Company: NGVC
Filing Date: 2025-12-11
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001437749-25-037556
Chunk: 807

Company: Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-12-11
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 807
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 retailers such as Aldi, Lidl and Ahold Delhaize; specialty food retailers such as Sprouts Farmers Market and Trader Joe’s; warehouse clubs such as Sam’s Club and Costco; dietary supplement retailers such as GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe; online retailers; independent health food stores; drug stores; farmers’ markets; food co-ops; and multi-level marketers. Competition in the grocery industry may intensify, and shopping dynamics may shift, as a result of, among other things, industry consolidation, new technologies, expansion by existing competitors and the increasing availability of grocery ordering, pick-up and delivery options, which may turn adjacent suppliers and retailers into direct competitors. These businesses compete with us on the basis of price, selection, quality, customer service, convenience, location, store format, shopping experience, ease of ordering and delivery or any combination of these or other factors. They may also compete with us for products and locations. In addition, many of our competitors increasingly offer a broad range of natural and organic foods. We also face internally generated competition when we open new stores in markets we already serve. We believe our commitment to carrying carefully vetted, affordably priced and high-quality natural and organic products and dietary supplements, as well as our focus on providing nutritional education, differentiate us and can provide a competitive advantage.

Seasonality

Our business is active throughout the calendar year and does not experience significant fluctuation caused by seasonal changes in consumer purchasing.

Insurance and Risk Management 

We use a combination of insurance and self-insurance to cover workers’ compensation, general liability, product liability, director and officers’ liability, cyber risk, employment practices liability, employee healthcare benefits and other casualty and property risks. Changes in legal trends and interpretations, variability in inflation rates, changes in the nature and method of claims settlement, benefit level changes due to changes in applicable laws, insolvency of insurance carriers and changes in discount rates could all affect ultimate settlements of claims. We evaluate our insurance requirements and providers on an ongoing basis.

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Trademarks and Other Intellectual Property

We believe that our intellectual property is important to the success of our business. We have received the registration of trademarks not only for Natural Grocers®, Vitamin Cottage® and Health Hotline® but also for our logo, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage® and Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers® for appropriate categories of trade. In addition, we have received the registration of service marks or trademarks for EDAP – Every Day Affordable Price®, {N}power®, Natural Grocers Top 10 Nutrition Trends