Deckers Outdoor (DECK) Risk Factors

To execute our growth plan, we must continue to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, including executive officers and key employees. Further, to continue to develop new products and successfully operate and grow our key business processes, it is important for us to continue hiring and retaining personnel in highly skilled footwear, apparel and accessories design, marketing, merchandising, sourcing, technology, operations, including our DCs and retail stores, and support functions. Competition for executive officers, key employees, and skilled personnel is intense within our industry and there continues to be upward pressure on the compensation paid to these professionals. Changes to our office environment, adoption of new work models, and our expectations about when or how often employees work on-site or remotely may not meet our employees' expectations. As certain jobs and employers operate remotely, traditional geographic competition for talent may change in ways that cannot be fully predicted. Many of the companies with which we compete for experienced personnel have greater name recognition and financial resources than we have. Further, the recent strength of our results of operations and growing market capitalization may result in other companies and competitors perceiving our employees as more desirable. If our employment proposition is not perceived as favorable compared to other companies' policies, it could negatively affect our ability to attract, hire, and retain our employees. While we are committed to offering competitive compensation and benefits to employees across our business to positively affect attrition, which affects our selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses, our domestic headquarters are located in Goleta, California, which is not generally recognized as a prominent commercial center, and it is difficult to attract qualified professionals due to our location. If we hire employees from competitors or other companies, their former employers may assert that we or these employees have breached legal obligations, resulting in a diversion of our time and resources. In addition, prospective and existing employees often consider the value of the stock-based compensation when deciding whether to take a job. If our stock price experiences volatility, it may adversely affect our ability to recruit, retain, and motivate qualified personnel and we may be unable to execute our growth plan or achieve our long-term strategic objectives, our results of operations may suffer, and it may damage our reputation as a preferred employer, which would challenge our ability to effectively compete across the global labor market. We believe that our culture has been and will continue to be a key contributor to our success. If we do not maintain our culture and core values over time, we may be unable to foster the passion, creativity, teamwork, focus, and innovation that have contributed to the growth and success of our business. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively affect our ability to recruit and retain personnel and to achieve our strategic objectives. The continued service of our executive officers and key employees is particularly important, and the hiring or departure of such personnel may disrupt our business or result in the depletion of significant institutional knowledge. Our executive officers and key employees are employed on an at-will basis, which means that they can terminate their employment with us at any time. The loss of one or more of our executive officers or other key employees or significant turnover in our senior management, and the often-extensive process of identifying and hiring other personnel to fill those key positions, could have a material adverse effect on our business. As discussed in the section titled "Recent Developments" under Part I, Item 1, "Business" within this Annual Report, we announced that Stefano Caroti will be replacing Dave Powers as CEO and President upon Mr. Powers' retirement, effective August 1, 2024. While we have confidence in Mr. Caroti and the rest of our team, the uncertainty inherent in this leadership transition could adversely disrupt our business.

Our success relies in part on our continued innovation in both the materials we use and the design of our footwear. In particular, our HOKA brand maintains its competitiveness through continuous product innovation and timely introduction of new features and technologies that align with current and emerging consumer expectations. Also, we continue to invest in research and development to drive our efforts to increasingly incorporate preferred materials in our products as part of our sustainability efforts. For example, we leverage our proprietary UGGplush material, which incorporates repurposed wool to reduce our use of virgin wool, and we utilize sugarcane-derived EVA, as opposed to petroleum-derived EVA, within certain UGG brand products. We also increasingly use preferred synthetics, such as recycled polyester, recycled nylon, recycled polyethylene, and bio-based ethylene, preferred regenerated or synthetic cellulosic fibers, such as TENCEL™ Lyocell and TENCEL™ Modal, and preferred plant fibers, such as cotton sourced through responsible cotton schemes, hemp, linen, ramie, and jute, and the responsible-down certified standard. Although we continue to invest in research and development to refine our materials and develop new properties for specific applications, if we fail to introduce technical innovation in our products or experience issues with the quality of our products or materials, consumer demand for our products could decline and we may experience reputational damage. Further, as our brands transition to suppliers with preferred materials, we may be subject to increased costs or supply constraints, which could reduce our sales and profitability and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our business could be significantly harmed if we are not able to protect our intellectual property rights. We believe our competitive position is attributable to the value of our trademarks, patents, trade dress, trade names, trade secrets, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights. An unfortunate reaction to the success of our brands is that we have become a target of counterfeiting and product imitation strategies. Although we are aggressive in legal and other actions in pursuing those who infringe on our intellectual property rights, we cannot guarantee that the actions we have taken will be adequate to protect our brands in the future, especially because some countries' laws do not protect these rights to the same extent as US laws. If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, it will allow our competitors to sell products that are similar to and directly competitive with our products, or we could otherwise lose opportunities to sell our products to consumers who may instead purchase a counterfeit or imitation product, which could reduce sales of our products and adversely affect the value of our brands. In addition, any intellectual property lawsuits in which we are involved could cost a significant amount of time and money and distract management's attention from operating our business, which may negatively affect our business and results of operations. In addition to fighting intellectual property infringement, we may need to defend claims against us related to our intellectual property rights. For example, we have faced claims that the word "ugg" is a generic term. Such a claim was successful in Australia, but similar claims have been rejected by courts in the US, China, Republic of Türkiye, and the Netherlands. Any court decision or settlement that invalidates or limits trademark protection of our brands, which allows a third-party to continue to sell products similar to our products, or that allows a manufacturer or distributor to continue to sell counterfeit products, could lead to intensified competition and a material reduction in our sales, and could have a material adverse effect on the value of our brands.

Our business involves the storage and transmission of a significant amount of personal, confidential, or sensitive information, including the personal information of our customers and employees, credit card information, and our proprietary financial, operational, and strategic information. The protection of this information is vitally important to us as the loss, theft, misuse, or unauthorized disclosure or access of such information could lead to significant reputation or competitive harm, result in litigation, expose us to regulatory proceedings, and cause us to incur substantial losses. As a result, we believe our future success and growth depends, in part, on the ability of our key business processes and systems, including those utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) such as generative AI, to prevent the theft, loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, or unauthorized access of this information, and to respond quickly and effectively if data security incidents occur. We are subject to numerous data privacy and security risks, which may prevent us from maintaining the privacy of this information, result in the disruption of our business, and require us to expend significant resources attempting to secure and protect such information and respond to incidents, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Our success also depends in part on the continued operation of our key business processes, including our IT and global communications systems. We rely on third-party IT service providers worldwide for many of our IT functions, including network, hardware, and software configuration. Additionally, we rely on internal networks and information systems and other technologies, including the internet and third-party hosted services, to support a variety of business processes and activities. Any disruption to these systems or networks could result in product fulfillment delays, key personnel being unable to perform duties or communicate throughout the organization, loss of sales, significant costs for data restoration, the inability to interpret data timely to enhance operations, and other adverse effects on our business and reputation. Further, we could experience information silos and inefficiencies across our organization if we do not invest in appropriate operational systems and processes. If we are unable to structure our systems and processes to respond to changing business needs, or if we or our third-party providers experience a failure or interruption in these systems, our ability to accurately forecast sales, report our financial position and results of operations, or otherwise manage and operate our business could be adversely affected. The frequency, intensity, and sophistication of cyber-attacks, ransom-ware attacks, and other data security incidents have significantly increased in recent years. Like other businesses, we have experienced, and are continually at risk of, attacks and incidents. Additionally, external events, such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, can increase the likelihood of such incidents, and our risk and exposure to these matters remains heightened because of, among other things, the evolving nature of these threats, the current global economic and political environment, our prominent size and scale, the advances in computer capabilities and AI, and the interconnectivity and interdependence of third parties to our systems. We expend significant resources on IT and data security tools, measures, and processes designed to protect our IT systems, as well as the information stored on or transmitted through those systems, and to ensure an effective response to any attack or incident. Whether these measures are successful, these expenditures could adversely effect on our financial condition and results of operations and divert management's attention from pursuing our strategic objectives. Although we take the security of our IT systems seriously, there can be no assurance that the measures we employ will prevent unauthorized persons from obtaining access to our systems and information, as well as those held by our third-party IT service providers. Despite our implementation of reasonable security measures, our systems and information may be susceptible to cyber-attacks or data security incidents. These risks may be exacerbated in a remote work environment. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to IT systems are constantly evolving, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate protective measures in response. Cyber-attacks or data incidents could remain undetected for some period, which could result in significant harm to our systems, as well as unauthorized access to the information stored on and transmitted by our systems. Further, despite our security efforts and training, our employees may purposefully or inadvertently cause security breaches. A cyber-attack or other data security incident could result in significant disruption of our business such that: - critical business systems become inoperable or require considerable time or cost to restore;- personnel are unable to perform their duties or communicate with third-party partners;- it results in the loss, theft, misuse, or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information;- we are prevented from accessing information necessary to conduct our business;- we are required to make unanticipated investments in equipment, technology, or security measures;- customers cannot place or receive orders, and we are unable to timely ship orders or at all; or - we become subject to other unanticipated liabilities, costs, or claims. If any of these events were to occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and result in harm to our reputation. In addition, if a cyber-attack or other data incident results in the loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, or unauthorized access of personal, confidential, or sensitive information belonging to our customers, suppliers, or employees, it could put us at a competitive disadvantage, result in the deterioration of our customers' confidence in our brands, cause our suppliers to reconsider their relationship with us or impose onerous contractual provisions, and subject us to litigation, liability, fines, and penalties. We could be subject to regulatory or other actions pursuant to domestic and international privacy laws, which could result in costly investigations and litigation, civil or criminal penalties, operational changes, and negative publicity that could adversely affect our reputation, as well as our results of operations and financial condition.

Volatile economic conditions and changes in the market have affected, and may continue to affect, consumer spending generally and the buying habits and preferences of consumers. A significant portion of the products we sell, especially those sold under the UGG and HOKA brands, are premium retail products. The purchase of these products is discretionary and is therefore highly dependent upon the level of consumer confidence and discretionary spending. Sales of these products may be adversely affected by variable economic factors, including worsening economic conditions, consumer confidence in future economic conditions, changes to fuel, energy, labor, and healthcare costs, declines in income or asset values, and increases in consumer debt levels, inflation and interest rates, and unemployment rates. Uncertainty in global economic conditions may result in unpredictable consumer discretionary spending trends. During an actual or perceived economic downturn, fewer consumers may shop for our products, and those who do may limit the amount of their purchases or seek less costly substitutes for our products. As a result, we could be required to reduce the price we can charge for our products or increase our marketing and promotional expenses to generate additional demand for our products. In either case, these changes could reduce our sales and profitability, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We sell a significant portion of our products through higher-end specialty and department store retailers, as well as through online marketplaces. The businesses of these customers may be affected by factors such as changes in economic conditions, ongoing geopolitical conflicts and uncertainties, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, failures or instability in the US banking system, reduced consumer demand for premium products, decreases in available credit, and increased competition. If our customers face financial difficulties, it could have an adverse effect on our estimated allowances and reserves, and potentially result in us losing key customers.

Our ability to capitalize on growth in new international markets and to maintain the current level of operation in our existing international markets is subject to risks associated with international operations that could adversely affect our sales and results of operations. These risks include: - foreign currency exchange rates fluctuations, most significantly, but not limited to, the Chinese Yuan, Great British Pound, and Euro, which affect the prices at which products are sold to international consumers;- limitations on our ability to move currency out of international markets;- burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws and regulations, which may change unexpectedly, and the interpretation and application of such laws and regulations;- legal costs related to defending allegations of non-compliance with foreign laws;- inability to import products into a foreign country;- difficulties associated with promoting and marketing products in unfamiliar cultures;- political or economic uncertainty or instability, including the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, which has disrupted the global economy and has the potential to reduce levels of consumer spending, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, particularly our UGG and HOKA brands' net sales;- changes in unemployment rates and consumer spending;- anti-American sentiment in international markets in which we operate;- changes in diplomatic and trade relationships between the US and other countries; and - general economic fluctuations in specific countries or markets.

Natural disasters or other catastrophic events, including the effects of global climate change and a pandemic, may damage or disrupt our operations, international markets, and the global economy. Our operations are subject to interruption from extreme weather events, power shortages, pandemics, terrorism, political instability, telecommunications failure, cyber-attacks, war, and other events beyond our control. Although we maintain disaster recovery plans, such events could disrupt our operations or those of our independent manufacturers, suppliers and customers, including through the inability of personnel to work, destruction of facilities, loss of life, and adverse effects on supply chains, power, infrastructure and the integrity of IT systems, all of which could materially increase our costs and expenses, delay or decrease sales, and disrupt our ability to maintain business continuity. We could incur significant capital expenditures and other costs to improve the climate-related resiliency of our infrastructure and otherwise prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the effects of climate change, including compliance with evolving, and at times inconsistent, country specific laws and regulations. We could also experience increased costs for energy, production, transportation, raw and other materials, as well as higher insurance premiums and deductibles, which could adversely affect our operations. Our insurance may not be sufficient to cover losses that we may sustain. A significant natural disaster or other event that disrupts our operations or those of our partners or customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. 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 wide scope of potential regulatory change in the countries in which we operate. These events could also adversely affect the supply of raw materials, including sheepskin and leather, which are key resources in the production of our products, disrupt the operation of our supply chain and the productivity of our contract manufacturers, increase our production costs, impose capacity restraints, and affect the types of products that consumers purchase. If consumers increasingly adopt plant-based diets for personal reasons, this could reduce the supply of sheep for the meat industry, and in turn, hinder our ability to source sufficient sheepskin for our products. Further, public health issues and related regulatory responses, including a pandemic, may reduce demand for certain products, deteriorate our ability, or the ability of our customers, to operate in affected regions, and result in the failure of key business partners to provide services for our efficient operations, including the inability of our manufacturers or third-party distributors to timely fulfill their obligations to us, any of which would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We operate on a global basis, with 33.2% of our total net sales for the year ended March 31, 2024, from operations outside the US. As we continue to increase our international operations, our sales and expenditures in foreign currencies are expected to become more material and subject to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. A significant portion of our international operating expenses are paid in local currencies and our foreign distributors typically sell our products in local currency, which affects the price to foreign consumers. Many of our subsidiaries operate with their local currency as their functional currency. Future foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and global credit markets may cause changes in the US dollar value of our purchases or sales and materially affect our sales, gross margin, and results of operations, when converted to US dollars. Changes in the value of the US dollar relative to other currencies could result in material foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and, as a result, our net earnings could be materially adversely affected. When the US dollar strengthens relative to foreign currencies, our revenues and profits denominated in foreign currencies are reduced when converted into US dollars and our margins may be negatively affected. We routinely utilize foreign currency exchange rate forward contracts or other derivative instruments for the amounts we expect to purchase and sell in foreign currencies to mitigate exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. As we continue to expand international operations and increase purchases and sales in foreign currencies, we may utilize additional derivative instruments to hedge our foreign currency exchange rate risk. Our hedging strategies depend on our forecasts of sales, expenses, and cash flows, which are inherently subject to inaccuracies. Foreign currency exchange rate hedges, transactions, remeasurements, or translations could materially affect our consolidated financial statements.

Most of our independent manufacturers are located in Asia, and products manufactured overseas and imported into the US and other countries are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. For example, while we require our independent manufacturers and suppliers to adhere to environmental, labor, ethical, health, safety, and other business practices and laws, and while we periodically visit and audit their operations, we do not control their business practices. If non-compliant manufacturers or suppliers cannot or will not become compliant, we will cease conducting business with them, which could increase our costs and interrupt our supply chain. Our manufacturers' violations of laws and business standards could also result in negative publicity or product recall, which could damage our reputation, brand value, and cause us to incur additional costs. Further, if our manufacturers or suppliers violate US or foreign trade laws or regulations, we may be subject to extra duties, significant monetary penalties, the seizure, and forfeiture of products we are attempting to import, or the loss of our import privileges, which could have a negative effect on our results of operations. Our international manufacturing operations are subject to numerous other risks and uncertainties, including the following: - tariffs, import and export controls, and other non-tariff barriers;- poor infrastructure and equipment shortages, which can disrupt transportation and utilities;- restrictions on the transfer of funds from foreign jurisdictions;- changes in governmental regulations, including with respect to intellectual property, labor, safety, and the environment;- the refusal of our partners to adopt or comply with our manufacturing policies;- customary business traditions in certain countries such as local holidays, which are traditionally accompanied by elevated levels of turnover in the factories;- decreased scrutiny by custom officials for counterfeit products;- practices involving corruption, extortion, bribery, pay-offs, theft, and other fraudulent activity;- use of unauthorized or prohibited materials or reclassification of materials;- health-related concerns that could result in a reduced workforce or scarcity of raw and other materials; and - adverse changes in consumer perception of goods sourced from certain countries. While we have implemented measures to comply with applicable customs regulations and to properly calculate import duties, customs authorities may disagree with our claimed tariff treatment for certain products, resulting in unexpected costs that may not have been factored into the sales price of such products and our forecasted gross margin. In addition, we cannot predict whether future laws, regulations, trade remedy actions, or international agreements may impose additional duties or other restrictions on our ability to manufacture sufficient inventory or import products from one or more of our sourcing venues. Trade relations between our sourcing venues, particularly those in China, and the US have created uncertainty and there exists the potential for import duties or other restrictions on exports from China, which could increase our sourcing costs. We have transitioned most of our footwear sourcing from China to Vietnam as part of our supplier optimization strategy, and are beginning to diversify with footwear sourcing in Indonesia, but if we are unable to source our products from the countries where we wish to purchase them, or if the cost of doing so increases, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Further, because most of our products are manufactured in China and Vietnam, the possibility of adverse changes in trade or political relations with China or Vietnam, or other pressures in the region, including political instability, increased labor costs, adverse weather conditions, a natural disaster or incidence of disease could severely interfere with the manufacturing or shipment of our products and would have a material adverse effect on our operations. Moreover, international trade policy is undergoing revision, introducing significant uncertainty with respect to future trade regulations and existing trade agreements. The negotiation of free trade agreements with countries other than our principal sourcing venues may stimulate competition for manufacturers, which may seek to export footwear, apparel, and accessories to our target markets at preferred rates of duty which may negatively affect our results of operations. Transportation and distribution costs may be adversely affected by new regulations, increased demand, increased fuel costs, labor disputes and higher costs, inflation, and political and economic instability. For example, labor disputes are escalating in Canada as well as the US East Coast. If a labor strike occurs in the future, we may experience trucking capacity constraints and potentially higher related costs, as well as port congestion on the US West Coast. The Panama Canal is experiencing capacity constraints as well due to drought. This combined with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts have impacted timeliness of shipments to Europe, and the resulting financial and economic sanctions imposed by various countries and organizations have affected transportation and energy costs. Further rising labor tensions, drought conditions, or additional sanctions imposed, could increase distribution costs, and create further capacity constraints in Europe and adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, the increased threat of terrorist activity, and law enforcement responses to this threat, have required greater levels of inspection of imported goods and caused delays in bringing imported goods to market. Any tightening of security procedures could worsen these delays and increase our costs.

Changes in US and foreign tax laws, regulations, and treaties in and between the jurisdictions in which we operate could materially affect our business. These tax laws are complex, where significant judgment and specialized expertise is required in evaluating and estimating our worldwide provision for income taxes. Our tax expense is based on our interpretation of the tax laws in effect in various countries at the time that the expense was incurred. Future changes in these tax laws, or in their interpretations, could result in a materially higher tax expense or a higher effective tax rate on our worldwide earnings. For example, global tax authorities may take differing positions in interpreting the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (commonly known as OECD) guidance, including with respect to Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, which could modify existing tax principles. These changes and potential other tax law changes could increase our income tax liability or adversely affect our long-term effective tax rates and net income. Many countries in the EU and around the globe have proposed changes or adopted current tax laws that could impact our financial position and results of operations beyond calendar year 2024. Certain provisions of the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act, including a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax, as well as the similar 15% global minimum tax under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Pillar Two Global Anti-Base Erosion Rules, which as of March 31, 2024, are either live or in draft in various countries, may affect our income tax expense, profitability, and capital allocation decisions. Additionally, we are also subject to tax audits in each of the various jurisdictions where we conduct business, whereas any of these jurisdictions may assess additional taxes against us as a result of these audits. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable as our tax filings are prepared in accordance with all applicable tax laws, the final determination with respect to any tax audits, and related litigation, could be materially different from our estimates or from our historical tax provisions and accruals, especially as there is continued economic and political pressures to increase tax revenues in jurisdictions in which we operate. The results of a tax audit or other tax proceeding could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or cash flows during the periods for which that determination is made and may require a restatement of prior financial reports.

There are a number of domestic and international laws protecting the privacy and security of personal information. These laws include US state laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act and the California Privacy Rights Act, as well as the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU, EU member state directives, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Acts in Canada, the Personal Information Protection Law in China, or similar applicable laws. These laws place limits on how we may collect, use, share and store personal information, and they impose obligations to protect that information. Further, we may be subject to new data privacy and security laws and regulations. If we, or any of our service providers who have access to the personal data for which we are responsible, are found to be in violation of the privacy or security requirements of applicable data protection laws, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, which could increase our liabilities, harm our reputation, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Although we utilize a variety of measures to secure the data that we control, even compliant entities can experience security breaches or have inadvertent failures despite employing reasonable practices and safeguards.

The footwear, apparel, and accessories industry is highly competitive and subject to changing consumer preferences and tastes. Our inability to compete effectively could cause our market share to decline, which could harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Our competitors include both established companies and newer entrants into the market. In particular, we believe that, as a result of the growth of the UGG and HOKA brands, certain competitors have entered the marketplace specifically in response to the success of our brands, and other competitors may do so in the future, particularly as access to offshore manufacturing and changes in technology make it easier and more cost effective to compete. A number of our larger competitors have significantly greater financial, technological, engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution resources than we do, as well as greater brand awareness in the footwear, apparel, and accessories markets among consumers. As a result, we have faced, and expect to continue to face, intense pressure with respect to competition for key customer accounts and distribution channels. These competitors may have relationships with our key retail customers that are more important to those customers because of the significantly larger volume and product mix that our competitors sell to them. Our competitors' greater resources may enable them to more effectively compete on the basis of price and production, develop new products more quickly or with superior technical capabilities, adapt to changes in technology, including the successful utilization of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, market their products and brands more successfully, identify or influence consumer preferences, increase their market share, withstand the effects of seasonality, and manage periodic downturns in the footwear, apparel, and accessories industry or in economic conditions. As a result of these pressures, we have faced, and expect to continue to face, intense pricing pressure. Efforts by our competitors to dispose of excess inventories may significantly reduce prices of competitive products, which may pressure us to reduce the pricing of our products to compete, or cause consumers to shift their purchasing decisions away from our products entirely. Further, we believe that our key customers face intense competition from their competitors, which could negatively affect the financial stability of their businesses and their ability to conduct business with us.

The footwear, apparel, and accessories industry is subject to rapid changes in consumer preferences and fashion tastes, which make it difficult to anticipate demand for our products and forecast our financial results. Our success is driven to some extent by brand loyalty, and there can be no assurance that consumers will continue to prefer our brands. Consumer demand for our products depends in part on the continued strength of our brands, which in turn depends on our ability to anticipate, understand, and promptly respond to the rapidly changing preferences and fashion tastes, as well as consumer spending patterns, with appealing merchandise. As our brands and product offerings evolve, it is necessary for our products to appeal to an even broader range of consumers whose preferences cannot be predicted with certainty. New footwear models that we introduce may not be successful with consumers or our brands may fall out of favor with consumers. If we are unable to anticipate, identify, or react appropriately to changes in consumer preferences, our revenues may decrease, our brands' image may suffer, our operating performance may decline, and we may not be able to execute our growth plans. Even if we develop and manufacture new footwear products that consumers find appealing, their ultimate success may depend on our pricing, and we may set the prices of new styles too high for the market to bear. Further, the value of our brands is based on evolving consumer perceptions, including as a result of shifting ethical, political or social standards, and concerns with respect product quality, design, technical performance, components or materials (including their sustainability), or customer service could result in negative perceptions and the loss of brand loyalty and value. These concerns may be exacerbated by negative publicity regarding us or our products, brands, marketing campaigns, partners, or endorsers, which could adversely affect our reputation and sales regardless of the accuracy of such claims. Social media and digital marketing campaigns, which accelerate the dissemination of information, can increase the challenges of containing negative claims. If consumers perceive our brands negatively, whether or not warranted, our brand image would become tarnished and our products would become less desirable, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Failure to gain market acceptance for new products could impede our ability to maintain or grow current revenue levels, reduce profits, adversely affect the image of our brands, erode our competitive position, and result in long-term harm to our business and financial results.

Much of our financial success is related to the ability of our customers, which include our retailer and distributor partners, to successfully market and sell our brands to consumers. If a customer fails to satisfy contractual obligations or otherwise meet our expectations, or experiences operational issues, it may be difficult to locate an acceptable alternative. Any disruption to these relationships may result in increased costs or loss of customers. In addition, there is no guarantee that a new customer will generate results that are more favorable than the terminated party. We face a risk that key customers may not increase their business with us as we expect or may significantly decrease their business with us or terminate our relationship. Although no single customer accounted for 10.0% or more of our total net sales during fiscal year 2024, our top ten customers made up 24.2% of total net sales. The failure to increase sales with our key customers would have a negative effect on our growth prospects, and any decrease or loss of these customers' business could result in a material decrease in our net sales and net income if we are unable to capture these sales through our DTC channel. Further, as of March 31, 2024, we have two customers that represent 31.2% of trade accounts receivable, net. Trade accounts receivable, net are typically unsecured and thus subject us to a risk that we will be unable to timely collect on amounts owed, which could affect our revenue and liquidity. Sales to our customers are on an order-by-order basis and may be cancelled or rescheduled by our customers. We rely on purchase order delivery dates as a key factor to forecast our sales and earnings, and if our customers postpone, reduce, or discontinue purchases from us, we could fail to meet our forecasted results. These risks have been exacerbated as our key customers are impacted by significant structural changes to the retail industry fueled by changing technology, consumer purchasing behavior, and economic conditions, as well as a shrinking retail footprint. These trends have been, and may in the future be, intensified by a pandemic or other public health emergency. We may lose key customers if they fail to manage the effect of this rapidly changing retail environment. Any loss of one of these key customers, or a significant reduction in purchases from one of these customers, could result in a significant decline in sales, write-downs of excess inventory, or pressure to discount our products, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Further, a key customer may dispose of their excess inventories to consumers or unauthorized sellers at significantly reduced prices, which may put pressure on us to reduce our prices to compete, or cause consumers to shift their purchasing decisions away from our authorized sellers entirely.