EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1410428
Filing Year: 2022
Filename: 1410428_10-K_2022_0001558370-22-004897.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Overview
XpresSpa Group, Inc. (“XpresSpa Group”) is one of the leading global travel health and wellness services holding companies. XpresSpa Group currently has three reportable operating segments: XpresSpa®, XpresTest, and Treat™.
XpresSpa Group’s subsidiary, XpresSpa Holdings, LLC (“XpresSpa”) has been a global airport retailer of spa services through its XpresSpa spa locations, offering travelers premium spa services, including massage, nail and skin care, as well as spa and travel products.
In March 2020, we temporarily closed all global XpresSpa locations due to the categorization by local jurisdictions of the spa locations as “non-essential services.” XpresSpa reopened 22 locations as of December 31, 2021 as described under "Recent Developments -­ XpresSpa Premium Spa Services" below. We will evaluate reopening the remaining XpresSpa spa locations on a location-by-location basis as travel returns and resume normal operations at such selected locations once airport traffic returns to sufficient levels to support operations at a unit level, and achieve adequate unit-level economics, including acceptable profit levels as well as serves our longer-term strategy of offering fully integrated health and wellness services.
Since the beginning of the temporary closure of our XpresSpa locations, we successfully launched our XpresCheck® Wellness Centers, through XpresSpa Group’s subsidiary XpresTest, Inc. (“XpresCheck” or “XpresTest”), offering COVID-19 and other medical diagnostic testing services to the traveling public, as well as airline, airport and concessionaire employees, and TSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. XpresCheck has entered into managed services agreements (“MSAs”) with professional medical services companies that provide health care services to patients. The medical services companies pay XpresCheck a monthly fee to operate in the XpresCheck Wellness Centers. Under the terms of the MSAs, we provide office space, equipment, supplies, non-licensed staff, and management services in return for the management fee. Also, we continue to evaluate alternative testing protocols and work in partnership with airlines and others for safe travels.
The third segment is Treat, which is operating through XpresSpa Group’s subsidiary Treat, Inc. (“Treat”) launched in 2021 as our new travel, health and wellness brand transforming the way we provide care to our customers through a suite of health and wellness services supported by an integrated digital platform and a relevant retail offering to the traveling public.
Treat’s on-site centers (currently located in JFK International Airport and opening in April 2022 in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and later this year in Salt Lake City International Airport) provide access to health and wellness services for travelers. Our teams provide travel-related diagnostic testing for virus, cold, flu and other illnesses as well as hydration therapy, IV drips, and vitamin injections. Travelers can purchase time blocks to use our wellness rooms to engage in interactive services like self-guided yoga, meditation and low impact weight exercises or to relax and unplug from the hectic pace of the airport and renew themselves before or after their trip.
Treat offers a website (www.treat.com) and mobile app to complement the offering with relevant health and wellness content designed to help people on the go with information that could impact their travel. The platform provides travelers access to a comprehensive online marketplace of services including global illness tracker tools such as the COVID-19 Requirements Map, on-demand chat care by licensed providers, a health wallet to store personal and family health records (including COVID-19 testing results), and a scheduler to arrange for direct care at one of our on-site locations.
Although we recognize three segments of business, our strategy for the future is to create and leverage a fully integrated set of products and services that are both profitable and scalable across our portfolio of brands. Additionally, we will expand our retail strategy, not only adding more products for sale but aligning those products more efficiently to our service offerings. This product strategy may include, for example, adding fortified water and hydration packets to the delivery of
an onsite hydration IV or adding muscle relaxation patches to a neck or back massage to continue treatment after the delivery of the service.
We also plan to build our capability for delivering health and wellness services outside the airport. We believe operating outside of the airport complements our offering and allows us to scale growth faster.
We will be looking to further expand internationally. While international travel has not picked back up to pre-pandemic levels, we want to be opportunistic in our approach, taking advantage of the current market to grow in preparation for a full return of travel. We believe a strategy for international expansion further advances our overall biosurveillance efforts.
These strategic imperatives will be accomplished through development of an infrastructure specifically focused on enabling scalable and efficient growth.
While management has used all currently available information in assessing our business prospects, the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our XpresCheck Wellness Centers and on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows remains uncertain and could have a material effect on our business.
Recent Developments
XpresCheck Wellness Centers
XpresCheck’s business has MSAs with state licensed physicians and nurse practitioners, under which we administer COVID-19 testing options, including a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test and a rapid PCR test. As of the date of this report, there are 15 operating XpresCheck locations operating in 12 airports, including following locations opened since December 31, 2020:
● On January 12, 2021, we opened our second XpresCheck Wellness Center at Boston’s Logan International Airport. It contains seven separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On January 20, 2021, we announced the opening of an XpresCheck Wellness Center at Salt Lake City International Airport. It contains four separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On February 16, 2021, we announced the opening of our second XpresCheck Wellness Center at Newark Liberty International Airport. It contains four separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On March 8, 2021, we announced the opening of an XpresCheck Wellness Center at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport. It contains four separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On March 15, 2021, we announced the opening of XpresCheck Wellness Centers at Dulles International and Reagan National Airports in Virginia, containing nine and four separate testing rooms, respectively, to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On April 8, 2021, we announced the opening of an XpresCheck Wellness Center at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It contains eight separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On April 21, 2021, we announced the opening of an XpresCheck Wellness Center at San Francisco International Airport. It contains nine separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On October 13, 2021, we opened an XpresCheck Wellness Center at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) Concourse E, converting a legacy XpresSpa located in Concourse E. It contains six separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● In February 2022, a second XpresCheck Wellness Center opened at Denver International Airport, pre-security in the Great Hall. It contains six separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● In March 2022, we opened an XpresCheck Wellness Center in Orlando International Airport, pre-security, in the South Walk area of the Main Terminal. It contains five separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
During the fourth quarter of 2021, XpresCheck initiated a $2 million, eight-week pilot program with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with Concentric by Ginkgo. Under this program, XpresCheck is conducting biosurveillance monitoring at four major U.S. airports (JFK International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) aimed at identifying existing and new SARS-CoV-2 variants. On January 31, 2022, we announced the extension of the program, bringing the total contract to $5.6 million. Approximately $1.6 million of the original $2 million in revenue was recognized during the fourth quarter of 2021. We anticipate the remaining $4.0 million of the full $5.6 million amount will be realized during the first and second quarters of 2022.
XpresSpa Premium Spa Services
There are currently sixteen operating XpresSpa domestic locations (including one franchise location in Austin-Bergstrom International Airport) and we expect to re-open four additional domestic locations in the near-term. A significant number of the domestic XpresSpa locations are operating approximately eight hours per day during the busiest hours (compared to up to sixteen hours per day pre-pandemic) improving labor productivity. Additionally, XpresSpa implemented a price increase in mid-October 2021 which further improved profitability. As airport volumes improve, we will continue to review our operating hours to optimize revenue opportunity.
During the fourth quarter of 2021, we began testing several new services to take advantage of a growing interest in non-traditional spa services and expansion of our retail offering to align more closely with the services we provide. We are evaluating the success of these new initiatives at each airport on an on-going basis and will incorporate changes to our approach as more of the portfolio is reactivated.
There are also six international locations operating, including three XpresSpa locations in Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates and three XpresSpa locations in Schiphol Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands. We have also signed for an additional five locations at Istanbul Airport and expect to open the first store during the summer of 2022.
Treat
Treat is our new travel, health and wellness brand transforming the way we access care through a suite of health and wellness services supported by an integrated digital platform and a relevant retail offering to the traveling public.
Treat’s on-site centers (currently located in JFK International Airport and opening in April 2022 in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and later this year in Salt Lake City International Airport) provide access to health and wellness services for travelers. Our teams provide travel-related diagnostic testing for virus, cold, flu and other illnesses as well as hydration therapy, IV drips, and vitamin injections. Travelers can purchase time blocks to use our wellness rooms to engage in interactive services like self-guided yoga, meditation and low impact weight exercises or to relax and unplug from the hectic pace of the airport and renew themselves before or after their trip.
Treat offers a website (www.treat.com) and mobile app to complement the offering with relevant health and wellness content designed to help people on the go with information that could impact their travel. The platform provides travelers access to a comprehensive online marketplace of services including global illness tracker tools such as the COVID-19 Requirements Map, on-demand chat care by licensed providers, a health wallet to store personal and family health records (including COVID-19 testing results), and a scheduler to arrange for direct care at one of our on-site locations.
Share Repurchase Program
During 2021, the Company executed on its share repurchase program, repurchasing and redeeming 4,702,072 shares at average cost of $1.66 per share, for a total of $7.8 million.
During March 2022, the Company continuing to execute on its share repurchase program, repurchased 7,142,446 shares at average cost of $1.55 per share, for a total of $11.1 million.
HyperPointe Acquisition
In January 2022, we announced and closed on the acquisition of GCG Connect, LLC d/b/a HyperPointe. HyperPointe is a leading digital healthcare and data analytics relationship marketing agency servicing the global healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. HyperPointe has significant experience in patient and healthcare professional marketing and deep technological experience with CXM (customer experience management) and data analytics. Since June 2020, HyperPointe’s management team and suite of services and technology have been used to develop and deploy the technological infrastructure needed to scale the growth of our XpresCheck business HyperPointe’s experience in this space continues to serve the XpresCheck business and should play a critical role in the expansion of on-going biosurveillance efforts.
Terms of the transaction were $5.6 million in cash, and $1 million in common stock, as well as potential additional earn-out payments of up to $7.5 million over a three-year timeframe based upon future performance; these earn-out payments may be satisfied in cash or common stock or a combination thereof subject to various terms and conditions.
HyperPointe currently operates as a stand-alone entity within XpresSpa Group. Ezra Ernst, the current Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of HyperPointe, also serves as CEO of XpresCheck, reporting to Scott Milford, XpresSpa Group’s CEO. Mr. Ernst is spearheading efforts to further integrate XpresCheck’s biosurveillance screening and testing business with HyperPointe’s customer experience management technology and data management know how in the healthcare and pharmaceutical verticals to further drive new revenue opportunities.
Reverse Stock Split
On June 11, 2020, we effected a 1-for-3 reverse stock split, whereby every three shares of our common stock was reduced to one share of our common stock and the price per share of our common stock was multiplied by 3. All references to shares and per share amounts have been adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split.
Our Strategy and Outlook
We believe that our company is well positioned to benefit from consumers’ growing interest and pent-up demand in travel health and wellness and increasing demand for health and wellness related services and products. Our go-forward plan includes the expansion and integration of products and services across our three brands; the execution of an ‘off-airport’ strategy to deliver more products and services; the implementation of an international expansion plan; and ensuring we can scale our growth in a responsible way that drives shareholder value.
XpresSpa was created for travelers to address the stress and idle time spent at the airport, allowing travelers to spend this time relaxing and focusing on personal care and wellness. It is a well-recognized and popular airport spa brand with a dominant market share in the United States, with nearly three times the number of domestic locations as its closest competitor.
As travel needs changed based on new health and passenger safety concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, we created a companion company, XpresCheck, which is also in airports and which offers COVID-19 testing and other medical diagnostic testing services to airport employees and the traveling public.
Further, the Company continues developing Treat, a travel health and wellness brand that is positioned for a post-pandemic world and that leverages our historic travel wellness experience and newly acquired healthcare expertise. The Company sees this concept evolution as a significant opportunity to be a category innovator in a new niche industry where it can leverage technology in addition to its existing real estate and airport experience in providing travelers with peace of mind and access to integrated care.
While COVID-19 testing will be available under this new brand, the broader suite of services may include: pre-travel health and wellness planning. Treat’s on-site centers (currently located in JFK International Airport and in April 2022 in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and later this year in Salt Lake City International Airport) intend to provide access to health and wellness services for travelers. Our teams provide travel-related diagnostic testing for virus, cold, flu and other illnesses as well as hydration therapy, IV Drips, and vitamin injections. Travelers can purchase time blocks to use our wellness rooms to engage in interactive services like self-guided yoga, meditation and low impact weight exercises or to relax and unplug from the hectic pace of the airport and renew themselves before or after their trip.
Although we recognize three segments of business, our strategy for the future, is to create and leverage a fully integrated set of products and services that are both profitable and scalable across our portfolio of brands. Additionally, we will expand our retail strategy, not only adding more products for sale but aligning those products more efficiently to our service offerings. For example, adding fortified water and hydration packets to the delivery of an onsite hydration IV or adding muscle relaxation patches to a neck or back massage to continue treatment after the delivery of the service.
We also plan to build our capability for delivering health and wellness services outside the airport. We believe operating outside of the airport complements our offering and allows us to scale growth faster.
We will be looking to further expand internationally. While international travel has not picked back up to pre-pandemic levels, we want to be opportunistic in our approach, taking advantage of the current market to grow in preparation for a full return of travel. We believe a strategy for international expansion further advances our overall biosurveillance efforts.
These strategic imperatives will be accomplished through development of an infrastructure specifically focused on enabling scalable and efficient growth.
Impairment
We completed an assessment of our property and equipment and operating lease right of use assets for impairment as of December 31, 2021. Based upon the results of the impairment test, we recorded an impairment expense related to property and equipment and operating lease right of use assets of $90,130 and $747,497 respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2021, which is included in Impairment/disposal of assets in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). The expense was primarily related to the impairment of leasehold improvements made to certain XpresSpa spa locations and operating lease right of use assets where management determined that the locations discounted future cash flows were not sufficient to recover the carrying value of these assets over the remaining lease term.
We completed an assessment of our intangible assets for impairment as of December 31, 2021 and determined that these assets were not impaired as the majority of the assets are related to our new business brand Treat which opened its first location in December 2021. It is still too early to determine impairment for Treat due to its early business stage.
In 2020 we recorded an impairment expense of approximately $5.0 million, $3.9 million, and $6.3 million related to property and equipment, intangible assets, and operating lease right of use assets, respectively, which is included in Impairment/disposal of assets in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as of December 31, 2020. This expense was related to the impairment of the XpresSpa trademarks, where management determined that in light of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the XpresSpa brand’s discounted future cash flows were not sufficient to recover the carrying value of these assets.
The full extent to which COVID-19 will impact our results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with accuracy, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the virus, the actions to contain or treat its impact and vaccinations.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could continue to have a material adverse effect on our XpresSpa business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects in the near-term and beyond 2022. While we have used all currently available information in our forecasts, the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows is highly uncertain. Our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows are dependent on future developments, including the duration of the pandemic and the related length of its impact on the global economy, which at the present time are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with accuracy.
Chief Executive Officer Transition
Mr. Scott R. Milford, previously our Chief Operating Officer was promoted to the CEO effective January 19, 2022. Mr. Milford, 57, has served as the Company’s Chief People Officer since July 2019 until his promotion to the Chief Operating Officer in December 2020. Before joining the Company, he served as VP, People Operations of SoulCycle from January to July 2019. Prior to that, he served as Chief People Officer for Bayada Home Health during 2018. Previously, he was Senior Vice President - Human Resources for Le Pain Quotidien from 2016 to 2018, and Senior Vice President - Human Resources for Town Sports from 2009 to 2015. His other relevant experience includes senior Human Resources leadership positions at Starbucks Coffee Company (2003-2008), Universal Music Group (1999-2003), and Blockbuster Entertainment and its parent Viacom International (1991-1999).
Competition
Our domestic units operate within many of the largest and most heavily trafficked airports in the United States. The balance of the domestic market is highly fragmented and is represented largely by small, privately-owned entities. The largest domestic competitor operated 21 locations in11 airports in the United States.
There are no other multi-city multi-airport operators. Competition, where present, is typically a locally based health system urgent care center, or heath provider, or a contracted vendor of the airport.
Our Market
Airport retailers differ significantly from traditional retailers. Unlike traditional retailers, airport retailers benefit from a steady and largely predictable flow of traffic from a constantly changing customer base. Airport retailers also benefit from “dwell time,” the period after travelers have passed through airport security and before they board an aircraft. For over 15 years, increased security requirements have led travelers to spend more time at the airport. In addition, in anticipation of the long and often stressful security lines, travelers allow for more time to get through security and, as a result, often experience increased downtime prior to boarding. XpresSpa was developed to address the stressful and idle time spent at the airport, allowing travelers to spend this time productively, by relaxing and focusing on personal care and wellness.
We believe that XpresSpa Group is well positioned to benefit from consumers’ growing interest in health and wellness and increasing demand for products and services designed to improve overall health and well-being.
In addition, a confluence of microeconomic events has created favorable conditions for the expansion of retail concepts at airports, in particular, retail concepts that attract higher spending from air travelers. The competition for airplane landings has forced airports to lower landing fees, which in turn has necessitated augmenting their retail offerings to offset budget shortfalls. Infrastructure projects at airports across the country, again intended to make an airport more desirable to airlines, require funding from bond issuances that in turn rely upon, in part, the expected minimum rent guarantees and expected income from concessionaires.
Equally as important to the industry growth is XpresSpa Group’s flexible, valuable and desirable retail format and footprint within the airport retail segment. Before the pandemic, XpresSpa Group historically opened multiple locations annually, which have ranged in size from 200 square feet to 2,600 square feet, with a typical size of approximately 800 square feet.
XpresSpa Group has been able to adapt its operating model to almost any size location available in space constrained airports. This increased flexibility compared to other retail concepts has allowed, and will continue to allow XpresSpa Group to operate multiple stores within an airport, including in some cases for different concepts.
XpresSpa Group believes that its operating metrics represent an attractive return on invested capital and, as a result, is pursuing new locations at airports and terminals around the country. Historically, XpresSpa has won the majority of all requests for proposal (“RFP”) in which it has participated.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, effective March 24, 2020, we temporarily closed all global spa locations, largely due to the categorization of our spa locations by local jurisdictions as “non-essential services”. Normal market conditions and travel behavior were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Similar to many businesses in the travel sector, our business has been materially and adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Most of the domestic travel restrictions have been lifted as of December 31, 2021 and we believe that travel conditions are slowly returning to pre pandemic level. We have reopened sixteen locations out of our total domestic portfolio of thirty one Spas. As travel slowly returns, our intention is to continue to review our portfolio and reopen spas once airport traffic returns to sufficient levels to support our operations and achieve adequate unit-level economics, including acceptable profit levels as well as serves our longer-term strategy of offering fully integrated health and wellness services.
The market for XpresCheck is predominantly airline passengers requiring a negative COVID test at their destinations to avoid quarantine, with much smaller components of airline employees and general public electing testing at the airport. We believe this market will continue to exist into and potentially beyond 2023, albeit with some changes in the size and test types.
Our new concept envisions delivering integrated health and wellness care, through technology and services, accessed at on-site airport wellness centers as well as outside of airports. We expect this travel health and wellness brand to expand our relevant market well beyond the flying passengers of the airports, in which we have a physical presence, and into a digital experience before, during and after travel. We also believe these offerings will be more relevant products and services and hence consumed by a greater portion of our target population.
Regulation
Our operations are subject to a range of laws and regulations adopted by national, regional and local authorities from the various jurisdictions in which we operate, including those relating to, among others, licensing (e.g., massage, nail, and cosmetology), public health and safety and fire codes. Failure to obtain or retain required licenses and approvals, including those related to licensing, public health and safety and fire codes, would adversely affect our operations. Although we have not experienced, and do not anticipate, significant problems obtaining required licenses, permits or approvals, any difficulties, delays or failures in obtaining such licenses, permits or approvals could delay or prevent the opening, or adversely impact the viability, of our operations.
Airport authorities in the United States frequently require that our airport concessions meet minimum Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise ("ACDBE") participation requirements. The Department of Transportation’s (“DOT”) ACDBE program is implemented by recipients of DOT Federal Financial Assistance, including airport agencies that receive federal funding. The ACDBE program is administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”), state and local ACDBE certifying agencies and individual airports. The ACDBE program is designed to help ensure that small firms owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals can compete for airport contracting and concession opportunities in domestic passenger service airports. The ACDBE regulations require that airport recipients establish annual ACDBE participation goals, review the scope of anticipated large prime contracts throughout the year, and establish contract specific ACDBE participation goals. We generally meet the contract specific goals through an agreement providing for co-ownership of the retail location with a disadvantaged business enterprise. Frequently, and within the guidelines issued by the FAA, we may lend money to ACDBEs in connection with concession agreements in order to help the ACDBE fund the capital investment required under a concession agreement. The rules and regulations governing the certification of ACDBE participation in airport concession agreements are complex, and ensuring ongoing compliance is costly and time consuming. Further, if we fail to comply with the minimum ACDBE participation requirements in our concession agreements, we may be held responsible for breach of contract, which could result in the
termination of a concession agreement and monetary damages. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to our Business Operations - Failure to comply with minimum airport concession disadvantaged business enterprise participation goals and requirements could lead to lost business opportunities or the loss of existing business.”
We are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Affordable Care Act, the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and various federal and state laws governing matters such as minimum wages, overtime, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, citizenship requirements and other working conditions. We are also subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in public accommodations and employment, which may require us to design or modify our concession locations to make reasonable accommodations for disabled persons.
We are also subject to certain truth-in-advertising, general customs, consumer and data protection, product safety, workers’ health and safety and public health rules that govern retailers in general, as well as the merchandise sold within the various jurisdictions in which we operate.
We are also subject to HIPAA and the HITECH Act as they relate to patients’ Protected Health Information (PHI), patient rights, breach notification and other actions.
Employees
As of March 15, 2022, we had approximately 363 full-time and 66 part-time employees of XpresSpa Group. We consider our relationships with our employees to be good.
Corporate Information
Our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, which was previously listed under the trading symbol “FH” on the Nasdaq Capital Market, has been listed under the trading symbol “XSPA” since January 8, 2018. Our principal executive offices are located at 254 West 31st Street, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10001. Our telephone number is (212) 309-7549 and our website address is www.xpresspagroup.com. We also operate the websites www.xpresspa.com and www.xprescheck.com.
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the website. We make our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, including our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, other reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, and amendments to the foregoing reports, available free of charge on or through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file these reports with, or furnish such reports to, the SEC. In addition, we post the following information on our website:
● our corporate code of conduct and our insider trading compliance manual; and
● charters for our audit committee, compensation committee, and nominating and corporate governance committee.
The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically with the SEC. The public can obtain any documents that we file with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business, financial condition, results of operations and the trading price of our common stock could be materially adversely affected by any of the following risks as well as the other risks highlighted elsewhere in this Annual Report on
Form 10-K. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risk Factor Summary
Risks Related to our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements
● The ongoing outbreak and continued spread of COVID-19 throughout the United States and worldwide may continue to adversely affect our business operations, employee availability, financial condition, liquidity and cash flow for an extended period of time.
● We may be unable to remediate the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting that we identified, or otherwise to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting.
● Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
● Global economic and market conditions may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
● Increasing inflation could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
● Our business requires substantial capital expenditures and we may not have access to the capital required to maintain and grow our operations.
● We may in the future be required to consolidate/unconsolidate the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of certain of our XpresCheck business, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations, financial position, and gross margin.
Risks Related to our Business Operations
● We have comparatively limited operating history in the diagnostic testing and vaccination industry.
● We have risks associated with long-term formal contracts and relationships with professional practices for operation of the COVID-19 and other medical testing and vaccination services in our Treat and XpresCheck Wellness Centers.
● We may be unable to successfully secure new locations for, or transition our existing spa facilities or XpresCheck Wellness Centers into, facilities related to our new travel health and wellness concept.
● Any delays or difficulties securing laboratory substances, equipment and other materials used for COVID-19 tests could disrupt our operations and materially harm our business.
● The COVID-19 testing technology we have chosen may not perform as expected, as a result of human error or otherwise, may be replaced in the future by different or cheaper technology, and may not aid in the testing of future variants of the virus.
● Any disputes relating to improper handling, storage or disposal of the potentially hazardous materials, chemicals and patient samples in our XpresCheck diagnostic testing and vaccination business could be time consuming and costly.
● Changes in laws and regulations to which our business is subject, or failure to comply with existing or future laws and regulations, could result in increased costs and the imposition of fines or penalties.
● Changes in the way that the FDA regulates COVID-19 tests could result in the additional expense in offering tests and would affect the profitability of our Treat and XpresCheck businesses.
● Our professional practice partner’s failure to accurately bill for testing services, or to comply with applicable laws relating to government healthcare programs, could adversely affect our business.
● We depend on third parties to provide services critical to our XpresCheck diagnostic testing and vaccination business, and we would by adversely impacted by their failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations or breaches of their information technology systems.
● Our business operations may be materially impaired if we do not comply with privacy laws or information security policies, including laws protecting health information and personal data.
● Hardware and software failures or delays in our information technology systems or payment systems could disrupt our operations and cause the loss of confidential information, customers and business opportunities.
● Delays in the processing of special permits, applications and licenses by state and federal departments may result in contractual delays.
● Our capital expenditures for Treat may not generate a positive return and we will incur significant additional costs.
● We rely on international and domestic airplane travel, and the time that airline passengers spend in United States airports post-security.
● We rely on a limited number of distributors and suppliers for certain of our products, and events outside our control may disrupt our supply chain and ultimately cause us to lose our concessions.
● Our operating results may fluctuate significantly due to factors beyond our control.
● Our expansion into new airports or off-airport locations may present increased risks due to our unfamiliarity with those areas.
● We may not be able to execute our growth strategy to expand and integrate new concessions or future acquisitions into our business or remodel existing concessions.
● If the estimates and assumptions we use to determine the size of our market are inaccurate, our future growth rate may be impacted.
● We currently rely on a skilled, licensed labor force to provide services, and the supply of this labor force is finite.
● Unionization of our labor force or continued minimum wage increases could increase our cost of labor.
● We compete for new locations in airports and may not be able to secure new locations.
● We may not be able to predict accurately or fulfill customer preferences or demands.
● Our leases may be terminated, either for convenience by the landlord or as a result of an XpresSpa default.
● Our ability to operate depends on the traffic patterns of the terminals in which we operate.
● We are dependent on our local partners.
● Failure to comply with minimum airport concession disadvantaged business enterprise participation goals and requirements could lead to lost business opportunities or the loss of existing business.
● If we are unable to protect our customers’ credit card data and other personal information, we could be exposed to data loss, litigation and liability, and our reputation could be significantly harmed.
● Negative social media regarding XpresSpa, XpresCheck, and Treat could result in decreased revenues and impact our ability to recruit workers.
● We source, develop and sell products that may result in product liability defense costs and product liability payments.
● We have commenced legal proceedings and/or licensing discussions with security, content distribution and/or telecommunications companies, which may be time consuming, may fail to lead to a license, or may result in litigation.
● We may fail or be unable to protect our patents, trademarks or other proprietary rights we use.
● We and our subsidiaries have been, are, and may become involved in litigation that could divert management’s attention and harm our businesses.
● Our recent acquisition of HyperPointe, and any future acquisitions or business opportunities, could involve unknown risks that could harm our business and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
● Laws regulating the corporate practice of medicine could restrict the manner in which we are permitted to conduct our XpresCheck and Treat businesses, and the failure to comply with such laws could subject us to penalties or require a restructuring of our business.
Risks Related to Capital Stock
● The market price of our common stock historically has been and likely will continue to be highly volatile, and our common stock has historically traded in low volumes.
● Future sales of our shares of common stock or the exercise of a substantial number of warrants or options could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is otherwise performing well.
● We have no current plans to pay dividends on our common stock, and our investors may not receive funds without selling their stock.
● Our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market could result in a delisting of our common stock.
Risks Related to our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements
The ongoing outbreak and continued spread of COVID-19 throughout the United States and worldwide, may continue to adversely affect our business operations, employee availability, financial condition, liquidity and cash flow for an extended period of time.
The COVID-19 outbreak continues to have an impact on the global economy, resulting in rapidly changing market and economic conditions. Similar to many businesses in the travel sector, our business has been materially adversely impacted by the recent COVID-19 outbreak due to the restrictions on travel that have been implemented from time to time. Effective March 24, 2020, we temporarily closed all global spa locations, largely due to the categorization of our spa locations by local jurisdictions as “non-essential services” in connection with the outbreak of COVID-19. This initially created a materially adverse impact on our cash flows from operations and caused a liquidity crisis, and continues to adversely affect our spa business even as we have gradually re-opened many of our spa locations. Ongoing significant reductions in business related to our spa business could cause further loss of sales and profits and other material adverse effects. The continuing impact of COVID-19 on our spa business, and as our result financial results, liquidity and cash flows, depends on future developments, including new information that may emerge concerning future variants, the severity of those variants and action taken to contain or prevent further spread within the U.S. and the related impact on consumer confidence and spending, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Government and private sector responsive actions to the current outbreak, and fluctuations in severity due to changes in the coronavirus causing COVID-19 and impacts in various geographies, may continue to adversely affect our business operations. It is impossible to predict the effect and ultimate impact of the future spread of COVID-19 as the situation continues to rapidly evolve. Even as travel and other activities return to normalized, pre-pandemic levels, the ongoing development and evolution of the COVID-19 outbreak continues, and we expect there will continue to be significant and material disruptions to our operations, which will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In connection with the preparation of our annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, and that weakness has not been fully remediated as of December 31, 2021. Any continuing failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. 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 in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. In connection with our audit of the year ended December 31, 2020, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over our financial close and reporting process. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis. Our management has concluded that additional formal procedures need to be put in place in the financial close and reporting process to ensure that appropriate reviews occur on all financial reporting analysis in a timely manner. We also concluded that we did not maintain a sufficient complement of corporate employee personnel with appropriate levels of accounting and controls knowledge and experience commensurate with our financial reporting requirements to appropriately analyze, record and disclose accounting matters completely and accurately. As this deficiency created a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement would not have been prevented or detected in a timely basis, management concluded that the control
deficiency represented a material weakness and accordingly our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2020.
We are currently still considering the full extent of, and implementing, procedures to implement in order to remediate the material weakness described above. Our preliminary remediation plan, complemented by our existing outsourced internal audit procedures, includes implementing a more robust review process, an increase in the supervision and monitoring of the financial reporting processes and our accounting personnel, and implementing better controls over calculations, analysis and conclusions associated with non-routine transactions at a more precise level. Moreover, we hired a new chief financial officer in December 2020 and a new corporate controller in March 2021, and such individuals are critical to the implementation of such procedures. However, notwithstanding this remediation plan, and the steps taken in fiscal year 2021, management concluded that the control deficiency continued to represent a material weakness and accordingly our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021,
We cannot assure you that any of our remedial measures will be effective in resolving this material weakness. If our management is unable to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting, or to certify the effectiveness of such controls, or if additional material weaknesses in our internal controls are identified in the future, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny and a loss of public confidence, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our stock price. In addition, if we do not maintain adequate, qualified financial and management personnel, processes and controls, we may not be able to manage our business effectively or accurately report our financial performance on a timely basis, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
As of December 31, 2021, our estimated aggregate total net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) were $150.9 million for U.S. federal purposes, expiring 20 years from the respective tax years to which they relate, and $56.3 million for U.S. federal purposes with an indefinite life due to new regulations in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Our ability to utilize our NOLs may be limited under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. The limitations apply if an ownership change, as defined by Section 382, occurs. Generally, an ownership change occurs when certain stockholders increase their aggregate ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage in a testing period (typically three years). Additionally, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 imposed substantial restrictions on the utilization of NOL and tax credits in the event of an ownership change of a corporation. Thus, our ability to utilize all such NOL and credit carryforwards may be limited. Future changes in stock ownership may also trigger an ownership change and, consequently, a Section 382 limitation.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted on March 27, 2020 and includes favorable changes to tax law and incentives for businesses impacted by COVID-19. However, we do not anticipate the income tax law changes and incentives will have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position.
Global economic and market conditions may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our business plan depends significantly on worldwide economic conditions and our success is dependent on consumer spending, which is sensitive to economic downturns; inflation and any associated rise in unemployment; declines in consumer confidence; adverse changes in exchange rates; increases in interest rates; the impact of high energy, fuel, food and healthcare costs; , deflation, direct or indirect taxes, increases in consumer debt levels; fears of war or actual conflicts, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, civil unrest, terrorism or violence; and increased stock market volatility. As a result, economic downturns may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, uncertainty about global economic conditions poses a risk as businesses and individuals may postpone spending in response to tighter credit, negative financial news and declines in income or asset values. This could have a negative effect on corporate and individual spending on health and wellness and travel. These factors, taken together or individually, could cause material harm to our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Increasing inflation could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
Inflation and some of the measures taken by or that may be taken by the governments in countries where we operate in an attempt to curb inflation may have negative effects on the economies of those countries generally. If the United States or other countries where we operate experience substantial inflation in the future, our business may be adversely affected. In addition, we may not be able to adjust the prices we charge for our products and services to offset the impact of inflation on our expenses, leading to an increase in our operating expenses and a reduction in our margins. This could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
Our business requires substantial capital expenditures and we may not have access to the capital required to maintain and grow our operations.
The development of our new branding concept in the travel health and wellness space, as well as maintaining and expanding our operations in our existing and new locations and expanding our testing operations, are all capital intensive activities. Specifically, the construction, redesign and maintenance of our locations in airport terminals where we operate, technology costs, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations require substantial capital expenditures. Moreover, the creation of a digital platform in the travel health and wellness space will take substantial capital resources. In connection with all of the foregoing, we will require significant capital to fund our operations and respond to potential strategic opportunities, such as investments, acquisitions and expansions.
Since mid-2020, we have been able to obtain additional capital through access to the equity markets, selling our common stock and warrants. While we have mitigated the cash crisis we faced in the first half of 2020 and are cash flow positive in our XpresCheck business, throughout our operating history prior to the successful launch of our XpresCheck business, we did not generate sufficient cash from operations to fund new store development. Accordingly, we will be dependent upon managing and effectively deploying our existing cash resources and may require additional funding to fully realize the design and implementation of our travel health and wellness concept. If and to the extent we determine it is necessary or desirable, we may not be able to obtain such additional financing, through equity capital when needed, on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, the terms of our financings may be dilutive to, or otherwise adversely affect, holders of our common stock. Moreover, our ability to raise additional equity capital will be constrained because we have relatively few authorized shares of common stock that are not issued and outstanding or reserved for future issuance, and we may need to increase our authorized shares or undertake a reverse stock split in the near future to maintain our flexibility in access the equity capital markets. If we are unable to obtain additional funding on a timely basis, we may be required to curtail or terminate some or all of our business plans. Any such financing that we undertake will likely be dilutive to our current stockholders.
We must continue to invest capital to maintain or to improve the success of our concessions and to meet refurbishment requirements in our concessions. Decisions to expand into new terminals could also affect our capital needs. Our actual capital expenditures in any year will vary depending on, among other things, the extent to which we are successful in renewing existing concessions and winning additional concession agreements.
We may in the future be required to consolidate/unconsolidated the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of certain of our XpresCheck business, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations, financial position, and gross margin.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued accounting guidance regarding variable interest entities (“VIEs”) that affects our accounting treatment of our XpresCheck business. To ascertain whether we are required to consolidate an entity, we determine whether it is a VIE and if we are the primary beneficiary in accordance with the accounting guidance. Factors we consider in determining whether we are the VIE’s primary beneficiary include the decision-making authority of each partner, which partner manages the day-to-day operations of the joint venture and each partner’s obligation to absorb losses or right to receive benefits from the joint venture in relation to that of the other partner. Changes in the financial accounting guidance, or changes in circumstances within our XpresCheck business, could lead us to determine that we have to consolidate/unconsolidate the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of those businesses. The consolidation/unconsolidation of our VIEs could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial
position, and gross margin. In addition, we may enter into future joint ventures or make other equity investments, which could have an adverse impact on us because of the financial accounting guidance regarding VIEs.
Risks Related to our Business Operations
We have comparatively limited operating history in the diagnostic testing and vaccination industry.
Despite our management’s extensive experience in health and wellness services and commencing XpresCheck’s diagnostic testing and vaccination services in 2020, we still have relatively limited operating history in the that business, including providing management services to a professional practice offering diagnostic testing or vaccination services. We face substantial risks and uncertainties to which our new diagnostic testing and vaccination line of business is subject. To address these risks and uncertainties, we must, among other things, successfully execute our business strategy, respond to competitive developments and attract and retain qualified personnel. We cannot assure you that we will operate profitably or that our business strategy will be successful. As a result, our diagnostic testing and vaccination line of business may not succeed.
We have risks associated with long-term formal contracts and relationships with professional practices for the ordering of and collection of samples for, or with laboratories for the performance of, COVID-19 and other medical testing and vaccination services in our Treat and XpresCheck® Wellness Centers.
We began offering COVID-19 and other medical testing services, as well as and certain seasonal vaccines in XpresCheck™ Wellness Centers. Beginning in June 2020, we began establishing formal contractual relationship with professional practices for the ordering of and collection of samples for, and with clinical laboratories for the performance, of COVID-19 testing. These contractual relationships generally provide for an initial one-year periods, with automatic one-year renewals, unless otherwise terminated by either party. We may never formalize longer-term arrangements with a professional practice or clinical laboratory for these purposes and may never conduct diagnostic testing and vaccination operations on a widescale basis. Conversely, our current arrangements may restrict our flexibility if the contractual arrangements are not on favorable terms. In either case, there can be no assurances that we will be able to execute our current plans or generate substantial revenue associated with our current XpresCheck COVID-19 testing and other medical testing and vaccines plans, including any COVID-19 vaccine that might become available in the future.
We may be unable to successfully secure new locations for, or transition our existing spa facilities or XpresCheck Wellness Centers into, facilities related to our new travel health and wellness concept.
As we transition our business to our new travel health and wellness concept, there can be no assurances that we will be able to open locations or renovate our other existing spa or XpresCheck facilities for the purpose of delivering the services planned in our new concept. In addition, to the extent we determine to open new XpresCheck Wellness Centers or further expand our initial sites, there can be no assurance that such locations will be available or that we will be able to renovate our other existing spa facilities for the purpose of operating such additional XpresCheck locations. In addition, we have expanded our testing capabilities to include rapid testing services for other communicable diseases, including influenza, COVID-19, RSV, Flu A&B, as well as seasonal flu vaccination services which may require additional renovations and costs. If we are unable to successfully transition our existing facilities to locations at which we will deliver our new health and wellness concept or deliver COVID-19 testing or other medical testing and vaccination services due to issues with lease agreements, permits, licenses or other delays, we will not be able to move forward with our planned business transition.
We rely on a limited number of professional practices and suppliers and, in some cases, a single professional practice or supplier, for the COVID-19 test and certain of the laboratory substances, equipment and other materials used for COVID-19 tests, and any delays or difficulties securing these materials could disrupt our operations and materially harm our business.
We contract with a limited number of professional practices for the ordering of and collection of samples for COVID-19 testing. We currently rely on a limited number of suppliers for test kits, seasonal flu vaccines, collection supplies, reagents,
and various other equipment and materials we currently use in performing COVID-19 or other medical testing or for administering seasonal flu vaccines, and we may not be able to increase our number of suppliers significantly for these items. In addition, our competitors may have more substantial resources and may have access to these materials, which may reduce their availability to us, increase our costs or both. Although we currently have long-term agreements with a relatively limited number of professional practices and suppliers, these professional practice partners or suppliers could cease supplying these services or tests, materials and equipment to us due to disruptions in the professional practice’s or supplier’s operations, a determination to pursue other activities or lines of business, or for other reasons, or the professional practice or supplier could fail to provide us with sufficient quantities of services or materials that meet our specifications. Transitioning to a new professional practice or supplier or locating a temporary substitute, even if available, would be time-consuming and expensive, could result in interruptions in or otherwise affect the performance specifications of our intended operations, or could require that we revalidate the tests we use. In addition, the use of services, equipment or materials provided by a replacement professional practice or supplier could require us to alter our future operations and procedures. Moreover, we believe there are currently only a limited number of manufacturers that are capable of supplying and servicing some of the equipment and other materials necessary for our intended operations. As a result, replacement equipment and materials that meet our quality control and performance requirements may not be available on reasonable terms, in a timely manner or at all. If we encounter delays or difficulties securing, reconfiguring or revalidating the equipment, reagents and other materials required for administering tests, our operations could be materially disrupted and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and reputation could be adversely affected. We also may experience services or supply issues as we increase the volume or scope of our testing and vaccination services.
The COVID-19 testing technology we have chosen may not perform as expected, as a result of human error or otherwise, may be replaced in the future by different or cheaper technology, and may not aid in the testing of future variants of the virus.
In June 2020, our professional practice partner began performing point of care COVID-19 testing at our JFK Airport XpresCheck location, and our testing service has since expanded to 15 locations in 12 airports across the US. Our success will depend on the COVID-19 and other communicable diseases testing technology we have chosen to use to continue provide a reliable, high-quality diagnostic result. Diagnostic testing for COVID-19 still remains relatively new, and there is no guarantee that the COVID-19 test technology we are currently using, or that we may choose to use in the future, will be accurate. Moreover, if testing technology becomes significantly cheaper in the future, our business could be harmed because the amount we can charge for testing services, and our margins on our testing business, may be reduced.
In addition, we believe that customers will be particularly sensitive to COVID-19 test defects and errors. As a result, the failure of the chosen tests to perform as expected could significantly impair our reputation and the public image of the tests we use. There can be no assurance that the COVID-19 test technology will be broadly adopted for use. Moreover, while we believe the COVID-19 test technology we are currently using is effective for the current variants of COVID-19, a new variant could emerge that requires a different testing methodology or technology, and we may not have access to that technology, or it may not exist at the time of the emergency of any such new variants. As a result, the failure or perceived failure of the chosen tests to perform as expected could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If there is little or no demand for the COVID-19 test, because of these quality concerns or because of other, less expensive testing options, our business could be materially harmed. Moreover, as testing technology evolves, develops and improves over time, we may not be able to identify and gain access to the latest and best COVID-19 testing methodologies and equipment.
There can be no assurance that demand for our COVID-19 testing services will continue in the future at the levels we have experienced recently or that we expect going forward, because of the success of containment efforts and vaccines, widespread availability of testing at other locations or at a greatly reduced cost, or due to other events. If there is no demand for our COVID-19 testing services or demand is significantly lower than we expect, our business will be materially harmed.
Our COVID-19 testing and other medical testing and vaccination capabilities are subject to risks around test pricing, availability and acceptance in the market or by countries or states that are imposing travel or quarantine restrictions.
Our ability to successfully offer COVID-19 tests will depend significantly on the continued perception that the tests used by our professional practice partner can reduce transmission risk and are reliable. In addition, COVID-19 testing materials
may become substantially cheaper and more widely available, either of which would have an adverse effect on the necessity of our services and the profitability of our XpresCheck business. Moreover, we cannot assure you regarding the availability of, or our access to, various COVID-19 vaccinations. These apps would directly link into COVID-19 test results from there partnered labs, so that passengers would be able to show their test results through these apps to airlines and destinations in order to facilitate a hassle-free entry and avoid quarantines, where applicable. However, there can be no assurance as to the degree to which our public testing model assists passengers meet testing requirements for entry into, or avoidance of quarantine in various countries, and we may not be able to execute our COVID-19 testing strategy and our business results may be harmed.
In addition, our testing capabilities currently include rapid testing services for other communicable diseases, including influenza, COVID-19, RSV, Flu A&B, as well as seasonal flu vaccines. This requires us to expend additional funds and efforts to obtain medical testing supplies for these additional communicable diseases and to market our capabilities in these additional areas. Demand for these additional testing and vaccination services may never meet anticipated levels, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We use potentially hazardous materials, chemicals and patient samples in our XpresCheck diagnostic testing and vaccination business and any disputes relating to improper handling, storage or disposal of these materials could be time consuming and costly.
Our professional practice partner’s diagnostic testing activities involve the controlled use of hazardous laboratory materials and chemicals, including small quantities of acid and alcohol, and patient samples. They are subject to U.S. laws and regulations related to the protection of the environment, the health and safety of employees and the handling, transportation and disposal of medical specimens, infectious and hazardous waste. They could be liable for accidental contamination or discharge or any resultant injury from hazardous materials, and conveyance, processing, and storage of and data on patient samples. If they fail to comply with applicable laws or regulations, they could be required to pay penalties or be held liable for any damages that result and this liability could exceed their financial resources. Further, future changes to environmental health and safety laws could cause them to incur additional expense or restrict operations.
In the event of a lawsuit or investigation concerning such hazardous materials, we could be held responsible for any injury caused to persons or property by exposure to, or release of, these hazardous materials or patient samples that may contain infectious materials. The cost of this liability could exceed our resources. While we expect to maintain broad form liability insurance coverage for these risks, and we expect our professional practice partner to maintain appropriate malpractice insurance, the level or breadth of our or their coverage may not be adequate to fully cover potential liability claims to which we might be exposed.
Our XpresCheck diagnostic testing and vaccination business could be harmed from the loss or suspension of a license or imposition of a fine or penalties under, or future changes in, or interpretations of, the law or regulations of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1967, and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), or those of Medicare, Medicaid or other national, state or local agencies in the U.S. and other countries where we operate laboratories.
The performance of laboratory testing is subject to extensive U.S. regulation, and many of these statutes and regulations have not been interpreted by the courts. CLIA extends federal oversight to virtually all physician practices performing clinical laboratory testing and to clinical laboratories operating in the U.S. by requiring that they be certified by the federal government or, in the case of clinical laboratories, by a federally approved accreditation agency. The sanction for failure to comply with CLIA requirements may be suspension, revocation or limitation of a laboratory’s CLIA certificate, which is necessary to conduct business, as well as significant fines and/or criminal penalties. In addition, we expect to be subject to regulation under state law. State laws may require that laboratories and/or laboratory personnel meet certain licensing or other qualifications, specify certain quality controls or require maintenance of certain records. Applicable statutes and regulations could be interpreted or applied by a prosecutorial, regulatory or judicial authority in a manner that would adversely affect our business. Potential sanctions for violation of these statutes and regulations include significant fines and the suspension or loss of various licenses, certificates and authorizations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, compliance with future legislation could impose additional requirements on us, which may be costly.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of diagnostic products could result in increased costs and the imposition of fines or penalties, and could have a material adverse effect upon our business.
The FDA has regulatory responsibility for instruments, test kits, reagents and other devices used by clinical laboratories. The FDA enforces laws and regulations that govern the development, testing, manufacturing, performance, labeling, advertising, marketing, distribution and surveillance of diagnostic products, and it regularly inspects and reviews the manufacturing processes and product performance of diagnostic products.
FDA regulation of the diagnostic products we use could result in increased costs and administrative and legal actions for noncompliance, including warning letters, fines, penalties, product suspensions, product recalls, injunctions and other civil and criminal sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows.
If we fail to comply with the complex federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations that apply to our XpresCheck business, we could suffer severe consequences that could materially and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
We expect our planned operations to be subject to extensive federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations, all of which are subject to change. These laws and regulations currently include, among other things:
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CLIA, which requires that laboratories obtain certification from the federal government, and state licensure laws;
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FDA laws and regulations;
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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which imposes comprehensive federal standards with respect to the privacy and security of protected health information and requirements for the use of certain standardized electronic transactions, and amendments to HIPAA under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), which strengthen and expand HIPAA privacy and security compliance requirements, increase penalties for violators, extend enforcement authority to state attorneys general and impose requirements for breach notification;
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state laws regulating genetic testing and protecting the privacy of genetic test results, as well as state laws protecting the privacy and security of health information and personal data and mandating reporting of breaches to affected individuals and state regulators;
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the federal anti-kickback law, or the Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting, receiving, or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in exchange for or to induce either the referral of an individual, or the furnishing, arranging for, or recommending of an item or service that is reimbursable, in whole or in part, by a federal healthcare program;
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other federal and state fraud and abuse laws, such as anti-kickback laws, prohibitions on self-referral, and false claims acts, which may extend to services reimbursable by any third-party payor, including private insurers;
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the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires medical device manufactures to track and report to the federal government certain payments and other transfers of value made to physicians and teaching hospitals and ownership or investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members;
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Section 216 of the federal Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, which requires applicable laboratories to report private payor data in a timely and accurate manner beginning in 2017 and every three years thereafter (and in some cases annually);
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state laws that impose reporting and other compliance-related requirements;
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state billing laws, including regulations on “pass through billing” which may limit our ability to submit claims for payment and/or mark up the cost of services in excess of the price paid for such
services, and “direct-bill” laws which may limit our ability to purchase services from a laboratory and bill for the services ordered; and
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similar foreign laws and regulations that apply to us in the countries in which we operate.
These laws and regulations are complex and are subject to interpretation by the courts and by government agencies. Our failure to comply could lead to civil or criminal penalties, exclusion from participation in state and federal healthcare programs, or prohibitions or restrictions on our laboratory’s ability to provide or receive payment for our services. We believe that we are in material compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements, but there is a risk that one or more government agencies could take a contrary position, or that a private party could file suit under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act or a similar state law. Such occurrences, regardless of their outcome, could damage our reputation and adversely affect important business relationships with third parties, including managed care organizations, and other private third-party payors.
Changes in the way that the FDA regulates COVID-19 tests could result in the additional expense in XpresCheck offering tests and would affect the profitability of our XpresCheck business.
Historically, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has exercised enforcement discretion with respect to most laboratory-developed tests (“LDTs”) and has not required laboratories that furnish LDTs to comply with the agency’s requirements for medical devices (e.g., establishment registration, device listing, quality systems regulations, premarket clearance or premarket approval, and post-market controls). In recent years, however, the FDA publicly announced its intention to regulate certain LDTs and issued two draft guidance documents that set forth a proposed phased-in risk-based regulatory framework that would apply varying levels of FDA oversight to LDTs. However, these guidance documents were withdrawn at the end of the Obama administration and replaced by an informal discussion paper reflecting some of the feedback that FDA had received on LDT regulation. The FDA acknowledged that the discussion paper in January 2017 does not represent the formal position of the FDA and is not enforceable. Nevertheless, the FDA wanted to share its synthesis of the feedback that it had received in the hope that it might advance public discussion on future LDT oversight. Notwithstanding the discussion paper, the FDA continues to exercise enforcement discretion and may decide to regulate certain LDTs on a case-by-case basis at any time, which could result in additional expense in offering tests. Until the FDA finalizes its regulatory position regarding LDTs, or other legislation is passed reforming the federal government’s regulation of LDTs, it is unknown how the FDA may regulate tests we use in the future and what testing and data may be required to support any required clearance or approval.
Our professional practice partner’s failure to accurately bill for testing services, or to comply with applicable laws relating to government healthcare programs, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Billing for diagnostic testing and vaccination services is complex and subject to extensive and non-uniform rules and administrative requirements. We expect that the majority of our billing and related operations will be provided by a third party. Failure to accurately bill for our services could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, failure to comply with applicable laws relating to billing government healthcare programs may result in various consequences, including the return of overpayments, civil and criminal fines and penalties, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs and the loss of various licenses, certificates and authorizations necessary to operate our business, as well as incur additional liabilities from third-party claims, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Certain violations of these laws may also provide the basis for a civil remedy under the federal False Claims Act, including fines and damages of up to three times the amount claimed. The qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act and similar provisions in certain state false claims acts allow private individuals to bring lawsuits against healthcare companies on behalf of the government.
Although we expect to be in compliance, in all material respects, with applicable laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that a regulatory agency or tribunal would not reach a different conclusion. The federal and state governments have substantial leverage in negotiating settlements since the amount of potential damages and fines far exceeds the rates at which services will be reimbursed, and the government has the remedy of excluding a non-compliant provider from participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. We expect that federal and state governments continue aggressive enforcement efforts against perceived healthcare fraud. Legislative provisions relating to healthcare fraud and abuse
provide government enforcement personnel with substantial funding, powers, penalties and remedies to pursue suspected cases of fraud and abuse.
We depend on third parties to provide services critical to our XpresCheck diagnostic testing and vaccination business, and we depend on them to comply with applicable laws and regulations. Additionally, any breaches of the information technology systems of third parties could have a material adverse effect on our operations.
We depend on third parties to provide services critical to our XpresCheck diagnostic testing and vaccination business, including supplies, ground and air transport of clinical and diagnostic testing supplies and specimens, vaccinations, research products, and people, among other services. Third parties that provide services to us are subject to similar risks related to security of customer-related information and compliance with U.S., state, local, or international environmental, health and safety, and privacy and security laws and regulations as those faced by us. Any failure by third parties to comply with applicable laws, or any failure of third parties to provide services more generally, could have a material impact on us, whether because of the loss of the ability to receive services from the third parties, our legal liability for the actions or inactions of third parties, or otherwise. In addition, third parties to whom we outsource certain services or functions may process personal data, or other confidential information belonging to us. A breach or attack affecting these third parties could also harm our business, results of operations and reputation.
Our business operations and reputation may be materially impaired if we do not comply with privacy laws or information security policies.
We collect, generate, process or maintain sensitive information, such as patient data and other personal information. If we do not use or adequately safeguard that information in compliance with applicable requirements under federal, state and international laws, or if it were disclosed to persons or entities that should not have access to it, our business could be materially impaired, our reputation could suffer and we could be subject to fines, penalties and litigation. In the event of a data security breach, we may be subject to notification obligations, litigation and governmental investigation or sanctions, and may suffer reputational damage, which could have an adverse impact on our business. For example, in 2021, there were two HIPAA breaches that were reported to Health and Human Services, concerning our JFK and SLC XpresCheck locations, after which the team reinforced HIPAA training and counseled the responsible individuals.
We are subject to laws and regulations regarding protecting the security and privacy of certain healthcare and personal information, including: (a) at the federal level, HIPAA and the regulations thereunder, which establish (i) a complex regulatory framework including requirements for safeguarding protected health information and (ii) comprehensive federal standards regarding the uses and disclosures of protected health information; and (b) state laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act.
Hardware and software failures or delays in our information technology systems, including failures resulting from our systems conversions or otherwise, could disrupt our operations and cause the loss of confidential information, customers and business opportunities or otherwise adversely impact our business.
IT systems will be used extensively in virtually all aspects of our business, including clinical testing, test reporting, billing, customer service, logistics and management of medical data. Our success depends, in part, on the continued and uninterrupted performance of our IT systems. A failure or delay in our IT systems could impede our ability to serve our customers and patients and protect their confidential personal data. Despite redundancy and backup measures and precautions that we have implemented, our IT systems may be vulnerable to damage, disruptions and shutdown from a variety of sources, including telecommunications or network failures, system conversion or standardization initiatives, human acts and natural disasters. These issues can also arise as a result from failures by third parties with whom we do business and for which we have limited control. Any disruption or failure of our IT systems could have a material impact on our ability to serve our customers and patients, including negatively affecting our reputation in the marketplace.
We must comply with complex and overlapping laws protecting the privacy and security of health information and personal data.
There are a number of state, federal and international laws protecting the privacy and security of health information and personal data. Under the administrative simplification provisions of HIPAA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued regulations which establish uniform standards governing the conduct of certain electronic healthcare transactions and protecting the privacy and security of personal health information (PHI) used or disclosed by healthcare providers and other covered entities.
The privacy regulations regulate the use and disclosure of PHI by healthcare providers engaging in certain electronic transactions or “standard transactions.” They also set forth certain rights that an individual has with respect to his or her PHI maintained by a covered healthcare provider, including the right to access or amend certain records containing PHI or to request restrictions on the use or disclosure of PHI. The HIPAA security regulations establish administrative, physical, and technical standards for maintaining the integrity and availability of PHI in electronic form. These standards apply to covered healthcare providers and also to “business associates” or third parties providing services involving the use or disclosure of PHI. The HIPAA privacy and security regulations establish a uniform federal “floor” and do not supersede state laws that are more stringent or provide individuals with greater rights with respect to the privacy or security of, and access to, their records containing PHI. As a result, we may be required to comply with both HIPAA privacy regulations and varying state privacy and data security laws.
Moreover, HITECH, among other things, established certain health information security breach notification requirements. In the event of a breach of unsecured PHI, a covered entity must notify each individual whose PHI is breached, federal regulators and in some cases, must publicize the breach in local or national media. Breaches affecting 500 individuals or more are publicized by federal regulators who publicly identify the breaching entity, the circumstances of the breach and the number of individuals affected.
These laws contain significant fines and other penalties for wrongful use or disclosure of PHI. Given the complexity of HIPAA and HITECH and their overlap with state privacy and security laws, and the fact that these laws are rapidly evolving and are subject to changing and potentially conflicting interpretation, our ability to comply with the HIPAA, HITECH and state privacy requirements is uncertain and the costs of compliance are significant. Adding to the complexity is that our planned operations are currently evolving and the requirements of these laws will apply differently depending on such things as whether or not we bill electronically for our services, or provide services involving the use or disclosure of PHI and incur compliance obligations as a business associate. The costs of complying with any changes to HIPAA, HITECH and state privacy restrictions may have a negative impact on our operations. Noncompliance could subject us to criminal penalties, civil sanctions and significant monetary penalties as well as reputational damage.
We also will be required to collect and maintain personal information about our employees as well as receive and transfer certain payment information, to accept payments from our customers, including credit card information. Most states have adopted laws requiring notification of affected individuals and state regulators in the event of a breach of personal information, which is a broader class of information than the health information protected by HIPAA. Many state laws impose significant data security requirements, such as encryption or mandatory contractual terms to ensure ongoing protection of personal information. Activities outside of the United States implicate local and national data protection standards, impose additional compliance requirements, and generate additional risks of enforcement for non-compliance. The collection and use of such information may be subject to contractual obligations as well. If the security and information systems that we or our outsourced third-party providers use to store or process such information are compromised or if we, or such third parties, otherwise fail to comply with these laws, regulations, and contractual obligations, we could face litigation and the imposition of penalties that could adversely affect our financial performance.
We must comply with all applicable privacy and data security laws in order to operate our business and may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to ensure ongoing compliance, to protect against security breaches and hackers or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches. Breaches of health information and/or personal data may be extremely expensive to remediate, may prompt federal or state investigation, fines, civil and/or criminal sanctions and significant reputational damage.
Our capital expenditures in XpresCheck Wellness Centers may not generate a positive return and we will incur significant additional costs.
Our capital expenditures may not generate a positive return. Significant capital expenditures will be required to construct new XpresCheck Wellness Centers or renovate our existing spa facilities to accommodate our proposed new business model. No assurance can be given that our future capital expenditures will generate a positive return or that we will have adequate capital available to finance such construction or renovations. If we are unable to, or elect not to, pay for costs associated with such construction or renovations, the ability of our professional practice partner to order or perform COVID-19 or other medical testing could be limited, and our competitive position could be harmed.
Additionally, we expect to incur significant additional costs as we expand the ability of our professional practice partner to perform on-site COVID-19 and other medical testing in XpresCheck Wellness Centers. The COVID-19 outbreak could disrupt our future supply chain, including by impacting our ability to secure COVID-19 or other testing supplies and to provide personal protective equipment for our employees in our testing locations. For similar reasons, the COVID-19 pandemic has also adversely impacted, and may continue to adversely impact, third parties that will be critical to our business, including vendors, suppliers, and business partners. These developments, and others that are difficult or impossible to predict, could materially impact our business, financial results, cash flows, and financial position.
We rely on international and domestic airplane travel, and the time that airline passengers spend in United States airports post-security. Continued lower demand for airline travel, a decrease in the desire of customers to buy spa services and products, or decreased time spent in airports would negatively impact XpresSpa’s operations.
XpresSpa depends upon a large number of airplane travelers with the propensity for health and wellness, and in particular spa treatments and products, spending significant time post-security clearance check points.
The number of airline travelers has been extremely volatile since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020. If the number of airline travelers remains at lower levels (or decreases further), the time that these travelers spend post-security decreases, and/or if travelers’ ability or willingness to pay for XpresSpa’s products and services diminishes, this could have an adverse effect on XpresSpa’s growth, business activities, cash flow, financial condition and results of operations. Some reasons for these events could include:
● the impact of a public health epidemic, including COVID-19, which has interfered and may continue to interfere with our ability, or the ability of our employees, workers, contractors, suppliers and other business partners to perform our and their respective responsibilities and obligations relative to the conduct of our business. A public health epidemic, including COVID-19, poses the risk of disruptions from the temporary closure of third-party suppliers and manufacturers, restrictions on the shipment of our products, restrictions on our employees' and other service providers' ability to travel, the decreased willingness or ability of our customers to travel or to utilize our services and shutdowns that may be requested or mandated by governmental authorities. The extent to which COVID-19 will continue to impact our results will depend on future developments related to the virus and its spread, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the coronavirus and the actions to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact, among others;
● the ongoing closure of a significant number of our spa locations, and the reduced operating hours at those spa locations that have re-opened;
● terrorist activities (including cyber-attacks) impacting either domestic or international travel through airports where XpresSpa operates, causing fear of flying, flight cancellations, or an economic downturn, fears of war or actual conflicts, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, civil unrest, terrorism or violence or any other events of a similar nature, even if not directly affecting the airline industry, may lead to a significant reduction in the number of airline passengers;
● a decrease in business spending that impacts business travel, such as a recession;
● a decrease in consumer spending that impacts leisure travel, such as a recession or a stock market downturn or a change in consumer lending regulations impacting available credit for leisure travel;
● an increase in airfare prices that impacts the willingness of air travelers to fly, such as an increase in oil prices or heightened taxation from federal or other aviation authorities;
● severe weather, ash clouds, airport closures, natural disasters, strikes or accidents (airplane or otherwise), causing travelers to decrease the amount that they fly and any of these events, or any other event of a similar nature, even if not directly affecting the airline industry, may lead to a significant reduction in the number of airline passengers;
● as to our spa business, scientific studies that malign the use of spa services or the products used in spa services, such as the impact of certain chemicals and procedures on health and wellness; or
● streamlined security screening checkpoints, which could decrease the wait time at checkpoints and therefore the time air travelers budget for spending time at the airport.
Further, any disruption to, or suspension of services provided by airlines and the travel industry as a result of financial difficulties, labor disputes, construction work, increased security, changes to regulations governing airlines, mergers and acquisitions in the airline industry and challenging economic conditions causing airlines to reduce flight schedules or increase the price of airline tickets could negatively affect the number of airline passengers.
Additionally, the threat of terrorism and governmental measures in response thereto, such as increased security measures, recent executive orders in the United States impacting entry into the United States and changing attitudes towards the environmental impacts of air travel may in each case reduce demand for air travel and, as a result, decrease airline passenger traffic at airports.
The number of airline passengers that visit the terminals in which we have concessions is dependent in part on decisions made by airlines and airport authorities relating to flight arrivals and departures. A decrease in the number of flights and resulting decrease in airline passengers could result in fewer sales, which could lower our profitability and negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. Concession agreements generally provide for a minimum annual guaranteed payment (“MAG”) payable to the airport authority or landlord regardless of the amount of sales at the concession. Currently, the majority of our concession agreements provide for a MAG that is either a fixed dollar amount or an amount that is variable based upon the number of travelers using the airport or other location, retail space used, estimated sales, past results or other metrics. If there are fewer airline passengers than expected or if there is a decline in the sales per airline passenger at these facilities, we will nonetheless be required to pay the MAG or fixed rent and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
Furthermore, the exit of an airline from a market or the bankruptcy of an airline could reduce the number of airline passengers in a terminal or airport where we operate and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The effect that these factors would have on our business depends on their magnitude and duration, and a reduction in airline passenger numbers will result in a decrease in our sales and may have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on a limited number of distributors and suppliers for certain of our products, and events outside our control may disrupt our supply chain, which could result in an inability to perform our obligations under our concession agreements and ultimately cause us to lose our concessions.
We rely on a small number of suppliers for our products. As a result, these distributors may have increased bargaining power and we may be required to accept less favorable purchasing terms. In the event of a dispute with a supplier or distributor, the delivery of a significant amount of merchandise may be delayed or cancelled, or we may be forced to purchase merchandise from other suppliers on less favorable terms. Such events could cause turnover to fall or costs to
increase, adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations. In particular, we have publicized our sale of certain brands of products in our stores - our failure to sell these brands may adversely affect our business.
Further, damage or disruption to our supply chain due to any of the following could impair our ability to sell our products: adverse weather conditions or natural disaster, government action, fire, terrorism, cyber-attacks, the outbreak or escalation of armed hostilities (such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine), pandemics, industrial accidents or other occupational health and safety issues, strikes and other labor disputes, customs or import restrictions or other reasons beyond our control or the control of our suppliers and business partners. Failure to take adequate steps to mitigate the likelihood or potential impact of such events, or to effectively manage such events if they occur, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as require additional resources to restore our supply chain.
Our operating results may fluctuate significantly due to certain factors, some of which are beyond our control.
XpresSpa’s operating results may fluctuate from period to period significantly because of several factors, including:
● the timing and size of new unit openings, particularly the launch of new terminals;
● passenger traffic and seasonality of air travel;
● changes in the price and availability of supplies;
● macroeconomic conditions, nationally locally and internationally;
● changes in consumer preferences and competitive conditions;
● expansion to new markets and new locations; and
● increases in infrastructure costs, including those costs associated with the build-out of new concession locations and renovating existing concession locations.
XpresSpa’s operating results may fluctuate significantly as a result of the factors discussed above. Accordingly, results for any period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other period or for any year.
Our expansion into new airports or off-airport locations, and to the online marketplace, may present increased risks due to its unfamiliarity with those areas.
XpresSpa’s growth strategy depends upon transitioning to our travel health and wellness concept, which will expanding into markets (including an online presence) where have little or no meaningful operating experience, as well as managing our XpresCheck Wellness Center growth. Those markets and locations may have demographic characteristics, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns that are different from those in the markets where our existing spa and testing operations are located. As a result, new airport terminal and/or off-airport operations may be less successful than existing concession locations in current airport terminals. XpresSpa may find it more difficult in new markets to hire, motivate and keep qualified employees who can project its vision, passion and culture. XpresSpa may also be unfamiliar with local laws, regulations and administrative procedures, including the procurement of spa services retail licenses, in new markets which could delay the build-out of new concession locations and prevent it from achieving its target revenues on a timely basis. Operations in new markets may also have lower average revenues or enplanements than in the markets where XpresSpa currently operates. Operations in new markets may also take longer to ramp up and reach expected sales and profit levels, and may never do so, thereby negatively affecting XpresSpa’s results of operations.
Our growth strategy is dependent in part on our ability to successfully identify and open new locations.
Implementing the part of our strategy relating to our travel health and wellness concept depends on our ability to successfully identify new locations. We will also need to assess and mitigate the risk of any new locations, to open the
location on favorable terms and to successfully integrate their operations with ours. We may not be able to successfully identify opportunities that meet these criteria, or, if we do, we may not be able to successfully negotiate and open new locations on a timely basis. If we are unable to identify and open new locations in accordance with its operating plan, our revenue growth rate and financial performance may fall short of our expectations.
Our profitability relating to our operations depends on the number of airline passengers in the terminals in which we have concessions. Changes by airport authorities or airlines that lower the number of airline passengers in any of these terminals could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The number of airline passengers that visit the terminals in which we have concessions is dependent in part on decisions made by airlines and airport authorities relating to flight arrivals and departures. A decrease in the number of flights and resulting decrease in airline passengers could result in fewer sales, which could lower our profitability and negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. Concession agreements generally provide for a minimum annual guaranteed payment (“MAG”) payable to the airport authority or landlord regardless of the amount of sales at the concession. Currently, the majority of our concession agreements provide for a MAG that is either a fixed dollar amount or an amount that is variable based upon the number of travelers using the airport or other location, retail space used, estimated sales, past results or other metrics. If there are fewer airline passengers than expected or if there is a decline in the sales per airline passenger at these facilities, we will nonetheless be required to pay the MAG or fixed rent and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
Furthermore, the exit of an airline from a market or the bankruptcy of an airline could reduce the number of airline passengers in a terminal or airport where we operate and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not be able to execute our growth strategy to expand and integrate new concessions, our recently acquired entity or future acquisitions into our business or remodel existing concessions. Any new concessions, future acquisitions or remodeling of existing concessions may divert management resources, result in unanticipated costs, or dilute the ownership of our stockholders.
Part of our growth strategy is to expand and remodel our existing facilities and to seek new concessions through tenders, direct negotiations or other acquisition opportunities. In this regard, our future growth will depend upon a number of factors, such as our ability to identify any such opportunities, structure a competitive proposal and obtain required financing and consummate an offer. Our growth strategy will also depend on factors that may not be within our control, such as the timing of any concession or acquisition opportunity.
We must also strategically identify which airport terminals and concession agreements to target based on numerous factors, such as airline passenger numbers, airport size, the type, location and quality of available concession space, level of anticipated competition within the terminal, potential future growth within the airport and terminal, rental structure, financial return and regulatory requirements. We cannot provide assurance that this strategy will be successful.
In addition, we may encounter difficulties integrating expanded or new concessions or any acquisitions, including our recent acquisition of HyperPointe. Such expanded or new concessions or acquisitions, including HyperPointe, may not achieve anticipated turnover and earnings growth or synergies and cost savings. Delays in the commencement of new projects and the refurbishment of concessions can also affect our business. In addition, we will expend resources to remodel our concessions and may not be able to recoup these investments. A failure to grow successfully may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In particular, new concessions and acquisitions, our recent acquisition of HyperPointe, and in some cases future expansions and remodeling of existing concessions, could pose numerous risks to our operations, including that we may:
● have difficulty integrating operations or personnel; for example, HyperPointe has a number of contractual arrangements with pharmaceutical companies; however, we historically do not have experience in that business line.;
● incur substantial unanticipated integration costs;
● experience unexpected construction and development costs and project delays;
● face difficulties associated with securing required governmental approvals, permits and licenses (including construction permits) in a timely manner and responding effectively to any changes in federal, state or local laws and regulations that adversely affect our costs or ability to open new concessions;
● have challenges identifying and engaging local business partners to meet Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise ("ACDBE") requirements in concession agreements;
● not be able to obtain construction materials or labor at acceptable costs;
● face engineering or environmental problems associated with our new and existing facilities;
● experience significant diversion of management attention and financial resources from our existing operations in order to integrate expanded, new or acquired businesses, which could disrupt our ongoing business;
● lose key employees, particularly with respect to acquired or new operations;
● have difficulty retaining or developing acquired or new business customers;
● impair our existing business relationships with suppliers or other third parties as a result of acquisitions;
● fail to realize the potential cost savings or other financial benefits and/or the strategic benefits of acquisitions, new concessions or remodeling; and
● incur liabilities from the acquired businesses and we may not be successful in seeking indemnification for such liabilities.
In connection with acquisitions or other similar investments, we could incur debt or amortization expenses related to intangible assets, suffer asset impairments, assume liabilities or issue stock that would dilute the percentage of ownership of our then-current stockholders. We may not be able to complete acquisitions or integrate the operations, products, technologies or personnel gained through any such acquisition, which may have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If the estimates and assumptions we use to determine the size of our market are inaccurate, our future growth rate may be impacted.
Market opportunity estimates and growth forecasts are subject to uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates that may not prove to be accurate. The estimates and forecasts in this Annual Report on Form 10-K relating to the size and expected reemergence of the travel retail market may prove to be inaccurate. Even if the market in which we compete meets our size estimates and rate of return to normalized travel activity, our business could fail to reemerge or grow at similar rates, if at all. The principal assumptions relating to our market opportunity include projected reemergence and growth in the travel retail market and our share of the market. If these assumptions prove inaccurate, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We currently rely on a skilled, licensed labor force to provide our services, and the supply of this labor force is finite. If we cannot hire adequate staff for our locations, we will not be able to operate.
As of March 15, 2022, XpresSpa had approximately 363 full-time and 66 part-time employees in its locations. Excluding some dedicated retail staff, the majority of these employees are licensed to perform spa services, and hold such licenses as masseuses, nail technicians, aestheticians, barbers and master barbers. The demand for these licensed technicians has been
increasing as more consumers gravitate to health and wellness treatments such as spa services. XpresSpa competes not only with other airport-based spa companies but with spa companies outside of the airport for this skilled labor force. In addition, all staff hired by XpresSpa must pass the background checks and security clearances necessary to work in airport locations. If XpresSpa is unable to attract and retain qualified staff to work in its airport locations, its ability to operate will be impacted negatively. In addition, our XpresCheck business and new health and wellness concept may also require licensed professionals, and we may not have access to those professionals on a cost-effective basis, or at all.
Effective March 24, 2020, we temporarily closed all global locations and furloughed the majority of our XpresSpa employees in connection with the outbreak of COVID-19. As restrictions are lifted, we will continue to evaluate reinstating the furloughed employees, but there can be no assurances that such employees will return to our locations in a timely manner or at all.
Our business is subject to various laws and regulations, and changes in such laws and regulations, or failure to comply with existing or future laws and regulations, could adversely affect us.
We are subject to various laws and regulations in the United States, Netherlands, Turkiye, and United Arab Emirates that affect the operation of our concessions. The impact of current laws and regulations, the effect of changes in laws or regulations that impose additional requirements and the consequences of litigation relating to current or future laws and regulations, or our inability to respond effectively to significant regulatory or public policy issues, could increase our compliance and other costs of doing business and, therefore, have an adverse impact on our results of operations.
Failure to comply with the laws and regulatory requirements of governmental authorities could result in, among other things, revocation of required licenses, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil and criminal liability. In addition, certain laws may require us to expend significant funds to make modifications to our concessions in order to comply with applicable standards. Compliance with such laws and regulations can be costly and can increase our exposure to litigation or governmental investigations or proceedings.
Our labor force could unionize, putting upward pressure on labor costs.
Currently, XpresSpa stores in two airports have a labor force which is unionized. Major players in labor organization, and in particular “Unite Here!” which represents approximately 45,000 employees in the airport concessions and airline catering industries, could target XpresSpa locations for its unionization efforts. In the event of the successful unionization of all of XpresSpa’s labor force, XpresSpa would likely incur additional costs in the form of higher wages, more benefits such as vacation and sick leave, and potentially also higher health care insurance costs.
We compete for new locations in airports and may not be able to secure new locations.
We participate in the highly competitive and lucrative airport concessions industry, and as a result compete for retail leases with a variety of larger, better capitalized concessions companies as well as smaller, mid-tier and single unit operators. Frequently, an airport includes only one similar travel health and wellness concept per terminal within its retail offering and, in those instances, we compete primarily with these other concessionaires. Moreover, our contractual arrangement with the CDC involves a long request for proposal process, which could further delay or harm our ability to obtain leases on a timely basis or at all.
We may not be able to predict accurately or fulfill customer preferences or demands.
We derive a significant amount of our revenue from the sale of massage, cosmetic and luxury products which are subject to rapidly changing customer tastes. The availability of new products and changes in customer preferences has made it more difficult to predict sales demand for these types of products accurately. Our success depends in part on our ability to predict and respond to quickly changing consumer demands and preferences, and to translate market trends into appropriate merchandise offerings. Additionally, due to our limited sales space relative to other retailers, the proper selection of salable merchandise is an important factor in revenue generation. We cannot provide assurance that our merchandise selection will correspond to actual sales demand. If we are unable to predict or rapidly respond to sales demand or to changing styles
or trends, or if we experience inventory shortfalls on popular merchandise, our revenue may be lower, which could have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our leases may be terminated, either for convenience by the landlord or as a result of an XpresSpa default.
XpresSpa has store locations and kiosks in a number of airports in which the landlord, with prior written notice to XpresSpa, can terminate XpresSpa’s lease, including for convenience or as necessary for airport purposes or operations. If a landlord elects to terminate a lease at an airport, XpresSpa may have to shut down one or more store locations at that airport. In addition, we have received rent concessions from landlords on a majority of our airport location leases relating to our temporary closures in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for the relief of minimum guaranteed payments in exchange for percentage-of-revenue rent or providing relief from rent through payment deferrals. These deferrals may lapse or expire with respect to any particular spa location before we believe it makes economic sense to reopen that location, in which case the landlord may decide to terminate the lease for that location if we do not agree to reopen it.
Additionally, XpresSpa leases have numerous provisions governing the operation of XpresSpa’s stores. Violation of one or more of these provisions, even unintentionally, may result in the landlord finding that XpresSpa is in default of the lease. Violation of lease provisions may result in fines and, in some cases, termination of a lease.
Our ability to operate depends on the traffic patterns of the terminals in which we operate, and the cessation or disruption of air traveler traffic in these terminals would negatively impact XpresSpa’s addressable market.
XpresSpa depends on a high volume of air travelers in its terminals. It is possible that a terminal in which XpresSpa operates could become subject to a lower volume of air travelers, which would significantly impact traffic near and around XpresSpa locations and therefore its total addressable market. Lower volume in a terminal could be caused by:
● terminal construction that results in the temporary or permanent closure of a unit, or adversely impacts the volume or pattern of traffic flows within an airport;
● an airline utilizing an airport in which XpresSpa operates could abandon that airport or an individual terminal in favor of other airports or terminals, or because it is contracting operations; or
● adverse weather conditions could cause damage to the terminal or airport in which XpresSpa operates, resulting in the temporary or permanent closure of a unit.
We are dependent on our local partners.
Our local partners, including our ACDBE partners, maintain ownership interests in certain of our locations. Our participation in these operating entities differs from market to market. While the precise terms of each relationship vary, our local partners may have control over certain portions of the operations of these concessions. The stores are operated pursuant to the applicable joint venture agreement governing the relationship between us and our local partner. Generally, these agreements also provide that strategic decisions are to be made by a committee comprised of us and our local partner. These concessions involve risks that are different from the risks involved in operating a concession independently, and include the possibility that our local partners:
● are in a position to take action contrary to our instructions, our requests, our policies, our objectives or applicable laws;
● take actions that reduce our return on investment;
● go bankrupt or are otherwise unable to meet their capital contribution obligations;
● have economic or business interests or goals that are or become inconsistent with our business interests or goals; or
● take actions that harm our reputation or restrict our ability to run our business.
Failure to comply with minimum airport concession disadvantaged business enterprise participation goals and requirements could lead to lost business opportunities or the loss of existing business.
Pursuant to ACDBE participation requirements, XpresSpa is often required to meet, or use good faith efforts to meet, certain minimum ACDBE participation requirements when bidding on or submitting proposals for new concession contracts. If XpresSpa is unable to find and/or partner with an appropriate ACDBE, XpresSpa may lose opportunities to open new locations. In addition, a number of XpresSpa’s existing leases contain minimum ACDBE participation requirements which require the ACDBE to own a significant portion of the business being operated under those leases. The level of ACDBE participation requirements may affect XpresSpa’s profitability and/or its ability to meet financial forecasts.
Further, if XpresSpa fails to comply with the minimum ACDBE participation requirements, XpresSpa may be held responsible for a breach of contract, which could result in the termination of a lease and impairment of XpresSpa’s ability to bid on or obtain future concession contracts. To the extent that XpresSpa leases are terminated and XpresSpa is required to shut down one or more store locations, there could be a material adverse impact to its business and results of operations.
Continued minimum wage increases could negatively impact our cost of labor.
An increase in the minimum wage could increase XpresSpa’s cost of labor and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Information technology systems failure or disruption, or changes to information technology related to payment systems, could impact our day-to-day operations.
Our information technology systems are used to record and process transactions at our point-of-sale interfaces and to manage our operations. These systems provide information regarding most aspects of our financial and operational performance, statistical data about our customers, our sales transactions and our inventory management. Fire, natural disasters, power-loss, telecommunications failure, break-ins, terrorist attacks (including cyber-attacks), computer viruses, electronic intrusion attempts from both external and internal sources and similar events or disruptions may damage or impact our information technology systems at any time. These events could cause system interruption, delays or loss of critical data and could disrupt our acceptance and fulfillment of customer orders, as well as disrupt our operations and management. For example, although our point-of-sales systems are programmed to operate and process customer orders independently from the availability of our central data systems and even of the network, if a problem were to disable electronic payment systems in our stores, credit card payments would need to be processed manually, which could result in fewer transactions. Significant disruption to systems could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We also continually enhance or modify the technology used for our operations. We cannot be sure that any enhancements or other modifications we make to our operations will achieve the intended results or otherwise be of value to our customers. Future enhancements and modifications to our technology could consume considerable resources. We may be required to enhance our payment systems with new technology, which could require significant expenditures. If we are unable to maintain and enhance our technology to process transactions, we may experience a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we are unable to protect our customers’ credit card data and other personal information, we could be exposed to data loss, litigation and liability, and our reputation could be significantly harmed.
Privacy protection is increasingly demanding, and the use of electronic payment methods and collection of other personal information, including order history, travel history and other preferences, exposes XpresSpa to increased risk of privacy
and/or security breaches as well as other risks. XpresSpa’s sales are by credit or debit cards. Additionally, XpresSpa collects and stores personal information from individuals, including its customers and employees.
In the future, XpresSpa may experience security breaches in which credit and debit card information or other personal information is stolen. Although XpresSpa uses secure private networks to transmit confidential information, third parties may have the technology or know-how to breach the security of the customer information transmitted in connection with credit and debit card sales, and its security measures and those of technology vendors may not effectively prohibit others from obtaining improper access to this information. The techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and are often difficult to detect for long periods of time, which may cause a breach to go undetected for an extensive period of time. Advances in computer and software capabilities, new tools, and other developments may increase the risk of such a breach. Further, the systems currently used for transmission and approval of electronic payment transactions, and the technology utilized in electronic payments themselves, all of which can put electronic payment at risk, are determined and controlled by the payment card industry, not by XpresSpa. In addition, contractors, or third parties with whom XpresSpa does business or to whom XpresSpa outsources business operations may attempt to circumvent its security measures in order to misappropriate such information and may purposefully or inadvertently cause a breach involving such information. If a person is able to circumvent XpresSpa’s security measures or those of third parties, he or she could destroy or steal valuable information or disrupt XpresSpa’s operations. XpresSpa may become subject to claims for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of the actual or alleged theft of credit or debit card information, and XpresSpa may also be subject to lawsuits or other proceedings relating to these types of incidents. Any such claim or proceeding could cause XpresSpa to incur significant unplanned expenses, which could have an adverse effect on its business or results of operations. Further, adverse publicity resulting from these allegations could significantly harm its reputation and may have a material adverse effect on it. Although XpresSpa carries cyber liability insurance to protect against these risks, there can be no assurance that such insurance will provide adequate levels of coverage against all potential claims.
Negative social media regarding XpresSpa could result in decreased revenues and impact XpresSpa’s ability to recruit workers.
XpresSpa’s affinity among consumers is highly dependent on their positive feelings about the brand, its customer service and the range and quality of services and products that it offers. A negative customer experience that is posted to social media outlets and is distributed virally could tarnish XpresSpa’s brand and its customers may opt to no longer engage with the brand.
We employ people in multiple different jurisdictions, and the employment laws of those jurisdictions are subject to change. In addition, our services are regulated through government-issued operating licenses. Noncompliance with applicable laws could result in employee lawsuits or legal action taken by government authorities.
XpresSpa must comply with a variety of employment and business practices laws across the United States, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates. XpresSpa monitors the laws governing its activities, but in the event it does not become aware of a new regulation or fails to comply with a regulation, it could be subject to disciplinary action by governing bodies and potentially employee lawsuits.
We source, develop and sell products that may result in product liability defense costs and product liability payments.
XpresSpa’s products contain ingredients that are deemed to be safe by the United States Federal Drug Administration and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. However, there is no guarantee that these ingredients will not cause adverse health effects to some consumers given the wide range of ingredients and allergies amongst the general population. XpresSpa may face substantial product liability exposure for products it sells to the general public or that is uses in its services. Product liability claims, regardless of their merits, could be costly and divert management’s attention, and adversely affect XpresSpa’s reputation and the demand for its products and services. XpresSpa to date has not been named as a defendant in any product liability action.
We have commenced legal proceedings and/or licensing discussions with security, content distribution and/or telecommunications companies. We expect that licensing discussions may be time consuming and may either, absent any litigation we initiate, fail to lead to a license, or may result in litigations commenced by the potential licensee.
To license or otherwise monetize the patent assets that we own, we have commenced legal proceedings and/or attempted to commence licensing discussions with a number of companies, during the course of which we allege that such companies infringe one or more of our patents. The future viability of our licensing program is highly dependent on the outcome of these discussions, and there is a risk that we may be unable to achieve the results we desire from such negotiations and be forced either to accept minimal royalties or commence litigations against the alleged infringer. In addition, the recipients of our licensing overtures have substantially more resources than we do, which could make our licensing efforts more difficult. Furthermore, due to changes in the approach to patent laws around the world it has become much easier for potential licensees to commence proceedings to revoke or otherwise nullify our patents in lieu of engaging in bona fide licensing discussions. There is a real risk that any potential licensee we approach would rather commence proceedings to revoke our patents than engage in any licensing discussions whatsoever.
We anticipate that any legal proceedings could continue for several years. While we endeavor, where possible, to engage counsel on a full or partial contingency basis, proceedings may commence that fall outside of contingency arrangements with counsel and may require significant expenditures for legal fees and other expenses. Disputes regarding the assertion of patents and other intellectual property rights are highly complex and technical. Once initiated, we may be forced to litigate against other parties in addition to the originally named defendants. Our adversaries may allege defenses and/or file counterclaims for, among other things, revocation of our patents or file collateral litigations in an effort to avoid or limit liability and damages for patent infringement. If such actions by our adversaries are successful, they may preclude our ability to derive licensing revenue from the patents being asserted.
There is a risk that we may be unable to achieve the results we desire from such litigation, which may harm our business. In addition, the defendants in these litigations have substantially more resources than we do, which could make our litigation efforts more difficult.
A court may find our patents invalid, not infringed or unenforceable and/or the USPTO or other relevant patent offices in various countries may either invalidate the patents or materially narrow the scope of their claims during the course of a reexamination, opposition or other such proceeding. In addition, even with a positive trial court verdict, the patents may be invalidated, found not infringed or rendered unenforceable on appeal. This risk may occur either presently or from time to time in connection with future litigations we may bring.
Patent litigation is inherently risky, and the outcome is uncertain. Some of the parties that we believe infringe on our patents are large and well-financed by companies with substantially greater resources than ours. We believe that these parties may devote a substantial amount of resources in an attempt to avoid or limit a finding that they are liable for infringing on our patents or, in the event liability is found, to avoid or limit the amount of associated damages. In addition, there is a risk that these parties may file reexaminations or other proceedings with the USPTO or other government agencies in the United States or abroad in an attempt to invalidate, narrow the scope or render unenforceable the patents we own. In addition, as part of our ongoing legal proceedings, the validity and/or enforceability of our patents-in-suit is often challenged in a court or an administrative proceeding.
We and our subsidiaries have been, are, and may become involved in litigation that could divert management’s attention and harm our businesses.
Litigation often is expensive and diverts management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect our businesses. We may be exposed to claims against us even if no wrongdoing has occurred. Responding to such claims, regardless of their merit, can be time consuming, costly to defend, disruptive to our management’s attention and to our resources, damaging to our reputation and brand, and may cause us to incur significant expenses. Even if we are indemnified against such costs, the indemnifying party may be unable to uphold its contractual obligations.
New legislation, regulations or court rulings related to enforcing patents could harm our business and operating results.
Intellectual property is the subject of intense scrutiny by the courts, legislatures and executive branches of governments around the world. Various patent offices, governments or intergovernmental bodies may implement new legislation, regulations or rulings that impact the patent enforcement process, or the rights of patent holders and such changes could negatively affect licensing efforts and/or litigations. For example, limitations on the ability to bring patent enforcement claims, limitations on potential liability for patent infringement, lower evidentiary standards for invalidating patents, increases in the cost to resolve patent disputes and other similar developments could negatively affect our ability to assert our patent or other intellectual property rights.
It is impossible to determine the extent of the impact of any new laws, regulations or initiatives that may be proposed, or whether any of the proposals will become enacted as laws. Compliance with any new or existing laws or regulations could be difficult and expensive, affect the manner in which we conduct our business and negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Our failure or inability to protect the trademarks or other proprietary rights we use or claims of infringement by us of rights of third parties, could adversely affect our competitive position or the value of our brands.
We believe that our trademarks and other proprietary rights are important to our success and our competitive position. However, any actions that we take to protect the intellectual property we use may not prevent unauthorized use or imitation by others, which could have an adverse impact on our image, brand or competitive position. If we commence litigation to protect our interests or enforce our rights, we could incur significant legal fees. We also cannot provide assurance that third parties will not claim infringement by us of their proprietary rights. Any such claim, whether or not it has merit, could be time consuming and distracting for our management, result in costly litigation, cause changes to existing retail concepts or delays in introducing retail concepts, or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements. As a result, any such claim could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our recent acquisition of HyperPointe, and any future acquisitions or business opportunities, could involve unknown risks that could harm our business and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
In January 2022, we acquired HyperPointe. In addition, we have in the past, and may in the future, acquire businesses or make investments, directly or indirectly through our subsidiaries, that involve unknown risks, some of which will be particular to the industry in which the investment or acquisition targets operate, including risks in industries with which we are not familiar or experienced. Although we intend to conduct appropriate business, financial and legal due diligence in connection with the evaluation of future investment or acquisition opportunities, there can be no assurance that our due diligence investigations will identify every matter that could have a material adverse effect on us. We may be unable to adequately address the financial, legal and operational risks raised by such investments or acquisitions, especially if we are unfamiliar with the relevant industry. The realization of any unknown risks could expose us to unanticipated costs and liabilities and prevent or limit us from realizing the projected benefits of the investments or acquisitions, which could adversely affect our financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, and trading price.
Laws regulating the corporate practice of medicine could restrict the manner in which we are permitted to conduct our XpresCheck and Treat businesses, and the failure to comply with such laws could subject us to penalties or require a restructuring of our business.
In operating our XpresCheck business, we have MSAs with state licensed physicians and nurse practitioners, under which we administer COVID-19 testing options, in 15 locations operating in 12 airports. We also have MSAs for operating our Treat business. Some of the states in which we currently operate this business have laws that prohibit business entities from directly owning physician practices, practicing medicine, employing physicians to practice medicine, exercising control over medical decisions by physicians or engaging in certain arrangements, such as fee-splitting, with physicians (such activities are generally referred to as the “corporate practice of medicine”). In some states these prohibitions are expressly stated in a statute or regulation, while in other states the prohibition is a matter of judicial or regulatory interpretation. Other states in which we may operate in the future may also generally prohibit the corporate practice of medicine. While we endeavor to comply with state corporate practice of medicine laws and regulations as we interpret
them in the operation of our XpresCheck and Treat businesses, the laws and regulations in these areas are complex, changing, and often subject to varying interpretations. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws vary significantly from state to state. Penalties for violations of the corporate practice of medicine vary by state and may result in physicians being subject to disciplinary action, as well as to forfeiture of revenue from payors for services rendered. For business entities such as us, violations may also bring both civil and, in more extreme cases, criminal liability for engaging in medical practice without a license.
Some of the relevant laws, regulations and agency interpretations in states with corporate practice of medicine restrictions have been subject to limited judicial and regulatory interpretation, and state laws and regulations are subject to change. Regulatory authorities and other parties in some states may assert that our MSAs mean that, through our XpresCheck and Treat businesses, we are engaged in the prohibited corporate practice of medicine. If this were to occur, we could be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties, our MSAs with physicians could be found legally invalid and unenforceable (in whole or in part) or we could be required to restructure our arrangements with physicians, in each case in one or more of the jurisdictions in which we operate. Any of these outcomes may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows in our XpresCheck and Treat businesses and our reputation overall.
Risks Related to our Capital Stock
Stock prices can be volatile, and this volatility may depress the price of our common stock.
The stock market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations, which have affected the market price of many companies in ways that may have been unrelated to those companies’ operating performance. Furthermore, we believe that our stock price may reflect certain future growth and profitability expectations. If we fail to meet these expectations, then our stock price may significantly decline, which could have an adverse impact on investor confidence. We believe that various factors may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate, perhaps substantially, including, among others, the following:
● the effects that COVID-19 might have on our results of operations and financial position;
● additions to or departures of our key personnel;
● announcements of innovations by us or our competitors;
● announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, capital commitments, or new technologies;
● new regulatory pronouncements and changes in regulatory guidelines;
● developments or disputes concerning our patents and efforts in licensing and/or enforcing our patents;
● lawsuits, claims, and investigations that may be filed against us, and other events that may adversely affect our reputation;
● changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts; and
● general and industry-specific economic conditions.
Our ability to raise additional capital through equity offerings is constrained due to relatively few authorized shares available for future issuance.
Our ability to raise additional equity capital is currently constrained because we have relatively few authorized shares of common stock that are not issued and outstanding or reserved for future issuance, and we may need to increase our authorized shares or undertake a reverse stock split in the near future to maintain our flexibility in access the equity capital markets. If we are unable to obtain additional funding on a timely basis, we may be required to curtail or terminate some or all of our business plans. Any such financing that we undertake will likely be dilutive to our current stockholders.
The exercise of a substantial number of warrants or options by our security holders may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.
Should our warrants and options outstanding as of March 28, 2022 be exercised, there would be an additional 28,292,472 shares of common stock eligible for trading in the public market. The incentive equity instruments granted to our management, employees, directors and consultants are subject to acceleration of vesting of 75% and 100% (according to the agreement signed with each grantee) upon a subsequent change of control. Such securities, if exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our common stock. Therefore, the sale of the shares of common stock underlying the warrants and options could have an adverse effect on the market price for our securities and/or on our ability to obtain future financing.
We have no current plans to pay dividends on our common stock, and our investors may not receive funds without selling their stock.
We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock, nor do we expect to pay any cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Investors seeking cash dividends should not invest in our common stock for that purpose. We currently intend to retain any additional future earnings to finance our operations and growth and, therefore, we have no plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock at this time. Any future determination to pay cash dividends on our common stock will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will be dependent on our earnings, financial condition, operating results, capital requirements, any contractual restrictions, and other factors that our Board of Directors deems relevant.
Accordingly, our investors may have to sell some or all of their common stock in order to generate cash from their investment. You may not receive a gain on your investment when you sell our common stock and may lose the entire amount of your investment.
The market price of our common stock historically has been and likely will continue to be highly volatile.
The market price for our shares of common stock historically has been highly volatile, and the market for our shares has from time-to-time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations, based both on our operating performance and for reasons that appear to be unrelated to our operating performance. The market price of our shares of common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, including:
● the continuing impact of COVID-19 on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows;
● the level of our financial resources;
● our ability to develop and introduce new products and services;
● developments concerning our intellectual property rights generally or those of us or our competitors;
● our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations and business plan and the effects that such financing may have on the value of the equity instruments held by our stockholders;
● our ability to retain key personnel;
● general economic conditions and level of consumer and corporate spending on health and wellness, and travel;
● our ability to hire a skilled labor force and the costs associated;
● our ability to secure new retail locations, maintain existing ones, and ensure continued customer traffic at those locations;
● changes in securities analysts’ estimates of our financial performance or deviations in our business and the trading price of our common stock from the estimates of securities analysts;
● our ability to protect our customers’ financial data and other personal information;
● the loss of one or more of our significant suppliers;
● unexpected trends in the health and wellness and travel industries and potential technology and service obsolescence;
● market acceptance, quality, pricing, availability and useful life of our products and/or services, as well as the mix of our products and services sold; and
● lawsuits, claims, and investigations that may be filed against us and other events that may adversely affect our reputation.
Our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market could result in a delisting of our common stock.
The continued listing standards of Nasdaq provide, among other things, that a company may be delisted if the bid price of its stock drops below $1.00 for a period of 30 consecutive business days or if stockholders’ equity is less than $2,500,000. On January 2, 2020, we received a deficiency letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market which indicated that we were not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. Although we were able to regain compliance by the applicable deadline, our stock price may fall below the minimum bid price in the future and we may be unable to regain compliance. Additionally, if we fail to comply with any other continued listing standards of Nasdaq, our common stock would also be subject to delisting. If that were to occur, our common stock would be subject to rules that impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell our securities. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by these requirements could discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our common stock. This would significantly and negatively affect the ability of investors to trade our securities and would significantly and negatively affect the value and liquidity of our common stock. These factors could contribute to lower prices and larger spreads in the bid and ask prices for our common stock. Delisting of our common stock also would likely have a negative effect on the price of our common stock and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock when you wish to do so. Further, if we were to be delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market, our common stock would cease to be recognized as covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities. If we seek to implement a reverse stock split in order to remain listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, the announcement and/or implementation of a reverse stock split could significantly negatively affect the price of our common stock.
Delisting from Nasdaq could adversely affect our ability to raise additional financing through the public or private sale of equity securities, would significantly affect the ability of investors to trade our securities and would negatively affect the value and liquidity of our common stock. Delisting could also have other negative results, including the potential loss of confidence by employees, the loss of institutional investor interest and fewer business development opportunities.
Our common stock has historically traded in low volumes. We cannot predict whether an active trading market for our common stock will ever develop. Even if an active trading market develops, the market price of our common stock may be significantly volatile.
Historically, our common stock has experienced a lack of consistent trading liquidity. In the absence of an active trading market you may have difficulty buying and selling our common stock at all or at the price you consider reasonable; and market visibility for shares of our common stock may be limited, which may have a depressive effect on the market price for shares of our common stock and on our ability to raise capital or make acquisitions by issuing our common stock.
Anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law, provisions in our charter and bylaws, and our stockholder rights plan could prevent or frustrate attempts by stockholders to change our Board of Directors or current management and could delay, discourage or make more difficult a third-party acquisition of control of us.
We are a Delaware corporation and, as such, certain provisions of Delaware law could prevent or frustrate attempts by stockholders to change the Board of Directors or current management, or could delay, discourage or make more difficult a third-party acquisition of control of us, even if the change in control would be beneficial to stockholders or the stockholders regard it as such. We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), which prohibits certain “business combination” transactions (as defined in Section 203) with an “interested stockholder” (defined in Section 203 as a 15% or greater stockholder) for a period of three years after a stockholder becomes an “interested stockholder,” unless the attaining of “interested stockholder” status or the transaction is pre-approved by our Board of Directors, the transaction results in the attainment of at least an 85% ownership level by an acquirer or the transaction is later approved by our Board of Directors and by our stockholders by at least a 662/3 percent vote of our stockholders other than the “interested stockholder,” each as specifically provided in Section 203.
Our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws, each as currently in effect, also contain certain provisions that may delay, discourage or make more difficult a third-party acquisition of control of us. Such provisions include a provision that any vacancies on our Board of Directors may only be filled by a majority of the directors then serving, although not a quorum, and not by the stockholders and the ability of our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock, without stockholder approval, that could dilute the stock ownership of a potential unsolicited acquirer and hinder an acquisition of control of us that is not approved by our Board of Directors, including through the use of preferred stock in connection with a stockholder rights plan.
We have also adopted a stockholder rights plan in the form of a Section 382 Rights Plan, designed to help protect and preserve our substantial tax attributes primarily associated with our NOLs under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code and research tax credits under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code and related United States Treasury regulations, which was approved by our stockholders in December 2016 and expires in March 2022. Although this is not the purpose of the Section 382 Rights Plan, it could have the effect of making it uneconomical for a third party to acquire us on a hostile basis.
These provisions of the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, and our Section 382 Rights Plan may delay, discourage or make more difficult certain types of transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over the current market price, and might limit the ability of our stockholders to approve transactions that they think may be in their best interest.
Having availed ourselves of scaled disclosure available to smaller reporting companies, we cannot be certain if such reduced disclosure will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
Under Section 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, a “smaller reporting company” is a company that is not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent company that is not a smaller reporting company, and has a public float of less than $250 million and annual revenues of less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. Similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies are permitted to provide simplified executive compensation disclosure in their filings; they are exempt from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring that independent registered public accounting firms provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting; and they have certain other decreased disclosure obligations in
their SEC filings, including, among other things, only being required to provide two years of audited financial statements in annual reports. Decreased disclosure in our SEC filings as a result of our having availed ourselves of scaled disclosure may make it harder for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects.
Other Risk Factors
Our confidential information may be disclosed by other parties.
We routinely enter into non-disclosure agreements with other parties, including but not limited to vendors, law firms, parties with whom we are engaged in negotiations, and employees. However, there exists a risk that those other parties will not honor their contractual obligations to not disclose our confidential information. This may include parties who breach such obligations in the context of confidential settlement offers and/or negotiations. In addition, there exists a risk that, upon such breach and subsequent dissemination of our confidential information, third parties and potential licensees may seek to use such confidential information to their advantage and/or to our disadvantage including in legal proceedings in which we are involved. Our ability to act against such third parties may be limited, as we may not be in privity of contract with such third parties.
We may fail to meet publicly announced financial guidance or other expectations about our business, which would cause our stock to decline in value.
From time to time, we provide preliminary financial results or forward-looking financial guidance, to our investors. Such statements are based on our current views, expectations and assumptions that may not prove to be accurate and may vary from actual results and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, achievements or share prices to be materially different from any future results, performance, achievements or share prices expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the risk factors contained herein. If we fail to meet our projections and/or other financial guidance for any reason, our stock price could decline.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not applicable.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
As of December 31, 2021, besides our Global Support Center to 254 West 31st Street in New York City, XpresSpa Group had 52 spa and clinic locations in 24 airports, in the United States, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates. All of the locations as of that date were leased, typically with one or two renewal options after the initial term. Economic terms vary by type and location of store and, on average, the lease terms are 5-8 years with several stores operating on a month-to-month basis. We believe that our facility is adequate to accommodate our business needs.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Litigation and legal proceedings
Certain of our outstanding legal matters include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts of damages. We regularly evaluate developments in our legal matters that could affect the amount of any potential liability and make adjustments as appropriate. Significant judgment is required to determine both the likelihood of there being any potential liability and the estimated amount of a loss related to our legal matters.
With respect to our outstanding legal matters, based on our current knowledge, our management believes that the amount or range of a potential loss will not, either individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, the outcome of such legal matters is inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties. We evaluated the outstanding legal matters and assessed the probability and likelihood of the occurrence of liability. Based on management’s estimates, we have recorded a liability of approximately $0.8 million for all outstanding legal matters as of December 31, 2021 which is included in “Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities” in the consolidated balance sheet. Related legal fees are recorded in the period in which they are incurred.
In re Chen et al.
In March 2015, four former XpresSpa employees who worked at XpresSpa locations in John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport filed a putative class and collective action wage-hour litigation in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York. In re Chen et al., CV 15-1347 (E.D.N.Y.) against the Company and the Company’s founders Moreton and Marisol Binn (the “Binns”). Plaintiffs claimed that they and other spa technicians around the country were misclassified as exempt commissioned salespersons under Section 7(i) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Plaintiffs also asserted class claims for unpaid overtime on behalf of New York spa technicians under the New York Labor Law, and discriminatory employment practices under New York State and City laws. On July 1, 2015, the plaintiffs moved to have the court authorize notice of the FLSA misclassification claim sent to all employees in the spa technician job classification at XpresSpa locations around the country in the last three years. Defendants opposed the motion. On February 16, 2016, the Magistrate Judge assigned to the case issued a Report & Recommendation, recommending that the District Court Judge grant the plaintiffs’ motion. On March 1, 2016, the defendants filed Opposition to the Magistrate Judge’s Report & Recommendation, arguing that the District Court Judge should reject the Magistrate Judge’s findings. On September 23, 2016, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and conditionally certified the class. The parties held a mediation on February 28, 2017 and reached an agreement on a settlement in principle. On September 6, 2017, the parties entered into a settlement agreement. On September 15, 2017, the parties filed a motion for settlement approval with the Court. XpresSpa subsequently paid the agreed-upon settlement amount to the settlement claims administrator to be held in escrow pending a fairness hearing and final approval by the Court. On March 30, 2018, the Court entered a Memorandum and Order denying the motion without prejudice to renewal due to questions and concerns the Court had about certain settlement terms. On April 24, 2018, the parties jointly submitted a supplemental letter to the Court advocating for the fairness and adequacy of the settlement and appeared in Court on April 25, 2018 for a hearing to discuss the settlement terms in greater detail with the assigned Magistrate Judge. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court still had questions about the adequacy and fairness of the settlement terms, and the Judge asked that the parties jointly submit additional information to the Court addressing the open issues. The parties submitted such information to the Court on May 18, 2018.
On August 21, 2019, the Court issued an Order denying the parties’ motion for preliminary approval of the revised settlement, as the Court still had concerns about several of the settlement terms. At the December 6, 2019 Status Conference with the Court, the Court reiterated its denial of preliminary approval of the proposed settlement agreement. The Court instructed a notice of pendency to be disseminated to putative collective members, who will then have a 60-day window to decide whether to participate in the case. On or about August 10, 2020, the parties entered into settlement agreements.
On June 6, 2020, the Company participated in a status conference with the Court, and the parties discussed the possibility of entering into a new settlement agreement that addresses the Court’s concerns. On or about August 5, 2020, the parties entered into settlement agreements and sought a preliminary approval order from the Court. On March 30, 2021, the Court issued an Order conditionally granting the motion for preliminary approval subject to resolution of certain issues pertaining to administration of the settlement. On April 6, 2021, Plaintiffs’ counsel wrote to the Court regarding their proposed resolution on such issues and the Court ultimately granted preliminary approval on May 25, 2021. Notice of the settlement was sent out to the class members on June 22, 2021 and a fairness hearing with the Court was scheduled for September 23, 2021.
On October 1, 2021, the Court issued an Order granting the parties’ motion for final approval of the settlement. There were no appeals and the settlement was effective as of November 2, 2021. The Settlement Administrator has confirmed
to the parties that settlement checks have been distributed to the Class on November 5, 2021. The Judge marked the case as closed on the docket on November 10, 2021.
Kyle Collins v. Spa Products Import & Distribution Co., LLC et al
This is a combined class action and California Private Attorney’s General Act (“PAGA”) action. Plaintiff seeks to recover wages, penalties and PAGA penalties for claims for (1) failure to provide meal periods, (2) failure to provide rest breaks, (3) failure to pay overtime, (4) inaccurate wage statements, (5) waiting time penalties, and (6) PAGA penalties of $100 per employee per pay period per violation. There are approximately 240 current and former employees in the litigation class. The parties agreed to mediation on May 26, 2020, however, due to COVID-19 the parties subsequently stayed all proceedings. The mediation session occurred on March 18, 2021 and the matter was settled. A revised motion for preliminary approval of the settlement was filed with the Court in February 2022 and this motion is pending.
In addition to those matters specifically set forth herein, the Company and its subsidiaries are involved in various other claims and legal actions that arise in the ordinary course of business. The Company does not believe that the ultimate resolution of these actions will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, liquidity, or capital resources. However, a significant increase in the number of these claims, or one or more successful claims under which the Company incurs greater liabilities than the Company currently anticipates, could materially adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In the event that an action is brought against the Company or one of its subsidiaries, the Company will investigate the allegation and vigorously defend itself.

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

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, has been listed under the trading symbol “XSPA” since January 8, 2018.
On June 11, 2020, the Company effected a 1-for-3 reverse stock split, whereby every three shares of its common stock was reduced to one share of its common stock and the price per share of its common stock was multiplied by 3. All references to shares and per share amounts have been adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split.
Stockholders
As of March 28, 2022, we had 100 stockholders of record of the 95,071,210 outstanding shares of our common stock. This does not reflect persons or entities that hold their stock in nominee or "street" name through various brokerage firms.
Dividend Policy
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance our operations and to expand our business. Any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will be dependent upon our financial condition, operating results, capital requirements and other factors that our Board of Directors considers appropriate.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
During 2021, we executed on our share repurchase program, repurchasing and redeeming 4.7 million shares at average cost of $1.66 per share, for a total of $7.8 million.
During March 2022, the Company continuing to execute on its share repurchase program, repurchased 7.1 million shares at average cost of $1.55 per share, for a total of $11.1 million.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
None.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Unless otherwise stated, dollar amounts are provided in thousands, except share and per share data.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by, our consolidated financial statements (including notes to the consolidated financial statements) and the other consolidated financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results and timing of events could differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
Overview
XpresSpa Group, Inc. is one of the leading global travel health and wellness services holding companies. XpresSpa Group currently has three reportable operating segments: XpresSpa, XpresTest, and Treat.
XpresSpa has been a global airport retailer of spa services through its XpresSpa spa locations, offering travelers premium spa services, including massage, nail and skin care, as well as spa and travel products (“XpresSpa”).
Through XpresSpa Group’s subsidiary XpresTest, we launched XpresCheck Wellness Centers, also in airports. XpresCheck offers COVID-19 and other medical diagnostic testing services to the traveling public, as well as airline, airport and concessionaire employees, and TSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. XpresTest has entered into MSAs with professional medical services companies or professional limited liability companies (“PLLC”) that provide health care services to patients. The PLLCs pay XpresTest a monthly fee to operate in the XpresCheck Wellness Centers. Under the terms of MSAs, we provide office space, equipment, supplies, non-licensed staff, and management services in return for a management fee. Effective July 1, 2021, we determined that the PLLCs are VIEs due to their equity holders having insufficient capital at risk, and the Company having a variable interest and a primary beneficiary in these PLLCs.
Furthermore, XpresSpa Group continues to develop Treat, a travel health and wellness brand that is positioned for a post-pandemic world. Treat’s on-site centers (currently located in JFK International Airport and opening in April 2022 in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and later this year in Salt Lake City International Airport) provide access to health and wellness services for travelers. Our teams provide travel-related diagnostic testing for virus, cold, flu and other illnesses as well as hydration therapy, IV Drips, and vitamin injections. Travelers can purchase time blocks to use our wellness rooms to engage in interactive services like self-guided yoga, meditation and low impact weight exercises or to relax and unplug from the hectic pace of the airport and renew themselves before or after their trip.
Although we recognize three segments of business, our strategy for the future, is to create and leverage a fully integrated set of products and services that are both profitable and scalable across our portfolio of brands. Additionally, we will expand our retail strategy, not only adding more products for sale but aligning those products more efficiently to our service offerings. For example, adding fortified water and hydration packets to the delivery of an onsite hydration IV or adding muscle relaxation patches to a neck or back massage to continue treatment after the delivery of the service.
We also plan to build our capability for delivering health and wellness services outside the airport. We believe operating outside of the airport complements our offering and allows us to scale growth faster.
We will be looking to further expand internationally. While international travel has not picked back up to pre-pandemic levels, we want to be opportunistic in our approach, taking advantage of the current market to grow in preparation for a full return of travel, We believe a strategy for international expansion further advances our overall biosurveillance efforts.
These strategic imperatives will be accomplished through development of an infrastructure specifically focused on enabling scalable and efficient growth.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Treat offers a website (www.treat.com) and mobile app to complement the offering with relevant health and wellness content designed to help people on the go with information that could impact their travel. The platform provides travelers access to a comprehensive online marketplace of services including global illness tracker tools such as the COVID-19 Requirements Map, on-demand chat care by licensed providers, a health wallet to store personal and family health records (including COVID-19 testing results), and a scheduler to arrange for direct care at one of our on-site locations.
In March 2020, we temporarily closed all global XpresSpa locations due to the categorization by local jurisdictions of the spa locations as “non-essential services.” A significant number of our XpresSpa locations remain closed, although several have reopened as described under "Recent Developments -­XpresSpa Premium Spa Services" below. We intend to assess the reopening of remaining XpresSpa®™ spa locations on a location-by-location basis.
Since the beginning of the temporary closure of our XpresSpa locations, we successfully launched our XpresCheck Wellness Centers, offering such testing services, as described above. Also, we continue to evaluate alternative testing protocols and work in partnership with airlines and others for safe travels.
While management has used all currently available information in assessing our business prospects, the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our XpresCheck Wellness Centers and on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows remains uncertain and could have a material effect on our business.
Recent Developments
XpresCheck Wellness Centers
XpresCheck’s business has management services agreements with state licensed physicians and nurse practitioners, under which we administer COVID-19 testing options, including a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test and a rapid PCR test. As of the date of this report, there are 15 operating XpresCheck locations operating in 12 airports, including the following locations opened since December 31, 2020:
● On January 12, 2021, we opened our second XpresCheck Wellness Center at Boston’s Logan International Airport. It contains seven separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On January 20, 2021, we announced the opening of an XpresCheck Wellness Center at Salt Lake City International Airport. It contains four separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On February 16, 2021, we announced the opening of our second XpresCheck testing facility at Newark Liberty International Airport. It contains four separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On March 8, 2021, we announced the opening of an XpresCheck Wellness Center at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport. It contains four separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On March 15, 2021, we announced the opening of XpresCheck Wellness Centers at Dulles International and Reagan National Airports in Virginia, containing nine and four separate testing rooms, respectively, to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On April 8, 2021, we announced the opening of an XpresCheck Wellness Center at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It contains eight separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● On April 21, 2021, we announced the opening of an XpresCheck Wellness Center at San Francisco International Airport. It contains nine separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
● On October 13, 2021, we opened an XpresCheck Wellness Center at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) Concourse E, converting a legacy XpresSpa located in Concourse E. It contains six separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● In February 2022, a second XpresCheck opened at Denver International Airport, pre-security in the Great Hall. It contains six separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
● In March 2022, we opened an XpresCheck in Orlando International Airport, pre-security, in the South Walk area of the Main Terminal. It contains five separate testing rooms to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing.
During 2021, XpresCheck initiated a $2,001, eight-week pilot program with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with Concentric by Ginkgo. Under this program, XpresCheck is conducting biosurveillance monitoring at four major U.S. airports (JFK International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) aimed at identifying existing and new SARS-CoV-2 variants. On January 31, 2022, we announced the extension of the program, bringing the total contract to $5,534. Approximately $1,557 of the original $2,001 in revenue was recognized during the fourth quarter of 2021. We anticipate the remaining $3,977 of the full $5,534 amount will be realized in the first and second quarters of 2022.
XpresSpa Premium Spa Services
There are currently sixteen operating XpresSpa domestic locations (including one franchise location in Austin-Bergstrom International Airport) and we expect to re-open four additional domestic locations in the near-term. A majority of the domestic XpresSpa locations are operating approximately eight hours per day during the busiest hours (compared to up to sixteen hours per day pre-pandemic) improving labor productivity. Additionally, XpresSpa implemented a price increase in mid-October 2021 which further improved profitability. And as airport volumes improve, we will continue to review our operating hours to optimize revenue opportunity.
During the fourth quarter, we began testing several new services to take advantage of a growing interest in non-traditional spa services and expansion of our retail offering to align more closely with the services we provide. We are evaluating the success of these new initiatives at each airport on an on-going basis and will incorporate changes to our approach as more of the portfolio is reactivated.
There are also six international locations operating, including three XpresSpa locations in Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates and three XpresSpa locations in Schiphol Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands. We have also signed for five locations at Istanbul Airport and expect to open the first store this summer.
Treat
Treat is our new travel, health and wellness brand transforming the way we access care through a suite of health and wellness services supported by an integrated digital platform and a relevant retail offering to the traveling public.
Treat’s on-site centers (currently located in JFK International Airport and opening soon in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and later this year in Salt Lake City International Airport) provide access to health and wellness services for travelers. Our teams provide travel-related diagnostic testing for virus, cold, flu and other illnesses as well as hydration therapy, IV Drips, and vitamin injections. Travelers can purchase time blocks to use our wellness rooms to engage in interactive services like self-guided yoga, meditation and low impact weight exercises or to relax and unplug from the hectic pace of the airport and renew themselves before or after their trip.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Treat offers a website (www.treat.com) and mobile app to complement the offering with relevant health and wellness content designed to help people on the go with information that could impact their travel. The platform provides travelers access to a comprehensive online marketplace of services including global illness tracker tools such as the COVID-19 Requirements Map, on-demand chat care by licensed providers, a health wallet to store personal and family health records (including COVID-19 testing results), and a scheduler to arrange for direct care at one of our on-site locations.
HyperPointe Acquisition
In January 2022, we announced and closed on the acquisition of GCG Connect, LLC d/b/a HyperPointe. HyperPointe is a leading digital healthcare and data analytics relationship marketing agency servicing the global healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. HyperPointe has significant experience in patient and healthcare professional marketing and deep technological experience with CXM (customer experience management) and data analytics. Since June 2020, HyperPointe’s management team and suite of services and technology have been used to develop and deploy the technological infrastructure needed to scale the growth of our XpresCheck® business HyperPointe’s experience in this space continues to serve the XpresCheck business and will play a critical role in the expansion of on-going biosurveillance efforts.
Terms of the transaction were $5,612 in cash, and $1,000 in common stock, as well as potential additional earn-out payments of up to $7,500 over a three-year timeframe based upon future performance; these earn-out payments may be satisfied in cash or common stock or a combination thereof subject to various terms and conditions.
HyperPointe currently operates as a stand-alone entity within XpresSpa Group. Ezra Ernst, who is the current CEO of HyperPointe, also serves as CEO of XpresCheck, reporting to Scott Milford, XpresSpa Group CEO. Mr. Ernst is spearheading efforts to further integrate XpresCheck’s biosurveillance screening and testing business with HyperPointe’s customer experience management technology and data management know how in the healthcare and pharmaceutical verticals to further drive new revenue opportunities.
Liquidity
As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $105,506 of cash and cash equivalents, total current assets of approximately $108,979. Our total current liabilities balance, which includes primarily accounts payable, accrued expenses, deferred revenue, the current portion or promissory note, and the current portion of operating lease liabilities was $19,827 as of December 31, 2021. The working capital was $89,152 as of December 31, 2021, compared to a working capital of $78,302 as of December 31, 2020.
During 2021, holders of the Company’s December 2020 Investor Warrants, December 2020 Placement Agent Warrants and December 2020 Placement Agent Tail Fee Warrants exercised a total of 11,273,529 warrants for common shares. The Company received gross proceeds of approximately $19,245. In accordance with the placement agent agreements with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC and Palladium, the Company paid cash fees of $2,162 and issued 846,588 warrants to H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC at an exercise price of $2.125 per share and 325,500 warrants to Palladium at an exercise price of $1.70 per share.
While we have aggressively reduced operating and overhead expenses, and we continue to focus on our overall profitability, we have been able to generate positive cash flows from operations, and Net Income. We expect to achieve future profitability, in the light of various growth initiatives that we have implemented.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
B3D Senior Secured Loan
On January 9, 2020, as compensation for the consent of B3D to the CC Agreement, we entered into the Fifth Credit Agreement Amendment with B3D in order to (i) increase the principal amount owed to B3D from $7,000 to $7,150, which additional $150 in principal and any interest accrued thereon will become convertible, at B3D’s option, into shares of our common stock upon receipt of the approval of our stockholders, which was obtained on May 28, 2020 and (ii) provide for the advance payment of 97,223 shares of common stock in satisfaction of the interest payable pursuant to the B3D Note for the months of October, November and December 2020. The common stock was issued to B3D on January 14, 2020. We capitalized a $150 fee charged by the lender to consent to the CC Agreement.
The total of fees paid to the lender as consideration for entering into the Fourth and Fifth Credit Agreement Amendments of $650 was capitalized and was being amortized over the remaining term of the B3D Note. We recorded amortization expense of $62 related to these capitalized costs, which is included in Interest expense in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
On March 6, 2020, XpresSpa Holdings entered into the Sixth Credit Agreement Amendment with B3D in order to, among other provisions, (i) increase the principal amount owed to B3D from $7,150 to $7,900, which additional $750 in principal, comprised of $500 in new funding and $250 in debt issuance costs, and any interest accrued thereon will be convertible, at B3D’s option, into shares of our common stock subject to receipt of the approval of our stockholders which was obtained on May 28, 2020 and (ii) decrease the conversion rate under the B3D Note from $6.00 per share to $1.68 per share. On March 19, 2020, the conversion rate was further reduced to $0.525 per share after giving effect to certain anti-dilution adjustments.
The Sixth Credit Agreement Amendment was accounted for as an extinguishment of debt in our consolidated financial statements. In March 2020, we extinguished debt with a carrying value of $4,829, net of unamortized debt discount of $1,845 and unamortized debt issuance costs of $476. In addition, we extinguished $2,048 of derivative liability, which represented the estimated fair value of the conversion option based upon provisions included in the Fifth Credit Agreement Amendment. We determined that the conversion option in the Sixth Credit Agreement Amendment should be bifurcated from the host instrument and engaged a third party to assess the fair value of the conversion option. As a result, we recorded debt with a carrying value of $3,994, net of a debt discount of $3,656 and debt issuance costs of $250, and a derivative liability of $3,656. We recognized a loss on the extinguishment of debt of $273 during the year ended December 31, 2020, which represents the difference between the carrying amount of the debt recorded under the Fourth and Fifth Credit Agreement Amendments and the debt recorded under the Sixth Credit Agreement Amendment and is included in Other non-operating income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Subsequent to the Sixth Credit Agreement Amendment and during the year ended December 31, 2020, B3D elected to convert a total of $7,900 of principal into shares of common stock at conversion prices of $1.68 and $0.525. As a result, approximately $15,395 of derivative liability was settled and reclassified to equity, we wrote off $3,156 of unamortized debt discount and debt issuance costs, and 13,934,525 shares of common stock were issued. We recognized a revaluation loss related to the derivative liability of $11,990 during the year ended December 31, 2020, which is included in “Loss on revaluation of warrants and conversion options” in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
A total of $884 of accretion expense on the debt discount was recorded in the years ended December 31, 2020, which is included in “Interest expense” in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss and increased the carrying value of the B3D Note. Total amortization expense related to the B3D Note debt issuance costs was $98 for the year ended December 31, 2020, which is included in “Interest expense” in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
The B3D Note was guaranteed on a full, unconditional, joint, and several basis, by the parent Company, XpresSpa Group, Inc., and all wholly owned subsidiaries of Holdings (the “Guarantor Subsidiaries”). Under the terms of a security and guarantee agreement dated July 8, 2019, XpresSpa Group, Inc. (the parent company) and the Guarantor Subsidiaries each
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
fully and unconditionally, jointly and severally, guaranteed the payment of interest and principal on the B3D Note. Holdings pledged and granted to B3D a first priority security interest in, among other things, all of its equity interests in Holdings and all of its rights to receive distributions, cash or other property in connection with Holdings. We have not presented separate consolidating financial statements of XpresSpa Group, Inc., Holdings and Holdings’ wholly owned subsidiaries, as each entity has guaranteed the B3D Note, so each entity is responsible for the payment.
Paycheck Protection Program
On May 1, 2020, the Company entered into a U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (“the PPP”) promissory note in the principal amount of $5,653 payable to Bank of America, NA (“Bank of America”) evidencing a PPP loan (the “PPP Loan”). The PPP Loan bears interest at a rate of 1% per annum. No payments were due on the PPP Loan during a six-month deferral period commencing on May 2, 2020. Commencing one month after the expiration of the deferral period and continuing on the same day of each month thereafter until the maturity date of the PPP Loan, the Company is obligated to make monthly payments of principal and interest, each in such equal amount required to fully amortize the principal amount outstanding on the PPP Loan by the maturity date. The maturity date is May 2, 2022. The principal amount of the PPP Loan was subject to forgiveness under the PPP upon the Company’s request to the extent that the PPP Loan proceeds are used to pay expenses permitted by the PPP. Bank of America may have forgiven interest accrued on any principal forgiven if the SBA pays the interest. Currently, the Company is paying its monthly principal and interest related to the PPP Loan when due. The PPP Loan contains customary borrower default provisions and lender remedies, including the right of Bank of America to require immediate repayment in full the outstanding principal balance of the PPP Loan with accrued interest. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, $4 and $37 of interest has been accrued, respectively, and is included in Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other in the consolidated balance sheets.
Our Strategy and Outlook
We believe that our company is well positioned to benefit from consumers’ growing interest in travel health and wellness and increasing demand for health and wellness related services and products.
XpresSpa was created for travelers to address the stress and idle time spent at the airport, allowing travelers to spend this time relaxing and focusing on personal care and wellness. It is a well-recognized and popular airport spa brand with a dominant market share in the United States, with nearly three times the number of domestic locations as its closest competitor.
Travel needs are changing based on new health and passenger safety concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, in 2020 we created a companion company, XpresCheck, which is also in airports and which offers COVID-19 testing and other medical diagnostic testing services to airport employees and the traveling public.
Further, the Company continues developing Treat, a travel health and wellness brand that is positioned for a post-pandemic world and that leverages its historic travel wellness experience and newly acquired healthcare expertise. The Company sees this concept evolution as a significant opportunity to be a category innovator in a new niche industry where it can leverage technology in addition to its existing real estate and airport experience in providing travelers with peace of mind and access to integrated care.
While COVID-19 testing will be available under this new brand, the broader suite of services may include: pre-travel health and wellness planning. Treat’s on-site centers (currently located in JFK International Airport and opening soon in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and later this year in Salt Lake City International Airport) provide access to health and wellness services for travelers. Our teams provide travel-related diagnostic testing for virus, cold, flu and other illnesses as well as hydration therapy, IV Drips, and vitamin injections. Travelers can purchase time blocks to use our wellness rooms to engage in interactive services like self-guided yoga, meditation and low impact weight exercises or to relax and unplug from the hectic pace of the airport and renew themselves before or after their trip.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Airport Rent Concessions
We have received rent concessions from landlords on a majority of our leases, allowing for the relief of minimum guaranteed payments in exchange for percentage-of-revenue rent or providing relief from rent through payment deferrals. Currently, the period of relief from these payments range from three- to twenty eight-months and began in March 2020. We received minimum guaranteed payment concession of approximately $2,078 and $2,107, respectively, in years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
Reconciliation of Full-Year 2021 and 2020 Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA or Loss (Non-GAAP Measure)
Year ended December 31,
Revenue:
Managed services fees
$
16,843
$
-
Patient service revenue
50,689
-
Services
5,420
7,025
Products
1,004
Other
Total revenue
73,729
8,385
Cost of sales
Labor
13,421
6,290
Occupancy
2,505
2,809
Product and other operating costs
25,459
2,884
Total cost of sales
41,385
11,983
Depreciation and amortization
3,201
5,210
Impairment/disposal of assets
15,356
General and administrative
24,199
15,940
Total operating expense
69,622
48,489
Earnings (loss) from operations
4,107
(40,104)
Interest expense, net
(1,832)
Gain (loss) on revaluation of warrants and conversion options
-
(51,147)
Other non-operating (expense)/income, net
(1,201)
Income (loss) before income taxes
2,949
(92,225)
Income tax expense
(56)
(7)
Net income (loss)
2,893
(92,232)
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests
1,744
Net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders
$
3,349
$
(90,488)
Income (loss) from operations
$
4,107
$
(40,104)
Add back:
Depreciation and amortization
3,201
5,210
Impairment/disposal of assets
15,356
Stock-based compensation expense
2,856
1,328
Adjusted EBITDA /(Loss)
$
11,001
$
(18,210)
We use GAAP and non-GAAP measurements to assess the trends in our business. We review its Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, which we define as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization expense, excluding merger and acquisition, integration and one-time costs and stock-based compensation.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of financial performance that is not required by or presented in accordance with GAAP but is a measurement used by management to assess the trends in our business. In evaluating our performance as measured by Adjusted EBITDA, we recognize and consider the limitations of this measurement. Reconciliations of operating loss from continuing operations for the Company for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 to Adjusted EBITDA loss are presented in the tables above.
We have included this non-GAAP financial measure because management utilizes this information for assessing our performance and liquidity, and as an indicator of our ability to make capital expenditures and finance working capital requirements. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is a measurement that is commonly used by analysts and some investors in evaluating the performance and liquidity of growth companies such as ours.
In particular, we believe that it is useful for analysts and investors to understand that Adjusted EBITDA excludes certain transactions not related to our core cash operating activities, which are primarily related to our XpresCheck Wellness Centers. We believe that excluding these transactions allows investors to meaningfully analyze the performance of our core cash operations.
Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities or as an alternative to operating income or as an indicator of operating performance or any other measure of performance derived in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our obligations for the payment of income taxes, interest expense, or other obligations such as capital expenditures.
Results of Operations
Revenue
We recognize revenue from the sale of XpresSpa services when they are rendered at our stores and from the sale of products at the time goods are purchased at our stores or online (usually by credit card), net of discounts and applicable sales taxes. Significant number of our spa locations remain closed and therefore generate little revenue. Other revenue primarily represents fees earned through strategic partnerships and product placement arrangement in our spas.
Through our XpresCheck Wellness Centers and under the terms of the Managed Services Agreement (“MSA”) with PLLCs that in turn contract with physicians and nurse practitioners, we offer testing services to airline employees, contractors, concessionaire employees, TSA officers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, as well as the traveling public. We have entered into MSAs with PLLCs that provide healthcare services to patients. Under the terms of the MSAs which may be modified according for commercial reasonableness and fair market value, XpresTest provides office space, equipment, supplies, non-licensed staff, and management services to be used for the purpose of COVID-19 and other medical diagnostic testing in return for a management fee. However, as a result of uncertainties around the cash flows of the XpresCheck Wellness Centers, we concluded in 2020 that the collectability criteria to qualify as a contract under ASC 606 was not met, and therefore, revenue associated with the monthly management fee would not be recognized until a subsequent reassessment resulted in the MSAs meeting the collectability criteria. XpresTest recognized revenue of $16,843 (including catch-up revenue of $3,186 for 2020) during the six months ended June 30, 2021, under the MSAs, pursuant to reassessments in 2021, of the MSAs executed in 2020 and amended in 2021, and assessments and reassessments of MSAs executed and amended in 2021 until June 30, 2021 resulting in management’s conclusion that they met the collectability criteria. Any revenue collected not meeting the collectability criteria was recorded as deferred revenue. Effective, July 1, 2021 (see Note 4), we determined that the PLLCs are variable interest entities due to its equity holder having insufficient capital at risk, and we have a variable interest in the PLLCs. In pursuance, the total revenue of $50,689 for the PLLCs for the six months ended December 31, 2021 were designated as a revenue for us.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Cost of sales
Cost of sales consists of costs at the spa-level and wellness center-level. These costs include all costs that are directly attributable to the location’s operations and include:
● payroll and related benefits for the location’s operations and management;
● rent, percentage rent and occupancy costs;
● the cost of merchandise, including testing kits;
● freight, shipping and handling costs;
● production costs;
● inventory shortage and valuation adjustments, including purchase price allocation increase in fair values which was recorded as part of acquisition; and
● costs associated with sourcing operations.
Depreciation and amortization
Property and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. The useful lives of our property and equipment are based on estimates of the period over which we expect the assets to be of economic benefit to us. Our property and equipment assets primarily consist of leasehold improvements to our stores and are amortized over the shorter of the useful life of the asset or the term of the lease.
Amortization of our intangible assets is recognized on a straight-line basis over the remaining useful life of the intangible assets.
Impairment/disposal of assets
We test our long-lived assets (which primarily includes property and equipment and right of use lease asset) for impairment on at least an annual basis or whenever circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Long-lived assets are tested for impairment at the lowest level at which there are identifiable operating cash flows. An impairment loss is recognized if the carrying amount of a fixed asset (asset group) is not recoverable and exceeds its fair value.
Impairment charges related to our amortized, intangible assets are recorded when an impairment indicator exists and the carrying amount of the related asset exceeds its fair value.
General and administrative
General and administrative expenses include management and administrative personnel, public and investor relations, overhead/office costs, insurance legal fees, accounting fees and various other professional fees, as well as sales and marketing costs and stock-based compensation for management and administrative personnel.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Loss on revaluation of warrants and conversion option
(Loss) gain on revaluation of warrants and conversion options is primarily comprised of adjustments to the fair value of the derivative conversion option of the debt instruments and the fair value of the warrants.
Non-operating income (expense)
Non-operating income (expense) primarily includes gain on equity investments and bank charges.
Income taxes
As of December 31, 2021, deferred tax assets generated from our activities in the United States were offset by a valuation allowance because realization depends on generating future taxable income, which, in our estimation, is not more likely than not to be generated before such net operating loss carryforwards expire.
Year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020
Revenue
Year ended December 31,
Inc/(Dec)
Total revenue
$
73,729
$
8,385
$
65,344
During the year ended December 31, 2021, total revenues increased $65,344, or 779%. The increase in revenue was primarily due to patient service revenue of $50,689 during the second half of 2021 and MSA fees of $16,843 for the six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively through managed services agreements with professional medical services companies that provide healthcare services to patients in our XpresCheck Wellness Centers (while the majority of XpresSpa locations remain closed). In addition, the Company saw a slight increase in revenue associated with the XpresSpa locations that opened during 2021.
Cost of sales
Year ended December 31,
Inc/(Dec)
Cost of sales
$
41,385
$
11,983
$
29,402
The increase in cost of sales of $29,402, or 245%, was due to the increase in revenues resulting in increased costs to operate the XpresCheck locations due to the COVID-19 Pandemic; and the reopening of certain XpresSpa locations that were temporarily closed during 2020. We had 22 open Spa locations as of December 31, 2021, and 2 open Spa locations as of December 31, 2020. The largest component in the cost of sales are costs of testing kits and labor costs at the location-level, Cost of sales also includes rent and related occupancy costs, which can primarily include rent based on percentage of sales, as well as other product costs directly associated with the procurement of retail inventory, and other operating costs.
Depreciation and amortization
Year ended December 31,
Inc/(Dec)
Depreciation and amortization
$
3,201
$
5,210
$
(2,009)
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
During the year ended December 31, 2021, depreciation and amortization expense decreased $2,009, or 38.6%, compared to the depreciation and amortization expense recorded during the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to the write-off of the stores that were permanently closed during the year ended December 31, 2020. Fewer locations resulted in lower amortization of leasehold improvements.
Impairment/disposal of assets
Year ended December 31,
Inc/(Dec)
Impairment/disposal of assets
$
$
15,356
$
(14,519)
We completed an assessment of our property and equipment and right of use lease assets for impairment as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. Based upon the results of the impairment test, we recorded an impairment of property and equipment and right of use lease assets of approximately $90 and $747, respectively, in the year ended December 31, 2021. The expense was primarily related to the impairment of leasehold improvements made to certain XpresSpa locations and right of use lease assets where as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, management determined that the location’s discounted future cash flow was not enough to support the carrying value of the leasehold improvements and right of use lease assets over the remaining lease term.
Loss on revaluation of warrants and conversion option
Year ended December 31,
Inc/(Dec)
Loss on revaluation of warrants and conversion options
$
-
$
51,147
$
(51,147)
Loss on revaluation of warrants and conversion option in 2020 is primarily comprised of adjustments to the fair value of the derivative conversion option of the debt instruments and the fair value of the warrants, including losses of $11,990, $8,985, $15,480 and $14,692 related to the B3D Note, the Calm Note, the Calm Warrants and the Class A Warrants, respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2020.
General and administrative
Year ended December 31,
Inc/(Dec)
General and administrative
$
24,199
$
15,940
$
8,259
During the year ended December 31, 2021, general and administrative expenses increased by $8,259, or 51.8%, primarily due to start-up costs associated with the XpresCheck brand, development of the Treat brand and additional legal fees related to the resolution of certain legal matters, offset by reduced variable costs related to the closed XpresSpa locations.
Interest (income) expense
Year ended December 31,
Inc/(Dec)
Interest (income) expense
$
(43)
$
1,832
$
(1,875)
Interest expense decreased by $1,875, or 102%, primarily due to conversions to Common Stock of the Calm Note and B3D Note during 2020.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Non-operating (expense) income, net
Year ended December 31,
Inc/(Dec)
Other non-operating (expense) /income, net
$
(1,201)
$
$
(2,059)
The following is a summary of the transactions included in non-operating income (expense), net for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
Year ended December 31,
(Loss)/gain on equity investments
$
(1,045)
$
1,284
Loss on extinguishment of debt
-
(182)
Bank fees and financing charges
(139)
(244)
Other
(17)
-
Total
$
(1,201)
$
As of December 31, 2021, the equity investment in Route1 had a readily determinable fair value of $722. We recorded an unrealized loss of $1,045 in connection with the remeasurement of the shares of our common stock and warrants of Route 1 it obtained in the 2018 sale of Group Mobile to Route 1.
Non-operating income (expense) will be affected by the adjustments to the fair value of our equity investment, which could fluctuate materially from period to period. Fair value of these instruments depends on a variety of assumptions.
Income Taxes
As of December 31, 2021, our estimated aggregate total NOLs were $150,926 for U.S. federal purposes, expiring 20 years from the respective tax years to which they relate, and $56,336 for U.S. federal purposes with an indefinite life due to new regulations in the Tax Act of 2017. The NOL amounts are presented before Internal Revenue Code, Section 382 limitations. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 imposed substantial restrictions on the utilization of NOL and tax credits in the event of an ownership change of a corporation. Thus, our ability to utilize all such NOL and credit carryforwards may be limited. The CARES Act was enacted on March 27, 2020 and provides favorable changes to tax law for businesses impacted by COVID-19. However, we do not anticipate the income tax law changes will materially benefit us.
We did not have any material unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2021. We do not expect to record any additional material provisions for unrecognized tax benefits within the next year.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
In March 2020, we temporarily closed all global XpresSpa locations due to the categorization by local jurisdictions of the spa locations as “non-essential services.” XpresSpa reopened 22 locations as of December 31, 2021 as described under "Recent Developments -­XpresSpa Premium Spa Services" below. We intend to reopen the remaining XpresSpa spa locations on a location-by-location basis and resume normal operations at such selected locations once airport traffic returns to sufficient levels to support operations at a unit level.
Furthermore, XpresSpa Group continues to develop Treat, a travel health and wellness brand that is positioned for a post-pandemic world. Treat’s on-site centers (currently located in JFK International Airport and opening soon in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and later this year in Salt Lake City International Airport) provide access to health and wellness services for travelers. Our teams provide travel-related diagnostic testing for virus, cold, flu and other illnesses as well as hydration therapy, IV Drips, and vitamin injections. Travelers can purchase time blocks to use our wellness
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
rooms to engage in interactive services like self-guided yoga, meditation and low impact weight exercises or to relax and unplug from the hectic pace of the airport and renew themselves before or after their trip.
As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $105,506 of cash and cash equivalents and total current assets of $108,979. Our total current liabilities balance, which primarily includes accounts payable, accrued expenses, the current portion of promissory note and the current portion of operating lease liabilities was $19,827 as of December 31, 2021. The working capital surplus was $89,152 as of December 31, 2021, compared to a working capital of $78,302 as of December 31, 2020.
During 2021, holders of our December 2020 Investor Warrants, December 2020 Placement Agent Warrants and December 2020 Placement Agent Tail Fee Warrants exercised a total of 11,273,529 warrants for common shares. We received gross proceeds of approximately $19,245. In accordance with the placement agent agreements with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC and Palladium, we paid cash fees of $2,162 and issued 846,588 warrants to H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC at an exercise price of $2.125 per share and 325,500 warrants to Palladium at an exercise price of $1.70 per share.
Also, during 2021, we executed on our share repurchase program, repurchasing and redeeming 4,702,072 shares at average cost of $1.66 per share, for a total of $7,825.
Also, during March 2022, the Company continuing to execute on its share repurchase program, repurchased 7,142,446 shares at average cost of $1.55 per share, for a total of $11,095.
Our primary liquidity and capital requirements are for the maintenance of our current XpresSpa locations and brand, as well as the expansion of the Treat Centers and XpresCheck Wellness Centers. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we generated $14,561 from operations.
Cash flows
Year ended December 31,
Change
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
$
14,561
$
(25,012)
$
39,573
Net cash used in investing activities
$
(5,156)
$
(4,349)
$
(807)
Net cash provided by financing activities
$
6,350
$
117,225
$
(110,875)
Operating activities
During the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash generated in operating activities was $14,561 as compared to net cash used in operating activities in 2020 of $25,012. The increase in net cash generated by operating activities was primarily due to the operations of our new XpresCheck Wellness Centers brand.
Investing activities
During the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in investing activities totaled $5.156, compared to net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2020 of $4,349. Cash in 2021 was used primarily to acquire leasehold improvements for new openings of XpresCheck and Treat locations and the development of a new website for the Treat brand.
We expect that net cash used in investing activities will increase as we intend to continue to open new XpresCheck and Treat locations and develop supporting infrastructure and systems.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Financing activities
Cash provided by financing activities decreased $110,875 primarily due to lower equity based financing transactions.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities that would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements.
Critical Accounting Estimates
We believe the following accounting estimates to be the most critical estimates we used in preparing our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Variable Interest Entities
The Company evaluates its ownership, contractual, pecuniary, and other interests in entities to determine if it has any variable interest in a variable interest entity (“VIE”). These evaluations are complex and involve judgment. If the Company determines that an entity in which it holds a contractual or ownership interest is a VIE and that the Company is the primary beneficiary, the Company consolidates such entity in its consolidated financial statements. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is the party that meets both of the following criteria: (i) has the power to make decisions that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIE; and (ii) has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that in either case could potentially be significant to the VIE. Management performs ongoing reassessments of whether changes in the facts and circumstances regarding the Company’s involvement with a VIE will cause the consolidation conclusion to change. Changes in consolidation status are applied prospectively.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets are tested for impairment at the lowest level at which there are identifiable operating cash flows, which is at the individual spa or clinic location for the XpresSpa and XpresCheck businesses. The Company’s long-lived assets consist primarily of leasehold improvements and right to use lease assets for each of its locations (considered the asset group). The Company reviews its long-lived assets for recoverability yearly or sooner if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of long-lived assets may not be recoverable. If indicators are present, the Company performs a recoverability test by comparing the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows attributable to the asset group in question to its carrying amount. An impairment loss is recognized if it is determined that the long-lived asset group is not recoverable and is calculated based on the excess of the carrying amount of the long-lived asset group over the long-lived asset groups fair value. The Company estimates the fair value of long-lived assets using present value income approach. Future cash flow was calculated based on forecasts over the estimated remaining useful life of the asset group, which for each of the Company’s locations, is the remaining term of the operating lease. The Company estimates it weighted average cost of capital as the discount rate since it expects that this rate incorporates not only the time value of money but also the expectations regarding future cash flows and an appropriate risk premium.
The estimates used to calculate future cash flows are subjective in nature and involve uncertainties and matters of significant judgments and therefore cannot be determined with precision. Changes in assumptions could significantly affect the estimated fair value of each asset group. The Company will calculate the future cash flow using what it believes to be the most predictable of several scenarios. Typically, the changes in assumptions run under different business scenarios would not result in a material change in the assessment of the potential impairment or the impairment amount of a locations long-lived asset group. But if these estimates or related assumptions were to change materially, the Company may be required to record an impairment charge.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Intangible assets
Intangible assets include trade names, and technology, which were primarily acquired as part of the acquisition of XpresSpa in December 2016 and were recorded based on the estimated fair value in purchase price allocation. In addition, intangible assets include software and website development costs that were capitalized as part of the Company’s development of a mobile application and website for the treat brand. The Company accounts for these costs in accordance with ASC 350-40, Internal-Use Software. The intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives, which are periodically evaluated for reasonableness.
The Company’s intangible assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The fair value is than compared to the carrying value and an impairment charge is recognized by the amount in which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of the asset. In assessing the recoverability of the Company’s intangible assets, the Company must make estimates and assumptions regarding future cash flows and other factors to determine the fair value of the respective assets. These estimates and assumptions could have a significant impact on whether an impairment charge is recognized and also the magnitude of any such charge. Fair value estimates are made at a specific point in time, based on relevant information. During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company recognized impairment of $0 and $3,934.
Fair value measurements
The Company’s financial instruments consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, receivables, debt, equity investments, and derivative liabilities. The fair value of a financial instrument is the amount that would be received in an asset sale or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between unaffiliated market participants. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are categorized based on whether the inputs are observable in the market and the degree that the inputs are observable. The categorization of financial instruments within the valuation hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The hierarchy is prioritized into three levels (with Level 3 being the lowest) defined as follows:
Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the entity has the ability to access.
Level 2: Observable inputs other than prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated with observable market data.
Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets and liabilities. This includes certain pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, and similar techniques that use significant unobservable inputs.
There have been no changes in Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 and no changes in valuation techniques for these assets or liabilities for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
Investments in public companies are carried at fair value based on quoted market prices. Investments in equity securities of nonpublic entities without readily determinable fair values are carried at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer. The Company reviews its equity securities without readily determinable fair values on a regular basis to determine if the investment is impaired. For purposes of this assessment, the Company considers the investee’s cash position, earnings and revenue outlook, liquidity and management ownership, among other factors, in its review. If management’s assessment indicates that an impairment exists, the Company estimates the fair value of the equity investment and recognizes in current earnings an impairment loss that is equal to the difference between the fair value of the equity investment and its carrying amount. Equity investments are recorded in other assets on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Recently adopted accounting pronouncements
Please refer Note 2 to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Recently issued accounting pronouncements
Please refer Note 2 to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not required as we are a smaller reporting company.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Our consolidated financial statements required by this Item are set forth in Item 15 beginning on page of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our CEO and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer), as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Under the supervision of and with the participation of our CEO and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021. Our evaluation as of December 31, 2019 identified a material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which remained unmitigated as of December 31, 2021, as noted below in Report of Management on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Based on their evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2021 to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us 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 SEC’s rules and forms and to provide reasonable assurance that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our CEO and CFO, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.. Notwithstanding this conclusion, management believes that the consolidated financial statements in this Form 10-K fairly present in all material respects our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows in conformity with GAAP.
Report of Management on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer and effected by our Board of Directors, management, and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and includes those policies and procedures that:
•
pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets;
•
provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and
•
provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of our inherent limitations, our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. 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.
Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013 Framework).
Based on our evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021 due to a material weakness in our internal controls over our financial close and reporting process identified in 2019 and remaining unmitigated as of December 31, 2021. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis. As this deficiency created a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement would not be prevented or detected in a timely basis, management concluded that the control deficiency represented a material weakness and accordingly our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021. Management concluded that additional formal procedures should be implemented in the financial close and reporting process to ensure that appropriate and timely reviews occur on all financial reporting analysis.
Remediation Plan for Material Weakness in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We and our Board treat the controls surrounding, and the integrity of, our financial statements with the utmost priority. Management is committed to the planning and implementation of remediation efforts to address control deficiencies and any other identified areas of risk. These remediation efforts are intended to both address the identified material weakness and to enhance our overall financial control environment. In particular:
·
we will continue to strengthen our interim and annual financial review controls to function with a sufficient
level of precision to detect and correct errors on a timely basis.
·
we will continue to improve the timeliness of our closing processes with respect to interim and annual periods.
Following identification of this control deficiency, commenced remediation efforts by implementing modifications to better ensure that the Company has appropriate and timely reviews on all financial reporting analysis. The material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting will not be considered remediated until these modifications are implemented, in operation for a sufficient period of time, tested, and concluded by management to be designed and operating effectively. In addition, as we continue to evaluate and work to improve our internal control over financial reporting, management may determine to take additional measures to address control deficiencies or determine to modify our remediation plan. Management will test and evaluate the implementation of these modifications during 2022 to ascertain whether they are designed and operating effectively to provide reasonable assurance that they will prevent or detect a material misstatement in the Company’s financial statements.
The steps we took to address the deficiencies identified included:
•
we appointed a permanent Chief Financial Officer in December 2020.
•
we have engaged in efforts to restructure accounting processes and revise organizational structures to enhance accurate accounting and appropriate financial reporting.
•
we have engaged outside service providers to assist with the valuation and recording of key reporting areas such as leases and stock compensation expense.
•
we have implemented additional accounting software to aid in the accounting and financial reporting process.
•
we have contracted an independent consulting firm to assist with the preparation of the Financial Statements and U.S. GAAP accounting research.
•
in March 2021, we hired a seasoned Certified Public Accountant as a permanent Corporate Controller, who also has a Certified Information Systems Auditor accreditation.
We are committed to maintaining a strong internal control environment, and we believe the measures described above will strengthen our internal control over financial reporting and remediate the material weakness we have identified. Our remediation efforts have begun, and we will continue to devote significant time and attention to these remedial efforts. As we continue to evaluate and work to improve our internal control over financial reporting, management may determine to take additional measures to strengthen controls or to modify the remediation plan described above, which may require additional implementation time.
As noted above, we believe that, as a result of management’s in-depth review of its accounting processes, and the additional procedures management has implemented, there are no material inaccuracies or omissions of material fact in this Form 10-K and, to the best of our knowledge, we believe that the consolidated financial statements in this Form 10-K fairly present in all material respects our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows in conformity with GAAP.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Based on our evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021 due to a material weakness in our internal control over our financial close and reporting process, which was discovered in 2019, still remaining unmitigated. Management continues to conclude that as of December 31, 2021, we still did not have a sufficient complement of corporate personnel with appropriate levels of accounting and controls knowledge and experience commensurate with our financial reporting requirements to appropriately analyze, record and disclose accounting matters completely and accurately. As a result of this evaluation, we extensively used outside consultants who possessed the appropriate levels of accounting and controls knowledge to appropriately analyze, record and disclose accounting matters completely and accurately.
Other than as set forth in the foregoing paragraph, there have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2021 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
As previously reported, on January 21, 2022, the Company announced that it had appointed Scott R. Milford to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective as of January 19, 2022. The appointment of Mr. Milford followed the resignation of Douglas Satzman as the President and CEO of the Company for personal reasons effective as of the same date.
On March 28, 2022, the Company and Mr. Milford entered into an Executive Employment Agreement (the “Employment Agreement”) in connection with Mr. Milford’s service to the Company as its CEO. The terms of the Employment Agreement are effective as of January 19, 2022, the date of Mr. Milford’s assumption of the role of CEO.
The Employment agreement has a term of two years (the “Employment Period”) from the Effective Date. Following the Employment Period, Mr. Milford will continue to be employed by the Company as an “at will” employee.
Pursuant to the terms of the Employment Agreement, Mr. Milford will be entitled to receive an annual base salary of $425,000. The Employment agreement also provides that Mr. Milford will be eligible to participate in any annual bonus and other incentive compensation program that the Company may adopt from time to time for its executive officers. Under the Employment Agreement, Mr. Milford will be eligible to earn an annual bonus, the target amount of which will be up to one hundred percent (100%) of Base Salary, based upon the achievement of performance goals and metrics established by the Board at its sole discretion. Any bonus will be determined as soon as reasonably practicable after the Company’s annual financial statements are finalized and will be split 50/50 between cash and a grant of restricted stock units with respect to the Company’s common stock.
In the event the Employment Agreement is terminated for good reason by Mr. Milford, or by the Company without cause and Mr. Milford provides the Company with a release of claims, Mr. Milford shall be entitled to receive a cash severance
payment in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of his then current base salary and one year of COBRA continuation coverage.
In addition, the Employment Agreement contains non-solicitation and non-competition provisions that apply during the term of Mr. Milford's employment and for six months thereafter.
The foregoing description of the Employment Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Employment Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.48 and is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Information called for by this Item will be included in an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference in this Item 10.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Information called for by this Item will be included in an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference in this Item 11.

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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
Information called for by this Item will be included in an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference in this Item 12.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Information called for by this Item will be included in an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference in this Item 13.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
Information called for by this Item will be included in an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference in this Item 14.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a)(1) Consolidated Financial Statements. For the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, see “Index to the Financial Statements” on page.
(a)(2) Consolidated Financial Statement Schedules. All schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or because the required information is included in the financial statements or notes thereto.
(a)(3) Exhibits. The following exhibits are filed as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Exhibits Index
Exhibit
No.
Description
2.1
Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among FORM Holdings Corp., FHXMS, LLC, XpresSpa Holdings, LLC, the unitholders of XpresSpa who are parties thereto and Mistral XH Representative, LLC, as representative of the unitholders, dated as of August 8, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 8, 2016)
2.2
Amendment No. 1 to Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among FORM Holdings Corp., FHXMS, LLC, XpresSpa Holdings, LLC and Mistral XH Representative, LLC, as representative of the unitholders, dated September 8, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 9, 2016)
2.3
Amendment No. 2 to Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among FORM Holdings Corp., FHXMS, LLC, XpresSpa Holdings, LLC and Mistral XH Representative, LLC, as representative of the unitholders, dated October 25, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 25, 2016)
3.1
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 20, 2020)
3.2
Certificate of Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of XpresSpa Group, Inc., filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on June 10, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 10, 2020)
3.3
Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 1, 2019)
3.4
Amendment to Bylaws of XpresSpa Group, Inc. (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 6, 2021)
4.1
Section 382 Rights Agreement, dated as of March 18, 2016, between Vringo, Inc. and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, which includes the Form of Certificate of Designation of Series C Junior Participating Preferred Stock as Exhibit A, the Form of Right Certificate as Exhibit B and the Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Stock as Exhibit C (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 21, 2016)
Exhibit
No.
Description
4.2
Amendment to Section 382 Rights Agreement, dated March 18, 2019, between the Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 22, 2019)
4.3
Form of Warrant to Purchase Shares of Common Stock of FORM Holdings Corp. (incorporated by reference from Annex F to our Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed with the SEC on October 26, 2016)
4.4
Form of Secured Convertible Note (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 15, 2018)
4.5
Amendment to Secured Convertible Note (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 27, 2019)
4.6
Second Amended and Restated Convertible Promissory Note, dated as of July 8, 2019 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 8, 2019)
4.7
Third Amended and Restated Convertible Promissory Note, dated as of January 9, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 14, 2020)
4.8
Fourth Amended and Restated Convertible Promissory Note, dated as of March 6, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 6, 2020)
4.9
Unsecured Convertible Note due May 31, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 8, 2019)
4.10
Warrant to Purchase Common Stock in favor of Calm.com, Inc., dated as of July 8, 2019 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 8, 2019)
4.11
Form of Pre-Funded Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated March 19, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 19, 2020)
4.12
Form of Pre-Funded Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated March 25, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 25, 2020)
4.13
Form of Pre-Funded Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated March 27, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 27, 2020)
4.14
Form of Pre-Funded Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated April 6, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 7, 2020)
4.15
Description of the Registrant’s Securities (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.22 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 20, 2020)
4.16
Amended and Restated Calm Note, dated as of April 17, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 17, 2020).
4.17
Amended and Restated Calm Note, dated as of April 22, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 24, 2020)
4.18
Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated June 17, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 17, 2020)
Exhibit
No.
Description
4.19
Form of Placement Agent Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated June 17, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 17, 2020)
4.20
Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated August 25, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 28, 2020)
4.21
Form of Pre-Funded Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated August 25, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 28, 2020)
4.22
Form of Placement Agent Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated August 25, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 28, 2020)
4.23
Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated December 17, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 21, 2020)
4.24
Form of Placement Agent Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated December 17, 2020 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 21, 2020)
10.1†
Vringo, Inc. 2012 Employee, Director and Consultant Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference from Appendix C of our Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A (DEF 14A) filed with the SEC on September 25, 2015)
10.2†
Form of Management Option Agreement (incorporated by reference from our Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on March 29, 2010).
10.3†
Form of Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference from our Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed on July 26, 2012)
10.4†
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (incorporated by reference from our Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed on July 26, 2012)
10.5
Form of Indemnification Agreement, dated January 31, 2013, by and between Vringo, Inc. and each of its Directors and Executive Officer (incorporated by reference from our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2012 filed on March 21, 2013)
10.6†
FORM Holdings Corp. 2012 Employee, Director and Consultant Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 28, 2016)
10.19
Form of Registration Rights Agreement, dated May 15, 2018, by and among the Company and the Investors (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.9 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 15, 2018).
10.20
Amendment to Securities Purchase Agreement and Class A Warrants and Class B Warrants, dated as of July 8, 2019, by and between the Company and the purchasers party thereto (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.5 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 8, 2019)
10.21
Product Sale and Marketing Agreement, dated November 12, 2018, by and between the Company and Calm.com, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.28 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 1, 2019)
Exhibit
No.
Description
10.22
Amendment to Amended and Restated Product Sale and Marketing, dated as of October 30, 2019, by and between the Company and Calm.com, Inc. (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.8 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 14, 2019)
10.25
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of July 8, 2019, by and between the Company and Calm.com, Inc. (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 8, 2019)
10.26
Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of July 8, 2019, by and between the Company and Calm.com, Inc. (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 8, 2019)
10.27
Amendment No. 3 to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 1, 2019, by and between the Company, XpresSpa Holdings, LLC, and Mistral XH Representative, LLC, as representative of the unitholders of the Company (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 3, 2019)
10.29
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 19, 2020, by and between the Company and the purchasers party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 19, 2020)
10.30
Form of Exchange Agreement, dated as of March 19, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 19, 2020)
10.31
Voting Agreement, dated as of March 19, 2020, by and between the Company and Mistral Spa Holdings LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 19, 2020)
10.32
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 25, 2020, by and between the Company and the purchasers party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 25, 2020)
10.33
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 27, 2020, by and between the Company and the purchasers party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 27, 2020)
10.34
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of April 6, 2020, by and between the Company and the purchasers party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 7, 2020)
10.35†
Stock Option Grant under the XpresSpa Group Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.35 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021)
10.36†
Notice of Restricted Stock Unit Award under the XpresSpa Group Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.36 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021)
10.37†
Offer Letter, dated November 27, 2020, between the Company and James A. Berry (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.37 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021)
Exhibit
No.
Description
10.38
U.S. Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program Note (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 7, 2020)
10.39
Form of Exchange Agreement, dated June 4, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 4, 2020)
10.40
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of June 17, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 17, 2020)
10.41
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of August 25, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 28, 2020)
10.42†
XpresTest, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 28, 2020)
10.43†
XpresSpa Group, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 30, 2020)
10.44
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of December 17, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 21, 2020)
10.45†
Form of XpresTest, Inc. Restricted Stock Award Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.45 to the Company’s Amendment No. 1 to Annual Report on Form 10-K/A filed with the SEC on April 30, 2021)
10.46†
Separation Agreement and Release dated as of January 21, 2022, between the Company and Doug Satzman (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 26, 2012)
10.48†*
Executive Employment Agreement dated March 28, 2022, between the Company and Scott Milford.
21*
Subsidiaries of XpresSpa Group, Inc.
23.1*
Consent of Friedman LLP, independent registered public accounting firm
31.1*
Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Exchange Act, Rules 13a - 14(a) and 15d - 14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2*
Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Exchange Act, Rules 13a - 14(a) and 15d - 14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32*
Certifications of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101.INS
Inline XBRL Instance Document.
101.SCH
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
Exhibit
No.
Description
101.LAB
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL documents)
* Filed herewith.
** Furnished herewith.
† Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
†† Certain portions have been omitted pursuant to a confidential treatment request. Omitted information has been filed separately with the SEC.