Company: CHEF
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001517175-25-000002
Chunk: 45

Company: Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 45
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 by consumers within our customers’ establishments for food away from home. The high price of fuel and other transportation related costs, such as tolls, fuel taxes, and license and registration fees, can also increase the price we pay for products as well as the costs incurred by us to deliver products to our customers. Furthermore, both the price and supply of fuel are unpredictable and fluctuate based on events outside our control, including geopolitical developments (such as the war in Ukraine and the hostilities in the Middle East), supply and demand for oil and gas, actions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil and gas producers, war and unrest in oil producing countries and regions, regional production patterns, and environmental concerns. These factors, if occurring over an extended period of time, could have a material adverse effect on our sales, margins, operating expenses, or results of operations.

A significant portion of our future growth is dependent upon our ability to expand our operations in our existing markets and to penetrate new markets either through organic growth or through acquisitions.

We have expanded, and intend to continue expanding, our presence in our existing and new markets by adding to our customer base through the expansion of our product portfolio and the increase in the volume and/or number of purchase orders from our customers. Competitive circumstances and consumer characteristics in new segments of existing markets may differ substantially from those in the segments in which we have substantial experience. 

We also regularly evaluate opportunities to acquire other companies. A significant portion of our past growth has been achieved through acquisitions of, or mergers with, other distributors of specialty food products and center-of-the-plate protein items. Our ability to achieve expected benefits of acquisitions depends on, among other things, our ability to effectively execute on our business strategies, integrate and manage the combined operations, retain customers and supplier on terms similar to those in place with the acquired businesses, achieve desired operating efficiencies and sales growth, optimize delivery routes, coordinate administrative, distribution and finance functions, integrate management information systems, expand into new markets to include markets of the acquired business, retain and assimilate the acquired businesses’ employees, comply with additional foreign laws and regulations and maintain our financial and internal controls and systems as we expand our operations.

These risks may be exacerbated in international markets where we have less operational experience. We have an integration team which is dedicated to onboarding new acquisitions and integrating information technology systems as quickly and efficiently as possible. If the integration team does not improve our integration process, the integration of acquisitions could divert the attention of management, and any difficulties or problems encountered