UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
☒
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended
December 31 , 2022
or
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period
from ________ to ________
Commission
file number: 001-41392
INNOVATIVE EYEWEAR, INC.
(Exact
Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Florida
84-2794274
(State
or Other Jurisdiction of
Incorporation or Organization)
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
11900 Biscayne Blvd. , Suite 630
North Miami , Florida 33181
(954)
826-0329
(Address,
Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title
of Each Class:
Trading
Symbol
Name
of Each Exchange on Which Registered:
Common Stock, $0.00001
par value
LUCY
The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
Warrants to purchase Common
Stock
LUCYW
The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2)
has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405
of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was
required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting
company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,”
“smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer
☐
Accelerated filer
☐
Non-accelerated filer
☒
Smaller reporting company
☒
Emerging growth company
☒
If
an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If
securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant
included in the fi ling reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation
received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The
registrant’s shares were not listed on any exchange and had no value as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of
2022. The registrant’s shares of common stock began trading on The NASDAQ Capital Market on August 15, 2022.
As
of March 17, 2023, the registrant had outstanding 7,715,757 shares of common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, which is the registrant’s
only class of common stock.
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:
NONE
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
PART I
Item 1.
Business
1
Item 1A.
Risk
Factors
20
Item 1B.
Unresolved
Staff Comments
42
Item 2.
Properties
42
Item 3.
Legal
Proceedings
42
Item 4.
Mine
Safety Disclosures
42
PART II
Item 5.
Market
for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
43
Item 6.
Reserved
43
Item 7.
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
44
Item 7A.
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
56
Item 8.
Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data
56
Item 9.
Changes
in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
56
Item 9A.
Controls
and Procedures
56
Item 9B.
Other
Information
57
PART III
Item 10.
Directors,
Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
58
Item 11.
Executive
Compensation
62
Item 12.
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
68
Item 13.
Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
69
Item 14.
Principal
Accounting Fees and Services
71
PART IV
Item 15.
Exhibits,
Financial Statement Schedules
72
Item 16.
Form 10-K
Summary
73
i
CAUTIONARY
STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Information
included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical facts,
but rather reflect our current expectations concerning future events and results. We generally use the words “believes,”
“expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “likely,” “will”
and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements, including those concerning our expectations,
involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, which may cause our actual results, performance
or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in
this Report under “Item 1A. – Risk Factors” below. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities
laws of the United States, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking statements when evaluating
the information presented in this Report.
CERTAIN
TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT
References
in this Report to “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” or “Innovative Eyewear”
means Innovative Eyewear, Inc. unless otherwise indicated.
ii
PART
I
Item 1.
Business .
Our
History
We
develop and sell smart eyeglasses and sunglasses, which are designed to allow our customers to remain connected to their digital lives,
while also offering prescription eyewear and sun protection. Founded and headquartered in Miami, Florida, we were initially organized
as a Florida limited liability company effective August 15, 2019. We were founded by Lucyd Ltd., the inventor and licensor of the
technology that our products are based upon which is a portfolio company of Tekcapital Europe Ltd. (“Tekcapital”). Tekcapital
is a U.K. based university intellectual property accelerator. Tekcapital builds portfolio companies around new technologies. On March 26,
2020, we converted from a Florida limited liability company into a Florida corporation.
Our
Product
In
January 2020, we introduced our first beta product and began market testing.
In
January 2021, we officially launched our first commercial product, Lucyd Lyte ® (“Lucyd Lyte”). This initial
product offering embodied our goal of creating smart eyewear for all day wear that looks like and is priced similarly to designer eyewear,
but is also light weight and comfortable, and enables the wearer to remain connected to their digital lives. The product was initially
launched with six styles, and in September 2021, an additional six styles were added.
We
recently launched version 2.0 of our Lucyd Lyte eyewear, and our current product offering consists of 16 version 1.0 models and 15 version
2.0 models, which offers a similar amount of style variety as many traditional eyewear collections. All styles are each available with
70 different lens types, resulting in hundreds of variations of products currently available.
Additionally,
Lucyd Lyte glasses enable the wearer to listen to music, take and make calls, and use voice assistants to perform many common smartphone
tasks hands-free. Some of the many things that can be done with Lucyd Lyte glasses include:
1.
“Send a voice
message to (contact)”: this command begins the recording of an audio message to be sent to named contact.
2.
“Send a text to
(contact)”: begins recording of a speech-to-text message to be sent by SMS to named contact.
3.
“Call (contact)”:
speed-dials the named contact.
4.
“Send $___ to (contact)”:
this command allows our user to send money to a contact via Venmo or Apple Pay. Follow the digital assistant’s prompts to confirm.
5.
“Check my messages”:
this command reads out our user’s latest incoming text messages and offers a prompt to reply to each. Close out the digital assistant
to end the readout.
6.
“Check my mailbox”:
this command announces the number of unread emails, and reads them out with a prompt to continue after each one. In the prompt after
each one, our customers can tell their digital assistant “Reply” and dictate an email response to the previous email.
7.
“Find (cuisine type) food
nearby”: this command reads through a list of nearby restaurants and their ratings, and prompts our user for directions or to call
after each one.
1
8.
“Call me an Uber”:
this command prompts our user on which type of Uber ride they want, then asks to confirm to send a car to our user’s location.
9.
“What time is it?”:
announces the current time.
10.
“Play (song/album/artist)”:
this command begins playing the requested song, album or artist via Apple Music.
11.
“Get me directions to (location)”:
this command begins navigating on phone, with audible directions on glasses.
12.
“Take a memo”: this command
begins recording a speech-to-text memo in Notes. Say “Read my Notes” to play back.
Since
the launch of Lucyd Lyte, we witnessed interest and demand from customers throughout the United States and have sold thousands of our
smart glasses. Within six months of the launch of Lucyd Lyte, several optical stores in the United States and Canada have on- boarded
the product and we have had discussions with several other large eyewear chains (by number of locations) regarding onboarding our product.
We believe smart eyewear is a product category whose time has come, and we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on and help develop
this exciting new sector–where eyewear meets electronics in a user-friendly, mass market format, priced similarly to designer eyewear.
In
first quarter of 2022 we introduced a virtual try-on kiosk for select retail stores. This device introduces our products to prospective
retail customers and enables them to digitally try-on our line of smart glasses in a touch free manner.
We
anticipate introducing six styles of Nautica smart eyewear, six to twelve additional styles of Lucyd Lyte glasses, and our first Bluetooth
safety glasses in 2023. In addition, we anticipate the following upgrades to accessory products in 2023:
● The
patent-pending Lucyd charging dock will be upgraded to feature a charging status LED and
USB data capability, enabling it to be used as a USB hub for computers in addition to a charging
hub.
● The
Lucyd virtual try-on kiosk will be upgraded with a store control panel enabling the kiosk
owner to change the display into Spanish language mode and control which frames and lens
options are shown in the digital experience.
In
the fourth quarter of 2022, we introduced key features in the Vyrb app, including live broadcasts for up to 100 users in one digital
“room”, and the ability to upload external audio content into Vyrb, enabling longstanding content creators to import their
existing libraries swiftly into the platform. Also in the fourth quarter of 2022, we completed development of core audio eyewear product
improvements, such as upgrading all frames to quadraphonic sound, which have been rolled out across all new eyewear models as of January 2023.
Our
Mission
Our
mission is to Upgrade Your Eyewear ® . Our smart eyewear is a fusion of headphones with glasses, bringing vision correction
and protection together with digital connectivity and clear audio, while also offering a safer solution for listening to music outdoors
(as compared to in-ear headphones). The convenience of having a Bluetooth headset and comfortable glasses in one, especially for those
who are already accustomed to all-day eyewear use, offers a lifestyle upgrade at a price most consumers can afford.
In
a sense, we view this integration of technology and vison correction/protection as the next evolutionary step in the development of eyewear.
Over the entire course of eyewear development and history, many of the innovations have dealt with improving the lenses of the glasses.
Notably, eyewear frames have not improved much in the past 400 years, with the exception, in our view, of the utilization of plastic
to reduce weight and provide a wider range of designs and finishes, and the introduction of new hinge types. We view the integration
of Bluetooth technology into the arms of the glasses as one of the key next steps to Upgrade Your Eyewear ® .
Our
focus is to enhance one of the world’s most important wearables: eyewear.
2
Additionally,
as part of our commitment to a great customer experience, we listen to feedback from our customers, and continuously strive to improve
customer satisfaction and experience with our products. Our customers’ extensive feedback pointed to a need and desire for better
interaction with social media while on-the-go. We are addressing this need by developing an exciting software application called Vyrb™,
which enables Lucyd Lyte users to hear and reply to social media posts, with their voice, hands-free, through their glasses (“Vyrb”).
Other Vyrb users will be able hear these posts. Additionally, Vyrb offers Lucyd Lyte users external social media sharing features, which
allow posts made on Vyrb to be exported to other platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We launched Vyrb in December 2021
for both iOS and Android, and we believe that Vyrb is one of the first social applications designed specifically with a focus on smart
glasses and other voice enabled wearables. We subsequently expanded Vyrb’s capabilities through software upgrades released in the
fourth quarter of 2022, and anticipate the commercial launch of Vyrb in the fourth quarter of 2023.
We
have made strong strides towards our goal of making smart eyewear accessible to the mass market. Several developments towards this end
include developing our smart frames in two temple lengths, with a third length planned for 2023; the introduction of smart eyewear specifically
for women and youth, which are typically missing from similar offerings; and the introduction of smart eyewear for adults with petite
or narrow faces. In addition, we have launched an expansive offering consisting of 16 version 1.0 models and 15 version 2.0 models so
far, which offer a similar amount of style variety as many traditional eyewear collections. When paired with the Vyrb application, Lucyd
Lyte glasses will provide a new and safer wearable user experience suitable for everyone.
Our
goal is to become a meaningful player in the smart eyewear market. Innovative Eyewear’s early successes have shown our ability
to not only compete, but to lead in this rapidly changing and expanding technological eyewear market, and our goal is to continue spearheading
innovation in the field.
Giving
Back
We
donate an optical frame for every Lucyd Lyte sold at retail locations.
We
are also very active in supporting the various communities we serve through donations and support. From the beginning, Innovative Eyewear
has supported those in need through its donation of glasses frames to New Eyes ( https://new-eyes.org/about-us ), a charity dedicated
to helping children and adults in need of eyewear. We’ve partnered with New Eyes because they fit the Lucyd brand mission: enhancing
the vision of people all over the world, and we believe that it simply is the right thing to do.
Additionally,
university students, educators, healthcare workers, uniformed service members, and veterans are eligible for an ongoing 18% discount
off all frames and lens upgrades on www.lucyd.co .
Our
Competitive Strengths
A
Unique Solution to a Common Problem . While immensely useful, smartphones can present a safety hazard to motorists,
pedestrians and cyclists because smartphones can distract people from the task or activity at hand. In 2021, pedestrian deaths were at
a 40-year high according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, and experts believe smartphones were partially to blame. Recent
data from the Governors Highway Safety Association indicates that from 2010 to 2020, the number of pedestrian deaths rose by 54%, while
all other traffic deaths increased by 13% (Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2021 Preliminary Data – (https://www.ghsa.org/resources/Pedestrians22).
We believe that the distraction created by smartphones originates in two forms: (1) via headphones or earbuds, where the user is
deprived of full audible situational awareness; and, (2) via the visual interface of the phone, which distracts the user completely from
their surroundings. Lucyd Lyte open ear audio helps address this problem by having the speakers mounted at the temples (in the arms)
of the glasses. There is nothing in the ear canal and, as a result, individuals can better maintain situational awareness, such as hearing
the traffic around them, as well as nearby sounds. Many of our competitors have relatively bulky speakers enclosed within the temples,
while Lucyd Lyte’s speakers and temples are thin, which allows them to look similar to traditional designer glasses. Furthermore,
through the quick and easy touch controls on the Lucyd Lyte, the wearer can perform many tasks that they would normally pull out their
phone for, untethering the eyes of the user from their smartphones throughout the day and enabling them to remain more visually vigilant
and aware of the traffic around them.
3
Affordable
Price Point . Our Lucyd Lyte eyewear provides both optical-quality glasses and a Bluetooth headset together,
at roughly the same price as a traditional pair of designer glasses, which is core to the disruptive potential of our product. Our Lucyd
Lyte line of smart eyewear enables prescription and sunglass wearers to interact with digital assistants and social media without having
to take their eyes off the road and are nearly handsfree, thereby improving the safety and convenience of taking calls, listening to
music and audibly accessing digital information on the go. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (“MSRP”) for Lucyd
Lyte 2.0 eyewear starts at $199, with advanced options and customizations available at higher price points, which are at the discretion
of the customer. A basic prescription lens upgrade is offered for $40. By comparison, most of our U.S.-based competitors offer products
that are more expensive, starting at approximately $249 or higher, with higher costs to add prescriptions.
Quality . All
of our frames can be outfitted in-house or by optical resellers with any combination of prescription, sunglass, readers and blue light
formats. Our frame fronts are made with what we believe are high quality optical materials to ensure easy lens fitting by any optician.
Customizable
Product Offering . There are 70 lens types available for Lucyd Lyte, making it the most customizable smart
eyewear in the world. Innovative Eyewear has a partnership with a high-quality optical lab in Boston to produce prescription and custom
lenses for our frames quickly and affordably. Our contract with a third-party optical lab also allows us to offer direct prescription
fulfillment to our customers.
Comfort . At
just 1.0-1.45 ounces, our eyewear has a feather-light fit, suitable for all day vision correction or sun protection (traditional glasses
weigh about 1 ounce). This is especially important while on the go. Our 1.0 ounce titanium aviators are among the lightest smart eyewear
ever made.
Long
Battery Life . At 12 hours of playback per charge, Lucyd Lyte 2.0 glasses outpace most, if not all, of the
competition on battery life.
Capital
Light Business Model . All of our products are sold through multiple e-commerce channels, including on our
website (Lucyd.co), BestBuy.com, DicksSportingGoods.com and Amazon.com, and are distributed through optical or other retailers (such
as, but not limited to, Metro Optics Eyewear and Marca Eyewear Group, Inc.). We believe this capital light approach is highly scalable
and efficient in the deployment of resources. We view “capital light” as being more efficient by obviating the need to build
factories and retail stores, while partnering with existing companies in both of these groups.
Multiple-Channel
Approach . We sell our products both through multiple online channels and multiple categories of brick-and-mortar
retail stores. We believe this multi-channel approach provides us with an advantage against our competitors who sell in a narrower selection
of channels.
Experienced
Management Team . We have an experienced board of directors with more than 80 years of combined experience
in the eyewear industry, and a management team with substantial experience in software and electronics engineering and operating eyewear
and technology companies.
Our
Business Strategy
When
we organized Innovative Eyewear two years ago, there were, in our view, no attractive smart eyewear that addressed the basic consumer
need for good looking designer glasses that were stylish, comfortable, lightweight and provided the functionality of hearables, and priced
around the same as regular glasses.
All
of our products are designed in Miami, manufactured in China, and sold through e-commerce, channels, including on our website (Lucyd.co),
BestBuy.com, DicksSportingGoods.com and Amazon.com, or sold by over 200 optical and sporting goods retailers. Additionally, we are pursuing
online and in-store big box retailers, and in-store and online specialty Based on the existing demand for our products, current distribution
and recently consummated supply agreements, we anticipate that our products will be available in a significant number of new third-party
retail locations in 2023.
4
We
believe that people care about what they wear on their faces, and because we understand that customers have diverse preferences about
the shape, size, and design of their eyewear, we aim to continuously introduce new models in an effort to offer a wide variety of designs.
We continuously present new models of eyewear to our network of followers to vote on those styles they find most appealing. We view this
as community approved design.
Sales
We
have two major sales channels: (1) e-commerce via Lucyd.co and Amazon and, (2) our ongoing development of a network of eyewear, sporting
goods and electronics resellers, including but not limited to, BestBuy.com, DicksSportingGoods.com and Brookstone, to offer our frames.
Most of our resellers are experienced opticians who provide valuable feedback that informs the development of our product lines, which
we would not receive if we were solely direct to consumer. Additionally, we have a robust presence on multiple e-commerce and social
media platforms, which facilitates several customer on-ramps for the Lucyd brand, and numerous ad campaign strategies. Building on our
early successes of driving traffic to Lucyd.co, the website run by a subsidiary of our majority stockholder, from Facebook and TikTok,
we deploy high quality content on multiple platforms to continuously keep customers engaged and drive brand awareness.
We
have two levels of margins, one for business to consumers (“B2C”), and one for business to business (“B2B”).
The majority of our sales have been through e-commerce with current gross margins of approximately 75%; retail sales have gross margins
of approximately 40%. Lens upgrades sold on Lucyd.co have a standardized profit margin of approximately 35%. As a company still in an
early growth stage, we are investing heavily in our B2C and B2B efforts to capture as much market share as possible, which included in
fiscal year 2022 several activities which impacted the gross deficit. Among these promotional activities were single-item B2C discounts,
heavy B2B discounts on large bulk orders, a large number of free sample units provided to media, influencers and reviewers, and significant
spending on upsells, promo items, and merchandising materials which were in many cases given to B2C and B2B customers for free. Additionally,
the logistical costs of the high number of B2C returns in fiscal year 2022 contributed to the deficit. However, with the better establishment
of the Lucyd brand expected in 2023, and with the current improvements to the product and increase in MSRP by $50, we expect to neutralize
the gross deficit in fiscal year 2023 as our per-unit profitability is increasing. We expect that our retail sales will account for the
majority of our sales by the end of 2023.
E-commerce
Channels
1.
Company website: Lucyd.co
Lucyd.co
is our primary e-commerce point of sale. The site offers the most customization options of any of our sales channels and a full prescription
lens lab, offering a total of 70 different lens combinations (21 key lens tints offered in plano, single prescription and progressive
bifocal; seven types of reading lenses). Additionally, the Lucyd website ships worldwide and is used to provide a quick and smooth buying
experience.
2.
Amazon
Amazon.com/lucyd
is our brand shop on Amazon. It drives approximately half of our online sales, but limits the number of variations we can offer on our
frames (e.g., prescription lenses are not permitted on Amazon). However, through Amazon, we are still able to offer color lens sunglass
variants and blue light blocker pairs, in addition to our charging dock accessory item. We are constantly testing traffic flow to Lucyd.co
vs. Amazon to ensure our online ad spend is fully optimized.
3.
Walmart.com, BestBuy.com,
DicksSportingGoods.com, Brookstone.com, eBay and Touch of Modern
In
addition to our key online sales channel through Lucyd.co, our products are also sold on Walmart.com, BestBuy.com, DicksSportingGoods.com,
Brookstone.com, and eBay.
5
4.
Social Selling
Not
only do we use social media to drive traffic to our main sales channels, but we also take advantage of intra-social shops as well, and
have deployed shopping experiences through Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to gain further brand awareness.
We
also offer two affiliate platforms via shareasale.com and Shopify for peer-driven sales. The Shareasale program is for professional affiliate
and deal promotion companies, and increases revenue on Lucyd.co by offering direct commissions in exchange for converting web traffic.
The Shopify affiliate program enables Lucyd brand enthusiasts to get a financial reward for sharing the brand, and operates on similar
terms as the Shareasale program where we provide a commission rate in exchange for converting web traffic.
Retail
Channels
1.
Independent Eyewear
Stores
The
core of our B2B business is formed by our relationship with numerous eyewear store retailers across the United States and Canada, which
provide Lucyd Lyte frames directly to their optical customers. Many of these retail stores have placed multiple stocking orders since
launching our wholesale business in June 2021. To support our resellers, we offer a strong co-op marketing program that includes
free store display materials. As part of this strategy, we have launched a digital try-on kiosk for our resellers to help educate their
in-store customers about Lucyd eyewear, and increase our brand’s physical presence in the optical industry. We have launched our
in-store digital try-on kiosk to key retailers in December 2021 and we have upgraded the kiosk’s capabilities to allow for
the customer to try different lens tints, explore an FAQ, download the company’s Vyrb™ social app, and enable in-store reordering
from the kiosk.
2.
National Eyewear Chains
Lucyd
eyewear is currently being evaluated by multiple leading eyewear chains in the United States for potential inclusion in their brick-and-mortar
stores. After the recent introduction of Ray Ban Stories smart eyewear, many retailers are keen to include one or more smart eyewear
products in their stores and on their e-commerce platforms. Based on our current discussion with several major optical chains (by store
size), we believe at least one major optical chain or national optical buying group will onboard our product line in 2023.
3.
Big Box Retail Stores
(Electronics, sporting goods, general merchandise)
In
addition to mainstream optical channels, we have begun placing our products and are pursuing additional product placements with leading
big box stores, either in their eyewear or electronics departments. Specifically, we have begun selling our products on Bestbuy.com and
Dickssportinggoods.com.
4.
License Agreements and
Specialty Retail Stores
We
are leaving no stone unturned in our mission to bring smart eyewear mainstream. We have licensed two leading fashion brands, Nautica
and Eddie Bauer, to produce new powered by Lucyd cobranded frames, which will be launched in 2023 on Lucyd sales channels as well
as in select Nautica and Eddie Bauer stores . Additionally, we are pursuing other potential sales outlets such as home shopping
channels, cellular stores and boutique retailers.
6
Manufacturing
and Supply Chain
Our
products are designed and specified in the United States and subsequently manufactured in China. The products are designed in-house,
3-D CAD files are then produced with product renderings. We then subject these rendered images for focus group review, to determine which
designs we should move to the prototype development stage. Pre-production prototypes are developed by our factories in China to our specifications.
Our factories source components for the smart eyewear in China including plastic and titanium for the frames, electronic components,
speakers, microphones and batteries. All packaging is designed in Miami and fabricated in China. Once completed, our products are tested
in the United States, to assess functionality, fit and finish. Production orders are placed and fabricated in China based on anticipated
demand, whereupon they undergo a rigorous thirteen-point third party product inspection process. The inspection is conducted on 100%
of our manufactured products. Inspections include testing procedures to help ensure our customers receive only functional, high-quality
products. For large bulk orders from clients, we are able to order this inventory on demand, due to the expected lead times in the traditional
frame sourcing business.
All
of our frames are manufactured with prefabricated, ready to wear sunglass or blue light lenses, and are directly shipped to the customer
in this state if the customer declines purchasing custom lens upgrades. If a customer orders with prescription or specialty lenses, then
the smart eyewear frames are sent to an optical contractor laboratory in Boston, Massachusetts, to have the lenses cut, ground and mounted
in the frames, whereupon they are directly shipped to customers.
Our
in-store kiosks are comprised of a fixture, a tablet, and proprietary software, which enable the prospective customer to virtually try
on our smart glasses. The fixtures, which sport our Company name, are manufactured by a U.S.-based third-party company, and are designed
to serve as a holding mechanism for the tablet. We purchase each tablet through Amazon.com, which is then fitted to the kiosk fixture.
The Company currently utilizes Samsung’s tablets for its in-store kiosks. Once each tablet is fitted to its kiosk fixture, the
tablet is loaded with software which ultimately presents the Company’s try-on application. This software-based chain of processes
relies on the tablet’s built-in camera and enables the prospective buyer of our smart eyewear to virtually try-on the glasses,
which are superimposed in different styles onto the customer’s face using the front-facing camera. The tablet is fitted to the
kiosk and loaded with our software in our Miami facility, from where they are shipped to a third-party warehouse in Miami for distribution
to retail stores.
Marketing
We
employ a 360-degree marketing strategy that encompasses both brand and user generated content syndication across earned, owned and paid
platforms (channels where the company pays a fee to have its product advertised). Long form and video content generation are a key focus
points for the brand, they allow us to better leverage both emerging and critical smart eyewear narratives through persistent search
engine optimization (SEO); increasing our organic brand awareness across the board, in addition to strategic loyalty, influencer and
affiliate marketing campaigns.
Our
online marketing strategy is primarily driven by pay-per-click advertisements on mainstream search engines, social media apps, and Amazon
and other marketplaces. In addition, we support our primary efforts with influencer created and promoted “UGC” (user-generated
content), email automations and newsletters, and website push notifications. We have also deployed nationwide broadcast cable TV campaigns
and plan to use this channel in the future.
We
believe we are trendsetters in creating relevant, omni-channel touchpoints that derive meaningful experiences and products designed for
our customers.
Our
wholesale marketing strategy is primarily focused on traditional sales email and call outreach, national and regional optical trade shows,
and optical and athletic trade advertisements.
7
From
a brand perspective, strategically offering value-added optical smart eyewear coupled with expansive end-user customization our social
audio app initiatives can potentially rapidly expand brand awareness and revenue. At Innovative Eyewear, we strive to lead and own critical
narratives within the Bluetooth and smart eyewear space.
We
seek to create memorable experiences and products that resonate with our customers, coupled with premium content and campaigns designed
to expand our brand presence and market share. We also attend major regional eyewear and sporting goods trade shows to build awareness
among our potential retail partners.
Our
influencers
To
accelerate brand awareness and product sales, we are embarking on an influencer strategy to engage leading figures in sports and the
arts, who like and enjoy wearing Lucyd Lyte ® . To date we have onboarded Chris Clark, a pro golfer, Monique Billings, a
WNBA basketball player, and Hadar Adora, an up-and-coming musical artist. We plan to add additional influencers to enhance awareness
and sell-through for a number of key demographics.
Influencers
are a key part of our marketing strategy, as they help our products relate to large, variable audiences. Lucyd Lyte is a perfect fit
for the fitness tech and audio product spaces, so athletes and musicians are a natural fit for our brand and the active lifestyles that
Lucyd products promote. We plan to add A-list musical talent to the brand in the near future, as well as a host of audio content creators
to support the Vyrb experience.
Our
Market Opportunity
According
to Statista, the total addressable market for eyewear in the U.S. is projected to be $33.8 billion in 2023. The market for digital assistants
like Siri, Google Voice, Bixby and Alexa has grown rapidly worldwide, and is projected at $4.5 billion in revenue in 2023. The worldwide
hearables market was estimated at $69.0 billion in 2022. We view the popularity of hearables as an important catalyst for the smart eyewear
market.
The
common denominator among markets for the hearables and digital assistant is that they facilitate real-time access to digital data, whether
it is through music, calls, navigational directions, or information, among other uses. The combination of hearables and digital assistants
provides a transparent, ergonomic interface between the users and their digital lives. At Innovative Eyewear, we are dedicated to a touch-free
interface and untethering our customers eyes from their smartphone screens, through our smart eyewear product.
The
synergistic fusion of these three markets enables, in our view, an opportunity to create a completely new experience of connected eyewear,
which smoothly delivers the functionality of both optical glasses and headphones, eliminating the need for either on its own. Nevertheless,
several orthodoxies of the eyewear industry still hold, namely: if you want to sell a lot of eyewear, we believe it should be attractive,
stylish, comfortable (e.g., lightweight, which we believe to be approximately 1oz) and cost roughly the same as traditional eyewear.
This is what we have sought to achieve, and in our view have accomplished with the introduction of Lucyd Lyte eyewear.
Intellectual
Property
We
license from Lucyd Ltd., a subsidiary of our majority stockholder, an intellectual property portfolio designed to protect our unique
eyewear designs and certain technological features in current and anticipated future products. More recently, the company has begun filing
patents under its own name.
We
have licensed and filed 48 patents to date, covering all of our current product designs and certain advanced features such as Vyrb, replaceable
front frames, and multi-channel Bluetooth connectivity. The Company will seek to file new IP to protect new styles and features of its
smart eyewear as they are introduced.
8
Our
current U.S. and foreign patent portfolio is as listed below:
App/Patent Number
Title
Country
Filing Date
Status
Grant Date
10,908,419
Smartglasses and Methods and Systems for Using Artificial Intelligence to Control Mobile Devices Used for Displaying and Presenting Tasks and Applications and Enhancing Presentation and Display of Augmented Reality Information
US
June 28, 2018
Issued
February 2, 2021
D899,493
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 20, 2020
D900,203
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 27, 2020
D899,494
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 20, 2020
D899,495
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 20, 2020
D899,496
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 20, 2020
D900,204
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 27, 2020
D900,205
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 27, 2020
D900,920
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
November 3, 2020
D900,206
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 27, 2020
D899,497
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 20, 2020
D899,498
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 20, 2020
D899,499
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 20, 2020
D899,500
Smart Glasses
US
March 22, 2019
Issued
October 20, 2020
9
D954,135
Round Smartglasses Having Flat Connector Hinges
US
December 12, 2019
Issued
June 7, 2022
D958,234
Round Smartglasses Having Pivot Connector Hinges
US
December 12, 2019
Issued
July 19, 2022
D955,467
Sport Smartglasses Having Flat Connector Hinges
US
December 12, 2019
Issued
June 21, 2022
D954,136
Smartglasses Having Pivot Connector Hinges
US
December 12, 2019
Issued
June 7, 2022
62/941,466
Wireless Smartglasses with Quick Connect Front Frames
US
November 27, 2019
Non-Provisional Application filed on November 25, 2020; U.S. App. No. 17/104,849
n/a
D954,137
Flat Connector Hinges for Smartglasses Temples
US
December 19, 2019
Issued
June 7, 2022
D974,456
Pivot Hinges and Smartglasses Temples
US
December 19, 2019
Issued
n/a
11,282,523
Voice Assistant Management
US
March 25, 2020
Issued
March 22, 2022
29/743,256
Wayfarer Smartglasses
US
July 20, 2020
Pending
n/a
D951,334
Round Smartglasses
US
July 20, 2020
Issued
May 10, 2022
17/104,849
Wireless Smartglasses with Quick Connect Front Frames
US
November 25, 2020
Pending
n/a
29/806,200
Smartglasses
US
September 1, 2021
Pending
n/a
29/806,204
Smartglasses
US
September 1, 2021
Pending
n/a
29/806,207
Smartglasses
US
September 1, 2021
Pending
n/a
29/806,209
Smartglasses
US
September 1, 2021
Pending
n/a
207516
Smartglasses
Canada
October 29, 2021
Pending
n/a
207517
Smartglasses
Canada
October 29, 2021
Pending
n/a
207518
Smartglasses
Canada
October 29, 2021
Pending
n/a
207519
Smartglasses
Canada
October 29, 2021
Pending
n/a
29/814,016
Safety Smartglasses
US
November 2, 2021
Pending
n/a
29/814,017
Safety Shields
US
November 2, 2021
Pending
n/a
10
63/274,920
Safety Glasses
US
November 2, 2021
Non-Provisional Application filed on October 21, 2022; U.S. App. No. 18/048,715
n/a
29/815,040
Charging Cradle
US
November 10, 2021
Pending
n/a
207956
Safety Smartglasses
Canada
November 17, 2021
Pending
n/a
207957
Safety Shields
Canada
November 17, 2021
Pending
n/a
2021307950576
Safety Smartglasses
China
December 2, 2021
Pending
n/a
ZL 2021307955902
Safety Shields
China
December 2, 2021
Issued
May 3, 2022
63/297,056
Charging Cradle for Smartglasses
US
January 6, 2022
Non-Provisional Application filed on December 29, 2022; U.S. App. No. 18/147,002
n/a
212589
Charging Cradle
Canada
May 9, 2022
Pending
n/a
ZL 2022302715131
Charging Cradle
China
May 10, 2022
Issued
October 21, 2022
18/048,715
Safety Glasses
US
October 21, 2022
Pending
n/a
3180624
Safety Glasses
Canada
November 1, 2022
Pending
n/a
202211367067X
Safety Glasses
China
November 2, 2022
Pending
n/a
18/147,002
Charging Cradle for Smartglasses
US
December 27, 2022
Pending
n/a
11
Additionally,
we have acquired the exclusive rights to 11 registered trademarks and applications as follows:
Trademark
Trademark
Number
Status
Jurisdiction
LUCYD
UK00003258030
Registered
UK
Lucyd Lens
UK00003258093
Registered
UK
Lucyd Loud
UK00003400531
Registered
UK
Upgrade your eyewear
UK00003400579
Registered
UK
GaaS
UK00003451728
Registered
UK
Vyrb
UK00003477240
Registered
UK
Lyte
UK00003526151
Registered
UK
Upgrade your eyewear
Application No. 90/407,646
Application
US
LUCYD
Application No. 90/407,723
Application
US
Lyte
Application No. 90/381051
Application
US
Vyrb
Application No. 90/820713
Application
US
Material
Agreements
License
Agreement between Innovative Eyewear, Inc. and Lucyd Ltd.
On
April 1, 2020, we entered into an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Lucyd Ltd. for all fields of use of the Lucyd ®
brand, and the associated intellectual property and assets (the “License Agreement”). We were founded by Lucyd Ltd.,
the inventor and licensor of the technology that our products are based upon, which is a portfolio company of Tekcapital, our majority
stockholder. The License Agreement is a royalty-free, fully paid up, perpetual license, for the exclusive use of the following assets:
1.
All Lucyd intellectual
property, including, all patents, patent applications and any continuations of such.
2.
All Lucyd trademarks.
3.
All Lucyd collateral material,
artwork, subscriber lists, eyeglass model and frame shots and renders, as well as 3D models.
4.
All Lucyd logos such as,
but not limited to: Lucyd ® word mark, Lucyd Hexagon, Upgrade Your Eyewear ® slogan and the Vyrb ®
trademark.
5.
All Lucyd company developed
software and any new software developed by Innovative Eyewear, utilizing the Lucyd software, will be owned by Innovative Eyewear.
6.
Lucyd Store portals through
Shopify, Amazon and Walmart.
7.
Relevant websites domain names
including Lucyd.co, Lucyd.net, Lucyd.eu.
8.
All supply and endorsement
agreements.
9.
All current inventory as of the
execution date of license.
12
10.
All social media accounts under the Lucyd
name, including, but not limited to: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
11.
All advertising material and trade
show displays, brochures and related materials.
Under
the terms of the License Agreement, we have the exclusive right to effectuate sublicenses, either exclusively or non-exclusively, to
any or all of our licensed intellectual property, at its sole discretion. Upon execution of the License Agreement, we paid Lucyd Ltd.
£1 for the life of the licensed assets, and the License Agreement shall continue in perpetuity, unless terminated according to
the terms of the agreement. Additionally, we issued 3,750,000 shares of our common stock to Lucyd Ltd. as compensation for entering into
the License Agreement and for the contribution of certain other assets. Lucyd Ltd. may terminate the license with immediate effect by
providing written notice to us if, among other things: we commit a material breach, as such is defined by the terms of the agreement;
or, if we suspend, or threaten to suspend, payment of our debts or are unable to pay our debts.
The
License Agreement requires us to indemnify Lucyd against all liabilities, costs, expenses, damages, and losses (including but not limited
to any direct, indirect or consequential losses, loss of profit, loss of reputation and all interest, penalties, and legal costs (calculated
on a full indemnity basis) and all other reasonable professional costs and expenses) suffered or incurred by Lucyd Ltd. arising out of
or in connection with actual or alleged infringement of third party intellectual property rights; our breach or non-performance of or
the enforcement of License Agreement. We have the right to sublicense any of our rights under the License Agreement, provided that any
sublicense also shall enter into a supplemental agreement satisfactory to Lucyd Ltd.
On
October 5, 2021, the parties to the License Agreement executed an Addendum, to the exclusive license agreement, which clarified
that Innovative Eyewear shall commercialize, continue with any on-going intellectual property prosecutions and pay all maintenance or
other patent fees (the “Addendum”). For all new intellectual property, Innovative Eyewear will own and control it and be
responsible for all prosecution and maintenance costs. The Addendum also confirms that Innovative Eyewear issued Lucyd Ltd. 3,750,000
shares of its common stock as consideration for the license.
Sales
Representation Agreement
On
March 4, 2021, we entered into a commission-only, sale representation agreement with D. Landstrom Associates, Inc. for prospecting
a wholesale relationship with Walmart, Target and Best Buy stores in the United States (the “Representation Agreement”).
The Representation Agreement provides for D. Landstrom to act as our commission based, manufacturer’s representative, with the
exclusive right to solicit offers on behalf of us to purchase our products in the United States, for the named big box stores. The term
of the Representation Agreement is five years. Contract may be terminated for “good cause” with 90 days’ notice by
either party. Upon termination, commissions of orders procured will extend 180 days beyond termination date. Thus far, the representation
has resulted in a successful launch of the Company’s products on BestBuy.com.
Distribution
Agreement
On
June 30, 2021, we entered into a distribution agreement with 8 Points Inc., a subsidiary of Marca Eyewear Group Inc., for exclusive
distribution of Lucyd Lyte products in Canada (the “Distribution Agreement”). The Distribution Agreement provides that 8
Points Inc. will have exclusive purchase and distribution rights and obligations in Canada. The term of the Distribution Agreement is
3.5 years and either party may terminate by providing 180 days’ notice to the other party. The distributor will perform services,
which shall include, but shall not be limited to the following):
1.
Sales of our products into retail distribution by servicing
potential purchasers and by generating new business within the Territory (as defined in the Distribution Agreement).
13
2.
Handling of all account inquiries on sales made pursuant to
this Distribution Agreement.
3.
Innovative Eyewear will receive all Canadian returns on a timely
basis. Currently, distributor will organize customer returns such that all returns will be shipped in bulk to Company’s distribution
center in Miami, Florida.
4.
Company will provide marketing activities to support the sales
of all the collections sold by the Distributor in the territory.
5.
Distributor will provide logistic service to distribute the
product in the territory covering all provinces and provide internal customer service and warehousing and shipping, as well as after
purchase care to customer.
6.
Distributor will provide a minimum purchase of $4.6 million
worth of Lucyd Lyte products over 30 months to maintain exclusivity for sales in Canada.
7.
Monthly minimum committed purchases increase incrementally
over the term of the Distribution Agreement. In the event that 8 Points Inc. does not meet the minimum monthly purchase requirements
then we may convert 8 Points Inc. exclusive contract to a non-exclusive contract or terminate the Distribution Agreement.
The
distributor has not met the requirements to maintain exclusivity; as such, we have converted the Distribution Agreement to a non-exclusive
contract in accordance with the terms of the agreement as outlined above.
Nautica ®
License Agreement
On
September 28, 2022, we entered into a multi-year global licensing agreement with Nautica Apparel, Inc., which became effective July 1,
2022. Pursuant to this agreement, we received a license to utilize the global lifestyle brand Nautica ® for our smart eyewear
products. The company intends to launch their first line of Nautica Powered by Lucyd sport lifestyle audio glasses in 2023. This agreement
requires us to pay royalties based on a percentage of net retail and wholesale sales, and also requires guaranteed minimum royalty payments.
The agreement has a base term of 10 years but is cancellable at our option during the fifth year. The future minimum payments due during
the noncancelable portion of the contract term (2022-2027) are approximately $1.1 million in aggregate; future minimum payments due during
the remaining term of the contract (2028-2032) are approximately $3.6 million in aggregate.
The
Next Step
Vyrb™
Social Audio App
We
believe eyewear should enable customers to freely interact with social media. While digital assistants, once enabled, can provide the
basis for this interaction, we believe that the ability to receive and send social media posts with an individual’s voice may greatly
enhance ease of use of these platforms on the go. To facilitate this, we have been developing Vyrb, our full stack social media application
that enables the user to receive and send posts through Lucyd Lyte smart glasses with an individual’s voice. The application launched
out of beta in December 2021, and the further development of the Vyrb app is continuing on pace, with two major features launched
in December 2022: the ability to host live audio streams with up to 100 visitors and six live speakers at a time; and the ability
to import external audio files into Vyrb, which allows longstanding podcasters and other content creators to add their content libraries
into Vyrb. After the introduction of several more features and key user experience improvements, we anticipate a commercial launch of
Vyrb in the fourth quarter of 2023. At or soon after this time, advertising and monetization features will be introduced into the app
to make it a new revenue stream for our business.
14
We
believe that Vyrb will enhance the utility of current and future Lucyd Lyte glasses by enabling users to be untethered from their smartphones,
yet still be able to hear and make social media posts. A goal of our products is to free our customers from other technologies. As such,
we are designing Vyrb with a transparent, voice-centric interface in mind, so that as soon as our customers can say “Ok Google,”
they are connected to a world of engaging audio content and have the ability to create audio posts and messages. We believe social interaction
via smart eyewear will be instrumental in bringing new, youthful customers to our company.
A
number of companies recently have started to launch voice mediated social media applications, such as Clubhouse, Discord, Audlist, Listen
and Riffr. We are designing Vyrb to host audiobooks, podcasts and entire music albums on the platform. With Vyrb, Lucyd Lyte customers
are able to hear their social media feeds, post messages, hold gatherings and musical performances (by inviting other Vyrb users to connect
with each other at a specific date and time), and enjoy social media with the authenticity of their own voice, all through their eyewear
and without taking their phone out of their pocket.
The
Product and Market for Vyrb
Vyrb
is being designed as a full social media experience to enhance voice-based communications on wearables and mobile devices. The sophistication
of Vyrb’s interface enables a large array of in-app purchases and subscriptions, as well as easy connectivity with the Lucyd Lyte
line of smart eyewear. In addition to an ad-driven revenue model that is typical of social media applications, the robust and highly
variable selection of planned in-app purchases provide important improvements and fine-tuned customizations to help personalize the user
experience. We plan to roll out these and other exciting features of Vyrb over the course of several software updates.
The
Vyrb app is contemplated to feature an in-app item shop with a number of fun and useful upgrades, such as:
● Loot Boxes — Random packs of multiple upgrade items, a best-selling in-app purchase
format frequently deployed in online video games.
● Skins — Items that alter the appearance of the app to help personalize it to the user’s
preferences, such as Dark Mode.
● Accents — Items that change the accent used by the app’s text-to-speech engine,
which is employed frequently to vocalize textual content.
● Metal Mics — Items that lengthen the maximum allowable verbal post length and image/video
sizes per post for users.
● Post Embellishments — Items that can be used to animate posts in the feed to make them
more prominent.
● Sound FX Packs — Items that increase the number of audio emojis (Sound FX) available
to the user, livening up their posts.
● Ad Tokens — Items that can be spent to expand the reach of a feed post to a larger audience.
● Vyrb Gold — A premium, monthly subscription to the app that blocks all ads and brings
additional benefits like a more prominent username.
● Vyrb Gems — In-app currency that can be spent to tip a user’s favorite content
creators, to buy premium paywalled content and to buy certain other in-app purchases. Gems can also be traded to other users for their
items on the Vyrb Marketplace module. Users will also be rewarded Gems for their engagement with ads on the platform, creating a positive
feedback loop that rewards app engagement with premium content and experiences.
15
● Command Tokens — Items that can be spent to create new custom voice assistant commands
(based on Vyrb’s Voice Command Creation Interface).
● Mega-Tag Tokens — Items that can expand the number of mega-tags available to the user
(mega-tags are a unique Vyrb feature, they are automatically applied hashtags that make a user’s posts more discoverable to others).
Users
spend approximately 145 minutes per day on social media applications and regularly click on advertisements they view through their applications.
We believe Vyrb is strategically positioned to become a prime advertisement space, allowing both visual and audible advertisements to
be purchased. Vyrb ads will be shown in a user’s regular newsfeed, which we believe will create an opportunity and need for a subscription
in-app purchase (Vyrb Gold) for a premium, ad-free browsing experience. For ease of use, Vyrb ads can be created by any user through
the application in just moments: users will be able to purchase “Ad Token” items from the in-app store, and then use these
tokens to turn standard posts into wide-reaching ads. A rapid-response reporting system will be developed and monitored to remove objectionable
or illegal content from the platform. With its focus on high quality audio, we are designing Vyrb to lift up professional and creative
audio content developers by helping them reach new audiences. To ensure a positive user experience, we are developing a system in Vyrb
which will automatically promote positively reviewed content, and automatically remove content that has been reported in a high ratio
compared to the number of viewers, providing the basis for user product discovery as well as a failsafe against any mistake in our manual
and algorithmic moderation of the application’s hosted content.
Vyrb
users will be able to purchase and support content from indie and professional creators via an in-app currency (referred to as “ gems ”
in this document, a virtual point the user typically accumulates by viewing ad content or by purchasing them). Creators will receive
gems from typical users as tips during live broadcasts, and in exchange for access to premium posts. The creators will then be able to
cash out these gems at an exchange rate that provides profit to Vyrb. For example, users purchase the gems, its in-app loyalty token
at a rate of $1 each, but creators only receive $0.75 for each gem they cash out. A 25% effective platform fee would put the content
transaction fees of Vyrb at a lower rate than most digital content marketplaces. In the case of typical livestreaming applications, a
functionality Vyrb supports, they are often exorbitant, taking as much as 50% in effective fees on in-app currency transactions.
To
acquire the gems, users must buy them in the Vyrb Shop or gain them by engaging with sufficient ad content (e.g., using the application
for an hour, or an amount of time that effectively pays for the gem). While Vyrb allows users the flexibility of choice of either buying
or earning these gems, we believe that there is a huge revenue stream potential for us through a strategic implementation of the Vyrb
Shop and peer-to-peer content transactions.
Also,
we plan for users to be able to charge a fixed price to be able to access particular audio posts. For example, this feature could be
used by a podcaster to sell their premium episodes, or by a recording artist to sell their music albums. In tandem with this feature,
audio posts will be divisible into tracks to support long form content such as albums and audiobooks. Vyrb will take a flat percentage
fee on all sales of premium content within the application by allowing creators to cash out gems they receive for selling their content.
We believe the major benefit of this system is that it will provide audio content creators a new platform for rapidly creating, listing
and selling their content, and help create an environment full of rich, unique and interactive audio experiences such as live “radio
shows,” indie content and virtual concerts for typical Vyrb users.
We
believe that Vyrb will effectively leverage multiple successful gamification models from the world of social media to provide a flexible
and highly interactive user experience that can potentially draw high-value content creators. A fundamental aspiration of Vyrb is to
provide a new platform and source of revenue for high quality audio content creators in particular; to that end, we designed Vyrb with
a goal of providing a rapid, user-friendly platform for creators and consumers to share, sell and enjoy the best audio the web has to
offer. We believe that through Vyrb, we can make the interaction between our users and our product a fun and rewarding experience, which
can also be monetized by the company and content creators alike. By putting audio front and center, we hope to provide a new meeting
ground for audio content creators and those who enjoy lots of music, podcasts and talk shows. We hope to provide a mutually beneficial
relationship, where Vyrb takes a reasonable fee on the transacting of these parties in exchange for bringing them together.
16
Competition
The
smart eyewear industry in which we operate is competitive and subject to changes in practice. While we believe that our products are
hybrid of eyeglasses and audio technology, which gives us a unique product that provides us with competitive advantages, we may face
competition from many different entities now and in the future. As of now, we face competition from the following products:
● Bose Corporation’s Bose Frames . These are a Bluetooth eyewear product,
but in a bulkier form factor and with what we believe to be comparable models at a higher list price ($249 MSRP) than Lucyd Lyte 2.0 ($199).
● Amazon’s Echo Glasses . Another entry in the Bluetooth eyewear space
offered at a $249 list price. Not available directly from the manufacturer in prescription, and in only one frame shape. The cost of the
Amazon Echo Glasses is higher than Lucyd Lyte. While lightweight like Lucyd Lyte glasses, Amazon Echo Glasses have, in our view, a less
fashionable form factor, and the battery life is about half of that of Lucyd Lyte.
● Snapchat Spectacles . This is a camera-focused smart eyewear product and,
in our view, not a direct competitor as to its style, weight, pricing and suitability for all-day wear, as compared with our products;
however, Snapchat Spectacles may introduce further entries in the space that may directly compete with Lucyd Lyte. Snapchat Spectacles
Version 3 have a list price of $380.
● Ray-Ban Stories Glasses . Developed in association with Facebook, are a camera-focused
smart eyewear product, and despite the fact they are available in prescription, in our view not a direct competitor; Ray-Ban may, however,
introduce further entries in the space that may directly compete with Lucyd Lyte. Ray-Ban Spectacles have a well-known and respected brand,
and a list price starting at $299, which makes them 50% more expensive than Lucyd Lyte. They weigh considerably more (20-70% depending
upon the Lyte model) than Lucyd Lyte glasses, have a shorter battery life, thicker temple profiles and are not water resistant.
All
of the competitors discussed above have substantially greater manufacturing, financial, research and development, personnel and marketing
resources than we do. As a result, although we believe our products are currently superior, our competitors may be able to develop superior
products, and compete more aggressively and sustain their competitive advantage over a longer period of time than us. Our products may
be rendered obsolete in the face of competition.
Employees
As
of December 31, 2022, we had 9 full time employees with two in product development, two in sales, one in finance, one in customer
service, one in marketing, one in graphic design and one in video production. Employees are supported by a number of consultants and
part time employees, including a group of 8 independent sales representatives.
Other
Our
principal executive offices are located at 11900 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 630, North Miami, Florida 33181, our telephone number is (954)
826-0329 and our Internet website address is www.lucyd.co. We make available free of charge on or through our Internet website our annual
report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements on Schedule 14A,
and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably
practicable after we electronically file such materials with, or furnish them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Alternatively, you may also access our reports at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
17
Summary
Risk Factors
The
risk factors described below are a summary of the principal risk factors associated with an investment in us. These are not the only
risks we face. You should carefully consider these risk factors, together with the risk factors set forth in Item 1A. of this Report
and the other reports and documents filed by us with the SEC.
Risks
Related to our Business, Strategy and Industry
● We
have a history of losses, and we may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability.
● The
optical industry is highly competitive, and if we do not compete successfully, our business may be adversely impacted.
● We
have limited experience in scaling a smart eyewear business. If we are unable to manage our expected growth effectively, our brand, and
financial performance may suffer, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
● Increases
in component costs, shipping costs, long lead times, supply shortages, and supply changes could disrupt our supply chain; factors such
as wage rate increases and inflation can have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
● We
currently derive all of our revenue from sales of our glasses. A decline in sales of our eyewear would negatively affect our business,
financial condition, and results of operation.
● We
face significant risks due to our dependency on foreign supply and manufacturing chains, geopolitical and economic changes, and changes
in public perception about internationally sourced and manufactured products.
● We
rely on a limited number of contract manufacturers and logistics partners for our products. A loss of any of these partners could negatively
affect our business.
● If
we fail to cost-effectively retain our existing customers or to acquire new customers, our business, financial condition, and results
of operations would be harmed.
● Eyeglasses
are regulated as medical devices by the FDA, and our failure, or the failure of any third-party manufacturer or optical laboratory, to
obtain and maintain the necessary marketing authorizations for our products could have a material adverse effect on our business.
● Our
profitability and cash flows may be negatively affected if we are not successful in managing our supply chain and customer demands for
product deliveries.
● If
we fail to maintain and enhance our brand, our ability to engage or expand our base of customers will be impaired, and our business,
financial condition, and results of operations may suffer.
● We
rely heavily on our information technology systems, as well as those of our third-party vendors, business partners, and service providers,
for our business to effectively operate and to safeguard confidential information; any significant failure, inadequacy, interruption,
or data security incident could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operations.
● Our
multichannel channel business faces distinct risks, and our failure to successfully manage it could have a negative impact on our profitability.
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● If
we fail to adapt and respond effectively to rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards and changing customer needs or requirements,
our solutions may become less competitive.
● We
depend on highly skilled personnel to grow and operate our business, and if we are unable to hire, retain, and motivate our personnel,
we may not be able to grow effectively.
● A
decline in sales of our eyewear would negatively affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
● We
could be adversely affected by product liability, product recall or personal injury issues.
Risks
Related to our Intellectual Property
● We
license some of our technology from Lucyd Ltd., the majority stockholder of the Company, and our inability to maintain this license could
materially affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
● Failure
to adequately maintain and protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights could harm our brand, devalue our proprietary content,
and adversely affect our ability to compete effectively.
● We
may incur costs to defend against, face liability or for being vulnerable to intellectual property infringement claims brought against
us by others.
Risks
Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
● We
face risks associated with suppliers from whom our products are sourced and are dependent on a limited number of suppliers.
● Our
projects could be hindered due to our dependence on third parties to complete many of our contracts.
● We
depend on search engines, social media platforms, digital application stores, content-based online advertising, and other online sources
to attract consumers to and promote our website and our mobile applications, which may be affected by third-party interference beyond
our control; and, as we grow, the cost of acquiring new customers may continue to rise and become uneconomical.
Risks
Related to Our Common Stock
● Our
directors, executive officers and principal stockholders have substantial control over our company, which could limit your ability to
influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control.
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Item 1A.
Risk Factors .
Our
business involves a high degree of risk and uncertainty, including the following risks and uncertainties:
Risks
Relating to Our Business, Strategy and Industry
The
optical industry is highly competitive, and if we do not compete successfully, our business may be adversely impacted.
We
compete directly with large, integrated optical players that sell both at the retail level and online such as Ray-Ban ®
that have multiple products, well regarded brands and retail banners, as well as established and well-regarded consumer electronics companies
such as Bose ® . This diversified and capable competition takes place both in physical retail locations as well as online,
for smart glasses. To compete effectively, we must continue to create, invest in, or acquire, advanced technology, incorporate this technology
into our products, obtain regulatory approvals in a timely manner where required, and process and successfully market our products.
Most
if not all of our competitors have significantly greater financial and operational resources, longer operating histories, greater brand
recognition, and broader geographic presence than we do. As a result, they may be able to outmaneuver us in the marketplace and offer
capable products at more competitive prices, which may adversely affect our business. They also are able to spend far more than we do
for advertising. We may be at a substantial disadvantage to larger competitors with greater economies of scale. If our costs are greater
compared to those of our competitors, the pricing of our products may not be as attractive, thus depressing sales or the profitability
of our products and services. Our competitors may expand into markets in which we currently operate, and we remain vulnerable to the
marketing power and high level of customer recognition of these larger competitors and to the risk that these competitors or others could
attract our customer base. Some of our competitors are vertically integrated and are also engaged in the manufacture and distribution
of glasses and many of our competitors operate under a variety of brands and price points. These competitors can advantageously leverage
this structure to better compete and access the market with significant market power could make it more difficult for us to compete.
We purchase some of our product components from suppliers who may be affiliates of one or more competitors or may compete with ourselves
in the future.
We
may not continue to be able to successfully compete against existing or future competitors. Our inability to respond effectively to competitive
pressures, improved performance by our competitors, and changes in the retail and e-commerce markets could result in lost market share
and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We
have a history of losses, and we may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability.
We
had a net loss of $5,681,833 for the year ended December 31, 2022, and a net loss of $3,244,506 for the year ended December 31,
2021. As of December 31, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $10,305,987. Because we have a short operating history it is difficult
for us to predict our future operating results. We will need to generate and sustain increased revenue and manage our costs to achieve
profitability. Even if we do, we may not be able become or increase our profitability.
Our
ability to generate profit depends on our ability to strengthen and expand our brand, continue to provide exciting products customers
love, expand sales and improve margins. We are aiming to achieve profitability in the next two years, and between now and then we plan
to efficiently invest in the business to bring it to scale by:
● enhancing
our products with new designs, functionality, and technology to widen our appeal and delight customers in a wide variety of demographic
groups; and,
● investing
in our product development, supply chain and sales and marketing capabilities to leverage external resources as efficiently as possible
to ensure that smart glasses are affordable for the majority of the world’s population who need them.
However,
we may not succeed in any of the foregoing, and the planned investments may not result in profitability.
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We
have limited experience in the smart eyewear space. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, our brand “Lucyd”,
and our financial performance may suffer, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating
results.
The
smart eyewear industry is newly emerging. Whilst our directors have more than 80 years of combined experience in the eyewear industry,
the smart eyewear market presents numerous new challenges. To effectively manage these challenges and continue to grow, we must continue
to invest in the design of new frames and technology, expand our product line and effectively integrate several new technologies into
eyewear. Achieving this could strain our existing resources, and we could experience ongoing operating difficulties in managing our business
and bringing it to scale. Failure to scale could harm our competitive position and future success, including our ability to retain and
recruit personnel and to effectively execute our corporate objectives.
Our
ability to generate net revenue will depend upon many factors, some of which we may have no control over .
The
industry for stylish, affordable smart glasses, is rapidly evolving and may not develop as we expect. Even if our net revenue continues
to increase, our net revenue growth rates may decline in the future as a result of a variety of factors, including macroeconomic factors,
increased competition, and the maturation of our business. As a result, you should not rely on our net revenue growth rate for any prior
period as an indication of our future performance. Overall growth of our net revenue will depend on a number of factors, including our
ability to:
● Increase
exogenous distribution of our products in optical stores, big box retailers, specialty retailers and through multiple e-commerce channels;
● Price
our products so that we are able to attract new customers, and expand our relationships with existing customers;
● Accurately
forecast our net revenue and plan our operating expenses accordingly;
● Successfully
compete with other companies that are currently in, or may in the future enter, the smart eyewear industry or the markets in which we
compete, and respond to developments from these competitors such as pricing changes and the introduction of new products and features,
noting that most, if not all, of our competitors have stronger balance sheets and larger staffs to devote to their products;
● Comply
with existing and new laws and regulations applicable to our business;
● Develop
new product offerings, with services and features, including in response to new trends, competitive dynamics, or the needs of customers;
● Successfully
identify and acquire or invest in businesses, products, or technologies that we believe could complement or expand our business;
● Avoid
interruptions or disruptions in our supply chain from natural disasters and political uncertainty;
● Provide
customers with a high-quality experience and customer service and support that meets their needs;
● Hire,
integrate, and retain talented sales, customer experience, product design, and development and other personnel;
● Effectively
manage growth of our business, personnel, and operations;
● Effectively
manage our costs related to our business and operations; and,
● Enhance
our reputation and the value of the Lucyd brand.
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Because
we have a limited history operating our business, it is difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects, including our
ability to plan for and model future growth. Our limited operating experience combined with the rapidly evolving nature of the market
in which we sell our products and services, substantial uncertainty concerning how these markets may develop, and other economic factors
beyond our control, reduces our ability to accurately forecast quarterly or annual revenue. Failure to manage our future growth effectively
could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
We
also expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources to grow our business, and we may fail to allocate our resources
in a manner that results in increased net revenue growth in our business. Additionally, we may encounter unforeseen operating expenses,
difficulties, complications, delays, and other unknown factors that may result in losses in future periods. If our net revenue growth
does not meet our expectations in future periods, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be harmed, and we
may not achieve or sustain profitability in the future.
Increases
in component costs, shipping costs, long lead times, supply shortages, and supply changes could disrupt our supply chain and factors
such as wage rate increases and inflation can have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Meeting
customer demand partially depends on our ability to obtain timely and adequate delivery of components for our products and services.
All of the components that go into the manufacturing of our products and services are sourced from a limited number of third-party suppliers
predominantly in the U.S., and China. Our contract manufacturers purchase and provide many of these components on our behalf, including
sun lenses, demo lenses, hinge and chip sets and other electronic components, and we do not have long-term arrangements with most of
our component suppliers. We are therefore subject to the risk of shortages and long lead times in the supply of these components and
the risk that our suppliers discontinue or modify components used in our products. In addition, the lead times associated with certain
components are lengthy and may preclude rapid changes in design, quantities, and delivery schedules. Our ability to meet temporary unforeseen
increases in demand has been, and may in the future be, impacted by our reliance on the availability of components from these suppliers.
We may in the future experience component shortages, and the predictability of the availability of these components may be limited, which
may be heightened in light of Covid-19 safety measures undertaken in China, our principal country of manufacturing. In the event of a
component shortage or supply interruption from suppliers of these components, we may experience supply chain delays. Developing alternate
sources of supply for these components may be time-consuming, difficult, and costly, and we may not be able to source these components
on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, which may undermine our ability to fill our orders in a timely manner. Any interruption
or delay in the supply of any of these parts or components, or the inability to obtain these parts or components from alternate sources
at acceptable prices and within a reasonable amount of time, would harm our ability to timely ship our products to our customers.
In
addition, substantially all of our components are shipped directly from our contract manufacturers to our warehouse facility in Miami
or to a third-party optical laboratory in the United States, where lenses are cut and mounted into frames. These laboratories process
most of the glasses ordered by our customers. Once processed at the laboratories, the finished products are then sorted and shipped using
third-party carriers to our customers. Our eyeglasses are also shipped directly to our third-party distribution center in the United
States for shipment directly to our customers and resellers. We depend in large part on the orderly operation of this distribution process,
which depends, in turn, on adherence to shipping schedules and effective management of our optical laboratory network and third-party
distribution center. Increases in transportation costs (including increases in fuel costs), issues with overseas shipments, supplier-side
delays, as well as reductions in the transportation capacity of carriers, labor strikes or shortages in the transportation industry,
disruptions to the national and international transportation infrastructure, and unexpected delivery interruptions or delays also have
the potential to derail our distribution process.
Moreover,
volatile economic conditions may make it more likely that our suppliers and logistics providers may be unable to timely deliver supplies,
or at all, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to timely locate alternative suppliers of comparable quality at an acceptable
price. In addition, international supply chains may be impacted by events outside of our control, including but not limited to the COVID-19
pandemic, and limit our ability to procure timely delivery of supplies or finished goods and services. We face additional risks related
to the manufacturing facility we contract with in China and suppliers in China, including port of entry risks such as longshoremen strikes,
import restrictions, foreign government regulations, trade restrictions, customs, and duties.
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We
source components from suppliers located in China. Effective September 1, 2019, the U.S. government implemented a 15% tariff on
specified products imported into the U.S. from China and effective February 14, 2020, the 15% tariff was reduced to 7.5%. In June 2020,
the U.S. government granted a temporary exclusion for plastic and metal frames with a retroactive effective date of September 1,
2019, and such exclusion expired in September 2020. Given the recent change in the U.S. presidential administration, there is uncertainty
whether there will be, and the resulting impacts of, any changes to U.S. government trade policy. If we are unable to mitigate the full
impact of the enacted tariffs or if there is a further escalation of tariffs, costs on a significant portion of our products may increase
further and our financial results may be negatively affected. While it is too early to predict how the current and future China tariffs
will impact our business, our financial results may also be impacted by any resulting economic slowdown.
The
inability to fulfill, or any delays in processing, customer orders through third party optical laboratory optical laboratory could result
in the loss of customers, issuances of refunds or credits, and may also adversely affect our income and reputation. The success of our
retail and e-commerce sales depends on the timely receipt of products by our customers and any repeated, intermittent or long-term disruption
in, or failures of, the operations of our distribution center and/or optical laboratories could result in lower sales and profitability,
a loss of loyalty to our brands, and excess inventory.
Furthermore,
increases in compensation, wage pressure, and other expenses for our employees, may adversely affect our profitability. Increases in
minimum wages and other wage and hour regulations can exacerbate this risk. These cost increases may be the result of inflationary pressures
which could further reduce our sales or profitability. Increases in other operating costs, may increase our cost of products sold or
selling, general, and administrative expenses. Our competitive price model and pricing pressures in the optical retail industry may inhibit
our ability to reflect these increased costs in the prices of our products, in which case such increased costs could have a material
adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We
currently derive all of our revenue from sales of our glasses. A decline in sales of our eyewear would negatively affect our business,
financial condition, and results of operations.
We
derive all of our revenue from the sale of one product line, our Lucyd Lyte smart eyewear. Our glasses are sold in highly competitive
markets with limited barriers to entry. Introduction by competitors of comparable products at lower price points, a maturing product
lifecycle, a decline in consumer spending, or other factors could result in a material decline in our revenue. Because we derive most
of our revenue from the sale of our glasses, any material decline in sales of our glasses would have a material adverse impact on our
business, financial condition, and operating results.
We
face significant risks due to our dependency on foreign supply and manufacturing chains, geopolitical and economic changes, and changes
in public perception about internationally sourced and manufactured products.
Since
our component materials are sourced in China, our production may face additional risks such as, but not limited to: increased shipping
costs, imposition of additional import or trade restrictions, increased custom duties and tariffs, legal or economic restrictions on
our supplier and manufacturer’s ability to meet our needs, unforeseen delays in customs clearance of goods, transportation delays,
issues with ports of entry, new and adverse foreign government regulations, political instability, war, natural disasters, and overall
economic uncertainty. Our overseas sourcing and manufacturing could also suffer due to health-related concerns surrounding infectious
diseases, such as Covid-19 safety measures in China, our primary country of supply. Public opinion about internationally sourced and
manufactured products could be changed by negative press, which could have an impact on our customers’ confidence and satisfaction
and could also have a negative impact on our public image and brand perception.
If
we fail to cost-effectively retain our existing customers or to acquire new customers, our business, financial condition, and results
of operations would be harmed.
The
growth of our business is dependent upon our ability to continue to grow by cost-effectively retaining our existing customers and adding
new customers. Although we believe that many customers originate from word-of-mouth and paid and non-paid referrals, we expect to continue
to expend resources and run marketing campaigns to acquire additional customers, all of which could impact our overall profitability.
If we are not able to continue to expand our customer base, or fail to retain customers, our net revenue will grow slower than expected
or decline.
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The
growth of our e-commerce channel is critical to our continued customer retention and growth. Historically, consumers have been slower
to adopt online shopping for glasses than e-commerce offerings in other industries such as consumer electronics and apparel. Improving
upon the consumer in-store experience through an online platform is difficult due to broad consumer demands on selection, quality, convenience,
and affordability. Changing traditional optical retail habits is difficult, and if consumers and retailers do not embrace smart eyewear
as we expect, our business and operations could be harmed.
Our
ability to attract new customers and increase net revenue from existing customers also depends in large part on our ability to enhance
and improve our existing products and to introduce new products and services, in each case, in a timely manner. We also must be able
to identify and originate styles and trends as well as to anticipate and react to changing consumer demands in a timely manner. The success
of new and/or enhanced products and services depends on several factors, including their timely introduction and completion, sufficient
demand, and cost-effectiveness. New products that we develop may not be well received and could negatively impact our financial performance.
Our
number of customers may decline materially or fluctuate as a result of many factors, including, among other things:
● the
quality, consumer appeal, price, and reliability of products and services offered by us;
● intense
competition in the optical retail industry by better financed participants;
● negative
publicity related to our brand or brand influencers;
● the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or a future outbreak of disease or similar public health concern;
● customer
dissatisfaction with changes we make to our products and services.
In
addition, if we are unable to provide high-quality support to customers or help resolve issues in a timely and acceptable manner, our
ability to attract new customers and retain customers could be adversely affected. If our number of customers declines or fluctuates
for any of these reasons among others, our business would suffer.
Our
profitability and cash flows may be negatively affected if we are not successful in managing our inventory balances and inventory shrinkage.
Efficient
inventory management is a key component of our business success and profitability. To be successful, we must maintain sufficient inventory
levels to meet our customers’ demands without allowing those levels to increase to such an extent that the costs to hold the goods
unduly impact our financial results. We must balance the need to maintain inventory levels that are sufficient to ensure competitive
lead times against the risk of inventory obsolescence because of changing customer requirements, fluctuating commodity prices, changes
to our products, product transfers, or the life cycle of our products. If we fail to adequately forecast demand for any product, or fail
to determine the optimal product mix for production purposes, we may face production capacity issues in processing sufficient quantities
of a given product. If our buying and distribution decisions do not accurately predict customer trends or spending levels in general
or if we inappropriately price products, we may have to record potential write-downs relating to the value of obsolete or excess inventory.
Conversely, if we underestimate future demand for a particular product or do not respond quickly enough to replenish our best performing
products, we may have a shortfall in inventory of such products, likely leading to unfulfilled orders, reduced net revenue, and customer
dissatisfaction. In addition, because we source components from suppliers located in China, our inventory management may be impacted
by enactment or further escalation of tariffs, import restrictions, foreign government regulations, trade restrictions, customs, and
duties.
Maintaining
adequate inventory requires significant attention and monitoring of market trends, local markets, developments with suppliers, and our
distribution network, and it is not certain that we will be effective in our inventory management.
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If
we fail to maintain and enhance our brand, our ability to engage or expand our base of customers will be impaired, and our business,
financial condition, and results of operations may suffer.
Maintaining
and enhancing our appeal and reputation as a stylish, innovative, and coveted brand is critical to attracting and expanding our relationships
with customers. The successful promotion of our brand and the market’s awareness of our products and services will depend on a
number of factors, including our marketing efforts, ability to continue to develop our products and services, and ability to successfully
differentiate our offerings from competitive offerings. We expect to invest substantial resources to promote and maintain our brand,
but there is no guarantee that our brand development strategies will enhance the recognition of our brand or lead to increased sales.
The strength of our brand will depend largely on our ability to provide stylish, technologically enhanced products and quality services
at competitive prices. Brand promotion activities may not yield increased net revenue, and even if they do, the increased net revenue
may not offset the expenses we incur in promoting and maintaining our brand and reputation. In order to protect our brand, we also plan
to expend substantial resources to register and defend our trademarks and to prevent others from using the same or substantially similar
marks. Despite these efforts, we and Lucyd Ltd. may not always be successful in protecting the trademarks we license from Lucyd Ltd.
Our trademarks may be diluted, and we may suffer harm to our reputation, or other harm to our brand. If our efforts to cost-effectively
promote and maintain our brand are not successful, our results of operations and our ability to attract and engage customers, partners,
and employees may be adversely affected.
Unfavorable
publicity regarding our products, customer service, or privacy and security practices could also harm our reputation and diminish confidence
in, and the use of, our products and services. In addition, negative publicity related to key brands that we have partnered with may
damage our reputation, even if the publicity is not directly related to us. If we fail to maintain, protect, and enhance our brand successfully
or to maintain loyalty among customers, or if we incur substantial expenses in unsuccessful attempts to maintain, protect, and enhance
our brand, we may fail to attract or increase the engagement of customers, and our business, financial condition, and results of operations
may suffer.
We
rely heavily on our information technology systems, as well as those of our third-party vendors, business partners, and service providers,
for our business to effectively operate and to safeguard confidential information; any significant failure, inadequacy, interruption,
or data security incident could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operations.
We
rely heavily on our in-house information technology and enterprise resource planning systems for many functions across our operations,
including managing our supply chain and inventory, processing customer transactions in our stores, allocating lens processing jobs to
the appropriate laboratories, our financial accounting and reporting, compensating our employees, and operating our website, mobile applications
and in-store systems. Our ability to effectively manage our business and coordinate the manufacturing, sourcing, distribution, and sale
of our products depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems. We are critically dependent on the integrity,
security, and consistent operations of these systems, which are highly reliant on the coordination of our internal business and engineering
teams. We also collect, process, and store sensitive and confidential information, including our proprietary business information and
that of our customers, employees, suppliers, and business partners. The secure processing, maintenance, and transmission of this information
is critical to our operations.
Our
systems may be subject to damage or interruption from power outages or damages, telecommunications problems, data corruption, software
errors, network failures, acts of war or terrorist attacks, fire, flood, global pandemics, and natural disasters; our existing safety
systems, data backup, access protection, user management, and information technology emergency planning may not be sufficient to prevent
data loss or long-term network outages. In addition, we may have to upgrade our existing information technology systems or choose to
incorporate new technology systems from time to time in order for such systems to support the increasing needs of our expanding business.
Costs and potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of new or upgraded systems and technology or with maintenance
or adequate support of existing systems could disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations.
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Our
systems and those of our third-party service providers and business partners may be vulnerable to security incidents, attacks by hackers,
acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, human errors or other similar events. If unauthorized parties gain access
to our networks or databases, or those of our third-party service providers or business partners, they may be able to steal, publish,
delete, use inappropriately, or modify our private and sensitive third-party information including personal health information, credit
card information, and personal identification information. In addition, employees may intentionally or inadvertently cause data or security
incidents that result in unauthorized release of personal or confidential information. Because the techniques used to circumvent security
systems can be highly sophisticated, change frequently, are often not recognized until launched against a target, and may originate from
less regulated and remote areas around the world, we may be unable to proactively address all possible techniques or implement adequate
preventive measures for all situations.
Security
incidents compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of this information and our systems could result from cyber-attacks,
computer malware, viruses, social engineering (including spear phishing and ransomware attacks), credential stuffing, supply chain attacks,
efforts by individuals or groups of hackers and sophisticated organizations, including state-sponsored organizations, errors or malfeasance
of our personnel, and security vulnerabilities in the software or systems on which we rely. We anticipate that these threats will continue
to grow in scope and complexity over time and such incidents have occurred in the past, and may occur in the future, resulting in unauthorized,
unlawful, or inappropriate access to, inability to access, disclosure of, or loss of the sensitive, proprietary and confidential information
that we handle.
We
also rely on a number of third-party service providers to operate our critical business systems, provide us with software, and process
confidential and personal information, such as the payment processors that process customer credit card payments, which expose us to
security risks outside of our direct control and our ability to monitor these third-party service providers’ data security is limited.
These service providers could experience a security incident that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the
systems they operate for us or the information they process on our behalf. Cybercrime and hacking techniques are constantly evolving,
and we or our third-party service providers may be unable to anticipate attempted security breaches, react in a timely manner, or implement
adequate preventative measures, particularly given the increasing use of hacking techniques designed to circumvent controls, avoid detection,
and remove or obfuscate forensic artifacts. While we have taken measures designed to protect the security of the confidential and personal
information under our control, we cannot assure you that any security measures that we or our third-party service providers have implemented
will be effective against current or future security threats. Moreover, we or our third-party service providers may be more vulnerable
to such attacks in remote work environments, which have increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A
security breach may also cause us to breach our contractual obligations. Our agreements with certain customers, business partners, or
other stakeholders may require us to use industry-standard or reasonable measures to safeguard personal information. We also may be subject
to laws that require us to use industry-standard or reasonable security measures to safeguard personal information. A security incident
could lead to claims by our customers, business partners, or other relevant stakeholders that we have failed to comply with such legal
or contractual obligations. In addition, our inability to comply with data privacy obligations in our contracts or our inability to flow
down such obligations to our vendors, collaborators, other contractors, or consultants may cause us to breach our contracts. As a result,
we could be subject to legal action, or our customers or business partners could end their relationships with us. There can be no assurance
that the limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from liabilities or
damages.
In
addition, any such access, disclosure or other loss or unauthorized use of information or data, whether actual or perceived, could result
in legal claims or proceedings, regulatory investigations or actions, and other types of liability under laws that protect the privacy
and security of personal information, including federal, state and foreign data protection and privacy regulations, violations of which
could result in significant penalties and fines in the EU and United States. In addition, although we seek to detect and investigate
all data security incidents, security breaches, and other incidents of unauthorized access to our information technology systems and
data can be difficult to detect and any delay in identifying such breaches or incidents may lead to increased harm and legal exposure
of the type described above.
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The
cost of investigating, mitigating, and responding to potential security breaches and complying with applicable breach notification obligations
to individuals, regulators, partners, and others can be significant. Further, defending a suit, regardless of its merit, could be costly,
divert management attention, and harm our reputation. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceed available
insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible
or co-insurance requirements, could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, revenues, results of operations,
or cash flows. Any material disruption or slowdown of our systems or those of our third-party service providers and business partners,
could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Our risks are likely to increase
as we continue to expand, grow our customer base, and process, store, and transmit increasing amounts of proprietary and sensitive data.
Our
e-commerce and multichannel channel business faces distinct risks, and our failure to successfully manage it could have a negative impact
on our profitability.
As
an e-commerce and multichannel retailer, we encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by businesses with significant online
and in-store sales. The successful operation of our business as well as our ability to provide a positive shopping experience that will
generate orders and drive subsequent visits depends on efficient and uninterrupted operation of our e-commerce order-taking and fulfillment
operations. If we are unable to allow real-time and accurate visibility to product availability when customers are ready to purchase,
quickly and efficiently fulfill our customers’ orders using the fulfillment and payment methods they demand, provide a convenient
and consistent experience for our customers regardless of the ultimate sales channel, or effectively manage our online sales, our ability
to compete and our results of operations could be adversely affected. Risks associated with our e-commerce and multichannel business
include:
● uncertainties
associated with our websites, mobile applications and in-store virtual try-on kiosks including changes in required technology interfaces,
website downtime and other technical failures, costs and technical issues as we upgrade our systems software, inadequate system capacity,
computer viruses, human error, security breaches, legal claims related to our systems operations, and fulfillment;
● our
partnership with select third-party apps, through which we sell a portion of our products, are subject to changes in their technology
interfaces, website downtime and other technical failures, costs, and issues;
● disruptions
in internet service or power outages;
● reliance
on third parties for computer hardware and software, as well as delivery of merchandise to our customers;
● rapid
technology changes;
● credit
or debit card fraud and other payment processing related issues;
● cybersecurity
and consumer privacy; and
● natural
disasters or adverse weather conditions.
In
addition, we must keep up to date with competitive technology trends, including the use of new or improved technology, creative user
interfaces, virtual and augmented reality, and other e-commerce marketing tools such as paid search and mobile application, among others,
which may increase our costs and which may not increase sales or attract customers. Our competitors, most of whom have significantly
greater resources than we do, may also be able to benefit from changes in e-commerce technologies, which could harm our competitive position.
27
If
we fail to adapt and respond effectively to rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards and changing customer needs or requirements,
our solutions may become less competitive.
Our
success depends on our customers’ willingness to adopt and use our products, as well as our ability to adapt and enhance our products.
To attract new customers and increase revenue from existing customers, we need to continue to enhance and improve our products and to
meet customer needs at prices that customers are willing to pay. Such efforts will require adding new features, expanding related applications
and responding to technological advancements, which will increase our research and development costs. If we are unable to develop solutions
that address customers’ needs or enhance and improve our platform in a timely manner, we may not be able to increase or maintain
market acceptance of our products. Further, we may make changes to our products that customers do not find useful. We may also face unexpected
problems or challenges in connection with new applications or feature introductions.
Moreover,
many competitors expend a considerably greater amount of funds on their research and development programs, and those that do not may
be acquired by larger companies that would allocate greater resources to competitors’ research and development programs. If we
fail to compete effectively with the research and development programs of competitors, our business could be harmed. Our ability to grow
is also subject to the risk of future disruptive technologies. If new technologies emerge that are able to deliver smart eyewear products
at lower prices, more efficiently, more conveniently or more securely, such technologies could adversely affect our ability to compete.
We
depend on highly skilled personnel to grow and operate our business, and if we are unable to hire, retain, and motivate our personnel,
we may not be able to grow effectively.
Our
success and future growth depend largely upon the continued services of our management team, including our Chief Executive Officer Harrison
Gross. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of our executives.
Our executive officers are employed on an at-will basis, which means they may terminate their employment with us at any time. The loss
of one or more of our executive officers, or the failure by our executive team to effectively work with our employees and lead our company,
could harm our business. We do not maintain key person life insurance with respect to any member of management or other employee.
In
addition, our future success will depend, in part, upon our continued ability to identify and hire skilled employees with the skills
and technical knowledge that we require, including software design and programming, eyewear design, marketing, merchandising, operations,
and other key management skills and knowledge. Such efforts will require significant time, expense, and attention as there is intense
competition for such individuals.
Certain
technological advances, greater availability of, or increased consumer preferences for, vision correction alternatives to prescription
eyeglasses or contact lenses, and future drug development for the correction of vision-related problems may reduce the demand for our
products and adversely impact our business and profitability.
Technological
advances in vision care, including the development of new or improved products, as well as future drug development for the correction
of vision-related problems, could significantly change how vision care may be conducted and make our existing products less attractive
or even obsolete. The greater availability and acceptance, or reductions in the cost, of vision correction alternatives to prescription
eyeglasses and contact lenses, such as corneal refractive surgery procedures, including radial keratotomy, photorefractive keratotomy,
or PRK, and LASIK, may reduce the demand for our products, lower our sales, and thereby adversely impact our business and profitability.
We
could be adversely affected by product liability, product recall or personal injury issues.
We
could be adversely impacted by the supply of defective products, including the infiltration of counterfeit products into the supply chain
or product mishandling issues. Product liability or personal injury claims may be asserted against us with respect to any of the products
we sell or services we provide.
If
the products that we sell, including those that we process, package, or label, are defective or otherwise result in product liability
or personal injury claims against us, our business could be adversely affected and we could be subject to adverse regulatory action.
If our products or services do not meet applicable governmental safety standards or our customers’ expectations regarding quality
or safety, we could experience lost sales and increased costs, be exposed to legal and reputational risk, and face fines or penalties
which could materially adversely affect our financial results.
28
Refunds,
cancellations, and warranty claims could harm our business.
We
allow our customers to return our products, subject to our refund policy, which allows any customer to return our products for any reason
and receive a full refund within the first 7 days for sales made through our website, 30 days for sales made through Amazon, and 30 days
for sales to most wholesale retailers and distributors (although certain sales to independent distributors are ineligible for returns).
At the time of sale, we establish a reserve for returns, based on historical experience and expected future returns, which is recorded
as a reduction of sales. If we experience a substantial increase in refunds, our cancellation reserve levels might not be sufficient
and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be harmed.
We
expect a number of factors to cause our results of operations and operating cash flows to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis,
which may make it difficult to predict our future performance.
Our
results of operations could vary significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year because of a variety of factors, many of which
are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our results of operations on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. In addition
to other risk factors discussed in this section, factors that may contribute to the variability of our quarterly and annual results include:
● our
ability to accurately forecast and achieve net revenues and appropriately plan our expenses;
● changes
to financial accounting standards and the interpretation of those standards, which may affect the way we recognize and report our financial
results;
● the
effectiveness of our internal controls;
● the
early-stage nature of our business and the need to scale our operations and,
● the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business.
The
impact of one or more of the foregoing and other factors may cause our results of operations to vary significantly. As such, quarter-to-quarter
and year-over-year comparisons of our results of operations may not be meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of future
performance.
We
may require additional capital to support the growth of our business, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms, if
at all.
We
have funded our operations since inception primarily through net proceeds from the sale of convertible loan notes common stock sales
through two registered crowdfunds and our initial public offering. We cannot be certain when, or if, our operations will generate sufficient
cash to fully fund our ongoing operations or the growth of our business. We intend to continue to make investments to support the development
of our products and services and will require additional funds for such development. We may need additional funding for marketing expenses
and to develop and expand sales resources, develop new products and improve existing products with new features or enhance our products
and services with new technology, improve our operating infrastructure, or acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly,
we might need or may want to engage in future equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. Additional financing may not be available
on terms favorable to us, if at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to invest in future growth
opportunities, which could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In particular, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
has caused disruption in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide, which may reduce our ability to access
capital and negatively affect our liquidity in the future. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory
to us, our ability to develop our products and services, support our business growth, and respond to business challenges could be significantly
impaired, and our business may be adversely affected.
29
If
we incur additional debt, the debt holders would have rights senior to holders of common stock to make claims on our assets, and the
terms of any additional debt could include restrictive covenants that restrict our operations, including our ability to pay dividends
on our common stock. Furthermore, if we issue additional equity securities, stockholders will experience dilution, and the new equity
securities could have rights senior to those of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in the future will depend
on numerous considerations, including factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing, or nature of any
future issuances of debt or equity securities. As a result, our stockholders bear the risk of future issuances of debt or equity securities
reducing the value of our common stock and diluting their interests.
The
occurrence of any of these foregoing risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations and expose
us to unknown risks or liabilities.
Eyeglasses
are regulated as medical devices by the FDA, and our failure, or the failure of any third-party manufacturer or optical laboratory, to
obtain and maintain the necessary agency authorizations for our products could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We
are an FDA registered eyewear importer, and we also engage in certain manufacturing, packaging, shipping and labeling activities that
subject us and our overseas manufacturing partners to oversight by the FDA under the FDCA and its implementing regulations. The FDA regulates,
among other things, with respect to medical devices: design, development and manufacturing, testing, labeling, content, and language
of instructions for use and storage; clinical trials; product safety; establishment registration and device listing; marketing, sales
and distribution; premarket clearance, classification and approval; recordkeeping procedures; advertising and promotion; recalls and
field safety corrective actions; post market surveillance, including reporting of deaths or serious injuries and malfunctions that, if
they were to recur, could lead to death or serious injury; post-market approval studies; and product import and export. The regulations
to which we are subject are simpler than most medical products due to the relatively low risk classification of eyewear—regularly,
only our lenses are reviewed for FDA clearance. Regulatory changes could result in restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand
our operations, higher than anticipated costs, or lower than anticipated sales. The FDA enforces its regulatory requirements through,
among other means, periodic unannounced inspections. Failure to comply with applicable regulations could jeopardize our or our contract
manufacturers’ ability to manufacture and sell our products and result in FDA enforcement actions such as: warning letters; fines;
injunctions; civil penalties; termination of distribution; recalls or seizures of products; delays in the introduction of products into
the market; total or partial suspension of production; refusal to grant future clearances or approvals; withdrawals or suspensions of
clearances or approvals, resulting in prohibitions on sales of our products; and in the most serious cases, criminal penalties.
Due
to the nature of Vyrb as a social media application, and our collection of customer data in the process of taking orders, we are subject
to rapidly changing and increasingly stringent laws, regulations, obligations, and industry standards relating to privacy, data security,
and data protection. The restrictions and costs imposed by these laws and other obligations, or our actual or perceived failure to comply
with them, could subject us to liabilities that adversely affect our business, operations, and financial performance.
We
collect, process, store, and use a wide variety of data from current and prospective customers, including personal information, such
as home addresses and geolocation, and health information related to their ophthalmic prescriptions. These activities are regulated by
a variety of federal, state, local, and foreign privacy, data security, and data protection laws and regulations, which have become increasingly
stringent in recent years.
Domestic
privacy and data security laws are complex and changing rapidly. Many states have enacted laws regulating the online collection, use,
and disclosure of personal information and requiring that companies implement reasonable data security measures. Laws in all states and
U.S. territories also require businesses to notify affected individuals, governmental entities, and/or credit reporting agencies of certain
security incidents affecting personal information. These laws are not consistent, and compliance with them in the event of a widespread
data breach is complex and costly.
30
Further,
the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) took effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA gives California residents expanded rights related
to their personal information, including the right to access and delete their personal information, and receive detailed information
about how their personal information is used and shared. The CCPA also created restrictions on “sales” of personal information
that allow California residents to opt-out of certain sharing of their personal information and may restrict the use of cookies and similar
technologies for advertising purposes. Our e-commerce platform, including our websites and mobile applications, rely on these technologies
and could be adversely affected by the CCPA’s restrictions. The CCPA prohibits discrimination against individuals who exercise
their privacy rights, provides for civil penalties for violations, and creates a private right of action for data breaches that is expected
to increase data breach litigation. Additionally, a new California ballot initiative, the California Privacy Rights Act, or CPRA, was
recently passed in California. The CPRA will restrict use of certain categories of sensitive personal information that we handle; further
restrict the use of cross-context behavioral advertising techniques on which our products may rely in the future; establish restrictions
on the retention of personal information; expand the types of data breaches subject to the private right of action; and establish the
California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce the new law, as well as impose administrative fines. The majority of the
CPRA’s provisions will go into effect on January 1, 2023, and additional compliance investment and potential business process
changes will likely be required. Similar laws have been proposed in other states and at the federal level, reflecting a trend toward
more stringent privacy legislation in the United States. Compliance with such laws could be difficult and costly to achieve and we could
be subject to fines and penalties in the event of non-compliance.
Additionally,
we are subject to certain health information privacy and security laws as a result of the health information that we receive in connection
with our products and services. These laws and regulations include not be adequate to indemnify us for the full extent of our potential
liabilities.
Finally,
since the Vyrb social app allows users to create and share various types of multimedia content in a public space operated by the Company,
the Company has a basic responsibility to ensure that illegal or otherwise personally harmful content is removed from the platform with
speed, which if we fail to do so, could potentially result in legal action against the Company.
Our
business could be adversely impacted by changes in the internet and mobile device accessibility of users. Companies and governmental
agencies may restrict access to our products and services, our mobile applications, website, application stores, or the internet generally,
which could negatively impact our operations.
Our
business depends on customers accessing our products and services via a mobile device or a personal computer, and the internet. We may
operate in jurisdictions that provide limited internet connectivity. Internet access and access to a mobile device or personal computer
are frequently provided by companies with significant market power that could take actions that degrade, disrupt, or increase the cost
of consumers’ ability to access our products and services. In addition, the internet infrastructure that we and our customers rely
on in any particular geographic area may be unable to support the demands placed upon it and could interfere with the speed and availability
of our products and services. Any such failure in internet or mobile device or computer accessibility, even for a short period of time,
could adversely affect our results of operations.
Governmental
agencies in any of the countries in which we or our customers are located could block access to or require a license for our mobile applications,
website, or the internet generally for a number of reasons, including security, confidentiality, or regulatory concerns. In addition,
companies may adopt policies that prohibit their employees from using our products and services. If companies or governmental entities
block, limit, or otherwise restrict customers from accessing our products and services, our business could be negatively impacted, the
number of customers could decline or grow more slowly, and our results of operations could be adversely affected.
31
We
could incur significant liabilities related to, and significant costs in complying with, environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations.
Our
operations are subject to various national, state, and local environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations that govern, among
other things, the health and safety of our employees and the end-users of our products and the materials used in, and the recycling of,
our products and their packaging. Non-compliance with, or liability related to, these laws and regulations, which tend to become more
stringent over time, could result in substantial fines or penalties, injunctive relief, civil, or criminal sanctions, and could expose
us to costs of investigation or remediation, as well as tort claims for property damage or personal injury.
In
addition, a number of governmental authorities, both in the United States and abroad, have considered, and are expected to consider,
legislation aimed at reducing the amount of plastic non-recyclable waste. Programs have included banning certain types of products, mandating
certain rates of recycling and/or the use of recycled materials, imposing deposits or taxes on single-use plastic bags, paper bags, reusable
bags, and packaging materials. Such legislation, as well as voluntary initiatives, aimed at reducing the level of plastic wastes could
result in increased cost of packaging for our products or otherwise require us to alter our current packaging and bagging practices.
Additional regulatory efforts addressing other environmental or safety concerns in the future could similarly impact our business, financial
condition, and results of operations.
From
time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings, regulatory disputes, and governmental inquiries that could cause us to incur significant
expenses, divert our management’s attention, and materially harm our business, financial condition, and operating results.
From
time to time, we may be subject to claims, lawsuits, government investigations, and other proceedings involving products liability, competition
and antitrust, intellectual property, privacy, false advertising, consumer protection, securities, tax, labor and employment, commercial
disputes, and other matters that could adversely affect our business operations and financial condition. As we grow, we may see a rise
in the number and significance of these disputes and inquiries. Litigation and regulatory proceedings may be protracted and expensive,
and the results are difficult to predict. Certain of these matters include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts
of damages and include claims for injunctive relief. Additionally, our litigation costs could be significant. Adverse outcomes with respect
to litigation or any of these legal proceedings may result in significant settlement costs or judgments, penalties and fines, or require
us to modify our products or services, all of which could negatively affect our revenue growth. The results of litigation, investigations,
claims, and regulatory proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, and determining reserves for pending litigation and other legal
and regulatory matters requires significant judgment. There can be no assurance that our expectations will prove correct, and even if
these matters are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary
to litigate or resolve them, could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Risks
Related to Intellectual Property
We
license some of our technology from Lucyd Ltd., the majority stockholder of the Company, and our inability to maintain this license could
materially affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Some
of our current intellectual property is licensed from Lucyd Ltd., the majority stockholder of the Company, pursuant to a license agreement
we entered into with Lucyd Ltd. on April 1, 2020 (the “License Agreement”). Pursuant to the License Agreement, we acquired
an exclusive, worldwide license that is royalty-free, fully paid up, and perpetual license for the exclusive use of certain assets of
Lucyd Ltd. related to Innovative Eyewear current products and trademarks. There can be no assurance that the license will not be terminated
by Lucyd Ltd. and if we are unable to continue to license the technology (because of, for example, intellectual property infringement
claims brought by third-parties against us or against Lucyd Ltd.) then our business, financial condition and operating results would
be adversely affected. Please see “Business—Material Agreements” for a more complete description of the License Agreement.
32
Failure
to adequately maintain and protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights could harm our brand, devalue our proprietary content,
and adversely affect our ability to compete effectively.
Our
success depends to a significant degree on Lucyd Ltd.’s ability to obtain, maintain, protect, and enforce our licensed intellectual
property rights, including those in our proprietary technologies, know-how, and brand. To protect our rights to our intellectual property,
we rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, domain name registrations, confidentiality agreements,
and other contractual arrangements with our employees, affiliates, clients, strategic partners, and others. However, the protective steps
we have taken and plan to take may be inadequate to deter misappropriation or other violation of or otherwise protect our intellectual
property rights. We may be unable to detect the unauthorized use of, or take appropriate steps to enforce, our intellectual property
rights. Effective patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret protection may not be available to us or available in every jurisdiction
in which we offer or intend to offer our services. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property could harm our brand, devalue
our proprietary technology and content, and adversely affect our ability to compete effectively. Further, even if we are successful,
defending our intellectual property rights could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources, which could
adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If
we fail to protect our intellectual property rights adequately, our competitors may gain access to our licensed intellectual property
and proprietary technology and develop and commercialize substantially identical offerings or technologies. Any patents, trademarks,
copyrights, or other intellectual property rights that we have or may obtain may be challenged or circumvented by others or invalidated
or held unenforceable through administrative process, including re-examination, inter partes review, interference and derivation
proceedings, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings), or litigation. There can be no assurance
that our patent applications will result in issued patents and we may be unable to obtain or maintain patent protection for our technology.
In addition, any patents issued from pending or future patent applications or licensed to us in the future may not provide us with claims
sufficiently broad to provide meaningful competitive advantages or may be successfully challenged by third parties. There is also no
guarantee that our pending trademark applications for any mark will proceed to registration; our pending applications may be opposed
by a third party prior to registration; and even those trademarks that are registered could be challenged by a third party, including
by way of revocation or invalidity actions. For example, we have registrations in a number of foreign countries in which we are not currently
offering goods or services, and those registrations could be subject to invalidation proceedings if we cannot demonstrate use of the
marks by the applicable use deadlines in those countries. In addition, because patent applications in the United States are currently
maintained in secrecy for a period of time prior to issuance, and patent applications in certain other countries generally are not published
until more than 18 months after they are first filed, and because publication of discoveries in scientific or patent literature often
lags behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that we were the first creator of inventions covered by our pending patent applications
or that we were the first to file patent applications on such inventions. To maintain a proprietary market position in foreign countries,
we may seek to protect some of our proprietary inventions through foreign counterpart patent applications. Statutory differences in patentable
subject matter may limit the protection we can obtain on some of our inventions outside of the United States. The diversity of patent
laws may make our expenses associated with the development and maintenance of intellectual property in foreign jurisdictions more expensive
than we anticipate. We probably will not be able to obtain the same patent protection in every market in which we may otherwise be able
to potentially generate revenue. Further, the laws of some foreign countries may not be as protective of intellectual property rights
as those in the United States, and mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights may be inadequate. Moreover, policing unauthorized
use of our technologies, trade secrets, and intellectual property may be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. Despite our precautions,
it may be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy our offerings and capabilities and use information that we regard as proprietary
to create offerings that compete with ours. Third parties may apply to register our trademarks or other trademarks similar to our trademarks
in jurisdictions before us, thereby creating risks relating to our ability to use and register our trademarks in those jurisdictions.
In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark ownership or infringement claims brought by owners of other rights, including
registered trademarks, in our marks or marks similar to ours. Any claims of infringement, brand dilution, or consumer confusion related
to our brand (including our trademarks) or any failure to renew key license agreements on acceptable terms could damage our reputation
and brand identity and substantially harm our business and results of operations. The value of our intellectual property could diminish
if others assert rights in or ownership of our trademarks and other intellectual property rights, or trademarks that are similar to our
trademarks. We may be unable to successfully resolve these types of conflicts to our satisfaction. In some cases, litigation or other
actions may be necessary to protect or enforce our trademarks and other intellectual property rights.
33
We
generally enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and consultants, as well as confidentiality
agreements with other third parties, including suppliers and other partners. However, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into such
agreements with each party that has or may have had access to our proprietary information, know-how, and trade secrets. Moreover, no
assurance can be given that these agreements will be effective in controlling access to our proprietary information or the distribution,
use, misuse, misappropriation, reverse engineering, or disclosure of our proprietary information, know-how, and trade secrets. Further,
these agreements may not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior
to our offerings and capabilities. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach.
We
may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights. Litigation may be necessary in
the future to enforce our intellectual property rights and to protect our trade secrets. Litigation brought to protect and enforce our
intellectual property rights could be costly, time-consuming, and distracting to management, and could result in the impairment or loss
of portions of our intellectual property rights. Further, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses,
counterclaims, and countersuits attacking the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights, and if such defenses,
counterclaims, or countersuits are successful, we could lose valuable intellectual property rights. Further, any changes in law or interpretation
of any such laws, particularly intellectual property laws, may impact our ability to protect, register, or enforce our intellectual property
rights. Our inability to protect our proprietary technology against unauthorized copying or use, as well as any costly litigation or
diversion of our management’s attention and resources, could delay further sales or the implementation of our offerings and capabilities,
impair the functionality of our offerings and capabilities, delay introductions of new offerings, result in our substituting inferior
or more costly technologies into our offerings, or injure our reputation.
Domain
names generally are regulated by internet regulatory bodies, and the regulation of domain names is subject to change. Regulatory bodies
have and may continue to establish additional top-level domains, appoint additional domain name registrars, or modify the requirements
for holding domain names. We may not be able to, or it may not be cost-effective to, acquire or maintain all domain names that utilize
the name “Lucyd Ltd.” or “Innovative Eyewear” in all of the countries in which we currently conduct or intend
to conduct business. If we lose the ability to use a domain name, we could incur significant additional expenses to market our products
within that country, including the development of new branding. This could substantially harm our business, results of operations, financial
condition and prospects.
We
may incur costs to defend against, face liability or for being vulnerable to intellectual property infringement claims brought against
us by others.
Third
parties may assert claims against us alleging that we infringe upon, misappropriate, dilute or otherwise violate their intellectual property
rights, particularly as we expand our business and the number of products we offer. These risks have been amplified by the increase in
third parties whose sole or primary business is to assert such claims. We may be particularly vulnerable to such claims, as companies
having a substantial online presence are frequently subject to litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of
intellectual property rights. As we gain an increasingly high public profile, the possibility of intellectual property rights claims
against us grows. Our competitors and others may now and in the future have significantly larger and more mature patent portfolios than
us.
We
rely on contracts and releases for ownership of copyrighted materials and the right to use images of individuals on our webpage and marketing
material, and we may be subject to claims that we did not properly obtain rights, consent, a release, or permission to use certain content
or imagery. Many potential litigants have the ability to dedicate substantial resources to the assertion of their intellectual property
rights. Any claim of infringement by a third party, even those without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs defending against
the claim, could distract our management from our business, could require us to cease use of such intellectual property, and could create
ongoing obligations if we are subject to agreements or injunctions (stipulated or imposed) preventing us from engaging in certain acts.
Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, we risk compromising
our confidential information during this type of litigation. Our defense of any claim, regardless of its merit, could be expensive and
time consuming and could divert management resources. We cannot predict the outcome of lawsuits and cannot ensure that the results of
any such actions will not have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Successful infringement
claims against us could result in significant monetary liability or prevent us from selling some of our products. In addition, resolution
of claims may require us to redesign or rebrand our products, license rights from third parties on potentially unfavorable terms, cease
using certain brand names or other intellectual property rights altogether, make substantial payments for royalty or license fees, legal
fees, settlement payments or other costs or damages, or admit liability. Such outcomes could encourage others to bring claims against
us. To the extent we seek a license to continue offerings or operations found or alleged to infringe third-party intellectual property
rights, such a license may be non-exclusive, and therefore our competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us. In
the event we are required to develop alternative, non-infringing technology, this could require significant time (during which we would
be unable to continue to offer our affected offerings), effort and expense, and may ultimately not be successful. Any of these events
could harm our business and cause our results of operations, liquidity, and financial condition to suffer.
34
Risks
Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We
face risks associated with suppliers from whom our products are sourced and are dependent on a limited number of suppliers.
We
purchase all of the inputs for our products, including eyeglass frames, temples with electronics embedded within them, prescription lenses,
sun lenses, demo lenses, hinges, packaging materials and other components, parts, and raw materials, directly or indirectly from domestic
and international suppliers. For our business to be successful, our suppliers must be willing and able to provide us with inputs in substantial
quantities, in compliance with regulatory requirements, at acceptable costs and on a timely basis. Our ability to obtain a sufficient
selection or volume of inputs on a timely basis at competitive prices could suffer as a result of any deterioration or change in our
supplier relationships or events that adversely affect our suppliers.
We
typically do not enter into long-term contracts with our suppliers and, as such, we operate without significant contractual assurances
of continued supply, pricing or access to inputs. Any of our suppliers could discontinue supplying us with desired inputs in sufficient
quantities or offer us less favorable terms on future transactions for a variety of reasons. The benefits we currently experience from
our suppliers’ relationships could be adversely affected if our suppliers:
● discontinue
selling products to us;
● raise
their prices;
● increase
lead times for products and/or key components
We
also source inputs directly from suppliers outside of the United States, including China. Global sourcing and foreign trade involve numerous
factors and uncertainties beyond our control including increased shipping costs, the imposition of additional import or trade restrictions,
including legal or economic restrictions on overseas suppliers’ ability to produce and deliver inputs, increased custom duties
and tariffs, unforeseen delays in customs clearance of goods, more restrictive quotas, loss of a most favored nation trading status,
currency exchange rates, transportation delays, port of entry issues and foreign government regulations, political instability, and economic
uncertainties in the countries from which we or our suppliers source our products.
Additionally,
sourcing could be impacted by current and future travel restrictions and/or the shut-down of certain businesses globally due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
We
rely on a limited number of contract manufacturers and logistics partners for our products. A loss of any of these partners could negatively
affect our business.
We
rely on a limited number of third-party suppliers and contract manufacturers for the components that go into the manufacturing of our
products. In particular, our frames are provided by only a handful of suppliers. We also assemble and fulfill prescription glasses at
a single third-party optical laboratory. Our reliance on a limited number of contract manufacturers and logistics partners for our products
increases our risks of being unable to deliver our products in a timely and cost-effective manner. In the event of interruption from
any of our contract manufacturers or our own fulfillment capabilities, we should be able to increase capacity from other sources or develop
alternate or secondary sources without incurring material additional costs or substantial delays.
Our
business could be adversely affected if one or more of our manufacturers is impacted by a natural disaster, an epidemic such as COVID-19,
or other interruption at a particular location. In particular, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused, and will likely continue to
cause, interruptions in the development, manufacturing (including the sourcing of key components), and shipment of our products, which
could adversely impact our revenue, gross margins, and operating results.
35
Additionally,
we do not own or operate a warehouse or a warehouse management company or system, and we currently rely on three third-party warehouses.
Because a significant percentage of our products are stored in and shipped out of third-party warehouses, we face significant risks such
as, but not limited to: our operations could be disrupted and our inventory could be destroyed by earthquakes, floods, fires or other
natural disasters or other events outside of our control, or the control of our third-party warehouse. Our dependence on third-party
warehouses also exposes us to the risk that the warehouse may experience operational disruptions due to security or computer viruses,
software and hardware failure, power interruptions and other system failures. If we encounter problems with our third-party warehouse,
we may be unable to meet customer expectations, manage our inventory and fulfillment capacity, complete sales, fulfill orders in a timely
fashion, and our ability to achieve objectives for operating efficiencies could be adversely affected, all of which could harm our reputation
and our relationship with our customers.
Our
projects could be hindered due to our dependence on third parties to complete many of our contracts.
In
the current economic environment, third parties may find it difficult to obtain sufficient financing to help fund their operations. The
inability to obtain financing could adversely affect a third party’s ability to provide materials, equipment or services which
could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, a failure by a third-party
subcontractor, supplier or manufacturer to comply with applicable laws, regulations or client requirements could negatively impact our
business and, for government clients, could result in fines, penalties, suspension or even debarment being imposed on us, which could
have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We
depend on search engines, social media platforms, digital application stores, content-based online advertising, and other online sources
to attract consumers to and promote our website and our mobile applications, which may be affected by third-party interference beyond
our control and as we grow our customer acquisition costs may rise.
Our
success depends in part on our ability to attract consumers to our website, mobile applications, and retail partners to convert them
into customers in a cost-effective manner. We depend, in large part, on search engines, social media platforms, digital application stores,
content-based online advertising, and other online sources for traffic to our website, mobile applications, and select application partners.
With
respect to search engines, we are included in search results as a result of both paid search listings, where we purchase specific search
terms that result in the inclusion of our advertisement, and free search listings, which depend on algorithms used by search engines.
For paid search listings, if one or more of the search engines or other online sources on which we rely for purchased listings modifies
or terminates its relationship with us, our expenses could rise, we could lose consumers and traffic to our website could decrease, any
of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We
plan to rely primarily on third-party insurance policies to insure our operations-related risks. If our insurance coverage is insufficient
for the needs of our business or our insurance providers are unable to meet their obligations, we may not be able to mitigate the risks
facing our business, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We
procure third-party insurance policies or plan to procure policies to cover various operations-related risks including employment practices
liability, workers’ compensation, property and business interruptions, cybersecurity and data breaches, crime, directors’
and officers’ liability, and general business liabilities. We rely on a limited number of insurance providers, and should such
providers discontinue or increase the cost of coverage, we cannot guarantee that we would be able to secure replacement coverage on reasonable
terms or at all. If our insurance carriers change the terms of our policies in a manner not favorable to us, our insurance costs could
increase. Further, if the insurance coverage we maintain is not adequate to cover losses that occur, or if we are required to purchase
additional insurance for other aspects of our business, we could be liable for significant additional costs. Additionally, if any of
our insurance providers becomes insolvent, it would be unable to pay any operations-related claims that we make.
36
General
Risk Factors
Failure
to establish and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material
adverse effect on our business and stock price.
Since
the completion of our initial public offering in August 2022, we have been required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing
Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which will require management to certify financial and other information in our
quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of controls over financial reporting. Though
we will be required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis, we are not required to make
our first annual assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the year following our
first annual report required to be filed with the SEC. As an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, we may
take advantage of certain temporary exemptions from various reporting requirements, including, but not limited to, not being required
to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (and the rules and regulations of the
Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder). Once we no longer qualify as an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS
Act and lose the ability to rely on the exemptions related thereto discussed above and depending on our status as per Rule 12b-2
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, our independent registered public accounting firm may also need to attest to the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404.
Based
on the number of personnel available to serve the Company’s accounting function, management believes we are not able to adequately
segregate responsibility over financial transaction processing and reporting. Further, the Company does not have a formal internal control
environment in place and operating effectively. As such, we have identified these issues as material weaknesses in our internal control
over financial reporting and insufficient controls with respect to revenue recognition, and we may identify additional material weaknesses
in the future that may cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements of our financial statements.
If our remediation of such material weaknesses is not effective, or if we fail to develop and maintain an effective system of internal
controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with
applicable laws and regulations could be materially and adversely affected and the market price of our common stock could be negatively
affected, which could require additional financial and management resources.
Changes
in tax treatment of companies engaged in e-commerce may adversely affect the commercial use of our sites and our financial results.
Due
to the global nature of the Internet, it is possible that various states or foreign countries might attempt to impose additional or new
regulation on our business or levy additional or new sales, income, or other taxes relating to our activities. Tax authorities at the
international, federal, state, and local levels are currently reviewing the appropriate treatment of companies engaged in e-commerce
and digital services. New or revised international, federal, state, or local tax regulations or court decisions may subject us or our
customers to additional sales, income and other taxes. For example, on June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a 5-4 majority
decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., 17-494 where the Court held, among other things, that a state may require an out-of-state seller
with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales taxes on goods the seller ships to consumers in the state, overturning
existing court precedent. Other new or revised taxes and, in particular, digital taxes, sales taxes, VAT, and similar taxes could increase
the cost of doing business online and decrease the attractiveness of selling products over the Internet. New taxes and rulings could
also create significant increases in internal costs necessary to capture data and collect and remit taxes. Any of these events could
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
37
An
overall decline in the health of the economy and other factors impacting consumer spending, such as recessionary conditions, governmental
instability, inclement weather, and natural disasters, may affect consumer purchases, which could reduce demand for our products and
harm our business, financial conditions, and results of operations.
Our
business depends on consumer demand for our products and, consequently, is sensitive to a number of factors that influence consumer confidence
and spending, such as general economic conditions, consumer disposable income, energy and fuel prices, recession and fears of recession,
unemployment, minimum wages, availability of consumer credit, consumer debt levels, conditions in the housing market, interest rates,
tax rates and policies, inflation, consumer confidence in future economic conditions and political conditions, war and fears of war,
inclement weather, natural disasters, terrorism, outbreak of viruses or widespread illness, and consumer perceptions of personal well-being
and security. However, as eyewear is a necessary medical device for a large segment of the population, we believe our business is more
insulated from economic forces compared to other consumer electronics.
We
are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting and disclosure requirements applicable
to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We
are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from reporting
requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including the auditor
attestation requirements of Section 404, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports
and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder
approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act, as an emerging growth
company, we have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards until those standards
would otherwise apply to private companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of
issuers who are required to comply with the effective dates for new or revised accounting standards that are applicable to public companies,
which may make our common stock less attractive to investors. In addition, if we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will no longer
be able to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards.
We
will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of
our listing; (2) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue is $1.07 billion or more; (3) the date on which
we have, during the previous rolling three-year period, issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt securities; and (4) the date
on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the rules of the SEC.
We
cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive if we choose to rely on these exemptions. For example, if we do
not adopt a new or revised accounting standard, our future results of operations may not be comparable to the results of operations of
certain other companies in our industry that adopted such standards. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result,
there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile.
If
our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies prove to be incorrect, our results of operations could be adversely
affected.
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts
reported in our financial statements and accompanying notes appearing elsewhere in this 10-K. We base our estimates on short duration
historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as provided in the section
titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies
and Estimates.” The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities,
and equity, and the amount of revenue and expenses. Significant estimates and judgments involve: inventory valuation; intangible assets;
income taxes; valuation of our common stock and equity awards; revenue recognition, including revenue-related reserves; shipping and
handling; and the computation of earnings/loss per share. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our assumptions change
or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our results of operations to fall below the expectations
of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the market price of our common stock.
38
Our
current insurance coverage may not be adequate, and we may not be able to obtain insurance at acceptable rates, or at all.
We
currently have General Liability and Product Liability policies covering our business. These policies may not provide sufficient coverage
in the face of significant claims or multiple claims. Claims exceeding our insurance coverage could create significant increases in internal
costs. This even could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
We
may decide to pursue strategic licensing deals to accelerate our growth. These potential brand acquisitions may not be successful. We
may not be able to successfully integrate future IP acquisitions or generate sufficient revenues from future acquisitions, which could
cause our business to suffer.
If
we license an intellectual property (IP) from a company, there can be no assurance that we will be able to profitably manage this intellectual
property or successfully integrate a new business unit without substantial costs, delays or other operational or financial problems.
There can be no assurance that the IP we acquire in the future will achieve anticipated revenues and earnings. Additionally:
● the
key personnel operating the acquired IP may decide not to work with us;
● we
may be unable to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies among acquired IPs;
● we
may be unable to successfully implement infrastructure, logistics and systems integration;
● we
may be held liable for legal claims (including environmental claims) arising out of activities of the acquired IP prior to our
acquisitions, some of which we may not have discovered during our due diligence, and we may not have indemnification claims available
to us or we may not be able to realize on any indemnification claims with respect to those legal claims;
● we
will assume risks associated with deficiencies in the internal controls of acquired IPs;
● we
may not be able to realize the cost savings or other financial benefits we anticipated; and
● our
ongoing business may be disrupted or receive insufficient management attention.
Future
acquisitions may require us to obtain additional equity or debt financing, which may not be available on attractive terms. Moreover,
to the extent an acquisition transaction financed by non-equity consideration results in additional goodwill, it will reduce our tangible
net worth, which might have an adverse effect on our credit and bonding capacity.
Risks
Related to Our Common Stock
Our
directors, executive officers and principal stockholders have substantial control over our company, which could limit your ability to
influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control.
Our
executive officers, directors and principal stockholders and their affiliates own 5,189,085 shares of our common stock, or approximately
67% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, based on the number of shares outstanding as of March 17, 2023. As a result,
these stockholders are able to exercise a significant level of control over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the
election of directors and the approval of mergers, acquisitions or other extraordinary transactions. They may also have interests that
differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentration of ownership
may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of our company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity
to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company and might ultimately affect the market price of our common
stock.
39
Lucyd
Ltd., our principal stockholder, beneficially owns greater than 50% of our outstanding shares of common stock, which causes us to be
deemed a “controlled company” under the rules of NASDAQ.
Lucyd
Ltd. currently controls approximately 67% of the voting power of our capital stock. As a result, Lucyd Ltd. owns more than 50% of our
outstanding shares and as such, we are a “controlled company” under the rules of NASDAQ. Under these rules, a company of
which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, a group or another company is a “controlled company” and,
as such, can elect to be exempt from certain corporate governance requirements, including requirements that:
● a
majority of the Board of Directors consist of independent directors;
● the
board maintain a nominations committee with prescribed duties and a written charter; and
● the
board maintain a compensation committee with prescribed duties and a written charter and comprised solely of independent directors.
As
a “controlled company,” we may elect to rely on some or all of these exemptions, however, we do not intend take advantage
of any of these exemptions. Despite the fact we do not intend to take advantage of these exemptions, our status as a “controlled
company” could make our common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price.
Separately,
although our audit committee is currently in compliance and we intend to maintain compliance with NASDAQ rules, we are permitted to phase-in
our compliance with the independent audit committee requirements set forth in NASDAQ rules, as follows: (1) one independent member of
the audit committee at the time of listing, (2) a majority of independent members of the audit committee within 90 days of listing, and
(3) all independent members of the audit committee (i.e., at least three members) within one year of listing. During these phase-in periods,
our stockholders would not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies who have more ‘independent’ members
of its audit committee and, if, within the phase-in periods, we are not able to recruit additional directors who would qualify as independent,
or otherwise comply with the NASDAQ listing requirements, we may be subject to enforcement actions by NASDAQ.
The
market prices of our common stock has been volatile and can fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for our
investors.
The
market price of our common stock is highly volatile, and since our initial public offering in August 2022, the market price of our
common stock has ranged from $0.70 to $7.00 per share. The market price of our securities could be subject to wide fluctuations in response
to a variety of factors, which include:
● actual
or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;
● publication
of research reports by securities analysts about us or our competitors or our industry;
● the
public’s reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;
● our
failure or the failure of our competitors to meet analysts’ projections or guidance that we or our competitors may give
to the market;
● additions
and departures of key personnel;
● strategic
decisions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures, strategic investments or changes
in business strategy;
● the
passage of legislation or other regulatory developments affecting us or our industry;
40
● speculation
in the press or investment community;
● changes
in accounting principles;
● terrorist
acts, acts of war or periods of widespread civil unrest;
● natural
disasters and other calamities; and
● changes
in general market and economic conditions.
In
addition, the stock market has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to
the operating performance of companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock
and Warrants, regardless of our actual operating performance. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated
against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and
divert our management’s attention and resources, and could also require us to make substantial payments to satisfy judgments or
to settle litigation.
We
do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.
We
have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not intend to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable
future. We expect to retain future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. Any future determination to
pay dividends on our capital stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Accordingly, you must rely on the sale of your
common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gain on your investment.
Our
quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly and could fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors due
to the introduction of technologically more advanced products, seasonality and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, resulting
in a decline in our stock price.
Our
quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly because of several factors, including:
● labor
availability and costs for hourly and management personnel;
● changes
in interest rates;
● macroeconomic
conditions, both nationally and locally;
● changes
in consumer preferences and competitive conditions;
● expansion
to new markets;
● weather
conditions in the regions we operate;
● increases
in infrastructure costs; and
● fluctuations
in commodity prices.
Unanticipated
fluctuations in our quarterly operating results could result in a decline in our stock price.
41
Our
failure to meet the continued listing requirements of NASDAQ could result in a de-listing of our common stock and Warrants.
If
we fail to satisfy the continued listing requirements of NASDAQ, such as the corporate governance requirements or the minimum closing
bid price requirement, NASDAQ may take steps to de-list our common stock and Warrants. Such a de-listing would likely have a negative
effect on the price of our common stock and Warrants and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock and Warrants
when you wish to do so. In the event of a de-listing, we would take actions to restore our compliance with NASDAQ’s listing requirements,
but we can provide no assurance that any such action taken by us would allow our common stock and Warrants to become listed again, stabilize
the market price or improve the liquidity of our common stock and Warrants, prevent our common stock and Warrants from dropping below
the NASDAQ minimum bid price requirement or prevent future non-compliance with NASDAQ’s listing requirements.
If
our shares are delisted from NASDAQ and become subject to the penny stock rules, it would become more difficult to trade our shares.
The
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has adopted rules that regulate broker-dealer practices in connection with transactions
in penny stocks. Penny stocks are generally equity securities with a price of less than $5.00, other than securities registered on certain
national securities exchanges or authorized for quotation on certain automated quotation systems, provided that current price and volume
information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system. If we do not obtain or retain a listing
on NASDAQ and if the price of our common stock is less than $5.00, our common stock will be deemed a penny stock. The penny stock rules
require a broker-dealer, before a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, to deliver a standardized risk
disclosure document containing specified information. In addition, the penny stock rules require that before effecting any transaction
in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, a broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock
is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive (i) the purchaser’s written acknowledgment of the receipt of a risk disclosure
statement; (ii) a written agreement to transactions involving penny stocks; and (iii) a signed and dated copy of a written suitability
statement. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the trading activity in the secondary market for our common
stock, and therefore stockholders may have difficulty selling their shares.
Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments .
None.
Item 2.
Properties .
Our
executive offices are located at 11900 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 630, North Miami, Florida 33181. Our executive offices are provided to us
by the parent of our majority stockholder, Tekcapital. We consider our current office space adequate for our operations.
From
June 1, 2020, through February 1, 2022, we paid Tekcapital $25,000 per fiscal quarter under a management service agreement,
which included rent-free office space, utilities, advisory services and other services. This agreement was amended effective February 1,
2022 such that we are billed $35,000 per fiscal quarter and no longer receive rent-free office space. Since then, Tekcapital bills us
for an allocation of rent paid by Tekcapital on our behalf, and we recognized $74,442 of expense related to rent for the year ended December 31,
2022. Our management service agreement with Tekcapital does not stipulate a specific maturity date, and can be terminated with 30 calendar
days written notice by any party.
Item 3.
Legal Proceedings .
We
are not the subject of any material pending legal proceedings, however, may from time to time become a party to various legal proceedings
arising in the ordinary course of business. Except as discussed below, we are not the subject of any pending legal proceedings.
Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures .
Not
applicable.
42
PART
II
Item 5.
Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities .
Market
Information
Our
common stock and Warrants trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbols “LUCY” and “LUCYW,” respectively
since August 15, 2022. Prior to that date, there was no public market for our common stock or Warrants.
Holders
As
of December 30, 2022, the approximate number of holders of record of our common stock was 3,828 and the closing price of our common
stock was $1.37 per share. As of December 30, 2022, the approximate number of holders of record of our Warrants was 1 and the closing
price of our Warrants was $0.15 per Warrant.
Securities
Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
See
“Item 11. Executive Compensation.”
Dividend
Policy
No
cash dividends have been paid on our common stock since our inception. We have no present intention to pay any cash dividends in the
foreseeable future.
Use
of Proceeds from Registered Securities
On
August 17, 2022, we consummated our initial public offering of 980,000 units at a price to the public of $7.50 per unit, each unit
consisting of one share of Common Stock and two Warrants, with each Warrant exercisable to acquire one share of common stock. The securities
sold in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-261616). The SEC declared
the registration statement effective on August 12, 2022. Of the gross proceeds received from the initial public offering, we received
approximately $6.1 million, and we paid a total of approximately $588,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions and $600,000 for
other costs and expenses related to the initial public offering. No payments were made by us to directors, officers or persons owning
ten percent or more of our common stock or to their associates, or to our affiliates. There has been no material change in the planned
use of proceeds from our initial public offering as described in our final prospectus filed with the SEC on August 16, 2023, pursuant
to Rule 424(b).
Recent
Sales of Unregistered Securities
The
Company did not issue any unregistered securities during the three months ended December 31, 2022.
Item 6.
Reserved .
43
Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations .
You
should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with the accompanying
“Index to Consolidated Financial Statements” included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Except for historical
information, the matters discussed in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties and are based upon judgments concerning factors that are beyond our
control.
Overview
We
develop and sell smart eyeglasses and sunglasses, which are designed to allow our customers to remain connected to their digital lives,
while also offering vision correction and protection. Our flagship product, Lucyd Lyte, enables the wearer to listen to music, take and
make calls, and use voice assistants to perform many common smartphone tasks hands-free. Innovative Eyewear owns the exclusive rights
to the Lucyd brand and the Lyte product line.
Our
mission is to Upgrade Your Eyewear ® . Our smart eyewear is a fusion of headphones with glasses, bringing vision correction
and protection together with digital connectivity and clear audio, while also offering a solution for listening to music outdoors (as
compared to in-ear headphones). The convenience of having a Bluetooth headset and comfortable glasses in one, especially for those who
are already accustomed to all-day eyewear use, offers a lifestyle upgrade at a price similar to traditional prescription eyewear.
After
the full launch of Lucyd Lyte in January 2021, we had strong interest and demand from customers in the U.S. and have since sold
thousands of our smart eyewear. In order to meet the growing demand for our products, and in an effort to expand our reach, we have engaged
over 180 unique wholesale accounts. All of our products are designed in Miami, manufactured in Asia, and currently sold through two major
types of channels:
1. e-commerce,
primarily via our website (Lucyd.co) and marketplaces such as Amazon, Bestbuy.com, and DicksSportingGoods.com;
and,
2. a
growing network of independent eyewear and sporting goods stores.
We
apply a manufacturer suggested retail price (“MSRP”) of $199 (for our standard frames) to $229 (for our titanium frames)
for non-prescription, polarized sunglass and blue light blocking glasses across all of our online channels, with our wholesale pricing
offering volume discounts to these prices. Please refer to discussion in the Components of Results of Operations for more details regarding
our pricing structure.
We
are working to expand these channels with national eyewear chains, big box retail stores (electronics, sporting goods, general merchandise)
and specialty retail stores.
We
view this business model as capital light, by electing not to build our own manufacturing facilities and Company-owned retail distribution,
but rather contract with existing sources of production and proven consumer-facing retail distribution.
Impact
of COVID-19 on Our Business
On
March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus a “pandemic.” This
contagious disease outbreak has continued to spread across the globe and has had an impact on worldwide economic activity and financial
markets. In light of the uncertain and rapidly evolving situation relating to the spread of COVID-19, we took precautionary measures
intended to minimize the risk of the virus to our employees, by following the CDC guidelines. Specifically, we set up a system that enabled
our employees to work remotely when it was beneficial for them or when they felt ill. Additionally, precautionary measures that have
been adopted may negatively affect our ability to sell our products. This includes, for example, reducing company attendance at trade
shows. Additionally, our product is manufactured in China and shipped from China on a regular basis. We have not experienced substantial
delays in manufacturing or shipping due to COVID-19; however, we are exposed to such risk in the future as a potential impact of COVID-19.
More generally, the outbreak of COVID-19 could adversely affect economies and financial markets globally, potentially leading to an economic
downturn, which could decrease consumer spending and adversely affect demand for our products.
44
Key
Factors Affecting Performance
Expansion
of retail points of purchase
In
addition to sustained growth of our e-commerce business, our future revenues are correlated positively with our placement of Lucyd glasses
in optical stores, as well as sporting goods stores and other specialty stores such as cellular shops. To address this, we assembled
a team with decades of experience in the eyewear industry and are offering a strong co-op marketing program and reordering incentives
program. We currently offer an expansive line of 16 different styles and several accessories, with plans to continuously expand this
offering over time.
Retail
store client retention and re-orders
Our
ability to sustain and increase revenue is correlated positively with our ability to receive re-orders from stores, either directly or
through our wholesale distributors. To support our sales to retail stores directly, we offer a strong co-op marketing program that includes
free and paid store display materials. As part of this strategy, we have launched the Lucyd Digital Try-on Display for our resellers
to help educate their in-store customers about Lucyd Lyte and enable customers to try them on virtually. This proprietary virtual try
on software and display is central to our efforts to introduce traditional retail customers to Lucyd eyewear, and we are planning further
enhancements to our merchandising displays to enable more immersive experiences.
Investing
in business growth
We
believe that people care about what they wear on their faces, and because we understand that customers have diverse preferences about
the shape, size and design of their eyewear, we aim to continuously invest in the design and development of new models in an effort to
provide the consumer with a wide selection of styles, colors and finishes.
We
are offering a strong co-op marketing program with retail stores, and intend to expand our sales, marketing and brand ambassador teams
to broaden our brand awareness and online presence. We will also increase our general and administrative expenses in the foreseeable
future to cover the additional costs for finance, compliance, supply chain, quality assurance and investor relations as we grow as a
public company.
Key
Performance Indicators
Store
Count (B2B)
We
believe that one of the key indicators for our business is the number of retail stores onboarded to sell Lucyd Lyte. We started onboarding
our first retail stores in June 2021. Currently, we have over 250 retail stores selling Lucyd Lyte primarily in the United States
and Canada, across 180 unique wholesale accounts. Based on the existing demand for our products, current distribution and recently consummated
supply agreements, we anticipate that our products will be available in a significant number of new third-party retail locations in 2023.
Re-order
ratio (B2B)
Many
of the retail stores that placed initial stocking orders, either directly or through our wholesale distributors, have also placed follow-on
orders in the few short months since launching our wholesale business in June 2021. As of December 31, 2022, 28.6% of stores
have re-ordered our product. Smart eyewear is still a new, emerging category for our optical sales partners. As such it can be expected
that their sell-through rate is slower compared to traditional eyewear, and we expect many accounts to take some time to familiarize
their clientele with the product category before reordering. We believe our reorder rate is a positive signal, given the overall lack
of awareness of smart eyewear among consumers. The fact that a reasonable portion of our retail partners are experiencing enough early
success and sell-through with our products to drive them to reorder, is an indication that success can be had with our product for the
stores willing to put in the effort to merchandise it well, and educate staff and customers about it.
We
expect this number to gradually increase as we continue to improve our product, roll out our co-op marketing program and introduce more
of our virtual try-on kiosks into retail stores, to facilitate customer education and product sell-through.
45
Number
of online orders (B2C)
For
our e-commerce business, we track the number of online orders as an indicator of the success of our online marketing efforts. As of December 31,
2022, we received a total of 11,988 orders from customers online. We believe that the addition of new styles, as well as further investment
in brand awareness, product ambassadors, and influencer campaigns, will enable continued growth of online orders in the foreseeable future.
We expect to allocate a significant portion of our advertising expenditures towards influencer marketing programs.
Components
of Results of Operations
Net
Revenue
Our
revenue is generated from the sales of prescription and non-prescription optical glasses, sunglasses, and shipping charges, which are
charged to the customer, associated with these purchases. We sell products through our retail store resellers, distributors, and on our
own website Lucyd.co and on Amazon.
Our
flagship product line increased in price with the launch of the version 2.0 models, from $149 to $199 on acetate models, and $179 to
$229 on titanium models for non-prescription glasses across all of our online channels. In addition, we have introduced a minimum advertised
price on the new models of $169 and $199, respectively, to support our retail partners with guaranteed minimum pricing.
When
adding a prescription lens upgrade to our glasses on the Lucyd.co website, the price can increase from between $40 for a basic clear
prescription lens, all the way up to $450 for the latest Transitions ® progressive bifocal lens. Glasses with prescription
lenses are only available through our website Lucyd.co, while our sales through Amazon and to our retail partners only include non-prescription
glasses.
U.S.
consumers enjoy free USPS first class postage, with faster delivery options available for extra cost, for sales processed through our
website. For Amazon sales, shipping is free for U.S consumers while international customers pay shipping charges. Any costs associated
with fees charged by the online platforms (Shopify for Lucyd.co website and Amazon) are not recharged to customers. We charge applicable
state sales taxes for both online channels and all other marketplaces on which sell.
Our
wholesale pricing for eyewear sold to retail store partners and distributors includes volume discounts, due to the nature of large quantity
orders. The pricing includes shipping charges, while excluding any state sales tax charges applicable. Due to the nature of wholesale
retail orders, no e-commerce fees are applicable.
Cost
of Goods Sold
Cost
of goods sold includes the costs incurred to acquire materials, assemble, and sell our finished products.
For
retail sales placed on one of our e-commerce channels, these costs include (i) product costs held at the lesser of cost and net realizable
value and inclusive of inventory reserves, (ii) freight, import, and inspection costs, (iii) optical laboratory costs for RX glasses,
(iv) merchant fees, (v) fees paid to third-party e-commerce platforms, and (vi) cost of shipping the product to the consumer.
For
wholesale sales these costs include (i) product costs stated at the lesser of cost and net realizable value and inclusive of inventory
reserves, (ii) freight, import, and inspection costs, and (iii) credit card fees.
When
consumers place their orders directly on our online store, we save approximately 12-15% on marketplace fees than when consumers place
their orders directly from third-party platforms like Amazon and eBay.
46
We
expect our cost of goods sold to fluctuate as a percentage of net revenue primarily due to product mix, customer preferences and resulting
demand, customer shipping costs, and management of our inventory and merchandise mix.
Over
time we expect our total cost of goods sold on a per unit basis to decrease as a result of an increase in scale. Increase in scale is
achieved as a result of increase in volumes from both business to consumer and business to business (retail store) orders. We continue
to expand our products with line extensions and new models and broaden our presence in retail stores carrying our products.
Gross
Profit and Gross Margin
We
define gross profit as net revenues less cost of goods sold. Gross margin is gross profit expressed as a percentage of net revenues.
Our gross margin may fluctuate in the future based on a number of factors, including the cost at which we can obtain, transport, and
assemble our inventory, the rate at our vendor network expands, and how effective we can be at controlling costs, in any given period.
We
anticipate our cost of goods sold, on a per unit basis, will decrease with scale, and this will likely have a positive impact on our
gross margins.
Operating
Expenses
Our
operating expenses consist primarily of:
● general
& administrative expenses that include primarily consulting and payroll expenses, IT
& software, legal, stock compensation expense, postage and non-customer product shipping,
and other administrative expense;
● sales
and marketing expenses including cost of online and TV advertising, marketing agency fees,
influencers, trade shows, and other initiatives;
● related
party management fees for a range of back-office services provided by Tekcapital LLC and
● research
and development expenses related to (i) development of new styles and features of our smart
eyewear, (ii) development and improvement of our e-commerce website, and (iii) development
of our Vyrb social media app for wearables.
Interest
and Other Income, Net
Interest
and other income, net, consists primarily of interest expense paid on convertible note loan due to the Parent.
Provision
for Income Taxes
Provision
for income taxes consists of income taxes related to foreign and domestic federal and state jurisdictions in which we conduct business,
adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, and valuation allowance against deferred tax assets.
47
Results
of Operations
Years
Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Year ended December 31,
2022
2021
2022 vs 2021
Revenues, net
659,788
100 %
690,670
100 %
(30,882 )
-4 %
Less: Cost of Goods Sold
(716,077 )
109 %
(542,416 )
79 %
(173,661 )
32 %
Gross Profit
(56,289 )
-9 %
148,254
21 %
(204,543 )
-138 %
Operating expenses:
General & administrative
(2,796,669 )
424 %
(1,386,079 )
201 %
(1,410,590 )
102 %
Sales and marketing
(2,059,012 )
312 %
(1,771,012 )
256 %
(288,000 )
16 %
Research and development
(524,692 )
80 %
(86,261 )
12 %
(438,431 )
508 %
Related party management fee
(140,000 )
21 %
(109,975 )
16 %
(30,025 )
27 %
Total Operating Expenses
(5,520,373 )
837 %
(3,353,327 )
486 %
(2,167,046 )
65 %
Other Income/(Expense):
Interest Expense
(105,171 )
16 %
(39,433 )
-6 %
(65,738 )
0 %
Total Other Income/(Expense)
(105,171 )
16 %
(39,433 )
-6 %
(65,738 )
0 %
Net Loss
(5,681,833 )
861 %
(3,244,506 )
470 %
(2,437,327 )
75 %
Revenue
Our
revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022, were $659,788, representing a decrease of approximately 4% as compared to revenues
of $690,670 during the year ended December 31, 2021. Our revenue is generated entirely from sales of eyewear products, namely smart
frames, lenses, and accessories. The decline in revenue was primarily attributable to several factors, including unfavorable channel
mix as described in the following paragraph, partially offset by higher unit volumes, and favorable price impacts as we increased the
MSRP of our flagship product line with the launch of the version 2.0 models in the current year. Additionally, due to the relative age
of the version 1.0 models on the market, we deployed significant discounts on those models to assist in inventory turnover. Finally,
we experienced an increase in the rate of customer returns due to minor product imperfections that were the result of supplier inaccuracies
in manufacturing. These manufacturing imperfections have been wholly addressed with our new version 2.0 product line. In addition, we
anticipate that new licensing agreements which we entered into during 2022 will help to increase our sales in 2023 and beyond.
For
the year ended December 31, 2022, approximately 32% of sales were processed on our online store (Lucyd.co), 38% on Amazon, and 30%
with reseller partners. This sales channel mix impacted our revenue for the period, due to the fact we charge an additional $35 to $275
for our prescription lenses available only on Lucyd.co. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we generated $579,214 of revenue from
sales of non-prescription frames and accessories and $80,574 was generated from sales of frames with prescription lenses. All of the
$252,799 in sales generated on Amazon.com during the period were for non-prescription frames and accessories as we only offer prescription
lenses through our website. Of the $208,477 in online sales generated through Lucyd.co, $80,574 related to frames with prescription lenses
and $127,873 of glasses sold were with non-prescription lenses. E-commerce sales are the most material portion of our sales to date.
There were several notable advances in the Company’s technology products and partnerships in 2022 which speak to the potential
to grow revenues well beyond the current level.
Key
hardware improvements include the development of a new proprietary four-speaker audio temple for the Lucyd Lyte flagship line, the increase
in battery life of all of our flagship to 12 hours of playback, which is longer than the vast majority of wireless audio products, and
design improvements to the frames overall that were the result of hiring two new expert eyewear designers.
48
Key
software improvements include the development of a live broadcasting feature on the Company’s proprietary Vyrb mobile app, the
ability to import any form of audio content into Vyrb to support the migration of existing audio content creators to the platform, and
the introduction of the Company’s Digital Try-on Display into dozens of retail stores, to offer an immersive product experience
for in-store shoppers at our partner locations.
The
Company believes that Nautica Powered by Lucyd line launching in 2023, made possible by the exclusive agreement with Authentic Brands
Group for the Nautica brand, represents significant revenue potential in the coming year. The Company intends to partner with Nautica-branded
sales channels, and expects to be able to increase our presence in other retail channels via the Nautica brand, a household name in dozens
of countries.
For
the year ended December 31, 2021, approximately 41% of sales were processed on our online store (Lucyd.co), 39% on Amazon and 20%
with retail store partners. This sales channel mix impacted our revenue for the period, due to the fact we charge additional $35 to $275
for our prescription lenses available only on Lucyd.co. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we generated $530,885 of revenue from
sales of nonprescription frames and $159,815 was generated from sales of frames with prescription lenses. All of the $266,733 in sales
generated on Amazon.com during the period were for non-prescription frames as we only offer prescription lenses through our website.
Of the $282,364 in online sales generated through Lucyd.co, $159,785 related to frames with prescription lenses and $122,579 of glasses
sold were with non-prescription lenses. Lucyd.co sales are the most material portion of our sales to date, aided by higher price compared
to retail store pricing as well as additional revenue recorded due to sales of prescription lenses.
We
expect that the online portion of our sales will gradually decrease on a percentage basis but remain an important component of our total
sales as we onboard more retail stores. We pursued growth in retail store segment in the year ended 2021 and during 2022, growing our
retail store presence to over 250 stores as of December 31, 2022.
Cost
of goods sold
Our
total cost of goods sold increased to $716,077 for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $542,416 for the year ended
December 31, 2021. This increase was primarily driven by the combination of (i) a $78,288 write-off of inventory as a result of
our physical inventory count procedures performed in December 2022 and (ii) damaged inventory received from one of our suppliers
in 2022, which resulted in write-offs of $69,532 of inventory. Subsequently, we have engaged new suppliers for our product sourcing.
The Company faced a supply chain challenge in 2022, and received two shipments of glasses that included a few thousand defective units.
Once the high rate of defects became apparent, the Company immediately undertook a second 100% inspection of all inventory, and discovered
the extent of the issue. The Company then worked to pull any problematic units from standing inventory, and also offered immediate replacement
to any customers experiencing issues with any units from these batches. As a result of these problems, the Company severed the relationship
with that supplier and conducted a detailed research investigation in China to identify better potential manufacturers of our products,
and settled on two new suppliers.
Although
the Company was reimbursed for a portion of these units from the old supplier, in some cases the units were not discovered to be defective
until many months after receipt from the manufacturer and were not able to be compensated.
Early
customer feedback on the Lyte 2.0 products and feedback from our independent inspection team, indicates that our products from our new
suppliers have improved reliability and build quality compared to the original Lyte product, therefore the Company expects significantly
less damaged inventory in the future.
In
regards to the Company’s overall cost of goods, they have remained relatively constant with an increase of only $4-5 per unit compared
to the previous supplier - however the improved components and aesthetics allowed the company to adjust the retail MSRP of our products
upward by $50, which compensates well for this increase. Our wholesale prices adjusted $10 upward to compensate for this increase.
49
A
positive development in COGs is a significant decrease in air shipping costs in the latter half of 2022 ($6.50 per unit at the height
of the pandemic to $3.50 per unit in Q4 2022), with the company able to ship goods at approximately just over half the price per unit
by air compared to 2021 and H1 2022, and with a new sea route available through our local 3PL partner at approximately $1.50/unit.
Smart
eyewear is a highly specialized product that has the combined specifications and component requirements of a wireless Bluetooth headset
and optical eyewear in one, meaning it is expensive to manufacture in small quantities of a few thousand at a time. As demand and awareness
for smart eyewear continues to grow, the Company expects that its per unit cost will decrease as its order volumes increase.
Key
components of cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2022 included, but were not limited to, the cost of frames of $478,020,
cost of prescription lenses incurred with our third-party vendor of $104,217, affiliate referral fees, sales commission expense, and
e-commerce platform fees of $128,340, and quality assurance costs related to our products sold of $5,500. Out of our total cost of goods
sold for the year ended December 31, 2022, $113,024 related to orders with prescription lenses, while $639,294 pertained to non-prescription
orders.
For
the year ended December 31, 2022, approximately 32% of sales were processed on our online store (Lucyd.co), 38% on Amazon, and 30%
with reseller partners. This sales channel mix impacted our cost of goods sold, as the cost of prescription lenses attributable to our
Lucyd.co sales increased our cost of goods sold through Lucyd.co while not impacting cost of goods sold for sales realized through Amazon
or retail store partners. As we continue to grow our business, we expect that our cost of goods sold per unit will decrease as we realize
economies of scale.
Key
components of cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2021 included, but were not limited to, the cost of frames of $303,909,
cost of prescription lenses incurred with our third-party vendor of $144,957, affiliate referral fees, sales commission expense, e-commerce
platform fees of $89,950, and quality assurance costs related to our products sold of $3,600. In Q4 2022, the company standardized all
custom lens profit margins at 35%, except one variant, the basic Single Vision clear prescription lens, which is sold at a 17.5% margin
to enable the company to advertise an competitive $40 basic prescription upgrade price.
A
number of factors in 2022 caused our overall lens lab vendor costs to be higher than revenue from lenses sold:
● Primarily,
a large number of prescription units are provided annually as promotional items to influencers,
investors, online and traditional media, and other press outlets for the purpose of gaining
various forms of brand awareness, investor interest and site traffic for the company.
● The
lens lab charges the Company $3,000 annually for the storage of frames in their facility.
● Improperly
cut prescriptions, and pairs lost in transit, both infrequent occurrences, are typically
replaced for free to enhance customer retention and customer lifetime value.
● When
a frame does not properly fit a customer, sometimes a new lens set is provided for free in
a different frame that will fit the customer properly.
● Warranty
replacements sometimes require a new lens set to be made at no cost to the consumer.
● Our
7-day return policy provides customers comfort when trying our products, but sometimes causes
a prescription pair to be returned (custom lenses are refunded in store credit, which may
be used to purchase an additional lens set). With active customer care, we are able to keep
our return rate low on Lucyd.co (our only prescription channel).
● In
conclusion, prescription lenses can often be expensive, running to the hundreds of dollars
per set for specialty and bifocal lenses, so a seemingly low number of free prescription
pairs can cause a large deficit. However, prescription fitted smart eyewear is a USP of the
Company and an incredibly useful tool for attracting positive media coverage. As we continue
to scale up the volume of our ecommerce business, we fully expect the standardized lens profit
margin to bring more revenue than overall lens costs in the future.
50
Out
of our total cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2021, $211,620 related to orders with prescription lenses, while
$330,796 pertained to non-prescription orders. For the year ended December 31, 2021, approximately 41% of sales were processed on
our online store (Lucyd.co), 39% on Amazon and 20% from retail store partners.
Over
time, we expect third-party retail stores to become our primary sales channel as we onboard additional stores. Consequently, we expect
sales of prescription lens, offered through our website to decrease, as our third-party retail partners outfit our Lyte frames with more
prescriptions. As a result, over time we expect prescription lens costs to gradually decrease as a percentage of our overall cost of
goods sold.
We
anticipate growth in both wholesale and e-commerce channel sales in 2023, and we also expect corresponding growth in total cost of goods
sold, primarily from additional product related costs.
Gross
(deficit) profit
Our
gross profit decreased to negative $56,289 for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to positive $148,254 for the year ended
December 31, 2021. This decrease was primarily driven by the aforementioned inventory write-offs during the current year totaling
$147,820.
We
expect gross profit for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, to improve, primarily due to economies of scale from large, anticipated
orders. As we expect retail stores to become our primary sales channel as we on board new stores, we also expect our overall gross margin
to be better than that of the wholesale channel, since no e-commerce platform fees or prescription lens costs apply in wholesale channels.
Operating
expenses
Our
operating expenses increased by 65% to $5,520,373 for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $3,353,327 for the year ended
December 31, 2021. This increase was primarily due to the expansion of our business following the launch of Lucyd Lyte in January 2021
and included, but was not limited to, the following:
General
and administrative expenses
Our
general and administrative expenses increased by 102% to $2,796,669 for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $1,386,079
for the year ended December 31, 2021. This increase was primarily attributable to (i) an increase of approximately $436,000 in employee-related
costs, resulting from increases in our staffing and new employment agreements entered into with executives, (ii) increased costs associated
with being a publicly-traded company, including directors’ remuneration, legal and insurance expense, and public and investor relations,
which altogether resulted in an increase in expense of approximately $416,000, (iii) bad debt expense in the current year of approximately
$116,000, and (iv) an increase in consulting fees of approximately $103,000 as a result of our growth and increased used of consultants.
Sales
and marketing expenses
Our
sales and marketing expenses increased by 16% to $2,059,012 for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $1,771,012 for
the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to our multi-prong sales and marketing strategy, growing continuously
over the past two years after the launch of our main product in January 2021.
We
anticipate these costs to further increase as we continue to invest in and build our brand, expand the number of e-commerce platforms
we sell our products on, invest in retail store co-op marketing programs to help educate our in-store customers about Lucyd Lytes, and
increase our brand’s physical presence and role in the eyewear industry.
51
Related
party management fee
Our
related party management fee was $140,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared with $109,975 for the year ended December 31,
2021. This increase was due to increased scope of assistance received under the agreement, corresponding to continuous scale-up of Company’s
operations after launch of its flagship product in the first quarter of 2021. The management fees are related to the management services
agreement between us and an affiliate of our Parent.
Research
and development costs
Our
research and development costs increased by 508% to $524,692 for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared with $86,261 for
the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to stock-based compensation totaling $263,612 in addition to the
increased cost of new frame development as the Company continued to expand its product line. Eyewear R&D includes the purchase and
testing of new components, the compensation of staff involved primarily in frame design and the creation of new eyewear molds. Software
R&D includes the portion of the work hours spent by the CEO and CTO on new software development on the Vyrb app and our glasses,
and external coding teams we have engaged to write the programming for our software, and enhance our software user experiences with code
updates. Other software costs such as the Apple Developer program are nominal fees only.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Cash
Flow Data:
Year ended
Year ended
December 31,
December 31,
2022
2021
Net cash flows from operating activities
$ (3,224,418 )
$ (1,214,160 )
Net cash flows from investing activities
(219,951 )
(118,454 )
Net cash flows from financing activities
6,955,751
1,385,318
Net Change in Cash
$ 3,511,382
$ 52,704
Initial
Public Offering
On
August 17, 2022, the Company closed on its initial public offering of 980,000 units, consisting of 980,000 shares of its common
stock and 1,960,000 warrants to purchase 1,960,000 shares of common stock, at a combined offering price of $7.50 per unit in exchange
for gross proceeds of approximately $7.35 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses. Each share of common
stock was sold together with two warrants, each warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $7.50 per share.
In addition, the Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 147,000 shares of common stock and/or
warrants to purchase up to an additional 294,000 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, of which the underwriter exercised
its option to purchase additional warrants to purchase 294,000 shares of common stock.
After
deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses, net proceeds received by the Company amounted to $6,189,734. We intend to use
proceeds from this offering primarily on (i) sales and marketing, (ii) expanding our inventory, (iii) updating and developing our in-store
displays, (iv) developing new smart eyewear styles and sizes, as well as further development and commercialization of the Vyrb app, and
(v) working capital and other general corporate purposes.
We
expect that operating losses could continue in the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in the expansion and development of our
business. We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents, proceeds from the aforementioned offering, proceeds received from investors’
exercises of warrants, funds available under our existing credit facility, and cash flows from operating activities will be sufficient
to fund our operations for at least the next twelve months. In February 2023, investors exercised warrants to purchase an aggregate
of 408,600 shares of our common stock, at an adjusted exercise price of $3.75 per share, resulting in cash proceeds to us of $1,532,250.
52
However,
our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, growth in the number of retail store customers,
the needs of our e-commerce business and retail distribution network, expansion of our product and software offerings, and the timing
of investments in technology and personnel to support the overall growth of our business. To the extent that current and anticipated
future sources of liquidity are insufficient to fund our future business activities and requirements, we may be required to seek additional
equity or debt financing. The sale of additional equity would result in additional dilution to our stockholders. The incurrence of debt
financing would result in debt service obligations and the instruments governing such debt could provide for operating and financing
covenants that would restrict our operations. There can be no assurances that we will be able to raise additional capital. In the event
that additional financing is required from outside sources, we may not be able to negotiate terms acceptable to us or at all. The COVID-19
pandemic along with other geopolitical and macroeconomic factors has caused disruption in the global financial markets, which could reduce
our ability to access capital and negatively affect our liquidity in the future. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required,
or if we cannot expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities because we lack sufficient capital, our business,
results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows would be adversely affected.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
As
of December 31, 2022, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Significant Developments and Estimates
Management’s
discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared
in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported
amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported revenue generated and expenses incurred
during the reporting periods, as well as related disclosures. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other
factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying
value of assets and liabilities and the amount of revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results
may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, and any such differences may be material. We believe that
the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate
to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.
We
believe that our application of accounting policies, and the estimates inherently required therein, are reasonable. We periodically re-evaluate
these accounting policies and estimates and make adjustments when facts and circumstances dictate a change. Historically, we have found
our application of accounting policies to be appropriate, and actual results have not differed materially from those determined using
necessary estimates.
Inventory
Our
inventory includes purchased eyewear and is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with cost determined on a specific identification
method of inventory costing which attaches the actual cost to an identifiable unit of product. Provisions for excess, obsolete, or slow-moving
inventory are recorded after periodic evaluation of historical sales, current economic trends, forecasted sales, estimated product life
cycles, and estimated inventory levels. No provisions were determined as needed as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
As
of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recorded an inventory prepayment in the amount of $197,750 and $64,715, respectively, related
to down payment on eyewear purchased from the manufacturer, prior to shipment of the product that occurred after December 31, 2022
and 2021, respectively.
53
Intangible
Assets
Intangible
assets relate to:
● Internally-developed
and licensed utility and design patents. We amortize these assets over the estimated useful
life of the patents.
● Capitalized
software costs incurred due to development of the Vyrb app. We amortize these assets over
the estimated useful life of the software application.
We
review our intangible assets for impairment whenever changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not
be recoverable.
Income
Taxes
We
are taxed as a C corporation. We comply with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) ASC 740 for accounting for uncertainty in income
taxes recognized in a company’s financial statements, which prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial
statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized,
a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. FASB ASC 740 also provides guidance
on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, and disclosure. Based on our evaluation, we
have concluded that there are no significant uncertain tax positions requiring recognition in our financial statements. We believe that
our income tax positions would be sustained on audit and do not anticipate any adjustments that would result in a material change to
the Company’s financial position.
We
have incurred taxable losses since inception but are current in our tax filing obligations. We are not presently subject to any income
tax audit in any taxing jurisdiction.
Stock-Based
Compensation
We
account for stock-based compensation to employees and directors in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, which requires that compensation
expense be recognized in the financial statements for stock-based awards based on the grant date fair value. For stock option awards,
the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model was used to estimate the fair value of share-based awards. The Black-Scholes-Merton option
pricing model incorporates various and highly subjective assumptions, including expected term and share price volatility. The expected
term of the stock options was estimated based on the simplified method as allowed by Staff Accounting Bulletin 107 (SAB 107).
The
share price volatility at the grant date is estimated using historical stock prices based upon the expected term of the options granted,
using stock prices of comparably profiled public companies. The risk-free interest rate assumption is determined using the rates for
U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds with maturities similar to those of the expected term of the award being valued.
The
fair value of common stock used in the option pricing model for stock-based awards granted in 2021 was determined using the most recent
price paid by independent investors through a Regulation Crowdfunding (“CF”) securities offering undertaken by the Company.
For the majority of time during which stock option awards were granted by the Company in 2021, we had been raising funds from investors
under Regulation CF campaigns, with a significant number of transactions from both accredited and non-accredited investors. Specifically:
● from
June 2020 to April 2021, we were conducting a REG CF offering of our shares of
common stock at a price of $1 per share, and we utilized this $1 per share price to issue
and value our stock-based awards during such period, and
● from
May 2021 to September 2021, we were conducting a second REG CF offering of our
shares of common stock at a price of $3.56 per share, and we utilized this $3.56 per share
price to issue and value our stock-based awards during such period.
54
The
pre-money valuation determining price per share was agreed upon each time with the crowdfunding platform, who has a great deal of experience
in setting the proper pre-money valuations for companies that list on their platforms. The determination was made using our business
progress.
Revenue
Recognition
Our
revenue is generated from the sales of prescription and non-prescription optical glasses, sunglasses, and shipping charges, which are
charged to the customer, associated with these purchases. We sell products through our retail store resellers, distributors, and on our
own website Lucyd.co and on Amazon.
To
determine revenue recognition, we perform the following steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (ii) identify the performance
obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations
in the contract, and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) we satisfy a performance obligation. At contract inception, we assess the goods
or services promised within each contract, determine those that are performance obligations, and assess whether each promised good or
service is distinct. We then recognize as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance
obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied. In instances where the collectability of contractual consideration is
not probable at the time of sale, the revenue is deferred on our balance sheet as a contract liability, and the associated cost of goods
sold is deferred on our balance sheet as a contract asset; subsequently, we recognize such revenue and cost of goods sold as payments
are received.
All
revenue, including sales processed online and through our retail store resellers and distributors, is reported net of sales taxes collected
from customers on behalf of taxing authorities, returns, and discounts.
For
sales generated through our e-commerce channels, we identify the contract with a customer upon online purchase of our eyewear and transaction
price at the manufacturer suggested retail price (“MSRP”) for non-prescription, polarized sunglass and blue light blocking
glasses across all of our online channels. Our e-commerce revenue is recognized upon meeting of the performance obligation when the eyewear
is shipped to end customers. Only U.S. consumers enjoy free USPS first class postage, with faster delivery options available for extra
cost, for sales processed through our website and on Amazon. For Amazon sales, shipping is free for U.S consumers while international
customers pay shipping charges on top of MSRP. Any costs associated with fees charged by the online platforms (Shopify for Lucyd.co website
and Amazon) are not recharged to customers and are recorded as a component of cost of goods sold as incurred. The Company charges applicable
state sales taxes in addition to the MSRP for both online channels and all other marketplaces on which the company sells products.
For
sales to our retail store partners, we identify the contract with a customer upon receipt of an order of our eyewear through our Shopify
wholesale portal or direct purchase order. Our revenue is recognized upon meeting the performance obligation which is delivery of our
eyewear products to the retail store and also recorded net of returns and discounts. Our wholesale pricing for eyewear sold to the retail
store partners includes volume discounts, due to the nature of large quantity orders. The pricing includes shipping charges, while excluding
any state sales tax charges applicable. Due to the nature of wholesale retail orders, no e-commerce fees are applicable.
For
sales to distributors, we identify the contract with a customer upon receipt of an order of our eyewear through a direct purchase order
and after collectability of substantially all of the contract consideration is probable. Our revenue is recognized upon meeting the performance
obligation, which is delivery of our eyewear products to the distributor and is also recorded net of returns and discounts. Our wholesale
pricing for eyewear sold to distributors includes volume discounts, due to the nature of large quantity orders. The pricing includes
shipping charges, while excluding any state sales tax charges applicable. Due to the nature of wholesale distributor orders, no e-commerce
fees are applicable.
The
Company’s sales to both retail partners and through our e-commerce channels do not contain any variable consideration.
55
We
allow our customers to return our products, subject to our refund policy, which allows any customer to return our products for any reason
within the first:
●
7 days for sales made through
our website (Lucyd.co)
●
30 days for sales made
through Amazon
●
30 days for
sales to most wholesale retailers and distributors (although certain sales to independent distributors are ineligible for returns)
For
all of our sales, at the time of sale, we establish a reserve for returns, based on historical experience and expected future returns,
which is recorded as a reduction of sales. Additionally, we review all individual returns received in the month following the balance
sheet date pertaining to orders processed prior to the balance sheet date in order to determine whether an allowance for sales returns
is necessary. The Company recorded an allowance for sales returns of $24,897 and $22,266 as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Shipping
and Handling
Costs
incurred for shipping and handling are included in cost of goods sold at the time the related revenue is recognized. Amounts billed to
a customer for shipping and handling are reported as revenues.
Earnings/loss
per share
We
present earnings and loss per share data by calculating the quotient of earnings/(loss) divided by the weighted average number of common
shares outstanding during the period as required by ASC 260-10-50. As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, all shares
underlying the related party convertible debt and common stock options were excluded from the earnings per share calculation, due to
their anti-dilutive effect.
Item 7A.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk .
Not
required for a smaller reporting company.
Item 8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data .
See
accompanying “Index to Consolidated Financial Statements.”
Item 9.
Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure .
None.
Item 9A.
Controls and Procedures .
Disclosure
Controls and Procedures
We
maintain disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Under
the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated
the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rule 13a-15 and 15d-15 of the
Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls
and procedures were not effective as of the end of fiscal year 2022.
56
Management’s
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as such term is defined
in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Our management, including the principal executive officer and principal financial
officer, does not expect that our internal controls over financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system,
no matter how well designed and operated, cannot provide full assurance that the objectives of the control system are met, and no evaluation
of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been detected.
Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Under
the supervision and with the participation of our management, including the principal executive officer and principal financial officer,
we conducted an evaluation as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. In
making this assessment, our management used the criteria for effective internal control set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of the Treadway Commission in the 2013 Internal Control – Integrated Framework . Based on this assessment, our management
concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2022.
This
Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding
internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by the Company’s independent
registered public accounting firm pursuant to a permanent exemption of the Commission that permits the Company to provide only management’s
report in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Accordingly, our management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control
over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022 has not been audited by our auditors, Cherry Bekaert LLP.
Changes
in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There
were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022 that has materially affected,
or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B.
Other Information .
None.
57
PART
III
Item 10.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance .
The
following table sets forth certain information regarding our board of directors, our executive officers, and some of our key employees.
Name
Age
Position
Harrison R. Gross
30
Chief Executive Officer
and Director
Konrad Dabrowski
40
Chief Financial Officer
David Eric Cohen
50
Chief Technology Officer
Frank Rescigna
62
Director
Kristen Mclaughlin
50
Director
Louis Castro
64
Director
Olivia C. Bartlett
64
Director
Harrison
Gross is one of the founders of Innovative Eyewear and has served as our Chief Executive Officer and as a director since August 2019,
where he guides the company’s product and brand development. Prior to his employment at Innovative Eyewear, from August 2017
to August 2019, Mr. Gross served in various positions, including chief executive officer and media & UX lead, of Lucyd Ltd.,
our largest stockholder and the licensor of our technology which is also a smart eyewear development company where he developed the Lucyd
brand identity and oversaw general operations and product development. Additionally, from November 2015 to August 2021, Mr.
Gross served as the Digital Media Manager of Tekcapital PLC (“Tekcapital”) (LON: TEK), a university intellectual property
investment firm that is the parent company of Tekcapital Europe Limited, and Lucyd Ltd, the holding company for Tekcapital’s shares
in Innovative Eyewear, where he created, developed and marketed for the company’s licensed properties. Prior to that, from October 2013
to September 2014, Mr. Gross worked as a credit analyst for a Verizon, Inc. contractor, where he managed credit systems and provided
support to Verizon agents. Mr. Gross is a graduate of Columbia University with a BA in Writing and received a BA in Jewish Studies from
the Jewish Theological Seminary. Mr. Gross is well qualified to serve as a director due to his substantial knowledge of our product and
his experience in marketing, product and app development.
Konrad
Dabrowski has served as our Chief Financial Officer on a part-time basis since August 2019. Between June 2017 and July 2020,
Mr. Dabrowski has served as the group controller, and starting on July 2020 the chief financial officer of Tekcapital PLC (“Tekcapital”),
where he co-manages the group’s investment strategy and oversees financial reporting for all of its portfolio companies. Prior
to his employment at Tekcapital, from March 2016 to June 2017, Mr. Dabrowski was a Global Accounting Manager for Restaurant
Brands International (NYSE:QSR), a multinational fast food holding company, where he oversaw accounting and tax projects for Burger King
within the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market. Prior to his employment at Restaurant Brands International, Mr. Dabrowski was
an Audit Manager at Deloitte, where he managed end-to-end accounting audits for a portfolio of public and private corporate clients.
Mr. Dabrowski has a Master’s in Finance and Banking from the Warsaw School of Economics and is a Certified Public Accountant.
David
Eric Cohen is one of the founders of Innovative Eyewear and has served as our Chief Technology Officer since September 2019.
Prior to his employment at Innovative Eyewear, from August 2017 to August 2019, Mr. Cohen served as the chief technology officer
of Lucyd Ltd., a smart eyewear development company, where he led the company’s technological advancements and digital ad campaigns.
Also, prior to his employment at Innovative Eyewear, from September 2009 to October 2019, Mr. Cohen served as President of
Emaze Design Agency, a digital design agency, where he led the development of web and applications for e-commerce, web performance monitoring,
website design and mobile applications. Prior to his employment at Emaze Design Agency, Mr. Cohen was lead Business Intelligence Specialist
at Jewish General Hospital where he assisted with the data solutions and business processes and requirements. He received a BS in Computer
Science from the Academy of Bordeaux and an MS in Advanced Technician & Information Systems Management from Hadassah University.
58
Frank
Rescigna has served as a director since August 2021. Mr. Rescigna has more than 25 years of brand building and sales experience
in the eyewear industry. Prior to his directorship at Innovative Eyewear, from October 2019 to May 2021, Mr. Rescigna was the
Director of Global Sales at House of Wu, a global wholesale luxury bridal and evening dress distributor, where he led the company’s
sales strategy throughout the world. Prior to his employment at House of Wu, from September 2018 to September 2019, Mr. Rescigna
was the President of Teka Eyewear, a boutique global wholesale luxury eyewear distributor specializing in exotic materials, where he
managed all aspects of its sales organization and operations. Prior to his employment at Teka Eyewear, from March 2015 to August 2018,
Mr. Rescigna was the Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Wiley X, a multi-brand global eyewear company that designs and distributes
sunglasses, where he managed the company’s sales activities at the corporate and sales level. Prior to his employment at Wiley
X, from February 2011 to February 2015, Mr. Rescigna was the President of Jewelry & Global Brand Licensing for Guess Inc.
(NYSE: GES), a global fashion/lifestyle company with varying business models, distribution models and products, where he assisted the
company with the expansion of its brand and new brands/products. Prior to his employment at Guess, from February 2004 to January 2011,
Mr. Rescigna was the President of Viva International Group, a large eyewear company that designs, manufactures and distributes core and
luxury global brands, where he led the company’s expansion and integration with its parent company Highmark Vision Holding Company.
He received a degree in Opticianry from Middlesex College. Mr. Rescigna is well qualified to serve as a director due his substantial
brand and sales experience and his experience in the eyewear industry.
Kristen
Mclaughlin has served as one of our directors since August 2021. Ms. Mclaughlin has 20 years’ experience launching, managing
and developing products in the eyewear, accessories, cosmetics and skincare industries. From March 2019 to April 2020, Ms.
Mclaughlin served as the Global Marketing Director at DePasquale Companies, a skincare, hair care and cosmetics manufacturer, where she
led the global marketing strategy and new product development. Prior to her employment at DePasquale Companies, from March 2000
to January 2019, Ms. Mclaughlin was employed at Silhouette International, an eyewear manufacturer, where she served as the Director
of Marketing: Eyewear Manufacturer, Regional Sales Manager, and Brand Manager: Daniel Swarovski Crystal Eyewear. While at Silhouette
International, Ms. Mclaughlin led the company’s brand portfolio in the U.S. and its brand direction, product development and campaign
content. She has a BS and MBA from Ramapo College of New Jersey. Ms. Mclaughlin is well qualified to serve as a director due to her substantial
experience in the eyewear industry and her experience in brand and product development.
Louis
Castro has served as one of our directors since August 2021. Mr. Castro is an experienced public company director and chartered
accountant. Mr. Castro is currently on the board of directors of the following public companies (1) Tekcapital where he has been a director
since December 2019, (2) Orosur Mining Inc. (TSE:OMI), a company exploring for minerals in South America, where he has been chairman
of the board since April 2020, (3) Stanley Gibbons Group plc (LON:SGI), a company that specializes in the retailing of collectable
stamps and similar products, where he has been a director since June 2016, (4) Tomco Energy plc (LON:TOM), an oil exploration and
technology company, where he has been a director since April 2021, (5) Predator Oil & Gas Holdings plc (LON:PRD), an oil and
gas exploration company, where he has been a director since July 2020, and (6) Veteran Capital Corp. (TSX-V:VCC), a capital pool
company, where he has been a director since January 2021. From September 2012 to June 2016, Mr. Castro was a director
and, from September 2014 to June 2016 served as the Chief Financial Officer, of Eland Oil & Gas plc, a Nigerian focused
upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production company, where he was responsible for the company’s finance, legal and
corporate finance activities. Prior to his employment at Eland, from May 2011 to May 2014, Mr. Castro served as Head of Capital
Markets and then as Chief Executive Officer of Northland Capital Partners, an investment bank, where he was responsible for the investment
banks day-to-day activities. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales, has a double degree in
Engineering Production and Economics from Birmingham University and attended the Postgraduate Advanced Course in Production Management
and Methods at Cambridge University. Mr. Castro is well qualified to serve as a director due to his substantial experience as a director
of public companies and his distinction as chartered accountant.
59
Olivia
C. Bartlett has served as one of our directors since August 2021. Ms. Bartlett has been in the eyewear industry for over 40
years holding various roles including optician, optical manager, marketing manager and operations management. Since September 2015,
Ms. Bartlett has been the Chief Operating Officer of Todd Rogers Eyewear, a specialty eyewear company, where she manages the day-to-day
operations of the company. Prior to her time at Todd Rogers Eyewear, from March 2010 to May 2015, Ms. Bartlett was the sales
representative for eyewear sales in the northeast of Massachusetts for Safilo USA, a specialty eyewear company. Additionally, from September 2013
to May 2018, Ms. Bartlett was an Adjunct Professor at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts. Since
February 2020 Ms. Bartlett has been the President of the Opticians Association of America, a national organization representing
the professional, business, educational, legislative and regulatory interests of opticianry. Prior to that, Ms. Bartlett was a director
for ten years for the Opticians Association of Massachusetts. Ms. Bartlett has received a number of awards through her time in the industry,
including but not limited to, the 2020 Eyecare Business Game Changer Award and the 2020 and 2018 Vision Monday Most Influential Woman
Executive. Ms. Bartlett received her Massachusetts Opticians license in 1987 and is ABO certified. Ms. Bartlett received her BA in Political
Science from Clark University. Ms. Bartlett is well qualified to serve as a director due to her substantial experience in the optical
industry.
Number
and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our
board of directors consists of five members. Our directors are appointed for one-year terms to hold office until the next annual general
meeting of our stockholders or until removed from office in accordance with our second amended and restated bylaws.
Our
officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms
of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our second amended and restated bylaws,
as it deems appropriate.
Director
Independence and Committees of the Board of Directors
Director
Independence
Of
our directors, we have determined that Frank Rescigna, Mr. Louis Castro and Mss. Kristen Mclaughlin and Olivia Bartlett are “independent”
directors under NASDAQ listing standards, while Harrison Gross is not independent under such standards. We have also determined that
each of the three members of the Audit Committee is “independent” for purposes of Section 10A(m)(3) of the Exchange
Act and the rules promulgated thereunder and under the NASDAQ listing standards. Further, the Board has determined that each of the two
members of both the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is “independent” under NASDAQ
listing standards.
Board
Committees
We
have three standing committees of the Board: the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Each of the board committees act pursuant to a separate written charter adopted by our board of directors, each of which is available
on our website at www.lucyd.co . Our board of directors may at any time or from time to time appoint certain other committees in
its sole discretion as it deems necessary or appropriate to carry out its functions.
Audit
Committee
The
Audit Committee consists of Mr. Louis Castro (Chair) and Mss. Kristen Mclaughlin and Olivia Bartlett. The Board has determined that all
of the members of the Audit Committee are “independent,” as defined by NASDAQ listing standards and by applicable SEC rules.
In addition, the Board has determined that Mr. Castro is an audit committee financial expert, as that term is defined by the SEC rules,
by virtue of having the following attributes through relevant experience: (i) an understanding of generally accepted accounting principles
and financial statements; (ii) the ability to assess the general application of such principles in connection with the accounting for
estimates, accruals, and reserves; (iii) experience preparing, auditing, analyzing, or evaluating financial statements that present a
breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of issues that can reasonably
be expected to be raised by the Company’s financial statements, or experience actively supervising one or more persons engaged
in such activities; (iv) an understanding of internal controls and procedures for financial reporting; and (v) an understanding of audit
committee functions.
60
The
function of the Audit Committee relates to oversight of the auditors, the auditing, accounting, and financial reporting processes, and
the review of the Company’s financial reports and information. In addition, the functions of the Audit Committee will include,
among other things, recommending to the Board the engagement or discharge of independent auditors, discussing with the auditors their
review of the Company’s quarterly results and the results of their audit, and reviewing the Company’s internal accounting
controls.
Compensation
Committee
The
Compensation Committee consists of Ms. Kristen Mclaughlin (Chair) and Mr. Louis Castro. The Board has determined that all of the members
of the Compensation Committee are “independent,” as defined by NASDAQ listing standards. The responsibility of the Compensation
Committee is to review and approve the compensation and other terms of employment of our President and Chief Executive Officer and our
other executive officers, including all of the executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table under the heading “Executive
Compensation” below (the “named executive officers”). Among its other duties, the Compensation Committee oversees all
significant aspects of the Company’s compensation plans and benefit programs. The Compensation Committee annually reviews and approves
corporate goals and objectives for the President and Chief Executive Officer’s compensation and evaluates the Chief Executive Officer’s
performance in light of those goals and objectives. The Compensation Committee also recommends to the Board the compensation and benefits
for members of the Board. The Compensation Committee has also been appointed by the Board to administer our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan.
The Compensation Committee does not delegate any of its authority to other persons.
Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee
The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Mss. Olivia Bartlett (Chair) and Kristen Mclaughlin and Mr. Harrison Gross.
The majority of committee members are independent under applicable NASDAQ rules and regulations. The Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee is responsible for, among other things, considering potential board members, making recommendations to the full board as to
nominees for election to the board, assessing the effectiveness of the board and implementing our corporate governance guidelines.
Section 16(a)
Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a)
of the Exchange Act requires that our directors and executive officers and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of our common stock
(referred to herein as the “reporting persons”) file with the SEC various reports as to their ownership of and activities
relating to our common stock. Such reporting persons are required by the SEC regulations to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a)
reports they file.
Based
solely upon a review of copies of Section 16(a) reports and representations received by us from reporting persons, and without conducting
any independent investigation of our own, in fiscal year 2022, all Forms 3, 4 and 5 were timely filed with the SEC by such reporting
persons.
Code
of Ethics
We
have adopted a formal code of ethics that applies to our directors and principal executives and financial officers or persons performing
similar functions. A copy of our Code of Ethical Conduct can be found on our website under “Investors” at www.lucyd.co .
61
Item 11.
Executive Compensation .
The
following table sets forth the aggregate compensation paid to our named executive officers for the fiscal years ended December 31,
2022 and 2021. Individuals we refer to as our “named executive officers” include our Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Financial
Officer and our Chief Technology Officer.
Summary
Compensation Table
Name
and Principal Position
Year
Salary (1)
($)
Bonus
($)
Option
Awards ($)
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
($)
All
Other
Compensation
($)
Total
($)
Harrison
Gross,
2022
114,758
-
-
-
-
-
114,758
Chief
Executive Officer
2021
69,584
-
1,781,980 (2)
-
-
-
1,851,564
Konrad
Dabrowski,
2022
105,500
-
-
-
-
-
105,500
Chief
Financial Officer
2021
21,885
-
158,388
-
-
-
180,273
David
Eric Cohen,
2022
70,270
-
-
-
-
-
70,270
Chief
Technology Officer
2021
38,401
-
158,382
-
-
-
158,382
(1) Salary
amounts shown for Mr. Cohen include $34,500 and $38,401 paid in 2022 and 2021, respectively, to Mr. Cohen as an independent consultant,
prior to his hire as an employee on October 1, 2022.
(2) Consists
of 700,000 options to purchase common stock of the Company issued to Mr. Gross for services rendered to the Company for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2021.
Employment
Arrangements with our Executive Officers
Harrison
Gross
On
August 11, 2021, we entered into an employment agreement with Harrison Gross to serve in the capacity of the Chief Executive Officer
of the Company. We agreed to pay Mr. Gross an annual base salary of $85,800 for the remainder of 2021, and we also agreed that from the
initial public offering date in August 2022, we increased his base salary to $150,000 per year. Pursuant to the terms of the employment
agreement, our Board may exercise its sole discretion to grant Mr. Gross an annual bonus, the amount of which bonus shall be determined
in the sole discretion of our Board. Additionally, in 2021, we granted Mr. Gross an option to purchase 100,000 shares of our common stock.
The
employment agreement has an initial term of three years, and will terminate on the third anniversary of the effective date unless Mr.
Gross and the Company agree otherwise in writing. If we terminate the employment agreement for any reason other than for cause (as such
is defined in the agreement) or Mr. Gross terminates his employment for good reason (as such is defined in the agreement): (1) Mr. Gross
shall be entitled to payment of his base salary for the balance of the agreement’s term; (2) if Mr. Gross elects to continue group
health insurance benefits, we shall reimburse Mr. Gross for any COBRA premiums he pays for the duration of COBRA’s coverage; and,
(3) we shall provide Mr. Gross with payment of all accrued amounts (as defined in the agreement).
Konrad
Dabrowski
On
August 11, 2021, we entered into an employment agreement with Konrad Dabrowski to serve as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company
on a part-time basis, which agreement became effective on September 1, 2021. Mr. Dabrowski devotes 50% of his business time to our
Company. We agreed to pay Mr. Dabrowski an annual base salary of $100,000. Pursuant to the terms of the employment agreement, we may
exercise our discretion to grant Mr. Dabrowski an annual bonus, the amount of which bonus shall be determined in the sole discretion
of the Company. Additionally, in 2021, we granted Mr. Dabrowski an option to purchase 60,000 shares of our common stock.
62
Following
the effective date, the employment agreement shall continue, unless terminated by Mr. Dabrowski or the Company. Mr. Dabrowski’s
employment is at-will, which may be terminated by the Company or by Mr. Dabrowski at any time and for any reason. Pursuant to the terms
of the employment agreement, a sixty days’ written notice of termination or resignation is required. If Mr. Dabrowski notifies
us of his resignation, or if we terminate Mr. Dabrowski’s employment agreement, the Company reserves the right to determine, in
its sole discretion, whether Mr. Dabrowski will be required to actively work during the sixty-day notice period; however, Mr. Dabrowski
will be entitled to receive his base salary for the duration of the sixty day notice period. The Company has the right to terminate Mr.
Dabrowski’s employment agreement for cause (as defined in the agreement), which termination shall be effective immediately.
David
Eric Cohen
David
Cohen was an independent consultant for the company from inception until October 1, 2022, when we offered him a full-time letter
of employment. He accepted and has been the full-time Chief Technology since then. The company pays him $140,000 annually to serve in
this role. Pursuant to the terms of the employment agreement, we may exercise our discretion to grant Mr. Cohen an annual bonus, the
amount of which bonus shall be determined in the sole discretion of the Company.
Following
the effective date, the employment agreement shall continue, unless terminated by Mr. Cohen or the Company. Mr. Cohen’s employment
is at-will, which may be terminated by the Company or by Mr. Cohen at any time and for any reason. Pursuant to the terms of the employment
agreement, a sixty days’ written notice of termination or resignation is required. If Mr. Cohen notifies us of his resignation,
or if we terminate Mr. Cohen’s employment agreement, the Company reserves the right to determine, in its sole discretion, whether
Mr. Cohen will be required to actively work during the sixty-day notice period; however, Mr. Cohen will be entitled to receive his base
salary for the duration of the sixty day notice period. The Company has the right to terminate Mr. Cohen’s employment agreement
for cause (as defined in the agreement), which termination shall be effective immediately.
Additionally,
in 2021, we granted Mr. Cohen an option to purchase 60,000 shares of our common stock.
Compensation
of Directors
The
following table sets forth all compensation paid to our Board members during the year ended December 31, 2022:
Name
Fees
Earned or
Paid in Cash
($)
Stock
Awards
($)
Option
Awards
($)
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan Compensation
($)
Change in
Pension Value
and Nonqualified Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
($)
All Other Compensation
($)
Total
($)
Frank Rescigna
1,875
-
-
-
-
-
1,875
Kristen Mclaughlin
7,500
-
-
-
-
-
7,500
Louis Castro
11,250
-
-
-
-
-
11,250
Olivia C. Bartlett
3,750
-
-
-
-
-
3,750
63
Outstanding
Equity Awards
The
following table sets forth outstanding equity awards to our named executive officers as of December 31, 2022.
Option awards
Stock awards
Name
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
(#)
exercisable
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
(#)
unexercisable
Equity
incentive
plan
awards:
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
unearned
options
(#)
Option
exercise
price
($)
Option
expiration
date
Number
of shares
or units
of stock
that
have not
vested
(#)
Market
value of
shares
of units
of stock
that
have not
vested
($)
Equity
incentive
plan
awards:
Number of
unearned
shares,
units or
other
rights that
have not
vested
(#)
Equity
incentive
plan awards:
Market or
payout value
of unearned
shares, units
or other
rights that
have not
vested
($)
Harrison Gross
250,000
125,000
-
$ 1.00
04/01/2024
-
-
-
-
Harrison Gross
200,000
400,000
-
$ 3.56
05/05/2025
-
-
-
-
Harrison Gross
44,432
55,568
-
$ 3.56
11/11/2024
-
-
-
-
Konrad Dabrowski
26,656
33,344
-
$ 3.56
11/11/2024
-
-
-
-
David Eric Cohen
26,656
33,344
-
$ 3.56
12/01/2024
-
-
-
-
Our
2021 Equity Incentive Plan was adopted by the Board and approved by our shareholders on July 1, 2021, under which:
(i) Harrison
Gross was issued stock options on August 11, 2021, to purchase 100,000 shares of our common stock;
(ii) Konrad
Dabrowski was issued stock options on August 11, 2021, to purchase 60,000 shares of our common stock;
(iii) David
Eric Cohen was issued stock options on September 1, 2021, to purchase 60,000 shares of our common stock;
(iv) Frank
Rescigna was issued stock options on July 29, 2021, to purchase 25,000 shares of our common stock;
(v) Kristen
Mclaughlin was issued stock options on August 20, 2021, to purchase 25,000 shares of our common stock;
(vi) Louis
Castro was issued stock options on July 21, 2021, to purchase 20,000 shares of our common stock;
(vii) Louis
Castro was also issued stock options on July 29, 2021, to purchase an additional 25,000 shares of our common stock; and
(viii) Olivia
Bartlett was issued stock options on July 29, 2021, to purchase 25,000 shares of our common stock.
All
of these stock options issued under our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan are subject to time-based vesting, except for Mr. Castro’s July 21,
2021 option grant that vests upon an acquisition or flotation at a valuation greater than or equal to four times (400%) the most recent
published annual Company valuation (2020: $2.7 million).
64
Additionally,
the following awards were granted by the Company prior to the approval of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan:
(i) Mr.
Gross was issued stock options on May 5, 2021 to purchase 600,000 shares of our common stock, which are subject to time-based vesting;
and
(ii) Mr.
Rescigna was issued stock options on May 1, 2021, to purchase 100,000 shares of our common stock, which vest upon successful completion
of an $8 million sales quota.
Option
Exercises and Stock Vested
There
were no options exercised by our executive officers during the years ended December 31, 2022 or 2021.
Employee
Benefit Plans
We
currently do not provide retirement, health, or welfare benefits to any of our employees.
Non-qualified
Deferred Compensation
None
of our employees participate in or have account balances in non-qualified defined contribution plans or other non-qualified deferred
compensation plans maintained by us. Our Compensation Committee may elect to provide our officers and other employees with non-qualified
defined contribution or other non-qualified compensation benefits in the future if it determines that doing so is in the Company’s
best interest.
2021
Equity Incentive Plan
General
Our
2021 Equity Incentive Plan was adopted by the Board and approved by our shareholders on July 1, 2021. The general purposes of the
2021 Equity Incentive Plan are to (i) enable the Company and its subsidiaries to attract and retain the types of employees, consultants,
and directors who will contribute to the Company’s long-range success; (ii) provide incentives that align the interests of employees,
consultants, and directors with those of our shareholders; and (iii) promote the success of the Company’s business.
Description
of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan
The
following description of the principal terms of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan is a summary and is qualified in its entirety by the full
text of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan.
Administration.
The 2021 Equity Incentive Plan is administered by a committee appointed by our Board, or in the Board’s discretion, by the
Board (as applicable, the “Incentive Plan Administrator”). Subject to the terms of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, the
Incentive Plan Administrator has the authority to (a) determine the eligible individuals who are to receive awards, (b) determine
the terms and conditions of each award, including exercise price, vesting or performance criteria, performance period, and terms of
the award, (c) determine whether vesting and performance criteria have been achieved, (d) accelerate the vesting or exercisability
of, payment for or lapse of restrictions on, or otherwise modify or amend awards, (e) construe and interpret the 2021 Equity
Incentive Plan, including the ability to reconcile any inconsistency in, correct any defect in and/or supply any omission in the
plan and award agreement; any instrument or agreement, (f) promulgate, amend, and rescind rules and regulations relating to the
administration of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, and (g) exercise discretion to make any and all other determinations which it
determines to be necessary or advisable for the administration of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan and awards granted thereunder. The
Incentive Plan Administrator may also delegate its authority to a subcommittee or to one or more officers of the Company, subject to
terms and conditions determined by the Incentive Plan Administrator. All decisions made by the Incentive Plan Administrator are
final and binding on the Company and the participants.
65
Types
of Awards. The 2021 Equity Incentive Plan provides for the grant of stock options, which may be incentive
stock options (“ISOs”) or nonqualified stock options (“NSOs”), stock appreciation rights (“SARs”),
restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance share awards, and other cash-based or equity-based awards,
or collectively, awards.
Share
Reserve. A total equal to 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock shall be available for the grant
of awards under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan.
If
options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units or any other awards are forfeited, cancelled or expire before being exercised
or settled in full, the shares subject to such awards will again be available for issuance under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan. If restricted
stock or shares issued upon exercise of an option are reacquired by the Company pursuant to a forfeiture provision, repurchase right
or for any other reason, then such shares will again be available for issuance under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, shares applied to pay the exercise price of an option or satisfy withholding taxes related to any award will not become
available for issuance under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan.
Shares
issued under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan may be authorized but unissued shares or treasury shares. As of December 31, 2022, awards
covering 2,332,500 shares of Common Stock were issued, of which 1,685,000 option awards were granted by the Company prior to the approval
of the Plan and 647,500 option awards were granted subject to the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan.
Incentive
Stock Option Limit. No more than 25,000,000 shares of Common Stock may be issued under the 2021 Equity Incentive
Plan upon the exercise of ISOs.
Eligibility. Employees
(including officers), non-employee directors and consultants who render services to the Company or a parent or subsidiary thereof (whether
now existing or subsequently established) are eligible to receive awards under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan. ISOs may only be granted
to employees of the Company or a parent or subsidiary thereof (whether now existing or subsequently established).
Stock
Options. A stock option is the right to purchase a certain number of shares of stock at a fixed exercise price
which, pursuant to the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of Common Stock on the date of
grant. Subject to limited exceptions, an option may have a term of up to 10 years and will generally expire sooner if the optionholder’s
service terminates. Options will vest at the rate determined by the Incentive Plan Administrator. An optionholder may pay the exercise
price of an option in cash, or, with the Incentive Plan Administrator’s consent, with shares of stock the optionholder already
owns, with proceeds from an immediate sale of the option shares, through a net exercise procedure or by any other method permitted by
applicable law.
Tax
Limitations on Incentive Stock Options. The aggregate fair market value, determined at the time of grant,
of the Common Stock with respect to ISOs that are exercisable for the first time by an optionholder during any calendar year under all
of the Company’s stock plans may not exceed $100,000. Options or portions thereof that exceed such limit will generally be treated
as NSOs. No ISO may be granted to any person who, at the time of the grant, owns or is deemed to own stock possessing more than 10% of
the Company’s total combined voting power or that of any of the Company’s affiliates unless (a) the option exercise price
is at least 110% of the fair market value of Common Stock on the date of grant and (b) the term of the ISO does not exceed five years
from the date of grant.
Stock
Appreciation Rights . A stock appreciation right provides the recipient with the right to the appreciation
in a specified number of shares of stock. The Incentive Plan Administrator determines the exercise price of stock appreciation rights
granted under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, which may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of Common Stock on the date of
grant. A stock appreciation right may have a term of up to 10 years and will generally expire sooner if the recipient’s service
terminates. SARs will vest at the rate determined by the Incentive Plan Administrator. Upon exercise of a SAR, the recipient will receive
an amount in cash, stock, or a combination of stock and cash determined by the Incentive Plan Administrator, equal to the excess of the
fair market value of the shares being exercised over their exercise price.
66
Restricted
Stock Awards. Shares of restricted stock may be issued under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan and may be subject
to vesting, as determined by the Incentive Plan Administrator. Recipients of restricted stock generally have all of the rights of a shareholder
with respect to those shares, including voting rights and dividends, except as provided in the award agreement.
Restricted
Stock Units. A restricted stock unit is a right to receive a share, at no cost to the recipient, upon satisfaction
of certain conditions, including vesting conditions, established by the Incentive Plan Administrator. RSUs vest at the rate determined
by the Incentive Plan Administrator and any unvested RSUs will generally be forfeited upon termination of the recipient’s service.
Settlement of restricted stock units may be made in the form of cash, stock or a combination of cash and stock, as provided in the award
agreement and as determined by the Incentive Plan Administrator. Recipients of restricted stock units generally will have no voting or
dividend rights prior to the time the vesting conditions are satisfied, and the award is settled.
Performance
Share Award . A performance share award is a right to receive a share or share units based upon the Company’s
performance during a specified performance period, as determined by the Incentive Plan Administrator. The Incentive Plan Administrator
has the discretion to determine: (i) the number of shares or stock-denominated units subject to a Performance Share Award granted to
any recipient; (ii) the performance period applicable to any award; (iii) the conditions that must be satisfied for a recipient to earn
an award; and (iv) the other terms, conditions and restrictions of the award.
Cash
Awards and Other Equity-Based Awards. The Incentive Plan Administrator may grant cash awards and other awards
based in whole or in part by reference to Common Stock, either alone or in tandem with other awards. The Incentive Plan Administrator
will determine the terms and conditions of any such awards.
Changes
to Capital Structure. In the event of certain changes in capitalization, including a stock split, reverse
stock split, stock dividend, or an extraordinary corporate transaction such as any recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation,
combination, or exchange, proportionate adjustments will be made in the number and kind of shares available for issuance under the 2021
Equity Incentive Plan, the limit on the number of shares that may be issued under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan as ISOs, the number
and kind of shares subject to each outstanding award and/or the exercise price of each outstanding award.
Change
in Control. If the Company is party to certain change in control transactions, each outstanding award will
be treated as the Incentive Plan Administrator determines, which may include the continuation, assumption or substitution of an outstanding
award, the cancellation of an outstanding award after an opportunity to exercise or the cancellation of an outstanding award in exchange
for a payment equal to the value of the shares subject to such award less any applicable exercise price.
Transferability
of Awards. Unless the Incentive Plan Administrator determines otherwise, an award generally will not be transferable
other than by beneficiary designation, a will or the laws of descent and distribution. The Incentive Plan Administrator may permit transfer
of an award in a manner consistent with applicable law.
Amendment
and Termination. The Board may amend or terminate the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan at any time. Any such amendment
or termination will not affect outstanding awards. If not sooner terminated, the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan will automatically terminate
10 years after its adoption by the Board. Shareholder approval is not required for any amendment of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, unless
required by applicable law, government regulation or exchange listing standards.
67
Item 12.
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters .
Based
solely upon information made available to us, the following table sets forth information as of March 17, 2023, regarding the beneficial
ownership of our common stock:
● each
person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock;
● each
of our named executive officers and directors; and
● all
our executive officers and directors as a group.
The
address of each holder listed in the following table, except as otherwise indicated, is 11900 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 630, North Miami,
Florida, 33181.
Percentage
ownership shown in the following table is based on 7,715,757 shares of our common stock outstanding.
Name of Beneficial Owner
Shares of
Common Stock
Beneficially
Owned (1)
Percent of
Common Stock
Beneficially
Owned
Named Executive Officers and Directors
Harrison Gross (2)
800,817
9.40 %
Konrad Dabrowski (3)
64,986
*
%
David Eric Cohen (4)
54,986
*
%
Frank Rescigna (5)
25,000
*
%
Kristen McLaughlin (6)
25,000
*
%
Louis Castro (7)
45,000
*
%
Olivia Bartlett (8)
25,000
*
%
All directors and executive officers as a group
(7 persons)
1,040,789
11.89
%
5% Stockholders
Lucyd Ltd. (9)
5,189,085
67.25
%
* Less
than 1%.
(1) We
have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which
is generally determined by voting power and/or dispositive power with respect to securities. Unless otherwise noted, the shares of common
stock listed above are owned as of the date of this 10-K, and are owned of record by each individual named as beneficial owner and such
individual has sole voting and dispositive power with respect to the shares of common stock owned by each of them.
(2) Includes
800,817 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options held by Mr. Gross exercisable within 60 days of the date of this
10-K.
(3) Includes
64,986 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options held by Mr. Dabrowski exercisable within 60 days of the date of
this 10-K.
(4) Includes
54,986 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options held by Mr. Cohen exercisable within 60 days of the date of this
10-K.
(5) Includes
25,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options held by Mr. Rescigna exercisable within 60 days of the date of
this 10-K.
(6) Includes
25,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options held by Ms. McLaughlin exercisable within 60 days of the date of
this 10-K.
(7) Includes
45,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options held by Mr. Castro exercisable within 60 days of the date of this
10-K.
(8) Includes
25,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options held by Ms. Bartlett exercisable within 60 days of the date of
this 10-K.
(9) Tekcapital
plc, a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange, owns all issued and outstanding securities of Tekcapital Europe Ltd., which
owns all issued and outstanding securities of Lucyd Ltd. As such, Tekcapital plc may be deemed to beneficially own the shares held by
Lucyd Ltd. by virtue of their control over Lucyd Ltd. Tekcapital plc disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares held by Lucyd Ltd.
Mr. Clifford Gross, the Chief Executive Officer of Tekcapital plc, is the father of Mr. Harrison Gross, our Chief Executive Officer.
68
Item 13.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence .
On
occasion we may engage in certain related party transactions. All prior related party transactions were approved by our board of directors
and a majority of our issued and outstanding shares of capital stock. Upon the consummation of offering, our policy is that all related
party transactions will be reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors prior to our entering into any related
party transactions.
License
Agreement
On
April 1, 2020, we entered into an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Lucyd Ltd., the majority stockholder of the Company,
for the use of the Lucyd brand, and the associated intellectual property and assets (the “License Agreement”). The License
Agreement is royalty-free, fully paid up, and perpetual license for the exclusive use of certain assets of Lucyd Ltd. related to Innovative
Eyewear current products and trademarks. As compensation for entrance into the License Agreement, we issued Lucyd Ltd. 3,750,000 shares
of our common stock. On October 5, 2021, the parties to the License Agreement executed an Addendum, to the exclusive license agreement,
which clarified that Innovative Eyewear shall commercialize, continue with any on-going intellectual property prosecutions and pay all
maintenance or other patent fees (the “Addendum”). For all new intellectual property, Innovative Eyewear will own control
it and be responsible for all prosecution and maintenance costs. The Addendum also confirms that Innovative Eyewear issued Lucyd Ltd.
3,750,000 shares of its common stock as consideration for the license. Please see “Business — Material Agreements”
for a more complete description of the License Agreement and Addendum.
Management
Service Agreement
On
June 1, 2020, we entered into a management service agreement with Tekcapital Europe Ltd., an affiliate of our majority stockholder,
Lucyd Ltd., whose Chief Executive Officer is the father of our Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to which we agreed to pay Tekcapital
Europe Ltd. $25,000 per fiscal quarter for rent-free office space, utilities, advisory services and any other services in accordance
with Tekcapital Europe Ltd.’s areas of expertise. The management agreement provided for a perpetual term, with the right of either
party to terminate for any reason with 30 days’ notice. Effective February 1, 2022, the original management service agreement
was amended to have us billed at $35,000 quarterly for advisory and other services, and in addition, Tekcapital Europe Ltd. began to
bill us for an allocation of rent paid by Tekcapital Europe Ltd. on our behalf.
During
the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we incurred $140,000 and $100,000, respectively, under our management services agreement
with Tekcapital Europe Ltd., and we also recognized $74,442 of rent expense for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Convertible
Note Financing
On
December 1, 2020, we issued a convertible note for an aggregate principal amount of up to $2,000,000 to Lucyd Ltd., the majority
stockholder of the Company (the “Note”).
On
June 1, 2021, we completed the partial conversion of an aggregate of $778,500 of the outstanding balance on the Note, at $1.00 per
share, into an aggregate of 778,500 shares of common stock. On September 5, 2021, we completed the partial conversion of an aggregate
of $500,002 of the outstanding balance on the Note, at $3.56 per share, into an aggregate of 140,449 shares of common stock.
On
November 1, 2021, we executed an amended and restated Note, increasing the amount of available financing from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000.
On November 16, 2021, we completed the partial conversion of an aggregate of $901,271 of the outstanding balance of the Note, at
$3.56 per share, into an aggregate of 253,166 shares of common stock. As of December 31, 2021, $289,029 remained outstanding on
the Note.
69
On
August 15, 2022, in connection with our initial public offering, we completed the partial conversion of an aggregate of $2,002,280
of the outstanding balance of the Note, at $7.50 per share, into an aggregate of 266,970 shares of common stock. As of December 31,
2022, approximately $61,356 remains outstanding on the Note.
The
Note has an interest rate of 10.0% per annum, is unsecured, matures on December 1, 2023 and provides for conversion, at the election
of Lucyd Ltd., into our common stock upon the earlier of (i) the Company consummating an equity financing pursuant to which it raises
an aggregate amount of not less than $750,000, (ii) the Company entering into a transaction pursuant to which the Company sells not less
than 10% of the Company’s shares, excluding any and all convertible notes which are convertible into shares, (iii) the Company
lists its shares on a national securities exchange or (iv) the holder determines to convert the Note. The Note can be converted by the
Holder using the price of either (i) the per share purchase price paid for by investors under the terms of recent equity financing, (ii)
the closing price of the Company’s trading shares on the relevant public exchange for the day immediately preceding the date of
conversion of the Note or (iii) the valuation of the last equity investment. The principal amount and accrued but unpaid interest under
each note will automatically convert into shares of our common stock at the stated conversion price per share.
Intercompany
Loan and Debt Transfer Agreements
On
June 1, 2021, we entered into an intercompany loan and debt transfer agreement, whereby Lucyd Ltd, Tekcapital plc, Tekcapital Europe
Ltd or Tekcapital LLC incurred a debt on behalf of the Company in the amount of $387,328. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, there
is no interest payable on the amount of the debt outstanding, unless we agree otherwise with Lucyd Ltd. The debt, along with any accrued
interest and other amounts that may be due in connection with the debt, is repayable by the Company upon demand from Lucyd Ltd, at any
time, unless we agree otherwise with Lucyd Ltd. The Company may prepay the whole or any part of the debt at any time unless we agree
otherwise.
On
September 5, 2021, we entered into an intercompany loan and debt transfer agreement, whereby Lucyd Ltd, Tekcapital plc, Tekcapital
Europe Ltd or Tekcapital LLC incurred a debt on behalf of the Company in the amount of $500,002. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement,
there is no interest payable on the amount of the debt outstanding, unless we agree otherwise with Lucyd Ltd. The debt, along with any
accrued interest and other amounts that may be due in connection with the debt, is repayable by the Company upon demand from Lucyd Ltd,
at any time, unless we agree otherwise with Lucyd Ltd. The Company may prepay the whole or any part of the debt at any time unless we
agree otherwise.
See
“Item 11. Executive Compensation ” regarding the employment agreements with Harrison Gross and Konrad Dabrowski.
Statement
of Policy
All
future transactions between us and our officers, directors or five percent stockholders, and respective affiliates will be on terms no
less favorable than could be obtained from unaffiliated third parties and will be approved by a majority of our independent directors
who do not have an interest in the transactions and who had access, at our expense, to our legal counsel or independent legal counsel.
To
the best of our knowledge, during the past three fiscal years, other than as set forth above, there were no material transactions, or
series of similar transactions, or any currently proposed transactions, or series of similar transactions, to which we were or are to
be a party, in which the amount involved exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at year-end
for the last two completed financial years, and in which any director or executive officer, or any security holder who is known by us
to own of record or beneficially more than 5% of any class of our common stock, or any member of the immediate family of any of the foregoing
persons, has an interest (other than compensation to our officers and directors in the ordinary course of business).
70
Item 14.
Principal Accounting Fees and Services .
Audit
Fees
The
aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, Cherry Bekaert LLP (PCAOB ID 00677),
for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of our consolidated financial statements included in our quarterly reports,
and other fees that are normally provided by the accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements
for the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 were approximately $88,800 and $69,300,
respectively.
Audit-Related
Fees
There
were approximately $58,700 and $13,800 of fees billed by our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for audit-related services
for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 respectively, which included consent and comfort letter procedures related
to our Form S-1filings, initial public offering, and due diligence procedures.
Tax
Fees
There
were no fees billed for professional services rendered by our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for tax compliance, tax advice,
and tax planning for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
All
Other Fees
There
were no fees billed for non-audit services by our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for the fiscal years ended December 31,
2022 and 2021.
Audit
Committee Determination
The
Audit Committee considered and determined that the services performed are compatible with maintaining the independence of the independent
registered public accounting firm.
Policy
on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Auditor
The
Audit Committee is responsible for pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our Independent
Registered Public Accounting Firm as outlined in its Audit Committee charter. Prior to engagement of the Independent Registered Public
Accounting Firm for each year’s audit, management or the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm submits to the Audit Committee
for approval an aggregate request of services expected to be rendered during the year, which the Audit Committee pre-approves. During
the year, circumstances may arise when it may become necessary to engage the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for additional
services not contemplated in the original pre-approval. In those circumstances, the Audit Committee requires specific pre-approval before
engaging the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. The engagements of our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm were
approved by the Company’s Audit Committee.
71
PART
IV
Item 15.
Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules .
(a)(1)(2)
Financial Statement Schedules
See
accompanying “Index to Consolidated Financial Statements.”
(b)
Exhibits
Exhibit
No.
Description
1.1*
Underwriting Agreement by and among Innovative Eyewear, Inc. and Maxim Group LLC, as representative of the several underwriters, dated August 14, 2022, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-41392) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission August 18, 2022)
3.1*
Amended and restated Articles of Incorporation of Innovative Eyewear, Inc., (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Amended Registration Statement filed on Form S-1/A 1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
3.2*
Form of Second Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation of Innovative Eyewear, Inc., (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Amended Registration Statement filed on Form S-1/A 1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
3.3*
Amended and Restated Bylaws of innovative Eyewear, Inc., (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Amended Registration Statement filed on Form S-1/A 1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
3.4*
Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Innovative Eyewear, Inc., (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Amended Registration Statement filed on Form S-1/A 1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
4.1*
Form of Representative’s Warrant Agreement (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Amended Registration Statement filed on Form S-1/A 2 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission January 20, 2022)
4.2*
Representative’s Warrant issued to Maxim Group LLC., dated August 17, 2022, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-41392) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission August 18, 2022)
4.3*
Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Amended Registration Statement filed on Form S-1/A 2 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission January 20, 2022)
10.1*
License Agreement between Innovative Eyewear, Inc. and Lucyd Ltd., dated April 1, 2020, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
10.2*
Addendum to License Agreement between Innovative Eyewear, Inc. and Lucyd Ltd., dated December 7, 2021, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
10.3
Management Agreement between Innovative Eyewear, Inc. and Tekcapital Europe Ltd., dated June 1, 2020, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
10.4*
Convertible Note issued to Lucyd, Ltd., dated December 1, 2020, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
10.5*
Amended and Restated Convertible Note issued to Lucyd Ltd., dated November 1, 2021, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the Amended Registration Statement filed on Form S-1/A 4 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 23, 2022)
72
10.6*
Intercompany Loan and Debt transfer Agreement by and among Innovative Eyewear, Inc., Lucyd Ltd., Tekcapital pk, Tekcapital Europe Ltd. And Tekcapital LLC, dated June 1, 2021, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
10.7*
Employment Agreement by and between Innovative Eyewear, Inc. and Harrison Gross, dated August 11, 2021, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
10.8*
Employment Agreement by and between Innovative Eyewear, Inc. and Konrad Dabrowski, dated August 11, 2021, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
10.9*
Innovative Eyewear, Inc., 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
10.10*
Sales Representation Agreement by and between Innovative Eyewear, Inc. and D. Landstrom Associates, Inc., dated March 4, 2021, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
14.1*
Form of Code of Ethics of innovative Eyewear, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14.1 to the Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261616) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2022)
19
Insider
trading policy
23.1
Consent of Cherry Bekeart
LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
31.1
Certification of Principle Executive Officer Pursuant to Securities Exchange Act Rules 13A-14(A)and 15D-14(A)
31.2
Certification of Principle Financial Officer Pursuant to Securities Exchange Act Rules 13A-14(A)and 15D-14(A)
32.1
Certification of Principle Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350
32.2
Certification of Principle Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350
101.ins
XBRL Instance Document
101.sch
XBRL Taxonomy Extension
Schema Document
101.cal
XBRL Taxonomy Calculation
Linkbase Document
101.def
XBRL Taxonomy Definition
Linkbase Document
101.lab
XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase
Document
101.pre
XRL Taxonomy Presentation
Linkbase Document
* Previously
filed
Item 16.
Form 10-K Summary .
The
Company has elected not to include a summary pursuant to this Item 16.
73
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to
be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Innovative
Eyewear, Inc.
By:
/s/
Harrison Gross
Harrison Gross
March 24, 2023
Chief Executive Officer
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the
registrant and in the capacities and on the date indicated.
By:
/s/
Harrison Gross
Harrison Gross
Chief Executive Officer
and Director
March 24, 2023
(Principal Executive Officer)
By:
/s/
Konrad Dabrowski
Konrad Dabrowski
Chief Financial Officer
March 24, 2023
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
By:
/s/
Kristen McLaughlin
Kristen McLaughlin
March 24, 2023
Director
By:
/s/
Louis Castro
Louis Castro
March 24, 2023
Director
By:
/s/
Olivia C. Bartlett
Olivia C. Bartlett
March 24, 2023
Director
74
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To
the Board of Directors and Stockholders
Innovative
Eyewear, Inc.
Miami,
Florida
Opinion
on the Financial Statements
We
have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Innovative Eyewear, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021,
and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years then ended and the related
notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly,
in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and
its cash flows for each of the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America.
Basis
for Opinion
These
financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s
financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal
securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company
is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits,
we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion
on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our
audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error
or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding
the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant
estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits
provide a reasonable
basis
for our opinion.
Emphasis
of Matter
As
more fully described in Note 3 to the financial statements, the Company has incurred historical net losses and sustained substantial
cash losses. Our opinion is not modified with respect to this matter.
We
have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
/s/ Cherry Bekaert LLP
Tampa,
Florida
March 24, 2023
677
F- 1
INNOVATIVE
EYEWEAR, INC.
BALANCE
SHEETS
December 31,
2022 and 2021
2022
2021
TOTAL
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash and cash
equivalents
$ 3,591,109
$ 79,727
Accounts receivable, net
of allowance of $ 92,646 and
$ 0 ,
respectively
110,258
43,394
Prepaid expenses
210,673
68,381
Deferred offering costs
-
111,149
Inventory prepayment
197,750
64,715
Inventory
94,701
275,501
Other
current assets
36,240
1,460
Total
Current Assets
4,240,731
644,327
Non-Current Assets
Patent costs, net
137,557
87,306
Capitalized software costs
110,073
72,400
Property and equipment,
net
119,744
20,284
Other
non-current assets
81,779
-
TOTAL
ASSETS
$ 4,689,884
$ 824,317
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Liabilities
Current Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued
expenses
$ 275,660
$ 167,050
Deferred revenue
30,000
-
Due to Parent and Affiliates
232,989
160,722
Related
party convertible debt
61,356
289,029
Total
Current Liabilities
600,005
616,801
Non-Current Liabilities
Deferred
revenue
65,450
-
TOTAL
LIABILITIES
665,455
616,801
Commitments and contingencies
-
-
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock (par value
$ 0.00001 ,
50,000,000 shares
authorized, and 7,307,157 and
6,060,187 shares
issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively)
73
60
Additional paid-in capital
14,330,343
4,842,836
Stock subscription receivable
-
( 11,226 )
Accumulated
deficit
( 10,305,987 )
( 4,624,154 )
TOTAL
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
4,024,429
207,516
TOTAL
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
$ 4,689,884
$ 824,317
See
accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.
F- 2
INNOVATIVE
EYEWEAR, INC.
STATEMENTS
OF OPERATIONS
For
the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Year
Ended
December 31,
2022
2021
Revenues,
net
$ 659,788
$ 690,670
Less:
Cost of Goods Sold
( 716,077 )
( 542,416 )
Gross
(Deficit) Profit
( 56,289 )
148,254
Operating
Expenses:
General
and administrative
( 2,796,669 )
( 1,386,079 )
Sales
and marketing
( 2,059,012 )
( 1,771,012 )
Research
and development
( 524,692 )
( 86,261 )
Related
party management fee
( 140,000 )
( 109,975 )
Total
Operating Expenses
( 5,520,373 )
( 3,353,327 )
Interest
Expense
( 105,171 )
( 39,433 )
Net
Loss
$ ( 5,681,833 )
$ ( 3,244,506 )
Weighted
average number of shares outstanding
6,528,959
5,245,622
Loss
per share, basic and diluted
$ ( 0.87 )
$ ( 0.62 )
See
accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.
F- 3
INNOVATIVE
EYEWEAR, INC.
STATEMENTS
OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
For
the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Common
Stock
Additional
Paid In
Stock
Subscription
Accumulated
Total
Stockholders’
#
Shares
Amount
Capital
Receivable
Deficit
Equity
Balances,
January 1, 2022
6,060,187
$ 60
$ 4,842,836
$ ( 11,226 )
$ ( 4,624,154 )
$ 207,516
Collection
of stock subscription receivable
-
-
6,684
-
6,684
Write-off
of uncollectible stock subscription receivable
-
-
( 4,542 )
4,542
-
-
Shares
issued for conversion of related party convertible note
266,970
3
2,002,277
-
-
2,002,280
Initial
public offering (see Note 8)
980,000
10
6,015,908
-
-
6,015,918
Stock
based compensation
-
-
1,473,864
-
-
1,473,864
Net
loss
-
-
-
-
( 5,681,833 )
( 5,681,833 )
Balances,
December 31, 2022
7,307,157
$ 73
$ 14,330,343
$ -
$ ( 10,305,987 )
$ 4,024,429
Balances,
January 1, 2021
4,131,469
$ 41
$ 845,417
$ ( 20,647 )
$ ( 1,379,648 )
$ ( 554,837 )
Shares
issued for conversion of related party convertible note
1,172,115
12
2,179,760
-
-
2,179,772
Issuance
of shares, net of offering costs of $351,411
756,603
7
482,724
( 44,763 )
-
437,968
Collection
of stock subscription receivable
-
-
-
54,184
-
54,184
Stock
based compensation
-
-
1,334,935
-
-
1,334,935
Net
loss
-
-
-
-
( 3,244,506 )
( 3,244,506 )
Balances,
December 31, 2021
6,060,187
$ 60
$ 4,842,836
$ ( 11,226 )
$ ( 4,624,154 )
$ 207,516
See
accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.
F- 4
INNOVATIVE
EYEWEAR, INC.
STATEMENTS
OF CASH FLOWS
For
the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
2022
2021
Operating
Activities
Net
Loss
$ ( 5,681,833 )
$ ( 3,244,506 )
Adjustments
to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Amortization
10,466
7,179
Depreciation
22,101
498
Non
cash interest expense
105,171
1,251
Stock
based compensation expense
1,473,864
1,334,935
Expenses
paid by parent and affiliates
960,362
867,618
Provision
for doubtful accounts
116,230
-
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts
receivable
( 183,094 )
( 43,394 )
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
67,951
157,536
Prepaid
expenses
( 142,292 )
( 43,381 )
Inventory
47,765
( 250,436 )
Other
current assets
1,460
( 1,460 )
Contract
assets and liabilities
( 22,569 )
-
Net
cash flows from operating activities
( 3,224,418 )
( 1,214,160 )
Investing
Activities
Patent
costs
( 60,717 )
( 25,272 )
Purchases
of property and equipment
( 121,561 )
( 20,782 )
Capitalized
software expenditures
( 37,673 )
( 72,400 )
Net
cash flows from investing activities
( 219,951 )
( 118,454 )
Financing
Activities
Proceeds
from initial public offering (see Note 8)
6,127,067
-
Proceeds
from issuance of shares, net of offering costs
-
492,152
Payment
of deferred offering cost
-
( 111,149 )
Collection
of stock subscription receivable
6,684
-
Proceeds
from related party convertible debt
1,475,000
1,061,500
Repayment
of related party convertible debt
( 653,000 )
( 57,185 )
Net
cash flows from financing activities
6,955,751
1,385,318
Net
Change In Cash
3,511,382
52,704
Cash
at Beginning of Year
$ 79,727
$ 27,023
Cash
at End of Year
$ 3,591,109
$ 79,727
Significant
Non-Cash Transaction
Expenses
paid for by Parent reported as increase in Due to Parent and Affiliates and related party convertible debt
960,362
867,618
Write-off
of uncollectible stock subscription receivable
( 4,542 )
-
Issuance
of shares from conversion of related party convertible debt
2,002,280
2,179,772
See
accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.
F- 5
INNOVATIVE
EYEWEAR, INC.
NOTES
TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December 31,
2022 and 2021
NOTE
1 – GENERAL INFORMATION
Innovative
Eyewear, Inc. (the “Company,” “us,” “we,” or “our”) is a corporation organized under
the laws of the State of Florida that develops and sells cutting-edge eyeglasses and sunglasses, which are designed to allow our customers
to remain connected to their digital lives, while also offering prescription eyewear and sun protection. The Company was founded by Lucyd
Ltd. (the “Parent” or “Lucyd”), a portfolio company of Tekcapital Plc through Tekcapital Europe, Ltd. (collectively,
the “Parent and Affiliates”), which owned approximately 71% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock as of December 31,
2022. Innovative Eyewear licensed the exclusive rights to the Lucyd ® brand from Lucyd Ltd., which includes the exclusive
use of all of Lucyd’s intellectual property, including our main product, Lucyd Lyte ® glasses.
NOTE
2 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis
of Presentation
The
accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
(“GAAP”) and in accordance with the accounting rules under Regulation S-X, as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (“SEC”). In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for the fair presentation of the financial
statements for the years presented have been included. The results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for future periods.
Use
of Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported
amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the
reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates, particularly
given the significant economic disruptions and uncertainties associated with the ongoing economic environment, including potential supply
chain constraints.
Receivables
and Credit Policy
Trade
receivables from customers are uncollateralized customer obligations due under normal trade terms. For direct-to-consumer sales, payment
is required before product is shipped. Trade receivables are stated at the amount billed to the customer. Payments of trade receivables
are allocated to the specific invoices identified on the customer’s remittance advice or, if unspecified, are applied to the earliest
unpaid invoice. The Company, by policy, routinely assesses the financial strength of its customers. To comply with industry standards,
we offer “net 30” payments on wholesale orders of $1,500 or more. For wholesale orders, to acquire an order on net 30 terms,
the customer is provided a credit check application as well as a credit card authorization form. The authorization form explicitly states
when and for much we will bill the customer via credit card.
Accounts
receivable are reported net of the allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance for doubtful accounts is based on the Company’s
evaluation of each customer’s payment history, account aging, and financial position. The Company recognized bad debt expense of
$ 116,230 for
the year ended December 31, 2022, and no
bad debt expense for the year ended December 31,
2021.
F- 6
Capitalized
Software
The
Company incurred software development costs related to development of the Vyrb app. The Company capitalized these costs in accordance
with ASC 985-20, “Software – Costs of Software to be Sold, Leased, or Marketed,” considering it is the Company’s
intention to market and sell the software externally. Planning, designing, coding, and testing occurred necessary to meet Vyrb’s
design specifications. As such, all coding, development, and testing costs incurred subsequent to establishing technical feasibility
were capitalized. We have launched a beta version of the Vyrb application in December 2021 that demonstrates the functionality of
the software. We expect an estimated useful life of five years for this product.
Inventory
Our
inventory includes purchased eyewear and is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with cost determined on a specific identification
method of inventory costing which attaches the actual cost to an identifiable unit of product. Provisions for excess, obsolete, or slow-moving
inventory are recorded after periodic evaluation of historical sales, current economic trends, forecasted sales, estimated product life
cycles, and estimated inventory levels. No provisions were determined as needed as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
As
of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company recorded an inventory prepayment in the amount of $ 197,750
and $ 64,715 ,
respectively, related to down payment on eyewear purchased from the manufacturer, prior to shipment of the product that occurred after
December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Intangible
Assets
Intangible
assets relate to patent costs received in conjunction with the initial capitalization of the Company and internally developed utility
and design patents. The Company amortizes these assets over the estimated useful life of the patents. The Company reviews its intangible
assets for impairment whenever changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable.
Property
and Equipment
Property
and equipment are depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives or lease terms if shorter. Depreciation
expense for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was approximately $ 22,100
and $ 500 ,
respectively. For income tax purposes, accelerated depreciation methods are generally used. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed
as incurred.
Schedule
of estimated useful lives of property and equipment
As of
December 31,
Estimated Useful Lives
Property
& Equipment
2022
2021
(in Years)
Mobile Kiosk
Display
$ 63,395
$ 18,120
3
years
Computer Equipment
44,901
2,662
3
Years
Office Equipment
17,273
-
3
Years
Internal-Use
Software
16,775
-
3
to 5
Years
Property and equipment, gross
142,343
20,782
Less:
Accumulated depreciation
( 22,599 )
( 498 )
Property
and equipment, net
$ 119,744
$ 20,284
F- 7
Income
Taxes
The
Company accounts for income taxes under an asset and liability approach that recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based on
the difference between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in
effect in the years in which the differences are expected to reverse.
The
Company follows a more-likely-than-not threshold for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken, or expected
to be taken, in a tax return. Any interest and penalties accrued related to uncertain tax positions are recorded in tax expense.
The
Company assesses the realizability of its net deferred tax assets on an annual basis. If, after considering all relevant positive and
negative evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the net deferred tax assets will not be realized, the Company
will reduce the net deferred tax assets by a valuation allowance. The realization of net deferred tax assets is dependent on several
factors, including the generation of sufficient taxable income prior to the expiration of net operating loss carryforwards.
Fair
Value of Financial Instruments
For
certain of the Company’s financial instruments, including cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and cash advances provided
by the Parent and Affiliates, the carrying amounts approximate fair value due to the short-term maturities of these instruments. The
carrying value of the convertible note approximates fair value because the interest rate approximates market rates.
Concentrations
of Credit Risk
Financial
instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and accounts receivable.
The Company limits its credit risk with respect to cash by maintaining cash balances with high quality financial institutions. At times,
the Company’s cash balances may exceed federally insured limits. Concentrations of credit risk with respect to accounts receivable
are considered minimal due to collection history.
Stock-Based
Compensation
The
Company accounts for stock-based compensation to employees and directors in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, which requires that compensation
expense be recognized in the financial statements for stock-based awards based on the grant date fair value. For stock option awards,
the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model was used to estimate the fair value of share-based awards. The Black-Scholes-Merton option
pricing model incorporates various and highly subjective assumptions, including expected term and share price volatility. The expected
term of the stock options was estimated based on the simplified method as allowed by Staff Accounting Bulletin 107 (SAB 107).
The
share price volatility at the grant date is estimated using historical stock prices based upon the expected term of the options granted,
using stock prices of comparably profiled public companies. The risk-free interest rate assumption is determined using the rates for
U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds with maturities similar to those of the expected term of the award being valued.
The
fair value of common stock used in the option pricing model for stock-based awards granted in 2021 was determined using the most recent
price paid by independent investors through a Regulation Crowdfunding (“CF”) securities offering undertaken by the Company.
For the majority of time during which stock option awards were granted by the Company in 2021, the Company had been raising funds from
investors under Regulation CF campaigns, with a significant number of transactions from both accredited and non-accredited investors.
Revenue
Recognition
Our
revenue is generated from the sales of prescription and non-prescription optical glasses, sunglasses, and shipping charges, which are
charged to the customer, associated with these purchases. We sell products through our retail store resellers, distributors, on our own
website Lucyd.co, and on Amazon.
F- 8
To
determine revenue recognition, we perform the following steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (ii) identify the performance
obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations
in the contract, and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) we satisfy a performance obligation. At contract inception, we assess the goods
or services promised within each contract and determine those that are performance obligations, and also assess whether each promised
good or service is distinct. We then recognize as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance
obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied. In instances where the collectibility of contractual consideration is
not probable at the time of sale, the revenue is deferred on our balance sheet as a contract liability, and the associated cost of goods
sold is deferred on our balance sheet as a contract asset; subsequently, we recognize such revenue and cost of goods sold as payments
are received.
All
revenue, including sales processed online and through our retail store resellers and distributors, is reported net of sales taxes collected
from customers on behalf of taxing authorities, returns, and discounts.
For
sales generated through our e-commerce channels, we identify the contract with a customer upon online purchase of our eyewear and transaction
price at the manufacturer suggested retail price (“MSRP”) for non-prescription, polarized sunglass and blue light blocking
glasses across all of our online channels. Our e-commerce revenue is recognized upon meeting of the performance obligation when the eyewear
is shipped to end customers. Only U.S. consumers enjoy free USPS first class postage, with faster delivery options available for extra
cost, for sales processed through our website and on Amazon. For Amazon sales, shipping is free for U.S consumers while international
customers pay shipping charges on top of MSRP. Any costs associated with fees charged by the online platforms (Shopify for Lucyd.co website
and Amazon) are not recharged to customers and are recorded as a component of cost of goods sold as incurred. The Company charges applicable
state sales taxes in addition to the MSRP for both online channels and all other marketplaces on which the company sells products.
For
sales to our retail store partners, we identify the contract with a customer upon receipt of an order of our eyewear through our Shopify
wholesale portal or direct purchase order. Our revenue is recognized upon meeting the performance obligation, which is delivery of the
Company’s eyewear products to the retail store and is also recorded net of returns and discounts. Our wholesale pricing for eyewear
sold to the retail store partners includes volume discounts, due to the nature of large quantity orders. The pricing includes shipping
charges, while excluding any state sales tax charges applicable. Due to the nature of wholesale retail orders, no e-commerce fees are
applicable.
For
sales to distributors, we identify the contract with a customer upon receipt of an order of our eyewear through a direct purchase order
and after collectibility of substantially all of the contract consideration is probable. Our revenue is recognized upon meeting the performance
obligation, which is delivery of our eyewear products to the distributor and is also recorded net of returns and discounts. Our wholesale
pricing for eyewear sold to distributors includes volume discounts, due to the nature of large quantity orders. The pricing includes
shipping charges, while excluding any state sales tax charges applicable. Due to the nature of wholesale distributor orders, no e-commerce
fees are applicable.
The
Company’s sales do not contain any variable consideration.
We
allow our customers to return our products, subject to our refund policy, which allows any customer to return our products for any reason
within the first:
●
7 days for sales made through
our website (Lucyd.co)
●
30 days for sales made
through Amazon
●
30 days for sales to most
wholesale retailers and distributors (although certain sales to independent distributors are ineligible for returns)
For
all of our sales, at the time of sale, we establish a reserve for returns, based on historical experience and expected future returns,
which is recorded as a reduction of sales. Additionally, we review all individual returns received in the month following the balance
sheet date pertaining to orders processed prior to the balance sheet date in order to determine whether an allowance for sales returns
is necessary. The Company recorded an allowance for sales returns of $ 24,897
and $ 22,266
as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
F- 9
Shipping
and Handling
Costs
incurred for shipping and handling are included in cost of revenue at the time the related revenue is recognized. Amounts billed to a
customer for shipping and handling are reported as revenues.
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
In
February 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”)
No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” that requires organizations that lease assets, referred to as “lessees,” to
recognize on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by those leases with lease terms of
more than 12 months. ASU 2016-02 also requires disclosures to help investors and other financial statement users better understand the
amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases and will include qualitative and quantitative requirements. The Company
adopted ASU 2016-02 as of January 1, 2021. The Company’s management determined that the adoption of this guidance had no material
impact on the Company’s financial statements due to the lack of long-term leasing arrangements.
In
May 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, “Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20), and Derivatives
and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contract’s
in Entity’s Own Equity.” The guidance in ASU 2020-06 simplifies the accounting for convertible debt instruments and convertible
preferred stock by removing the previous guidance related to debt with conversion and other options that required entities to account
for beneficial conversion features and cash conversion features in equity, separately from the host convertible debt or preferred stock.
In addition, the amendments revised the scope exception from derivative accounting in ASC 815-40 for freestanding financial instruments
and embedded features that are both indexed to the issuer’s own stock and classified in stockholders’ equity, by removing
certain criteria required for equity classification. The amendments in ASU 2020-06 further revised the guidance in ASC 260, Earnings
Per Share, to require entities to calculate diluted earnings per share (EPS) for convertible instruments by using the if-converted method.
The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 as of January 1, 2021. The Company’s management determined that the adoption of this guidance
had no material impact on the Company’s financial statements due to the lack of beneficial conversion features contained within
the Company’s debt.
Subsequent
Events
In
connection with the preparation of these financial statements, the Company has evaluated subsequent events through March 24, 2023,
which is the date the financial statements were available to be issued.
NOTE
3 – GOING CONCERN
The
Company has a limited operating history. The Company’s business and operations are sensitive to general business and economic conditions
in the United States. A host of factors beyond the Company’s control could cause fluctuations in these conditions. Adverse conditions
may include recession, downturn, or otherwise, changes in regulations or restrictions in imports, competition, or changes in consumer
taste including the economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. These adverse conditions could affect the Company’s financial
condition and the results of its operations.
The
Company meets its day to day working capital requirements through monies raised through sales of eyewear and issuances of equity, including
past crowdfunding transactions, and more recently an initial public offering completed in August 2022. The Company also has issued
a convertible note held by its parent company. The Company’s forecasts and projections indicate that the Company expects to have
sufficient cash reserves and future income to operate within the level of its current facilities. The Company anticipates that its available
liquidity will be sufficient to fund operations through at least the end of March 2024.
F- 10
NOTE
4 – INCOME TAX PROVISION
The
following is a reconciliation of tax computed at the statutory federal rate to the income tax benefit in the statements of operations:
Schedule
of reconciliation of federal statutory tax rate
2022
2021
Income tax benefit
at the statutory federal rate
$ 1,193,185
$ 681,346
State income tax benefits,
net of federal benefit
35,149
110,647
Change
in valuation allowance
( 1,228,334 )
( 791,993 )
Total
$ -
-
The
components of the Company’s deferred tax assets are as follows:
Schedule
of deferred tax assets
2022
2021
Deferred tax assets:
Stock-based compensation
$ 610,530
$ 359,032
Other – net
122,133
6,757
Net operating losses –
federal
1,346,823
534,771
Net
operating losses – state
81,911
110,647
Deferred
tax assets Gross
2,161,397
1,011,207
Less
Valuation Allowance
( 2,161,397 )
( 1,011,207 )
Net
deferred tax assets
$ -
$ -
Deferred
tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities.
Deferred tax assets or liabilities at the end of each period are determined using the tax rate expected to be in effect when taxes are
actually paid or recovered.
A
valuation allowance is established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of a deferred tax asset will not be realized.
A review of all available positive and negative evidence needs to be considered, including a company’s current and past performance,
the market environment in which the company operates, length of carryback and carryforward periods, and existing contracts that will
result in future profits. After reviewing all the evidence, the Company has recorded a full valuation allowance against its deferred
tax assets.
At
December 31, 2022, the Company had federal net operating loss carryforwards of $ 6,413,441
and state net operating loss carryforwards of
$ 3,653,332 ,
both of which do not expire.
The
Company files Federal and Florida tax returns. The years that remain subject to examination are the years ended December 31, 2020,
2021, and 2022. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company does no t
believe that is has any liabilities for uncertain tax positions.
NOTE
5 – INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Schedule
of intangible assets
December 31,
December 31,
Finite-lived
intangible assets
2022
2021
Patent
Costs
$ 156,196
$ 95,480
Intangible assets, gross
156,196
95,480
Less:
Accumulated amortization
( 18,639 )
( 8,174 )
Intangible
assets, net
$ 137,557
$ 87,306
Amortization
expense totalled approximately $ 10,500
and $ 7,200
for the years ended December 31, 2022 and
2021, respectively. Future amortization is expected to approximate $ 11,500
per year.
F- 11
NOTE
6 – RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Convertible
Note and Due to Parent and Affiliates
During
the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had the availability of, but not the contractual right to, intercompany
financing from the Parent and Affiliates in the form of either cash advances or borrowings under a convertible note (as discussed below).
The convertible notes balances were $ 61,356 and
$ 289,029 as
of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
On
December 1, 2020, the Company issued a convertible note to its Parent and Affiliates for up to $ 2,000,000
that bears interest at 10 %
per annum, which includes the option to convert the debt into the Company’s common stock at market price. The note can be converted
into shares of common stock of the Company upon occurrence of certain conversion events, as defined.
On
June 1, 2021, the Company converted related party borrowings totalling $ 778,500
into 778,500
shares of common stock at $ 1.00
each.
On
September 5, 2021, the Company converted related party borrowings totalling $ 500,002
into 140,449
shares of common stock at $ 3.56
each.
On
November 1, 2021, the Company amended and restated its December 1, 2020, convertible note agreement with Parent and Affiliates,
increasing the amount of available financing from $2,000,000 to $ 3,000,000 .
On
November 16, 2021, the Company converted related party borrowings totalling $ 901,271
into 253,166
shares of common stock at $ 3.56
per share.
On
August 15, 2022, in connection with the Company’s initial public offering (see Note 8), the Company converted related party
borrowings totalling $ 2,002,280
into 266,970
shares of common stock at $ 7.50
per share.
Management
Service Agreement
In
2020, the Company entered into a management services agreement with a related party (related through common ownership), for which the
Company was billed $25,000 quarterly. Effective February 1, 2022, the original management services agreement was amended to have
the Company billed at $35,000 quarterly. While the agreement does not stipulate a specific maturity date, it can be terminated with 30
calendar days written notice by any party.
The
related party provides the following services:
●
Support and advice to the
Company in accordance with their area of expertise;
●
Research, technical review,
legal review, recruitment, software development, marketing, public relations, and advertisement; and
●
Advice, assistance, and
consultation services to support the Company or in relation to any other related matter.
During
the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company incurred $ 140,000
and $ 100,000 ,
respectively, under its management services agreement with Tekcapital Europe Ltd.
Rent
of Office Space
Prior
to the February 1, 2022 amendment of the aforementioned management services agreement, the Company was provided with rent-free office
space by the Parent and Affiliates. Effective February 1, 2022, Tekcapital began to bill the Company for an allocation of rent paid
by Tekcapital on the Company’s behalf. The Company recognized $ 74,442
of expense related to this arrangement for the
year ended December 31, 2022.
F- 12
NOTE
7 – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Legal
Matters
We
are not the subject of any material pending legal proceedings, however, may from time to time become a party to various legal proceedings
arising in the ordinary course of business.
Leases
Our
executive offices are located at 11900 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 630 Miami, Florida 33181. Our executive offices are provided to us by the
parent of our majority stockholder, Tekcapital (see Note 6). We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
License
Agreements
During
the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company entered into license agreements which grant the Company the right to sell certain
branded smart eyewear. These agreements require the Company to pay royalties based on a percentage of net retail and wholesale sales,
and also require guaranteed minimum royalty payments. The agreements have base terms of 10
years but are cancellable at the option of the
Company during the fifth year.
The
aggregate future minimum payments due under these license agreements are as follows:
Schedule of future minimum payments due
2023
$ 36,750
2024
161,210
2025
356,000
2026
654,000
2027
930,000
Thereafter
(through 2032)
7,200,000
Total
$ 9,337,960
Other
Commitments
See
related party management services agreement discussed in Note 6.
F- 13
NOTE
8 – STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Pursuant
to a corporate resolution on July 1, 2021, the Company has authority to issue up to 15,000,000
shares of preferred stock and 50,000,000
shares of common stock. There were no
shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding
as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Initial
Public Offering
On
August 17, 2022, the Company closed on its initial public offering of 980,000
units consisting of 980,000
shares of its common stock and 1,960,000
warrants to purchase 1,960,000 shares of common
stock at a combined offering price of $ 7.50
per unit in exchange for gross proceeds of approximately
$ 7.35
million, before deducting underwriting discounts
and offering expenses. Each share of common stock was sold together with two warrants. Each warrant is exercisable to purchase one share
of common stock at an initial exercise price of $7.50 per share, subject to certain adjustments as set forth in the warrant agreement.
In addition, the Company
granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 147,000 shares of common stock and/or warrants to purchase up
to an additional 294,000 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, of which the Underwriter exercised its option to purchase additional
warrants to purchase 294,000 shares of common stock concurrently with the closing.
The
shares of common stock and warrants began trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on August 15, 2022, under the symbols “LUCY”
and “LUCYW,” respectively.
Also,
pursuant to the terms of the underwriting agreement for the offering, the Company issued by the Underwriter certain other warrants to
purchase up to 58,800
shares of the Company’s common stock at
an exercise price of $ 8.228
per share.
The
net proceeds received by the Company amounted to $ 6,189,734 .
As
of December 31, 2022, none of the aforementioned warrants had been exercised.
F- 14
NOTE
9 – STOCK BASED COMPENSATION
On
July 1, 2021, an Equity Incentive Plan was approved, allowing for total of 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock immediately
after the consummation of the initial public offering, less the number of outstanding option grants, or 1,124,043 ,
of total issued shares to be available for the grant of awards under the Plan. 1,685,000 option awards were granted by the Company prior
to the approval of the Plan, while 647,500 option awards were granted subject to the Plan.
During
the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company, granted 1,687,500
option awards, of which 1,347,500 vest rateably
over time and 340,000 vest based on certain performance conditions. There were no
option awards granted during the year ended December 31,
2022.
The
fair value of options granted is calculated using the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model. The underlying assumptions used in the
option pricing model for stock option awards granted in 2021 were as follows:
Schedule
fair value of options granted
Attribute
Share price at date of grant
$ 1.00
- $ 5.00
Options life in years
2
- 3
Risk free rate
0.16 %
- 0.44 %
Expected volatility
121 %
- 151 %
Expected dividend
yield
0
Grant date fair value of
options
$ 0.71
- $ 3.46
The
weighted average grant date fair value of options outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $ 1.84 .
Details
of the number of share options and the weighted average exercise price outstanding as of and during the years ended December 31,
2022 and 2021 are as follows:
Schedule
of number of share options and the weighted average exercise price outstanding
Av. Exercise
price per share
Options
$
(Number)
As at January
1, 2021
1.00
645,000
Granted
3.23
1,687,500
Exercised
-
-
Forfeited
-
-
As at
December 31, 2021
2.61
2,332,500
Exercisable
as at December 31, 2021
1.87
395,269
As at January 1, 2022
2.61
2,332,500
Granted
-
-
Exercised
-
-
Forfeited
-
-
As at
December 31, 2022
2.61
2,332,500
Exercisable
as at December 31, 2022
2.18
1,198,577
As
of December 31, 2022, the weighted average remaining contractual life of options was 1.68
years for outstanding options, and 1.79
years for exercisable options.
As
of December 31, 2022, unrecognized stock option expense of $ 1,409,958
remains to be recognized over next 1.41
years.
F- 15
NOTE
10 – EARNINGS PER SHARE
The
Company calculates earnings/(loss) per share data by calculating the quotient of earnings/(loss) divided by the weighted average number
of common shares outstanding during the respective period as required by ASC 260-10-50. Due to the net losses for the years ended December 31,
2022 and 2021, all shares underlying the related party convertible debt, common stock warrants, and common stock options were excluded
from the earnings per share calculation due to their anti-dilutive effect.
Calculation
of net earnings per common share — basic and diluted:
Calculation
of net earnings per common share - basic and diluted
For the
year ended
December 31,
2022
December 31,
2021
Basic
and diluted:
Net loss
( 5,681,833 )
( 3,244,506 )
Weighted-average number
of common shares
6,528,959
5,245,622
Basic
and diluted net loss per common share
$ ( 0.87 )
$ ( 0.62 )
NOTE
11 – SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
In
February 2023, holders of the Company’s warrants (see Note 8) exercised warrants to purchase an aggregate of 408,600
shares of the Company’s common stock, at
an adjusted exercise price of $ 3.75
per share, resulting in cash proceeds to the
Company of $ 1,532,250 .
F- 16
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.