other obligations, customary ERISA defaults, certain events of
bankruptcy and insolvency, judgment defaults, the invalidity of
liens on collateral, change in control, cessation of business or
the liquidation of material assets of the borrowers and guarantors
taken as a whole, the occurrence of an uninsured loss to a material
portion of collateral and, in the case of the Credit Facility,
failure of the obligations to constitute senior indebtedness under
any applicable subordination or intercreditor agreements, including
our Subordinated Debt.
Risks Related to Information Technology and Intellectual
Property
Breach of data security could harm our business and standing with
our customers.
The protection of our partner, employee and business data is
critical to us. Our business, like that of most companies, involves
confidential information about our employees, our suppliers and our
Company. We rely on commercially available systems, software, tools
and monitoring to provide security for processing, transmission and
storage of all such data, including confidential information.
Despite the security measures we have in place, our facilities and
systems, and those of our third-party service providers, may be
vulnerable to security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer
viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming or human errors, or
other similar events. Unauthorized parties may attempt to gain
access to our systems or information through fraud or other means,
including deceiving our employees or third-party service providers.
The methods used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade
service, or sabotage systems are also constantly changing and
evolving, and may be difficult to anticipate or detect. We have
implemented and regularly review and update our control systems,
processes and procedures to protect against unauthorized access to
or use of secured data and to prevent data loss. However, the
ever-evolving threats mean we must continually evaluate and adapt
our systems and processes, and there is no guarantee that they will
be adequate to safeguard against all data security breaches or
misuses of data. Any security breach involving the
misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of customer
payment card or personal information or employee personal or
confidential information, whether by us or our vendors, could
damage our reputation, expose us to risk of litigation and
liability, disrupt our operations, harm our business and have an
adverse impact upon our net sales and profitability. As the
regulatory environment related to information security, data
collection and use, and privacy becomes increasingly rigorous, with
new and changing requirements applicable to our business,
compliance with those requirements could also result in additional
costs. Further, if we are unable to comply with the security
standards established by banks and the credit card industry, we may
be subject to fines, restrictions and expulsion from card
acceptance programs, which could adversely affect our retail
operations.
Our hardware and software systems are vulnerable to damage, theft
or intrusion that could harm our business.
Any failure of our computer hardware or software systems that
causes an interruption in our operations or a decrease in inventory
tracking could result in reduced net sales and profitability.
Additionally, if any data intrusion, security breach,
misappropriation or theft were to occur, we could incur significant
costs in responding to such event, including responding to any
resulting claims, litigation or investigations, which could harm
our operating results.
Our inability or failure to protect our intellectual property
rights, or any claimed infringement by us of third-party
intellectual rights, could have a negative impact on our operating
results.
Our trademark, trade secrets and other intellectual property,
including proprietary software, are valuable assets that are
critical to our success. The unauthorized reproduction or other
misappropriation of our intellectual property could cause a decline
in our revenue. In addition, any infringement or other intellectual
property claim made against us could be time-consuming to address,
result in costly litigation, cause product delays, require us to
enter into royalty or licensing agreements or result in our loss of
ownership or use of the intellectual property.
Risks Related to Human Capital
Loss of key personnel or the inability to attract, train and retain
qualified employees could adversely affect the Company’s results of
operations.
The Company believes that its future prospects depend, to a
significant extent, on the services of its executive officers. Our
future success will also depend on our ability to attract and
retain qualified key personnel. The loss of the services of certain
of the Company’s executive officers and other key management
personnel could adversely affect the Company’s results of
operations.