ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Company Overview
Founded in 1981, and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI). Logitech’s website address is www.logitech.com.
Logitech’s mission is to help all people pursue their passions in a way that is good for people and the planet. We design, manufacture and sell products that help businesses thrive and bring people together when working, creating, gaming and streaming. We sell these products through a number of brands: Logitech, Logitech G (including ASTRO Gaming, Streamlabs, and Blue Microphones) and Ultimate Ears.
Our diverse portfolio includes:
•Creativity & Productivity: personal computer ("PC") mice and presentation tools (reported as Pointing Devices), PC keyboards and keyboard/mouse combination products (reported as Keyboards & Combos), PC-based webcams including streaming cameras (reported as PC Webcams), and tablet keyboards and styluses (reported as Tablet & Other Accessories);
•Gaming: gaming mice, keyboards, headsets, steering wheels and other control devices, and Streamlabs services;
•Video Collaboration: conference cameras for meeting rooms, webcams and headsets;
•Music-related products include wireless speakers (reported as Mobile Speakers), and PC speakers, headsets, microphones and earphones (reported as Audio & Wearables).
These products are all classified under a single operating segment: Peripherals (see Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements). They also are compatible with many cloud or cloud-based services: video conferencing platforms (e.g. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet); esports or video games (e.g. League of Legends, Call of Duty, Valorant); music streaming platforms (e.g. Spotify, Apple Music); content streaming platforms (e.g. Twitch, YouTube); and creativity and productivity platforms (e.g. Google Workplace, Adobe Creative Cloud).
We sell our products to a broad network of international customers, in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa ("EMEA") and Asia Pacific. This includes direct sales to retailers, e-tailers, and end consumers through our e-commerce platform, and indirect sales to end customers through distributors.
From time to time, we may seek to partner with or acquire, when appropriate, companies that have products, personnel, and technologies that complement our strategic direction. We continually review our product offerings and our strategic direction in light of our profitability targets, competitive conditions, changing consumer trends and the evolving nature of the interface between the consumer and the digital world.
Business Strategy
Logitech's foundation for future growth is built on five core capabilities that apply to all of our product categories:
•Design;
•Engineering;
•Go-to-market;
•Marketing; and
•Operations.
Design
Over the past decade, Logitech has reinvented itself as a design company, whereby design-led engineering is used as a strategic differentiator. Our key design centers are in Switzerland, Ireland, the United States, and Taiwan, where we have an internal team of designers who work in close collaboration with our engineering and manufacturing teams at the beginning of our innovation process. This capability has driven the transformation of our portfolio over the years. In addition, design significantly impacts Logitech’s efforts to improve outcomes for all people and the planet through a program we call Design for Sustainability. All of this work has been recognized through various awards: in fiscal year 2023, we were honored with 116 design awards.
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Engineering
Our decades-long expertise in key engineering disciplines such as sensors, acoustics, optics, wireless, and power management is a core competitive advantage of Logitech. Furthermore, we continue to extend our engineering capabilities into more advanced technologies such as software, apps, cloud, data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence ("AI") and some core building blocks of navigation and tracking in augmented reality ("AR") or virtual reality ("VR"). Our engineering team has expertise in bringing together these many technologies, across hardware and software to develop an innovative portfolio. These engineering capabilities combined with our award-winning design team form the basis of Logitech's key innovation engine.
Go-To-Market
Logitech has an extensive global go-to-market network that is leveraged to introduce new products, enter new market categories and optimize the value of our existing products and product categories. We have multiple opportunities to drive growth through existing products in existing and new retailers and e-tailers as well as through new products in existing and new retailers and e-tailers. Beyond e-tailers, retail and distribution channels, we have strengthened other commercial channels in areas such as computer and telecommunications stores, value-added resellers and online merchants. As we have increased our investments in the business-to-business ("B2B") channel, we have expanded our enterprise sales coverage through our sales force as well as various channel partners. Expansions into new channels also bring numerous cross-selling opportunities across our broad product portfolio.
Marketing
Across Logitech’s multiple categories, we focus on enhancing our marketing capabilities around brand strategy and execution, digital marketing, and marketing technology. With our products and design as a foundation, our marketing demonstrates the relevancy of our products in the lives of our customers, focusing on specific and diverse audiences. We continue to increase our presence when and where our products and messages are most relevant, which enables us to drive brand value.
Operations
Logitech’s operations capability consists of a hybrid model of in-house manufacturing (including a wholly-owned facility in Suzhou, China) and third-party contract manufacturers (principally in Asia), which allows us to effectively respond to rapidly changing demand, leverage economies of scale, protect intellectual property, and offer high quality production in even the most sophisticated of products. Our supply chain’s extensive global reach, key distribution channels, adoption of factory automation and strategic business relationships combined with extensive analytic modeling expertise, optimization tools and global processes provide a competitive advantage against many of our competitors.
Environmental Sustainability
In recent years, we have accelerated our climate strategy, focused on eliminating our carbon footprint through Reduce, Renew, Restore, and Rethink programs. Reduce focuses on our life-cycle carbon footprint using Design for Sustainability ("DfS") principles across our value chain. Renew motivates us to drive ambitious uptake of renewable electricity and transition away from fossil fuels. In order to support and restore climate-impacted communities and ecosystems, the Restore lever supports annual investment in carbon offsets and removals. We are also Rethinking how we do business, innovating our materials, supply chains, and go-to-market opportunities.
Products
Logitech designs, manufactures and markets products that help businesses thrive and bring people together when working, creating, gaming and streaming, for use by consumers and enterprise customers.
Creativity & Productivity
Pointing Devices: Logitech offers a variety of pointing devices. Some of our key products in this category include:
•The Logitech MX Master 3 and MX Anywhere 3 wireless mice, our flagship wireless mouse products. Enabled with Logitech Flow cross-computer control software and Logi Bolt cross-operating system connectivity, these products represent the new paradigm for precise, fast, comfortable cross-computer digital navigation and digital creativity.
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•The Logitech Wireless Mouse M650, which offers a new precise scrolling wheel, an 18-month battery life, Logi Bolt connectivity compatible with any operating system, side-buttons and comfortable design, and is available in Large, Medium and left-handed versions with sustainable materials.
•The Logitech Wireless Mouse M185, a wireless mouse with nano receiver technology that is compatible with any computer.
•The Logitech Pebble Mouse, a wireless mobility mouse with dual connectivity (BT and unifying nano technology) that is compatible with any computer.
•Two recently introduced mice, Logitech Lift vertical mouse with Logi Bolt wireless technology and the new smart wheel available in right and left-handed version, and Pop Mouse for younger generations that offers more style at the desk.
Keyboards & Combos: Logitech offers a variety of corded and cordless keyboards, living room keyboards, and combos (keyboard-and-mouse combinations). Some of our key products in this category include:
•The Logitech Wireless Combo MK270, a full-size keyboard and mouse combination with a tiny USB receiver.
•The Logitech MX Keys Wireless keyboard, a premium backlit keyboard with customizable keys to directly access menus and shortcuts within leading creativity and productivity apps. We recently added the MX Keys mini wireless keyboard ideal for smaller spaces and creators and Logitech MX mechanical wireless keyboard.
•The Logitech K380 wireless minimalist keyboard with multi-switch functionality to easily navigate from one screen to another (from PC to Phone to tablets) that is compatible with any computer.
PC Webcams: Our PC Webcams category comprises webcams targeted primarily at video conferencing users purchasing for individual use. A key market driver includes people upgrading their work-from-home video conferencing setup. The Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 and C922 are key products in this category and we recently added Logitech Brio 300 and Brio 500 to the portfolio.
Tablet & Other Accessories: Our Tablet & Other Accessories category includes keyboards for tablets and smartphones as well as other accessories for mobile devices. These products are mostly for iPads but are also for select Samsung and other Android tablets. Some of our key products in this category include:
•The Combo Touch for the iPad 9th Generation, iPad Air, iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9, is our newest design offering a Smart Connected backlit full-size keyboard, any-angle kickstand for flexible viewing angles and a trackpad for gestures, clicks and navigation.
•The Rugged Folio Keyboard for the iPad 9th Generation, bringing a more protective rugged folio, with a wipeable fabric keyboard, a rugged and protective holder and an any-angle kickstand to allow multiple viewing angles. The Rugged Folio uses Smart Connector technology to connect to the iPad seamlessly, with no need for batteries or Bluetooth pairing.
•The Logitech Slim Folio Keyboard for the iPad Pro 11 and 12.9, bringing a Bluetooth backlit keyboard with a folio design for optimal working and viewing angle, light front and back protection and an Apple Pencil holder. The Logitech Slim Folio Keyboard for the 9th generation iPad for a light protection folio with a Bluetooth keyboard.
•The Rugged Combo Keyboard and Rugged Combo Touch, Made for Education are designed to provide the best keyboard and touchpad experience for the iPad Entry 9th generation in classrooms or at home, featuring drop protection, secure sealed keyboard and any angle viewing.
Gaming
Logitech G provides products for both gamers and creators, including mice, keyboards, headsets, and steering wheels, in addition to streaming software through Streamlabs. Incorporating innovative design and advanced technologies, some of the key products and solutions in this category include:
•The Logitech G PRO X Superlight Wireless Gaming Mouse that was designed in collaboration with the world's top esports professionals, featuring our LIGHTSPEEDTM professional grade wireless technology, and weighing in at less than 63 grams.
•The Logitech Pro Racing Wheel that features our exclusive TRUEFORCE feedback system that connects directly to in-game physics, and our new Direct Drive motor.
•The ASTRO A30 Wireless Headset that is compatible with PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation5, Nintendo Switch, and mobile, portable gaming devices.
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•Streamlabs software which provides streaming and monetization tools for content creators to manage their audience and broadcast.
Video Collaboration
The Video Collaboration category includes Logitech’s conference room cameras, which combine enterprise-quality audio and high definition ("HD") 4K video with affordability to bring video conferencing to businesses of any size, as well as state of the art webcams and headsets that turn any desktop into an instant collaboration space. Our key products in this category include:
•Logitech Rally Bar, an all-in-one video bar purpose-built for midsize rooms, featuring brilliant video, room-filling audio, and the flexibility to deploy in PC or appliance mode.
•Logitech Rally which offers best-in-class video conferencing with Ultra HD 4K video and professional audio that easily turns medium- to large-sized conference rooms into video-enabled collaboration rooms.
•Logitech MeetUp which is Logitech’s premier ConferenceCam designed for huddle rooms, with a room-capturing 120° field of view ("FOV"), 4K optics and exceptional audio performance.
•Logitech Tap touch-screen controller which connects to any computer through USB and serves as an ideal controller for video conferencing room solutions from Google®, Microsoft®, and Zoom.
•Logitech BRIO which has 4K video, RightLight 3 and high dynamic range ("HDR") to improve challenging lighting, and Windows Hello facial recognition support for secure login using just a user's face.
Music
Mobile Speakers: Our Mobile Speakers category is a portfolio of portable wireless Bluetooth speakers for music on the go. The top revenue-generating product in our Mobile Speakers category during fiscal year 2023 was Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 ("BOOM3"), our ruggedized portable Bluetooth wireless speaker. During fiscal year 2023, our collection of portable Bluetooth speakers included WONDERBOOM3, BOOM3, MEGABOOM3, and our largest most powerful speaker HYPERBOOM that delivers the loudest and most rich audio performance in the portfolio.
Audio & Wearables: Our Audio & Wearables category comprises PC speakers, PC headsets, in-ear headphones, premium wireless audio wearables designed to enhance the audio experience, and studio-quality Blue Microphones for professionals and consumers, such as Yeti, Yeti Nano and Yeti X.
Research and Development
We recognize that continued investment in product research and development is critical to facilitate innovation of new and improved products, technologies and experiences. Our research and development expenses for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 were $280.8 million, $291.8 million and $226.0 million, respectively. We expect to continue to devote significant resources to research and development, including devices for digital platforms, video communications, wireless technologies, power management, and user interfaces to sustain our competitive position.
Sales and Distribution
Principal Markets
Sales by geographic region (based on customers' location) for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 are as follows (in thousands):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Year Ended March 31, |
| | | 2023 | | 2022 | | 2021 |
| | |
| Americas | | $ | 1,930,908 | | | $ | 2,317,941 | | | $ | 2,206,552 | |
| EMEA | | 1,299,657 | | | 1,724,027 | | | 1,735,682 | |
| Asia Pacific | | 1,308,253 | | | 1,439,133 | | | 1,310,045 | |
| Total Sales | | $ | 4,538,818 | | | $ | 5,481,101 | | | $ | 5,252,279 | |
Revenues from sales to customers in Switzerland, our country of domicile, represented 3% of our sales for each of fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021. In fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, revenues from sales to customers in the United States represented 35%, 34% and 35% of our sales, respectively. In fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, revenues from sales to customers in Germany represented 14%, 15% and 16% of our sales, respectively. Revenues
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from sales to customers in China represented 11% and 10% of our sales for fiscal year 2023 and 2022, respectively. No other country represented more than 10% of our sales for fiscal years 2023, 2022 or 2021.
Sales and Distribution
Our sales and marketing activities are organized into three geographic regions: the Americas (North and South America), EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and Asia Pacific (China, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, India and other countries).
We sell our products primarily to a network of distributors, retailers and e-tailers. We support these channels with our direct sales force and third-party distribution centers located in North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Our distributor customers typically resell products to retailers, value-added resellers, systems integrators and other distributors with whom Logitech does not have a direct relationship.
Logitech's products can be purchased in a number of major retail chains, where we typically have access to significant shelf space. In addition, Logitech products can be purchased online either directly or indirectly from Logitech.com or through e-tailers, the websites of our major retail chains, and others. Logitech products are also carried by business-to-business direct market resellers.
In fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, Amazon Inc. and its affiliated entities together accounted for 19%, 17% and 13% of our gross sales, respectively. In fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, Ingram Micro Inc. and its affiliated entities together accounted for 13%, 15% and 14% of our gross sales, respectively. TD Synnex and its affiliate entities together accounted for 15% and 14% of our gross sales for fiscal year 2023 and 2022, respectively. No other customer individually accounted for more than 10% of our gross sales during fiscal years 2023, 2022 or 2021.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Our customer service organization provides user technical support, support related to product inquiry, and order support. We support these customer service functions with outsourced operations as well as inhouse support teams located in countries across the world. Outsourced locations include the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Japan, Bulgaria and China, and inhouse support is primarily located in the United States and India with several other locations in each region. Our customer service and technical personnel in each of our regions provide support services to retail purchasers of products through telephone, e-mail, forums, chat, and the Logitech Support website. For some of our brands, dedicated support websites and dedicated internal support teams are available. To improve our customers' experience and operate efficiently, we use technology to facilitate chatbot interactions, enable self-help and apply Artificial Intelligence to optimize support searches. We also have multiple walk-in centers in Korea and China, managed by third-party providers, where consumers may obtain service for their Logitech products. Consumers who have purchased Logitech products can visit these locations for product inspection, testing and return or exchange of products.
Logitech provides warranties on our branded products that range from one to five years. For our Video Collaboration category, we also work with channel partners to offer bundled support services with Logitech Video Collaboration solutions.
Manufacturing
Logitech's manufacturing operations consist principally of final assembly and testing. Since 1994, we have had our own manufacturing operations in Suzhou, China, which currently handles approximately 40% of our total production of products. We continue to focus on ensuring the efficiency of the Suzhou facilities, through the implementation of quality management, automation, process improvements, and employee involvement programs. We outsource the remaining production to contract manufacturers and original design manufacturers located principally in Asia. Both our in-house and outsourced manufacturing operations are managed by our worldwide operations group. The worldwide operations group also supports the business units and marketing and sales organizations through the management of distribution centers and the supply chain and logistics networks.
New product launches, process engineering, commodities management, logistics, quality assurance, operations management and management of Logitech's contract manufacturers occur in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, and Vietnam. Certain components are manufactured to Logitech's specifications by vendors in Asia, the United States, and Europe. We also use contract manufacturers to supplement internal capacity and to reduce volatility in production volumes. In addition, some products, including most keyboards, certain gaming
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devices, certain video conferencing devices, and certain audio products are manufactured by contract manufacturers to Logitech's specifications.
Our hybrid model of in-house manufacturing and contract manufacturers allows us to effectively respond to rapidly changing demand and leverage economies of scale. Through our high-volume manufacturing operations located in Suzhou, China, we believe we have been able to maintain strong quality process controls and have realized significant cost efficiencies. Our Suzhou operation provides for increased production capacity, manufacturing know-how, IP protection and greater flexibility in responding to product demand. Further, by outsourcing the manufacturing of certain products, we seek to reduce volatility in production volumes as well as improve time to market.
Competition
Our product categories are characterized by large, well-financed competitors, short product life cycles, continual performance enhancements, and rapid adoption of technological and product advancements by competitors in our retail markets. We have experienced aggressive price competition and other promotional activities from our primary competitors and less-established brands, including brands owned by some retail customers known as house brands. We may also encounter more competition if any of our competitors in one or more categories decide to enter other categories in which we currently operate.
As we target opportunities in new categories and markets and as some of our product categories demonstrate growth, we are confronting new competitors, many of which may have more experience in the categories or markets and have greater marketing resources and brand name recognition than we have. In addition, because of the continuing convergence of the markets for computing devices and consumer electronics, we expect greater competition in the future from well-established consumer electronics companies in our developing categories, as well as future ones we might enter. Many of these companies have greater financial, technical, sales, marketing, and other resources than we have.
We expect continued competitive pressure in our business, including in the terms and conditions that our competitors offer customers, which may be more favorable than our terms and conditions and may require us to take actions to increase our customer incentive programs, which could impact our sales and operating margins.
Creativity and Productivity
Pointing Devices: Apple Inc. ("Apple"), Microsoft Corporation ("Microsoft"), Lenovo Group Ltd (“Lenovo”), Dell Technologies Inc. ("Dell"), and HP Inc. are our main competitors worldwide. We also experience competition and pricing pressure from less-established brands, including house brands and local competitors in Asian markets, such as Elecom Co., Ltd., Buffalo Inc., Shenzhen Rapoo Technology Co., Ltd. (“Shenzhen Rapoo”), and Xiaomi Corporation.
Keyboards & Combos: Microsoft and Apple are the main competitors in our PC keyboard and combo product lines. We also experience competition and pricing pressure for corded and cordless keyboards and combos from less-established brands, including house brands and local competitors in Asian markets, such as Shenzhen Rapoo, IKBC, and Xiaomi Corporation.
PC Webcams: Our primary competitors for PC webcams are Microsoft, Cisco and other manufacturers taking smaller market share such as Razer Inc ("Razer") and HIKVision.
Tablet & Other Accessories: Competitors in the tablet keyboard market are Apple, Zagg Inc., Kensington Computer Products Group, Belkin International, Inc., Targus Corporation and other less-established brands. Although we are one of the leaders in the tablet keyboard market and continue to bring innovative offerings to the market, we expect the competition may increase. Competitors in the tablet case market include Apple, Otter Products LLC, Speck Products and a large number of smaller brands.
Gaming
Competitors for our gaming products include Razer, Corsair Gaming, Inc., SteelSeries (owned by GN), Turtle Beach Corporation and HyperX (owned by HP Inc.), among others.
Video Collaboration
Our competitors for Video Collaboration products include Cisco Systems, Inc., Poly (owned by HP Inc.), Jabra (owned by GN), AVer Information Inc., Neat and Yealink (Xiamen) Network Technology Co.Ltd, among others.
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Music
Mobile Speakers: Our competitors for Bluetooth wireless speakers include Bose Corporation ("Bose"), Harman International Industries, Inc (owned by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Harman owns JBL and has Harman Kardon as a division), and Beats Electronics LLC ("Beats") (owned by Apple), among others. Harman is our largest competitor. Personal voice assistants and other devices that offer music, such as Sonos, Amazon's Echo, Google Home (owned by Alphabet, Inc.) and Apple HomePod, also compete with our products. Amazon is also a significant customer of our products.
Audio & Wearables: For PC speakers, our competitors include Bose, Cyber Acoustics LLC, and Creative Labs, Inc., among others.
For PC headsets, our main competitors include Poly (owned by HP Inc.) and Jabra (owned by GN), among others. In-ear headphones competitors include Beats, Bose, Apple, Sony Corporation ("Sony"), JBL and Sennheiser, among others.
Our competitors for Blue Microphones products include Rode Microphones LLC, Audio Technica Corporation, Samson Technologies Corp., Shure Incorporated, Razer and Apogee Electronics Corp., among others.
Intellectual Property and Proprietary Rights
Intellectual property rights that apply to Logitech's products and services include patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
We hold various United States patents and pending applications, together with corresponding patents and pending applications from other countries. While we believe that patent protection is important, we also believe that patents are of less competitive significance than factors such as technological innovation, ease of use, and quality design. No single patent is in itself essential to Logitech as a whole. From time to time, we receive claims that we may be infringing on patents or other intellectual property rights of others. As appropriate, claims are referred to legal counsel, and current claims are in various stages of evaluation and negotiation. If necessary or desirable, we may seek licenses for certain intellectual property rights. Refer also to the discussion in Item 1A "Risk Factors—"We may be unable to protect our proprietary rights. Unauthorized use of our technology may result in the development of products that compete with our products." and "Claims by others that we infringe their proprietary technology could adversely affect our business."
To distinguish genuine Logitech products from competing products and counterfeit products, Logitech has used, registered, or applied to register certain trademarks and trade names in the United States and other countries and jurisdictions. Logitech enforces its trademark and trade name rights in the United States and other countries. In addition, the software for Logitech's products and services is entitled to copyright protection, and we generally require our customers to obtain a software license before providing them with that software. We also protect details about our products and services as trade secrets through employee training, license and non-disclosure agreements, technical measures and other reasonable efforts to preserve confidentiality.
Material Government Regulations
We conduct operations in a number of countries and we are subject to a variety of laws and regulations which vary from country to country. Such laws and regulations include, in addition to environmental regulations described below, tax, import/export and anti-corruption laws, varying accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, import or export restrictions or licensing requirements, trade protection measures, custom duties, tariffs, import or export duties, and other trade barriers, restrictions and regulations.
While we incur increasing costs to comply with such other government regulations, we do not believe that our compliance with such requirements will have a material effect on our capital expenditures, competitive position, consolidated results of operations, earnings, or cash flows. Nonetheless, as discussed below, we believe that certain environmental, social and governance ("ESG") regulations could potentially materially impact our business.
For more information about such regulations and how they may impact us, see "Risks Related to our Global Operations and Regulatory Environment" and “We are subject to risks related to our environmental, social and governance ("ESG") activities and disclosures” in Item 1A "Risk Factors" and Note 7—Income Taxes in our Notes to consolidated financial statements below.
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Environmental Regulation
We are subject to environmental regulations in a number of jurisdictions, including the following regulations:
Targeted Substances. Our operations are subject to regulation under various federal, state, local and foreign laws concerning the environment, including laws addressing the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, and the cleanup of contaminated sites. We could incur costs, including cleanup costs, fines and civil or criminal sanctions, and third-party damage or personal injury claims, if we were to violate or become liable under environmental laws.
Our products are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws governing chemical substances in products and their safe use, including laws regulating the manufacture and distribution of chemical substances and laws restricting the presence of certain substances in electronics products.
Stewardship: In Europe, Logitech products are regulated by a number of end-of-life stewardship directives including the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”) Directive, the Packaging Directive and the Battery Directive, which require producers of electrical goods, packaging, and batteries to finance the collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of relevant products. Similar legislation exists in many countries worldwide. There are stewardship costs associated with the end-of-life collection, recycling and recovery of Logitech products, packaging and batteries where Logitech is recognized as the steward and participates in relevant programs. The cost requirements are industry requirements and therefore do not represent an undue burden relative to Logitech's competitive position.
Conflict Minerals: Sourcing of certain metals is regulated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, specifically Section 1502, which addresses the use of "Conflict Minerals" in the supply chain. Similar legislation is emerging in other countries worldwide. We have established systems which facilitate our compliance with the sourcing, traceability and reporting obligations and the reporting requirements of this Act aligned with guidelines published by the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (“RBA”) and the Responsible Minerals Initiative ("RMI"), we participate in the industry-wide Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative and its Responsible Minerals Assessment Program (“RMAP”). The RMAP standards are considered industry best practice and are developed to meet the requirements of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, the Regulation ("EU") 2017/821 of the European Parliament and the U.S. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Modern Slavery: Our commitment to combat slavery and human trafficking is underpinned by the Transparency in Supply Chain Act of 2010 (S.B. 657), the United Kingdom Modern Slavery Act of 2015, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, the Australian Modern Slavery Act of 2018 and existing or emerging similar legislation worldwide. We utilize our formalized commitment to the United Nations Global Compact ("UNGC") adherence to the RBA code of conduct and transparently report our programs to identify and eradicate slavery and human trafficking in our global supply chains.
Climate & Carbon: Our operations, supply chain and products are not currently subject to carbon pricing or other legally required carbon taxation or penalties. We have made a voluntary adherence to the Paris Accord international agreement for climate action and we have developed and adopted the principle of Design for Sustainability ("DfS") and Carbon Transparency to catalyze reductions in our corporate carbon footprint, uptake of renewable power and materials and our journey to net zero. With our annual Sustainability Report and Carbon Disclosure Project reports, we report progress, risks and opportunities around climate and carbon.
Our operations, supply chain and our products are expected to become increasingly subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and international treaties relating to climate change, such as climate disclosure, carbon pricing or product energy efficiency requirements, requiring us to comply or potentially face market access limitations or other sanctions including fines. We strive to continually improve the energy and carbon efficiency of our operations, supply chain and product portfolio through our DfS deployment during product development. We are committed to carbon transparency through product carbon footprint labeling and ensuring that the consumer is engaged and aware of the impact of their purchase. We believe that this consumer centric approach is fundamental in moving towards a more sustainable future and we are collaborating with industry and business groups to find and promote ways to achieve broader adoption of this approach.
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Energy: A number of our products are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws governing energy management or encouraging manufacturers and importers to produce products designed to minimize overall environmental impact.
The effects on Logitech's business of complying with these environmental regulations currently are limited to the cost of agency fees and testing required to obtain agency approvals. The costs and schedule requirements are industry requirements and therefore do not represent an undue burden relative to Logitech's competitive position.
Seasonality
Our product sales are typically seasonal. Sales are generally highest during our third fiscal quarter (October to December) primarily due to the increased consumer demand for our products during the year-end holiday buying season and year-end spending by enterprises. Cash flow is correspondingly lower in the first half of our fiscal year as we typically build inventories in advance for the third quarter and we pay an annual dividend following our Annual General Meeting, which is typically in September. Due to the timing of our new product introductions, which could occur at any point during the fiscal year, we believe that year-over-year comparisons are more indicative of variability in our results of operations than the current quarter to prior quarter comparisons.
Materials
We purchase certain products and key components used in our products from a limited number of sources. Lead times for materials, components, and products ordered by us or by our contract manufacturers can vary significantly and depend on factors such as contract terms, demand for a component, our ability to forecast product demand, and supplier capacity. From time to time, we have experienced component shortages and extended lead times on semiconductors, such as micro-controllers and optical sensors, and base metals used in our products. Shortages or interruptions in the supply of components or subcontracted products, or our inability to procure these components or products from alternate sources at acceptable prices in a timely manner, could delay shipment of our products or increase our production costs.
Human Capital Resources
Employees
Our human capital resources include persons employed directly by us or indirectly through contingent workforce arrangements. As of March 31, 2023, we employed approximately 7,400 persons, of which approximately 2,400 were employed, directly and indirectly, in our Suzhou manufacturing operations. None of Logitech's U.S. direct employees are represented by a labor union or are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. Certain other countries, such as China, provide by law for employee rights, which include requirements similar to collective bargaining agreements. We believe that our employee relations are good.
We rely on different programs and initiatives to support our goals. Some of our key human capital management programs are summarized below.
Diversity and Inclusion
We believe that reflecting the diverse world in which we live - through our people and by fostering an inclusive culture - provides us with the foundation needed to create experiences that enable all people to pursue their passions, which is our corporate purpose. Our direct employees are located across Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific and bring a range of perspectives and skills to Logitech. As of March 31, 2023, 46% of our office employees were located in Asia-Pacific, 30% in the Americas, and 24% in EMEA. As of March 31, 2023, females represented 38% of our global office employees, 36% of our manufacturing workforce, and 34% were in managerial roles. In the U.S., underrepresented minorities (defined as Black or African American, Asian, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander) represented 47% of our workforce, and 44% were in managerial roles.
To foster a more inclusive environment, we offer training sessions to emphasize awareness of self, bias and privilege, and inclusion. In addition, to measure our employees’ satisfaction at Logitech, we distribute a bi-annual employee engagement survey. Most recently, we conducted a survey in December 2022, in which 85% of our global office employees participated. As part of the survey, employees provided weighted feedback on their experience at Logitech, on measures such as happiness, retention and their perspective on our current state of workplace inclusivity at Logitech.
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Safety, Health and Well-being
We look to safeguard the safety, health and well-being of all members of the Logitech team. We implement training and communication programs across the business each year to ensure employee awareness of the importance of health and safety management and our key programs and provisions. To help us ensure the safety, health and well-being of employees at our production facility in Suzhou, China, we follow the RBA Code of Conduct and have an Environmental, Health and Safety ("EHS") Management System that is certified to ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. We implement the RBA Code as a full supply chain initiative. Further, we operate an audit and verification program to verify compliance with the RBA code. We believe health and well-being are critical to our employee’s personal and professional success and provide, in addition to healthcare benefits, wellness tools, resources and programs designed to help employees achieve good physical, financial, emotional, intellectual and social well-being.
Talent Acquisition and Development
Our geographic diversity gives Logitech an excellent foundation to recruit diverse talent from around the world. We believe that the entire talent process must be executed through a lens of equity and inclusion. We provide learning and development tools and resources to all our employees through our key programs. Our talent development program includes a dedicated training center at our production facility, a number of workshop-based, leadership development, mentorship, coaching career development and team building programs that remain available remotely.
Information About Our Executive Officers. The following sets forth certain information regarding our executive officers as of May 17, 2023:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Name | | Age | | Nationality | | Position |
| Bracken Darrell | | 60 | | U.S. | | President, Chief Executive Officer and Director |
| Charles Boynton | | 55 | | U.S. | | Chief Financial Officer |
| Prakash Arunkundrum | | 48 | | U.S. | | Chief Operating Officer |
| Samantha Harnett | | 47 | | U.S. | | Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary |
Bracken Darrell joined Logitech as President in April 2012 and became Chief Executive Officer in January 2013. Prior to joining Logitech, Mr. Darrell served as President of Whirlpool EMEA and Executive Vice President of Whirlpool Corporation, a home appliance manufacturer and marketing company, from January 2009 to March 2012. Previously, Mr. Darrell had been Senior Vice President, Operations of Whirlpool EMEA from May 2008 to January 2009. From 2002 to May 2008, Mr. Darrell was with the Procter & Gamble Company ("P&G"), a consumer brand company, most recently as the President of its Braun GmbH subsidiary. Prior to rejoining P&G in 2002, Mr. Darrell served in various executive and managerial positions with General Electric Company from 1997 to 2002, with P&G from 1991 to 1997, and with PepsiCo Inc. from 1987 to 1989. Mr. Darrell holds a BA degree from Hendrix College and an MBA from Harvard University.
Charles Boynton joined Logitech as Chief Financial Officer in February 2023. Prior to joining Logitech, Mr. Boynton served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Plantronics, Inc. (dba Poly), a technology company specializing in video and video solutions as well as team collaboration, from March 2019 to October 2022. Prior to joining Poly, Mr. Boynton served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of SunPower Corporation, a global energy company and provider of solar power solutions, from March 2012 to May 2018, and continued as an Executive Vice President until July 2018. Mr. Boynton also served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 8point3 General Partner LLC, the general partner of 8point3 Energy Partners LP, an affiliate of SunPower, from March 2015 to June 2018. From 2010 to 2018, Mr. Boynton held various leadership positions at SunPower, including Principal Accounting Officer, Acting Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance and Corporate Development. Earlier in his career, Mr. Boynton held key financial positions at Intelliden, Commerce One, Inc., Kraft Foods, Inc., and Grant Thornton, LLP. Mr. Boynton currently serves on the Board of Directors of Nextracker Inc. Mr. Boynton earned his master’s degree in business administration at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington.
Prakash Arunkundrum is Logitech’s Chief Operating Officer, a position he has held since February 2023. He was previously Logitech's Head of Global Operations & Sustainability, a role he held from May 2018. He joined Logitech in 2015 and held operations positions as Vice President New Product Introductions & Strategic Initiatives from August 2015 to July 2016 and Vice President Global Sourcing and New Product Introductions from July 2016 to May 2018. Prior to joining Logitech, Mr. Arunkundrum was a Principal at A.T. Kearney, a global management
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consulting firm, from July 2014 to August 2015. He also served as Director, Management Consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a multinational professional services network of firms, from September 2011 to July 2014 and Principal at PRTM Management Consultants LLC, a management consulting firm acquired by PricewaterhouseCoopers, from March 2010 to September 2011. Prior to his management consulting roles, Mr. Arunkundrum held several management positions at i2 Technologies, a supply chain management company acquired by JDA Software, from March 2007 to February 2010. Early in his career, he held product management positions at supply chain startups and i2 Technologies. Mr. Arunkundrum holds a BTech degree in Chemical Engineering from Central ElectroChemical Research Institute ("CECRI") in Karaikudi, India and a Master of Science in Materials Engineering from University of Maryland at College Park.
Samantha Harnett joined Logitech as General Counsel in June 2020 and became Chief Legal Officer in April 2023. Prior to joining Logitech, Ms. Harnett served in various legal and management roles at Eventbrite, Inc., a global self-service ticketing and experience technology platform, most recently as Chief Legal and Operations Officer from October 2019 to June 2020. While at Eventbrite, she also served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel from May 2018 to October 2019 and Vice President, General Counsel from November 2015 to May 2018. From March 2005 to November 2015, Ms. Harnett served in various positions at ZipRealty, Inc., a real estate technology and online brokerage company, including most recently as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Business Development from October 2009 to November 2015. She also served as an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, P.C. Ms. Harnett holds a BA degree from California State University, Chico and a JD from Santa Clara University School of Law.
Available Information
Our Investor Relations website is located at https://ir.logitech.com. We post and maintain an archive of our earnings and other press releases, current reports, annual and quarterly reports, earnings release schedule, information regarding annual general meetings, further information on corporate governance, and other information regarding the Company on the Investor Relations website. The information we post includes filings we make with the SEC, including reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and our proxy statement related to our annual shareholders' meeting and any amendments to those reports or statements filed or furnished pursuant to U.S. securities laws or Swiss laws. All such filings and information are available free of charge on the website, and we make them available on the website as soon as reasonably possible after we file or furnish them with the SEC. The contents of these websites are not intended to be incorporated by reference into this report or in any other report or document we file and our references to these websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.
In addition, Logitech publishes press releases upon the occurrence of significant events within Logitech. Shareholders and members of the public may elect to receive alerts when Logitech issues press releases upon the occurrence of significant events within Logitech or other press releases by subscribing through
http://ir.logitech.com/alerts.cfm.
As a Swiss company traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange, and as a company subject to the provisions of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, we file reports on transactions in Logitech securities by members of Logitech's Board of Directors and executive officers. The reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Forms 3, 4 and 5, along with our other SEC filings, may be accessed on our website or on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov, and the reports we file that are published by the SIX Swiss Exchange may be accessed at
http://www.six-exchange-regulation.com/obligations/management_transactions_en.html.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The risk factors summarized and disclosed below could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, and may cause volatility in the price of our shares. These are not all the risks we face and other factors not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also affect our business if they occur. See also the other information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including in Part I, Item 1 "Business," Part II, Item 7 "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related Notes.
Summary of Risk Factors
Risks Related to our Business
•If we fail to innovate and develop new products in a timely and cost-effective manner for our new and existing product categories, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
•If we do not successfully execute on our growth opportunities, or if our growth opportunities are more limited than we expect, our operating results and future growth could be adversely affected.
•We purchase key components and products from a limited number of sources, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected if supply were delayed or constrained or if there were shortages of required components.
•Our principal manufacturing operations and third-party contract manufacturers are located in China and Southeast Asia, which exposes us to risks associated with doing business in that geographic area as well as potential tariffs, adverse trade regulations, adverse tax consequences and pressure to move or diversify our manufacturing locations.
•If we do not successfully coordinate the worldwide manufacturing and distribution of our products, we could lose sales and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
•If we are not able to maintain and enhance our brands, or if our brands or reputation are damaged, our reputation, business and operating results could be adversely affected.
•If we do not compete effectively, demand for our products could decline and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
•We rely on third parties to sell and distribute our products, and we rely on their information to manage our business. Disruption of our relationship with these channel partners, changes in or issues with their business practices, their failure to provide timely and accurate information, changes in distribution partners, practices or models, conflicts among our channels of distribution, or failure to build and scale our own sales force for certain product categories and enterprise channel partners could adversely affect our business, results of operations, operating cash flows and financial condition.
•If we do not accurately forecast market demand for our products, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
•Our business depends in part on access to third-party platforms or technologies, and if access thereto is withdrawn, denied, or is not available on terms acceptable to us, or if the platforms or technologies change without notice to us, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
•Our success largely depends on our ability to manage, hire, retain, integrate and motivate sufficient numbers of qualified personnel, including senior leadership. Our strategy and our ability to innovate, design
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and produce new products, sell products, maintain operating margins and control expenses depend on key personnel that may be difficult to replace.
•As we focus on growth opportunities, we are divesting or discontinuing non-strategic product categories, or pursuing strategic acquisitions and investments, which could have an adverse impact on our business.
•As we continue our efforts to lower our costs and improve our operational efficiency, we may not fully realize our goals.
•Product quality issues could adversely affect our reputation, business and operating results.
Risks Related to Global Nature of our Operations and Regulatory Environment
•Adverse global and regional economic and geopolitical conditions can materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
•We conduct operations in a number of countries and have invested significantly in growing our sales and marketing activities in China, and the effect of business, legal and political risks associated with international operations could adversely affect us.
•Changes in trade policy and regulations in the United States and other countries, including changes in trade agreements and the imposition of tariffs and the resulting consequences, may have adverse impacts on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
•Our financial performance is subject to risks associated with fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
•We are subject to risks related to our environmental, social and governance ("ESG") activities and disclosures.
•As a company operating in many markets and jurisdictions, expanding into new growth categories, and engaging in acquisitions, and as a Swiss, dual-listed company, we are subject to risks associated with new, existing and potential future laws and regulations.
•As a result of changes in tax laws, treaties, rulings, regulations or agreements, or their interpretation, of Switzerland or any other country in which we operate, the loss of a major tax dispute or a successful challenge to our operating structure, intercompany pricing policies or the taxable presence of our key subsidiaries in certain countries, or other factors, our effective income tax rates may increase, which could adversely affect our net income and cash flows.
•We maintain cash and cash equivalents at financial institutions and are exposed to credit risk in the event of default by such financial institutions.
Risks Related to Confidential Information, Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Intellectual Property
•Losses or unauthorized access to or releases of confidential information could adversely affect our business and result in significant reputational, financial and legal consequences.
•The collection, storage, transmission, use and distribution of personal data could give rise to liabilities and additional costs of operation as a result of laws, governmental regulation and risks of data breaches and security incidents.
•Claims by others that we infringe their proprietary technology could adversely affect our business.
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•We may be unable to protect our proprietary rights. Unauthorized use of our technology may result in the development of products that compete with our products.
Risks Related to our Financial Results
•Our operating results are difficult to predict and fluctuations in results may cause volatility in the price of our shares.
•Our gross margins can vary significantly depending on multiple factors, which can result in unanticipated fluctuations in our operating results.
•We cannot ensure that our share repurchase programs will be fully utilized or that it will enhance long-term shareholder value. Share repurchases may also increase the volatility of the trading price of our shares. We similarly cannot ensure that we will continue to increase our dividend payments or to pay dividends at all. Share repurchases and dividends diminish our cash reserves.
Risk Factors
Risks Related to our Business
If we fail to innovate and develop new products in a timely and cost-effective manner for our new and existing product categories, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
Our product categories are characterized by short product life cycles, intense competition, frequent new product introductions, rapidly changing technology, dynamic consumer demand and evolving industry standards. As a result, we must continually innovate in our new and existing product categories, introduce new products and technologies, and enhance existing products in order to remain competitive.
The success of our product portfolio depends on several factors, including our ability to:
•Identify new features, functionality and opportunities;
•Anticipate technology, market trends and consumer preferences;
•Develop innovative, high-quality, and reliable new products and enhancements in a cost-effective and timely manner;
•Distinguish our products from those of our competitors; and
•Offer our products at prices and on terms that are attractive to our customers and consumers.
The development of new products and services can be very difficult and requires high levels of innovation. The development process also can be lengthy and costly. There are significant initial expenditures for research and development, tooling, manufacturing processes, inventory and marketing, and we may not be able to recover those investments. If we fail to accurately anticipate technological trends or our users’ needs or preferences, are unable to complete the development of products and services in a cost-effective and timely fashion or are unable to appropriately increase production to fulfill customer demand, we will be unable to successfully introduce new products and services into the market or compete with other providers. Even if we complete the development of our new products and services in a cost-effective and timely manner, they may not be competitive with products developed by others, they may not achieve acceptance in the market at anticipated levels or at all, they may not be profitable or, even if they are profitable, they may not achieve margins as high as our expectations or as high as the margins we have achieved historically.
As we introduce new or enhanced products, integrate new technology into new or existing products, or reduce the overall number of products offered, we face risks including, among other things, disruption in customers’ ordering patterns, excessive levels of new and existing product inventories, revenue deterioration in our existing product lines, insufficient supplies of new products to meet customers’ demand, possible product and technology defects, and a potentially different sales and support environment. Premature announcements or leaks of new products, features or technologies may exacerbate some of these risks by reducing the effectiveness of our product launches, reducing sales volumes of current products due to anticipated future products, making it more difficult to
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compete, shortening the period of differentiation based on our product innovation, straining relationships with our partners or increasing market expectations for the results of our new products before we have had an opportunity to demonstrate the market viability of the products. Our failure to manage the transition to new products and services or the integration of new technology into new or existing products and services could adversely affect our business, results of operations, operating cash flows and financial condition.
If we do not successfully execute on our growth opportunities, or if our growth opportunities are more limited than we expect, our operating results and future growth could be adversely affected.
Our future growth depends on growth opportunities and as a result, we are attempting to diversify our product category portfolio. Our investments may not result in the growth we expect, or when we expect it, for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, changes in growth trends, evolving and changing markets and increasing competition, market opportunities, and product innovation.
Our growth opportunities and those we may pursue are subject to constant and rapidly changing and evolving technologies and evolving industry standards and may be replaced by new technology concepts or platforms. Some of these growth categories and opportunities are also characterized by short product cycles, frequent new product introductions and enhancements and rapidly changing and evolving consumer preferences with respect to design and features that require calculated risk-taking and fast responsiveness and result in short opportunities to establish a market presence. In addition, some of these growth categories and opportunities are characterized by price competition, erosion of premium-priced segments and average selling prices, commoditization, and sensitivity to general economic conditions and cyclical downturns. The growth opportunities and strength and number of competitors that we face in all of our product categories mean that we are at risk of new competitors coming to market with more innovative products that are more attractive to customers than ours or priced more competitively. If we do not develop innovative and reliable product offerings and enhancements in a cost-effective and timely manner that are attractive to consumers in these markets, if we are otherwise unsuccessful entering and competing in these growth categories or responding to our many competitors and to the rapidly changing conditions in these growth categories, if the growth categories in which we invest our limited resources do not emerge as the opportunities or do not produce the growth or profitability we expect, or when we expect it, or if we do not correctly anticipate changes and evolutions in technology and platforms, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.
In addition, we rely on our go-to-market capability to leverage on those growth opportunities, market our products and compete effectively with a goal of strengthening our sales. If we are not able to develop and maintain our go-to-market capabilities and processes, in particular the continued development of our enterprise salesforce and strategy, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We purchase key components and products from a limited number of sources, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected if supply were delayed or constrained or if there were shortages of required components.
We purchase certain products and key components from a limited number of sources. If the supply of these products or key components were to be delayed or constrained, impacted by global shortages of semiconductor chips, or if one or more of our single-source suppliers experience disruptions or go out of business as a result of adverse global economic conditions, natural disasters or regional or global pandemics, including COVID-19, we might be unable to find a new supplier on acceptable terms, or at all, and our product shipments to our customers could be delayed, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Lead times for materials, components and products ordered by us or by our contract manufacturers can vary significantly and depend on factors such as contract terms, demand for a component, and supplier capacity. From time to time, we have experienced component shortages and extended lead times on semiconductors, such as microcontrollers and optical sensors, and base metals used in our products. Shortages or interruptions in the supply of components or subcontracted products, or our inability to procure these components or products from alternate sources at acceptable prices in a timely manner, could delay shipment of our products or increase our production costs, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.
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Our principal manufacturing operations and third-party contract manufacturers are located in China and Southeast Asia, which exposes us to risks associated with doing business in that geographic area as well as potential tariffs, adverse trade regulations, adverse tax consequences and pressure to move or diversify our manufacturing locations.
We produce approximately 40% of our products at the facilities we own in China. The majority of our other production is performed by third-party contract manufacturers, including original design manufacturers, in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, and Vietnam.
Our manufacturing operations in China have been in the past and could in the future be adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in the interpretation and enforcement of legal standards, strains on China’s available labor pool, changes in labor costs and other employment dynamics, high turnover among Chinese employees, infrastructure issues, import-export issues, cross-border intellectual property and technology restrictions, currency transfer restrictions, natural disasters, regional or global pandemics, conflicts or disagreements between China and Taiwan or China and the United States, labor unrest, and other trade customs and practices that are dissimilar to those in the United States and Europe. Interpretation and enforcement of China’s laws and regulations continue to evolve, and we expect differences in interpretation and enforcement to continue in the foreseeable future.
Our manufacturing operations at third-party contractors could be adversely affected by contractual disagreements, by labor unrest, by natural disasters, by regional or global pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, by wars and armed conflicts, by strains on local communications, trade, and other infrastructures, by competition for the available labor pool or manufacturing capacity, by increasing labor and other costs, and by other trade customs and practices that are dissimilar to those in the United States and Europe.
Further, we have been exposed in the past and may be exposed to fluctuations in the value of the local currency in the countries in which manufacturing occurs. Future appreciation of these local currencies could increase our component and other raw material costs. In addition, our labor costs could continue to rise as wage rates increase and the available labor pool declines. These conditions could adversely affect our financial results.
If we do not successfully coordinate the worldwide manufacturing and distribution of our products, we could lose sales and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
If we do not successfully coordinate the timely manufacturing and distribution of our products, if our manufacturers, distribution logistics providers or transport providers are not able to successfully and timely process our business or if we do not receive timely and accurate information from such providers, and especially if we expand into new product categories or our business grows in volume, we may have an insufficient supply of products to meet customer demand or experience a build-up in inventory. As a result, we could lose sales or incur additional costs which could adversely affect our financial performance.
By locating our manufacturing in China and Southeast Asia, we are reliant on third parties to get our products to distributors around the world. Transportation costs, fuel costs, labor unrest, natural disasters, regional or global pandemics, military conflicts, and other adverse effects on our ability, timing and cost of delivering products can increase our inventory, decrease our margins, adversely affect our relationships with distributors and other customers and otherwise adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
A significant portion of our quarterly retail orders and product deliveries generally occur in the last weeks of the fiscal quarter. This places pressure on our supply chain and could adversely affect our revenues and profitability if we are unable to successfully fulfill customer orders.
If we are not able to maintain and enhance our brands, or if our brands or reputation are damaged, our reputation, business and operating results could be adversely affected.
We have developed long-term value in our brands and have invested significantly in design and in our existing and new brands over the past several years. We believe that our design and brands have significantly contributed to the success of our business and that maintaining and enhancing our brands is very important to our future growth and success. Maintaining and enhancing our brands will require significant investments and will depend largely on our future design, products and marketing, which may not be successful and may damage our brands. Our brands and reputation are also dependent on third parties, such as suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, product
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reviewers and the media as well as online consumer product reviews, consumer recommendations and referrals. It can take significant time, resources and expense to overcome negative publicity, reviews or perception. Any negative effect on our brands, regardless of whether it is in our control, could adversely affect our reputation, business and results of operations.
If we do not compete effectively, demand for our products could decline and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
The industry in which we operate is intensely competitive. Most of our product categories are characterized by large, well-financed competitors with strong brand names and highly effective research and development, marketing and sales capabilities, short product life cycles, continual performance enhancements, and rapid adoption of technological and product advancements by competitors in our product markets. We also experience aggressive price competition and other promotional activities from our primary competitors and from less-established brands, including brands owned by retail customers known as house brands. As we shift the focus of our marketing efforts in certain categories from a push model to a demand-generating pull model, the pressures from this competition and from our distribution channels, combined with the implementation risks of such a strategy shift, could adversely affect our competitive position, market share and business. In addition, our competitors may offer customers terms and conditions that may be more favorable than our terms and conditions and may require us to take actions to maintain or increase our customer incentive programs, which could impact our revenues and operating margins.
In addition, because of the continuing convergence of the markets for computing devices and consumer electronics, we expect greater competition in the future from well-established consumer electronics companies in our developing categories as well as in future categories we might enter.
Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon are leading producers of operating systems, hardware, platforms and applications with which our mice, keyboards, wireless speakers and other products are designed to operate. As a result, Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon each may be able to improve the functionality of its products, if any, or may choose to show preference to our competitors' products, to correspond with ongoing enhancements to its operating systems, hardware and software applications before we are able to make such improvements. This ability could provide Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon or other competitors with significant lead-time advantages. In addition, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon or other competitors may be able to control distribution channels or offer pricing advantages on bundled hardware and software products that we may not be able to offer, and maybe financially positioned to exert significant downward pressure on product prices and upward pressure on promotional incentives in order to gain market share. For additional information, see "Competition” in Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We rely on third parties to sell and distribute our products, and we rely on their information to manage our business. Disruption of our relationship with these channel partners, changes in or issues with their business practices, their failure to provide timely and accurate information, changes in distribution partners, practices or models, conflicts among our channels of distribution, or failure to build and scale our own sales force for certain product categories and enterprise channel partners could adversely affect our business, results of operations, operating cash flows and financial condition.
We primarily sell our products to a network of distributors, retailers, e-tailers and enterprise customers (together with our direct sales channel partners). We are dependent on those direct sales channel partners to distribute and sell our products to indirect sales channel partners and ultimately to consumers. The sales and business practices of all such sales channel partners, their compliance with laws and regulations, and their reputations - of which we may or may not be aware - may affect our business and our reputation.
While our overall distribution relationships are diffuse, in fiscal year 2023 and 2022 our gross sales were concentrated with three customers - Amazon Inc., Ingram Micro and TD Synnex - and their affiliated entities. We do not have long-term commitments with those customers. If online sales grow as a percentage of overall sales, we expect that we will become even more reliant on Amazon. While we believe that we have good relationships with Amazon, Ingram Micro and TD Synnex, any adverse change in those relationships could have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
The impact of economic conditions, labor issues, natural disasters, regional or global pandemics, evolving consumer preferences, and purchasing patterns on our distribution partners, or competition between our sales channels, could result in sales channel disruption. Any loss of a major partner or distribution channel or other
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channel disruption could make us more dependent on alternate channels, increase pricing and promotional pressures from other partners and distribution channels, increase our marketing costs, or adversely impact buying and inventory patterns, payment terms or other contractual terms, sell-through or delivery of our products to consumers, our reputation and brand equity, or our market share.
Our sales channel partners also sell products offered by our competitors and, in the case of retailer house brands, may also be our competitors. If product competitors offer our sales channel partners more favorable terms, have more products available to meet their needs, or utilize the leverage of broader product lines sold through the channel, or if our sales channel partners show preference for their own house brands, our sales channel partners may de-emphasize or decline to carry our products. In addition, certain of our sales channel partners could decide to de-emphasize the product categories that we offer in exchange for other product categories that they believe provide them with higher returns. If we are unable to maintain successful relationships with these sales channel partners or to maintain our distribution channels, our business will suffer.
As we expand into new product categories and markets in pursuit of growth, we will have to build relationships with new channel partners and adapt to new distribution and marketing models. These new partners, practices and models may require significant management attention and operational resources and may affect our accounting, including revenue recognition, gross margins, and the ability to make comparisons from period to period. Certain product categories, such as Video Collaboration, also require that we further build and scale our own enterprise sales force. Several of our competitors already have large enterprise sales forces and experience and success with that sales model. If we are unable to build successful distribution channels, build and scale our own enterprise sales force, or successfully market our products in these new product categories, we may not be able to take advantage of the growth opportunities, and our business and our ability to grow our business could be adversely affected.
We reserve for cooperative marketing arrangements, incentive programs and pricing programs with our sales channel partners. These reserves are based on judgments and estimates, using historical experience rates, inventory levels in distribution, current trends and other factors. There could be significant differences between the actual costs of such arrangements and programs and our estimates.
We use sell-through data, which represents sales of our products by our direct retailer and e-tailer customers to consumers, and by our distributor customers to their customers, along with other metrics, to assess consumer demand for our products. Sell-through data is subject to limitations due to collection methods and the third-party nature of the data and thus may not be an accurate indicator of actual consumer demand for our products. The customers supplying sell-through data vary by geographic region and from period to period, but typically represent a majority of our retail sales. In addition, we rely on channel inventory data from our sales channel partners. If we do not receive this information on a timely and accurate basis, if this information is not accurate, or if we do not properly interpret this information, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
If we do not accurately forecast market demand for our products, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
We use our forecasts of product demand to make decisions regarding investments of our resources and production levels of our products. Although we receive forecasts from our customers, many are not obligated to purchase the forecasted demand. Also, actual sales volumes for individual products in our retail distribution channel can be volatile due to changes in consumer preferences and other reasons. In addition, our products have short product life cycles, so a failure to accurately predict high demand for a product can result in lost sales that we may not recover in subsequent periods, or higher product costs if we meet demand by paying higher costs for materials, production and delivery. Our failure to predict low demand for a product can result in excess inventory, lower cash flows and lower margins if we are required to reduce product prices in order to reduce inventories.
If our sales channel partners have excess inventory of our products or decide to decrease their inventories for any reason, they may decrease the number of products they acquire in subsequent periods, which could cause disruption in our business and adversely affect our forecasts and sales.
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In addition, market demand remains less predictable and more volatile than pre-COVID-19, partially due to the current macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions. As a result, we have experienced in the past and may continue experiencing large differences between our forecasts and actual demand for our products that may result in excess inventory or product unavailability, inventory and restructuring reserves, increases in operational logistics and other costs, damaged relationships with suppliers or customers, opportunities for our competitors, and lost market share and revenue. If we do not accurately predict product demand, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
Our business depends in part on access to third-party platforms or technologies, and if access thereto is withdrawn, denied, or is not available on terms acceptable to us, or if the platforms or technologies change without notice to us, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
Our product portfolio includes current and future products designed for use with third-party platforms or software, such as the Apple iPad, iPod, iPhone and Siri, Android phones and tablets, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Our business in these categories relies on our access to the platforms of third parties, some of whom are our competitors. Platform owners that are competitors have a competitive advantage in designing products for their platforms and may produce peripherals or other products that work better, or are perceived to work better, than our products in connection with those platforms. As we expand the number of platforms and software applications with which our products are compatible, we may not be successful in launching products for those platforms or software applications, we may not be successful in establishing strong relationships with the new platform or software owners, or we may negatively impact our ability to develop and produce high-quality products on a timely basis for those platforms and software applications or we may otherwise adversely affect our relationships with existing platform or software owners.
Our access to third-party platforms may require paying a royalty, which lowers our product margins or may otherwise be on terms that are not acceptable to us. In addition, the third-party platforms or technologies used to interact with our product portfolio can be delayed in production or can change without prior notice to us, which can result in our having excess inventory, lower margins, lost investment in time and expense, or lost opportunity cost.
If we are unable to access third-party platforms or technologies, or if our access is withdrawn, denied, or is not available on terms acceptable to us, or if the platforms or technologies are delayed or changed without notice to us, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
Our success largely depends on our ability to manage, hire, retain, integrate and motivate sufficient numbers of qualified personnel, including senior leadership. Our strategy and our ability to innovate, design and produce new products, sell products, maintain operating margins and control expenses depend on key personnel that may be difficult to replace.
Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled personnel, including senior leadership and international personnel. From time to time, we experience turnover in some of our senior leadership positions.
We compensate our employees through a combination of salary, bonuses, benefits and equity compensation. Recruiting and retaining skilled personnel, including software and hardware engineers, is highly competitive. If we fail to provide an attractive working environment and competitive compensation to our employees, it will be difficult to retain, hire and integrate qualified employees and contractors, and we may not be able to maintain and expand our business. If we do not retain or maintain the continuity of our senior leaders or other key employees for any reason, including voluntary or involuntary departure, death or permanent or temporary disability, we risk losing institutional knowledge, experience, expertise and other benefits of continuity as well as the ability to attract and retain other key employees. In addition, we must carefully balance the size of our employee base with our current infrastructure, management resources and anticipated operating cash flows. If we are unable to manage the size of our employee base, including but not limited to our engineers, product managers and designers and other functions, we may fail to achieve our strategic and operational goals, including developing and introducing new products successfully and in a cost-effective and timely manner. If our revenue growth or employee levels vary significantly, our operating cash flows and financial condition could be adversely affected. Volatility or lack of positive performance in our stock price may also affect our ability to retain key employees, many of whom have been granted equity incentives. We may find it difficult to provide competitive equity incentives, and our ability to hire, retain and motivate key personnel may suffer.
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As we focus on growth opportunities, we are divesting or discontinuing non-strategic product categories, or pursuing strategic acquisitions and investments, which could have an adverse impact on our business.
We regularly review our product portfolio and update our non-strategic product categories and products. Discontinuing products with service components may cause us to continue to incur expenses to maintain services within the product life cycle or may adversely affect our customer and consumer relationships and brand. Divestitures may also involve warranties, indemnification or covenants that could restrict our business or result in litigation, additional expenses or liabilities. In addition, discontinuing product categories, even categories that we consider non-strategic, reduces the size and diversification of our business and causes us to be more dependent on a smaller number of product categories.
As we attempt to grow our business in strategic product categories and emerging market geographies, we evaluate acquisition opportunities that could provide us with additional product or service offerings or with additional industry expertise, assets and capabilities. Acquisitions could result in difficulties integrating acquired operations, products, technology, internal controls, personnel and management teams and result in the diversion of capital and management’s attention away from other business issues and opportunities. If we fail to successfully integrate acquisitions, our business could be harmed. Acquisitions could also result in the assumption of known and unknown liabilities, product, regulatory and other compliance issues, dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, disputes over earn-outs or other litigation, and adverse effects on relationships with our and our target’s employees, customers and suppliers. Moreover, our acquisitions may not be successful in achieving our desired strategy, product, financial or other objectives or expectations, which would also cause our business to suffer.
Acquisitions can also lead to large non-cash charges that can have an adverse effect on our results of operations as a result of write-offs for items such as future impairments of intangible assets and goodwill, restructuring charges, inventory write downs or the recording of share-based compensation.
If we divest or discontinue product categories or products that we previously acquired, or if the value of those parts of our business become impaired, we may need to evaluate the carrying value of our goodwill. Additional impairment charges could adversely affect our results of operations. Several of our past acquisitions have not been successful and have led to significant impairment charges. Acquisitions and divestitures may also cause our operating results to fluctuate and make it difficult for investors to compare operating results and financial statements between periods. In addition, from time to time we make strategic venture investments in other companies that provide products and services that are complementary to ours. If these investments are unsuccessful, this could have an adverse impact on our results of operations, operating cash flows and financial condition.
As we continue our efforts to lower our costs and improve our operational efficiency, we may not fully realize our goals.
Our ability to achieve the desired and anticipated cost savings and other benefits from simplification, cost-cutting and restructuring activities, and within our desired and expected timeframes, are subject to many estimates and assumptions, and the actual savings and timing for those savings may vary materially based on factors such as local labor regulations, negotiations with third parties, and operational requirements. These estimates and assumptions are also subject to significant economic, competitive and other uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. There can be no assurance that we will fully realize the desired and anticipated benefits from these activities. To the extent that we are unable to improve our operational efficiency, further restructuring measures may be required in the future. Furthermore, we are expecting to be able to use the anticipated cost savings from these activities to fund and support our current growth opportunities and incremental investments for future growth. If the cost-savings and other benefits from restructuring activities do not materialize as anticipated, or within our expected timeframes, our ability to invest in growth may be limited and our business and operating results may be adversely affected.
Product quality issues could adversely affect our reputation, business and operating results.
The products that we sell or third-party components included therein could contain defects in design or manufacture. There can be no assurance we will be able to detect and remedy all defects in the hardware and software we sell. Failure to do so could result in product recalls, product liability claims and litigation, product redesign efforts, lost revenue, loss of reputation, and significant warranty and other expenses to remedy.
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While we maintain reserves for reasonably estimable liabilities and purchase liability insurance, our reserves may not be adequate to cover such claims and liabilities and our insurance is subject to deductibles and may not be adequate to cover such claims and liabilities. Furthermore, our contracts with distributors and retailers may contain warranty, indemnification and other provisions related to product quality issues, and claims under those provisions may adversely affect our business and operating results.
Risks Related to Global Nature of our Operations and Regulatory Environment
Adverse global and regional economic and geopolitical conditions can materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We conduct operations internationally and as a result, adverse global and regional economic and geopolitical conditions have in the past and can in the future materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Such conditions, including but not limited to inflation, slower growth or recession, new or increased tariffs, trade restrictions, changes to fiscal and monetary policy, higher interest rates and currency fluctuations, and other conditions that are susceptible to impact consumer confidence and spending could adversely affect demand for our products. In fiscal year 2023, we were impacted by adverse macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions including but not limited to inflation, foreign currency fluctuations, and slowdown of economic activity around the world, in part due to changes in interest rates, and lower consumer and enterprise spending. In addition, the war in Ukraine increased global supply chain, logistics, and inflationary challenges. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022, we indefinitely ceased all sales and shipments to Russia. Our sales in Ukraine have also been halted due to the ongoing military operations on the Ukrainian territory. We had no revenues from Russia and Ukraine in fiscal year 2023.
Global or regional economic and political conditions also have an impact on our suppliers, contract manufacturers, logistics providers, and distributors, causing volatility in cost of materials and shipping and transportation rates, and as a result impacting the pricing of our products. Price increases may not successfully offset cost increases or may cause us to lose market share and in turn adversely impact our operations.
All these and other global and regional economic and geopolitical factors can materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We conduct operations in a number of countries and have invested significantly in growing our sales and marketing activities in China, and the effect of business, legal and political risks associated with international operations could adversely affect us.
We conduct operations in a number of countries and have invested significantly in growing our personnel and sales and marketing activities in China and, to a lesser extent, other emerging markets. We may also increase our investments to grow sales in other emerging markets, such as Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. There are risks inherent in doing business in international markets, including:
•Difficulties in staffing and managing international operations;
•Compliance with increasing amounts of laws and regulations, including environmental, tax, import/export and anti-corruption laws, which vary from country to country, and the European Union legislation, and over time, increasing the costs of compliance and potential risks of non-compliance;
•Varying laws, regulations and other legal protections, uncertain and varying enforcement of those laws and regulations, dependence on local authorities, and the importance of local networks and relationships;
•Varying accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, accountability and protections, including risks related to the lack of access by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") to inspect PCAOB-registered accounting firms in emerging market countries such as China;
•Exposure to political, economic and financial instability, including due to the uncertainty associated with the ongoing sovereign debt issues in certain Euro zone countries, which may lead to reduced sales, currency exchange losses and collection difficulties or other losses;
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•Import or export restrictions or licensing requirements that could affect some of our products, including those with encryption technology;
•Trade protection measures, custom duties, tariffs, import or export duties, and other trade barriers, restrictions and regulations, including recent and ongoing United States - China tariffs and trade restrictions, including China's 2021 Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law;
•Lack of infrastructure or services necessary or appropriate to support our products and services;
•Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that may be more concentrated where we operate internationally;
•Exposure to fluctuations in the value of local currencies;
•Difficulties and increased costs in establishing sales and distribution channels in unfamiliar markets, with their own market characteristics and competition, including entrenched local competition;
•Weak protection of our intellectual property rights;
•Higher credit risks;
•Variations in VAT (value-added tax) or VAT reimbursement;
•Imposition of currency exchange controls;
•Delays from customs brokers or government agencies; and
•A broad range of customs, consumer trends, and more.
Any of these risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Sales growth in key markets, including China, is an important part of our expectations for our business. As a result, if economic, political or business conditions deteriorate in these markets, or if one or more of the risks described above materialize in these markets, our overall business and results of operations will be adversely affected.
Changes in trade policy and regulations in the United States and other countries, including changes in trade agreements and the imposition of tariffs and the resulting consequences, may have adverse impacts on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In recent years, the U.S. government has instituted or proposed changes to international trade policy through the renegotiation, and potential termination, of certain existing bilateral or multilateral trade agreements and treaties with, and the imposition of tariffs on a wide range of products and other goods from, China, countries in EMEA and other countries. As previously disclosed, we have invested significantly in manufacturing facilities in China and Southeast Asia. Given our manufacturing principally in those countries, and our lack of manufacturing elsewhere, policy or regulations changes in the United States or other countries present particular risks for us. We are constantly evaluating our manufacturing footprint globally including beyond Asia.
In addition, the current Chinese administration has imposed an increased volume of regulation creating a more challenging environment for non-Chinese companies operating in the region, including in the areas of intellectual property, trade, contract enforcement, data privacy, capital markets and human rights. As a result, such regulations may have the effect of limiting our growth and market share in China, and disrupting manufacturing and operations in the region.
For example, on June 10, 2021, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the People’s Republic of China passed China's new Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law. The Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law took immediate effect and allows China to take “retaliatory action” against any “discriminatorily restrictive measures” imposed by foreign countries against Chinese organizations and citizens. As a result, China may impose countermeasures against government and private entities and/or persons that formulate, implement or comply with any regulation deemed a
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“discriminatorily restrictive measure.” Penalties may include denial of entry to China, prohibition of doing business in or with China, freezing of assets and “any other necessary measures.”
New or increased tariffs could adversely affect more or all of our products. There also are risks associated with retaliatory tariffs and resulting trade wars. We cannot predict future trade policy and regulations in the United States and other countries, the terms of any renegotiated trade agreements or treaties, or tariffs and their impact on our business. A trade war could have a significant adverse effect on world trade and the world economy. To the extent that trade tariffs and other restrictions imposed by the United States or other countries increase the price of, or limit the amount of, our products or components or materials used in our products imported into the United States or other countries, or create adverse tax consequences, the sales, cost or gross margin of our products may be adversely affected and the demand from our customers for products and services may be diminished. Uncertainty surrounding international trade policy and regulations as well as disputes and protectionist measures could also have an adverse effect on consumer confidence and spending. If we deem it necessary to alter all or a portion of our activities or operations in response to such policies, agreements or tariffs, our capital and operating costs may increase.
In addition, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, sanctions and trade restrictions have been imposed on Russia, including banks, businesses, and individuals, by the U.S., the European Union and Switzerland. This conflict has driven and could continue to drive economic uncertainty, including inflation, and component availability, among other things.
Our ongoing efforts to address these risks may not be effective and may have long-term adverse effects on our operations and operating results that we may not be able to reverse. Such efforts may also take time to implement or to have an effect and may result in adverse quarterly financial results or fluctuations in our quarterly financial results. As a result, changes in trade policy and regulations in the United States and other countries as well as changes in trade agreements and tariffs and sanctions imposed on Russia could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our financial performance is subject to risks associated with fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
A significant portion of our business is conducted in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. Therefore, we face exposure to movements in currency exchange rates.
Our primary exposure to movements in currency exchange rates relates to non-U.S. Dollar-denominated sales and operating expenses worldwide. For fiscal year 2023, approximately 51% of our revenue was in non-U.S. denominated currencies. The weakening of currencies relative to the U.S. Dollar adversely affects the U.S. Dollar value of our non-U.S. Dollar-denominated sales and earnings. If we raise international pricing to compensate, it could potentially reduce demand for our products, adversely affecting our sales and potentially having an adverse impact on our market share. Margins on sales of our products in non-U.S. Dollar-denominated countries and on sales of products that include components obtained from suppliers in non-U.S. Dollar-denominated countries could be adversely affected by currency exchange rate fluctuations. In some circumstances, for competitive or other reasons, we may decide not to raise local prices to fully offset the U.S. Dollar’s strengthening, which would adversely affect the U.S. Dollar value of our non-U.S. Dollar-denominated sales and earnings. Competitive conditions in the markets in which we operate may also limit our ability to increase prices in the event of fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Conversely, strengthening of currency rates may also increase our product component costs and other expenses denominated in those currencies, adversely affecting operating results. We further note that a larger portion of our sales than of our expenses are denominated in non-U.S. denominated currencies.
We use derivative instruments to hedge certain exposures to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The use of such hedging activities may not offset any, or more than a portion, of the adverse financial effects of unfavorable movements in currency exchange rates over the limited time the hedges are in place and do not protect us from long term shifts in currency exchange rates.
As a result, fluctuations in currency exchange rates could affect and have in the past adversely affected our business, operating results and financial condition. Moreover, these exposures may change over time.
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We are subject to risks related to our environmental, social and governance ("ESG") activities and disclosures.
Concerns over climate change have resulted and may in the future result in new or additional legal, legislative and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment, which could result in future tax, transportation and other cost increases that could adversely affect our business. Compliance with such requirements will also require additional expenditures by us or our suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
In addition, ESG reporting and disclosure requirements continue to evolve, with increasing global regulation and heightened investor expectations. Companies must develop an expanded set of metrics and measures, data collection and processing, controls, and reporting processes in order to meet regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations. Failure to promptly and accurately meet these expectations and requirements may result in reputational and brand damage, regulatory penalties and litigation among other things.
As a company operating in many markets and jurisdictions, expanding into new growth categories, and engaging in acquisitions, and as a Swiss, dual-listed company, we are subject to risks associated with new, existing and potential future laws and regulations.
As we expand into new markets and product categories and acquire companies, businesses and assets, we must comply with a wide variety of laws, standards and other requirements governing, among other things, health and safety, hazardous materials usage, product-related energy consumption, conflict minerals, packaging, recycling, sustainability, environmental, child labor and human rights matters. Our products may be required to obtain regulatory approvals and satisfy other regulatory concerns in the various jurisdictions where they are manufactured, sold or both. Companies, businesses and assets that we acquire may not be in compliance with regulations in all jurisdictions. These requirements create procurement and design challenges, which, among other things, require us to incur additional costs identifying suppliers and contract manufacturers who can provide or obtain compliant materials, parts and end products. Failure to comply with such requirements can subject us to liability, additional costs, and reputational harm and, in severe cases, force us to recall products or prevent us from selling our products in certain jurisdictions. We also are subject to the SEC disclosure requirements regarding the use of certain minerals, known as conflict minerals, which are mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries, as well as procedures regarding a manufacturer’s efforts to identify and prevent the sourcing of such minerals and metals produced from those minerals. The moral and regulatory imperatives to avoid purchasing conflict minerals are causing us to incur additional expenses, could limit the supply and increase the cost of certain metals used in manufacturing our products and could adversely affect the distribution and sales of our products.
As a Swiss company with shares listed on both the SIX Swiss Exchange and the Nasdaq Global Select Market, we are also subject to both Swiss and United States corporate governance and securities laws and regulations. In addition to the extra costs and regulatory burdens of our dual regulatory obligations, the two regulatory regimes may not always be compatible and may impose disclosure obligations, operating restrictions or tax effects on our business to which our competitors and other companies are not subject. For example, on January 1, 2023, subject to certain transitional provisions, the revised Swiss Corporate Law incorporating the Swiss Federal Council Ordinance Against Excessive Compensation at Public Companies, became effective. The revised Swiss Corporate Law among other things, (a) requires a binding shareholder “say on pay” vote with respect to the compensation of members of our executive management and Board of Directors, (b) generally prohibits the making of severance, advance, transaction premiums and similar payments to members of our executive management and Board of Directors, (c) imposes other restrictive compensation practices, and (d) requires that our articles of incorporation specify various compensation-related matters. Potential future initiatives relating to corporate governance or executive compensation, and Swiss voter sentiment in favor of such regulations may increase our non-operating costs and adversely affect our ability to attract and retain executive management and members of our Board of Directors.
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. ("U.S. GAAP") which are subject to interpretation or changes by the Financial Accounting Standard Board ("FASB"), the SEC and other various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. New accounting pronouncements and changes in accounting principles have occurred in the past and are expected to occur in the future which may have a significant effect on our financial results or our compliance with regulations.
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As a result of changes in tax laws, treaties, rulings, regulations or agreements, or their interpretation, of Switzerland or any other country in which we operate, the loss of a major tax dispute or a successful challenge to our operating structure, intercompany pricing policies or the taxable presence of our key subsidiaries in certain countries, or other factors, our effective income tax rates may increase, which could adversely affect our net income and cash flows.
As a result of the Federal Act on the Tax Reform and AHV Financing (“TRAF”), the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, where we are incorporated, enacted tax reforms on March 10, 2020 that took effect as of January 1, 2020. As a result of the reform, Logitech will incur cash income taxes that will increase over time as the deferred income tax benefit established in connection with the reform diminishes. The canton’s tax authority is primarily delegated by the Swiss federal government and its implementation of TRAF in general or with respect to Logitech is subject to Swiss federal review and challenge. Implementation of any material change in tax laws or policies or the adoption of new interpretations of existing tax laws and rulings, or termination or replacement of our tax arrangements with the canton of Vaud, by Switzerland or the canton of Vaud could result in a higher effective income tax rate, or a decreased tax asset, a charge to earnings and an accelerated pace of increase in our effective income tax rate, or a combination of such impacts, on our worldwide earnings and any such change will adversely affect our net income. Changes in our effective income tax rate may also make it more difficult to compare our net income and earnings per share between periods.
We operate in multiple jurisdictions and our profits are taxed pursuant to the tax laws of these jurisdictions. Our effective income tax rate may be affected by changes in or interpretations of tax laws, treaties, rulings, regulations or agreements in any given jurisdiction, or changes in international tax reform by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and similar organizations, utilization of net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards, changes in geographical allocation of income and expense, and changes in management’s assessment of matters such as the realizability of deferred tax assets. In the past, we have experienced fluctuations in our effective income tax rate. Our effective income tax rate in a given fiscal year reflects a variety of factors that may not be present in the succeeding fiscal year or years. There is no assurance that our effective income tax rate will not change in future periods.
We file Swiss and foreign tax returns. We are frequently subject to tax audits, examinations and assessments in various jurisdictions. If any tax authority successfully challenges our operational structure, intercompany pricing policies or the taxable presence of our key subsidiaries in certain countries, if the terms of certain income tax treaties are interpreted in a manner that is adverse to our structure, or if we lose a material tax dispute in any country, our effective income tax rate could increase. For example, policy changes in Switzerland, the United States or China predicated on our presence in those countries could adversely affect where we recognize profit and our effective income tax rate. A material assessment by a governing tax authority could adversely affect our profitability. If our effective income tax rate increases in future periods, our net income and cash flows could be adversely affected.
We maintain cash and cash equivalents at financial institutions and are exposed to credit risk in the event of default by such financial institutions.
We maintain cash and cash equivalents with various creditworthy financial institutions and while we have a policy to limit exposure with any one financial institution, we are exposed to credit risk in the event of default by financial institutions to the extent that cash balances with individual financial institutions are in excess of amounts that are insured. If such institutions were to fail, we could lose all or a portion of amounts held in excess of such insurance limits. Any material loss that we may experience in the future as a result could additionally have an adverse effect on our ability to pay or could delay payments of our operational expenses and other payments, including in connection with our dividend, share repurchases, payments to our vendors and employees and cause other operational impacts.
Risks Related to Confidential Information, Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Intellectual Property
Losses or unauthorized access to or releases of confidential information could adversely affect our business and result in significant reputational, financial and legal consequences.
We use and store confidential information, including but not limited to our business, financial, legal and governance information, as well as personal information about our employees, members of our Board of Directors and customers. In addition, as a consumer electronics company, our websites are an important presentation of our company, identity and brands and an important means of interaction with and source of information for consumers
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of our products. We also rely on our centralized information technology systems for product-related information and to store intellectual property and data, forecast our business, maintain financial records, manage operations and inventory, and operate other critical functions. We allocate significant resources to maintain our information technology systems and deploy network security, data encryption, training and other measures to protect against unauthorized access or misuse.
Nevertheless, our websites and information technology systems have been and could continue to be subject to or threatened with, and are susceptible to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to power outages, hardware failures, structural or operational failures, computer viruses, ransomware and other malware, attacks by computer hackers and other third parties, employee error or malfeasance, phishing and other means of social engineering, other data security issues, telecommunication failures, user error, employee or contractor negligence or malfeasance, catastrophes, downtime due to system or software upgrades, integration or migration, or other foreseeable and unforeseen events. Such risks extend not only to our own products, services, systems and networks, but also to those of customers, suppliers, contractors, business partners, vendors, and other third parties, particularly as all parties increasingly digitize their operations. To date, we are not aware of any such disruptions or issues impacting our systems or products having resulted in security incidents with a material impact on us, individually or in the aggregate.
Moreover, there is an increased risk that we may experience security breaches or incidents as a result of our employees, service providers and third parties working remotely. In addition, our growth and increased frequency and sophistication of cyber and product security attacks may increase the likelihood of our becoming a target of complex and damaging attacks that substantially disrupt operations and expose sensitive data.
While we have developed and implemented security measures and processes designed to protect against cyber and other security threats, such measures cannot provide absolute security and may not be successful in preventing future security breaches. Moreover, we may need to implement additional protective measures to reduce the risk of potential security breaches and security incidents, which could cause us to incur significant additional expenses.
Security incidents or breaches impacting the information we or our third-party service providers process or maintain, or our products, websites or information technology systems may result in loss, unavailability, corruption, or unauthorized collection, use, disclosure or other processing of personal data and other confidential information that we and our service providers maintain and otherwise process. Any such incidents or breaches, or the belief or perception that any such matters have occurred could result in disruptions of our operations, loss of intellectual property and loss, corruption, unavailability or other unauthorized processing of data. Any such event could also damage our brand and reputation or otherwise harm our business, and could result in government enforcement actions, litigation and potential liability for us. Any of these may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, potentially in a material manner.
In addition, while we carry cyber insurance, we cannot be certain that our insurance will be sufficient to cover losses and liabilities resulting from cyberattacks, security breaches and incidents, or other interruptions, that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all, or that any insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our financial condition, results of operations and reputation.
The collection, storage, transmission, use and distribution of personal data could give rise to liabilities and additional costs of operation as a result of laws, governmental regulation and risks of data breaches and security incidents.
In connection with our operations, we collect and otherwise process personal data, including that of our consumers. The processing of this information is increasingly subject to legislation, regulations and enforcement in numerous jurisdictions around the world. Global data privacy regulation is increasingly fragmented, with increasing enforcement efforts and penalties. Such fragmentation requires more complex and costly compliance structures, while heightened enforcement increases the cost and reputational risk associated with even minor compliance errors. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), which is applicable to us and to all companies processing data of people in the European Union, imposes significant fines and sanctions for violation of the Regulation. Compliance with the GDPR's international transfer rules has been made more difficult by the invalidation of the European Union-U.S. Privacy Shield and we are now required to put in place additional privacy
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protective measures for transfer of data of people in the European Union to certain countries outside of the European Economic Area. In the United States, several states have adopted broad privacy laws. Such laws and regulations are typically intended to protect the privacy and security of personal information and its collection, storage, transmission, use, disclosure and other processing. For example, California has enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), which, among other things, requires covered companies to provide disclosures to California consumers and afford such consumers abilities to opt-out of certain sales of personal information. Additionally, the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”), was approved by California voters in November 2020. The CPRA significantly modifies the CCPA and has made compliance more uncertain and complex. Additionally, other U.S. states continue to propose, and in certain cases adopt, privacy-focused legislation. Other laws and regulations may follow, at state and federal levels.
In addition, because various jurisdictions have different laws and regulations concerning the use, storage, transmission and other processing of such information, we may face requirements that pose compliance challenges in existing markets as well as new international markets that we seek to enter. The collection and processing of personal data also heightens the risk of security breaches and other data security issues related to our IT systems and the systems of third-party data storage and other service and IT providers. Such laws and regulations, variation between jurisdictions and risks presented by our processing of personal data could limit our ability to use data and develop new features and services, subject us to increased costs, require allocation of additional resources and changes to our policies and practices, which may be difficult to achieve in a commercially reasonable manner or at all. Any actual or perceived failure by us to comply with these laws, regulations, or other actual or asserted obligations relating to privacy or the collection, use or other processing of personal data may lead to significant fines, penalties, regulatory investigations, lawsuits, significant costs for remediation, damage to our reputation, or other liabilities, all of which could adversely affect our business.
Claims by others that we infringe their proprietary technology could adversely affect our business.
We have been expanding the categories of products we sell. We expect to continue to enter new categories and markets. As we do so, we face an increased risk that claims alleging we infringe the patent or other intellectual property rights of others, regardless of the merit of the claims, may increase in number and significance. This risk is heightened by the persistent lawsuits brought by holders of patents that do not have an operating business or are attempting to license broad patent portfolios Intellectual property lawsuits are subject to inherent uncertainties due to the complexity of the technical issues involved, and we cannot be certain that we will be successful in defending ourselves against intellectual property claims. A successful claimant could secure a judgment that requires us to pay substantial damages or prevents us from distributing certain products or performing certain services. We might also be required to seek a license for the use of such intellectual property, which may not be available on commercially acceptable terms or at all. Alternatively, we may be required to develop non-infringing technology, which could require significant effort and expense and may ultimately not be successful. Any claims or proceedings against us, whether meritorious or not, could be time consuming, result in costly litigation or the diversion of significant operational resources, or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We may be unable to protect our proprietary rights. Unauthorized use of our technology may result in the development of products that compete with our products.
Our future success depends in part on our proprietary technology, technical know-how and other intellectual property. We rely on a combination of patent, trade secret, copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws, and confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions such as nondisclosure terms and licenses, to protect our intellectual property.
We hold various United States patents and pending applications, together with corresponding patents and pending applications from other countries. It is possible that any patent owned by us will be invalidated, deemed unenforceable, circumvented or challenged, that the patent rights granted will not provide competitive advantages to us, or that any of our pending or future patent applications will not be granted, maintained or enforced. In addition, other intellectual property laws or our confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions may not adequately protect our intellectual property. Also, others may independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products, or design around our patents or other intellectual property rights. Unauthorized parties have copied and may in the future attempt to copy aspects of our products or to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
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Risks Related to our Financial Results
Our operating results are difficult to predict and fluctuations in results may cause volatility in the price of our shares.
Our revenues and profitability are difficult to predict due to the nature of the markets in which we compete, fluctuating user demand, the uncertainty of current and future global economic conditions, and for many other reasons, including the following:
•Our operating results are highly dependent on the volume and timing of orders received during the quarter, which are difficult to forecast. Customers generally order on an as-needed basis and we typically do not obtain firm, long-term purchase commitments from our customers. As a result, our revenues in any quarter depend primarily on orders booked and shipped in that quarter.
•A significant portion of our quarterly retail sales typically occurs in the last weeks of each quarter, further increasing the difficulty in predicting quarterly revenues and profitability.
•Our sales are impacted by consumer demand and current and future global economic and political conditions, including inflation, foreign currency fluctuations, slowdown of economic activity around the world, in part due to rising interest rates, and lower consumer and enterprise spending, trade restrictions and tariffs, and can, therefore, fluctuate abruptly and significantly during periods of uncertain economic conditions or geographic distress, as well as from shifts in distributor inventory practices and consumer buying patterns.
•We must incur a large portion of our costs in advance of sales orders because we must plan research and production, order components, buy tooling equipment, and enter into development, sales and marketing, and other operating commitments prior to obtaining firm commitments from our customers. This makes it difficult for us to rapidly adjust our costs during the quarter in response to a revenue shortfall, which could adversely affect our operating results.
•From time to time, we engage in opportunistic marketing and sales activities, including advertising and promotional events to enhance our brand awareness. The effectiveness of our marketing and sales efforts is uncertain and it is difficult to predict whether our marketing and sales efforts will result in increased sales.
•The COVID-19 pandemic has led to evolving changes in our supply, operations, logistics and related expenses and use patterns and demand for certain of our products that may not recur or be sustainable in future periods.
•We engage in acquisitions and divestitures, and such activity varies from period to period. Such variance may affect our growth, our previous outlook and expectations, and comparisons of our operating results and financial statements between periods.
•We are continuously attempting to simplify our organization, to control operating costs through expense and global workforce management, to reduce the complexity of our product portfolio, and to better align costs with our current business. We may not achieve the cost savings or other anticipated benefits from these efforts, and the success or failure of such efforts may cause our operating results to fluctuate and to be difficult to predict.
•Fluctuations in currency exchange rates can impact our revenues, expenses and profitability because we report our financial statements in U.S. Dollars, whereas a significant portion of our revenues and expenses are in other currencies. We attempt to adjust product prices over time to offset the impact of currency movements. However, over short periods of time, during periods of weakness in consumer spending or given high levels of competition in many product categories, our ability to change local currency prices to offset the impact of currency fluctuations is limited.
Because our operating results are difficult to predict, our results may be below the expectations of financial analysts and investors, which could cause the price of our shares to decline.
Logitech International S.A. | Fiscal 2023 Form 10-K | 30
Our gross margins can vary significantly depending on multiple factors, which can result in unanticipated fluctuations in our operating results.
Our gross margins can vary due to consumer demand, competition, product pricing, product lifecycle, product mix, new product introductions, unit volumes, acquisitions and divestitures, commodity, supply chain and logistics costs, capacity utilization, geographic sales mix, currency exchange rates, trade policy and tariffs, and the complexity and functionality of new product innovations and other factors. In particular, if we are not able to introduce new products in a timely manner at the product cost we expect, or if consumer demand for our products is less than we anticipate, or if there are product pricing, marketing and other initiatives by our competitors to which we need to react or that are initiated by us to drive sales that lower our margins, then our overall gross margin will be less than we project.
In addition, our gross margins may vary significantly by product line, sales geography and customer type, as well as within product lines. When the mix of products sold shifts from higher margin product lines to lower margin product lines, to lower margin sales geographies, or to lower margin products within product lines, our overall gross margins and our profitability may be adversely affected.
As we expand within and into new product categories, our products in those categories may have lower gross margins than in our traditional product categories. Consumer demand in these product categories, based on style, color and other factors, tends to be less predictable and tends to vary more across geographic markets. As a result, we may face higher up-front investments, inventory costs associated with attempting to anticipate consumer preferences, and increased inventory write-offs. If we are unable to offset these potentially lower margins by enhancing the margins in our more traditional product categories, our profitability may be adversely affected.
Changes in trade policy, including tariffs and the tariffs focused on China in particular, and currency exchange rates also have adverse impacts on our gross margins.
The impact of these factors on gross margins can create unanticipated fluctuations in our operating results, which may cause volatility in the price of our shares.
We cannot ensure that our share repurchase programs will be fully utilized or that it will enhance long-term shareholder value. Share repurchases may also increase the volatility of the trading price of our shares. We similarly cannot ensure that we will continue to increase our dividend payments or to pay dividends at all. Share repurchases and dividends diminish our cash reserves.
In July 2022, our Board of Directors approved a $500 million increase to our current 2020 repurchase program of our registered shares up to $1.5 billion. The Swiss Takeover Board approved this increase and it became effective on August 19, 2022. As of March 31, 2023, $505.8 million was available for repurchase under the 2020 repurchase program. We have also paid cash dividends and increased the size of our dividend, each year since fiscal year 2013. Our share repurchase programs and dividend policy may be affected by many factors, including general business and economic conditions, our financial condition and operating results, our views on potential future capital requirements, restrictions imposed in any future debt agreements, the emergence of alternative investment or acquisition opportunities, changes in our business strategy, legal requirements, changes in tax laws, and other factors. Our share repurchase programs do not obligate us to repurchase all or any of the dollar value of shares authorized for repurchase. The programs could also increase the volatility of the trading price of our shares. Similarly, we are not obligated to pay dividends on our registered shares. Under Swiss law, we may only pay dividends upon the approval of a majority of our shareholders, which is under the discretion of and generally follows a recommendation by our Board of Directors that such a dividend is in the best interests of our shareholders. There can be no assurance that our Board of Directors will continue to recommend, or that our shareholders will approve, dividend increases or any dividend at all. If we do not pay a regular dividend, we may lose the interest of investors that focus their investments on dividend-paying companies, which could create downward pressure on our share price. Any announcement of termination or suspension of our share repurchase programs or dividend may result in a decrease in our share price. The share repurchase programs and payment of cash dividends could also diminish our cash reserves that may be needed for investments in our business, acquisitions or other purposes. Without dividends, the trading price of our shares must appreciate for investors to realize a gain on their investment.
Logitech International S.A. | Fiscal 2023 Form 10-K | 31