Company: CHEF
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001517175-25-000002
Chunk: 54

Company: Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 54
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 adverse manner.

In addition, given our geographic concentrations, and recent international expansion, other regional occurrences such as adverse weather conditions, terrorist attacks and other catastrophic events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Adverse weather conditions can significantly impact the business of our customers and our ability to profitably and efficiently conduct our operations and, in severe cases, could result in our trucks being unable to make deliveries or cause the temporary closure or the destruction of one or more of our distribution centers. Our operations and/or 

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distribution centers which are located in (i) New York City, New England, Ohio, Washington D.C., Chicago and Canada are particularly susceptible to significant amounts of snowfall and ice, (ii) Florida is particularly susceptible to hurricanes and flooding, and (iii) Los Angeles and San Francisco are particularly susceptible to earthquakes, mudslides and wildfires, among other locally occurring adverse weather conditions. In addition, our restaurant customers, many of which are independently owned with operations limited to one or two markets, may be less able to withstand the impact on their business from adverse weather conditions than national chain restaurants because they are unable to spread the risks of such events across numerous locations. In some cases, these customers may not be able to re-open their restaurants, and consequently make payment to us for products previously provided, if the weather event or other catastrophic event is severe, particularly if they lacked sufficient insurance or their insurance claims are not processed quickly.

Due to their prominence as, among other characteristics, densely-populated major metropolitan cities and as international hubs for intermodal transportation, a majority of our markets are potential targets for terrorist activity and are susceptible to other catastrophic events and could be subject to transportation disruption. 

Our markets outside the United States may also be impacted by political protests or instability. Moreover, our business, including our global supply chain, may be affected by geopolitical issues, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions as well as the ongoing conflict in Israel and the Middle East, which have resulted in increased global tensions and contributed to rising input costs. Sustained or worsening global economic conditions and geopolitical issues may disrupt or increase our cost of doing business and otherwise disrupt and delay our supply chain operations. If our or our customers’ operations are significantly disrupted or if any one or more of our distribution centers is temporarily closed or destroyed for any of the foregoing reasons, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

Information Technology, Intellectual Property and Data Risk

Information technology system failures, cybersecurity