EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1495320
Filing Year: 2025
Filename: 1495320_10-K_2025_0001495320-25-000019.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
Our Company
Vera Bradley, Inc. operates two unique lifestyle brands - Vera Bradley and Pura Vida. We believe Vera Bradley and Pura Vida are complementary businesses, both with devoted, emotionally-connected, and multi-generational female customer bases; alignment as casual, comfortable, affordable, and fun brands; positioning as “gifting” and socially-connected brands; strong, entrepreneurial cultures; a keen focus on community, charity, and social consciousness; multi-channel distribution strategies; and talented leadership teams aligned and committed to the long-term success of their brands.
In July 2019, Vera Bradley, Inc. acquired a 75% interest in Creative Genius, Inc., which operates under the name Pura Vida Bracelets (“Pura Vida”). Pura Vida results are consolidated within the Company’s financial statements beginning on July 17, 2019, the first full day following the acquisition. On January 30, 2023, the Company acquired the remaining 25% interest in Pura Vida. On March 11, 2025 the Company entered into an Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) to sell 100% of Pura Vida. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter. A copy of the Agreement is included as an exhibit to this Form 10-K. See Note 18 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
The Company has three reportable segments: Vera Bradley Direct (“VB Direct”), Vera Bradley Indirect (“VB Indirect”), and Pura Vida. For financial information about our reportable segments, refer to Note 17 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements set forth in Part II, “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this report.
Our Brands
Vera Bradley
Vera Bradley is a leading designer of women’s handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and unique gifts. Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, the brand is known for its innovative designs, iconic patterns, and brilliant colors that inspire and connect women. The reportable segments within the Vera Bradley brand are VB Direct and VB Indirect.
VB Direct. The VB Direct business consists of sales of Vera Bradley products through Vera Bradley full-line and outlet stores in the United States; e-commerce sites (verabradley.com, outlet.verabradley.com, and international.verabradley.com); and the Vera Bradley annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As of February 1, 2025, the Company operated 39 full-line stores and 87 outlet stores.
VB Indirect. The VB Indirect business consists of sales of Vera Bradley products to approximately 1,200 specialty retail locations, substantially all of which are located in the United States; sales to department stores, national accounts, third-party e-commerce sites, and third-party inventory liquidators; and royalties recognized through licensing agreements related to the Vera Bradley brand.
Pura Vida
Pura Vida, based in La Jolla, California, is a digitally native lifestyle brand with a differentiated and expanding offering of bracelets, jewelry, apparel, and other lifestyle accessories. The Pura Vida segment represents revenues generated through the Pura Vida website (www.puravidabracelets.com); through the distribution of Pura Vida-branded products to wholesale retailers and department stores, substantially all of which are located in the United States; and through its seven retail stores.
Our History
When they were traveling together in 1982, Fort Wayne, Indiana friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller realized there was a lack of stylish travel accessories in the market. Within weeks, the friends created Vera Bradley, named after Ms. Bradley Baekgaard’s mother, and began manufacturing and marketing their distinctive products. The founders, together with past and present members of the executive management team, have been instrumental in our growth and success.
The passion for design and customer service established by our founders has driven our Company for over 40 years and remains the cornerstone of Vera Bradley, Inc. today. Ms. Baekgaard retired from Vera Bradley operations in 2017 and retired from the Board of Directors in March 2025 but continues to serve in a Director Emeritus role and as a brand ambassador. Ms. Miller retired as our National Spokesperson in October 2012 and from the Board of Directors in August 2019.
In July 2019, Vera Bradley, Inc. acquired a majority interest in Pura Vida. On January 30, 2023, the Company acquired the remaining interest in Pura Vida.
Similar to the Vera Bradley brand, Pura Vida was founded by two friends, Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman. Thall and Goodman, from Southern California, were traveling through Costa Rica in 2010 and crossed paths with two bracelet artisans. Thall and Goodman asked the artisans to make 400 bracelets to take home with them.
Upon returning to San Diego, Thall and Goodman placed the bracelets in a bowl at a local boutique. Within days, the bracelets sold out and customers were asking for more. Thall and Goodman quickly recognized the significance of these simple string bracelets. They were more than just ordinary locally-crafted bracelets; they symbolized a movement valuing the simple things in life. So, Pura Vida, which means “pure life” in Spanish and is a philosophy that encourages the appreciation of life’s simple treasures, was born.
Enterprise Vision and Growth Strategies
Over the long term, we are committed to driving long-term growth, generating strong cash flow, and returning capital to shareholders.
At the end of fiscal 2023, we began a comprehensive review of the Consumer, Brand, Product, and Channel components for both of our brands. This work culminated in our long-term strategic plan, Project Restoration, which addresses each of these four pillars. Through Project Restoration, we are taking targeted and prudent actions to stabilize revenues, while remaining focused on strong financial discipline. We believe execution of Project Restoration will drive long-term profitable growth and deliver value to our shareholders.
During fiscal 2025, we made significant progress on this Company-wide, comprehensive initiative, focusing on the four key pillars of the business for each brand.
Vera Bradley
At Vera Bradley, we launched the first manifestation of our Project Restoration in July fiscal 2025. It included, among other things, the reveal of our new and elevated full-line branding and marketing, product, store design, and website. Our work on this initiative was informed by consumer research and current perceptions of the brand from both buyers and non-buyers. We remain confident in our strategic direction and continue to make refinements based on selling data and customer feedback we have received since Project Restoration launch. We will be expanding our heritage products, reducing our assortment in higher price points, as well as bringing back regular deliveries of licensed product and some classic styles our customers are asking for.
Consumer. We are focusing on restoring brand relevancy, targeting casual and feminine 35 to 54 year old women who value both fashion and function. Our focus on the 35 to 54 year old led us in search of data to understand where and how she shops. We are using this data to target new customers and embark on new partnerships, licensing deals, and collaborations to extend our reach. With this strategy, we will also inspire and retain our loyal customers outside of this age group.
Brand. We are strategically marketing our distinctive and unique positioning as a colorful, feminine, fashionable brand that connects with consumers on a deep, emotional level. We are refocusing our marketing and elevating our creative efforts through digital marketing, public relations, quality media placements, and store initiatives to drive interest and gain new customers.
We are continually looking for new ways to creatively engage our customers, grow brand awareness, and introduce new customers to our brands in a cost-effective manner.
Product. We are refocusing on core categories and items we are “best at,” such as travel and bags, by innovating and expanding within our core products. We are elevating our colorful feminine heritage, keeping it distinctive but more trend-right and modern through updated prints, colors, styles, and designs, which will appeal to both existing and new customers. We’ve improved the quality of most of our fabrics while keeping our commitment to increased use of preferred fibers, and our retail price structure is unchanged. Although the assortment will look new, it is unmistakably Vera Bradley, and our existing customers will still recognize their favorite styles and our distinctive colors, patterns, and quilting.
We will innovate into strategic adjacent lifestyle item introductions that make sense for our customers. We are also continuing to pursue collaborations and partnerships that align with our target customers and expand our customer reach.
Channel. We are building a balanced footprint that more clearly differentiates full-line and outlet assortments. We are continuing to look for opportunities to improve the profitability of our full-line store portfolio by re-balancing our existing fleet
through select closures along with identifying future market opportunities. We will continue to focus on our highest-potential stores by enhancing the customer experience. We expect to open two full-line stores in fiscal 2026. Maintaining brand-right wholesale relationships is important, and we are actively working to acquire new specialty and key account retailers where we know our customer is shopping. We have improved our online shopping experience through elevating full-line creative and experiences, while offering our outlet assortment online at outlet.verabradley.com.
Pura Vida
Pura Vida has shifted focus to delivering profitability and balancing the ecommerce business with wholesale and retail stores. Pura Vida diversified marketing spend and made additional efforts to retain customers.
Consumer. Pura Vida has sharpened focus on the 18-24 year old, who both those younger and older aspire to be. Pura Vida's target customer is free-spirited, a trendsetter, and in the midst of discovering who she is and where she is heading.
Brand. Pura Vida has refreshed the brand image with a focus on being more relevant to Gen Z through showing real places, real moments, and real faces that are authentic, diverse, and inclusive.
Pura Vida remains one of the most highly-engaged brands in the accessories space, with nearly 2.2 million followers on Instagram and is consistently listed as one of the most engaged jewelry brands on Instagram.
Product. Pura Vida has focused on delivering unique, fun, playful product designs that are affordable and accessible. Pura Vida has innovated in the hero core category of string bracelets as well as other jewelry items. Approximately a third of the total Pura Vida business is comprised of jewelry categories other than bracelets, such as rings, anklets, and necklaces.
Channel. Pura Vida has had a strong focus on restoring e-commerce to a healthy full price customer and prudent sharper management of wholesale. The six full-line Pura Vida stores have played a role in driving new customer acquisition and they demonstrate the power a retail presence can have in driving digital sales, omni-channel loyalty, and spending.
Our Product Release Strategy
Vera Bradley. On average, we typically introduce new collections monthly. Each launch typically consists of one to three signature cotton-quilted prints, as well as other fabrications including Featherweight, Leather, Performance Twill, Re-Active, microfiber, and nylon, some of which are also available in solid colors. These collections of prints and solids are incorporated into the designs of a wide range of products, including bags, accessories, and travel items. These collections typically include classic styles, updates to existing designs, and new product introductions.
To keep our assortment current and fresh, and to focus our inventory investments on our best performers, we discontinue prints and fabrications as necessary. We sell our remaining inventory of retired products primarily through our websites (including our online outlet site), outlet stores, our annual outlet sale, and third-party liquidators.
Pura Vida. New Pura Vida products are released monthly. Each product launch collection typically consists of 10 to 30 customer choices, offering a mix of seasonally inspired designs and next generation designs of core bestsellers.
The following chart presents net revenues generated by each of the Company’s product categories and other revenues as a percentage of our total net revenues for fiscal years 2025, 2024, and 2023.
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Bags 37.7 % 33.9 % 34.3 %
Travel 21.8 % 19.3 % 18.8 %
Accessories 26.7 % 30.8 % 32.0 %
Home 7.7 % 8.8 % 8.5 %
Apparel/Footwear 3.3 % 4.4 % 3.7 %
Other (1)
2.8 % 2.8 % 2.7 %
Total 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 %
(1)Includes primarily stationery, licensing, freight, merchandising, and gift card breakage revenue.
Bags. Bags are a core part of our product offerings and are the primary component of every seasonal assortment. The category consists of classic and new styles developed by our product development team. Our bag product category includes items such as backpacks, totes, crossbodies, lunch bags, satchels, clutches, and baby bags. Bags play a prominent role in our visual merchandising, and we showcase the different fabrications, patterns, colors, and features of each bag.
Travel. Our travel product category includes rolling luggage, cosmetics, travel and packing accessories, and travel bags which include our iconic duffel and weekend bags. The first Vera Bradley product offering included duffel bags, which have consistently been strong performers. We believe their popularity, as well as the appeal of our other travel items, results from our vibrant designs, functional styles, and lightweight fabrications.
Accessories. Accessories include Vera Bradley-branded fashion accessories such as ID holders, lanyards, wallets, wristlets, eyewear, scarves, various technology accessories, and hair accessories, as well as Pura Vida-branded accessories such as bracelets, rings, and necklaces. The majority of products sold by Pura Vida are included under the accessories category. We believe our accessories are attractively priced and allow the consumer to include some color in her wardrobe. Our product development teams consistently update the accessories assortment based on consumer demand and fashion trends.
Home. Our home category includes textiles, including throw blankets, beach towels, and bedding, as well as items such as mugs and tumblers.
Apparel/Footwear. Our apparel and footwear category includes, among other items, Vera Bradley sleepwear, footwear, outerwear, socks, and tops, as well as Pura Vida tees and hoodies.
Product Development
Vera Bradley. We have implemented a fully-integrated and cross-functional product development process that aligns design, trend and market research, merchandising, planning, sales, marketing, and sourcing. We believe product development is a core capability that makes our products unique and that our designs and aesthetics set our products apart and drive customer loyalty. Our design and product development teams combine an understanding of the desires of our target customers, with knowledge of upcoming color, material, consumer, and fashion trends to design new collections, as well as new product categories.
We typically begin the development stage of our products in the Vera Bradley portfolio twelve to eighteen months in advance of their release. The development of each new pattern includes the design of a primary print and sometimes a secondary coordinating print. All print development is managed by our internal print design team. Once developed, we generally copyright our patterns as appropriate. We believe that great design is not only central to our products, but also is a fundamental part of our brand development and growth strategies.
Our design team works to ensure that new collections contain an assortment of products and styles that are in line with both trends and customer desires and regularly updates classic styles to enhance functionality. Our team monitors fashion trends and customer needs by typically attending trend and industry shows, subscribing to trend monitoring services, and engaging in comparison shopping.
Our product development team works closely with our marketing and merchandising teams to gather consumer insights through a variety of methodologies, including seasonal market research, in-store testing, scheduled interviews, and online and in-person surveys conducted by our internal team. Our work is also informed in part by market data analysis provided through our membership in industry services and organizations. The design and product development teams work to ensure that we offer products that are constructed to meet our design, function, construction, and quality standards in a cost-effective manner. We believe that, with our cross-functional, collaborative approach, we are able to introduce and market our products in a way that clearly communicates the Vera Bradley brand.
In addition to products developed in-house, we also pursue brand extensions through strategic partnerships, licensing agreements, and brand collaborations. We currently have licenses in place for eyewear; bedding; stationery/drinkware; and outdoor furniture, accessories, and décor. We also have licensing agreements with NFL, Disney Consumer Products, Peanuts Worldwide, NBC Universal, Warner Brothers, and NCAA (collegiate). We will continue to look for the right strategic partners and licensees that can augment the brand and provide established distribution networks for certain categories of business. Additional arrangements will be launched in fiscal 2026.
Pura Vida. Pura Vida continued to develop new styles and re-invent existing styles. Pura Vida has pursued brand extensions through licensing agreements and partnerships with Discovery, Warner Brothers Consumer Products, Disney Consumer Products, and Sanrio Inc. (Hello Kitty). Pura Vida has also engaged in collaboration with other relevant brands like Kulani Kinis, and Dutch Brothers Coffee Company to create limited edition products.
Marketing
We believe that the growth of our brands and our business is influenced by our ability to introduce and sell our merchandise in a way that clearly conveys the Vera Bradley and Pura Vida brand personalities. We use marketing as a critical tool in our efforts to promote our brands.
We are continually focused on looking for new ways to creatively engage and retain our customers, grow brand awareness, and introduce new customers to our brands in a cost-effective manner.
Vera Bradley’s marketing platform will continue to be a blend of digital and more traditional channels, such as direct mail, email, quality media placements, PR, and targeted TV ads. Our marketing efforts are increasingly reflective of our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion. The goal of our 360-brand marketing program is to drive brand awareness and desirability, as well as connect with consumers where they are.
We will continue to drive social media engagement by employing more user-generated content, growing our influencer and ambassador programs, further enhancing social storytelling and social selling, expanding Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok engagement.
Vera Bradley
Retention Advertising. We communicate with our established customers consistently throughout the year with regular e-mails, social media, and SMS, as well as seasonal direct mail related to the Vera Bradley brand. Our retention advertising is geared to keeping Vera Bradley top of mind with our customers, rewarding our customers, and providing them with news of our seasonal launches, new product introductions, and VB Foundation initiatives.
New Customer Acquisition Advertising. We primarily employ digital (i.e., paid social media, paid search, affiliate) and direct mail (catalog, postcards) advertising to increase overall brand awareness and attract new customers.
Public Relations and Product Placement. Vera Bradley has received considerable editorial exposure in the press, with mentions in Travel & Leisure, People, Real Simple, Today, US Weekly, Good Morning America, Refinery 29, Southern Living, Glamour, Seventeen, Elle, Women's Wear Daily, Pop Sugar, and Good Housekeeping. In addition, we have expanded our public relations efforts to reach popular online influencers and content creators.
Partnerships. During fiscal 2025, we reinforced our position as a company empowering women by aligning our efforts to support the Vera Bradley Breast Cancer Foundation.
Social Media and Online Marketing. We use online marketing and social networking sites as tools to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to our e-commerce sites (verabradley.com, outlet.verabradley.com, and international.verabradley.com) and to our Vera Bradley stores. Vera Bradley can be found on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, Pinterest, and YouTube.
For Vera Bradley, we have captured approximately 3.3 million active subscribed customer e-mail addresses in our online customer file, with many of these customers providing age, occupation, and location data. This information provides us with deeper insight into the products and categories that are of the highest interest to our customers and allows us to better target our customers with appropriate messages. As of February 1, 2025, we had approximately 2.0 million Facebook followers, nearly 70,000 Twitter ("X") followers, and approximately 55,000 TikTok followers. Our Instagram has grown to approximately 612,000 followers and is our most highly engaged social medium. In addition, we often partner with brand-right influencers to promote our products.
Mall Advertising. We had representation in key markets with mall partner participation. Collaborations and holiday promotions were the primary focus for our retail store locations. The outlet channel participated in center marketing throughout the year highlighting key seasonal moments, such as: Spring Break, Back to School, Labor Day, and Holiday.
Direct Mail. Vera Bradley mailers are a vehicle for promoting the Vera Bradley brand and product portfolio. Each mailer is sent to a targeted customer mailing list. We believe our direct mail medium generates excitement and awareness about the Vera Bradley brand and allows us to reach both new and loyal customers in their homes. We use direct mail for prospecting, customer retention, and reactivation.
Pura Vida
Retention Advertising. Pura Vida has connected with established customers through regular emails, affiliate marketing, SMS marketing, and social media marketing. Pura Vida's retention advertising focuses on informing customers of new product launches, exclusive offers, inventory restocks of best sellers, promoting referral and loyalty rewards, and the latest Pura Vida news.
New Customer Acquisition Advertising. Pura Vida has focused on digital advertising through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, Snapchat, and Pinterest to acquire new customers. Pura Vida has consistently tested new audiences, channels, creative ads, and promotions to maximize our return on paid media spend.
Ambassador Program. Pura Vida has a grassroots program of brand ambassadors who drive customers to the website and generate buzz in local communities, digitally through their social media channels, in person through events, and through word of mouth.
PR & Influencer Marketing. The Pura Vida brand story is told through media and editorial placements, seeding with celebrities and relevant publications, and working with brand influencers across various key markets and demographic profiles. Pura Vida has also built a network of micro influencers and content creators who post for our brand in exchange for product and exposure on our social channels.
Charity Collaborations. Pura Vida has partnered with charities to donate to causes that are important to our customers. To date, Pura Vida has donated nearly $6.5 million to various charities around the world.
Experiential Marketing. To reach both existing and new customers and bring the brand to life, Pura Vida has hosted events at our retail stores, in-person brand activations on college campuses and relevant public events, and built a brand presence at partner-owned events such as the Varsity Cheer League.
Seasonality
Because Vera Bradley and Pura Vida products are frequently given as gifts, we have historically realized, and expect to continue to realize, higher sales and operating income in the fourth quarter of our fiscal year, which includes the holiday months of November and December. In addition, our products are popular during back-to-school periods of August and September. Fluctuations in sales and operating income in any fiscal quarter are affected by the timing of seasonal wholesale shipments and other events affecting retail sales.
Channels of Distribution
We distribute our Vera Bradley products through our VB Direct (including e-commerce and retail stores) and VB Indirect segments and Pura Vida products primarily through e-commerce, wholesale retailers, and retail stores. This multi-channel distribution model is designed to enable operational flexibility and maximizes the methods by which we can access potential customers.
Vera Bradley Direct Segment
Full-Line Stores. We have developed a retail presence through our full-line stores, all located in the United States, which provides us with a format to showcase our brand and the full array of Vera Bradley products. As of February 1, 2025, we operated 39 full-line stores averaging approximately 2,000 square feet per store. Our sales associates are passionate about our products and customer service, which we believe translates into a superior shopping experience.
Outlet Stores. Our outlet stores are a vehicle for selling styles made specifically for our outlet channel, as well as retired merchandise at discounted prices, while maintaining brand integrity. Typically, approximately 93% of the merchandise found in our outlet stores consists of exclusive styles. Outlet stores are an integral part of our distribution strategy, as this format provides an additional channel of distribution for our products and enables us to better target value-oriented customers. Our outlet stores average approximately 3,500 square feet per store. As of February 1, 2025, we operated 87 outlet stores, all located in the United States.
Store Location Selection Strategy. Our store location decisions for both full-line and outlet stores are made based upon our comprehensive retail strategy that includes actual and planned penetration in both Indirect and Direct segments, as well as existing e-commerce demand. While we forecast that we will close additional full-line stores, we believe that long-term expansion of our store base is necessary to increase brand awareness and reinforce our brand image by contributing to our omni-channel retail strategy. In addition to analyzing store economics, we pay particular attention to the location within the shopping center, the size and shape of the space, and co-tenancies. Along with seeking co-tenants that we believe share our target customer, we seek a balanced mix of moderate and high-end retailers to encourage high levels of traffic.
Store Operations. The focus of our store operations is providing consumers with a comfortable and memorable shopping experience. We strive to make the experience interactive through special store events. Our customer service philosophy emphasizes friendly service, merchandise knowledge, and passion for the brand. Consequently, an essential requirement for the success of our stores is our ability to attract, train, and retain talented, highly motivated district managers, store managers, and sales associates.
E-Commerce. We sell our products through the the Vera Bradley websites (verabradley.com, international.verabradley.com, and outlet.verabradley.com) as well as direct to consumer marketplaces. The objective of these websites is to provide both a mechanism for marketing directly to consumers and a storefront where consumers can find the entire full-line Vera Bradley collection. During fiscal 2021, we re-platformed our websites to become more streamlined, nimble, and efficient in our technology platform and business processes. Between 2018 and late calendar 2023, we also operated a flash online outlet site to reduce clearance sales from verabradley.com. In November 2023, we transformed the online outlet from a flash-sale model to an everyday extension of our outlet stores. This brought new customers to the brand and helped offset weakness in the outlet store channel. We had approximately 62 million visits to verabradley.com and our online outlet site during fiscal 2025.
Annual Outlet Sale. Our annual outlet sale is typically held in the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Exposition Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The annual outlet sale is an important tradition for Vera Bradley, has many loyal followers, and is an opportunity for us to sell our retired merchandise at discounted prices in a brand-right fashion.
Vera Bradley Indirect Segment
As of February 1, 2025, we sold our products in approximately 1,200 specialty retail locations, as well as department stores, national accounts, third-party e-commerce sites, and third-party inventory liquidators, as well as through licensing agreements. We currently sell our products in approximately 250 department store locations as well as Amazon.com and other third party marketplaces.
The top 25% of our specialty retailers account for approximately 84% of total specialty retailer revenue. No single Indirect retailer represented more than 8% of consolidated net revenues in fiscal 2025, with the top ten Indirect retailers representing in the aggregate, approximately 78% of total Indirect segment net revenues. The majority of our Indirect retailers have been customers for over five years.
Indirect Sales Force
We believe that having a combination of an in-house field sales force and a third-party agency, covering certain geographies, results in a more consistent brand presentation and messaging, enhanced support for our Indirect customers, and a more predictable, scalable, and cost-efficient business model.
In addition to acquiring new and growing existing accounts, our sales consultants serve as a support center for our Indirect customers by assisting and educating them in areas such as merchandising and visual presentation, marketing the brand, product selection, and inventory management. Our visual merchandising program provides our sales consultants with a framework to guide our Indirect customers regarding optimal product placement and display that is intended to reinforce the message that our brand is distinctive.
Pura Vida Segment
E-Commerce. Pura Vida products are available on our website, www.puravidabracelets.com. Pura Vida’s website immerses visitors in the brand, its products, and its social mission. Pura Vida is a digitally native brand, and the e-commerce storefront continues to be the primary source of revenues for the Pura Vida business.
Wholesale. The Pura Vida wholesale channel is comprised primarily of specialty stores including Tilly’s, The Paper Store, Ron Jon Surf Shops, and Hallmark stores, among others. Pura Vida also sells in select department stores and has a presence on Amazon.com through a third-party wholesaler. We have a combination of in-house and external sales personnel who work with our wholesale retailers regarding order fulfillment and compilation.
Retail. Pura Vida has seven retail store locations. Two of the locations opened in fiscal 2025, four opened in fiscal 2023, and one location opened in fiscal 2022. Our full-line locations are allowing us to showcase the Pura Vida lifestyle with a full array of existing products and new product innovations.
Manufacturing and Supply Chain Model
Vera Bradley
Our multi-country manufacturing and supply chain model is designed to achieve efficient, timely, and accurate order fulfillment while maintaining appropriate levels of inventory.
Our manufacturing and sourcing strategy is part of the larger cross-functional product development process. The overall objective for our sourcing team is to build and sustain collaborative partnerships throughout our supply chain, with a focus on identifying appropriate countries and partners to manufacture our products while maintaining and focusing on flexibility. Our sourcing team leverages its expertise in negotiation, relationship management, flexibility, and change management to maintain a strong, diverse global supply chain. Our sourcing team also focuses on achieving the right balance of production sites and countries of origin to mitigate the risk of concentrated production, including potential incremental tariffs. To continue to assist in this risk mitigation, our sourcing team reduced our Vera Bradley production in China from over 50% in fiscal 2019 to approximately 11% in fiscal 2025.
We strive to maintain the appropriate balance of inventory to enable us to provide a high level of service to our customers, including prompt and accurate delivery of our products at a reasonable cost. We believe that we have an active and nimble sales and operations planning process that helps us balance the supply and demand issues that we encounter in our business, optimize our inventory levels, and anticipate inventory needs. We have also integrated our Vera Bradley planning, forecasting, and segmentation processes under one function called Merchandise Planning and Allocation.
Approximately 40% of Vera Bradley product sales are derived from cotton-based materials. Our remaining fabrics and materials including leather, fleece, polyester, nylon, and microfiber. We work with fabric mill partners across Asia and work with leather tannery partners in South Korea and Europe. Most of our non-cotton fabrics are sourced in China and South Korea. The majority of our cotton-based products are sourced from India, South Korea, and Pakistan.
Our global sourcing team identifies, evaluates, and selects suppliers to fulfill the sourcing strategy. Conducting market analysis and supplier assessment to identify potential partners are integral to maintaining a competitive edge and driving profitability. The global sourcing team collaborates with carefully selected and screened suppliers to negotiate contracts and agreements, balance cost, lead time, quality, and reliability across our supplier network and maximize operational efficiency. Developing a long-term and mutually beneficial relations with suppliers and to foster collaboration and innovation is an important part of our sourcing matrix. The global sourcing team ensures a diversified supplier base to minimize single source dependency and is also monitoring geopolitical factors and market trends to anticipate and mitigate supply chain risks.
We proactively manage raw materials cost fluctuations through securing early bookings at strategically favorable times. All of our suppliers must comply with our quality standards, and we use only a limited number of pre-approved suppliers who have demonstrated a commitment to delivering the highest quality products. We are continually updating our factory audit process and building a better compliance program to ensure our vendor code of conduct is met.
We partner with BetterWork to conduct our factory audits. BetterWork brings diverse groups together (governments, global brands, factory owners, unions, and workers) to improve working conditions in the garment industry and make the sector more competitive. These audits encompass both the Vera Bradley and Pura Vida brands as they relate to our purchases in Cambodia and Bangladesh.
The majority of our Vera Bradley finished goods, not sourced through licenses or strategic partners, are manufactured by a variety of global manufacturers located primarily in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, and the Philippines. With the oversight of our office in Hong Kong and our independent contractors, we believe financial benefits have been realized without sacrificing the level of quality inherent in our products or service to our customers.
Pura Vida
Pura Vida products are sourced primarily from El Salvador, as well as China, India, Guatemala, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Pura Vida has continued an active supply chain diversification process to ensure a focus on maintaining flexibility and to help mitigate the risk of concentrated production, similar to the Vera Bradley supply chain.
When determining the size of orders placed with our manufacturers, Pura Vida has taken into account forward-looking demand, lead times for specific products, current inventory levels, and minimum order quantity requirements. Overseas production has resulted in substantial cost savings and a reduction of capital investment.
Distribution Centers
Vera Bradley owns a 428,500 square-foot distribution center in Roanoke, Indiana. This facility allows Vera Bradley employees to receive information directly from the order-collection center and quickly identify the products and quantities necessary to fulfill a particular order. The facility’s technology enables us to accurately process and pack orders, as well as track shipments and inventory. We believe that our systems for the processing and shipment of orders from our distribution center have enabled us to improve our overall customer service through enhanced order accuracy and reduced turnaround time; however, we continue to make technology and automation enhancements to our distribution center processes to promote optimal output.
Vera Bradley products are shipped primarily via third-party common carriers to our stores, our Indirect retailers, and directly to our customers who purchase through our website. We believe we are positioned well to support the order fulfillment requirements of our business, including business generated through our website.
Pura Vida products for the U.S. e-commerce site and wholesale accounts are distributed primarily through a third-party provider in Tijuana, Mexico. Pura Vida also distributes product through third-party provider in Canada, which supports Canadian wholesale operations.
Management Information Systems
We believe that high levels of automation and technology are essential to maintain our competitive position. We maintain computer hardware, applications, and networks to enhance and accelerate the design process, to support the sale and distribution of our products to our customers, and to improve the integration and efficiency of our operations. Our information systems are designed to provide, among other things, enterprise class business management, comprehensive order processing for all commerce channels, production, accounting, and management information and analytics for the product development, retail, sales, marketing, distribution, finance, and human resources functions of our business. At Vera Bradley, our ERP, POS, Business Intelligence, and Order Management systems are on cloud-based platforms, streamlining and simplifying our work and providing for additional capabilities such as multi-company operations on the same platform. We continue to assess our on-premise and cloud-based technology solutions in an effort to ensure we have the optimal solutions for our business.
Competition
For both Vera Bradley and Pura Vida, we face strong competition in each of the product lines and markets in which we compete. We believe that all of our products are in similar competitive positions with respect to the number of competitors they face and the level of competition within each product line. Due to the number of different products we offer, it is not practicable for us to quantify the number of competitors we face. Our products compete with other branded products within their product categories and with private label products sold by retailers. Moreover, the general availability of contract manufacturing allows new entrants to relatively easily access the markets in which we compete, which may increase the number of competitors and adversely affect our competitive position and our business. We compete against other independent retailers, department stores, catalog retailers, gift retailers, and Internet businesses that engage in the retail sale of similar products.
The market for handbags and accessories, in particular, is highly competitive. Our competitors include not only established companies that are expanding their production and marketing of handbags and accessories, but also frequent new entrants to the market. We directly compete with wholesalers and direct sellers of branded handbags and accessories.
In varying degrees, depending on the product category involved, we compete on the basis of design (aesthetic appeal), quality (construction), function, price point, distribution, and brand positioning. We believe that our primary competitive advantages are consumer recognition of our brands, customer loyalty and engagement, product development expertise, and our widespread presence through our multi-channel distribution model. Some of our competitors have achieved significant recognition for their brand names or have substantially greater financial, distribution, marketing, and other resources than we do. Further, we may face new competitors and increased competition from existing competitors as we expand into new markets and increase our presence in existing markets.
Copyrights and Trademarks
For Vera Bradley, the development of new patterns includes the design of primary and secondary prints. Once developed, we generally copyright our patterns as appropriate. We currently have over 1,350 copyrights related to the Vera Bradley business.
We also own the material trademark rights used in connection with the production, marketing, and distribution of all of our products, both in the United States and in the other countries in which our products are principally sold. Our trademarks include “Vera Bradley” and “Pura Vida.” We aggressively police our trademarks and copyrights and pursue infringers and counterfeiters both domestically and internationally. Our trademarks will remain in existence for as long as we continue to use and renew them in advance of their expiration dates. We have no material patents.
Human Capital
Equal employment opportunities are available to all persons at Vera Bradley, Inc. without regard to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, age, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status or any other category protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. We put this standard into practice through our hiring, training, and an annual affirmative action program.
As of February 1, 2025, we had approximately 1,725 employees. Of the total, approximately 1,215 were engaged in Vera Bradley retail selling positions; approximately 190 were engaged in Vera Bradley distribution, sourcing and quality functions; approximately 25 were engaged in Vera Bradley product design; approximately 95 were involved in the Pura Vida business, including the Pura Vida retail stores; and approximately 200 were engaged in corporate support and administrative functions. None of our employees are represented by a union. We believe that our relations with our employees are good, and we have never encountered a significant work stoppage other than as related to temporary stoppages necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project Quilt. Our Company-wide diversity and inclusion initiative, Project Quilt, continues to enhance diversity, equality, and inclusion, focusing on three key areas - the Associate Experience, the Customer Experience, and the Community Experience. The goal of the program is to make all associates feel welcome and a part of the Vera Bradley community.
Engagement. Vera Bradley believes it is critical to engage its different stakeholders in order to understand their views, values, and ideas and to design a more responsible environment for all involved. This stakeholder group includes associates. The Company engages its associates through surveys, town halls, and focus groups. Collectively, the Company's success is based upon the unique value of each person's contributions. Our long-term success depends on talented and engaged associates.
Every year, we conduct an associate engagement survey in order to better understand our associates’ insights into our Company’s strengths and opportunities. The feedback gave us insight into improvement opportunities and is instrumental in decisions we make to shape, strengthen, and improve our Company. As a result of the survey feedback, over the last several years we have made meaningful improvements to benefits, career development, compensation, mental health and wellness programs, and our facilities. We believe listening to our associates’ feedback provided through the annual engagement survey continually strengthens our corporate culture.
Pay and Benefits. The Company offers competitive pay packages that include market-competitive base and hourly compensation, healthcare, a 401(k) savings plan that includes a Company contribution match, paid time off (including for volunteerism), paid family leave, matching gifts program, and an Employee Assistance Program.
Leadership Programs. Our associates are our biggest asset and when they win, we all win. We recognize everyone in the Company has the ability to lead by example and influence others in a positive way that ultimately provides meaningful value and will make us stronger. Our long-term initiative, Leaders by Design, encourages our associates to grow as leaders through new associate orientation and onboarding, formal training programs, mentorship programs, job shadowing and career-pathing programs and development, including THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE®, a globally recognized, research-based leadership development program designed to enhance leadership effectiveness.
Associate Safety. Associate safety and well-being is of paramount importance to our Company. We have a comprehensive employee safety program, WorkWISE Wellness, that focuses on overall employee health and safety. The WorkWISE Wellness program emphasizes our high standard of safety throughout all operations of the organization. The program and its materials, including a comprehensive Safety Manual, addresses a variety of topics including reporting injuries, OSHA compliance, and emergency procedures (related to workplace violence, active shooters, severe weather and blood-borne pathogens, among others). Policies are routinely communicated, and training is provided to associates as appropriate.
Government Regulation
Many of our imported products are subject to existing or potential duties or tariffs that may limit the quantity of products that we may import into the United States and other countries or impact the cost of such products. Customs duties have not comprised a material portion of the total cost of a majority of our products. In addition, we are subject to foreign governmental regulation and trade restrictions, including U.S. retaliation against prohibited foreign practices, with respect to our product sourcing and international sales operations.
We are subject to federal, state, local, and foreign laws and regulations governing environmental matters, including the handling, transportation, and disposal of our products and our non-hazardous and hazardous substances and wastes, as well as emissions and discharges into the environment, including discharges to air, surface water, and groundwater. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could result in costs for corrective action, penalties, or the imposition of other liabilities. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations has not had a material effect upon our capital expenditures, earnings, or competitive position. If we violate any laws or regulations, however, it could have a material adverse effect on our business or financial performance.
Information About Our Executive Officers
The following table sets forth certain information concerning each of our executive officers:
Name Age Position(s)
Jacqueline Ardrey 55 Chief Executive Officer, President and Director, Vera Bradley, Inc.
Michael Schwindle 57 Chief Financial Officer, Vera Bradley, Inc.
Mark C. Dely 49 Chief Administrative & Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Vera Bradley, Inc.
Alison Hiatt 54 Chief Marketing Officer, Vera Bradley
Jacqueline Ardrey has served as our Chief Executive Officer and Director since November 2022. Prior to joining Vera Bradley, Inc., Ms. Ardrey held the post of President at home furnishings and seasonal décor catalog and online retailer Grandin Road, part of the Qurate Retail Group, between 2018 and October 2022. Previously, Ms. Ardrey was CEO of Trading Company Holdings and Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Supply Chain for omnichannel gourmet food and gifting brand Harry and David. Prior to that, she spent 14 years at multi-channel high-end children’s retailer Hanna Andersson in various roles of increasing responsibility, including Senior Vice President of Merchandising, Design, and Wholesale. Ms. Ardrey began her retail career with the May Company.
Michael Schwindle was named Chief Financial Officer in May 2023. Prior to joining Vera Bradley, Mr. Schwindle served as CFO for accessory and jewelry retailer Claire’s, between 2020 and April 2023. From 2018 to 2020 Mr. Schwindle was CFO at Fleet Farm, a big-box retailer. Prior to that, he held CFO roles at specialty retailers Payless ShoeSource, Harry & David, and Musician’s Friend, as well as other key financial positions at Home Depot and Limited Brands. Mr. Schwindle began his career at Deloitte & Touche, LLP.
Mark C. Dely joined the Company in August 2016 as our Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary and was promoted to also serve as the Chief Administrative Officer in September 2017. Between January 2013 and August 2016, Mr. Dely served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary of Fred’s, Inc., a publicly-traded retailer and pharmacy with locations throughout the Southeast. From July 2007 to December 2012, Mr. Dely was Vice President and Divisional General Counsel of the Franchise Services Group for The ServiceMaster Company, where he managed the legal function for the Company's global franchise businesses. Mr. Dely’s additional experience includes being the first in-house counsel for NYSE-listed seed and agricultural-biotech company, Delta & Pine Land Company. Mr. Dely began his legal career at New York law firm Fried Frank, LLP.
Alison Hiatt joined the Company in January 2023 as Chief Marketing Officer of the Vera Bradley brand. From October 2019 through October 2022, Ms. Hiatt was Chief Marketing Officer for Salt and Straw, where she was an instrumental part of transforming the unique ice cream company from a regional brand to an emerging national brand through innovative marketing, digital, and e-commerce initiatives and strategic partnerships. Prior to Salt and Straw, from January 2015 to May 2019, Ms. Hiatt was Chief Marketing Officer of Banfield Pet Hospitals, a division of Mars, Inc. Previously, Ms. Hiatt held marketing-related and other retail posts with REI, Starbucks, and Amazon.
Available Information
Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge on our website, www.verabradley.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). No information contained on our website is intended to be included as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider all of the information in this report, including the following factors, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations in future periods. The risks described below are not the only risks that we face. Additional risks not currently known to us, or that we currently deem to be immaterial, also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations in future periods.
Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Industry
If we are unable to successfully implement our long-term strategic plans and growth strategies, including Project Restoration, our future operating results could suffer.
The success of our long-term strategic plan and growth strategies, including Project Restoration, alone or collectively, will depend on various factors, including the appeal of our product designs, retail presentation to consumers, effectiveness of our marketing initiatives, expense-saving initiatives, competitive conditions, and economic conditions. Project Restoration represents our business strategy to revitalize our consumer, brand, product, and channel components for both Vera Bradley and Pura Vida brands in order to serve our customers, grow our revenues, and increase our profitability. There is no assurance that we will be able to successfully implement our strategic plan and growth strategies. If we are unsuccessful in implementing some or all of our strategies or initiatives, our future operating results could be adversely impacted.
Changes in general economic conditions and political uncertainty, including policies related to global trade and
tariffs, and their impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending, could negatively impact our
profitability and net revenues, which could force us to delay or slow the implementation of our growth strategies
and adversely impact our results of operations.
Our performance is subject to general economic conditions and political uncertainty and their impact on levels of consumer confidence and consumer spending. Consumer confidence and consumer spending may be influenced by levels of inflation, fluctuating interest rates and credit availability (including possible exposure to bank failures), changing fuel and other energy costs, fluctuating commodity prices, levels of unemployment and consumer debt levels, tariffs, trade barriers or other measures that create barriers to or increase the costs associated with international trade, changes in net worth based on market conditions, general uncertainty regarding the overall future economic environment, political turmoil and uncertainty, pandemics or other public health matters, and weather and weather-related phenomena.
Consumer purchases of discretionary items, including our merchandise, generally decline during periods when disposable income is adversely affected or there is economic or political uncertainty. This includes rising geopolitical tensions and U.S. policies related to global trade and tariffs. The deterioration of economic relations between countries, such as changes in or terminations of existing trade agreements, or the imposition of tariffs (including recent U.S. tariffs imposed or threatened to be imposed on Canada, Mexico, China, and other countries, and any retaliatory actions taken by such countries) or otherwise, could impact our profitability or otherwise have an adverse effect on our business.
In addition, in the event of a downturn in the U.S. economy, or if there is a decline in consumer-spending levels or other unfavorable conditions, including inflationary pressure, we could experience lower than expected net revenues, which could force us to delay or slow the implementation of our growth strategies and adversely impact our results of operations.
If we are unable to predict and respond in a timely manner to changes in consumer demand, our net revenues and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our success depends on our ability to gauge the fashion tastes of our customers and to provide merchandise that satisfies consumer demand in a timely manner. Our products must appeal to a broad range of consumers whose preferences cannot be predicted with certainty and are subject to rapid change. We cannot assure that we will be able to develop appealing patterns, styles, and collections or meet changing consumer demands in the future. If we misjudge the market for our products, we may be faced with significant excess inventories for some products and missed opportunities for other products. In addition, changes to our product assortment and to our available fabrications, as well as the availability and breadth of pattern assortment may not gain consumer acceptance. Merchandise misjudgments could adversely impact our net revenues and results of operations.
We may experience declines in comparable sales which could negatively affect the price of our common stock.
We may not be able to regain the levels of comparable sales that we have experienced in the past, and comparable sales may also further deteriorate. If our future comparable sales fail to meet market expectations, then the price of our common stock could decline. Also, the aggregate results of operations of our stores have fluctuated in the past and will fluctuate in the future. Numerous factors influence comparable sales, including fashion trends, competition, national and regional economic conditions, pricing, inflation, the timing of the release of new merchandise and promotional events, changes in our merchandise mix, marketing programs, changes in consumer shopping trends, site selection strategies, public health matters, and weather
conditions. These factors may cause our comparable sales results to be lower in the future than in recent periods or lower than expectations, either of which could result in a decline in the price of our common stock.
If our multi-channel distribution model is not successful, our business and results of operations may suffer.
We currently sell our Vera Bradley-branded products into two segments: Direct to consumers through Vera Bradley full-line and outlet stores in the United States, the Vera Bradley websites (verabradley.com, international.verabradley.com, and outlet.verabradley.com), the Vera Bradley annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana as well as direct to consumer marketplaces; and through our Vera Bradley Indirect wholesale business which consists of sales to specialty retail locations, department stores, national accounts, third-party e-commerce sites, third-party inventory liquidators, as well as royalties recognized through licensing agreements related to the Vera Bradley brand. We currently sell Pura Vida-branded products direct to consumers through our e-commerce website (puravidabracelets.com), through wholesale retailers, and through our seven retail stores. These channels are sometimes in direct competition and sales through these channels may not be incremental to total sales. If our omni-channel distribution model is unsuccessful, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We may not be able to successfully open new stores and/or operate new and current stores as planned, which could adversely impact our results of operations.
Our long-term future growth prospects include our ability to successfully open new stores and operate new and current Vera Bradley and Pura Vida stores. In recent years, however, Vera Bradley comparable store sales have declined. Consequently, the rate at which we have opened new stores has slowed. We have closed a total of 79 underperforming full-line stores and four underperforming outlet stores since the beginning of fiscal 2015 and forecast that we will close additional full-line stores. We plan to open two additional Vera Bradley stores during fiscal 2026. We will continue to evaluate our plans for store openings in future years in light of demand and store performance.
Our ability to successfully open and operate stores depends on many factors, including our ability to:
•identify suitable store locations, the availability of which may be uncertain;
•negotiate acceptable lease terms, including desired tenant improvement allowances;
•hire, train, and retain store personnel and management;
•assimilate new store personnel and management into our corporate culture;
•source and manufacture inventory; and
•successfully integrate new stores into our existing operations and information technology systems.
The success of new store openings may also be affected by our ability to initiate marketing efforts in advance of opening our first store in a particular region. Additionally, we will incur pre-opening costs and we may encounter initial losses while new stores commence operations, which could strain our resources and adversely impact our results of operations.
Our business depends on strong brands. If we are unable to execute our marketing strategies, intended to enhance our brands, then revenues and our results of operations could be adversely impacted.
We believe that the brand images that we have developed have contributed significantly to the success of our business. We also believe that enhancing the Vera Bradley and Pura Vida brands through our marketing strategies is critical to maintaining and expanding our customer base. Enhancing our brands and implementing our marketing strategies may require us to make substantial investments in areas such as product design, store operations, store design, community relations, and marketing. These investments might not succeed. If we are unable to successfully execute our brand strategies, our results of operations could be adversely impacted.
Closing stores could result in significant costs to us.
We have closed a total of 79 underperforming full-line stores and four underperforming outlet stores since the beginning of fiscal 2015 and forecast that we will close additional stores. We could, in the future, decide to close additional stores beyond those currently forecasted that are producing losses or that are not as profitable as we expect. If we decide to close any stores before the expiration of their lease terms, we may incur payments to landlords to terminate or “buy out” the remaining term of the lease. We also may incur costs related to the employees at such stores, whether or not we terminate the leases early. Upon any such closure, the closing costs, including fixed assets and inventory write-downs, could adversely affect our results of operations and our cash on hand.
Our ability to attract customers to our stores depends heavily on the success of the shopping centers in which many of our stores are located.
Substantially all of our Vera Bradley Direct stores are located in regional mall shopping centers, and many of our Vera Bradley Indirect customers are also located in regional mall shopping centers. Factors beyond our control impact mall traffic, including general economic conditions, consumer spending levels, and pandemics or other public health matters. Consumer spending and mall traffic have been depressed in recent years. As a result, mall operators have faced increasing operational and financial difficulties. The increasing inability of mall “anchor” tenants and other area attractions to generate consumer traffic around our stores, the increasing inability of mall operators to attract “anchor” tenants and maintain viable operations, and the increasing departures of existing “anchor” and other mall tenants due to declines in the sales volume and in the popularity of certain malls as shopping destinations, have reduced and may continue to reduce our sales volume and, consequently, adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We are subject to risks associated with leasing substantial amounts of space, including future increases in occupancy costs.
We lease all of our store locations. We typically occupy our stores under operating leases with terms of ten years. We have been able to negotiate favorable rental rates in recent years due in part to the state of the economy and high vacancy rates within some shopping centers, but there is no assurance that we will be able to continue to negotiate such favorable terms. Some of our leases have early cancellation clauses, which permit the lease to be terminated by us or the landlord if certain sales levels are not met in specific periods or if the shopping center does not meet specified occupancy standards. In addition to requiring future minimum lease payments, some of our store leases provide for the payment of common area maintenance charges, real property insurance, and real estate taxes. Many of our lease agreements have escalating rent provisions over the initial term and any extensions. If we expand our store base, our lease expense and our cash outlays for rent under lease agreements will increase. Our substantial operating lease obligations could have significant negative consequences, including:
•requiring that a substantial portion of our available cash be applied to pay our rental obligations, thus reducing cash available for other purposes;
•increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
•limiting our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business or industry; and
•limiting our ability to obtain additional financing.
Any of these consequences could place us at a disadvantage with respect to our competitors. We depend on cash flow from operating activities to pay our lease expenses and to fulfill our other cash needs. If our business does not generate sufficient cash flow from operating activities to fund these expenses and needs, we may not be able to service our lease expenses, grow our business, respond to competitive challenges, or fund our other liquidity and capital needs, which would harm our business.
Additional sites that we lease may be subject to long-term non-cancelable leases if we are unable to negotiate our current standard lease terms. If an existing or future store is not profitable, and we decide to close it, we may nonetheless be committed to perform our obligations under the applicable lease, including paying the base rent for the balance of the lease term. Moreover, even if a lease has an early cancellation clause, we may not satisfy the contractual requirements for early cancellation under the lease. Our inability to enter new leases or renew existing leases on acceptable terms or be released from our obligations under leases for stores that we close would, in any such case, affect us adversely.
Failure to effectively compete with other retailers for sales could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The market for bags, accessories, travel items and our other products is increasingly competitive. Our competitive challenges include:
•attracting customer traffic;
•sourcing and manufacturing merchandise efficiently;
•competitively pricing our products and achieving customer perception of value;
•maintaining favorable brand recognition and effectively marketing our products to consumers in diverse market segments;
•developing designs that appeal to a broad range of demographic and age segments;
•developing high-quality products;
•offering attractive promotional incentives while maintaining profit margins; and
•establishing and maintaining good working relationships with our wholesale retailers.
In our Vera Bradley Indirect business and Pura Vida wholesale business, we compete with numerous manufacturers, importers, and distributors of handbags, accessories, and other products for the limited space available for the display of such products to the consumer. In our Vera Bradley Direct business and Pura Vida e-commerce and retail store business, we compete against other gift and specialty retailers, department stores, catalog retailers, and Internet businesses that engage in the retail sale of similar products. Moreover, the general availability of contract manufacturing allows new entrants easy access to the markets in which we compete, which may increase the number of competitors and adversely affect our competitive position and our business.
In addition, in light of a continued difficult consumer environment, pricing is a significant driver of consumer choice in our industry and we regularly engage in price competition, particularly through our promotional programs, which impacts our margins. To the extent that we decrease our promotional activity or are otherwise unable to effectively compete on pricing, our ability to maintain sales levels may be adversely impacted.
Our wholesale business could suffer as a result of decisions by our wholesale retailers to decrease or eliminate the amount of merchandise purchased from us.
We do not enter into long-term agreements with any of our wholesale retailers. Instead, we enter into a number of purchase order commitments with our customers for each of our lines every season. A decision by a significant number of wholesale retailers, whether motivated by competitive conditions, operational or financial difficulties, reduced access to capital, or otherwise, to decrease or eliminate the amount of merchandise purchased from us or to change their manner of doing business with us could adversely impact our results of operations. Although we recommend retail sale prices for our products to our wholesale retailers, we typically do not provide dealer allowances or other economic incentives to support those prices. Possible promotional pricing or discounting by wholesale retailers in response to softening retail demand could have a negative effect on our brand image and prestige, which might be difficult to counteract.
Bankruptcies or other operational or financial difficulties of our wholesale retailers could adversely impact our business.
We sell our wholesale merchandise primarily to specialty retail and department stores across the United States and extend trade credit based on an evaluation of each wholesale retailer’s financial condition, usually without requiring collateral. Perceived or actual financial difficulties of a customer could cause us to curtail or eliminate business with that customer or could decrease demand for our products by that customer. Pending the resolution of a relationship with a financially troubled wholesale retailer, we might assume credit risk that we would otherwise avoid relating to our receivables from that customer. Inability to collect on accounts receivable from our wholesale retailers would adversely impact our results of operations and financial position.
Risks Related to Global Sourcing and Distribution
We rely on various contract manufacturers to produce all of our products and generally do not have long-term contracts with our manufacturers.
Our various contract manufacturers produce all of our products. We generally do not enter into long-term formal written agreements with our manufacturers and instead transact business with each of them on an order-by-order basis. In the event of a disruption in our contract manufacturers’ production systems, we may be unable to locate alternative manufacturers of comparable quality at an acceptable price or in a timely manner, or at all. Identifying a suitable manufacturer is an involved process that requires us to become satisfied with the prospective manufacturer’s quality control, responsiveness and service, financial stability, labor practices, and environmental compliance. Any delay, interruption, or increased cost in the manufactured products that might occur for any reason, such as the lack of long-term contracts or regulatory requirements and the loss of certifications, power interruptions, fires, hurricanes, war, pandemics or other public health matters, tariff-related cost increases, or threats of terrorism, could affect our ability to meet customer demand for our products, adversely affect our net revenues, increase our cost of sales, and hurt our results of operations. In addition, manufacturing disruption could injure our reputation and customer relationships, thereby harming our business.
We rely on various suppliers to supply a significant majority of our raw materials.
We generally do not enter into long-term formal written agreements with our suppliers and typically transact business with each of them on an order-by-order basis. In the event of a significant disruption in the supply of fabrics or raw materials from our current sources, we may not be able to locate alternative suppliers of materials of comparable quality at an acceptable price or in a timely manner, or at all. In such a case, we could have difficulty meeting consumer demand and net revenues could be adversely impacted.
We rely on a limited number of distribution facilities for the products we sell.
Distribution operations for Vera Bradley-branded products are currently concentrated in a single, company-owned distribution center in Roanoke, Indiana. Pura Vida-branded products are primarily distributed from one third-party distribution center in Tijuana, Mexico.
Any significant disruption in the operation of these facilities due to natural disaster or severe weather, or events such as fire, accidents, power outages, system failures, or other unforeseen causes, could devalue or damage a significant portion of our inventory and could adversely affect our product distribution and sales until such time as we could secure alternative facilities. In addition to the aforementioned events, pandemics or other public health matters could cause disruptions in our distribution operations if we were to temporarily suspend operations, or if we are unable to obtain the staffing levels required to effectively operate the facilities. If we encounter difficulties with our distribution facilities or other problems or disasters arise, we cannot ensure that critical systems and operations will be restored in a timely manner or at all, and this would have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, if our distribution facilities are unable to sufficiently meet the capacity needs for the future growth of our business and products, we could be required to further expand our current facilities, which could affect us adversely in ways that we cannot predict.
The cost of raw materials could increase our cost of sales and cause our results of operations to suffer.
Fluctuations in the price, availability, and quality of fabrics or other raw materials used to manufacture our products, as well as increases in the price for labor, marketing, and transportation, could have adverse impacts on our cost of sales and our ability to meet our customers’ demands. In particular, increases in the price of cotton, our primary raw material, could have an adverse impact on our cost of sales. In addition, because synthetic components of our products are petroleum-based, the cost of oil affects the cost of our products. Upward movements in the price of oil in the global oil markets would also likely result in rising fuel and freight prices, which could increase our shipping costs. In the future, we may not be able to pass all or a portion of such higher costs on to our customers.
Our business is subject to the risks inherent in global sourcing and manufacturing activities.
We source our Vera Bradley raw materials primarily from various suppliers in Asia, with the majority of non-cotton based products coming from China and South Korea. Our cotton-based products are sourced from areas outside of China. For Vera Bradley, we outsource the production of a significant majority of our products to companies in Asia. Pura Vida components are primarily sourced from Asia and outsource the production of products primarily to El Salvador. We are subject to the risks inherent in global sourcing and manufacturing, including, but not limited to:
•exchange rate fluctuations and trends;
•availability of raw materials;
•compliance with labor laws and other foreign governmental regulations;
•compliance with U.S. import and export laws and regulations including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) as described below;
•disruption or delays in shipments;
•loss or impairment of key manufacturing sites;
•product quality issues;
•political unrest;
•natural disasters, acts of war and terrorism, changing macroeconomic trends, pandemics or other public health matters, and other external factors over which we have no control; and
•quotas, duties, tariffs, or other trade restrictions or regulations.
The UFLPA went into effect on June 21, 2022. The act establishes a rebuttable presumption that the importation into the United States of any goods manufactured in whole or partially in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, or produced by certain entities, is prohibited entry. The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection employs a risk-based approach that prioritizes the highest-risk goods based on current data and intelligence available to them at the time of entry.
Significant disruption of manufacturing for any of the above reasons could interrupt product supply and, if not remedied in a timely manner, could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. Additionally, we do not have complete oversight over our contract manufacturers. Violations of labor or other laws by those manufacturers, or the divergence of a contract manufacturer’s labor or other practices from those generally accepted as ethical in the United States or in other markets in
which we may in the future do business, could also draw negative publicity for us and our brands, diminishing the value of our brands and reducing demand for our products.
Our ability to source our products at favorable prices, or at all, could be harmed, with adverse effects on our results of operations, if new trade restrictions are imposed,, existing trade restrictions become more burdensome, or increased tariffs are implemented.
A significant majority of our Vera Bradley and Pura Vida products are currently manufactured for us in Asia and Central America, respectively. The United States and the countries in which our products are produced have imposed and may impose additional quotas, duties, tariffs, or other restrictions or regulations or may adversely adjust prevailing quotas, duties, or tariffs. 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, which include embargoes, safeguards, and customs restrictions, could increase the cost or reduce the supply of products available to us or could require us to modify our supply chain organization or other current business practices, any of which could harm our results of operations.
In addition, the current U.S. presidential administration has implemented tariffs and has signaled that it may implement additional or increased tariffs, other trade restrictions, or may alter trade agreements between the U.S. and Canada, China, the European Union and Mexico, among others. Such actions include limiting trade and/or imposing tariffs on imports from such countries. Tariffs have the potential to significantly raise the cost of our merchandise. In such a case, there can be no assurance that we will be able to shift manufacturing and supply agreements to non-impacted countries to reduce the effects of tariffs. As a result, we may suffer margin erosion or be required to raise our prices, which may result in the loss of customers and negatively impact our results of operations.
We rely on independent transportation providers for substantially all of our product shipments.
We currently rely on independent transportation service providers for substantially all of our product shipments. Our utilization of these delivery services, or those of any other shipping companies that we may elect to use, is subject to risks, including increases in fuel prices, which would increase our shipping costs, employee strikes, labor shortages, and inclement weather, which may impact a shipping company’s ability to provide delivery services sufficient to meet our shipping needs.
If for any reason we were to change shipping companies, we could face logistical difficulties that might adversely affect deliveries, and we would incur costs and expend resources in the course of making the change. Moreover, we might not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those received from the service providers that we currently use, which in turn would increase our costs. We also would face shipping and distribution risks and uncertainties associated with any expansion of our distribution facilities and related systems.
Losses or disruptions associated with our distribution systems could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
Our operating results depend on the orderly operation of our receiving and distribution functions, which also depends on our vendors' adherence to our shipping and receiving schedules. We may not anticipate all of the changing demands that our operating activities may impose on our receiving and distribution functions. There may also be events that are beyond our control that could cause delays in these functions, including but not limited to, changing macroeconomic trends, pandemics or other public health matters, and general disruptions or delays in shipping and receiving.
In addition, we rely on the flow of our goods through worldwide ports on a consistent basis. Disruption at the ports, such as labor work stoppages, could create significant risks to our business, particularly if the occurrence is during a peak import time. If we experience significant delays in our receipt of product, we may experience an increase in freight costs, unanticipated inventory shortages, and missed sales opportunities which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Risks Related to Information Technology and Security
A data security or privacy breach could damage our reputation and our relationships with our customers, expose us to litigation risk and adversely affect our business.
We remain dependent on information technology systems and networks, including the Internet, for a significant portion of our sales, primarily through our e-commerce operations and credit card transaction authorization and processing. We are also responsible for storing data relating to our customers and employees and rely on third parties for the operation of our e-commerce websites and for the various social media tools and websites we use as part of our marketing strategy. As part of our normal course of business, we often collect, retain, and transmit certain sensitive and confidential customer information, including the transmission of credit card information, over public networks. There is a significant concern by consumers and employees over the security of personal information transmitted over the Internet, consumer identity theft, and user privacy. Despite the security measures we currently have in place, our facilities and systems and those of our third-party service providers may be vulnerable to security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors, ransomware, or other similar events. The rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies by attackers may intensify our cybersecurity risks. Any electronic or physical security breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential or personally identifiable information, including penetration of our network security, whether by us or by a third-party, could disrupt our business, severely damage our reputation and our relationships with our customers, expose us to risks of litigation and liability, and adversely affect our business and results of operations. We do not control third-party service providers and cannot guarantee that electronic or physical computer break-ins and security breaches will not occur in the future. Any perceived or actual unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable information regarding our customers or website visitors could harm our reputation and credibility, reduce our e-commerce net sales, impair our ability to attract website visitors, and reduce our ability to attract and retain customers. We may also incur significant costs in complying with the various applicable state, federal, and foreign laws regarding unauthorized disclosure of personal information.
Our business could suffer if our computer systems and websites are disrupted or cease to operate effectively.
We are dependent on our computer systems to record and process transactions and manage and operate our business, including in designing, marketing, manufacturing, importing, tracking and distributing our products, processing payments, and accounting for and reporting results. We also utilize an automated replenishment system to facilitate the processing of basic replenishment orders, the movement of goods through distribution channels, and the collection of information for planning and forecasting. In addition, we have U.S. and international e-commerce websites. Given the complexity of our business and the significant number of transactions that we engage in, it is imperative that we maintain constant operation of our computer hardware and software systems. Despite our preventive efforts, including back-up systems, our systems are vulnerable from time to time to damage or interruption from, among other things, security breaches, computer viruses or power outages. Any material disruptions in our information technology systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are exposed to business risks as a result of our e-commerce operations.
We operate e-commerce stores at www.verabradley.com, outlet.verabradley.com, and international.verabradley.com, and www.puravidabracelets.com. Expanding our e-commerce business is one of the key objectives of our business strategy. Our e-commerce operations are subject to numerous risks, including unanticipated operating problems, reliance on third-party computer hardware and software providers, system failures, and the need to invest in additional computer systems. Specific risks include: (i) diversion of sales from our stores; (ii) rapid technological change; (iii) liability for e-commerce content; and (iv) risks related to the failure of the computer systems that operate the websites and their related support systems, including from computer viruses, telecommunication failures, and electronic break-ins and similar disruptions. Internet operations involve risks which may be beyond our control that could have a direct material adverse effect on our operating results, including: (i) price competition involving the items we intend to sell; (ii) the level of merchandise returns we experience; (iii) governmental regulation; (iv) e-commerce security breaches involving unauthorized access to our systems and/or customer information; (v) credit card fraud; and (vi) competition and general economic conditions specific to the Internet, e-commerce, and the accessories industry. If we are unable to effectively address these risks and any other risks that we face in connection with our Internet operations, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and/or cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
Risks Related to Tax and Valuation Matters
Fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate may result in volatility of our operating results and stock price.
We are subject to income taxes in many U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions. We record tax expense based on our estimates of future payments, which includes reserves for uncertain tax positions in multiple tax jurisdictions. At any one time, many tax years are subject to audit by various taxing jurisdictions. Further, possible changes in federal, state, local, and non-U.S. tax laws bearing upon our revenues, income, property, or other aspects of our operations or business would, if enacted, affect our results of operations in ways and to a degree that we cannot currently predict.
We have recorded long-lived asset impairment charges in the past and we may record material long-lived asset impairment charges in the future.
Quarterly, we assess whether events or changes in circumstances have occurred that indicate the carrying value of long-lived asset groups may not be recoverable. If we determine that the carrying value of long-lived asset groups are not recoverable, we will be required to record impairment charges relating to those assets. For example, our assessments during fiscal years 2025 and 2023 indicated that operating losses or insufficient operating income existed at certain retail stores, with a projection that the operating losses or insufficient operating income for those locations would continue. As such, we recorded non-cash charges of $2.6 million and $0.8 million during fiscal years 2025 and 2023, respectively, within selling, general, and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations to write down the carrying values of these stores' long-lived asset groups to their estimated fair values. We also recorded $0.6 million of a non-cash impairment charge relating to a corporate right-of-use asset in fiscal 2023. We recorded no long-lived asset impairments in fiscal 2024.
Our quarterly evaluation of store assets includes consideration of current and historical performance and projections of future profitability. The profitability projections rely upon estimates made by us, including store-level sales, gross margins, and direct expenses, and, by their nature, include judgments about how current strategic initiatives will impact future performance. If we are not able to achieve projected key financial metrics for any reason, including if any of the strategic initiatives we implement do not result in significant improvements in our current financial performance trend, this would indicate that the value of our long-lived assets was not recoverable and we would incur additional impairment of assets in the future.
In the event we record additional impairment charges, this could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Matters
There are claims made against us from time to time that can result in litigation or regulatory proceedings, which could distract management from our business activities and result in significant liability or damage to the images associated with our brands.
We increasingly face the risk of litigation and other claims against us. Litigation and other claims may arise in the ordinary course of our business and include employee claims, custom and duty claims, commercial disputes, intellectual property issues, marketing and solicitation claims, product-oriented allegations, and slip and fall claims. These cases often raise complex factual and legal issues, which are subject to risks and uncertainties and which could divert significant financial and management resources. Litigation and other claims against us could result in unexpected expenses and liability, as well as materially adversely affect our operations and our reputation.
Our inability or failure to protect our intellectual property or our infringement of other’s intellectual property could have a negative impact on our operating results.
We believe that our registered copyrights, registered and common law trademarks, and other proprietary rights have significant value and are critical to our ability to create and sustain demand for our products. The actions taken by us to establish and protect our proprietary rights may not be adequate to prevent imitation of our products or infringement of our rights by others. The legal regimes of some foreign countries, particularly China, may not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and it may be more difficult for us to successfully challenge the use of our proprietary rights by others in these countries. The inability to protect our copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights could adversely impact our results of operations. Any litigation regarding our proprietary rights could be time consuming and costly and could consume significant amounts of management's time that would otherwise be spent operating and growing our business.
We are also subject to the risk that claims will be brought against us for infringement of the intellectual property rights of third parties, seeking to block the sale of our products claimed to violate their intellectual property rights or to receive payment of monetary amounts related thereto. Although we have not been inhibited from selling our products in connection with intellectual property disputes, intellectual property-related obstacles may arise as we expand our product lines and extend our
brands as well as the geographic scope of our sales and marketing. In particular, we may be subject to copyright infringement claims for which we may not be entitled to indemnification from our suppliers. In addition, in recent years, companies in the retail industry, including us, have been subject to patent infringement claims from non-practicing entities, or “patent trolls.” Any infringement or other intellectual property claim made against us, whether or not it has merit, could be time-consuming and result in costly litigation. As a result, any such claim, or the combination of multiple claims, could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. If we are required to stop using any of our registered or nonregistered trademarks, our brands could be negatively affected, our sales could decline and, consequently, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.
The success of our Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) actions may impact the value of our brands.
There has been increasing stakeholder and regulatory focus on ESG matters affecting public companies. Expectations regarding ESG disclosures, setting and executing ESG-related goals, and achieving measurable progress in a timely manner could expose us to market, operational, and execution costs or risks. We expect that stakeholder expectations, as well as laws, rules and regulations, in these areas will continue to evolve quickly, which may result in the need for increased resources for ESG monitoring and reporting and adjustments to our operations may be necessary as a result. We could face scrutiny with respect to the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of our ESG-related disclosures. Additionally, disclosures about our ESG-related initiatives or goals, and progress towards those goals, may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve, and assumptions or third-party information that we believe to be reasonable but are subject to change in the future. We could also be subject to scrutiny with respect to the scope or nature of our ESG-related initiatives or goals, or for any revisions to those goals. Some stakeholders and customers may react negatively to the Company’s disclosure of ESG compliance efforts. Furthermore, if our ESG-related data, processes, and reporting are incomplete or inaccurate, or if we fail to achieve progress with respect to these initiatives or goals on a timely basis, or at all, our reputation and the value of our brands could be adversely affected. Any harm to our reputation resulting from a failure or perceived failure to meet ESG-related goals, metrics, or disclosures could adversely affect our business, financial performance, and growth.
Risks Related to the Securities Markets and Ownership of Our Common Stock
Our stock price may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance, and you may not be able to resell shares at or above the price at which you purchase them.
The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, most of which we cannot control, including:
•actions by other shopping mall or lifestyle center tenants;
•weather conditions, particularly during the holiday shopping period;
•unexpected departures of key executives;
•financial projections that we may choose to provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure for any reason to meet these projections;
•the public’s response to press releases or other public announcements by us or others, including our filings with the SEC and announcements relating to litigation and other matters;
•speculation about our business in the press or the investment community;
•future sales of our common stock by our significant shareholders, officers, and directors;
•our entry into new markets;
•the impact of wars, hostilities, riots, social unrest or acts of terrorism on trading markets;
•changes in laws or regulations that impact the retail industry, including the imposition or increase in the rate of tariffs or trade sanctions;
•strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;
•the outbreak of pandemics or other public health matters and the resulting adverse impact on the capital markets; and
•changes in accounting principles.
These and other factors may result in a lower market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.
In addition, the stock markets, including The NASDAQ Global Select Market, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many retail companies. In the past,
stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were involved in securities litigation, we could incur substantial costs and our resources and the attention of management could be diverted from our business.
A limited number of shareholders control a significant percentage of the voting power of our common stock, and therefore investors may have diminished ability to determine the outcome of shareholder votes.
Robert Hall, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, Joan Hall (Mr. Hall’s wife and Ms. Bradley Baekgaard’s daughter), Patricia R. Miller, and P. Michael Miller, directly or indirectly, beneficially own and have the ability to exercise voting control over, in the aggregate, 21.2% of our outstanding shares of common stock as of February 1, 2025. Fund 1 Investments, LLC beneficially owns and has the ability to exercise voting control over, in the aggregate, 10% of our outstanding shares of common stock as of February 1, 2025. As a result, these shareholders are able to exercise significant influence over all matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors, any amendments to our second amended and restated articles of incorporation, and significant corporate transactions. This concentrated ownership of outstanding common stock may diminish an investor's ability to influence corporate matters, and the interests of these shareholders may not coincide with our interests or interests of investors. As a result, we may take actions that investors do not believe to be in our interests or their interests and that could depress our stock price. In addition, this significant concentration of stock ownership may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock should investors perceive disadvantages in owning shares of common stock in a company that has such concentrated ownership.
Our business could be negatively affected as a result of the actions of activist shareholders.
We have been subject to shareholder activism and may be subject to such activism in the future, which could result in substantial costs and divert management’s and our Board of Directors’ (“Board”) attention and resources from our business. For example, on December 30, 2024, Fund 1 Investments, LLC delivered a letter to our Board calling for a the commencement of a strategic alternatives process.
In the future, we could become engaged in a consent solicitation, or proxy contest, or experience other shareholder activism. Activist shareholders may advocate for certain governance and strategic changes at our company. In the event of shareholder activism, particularly with respect to matters which our Board, in exercising their fiduciary duties, disagree with or have determined not to pursue, our business could be adversely affected because responding to actions by activist shareholders can be costly and time-consuming, disrupting our operations and diverting the attention of management, and perceived uncertainties as to our future direction may result in the loss of potential business opportunities and may make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel, business partners, and customers.
In addition, if faced with a consent solicitation or proxy contest, we may not be able to respond successfully to the contest or dispute, which would be disruptive to our business. If individuals are elected to our Board with a differing agenda, our ability to effectively and timely implement our strategic plans and create additional value for our shareholders may be adversely affected.
Our actual operating results may differ significantly from our guidance, which could cause incongruous fluctuation in our stock price.
From time to time, we provide guidance regarding our future performance that represents our management’s estimates as of the date of release. This guidance, which consists of forward-looking statements, is prepared by our management and is qualified by, and subject to, the assumptions and the other information contained or referred to in such release. Our guidance is not prepared with a view toward compliance with published guidelines of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and neither our independent registered public accounting firm nor any other independent expert or outside party compiles or examines our guidance and no such person expresses any opinion or any other form of assurance with respect thereto.
Guidance is based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while presented with numerical specificity, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control and are based upon specific assumptions with respect to future business decisions, some of which will change. We generally state possible outcomes as high and low ranges which are intended to provide a sensitivity analysis as variables are changed, but such statements are not intended to represent that actual results could not fall outside of the suggested ranges. The principal reason that we release this data is to provide a basis for our management to discuss our business outlook with analysts and investors. We do not accept any responsibility for any projections or reports published by any such persons.
Guidance is necessarily speculative in nature, and it can be expected that some or all of the assumptions of the guidance furnished by us will not materialize or will vary significantly from actual results. Accordingly, our guidance is only an estimate of what management believes is realizable as of the date of release. Actual results will vary from the guidance and the
variations may be material. Investors should also recognize that the reliability of any forecasted financial data diminishes the further into the future that the data are forecast.
In light of the foregoing, if investors, analysts, and others fail to review our guidance within the proper context or place undue reliance on our guidance, deviations from such guidance may result in incongruous fluctuation in our stock price.
Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents and Indiana law may discourage or prevent a change in control, even if a sale of the Company would be beneficial to our shareholders, which could cause our stock price to decline and prevent attempts by shareholders to replace or remove our current management.
Our second amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may delay or prevent a change in control, discourage bids at a premium over the market price of our common stock, harm the market price of our common stock, and diminish the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock. These provisions include:
•authorizing our Board to issue preferred stock and additional shares of our common stock without shareholder approval;
•prohibiting shareholder action by written consent;
•prohibiting our shareholders from calling a special meeting of shareholders; and
•requiring advance notice for raising business matters or nominating directors at shareholders’ meetings.
As permitted by our second amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, our Board has adopted a shareholder rights agreement, sometimes called a “poison pill,” providing for the issuance of a new series of preferred stock to holders of common stock. In the event of a takeover attempt, this preferred stock would give rights to holders of common stock (other than the potential acquirer) to buy additional shares of our common stock at a discount, leading to the dilution of the potential acquirer’s stake. The adoption of a poison pill, can have negative effects such as those described above.
As an Indiana corporation, we are governed by the Indiana Business Corporation Law (as amended from time to time, the “IBCL”). Under specified circumstances, certain provisions of the IBCL related to control share acquisitions, business combinations, and constituent interests may delay, prevent, or make more difficult unsolicited acquisitions or changes of control of us. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that shareholders might deem to be in their best interest.
Risks Related to Pandemics
The outbreak of pandemics, or events related thereto, may cause significant disruptions in our revenue streams, operations, global supply chain and other facets of our business, which may continue to adversely impact our results of operations, financial condition, and share price.
A pandemic (COVID-19) in the past resulted in travel restrictions both domestically and internationally, community and self-quarantines, certain factory closures or reduced operations, as well as mall closures and reduced mall operating hours. This could happen in the future as well. Due to the past pandemic we experienced significantly reduced traffic, demand, and sales. This could recur in the future. Future pandemic-related mandates from governments and public health officials may necessitate additional closures to some, or all, of our retail stores, the stores of our Indirect segment partners and Pura Vida wholesale retailers, or otherwise detrimentally impact aspects of our operations, as COVID-19 did in the past. Pandemics may reduce consumers' willingness and ability to travel to major cities and vacation destinations in which some of our stores are located.
In recent fiscal years, the COVID-19 pandemic led to temporary factory closures and production and logistics constraints due to workforce availability, as well as global supply chain challenges such as vessel and container shortages and port congestion. As a result of the aforementioned restrictions, or other related factors, we have experienced and may experience in the future delayed shipments and increased shipping costs for some of our merchandise. We may also be adversely impacted should a pandemic compromise operations at our corporate headquarters and distribution center located in Roanoke, Indiana.
The extent of a pandemic’s impact on our results of operations, financial condition, and share price will likely depend on the nature and seventy of the pandemic, future developments, including as may be related to the spread of new virus variants; mitigation activities undertaken by governments and the general public; the overall economic impacts of quarantines and business closures; and current, and potentially long-term, changes in consumer behavior.
As a result of the above-mentioned factors, the Company’s liquidity, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely impacted.
General Risk Factors
Our results of operations could suffer if we lose key management or design associates or are unable to attract and retain the talent required for our business.
Our performance depends largely on the efforts and abilities of our senior management and product development teams. These executives and design associates have substantial experience in our business and have made significant contributions to our growth and success. Although we have entered into an employment agreement with our Chief Executive Officer, we may not be able to retain her services or those of other key individuals in the future. The unexpected loss of services of key employees could have adverse impacts on our business and results of operations. We may also need to attract and retain additional qualified employees and develop, train, and manage an increasing number of management-level, sales, and other employees. Competition for qualified employees is intense. We may not be able to attract and retain employees as needed in the future.
Our results of operations could suffer if we are unable to attract and retain retail and distribution center employees required for our business.
We must attract, motivate, and retain a sufficient number of qualified retail and distribution center employees. Historically, competition for talent in these positions has been intense and turnover is generally high. If we are unable to attract and retain such employees with the necessary skills and experience, we may not achieve our objectives and our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be adversely impacted.
Our results of operations are subject to quarterly fluctuations, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
Our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate significantly as a result of a variety of factors, including, among other things:
•timing of new store openings and store closings;
•net revenues and profits contributed by new stores;
•changes in store traffic and comparable sales;
•shifts in the timing of holidays, particularly in the United States and China;
•changes in our merchandise mix;
•timing of marketing campaigns or promotions;
•timing of sales to Vera Bradley and Pura Vida wholesale retailers; and
•timing of new pattern and collection releases and new product introductions.
Any quarterly fluctuations that we report in the future may not match the expectations of market analysts and investors. This could cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.
We may be subject to unionization, work stoppages, slowdowns, or increased labor costs.
Currently, none of our employees are represented by a union. Nevertheless, our employees have the right at any time under the National Labor Relations Act to organize or affiliate with a union. If some or all of our workforce were to become unionized, our business could be exposed to increased risk of work stoppages and slowdowns. In addition, if the terms of a collective bargaining agreement were to be significantly more favorable to union workers than our current pay-and-benefits arrangements, our costs would increase and our results of operations would suffer.
We may suffer negative publicity and our business may be harmed if we need to recall any products we sell.
We have in the past needed to, and may in the future need to, recall products that we determine may present safety issues. If products we sell have safety problems of which we are not aware, or if we or the Consumer Product Safety Commission recall a product sold in our stores, we may suffer negative publicity and, potentially, product liability lawsuits, which could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, financial condition and results of operations or cash flows.

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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
The following table sets forth the location, use, and size of our distribution, corporate facilities, and showrooms as of February 1, 2025. The leases on the leased properties expire at various times through 2035, subject to renewal options.
Location Primary Use Approximate Square Footage Leased/Owned
Roanoke, Indiana Vera Bradley corporate headquarters, design center, and showroom 188,000 Owned
Roanoke, Indiana Vera Bradley warehouse and distribution 428,500 Owned
New York, New York Vera Bradley office and showroom 3,700 Leased
Hong Kong Vera Bradley Asia sourcing office 5,100 Leased
Atlanta, Georgia Vera Bradley showroom 5,600 Leased
Dallas, Texas Vera Bradley showroom 1,800 Leased
La Jolla, California Pura Vida corporate headquarters 7,400 Leased
As of February 1, 2025, we also leased 127 Vera Bradley store locations, including a former location, and seven Pura Vida store locations in the United States. See below for more information regarding the locations of our open stores as of February 1, 2025.
We consider these properties to be in good condition generally and believe that our facilities are adequate for our operations and provide sufficient capacity to meet our anticipated requirements. The Vera Bradley properties in the above table are used by
both the Vera Bradley Direct segment and Vera Bradley Indirect segment, excluding the two standalone showrooms which are used exclusively by the Vera Bradley Indirect segment. The Pura Vida headquarters is used by the Pura Vida segment.
Store Locations
Vera Bradley. Our Vera Bradley full-line stores are located primarily in high-traffic regional malls, lifestyle centers, and mixed-use shopping centers across the United States. The following table shows the number of Vera Bradley full-line and outlet stores we operated in each state as of February 1, 2025:
State Total Number of
Vera Bradley Full-Line Stores Total Number of
Vera Bradley Outlet Stores State Total Number of
Vera Bradley Full-Line Stores Total Number of
Vera Bradley Outlet Stores
Alabama 1 1 Minnesota 1 1
Arizona 0 1 Mississippi 0 2
Colorado 1 1 Missouri 0 2
Connecticut 1 1 Nebraska 0 1
Delaware 1 1 Nevada 0 1
Florida 2 8 New Hampshire 0 2
Georgia 1 4 New Jersey 2 3
Hawaii 1 1 New York 3 5
Illinois 3 2 North Carolina 0 6
Indiana 2 2 Ohio 1 3
Iowa 1 1 Oklahoma 0 2
Kansas 1 1 Pennsylvania 3 6
Kentucky 1 1 South Carolina 0 4
Louisiana 1 1 Tennessee 1 3
Maryland 1 2 Texas 4 10
Massachusetts 1 1 Virginia 1 3
Michigan 3 2 Wisconsin 1 2
Totals 39 87
Pura Vida. As of February 1, 2025, Pura Vida had seven retail store locations. Of the seven locations, three are in California, two are in Florida, one is in South Carolina, and one is in Arizona.
We lease all of our stores. Lease terms for our retail stores are generally ten years with options to renew for varying terms. The leases generally provide for a fixed minimum rental plus contingent rent, which is determined as a percentage of sales in excess of specified levels.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We may be involved from time to time, as a plaintiff or a defendant, in various routine legal proceedings incidental to the ordinary course of our business. In the ordinary course, we are involved in the policing of our intellectual property rights. As part of our policing program, from time to time we file lawsuits in the United States and abroad, alleging acts of trademark counterfeiting, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and ancillary and pendent state and foreign law claims. These actions often result in seizure of counterfeit merchandise and negotiated settlements with defendants. Defendants sometimes raise as affirmative defenses, or as counterclaims, the purported invalidity or unenforceability of our proprietary rights.
The Company is subject to other legal proceedings from time to time in the ordinary course of business but does not believe any of these such claims would have a material adverse impact on the Company at this time.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosure
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
Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “VRA”.
As of March 28, 2025, we had approximately 26 registered shareholders of record. The number of shareholders of record is based upon the actual number of shareholders registered at such date and does not include holders of shares in “street name” or persons, partnerships, associations, corporations, or other entities identified in security position listings maintained by depositories.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
The following table details activity under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program during the thirteen weeks ended February 1, 2025. The 2021 Share Repurchase Program expired in December 2024. Refer to Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements as set forth in Part II, Item 8. of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding our share repurchase programs.
Details regarding the activity under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program during the thirteen weeks ended February 1, 2025 are as follows:
Period Total Number of Shares Purchased Average Price Paid per Share Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs Maximum Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
November 3, 2024 - November 30, 2024 69,082 $ 5.30 69,082 $ 3,993,007
December 1, 2024 - January 4, 2025 44,332 4.94 44,332 3,774,179
January 5, 2025 - February 1, 2025 - - - 3,774,179
113,414 $ 5.16 113,414
Dividends
Our common stock began trading on October 21, 2010, following our initial public offering. Since that time, we have not declared any cash dividends. The payment of dividends is evaluated on a periodic basis.
Stock Performance Graph
The graph set forth below compares the cumulative shareholder return on our common stock between February 1, 2020, and February 1, 2025, to the cumulative return of (i) the S&P 500 Index and (ii) the S&P 500 Apparel, Accessories, and Luxury Goods Index over the same period. This graph assumes an initial investment of $100 on February 1, 2020, in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index, and the S&P 500 Apparel, Accessories, and Luxury Goods Index and assumes the reinvestment of dividends, if any.
The comparisons shown in the graph below are based on historical data. We caution that the stock price performance presented in the graph below is not necessarily indicative of, nor is it intended to forecast, the potential future performance of our common stock. Information used in the graph was obtained from The NASDAQ Stock Market website. As such, although we believe the information to be accurate, we cannot assure you of its accuracy.
Company/Market/Peer Group 2/1/2020 1/30/2021 1/29/2022 1/28/2023 2/3/2024 2/1/2025
Vera Bradley, Inc. $ 100.00 $ 88.20 $ 82.57 $ 57.93 $ 81.82 $ 39.02
S&P 500 Index $ 100.00 $ 117.25 $ 141.87 $ 132.47 $ 164.06 $ 202.59
S&P 500 Apparel, Accessories, and Luxury Goods Index $ 100.00 $ 97.80 $ 96.33 $ 70.25 $ 57.39 $ 62.76

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

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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
You should read the following discussion in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes and the information contained in other sections of this report, particularly under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Business.” This discussion and analysis is based on the beliefs of our management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. The statements in this discussion and analysis concerning expectations regarding our future performance, liquidity, and capital resources, as well as other non-historical statements in this discussion and analysis, are forward-looking statements. See “Forward-Looking Statements.” These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described under “Risk Factors.” Our actual results could differ materially from those suggested or implied by any forward-looking statements.
Executive Summary
Some of our major achievements for fiscal 2025 are as follows:
We made continued progress on our long-term strategic plan, Project Restoration, our comprehensive strategic initiative to transform our business model and brand positioning. As a Company, we continued to carefully manage both gross margin and expenses and have instilled a culture of discipline around gross margin and expense control. We continued to strengthen and streamline our organizational structure and right-size our leadership team and cost structure for the size of our business, to address the continuing challenging macroeconomic environment and to best position us to achieve our long-term strategic plans. We also continued to make investments in customer data science, business analytics, and pricing optimization, allowing us to collect and analyze data and make fact-based decisions to more efficiently run our business. While we remain confident in our strategic direction, we continue to make refinements based on selling data and customer feedback. Most of these shifts are occurring in our product and pricing strategy.
At the Vera Bradley brand:
•We launched the first phase of our renewed vision for Vera Bradley in July fiscal 2025, which included elevated brand product, marketing, store design and website in our Brand stores and on verabradley.com.
•We expanded our NFL collection by adding representation for more teams.
•We continued another year of product collaborations with iconic brands such as Disney, Wicked, and Peanuts, which align with our target customers and expand our customer reach.
•We are a Better CottonTM member and continue to increase our procurement of cotton from Better CottonTM supply chain partners.
•Our online site - outlet.verabradley.com, has brought new customers to the brand and provided steady performance throughout the year, helping offset weakness in the outlet store channel.
•We continued to strengthen and rationalize our store base. We are continuing to look for opportunities to improve the full-line profitability of our full-line store portfolio by re-balancing our existing fleet through select closures along with identifying future market opportunities. We will continue to focus on our highest-potential stores by enhancing the customer experience. In fiscal 2025, we closed five underperforming full-line stores and one outlet store, and opened one full-line store and seven outlet stores, ending the fiscal year with 39 full-line and 87 outlet locations.
At the Pura Vida brand:
•Pura Vida found positive responses through collegiate football, gymnastics, and sorority activations.
•In fiscal 2025, Pura Vida had collaborations with Dutch Brothers Coffee, Kulani Kinis swimwear, and the Varsity Cheer League; partnered with key influencers; and offered themed-collections centered around key events such as Shark Week.
•Pura Vida continued to innovate and expand on our personalized offerings through harper charms, which still targets our core customer, and provides her endless options to suit her style.
•Two new Pura Vida store locations were opened in fiscal 2025.
How We Assess the Performance of Our Business
In assessing the performance of our business, we consider a variety of performance and financial measures.
Net Revenues
Net revenues reflect sales of our merchandise and revenue from distribution and shipping and handling fees, less returns and discounts. Revenues for the VB Direct segment reflect sales through Vera Bradley full-line and outlet stores and the Vera Bradley websites (verabradley.com, international.verabradley.com, and outlet.verabradley.com). There were no sales from our Vera Bradley annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana for fiscal year 2023 as it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenues for the VB Indirect segment reflect sales of Vera Bradley-branded products to specialty retail partners; department stores; national accounts; third-party e-commerce sites; and third-party inventory liquidators, as well as royalties recognized through licensing agreements related to the Vera Bradley brand. Revenues for the Pura Vida segment reflect revenues generated through the Pura Vida website (www.puravidabracelets.com), through the distribution of Pura Vida-branded products to wholesale retailers, and through Pura Vida retail stores.
Comparable Sales
Typically, comparable sales are calculated based upon our stores that have been open for at least 12 full fiscal months and net revenues from our Vera Bradley e-commerce operations. Comparable store sales are calculated based solely upon stores that have been open for at least 12 full fiscal months. Remodeled stores are included in both comparable sales and comparable store sales unless the store was closed for more than one week of the current or comparable prior period, in which case the non-comparable temporary closure periods are not included, or the remodel resulted in a significant change in square footage. Some of our competitors and other retailers calculate comparable or “same store” sales differently than we do. As a result, data in this report regarding our comparable sales and comparable store sales may not be comparable to similar data made available by other companies. Non-comparable sales include sales from stores not included in comparable sales or comparable store sales.
Typically, measuring the change in year-over-year comparable sales allows us and our investors to evaluate how our store base and e-commerce operations are performing. Various factors affect our comparable sales, including:
•Overall economic trends;
•Consumer preferences and fashion trends;
•Competition;
•The timing of our releases of new patterns and collections;
•The timing of holidays;
•Changes in our product mix;
•Pricing and level of promotions;
•Amount of store, mall, and e-commerce traffic;
•The level of customer service that we provide in stores and to our on-line customers;
•Our ability to source and distribute products efficiently;
•The number of stores we open and close in any period; and
•The timing and success of promotional and marketing efforts.
Gross Profit
Gross profit is equal to our net revenues less our cost of sales. Cost of sales includes the direct cost of purchased merchandise, distribution center costs, operations overhead, duty, all inbound freight costs incurred, and inventory adjustments including adjustments described in Note 16 to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements herein. The components of our reported cost of sales may not be comparable to those of other retail and wholesale companies.
Gross profit can be impacted by changes in volume; fluctuations in sales price; operational efficiencies, such as leveraging of fixed costs; promotional activities, including free shipping; commodity prices, such as for cotton; tariffs; and labor costs.
Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses (“SG&A”)
SG&A expenses include selling; advertising, marketing, and product development; and administrative expenses. Selling expenses include:
•VB Direct business expenses, such as store expenses, employee compensation, and store occupancy and supply costs;
•VB Indirect business expenses consisting primarily of employee compensation and other expenses associated with sales to Indirect retailers; and
•Pura Vida business expenses primarily related to employee compensation and store expenses.
Advertising, marketing, and product development expenses include employee compensation, media costs, creative production expenses, marketing agency fees, new product design costs, public relations expenses, and market research expenses. A portion of our advertising expenses may be reimbursed by Indirect retailers, and such amount is classified as other income. Administrative expenses include employee compensation for corporate functions, corporate headquarters occupancy costs, consulting and software expenses, and charitable donations, as well as severance charges and consulting fees associated with cost savings initiatives disclosed in Note 16 to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements herein.
Cost Savings Initiatives and Other Charges
During fiscal 2025, the Company continued the implementation of targeted cost reductions. Expense savings are being derived across various areas of the Company, including retail store efficiencies, marketing expenses, information technology contracts, professional services, logistics and operational costs, and corporate payroll. Refer to Note 16 to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements herein for additional information regarding charges for cost savings initiatives and remaining liabilities, as well as other charges not comparable with the prior year.
Macroeconomic Environment
Our business is impacted by broader macroeconomic issues in the U.S. marketplace - and can be affected both positively and negatively over time.
The macroeconomic environment has been challenged by inflationary pressures, including high gas prices, interest rates, and other related factors that have impacted consumer discretionary spending. We have also seen a trend of steeply increasing digital media costs.
To mitigate some of these inflationary and supply chain pressures, we implemented strategic price increases across both of our brands in late fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2024. We will continue to monitor our pricing as it relates to the current macroeconomic trends. In addition, in fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2025, we implemented targeted cost reductions across various areas of the Company, including retail store efficiencies, marketing expenses, information technology contracts, professional services, logistics and operational costs, and corporate payroll. We will continue to review our expense structure in future years for additional cost reduction opportunities.
We continue to actively monitor the changing macroeconomic circumstances and take mitigating actions where appropriate. Ongoing macroeconomic pressures could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, operating results, and financial condition.
Results of Operations
The following tables summarize key components of our consolidated results of operations for the last three fiscal years, both in dollars and as a percentage of our net revenues.
Fiscal Year Ended (1)
($ in thousands) February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Statement of (Loss) Income Data:
Net revenues $ 371,967 $ 470,786 $ 499,961
Cost of sales 185,128 214,373 261,017
Gross profit 186,839 256,413 238,944
Selling, general, and administrative expenses (2)
223,808 241,457 265,016
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets 6,237 5,429 69,256
Other income, net 850 915 457
Operating (loss) income (42,356) 10,442 (94,871)
Interest income (expense), net 1,118 890 (153)
(Loss) income before income taxes (41,238) 11,332 (95,024)
Income tax expense (benefit) 20,950 3,494 (15,640)
Net (loss) income (62,188) 7,838 (79,384)
Less: Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest - - (19,649)
Net (loss) income attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. $ (62,188) $ 7,838 $ (59,735)
Percentage of Net Revenues:
Net revenues 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 %
Cost of sales 49.8 % 45.5 % 52.2 %
Gross profit 50.2 % 54.5 % 47.8 %
Selling, general, and administrative expenses 60.2 % 51.3 % 53.0 %
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets 1.7 % 1.2 % 13.9 %
Other income, net 0.2 % 0.2 % 0.1 %
Operating (loss) income (11.4) % 2.2 % (19.0) %
Interest income (expense), net 0.3 % 0.2 % - %
(Loss) income before income taxes (11.1) % 2.4 % (19.0) %
Income tax expense (benefit) 5.6 % 0.7 % (3.1) %
Net (loss) income (16.7) % 1.7 % (15.9) %
Less: Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest - % - % (3.9) %
Net (loss) income attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. (16.7) % 1.7 % (11.9) %
The following tables present net revenues by operating segment, both in dollars and as a percentage of our net revenues, and Vera Bradley full-line and outlet store data for the last three fiscal years:
Fiscal Year Ended (1)
($ in thousands, except as otherwise indicated) February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Net Revenues by Segment:
VB Direct $ 257,609 $ 309,910 $ 328,231
VB Indirect 61,186 73,803 73,316
Pura Vida 53,172 87,073 98,414
Total $ 371,967 $ 470,786 $ 499,961
Percentage of Net Revenues by Segment:
VB Direct 69.3 % 65.8 % 65.6 %
VB Indirect 16.4 % 15.7 % 14.7 %
Pura Vida 14.3 % 18.5 % 19.7 %
Total 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 %
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Vera Bradley Store Data (3):
Total stores opened during period 8 3 5
Total stores closed during period (6) (9) (20)
Total stores open at end of period 126 124 130
Comparable sales (including e-commerce) decrease (4)
(16.6) % (7.1) % (9.5) %
Total gross square footage at end of period 387,510 375,198 381,664
Average net revenues per gross square foot (5)
$ 403 $ 518 $ 555
(1)The Company utilizes a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to January 31. Fiscal years 2025 and 2023 consisted of 52 weeks. Fiscal year 2024 consisted of 53 weeks. The extra week in fiscal 2024 contributed approximately $6.0 million in net revenues and added an estimated $0.01 to diluted net income per share in fiscal 2024. By segment, the extra week contributed net revenues of approximately $2.8 million to Direct, $2.1 million to Indirect, and $1.1 million to Pura Vida in fiscal 2024.
(2)Impairment charges, related primarily to underperforming stores, totaled $2.6 million, and $1.4 million during the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, and January 28, 2023, respectively. There were no store impairment charges in fiscal 2024.
(3)Includes Vera Bradley full-line and outlet stores.
(4)Comparable sales are calculated based upon stores that have been open for at least 12 full fiscal months and net revenues from e-commerce operations. Decrease is reported as a percentage of the comparable sales for the same period in the prior fiscal year. Remodeled stores are included in comparable sales unless the store was closed for a portion of the current or comparable prior period, in which case the non-comparable temporary closure periods are not included, or the remodel resulted in a significant change in square footage. Calculation excludes sales for the fifty-third week in fiscal 2024.
(5)Dollars not in thousands. Average net revenues per gross square foot are calculated by dividing total net revenues for our stores that have been open at least 12 full fiscal months as of the end of the period by total gross square footage for those stores. Remodeled stores are included in average net revenues per gross square foot unless the store was closed for a portion of the period. Calculation excludes sales for the fifty-third week in fiscal 2024.
Fiscal 2025 Compared to Fiscal 2024
Net Revenues
For fiscal 2025, net revenues decreased $98.8 million, or 21.0%, to $372.0 million, from $470.8 million for fiscal 2024. Fiscal 2024 net revenues also include approximately $6.0 million attributable to the extra week in fiscal 2024.
VB Direct. For fiscal 2025, net revenues decreased $52.3 million, or 16.9%, to $257.6 million, from $309.9 million for fiscal 2024. Vera Bradley comparable sales decreased $49.6 million, or 16.6%, which includes a 22.2% decrease in comparable store sales as well as a 7.3% decrease in e-commerce sales. The decrease in comparable sales and comparable store sales was
impacted by reduced traffic, conversion, and units sold primarily in the outlet channel as well as the full-line channel. Fiscal 2024 net revenues also include approximately $2.8 million attributed to the extra week in fiscal 2024.
VB Indirect. For fiscal 2025, net revenues decreased $12.6 million, or 17.1%, to $61.2 million, from $73.8 million for fiscal 2024. The decrease is primarily driven by decreased specialty and other indirect retailer sales resulting from reduced customer count and order volume, as well as a decrease in liquidation orders. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in certain key account orders. Fiscal 2024 net revenues also include approximately $2.1 million attributed to the extra week in fiscal 2024.
Pura Vida. For fiscal 2025, net revenues decreased $33.9 million, or 38.9%, to $53.2 million, from $87.1 million for fiscal 2024. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in e-commerce sales due to a continued decline in social and digital media effectiveness, as well as decreased wholesale sales, partially offset by an increase in retail store sales. Fiscal 2024 net revenues also include approximately $1.1 million attributed to the extra week in fiscal 2024.
Gross Profit
For fiscal 2025, gross profit decreased $69.6 million, or 27.1%, to $187.8 million, from $256.4 million for fiscal 2024. As a percentage of net revenues, gross profit decreased to 50.2% for fiscal 2025, from 54.5% for fiscal 2024. The decrease in consolidated gross profit as a percentage of net revenues for the fiscal year was driven by sales channel mix, reduced margins for indirect liquidation sales, and inventory adjustments related to excess inventory in the Pura Vida segment.
Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses (“SG&A”)
For fiscal 2025, SG&A expenses decreased $17.7 million, or 7.3%, to $223.8 million, from $241.5 million for fiscal 2024. As a percentage of net revenues, SG&A expenses were 60.2% and 51.3% for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, respectively. SG&A expenses related to Vera Bradley and corporate unallocated were $186.9 million compared to $192.1 million in the comparable prior-year period. SG&A expenses related to Pura Vida were $36.9 million compared to $49.4 million in the comparable prior-year period. The decrease in consolidated SG&A expenses for fiscal 2025 was primarily due to a decrease in employee-related expenses of $13.4 million due to a reduction in headcount and incentive compensation; a $2.6 million decrease in selling expenses due to decreased sales; decreased advertising of $2.5 million, primarily related to Pura Vida variable advertising due to decreased sales, partially offset by Vera Bradley advertising largely related to Project Restoration; a $1.6 million decrease in intangible asset amortization; and $0.2 million in other net expense reductions. These decreases were partially offset by an increase of $2.6 million for property, plant, and equipment impairment charges in the current year.
Impairment of Intangible Assets
Fiscal 2025 included a $6.2 million charge for impairment of the indefinite-lived Pura Vida brand intangible asset, which reflects a full impairment and is recorded within the Pura Vida segment. A $5.4 million impairment charge of the indefinite-lived Pura Vida brand intangible asset was recorded in fiscal 2024 within the Pura Vida segment. For additional information, refer to Note 15 of the Consolidated Financial Statements herein.
Other Income, Net
For fiscal 2025, net other income totaled $0.9 million, consistent with the prior year.
Operating (Loss) Income
For fiscal 2025, there was an operating loss of $(42.4) million, a $52.8 million decrease, or 505.7%, from operating income of $10.4 million for fiscal 2024. As a percentage of net revenues, operating (loss) income was (11.4)% and 2.2% for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, respectively. Operating (loss) income decreased due to the factors described above.
The following table provides additional information about our operating (loss) income (in thousands):
Fiscal Year Ended $
Change %
Change
February 1,
2025 February 3,
Operating (Loss) Income:
VB Direct $ 25,240 $ 61,873 $ (36,633) (59.2) %
VB Indirect 15,414 24,279 (8,865) (36.5) %
Pura Vida (15,121) (2,321) (12,800) (551.5) %
Less: Unallocated corporate expenses (67,889) (73,389) 5,500 7.5 %
Operating (loss) income $ (42,356) $ 10,442 $ (52,798) 505.6 %
VB Direct. For fiscal 2025, operating income decreased $36.6 million, or 59.2%. As a percentage of VB Direct segment net revenues, operating income in the VB Direct segment was 9.8% and 20.0% for fiscals 2025 and 2024, respectively. The decrease in operating income as a percentage of VB Direct segment net revenues was primarily due to decreased sales, a decrease in gross margin as a percent of net revenues driven by a change in sales channel mix, and SG&A expense deleverage associated with decreased sales.
VB Indirect. For fiscal 2025, operating income decreased $8.9 million, or 36.5%. As a percentage of VB Indirect segment net revenues, operating income in the VB Indirect segment was 25.2% and 32.9% for fiscals 2025 and 2024, respectively. The decrease in operating income as a percentage of VB Indirect segment net revenues was primarily due to reduced margin for indirect liquidations sales, an increase in wholesale discounting, and SG&A expense deleverage resulting from decreased sales.
Pura Vida. For fiscal 2025, operating loss increased $12.8 million, or 551.5%. As a percentage of Pura Vida segment net revenues, operating loss in the Pura Vida segment was (28.4)% and (2.7)% for fiscals 2025 and 2024, respectively. The increase in operating loss as a percentage of Pura Vida net revenues was primarily due to decreased sales, increase in inventory reserves, SG&A expense deleverage associated with decreased sales, and increased promotional activity.
Corporate Unallocated. For fiscal 2025, corporate unallocated expenses decreased $5.5 million, or 7.5% to $67.9 million from $73.4 million in the prior-year period. The decrease in corporate unallocated expenses was primarily due to a $6.2 million decrease in employee related expenses including incentive compensation and salaries resulting from headcount reductions and $0.2 million in net other expense reductions, partially offset by an increase of $0.6 million in advertising related to Project Restoration and an increase in professional fees of $0.3 million.
Interest Income, Net
For fiscal 2025, net interest income increased $0.2 million to $1.1 million from $0.9 million in fiscal 2024.
Income Tax Expense
For fiscal 2025, we recorded income tax expense of $21.0 million at an effective tax rate of (50.8)%, compared to income tax expense of $3.5 million at an effective tax rate of 30.8% for fiscal 2024. The effective tax rate change was primarily attributable to the full valuation allowance recorded against the Company's net deferred tax assets, as well as the relative impact of permanent and discrete items in the current-year period compared to the prior-year period which largely relates to non-deductible executive compensation.
Net (Loss) Income
For fiscal 2025, there was a net loss of $(62.2) million, a $70.0 million decrease, from net income of $7.8 million in fiscal 2024 due to the factors described in the captions above.
Fiscal 2024 Compared to Fiscal 2023
Refer to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 29, 2024, for a comparison of fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2023 operating results.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
Our primary sources of liquidity are cash and cash equivalents and cash flow from operations. We also have access to additional liquidity, if needed, through borrowings under our $75.0 million asset-based revolving credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”). There was no debt outstanding under the Credit Agreement as of February 1, 2025. Historically, our primary cash needs have been for merchandise inventories; payroll; store rent; capital expenditures associated with operational equipment, buildings, information technology, and opening new stores; and share repurchases. The most significant components of our working capital are cash and cash equivalents, merchandise inventories, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and other current liabilities.
We believe that cash and cash equivalents, cash flows from operating activities, and the availability of borrowings under our Credit Agreement or other financing arrangements will be sufficient to meet working capital requirements and anticipated capital expenditures, and other strategic uses of cash, if any, for the foreseeable future.
Cash Flow Analysis
A summary of operating, investing, and financing activities is shown in the following table (in thousands):
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities $ (14,102) $ 47,993 $ (13,421)
Net cash used in investing activities (10,373) (13,770) (8,239)
Net cash used in financing activities (22,515) (3,548) (20,105)
Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities consists primarily of net (loss) income adjusted for non-cash items, including depreciation, amortization, impairment charges, deferred taxes, and stock-based compensation; and the effect of changes in assets and liabilities.
Net cash used in operating activities was $14.1 million during fiscal 2025, as compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $48.0 million during fiscal 2024. The increase in cash used in operating activities was primarily related to a net loss of $(62.2) million, a $70.0 million decrease, from net income in the comparable prior-year period, $0.3 million in other non-cash items, partially offset by a change in deferred income taxes of $18.6 million and property, plant, and equipment impairment charges of $2.6 million in the current year period. Additionally,there was a net use of cash in the current year period in changes in assets and liabilities of $12.9 million, primarily driven by a decrease cash provided by inventories.
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
Investing activities consisted primarily of investments and capital expenditures related to new store openings, buildings, operational equipment, and information technology investments.
Net cash used in investing activities was $10.4 million in fiscal 2025, compared to $13.8 million in fiscal 2024. The decrease in cash used in investing activities was primarily a result of the purchase of the remaining 25% interest in Pura Vida for $10.0 million in the prior year, partially offset by an increase in property, plant, and equipment spending of $6.6 million primarily as a result of 8 store openings and Project Restoration initiatives in the current year, compared to 3 store openings in the prior year.
Net Cash Used in Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities was $22.5 million in fiscal 2025 compared to $3.5 million in fiscal 2024. The increase in cash used in financing activities was primarily due to an increase in repurchases of common stock of $19.6 million.
Refer to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 29, 2024, for a comparison of fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2023 cash flow activity.
Credit Agreement
On September 7, 2018, Vera Bradley Designs, Inc. (“VBD”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into an asset-based revolving Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) among VBD, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and the lenders from time to time party thereto. On August 3, 2023, certain subsidiaries of the Company, JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as the administrative agent, and lenders from time to time party thereto, entered into a Third Amendment (the “Third Amendment”) to the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement provides for certain credit facilities to VBD in an aggregate principal amount not to initially exceed the lesser of $75.0 million or the amount of borrowing availability determined in accordance with a borrowing base of certain assets. Borrowings under the credit facilities are available to finance general corporate purposes of VBD and its subsidiaries, including but not limited to Vera Bradley International, LLC, Vera Bradley Sales, LLC, and Creative Genius, LLC (collectively, the “Named Subsidiaries”). The Credit Agreement also contains an option for VBD to arrange with lenders to increase the aggregate principal amount by up to $50.0 million.
For further information regarding the Credit Agreement, please see Note 6 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements set forth in Part II, “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this report.
Material Cash Requirements
Our material cash requirements from known contractual and other obligations include the following:
•Operating lease obligations as disclosed further in Note 4 to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report;
•Purchase order commitments primarily related to inventory purchases;
•Salaries, cash incentives, benefits, and other employee-related costs;
•Commitments for capital expenditures;
•Income tax payments; and
•Other supply and service agreements entered into as part of our normal operations.
We may be subject to additional material cash requirements that are contingent upon certain events that have not yet occurred. We expect to fund these cash requirements using cash on hand, cash provided by our operations and, to the extent necessary, borrowings under our Credit Agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of our assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, as well as the disclosures relating to contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements. We evaluate our accounting policies, estimates, and judgments on an on-going basis. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions.
We evaluate the development and selection of our critical accounting policies and estimates and believe that the following policies and estimates involve a higher degree of judgment or complexity and are most significant to reporting our results of operations and financial position, and are therefore discussed as critical. The following critical accounting policies reflect the significant estimates and judgments used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. With respect to critical accounting policies, even a relatively minor variance between actual and expected experience can potentially have a materially favorable or unfavorable impact on subsequent results of operations. Our historical results for the periods presented in the consolidated financial statements, however, have not been materially impacted by such variances. More information on all of our significant accounting policies can be found in Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method. Appropriate consideration is given to obsolescence, excess quantities, and other factors, including the popularity of a pattern or product, in evaluating net realizable value. We record valuation adjustments to our inventories, which are reflected in cost of sales, if the cost of specific inventory items on hand exceeds the amount we expect to realize from the ultimate sale or disposal of the inventory. This adjustment calculation requires us to make assumptions and estimates, which are based on factors such as merchandise seasonality, historical trends, and estimated sales and inventory levels, including sell-through of remaining units. In addition, as part of inventory adjustments, we provide for inventory shrinkage based on historical trends from our physical inventory counts. We perform physical inventory counts throughout the year and adjust the shrinkage provision accordingly.
The balance of inventory adjustments was $7.7 million and $8.1 million for these matters as of the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, and February 3, 2024, respectively.
We believe we have the ability to sell some of our retired finished goods through a number of channels, including our Vera Bradley and Pura Vida websites, the Vera Bradley online outlet site, Vera Bradley outlet stores, the Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale, and through third-party liquidators as needed.
Valuation of Long-lived Assets
Property, plant, and equipment and operating right-of-use assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset group may not be recoverable. In evaluating an asset group for recoverability, we estimate the future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset group at the store level, the lowest identifiable level of cash flow, if applicable. If the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows related to the asset group is less than the carrying value, we recognize a loss equal to the difference between the carrying value and the fair value, usually determined by an estimated discounted cash flow analysis of the asset. Factors used in the valuation of long-lived assets include, but are not limited to, our plans for future operations, brand initiatives, recent operating results, and projected future cash flows. With respect to our stores, we analyze store economics, location within the shopping center, the size and shape of the space, and desirable co-tenancies in our selection process. Impairment charges are classified in SG&A expenses and were $2.6 million, and $1.4 million for the periods ended February 1, 2025, and January 28, 2023, respectively. No impairment charges were recorded in fiscal 2024.
The discounted cash flow models used to estimate the applicable fair values involve numerous estimates and assumptions that are highly subjective. Changes to these estimates and assumptions could materially impact the fair value estimates. The estimates and assumptions critical to the overall fair value estimates include: (1) estimated future cash flow generated at the store level; (2) discount rates used to derive the present value factors used in determining the fair values; and (3) market rentals at the retail store. These and other estimates and assumptions are impacted by economic conditions and our expectations and may change in the future based on period-specific facts and circumstances. If economic conditions were to deteriorate, future impairment charges may be required.
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
Prior to February 1, 2025 identifiable intangible assets consisted of the Pura Vida brand and customer relationships. Prior to fiscal 2024, the Company performed an annual impairment test for its goodwill. Goodwill was fully impaired during fiscal 2023, leaving no balance. The Pura Vida brand, an indefinite-lived asset, is not amortized but assessed for impairment at least annually or whenever events or circumstances indicate that the brand may be impaired. The Pura Vida customer relationship, a definite-lived intangible asset, is amortized over its estimated useful life and is also subject to impairment testing, similar to the Company’s other long-lived assets.
Our annual intangible asset impairment test may be completed through a qualitative assessment to determine if the fair value of the Pura Vida brand is more likely than not greater than the carrying amount. If we elect to bypass the qualitative assessment, or if a qualitative assessment indicates it is more likely than not that the estimated carrying value exceeds the fair value, we test for impairment using a quantitative process. Our quantitative process includes comparing the carrying value to the fair value of the Pura Vida brand, with any excess recognized as an impairment loss. Fair value is estimated using a relief-from-royalty method. The estimates and assumptions used in the determination of the fair value of the Pura Vida brand include the projected revenue growth, long-term growth rate, the royalty rate, and discount rate.
As of February 1, 2025, the Company had no intangible assets as it recorded a full impairment charge of the Pura Vida brand within the Pura Vida reporting unit during fiscal 2025. The Company performed a quantitative analysis of the Pura Vida brand for the annual impairment test in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, at which time no impairment was recorded. Subsequent to the annual impairment test, due to triggering events, the Company performed an additional quantitative analysis and recorded an impairment charge of $6.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, further described in Note 15 of the Consolidated Financial Statements herein.
For the annual impairment analysis performed during fiscal 2024, the Company performed a quantitative analysis, as well as subsequent analyses due to triggering events, further described in Note 15 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements herein. An impairment charge of $5.4 million was recorded during fiscal 2024 for the Pura Vida brand.
For the annual impairment analysis performed during fiscal 2023, the Company performed a quantitative analysis, as well as subsequent analyses due to triggering events, further described in Note 15 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements herein. Impairment charges of $44.3 million and $25.0 million were recorded during fiscal 2023 for goodwill and the Pura Vida brand, respectively.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Interest Rate Risk
We are subject to interest rate risk in connection with borrowings under our asset-based revolving credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”). The Credit Agreement allows for a revolving credit commitment of $75.0 million, bearing interest at a variable rate, based on a per annum rate equal to either i) for CBFR borrowings (including swingline loans), the CB Floating Rate, where the CB Floating Rate is the greater of the prime rate or 2.5%, plus the Applicable Rate, where the Applicable Rate is a percentage spread ranging from -1.25% to -1.50%, (ii) for each Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, where the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate is the Term SOFR rate for such interest period plus 0.10% for the interest period in effect for such borrowing, plus the Applicable Rate, where the Applicable Rate is a percentage ranging from 1.25% to 1.50%, or (iii) for RFR Loans, the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR Rate, where the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR Rate is equal to the Daily Simple SOFR plus 0.10%, plus the Applicable Rate, where the Applicable Rate is a percentage ranging from 1.25% to 1.50%. The applicable CB Floating Rate, Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, Term SOFR Rate, Daily Simple SOFR, and Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR shall be determined by the administrative agent. Assuming borrowings available under the Credit Agreement are fully extended at $75.0 million, each quarter point increase or decrease in the interest rate would change our annual interest expense by approximately $0.2 million.
Foreign Exchange Rate Risk
We source a majority of our finished goods from various suppliers primarily in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, El Salvador, China, and the Philippines. Substantially all purchases and sales involving foreign persons are denominated in U.S. dollars, and therefore we do not hedge using any derivative instruments. Historically, we have not been impacted materially by changes in exchange rates.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 34)
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of February 1, 2025, and February 3, 2024
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Vera Bradley, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Vera Bradley, Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), shareholders' equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended February 1, 2025, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended February 1, 2025, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2025, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated March 28, 2025, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or was required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets - Refer to Notes 2 and 15 to the financial statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
The Company’s annual quantitative analysis of the indefinite-lived Pura Vida brand asset (“Pura Vida brand”) for impairment involves the comparison of the fair value of the Pura Vida brand asset to its carrying value. The Company used the relief-from-royalty method to estimate the fair value of the Pura Vida brand, which required management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to the projected revenue growth, royalty rate, and discount rate. The carrying value of the Pura Vida brand was $6.2 million as of the second quarter. Due to subsequent triggering events, the Company performed a second quantitative analysis of the carrying value of the Pura Vida brand in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 and recorded a full impairment charge of $6.2 million.
We identified the annual impairment analysis of the Pura Vida brand as a critical audit matter because of the significant judgments made by management to estimate the fair value of this indefinite-lived asset. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including the need to involve our fair value specialists, when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of management’s estimates and assumptions particularly related to the projected revenue growth, royalty rate, and discount rate.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our audit procedures related to the projected revenue growth, royalty rate, and discount rate for the Pura Vida brand included the following, among others:
1.We tested the effectiveness of controls over management’s brand impairment analysis, including those over the determination of the fair value, such as controls related to management’s forecasts of projected revenue growth, selection of royalty rate, and selection of discount rates.
2.We evaluated management’s ability to accurately forecast by comparing actual results to management’s historical forecasts.
3.We evaluated the reasonableness of management’s projected revenue growth by comparing the forecasts to (1) historical results, (2) internal communications to management and the Board of Directors, and (3) forecasted information included in industry reports.
4.With the assistance of our fair value specialists, we evaluated the reasonableness of the (1) valuation methodology, and (2) discount rate and royalty rate by:
a.Assessing the appropriateness of the valuation methodology used to determine the discount rate and royalty rate.
b.Testing the underlying source information and the mathematical accuracy of the calculations.
c.Developing a range of independent estimates and comparing those to the discount rate and royalty rate selected by management.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Indianapolis, Indiana
March 28, 2025
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2016.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Vera Bradley, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Vera Bradley, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of February 1, 2025, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2025, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended February 1, 2025, of the Company and our report dated March 28, 2025, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.
Basis for Opinion
The Company's management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Indianapolis, Indiana
March 28, 2025
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)
February 1,
2025 February 3,
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 30,366 $ 77,303
Accounts receivable, net 14,792 17,112
Inventories 110,008 118,278
Income taxes receivable 584 461
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 9,122 12,803
Total current assets 164,872 225,957
Operating right-of-use assets 78,570 66,488
Property, plant, and equipment, net 54,183 54,256
Intangible assets, net - 7,573
Deferred income taxes - 20,355
Other assets 9,065 6,157
Total assets $ 306,690 $ 380,786
Liabilities, Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest, and Shareholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 19,782 $ 14,155
Accrued employment costs 7,089 12,944
Short-term operating lease liabilities 19,949 18,452
Other accrued liabilities 11,173 12,070
Income taxes payable - 640
Total current liabilities 57,993 58,261
Long-term operating lease liabilities 69,695 62,552
Other long-term liabilities 47 44
Total liabilities 127,735 120,857
Commitments and contingencies
Shareholders’ equity:
Preferred stock; 5,000 shares authorized, no shares issued or outstanding
- -
Common stock, without par value; 200,000 shares authorized, 43,535 and 43,253 shares issued and 27,701 and 30,814 outstanding, respectively
- -
Additional paid-in capital 115,515 112,590
Retained earnings 220,279 282,467
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (19) (72)
Treasury stock (156,820) (135,056)
Total shareholders’ equity of Vera Bradley, Inc. 178,955 259,929
Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interest, and shareholders’ equity $ 306,690 $ 380,786
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Net revenues $ 371,967 $ 470,786 $ 499,961
Cost of sales 185,128 214,373 261,017
Gross profit 186,839 256,413 238,944
Selling, general, and administrative expenses 223,808 241,457 265,016
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets 6,237 5,429 69,256
Other income, net 850 915 457
Operating (loss) income (42,356) 10,442 (94,871)
Interest income (expense), net 1,118 890 (153)
(Loss) income before income taxes (41,238) 11,332 (95,024)
Income tax expense (benefit) 20,950 3,494 (15,640)
Net (loss) income (62,188) 7,838 (79,384)
Less: Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest - - (19,649)
Net (loss) income attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. $ (62,188) $ 7,838 $ (59,735)
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding 28,935 30,833 31,503
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding 28,935 31,314 31,503
Basic net (loss) income per share attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. common shareholders $ (2.15) $ 0.25 $ (1.90)
Diluted net (loss) income per share attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. common shareholders $ (2.15) $ 0.25 $ (1.90)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income
(in thousands)
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Net (loss) income $ (62,188) $ 7,838 $ (79,384)
Cumulative translation adjustment 53 33 (76)
Comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax (62,135) 7,871 (79,460)
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest - - (19,649)
Comprehensive (loss) income attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. $ (62,135) $ 7,871 $ (59,811)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity
(in thousands, except share data)
Number of Shares Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive Loss
Common
Stock Treasury
Stock Additional
Paid-in
Capital Retained Earnings Treasury
Stock Total Shareholders’
Equity of Vera Bradley, Inc.
Balance at January 29, 2022 33,170,430 9,258,741 $ 107,907 $ 334,364 $ (29) $ (114,802) $ 327,440
Net loss attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. - - - (59,735) - - (59,735)
Translation adjustments - - - - (76) - (76)
Restricted shares vested, net of repurchase for taxes 416,543 - (1,430) - - - (1,430)
Stock-based compensation - - 3,241 - - - 3,241
Treasury stock purchased (2,820,949) 2,820,949 - - - (18,062) (18,062)
Balance at January 28, 2023 30,766,024 12,079,690 $ 109,718 $ 274,629 $ (105) $ (132,864) $ 251,378
Net income attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. - - - 7,838 - - 7,838
Translation adjustments - - - - 33 - 33
Restricted shares vested, net of repurchase for taxes 407,146 - (1,356) - - - (1,356)
Stock-based compensation - - 2,942 - - - 2,942
Treasury stock purchased (359,554) 359,554 - - - (2,192) (2,192)
Purchase of noncontrolling interest equity adjustment - - 1,286 - - - 1,286
Balance at February 3, 2024 30,813,616 12,439,244 $ 112,590 $ 282,467 $ (72) $ (135,056) $ 259,929
Net loss attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. - - - (62,188) - - (62,188)
Translation adjustments - - - - 53 - 53
Restricted shares vested, net of repurchase for taxes 282,619 - (751) - - - (751)
Stock-based compensation - - 3,676 - - - 3,676
Treasury stock purchased (3,395,335) 3,395,335 - - - (21,764) (21,764)
Balance at February 1, 2025 27,700,900 15,834,579 $ 115,515 $ 220,279 $ (19) $ (156,820) $ 178,955
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)`
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Cash flows from operating activities
Net (loss) income $ (62,188) $ 7,838 $ (79,384)
Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities:
Depreciation of property, plant, and equipment 8,531 7,968 8,854
Amortization of operating right-of-use assets 20,430 21,021 21,543
Goodwill and intangible asset impairment 6,237 5,429 69,256
Other impairment charges 2,557 - 1,351
Amortization of intangible assets 1,336 2,916 3,303
Provision for doubtful accounts 31 322 (77)
Stock-based compensation 3,676 2,942 3,241
Deferred income taxes 20,355 1,761 (17,685)
Other non-cash charges, net 34 7 6
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable 2,289 4,671 (1,347)
Inventories 8,270 23,997 2,606
Prepaid expenses and other assets 773 (833) 3,882
Accounts payable 5,574 (5,989) (10,223)
Income taxes (763) 932 8,638
Operating lease liabilities, net (23,872) (22,929) (25,398)
Accrued and other liabilities (7,372) (2,060) (1,987)
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities (14,102) 47,993 (13,421)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of property, plant, and equipment (10,373) (3,770) (8,239)
Cash paid for business acquisition - (10,000) -
Net cash used in investing activities (10,373) (13,770) (8,239)
Cash flows from financing activities
Tax withholdings for equity compensation (751) (1,356) (1,430)
Repurchase of common stock (21,764) (2,192) (18,062)
Distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest - - (613)
Net cash used in financing activities (22,515) (3,548) (20,105)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 53 33 (76)
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (46,937) 30,708 (41,841)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 77,303 46,595 88,436
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 30,366 $ 77,303 $ 46,595
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(continued)
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Supplemental disclosure of cash-flow information
Cash paid (received) for income taxes, net $ 1,352 $ 837 $ (6,573)
Cash paid for interest $ 140 $ 145 $ 88
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash activity
Non-cash investing activities
Purchases of property, plant, and equipment incurred but not yet paid $ 826 $ 150 $ 363
Refer to Note 4 herein for supplemental cash flow information regarding the Company’s leases.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
1. Description of the Company
The term “Company” refers to Vera Bradley, Inc. and its wholly and majority owned subsidiaries, except where the context requires otherwise or where otherwise indicated.
Vera Bradley, Inc. operates two unique lifestyle brands - Vera Bradley and Pura Vida. We believe Vera Bradley and Pura Vida are complementary businesses, both with devoted, emotionally-connected, and multi-generational female customer bases; alignment as casual, comfortable, affordable, and fun brands; positioning as “gifting” and socially-connected brands; strong, entrepreneurial cultures; a keen focus on community, charity, and social consciousness; multi-channel distribution strategies; and talented leadership teams aligned and committed to the long-term success of their brands.
Vera Bradley is a leading designer of women’s handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and unique gifts. Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, the brand’s innovative designs, iconic patterns, and brilliant colors continue to inspire and connect women.
In July 2019, Vera Bradley, Inc. acquired a 75% interest in Creative Genius, Inc., which also operates under the name Pura Vida Bracelets (“Pura Vida”). On January 30, 2023, the Company purchased the remaining 25% interest in Pura Vida. Pura Vida, based in La Jolla, California, is a digitally native lifestyle brand that has a differentiated and expanding offering of bracelets, jewelry, and other lifestyle accessories. On March 11, 2025 the Company entered into an Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) to sell 100% of Pura Vida. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2026. A copy of the Agreement is included as an exhibit to this Form 10-K. Refer to Note 18 herein for additional information.
The Company has three reportable segments: Vera Bradley Direct (“VB Direct”), Vera Bradley Indirect (“VB Indirect”), and Pura Vida.
•The VB Direct business consists of sales of Vera Bradley products through Vera Bradley full-line and outlet stores in the United States; the Vera Bradley websites (verabradley.com, outlet.verabradley.com, and international.verabradley.com); the Vera Bradley annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana; and direct to consumer marketplaces. As of February 1, 2025, the Company operated 39 full-line stores and 87 outlet stores.
•The VB Indirect business consists of sales of Vera Bradley products to approximately 1,200 specialty retail locations, substantially all of which are located in the United States, as well as department stores, national accounts, third-party e-commerce sites, third-party inventory liquidators, and royalties recognized through licensing agreements related to the Vera Bradley brand.
•The Pura Vida segment represents revenues generated through the Pura Vida website (www.puravidabracelets.com); the distribution of Pura Vida-branded products to wholesale retailers, substantially all of which are located in the United States; and through its seven retail stores.
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, including Pura Vida. The Company has eliminated intercompany balances and transactions in consolidation.
Fiscal Periods
The Company utilizes a 52-53 week fiscal year ended on the Saturday closest to January 31. As such, fiscal years 2025 and 2023, ended February 1, 2025 and January 28, 2023 respectively, each reflected a 52-week period. Fiscal year 2024, ended February 3, 2024 reflected a 53-week period.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Use of Significant Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of the Company’s assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, as well as the disclosures relating to contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements. Significant areas requiring the use of management estimates include the valuation of inventories, valuation of long-lived assets, including operating right-of-use assets, valuation of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, accounts receivable valuation allowances, and sales return allowances. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The Company revises its estimates and assumptions as new information becomes available.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents represent cash on hand, deposits with financial institutions, and investments with an original maturity of three months or less.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method. Appropriate consideration is given to obsolescence, excess quantities, and other factors, including the popularity of a pattern or product, in evaluating net realizable value. Substantially all inventory relates to finished goods.
Property, Plant, and Equipment
Property, plant, and equipment are carried at cost and depreciated or amortized over the following estimated useful lives using the straight-line method:
Buildings and building improvements .............................................. 39.5 years
Land improvements ........................................................................... 5 - 15 years
Furniture and fixtures, and leasehold improvements ........................ 3 - 10 years
Equipment ......................................................................................... 7 years
Vehicles ............................................................................................. 5 years
Computer equipment and software ................................................... 3 - 5 years
The Company recognizes depreciation and amortization expense within cost of sales for capital expenditures related to distribution center, sourcing, and other related functions and selling, general, and administrative expenses for all other capital expenditures. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the life of the asset or the lease term. Lease terms typically range from three to ten years.
When a decision is made to abandon property, plant, and equipment prior to the end of the previously estimated useful life, depreciation or amortization estimates are revised to reflect the use of the asset over the shortened estimated useful life. At the time of disposal, the cost of assets sold or retired and the related accumulated depreciation or amortization are removed from the accounts and any resulting loss is included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Property, plant, and equipment are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset groups may not be recoverable. The reviews are conducted at the lowest identifiable level of cash flows, which is at the retail store level for store-related assets. If the estimated undiscounted future cash flows related to the property, plant, and equipment and operating right-of-use assets are less than the carrying value, the Company recognizes a loss equal to the difference between the carrying value and the fair value, as further defined below in “Fair Value of Financial Instruments.”
Routine maintenance and repair costs are expensed as incurred.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
The Company capitalizes certain costs incurred in connection with acquiring, modifying, and installing internal-use software. Capitalized costs are included in property, plant, and equipment and are amortized over three to five years. Software costs that do not meet capitalization criteria are expensed as incurred.
Revenue Recognition and Accounts Receivable
Vera Bradley and Pura Vida product sales to customers, including amounts billed to customers for shipping fees, as well as royalties from licensing arrangements related to the Vera Bradley brand, are included in net revenues. Costs related to shipping of product are classified in cost of sales in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company has elected to treat shipping and handling activities that occur after the customer has obtained control of a good as an activity to fulfill the promise to transfer the product rather than as an additional promised service. Net revenues exclude sales taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities from the transaction price.
Revenue from the sale of the Company’s products is recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to customers, in the amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Revenue is recognized using the five-step model. These steps are: (i) identify the contract with the customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation; and (v) recognize revenue as the performance obligations are satisfied.
The Company collects payment at the point of sale for Vera Bradley and Pura Vida full-line and outlet store transactions, upon shipment for Vera Bradley e-commerce transactions, and upon purchase for Pura Vida e-commerce transactions. The Company generally collects payment in arrears in accordance with established payment terms for each customer within the VB Indirect segment and for Pura Vida wholesale retailers.
Historical experience provides the Company the ability to reasonably estimate the amount of product sales that customers will return. Product returns are often resalable through multiple channels. Additionally, the Company reserves for customer allowances for certain VB Indirect retailers based upon various contract terms and other potential product credits granted to VB Indirect retailers.
The returns and credits reserve and the related activity for each fiscal year presented were as follows (in thousands):
Balance at
Beginning of Year Provision
Charged to
Net Revenues Allowances
Taken / Written Off Balance at End
of Year
Fiscal year ended February 1, 2025 $ 1,422 $ 8,401 $ (8,584) $ 1,239
Fiscal year ended February 3, 2024 1,801 9,697 (10,076) 1,422
Fiscal year ended January 28, 2023 1,582 12,320 (12,101) 1,801
The Company establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts based on historical experience and customer-specific identification and believes that collections of receivables, net of the allowance for doubtful accounts, are reasonably assured. The allowance for doubtful accounts was approximately $1.1 million as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, respectively. The provision for doubtful accounts is based upon the likelihood of default expected during the life of the receivable.
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes material and labor costs, freight, inventory shrinkage, operating lease costs, duty, and other operating expenses, including depreciation of the Vera Bradley distribution center and equipment. Costs and related expenses to purchase and distribute the products are recorded as cost of sales when the related revenues are recognized.
Operating Leases
The Company recognizes lease liabilities at the lease commencement date based upon the present value of the remaining lease payments. Operating right-of-use assets are based on the lease liability adjusted for prepaid rent, deferred rent, and tenant allowances received from certain of the Company’s landlords, primarily for its retail store locations.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Operating lease liabilities are amortized based upon the effective interest method. Operating right-of-use assets are amortized based upon the straight-line lease expense less interest on the lease liability. Operating lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Variable rent expense is recognized in the period incurred.
Operating right-of-use assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. The reviews are conducted at the lowest identifiable level of cash flows, which is at the retail store level for store-related assets. If the estimated undiscounted future cash flows related to the operating right-of-use assets are less than the carrying value, the Company recognizes a loss equal to the difference between the carrying value and the fair value, as further defined below in “Fair Value of Financial Instruments.”
Refer to Note 4 herein for additional information regarding the Company's leases.
Store Pre-Opening, Occupancy, and Operating Costs
The Company charges costs associated with the opening of new stores to selling, general, and administrative expenses as incurred. Selling, general, and administrative expenses also include store operating costs, store employee compensation, and store occupancy and supply costs.
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
Identifiable intangible assets consisted of the Pura Vida brand and customer relationships. Goodwill was fully impaired during fiscal 2023, leaving no balance. Our Pura Vida brand, an indefinite-lived asset, is not amortized but assessed for impairment at least annually or whenever events or circumstances indicate that the brand may be impaired. The Pura Vida customer relationship, a definite-lived intangible asset, is amortized over its estimated useful life and is also subject to impairment testing, similar to the Company’s other long-lived assets.
We test the Pura Vida brand for impairment annually, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset may be impaired. Our annual impairment test may be completed through a qualitative assessment to determine if the fair value of the Pura Vida brand is more likely than not greater than the carrying amount. If we elect to bypass the qualitative assessment, or if a qualitative assessment indicates it is more likely than not that the estimated carrying value exceeds the fair value, we test for impairment using a quantitative process. Our quantitative process includes comparing the carrying value to the fair value of the Pura Vida brand, with any excess recognized as an impairment loss. Fair value is estimated using a relief-from-royalty method. The estimates and assumptions used in the determination of the fair value of the Pura Vida brand include the projected revenue growth, long-term growth rate, the royalty rate, and discount rate.
Prior to fiscal 2024, the Company performed an annual impairment test for its goodwill.
The Pura Vida brand was fully impaired during fiscal 2025, leaving no balance. For the annual impairment analysis performed in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company performed a quantitative analysis and no impairment was recorded. Subsequent to the annual impairment test, the Company performed an additional quantitative analysis of the carrying value of the Pura Vida brand due to triggering events and recorded an impairment charge of $6.2 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, further described in Note 15 herein.
For the annual impairment analysis performed during fiscal 2024, the Company performed a quantitative analysis, as well as subsequent analyses due to triggering events, further described in Note 15 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements herein. An impairment charge of $5.4 million was recorded during fiscal 2024 for the Pura Vida brand.
For the annual impairment analysis performed during fiscal 2023, the Company performed a quantitative analysis, as well as subsequent analyses due to triggering events, further described in Note 15 herein. Impairment charges of $44.3 million and $25.0 million were recorded during fiscal 2023 for goodwill and the Pura Vida brand, respectively.
Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest
On July 16, 2019, as contemplated by the Interest Purchase Agreement, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries and the owners of the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) ownership interest in Pura Vida (the “Sellers”) which was not acquired by the Company (the “Remaining Pura Vida Interest”) entered into a Put/Call Agreement (the “Put/Call Agreement”). Pursuant to the Put/Call Agreement, and subject to the terms and conditions thereof, the Sellers had the
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
right to sell all of the Remaining Pura Vida Interest to the Company, and the Company had the right to purchase all of the Remaining Pura Vida Interests from Sellers, in each case generally at any time following the fifth anniversary of the closing date of the transaction until the tenth anniversary thereof. The purchase price for any Remaining Pura Vida Interest put to, or called by, the Company was determined based on the arithmetic average of a multiple of adjusted EBITDA of Pura Vida and a multiple of adjusted EBITDA of the Company, as defined in the Put/Call Agreement, over the twelve-month period ending on the last day of the month immediately preceding the month in which an exercise notice was delivered by a relevant party. In the event of a change in control of the Company, the parties had the right to exercise a portion of their put and call rights prior to the fifth anniversary of the closing date (as defined in the Put/Call Agreement).
As a result of this redemption feature, the Company recorded the noncontrolling interest as redeemable and classified it in temporary equity within its Consolidated Balance Sheets initially at its acquisition-date fair value. The noncontrolling interest was adjusted each reporting period for income (or loss) attributable to the noncontrolling interest. A measurement period adjustment, if any, was then made to adjust the noncontrolling interest to the higher of the redemption value or carrying value each reporting period. These adjustments were recognized through retained earnings and were not reflected in net income or net income attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. When calculating earnings per share attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc., the Company adjusted net income attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. for the measurement period adjustment to the extent the redemption value exceeds the fair value of the noncontrolling interest on a cumulative basis. The fair value of the noncontrolling interest was estimated using a combination of the income approach, a discounted cash flow analysis, and the market approach, utilizing the guideline company method. The reporting unit’s discounted cash flow analysis required significant management judgment with respect to revenue, total direct costs, selling, general, and administrative expenses, capital expenditures, and the selection and use of an appropriate discount rate. The projected revenue and expense assumptions and capital expenditures were based on our annual and long-term business plans. Discount rates reflected market-based estimates of the risks associated with the projected cash flows directly resulting from the use of those assets in operations.
On January 23, 2023, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries entered into an Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Interest Purchase Agreement”) with Creative Genius Holdings, Inc. a California corporation, Creative Genius Investments, Inc., a California corporation, Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman (collectively “Sellers”) to purchase the remaining 25% of the outstanding membership interests (the "Remaining Pura Vida Interests") of Pura Vida. The closing date of the Transaction was January 30, 2023.
Pursuant to the Interest Purchase Agreement, and subject to the terms and conditions thereof, on the closing date, the Company indirectly acquired the Remaining Pura Vida Interests (the “Transaction”) in exchange for cash consideration consisting of approximately $10 million payable at closing, subject to certain adjustments. The Transaction was not subject to financing conditions. The Company’s existing available cash and cash equivalents funded the purchase price. Following completion of the Transaction, the Company owned one hundred percent (100%) of the ownership interests in Pura Vida. The Interest Purchase Agreement also included certain non-competition and customer, supplier and employee non-solicitation and non-interference covenants from the Sellers in favor of the Company during the four-year period beginning on the closing date of the Transaction.
The Interest Purchase Agreement provides that, as of the closing of the Transaction, all rights and obligations of the Company and the Sellers under any agreements among the parties, including the Put/Call Agreement, were terminated.
As a result of the Transaction, the Company recorded a decrease to redeemable noncontrolling interest of $10.7 million. The difference between the fair value of the consideration paid and the balance of the redeemable noncontrolling interest resulted in $0.7 million recognized in additional paid-in capital (“APIC”) during fiscal 2024. In addition, there was an APIC adjustment of $0.6 million related to deferred income taxes for the purchase of the redeemable noncontrolling interest. The total APIC adjustment for this matter during fiscal 2024 was $1.3 million.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company accounts for stock-based compensation using the fair-value recognition provisions of ASC 718, Stock Compensation. Under these provisions, for its awards of restricted stock and restricted-stock units, the Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense in an amount equal to the fair market value of the underlying stock on the grant date of the respective award. The Company recognizes this expense, net of estimated forfeitures, on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.
Advertising Costs
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
The Company expenses advertising costs at the time the promotion first appears in media, in stores, or on its websites, and includes those costs in selling, general, and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Total advertising expense was as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal year ended February 1, 2025
$ 52,373
Fiscal year ended February 3, 2024
54,999
Fiscal year ended January 28, 2023
54,941
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are classified using the following hierarchy, which is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation as of the measurement date:
•Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
•Level 2 - Inputs, other than the quoted prices in active markets, that are observable either directly or indirectly;
•Level 3 - Unobservable inputs based on the Company’s own assumptions.
The classification of fair value measurements within the hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the measurement.
The carrying amounts reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and accounts payable as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, approximated their fair values.
The following table details the fair value measurements of the Company’s investments as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024 (in thousands):
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
February 1, 2025 February 3, 2024 February 1, 2025 February 3, 2024 February 1, 2025 February 3, 2024
Cash equivalents (1)
$ 15,000 $ 55,262 $ - $ - $ - $ -
(1) Cash equivalents primarily represent money market funds that have a maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase. Due to its short maturity, the Company believes the carrying value approximates fair value.
The Company assesses potential impairments to its long-lived assets, which includes property, plant, and equipment and lease right-of-use assets, on a quarterly basis or whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Store-level assets and right-of-use assets are grouped at the individual store-level for the purpose of the impairment assessment. Recoverability of an asset group is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset group to its estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset group. If the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds the fair value of the asset group. The fair value of the store assets is determined using the discounted future cash flow method of anticipated cash flows through the store’s lease-end date using fair value measurement inputs classified as Level 3. The fair value of right-of-use assets is estimated using market comparative information for similar properties. Level 3 inputs are derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. The Company recorded $2.6 million and $1.4 million in impairment charges primarily related to store assets including property, plant, and equipment and lease right-of-use assets during the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, and January 28, 2023, respectively. No impairment charges were recorded in fiscal 2024 for long-lived assets.
Assets recognized or disclosed at fair value on the consolidated financial statements on a nonrecurring basis include items such as property, plant, and equipment, including leasehold improvements, and operating lease assets, as well as assets related to the Pura Vida acquisition including goodwill and intangible assets. These assets are measured at fair value if determined to be impaired. Refer to Note 15 herein regarding the Pura Vida Brand impairment test and related
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
impairment charges for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, as well as the Pura Vida Brand and goodwill impairment test and impairment charges for fiscal 2023.
The discounted cash flow models used to estimate the applicable fair values involve numerous estimates and assumptions that are highly subjective. Changes to these estimates and assumptions could materially impact the fair value estimates. The estimates and assumptions critical to the overall fair value estimates include: (1) estimated future cash flow generated at the store level; (2) discount rates used to derive the present value factors used in determining the fair values; and (3) market rentals at the retail store. These and other estimates and assumptions are impacted by economic conditions and our expectations and may change in the future based on period-specific facts and circumstances. If economic conditions were to deteriorate, future impairment charges may be required which may be material.
Income Taxes
The Company accrues income taxes payable or refundable and recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based on differences between the book and tax bases of assets and liabilities. The Company measures deferred tax assets and liabilities using enacted rates in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse, and recognizes the effect of a change in enacted rates in the period of enactment.
When measuring deferred tax assets, the Company considers both positive and negative evidence to determine whether it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will be realized. This evidence includes recent operating results, projected future taxable income, the reversal of existing taxable differences, tax planning strategies, among other factors. When necessary, a valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the deferred tax assets to their anticipated realizable value. In fiscal 2025, the Company recorded a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets.
The Company establishes liabilities for uncertain positions taken or expected to be taken in income tax returns, using a more-likely-than-not recognition threshold. The Company includes in income tax expense any interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions.
Cloud Computing Arrangements
The Company capitalizes implementation costs associated with its Cloud Computing Arrangements (“CCA”) consistent with costs capitalized for internal-use software. The CCA costs are amortized over the term of the related hosting agreement, taking into consideration renewal options, if any. The renewal period is included in the amortization period if determined that the option is reasonably certain to be exercised. The amortization expense is recorded within selling, general, and administrative expenses in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations, which is within the same line item as the related hosting fees. The balance of the unamortized CCA implementation costs totaled $0.6 million and $3.8 million as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, respectively. Of this total, $0.4 million and $2.8 million was recorded within prepaid expenses and other current assets and $0.2 million and $1.0 million was recorded within other assets on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, respectively. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company recorded a software abandonment charge of $1.1 million. The CCA implementation costs are recorded within operating activities in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, "Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures". This ASU updates reportable segment disclosure requirements by requiring disclosures of significant reportable segment expenses that are regularly provided to the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) and included within each reported measure of a segment's profit or loss. This ASU also requires disclosure of the title and position of the individual identified as the CODM and an explanation of how the CODM uses the reported measures of a segment’s profit or loss in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources. The ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Adoption of the ASU should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. The Company adopted the ASU during the year ended February 1, 2025 and the impact of the ASU was limited to financial statement footnote disclosures. Refer to Note 17 herein.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, "Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures". This ASU establishes new income tax disclosure requirements in addition to modifying and eliminating certain existing requirements. Under the new guidance, entities must consistently categorize and provide greater disaggregation of information in the rate reconciliation. They must also further disaggregate income taxes paid. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024 (the Company's fiscal year 2026), with retrospective application permitted. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the impact on its disclosures; however, adoption will not impact our consolidated financial statements.
In November 2024, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2024-03, "Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses". The ASU requires financial statement footnote disclosure of specified information about certain costs and expenses, including purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation, and intangible asset amortization. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026 (the Company’s fiscal year 2028) and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027 (interim periods for the Company’s fiscal year 2029). Public business entities are required to apply the guidance prospectively, however, retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this ASU, but expects the impact to be limited to financial statement footnote disclosures.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
3. Revenue from Contracts with Customers
Disaggregation of Revenue
The following presents the Company's net revenues disaggregated by product category for the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2025 and January 28, 2023, and fifty-three weeks ended February 3, 2024 (in thousands):
Fifty-Two Weeks Ended
February 1, 2025
VB Direct Segment VB Indirect Segment Pura Vida Segment Total
Product categories
Bags $ 105,071 $ 35,077 $ 82 $ 140,230
Travel 67,911 13,090 - 81,001
Accessories 40,993 6,920 51,312 99,225
Home 25,899 2,738 - 28,637
Apparel/Footwear 10,554 1,216 480 12,250
Other 7,181 (1) 2,145 (2) 1,298 (3) 10,624
Total net revenues $ 257,609 (4) $ 61,186 (5) $ 53,172 (4) $ 371,967
(1) Primarily includes net revenues from stationery, freight, and gift card breakage.
(2) Primarily includes net revenues from licensing agreements, freight, and merchandising.
(3) Related to freight.
(4) Net revenues were related to product sales recognized at a point in time.
(5) $59.4 million of net revenues related to product sales recognized at a point in time and $1.8 million of net revenues related to sales-based royalties recognized over time.
Fifty-Three Weeks Ended
February 3, 2024
VB Direct Segment VB Indirect Segment Pura Vida Segment Total
Product categories
Bags $ 119,705 $ 39,609 $ 407 $ 159,721
Travel 75,927 14,922 - 90,849
Accessories 52,930 9,547 82,731 145,208
Home 37,587 4,022 - 41,609
Apparel/Footwear 16,526 2,461 1,450 20,437
Other 7,235 (1) 3,242 (2) 2,485 (3) 12,962
Total net revenues $ 309,910 (4) $ 73,803 (5) $ 87,073 (4) $ 470,786
(1) Primarily includes net revenues from stationery, freight, and gift card breakage.
(2) Primarily includes net revenues from licensing agreements, freight, and merchandising.
(3) Related to freight.
(4) Net revenues were related to product sales recognized at a point in time.
(5) $71.4 million of net revenues related to product sales recognized at a point in time and $2.4 million of net revenues related to sales-based royalties recognized over time.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Fifty-Two Weeks Ended
January 28, 2023
VB Direct Segment VB Indirect Segment Pura Vida Segment Total
Product categories
Bags $ 131,432 $ 38,587 $ 1,249 $ 171,268
Travel 79,585 14,283 - 93,868
Accessories 58,932 10,312 90,743 159,987
Home 38,040 4,233 - 42,273
Apparel/Footwear(6)
12,701 2,236 3,844 18,781
Other 7,541 (1) 3,665 (2) 2,578 (3) 13,784
Total net revenues $ 328,231 (4) $ 73,316 (5) $ 98,414 (4) $ 499,961
(1) Primarily includes net revenues from stationery, freight, and gift card breakage.
(2) Primarily includes net revenues from licensing agreements, freight, and merchandising.
(3) Related to freight.
(4) Net revenues were related to product sales recognized at a point in time.
(5) $70.7 million of net revenues related to product sales recognized at a point in time and $2.6 million of net revenues related to sales-based royalties recognized over time.
(6) Includes mask sales.
Contract Balances
Contract liabilities as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, were $2.4 million and $2.6 million, respectively. The balance consisted of unredeemed gift cards, unearned revenue related to the monthly bracelet subscription of the Pura Vida segment, Pura Vida loyalty club points, and Pura Vida customer deposits and payments collected before shipment. These contract liabilities are recognized within other accrued liabilities on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. Substantially all contract liabilities are recognized within one year. The Company did not have contract assets as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024.
The balance for accounts receivable from contracts with customers, net of allowances, as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024 was $14.2 million and $16.4 million, respectively, which is recognized within accounts receivable, net, on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The provision for doubtful accounts was $1.1 million as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, respectively. The provision for doubtful accounts is based upon the likelihood of default expected during the life of the receivable.
Performance Obligations
The performance obligations for the VB Direct, VB Indirect, and Pura Vida segments include the promise to transfer distinct goods (or a bundle of distinct goods). The VB Indirect segment also includes the right to access intellectual property (“IP”) related to the Vera Bradley brand.
Remaining Performance Obligations
The Company does not have remaining performance obligations in excess of one year or contracts that it does not have the right to invoice as of February 1, 2025.
Significant Judgments
Product Sales
In the Vera Bradley and Pura Vida retail stores (recognized within the VB Direct segment and the Pura Vida segments), control is transferred and net revenue is recognized at the point of sale. Product shipments for the Company’s e-commerce channels (recognized within the VB Direct and Pura Vida segments) and shipments to its wholesale retailers (recognized within the VB Indirect segment and Pura Vida segment) are generally shipped Free on Board (“FOB”) shipping point
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
typically from its distribution center in Roanoke, Indiana, for Vera Bradley products and primarily from its third-party fulfillment center in Tijuana, Mexico for Pura Vida products. Net revenue is recognized upon shipment consistent with when control is transferred to the customer. Upon shipment, the customer has the right to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the benefits from, the product.
Licensing Royalties
The Company grants rights to access its Vera Bradley IP and accounts for any resulting sales-based royalty revenue over time, as the subsequent sales occur. The Company has contractually guaranteed minimum royalties in certain of its sales-based royalty arrangements which are recognized straight-line over the remaining license period once determined that the minimum sales level will not be achieved. Licensing royalties are recognized within VB Indirect segment net revenues.
Transaction Price and Amounts Allocated to Performance Obligations
The transaction price is the amount of consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in a sales transaction. The transaction price is net of discounts, estimated variable consideration (if any), and any customer allowances offered or estimated, including those offered to certain Indirect retailers based on various contract terms. The transaction price also is net of allowances for product returns, which the Company is able to reasonably estimate based upon historical experience. The transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation in the contract based upon the standalone selling price.
Contract Costs
Sales commissions are paid to certain employees based upon specific sales achieved during a time period. As the Company’s contracts related to these sales commissions do not exceed one year, these incentive payments are expensed as incurred.
Other Practical Expedients
Significant Financing Components
The Company does not adjust for the time value of money as the majority of its contracts have an original expected duration of one year or less; contracts that are greater than one year are related to net revenues that are constrained until the subsequent sales occur. The net revenues associated with these contracts are immaterial, and the Company does not adjust for the time value of money.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Five customers represented approximately 66.0% of the balance of accounts receivable, net as of February 1, 2025.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
4. Leases
Nature of Leases
The Company has operating leases at all of its Vera Bradley and Pura Vida retail stores (including storage spaces), as well as for its New York office, the California Pura Vida office, Asia sourcing office, and showrooms. The Company does not have residual value guarantees, restrictions, or covenants imposed by leases.
Determination of Lease Terms
Retail store leases have remaining terms of up to 10 years as of February 1, 2025. These leases generally have early termination rights when certain sales thresholds are not met for a specified measurement period. The Company's other leases generally have remaining terms of up to approximately two years as of February 1, 2025. If the lease contains a renewal period at the Company's option, the renewal period is included in the lease term if determined the option is reasonably certain to be exercised at lease commencement. The Company's lease options generally do not include termination rights other than those mentioned. The Company did not have financing leases as of February 1, 2025.
Variable Rental Payments
The Company's retail store leases contain variable rental payments based on each location's monthly gross sales, the majority of which have specified sales breakpoints. In addition, the majority of the Company's leases contain real estate taxes, common area maintenance, and similar items that are billed as pass-through charges from its landlords. These rental payments are not included in the measurement of the lease liability, but are recognized as variable lease cost in the period incurred.
Certain of the Company's leases also contain lease components with increases based upon an index or rate. These lease components are included on the Company's balance sheet at the rate as of lease commencement. Future changes in the index or rate will generally be included as variable lease cost.
Significant Judgments and Assumptions
Determination of Whether a Contract Contains a Lease
The Company determines whether a contract is or contains a lease at the inception of the contract. The contract is, or contains, a lease if the contract conveys the right to control the use of identified property, plant, or equipment for a period of time in exchange for consideration. The Company generally must also have the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from use of the property, plant, and equipment and have the right to direct its use.
Discount Rate
The weighted-average discount rate as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, was 5.0% and 4.8%, respectively. The discount rate is not readily determinable in the lease; therefore, the Company estimated the incremental borrowing rate, at the commencement or remeasurement date of each lease, which is the rate of interest it would have to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term with similar payments.
Leases Not Yet Commenced
As of February 1, 2025, there were no executed leases in which the Company did not have control of the underlying asset.
Practical Expedients (Policy Elections)
The Company has elected the following practical expedients as policy elections upon the adoption of ASC Topic 842.
Short-Term Leases The Company elected to exclude leases with a term of 12 months or less from recognition on the balance sheet for all leases.
Not Separating Lease and Nonlease Components The Company elected to combine lease and nonlease components and recognize as a single lease component for all leases.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Financial Statements
The following lease expense is recorded within cost of sales for the Asia sourcing office and within selling, general, and administrative expenses for all other leases, including retail store leases, in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023 (in thousands):
Fifty-Two Weeks Ended Fifty-Three Weeks Ended Fifty-Two Weeks Ended
February 1, 2025 February 3, 2024 January 28, 2023
Operating lease cost $ 26,658 $ 25,826 $ 25,118
Variable lease cost 4,411 5,295 5,975
Short-term lease cost 540 578 476
Less: Sublease income (1)
(420) (420) (234)
Total lease cost $ 31,189 $ 31,279 $ 31,335
(1) Related to the sublease of a former Company location.
The weighted-average remaining lease term as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024 was 4.8 years and 5.3 years, respectively.
Supplemental operating cash flow information was as follows (in thousands):
Fifty-Two Weeks Ended Fifty-Three Weeks Ended Fifty-Two Weeks Ended
February 1, 2025 February 3, 2024 January 28, 2023
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities $ 30,234 $ 29,554 $ 30,014
Right-of-use assets increase as a result of new and modified operating lease liabilities, net $ 32,510 $ 9,859 $ 20,379
Maturity Analysis of Operating Lease Liabilities
Maturities of the Company's operating lease liabilities (undiscounted) reconciled to its lease liability as of February 1, 2025 were as follows (in thousands):
Operating Leases
Fiscal 2026 $ 23,923
Fiscal 2027 22,457
Fiscal 2028 18,746
Fiscal 2029 15,673
Fiscal 2030 9,170
Thereafter 11,094
Total remaining obligations 101,063
Less: Interest (11,419)
Present value of lease liabilities $ 89,644
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
5. Property, Plant, and Equipment
Property, plant, and equipment consisted of the following (in thousands):
February 1,
2025 February 3,
Land and land improvements $ 5,981 $ 5,981
Building and building improvements 46,203 46,203
Furniture, fixtures, leasehold improvements, computer equipment and software 86,776 86,584
Equipment and vehicles 29,117 28,493
Construction in progress 710 302
168,787 167,563
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization (114,604) (113,307)
Property, plant, and equipment, net $ 54,183 $ 54,256
Depreciation and amortization expense associated with property, plant, and equipment, excluding impairment charges (in thousands):
Fiscal year ended February 1, 2025 $ 8,531
Fiscal year ended February 3, 2024 7,968
Fiscal year ended January 28, 2023 8,854
6. Debt
As of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, the Company had no borrowings outstanding and availability of $75.0 million under its Credit Agreement.
Credit Agreement
On September 7, 2018, Vera Bradley Designs, Inc. (“VBD”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into an asset-based revolving Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) among VBD, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and the lenders from time to time party thereto. On August 3, 2023, certain subsidiaries of the Company, JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as the administrative agent, and lenders from time to time party thereto, entered into a Third Amendment (the “Third Amendment”) to the Credit Agreement dated September 7, 2018.
The Credit Agreement provides for certain credit facilities to VBD in an aggregate principal amount not to initially exceed the lesser of $75.0 million or the amount of borrowing availability determined in accordance with a borrowing base of certain assets. Any proceeds of the credit facilities will be used to finance general corporate purposes of VBD and its subsidiaries, including but not limited to Vera Bradley International, LLC, Vera Bradley Sales, LLC, and Creative Genius, LLC (collectively, the “Named Subsidiaries”). The Credit Agreement also contains an option for VBD to arrange with lenders to increase the aggregate principal amount by up to $50.0 million.
Amounts outstanding under the Credit Agreement bear interest at a per annum rate equal to (i) for CBFR borrowings (including swingline loans), the CB Floating Rate, where the CB Floating Rate is the greater of the prime rate or 2.5%, plus the Applicable Rate, where the Applicable Rate is a percentage spread ranging from -1.25% to -1.50%, (ii) for each Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, where the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate is the Term SOFR rate for such interest period plus 0.10% for the interest period in effect for such borrowing, plus the Applicable Rate, where the Applicable Rate is a percentage ranging from 1.25% to 1.50%, or (iii) for RFR Loans, the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR Rate, where the adjusted Daily Simple SOFR Rate is equal to the Daily Simple SOFR plus 0.10%, plus the Applicable Rate, where the Applicable Rate is a percentage ranging from 1.25% to 1.50% The applicable CB Floating Rate, Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, Term SOFR Rate, Daily Simple SOFR, and Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR shall be determined by the administrative agent. The Credit Agreement also requires VBD to pay a commitment fee for the unused portion of the revolving facility of up to 0.30% per annum.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
VBD’s obligations under the Credit Agreement are guaranteed by the Company and the Named Subsidiaries. The obligations of VBD under the Credit Agreement are secured by substantially all of the respective assets of VBD, the Company, and the Named Subsidiaries and are further secured by the equity interests in VBD and the Named Subsidiaries.
The Credit Agreement contains various affirmative and negative covenants, including restrictions on the Company's ability to incur debt or liens; engage in mergers or consolidations; make certain investments, acquisitions, loans, and advances; sell assets; enter into certain swap agreements; pay dividends or make distributions or make other restricted payments; engage in certain transactions with affiliates; and amend, modify, or waive any of its rights related to subordinated indebtedness and certain charter and other organizational, governing, and material agreements. The Company may avoid certain of such restrictions by meeting payment conditions defined in the Credit Agreement.
The Credit Agreement also requires the loan parties, as defined in the Credit Agreement, to maintain a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.00 to 1.00 during periods when borrowing availability is less than the greater of (A) $9.4 million, and (B) 12.5% of the lesser of (i) the aggregate revolving commitment, and (ii) the borrowing base. The fixed charge coverage ratio, availability, aggregate revolving commitment, and the borrowing base are further defined in the Credit Agreement.
The Credit Agreement contains customary events of default, including, among other things: (i) the failure to pay any principal, interest, or other fees under the Credit Agreement; (ii) the making of any materially incorrect representation or warranty; (iii) the failure to observe or perform any covenant, condition, or agreement in the Credit Agreement or related agreements; (iv) a cross default with respect to other material indebtedness; (v) bankruptcy and insolvency events; (vi) unsatisfied material final judgments; (vii) Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) events that could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect; and (viii) a change in control (as defined in the Credit Agreement).
The Credit Agreement matures in May 2028.
Refer to Note 18 herein for information related to the Fourth Amendment to the Credit Agreement, occurring subsequent to the Company's fiscal year 2025.
7. Income Taxes
The components of the income tax expense (benefit) were as follows (in thousands):
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Current:
Federal $ 199 $ 918 $ 680
Foreign 19 337 562
State 377 478 803
595 1,733 2,045
Deferred:
Federal 16,214 1,322 (15,517)
State 4,141 439 (2,168)
20,355 1,761 (17,685)
Total income tax expense (benefit) $ 20,950 $ 3,494 $ (15,640)
A breakdown of the Company’s (loss) income before income taxes is as follows (in thousands):
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Domestic $ (41,413) $ 9,159 $ (98,539)
Foreign 175 2,173 3,515
Total (loss) income before income taxes $ (41,238) $ 11,332 $ (95,024)
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
A reconciliation of the income tax expense (benefit) to the amount computed at the federal statutory rate is as follows (in thousands):
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Federal taxes at statutory rate $ (8,660) 21.0 % $ 2,380 21.0 % $ (19,955) 21.0 %
State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit (622) 1.5 754 6.7 (1,063) 1.1
Impact related to redeemable noncontrolling interest - - - - 4,126 (4.3)
Change in valuation allowance 29,751 (72.1) - - - -
(Windfall) shortfall from stock-based compensation (18) - (47) (0.4) 271 (0.3)
Impact of foreign rate differential 19 - (109) (1.0) (167) 0.2
Change in uncertain tax positions 3 - (30) (0.3) (15) -
Non-deductible executive compensation 316 (0.8) 487 4.3 1,150 (1.2)
Other 161 (0.4) 59 0.5 13 -
Total income tax expense (benefit) $ 20,950 (50.8) % $ 3,494 30.8 % $ (15,640) 16.5 %
Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the book and tax bases of assets and liabilities. Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows (in thousands):
February 1,
2025 February 3,
Deferred tax assets:
Operating lease liabilities $ 24,832 $ 22,511
Compensation and benefits 1,306 2,815
Inventories 3,649 4,122
Investment in subsidiary 13,304 12,904
Net operating loss carryforwards 10,148 289
Other 2,165 1,365
Subtotal deferred tax assets 55,404 44,006
Less: valuation allowance (29,799) (48)
Total deferred tax assets 25,605 43,958
Deferred tax liabilities:
Operating lease assets (21,067) (17,863)
Property, plant, and equipment (2,403) (2,930)
Other (2,135) (2,810)
Total deferred tax liabilities (25,605) (23,603)
Net deferred tax assets $ - $ 20,355
The Company considered both positive and negative evidence to determine whether it was more likely than not that some, or all, of the deferred tax assets would not be realized in its valuation allowance assessment. Based on this assessment, the Company recorded a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets as of February 1, 2025. As of February 3, 2024, there were an immaterial amount of valuation allowances recorded.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Uncertain Tax Positions
A reconciliation of the beginning and ending gross amount of unrecognized tax benefits (excluding interest and penalties) is as follows (in thousands):
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Beginning balance $ 39 $ 73 $ 92
Net increases in unrecognized tax benefits as a result of current year activity - - 2
Lapse of statute of limitations - (34) (21)
Ending balance $ 39 $ 39 $ 73
As of February 1, 2025, the Company had an immaterial amount of total unrecognized tax benefits, net of federal benefit, that would, if recognized, favorably affect the effective tax rate in future periods. Total unrecognized tax benefits are currently expected to decrease by approximately $37.0 thousand in the next twelve months. The Company recognized an immaterial amount of interest only, no penalties, related to unrecognized tax benefits in the fiscal years ended January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022. Unrecognized tax benefits are included within other long-term liabilities in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets.
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various U.S. state and foreign jurisdictions. The Company is subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations for fiscal years 2022 and forward. With a few exceptions, the Company is subject to audit by various state and foreign taxing authorities for fiscal 2021 through the current fiscal year.
8. Stock-Based Compensation
The Company’s stock-based compensation consists of awards of restricted stock and restricted stock units. The Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $3.7 million, $2.9 million, and $3.2 million in the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023, respectively.
Awards of Restricted-Stock Units
The Company reserved 6,000,000 shares of common stock for issuance or transfer under the 2020 Equity and Incentive Plan, which allows for grants of restricted stock units, as well as other equity awards.
During the fiscal year ended February 1, 2025, the Company granted a total of 755,647 time-based and performance-based restricted stock units to certain employees and non-employee directors under the 2020 Equity and Incentive Plan with an aggregate fair value of $5.1 million. The Company determined the fair value of the units based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the grant date.
The majority of time-based restricted stock units vest and settle in shares of the Company’s common stock, on a one-for-one basis, in equal installments on each of the first three anniversaries of the grant date. Restricted stock unit awards issued to non-employee directors vest after a one-year period from the grant date. The Company recognizes the expense relating to these awards, net of estimated forfeitures, on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.
The majority of performance-based restricted stock units vest upon the completion of a three-year period of time (cliff vesting), subject to the employee’s continuing employment throughout the three-year performance period and the Company’s achievement of annual earnings per share targets, or other Company performance targets, during the three-year performance period. The Company recognizes the expense relating to these units, net of estimated forfeitures and based on the probable outcome of achievement of the financial targets, on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
The following table summarizes information about restricted-stock units as of and for the year ended February 1, 2025 (units in thousands):
Time-based
Restricted Stock Units Performance-based
Restricted Stock Units
Number of
Units Weighted-
Average
Grant
Date Fair
Value
(per unit) Number of
Units Weighted-
Average
Grant
Date Fair
Value
(per unit)
Nonvested units outstanding at February 3, 2024
683 $ 4.58 840 $ 4.42
Granted 422 6.71 334 6.71
Change due to performance condition achievement - - (296) 5.41
Vested (360) 5.54 (47) 10.24
Forfeited (46) 6.57 (62) 6.54
Nonvested units outstanding at February 1, 2025
699 $ 5.99 769 $ 5.19
As of February 1, 2025, there was $4.7 million of total unrecognized compensation cost, net of estimated forfeitures, related to nonvested restricted stock units. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.4 years, subject to meeting performance conditions. The total fair value of restricted stock units for which restrictions lapsed (vested) during fiscal 2025 was $2.6 million.
9. Commitments and Contingencies
The Company is subject to various claims and contingencies arising in the normal course of business, including those relating to product liability, legal claims, employee benefits, environmental issues, and other matters. Management believes that at this time it is not probable that any of these claims will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. However, the outcomes of legal proceedings and claims brought against the Company are subject to uncertainty and future developments could cause these actions or claims, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows of a particular reporting period.
The Company is subject to other legal proceedings from time to time in the ordinary course of business but does not believe any of these such claims would have a material adverse impact on the Company at this time.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
10. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust
The Company has a 401(k) profit sharing plan and trust for all qualified employees and provides a 100% match for the first 3% of employee contributions and a 50% match for the next 2% of employee contributions, for a maximum Company match of 4% of employee contributions, limited to the annual legal allowable limit. Additionally, the Company has the option of making discretionary profit sharing payments to the plan as approved by the board of directors. As of February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023, no discretionary profit sharing payments had been approved. The Company recognizes 401(k) Company contributions within cost of sales for employees related to distribution center, sourcing, and other related functions and selling, general, and administrative expenses for all other employees. Total Company contributions to the plan were as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal year ended February 1, 2025 $ 1,538
Fiscal year ended February 3, 2024 1,897
Fiscal year ended January 28, 2023 1,854
11. Related-Party Transactions
Charitable Contributions. The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer (the “Foundation”) was founded by one of the Company’s directors, who is also on the board of directors of the Foundation. The liability associated with commitments to the Foundation was approximately $0.2 million as of February 1, 2025 and $0.1 million as of February 3, 2024. The liability consisted of pass-through donations from customers and is included in other accrued liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
The associated expense for contributions to the Foundation, which is included in selling, general, and administrative expenses, was as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal year ended February 1, 2025 $ 167
Fiscal year ended February 3, 2024 139
Fiscal year ended January 28, 2023 191
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
12. Earnings Per Share
Basic net (loss) income per share is computed based on the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per share is computed based on the weighted-average number of shares of common stock plus the effect of dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method. Dilutive potential common shares include outstanding restricted stock and restricted-stock units. The components of basic and diluted net (loss) income per share are as follows (in thousands, except per share data):
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Numerator:
Net (loss) income $ (62,188) $ 7,838 $ (79,384)
Less: Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest - - (19,649)
Net (loss) income attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc. $ (62,188) $ 7,838 $ (59,735)
Denominator:
Weighted-average number of common shares (basic) 28,935 30,833 31,503
Dilutive effect of stock-based awards - 481 -
Weighted-average number of common shares (diluted) 28,935 31,314 31,503
Net (loss) income per share attributable to Vera Bradley, Inc.:
Basic $ (2.15) $ 0.25 $ (1.90)
Diluted $ (2.15) $ 0.25 $ (1.90)
As of February 1, 2025 and January 28, 2023, all potential common shares were excluded from the diluted share calculation because they were anti-dilutive due to the net loss in the period.
As of February 3, 2024, there were an immaterial number of additional shares issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units that were excluded from the diluted share calculations because they were anti-dilutive. The diluted share calculations include performance-based restricted stock units for completed performance periods.
13. Common Stock
On November 29, 2018, the Company's board of directors approved a share repurchase plan (the “2018 Share Repurchase Program”) authorizing up to $50.0 million of repurchases of shares of the Company's common stock. On December 3, 2020, the 2018 Share Repurchase Program was extended through December 11, 2021.
In December 2021, the Company's board of directors approved a new share repurchase plan (the “2021 Share Repurchase Program”) which authorized Company management to utilize up to $50.0 million of available cash for repurchases of shares of the Company's common stock. The 2021 Share Repurchase Program went into effect beginning December 13, 2021 and expired in December 2024.
During the fiscal year ended February 1, 2025, the Company purchased and held 3,395,335 shares at an average price of $6.41 per share, excluding commissions, for an aggregate amount of $21.8 million, under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program.
During the fiscal year ended February 3, 2024, the Company purchased and held 359,554 shares at an average price of $6.10 per share, excluding commissions, for an aggregate amount of $2.2 million, under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program.
During the fiscal year ended January 28, 2023, the Company purchased and held 2,820,949 shares at an average price of $6.40 per share, excluding commissions, for an aggregate amount of $18.1 million, under the 2018 and 2021 Share Repurchase Programs.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company's board of directors approved a new share repurchase plan (the “2024 Share Repurchase Program”) which authorized Company management to utilize up to $30.0 million of available cash for repurchases of shares of the Company's common stock. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program went into effect beginning December 14, 2024 and expires in December 2027. The Company does not currently plan to purchase under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, but anticipates utilizing it in the future depending on the Company's cash position.
As of February 1, 2025, there was $30.0 million remaining available to repurchase shares of the Company's common stock under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program.
As of February 1, 2025, the Company held as treasury shares 15,834,579 shares of its common stock at an average price of $9.90 per share, excluding commissions, for an aggregate carrying amount of $156.8 million. The Company’s treasury shares may be issued under the 2020 Equity and Incentive Plan, or for other corporate purposes.
14. Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest
Redeemable noncontrolling interest represents the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) interest in Pura Vida not acquired by the Company. On January 30, 2023, the Company purchased the remaining 25% interest in Pura Vida. Refer to Note 2 herein for additional information.
Changes in redeemable noncontrolling interest for the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2025, fifty-three weeks ended February 3, 2024,and fifty-two weeks ended January 28, 2023 were as follows (in thousands):
Balance at January 29, 2022 $ 30,974
Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest (19,649)
Distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest (613)
Balance at January 28, 2023 $ 10,712
Adjustment for purchase of noncontrolling interest (10,712)
Balance at February 3, 2024 and February 1, 2025 $ -
15. Intangible Assets
The following tables detail the carrying value of the Company’s intangible assets related to the acquisition of a majority interest in Pura Vida.
February 1, 2025
in thousands Gross Basis Accumulated Amortization(1)
Carrying Amount
Definite-lived intangible asset
Customer Relationships $ 24,208 $ (24,208) $ -
Indefinite-lived intangible asset
Pura Vida Brand (2)
- - -
Total intangible assets $ 24,208 $ (24,208) $ -
(1) Amortization expense is recorded within the Pura Vida segment.
(2) An impairment charge of $6.2 million was recorded within the Pura Vida segment during fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
February 3, 2024
in thousands Gross Basis Accumulated Amortization(1)
Carrying Amount
Definite-lived intangible assets
Customer Relationships $ 24,208 $ (22,872) $ 1,336
Indefinite-lived intangible asset
Pura Vida Brand (2)
6,237 - 6,237
Total intangible assets $ 30,445 $ (22,872) $ 7,573
(1) Amortization expense is recorded within the Pura Vida segment.
(2) Impairment charges of $5.4 million were recorded within the Pura Vida segment during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.
Fiscal 2025 Impairment
The Company performed its fiscal 2025 annual impairment test over the indefinite-lived Pura Vida brand during the second quarter of fiscal 2025 and no impairment was recorded. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company identified triggering events and determined that the fair value of the Pura Vida brand was less than its carrying value, recording a full impairment charge of $6.2 million. In consideration of offers received for the sale of Pura Vida (see Note 18 herein for further information), the Company performed a quantitative analysis of the Pura Vida brand. Based on this quantitative assessment, the Company determined that the relative fair value of the Pura Vida brand indicated no fair value and that the Pura Vida brand was not recoverable.
Fiscal 2024 Impairment
The Company performed its fiscal 2024 annual impairment test over the indefinite-lived Pura Vida brand during the second quarter of fiscal 2024 and no impairment was recorded. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, the Company identified triggering events and determined that the fair value of the Pura Vida brand was less than its carrying value, recording an impairment charge of $5.4 million. The Company continued to experience lower sales from its Pura Vida e-commerce channel due to a continued decline in social and digital media effectiveness, as well as continued lower sales from the wholesale channel. These lower sales volumes had a negative impact on the fair value determination of the aforementioned assets. The fair value of the Pura Vida brand was estimated using a relief-from-royalty method. The estimates and assumptions used in the determination of the fair value of the Pura Vida brand included the projected revenue growth, long-term growth rate, the royalty rate, and discount rate.
While we consider our assumptions in the determination of the fair value of these assets to be reasonable, they are complex and highly subjective. Our key assumptions (as described above in the valuation methodologies used in the determination of fair value) may be impacted by macroeconomic conditions, including inflationary pressures and the impact on consumer discretionary spending, supply chain challenges, as well as a sustained decline in stock price and potential changes in business strategy. Refer to Note 2 herein for additional information regarding fair value measurement.
Fiscal 2023 Impairments
The Company performed its fiscal 2023 annual impairment test over goodwill and the indefinite-lived Pura Vida brand during the second quarter of fiscal 2023.
The fair value of the Pura Vida reporting unit was determined using a combination of an income-based approach (discounted cash flows) and a market-based approach (guideline transaction method). The discounted cash flow method involved subjective estimates and assumptions such as projected revenue growth, operating profit, and the discount rate. The guideline transaction method involved transaction multiples derived from the acquisition of controlling interests in stocks of companies that are engaged in the same or similar lines of business as the reporting unit.
During the assessment for the fiscal 2023 annual test, it was determined that the fair values of the Pura Vida reporting unit and the Pura Vida brand were less than their carrying values. As a result, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $9.9 million and $19.4 million for the Pura Vida brand and goodwill, respectively, during the second quarter of fiscal 2023 within the Pura Vida segment.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
We identified triggering events during the subsequent quarters of fiscal 2023, due to lower operating profit compared to previous forecasts, as well as changes in the long-range plan such as a pause on the opening of new Pura Vida retail stores. We performed further testing on the Pura Vida reporting unit and Pura Vida brand as a result. These analyses caused additional impairment charges to be recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 of $15.1 million and $24.9 million for the Pura Vida brand and goodwill, respectively, which reflects a full goodwill impairment. Collectively, impairment charges for the Pura Vida brand and goodwill during fiscal 2023 totaled $69.3 million.
16. Cost Savings Initiatives and Other Charges
Cost Savings Initiatives and Severance Charges
During fiscal 2023, the Company began implementation of its targeted cost reductions, which were expected to be fully realized in fiscal 2025. In late fiscal 2025, additional cost reduction initiatives were identified and are expected to be fully realized in fiscal 2026. Expense savings are being derived across various areas of the Company, including retail store efficiencies, marketing expenses, information technology contracts, professional services, logistics and operational costs, and corporate payroll.
The Company incurred the following charges during the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2025 (in thousands):
Reportable Segment
VB Direct VB Indirect Pura Vida Unallocated Corporate Expenses Total Expense
Severance charges(1)
$ 534 $ 1,166 $ - $ 2,171 $ 3,871
Total $ 534 $ 1,166 $ - $ 2,171 $ 3,871
(1) $3.1 million recorded in selling, general, and administrative expenses and $0.8 million recorded in cost of goods sold
A summary of charges and related liabilities associated with the cost savings initiatives and severance charges are as follows (in thousands):
Severance Charges (1)
Liability as of February 3, 2024 $ 541
Fiscal 2025 charges 3,871
Cash payments (1,887)
Liability as of February 1, 2025 $ 2,525
(1) Remaining liability is recorded within accrued employment costs
The Company incurred the following charges during the fifty-three weeks ended February 3, 2024:
Reportable Segment
VB Direct VB Indirect Pura Vida Unallocated Corporate Expenses Total Expense
Severance charges(1)
$ 574 $ 309 $ 79 $ 1,951 $ 2,913
Consulting fees and other costs(2)
- - - 105 105
Total (3)
$ 574 $ 309 $ 79 $ 2,056 $ 3,018
(1) Includes former CFO severance
(2) Related to professional fees
(3) Charges are recorded within selling, general, and administrative expenses
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Severance Charges (1)
Consulting Fees and Other Costs
Liability as of January 28, 2023 $ 3,083 $ 60
Fiscal 2024 charges $ 2,913 $ 105
Cash payments (5,455) (165)
Liability as of February 3, 2024 $ 541 $ -
(1) Remaining liability is recorded within accrued employment costs
The Company incurred the following charges during the fifty-two weeks ended January 28, 2023:
Reportable Segment
VB Direct VB Indirect Pura Vida Unallocated Corporate Expenses Total Expense
Severance charges and cash retention payment acceleration charges (1)
$ 15 $ - $ 422 $ 8,745 $ 9,182
Consulting fees and other costs (2)
302 - 179 3,976 4,457
Total (3)
$ 317 $ - $ 601 $ 12,721 $ 13,639
(1) Includes CEO retirement severance and Vera Bradley brand executive officer severance
(2) Includes $3.9 million for fees related to cost savings initiatives and CEO search; $0.3 million for concept brand exit costs; and $0.3 million for certain professional fees
(3) $13.4 million of the charges are recorded within selling, general, and administrative expenses and $0.2 million are recorded within cost of sales
Severance Charges and Cash Retention Payment Acceleration Charges (1)
Consulting Fees and Other Costs (2)
Fiscal 2023 charges $ 9,182 $ 4,457
Cash payments (6,083) (4,095)
Non-cash charges and adjustments (16) (302)
Liability as of January 28, 2023 $ 3,083 $ 60
(1) Remaining liability is recorded within accrued employment costs
(2) Remaining liability is recorded within accounts payable
Other Charges
Fiscal 2025. There were no additional charges recorded during the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2025 associated with strategic initiatives and other costs.
Fiscal 2024. During the fifty-three weeks ended February 3, 2024, the Company recorded within selling, general, and administrative expenses $0.8 million of professional fees associated with strategic initiatives and other costs.
Collectively, $0.2 million was recorded within the Pura Vida segment and $0.6 million was recorded within corporate unallocated expenses.
Fiscal 2023. During the fifty-two weeks ended January 28, 2023, the Company recorded within cost of sales $18.1 million of inventory adjustments which consisted of: $8.9 million of excess Pura Vida inventory recognized in the fourth quarter as a result of a change in the Company’s liquidation strategy during the quarter; $6.4 million related to the exit of certain technology products and excess mask products recognized in the second and fourth quarters; $1.2 million of valuation
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
adjustments to write discounted inventory down to its net realizable value recognized in the fourth quarter; and $1.6 million for purchase order cancellation fees related to spring 2023 product and certain raw materials.
During the fifty-two weeks ended January 28, 2023, the Company recorded within selling, general, and administrative expenses: $1.0 million for CEO sign-on bonus and relocation expenses; $0.4 million for former CEO salary retention payments and stock-based compensation associated with retirement; and $0.2 million of professional fees associated with strategic initiatives and other costs.
Collectively, $6.2 million was recorded within the Direct segment, $1.7 million was recorded within the Indirect segment,$10.2 million was recorded within the Pura Vida segment, and $1.6 million was recorded within corporate unallocated expenses.
17. Segment Reporting
The Company has three operating segments, which are also its reportable segments: VB Direct, VB Indirect, and Pura Vida. These operating segments are components of the Company for which separate financial information is available and for which operating results are evaluated on a regular basis by the chief operating decision maker ("CODM") in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing the performance of the segments. The Company's CODM is our Chief Executive Officer.
The VB Direct segment includes Vera Bradley full-line and outlet stores, the Vera Bradley websites (verabradley.com, outlet.verabradley.com, and international.verabradley.com), and the Vera Bradley annual outlet sale. Revenues generated through this segment are driven through the sale of Vera Bradley-branded products from Vera Bradley to end consumers.
The VB Indirect segment represents revenues generated through the distribution of Company-branded products to specialty retailers representing approximately 1,200 locations, substantially all of which are located in the United States, as well as select department stores, national accounts, third-party e-commerce sites, third-party inventory liquidators, and licensing agreements related to the Vera Bradley brand.
The Pura Vida segment represents revenues generated through the Pura Vida website (www.puravidabracelets.com), Pura Vida retail stores, and through the distribution of Pura Vida-branded products to wholesale retailers, substantially all of which are located in the United States.
Corporate costs represent the Company’s administrative expenses, which include, but are not limited to: human resources, legal, finance, information technology, design, product development, merchandising, corporate-level marketing and advertising, and various other corporate-level-activity-related expenses not directly attributable to a reportable segment. All intercompany-related activities are eliminated in consolidation and are excluded from the segment reporting.
The CODM’s primary or key performance indicator for evaluating segment operating results is operating income. The CODM uses operating income for each segment predominantly in the annual budget and forecasting process. The CODM considers budget-to-actual variances on a quarterly basis for this key performance operating measure when making decisions about the allocation of operating and capital resources to each segment. The CODM also uses segment operating income to assess the performance of each segment by comparing the results of each segment with one another and in determining the compensation of certain employees. The CODM reviews cost of sales and SG&A expense on a consolidated basis.
The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in Note 2. The Company does not report depreciation or amortization expense, total assets, or capital expenditures by segment as such information is neither used by management nor accounted for at the segment level.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Net revenues, cost of sales, other segment expenses, and operating income (loss) information for the Company’s reportable segments, as well as a reconciliation to (loss) income before income taxes, consisted of the following (in thousands):
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2025 February 3,
2024 January 28,
Segment net revenues:
VB Direct $ 257,609 $ 309,910 $ 328,231
VB Indirect 61,186 73,803 73,316
Pura Vida 53,172 87,073 98,414
Total $ 371,967 $ 470,786 $ 499,961
Segment cost of sales:
VB Direct $ 125,467 $ 141,933 $ 167,701
VB Indirect 34,490 37,815 38,942
Pura Vida 25,171 34,625 54,374
Total $ 185,128 $ 214,373 $ 261,017
Other segment expenses, net (1)
VB Direct $ 106,902 $ 106,104 $ 109,433
VB Indirect 11,282 11,709 11,409
Pura Vida 43,122 54,769 122,631
Total $ 161,306 $ 172,582 $ 243,473
Segment operating income (loss):
VB Direct $ 25,240 $ 61,873 $ 51,097
VB Indirect 15,414 24,279 22,965
Pura Vida (15,121) (2,321) (78,591)
Total $ 25,533 $ 83,831 $ (4,529)
Reconciliation:
Segment operating income (loss): $ 25,533 $ 83,831 $ (4,529)
Unallocated corporate expenses (67,889) (73,389) (90,342)
Interest income (expense) 1,118 890 (153)
(Loss) income before income taxes $ (41,238) $ 11,332 $ (95,024)
(1) Other segment expenses, net include selling, general and administrative expenses and are net of other income.
Sales outside of the United States were immaterial for all periods presented.
No customer accounted for 8% or more of the Company’s net revenues during fiscal years 2025, 2024, and 2023.
Revenues from external customers for Vera Bradley brand products are attributable to sales of bags, accessories, travel, apparel/footwear, and home items. Other revenues from Vera Bradley external customers primarily include revenues associated with our freight, stationery, licensing, merchandising, and gift card breakage.
Revenues from external customers for Pura Vida brand products are primarily attributable to sales of accessories and apparel. Other revenues from Pura Vida external customers include revenues associated with freight.
Refer to Note 3 herein for disaggregation of net revenues by reportable segment.
As of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, substantially all of the Company’s long-lived assets were located in the United States.
Vera Bradley, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
18. Subsequent Event
On March 11, 2025, Vera Bradley Holdings, LLC (“Seller”), Creative Genius, LLC (“Creative Genius”) and Project Aster Acquisition, LLC (“Buyer”) entered into an Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which, among other things, Seller will sell to Buyer and Buyer will purchase from Seller one hundred percent (100%) of Creative Genius, which operates under the name Pura Vida Bracelets (the “Transaction”). The consideration paid by Buyer under the Agreement will consist of cash consideration of $1.0 million as well as contingent consideration payable over a two-year period. Total consideration is subject to customary adjustments for cash, transaction expenses and working capital. Seller has also agreed to provide certain services to Buyer for a transitional period of 12 months.
In conjunction with the Agreement, on March 11, 2025, Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Seller, JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as the administrative agent, and lenders from time to time party thereto, entered into a Fourth Amendment (the “Fourth Amendment”) to the asset based revolving Credit Agreement (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”) dated September 7, 2018.
The Fourth Amendment amended the Credit Agreement to, among other things: allow for the sale of Creative Genius; remove Creative Genius as a borrower; modify an additional reporting period based on certain conditions of credit availability; and change certain applications of the fixed charge coverage ratio.

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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 Exchange Act) that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. Because of inherent limitations, disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance that the objectives of disclosure controls and procedures are met.
Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated
the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that
evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer each has concluded that the Company’s disclosure
controls and procedures are effective as of February 1, 2025.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
The Company’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Management, under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting using the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework. Based on the results of that evaluation, management has concluded that such internal control over financial reporting was effective as of February 1, 2025.
The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2025, has been audited by Deloitte and Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or that 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 information set forth in the Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the headings “The Board of Directors,” “Family Relationships,” “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports,” “Conflict of Interest and Business Ethics Policy,” “Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers,” and “Standing Committees and Meetings of the Board” is incorporated herein by reference. The Proxy Statement will be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In addition, the information set forth under the heading “Item 1: Business - Executive Officers of the Company” in this Form 10-K is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
The information set forth in the Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the headings “Executive Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation,” “Compensation Tables,” and “Compensation Committee Report” is incorporated herein by reference. The Proxy Statement will be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

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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 information set forth in the Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the heading “Share Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” is incorporated herein by reference. The Proxy Statement will be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
The following table sets forth information regarding equity securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans as of February 1, 2025:
Plan Category Number of
Securities to Be
Issued upon
Exercise of
Outstanding
Options, Warrants
and Rights (a) (1) Weighted-Average
Exercise Price of
Outstanding
Options, Warrants
and Rights (b) ($) Number of Securities
Remaining Available for
Future Issuance Under
the Equity
Compensation Plans
(Excluding Securities
Reflected in Column
(a)) (c) (2)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders 1,467,662 - 3,559,019
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders - - -
Total 1,467,662 - 3,559,019
(1) Assumes that target performance requirements will be achieved for performance shares with incomplete performance periods. These securities represent awards to be issued under the 2020 Equity and Incentive Plan.
(2) Represents securities available for issuance under the 2020 Equity and Incentive Plan.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
The information set forth in the Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the headings “Policy on Related Party Transactions,” “Related Party Transactions for Fiscal 2025,” and “Board Independence” is incorporated herein by reference. The Proxy Statement will be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our 2025 Proxy Statement under the caption “Principal Accounting Fees and Services.” The Proxy Statement will be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
(1) Consolidated Financial Statements
The following consolidated financial statements of Vera Bradley, Inc. are filed as part of this report under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data:
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of February 1, 2025, and February 3, 2024
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025, February 3, 2024, and January 28, 2023
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(2) Financial Statement Schedules
Financial statement schedules have been omitted because they are not required or are not applicable or because the information required in those schedules either is not material or is included in the consolidated financial statements or the accompanying notes.
(3) List of Exhibits
The documents set forth below are filed herewith or incorporated by reference to the location indicated.
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit No. Description
2.1+
Interest Purchase Agreement dated January 23, 2023, among Vera Bradley Holdings, LLC; Creative Genius Holdings, Inc.; Creative Genius, Inc.; Griffin Thall; and Paul Goodman (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed January 24, 2023)
2.2+*
Interest Purchase Agreement, dated March 11, 2025, by and among Project Aster Acquisition, LLC, Creative Genius, LLC, and Vera Bradley Holdings, LLC
3.1
Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 8, 2021)
3.2
Amended and Restated Bylaws (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 6, 2019)
4.1
Specimen Common Stock Certificate (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1, Registration No. 333-167934)
4.2
Description of Registrant’s Securities (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020)
10.1†
Form of Indemnification Agreement (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1, Registration No. 333-167934)
10.2†
Form of Outside Director Restricted Stock Unit Terms and Conditions (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 1, 2021)
10.3†
Vera Bradley, Inc. 2014 Executive Severance Plan (Amended May 30, 2018) (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended February 2, 2019)
10.4
Pledge and Security Agreement dated as of September 7, 2018 among Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., Vera Bradley, Inc., Vera Bradley International, LLC, Vera Bradley Sales, LLC, and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended August 4, 2018)
10.5†
Fiscal 2025 Annual Incentive Compensation Plan (Executives) (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 4, 2024)
10.6†
Form of Restricted Stock Unit/Performance Unit Terms and Conditions (Revised Fiscal 2019) (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 5, 2018)
10.7
Third Amendment to Credit Agreement dated as of August 3, 2023 among Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., the other borrowers party thereto, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and the lenders party thereto (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 on Form 8-K filed August 8, 2023)
10.8
Joinder Agreement dated August 3, 2023 between Creative Genius, LLC and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 on Form 8-K filed August 8, 2023)
10.9
Supplement to Pledge and Security Agreement dated as of September 7, 2018 by and among Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., Vera Bradley, Inc., Vera Bradley International, LLC, Vera Bradley Sales, LLC, Vera Bradley Holdings, LLC, and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 on Form 8-K filed August 8, 2023)
10.10†
Form of Performance-Based Award Agreement under the 2020 Equity and Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 1, 2021)
10.11†
Form of Restricted Stock Unit/Performance Unit Terms and Conditions (under the 2020 Equity and Incentive Plan) (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 1, 2021)
Exhibit No. Description
10.12†
Employment Agreement between Vera Bradley, Inc. and Jacqueline Ardrey dated September 20, 2022 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 20, 2022)
10.13†
Retention Letter Agreement dated December 6, 2022 with John Enwright (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 29, 2022)
10.14†
Form of Restricted Stock Unit/Performance Unit Terms and Conditions Under the 2020 Equity and Incentive Plan (Revised) (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2022)
10.15†
Amended and Restated Vera Bradley, Inc. 2020 Equity and Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Appendix A to the registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement filed April 21, 2023)
10.16*
Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement dated March 11, 2025 among Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., the other borrowers party thereto, JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., and the lenders party thereto
19*
Vera Bradley Inc. Insider Trading Policy
21.1*
Subsidiaries of Vera Bradley, Inc.
23.1*
Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP
31.1*
Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certification of Chief Executive Officer
31.2*
Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certification of Chief Financial Officer
32.1*
Section 1350 Certifications
97.1
Incentive Compensation Recoupment Policy (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 97.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2024)
101.INS Inline XBRL Instance Document (the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document)
101.SCH Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.LAB Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
101.DEF Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)
+ Certain information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is not material and would likely cause
competitive harm to the registrant if publicly disclosed.
* Filed herewith
† Denotes management contract or compensation plan, contract or arrangement.