EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1668010
Filing Year: 2024
Filename: 1668010_10-K_2024_0001104659-24-047365.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1.
BUSINESS
Recent Developments
Business
We entered into a license deal for Bailey 44 in January 2023 that is paid quarterly based on the results. We have received two license payouts since November 2023 for approximately $124,000 in total. The licensee has asked to add additional categories to their current offering, which we agreed to.
We entered into a retail store sublease for approximately 3.5 years at the Simon Premium Outlet in Allen, TX, a suburb of Dallas. We plan to open the store in April 2024. We expect the store to generate meaningful cash flow as we already have excess product that we can sell, which means we will not have to use cash to create inventory for sale. We expect the store to generate over $1.5 million in annual revenue and over $500,000 in free cash flow.
Reverse Stock Split
On August 22, 2023, following the approval of shareholders at a special meeting held on August 21, 2023, we completed a one-for-twenty-five (1-for-25) reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”). As a result of the Reverse Stock Split, every twenty-five (25) shares of the Company’s pre-Reverse Stock Split common stock was combined and automatically became one (1) share of common stock. The Company’s post-Reverse Stock Split common stock began trading on August 22, 2023 with a new CUSIP number of 25401N408. The Reverse Stock Split did not (i) change the authorized number of shares, (ii) change the par value of the common stock, or (iii) modify any voting rights of the common stock.
Also, at the effective time of the Reverse Stock Split, the number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants (including public warrants under the trading symbol “DBGIW”), preferred stock, and other convertible securities, as well as any commitments to issue securities, that provide for adjustments in the event of a reverse stock split will be appropriately adjusted pursuant to their applicable terms for the Reverse Stock Split. If applicable, the conversion price for each outstanding share of preferred stock and the exercise price for each outstanding warrant will be increased, pursuant to their terms, in inverse proportion to the 1-for-25 split ratio such that upon conversion or exercise, the aggregate conversion price for conversion of preferred stock and the aggregate exercise price payable by the warrant holder to the Company for shares of common stock subject to such warrant will remain approximately the same as the aggregate conversion or exercise price, as applicable, prior to the Reverse Stock Split.
H&J Settlement Agreement and Disposition of H&J
We have been involved in a dispute with the former owners of H&J regarding our obligation to “true up” their ownership interest in our company further to that membership interest purchase agreement dated May 10, 2021 whereby we acquired all of the outstanding membership interests of H&J (as amended, the “H&J Purchase Agreement”). Further to the H&J Purchase Agreement, we agreed that if, at May 18, 2022, the one year anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering, the product of the number of shares of our common stock issued at the closing of such acquisition multiplied by the average closing price per share of our shares of common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM for the thirty (30) day trading period immediately preceding such date plus the gross proceeds, if any, of shares of our stock issued to such sellers and sold by them during the one year period from the closing date of the offering does not exceed the sum of $9.1 million, less the value of any shares of common stock cancelled further to any indemnification claims or post-closing adjustments under the H&J Purchase Agreement, then we shall issue to the subject sellers an additional aggregate number of shares of common stock equal to any such valuation shortfall at a per share price equal to the then closing price per share of our common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM. We did not honor our obligation to issue such shares and the former owner of H&J have claimed that they were damaged as a result.
On June 21, 2023, the Company and the former owners of H&J executed a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) whereby contemporaneously with the parties’ execution of the Settlement Agreement (i) the Company made aggregate cash payments of $229,000 to D. Jones Tailored Collection, Ltd. (“D. Jones”), (ii) the Company issued 78,103 shares of common stock to D. Jones at a per share purchase price of $17.925 which represented the lower of (i) the closing price per share of the Company’s common stock as reported on Nasdaq on June 20, 2023, and (ii) the average closing price per share of common stock as reported on the NasdaqCM for the five trading days preceding June 21, 2023, and (iii) the Company assigned and transferred one hundred percent (100%) of the Company’s membership interest in H&J to D. Jones. This transaction is known as the “H&J Settlement”.
The Settlement Agreement contained a resale registration rights provision, pursuant to which the Company agreed to prepare and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-1 covering the resale of all the shares issued pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and all the shares owned by D. Jones and its principals by no later than the earlier of the following dates: (i) within 90 calendar days following the effective date of an offering that the Company was contemplating at that time but did not consummate and (ii) October 31, 2023. The Company agreed to use its commercial best efforts to have the resale registration statement declared effective as soon as possible and D. Jones and its principals have agreed to sell no more than $500,000 worth of shares in any calendar month after the registration statement is declared effective. As of the date hereof, a registration statement on Form S-1 has not been declared effective.
Norwest Waiver
On June 21, 2023, the Company, on the one hand, and Norwest Venture Partners XI, LP and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP (together, the “Norwest Investors”), on the other hand, executed a Waiver and Amendment (the “Norwest Amendment”) whereby the Norwest Investors agreed to waive and terminate certain true up rights of the Norwest Investors under the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated February 12, 2020, among the Company, Bailey, Norwest Venture Partners XI, LP, and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP and Denim.LA Acquisition Corp. This transaction is known as the “Norwest Waiver”.
Sundry Conversion
On June 21, 2023, the Company and the former owners of Sundry (collectively, the “Sundry Investors”) executed a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Sundry SPA”) whereby the Company issued 5,761 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series C Preferred Stock”) to the Sundry Investors at a purchase price of $1,000 per share. The Series C Preferred Stock is convertible into a number of shares of the Company’s common stock equal to $1,000 divided by an initial conversion price of $17.925 which represents the lower of (i) the closing price per share of the common stock as reported on the NasdaqCM on June 20, 2023, and (ii) the average closing price per share of common stock as reported on the NasdaqCM for the five trading days preceding June 21, 2023. The shares of Series C Preferred Stock were issued in consideration for the cancellation of $5,759,178 which represented amounts owing further to certain promissory notes issued by the Company to the Sundry Investors dated December 30, 2022. This transaction is known as the “Sundry Conversion”.
Pursuant to the Sundry SPA, the Company provided resale registration rights to the Sundry Investors. The Sundry SPA provides that the Company shall no later than the earlier of the following dates: (i) the date which is 90 calendar days following the effective date of the offering and (ii) October 31, 2023 use its commercially best efforts to prepare and file with the SEC a registration statement covering the resale of 100% of the common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock for an offering to be made on a continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415. The Company agreed to keep such resale registration statement effective until the earlier to occur of (x) the date on which all registrable securities have been sold pursuant to such registration statement and (y) the date as of which all of the Sundry Investors may sell all of the registrable securities without restriction pursuant to Rule 144 (including, without limitation, volume restrictions). Each of the Sundry Investors agreed that in no event will such investor, on an individual basis, convert in any calendar month, more than the greater of (i) $300,000 of the Series C Preferred Stock (measured by the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock multiplied by the conversion price) or (ii) shares of Series C Preferred Stock comprising more than 3% of the aggregate trading volume of the Company’s common stock as reported by the NasdaqCM.
Our Company
Digital Brands Group is a curated collection of lifestyle brands that offers a variety of apparel products through direct-to-consumer and wholesale distribution. Our complementary brand portfolio provides us with the unique opportunity to cross-merchandise our brands. We aim for our customers to wear our brands head to toe and to capture what we call “closet share” by gaining insight into their preferences to create targeted and personalized content specific to their cohort. Operating our brands under one portfolio provides us with the ability to better utilize our technological, human capital and operational capabilities across all brands. As a result, we have been able to realize operational efficiencies and continue to identify additional cost saving opportunities to scale our brands and overall portfolio.
Our portfolio currently consists of four brands that leverage our three channels: our websites, wholesale and our own stores.
● Bailey 44 combines beautiful, luxe fabrics and on-trend designs to create sophisticated ready-to-wear capsules for women on-the-go. Designing for real life, this brand focuses on feeling and comfort rather than how it looks on a runway. Bailey 44 is primarily a wholesale brand, which we are transitioning to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.
● DSTLD offers stylish high-quality garments without the luxury retail markup valuing customer experience over labels. DSTLD is primarily a digital direct-to-consumer brand, to which we recently added select wholesale retailers to generate brand awareness.
● Stateside is an elevated, America first brand with all knitting, dyeing, cutting and sewing sourced and manufactured locally in Los Angeles. The collection is influenced by the evolution of the classic t-shirt, offering a simple yet elegant look. Stateside is primarily a wholesale brand that we will be transitioning to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.
● Sundry offers distinct collections of women’s clothing, including dresses, shirts, sweaters, skirts, shorts, athleisure bottoms and other accessory products. Sundry’s products are coastal casual and consist of soft, relaxed and colorful designs that feature a distinct French chic, resembling the spirits of the French Mediterranean and the energy of Venice Beach in Southern California. Sundry is primarily a wholesale brand that we will be transitioning to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.
We believe that successful apparel brands sell in all revenue channels. However, each channel offers different margin structures and requires different customer acquisition and retention strategies. We were founded as a digital-first retailer that has strategically expanded into select wholesale and direct retail channels. We strive to strategically create omnichannel strategies for each of our brands that blend physical and online channels to engage consumers in the channel of their choosing. Our products are sold direct-to-consumers principally through our websites and our own showrooms, but also through our wholesale channel, primarily in specialty stores and select department stores. With the continued expansion of our wholesale distribution, we believe developing an omnichannel solution further strengthens our ability to efficiently acquire and retain customers while also driving high customer lifetime value.
We believe that by leveraging a physical footprint to acquire customers and increase brand awareness, we can use digital marketing to focus on retention and a very tight, disciplined high value new customer acquisition strategy, especially targeting potential customers lower in the sales funnel. Building a direct relationship with the customer as the customer transacts directly with us allows us to better understand our customer’s preferences and shopping habits. Our substantial experience as a company originally founded as a digitally native-first retailer gives us the ability to strategically review and analyze the customer’s data, including contact information, browsing and shopping cart data, purchase history and style preferences. This in turn has the effect of lowering our inventory risk and cash needs since we can order and replenish product based on the data from our online sales history, replenish specific inventory by size, color and SKU based on real times sales data, and control our mark-down and promotional strategies versus being told what mark downs and promotions we have to offer by the department stores and boutique retailers.
We believe that the highly fragmented nature of the apparel industry, combined with the opportunity to leverage our position as a public company with access to financial resources, presents a significant opportunity for consolidation of apparel brands. We use a disciplined approach to identify and evaluate acquisition candidates. We believe there are three ideal acquisition targets: (1) strong legacy brands that have been mismanaged, (2) strong brands that do not have capital to grow, and (3) wholesale brands that are struggling to transition to e-commerce. We look for brands that have an emotional hook in its customers, a high repeat customer rate, the potential to scale and strong financials. We source and identify acquisition targets based on our industry knowledge and through our network of investment banks, finders, private equity and venture capital firms, among others.
We intend to continue to actively pursue acquisitions to increase and tighten customer cohorts and increase our ability to create more customized content and personalized looks and styles for each customer cohort. We believe that customers want and trust brands that can deliver customized content and personalized looks and styles. We expect this should result in higher customer loyalty, higher lifetime value, higher average order value and lower customer acquisition cost.
Organizational Structure
We operate the brands on a decentralized basis with an emphasis on brand level execution supported by corporate coordination. The brand’s executive teams will continue to operate and leverage relationships with customers and suppliers, including designing and producing product and developing marketing plans including social media, email and digital communications.
We consolidate marketing and tech contracts as we have done with Bailey’s contracts, which has provided significant cost savings. We review the fabric mills and factories used by each brand to see if we can consolidate or cross utilize these mills and factories, which will drive increased volumes, lower production costs and higher gross margins. We are also consolidating production into a few factories in Europe from China and the U.S., which lowers our average production cost per unit.
We leverage the Digital Brands Group marketing and data analytics team to create cross-marketing campaigns based on the customer data respective to each brand’s customer base. As an example, the Digital Brand Group’s marketing and data team reviews
the customer data across all our portfolio brands and will work with each brand to identify the new customers from our other portfolio brands that they can target and what styles and looks should be created for each of those customer cohorts. The brand level employees then execute the looks and styles and create the customized customer communication based on the information and data from the Digital Brand Group marketing and data teams.
Certain administrative functions are centralized on a regional and, in certain circumstances, a national basis following, including but not limited to accounting support functions, corporate strategy and acquisitions, human resources, information technology, insurance, marketing, data analytics and customer cross-merchandising, advertising buys, contract negotiations, safety, systems support and transactional processing.
Principal Products and Services
Bailey - Brand Summary
In February 2020, we acquired Bailey. Bailey delivers distinct high-quality, well-fitting, on-trend contemporary apparel using an entry contemporary price point. Bailey combines beautiful, luxe fabrics and on-trend designs to offer clean, sophisticated ready-to-wear separates that easily transition from day to night and for date night. Bailey offers fashionable staples with timeless design features, making them wearable for any occasion - the majority of products are tops, sweaters and dresses.
Bailey’s full seasonal collections of dresses, tops, jumpsuits, bottoms, sets, jackets and rompers retail at price points between $90 and $350. We believe that we can create more compelling price points as we leverage our direct-to-consumer expertise. As we increase the direct-to-consumer revenue mix, we believe we will have opportunities to increase our margins, which will mostly be passed along to the customer with lower price points.
Stateside - Brand Summary
We acquired Stateside in August 2021. Stateside is a collection of elevated American basics influenced by the evolution of the classic T-shirt. All garments are designed and produced in Los Angeles from the finest fabrics. All knitting, dyeing, cutting and sewing is sourced and manufactured locally in Los Angeles.
Stateside is known for delivering high quality, luxury T-shirts, tops and bottoms. Stateside is primarily a wholesale brand with very limited online revenue. Their T-shirt prices range from $68 to $94, their other tops range from $98 to $130, and their bottoms from $80 to $144.
Sundry - Brand Summary
We acquired Sundry in December 2022. Sundry offers distinct collections of women’s clothing, including dresses, shirts, sweaters, skirts, shorts, athleisure bottoms and other accessory products. Sundry’s products are coastal casual and consist of soft, relaxed and colorful designs that feature a distinct French chic, resembling the spirits of the French Mediterranean and the energy of Venice Beach in Southern California. The products are designed and mostly produced in Los Angeles from the finest fabrics. The majority of the knitting, dyeing, cutting and sewing is sourced and manufactured locally in Los Angeles, with some sweaters made overseas.
Sundry is known for delivering high quality novelty and resort style T-shirts, tops and bottoms. Sundry is mostly a wholesale brand with meaningful online revenue. Their T-shirt prices range from $68 to $98, their other tops range from $98 to $198, and their bottoms range from $80 to $228.
With our acquisition of Sundry, we view the following as tangible near-term growth opportunities:
● Increase online revenues significantly as we cross-market their customer base with the customer bases from our other brands, especially on the Bailey Shop.
● Increase gross margin dollars by updating the product line and driving increased volume through the wholesale and online channels.
● Launch a new product category for 2024 in women’s athleisure. We believe athleisure is one of the largest product categories in womenswear, with high repeat spend and closet share.
DSTLD - Brand Summary
DSTLD focuses on minimalist design, superior quality, and only the essential wardrobe pieces. We deliver casual luxury rooted in denim; garments that are made with exhaustive attention to detail from the finest materials for a closet of timeless, functional staples. Our brand name “DSTLD” is derived from the word ‘distilled,’ meaning to extract only the essentials. As such, DSTLD boasts a line of key wardrobe pieces in a fundamental color palette of black, white, grey, and denim.
Our denim prices generally range from $75 to $95; similar quality brands produced at the same factories wholesale for approximately $95 to $125 and retail for $185 to $350. Our t-shirts and tops range from $30 to $90, while similar quality brands produced at the same factories wholesale for approximately $25 to $75 and retail for $60 to $250. Our casual pants range from $85 to $109, with similar quality brands produced at the same factories wholesaling for approximately $85 to $115 and retailing for $175 to $250.
ACE Studios - Brand Summary
ACE Studios will design and offer luxury men’s suiting with superior performance, superb fits, and excellent quality at an exceptional value. We will offer men’s classic tailored apparel with premium and luxury fabrics and manufacturing. We work with the same high-quality mills and factories in the world as the leading luxury brands. We believe most customers have different shapes and sizes, so we plan to offer multiple fits for our products. We sidestep the middleman and sell our products ourselves, allowing us to offer top-tier quality without the standard retail markup.
Our suits are expected to range from $295 to $495; similar quality brands produced at the same factories wholesale for approximately $300 to $600 and retail for $600 to $1,200. Our dress shirts will range from $55 to $65, while similar quality brands produced at the same factories wholesale for approximately $50 to $75 and retail for $95 to $150. Our casual pants will range $85 to $109, with similar quality brands produced at the same factories wholesaling for approximately $85 to $115 and retailing for $175 to $250.
We anticipate rolling out the ACE Studios brand in the second quarter of 2024 as a digitally native first brand.
Sales and Distribution
Bailey products are distributed through wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels. The wholesale channel includes premium department stores, select independent boutiques and third-party online stores. Since all the product is custom made, there is no old stock to sell off.
Stateside and Sundry products are distributed through wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, including premium department stores and national chains, select independent boutiques and third-party online stores.
DSTLD products have historically been sold solely direct-to-consumer, via our website. We started offering DSTLD products through a wholesale channel in October 2020. We intend to leverage the Bailey sales force to sell DSTLD products into their select independent boutiques and select department stores. We believe that we can increase the brand awareness, new customer acquisition and revenue by leveraging the Bailey independent boutiques. We will start selling old season stock through selected off-price retailers, with additional sales expected to be generated through specifically-cut product for select off-price retailers.
As of December 31, 2023, products are distributed through 75+ doors at major department stores, over 350 points of sale at boutique stores and several major e-commerce multi-brand platform wholesale customers.
We do not have material terms or arrangements with our third-party distributors. As is customary in the wholesale side of the retail apparel industry, we work with the wholesale buyers for every product collection and season to develop a purchase order based on quantities, pricing, profit margin and any future mark-down agreements. Historically, these factors are driven by the wholesale buyer’s belief of how well they think the product will sell at their stores. For example, if the collection is considered very strong by the wholesale
buyer, we usually achieve higher quantities, higher margins and lower future markdown guarantees. Conversely, when the wholesale buyer considers the collection to be weak, we experience lower quantities, lower margins and higher mark-down guarantees.
Our direct-to-consumer channels include our own website. Old season stock is sold through selected off-price retailers, with additional sales generated through specifically cut product for select off-price retailers.
All of our DSTLD, Bailey, Stateside, Sundry and ACE Studios sellable products are, or will be with respect to ACE Studios, stored at our corporate warehouse and distribution center in Vernon, CA, which also houses our corporate office. In addition to storing product, we also receive and process new product deliveries, process and ship outbound orders, and process and ship customer returns in this same facility.
We offer free shipping and returns to all our customers in the United States. We also offer customers the option to upgrade to 2-Day or Overnight Shipping for an additional cost.
Design and Development
Our products are designed at the headquarters of each brand Each brand’s design efforts are supported by well-established product development and production teams. The continued collaboration between design and merchandising ensures it responds to consumer preferences and market trends with new innovative product offerings while maintaining its core fashion foundation. In-house design and production teams in Los Angeles perform development of the sample line allowing for speed to market, flexibility and quality of fit.
We are engaged in analyzing trends, markets, and social media feedback along with utilizing historical data and industry tools to identify essential styles and proper replenishment timing and quantities.
We rely on a limited number of suppliers to provide our finished products, so we can aggregate pricing power. As we continue to increase our volumes, we will source additional factories to spread out our risks.
While we have developed long-standing relationships with a number of our suppliers and manufacturing sources and take great care to ensure that they share our commitment to quality and ethics, we do not have any long-term term contracts with these parties for the production and supply of our fabrics and products. We require that all of our manufacturers adhere to a vendor code of ethics regarding social and environmental sustainability practices. Our product quality and sustainability team partners with leading inspection and verification firms to closely monitor each supplier’s compliance with applicable laws and our vendor code of ethics.
Currently, our Bailey, DSTLD, Stateside and Sundry products are shipped from our suppliers to our distribution center in Los Angeles, CA, which currently handles all our warehousing, fulfillment, outbound shipping and returns processing. In 2023, we will review maintaining our own distribution centers versus using a third-party solution.
Product Suppliers: Sourcing and Manufacturing
We work with apparel manufacturers in North America, Asia and Europe. We work with full package suppliers, which supply fabric, trims, along with cut/sew/wash services, only invoicing us for the final full cost of each garment. In Los Angeles, we also work with several local trim, fabric and garment dye houses to create garments for Stateside. This allows us the ability to maximize cash flows and optimize operations. We do not have long-term written contracts with manufacturers, though we have long-standing relationships with a diverse base of vendors.
We do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities and rely solely on third-party contract manufacturers operating primarily in Europe, the United States, and the Asia Pacific region for the production of our products, depending on the brand. All of our contract manufacturers are evaluated for quality systems, social compliance and financial strength by our internal teams prior to being selected and on an ongoing basis. Where appropriate, we strive to qualify multiple manufacturers for particular product types and fabrications.
All of our garments are produced according to each brand’s specifications and we require that all manufacturers adhere to strict regulatory compliance and standards of conduct. The vendors’ factories are monitored by each brand’s production team to ensure quality control, and they are monitored by independent third-party inspectors we employ for compliance with local manufacturing standards
and regulations on an annual basis. We also monitor our vendors’ manufacturing facilities regularly, providing technical assistance and performing in-line and final audits to ensure the highest possible quality.
We source our products from a variety of domestic and international manufacturers. When deciding which factory to source a specific product from, we take into account the following factors:
● Cost of garment
● Retail price for end consumer
● Production time
● Minimum order quantity
● Shipping/delivery time
● Payment terms
By taking all of these into consideration, we can focus on making sure we have access to in-demand and high quality products available for sale to our customers at competitive price points and sustainable margins for our business.
Marketing
We believe marketing is a critical element in creating brand awareness and an emotional connection, as well as driving new customer acquisition and retention. Each brand has its own in-house marketing department, which creates and produces marketing initiatives specific to each marketing channel and based on the specific purpose, such as acquisition, retention or brand building. We also have an in-house marketing team at the DBG portfolio level, which reviews these brand initiatives, develops and helps initiate cross merchandising strategies, manages the data analytics and negotiates contracts using all our brands to lower the cost.
Our goal at the brand and the portfolio level is to increase brand awareness and reach, customer engagement, increase new customer conversion and repurchase rates and average order size. We utilize a multi-pronged marketing strategy to connect with our customers and drive traffic to our online platform, comprised of the following:
Customer Acquisition Marketing
Paid Social Media Marketing: This is our primary customer acquisition channel, and it is composed almost entirely of paid Facebook and Instagram marketing. We believe our core customers rely on the opinions of their peers, often expressed through social media. Social media platforms are viral marketing platforms that allow our brands to communicate directly with our customers while also allowing customers to interact with us and provide feedback on our products and service. We make regular posts highlighting new products, brand stories, and other topics and images we deem “on brand”. By being a verified brand, our followers can shop products directly from our posts. We are also able to link to products in the stories feature.
Affiliate Marketing: With select online publications and influencers, we’ve sought to establish [cost/commission] per action (“CPA”) or revenue sharing agreements. We believe these agreements are effective in incentivizing influencers or media to push our product and allowing us to only pay partners based on performance.
Email Marketing: We utilize email marketing to build awareness and drive repeat purchases. We believe this can be the most personalized customer communication channel for our brands, and therefore should continue to be one of our highest performing channels. We use an email service provider that enables us to send out a variety of promotional, transactional, and retargeting emails, with the main goal of driving increased site traffic and purchases. We maintain a database through which we track and utilize key metrics such as customer acquisition cost, lifetime value per customer, cost per impression and cost per click.
Retargeting: We engage the services of certain retargeting engines that allow us to dynamically target our visitors on third-party websites via banner/content ads.
Content Marketing: We use content marketing platforms that allow us to serve up native ads in the form of articles promoting our brand story and specific products.
Search Engine Optimization: This is the process of maximizing the number of visitors to our website by increasing our rankings in the search results on internet search engines. This is done by optimizing our onsite content, by making sure our pages, titles, tags, links, and blog content is structured to increase our search results on certain keywords, and our offsite content, which is the number of external websites linking to our website, usually through press articles and other advertising channels.
Print Advertising: We also intend to utilize print advertisements in magazines or billboards in major metropolitan areas to drive increased site traffic and brand awareness.
Video / Blog Content: We plan to offer videos and blog posts as a way to engage and educate the customer on our brands, how to wear different looks and styles, and create confidence and trust between our brands and customers. Videos and blog posts will include interviews with our designers, a behind-the- scenes look at how products are made, features of other artists or creatives, and photo shoots.
Retail Stores: We have successfully tested retail “pop ups” in the past. These “pop ups” have resulted in higher average order value, significantly lower customer returns (even when the retail customer orders online at a later date), and higher repurchase rate and annual spend. We view these retail locations as a marketing strategy, similar to allocating funds towards digital/online marketing. We expect our pop ups to generate a small to break even profit, which is more than offset by any potential marketing costs to acquire those customers in another marketing channel.
As we grow the entire DBG portfolio, we will test “pop up” locations for specific brands, and also develop a multi-line pop up that incorporates our other brands into the “pop-up”. We will determine whether a “pop up” or wholesale specialty boutique is the better option for each market and brand.
Instagram and Influencer Marketing
Instagram and influencer marketing is one of our largest initiatives. On a weekly basis, we reach out to and receive requests from tastemakers in fashion, lifestyle, and photography. We have developed a certain set of criteria for working with influencers (for example, engagement level, aesthetic, audience demographic) that have enabled us to garner impactful impressions. Our focus is not on the size of an account, but on creating organic relationships with influencers who are excited to tell our story. While most of our collaborations are compensated solely through product gifts, we also offer an affiliate commission of up to 20% through the influencer platform reward Style, which is the parent company of LiketoKnow.it, the first influencer platform to make Instagram shopable (users receive an email directly to their inbox with complete outfit details when they “Like” a photo with LiketoKnow.it technology).
Public Relations
To generate ongoing organic and word-of-mouth awareness, we intend to work with print and online media outlets to announce new products and develop timely news stories. We are in contact with leading fashion, business, and tech writers in order to capitalize on celebrity fashion features, e-commerce trend pieces, or general brand awareness articles. We may utilize outside agencies from time to time. We visit the major fashion, tech, and news outlets in New York City on a quarterly basis to keep them up to date on our latest launches and any relevant company developments. We also plan to host local Los Angeles press at our office space.
Celebrity gifting
We approach celebrity gifting in a strategic, discerning manner. We have longstanding, personal relationships with the industry’s top stylists; we do not send clothing blindly or unsolicited. We have successfully placed clothing (and as a result, fashion press) on a number of well-known A-list celebrities.
Loyalty Program
We plan to develop and launch a company-wide loyalty program, which would include all our brands. Our customer loyalty program will be designed to engage and reward our customers in a direct and targeted manner, and to cross merchandise our portfolio brands to
our customers. Customers will earn reward points that can be used to purchase products. We will also use loyalty point multipliers to create customer purchases, especially, which is a strategy beauty retailer have effectively used.
Competition
Our business depends on our ability to create consumer demand for our brands and products. We believe we are well-positioned to compete in the apparel, leather products and accessories segments by developing high quality, well designed products at competitive prices that are often below our competitors’ pricing. We focus on designing products that we hope exceed consumer expectations, which should result in retention and repurchases. We will invest in cross merchandising brands to customers through customized customer communications and personalized styles and looks utilizing products across all our portfolio brands, which we believe creates a competitive advantage for our brands versus single brands. As noted above, each of our brands has different competitors depending on product, quality and price point.
Government Regulation
Our business is subject to a number of domestic and foreign laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business on the Internet, many of which are still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. These laws and regulations include federal and state consumer protection laws and regulations, which address, among other things, the privacy and security of consumer information, sending of commercial email, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Under applicable federal and state laws and regulations addressing privacy and data security, we must provide notice to consumers of our policies with respect to the collection and use of personal information, and our sharing of personal information with third parties, and notice of any changes to our data handling practices. In some instances, we may be obligated to give customers the right to prevent sharing of their personal information with third parties. Under applicable federal and state laws, we also are required to adhere to a number of requirements when sending commercial email to consumers, including identifying advertising and promotional emails as such, ensuring that subject lines are not deceptive, giving consumers an opportunity to opt-out of further communications and clearly disclosing our name and physical address in each commercial email. Regulation of privacy and data security matters is an evolving area, with new laws and regulations enacted frequently. For example, California recently enacted legislation that, among other things, will require new disclosures to California consumers, and afford such consumers new abilities to opt out of certain sales of personal information. In addition, under applicable federal and state unfair competition laws, including the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and U.S. Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, regulations, we must, and our network of influencers may be required to, accurately identify product offerings, not make misleading claims on our websites or in advertising, and use qualifying disclosures where and when appropriate. The growth and demand for eCommerce could result in more stringent domestic and foreign consumer protection laws that impose additional compliance burdens on companies that transact substantial business on the Internet.
Our international business is subject to additional laws and regulations, including restrictions on imports from, exports to, and services provided to persons located in certain countries and territories, as well as foreign laws and regulations addressing topics such as advertising and marketing practices, customs duties and taxes, privacy, data protection, information security and consumer rights, any of which might apply by virtue of our operations in foreign countries and territories or our contacts with consumers in such foreign countries and territories. Many foreign jurisdictions have laws, regulations, or other requirements relating to privacy, data protection, and consumer protection, and countries and territories are adopting new legislation or other obligations with increasing frequency.
In many jurisdictions, there is great uncertainty whether or how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, sales and other taxes, libel and personal privacy apply to the Internet and eCommerce. New legislation or regulation, the application of laws and regulations from jurisdictions whose laws do not currently apply to our business or the application of existing laws and regulations to the Internet and eCommerce could result in significant additional obligations on our business or may necessitate changes to our business practices. These obligations or required changes could have an adverse effect on our cash flows and results of operations. Further, any actual or alleged failure to comply with any of these laws or regulations by us, our vendors or our network of influencers could hurt our reputation, brand and business, force us to incur significant expenses in defending against proceedings or investigations, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business, result in a loss of customers and suppliers and may result in the imposition of monetary penalties.
Employees
As of December 31, 2023, we had 56 employees, all of whom were full-time employees. None of our employees is currently covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have had no labor-related work stoppages and we believe our relationship with our employees is strong.
We believe that a diverse workforce is important to our success. We will continue to focus on the hiring, retention and advancement of women and underrepresented populations, and to cultivate an inclusive and diverse corporate culture. In the future, we intend to continue to evaluate our use of human capital measures or objectives in managing our business such as the factors we employ or seek to employ in the development, attraction and retention of personnel and maintenance of diversity in our workforce.
The success of our business is fundamentally connected to the well-being of our people. Accordingly, we are committed to the health, safety and wellness of our employees. We provide our employees and their families with access to a variety of innovative, flexible and convenient health and wellness programs, including benefits that provide protection and security so they can have peace of mind concerning events that may require time away from work or that impact their financial well-being; that support their physical and mental health by providing tools and resources to help them improve or maintain their health status and encourage engagement in healthy behaviors; and that offer choice where possible so they can customize their benefits to meet their needs and the needs of their families.
We also provide robust compensation and benefits programs to help meet the needs of our employees.
Available Information
Our Internet address is https://www.digitalbrandsgroup.co. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and are not considered part of, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, including exhibits, proxy and information statements and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a), 14, and 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available on the SEC’s website http://www.sec.gov. All statements made in any of our securities filings, including all forward-looking statements or information, are made as of the date of the document in which the statement is included, and we do not assume or undertake any obligation to update any of those statements or documents unless we are required to do so by law.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, as well as our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, before making an investment decision. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Below is a summary of material risks, uncertainties and other factors that could have a material effect on the Company and its operations:
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We have incurred significant net losses since our inception and cannot assure you that we will achieve or maintain profitable operations.
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If we do not obtain adequate capital funding or improve our financial performance, we may not be able to continue as a going concern.
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Widespread outbreak of an illness or any other public health crisis, including the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic, could materially and adversely affect, and has materially and adversely affected, our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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If our efforts to locate desirable targets are unsuccessful or if we are unable to acquire desirable companies on commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to grow the business and our revenues and operating results will be adversely affected.
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We may not be able to successfully integrate future acquisitions or generate sufficient revenues from future acquisitions, which could cause our business to suffer.
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We may be subject to claims arising from the operations of our various businesses for periods prior to the dates we acquired them.
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Our ability to acquire additional businesses may require issuances of our common stock and/or debt financing that we may be unable to obtain on acceptable terms.
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We have an amount of debt which may be considered significant for a company of our size, which could adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to react to changes in our business.
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We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our debt or refinance our obligations and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under such indebtedness, which may not be successful.
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Our results of operations have been and could be in the future adversely affected as a result of asset impairments.
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If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed.
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If we are unable to anticipate and respond to changing customer preferences and shifts in fashion and industry trends in a timely manner, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed.
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Our business depends on our ability to maintain a strong portfolio of brands and engaged customers. We may not be able to maintain and enhance our existing brand portfolio if we receive customer complaints, negative publicity or otherwise fail to live up to consumers’ expectations, which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and growth prospects.
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An economic downturn or economic uncertainty in the United States may adversely affect consumer discretionary spending and demand for our products.
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We operate in highly competitive markets and the size and resources of some of our competitors may allow them to compete more effectively than we can, resulting in a loss of our market share and a decrease in our net revenue.
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Use of social media and influencers may materially and adversely affect our reputation or subject us to fines or other penalties.
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If we fail to retain existing customers, or fail to maintain average order value levels, we may not be able to maintain our revenue base and margins, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.
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We purchase inventory in anticipation of sales, and if we are unable to manage our inventory effectively, our operating results could be adversely affected.
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Merchandise returns could harm our business.
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We rely on third-party suppliers and manufacturers to provide raw materials for and to produce our products, and we have limited control over these suppliers and manufacturers and may not be able to obtain quality products on a timely basis or in sufficient quantity.
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Our sales and gross margins may decline as a result of increasing product costs and decreasing selling prices.
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Our operations are currently dependent on a single warehouse and distribution center, and the loss of, or disruption in, the warehouse and distribution center and other factors affecting the distribution of merchandise could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
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Our sales and gross margins may decline as a result of increasing freight costs.
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Increases in labor costs, including wages, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our information and expose us to liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.
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Our future success depends on our key executive officers and our ability to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel.
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If we cannot successfully protect our intellectual property, our business could suffer.
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If the technology-based systems that give our customers the ability to shop with us online do not function effectively, our operating results could be materially adversely affected.
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Organizations face growing regulatory and compliance requirements.
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Our failure to comply with trade and other regulations could lead to investigations or actions by government regulators and negative publicity.
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Our business is affected by seasonality.
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The price of our common stock has in the past and may in the future fluctuate substantially.
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If we are not able to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements or standards of the NasdaqCM, Nasdaq could delist our common stock.
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If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
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We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and as a result of the reduced disclosure and governance requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, our common stock may be less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
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Future sales of our common stock, or the perception in the public markets that these sales may occur, may depress our stock price.
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Provisions in our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws and under Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable.
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Our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.
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We may be required to issue additional shares of our common stock further to agreements whereby we acquired Bailey. Any such additional issuances would result in additional dilution to our stockholders.
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We do not expect to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future.
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If securities analysts do not publish favorable reports about us or if we, or our industry, are the subject of unfavorable commentary, the price of our common stock could decline.
Risks related to our financial condition and business.
We have incurred significant net losses since our inception and cannot assure you that we will achieve or maintain profitable operations.
We have incurred significant net losses since inception. Our net loss was approximately $10.2 and $38.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $113.9 million. We may continue to incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, and other unknown events, as well as the inflationary and potentially recessive economic environment.
We anticipate that our operating expenses will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we undertake the acquisition and integration of different brands, incur expenses associated with maintaining compliance as a public company, and incur increased marketing and sales expenses in an effort to grow our customer base. These increased expenditures may make it more difficult to achieve and maintain profitability. In addition, our efforts to grow our business may be more expensive than we expect, and we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to offset increased operating expenses. If we are required to reduce our expenses, our growth strategy could be materially affected. We will need to generate and sustain significant revenue levels in future periods in order to become profitable, and, even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase our level of profitability.
Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will achieve sustainable operating profits as we continue to expand our product offerings and infrastructure, further develop our marketing efforts, and otherwise implement our growth initiatives. Any failure to achieve and maintain profitability would have a materially adverse effect on our ability to implement our business plan, our results and operations, and our financial condition.
If we do not obtain adequate capital funding or improve our financial performance, we may not be able to continue as a going concern.
We have incurred a net loss in each year since our inception and expect to incur losses in future periods as we continue to increase our expenses in order to grow our business. We had a working capital deficit of $17.65 million at December 31, 2023. These factors raise substantial doubt about our Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to obtain adequate funding or if we are unable to grow our revenue substantially to achieve and sustain profitability, we may not be able to continue as a going concern. The report of our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ended December 31, 2023 included herein contains an explanatory paragraph indicating that there is substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern as a result of recurring losses from operations.
If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we will be required to significantly delay, scale back or restrict our operations or obtain funds by entering into agreements on unattractive terms, which would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, stock price and our relationships with third parties with whom we have business relationships, at least until additional funding is obtained. If we do not have sufficient funds to continue operations, we could be required to seek bankruptcy protection or other alternatives that would likely result in our stockholders losing some or all of their investment in us. In addition, our ability to achieve profitability or to respond to competitive pressures would be significantly limited.
The amount and timing of our future funding requirements depends on many factors, including:
●The timing and cost of potential future acquisitions;
●Integration of the businesses that we have acquired or may acquire in the future;
●The hiring of additional management and other personnel as we continue to grow; and
●Any costs associated with any build-out and opening of showrooms, as needed, for certain of our brands,
We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, we have in the past and may in the future be restricted or limited by our current outstanding indebtedness on our ability to enter into additional indebtedness and
any future debt financing based upon covenants that restrict our operations, including limitations on our ability to incur liens or additional debt, pay dividends, redeem our stock, make certain investments and engage in certain merger, consolidation or asset sale transactions.
Widespread outbreak of an illness or any other public health crisis, including the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic, could materially and adversely affect, and has materially and adversely affected, our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business has been, and will continue to be, impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic in countries where our suppliers, third-party service providers or consumers are located. These effects include recommendations or mandates from governmental authorities to close businesses, limit travel, avoid large gatherings or to self-quarantine, as well as temporary closures and decreased operations of the facilities of our suppliers, service providers and customers. The impacts on us have included, and in the future could include, but are not limited to:
● significant uncertainty and turmoil in global economic and financial market conditions causing, among other things: decreased consumer confidence and decreased consumer spending, now and in the mid and long-term. Specifically, COVID has impacted our business in several ways, including store closings, supply chain disruptions and delivery delays, meaningfully lower net revenue, furloughs and layoffs of 52 employees and increased costs to operate our warehouse to ensure a healthy and safe work environment. Approximately 220 boutique stores where we sold our products closed temporarily and permanently in 2020 and into 2021, representing a reduction in approximately 40% of such stores prior to COVID. Additionally, approximately 40 department stores that carried our products have closed as well, representing a reduction of approximately 35% of such stores prior to COVID. We do not anticipate the department stores will open those stores back up, and we do not anticipate a majority of the closed boutique stores will reopen. We also waited to hire a new Creative Director until the summer, once we knew that stores would open back up at some capacity. This delay in hiring a new designer also impacted the first half of 2021.
● inability to access financing in the credit and capital markets at reasonable rates (or at all) in the event we, or our suppliers find it desirable to do so, increased exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. Dollar, and volatility in the availability and prices for commodities and raw materials we use for our products and in our supply chain. Specifically, the pandemic shut down our supply chain for several months in 2020, and delayed deliveries throughout the year.
● inability to meet our consumers’ needs for inventory production and fulfillment due to disruptions in our supply chain and increased costs associated with mitigating the effects of the pandemic caused by, among other things: reduction or loss of workforce due to illness, quarantine or other restrictions or facility closures, scarcity of and/or increased prices for raw materials, scrutiny or embargoing of goods produced in infected areas, and increased freight and logistics costs, expenses and times; failure of third parties on which we rely, including our suppliers, customers, distributors, service providers and commercial banks, to meet their obligations to us or to timely meet those obligations, or significant disruptions in their ability to do so, which may be caused by their own financial or operational difficulties, including business failure or insolvency and collectability of existing receivables; and
● significant changes in the conditions in markets in which we do business, including quarantines, governmental or regulatory actions, closures or other restrictions that limit or close our operating and manufacturing facilities and restrict our employees’ ability to perform necessary business functions, including operations necessary for the design, development, production, distribution, sale, marketing and support of our products. Specifically, we had to furlough and layoff a significant amount of employees to adjust to our lower revenues.
Any of these impacts could place limitations on our ability to execute on our business plan and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We continue to monitor the situation and may adjust our current policies and procedures as more information and guidance become available regarding the evolving situation. The impact of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other risks discussed in this “Risk Factors” section, any of which could have a material effect on us. This situation is changing rapidly and additional impacts may arise that we are not aware of currently.
If our efforts to locate desirable targets are unsuccessful or if we are unable to acquire desirable companies on commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to grow the business and our revenues and operating results will be adversely affected.
One of our principal growth strategies has been and continues to be is to grow our business and increase our revenue through the acquisition of additional businesses within our industry. It may be difficult for us to identify desirable companies to acquire. We may face competition in our pursuit to acquire additional businesses, which could limit the number of available companies for sale and may lead to higher acquisition prices. When we identify desirable companies, their owners may not be willing to sell their companies at all or on terms that we have determined to be commercially reasonable. If our efforts to locate and acquire desirable companies on terms that are acceptable to us are not successful, our revenues and operating results may be adversely affected.
We may not be able to successfully integrate future acquisitions or generate sufficient revenues from future acquisitions, which could cause our business to suffer.
A significant part of our grown strategy is acquiring additional businesses. If we buy a company or a division of a company in the future, there can be no assurance that we will be able to profitably manage such business or successfully integrate such business without substantial costs, delays or other operational or financial problems. Acquisitions also may require us to spend a substantial portion of our available cash, incur debt or other liabilities, amortize expenses related to intangible assets, incur write-offs of goodwill or other assets or obligate us to issue a substantial number of shares of our capital stock, which would result in dilution for our existing stockholders. There can be no assurance that the businesses we acquire in the future will achieve anticipated revenues or earnings. Additionally:
● the key personnel of the acquired business may decide not to work for us;
● changes in management at an acquired business may impair its relationships with employees and customers;
● we may be unable to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies among acquired businesses;
● we may be unable to successfully implement infrastructure, logistics and systems integration;
● we may be held liable for legal claims (including environmental claims) arising out of activities of the acquired businesses prior to our acquisitions, some of which we may not have discovered during our due diligence, and we may not have indemnification claims available to us or we may not be able to realize on any indemnification claims with respect to those legal claims;
● we will assume risks associated with deficiencies in the internal controls of acquired businesses;
● we may not be able to realize the cost savings or other financial benefits we anticipated;
● we may be unable to successfully scale an acquired business; and
● our ongoing business may be disrupted or receive insufficient management attention.
Some or all of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, we may not benefit from our acquisitions as we expect, or in the time frame we expect. In the apparel industry, differing brands are used to reach different market segments and capture new market share. However, not every brand deployment is successful. In addition, integrating an acquired business or technology is risky. We may incur significant costs acquiring, developing, and promoting new brands only to have limited market acceptance and limited resulting sales. If this occurs, our financial results may be negatively impacted and we may determine it is in the best interest of the company to no longer support that brand. If a new brand does not generate sufficient revenues or if we are unable to efficiently manage our expanded operations, our results of operations will be adversely affected. Finally, acquisitions could be viewed negatively by analysts, investors or our customers.
In addition, we may not be successful in acquiring businesses and may expend time and expenses in connection with failed acquisitions. In addition to such time and expenses, public announcement of a failed acquisition could also negatively impact the trading price of our common stock.
We may be subject to claims arising from the operations of our various businesses for periods prior to the dates we acquired them.
We may be subject to claims or liabilities arising from the ownership or operation of acquired businesses for the periods prior to our acquisition of them, including environmental, warranty, workers’ compensation and other employee-related and other liabilities and claims not covered by insurance. These claims or liabilities could be significant. Our ability to seek indemnification from the former owners of our acquired businesses for these claims or liabilities may be limited by various factors, including the specific time, monetary or other limitations contained in the respective acquisition agreements and the financial ability of the former owners to satisfy our indemnification claims. In addition, insurance companies may be unwilling to cover claims that have arisen from acquired businesses or locations, or claims may exceed the coverage limits that our acquired businesses had in effect prior to the date of acquisition. If we are unable to successfully obtain insurance coverage of third-party claims or enforce our indemnification rights against the former owners, or if the former owners are unable to satisfy their obligations for any reason, including because of their current financial position, we could be held liable for the costs or obligations associated with such claims or liabilities, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our ability to acquire additional businesses may require issuances of our common stock and/or debt financing that we may be unable to obtain on acceptable terms.
The timing, size and success of our acquisition efforts and the associated capital commitments cannot be readily predicted. We intend to use our common stock, cash, debt and borrowings under our credit facility, if necessary, as consideration for future acquisitions of companies. The issuance of additional common stock in connection with future acquisitions may be dilutive to holders of shares of common stock. In addition, if our common stock does not maintain a sufficient market value or potential acquisition candidates are unwilling to accept common stock as part of the consideration for the sale of their businesses, we may be required to use more of our cash resources, including obtaining additional capital through debt financing. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain financing if and when it is needed or that it will be available on terms that we deem acceptable. As a result, we may be unable to pursue our acquisition strategy successfully, which may prevent us from achieving our growth objectives.
We have an amount of debt which may be considered significant for a company of our size, which could adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to react to changes in our business.
As of December 31, 2023, we had an aggregate principal amount of debt outstanding of approximately $9.7 million. We believe this is an amount of indebtedness which may be considered significant for a company of our size and current revenue base.
Our substantial debt could have important consequences to us. For example, it could:
● make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations to the holders of our outstanding debt, resulting in possible defaults on and acceleration of such indebtedness;
● require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to make payments on our debt, which would reduce the availability of our cash flows from operations to fund working capital, capital expenditures or other general corporate purposes;
● increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions, including interest rate fluctuations;
● place us at a competitive disadvantage to our competitors with proportionately less debt for their size;
● limit our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness or borrow additional funds in the future;
● limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changing conditions in our business; and
● limit our ability to react to competitive pressures or make it difficult for us to carry out capital spending that is necessary or important to our growth strategy.
Any of the foregoing impacts of our substantial indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our debt or refinance our obligations and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under such indebtedness, which may not be successful.
We currently have $3.5 million in notes outstanding pursuant to our Bailey acquisition. We are currently unable to repay or refinance borrowings so any such action by these lenders could force us into bankruptcy or liquidation.
In addition, our ability to make scheduled payments on our indebtedness or to refinance our obligations under our debt agreements, will depend on our financial and operating performance, which, in turn, will be subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to the financial and business risk factors we face as described in this section, many of which may be beyond our control. We may not be able to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness.
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures or planned growth objectives, seek to obtain additional equity capital or restructure our indebtedness. In the future, our cash flows and capital resources may not be sufficient for payments of interest on and principal of our debt, and such alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet scheduled debt service obligations. In addition, the recent worldwide credit crisis could make it more difficult for us to refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms, or at all.
In the absence of such operating results and resources, we may be required to dispose of material assets to meet our debt service obligations. We may not be able to consummate those sales, or, if we do, we will not control the timing of the sales or whether the proceeds that we realize will be adequate to meet debt service obligations when due.
Our results of operations have been and could be in the future adversely affected as a result of asset impairments.
Our results of operations and financial condition have been and could be in the future adversely affected by impairments to goodwill, other intangible assets, receivables, long-lived assets or investments. For example, when we acquire a business, we record goodwill in an amount equal to the amount we paid for the business minus the fair value of the net tangible assets and other identifiable intangible assets of the acquired business. Goodwill and other intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives cannot be amortized, but instead must be tested at least annually for impairment. As a result of our acquisitions of Sundry, Stateside and Bailey, our goodwill and intangible assets as of December 31, 2023 were $19.0 and $21.9 million, respectively. During the years ended December 31, 2023, we recorded impairment expense of $0.0 million and $15.5 million pertaining to the goodwill and intangible assets. Any future impairments, including impairments of goodwill, intangible assets, long-lived assets or investments, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations for the period in which the impairment is recognized.
If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed.
We have grown and expect to continue to grow rapidly. To effectively manage our growth, we must continue to implement our operational plans and strategies, improve our business processes, improve and expand our infrastructure of people and information systems, and expand, train and manage our employee base. Since our inception and as a result of our acquisitions, we have rapidly increased our employee headcount across our organization to support the growth of our business. To support continued growth, we must effectively integrate, develop and motivate a large number of new employees while maintaining our corporate culture. We face significant competition for personnel. To attract top talent, we have had to offer, and expect to continue to offer, competitive compensation and benefits packages before we can validate the productivity of new employees. We may also need to increase our employee compensation levels to remain competitive in attracting and retaining talented employees. The risks associated with a rapidly growing workforce will be particularly acute as we choose to expand into new merchandise categories and internationally. Additionally, we may not be able to hire new employees quickly enough to meet our needs. If we fail to effectively manage our hiring needs or successfully integrate new hires, our efficiency, our ability to meet forecasts and our employee morale, productivity and retention could suffer, which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
We are also required to manage numerous relationships with various vendors and other third parties.
Further growth of our operations, vendor base, fulfillment center, information technology systems or internal controls and procedures may not be adequate to support our operations. If we are unable to manage the growth of our organization effectively, our business, financial condition and operating results may be adversely affected.
If we are unable to anticipate and respond to changing customer preferences and shifts in fashion and industry trends in a timely manner, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed.
Our success largely depends on our ability to consistently gauge tastes and trends and provide a diverse and balanced assortment of merchandise that satisfies customer demands in a timely manner. Our ability to accurately forecast demand for our products could be affected by many factors, including an increase or decrease in demand for our products or for products of our competitors, our failure to accurately forecast acceptance of new products, product introductions by competitors, unanticipated changes in general market conditions, and weakening of economic conditions or consumer confidence in future economic conditions. We typically enter into agreements to manufacture and purchase our merchandise in advance of the applicable selling season and our failure to anticipate, identify or react appropriately, or in a timely manner to changes in customer preferences, tastes and trends or economic conditions could lead to, among other things, missed opportunities, excess inventory or inventory shortages, markdowns and write-offs, all of which could negatively impact our profitability and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Failure to respond to changing customer preferences and fashion trends could also negatively impact the image of our brands with our customers and result in diminished brand loyalty.
Our business depends on our ability to maintain a strong portfolio of brands and engaged customers. We may not be able to maintain and enhance our existing brand portfolio if we receive customer complaints, negative publicity or otherwise fail to live up to consumers’ expectations, which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and growth prospects.
Our ability to acquire or offer new brands and maintain and enhance the appeal of our existing brands is critical to expanding our base of customers. A significant portion of our customers’ experience depends on third parties outside of our control, including vendors, suppliers and logistics providers such as FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. If these third parties do not meet our or our customers’ expectations, including timely delivery of our products, or if they increase their rates, our business may suffer irreparable damage or our costs may increase. Also, if we fail to promote and maintain our brands, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, operating results and financial condition may be materially adversely affected. We anticipate that as our market becomes increasingly competitive, our ability to acquire or offer new brands and to maintain and enhance our existing brands may become increasingly difficult and expensive and will depend largely on our ability to provide high quality products to our customers and a reliable, trustworthy and profitable sales channel to our vendors, which we may not do successfully.
Customer complaints or negative publicity about our sites, products, product delivery times, customer data handling and security practices or customer support, especially on blogs, social media websites and our sites, could rapidly and severely diminish consumer use of our sites and consumer and supplier confidence in us and result in harm to our brands.
An economic downturn or economic uncertainty in the United States may adversely affect consumer discretionary spending and demand for our products.
Our operating results are affected by the relative condition of the United States economy, as many of our products may be considered discretionary items for consumers. Our customers may reduce their spending and purchases due to job loss or fear of job loss, foreclosures, bankruptcies, higher consumer debt and interest rates, reduced access to credit, falling home prices, increased taxes, and/or lower consumer confidence. Consumer demand for our products may not reach our targets, or may decline, when there is an economic downturn or economic uncertainty. Current, recent past, and future conditions may also adversely affect our pricing and liquidation strategy; promotional activities, product liquidation, and decreased demand for consumer products could affect profitability and margins. Any of the foregoing factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Additionally, many of the effects and consequences of U.S. and global financial and economic conditions could potentially have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and capital resources, including the ability to raise additional capital, if needed, or could otherwise negatively affect our business and financial results. For example, global economic conditions may also adversely affect our suppliers’ access to capital and liquidity with which to maintain their inventory, production levels, and product quality and to operate their
businesses, all of which could adversely affect our supply chain. Market instability could make it more difficult for us and our suppliers to accurately forecast future product demand trends, which could cause us to carry too much or too little merchandise in various product categories.
We operate in highly competitive markets and the size and resources of some of our competitors may allow them to compete more effectively than we can, resulting in a loss of our market share and a decrease in our net revenue.
The markets in which we compete are highly competitive. Competition may result in pricing pressures, reduced profit margins or lost market share, or a failure to grow or maintain our market share, any of which could substantially harm our business and results of operations. We compete directly against wholesalers and direct retailers of apparel, including large, diversified apparel companies with substantial market share and strong worldwide brand recognition. Many of our competitors, including Vince, James Perse, Rag & Bone, Madewell, AG, FRAME, All Saints, Zegna and Ralph Lauren, have significant competitive advantages, including longer operating histories, larger and broader customer bases, more established relationships with a broader set of suppliers, greater brand recognition and greater financial, research and development, marketing, distribution, and other resources than we do.
As a result, these competitors may be better equipped than we are to influence consumer preferences or otherwise increase their market share by:
● quickly adapting to changes in customer requirements or consumer preferences;
● discounting excess inventory that has been written down or written off;
● devoting resources to the marketing and sale of their products, including significant advertising campaigns, media placement, partnerships and product endorsement; and
● engaging in lengthy and costly intellectual property and other disputes.
Our inability to compete successfully against our competitors and maintain our gross margin could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Use of social media and influencers may materially and adversely affect our reputation or subject us to fines or other penalties.
We use third-party social media platforms as, among other things, marketing tools. We also maintain relationships with many social media influencers and engage in sponsorship initiatives. As existing e-commerce and social media platforms continue to rapidly evolve and new platforms develop, we must continue to maintain a presence on these platforms and establish presences on new or emerging popular social media platforms. If we are unable to cost-effectively use social media platforms as marketing tools or if the social media platforms we use change their policies or algorithms, we may not be able to fully optimize such platforms, and our ability to maintain and acquire customers and our financial condition may suffer.
Furthermore, as laws and regulations and public opinion rapidly evolve to govern the use of these platforms and devices, the failure by us, our employees, our network of social media influencers, our sponsors or third parties acting at our direction to abide by applicable laws and regulations in the use of these platforms and devices or otherwise could subject us to regulatory investigations, class action lawsuits, liability, fines or other penalties and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
In addition, an increase in the use of social media for product promotion and marketing may cause an increase in the burden on us to monitor compliance of such materials, and increase the risk that such materials could contain problematic product or marketing claims in violation of applicable regulations. For example, in some cases, the FTC has sought enforcement action where an endorsement has failed to clearly and conspicuously disclose a financial relationship or material connection between an influencer and an advertiser.
We do not prescribe what our influencers post, and if we were held responsible for the content of their posts or their actions, we could be fined or forced to alter our practices, which could have an adverse impact on our business.
Negative commentary regarding us, our products or influencers and other third parties who are affiliated with us may also be posted on social media platforms and may be adverse to our reputation or business. Influencers with whom we maintain relationships could engage in behavior or use their platforms to communicate directly with our customers in a manner that reflects poorly on our brand and may be attributed to us or otherwise adversely affect us. It is not possible to prevent such behavior, and the precautions we take to detect this activity may not be effective in all cases. Our target consumers often value readily available information and often act on such information without further investigation and without regard to its accuracy. The harm may be immediate, without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction.
If we fail to retain existing customers, or fail to maintain average order value levels, we may not be able to maintain our revenue base and margins, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.
A significant portion of our net sales are generated from sales to existing customers. If existing customers no longer find our offerings appealing, or if we are unable to timely update our offerings to meet current trends and customer demands, our existing customers may make fewer or smaller purchases in the future. A decrease in the number of our customers who make repeat purchases or a decrease in their spending on the merchandise we offer could negatively impact our operating results. Further, we believe that our future success will depend in part on our ability to increase sales to our existing customers over time, and if we are unable to do so, our business may suffer. If we fail to generate repeat purchases or maintain high levels of customer engagement and average order value, our growth prospects, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
We purchase inventory in anticipation of sales, and if we are unable to manage our inventory effectively, our operating results could be adversely affected.
Our business requires us to manage a large volume of inventory effectively. We regularly add new apparel, accessories and beauty styles to our sites, and we depend on our forecasts of demand for and popularity of various products to make purchase decisions and to manage our inventory of stock- keeping units, or SKUs. Demand for products, however, can change significantly between the time inventory is ordered and the date of sale. Demand may be affected by seasonality, new product launches, rapid changes in product cycles and pricing, product defects, promotions, changes in consumer spending patterns, changes in consumer tastes with respect to our products and other factors, and our consumers may not purchase products in the quantities that we expect.
It may be difficult to accurately forecast demand and determine appropriate levels of product. We generally do not have the right to return unsold products to our suppliers. If we fail to manage our inventory effectively or negotiate favorable credit terms with third-party suppliers, we may be subject to a heightened risk of inventory obsolescence, a decline in inventory values, and significant inventory write-downs or write-offs. In addition, if we are required to lower sale prices in order to reduce inventory level or to pay higher prices to our suppliers, our profit margins might be negatively affected. Any failure to manage owned brand expansion or accurately forecast demand for owned brands could adversely affect growth, margins and inventory levels. In addition, our ability to meet customer demand has been and may be in the future negatively impacted by disruptions in the supply chain from a number of factors, including, for example, the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in China. The COVID-19 coronavirus has impacted our supply chain and may delay or prevent the manufacturing or transport of product. Any of the above may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Merchandise returns could harm our business.
We allow our customers to return products, subject to our return policy. If the rate of merchandise returns increases significantly or if merchandise return economics become less efficient, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed. Further, we modify our policies relating to returns from time to time, which may result in customer dissatisfaction or an increase in the number of product returns. From time to time our products are damaged in transit, which can increase return rates and harm our brands.
We rely on third-party suppliers and manufacturers to provide raw materials for and to produce our products, and we have limited control over these suppliers and manufacturers and may not be able to obtain quality products on a timely basis or in sufficient quantity.
We rely on third-party suppliers primarily located outside of the United States to provide raw materials for our products. In addition, we do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities and rely solely on unaffiliated manufacturers primarily located outside the United States to manufacture our products. Increases in the costs of labor and other costs of doing business in these countries could significantly
increase our costs to produce our products and could have a negative impact on our operations, net revenue, and earnings. In addition, certain of our manufacturers are subject to government regulations related to wage rates, and therefore the labor costs to produce our products may fluctuate. Factors that could negatively affect our business include a potential significant revaluation of the currencies used in these countries, which may result in an increase in the cost of producing products, labor shortages and stoppages and increases in labor costs, and difficulties in moving products manufactured out of the countries in which they are manufactured and through the ports in North America, whether due to port congestion, labor disputes, product regulations and/or inspections or other factors, and natural disasters or health pandemics. A labor strike or other transportation disruption affecting these ports could significantly disrupt our business. In addition, the imposition of trade sanctions or other regulations against products imported by us from, or the loss of “normal trade relations” status with any country in which our products are manufactured, could significantly increase our cost of products and harm our business. We may also experience increased costs in raw goods, transportation and labor. Additionally, we are also subject to global supply chain disruptions, which may include longer lead times for raw fabrics, inbound shipping and longer production times.
Supply chain issues have specifically impacted the following for our brands:
● Increased costs in raw materials from fabric prices, which have increased 10% to 100% depending on the fabric, the time of year, and the origin of the fabric, as well as where the fabric is being shipped;
● Increased cost per kilo to ship via sea or air, which has increased from 25% to 300% depending on the time of year and from the country we are shipping from;
● Increased transit time via sea or air, which have increased by two weeks to two months; and
● Increased labor costs for producing the finished goods, which have increased 5% to 25% depending on the country and the labor skill required to produce the goods.
The operations of our suppliers can be subject to additional risks beyond our control, including shipping delays, labor disputes, trade restrictions, tariffs and embargos, or any other change in local conditions. We may experience a significant disruption in the supply of fabrics or raw materials from current sources or, in the event of a disruption, we may be unable to locate alternative materials suppliers of comparable quality at an acceptable price, or at all. We do not have any long-term supply contracts in place with any of our suppliers and we compete with other companies, including many of our competitors, for fabrics, raw materials, production and import quota capacity. We have occasionally received, and may in the future receive, shipments of products that fail to comply with our specifications or that fail to conform to our quality control standards. We have also received, and may in the future receive, products that are otherwise unacceptable to us or our customers. Under these circumstances, we may incur substantial expense to remedy the problems and may be required to obtain replacement products. If we fail to remedy any such problem in a timely manner, we risk the loss of net revenue resulting from the inability to sell those products and related increased administrative and shipping costs. Additionally, if the unacceptability of our products is not discovered until after such products are purchased by our customers, our customers could lose confidence in our products or we could face a product recall. In such an event our brand reputation may be negatively impacted which could negatively impact our results of operations.
These and other factors beyond our control could result in our third-party suppliers and manufacturers being unable to fill our orders in a timely manner. If we experience significant increased demand, or we lose or need to replace an existing third- party supplier and manufacturer as a result of adverse economic conditions or other reasons, we may not be able to secure additional manufacturing capacity when required or on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, or manufacturers may not be able to allocate sufficient capacity to us in order to meet our requirements. In addition, even if we are able to find new third-party suppliers or manufacturers, we may encounter delays in production and added costs as a result of the time it takes to train our manufacturers on our methods, products and quality control standards. Moreover, it is possible that we will experience defects, errors, or other problems with their work that will materially affect our operations and we may have little or no recourse to recover damages for these losses. Any delays, interruption or increased costs in the supply of fabric or manufacture of our products could have an adverse effect on our ability to meet retail customer and consumer demand for our products and result in lower net revenues and net income both in the short and long term.
In addition to the foregoing, one of our subsidiary’s depends on two primary suppliers located in China and Turkey for the substantial portion of raw materials used in its products and the manufacture of these products, which makes it vulnerable to a disruption in the supply of its products. As a result, termination of these supply arrangements, an adverse change in the financial condition of these
suppliers or an adverse change in their ability to manufacture and/or deliver desired products on a timely basis each could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our sales and gross margins may decline as a result of increasing product costs and decreasing selling prices.
The fabrics used in our products include synthetic fabrics whose raw materials include petroleum-based products, as well as natural fibers such as cotton. Significant price fluctuations or shortages in petroleum or other raw materials can materially adversely affect our cost of net revenues.
In addition, the United States and the countries in which our products are produced or sold internationally have imposed and may impose additional quotas, duties, tariffs, or other restrictions or regulations, or may adversely adjust prevailing quota, duty or tariff levels. Countries impose, modify and remove tariffs and other trade restrictions in response to a diverse array of factors, including global and national economic and political conditions, which make it impossible for us to predict future developments regarding tariffs and other trade restrictions. Trade restrictions, including tariffs, quotas, embargoes, safeguards, and customs restrictions, could increase the cost or reduce the supply of products available to us or may require us to modify our supply chain organization or other current business practices, any of which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our operations are currently dependent on a single warehouse and distribution center, and the loss of, or disruption in, the warehouse and distribution center and other factors affecting the distribution of merchandise could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
Our warehouse and fulfillment/distribution functions are currently primarily handled from a single facility in Vernon, California. Our current fulfillment/distribution operations are dependent on the continued use of this facility. Any significant interruption in the operation of the warehouse and fulfillment/ distribution center due to COVID-19 restrictions, natural disasters, accidents, system issues or failures, or other unforeseen causes that materially impair our ability to access or use our facility, could delay or impair the ability to distribute merchandise and fulfill online orders, which could cause sales to decline.
We also depend upon third-party carriers for shipment of a significant amount of merchandise directly to our customers. An interruption in service by these third-party carriers for any reason could cause temporary disruptions in business, a loss of sales and profits, and other material adverse effects.
Our sales and gross margins may decline as a result of increasing freight costs.
Freight costs are impacted by changes in fuel prices through surcharges, among other factors. Fuel prices and surcharges affect freight costs both on inbound freight from suppliers to the distribution center as well as outbound freight from the distribution center to stores/shops, supplier returns and third-party liquidators, and shipments of product to customers. The cost of transporting our products for distribution and sale is also subject to fluctuation due in large part to the price of oil. Because most of our products are manufactured abroad, our products must be transported by third parties over large geographical distances and an increase in the price of oil can significantly increase costs. Manufacturing delays or unexpected transportation delays can also cause us to rely more heavily on airfreight to achieve timely delivery to our customers, which significantly increases freight costs. Increases in fuel prices, surcharges, and other potential factors may increase freight costs. Any of these fluctuations may increase our cost of products and have an adverse effect on our margins, results of operations and financial condition.
Increases in labor costs, including wages, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Labor is a significant portion of our cost structure and is subject to many external factors, including unemployment levels, prevailing wage rates, minimum wage laws, potential collective bargaining arrangements, health insurance costs and other insurance costs and changes in employment and labor legislation or other workplace regulation. From time to time, legislative proposals are made to increase the federal minimum wage in the United States, as well as the minimum wage in California and a number of other states and municipalities, and to reform entitlement programs, such as health insurance and paid leave programs. As minimum wage rates increase or related laws and regulations change, we may need to increase not only the wage rates of our minimum wage employees, but also the wages paid to our other hourly or salaried employees. Any increase in the cost of our labor could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations or if we fail to pay such higher wages we could suffer increased employee turnover. Increases in labor costs could force us to increase prices, which could adversely impact our sales. If competitive pressures or other
factors prevent us from offsetting increased labor costs by increases in prices, our profitability may decline and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our information and expose us to liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.
In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, our proprietary business information, and financial and other personally identifiable information of our customers and employees. The secure processing, maintenance, and transmission of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance, or other disruptions. Any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost, or stolen. Advanced attacks are multi-staged, unfold over time, and utilize a range of attack vectors with military-grade cyber weapons and proven techniques, such as spear phishing and social engineering, leaving organizations and users at high risk of being compromised. The vast majority of data breaches, whether conducted by a cyber attacker from inside or outside of the organization, involve the misappropriation of digital identities and user credentials. These credentials are used to gain legitimate access to sensitive systems and high-value personal and corporate data. Many large, well-known organizations have been subject to cyber-attacks that exploited the identity vector, demonstrating that even organizations with significant resources and security expertise have challenges securing their identities. Any such access, disclosure, or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, regulatory penalties, a disruption of our operations, damage to our reputation, or a loss of confidence in our business, any of which could adversely affect our business, revenues, and competitive position.
Our future success depends on our key executive officers and our ability to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel.
Our future success largely depends upon the continued services of our executive officers and management team, especially our Chief Executive Officer and President, Mr. John “Hil” Davis. If one or more of our executive officers are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them readily, if at all. Additionally, we may incur additional expenses to recruit and retain new executive officers. If any of our executive officers joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose some or all of our customers. Finally, we do not maintain “key person” life insurance on any of our executive officers. Because of these factors, the loss of the services of any of these key persons could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and thereby an investment in our stock.
In addition, our continuing ability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, especially employees with experience in the fashion and fitness industries, will also be critical to our success because we will need to hire and retain additional personnel as our business grows. There can be no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain highly qualified personnel. We face significant competition for skilled personnel in our industries. This competition may make it more difficult and expensive to attract, hire, and retain qualified managers and employees. Because of these factors, we may not be able to effectively manage or grow our business, which could adversely affect our financial condition or business. As a result, the value of your investment could be significantly reduced or completely lost.
If we cannot successfully protect our intellectual property, our business could suffer.
We rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, contractual protections and other practices to protect our brand, proprietary information, technologies and processes. We primarily rely on copyright and trade secret laws to protect our proprietary technologies and processes, including the algorithms we use throughout our business. Others may independently develop the same or similar technologies and processes, or may improperly acquire and use information about our technologies and processes, which may allow them to provide a service similar to ours, which could harm our competitive position. Our principal trademark assets include the registered trademarks “DSTLD”, “Bailey 44”, “ACE STUDIOS”, “STATESIDE” and “SUNDRY” and our logos and taglines. Our trademarks are valuable assets that support our brand and consumers’ perception of our services and merchandise. We also hold the rights to the “www.digitalbrandsgroup.co”, www.dstld.com, “www.bailey44.com”, and www.harperandjones.com. Internet domain name and various related domain names, which are subject to Internet regulatory bodies and trademark and other related laws of each applicable jurisdiction. If we are unable to protect our trademarks or domain names, our brand recognition and reputation would suffer, we would incur significant expense establishing new brands and our operating results would be adversely impacted. Further, to the extent we pursue patent protection for our innovations, patents we may apply for may not issue, and patents that do issue or that we acquire may not provide us with any competitive advantages or may be challenged by third parties. There can be no assurance that any
patents we obtain will adequately protect our inventions or survive a legal challenge, as the legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of patent and other intellectual property rights are uncertain. We may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights, and the efforts we take to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient.
If the technology-based systems that give our customers the ability to shop with us online do not function effectively, our operating results could be materially adversely affected.
A substantial number of our customers currently shop with us through our e-commerce website and mobile application. Increasingly, customers are using tablets and smart phones to shop online with us and with our competitors and to do comparison shopping. Any failure on our part to provide an attractive, effective, reliable, user-friendly e-commerce platform that offers a wide assortment of merchandise with rapid delivery options and that continually meet the changing expectations of online shoppers could place us at a competitive disadvantage, result in the loss of sales, harm our reputation with customers, and could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
Organizations face growing regulatory and compliance requirements.
New and evolving regulations and compliance standards for cyber security, data protection, privacy, and internal IT controls are often created in response to the tide of cyber-attacks and will increasingly impact organizations. Existing regulatory standards require that organizations implement internal controls for user access to applications and data. In addition, data breaches are driving a new wave of regulation with stricter enforcement and higher penalties. Regulatory and policy-driven obligations require expensive and time-consuming compliance measures. The fear of non-compliance failed audits, and material findings has pushed organizations to spend more to ensure they are in compliance, often resulting in costly, one-off implementations to mitigate potential fines or reputational damage. Any substantial costs associated with failing to meet regulatory requirements, combined with the risk of fallout from security breaches, could have a material adverse effect on our business and brand.
Our failure to comply with trade and other regulations could lead to investigations or actions by government regulators and negative publicity.
The labeling, distribution, importation, marketing and sale of our products are subject to extensive regulation by various federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Product Safety Commission and state attorneys general in the U.S., as well as by various other federal, state, provincial, local and international regulatory authorities in the locations in which our products are distributed or sold. If we fail to comply with those regulations, we could become subject to significant penalties or claims or be required to recall products, which could negatively impact our results of operations and disrupt our ability to conduct our business, as well as damage our brand image with consumers. In addition, the adoption of new regulations or changes in the interpretation of existing regulations may result in significant unanticipated compliance costs or discontinuation of product sales and may impair the marketing of our products, resulting in significant loss of net revenues.
Any international operations are also subject to compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and other anti-bribery laws applicable to our operations. Although we have policies and procedures to address compliance with the FCPA and similar laws, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, agents and other partners will not take actions in violations of our policies. Any such violation could subject us to sanctions or other penalties that could negatively affect our reputation, business and operating results.
Our business is affected by seasonality.
Our business is affected by the general seasonal trends common to the retail apparel industry. This seasonality may adversely affect our business and cause our results of operations to fluctuate, and, as a result, we believe that comparisons of our operating results between different quarters within a single fiscal year are not necessarily meaningful and that results of operations in any period should not be considered indicative of the results to be expected for any future period.
Risks Related to our Common Stock
The price of our common stock has in the past and may in the future fluctuate substantially.
The market price of our common stock has in the past and could in the future be extremely volatile. From May 2021 to March 31, 2023, the high and low prices of our common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM was $22,000 and $2.30, respectively (as appropriately adjusted for the 1-for-100 and 1-for-25 reverse stock splits effectuated by the Company in November 2022 and August 2023, respectively). The future market price of our common stock may be significantly affected by factors, such as:
● market conditions affecting the apparel industries;
● quarterly variations in our results of operations;
● changes in government regulations;
● the announcement of acquisitions by us or our competitors;
● changes in general economic and political conditions;
● volatility in the financial markets;
● results of our operations and the operations of others in our industry;
● changes in interest rates;
● threatened or actual litigation and government investigations;
● the addition or departure of key personnel;
● actions taken by our stockholders, including the sale or disposition of their shares of our common stock; and
● differences between our actual financial and operating results and those expected by investors and analysts and changes in analysts’ recommendations or projections.
These and other factors may lower the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. As a result, our common stock may trade at prices significantly below the public offering price.
Furthermore, in recent years the stock market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant impact on the market price of securities issued by many companies. The changes frequently appear to occur without regard to the operating performance of the affected companies. Hence, the price of our common stock could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with us, and these fluctuations could materially reduce the price of our common stock and materially affect the value of your investment.
In the past, securities class action litigation often has been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of their securities. This type of litigation, if directed at us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources.
If we are not able to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements or standards of the NasdaqCM, Nasdaq could delist our common stock.
Our common stock is listed on the NasdaqCM. In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements,
minimum stockholders’ equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. There can be no assurances that we will be able to comply with the applicable listing standards.
On May 31, 2022, we received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Staff (the “Staff”) of Nasdaq indicating that the bid price of our common stock had closed below $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days and, as a result, we are not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), which sets forth the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on the NasdaqCM (the “Minimum Bid Requirement”).
Nasdaq’s notice had no immediate effect on the listing of common stock on Nasdaq. Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were afforded a 180-calendar day grace period, through November 28, 2022, to regain compliance with the bid price requirement. Compliance can be achieved by evidencing a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive business days (but generally not more than 20 consecutive business days) during the 180-calendar day grace period.
If we do not regain compliance with the bid price requirement by November 28, 2022, we may be eligible for an additional 180-calendar day compliance period so long as it satisfies the criteria for initial listing on the NasdaqCM and the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and we provide written notice to Nasdaq of its intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. In the event we are not eligible for the second grace period, the Nasdaq staff will provide written notice that our Common Stock is subject to delisting; however, we may request a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), which request, if timely made, would stay any further suspension or delisting action by the Staff pending the conclusion of the hearing process and expiration of any extension that may be granted by the Panel.
On January 19, 2022, we received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq notifying us that our common stock Market Value of Listed Securities (“MVLS”) had been below the minimum $35,000,000 required for continued inclusion as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) (“MVLS Requirement”).
The letter also states that we would be provided 180 calendar days, or until July 18, 2022, to regain compliance with the MVLS Requirement (“Compliance Period”). If we did not regain compliance within the Compliance Period, we would receive a written notification from Nasdaq that our securities are subject to delisting. At that time, we may appeal the delisting determination to a Hearings Panel.
On July 21, 2022, we received a letter from Nasdaq stating that the Company has not regained compliance with the MVLS Standard, since our common stock was below the $35 million minimum MVLS requirement for continued listing on the NasdaqCM under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) (the “MLVS Rule”) and had not been at least $35 million for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days at any time during the 180-day grace period granted to us.
Pursuant to the Letter, unless we requested a hearing to appeal this determination by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 28, 2022, our Common Stock would be delisted from The NasdaqCM, trading of our Common Stock would be suspended at the opening of business on August 1, 2022, and a Form 25-NSE will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will remove the our securities from listing and registration on Nasdaq.
On July 27, 2022, the Company requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) to appeal the Letter on July 21, 2022. The request for a hearing was granted and held on September 8, 2022. On September 21, 2022, the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel (the “Hearings Panel”) granted the Company an extension until January 17, 2023, to demonstrate compliance with Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) to allow continued listing requirement of The NasdaqCM, conditioned upon achievement of certain milestones included in a plan of compliance which the Company previously submitted to the Hearings Panel. On November 29, 2023, Nasdaq formally notified the Company that it had regained compliance with the Bid Price Rule.
On November 3, 2022, Digital Brands Group, Inc. (the “Company”) received notice from the Listing Qualifications Staff (the “Staff”) of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) that the Company’s bid price had closed below $0.10 per share for the preceding ten consecutive trading days, in contravention of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(3)(A)(iii) and, as a result, the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) would consider the deficiency as an additional basis for delisting.
Effective as of 5 pm EST on November 3, 2022, the Company implemented a reverse stock split at a ratio of 1-for-100 shares, which the Company believes will remedy both the $0.10 threshold price deficiency and the $1.00 bid price deficiency cited by the Staff.
In order to evidence compliance with Nasdaq’s bid price criteria, the Company must evidence a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of 10 (though generally not more than 20) consecutive business days. As of the close of business on November 11, 2022, the Company had evidenced a closing bid price in excess of $1.00 per share for six consecutive business days.
On January 17, 2023, Digital Brands Group, Inc. (the “Company”) was notified by the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) that the Company has evidenced compliance with all applicable requirements for continued listing on The NasdaqCM, including the $2.5 million stockholders’ equity requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b). The Company remained subject to a “Panel Monitor,” as that term is defined by Nasdaq Listing Rule 5815(d)(4)(A), through January 17, 2024.
There can be no assurance that we will be successful in its efforts to maintain the Nasdaq listing. If our Common Stock and warrants cease to be listed for trading on the NasdaqCM, we would expect that our Common Stock and warrants would be traded on one of the three tiered marketplaces of the OTC Markets Group. If Nasdaq were to delist our common stock and warrants, it would be more difficult for our stockholders to dispose of our common stock or warrants and more difficult to obtain accurate price quotations on our common stock or warrants. Our ability to issue additional securities for financing or other purposes, or otherwise to arrange for any financing we may need in the future, may also be materially and adversely affected if our common stock or warrants are not listed on a national securities exchange.
If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
We are not currently required to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), and are therefore not required to make an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. These material weaknesses relate to the fact that we do not maintain a comprehensive policies and procedures manual designed to establish internal controls over financial reporting to reduce the risk of publishing materially misstated financial statements, as well as define responsibilities and segregate incompatible duties to reduce the risk of unauthorized transactions.
We are in the process of taking steps intended to remedy these material weaknesses, and we will not be able to fully address these material weaknesses until these steps have been completed. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Controls and Procedures” for information regarding our remediation efforts.
As a public company, we are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal controls. A material weakness is defined in the standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) as a deficiency, or an acquisition of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. We intend to begin the process of designing, implementing and testing the internal control over financial reporting required to comply with this obligation, which process is time consuming, costly and complex. If we fail to increase and maintain the number and expertise of our staff for our accounting and finance functions and to improve and maintain internal control over financial reporting adequate to meet the demands that will be placed upon us as a public company, including the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we may be unable to report our financial results accurately and prevent fraud. In addition, we cannot be certain that any such steps we undertake will successfully remediate the material weaknesses or that other material weaknesses and control deficiencies will not be discovered in the future. If our remediation efforts are not successful or other material weaknesses or control deficiencies occur in the future, we may be unable to report our financial results accurately or on a timely basis, which could cause our reported financial results to be materially misstated and result in the loss of investor confidence or delisting and cause our stock price to decline. As a result of such failures, we could also become subject to investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, and become subject to litigation from investors and stockholders, any of which could harm our reputation and financial condition and divert financial and management resources. Even if we are able to report our consolidated financial statements accurately and timely, if we do not make all the necessary improvements to address the material weaknesses, continued disclosure of our material weaknesses will be required in future filings with the SEC, which could reduce investor confidence in our reported results and our cause our stock price to decline.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and as a result of the reduced disclosure and governance requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, our common stock may be less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. Those exemptions include, but are not limited to, a requirement to present only two years of audited financial statements, an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure about executive compensation arrangements in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and no requirement to seek non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements. We have elected to adopt these reduced disclosure requirements. We may take advantage of these provisions until we are no longer an emerging growth company.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.0 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior December 31st, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive as a result of our taking advantage of these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result of our choices, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non- emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. If we are a smaller reporting company at the time we cease to be an emerging growth company, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are available to smaller reporting companies. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and, similar to emerging growth companies, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation. Furthermore, as long as we are neither a “large, accelerated filer” nor an “accelerated filer,” as a smaller reporting company, we would not be required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Future sales of our common stock, or the perception in the public markets that these sales may occur, may depress our stock price.
The market price of our common stock could decline significantly as a result of sales of a large number of shares of our common stock in the market after this offering. These sales, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock or make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.
Provisions in our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws and under Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable.
Our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger or acquisition that a stockholder may consider favorable because they, among other things:
● establish a supermajority voting requirement of at least 66 2∕3% of the outstanding voting stock in order to amend certain provisions in our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which makes it more difficult for stockholders to eliminate anti- takeover provisions;
● eliminate stockholder-initiated action by written consent in lieu of a meeting, which hampers the ability of stockholders to take action during the interim periods between annual meetings of stockholders; and
● require the written request of stockholders holding an aggregate of 25% of shares of our common stock in order for stockholders to call a special meeting, which together with the elimination of stockholder action by written consent described above, makes it very difficult for stockholders to take action during the interim periods between annual meetings of stockholders.
As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to the Delaware anti-takeover provisions contained in Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Under Delaware law, a corporation may not engage in a business acquisition with any holder of 15% or more of its capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other things, the board of directors has approved the transaction. Our board of directors could rely on this provision to prevent or delay an acquisition of us.
Our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.
Our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law:
● any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf;
● any action asserting a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders;
● any action asserting a claim against us or our directors, officers or other employees arising under the Delaware General Corporation Law, our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws;
● any action or proceeding to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws;
● any action or proceeding as to which the Delaware General Corporation Law confers jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; or
● any action asserting a claim against us or our directors, officers or other employees that is governed by the “internal affairs doctrine” as that term is defined in Section 115 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation further provides that unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the U.S. federal district courts have exclusive jurisdiction of the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. The enforceability of similar exclusive federal forum provisions in other companies’ organizational documents has been challenged in legal proceedings, and while the Delaware Supreme Court has ruled that this type of
exclusive federal forum provision is facially valid under Delaware law, there is uncertainty as to whether other courts would enforce such provisions and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
This exclusive forum provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to this exclusive forum provision of our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Alternatively, if a court were to find this choice of forum provision in our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions. Additional costs associated with resolving an action in other jurisdictions could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We do not expect to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future.
We intend to retain our future earnings, if any, in order to reinvest in the development and growth of our business and, therefore, do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, the limits imposed by the terms of our credit facility and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. Accordingly, investors in our common stock may need to sell their shares to realize a return on their investment in our common stock, and investors may not be able to sell their shares at or above the prices paid for them.
If securities analysts do not publish favorable reports about us or if we, or our industry, are the subject of unfavorable commentary, the price of our common stock could decline.
The trading price for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports about us that are published by analysts in the financial industry. Analysts could issue negative commentary about us or our industry, or they could downgrade our common stock. We may also not receive sufficient research coverage or visibility in the market. Any of these factors could result in the decline of the trading price of our common stock, causing investors in our common stock to lose all or a portion of their investment.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B.
UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2.
PROPERTIES
We currently lease approximately 44,706 square feet of office and showroom spaces in California and Texas, with leases that expire through 2025. We believe that our existing facilities will be sufficient for our needs for the foreseeable future.
The following table sets forth information with respect to our facilities:
Square
Footage
Lease
Location
Type
(approximate)
Expiration
Vernon, California
Corporate Warehouse and Distribution Center
42,206
Los Angeles, California
Showroom
2,000
Austin, Texas
Interim Corporate Headquarters
(1)
(1)
We are currently leveraging shared office space and working remotely as we work with an agent to secure long-term office space in Austin, TX for our corporate headquarters.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are currently involved in, and may in the future be involved in, legal proceedings, claims, and government investigations in the ordinary course of business. These include proceedings, claims, and investigations relating to, among other things, regulatory matters, commercial matters, intellectual property, competition, tax, employment, pricing, discrimination, consumer rights, personal injury, and property rights. These matters also include the following:
● On March 21, 2023, a vendor filed a lawsuit against Digital Brands Group related to trade payables totaling approximately $43,501. Such amounts include interest due, and are included in accounts payable, net of payments made to date, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The Company does not believe it is probable that the losses in excess of such trade payables will be incurred.
● On February 7, 2023, a vendor filed a lawsuit against Digital Brands Group related to trade payables totaling approximately $182,400. Such amounts include interest due, and are included in accounts payable, net of payments made to date, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The Company does not believe it is probable that the losses in excess of such trade payables will be incurred.
● On November 9, 2022, a vendor filed a lawsuit against Digital Brand’s Group related to prior services rendered. The claims (including fines, fees, and legal expenses) total an aggregate of $ 50,190. The matter was settled in January 2023 and are on payment plans which will be paid off in the second quarter of 2024.
● In August 2020 and March 2021, two lawsuits were filed against Bailey’s by third- parties related to prior services rendered. The claims (including fines, fees, and legal expenses) total an aggregate of $96,900. Both matters were settled in February 2022 and are on payment plans which will be paid off in second quarter of 2024.
● On December 21, 2020, a Company investor filed a lawsuit against DBG for reimbursement of their investment totaling $100,000. Claimed amounts are included in short-term convertible note payable in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the Company does not believe it is probable that losses in excess of such short-term note payable will be incurred. The Company is actively working to resolve this matter.
● On November 16, 2023, a vendor filed a lawsuit against Digital Brands Group related to trade payables totaling approximately $345,384, which represents past due fees and late fees. Such amounts are included in the accompanying balance sheets. The Company does not believe it is probable that losses in excess of such pay trade payables will be incurred.
● On November 15, 2023, a vendor filed a lawsuit against Digital Brands Group related to trade payables totaling approximately $582,208, which represents “double damages.” The amount due to the vendor is $292,604. Such amounts are included in the accompanying balance sheets. The Company does not believe it is probable that losses in excess of such pay trade payables will be incurred.
● On December 21, 2023, a former employee filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Company. The Company is disputing this claim.
● A vendor filed a lawsuit against Bailey 44 related to a retail store lease in the amount of $1.5 million. The Company is disputing the claim for damages and the matter is ongoing. The vendor has recently updated the claim to now be $450,968 after signing a long-term lease with another brand for this location. The Company is disputing this new amount after review of the lease.
All claims above, to the extent management believes it will be liable, have been included in accounts payable and accrued expenses and other liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2023.
Depending on the nature of the proceeding, claim, or investigation, we may be subject to monetary damage awards, fines, penalties, or injunctive orders. Furthermore, the outcome of these matters could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. The outcomes of legal proceedings, claims, and government investigations are inherently unpredictable and subject to significant judgment to determine the likelihood and amount of loss related to such matters. While it is not possible to determine the
outcomes, we believe based on our current knowledge that the resolution of all such pending matters will not, either individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, or financial condition.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
ITEM 4.
MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
ITEM 5.
MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock and Class A Warrants began trading on the NasdaqCM under the symbols “DBGI” and “DBGIW,” respectively, on May 14, 2021. Prior to that time, there was no public market for our common stock.
The following table sets forth the high and low closing bid prices for our common stock for the fiscal quarters indicated as reported on Nasdaq. The quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission and may not represent actual transactions.
Fiscal Quarter Ended
High
Low
March 31, 2024
$
12.80
$
2.30
December 31, 2023
$
8.49
$
2.79
September 30, 2023
$
24.75
$
7.34
June 30, 2023
$
39.00
$
14.50
March 31, 2023
$
106.75
$
27.75
December 31, 2022
$
13.00
$
3.21
September 30, 2022
$
22.80
$
22.80
June 30, 2022
$
184.00
$
16.00
March 31, 2022
$
275.00
$
91.00
The closing price of our common stock on April 12, 2024 was $4.21.
Holders
As of April 15, 2024, there were 3,747 holders of record of our common stock.
Dividends
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. In addition, the terms of any future debt agreements may preclude us from paying dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our shares of common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company issued an aggregate of 1,995,183 shares of common stock pursuant to the conversion of the FirstFire and Oasis Notes.
In September 2022, the Company issued 750 shares of common stock pursuant to a consultant agreement at a fair value of $123,000.
As part of the Sundry acquisition, the Company issued 90,909 shares of common stock to the Sundry Sellers at a fair value of $1,000,000.
In connection with the December 2022 Notes, the Company issued 60,000 shares of common stock.
In connection with the April note agreement, the Company granted warrants to acquire 12,577 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $122.00 per share expiring in April 2027.
On May 10, 2022, pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, the Company issued the Underwriters’ Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 14,956 shares of common stock. The Underwriters’ Warrants may be exercised beginning on November 1, 2022 until May 5, 2027. The initial exercise price of each Underwriters’ Warrant is $32.50 per share, which represents 130% of the public offering price.
In connection with the July 22 and July 28, 2022 notes, the Company issued an aggregate of 41,124 and 27,655 warrants to purchase common stock at an exercise price of $15.20 and $11.30 per share, respectively. The warrants expire in July 2027.
In connection with the November 2022 public offering, the Company granted 1,650,181 pre-funded warrants which were immediately exercised for shares of common stock. The Company also granted an additional 1,818,181 Class B Warrants and 1,818,181 Class C Warrants as part of the offering. Each Class B Warrant has an exercise price of $5.25 per share, is immediately exercisable upon issuance and expires five years after issuance. Each Class C Warrant has an exercise price of $5.25 per share, is immediately exercisable upon issuance and expires thirteen months after issuance. The Company also granted the placement agent 136,364 warrants, which are exercisable 180 days after issuance and expire in five years.
In connection with the December 2022 Notes, the Company issued to the investors an aggregate of 469,480 warrants to purchase common stock at an exercise price equal to $4.26. The warrants are immediately exercisable.
In November 2022, The Company granted 44,000 warrants to purchase common stock at an exercise price of $5.00 to the lender in connection with its merchant advances.
In connection with the January 2023 Private Placement, the Company, entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with a certain accredited investor, pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue and sell, in a private placement (the “January Private Placement”), an aggregate of 475,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (“Common Stock”), and accompanying warrants to purchase 475,000 shares of Common Stock, at a combined purchase price of $3.915 per share and Common Warrant, and (ii) the Company granted 802,140 pre-funded warrants which were immediately exercised for shares of common stock. The Company also granted an additional 1,277,140 warrants as part of the offering. Each warrant has an exercise price of $3.80 per share, is immediately exercisable upon issuance and expires five years after issuance. The Company also granted the placement agent 95,786 warrants to purchase common stock at an exercise price of $4.8938 per share, which is immediately exercisable upon issuance and expires five years after issuance.
In January 2023, the Company issued 110,000 shares of common stock at a fair value of $322,300 to a former convertible noteholder pursuant to default provisions.
In March 2023, in connection with merchant advances, the Company granted 152,380 warrants to purchase common stock at an exercise price of $5.25. The warrants were immediately exercisable upon issuance and expire five years after issuance.
In March 2023, the Company issued an aggregate of 118,890 shares of common stock to Sundry executives based on their employment agreements with the Company. The fair value of $499,338, or $4.20 per share, as determined by the agreements, was included in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.
In June 2023, the Company issued 1,952,580 shares of common stock to D. Jones at a fair value of $1,357,043 pursuant to the H&J Settlement Agreement.
In connection with the January 2023 Private Placement, the Company granted 32,085 pre-funded warrants which were immediately exercised for shares of common stock. The Company also granted an additional 51,085 warrants as part of the offering. Each warrant has an exercise price of $9.43 per share, is immediately exercisable upon issuance and expires five years after issuance. The Company also granted the placement agent 3,831 warrants to purchase common stock at an exercise price of $122.35 per share, which is immediately exercisable upon issuance and expires five years after issuance.
In connection with merchant advances (Note 6), the Company granted 6,095 warrants to purchase common stock at an exercise price of $131.25. The warrants are immediately exercisable upon issuance and expire five years after issuance.
In connection with the August 2023 Private Placement, the Company granted 481,875 pre-funded warrants, which had not yet been exercised for shares of common stock as of September 30, 2023. The Company also granted an additional 1,027,750 warrants as part of the offering. Each warrant has an exercise price of $9.43 per share, is immediately exercisable upon issuance and expires 5.5 years after issuance. The Company also granted the placement agent 38,541 warrants to purchase common stock at an exercise price of $12.16 per share, which is immediately exercisable upon issuance and expires 5.5 years after issuance.
In connection with the August Private Placement, the Company entered into a warrant amendment (the “Warrant Amendment”) with certain investors to amend certain existing warrants to purchase up to 196,542 shares of Common Stock that were previously issued in December 2022 and January 2023 to the investors, with an exercise price of $131.25 per share and $95.00 per share, respectively (the “Amended Warrants”) as follows: (i) to reduce the exercise price of the Amended Warrants to $9.43 per share, and (ii) to extend the original expiration date of the Amended Warrants so that they will terminate five and one half years from the closing of the offering. Immediately following the Warrant Amendment, the Company exercised warrants for 123,814 shares of common stock for proceeds of $1,167,566.
In October 2023, 975 Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”), converted into 54,394 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”).
In December 2023, the Company granted 481,875 pre-funded warrants in August Private Placement, were fully sold and exercised with an exercise price of $9.73.
Unless otherwise stated, the sales of the above securities were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance upon Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act (or Regulation D or Regulation S promulgated thereunder). The recipients of the securities in each of these transactions represented their intentions to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends were placed upon the stock certificates issued in these transactions.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
We have adopted a 2020 Omnibus Incentive Stock Plan (the “2020 Plan”). An aggregate of 1,320 shares of our common stock is reserved for issuance and available for awards under the 2020 Plan, including incentive stock options granted under the 2020 Plan. The 2020 Plan administrator may grant awards to any employee, director, and consultants of the company and its subsidiaries. To date, grants covering 1,093 shares of common stock (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split) have been made under the 2020 Plan and 227 shares remain eligible for issuance under the 2020 Plan.
The 2020 Plan is currently administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board as the Plan administrator. The 2020 Plan administrator has the authority to determine, within the limits of the express provisions of the 2020 Plan, the individuals to whom awards will be granted, the nature, amount and terms of such awards and the objectives and conditions for earning such awards. The Board may at any time amend or terminate the 2020 Plan, provided that no such action may be taken that adversely affects any rights or obligations with respect to any awards previously made under the 2020 Plan without the consent of the recipient. No awards may be made under the 2020 Plan after the tenth anniversary of its effective date.
Awards under the 2020 Plan may include incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted shares of common stock, restricted stock Units, performance share or Unit awards, other stock-based awards and cash-based incentive awards.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6.
RESERVED

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
ITEM 7.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the historical financial statements of the relevant entities and the pro forma financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Unless otherwise indicated by the context, references to “DBG” refer to Digital Brands Group, Inc. solely, and references to the “Company,” “our,” “we,” “us” and similar terms refer to Digital Brands Group, Inc., together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries Bailey 44, LLC (“Bailey”), Harper & Jones LLC (“H&J”), MOSBEST, LLC (“Stateside”) and Sunnyside (“Sundry”).
Business Overview
Recent Developments
We entered into a license deal for Bailey 44 in January 2023 that is paid quarterly based on the results. We have received two license payouts since November 2023 for approximately $124,000 in total. The licensee has asked to add additional categories to their current offering, which we agreed to.
We entered into a retail store sublease for approximately 3.5 years at the Simon Premium Outlet in Allen, TX, a suburb of Dallas. We plan to open the store in April 2024. We expect the store to generate meaningful cash flow as we already have excess product that we can sell, which means we will not have to use cash to create inventory for sale. We expect the store to generate over $1.5 million in annual revenue and over $500,000 in free cash flow.
We have been involved in a dispute with the former owners of Haper & Jones, LLC (“H&J”) regarding our obligation to “true up” their ownership interest in our company further to that membership interest purchase agreement dated May 10, 2021 whereby we acquired all of the outstanding membership interests of H&J (as amended, the “H&J Purchase Agreement”). Further to the H&J Purchase Agreement, we agreed that if, at May 18, 2022, the one year anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering, the product of the number of shares of our common stock issued at the closing of such acquisition multiplied by the average closing price per share of our shares of common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM for the thirty (30) day trading period immediately preceding such date plus the gross proceeds, if any, of shares of our stock issued to such sellers and sold by them during the one year period from the closing date of the offering does not exceed the sum of $9.1 million, less the value of any shares of common stock cancelled further to any indemnification claims or post-closing adjustments under the H&J Purchase Agreement, then we shall issue to the subject sellers an additional aggregate number of shares of common stock equal to any such valuation shortfall at a per share price equal to the then closing price per share of our common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM. We did not honor our obligation to issue such shares and the former owner of H&J have claimed that they were damaged as a result.
On June 21, 2023, the Company and the former owners of H&J executed a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) whereby contemporaneously with the parties’ execution of the Settlement Agreement (i) the Company made aggregate cash payment of $229,000 to D. Jones Tailored Collection, Ltd. (“D. Jones”), (ii) the Company issued 78,103 shares of common stock to D. Jones at a per share purchase price of $17.925 which represented the lower of (i) the closing price per share of the Common Stock as reported on Nasdaq on June 20, 2023, and (ii) the average closing price per share of Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq for the five trading days preceding June 21, 2023, and (iii) the Company assigned and transferred one hundred percent (100%) of the Company’s membership interest in H&J to D. Jones. This transaction is known as the “H&J Settlement”.
Our Company
Digital Brands Group is a curated collection of lifestyle brands, including Bailey 44, DSTLD, Stateside, Sundry and ACE Studios, that offers a variety of apparel products through direct-to-consumer and wholesale distribution. Our complementary brand portfolio provides us with the unique opportunity to cross merchandise our brands. We aim for our customers to wear our brands head to toe and to capture what we call “closet share” by gaining insight into their preferences to create targeted and personalized content specific to their cohort. Operating our brands under one portfolio provides us with the ability to better utilize our technological, human capital and
operational capabilities across all brands. As a result, we have been able to realize operational efficiencies and continue to identify additional cost saving opportunities to scale our brands and overall portfolio.
Our portfolio consists of four significant brands that leverage our three channels: our websites, wholesale and our own stores.
● Bailey 44 combines beautiful, luxe fabrics and on-trend designs to create sophisticated ready-to-wear capsules for women on-the-go. Designing for real life, this brand focuses on feeling and comfort rather than how it looks on a runway. Bailey 44 is primarily a wholesale brand, which we are transitioning to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.
● DSTLD offers stylish high-quality garments without the luxury retail markup valuing customer experience over labels. DSTLD is primarily a digital direct-to-consumer brand, to which we recently added select wholesale retailers to generate brand awareness.
● Stateside is an elevated, America first brand with all knitting, dyeing, cutting and sewing sourced and manufactured locally in Los Angeles. The collection is influenced by the evolution of the classic T-shirt offering a simple yet elegant look. Stateside is primarily a wholesale brand that we will be transitioning to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.
● Sundry offers distinct collections of women’s clothing, including dresses, shirts, sweaters, skirts, shorts, athleisure bottoms and other accessory products. Sundry’s products are coastal casual and consist of soft, relaxed and colorful designs that feature a distinct French chic, resembling the spirits of the French Mediterranean and the energy of Venice Beach in Southern California. Sundry is primarily a wholesale brand that we will be transitioning to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.
We believe that successful apparel brands sell in all revenue channels. However, each channel offers different margin structures and requires different customer acquisition and retention strategies. We were founded as a digital-first retailer that has strategically expanded into select wholesale and direct retail channels. We strive to strategically create omnichannel strategies for each of our brands that blend physical and online channels to engage consumers in the channel of their choosing. Our products are sold direct-to- consumers principally through our websites and our own showrooms, but also through our wholesale channel, primarily in specialty stores and select department stores. With the continued expansion of our wholesale distribution, we believe developing an omnichannel solution further strengthens our ability to efficiently acquire and retain customers while also driving high customer lifetime value.
We believe that by leveraging a physical footprint to acquire customers and increase brand awareness, we can use digital marketing to focus on retention and a very tight, disciplined high value new customer acquisition strategy, especially targeting potential customers lower in the sales funnel. Building a direct relationship with the customer as the customer transacts directly with us allows us to better understand our customer’s preferences and shopping habits. Our substantial experience as a company originally founded as a digitally native-first retailer gives us the ability to strategically review and analyze the customer’s data, including contact information, browsing and shopping cart data, purchase history and style preferences. This in turn has the effect of lowering our inventory risk and cash needs since we can order and replenish product based on the data from our online sales history, replenish specific inventory by size, color and SKU based on real times sales data, and control our mark-down and promotional strategies versus being told what mark downs and promotions we have to offer by the department stores and boutique retailers.
We define “closet share” as the percentage (“share”) of a customer’s clothing units that (“of closet”) she or he owns in her or his closet and the amount of those units that go to the brands that are selling these units. For example, if a customer buys 20 units of clothing a year and the brands that we own represent 10 of those units purchased, then our closet share is 50% of that customer’s closet, or 10 of our branded units divided by 20 units they purchased in entirety. Closet share is a similar concept to the widely used term wallet share, it is just specific to the customer’s closet. The higher our closet share, the higher our revenue as higher closet share suggests the customer is purchasing more of our brands than our competitors.
We have strategically expanded into an omnichannel brand offering these styles and content not only on-line but at selected wholesale and retail storefronts. We believe this approach allows us opportunities to successfully drive Lifetime Value (“LTV”) while increasing new customer growth. We define Lifetime Value or LTV as an estimate of the average revenue that a customer will generate throughout their lifespan as our customer. This value/revenue of a customer helps us determine many economic decisions, such as marketing budgets per marketing channel, retention versus acquisition decisions, unit level economics, profitability and revenue forecasting.
We acquired Bailey in February 2020, Stateside in August 2021 and Sundry in December 2022. We agreed on the consideration that we paid in each acquisition in the course of arm’s length negotiations with the holders of the membership interests in each of Bailey, H&J, Stateside and Sundry. In determining and negotiating this consideration, we relied on the experience and judgment of our management and our evaluation of the potential synergies that could be achieved in combining the operations of Bailey, Stateside and Sundry. We did not obtain independent valuations, appraisals or fairness opinions to support the consideration that we paid/agreed to pay.
Material Trends, Events and Uncertainties
COVID-19
After the impact of COVID-19, we have implemented cost controls to reduce discretionary spending to help mitigate the loss of sales and to conserve cash while continuing to support employees. We are also assessing our forward inventory purchase commitments to ensure proper matching of supply and demand, which will result in an overall reduction in future commitments. As we continue to actively monitor the situation, we may take further actions that affect our operations.
Supply Chain Disruptions
We are subject to global supply chain disruptions, which may include longer lead times for raw fabrics, inbound shipping and longer production times. Supply chain issues have specifically impacted the following for our brands:
● Increased costs in raw materials from fabric prices, which have increased 10% to 100% depending on the fabric, the time of year, and the origin of the fabric, as well as where the fabric is being shipped;
● Increased cost per kilo to ship via sea or air, which has increased from 25% to 300% depending on the time of year and from the country we are shipping from;
● Increased transit time via sea or air, which have increased by two weeks to two months; and
● Increased labor costs for producing the finished goods, which have increased 5% to 25% depending on the country and the labor skill required to produce the goods. We have been able to pass along some of these increased costs and also offset some of these increased costs with higher gross margin online revenue.
Seasonality
Our quarterly operating results vary due to the seasonality of our individual brands, and are historically stronger in the second half of the calendar year
Substantial Indebtedness
As of December 31, 2023, we had an aggregate principal amount of debt outstanding of approximately $9.7 million.
We believe this is an amount of indebtedness which may be considered significant for a company of our size and current revenue base.
Our substantial debt could have important consequences to us. For example, it could:
● make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations to the holders of our outstanding debt, resulting in possible defaults on and acceleration of such indebtedness;
● require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to make payments on our debt, which would reduce the availability of our cash flows from operations to fund working capital, capital expenditures or other general corporate purposes;
● increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions, including interest rate fluctuations;
● place us at a competitive disadvantage to our competitors with proportionately less debt for their size;
● limit our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness or borrow additional funds in the future;
● limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changing conditions in our business; and
● limit our ability to react to competitive pressures or make it difficult for us to carry out capital spending that is necessary or important to our growth strategy.
Any of the foregoing impacts of our substantial indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We currently have $3.5 million in notes outstanding pursuant to our Bailey acquisition. We are currently unable to repay or refinance borrowings so any such action by these lenders could force us into bankruptcy or liquidation.
In addition, our ability to make scheduled payments on our indebtedness or to refinance our obligations under our debt agreements, will depend on our financial and operating performance, which, in turn, will be subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to the financial and business risk factors we face as described in this section, many of which may be beyond our control. We may not be able to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness.
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures or planned growth objectives, seek to obtain additional equity capital or restructure our indebtedness. In the future, our cash flows and capital resources may not be sufficient for payments of interest on and principal of our debt, and such alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet scheduled debt service obligations. In addition, the recent worldwide credit crisis could make it more difficult for us to refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms, or at all.
In the absence of such operating results and resources, we may be required to dispose of material assets to meet our debt service obligations. We may not be able to consummate those sales, or, if we do, we will not control the timing of the sales or whether the proceeds that we realize will be adequate to meet debt service obligations when due.
Performance Factors
We believe that our future performance will depend on many factors, including the following:
Ability to Increase Our Customer Base in both Online and Traditional Wholesale Distribution Channels
We are currently growing our customer base through both paid and organic online channels, as well as by expanding our presence in a variety of physical retail distribution channels. Online customer acquisitions typically occur at our direct websites for each brand. Our online customer acquisition strategies include paid and unpaid social media, search, display and traditional media. Our products for Bailey, DSTLD and Stateside are also sold through a growing number of physical retail channels, including specialty stores, department stores and online multi-brand platforms.
Ability to Acquire Customers at a Reasonable Cost
We believe an ability to consistently acquire customers at a reasonable cost relative to customer retention rates, contribution margins and projected life-time value will be a key factor affecting future performance. To accomplish this goal, we intend to balance advertising spend between online and offline channels, as well as cross marketing and cross merchandising our portfolio brands and their respective products. We believe the ability to cross merchandise products and cross market brands, will decrease our customer acquisition costs while increasing the customer’s lifetime value and contribution margin. We will also balance marketing spend with advertising focused on creating emotional brand recognition, which we believe will represent a lower percentage of our spend.
Ability to Drive Repeat Purchases and Customer Retention
We accrue substantial economic value and margin expansion from customer cohort retention and repeat purchases of our products on an annual basis. Our revenue growth rate and operating margin expansion will be affected by our customer cohort retention rates and the cohorts annual spend for both existing and newly acquired customers.
Ability to Expand Our Product Lines
Our goal is to expand our product lines over time to increase our growth opportunity. Our customer’s annual spend and brand relevance will be driven by the cadence and success of new product launches.
Ability to Expand Gross Margins
Our overall profitability will be impacted by our ability to expand gross margins through effective sourcing and leveraging buying power of finished goods and shipping costs, as well as pricing power over time.
Ability to Expand Operating Margins
Our ability to expand operating margins will be impacted by our ability to leverage (1) fixed general and administrative costs, (2) variable sales and marketing costs, (3) elimination of redundant costs as we acquire and integrate brands, (4) cross marketing and cross merchandising brands in our portfolio, and (4) drive customer retention and customer lifetime value. Our ability to expand operating margins will result from increasing revenue growth above our operating expense growth, as well as increasing gross margins. For example, we anticipate that our operating expenses will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we undertake the acquisition and integration of different brands, incur expenses associated with maintaining compliance as a public company, and increased marketing and sales efforts to increase our customer base. While we anticipate that the operating expenses in absolute dollars will increase, we do not anticipate that the operating expenses as a percentage of revenue will increase. We anticipate that the operating expenses as a percentage of revenue will decrease as we eliminate duplicative costs across brands including a reduction in similar labor roles, contracts for technologies and operating systems and creating lower costs from higher purchasing power from shipping expenses to purchase orders of products. This reduction of expenses and lower cost per unit due to purchasing power should create meaningful savings in both dollars and as a percentage of revenue.
As an example, we were able to eliminate several million in expenses within six months of acquiring Bailey. Examples of these savings include eliminating several Bailey teams, which our teams took over.
We merged over half of the technology contracts and operating systems contracts from two brands into one brand contract at significant savings. We also eliminated our office space and rent and moved everyone into the Bailey office space. Finally, we eliminated DSTLD’s third-party logistics company and started using Bailey’s internal logistics. This resulted in an increase in our operating expenses in absolute dollars as there were now two brands versus one brand. However, the operating expenses as a percentage of pre-COVID revenue declined meaningfully and as we increase revenue for each brand, we expect to experience higher margins.
Ability to Create Free Cash Flow
Our goal is to achieve near term free cash flow through cash flow positive acquisitions, elimination of redundant expenses in acquired companies, increasing customer annual spend and lowering customer acquisition costs through cross merchandising across our brand portfolio.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation
Our accounting and reporting policies conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Business Acquisitions
We record our acquisitions under the acquisition method of accounting, under which most of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed are initially recorded at their respective fair values and any excess purchase price is reflected as goodwill. We utilize management estimates and, in some instances, independent third-party valuation firms to assist in determining the fair values of assets acquired, liabilities assumed and contingent consideration, if any. Such estimates and valuations require us to make significant assumptions, including projections of future events and operating performance.
The fair value of customer relationships, backlog and trade names/trademarks acquired in our acquisitions are determined using various valuation methods, based on a number of significant assumptions.
We determine which assets have finite lives and then determine the estimated useful life of finite assets.
The expected useful life of customer relationships is established as three years, which is the period over which these assets are expected to reasonably contribute to future cash flows. We expect to amortize such customer relationships using the straight-line method.
The estimated fair values are subject to change during the measurement period, which is limited to one year subsequent to the acquisition date.
Revenue Recognition
Revenues are recognized when performance obligations are satisfied through the transfer of promised goods to our customers. Control transfers upon shipment of product and when the title has been passed to the customers. This includes the transfer of legal title, physical possession, the risks and rewards of ownership, and customer acceptance. We provide the customer the right of return on the product and revenue is adjusted based on an estimate of the expected returns based on historical rates. We consider the sale of products as a single performance obligation. Sales tax collected from customers and remitted to taxing authorities is excluded from revenue and is included in accrued expenses. Revenue is deferred for orders received for which associated shipments have not occurred.
Accounts Receivable and Expected Credit Loss
We carry our accounts receivable at invoiced amounts less allowances for customer credit losses and other deductions to present the net amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. All receivables are expected to be collected within one year of the consolidated balance sheet. We do not accrue interest on the trade receivables. Management evaluates the ability to collect accounts receivable based on a combination of factors. Receivables are determined to be past due based on individual credit terms. An allowance for credit losses is maintained based on the length of time receivables are past due, historical collections, or the status of a customer’s financial position. Receivables are written off in the year deemed uncollectible after efforts to collect the receivables have proven unsuccessful. We do not have any off balance sheet cried exposure related to our customers.
We periodically review accounts receivable, estimate an allowance for bad debts, and simultaneously record the appropriate expense in the statement of operations. Such estimates are based on general economic conditions, the financial conditions of customers, and the amount and age of past due accounts. Past due accounts are written off against that allowance only after all collection attempts have been exhausted and the prospects for recovery are remote. Recovering of accounts receivable previously written off are recorded as income when received. The Company provides credit to its customers in the normal course of business and has established credit evaluation and monitoring processes to mitigate credit risk.
Goodwill Impairment
We are required to assess our goodwill for impairment at least annually for each reporting unit that carries goodwill. We may elect to first do a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is in excess of its carrying value. If the qualitative assessment concludes that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, a quantitative assessment is performed. If the fair value is determined to be less than its carrying value, we record goodwill impairment equal to the amount by which the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill.
Intangible Assets Impairment
We evaluate the carrying amount of intangible assets and other long-lived assets for impairment whenever indicators of impairment exist. We test these assets for recoverability by comparing the net carrying amount of the asset or asset group to the undiscounted net cash flows to be generated from the use and eventual disposition of that asset or asset group. If the assets are recoverable, an impairment loss does not exist, and no loss is recorded. If the carrying amounts of the assets are not recoverable, an impairment loss is recognized for any deficiency of the asset or asset group’s fair value compared to their carrying amount. Although we base cash flow forecasts on assumptions that are consistent with plans and estimates we use to manage our business, there is significant judgment in determining the cash flows attributable to these assets, including markets and market share, sales volumes and mix, and working capital changes.
Financial Statement Components
Bailey
Net Revenue
Bailey sells its products directly to customers. Bailey also sells its products indirectly through wholesale channels that include third-party online channels and physical channels such as specialty retailers and department stores.
Cost of Net Revenue
Bailey’s cost of net revenue includes the direct cost of purchased and manufactured merchandise; inventory shrinkage; inventory adjustments due to obsolescence including excess and slow-moving inventory and lower of cost and net realizable reserves; duties; and inbound freight. Cost of net revenue also includes direct labor to production activities such as pattern makers, cutters and sewers. Cost of net revenue includes an allocation of overheard costs such as rent, utilities and commercial insurance pertaining to direct inventory activities.
Operating Expenses
Bailey’s operating expenses include all operating costs not included in cost of net revenues and sales and marketing. These costs consist of general and administrative, fulfillment and shipping expense to the customer.
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of all payroll and payroll-related expenses, professional fees, insurance, software costs, occupancy expenses related to Bailey’s operations at its headquarters, including utilities, depreciation and amortization, and other costs related to the administration of its business.
Bailey’s fulfillment and shipping expenses include the cost to operate its warehouse including occupancy and labor costs to pick and pack customer orders and any return orders; packaging; and shipping costs to the customer from the warehouse and any returns from the customer to the warehouse.
Sales & Marketing
Bailey’s sales and marketing expense primarily includes digital advertising; photo shoots for wholesale and direct-to-consumer communications, including email, social media and digital advertisements; and commission expenses associated with sales representatives.
Interest Expense
Bailey’s interest expense consists primarily of interest related to its outstanding debt to our senior lender.
DBG
Net Revenue
We sell our products to our customers directly through our website. In those cases, sales, net represents total sales less returns, promotions and discounts.
Cost of Net Revenue
Cost of net revenue include direct cost of purchased merchandise; inventory shrinkage; inventory adjustments due to obsolescence, including excess and slow-moving inventory and lower of cost and net realizable reserves.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses include all operating costs not included in cost of net revenues. These costs consist of general and administrative, sales and marketing, and fulfillment and shipping expense to the customer.
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of all payroll and payroll-related expenses, professional fees, insurance, software costs, and expenses related to our operations at our headquarters, including utilities, depreciation and amortization, and other costs related to the administration of our business.
We expect to continue to incur additional expenses as a result of operating as a public company, including costs to comply with the rules and regulations applicable to companies listed on a national securities exchange, costs related to compliance and reporting obligations pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC and higher expenses for insurance, investor relations and professional services. We expect these costs will increase our operating costs.
Fulfillment and shipping expenses include the cost to operate our warehouse - or prior to Bailey 44 acquisition, costs paid to our third-party logistics provider - including occupancy and labor costs to pick and pack customer orders and any return orders; packaging; and shipping costs to the customer from the warehouse and any returns from the customer to the warehouse.
In addition, going forward, the amortization of the identifiable intangibles acquired in the acquisitions will be included in operating expenses.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists primarily of interest related to our debt outstanding to our senior lender, convertible debt, and other interest bearing liabilities.
Stateside
Net Revenue
Stateside sells its products directly to customers. Stateside also sells its products indirectly through wholesale channels that include third-party online channels and physical channels such as specialty retailers and department stores.
Cost of Net Revenue
Stateside’s cost of net revenue includes the direct cost of purchased and manufactured merchandise; inventory shrinkage; inventory adjustments due to obsolescence including excess and slow-moving inventory and lower of cost and net realizable reserves; duties; and inbound freight. Cost of net revenue also includes direct labor to production activities such as pattern makers, cutters and sewers. Cost
of net revenue includes an allocation of overheard costs such as rent, utilities and commercial insurance pertaining to direct inventory activities.
Operating Expenses
Stateside’s operating expenses include all operating costs not included in cost of net revenues and sales and marketing. These costs consist of general and administrative, fulfillment and shipping expense to the customer.
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of all payroll and payroll-related expenses, professional fees, insurance, software costs, occupancy expenses related to Stateside’s stores and to Stateside’s operations at its headquarters, including utilities, depreciation and amortization, and other costs related to the administration of its business.
Stateside’s fulfillment and shipping expenses include the cost to operate its warehouse including occupancy and labor costs to pick and pack customer orders and any return orders; packaging; and shipping costs to the customer from the warehouse and any returns from the customer to the warehouse.
Sales & Marketing
Stateside’s sales and marketing expense primarily includes digital advertising; photo shoots for wholesale and direct-to-consumer communications, including email, social media and digital advertisements; and commission expenses associated with sales representatives.
Sundry
Net Revenue
Sundry sells its products directly to customers. Sundry also sells its products indirectly through wholesale channels that include third-party online channels and physical channels such as specialty retailers and department stores.
Cost of Net Revenue
Sundry’s cost of net revenue includes the direct cost of purchased and manufactured merchandise; inventory shrinkage; inventory adjustments due to obsolescence including excess and slow-moving inventory and lower of cost and net realizable reserves; duties; and inbound freight. Cost of net revenue also includes direct labor to production activities such as pattern makers, cutters and sewers. Cost of net revenue includes an allocation of overheard costs such as rent, utilities and commercial insurance pertaining to direct inventory activities.
Operating Expenses
Sundry’s operating expenses include all operating costs not included in cost of net revenues and sales and marketing. These costs consist of general and administrative, fulfillment and shipping expense to the customer.
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of all payroll and payroll-related expenses, professional fees, insurance, software costs, occupancy expenses related to Sundry’s stores and to Sundry’s operations at its headquarters, including utilities, depreciation and amortization, and other costs related to the administration of its business.
Sundry’s fulfillment and shipping expenses include the cost to operate its warehouse including occupancy and labor costs to pick and pack customer orders and any return orders; packaging; and shipping costs to the customer from the warehouse and any returns from the customer to the warehouse.
Sales and Marketing
Sundry’s sales and marketing expense primarily includes digital advertising; photo shoots for wholesale and direct-to-consumer communications, including email, social media and digital advertisements; and commission expenses associated with sales representatives.
Results of Operations
Year ended December 31, 2023 compared to year ended December 31, 2022
The following table presents our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:
Year Ended
December 31,
Net revenues
$
14,916,422
$
13,971,178
Cost of net revenues
8,372,642
8,030,908
Gross profit
6,543,780
5,940,270
General and administrative
14,299,389
16,371,536
Sales and marketing
4,035,835
4,950,635
Impairment
-
15,539,332
Other operating expenses
(9,696,132)
1,175,872
Loss from Operations
(2,095,312)
(32,097,105)
Other expenses
(6,221,284)
(5,946,257)
Loss before provision for income taxes
(8,316,596)
(38,043,362)
Provision for income taxes
(368,034)
-
Net loss from continuing operations
(8,684,630)
(38,043,362)
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax
(1,562,503)
-
Net loss
$
(10,247,133)
$
(38,043,362)
Net Revenues
Net revenues increased by $0.9 million to $14.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $14.0 million in the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The increase was primarily due to full results in 2023 pertaining to the acquisition of Sundry in December 2022.
Gross Profit
Our gross profit increased by $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $6.5 million from $5.9 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The increase in gross margin was primarily attributable to increased revenue in 2023 and the gross profit achieved by Sundry since the acquisition.
Our gross margin was 43.9% for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 42.5% for year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in gross margin was due to a shift in sales mix towards e-commerce, led by the Sundry business, which is able to achieve higher margins than wholesale.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses decreased by $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $14.3 million compared to $16.4 million in 2022. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to lower consulting and professional fees, as well as other cost cutting measures across our company, as all brands achieved operational synergies in 2023.
General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue was 95% in 2023 as compared to 117% in 2022.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses decreased by $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $4.0 million compared to $4.9 million in 2022. The decrease in sales and marketing expenses was primarily due to decreased spending on advertising and other cost-cutting marketing efforts.
Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue was 27% in 2023 as compared to 35% in 2022.
Other Operating Expenses
Other operating expenses included distribution expenses, impairment and change in fair value of contingent consideration. Other operating expenses represented a gain of $9.7 million in 2023 as compared to $16.7 million in 2022, a decrease in expenses of $10.9 million. In 2022, there were $15.5 million in impairment charges on Bailey’s and Harper’s goodwill and intangible assets. In 2023, the Company recorded a $10.7 million increase in the change in fair value of contingent consideration pertaining to the Norwest waiver for Bailey and H&J Settlement.
Other Expenses
Other expenses increased by $0.3 million to $6.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $5.9 million in the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The increase in other expenses in 2023 was primarily due to $1.4 million on loss on extinguishment of debt in 2023 and the change in fair value of derivative liability, partially offset by PPP forgiveness.
Net Loss from Continuing Operations
Our net loss from continuing operations decreased by $29.3 million to a loss of $8.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to a loss of $38.0 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022 primarily due to the impairment, change in fair value of contingent consideration and higher gross profit.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Each of DBG, Bailey, Stateside and Sundry has historically satisfied our liquidity needs and funded operations with borrowings capital raises and internally generated cash flow, Changes in working capital, most notably accounts receivable, are driven primarily by levels of business activity. Historically each of DBG, Bailey, Stateside and Sundry has maintained credit line facilities to support such working capital needs and makes repayments on that facility with excess cash flow from operations.
As of December 31, 2023, we had cash of $20,773, but we had a working capital deficit of $17,655,720. The Company requires significant capital to meet its obligations as they become due. These factors raise substantial doubt about our Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Throughout the next twelve months, the Company intends to fund its operations primarily from the funds raised through the equity line of credit agreement. The Company may pursue secondary offerings or debt financings to provide working capital and satisfy debt obligations. There can be no assurance as to the availability or terms upon which such financing and capital might be available in the future. If the Company is unable to secure additional funding, it may be forced to curtail or suspend its business plans. The report of our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ended December 31, 2023 included herein contains an explanatory paragraph indicating that there is substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern as a result of recurring losses from operations.
Cash Flow Activities
The following table presents selected captions from our condensed statement of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:
Year Ended
December 31,
Net loss
$
(10,247,133)
$
(38,043,363)
Non-cash adjustments
$
1,364,216
$
23,122,024
Change in operating assets and liabilities
$
2,869,975
$
4,350,445
Net cash used in operating activities
$
(6,012,942)
$
(10,570,889)
Net cash provided by investing activities
$
88,819
$
(7,313,384)
Net cash provided by financing activities
$
4,661,614
$
18,639,161
Net change in cash
$
(1,254,843)
$
747,221
Cash Flows Used In Operating Activities
Our cash used in operating activities decreased by $4.6 million to $6.0 million to cash used for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to cash used of $10.6 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The decrease in net cash used in operating activities was primarily driven by a lower net loss in 2023, partially offset by a decrease in non-cash adjustments of $21.8 million and more cash provided by changes in our operating assets and liabilities in 2022.
Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities
Our cash provided by investing activities was $0.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to cash used of $7.3 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. Cash provided in 2023 was primarily due to a reduction of deposits, partially offset by purchase of property.
Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities
Cash provided by financing activities was $4.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to cash provided of $18.6 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. Cash inflows in 2023 included $8.1 million in equity proceeds after offering costs, $1.2 million in proceeds from the exercise of warrants, $5.4 million from the issuance of notes, loans and merchant advances, partially offset by note, loan and merchant advance repayments of 10.1 million. Cash inflows in 2022 were primarily related to $16.4 million in equity proceeds after offering costs, $10.2 million from convertible notes and loans, partially offset by note repayments of $7.4 million.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
As of December 31, 2023, we have $9.7 million in outstanding principal on debt, primarily our promissory notes due to the Bailey44 Sellers, the March 2023 Notes, PPP and merchant advances. Aside from our remaining non-current SBA obligations, all outstanding loans have maturity dates through 2024.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Future Commitments
We have no off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to investors.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not applicable.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
The information required by this item may be found on pages through of this annual report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ITEM 9.
CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A.
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain “disclosure controls and procedures” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file and submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.
Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, who serve as our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer, respectively, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023. In making this evaluation, our management considered the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting described below. Based on such evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of such date.
We have initiated various remediation efforts, including the hiring of additional financial personnel/consultants with the appropriate public company and technical accounting expertise and other actions that are more fully described below. As such remediation efforts are still ongoing, we have concluded that the material weaknesses have not been fully remediated. Our remediation efforts to date have included the following:
● We have made an assessment of the basis of accounting, revenue recognition policies and accounting period cutoff procedures. In some cases, we made the necessary adjustments to convert the basis of accounting from cash basis to accrual basis. In all cases we have done the required analytical work to ensure the proper cutoff of the financial position and results of operations for the presented accounting periods.
● We have made an assessment of the current accounting personnel, financial reporting and information system environments and capabilities. Based on our preliminary findings, we have found these resources and systems lacking and have concluded that these resources and systems will need to be supplemented and/or upgraded. We are in the process of identifying a single, unified accounting and reporting system that can be used by the Company and Bailey, with the goal of ensuring consistency and timeliness in reporting, real time access to data while also ensuring ongoing data integrity, backup and cyber security procedures and processes.
● We engaged external consultants with public company and technical accounting experience to facilitate accurate and timely accounting closes and to accurately prepare and review the financial statements and related footnote disclosures. We plan to retain these financial consultants until such time that the internal resources of the Company have been upgraded and the required financial controls have been fully implemented.
● We have made an assessment on significant judgments and estimates, including impairment of long-lived assets and inventory valuation. We plan to take the steps as noted above to have the proper resources to conduct proper analyses on areas requiring judgments and estimates.
The actions that have been taken are subject to continued review, implementation and testing by management, as well as audit committee oversight. While we have implemented a variety of steps to remediate these weaknesses, we cannot assure you that we will be able to fully remediate them, which could impair our ability to accurately and timely meet our public company reporting requirements.
Notwithstanding the assessment that our internal controls over financial reporting are not effective and that material weaknesses exist, we believe that we have employed supplementary procedures to ensure that the financial statements contained in this filing fairly present our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the reporting periods covered herein in all material respects.
Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer), does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been detected. These inherent limitations include, but are not limited to, the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the control. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Management believes that the material weakness set forth above did not have an effect on our financial results.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
No change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during the year ended December 31, 2023 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B.OTHER INFORMATION
None.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10.
DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The following table sets forth the names, ages and titles of our directors, director nominees, executive officers and key personnel:
Executive Officers and Directors
The following table sets forth certain information with respect to our executive officers and directors as of December 31, 2023.
Name
Age
Position
Executive Officers and Directors
John Hilburn Davis IV
President and Chief Executive Officer
Reid Yeoman
Chief Financial Officer
Mark T. Lynn
Director
Trevor Pettennude
Director
Jameeka Aaron
Director
Huong “Lucy” Doan
Director
Board Composition
Our board of directors may establish the authorized number of directors from time to time by resolution.
No current or pending member of our board of directors or Compensation Committee serves as a member of the board of directors or the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving as a member of our board of directors or compensation committee.
Executive Officers
John Hilburn Davis IV, “Hil”, has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since March 2019 and a Director since November 2020. He joined DSLTD to overhaul its supply chain in March 2018. Prior to that, Mr. Davis founded two companies, BeautyKind and J.Hilburn. He founded and was CEO of BeautyKind from October 2013 to January 2018. He also founded and was CEO of J.Hilburn from January 2007 to September 2013, growing it from $0 to $55 million in revenues in six years. From 1998 to 2006 Mr. Davis worked as an equity research analyst covering consumer luxury publicly traded companies at Thomas Weisel Partners, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Citadel Investment Group. He graduated from Rhodes College in 1995 with a BA in Sociology and Anthropology. On December 16, 2021, Mr. Davis filed for personal bankruptcy through the filing of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in Texas federal court.
Reid Yeoman has served as our Chief Financial Officer since October 2019. Mr. Yeoman is a finance professional with a core Financial Planning & Analysis background at major multi-national Fortune 500 companies - including Nike & Qualcomm. He has a proven track record of driving growth and expanding profitability with retail. From November 2017 to September 2019, Mr. Yeoman served as CFO/ COO at Hurley - a standalone global brand within the Nike portfolio - where he managed the full profit and loss/Balance Sheet, reporting directly to Nike and oversaw the brand’s logistics and operations. He is a native Californian and graduated with an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management in 2013 and a BA from UC Santa Barbara in 2004.
Nonemployee Board Members
Mark T. Lynn has been a director of our company since inception and served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer from September 2013 to October 2018. Prior to joining us, until September 2011 he was Co-Founder of WINC, a direct-to-consumer e-commerce company which was then the fastest growing winery in the world, backed by Bessemer Venture Partners. Prior to WINC, Mr. Lynn co-founded a digital payments company that was sold in 2011. He holds a digital marketing certificate from Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Program.
Trevor Pettennude is a seasoned financial services executive. In 2013, Mr. Pettennude became the CEO of 360 Mortgage Group, where he oversees a team of 70 people generating over $1 billion of annual loan volume. He is also the founder and principal of Banctek Solutions, a global merchant service company which was launched in 2009 and which processes over $300 million of volume annually.
Jameeka Green Aaron became a director of our company in May 2021. Ms. Aaron is the Chief Information Security Officer at Auth0. Ms. Aaron is responsible for the holistic security and compliance of Auth0’s platform, products, and corporate environment. Auth0 provides a platform to authenticate, authorize, and secure access for applications, devices, and users. Prior to her current role Ms. Aaron was the Chief Information Officer Westcoast Operations at United Legwear and Apparel. Her 20+ years of experience include serving as the Director of North American Technology and Director of Secure Code and Identity and Access Management at Nike, and as Chief of Staff to the CIO of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. Ms. Aaron is also a 9-year veteran of the United States Navy. Ms. Aaron’s dedication to service has extended beyond her military career. She is committed to advancing women and people of color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields she is an alumni of the U.S. State Department’s TechWomen program and the National Urban League of Young Professionals. Ms. Aaron currently sits on the board of the California Women Veterans Leadership Council, is an advisor for U.C. Riverside Design Thinking Program, and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Born in Stockton, California, Ms. Aaron holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Ms. Aaron’s extensive corporate and leadership experience qualifies her to serve on our board of directors.
Huong “Lucy” Doan is a seasoned finance and strategy executive who brings expertise working with some of the world’s best-known brands. Since 2018, Ms. Doan serves as advisor to CEOs and founders of high-growth DTC, ecommerce and retail brands, in apparel and consumer products. In this capacity, she provides strategic guidance to successfully scale businesses while driving profitability, with focus on operational excellence and capital resource planning. In 2019, she became a board member of Grunt Style, a patriotic apparel brand. Prior, Ms. Doan spent 20 years in senior executive roles at Guitar Center, Herbalife International, Drapers & Damons, and Fox Television, where she built high performance teams to drive execution of business plans and growth strategies.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has established an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee, each of which operates pursuant to a charter adopted by our board of directors. The board of directors may also establish other committees from time to time to assist our company and the board of directors. The composition and functioning of all of our committees will comply with all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, NasdaqCM and SEC rules and regulations, if applicable. Each committee’s charter is available on our website at www.digitalbrandsgroup.co. The reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at or available through our website.
Audit committee
Trevor Pettennude, Jameeka Green Aaron and Hong Doan serve on the audit committee, which is chaired by Trevor Pettennude. Our board of directors has determined that each are “independent” for audit committee purposes as that term is defined by the rules of the SEC and NasdaqCM, and that each has sufficient knowledge in financial and auditing matters to serve on the audit committee. Our Board of directors has designated Trevor Pettennude as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined under the applicable rules of the SEC. The audit committee’s responsibilities include:
● appointing, approving the compensation of, and assessing the independence of our independent registered public accounting firm;
● pre-approving auditing and permissible non-audit services, and the terms of such services, to be provided by our independent registered public accounting firm;
● reviewing the overall audit plan with our independent registered public accounting firm and members of management responsible for preparing our financial statements;
● reviewing and discussing with management and our independent registered public accounting firm our annual and quarterly financial statements and related disclosures as well as critical accounting policies and practices used by us;
● coordinating the oversight and reviewing the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting;
● establishing policies and procedures for the receipt and retention of accounting-related complaints and concerns;
● recommending, based upon the audit committee’s review and discussions with management and our independent registered public accounting firm, whether our audited financial statements shall be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K;
● monitoring the integrity of our financial statements and our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements as they relate to our financial statements and accounting matters;
● preparing the audit committee report required by SEC rules to be included in our annual proxy statement;
● reviewing all related person transactions for potential conflict of interest situations and approving all such transactions; and
● reviewing quarterly earnings releases.
Compensation committee
Trevor Pettennude, Jameeka Green Aaron and Hong Doan serve on the compensation committee, which is chaired by Jameeka Green Aaron. Our board of directors has determined that each member of the compensation committee is “independent” as defined in the applicable NasdaqCM rules. The compensation committee’s responsibilities include:
● annually reviewing and recommending to the board of directors the corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer;
● evaluating the performance of our Chief Executive Officer in light of such corporate goals and objectives and based on such evaluation: (i) recommending to the board of directors the cash compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, and (ii) reviewing and approving grants and awards to our Chief Executive Officer under equity-based plans;
● reviewing and recommending to the board of directors the cash compensation of our other executive officers;
● reviewing and establishing our overall management compensation, philosophy and policy;
● overseeing and administering our compensation and similar plans;
● reviewing and approving the retention or termination of any consulting firm or outside advisor to assist in the evaluation of compensation matters and evaluating and assessing potential and current compensation advisors in accordance with the independence standards identified in the applicable NasdaqCM rules;
● retaining and approving the compensation of any compensation advisors;
● reviewing and approving our policies and procedures for the grant of equity-based awards;
● reviewing and recommending to the board of directors the compensation of our directors; and
● preparing the compensation committee report required by SEC rules, if and when required, to be included in our annual proxy statement.
None of the members of our compensation committee has at any time during the prior three years been one of our officers or employees. None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past fiscal year has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors or compensation committee.
Nominating and corporate governance committee
Trevor Pettennude, Jameeka Green Aaron and Hong Doan serve on the nominating and corporate governance committee, which is chaired by Hong Doan. Our board of directors has determined that each member of the nominating and corporate governance committee is “independent” as defined in the applicable NasdaqCM rules. The nominating and corporate governance committee’s responsibilities include:
● developing and recommending to the board of directors’ criteria for board and committee membership;
● establishing procedures for identifying and evaluating board of director candidates, including nominees recommended by stockholders; and
● reviewing the composition of the board of directors to ensure that it is composed of members containing the appropriate skills and expertise to advise us.
Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings
There are no legal proceedings that have occurred within the past ten years concerning our directors, or control persons which involved a criminal conviction, a criminal proceeding, an administrative or civil proceeding limiting one’s participation in the securities or banking industries, or a finding of securities or commodities law violations.
On December 16, 2021, Mr. Davis filed for personal bankruptcy through the filing of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in Texas federal court. Except for Mr. Davis, none of our directors and officers has been affiliated with any company that has filed for bankruptcy within the last ten years. We are not aware of any proceedings to which any of our officers or directors, or any associate of any such officer or director, is a party adverse to us or any of our or has a material interest adverse to us or any of our subsidiaries.
Code of Conduct
The Company’s Code of Conduct applies to all of its employees, officers and directors, including those officers responsible for financial reporting. The Code of Conduct is available on its website at www.digitalbrandsgroup.co. Information contained on or accessible through such website is not a part of this Annual Report, and the inclusion of the website address in this Annual Report is an inactive textual reference only. The Company intends to disclose any amendments to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, or any waivers of its requirements, on its website to the extent required by the applicable rules and exchange requirements.
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires the Company’s directors and executive officers and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of the Company’s common stock to file with the SEC reports showing initial ownership of and changes in ownership of the Company’s common stock and other registered equity securities. Based solely upon our review of the copies of such forms or written representations from certain reporting persons received by us with respect to fiscal year 2023, the Company believes that its directors and executive officers and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of its equity securities have complied with all applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements for fiscal year 2023.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11.EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Compensation of Named Executive Officers
The summary compensation table below shows certain compensation information for services rendered in all capacities for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. Other than as set forth herein, no executive officer’s salary and bonus exceeded $100,000 in any of the applicable years. The following information includes the dollar value of base salaries, bonus awards, the number of stock options granted and certain other compensation, if any, whether paid or deferred.
Fiscal
Option
Stock
Name and Principal Position
Year
Salary
Bonus
Awards
Awards
Total
John “Hil” Davis
$
249,000
$
-
$
-
$
-
$
249,000
President and Chief Executive Officer
$
350,000
$
-
$
-
$
-
$
350,000
Reid Yeoman
$
250,000
(1)
$
-
$
-
$
-
$
250,000
Chief Financial Officer
$
250,000
$
-
$
-
$
-
$
250,000
(1)This amount represents the amount of salary Mr. Yeoman was entitled to receive under his agreement with the Company.
Such amount has not yet been paid to Mr. Yeoman.
Executive Officer Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
The following table provides certain information concerning any common share purchase options, stock awards or equity incentive plan awards held by each of our named executive officers that were outstanding as of December 31, 2023. The number of shares of common stock referred to in this “Executive Compensation” section gives effect to the one-for-100 reverse stock split that we effectuated on November 3, 2022, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. On August 21, 2023, the Board of Directors approved a one - for - 25 reverse stock split of its issued and outstanding shares of common stock and a proportional adjustment to the existing conversion ratios for each series of the Company’s preferred stock.
Option Awards
Stock Awards
Equity
Equity
Incentive
Incentive
Plan
Plan
Awards:
Awards:
Market or
Number
Payout
Equity
of
Value
Incentive
Market
Unearned
of
Plan
Number of
Value of
Shares,
Unearned
Awards:
Shares or
Shares
Units or
Shares,
Number of
Number of
Number of
Units of
or
Other
Units or
Securities
Securities
Securities
Stock
Units of
Rights
Other
Underlying
Underlying
Underlying
That Have
Stock That
That
Rights
Unexercised
Unexercised
Unexercised
Option Exercise
Option
Not
Have
Have
That Have
Options(#)
Options(#)
Unearned
Price
Expiration
Vested
Not
Not
Not
Name
Exercisable
Unexercisable
Options (#)
($)
Date
(#)
Vested
Vested
Vested
John “Hil” Davis
$
10,547
May-31
-
-
-
-
Reid Yeoman
$
9,908
May-31
-
-
-
-
Employment Agreements
In December 2020, we entered into an offer letter with Mr. Davis, our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board. The offer letter provides for an annual base salary of $350,000 effective October 1, 2020, and for Mr. Davis to be appointed to our board effective November 30, 2020. Effective January 1, 2021, Mr. Davis is also eligible to receive an annual bonus with a target of 175%, and with a range from 0% to a maximum of 225%, of his base salary based upon achievement of Company and individual goals. He is also eligible to participate in employee benefit plans that we offer to our other senior executives. In the event of a termination of his employment after June 30, 2021, Mr. Davis is eligible for severance benefits as may be approved by the Board. Mr. Davis is subject to our recoupment, insider trading and other company policies, a perpetual non-disclosure of confidential information covenant, a non-
disparagement covenant and a non-solicitation of employees covenant. Mr. Davis’ offer letter also provided for an option grant exercisable for up to 2,144,000 shares of our common stock to him at a per share exercise price equal to the IPO price, of which 75% of the options vested on the effective date of the IPO and 25% of the options vest in accordance with the vesting schedule provided in the Company’s 2020 Stock Plan. Mr. Davis is an at- will employee and does not have a fixed employment term.
In December 2020, we entered into an offer letter with Mr. Yeoman, our Chief Financial Officer. The offer letter provides for an annual base salary of $250,000 effective upon the closing of the IPO. Effective January 1, 2021, Mr. Yeoman is also eligible to receive an annual bonus with a target of 50%, and with a range from 0% to a maximum of 75%, of his base salary based upon achievement of Company and individual goals. He is also eligible to participate in employee benefit plans that we offer to our other senior executives.
In the event of a termination of his employment after June 30, 2021, Mr. Yeoman is eligible for severance benefits as may be approved by the Board. Mr. Yeoman is subject to our recoupment, insider trading and other company policies, a perpetual non-disclosure of confidential information covenant, a non- disparagement covenant and a non-solicitation of employees covenant. Mr. Yeoman’s offer letter also provided for an option grant 128,000 shares of our common stock to him at a per share exercise price equal to the IPO price, of which 75% of the options vested on the effective date of the IPO and 25% of the options vest in accordance with the vesting schedule provided in the Company’s 2020 Stock Plan. Mr. Yeoman is an at-will employee and does not have a fixed employment term.
Compensation of Directors
No obligations with respect to compensation for non-employee directors have been accrued or paid for any periods presented.
Going forward, our board of directors believes that attracting and retaining qualified non-employee directors will be critical to the future value growth and governance of our company. Our board of directors also believes that any compensation package for our non-employee directors should be equity-based to align the interests of these directors with our stockholders. On the effective date of the previous offerings, each of our director nominees was granted options to purchase 20,000 shares of common stock at a per share exercise price equal to the price of the shares of common stock per the offering. The options will vest over a one year period of time. We may in the future grant additional options to our non-employee directors although there are no current plans to do so. We do not currently intend to provide any cash compensation to our non- employee directors.
Directors who are also our employees will not receive any additional compensation for their service on our board of directors.
2020 Incentive Stock Plan
We have adopted a 2020 Omnibus Incentive Stock Plan (the “2020 Plan”). An aggregate of 1,320 shares of our common stock is reserved for issuance and available for awards under the 2020 Plan, including incentive stock options granted under the 2020 Plan. The 2020 Plan administrator may grant awards to any employee, director, and consultants of the company and its subsidiaries. To date, 1,093 grants (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split) have been made under the 2020 Plan and 227 shares remain eligible for issuance under the Plan.
The 2020 Plan is currently administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board as the Plan administrator. The 2020 Plan administrator has the authority to determine, within the limits of the express provisions of the 2020 Plan, the individuals to whom awards will be granted, the nature, amount and terms of such awards and the objectives and conditions for earning such awards. No awards may be made under the 2020 Plan after the tenth anniversary of its effective date.
Awards under the 2020 Plan may include incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted shares of common stock, restricted stock Units, performance share or Unit awards, other stock-based awards and cash-based incentive awards.
Stock Options
The 2020 Plan administrator may grant to a participant options to purchase our common stock that qualify as incentive stock options for purposes of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code (“incentive stock options”), options that do not qualify as incentive stock options (“non-qualified stock options”) or a combination thereof. The terms and conditions of stock option grants, including the quantity, price, vesting periods, and other conditions on exercise will be determined by the 2020 Plan administrator. The exercise price for stock
options will be determined by the 2020 Plan administrator in its discretion, but non-qualified stock options and incentive stock options may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of one share of our company’s common stock on the date when the stock option is granted. Additionally, in the case of incentive stock options granted to a holder of more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of our stock on the date of grant, the exercise price may not be less than 110% of the fair market value of one share of common stock on the date the stock option is granted. Stock options must be exercised within a period fixed by the 2020 Plan administrator that may not exceed ten years from the date of grant, except that in the case of incentive stock options granted to a holder of more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of our stock on the date of grant, the exercise period may not exceed five years. At the 2020 Plan administrator’s discretion, payment for shares of common stock on the exercise of stock options may be made in cash, shares of our common stock held by the participant or in any other form of consideration acceptable to the 2020 Plan administrator (including one or more forms of “cashless” or “net” exercise).
Stock Appreciation Rights
The 2020 Plan administrator may grant to a participant an award of SARs, which entitles the participant to receive, upon its exercise, a payment equal to (i) the excess of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the exercise date over the SAR exercise price, times (ii) the number of shares of common stock with respect to which the SAR is exercised. The exercise price for a SAR will be determined by the 2020 Plan administrator in its discretion; provided, however, that in no event shall the exercise price be less than the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant.
Restricted Shares and Restricted Units
The 2020 Plan administrator may award to a participant shares of common stock subject to specified restrictions (“restricted shares”). Restricted shares are subject to forfeiture if the participant does not meet certain conditions such as continued employment over a specified forfeiture period and/or the attainment of specified performance targets over the forfeiture period. The 2020 Plan administrator also may award to a participant Units representing the right to receive shares of common stock in the future subject to the achievement of one or more goals relating to the completion of service by the participant and/or the achievement of performance or other objectives (“restricted Units”). The terms and conditions of restricted share and restricted Unit awards are determined by the 2020 Plan administrator.
Performance Awards
The 2020 Plan administrator may grant performance awards to participants under such terms and conditions as the 2020 Plan administrator deems appropriate. A performance award entitles a participant to receive a payment from us, the amount of which is based upon the attainment of predetermined performance targets over a specified award period. Performance awards may be paid in cash, shares of common stock or a combination thereof, as determined by the 2020 Plan administrator.
Other Stock-Based Awards
The 2020 Plan administrator may grant equity-based or equity-related awards, referred to as “other stock- based awards,” other than options, SARs, restricted shares, restricted Units, or performance awards. The terms and conditions of each other stock-based award will be determined by the 2020 Plan administrator. Payment under any other stock-based awards will be made in common stock or cash, as determined by the 2020 Plan administrator.
Cash-Based Awards
The 2020 Plan administrator may grant cash-based incentive compensation awards, which would include performance-based annual cash incentive compensation to be paid to covered employees. The terms and conditions of each cash-based award will be determined by the 2020 Plan administrator.
2013 Stock Plan
Eligibility and Administration
Our employees, outside directors and consultants are eligible to receive nonstatutory options or the direct award or sale of shares under our 2013 Stock Plan, while only our employees are eligible to receive grants of ISOs under our 2013 Stock Plan. A person who owns more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of our outstanding stock, of the outstanding common stock of our parent or subsidiary, is not eligible for the grant of an ISO unless the exercise prices is at least 110% of the fair market value of a share on the grant date and such ISO is not exercisable after five years from the grant date. The 2013 Stock Plan may be administered by a committee of the board of directors, and if no committee is appointed, then the board of directors. The board of directors has the authority to make all determinations and interpretations under, prescribe all forms for use with, and adopt rules for the administration of, the 2013 Stock Plan, subject to its express terms and conditions.
Shares Available and Termination
In the event that shares previously issued under the 2013 Stock Plan are reacquired, such shares will be added to the available shares for issuance under the 2013 Stock Plan. In the event that shares that would have otherwise been issuable under the 2013 Stock Plan were withheld in payment of the purchase price, exercise price, or withholding taxes, such shares will remain available for issuance under the 2013 Stock Plan. In the event that an outstanding option or other right is cancelled or expired, the shares allocable to the unexcised portion of the option or other right will be added to the number of shares available under the 2013 Stock Plan.
The 2013 Stock Plan will terminate automatically 10 years after the later of (i) the date when the board of directors adopted the 2013 Stock Plan or (ii) the date when the board of directors approved the most recent increase in the number of shares reserved under the 2013 Stock Plan that was also approved by our stockholders.
Awards
The 2013 Stock Plan provides for the grant of shares of common stock and options, including ISO intended to qualify under Code Section 422 and nonstatutory options which are not intended to qualify. All awards under the 2013 Stock plan will be det forth in award agreements, which will detail the terms and conditions of the awards, including any applicable vesting and payment terms and post-termination exercise limitations.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
ITEM 12.
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The table below sets forth information regarding the projected beneficial ownership of our common stock as of April [•], 2024 by the following individuals or groups:
● each person or entity who is known by us to own beneficially more than 5% of our outstanding stock;
● each of our executive officers;
● each of our directors and director nominees; and
● all of our directors, director nominees and executive officers as a group.
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to the securities in question. Except as otherwise indicated, and subject to applicable community property laws, the persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of our common stock held by them.
Shares of common stock issuable pursuant to a stock option, warrant or convertible note that is currently exercisable or convertible, or is exercisable or convertible within 60 days after the date of determination of ownership, are deemed to be outstanding and beneficially
owned for purposes of computing the percentage ownership of the holder of the stock option, warrant or convertible note but are not treated as outstanding for purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.
The applicable percentage ownership in the following table is based on 1,698,568 shares of our common stock outstanding as of April 15, 2024. After giving effect to the exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants and excludes as of such date:
Unless otherwise indicated, the address for each officer, director and director nominee in the following table is c/o Digital Brands Group, Inc., 1400 Lavaca Street, Austin, TX 78701.
Number of
Shares
Percentage of
Beneficially
Shares
Name of Beneficial Owner
Owned
Outstanding
Executive Officers and Directors
John “Hil” Davis(1)
*
Reid Yeoman(2)
*
Mark Lynn(3)
*
Trevor Pettenude(4)
*
Jameeka Aaron(5)
*
Huong “Lucy” Doan(6)
*
All executive officers, directors and director nominees as a group (6 persons) (7)
1,135
*
*
Less than one percent.
(1) Represents options exercisable at $1,000 per share.
(2) Represents options to acquire up to 38 shares of common stock, exercisable at $1,000 per share and options to acquire up to 8 shares of common stock, exercisable at $8,200 per share.
(3) Includes options to acquire up to 128 shares of common stock exercisable between $3,900 and $8,200 per share.
(4) Includes options to acquire up to 30 shares of common stock exercisable between $3,900 and $8,200 per share.
(5) Represents options exercisable at $1,000 per share.
(6) Represents options exercisable at $8,900 per share.
(7) Includes options to acquire up to 1,076 shares of common stock.

---

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13.
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company made net repayments for amounts due to related parties totaling $130,205 and $170,000, respectively. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, amounts due to related parties were $400,012 and $556,217, respectively. The advances are unsecured, non-interest bearing and due on demand. Amounts due to related parties consist of current and former executives, and a board member.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, due to related parties includes advances from the former officer, Mark Lynn, who also serves as a director, totaling $104,568 and $104,568, respectively, and accrued salary and expense reimbursements of $87,221 and $100,649, respectively, to current officers.
In October 2022, the Company received advances from a director, Trevor Pettennude, totaling $325,000. The advances are unsecured, non-interest bearing and due on demand. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the amounts $175,000 and $325,000, respectively, were outstanding.
Policies and Procedures for Related Person Transactions
Our board of directors intends to adopt a written related person policy to set forth the policies and procedures for the review and approval or ratification of related person transactions. This policy will cover any transaction, arrangement or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships in which we are to be a participant, the amount involved exceeds $100,000 and a related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, including purchases of goods or services by or from the related person or entities in which the related person has a material interest, indebtedness, guarantees of indebtedness and employment by us of a related person.
Director Independence
Our board of directors has undertaken a review of the independence of each director. Based on information provided by each director concerning his or her background, employment and affiliations, our board of directors has determined that Trevor Pettennude, Jameeka Aaron, and Huong “Lucy” Doan, do not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and that each of these directors is “independent” as that term is defined under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the listing standards of Nasdaq. In making these determinations, our board of directors considered the current and prior relationships that each non- employee director has with our company and all other facts and circumstances our board of directors deemed relevant in determining their independence.

---

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
The following table provides information regarding the fees billed to us by Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP and dbbmckennon, in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. All fees described below were approved by the Board:
For the Fiscal Years Ended
December 31,
Audit fees (1)
$
351,099
$
252,000
Audit related fees
-
90,810
Tax fees
-
-
All other fees (2)
21,160
18,488
Total fees
$
372,259
$
361,298
(1)
Audit fees includes fees associated with the annual audits of our financial statements, quarterly reviews of our financial statements, and services that are normally provided by the independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.
(2)
Includes audit fees paid for pre-acquisition audits of the Company’s subsidiaries and other targets.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee is responsible for approving or pre-approving all auditing services (including comfort letters and statutory audits) and all permitted non-audit services by the independent auditor and pre-approve the related fees. Pursuant to its charter, the audit committee delegated to each of its members, acting singly, the authority to pre-approve any audit services if the need for consideration of a pre-approval request arises between regularly scheduled meetings, with such approval presented to the audit committee at its next scheduled meeting or as soon as practicable thereafter.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15.
EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(1) Financial Statements
For a list of the financial information included herein, see Index to the Financial Statements on page.
(2) Financial Statement Schedules
Schedules have been omitted because they are not applicable, not material or because the information is included in the consolidated financial statements or the notes thereto.
(3) Exhibits
The following is a list of exhibits filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Exhibits
Exhibit
Number
Description
2.1
Membership Interest Purchase Agreement dated October 14, 2020 among D. Jones Tailored Collection, LTD and Digital Brands Group (formerly known as Denim.LA, Inc.) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
2.2
First Amendment to Membership Interest Purchase Agreement dated December 31, 2020 among D. Jones Tailored Collection, LTD and Digital Brands Group (formerly known as Denim.LA, Inc) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
2.3
Agreement and Plan of Merger with Bailey 44, LLC dated February 12, 2020 among Bailey 44, LLC, Norwest Venture Partners XI, and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP and Digital Brands Group (formerly known as Denim.LA, Inc) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.3 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
2.4
Second Amendment to Membership Interest Purchase Agreement Dated May 10, 2021 among
D. Jones Tailored Collection, LTD and Digital Brands Group (formerly known as Denim. LA, Inc.) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.4 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
2.5
Membership Interest Purchase Agreement, dated August 30, 2021, by and between Moise Emquies and Digital Brands Group, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.5 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
2.6
Membership Interest Purchase Agreement, dated January 18, 2022, by and among Moise Emquies, George Levy, Matthieu Leblan and Carol Ann Emquies, Sunnyside, LLC, and George Levy as the Sellers’ representative (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 20, 2022).
2.7
Amended and Restated Membership Interest Purchase Agreement, dated June 17, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Moise Emquies, George Levy, Matthieu Leblan and Carol Ann Emquies (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 23, 2022).
2.8
Second Amended and Restated Membership Interest Purchase Agreement, dated October 13, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Moise Emquies, George Levy, Matthieu Leblan and Carol Ann Emquies (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 18, 2022).
3.1
Sixth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
3.2
Certificate of Designation of Series A Preferred Stock, dated August 31, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 31, 2022).
3.3
Certificate of Designation of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, dated September 29, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 5, 2022).
3.4
Certificate of Correction of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, dated October 3, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 5, 2022).
3.5
Certificate of Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation of Digital Brands Group, Inc. dated October 13, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 18, 2022).
3.6
Certificate of Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation of Digital Brands Group, Inc. dated October 21, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2022).
3.7
Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.5 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
3.8
Amendment No. 1 to the Amended and Restated Bylaws of Digital Brands Group, Inc., as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 12, 2022).
3.9
Amendment No. 2 to the Amended and Restated Bylaws of Digital Brands Group, Inc., as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 31, 2022).
4.1
Form of Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
4.2
Warrant Agency Agreement, including Form of Warrant Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 18, 2021).
Exhibit
Number
Description
4.3
Representative’s Warrant Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 18, 2021).
4.4
Form of Lender’s Warrants (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
4.5
Form of Promissory Note, dated July 22, 2022, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor each Investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 27, 2022).
4.6
Form of Warrant, dated July 22, 2022, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor each Investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 27, 2022).
4.7
Form of Promissory Note, dated July 28, 2022, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor the New Investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 2, 2022).
4.8
Form of Warrant, dated July 28, 2022, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor the New Investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 2, 2022).
4.9
Form of Promissory Notes issued to each of the Sellers, Jenny Murphy and Elodie Crichi (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 18, 2022).
4.10
Registration Rights Agreement, dated August 30, 2021, by and between Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Moise Emquies (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 31, 2021).
4.11
Registration Rights Agreement, dated August 27, 2021, by and between Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Oasis Capital, LLC (Note) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 31, 2021).
4.12
Registration Rights Agreement, dated August 27, 2021, by and between Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Oasis Capital, LLC (ELOC) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 31, 2021).
4.13
Joinder and Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement, dated October 1, 2021, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc., Oasis Capital, LLC and FirstFire Global Opportunities Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 6, 2021).
4.14
Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement, dated November 16, 2021, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc., Oasis Capital, LLC and FirstFire Global Opportunities Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 19, 2021).
4.15
Registration Rights Agreement, dated April 8, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and certain Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 12, 2022).
4.16
Registration Rights Agreement, dated July 22, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and certain Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 27, 2022).
4.17
Registration Rights Agreement, dated September 29, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and the Investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 5, 2022).
4.18
Underwriter’s Warrants issued to Alexander Capital L.P. on May 5, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 10, 2022)
4.19
Underwriter’s Warrants issued to Revere Securities, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 10, 2022)
4.20
Form of Class B Warrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.27 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on November 29, 2022 (File no. 333-268213)).
4.21
Form of Class C Warrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.28 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on November 29, 2022 (File no. 333-268213)).
4.22
Form of Pre-Funded Warrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.29 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on November 29, 2022 (File no. 333-268213)).
4.23
Form of Placement Agent Warrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.30 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on November 29, 2022 (File no. 333-268213)).
4.24
Registration Rights Agreement, dated December 29, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and the Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 4, 2023).
Exhibit
Number
Description
4.25
Registration Rights Agreement, dated December 30, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Moise Emquies, George Levy, Matthieu Leblan and Carol Ann Emquies (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 4, 2023).
4.26
Form of Common Warrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 11, 2023).
4.27
Form of Pre-Funded Warrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 11, 2023).
4.28
Form of Placement Agent Warrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 11, 2023).
10.1
Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and each of its directors and officers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.2#
Form of Option Agreement with each of John “Hil” Davis, Laura Dowling and Reid Yeoman (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.3#
Form of Board of Directors Agreement, entered into by each of the Director Nominees (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.4#
Consulting Agreement dated as of April 8, 2021 between Alchemy Advisory LLC and Digital Brands Group, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.5#
2013 Stock Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.6
Promissory Note, dated April 10, 2020, between Digital Brands Group (formally known as Denim.LA, Inc.) and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.16 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.7
Loan dated June 25, 2020, between Digital Brands Group and The Small Business Administration, an Agency of the U.S. Government (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.17 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.8
Promissory Note, dated April 5, 2020, between JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Bailey 44, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.18 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.9
Lease Agreement between 850-860 South Los Angeles Street LLC and Bailey 44, LLC, dated April 27, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.23 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.10
Lease Agreement between 850-860 South Los Angeles Street LLC and Bailey 44, LLC, dated April 16, 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.24 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.11
Lease Agreement among 45th Street, LLC, Sister Sam, LLC and Bailey 44, LLC dated January 17, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.12
Amendment to Lease Agreement among 45th Street, LLC, Sister Sam, LLC and Bailey 44, LLC dated February 20, 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.26 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.13
Secured Promissory Note to Norwest Venture Partners XI, LP and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP of Bailey 44, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.28 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.14
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated August 27, 2021, by and between Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Oasis Capital, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.31 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.15
Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Note, dated August 27, 2021, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor of Oasis Capital, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.32 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
Exhibit
Number
Description
10.16
Equity Purchase Agreement, dated August 27, 2021, by and between Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Oasis Capital, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.33 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.17
Amended and Restated Securities Purchase Agreement, dated October 1, 2021, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc., Oasis Capital, LLC and FirstFire Global Opportunities Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.34 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.18
Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Note, dated October 1, 2021, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor of FirstFire Global Opportunities Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.35 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.19
Security Agreement, dated August 27, 2021, by and between Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Oasis Capital, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.36 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.20
Joinder and Amendment to Security Agreement, dated October 1, 2021, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc., Oasis Capital, LLC and FirstFire Global Opportunities Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.37 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.21
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated November 16, 2021, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc., Oasis Capital, LLC and FirstFire Global Opportunities Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.40 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.22
Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Note, dated November 16, 2021, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor of FirstFire Global Opportunities Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.41 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.23
Waiver by FirstFire Global Opportunities Fund, LLC, dated November 16, 2021 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.42 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.24
Waiver by Oasis Capital, LLC, dated November 16, 2021 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.43 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333-261865), filed with the SEC on January 6, 2022).
10.25
Registration Rights Agreement, dated April 8, 2022, by among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and the Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on April 12, 2022).
10.26
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated April 8, 2022, by among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and the Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on April 12, 2022).
10.27
Form of Warrant, dated April 8, 2022, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor of the Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on April 12, 2022).
10.28+
Agreement for the Purchase and Sale of Future Receipts, dated March 21, 2022, between Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Advantage Platform Services Inc. d/b/a Advantage Capital Funding (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.45 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333- 264347), filed with the SEC on May 5, 2022).
10.29+
Agreement for the Purchase and Sale of Future Receipts, dated March 29, 2022, between Digital Brands Group, Inc. and Advantage Platform Services Inc. d/b/a Advantage Capital Funding (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.46 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Reg. No. 333- 264347), filed with the SEC on May 5, 2022).
10.30
First Amendment to Securities Purchase Agreement, dated July 28, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and certain Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 2, 2022).
10.31
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated September 29, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and the investor thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 5, 2022).
10.32
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, by and between Digital Brands Group, Inc. and the purchasers party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.38 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on November 29, 2022 (File no. 333-268213)).
Exhibit
Number
Description
10.33
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated December 29, 2022, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and the Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 4, 2023).
10.34
Form of Promissory Note, dated December 29, 2022, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor each Investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 4, 2023).
10.35
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 11, 2023, by and among the Company and the purchasers party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 11, 2023).
10.36
Form of Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of January 11, 2023, by and among the Company and the purchasers party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 11, 2023).
10.37
Form of Warrant, dated December 29, 2022, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor each Investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 4, 2023).
10.38
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated April 7, 2023, by and among Digital Brands Group, Inc. and the Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 13, 2023).
10.39
Form of Promissory Note, dated April 7, 2023, by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor each Investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 13, 2023).
10.40*
30% OID Promissory Note, dated October 1, 2023, issued by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor of Erinn Thomas-
Mackey.
10.41*
30% OID Promissory Note, dated October 1, 2023, issued by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor of Gary Carr.
10.42*
30% OID Promissory Note, dated October 1, 2023, issued by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor of Mohsen Khorassani.
10.43*
30% OID Promissory Note, dated October 1, 2023, issued by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor of 622 Capital, LLC.
10.44*
30% OID Promissory Note, dated October 1, 2023, issued by Digital Brands Group, Inc. in favor of Dragon Dynamic Catalytic Bridge Sac Fund.
21.1
List of Subsidiaries of the Registrant. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 21.1 of Digital Brands Group Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Reg. No. 333-269463), filed with the SEC on January 30, 2023).
23.1*
Consent of Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP.
23.2*
Consent of dbbmckennon.
31.1*
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a)
31.2*
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a)
32.1**
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350
32.2**
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350
101.INS*
Inline XBRL Instance
101.SCH*
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema
101.CAL*
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation
101.LAB*
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels
101.PRE*
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)
*Filed herewith.
**Furnished herewith
#Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.