Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A - Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following information about these risks, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report, before investing in our securities. If any of the events anticipated by the risks described below occur, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected, which could result in a decline in the market price of our securities, causing you to lose all or part of your investment.
Risk Factors Relating to our Business and Industry
The Company was profitable during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. However, we may not be able to achieve sustained profitability. Our failure to sustain profitability or effectively manage growth could result in net losses, and therefore negatively affect our financial condition.
In the event of any decrease in sales, if we are not able to maintain growth, or if we are unable to effectively manage our growth, we may not be able to sustain profitability, and may incur net losses in the future, and those net losses could be material. In the event we incur net losses, our financial condition could be negatively affected, and such effect could be material.
We are currently dependent on sales to GNC for a substantial portion of our total sales.
Sales to GNC’s centralized distribution platform, including indirect distribution of product to domestic and international franchisees, accounted for approximately 33% and 67% of our total sales for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. GNC’s franchisees are not required to carry our products. In the event GNC ceases purchasing products from us, or otherwise reduces its purchases, our total revenue will be negatively impacted, and such impact could be material. Moreover, the transition to GNC’s centralized distribution system had the effect of concentrating a significant portion of our accounts receivable with a single payor. Prior to the transition, we collected receivables from numerous franchisees. We anticipate that GNC will continue to represent a substantial portion of all accounts receivable for the foreseeable future. In the event that our sales to GNC decrease, our results from operations will be negatively affected, and such effect may be material.
Our ability to materially increase sales is largely dependent on the ability to increase sales of product to our wholesale partners as well as directly to the end consumer. We may invest significant amounts in these expansions with little success, and if we are unable to maintain good relationships with our existing customers and e-commerce platforms, our business could suffer.
We currently are focusing our marketing efforts on increasing the sale of products to GNC, both domestically and internationally, as well as increasing the number of retailers selling MusclePharm products. In addition, we are focused on increasing our direct-to-consumer revenue through e-commerce platforms such as Amazon. We may not be able to successfully increase sales through these channels. Moreover, unilateral decisions could be taken by our distributors, customers, or third-party e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, to discontinue all or any of our products that they are carrying or selling at any time, which would cause our business to suffer. The inability to sell our products through e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, would materially impact our sales and operating results.
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In addition, although we continued efforts to expand international distribution for our products in the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we cannot assure that any further efforts to sell our products outside the United States will result in material increased revenue. We may need to overcome significant regulatory and legal barriers in order to continue to sell our products internationally, and we cannot give assurances as to whether we will be able to comply with such regulatory or legal requirements.
We are affected by extensive laws, governmental regulations, administrative determinations, court decisions and similar constraints, which can make compliance costly and subject us to enforcement actions by governmental agencies.
The formulation, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, holding, storage, distribution, advertising and sale of our products are affected by extensive laws, governmental regulations and policies, administrative determinations, court decisions and similar constraints at the federal, state and local levels, both within the United States and in any country where we conduct business. There can be no assurance that we or our wholesale partners will be in compliance with all of these regulations. A failure by us or our wholesale partners to comply with these laws and regulations could lead to governmental investigations, civil and criminal prosecutions, administrative hearings and court proceedings, civil and criminal penalties, injunctions against product sales or advertising, civil and criminal liability for the Company and/or its principals, bad publicity, and tort claims arising out of governmental or judicial findings of fact or conclusions of law adverse to the Company or its principals. In addition, the adoption of new regulations and policies or changes in the interpretations of existing regulations and policies may result in significant new compliance costs or discontinuation of product sales, and may adversely affect the marketing of our products, resulting in decreases in revenue.
We are currently dependent on a limited number of independent suppliers and manufacturers of our products, which may affect our ability to deliver our products in a timely manner. If we are not able to ensure timely product deliveries, potential distributors and customers may not order our products, and our revenue may decrease.
We rely on a limited number of third parties to supply and manufacture our products. Our products are manufactured on a purchase order basis only, and manufacturers can terminate their relationships with us at will. These third-party manufacturers may be unable to satisfy our supply requirements, manufacture our products on a timely basis, fill and ship our orders promptly, provide services at competitive costs, or offer reliable products and services. The failure to meet any of these critical needs would delay or reduce product shipment and adversely affect our revenue, as well as jeopardize our relationships with our distributors and customers. In the event any of our third-party manufacturers were to become unable or unwilling to continue to provide us with products in required volumes and at suitable quality levels, we would be required to identify and obtain acceptable replacement manufacturing sources. There is no assurance that we would be able to obtain alternative manufacturing sources on a timely basis. Additionally, our third-party manufacturers source the majority of the raw materials for our products and, if we were to use alternative manufacturers, we may not be able to duplicate the exact taste and consistency profile of the product from the original manufacturer. An extended interruption in the supply of our products would likely result in decreased product sales and a corresponding decline in revenue. We believe that we can meet our current supply and manufacturing requirements with our current suppliers and manufacturers or with available substitute suppliers and manufacturers.
COVID-19 impacted global supply chains and such impacts have impacted us and our third-party suppliers. Future outbreaks of COVID-19 or other illnesses could have a material adverse impact on us in the future.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had a material impact on global supply chains, including for certain raw materials imported from China, among other countries, and this impacted our third-party suppliers and our wholesale partners. As a result, we had to increase purchases of certain raw materials and build additional finished goods inventory, especially in our best-selling products, to avoid, in addition to other consequences, stockouts. Although COVID-19 has largely abated, as well as the concomitant supply change challenges resulting from the pandemic, in the event of future outbreaks of COVID-19 or other illnesses, our operations and those of our third-party suppliers or our wholesale partners could be adversely affected.
Uncertain or unfavorable economic conditions, including during periods of high inflation, recessions or other economic disruption, or as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, could limit consumer and customer demand for our products, increase our costs or otherwise adversely affect us.
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The willingness of consumers to purchase our products depends in part on general or local economic conditions and consumers’ discretionary spending habits. For instance, in 2022, the U.S. experienced significantly heightened inflationary pressures which continued into 2023. In periods of adverse or uncertain economic conditions, including during periods of high inflation or recession concerns, or as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers may purchase less of our products, purchase more value or private label products or may forgo certain purchases altogether. In addition, our customers may seek to reduce their inventories in response to those economic conditions. In those circumstances, we could experience a reduction in sales. Further, during economic downturns, it may be more difficult to convince consumers to switch to, or continue to use, our brands or convince new users to choose our brands without expensive sampling programs and price promotions. Also, as a result of economic conditions, we may be unable to raise our prices sufficiently to protect profit margins. We experienced inflationary headwinds across our business during 2022 and 2023, and such inflationary pressures may not abate in 2024. This trend could have a materially adverse impact in the future if inflation rates were to significantly exceed our ability to achieve price increases or cost savings. Further, uncertain or unfavorable economic conditions have and could continue to negatively impact the financial stability of our customers or suppliers, which could lead to increased uncollectible receivables or non-performance. Current global geopolitical tensions, including related to Ukraine and Israel, may exacerbate any economic downturn and inflation. Any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are dependent on our third-party manufacturers to supply our products in the compositions we require, and we do not independently analyze each production lot of our products. Any errors in our product manufacturing could result in product recalls, significant legal exposure, and reduced revenue.
Although we require that our manufacturers verify the accuracy of the contents of our products, we do not have the expertise or personnel to monitor the production of products by these third parties. We rely primarily, with limited independent verification, on certificates of analysis regarding product content provided by our third-party suppliers and limited safety testing by them. We cannot be assured that these outside manufacturers will continue to reliably supply products to us in the compositions we require. Errors in the manufacture of our products could result in product recalls, significant legal exposure, adverse publicity, and decreased revenue.
We face significant competition from existing suppliers of products similar to ours. If we are not able to compete with these companies effectively, we may not be able to maintain profitability.
We face intense competition from numerous resellers, manufacturers and wholesalers of nutritional supplements similar to ours, including retail, online and mail-order providers. Many of our competitors have longer operating histories, more-established brands in the marketplace, greater financial resources and better access to capital than we have. We anticipate that these competitors may use their resources to engage in various business activities that could result in reduced sales of our products. Companies with greater capital and research capabilities could re-formulate existing products or formulate new products that could gain wide marketplace acceptance, which could have a negative effect on our future sales. In addition, aggressive advertising and promotion by our competitors may require us to compete by lowering prices or by increasing our marketing expenditures, and the economic viability of our operations likely would be diminished.
Adverse publicity associated with our products, ingredients, or those of similar companies, could adversely affect our sales and revenue.
Our customers’ perception of the safety and quality of our products or similar products distributed by others can be significantly influenced by national media attention, publicized scientific research or findings, product liability claims, and other publicity concerning our products or similar products distributed by others. Adverse publicity, whether or not accurate, that associates consumption of our products or any similar products with illness or other adverse effects will likely diminish the public’s perception of our products. Claims that any products are ineffective, inappropriately labeled or have inaccurate instructions as to their use, could have a material adverse effect on the market demand for our products, including reducing our revenue.
The efficacy of nutritional supplement products is supported by limited conclusive clinical studies, which could result in reduced market acceptance of these products and lower revenue or lower revenue growth rates.
Our nutritional supplement products are made from various ingredients, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, botanicals, fruits, berries, and other substances for which there is a long history of human consumption. However, there is little long-term experience with human consumption of certain product ingredients or combinations of ingredients in concentrated form. Although we believe that all of our products fall within the generally known safe limits for daily doses of each ingredient contained within them, nutrition science is imperfect. Moreover, some people have peculiar sensitivities or reactions to nutrients commonly found in certain foods and may have similar sensitivities or reactions to nutrients contained in our products. Furthermore, nutrition science is subject to change based on new research. New scientific evidence may disprove the efficacy of our products or prove our products to have effects not previously known. We could be adversely affected by studies that may assert that our products are ineffective or harmful to consumers, or if adverse effects are associated with a competitor’s similar products.
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Our products may not meet health and safety standards or could become contaminated.
We do not have control over the third parties involved in the manufacturing of our products and their compliance with government health and safety standards. Even if our products meet these standards, they could otherwise become contaminated. A failure to meet these standards or contamination could occur in our operations or those of our distributors or suppliers. This could result in expensive production interruptions, recalls and liability claims. Moreover, negative publicity could be generated from false, unfounded or nominal liability claims or limited recalls. Any of these failures or occurrences could negatively affect our business and financial performance.
The sale of our products involves product liability and related risks that could expose us to significant insurance and loss expense.
We face an inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims if the use of our products results in, or is believed to have resulted in, illness or injury. Most of our products contain combinations of ingredients, and there is little long-term experience with the effect of these combinations. In addition, interactions of these products with other products, prescription medicines and over-the-counter drugs have not been fully explored or understood and may have unintended consequences. Although our third-party manufacturers perform tests in connection with the formulations of our products, these tests are not designed to evaluate the inherent safety of our products.
Although we maintain product liability insurance, it may not be sufficient to cover all product liability claims, and any claims that may arise could have a material adverse effect on our business. The successful assertion or settlement of an uninsured claim, a significant number of insured claims or a claim exceeding the limits of our insurance coverage would harm us by adding further costs to our business and by diverting the attention of our senior management from the operation of our business. Even if we successfully defend a liability claim, the uninsured litigation costs and adverse publicity may be harmful to our business.
Any product liability claim may increase our costs and adversely affect our revenue and operating income. Moreover, liability claims arising from a serious adverse event may increase our costs through higher insurance premiums and deductibles and may make it more difficult to secure adequate insurance coverage in the future. In addition, our product liability insurance may fail to cover future product liability claims, which, if adversely determined, could subject us to substantial monetary damages.
If the products we sell do not have the healthful effects intended, our business may suffer.
In general, our products sold consist of nutritional supplements that are classified in the United States as “dietary supplements”, which do not currently require approval from the FDA or other regulatory agencies prior to sale. Although many of the ingredients in such products are vitamins, minerals, herbs and other substances for which there is a long history of human consumption, our products often contain innovative ingredients or combinations of ingredients. Although we believe such products and the combinations of ingredients in them are safe when taken as directed by us, there is little long-term experience with human or other animal consumption of certain of these ingredients or combinations thereof in concentrated form. The products could have certain side effects if not taken as directed or if taken by a consumer that has certain medical conditions. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that any of the products, even when used as directed, will have the effects intended or will not have harmful side effects.
A slower growth rate in the nutritional supplement industry could lead to reduced revenue or make it more difficult for us to sustain consistent revenue growth.
The nutritional supplement industry has been growing at a strong pace over the past ten years. However, any reported medical concerns with respect to ingredients commonly used in nutritional supplements could negatively impact the demand for our products. Additionally, low-carbohydrate products, liquid meal replacements and similar competing products addressing changing consumer tastes and preferences could affect the market for certain categories of supplements. All these factors could have a negative impact on our sales growth.
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Compliance with changing corporate governance regulations and public disclosures may result in additional risks and exposures.
Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and new regulations from the SEC, have created uncertainty for public companies such as ours. These laws, regulations, and standards are subject to varying interpretations in many cases and as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. As a result, our efforts to comply with evolving laws, regulations, and standards have resulted in, and are likely to continue to result in, increased expense and significant management time and attention.
Loss of key personnel could impair our ability to operate.
Our success depends on hiring, retaining and integrating senior management and skilled employees. We are currently dependent on certain current key employees who are vital to our ability to grow our business and maintain profitability. As with all employees, our officers can terminate their relationship with us at will. Our inability to retain these individuals may result in a reduced ability to operate our business.
Risk Factors Relating to our Common Stock
If we fail to comply with the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market, our Common Stock may be delisted and the price of our Common Stock and our ability to access the capital markets could be negatively impacted.
On September 18, 2023, our Common Stock began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (“ Nasdaq ”). Although we are currently in compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing standards, no assurance can be given that we will continue to meet applicable Nasdaq continued listing standards. Failure to meet applicable Nasdaq continued listing standards could result in a delisting of our Common Stock, which could materially reduce the liquidity of our Common Stock and result in a corresponding material reduction in the price of our Common Stock.
The price of our securities could be subject to wide fluctuations and your investment could decline in value.
The market price of the securities of a company such as ours with little name recognition in the financial community and without significant revenue can be subject to wide price swings. For example, the closing price of our Common Stock has ranged from a high of $22.45 to a low of $15.28 during the year ending December 31, 2023. The market price of our securities may be subject to wide changes in response to quarterly variations in operating results, announcements of new products by us or our competitors, reports by securities analysts, volume trading, or other events or factors. In addition, the financial markets have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations for a number of reasons, including the failure of certain companies to meet market expectations. These broad market price swings, or any industry-specific market fluctuations, may adversely affect the market price of our securities.
Companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been the subject of securities class action litigation. If we were to become the subject of securities class action litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a significant diversion of our management’s attention and resources.
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We may issue Preferred Stock with rights senior to the Common Stock.
Our Articles of Incorporation authorize the issuance of up to 10 million shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share (" Preferred Stock "), in the aggregate. Currently, we have the following classes of Preferred Stock authorized, which could be issued without shareholder approval: (i) 1,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, are authorized (the “ Series A Preferred ”); and (ii) 2,000 shares of Series B Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.01. However, the rights and preferences of any class or series of Preferred Stock, were we to designate or issue additional shares of Preferred Stock, would be established by our Board of Directors in its sole discretion and may have dividend, voting, liquidation and other rights and preferences that are senior to the rights of our Common Stock.
You should not rely on an investment in our Common Stock for the payment of cash dividends.
We have never paid cash dividends on our Common Stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. You should not make an investment in our Common Stock if you require dividend income. Any return on investment in our Common Stock would only come from an increase in the market price of our stock, which is uncertain and unpredictable.
Our Chair of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer and significant shareholder may have certain personal interests that may affect the Company.
Due to the securities held by Sudbury Capital Fund, LP (" Sudbury ") and Dayton Judd, the Company’s Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Judd may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of a majority of the Company’s outstanding voting securities. Consequently, Mr. Judd individually, and together with Sudbury as stockholders acting together, can significantly influence all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as mergers or other business transactions requiring shareholder approval. This concentration of ownership may have effects such as delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company that may be favored by other shareholders or preventing transactions in which shareholders might otherwise recover a premium for their shares over current market prices. In addition, as a result of Mr. Judd’s position as Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, he and/or Sudbury may have the ability to exert influence over both the actions of the Board of Directors, as well as the execution of management’s plans.
Risk Factors Related to Recent Acquisitions
We may experience difficulties in integrating the operations of MRC and/or MusclePharm into our business and in realizing the expected benefits of the acquisitions.
The success of the acquisition of MRC and/or MusclePharm (the “ Acquisitions ”) will depend in part on our ability to realize the anticipated business opportunities from integrating the operations of MRC and MusclePharm with our business in an efficient and effective manner. The integration process could take longer than anticipated and could result in the loss of key employees, the disruption of each company’s ongoing businesses, tax costs or inefficiencies, or inconsistencies in standards, controls, information technology systems, procedures and policies, any of which could adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with customers, employees or other third parties, or our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of the Acquisitions, and could harm our financial performance. If we are unable to successfully or timely integrate the operations of MRC and/or MusclePharm with our business, we may incur unanticipated liabilities and be unable to realize the revenue growth, synergies and other anticipated benefits resulting from the Acquisitions, and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
We have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant costs in connection with the Acquisitions. The substantial majority of these costs are non-recurring expenses related to the Acquisitions. We may incur additional costs in the integration of MRC’s and/or MusclePharm’s business and may not achieve cost synergies and other benefits sufficient to offset the incremental costs of the Acquisitions.
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The Acquisitions will present challenges associated with integrating operations, personnel, and other aspects of the companies.
The Company’s ability to integrate MRC’s and MusclePharm’s business with the Company’s business in an efficient and effective manner will determine the success of the Acquisitions. The Company’s attempt to integrate MRC and MusclePharm may result in significant challenges, and the Company may be unable to accomplish the integrations smoothly or successfully. In particular, the necessity of coordinating geographically dispersed organizations and addressing possible differences in corporate cultures and management philosophies may increase the difficulties of integration. The integration may require the dedication of significant management resources, which may temporarily distract management’s attention from the day-to-day operations of the businesses of the combined company. The process of integrating operations and making such adjustments after the Acquisitions could cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, the activities of one or more of the combined companies’ businesses and the loss of key personnel. Employee uncertainty, lack of focus, or turnover during the integration process may also disrupt the businesses of the combined companies. Any inability of management to integrate the operations of the Company, MRC and/or MusclePharm successfully could have a material adverse effect on the business and financial condition of the combined company.
SHOULD ONE OR MORE OF THE FOREGOING RISKS OR UNCERTAINTIES MATERIALIZE, OR SHOULD THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS PROVE INCORRECT, ACTUAL RESULTS MAY DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED, BELIEVED, ESTIMATED, EXPECTED, INTENDED OR PLANNED.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.