensive matter, including shortcomings in our efforts to timely replace and upgrade network equipment, servers, or other technology assets, could result in a successful breach of our systems.
Our operations are also dependent on the information technology systems and cybersecurity measures of third parties including our vendors, a number of whom have experienced cybersecurity attacks. In addition, our information systems can face risks to the extent we acquire new businesses but are not able to quickly or comprehensively integrate such acquired businesses into our policies and procedures for addressing cybersecurity risks or identify and address weaknesses in such acquired entity’s information systems, which risks may be compounded to the extent the information systems of an acquired entity are integrated with ours, thus providing access to a broader set of sensitive customer information through a compromised network at the acquired entity level.
24 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
In addition, for our business to function successfully, we and other market participants must be able to handle and transmit confidential and personal information securely, including in customer orders placed through our website. That information includes data about our customers, including personally identifiable information and credit card information, as well as sensitive information about our vendors and workforce, including social security numbers and bank account information. Various jurisdictions have enacted additional laws and regulations to protect consumers against identity theft, including laws governing treatment of personally identifiable information. For example, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which took effect in May 2018, and the California Consumer Privacy Act, which took effect in January 2020, impose stringent requirements on how we and third parties with whom we contract collect and process personal information, and provide for significant penalties for noncompliance. These laws have increased the costs of doing business and, if we fail to implement appropriate safeguards or we fail to detect and provide prompt notice of unauthorized access as required by some of these laws, we could be subject to potential claims for damages and other remedies. If we were required to pay any significant amount in satisfaction of claims under these laws, or if we were forced to cease our business operations for any length of time as a result of our inability to comply fully with any such law, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. We may also incur legal costs if we are required to defend our methods of collection, processing and storage of personal data. Investigations, lawsuits, or adverse publicity relating to our methods of handling personal data could result in increased costs and negative market reaction.
If our systems, or those of third parties on whom are business depends, are damaged, interrupted or subject to unauthorized access, information about our customers, vendors or workforce could be stolen or misused. Any security breach could expose us to risks of data loss, fines, litigation and liability and could seriously disrupt our operations and harm our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business. We may be subject to one or more claims or lawsuits related to the intentional or unintentional release of confidential or personal information, including personally identifiable information about our customers, vendors or workforce. In addition to the possibility of fines, lawsuits and other claims, we could be required to expend significant resources to change our business practices or modify our service offerings in connection with the protection of personally identifiable information, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Any breach could also cause consumers to lose confidence in the security of our website and information technology systems and choose not to purchase from us.
We are also subject to payment card association rules and network operating rules, including data security rules, certification requirements and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change over time. For example, we are subject to payment card industry data security standards, which contain compliance guidelines and standards with regard to our security surrounding the physical and electronic storage, processing and transmission of individual cardholder data. In addition, if our internal systems are breached or compromised, we may be liable for card re-issuance costs, subject to fines and higher transaction fees and lose our ability to accept credit and/or debit card payments from our members, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
We currently maintain insurance to protect against cybersecurity risks and incidents. However, there can be no assurance that such insurance coverage will be available in the future on commercially reasonable terms or at commercially reasonable rates. In addition, insurance coverage may be insufficient or may not cover certain cybersecurity losses and liability.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 25 |
We face product liability risks and certain of our products may be subject to recalls or other actions by regulatory authorities, and any such recalls or similar actions could have a material adverse effect on our business and reputation.
We face product liability, product safety and product compliance risks relating to the design, manufacturing, raw material sourcing, testing, contents, importation, sale, use and performance of some of our products. The products we sell must be designed and manufactured to be safe for their intended purposes. Some of our products must comply with certain federal and state laws and regulations. For example, some of our products are subject to the Consumer Product Safety Act, as amended by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the “CPSIA”) and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, which empower the Consumer Product Safety Commission (the “CPSC”) to establish product bans, substance bans, substance limits, performance requirements, test methods and other compliance verification processes. The CPSC is empowered to take action against hazards presented by consumer products, up to and including product recalls. We are required to report certain incidents related to the safety and compliance of our products to the CPSC, and failure to do so could result in a civil penalty. The CPSC is particularly active in regulation and enforcement activities related to the kinds of children’s products sold in our RH Baby & Child division. Certain of the products we sell are subject to the Lacey Act, prohibiting the importation and sale of products containing illegally harvested wood, among other things. Likewise, many of our products are subject to the regulations of the California Air Resources Board (the “CARB”) and the Environmental Protection Agency regarding formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products (e.g., plywood and medium density fiberboard). If we experience negative publicity, regardless of any factual basis, customer complaints or litigation alleging illness or injury, related to our products, or if there are allegations of failure to comply with applicable regulations, our brand reputation would be harmed.
We maintain a product safety and compliance program to help ensure our products are safe, legal and made consistently in compliance with our values. Nevertheless, our products have in the past (including during fiscal 2021) been, and may in the future be, subject to recall for product safety and compliance reasons. Our efforts to address the sources of these product recalls, including those due to products sourced from our vendors, may not be successful and we may continue to face additional product recalls. Concerns of product safety and compliance could result in future voluntary or involuntary removal of products, product recalls, other actions by applicable government authorities or product liability, personal injury or property damage claims. To the extent future product recalls create a negative public perception of our business, we could face reputational harm or could be subject to elevated levels of legal claims. There can be no assurance that we will have the benefit of adequate insurance or payments from third parties including our product vendors in order to address losses and expenses that we may incur in connection with product recalls. Not all of the costs and expenses that we have previously incurred in connection with product recalls have been covered by insurance or reimbursement from third parties including our product vendors. We and our product vendors may be unable to obtain such insurance or the insurance may be prohibitively expensive and any coverage that is available may be inadequate to cover costs we incur in connection with product recalls.
Legislators and regulators in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., where our products are sold, continue to adopt new product laws and regulations. These new laws and regulations have increased or likely will increase the regulatory requirements governing the manufacture and sale of certain of our products as well as the potential penalties for noncompliance. In addition, product recalls, removal of products, product compliance enforcement actions and defending product liability claims can result in, among other things, lost sales, diverted resources, potential harm to our reputation and increased customer service costs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We are involved in legal and regulatory proceedings from time to time that may affect our Company and/or our senior leadership including litigation, claims, investigations and regulatory and other proceedings, which could distract senior leadership from our business activities and result in significant liability.
From time to time, we and/or members of our senior leadership team are involved in legal and regulatory proceedings including litigation, claims, investigations and regulatory and other proceedings related to a range of matters in connection with the conduct of our business, including (i) privacy and data security, (ii) our labor and employment practices, including laws related to discrimination, wages and benefits, ERISA and disability claims, (iii) intellectual property issues with respect to copyright, trademarks, patents and trade dress, (iv) trade and business practices including unfair competition and unfair business practices, (v) consumer class action claims relating to our consumer practices including the collection of zip code or other information from customers, (vi) product safety and compliance including products liability, product recalls personal injury, (vii) advertising and promotion of products and services, including class actions and regulatory actions related to advertising, (viii) compliance with securities laws including class actions related to allegations of securities fraud, (ix) taxation, (x) contractual disputes, and (xi) health and safety regulations.
26 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
Claims and legal proceedings may involve arbitration, mediation, private litigation, class action matters, derivative claims, internal and governmental investigations and enforcement matters. We are subject to regulatory oversight and legal enforcement by a range of government and self-regulatory organizations including federal, state and local governmental bodies both within the U.S. and in other jurisdictions where we operate such as, among others, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the CPSC, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Labor, the SEC, FINRA, the NYSE, the Department of Justice and numerous state and local governmental authorities including state attorney generals and state agencies. Litigation against us, depending on the outcome of such claims, could lead to further claims and proceedings including on new and otherwise unrelated matters, for example by attracting the attention of plaintiff’s firms or of regulators.
In the past we have faced certain securities litigation matters, including securities class action cases that were consolidated by the court (the “Class Action Case”) and certain related legal proceedings (collectively, the “Derivative Case”)and various governmental investigations including with respect to trading in our securities. We settled the Class Action Case, and the court granted final approval of the Class Action Case settlement on October 25, 2019 and entered a final judgment dismissing the action, and such settlement has been funded entirely by our insurance carriers. On March 24, 2020, we reached an agreement in principle to settle the Derivative Case and subsequently entered into a stipulation of settlement that was preliminarily approved by the Court on August 3, 2020. The settlement involved certain non-monetary terms as well as payment of the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ legal fees, which payment was funded entirely by our insurance carriers. On October 6, 2020, the Court held a final settlement hearing. On December 18, 2020, the court granted final approval of the settlement and entered a final judgment dismissing the action.
Legal proceedings and investigations often involve complex factual, legal and other issues, which are subject to risks and uncertainties and which could require significant leadership time that could otherwise be focused on our operations. Furthermore, legal proceedings and investigations where the related matters under review involve members of our leadership team could distract our senior leadership from the operation of our business, damage the reputation of our leadership team and otherwise materially adversely affect our operations and leadership morale. Litigation, investigation and other claims and regulatory proceedings against or involving members of our senior leadership team or us could result in unexpected expenses and liability and could also materially adversely affect our operations and our reputation. We maintain insurance for legal proceedings but there can be no assurance that such insurance will be available for the payment of all or any portion of the costs associated with any particular investigation, legal proceedings or other claims against us, or that coverage under any such insurance will be adequate to fund the full cost of any such legal proceedings including the costs of investigation, defense and resolution of any such legal proceedings.
Intellectual property claims by third parties or our failure or inability to protect our intellectual property rights could diminish the value of our brand and weaken our competitive position.
Third parties have in the past asserted, and may in the future assert, intellectual property claims against us, particularly as we expand our business to include new products and product categories, and expand in new geographic markets, where intellectual property laws and rights differ. Our defense of any claim, regardless of its merit, could be expensive and time consuming and could divert senior leadership resources. Successful infringement claims against us could result in significant monetary liability and prevent us from selling some of our products or using some of our trademarks in certain geographic markets. In addition, resolution of claims may require us to redesign some of our products, license rights from third parties or stop selling some of our products altogether, or to cease using some of our trademarks, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We currently rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, patent, trade dress and unfair competition laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and licensing arrangements, to establish and protect our intellectual property rights. We believe that our trademarks, copyrights (including in photographs, Source Books and our website), and other proprietary rights have significant value and are important to identifying and differentiating our brand and certain of our products from those of our competitors and creating and sustaining demand for certain of our products. We have from time to time encountered other retailers selling products substantially similar to our products or misrepresenting that the products such retailers were selling were our products. We cannot assure you that the steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property rights will be adequate to prevent infringement of our rights by others, including imitation of our products and misappropriation of our images and brand, particularly in jurisdictions that do not have strong intellectual property protection or in which we do not have strong rights. The costs of defending and enforcing our intellectual property assets may incur significant time and legal expense, and we may not be entirely successful in protecting our assets, enforcing our rights or collecting on judgments as a prevailing party. If we are unable to protect and maintain our intellectual property rights, the value of our brand could be diminished and our competitive position could suffer.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 27 |
Compliance with laws, including laws relating to our business activities outside of the U.S., may be costly, and changes in laws could make conducting our business more expensive or otherwise change the way we do business.
We are subject to numerous regulations, including labor and employment, customs, truth-in-advertising, consumer protection, e-commerce, privacy, health and safety, real estate, environmental and zoning and occupancy laws, intellectual property laws and other laws and regulations that regulate retailers, food and beverage providers or otherwise govern our business. In addition, to the extent we expand our operations as a result of engaging in new business initiatives or product lines, pursuing our multi-tier real estate strategy or expanding into new international markets, we may become subject to new regulations and regulatory regimes. We may need to continually reassess our compliance procedures, personnel levels and regulatory framework in order to keep pace with the numerous business initiatives that we are pursuing, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in doing so. If the regulations applicable to our business operations were to change or were violated by us or our vendors or buying agents, the costs of certain goods could increase, or we could experience delays in shipments of our goods, be subject to fines or penalties, or suffer reputational harm, which could reduce demand for our products and harm our business and results of operations. In addition to increased regulatory compliance requirements, changes in laws could make ordinary conduct of our business more expensive or require us to change the way we do business. In addition, as a retail business, changes in laws related to employee benefits and treatment of employees, including laws related to limitations on employee hours, supervisory status, leaves of absence, mandated health benefits or overtime pay, could negatively impact us by increasing compensation and benefits costs for overtime and medical expenses. Changes to U.S. health care laws, or potential global and domestic greenhouse gas emission requirements and other environmental legislation and regulations, could result in increased direct compliance costs for us (or may cause our vendors to raise the prices they charge us in order to maintain profitable operations because of increased compliance costs), increased transportation costs or reduced availability of raw materials.
The foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that are applicable to our operations are complex and may increase the costs of regulatory compliance, or limit or restrict the products or services we sell or subject our business to the possibility of regulatory actions or proceedings. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other similar laws and regulations, generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign governmental officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. While our policies mandate compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including anti-bribery laws and other anti-corruption laws, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in preventing our employees or other agents from taking actions in violation of these laws or regulations. Such violations, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Labor organizing and other activities could negatively impact us.
Currently, none of our employees are represented by a union. However, our employees have the right at any time to form or affiliate with a union, and union organizational activities have occurred from time to time. We cannot predict the negative effects that any future organizing activities will have on our business and operations. If we were to become subject to work stoppages, we could experience disruption in our operations and increases in our labor costs, either of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, one of our key value-driving strategies involves the development and introduction of new Gallery locations. We pursue a range of different real estate development models for these projects. In a number of these projects, we perform a significant role in various aspects of the design and construction of the Gallery location. Both we and third party contractors that we use in these construction projects may be subject to efforts and activities by organized labor to drive the hiring of union labor on these projects. To the extent that union workers are not involved in these projects, we and our third party contractors may be subject to picketing and other labor actions that could affect our business including protests in front of our Gallery locations in order to discourage our customers from entering our stores, which could adversely affect our business at those locations and our results of operations, including our same-store sales metrics. In addition, to the extent that we become more directly involved in additional aspects of the construction work at our Gallery locations, we could be subject to additional pressure from organized labor including union organizing efforts.
28 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
Fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate and realization of our deferred tax assets, including net operating loss carryforwards, may result in volatility of our results of operations.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions. We record income tax expense based on our estimates of future payments, which include reserves for uncertain tax positions in multiple tax jurisdictions, and valuation allowances related to certain net deferred tax assets, including net operating loss carryforwards. At any one time, many tax years are subject to audit by various taxing jurisdictions. The results of these audits and negotiations with taxing authorities may affect the ultimate settlement of these issues. We expect that throughout the year there could be ongoing variability in our quarterly tax rates as events occur and exposures are evaluated. In addition, our effective tax rate in a given financial statement period may be materially impacted by changes in the mix and level of earnings, timing of the utilization of net operating loss carryforwards, changes in the valuation allowance for deferred taxes or by changes to existing accounting rules or regulations.
Changes to accounting rules or regulations may adversely affect our results of operations.
New accounting rules or regulations and varying interpretations of existing accounting rules or regulations have occurred and may occur in the future. It is difficult to predict the impact of future changes to accounting principles or current accounting practice and the exact impact of such changes may not be what we anticipate. A change in accounting rules or regulations may even affect our reporting of transactions completed before the change is effective and future changes to accounting rules or regulations or the questioning of current accounting practices may adversely affect our results of operations. For example, we adopted Accounting Standards Update 2016-02—Leases (Topic 842) in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, the adoption of which materially impacted our financial statements including (i) our consolidated balance sheets due to the initial recognition of right of use assets and lease liabilities for our operating and finance lease arrangements, (ii) our consolidated statements of income, specifically cost of goods sold and interest expense—net, primarily due to the change from the build-to-suit lease transactions under the previous accounting guidance to the new finance lease classification treatment, and (iii) our cash flows due to amortization and interest expense for our operating and finance lease arrangements and classification of landlord assets under construction. For information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements, refer to “Recently Issued Accounting Standards” within Note 3—Significant Accounting Policies in our consolidated financial statements within Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We may be unsuccessful in identifying attractive acquisition opportunities or, to the extent that we pursue attractive acquisition opportunities, we may be unsuccessful in completing or realizing the expected benefits of such acquisitions.
As part of exploring growth opportunities, we may from time to time seek to acquire value-creating, add-on businesses that we believe will broaden our existing position and market reach and have completed several different acquisitions in recent years. For example, in fiscal 2016, we acquired a controlling interest in Waterworks. In the fourth quarters of fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017, we recorded goodwill impairment charges of $17 million and $34 million, respectively, with respect to Waterworks due to indicators identified in the fourth quarters of fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017 that there could be an impairment of the Waterworks reporting unit. In addition, in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, we recorded tradename impairment charges of $20 million and $15 million, respectively, with respect to Waterworks due to indicators identified in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 that there could be an impairment of the Waterworks reporting unit. Refer to Note 3—Significant Accounting Policies in our consolidated financial statements within Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. There can be no assurance that the Waterworks business will meet its future operating or financial objectives and if its results do not improve we may recognize additional charges related to this business and our financial results of operation may be adversely affected. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that in the future we will be able to find suitable businesses to purchase if we choose to acquire additional businesses, that we will be able to acquire such businesses on acceptable terms, that we will be successful in realizing the benefits of any acquisition we pursue or that any of the businesses which we acquire will meet our objectives. If we are unsuccessful in any such acquisition efforts, then our ability to continue to grow at rates we anticipate could be adversely affected. The success of any completed acquisition will depend on our ability to effectively manage the business after the acquisition.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 29 |
Our total assets include intangible assets with an indefinite life, goodwill, tradename, trademarks, and other intellectual property, and substantial amounts of long-lived assets, principally property and equipment and lease right-of-use assets. Changes to estimates or projections used to assess the fair value of these assets, or results of operations that are lower than our current estimates at certain store locations, may cause us to incur impairment charges that could adversely affect our results of operations.
Our total assets include intangible assets with an indefinite life, goodwill, tradename, trademarks and domain names, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and substantial amounts of property and equipment and lease right-of-use assets. We evaluate these long-lived assets for possible impairment annually or earlier if impairment indicators exist and make certain estimates and projections in connection with the impairment analyses for these long-lived assets. We also review the carrying value of these assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. We will record an impairment loss when the carrying value of the underlying asset, asset group or reporting unit exceeds its fair value. These calculations require us to make a number of estimates and projections of future results. If these estimates or projections change, we may be required to record additional impairment charges on certain of these assets. If these impairment charges were significant, our results of operations would be adversely affected. Refer to “Impairment” within Note 3—Significant Accounting Policies in our consolidated financial statements within Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10 K.
If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting may be adversely affected.
We are subject to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), which requires us to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal control. We have in the past periodically experienced deficiencies in our internal controls that have been identified during the audit process or at other times. If we identify in the future one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Therefore, even if our senior leadership team concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is qualified if they are not satisfied with our controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated, or reviewed. Material weaknesses and significant deficiencies may be identified during the audit process or at other times.
Our reporting obligations as a public company place a significant strain on our senior leadership team and our operational and financial resources and systems and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In addition, we have experienced changes in personnel who are involved in our financial reporting. Although we believe that we have invested adequate resources in developing and maintaining the procedures, personnel and systems necessary to support our reporting obligations, there can be no assurance that these efforts have been or will be successful. Changes in personnel, systems or procedures, as well as other events might have an adverse impact on our internal controls. Deficiencies in our internal controls or other challenges in the financial reporting aspects of our business may have an adverse impact on our ability to provide financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting procedures and may give rise to errors in our financial statement. There can be no assurance that our internal controls and financial reporting infrastructure and personnel have in the past complied, or will continue in the future to comply, with our financial reporting obligations. If we fail to timely achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to produce reliable financial reports. Our failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could prevent us from filing our periodic reports on a timely basis, which could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, harm our business, and negatively impact the trading price of our common stock.
30 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
Our operations are subject to risks of natural or man-made disasters, acts of war, terrorism or widespread illness, any one of which could result in a business stoppage and negatively affect our results of operations.
Our business operations depend on our ability to maintain and protect our facilities, computer systems and personnel. Our operations and consumer spending may be affected by natural or man-made disasters or other similar events, including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, widespread illness, fires, loss of power, interruption of other utilities, industrial accidents, social unrest and riots. In particular, our corporate headquarters is located in Northern California and other parts of our operations are located in Northern and Southern California, each of which is vulnerable to the effects of disasters, including fires and earthquakes that could disrupt our operations and affect our results of operations, and there is evidence that extreme weather, extended drought and shifting climate patterns have intensified the frequency and severity of wildfires in California. Many of our vendors are also located in areas that may be affected by such events. Moreover, geopolitical or public safety conditions which affect consumer behavior and spending, economic conditions, global trade or overall business conditions may adversely affect our business. Terrorist attacks, armed conflict such as what has been occurring in Ukraine, or other hostilities, or threats thereof, in the U.S. or in other countries around the world, as well as future events occurring in response to or in connection with such events and circumstances, could again result in reduced levels of consumer spending or other adverse effects on business conditions. Any of these occurrences could have a significant impact on our results of operations, revenue and costs.
If in the future we encounter difficulties associated with any of our facilities, such as the disruptions we experienced related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or if any of our facilities were to shut down for any reason, including as a result of a natural disaster, we could face shortages of inventory resulting in backorders, significantly higher costs and longer lead times associated with distributing our products to both our stores and online customers and the inability to process orders in a timely manner or ship goods to our customers. Further, any significant interruption in the operation of our customer service centers could also reduce our ability to receive and process orders and provide products and services to our stores and customers, which could result in lost sales, cancelled sales and a loss of loyalty to our brand and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
Our common stock price may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance.
The market price for our common stock has experienced extreme volatility. As a retailer, our results are significantly affected by factors outside our control, particularly consumer spending and consumer confidence, which can significantly affect our stock price. In addition, the market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of other factors, including those described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, as well as the following:
macroeconomic conditions including inflation and factors affecting the housing market;
quarterly variations in our results of operations compared to market expectations;
changes in preferences of our customers;
announcements of new products or significant price reductions by us or our competitors;
size of our public float and the price per share of our common stock;
stock price performance of our competitors;
fluctuations in stock market prices and volumes;
default on our indebtedness;
actions by competitors or other shopping center tenants;
changes in senior leadership or key personnel;
changes in financial estimates by securities analysts or failure to meet their expectations;
actual or anticipated negative earnings or other announcements by us or other retail companies;
downgrades in our credit ratings or the credit ratings of our competitors;
natural or man-made disasters or other similar events including health issues such as COVID-19;
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 31 |
issuances or expected issuances of capital stock; and
global economic, legal and regulatory changes unrelated to our performance.
In the future, we may issue our securities in connection with financings or acquisitions. The amount of shares of our common stock issued in connection with financings or acquisitions could result in dilution to our shares of common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the price of our common stock and impair our ability to use common stock or other instruments linked to our common stock as a means of obtaining future financing.
In addition, stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many retail companies. Stockholders can institute securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. We have been subject to such class action securities litigation and may experience further claims of this kind. Any such securities litigation can result in substantial costs and expenses and the attention of our senior leadership could be diverted from our business.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law might discourage or delay acquisition attempts for us that you might consider favorable.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our Company more difficult without the approval of our board of directors. These provisions:
establish a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board of directors are elected at one time;
authorize the issuance of undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and the shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval, and which may include super voting, special approval, dividend or other rights or preferences superior to the rights of the holders of common stock;
prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which requires all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;
provide that our board of directors is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal our bylaws; and
establish advance notice requirements for nominations for elections to our board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings.
Our certificate of incorporation also contains a provision that provides us with protections similar to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), and prevents us from engaging in a business combination with a person who acquires at least 15% of our common stock for a period of three years from the date such person acquired such common stock unless board or stockholder approval is obtained prior to the acquisition, subject to certain exceptions. These anti-takeover provisions and other provisions under Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our Company, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions you desire.
We do not expect to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on shares of our common stock and do not anticipate that we will pay any such cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board of directors deems relevant. Accordingly, realization of a gain on your investment will depend on the appreciation of the price of our common stock, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends in the foreseeable future should not purchase our common stock.
32 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
We face various risks in connection with our share repurchase program.
We have previously allocated a substantial amount of capital to the repurchase of shares of our common stock in open market stock repurchases. Although we believe that such allocation of capital has been very beneficial to our investors, there can be no assurance that future decisions to allocate capital to the repurchase of our shares of common stock or other equity linked instruments will be a beneficial long-term decision for investors in our common stock. We may face a variety of risks associated with allocation of capital to repurchase of our securities including the incurrence of substantial indebtedness to fund such repurchases, the possibility that prices at which we purchase securities will not represent a good investment for our remaining securities holders or the possibility that we allocate capital to such repurchases would mean that adequate investments are not available for other aspects of our business. The amount, timing and execution of our share repurchase program from time to time may fluctuate based on our priorities for the use of cash for other purposes such as operational spending, capital spending, acquisitions or repayment of debt. Changes in our business operations and financial results, regulatory and other legal developments including potential changes in tax laws could also impact our share repurchase program and other capital activities.
Expectations of our company relating to environmental, social and governance factors may impose additional costs and expose us to new risks.
There is an increasing focus from certain investors, customers and other key stakeholders concerning corporate responsibility, specifically related to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors. We expect that an increased focus on ESG considerations will affect some aspects of our operations, particularly as we expand into new geographic markets. There are a number of constituencies that are involved in a range of ESG issues including investors, special interest groups, public and consumer interest groups and third party service providers. As a result, there is an increased emphasis on corporate responsibility ratings and a number of third parties provide reports on companies in order to measure and assess corporate responsibility performance. In addition, the ESG factors by which companies’ corporate responsibility practices are assessed may change in the U.S. and differ in our new geographic markets, which could result in greater expectations of us and cause us to undertake costly initiatives to satisfy such new criteria. Alternatively, if we are unable to satisfy such new criteria, investors may conclude that our policies with respect to corporate responsibility are inadequate. We risk damage to our brand and reputation in the event that our corporate responsibility procedures or standards do not meet the standards set by various constituencies. We may be required to make substantial investments in matters related to ESG which could require significant investment and impact our results of operations. Any failure in our decision-making or related investments in this regard could affect consumer perceptions as to our brand. Furthermore, if our competitors’ corporate responsibility performance is perceived to be greater than ours, potential or current investors may elect to invest with our competitors instead. In addition, in the event that we communicate certain initiatives and goals regarding ESG matters, we could fail, or be perceived to fail, in our achievement of such initiatives or goals, or we could be criticized for the scope of such initiatives or goals. If we fail to satisfy the expectations of investors and other key stakeholders or our initiatives are not executed as planned, our reputation and financial results could be materially and adversely affected.
We expect that our common stock may experience increased trading volatility in connection with our Convertible Notes Financings.
In September 2019, we issued $350 million of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2024 (the “2024 Notes”). In June 2018, we issued $300 million of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2023 and, on June 26, 2018, we issued an additional $35 million pursuant to the exercise of an overallotment option granted to the initial purchasers as part of the June 2018 offering (the “2023 Notes” and, together with the 2024 Notes, the “Notes”). In connection with each offering of the Notes, we entered into convertible note hedge transactions with certain counterparties (the “Bond Hedge”) and warrant transactions (the “Warrants” and together with the Notes and the Bond Hedge, the “Convertible Notes Financings”) with the same counterparties (the “hedge counterparties”).
We have been advised that, in connection with establishing their initial hedge positions with respect to the Bond Hedge and Warrants, the hedge counterparties and/or their affiliates would likely purchase shares of our common stock or enter into various derivative transactions with respect to our common stock concurrently with, or shortly after, the pricing of the Notes, including with certain investors in the Notes.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 33 |
In addition, we expect that many investors in, including future purchasers of, the Notes may employ, or seek to employ, a convertible arbitrage strategy with respect to the Notes. Investors could implement such a strategy by selling short the common stock underlying the Notes and dynamically adjusting their short position while continuing to hold the Notes. Investors may also implement this type of strategy by entering into swaps on our common stock in lieu of or in addition to short selling the common stock. Further, investors in the Notes may periodically modify their arbitrage strategies with respect to the Notes or modify their hedge positions with respect to the Notes from time to time. The hedge counterparties and/or their respective affiliates also may periodically modify their hedge positions from time to time (and are likely to do so during the conversion period relating to any conversion of the Notes or following any repurchase of Notes by us on any fundamental repurchase date or otherwise). Such modifications may be implemented by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock, and/or by purchasing or selling shares of our common stock or other securities of the Company in secondary market transactions and/or open market transactions. The effect, if any, of these transactions and activities on the market price of our common stock or the trading prices of the Notes (which could affect a noteholder’s ability to convert the Notes or the amount and value of the consideration received upon conversion of the Notes) will depend in part on market conditions and cannot be ascertained at this time.
It is not possible to predict the exact effect that these hedging or arbitrage strategies adopted by holders of the Notes or counterparties to the Bond Hedge and Warrants as well as other market participants will have on the market price of our common stock. These activities could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of our common stock or the Notes. The SEC and other regulatory and self-regulatory authorities have implemented various rules and taken certain actions, and may in the future adopt additional rules and take other actions, that may impact those engaging in short selling activity involving equity securities (including our common stock). Such rules and actions include Rule 201 of SEC Regulation SHO, the adoption by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. and the national securities exchanges of a “Limit Up-Limit Down” program, the imposition of market-wide circuit breakers that halt trading of securities for certain periods following specific market declines, and the implementation of certain regulatory reforms required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Any changes in government regulations or other factors that affect the manner in which third parties can engage in hedging strategies, including entering into short sales or swaps on our common stock, could adversely affect the trading prices and the liquidity of the Notes and/or our common stock.
Taken together, the Bond Hedge and Warrants are intended, but not guaranteed, to offset any actual earnings dilution that could occur upon delivery of shares of common stock to satisfy to our conversion obligation under the Notes until our stock price exceeds the strike price of the Warrants. For the 2024 Notes, the corresponding Bond Hedge and Warrants are intended to limit the earnings dilution that our stockholders would experience until the Company’s common stock is above approximately $338.24 per share, the strike price of the 2024 Notes warrant transactions, which represented a 100% premium over the closing price of our common stock at the time we entered into the Bond Hedge and Warrants related to the 2024 Notes. For the 2023 Notes, the corresponding Bond Hedge and Warrants are intended to limit the earnings dilution that our stockholders would experience until the Company’s common stock is above approximately $309.84 per share, the strike price of the 2023 Notes warrant transactions, which represented a 100% premium over the closing price of our common stock at the time we entered into the Bond Hedge and Warrants related to the 2023 Notes. To the extent that the share price for our common stock continues to trade above the applicable exercise price of each series of Warrants related to each series of Notes, these instruments will have a dilutive effect with respect to our common stock. A large amount of holders of the 2023 Notes and 2024 Notes have elected early conversion into shares of our common stock due to market conditions in which our common stock has traded at prices well in excess of the applicable conversion prices for such notes. Upon conversion of such notes, the applicable Bond Hedge with respect to such notes will be terminated while the corresponding Warrants will remain outstanding in accordance with the terms of the Warrants.
We do not make any representation or prediction as to the future direction or magnitude of any potential effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. In addition, we do not make any representation that the counterparties to those transactions will engage in these transactions or activities or that these transactions and activities, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice; the counterparties or their affiliates may choose to engage in, or discontinue engaging in, any of these transactions or activities with or without notice at any time, and their decisions will be in their sole discretion and not within our control.
34 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
We may issue additional shares of our common stock or instruments convertible into shares of our common stock, including in connection with the conversion of the Notes, and thereby materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the trading prices of the Notes.
We are not restricted from issuing additional shares of our common stock or other instruments convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, shares of our common stock during the life of each of the Notes. If we issue additional shares of our common stock or instruments convertible into shares of our common stock, it may materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock and, in turn, the trading prices of the Notes. In addition, the conversion of some or all of the Notes may dilute the ownership interests of existing holders of our common stock, and any sales in the public market of any shares of our common stock issuable upon such conversion of the Notes could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the anticipated conversion of the Notes could depress the market price of our common stock. For example, in fiscal 2020 we issued a substantial number of shares of common stock in settlement of the Warrants related to the $300 million of 0.00% convertible senior notes that were issued in June and July 2015.
The fundamental change provisions of the Notes and the terms of the Bond Hedge and Warrants may delay or hinder an otherwise beneficial takeover attempt of us.
The fundamental change purchase rights allow holders of the Notes to require us to purchase all or a portion of their Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change. The provisions of the indenture governing the Notes requiring an increase to the conversion rate for conversions in connection with a make-whole fundamental change, including certain corporate transactions such as a change in control, may result in a change in the value of the Notes. Additionally, upon certain change of control transactions, the offsetting Bond Hedge and Warrants that we entered into at the time we issued the Notes may be exercised and/or terminated early. As a result of these provisions, we may be required to make payments to, or renegotiate terms with, holders of the Notes and/or the hedge counterparties.
These features of the Notes and the Bond Hedge and Warrants, including the financial implications of any renegotiation of the above-mentioned provisions, could delay or prevent a change of control, whether or not it is desired by, or beneficial to, our stockholders, and may result in the acquisition of us being on terms less favorable to our stockholders than it would otherwise be, or could require us to pay a portion of the consideration available in such a transaction to holders of the Notes or Warrants or the counterparties to the Bond Hedge.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 35 |
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Leased Properties
As of January 29, 2022, we have approximately 1,981,000 leased gross square feet for 27 Design Galleries, 36 legacy Galleries, 1 RH Modern Gallery, 3 RH Baby & Child Galleries and 14 Waterworks Showrooms. We have approximately 1,190,000 leased gross square feet for 38 outlet stores as of January 29, 2022.
The following table summarizes the location and size of our leased fulfillment centers, home delivery center locations and corporate facilities occupied as of January 29, 2022:
|
LEASED SQUARE FOOTAGE |
|
LOCATION |
(Approximate) |
|
RH Furniture Fulfillment Centers |
|
|
Patterson, California |
|
1,501,000 |
Baltimore (North East), Maryland |
|
1,195,000 |
Ontario, California |
1,001,000 |
|
RH Small-Parcel Fulfillment Center |
|
|
West Jefferson, Ohio (1) |
|
1,224,000 |
Home Delivery Center Locations (2) |
|
1,304,000 |
Waterworks Fulfillment Center |
|
|
Brookfield, Connecticut |
|
160,000 |
Corporate Facilities |
|
|
Corte Madera, California (1) (3) |
|
263,000 |
Pinole, California (4) |
|
200,000 |
Danbury, Connecticut (5) |
|
26,000 |
Other |
|
240,000 |
(1) | Customer service center and home delivery operations are also performed at this location. |
(2) | Includes total approximate leased square footage for 21 separate home delivery center locations. |
(3) | Location of RH Headquarters. Includes approximately 10,000 square feet of warehouse space. |
(4) | Represents warehouse space. |
(5) | Location of Waterworks Headquarters. |
We believe that our current offices and facilities are in good condition, are being used productively and are adequate to meet our requirements for the foreseeable future.
For additional information regarding leases, refer to “Lease Accounting” within Note 3—Significant Accounting Policies and Note 11—Leases in our consolidated financial statements within Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Owned Property
We own four properties for current and future retail locations, including an approximate 5,400 square foot building that is the location of our Gallery in San Francisco’s Design District, an approximate 54,100 square foot building in England for a future Design Gallery, an approximate 22,100 square foot building in Morris Township, New Jersey for a future Design Gallery, and an approximate 12,500 square foot building in Birmingham, Michigan for a future Design Gallery. The owned properties are part of our RH Segment.
36 | FORM 10-K |
PART I |
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time, we and/or members of our senior leadership team are involved in litigation, claims, investigations and other proceedings relating to the conduct of our business, including purported class action litigation, as well as securities class action litigation. Such legal proceedings may include claims related to our employment practices, wage and hour claims, claims of intellectual property infringement, including with respect to trademarks and trade dress, claims asserting unfair competition and unfair business practices, claims with respect to our collection and sale of reproduction products, and consumer class action claims relating to our consumer practices including the collection of zip code or other information from customers. In addition, from time to time, we are subject to product liability and personal injury claims for the products that we sell and the stores we operate. Subject to certain exceptions, our purchase orders generally require the vendor to indemnify us against any product liability claims; however, if the vendor does not have insurance or becomes insolvent, we may not be indemnified. In addition, we could face a wide variety of employee claims against us, including general discrimination, privacy, labor and employment, ERISA and disability claims. Any claims could result in litigation against us and could also result in regulatory proceedings being brought against us by various federal and state agencies that regulate our business, including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Often these cases raise complex factual and legal issues, which are subject to risks and uncertainties and which could require significant senior leadership time. Litigation and other claims and regulatory proceedings against us could result in unexpected expenses and liability and could also materially adversely affect our operations and our reputation.
For additional information regarding legal proceedings including certain securities litigation, refer to Note 20—Commitments and Contingencies in our consolidated financial statements within Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART I |
FORM 10-K | 37 |
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information and Dividend Policy
Our common stock trades under the symbol “RH” on the NYSE.
The number of stockholders of record of our common stock as of January 29, 2022 was 15. This number excludes stockholders whose stock is held in nominee or street name by brokers.
No dividends have been declared or paid on our common stock. We do not currently anticipate that we will pay any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.
Stock Performance Graph
This performance graph shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of RH under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act.
The following graph and table compare the cumulative total stockholder return for our common stock during the five-year period ended January 29, 2022 in comparison to the NYSE Composite Index and the S&P Retailing Select Index, our peer group index. The graph and the table below assume that $100 was invested at the market close on January 27, 2017 in the common stock of RH, the NYSE Composite Index and the S&P Retailing Select Index. Data for the NYSE Composite Index and the S&P Retailing Select Index assumes reinvestments of dividends. The comparisons in the graph and table are required by the SEC and are not intended to be indicative of possible future performance of our common stock.
|
|
JANUARY 27, |
|
FEBRUARY 2, |
|
FEBRUARY 1, |
|
JANUARY 31, |
|
JANUARY 29, |
|
JANUARY 28, |
RH |
|
100.00 |
|
352.78 |
|
512.23 |
|
800.11 |
1,822.00 |
1,502.18 |
||
NYSE Composite Index |
|
100.00 |
|
115.97 |
|
109.27 |
|
120.66 |
127.60 |
145.33 |
||
S&P Retailing Select Index |
|
100.00 |
|
106.53 |
|
102.62 |
|
100.57 |
205.81 |
186.18 |
Repurchases of Common Stock
During the three months ended January 29, 2022, we repurchased the following shares of our common stock:
|
|
|
APPROXIMATE DOLLAR |
|||||
AVERAGE |
VALUE OF SHARES THAT |
|||||||
PURCHASE |
MAY YET BE |
|||||||
NUMBER OF |
PRICE PER |
PURCHASED UNDER THE |
||||||
SHARES (1) |
SHARE |
PLANS OR PROGRAMS (2) |
||||||
(in millions) |
||||||||
October 31, 2021 to November 27, 2021 |
|
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
450 |
||
November 28, 2021 to January 1, 2022 |
|
1,961 |
$ |
568.03 |
$ |
450 |
||
January 2, 2022 to January 29, 2022 |
|
378 |
$ |
535.94 |
$ |
450 |
||
Total |
|
2,339 |
|
|
(1) | Reflects shares withheld from delivery to satisfy exercise price and tax withholding obligations of employee recipients that occur upon the vesting of restricted stock units granted under our 2012 Stock Incentive Plan. |
(2) | Reflects the dollar value of shares that may yet be repurchased under the $950 Million Repurchase Program authorized by the Board of Directors on October 10, 2018 and replenished on March 25, 2019. There were no shares repurchased under this plan during the three months ended January 29, 2022. |
ITEM 6. RESERVED
Not applicable.
40 | FORM 10-K |
PART II |
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations (“MD&A”), contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Refer to “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Market Data” and Item 1A—Risk Factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions associated with these statements. MD&A should be read in conjunction with our historical consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto and the other disclosures contained elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The results of operations for the periods reflected herein are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for future periods, and our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to those listed in Item 1A—Risk Factors and included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The discussion of our financial condition and changes in our results of operations, liquidity and capital resources is presented in this section for fiscal 2021 and a comparison to fiscal 2020. The discussion for fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019 has been omitted from this Annual Report on Form 10-K, but is included in Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations on our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 30, 2021.
MD&A is a supplement to our consolidated financial statements within Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is provided to enhance an understanding of our results of operations and financial condition. Our MD&A is organized as follows:
Overview. This section provides a general description of our business, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and describes our key value-driving strategies.
Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations. This section discusses certain factors that affect our results of operations, including our strategic initiatives, our ability to source and distribute products effectively, consumer preferences and demand, overall economic trends and fluctuations in quarterly results.
How We Assess the Performance of Our Business. This section discusses financial and operating measures that affect our results of operations, including net revenues and demand, gross profit and gross margin, selling general and administrative expenses, adjusted operating income, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and adjusted capital expenditures.
Basis of Presentation and Results of Operations. These sections provide our consolidated statements of income and other financial and operating data, including a comparison of our results of operations in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020, as well as non-GAAP measures we use for financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons.
Liquidity and Capital Resources. This section provides an overview of our sources and uses of cash and our financing arrangements, including our credit facilities and debt arrangements, in addition to the cash requirements for our business, such as our capital expenditures.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates. This section discusses the accounting policies and estimates that involve a higher degree of judgment or complexity and are most significant to reporting our consolidated results of operations and financial position, including the significant estimates and judgments used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements. This section provides a summary of recent authoritative accounting pronouncements that were adopted during fiscal 2021 and that will be adopted in future periods.
PART II |
FORM 10-K | 41 |
Overview
We are a curator of design, taste and style in the luxury lifestyle market. Our curated and fully integrated assortments are presented consistently across our sales channels in sophisticated and unique lifestyle settings. We offer dominant merchandise assortments across a number of categories, including furniture, lighting, textiles, bathware, décor, outdoor and garden, and child and teen furnishings. Our retail business is fully integrated across our multiple channels of distribution, consisting of our retail locations, websites and Source Books. We position our Galleries as showrooms for our brand, while our websites and Source Books act as virtual and print extensions of our physical spaces. We operate our retail locations throughout the United States, Canada, and the U.K., and have an integrated RH Hospitality experience in 13 of our Design Gallery locations, which includes Restaurants and Wine Bars.
As of January 29, 2022, we operated the following number of Galleries, outlets and Showrooms:
COUNT |
||
RH |
||
Design Galleries |
27 |
|
Legacy Galleries |
36 |
|
Modern Galleries |
1 |
|
Baby & Child and TEEN Galleries |
3 |
|
Total Galleries |
67 |
|
Outlets |
38 |
|
Waterworks Showrooms |
14 |
For more information on our company and operations, refer to Item 1—Business.
COVID-19 Pandemic
We have experienced a significant improvement in our business during fiscal 2021 despite the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption it has caused in our business operations beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and throughout fiscal 2021. Our performance demonstrates both the desirability of our exclusive products and our ability to overcome supply chain challenges, including port delays, which impacted our ability to convert business demand into revenues at normal historical rates. We have continued to navigate changes in operational restrictions based upon changes in local conditions and regulations, and as pandemic-related restrictions continue to be lifted in fiscal 2022 we may see consumer spending patterns shift away from spending on the home and home-related categories, such as home furnishings, and consumers return to pre-COVID consumption trends, such as spending on travel and leisure, and other activities.
Key Value-Driving Strategies
In order to drive growth across our business, we are focused on the following long-term key strategies and business initiatives:
Product Elevation. We have built the most comprehensive and compelling collection of luxury home furnishings under one brand in the world. Our products are presented across multiple collections, categories and channels that we control, and their desirability and exclusivity has enabled us to achieve industry-leading revenues and margins. Our customers know our brand concepts as RH Interiors, RH Modern, RH Beach House, RH Ski House, RH Outdoor, RH Baby & Child, RH TEEN and Waterworks. Our strategy to elevate the design and quality of our product will continue as we introduce RH Contemporary in 2022. We also have plans to introduce RH Couture Upholstery, RH Bespoke Furniture and RH Color over the next several years.
42 | FORM 10-K |
PART II |
Gallery Transformation. Our product is elevated and rendered more valuable by our architecturally inspiring Galleries. We believe our strategy to open new Design Galleries in every major market will unlock the value of our vast assortment, generating a revenue opportunity for our business of $5 to $6 billion in North America. We believe we can significantly increase our sales by transforming our real estate platform from our existing legacy retail footprint to a portfolio of Design Galleries sized to the potential of each market and the size of our assortment. In addition, we plan to incorporate hospitality into most of the new Design Galleries that we open in the future, which further elevates and renders our product and brand more valuable. We believe hospitality has created a unique new retail experience that cannot be replicated online, and that the addition of hospitality drives incremental sales of home furnishings in these Galleries.
Brand Elevation. We are evolving the brand beyond curating and selling product to conceptualizing and selling spaces by building an ecosystem of Products, Places, Services and Spaces designed to elevate and render our product more valuable while establishing the RH brand as a thought leader, taste and place maker. We believe our seamlessly integrated ecosystem of immersive experiences inspires customers to dream, design, dine, travel and live in a world thoughtfully curated by RH, creating an impression and connection unlike any other brand in the world. Our hospitality efforts will continue to elevate the RH brand as we extend beyond the four walls of our Galleries into RH Guesthouses, where our goal is to create a new market for travelers seeking privacy and luxury in the $200 billion North American hotel industry. Additionally, we are creating bespoke experiences like RH Yountville, an integration of Food, Wine, Art & Design in the Napa Valley, RH1 & RH2, our private jets, and RH3, our luxury yacht that is available for charter in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, where the wealthy and affluent visit and vacation. These immersive experiences expose new and existing customers to our evolving authority in architecture, interior design and landscape architecture.
Digital Reimagination. Our strategy is to digitally reimagine the RH brand and business model both internally and externally. Internally our multi-year effort began with the reimagination of our Center of Innovation & Product Leadership to incorporate digitally integrated visuals and decision data designed to amplify the creative process from product ideation to product presentation. Externally our strategy is designed to come to life digitally as we launch The World of RH, an online portal where customers can explore and be inspired by the depth and dimension of our brand. The World of RH will include rich, immersive content with simplified navigation and search functionality, all designed to enhance the shopping experience and render our product and brand more valuable. We believe an opportunity exists to create similar strategic separation online as we have with our Galleries offline, reconceptualizing what a website can and should be.
Global Expansion. We believe that our luxury brand positioning and unique aesthetic have strong international appeal, and that the pursuit of global expansion will provide RH a substantial long-term market opportunity to build a $20 to $25 billion global brand over time. Our view is that the competitive environment globally is more fragmented and primed for disruption than the North American market, and there is no direct competitor of scale that possesses the product, operational platform and brand of RH. As such, we are actively pursuing the expansion of the RH brand globally with the objective of launching international locations in Europe, beginning in 2022 with the opening of RH England, The Gallery at the Historic Aynhoe Park. We have secured a number of locations in various markets in the United Kingdom and continental Europe for future Design Galleries and are in lease or purchase negotiations for additional locations.
Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
We have experienced a significant improvement in our business during fiscal 2021 despite the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption it has caused in our business operations beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and throughout fiscal 2021. Substantially all of our retail locations were open for most of fiscal 2021 and demand for our products has been strong, resulting in our record financial performance achieved in fiscal 2021. The emergence of new variants such as the “Delta” and “Omicron” variants have continued to present new challenges, especially constraints in our supply chain, including port delays, which have resulted in some delays in our ability to convert business demand into revenues at normal historical rates. We anticipate that the backlog of orders for merchandise from our vendors, coupled with business conditions related to the evolving nature of the pandemic, will continue to adversely affect the capacity of our vendors and supply chain to meet our merchandise demand levels for at least the next several quarters. Our performance demonstrates both the desirability of our exclusive products and our ability to overcome supply chain challenges that we continue to experience. For more information, refer to Item 1A—Risk Factors—The COVID-19 pandemic poses significant and widespread risks to our business as well as to the business environment and the markets in which we operate and Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Overview.
Apart from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business operations and on macroeconomic conditions, below are certain factors that affect our results of operations.
PART II |
FORM 10-K | 43 |
Our Strategic Initiatives. We are in the process of implementing a number of significant business initiatives that have had, and will continue to have, an impact on our results of operations.
As a result of the number of current business initiatives we are pursuing, we have experienced in the past and may experience in the future significant period-to-period variability in our financial performance and results of operations. While we anticipate that these initiatives will support the growth of our business, costs and timing issues associated with pursuing these initiatives can negatively affect our growth rates in the short term and may amplify fluctuations in our growth rates from quarter to quarter. Delays in the rate of opening new Galleries and in pursuit of our international expansion as a result of COVID-19 have resulted in delays in the corresponding increase in revenues that we experience as new Design Galleries are introduced. In addition, we anticipate that our net revenues, adjusted net income and other performance metrics will remain variable as our business model continues to emphasize high growth and numerous, concurrent and evolving business initiatives.
Our Ability to Source and Distribute Products Effectively. Our net revenues and gross profit are affected by our ability to purchase our merchandise in sufficient quantities at competitive prices. Our current and anticipated demand and our level of net revenues have been adversely affected in prior periods by constraints in our supply chain, including the inability of our vendors to produce sufficient quantities of some merchandise to match market demand from our customers, leading to higher levels of customer back orders and lost sales. For example, a number of our vendors have experienced delays in production and shipment of merchandise orders related to direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, as we introduce new products and expand our merchandise assortments into new categories, we expect to experience delays in the production of some new offerings, as we have had similar experiences during prior periods when we adopted substantial newness in our business such as with the introduction of RH Modern in 2015. During fiscal 2021 and 2020, the lag in manufacturing and inventory receipts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, together with dislocations in our supply chain, resulted in some delays in our ability to convert demand into revenues, and our global supply chain has not fully recovered from the impact of this dislocation. While we expect this dislocation to be resolved in the near term, there can be no assurance as to the exact course that the recovery in our supply chain will take and a number of factors could contribute to further complications in our supply chain, including COVID-19 developments in countries where our vendors produce merchandise. Based on total dollar volume of purchases for fiscal 2021, 69% of our products were sourced from Asia, with 34% sourced from China, 15% from the U.S. and the remainder from other countries and regions. For more information, refer to Item 1A—Risk Factors—The COVID-19 pandemic poses significant and widespread risks to our business as well as to the business environment and the markets in which we operate.
Consumer Preferences and Demand. Our ability to maintain our appeal to existing customers and attract new customers depends on our ability to originate, develop and offer a compelling product assortment responsive to customer preferences and design trends. We have successfully introduced a large number of new products in past periods, which we believe has been a contributing factor in our sales growth and results of operations. Periods in which our products have achieved strong customer acceptance generally have had more favorable results. If we misjudge the market for our products or the product lines that we acquire, we may be faced with excess inventories for some products and may be required to become more promotional in our selling activities, which would impact our net revenues and gross profit.
44 | FORM 10-K |
PART II |
Overall Economic Trends. The industry in which we operate is cyclical, and consequently our net revenues are affected by general economic conditions including conditions that affect the housing market. For example, reduced consumer confidence and lower availability and higher cost of consumer credit reduce demand for our products and limit our ability to increase prices or sustain price increases. We have determined that our customer purchasing patterns are influenced by economic factors including the health and volatility of the stock market. We have seen that previous declines in the stock market and periods of high volatility have correlated with a reduction in consumer demand for our products and may continue in future periods. We target consumers of high-end home furnishings. As a result, we believe that our sales are sensitive to a number of macroeconomic factors that influence consumer spending generally, but that our sales are particularly affected by the health of the higher-end customer and demand levels from that customer demographic. While the overall home furnishings market may be influenced by factors such as employment levels, interest rates, demographics of new household formation and the affordability of homes for the first-time home buyer, the higher-end of the housing market may be disproportionately influenced by other factors, including stock market prices, restrictions on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of second and third homes being bought and sold, the number of foreign buyers in higher-end real estate markets in the U.S., tax policies and interest rates, and the perceived prospect for capital appreciation in higher-end real estate. Shifts in consumption patterns linked to the reopening of businesses in light of improvements relating to the COVID-19 pandemic may also have an impact on consumer spending in the high-end housing market. We have in the past experienced volatility in our sales trends related to many of these factors and believe our sales may be impacted by these economic factors in future periods. These headwinds tied to macroeconomic factors may continue in future quarters. For more information, refer to Item 1A—Risk Factors—Changes in consumer spending and factors that influence spending of the specific categories of consumers that purchase from us, including the health of the high-end housing market, may significantly impact our revenue and results of operations and —The COVID-19 pandemic poses significant and widespread risks to our business as well as to the business environment and the markets in which we operate.
Fluctuation in Quarterly Results. Our quarterly results vary depending upon a variety of factors, including changes in our product offerings and the introduction of new merchandise assortments and categories, changes in retail locations, the timing of Source Book releases, and the extent of our realization of the costs and benefits of our numerous strategic initiatives, among other things. As a result of these factors, our working capital requirements and demands may fluctuate during the year. Unique factors in any given quarter may affect period-to-period comparisons, and the results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that we may achieve for a full fiscal year.
How We Assess the Performance of Our Business
In assessing the performance of our business, we consider a variety of financial and operating measures that affect our results of operations, including:
Net Revenues and Demand. Net revenues reflect our sale of merchandise plus shipping and handling revenue collected from our customers, less returns and discounts. Revenues are recognized when a customer obtains control of the merchandise. We collect annual membership fees related to the RH Members Program, which are recorded as deferred revenue when collected from customers and recognized as revenue based on expected product revenues over the annual membership period.
We also track “demand” in our business, which is a non-GAAP metric linked to the level of customer orders. Demand is an operating metric that we use in reference to the dollar value of orders placed (orders convert to net revenue upon a customer obtaining control of the merchandise) and excludes exchanges and shipping fees.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin. Gross profit is equal to our net revenues less cost of goods sold. Gross profit as a percentage of our net revenues is referred to as gross margin. Cost of goods sold includes the direct cost of purchased merchandise; inventory shrinkage, inventory adjustments due to obsolescence, including excess and slow-moving inventory and lower of cost or net realizable value reserves; inbound freight; all freight costs to get merchandise to our Galleries; design, buying and allocation costs; occupancy costs related to Gallery operations and our supply chain, such as rent and common area maintenance for our leases; depreciation and amortization of leasehold improvements, equipment and other assets in our Galleries and distribution centers. In addition, cost of goods sold includes all logistics costs associated with shipping product to our customers, which are partially offset by shipping income collected from customers (recorded in net revenues on the consolidated statements of income).
PART II |
FORM 10-K | 45 |
Our gross profit and gross margin can be favorably impacted by sales volume increases, as occupancy and certain other costs that are largely fixed do not necessarily increase proportionally with sales volume increases. Changes in the mix of our products may also impact our gross profit and gross margin. We review our inventory levels on an ongoing basis in order to identify slow-moving merchandise and use product markdowns and our outlets to efficiently sell these products. The timing and extent of markdowns are driven primarily by customer acceptance of our merchandise. The primary drivers of the costs of individual goods are raw materials costs, which fluctuate based on a number of factors beyond our control, including commodity prices, changes in supply and demand, general economic conditions, competition, import duties, tariffs and government regulation, logistics costs (which may increase in the event of, for example, expansions of or interruptions in the operation of our distribution centers, furniture home delivery centers and customer service center or damage or interruption to our information systems) and labor costs in the countries where we source our merchandise. We place orders with merchandise vendors primarily in United States dollars and, as a result, are not currently exposed to significant foreign currency exchange risk.
Our gross profit and gross margin may not be comparable to other specialty retailers, as some companies may not include all or a portion of the costs related to their distribution network and store occupancy in calculating gross profit and gross margin as we and many other retailers do, but instead may include them in selling, general and administrative expenses. In addition, certain of our retail leases are accounted for as finance leases, which result in our recording a portion of the expense related to these agreements in interest expense—net on the consolidated statements of income.
In recent periods we have experienced higher cost of goods sold primarily related to our increased costs of merchandise and inbound freight. Our strategy is to offset these higher costs through price increases, as well as efficiencies in our operations. These cost increases are reasonably likely to continue to affect our business in the future given the current macroeconomic conditions. We plan to refine our strategies to continue to address these impacts as they occur.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses include all operating costs not included in cost of goods sold. These expenses include payroll and payroll-related expenses, retail expenses other than occupancy and expenses related to many of our operations at our corporate headquarters, including utilities, depreciation and amortization, credit card fees and marketing expense, which primarily includes Source Book production, mailing and print advertising costs. All pre-opening costs are included in selling, general and administrative expenses and are expensed as incurred. We expect certain of these expenses to continue to increase as we open new retail locations and outlets, develop new product categories and otherwise pursue our current business initiatives. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net revenues are usually higher in lower-volume quarters and lower in higher-volume quarters because a significant portion of the costs are relatively fixed.
In addition, in recent periods we have experienced increased selling, general and administrative expenses, including certain non-cash compensation expenses and costs associated with asset impairments and lease losses, sale leaseback transactions, reorganizations and product recalls, as discussed in “Basis of Presentation and Results of Operations” below.
Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA. We believe that adjusted operating income, adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA are useful measures of operating performance, as the adjustments eliminate non-recurring and other items that are not reflective of underlying business performance, facilitate a comparison of our operating performance on a consistent basis from period-to-period and provide for a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business. We also use adjusted operating income, adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA as methods for planning and forecasting overall expected performance and for evaluating on a quarterly and annual basis actual results against such expectations.
We define adjusted operating income as consolidated operating income, adjusted for the impact of certain non-recurring and other items that we do not consider representative of our underlying operating performance.
We define EBITDA as consolidated net income before depreciation and amortization, interest expense—net and income tax expense. Adjusted EBITDA reflects further adjustments to EBITDA to eliminate the impact of non-cash compensation, as well as certain non-recurring and other items that we do not consider representative of our underlying operating performance. Because adjusted EBITDA omits non-cash items, we feel that it is less susceptible to variances in actual performance resulting from depreciation, amortization and other non-cash charges and can be more reflective of our operating performance.
We define adjusted net income as consolidated net income, adjusted for the impact of certain non-recurring and other items that we do not consider representative of our underlying operating performance.
Refer to “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for further information.
46 | FORM 10-K |
PART II |
Basis of Presentation and Results of Operations
The following table sets forth our consolidated statements of income:
YEAR ENDED |
|||||||||||||
JANUARY 29, |
% OF NET |
JANUARY 30, |
% OF NET |
FEBRUARY 1, |
% OF NET |
||||||||
(dollars in thousands) |
|||||||||||||
Net revenues |
$ |
3,758,820 |
100.0 |
% |
$ |
2,848,626 |
100.0 |
% |
$ |
2,647,437 |
100.0 |
% |
|
Cost of goods sold |
|
1,903,409 |
50.6 |
|
1,523,095 |
53.5 |
|
1,552,426 |
58.6 |
||||
Gross profit |
|
1,855,411 |
49.4 |
|
1,325,531 |
46.5 |
|
1,095,011 |
41.4 |
||||
Selling, general and administrative expenses |
|
928,230 |
24.7 |
|
858,673 |
30.1 |
|
732,180 |
27.7 |
||||
Income from operations |
|
927,181 |
24.7 |
|
466,858 |
16.4 |
|
362,831 |
13.7 |
||||
Other expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Interest expense—net |
|
64,947 |
1.7 |
|
69,250 |
2.5 |
|
87,177 |
3.3 |
||||
Tradename impairment |
— |
— |
20,459 |
0.7 |
— |
— |
|||||||
(Gain) loss on extinguishment of debt |
|
29,138 |
0.8 |
|
(152) |
— |
|
6,472 |
0.2 |
||||
Other expense—net |
2,778 |
0.1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|||||||
Total other expenses |
|
96,863 |
2.6 |
|
89,557 |
3.2 |
|
93,649 |
3.5 |
||||
Income before income taxes |
|
830,318 |
22.1 |
|
377,301 |
13.2 |
|
269,182 |
10.2 |
||||
Income tax expense |
|
133,558 |
3.6 |
|
104,598 |
3.6 |
|
48,807 |
1.9 |
||||
Income before equity method investments |
696,760 |
18.5 |
272,703 |
9.6 |
220,375 |
8.3 |
|||||||
Share of equity method investments losses |
(8,214) |
(0.2) |
(888) |
(0.1) |
— |
— |
|||||||
Net income |
$ |
688,546 |
18.3 |
% |
$ |
271,815 |
9.5 |
% |
$ |
220,375 |
8.3 |
% |
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we use non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted capital expenditures (collectively, our “non-GAAP financial measures”). We compute these measures by adjusting the applicable GAAP measures to remove the impact of certain recurring and non-recurring charges and gains and the tax effect of these adjustments. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. We use these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. We believe that they provide useful information about operating results, enhance the overall understanding of past financial performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by senior leadership in its financial and operational decision making. The non-GAAP financial measures used by us in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may be different from the non-GAAP financial measures, including similarly titled measures, used by other companies.
For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please see the reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures tables outlined below. These accompanying tables include details on the GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations between these financial measures.
Adjusted Operating Income. Adjusted operating income is a supplemental measure of financial performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. We define adjusted operating income as consolidated operating income, adjusted for the impact of certain non-recurring and other items that we do not consider representative of our underlying operating performance.
PART II |
FORM 10-K | 47 |
Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income to Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Income
YEAR ENDED |
|||||||||
|
JANUARY 29, |
|
JANUARY 30, |
|
FEBRUARY 1, |
||||
2022 |
2021 |
2020 |
|||||||
(in thousands) |
|||||||||
Net income |
$ |
688,546 |
$ |
271,815 |
$ |
220,375 |
|||
Income tax expense (1) |
|
133,558 |
|
104,598 |
|
48,807 |
|||
(Gain) loss on extinguishment of debt (1) |
|
29,138 |
|
(152) |
|
6,472 |
|||
Interest expense—net (1) |
|
64,947 |
|
69,250 |
|
87,177 |
|||
Share of equity method investments losses (1) |
8,214 |
888 |
— |
||||||
Other expense—net (1) |
2,778 |
|
— |
|
— |
||||
Tradename impairment (1) |
|
— |
|
20,459 |
|
— |
|||
Operating income |
|
927,181 |
|
466,858 |
|
362,831 |
|||
Non-cash compensation (2) |
23,428 |
117,084 |
— |
||||||
Asset impairments and change in useful lives (3) |
|
9,630 |
|
12,851 |
|
21,899 |
|||
Recall accrual (4) |
|
1,940 |
|
7,370 |
|
(3,988) |
|||
Reorganization related costs (5) |