Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should consider carefully all of the information set forth or incorporated by reference in this document and, in particular, the following risk factors associated with the business of the Company and forward-looking information in this document. Please also see “Special Note on Forward-Looking Information” at the beginning of this report. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also have an adverse effect on us. If any of the risks below actually occur, our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition could suffer.

Acquisitions may not be successful in achieving intended benefits, cost savings and synergies and may disrupt current operations.

One component of our growth strategy is acquisitions, such as our acquisition of Stuart Weitzman Holdings, LLC during fiscal 2015 and our acquisition of Kate Spade & Company during the first quarter of fiscal 2018. Our management team has and, in the future, will consider growth strategies and expected synergies when considering any acquisition; however, there can be no assurance that we will be able to identify suitable candidates or consummate these transactions on acceptable terms.

The integration process of any newly acquired company may be complex, costly and time-consuming. The potential difficulties of integrating the operations of an acquired business, such as Stuart Weitzman and Kate Spade, and realizing our expectations for an acquisition, including the benefits that may be realized, include, among other things:

•	failure of the business to perform as planned following the acquisition or achieve anticipated revenue or profitability targets;

•	delays, unexpected costs or difficulties in completing the integration of acquired companies or assets;

•	higher than expected costs, lower than expected cost savings or synergies and/or a need to allocate resources to manage unexpected operating difficulties;

•	difficulties assimilating the operations and personnel of acquired companies into our operations;

•	diversion of the attention and resources of management or other disruptions to current operations;

•	the impact on our or an acquired business’ internal controls and compliance with the requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002;

•	unanticipated changes in applicable laws and regulations;

•	unanticipated changes in the combined business due to potential divestitures or other requirements imposed by antitrust regulators;

•	retaining key customers, suppliers and employees;

•	retaining and obtaining required regulatory approvals, licenses and permits;

•	operating risks inherent in the acquired business and our business;

•	consumers’ failure to accept product offerings by us or our licensees;

•	assumption of liabilities not identified in due diligence; and

•	other unanticipated issues, expenses and liabilities.

Our failure to successfully complete the integration of any acquired business and any adverse consequences associated with future acquisition activities, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Completed acquisitions may result in additional goodwill and/or an increase in other intangible assets on our balance sheet. We are required annually, or as facts and circumstances exist, to assess goodwill and other intangible assets to determine if impairment has occurred. If the testing performed indicates that impairment has occurred, we are required to record a non-cash impairment charge for the difference between the carrying value of the goodwill or other intangible assets and the implied fair value of the goodwill or the fair value of other intangible assets in the period the determination is made. We determined there was no impairment in fiscal 2019, fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017; however, we cannot accurately predict the amount and timing of any potential future impairment of assets. Should the value of goodwill or other intangible assets become impaired, there could be a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

A delay, disruption in, failure of, or inability to upgrade our information technology systems precisely and efficiently could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations and cash flow.

We rely heavily on various information and other business systems to manage our operations, including management of our supply chain, point-of-sale processing in our brands’ stores, our online businesses associated with each brand and various other processes. We are continually evaluating and implementing upgrades and changes to our systems.

The Company embarked on a multi-year ERP implementation in fiscal 2017. The substantial majority of the implementation was completed during fiscal 2019 and the remainder implemented at the beginning of fiscal 2020. Implementing new systems

carries substantial risk, including failure to operate as designed, failure to properly integrate with other systems, potential loss of data or information, cost overruns, implementation delays and disruption of operations. Third-party vendors are also relied upon to design, program, maintain and service our ERP implementation program. Any failures of these vendors to properly deliver their services could similarly have a material effect on our business. Other substantial risks associated with the multi-year ERP implementation include the inability to deliver the optimal level of merchandise to our brands’ stores or customers in a timely manner. In addition, any disruptions or malfunctions affecting our ERP implementation plan could cause critical information upon which we rely to be delayed, defective, corrupted, inadequate or inaccessible. Furthermore, failure of the computer systems due to inadequate system capacity, computer viruses, human error, changes in programming, security breaches, system upgrades or migration of these services, as well as consumer privacy concerns and new global government regulations, individually or in accumulation, could have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations and cash flow.

The growth of our business depends on the successful execution of our growth strategies, including our efforts to expand internationally into a global house of lifestyle brands.

Our growth depends on the continued success of existing products, as well as the successful design and introduction of new products. Our ability to create new products and to sustain existing products is affected by whether we can successfully anticipate and respond to consumer preferences and fashion trends. The failure to develop and launch successful new products could hinder the growth of our business. Also, any delay in the development or launch of a new product could result in our company not being the first to bring product to market, which could compromise our competitive position.

Additionally, our current growth strategy includes plans to expand in a number of international regions, including Asia and Europe. We plan to open additional retail stores throughout Asia and other international markets, both directly and through strategic partners. Our brands may not be well-established or widely sold in some of these markets, and we may have limited experience operating directly or working with our partners there. In addition, some of these markets have different operational characteristics, including but not limited to employment and labor, transportation, logistics, real estate, environmental regulations and local reporting or legal requirements.

Furthermore, consumer demand and behavior, as well as tastes and purchasing trends may differ in these countries, and as a result, sales of our product may not be successful, or the margins on those sales may not be in line with those we currently anticipate. Further, such markets will have upfront investment costs that may not be accompanied by sufficient revenues to achieve typical or expected operational and financial performance and therefore may be dilutive to our brands in the short-term. In many of these countries, there is significant competition to attract and retain experienced and talented employees.

Consequently, if our international expansion plans are unsuccessful, or we are unable to retain and/or attract key personnel, our business, financial condition and results of operation could be materially adversely affected.

We face risks associated with operating in international markets.

We operate on a global basis, with approximately 43.7% of our net sales coming from operations outside of United States. While geographic diversity helps to reduce the Company’s exposure to risks in any one country, we are subject to risks associated with international operations, including, but not limited to:

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political or economic instability or changing macroeconomic conditions in our major markets, including the potential impact of (1) new policies that may be implemented by the U.S. or other jurisdictions, particularly with respect to tax and trade policies or (2) the United Kingdom ("U.K.") voting to leave the European Union ("E.U."), commonly known as Brexit. On March 29, 2017, the U.K. triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty formally starting negotiations with the E.U. The U.K. and E.U. announced in March 2018 an agreement in principle to transitional provisions under which E.U. law would remain in force in the U.K. until the end of December 2020, but this remains subject to the successful conclusion of a final withdrawal agreement between the parties. As a consequence, the E.U. and U.K. agreed to postpone Brexit until October 31, 2019. This date will be accelerated to anytime between now and October 31, 2019 if a withdrawal agreement is successfully concluded between the parties and ratified by U.K. parliament. Increased uncertainty surrounds future Brexit talks due to the new leadership of the British government following Theresa May’s resignation as Prime Minister on June 7, 2019 and the election of Boris Johnson on July 23, 2019. In the absence of a withdrawal agreement there would be no transitional provisions and a "hard" Brexit would occur on October 31, 2019. Although the terms of the U.K.'s future relationship with the E.U. are still unknown, it is possible that there will be increased regulatory and legal complexities, including potentially divergent national laws and regulations between the U.K. and E.U. Brexit may also cause disruption and create uncertainty surrounding our business, including affecting our relationships with our existing and future customers, suppliers and employees and resulting in increased cost by way of new or elevated customs duties or financial implications from operational challenges;

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changes to the U.S.'s participation in, withdrawal out of, renegotiation of certain international trade agreements or other major trade related issues including the non-renewal of expiring favorable tariffs granted to developing countries, tariff quotas, and retaliatory tariffs (including, but not limited to, the Trump Administration's tariffs on China and China's retaliatory tariffs on certain products from the U.S.), trade sanctions, new or onerous trade restrictions, embargoes and other stringent government controls;

•	changes in exchange rates for foreign currencies, which may adversely affect the retail prices of our products, result in decreased international consumer demand, or increase our supply costs in those markets, with a corresponding negative impact on our gross margin rates;

•	compliance with laws relating to foreign operations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the U.K. Bribery Act, and other global anti-corruption laws, which in general concern the bribery of foreign public officials;

•	changes in tourist shopping patterns, particularly that of the Chinese consumer;

•	natural and other disasters; and

•	changes in legal and regulatory requirements, including, but not limited to safeguard measures, anti-dumping duties, cargo restrictions to prevent terrorism, restrictions on the transfer of currency, climate change and other environmental legislation, product safety regulations or other charges or restrictions.

We face risks associated with potential changes to international trade agreements and the imposition of additional duties on importing our products

Most of our imported products are subject to duties, indirect taxes, quotas and non-tariff trade barriers that may limit the quantity of products that we may import into the U.S. and other countries or may impact the cost of such products. To maximize opportunities, we rely on free trade agreements and other supply chain initiatives and, as a result, we are subject to government regulations and restrictions with respect to our cross-border activity. In May 2019, the United States increased the tariff rate from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of imports of select product categories into the U.S. from China. On August 1, 2019, the Trump Administration announced that the U.S. plans to implement an additional tariff of 10% on the remaining $300 billion of products imported into the U.S. from China on September 1, 2019. If the U.S. follows through on its further proposed China tariffs, or if the U.S. or other countries impose additional duties, taxes, quotas and/or withdraw from or materially modify trade agreements or other trade restrictions, the cost of our products manufactured in China or such other countries and imported into the U.S. or other countries could increase. This could in turn adversely affect the profitability for these products and have an adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and results of operations.

Economic conditions could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and consumer purchases of luxury items.

Our results can be impacted by a number of macroeconomic factors, including but not limited to consumer confidence and spending levels, tax rates, unemployment, consumer credit availability, raw materials costs, fuel and energy costs (including oil prices), global factory production, commercial real estate market conditions, credit market conditions and the level of customer traffic in malls and shopping centers.

Demand for our products, and consumer spending in the premium handbag, footwear and accessories categories generally, is significantly impacted by trends in consumer confidence, general business conditions, interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, the availability of consumer credit, and taxation. Consumer purchases of discretionary luxury items, such as the Company's products, tend to decline during recessionary periods or periods of sustained high unemployment, when disposable income is lower.

Unfavorable economic conditions may also reduce consumers’ willingness and ability to travel to major cities and vacation destinations in which our stores are located.

Our business may be subject to increased costs due to excess inventories and a decline in profitability as a result of increasing pressure on margins if we misjudge the demand for our products.

Our industry is subject to significant pricing pressure caused by many factors, including intense competition and a highly promotional environment, fragmentation in the retail industry, pressure from retailers to reduce the costs of products, and changes in consumer spending patterns. If we misjudge the market for our products we may be faced with significant excess inventories for some products and missed opportunities for other products. If that occurs, we may be forced to rely on destruction, donation, markdowns or promotional sales to dispose of excess, slow-moving inventory, which may negatively impact our gross margin, overall profitability and efficacy of our brands.

Increases in our costs, such as raw materials, labor or freight could negatively impact our gross margin. Labor costs at many of our manufacturers have been increasing significantly and, as the middle class in developing countries continues to grow, it is unlikely that such cost pressure will abate. Furthermore, the cost of transportation may fluctuate significantly if oil prices show

volatility. We may not be able to offset such increases in raw materials, labor or transportation costs through pricing measures or other means.

A decline in the volume of traffic to our stores could have a negative impact on our net sales.

The success of our retail stores located within malls and shopping centers may be impacted by (1) the location of the store within the mall or shopping center; (2) surrounding tenants or vacancies; (3) increased competition in areas where malls or shopping centers are located; (4) the amount spent on advertising and promotion to attract consumers to the mall; and (5) a shift towards online shopping resulting in a decrease in mall traffic. Declines in consumer traffic could have a negative impact on our net sales and could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, declines in traffic could result in store impairment charges if expected future cash flows of the related asset group do not exceed the carrying value.

The success of our business depends on our ability to retain the value of our brands and to respond to changing fashion and retail trends in a timely manner.

Tapestry, Inc. is a New York-based house of modern luxury lifestyle brands. Our Company and our brands are founded upon a consumer-led view of luxury that stands for inclusivity and approachability. Any misstep in product quality or design, customer service, marketing, unfavorable publicity or excessive product discounting could negatively affect the image of our brands with our customers. Furthermore, the product lines we have historically marketed and those that we plan to market in the future are becoming increasingly subject to rapidly changing fashion trends and consumer preferences, including the increasing shift to digital brand engagement and social media communication. If we do not anticipate and respond promptly to changing customer preferences and fashion trends in the design, production, and styling of our products, as well as create compelling marketing campaigns that appeal to our customers, our sales and results of operations may be negatively impacted. Our success also depends in part on our ability to execute on our plans and strategies. Even if our products, marketing campaigns and retail environments do meet changing customer preferences and/or stay ahead of changing fashion trends, our brand image could become tarnished or undesirable in the minds of our customers or target markets, which could materially adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Computer system disruption and cyber security threats, including a privacy or data security breach, could damage our relationships with our customers, harm our reputation, expose us to litigation and adversely affect our business.

We depend on digital technologies for the successful operation of our business, including corporate email communications to and from employees, customers and stores, the design, manufacture and distribution of our finished goods, digital marketing efforts, collection and retention of customer data, employee information, the processing of credit card transactions, online e-commerce activities and our interaction with the public in the social media space. The possibility of a cyber-attack on any one or all of these systems is a serious threat. The retail industry, in particular, has been the target of many recent cyber-attacks. As part of our business model, we collect, retain, and transmit confidential information over public networks. In addition to our own databases, we use third party service providers to store, process and transmit this information on our behalf. Although we contractually require these service providers to implement and use reasonable security measures, we cannot control third parties and cannot guarantee that a security breach will not occur in the future either at their location or within their systems. We also store all designs, goods specifications, projected sales and distribution plans for our finished products digitally. We have enterprise class and industry comparable security measures in place to protect both our physical facilities and digital systems from attacks. Despite these efforts, however, we may be vulnerable to targeted or random security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer malware, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors, or other similar events.

Awareness and sensitivity to privacy breaches and cyber security threats by consumers, employees and lawmakers is at an all-time high. Any misappropriation of confidential or personal information gathered, stored or used by us, be it intentional or accidental, could have a material impact on the operation of our business, including severely damaging our reputation and our relationships with our customers, employees and investors. We may also incur significant costs implementing additional security measures to protect against new or enhanced data security or privacy threats, or to comply with current and new state, federal and international laws governing the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information which are continuously being enacted and proposed such as the General Data Protection Regulation in the E.U. and the California Consumer Privacy Act in California, U.S.A., as well as increased cyber security protection costs such as organizational changes, deploying additional personnel and protection technologies, training employees, engaging third party experts and consultants and lost revenues resulting from unauthorized use of proprietary information including our intellectual property. Lastly, we could face sizable fines, significant breach containment and notification costs and increased litigation as a result of cyber security breaches.

In addition, we have e-commerce sites in certain countries throughout the world, including the U.S., Canada, Japan, mainland China, several throughout Europe and South Korea and have plans for additional e-commerce sites in other parts of the world. Additionally, Tapestry has informational websites in various countries, as described in Item I, "Business." Our e-commerce programs also include an invitation-only Coach outlet flash sale site and Kate Spade flash sale site. Given the robust nature of our e-commerce presence and digital strategy, it is imperative that we and our e-commerce partners maintain uninterrupted operation of our: (i) computer hardware, (ii) software systems, (iii) customer marketing databases, and (iv) ability to email our current and potential customers. Despite our preventative efforts, our systems are vulnerable from time-to-time to damage, disruption or interruption from, among other things, physical damage, natural disasters, inadequate system capacity, system issues, security breaches, email blocking lists, computer malware or power outages. Any material disruptions in our e-commerce presence or information technology systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Significant competition in our industry could adversely affect our business.

We face intense competition in the product lines and markets in which we operate. Our competitors are European and American luxury brands, as well as private label retailers, including some of the Company's wholesale customers. There is a risk that our competitors may develop new products or product categories that are more popular with our customers. We may be unable to anticipate the timing and scale of such product introductions by competitors, which could harm our business. Our ability to compete also depends on the strength of our brand, whether we can attract and retain key talent, and our ability to protect our trademarks and design patents. A failure to compete effectively could adversely affect our growth and profitability.

Our business is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

We monitor our global foreign currency exposure. In order to minimize the impact on earnings related to foreign currency rate movements, we hedge our cross currency intercompany inventory transactions, as well as the Company’s cross currency intercompany loan portfolio. We cannot ensure, however, that these hedges will fully offset the impact of foreign currency rate movements. Additionally, our international subsidiaries primarily use local currencies as the functional currency and translate their financial results from the local currency to U.S. dollars. If the U.S. dollar strengthens against these subsidiaries’ foreign currencies, the translation of their foreign currency denominated transactions may decrease consolidated net sales and profitability. Our continued international expansion will increase our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations. The majority of the Company's purchases and sales involving international parties, excluding international consumer sales, are denominated in U.S. dollars.

As a result of having operations outside of the U.S., we are also exposed to market risk from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Substantial changes in foreign currency exchange rates could cause our sales and profitability to be negatively impacted.

Our stock price may periodically fluctuate based on the accuracy of our earnings guidance or other forward-looking statements regarding our financial performance, including our ability to return value to investors.

Our business and long-range planning process is designed to maximize our long-term strength, growth, and profitability, and not to achieve an earnings target in any particular fiscal quarter. We believe that this longer-term focus is in the best interests of the Company and our stockholders. At the same time, however, we recognize that it is helpful to provide investors with guidance as to our forecast of net sales, operating income, net interest expense, earnings per diluted share and other financial metrics or projections. While we generally expect to provide updates to our financial guidance when we report our results each fiscal quarter, we do not have any responsibility to update any of our forward-looking statements at such times or otherwise. In addition, any longer-term guidance that we provide is based on goals that we believe, at the time guidance is given, are reasonably attainable for growth and performance over a number of years. However, such long-range targets are more difficult to predict than our current quarter and fiscal year expectations. If, or when, we announce actual results that differ from those that have been predicted by us, outside investment analysts, or others, our stock price could be adversely affected. Investors who rely on these predictions when making investment decisions with respect to our securities do so at their own risk. We take no responsibility for any losses suffered as a result of such changes in our stock price.

We periodically return value to investors through payment of quarterly dividends and common stock repurchases. Investors may have an expectation that we will continue to pay our quarterly dividend at certain levels and / or repurchase shares available under our common stock repurchase program. The market price of our securities could be adversely affected if our cash dividend rate or common stock repurchase activity differs from investors’ expectations. Refer to “If we are unable to pay quarterly dividends at intended levels, our reputation and stock price may be harmed” for additional discussion of our quarterly dividend.

Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property and curb the sale of counterfeit merchandise could injure our brands and negatively affect sales.

We believe our trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights are extremely important to our success and our competitive position. We devote significant resources to the registration and protection of our trademarks and to anti-counterfeiting efforts worldwide. In spite of our efforts, counterfeiting still occurs and if we are unsuccessful in challenging a third-party’s rights related to trademark, copyright, or patent this could adversely affect our future sales, financial condition, and results of operations. We are aggressive in pursuing entities involved in the trafficking and sale of counterfeit merchandise through legal action or other appropriate measures. We cannot guarantee that the actions we have taken to curb counterfeiting and protect our intellectual property will be adequate to protect the brand and prevent counterfeiting in the future. Our trademark applications may fail to result in registered trademarks or provide the scope of coverage sought. Furthermore, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights are often met with defenses and counterclaims attacking the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights. Unplanned increases in legal fees and other costs associated with defending our intellectual property rights could result in higher operating expenses. Finally, many countries’ laws do not protect intellectual property rights to the same degree as U.S. laws.

Our business is subject to the risks inherent in global sourcing activities.

As a Company engaged in sourcing on a global scale, we are subject to the risks inherent in such activities, including, but not limited to:

•	imposition of additional duties, taxes and other charges on imports or exports;

•	unavailability of, or significant fluctuations in the cost of, raw materials;

•	compliance by us and our independent manufacturers and suppliers with labor laws and other foreign governmental regulations;

•	increases in the cost of labor, fuel (including volatility in the price of oil), travel and transportation;

•	compliance with our Global Business Integrity Program;

•	compliance by our independent manufacturers and suppliers with our Global Operating Principles and/or Supplier Code of Conduct, as applicable;

•	compliance with U.S. laws regarding the identification and reporting on the use of “conflict minerals” sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Company’s products and the FCPA, U.K. Bribery Act and other global anti-corruption laws, as applicable;

•	disruptions or delays in shipments;

•	loss or impairment of key manufacturing or distribution sites;

•	inability to engage new independent manufacturers that meet the Company’s cost-effective sourcing model;

•	product quality issues;

•	political unrest, including protests and other civil disruption;

•	unforeseen public health crises, such as pandemic and epidemic diseases;

•	natural disasters or other extreme weather events, whether as a result of climate change or otherwise; and

•	acts of war or terrorism and other external factors over which we have no control.

We are subject to labor laws governing relationships with employees, including minimum wage requirements, overtime, working conditions, and citizenship requirements. Compliance with these laws may lead to increased costs and operational complexity and may increase our exposure to governmental investigations or litigation.

In addition, we require our independent manufacturers and suppliers to operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, as well as our Global Operating Principles and/or Supplier Code of Conduct; however, we do not control these manufacturers or suppliers or their labor, environmental or other business practices. Copies of our Global Business Integrity Program documents, including our Global Operating Principles, Anti-Corruption Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct are available through our website, www.tapestry.com. The violation of labor, environmental or other laws by an independent manufacturer or supplier, or divergence of an independent manufacturer’s or supplier’s labor practices from those generally accepted as ethical or appropriate in the U.S., could interrupt or otherwise disrupt the shipment of our products, harm our trademarks or damage our reputation. The occurrence of any of these events could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are dependent on a limited number of distribution and sourcing centers. Our ability to meet the needs of our customers and our retail stores and e-commerce sites depends on the proper operation of these centers. If any of these centers were to shut down or otherwise become inoperable or inaccessible for any reason, we could suffer a substantial loss of inventory and/or disruptions of deliveries to our retail and wholesale customers. While we have business continuity and contingency plans for our sourcing and distribution center sites, significant disruption of manufacturing or distribution for any of the above reasons could interrupt product supply, result in a substantial loss of inventory, increase our costs, disrupt deliveries to our customers and our retail stores, and, if not remedied in a timely manner, could have a material adverse impact on our business. Because our distribution centers include automated and computer controlled equipment, they are susceptible to risks including power interruptions, hardware and system failures, software viruses, and security breaches. We maintain a distribution center in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Tapestry. To support our growth in mainland China and Europe, we established distribution centers in mainland China and the Netherlands, owned and operated by a third-party, allowing us to better manage the logistics in these regions while reducing costs. We also operate distribution centers, through third-parties, in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, the U.S., Spain, Italy, the U.K., Canada, Australia and South Korea. The warehousing of the Company's merchandise, store replenishment and processing direct-to-customer orders is handled by these centers and a prolonged disruption in any center’s operation could materially adversely affect our business and operations.

We are subject to risks associated with leasing retail space subject to long-term and non-cancelable leases. We may be unable to renew leases at the end of their terms. If we close a leased retail space, we remain obligated under the applicable lease.

We do not own any of our retail store locations. We lease the majority of our stores under long-term, non-cancelable leases, which usually have initial terms ranging from five and ten years, often with renewal options. We believe that the majority of the leases we enter into in the future will likely be long-term and non-cancelable. Generally, our leases are “net” leases, which require us to pay our proportionate share of the cost of insurance, taxes, maintenance and utilities. We generally cannot cancel these leases at our option. If we determine that it is no longer economical to operate a retail store subject to a lease and decide to close it as we have done in the past and will do in the future, we may remain obligated under the applicable lease for, among other things, payment of the base rent for the balance of the lease term. In some instances, we may be unable to close an underperforming retail store due to continuous operation clauses in our lease agreements. In addition, as each of our leases expire, we may be unable to negotiate renewals, either on commercially acceptable terms or at all, which could cause us to close retail stores in desirable locations. Our inability to secure desirable retail space or favorable lease terms could impact our ability to grow. Likewise, our obligation to continue making lease payments in respect of leases for closed retail spaces could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our success depends, in part, on attracting, developing and retaining qualified employees, including key personnel.

The ability to successfully execute against our goals is heavily dependent on attracting, developing and retaining qualified employees, including our senior management team. Competition in our industry to attract and retain these employees is intense and is influenced by our ability to offer competitive compensation and benefits, employee morale, our reputation, recruitment by other employers, perceived internal opportunities, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements and macro unemployment rates. Our operational efficiency initiatives as well as acquisitions and related integration activity may intensify this risk.

We depend on the guidance of our senior management team and other key employees who have significant experience and expertise in our industry and our operations. In recent years, we have evolved our senior leadership team and have focused on retaining key roles. The unexpected loss of one or more of our key personnel or any negative public perception with respect to these individuals could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We do not maintain key-person or similar life insurance policies on any of senior management team or other key personnel.

Our wholesale business could suffer as a result of consolidations, liquidations, restructurings and other ownership changes in the wholesale industry.

Our wholesale business comprised approximately 11% of total net sales for fiscal 2019. Continued fragmentation in the industry could further decrease the number of, or concentrate the ownership of, stores that carry our and our licensees’ products. Furthermore, a decision by the controlling owner of a group of stores or any other significant customer, whether motivated by competitive conditions, financial difficulties or otherwise, to decrease or eliminate the amount of merchandise purchased from us or our licensing partners could result in an adverse effect on the sales and profitability within this channel.

Additionally, certain of our wholesale customers, particularly those located in the U.S., have become highly promotional and have aggressively marked down their merchandise, which could negatively impact our brands or could affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

As we outsource functions, we will become more dependent on the third parties performing these functions.

As part of our long-term strategy, we look for opportunities to cost effectively enhance capability of business services. While we believe we conduct appropriate due diligence before entering into agreements with these third parties, the failure of any of these third parties to provide the expected services, provide them on a timely basis or to provide them at the prices we expect could

disrupt or harm our business. Any significant interruption in the operations of these service providers, over which we have no control, could also have an adverse effect on our business. Furthermore, we may be unable to provide these services or implement substitute arrangements on a timely and cost-effective basis on terms favorable to us.

Fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate may result in volatility of our financial results and stock price.

On December 22, 2017, “H.R.1,” formerly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Legislation”) was signed into law. The Tax Legislation, which became effective on January 1, 2018, significantly revised the U.S. tax code. Refer to Item 2, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition & Results of Operations - Executive Overview and Note 15, “Income Taxes,” for further information on the provisions of the Tax Legislation and the currently expected impact on the Company. The Company has recorded its best estimate of impact of the Tax Legislation through its provision for income taxes in the fiscal year ended June 29, 2019 pursuant to Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 740, Income Taxes, and the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) 118. All amounts recorded were based on available guidance on interpretation of the Tax Legislation and, the Company believes, reasonable approaches to estimating its impact. As future guidance becomes available, adjustments may be made to reflect the impact of such guidance in the provision for income taxes.

We are subject to income taxes in many jurisdictions. We record tax expense based on our estimates of taxable income and required reserves for uncertain tax positions in multiple tax jurisdictions. At any one time, multiple tax years are subject to audit by various taxing jurisdictions. The results of these audits and negotiations with taxing authorities may result in a settlement which differs from our original estimate. As a result, we expect that throughout the year there could be ongoing variability in our quarterly tax rates as events occur and exposures are evaluated. In addition, our effective tax rate in a given financial statement period may be materially impacted by changes in the mix and level of earnings. Further, proposed tax changes that may be enacted in the future could impact our current or future tax structure and effective tax rates.

Our operating results are subject to seasonal and quarterly fluctuations, which could adversely affect the market price of the Company's common stock.

The Company's results are typically affected by seasonal trends. We have historically realized, and expect to continue to realize, higher sales and operating income in the second quarter of our fiscal year. Poor sales in the Company's second fiscal quarter would have a material adverse effect on its full year operating results and result in higher inventories. In addition, fluctuations in net sales, operating income and operating cash flows of the Company in any fiscal quarter may be affected by the timing of wholesale shipments and other events affecting retail sales, including adverse weather conditions or other macroeconomic events.

We rely on our licensing partners to preserve the value of our licenses and the failure to maintain such partners could harm our business.

Our brands currently have multi-year agreements with licensing partners for certain products. Refer to Item 1 - “Business - Licensing” for additional discussion of our key licensing arrangements. In the future, we may enter into additional licensing arrangements. The risks associated with our own products also apply to our licensed products as well as unique problems that our licensing partners may experience, including risks associated with each licensing partner’s ability to obtain capital, manage its labor relations, maintain relationships with its suppliers, manage its credit and bankruptcy risks, and maintain customer relationships. While we maintain significant control over the products produced for us by our licensing partners, any of the foregoing risks, or the inability of any of our licensing partners to execute on the expected design and quality of the licensed products or otherwise exercise operational and financial control over its business, may result in loss of revenue and competitive harm to our operations in the product categories where we have entered into such licensing arrangements. Further, while we believe that we could replace our existing licensing partners if required, our inability to do so for any period of time could adversely affect our revenues and harm our business.

We also may decide not to renew our agreements with our licensing partners and bring certain categories in-house. We may face unexpected difficulties or costs in connection with any action to bring currently licensed categories in-house.

If we are unable to pay quarterly dividends or conduct stock repurchases at intended levels, our reputation and stock price may be harmed.

The dividend program and the stock repurchase program each require the use of a portion of our cash flow. Our ability to pay dividends and conduct stock repurchases will depend on our ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations in the future. This ability may be subject to certain economic, financial, competitive and other factors that are beyond our control. Our Board of Directors (“Board”) may, at its discretion, decrease or entirely discontinue these programs at any time. Any failure to pay dividends or conduct stock repurchases, or conduct either program at expected levels, after we have announced our intention to do so may negatively impact our reputation, investor confidence in us and negatively impact our stock price.

We have incurred a substantial amount of indebtedness, which could restrict our ability to engage in additional transactions or incur additional indebtedness.

As of June 29, 2019, our consolidated indebtedness was approximately $1.6 billion. We also have the capacity to borrow up to $900 million of additional indebtedness under our undrawn revolving credit facility, which may be used to finance our working capital needs, capital expenditures, permitted investments, share purchases, dividends and other general corporate purposes. This substantial level of indebtedness could have important consequences to our business including making it more difficult to satisfy our debt obligations, increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions, limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate and restricting us from pursuing certain business opportunities. In addition, the terms of our credit facility contain affirmative and negative covenants, including a leverage ratio, as well as limitations on our ability to incur debt, grant liens, engage in mergers and dispose of assets. These consequences and limitations could reduce the benefits we expect to achieve from the acquisition of Kate Spade or impede our ability to engage in future business opportunities or strategic acquisitions.

Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our debt obligations and to fund planned capital expenditures depends on our ability to generate cash from our operations. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot guarantee that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from our operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to make payments of our debt, fund other liquidity needs and make planned capital expenditures. In addition, our ability to access the credit and capital markets in the future as a source of funding, and the borrowing costs associated with such financing, is dependent upon market conditions and our credit rating and outlook.

Provisions in the Company's charter, bylaws and Maryland law may delay or prevent an acquisition of the Company by a third party.

The Company's charter, bylaws and Maryland law contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire the Company without the consent of our Board. The Company's charter permits a majority of its entire Board, without stockholder approval, to amend the charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that the Company has the authority to issue. In addition, the Company's Board may classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock and may set the preferences, rights and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. Although the Company's Board has no intention to do so at the present time, it could establish a class or series of preferred stock that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for the Company's common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of the Company's stockholders.

The Company's bylaws can be amended by our Board or by the approval of a majority of the vote entitled to be cast by our stockholders. The Company's bylaws provide that nominations of persons for election to the Company's Board and the proposal of business to be considered at an annual meeting of stockholders may be made only in the notice of the meeting, by the Company's Board or by a stockholder who is a stockholder of record as of the record date set by the Company's Board for purposes of determining stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, at the time of giving notice and at the time of the meeting and has complied with the advance notice procedures of the Company's bylaws. Also, under Maryland law, business combinations, including mergers, consolidations, share exchanges, or, in circumstances specified in the statute, asset transfers or issuances or reclassifications of equity securities, between the Company and any interested stockholder, generally defined as any person who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the Company's common stock, or any affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for a five-year period, beginning on the most recent date such person became an interested stockholder. After this period, a combination of this type must be approved by two super-majority stockholder votes, unless common stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares. The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by our Board prior to the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder.