RH (RH) Risk Analysis

From time to time, we and/or members of our senior leadership team are involved in legal and regulatory proceedings, including litigation, claims, investigations and regulatory and other proceedings related to a range of matters in connection with the conduct of our business, including (i) privacy and data security, (ii) our labor and employment practices, including laws related to discrimination, wages and benefits, ERISA and disability claims, (iii) intellectual property issues with respect to copyright, trademarks, patents and trade dress, (iv) international and domestic trade and business practices, including import laws, unfair competition and unfair business practices, (v) consumer class action claims relating to our consumer practices, including the collection of zip code or other information from customers, (vi) product safety and compliance, including products liability, product recalls and personal injury, (vii) advertising and promotion of products and services, including class actions and regulatory actions related to advertising, (viii) compliance with securities laws, including class actions related to allegations of securities fraud, (ix) taxation, (x) contractual disputes, and (xi) health and safety regulations. Claims and legal proceedings may involve arbitration, mediation, private litigation, class action matters, derivative claims, internal and governmental investigations and enforcement matters. We are subject to regulatory oversight and legal enforcement by a range of government and self-regulatory organizations, including federal, state and local governmental bodies both within the U.S. and in other jurisdictions where we operate such as, among others, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the CPSC, the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control the Department of Labor, the SEC, FINRA, the NYSE, the Department of Justice and numerous state and local governmental authorities, including state attorney generals and state agencies. Litigation against us, depending on the outcome of such claims, could lead to further claims and proceedings, including on new and otherwise unrelated matters, for example, by attracting the attention of plaintiff's firms or of regulators. In the past, we have faced certain securities litigation matters, including securities class action cases that were consolidated by the court and certain related legal proceedings and various governmental investigations, including with respect to trading in our securities. Currently, we face a number of legal proceedings in connection with our business, including numerous cases for which plaintiffs are seeking class action status in areas such as wage and hour and employment practices. Legal proceedings and investigations often involve complex factual, legal and other issues, which are subject to risks and uncertainties, and which could require significant leadership time that could otherwise be focused on our operations. Furthermore, legal proceedings and investigations where the related matters under review involve members of our leadership team could distract our senior leadership from the operation of our business, damage the reputation of our leadership team and otherwise materially adversely affect our operations and leadership morale. Litigation, investigations and other claims and regulatory proceedings against or involving members of our senior leadership team or us could result in unexpected expenses and liability and could also materially adversely affect our operations and our reputation. We maintain insurance for legal proceedings, but there can be no assurance that such insurance will be available for the payment of all or any portion of the costs associated with any particular investigation, legal proceedings or other claims against us, or that coverage under any such insurance will be adequate to fund the full cost of any such legal proceedings, including the costs of investigation, defense and resolution of any such legal proceedings. Third parties have in the past asserted, and may in the future assert, intellectual property claims against us, particularly as we expand our business to include new products and product categories, and expand in new geographic markets, where intellectual property laws and rights differ. Our defense of any claim, regardless of its merit, could be expensive and time consuming and could divert senior leadership resources. We currently rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, patent, trade dress and unfair competition laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and licensing arrangements, to establish and protect our intellectual property rights. We believe that our trademarks, copyrights (including in photographs, Sourcebooks and our website), and other proprietary rights are important to identifying and differentiating our brand and certain of our products from those of our competitors. We have from time to time encountered third parties selling products substantially similar to our products or misrepresenting that the products such retailers were selling were our products. We cannot assure you that the steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property rights will be adequate to prevent infringement of our rights by others, including imitation of our products and misappropriation of our images and brand, particularly in jurisdictions that do not have strong intellectual property protection or in which we do not have strong rights. In the event that we are unable to assert and maintain intellectual property protection with respect to our products and services, the value of our brand could be diminished, and our competitive position could suffer.

We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions. We record income tax expense based on our estimates of future payments, which include reserves for uncertain tax positions in multiple tax jurisdictions, and valuation allowances related to certain net deferred tax assets, including net operating loss carryforwards. At any one time, many tax years are subject to audit by various taxing jurisdictions. The results of these audits and negotiations with taxing authorities may affect the ultimate settlement of these issues. We expect that throughout the year there could be ongoing variability in our quarterly tax rates as events occur and exposures are evaluated. In addition, our effective tax rate in a given financial statement period may be materially impacted by changes in the mix and level of earnings, timing of the utilization of net operating loss carryforwards, changes in the valuation allowance for deferred taxes or by changes to existing accounting rules or regulations.

There is an increasing focus from certain investors, customers and other key stakeholders concerning corporate responsibility, specifically related to environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors. We expect that an increased focus on ESG considerations will affect some aspects of our operations, particularly as we expand into new geographic markets. There are a number of constituencies that are involved in a range of ESG issues, including investors, special interest groups, public and consumer interest groups and third-party service providers. As a result, there is an increased emphasis on corporate responsibility ratings and a number of third parties provide reports on companies in order to measure and assess corporate responsibility performance. In addition, the ESG factors by which companies' corporate responsibility practices are assessed may change in the U.S. and differ in our new geographic markets, which could result in greater expectations of us and cause us to undertake costly initiatives to satisfy such new criteria. Alternatively, if we are unable to satisfy such new criteria, investors may conclude that our policies with respect to corporate responsibility are inadequate. We risk damage to our brand and reputation in the event that our corporate responsibility procedures or standards do not meet the standards set by various constituencies. We may be required to make substantial investments in matters related to ESG which could require significant investment and impact our results of operations. Any failure in our decision-making or related investments in this regard could affect consumer perceptions as to our brand. Furthermore, if our competitors' corporate responsibility performance is perceived to be greater than ours, potential or current investors may elect to invest with our competitors instead. In addition, in the event that we communicate certain initiatives and goals regarding ESG matters, we could fail, or be perceived to fail, in our achievement of such initiatives or goals, or we could be criticized for the scope of such initiatives or goals. If we fail to satisfy the expectations of investors and other key stakeholders or our initiatives are not executed as planned, our reputation and financial results could be materially and adversely affected.

The home furnishings sector is highly competitive. We compete with a number of other home furnishing retailers, including national and regional businesses, as well as new market participants. We also compete with the interior design trade and specialty stores, as well as antique dealers and other merchants that provide unique items and custom-designed products. We will face new competitors as we expand our business into new geographic markets. In addition, we compete with mail order catalogs and online retailers focused on home furnishings. There are an increasing number of online and digital-centric business models in the home furnishings sector and the impact of these competitors on other home furnishing businesses is uncertain. Our existing competitors or new entrants into our industry may use a number of different strategies to compete against us, including aggressive expansion, competitive pricing, different approaches to advertising and marketing, and expansion into markets where we currently operate. Competition from any of these sources could cause us to lose market share, revenues and customers, increase expenditures, divert resources to new or responsive business initiatives and slow the rate of our growth and adversely affect our business and results of operations. There can be no assurance that such competitors will not be more successful than us, based on imitation of our products or strategies or through other competitive initiatives, or that we will be able to continue to maintain a leadership position in style and innovation or product position in the future. Many of our competitors seek to compete with us by offering products that are similar to our merchandise at lower price points. Some of our competitors have taken an aggressive approach to expansion of operations and introducing new stores and products that compete with our business. To the extent that we do not respond effectively to these and other sources of competition to our business, we may lose market share to our competitors and suffer negative consequences to our business and results of operations.

Our business depends on consumer demand for our products and we target consumers of high-end home furnishings. As a result, we believe that our sales are sensitive to a number of factors that influence consumer spending generally, such as general economic conditions and the health and volatility of the stock market, and that our sales are particularly affected by the financial health of, and demand levels from, higher-end consumers. While the overall market for home furnishings may be influenced by factors such as employment levels, interest rates, new household formation and the affordability of homes for first-time home buyers, the higher-end of the housing market may be disproportionately influenced by other factors, including the number of foreign buyers in higher-end U.S. real estate markets, foreign currency volatility, the number of second and third homes being bought and sold, stock market volatility and illiquid market conditions, global economic uncertainty, inflation, decreased availability of income tax deductions for mortgage interest and state income and property taxes, and perceived capital appreciation prospects in higher-end real estate. In the past, many of these factors have adversely affected the high-end home furnishings market and consequently our business. These factors may make it difficult for us to accurately predict our operating and financial results for future periods, and we believe these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations in future periods.

Our business depends in part on a strong brand image, and we continue to invest in brand development and advertising. Our increased focus on elevating RH as a luxury brand and plans for further international expansion further increase the importance of our brand image, position and reputation. Our brand image may be diminished if new products, services or other businesses fail to maintain or enhance our distinctive brand image. Additionally, our reputation could be jeopardized if we fail to maintain high standards for merchandise and service quality. With the growth in importance and the impact of social media, any negative publicity from product defects, recalls or service failures may be magnified and reach a large portion of our customer base in a short period of time, which could harm the value of our brand and, consequently, our financial performance. Any failure to maintain a strong brand image could have a material adverse effect on our sales and results of operations. As a luxury brand, we rely on a number of initiatives to sustain our image and to promote our products in the marketplace. Our physical retailing presence, primarily in the form of our Galleries, is one of the most important initiatives that we use to display our product offerings. We also use our website and other digital efforts, as well as our Sourcebooks, to showcase a larger portion of our assortment. We continue to adjust and refine our strategy based on a variety of factors, including the success of the various initiatives that we adopt. Expenditures on our Sourcebook strategy have historically represented a substantial portion of our expense in advertising and promoting our business. We are adjusting our strategies with respect to the use of Sourcebooks, including the frequency and scope of mailings, the format of the Sourcebooks and the use of the Sourcebooks as an advertising and promotional tool, including with respect to prospecting for new customers. There can be no assurance that we will be successful as we make changes to optimize our Sourcebook strategy. Future increases in shipping rates, paper costs or printing costs would have a negative impact on our results of operations to the extent that we are unable to offset such increases through increased sales or by raising prices, by implementing more efficient printing, mailing, delivery and order fulfillment systems, or by using alternative direct-mail formats.

We are undertaking a large number of new business initiatives at the same time, including efforts to expand our business through (i) international expansion, (ii) enhancement of our merchandise assortment and improvements to the quality of our products and services, and (iii) launching new business initiatives, including real estate development and the expansion of RH Hospitality, including by constructing our second RH Guesthouse in Aspen. We opened RH England in June 2023 and RH Munich and RH Düsseldorf in November 2023, which marked the beginning of our expansion into continental Europe. We have introduced a number of new product categories such as RH Modern and RH Contemporary, expanded the RH Hospitality offering which includes integrated restaurants and wine bars in a number of our Galleries and in our Guesthouse, as well as other innovations such as our private jets, RH1 and RH2, and our luxury yacht, RH3. We are also investing in other new business initiatives, including business acquisitions and investments in joint ventures, such as those related to real estate development projects. We can provide no assurances that customers will respond favorably to, or that we will successfully execute on, such business initiatives or that we will be successful in expanding our operations into any new geographies, businesses and product lines. In particular, any new businesses we enter or expansion of our existing business into new markets, both domestically and internationally, may expose us to additional operational risks, such as risks related to political, social and economic instability and disruptions, government import and export controls, economic sanctions, embargoes or trade restrictions, the imposition of duties and tariffs and other trade barriers and retaliatory countermeasures, risk to theft of proprietary information and/or intellectual property, currency fluctuation, supply chain and product sourcing, new regulatory regimes applicable to our products and increased compliance costs, including costs associated with compliance and disclosure operational requirements and costs related to operating in new jurisdictions, difficulties in staffing and managing multi-national operations, including our store locations and employees, limitations on our ability to enforce legal rights and remedies, potentially adverse tax consequences, and access to, or control of, networks and confidential information due to local government controls and vulnerability of local networks to cyber risks. We may be unsuccessful in adapting our operations to address such risks and we may determine to curtail and/or slow our international expansion initiative. If we are unable to successfully manage the risks associated with expanding our business internationally or adequately manage operational risks of our existing international operations, there could be a material adverse effect on our growth in global markets, our reputation and prospects, our consolidated results of operations, financial position and cash flows. As of February 3, 2024, we have an integrated RH Hospitality experience in 16 of our Gallery locations, including restaurants and wine bars, and based on the success of our hospitality offering to date, we plan to incorporate an integrated RH Hospitality offering in many of the new Galleries that we open in the future. In addition, we have one RH Guesthouse location in New York, and are constructing our second RH Guesthouse in Aspen. Although we have experienced a number of positive business outcomes from the RH Hospitality operations, there can be no assurance that these benefits will be sustained, that we will avoid operational or other complications from the hospitality business or that new aspects of our hospitality offering such as the launch of Guesthouses will be successful. We often have incurred, and may in the future incur, substantial upfront costs for new business initiatives before we realize any corresponding revenue with respect to such initiatives. For example, as we continue to develop and invest in new business initiatives, such as the introduction of guesthouses and the redevelopment of historical buildings into larger format Design Galleries in select major metropolitan markets, we may devote significant financial resources to a particular location before it opens to customers and generates revenue. Additionally, the amount of lead time and cost involved in the development of such initiatives may be greater than anticipated. If our future business initiatives do not achieve expected customer acceptance or generate sufficient revenues upon opening, we may not be able to recover the costs of our investment. In addition, we continue to pursue several new initiatives to improve our business, including refining our organizational structure, changing how we source and deliver products to our customers, and streamlining and realigning the senior leadership and personnel structure in our home office operations. We have also focused on elevating the customer experience, which includes improving our distribution and delivery of products and architecting a new fully integrated back-end operating platform, inclusive of the supply chain network, the home delivery experience as well as a new metric-driven quality system and company-wide decision data. We have focused on introducing new products and optimizing our merchandise assortment, including through selling slower moving, discontinued and other inventory through markdowns and our outlet channel, as well as enhancing and optimizing our product sourcing capabilities and adding new management information systems. Given the large number of organizational initiatives we are pursuing, as well as the complexity and untested nature of many of these efforts, there can be no certainty that we will succeed in executing these initiatives. We may not experience the operational or financial benefits we expect these improvements to generate and we may face unanticipated costs related to pursuing these initiatives, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

We depend largely upon our information technology systems in the conduct of all aspects of our operations, many of which we have only adopted and implemented within the past several years or are in the midst of implementing. These systems can be complex to develop, maintain, upgrade and protect against emerging threats, and we may fail to adequately hire or retain adequate personnel to manage our information systems, we may fail to accurately gauge the level of financial and managerial resources to invest in our information systems, or we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of resources invested in our information systems particularly as our business changes as a result of the many initiatives that we are pursuing. Any material interruptions or failures in our systems or the products or systems of our third-party vendors or other third parties that we share data with may have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations. Over the last several years, there has been a substantial increase in the scope of reported cybersecurity threats and attacks. During this time, we have experienced numerous cybersecurity threats and have had to expend increasing amounts of human and financial capital to address this issue. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers and may be breached due to error, malfeasance or other disruptions that could result in unauthorized disclosure or loss of sensitive data. Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to networks, or to sabotage systems, are constantly evolving and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate applicable threats or vulnerabilities in our systems and processes and we may fail to implement adequate preventative measures. We expect that these cybersecurity threats will continue and that the scope of sophistication of these efforts may increase in future periods. While we aim to remediate known vulnerabilities and identified breaches on a timely basis, and to adopt countermeasures to address risks, we do not expect that our efforts will eliminate these risks or result in 100% success in thwarting attacks. Any failure to address vulnerabilities or breaches in a timely and comprehensive matter, including shortcomings in our efforts to timely replace and upgrade network equipment, servers, or other technology assets, could result in a serious adverse event with respect to our systems and business operations. Furthermore, our operations are also dependent on the information technology systems and cybersecurity measures of third parties, including our vendors, who may also experience cybersecurity attacks. In addition, our information systems can face risks to the extent we acquire new businesses but are not able to quickly or comprehensively integrate such acquired businesses into our policies and procedures for addressing cybersecurity risks or identify and address weaknesses in such acquired entity's information systems. If we are unable to protect sensitive data, including complying with evolving information security, data protection and privacy regulations, our customers' data, our employees' data, our intellectual property, and other third-party data (such as subcontractors, suppliers and vendors) could be compromised, which could adversely affect our business. In addition, for our business to function successfully, we and other market participants must be able to handle and transmit confidential and personal information securely, including in customer orders placed through our website. That information includes data about our customers, including personally identifiable information and credit card information, as well as sensitive information about our vendors and workforce, including social security numbers and bank account information. Various jurisdictions have enacted additional laws and regulations to protect consumers against identity theft, including laws governing treatment of personally identifiable information. For example, in California, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the "CCPA"), which went into effect on January 1, 2020, imposes similar requirements on companies handling data of California residents. The California Privacy Rights Act, which became effective January 1, 2023, amends and expands the CCPA, including by expanding consumer's rights in their personal information and creating a new governmental agency to interpret and enforce the statute. Foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection, information security, and consumer protection often are more restrictive than those in the U.S. The European Union, for example, traditionally has imposed stricter obligations under its laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection than the U.S. In the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") governs data practices and privacy. The GDPR requires companies to meet more stringent requirements regarding the handling of personal data of individuals in the European Union than were required under predecessor European Union requirements. The United Kingdom has implemented legislation similar to the GDPR, including the U.K. Data Protection Act and legislation similar to the GDPR referred to as the U.K. GDPR. Any actual or perceived inability to comply with applicable privacy or data protection laws, regulations, or other obligations could result in significant cost and liability, litigation or governmental investigations, damage our reputation and adversely affect our business. These laws have increased the costs of doing business and, if we fail to implement appropriate safeguards or we fail to detect and provide prompt notice of unauthorized access as required by some of these laws, we could be subject to potential claims for damages and other remedies. If we were required to pay any significant amount in satisfaction of claims under these laws, or if we were forced to cease our business operations for any length of time as a result of our inability to comply fully with any such law, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. We may also incur legal costs if we are required to defend our methods of collection, processing and storage of personal data. Investigations, lawsuits, or adverse publicity relating to our methods of handling personal data could result in increased costs and negative market reaction. We expect that new laws, regulations and industry standards will continue to be proposed and enacted relating to privacy, data protection, marketing, advertising, consumer communications and information security in the U.S., the European Union and other jurisdictions, and we cannot determine the impact such future laws, regulations and standards may have on our business. If our systems, or those of third parties on whom are business depends, are damaged, interrupted or subject to unauthorized access, information about our customers, vendors or workforce could be stolen or misused. Any security breach could expose us to risks of data loss, fines, litigation and liability and could seriously disrupt our operations and harm our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business. We may be subject to one or more claims or lawsuits related to the intentional or unintentional release of confidential or personal information, including personally identifiable information about our customers, vendors or workforce. In addition to the possibility of fines, lawsuits and other claims, we could be required to expend significant resources to change our business practices or modify our service offerings in connection with the protection of personally identifiable information, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Any breach could also cause consumers to lose confidence in the security of our website and information technology systems and choose not to purchase from us. We are also subject to payment card association rules and network operating rules, including data security rules, certification requirements and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change over time. For example, we are subject to payment card industry data security standards, which contain compliance guidelines and standards with regard to our security surrounding the physical and electronic storage, processing and transmission of individual cardholder data. In addition, if our internal systems are breached or compromised, we may be liable for card re-issuance costs, subject to fines and higher transaction fees and lose our ability to accept credit and/or debit card payments from our members, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected. We currently maintain insurance to protect against cybersecurity risks and incidents. However, there can be no assurance that such insurance coverage will be available in the future on commercially reasonable terms or at commercially reasonable rates. In addition, insurance coverage may be insufficient or may not cover certain cybersecurity losses and liability.

Our business operations depend on our ability to maintain and protect our facilities, computer systems and personnel. Our operations and consumer spending may be affected by natural or man-made disasters or other similar events, including as a result of climate change, including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, widespread illness, fires, loss of power, interruption of other utilities, industrial accidents, social unrest and riots. In particular, our corporate headquarters is located in Northern California and other parts of our operations are located in Northern and Southern California, each of which is vulnerable to the effects of disasters, including fires and earthquakes that could disrupt our operations and affect our results of operations, and there is evidence that extreme weather, extended drought and shifting climate patterns have intensified the frequency and severity of wildfires in California. Many of our vendors are also located in areas that may be affected by such events. Moreover, geopolitical or public safety conditions which affect consumer behavior and spending, economic conditions, global trade or overall business conditions may adversely affect our business. Terrorist attacks, armed conflict such as what has been occurring in Ukraine and the Middle East, or other hostilities, or threats thereof, in the U.S. or in other countries around the world, as well as future events occurring in response to or in connection with such events and circumstances, could again result in reduced levels of consumer spending or other adverse effects on business conditions. Any of these occurrences could have a significant impact on our results of operations, revenue and costs. The COVID-19 pandemic had a widespread impact on our customers and on our merchandise supply chain as well as the overall business climate in the U.S. and globally. Future large-scale crises, whether involving public health or other issues, may result in similar adverse effects or additional challenges that we may not be able to anticipate, including changes in consumer behavior, the pace of economic activity, or other similar issues which could negatively affect our business, results of operations or financial condition in future periods. If in the future we encounter difficulties associated with any of our facilities, such as the disruptions we experienced related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or if any of our facilities were to shut down for any reason, including as a result of a natural disaster, we could face shortages of inventory resulting in backorders, significantly higher costs and longer lead times associated with distributing our products and the inability to process orders in a timely manner or ship goods to our customers. Further, any significant interruption in the operation of our customer service centers could also reduce our ability to receive and process orders and provide products and services to our Galleries and customers, which could result in lost sales, cancelled sales and a loss of loyalty to our brand and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.