Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. 10-K

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS Any of the following factors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The risks described below are not the only risks that we may face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently view as immaterial may also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. We are subject to a variety of risks, including those described below. In particular, these risks include, but are not limited to: • Risks related to our business operations: We participate in very competitive markets and we may not be able to compete successfully, causing us to lose market share and sales. • Risks related to our indebtedness and financing abilities: Our substantial indebtedness may limit our financial and operating flexibility, and we may incur additional debt, which could increase the risks associated with our substantial indebtedness. • Risks related to our international operations: We are subject to significant international business risks that could hurt our business and cause our results of operations to fluctuate. • Risks related to data privacy and intellectual property: We may not be able to adequately establish and protect our intellectual property rights, and the infringement or loss of our intellectual property rights could harm our business. • Risks related to litigation and regulatory compliance: We are subject to a number of claims and litigation and may be subject to future claims and litigation, any of which may adversely affect our business. • Risks related to investment in our common stock: The market price of the Company’s common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control. Risks Related to our Business Operations The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious threat to the health and economic well-being affecting our customers, employees, sources of supply and our financial condition and results of operations. In March 2020, the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 had become a pandemic and a National Emergency relating to COVID-19 was announced in the U.S. With the possibility of continued widespread infection in the U.S. and abroad, there exists the potential for substantial commercial impact. National, state, and local authorities recommended social distancing and imposed, or considered imposing quarantine and isolation measures, on large portions of the population, including mandatory business closures. These measures had serious adverse impacts on domestic and foreign economies of uncertain severity and duration, and the uncertainty remains due to the potential for these measures to be re-implemented in the event of increased COVID-19 cases. The effectiveness of economic stabilization efforts, including potential government payments to affected citizens and industries, remains uncertain. The sweeping nature of COVID-19 has made it extremely difficult to predict the long-term ramifications on our financial condition and results of operations and as conditions evolve, we cannot predict how quickly the marketplaces in which we operate will react and return to normal. These impacts may include, but are not limited to: • significant reductions in, or volatility of, demand for our products, which may be caused by changes in consumer spending and shopping habits from (i) the inability or unwillingness of consumers to purchase our products due to illness, quarantine, travel restrictions, store closures, general financial hardship, decreased consumer confidence or changes (ii) the reduction in the number of COVID-19 cases or the lifting or easing of health and safety restrictions such as travel, social gatherings or any other activities by consumers that divert and reduce their demand for, or time spend on, our products; • inability to meet customers’ needs or achieve cost targets due to disruptions in our manufacturing and supply arrangements caused by the loss or disruption of essential manufacturing or availability or cost of key product components, transportation, workforce, or other manufacturing and distribution capability; • failure of third parties on which we rely, including our suppliers, contract manufacturers, distributors, contractors, commercial banks, and other business partners, to meet their obligations to us, or significant disruptions in their ability to do so, which may be caused by their own financial or operational difficulties and may adversely impact our operations; • significant change in the political conditions in markets in which we manufacture, sell or distribute our products, including governmental or regulatory actions such as quarantines, closures or other restrictions, that limit or close our operating and manufacturing facilities, restrict our employees’ ability to travel or perform necessary business functions, or otherwise prevent our third-party partners, suppliers, or customers from sufficiently staffing operations, including operations necessary for the production, distribution, sale and support of our products, which could adversely impact our results or impairment of the Company’s net assets; • disruptions and stress in capital markets that could impact the cost and availability of capital for us and for our customers, suppliers and other business partners; • quarantines, stay-at-home orders and other limitations can disrupt our product development, branding, research and administrative functions, regardless of whether we are actually forced to close our own facilities and similar disruptions that may also effect other organizations and persons that we collaborate with or whose services we are dependent on; or • the need for our employees and business partners to work remotely in these circumstances also creates greater potential for risks related to cybersecurity, confidentiality and data privacy. Despite our efforts to manage and remedy the impact of COVID-19 on our financial condition and results of operations, the ultimate impact also depends on factors beyond our knowledge or control, including the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, potential future waves of COVID-19 cases in the locations where we operate, and actions taken by governmental authorities to contain its spread and mitigate its public health effects. Any of the foregoing factors, or other cascading effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that are not currently foreseeable, could materially increase our costs, negatively impact our sales and damage our results of operations and liquidity position. The duration of any such impacts cannot be predicted. See further discussion in Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations . 10 Table of Conten t s Reliance on third-party relationships and outsourcing arrangements could adversely affect our business. We rely on third parties, including suppliers, distributors, alliances with other companies, and third-party service providers, for selected aspects of product development, manufacture, commercialization, support for information technology systems, product distribution, and certain financial transactional processes. Additionally, we have outsourced certain functions to third-party service providers to leverage leading specialized capabilities and achieve cost efficiencies. Outsourcing these functions involves the risk that third-party service providers may not perform to our standards or legal requirements, may not produce reliable results, may not perform in a timely manner, may not maintain the confidentiality of our proprietary information, or may fail to perform at all. Additionally, any disruption, such as a government shutdown, war, natural disaster or global pandemic (including the current COVID-19 pandemic), could affect the ability of our third-party service providers to meet their contractual obligations to us. Failure of these third parties to meet their contractual, regulatory, confidentiality or other obligations to us could result in material financial loss, higher costs, regulatory actions, and reputational harm. Uncertain global economic conditions may adversely impact demand for our products or cause our customers and other business partners to suffer financial hardship, which could adversely impact our business. Our business could be negatively impacted by reduced demand for our products related to one or more significant local, regional or global economic disruptions, the risk of which are aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as: a slow-down in the general economy; reduced market growth rates; increased inflation rates; tighter credit markets for our suppliers, vendors or customers; a significant shift in government policies; the deterioration of economic relations between countries or regions, including potential negative consumer sentiment toward non-local products or sources; or the inability to conduct day-to-day transactions through our financial intermediaries to pay funds to, or collect funds from, our customers, vendors and suppliers. Additionally, economic conditions may cause our suppliers, distributors, contractors or other third-party partners to suffer financial difficulties that they cannot overcome, resulting in their inability to provide us with the materials and services we need, in which case our business and results of operations could be adversely affected. Customers may also suffer financial hardships due to economic conditions such that their accounts become uncollectible or are subject to longer collection cycles. In addition, if we are unable to generate sufficient income and cash flow, it could affect the Company’s ability to achieve expected share repurchase and dividend payments. Disruption in our global supply chain may negatively impact our business results. Our ability to meet our customers’ needs and achieve cost targets depends on our ability to maintain key manufacturing and supply arrangements, including execution of supply chain optimizations and certain sole supplier or sole manufacturing plant arrangements. The loss or disruption of such manufacturing and supply arrangements, including for issues such as labor disputes, labor shortages, loss or impairment of key manufacturing sites, discontinuity in our internal information and data systems, inability to procure sufficient raw or input materials, significant changes in trade policy, natural disasters, increasing severity or frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change or otherwise, acts of war or terrorism, the COVID-19 pandemic or other disease outbreaks or other external factors over which we have no control, including inflation, have interrupted product supply and, if not effectively managed and remedied, could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We participate in very competitive markets and we may not be able to compete successfully, causing us to lose market share and sales. We compete for consumer acceptance and limited shelf space based upon brand name recognition, perceived product quality, price, performance, product features and enhancements, product packaging and design innovation, as well as creative marketing, promotion and distribution strategies, and new product introductions. Additional discussion over the segments, product categories, and markets in which we compete are included under Item 1 above. Our ability to compete in these consumer product markets may be adversely affected by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the following: • We compete against many well-established companies that may have substantially greater financial and other resources, including personnel and research and development, and greater overall market share than us. • In some key product lines, our competitors may have lower production costs and higher profit margins than us, which may enable them to compete more aggressively in offering retail discounts, rebates and other promotional incentives. • Technological advancements, product improvements or effective advertising campaigns by competitors may weaken consumer demand for our products. • Consumer purchasing behavior may shift to distribution channels, including to online retailers, where we and our customers do not have a strong presence. • Consumer preferences may change to lower margin products or products other than those we market. • We may not be successful in the introduction, marketing and manufacture of any new products or product innovations or be able to develop and introduce, in a timely manner, innovations to our existing products that satisfy customer needs or achieve market acceptance. In addition, in a number of our product lines, we compete with our retail customers, who use their own private label brands, and with distributors and foreign manufacturers of unbranded products. Significant new competitors or increased competition from existing competitors, including specifically private label brands, may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of our operations. Some competitors may be willing to reduce prices and accept lower profit margins to compete with us. As a result of this competition, we could lose market share and sales, or be forced to reduce our prices to meet competition. If our product offerings are unable to compete successfully, our sales, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, we may be unable to implement changes to our products or otherwise adapt to changing consumer trends. If we are unable to respond to changing consumer trends, our operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected. Changes in consumer shopping trends and changes in distribution channels could significantly harm our business We sell our products through a variety of trade channels with a significant portion dependent upon retail partnerships, through both traditional brick-and-mortar retail channels and e-commerce channels. We are seeing the emergence of strong e-commerce channels generating more online competition and declining in-store traffic in brick-and-mortar retailers. Consumer shopping preferences have shifted and may continue to shift in the future to distribution channels other than traditional retail that may have more limited experience, presence and developed, such as e-commerce channels. If we are not successful in developing and utilizing e-commerce channels that future consumers may prefer, we may experience lower than expected revenues. We are also seeing more traditional brick-and-mortar retailers closing physical stores, and filing for bankruptcy, which could negatively impact our distribution strategies and/or sales if such retailers decide to significantly reduce their inventory levels for our products or to designate more floor space to our competitors. Further consolidation, store closures and bankruptcies could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, as well as the trading price of our securities. 11 Table of Conten t s Consolidation of retailers and our dependence on a small number of key customers for a significant percentage of our sales may negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. As a result of consolidation of retailers that has occurred during the past several years, particularly in the United States and the European Union ("EU"), and consumer trends toward national mass merchandisers, a significant percentage of our sales are attributable to a limited group of customers. As these mass merchandisers and retailers grow larger and become more sophisticated, they may demand lower pricing, special packaging or impose other requirements on product suppliers. These business demands may relate to inventory practices, logistics or other aspects of the customer-supplier relationship. Because of the importance of these key customers, demands for price reductions or promotions, retail inventory levels and requirements influencing their purchasing, consumer shopping behavior and patterns, and changes in their financial condition or loss of their accounts could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our success is dependent on our ability to manage our retailer relationships, including offering mutually acceptable trade terms. Concentration of sales are further discussed in Item 1 - Business and Note 6 - Revenue Recognition to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Although we have long-established relationships with many of our retail customers, we generally do not have long-term agreements with them and purchases are normally made through the use of individual purchase orders. Any significant reduction in purchases, failure to obtain anticipated orders or delays or cancellations of orders by any of these major retail customers, changes to retail inventory management strategies and initiatives, or significant pressure to reduce prices and support promotions and discounts from any of these major retail customers, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, any decline in retail consumer spending, a significant deterioration in the financial condition of the retail industry in general, the bankruptcy of any of our customers or any of our customers ceasing operations could have a material adverse effect on our sales and profitability. As a result of retailers maintaining tighter inventory control, we face risks related to meeting demand and storing inventory. As a result of the desire of retailers to more closely manage inventory levels, there is a growing trend among them to purchase products on a “just-in-time” basis. Due to a number of factors, including (i) manufacturing lead-times, (ii) seasonal purchasing patterns, and (iii) the potential for material price increases, we may be required to shorten our lead-time for production and more closely anticipate shifts in our retailers’ demands and consumer spending habits, which could in the future, require us to carry additional inventories and increase our working capital and related financing requirements. This may increase the cost of warehousing inventory or result in excess inventory becoming difficult to manage, unusable or obsolete and impact our ability to realize the anticipated returns from product sales. In addition, if our retailers significantly change their inventory management strategies, we may encounter difficulties in filling customer orders or in liquidating excess inventories or may find that customers are cancelling orders or returning products, which may have a material adverse effect on our business. Furthermore, we primarily sell branded products and a move by one or more of our large customers to sell significant quantities of private label products, which we do not produce on their behalf and which directly compete with our products, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Sales of certain of our products are seasonal and may cause our operating results and working capital requirements to fluctuate. On a consolidated basis, our financial results are approximately equally weighted across our quarters, however, sales of certain product categories tend to be seasonal. Further discussion over the seasonality of our sales is included under Item 1 - Business above. As a result of this seasonality, our inventory and working capital needs fluctuate significantly throughout the year. In addition, orders from retailers are often made late in the period preceding the applicable peak season, making forecasting of production schedules and inventory purchases difficult. If we are unable to accurately forecast and prepare for customer orders or our working capital needs, or there is a general downturn in business or economic conditions during these periods, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Adverse weather conditions during our peak selling seasons for our home and garden products could have a material adverse effect on our home and garden business. Weather conditions have a significant impact on the timing and volume of sales of certain of our lawn and garden and household insecticide and repellent products. For example, periods of dry, hot weather can decrease insecticide sales, while periods of cold and wet weather can slow sales of herbicides. Adverse weather conditions during the first six months of the calendar year (the Company’s second and third fiscal quarters), when demand for home and garden control products typically peaks, could have a material adverse effect on our home and garden business and our financial results during such period. Our products utilize certain key raw materials; any significant increase in the price of, or change in supply and demand for, these raw materials could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and profits. The principal raw materials used to produce our products, including petroleum-based plastic materials and corrugated materials (for packaging), are sourced either on a global or regional basis by us or our suppliers, and the prices of those raw materials are susceptible to price fluctuations due to supply and demand trends, energy costs, transportation costs, government regulations, duties and tariffs, changes in currency exchange rates, price controls, general economic conditions, inflation, and other unforeseen circumstances. Although we may seek to increase the prices of certain of our goods to our customers, we may not be able to pass all of these cost increases on to our customers. As a result, our margins may be adversely impacted by such cost increases. We cannot provide any assurance that our sources of supply will not be interrupted due to changes in worldwide supply of or demand for raw materials or other events that interrupt material flow, which may have an adverse effect on our profitability and results of operations. If we are not effective in managing our exposure to above average costs for an extended period of time, and we are unable to pass our raw materials costs on to our customers, our future profitability may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, with respect to transportation costs, certain modes of delivery are subject to fuel surcharges which are determined based upon the current cost of diesel fuel in relation to pre-established agreed upon costs. We may be unable to pass these fuel surcharges on to our customers, which may have an adverse effect on our profitability and results of operations. In addition, we have exclusivity arrangements and minimum purchase requirements with certain of our suppliers for the home and garden business, which increase our dependence upon and exposure to those suppliers. Some of those agreements include caps on the price we pay for our supplies and in certain instances these caps have allowed us to purchase materials at below market prices. When we attempt to renew those contracts, the other parties to the contracts may not be willing to include or may limit the effect of those caps and could even attempt to impose above market prices in an effort to make up for any below market prices paid by us prior to the renewal of the agreement. Any failure to timely obtain suitable supplies at competitive prices could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. 12 Table of Conten t s Our dependence on a few suppliers for certain of our products makes us vulnerable to a disruption in the supply of our products. Although we have long-standing relationships with many of our suppliers, we generally do not have long-term contracts with them. An adverse change in any of the following could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations: • our ability to identify and develop relationships with qualified suppliers; • the terms and conditions upon which we purchase products from our suppliers, including applicable exchange rates, transport and other costs, our suppliers’ willingness to extend credit to us to finance our inventory purchases and other factors beyond our control; • the financial condition of our suppliers; • political and economic instability in the countries in which our suppliers are located, as a result of war, terrorist attacks, pandemics, natural disasters or otherwise; • our ability to import outsourced products; • our suppliers’ noncompliance with applicable laws, trade restrictions and tariffs; or • our suppliers’ ability to manufacture and deliver outsourced products according to our standards of quality on a timely and efficient basis. If our relationship with one of our key suppliers is adversely affected, we may not be able to quickly or effectively replace such supplier and may not be able to retrieve tooling, molds or other specialized production equipment or processes used by such supplier in the manufacture of our products. The loss of one or more of our suppliers, a material reduction in their supply of products or provision of services to us or extended disruptions or interruptions in their operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our home and garden products are mainly manufactured from our St. Louis, MO, facility and our aquatics products and certain companion animal products are manufactured in Blacksburg, VA, Bridgeton, MO, Noblesville IN and Melle, Germany. We are dependent upon the continued safe operation of these facilities. Our facilities are subject to various hazards associated with the manufacturing, handling, storage, and transportation of chemical materials and products, including human error, leaks and ruptures, explosions, floods, fires, inclement weather and natural disasters, power loss or other infrastructure failures, mechanical failure, unscheduled downtime, regulatory requirements, the loss of certifications, technical difficulties, labor disputes, inability to obtain material, equipment or transportation, environmental hazards such as remediation, chemical spills, discharges or releases of toxic or hazardous substances or gases, and other risks. Many of these hazards could cause personal injury and loss of life, severe damage to, or destruction of, property and equipment and environmental contamination. In addition, the occurrence of material operation problems at our facilities due to any of these hazards could cause a disruption in the production of products. We may also encounter difficulties or interruption as a result of the application of enhanced manufacturing technologies or changes to production lines to improve throughput or to upgrade or repair its production lines. The Company’s insurance policies have coverage in case of significant damage to its manufacturing facilities but may not fully compensate for the cost of replacement for any such damage and any loss from business interruption. As a result, we may not be adequately insured to cover losses resulting from significant damage to its manufacturing facility. Any damage to its facility or interruption in manufacturing could result in production delays and delays in meeting contractual obligations which could have a material adverse effect on relationships with customers and on its results of operations, financial condition or cash flows in any given period. We face risks related to our sales of products obtained from third-party suppliers. We sell a significant number of products that are manufactured by third-party suppliers over which we have no direct control. While we have implemented processes and procedures to try to ensure that the suppliers we use are complying with all applicable regulations, there can be no assurances that such suppliers in all instances will comply with such processes and procedures or otherwise with applicable regulations. Noncompliance could result in our marketing and distribution of contaminated, defective or dangerous products which could subject us to liabilities and could result in the imposition by governmental authorities of procedures or penalties that could restrict or eliminate our ability to purchase products. Any or all of these effects could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Additionally, the impact of economic conditions of our suppliers cannot be predicted and our suppliers may be unable to access financing or become insolvent and thus become unable to supply us with products. Development in tax policy, such as the imposition of tariffs on imported goods, could further have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and liquidity. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act includes provisions regarding certain minerals and metals, known as conflict minerals, mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries. These provisions require companies to undertake due diligence procedures and report on the use of conflict minerals in its products, including products manufactured by third parties. Compliance with these provisions causes us to incur costs to certify that our supply chain is conflict free and we may face difficulties if our suppliers are unwilling or unable to verify the source of their materials. Our ability to source these minerals and metals may also be adversely impacted. In addition, our customers may require that we provide them with a certification and our inability to do so may disqualify us as a supplier. We face a number of local, regional, and global uncertainties and potential disruptions which could adversely impact our businesses. We face a number of local, regional, and global uncertainties and potential disruptions which could adversely impact our businesses, our financial performance or liquidity, and our ability to carry out our go-forward plans and strategies. These economic uncertainties and potential disruptions include a slow-down in the general economy; reduced market growth rates; increased inflation rates and cost of goods; increased fuel and employee costs; higher interest rates; tighter credit markets; changes in government policies, including the imposition of tariffs or import costs; the deterioration of economic relations between countries or regions; actions taken by governmental authorities to contain the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its public health effects;and the escalation or continuation of armed conflict, hostilities or economic sanctions between countries or regions, all of which can negatively impact our ability to manufacture, supply or sell our products and otherwise conduct our day-to-day operations. For instance, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has led us to terminate, reduce or significantly change our business activities in these regions and certain surrounding regions. We have initiated the closure of our HPC operations within Russia and in the future, we may have to further reduce or cease doing business within the certain surrounding regions, which could have a negative impact on our ability to collect outstanding accounts receivables, or impose additional costs, further negatively impacting our business performance. In addition, the economic sanctions and hostilities in Russia and Ukraine may negatively impact our and our customers’ financial viability, which may negatively impact us or the demands or economic viability of our customers in Russia and in other parts of the world. 13 Table of Conten t s Additionally, global economic conditions or restrictions from armed conflicts or the COVID-19 pandemic may cause our suppliers, distributors, contractors, or other third-party partners to suffer financial or operating difficulties that they cannot overcome, resulting in their inability to provide us with the materials and services we need, in which case our business and results of operations could be adversely affected. For instance, our suppliers in Asia and other parts of the world have, and may continue to experience, shutdown or limitations in their operations as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may contain or limit our ability to supply or distribute our products to our customers and negatively impact our business. Moreover, we have experienced, and may continue to experience, delays in the receipt of certain goods from international and domestic shipping origins as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and more general global supply chain constraints in both fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022. While we have taken certain remediating actions in response to the ongoing global supply chain challenges, these measures may not be sufficient and other supply chain challenges may continue to arise that are beyond our control and could negatively affect our business and financial performance. Moreover, we have transitioned our third-party logistics service provider at our existing Edwardsville, IL distribution center and increased our warehouse capacity nearby. These efforts require incorporating a new service provider into our distribution capabilities and adding another distribution center into our operations. These efforts are complicated and require coordination among a number of our stakeholder, including our suppliers and transportation and logistics handlers. These changes and updates are inherently difficult and may be exacerbated by the other uncertainties and potential disruptions our business faces. We do not control the operations of these third parties and are dependent on them to execute our orders and deliver our products in a timely and efficient way. The failure of these third parties to fulfill all of their obligations to us could result in lost sales, penalties and other adverse effects on our business. While we believe that optimizing our distribution centers and other aspects of our supply chain and customer delivery network will allow us to manage our inventory more efficiently and more effectively respond to customer demands, there can be no assurance that we will realize such benefits. We have experienced, and may continue to experience, delays in executing these efforts. Our inability to execute, or timely execute these efforts, has resulted in us being unable to supply, or timely supply, our products to our customers or incurring higher costs and reductions in revenues, incurring penalties imposed by our customers, or may disrupt our business operations. Furthermore, our raw materials are sourced from industries characterized by a limited supply base, and their cost can fluctuate substantially. Under many of our supply arrangements, the price we pay for raw materials fluctuates along with certain changes in underlying commodities costs. Price increases for our raw materials have placed pressure on our costs and could continue to do so, and we may not be able to effectively hedge or pass along any such increases to our customers or consumers. Furthermore, any price increases passed along to our customers or consumers could significantly reduce demand for our products and could negatively affect our business and financial performance. If we are unable to negotiate satisfactory terms to continue existing or enter into additional collective bargaining agreements, we may experience an increased risk of labor disruptions and our results of operations and financial condition may suffer. While we currently expect to negotiate continuations to the terms of these agreements, there can be no assurances that we will be able to obtain terms that are satisfactory to us or otherwise to reach agreement at all with the applicable parties. In addition, in the course of our business, we may also become subject to additional collective bargaining agreements. These agreements may be on terms that are less favorable than those under our current collective bargaining agreements. Increased exposure to collective bargaining agreements, whether on terms more or less favorable than our existing collective bargaining agreements, could adversely affect the operation of our business, including through increased labor expenses. While we intend to comply with all collective bargaining agreements to which we are subject, there can be no assurances that we will be able to do so and any noncompliance could subject us to disruptions in our operations and materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. For additional information see the discussion over the Company’s labor force subject to collective bargaining agreements under the caption Employees in Item 1 - Business above. Significant changes in actual investment return on pension assets, discount rates, and other factors could affect our results of operations, equity and pension contributions in future periods. Our results of operations may be positively or negatively affected by the amount of income or expense we record for our defined benefit pension plans. Accounting Principles Generally Accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) requires that we calculate income or expense for the plans using actuarial valuations. These valuations reflect assumptions about financial markets and other economic conditions, which may change based on changes in key economic indicators. The most significant assumptions we use to estimate pension income or expense are the discount rate and the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. In addition, we are required to make an annual measurement of plan assets and liabilities, which may result in a significant change to equity. Although pension expense and pension funding contributions are not directly related, key economic factors that affect pension expense would also likely affect the amount of cash we would contribute to pension plans as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. Our business may be materially affected by changes to fiscal and tax policies that could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. We operate globally and changes in tax laws could adversely affect our results. On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Reform Act”) was signed into law. The legislation, which became effective on January 1, 2018, significantly changed U.S. tax law by, among other things, lowering corporate income tax rates, implementing a dividends received deduction for dividends from foreign subsidiaries, imposing a repatriation tax on deemed repatriated earnings of foreign subsidiaries, a minimum tax on foreign earnings, limitations on deduction of business interest expense and limits on deducting compensation to certain executive officers. Additional tax regulations and interpretations of the Tax Reform Act have been, and continue to be, issued, some with retroactive application dates and some which materially impacted the Company. The Company understands that other U.S. taxpayers have or plan to challenge the constitutionality of a set of regulations that had a material impact on the Company. If the regulations were ruled unconstitutional, the Company could be favorably impacted. New or revised interpretations of the Tax Reform Act and state conformity with its provisions could have a material impact on the valuation allowance recorded on U.S. state net operating losses. Certain of these changes could have a negative or adverse impact on the operating results and cash flows of the Company. See Note 16 – Income Taxes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further discussion on the impact from the Tax Reform Act. We may not be able to fully utilize our U.S. tax attributes. The Company has accumulated a substantial amount of U.S. federal and state net operating loss (“NOLs”) carryforwards, and federal and state tax credits that will expire if unused. We have concluded that it is more likely than not that the majority of the federal and state deferred tax assets will create tax benefits in the future. As a consequence of earlier business combinations and issuances of common stock, the Company and its subsidiaries have had various changes of ownership that continue to subject a significant amount of the Company’s U.S. NOLs and other tax attributes to certain limitations; and therefore a valuation allowance is still recognized on certain federal and state tax asset carryforwards that are expected to expire due to the ownership change limitations or because we do not believe we will earn enough taxable income to utilize. Changes to state conformity to the provisions of the Tax Reform Act could have a material impact on the valuation allowance recorded on U.S. state net operating losses. If we are unable to fully utilize our NOLs to offset taxable income generated in the future, our future cash taxes could be materially and negatively impacted. For further discussion on the Company’s federal and state NOLs, credits, and applicable valuation allowance as of September 30, 2022, see Note 16 – Income Taxes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. 14 Table of Conten t s Our strategic initiatives including acquisitions and divestitures may not be successful and may divert our management’s attention away from operations and could create general customer uncertainty. Our growth strategy is based in part on growth through strategic initiatives including both acquisitions and divestitures, which poses a number of risks. We may not be successful in identifying appropriate acquisition candidates, achieving targeted values as part of a disposition, consummating an acquisition or divestiture on satisfactory terms, integrating any newly acquired or expanded business with our current operations, or separating a divested business or commingled operation effectively. We may issue additional equity, incur long-term or short-term indebtedness, spend cash or use a combination of these for all or part of the consideration paid in future acquisitions or expansion of our operations. Consideration received in a divestiture could be used to pay down indebtedness, repurchase shares, invest in future acquisitions or expansions, including capital investments, operating development and efficiency. The execution of our strategic initiatives could entail repositioning or similar actions that in turn require us to record impairments, restructuring and other charges. Any such charges would reduce our earnings. We cannot guarantee that any future business acquisitions or divestitures will be pursued or that any acquisitions or divestitures that are pursued will be consummated. Additionally, successful integration and separation of operations, products and personnel may place a significant burden on our management and other internal resources. The diversion of management’s attention, and any difficulties encountered in the transition process, could harm our business, financial condition, and operating results. Moreover, our customers may, in response to the announcement or consummation of a transaction, delay or defer purchasing decisions. If our customers delay or defer purchasing decisions, our revenues could materially decline or any anticipated increases in revenue could be lower than expected. The integration of the Tristar Business into our HPC segment may be more difficult, time-consuming, or costly than expected. Synergies and other anticipated benefits may not be realized within the expected time frames, or at all. On February 18, 2022 we completed the acquisition of the Tristar Business. Our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition of the Tristar Business depend, to a large extent, on our ability to integrate the acquired business into our current HPC segment in a manner that facilitates growth opportunities and achieves projected growth trends without adversely affecting revenue and investments in future growth. The failure to meet the challenges involved in combining the Tristar Business with our current HPC segment and to realize the anticipated benefits from such combination, including expected synergies, could adversely affect our results of operations. The overall combination of our businesses may also result in material unanticipated problems, expenses, liabilities, competitive responses, and loss of customer and other business relationships. The difficulties of combining the operations of the companies include, among others: diversion of management’s attention to integration matters; difficulties in integrating operations and systems; challenges in conforming standards, controls, procedures and accounting and other policies, business cultures and compensation structures between the two companies; difficulties in integrating employees and attracting and retaining key personnel, challenges in retaining existing, and obtaining new customers, suppliers, employees and others; difficulties in achieving anticipated cost savings, synergies, business opportunities, financing plans and growth prospects from the combination; difficulties in managing the expanded operations of a larger HPC segment; challenges in continuing to develop valuable and widely accepted products; contingent liabilities that are larger than expected; and potential unknown liabilities, adverse consequences and unforeseen increased expenses associated with the acquisition of the Tristar Business. Even if our combined operations are integrated successfully, the full benefits of the acquisition of the Tristar Business, including anticipated synergies, cost savings or sales or growth opportunities, may not be realized, and these benefits may not be achieved within our anticipated time frame or at all. Further, additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in the integration of our businesses. Many of these factors are outside of our control, and any one of them could result in lower revenues, higher costs and diversion of management time and energy, which could materially impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Significant costs have been incurred and are expected to be incurred in connection with the consummation of recent and future strategic initiatives including the integration or separation of acquired or divested businesses within the Company. We expect to incur one-time costs in connection with integrating our operations, products and personnel and those of the businesses we acquire or divest, in addition to costs related directly to completing such transactions. We would expect similar costs to be incurred with any future acquisition or divestiture. These costs may include expenditures for: • employee redeployment, relocation or severance; • integration or separation of operations and information systems; • combination or segregation of research and development teams and processes; and • reorganization or closures of facilities. In addition, we expect to incur a number of non-recurring costs associated our operations with those strategic transactions. Additional unanticipated costs may yet be incurred as we integrate or separate our businesses. Although we expect that the elimination of duplicative costs, as well as the realization of other efficiencies may offset incremental transaction and transaction-related costs over time, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term. Additionally, while we expect to benefit from leveraging distribution channels and brand names among the combined Company, we cannot assure you that we will achieve such benefits. We may not realize the anticipated benefits of, and synergies from, our business acquisitions and may become responsible for certain liabilities and integration costs as a result. Business acquisitions involve the integration of new businesses that have previously operated independently from us. The integration of our operations with those of acquired businesses is frequently expected to result in financial and operational benefits, including increased top line growth, margins, revenues and cost savings and be accretive to earnings per share, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and free cash flow before synergies. There can be no assurance, however, regarding when or the extent to which we will be able to realize increased top line growth, margins, revenues, cost savings or accretions to earnings per share, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization or free cash flow or other benefits. Integration may also be difficult, unpredictable, and subject to delay because of possible company culture conflicts and different opinions on technical decisions and product roadmaps. We will often be required to integrate or, in some cases, replace, numerous systems, including those involving management information, purchasing, accounting and finance, sales, billing, employee benefits, payroll and regulatory compliance, many of which may be dissimilar. In some instances, we and certain acquired businesses have served the same customers, and some customers may decide that it is desirable to have additional or different suppliers. Difficulties associated with the integration of acquired businesses could have a material adverse effect on our business. 15 Table of Conten t s We may also acquire partial or full ownership in businesses or may acquire rights to market and distribute particular products or lines of products. The acquisition of a business or the rights to market specific products or use specific product names may involve a financial commitment by us, either in the form of cash or equity consideration. In the case of a new license, such commitments are usually in the form of prepaid royalties and future minimum royalty payments. There is no guarantee that we will acquire businesses or product distribution rights that will contribute positively to our earnings. Anticipated synergies may not materialize, cost savings may be less than expected, sales of products may not meet expectations and acquired businesses may carry unexpected liabilities. In addition, in connection with business acquisitions, we have assumed, and may assume in connection with future acquisitions, certain potential liabilities. To the extent such liabilities are not identified by us or to the extent the indemnifications obtained from third parties are insufficient to cover such liabilities, these liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business. We may not be able to retain key personnel or recruit additional qualified personnel, which could materially affect our business and require us to incur substantial additional costs to recruit replacement personnel. We are highly dependent on the continuing efforts of our senior management team and other key personnel. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected if we lose any of these persons and are unable to attract and retain qualified replacements. Additionally, the agreements that we sign as a result of business acquisitions could affect our current and prospective employees due to uncertainty about their future roles. This uncertainty may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain key management, sales, marketing and technical personnel. Any failure to attract and retain key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business. If any of our key personnel or those of our acquired businesses were to join a competitor or form a competing company, existing and potential customers or suppliers could choose to form business relationships with that competitor instead of us. There can be no assurance that confidentiality, non-solicitation, non-competition or similar agreements signed by former directors, officers, employees or stockholders of us, our acquired businesses or our transactional counterparties will be effective in preventing a loss of business. In addition, we currently do not maintain “key person” insurance covering any member of our management team. The proposed sale of our HHI division to ASSA ABLOY AB ("ASSA") is subject to regulatory approval and is subject to a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") to enjoin the transaction. The consummation of the acquisition of the HHI division by ASSA is subject to certain customary conditions, including, among other things, (i) the absence of a material adverse effect on HHI, (ii) the receipt of certain antitrust and other approvals in certain specified foreign jurisdictions, (iii) the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the parties (generally subject to a customary material adverse effect standard (as described in the Purchase Agreement) or other customary materiality qualifications), (iv) the absence of governmental restrictions on the consummation of the acquisition in certain jurisdictions, and (v) material compliance by the parties with their respective covenants and agreements under the Purchase Agreement. The Company may not receive the required approval and other clearances for the transaction, or they may not be received in a timely manner. If such approvals are received, they may impose terms, conditions or restrictions that may cause a failure of the closing conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement or that could have a detrimental impact on the Company following completion of the transaction. A substantial delay in obtaining the required authorizations, approvals or consents or the imposition of unfavorable terms, conditions or restrictions could prevent the completion of the sale, and government authorities could seek to block or challenge the transaction as they deem necessary or desirable in the public interest. On June 14, 2022, the Company and ASSA agreed to extend the outside date of the consummation of the acquisition to June 30, 2023 to provide additional time to secure necessary governmental approval. On September 15, 2022, the DOJ filed a complaint seeking to enjoin the transaction and block the acquisition of the HHI division by ASSA. The Company expects that the trial will occur in April 2023. Both the Company and ASSA have stated their disagreement with the DOJ'a concerns and are committed to completing the transaction and are confident that they will prevail in litigation. ASSA has also announced that, to resolve all the alleged competitive concerns surrounding the acquisition of HHI, it has initiated a process to sell its Emtek and its smart residential business in the U.S. and Canada. Despite our intentions and confidence that the court will agree with us and permit the consummation of the transaction, we cannot provide any assurance or guarantee that the resolution will be in our favor to. The Company continues to recognize the HHI division as held for sale and as a component of our discontinued operations. See Note 3 - Divestitures to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in our Annual Report. Increased focus by governmental and non-governmental organizations, customers, consumers and investors on sustainability issues, including those related to climate change, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and damage our reputation. As climate change, land use, water use, deforestation, plastic waste, recyclability or recoverability of packaging, including single-use and other plastic packaging, and other sustainability concerns become more prevalent, governmental and non-governmental organizations, customers, consumers and investors are increasingly focusing on these issues. In particular, changing consumer preferences may result in increased customer and consumer concerns and demands regarding plastics and packaging materials, including single-use and non-recyclable plastic packaging, and their environmental impact on sustainability, a growing demand for natural or organic products and ingredients, or increased consumer concerns or perceptions (whether accurate or inaccurate) regarding the effects of ingredients or substances present in certain consumer products. This increased focus on environmental issues and sustainability may result in new or increased regulations and customer, consumer and investor demands that could cause us to incur additional costs or to make changes to our operations to comply with any such regulations and address demands. If we are unable to respond, or are perceived to be inadequately responding to sustainability concerns, customers and consumers may choose to purchase products from a competitor. Concern over climate change may result in new or increased legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment. Increased costs of energy or compliance with emissions standards due to increased legal or regulatory requirements may cause disruptions in or increased costs associated with manufacturing our products. Any failure to achieve our goals with respect to reducing our impact on the environment or a perception (whether or not valid) of our failure to act responsibly with respect to the environment or to effectively respond to new, or changes in, legal or regulatory requirements concerning climate change or other sustainability concerns could adversely affect our business and reputation. Our business could be negatively impacted by corporate citizenship and sustainability matters and/or our reporting of such matters. There is an increasing focus from certain investors, customers, consumers, employees, and other stakeholders concerning corporate citizenship and sustainability matters. From time to time, we communicate certain initiatives, including goals, regarding environmental matters, responsible sourcing and social investments. We could fail, or be perceived to fail, in our achievement of such initiatives or goals, or we could fail in fully and accurately reporting our progress on such initiatives and goals. In addition, we could be criticized for the scope of such initiatives or goals or perceived as not acting responsibly in connection with these matters. Our business could be negatively impacted by such matters. Any such matters, or related corporate citizenship and sustainability matters, could have a material adverse effect on our business. 16 Table of Conten t s Risks Related to our Indebtedness and Financing Activities Our substantial indebtedness may limit our financial and operating flexibility, and we may incur additional debt, which could increase the risks associated with our substantial indebtedness. We have, and we expect to continue to have, a significant amount of indebtedness. See Note 12 - Debt to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional detail . Our substantial indebtedness has had, and could continue to have, material adverse consequences for our business, and may: • require us to dedicate a large portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our indebtedness, which will reduce the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, research and development expenditures and other business activities; • increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions; • limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate; • restrict our ability to make strategic acquisitions, dispositions or to exploit business opportunities; • place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt; and • limit our ability to borrow additional funds (even when necessary to maintain adequate liquidity) or dispose of assets. Under our senior credit agreement governing our secured facilities and the indentures governing our senior notes (together, our “debt agreements”), we may incur additional indebtedness. If new debt is added to our existing debt levels, the related risks that we now face would increase. Furthermore, a portion of our debt bears interest at variable rates. Increases in market interest rates may raise the interest rate on our variable rate debt and create higher debt service requirements, which would adversely affect our cash flow and could adversely impact our results of operations. While we may enter into agreements limiting our exposure to higher debt service requirements, any such agreements may not offer complete protection from this risk. Upon completion of a divestiture, we may be required to pay down debt using proceeds from the sale. Restrictive covenants in our debt agreements may restrict our ability to pursue our business strategies. Our debt agreements each restrict, among other things, asset dispositions, mergers and acquisitions, dividends, stock repurchases and redemptions, other restricted payments, indebtedness and preferred stock, loans and investments, liens and affiliate transactions. Our debt agreements also contain customary events of default and covenants imposing operating and financial restrictions on our business. These covenants could, among other things, restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness, liens or engage in sale and leaseback transactions, pay dividends or make distribution in respect of capital stock, make certain restricted payments, sell assets, engage in transactions with affiliates, except on an arms-length basis, or consolidate or merge with or sell substantially all of our assets. Further, these covenants could, among other things, limit our ability to fund future working capital and capital expenditures, engage in future acquisitions or development activities, or otherwise realize the value of our assets and opportunities fully. In addition, our debt agreements may require us to dedicate a portion of cash flow from operations to payments on debt and also contain borrowing restrictions based on, among other things, our fixed charge coverage ratio. Furthermore, the credit agreement governing our senior secured facilities contains a financial covenant relating to maximum leverage. Such requirements and covenants could limit the flexibility of our restricted entities in planning for, or reacting to, changes in the industries in which they operate. Our ability to comply with these covenants is subject to certain events outside our control. If we are unable to comply with these covenants, the lenders under our senior secured facilities could terminate their commitments and the lenders under our senior secured facilities or the holders of our senior notes could accelerate repayment of our outstanding borrowings and, in either case, we may be unable to obtain adequate refinancing of outstanding borrowings on favorable terms or at all. If we are unable to repay outstanding borrowings when due, the lenders under the senior secured facilities will also have the right to proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure the indebtedness owed to them. If our obligations under the senior secured facilities are accelerated, we cannot assure you that our assets would be sufficient to repay in full such indebtedness. 17 Table of Conten t s Future financing activities may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition. Subject to the limitations set forth in our debt agreements, we may incur additional indebtedness and issue dividend-bearing redeemable equity interests. We may incur substantial additional financial obligations to enable us to execute our business objectives. These obligations could result in: • default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an investment or acquisition are insufficient to repay our financial obligations; • acceleration of our obligations to repay the financial obligations even if we make all required payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; • our immediate payments of all amounts owed, if any, if such financial obligations are payable on demand; • our inability to obtain additional financing if such financial obligations contain covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the financial obligations remain outstanding; • our inability to pay dividends on our capital stock; • using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest or dividends on our financial obligations, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Common Stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; • limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industries in which we operate; • an event of default that triggers a cross default with respect to other financial obligations, including our indebtedness; • increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and • limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors. Risks Related to our International Operations We are subject to significant international business risks that could hurt our business and cause our results of operations to fluctuate. A significant portion of our net sales are to customers outside of the U.S. See Note 6 - Revenue Recognition and Note 21 – Segment Information to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in the Annual Report, for sales by geographic region. Our pursuit of international growth opportunities may require significant investments for an extended period before returns on these investments, if any, are realized. Our international operations are subject to risks including, among others: • currency fluctuations, including, without limitation, fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate of the Euro, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, Japanese Yen, Chinese Renminbi, and the Mexican Peso; • changes in the economic conditions or consumer preferences or demand for our products in these markets; • the risk that because our brand names may not be locally recognized, we must spend significant amounts of time and money to build brand recognition without certainty that we will be successful; • labor unrest; • political and economic instability, as a result of war, terrorist attacks, pandemics, natural disasters or otherwise; • lack of developed infrastructure; • longer payment cycles and greater difficulty in collecting accounts; • restrictions on transfers of funds; • import and export duties and quotas, as well as general transportation costs; • changes in domestic and international customs and tariffs; • compliance with laws and regulations concerning ethical business practices, such as U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; • compliance with U.S. economic sanctions and laws and regulations (including those administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") and export controls; • changes in foreign labor laws and regulations affecting our ability to hire and retain employees; • inadequate protection of intellectual property in foreign countries; • unexpected changes in regulatory environments; • actions taken by governmental authorities to contain the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its public health effects; • difficulty in complying with foreign law; and • adverse tax consequences. The foregoing factors may have a material adverse effect on our ability to increase or maintain our supply of products, financial condition or results of operations. As a result of our international operations, we face a number of risks related to exchange rates and foreign currencies. Our international sales and certain of our expenses are transacted in foreign currencies. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, approximately 39% of our net sales were denominated in foreign currencies. We expect that the amount of our revenues and expenses transacted in foreign currencies will increase as our Latin American, European and Asian operations grow and as a result of acquisitions in these markets and, as a result, our exposure to risks associated with foreign currencies could increase accordingly. Significant changes in the value of the U.S. dollar in relation to foreign currencies will affect our sales through our pricing for certain segments or products sold in international jurisdictions, our purchasing activity and cost of goods sold, and our overall operating margins, which could result in exchange losses or otherwise have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Changes in currency exchange rates may also affect our sales to, purchases from, and loans to, our subsidiaries, as well as sales to, purchases from, and bank lines of credit with, our customers, suppliers and creditors that are denominated in foreign currencies. We source many products from China and other Asian countries. To the extent the Chinese Renminbi (“RMB”) or other currencies depreciate or appreciate with respect to the U.S. dollar ("USD"), we may experience fluctuations in our results of operations. The RMB is not pegged to the USD at a constant exchange rate and instead fluctuates versus a basket of currencies. Although the People’s Bank of China has historically intervened in the foreign exchange market to prevent significant short-term fluctuations in the exchange rate, the RMB may appreciate or depreciate within a flexible peg range against the USD in the medium to long term. Moreover, it is possible that in the future Chinese authorities may lift restrictions on fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate and lessen intervention in the foreign exchange market. 18 Table of Conten t s Additionally, many products in our international operations are sourced through USD denominated transactions and sold within their respective markets using local currencies. We may experience fluctuations in our results of operations for changes in the local currency rates reflective of the USD. The deterioration of any local currency against the USD may impact our ability to appropriately price and realize operating margins for such products consistent to historical operations within those international markets. We may not be successful in implementing customer pricing or other actions in an effort to mitigate the impact of currency fluctuations and, consequently, our results of operations may be adversely impacted. While we may enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these transactions may be limited, and we may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure to currency fluctuations. See Note 14 - Derivatives to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further detail on related hedging activity. Our international operations expose us to risks related to compliance with the laws and regulations of foreign countries. Electronic and electrical products that depend on electric current to operate (“EEE”) that we sell in Europe are subject to regulation in EU markets under two key EU directives. Among our brands, this includes a limited range of products, such as aquarium pumps, heaters, and lighting. We are subject to two EU Directives that may have a material impact on our business: Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“RUHSEEE”) and Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”). RUHSEEE requires us to eliminate specified hazardous materials from products we sell in EU member states. WEEE requires us to collect and treat, dispose of or recycle certain products we manufacture or import into the EU at our own expense. The costs associated with maintaining compliance or failing to comply with the EU Directives may harm our business. For example: • Although contracts with our suppliers address related compliance issues, we may be unable to procure appropriate RUHSEEE-compliant material in sufficient quantity and quality and/or be able to incorporate it into our product procurement processes without compromising quality and/or harming our cost structure. • We may face excess and/or obsolete inventory risk related to non-compliant inventory that we may hold for which there is reduced demand, and we may need to write down the carrying value of such inventories. We believe that compliance with RUHSEEE does not have a material effect on our capital expenditures, financial condition, earnings or competitive position. To comply with WEEE requirements, we have partnered with other companies to create a comprehensive collection, treatment, disposal and recycling program as specified within the member countries we conduct business. As EU member states pass enabling legislation we currently expect our compliance system to be sufficient to meet such requirements. Our current estimated costs associated with compliance with WEEE are not significant based on our current market share. However, we continue to evaluate the impact of the WEEE legislation and implementing regulations as EU member states implement guidance and as our market share changes and, as a result, actual costs to our company could differ from our current estimates and may be material to our business, financial condition or results of operations. Many of the developing countries in which we operate do not have significant governmental regulation relating to environmental safety, occupational safety, employment practices or other business matters routinely regulated in the U.S. and EU or may not rigorously enforce such regulation. As these countries and their economies develop, it is possible that new regulations or increased enforcement of existing regulations may increase the expense of doing business in these countries. In addition, social legislation in many countries in which we operate may result in significantly higher expenses associated with labor costs, terminating employees or distributors and closing manufacturing facilities. Increases in our costs as a result of increased regulation, legislation or enforcement could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We face risks related to the impact on foreign trade agreements and relations. Recent changes in the United States federal government have caused uncertainty about the future of trade partnerships and treaties, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) and the World Trade Organization. The United States has withdrawn from the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (“TPPA”), which may affect the Company’s ability to leverage lower cost facilities in territories outside of the U.S. Additionally, on November 30, 2018 the U.S., Mexico, and Canada signed a replacement trade deal for NAFTA known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”), which was subsequently ratified by each government. The USMCA maintains duty-free access for most products and leaves most key provisions of the NAFTA agreement largely intact. Any additional assertive trade policies could result in further conflicts with U.S. trading partners, which could affect the Company’s supply chains, sourcing, and markets. Foreign countries may impose additional burdens on U.S. companies through the use of local regulations, tariffs or other requirements which could increase our operating costs in those foreign jurisdictions. It remains unclear what additional actions, if any, the current administration will take. If the United States were to materially modify or replace any international trade agreements to which it is a party, or if tariffs were raised on the foreign-sourced goods that we sell, such goods may no longer be available at a commercially attractive price, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We face risks relating to tariffs imposed by the United States and other governments. The United States government has implemented tariffs on certain products imported into the United States, which has resulted in reciprocal tariffs from the European Union on goods imported from the United States. In addition, for a number of countries, including European countries and China, the United States government has placed a series of tariffs on imported goods. In response a number of countries, including several in Europe as well as China, have imposed tariffs on a wide range of American products. Additional tariffs could be imposed by the United States or on the United States’ response to actions taken by the United States government. These governmental actions could have, and any similar future action may have, a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and result of operations. For instance, a large percentage of our products that we sell in the United States are manufactured or sourced in China. While it is too early to predict the full extent of the impact of these actions on our business, the imposition of tariffs on products imported by us from China have in some cases required us to increase prices to our customers or and/or resulted in lowering our gross margin on products sold. We face risks relating to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. Following the 2016 referendum in the United Kingdom (“UK”), the UK left the EU on January 1, 2020, but remained in the EU single market and customers union during a transition period that ended on December 31, 2020. As a result, there is significant uncertainty on a range of issues from the value of the pound, the impact on financial markets, to the impact on trade in goods and services between the UK and the EU. There is also significant uncertainty as to whether, and to what extent, laws, regulations, data privacy rules, and product and other standards in the UK will remain aligned with the EU or will diverge. There could be increased costs from re-imposition of tariffs on trade between the UK and EU, shipping delays due to the need for customs inspections and procedures, temporary shortages of certain goods or materials and other adverse impacts on supply chains. There could also be changes in tax rules that could affect us. Macro-economic trends could also be adversely affected. Increased costs for goods and services, as well as other effects of dislocations caused by the UK withdrawal, could adversely affect consumer confidence and business sentiment. Any of the foregoing could affect us, but due to the level of uncertainty, we are unable to predict the potential impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity or cash flows, which could be material. 19 Table of Conten t s We are subject to risks associated with importing goods and materials from foreign countries. A portion of goods and materials may be sourced by vendors and by us outside of the United States. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to facilitate compliance with laws and regulations relating to doing business in foreign markets and importing merchandise from abroad, there can be no assurance that suppliers and other third parties with whom we do business will not violate such laws and regulations or our policies, which could subject us to liability and could adversely affect our results of operations. We are subject to the various risks of importing merchandise from abroad and purchasing product made in foreign countries, such as: • potential disruptions in manufacturing, logistics and supply; • changes in duties, tariffs, quotas and voluntary export restrictions on imported goods; • strikes and other events affecting delivery; • product compliance with laws and regulations of the destination country; • product liability claims from customers or penalties from government agencies relating to products that are recalled, defective or otherwise noncompliance or alleged to be harmful; • concerns about human rights, working conditions and other labor rights and conditions and environmental impact in foreign countries where goods are produced and materials or components are sourced, and changing labor, environmental and other laws in these countries; • local business practice and political issues that may result in adverse publicity or threatened or actual adverse consumer actions, including boycotts; • compliance with laws and regulations concerning ethical business practices, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; • compliance with U.S. economic sanctions laws and regulations (including those administered by OFAC); and • economic, political or other problems in countries from or through which goods are imported. Political or financial instability, trade restrictions, tariffs, currency exchange rates, labor conditions, congestion and labor issues at major ports, transport capacity and costs, systems issues, problems in third-party distribution and warehousing and other interruptions of the supply chain, compliance with U.S. and foreign laws and regulations and other factors relating to international trade and imported merchandise beyond our control could affect the availability and the price of our inventory. These risks and other factors relating to foreign trade could subject us to liability or hinder our ability to access suitable merchandise on acceptable terms, which could adversely impact our results of operations. In addition, developments in tax policy, such as the disallowance of tax deductions for imported merchandise, or the imposition of tariffs on imported goods, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and liquidity Risks Related to Data Privacy and Intellectual Property We may not be able to adequately establish and protect our intellectual property rights, and the infringement or loss of our intellectual property rights could harm our business. To establish and protect our intellectual property rights, we rely upon a combination of national, foreign and multinational patent, trademark and trade secret laws, together with licenses, confidentiality agreements and other contractual arrangements. The measures that we take to protect our intellectual property rights may prove inadequate to prevent third parties from infringing or misappropriating our intellectual property. We may need to resort to litigation to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights. If a competitor or collaborator files a patent application claiming technology also claimed by us, or a trademark application claiming a trademark, service mark or trade dress also used by us, in order to protect our rights, we may have to participate in expensive and time consuming opposition or interference proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or a similar foreign agency. Similarly, our intellectual property rights may be challenged by third parties or invalidated through administrative process or litigation. The costs associated with protecting intellectual property rights, including litigation costs, may be material. Furthermore, even if our intellectual property rights are not directly challenged, disputes among third parties could lead to the weakening or invalidation of our intellectual property rights, or our competitors may independently develop technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our technology. Obtaining, protecting and defending intellectual property rights can be time consuming and expensive, and may require us to incur substantial costs, including the diversion of the time and resources of management and technical personnel. Moreover, the laws of certain foreign countries in which we operate or may operate in the future do not protect, and the governments of certain foreign countries do not enforce, intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws and government of the U.S., which may negate our competitive or technological advantages in such markets. Also, some of the technology underlying our products is the subject of nonexclusive licenses from third parties. As a result, this technology could be made available to our competitors at any time. If we are unable to establish and then adequately protect our intellectual property rights, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. We license various trademarks, tradenames and patents from third parties for certain of our products. These licenses generally place marketing obligations on us and require us to pay fees and royalties based on net sales or profits. Typically, these licenses may be terminated if we fail to satisfy certain minimum sales obligations or if we breach the terms of the license. The termination of these licensing arrangements, failure to renew or enter into a new agreement on acceptable terms could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. When our right to use these trademarks, brand names and logos expires, we may not be able to maintain or enjoy comparable name recognition or status under our new brand. If we are unable to successfully manage the transition of our business to new brands, our reputation among our customers could be adversely affected, and our revenue and profitability could decline. Refer to Item 1 - Business included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further discussions on licensed tradenames and related contractual terms. There can be no assurance that we will be able to renew our existing licensing agreements for associated tradenames outside of their existing terms and options, or that we will be able to retain tradenames indefinitely that are not directly owned by the Company. If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our proprietary information and know-how, the value of our technology, products and services could be harmed significantly. We rely on trade secrets, know-how and other proprietary information in operating our business. If this information is not adequately protected, then it may be disclosed or used in an unauthorized manner. To the extent that consultants, key employees or other third parties apply technological information independently developed by them or by others to our proposed products, disputes may arise as to the proprietary rights to such information, which may not be resolved in our favor. The risk that other parties may breach confidentiality agreements or that our trade secrets become known or independently discovered by competitors, could harm us by enabling our competitors, who may have greater experience and financial resources, to copy or use our trade secrets and other proprietary information in the advancement of their products, methods or technologies. The disclosure of our trade secrets would impair our competitive position, thereby weakening demand for our products or services and harming our ability to maintain or increase our customer base. 20 Table of Conten t s Claims by third parties that we are infringing their intellectual property and other litigation could adversely affect our business. From time to time in the past we have been subject to claims that we are infringing the intellectual property of others. We currently are the subject of such claims and it is possible that third parties will assert infringement claims against us in the future. An adverse finding against us in these or similar trademark or other intellectual property litigations may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any such claims, with or without merit, could be time consuming and expensive, and may require us to incur substantial costs, including the diversion of the resources of management and technical personnel, cause product delays or require us to enter into licensing or other agreements in order to secure continued access to necessary or desirable intellectual property. If we are deemed to be infringing a third-party’s intellectual property and are unable to continue using that intellectual property as we had been, our business and results of operations could be harmed if we are unable to successfully develop non-infringing alternative intellectual property on a timely basis or license non-infringing alternatives or substitutes, if any exist, on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, an unfavorable ruling in intellectual property litigation could subject us to significant liability, as well as require us to cease developing, manufacturing or selling the affected products or using the affected processes or trademarks. Any significant restriction on our proprietary or licensed intellectual property that impedes our ability to develop and commercialize our products could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. A cybersecurity breach or failure of one or more key information technology systems could have a material adverse impact on our business or reputation. We rely extensively on information technology (IT) systems, networks and services, including internet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and tools and other hardware, software and technical applications and platforms, some of which are managed, hosted, provided and/or used by third-parties or their vendors, to assist in conducting our business. Our IT systems have been, and will likely continue to be, subject to computer viruses or other malicious codes, unauthorized access attempts, phishing and other cyber-attacks. We continue to assess potential threats and make investments seeking to address and prevent these threats, including monitoring of networks and systems and upgrading skills, employee training and security policies for the Company and its third-party providers. However, because the techniques used in these attacks change frequently and may be difficult to detect for periods of time, we may face difficulties in anticipating and implementing adequate preventative measures. To date, we have seen no material impact on our business or operations from these attacks; however, we cannot guarantee that our security efforts will prevent breaches or breakdowns to our or our third-party providers’ databases or systems. If the IT systems, networks or service providers we rely upon fail to function properly, or if we or one of our third-party providers suffer a loss, significant unavailability of or disclosure of our business or stakeholder information, and our business continuity plans do not effectively address these failures on a timely basis, we may be exposed to reputational, competitive and business harm as well as litigation and regulatory action. The costs and operational consequences of responding to breaches and implementing remediation measures could be significant. Disruption or failures of our information technology systems could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our IT systems are susceptible to security breaches, operational data loss, general disruptions in functionality, and may not be compatible with new technology. We depend on our IT systems for the effectiveness of our operations and to interface with our customers, as well as to maintain financial records and accuracy. Disruption or failures of our IT systems could impair our ability to effectively and timely provide our services and products and maintain our financial records, which could damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business. Our actual or perceived failure to adequately protect personal data could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. A continually evolving variety of state, national, foreign, and international laws and regulations apply to the collection, use, retention, protection, disclosure, transfer, and other processing of personal data. These privacy and data protection-related laws and regulations are evolving, with new or modified laws and regulations proposed and implemented frequently and existing laws and regulations subject to new or different interpretations. Compliance with these laws and regulations can be costly and can delay or impede the development of new products. Our actual or alleged failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations, or a government's interpretation of its laws and regulations, or an actual or alleged failure to protect personal data, could result in enforcement actions and significant penalties against us, which could result in negative publicity, increase our operating costs, subject us to claims or other remedies and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We are subject to data security and privacy risks that could negatively affect our results, operations or reputation. In addition to our own sensitive and proprietary business information, we handle transactional and personal information about our customers, suppliers and vendors. Hackers and data thieves are increasingly sophisticated and operate social engineering, such as phishing, and large-scale, complex automated attacks that can evade detection for long periods of time. Any breach of our or our service providers' network, or other vendor systems, may result in the loss of confidential business and financial data, misappropriation of our consumers', users' or employees' personal information or a disruption of our business. Any of these outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our business, including unwanted media attention, impairment of our consumer and customer relationships, damage to our reputation; resulting in lost sales and consumers, fines, lawsuits, or significant legal and remediation expenses. We also may need to expend significant resources to protect against, respond to and/or redress problems caused by any breach. In addition, we must comply with increasingly complex and rigorous regulatory standards enacted to protect business and personal data in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. For example, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”), which became effective on May 25, 2018, and California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (the "CCPA"), which became effective on January 1, 2020, and is being amended by the California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA"), which will become effective on January 1, 2023. These laws impose additional obligations on companies such as ours regarding the handling of personal data and provides certain individual privacy rights to persons whose data is stored. Compliance with existing, proposed and recently enacted laws (including implementation of the privacy and process enhancements called for under GDPR, CCPA, CPRA and regulations can be costly; any failure to comply with these regulatory standards could subject us to legal and reputational risks. Misuse of or failure to secure personal information could also result in violation of data privacy laws and regulations, proceedings against the Company by governmental entities or others, damage to our reputation and credibility and could have a negative impact on revenues and profits. Risks Related to Litigation and Regulatory Compliance Class action and derivative action lawsuits and other investigations, regardless of their merits, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We and certain of our officers and directors have been named in the past, and, may be named in the future, as defendants of class action and derivative action lawsuits. In the past, we have also received requests for information from government authorities. Regardless of their subject matter or merits, class action lawsuits and other government investigations may result in significant cost to us, which may not be covered by insurance, may divert the attention of management or may otherwise have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. 21 Table of Conten t s We are subject to a number of claims and litigation and may be subject to future claims and litigation, any of which may adversely affect our business. From time to time in the past we have been subject to a variety of claims and litigation and we may in the future be subject to additional claims and litigation (including class action lawsuits). For instance, following periods of volatility in the market price of our stock, we have become subject to the class action shareholder litigation. We are also subject to various other litigation and claims on a variety of matters. Based on the information currently available, we believe that our ultimate liability for the matters or proceedings presently pending against the Company will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business or financial condition. But, regardless of their merits, lawsuits (including class action lawsuits) may result in significant cost to the Company that may not be covered by insurance and may divert attention of management or may otherwise have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operation. See Note 20 - Commitments and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further discussion over material claims and litigation. The Company may be subject to product liability claims and product recalls, which could negatively impact its profitability. In the ordinary course of our business, the Company may be named as a defendant in lawsuits involving product liability claims. In any such proceedings, plaintiffs may seek to recover large and sometimes unspecified amounts of damages, and the matters may remain unresolved for several years. Any such matters could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows if we are unable to successfully defend against or settle these matters or if our insurance coverage is insufficient to satisfy any judgments against us or settlement related to these matters. The Company sells perishable treats for animal consumption, which involves risks such as product contamination or spoilage, product tampering, and other adulteration of food products. The Company may be subject to liability if the consumption of any of its products causes injury, illness, or death. In addition, the Company will voluntarily recall products in the event of contamination or damage. A significant product liability judgment or a widespread product recall may negatively impact the Company’s sales and profitability for a period of time depending on product availability, competitive reaction, and consumer attitudes. Even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that Company products caused illness or injury could adversely affect the Company’s reputation with existing and potential customers and its corporate and brand image. Although we have product liability insurance coverage and an excess umbrella policy, our insurance policies may not provide coverage for certain, or any, claims against us or may not be sufficient to cover all possible liabilities. We may not be able to maintain such insurance on acceptable terms, if at all, in the future. See Note 20 - Commitments and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further discussion on product liability. Agreements, transactions and litigation involving or resulting from the activities of our predecessor and its former subsidiaries may subject us to future claims or litigation that could materially adversely impact our capital resources. The Company was formerly known as HRG, which is the successor to Zapata Corporation, which was a holding company engaged, through its subsidiaries, in a number of business activities and over the course of HRG’s existence, acquired and disposed of a number of businesses. The activities of such entities may subject us to future claims or litigation regardless of the merit of such claims or litigation and the defenses available to us. The time and expense that we may be required to dedicate to such matters may be material to us and our subsidiaries and may adversely impact our capital resources. In certain instances, we may have continuing obligations pursuant to certain of these transactions, including obligations to indemnify other parties to agreements, and may be subject to risks resulting from these transactions. We may incur material capital and other costs due to environmental liabilities. We are subject to a broad range of federal, state, local, foreign and multi-national laws and regulations relating to the environment. These include laws and regulations that govern: • discharges to the air, water and land; • the handling and disposal of solid and hazardous substances and wastes; and • remediation of contamination associated with release of hazardous substances at our facilities and at off-site disposal locations. Risk of environmental liability is inherent in our business. As a result, material environmental costs may arise in the future. In particular, we may incur capital and other costs to comply with increasingly stringent environmental laws and enforcement policies, such as the EU Directives: Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment discussed above. Our international operations may expose us to risks related to compliance with the laws and regulations of foreign countries. See the risk factor Our international operations may expose us to risks related to compliance with the laws and regulations of foreign countries included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Moreover, there are adopted and proposed international accords and treaties, as well as federal, state and local laws and regulations, that would attempt to control or limit the causes of climate change, including the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment. In the event that the U.S. government or foreign governments enact new climate change laws or regulations or make changes to existing laws or regulations, compliance with applicable laws or regulations may result in increased manufacturing costs for our products, such as by requiring investment in new pollution control equipment or changing the ways in which certain of our products are made. We may incur some of these costs directly and others may be passed on to us from our third-party suppliers. Although we believe that we are substantially in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations at our facilities, we may not always be in compliance with such laws and regulations or any new laws and regulations in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. From time to time, we have been required to address the effect of historic activities on the environmental condition of our properties or former properties. We have not conducted invasive testing at all of our facilities to identify all potential environmental liability risks. Given the age of our facilities and the nature of our operations, material liabilities may arise in the future in connection with our current or former facilities. If previously unknown contamination of property underlying or in the vicinity of our manufacturing facilities is discovered, we could be required to incur material unforeseen expenses. If this occurs, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We are currently engaged in investigative or remedial projects at a few of our facilities and any liabilities arising from such investigative or remedial projects at such facilities may have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, in connection with certain business acquisitions, we have assumed, and in connection with future acquisitions may assume, certain potential environmental liabilities. To the extent we have not identified such environmental liabilities or to the extent the indemnifications obtained from our counterparties are insufficient to cover such environmental liabilities, these environmental liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business. 22 Table of Conten t s We are also subject to proceedings related to our disposal of industrial and hazardous material at off-site disposal locations or similar disposals made by other parties for which we are responsible as a result of our relationship with such other parties. These proceedings are under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) or similar state or foreign jurisdiction laws that hold persons who “arranged for” the disposal or treatment of such substances strictly liable for costs incurred in responding to the release or threatened release of hazardous substances from such sites, regardless of fault or the lawfulness of the original disposal. Liability under CERCLA is typically joint and several, meaning that a liable party may be responsible for all of the costs incurred in investigating and remediating contamination at a site. We occasionally are identified by federal or state governmental agencies as being a potentially responsible party for response actions contemplated at an off-site facility. At the existing sites where we have been notified of our status as a potentially responsible party, it is either premature to determine if our potential liability, if any, will be material or we do not believe that our liability, if any, will be material. We may be named as a potentially responsible party under CERCLA or similar state or foreign jurisdiction laws in the future for other sites not currently known to us, and the costs and liabilities associated with these sites may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. It is difficult to quantify with certainty the potential financial impact of actions regarding expenditures for environmental matters, particularly remediation, and future capital expenditures for environmental control equipment. See Note 20 - Commitments and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further discussion on estimated liabilities arising from such environmental matters. Nevertheless, based upon the information currently available, we believe that our ultimate liability arising from such environmental matters should not be material to our business or financial condition. Compliance with various public health, consumer protection and other regulations applicable to our products and facilities could increase our cost of doing business and expose us to additional requirements with which we may be unable to comply. Certain of our products sold through, and facilities operated under, each of our business segments are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the United States Department of Agriculture or other federal or state consumer protection and product safety agencies and are subject to the regulations such agencies enforce, as well as by similar state, foreign and multinational agencies and regulations. For example, in the U.S., all products containing pesticides must be registered with the EPA and, in many cases, similar state and foreign agencies before they can be manufactured or sold. Our inability to obtain, or the cancellation of, any registration could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The severity of the effect would depend on which products were involved, whether another product could be substituted and whether our competitors were similarly affected. We attempt to anticipate regulatory developments and maintain registrations of, and access to, substitute chemicals and other ingredients, but we may not always be able to avoid or minimize these risks. As a distributor of consumer products in the U.S., certain of our products are also subject to the Consumer Product Safety Act, which empowers the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (the “Consumer Commission”) to exclude from the market products that are found to be unsafe or hazardous. Under certain circumstances, the Consumer Commission could require us to repair, replace or refund the purchase price of one or more of our products, or we may voluntarily do so. Any additional repurchases or recalls of our products could be costly to us and could damage the reputation or the value of our brands. If we are required to remove, or we voluntarily remove our products from the market, our reputation or brands could be tarnished, and we may have large quantities of finished products that could not be sold. Furthermore, failure to timely notify the Consumer Commission of a potential safety hazard can result in significant fines being assessed against us. Additionally, laws regulating certain consumer products exist in some states, as well as in other countries in which we sell our products, and more restrictive laws and regulations may be adopted in the future. Certain of our products and packaging materials are subject to regulations administered by the FDA. Among other things, the FDA enforces statutory prohibitions against misbranded and adulterated products, establishes ingredients and manufacturing procedures for certain products, establishes standards of identity for certain products, determines the safety of products and establishes labeling standards and requirements. In addition, various states regulate these products by enforcing federal and state standards of identity for selected products, grading products, inspecting production facilities and imposing their own labeling requirements. The Food Quality Protection Act (“FQPA”) established a standard for food-use pesticides, which is that a reasonable certainty of no harm will result from the cumulative effect of pesticide exposures. Under the FQPA, the EPA is evaluating the cumulative effects from dietary and non-dietary exposures to pesticides. The pesticides in certain of our products that are sold through our H&G business continue to be evaluated by the EPA as part of this program. It is possible that the EPA or a third-party active ingredient registrant may decide that a pesticide we use in our products will be limited or made unavailable to us. We cannot predict the outcome or the severity of the effect of the EPA’s continuing evaluations of active ingredients used in our products. In addition, the use of certain pesticide products that are sold through our H&G business may, among other things, be regulated by various local, state, federal and foreign environmental and public health agencies. These regulations may require that only certified or professional users apply the product, that users post notices on properties where products have been or will be applied or that certain ingredients may not be used. Compliance with such public health regulations could increase our cost of doing business and expose us to additional requirements with which we may be unable to comply. The United States Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) was amended in 2016, and the EPA is currently evaluating additional chemicals for regulation under that amended law. Certain of our products may be manufactured using chemicals or other ingredients that may be subject to regulation under current TSCA regulations, and other chemicals or ingredients may be regulated under the law in the future. We do not expect that compliance with current or future TSCA regulations will cause us to incur expenditures that are material to our business, financial condition or results of operations; however, it is possible that our future liability could be material. The fish sold under the GloFish brand can be classified as an intragenic or transgenic species due to the addition of their bioluminescent genes, which means the FDA has the authority to regulate as the luminescence is caused by intentionally altered genomic DNA. Additional regulatory agencies, including the EPA, as well as agencies in U.S. and foreign states have authority to regulate these types of species. It is possible that the EPA, FDA, another U.S. federal agency, a U.S. state, or a foreign agency could in the future seek to exercise authority over the distribution and/or sale of GloFish brand fish. We will continue to monitor the development of any regulations that might apply to our bioluminescent fish. Certain of our products may be regulated under programs within the United States, Canada, or in other countries that may require that those products and the associated product packaging be recycled or managed for disposal through a designated recycling program. Some programs are funded through assessment of a fee on the manufacturer and suppliers, including the Company. We do not expect that such programs will cause us to incur expenditures that are material to our business, financial condition or results of operations; however, it is possible that our future liability could be material. Any failure to comply with these laws or regulations, or the terms of applicable environmental permits, could result in us incurring substantial costs, including fines, penalties and other civil and criminal sanctions or the prohibition of sales of our pest control products. Environmental law requirements and the enforcement thereof, change frequently, have tended to become more stringent over time and could require us to incur significant expenses. 23 Table of Conten t s Most federal, state and local authorities require certification by Underwriters Laboratory, Inc. (“UL”), an independent, not-for-profit corporation engaged in the testing of products for compliance with certain public safety standards, or other safety regulation certification prior to marketing electrical appliances. Foreign jurisdictions also have regulatory authorities overseeing the safety of consumer products. Our products may not meet the specifications required by these authorities. A determination that any of our products are not in compliance with these rules and regulations could result in the imposition of fines or an award of damages to private litigants. Public perceptions that some of the products we produce and market are not safe could adversely affect us. On occasion, customers have alleged that some products failed to perform up to expectations or have caused damage or injury to individuals or property. Public perception that any of our products are not safe, whether justified or not, could impair our reputation, damage our brand names and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we rely on certain third-party trademarks, brand names and logos of which we do not have exclusive use of. Public perception that any such third-party trademarks, brand names and logos used by us are not safe, whether justified or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets or other long-term assets become impaired, we will be required to record additional impairment charges, which may be significant. A significant portion of our long-term assets consist of goodwill, other indefinite-lived intangible assets and finite-lived intangible assets recorded as a result of past acquisitions as well as through fresh start reporting. We do not amortize goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, but rather review them for impairment on a periodic basis or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. We consider whether circumstances or conditions exist which suggest that the carrying value of our goodwill and other long-lived intangible assets might be impaired. If such circumstances or conditions exist, further steps are required in order to determine whether the carrying value of each of the individual assets exceeds its fair value. If analysis indicates that an individual asset’s carrying value does exceed its fair value, the next step is to record a loss equal to the excess of the individual asset’s carrying value over its fair value. The analysis required by GAAP entail significant amounts of judgment and subjectivity. Events and changes in circumstances that may indicate that there may be an impairment and which may indicate that interim impairment testing is necessary include, but are not limited to: strategic decisions to exit a business or dispose of an asset made in response to changes in economic, political and competitive conditions; the impact of the economic environment on the customer base and on broad market conditions that drive valuation considerations by market participants; our internal expectations with regard to future revenue growth and the assumptions we make when performing impairment reviews; a significant decrease in the market price of our assets; a significant adverse change in the extent or manner in which our assets are used; a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate that could affect our assets; an accumulation of costs significantly in excess of the amount originally expected for the acquisition of an asset; and significant changes in the cash flows associated with an asset. As a result of such circumstances, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets or other long-term assets is determined. Any such impairment charges could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. See Note 11 – Goodwill and Intangible Assets to the Consolidated Financial Statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further detail. The successful execution of our operational efficiency and multi-year restructuring initiatives are important to the long-term growth of our business. We continue to engage in targeted restructuring initiatives to align our business operations in response to current and anticipated future market conditions and investment strategy. We will evaluate opportunities for additional initiatives to restructure or reorganize the business across our operating segments and functions with a focus on areas of strategic growth and optimizing operational efficiency. Significant risks associated with these actions may impair our ability to achieve the anticipated cost reduction or may disrupt our business including delays in shipping, implementation of workforce, redundant costs, and failure to meet operational targets. In addition, our ability to achieve the anticipated cost savings and other benefits from these actions within the expected timeframe is subject to many estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions are subject to significant economic, competitive and other uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. If these estimates and assumptions are incorrect, experience delays, or if other unforeseen events occur, our business and results of operation could be adversely affected. Refer to Note 5 - Restructuring Charges to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional detail over restructuring related activity. Risks Related to Investment in our Common Stock Our Restated Bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees. Our restated bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty, any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our restated bylaws, any action to interpret, apply, enforce, or determine the validity of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition. 24 Table of Conten t s Certain provisions of our charter, bylaws, and of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) have anti-takeover effects and could delay, discourage, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider to be in the stockholder’s best interests. Certain provisions of our charter and bylaws and the DGCL may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control if our board of directors determines that such changes in control are not in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders. Such provisions include, among other things, those that: • authorize the board of directors to issue preferred shares and to determine the terms, including the number of shares, voting powers, redemption provisions, dividend rates, liquidation preferences and conversion rights, of those shares, without stockholder approval; • permit the removal of directors by the stockholders only for cause and then only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock; • opt in to Section 203 of the DGCL, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with any interested stockholder (generally speaking a stockholder who holds 15% or more of our voting stock) for three years from the date such stockholder becomes an interested stockholder unless certain conditions are met; and • subject to certain exceptions, prohibit any person from acquiring shares of our common stock if such person is, or would become as a result of the acquisition, a “Substantial Holder” (as defined in our charter). These provisions may frustrate or prevent attempts by stockholders to cause a change in control of the Company or to replace members of its board of directors. Even though the Company’s common stock is currently traded on the NYSE, it has less liquidity than many other stocks quoted on a national securities exchange. The trading volume in the Company’s common stock on the NYSE has been relatively low when compared with larger companies listed on the NYSE or other stock exchanges. Because of this, it may be more difficult for stockholders to sell a substantial number of shares for the same price at which stockholders could sell a smaller number of shares. We cannot predict the effect, if any, that future sales of the Company’s common stock in the market, or the availability of shares of its common stock for sale in the market, will have on the market price of the Company’s common stock. We can give no assurance that sales of substantial amounts of the Company’s common stock in the market, or the potential for large amounts of sales in the market, would not cause the price of the Company’s common stock to decline or impair the Company’s future ability to raise capital through sales of its common stock. Furthermore, because of the limited market and generally low volume of trading in the Company’s common stock that could occur, the share price of its common stock could be more likely to be affected by broad market fluctuations, general market conditions, fluctuations in our operating results, changes in the market's perception of our business, and announcements made by the Company, its competitors or parties with whom the Company has business relationships. The lack of liquidity in the Company’s common stock may also make it difficult for us to issue additional securities for financing or other purposes, or to otherwise arrange for any financing we may need in the future. In addition, we may experience other adverse effects, including, without limitation, the loss of confidence in us by current and prospective suppliers, customers, employees and others with whom we have or may seek to initiate business relationships. The market price of the Company’s common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control. Factors that may influence the price of the common stock include, without limitation, the following: • loss of any of our key customers or suppliers, including our B&D licensing agreement with SBD; • additions or departures of key personnel; • sales of common stock; • our ability to execute our business plan; • announcements and consummations of business acquisitions; • operating results that fall below expectations; • amount and terms of borrowings with debtors and net leverage provisions; • additional issuances of common stock; • low volume of sales due to concentrated ownership of common stock; • intellectual property disputes; • industry developments; • economic and other external factors; and • period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results. In addition, the securities markets have from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of the Company’s common stock. You should also be aware that price volatility might be worse if the trading volume of shares of the common stock is low. Additional issuances of the Company’s common stock may result in dilution to its existing stockholders. Under our 2011 equity incentive plan adopted by the shareholders in 2011, called the Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. 2011 Omnibus Equity Award Plan (the “2011 Equity Plan”), a total of 7.1 million shares of common stock of the Company, net of cancellations, have been authorized to be issued through the original authorization of 4.6 million shares during the 2011 shareholders meeting, an additional authorization of 1.0 million during the 2014 shareholders meeting, and a subsequent authorization of 1.5 million during the 2016 shareholders meeting. As of September 30, 2022, we have issued 6.9 million restricted stock units (or the equivalent number of shares of common stock upon the lapsing of the applicable restrictions) under the 2011 Equity Plan and have a remaining authorization to issue up to a total of 0.2 million shares of our common stock, or options or restricted stock units exercisable for shares of common stock. On July 28, 2020, the Company's shareholders approved the Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. 2020 Omnibus Equity Plan (the "2020 Equity Plan") pursuant to which 1.2 million shares of common stock were authorized to be issued. As of September 30, 2022, we have not issued restricted stock units (or the equivalent number of shares of common stock upon the lapsing of the applicable restrictions) under the 2020 Equity Plan and have a remaining authorization to issue up to a total of 1.2 million shares of our common stock or options or restricted stock units exercisable for shares of common stock. In addition, the Company’s board of directors has the authority to issue additional shares of capital stock to provide additional financing or for other purposes in the future. The issuance of any such shares or exercise of any such options may result in a reduction of the book value or market price of the outstanding shares of common stock. If we do issue any such additional shares or any such options are exercised, such issuance or exercise also will cause a reduction in the proportionate ownership and voting power of all other stockholders. As a result of such dilution, the proportionate ownership interest and voting power of a holder of shares of common stock could be decreased. 25 Table of Conten t s ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS None.