Company: STAA
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-024813
Chunk: 20

Company: STAAR SURGICAL CO
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 20
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 a large number of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs).  The challenge of maintaining inventory in all models can result in a backlog in customer orders. During fiscal 2024, we continued to increase our inventory levels to meet the significant level of anticipated demand for our ICL lenses and to support quick and efficient delivery and fulfillment for surgical procedures. Increasing our inventory levels also helps mitigate risks associated with potential disruptions to our manufacturing and production process. We currently manufacture all of our ICL products at a single facility in Monrovia, California. To mitigate the risk of fire, flood, earthquake, terrorism or other natural or man-made disasters, including manufacturing challenges such as equipment or information technology (IT) failure, we have increased our inventory levels. We maintain this inventory at different sites in the United States, Switzerland, and Japan. As of December 27, 2024, finished goods inventory, net was $43.3 million, or 194 Days’ Inventory on Hand (DOH), including consignment inventory.

Government Contracts

No material portion of our business is subject to renegotiation of profits or termination of any particular contract or subcontract at the election of the U.S. Government.

Competition

Competition in the ophthalmic surgical product market is intense and is primarily driven by technological innovation and the regulatory approval required to commercialize products in the key markets around the world. The development of new or improved products may make existing products less attractive, reduce them to commodity status or even make them obsolete. To remain competitive, companies such as STAAR must devote continued efforts and significant financial resources to enhance their existing products and to develop new products.

Our ICL technology competes with other elective surgical procedures such as laser vision correction (e.g., LASIK) for those consumers who are looking for an alternative to eyeglasses or contact lenses to correct their vision, and to a lesser extent phakic lens implants. 

We believe our primary competition in selling the ICL to patients seeking surgery to correct refractive conditions lies not in similar products to the ICL, but in laser surgical procedures.  Alcon (formerly a part of Novartis), Johnson & Johnson (formerly Advanced Medical Optics or AMO), Bausch Health Companies (formerly Valeant, Bausch & Lomb or B+L), and Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, all market lasers for corneal refractive surgery and promote their sales worldwide.  

Phakic implants that compete with the ICL are also available in the marketplace. The two principal