Risk Disclaimer
THE SECURITIES OFFERED INVOLVE A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK AND MAY RESULT IN THE LOSS OF YOUR ENTIRE INVESTMENT. ANY PERSON CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF THESE SECURITIES SHOULD BE AWARE OF THESE AND OTHER FACTORS SET FORTH IN THIS FORM C AND SHOULD CONSULT WITH HIS OR HER LEGAL, TAX AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS PRIOR TO MAKING AN INVESTMENT IN THE SECURITIES. THE SECURITIES SHOULD ONLY BE PURCHASED BY PERSONS WHO CAN AFFORD TO LOSE ALL OF THEIR INVESTMENT.
Risks Related to the Company’s Business and Industry
The Company’s success depends on the experience and skill of the board of directors, its executive officers and key employees. In particular, the Company is dependent on Anthony Obiako who is Director, President, Founder, and CEO of the Company. The Company has or intends to enter into employment agreements with Anthony Obiako although there can be no assurance that it will do so or that they will continue to be employed by the Company for a particular period of time. The loss of Anthony Obiako or any member of the board of directors or executive officer could harm the Company’s business, financial condition, cash flow and results of operations.
We rely on various intellectual property rights, including trademarks in order to operate our business. Such intellectual property rights, however, may not be sufficiently broad or otherwise may not provide us a significant competitive advantage. In addition, the steps that we have taken to maintain and protect our intellectual property may not prevent it from being challenged, invalidated, circumvented or designed-around, particularly in countries where intellectual property rights are not highly developed or protected. In some circumstances, enforcement may not be available to us because an infringer has a dominant intellectual property position or for other business reasons, or countries may require compulsory licensing of our intellectual property. Our failure to obtain or maintain intellectual property rights that convey competitive advantage, adequately protect our intellectual property or detect or prevent circumvention or unauthorized use of such property, could adversely impact our competitive position and results of operations. We also rely on nondisclosure and noncompetition agreements with employees, consultants and other parties to protect, in part, trade secrets and other proprietary rights. There can be no assurance that these agreements will adequately protect our trade secrets and other proprietary rights and will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information or that third parties will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or other proprietary rights.As we expand our business, protecting our intellectual property will become increasingly important. The protective steps we have taken may be inadequate to deter our competitors from using our proprietary information. In order to protect or enforce our patent rights, we may be required to initiate litigation against third parties, such as infringement lawsuits. Also, these third parties may assert claims against us with or without provocation. These lawsuits could be expensive, take significant time and could divert management’s attention from other business concerns. The law relating to the scope and validity of claims in the technology field in which we operate is still evolving and, consequently, intellectual property positions in our industry are generally uncertain. We cannot assure you that we will prevail in any of these potential suits or that the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, would be commercially valuable.
From time to time, third parties may claim that one or more of our products or services infringe their intellectual property rights. Any dispute or litigation regarding patents or other intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming due to the complexity of our technology and the uncertainty of intellectual property litigation and could divert our management and key personnel from our business operations. A claim of intellectual property infringement could force us to enter into a costly or restrictive license agreement, which might not be available under acceptable terms or at all, could require us to redesign our products, which would be costly and time-consuming, and/or could subject us to an injunction against development and sale of certain of our products or services. We may have to pay substantial damages, including damages for past infringement if it is ultimately determined that our products infringe on a third party’s proprietary rights. Even if these claims are without merit, defending a lawsuit takes significant time, may be expensive and may divert management’s attention from other business concerns. Any public announcements related to litigation or interference proceedings initiated or threatened against us could cause our business to be harmed. Our intellectual property portfolio may not be useful in asserting a counterclaim, or negotiating a license, in response to a claim of intellectual property infringement. In certain of our businesses we rely on third party intellectual property licenses and we cannot ensure that these licenses will be available to us in the future on favorable terms or at all.
Although dependent on certain key personnel, the Company does not have any key man life insurance policies on any such people. The Company is dependent on Anthony Obiako in order to conduct its operations and execute its business plan, however, the Company has not purchased any insurance policies with respect to those individuals in the event of their death or disability. Therefore, if Anthony Obiako dies or becomes disabled, the Company will not receive any compensation to assist with such person’s absence. The loss of such person could negatively affect the Company and its operations.
We are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property and goods and services taxes, in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe that our tax estimates are reasonable: (i) there is no assurance that the final determination of tax audits or tax disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our income tax provisions, expense amounts for non-income based taxes and accruals and (ii) any material differences could have an adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations in the period or periods for which determination is made.
We are not subject to Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and lack the financial controls and safeguards required of public companies. We do not have the internal infrastructure necessary, and are not required, to complete an attestation about our financial controls that would be required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. There can be no assurance that there are no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the quality of our financial controls. We expect to incur additional expenses and diversion of management’s time if and when it becomes necessary to perform the system and process evaluation, testing and remediation required in order to comply with the management certification and auditor attestation requirements.
Changes in employment laws or regulation could harm our performance. Various federal and state labor laws govern our relationship with our employees and affect operating costs. These laws include minimum wage requirements, overtime pay, healthcare reform and the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, citizenship requirements, union membership and sales taxes. A number of factors could adversely affect our operating results, including additional government-imposed increases in minimum wages, overtime pay, paid leaves of absence and mandated health benefits, mandated training for employees, increased tax reporting and tax payment requirements for employees who receive tips, a reduction in the number of states that allow tips to be credited toward minimum wage requirements, changing regulations from the National Labor Relations Board and increased employee litigation including claims relating to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Company’s business operations may be materially adversely affected by a pandemic such as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which spread throughout other parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” COVID-19 resulted in a widespread health crisis that adversely affected the economies and financial markets worldwide. The Company’s business could be materially and adversely affected. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts the Company’s business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extended period of time, the Company’s operations may be materially adversely affected.
We face risks related to health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt the Company’s operations and could have a material adverse impact on us. The outbreak of pandemics and epidemics could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations. If a pandemic occurs in areas in which we have material operations or sales, the Company’s business activities originating from affected areas, including sales, materials, and supply chain related activities, could be adversely affected. Disruptive activities could include the temporary closure of facilities used in the Company’s supply chain processes, restrictions on the export or shipment of products necessary to run the Company’s business, business closures in impacted areas, and restrictions on the Company’s employees’ or consultants’ ability to travel and to meet with customers, vendors or other business relationships. The extent to which a pandemic or other health outbreak impacts the Company’s results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of a virus and the actions to contain it or treat its impact, among others. Pandemics can also result in social, economic, and labor instability which may adversely impact the Company’s business.If the Company’s employees or employees of any of the Company’s vendors, suppliers or customers become ill or are quarantined and in either or both events are therefore unable to work, the Company’s operations could be subject to disruption. The extent to which a pandemic affects the Company’s results will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.
We face risks relating to public health conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which could adversely affect the Company’s customers, business, and results of operations. Our business and prospects could be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic or recurrences of that or any other such disease in the future. Material adverse effects from COVID-19 and similar occurrences could result in numerous known and currently unknown ways including from quarantines and lockdowns which impair the Company’s business including: marketing and sales efforts, supply chain, etc. If the Company purchases materials from suppliers in affected areas, the Company may not be able to procure such products in a timely manner. The effects of a pandemic can place travel restrictions on key personnel which could have a material impact on the business. In addition, a significant outbreak of contagious diseases in the human population could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in an economic downturn that could reduce the demand for the Company’s products and impair the Company’s business prospects including as a result of being unable to raise additional capital on acceptable terms to us, if at all.
Maintaining, extending and expanding our reputation and brand image are essential to our business success. We seek to maintain, extend, and expand our brand image through marketing investments, including advertising and consumer promotions, and product innovation. Increasing attention on marketing could adversely affect our brand image. It could also lead to stricter regulations and greater scrutiny of marketing practices. Existing or increased legal or regulatory restrictions on our advertising, consumer promotions and marketing, or our response to those restrictions, could limit our efforts to maintain, extend and expand our brands. Moreover, adverse publicity about regulatory or legal action against us could damage our reputation and brand image, undermine our customers’ confidence and reduce long-term demand for our products, even if the regulatory or legal action is unfounded or not material to our operations.In addition, our success in maintaining, extending, and expanding our brand image depends on our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing media environment. We increasingly rely on social media and online dissemination of advertising campaigns. The growing use of social and digital media increases the speed and extent that information or misinformation and opinions can be shared. Negative posts or comments about us, our brands or our products on social or digital media, whether or not valid, could seriously damage our brands and reputation. If we do not establish, maintain, extend and expand our brand image, then our product sales, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Product safety and quality concerns, including concerns related to perceived quality of ingredients, could negatively affect the Company’s business.The Company’s success depends in large part on its ability to maintain consumer confidence in the safety and quality of all its products. The Company has rigorous product safety and quality standards. However, if products taken to market are or become contaminated or adulterated, the Company may be required to conduct costly product recalls and may become subject to product liability claims and negative publicity, which would cause its business to suffer. In addition, regulatory actions, activities by nongovernmental organizations and public debate and concerns about perceived negative safety and quality consequences of certain ingredients in our products may erode consumers’ confidence in the safety and quality issues, whether or not justified, and could result in additional governmental regulations concerning the marketing and labeling of the Company’s products, negative publicity, or actual or threatened legal actions, all of which could damage the reputation of the Company’s products and may reduce demand for the Company’s products.
We must correctly predict, identify, and interpret changes in consumer preferences and demand, offer new products to meet those changes, and respond to competitive innovation. Consumer preferences our products change continually. Our success depends on our ability to predict, identify, and interpret the tastes and habits of consumers and to offer products that appeal to consumer preferences. If we do not offer products that appeal to consumers, our sales and market share will decrease. We must distinguish between short-term fads, mid-term trends, and long-term changes in consumer preferences. If we do not accurately predict which shifts in consumer preferences will be long-term, or if we fail to introduce new and improved products to satisfy those preferences, our sales could decline. In addition, because of our varied customer base, we must offer an array of products that satisfy the broad spectrum of consumer preferences. If we fail to expand our product offerings successfully across product categories, or if we do not rapidly develop products in faster growing and more profitable categories, demand for our products could decrease, which could materially and adversely affect our product sales, financial condition, and results of operations.In addition, achieving growth depends on our successful development, introduction, and marketing of innovative new products and line extensions. Successful innovation depends on our ability to correctly anticipate customer and consumer acceptance, to obtain, protect and maintain necessary intellectual property rights, and to avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of others and failure to do so could compromise our competitive position and adversely impact our business.
We are vulnerable to fluctuations in the price and supply of ingredients, packaging materials, and freight. The prices of the ingredients, packaging materials and freight are subject to fluctuations in price attributable to, among other things, changes in supply and demand of chemicals, raw materials, crops or other commodities, fuel prices and government-sponsored agricultural and livestock programs. The sales prices to our customers are a delivered price. Therefore, changes in our input costs could impact our gross margins. Our ability to pass along higher costs through price increases to our customers is dependent upon competitive conditions and pricing methodologies employed in the various markets in which we compete. To the extent competitors do not also increase their prices, customers and consumers may choose to purchase competing products or may shift purchases to lower-priced private label or other value offerings which may adversely affect our results of operations.We use significant quantities of chemicals, raw materials, food ingredients and other agricultural products as well as aluminum, glass jars, plastic trays, corrugated fiberboard and plastic packaging materials provided by third-party suppliers. We buy from a variety of producers and manufacturers, and alternate sources of supply are generally available. However, the supply and price are subject to market conditions and are influenced by other factors beyond our control. We do not have long-term contracts with many of our suppliers, and, as a result, they could increase prices or fail to deliver. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could increase our costs and disrupt our operations.
Substantial disruption to production at our manufacturing and distribution facilities could occur. A disruption in production at our manufacturing facility or at our third-party manufacturing facilities could have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, a disruption could occur at the facilities of our suppliers or distributors. The disruption could occur for many reasons, including fire, natural disasters, weather, water scarcity, manufacturing problems, disease, strikes, transportation or supply interruption, government regulation, cybersecurity attacks or terrorism. Alternative facilities with sufficient capacity or capabilities may not be available, may cost substantially more or may take a significant time to start production, each of which could negatively affect our business and results of operations.
Future product recalls or safety concerns could adversely impact our results of operations. We may be required to recall certain of our products should they be mislabeled, contaminated, spoiled, tampered with or damaged. We also may become involved in lawsuits and legal proceedings if it is alleged that the consumption or use of any of our products causes injury, illness or death. A product recall or an adverse result in any such litigation could have an adverse effect on our business, depending on the costs of the recall, the destruction of product inventory, competitive reaction and consumer attitudes. Even if a product liability or consumer fraud claim is unsuccessful or without merit, the negative publicity surrounding such assertions regarding our products could adversely affect our reputation and brand image. We also could be adversely affected if consumers in our principal markets lose confidence in the safety and quality of our products.
The consolidation of retail customers could adversely affect us. Retail customers, such as supermarkets, warehouse clubs, and food distributors in our major markets, may consolidate, resulting in fewer customers for our business. Consolidation also produces larger retail customers that may seek to leverage their position to improve their profitability by demanding improved efficiency, lower pricing, increased promotional programs, or specifically tailored products. In addition, larger retailers have the scale to develop supply chains that permit them to operate with reduced inventories or to develop and market their own white-label brands. Retail consolidation and increasing retailer power could adversely affect our product sales and results of operations. Retail consolidation also increases the risk that adverse changes in our customers’ business operations or financial performance will have a corresponding material and adverse effect on us. For example, if our customers cannot access sufficient funds or financing, then they may delay, decrease, or cancel purchases of our products, or delay or fail to pay us for previous purchases, which could materially and adversely affect our product sales, financial condition, and operating results.
Evolving tax, environmental, food quality and safety or other regulations or failure to comply with existing licensing, labeling, trade, food quality and safety and other regulations and laws could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition. Our activities or products, both in and outside of the United States, are subject to regulation by various federal, state, provincial and local laws, regulations and government agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Labor, as well as similar and other authorities outside of the United States, International Accords and Treaties and others, including voluntary regulation by other bodies. In addition, legal and regulatory systems in emerging and developing markets may be less developed, and less certain. These laws and regulations and interpretations thereof may change, sometimes dramatically, as a result of a variety of factors, including political, economic or social events. The manufacturing, marketing and distribution of food products are subject to governmental regulation that control such matters as food quality and safety, ingredients, advertising, product or production requirements, labeling, import or export of our products or ingredients, relations with distributors and retailers, health and safety, the environment, and restrictions on the use of government programs to purchase certain of our products. We are also regulated with respect to matters such as licensing requirements, trade and pricing practices, tax, anticorruption standards, advertising and claims, and environmental matters. The need to comply with new, evolving or revised tax, environmental, food quality and safety, labeling or other laws or regulations, or new, or changed interpretations or enforcement of existing laws or regulations, may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Further, if we are found to be out of compliance with applicable laws and regulations in these areas, we could be subject to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, termination of necessary licenses or permits, or recalls, as well as potential criminal sanctions, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business. Even if regulatory review does not result in these types of determinations, it could potentially create negative publicity or perceptions which could harm our business or reputation.
Significant additional labeling or warning requirements may inhibit sales of affected products. Various jurisdictions may seek to adopt significant additional product labeling or warning requirements relating to the content or perceived adverse health consequences of our product(s). If these types of requirements become applicable to our product(s) under current or future environmental or health laws or regulations, they may inhibit sales of such products.
Because our business is seasonal, with the highest volume of net sales during the fourth quarter, adverse events during the fourth quarter could materially affect our financial statements as a whole. We generally recognize our highest volume of net sales during the holiday selling season, which occurs in the fourth quarter of our fiscal year. In anticipation of this holiday, we purchase substantial amounts of seasonal inventory. Adverse events, such as deteriorating economic conditions, higher unemployment, higher gas prices, public transportation disruptions, or unanticipated adverse weather could result in lower-than-planned sales during the holiday season. An excess of seasonal merchandise inventory could result if our net sales during the holiday selling season fall below seasonal norms or expectations. If our fourth quarter sales results were substantially below expectations, our financial performance and operating results could be adversely affected by unanticipated markdowns, especially in seasonal merchandise.
The seasonality of our business places increased strain on our operations. A disproportionate amount of our sales normally occur during our fourth quarter. If we do not stock or are otherwise unable to source products sufficient to meet customer demand, our business would be adversely affected. If we liquidate products, as we have in the past, we may be required to take significant inventory markdowns or write-offs, which could reduce profits. We may experience an increase in our shipping cost due to complimentary upgrades, split-shipments, and additional long-zone shipments necessary to ensure timely delivery for the holiday season. If too many customers access our Website within a short period of time due to increased holiday demand, we may experience system interruptions that make our Website unavailable or prevent us from efficiently fulfilling orders, which may reduce the volume of goods we sell and the attractiveness of our products and services. In addition, we may be unable to adequately staff our fulfillment and customer service centers during peak periods, and delivery services and other fulfillment companies and customer service providers may be unable to meet the seasonal demand.
Our profitability may be negatively affected by inventory shrinkage. We are subject to the risk of inventory loss and theft. We experience significant inventory shrinkage and cannot be sure that incidences of inventory loss and theft will decrease in the future or that the measures we are taking will effectively reduce the problem of inventory shrinkage. Although some level of inventory shrinkage is an unavoidable cost of doing business, if we were to experience higher rates of inventory shrinkage or incur increased security costs to combat inventory theft, our business and results of operations could be affected adversely.
Failure to execute our opportunistic buying could adversely affect our business. We purchase the majority of our inventory opportunistically, with our buyers purchasing close to need. Establishing the "treasure hunt" nature of the off-price buying experience to drive traffic to our stores requires us to offer changing assortments of merchandise in our stores. While opportunistic buying provides our buyers the ability to buy at desirable times and prices, in the quantities we need and into market trends, it places considerable discretion in our buyers, subjecting us to risks related to the pricing, quantity, nature and timing of inventory flowing to our stores. If we are unable to provide frequent replenishment of fresh, high quality, attractively priced merchandise in our stores, it could adversely affect traffic to our stores as well as our sales and margins. We base our purchases of inventory, in part, on our sales forecasts. If our sales forecasts do not match customer demand, we may experience higher inventory levels and need to markdown excess or slow-moving inventory, leading to decreased profit margins, or we may have insufficient inventory to meet customer demand, leading to lost sales, either of which could adversely affect our financial performance.We need to purchase inventory sufficiently below conventional retail to maintain our pricing differential to regular department and specialty store prices and to attract customers and sustain our margins, which we may not achieve at various times and which could adversely affect our results.
Failure to execute our inventory management process could adversely affect our business. We must also properly execute our inventory management strategies by appropriately allocating merchandise among our stores, timely and efficiently distributing inventory to stores, maintaining an appropriate mix and level of inventory in stores, appropriately changing the allocation of floor space of stores among product categories to respond to customer demand and effectively managing pricing and markdowns, and there is no assurance we will be able to do so. Failure to effectively execute our inventory management strategies could adversely affect our performance and our relationship with our customers.
Our business could suffer if we are unsuccessful in making, integrating, and maintaining commercial agreements, strategic alliances, and other business relationships. We provide e-commerce and other services to businesses through commercial agreements, strategic alliances, and business relationships. Under these agreements, we enable sellers to offer products or services through our websites. These arrangements are complex and require substantial infrastructure capacity, personnel, and other resource commitments, which may limit the amount of business we can service. We may not be able to implement, maintain, and develop the components of these commercial relationships, which may include web services, fulfillment, customer service, inventory management, tax collection, payment processing, hardware, content, and third-party software, and engaging third parties to perform services. The amount of compensation we receive under certain of our commercial agreements is partially dependent on the volume of the other company’s sales. Therefore, if the other company’s offering is not successful, the compensation we receive may be lower than expected or the agreement may be terminated. Moreover, we may not be able to enter into additional commercial relationships and strategic alliances on favorable terms. We also may be subject to claims from businesses to which we provide these services if we are unsuccessful in implementing, maintaining, or developing these services.As our agreements terminate, we may be unable to renew or replace these agreements on comparable terms, or at all. We may in the future enter into amendments on less favorable terms or encounter parties that have difficulty meeting their contractual obligations to us, which could adversely affect our operating results.Our present and future e-commerce services agreements, other commercial agreements, and strategic alliances create additional risks such as: disruption of our ongoing business, including loss of management focus on existing businesses; impairment of other relationships; variability in revenue and income from entering into, amending, or terminating such agreements or relationships; and difficulty integrating under the commercial agreements.
Our business may be adversely affected by catastrophic events and extreme or unseasonable weather conditions. Unforeseen events, including war, terrorism and other international conflicts, public health issues and natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes, whether occurring in the United States or abroad, could disrupt our supply chain operations, international trade or result in political or economic instability. Any of the foregoing events could result in property losses, reduce demand for our products or make it difficult or impossible to obtain merchandise from our suppliers.Extreme weather conditions in the areas in which our stores are located, particularly in markets where we have multiple stores, could adversely affect our business. For example, heavy snowfall, rainfall or other extreme weather conditions over a prolonged period might make it difficult for our customers to travel to our stores and thereby reduce our sales and profitability. Our business is also susceptible to unseasonable weather conditions. For example, extended periods of unseasonably warm temperatures during the winter season or cool weather during the summer season could render a portion of our inventory incompatible with those unseasonable conditions. Reduced sales from extreme or prolonged unseasonable weather conditions could adversely affect our business.
We may not timely identify or effectively respond to consumer trends or preferences, whether involving physical retail, e-commerce retail or a combination of both retail offerings, which could negatively affect our relationship with our customers and the demand for our products and services. It is difficult to predict consistently and successfully the products and services our customers will demand. The success of our business depends in part on how accurately we predict consumer demand, availability of merchandise, the related impact on the demand for existing products and the competitive environment, whether for customers purchasing products at our stores and clubs, through our e-commerce businesses or through the combination of both retail offerings. A critical piece of identifying consumer preferences involves price transparency, assortment of products, customer experience and convenience. These factors are of primary importance to customers and they continue to increase in importance, particularly as a result of digital tools and social media available to consumers and the choices available to consumers for purchasing products online, at physical locations or through a combination of both retail offerings. Failure to timely identify or effectively respond to changing consumer tastes, preferences (including the key factors described above) and spending patterns, whether for our physical retail offerings, e-commerce offerings or through a combination of these retail offerings, could negatively affect our relationship with our customers and the demand for our products and services.
Decreases in discretionary consumer spending may have an adverse effect on us. A substantial portion of the products and services we offer are products or services that consumers may view as discretionary items rather than necessities. As a result, our results of operations are sensitive to changes in macroeconomic conditions that impact consumer spending, including discretionary spending. Difficult macroeconomic conditions, particularly high levels of unemployment, also impact our customers’ ability to obtain consumer credit. Other factors, including consumer confidence, employment levels, interest rates, tax rates, consumer debt levels, and fuel and energy costs could reduce consumer spending or change consumer purchasing habits. Slowdowns in the U.S. or global economy, or an uncertain economic outlook, could adversely affect consumer spending habits and our results of operations.
If we do not continue to source new products, our ability to compete will be undermined, and we may be unable to implement our business plan. Our ability to compete in the direct marketing industry and to expand into the traditional retail environment depends to a great extent on our ability to develop or acquire new innovative products under particular brands and to complement these products with related families of products under those brands. If we do not source new products as our existing products mature through their product life cycles, or if we do not develop related families of products under our brands, we will not be able to implement our business plan, and the value of your investment may decrease.
Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected if we are unable to maintain our customer experience or provide high quality customer service. The success of our business largely depends on our ability to provide superior customer experience and high quality customer service, which in turn depends on a variety of factors, such as our ability to continue to provide a reliable and user-friendly website interface for our customers to browse and purchase our products, reliable and timely delivery of our products, and superior after sales services. Our sales may decrease if our website services are severely interrupted or otherwise fail to meet our customer requests. Should we or our third-party delivery companies fail to provide our product delivery and return services in a convenient or reliable manner, or if our customers are not satisfied with our product quality, our reputation and customer loyalty could be negatively affected. In addition, we also depend on our call center and online customer service representatives to provide live assistance to our customers. If our call center or online customer service representatives fail to satisfy the individual needs of customers, our reputation and customer loyalty could be negatively affected and we may lose potential or existing customers and experience a decrease in sales. As a result, if we are unable to continue to maintain our customer experience and provide high quality customer service, we may not be able to retain existing customers or attract new customers, which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We depend upon designers, vendors and other sources of merchandise, goods and services. Our business could be affected by disruptions in, or other legal, regulatory, political or economic issues associated with, our supply network. Our relationships with established and emerging designers have been a significant contributor to our past success. Our ability to find qualified vendors and access products in a timely and efficient manner is often challenging, particularly with respect to goods sourced outside the United States. Our procurement of goods and services from outside the United States is subject to risks associated with political or financial instability, trade restrictions, tariffs, currency exchange rates, transport capacity and costs and other factors relating to foreign trade. In addition, our procurement of all our goods and services is subject to the effects of price increases, which we may or may not be able to pass through to our customers. All of these factors may affect our ability to access suitable merchandise on acceptable terms, are beyond our control and could negatively affect our business and results of operations.
Our advertising and marketing efforts may be costly and may not achieve desired results. We incur substantial expense in connection with our advertising and marketing efforts. Although we target our advertising and marketing efforts on current and potential customers who we believe are likely to be in the market for the products we sell, we cannot assure you that our advertising and marketing efforts will achieve our desired results. In addition, we periodically adjust our advertising expenditures in an effort to optimize the return on such expenditures. Any decrease in the level of our advertising expenditures, which may be made to optimize such return could adversely affect our sales.
We may be required to collect sales tax on our direct marketing operations. With respect to the direct sales, sales or other similar taxes are collected primarily in states where we have retail stores, another physical presence or personal property. However, various states or foreign countries may seek to impose sales tax collection obligations on out-of-state direct mail companies. A successful assertion by one or more states that we or one or more of our subsidiaries should have collected or should be collecting sales taxes on the direct sale of our merchandise could have an adverse effect on our business.
Government regulation is evolving and unfavorable changes could harm our business. We are subject to general business regulations and laws, as well as regulations and laws specifically governing the Internet, e-commerce, electronic devices, and other services. Existing and future laws and regulations may impede our growth. These regulations and laws may cover taxation, privacy, data protection, pricing, content, copyrights, distribution, mobile communications, electronic device certification, electronic waste, energy consumption, environmental regulation, electronic contracts and other communications, competition, consumer protection, web services, the provision of online payment services, information reporting requirements, unencumbered Internet access to our services, the design and operation of websites, the characteristics and quality of products and services, and the commercial operation of unmanned aircraft systems. It is not clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, libel, and personal privacy apply to the Internet, e-commerce, digital content, and web services. Jurisdictions may regulate consumer-to-consumer online businesses, including certain aspects of our seller programs. Unfavorable regulations and laws could diminish the demand for our products and services and increase our cost of doing business.
Changes in federal, state or local laws and regulations could increase our expenses and adversely affect our results of operations. Our business is subject to a wide array of laws and regulations. The current political environment, financial reform legislation, the current high level of government intervention and activism and regulatory reform may result in substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations and/or changes in the interpretation of existing laws and regulations, which may lead to additional compliance costs as well as the diversion of our management’s time and attention from strategic initiatives. If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations we could be subject to legal risk, including government enforcement action and class action civil litigation that could disrupt our operations and increase our costs of doing business. Changes in the regulatory environment regarding topics such as privacy and information security, product safety or environmental protection, including regulations in response to concerns regarding climate change, collective bargaining activities, minimum wage laws and health care mandates, among others, could also cause our compliance costs to increase and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Our profitability is vulnerable to cost increases, inflation and energy prices. Future increases in our costs, such as the cost of merchandise, shipping rates, freight and fuel costs, and store occupancy costs, may reduce our profitability. The minimum wage has increased or is scheduled to increase in multiple states and local jurisdictions, and there is a possibility Congress will increase the federal minimum wage. These cost changes may be the result of inflationary pressures, which could further reduce our sales or profitability. Increases in other operating costs, including changes in energy prices, wage rates and lease and utility costs, may increase our costs of sales or operating expenses and reduce our profitability.
Government mandated safety standards are costly and technologically challenging. Meeting or exceeding government-mandated safety standards is costly and often technologically challenging, especially where one or more government mandated standards may conflict. Government safety standards require manufacturers to remedy defects related to motor vehicle safety through safety recall campaigns, and a manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines that they do not comply with a safety standard. Should we or government safety regulators determine that a safety or other defect or noncompliance exists with respect to certain of our vehicles, there could be a recall of a product and/or a significant increase in warranty claims, the costs of which could be substantial.
We may be subject to litigation despite compliance with regulations and industry standards. We spend substantial resources ensuring that we comply with governmental safety regulations, mobile and stationary source emissions regulations, and other standards. Compliance with governmental standards, however, does not necessarily prevent individual or class actions, which can entail significant cost and risk. In certain circumstances, courts may permit tort claims even where our vehicles comply with federal and/or other applicable law. Litigation also is inherently expensive and uncertain, and we could experience significant adverse results, including negative public opinion.
Manufacturers are required to remedy defects related to safety and to emissions through safety recall campaigns, and a manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines that they do not comply with an applicable regulatory standard. In addition, if we determine that a safety or emissions defect or non-compliance exists with respect to certain of our products prior to the start of production, the launch of such product could be delayed until we remedy the defect or non-compliance.
We are dependent on a number of patents and other intellectual property rights, including licenses that are critical to our respective businesses and competitive positions. Notwithstanding our intellectual property portfolio, our competitors may develop similar or superior proprietary technologies. Further, as we expand into regions where the protection of intellectual property rights is less robust, the risk of others replicating our proprietary technologies increases, which could result in a deterioration of our competitive position. We may assert claims against third parties who are taking actions that we believe are infringing on our intellectual property rights or may have such claims asserted against us. Claims are costly to prosecute, defend or settle and divert the efforts and attention of our management and employees. Claims of this sort also could harm our relationships with our customers and might deter future customers from doing business with us. If any such claim were to result in an adverse outcome, we may have to develop or license non-infringing products; pay damages to third parties, or cease the manufacture, use or sale of the infringing products. Any of the foregoing results could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or our competitive position.
We own or are licensed under a large number of U.S. and non-U.S. patents and patent applications, trademarks and copyrights. Our intellectual property rights may expire or be challenged, invalidated or infringed upon by third parties or we may be unable to maintain, renew or enter into new licenses of third party proprietary intellectual property on commercially reasonable terms. Any of these events or factors could diminish or cause us to lose the competitive advantages associated with our intellectual property, subject us to judgments, penalties and significant litigation costs, and/or temporarily or permanently disrupt our sales and marketing of the affected products or services.
We may be subject to indemnity claims for third-party infringement. Many of our supply agreements require us to indemnify our customers and distributors from third-party infringement claims, and require that we defend those claims and might require that we pay damages in the case of adverse rulings. Claims are costly to prosecute, defend or settle and divert the efforts and attention of our management and employees. Claims of this sort also could harm our relationships with our customers and might deter future customers from doing business with us.
As a provider of global logistics services, we depend on a variety of asset-based third party suppliers. The quality and profitability of our services depend upon effective selection, management and discipline of third party suppliers. In recent years, many of our third party service providers have incurred significant operating losses and are highly leveraged with debt. Changes in the financial stability, operating capabilities and capacity of asset-based carriers and space allotment made available to us by asset-based carriers could affect us in unpredictable ways, including volatility of pricing, and challenge our ability to achieve profitability.
Our industry supply base experienced increased economic distress due to the sudden and substantial drop in industry sales volumes. As a result, suppliers are less willing to reduce prices, and some requested direct or indirect price increases as well as new and shorter payment terms. We may have to provide financial assistance to key suppliers to ensure an uninterrupted supply of materials and components. In addition, if suppliers exit certain lines of business or close facilities due to an economic downturn or other reasons, we would experience additional costs associated with transitioning to new suppliers. Each of these factors could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on single suppliers for component parts. Many components used in our vehicles/products are available only from a single supplier and cannot be re-sourced quickly or inexpensively to another supplier due to long lead times, new contractual commitments that may be required by another supplier before ramping up to provide the components or materials, etc. In addition to the general risks described above regarding interruption of supplies, which are exacerbated in the case of single-source suppliers, the exclusive supplier of a key component potentially could exert significant bargaining power over price, quality, warranty claims, or other terms relating to a component.
Demand for and pricing of our products are subject to economic conditions and other factors present in the various markets where the products are sold. Demand for our products is subject to the level of consumer demand for IT, industrial equipments, and supplies. The level of new end product purchases is cyclical, affected by such factors as general economic conditions, interest rates and availability of credit, consumer confidence, patterns of consumer spending, fuel cost and vehicle replacement cycle. Consumer preferences also impact the demand for new end product purchases. A decrease in demand due to any of these factors would have a negative effect on our business and operations.
We believe that increasingly stringent environmental standards for emissions have required and will continue to require the Company to expend significant resources. If environmental standards for emissions continue to become more stringent we will be required to institute the proper procedures and utilize the mandated equipment in order to comply, which will require significant expenditures. In addition, the adoption of any new standards beyond our expectations will require expenditures in excess of what we have budgeted and could negatively affect our business and operations.
International conflicts such as war, terrorist attacks and political uprisings could negatively affect both demand for our services and our cost of doing business. International conflicts such as the war in the Middle East, political turmoil in the Middle and Far East and the possibility of future terrorist attacks cause significant uncertainty with respect to U.S. and other business and financial markets and may adversely affect our business. These international conflicts also affect the price of oil, which has a significant impact on the financial health of our commercial customers. Although our distribution and supply chain business may experience greater demand for its products as a result of increased government defense spending, factors arising (directly or indirectly) from international conflicts or terrorism which may adversely affect our commercial business include reduced aircraft build rates, upgrades, maintenance and spending on discretionary products such as industrial products and parts, as well as increases in the cost of property and aviation products insurance and increased restrictions placed on our insurance policies.
Risks Related to the Securities
The Non-Voting Common Stock will not be freely tradable until one year from the initial purchase date. Although the Non-Voting Common Stock may be tradable under federal securities law, state securities regulations may apply and each Purchaser should consult with his or her attorney. You should be aware of the long-term nature of this investment. There is not now and likely will not be a public market for the Non-Voting Common Stock. Because the Non-Voting Common Stock have not been registered under the Securities Act or under the securities laws of any state or non-United States jurisdiction, the Non-Voting Common Stock have transfer restrictions and cannot be resold in the United States except pursuant to Rule 501 of Regulation CF. It is not currently contemplated that registration under the Securities Act or other securities laws will be effected. Limitations on the transfer of the Non-Voting Common Stock may also adversely affect the price that you might be able to obtain for the Non-Voting Common Stock in a private sale. Purchasers should be aware of the long-term nature of their investment in the Company. Each Purchaser in this Offering will be required to represent that it is purchasing the Securities for its own account, for investment purposes and not with a view to resale or distribution thereof.
Neither the Offering nor the Securities have been registered under federal or state securities laws, leading to an absence of certain regulation applicable to the Company. No governmental agency has reviewed or passed upon this Offering, the Company or any Securities of the Company. The Company also has relied on exemptions from securities registration requirements under applicable state securities laws. Investors in the Company, therefore, will not receive any of the benefits that such registration would otherwise provide. Prospective investors must therefore assess the adequacy of disclosure and the fairness of the terms of this Offering on their own or in conjunction with their personal advisors.
No Guarantee of Return on Investment. There is no assurance that a Purchaser will realize a return on its investment or that it will not lose its entire investment. For this reason, each Purchaser should read the Form C and all Exhibits carefully and should consult with its own attorney and business advisor prior to making any investment decision.
A majority of the Company is owned by a small number of owners. Prior to the Offering the Company’s current owners of 20% or more beneficially own up to 100% of the Company. Subject to any fiduciary duties owed to our other owners or investors under Washington law, these owners may be able to exercise significant influence over matters requiring owner approval, including the election of directors or managers and approval of significant Company transactions, and will have significant control over the Company’s management and policies. Some of these persons may have interests that are different from yours. For example, these owners may support proposals and actions with which you may disagree. The concentration of ownership could delay or prevent a change in control of the Company or otherwise discourage a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of the Company, which in turn could reduce the price potential investors are willing to pay for the Company. In addition, these owners could use their voting influence to maintain the Company’s existing management, delay or prevent changes in control of the Company, or support or reject other management and board proposals that are subject to owner approval.
The Company has the right to extend the Offering deadline. The Company may extend the Offering deadline beyond what is currently stated herein. This means that your investment may continue to be held in escrow while the Company attempts to raise the Minimum Amount even after the Offering deadline stated herein is reached. Your investment will not be accruing interest during this time and will simply be held until such time as the new Offering deadline is reached without the Company receiving the Minimum Amount, at which time it will be returned to you without interest or deduction, or the Company receives the Minimum Amount, at which time it will be released to the Company to be used as set forth herein. Upon or shortly after release of such funds to the Company, the Securities will be issued and distributed to you.
The Company has the right to end the Offering early. The Company may also end the Offering early. If the Offering reaches the Minimum Amount after 30 calendar days but before the Offering deadline, the Company can end the Offering with five business days’ notice. This means your failure to participate in the Offering in a timely manner, may prevent you from being able to participate – it also means the Company may limit the amount of capital it can raise during the Offering by ending it early.
Your ownership of the shares of stock will be subject to dilution. Owners of do not have preemptive rights. If the Company conducts subsequent Offerings of or Securities convertible into shares of stock, issues shares pursuant to a compensation or distribution reinvestment plan or otherwise issues additional shares, investors who purchase shares in this Offering who do not participate in those other stock issuances will experience dilution in their percentage ownership of the Company’s outstanding shares. Furthermore, shareholders may experience a dilution in the value of their shares depending on the terms and pricing of any future share issuances (including the shares being sold in this Offering) and the value of the Company’s assets at the time of issuance.
The Securities will be equity interests in the Company and will not constitute indebtedness. The Securities will rank junior to all existing and future indebtedness and other non-equity claims on the Company with respect to assets available to satisfy claims on the Company, including in a liquidation of the Company. Additionally, unlike indebtedness, for which principal and interest would customarily be payable on specified due dates, there will be no specified payments of dividends with respect to the Securities and dividends are payable only if, when and as authorized and declared by the Company and depend on, among other matters, the Company’s historical and projected results of operations, liquidity, cash flows, capital levels, financial condition, debt service requirements and other cash needs, financing covenants, applicable state law, federal and state regulatory prohibitions and other restrictions and any other factors the Company’s board of directors deems relevant at the time. In addition, the terms of the Securities will not limit the amount of debt or other obligations the Company may incur in the future. Accordingly, the Company may incur substantial amounts of additional debt and other obligations that will rank senior to the Securities.
There can be no assurance that we will ever provide liquidity to Purchasers through either a sale of the Company or a registration of the Securities. There can be no assurance that any form of merger, combination, or sale of the Company will take place, or that any merger, combination, or sale would provide liquidity for Purchasers. Furthermore, we may be unable to register the Securities for resale by Purchasers for legal, commercial, regulatory, market-related or other reasons. In the event that we are unable to effect a registration, Purchasers could be unable to sell their Securities unless an exemption from registration is available.
The Company does not anticipate paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. The Company currently intends to retain future earnings, if any, for the foreseeable future, to repay indebtedness and to support its business. The Company does not intend in the foreseeable future to pay any dividends to holders of its shares of.
The Securities in this Offering are non-voting. The Securities in this Offering are non-voting and have no protective provisions. As such, you will not be afforded protection, by any provision of the Securities or as a stockholder, in the event of a transaction that may adversely affect you, including a reorganization, restructuring, merger or other similar transaction involving the Company.
Investors will not be entitled to any inspection or information rights other than those required by law. Investors will not have the right to inspect the books and records of the Company or to receive financial or other information from the Company, other than as required by law. Other security holders of the Company may have such rights. Regulation CF requires only the provision of an annual report on Form C and no additional information. Additionally, there are numerous methods by which the Company can terminate annual report obligations, resulting in limited to no information rights, contractual, statutory or otherwise, owed to Investors. This lack of information could put Investors at a disadvantage in general and with respect to other security holders, including certain security holders who have rights to periodic financial statements and updates from the Company such as quarterly unaudited financials, annual projections and budgets, and monthly progress reports, among other things. In addition, the Company is not currently subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. Therefore, Investors may not have access to information to which they would have access if the investment were made in a publicly held company whose offering was issued under the Exchange Act, and who is subject to the reporting regulations provided by the Exchange Act.
The Company has the right to conduct multiple “rolling” closings during The Offering. If the Company meets certain terms and conditions an intermediate close of the Offering can occur, which will allow the Company to draw down on the proceeds of the Offering committed and captured during the relevant period. The Company intends to engage in rolling closings after the Minimum Offering Amount and other conditions are met. Investors should be mindful that this means they can make multiple investment commitments in the Offering, which may be subject to different cancellation rights. For example, if an intermediate close occurs and later a material change occurs as the Offering continues, Investors previously closed upon will not have the right to re-confirm or withdraw their investment as it will be deemed completed. In addition, our initial closings will cover the tranches of shares with lower purchase prices, so as we conduct rolling closings, your ability to purchase shares at purchase price will be reduced and you may be required to pay a higher price for the Securities you elect to purchase. In addition to the risks listed above, businesses are often subject to risks not foreseen or fully appreciated by the management. It is not possible to foresee all risks that may affect us. Moreover, the Company cannot predict whether the Company will successfully effectuate the Company’s current business plan. Each prospective Purchaser is encouraged to carefully analyze the risks and merits of an investment in the Securities and should take into consideration when making such analysis, among other, the Risk Factors discussed above.
THE SECURITIES OFFERED INVOLVE A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK AND MAY RESULT IN THE LOSS OF YOUR ENTIRE INVESTMENT. ANY PERSON CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF THESE SECURITIES SHOULD BE AWARE OF THESE AND OTHER FACTORS SET FORTH IN THIS FORM C AND SHOULD CONSULT WITH HIS OR HER LEGAL, TAX AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS PRIOR TO MAKING AN INVESTMENT IN THE SECURITIES. THE SECURITIES SHOULD ONLY BE PURCHASED BY PERSONS WHO CAN AFFORD TO LOSE ALL OF THEIR INVESTMENT.