ITEM 1. Business
Company Overview
Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. ("Del Taco") is a nationwide operator and franchisor of restaurants featuring fresh and fast made-to-order cuisine, including both Mexican inspired and American classic dishes. As of December 28, 2021, there were 600 Del Taco restaurants, a majority of these in the Pacific Southwest. We serve our guests high-quality, freshly prepared food typical of fast casual restaurants but with the speed, convenience and value associated with traditional quick service restaurants ("QSRs"). With attributes of both a fast casual restaurant and a QSR—a combination we call QSR+—we occupy a place in the restaurant market distinct from most competitors. Our food is prepared in working kitchens where our guests see cooks grilling marinated chicken and steak, chopping tomatoes and cilantro for salsa, grating cheddar cheese, slicing avocados and slow cooking whole pinto beans. And we believe that we are poised for growth, operating within a fast growing segment of the restaurant industry, the limited service restaurant (“LSR”) segment.
Our distinctive menu offers a combination of Mexican-inspired food, such as tacos and burritos, and American classics, such as “Double Del” cheeseburgers, crinkle-cut fries and milkshakes. The dual menu offers something for everyone, helping us attract a broader customer base than other Mexican LSRs while eliminating the “veto vote.” Additionally, our menu features both premium items such as our Beyond Tacos, our signature plant-based protein taco, Platos plated meals, Epic Burritos®, Handcrafted Ensaladas and Fresca Bowls, as well as lower priced items on our Del's Dollar Deals menu. While the lower priced items appeal to a value-oriented customer, the Del's Dollar Deals menu is also designed to increase the average check by offering variety for customers wishing to supplement their order with an additional menu item. With our tiered pricing strategy we appeal to customers from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds and price sensitivities.
We opened our first restaurant in Yermo, California in 1964. The original restaurant had a simple menu consisting of 19 cent tacos, tostadas and french fries and 24 cent cheeseburgers. Over the last 57 years, located now in 16 states, we have grown to 294 company-operated and 306 franchise-operated restaurants as of December 28, 2021.
Merger Agreement with Jack in the Box Inc.
On December 5, 2021, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "2021 Merger Agreement") with Jack in the Box Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Jack in the Box"). Pursuant to the 2021 Merger Agreement, and subject to the terms and conditions thereof, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Jack in the Box will merge with and into the Company (the "2022 Merger"), with the Company as the surviving corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jack in the Box. At the effective time of the 2022 Merger, each share of common stock of the Company outstanding will be converted into the right to receive $12.51 in cash, without interest, less any applicable withholding taxes. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of approval by the Company's shareholders. On March 7, 2022, the Company conducted a shareholder meeting which approved the 2021 Merger Agreement, and the 2022 Merger is expected to close during the second week of March 2022.
Competitive Strengths
We believe the following strengths differentiate us from our competitors and serve as the foundation for our continued growth:
Meeting Many Needs, our Concept has Broad Appeal. We are able to appeal to a broad group of customers due to our diverse menu featuring both Mexican and American staples, our 24-hour service model in most restaurants, the range of options we offer for any time of day or night, the comfort of our dining room paired with the convenience of our drive-thru, and our carefully considered pricing strategy with items of exceptional quality and value at a variety of price points. Our QSR+ positioning sources traffic from both QSR and fast casual dining segments and we believe our diversified sales mix creates a flexible business model with multiple levers to drive restaurant sales growth. Because we are able to meet the varied needs of a wide range of customers, we have broad appeal in a variety of urban, suburban and other settings and in many different parts of the United States.
Unfreshing Believable® Food. We are committed to delivering made-to-order food, using fresh high quality ingredients in working kitchens. We emphasize both quality and speed and effectively market these strengths to customers both within the restaurants and beyond. The menu offers items that have been enjoyed by customers for decades in combination with newer offerings addressing market trends, such as the launch of Crispy Chicken Tacos with sauce offerings that included ranch, habenero, Cholula and a new honey mango sauce, Beyond Tacos, made with plant-based proteins, Queso Blanco, made with real cheese, real milk, jalapeños and heavy cream, The Del Taco, our bigger, better-tasting crunchy beef taco, and Platos, our
premium menu offering of individually-plated meals complete with an entrée, two sides, and chips and salsa. Historically, we also use limited-time specials to drive traffic, such as Tamales, Carnitas, Jumbo Shrimp and Shredded Beef. With our menu variety including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, bowls and handcrafted ensaladas, as well as burgers and fries, we are able to be highly responsive to customer demands and target underutilized day-parts with new menu innovation. We prepare entrées to order, but are able to deliver the entrée to the customer, on average, in just over 2 minutes across all day-parts and service modes. Even with the addition of new products, the coordinated work of operational and marketing leadership helps ensure that a new item is only launched when operations are ready to deliver on our promises of speed, quality and value. We believe that the way we combine freshly prepared food in working kitchens with our speed of service model and the skill of our trained and certified team members provides a layer of competitive insulation.
Inviting Atmosphere. In order to enhance our competitive positioning, we recently debuted our new Fresh Flex prototype for our restaurants. In the design, restaurant exteriors offer an attractive curb appeal with a signature Del Taco logo, an open, well-illuminated building structure, back-lit towers and a vibrant color palette that reinforces the brand identity. Restaurant interiors feature open kitchens and visual freshness cues, such as built-in freshness coolers, to highlight our commitment to high-quality ingredients and freshly prepared food. Freshness coolers are located near the point-of-order in most restaurants and showcase our fresh produce, 40 pound blocks of cheddar cheese and handmade pico de gallo. In addition to being used for new restaurants, the new design will also be used in the remodeling of existing restaurants.
Promising Industry Segment. With our QSR+ model, we believe that we offer QSR convenience and value with high quality fresh food associated with fast casual dining. We believe that our differentiated menu, enhanced restaurant design, aligned service model and convenient locations with drive-thrus position us to compete successfully against other QSR concepts, providing us with a large addressable market.
Positive Demographic Trends. We believe we are well positioned to benefit from a number of culinary and demographic trends in the United States. We expect that over time an improving macroeconomic environment will raise consumer demand for restaurant services, increasing sales. Furthermore, we expect to benefit from increased acceptance of and preference for Mexican food in the United States. Finally, we also anticipate benefits from the continued growth of the Hispanic population in the United States, which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, has grown from 50.5 million people in 2009 to 60.1 million people in 2019, and is projected to reach 74.8 million in 2030.
Data Driven Operations Culture. To deliver on our brand promise and ensure that “every guest leaves happy,” we utilize a balanced measurement system for all our restaurants. Elements included are customer surveys, internal audits, staffing metrics, speed of service metrics, sales metrics, and key controllable costs. This provides corporate and field management, as well as restaurant-level operators, insight into how they are performing both from the customer’s perspective but also through the lens of our internal standards, enabling operational initiatives to be tied to the needs of the customer. We take a disciplined approach to developing operational improvement initiatives. We evaluate results-driven behaviors in top performing restaurants using restaurant questing studies, general manager roundtables, and a formal Operations Advisory Committee comprised of both company and franchise operators. We believe our deep attention to research and customer feedback gives us a competitive advantage over restaurants less committed to understanding their customers and allows us to be proactive in our initiatives instead of merely responding to the competition.
Experienced Leadership. Our senior management team has extensive operating experience, with an average of over 15 years of experience each in the restaurant industry. We are led by President and Chief Executive Officer, John Cappasola, who joined Del Taco in 2008, as a Vice President in Marketing through 2011 when he became our Chief Brand Officer until he became President in January 2017 and Chief Executive Officer in July 2017. Other key members of our senior leadership team include Steven Brake, Chief Financial Officer, and Chad Gretzema, Chief Operating Officer. We believe the proven ability of the senior officers to work as a team will play a critical role in our ability to continue to achieve success in the future. We believe the senior management team is a key driver of Del Taco’s success and has positioned it well for long-term growth.
Our Growth Strategy
We believe our differentiated QSR+ positioning within a growing market segment combined with a disciplined business model and strong unit economics, will lead to significant growth opportunities. Our plan to enhance the brand’s competitive positioning and generate earnings per share growth involves several distinct strategies, including: optimizing our restaurant portfolio, expanding our restaurant count in established markets where brand recognition is strong, driving restaurant sales growth, optimizing margins, and over time taking advantage of the significant “white space” in the United States where the Del Taco brand is not yet established.
Growing the Restaurant Base. We believe we are in the early stages of our growth story with 600 locations in 16 states (including one franchise-operated restaurant in Guam) as of December 28, 2021. We estimate, based on internal analysis and a study prepared by a leading national consulting firm, a long-term total restaurant potential in the United States of 2,000 locations. For the year ended December 28, 2021, we opened four new company-operated and nine new franchise-operated restaurants. The majority of our future restaurant openings and growth of the brand will come primarily from the development of franchise restaurants. We believe that our development will have a continued focus on new restaurants in markets where the brand is well established as well as certain new or emerging markets.
•Within in-fill markets, which we define as the Western one-third of the United States, where there is strong brand awareness and a loyal following, we have identified an in-fill opportunity of an additional 300+ potential new trade areas for restaurant development. We believe this presents a lower risk expansion strategy leveraging brand awareness, infrastructure and efficiencies of scale. We are currently in the process of accelerating our pipeline of in-fill locations, particularly in the Western United States.
•As we continue to increase and strengthen our position in in-fill markets, we also intend to continue to expand our presence in key emerging markets such as Ohio, Michigan, Oklahoma, Georgia and Florida.
•We view our franchise program as an important resource for expanding the brand. In many new markets, the knowledge of a strategically selected franchisee as to local real estate, customers, employees, and marketing may enhance each restaurant’s prospects for greater success more quickly. Where appropriate, we may consider opportunities to seed new territories with company-operated restaurants, but ultimately expect to have the majority of emerging market growth occur through franchisees. In both in-fill and emerging markets, we expect we will continue to strategically develop franchise relationships and grow our franchise restaurant base. We believe we are well positioned for growth in comparison to other national QSR concepts, many of which are heavily saturated in the United States and/or are highly limited by existing franchise commitments.
Growing Same Store Sales. We have developed an integrated strategic approach that aligns restaurant operations initiatives with marketing, menu innovation and digital strategies. This is the foundation for our sales growth within our existing restaurants. We plan to drive continued same store sales growth by improving customer frequency, attracting new customers and improving per transaction spend. To accomplish this, we aim to enhance our QSR+ positioning and customer perceptions with targeted capital investment in technology and the restaurant experience, optimized marketing spend across traditional and non-traditional channels, and continued introduction of new products driven by customer demand, industry trends, and a focus on day-part opportunities. We also believe we are well positioned in the Mexican LSR segment to benefit from shifting culinary and demographic trends in the United States.
Menu Strategy and Innovation. We intend to continue to evolve our menu to create platforms that convey the differentiated QSR+ positioning and reinforce our “We Start with Fresh and Serve with Value” brand position. We believe we have opportunities for menu innovation as we look to provide customers more choices through quality/value platforms such as The Del Taco, Beyond Tacos, Platos, Epic Burritos®, Handcrafted Ensaladas, Fresca Bowls and Queso Blanco. In addition, we expect to continue to tap in to the need for price/value offerings by building on our value/variety Del's Dollar Deals menu and mid-tier products. Our marketing and operations teams have demonstrated an ability to collaborate to ensure that the items developed in our test kitchen can be executed to high standards in the restaurants with the speed, value and quality that our customers expect.
Driving Brand Awareness and Consumer Engagement. We engage consumers typically through ten annual promotional windows which feature seasonal favorites such as Tamales or Jumbo Shrimp Tacos, quality enhancing platforms such as Carnitas, Platos, Fresca Bowls and Handcrafted Salads, and strong value propositions showcased by the Del's Dollar Deals menu. The key points of differentiation are communicated through our advertising and merchandising.
Launching Mobile and Digital Initiatives. We are positioning the brand to grow sales by expanding points of access through digital initiatives. In 2018, we launched the Del Taco Mobile App, featuring enhanced marketing capabilities including targeted promotional offers to drive guest frequency. In 2019, we launched third party delivery through Grubhub, Postmates and DoorDash at substantially all company-operated restaurants. In 2020, we added third party delivery through UberEats and expanded third party delivery across substantially all franchise-operated restaurants. We believe a multiple delivery service provider approach will position us to optimize driver coverage and maximize consumer demand across trade areas. In 2021, we re-launched the Del Taco Mobile App, including a loyalty program, built on a holistic customer relationship management platform to drive personalized and valued experiences for our guests.
Restaurant Portfolio Optimization. We plan to continue to optimize our restaurant portfolio to help stimulate growth in new restaurants and existing restaurant average unit volumes ("AUVs"). This effort included refranchising five company-operated restaurants in the Yuma, Arizona and El Centro, California markets in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and one company-operated restaurant in an emerging market in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 to existing franchisees with proven operational and development capabilities who commit to additional development in the same or other markets. Our restaurant portfolio optimization strategy positions the brand for accelerated franchise growth and focuses company operations on our core Western markets and strategic seed markets to support emerging market growth. The optimization actions completed in 2019 and 2020 helped shift our company ownership from approximately 55% in 2018 to 49% in 2021.
Leverage Our Infrastructure. Over time we believe we can continue to optimize our margins with effective menu pricing, by maintaining fiscal discipline, increasing fixed-cost leverage and enhancing our supply chain efforts. We currently have an infrastructure that allows us and our franchisees to grow and manage the productivity of each restaurant on a real-time basis. Additionally, we believe over time, as our restaurant base matures and AUVs increase, we will be able to leverage corporate costs as over time general and administrative expenses are expected to grow at a slower rate than revenue. As the restaurant base and restaurant sales expand, we will potentially have larger media budgets, allowing us to target specific opportunistic areas with incremental marketing campaigns.
Site Selection and Expansion
New Restaurant Development
We believe we are positioned for growth with unit economics that enable desirable returns on invested capital and have cash flow available for investment. For the year ended December 28, 2021, we opened four new company-operated restaurants and our franchisees opened nine new restaurants despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic during 2021. We will continue to focus on restaurants in in-fill markets where the brand is well established, as well as certain new or emerging markets.
The strategy for restaurant development is three fold. First, in the near term, with an identified in-fill opportunity of an additional 300+ potential new trade areas for restaurant development (company-operated and franchise-operated), we are accelerating our pipeline of in-fill locations to leverage the brand awareness, infrastructure and efficiencies of scale through what we believe is a lower risk, higher return expansion opportunity. Second, we will continue to develop company-operated restaurants in emerging markets such as Orlando, establishing operational expertise, while recruiting additional franchisees to enable us to embed and scale our brand more rapidly. In some markets, we may employ a re-franchising strategy to help stimulate new restaurant growth if we believe it will enhance growth opportunities and longer term earnings per share. Finally, over time we will be entering emerging new markets, primarily with new franchise partners and, where appropriate, with company-operated restaurants. With substantial growth opportunities in established and emerging markets, efforts to expand into new markets will be carefully vetted and researched before they are undertaken.
Site Selection Process
We consider the location of a restaurant to be a critical variable in our long-term success and as such, we devote significant effort to the investigation and evaluation of potential restaurant locations, utilizing quantitative and qualitative modeling. Our in-house development team has significant prior experience working at other limited and full service brands. For company-operated restaurants, we use a combination of our in-house development team and outside real estate brokers to locate, evaluate and negotiate leases for new sites, taking into account demographic characteristics, residential and daytime population thresholds, retail presence, traffic counts and traffic patterns, along with the potential visibility and accessibility of the restaurant. The process for selecting locations applies management’s experience and expertise to an extensive set of objective third party data to support the site selection process. Because our restaurants typically perform well across a variety of neighborhoods and demographics, we have flexibility in selecting new restaurant locations without taking on excessive operating risk.
We have primarily focused on developing freestanding or end-cap sites with drive-thrus. With the recent debut of our new Fresh Flex prototype, our new store design offers multiple buildout options, including small footprint drive-thru only sites in addition to freestanding or end-cap sites with drive-thrus, allowing more flexibility in the site selection process and potentially broader access to real estate opportunities.
New company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants are reviewed by our real estate committee, which includes senior management. The committee monitors ongoing performance to inform future site selection decisions.
Restaurant Design
A typical Del Taco restaurant is a free-standing building with drive-thru service that ranges in size from 2,000 to 2,600 square feet. The new Fresh Flex design offers multiple buildout options, including small footprint drive-thru only sites with no dining rooms, that range in size from 1,200 to 2,400 square feet. In the design, restaurant exteriors offer an attractive curb appeal with a signature Del Taco logo, an open, well-illuminated building structure, back-lit towers and a vibrant color palette that reinforces the brand identity. Restaurant interiors feature open kitchens and visual cues, such as built-in freshness coolers, to highlight our commitment to high-quality ingredients and freshly prepared food. Colorful and contemporary dining rooms, typically with seating for up to approximately 60 people, include a variety of comfortable booths and seating arrangements with contemporary surfaces.
Our new company-operated restaurants are typically ground-up prototypes or conversions. On average, it takes approximately 18 months from identification of the specific site to opening the restaurant. We have set processes and timelines to follow for all restaurant openings. Company-operated restaurants are constructed in approximately 13 weeks and the development and construction of new sites is the responsibility of the construction department. A conversion typically takes approximately 10 weeks to complete. The real estate department is responsible for locating and leasing potential restaurant sites and the construction department is then responsible for building the restaurants.
Restaurant Management and Operations
COVID-19 Response
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have instituted strict protocols to ensure the safety of our employees and guests, including:
•Increasing the frequency of disinfecting and cleaning procedures
•Extending the use of disposable gloves to cashiers and other employees
•Following a strict employee sick policy ensuring employees who are ill stay home until completely healthy
•Establishing policies and procedures to accommodate any employee impacted by COVID-19
•Performing employee health and temperature checks before each shift
Additionally, we have provided options for limited contact ordering through the Del Taco mobile app, delivery service providers and drive-thru. We have also provided options for limited contact payment through the Del Taco mobile app and delivery service providers.
We continue to closely monitor and consult with local health authorities and follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with the World Health Organization.
Operations
We utilize a balanced scorecard measurement system for all company-operated restaurants. Elements included in the scorecard are customer surveys, internal audits, staffing metrics, speed of service metrics, sales metrics, and key controllable costs. Each period, managers of company-operated restaurants who are top performers on the scorecard are eligible for bonuses to reinforce this balanced approach to the business. The scorecard is also used by the operations leadership team to mine best practices.
To ensure brand consistency and integrity across all system restaurants, we utilize an internal operations audit program. Each restaurant is audited two or more times per year, and each audit results in two scores – a customer experience score and a brand standards score. We also have food safety and quality assurance programs for all system restaurants. Our auditors are part of the operations support team and provide regular performance analysis to the leadership team.
Managers and Team Members
Each Del Taco restaurant typically has a general manager, four to six shift leaders, and two or three team leaders. There are also typically between 15 and 20 team members who prepare food and serve customers. Area Directors lead company-operated restaurants, with each typically responsible for approximately 5 to 12 restaurants. Overseeing the Area Directors are seven Regional Directors, each responsible for approximately 15 to 67 restaurants, and they report up to the Vice President of Company Operations. The franchise operations team utilizes six Franchise Business Consultants who each coach and oversee up to 74 franchise-operated restaurants. The Franchise Business Consultants report to the Vice President of Franchise Operations. The Chief Operating Officer has full accountability for both company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants, managing both sales and profitability targets and customer experience metrics.
Our hiring process is focused on identifying team members that are genuinely friendly, committed to preparing fresh food, and willing to ensure “every guest leaves happy.” We frequently cross-train our team members so they can fill any one of several
positions to maximize labor efficiency. The investment in helping team members learn multiple skills and our internal promotion path has helped us build loyal teams that care about the success of their restaurant. Many team members and managers have been employed by us for longer than five years, and it is not uncommon to have team members with more than ten years of seniority.
Training
Our senior management team fosters a culture of continuous learning and career growth at Del Taco. On the first day of employment, every team member receives the first of three training modules focused on helping the team member clearly understand the brand and their role. Subsequent modules focus on the specifics of how to provide a consistent customer experience. The current training program is a blended learning approach including self-paced reading, hands-on exercises and written knowledge validation tests. In 2015, we added tablet-based bilingual e-learning which includes interactive exercises, video tutorials and online testing.
A significant portion of the restaurant leadership is comprised of former team members who have advanced along the Del Taco career path. Top performing team members who display leadership qualities take the first step in the management development program and become team leaders. As team leader candidates enter the management development program, they receive additional training and are regularly tested on their knowledge and skills. Shift leader candidates will have completed the three modules, passed all of the required testing and have their knowledge validated during a practical evaluation of one of their shifts. An external candidate for a general manager role will complete six to seven weeks of intensive classroom and hands-on training in a certified training restaurant.
Franchise Program
Overview
We use a franchising strategy to augment new restaurant growth in new and established markets, allowing for brand expansion without significant capital investment. As of December 28, 2021, there were a total of 306 franchise restaurants. Franchisees range in size from single restaurant operators to multi-unit operators, the largest of which owns 54 locations. As of December 28, 2021 and December 29, 2020, our top 12 franchisees operated 62% and 61% of our franchise-operated restaurants, respectively. As of December 28, 2021 and December 29, 2020, our top 20 franchisees operated approximately 74% and 73%, respectively, of our franchise-operated restaurants. The existing franchise base consists of numerous successful, longstanding restaurant operators.
We believe that franchise revenue provides stable and recurring cash flows to us and, as such, we plan to continue expanding the base of franchise-operated restaurants. In established markets, we will encourage continued growth from current franchisees and assist them in identifying and securing new locations. In emerging and new markets, we will source highly qualified and experienced new franchisees for multi-unit development opportunities. We generally seek franchisees from successful, non-competitive brands operating within the expansion markets. We market franchise opportunities through strategic networking, participation in select industry conferences, our existing website and printed materials.
We have two groups to enhance participation and engagement with the franchise community. The Franchise Marketing Advisory Team provides input and feedback on marketing strategy and initiatives. Our Operations Advisory Committee (“OAC”), comprised of experienced franchise and company operators, proposes and analyzes new equipment, training and procedures.
Franchise Owner Support
We have structured our corporate staff, training programs, operational systems and communication systems to ensure we are delivering strong support to franchisees. We assist franchisees with the site selection process, and every new franchise location is scrutinized by our corporate real estate committee. We provide template plans franchisees may use for new restaurant construction and work with franchisees and their design and construction vendors to ensure compliance with brand specifications. A training program is required for all franchisees, operating partners and restaurant management staff. Training materials introduce new franchisees to our operational performance standards and the metrics that help maintain these high standards.
For the first two restaurant openings in a market, we typically provide significant on-site support, with more modest support for subsequent locations. On an ongoing basis, we collect and disseminate customer experience feedback on a real time basis through a third party vendor. We also conduct regular on-site audits at each franchise location. Our Franchise Business Consultants are dedicated to ongoing franchise support and oversight, regularly visiting each franchise territory. We also employ dedicated Franchise Field Marketing Managers to assist franchisees with local marketing programs. We typically communicate with franchisees through an operations newsletter and hold regular regional and system-wide workshops to
update franchise teams and conduct training. We also hold an annual conference for franchisees, vendors and company operations leaders to review overall performance, celebrate shared success, communicate best practices, and plan for the year ahead.
Marketing and Advertising
We run a highly coordinated marketing and advertising campaign to create customer awareness, engage fans, and maximize positive brand associations. We use multiple marketing channels, including television, radio, outdoor and direct mail to broadly drive brand awareness. We advertise on local TV/Cable and local radio in our primary markets, and utilize local radio, print, internet advertising, and billboards for some of the less developed markets. We complement this with email marketing to our Raving Fan E-Club, which allows us to reach approximately 1,680,000 members, and via social media through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, which allows us to reach over 698,000 followers. We use our Raving Fan e-Club database to invite sub-sets of members to the taste panel facility, located at our corporate office. In September 2021, we launched our new Del Taco Mobile App, featuring enhanced marketing capabilities including a loyalty program and targeted promotional offers to drive guest frequency, which currently allows us to engage with approximately 540,000 registered users.
Through our public relations efforts, we engage notable food editors and bloggers on a range of topics to help promote products. In addition, we engage in one-on-one conversations using a portfolio of social media platforms which include Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We also use social media as a research and customer service tool, and apply insight we gain to future marketing efforts.
Purchasing and Distribution
To ensure an adequate supply of high-quality ingredients and other necessary supplies, we carefully select our suppliers. Our quality assurance department performs comprehensive supplier audits on a regular schedule to ensure that products conform to company standards. To ensure that prices are competitive, we use forward, fixed and formula pricing protocols where possible. We monitor industry news, trade issues, weather, political and world events that may affect supply prices, and we proactively attempt to lock in favorable pricing.
We contract with a single primary foodservice distributor for substantially all of our food and supplies. Our relationship with our primary distributor has been in place since 1990, and we believe the long-term relationship yields benefits to us and our franchisees in terms of reliability and pricing. Franchisees are required to use the primary distributor and must purchase all food and supplies from approved suppliers. In our normal course of business, we evaluate bids from multiple suppliers for various products. Taco meat is the largest product cost item and represented approximately 10% of the total cost for food and paper for 2021. Fluctuations in supply and prices can significantly impact our restaurant profit performance. We actively manage cost volatility for our significant food and paper items by negotiating with multiple suppliers and entering into what we believe are the most favorable contract terms given existing market conditions.
Intellectual Property
We have registered Del Taco®, Un freshing Believable®, Epic Burritos®, Beyond TacoTM and certain other names used by our restaurants as trademarks or service marks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in approximately nine foreign countries. In addition, the Del Taco logo, website name and domain name and the content on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts are our intellectual property. We maintain the recipes for our taco meat, marinated grilled chicken and signature salsas, as well as certain proprietary standards, specifications and operating procedures, as trade secrets or confidential proprietary information.
We license the use of our registered trademarks to franchisees through franchise agreements. The franchise agreements restrict franchisees’ activities with respect to the use of the trademarks and impose quality control standards in connection with goods and services offered in connection with the trademarks. Our general policy is to pursue and maintain registration of the service marks, trademarks and other intellectual property rights we use for our business in those countries where business strategy requires us to do so and to oppose vigorously any infringement or dilution of the service marks or trademarks in such countries.
Competition
We operate in the restaurant industry, which is highly competitive and fragmented. The number, size and strength of competitors vary by region. Our competition includes a variety of locally owned restaurants and national and regional chains that may offer dine-in, carry-out and delivery services. The competition includes restaurants, convenience food stores, delicatessens, supermarkets and club stores. Based on our differentiated QSR+ positioning, we compete both with fast casual restaurants, including Chipotle, El Pollo Loco, Panera Bread, Qdoba, Rubio’s, and Habit, among others, and with traditional QSRs, such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Burger King and Jack In the Box. In addition, we compete with franchisors of other restaurant concepts for prospective franchisees.
Environmental Matters
Our operations are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental protection, including regulation of discharges into the air and water, storage and disposal of waste and clean-up of contaminated soil and groundwater. Under these laws, an owner or operator of real estate may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances.
Certain of our properties may be located on sites that have been used by prior owners or operators as retail gas stations or other historical uses with the potential for environmental impacts. It is possible that properties on which our restaurants are located or which we owned in the past may contain forms of environmentally hazardous materials. We are aware of contamination from a release of hazardous materials by a previous owner, operator or adjacent business at four of our leased properties. We do not believe that we contributed to the contamination at these properties. The appropriate state agencies have been notified and these issues are being handled without disruption to our business. Under applicable federal and state environmental laws, the current owner or operator of these sites may be jointly and severally liable for the costs of investigation and remediation of any contamination. Although we lease almost all of our properties, when we own the property, we seek to obtain certain assurances from the prior owner or seek to obtain indemnity agreements from third parties. However, we cannot assure that we will not be liable for environmental conditions relating to prior, existing or future restaurants or restaurant sites. If we are found liable for the costs of remediation of contamination at or emanating from any of our properties, operating expenses would likely increase and operating results could be materially adversely affected.
Regulation and Compliance
We are subject to extensive federal, state and local government regulation, including those relating to, among others, public health and safety, zoning and fire codes, and franchising. Although we have not experienced and do not anticipate any significant problems in obtaining required licenses, permits or approvals, any difficulties, delays or failures in this regard could delay or prevent the opening of a new restaurant or adversely impact the viability of an existing restaurant.
The development and construction of additional restaurants will be subject to compliance with applicable zoning, land use and environmental regulations. We believe existing laws and regulations in these areas have not had a material effect on us, but should such laws become more stringent or should we face different regulations in new territories, it could delay construction and increase development costs for new restaurants.
We are also subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and various federal, state, and local laws governing such matters as minimum wages, overtime, paid sick leave, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, citizenship requirements and other working conditions. A significant portion of the hourly staff is paid at rates consistent with, or slightly above, the applicable federal, state or local minimum wage and, accordingly, increases in the minimum wage will increase labor costs.
For a discussion of the various risks we may face from regulation and compliance matters, see Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”
Management Information Systems and Cybersecurity
All of our company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants use Aloha, a leading computerized point-of-sale system, which we believe is scalable to support our long-term growth plans. This point-of-sale system provides integrated, high speed credit card and gift card processing, specifically designed for the restaurant industry. The system collects daily transaction data, which generates information about daily sales, product mix and average transaction size that we actively analyze. It allows us to manage our products and pricing in restaurants from the corporate office.
Our in-restaurant back office computer system assists in the management of our restaurants and provides labor and food cost management tools. The system provides corporate office and restaurant operations management quick access to detailed business data and reduces the time spent on administration. The system also provides sales, bank deposit and variance data to the accounting department on a daily basis. For company-operated restaurants, we use this data to generate daily sales information and weekly consolidated reports regarding sales and other key measures. Restaurant managers also have the ability to submit food and paper orders electronically to our primary distributor.
We have also successfully implemented a cloud-based workforce management system with a fully integrated payroll system which includes on-line recruiting tools, paperless employee files, labor scheduling and reporting, time keeping and an on-line training system.
Our systems and data are protected by advanced communication and data security systems. We maintain a robust system of data protection and cyber security resources, technology and processes. We remain constantly vigilant of new and emerging risks and ever-changing legal and compliance requirements and make strategic continued investment in those systems to keep company, customer and team member data secure. We provide annual security awareness training to our management.
Our management believes that our current systems and practice of implementing regular updates will position us well to support current needs and future growth. We use a strategic information system planning process that involves senior management and is integrated into our overall business planning. We provide data protection and cybersecurity reports to the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors and to the full Board of Directors periodically. Information systems projects are prioritized based upon strategic, financial, regulatory and other business advantage criteria.
Human Capital
As of December 28, 2021, we had 7,274 employees, which includes 295 salaried general managers and 6,767 hourly restaurant employees comprised of 5,202 crewmembers, 1,434 shift leaders and 131 assistant managers. The remaining 212 employees were corporate office personnel or above restaurant level management. We do not have any employees represented by unions. While we partner with all our franchise business owners to foster a strong workforce culture, they are independent businesses with their own employees and are not included in this information.
Across the enterprise, our decision making is guided by our company values. These values were developed through a series of restaurant and support center employee roundtables ensuring that our employees have a strong voice on “how” we do business. We believe that these values, and the culture that arises from them, allows us to attract and retain top talent enabling the brand to grow.
Culture
Fostering a people-first culture is a strategic priority for Del Taco. These efforts are guided through our PRIDE core values:
People Driven
Results Focused
Innovative Thinkers
Delighting our Guests
Elevating Others
These core values are instilled as part of our training for all new employees and are used as barometers when making key decisions for the brand. PRIDE is not just an acronym; our aim is for our employees to be proud of what they do every day as essential workers providing fresh food at a very affordable price to our guests.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
We believe that the diversity we have sought and fostered in our workforce has played an integral role in our success. The atmosphere of inclusion and the feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves is something we celebrate within our company. We view our responsibility to create an inclusive, equitable, safe and respectful workplace as one of our most critical objectives. To that end, our Operations leadership is regularly engaged with our Human Resource and our Risk Management teams to monitor for any potential workplace opportunities and works to continually enhance our approach on recruiting, training, communication and coaching to ensure we are living up to our values.
Based on the 2020 Black Box Workforce Intelligence Executive Scorecard for Del Taco, we were in the top 25th percentile in our industry segment for composite diversity of hourly employees and management. Based on that same Black Box report, we
rank above average in the industry with women representing the majority of our General Manager leaders at the restaurants. We are committed to providing equitable opportunities for everyone to grow their career at Del Taco.
Oversight and Management
To ensure a positive workplace culture that lives up to our commitment on diversity, equality and employee safety, our Human Resources team provides oversight managing any employee-related issues. To clearly communicate our expectations and requirements related to our people, we have a written company Code of Conduct that is reviewed and acknowledged by all employees during onboarding. We also administer an Ethics Hotline where our employees can ask questions or raise concerns anonymously if they so choose. The hotline is available to all employees 24 hours a day. We established an Employee Relations Task force that is headed by select members of our senior leadership team. This group meets regularly to discuss employee-related challenges - with a recent focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Board of Directors also provides oversight on elements of our Human Capital strategy through governance vehicles like our Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee reviews and approves the annual compensation plan and audits the attainment of goals tied to annual incentive compensation.
Development, Training & Engagement
We believe that time spent at Del Taco should be time well spent. Whether an employee is working a summer job or looking to build a career, we aim to provide the opportunity to learn and grow. This commitment shines through in our people development program that results in most of our operations management and operations support positions being filled through internal promotions. We conduct an annual employee survey to measure employee engagement and leverage the feedback to make improvements in the employee experience. Investing in the development of people and actively listening to our teams have been two of the essential building blocks of our commitment to people.
Benefits & Total Rewards
We offer competitive compensation to our hourly employees and provide additional benefits outside of their pay including free employee meals, discounted meals for family members, on-demand pay, a 401(k) plan and paid time-off. Healthcare is available to all our restaurant hourly employees who work a minimum of 30+ hours per week on average. For salaried employees, we offer competitive base compensation which is augmented by a 401(k) plan, core benefit programs supplemented with a variety of voluntary benefits, and a robust performance-based bonus program that has historically been paid to a high percentage of our salaried employees annually.
COVID-19
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we set a demonstrative requirement to be a “Trusted & Safe” restaurant for both our teams and our guests. We have made several dozen changes to our operating systems to deliver on this requirement including providing personal protective equipment to employees, enhancing sanitation practices, administering employee wellness and temperature checks, providing gloves for all positions in the restaurant and installing counter/drive thru window shields. For our support center staff, we implemented our “Virtual Support Center” protocol enabling all employees to work from home. We also created a COVID-19 Hotline to allow employees to reach out with any COVID-related concerns or questions.
Additionally, we have gone above and beyond the government required paid time off laws and provided pay to workers who were impacted by COVID-19 either personally or due to close contact. Lastly, despite the closure of the majority of our dining rooms, we did not have any furloughs or layoffs in our restaurants. We remain highly committed to our “Trusted & Safe” approach and evaluate where we can improve via employee feedback and our guest experience measurement program.
Available Information
We maintain a website at www.deltaco.com, including an investor relations section at http://investor.deltaco.com in which we routinely post important information, such as webcasts of quarterly earnings calls and other investor events in which we participate or host, and any related materials. Our Code of Ethics is also available in this section of our website. You may access our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, as well as other reports relating to us that are filed with or furnished to the SEC, free of charge in the investor relations section of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. The public may also read and copy materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room, which is located at 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, DC 20549. You can obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.
The contents of the websites mentioned above are not incorporated into and should not be considered a part of this report. The references to the URLs for these websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.
Information about our Executive Officers
The following table sets forth our current executive officers:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Name | | Age | | Position |
| John D. Cappasola, Jr. | | 48 | | President and Chief Executive Officer |
| Steven L. Brake | | 49 | | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
| Chad Gretzema | | 50 | | Chief Operating Officer |
John D. Cappasola, Jr. has been our President and Chief Executive Officer since July 2017. From January 2017 to July 2017, Mr. Cappasola was our President and Chief Brand Officer. From 2012 to 2016, Mr. Cappasola was our Executive Vice President and has held the position of Chief Brand Officer since February 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Cappasola served as Vice President of Marketing since being appointed to that position in March 2009. From September 2008 to March 2009, he served as Vice President of Marketing Development. From August 2002 to September 2008, Mr. Cappasola held positions in marketing, strategic development, and operations at Blockbuster, Inc. of Dallas, Texas. Mr. Cappasola earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from California Coast University. Based on his extensive industry and management experience in the quick-service sector, his familiarity with us, his understanding of restaurant operations and his work at a franchisee organization, Mr. Cappasola is well qualified to lead us and to also serve on our board.
Steven L. Brake has been our Executive Vice President since July 2012. He is also the Chief Financial Officer and has held that position since April 2010 and previously served as Treasurer from March 2006 to April 2010 and as the Corporate Controller from September 2003 to March 2006. From December 1995 until September 2003, Mr. Brake was with Arthur Andersen and KPMG LLP. Mr. Brake is a licensed certified public accountant (inactive) and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Irvine and a Masters in Business Administration from the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine.
Chad Gretzema has been our Chief Operating Officer since September 2019. From September 2017 to September 2019, Mr. Gretzema was our Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Innovation. From 2012 to 2017, Mr. Gretzema was our Senior Vice President of Operations Support and Engagement. Previously, Mr. Gretzema held positions in operations, training, and marketing at Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Phoenix Children’s Academy, Noodles & Company, and Oscar Mayer Foods. Mr. Gretzema holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Journalism and Psychology from Indiana University, Bloomington.
ITEM 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the following risk factors, together with all of the other information included in this annual report on Form 10-K. The risks described below are those which we believe are the material risks that we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or which we currently consider immaterial may also have an adverse effect on us. Any risk described below may have a material adverse impact on Del Taco's business or financial condition. Some statements in this annual report on Form 10-K, including such statements in the following risk factors, constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Del Taco management's current expectations, forecasts and assumption, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
Overview
•The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected and could continue to adversely affect our financial results, operations and outlook for an extended period of time, including the potential for litigation risk related to COVID-19.
•Our long-term success depends in part on opening new restaurants in existing and new markets and expanding our franchise system.
•Our ability to effectively identify and secure appropriate sites for new restaurants is critical to our success but also subjects us to the risks associated with leasing space subject to long-term non-cancelable leases.
•Opening new restaurants in existing markets may negatively impact sales at our existing restaurants.
•Average restaurant revenue and same store sales that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of future results and could be less than we expect.
•Intense competition in the restaurant industry could make it more difficult to grow our business or otherwise have a negative impact on our operating results.
•We have limited control with respect to the operations of our franchisees, which could negatively impact our business.
•If we or our franchisees face labor shortages, unionization activities or labor disputes, it could negatively impact our growth and have an adverse impact on our business.
•The minimum wage, particularly in California, continues to increase and is subject to factors outside our control.
•Restaurant companies have also been the target of class action lawsuits and other legal proceedings alleging, among other things, violations of federal and state workplace and employment laws.
•Changes in food and supply costs, including the impact of inflation and tariffs, could have an adverse effect on our business.
•Changes in labor costs, including the impact of labor availability, could have an adverse effect on our business.
•We rely on only one company to distribute substantially all of our products to company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants. Failure to receive timely deliveries of food or other supplies could result in significant interruptions to our business.
•Food safety and foodborne illness concerns, as well as failure to obtain and maintain required licenses and permits or to comply with food control regulations, could impede our restaurant operations.
•Our business is geographically concentrated in Southern California, and we could be negatively affected by conditions specific to that region, such as natural disasters or local regulations and guidelines.
Risks Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected and could continue to adversely affect our financial results, operations and outlook for an extended period of time.
The COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions imposed by federal, state and local governments in response to the outbreak have disrupted and may continue to disrupt our business. In many areas where we operate our restaurants, individuals are or were encouraged to practice social distancing and restricted from gathering in groups. We had also previously closed substantially all dining rooms system-wide and continued operations through limited contact or contactless channels such as drive-thru, takeout and delivery only. Though most of our dining rooms have re-opened and many social distancing and other restrictions have been lifted, future adverse developments in the pandemic may result in the return of such restrictions and the need to close our dining rooms again. Future adverse developments in the pandemic may also negatively affect our guest traffic, which would impact our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Our restaurant operations could be further disrupted if a significant number of our employees are unable or unwilling to work, whether because of illness, quarantine, restrictions on travel or fear of contracting COVID-19. Restaurant closures or modified hours of operation due to staffing shortages have adversely impacted and could further materially adversely affect our liquidity, financial position and results of operations. Face coverings for all restaurant employees are required, and to support our employees and protect the health and safety of our employees and guests, we have offered enhanced health and welfare benefits, provided bonuses to restaurant employees, and purchased additional sanitation supplies and personal protective materials. These measures have and will continue to increase our operating costs and adversely affect our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.
The COVID-19 pandemic may also adversely affect the ability of our suppliers to fulfill their obligations to us, which may negatively affect our restaurant operations. These suppliers include third parties that supply our ingredients, packaging and other necessary operating materials, distribution centers, and other logistics providers. If our suppliers are unable to fulfill their obligation to us, we could face shortages of food items or other supplies at our restaurants, and our operations and sales could be adversely impacted.
We and our franchisees have also modified our plans for opening new restaurants and remodeling existing restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To preserve our liquidity, we initially delayed certain planned capital expenditures. These changes may adversely affect our ability to grow our business, particularly if these or other projects are delayed for a significant amount of time.
As more business and activities have shifted online due to restrictions on congregating and physical movements, we have seen an increase in cyber security threats and attempts to breach our security networks.
We cannot predict how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last or if it will recur, if new government restrictions and mandates will be imposed or how long they will be effective, or how quickly, if at all, guests will return to their pre-COVID-19 purchasing behaviors, so we cannot predict how long our results of operations and financial performance will be adversely impacted, including the potential for litigation risk related to COVID-19.
Risks Related to Our Growth and Business Strategy
Our growth strategy depends in part on opening new restaurants in existing and new markets and expanding our franchise system. We may be unsuccessful in opening new company-operated or franchise-operated restaurants or establishing new markets, which could materially adversely affect our growth.
One of the key means to achieving our growth strategy will be through opening new restaurants and operating those restaurants on a profitable basis. We opened four new company-operated restaurants and nine new franchise restaurants in 2021. Our ability to open new restaurants is dependent upon a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including our or our franchisees’ ability to:
•identify available and suitable restaurant sites;
•compete for restaurant sites;
•identify, hire and train employees;
•reach acceptable agreements regarding the lease or purchase of locations;
•obtain or have available the financing required to acquire and operate a restaurant, including construction and opening costs, and managing such costs;
•respond to unforeseen engineering or environmental problems with leased or purchased premises;
•avoid the impact of inclement weather, natural disasters and other calamities;
•hire, train and retain the skilled management and other employees necessary to meet staffing needs;
•obtain, in a timely manner and for an acceptable cost, required licenses, permits and regulatory approvals and respond effectively to any changes in local, state or federal law and regulations that adversely affect our and franchisees’ costs or ability to open new restaurants; and
•control construction and equipment cost increases for new restaurants.
There is no guarantee that a sufficient number of suitable restaurant sites will be available in desirable areas or on terms that are acceptable to us or our franchisees in order to achieve our growth plans. If we are unable to open new restaurants or sign new
franchisees, or if restaurant openings are significantly delayed, our earnings and revenue growth could be adversely affected and our business negatively affected as we expect a portion of our growth to come from new locations.
Due to brand recognition and logistical synergies, as part of our growth strategy, we intend to open new restaurants in areas where we have existing restaurants. The operating results and same store sales for our existing restaurants could be adversely affected due to close proximity with our other restaurants and market saturation.
As part of our longer term growth strategy, we may also enter into geographic markets in which we have little or no prior operating or franchising experience through company-operated restaurant growth and through franchise development agreements. The challenges of entering new markets include: difficulties in hiring and training experienced personnel; unfamiliarity with local real estate markets and demographics; consumer unfamiliarity with our brand; and different competitive and economic conditions, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns that are more difficult to predict or satisfy than in our existing markets. Consumer recognition of our brand has been an important part of the success of company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants in our existing markets. In addition, restaurants we open in new markets may take longer to reach expected sales and profit levels on a consistent basis and may have higher construction, occupancy or operating costs than restaurants we open in existing markets, thereby affecting our overall profitability. Any failure on our part to recognize or respond to these challenges may adversely affect the success of any new restaurants. Expanding our franchise system could require the implementation, expense and successful management of enhanced business support systems, management information systems and financial controls as well as additional staffing, franchise support, capital expenditures and working capital.
Our progress in opening new restaurants from quarter to quarter may occur at an uneven rate. If we do not open new restaurants in the future according to our current plans, the delay could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not realize the anticipated benefits from opening new restaurants in existing and new markets or from expanding our franchise system. For example, in Fiscal 2021, we recorded an impairment of long-lived assets charge of $9.1 million related to five underperforming restaurants that generated atypically low sales volumes and negative restaurant contribution. If opening new restaurants in existing and new markets or the expansion of our franchise system is not successful, our operating results could be materially adversely affected.
Opening new restaurants in existing markets may negatively impact sales at our existing restaurants.
The consumer target area of our restaurants varies by location, depending on a number of factors, including population density, other local retail and business attractions, area demographics and geography. In the near term, we are accelerating our pipeline of in-fill locations to leverage the brand awareness, infrastructure and efficiencies of scale. The opening of a new restaurant in or near markets in which we already have restaurants could adversely impact sales at these existing restaurants. Existing restaurants could also make it more difficult to build our consumer base for a new restaurant in the same market. Our core business strategy does not entail opening new restaurants that we believe will materially affect sales at our existing restaurants, but we may selectively open new restaurants in and around areas of existing restaurants to more effectively serve our customers.
New restaurants, once opened, may not be profitable, and the increases in average restaurant revenue and same store sales that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of future results.
Some of our restaurants open with an initial start-up period of higher than normal sales volumes, which subsequently decrease to stabilized levels. Typically, our new restaurants have stabilized sales after approximately 26 to 52 weeks of operation, at which time the restaurant’s sales typically begin to grow on a consistent basis. However, we cannot assure you that this will occur for future restaurant openings. In new markets, the length of time before average sales for new restaurants stabilize is less predictable and can be longer as a result of our limited knowledge of these markets and consumers’ limited awareness of our brand. In addition, our average restaurant revenue and same store sales may not increase at the rates achieved over the past several years, if at all. Our ability to operate new restaurants profitably and increase average restaurant revenue and same store sales will depend on many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:
•consumer awareness and understanding of our brand;
•general economic conditions, which can affect restaurant traffic, local labor costs and prices we pay for the food products and other supplies we use;
•changes in consumer preferences and discretionary spending;
•difficulties obtaining or maintaining adequate relationships with distributors or suppliers in new markets;
•increases in prices for commodities, including beef and other proteins;
•inefficiency in our labor costs as our staff gains experience;
•competition, either from our competitors in the restaurant industry or our own restaurants;
•temporary and permanent site characteristics of new restaurants;
•changes in government regulation; and
•other unanticipated increases in costs, any of which could give rise to delays or cost overruns.
If our new restaurants do not perform as planned, our business and future prospects could be harmed. In addition, an inability to achieve our expected average restaurant revenue would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our sales growth and ability to achieve profitability could be adversely affected if same store sales are less than we expect.
Our ability to increase the level of same store sales, which reflect the change in year-over-year sales for restaurants in the accounting period following 18 months of operations, will affect our sales growth and will continue to be a critical factor affecting our ability to generate profits because the restaurant contribution margin on same store sales increases is generally higher than the restaurant contribution on new restaurant sales. Our ability to increase same store sales depends in part on our ability to successfully implement our initiatives to increase sales. It is possible such initiatives will not be successful, that we will not achieve our target same store sales growth or that the change in same store sales could be negative, which may cause a decrease in sales growth and our ability to achieve profitability that would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Key Performance Indicators-Same Store Sales Growth.”
Our long-term success depends in part on our ability to effectively identify and secure appropriate sites for new restaurants.
We intend to develop new restaurants in our existing markets, expand our footprint into adjacent markets and selectively enter into new markets. In order to build new restaurants, we must first identify markets where we can enter or expand our footprint, taking into account numerous factors, including the location of our current restaurants, local economic trends, population density, area demographics, cost of construction and real estate and geography. Then we must secure appropriate restaurant sites, which is one of our biggest challenges. There are numerous factors involved in identifying and securing an appropriate restaurant site, including:
•evaluating size of the site, traffic patterns, local retail, residential and business attractions and infrastructure that will drive high levels of customer traffic and sales;
•competition in new markets, including competition for restaurant sites;
•financial conditions affecting developers and potential landlords, such as the effects of macro-economic conditions and the credit market (including the potential for rising interest rates), which could lead to these parties delaying or canceling development projects (or renovations of existing projects), in turn reducing the number of appropriate restaurant sites available;
•developers and potential landlords obtaining licenses or permits for development projects on a timely basis;
•proximity of potential restaurant sites to existing restaurants;
•anticipated commercial, residential and infrastructure development near the potential restaurant site; and
•availability of acceptable lease terms and arrangements, including construction costs.
Given the numerous factors involved, we may not be able to successfully identify and secure attractive restaurant sites in existing, adjacent or new markets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to manage our growth effectively could harm our business and operating results.
A portion of our growth plan includes opening new restaurants. If our expansion is accelerated greatly, our existing restaurant management systems, financial and management controls and information systems may be inadequate to support our planned expansion. Managing any such growth effectively will require us to continue to enhance these systems, procedures and controls and to hire, train and retain managers and team members. We may not respond quickly enough to the changing demands that our expansion will impose on our management, restaurant teams and existing infrastructure, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our expansion into new markets may present increased risks.
We may open restaurants in markets where we have little or no operating experience. Restaurants we open in any new markets may take longer to reach expected sales and profit levels on a consistent basis and may have higher construction, occupancy or operating costs than restaurants we open in existing markets, thereby affecting our overall profitability. New markets may have competitive conditions, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns that are more difficult to predict or satisfy than our existing markets. We may need to make greater investments than we originally planned in advertising and promotional activity in new markets to build brand awareness. We may find it more difficult in new markets to hire, motivate and keep qualified employees who share our vision, passion and culture. We may also incur higher costs from entering new markets if, for example, we assign regional managers to manage comparatively fewer restaurants than in more developed markets. As a result, these new restaurants may be less successful or may achieve AUVs at a slower rate. We may not be able to successfully develop critical market presence for our brand in new geographical markets, as we may be unable to find and secure attractive locations, build name recognition or attract new customers. Inability to fully implement or failure to successfully execute our plans to enter new markets could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to all of the risks associated with leasing space subject to long-term non-cancelable leases.
As of December 28, 2021, we do not own any land. Payments under our operating leases account for a significant portion of our operating expenses and we expect that substantially all of the new restaurants we open in the future will also be leased. We are obligated under non-cancelable leases for our restaurants and our corporate headquarters. Our restaurant leases generally have an initial term of 15 to 20 years with two or four renewal options of five years each. Our restaurant leases generally require us to pay a proportionate share of real estate taxes, insurance, common area maintenance charges and other operating costs. Additional sites that we lease are likely to be subject to similar long-term non-cancelable leases. If an existing or future restaurant is not profitable, and we decide to close it, we may nonetheless be committed to perform our obligations under the applicable lease including, among other things, paying the base rent and real estate taxes for the balance of the lease term. In addition, as each of our leases expire, we may fail to negotiate renewals, either on commercially acceptable terms or at all, which could cause us to pay increased occupancy costs or to close restaurants in desirable locations. These potential increased occupancy costs and closed restaurants could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We depend on our senior management team and other key employees, and the loss of one or more key personnel or an inability to attract, hire, integrate and retain highly skilled personnel could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our success depends largely upon the continued services of our key executives. We also rely on our leadership team in setting our strategic direction, operating our business, identifying, recruiting and training key personnel, identifying expansion opportunities, arranging necessary financing and leading general and administrative functions. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives, which could disrupt our business. The loss of one or more of our executive officers or other key employees could have a serious adverse effect on our business. The replacement of one or more of our executive officers or other key employees would involve significant time and expense and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives.
To continue to execute our growth strategy, we also must identify, hire and retain highly skilled personnel. We might not be successful in maintaining our corporate culture and continuing to attract and retain qualified personnel. Failure to identify, hire and retain necessary key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business is geographically concentrated in Southern California, and we could be negatively affected by conditions specific to that region.
Our company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants in Southern California generated, in the aggregate, approximately 74% of our revenue for both the years ended December 28, 2021 and December 29, 2020. During the prior economic crisis and recession, our business was materially adversely affected by a decrease in revenues from these restaurants due to adverse economic conditions in Southern California, including increased unemployment, declining home prices and increased foreclosures. In addition, there is the potential for catastrophic events such as local strikes, increases in energy prices, fires, earthquakes, explosions or other natural or man-made disasters which could materially adversely affect our business. The incidence and severity of catastrophes are inherently unpredictable and our losses from catastrophes could be substantial. Adverse changes in demographic, unemployment, economic or regulatory conditions in Southern California or the State of California as a whole, including but not limited to enforcement policies for and changes in immigration law and COVID-19 regulations, have had and may continue to have material adverse effects on our business. As of December 2021, unemployment in California was 5.0% compared to the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.9%. We believe increases in unemployment will have a negative impact on traffic in our restaurants. As a result of our concentration in this market, we will be disproportionately affected by any adverse economic conditions in this market compared to other national chain restaurants.
Risks Related to Our Restaurant Business and the Restaurant Industry
We may not be able to compete successfully with other quick service and fast casual restaurants. Intense competition in the restaurant industry could make it more difficult to expand our business and could also have a negative impact on our operating results if customers favor our competitors or we are forced to change our pricing and other marketing strategies.
We face significant competition from restaurants in the quick service and fast casual dining segments of the restaurant industry. In addition, the Southern California and Las Vegas regions, the primary markets in which we compete, consist of very competitive Mexican-inspired quick service and fast casual markets. We expect competition in these markets and each of our other markets to continue to be intense because consumer trends are favoring limited service restaurants that offer healthier menu items made with better quality products and many quick service restaurants are responding to these trends. Competition in our industry is primarily based on price, convenience, quality of service, brand recognition, restaurant location and type and quality of food. If our company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants cannot compete successfully with other quick service and fast casual restaurants in new and existing markets, we could lose customers and our revenue could decline.
Our company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants compete with national and regional quick service and fast casual restaurant chains for customers, restaurant locations and qualified management and other staff. Many of our competitors have existed longer and have a more established market presence with substantially greater financial, marketing, personnel and other resources than we do. Among our competitors are a number of multi-unit, multi-market, fast casual restaurant concepts, some of which are expanding nationally. As they expand, we will face competition from these restaurant concepts as well as new competitors that strive to compete within our market segments. These competitors may have, among other things, lower operating costs, better locations, better facilities, better management, more effective marketing and more efficient operations. Additionally, we face the risk that new or existing competitors will copy our business model, menu options, brand presentation or ambience, among other things.
Any inability to successfully compete with the restaurants in our markets will place downward pressure on our customer traffic and may prevent us from increasing or sustaining our revenue and profitability. Consumer tastes, nutritional and dietary trends, traffic patterns and the type, number and location of competing restaurants often affect the restaurant business, and our competitors may react more efficiently and effectively to those conditions. In addition, many of our traditional fast food restaurant competitors may offer lower-priced menu options or meal packages, or have loyalty programs. Our sales could decline due to changes in popular tastes, “fad” food regimens, such as low carbohydrate diets, and media attention on new restaurants. If we are unable to continue to compete effectively, our traffic, sales and restaurant contribution could decline which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Negative publicity relating to one of our restaurants, including one of our franchise-operated restaurants, could reduce sales at some or all of our other restaurants.
Our success is dependent in part upon our ability to maintain and enhance the value of our brand, consumers’ connection to our brand and positive relationships with our franchisees. We may, from time to time, be faced with negative publicity relating to food quality, public health concerns, restaurant facilities, customer complaints or litigation alleging illness or injury, health inspection scores, integrity of our or our suppliers’ food processing, employee relationships or other matters, regardless of whether the allegations are valid or whether we are held to be responsible. The negative impact of adverse publicity relating to
one restaurant may extend far beyond the restaurant or franchise involved to affect some or all of our other restaurants. The risk of negative publicity is particularly great with respect to our franchise-operated restaurants because we are limited in the manner in which we can regulate them, especially on a real-time basis. The considerable expansion in the use of social media over recent years can further amplify any negative publicity that could be generated by such incidents.
Additionally, employee claims against us based on, among other things, wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination may also create negative publicity that could adversely affect us and divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit the future performance of our operations. A significant increase in the number of these claims or an increase in the number of successful claims would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See Note 16, Commitments and Contingencies, in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. Consumer demand for our products and our brand’s value could diminish significantly if any such incidents or other matters create negative publicity or otherwise erode consumer confidence in us or our products, which would likely result in lower sales and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our inability or failure to recognize, respond to and effectively manage the accelerated impact of social media could have a material adverse impact on our business.
There has been been a widespread and dramatic increase in the use of social media platforms that allow users to access a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. The availability of information on social media can be virtually immediate, as can its impact, and users of many social media platforms can post information without filters or checks on the accuracy of the content posted. Adverse information concerning our restaurants or brand, whether accurate or inaccurate, may be posted on such platforms at any time and can quickly reach a wide audience. The resulting harm to our reputation may be immediate, without affording us an opportunity to correct or otherwise respond to the information, and it is challenging to monitor and anticipate developments on social media in order to respond in an effective and timely manner. As a result, social media may exacerbate the risks described above under “Negative publicity relating to one of our restaurants, including one of our franchise-operated restaurants, could reduce sales at some or all of our other restaurants.”
In addition, although search engine marketing, social media and other new technological platforms offer great opportunities to increase awareness of and engagement with our restaurants and brand, our failure to use social media effectively in our marketing efforts may further expose us to the risks associated with the accelerated impact of social media. Many of our competitors are expanding their use of social media and the social media landscape is rapidly evolving, potentially making more traditional social media platforms obsolete. As a result, we need to continuously innovate and develop our social media strategies in order to maintain broad appeal with guests and brand relevance, and we may not do so effectively. A variety of additional risks associated with our use of social media include the possibility of improper disclosure of proprietary information, exposure of personally identifiable information of our employees or guests, fraud, or the publication of out-of-date information, any of which may result in material liabilities or reputational damage. Furthermore, any inappropriate use of social media platforms by our employees could also result in negative publicity that could damage our reputation, or lead to litigation that increases our costs.
Food safety and foodborne illness concerns could have an adverse effect on our business.
We have a vigorous food safety program in our restaurants designed to meet local and state regulations that we continue to update, optimize and strengthen. We have established in our 56-year history, systems and standards with our suppliers and in our restaurants to ensure the safety of our food for our guests.
We cannot guarantee that our internal controls and training will be fully effective in preventing all food safety issues at our restaurants, including any occurrences of foodborne illnesses such as salmonella, Norovirus, E. coli and hepatitis A. In addition, there is no guarantee that our franchise restaurants will maintain the high levels of internal controls and training we require at company-operated restaurants. New illnesses resistant to our current precautions may develop in the future, or diseases with long incubation periods could arise, that could give rise to claims or allegations on a retroactive basis.
Furthermore, we bulk source for the system and we and our franchisees rely on our third-party suppliers, making it difficult to monitor food safety compliance and increasing the risk that foodborne illness could affect multiple locations rather than a single restaurant. We do our best to vet out our sources, however, given this, some foodborne illness could be caused by third-party suppliers and transporters outside of our control.
One or more instances of foodborne illness in any of our restaurants or markets or related to food products we sell could negatively affect our restaurant revenue nationwide if highly publicized on national media outlets or through social media. This
risk exists even if it were later determined that the illness was wrongly attributed to us. A number of other restaurant chains have experienced incidents related to foodborne illnesses that have had a material adverse effect on their operations. The occurrence of a similar incident at one or more of our restaurants and negative publicity or public speculation about an incident, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The challenging restaurant environment may affect our franchisees, with adverse consequences to us.
We rely in part on our franchisees and the manner in which they operate their locations to develop and promote our business. Due to the continuing challenging restaurant environment it is possible that some franchisees could file for bankruptcy or become delinquent in their payments to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business due to loss or delay in payments of royalties, information technology (“IT”) support service fees, contributions to our advertising funds, and other fees. Our top 12 franchisees accounted for approximately 65% of total franchise revenue for both the years ended December 28, 2021 and December 29, 2020, and the top 20 franchisees accounted for approximately 77% and 76% of total franchise revenue for the years ended December 28, 2021 and December 29, 2020, respectively. Bankruptcies by our franchisees could prevent us from terminating their franchise agreements so that we can offer their territories to other franchisees, thereby negatively impacting our market share and operating results as we may have fewer well-performing restaurants, and adversely impact our ability to attract new franchisees.
Franchisees may not have access to the financial or management resources that they need to open the restaurants contemplated by their agreements with us, or be able to find suitable sites on which to develop them. Franchisees may not be able to negotiate acceptable lease or purchase terms for restaurant sites, obtain the necessary permits and government approvals or meet construction schedules. Any of these problems could slow our growth and limit our franchise revenue. Additionally, our franchisees typically depend on financing from banks and other financial institutions, which may not always be available to them under acceptable terms, in order to construct and open new restaurants. For these reasons, franchisees operating under development agreements may not be able to meet the new restaurant opening dates required under those agreements. Also, we sublease certain restaurants to certain existing franchisees. If any such franchisees cannot meet their financial obligations under their subleases, or otherwise fail to honor or default under the terms of their subleases, we would be financially obligated under a master lease and could be materially adversely affected.
Although we have developed criteria to evaluate and screen prospective developers and franchisees, it cannot be certain that the developers and franchisees we select will have the business acumen or financial resources necessary to open and operate successful franchises in their franchise areas, and state franchise laws may limit our ability to terminate or modify these franchise arrangements. Moreover, franchisees may not successfully operate restaurants in a manner consistent with our standards and requirements, or may not hire and train qualified managers and other restaurant personnel. The failure of developers and franchisees to open and operate franchises successfully could have a material adverse effect on us, our reputation, our brand and our ability to attract prospective franchisees and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We have limited control with respect to the operations of our franchisees, which could have a negative impact on our business.
Franchisees are independent business operators and are not our employees and we do not exercise control over the day-to-day operations of their restaurants. We provide training and support to franchisees, and set and monitor operational standards, but the quality of franchise-operated restaurants may be diminished by any number of factors beyond our control. Consequently, franchisees may not successfully operate restaurants in a manner consistent with our standards and requirements, or may not hire, train and retain qualified managers and other restaurant personnel. If franchisees do not operate to our expectations, our image and reputation, and the image and reputation of other franchisees, may suffer materially and system-wide sales could decline significantly.
Franchisees, as independent business operators, may from time to time disagree with us and our strategies regarding the business or our interpretation of our respective rights and obligations under the franchise agreement. This may lead to disputes, including potential litigation, with our franchisees and we expect such disputes to occur from time to time in the future as we continue to offer franchises. To the extent we have such disputes or litigation, the attention, time and financial resources of our management and our franchisees will be diverted from our restaurants, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
New information or attitudes regarding diet and health could result in changes in regulations and consumer consumption habits, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulations and consumer eating habits may change as a result of new information or attitudes regarding diet and health. Such changes may include responses to scientific studies on the health effects of particular food items or federal, state and local regulations that impact the ingredients and nutritional content of the food and beverages we offer. The success of our restaurant operations is dependent, in part, upon our ability to effectively respond to changes in any consumer attitudes or health regulations and our ability to adapt our menu offerings to trends in food consumption, especially fast-moving trends. If consumer health regulations or consumer eating habits change significantly, we may choose or be required to modify or delete certain menu items, which may adversely affect the attractiveness of our restaurants to new or returning customers. While we generally find that changes in consumer eating habits occur gradually, providing us with sufficient time to adapt our restaurant concept accordingly, changes in consumer eating habits can occur rapidly, often in response to published research or study information, which puts additional pressure on us to adapt quickly. To the extent we are unwilling or unable to respond with appropriate changes to our menu offerings in an efficient manner, it could materially affect consumer demand and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Government regulation and consumer eating habits may impact our business as a result of changes in attitudes regarding diet and health or new information regarding the adverse health effects of consuming certain menu offerings. These changes have resulted in, and may continue to result in, laws and regulations requiring us to disclose the nutritional content of our food offerings, and they have resulted, and may continue to result in, laws and regulations affecting permissible ingredients and menu offerings. Laws and regulations may also place limitations on the size of fountain beverages we may offer and the types of straws or packaging we may use which could adversely impact restaurant revenue or increase our operating costs. A number of counties, cities and states, including California, have enacted menu labeling laws requiring multi-unit restaurant operators to disclose to consumers certain nutritional information, or have enacted legislation restricting the use of certain types of ingredients in restaurants, which laws may be different or inconsistent with requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the “PPACA”), which establishes a uniform, federal requirement for certain restaurants to post nutritional information on their menus. Specifically, the PPACA requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations operating under the same name and offering substantially the same menus to publish the total number of calories of standard menu items on menus and menu boards, along with a statement that puts this calorie information in the context of a total daily calorie intake.
We may not be able to effectively respond to changes in consumer health perceptions, comply with further nutrient content disclosure requirements or adapt our menu offerings to align with trends in eating habits, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Changes in economic conditions and other unforeseen conditions, particularly in the markets in which we operate, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The restaurant industry depends on consumer discretionary spending. The United States in general or the specific markets in which we operate may suffer from depressed economic activity, recessionary economic cycles, higher fuel or energy costs, low consumer confidence, high levels of unemployment, reduced home values, increases in home foreclosures, investment losses, personal bankruptcies, reduced access to credit, increased interest rates, or other economic factors that may affect consumer discretionary spending, including impacts related to COVID-19. Average restaurant revenue could decline if consumers choose to dine out less frequently or reduce the amount they spend on meals while dining out. Negative economic conditions might cause consumers to make long-term changes to their discretionary spending behavior, including dining out less frequently on a permanent basis, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
For example, the recession from late 2007 to mid-2009 reduced consumer confidence to historic lows, impacting the public’s ability and desire to spend discretionary dollars as a result of job losses, home foreclosures, significantly reduced home values, investment losses, bankruptcies and reduced access to credit. If the economy experiences another significant decline, our business, results of operations and ability to comply with the terms of our credit agreement could be materially adversely affected and may result in a deceleration of the number and timing of new restaurant openings by us and our franchisees, as well as a potential deterioration in customer traffic or a reduction in average check size which would negatively impact our revenues and our profitability and could result in reductions in staff levels, additional impairment charges and potential restaurant closures.
Failure to maintain our corporate culture and changes in consumer recognition of our brand as we grow could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that a critical component to our success has been our corporate culture. We have invested substantial time and resources in building our team. As we continue to grow, we may find it difficult to maintain the innovation, teamwork, passion and focus on execution that we believe are important aspects of our corporate culture. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively affect our future success, including our ability to retain and recruit personnel and to effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives. If we cannot maintain our corporate culture as we grow, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, our future results depend on various factors, including local market acceptance of our restaurants and consumer recognition of the quality of our food and operations. Our failure to receive and sustain such local market acceptance and consumer recognition could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Labor and Supply Chain
The minimum wage, particularly in California, continues to increase and is subject to factors outside of our control.
We have a substantial number of hourly employees who are paid wage rates based on the applicable federal, state or local minimum wage, and increases in the minimum wage will increase our labor costs.
On July 1, 2014, the State of California (where most of our restaurants are located) increased its minimum wage to $9.00 per hour (from $8.00 per hour), and it increased to $10.00 per hour on January 1, 2016. On March 31, 2016, the California Legislature passed legislation which was designed to raise the statewide minimum wage gradually until it reaches $15.00 per hour in 2022 and it was signed into law on April 4, 2016. Under the new California law, minimum wage increased to $10.50 per hour on January 1, 2017, increased to $11.00 per hour on January 1, 2018, increased to $12.00 per hour on January 1, 2019, increased to $13.00 per hour on January 1, 2020, increased to $14.00 per hour on January 1, 2021 and finally increased to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2022. Based on our current number of restaurants in California, this is expected to impact 328 restaurants in California, of which 208 are company-operated and 120 are franchise-operated, excluding certain California restaurants with local minimum wage requirements that are accelerated compared to the California requirements.
In addition, in September 2015, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved increases to the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2020 with the first phase of the wage increase to $10.50 effective on July 1, 2016, followed by an increase to $12.00 per hour on July 1, 2017, $13.25 per hour on July 1, 2018, $14.25 per hour on July 1, 2019 and finally to $15.00 per hour on July 1, 2020. Also, in June 2016, the Los Angeles City Council approved a paid sick leave ordinance to provide six days of paid sick leave per year, with carry-over of 72 hours, effective July 1, 2016. On July 1, 2022, the minimum wage in the City of Los Angeles will increase to $16.04 per hour and will increase based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers annually thereafter. These local ordinances impacted 19 company-owned restaurants and 12 franchise-owned restaurants in the City of Los Angeles and in the unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles.
On March 14, 2016, the Pasadena City Council adopted an ordinance to increase Pasadena’s minimum wage. Beginning on July 1, 2016, employers with 26 or more employees must pay a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour to all employees who work at least 2 hours per week within Pasadena’s geographic bounds. The minimum wage increased to $12.00 per hour on July 1, 2017 and $13.25 per hour on July 1, 2018. This local ordinance impacted three company-operated restaurants.
On June 7, 2016, San Diego voters voted in favor of an ordinance to increase San Diego's minimum wage rate and allow employees working within the San Diego city limits to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The San Diego City Council certified this minimum wage increase on July 11, 2016 with the increase taking effect on July 11, 2016. Under this ordinance, for any employee who works at least two hours within San Diego city limits, minimum wage increased to $10.50 per hour on July 11, 2016, $11.50 per hour on January 1, 2017, $12.00 per hour on January 1, 2019, $13.00 per hour on January 1, 2020, and the minimum wage rate will increase annually to an amount that corresponds to the prior year's increase, if any, in the cost of living. In addition, the ordinance provides up to five days of paid sick leave and allows unused sick leave to be carried over to the following year. This ordinance impacted five franchise-operated restaurants.
On July 1, 2016, the Santa Monica minimum wage rates increased to $10.50 per hour and allow employees working within the Santa Monica city limits to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The minimum wage increased to $12.00 per hour on July 1, 2017, $13.25 per hour on July 1, 2018, $14.25 per hour on July 1, 2019 and $15.00 per hour on July 1, 2020. This local ordinance impacted one company-operated restaurant.
On November 8, 2016, Arizona voters voted in favor to increase the state minimum wage to $10.00 per hour effective January 1, 2017 (from $8.05 per hour) and to allow employees to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked effective July 1, 2017. The minimum wage increased to $10.50 per hour in 2018, $11.00 per hour in 2019, $12.00 per hour in 2020, and $12.15 per hour on January 1, 2021. The law provides up to five days of paid sick leave per year. The law impacted 38 franchise-operated restaurants, excluding certain Arizona restaurants with local minimum wage requirements that are higher than the Arizona state requirements.
On January 1, 2021, the minimum wage in Flagstaff, Arizona increased to $15.00 per hour. It then increased to $15.50 per hour on January 1, 2022. Starting January 1, 2023, the minimum wage will increase based on the Consumer Price Index or will increase to $2.00 per hour higher than the Arizona state minimum wage, whichever is higher. This local ordinance in Flagstaff impacted two franchise-operated restaurants.
On June 13, 2019, the governor of Nevada signed a bill into law that increases the minimum wage to $8.00 per hour for employers that offer qualified health insurance and to $9.00 per hour for employers that do not offer qualified health insurance, effective July 1, 2020. The minimum wage will increase by $0.75 per hour each year until it reaches $11.00 per hour for employers that offer qualified health insurance and $12.00 per hour for employers that do not offer qualified health insurance in 2024. Additionally, it allows employees working within the state to accrue approximately 0.02 hours of paid leave for each hour worked, which translates to 40 hours of paid leave per year for full-time employees, effective January 1, 2020. This new law impacted 37 company-operated restaurants and nine franchise-operated restaurants.
Other municipalities may set minimum wages above the applicable federal or state standards. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since July 24, 2009. Additional federally-mandated, state-mandated or locally mandated minimum wages may be raised in the future. Furthermore, on July 1, 2015, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 went into effect for California employees, which provides up to three days of paid sick leave for employees who work more than 30 days within a year.
Due to various federal, state and local regulations enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including enhanced sick leave benefits and relaxed eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits, the Company expects to incur additional labor and related expenses for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We may be unable to increase our menu prices in order to pass future increased labor costs on to our customers, in which case our margins would be negatively affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if our menu prices are increased to cover increased labor costs, the higher prices could adversely affect sales and thereby reduce our margins and profitability.
Changes in food and supply costs, including the impact of inflation and tariffs, or failure to receive frequent deliveries of food ingredients and other supplies could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our profitability depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in food and supply costs, and our ability to maintain our menu depends in part on our ability to acquire ingredients that meet specifications from reliable suppliers. Shortages or interruptions in the availability of certain supplies caused by unanticipated demand, problems in production or distribution, food contamination, a health epidemic or pandemic, inclement weather or other conditions could adversely affect the availability, quality and cost of our ingredients, which could harm our operations. Recently, food and paper inflation has become pervasive and any increase in the prices of the food or paper products most critical to our menu, such as beef, beverage syrup, chicken, cheese, french fries, tortillas, taco shells, fresh produce, soybean oil and other proteins, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Particularly, the cost of taco meat, our largest commodity expenditure that accounts for approximately 10% of our total food and paper costs, increased significantly over the past year. The market for beef is particularly volatile and is subject to extreme price fluctuations due to seasonal shifts, climate conditions, the price of feed, industry demand, energy demand, relative strength of the U.S. dollar and other factors. Although we try to manage the impact that these fluctuations have on our operating results, we remain susceptible to increases in food or paper costs as a result of factors beyond our control, such as general economic conditions, inflationary trends, potential cross-border taxes or tariffs, seasonal fluctuations, weather conditions, demand, food safety concerns, generalized infectious diseases, product recalls and government regulations. For instance, several years ago our cost of eggs increased materially due to the impact of the avian flu which infected much of the domestic egg laying flock and created a temporary but significant reduction in supply. Additionally, a substantial volume of produce and other items are procured from Mexico and other countries. Any new or increased import duties, tariffs or taxes, or other changes in U.S. trade or tax policy, could result in higher food and supply costs that would adversely impact our financial results. Therefore, material increases in the prices of the ingredients
most critical to our menu, particularly ground beef, could adversely affect our operating results or cause us to consider changes to our product delivery strategy and adjustments to our menu pricing.
We have contracts with a limited number of suppliers for the food and supplies of our restaurants. If any of our suppliers perform inadequately, or our supply relationships are disrupted for any reason, including impacts from COVID-19, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Although we often enter into contracts for the purchase of food products and supplies, we do not have long-term contracts for the purchase of all such food products and supplies. As a result, we may not be able to anticipate or react to changing food costs by adjusting our purchasing practices or menu prices, which could cause our operating results to deteriorate. If we cannot replace or engage suppliers who meet our specifications in a short period of time, that could increase our expenses and cause shortages of food and other items at our restaurants, which could cause a restaurant to remove items from our menu. If that were to happen, affected restaurants could experience significant reductions in sales during the shortage or thereafter, if customers change their dining habits as a result. In addition, although we provide modestly priced food, we may choose not to, or may be unable to, pass along commodity price increases to consumers. These potential changes in food and supply costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our profitability depends in part on our and our franchisees’ ability to maintain consistent quality menu items and prices, which in turn significantly depends upon our ability to acquire food and paper products from reliable sources in accordance with our specifications on a timely basis. Shortages or interruptions in the supply of food and paper products caused by unanticipated demand, problems in production or distribution, contamination of food products, an outbreak of diseases impacting various proteins, inclement weather or other conditions could materially adversely affect the availability, quality and cost of ingredients, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We do not control the businesses of our vendors, suppliers and distributors and our efforts to specify and monitor the standards under which they perform may not be successful.
We rely on only one company to distribute substantially all of our products to company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants. Failure to receive timely deliveries of food or other supplies could result in a loss of revenue and materially and adversely impact our operations.
One company distributes substantially all of the products we receive from suppliers to company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants. If that distributor or any supplier fails to perform as anticipated or seeks to terminate agreements with us, or if there is any disruption in any of our distribution relationships for any reason, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected. If we or our franchisees must temporarily close a restaurant or remove popular items from a restaurant’s menu, that restaurant may experience a significant reduction in revenue during the time affected by the shortage and thereafter if our customers change their dining habits as a result.
Additionally, any changes we may make to the services we obtain from our vendors, or new vendors we employ, may disrupt our operations. These disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we or our franchisees face labor shortages, unionization activities, labor disputes or increased labor costs, it could negatively impact our growth and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Labor is a primary component in the cost of operating our company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants. If we face labor shortages or increased labor costs because of lower levels of unemployment, increased competition for employees, higher employee turnover rates, increases in the federal, state or local minimum wage or other employee benefits costs (including costs associated with paid sick leave, health insurance coverage and workers compensation), our operating expenses could increase and our growth could be negatively impacted. In addition, our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain a sufficient number of well-qualified restaurant operators and management personnel, as well as a sufficient number of other qualified employees, including customer service and kitchen staff, to keep pace with our expansion schedule. In addition, restaurants have traditionally experienced relatively high employee turnover rates. Our inability to recruit or retain qualified employees, due to competition or lack of qualified applicants, may delay planned openings of new restaurants, result in higher labor costs or result in higher employee turnover in existing restaurants, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Although none of our employees are currently covered under collective bargaining agreements, if a significant number of our employees were to become unionized and collective bargaining agreement terms were significantly different from our current compensation arrangements, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, a
labor dispute involving some or all of our employees may harm our reputation, disrupt our operations and reduce our revenue, and resolution of disputes may increase our costs.
Changes in employment laws may adversely affect our business.
Various federal, state and local labor laws govern the relationship with our employees and impact operating costs. These laws include employee classification as exempt or non-exempt for overtime and other purposes, minimum wage requirements, paid sick leave requirements, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, immigration status and other wage and benefit requirements. Significant additional federal, state or local government-imposed increases in the following areas could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations:
•minimum wages;
•mandatory health benefits;
•vacation accruals;
•paid leaves of absence, including paid sick leave; and
•tax reporting.
In addition, various states in which we operate are considering or have already adopted new immigration laws or enforcement programs, and the U.S. Congress and Department of Homeland Security from time to time considers and may implement changes to federal immigration laws, regulations or enforcement programs as well. Some of these changes may increase our obligations for compliance and oversight, which could subject us to additional costs and make our hiring process more cumbersome, or reduce the availability of potential employees. Although we require all workers to provide us with government-specified documentation evidencing their employment eligibility, some of our employees may, without our knowledge, be unauthorized workers. We currently participate in the “E-Verify” program, an Internet-based, free program run by the United States government to verify employment eligibility in all locations. However, use of the “E-Verify” program does not guarantee that we will properly identify all applicants who are ineligible for employment. Unauthorized workers are subject to deportation and may subject us to fines or penalties, and if any of our workers are found to be unauthorized we could experience adverse publicity that negatively impacts our brand and may make it more difficult to hire and keep qualified employees. Termination of a significant number of employees who were unauthorized employees may disrupt our operations, cause temporary increases in our labor costs as we train new employees and result in additional adverse publicity. We could also become subject to fines, penalties and other costs related to claims that we did not fully comply with all recordkeeping obligations of federal and state immigration compliance laws. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Legal, Regulatory and Compliance
Governmental regulation may adversely affect our ability to open new restaurants or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to various federal, state and local regulations, including those relating to building and zoning requirements and those relating to the preparation and sale of food. The development and operation of restaurants depends to a significant extent on the selection and acquisition of suitable sites, which are subject to zoning, land use, environmental, traffic and other regulations and requirements. Our restaurants are also subject to state and local licensing and regulation by health, sanitation, food and occupational safety and other agencies. We may experience material difficulties or failures in obtaining the necessary licenses, approvals or permits for our restaurants, which could delay planned restaurant openings or affect the operations at our existing restaurants. In addition, stringent and varied requirements of local regulators with respect to zoning, land use and environmental factors could delay or prevent development of new restaurants in particular locations.
We are subject to the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) and similar state laws that give civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities in the context of employment, public accommodations and other areas, including our restaurants. We may in the future have to modify restaurants by adding access ramps or redesigning certain architectural fixtures, for example, to provide service to or make reasonable accommodations for disabled persons. The expenses or capital outlays associated with these modifications could be material.
Our operations are also subject to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act, which governs worker health and safety, the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs such matters as minimum wages and overtime, and a variety of similar federal, state and local laws that govern these and other employment law matters. We and our franchisees may also be subject to lawsuits from employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or others alleging violations of federal and
state laws regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination and similar matters, and we have been a party to such matters in the past. In addition, federal, state and local proposals related to paid sick leave or similar matters could, if implemented, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
There is a new food safety regulation of certain food establishments in the United States, where compliance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA") Hazard Analysis and Risk-based Preventative Controls for Human Foods ("HARPC") regulation is required.
HARPC refers to a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of potential hazards from production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. Many states have required restaurants to develop and implement HARPC systems, and the United States government continues to expand the sectors of the food industry that must adopt and implement HARPC programs. For example, the Food Safety Modernization Act (the “FSMA”), signed into law in January 2011, granted the the FDA authority regarding the safety of the entire food system, including through increased inspections and mandatory food recalls. Although restaurants are specifically exempted from or not directly implicated by some of these relatively new requirements, we anticipate that the requirements may impact our industry. Additionally, our suppliers may initiate or otherwise be subject to food recalls that may impact the availability of certain products, result in adverse publicity or require us to take actions that could be costly for us or otherwise impact our business.
The impact of current laws and regulations, the effect of future changes in laws or regulations that impose additional requirements and the consequences of litigation relating to current or future laws and regulations, or our inability to respond effectively to significant regulatory or public policy issues, could increase our compliance and other costs of doing business and, therefore, have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Failure to comply with the laws and regulatory requirements of federal, state and local authorities could result in, among other things, revocation of required licenses, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil and criminal liability. In addition, certain laws, including the ADA, could require us to expend significant funds to make modifications to our restaurants if we fail to comply with applicable standards. Compliance with the aforementioned laws and regulations can be costly and can increase our exposure to litigation or governmental investigations or proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to obtain and maintain required licenses and permits or to comply with food control regulations could lead to the loss of our food service licenses and, thereby, harm our business.
The restaurant industry is subject to various federal, state and local government regulations, including those relating to the sale of food. Such regulations are subject to change from time to time. The failure to obtain and maintain these licenses, permits and approvals could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Typically, licenses must be renewed annually and may be revoked, suspended or denied renewal for cause at any time if governmental authorities determine that our conduct violates applicable regulations. Difficulties or failure to maintain or obtain the required licenses and approvals could adversely affect our existing restaurants and delay or result in our decision to cancel the opening of new restaurants, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.
Restaurant companies have been the target of class action lawsuits and other proceedings alleging, among other things, violations of federal and state workplace and employment laws. Proceedings of this nature are costly, divert management attention and, if successful, could result in our payment of substantial damages or settlement costs.
Our business is subject to the risk of litigation by employees, consumers, suppliers, franchisees, stockholders or others through private actions, class actions, administrative proceedings, regulatory actions or other litigation. The outcome of litigation, particularly class action and regulatory actions, is difficult to assess or quantify. In recent years, restaurant companies, including ours, have been subject to lawsuits, including class action lawsuits, alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment conditions, discrimination and similar matters. A number of these lawsuits have resulted in the payment of substantial damages by the defendants. Similar lawsuits have been instituted from time to time alleging violations of various federal and state wage and hour laws regarding, among other things, employee meal breaks, rest periods, overtime eligibility of managers and failure to pay for all hours worked. We have been a party to wage and hour and overtime eligibility of managers class action lawsuits in the past, and we presently face one wage and hour and one overtime eligibility of managers putative class action lawsuits in California state court.
In March 2014, a former Del Taco employee filed a purported class action complaint alleging that Del Taco has not appropriately provided meal breaks and failed to pay wages to its California hourly employees. On March 24, 2021, Del Taco filed its motion to oppose the plaintiff's motion for class certification. On November 12, 2021, the court granted the plaintiff's
motion for class certification. Discovery is in process and Del Taco intends to assert all of its defenses to this class action. Legal proceedings are inherently unpredictable, and the Company is not able to predict the ultimate outcome or cost of the unresolved matter. However, based on management’s current understanding of the relevant facts and circumstances, a loss related to this matter is both probable and estimable. As such, the Company recorded an estimated loss contingency accrual of $2.7 million as of December 28, 2021.
In September 2018, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed a complaint on behalf of an individual complainant and an additional class of individuals alleging that Del Taco engaged in unlawful employment practices on the basis of sex and retaliation in violation of Title VII. The Company tendered the claim to its insurance carrier under its employment practices liability insurance policy. The Company's insurance coverage and retention includes amounts incurred for legal defense and any potential settlement. Since the Company had expected the settlement discussions to give rise to a loss in excess of the Company's insurance retention that is both probable and estimable, the Company recorded an expense for the overall action equal to the full retention of $0.5 million during the fifty-two weeks ended December 31, 2019. In December 2020, the Company reached a settlement with the EEOC for $1.25 million and a three-year consent decree, which includes company-wide injunctive relief aimed at preventing workplace harassment and retaliation. As of December 29, 2020, the Company recorded a receivable of $1.3 million from the Company's insurance carrier and an accrued liability of $1.3 million for legal fees covered by insurance and the claim settlement which was collected from the insurance carrier in the first quarter of 2021. Of the $1.25 million claim settlement, $0.9 million was paid to the plaintiff in the first quarter of 2021 with the remainder to be paid at a later date. During the second quarter of 2021, the Company settled an individual complaint filed by a member of the EEOC class for $0.5 million. Both this matter and the EEOC matter are subject to the same insurance retention of $0.5 million because they are deemed related matters under the Company's employment practices liability insurance policy. The Company's insurance carrier paid the $0.5 million settlement directly to the complainant's attorney. In consideration of the Company's insurance coverage, the ultimate liability with respect to these actions did not have a material effect on the operating results, cash flows or financial position of the Company for the fifty-two weeks ended December 28, 2021 and the fifty-two weeks ended December 29, 2020.
In addition, from time to time, our customers file complaints or lawsuits against us alleging that we are responsible for some illness or injury they suffered at or after a visit to one of our restaurants, including actions seeking damages resulting from alleged food-borne illness or accidents in our restaurants. We also have been subject to claims from a former franchisee. We are also subject to a variety of other claims from third parties arising in the ordinary course of our business, including contract claims. The restaurant industry has also been subject to a growing number of claims that the menus and actions of restaurant chains have led to the obesity of certain of their customers. We may also be subject to lawsuits from our employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or others alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment conditions, discrimination and similar matters. We have also been subject to claims alleging our restaurants do not comply with the Americans for Disabilities Act of 1990.
Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid or whether we are liable, claims may be expensive to defend and may divert time and money away from our operations. In addition, they may generate negative publicity, which could reduce customer traffic and sales. Although we maintain what we believe to be adequate levels of insurance, insurance may not be available at all or in sufficient amounts to cover any liabilities with respect to these or other matters. A judgment or other liability in excess of our insurance coverage for any claims or any adverse publicity resulting from claims could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We could face liability from or as a result of our franchisees.
Various state and federal laws govern our relationship with our franchisees and our potential sale of a franchise. If we fail to comply with these laws, we could be liable for damages to franchisees and fines or other penalties. A franchisee or government agency may bring legal action against us based on the franchisee/franchisor relationship. Also, under the franchise business model, we may face claims and liabilities based on vicarious liability, joint-employer liability, or other theories or liabilities. All such legal actions not only could result in changes to laws, making it more difficult to appropriately support our franchisees and, consequently, impacting our performance, but, also, such legal actions could result in expensive litigation with our franchisees or government agencies that could adversely affect both our profits and our important relations with our franchisees. In addition, other regulatory or legal developments may result in changes to laws or the franchisor/franchisee relationship that could negatively impact the franchise business model and, accordingly, our profits.
We could be party to litigation that could distract management, increase our expenses or subject us to material monetary damages or other remedies.
Our customers from time to time file complaints or lawsuits against us alleging we caused an illness or injury they suffered at or after a visit to our restaurants, or that we have problems with food quality or operations. We also have been subject to a variety of other claims arising in the ordinary course of its business, including personal injury claims, contract claims and claims alleging violations of federal and state law regarding workplace and employment matters, equal opportunity, harassment, discrimination and similar matters, including administrative charges, single-plaintiff lawsuits, class actions, and other types of actions. We could become subject to class actions or other lawsuits related to any of these or from different types of matters in the future. Such claims may result in the payment of substantial damages by us. Regardless of whether any claims brought against us are valid, or whether we are ultimately held liable, claims may be expensive to defend and may divert time and resources away from our operations and hurt our performance. A judgment in excess of our insurance coverage for any claims could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Any adverse publicity resulting from the claims, or even from threatened claims, may also materially and adversely affect our reputation, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, the restaurant industry has been subject to a growing number of claims based on the nutritional content of food products sold and disclosure and advertising practices. We may also be subject to this type of proceeding in the future and, even if it is not, publicity about these matters (particularly directed at the fast casual or traditional quick service segments of the industry) may harm our reputation and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Compliance with environmental laws may negatively affect our business.
We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations concerning waste disposal, pollution, protection of the environment, and the presence, discharge, storage, handling, release and disposal of, and exposure to, hazardous or toxic substances. These environmental laws provide for significant fines and penalties for noncompliance and liabilities for remediation, sometimes without regard to whether the owner or operator of the property knew of, or was responsible for, the release or presence of hazardous toxic substances. Third parties may also make claims against owners or operators of properties for personal injuries and property damage associated with releases of, or actual or alleged exposure to, such hazardous or toxic substances at, on or from our restaurants. We are aware of contamination from a release of hazardous materials by a previous owner, operator or adjacent business at four of our leased properties. We do not believe that we contributed to the contamination at these properties. The appropriate state agencies have been notified and these issues are being handled without disruption to our business. Environmental conditions relating to releases of hazardous substances at a prior, existing or future restaurant could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, environmental laws, and the administration, interpretation and enforcement thereof, are subject to change and may become more stringent in the future, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The effect of changes to healthcare laws in the United States, or the repeal of existing healthcare laws, may increase the number of employees who choose to participate in our healthcare plans, which may significantly increase our healthcare costs and negatively impact our financial results.
In 2010, the PPACA was signed into law in the United States to require health care coverage for many uninsured individuals and expand coverage to those already insured. The PPACA requires us to offer healthcare benefits to all full-time employees (including full-time hourly employees) that meet certain minimum requirements of coverage and affordability, or face penalties. We began to offer such benefits on January 1, 2015 to all eligible employees, and may incur substantial additional expense due to organizing and maintaining the plan which we anticipate will be more expensive on a per person basis and will extend to an increased number of employees who we anticipate may elect to obtain coverage through this healthcare plan which we subsidize in part. If we fail to offer such benefits, or the benefits we elect to offer do not meet the applicable requirements, we may incur penalties. It is also possible that by making changes or failing to make changes in the healthcare plans offered by us, we will become less competitive in the market for our labor. Finally, maintaining the requirements of the PPACA may impose additional administrative costs. The continued costs and other effects of these healthcare requirements cannot be determined with certainty, but they may significantly increase our healthcare coverage costs and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
It is possible that legislation will be passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law that revises the PPACA, in whole or in part, and/or introduces a new form of health care reform. It is unclear at this point what the scope of such legislation would be and when it would become effective. Because of the uncertainty surrounding possible replacement health care reform
legislation, we cannot predict with any certainty the likely impact of the PPACA's potential revision or the adoption of any other health care reform legislation on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Whether or not there is alternative health care legislation enacted in the United States, there is likely to be significant disruption to the health care market in the coming months and years, including impact from COVID-19, and the costs of our health care expenditures may increase.
Risks Related to IT Systems and Cybersecurity
We may incur costs resulting from breaches of security of confidential consumer information related to our electronic processing of credit and debit card transactions.
A significant amount of our restaurant sales are by credit or debit cards. Other restaurants and retailers have experienced security breaches in which credit and debit card information has been stolen. We may in the future become subject to claims for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of the actual or alleged theft of credit or debit card information, and we may also be subject to lawsuits or other proceedings relating to these types of incidents. In addition, most states have enacted legislation requiring notification of security breaches involving personal information, including credit and debit card information. Any such claim or proceeding could cause us to incur significant unplanned expenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, adverse publicity resulting from these allegations may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We rely heavily on information technology, and any material failure, weakness, interruption or breach of security could prevent us from effectively operating our business.
We rely heavily on information systems, including point-of-sale processing in our restaurants, for management of our supply chain, inventory, payment of obligations, collection of cash, credit and debit card transactions, training, human capital management, financial tools and other business processes and procedures. Our ability to efficiently and effectively manage our business functions depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems. Our operations depend upon our ability to protect our computer equipment and systems against damage from physical theft, fire, power loss and outages, telecommunications failure or other catastrophic events, as well as from internal and external security breaches, viruses and other disruptive problems. The failure of these systems to operate effectively, whether from maintenance problems, upgrading or transitioning to new platforms, or a breach in security of these systems, could result in interruptions or delays in our restaurant or other operations, adversely impacting the restaurant experience for our guests and reduce efficiency or negatively impacting our operations. If our information technology systems fail and our redundant systems or disaster recovery plans are not adequate to address such failures, or if our business interruption insurance does not sufficiently compensate us for any losses that we may incur, our revenues and profits could be reduced and the reputation of our brand and our business could be materially adversely affected. In addition, remediation of any problems with our systems could result in significant, unplanned expenses. We have instituted controls, including information system governance controls that are intended to protect our computer systems, our point of sale ("POS") systems, and our information technology systems and networks; and adhere to payment card industry data security standards and limit third party access for vendors that require access to our restaurant networks. We also have business continuity plans that attempt to anticipate and mitigate failures. However, we cannot control or prevent every potential technology failure, adverse environmental event, third-party service interruption or cybersecurity risk.
We collect and maintain personal information about our employees and our guests and are seeking to provide our guests with new digital experiences. These digital experiences may require us to open up access into our Point of Sale systems to allow for capabilities like mobile order and pay and third party delivery. The collection and use of personal information is regulated at the federal and state levels; such regulations include the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") effective January 1, 2020 and which will require our instituting new processes and protections. The CCPA provides a new private right of action and requires companies that process information on California residents to make new disclosures to consumers about their data collection, use and sharing practices and allow consumers to opt out of certain data sharing with third parties. If we fail to properly respond to security breaches of our or third party's information technology systems or fail to properly respond to consumer requests under the CCPA, we could experience reputational damage, adverse publicity, loss of consumer confidence, and regulatory and legal risk, including criminal penalties or civil liabilities.
We increasingly rely on cloud computing and other technologies that result in third parties holding significant amounts of customer or employee information on our behalf. There has been an increase over the past several years in the frequency and sophistication of attempts to compromise the security of these types of systems. If the security and information systems that we or our outsourced third-party providers use to store or process such information are compromised or if we, or such third parties,
otherwise fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we could face litigation and the imposition of penalties that could adversely affect our financial performance. Our reputation as a brand or as an employer could also be adversely affected by these types of security breaches or regulatory violations, which could impair our ability to attract and retain qualified employees.
General Risk Factors
Our insurance programs, including high deductible insurance programs, may expose us to significant and unexpected costs and losses.
Given the nature of our operating environment, we are subject to workers’ compensation and general liability claims. To mitigate a portion of these risks, we maintain insurance for individual claims in excess of deductibles per claim. We currently record a liability for our estimated cost of claims incurred and unpaid as of each balance sheet date. Our estimated liability is recorded on an undiscounted basis and includes a number of significant assumptions and factors, including historical trends, expected costs per claim, actuarial assumptions and current economic conditions. Our history of claims activity for all lines of coverage is closely monitored and liabilities are adjusted as warranted based on changing circumstances. It is possible, however, that our actual liabilities may exceed our estimates of loss. We may also experience an unexpectedly large number of claims that result in costs or liabilities in excess of our projections and therefore we may be required to record additional expenses. For these and other reasons, our high-deductible insurance reserves could prove to be inadequate, resulting in liabilities in excess of our available insurance and high deductible. If a successful claim is made against us and is not covered by our insurance or exceeds our policy limits, our business may be negatively and materially impacted.
The failure to comply with our debt covenants or the volatile credit and capital markets could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Our ability to manage our debt is dependent on our level of positive cash flow from company-operated and franchise-operated restaurants, net of costs. The prior economic downturn negatively impacted our cash flows. Credit and capital markets can be volatile, which could make it more difficult for us to refinance existing debt or to obtain additional debt financings in the future. Such constraints could increase our costs of borrowing and could restrict our access to other potential sources of future liquidity. Our failure to comply with the debt covenants in our credit agreement or to have sufficient liquidity to make interest and other payments required by our debt could result in a default of such debt and acceleration of our borrowings which would have a material adverse effect on business and financial condition.
We have significant debt and if we are unable to repay our debt when it becomes due or comply with our obligations in the underlying credit agreement, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially harmed.
At December 28, 2021, we had total debt obligations of $107.0 million outstanding under our revolving credit facility (excluding any debt discount and deferred financing costs), and $129.6 million available for borrowings under our revolving credit facility. Our level of indebtedness could have significant effects on our business, such as:
•limiting our ability to borrow additional amounts to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our growth strategy and other purposes;
•requiring us to dedicate a portion of our cash flow from operations to pay interest on our debt, which would reduce availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, potential acquisitions, execution of our growth strategy and other general corporate purposes;
•making us more vulnerable to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions, in government regulation and in our business by limiting our ability to plan for and react to changing conditions;
•placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared with our competitors that have less debt; and
•exposing us to risks inherent in interest rate fluctuations and the risk of increased interest rates because our borrowings are at variable rates of interest, which could result in higher interest expense in the event of increases in interest rates.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow from our operations to repay our indebtedness when it becomes due and to meet our other cash needs. If we are not able to pay our debts as they become due, we will be required to pursue one or more alternative strategies, such as selling assets, refinancing or restructuring our indebtedness or selling additional debt or equity securities. We may not be able to refinance our debt or sell additional debt or equity securities or sell our assets on favorable terms, if at all, and if we must sell our assets, we may negatively affect our ability to generate revenue.
Our credit agreement contains restrictive covenants that, among others, limit our ability to (i) pay dividends and make distributions and repurchase stock; (ii) engage in transactions with affiliates; (iii) create liens; (iv) incur indebtedness not under the credit agreement; (iv) engage in sale-leaseback transactions; (v) make investments; and (vi) sell or dispose of all or substantially all of our assets and engage in specified mergers or consolidations. In addition, our credit agreement contains certain financial covenants, including the maintenance of a consolidated total lease adjusted leverage ratio and a consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio. Our ability to borrow under our revolving credit agreement depends on our compliance with these financial covenants. Events beyond our control, including changes in general economic and business conditions, may affect our ability to meet these financial covenants. We cannot assure you that we will meet these financial covenants in the future, or that the lenders will waive any failure to meet these financial covenants.
Our current insurance may not provide adequate levels of coverage against claims.
Our current insurance policies may not be adequate to protect us from liabilities that we incur in our business. Additionally, in the future, our insurance premiums may increase, and we may not be able to obtain similar levels of insurance on reasonable terms, or at all. Any substantial inadequacy of, or inability to obtain, insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
There are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not economically reasonable to insure. Such losses could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may not be able to maintain adequate directors' and officers' insurance. Failure to maintain adequate directors’ and officers’ insurance would likely adversely affect our ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
Estimates are used in our analysis of property, fixtures and equipment or operating results at certain restaurant locations that may cause us to incur impairment charges on certain long-lived assets, which may adversely affect our results of operations.
In accordance with accounting guidance as it relates to the impairment of long-lived assets, we make certain estimates and projections with regard to individual restaurant operations, as well as our overall performance, in connection with our impairment analyses for long-lived assets. When impairment triggers are deemed to exist for any location, the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are compared to our carrying value. If the carrying value exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, an impairment charge equal to the difference between the carrying value and the fair value is recorded. The projections of future cash flows used in these analyses require the use of judgment and a number of estimates and projections of future operating results. If actual results differ from our estimates, additional charges for asset impairments may be required in the future. If future impairment charges are significant, this could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Estimates are used in determining the gain or loss from the disposition of assets held for sale, which may adversely affect our results of operations.
From time to time, we approve plans to sell company-operated restaurants to new or existing franchisees, which requires us to reclassify the net book value of property and equipment and goodwill for such restaurants to assets held for sale. Assets held for sale are recorded at the lower of their carrying value or fair value, less estimated costs to sell, and any required impairment charge is recorded upon reclassification of the assets to held for sale. Allocating goodwill to assets held for sale requires us to make certain assumptions about the restaurant sales, operating margins and growth rates of the restaurants to be sold versus the Company's total operations. There are inherent uncertainties related to these factors. If actual results differ from our estimates, including our estimated costs to sell, additional charges may be required in the future. If future charges are significant, this could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in our management without the consent of our board of directors. These provisions include:
•a classified board of directors with three-year staggered terms, which may delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of our board of directors;
•no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;
•the exclusive right of our board of directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death, or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors;
•the ability of our board of directors to determine whether to issue shares of preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;
•a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at a special meeting of our stockholders;
•the requirement that an annual meeting of stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the board of directors, the chief executive officer, or the board of directors, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors;
•limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers;
•controlling the procedures for the conduct and scheduling of stockholder meetings;
•providing that directors may be removed prior to the expiration of their terms by stockholders only for cause; and
•advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our board of directors.
These provisions, alone or together, could delay hostile takeovers and changes in control of the Company or changes in our management.
As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL"), which prevents some stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of substantially all of our outstanding common stock. Any provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, which could harm the value of our brand and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our intellectual property is material to the conduct of our business. Our ability to implement our business plan successfully depends in part on our ability to further build brand recognition using our trademarks, service marks, trade dress and other proprietary intellectual property, including our name and logos and the unique ambiance of our restaurants. While it is our policy to protect and defend vigorously our rights to our intellectual property, we cannot predict whether steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property rights will be adequate to prevent misappropriation of these rights or the use by others of restaurant features based upon, or otherwise similar to, our restaurant concept. It may be difficult for us to prevent others from copying elements of our concept and any litigation to enforce our rights will likely be costly and may not be successful. Although we believe that we have sufficient rights to all of our trademarks and service marks, we may face claims of infringement that could interfere with our ability to market our restaurants and promote our brand. Any such litigation may be costly and could divert resources from our business. Moreover, if we are unable to successfully defend against such claims, we may be prevented from using our trademarks or service marks in the future and may be liable for damages, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, we license certain of our proprietary intellectual property, including our name and logos, to third parties. For example, we grant our franchisees a right to use certain of our trademarks in connection with their operation of the applicable restaurant. If a franchisee fails to maintain the quality of the restaurant operations associated with the licensed trademarks, the value of our trademarks could potentially be harmed. Negative publicity relating to the franchisee or licensee could also be incorrectly associated with Del Taco, which could harm our business. Failure to maintain, control and protect our trademarks and other proprietary intellectual property would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and on our ability to enter into new franchise agreements.
Adverse weather and natural or man-made disasters in the markets in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Adverse weather conditions in states in which we operate, or in the future may operate, could have a disproportionate impact on our overall results of operations. In particular, our business is significantly concentrated in Southern California, and as a result, we could be disproportionately affected by adverse weather specific to this market. Adverse weather conditions and prolonged or severe inclement weather may also impact customer traffic at our restaurants, and, in more severe cases, cause temporary restaurant closures, sometimes for prolonged periods. Most of our restaurants have outdoor seating, and the effects of adverse weather may impact the use of these areas and may negatively impact our revenue. In addition, natural or man-made disasters occurring in the markets in which we operate, such as terrorist attacks, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, fires or other natural or man-made disasters, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, as such events could result in restaurant closures for an extended duration and lower customer traffic at our restaurants. If restaurant revenue decreases, our profitability could decline as we spread fixed costs across a lower level of sales. Reductions in staff levels, asset impairment charges and potential restaurant closures could result from prolonged negative same store sales, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Terrorist attacks or an active shooter could have a material adverse effect on consumer spending.
The occurrence or threat of extraordinary events, including active shooter or future terrorist attacks and military and governmental responses and the protest of future wars, may result in negative changes to economic conditions likely resulting in decreased consumer spending. Additionally, decreases in consumer discretionary spending may impact the frequency with which our customers choose to dine out at restaurants or the amount they spend on meals while dining out at restaurants, thereby adversely affecting our sales and results of operations. A decrease in consumer discretionary spending may also adversely affect our ability to achieve the benefit of planned menu price increases to help preserve our operating margins.
We might require additional capital to support business growth, and this capital might not be available.
We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and might require additional funds to respond to business challenges or opportunities, including the need to open additional restaurants, develop new products and menu items or enhance our products and menu items, and enhance our operating infrastructure. Accordingly, we might need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through issuance of equity securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital-raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which might make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. Moreover, if we issue new debt securities, the debt holders would have rights senior to common stockholders to make claims on our assets. In addition, we might not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited.
Changes to accounting rules or regulations may adversely affect the reporting of our results of operations.
Changes to existing accounting rules, including the new lease standard issued in February 2016, or regulations may impact the reporting of our future results of operations or cause the perception that we are more highly leveraged. Other new accounting rules or regulations and varying interpretations of existing accounting rules or regulations have occurred and may occur in the future. For instance, the new lease standard requires lessees to capitalize operating leases in their financial statements in fiscal 2019. Such change required us to record significant lease obligations on our balance sheet and make other changes to our financial statements. This and other future changes to accounting rules or regulations could have a material adverse effect on the reporting of our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Declines in our business have resulted in and could result in future goodwill impairment charges.
Goodwill is recorded at fair value at the time of acquisition and is not amortized. Instead, we review goodwill for impairment at least annually or more frequently if impairment indicators, such as disruptions to the business or unexpected significant declines in operating results or market capitalization, arise. If the carrying value of our reporting unit is in excess of its fair value, a goodwill impairment charge is recognized for the excess carrying value. In the first quarter of Fiscal 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with a sustained decline in our stock price were determined to be indicators of impairment.
As such, the Company performed a quantitative goodwill impairment assessment and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $87.3 million during the first quarter of Fiscal 2020.
The fair value is determined based on the guideline public company method and discounted cash flow method, which require us to make significant estimates and assumptions regarding future operating performance, business trends and market and economic conditions. Such analyses further require us to make certain assumptions about our restaurant sales, operating margins, growth rates and discount rates. Our estimates and assumptions are based on historical experience, current market trends and other information. In estimating future cash flows, we rely on internally generated forecasts for operating profits, capital expenditures and other operating and financial metrics. There are inherent uncertainties related to these factors and in applying these factors to the assessment of goodwill recoverability. Changes in estimates of future cash flows caused by unforeseen events or changes in market conditions could adversely affect our reporting unit’s fair value and result in additional impairment charges, which could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We will be subject to income taxes in the United States, and our domestic tax liabilities will be subject to the allocation of expenses in differing jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
•changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
•expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances;
•tax effects of stock-based compensation;
•costs related to intercompany restructurings;
•recently enacted significant tax reform or future changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof;
•lower than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory tax rates; or
•changes in the excess of the amount for financial reporting over the tax basis of an investment in a domestic subsidiary.
In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by U.S. federal and state authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly and could fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors due to seasonality and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, resulting in a decline in our stock price.
Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly because of several factors, including:
•the timing of new restaurant openings and related expense;
•restaurant operating costs for our newly-opened restaurants;
•labor availability and costs for hourly and management personnel;
•recent and ongoing inflationary trends impacting our cost of food and paper, labor and other input costs;
•profitability of our restaurants, especially in new markets;
•changes in interest rates;
•increases and decreases in AUVs and same store sales growth;
•impairment of long-lived assets and any loss on restaurant closures;
•macroeconomic conditions, both nationally and locally;
•negative publicity relating to products we serve;
•changes in consumer preferences and competitive conditions;
•expansion to new markets;
•increases in infrastructure costs; and
•fluctuations in commodity prices.
Seasonal factors, weather patterns and the timing of holidays cause our revenue to fluctuate from quarter to quarter. Our revenue per restaurant is typically slightly lower in the first quarter. Adverse weather conditions may also affect customer traffic. In addition, we have outdoor seating at most of our restaurants, and the effects of adverse weather may impact the use of these areas and may negatively impact our revenue.
Our stock price has been and may continue to be highly volatile, and, as a result, you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you paid for them.
In recent years the stock market in general has been highly volatile. As a result, the market price and trading volume of our common stock is likely to be similarly volatile, and investors in our common stock may experience a decrease, which could be substantial, in the value of their stock, including decreases unrelated to our results of operations or prospects, and could lose part or all of their investment. The price of our common stock has been and could in the future be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors, including those described elsewhere in this proxy statement and others such as:
•variations in our operating performance and the performance of our competitors or restaurant companies in general;
•actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;
•publication of research reports by securities analysts about us or our competitors or our industry;
•the public’s reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”);
•our failure or the failure of our competitors to meet analysts’ projections or guidance that we or our competitors may give to the market;
•additions and departures of key personnel;
•strategic decisions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures, strategic investments or changes in business strategy;
•the passage of legislation or other regulatory developments affecting us or our industry;
•speculation in the press or investment community;
•changes in accounting principles;
•terrorist acts, acts of war or periods of widespread civil unrest;
•alleged or actual occurrences of food-borne illnesses;
•alleged or actual occurrences of security breaches in which credit and debit card information has been stolen;
•natural disasters, a health epidemic or pandemic, and other calamities; and
•changes in general market and economic conditions.
In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources, and could also require us to make substantial payments to satisfy judgments or to settle litigation.
The future issuance of additional common stock in connection with our equity incentive plan will dilute your stockholdings.
There were originally 3,300,000 shares of common stock reserved and authorized for issuance under our equity incentive plans. On May 27, 2021, the Company's shareholders approved an amendment to increase the number of shares available for grant by 1,800,000. At December 28, 2021, we had an aggregate of 1,142,252 shares of common stock available for grant under our equity incentive plan. We may issue all of these shares of common stock without any action or approval by our stockholders, subject to certain exceptions. Any common stock issued in connection with our equity incentive plan, the exercise of outstanding stock options, or otherwise would dilute the percentage ownership held by all other stockholders.
The amount and frequency of dividend payments made on our common stock could change.
Our board of directors has the power to determine the amount and frequency of the payment of dividends. Decisions regarding whether or not to pay dividends and the amount of any dividends are based on earnings, capital, and future expense requirements, financial conditions, contractual limitations and other factors our board may consider.
Any inability to continue to pay cash dividends may negatively impact investor confidence in us and negatively impact our stock price.
Our dividend program requires the use of a substantial amount of our free cash flow. Our ability to pay our dividends over time will depend on our ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations and capacity to borrow funds, which may be subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors that are beyond our control. Any failure to pay or increase our dividends over time may negatively impact investor confidence in us, and may negatively impact our stock price.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research or reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends, to some extent, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us and our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our common stock or change their opinion on our common stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
Any failure to establish, maintain and apply adequate internal control over our financial reporting may adversely affect our reported results of operations.
We are subject to the ongoing internal control provisions of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the related rules adopted by the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. These provisions provide for the identification of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, which is a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting for external purposes in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP"). Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting is not intended to provide absolute assurance that a misstatement of our financial statements would be prevented or detected. Should we identify a material weakness in internal controls, there can be no assurance that we will be able to remediate the material weaknesses identified in a timely manner or maintain all of the controls necessary to remain in compliance. Any failure to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting may limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and timely or to detect and prevent fraud. Any such failure may subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions by the SEC or violations of applicable stock exchange listing rules, or cause a breach of certain covenants under our financing arrangements. There also may be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. Confidence in the reliability of our financial statements also may suffer if we or our independent registered public accounting firm were to report a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting. This may materially adversely affect us and lead to a decline in the price of our common stock.