EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1424929
Filing Year: 2024
Filename: 1424929_10-K_2024_0001424929-24-000006.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Our company, Fox Factory Holding Corp., is a global leader in the design, engineering, manufacturing and marketing of premium products and systems that deliver championship-level performance for customers worldwide. Fox Factory Holding Corp. is the holding company of Fox Factory, Inc. As used herein, “Fox Factory,” “FOX,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” and similar terms refer to Fox Factory Holding Corp. and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise. Our premium brand, performance-defining products and systems are used primarily on bicycles (“bikes”), side-by-side vehicles (“side-by-sides”), on-road vehicles with and without off-road capabilities, off-road vehicles and trucks, all-terrain vehicles (“ATVs”), snowmobiles, and specialty vehicles and applications. In addition, we also offer premium baseball and softball gear and equipment. Some of our products are specifically designed and marketed to some of the leading cycling and powered vehicle original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”). while others are distributed to consumers through a global network of dealers and distributors and through direct-to-consumer channels.
Fox Factory, Inc., our operating subsidiary, was incorporated in California in 1978. Fox Factory Holding Corp. was incorporated in Delaware on December 28, 2007. In October 2018, we announced the relocation of our business headquarters from Scotts Valley, California to Braselton, Georgia, which was effective on December 31, 2018. In June 2021, we established a principal executive office in Duluth, Georgia.
In August 2013, we completed an initial public offering (“IPO”) of our common stock. Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (the “NASDAQ”) under the symbol “FOXF.”
Description of our business
We are a designer, manufacturer and marketer of performance-defining products and systems used primarily on bikes, off-road vehicles and trucks, side-by-sides, on-road vehicles with and without off-road capabilities, ATVs, snowmobiles, and specialty vehicles and applications, and premium baseball and softball gear and equipment. We believe our products offer innovative design, performance, durability and reliability. Our brand is associated with high-performance and technologically advanced products, by which we generally mean products that provide users with improved control and comfort while riding over rough terrain in varied environments or providing improved control and responsiveness for on-road only vehicles or out on a ball field . We believe that the performance of our products has been demonstrated by, and our brand benefits from, the success of professional athletes who use our products in elite competitive events, such as the Olympic Games, the Union Cycliste Internationale Mountain Bike World Cup, the X Games, the Baja 1000, and professional baseball. We believe the exposure our products receive when used by successful professional athletes positively influences the purchasing habits of enthusiasts and other consumers seeking high-performance products. We believe that our strategic focus on the performance and racing segments in our markets influences many aspiring and enthusiast consumers who we believe seek to emulate the performance of professional and other elite athletes. We believe our products are generally sold at premium prices, which to us means manufacturer suggested retail sale prices that are generally in the upper quartile of their respective product categories.
We design our products for, and market our products to, some of the world’s leading cycling and automotive OEMs and to consumers through the aftermarket channel. Many of our OEM customers, including Specialized, Trek Bicycles, Giant, Orbea, Canyon Bicycles, Santa Cruz Bicycles, and Yeti Cycles in Specialty Sports and BRP, Ford, Polaris, Toyota, 4 Wheel Parts, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Honda in Powered Vehicles and Aftermarket Applications, are among the market leaders in their respective product categories, and help shape, as well as respond to, consumer trends in their respective categories. We believe that OEMs often prominently display and incorporate our products to improve the marketability and consumer demand for their performance models, which reinforces our brand image. In addition, consumers select our products in the aftermarket channel where we market through a global network of dealers and distributors.
Industry
We participate in large global markets for bikes, powered vehicles, and baseball equipment used by recreational and professional consumers. Today, our products for bicycles are primarily for mountain bikes, e-bikes and gravel bikes. Our products for powered vehicles are used primarily on off-road vehicles and trucks, on-road vehicles with and without off-road capabilities, side-by-sides, ATVs, snowmobiles, specialty vehicles and applications, including military, motorcycles, and commercial trucks.
We focus on premium-priced products within each of these categories, which we consider to be the high-end segment because of their higher retail sale prices, where we believe consumers prefer well-designed, performance-oriented equipment. We believe that performance-defining products, which include suspension systems, as well as wheels, cranks, and other components, are critical to the performance of the bikes and powered vehicles in the product categories in which we focus and that technical features, component performance, product design, durability, reliability, and brand recognition strongly influence consumer-purchasing decisions.
We believe the high-end segments in which we participate are well positioned for growth due to several factors, including:
•increasing consumer appetite for performance-defining products;
•increasing average retail sales prices, which we believe are driven by differentiated and feature-rich products with advanced technologies;
•continuing product cycle innovation, which we observed often motivates consumers to upgrade and purchase new products for enhanced performance; and
•increasing sales opportunities for high-end bikes, powered vehicles, and premium baseball equipment in international markets.
As vehicles in our end-markets evolve and grow more capable, performance-defining products and systems have become, and we believe will continue to be, increasingly more important for improved performance and control. Additionally, we believe there are opportunities to continue to leverage our technical know-how of suspension products to provide solutions beyond our current applications and end-markets.
Our competitive strengths
Broad offering of performance-defining products across multiple consumer markets
Our performance-defining products enhance vehicle performance across multiple consumer markets. Through the use of adjustable suspension, position sensitive damping, multiple air spring technologies, lightweight and rigid materials, and other technologies and methods, our products improve the performance and control of the vehicles used by our consumers. We believe our reputation for performance-defining products is reinforced by the successful finishes in world class competitive events by athletes incorporating our products in their vehicles, gear and equipment.
Premium brand with strong consumer loyalty
We believe that we developed a reputation for performance-defining products and that we own and license established trademarks, such as FOX®, FOX RACING SHOX®, BLACK WIDOW®, ROCKY RIDGE®, RACE FACE®, MARZOCCHI®, MARUCCI®, VICTUS®, BAUM BAT®, LIZARD SKINS®, and BASEBALL PERFORMANCE LAB®, which are perceived as premium brands. As such, our performance-defining products are generally sold at premium prices. We take great effort to maintain our brands in the eyes of consumers. For instance, our FOX® logo is prominently displayed on our FOX® branded products used on bikes and powered vehicles sold by our OEM customers, which helps further reinforce our brand image. We believe that our brands achieved strong loyalty from our consumers. To support our brands, we introduce new products that we believe feature innovative technologies designed to improve vehicle performance and enhance our brand loyalty with consumers.
Track record of innovation and new product introductions
Innovation, including new product development, is a key component of our growth strategy. Due to our experience in suspension engineering and design in multiple markets and with a variety of vehicles, solutions we develop for use in one market can ultimately be deployed across multiple markets. For example, we believe our success in the high-end ATV category led to the widespread adoption of our suspension technology in the side-by-sides market. Our innovative product development and speed to market are supported by:
•our racing culture, including on-site technical race support of professional athletes, which provides us with unique real-time insights as to the evolving performance-defining product needs of those participating in challenging world-class events and is an integral part of our research and development efforts;
•ongoing research and development through a team of full-time engineers and numerous other technicians and employees who spend at least part of their time testing and using our products and helping develop engineering-based solutions to enhance our product offerings;
•feedback from professional athletes, race teams, enthusiasts and other consumers who use our products;
•strategic and collaborative relationships with OEM customers, which furthers our ability to extend technologies and applications across end-markets; and
•our integrated manufacturing facilities and performance testing centers, which allow us to quickly move from concept to product.
Over the past several years, we have developed multiple new products, such as:
•Semi-active Dual Live Valve shocks with compression and rebound control, for ultimate confidence and control, which such technology is currently being used in UTVs and the top tier of off-road performance trucks;
•Live Valve, our proprietary semi-active, electronic suspension that processes data from multiple vehicle sensors to adjust the suspension virtually instantaneously to the demands of changing terrain, which such technology is currently in use UTVs, trucks, and mountain bikes;
•The next generation of Live Valve combined with a 3.1-inch diameter anodized aluminum shock body, specifically designed to withstand the higher internal pressures created by the new valve’s wider dynamic range, which such technology has been adopted at the top tier of trucks in the U.S.;
•Electronically adjustable rear suspension pre-load allowing a user to easily compensate for the additional weight and bring a vehicle back to optimal ride height, which such technology is currently in use on select motorcycles to adapt to added passenger and luggage weight without using tools;
•Ridetech RidePro E5 Air Suspension Control System, improving comfort and performance to your vehicle, which such technology is currently being used in many classic muscle car and truck applications;
•Ridetech 62-67 Nova Suspension System (Coil-Over & Air), complete suspension upgrades with either coil or air sprung adjustable shocks that bring modern performance to vintage and classic muscle cars;
•Market leading 3-4” Bronco suspension lift products that are custom designed to each model configuration and that range from load spacers and coil-overs, to remote adjustable shocks for increased off-road performance, comfort and control;
•32, 34 and 36 Factory Series FLOAT FIT4, which reduces overall fork weight, provides external adjustability with our fourth-generation FOX Isolated Technology (“IT”) closed-cartridge damper, and includes the self-adjusting negative chamber air spring for quieter operation and ease of adjustment, which such technology is used widely across all brands of mountain bikes or as aftermarket upgrades to replace lower performing suspension;
•The GRIP2 fork damper, which is our next-evolution sealed cartridge FIT system, our highest performing gravity-focused damper. GRIP2 shares its roots with the original GRIP architecture, but has been enhanced with all-new technology: four-way adjustability, VVC high-speed rebound circuit, high-performance mid-valve, and overall friction-reducing treatments, which such technology is used widely across all brands of mountain bikes or as aftermarket upgrades to replace lower performing suspension;
•Rhythm series fork products developed to address a lower price point offering without compromising proven FOX performance;
•FOX AWL suspension fork for the growing electronic sports utility vehicle (“eSUV”) commuter and e-mobility segment combining the confidence and stability of off-road capable suspension with the convenience of direct mount compatibility with full wrap fenders, lights, and anti-lock braking system, which such technology is found on a wide range of electric bikes;
•Race Face Vault Hub, a 120-point high-engagement mountain bike hubset featuring tool-free end caps that simplify conversion among all major axle standards and is approved for e-bike applications, which such technology is found in select Race Face mountain bike wheels and as standalone hubs; and
•Easton EC90 SL Crankset, a versatile and ultralight gravel road bike crankset that allows quick conversion between 1x and 2x chainring configurations.
Strategic brand for OEMs, dealers and distributors, and retailers
Through our strategic relationships, we are often sought out by our OEM customers and work closely with them to develop and design new products and product enhancements. We believe our collaborative approach and product development processes strengthen our relationships with our OEM customers. We believe consumers value our branded products when selecting performance bikes and powered vehicles, and as a result, OEMs purchase and incorporate our products in their bikes and powered vehicles in order to increase the sales of their premium-priced products. In addition, we believe the inclusion of our products on high-end bikes and powered vehicles reinforces our premium brand image which helps to drive our sales in the aftermarket channel where dealers and distributors sell our products to consumers.
Experienced management team
We have an experienced senior management team led by Michael C. Dennison, our Chief Executive Officer. Many members of our management team and many of our employees are avid users of our products, which further extends their knowledge of, and expertise in, our products and end-markets. We are able to attract and retain highly trained and specialized employees who enhance our Company culture and serve as strong brand advocates.
Our strategy
Our goal is to expand our leadership position as a designer, manufacturer and marketer of performance-defining products designed to enhance ride dynamics and performance. We intend to focus on the following key strategies in pursuit of this goal:
Continue to develop new and innovative products in current end-markets
We intend to continue to develop and introduce new and innovative products in our current end-markets to improve ride dynamics and performance for our consumers. For example, our patented position-sensitive damping systems provide terrain optimized ride characteristics across many of our product lines. We believe that performance and control are important to our consumer base, and that our frequent introduction of products with innovative and improved technologies increases both OEM and aftermarket demand as consumers seek out products for their vehicles that can deliver these characteristics. We also believe evolving market trends, such as changing bike wheel and tire sizes and increasing adoption rates of off-road capable, on-road trucks should increase demand for vehicles in our end-markets, which, in turn, should increase demand for our suspension products.
Leverage technology and brand to expand into new categories and end-markets
We believe innovation is the foundation of our company. As we continue to leverage the latest technology to develop a diverse portfolio of performance-defining products, our Powered Vehicle Group facility extends our ability to not only scale to newer levels but also do it efficiently. We have great relations with our OEM and aftermarket partners and given our key distinct strengths, we believe we have and will continue to win more applications. Leveraging our technology and scale, we successfully expanded into recreational vehicles and street car applications, and we believe there are opportunities to further penetrate these markets and grow with more pioneering product applications. Additionally, to grow our end user base, we are now looking at ways to explore international opportunities with some of our applications.
Opportunistically expand our business platform through acquisitions
Over the past several years, we completed acquisitions that we believe enhance our business and strategically expand our product offerings. In March 2020, we acquired substantially all the issued and outstanding capital stock of SCA Performance Holdings, Inc. (“SCA”), a leading OEM authorized specialty vehicle manufacturer for light duty trucks and sport utility vehicles. In May 2021, through our wholly owned subsidiary, SCA, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding stock of Manifest Joy LLC (“Outside Van”), a custom van conversion company that designs and custom engineers recreational vehicles. In December 2021, through our wholly owned subsidiary, Shock Therapy Suspension, Inc., we acquired substantially all the assets of Shock Therapy LLC (“Shock Therapy”), a premier suspension tuning company in the off-road industry. In March 2023, we purchased all of the outstanding equity of CWH Blocker Corp., (“Blocker”), and thereafter, though Blocker, acquired all of the outstanding equity interest of CWH Holdco, LLC, the parent company of Custom Wheel House, LLC (“Custom Wheel House”). Custom Wheel House is a designer, marketer, and distributor of high-performance wheels, performance off-road tires, and accessories, including the premier flagship brand Method Race Wheels. In November 2023, through our wholly owned subsidiary, Marucci Merger Sub, Inc., we acquired substantially all the issued and outstanding capital stock of Wheelhouse Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Marucci Sports, LLC (“Marucci”), a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly engineered premium wood, aluminum and composite baseball bats as well as other diamond sports products. The Company expects these acquisitions to expand its North American geographic manufacturing footprint and broaden its product offerings in the automotive and sport industries. We believe there is opportunity to expand our total available market by broadening our acquisition focus to include a more diverse range of performance products that add to or improve our customers’ enjoyment of their activities of choice. We also believe that our passionate customer base has a desire for other types of performance products beyond those that attach to a vehicle or bike.
Increase our aftermarket penetration
We currently have a broad aftermarket distribution network of thousands of retail dealers and distributors worldwide. We intend to further penetrate the aftermarket channel by selectively adding dealers and distributors in certain geographic markets, increasing our internal sales force and strategically expanding aftermarket-specific products and services to existing vehicle platforms.
Accelerate international growth
We believe international expansion represents a significant opportunity for us and we have, and intend to continue to, selectively increase infrastructure investments and focus on identified geographic regions. We believe that rising consumer discretionary income in a number of developing markets and increasing consumer preferences for premium performance bikes and powered vehicles should contribute to increasing demand for our products. In addition, we believe increasing international viewership of racing and extreme sports and other outdoor events, such as the Union Cycliste Internationale Mountain Bike World Cup and X Games, is contributing to the growth of international participation in activities in which our products are used. We intend to leverage the recognition of our brands to capitalize on these trends by globally increasing our sales to both OEMs and dealers and distributors, particularly in markets where we perceive significant opportunities.
Improve operating and supply chain efficiencies
In the fourth quarter of 2021, we completed the construction of an approximately 336,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Hall County, Georgia (the “Gainesville Facility”) to diversify our manufacturing platform and provide additional long-term capacity to support growth in our Powered Vehicles Group. The Gainesville Facility is used for manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and office space. Additionally, we completed the transition of our Watsonville, California facility (the “Watsonville Facility”) and the relocation of our powered vehicles suspension manufacturing to the Gainesville Facility in the first quarter of 2022.
Seasonality
Certain portions of our business are seasonal; we believe this seasonality is due to the delivery of new products. As we diversified our product offerings and our product launch cycles, seasonal fluctuations are becoming less material.
Competition
The markets for performance-defining products are highly competitive. We compete with other companies that produce products for sale to OEMs, dealers and distributors, and retailers as well as with OEMs that produce their own line of products for their own use. Some of our competitors may have greater financial, research and development or marketing resources than we do. Competition in the high-end segment of the performance-defining market revolves around technical features, performance, product design, innovation, reliability and durability, brand, time to market, customer service and reliable order execution. While the pricing of competing products is always a factor, we believe the performance of our products helps justify our premium pricing. Within our markets, we compete with several large companies and numerous small companies that provide branded and unbranded products across many of our product lines. These competitors can be divided into the following categories:
Powered Vehicles
Within the market for off-road and specialty vehicle suspension components, we compete with ThyssenKrupp Bilstein Suspension GmbH (commonly known as “Bilstein”), King Shock Technology, Inc. (commonly known as “King Shocks”), Icon Vehicle Dynamics, Sway-A-Way, Pro Comp USA Suspension, and Rancho (“Tenneco”).
Within the market for powered vehicle suspension components, we compete with several companies in different submarkets. In the ATV and side-by-sides markets, outside of vertically-integrated OEMs, we compete with ZF Sachs (ZF Friedrichshafen AG), and Walker Evans Racing for OEM business and Elka Suspension Inc., Öhlins Racing AB, Works Performance Products, and Penske Racing Shocks / Custom Axis, Inc. for aftermarket business. In the snowmobile market, we compete with KYB (Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd.), Öhlins Racing AB (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tenneco), Walker Evans Racing, Works Performance Products, Inc., and Penske Racing Shocks / Custom Axis, Inc.
Aftermarket Applications
In the market for suspension systems, or lift kits, we compete with TransAmerican Wholesale/Pro Comp USA, Rough Country Suspension Systems, TeraFlex, Falcon, ReadyLIFT Suspension, Tuff Country EZ-Ride Suspension, and Rusty’s Off-Road. In the market for upfitted vehicles, we compete with Roush Performance and DSI Custom Vehicles.
Specialty Sports
Within the market for bike suspension components, we compete with several companies that manufacture front and rear suspension products, including RockShox (a subsidiary of SRAM Corp.), X-Fusion Shox (a wholly owned subsidiary of A-Pro), Manitou (a subsidiary of HB Performance Systems), SR Suntour, DT Swiss (a subsidiary of Vereinigte Drahtwerke AG), Cane Creek Cycling, DVO Suspension, Bos-Mountain Bike Suspensions, and Öhlins Racing AB. In the market for other bike components, we compete with SRAM, Truvativ and Zipp (all subsidiaries of SRAM Corp.), DT Swiss (a subsidiary of Vereinigte Drahtwerke AG), Mavic (a subsidiary of Bourrelier), and Shimano.
Within the market for baseball and softball gear and equipment, we compete with offerings from multiple large baseball equipment manufacturers, including Easton (under the Easton and Rawlings brands) and Wilson Sporting Goods Company (under the Wilson, DeMarini, Louisville Slugger, and Evoshield brands), and numerous smaller wood bat specific brands including Old Hickory, Chandler Bats, Tucci, Dove Tail, Sam Bat, and D-Bat.
Our products
We design and manufacture performance-defining products, of which a significant portion is suspension products. These suspension products dissipate the energy and force generated by bikes and powered vehicles while they are in motion. Suspension products allow wheels or skis (in the case of snowmobiles) to move up and down to absorb bumps and shocks while maintaining contact with the ground for better control. Our products use adjustable suspension, position-sensitive damping, electronically controllable damping, multiple air spring technologies, low weight and structural rigidity, all of which improve user control for greater performance. We also offer premium baseball and softball gear and equipment.
We use high-grade materials in our products and developed a number of sophisticated assembly processes to maintain quality across all product lines. Our suspension products are assembled according to precise specifications throughout the assembly process to create consistently high-performance levels and customer satisfaction.
Powered Vehicles
In our powered vehicle product categories, we offer premium products under the FOX brand for off-road vehicles and trucks, side-by-sides, on-road vehicles with and without off-road capabilities, ATVs, snowmobiles, specialty vehicles and applications, motorcycles, and commercial trucks. In each of the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, approximately 36%, 27% and 28%, respectively, of our net sales were attributable to net sales of powered vehicles related products.
Products for these vehicles are designed for use on roads, trail riding, racing, and to help maximize performance and comfort. Our products have also been used on limited quantities of off-road military vehicles and other small-scale select military applications. Our aftermarket truck suspension component products in the powered vehicles category range from two-inch bolt-on shocks to our patented position sensitive internal bypass shocks. In addition, we manufacture suspension systems that enhance the handling and ride quality of muscle cars, trucks, sports cars and hot rods.
Aftermarket Applications
Our range of aftermarket applications products includes premium products under the BDS Suspension, Zone Offroad, JKS Manufacturing, RT Pro UTV, 4x4 Posi-Lok, Ridetech, Tuscany, Outside Van, SCA, and Custom Wheel House brands designed for off-road vehicles and trucks, side-by-sides, on-road vehicles with or without off-road capabilities, specialty vehicles and applications, and commercial trucks. In each of the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, approximately 38%, 31% and 28%, respectively, of our net sales were attributable to net sales of aftermarket applications related products.
We also offer lift kits and components with our shock products and aftermarket accessory packages for use in trucks. With the recent acquisitions of Shock Therapy in December 2021 and Custom Wheel House in 2023, we added suspension tuning services and high-performance wheels, off-road tires and accessories to the portfolio. Our upfitting category leverages our strong partnerships with Ford, General Motors, Jeep, Nissan and RAM, enabling us to obtain truck, van and sports utility vehicle (“SUV”) chassis directly from the manufacturers’ facilities. We seek to improve each vehicle’s capability with high quality, proprietary components and products, such as lift kits, shock products, superchargers, interior accessories, wheels, tires, lighting, and body enhancements, while still maintaining the factory warranty and safety standards that our customers expect. Our upfitting category includes brands such as Black Widow, Rocky Ridge, Badlander, Black Ops, Harley-Davidson and Shelby American.
Specialty Sports
Our bike product offerings are used on a wide range of performance mountain bikes, e-bikes and gravel bikes under the FOX, Race Face, Easton Cycling and Marzocchi brands. In each of the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, approximately 27%, 42% and 45%, respectively, of our net sales were attributable to net sales of bike-related products. Primarily for the mountain bike market, we offer mid-end and high-end front fork and rear suspension products designed for cross-country, trail, all-mountain, free-ride and downhill riding. Our mountain bike suspension products are sold in five series and under the Marzocchi brand: (i) our Marzocchi BOMBER series, designed for a rider who values ease of use over adjustability; (ii) our FOX Rhythm series, designed to provide FOX performance at the entry price point of the high-end mountain bikes segment; (iii) our FOX Performance series, designed for demanding enthusiasts; (iv) our FOX Performance Elite series, designed for experienced and expert riders; and (v) our FOX Factory series, designed for maximum performance at a professional level.
We also offer mountain and gravel bike wheels and other performance-defining cycling components under the Race Face and Easton Cycling brands including cranks, chainrings, pedals, bars, stems, and seat posts.
We offer six categories of baseball and softball products under the Marucci brands: (i) metal bats, (ii) wood bats, (iii) apparel & accessories, (iv) batting gloves, (v) fielding gloves, and (vi) bags & protective equipment. Our product strategy encompasses producing high quality products recognized by consumers for their performance, craftsmanship, and value, and building on a rich history to introduce innovative new products.
Research and development
Research and development are at the core of our product innovation and market leadership strategy. We have a growing team of engineers and technicians focused on designing innovative products and developing engineering-based solutions to enhance our product offerings. In addition, a large number of our other employees, many of whom use our products in their recreational activities, contribute to our research and development and product innovation initiatives. Their involvement in the development of new products ranges from participating in initial brainstorming sessions to test riding products in development. Product development also includes collaborating with OEM customers across end-markets, field testing by professional athletes and sponsored race teams and working with enthusiasts and other users of our products. This feedback helps us to develop innovative products that meet our demanding standards as well as the evolving needs of professional and recreational end users and to quickly commercialize these products.
Our research and development activities are supported by state-of-the-art engineering software design tools, integrated manufacturing facilities and a performance-testing center equipped to enhance product safety, durability and performance. Our testing center collects data and tests products prior to and after commercial introduction. Suspension products undergo a variety of rigorous performance and accelerated life tests before they are introduced into the market. Baseball and softball products are also subject to rigorous product validation on the field and in the Marucci performance lab where Big League and amateur players test and provide feedback before product rollout and distribution. Research and development expenses totaled approximately $53.2 million, $56.2 million and $46.6 million in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is an important aspect of our business. We rely upon a combination of patents, trademarks, trade names, licensing arrangements, trade secrets, know-how and proprietary technology and we secure and protect our intellectual property rights.
Our intellectual property counsel diligently protects our new technologies with patents and trademarks and defends against patent infringement allegations. We patent our proprietary technologies related to vehicle suspension and other products in the U.S. and various foreign patent offices. Our principal intellectual property also includes our registered trademarks in the U.S. and a number of international jurisdictions, including the marks FOX®, FOX RACING SHOX® and REDEFINE YOUR LIMITS®. Although our intellectual property is important to our business operations and constitutes a valuable asset in the aggregate, we do not believe that any single patent, trademark or trade secret is critical to the success of our business as a whole. We cannot be certain that our patent applications will be issued or that any issued patents will provide us with any competitive advantages or will not be challenged by third parties.
In addition to the foregoing protections, we generally control access to and use of our proprietary and other confidential information using internal and external controls, including contractual protections with employees, OEMs, distributors and others.
Customers
Our OEM customers include market leaders in their respective categories, and they help define, as well as respond to, consumer trends in their respective industries. These OEM customers include our products on a number of their performance models. We believe OEMs often use our products to improve the marketability and demand of their own products, which, in turn, strengthens our brand image. In addition, consumers select our performance-defining products in the aftermarket channel, where we market through a global network of dealers and distributors. We currently sell to approximately 100 OEMs and distribute our products to more than 5,000 retail dealers and distributors worldwide. In 2023, 50% of our net sales resulted from net sales to OEM customers and 50% resulted from net sales to dealers and distributors for resale in the aftermarket channel. No material portion of our business is subject to renegotiation of profits or termination of contracts or subcontracts at the election of the U.S. government.
Net sales attributable to our 10 largest OEM customers, which can vary from year-to-year, collectively accounted for approximately 35% of our net sales in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021. In 2023, our sales to Ford, a powered vehicles OEM, accounted for approximately 13% of total net sales. In 2022 and 2021, no single customer represented 10% or more of our sales.
Although we refer to the branded bike OEMs that use our products throughout this document as “our customers,” “our OEM customers” or “our bike OEM customers,” branded bike OEMs often use contract manufacturers to manufacture and assemble their bikes. As a result, even though we typically negotiate price and volume requirements directly with our bike OEM customers, the contract manufacturer may place the purchase order and therefore assumes the payment responsibilities.
Our North American net sales totaled $1,127.6 million, $1,009.2 million, and $811.3 million, or 77%, 63% and 62%, of our total net sales in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our international net sales totaled $336.6 million, $593.3 million and $487.8 million or 23%, 37% and 38% of our total net sales in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Net sales attributable to countries outside the U.S. are based on shipment location. Our international net sales, however, do not necessarily reflect the location of the end users of our products, as many of our products are incorporated into bikes and powered vehicles that are assembled at international locations and then shipped back to the U.S. Additional information about our product revenues and certain geographical information is available in Note 2. Revenues of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Powered Vehicles
We sell our powered vehicle suspension products to OEMs, including BRP, Ford, Polaris, Toyota, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Honda. We also are continually nurturing and developing relationships with our existing and new OEMs, as the powered vehicles market continues to grow. After incorporating our products on their powered vehicles, OEMs typically sell their powered vehicles to independent dealers, which then sell directly to consumers.
Aftermarket Applications
In the aftermarket, we typically sell suspension products to dealers and distributors, both domestically and internationally. Our dealers sell directly to consumers. When we sell to our distributors, they sell to independent dealers, which then sell directly to consumers. In our upfitting product category, we sell to a broad network of automotive dealerships.
Specialty Sports
We sell our bike suspension and components products to a broad network of domestic and international bike OEMs, including Specialized, Trek Bicycles, Giant, Orbea, Canyon Bicycles, Santa Cruz Bicycles, and Yeti Cycles. We have long-standing relationships with many of the top bike OEMs. After incorporating our products on their bikes, OEMs typically sell their bikes to independent dealers, which then sell directly to consumers.
In the aftermarket, we typically sell to North American dealers and through distributors internationally. Our dealers sell directly to aftermarket consumers. Our overseas distributors sell to independent dealers, which then sell directly to consumers.
We sell our baseball and softball gear and equipment products through several channels including Big Box Retailers; Direct-to-Consumer, Direct-to-Team, the company's experiential Clubhouse retail stores and other Owned Channels; and third-party e-commerce and resellers.
Sales and marketing
We employ specialized and dedicated sales professionals. Each sales professional is fully responsible for servicing either OEM or aftermarket customers within our product categories, which ensures that our customers are in contact with capable and knowledgeable sales professionals to address their specific needs. We strongly believe that providing a high level of service to our end customers is essential to maintaining our reputational excellence in the marketplace. Our sales professionals receive training on the brands’ latest products and technologies and attend trade shows and events to increase their market knowledge.
Our marketing strategy focuses on strengthening and promoting our brands in the marketplace. We strategically focus our marketing efforts on enthusiasts seeking high-end, performance-defining products and systems through promotions at destination riding locations and individual and team sponsorships. We believe the performance of our products has been demonstrated by, and our brands benefit from, the success of professional athletes who use our products in elite competitive events such as the Olympic Games, the Union Cycliste Internationale Mountain Bike World Cup, the X Games and the Baja 1000. We also believe these successes positively influence the purchasing habits of enthusiasts and other consumers seeking performance-defining products.
We believe that our strategic focus on the performance and racing segments in our markets, including our sponsorships of a number of professional athletes and race teams, influences many aspiring and enthusiast consumers and enables our products to be sold at premium price points. In order to continue to enhance our brand image, we will need to maintain our position in the suspension products industry and to continue to provide high-quality products and services.
We have also been able to develop long-term strategic relationships with leading OEMs. Our reputation for performance-defining products plays a critical role in our aftermarket sales to consumers.
In addition to our websites and traditional marketing channels, such as print advertising and tradeshows, we maintain an active social media presence, including an Instagram feed, Facebook page, YouTube channel, Vimeo channel and Twitter feed to increase brand awareness, foster loyalty and build a community of users. As strategies and marketing plans are developed for our products, our internal marketing and communications group works to ensure brand cohesion and consistency.
Manufacturing and backlog
We manufacture and complete final assembly on most of our products. By controlling the manufacturing process of our products, we can maintain our strict quality standards, customize our machines and processes for the specific requirements of our products, and quickly respond to feedback we receive on our products in development and otherwise. Furthermore, manufacturing our own products enables us to adjust our labor and production inputs to meet seasonal demands and the customized requirements of some of our customers.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, we completed the construction of our Gainesville Facility to diversify our manufacturing platform and provide additional long-term capacity to support growth in our Powered Vehicles Group. As a result of the completion of our Gainesville Facility, we were able to realign our manufacturing and production processes efficiently to work through the backlog during the year.
Furthermore, we strategically reallocated a majority of the aftermarket production to our El Cajon facility, leveraging its capabilities and optimizing resource allocation. We also expanded our existing product mix to other areas in the upfitting business, enhancing our market reach and product offerings. These initiatives significantly contributed to the increased manufacturing and production output, positioning us favorably to meet growing demand and capitalize on market opportunities.
We had approximately $30.7 million and $116.7 million in firm backlog orders at December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022, respectively. The decrease in 2023 backlog, as compared to 2022, is due to many factors including the normalization of supply chain shortages we experienced in 2021 and 2022, the realignment of production forecasts with some of our large OEM customers, our effort to make space for newer model year chassis, and increased production and efficiency at our Powered Vehicles Group facilities.
Suppliers and raw materials
The primary raw materials used in the production of our products are aluminum, magnesium, carbon and steel. We generally use multiple suppliers for our raw materials and believe that our raw materials are in adequate supply and available from many suppliers at competitive prices. We do, however, depend on a limited number of suppliers for certain of our components. If our current suppliers for such components are unable to timely fill orders, or if we are required to transition to other suppliers, we could experience significant production delays or disruption to our business. Please read Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business and Operations - “We depend on a limited number of suppliers for our materials and component parts for some of our products, and the loss of any of these suppliers or an increase in cost of raw materials could harm our business.” In addition, prices for our raw materials fluctuate. While we have been able to mitigate the impacts of price fluctuations on our business historically, we actively monitor the current market conditions and price trends.
We also have OEM partners that supply vehicle chassis used in our upfitting operations. Our operations could be negatively impacted if we are not able to receive vehicle chassis according to our production needs, or if an OEM decides to discontinue supplying chassis for other reasons.
We work closely with our supply base, and depend upon certain suppliers to provide raw inputs, such as forgings, castings and molded polymers optimized for weight, structural integrity, wear and cost. In certain circumstances, we depend upon a limited number of suppliers for such raw inputs. We typically have no firm contractual sourcing agreements with our suppliers other than purchase orders.
Miyaki is the exclusive producer of the Kashima coating for our suspension component tubes. As part of our agreement with Miyaki, or the Kashima Agreement, we have been granted the exclusive right to use the trademark “KASHIMACOAT” on products comprising the aluminum finished parts for suspension components (e.g., tubes) and on related sales and marketing material worldwide, subject to a minimum model year order and certain other exclusions. The Kashima Agreement does not contain minimum purchase obligations.
Human Capital Resources
Employee Overview
As of December 29, 2023, we had approximately 4,300 employees in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Taiwan and Australia. Our employees are primarily located in the U.S. We also use temporary employees at our manufacturing facilities to help us meet seasonal demands. None of our employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements.
Health and Safety
Employee health and safety in the workplace is one of our top priorities. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been working to keep our employees safe and healthy from this outbreak. Using guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”), the World Health Organization (“WHO”), and the various states and counties in which we operate, we took a number of measures to keep employees safe. Employees are offered paid sick leave or paid time off to cover sickness and absences. We will continue to make our employees a priority.
Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement
At FOX, we believe that people are our greatest asset. Therefore, we are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive workplace in which all employees feel they belong, are empowered to be their best, and inspired to deliver maximum performance. Our employees have diverse skills, experiences and unique perspectives that collectively contribute to greater opportunities for engagement, innovation and business growth. Our commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, and Engagement aligns with our values of Leadership, Trust, Service, Agility, Ingenuity, and Collaboration and is a critical component of being a purpose-led organization. The Inclusion, Diversity, and Engagement strategy is sponsored by the entire Executive Leadership Team and is centered on the following objectives:
•build a globally diverse, high-performing workforce that mirrors the populations around us;
•foster an inclusive workplace culture where all feel like they are heard, welcomed, valued, and empowered; and
•engage our people in making an impact in the marketplace where we live, work, and play.
Employee Benefits
Our employee benefits are designed to attract and retain our employees and include medical, health and dental insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance, accidental death and disability insurance, voluntary supplemental coverages, discount programs, and our 401(k) Plan. As part of the 401(k) Plan, FOX matches 50% of the first 6% of compensation contributed by the employee into the 401(k) Plan.
Practices related to working capital items
The Company does not believe that it, or the industry in general, has any special practices or special conditions affecting working capital items that are material to understanding our business. Information about the Company’s working capital is incorporated herein by reference to Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and to the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows within Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Government regulation
Environmental
Our manufacturing operations, facilities and properties in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Taiwan are subject to evolving foreign, international, federal, state and local environmental and occupational health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing air emissions, wastewater discharge and the storage and handling of chemicals and hazardous substances. If we fail to comply with such laws and regulations, we could be subject to significant fines, penalties, costs, liabilities or restrictions on operations, which could negatively affect our financial condition.
We believe that our operations are in compliance, in all material respects, with applicable environmental and occupational health and safety laws and regulations, and our compliance with such laws and regulations has not had, nor is it expected to have, a material impact on our earnings or competitive position. However, new requirements, more stringent application of existing requirements or the discovery of previously unknown environmental conditions could result in material environmental related expenditures in the future. For example, in March 2022, the SEC proposed new rules for extensive and prescriptive climate-related disclosures in annual reports and registration statements, which would also require inclusion of certain climate-related financial metrics in a note to companies’ audited financial statements. Please read “Risks Related to Laws and Regulations - Increasing focus on environmental, social and governance responsibility may impose additional costs on us and expose us to new risks” within Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Employment
We are subject to numerous foreign, federal, state and local government laws and regulations governing our relationships with our employees, including those relating to minimum wage, overtime, working conditions, hiring and firing, non-discrimination, work permits and employee benefits. We believe that our operations are conducted in compliance, in all material respects, with such laws and regulations. We never experienced a material work stoppage or disruption to our business relating to employee matters. We believe that our relationship with our employees is good.
Consumer safety
We are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”), and other federal, state and foreign regulatory bodies including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), which enforces the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards. Under CPSC regulations, a manufacturer of consumer goods is obligated to notify the CPSC, if, among other things, the manufacturer becomes aware that one of its products has a defect that could create a substantial risk of injury. If the manufacturer has not already undertaken to do so, the CPSC may require a manufacturer to recall a product, which may involve product repair, replacement or refund. During the past three years, we initiated one voluntary product recall. For additional information, see Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Government contracts
No material portion of our business is subject to renegotiation of profits or termination of contracts or subcontracts at the election of the U.S. government.
Financial information about segments and geographic areas
We operate in one reportable segment: manufacturing, sale and service of performance-defining products. Additional information about our product segment and certain geographic information is available in Note 2. Revenues and Note 5. Property, Plant and Equipment, net of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Corporate and available information
Our principal executive offices are located at 2055 Sugarloaf Circle, Suite 300, Duluth, GA 30097, and our telephone number is (831) 274-6500. Our website address is www.ridefox.com.
We file reports with the SEC, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any other filings required by the SEC. We make available through the Investor Relations section of our website, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC.
The public may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects could be materially and adversely affected by various risks and uncertainties that are described herein. In addition to the risks and uncertainties discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our common stock could decline.
Summary of Risk Factors
The risks described below include, but are not limited to, the following:
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
•the impact of the risks associated with international geopolitical conflicts, including continuing tensions between Taiwan and China, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Israel-Palestine conflict on the global economy, energy supplies and raw materials are uncertain, but may prove to negatively impact our business and operations;
•our dependency on a limited number of suppliers for materials, component parts, and vehicle chassis could lead to an increase in material costs, disruptions in our supply chain, or reputational costs;
•failure to effectively compete against competitors, enhance existing products or develop, manufacture and market new products, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, blockchain or other new approaches to data mining, that respond to consumer needs and preferences and achieve market acceptance could result in a decrease in demand for our products and negatively impact our business and financial results;
•our performance-defining products, and the bikes and powered vehicles into which many of them are incorporated, are discretionary purchases and may be adversely impacted by changes in the economy, a shrinking market for these powered vehicles, or a material decline in demand for the high-end bikes that make up a significant portion of our sales;
•our business, financial condition and results of operations have been and may continue to be adversely affected by global public health epidemics or pandemics, including the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic;
•our business depends substantially on our ability to maintain our premium brand image and to attract and retain experienced and qualified talent, including our senior management team;
•changes in our customer, channel and product mix could place demands that are more rigorous on our infrastructure and cause our profitability percentages to fluctuate;
•a disruption in the operations of our facilities or along our global supply chain, such as work stoppages, or delays in our planned expansion of certain facilities, including labor strikes, could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations;
•we may not be able to sustain our past growth or successfully implement our growth strategy, which may have a negative effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations;
•the loss of the support of professional athletes for our products, or the inability to attract new professional athletes or disruption in relationships with dealers and distributors may harm our business;
•our business is dependent in large part on our relationships with dealers and distributors and their success and the orders we receive from our OEM customers and from their success. The loss of all or a substantial portion of our sales to any of these customers could have a material adverse impact on us and our results of operations;
•our international operations are exposed to risks associated with conducting business globally, including currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies related to global trade and tariffs;
•our sales could be impacted by the disruption of sales by other bike component manufacturers or if other bike component manufacturers enter into the specialty bike component market;
•if we are unable to enforce our intellectual property rights, our reputation and sales could be adversely affected, while intellectual property disputes could lead to significant costs or the inability to sell products;
•if we inaccurately forecast demand for our products or inaccurately predict OEM and dealer destocking and restocking cycles and production schedules, we may manufacture insufficient or excess quantities or our manufacturing costs could increase, which could adversely affect our business;
•product recalls and significant product repair and/or replacement due to product warranty costs and claims have had, and in the future could have, a material adverse impact on our business;
•an adverse determination in any material product liability claim against us could adversely affect our operating results or financial condition;
•we and our employees are subject to certain risks in our manufacturing and in the testing of our products;
•fuel shortages, or high prices for fuel, could have a negative effect on the use of powered vehicles that use our products;
•we rely on increasingly complex information systems for management of our manufacturing, distribution, sales and other functions. If our information systems fail to perform these functions adequately, if we or our vendors or commercial partners experience an interruption in our operations, or if we are impacted by cybersecurity attacks or data privacy issues, our business could suffer;
•we have grown and may continue to grow in the future through acquisitions, and we may not be able to effectively integrate businesses we acquire, or we may not be able to identify or complete any future acquisitions on favorable terms, or at all;
•our operating results are subject to quarterly variations in our sales, which could make our operating results difficult to predict and could adversely affect the price of our common stock;
•growth in our sales and the mix of domestic versus export shipments from Taiwan could cause additional foreign tax credits to not be realizable, potentially reducing our income and adversely affecting our cash flows;
•the current inflation affecting the economy and the Federal Reserve’s repeated interest rate increases in response, could negatively impact our cash flows due to higher debt costs or negatively impact our customers’ ability to finance powered vehicles or bikes that include our products;
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness and Liquidity
•our 2022 Credit Facility places operating restrictions on us and creates default risks, and the variable rate makes us more vulnerable to increases in interest rates;
•we continue to have the ability to incur debt and our levels of debt may affect our operations and our ability to pay the principal of and interest on our debt;
•we may incur losses on interest rate swap and hedging arrangements;
Risks Related to Laws and Regulations
•changes in tax laws and regulations or other factors could cause our income tax obligations to increase, potentially reducing our net income and adversely affecting our cash flows;
•we are subject to extensive U.S. federal and state, foreign and international safety, environmental, employment practices and other government regulations that may require us to incur expenses or modify product offerings in order to maintain compliance with such regulation, which could have a negative effect on our business and results of operations;
•unpredictability in increasingly stringent emission standards and increasing focus on environmental, social and governance responsibility, including climate change, may impose additional costs and new risks on us;
•we are subject to employment practice laws and regulations, and, as such, are exposed to litigation risks, and we may incur higher employee costs in the future;
•we retain certain personal information about individuals and are subject to various privacy and consumer protection laws;
•our vendors and any potential commercial partners may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements;
•we are, and may in the future be, subject to legal proceedings, which could have a negative effect on our business and results of operations if the outcomes of these proceedings are adverse to us;
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
•potential volatility in our trading price, publications by securities or industry analysts, and future issuances, sales, and the perception of such could cause our stock price and trading volume to decline;
•anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our Company;
•our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees;
•we cannot guarantee that our share repurchase program will be fully consummated or that it will enhance stockholder value, and the volatility of the price of our common stock could increase; and
General Risk Factors
•failure of our internal control over financial reporting could adversely affect our business and financial results.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS
The impact of the risks associated with international geopolitical conflicts-including continuing tensions between Taiwan and China, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Israel-Palestine conflict-on the global economy, energy supplies, and raw materials is uncertain, and may prove to negatively impact our business and operations.
In recent years, diplomatic and trade relationships between the U.S. government and China have become increasingly frayed, and the threat of a takeover of Taiwan by China has increased. Since we have manufacturing in Taiwan and source products globally, our business, operations, and supply chains could be materially and adversely impacted by political, economic or other actions from China, or changes in China-Taiwan relations that impact Taiwan and its economy. In addition, we continue to monitor any adverse impact that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the conflict in Ukraine, and subsequent sanctions against Russia by the United States and European and Asian countries may have on the global economy, our business and operations, and our suppliers and customers. For example, a prolonged conflict may result in ongoing increased inflation, escalating energy prices and constrained availability, thereby increasing the costs of raw materials and production. To the extent that continuing political tensions may adversely affect our business, it may heighten many of the other risks described in our risk factors, such as those relating to data security, supply chain, volatility of price inputs, and market conditions; any of which could negatively affect our business and financial condition.
We depend on a limited number of suppliers for some of our materials, component parts, and products. The loss of any of these suppliers or an increase in the cost of raw materials could harm our business.
We depend on a limited number of suppliers for certain products and components. If our current suppliers-particularly, the minority of those that are “single-source” suppliers-cannot timely fulfill orders, or if we are required to transition to other suppliers, we could experience significant production delays or disruption to our business. We define a single-source supplier as a supplier from which we purchase all of a particular raw material or input used in our manufacturing operations, although other suppliers are available from which to purchase the same raw material or input of an equivalent substitute. For the majority of our products, we do not maintain long-term supply contracts with our suppliers and instead purchase these components on a purchase order basis. As a result, we cannot force suppliers to sell us the necessary components we use to manufacture our products, and we could face significant supply disruptions should they refuse to do so. As the majority of our bike component manufacturing occurs in Taiwan, we could experience difficulties locating qualified suppliers geographically closer to these facilities. Furthermore, such suppliers could experience difficulties in providing us with some or all of the materials we require, which could result in disruptions in our manufacturing operations. Similarly, all non-wood products sold by Marucci and wheels sold by Custom Wheel House are sourced from third-party suppliers, which could risk supply-chain challenges if those third-party suppliers are unable to fulfill production quotas. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted if we experience difficulties with our suppliers or manufacturing delays caused by our suppliers, whether in connection with our manufacturing operations in the U.S. or in Taiwan.
Our products require various raw materials (e.g., aluminum, magnesium, steel, carbon, and timber) for production output and manufacturing purposes. Historically, we effectively mitigated the impacts of price fluctuations for these components and raw materials on our business. However, if we experience material price increases of these components or raw materials in the future and are unable to pass on those increases to our customers, it could negatively affect our business, financial condition or operation results. For example, component or raw-material shortages and overall inflationary pressures may increase the prices of those components or raw materials, which could reduce our profit margins if our customers are unwilling to pay higher prices.
In addition to our various single-source suppliers, we also rely on one “sole-source” supplier, Miyaki Corporation, or Miyaki. We define a sole-source supplier as a supplier of a raw material or input for which there is no other supplier of the same product or an equivalent substitute. Miyaki is the exclusive producer of the Kashima coating for our suspension component tubes. As part of our agreement with Miyaki, we have been granted the exclusive right to use the trademark “KASHIMACOAT” on products comprising the aluminum finished parts for suspension components (e.g., tubes) and on related sales and marketing material worldwide, subject to certain exclusions. Although we believe we could obtain other coatings of comparable utility from other sources if necessary, we could no longer obtain this specific Kashima coating or use the trademark “KASHIMACOAT” if Miyaki were to stop supplying us with this coating. The need to replace the Kashima coating could temporarily disrupt our business and harm our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Similarly, Marucci depends on a sole-source supplier for the manufacturing and finishing of select aluminum and composite metal bats. Any disruption or loss of our non-wood finishing supplier for our bats could temporarily diminish overall bat production output, which could negatively impact our business, financials, or results of operations.
We also have OEM partners that supply vehicle chassis used in our upfitting operations. An OEM may encounter difficulties and may be unable to deliver chassis according to our production needs, or an OEM may choose to discontinue supplying chassis for other reasons. Any interruption or discontinuation in the availability of chassis may result in increased production costs, delays in the delivery of our products, or lost sales, which could have an adverse effect on our business or financial condition.
If we are unable to continue to enhance existing products and develop, manufacture and market new products that respond to consumer needs and preferences and achieve market acceptance, we may experience a decrease in demand for our products, and our business and financial results could suffer.
Our growth strategy involves the continuous development of innovative performance-defining products. We may not be able to compete as effectively with our competitors, and ultimately satisfy the needs and preferences of our customers and the end users of our products, unless we can continue to enhance existing products and develop new, innovative products in the global markets in which we compete. In addition, we must continuously compete not only for end users who purchase our products through the dealers and distributors who are our customers, but also for the OEMs, which incorporate our products into their bikes and powered vehicles. These OEMs regularly evaluate our products against those of our competitors to determine if they are allowing the OEMs to achieve higher sales and market share on a cost-effective basis. Should one or more of our OEM customers determine that they could achieve overall better financial results by incorporating a competitor’s new or existing product, they would likely do so, which could harm our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Product development requires significant financial, technological, and other resources. While we expended approximately $53.2 million, $56.2 million and $46.6 million for our research and development efforts in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, there can be no assurance that this level of investment in research and development will be sufficient in the future to maintain our competitive advantage in product innovation, which could cause our business, financial condition or results of operations to suffer.
Product improvements and new product introductions require significant planning, design, development, and testing at the technological, product, and manufacturing process levels, and we may experience unanticipated delays introducing our product improvements or new products. Our competitors’ new products may beat our products to market, be more effective and/or less expensive than our products, obtain better market acceptance, or render our products less desirable or obsolete. Any new products that we develop may not receive market acceptance or otherwise generate any meaningful sales or profits for us relative to our expectations. Given the competitive landscape, it is important that we are able to plan and deliver products that will appeal to our customers in a timely manner, in the quantity demanded, and at profitable business costs.
We face intense competition in all product lines, including from some competitors that have greater financial and marketing resources. Failure to compete effectively against competitors would negatively impact our business and operating results.
The industries in which we operate are highly competitive. We compete with a number of other manufacturers that produce and sell performance-defining products to OEMs and aftermarket dealers and distributors, including OEMs that produce their own lines of products for their own use. Our continued success depends on our ability to continue to compete effectively against our competitors, some of which have significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources than we have. Several of our competitors offer broader product lines to OEMs, which they may sell in connection with suspension products as part of a package offering. In addition, some of our subsidiaries compete in marketplaces that heavily rely on industry-specific brand awareness and distribution channels, and our past performance reaching consumers is not indicative of future results.
In the future, our competitors may be able to maintain and grow brand strength and market share more effectively or quickly than we do by anticipating the course of market developments more accurately than we do, developing products that are superior to our products, creating manufacturing or distribution capabilities that are superior to ours, producing similar products at a lower cost than we can, or adapting more quickly than we do to new technologies or evolving regulatory, industry, or customer requirements, among other possibilities. In addition, we may encounter increased competition if our current competitors broaden their product offerings by beginning to produce additional types of performance-defining products or through competitor consolidations. We could also face competition from well-capitalized entrants into these product markets, as well as aggressive pricing tactics by other manufacturers trying to gain market share. As a result, our products may be unable to compete successfully with our competitors’ products, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
If we are unable to anticipate and respond effectively to the threat of, and the opportunity presented by, new technological applications, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, blockchain or other new approaches to data mining, we may be exposed to competitive risks related to the adoption and application of such technology.
New products and technologies are important to operating our business. We may encounter competitive risks related to the adoption and application of new technology, such as artificial intelligence, by our competitors and other established market participants (for example, through disintermediation) start-up companies and others. We must consider developing and implementing technology solutions and technical expertise among our employees that anticipate and keep pace with rapid changes in technology, industry standards, client preferences and control standards. We may not be successful in anticipating or responding to these developments on a timely and cost-effective basis, and our ideas may not be accepted in the marketplace. Additionally, the effort to gain technological expertise and develop new technologies in our business may require us to incur significant expenses. Our technological development projects may also not deliver the benefits we expect once they are completed or may be replaced or become obsolete more quickly than expected, which could result in the accelerated recognition of expenses. If we are unable develop or implement new technologies as quickly as our competitors, or if our competitors develop more cost-effective technologies or product offerings, we could experience a material adverse effect on business, financial condition or results of operations. Our investments in new products and services may not generate the expected returns, which could hinder our ability to generate organic growth in the future.
Our business is sensitive to economic conditions that impact consumer spending. Our performance-defining products, including the bikes and powered vehicles into which many of them are incorporated, are discretionary purchases and may be adversely impacted by changes in the economy.
Our business depends substantially on global economic and market conditions. In particular, we believe that currently, a significant majority of the end users of our products live in North American and European countries. These areas historically experienced recessions, disruptions in banking and/or financial systems, and economic weakness and uncertainty. Today, there appears to be an increasing risk of recessions or inflationary economic impacts related to lingering effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical events, escalating energy costs, global supply chain disruptions, rising interest rates, and other economic changes. In addition, many of our products are recreational in nature and are generally discretionary purchases by consumers. Consumers are usually more willing to make discretionary purchases during periods of favorable general economic conditions and high consumer confidence. Discretionary spending may also be affected by many other factors, including interest rates, gas prices, the availability of consumer credit, taxes, and consumer confidence in future economic conditions. During periods of unfavorable economic conditions or periods when other negative market factors exist, consumer discretionary spending is typically reduced, which in turn could reduce our product sales and negatively affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
There could also be a number of secondary effects resulting from an economic downturn, such as insolvency of our suppliers resulting in product delays, an inability of our OEM and distributor and dealer customers to obtain credit to finance purchases of our products, customers delaying payment to us for the purchase of our products due to financial hardship or an increase in bad debt expense. Any of these effects could negatively affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Our business, financial condition, and results of operations have been and may continue to be adversely affected by global public health epidemics or pandemics, including the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We continue to face various risks related to public health issues, including epidemics, pandemics, and other outbreaks, including the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including changes in consumer behavior, COVID-19 pandemic fears and market downturns, and restrictions on business and individual activities, created significant volatility in the global economy and led to reduced economic activity. There have been extraordinary actions taken by international, federal, state, and local public health and governmental authorities, most of which are no longer in effect, to contain and combat the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 in regions throughout the world, including travel bans, quarantines, “stay-at-home” orders, and similar mandates for many individuals to substantially restrict daily activities and for many businesses to curtail or cease normal operations.
These government-mandated closures, “shelter-in-place” directives, and an outbreak among, or quarantine of, the employees in any of our facilities caused and could continue to cause significant interruptions to, or temporary closures, of our operations.
The spread of COVID-19 caused us to modify our business practices, and we may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, suppliers, vendors, and business partners. For example, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of employees who work remotely or have a hybrid work schedule increased. It is possible that continued widespread remote work arrangements could negatively impact our operations, the execution of our business plans, productivity, the availability of key personnel and other employees necessary to conduct our business, and of third-party service providers who perform critical services for us, or otherwise cause operational failures due to changes in our normal business practices necessitated by the outbreak and related governmental actions.
These impacts had and could continue to negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the trading price of our securities. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted and may further impact the broader economies of affected countries, including negatively impacting economic growth, the proper functioning of financial and capital markets, foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, and liquidity.
If we are unable to maintain our premium brand image, our business may suffer as a result of brand degradation.
Dealers, distributors, and customers select our products in part because of the premium brand reputation we hold with them and our end users. Therefore, our success depends on our ability to maintain and build the image of our brands. We focused on building our brands through producing products or acquiring businesses that produce products that we believe are innovative, high in performance, and highly reliable. In addition, some of our brands benefit from our strong relationships with our OEM customers and dealers and distributors and through marketing programs aimed at bike and powered vehicle enthusiasts in various media and other channels. For example, we sponsor a number of professional athletes, professional race teams, top college programs, and franchise clubs.
In order to continue to enhance the image of our brands, we will need to maintain our position in the performance-defining products industry, continue to provide high-quality products and services and preserve our reputation. The rising popularity of social media and other consumer-oriented technologies creates new risks and challenges that could cause damage to our brands and reputation. Social media platforms make it easy for anyone to provide public feedback that can influence perceptions of our brands, and social media platforms can also accelerate and potentially amplify the scope of negative publicity.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or enhance the strength of our brands in the future. Our brands could be adversely impacted by, among other things:
•failure to develop new products that are innovative, performance-oriented, and reliable;
•internal product quality control issues;
•product quality issues on the bikes and powered vehicles on which our products are installed;
•product recalls;
•high-profile component failures (such as a component failure during a race on a mountain bike ridden by one of our sponsored athletes);
•negative publicity regarding our brands or our sponsored athletes or organizations, which could be amplified on social media;
•high-profile injury or death to one of our sponsored athletes;
•inconsistent uses of our brands and our other intellectual property assets, as well as failure to protect our intellectual property;
•changes in consumer trends and perceptions; and
•lack of investment in sponsorships, marketing, and public relations.
Any adverse impact on our brands could in turn negatively affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Our growth in the Powered Vehicle and Aftermarket Applications Groups are dependent upon our continued ability to expand our product sales into powered vehicles that require performance-defining products and the continued expansion of the market for these powered vehicles.
Our growth in the Powered Vehicle and Aftermarket Applications Groups are in part attributable to the expansion of the market for powered vehicles that require performance-defining products. Such market growth includes the creation of new classes of vehicles that can benefit from our products, such as trucks that are upfitted with products to enhance their off-road capability, and our ability to create products for these vehicles. Additionally, with our acquisitions of SCA, Tuscany, Outside Van, Shock Therapy, and Custom Wheel House, a growing portion of our sales are expected to be generated from providing upfitting solutions. In the event these markets stop expanding or contract due to economic factors, changes in consumer preferences, or other reasons, or we are unsuccessful in creating new products for these markets or other competitors successfully enter into these markets, we may fail to achieve future growth or our sales could decrease, and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be negatively affected.
A significant portion of our Specialty Sports Group’s sales are highly dependent on the demand for high-end bikes and Marucci products. A material decline in the demand for these bikes, bike suspension components, or Marucci products could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.
During 2023, approximately 25% of our net sales were generated from the sale of bike products. Part of our success is attributed to the growth in the high-end bike industry, including increases in average retail sales prices, as better-performing product designs and technologies have been incorporated into these products. If the popularity of high-end or premium-priced bikes does not increase or declines, the number of bike enthusiasts seeking such bikes or premium-priced suspension products, wheels, cranks and other specialty components for their bikes does not increase or declines, or the average price point of these bikes declines, we may fail to achieve future growth or our sales could decrease, and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be negatively affected. In addition, if current bike enthusiasts stop purchasing our products due to changes in preferences, we may fail to achieve future growth or our sales could be decreased, and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be negatively affected.
Additionally, in the fourth quarter of 2023, our Sport’s Specialty Group expanded and diversified with the acquisition of Marucci. Part of Marucci’s success derives from the demand for high-performing products, notably within the baseball and softball industry. If professional athletes and performance enthusiasts no longer demand Marucci’s products, we could experience slower or declining growth or sales, which may adversely affect our business. For example, if Marucci experiences a material decline in demand among professional athletes, consumers who seek the same performance as the professionals may no longer desire Marucci equipment. Similarly, if overall demand for sporting products declines, Marucci sales could decrease and reduce future growth opportunities. A material decline in the demand for Marucci products may adversely impact our business, financial condition, or operation results.
Changes in our customer, channel, and product mix could place demands that are more rigorous on our infrastructure and cause our profitability percentages to fluctuate.
We may encounter changes to our customer base as a result of product alterations or market shifts. Additionally, we may pursue new customers, target different distribution channels, or penetrate new markets. Our product mix may encounter fluctuations depending on our customers’ purchasing behavior. Moreover, if we develop new products and retire past offerings, our product mix may change. We may leverage new or experimental sales channels to drive growth within our business. Any such changes to our customers, distribution channels, or product mix may place demands on our business that require more rigorous infrastructure and supply chain solutions. Our overall profitability and profitability percentages may fluctuate as we might have to adapt to any changes. For instance, if customers begin to require more lower-margin products from us and fewer higher-margin products, or place demands on our performance that increase our costs, our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected.
A disruption in the operations of our facilities, or delays in our planned expansion of certain facilities, could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, we completed the construction of the Gainesville Facility in Hall County Georgia, to diversify our manufacturing platform and provide additional long-term capacity to support growth in our Powered Vehicles Group. The Gainesville Facility is being used for manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and office space. In the first quarter of 2022, we completed the transition of our Watsonville Facility and the relocation of our powered vehicles suspension manufacturing to the Gainesville Facility. As a result, we have incurred costs associated with some duplication of facilities, equipment and personnel, the amount of which could vary materially from our projections.
Unforeseen difficulties in future expansion projects, whatever the cause, could have a material adverse effect on our business, customer relationships, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, and liquidity.
Equipment failures, delivery delays, or catastrophic loss at any of our facilities could lead to production or service disruptions, curtailments, or shutdowns. In the event of a stoppage in production or a slowdown in production due to high employee turnover or a labor dispute at any of our facilities, even if only temporary, or if we experience delays as a result of events that are beyond our control, delivery times to our customers could be severely affected. If there was a manufacturing disruption in any of our manufacturing facilities, we might be unable to meet product delivery requirements and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be negatively affected, even if the disruption was covered in whole or in part by our business interruption insurance. Any significant delay in deliveries to our customers could lead to increased returns or cancellations, expose us to damage claims from our customers or damage our brands, and, in turn, negatively affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Work stoppages or other disruptions, including those that involve our customers, could adversely affect our operating results.
A portion of our goods move through ports on the Western Coast of the U.S. We have a global supply chain, and we import products from our third-party vendors and our Fox Taiwan facility into the U.S. largely through ports on the West Coast. Dockworkers, none of whom are our employees, must offload freight from ships arriving at West Coast ports. We do not control the activities of these employees or seaports, and we could suffer supply chain disruptions due to any disputes, capacity shortages, slowdowns, or shutdowns that may occur, as was experienced in February 2015, in relation to certain West Coast ports. The 2015 strike lasted longer than we forecasted, and any similar labor dispute in the future or any slowdown or stoppage relating to the ongoing labor agreement negotiations could potentially have a negative effect on both our financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic increased uncertainty for global supply chains, as port congestion and shipping container shortages have become exacerbated, which could adversely affect our operating results.
Work stoppages, labor disputes, and other disruptions involving our customers or otherwise could also adversely affect our operating results. For example, the United Auto Workers Union (“UAW”) 2023 strike impacted Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Stellantis after the UAW was unable to reach a deal with the three automakers. Automotive OEMs are some of the largest customers of our powered vehicle suspension products. The 2023 UAW strike may have lingering effects that could continue to impact the automotive industry. Any such lingering effects may adversely impact our own business, financial condition, or results of operation. Any future strikes, including those against our customers, are highly unpredictable and may negatively affect our business. The ultimate impact on our business, financial position, and results of operations will depend on factors beyond our control, including the duration and scope of labor strikes.
Our business depends substantially on our ability to attract and retain experienced and qualified talent, including our senior management team.
We depend upon the contributions, talent, and leadership of our senior management team, particularly our Chief Executive Officer, Michael C. Dennison. We do not have a “key person” life insurance policy on Mr. Dennison or any other key employees. We believe that the top nine members of our senior management team are crucial to establishing our focus and executing our corporate strategies, as they have extensive knowledge of our systems and processes. Given our senior management team’s knowledge of our industry and the limited number of direct competitors in the industry, we believe that it could be difficult to find replacements should any of the members of our senior management team leave.
We could also be adversely affected if we fail to attract and retain talent throughout our organization. For instance, we rely on skilled and well-trained engineers for the design and production of our products, as well as in our research and development functions. Competition for such individuals is intense, particularly in Taiwan, California, and Georgia, where several of our facilities are located. Our inability to attract or retain qualified employees in our design, production, or research and development functions or elsewhere in our Company could result in diminished quality of our products and delinquent production schedules or impede our ability to develop new products.
Our failure to adequately address any of these issues could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.
We may not be able to sustain our past growth or successfully implement our growth strategy, which may have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Our future growth will depend upon various factors, including the strength of the image of our brands, our ability to continue to produce innovative performance-defining products, consumer acceptance of our products, competitive conditions in the marketplace, our ability to make strategic acquisitions, the growth in emerging baseball and softball markets for Marucci products, the growth in emerging markets for products requiring high-end suspension products, and, in general, the continued growth of the high-end bike and powered vehicle markets into which we sell the majority of our products. Our beliefs regarding the future growth of markets for high-end suspension products and sporting equipment are based largely on qualitative judgments and limited sources, which may be unreliable. If we are unable to sustain our past growth or successfully implement our growth strategy, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be negatively affected.
The professional athletes, athletic programs, and race teams who use our products are an important aspect of the image of our brands. The loss of the support of professional athletes for our products or the inability to attract new professional athletes may harm our business.
If current or future professional athletes, athletic programs, and race teams do not use our products, our brands could lose value and our sales could decline. While our sponsorship agreements typically restrict our sponsored athletes and race teams from promoting, endorsing or using competitors’ products that compete directly within our product categories during the term of the sponsorship agreements, we do not typically have long-term contracts with any of the athletes or race teams whom we sponsor.
If we are unable to maintain our current relationships with these professional athletes, athletic programs, and race teams, these professional athletes and race teams are no longer popular, our sponsored athletes and race teams fail to have success, or we are unable to continue to attract the endorsement of new professional athletes and race teams in the future, the value of our brands and our sales could decline.
We depend on our relationships with dealers, distributors, and retailers and their ability to sell and service our products. Any disruption in these relationships could harm our sales.
We sell many of our products to dealers, distributors, and retailers, and we depend on their willingness and ability to market and sell our products to consumers and provide customer and product service as needed. We also rely on our dealers, distributors, and retailers to be knowledgeable about our products and their features. If we are not able to educate our dealers, distributors, and retailers so that they may effectively sell our products as part of a positive buying experience, or if they fail to implement effective retail sales initiatives, focus selling efforts on our competitors’ products, reduce the quantity of our products that they sell or reduce their operations due to financial difficulties or otherwise, our brands and business could suffer.
We do not control our dealers, distributors, or retailers, and many of our contracts allow these entities to offer our competitors’ products. Our competitors may incentivize our dealers, distributors, and retailers, to favor their products. In addition, we do not have long-term contracts with a majority of our dealers, distributors, and retailers, and our dealers, distributors, and retailers are not obligated to purchase specified amounts of our products. In fact, the majority of our dealers, distributors, and retailers buy from us on a purchase-order basis. Consequently, with little or no notice, many of these dealers, distributors, and retailers may terminate their relationships with us or materially reduce their purchases of our products. If we were to lose one or more of our dealers, distributors, or retailers we would need to obtain a new dealer, distributor, or retailer, as applicable, to cover the particular location or product line, which may not be possible on favorable terms or at all.
Alternatively, we could use our own sales force to replace a dealer, distributor, or retailer, but expanding our sales force into new locations takes significant time and resources and may be unsuccessful. Further, many of our international distribution contracts contain exclusivity arrangements, which may prevent us from replacing or supplementing our current distributors under certain circumstances.
We are a supplier in the high-end bike and powered vehicles markets, and our business largely depends on the orders we receive from our OEM customers and on their success.
As a supplier to OEM customers, we largely depend on the success of our OEM customers’ businesses. Model year changes by our OEM customers or production disruptions or hiatuses may adversely impact our sales or cause our sales to vary from quarter to quarter. In addition, losses in market share individually or a decline in the overall market of our OEM customers or the discontinuance by our OEM customers of their products which incorporate our products could negatively impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
A relatively small number of customers account for a substantial portion of our sales. The loss of all or a significant portion of our sales to any of these customers, whether through the temporary or permanent discontinuation of their products which incorporate our products or otherwise, or the loss of market share by these customers could have a material adverse impact on us and our results of operations.
Net sales attributable to our five largest OEM customers, which can vary from year to year, collectively accounted for approximately 27%, 23%, and 24% of our net sales in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021. The loss of all or a substantial portion of our sales to any of these OEM customers, whether through the temporary or permanent discontinuation of their products which incorporate our products or otherwise, the loss of market share by these customers, manufacturing or other problems, including disruptions related to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or labor strikes, could have a material impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Currency exchange rate fluctuations could impact gross margins and expenses.
Foreign currency fluctuations could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. U.S. government policy-including interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve-may impact the exchange rate between the U.S. Dollar and foreign currencies. We sell our products inside and outside of the U.S., primarily in U.S. Dollars and New Taiwan Dollars. However, some of the OEMs purchasing products from us sell their products in Europe and other foreign markets using the Euro and other foreign currencies. As a result, as the U.S. Dollar appreciates against these foreign currencies, our products will become relatively more expensive for these OEMs. Accordingly, competitive products that our OEM customers can purchase in other currencies may become more attractive, and we could lose sales as these OEMs seek to replace our products with cheaper alternatives. In addition, should the U.S. Dollar depreciate significantly, this could have the effect of decreasing our gross margins and adversely impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
With a majority of our manufacturing operations for our bike products occurring in Taiwan, a percentage of our sales and expenses are denominated in the New Taiwan Dollar. Should the New Taiwan Dollar appreciate against the U.S. Dollar, this could have the effect of decreasing our sales, increasing our expenses, and decreasing our profitability.
Additionally, a portion of our operations take place in Canada and a percentage of our sales and expenses are denominated in Canadian Dollars. Our operating profitability could be negatively impacted as a result of changes in the exchange rate between the U.S. Dollar and the Canadian Dollar.
Our international operations are exposed to risks associated with conducting business globally.
As a result of our international presence, we are exposed to increased risks inherent in conducting business outside of the U.S. In addition to foreign currency risks, these risks include:
•difficulty in transporting materials internationally, including labor disputes at West Coast ports, which handle a large amount of our products;
•political, economic, or other actions from China or changes in China-Taiwan relations could impact Taiwan and its economy, which may adversely affect our operations in Taiwan, our customers, and our supply chain;
•geopolitical regional conflicts, including the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Palestine conflict on the global economy, energy supplies and raw materials, terrorist activity, political unrest, civil strife, acts of war, and other political uncertainty;
•increased difficulty in protecting our intellectual property rights and trade secrets;
•changes in tax laws and the interpretation of those laws;
•exposure to local economic conditions;
•unexpected government action or changes in legal or regulatory requirements;
•changes in tariffs, quotas, trade barriers, and other similar restrictions on sales;
•the effects of any anti-American sentiments on our brands or sales of our products;
•increased difficulty in ensuring compliance by employees, agents, and contractors with our policies as well as with the laws of multiple jurisdictions, including but not limited to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, local and international environmental, health and safety laws, and increasingly complex regulations relating to the conduct of international commerce;
•increased difficulty in controlling and monitoring foreign operations from the U.S., including increased difficulty in identifying and recruiting qualified personnel for our foreign operations; and
•increased difficulty in staffing and managing foreign operations or international sales.
An adverse change in any of these conditions could have a negative effect upon our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Our sales could be adversely impacted by the disruption or cessation of sales by other bike component manufacturers or if other bike component manufacturers enter the specialty bike component market.
Most bikes that incorporate our suspension products are built using products and components manufactured by other bike component manufacturers. If those other bike component manufacturers stopped selling or producing the products and components for which the finished bikes that incorporates our products depend on, our sales may be adversely affected. Similarly, if those other bike component manufacturers experience sales disruptions, lose their competitive position in the marketplace, or face reputational damage, customers could migrate to complementary bike products, some of which may be incompatible with our suspension products or directly compete with our products. Moreover, other bike component manufacturers could begin manufacturing bike suspension products, wheels, or cranks, or bundle their bike components with competitors’ products. In any of these scenarios, our sales could decline, which may negatively impact our business, financial condition, or results of operation.
We have been and may become subject to intellectual property disputes that could cause us to incur significant costs, pay significant damages, or prohibit us from selling our products.
As we develop new products or attempt to use our brands in connection with new products, we seek to avoid infringing upon our competitors’ valid patents and other intellectual property rights. However, from time to time, third parties alleged, or may allege in the future, that our products or trademarks infringe upon their proprietary rights. We will evaluate any such claims and, where appropriate, may obtain or seek to obtain licenses or other business arrangements. To date, there have been no significant interruptions in our business as a result of any claims of infringement, and we do not hold patent infringement insurance. Any claim, regardless of its merit, could be expensive and time-consuming to defend and distract management from our business. Moreover, if our products or brands are found to infringe third-party intellectual property rights, we may be unable to obtain a license to use such technology or associated intellectual property rights on acceptable terms. A court determination that our brands, products, or manufacturing processes infringe the intellectual property rights of others could result in significant liability and/or require us to make material changes to our products and/or manufacturing processes or preclude our ability to use certain brands. In most circumstances, we are not indemnified for our use of a licensor’s intellectual property if such intellectual property is found to be infringing. Any of the foregoing results could require us to redesign our products or defend legal actions, which could cause us to incur substantial costs that could negatively affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
If we are unable to enforce our intellectual property rights, our reputation and sales could be adversely affected.
Intellectual property is an important component of our business. We patent our proprietary technologies related to vehicle suspension and other products in the U.S. and various foreign patent offices. Additionally, we registered or applied for trademarks and service marks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and a number of foreign countries-including the marks FOX®,RACE FACE®, and MARUCCI®-to be used with certain goods and services. When appropriate, we may assert our rights against those who infringe on our patents, trademarks, trade dress, or other intellectual property. However, we may not be successful in enforcing our patents or asserting trademark, trade name or trade dress protection with respect to our brand names and our product designs, and third parties may seek to oppose or challenge our patents or trademark registrations. Further, these legal efforts may not successfully reduce sales of suspension products by those infringing. In addition, our pending patent applications may not result in the issuance of patents, and even issued patents may be contested, circumvented, or invalidated and may not provide us with proprietary protection or competitive advantages. If our efforts to develop and enforce our intellectual property are unsuccessful, or if a third party misappropriates our rights, this may adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Additionally, intellectual property protection may be unavailable or limited in some foreign countries where laws or law enforcement practices may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the U.S., and it may be more difficult for us to successfully challenge the use of our proprietary rights by other parties in these countries. Furthermore, other competitors may be able to successfully produce products that imitate certain of our products without infringing upon any of our patents, trademarks, or trade dress. The failure to prevent or limit infringements and imitations could have a permanent negative impact on the pricing of our products or reduce our product sales and product margins, even if we are ultimately successful in limiting the distribution of a product that infringes our rights, which in turn may affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Although we enter into non-disclosure agreements with employees, OEMs, distributors, and others to protect our confidential information and trade secrets, we may be unable to prevent such parties from breaching these agreements with us and using our intellectual property in an unauthorized manner. If our efforts to protect our intellectual property are unsuccessful or a third party misappropriates our rights, our business may be adversely affected. Defending our intellectual property rights can be very expensive and time-consuming, and there is no assurance that we will be successful.
If we inaccurately forecast demand for our products or inaccurately predict OEM and dealer destocking and restocking cycles and production schedules, we may manufacture insufficient or excess quantities or our manufacturing costs could increase, which could adversely affect our business.
We plan our manufacturing capacity based on the forecasted demand for our products. In the OEM channel, our forecasts are largely based on the number of our product specifications for new bikes and powered vehicles and on projections from our OEM customers. In the aftermarket channel, our forecasts are based partially on discussions with our dealers and distributors as well as our own assessment of markets. Our forecasts are also dependent on OEM and dealer destocking and restocking cycles and OEM production schedules, which are subject to change. If we incorrectly forecast demand, we may incur capacity issues in our manufacturing plant and supply chain, increased material costs, increased freight costs, additional overtime, and costs associated with excess inventory-all of which, in turn, adversely impact our cost of sales and our gross margin. Economic weakness and uncertainty in the U.S., Europe, and other international markets may make accurate forecasting particularly challenging.
In the future, if actual demand for our products exceeds forecasted demand, the margins on our incremental sales in excess of anticipated sales may be lower due to temporary higher costs, which could decrease our overall margins. While we generally manufacture our products upon receipt of customer orders, if actual demand is less than the forecasted demand for our products and we already manufactured the products or committed to purchase materials in support of forecasted demand, we could be forced to hold excess inventories. In short, either excess or insufficient production due to inaccurate forecasting could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Product recalls, and significant product repair and/or replacement due to product warranty costs and claims have had, and in the future could have, a material adverse impact on our business.
Unless otherwise required by law, we generally provide a limited warranty for our products for a one, two- or three-year period beginning on: (i) in the case of OEM sales, the date the bike or powered vehicle is purchased from an authorized OEM where our product is incorporated as original equipment on the purchased bike or powered vehicle; (ii) in the case of aftermarket sales, the date the product is originally purchased from an authorized dealer; or (iii) in the case of upfitting sales, the date of the retail sale to an end customer. From time to time, our customers may negotiate for longer or different warranty coverage. In the ordinary course of business, we incur warranty costs and reserve against such costs in our financial statements. However, there is a risk that a product could underperform and require us to adjust our warranty reserves or incur costs in excess of these reserves, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
If any of our products are, or are alleged to be, defective, we may be required to participate in a recall involving such products. Our products and items where our products are incorporated as original equipment on the purchased item are frequently subject to regulation by various agencies, including, for example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (the “NHTSA”), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (the “CPSC”) and/or similar state and international regulatory authorities. We have in the past, and may have in the future, recalls (both voluntary and involuntary) of our products or of items that incorporate our products. In the case of OEM sales, each manufacturer has its own practices regarding product recalls and other product liability actions that could involve its suppliers. Additionally, as suppliers become more integrally involved in the design process and assume a greater role in the overall system design, OEMs could potentially look to us to share in the cost if faced with recalls and product liability claims. Although we carry product liability and product recall insurance, no assurance can be made that such insurance will provide adequate coverage against any potential claims, such insurance is available in the appropriate markets or that we will be able to obtain such insurance on acceptable terms in the future. In addition to the direct costs related to these or other recalls, our aftermarket and OEM sales could be adversely affected if we do not have a ready replacement product for such recalled products. Such recall events could also adversely affect the image of our brands and have a negative effect on our relationships with our OEMs, sponsored athletes and race teams, or otherwise have a negative effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
An adverse determination in any material product liability claim against us could adversely affect our operating results or financial condition.
The use of our products by consumers, often under extreme conditions, exposes us to risks associated with product liability claims. If our products are defective or used incorrectly by our customers, bodily injury, property damage or other injury, including death, may result in, and could give rise to product liability claims against us, which could adversely affect our brands’ image or reputation. We encountered product liability claims in the past and carry product liability insurance to help protect us against the costs of such claims, although our insurance may be insufficient to cover all losses. Any losses that we may suffer from product liability claims, and the effect that any product liability litigation may have upon the reputation and marketability of our products, may have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
We and our employees are subject to certain risks in our manufacturing and in the testing of our products.
As of December 29, 2023, we employed approximately 4,300 employees worldwide, a large percentage of which work at our manufacturing facilities. Our business involves complex manufacturing processes that can be inherently dangerous. Although we employ safety procedures in the design and operation of our facilities, there is a risk that an accident or death could occur in one of our facilities. In addition, prior to the introduction of new products, our employees test the products under rigorous conditions, which involve the risk of injury or death. Any accident could result in manufacturing or product delays, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. The outcome of litigation is difficult to assess or quantify, and the cost to defend litigation can be significant. As a result, the costs to defend any action or the potential liability resulting from any such accident or death or arising out of any other litigation, and any negative publicity associated therewith, could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Fuel shortages, or high fuel prices, could have a negative effect on the use of powered vehicles that use our products.
Gasoline or diesel fuel is required to operate most powered vehicles that use our products. There can be no assurance that the supply of these fuels will continue uninterrupted, that rationing will not be imposed, or that the price of or tax on these petroleum products will not significantly increase. For example, there have been significant increases in gasoline and diesel fuel prices due to geopolitical developments, including the impacts resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and there are heightened uncertainties regarding the future price and availability of gasoline and diesel fuel. Future shortages of gasoline and diesel fuel and substantial increases in the price of fuel could have a material adverse effect on our powered vehicle product category, which could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
We do not control our suppliers, athletic programs, OEMs, other customers, or partners, or require them to comply with a formal code of conduct, and actions that they might take could harm our reputation and sales.
We do not control our suppliers, athletic programs, OEMs, other customers or partners, or their labor, environmental, or other practices. A violation of labor, environmental, intellectual property or other laws by our suppliers, OEMs, other customers or partners, or a failure of these parties to follow generally accepted ethical business practices, could create negative publicity and harm our reputation. In addition, we may be required to seek alternative suppliers or partners if these violations or failures were to occur. We do not inspect or audit compliance of our suppliers, athletic programs, OEMs, customers, or partners with these laws or practices, and we do not require our suppliers, OEMs, customers or partners to comply with a formal code of conduct. Any conduct or actions that our suppliers take could reduce demand for our products, harm our ability to meet demand or harm our reputation, brand image, business, financial condition or results of operations.
We may incur higher employee costs in the future.
We are subject to government-mandated wage and benefit laws and regulations in various countries and jurisdictions. As we expand internationally, we are also subject to applicable laws in each such jurisdiction. Increases in the mandated wage in any or all of the jurisdictions in which we operate could subject us to increased costs, thereby impacting our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Further, the evolving labor market and increased ability for employees in our industry and other industries to work from home or have remote work arrangements may impact the turnover of our employees, potentially making it more difficult for us to compete.
We maintain a self-insured healthcare plan for our employees based in the U.S. We have insurance coverage in place for individual claims above a specified amount in any year. Inflation in healthcare costs, as well as additional costs we may incur as a result of current or future federal or state healthcare legislation and regulations, could significantly increase our employee healthcare costs in the future. Continued increases in our employee costs could adversely affect our earnings, financial condition, and liquidity.
We rely on increasingly complex information systems to manage our manufacturing, distribution, sales, and other functions. If our information systems fail to perform these functions adequately or if we experience an interruption in our operations, our business could suffer.
All of our major operations, including manufacturing, distribution, sales, and accounting, depend on our complex information systems. Our information systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from, among other things:
• earthquake, fire, flood, hurricane, and other natural disasters;
• power loss, computer systems failure, internet and telecommunications or data network failure; and
• hackers, computer viruses, software bugs, implementing new functions or releases of software.
Any damage or significant disruption in the operation of such systems or the failure of our information systems to perform as expected could disrupt our operations, reduce our efficiency, delay our fulfillment of customer orders, or require significant unanticipated expenditures to correct, and thereby have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) implementations are complex and time-consuming projects that involve substantial expenditures on system software and implementation activities. ERP implementations also require transformation of business and financial processes in order to reap the benefits of the ERP system. Any such future transformation, due to acquisition integration or business growth and consolidation, involves risks inherent in the conversion to a new computer system, including loss of information and potential disruption to our normal operations. Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected if we experience operating problems or cost overruns during the ERP implementation process, or if the ERP system and the associated process changes do not give rise to the benefits that we expect.
Additionally, if we do not effectively implement the ERP system as planned or the system does not operate as intended, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could be adversely affected.
Our operations may be impaired if our technology systems fail to perform adequately, and we could be negatively impacted by cybersecurity attacks.
Information technology systems are critically important to operating our business. We rely on information technology systems to manage business data, communications, supply chain, order entry and fulfillment, and other business processes. The failure of any of the information technology systems to perform as anticipated could disrupt our business and could result in transaction errors, processing inefficiencies and the loss of sales and customers, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
The information technology systems described above are also potentially vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses, ransomware attacks and other similar types of malicious activities and cyber-attacks, including attempts by others to gain access to our proprietary or sensitive information, and ranging from individual attempts to advanced persistent threats. Further, ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and severe. To alleviate the financial, operational, and reputational impact of a ransomware attack, it may be preferable to make extortion payments, but we may be unwilling or unable to do so, including, for example, if applicable laws or regulations prohibit such payments. The procedures and controls we use to monitor these threats and mitigate our exposure may not be sufficient to prevent cybersecurity incidents. The results of these incidents could include misstated financial data, theft of trade secrets or other intellectual property, liability for disclosure of confidential customer, supplier or employee information, increased costs arising from the implementation of additional security protective measures, litigation and reputational damage, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, business or results of operations. Any remedial costs or other liabilities related to cybersecurity incidents may not be fully insured or indemnified by other means. Moreover, we or our third-party vendors or business partners may be more vulnerable to such attacks in remote work environments, which increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are subject to evolving privacy laws in the U.S. and other jurisdictions that could adversely impact our business and require that we incur substantial costs.
The use of personal information by our business is highly regulated. We are subject to various laws and regulations that are continuously evolving and developing regarding privacy, data protection, and data security, including those related to the collection, storage, handling, use, disclosure, transfer, and security of personal data. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), and similar regulations implemented in other non-U.S. geographies, add a broad array of requirements with respect to personal data, including the public disclosure of significant data breaches, and imposes substantial penalties for noncompliance. The California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended, the “CCPA”) imposes additional obligations and consumer privacy rights with respect to the personal information of California residents. The CCPA provides civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for data breaches. Furthermore, there is a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the U.S., as 12 states across the country have enacted privacy laws of broad applicability and others are considering and proposing similar laws.
Privacy laws, both domestically and internationally, are changing rapidly, which may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions, and potential legal risk, require additional investment in resources for compliance programs, and result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business marketing practices and policies. If we, our third-party service providers, or those with whom we share personal information fail to comply with such laws and regulations, such as the GDPR and the CCPA, our reputation could be damaged, possibly resulting in lost business, and we could be subjected to additional legal risk or financial losses as a result of non-compliance.
Our vendors’ and commercial partners’ information technology systems may fail or suffer security breaches, which could result in a material disruption of our operations.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our vendors' or commercial partners' information technology systems are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, ransomware software viruses and other similar types of malicious activities, unauthorized access, natural disasters, and electrical failures. Such events could cause disruptions in our operations. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could be subject to litigation and reputational harm, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, business, or results of operations.
We have grown and may continue to grow in the future through acquisitions. Growth by acquisitions involves risks, and we may not be able to effectively integrate businesses we acquire, or we may not be able to identify or consummate any future acquisitions on favorable terms, or at all.
We completed several acquisitions over the past several years, including our acquisition of SCA Performance Holdings, Inc. in March 2020, Outside Van and Sola Sport Pty Ltd. (“Sola Sport”) in May 2021, Shock Therapy in December 2021, Custom Wheel House, LLC in March 2023, and Marucci Sports, LLC in November 2023. Additionally, we intend to selectively evaluate additional acquisitions in the future. Any acquisitions that we made and might make are subject to various risks and uncertainties and could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. These risks include the inability to integrate effectively the operations, products, technologies, and personnel of the acquired companies (some of which may be spread out in different geographic regions), the inability to achieve anticipated cost savings or operating synergies, the earn-outs we may contractually obligate ourselves to pay, and the risk we may not be able to effectively manage our operations at an increased scale of operations resulting from such acquisitions. In the event we do complete acquisitions in the future, such acquisitions could affect our cash flows and net income as we expend funds, increase indebtedness, and incur additional expenses in connection with pursuing acquisitions. We may also issue shares of our common stock or other securities from time to time as consideration for future acquisitions and investments. We may not be able to identify or consummate any future acquisitions on favorable terms, or at all.
Our operating results are subject to quarterly variations in our sales, which could make our operating results difficult to predict and could adversely affect the price of our common stock.
We experienced, and expect to continue to experience, substantial quarterly variations in our sales and net income. Our quarterly results of operations fluctuate, in some cases significantly, as a result of a variety of other factors, including, among other things:
•the timing of new product releases or other significant announcements by us or our competitors;
•new advertising initiatives;
•fluctuations in raw materials and component costs; and
•changes in our practices with respect to building inventory.
As a result of these quarterly fluctuations, comparisons of our operating results between different quarters within a single year are not necessarily meaningful and may not be accurate indicators of our future performance. Any future quarterly fluctuations that we report may differ from the expectations of market analysts and investors, which could cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly. We also believe that the seasonal nature of our business may have been overshadowed throughout the past few years due to the rapid growth in sales we experienced during those periods.
Qualitative data and limited sources support our beliefs regarding the future growth of the performance-defining product market and may not be reliable. A reduction or lack of continued growth in the popularity of high-end bikes, powered vehicles, baseball, or in the number of consumers who are willing to pay premium prices for well-designed, performance-oriented equipment in the markets in which we sell our products could adversely affect our product sales and profits, financial condition, or results of operations.
We generate virtually all of our revenues from sales of performance-defining products. Our beliefs regarding the outlook of the performance-defining product market come from qualitative data and limited sources, which may be unreliable. If our beliefs regarding the opportunities in the market for our products are incorrect or the number of consumers who we believe are willing to pay premium prices for well-designed, performance-oriented equipment in the markets in which we sell our products does not increase or declines, we may fail to achieve future growth and our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be negatively affected.
Because of the current inflation affecting the economy and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases in response, we may be harmed in the future.
We believe inflation, and actions taken by the Federal Reserve in response, currently pose a risk to us in a number of ways. General inflation in the United States has risen to levels not experienced in recent decades, including rising energy prices, prices for consumer goods, interest rates, wages, and currency volatility and downgrades by rating agencies to the U.S. government’s credit rating or concerns about its credit and deficit levels in general, could cause interest rates and borrowing costs to rise. These increases and any fiscal or other policy interventions by the U.S. government in reaction to such events could negatively impact our business by increasing our operating costs and our borrowing costs as well as decreasing capital. Specifically, the Federal Reserve increased benchmark interest rates multiple times in 2022 and 2023. While the Federal Reserve did not increase benchmark interest rates at the June 2023 or September 2023 meeting, it indicated it may continue to raise benchmark interest rates in 2024 in an effort to curb the upward inflationary pressure on the cost of goods and services across the U.S.
The raw materials and other supplies we use to produce our products experienced increasing prices during recent periods as a result of inflation. In response, we increased the prices we charge customers for our products. While these price adjustments have not caused a reduction in sales thus far, continued increases in inflation rates may result in a reduction of customers or sales volumes. Additionally, if the Federal Reserve continues raising interest rates, the result could be a recession, which could slow demand for our products, hinder our sales growth, or cause sales to decline in future periods. As of the date of this Annual Report, we cannot predict how extensive the inflation or the effects of the Federal Reserve’s responses thereto will be, its duration, or the ultimate impact on us. Additionally, the U.S. government’s credit and deficit concerns, the European sovereign debt crisis, and the potential trade war with China, could further cause interest rates to be volatile, which may negatively impact our ability to access the debt markets on favorable terms.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR INDEBTEDNESS AND LIQUIDITY
The 2022 Credit Facility places operating restrictions on us and creates default risks.
The 2022 Credit Facility with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and other named lenders contains covenants that restrict our operating activities. These covenants, among other things, limit our ability to:
•pay dividends or make distributions to our stockholders or redeem our stock;
•incur additional indebtedness or permit additional encumbrances on our assets; and
•make acquisitions, complete mergers or sales of assets, or engage in new businesses.
These restrictions may interfere with our ability to obtain financing or engage in other business activities, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
If we are unable to comply with the covenants contained in the 2022 Credit Facility, it could constitute an event of default, and our lenders could declare all borrowings outstanding, together with accrued and unpaid interest, to be immediately due and payable. If we are unable to repay or otherwise refinance these borrowings when due, our lenders could sell the collateral securing the 2022 Credit Facility, which constitutes substantially all of our assets.
We continue to have the ability to incur debt and our levels of debt may affect our operations and our ability to pay the principal of and interest on our debt.
In the future, we may be able to incur substantial additional debt from amendments to the 2022 Credit Facility, additional lending sources subject to the restrictions contained in the 2022 Credit Facility, or because of certain debt instruments we may issue.
As of December 29, 2023, we had $743.5 million of indebtedness, $280.0 million in revolving credit and $200.0 million in delayed draw term loan available to borrow under the 2022 Credit Facility. Our ability to borrow under the 2022 Credit Facility fluctuates from time to time due to, among other factors, our borrowings under the 2022 Credit Facility.
Our indebtedness could be costly or have adverse consequences, such as:
•requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to payments on our debt;
•limiting our ability to obtain future financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt obligations and other general corporate requirements;
•making us more vulnerable to adverse conditions in the general economy or our industry and to fluctuations in our operating results, including affecting our ability to comply with and maintain any financial tests and ratios required under our indebtedness;
•limiting our flexibility to engage in certain transactions or to plan for, or react to, changes in our business and industry;
•putting us at a disadvantage compared to competitors that have less relative or less restrictive debt; and
•subjecting us to additional restrictive financial and other covenants.
If we incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, these higher levels of indebtedness may affect our ability to pay the principal of and interest on existing indebtedness and our creditworthiness generally.
Our outstanding indebtedness under the 2022 Credit Facility bears interest at a variable rate, which makes us more vulnerable to increases in interest rates and could cause our interest expense to increase and decrease cash available for operations and other purposes.
Borrowings under the 2022 Credit Facility bear interest on a variable rate, which increases and decreases based upon changes in the underlying interest rate and/or our leverage ratio. Any such increases in the interest rate or increases of our borrowings under the 2022 Credit Facility will increase our interest expense.
The Federal Reserve increased benchmark interest rates multiple times in 2022 and 2023. While the Federal Reserve did not increase benchmark interest rates at the June 2023 or September 2023 meeting, it indicated it may continue to raise benchmark interest rates in 2024 in an effort to curb the upward inflationary pressure on the cost of goods and services across the U.S. Increases in these rates increase our interest expense and reduce our funds available for operations and other purposes. Although from time to time we may enter into agreements to hedge a portion of our interest rate exposure, such as the 2022 Interest Rate Swap Agreement, these agreements may be costly and may not protect against all interest rate fluctuations. Accordingly, we may experience material increases in our interest expense as a result of increases in interest rate levels generally. Refer to Note 11. Derivatives and Hedging for additional information regarding the interest rate swap arrangement.
As of December 29, 2023, we had $750.0 million of interest-bearing indebtedness outstanding under the 2022 Credit Facility. Based on the $650.0 million of variable interest rate indebtedness that was outstanding under the 2022 Credit Facility as of December 29, 2023, after giving effect to our interest rate swap, a hypothetical 100 basis point increase or decrease in the interest rate would have resulted in an approximately $6.5 million increase or decrease in interest expense for the year ended December 29, 2023, respectively.
We may incur losses on interest rate swap and hedging arrangements.
We may periodically enter into agreements to reduce the risks associated with increases in interest rates, such as our 2022 Swap Agreement. Although these agreements may partially protect against rising interest rates, they also may reduce the benefits to us if interest rates decline.
RISKS RELATED TO LAWS AND REGULATIONS
Changes in tax laws and regulations or other factors could cause our income tax obligations to increase, potentially reducing our net income and adversely affecting our cash flows.
We are subject to income tax requirements in various jurisdictions in the U.S. and internationally. In preparing our financial statements, we provide for income taxes based on current tax laws and regulations and the estimated taxable income within each of these jurisdictions. Our income tax obligations may be higher, which could materially impact our net income and cash flows due to numerous factors, such as:
•changes to tax laws or interpretations proposed by the current administration in the U.S.;
•modifications to the U.S. tax reform enacted in December 2017;
•revisions to estimates regarding our ability to utilize foreign tax credits, particularly increases in revenues generated in Taiwan or changes in the export potential from Taiwan;
•increases in applicable tax rates; and
•actions by tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate.
We are subject to extensive U.S. federal and state, foreign and international safety, environmental, employment practices, and other government regulations that may require us to incur expenses or modify product offerings to maintain compliance with such regulations, which could have a negative effect on our business and results of operations.
We are subject to extensive laws and regulations relating to safety, environmental, and other laws and regulations promulgated by the U.S. federal and state governments, as well as foreign and international regulatory authorities. Although we believe that our products, policies, and processes comply with applicable safety, environmental, and other standards and related regulations, future regulations may require additional safety standards that would require additional expenses and/or modification of product offerings to maintain such compliance. Failure to comply with applicable regulations could result in fines, increased expenses to modify our products, and reputational harm, all of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Moreover, certain of our product offerings require us to comply with the rules and regulations of various standards of standard-setting organizations, such as the CPSC, the NHTSA, and the European Committee for Standardization. Failure to comply with the requirements of such organizations could result in the loss of certain customer contracts, fines and penalties, or both, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Unpredictability in the adoption, implementation, and enforcement of increasingly stringent emission standards by multiple jurisdictions could adversely affect our business.
A portion of our products are subject to extensive statutory and regulatory requirements governing emission and noise, including standards imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, the European Union, state regulatory agencies (such as the California Air Resources Board), and other regulatory agencies around the world. We made, and continue to make, capital and research expenditures to ensure certain of our products comply with these emission standards. Developing products to meet numerous changing government regulatory requirements, with different implementation timelines and emission requirements, makes developing products efficiently for multiple markets complicated and could result in additional costs that may be difficult to recover in certain markets. In some cases, we may be required to develop new products to comply with new regulations, particularly those relating to air emissions. The successful development and introduction of new and enhanced products in order to comply with new regulatory requirements are subject to other risks, such as delays in product development, cost overruns, and unanticipated technical and manufacturing difficulties.
In addition to these risks, the nature and timing of government implementation and enforcement of increasingly stringent emission standards is unpredictable. Any delays in implementation or enforcement could result in the products we developed or modified to comply with these standards becoming unnecessary or becoming necessary later than expected, which in turn could delay, diminish, or eliminate the expected return and may adversely affect our business.
Increasing focus on environmental, social, and governance responsibility may impose additional costs on us and expose us to new risks.
Regulators, stockholders, and other interested constituencies focus increasingly on the environmental, social, and governance practices of companies. For example, in March 2022, the SEC proposed new rules for extensive and prescriptive climate-related disclosure in annual reports and registration statements, which would also require the inclusion of certain climate-related financial metrics in a note to companies’ audited financial statements. Further, our customers may require us to implement environmental, social, or governance responsibility procedures or standards before they will continue to do business with us. Additionally, we may face reputational challenges in the event our environmental, social, or governance responsibility procedures or standards do not meet the standards set by certain constituencies. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on the price of our shares and our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Climate change and related regulatory responses may adversely impact our business.
There is increasing concern that a gradual increase in global average temperatures due to the increased concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will cause significant changes in weather patterns around the globe and an increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters. Changes in weather patterns and an increased frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme weather conditions could, among other things, (a) disrupt the operation of our supply chain since our bike suspension manufacturing is entirely located in Taiwan, which is prone to typhoons, (b) increase our product costs and impact the types and amounts of products that consumers purchase since the majority of our products are used in outdoor recreation, and (c) affect Marucci’s wood bat production since our timber supply could be impacted by adverse weather conditions. In addition, a number of our facilities are located in California, a state that frequently experiences earthquakes and wildfires and has recently experienced frequent and severe flooding. As a result, the effects of climate change could have a long-term adverse impact on our business, and results of operations.
In many of the countries in which we operate, governmental bodies are increasingly enacting legislation and regulations in response to the potential impacts of climate change. For example, many nations agreed to limit greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as the “Kyoto Protocol” and other initiatives. In December 2015, the U.S. and 194 other countries adopted the Paris Agreement, committing to work towards addressing climate change and agreeing to a monitoring and review process for greenhouse gas emissions. Although the U.S. withdrew from the Paris Agreement in November 2020, the U.S. officially rejoined the Paris Agreement in February 2021 following the change in Presidential administrations and may, in the future, choose to join other international agreements targeting greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, in January 2021, President Biden issued an executive order directing all federal agencies to review and take action to address any federal regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any similar agency actions promulgated during the prior administration that may be inconsistent with the current administration’s policies and to confront the climate crisis. President Biden also issued an executive order solely targeting climate change. The adoption of legislation or regulatory programs at the federal level or other government action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases could have the potential to impact our operations directly or indirectly as a result of required compliance by our suppliers and us. In addition, we may choose to take voluntary steps to mitigate our impact on climate change. As a result, we may experience increases in energy, production, transportation, raw material costs, capital expenditures, or insurance premiums and deductibles. Inconsistency of legislation and regulations among jurisdictions may also affect the costs of compliance with such laws and regulations. Any assessment of the potential impact of future climate change legislation, regulations, or industry standards, as well as any international treaties and accords, is uncertain given the scope of potential regulatory change in the countries in which we operate.
We are subject to employment practice laws and regulations. As such, we are exposed to litigation risks and may incur higher employee costs in the future.
We are subject to extensive laws and regulations relating to employment practices, including wage and hour, wrongful termination, and discrimination. Complying with such laws and regulations, and defending against allegations of our failure to comply (including meritless allegations), can be expensive and time-consuming. We believe that our policies and processes comply with applicable employment standards and related regulations; however, we are subject to risks of litigation by employees and others that might involve allegations of illegal, unfair, or inconsistent employment practices, including wage and hour violations, employment discrimination, misclassification of independent contractors as employees, wrongful termination, and other concerns, which could require additional expenditures.
We are subject to environmental laws and regulation and potential exposure for environmental costs and liabilities.
Our operations, facilities, and properties are subject to a variety of foreign, federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to health, safety, and the protection of the environment. These environmental laws and regulations include those relating to the use, generation, storage, handling, transportation, treatment, and disposal of solid and hazardous materials and wastes, emissions to air, discharges to waters and the investigation and remediation of contamination. Many of these laws impose strict, retroactive, joint and several liability upon owners and operators of properties, including with respect to environmental matters that occurred prior to the time the party became an owner or operator. In addition, we may have liability with respect to third-party sites to which we send waste for disposal. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations can result in significant fines, penalties, costs, liabilities, or restrictions on operations that could negatively affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations. From time to time, we have been involved in administrative or legal proceedings relating to environmental, health, or safety matters and incurred expenditures relating to such matters in the past.
We believe that our operations are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations. However, additional environmental issues relating to presently known or unknown matters could give rise to currently unanticipated investigation, assessment, or expenditures. Compliance with laws or regulations that are more stringent, as well as different interpretations of existing laws, more vigorous enforcement by regulators or unanticipated events, could require additional expenditures that may materially affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Federal, state, local, foreign, and international laws and regulations relating to environmental matters, land-use, and noise and air pollution may have a negative impact on our future sales and results of operations.
The products in our powered vehicles category are used in vehicles that are subject to numerous federal, state, local, foreign, and international laws and regulations relating to noise and air pollution. Powered vehicles, and even bikes, have become subject to laws and regulations prohibiting their use on certain lands and trails. For example, in San Mateo County, California, mountain bikes are not allowed on county trails, and ATV and side-by-sides riding is not allowed in Zion National Park, among many other national and state parks. In addition, recreational snowmobiling has been restricted in some national parks and federal lands in Canada, the U.S., and other countries. If more of these laws and regulations are passed and the users of our products lose convenient locations to ride their mountain bikes and powered vehicles, our sales could decrease, and our business, financial condition, or results of operations could suffer.
Regulations related to conflict minerals may force us to continue to incur additional expenses and otherwise adversely impact our business.
The SEC rules regarding disclosure of the use of tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, known as conflict minerals, in products manufactured by public companies require ongoing due diligence to determine whether such minerals originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC”), or an adjoining country and whether such minerals helped finance the armed conflict in the DRC. As a public company, we are required to comply with the reporting obligations annually. There are costs associated with complying with these disclosure requirements, including costs to determine the origin of conflict minerals in our products. The effect of such rules on customer, supplier, or consumer behavior could adversely affect the sourcing, supply, and pricing of materials used in our products. As a result, we may also incur costs with respect to potential changes to products, processes, or sources of supply. We may face disqualification as a supplier for customers and reputational challenges if our due diligence procedures do not enable us to verify the origins for all conflict minerals used in our products or to determine if such conflict minerals are conflict-free. Accordingly, these rules could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
We retain certain personal information about individuals and are subject to various privacy and consumer protection laws.
We collect personal information for various purposes and through various methods, including from third parties and directly from consumers through our website, at events and sales, and via telephone and email. Certain individuals may object to the processing of this data, request the deletion of this data, or opt out of the sharing of this data, any of which may negatively impact our ability to provide effective customer service or otherwise impact our operations. Collection and use of personal information in conducting our business may be subject to federal and/or state laws and regulations in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions including, in particular, various jurisdictions in Europe, and such laws and regulations may restrict our processing of such personal information and may hinder our ability to attract new customers or market to existing customers. We may incur significant expenses to comply with privacy, consumer protection, and security standards and protocols imposed by law, regulation, industry standards, or contractual obligations.
Our vendors and any potential commercial partners may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements.
Our vendors and any potential commercial partners expose us to the risk of fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless, and/or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violate federal and/or state data privacy, security, and consumer protection laws and regulations in the U.S. and abroad. Such misconduct could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation.
U.S. policies related to global trade and tariffs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
The current domestic and international political environment, including existing and potential changes to U.S. policies related to global trade and tariffs, have resulted in uncertainty surrounding the future state of the global economy. In 2018, the U.S. imposed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, with only a handful of countries exempt from the increase. Throughout the Trump Administration, the U.S. and China imposed a variety of tariffs on most goods traded between the two countries. The U.S. and the European Union also imposed tariffs on each other’s products stemming from a dispute at the World Trade Organization related to aircraft. The Biden Administration and U.S. Congress have created significant uncertainty about their review of tariffs and future relationships between the U.S. and other countries with respect to regulations.
While we have limited exposure to implemented tariffs at this time, any expansion in the types of tariffs implemented has the potential to negatively impact our supply chain costs and the operating performance of our customers, which in turn may negatively affect our sales, gross margin, and operating performance. Additionally, there is a risk that continued U.S. tariffs on imports could be met with additional retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-produced exports and that the broader trade uncertainty could intensify. This has the potential to significantly impact global trade and economic conditions in many of the regions where we do business and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
We are, and may in the future be, subject to legal proceedings. If the outcomes of these proceedings are adverse to us, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to various litigation matters from time to time, the outcome of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Regardless of merit, these litigation matters and any potential future claims against the Company may be both time consuming and disruptive to the Company's operations and cause significant expense, increased insurance costs, reputational harm and diversion of management attention. Claims arising out of actual or alleged violations of law could be asserted against us by individuals, either individually or through class actions, by governmental entities in civil or criminal investigations and proceedings or by other entities. These claims could be asserted under a variety of laws, including but not limited to consumer protection laws and regulations, product liability laws, intellectual property laws, environmental laws, privacy laws, labor and employment laws, securities laws and employee benefit laws. These actions could expose us to adverse publicity and to substantial monetary damages and legal defense costs, injunctive relief and criminal and civil fines and penalties, including but not limited to suspension or revocation of licenses to conduct business. For example, a class action is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta asserting claims on behalf of a putative class of Company stockholders against the Company and certain of its current and former officers alleging violations of federal securities laws. See Part I, Item 3. “Legal Proceedings” for more information about this class action and other legal proceedings to which we may be subject.
RISKS RELATED TO OWNERSHIP OF OUR COMMON STOCK
The trading price of our common stock may be volatile, and you might be unable to sell your shares at or above the price you pay for the shares.
The trading price of our common stock could be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. For example, from January 2, 2021 through December 29, 2023, our stock price fluctuated between $190.29 and $49.12 per share, and such volatility may continue in the future. Factors affecting the trading price of our common stock could include:
•variations in our operating results or those of our competitors;
•new product or other significant announcements by us or our competitors;
•changes in our product mix;
•changes in consumer preferences;
•fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
•the gain or loss of significant customers;
•recruitment or departure of key personnel;
•changes in the estimates of our operating results or changes in recommendations by any securities analysts that elect to follow our common stock;
•changes in general economic conditions as well as conditions affecting our industry in particular; and
•sales of our common stock by us, our significant stockholders, or our directors or executive officers.
In addition, in recent years, the stock market experienced significant price fluctuations. Fluctuations in the overall stock market generally or with respect to companies in our industry could cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate for reasons unrelated to our business, operating results, or financial condition. Further, some companies with volatile market prices for their securities have had securities class actions filed against them. A lawsuit filed against us, regardless of its merits or outcome, could cause us to incur substantial costs and divert management’s attention.
Future issuances and sales of our shares, or the perception that such sales may occur, could cause our stock price to decline.
The issuance of additional shares of our common stock, such as the follow-on offering of approximately 2.8 million shares of common stock that we completed in June 2020, could dilute the ownership interest of our common stockholders and could depress the market price of shares of our common stock.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation authorizes us to issue 90,000,000 shares of common stock, 41,953,938 of which shares were outstanding as of December 29, 2023. In the future, we may issue additional shares of common stock or other equity or debt securities convertible into common stock in connection with financings, acquisitions, registration statements, or otherwise.
After our IPO in 2013 and, more recently, in May 2022, we filed registration statements under the Securities Act to register shares of our common stock that we may issue under our equity plans. As a result, all such shares can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to any vesting or contractual lock-up agreements.
We also have a number of institutional stockholders that own significant blocks of our common stock. If one or more of these stockholders were to sell large portions of their holdings in a relatively short time, for liquidity or other reasons, the prevailing price of shares of our common stock could be negatively affected.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about our business or us. If one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our stock or publishes unfavorable research about our business or our industry, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our Company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control of our Company.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws (together, our “Charter Documents”), as well as Delaware law, contain provisions that may discourage, delay or prevent a change in our management or control over us that stockholders may consider favorable. Among other things, these provisions:
•authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that could be issued by our Board of Directors to discourage a takeover attempt;
•establish a classified Board of Directors, as a result of which the successors to the directors whose terms have expired will be elected to serve from the time of election and qualification until the third annual meeting following their election;
•require that directors be removed from office only for cause;
•provide that vacancies on our Board of Directors, including newly created directorships, may be filled only by a majority vote of directors then in office;
•provide that no action be taken by stockholders by written consent;
•provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by our Board of Directors, our Chairperson of the Board of Directors, our Lead Director (if we do not have a Chairperson or the Chairperson is disabled), our Chief Executive Officer or our President (in the absence of a Chief Executive Officer);
•require supermajority stockholder voting for our stockholders to effect certain amendments to our Charter Documents; and
•establish advance notice requirements for nominations for elections to our Board of Directors or for proposing other matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings.
In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (“DGCL”), which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in a broad range of business combinations with a stockholder owning 15% or more of such corporation’s outstanding voting stock for a period of three years following the date on which such stockholder became an “interested” stockholder. In order for us to consummate a business combination with an interested stockholder within three years of the date on which the stockholder became interested, either: (i) the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming interested must be approved by our Board of Directors prior to the date the stockholder became interested; (ii) the interested stockholder must own at least 85% of our outstanding voting stock at the time the transaction commences (excluding voting stock owned by directors who are also officers and certain employee stock plans); or (iii) the business combination must be approved by our Board of Directors and authorized by at least two-thirds of our stockholders (excluding the interested stockholder) at a special or annual meeting (not by written consent). This provision could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control, whether or not it is desired by or beneficial to our stockholders. Any delay or prevention of a change in control transaction or changes in our Board of Directors and management could deter potential acquirers or prevent the completion of a transaction in which our stockholders could receive a substantial premium over the then-current market price for their shares of our common stock.
We cannot guarantee that our share repurchase program will be fully consummated or that it will enhance long-term stockholder value, and share repurchases could increase the volatility of the price of our common stock.
Pursuant to the new share repurchase program authorized by our Board of Directors on November 1, 2023, we are authorized to repurchase up to $300.0 million of outstanding shares of our common stock through various methods, including, but not limited to, open market, privately negotiated, or accelerated share repurchase transactions. This program will expire on November 1, 2028, and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. We are not obligated to repurchase a specified number or dollar of shares, and the timing, manner, price, and actual amount of share repurchases will be made at management’s discretion at prices management considers to be attractive and in the best interests of both the Company and its stockholders, subject to the availability of stock, general market conditions, the trading price of the stock, alternative uses for capital, and the Company’s financial performance. The program does not obligate the Company to acquire a minimum amount of shares. The timing of repurchases pursuant to our share repurchase program could affect our stock price and increase its volatility. We cannot guarantee that we will repurchase shares, and there can be no assurance that any repurchases pursuant to our stock repurchase program will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our common stock may decline below the levels at which we repurchase such shares. In addition, there is no guarantee that our stock repurchases in the past or in the future will be able to successfully mitigate the dilutive effect of recent and future employee stock option exercises and restricted stock unit vesting. The amounts and timing of the repurchases may also be influenced by general market conditions, regulatory developments (including recent legislative actions which, subject to certain conditions, may impose an excise tax of 1% on our stock repurchases), and the prevailing price and trading volumes of our common stock. If our financial condition deteriorates or we decide to use our cash for other purposes, we may suspend repurchase activity at any time.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that, with certain limited exceptions, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of our Company owed to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our Charter Documents; (iv) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our Charter Documents; or (v) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock is deemed to have received notice of and consented to the foregoing provisions. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find this choice of forum provision inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
GENERAL RISK FACTORS
Failure of our internal controls over financial reporting could adversely affect our business and financial results.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended. Internal control over financial reporting is a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting is not intended to provide absolute assurance that we would prevent or detect a misstatement of our financial statements or fraud. Any failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting could limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and timely or to detect and prevent fraud. The identification of a material weakness could indicate a lack of controls adequate to generate accurate financial statements that, in turn, could cause a loss of investor confidence and a decline in the market price of our common stock. We cannot assure you that we will be able to timely remediate any material weaknesses that may be identified in future periods or maintain all of the controls necessary for continued compliance. Likewise, we cannot assure you that we will be able to retain sufficient skilled finance and accounting personnel, especially in light of the increased demand for such personnel among publicly traded companies.

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

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
At December 29, 2023, we occupied the following square footage by location:
U.S. Other Countries Total
Leased facilities 2,680,286 405,115 3,085,401
Owned facilities 829,363 178,842 1,008,205
Total 3,509,649 583,957 4,093,606
Certain administrative, research and development and manufacturing operations are located in California and Georgia. We also manufacture in the U.S. States of Michigan, Colorado, Indiana, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Utah and Oregon, and internationally in Taiwan and Canada, and maintain sales and service offices in the U.S. and Europe.
We believe that our properties are generally suitable to meet our needs for the foreseeable future. In addition, to the extent we require additional space in the future, we believe that it would be readily available on commercially reasonable terms.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
On February 20, 2024, a complaint alleging violations of federal securities laws and seeking certification as a class action was filed against the Company and certain of its current and former officers in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta. The complaint has not yet been served. The complaint purports to seek damages on behalf of a putative class of persons who purchased the Company’s common stock between May 6, 2021 and November 2, 2023. The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20 of the Securities Exchange Act and alleges that the Company made material misstatements and omissions to investors regarding demand for the Company’s products and inventory levels. The complaint generally seeks money damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and other costs. The Company denies all allegations of wrongdoing, believes the plaintiffs' positions are without merit, and intends to 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 REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock has been listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “FOXF” since August 8, 2013. Our IPO was priced at $15.00 per share on August 8, 2013. Prior to that date, there was no public trading market for our common stock. On February 15, 2024, the closing price per share of our common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market was $68.30 per share.
Stockholders
As of January 31, 2024, there were approximately 7 holders of record of our common stock. The actual number of stockholders is greater than this number of record holders, and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners, but whose shares are held in street name by brokers and other nominees. This number of holders of record also does not include stockholders whose shares may be held in trust by other entities.
Dividend Policy
We did not declare or pay any dividends in the years ended December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022. In addition, our 2022 Credit Facility contains covenants limiting our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and Capital Resources - Credit Facility for additional information. While we currently intend to reinvest our earnings, any future determination to declare cash dividends will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on a number of factors, including our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, general business conditions and any other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. We do not intend to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
For equity compensation plan information, refer to Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Performance Graph
The following graph shows a comparison from August 8, 2013 (the date our common stock commenced trading on the NASDAQ) through December 29, 2023 of the total cumulative return of our common stock with the total cumulative return of the NASDAQ Composite Index (the “NASDAQ Composite”) and S&P 500 Index (“S&P 500”). The figures represented below assume an investment of $100 in our common stock at the closing price of $18.61 on August 8, 2013 and in the NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500. Data for the NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500 assume reinvestment of dividends. The comparisons in the graph are historical and are not intended to forecast or be indicative of possible future performance of our common stock.
This performance graph shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or “filed” or incorporated by reference in future filings with the SEC, or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
There were no unregistered securities sold by the Company during the three year period ended December 29, 2023.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The table below sets forth information regarding repurchases of our common stock by us during the quarter ended December 29, 2023:
Period Total Number of Shares Purchased (1) Weighted Average Price Paid per Share (3) Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (2) Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased under the Plans or Programs (2)
9/30-11/3 436 $ 81.47 - $ -
11/4-12/1 427,555 $ 58.44 427,555 $ 275,000,000
12/2-12/29 - $ - - $ 275,000,000
Total 427,991 $ - 427,555 $ 275,000,000
(1) Includes 436 shares acquired from holders of restricted stock unit awards and option exercises to satisfy tax withholding obligations. These shares were not purchased as part of a publicly announced program to purchase common stock.
(2) On November 1, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase plan for up to $300 million in shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share. Refer to Note 13. Stockholders’ Equity for further details.
(3) The average price paid per share excludes excise tax on share repurchases imposed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6. RESERVED

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report in Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. You should review the “Risk Factors” and “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
Overview
We design, engineer, manufacture and market performance-defining products and systems for customers worldwide. Our premium brand, performance-defining products and systems are used primarily on bikes, side-by-sides, on-road vehicles with and without off-road capabilities, off-road vehicles and trucks, ATVs, snowmobiles, and specialty vehicles and applications. In addition, we also offer premium baseball and softball gear and equipment. Virtually all of our revenues were from our product sales; miscellaneous sources of revenue such as royalty income and service related repair work and the associated sale of parts represented less than 1% of our sales in each of the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
We have determined that we operate in one reportable segment, which is the manufacturing, sale and service of performance-defining products. Our products fall into the following three categories:
•powered vehicles, including side-by-sides, certain on-road vehicles with and without off-road capabilities, off-road vehicles and trucks, ATVs, snowmobiles, specialty vehicles and applications, including military, motorcycles, and commercial trucks;
•aftermarket applications, mainly consisting of products for off-road vehicles and trucks, side-by-sides, on-road vehicles with or without off-road capabilities, specialty vehicles and applications as well as lift kits and components with our shock products and aftermarket accessory packages for use in trucks; and
•specialty sports products, which consist primarily of bike suspension, component products, and gear and equipment for baseball and softball.
In each of the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, approximately 36%, 27% and 28%, respectively, of our net sales were attributable to net sales of powered vehicles products; approximately 38%, 31%, and 28%, respectively, of our net sales were attributable to net sales of aftermarket application products and approximately 27%, 42% and 45%, respectively, of our net sales were attributable to sales of specialty sports products.
Our North American net sales totaled $1,127.6 million, $1,009.2 million and $811.3 million, or 77%, 63% and 62% of our total net sales in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our international net sales totaled $336.6 million, $593.3 million and $487.8 million, or 23%, 37% and 38% of our total net sales in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Sales attributable to countries outside the U.S. are based on shipment location. Our international sales, however, do not necessarily reflect the location of the end users of our products as many of our products are incorporated into bikes that are assembled at international locations and then shipped back to the U.S. We estimate, based on our internal projections and assumptions, that approximately one-third of the end users of our bike products are located outside the U.S.
Opportunities, challenges and risks
We intend to focus on generating sales of our performance-defining products through OEMs, aftermarket, and retail channels. To do this, we intend to continue to develop and introduce new and innovative products in our current end-markets and we intend to selectively develop products for applications and end-markets in which we do not currently participate. Currently, the majority of our sales are dependent on the demand for performance-defining products.
Our aftermarket distribution network currently consists of more than 5,000 retail dealers and distributors worldwide. To further penetrate the aftermarket channel, we intend to selectively add additional dealers and distributors in certain geographic markets, expand our internal sales force and strategically increase the number of aftermarket specific products and services that we offer for existing vehicle platforms. In addition, we believe international expansion represents a significant opportunity for us and we intend to selectively increase infrastructure investments and focus on identified geographic regions.
As a supplier to OEM customers, we are largely dependent on the success of the business of our OEM customers. Model year changes by our OEM customers may adversely impact our sales or cause our sales to vary from quarter to quarter. Losses in market share or a decline in the overall market of our OEM customers or the discontinuance by our OEM customers of their products that incorporate our products could negatively impact our business and our results of operations.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, we completed the construction of an approximately 336,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Hall County, Georgia (the “Gainesville Facility”), to diversify our manufacturing platform and provide additional long-term capacity to support growth in our Powered Vehicles Group. The Gainesville Facility is being used for manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and office space.
From time to time, we have experienced, and may continue to experience, warranty costs and claims relating to our products. In the ordinary course of business, we reserve for such costs and claims in our financial statements. There is a risk, however, that in the future we will experience higher than expected warranty costs and claims, as well as other related costs. Please read “Risks Related to Our Business and Operations - Product recalls, and significant product repair and/or replacement due to product warranty costs and claims have had, and in the future, could have, a material adverse impact on our business” within Item 1A. Risk Factors.
We intend to evaluate selective potential acquisition opportunities for performance-defining products and technologies that we believe will help us extend our performance-defining product platform. Any acquisitions that we might make are subject to various risks and uncertainties and could have a negative impact on our results of operations. In addition, we may contractually obligate ourselves to contingent consideration or acquisition related compensation payments in conjunction with such acquisitions, which could have a negative impact on our cash flow and results of operations. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and Capital Resources - Material Cash Requirements for additional information.
Basis of presentation
Composition of net sales
Sales from:
•Product sales: consist of sales of performance-defining products and systems to customers worldwide. Sales are measured based on the consideration specified in a contract with a customer. We recognize sales when a performance obligation is satisfied by transferring control of a product to a customer, generally at the time of shipment for most products and over the time it takes to complete certain upfit packages. Contracts are generally in the form of purchase orders and are governed by standard terms and conditions. For larger OEMs, we may also enter into master agreements; and
•Shipping and handling fees: consists of shipping and handling fees billed to customers.
Net of:
•Rebates: consists of incentives we provide to customers based on sales of eligible products; and
•Sales returns allowances: consists of an estimate of our sales returns. This allowance is based upon estimates of the projected returns in future periods based on our experience with returns recorded in previous periods. Sales returns have not been significant to date.
Cost of sales
The cost of sales includes the cost of purchased parts and manufactured products (raw materials consumed, the cost to procure materials, labor costs, including wages, and employee benefits, and factory overhead to produce finished good products), including:
•the costs to inspect and repair products;
•shipping costs associated with inbound freight (such costs are capitalized as part of inventory and included in cost of sales as the inventory is sold);
•royalty expenses, including payments to certain parties for our use of licensed technology incorporated into our products;
•freight expenses incurred for certain shipments to customers;
•warranty costs associated with the repair or replacement of products under warranty; and
•reductions in the cost of inventory to its net realizable value, if required, for estimated excess, obsolescence or impaired balances.
Gross profit/gross margin
Our gross profit equals our net sales minus cost of sales. Our gross margin measures our gross profit as a percentage of net sales.
Our gross margins fluctuate based on production volumes, product, customer and channel mix and overall supply chain and manufacturing efficiencies. Generally, we earn higher gross margins on our products sold to the aftermarket channel.
Operating expenses
Our operating expenses consist of the following:
•sales and marketing;
•research and development;
•general and administrative; and
•amortization of purchased intangibles.
Our sales and marketing expenses include costs related to our net sales, customer service and marketing personnel, including their wages, employee benefits and related stock-based compensation, and occupancy related expenses. Other significant sales and marketing expenses include commissions paid to outside sales representatives, promotional materials and products, our sales office costs, race support and sponsorships of events and athletes, advertising and promotions related to trade shows, and travel and entertainment.
Our research and development expenses consist primarily of salaries and personnel costs, including wages, employee benefits and related stock-based compensation for our engineering, research and development teams, occupancy related expenses, fees for third party consultants, service fees, and expenses for prototype tooling and materials, travel, and supplies. We expense research and development costs as incurred and such costs are included as research and development expenses on our consolidated statements of income.
Our general and administrative expenses include costs related to our executive, finance, legal, information technology, business development, human resources and administrative personnel, including wages, employee benefits and related stock-based compensation expenses. We record professional and contract service expenses, occupancy related expenses associated with corporate locations and equipment, and legal expenses in general and administrative expenses.
Our amortization of purchased intangibles includes amortization over their respective useful lives of our purchased intangible assets, such as customer lists and our core technology. Our intangible assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be fully recoverable. No impairments of intangible assets were identified in the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Income from operations
We define income from operations as gross profit less our operating expenses. We use income from operations as an indicator of the profitability of our business and our ability to manage costs.
Interest and other expense, net
Interest expense consists of interest charged to us under our credit facility and changes related to our interest rate swap.
Other expense, net, consists of foreign currency transaction gains and losses, gains and losses on the disposal of fixed assets, and other miscellaneous items.
Income taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. (federal and state) and various other foreign jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate could be affected by numerous factors such as change in our business operations, acquisitions, investments, entry into new businesses and geographies, intercompany transactions, the relative amount of our foreign earnings, losses incurred in jurisdictions for which we are not able to realize related tax benefits, changes in our deferred tax assets and liabilities and their valuation, changes in the laws, regulations, administrative practices, principles, and interpretations related to tax, including changes to the global tax framework and other laws and accounting rules in various jurisdictions.
For the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, we had effective tax rates of 12.8%, 12.2% and 13.0%, respectively.
As of December 29, 2023, our deferred tax assets included foreign tax credits of approximately $51.2 million, which begin to expire in 2026 unless utilized.
Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. As of December 29, 2023, the Company determined a valuation allowance was not needed. In the future, our effective tax rate could vary as we update our assessment of valuation allowances for our deferred tax assets, including those associated with credit carryforwards. It is reasonably possible that we could record a material adjustment to the valuation allowance in the next 12 months.
We are subject to examination of our income tax returns by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and other tax authorities. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our income tax liabilities and expense. Should actual events or results differ from our current expectations, charges or credits to our income tax expense may become necessary. Any such adjustments could have a significant impact on our effective tax rate.
Results of operations
The table below summarizes our results of operations for the fiscal years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022, and December 31, 2021:
For the fiscal years ended
(in millions) December 29, 2023 December 30, 2022 December 31, 2021
Net sales $ 1,464.2 $ 1,602.5 $ 1,299.1
Cost of sales 999.4 1,071.1 866.7
Gross profit 464.8 531.3 432.3
Operating expenses:
General and administrative 124.6 116.1 97.2
Sales and marketing 100.5 90.8 70.9
Research and development 53.2 56.2 46.6
Amortization of purchased intangibles 26.5 21.5 20.7
Total operating expenses 304.7 284.6 235.4
Income from operations 160.1 246.7 196.9
Interest expense 19.3 8.9 8.2
Other expense, net 2.1 4.0 0.4
Income before income taxes 138.7 233.8 188.4
Provision for income taxes 17.8 28.5 24.6
Net income $ 120.8 $ 205.3 $ 163.8
*Amounts may not foot due to rounding.
The following table sets forth statement of income data as a percentage of net sales for the years indicated:
For the fiscal years ended
December 29, 2023 December 30, 2022 December 31, 2021
Net sales 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 %
Cost of sales 68.3 66.8 66.7
Gross profit 31.7 33.2 33.3
Operating expenses:
General and administrative 8.5 7.2 7.5
Sales and marketing 6.9 5.7 5.5
Research and development 3.6 3.5 3.6
Amortization of purchased intangibles 1.8 1.3 1.6
Total operating expenses 20.8 17.8 18.1
Income from operations 10.9 15.4 15.2
Interest expense 1.3 0.6 0.6
Other expense, net 0.1 0.2 -
Income before income taxes 9.5 14.6 14.5
Provision for income taxes 1.2 1.8 1.9
Net income 8.3 % 12.8 % 12.6 %
*Percentages may not foot due to rounding.
Fiscal year ended December 29, 2023 compared to fiscal year ended December 30, 2022
Net Sales
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2023 2022 Change ($) Change (%)
Powered Vehicle Group $ 523.9 $ 432.4 $ 91.5 21.2 %
Aftermarket Applications Group 551.1 489.1 (291.8) (59.7)
Specialty Sports Group 389.2 681.0 (42.8)
Total net sales $ 1,464.2 $ 1,602.5 $ (138.3) (8.6) %
Net sales for the year ended December 29, 2023 decreased approximately $138.3 million, or 8.6%, compared to the year ended December 30, 2022. The net sales decrease reflects a decrease of 42.8% in Specialty Sports Group net sales and increases of 21.2% and 59.7% Powered Vehicle Group and Aftermarket Applications Group net sales, respectively, for the year ended December 29, 2023 compared to the prior fiscal year. The decrease in Specialty Sports Group net sales is primarily related to channel inventory recalibration and to a lesser extent lower end consumer demand, partially offset by the inclusion of $16.8 million net sales from our Marucci subsidiary that was acquired in November 2023. The increase in Powered Vehicle Group net sales was primarily due to strong demand in the OEM channel, partially offset by the impact of the UAW strike and the effects of macroeconomic environment. The increase in Aftermarket Applications Group net sales was mainly attributed to the inclusion of $65.6 million net sales from our Custom Wheel House subsidiary, which was acquired in March 2023, partially offset by a decrease in upfitting sales due to a change in product mix as a result of the UAW strike and higher interest rates impacting floor plan financing resulting in dealers taking a more conservative approach to inventory.
Cost of sales
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2023 2022 Change ($) Change (%)
Cost of sales $ 999.4 $ 1,071.1 $ (71.7) (6.7) %
Cost of sales for the year ended December 29, 2023 decreased approximately $71.7 million, or 6.7%, compared to the year ended December 30, 2022. The decrease in cost of sales was due to our decreased sales partially offset by certain business factors affecting gross margin, which are discussed below.
For the year ended December 29, 2023, our gross margin was 31.7% compared to 33.2% for the year ended December 30, 2022. The decrease in gross margin for the fiscal year 2023 was primarily due to a shift in our product line mix and amortization of acquired inventory valuation markups, offset by increased efficiencies at our North American facilities.
Operating expenses
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2023 2022 Change ($) Change (%)
Operating expenses:
General and administrative $ 124.6 $ 116.1 $ 8.5 7.3 %
Sales and marketing 100.4 90.8 9.6 10.6
Research and development 53.2 56.2 (3.0) (5.3)
Amortization of purchased intangibles 26.5 21.5 5.0 23.3
Total operating expenses $ 304.7 $ 284.6 $ 20.1 7.1 %
Total operating expenses for the year ended December 29, 2023 increased approximately $20.1 million, or 7.1%, over the comparable period in 2022. When expressed as a percentage of net sales, operating expenses increased to 20.8% of net sales for the year ended December 29, 2023, compared to 17.8% of net sales for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022.
Within operating expenses, our sales and marketing expense increased by approximately $9.6 million primarily due to the inclusion of $10.6 million and $2.7 million Custom Wheel House and Marucci expenses, respectively, offset by cost controls. General and administrative expenses increased approximately $8.5 million mainly due to operating expenses associated with facility expansion and the inclusion of $3.9 million and $3.2 million Custom Wheel House and Marucci expenses, respectively, partially offset by cost controls. Research and development expenses decreased approximately $3.0 million driven by additional benefit from a state research and development tax credit. Amortization of purchased intangible assets for the year ended December 29, 2023 increased by approximately $5.0 million as compared to the year ended December 30, 2022, primarily due to the amortization of Custom Wheel House and Marucci intangible assets.
Income from operations
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2023 2022 Change ($) Change (%)
Income from operations $ 160.1 $ 246.7 $ (86.6) (35.1) %
As a result of the factors discussed above, income from operations for the year ended December 29, 2023 decreased approximately $86.6 million, or 35.1%, compared to the year ended December 30, 2022.
Interest and other expense, net
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2023 2022 Change ($) Change (%)
Interest expense $ 19.3 $ 8.9 $ 10.4 116.9 %
Other expense, net 2.1 4.0 (1.9) (47.5)
Interest and other expense, net $ 21.4 $ 12.9 $ 8.5 65.9 %
Interest and other expense, net for the year ended December 29, 2023 increased by approximately $8.5 million to $21.4 million, compared to $12.9 million for the year ended December 30, 2022. Interest expense increased by $10.4 million due to higher debt and interest rates. Other expense, net decreased $1.9 million primarily due lower losses on foreign currency transactions.
Income taxes
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2023 2022 Change ($) Change (%)
Provision for income taxes $ 17.8 $ 28.5 $ (10.7) (37.5) %
Income tax expense for the year ended December 29, 2023 decreased by approximately $10.7 million to $17.8 million compared to $28.5 million for the year ended December 30, 2022. The decrease in expense primarily resulted from a decrease in pre-tax profit, partially offset by the release of the valuation allowance for foreign tax credits in the prior year.
The effective tax rates were 12.8% and 12.2% for the years ended December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022, respectively.
For the year ended December 29, 2023, the difference between our effective tax rate and the 21% federal statutory rate resulted from a lower tax rate on foreign derived intangible income and benefit from the U.S. research and development tax credit.
For the year ended December 30, 2022, the difference between our effective tax rate and the 21% federal statutory rate resulted from a lower tax rate on U.S. foreign derived earnings and the release of the valuation allocation for foreign tax credits, partially offset by other non-deductible expenses and state taxes.
Net income
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2023 2022 Change ($) Change (%)
Net income $ 120.8 $ 205.3 $ (84.5) (41.2) %
As a result of the factors described above, our net income decreased $84.5 million, or 41.2%, to $120.8 million in the fiscal year ended December 29, 2023 from $205.3 million for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022.
Fiscal year ended December 30, 2022 compared to fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
Net sales
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2022 2021 Change ($) Change (%)
Powered Vehicle Group $ 432.4 $ 360.7 $ 71.7 19.9 %
Aftermarket Applications Group 489.1 359.4 129.7 36.1
Specialty Sports Group 681.0 579.0 102.0 17.6
Total net sales $ 1,602.5 $ 1,299.1 $ 303.4 23.4 %
Net sales for the year ended December 30, 2022 increased approximately $303.4 million, or 23.4%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The net sales increase reflects an increase of 36.1%, 19.9% and 17.6% in Aftermarket Applications Group, Powered Vehicle Group and Specialty Sports Group net sales, respectively, for the year ended December 30, 2022 compared to the prior fiscal year. The increase in Aftermarket Applications Group net sales was primarily due to strong performance from our upfitting product lines. The increase in Powered Vehicle product net sales was driven by increased demand in the OEM channel. The increase in Specialty Sports product net sales reflects higher demand primarily in the OEM channel.
Cost of sales
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2022 2021 Change ($) Change (%)
Cost of sales $ 1,071.1 $ 866.7 $ 204.4 23.6 %
Cost of sales for the year ended December 30, 2022 increased approximately $204.4 million, or 23.6%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in cost of sales was driven primarily by an increase in product sales, as well as certain business factors affecting gross margin, which are discussed below.
For the year ended December 30, 2022, our gross margin was 33.2% compared to 33.3% for the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease in gross margin for the fiscal year 2022 was primarily due to increases in factory overhead and materials costs, each of which were driven higher by inflation. Additionally, the completion of the planned shutdown of our Watsonville Facility and transition of those production lines resulted in inefficiencies in the first half of fiscal year 2022 as we ramped up our Gainesville Facility.
Operating expenses
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2022 2021 Change ($) Change (%)
Operating expenses:
General and administrative $ 116.1 $ 97.2 $ 18.9 19.4 %
Sales and marketing 90.8 70.9 19.9 28.1
Research and development 56.2 46.6 9.6 20.6
Amortization of purchased intangibles 21.5 20.7 0.8 3.9
Total operating expenses $ 284.6 $ 235.4 $ 49.2 20.9 %
Total operating expenses for the year ended December 30, 2022 increased approximately $49.2 million, or 20.9%, over the comparable period in 2021. When expressed as a percentage of sales, operating expenses decreased to 17.8% of sales for the year ended December 30, 2022, compared to 18.1% of sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
Within operating expenses, our sales and marketing expense increased by approximately $19.9 million primarily due to higher commissions costs of $9.7 million, higher headcount and employee-benefit related costs of $5.8 million, higher marketing-related costs of $4.0 million and various others. Research and development expenses increased approximately $9.6 million primarily due to headcount investments to support future growth. General and administrative expenses increased approximately $18.9 million due to higher headcount and employee benefit-related costs of $11.7 million and higher insurance and facility-related costs of $11.1 million. These increases were partially offset by lower acquisition-related compensation and decreases in other miscellaneous costs.
Amortization of purchased intangible assets for the year ended December 30, 2022 increased by approximately $0.8 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily due to the amortization of Shock Therapy intangible assets.
Income from operations
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2022 2021 Change ($) Change (%)
Income from operations $ 246.7 $ 196.9 $ 49.8 25.3 %
As a result of the factors discussed above, income from operations for the year ended December 30, 2022 increased approximately $49.8 million, or 25.3%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2021.
Interest and other expense, net
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2022 2021 Change ($) Change (%)
Interest expense $ 8.9 $ 8.2 $ 0.7 8.5 %
Other expense, net 4.0 0.3 3.7 1,233.3
Interest and other expense, net $ 12.9 $ 8.5 $ 4.4 51.8 %
Interest and other expense, net for the year ended December 30, 2022 increased by approximately $4.4 million to $12.9 million, compared to $8.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in interest and other expense, net is primarily due to higher foreign currency losses, as well as increasing interest rates.
Income taxes
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2022 2021 Change ($) Change (%)
Provision for income taxes $ 28.5 $ 24.6 $ 3.9 15.9 %
Income tax expense for the year ended December 30, 2022 increased by approximately $3.9 million to $28.5 million compared to income tax expense of $24.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in expense resulted from an increase in pre-tax profit and decreased benefits from stock-based compensation deductions, partially offset by the release of the valuation allocation for foreign tax credits and the benefit of a lower tax rate on U.S. foreign derived earnings.
The effective tax rates were 12.2% and 13.0% for the years ended December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.
For the year ended December 30, 2022, the difference between our effective tax rate and the 21% federal statutory rate resulted from a lower tax rate on U.S. foreign derived earnings and the release of the valuation allocation for foreign tax credits, partially offset by other non-deductible expenses and state taxes.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, the difference between our effective tax rate and the 21% federal statutory rate resulted from a lower tax rate on U.S. foreign derived earnings and the benefit of excess stock based compensation deductions.
Net income
For the fiscal years
(in millions) 2022 2021 Change ($) Change (%)
Net income $ 205.3 $ 163.8 $ 41.5 25.3 %
As a result of the factors described above, our net income increased $41.5 million, or 25.3%, to $205.3 million in the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022 from $163.8 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our primary cash needs are to support working capital, interest on debt, employee compensation, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt repayments, and other general corporate purposes. Historically, we have generally financed our liquidity needs with operating cash flows, borrowings under our Prior Credit Facility and our 2022 Credit Facility, and the issuance of common stock. These sources of liquidity may be impacted by factors and events described in Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Item 1A. Risk Factors.
As of December 29, 2023, we held $24.7 million of our $83.6 million of cash and cash equivalents in accounts of our subsidiaries outside of the U.S., which we may repatriate.
A summary of our operating, investing and financing activities is shown in the following table:
For the years ended
(in millions) December 29, 2023 December 30, 2022 December 31, 2021
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 178.7 $ 187.1 $ 63.2
Net cash used in investing activities (750.4) (44.7) (104.9)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 509.0 (179.1) (23.8)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 1.1 2.3 (0.5)
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents $ (61.6) $ (34.4) $ (66.1)
*Amounts may not foot due to rounding.
We expect that cash on hand, cash flow from operations and availability under our 2022 Credit Facility will be sufficient to fund our operations during the next 12 months from the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and beyond.
Operating activities
In the fiscal year ended December 29, 2023, net cash provided by operating activities was $178.7 million. Our investment in operating assets and liabilities is a result of an increase in prepaids and other current assets of $38.2 million primarily due to carrying more chassis to meet current year production needs for the upfitting product lines, and decreases in accounts payable of $44.0 million, accrued expenses and other liabilities of $21.4 million, and income taxes payable of $19.1 million, partially offset by decreases in accounts receivable of $64.5 million and inventory of $31.6 million. The change in our accounts receivable reflects a shift in our product line mix and the timing of customer collections. The change in our accounts payable is driven by timing of inventory purchases and vendor payments. The change in accrued expenses and other liabilities is primarily due to payments made for compensation and tax related accruals and our cost control measures, partially offset by acquired accrued expenses. The decrease in inventory excluding acquired inventory reflects our continued efforts to optimize inventory levels.
In the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022, cash provided by operating activities was $187.1 million. Cash invested in operating assets and liabilities is primarily the result of increases in inventory of $87.4 million and accounts receivable of $64.0 million, partially offset by a decrease in prepaids and other current assets of $18.1 million, and increases in accounts payable of $40.5 million, accrued expenses of $11.7 million and income taxes payable of $8.7 million. The increase in inventory is due to several factors, including natural growth to meet anticipated demand, receipt of long lead time items that had been delayed, and higher levels of safety stock to mitigate supply chain uncertainty. The increases in accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses reflect normal business growth, as well as the timing of customer collections and vendor payments. The decrease in prepaids and other current assets is primarily due to a lower supply of chassis as we worked through the safety stock that we had secured at the end of 2021.
In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, cash provided by operating activities was $63.2 million. Cash invested in operating assets and liabilities is primarily the result of increases in inventory of $150.4 million, prepaids and other current assets of $34.5 million, and accounts receivable of $20.2 million, offset by increases in net income taxes payable of $26.8 million, accrued expenses of $21.8 million, and accounts payable of $10.3 million. The increase in inventory is primarily due to additional raw material purchases to mitigate risks associated with supply chain uncertainty and shortages on certain parts needed to complete a suspension kit, as well as a higher balance of finished goods due to the timing of shipments. The increase in prepaids and other current assets is the result of increased chassis deposits. The increases in net income taxes payable, accrued expenses, accounts receivable and accounts payable are the result of normal business growth and the timing of vendor and tax payments.
Investing activities
In the fiscal year ended December 29, 2023, cash used in investing activities was $750.4 million, which primarily consisted of $701.1 million in cash consideration for our acquisitions of Marucci and Custom Wheel House, $46.9 million in property and equipment additions, and $2.4 million in cash consideration for our purchase of other assets.
In the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022, cash used in investing activities was $44.7 million, which primarily consisted of $43.7 million in property and equipment additions, $3.5 million in cash consideration for our purchase of intellectual property assets, and $0.7 million in cash consideration to finalize our acquisition of Shock Therapy, partially offset by $3.2 million in proceeds from the sale of property and equipment.
In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, cash used in investing activities was $104.9 million, which primarily consisted of $54.8 million in property and equipment additions and $51.9 million of cash consideration for our acquisitions of Outside Van, Sola Sport and Shock Therapy, partially offset by $1.8 million in proceeds for the sale of property and equipment.
Financing activities
In the fiscal year ended December 29, 2023, net cash provided by financing activities was $509.0 million, which primarily consisted of proceeds from our 2022 Credit Facility of $793.5 million, which was used to support our working capital and the purchases of Marucci and Custom Wheel House, partially offset by $230.0 million in payments on our line of credit, $20.0 million in prepayments on our Term A Loan, $25.0 million to repurchase shares of our common stock, net of proceeds from the exercise of stock options, as part of our stock-based compensation program, and $6.2 million and $3.4 million in deferred debt issuance costs.
In the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022, net cash used in financing activities was $179.1 million, which primarily consisted of $404.3 million in payments on our line of credit, $382.5 million in payments on our term debt, $4.3 million to repurchase shares of our common stock, net of proceeds from the exercise of stock options, as part of our stock-based compensation program and $2.7 million in installment payments related to the purchase of the Tuscany non-controlling interest. These changes were partially offset by net proceeds from our 2022 Credit Facility of $602.4 million, which was used to refinance our Prior Credit Facility, and proceeds from the termination of our 2021 Swap Agreement of $12.3 million.
In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in financing activities was $23.8 million, which primarily consisted of $12.5 million in payments on our term debt, $7.0 million to repurchase shares of our common stock, net of proceeds from the exercise of stock options, as part of our stock-based compensation program and $4.6 million in installment payments related to the purchase of the Tuscany non-controlling interest, partially offset by $0.3 million in proceeds received from the termination of our 2020 Swap Agreement.
Prior Credit Facility
In June 2019, the Company entered into a credit facility with Bank of America and other named lenders, which was periodically amended and restated and/or amended. The credit facility was amended and restated on March 11, 2020, and further amended on June 19, 2020, June 11, 2021 and December 16, 2021 (as amended, the “Prior Credit Facility”). The Prior Credit Facility (which was terminated on April 5, 2022 and replaced with the 2022 Credit Facility (as discussed below)), would have matured on March 11, 2025, and provided a senior secured revolving line of credit with a borrowing capacity of $250.0 million and a term loan of $400.0 million. The term loan was subject to quarterly amortization payments.
2022 Credit Facility
On April 5, 2022, the Company entered into a new credit agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and other named lenders (the “2022 Credit Facility”), and concurrently repaid in full and terminated the Prior Credit Facility. The 2022 Credit Facility, which matures on April 5, 2027, provides for revolving loans, swingline loans and letters of credit up to an aggregate amount of $650.0 million.
On April 5, 2022, the Company borrowed $475.0 million under the 2022 Credit Facility, which was used to repay all outstanding amounts owed under the Prior Credit Facility and for general corporate purposes. Future advances under the 2022 Credit Facility will be used to finance working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes of the Company. To the extent not previously paid, all then-outstanding amounts under the 2022 Credit Facility are due and payable on the maturity date.
The Company paid $2.0 million in debt issuance costs in connection with the 2022 Credit Facility, which were allocated to the line of credit and amortized on a straight-line basis over the term of the facility. Additionally, the Company had $4.5 million of remaining unamortized debt issuance costs related to the Prior Credit Facility. The Company expensed $1.9 million of the remaining unamortized debt issuance costs and allocated $2.5 million to the 2022 Credit Facility.
The Company may borrow, prepay and re-borrow principal under the 2022 Credit Facility during its term. Advances under the 2022 Credit Facility can be either Adjusted Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) loans or base rate loans. SOFR rate revolving loans bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof for each interest period at a rate per annum equal to Term SOFR for such calculation plus 0.10% plus a margin ranging from 1.00% to 2.00%. Base rate revolving loans bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof at a rate per annum equal to the highest of (i) Federal Funds Rate plus 0.50%, (ii) the rate of interest in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time by the administrative agent as its “prime rate”, and (iii) Adjusted Term SOFR rate for a one-month tenor plus 1.00%, subject to the interest rate floors set forth therein, plus a margin ranging from 0.00% to 1.00%.
On November 14, 2023, in connection and concurrently with the closing of the Marucci acquisition, the Company entered into the First Incremental Facility Amendment (the “Amendment”) amending the 2022 Credit Facility. The Amendment provided the Company with a term loan in an amount of $400.0 million (the “Incremental Term A Loan”) and a delayed draw term loan in an amount of $200.0 million (the “Delayed Draw Term Loan” and, together with the Incremental Term A Loan, the “Incremental Term Loans”), each of which are permitted under the 2022 Credit Facility, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions. The Incremental Term A Loan was fully funded on November 14, 2023 and used to fund a portion of the consideration owed under the Marucci acquisition. The Delayed Draw Term Loan is available to the Company from and including December 6, 2023, until the earlier of (a) May 14, 2024 and (b) the date on which the Delayed Draw Term commitments have been terminated. Each Incremental Term Loan is subject to quarterly amortization payments of principal at a rate of 5.0% per annum. The Incremental Term Loans are in the form of term SOFR loans and base rate loans, at the option of the Company, and have an applicable margin ranging from 0.5% to 1.50% for base rate loans and 1.50% to 2.50% for term SOFR loans, subject to adjustment provisions. Each Incremental Term Loan has a maturity date of April 5, 2027, consistent with the 2022 Credit Facility.
The Company paid $10,063 in debt issuance costs, of which $6,709 were allocated to the Term A Loan and $3,354 were allocated to the Delayed Draw Term Loan. Loan fees allocated to the Term A Loan were amortized using the interest method over the term of the Credit Facility. Loan fees allocated to the Delayed Draw Term Loan were deferred as an asset until the debt is drawn. Upon the drawing of the Delayed Draw Term Loan, the fees will be reclassified to a contra-liability account and amortized over the term of the drawn debt using the interest method.
At December 29, 2023, the one-month SOFR and three-month SOFR rates were 5.34% and 5.36%, respectively. At December 29, 2023, our weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowing was 6.97%.
The 2022 Credit Facility is secured by substantially all of the Company’s assets, restricts the Company’s ability to make certain payments and engage in certain transactions, and requires that the Company satisfy customary financial ratios. The Company was in compliance with the covenants as of December 29, 2023.
Material Cash Requirements
As of December 29, 2023, we had the following material cash requirements related to commitments or contractual obligations (in millions):
Payments due by period Total Less than 1 year 1-3 years 4-5 years More than 5 years
Long-term borrowings $ 750.0 $ - $ 40.0 $ 710.0 $ -
Operating lease obligations 101.0 16.6 25.4 16.5 42.4
Purchase obligations and other 11.6 6.8 4.7 - -
Total $ 862.6 $ 23.4 $ 70.2 $ 726.5 $ 42.4
*Amounts may not foot due to rounding.
Seasonality
Certain portions of our business are seasonal; we believe this seasonality is due to the delivery of new products. As we have diversified our product offerings and our product launch cycles, seasonal fluctuations are becoming less material.
Inflation
Historically, inflation has not had a material effect on our results of operations. However, significant increases in inflation, particularly those related to wages and increases in the cost of raw materials have and could continue to have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We have adopted various accounting policies to prepare the consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 1. Description of the Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. Some of those significant accounting policies require us to make difficult, subjective, or complex judgments or estimates. An accounting estimate is considered to be critical if it is made in accordance with GAAP and it meets both of the following criteria: (i) the estimate requires assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate is made, and (ii) different estimates reasonably could have been used, or changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur may have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. The significant accounting policies that management believes are critical to the understanding and evaluating our reported financial results include the following: income taxes, inventory, warranty, goodwill and intangible assets, stock-based compensation, revenue recognition, provision for credit losses and fair value measurement. For further information see Note 1. Description of the Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Critical Accounting Policies
Income taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. (federal and state) and foreign jurisdictions. We compute our provision for income taxes using the asset and liability method, under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the currently enacted tax rates that are expected to apply to taxable income for the years in which those tax assets and liabilities are expected to be realized or settled. The income tax effects of these differences are classified as long-term deferred tax assets and liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets.
Significant judgments are required in order to determine the realizability of these deferred tax assets. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we evaluate all significant available positive and negative evidence, including but not limited to, historical operating results, forecasted earnings, estimates of future taxable income of a character necessary to realize the deferred asset, relative proportions of revenue and pre-tax income in the various domestic and jurisdictions in which we operate, and the existence of prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. Changes in the expectations regarding the realization of deferred tax assets could materially impact income tax expense in future periods.
Additionally, our judgments, assumptions, and estimates relative to the provision for income taxes take into account enacted tax laws, regulations, administrative practices, interpretations in various jurisdictions and possible outcomes of current and future audits conducted by tax authorities. Our effective tax rates could be affected by numerous factors, such as changes in our business operations, acquisitions, investments, entry into new businesses and geographies, intercompany transactions, the relative amount of our foreign earnings, losses incurred in jurisdictions for which we are not able to realize related tax benefits, changes in our deferred tax assets and liabilities and their valuation, changes in the laws, regulations, administrative practices, principles, and interpretations related to tax, including changes to the global tax framework and other laws and accounting rules in various jurisdictions.
We utilize a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain income tax positions. The first step is to determine if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. We consider many factors when evaluating tax positions such as the closing of a tax audit, the refinement of estimates, and the expiration of a statute of limitations that may require periodic adjustments that impact our tax provision in our consolidated statements of income. Interest and penalties associated with income taxes are recorded as income tax expense. Refer to Note 15. Income Taxes for further details.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of actual cost (or standard cost which generally approximates actual costs on a first-in first-out basis) or net realizable value. Cost includes raw materials and inbound freight, as well as direct labor and manufacturing overhead for products we manufacture. Net realizable value is based on current replacement cost for raw materials and on a net realizable value for finished goods. Adjustments to reduce the cost of inventory to its net realizable value are made, if required, for estimated excess, obsolete or impaired balances.
We regularly monitor inventory quantities on hand and on order and record write-downs for excess and obsolete inventories based on our estimate of the demand for our products, potential obsolescence of technology, product life cycles, and when pricing trends or forecasts indicate that the carrying value of inventory exceeds our estimated selling price. These factors are affected by market and economic conditions, technology changes, and new product introductions and require estimates that may include elements that are uncertain. Actual demand may differ from forecasted demand and may have a material effect on our gross margin. If inventory is written down, a new cost basis will be established that cannot be increased in future periods.
Warranty
Unless otherwise required by law, the Company generally offers limited warranties on its products for one to three years. We accrue estimated costs related to warranty activities as a component of cost of sales upon product shipment or when information becomes available indicating that an adjustment to the warranty reserves is appropriate. Management estimates are based upon historical and projected product failure rates and historical costs incurred in correcting product failures. The warranty reserve is assessed from time to time for adequacy and adjusted as necessary for specifically identified warranty exposures. Actual warranty expenses are charged against our estimated warranty liability when incurred. Factors that affect our liability include the number of units, historical and anticipated rates of warranty claims, and the cost per claim. An increase in warranty claims or the related costs associated with satisfying these warranty obligations could increase our cost of sales and negatively affect our operating results. Total accrued warranty liabilities were approximately $20.0 million and $17.1 million as of December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022, respectively. Refer to Note 8. Accrued Expenses for further details.
Goodwill, intangible assets and long-lived assets
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over the fair value of the net assets of businesses acquired. On an annual basis, the Company performs a qualitative assessment to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the Company determines that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, it will perform a quantitative analysis; otherwise, no further evaluation is necessary.
For the quantitative impairment test, the Company compares the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying value, including goodwill. The Company determines the fair value of the reporting unit based on a weighting of income and market approaches. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to that unit, goodwill is not impaired and no further testing is performed. If the carrying value of the net assets assigned to the reporting unit exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit, then the Company will recognize a loss equal to the excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Impairments, if any, are charged directly to earnings. We completed our most recent annual impairment test in the third quarter of 2023 at which time we had a single reporting unit for purposes of assessing goodwill impairment. No impairment charges have been incurred to date.
Indefinite-lived intangible assets
Certain trademarks and trade names are considered to be indefinite life intangibles, and are not amortized but are subject to testing for impairment annually.
Finite-lived intangible assets
We assess the recoverability of identifiable finite-lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that an asset or asset group’s carrying amount may be impaired. Impairment of certain finite-lived intangible assets, particularly customer relationships, certain trade names and core technology, is measured by comparing the carrying amount of the asset group to which the assets are assigned to the sum of the undiscounted estimated future cash flows the asset group is expected to generate. If the asset or asset group is considered to be impaired, the amount of such impairment would be measured by the difference between the carrying amount of the asset and its fair value.
Acquisition of certain identifiable definite-lived and indefinite-lived assets
In conjunction with an acquisition of a business, the Company records identifiable definite-lived and indefinite-lived intangible assets acquired at their respective fair values as of the date of acquisition. The estimates used in assessing the fair value for the assets acquired include projected future cash flows, associated discount rates used to calculate present value, asset life cycles, customer retention rates and royalty rates. The fair value calculated for indefinite-lived intangible assets such as certain trade names, in addition to intangible assets that are definite-lived such as customer relationships and other technology-based assets may change during the finalization of the purchase price allocation, due to the significant estimates used in determining their fair value. As a result, the Company may make adjustments to the provisional amounts recorded for certain items as part of the purchase price allocation subsequent to the acquisition, not to exceed one year after the acquisition date, until the purchase accounting allocation is finalized.
Stock-based compensation
The Company measures stock-based compensation for all stock-based awards, including stock options and restricted stock units (“RSUs”), based on their estimated fair values on the date of the grant and recognizes the stock-based compensation cost for time-vested awards on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. For performance-based RSUs, the number of shares ultimately expected to vest is estimated at each reporting date based on management’s expectations regarding the relevant performance criteria. To the extent shares are expected to vest, the stock-based compensation cost is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. Stock-based compensation was $16.5 million, $16.4 million and $13.9 million for the fiscal years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. Refer to Note 13. Stockholders’ Equity for further details. The fair value of each stock option granted is estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Company does not estimate forfeitures in recognizing stock-based compensation expense.
The determination of the grant date fair value of options using an option-pricing model is affected by our common stock fair value as well as assumptions including our expected stock price volatility over the expected term of the options, stock option exercise and cancellation behaviors, risk-free interest rates and expected dividends.
Stock-based compensation expenses are classified in the statements of income based on the department to which the related employee reports. Our stock-based awards subsequent to our IPO have been comprised principally of restricted stock unit awards.
Revenue recognition
Revenue is measured based on the consideration specified in a contract with a customer. The Company recognizes revenue when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring control over a product to a customer, generally at the time of shipment. Contracts are generally in the form of purchase orders and are governed by standard terms and conditions. For larger OEMs, the Company may also enter into master agreements. Revenues generated from upfit packages generally do not include the vehicle chassis, as the Company is not the principal in this arrangement and the automotive dealer purchases the chassis directly from the OEM. The Company is required to place a deposit on all Stellantis chassis, however that deposit is refunded when the chassis is sold through to the end customer. For other chassis, the Company entered into floorplan financing agreements, in which the Company pays interest expense based on the duration of time the chassis stay on the Company's premises. Revenues generated from custom upfit packages from our Outside Van subsidiary generally include the vehicle chassis, of which the Company has the risks and rewards of ownership and are recognized over-time as work is performed based on actual costs incurred.
We elected as a practical expedient to not capitalize the incremental costs to obtain contracts with customers since the amortization period would have been one year or less.
Provisions for discounts, rebates, sales incentives, returns, and other adjustments are generally provided for in the period the related sales are recorded, based on management’s assessment of historical trends and projection of future results. Accrued sales rebates were $11.9 million and $8.7 million as of December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022, respectively. Sales returns allowances have historically been immaterial to the financial statements.
Allowance for credit losses
We record a provision for credit losses deemed not collectible using the aging method. The provision is based on how long a receivable has been outstanding, taking into account the historical credit loss rate and adjusting for both current conditions and forecasts of economic conditions into that expected credit loss rate. If circumstances change, such as higher-than-expected defaults or an unexpected material adverse change in a major customer’s ability to meet its financial obligations, we estimate if the recoverability of the amounts due could be reduced by a material amount.
Fair value measurement and financial instruments
ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, requires the valuation of assets and liabilities required or permitted to be either recorded or disclosed at fair value based on hierarchy of available inputs as follows:
Level 1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;
Level 2: Quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities in markets that are not active, or inputs which are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and
Level 3: Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (i.e., supported by little or no market activity).
We apply fair value accounting for all financial assets and liabilities and non-financial assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis. We define fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities, which are required to be recorded at fair value, we consider the principal or most advantageous market in which we would transact and the market-based risk measurements or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, such as risks inherent in valuation techniques, transfer restrictions and credit risk.
As of December 29, 2023, the carrying amount of the principal under the Company’s 2022 Credit Facility - Incremental Term A Loan approximated fair value because it had a variable interest rate that reflected market changes in interest rates and changes in the Company’s net leverage ratio.
On June 11, 2021, the Company entered into an interest rate swap agreement (the “2021 Swap Agreement”) to mitigate the cash flow risk associated with changes in interest rates on its variable rate debt. On April 5, 2022, the Company terminated its 2021 Swap Agreement and entered into a new interest rate swap agreement (the “2022 Swap Agreement”). Refer to Note 11. Derivatives and Hedging for additional details of the agreement. In accordance with ASC 815, an interest rate swap contract is recognized as an asset or liability on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and is measured at fair value. The fair value was calculated utilizing Level 2 inputs.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 1 - Description of the Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details regarding this topic.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Interest rate sensitivity
We are exposed to market risk in the normal course of our business operations due to our ongoing investing and financing activities. The risk of loss can be assessed from the perspective of adverse changes in fair values, cash flows and future earnings. We have established policies and procedures governing our management of market risks and the use of financial instruments to manage exposure to such risks. As of December 29, 2023, we had $750.0 million of interest bearing indebtedness outstanding under our 2022 Credit Facility. Based on the $650.0 million of variable interest rate indebtedness that was outstanding as of December 29, 2023, after giving effect to our interest rate swap, a hypothetical 100 basis point increase or decrease in the interest rate would have resulted in an approximately $6.5 million increase or decrease in interest expense for the year ended December 29, 2023.
Exchange rate sensitivity
As of December 29, 2023, we are exposed to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. While historically this exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates has not had a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations, foreign currency fluctuations could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations in the future. Historically, our primary exposure has been related to transactions denominated in the Euro, New Taiwanese Dollar, and Canadian Dollar. The majority of our sales, both domestically and internationally, are denominated in U.S. Dollars. Historically, the majority of our expenses have also been in U.S. Dollars and we have been somewhat insulated from currency fluctuations. However, we may be exposed to greater exchange rate sensitivity in the future. Currently, we enter into short-term foreign currency swap contracts to mitigate our foreign currency exposure; however, we may consider strategies to mitigate our foreign currency exposure further in the future if deemed necessary.
Credit and other risks
We are exposed to credit risk associated with cash and cash equivalents, interest rate swap agreement and trade receivables. As of December 29, 2023, the majority of our cash and cash equivalents consisted of cash balances in non-interest bearing checking accounts which significantly exceed the insurance coverage provided on such deposits. We do not believe that our cash equivalents and interest rate swap agreement present significant credit risks because the counterparties to the instruments consist of major financial institutions. Substantially all trade receivable balances of our businesses are unsecured. The credit risk with respect to trade receivables is concentrated by the number of significant customers that we have in our customer base and a prolonged economic downturn could increase our exposure to credit risk on our trade receivables. To manage our exposure to such risks, we perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers and maintain an allowance for potential credit losses.
We do not currently hedge our exposure to increases in the prices for our primary raw materials.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Our financial statements and the report of our independent registered public accounting firm are included in Part IV. Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The index to these reports and our financial statements is included in Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules below.

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

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Our management, under the direction and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 29, 2023. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 29, 2023, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting is contained in Part IV. Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Attestation Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Grant Thornton, LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited the Company’s consolidated financial statements, has issued an attestation report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. A report of independent registered public accounting firm is contained in Part IV. Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rules 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred during the quarter ended December 29, 2023 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Inherent Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, believes that our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting are designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and are effective at the reasonable assurance level. However, our management does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include, but are not limited to, the realities that judgments in decision making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Rule 10b5-1 and Non-Rule 10b5-1 Trading Arrangements
During the three months ended December 29, 2023, none of our officers or directors (as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) adopted or terminated a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement or non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement (as such terms are defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act of 1933).

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Information required by this Item regarding our directors and executive officers is incorporated by reference to the sections of our proxy statement to be filed with the SEC in connection with our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Proxy Statement”) entitled “Election of Class II Directors” and “Corporate Governance.”
Information required by this Item regarding our corporate governance, including our audit committee and code of ethics, is incorporated by reference to the sections of the Proxy Statement entitled “Corporate Governance” and “The Board of Directors.”
Information required by this Item regarding compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the section of the Proxy Statement entitled “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports.”

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Information required by this item regarding executive compensation is incorporated by reference to the information set forth under the captions “Executive Compensation,” “Director Compensation” and “Corporate Governance” in our Proxy Statement.

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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 regarding security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management is incorporated by reference to the section of the Proxy Statement entitled “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management.”
Information required by this item regarding securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans is incorporated by reference to the information set forth under the caption “Executive Compensation” in our Proxy Statement.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the section of the Proxy Statement entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence.”

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
Information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the section of the Proxy Statement entitled “Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.”
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a) Financial Statements
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 67
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID Number: 248)
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022 72
Consolidated Statements of Income for the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 73
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 74
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 75
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 29, 2023, December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 76
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 78
(b) Exhibits
See Index to Exhibits