UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549


 
FORM 10-K



(Mark One)
  Annual report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020

OR

 ☐ Transition report pursuant to Section 13 of 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the transition period from _______________ to ________________

Commission File Number: 000-23329



Charles & Colvard, Ltd.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



North Carolina 56-1928817
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

170 Southport Drive
Morrisville, North Carolina
 
 
27560
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(919) 468-0399
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, no par value per shareCTHRThe NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None



Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes ☐  No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.
Yes ☐  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.   Yes ☒  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).
Yes ☒  No
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “smaller reporting“emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filerAccelerated filer
  
 
Non-accelerated filer☐ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)Smaller reporting company
Emerging growth company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes☐  No

As of June 30, 2016,December 31, 2019, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $19,558,694$36,362,504 based on the closing sales price as reported on The NASDAQ Global SelectNasdaq Capital Market.

As of March 3, 2017,August 28, 2020, there were 21,386,13628,965,660 shares of the registrant’s common stock, no par value per share, outstanding.

DOCUMENT INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain portions of the Proxy Statement for the registrant’s 20172020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 17, 2017November 19, 2020 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.10-K.



CHARLES & COLVARD, LTD.

FORM 10-K
For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  
Page
Number
PART I  
Item 1.
12
Item 1A.
1317
Item 1B.
2027
Item 2.
2027
Item 3.
2027
Item 4.
2027
   
PART II  
Item 5.
2028
Item 6.
2028
Item 7.
2129
Item 7A.
3447
Item 8.
3548
Item 9.
6381
Item 9A.
6381
Item 9B.
6482
   
PART III  
Item 10.
6482
Item 11.
6482
Item 12.
6482
Item 13.
6482
Item 14.
6482
   
PART IV  
Item 15.
6483
Item 16.
6786
  


FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Statements expressing expectations regarding our future and projections relating to products, sales, revenues, and earnings are typical of such statements and are made under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, representations, and contentions and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “continue,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.

All forward-looking statements are subject to the risks and uncertainties inherent in predicting the future. You should be aware that although the forward-looking statements included herein represent management’s current judgment and expectations, our actual results may differ materially from those projected, stated, or implied in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors including, but not limited to, (1) our dependence onbusiness, financial condition and results of operations could continue to be adversely affected by an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related global economic conditions; (2) our future financial performance depends upon increased consumer awareness, acceptance, and growth of sales of our products, resulting fromand operational execution of our strategic initiatives; dependence on a limited number of customers; the impact of(3) the execution of our business plans oncould significantly impact our liquidity; (4) our business and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected as a result of general and economic conditions; (5) the financial difficulties or insolvency of one or more of our major customers or their lack of willingness and ability to market our products could adversely affect results; (6) we face intense competition in the worldwide gemstone and jewelry industry; (7) we are subject to certain risks due to our international operations, distribution channels and vendors; (8) our business and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected as a result of our inability to fulfill orders on a timely basis; (9) we are currently dependent on a limited number of distributor and retail partners in our Traditional segment for the financial conditionsale of our major customersproducts; (10) we rely on assumptions, estimates, and their willingness and abilitydata to market our products; dependence on our exclusive supply agreement with Cree, Inc. for the sole supply of the raw material; intense competition in the worldwide jewelry industry; our ability to successfully manage the transitioncalculate certain of our Chief Financial Officerkey metrics and other organizational change;real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may harm our abilityreputation and negatively affect our business; (11) our failure to maintain compliance with theThe Nasdaq Stock Market’s continued listing requirements of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, or NASDAQ; our current wholesale customers’ potential perception of us as a competitorcould result in the finished jewelry business;delisting of our common stock; (12) we may experience quality control  challenges from time to time that can result in lost revenue and harm to our brands and reputation; general economic(13) seasonality of our business may adversely affect our net sales and market conditions, includingoperating income; (14) our operations could be disrupted by natural disasters; (15) our loan, pursuant to the current economic environment; risksPaycheck Protection Program, or the PPP Loan, under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, as administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration, or the SBA, may not be forgiven or may subject us to challenges and investigations regarding qualification for the loan; (16) we may not  be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, which could harm the value of conductingour products and brands and adversely affect our business; (17) negative or inaccurate information on social media could adversely impact our brand and reputation; (18) we depend  on an exclusive supply agreement, or the Supply Agreement, with Cree, Inc., or Cree, for substantially all of our silicon carbide, or SiC, crystals, the raw materials we use to produce moissanite jewels; if our supply of high-quality SiC crystals is interrupted, our business in foreign countries; the impactmay be materially harmed; (19) sales of natural disasters on our operations;moissanite jewelry could be dependent upon the pricing of precious metals, which is beyond our control; (20) our current customers may potentially perceive us as a competitor in the potential impactfinished jewelry business; (21) if the e-commerce opportunity changes dramatically or if e-commerce technology or providers change their models, our results of seasonality on our business; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the risk ofoperations may be adversely affected; (22) a failure of our information technology infrastructure or a failure to protect confidential information of our customers and preventour network against security breaches; thebreaches could adversely impact of significant changes in e-commerce opportunities, technology, or models; the failureour business and operations; (23) if we fail to evaluate, implement, and integrate strategic opportunities; possible adverse effects ofacquisition or disposition opportunities successfully, our business may suffer; (24) governmental regulation and oversight;oversight might adversely impact our operations; and the impact of(25) some anti-takeover provisions included inof our charter documents may delay or prevent a takeover of our company, in addition to the other risks and uncertainties described in more detail in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur except as required by the federal securities laws, and you are urged to review and consider disclosures that we make in the reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, that discuss other factors relevant to our business.

PART I

Item 1.
Business

Overview

GeneralOur Mission

At Charles & Colvard, we believe that fine jewelry can be accessible, beautiful, and conscientious. With innovative technology and sustainable practices, our goal is to lead a revolution in the jewelry industry – delivering a brilliant product at extraordinary value balanced with environmental and social responsibility.

About Charles & Colvard

Charles & Colvard, Ltd., a North Carolina corporation founded in 1995 (which may be referred to as Charles & Colvard, we, us, or our), manufactures, markets and distributes Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® (which we refer to as moissanite or moissanite jewels) and finished jewelry featuring our proprietary moissanite gemstone for sale in the worldwide jewelry market. Moissanite, also known by its chemical name silicon carbide (SiC),Our unique differentiator, moissanite – The World’s Most Brilliant Gem® is core to our ambition to create a rare mineral first discoveredmovement around beautiful, environmentally and socially responsible fine jewelry and fashion jewelry. Charles & Colvard is the originator of lab-created moissanite, and we believe that we are leading the way in delivering the premium moissanite brand through technological advances in gemstone manufacturing, cutting, polishing, and setting. By coupling what we believe to be unprecedented lab-created gemstones with responsibly sourced precious metals, we are delivering a meteorite crater. Because naturally occurring SiC crystals are too smalluniquely positioned product line for commercial use, larger crystals must be grown inthe conscientious consumer.

Our strategy is to build a laboratory. Leveragingglobally revered and accessible brand of gemstones and finished jewelry that appeals to a wide consumer audience and leverages our advantage of being the original and leading worldwide source of created moissanite,moissanite. We believe a direct relationship with consumers is important to this strategy, which entails delivering tailored educational content, engaging in dialogue with our strategy isaudience, and positioning our brand to establishmeet the demands of today’s discerning consumer. In June 2019, we successfully completed an underwritten public offering of 6,250,000 shares of our common stock, which, together with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option for an additional 630,500 shares in July 2019, resulted in total gross proceeds of approximately $11.01 million, before deducting the underwriting discount and fees and expenses of approximately $1.02 million. The timing of this financing event was critical given the growing worldwide acceptance of lab-created gemstones with emerging generations of consumers. These proceeds, which we are using for marketing and for general corporate and working capital purposes, will enable us to focus efforts on expanding Charles & Colvard global brand awareness with reputable, high-quality,our target consumer and sophisticated brands across multiple channels, and to position moissanite as an ethically-sourced, affordable, and luxurious alternative to other gemstones such as diamond. We believe this is possible due to moissanite’s exceptional brilliance, fire, durability, and rarity like no other jewel available on the market. further develop our global omni-channel sales.

We sell loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry at wholesale to distributors, manufacturers, retailers, TV shopping networks,through two operating segments: our Online Channels segment, which encompasses our digital properties components, comprises our charlesandcolvard.com website, e-commerce outlets, including marketplaces, drop-ship customers, and designers, and at retail to end consumers through our wholly owned operating subsidiaries, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC (formerly Moissanite.com, LLC) and Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (until March 2016), and through third-party marketplaces. As of September 30, 2016, we changed the name of our wholly owned subsidiary Moissanite.com, LLC to charlesandcolvard.com, LLC.
In February 2016, we made the strategic decision to explore a potential divestiture of our direct-to-consumer home party business previously operated through our Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (dba Lulu Avenue®) subsidiary. After careful analysis of our core competencies, go-to-market strategies, and intent to advance toward profitability, the management team and Board of Directors determined a divestiture of this distribution channel to be in our best interestother pure-play, exclusively e-commerce customers; and our shareholders’ best interest. On March 4, 2016, weTraditional segment, which consists of domestic and Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC entered into an asset purchase agreement with Yanbal USA, Inc., or Yanbal, under which Yanbal purchased certain assets related to our direct-to-consumer home party business for $500,000international distributors and assumed certain liabilities related to such assets. A more detailed description of this transaction is included in Note 12, “Discontinued Operations”, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

As a result of the divestiture of our direct-to-consumer home party business operated through our Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (dba Lulu Avenue®) subsidiary, during the three months ended March 31, 2016, we began managing our business primarily through our two continuing distribution channels. Accordingly, for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, our reportable segments are our wholesale distribution channel transacted through our parent entity, and our direct-to-consumer distribution channel transacted through the wholly owned operating subsidiary, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC. We are now presenting the operating results of Charles and Colvard Direct, LLC as a discontinued operation.retail customers.

We sellreport segment information based on the “management” approach. This segment reporting approach designates the internal reporting used by management for making operating decisions and assessing performance as the source of our loose moissanite jewels at wholesaleoperating and reportable segments. For more information about our operating segments, see Note 3 to someour consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of the largest distributors and jewelry manufacturers in the world, which mount them into fine jewelry to be sold at retail outlets and via the Internet. We also sell loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite at wholesale to retailers, TV shopping networks, and designers to be sold to end consumers and directly to consumers through our e-commerce sales channel charlesandcolvard.com and third-party marketplaces. this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We believe our continued and expanding useapplication of multiplean omni-channel sales channels tostrategy across the jewelry trade and to the end consumer with accessible gemstones and value branded finished jewelry featuring moissanite positions Charles & Colvard moissanite positions our goods at the many touchpoints where consumers are when they are making their buying decisions – thereby creating greater exposure for our brand and increasing consumer demand.

United States, or
2

COVID-19 Update

As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the world, the ongoing global pandemic continues to prompt governments and businesses to maintain and, in some cases, extend unprecedented measures in response. Such measures have included federal, state, county and local governments, and public health organizations and authorities around the world implementing a variety of measures intended to control the spread of the virus, including quarantines, “stay-at-home” orders, travel restrictions, school closures, business limitations and closures, social distancing and hygiene requirements.

During February 2020, following the initial outbreak of the virus in China, the COVID-19 pandemic and related governmental and business responses began to have an adverse effect on our operations, supply chains, distribution channels, and consumer buying behaviors. Cumulatively, these things also impacted the net realizable value and marketability of our legacy inventory, which was subsequently written-off during our fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Governments in many parts of the world have begun to relax some of the previously imposed COVID-19 related measures and restrictions, and these areas have seen businesses and activities beginning to reopen, with the lives of those citizens beginning to return somewhat to pre-pandemic levels. However, many other parts of the world, including the U.S., are seeing signs that the virus is continuing to spread rapidly with unprecedented rates of infection and illness, and the cessation and relaxing of previously imposed business, travel, and social restrictions by these affected governments are, in some cases, being halted. Accordingly, in many parts of the U.S. we are seeing the reopening trends of our businesses, factories, schools, and retail outlets slowing and, in many instances, reversing altogether. We are also seeing significant and strict social distancing and public safety requirements, including facial coverings, imposed throughout the country. The COVID-19 pandemic and these ongoing measures and restrictions continue to adversely affect workforces, customers, economies, and global supply chains, and further result in significant travel and transport restrictions – all of which have combined to further lead to an ongoing worldwide economic downturn and a decrease in demand for our products. These actions and events continue to disrupt the normal operations of many businesses, including ours.

While we are gradually resuming operations, we are meeting consumer demand through our transactional website charlesandcolvard.com and across our omni-channel sales represented 90%outlets including drop-ship partners such as Macys.com, Helzberg.com, Belk.com, and 86%Overstock.com, through marketplaces such as Amazon.com, and supplying global wholesaler product needs. Consequently, we have begun seeing a rebound in demand for our products during our fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant adverse impact on our business, results of total consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2016operations, financial condition, and 2015, respectively. Our largest customerliquidity during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 accounted for 23% of our total consolidated sales compared to 25% during the year ended December 31, 2015. A second customer accounted for 17% of our total consolidated sales during the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to 11% during the year ended December 31, 2015. No additional customers accounted for more than 10% of total consolidated sales in 2016June 30, 2020, or 2015.Fiscal 2020.

2016 was a pivotal year for Charles & Colvard. Acting on our vision which is driven by an ethical promise: “create the world’s most brilliant gem, while leading the way for environmentally and socially responsible choices in the jewelry industry at a revolutionary value,” we embarked on a corporate re-branding initiative designed to position our brand as a premier, consumer-facing purveyor of jewels and fine jewelry. We believe this new brand presence positions us with a platform that can support our multi-channel, global expansion strategy. Over the course of the year, we delivered key elements of our strategic plan in support of this new brand roll-out including expansion of Forever OneTM, a move up-market, expansion of our jewelry line, growth within our traditional channels, expansion of our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business and a laser focus on millennials. A more detailed description of our achievementsthe actions we have taken, and are taking, in 2016response to the COVID-19 pandemic is included in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Operations.”

Our go-forward strategyMarket Opportunity

According to an August 2020 study by Forbes Magazine, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an historical shift in e-commerce during 2020. While traditional retail sales have declined, e-commerce has seen a 129% growth year-over-year in the U.S. and Canada as of April 2020, with a 146% growth in all online retail orders. Substantially all brick-and-mortar stores have migrated retail sales online in order to survive the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Forbes projects that U.S. e-commerce sales are estimated to hit approximately $710 billion for the calendar year ending December 31, 2020, or about 15% of total U.S. retail sales, up from approximately $602 billion, or 11%, of total retail sales, as compared to 2019.

By 2025, the global luxury fashion jewelry market is oneexpected to drive approximately $480 billion in worldwide sales according to a February 2020 report from Statista, a leading global provider of optimizationretail market and consumer driven data. We believe the convergence of the online jewelry shopper and the emergence of lab-created gemstones as a solution to the underserved, ethically minded consumer presents a bright and sizeable opportunity for Charles & Colvard.

Our Strategic Outlook

The full extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operational and financial performance is currently uncertain and will depend on many factors outside of our control, including, without limitation, the timing, extent, trajectory and duration of the pandemic, the development and availability of effective treatments and vaccines, the imposition of protective public safety measures, and the impact of the pandemic on the global economy and demand for consumer products. We expect the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, or Fiscal 2021.

Our strategic focus for Fiscal 2021 is centered on the expansion of Charles & Colvard’s brand on a global scale and to increase the size of our business through top-line growth. Our future success will be measured onAs lab-created gemstones are being embraced by emerging generations, we believe our ability to expand existing channels while discovering new channel partnersestablish moissanite and new markets through calculated salesthe Charles & Colvard brand directly with consumers is key to our future success and marketing efforts. ability to fuel our growth. We will execute on our key strategies with a continued commitment to spending judiciously and generating sustainable earnings improvement.

Our key strategiesstrategic goals for 2017Fiscal 2021 are as follows:

Expansion of Digital Presence. We plan to continue focusing on conversion-based advertising campaigns by way of capitalizing on our existing digital platform and transactional website, charlesandcolvard.com. We intend to improve and grow our online presence and properties. We believe that we have the ability to utilize new functionality to engage our captive social media audience on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, among others, by showcasing our products in real time through available existing online video streaming and live stream broadcasting platforms. In addition, we plan to develop and roll-out a new transactional website, moisssaniteoutlet.com. We believe this new platform will provide us a more targeted opportunity to sell some of our more accessible and market value-branded inventory. We also believe in the power of community. Accordingly, we plan to continue our work with locally based companies and organizations through our existing corporate outreach and social responsibility programs as well as our soon-to-be implemented corporate alliance program. We believe these programs will incrementally expand our digital footprint and product reach.

Enhanced Customer Engagement. We intend to further develop and evolve our existing technological platform and customized virtual services for our customers. We intend to expand our existing virtual shopping consultation service beyond our current offering in order to engage with more customers in a personal way. We also plan to develop a new digital consumer engagement program that will incentivize existing customers and loyal brand advocates to become digital ambassadors of the Charles & Colvard brand and to encourage their friends and families to make purchases.


·
Innovate the Forever OneProduct DevelopmentTM product line. . We planintend to invest research and development funds and efforts into the continued expansion of theelevate our Forever OneTM offering including new jewel shapesbrand and sizes.

·
our patented ExpandSignature Collection as well as expand our product selection. Our transactional website, charlesandcolvard.com, is the premier platform where we market and sell our finished jewelry line.products set with Forever OneTM gemstones. However, charlesandcolvard.com is also the ideal stage where we are able to tell our story and to educate consumers about our brand. This is where consumers will be able to find a more robust collection of educational content and visual media assets  to learn about the premium quality of our Forever One™ Wegemstones and jewelry. Additionally, we plan to collaboratedevelop and bring new products to market that align with key designersour core values and jewelry suppliers to expand our product line and introduce new collections of fashion, fine, and bridal jewelry.overall strategic vision.

2Disciplined Growth. We are aware of the challenges facing the U.S. and global economies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we intend to develop a strategic acquisition growth strategy that over time is based on creating sustainable long-term value. In the meantime, we plan to continue an organic growth strategy through a dedication to our existing core product market, and providing exemplary customer service. We also plan to explore strategic alliance partnership relationships with businesses in the retail and jewelry industry where we believe that we would be able to capitalize on existing market synergies and likeminded product brands for market growth. To accomplish our long-term acquisition growth strategy, we intend to seek appropriate acquisition opportunities of companies to expand our operations, seek new or leading brand positions, and leverage our existing sales, marketing, and distribution infrastructure. We plan to prudently pursue strategic acquisitions that are both complementary and accretive in pursuit of our plans for long-term value and growth.

4

Distributing to the Online Channels Segment

Driven by continuously updated knowledge of Contentsour audience, through e-commerce and web analytics as well as research through social media and customer service channels, we proactively engage our consumers through a multi-channel digital marketing strategy. Our goal is to continue growing our direct relationship with the consumer, which we believe will drive interest across all of our selling channels.

Our approach for marketing directly to the consumer in our Online Channels segment includes the following types of communication channels: (i) organic social media; (ii) paid advertising (including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display ads, video ads, and social media advertising); (iii) email; (iv) public relations; (v) influencers; and (vi) our own website. In addition, our marketing approach comprises the following types of content types: (i) photography; (ii) videos; (iii) interactive immersive experiences; and (iv) user-generated content.

Equally as important to us as marketing to our direct consumer audience is moving our customers through the process of engaging with our brand – and eventually converting them into a lifetime customer. Throughout our marketing tactics, we employ calls to action that drive the consumer to the many places where they can view our products and complete their purchase. We utilize a centralized distribution and fulfillment facility in Morrisville, North Carolina, to fulfill Online Channels segment orders.

Following are our primary online transactional channels:

charlesandcolvard.com. We believe that we continue to enhance our transactional website to optimize for the mobile consumer and to improve our customers’ experience. Programs such as free shipping, a 60-day returns policy, and an enhanced and optimized shopping experience have been rolled out over time. With data collected through web analytics, and through user surveys that reveal how consumers use the site, we are in a continual state of optimizing the buying experience – making it easier for shoppers to browse, sort and compare. We utilize these data to inform the selection of new, leading-edge technologies to further enhance our users’ experience, including technologies provided by such partners as Amazon Pay, Affirm, Inc., and PayPal Holdings, Inc., or PayPal, for financing purchases, Braintree, a service of PayPal, for ease of transfer, and Flow, which is a company that specializes in facilitating cross-border global trade and e-commerce services. Our goal is to remain continually focused on improving our customers’ experience.

Cross-Border Trade. Through the application of market-leading cross-border trade, or CBT, technology, such as building our relationship with Flow, we believe CBT to be a significant opportunity in Fiscal 2021 and beyond. For example, Flow Commerce, Inc., or Flow, is widely considered the next-generation for CBT e-commerce transactions and is known worldwide to be revolutionizing how merchants go global. Flow’s platform helps such global enterprises create a positive and localized shopping experience for their international customers while helping to ensure a complete and accurate record of CBT transactions for the enterprise.


Marketplaces. A large majority of buyers start their online shopping experience with a web search. In fact, according to jumpshot®, a global content management and digital intelligence firm that tracked marketplace data, more than 50% of those web searches begin on Amazon. That number skews even higher within the Millennial demographic in that Amazon is the web search brand Millennials identify as most relevant based on a finding by the Pew Research Center, a renowned nonpartisan fact think tank. Therefore, we have made a point to be prominent on Amazon, achieving Seller-Fulfilled Prime status in 2017, which means we have the option of fulfilling orders with the same benefits of Amazon Prime. This enables us to be positioned more prominently in Amazon’s search platform and to take advantage of their negotiated shipping rates and service levels that, in turn, lower our overall shipping costs. This status is available by Amazon to only those sellers who have a history of fulfilling orders quickly and maintaining appropriate levels of stock. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, or Fiscal 2019, we expanded our relationship with Amazon to include many international locations, including websites in Europe, Australia, and Japan. We also have a market presence on eBay and a multitude of other specialty marketplaces, allowing us to meet our customers when and where they want to buy. Our goal is to continue to optimize our presence on these marketplaces and to expand into new regions and platforms where we have identified cost-effective opportunities.

5

·
Invest in key retail and wholesale partnerships. We plan to leverage significant groundwork laid with existing partners whose brands and customers align with ours to amplify our reach into these established markets.
Table of Contents
Pure-Play E-tailers. FTI Consulting, a global business advisory firm, estimates that 25% of total retail sales will become e-commerce centric by 2030. As consumers become more digitally savvy, new businesses have gained traction by tailoring their product, services and experiences to specific consumer preferences. We believe that these pure-play e-tailers offer unique opportunities for Charles & Colvard to feature our gemstones and connect with their loyal audiences.

·
Explore new traditional and non-traditional sales channels. We plan to discover unexplored channels as green field opportunities that may open new and innovative ways to reach the consumer where they are shopping.
Drop Ship Retail. In an effort to smartly expand their assortments, many retailers utilize direct fulfillment from their vendors to their consumers, or drop-ship, as it enables them to offer a more robust assortment online without having to physically take ownership of the goods in their warehouse. These retailers are consistently seeking socially responsible brands to serve the growing demand for conscientious product selection from their audiences. Since we began drop-shipping products in 2013, we have refined our information technology and operations capabilities to support these partnership arrangements in multiple ways, including fully integrated electronic data interchange, or EDI, solutions for inventory management, order processing, and invoicing. Operationally, we maintain in-stock rates and leverage our centralized distribution and fulfillment facility to meet partner service-level agreements, or SLAs, for shipments and returns. We plan to continue seeking new partnership arrangements as well as optimize existing arrangements throughout Fiscal 2021 and beyond.

·
Convey e-commerce learning to new channels. We plan to leverage our experience and significant underpinnings in e-commerce to expand our footprint into new channels and regions.
Distributing to the Traditional Segment

·
Evolve our customer service function. We plan to continually improve our customer service function with the intention of delivering world-class service to our wholesale partners and direct consumers.
The Traditional segment is our legacy segment – represented by such outlets as manufacturers, distributors, and brick-and-mortar retailers. Going forward, these market channels remain important avenues for Charles & Colvard to drive product to market and be present in the many places the consumer takes his or her shopping journey.

·
Amplify our global marketing efforts. We plan to carefully measure the return on our marketing investments, and focus our efforts on profitable endeavors that drive interest in the Charles & Colvard brand, pull consumers to our many sales and educational outlets, and drive conversions.
Our approach for marketing to customers and strategic partners within our Traditional segment includes the following types of communication channels: (i) trade advertising; (ii) industry associations; (iii) trade shows; and (iv) cooperative advertising.

We utilize a centralized distribution and fulfillment facility in Morrisville, North Carolina, to fill bulk orders to manufacturer, distributor, and retail customers.

Retail. In order to create awareness and exposure for our gemstones, jewelry, and brands, we sell loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite at wholesale prices to nationally recognized and emerging retail customers through a broad range of channels including jewelry chains and department stores. Wholesale orders are received by way of purchase orders and fulfilled from our centralized fulfillment center. In many cases, we have placed loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry inventory in stores on a consignment basis. Under this consignment model, in accordance with our revenue recognition accounting policy, we recognize the revenue for these transactions after the retail partner has sold an item to a consumer or other contractual conditions are met. In other cases, a retailer purchases the goods, or a portion of the goods, under what we call an asset purchase model.  Under the asset model, we recognize the sale and related revenue upon transfer of the goods to the retailer. Due to the maturity of certain retail relationships, we have recently migrated select brick-and mortar partners to a blended asset and consignment model account structure, which affords us more favorable customer payment terms that result in more favorable cash flow. We will continue to evolve our retail channel strategy as we optimize our methods and partnership arrangements.

Domestic Manufacturers and Distributors. In order to service the vast number of independent jewelers, jewelry stores, and smaller jewelry chains, we sell our loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry to domestic wholesale distributors and finished jewelry manufacturers at distributor prices, that in turn resell the loose jewels or finished jewelry at a markup to independent jewelers and jewelry stores – whether brick-and-mortar, online, or both. In limited circumstances, we have placed loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry inventory with select domestic distributors on a consignment basis. We continue to evaluate our channel strategy for domestic distributors, which may result in a change to our historical domestic distributor methods and partners.

6

·
Advance toward profitability. We plan to make calculated investments in our growth while continually striving to reach profitability.
Table of Contents
International Manufacturers and Distributors. In order to create global awareness and exposure for our gemstones, jewelry, and brands, we sell loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite to international wholesale distributors and finished jewelry manufacturers at distributor prices, that in turn sell the actual loose jewels or set the loose jewels in mountings and sell the finished jewelry to brick-and-mortar and online retailers. We currently have numerous international wholesale distributors based in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. Some of these distributors typically sell into neighboring countries and the extended geographic regions where they may be located. Additionally, from time to time, we have placed loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry inventory with select international distributors on a consignment basis. We continue to evaluate our channel strategy for international distributors, which may result in a change to our historical international distributor methods and strategic partners. A portion of our international sales consists of finished jewels sold internationally that may be re-imported to U.S. retailers.

For a discussion of our largest customers for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, see Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Seasonality

Sales in the retail jewelry industry are typically seasonal due to increased consumer purchases during the calendar year-end holiday season. Because historically we have primarily sold our loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite at wholesale pricing to distributors, manufacturers, and retailers, our sales to support the holiday season have largely taken place during the third and beginning of the fourth calendar quarters, depending on the sales channel and the level of advanced planning and production our customers undertook. However, the effect of seasonality on our business is also impacted by the timing of orders we receive to support new or expanded distribution and the level of current inventory positions held by our customers. In recent years, we have experienced a higher degree of seasonality in the fourth calendar quarter than we have experienced in prior years primarily as a result of the holiday season sales to end consumers through our Online Channels segment. In future periods, as sales of our finished jewelry increase to retailers and directly to consumers, both in dollars and as a percentage of total sales, we anticipate a seasonality trend more typical with the retail jewelry industry, and these factors may significantly affect our results of operations in a given quarter.

Moissanite

MoissaniteOver 120 years ago, Nobel Prize-winning chemist, Henri Moissan, Ph.D., first discovered the extremely rare mineral SiC in a meteorite crater in Arizona. Over a century after the discovery of SiC, and after years of experimentation, researchers from the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina developed and patented a thermal growing process for creating pure SiC crystals in a controlled laboratory environment. This long-sought-after breakthrough made possible the world’s first lab-created moissanite gemstone – posthumously named after its discoverer. With hardness rivaling any mineral on earth, and optical properties exceeding all mined and created gemstones, we believe moissanite is a rare, naturallybrilliant jewel that is free from environmental and ethical issues, and capable of disrupting traditional definitions of fine jewelry.

Naturally occurring mineral thatmoissanite is generally very small in size, dark green or black in color, and not a commercially viable source of gemstone material. Therefore, in order to create high quality moissanite material in desirable colors and across a range of carat sizes that will appeal to a consumer audience, we expect only lab-grown SiC crystals to provide a sustainable source of moissanite for jewels.

gemstones. In addition to carat size, important characteristics of a gemstone are beauty, durability, and rarity. The beauty of a colorless or near-colorless and colorless gemstone is characterized by its color, brilliance, and fire. The brilliance of a gemstone is measured by its refractive index, or the extent to which, when coupled with the facet design, the gemstone reflects light. The fire of a gemstone, or the breaking of light rays into spectral colors, is measured by its dispersion. Durability is determined by a gemstone’s hardness, or resistance to scratching and toughness, or resistance to chipping or cleaving. Rarity is the availability or perceived availability of a gemstone.

Moissanite jewels have a unique combination of brilliance, fire, durability, and rarity.

Moissanite’s beauty is objectively derived from its refractive index, which is higher than any other gemstones,gemstone, including diamond, anddiamond. And its hardness is greater than all minerals, and all known gemstone materials exceptwith the exception of diamond. As a result, moissanite jewels, like diamond, can be cut with sharp, well-defined, and highly polished facets that accentuate their brilliance and fire. The cutting specifications (facet arrangement and proportions) for moissanite jewels are different than any other gemstone and designed to maximize the brilliance and fire of the raw material. Additionally, we

We evaluate the finished jewels to exacting standards with automated video-imaging equipment using internal and specially trained quality control personnel.independent third-party certified gemologists. Due to the rare natural occurrence of moissanite and both the proprietary and technical limitations in producing mass quantities of gem-grade moissanite, we believe that moissanite is among the rarest of jewels.

The following table compares the physical properties of moissanite jewels with other fine gemstone materials:

Description 
Refractive
Index
  Dispersion  
Hardness
(Mohs Scale)(2)
 Toughness 
Refractive
Index
 Dispersion 
Hardness (1)
 Toughness
Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite®
  2.65-2.69   0.104   9.25 Excellent  2.65-2.69   0.104   9.25 – 9.5 
Excellent
Diamond  2.42   0.044   10 Excellent*  2.42   0.044   10 
Good to
Excellent (2)
Ruby  1.77   0.018   9 Excellent**  1.77   0.018   9 
Excellent (3)
Sapphire  1.77   0.018   9 Excellent**  1.77   0.018   9 
Excellent (3)
Emerald  1.58   0.014   7.50 Good to Poor  1.58   0.014   7.50 
Poor to Good
*
(1) For purposes of this table, “hardness” is based on the Mohs Scale, which is a relative scale only. Quantitative comparisons of different gemstone materials cannot be made directly using the Mohs Scale. Moissanite jewels, while harder than all other known gemstones, are approximately one-half as hard as diamond.
(2)In cleavage direction, toughness is “good”.
**(3)Except twinned stones
1.
Sources: Gemological Institute of America, Gem Reference Guide for GIA Colored Stones, Gem Identification and Colored Stone Grading Courses 32-35, 65-82, 87-90 (1995); Cornelius S. Hurlburt, Jr. & Robert C. Kammerling, Gemology 320-324 (2d Ed. 1991); Kirk-Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology 524-541 (5th Ed. 2004); Institution Of Electrical Engineers, Properties of Silicon Carbide (Gary L. Harris, Ed., 1995); Robert Webster, Gems: Their Sources, Descriptions and Identification 889-940 (5th Ed. 1994); W. von Muench, “Silicon Carbide” in Landolt-Börnstein Numerical Data and Functional Relationships in Science and Technology, New Series, Group III, Vol. 17C, pp. 403-416 and 585-592 (M. Schultz and H. Weiss, Eds., 1984); Kurt Nassau, Shane F. McClure, Shane Elen & James E. Shigley, “Synthetic Moissanite: A New Diamond Substitute”, Gems & Gemology, Winter 1997, 260-275; Kurt Nassau. “Moissanite: A New Synthetic Gemstone Material”, Journal of Gemmology, 425-438 (1999).

2.The Mohs Scale is a relative scale only, and quantitative comparisons of different gemstone materials cannot be made directly using the Mohs Scale. Moissanite jewels, while harder than all other known gemstones, are approximately one-half as hard as diamond.
Sources: Gemological Institute of America, Gem Reference Guide for GIA Colored Stones, Gem Identification and Colored Stone Grading Courses 32-35, 65-82, 87-90 (1995); Cornelius S. Hurlburt, Jr. & Robert C. Kammerling, Gemology 320-324 (2d Ed. 1991); Kirk-Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology 524-541 (5th Ed. 2004); Institution Of Electrical Engineers, Properties of Silicon Carbide (Gary L. Harris, Ed., 1995); Robert Webster, Gems: Their Sources, Descriptions and Identification 889-940 (5th Ed. 1994); W. von Muench, “Silicon Carbide” in Landolt-Börnstein Numerical Data and Functional Relationships in Science and Technology, New Series, Group III, Vol. 17C, pp. 403-416 and 585-592 (M. Schultz and H. Weiss, Eds., 1984); Kurt Nassau, Shane F. McClure, Shane Elen & James E. Shigley, “Synthetic Moissanite: A New Diamond Substitute”, Gems & Gemology, Winter 1997, 260-275; Kurt Nassau. “Moissanite: A New Synthetic Gemstone Material”, Journal of Gemmology, 425-438 (1999); Mindat.org, “Moissanite” (https://www.mindat.org/min-2743.html); and Wikipedia, “Moissanite” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moissanite).

Products and Product Development

Moissanite jewelsJewels

Historically, Charles & Colvard primarily sold near-colorlesslegacy moissanite jewels including Forever ClassicTM and Forever Brilliant®. We continue to offer these products in a variety of shapes including round, square brilliant, princess, cushion, radiant, pear, marquise, heart, oval, and recently Asscher, among others, in sizes ranging from approximately 1.3 to 12 millimeters (approximately 0.008 to 5.3 carats). In 2015, we announced availability of our latestpremier product, the first colorless moissanite jewel, Forever OneTM, which graded as D-E-Fgrades from colorless (D-E-F) to near-colorless (G-H-I) using the Gemological Institute of America’s, or GIA’s, color grading scale. Our limited launch was met with great enthusiasm from channel partners and consumers. In response to this demand, we expandedcontinue to expand our Forever OneTM product line by offering,with additional shapes and sizes. Today, we offer Forever OneTM in 27 cuts, and a multitude of sizes ranging from melee accent stones as small as 0.002 carats to gemstones up to 6.13 carats, and our Exotics line of products that are as large as 15.55 carats diamond equivalent weight, or DEW.

In May 2018, we announced the fourth quarteravailability of 2016, the jewel in an additional colora new grade of G-H-I,gemstone, Moissanite by Charles & Colvard®. We believe that, with the exception of our own colorless moissanite jewel, Forever OneTM, our new gemstone is a cut above other moissanite on the market.  Created from the same patented SiC material that offers unparalleled clarity, we believe that Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® is truly a revolutionary value. The distinction between Forever OneTM andMoissanite by Charles & Colvard® is made through our applied expertise throughout the design and manufacturing process summarized below and described in more shapesdetail in “Manufacturing and sizes.Quality Assurance”. We believe that due to the discerning approach we take to ensure the quality of Forever OneTM, it remains far above any other offering available today. By closely evaluating clarity, color, and cut, we are able to determine which gemstones meet our exemplary standards for Forever OneTM, and those that fit within one of our multiple grade Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® gemstones.

Our manufacturing process starts with SiC material primarily manufactured by Cree through its patented process. This proprietary growing process creates a SiC material that is nearly free of micropipes – a type of inclusion sometimes found in lab-grown SiC material. However, based on the terms of the amended Supply Agreement with our strategic partner, we are permitted to purchase certain amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. Either way, the SiC material comes to us as a boule, or a formed mass, that has the atomic structure of a single crystal. After beginning our manufacturing process, each boule is carefully inspected by our certified gemologists to ensure it meets our minimum standards for Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® gemstones, including those for clarity and color grades. The products that meet appropriate minimum quality standards move forward on the journey to become our Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® gemstones. From this point, as the product continues to move through our manufacturing process, it is subjected to further processing steps, such as cutting, faceting, and finishing. At the end of our manufacturing process, it’s the clarity and color designation, coupled with further inspection by our certified gemologists regarding the quality levels of the cutting, faceting, and finishing processes, that will ultimately determine if the product becomes one of our premier Forever OneTM gemstones or one our multiple grade Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® gemstones.

Moissanite Finished jewelryJewelry

We began selling finished jewelry featuring moissanite in 2010. Our basiccore designs includeincluded stud earrings, solitaire and three-stone rings, pendants, and bracelets. We are now selling an expanded selection of fashion-oriented, designer-inspired moissanite jewelry that we offer as an expansion to the basiccore line of jewelry. The primary ingredients of our moissanite finished jewelry are loose moissanite jewels that we have on hand as part of our finished goods inventory, white, yellow, and rose gold settings, sterling silverprecious metal settings, and labor to mount the jewels into the settings.

In addition, we historically purchased fashion finished jewelry comprising base metals and non-precious gemstones for sale through Lulu Avenue®. This finished jewelry was fashion oriented and subject to styling trends that may change with each catalog season. The majority of this finished jewelry was custom designed for us. We made limited purchases of fashion finished jewelry after the divestiture of our direct-to-consumer home party business on March 4, 2016.

Source of Raw Material

Our moissanite jewels are made from gem-grade SiC crystals. Our soleprimary supplier of SiC crystals is Cree, Inc., or Cree with which we have certain exclusive supply rights for SiC crystals to be used for gemstone applications. In addition, based on the terms of the Supply Agreement, as amended, with Cree described below, we are permitted to purchase certain amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. We source the metals used for our finished jewelry, including white, yellow, and rose gold, platinum, tantalum, and sterling silver, from a number of domestic and international manufacturers located primarily in the U.S. or internationally inU.S, China, India, Mexico, Hong Kong, Vietnam, or Thailand.Portugal. In line with our goal of providing socially and ethically-sourced products, we require suppliers ofto adhere to our goldstringent supplier guidelines, as well as to certify that thetheir gold isand tantalum are coming from conflict free sources and that all precious metals supplied to us are responsibly sourced.

Exclusive Supply Agreement with Cree

On December 12, 2014, we entered into a newan exclusive supply agreement with Cree, or the Supply Agreement, which superseded and replaced our prior agreement with Cree. Under the Supply Agreement, subject to certain terms and conditions, we agreed to exclusively purchase from Cree, and Cree agreed to exclusively supply 100% of our required SiC materials in quarterly installments that must equal or exceed a set minimum order quantity. The initial term of the Supply Agreement willwas scheduled to expire on June 24, 2018. Effective June 22, 2018, unless extended by the parties. WeSupply Agreement was amended to extend the expiration date to June 25, 2023. The Supply Agreement was also haveamended to (i) provide us with one option, subject to certain conditions, to unilaterally extend the term of the agreementSupply Agreement for an additional two-year period following expiration of the initial term; (ii) establish a process by which Cree may begin producing alternate SiC material based on our specifications that will give us the flexibility to use the materials in a broader variety of our products; and (iii) permit us to purchase certain amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. On August 26, 2020, the Supply Agreement was further amended, effective June 30, 2020, to extend the expiration date to June 29, 2025, which may be further extended by mutual written agreement of the parties. The Supply Agreement was also amended to, among other things, (i) spread our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement in the amount of approximately $52.95 million over the term of the Supply Agreement, as amended; (ii) establish a process by which Cree has agreed to accept purchase orders in excess of the agreed-upon minimum purchase commitment, subject to certain conditions; and (iii) permit us to purchase revised amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions.

We believe that our Supply Agreement with Cree, which holds the U.S. patent for micropipe-free silicon carbide material and the related method of manufacture, provides us a superior quality core material above all other moissanite and one that possesses an unrivaled level of gemstone clarity. We also believe that the terms and conditions contained within the amended Supply Agreement are overall more favorable when compared with those in the Supply Agreement prior to the amendments. Our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement, as amended, until June 20182025 is dependent upon the sizeapproximately $52.95 million, of the SiC material and ranges betweenwhich approximately $29.60$36.60 million and approximately $31.50 million. Asremains to be purchased as of December 31, 2016, our remaining purchase commitment through June 2018 under the Supply Agreement ranges from approximately $14.54 million to approximately $16.44 million.30, 2020.

On July 14, 2016, Cree announced that it had entered into an asset purchase agreement with Infineon Technologies AG, or Infineon, pursuantFor more information regarding the second amendment to which Infineon would purchase certain portions of Cree’s SiC materials and gemstones business. The transaction, which Cree initially indicated was expected to close by the end of calendar year 2016, contemplated that theour Supply Agreement, including all rightsexecuted on August 26, 2020, see Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and obligations under the Supply Agreement, would be assigned by Cree to Infineon. On February 16, 2017, Cree announced that it was terminating the asset purchase agreement because Cree and Infineon were unable to identify alternatives that would address the national security concerns raised by the CommitteeSupplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Foreign Investment in the United States. Accordingly, we expect that the terminated transaction will not have any material effect on our supply of SiC materials.Form 10-K.

Intellectual Property

We hadheld a number of U.S. product and method patents for moissanite jewels that expired during 2015, under which we had broad, exclusive rights to manufacture, use, and sell moissanite jewels in the U.S. We hadheld these same patents in 25 foreign jurisdictions, primarily across Asia and Europe, that expired in the third quarter of 2016, and will expirewith one remaining in Mexico that expires in 2021. In addition, we have certain trademarks and pending trademark applications that support our moissanite branding strategy. We anticipateAdditionally, we have certain issued and pending design patents that if approved we believe will differentiate our products in the gemstone and jewelry industry. Since the expiration of our patents we have noted new providers of moissanite will enterentering the market as most of our patents have expired.market. We know how challenging it is to create high-quality moissanite and anticipate it will take emerging providers significant time and investment to bring meaningful and competitive products to market. As we experienced ourselves, we anticipate it will take these new providers significant time to evolve from producing low-end moissanite to delivering high-quality gemstones in the colorless or near-colorless range. Achievingachieving the capacity to consistently produce a high-quality moissanite product at mass scale requires a careful balance of silicon carbide-specificSiC-specific faceting skills and a well-tuned global supply chain. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, we do not anticipate significant direct moissanite competition in the colorless grade D-E-F or near-colorless G-H-I gradeour superior quality gemstone ranges for some time to come.with consistent production volumes.

Our success and our ability to compete successfully dependdepends in part upon our proprietary technology. In addition to our remaining international patents,patent, we rely on trade secret laws and employee, consultant, and customer confidentiality agreements to protect certain aspects of our technology. We currently are not subject to any claims that our products or processes infringe on the proprietary rights of third parties. At the present time, we are also dependent on Cree’s technology for the production of SiC crystals.

Manufacturing and Quality Assurance

Moissanite jewelsJewels

The production of Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® jewels is an elaborate process developed over a number of years of collaborative research and development, acquired and learned knowledge from scientists, and considerable investment expense.

Following are the key manufacturing processes of our moissanite jewels:

·growing gem-grade raw SiC crystals;
Growing gem-grade raw SiC crystals;
·manufacturing rough preforms;

·faceting jewels;
Manufacturing rough preforms;
·polishing jewels; and

·inspecting, sorting, and grading.
Faceting and polishing jewels;

Inspecting, sorting, and grading; and

Engraving.

Growing gem-grade rawGem-Grade Raw SiC crystals -Crystals. SiC crystal growth suitable for gem-grade usage at commercial quantities is proprietary both in design and in operational methodology. Cree has grown the majority of our SiC crystals in accordance with the terms of the Supply Agreement. We routinely evaluate the yield and quality of saleable moissanite jewels from SiC crystals. The yield of saleable jewels from each crystal is one of the most significant factors affecting the volume and cost of moissanite jewels available for sale. Yield is dependent on the quality of the crystals, and variations in crystal quality can adversely affect our gross margin percentage.

Manufacturing rough preforms -Rough Preforms. We have made considerable investment in the design, development, and customization of a proprietary manufacturing process that includes equipment, software, and procedures to maximize raw material yield. The result is production of intermediary shapes, called “preforms,” that vary depending upon the size and shape of the desired finished jewel. We continueWhile we may not necessarily spend significant research and development funds during a specific operating period, we remain committed to invest research and development resources to improve raw material yield, including studying alternate preform shapes and cutting technologies, due to the dramatic effect such an improvement could have on our gross margin percentage.
Faceting and Polishing jewels -Jewels. Each preform is hand-facetedfaceted and polished by our independent third-party gem-cutters to create what we believe to be our uniquely faceted Revolutionary Cut™ gemstones based on master designs with multiple quality control measures built into the process. Gem-cutter training is a regimented program involving several months of progressive hands-on bench training. As we continue to expand the assortment of Forever One, we will continue the process of certifying additional cutters to ensure sufficient scalability of our production capabilities to meet anticipated demand for this newpremium finished jewel.

Inspecting, sorting,Sorting, and grading -Grading. Similar to other gemstones, each faceted moissanite jewel greater than 2.53.5 millimeters in size is individually graded against established master standards using our specially trained personnel. Additionally, as part of our overall quality assurance program, a representative sample from each batch of jewels is submitted to an image analyzer to ensure critical angles and other attributes designed to maximize moissanite’s optical properties are consistently maintained. This phase of manufacturing is relatively labor-intensive and requires skills not readily available in the general work force. In the future, we may elect to outsource certain portions of this stage of the manufacturing process to independent third parties that we will require to adhere to our rigorous quality control and monitoring standards.

Engraving. For moissanite gemstones that are four millimeters and larger in size, with certain exceptions Charles & Colvard laser inscribes an identifying code on the girdle of each Forever One and Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® gemstone that includes the Charles & Colvard Floret logo. This identifier matches a grading standard and is an important element in protecting the integrity of Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® and ensuring the customer an authentic Charles & Colvard gemstone.

Finished jewelryJewelry

Our line of finished jewelry featuring moissanite is developed by a team of industry experts integrating our moissanite jewels into many forms of jewelry, generally made of 14 karat gold and sterling silver,precious metals, either designed or purchased by us utilizing a core group of suppliers, manufacturers, and finishers. In addition to our Limited Lifetime Warranty offered on our moissanite jewels, we provide a twelve-month Limited Warranty on all finished jewelry featuring moissanite.

Our prior line of fashion finishedour moissanite, and on jewelry comprised of base metals and non-preciousdesigns that do not contain our moissanite gemstones, for sale through Lulu Avenue®, was either designed exclusively for us and manufactured to our specifications or purchased from a core group of suppliers and manufacturers. We made limited purchases of fashion finished jewelry after the divestiture of our direct-to-consumer home party business on March 4, 2016.such as men’s wedding bands.

All procured finished jewelry components are sourced from our approved suppliers, and each finished jewelry item is jobbed and/or tracked by stock keeping unit, or SKU, utilizing our enterprise resource planning system. The components of moissanite finished jewelry comprised in each job are then manufactured into finished jewelry by assemblers either in the U.S. or internationally in China, India, Mexico, Hong Kong, Vietnam, or ThailandPortugal.. We are continuously working with our existing manufacturing partners, as well as identifying new manufacturing partners, to expand our assortments and efficiencies.

All finished jewelry produced by usCharles & Colvard undergoes a multi-point inspection process. A representative sampling of manufactured finished jewelry items undergoes stone and metals testing to ensure that the items for sale are of the quality that we strive to maintain. Also, in line with our goal of providing socially and ethically-sourcedethically sourced products, we require suppliers of our gold and tantalum to certify that the gold and tantalum is coming from conflict free sources and that all precious metals supplied to us are responsibly sourced. If required by government ordinance or requested by a customer, we facilitate the inspection of our finished jewelry by internationally recognized testing facilities to comply with legal requirements and to ensure consumer confidence.

Marketing and Distribution

Marketing

Millennials and Social Media

·
Millennials – This important age group is socially and ethically wired. They proactively seek out goods and services that align with their core principles and become devoted and vocal advocates of brands that embody ‘green’ practices. Our socially responsible and ethically-sourced product aligns directly with the principles and purchasing requirements of the millennial and our quality and price point offer unprecedented value to the cost-conscious millennial. Throughout 2017, Charles & Colvard plans to continue proactively engaging this target market through a multi-channel traditional and digital marketing strategy.
·
Social Media – To reinforce and support our position as the premier source of moissanite, our marketing team is working on several social media initiatives that target current and future moissanite consumers and support the promotion and sale of Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite®. Our campaigns are focused on driving a consistent message emphasizing the ethical origins of our jewels, their everlasting beauty, and overall value. We are using various forms of digital and social media outreach to accomplish greater awareness of the value proposition we offer.

Wholesale Distribution Segment

·
Marketing to the trade – In 2016, we continued to target the trade with print advertisements featuring our Forever Brilliant® moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring the Forever Brilliant® jewel in leading trade publications, tagging key distributors to support sales growth. Our September 2015 launch of Forever OneTM was a controlled event, and little advertising or promotion accompanied the release. We anticipate continuing to deliver meaningful promotion of Forever OneTM in 2017 as we further expand this product line and expect that we will continue to see, as we did in 2016, the wholesale distribution segment transition to Forever OneTM.

·
Industry associations – We maintain relationships with major jewelry industry organizations and jewelry trade publications as an opportunity to communicate with our peers on a consistent basis through media coverage, trade shows, and charitable events, among others.

·
Trade shows – Our attendance at leading jewelry trade shows as a sponsor, an exhibitor, or a participant has helped us extend our outreach to customers. In 2016, we attended major domestic and international jewelry industry trade shows, including JCK in Las Vegas and the Hong Kong Gem and Jewellery Fair, and we intend to continue investing in these important industry events in 2017.

·
Cooperative advertising – Some of our loose moissanite jewels wholesale customers participate in our cooperative advertising program, which reimburses, via a credit towards future purchases, a portion of their marketing costs based on the amount of their purchases from us, subject to the customer adhering to our branding guidelines and other conditions. We plan to de-emphasize broad-based cooperative advertising, but we will consider strategic opportunities to utilize this form of advertising.

Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce Segment

·
Consumer education – Because education of the consumer is so important to sell-through of moissanite products, we continue to enhance our website www.charlesandcolvard.com to include extensive educational information about moissanite, in addition to general background information about our company. We expect to launch additional improvements and enhancements to our web presence in 2017.

·
Consumer advertising – We are supporting our initiative to increase consumer awareness of moissanite and our finished jewelry primarily with various forms of digital communication, including targeted email and via social media outlets.

·
New e-commerce outlets – We are firm believers in the importance of e-commerce to our growth strategy and are anticipating an expanded e-commerce footprint in 2017 across third-party marketplaces, comparison shopping engines, affiliate networks, digital marketing platforms, social commerce engines, and more.

Direct-to-Consumer Home Parties Segment

Previously, we marketed our finished fashion and moissanite jewelry offered by Lulu Avenue® through paid search advertising and various forms of electronic communication including social media campaigns. We also offered classes to our independent sales representatives, which we referred to as Style Advisors, to help promote consumer education. Due to our divestiture of this distribution channel, we have not continued marketing of our prior direct-to-consumer home parties segment.
Distribution

Wholesale Distribution Segment

We generally have contracts and agreements with our domestic and international distributor, manufacturer, and retailer wholesale customers with some variations in terms and duration.

·
Domestic - Finished jewelry featuring moissanite is sold through our wholesale distribution segment to consumers through a broad range of channels, including single- and multiple-location independent jewelry stores, jewelry store chains, online retailers, television shopping networks, department stores, and catalogs. We sell our loose moissanite jewels to wholesale distributors and finished jewelry manufacturers, which in turn set them in mountings and sell them to retailers, sell them through their own e-commerce sites, or resell the loose jewels at a markup. We also mount our loose jewels into our own jewelry, which we currently sell at wholesale to home shopping networks, various e-commerce websites, and select retailers. In addition, we have allowed loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry inventory to be placed in stores on a consignment basis. We continue to evaluate our channel strategy for domestic wholesale distribution, which may result in a change to our historical distribution methods and partners.

·
International - Our international wholesale distribution currently comprises primarily loose moissanite jewels that are sold to international distributors for resale to jewelry manufacturers and retailers in their local markets. We currently have over 20 international wholesale distributors for loose moissanite jewels covering portions of Western Europe, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. We have continued to invest in certain international markets that we believe have the most potential with respect to acceptance and sales of the moissanite jewels, including Australia, China, India, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Export sales aggregated approximately $3.00 million, or 10% of total consolidated net sales, and $3.47 million, or 14% of total consolidated net sales, in 2016 and 2015, respectively. It should be noted that a portion of our international sales consists of finished jewels sold internationally that may be re-imported to U.S. retailers.

Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce Distribution Segment

We sell our loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite at retail through our direct-to-consumer charlesandcolvard.com, LLC e-commerce website at www.charlesandcolvard.com. We maintain on-hand stock for such basic designs as stud earrings, solitaire and three-stone rings, pendants, and bracelets and fulfill orders from our main facility. Other finished jewelry styles offered for sale on the website are made-to-order by several of our key distributors. We anticipate a continued focus and investment on site enhancement and responsiveness in order to provide our customers with a seamless shopping experience, whether the customer is shopping online from a desktop or mobile device. We believe these enhancements will drive improved customer traffic and conversion.

Currently, all of our direct-to-consumer e-commerce segment distribution is domestic. Sales made to international shipping addresses through our charlesandcolvard.com e-commerce website are shipped to a domestic third-party intermediary that assumes all risks and liabilities for the international transaction.

Direct-to-Consumer Home Parties Distribution Segment

Prior to the divestiture of the assets of this distribution channel, our finished fashion and moissanite jewelry offered by Lulu Avenue® was sold to consumers online at www.luluavenue.com; and in convenient, comfortable venues by our Style Advisors, using sample pieces contained in a sales kit purchased by the Style Advisor as part of the enrollment process. The Style Advisors supplemented the sample pieces with additional styles displayed in seasonal catalogs and online at www.luluavenue.com. Orders were entered by the Style Advisor into a back office system, and the products were fulfilled by a third-party logistics company that shipped the products to the Style Advisor or end consumer. All of our direct-to-consumer home party segment distribution was domestic.
Seasonality

Sales in the retail jewelry industry are typically seasonal due to increased consumer purchases during the holiday season. Because historically we have primarily sold our loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite at wholesale to distributors, manufacturers, and retailers, our sales to support the holiday season largely have taken place during the third and beginning of the fourth calendar quarters, depending on the sales channel and the level of advanced planning and production our customers undertook; however, the effect of seasonality on our business is also impacted by the timing of orders we receive to support new or expanded distribution and the level of current inventory position held by our customers. In recent years, excluding one-time sales events from time to time throughout the year, we have experienced a higher degree of seasonality in the fourth quarter than we have experienced in prior years primarily as a result of the holiday season sales to end consumers through our direct-to-consumer e-commerce website, charlesandcolvard.com and as a result of increased sales through televised home shopping networks within our wholesale distribution segment. In future periods, as sales of our finished jewelry increase to retailers and directly to consumers, both in dollars and as a percentage of total sales, we anticipate a seasonality trend more typical with the retail jewelry industry, and these factors may significantly affect our results of operations in a given quarter.

Working Capital Practices

Our primary source of working capital is cash on hand and cash generated by operations. As global and U.S economic activity slowed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced and anticipate ongoing constraints on our cash and working capital, including experiencing potential liquidity challenges. The impact of the pandemic has had and is expected to continue having an adverse effect on our operations and financial condition as revenues declined and, despite our cost-saving efforts, many business and operating expenses remained flat or continued to rise. Cash flow scrutiny will be crucial for our business in the months ahead as we anticipate seeing lower revenues resulting in less cash flow, along with delayed accounts receivable collections, as needs grow to step up payables to important suppliers. We expect to become more nimble in managing our inventory levels given the uncertainty in the supply chain, which may also place further demands on working capital. Because we have a quarterly minimum purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement, we may be required to purchase SiC materials in excess of our immediate needs from time to time, which may result in inventories that are higher than we might otherwise maintain.

We have an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 on file with the SEC that allows us to periodically offer and sell, individually or in any combination, shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock, warrants to purchase shares of common stock or preferred stock, and units consisting of any combination of the foregoing types of securities, up to a total of $25.00 million, of which approximately $13.99 million remains available after giving effect to our June 2019 public offering, including the impact of the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, described below. However, we may offer and sell no more than one-third of our public float (which is the aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates) in any 12-month period.  Our standard wholesale customer paymentability to issue equity securities under the shelf registration statement is subject to market conditions. In June 2019, we completed an underwritten public offering of 6,250,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $1.60 per share, which, together with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option for an additional 630,500 shares in July, resulted in aggregate net proceeds of approximately $9.99 million, net of the underwriting discount and fees and expenses.

Payment terms on trade receivables for our Traditional segment customers are generally between 30 and 90 days, though we may offer extended terms with specific customers and on significant orders from time to time. We extend credit to our customers based upon a number of factors, including an evaluation of the customer’s financial condition and credit history that is verified through trade association reference services, the customer’s payment history with us, the customer’s reputation in the trade, and/or an evaluation of the customer’s opportunity to introduce our moissanite jewels or finished jewelry featuring moissanite to new or expanded markets.

ForOur returns policy for consumers on our wholesalecharlesandcolvard.com website provides for the return of purchases for any reason generally within 60 days of shipment. Our returns policy for all other customers our return policy allows for the return of jewels and finished jewelry for credit generally within 30 days of shipment and must beif returned for a valid reason, such as quality problems or an error in shipment. For our direct-to-consumer sales channels, a customer can return purchases for any reason in accordance with our warranty policy as noted on the charlesandcolvard.com website.reason. We have established an allowance for returns based on our historical return rate, which takes into account any contractual return privileges granted to our customers. Periodically, we ship loose jewel goods and finished jewelry goods inventory to wholesaleTraditional segment customers on consignment terms. Under these consignment terms, the customer assumes the risk of loss and has an absolute right of return for a specified period.period that typically ranges from six months to one year.

Competition

OurAs competitive moissanite and lab-created diamond expand and grow their market presence, there is no more important time than now to confirm Charles & Colvard’s leadership position as the premier worldwide moissanite provider and to further establish our presence in emerging markets. We believe our leadership position is a product of more than 25 years of moissanite innovation, and is bolstered by the following strengths:


With our Forever OneTM gemstones, we believe that we have achieved a level of perfection that is rarely seen in any gemstone – featuring colorless grades with an innovative cut that we believe reveals optical properties unrivaled by any other jewel. This pinnacle of production is the outcome of continual improvement and artisan craft. Additionally, we believe that with our Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® gemstones we have brought forward a price-conscious alternative to competitive moissanite that we believe exceeds the quality of competitive moissanite – specifically in terms of clarity, as well as in cut and polish. The distinction between Forever OneTM and Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® is made through our applied expertise throughout the design and manufacturing processes and the discerning approach we believe we take to ensure the quality of Forever OneTM remains above any other offering available today. By closely evaluating clarity, color, and cut, we are able to determine which gemstones meet our exemplary standards for Forever OneTM and those that should bear the Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® name.

With an exclusive SiC crystal Supply Agreement with Cree, which holds the U.S. patent for micropipe-free silicon carbide material and the related method of manufacture, we believe this core raw material empowers Charles & Colvard to rise above all other moissanite with an unrivaled level of gemstone clarity.

With our mature and innovative supply chain, while we have experienced instances of suppliers temporarily closing their operations, delaying order fulfillment or limiting their production as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have utilized alternative supply arrangements with partners whose businesses are not under stay-at-home orders or whose production came back online. Accordingly, we believe that we have remained able to seamlessly manage the complex manufacturing process of both our moissanite gemstones and the varied jewelry options we deliver to a global audience.

With an established direct-to-consumer presence and supporting digital marketing capacity, we believe we are able to leverage established communication channels directly with our target audience.

With a global distribution network, and notwithstanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to believe that we have optimized this network for timely delivery of our products from unique consumer orders to bulk distribution orders.

With our significant inventory, we believe we are positioned to meet the just-in-time needs of our distribution partners. We believe having inventory quantities on the shelf is paramount to meeting the delivery requirements of our customers. As we balance our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect to more rigidly manage our inventory levels given the uncertainty in consumer demand and in our supply chain.

With our above strengths outlined, it is also important to note that our future competitive success is reliant, in part, on the following:


·our ability to continue our relationship with Cree in order to sustain our supply of high-quality SiC crystals;
·our ability to understand the consumer market segment and effectively market to them a compelling value proposition that leads to converted customers;
·ourOur continued success in developing and promoting the Charles & Colvard brands, for our moissanite jewelssuch as Forever OneTM andMoissanite by Charles & Colvard®, which are used in finished jewelry featuring moissanite, resulting in increased interest and demand for moissanite jewelry at the consumer level;


·
Our ability to differentiate Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® from competing products, including competitive moissanite and the rapidly emerging lab-created diamond industry;

The ability to operationally execute our digital marketing strategy for our Online Channels segment;

Our continued ability and the ability of manufacturers, designers, and retail jewelers to select jewelry settings that encourage consumer acceptance of and demand for our moissanite jewels and finished jewelry;

The ability to understand our consumer market segment and effectively market to them a compelling value proposition that leads to converted customers;

Our ability to continue our relationship with Cree in order to sustain our supply of high-quality SiC crystals;


The continued willingness and ability of our jewelry distributors and other jewelry suppliers, manufacturers, and designers to market and promote Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® to the retail jewelry trade;


·
theThe continued willingness of distributors, retailers, and others in the channel ofour distribution channels to purchase loose Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite®, and the continued willingness of manufacturers, designers, and retail jewelers to undertake setting of the loose jewels;

·our continued ability and the ability of manufacturers, designers, and retail jewelers to select jewelry settings that encourage consumer acceptance of and demand for our moissanite jewels and finished jewelry;
Our continued ability and the ability of jewelry manufacturers and retail jewelers to set loose moissanite jewels in finished jewelry with high-quality workmanship; and
·our continued ability and the ability of jewelry manufacturers and retail jewelers to set loose moissanite jewels in finished jewelry with high-quality workmanship;

Our continued ability and the ability of retail jewelers to effectively market and sell finished jewelry featuring moissanite to consumers.

·our ability to operationally execute our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business.

Moissanite jewelsCompetitive Gemstones and Jewelry

Gemstone materials can be grouped into three types:

·natural gemstone, which is found in nature;
Those found in nature, generally through mining techniques;
·synthetic gemstone, which has the same chemical composition and essentially the same physical and optical characteristics of natural gemstone but is created in a lab; and
·simulated or substitute material, which is similar in appearance to natural gemstone but does not have the same chemical composition, physical properties, or optical characteristics.

Synthetic gemstone, which has the same chemical composition and essentially the same physical and optical characteristics of natural gemstone but is created in a lab; and

Simulants, which are similar in appearance to natural gemstone but do not have the same chemical composition, physical properties, or optical characteristics.

Moissanite is a rare, naturally occurring mineral. Our lab-created gemstones, Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite®, are considered a synthetic version of the naturally occurring moissanite mineral. Our moissanite jewels compete with fine gemstones such as ruby, sapphire, emerald, and tanzanite as well as with natural, synthetic, and treated diamonds as a synthetic gemstone.mined diamonds. We may also face competition from synthetic diamonds, synthetic diamond films, and other sources of synthetic moissanite not presently available in qualities, sizes, and volumes suitable for use as gemstones. Some suppliers of diamonds and other fine gemstones, as well as the suppliers of synthetic and simulatedlab-created gemstones, may have substantially greater financial, technical, manufacturing, and marketing resources and greater access to distribution channels than we do.

We market our unique jewel as a socially-conscious and ethically-sourced, affordable, luxurious alternative to diamond at price points that make our jewel more attainable by many consumers. The diamond industry enjoys higher consumer desirability and acceptance, which has been iconicized by the “Diamonds are Forever” marketing campaign. Historical efforts to differentiate moissanite from diamond as a unique jewel by virtue of its distinctive composition and its superior optical characteristics were a challenge, as moissanite resembles diamond in the eyes of consumers. Therefore, our 2016 marketing effort was to educate our target market on the social and ethical distinctions of our unique gemstones.Competing with Mined Diamonds

The worldwide market for large, uncut, high-quality naturalmined diamonds is significantly consolidated and controlled by DeBeersthe De Beers Group of Companies, or De Beers, (headquartered in South Africa), Alrosa (Russia), Rio Tinto (Australia), and BHP (Canada). These companies have a major impact on the worldwide supply and pricing of naturalmined diamonds at both the wholesale and retail levels. DiamondWhile moissanite trades at a fraction of the cost of mined diamonds, diamond producers may undertake additional marketing or other activities designed to protect the mined diamond jewelry market against sales erosion from consumer acceptance of competing goods such as moissanite jewels.jewels.

We may also face competition from treatedCompeting with Lab-Created (Synthetic) Diamond

Lab-created diamond material has been synthesized since the early 1940s and synthetic diamonds. Treatedmade its way into industrial processes by the 1950s. Common applications such as diamond-tipped drill bits and abrasive processes led the way, followed by uses in solid-state electronics. In more recent years, lab-created diamonds which are natural diamondshave become accepted as a form of gemstone with imperfections or flaws that have been altered in some manner to enhance their appearance, have been availablecompanies such as Diamond Foundry, Pure Grown Diamonds and Lab Diamonds Direct gaining notoriety in the jewelry industrymarket.

Consumer demand is driving the charge behind this recent adoption of lab-created gemstones. Today’s discerning consumer is seeking ethically sourced options, better price points, and authenticity in the brands they choose to engage. We believe the recent rise in interest for lab-created diamond is creating a halo effect for the past several decadesmoissanite gemstone market. While we are experiencing growing traffic and are generally less expensive than diamonds of similar size, cut, and color that have not been altered. Synthetic diamonds are also availableinterest in the marketplace and are produced for jewelry applications available to consumers. We have seen a recent emergence of new manufacturers of lab-grown diamonds that offer a product directly competitive with natural diamond; however, they are priced just below that of natural diamond, and therefore compete with Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® at a much higherfrom the ongoing attention around lab-created gemstones, we may face future price point. Althoughpoint and consumer related demand pressures from the lab-created diamond industry. With current moissanite pricing averaging approximately 5% of mined diamond gemstones and approximately 10% of lab-created diamond, we believe that colorless gemstone-quality synthetic and treated diamonds presently cannotfor the foreseeable future we will continue to be produced at prices competitive with those currently offered for our moissanite jewels, there can be no assurance that such competitive prices cannot be achieved inable to address an underserved segment of the future by the producers of either or both synthetic and treated diamonds. The primary producers of synthetic diamonds used for industrial applications are DeBeers and Sumitomo. There are also a number of Russian producers of synthetic diamonds for industrial uses. In addition, companies such as Chatham, Diamond Foundry, and Scio Diamond Technology Corporation are synthesizing diamonds in limited quantities, limited carat sizes, and in limited ranges of color. Synthetic diamond films can be grown at commercially viable prices in thicknesses that can be applied to various surfaces such as other synthetic materials.market.

The global diamond market is in excess of $80 billion in annual sales. Assuming 10% of the global diamond jewelry market is interested in lab-grown and alternative diamond stones, then the addressable market is $8 billion,Competing with US and China making up over half of the market opportunity. As lab-grown diamonds continue to garner attention and raise awareness for alternatives to mined diamonds, but are relatively expensive, we believe our unique moissanite jewels have a great opportunity in this market.Other Moissanite Producers
Although we believe that our moissanite jewels have a proprietaryleadership market position, we couldare beginning to face competition from other companies that develop competing SiC technologies. Somematerial. These products are emerging primarily from Eastern countries and are making their way into the U.S. market. Our ongoing research of these technologies could be developed by producersthe competitive landscape has identified competing moissanite, primarily in the “E-F” and below color range, according to the GIA’s grading scale. However, we have not yet identified competing moissanite that exhibits a consistent level of SiC used for other industrial applications. Manufacturers of industrial SiC products include The Carborundum Corporation (currently for abrasive uses);color, cut, clarity and Cree, Siemens AG, Norstel, Bridgestone, ABB, Dow Chemical, SiC Crystal AG, and Northrop Grumman Corporation (currently for semiconductor uses). We believepolish that Cree is currentlycompetitive with the only supplier of SiC crystals in colors, sizes, and volumes that are suitable for gemstone applications. It is possible, however, that these or other producers of SiC could develop SiC crystals suitable for gemstone applications and produce moissanite jewels unless we could obtain judicial enforcementquality of our remaining patent rights. It isForever OneTM gemstone.

We also possiblehave not identified competitive sources that such competition could emerge in geographic territories where we do not currently have patent protection. However, we know how challenging it isexhibited the ability to create high-qualitysupply a consistent and high volume of quality moissanite substantial enough to address the considerable consumption needs of distributors and anticipate it will take emerging providers significant time and investment to bring meaningful and competitive products to market. As we experienced ourselves, we anticipate it will take these new providers significant time to evolve from producing low-end moissanite to delivering high-quality gemstones inretailers that serve the colorless or near-colorless range.jewelry trade. Achieving the capacity to consistently produce a high-quality moissanite product at mass scale requires a careful balance of silicon carbide-specificSiC-specific faceting skills and a well-tuned global supply chain. Therefore,

However, we are seeing a grade of moissanite material reaching the market that exhibits a lower color rating and/or lesser cut, clarity and polish standard compared to our Forever OneTM gemstone. This inferior product is coming to market at competitive price points, and we have subsequently been experiencing downward pricing pressures from price-sensitive purchasing channels. In May 2018, we entered the market with a value line of moissanite to compete directly with these lower-grade moissanite products. This new value line, known as Moissanite by Charles & Colvard®, is a competitively priced line of gemstones that is fashioned from the same core material as our other created moissanite products. Finished gemstones that do not anticipate direct moissanite competition inmeet our meticulous grading standards for Forever OneTM – but do meet our high specifications for gemstones worthy of carrying the colorless grade D-E-F or near-colorless G-H-I grade rangesCharles & Colvard name – will now be offered to the market at a value priced option. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, approximately 13% of our revenue was generated from Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® gemstones and finished jewelry – we believe this percentage of revenue is validating the market for some time to come.this value-priced product line.

WeCompeting with Simulants

While moissanite is a synthetic gemstone (a lab-created version of the naturally occurring SiC mineral), we may also, to a lesser degree, face competition from existing diamond simulants and other syntheticsimulant gemstones, including cubic zirconia.zirconia and man-made crystals. Producers and sellers of these products may see the markets for these products being eroded by the market penetration of our moissanite jewels. We believe that the substantially lower price of these products is the primary basis upon which they will compete with our moissanite jewels; however, they are not considered fine gemstone or jewelry products.

Competing in the Finished jewelryJewelry Space

The global fine jewelry market competition is fierce. Such well-known jewelry designers and manufacturers as David Yurman, Tacori, Harry Winston, Tiffany & Co.,James Allen, Brilliant Earth, and Pandora,Blue Nile, among others, have a variety of jewelry collections featuring diamond and other precious and semi-precious gemstones, and enjoy strong brand recognition and a loyal consumer following. These companies also have greater financial resources than we do to develop and market their products.

We intend to expand our market share and compete with these well-known brands primarily on the basis of the combination of quality, design, and value, as moissanite is the highest quality, affordable alternative available to more expensive gemstones such as diamond. We believe that focusing on the clear advantages in itsmoissanite’s retail price points, especially in the one-carat and larger sizes, will provide a key point of differentiation and value proposition to the end consumer who may not have had the opportunity to previously purchase fine jewelry due to limitations in discretionary spending income.

In addition, we believe that the Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® brand, in addition to other brands for both thesuite, including moissanite jewels includingsuch as Forever OneTMand Moissanite by Charles & Colvard®, andalong with moissanite finished jewelry that we are developing pursuant to our marketing programs, may create a long-term competitive advantage for our products as we build brand recognition. We endeavor to partner with recognized designers and jewelry companies, in addition to developing our own proprietary brands of finished jewelry. While our finished jewelry business is still developing, our goal is to build multiple strong brands sought after by the end consumer. We propose to focus our marketing efforts on emphasizing our attractive designs, coupled with moissanite’s exceptional brilliance, fire, durability, and rarity, to establish moissanite as a primary consumer choice in fine jewelry.

Our design, manufacture and marketing of finished jewelry featuring moissanite under exclusive brands for sale at wholesale pricing to distributors and retailers and at retail to end consumers through our charlesandcolvard.com e-commerce sales channeland other Online Channels outlets may result in some of our current wholesale customers perceiving us as a competitor, despite our efforts to use primarily non-conflicting sales channels. As we continue to develop our finished jewelry business, we intend to increase distribution through new and existing channels similarly to how many other companies have executed cross-channel marketing and distribution strategies. Due to the size of the finished jewelry market, we believe that such sales channels can co-exist, with the overall end result being increased consumer and brand awareness of moissanite products and a corresponding increased demand for not only our products, but those of our distributor and manufacturer customers as well.

Government Regulation

We are subject to governmental regulations in the manufacture and sale of moissanite jewels and finished jewelry. In particular, in July 2018 the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has issued regulations andupdated guidelines governing the marketingdescription of synthetic gemstoneslab-grown diamonds and other gemstones similar to diamond that require such gemstones to be clearly identified as to the gemstone’s lab-grown origin in any promotional or marketing materials. In addition, the precious metal in our finished jewelry may be subject to requirements, which vary by country and by state, such as hallmarking and alloy content. While we have a policy to ensure compliance with applicable regulations, if our actions are found to be in violation of FTC or other governmental regulations, we may be required to suspend marketing of our products and could incur significant expenses in developing new marketing strategies and materials that would not violate FTCgovernmental regulations.

Research and Development

We invested approximately $2,900 in research and development during 2016 compared to $18,000 in 2015 primarily for the study of product enhancement and manufacturing process efficiencies.

Employees

As of March 6, 2017,August 28, 2020, we had a total of 6948 employees, 65all of whichwhom were full-time and fournone of whichwhom were part-time. None of our employees are represented by a labor union. We believe that our employee relations are good.

Directors and Executive Officers of Charles & Colvard, Ltd.

The members of our current Board of Directors are the following:

Neal I. Goldman
Executive Chairman of the Board;Board of Directors of Charles & Colvard, Ltd.; President of Goldman Capital Management, Inc., an investment advisory firm.

Anne M. Butler
Chief Executive Officer of Butler Advisors, a consulting firm specializing in strategic and operational advising to private equity, venture capital, and institutional investors on direct selling acquisitions and management.

Benedetta Casamento
Jaqui LividiniRetail Consultant specializing in finance, business operations, and financial planning and analysis.
Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner of Lividini & Co., a brand strategy company that specializes in brand development and marketplace positioning, engagement marketing, and retail strategy.

Suzanne MiglucciDon O’Connell
President and Chief Executive Officer of Charles & Colvard, Ltd.

Ollin B. Sykes
President of Sykes & Company, P.A., a regional accounting firm specializing in accounting, tax, and financial advisory services.

Our current executive officers are the following:

Suzanne MiglucciDon O’Connell
President and Chief Executive Officer

Clint J. Pete
Interim Chief Financial Officer
Available Information

Our corporate information is accessible through our Internet website at www.charlesandcolvard.com.https://www.charlesandcolvard.com. We are not including the information contained on our website as a part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We make available, free of charge, access on our website to all reports we file with, or furnish to, the SEC, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. A copy of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other reports isare available without charge upon written request to Investor Relations, Charles & Colvard, Ltd., 170 Southport Drive, Morrisville, North Carolina 27560.

Item 1A.
Risk Factors

We operate in a dynamic and rapidly changing business environment that involves substantial risk and uncertainty, and these risks may change over time. The following discussion addresses some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause, or contribute to causing, actual results to differ materially from expectations. In evaluating our business, you should pay particular attention to the descriptions of risks and uncertainties described below. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

The COVID-19 pandemic and related global economic impacts have adversely affected our business and are expected to continue to adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The global outbreak of COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and a national emergency by the U.S. Government in March 2020, and has negatively affected the U.S. and global economy. In response to this pandemic, federal, state, county and local governments and public health organizations and authorities around the world have implemented a variety of measures intended to control the spread of the virus including quarantines, “stay-at-home” orders, travel restrictions, school closures, business limitations and closures, social distancing and hygiene requirements. These measures have adversely affected workforces, customers, economies and global supply chains, and resulted in significant travel and transport restrictions – all of which have combined to lead to an economic downturn. It has also disrupted the normal operations of many businesses, including ours.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local governmental mandates required a forced shutdown of our facility which may impact us for an extended period. In response, in April 2020 we furloughed approximately 50% of our employee base at that time, principally within our operations area. While most of our operations employees subsequently have been phased back into employment, these actions materially impacted our productivity. Effective June 1, 2020, we also enacted a significant reduction-in-force, or RIF, that reduced our active workforce by approximately 25% and included the elimination of senior-level sales, marketing, information technology, and operations personnel as well as executive-level sales and marketing positions. Since March 2020, a significant number of our executive and staff employees have been and continue to be working from home. The widespread outbreak of COVID-19 could also adversely affect our workforce in terms of serious health issues and absenteeism, which could further materially impact our productivity. The pandemic has also interfered with general commercial activity related to our supply chain, including our raw material and components sources.  We have experienced widespread instances of suppliers temporarily closing their operations, delaying order fulfillment or limiting their production, impacting our ability to produce finished goods and deliver to our customers. In our Traditional segment, our brick-and-mortar customers began closing their stores to foot traffic in March, with tentative plans to re-open on a rolling schedule that may lead into the fall timeframe or later. We have also experienced widespread instances of distributors reducing or closing their operations, impacting our ability to maintain significant levels of sales through our wholesale sales customers. In addition, trade shows, industry events and product demonstrations have been preemptively cancelled for the critical production season leading up to the calendar year-end 2020 holiday season. As a result, our selling activities and our ability to convert those activities into sales have been, and we expect will continue to be, adversely impacted by the pandemic. In our Online Channels segment, our transactional website charlesandcolvard.com remains open, but is restricted to available stock and the limited production capacity of functioning suppliers. In addition, our ability to draw down from our existing credit facility with White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC, or White Oak, is currently restricted as a result of our diminished borrowing base, which is tied to our accounts receivable. While we are seeing business strengthen in both our Online Channels and Traditional segments, our business, financial condition, and results of operations are expected to continue to be adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic until business resumes to pre-pandemic levels.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts us will depend on numerous evolving factors and future developments that are uncertain and that we are not able to predict at this time. These factors include: the severity of the virus; the duration and scope of the pandemic; governmental, business, individual and other actions taken in response to the pandemic; the effect on our suppliers and distributors, and disruptions to the global supply chain; the impact on economic activity; the extent and duration of the impact on Traditional segment partner confidence and order placements; the effect on consumer demand and their buying patterns for our products; the effect of any closures or other changes in operations of our and our suppliers’ and distributors’ facilities; the health of and the effect on our employees and our ability to meet staffing needs in our manufacturing and distribution facility and other critical functions, particularly if employees become ill, are quarantined as a result of exposure or are reluctant to show up for work; our ability to sell our products worldwide and provide customer support, including as a result of travel restrictions, work from home requirements and arrangements and other restrictions or changes in behavior or preferences for interactions; restrictions or disruptions to transportation, including reduced availability of ground, sea or air transport; the ability of our distributors, retailers, third party customers and consumers to pay for our products; the effect of the fair value measurement of certain assets or liabilities; and the effect on our ability to access capital, including government stimulus funds, on favorable terms and continue to meet our liquidity needs. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, we may continue to experience adverse impacts to our business as a result of any economic recession that has occurred or may continue for the foreseeable future. The COVID-19 pandemic could also exacerbate or trigger other risks discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, any of which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. We continue to monitor the pandemic, have actively implemented policies and procedures to address the current business and economic environment, and may adjust our current policies and procedures as more information and guidance become available to address the evolving situation.

Our future financial performance depends upon increased consumer acceptance, growth of sales of our products, and operational execution of our strategic initiatives. We believe that most consumers are not generally aware of the existence and attributes of moissanite jewels and that the consumer market for moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite remains in the early stages of development. Total moissanite jewelry retail sales have historically been less than 1% of the total jewelry market. The degree of future market acceptance and demand is subject to a significant amount of uncertainty. Our future financial performance will depend, in part, upon greater consumer acceptance of moissanite jewels as an ethically-sourced, affordable, luxurious alternative to other gemstones, such as diamond, and our ability to develop brands and execute strategic initiatives, in particular, our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business,Online Channels segment, to grow our sales and operating income. As we execute our strategy to build and reinvest in our businesses,business, significant expenses and investment of cash will be required ahead of the revenue streams we expect in the future,going forward and this may adversely affect our operating income. If we are unable to execute and achieve desired revenue levels, we may adjust our strategic initiatives in response to the results of our investments.

In addition, consumer acceptance may be affected by retail jewelers’ and jewelry manufacturers’ acceptance of moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite. The quality, design, and workmanship of the jewelry settings, whether manufactured by us or other manufacturers, could affect both consumers’ perception and acceptance of our jewelsproducts and costs incurred by returns and markdowns. Additionally, as other competitors enter the market, the lower quality of competitors’ gemstones could negatively impact consumer perception of moissanite, and in turn, acceptance of our jewels.

Thus, our future financial performance may be affected by:


·our ability to understand the consumer market segment and effectively market to them a compelling value proposition that leads to converted customers;
·our ability to reach consumers through traditional and digital channels in order to gain interest in moissanite jewels and jewelry;
·ourOur continued success in developing and promoting the Charles & Colvard brands, for our moissanite jewelssuch as Forever OneTM andMoissanite by Charles & Colvard®, which are used in finished jewelry featuring moissanite, resulting in increased interest and demand for moissanite jewelry at the consumer level;


·
Our ability to differentiate Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® from competing products, including competitive moissanite and the rapidly-emerging lab-created diamond industry;

The ability to operationally execute our digital marketing strategy for our Online Channels segment;

Our continued ability and the ability of manufacturers, designers, and retail jewelers to select jewelry settings that encourage consumer acceptance of and demand for our moissanite jewels and finished jewelry;

The ability to understand our consumer market segment and effectively market to them a compelling value proposition that leads to converted customers;

Our ability to continue our relationship with Cree in order to sustain our supply of high-quality SiC crystals;


The continued willingness and ability of our jewelry distributors and other jewelry suppliers, manufacturers, and designers to market and promote Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® to the retail jewelry trade;


·
theThe continued willingness of distributors, retailers, and others in the channel ofour distribution channels to purchase loose Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite®, and the continued willingness of manufacturers, designers, and retail jewelers to undertake setting of the loose jewels;
·our continued ability and the ability of manufacturers, designers, and retail jewelers to select jewelry settings that encourage consumer acceptance of and demand for our moissanite jewels and finished jewelry;
·our continued ability and the ability of jewelry manufacturers and retail jewelers to set loose moissanite jewels in finished jewelry with high-quality workmanship;

1318

Our continued ability and the ability of Contents
jewelry manufacturers and retail jewelers to set loose moissanite jewels in finished jewelry with high-quality workmanship; and
·our
Our continued ability and the ability of retail jewelers to effectively market and sell finished jewelry featuring moissanite to consumers; and
·our ability to operationally execute our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business.

We are currently substantially dependent on a limited number of distributors, jewelry manufacturers, and retailers for the sale of our products. The majority of the moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite that we sell are distributed through a limited number of distributors, manufacturers, and retailers and, therefore, we are substantially dependent upon these companies for distribution of our products. During 2016, our three largest customers, two of which are loose jewel and finished jewelry distributors and one of which is a television shopping network which carries loose jewel and finished jewelry, collectively accounted for 45% of net sales. As we continue to build our finished jewelry business, we anticipate in the near term that the majority of the moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite that we sell will continue to be to a limited number of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.consumers.

The execution of our business plans could significantly impact our liquidity.  The execution of our business plans to expand our direct-to-consumer distribution channelsOnline Channels segment and global market opportunities, as well as to create required inventory of our Forever OneTM and Moissanite by Charles & Colvard®jewels, requires significant investments,investment of our resources, which may reduce our cash position. Should we fail to execute on our business plans, we could see delays in the return of cash from our investments, resulting in a liquidity shortfall. Under the $10,000,000$5.00 million asset-based revolving credit facility, or the White Oak Credit Facility, that we obtained from Wells Fargo, National Association, or Wells Fargo, White Oak on June 25, 2014,July 13, 2018, failure to conductmeet one or more of the following covenants could restrict our business as conductedability to draw on the date we obtained theWhite Oak Credit Facility,Facility: (i) failure to provide White Oak with certain financial information; (ii) failure to make required payments to third parties, orparties; and (iii) failure to comply with the other covenants and defaults contained in the White Oak Credit Facility, including a financial covenant to maintain at least $1,000,000$500,000 in excess availability (as defined under the White Oak Credit Facility), could restrict our. Our ability to draw down from the White Oak Credit Facility is currently restricted as a result of our diminished borrowing base, which is tied to our accounts receivable. In addition, we currently have an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 on file with the Credit Facility.SEC that allows us to periodically offer and sell, individually or in any combination, shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock, warrants to purchase shares of common stock or preferred stock, and units consisting of any combination of the foregoing types of securities, up to a total of $25.00 million (approximately $13.99 million after giving effect to our June 2019 public offering, including the impact of the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option). However, we may offer and sell no more than one-third of our public float (which is the aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates) in any 12-month period. If we are not able to take advances againstdraw on the White Oak Credit Facility, or if we are unable to access the capital markets when we need to or issue equity on terms that are acceptable to us or at all, our cash and cash equivalents and other working capital may be insufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs. In addition, theThe White Oak Credit Facility matures on June 25, 2017July 13, 2021, and there is no guarantee forof extension or renewal.

Our business and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected as a result of our inability to fulfill orders on a timely basis. As sales of our loose moissanite jewels increase, including our Forever Brilliant® and Forever OneTM jewels,and Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® gemstones, availability of certain shapes and sizes may be at risk. In addition, finished jewelry has a large variety of styles of which we maintain on-hand stock for such basiccore designs as stud earrings, solitaire and three-stone rings, pendants, and bracelets; and make-to-ordermade-to-order under strict deadlines for certain wholesale and direct-to-consumer e-commerce customers.outlets. We must adequately maintain relationships, forecast demand, and operate within the lead times of third parties that facet and/or enhance the jewels and manufacture the finished jewelry settingsettings to ensure adequate on-hand quantities and/or the shipment of customer orders in a timely manner as we transition certain customers from Forever Brilliant® and Forever ClassicTM  to Forever OneTMor Moissanite by Charles & Colvard®. In addition, we are currently dependent on a limited number ofupon certain vendors for allmost of the faceting of our loose jewels. If any or all of these vendors were to cancel their arrangements with us, we could experience a disruption in our operations and incur additional costs to procure faceting services from a replacement vendor. The inability to fulfill orders on a timely basis and within promised customer deadlines could result in a cancellation of the orders and loss of customer goodwill that could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, and may continue to cause, us or our distributors, vendors, and/or customers to temporarily suspend our or their respective operations and have an adverse impact on our ability to fulfill orders on a timely basis.

The financial difficulties or insolvency of one or more of our major customers or their lack of willingness and ability to market our products could adversely affect results. We are subject to a concentration of credit risk amongst our major customers (some of whom are distributors), and a default by any of these customers on their debtsamounts owed to us could have a material adverse effect on our financial position. Future sales and our ability to collect accounts receivable depend, in part, on the financial strength of our customers and our distributors’ willingness and ability to successfully market our products. We estimate an allowance for accounts for which collectability is at risk and this allowance adversely impacts profitability. In the event customers experience greater than anticipated financial difficulties, insolvency, or difficulty marketing products, we expect profitability to be further adversely impacted by our failure to collect accounts receivable in excess of the amount due, net of the estimated allowance. In these circumstances, we may demand the return of product sold to such customers, resulting in an increase in inventory and a reduction in accounts receivable. GivenUncertainty in the current economic environment, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, constrained access to capital, the impact of inflation on our currency, and general market contractions has heightened, and maycontinue to heighten, our exposure to customer default and generate lower than expected distributor sales.

We expect to remain dependent upon the Supply Agreement with Cree for the sole supply of our SiC crystals for the foreseeable future. If we are unable to obtain sufficient, high-quality SiC crystals from Cree and we have a significant increase in demand for our moissanite jewels, then we may not be able to meet that demand. Cree has certain proprietary rights relating to its process for growing large single crystals of SiC and its process for growing near-colorless SiC crystals. Under the Supply Agreement, subject to certain terms and conditions, we agreed to exclusively purchase from Cree, and Cree agreed to exclusively supply, 100% of our required SiC materials in quarterly installments that must equal or exceed a set minimum order quantity. The initial term of the Supply Agreement will expire on June 24, 2018, unless extended by the parties. We also have one option to unilaterally extend the term of the agreement for an additional two-year period, subject to certain conditions. Our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement until June 2018 is dependent upon the size of the SiC material and ranges between approximately $29.6 million and approximately $31.5 million. However, there can be no assurance that Cree will be able to continue to produce and supply us with SiC crystals of sufficient quality, sizes, and volumes that we desire or that we will successfully negotiate future purchase commitments at acceptable prices that enable us to manage our inventories and raw material costs effectively.
We face intense competition in the worldwide jewelry industry. The jewelry industry is highly competitive and we compete with numerous other jewelry products. In addition, we face competition from treatedmined diamonds, synthetic diamonds, lab-grownlab-created (synthetic) diamonds, other moissanite jewels,products, and companies developing other synthetic jewelry technologies.simulants. A substantial number of companies supply products to the jewelry industry, many of whichwhom we believe have greater financial resources than we do. Competitors could develop new or improved technologies, including those for lab-grown diamonds, that may render the price point for moissanite noncompetitive, which wouldcould have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

In addition, weWe have previously relied on our patent rights and other intellectual property rights to maintain our competitive position. Our current U.S. product and method patents for moissanite jewels expired in 2015 and most of our patents in foreign jurisdictions expired in 2016 with only one in Mexico remaining (which expires in 2021). As a result,However, we anticipatehave certain trademarks and pending trademark applications that support our moissanite branding strategy. Additionally, we have certain pending design patents that we believe, if approved, will differentiate our products in the gemstone and jewelry industry. Notwithstanding the foregoing, since the expiration of our patents we have noted new providers of moissanite will enterand competitive products entering the market. However, because the process of creating high-quality moissanite is challenging, we believe it will take emerging providers significant time and investment to bring meaningful and competitive products to market. Asas we experienced ourselves, we anticipate it will take these new providers significant time to evolve from producing low-end moissanite to delivering high-quality gemstones in the colorless or near-colorless range. Achievingachieving the capacity to consistently produce a high-quality moissanite product at mass scale requires a careful balance of silicon carbide-specificSiC-specific faceting skills and a well-tuned global supply chain. Therefore,As our pending patent rights and other pending intellectual property rights are approved, we do not anticipate direct moissanite competition in the colorless grade D-E-F or near-colorless grade G-H-I ranges for some timewill continue to come.rely on these patents and our carefully-executed brand awareness and digital marketing campaigns to build our consumer relationships and maintain our competitive position going forward. If, however, we are unable to successfully build strong brands for our moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite or competition grows faster than expected, we may not have commercially meaningful protection for our products or a commercial advantage against our competitors or their competitive products or processes, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

The resignationWe are subject to certain risks due to our international operations, distribution channels and vendors. We have continued to expand our direct international sales operations, with international net sales accounting for approximately 8% of total consolidated net sales during Fiscal 2020. We also currently have numerous international wholesale distributors and retail sales channels covering portions of Canada, the UK, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the Greater China Region. In addition, we use certain companies based outside the U.S. to facet our moissanite jewels and to manufacture finished jewelry. We plan to continue to increase marketing and sales efforts and anticipate expanding our direct international sales in addition to continuing to serve international distributors. Any international expansion plans we choose to undertake will increase the complexity of our Chief Financial Officerbusiness, require attention from management and other personnel and cause additional strain on our operations, financial resources and our internal financial control and reporting functions. Further, our expansion efforts may be unsuccessful as we have limited experience selling our products in certain international markets and in conforming to the local cultures, standards or policies necessary to successfully compete in those markets. In addition, we may have to compete with retailers that have more experience with local markets. Our ability to expand and succeed internationally may also be limited by the demand for our products, the ability to successfully transact in foreign currencies, the ability of our brand to resonate with consumers globally and the departureadoption of online or Internet commerce in these markets. Different privacy, censorship and liability standards and regulations, and different intellectual property laws in foreign countries may also prohibit expansion into such markets or cause our business and results of operations to suffer. Through our planned international expansion and our continued reliance on development of foreign markets and use of foreign vendors, we are subject to the risks of conducting business outside of the U.S.

These risks include the following:

the adverse effects on U.S.-based companies operating in foreign markets that might result from war; terrorism; changes in diplomatic, trade, or business relationships (including labor disputes); or other political, social, religious, or economic instability;

an outbreak of a contagious disease, such as COVID-19, which may cause us or our distributors, vendors, and/or customers to temporarily suspend our or their respective operations in the affected city or country;

the continuing adverse economic effects of any global financial crisis;

unexpected changes in, or impositions of, legislative or regulatory requirements;

delays resulting from difficulty in obtaining export licenses;

international regulatory requirements, tariffs and other trade barriers and restrictions, including the consequences of U.S. led tariff actions;

the burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws and regulations, including foreign taxation and varying consumer and data protection laws, and other factors beyond our control, and the risks of non-compliance;

longer payment cycles and greater difficulty in collecting accounts receivable;

our reliance on third-party carriers for product shipments to our customers;

risk of theft of our Chief Revenue Officer create uncertaintiesproducts during shipment;

limited payment, shipping and insurance options for us and our customers;

difficulties in obtaining export, import or other business licensing requirements;

customs and import processes, costs or restrictions;

the potential difficulty of enforcing agreements with foreign customers and suppliers; and

the complications related to collecting accounts receivable through a foreign country’s legal or banking system.

In particular, there is currently significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the U.S. and various other countries, with respect to trade policies, treaties, government regulations, and tariffs. For example, the recent imposition of tariffs and/or increase in tariffs on various products by the U.S. and other countries, including China and Canada, have introduced greater uncertainty with respect to trade policies and government regulations affecting trade between the U.S. and other countries, and new and/or increased tariffs have subjected, and may in the future subject, us to additional costs and expenditure of resources. Major developments in trade relations, including the imposition of new or increased tariffs by the U.S. and/or other countries, and any emerging nationalist trends in specific countries could impactalter the trade environment and consumer purchasing behavior which, in turn, could have a material effect on our business. Effective December 2, 2016, Kyle S. Macemore resigned as our Senior Vice Presidentfinancial condition and Chief Financial Officer; Clint J. Pete, our current Corporate Controller, was appointedresults of operations. While the U.S. and China recently signed a “phase one” trade deal on January 15, 2020 to serve as our Interim Chief Financial Officer effective upon Mr. Macemore’s resignation.reduce planned increases to tariffs, concerns over the stability of bilateral trade relations remain. In addition, effectivethe UK’s exit from the European Union on January 10, 2017, Steve Larkin,31, 2020, known as Brexit, and the ongoing negotiations of the future trading relationship between the UK and the European Union during the transition period set to end December 31, 2020 have yet to provide clarity on what the outcome will be for the UK or Europe. Changes related to Brexit could subject us to heightened risks in that region, including disruptions to trade and free movement of goods, services and people to and from the UK, disruptions to the workforce of our Chief Revenue Officer, is no longerbusiness partners, increased foreign exchange volatility with respect to the Company. The Company’s ability to execute its business strategies may be adversely affected by the uncertainty associated withBritish pound and additional legal, political and economic uncertainty. If these transitions.

Leadership transitions can be inherently difficult to manageactions impacting our international distribution and may cause uncertainty and decreased productivity amongsales channels result in increased costs for us or our employees and increase the likelihood of turnover, whichinternational partners, such changes could result in significant disruptionshigher costs to us, adversely affecting our operations. We could be adversely affected ifoperations, particularly as we fail to adequately plan for the succession of membersexpand our international presence.

Additionally, while substantially all of our senior management team should we have additional departures. In addition, these management transitions inherently cause some lossforeign transactions are denominated in U.S. dollars, foreign currency fluctuations could impact demand for our products or the ability of institutional knowledge, which can negatively affect strategy and execution, and our results of operations and financial condition could suffer as a result. Finally, weforeign suppliers to continue to execute a number of significant business initiatives. Successfully managing these initiatives, including retention of key employees, is critical to our business success.
Salesperform. Further, some of our common stock by Mr. Larkin may cause the market price of our common stock to decrease.  As previously noted, Steve Larkin, our Chief Revenue Officer, is no longer with our company, effective as of January 10, 2017.  Upon Mr. Larkin’s departure, he held 279,957 shares of common stock and options exercisable for 150,000 shares of common stock.  Mr. Larkin has the ability, subject to applicable securities laws, to sell all or a portion of his currently held common stock and any shares of common stock he obtains through the exercise of in- the-money stock options to provide liquidity or to diversify his investments.  If he does sell his common stock into the market, these sales may cause the market price of our common stock to decrease.

Our failure to maintain compliance with NASDAQ’s continued listing requirements could result in the delisting of our common stock. Our common stock is currently listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. In order to maintain this listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other requirements. In the past, we have received a notification letter from NASDAQ indicating that we were not in compliance with listing requirements because the minimum bid price of our common stock closed below $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days. However, NASDAQ subsequently notified us that we had regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. If we fail to satisfy NASDAQ’s listing requirements in the future, we expect to take actions to regain compliance, but we can provide no assurance that any such action would prevent our common stock from dropping below the NASDAQ minimum bid price requirement or prevent future non-compliance with NASDAQ’s listing requirements. If our common stock is delisted from NASDAQ, the delisting could substantially decrease trading in our common stock and adversely affect the market liquidity of our common stock; adversely affect our ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms, if at all;foreign distributors operate relatively small businesses and may resultnot have the financial stability to assure their continuing presence in the potential loss of confidence by investors, suppliers, customers, and employees and fewer business development opportunities. Additionally, the market price of our common stock may decline further and shareholders may lose some or all of their investment.
Our current wholesale customers may potentially perceive us as a competitor in the finished jewelry business. As described above, we are currently substantially dependent on a limited number of customers, including distributors and jewelry manufacturers, for the sale of our products. Our design, manufacture, and marketing of finished jewelry featuring moissanite under exclusive brands for sale to distributors and retailers may result in some of these current customers perceiving us as a competitor, despite our efforts to use primarily non-conflicting sales channels. In response, these customers may choose to reduce their orders for our products. This reduction in orders could occur faster than our sales growth in this business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We may experience quality control challenges from time to time that can result in lost revenue and harm to our brands and reputation. Part of our strategy for success is to establish Charles & Colvard with reputable, high-quality, and sophisticated brands. The achievement of this goal depends in large part on our ability to provide customers with high-quality moissanite and finished jewelry featuring moissanite. Although we take measures to ensure that we sell only the best quality products, we may face quality control challenges, which could impact our competitive advantage.markets. There can be no assurance wethat the foregoing factors will be ablenot adversely affect our operations in the future or require us to detect and resolve all quality control issues prior to shipment of products tomodify our distributors, manufacturers, retailers, and end consumers. Failure to do so could result in lost revenue, lost customers, significant warranty and other expenses, and harm to our reputation.anticipated business practices.

Our business and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected as a result of general economic and market conditions. Our business, including our sales volumes and overall profitability, could be adversely impacted by disruptions in global financial markets, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increased unemployment rates, and uncertainty about economic stability.stability including the increased risk of global trade tensions. We are unable to predict the likely duration and severity of the effects of these disruptions in the financial markets and the adverse global economic conditions, and if economic conditions deteriorate, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. The consequences of such adverse effects could include interruptions or delays in our suppliers’ performance of our contracts, reductions and delays in customer purchases, delays in or the inability of customers to obtain financing to purchase our products, and bankruptcy of customers and/or suppliers.

Luxury products, such as fine jewelry, are discretionary purchases for consumers. Recessionary economic cycles, higher interest rates, higher fuel and energy costs, inflation, levels of unemployment, conditions in the residential real estate and mortgage markets, access to credit, consumer debt levels, unsettled financial markets, and other economic factors that may affect consumer spending or buying habits could materially and adversely affect demand for our products. In addition, volatility in the financial markets has had and may continue to have a negative impact on consumer spending patterns. A reduction in consumer spending or disposable income may affect us more significantly than companies in other industries and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We are subject to certain risks due tocurrently dependent on a limited number of distributor and retail partners in our international distribution channels and vendors. We currently have over 20 international distributorsTraditional segment for moissanite jewels covering portionsthe sale of Western Europe, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, andour products. A significant portion of the Middle East. In addition, we use certain companies based outside the U.S. to facet our moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite that we sell are distributed through a limited number of distributors and retail partners in our Traditional segment, and therefore, we are dependent upon these companies for distribution of our products. Our three largest customers collectively accounted for approximately 33% and 30% of our net sales during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As we continue to manufacturebuild our finished jewelry. Duejewelry business, we anticipate in the near term that a significant portion of the moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite that we sell through our Traditional segment will continue to be to a limited number of distributors and retailers.

We rely on assumptions, estimates and data to calculate certain of our key metrics and real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business. We believe that certain metrics are key to our business, including but not limited to average order value, or AOV, average advertising spend per customer, and repeat customers. As both the industry in which we operate and our business continue to evolve, so too might the metrics by which we evaluate our business. While the calculation of these metrics is based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates, our internal tools are not independently verified by a third party and may have a number of limitations and, furthermore, our methodologies for tracking these metrics may change over time. Given the difficulty in tracking consumers online, calculations of our unique visitors may not accurately reflect the number of people actually visiting our platforms. We continue to improve upon our tools and methodologies to capture data and believe that our current metrics are accurate; however, the improvement of our tools and methodologies could cause inconsistency between current data and previously reported data, which could confuse investors or lead to questions about the integrity of our data. In addition, if the internal tools we use to track these metrics under-count or over-count performance or contain algorithm or other technical errors, the data we report may not be accurate. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on development of foreign markets and use of foreign vendors, we are subject to the risks of conducting business outside of the U.S. These risks include the following:these metrics.

·the adverse effects on U.S.-based companies operating in foreign markets that might result from war; terrorism; changes in diplomatic, trade, or business relationships; or other political, social, religious, or economic instability;
Our failure to maintain compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements could result in the delisting of our common stock. Our common stock is currently listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market. In order to maintain this listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other requirements. On March 24, 2020, we received a notification letter from Nasdaq’s Listing Qualifications Department indicating that we are not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), because the minimum bid price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market has closed below $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days. In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we have 180 calendar days to regain compliance with the minimum bid requirement; however, due to the market disruption caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Nasdaq tolled the requirement for meeting the minimum bid price until June 30, 2020. As such, we have until December 4, 2020, to achieve compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. To regain compliance, the closing bid price of our common stock must meet or exceed $1.00 per share for at least ten consecutive business days before December 4, 2020.  If we do not regain compliance during this cure period, we expect that Nasdaq will provide written notification to us that our common stock will be delisted. At that time, we may appeal Nasdaq’s delisting determination to a Nasdaq hearing panel.

·the continuing adverse economic effectsTable of any global financial crisis;Contents
·unexpected changes in, or impositions of, legislative or regulatory requirements;
·delays resulting from difficulty in obtaining export licenses;
·tariffs and other trade barriers and restrictions;
·the burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws and other factors beyond our control;
·the potential difficulty of enforcing agreements with foreign customers and suppliers; and
·the complications related to collecting receivables through a foreign country’s legal system.

Additionally, while all ofWhile we intend to engage in efforts to regain compliance, and thus maintain our foreign transactions are denominated in U.S. dollars, foreign currency fluctuations could impact demand for our products orlisting, there can be no assurance that we will be able to regain compliance during the ability of our foreign suppliersapplicable time periods set forth above. If we fail to continue to perform. Further, somemeet all applicable Nasdaq Capital Market requirements in the future and Nasdaq determines to delist our common stock, the delisting could substantially decrease trading in our common stock; adversely affect the market liquidity of our foreign distributors operate relatively small businessescommon stock as a result of the loss of market efficiencies associated with Nasdaq and the loss of federal preemption of state securities laws; adversely affect our ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms, if at all; and may not haveresult in the financial stabilitypotential loss of confidence by investors, suppliers, customers, and employees and fewer business development opportunities. Additionally, the market price of our common stock may decline further and shareholders may lose some or all of their investment.

We may experience quality control challenges from time to assure their continuing presencetime that can result in their markets.lost revenue and harm to our brands and reputation.  Part of our strategy for success is to align Charles & Colvard with reputable, high-quality, and sophisticated strategic partners. The achievement of this goal depends in large part on our ability to provide customers with high-quality moissanite and finished jewelry featuring moissanite. Although we take measures to ensure that we sell only the best quality products, we may face quality control challenges, which could impact our competitive advantage. There can be no assurance that the foregoing factorswe will notbe able to detect and resolve all quality control issues prior to shipment of products to our distributors, manufacturers, retailers, and end consumers. Failure to do so could result in lost revenue, lost customers, significant warranty and other expenses, and harm to our reputation.

Seasonality of our business may adversely affect our net sales and operating income. Sales in the retail jewelry industry are typically seasonal due to increased consumer purchases during the calendar year-end holiday season. Because historically we have primarily sold our loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite at wholesale pricing to distributors, manufacturers, and retailers, our sales to support the holiday season have largely taken place during the third and beginning of the fourth calendar quarters, depending on the sales channel and the level of advance planning and production our customers undertook. As sales of our finished jewelry featuring moissanite to retailers and directly to consumers increase, both in dollars and as a percentage of total sales, our results for the three months in the calendar quarter ending December 31 of each year may depend upon the general level of retail sales during the holiday season as well as general economic conditions and other factors beyond our control. In anticipation of increased sales activities during the three months in the calendar quarter ending December 31 of each year, we may incur significant additional expenses in the second half of the calendar year.

In recent years, excluding one-time sales events, we have experienced a higher degree of seasonality in the three months ending December 31 than we have experienced in prior years primarily as a result of the calendar year-end holiday season sales to end consumers through our Online Channels segment and as a result of increased sales through our brick-and-mortar retailers within our Traditional segment. Our quarterly results of operations may continue to fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including seasonal cycles, the timing of new product introductions, the timing of orders by our customers, and the mix of product sales demand, and these factors may significantly affect our results of operations in the future or require us to modify our anticipated business practices.a given quarter.

Our operations could be disrupted by natural disasters. We conduct substantially all of our activities, including executive management, manufacturing, packaging, and distribution activities, at one North Carolina location.  Although we have taken precautions to safeguard our facility, including obtaining business interruption insurance, any future natural disaster, such as a hurricane, flood or fire, could significantly disrupt our operations and delay or prevent product shipment during the time required to repair, rebuild or replace our facility, which could be lengthy and result in significant expenses. Furthermore, the insurance coverage we maintain may not be adequate to cover our losses in any particular case or continue to be available at commercially reasonable rates and terms. In addition, the vendors that perform allsome of the faceting of our loose moissanite jewels are located in regions that are susceptible to tsunamis, flooding, and other natural disasters that may cause a disruption in our vendors’ operations for sustained periods and the loss or damage of our work-in-process inventories located at such vendors’ facilities. Damage or destruction that interrupts our ability to deliver our products could impair our relationships with our customers. Prolonged disruption of our services as a result of a natural disaster may result in product delivery delays, order cancellations, and loss of substantial revenue, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our PPP Loan may not be forgiven or may subject us to challenges and investigations regarding qualification for the loan. We received a loan pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act, as administered by the SBA. The PPP Loan in the principal amount of moissanite jewelry$965,000 was disbursed by Newtek Small Business Finance, LLC, or the Lender, a nationally licensed lender under the SBA on June 18, 2020 pursuant to the Promissory Note issued by us on June 15, 2020. Pursuant to Section 1106 of the CARES Act, we may apply for and be granted forgiveness for all or a portion of the PPP Loan. Such forgiveness will be determined, subject to limitations, based on the use of the loan proceeds for qualifying expenses, which include payroll costs, rent, and utility costs. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be eligible for loan forgiveness, that we will ultimately apply for forgiveness, or that any amount of the PPP Loan will ultimately be forgiven by the SBA.

Additionally, the PPP Loan application required us to certify that the current economic uncertainty made the PPP Loan request necessary to support our ongoing operations. While we made this certification in good faith after analyzing, among other things, our financial situation and access to alternative forms of capital, and believe that we satisfied all eligibility criteria for the PPP Loan and that our anticipated receipt of the PPP Loan is consistent with the broad objectives of the Paycheck Protection Program of the CARES Act, the certification described above does not contain any objective criteria and is subject to interpretation. In addition, the SBA has stated that it is unlikely that a public company with substantial market value and access to capital markets will be able to make the required certification in good faith. The lack of clarity regarding loan eligibility under the program has resulted in significant media coverage and controversy with respect to public companies applying for and receiving loans. If, despite our good faith belief that we satisfied all eligibility requirements for the PPP Loan, we are found to have been ineligible to receive the PPP Loan or in violation of any of the laws or regulations that apply to us in connection with the PPP Loan, including the False Claims Act, we may be subject to penalties, including significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties and could be dependent uponrequired to repay the pricingPPP Loan. In the event that we seek forgiveness of precious metals, which is beyond our control. Any increases in the market price of precious metals (primarily gold) could affect the pricing and sales of jewelry incorporating moissanite jewels, including jewelry manufactured by us. The majority of price increases in precious metals are passed on to the end consumer in the form of higher prices for finished jewelry. These higher prices could haveall or a negative impact on the sell-through of moissanite jewelry at the retail level. From the beginning of 2006 through 2016, the price of gold has increased significantly (approximately 117%), resulting in higher retail price points for gold jewelry. This has had a negative impact on both sales of moissanite jewelry and the jewelry industry as a whole.

Seasonality of our business may adversely affect our net sales and operating income. Sales in the retail jewelry industry are typically seasonal due to increased consumer purchases during the holiday season. Because historically we have primarily sold our loose jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite at wholesale to distributors, manufacturers, and retailers, our sales to support the holiday season largely have taken place during the third and beginningportion of the fourth calendar quarters, depending on the sales channelanticipated PPP Loan, we will also be required to make certain certifications which will be subject to audit and the level of advance planningreview by governmental entities and productioncould subject us to significant penalties and liabilities if found to be inaccurate. In addition, our customers undertook. As sales of our finished jewelry featuring moissanite to retailers and directly to consumers increase, both in dollars and as a percentage of total sales, our fourth quarter results may depend upon the general level of retail sales during the holiday season as well as general economic conditions and other factors beyond our control. In anticipation of increased sales activities during the fourth quarter, we may incur significant additional expenses, including higher inventory of finished jewelry in the second halfanticipated receipt of the year. In recent years, excluding one-time salesPPP Loan may result in adverse publicity and damage to our reputation, and a review or audit by the SBA or other government entity or claims under the False Claims Act could consume significant financial and management resources. Any of these events we have experienced a higher degree of seasonality in the fourth quarter than we have experienced in prior years primarily as a result of the holiday season sales to end consumers throughcould harm our direct-to-consumer e-commerce website, charlesandcolvard.com and as a result of increased sales through televised home shopping networks within our wholesale distribution segment. Our quarterlybusiness, results of operations may continue to fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including seasonal cycles, the timing of new product introductions, the timing of orders by our customers, and the mix of product sales demand, and these factors may significantly affect our results of operations in a given quarter.financial condition.
We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, which could harm the value of our products and brands and adversely affect our business. We rely primarily on patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions, to establish and protect our proprietary rights, all of which provide only limited protection. We hadheld U.S. product and method patents for moissanite jewels, which expired in August 2015, under which we believed that we had broad, exclusive rights to manufacture, use, and sell moissanite jewels in the U.S. We had these same patents in 25 foreign jurisdictions primarily across Asia and Europe that expired in the third quarter of 2016 and one that will expire in Mexico in 2021. However, our patent expirations could enablehave enabled competitors and other businesses to duplicate and market a similar product and enter the marketplace. Without patent protection, we must rely primarily on our branding strategy and the Supply Agreement under which Cree supplies SiC crystals exclusively to us, as well as confidentiality procedures, to protect our proprietary rights, which may or may not be sufficient. In addition, at the present time, we are primarily dependent on Cree’s technology for the production of SiC crystals. There can be no assurance that any patents issued to or licensed by or to us will provide any significant commercial protection, that we will have sufficient resources to protect our respective patents and proprietary rights, that any additional patents will be issued in the future, or that any existing or future patents will be upheld by a court should we seek to enforce our rights against an infringer. At this point, we cannot reasonably estimate the impact these patent expirations will have on our future results of operations.

The existence of valid patents does not prevent other companies from independently developing competing technologies. Existing producers of SiC crystals or others may refine existing processes for growing SiC crystals or develop new technologies for growing large single crystals of SiC or colorless SiC crystals in a manner that does not infringe any patents issued to or licensed by or to us. Accordingly, existing and potential competitors may behave been able to develop products that are competitive with or superior to certain of our products, and such competition could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

In addition, we have certain trademarks and pending trademark applications that support our moissanite branding strategy, and we use certain brand names for which we do not currently have proprietary rights.strategy. The success of our growth strategy may depend on our continued ability to use our existing brand names in order to increase consumer awareness and further develop strong brands around our moissanite jewels and finished jewelry collections. We cannot assure that any future trademark or other registrations will be issued for pending or future applications or that we will be able to obtain licenses or other contractual rights to use brand names that may infringe the proprietary rights of third parties. We also cannot assure that any registered or unregistered trademarks or other intellectual property or contractual rights will be enforceable or provide adequate protection of our proprietary rights. Our inability to secure proprietary protection with respect to our brands could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We also cannot be certain that our products and brand names do not or will not infringe valid patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We may be subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time relating to the intellectual property of others in the ordinary course of our business. Litigation to determine the validity of any third party’s claims could result in significant expense and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, whether or not such litigation is determined in our favor. In the event of an adverse result of any such litigation, we could be required to expend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology or to obtain licenses for, and pay royalties on the use of, the technology subject to the litigation. We have no assurance that we would be successful in such development or that any such license would be available on commercially reasonable terms.

Negative or inaccurate information on social media could adversely affect our brand and reputation. We are actively using various forms of digital and social media outreach to accomplish greater awareness of our brand and the value proposition we offer. These social media platforms and other forms of Internet-based communications allow access not only by us, but by any individual, to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. Consumers value readily available information concerning goods that they have or plan to purchase; however, they may act on such information without further investigation or authentication. Many social media platforms, including those relating to recruiting and placement activities, immediately publish the content of their participants’ posts, often without filters or checks on accuracy of the content posted. While we actively monitor social media sites, we may be unable to quickly and effectively respond to or correct inaccurate and/or unfavorable information posted on social media platforms.  Any such information may harm our reputation or brand, which could in turn materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We depend on a single supplier for substantially all of our SiC crystals, the raw materials we use to produce moissanite jewels; if our supply of high-quality SiC crystals is interrupted, our business may be materially harmed.We are party to an exclusive supply agreement with Cree, which we depend on for the provision of substantially all of the SiC material we use to produce moissanite jewels. Under the terms and conditions of the Supply Agreement, we agreed to purchase from Cree, and Cree agreed to supply, all of our required SiC material, subject to terms and conditions that allow us to purchase certain amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. The Supply Agreement is set to expire in 2025, but may be further extended upon mutual agreement of the parties to the Supply Agreement.  If our supply of high-quality SiC crystals is interrupted, then we may not be able to meet demand for moissanite jewels and our business may be materially and adversely affected. Cree has certain proprietary rights relating to its process for growing large single crystals of SiC and its process for growing colorless and near-colorless SiC crystals. There is no guaranty that we would be able to obtain similar quality SiC crystals from another provider. There can be no assurance that Cree will be able to continue to produce and supply us with SiC crystals of sufficient quality, sizes, and volumes that we desire or that we will be able to continue to negotiate future purchase commitments at acceptable prices that enable us to manage our inventories and raw material costs effectively.

Sales of moissanite jewelry could be dependent upon the pricing of precious metals, which is beyond our control. Any increases in the market price of precious metals (primarily gold) could affect the pricing and sales of jewelry incorporating moissanite jewels. The majority of price increases in precious metals are passed on to the end consumer in the form of higher prices for finished jewelry. These higher prices could have a negative impact on the sell-through of moissanite jewelry at the retail level. From 2006 through 2020, the price of gold has increased significantly, resulting in higher retail price points for gold jewelry. Accordingly, higher gold prices could have an adverse impact on both sales of moissanite finished jewelry and the jewelry industry as a whole.

Our current customers may potentially perceive us as a competitor in the finished jewelry business. As described above, we are currently dependent on a limited number of customers, including distributors and retailers, for the sale of our products in the Traditional segment. Our design, manufacture, and marketing of finished jewelry featuring moissanite for sale to distributors and retailers may result in some of these current customers perceiving us as a competitor, despite our efforts to use primarily non-conflicting sales channels. In response, these customers may choose to reduce their orders for our products. This reduction in orders could occur faster than our sales growth in this business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

If the e-commerce opportunity changes dramatically or if e-commerce technology or providers change their models, our results of operations may be adversely affected. As e-commerce emerges as one of our primary selling channels, our business model becomes more reliant on third-party platforms to achieve success. Should our products, product listings, or business not meet the requirements of certain third-party transactional channels such as marketplaces, comparison shopping engines, or social commerce sites, it may affect our ability to meet our revenue targets. Additionally, Amazon, eBay, Walmart.com, Gemvara, or other desirable e-commerce platforms may decide to make significant changes to their respective business models, policies, systems, or plans, and those changes could impair or inhibit our ability to sell our products through those channels. Further, a significant change in consumer online behavior or the introduction of new or disruptive technology could adversely affect overall e-commerce trends and diminish the value of investments we have made in select online channels. Any of these results could cause a significant reduction in our revenue and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

A failure of our information technology, (IT)or IT, infrastructure or a failure to protect confidential information of our customers and our network against security breaches could adversely impact our business and operations. We rely upon the capacity, reliability, and security of our information technologyIT infrastructure and our ability to expand and continually update this infrastructure in response to the changing needs of our business.business related to the deployment, integration, and management of new technology. For example, we implementedregularly implement new IT systems and update payment gateways that support our wholesale and charlesandcolvard.com e-commerce businesses.Online Channels segment. As we implement and integrate new systems, oras well as retire and de-integrate existing systems, theythe IT operating environment following such changes may not perform as expected. We also face the challenge of supporting our older systems and implementing necessary upgrades. If we experience a problem with the functioning of an important IT system or a security breach of our IT systems, the resulting disruptions could have an adverse effect on our business.
In addition, we and certain of our third-party vendors receive and store personal information associated with our sales operations and other aspects of our business. In connection with our e-commerce business, we rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties to effect secure transmission of confidential information, including credit card numbers. Our disclosure controls and procedures address cybersecurity and include elements intended to ensure that there is an analysis of potential disclosure obligations arising from security breaches. We also maintain compliance programs to address the potential applicability of restrictions against trading while in possession of material, nonpublic information generally and in connection with a cybersecurity breach. The breakdown in existing controls and procedures around our cybersecurity environment may prevent us from detecting, reporting or responding to cyber incidents in a timely manner and could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and value of our Company’s stock. Despite our implementation of security measures, our IT systems and e-commerce business are vulnerable to damages from computer viruses, natural disasters, unauthorized access, cyber-attack, and other similar disruptions. An increasing number of websites and Internet companies have reported breaches of their security. Any such compromise of our security could damage our reputation, business, and brand and expose us to a risk of loss or litigation and possible liability, which could substantially harm our business and results of operations. In addition, anyone who is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions in our operations, damage our computers or those of our customers, or otherwise damage our reputation and business. These issues are likely to become more difficult as we expand the number of countries in which our e-commerce website operates. We may need to expend significant resources to protect against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches.

IfFor example, in 2016, the e-commerce opportunityEuropean Union, or EU, Parliament approved the new EU data protection legal framework known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. The GDPR, which became effective in May 2018, replaced previously existing regulations and thereby extended the scope of EU data protection law to all non-EU companies processing data of EU residents. The GDPR contains numerous requirements and changes dramaticallyfrom prior EU law, including more robust obligations on data processors, greater rights for data subjects, and heavier documentation requirements for data protection compliance programs. The GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the EU, including to the U.S., and recent legal developments in Europe have created complexity and uncertainty regarding such transfers of personal data from the EU to the U.S. For example, in July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union, or if e-commerce technologythe CJEU, invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, or providers change their models, our results of operations may be adversely affected. As we adopt e-commerce asPrivacy Shield, one of the mechanisms used to legitimize the transfer of personal data from the EU to the U.S. The CJEU decision also drew into question the long-term viability of an alternative means of data transfer, the standard contractual clauses, for transfers of personal data from the EU to the U.S. While we were not self-certified under the Privacy Shield, this CJEU decision may lead to increased scrutiny on data transfers from the EU to the U.S. generally and increase our primary selling channels, our business model becomes more reliant on third-party platforms to achieve success. Should our products, product listings, or business not meet the requirementscosts of certain third-party transactional channelscompliance with data privacy legislation. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens and any penalties imposed by, such as marketplaces, comparison shopping engines, or social commerce sites, it may affect our ability to meet our revenue targets. Additionally, Amazon, eBay, Jet, Walmart.com, Gemvara, or other desirable e-commerce platforms may decide to make significant changes to their respective business models,international and domestic laws, regulations and policies systems, or plans, and those changes could impair or inhibit our ability to sell our products through those channels. Further, a significant change in consumer online behavior or introduction of new or disruptive technology could adversely affect overall e-commerce trends and diminish the value of investments we have made in select online channels. Any of these results could cause a significant reduction in our revenue and have a material adverse effectimpact on our results of operations.

If we fail to evaluate, implement, and integrate strategic acquisition or disposition opportunities successfully, our business may suffer. From time to time we evaluate strategic opportunities available to us for product, technology, or business acquisitions or dispositions. If we choose to make acquisitions or dispositions, we face certain risks, such as failure of an acquired business to meet our performance expectations, failure to recognize cost savings from a disposition, diversion of management attention, retention of management and existing customers of our current and any acquired business, and difficulty in integrating or separating a business’s operations, personnel, and financial and operating systems. We may not be able to successfully address these risks or any other problems that arise from future acquisitions or dispositions. Any failure to successfully evaluate strategic opportunities and address risks or other problems that arise related to any acquisition or disposition could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Governmental regulation and oversight might adversely impact our operations. We are subject to governmental regulations in the manufacture and sale of moissanite jewels and finished jewelry. In particular, in July 2018 the FTC has issued regulations andupdated guidelines governing the marketingdescription of synthetic gemstoneslab-grown diamonds and other gemstones similar to diamond that require such gemstones to be clearly identified as to the gemstone’s lab-grown origin in any promotional or marketing materials. In addition, the precious metal in our finished jewelry may be subject to requirements, which vary by country and by state, such as hallmarking and alloy content. We may be under close scrutiny both by governmental agencies and by competitors in the gemstone industry, any of which may challenge our promotion and marketing of our moissanite jewels and finished jewelry products. While we have a policy to ensure compliance with applicable regulations, if our production or marketing of moissanite jewels and/or finished jewelry is challenged by governmental agencies or competitors, or if regulations are issued that restrict our ability to market our products, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

Some anti-takeover provisions of our charter documents may delay or prevent a takeover of our company. A number of provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws impact matters of corporate governance and the rights of shareholders. Certain of these provisions have an anti-takeover effect and may delay or prevent takeover attempts not first approved by our Board of Directors (including takeovers that certain shareholders may deem to be in their best interests). These provisions also could delay or frustrate the removal of incumbent directors or the assumption of control by shareholders. We believe that these provisions are appropriate to protect our interests and the interests of all of our shareholders.

Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

Item 2.
Properties

We currently lease approximately 36,350 square feet of office, storage, and light manufacturing space in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina from an unaffiliated third-party that is used by both of our current operating and reportable segments.

The majority of all U.S. personnel, including our executive offices, sales offices, administrative personnel, and production facilities are housed in the current space.

Item 3.
Legal Proceedings

There are no material pending legal proceedings to which we are a party or to which any of our property is subject.

Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5.
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market for Registrant��sRegistrant’s Common Equity

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global SelectNasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “CTHR.” The following table presents, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales prices of our common stock, as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market. As of March 3, 2017August 28, 2020, there were 266223 shareholders of record of our common stock.

  High  Low 
Year Ended December 31, 2015:      
First Quarter $1.92  $1.11 
Second Quarter $1.68  $1.15 
Third Quarter $1.72  $1.14 
Fourth Quarter $1.45  $0.90 
Year Ended December 31, 2016:        
First Quarter $1.49  $0.75 
Second Quarter $1.26  $0.93 
Third Quarter $1.33  $0.85 
Fourth Quarter $1.23  $0.83 

We did not pay any dividends on our common stock during 2016 or 2015.the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. We will regularly review and consider the best policies and practices for our company, including the dividend policy. The payment of future dividends will be dependent on the facts and circumstances at the time of that reviewreview.

Item 6.
Selected Financial Data

Not applicable.

Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussionManagement’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, or MD&A, is intended to provide a better understanding of our consolidated financial statements, including a brief discussion of our business and products, key factors that impacted our performance, and a summary of our operating results. This information should be read in conjunction with Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Historical results and percentage relationships among any amounts in the consolidated financial statements are not necessarily indicative of trends in operating results for future periods.

Business Overview

We manufacture, market,Our Mission

At Charles & Colvard, we believe that fine jewelry can be accessible, beautiful, and distributeconscientious. With innovative technology and sustainable practices, our goal is to lead a revolution in the jewelry industry – delivering a brilliant product at extraordinary value balanced with environmental and social responsibility.

About Charles & Colvard

Charles & Colvard, Ltd., a North Carolina corporation founded in 1995 (which may be referred to as Charles & Colvard, we, us, or our), manufactures, markets and distributes Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® (which we refer to as moissanite or moissanite jewels) and finished jewelry featuring our proprietary moissanite gemstone for sale in the worldwide jewelry market. Moissanite, also knownOur unique differentiator, moissanite – The World’s Most Brilliant Gem® – is core to our ambition to create a movement around beautiful, environmentally and socially responsible fine jewelry and fashion jewelry. Charles & Colvard is the originator of lab-created moissanite, and we believe that we are leading the way in delivering the premium moissanite brand through technological advances in gemstone manufacturing, cutting, polishing, and setting. By coupling what we believe to be unprecedented lab-created gemstones with responsibly sourced precious metals, we are delivering a uniquely positioned product line for the conscientious consumer.

We sell loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry through two operating segments: our Online Channels segment, which encompasses our digital properties components, comprises our charlesandcolvard.com website, e-commerce outlets, including marketplaces, drop-ship customers, and other pure-play, exclusively e-commerce customers; and our Traditional segment, which consists of domestic and international distributors and retail customers. We report segment information based on the “management” approach. This segment reporting approach designates the internal reporting used by its chemical name silicon carbide (SiC),management for making operating decisions and assessing performance as the source of our operating and reportable segments.

We operate in an environment characterized by both complexity in global markets and continuing economic pressures in the U.S. and internationally. Our strategy is to build a rare mineral first discovered inglobally revered and accessible brand of gemstones and finished jewelry that appeals to a meteorite crater. Because naturally occurring SiC crystals are too small for commercial use, larger crystals must be grown in a laboratory. Leveragingwide consumer audience and leverages our advantage of being the original and leading worldwide source of created moissanite jewels,moissanite. We believe a direct relationship with consumers is important to this strategy, which entails delivering tailored educational content, engaging in dialogue with our audience, and positioning our brand to meet the demands of today’s discerning consumer. A significant component of our strategy in this environment is to establishfocus on our core products, improving the quality and predictability of the delivery of our products and services, and placing those products quickly into the hands of our U.S. and international customers at affordable prices. Moreover, recognizing today that our customers and vendors are resource constrained, we are endeavoring to develop and extend our portfolio of products in a disciplined manner with a focus on domestic markets close to our core capabilities, as well as growing our global marketplace sales. We continue to focus on affordability initiatives. We also expect to continue to innovate and invest in technologies to fulfill product requirements for our customers and invest in our people so that we have the technical and production skills necessary to succeed without limiting our ability to build financial return to our investors.

Highlights of the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2020

COVID-19 Update

In March 2020, the novel strain of coronavirus, known as COVID-19, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and declared a national emergency by the U.S. Government, and has negatively affected the U.S. and global economies. In response to this pandemic, federal, state, county, and local governments and public health organizations and authorities around the world have implemented a variety of measures intended to control the spread of the virus, including quarantines, “stay-at-home” orders, travel restrictions, school closures, business limitations and closures, social distancing, and hygiene requirements. These measures have adversely affected workforces, customers, economies, and global supply chains, and resulted in significant travel and transport restrictions – all of which have combined to lead to an economic downturn. It has also disrupted the normal operations of many businesses, including ours. In early 2020 in the Asia Pacific region and during our quarter ended March 31, 2020 globally, the pandemic and related governmental and business responses began to have an adverse effect on our operations, supply chains, distribution channels, and consumer buying behaviors. Cumulatively, these circumstances also impacted the net realizable value and marketability of our legacy inventory, which was subsequently written-off.

The overall impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic include the following:

Across our supply chain, we experienced instances of suppliers temporarily closing their operations, delaying order fulfillment, or limiting their production. Where applicable, we utilized alternative supply arrangements with strategic partners whose businesses were not under stay-at-home orders or whose production came back online. During the quarter ended June 30, 2020, many of our suppliers began returning to normal operating and production levels. However, we and our suppliers remain subject to ongoing changes to governmental closure requirements that may have a long-term impact on our supply chain and ability to produce gemstones and finished jewelry for sale.

In our Online Channels segment, our transactional website charlesandcolvard.com remained open under restricted fulfillment capabilities. However, a quickly rising unemployment rate combined with consumer uncertainty and lack of confidence began reducing website traffic and conversions in March 2020. Beginning in March 2020, we maintained limited shipping functions with support from third-party production and fulfillment partners. We were also able to support only a certain level of active products on marketplaces and drop-ship partner websites such as Macys.com, Helzberg.com, Overstock.com, ShopHQ.com, and more. This ongoing e-commerce presence was restricted to available stock and the limited production capacity of functioning suppliers. During the quarter ended June 30, 2020, we began seeing orders in our transactional website, along with orders in our marketplaces and drop-ship partner websites, increase as consumer confidence strengthened and our operating and shipping functions began to return to normal activity levels. However, until business resumes to pre-pandemic levels across our entire supply chain, our Online Channels segment is expected to continue to be adversely impacted by the pandemic.

In our Traditional segment, brick and mortar customers began closing their stores to foot traffic in March 2020, with tentative plans to re-open on a rolling schedule that may lead into the fall timeframe or later. We also experienced instances of distributors, whose businesses rely on sales into retail organizations, reducing or closing their operations. These adverse effects impacted our ability to maintain significant levels of sales through our wholesale customers. In addition, trade shows and industry events have been preemptively cancelled for the critical production season leading up to the calendar year-end 2020 holiday season. As a result, our selling activities in our Traditional segment were significantly modified, and our ability to convert those activities into sales have been adversely impacted by the pandemic. Consistent with the trends we are experiencing in our Online Channels segment, we have begun seeing business strengthen with our brick and mortar customers as these customers begin to move forward with their re-opening plans following their closures in March 2020, but until business resumes to pre-pandemic levels, our Traditional segment is expected to continue to be adversely impacted by the pandemic.

As global and U.S economic activity slowed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced and anticipate ongoing constraints on our cash and working capital, including experiencing potential liquidity challenges. The impact of the pandemic has had and is expected to continue having an adverse effect on our operations and financial condition as revenues declined and, despite our cost-saving efforts, many business and operating expenses remained flat or continued to rise. Cash flow scrutiny will be crucial for our business in the months ahead as we anticipate seeing lower revenues resulting in less cash flow, along with delayed accounts receivable collections, as needs grow to step up payables to important suppliers. We continue to focus on being more nimble in managing our inventory levels given the uncertainty in the supply chain, which may also place further demands on working capital.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity during Fiscal 2020. The full extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operational and financial performance is currently uncertain and will depend on many factors outside of our control, including, without limitation, the timing, extent, trajectory and duration of the pandemic, the development and availability of effective treatments and vaccines, the imposition of protective public safety measures, and the impact of the pandemic on the global economy and demand for consumer and wholesaler products.
We believe that our management has taken and continues to take – swift and appropriate action designed to hedge against the overall impact that the pandemic may have on our business, to prepare for a potential recessionary environment, and to efficiently manage the business while maintaining adequate liquidity and maximum operating flexibility. We remain focused on three critical areas of wellbeing, including safeguarding the health and safety of our employees, implementing senior managerial changes and streamlining operations while ensuring support of our brand and customers, and maintaining our financial strength and stability. Notwithstanding these challenges, we believe that we further solidified the global Charles & Colvard brand during Fiscal 2020.
Since the onset of the pandemic domestically, we have implemented the following measures:
We deployed a work-from-home option for our employees on March 13, 2020, and effective March 27, 2020, instituted a mandatory work-from-home policy for all, but essential, employees due to mandated stay-at-home orders by the State of North Carolina and local governmental authorities;

We temporarily suspended all hiring of employees starting April 13, 2020 and we furloughed approximately 50% of our employee base at that time, principally within our operations area. While most of our operations employees returned to full-time status as we moved forward with reputable, high-quality,our phased reopening plans during May 2020, these actions materially impacted our productivity;

We extended new benefits to assist employees who participate in our 401(k) plan with additional distribution and sophisticated brands across multiple channels,new borrowing terms;

We implemented temporary salary and wage reductions for all employees, including a 25% reduction in salary for the President and Chief Executive Officer and a 15% reduction for each of the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. All employee salaries and wages were returned to pre-reduction levels in July 2020;

We reorganized our management and reduced our workforce. Effective June 1, 2020, Suzanne Miglucci, our former President and Chief Executive Officer, resigned and Don O’Connell was appointed as our new President and Chief Executive Officer. At the same time, we enacted a significant reduction-in-force, or RIF, that reduced our active workforce by approximately 25%. Included in the RIF were the elimination of senior-level sales, marketing, information technology, and operations personnel as well as executive-level sales and marketing positions. These RIF actions resulted in our recognition of severance-related expenses during the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020 in the amount of approximately $427,000. The liability for the unpaid portion of our severance-related accrual in the amount of approximately $338,000 is included in accrued expenses and other liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2020;

We instituted a temporary 50% reduction in fees paid to our Board of Directors, which were also returned to pre-reduction levels in July 2020;

We successfully applied for and received a loan pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act, as administered by the SBA. The loan in the principal amount of $965,000 was disbursed by Newtek Small Business Finance, LLC, a nationally licensed lender under the SBA, on June 18, 2020 pursuant to a Promissory Note issued by us on June 15, 2020. As provided under the CARES Act, we intend to use the proceeds from this loan to enhance cash flow, to help maintain operations and fund current payroll requirements, and to position moissaniteassist us with the reopening phase of our business as an ethically-sourced, affordable,we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts. There can be no assurance that such PPP Loan will be forgiven; and

We reduced non-payroll operating expenses, including decreased digital marketing spend and luxurious alternativesignificantly reduced product development investments and travel expenditures.

We are continuing to other gemstones suchtake the following steps to further address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic:

We are actively renegotiating contracts with vendors and suppliers to amend commitments to size our supply with current demand and delivery terms with others to reduce our cost of goods and services;

We are negotiating extended payment terms with select partners;

We are continuing to align variable expenses to match current sales trends as diamond.we continue to move forward with our phased reopening; and

We are currently continuing to offer the flexibility of a work-from-home option for our employees who are able to perform full-time duties effectively from home as the State of North Carolina continues to reopen through its predetermined phased reopening plan.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we delivered on several key initiatives, which we believe leaves us well poised for future growth as we move forward into the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. These accomplishments in fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, include the following:

Digital Marketing Refocus/Redirection. During June 2020, we ceased all top-of-funnel digital marketing campaigns and strictly refocused our digital marketing advertising strategy toward higher-converting, low marketing funnel activities. We believe that targeting consumers with whom we have already engaged and who have expressed interest in our products is a more effective use of our digital advertising spend. We believe this shift in our marketing strategy provides a more rapid financial return on our marketing investment, which is possiblecritical to our top line growth during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and going forward as we move into Fiscal 2021;

Enhanced Customer Experience. We developed and launched an improved technological e-commerce platform and offered user-friendly consumer services to support an enhanced customer experience. In June 2020 we launched our digital Charles & Colvard Virtual Bridal Ring Consultation program. This is a personal shopping concierge service where we are offering a customized virtual experience designed to simplify the ring buying process for our customers. This new customer support service offers deeper personalization and a more immersive shopping experience for our consumers. With our improved platform we believe that we are driving stronger customer engagement, encouraging repeat buyers, and growing our customer loyalty program, all of which we believe supports our ability to deliver an exemplary worldwide customer service personal shopping experience. We believe that offering this enhanced customer experience is an integral component of our overall marketing strategy. We believe that this enhanced customer interaction featuring a virtual personal shopping experience is important for our brand, but we also believe that it is even more relevant and important to our customers currently during these unprecedented times when social distancing practices remain in place throughout the U.S. and much of the world;


E-Commerce Capabilities. In spite of the adverse impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our Online Channels segment, we launched an online presence with the iconic Canadian department store Hudson’s Bay in May 2020. We believe this relationship gives us the ability to market our assortment of fine jewelry featuring Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® gemstones to this retailer’s robust digital audience on TheBay.com;

Presence with Key Brick-and-Mortar Partners. Notwithstanding the adverse effect that the COVID-19 related closures had on our Traditional segment during the period these retailers were closed, in the months prior to the business interruption, we continued to broaden our relationship with Helzberg Diamonds stores with the addition of incremental product styles and expanded case line presence in nearly all doors during the early part of Fiscal 2020. We will continue to evolve our retail channel strategy as these stores reopen and businesses resume to pre-pandemic levels and when we are once again able to optimize our partnership arrangements; and

Corporate Social Responsibility. In these unprecedented times more than ever, we continue to believe that we have the responsibility to be a good corporate citizen, and in practice, to have a business model that helps us be socially accountable to our stakeholders. During Fiscal 2020, we elevated our use of responsible precious metals in substantially all the finished jewelry we sourced. We also want to positively impact the communities where we work and live and for the benefit of the world in general – which we intend to continue supporting through philanthropic programs that advocate positive social change. This is evidenced by our participation in a Coronavirus related giving-back program that contributes 40% of net proceeds from one of our top selling finished jewelry items to the Duke University Research Foundation’s Duke Health COVID-19 Research Fund that will help support the development of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.
The continued spread of COVID-19 has led to ongoing disruption and volatility in the global and U.S. economies, and, depending on future developments, could continue to adversely impact our operations and financial position. Our focus as we move into Fiscal 2021 is centered on the health of our brand on a global scale. As lab-created gemstones are being embraced by emerging generations, we will continue our quest to establish moissanite and our jewelry brand directly with consumers. We will execute on our key strategies with a continued commitment to measured spending and generating sustainable earnings improvement.
As we manage through these challenging and unprecedented times, we plan to remain highly focused on prudently managing the reach of our brand – both domestically and internationally – through select digital marketing initiatives that align with consumer engagement and demand. However, in response to the global economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on consumer confidence and spending levels, we have narrowed our digital advertising spend toward higher-conversion marketing activities. We believe that our long-term mission will ultimately be accomplished through our ability to remain fluid and shift brand awareness strategies that are sensitive to these ever-changing times.

Our MD&A generally discusses Fiscal 2020 and Fiscal 2019 items and year-to-year comparisons between Fiscal 2020 and Fiscal 2019. Discussions of Fiscal 2019 items and year-to-year comparisons between Fiscal 2019 and the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, or Fiscal 2018, that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results or Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 filed with the SEC on September 6, 2019.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth certain consolidated statements of operations data for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019:

  Year Ended June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Net sales $29,189,020  $32,244,109 
Costs and expenses:        
Cost of goods sold  21,200,207   17,352,167 
Sales and marketing  9,443,244   7,983,506 
General and administrative  4,861,297   4,640,810 
Research and development  -   2,069 
Total costs and expenses  35,504,748   29,978,552 
(Loss) Income from operations  (6,315,728)  2,265,557 
Other income (expense):        
Interest income  158,091   11,022 
Interest expense  (884)  (2,198)
Loss on foreign currency exchange  (1,829)  (344)
Other expense  -   (13)
Total other income, net  155,378   8,467 
(Loss) Income before income taxes  (6,160,350)  2,274,024 
Income tax (expense) benefit  (1,733)  1,443 
Net (loss) income $(6,162,083) $2,275,467 

Consolidated Net Sales

Consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 comprise the following:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Finished jewelry $16,777,628  $15,457,343  $1,320,285   9%
Loose jewels  12,411,392   16,786,766   (4,375,374)  -26%
Total consolidated net sales $29,189,020  $32,244,109  $(3,055,089)  -9%

Consolidated net sales were $29.19 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to $32.24 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, a decrease of $3.06 million, or 9%. The decrease in consolidated net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared with consolidated net sales for the prior fiscal year was primarily due to moissanite’s exceptional brilliance, fire, durability,the adverse impacts of the geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong in early 2020 which affected our international distributor market and rarity like nothe global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has continued to negatively affect the U.S. and global economies and has had a significant adverse impact on our worldwide sales and results of operations. Notwithstanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we saw increased seasonal sales for both the calendar year-end holiday and Valentine’s Day. We also witnessed increased consumer awareness for our moissanite products throughout these holiday periods. Our transactional website, charlesandcolvard.com, was flat compared with the prior fiscal year due to the strength of demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Net sales through our cross-border trade, or CBT, platform increased 34% versus the prior fiscal year. Despite the sales pressures we have been experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, our results have provided evidence that we had strong finished jewelry product net sales during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 in both our Online Channels segment and Traditional segment.

Sales of finished jewelry represented 57% and 48% of total consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, finished jewelry sales were $16.78 million compared to $15.46 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, an increase of $1.32 million, or 9%. This increase in finished jewelry sales was due primarily to higher finished jewelry retail sales in our Online Channels segment as well as increased sales of Forever One™ and Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® products in our Traditional segment during periods prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Net sales of our Forever One™finished jewelry and loose jewels represented 81% of total net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.

Sales of loose jewels represented 43% and 52% of total consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, loose jewel sales were $12.41 million compared to $16.79 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, a decrease of $4.38 million, or 26%. The decrease for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 was primarily due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting impact on consumer confidence and spending. The decrease was also due to lower levels of loose jewel sales in our Online Channels segment and, in particular, lower levels of loose jewel sales through the international distribution network in our Traditional segment.

U.S. net sales accounted for approximately 92% and 87% of total consolidated net sales during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Notwithstanding the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. net sales increased during Fiscal 2020 as a percentage of net sales, principally resulting from the significant decrease in international sales as discussed below. The decrease in U.S. net sales during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the prior year was offset somewhat by increased sales to U.S. customers during periods prior to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in both our Online Channels segment and Traditional segment.

Our largest U.S. customer during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 accounted for 13% and 14% of total consolidated net sales during each respective period. Our second largest U.S. customer during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 accounted for 12% and 10% of total consolidated net sales during each respective period. We expect that we will remain dependent on our ability, and that of our largest U.S. customers, to maintain and enhance retail and domestic distributor programs. A change in or loss of any of these customer or retailer relationships could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

International net sales accounted for approximately 8% and 13% of total consolidated net sales during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. International net sales decreased to $2.37 million, or 44%, during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to $4.26 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. International sales decreased due to lower demand in our international distributor market resulting from the adverse impact of the geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong and the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the distributors we serve in the China and Hong Kong markets. Prior to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lower demand in our international distributor market was offset somewhat by growth in our direct-to-consumer presence internationally, along with an increase in the number of CBT transactions in these periods reflecting increased direct-to-consumer sales from our Online Channels segment in international markets. In light of the ongoing global economic conditions, we continue to evaluate these and other potential distributors in international markets to determine the best long-term partners. As a result, and in light of the ongoing worldwide pandemic and international trade challenges, we expect our sales in these markets to continue to fluctuate significantly each reporting period.

We did not have an international customer account for 10% or more of total consolidated sales during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. A portion of our international consolidated sales represents jewels sold internationally that may be re-imported to U.S. retailers.

Costs and Expenses

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of goods sold for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Product line cost of goods sold:            
Finished jewelry $7,469,790  $6,859,112  $610,678   9%
Loose jewels  6,062,186   8,242,830   (2,180,644)  -26%
Total product line cost of goods sold  13,531,976   15,101,942   
(1,569,966
)
  -10%
Non-product line cost of goods sold  7,668,231   2,250,225   5,418,006   241%
Total cost of goods sold $21,200,207  $17,352,167  $3,848,040   22%

Total cost of goods sold was $21.20 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to $17.35 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, a net increase of approximately $3.85 million, or 22%. Product line cost of goods sold is defined as product cost of goods sold in each of our Online Channels segment and Traditional segment excluding non-capitalized expenses from our manufacturing and production control departments, comprising personnel costs, depreciation, rent, utilities, and corporate overhead allocations; freight out; inventory write-offs; and other inventory adjustments, comprising costs of quality issues, and damaged goods.

The increase in total cost of goods sold for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 as compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily driven by a write-off during the third quarter of Fiscal 2020 of approximately $5.26 million representing the carrying value of our legacy loose jewel available on the market. inventory and finished goods inventory set with these legacy gemstones. The legacy material inventory comprised lower grade raw materials, or boules,We sell work-in-process gemstones, loose moissanite jewelsfinished gemstones and finished jewelry at wholesaleset with these legacy gemstones in precious metals. The legacy inventory raw materials were purchased and finished gemstone products were produced through the period ended August 2015. These gemstone products and finished jewelry items are known and marketed as our older Forever ClassicTM, Forever Brilliant®, and lower-grade gemstones.

Our primary international gemstone distributors, which historically have been the principal customer base for our legacy gemstone products are located in the Asia Pacific region of the world, primarily in China and Hong Kong. As a result of the ongoing geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong, coupled with the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer confidence and spending in this region plummeted throughout Fiscal 2020. As a consequence of this, our marketability of these products suffered a sudden and complete deterioration over this same period.

The net increase in non-product line cost of goods sold for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 comprises an unfavorable net change in inventory write-offs of approximately $5.47 million principally related to distributors, manufacturers, retailers, TV shopping networks,the write-off of the carrying cost of our legacy material inventory of $5.26 million as well as inventory valuation adjustments related to changes in obsolescence reserves in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. The net increase in non-product line cost of goods sold was also related to an approximate $14,000 change in production standard cost variances as compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 as well as an approximate $1,000 increase in non-capitalized manufacturing and designers,production control expenses principally due to the timing when work-in-process is received into inventory and at retailoverhead costs are allocated. These increases in non-product line cost of goods sold were offset in part by an approximate $68,000 decrease in freight out in the same period due to end consumers throughlower shipment costs during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.

For further discussion of non-product line cost of goods sold, see Note 3 to our wholly ownedconsolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”,  of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
             
Sales and marketing $9,443,244  $7,983,506  $1,459,738   18%

Sales and marketing expenses were $9.44 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to $7.98 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, an increase of approximately $1.46 million, or 18%.

The increase in sales and marketing expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due to a $1.15 million increase in advertising and digital marketing expenses reflecting the activation of funds from our June 2019 underwritten public offering that we deployed to expand brand awareness; a $217,000 increase in software-related costs principally in connection with maintenance agreements as well as other software-related agreements; a $58,000 increase in professional services fees principally comprising consulting services for cybersecurity and merchandise imaging; a $46,000 increase in compensation-related expenses; and a $41,000 increase in general office-related expenses, which is primarily related to increased sales and use taxes. These increases were partially offset by a $52,000 decrease in travel expenses as a result of COVID-19 cost control measures.

The increase in digital and social media marketing expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due to a $623,000 increase in Internet marketing; a $524,000 increase in outside agency fees; a $110,000 increase in cooperative advertising; and a $9,000 increase in promotional expenses, primarily related to sponsorship of a local professional sports team. These increases were partially offset by an $89,000 reduction in trade show expenses resulting from the cancelation of the jewelry industry’s premier annual event as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and a $29,000 reduction in print media advertising. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, management drastically reduced advertising and digital marketing expenditures beginning in mid-March 2020. In addition, as a result of its digital marketing redirection in June 2020, management further reduced advertising and digital marketing expenditures during the last month of Fiscal 2020.

Compensation expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 increased primarily as a result of a $201,000 increase in salaries, commissions, and related employee benefits in the aggregate; a $71,000 increase in severance accrual related to our June 2020 management reorganization and workforce reduction; and a $9,000 increase in employee stock-based compensation expense. These increases were partially offset by cost control measures implemented by management as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on our operations that led to a $235,000 decrease in bonus expense.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
             
General and administrative $4,861,297  $4,640,810  $220,487   5%

General and administrative expenses were $4.86 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to $4.64 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, an increase of approximately $220,000, or 5%.

The increase in general and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due to a $250,000 increase in compensation expenses; a $236,000 increase in professional services fees; and a $6,000 increase in equipment-related rental expense. These increases were partially offset by an $84,000 decrease in business franchise taxes and licenses; a $49,000 decrease in board retainer fees as a result of COVID-19 cost control measures; a $48,000 decrease in bank fees as a result of lower credit card sales transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic; a $31,000 decrease in travel expenses as a result of COVID-19 cost control measures; a $24,000 decrease in insurance expenses; an $18,000 decrease in bad debt expense associated with our allowance for doubtful accounts reserve policy reflecting lower customer accounts receivable balances during the COVID-19 pandemic; a $12,000 decrease in general office-related expenses, which is primarily related to lower software maintenance agreement-related expenses; and a $6,000 net decrease in all other general and administrative expenses.

Compensation expenses increased for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 primarily due to a $282,000 increase in severance accrual related to our June 2020 management reorganization and workforce reduction; a $128,000 increase in salaries and related employee benefits in the aggregate; and a $33,000 increase in employee stock-based compensation expense. These increases were offset in part by cost control measures implemented as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on our operations that led to a $193,000 decrease in bonus expense.

Professional services fees increased for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 primarily due to a $158,000 increase in legal fees associated with corporate governance matters; a $38,000 increase in accounting services related to higher annual audit and tax fees, as well as fees associated with tax consulting services; a $30,000 increase in investor and public relations expenses; and a $10,000 increase in consulting and other professional services primarily in connection with nonrecurring accounting and financial reporting related consulting fees.

Loss on Foreign Currency Exchange

Loss on foreign currency exchange related to foreign sales transacted in functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Loss on foreign currency exchange $1,829  $344  $1,485   432%

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we had international sales transactions denominated in currencies other than the U.S dollar that resulted in foreign currency exchange net losses. The increase in these losses for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020, reflects changes in foreign currency fluctuation during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared with the prior fiscal year.

Interest Income

Interest income for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Interest income $158,091  $11,022  $147,069   1,334%

In June 2019, we completed an underwritten public offering of 6,250,000 shares of our common stock, which together with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option for an additional 630,500 shares in July 2019, resulted in net proceeds of approximately $9.99 million. The net proceeds from this offering have been deposited into an interest-bearing account with a federally insured commercial bank. Accordingly, during the full fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we earned interest income from cash on deposit in this interest-bearing account.

Provision for Income Taxes

We recognized a net income tax expense of approximately $1,700 and a net income tax benefit of approximately $1,400 for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Our income tax provisions in these periods primarily relate to estimated tax, penalties, and interest associated with uncertain tax positions. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 we recognized a federal income tax benefit in the amount of approximately $23,000 that related to the realization of the recoverable portion of the alternative minimum tax, or AMT, deferred tax credit carryforwards being reclassified from a deferred tax asset to that of an income tax receivable.

As of each reporting date, we consider new evidence, both positive and negative, that could impact our view with regard to future realization of deferred tax assets. Beginning in 2014, we determined that negative evidence outweighed the positive and established a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. We maintained a full valuation allowance as of June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2019.

Our statutory tax rate as of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 is 22.11% and consists of the federal income tax rate of 21% and a blended state income tax rate of 1.11%, net of the federal benefit.

For discussion of the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act, the CARES Act, and the State of North Carolina General Assembly Senate Bill 704: COVID-19 Recovery Act, or the NC COVID-19 Relief Act, on our provision for income taxes and deferred tax assets, see Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”,  of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Certain Operating Metrics

We believe that certain metrics are key to our business, including but not limited to average order value, or AOV, average advertising spend per customer, and repeat customers. The following operating subsidiaries,metrics, which we use to make strategic digital marketing related decisions and to monitor the performance and return on investment of our marketing activities, are based on financial results and customer-related data for charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, (formerly Moissanite.com, LLC) anda wholly-owned subsidiary of Charles & Colvard, Direct, LLC (until March 2016)Ltd., for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020:

AOV is estimated to be approximately $1,000, based on charlesandcolvard.com revenue, net of returns, divided by the total number of customer orders.
Average ad spend per new customer is estimated to be approximately $275, based on the total advertising spend focused on charlesandcolvard.com traffic divided by the number of first-time customer orders.
Repeat customers represent approximately 17% of charlesandcolvard.com’s total customer orders, based on customer email addresses.

Our calculation for AOV is sensitive to volume and through third-party marketplaces. Asproduct mix. Therefore, we believe that our AOV may vary widely going forward as we respond to ever changing consumer demand and provide the products – that may have widely variable price points – our audiences are looking for. Likewise, as we continue to invest in our advertising and marketing communication channels and broaden the underlying content types, notwithstanding the effects of September 30, 2016,the COVID-19 pandemic, we changedexpect our average ad spend per customer to increase going forward. Finally, as our Loyalty Program is revived, we expect the namepercentage of people enrolled in our program to continue increasing over time.

The following operating metrics, which we use to manage operations and to also make strategic digital marketing related decisions and to monitor the performance and return on investment of our wholly owned subsidiary Moissanite.com,marketing activities, are based on financial results and customer-related data for charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019:

1% year-over-year growth in charlesandcolvard.com LLC.revenue.
2.2% year-over-year growth in social media followers; 5% year-over-year growth in opt-in email subscribers.

For each of the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, gross margin (defined as net sales less product line cost of goods sold) for our Online Channels segment was 58% of Online Channels net sales.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As the world continues to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on global economics and business operations, the outbreak of the coronavirus and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the wider economy has placed unprecedented pressures on U.S. businesses including our own. The continued spread of  COVID-19 has also led to disruption and volatility in the global capital markets, which, depending on future developments, could adversely impact our capital resources and liquidity in the future.

We remain increasingly focused on potential liquidity issues and debt incurrence capacity. Accordingly, faced with the prospect of significantly declining cash flows, we evaluated the possibility of raising additional capital through loans, debt or access to other capital transactions. In March 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law, which, along with earlier issued Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, guidelines, provides for deferral of certain taxes. The CARES Act, among other things, contains economic relief programs in the form of loans and grants for small businesses. In May 2020, the NC COVID-19 Relief Act was signed into law, which provides for a tax credit towards certain employer contributions to the North Carolina Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Capital Structure and Long-Term Debt

On June 18, 2020, we received the proceeds from the PPP Loan pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act, as administered by the SBA. The PPP Loan in the principal amount of $965,000 was disbursed by the Lender pursuant to a promissory note, or the Promissory Note, issued by us on June 15, 2020.

Under the CARES Act and the Promissory Note, loan forgiveness is available for the sum of documented payroll costs, covered rent payments, and covered utilities during the 24-week period beginning on the date of first disbursement of the PPP Loan. For purposes of the CARES Act, payroll costs exclude cash compensation of an individual employee in excess of $100,000, prorated annually. Not more than 40% of the forgiven amount can be attributable to non-payroll costs. Although we currently believe that our use of the PPP Loan will meet the conditions for forgiveness of the PPP Loan, we cannot assure our future adherence to the forgiveness criteria and that the PPP Loan will be forgiven, in whole or in part.

In April 2020, we also applied for capital relief pursuant to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, or the EIDL Program, also under the CARES Act and administered by the SBA. In June we were notified by the SBA that our EIDL Program application was approved by the SBA. However, due to the limited amount of capital that would have been available to us under the EIDL Program, we did not further pursue those funds.

The CARES Act provides that existing AMT credit carryforwards are now eligible for acceleration and refundable AMT credits are to be completely refunded to companies for taxable years beginning in 2019, or by election, taxable years beginning in 2018. Accordingly, we have elected to have the AMT tax completely refunded and have filed a tentative refund claim for the remaining AMT tax credit. Consequently, the remaining balance of our AMT credit refund in the amount of approximately $270,000 is expected to be completely refundable. Accordingly, the full amount of our AMT credit refund has been classified as current as of June 30, 2020.

We also intend to take advantage of COVID-19 related tax credits for required paid leave provided by us. These eligible tax credits are determined by qualified emergency paid sick and expanded family and medical leave wages pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or FFCRA. Under FFCRA, we have provided employees with paid federal sick and expanded family and medical leave benefits for which we may be reimbursed by the government through payroll tax credits. Qualifying wages for tax credit purposes under FFCRA are those paid to an employee who takes leave under FFCRA for a qualifying reason, up to the applicable per diem and aggregate payment caps. Applicable tax credits also extend to the employer’s share of amounts paid or incurred to maintain a group health plan.

Finally, as permitted by the NC COVID-19 Relief Act, we will receive a tax credit towards our contributions to the North Carolina Unemployment Insurance Fund, which will also serve to further enhance future cash flow.

As a component of our liquidity and capital structure, we have an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 on file with the SEC which allows us to periodically offer and sell, individually or in any combination, shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock, warrants to purchase shares of common stock or preferred stock, and units consisting of any combination of the foregoing types of securities, up to a total of $25.00 million, of which approximately $13.99 million remains available after giving effect to our June 2019 public offering, including the impact of the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, described below. However, we may offer and sell no more than one-third of our public float (which is the aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates) in any 12-month period. Our ability to issue equity securities under the shelf registration statement is subject to market conditions, which are in turn, subject to the disruption and volatility being caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Any capital raise is not assured and may not be at terms that would be acceptable to us.

Financing Activities

In February 2016, June 2019, we made completed an underwritten public offering of 6,250,000 newly issued shares of common stock, at a price to the strategic decisionpublic of $1.60 per share, pursuant to exploreour effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3. Net proceeds from the offering were approximately $9.06 million, net of the underwriting discount and fees and expenses. Pursuant to the terms of the underwriting agreement entered into in connection with this offering, the underwriters were granted a potential divestiture30-day option to buy up to an additional 937,500 shares of our direct-to-consumer home party business previously operated through our Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (dba Lulu Avenue®) subsidiary. After careful analysiscommon stock to cover over-allotments. Pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, in July 2019, we issued an additional 630,500 shares of our core competencies, go-to-market strategies,common stock at a price of $1.60 per share for net proceeds of approximately $932,000, net of the underwriting discount and intentfees and expenses of approximately $77,000. After giving effect to advance toward profitability, the partial exercise of the over-allotment option, we sold an aggregate of 6,880,500 shares of our common stock at a price of $1.60 per share with total gross proceeds of approximately $11.01 million, before deducting the underwriting discount and fees and expenses of approximately $1.02 million. During early Fiscal 2020, we began using the aggregate net proceeds of approximately $9.99 million from the offering for marketing and for general corporate and working capital purposes. However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on consumer confidence and spending, management teamdrastically reduced related advertising and Boarddigital marketing expenditures in mid-March 2020.

As discussed above, on June 18, 2020 we received a PPP Loan in the principal amount of Directors determined$965,000 from the Lender pursuant to a divestiturePromissory Note issued by us on June 15, 2020. The Promissory Note matures June 18, 2022 and may be extended with the consent of the Lender under the provisions of the CARES Act. The Promissory Note bears interest at a fixed rate of 1% per annum. Pursuant to the terms of the Promissory Note, monthly principal and interest payments in the amount of approximately $41,000 will commence on April 1, 2021. For financial reporting purposes as of June 30, 2020, the classification of the current maturity of this distribution channellong-term debt assumes there will be no principal forgiveness and principal repayment for the full outstanding principal amount of the PPP Loan will be spread in equal monthly installments over the period from April 1, 2021 through the maturity date of the Promissory Note.

We did not provide any collateral or guarantees for the PPP Loan, nor did we pay any facility charge to beobtain the PPP Loan. The Promissory Note provides for customary events of default, including, among others, those relating to failure to make payment and breaches of representations. We may prepay the principal of the PPP Loan at any time without incurring any prepayment charges.

Operating Activities and Cash Flows

We require cash to fund our operating expenses and working capital requirements, including outlays for capital expenditures. As of June 30, 2020, our principal sources of liquidity were cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaling $14.62 million, trade accounts receivable of $671,000, and net current inventory of $7.44 million, as compared to cash and cash equivalents totaling $13.00 million, trade accounts receivable of $1.96 million, and net current inventory of $11.91 million as of June 30, 2019. As described more fully herein, we also have long-term debt in the amount of $965,000, of which $193,000 is classified as its current maturity as of June 30, 2020, and a $5.00 million asset-based revolving credit facility with White Oak, or the White Oak Credit Facility.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, our working capital decreased by approximately $5.75 million to $17.42 million from $23.17 million at June 30, 2019. As described more fully below, the decrease in working capital at June 30, 2020 is primarily attributable to a decrease in our best interestallocation of inventory from long-term to short-term, a decrease in accounts receivable, an increase in short-term operating lease liabilities resulting from the adoption of the new lease accounting standard as of July 1, 2019, an increase in accrued expenses and our shareholders’ best interest. On March 4, 2016, weother liabilities, an increase in accounts payable, and Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC entered into an asset purchase agreement with Yanbal, under which Yanbal purchased certain assets related to our direct-to-consumer home party business for $500,000 and assumed certain liabilities related to such assets. A more detailed description of this transaction is included in Note 12, “Discontinued Operations”,increase in the Notescurrent maturity of our long-term debt. These factors were offset partially by an increase in our cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash resulting from cash provided by operating and financing activities and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, our working capital increased by approximately $10.91 million from $12.27 million at June 30, 2018. As described more fully below, the increase in working capital at June 30, 2019 is primarily attributable to an increase in our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash resulting from cash provided by financing activities from our public offering described above and cash provided by our operations, increases in accounts receivable and in our allocation of inventory to short-term from long-term as well as in prepaid expenses and other assets. The increase in working capital is also attributable to decreases in accounts payable. These factors were offset partially by increases in accrued expenses and other liabilities.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, approximately $249,000 of cash was provided by our operations. The primary drivers underlying the cash provided by our operating activities were a decrease in accounts receivable of $1.32 million; a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of $490,000; an increase in accounts payable of $469,000; and an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $109,000. In addition, non-cash items totaling $6.78 million also had a favorable impact on our cash flow from operations during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. These factors were offset partially by the unfavorable effect of our net loss in the amount of $6.16 million and an increase in inventory of approximately $2.76 million resulting from lower quantities of inventory items sold as a result of lower period sales stemming from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, $917,000 of cash was provided by our operations. The primary drivers of the cash generated by our operations were net income of $2.28 million and an increase in accrued liabilities of $572,000. In addition, non-cash items totaling $1.51 million also had a favorable impact on our cash flow from operations during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. These factors were partially offset by an increase in inventory of $2.30 million; a decrease in accounts payable of $799,000; an increase in accounts receivable of $328,000; and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $14,000. The inventory increases during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 were, in part, due to the Consolidated Financial Statements.purchase of new raw material SiC crystals during each fiscal year then ended pursuant to the Supply Agreement.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, accounts receivable decreased principally due to decreased sales during the third and fourth quarters, as a result of the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact that the global economy had on our Traditional segment customers. Cash collections on sales made during our first and second fiscal quarters, which reflect robust year-end holiday sales, remained strong. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, accounts receivable increased principally as a result of the increased level of sales during our third and fourth fiscal quarters.

As a result of the divestitureCOVID-19 pandemic, we offered extended Traditional segment customer payment terms beyond 90 days to certain credit-worthy customers during the third and fourth quarters of Fiscal 2020. Because of the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the global economy, the extension of these terms may not immediately increase liquidity as a result of ongoing current-period sales, which we expect to continue to be pressured due to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we believe our competitors and other vendors in the wholesale jewelry industry have expanded their use of extended payment terms and, in aggregate, we believe that, through our use of extended payment terms, we provide a competitive response in our market during the current global economic environment. We believe that we are unable to estimate the impact of these actions on our net sales, but if we ceased providing extended payment terms, we believe that we would not be competitive for some Traditional segment customers in the marketplace during this economic period and that our net sales and profits would likely be adversely impacted.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, prepaid expenses and other assets increased principally as a result of the timing of payments, principally for insurance-related expenses, in advance of goods or services received. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, accounts payable increased primarily as a result of the timing of payment for costs associated with inventory-related purchases and professional services incurred and due under our vendors’ payment terms. Likewise, accrued expenses and other liabilities increased principally due to the severance accrual in connection with our June 2020 management reorganization and workforce reduction as well as increases in deferred revenue related to payments received prior to shipment of good from customers. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, accrued expenses and other liabilities increased principally due to the timing of payments related to accrued compensation and related benefits, including year-end bonuses, as well as increased accrued sales and use taxes associated with higher current sales levels and additional liabilities for jurisdictions where we have reached sales tax nexus.

We manufactured approximately $10.64 million and $14.09 million in loose jewels and $7.82 million and $7.66 million in finished jewelry, which includes the cost of the loose jewels and the purchase of precious metals and labor in connection with jewelry production, during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We expect our purchases of precious metals and labor to fluctuate in conjunction with the levels of our direct-to-consumer home party business operated throughfinished jewelry business. In addition, the price of gold has increased significantly over the past decade, resulting in higher retail price points for gold jewelry. Because the market price of gold and other precious metals is beyond our control, the upward price trends could continue and have a negative impact on our operating cash flow as we manufacture finished jewelry.

Historically, our raw material inventories of SiC crystals had been purchased under exclusive supply agreements with a limited number of suppliers. Because the supply agreements restricted the sale of these crystals exclusively to us, the suppliers negotiated minimum purchase commitments with us that, when combined with reduced sales levels during prior periods in which the purchase commitments were in effect, have resulted in levels of inventories that are higher than we might otherwise maintain. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, $23.19 million and $21.82 million, respectively, of our inventories were classified as long-term assets. Loose jewel sales and finished jewelry that we manufacture will utilize both the finished goods loose jewels currently on-hand and, as we deplete certain shapes and sizes, our on-hand raw material SiC crystals of $3.53 million and new raw material that we purchase pursuant to the Supply Agreement.

A more detailed description of our inventories is included in Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We made income tax payments of approximately $2,000 and $6,000 during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, we had approximately $309 and $102,000, respectively, of remaining federal income tax credits all of which expire in 2021 and can be carried forward to offset future income taxes. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, we also had federal tax net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $23.72 million and $23.39 million, respectively, expiring between 2022 and 2037, which can be used to offset against future federal taxable income; North Carolina tax net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $20.12 million and $20.20 million, respectively, expiring between 2023 and 2033; and various other state tax net operating loss carryforwards expiring between 2021 and 2040, which can be used to offset against future state taxable income.

Contractual Commitment

On December 12, 2014, we entered into the Supply Agreement with Cree. Under the Supply Agreement, subject to certain terms and conditions, we agreed to exclusively purchase from Cree, and Cree agreed to exclusively supply, 100% of our required SiC materials in quarterly installments that must equal or exceed a set minimum order quantity. The initial term of the Supply Agreement was scheduled to expire on June 24, 2018, unless extended by the parties. Effective June 22, 2018, the Supply Agreement was amended to extend the expiration date to June 25, 2023. The Supply Agreement, as amended, also provides for the exclusive production of our premium moissanite product, Forever One™ and provided us with one option, subject to certain conditions, to unilaterally extend the term of the Supply Agreement for an additional two-year period following the expiration of the initial term. In addition, the amendment to the Supply Agreement established a process by which Cree may begin producing alternate SiC material based on our specifications that will give us the flexibility to use the materials in a broader variety of our products, as well as to permit us to purchase certain amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. On August 26, 2020, the Supply Agreement was further amended, effective June 30, 2020, to extend the expiration date to June 29, 2025, which may be further extended by mutual agreement of the parties. The Supply Agreement was also amended to, among other things, (i) spread our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement in the amount of approximately $52.95 million over the term of the Supply Agreement, as amended; (ii) establish a process by which Cree has agreed to accept purchase orders in excess of the agreed-upon minimum purchase commitment, subject to certain conditions; and (iii) permit us to purchase revised amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. Our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement, as amended, until June 2025 is approximately $52.95 million, of which approximately $36.60 million remains to be purchased as of June 30, 2020.

For more information regarding the second amendment to our Supply Agreement, executed on August 26, 2020, see Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

During the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, we purchased approximately $7.47 million and $8.91 million, respectively, of SiC crystals from Cree. Going forward, we expect to use existing cash and cash equivalents and access to other working capital resources, including but not limited to the issuance of equity securities, together with future cash expected to be provided by operating activities and, if necessary, our White Oak Credit Facility, to finance our purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement, as amended.

Line of Credit

On July 13, 2018, we and our wholly owned subsidiary, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, collectively referred to as the Borrowers, obtained the $5.00 million asset-based revolving White Oak Credit Facility. The White Oak Credit Facility may be used for general corporate and working capital purposes, including permitted acquisitions. The White Oak Credit Facility, which matures on July 13, 2021, is guaranteed by Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, (dba Lulu Avenue®) subsidiary, during the three months ended March 31, 2016, we began managinganother of our business primarily through our two continuing distribution channels. Accordingly, for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, our reportable segments are our wholesale distribution channel transacted through our parent entity, and our direct-to-consumer distribution channel transacted through the wholly owned operating subsidiary, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC. Wesubsidiaries. Under the terms of the White Oak Credit Facility, the Borrowers must maintain at least $500,000 in excess borrowing availability at all times. The White Oak Credit Facility contains no other financial covenants.

Advances under the White Oak Credit Facility may be either revolving or non-revolving. During the first year of the term of the White Oak Credit Facility, revolving advances accrued interest at a rate equal to one-month LIBOR (reset monthly, and subject to a 1.25% floor) plus 3.75%, and non-revolving advances accrued interest at such LIBOR rate plus 4.75%. Thereafter, the interest margins will reduce upon our achievement of a specified fixed charge coverage ratio. However, advances are now presentingin all cases subject to a minimum interest rate of 5.50%. Interest is calculated on an actual/360 basis and payable monthly in arrears. Principal outstanding during an event of default accrues interest at a rate 2% in excess of the operating results of Charles and Colvard Direct, LLC as a discontinued operation.rate otherwise applicable.

We sellhad not borrowed against the White Oak Credit Facility as of June 30, 2020. As a result of our loose moissanite jewels at wholesalediminished borrowing base, which is tied to someour accounts receivable, our ability to draw down funds from the White Oak Credit Facility is currently restricted.

A more detailed description of the largest distributorsWhite Oak Credit Facility is included in Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and jewelry manufacturers in the world, which mount them into fine jewelry to be sold at retail outlets and via the Internet. We also sell loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanite at wholesale to retailers, TV shopping networks, and designers to be sold to consumers and directly to consumers through our e-commerce sales channel charlesandcolvard.com and third-party marketplaces. We believe our continued and expanding useSupplementary Data”, of multiple sales channels to the jewelry trade and the end consumer with branded finished jewelry featuring moissanite positions Charles & Colvard goods at the many touchpoints where consumers are when they are making their buying decisions – thereby creating greater exposure for our brand and increasing consumer demand.this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

2016 was a pivotal year for Charles & Colvard. Acting on our vision which is driven by an ethical promise: “create the world’s most brilliant gem, while leading the way for environmentally and socially responsible choices in the jewelry industry at a revolutionary value,” we embarked on a corporate re-branding initiative designed to position our brand as a premier, consumer-facing purveyor of jewels and fine jewelry. We believe this new brand presence positions Charles & Colvard with a platform that can support our multi-channel, global expansion strategy. Over the course of the year, we delivered key elements of our strategic plan in support of this new brand roll-out including:
·
Expansion of Forever OneTM. Since its limited launch in September 2015, Charles & Colvard’s Forever One™ the world’s first colorless moissanite jewel (graded as D-E-F using the Gemological Institute of America’s color grading scale), has been met with great enthusiasm from channel partners and consumers. In response to this demand, we expanded our Forever OneTM product line by offering the jewel in an additional color grade (G-H-I), and in more shapes and sizes, including the innovative Asscher cut, which was released in June 2016. Forever OneTM represented more than 55% of all Charles & Colvard loose jewel and finished jewelry sales for the fourth quarter of 2016, and we believe Forever OneTM represents the future of premier moissanite to the market.
Liquidity and Capital Trends

·
A move up-market. With the advent of our colorless jewel, Forever OneTM, came an opportunity for Charles & Colvard to move up-market – competing directly with diamond for share of wallet. We believe the coupling of this amazing jewel with our new brand presence and jewelry line has elevated Charles & Colvard to the ranks of a premium brand. Market acceptance, as evidenced by our growth in the bridal sector, validates our move into what we believe is an underserved “white space” in the fine jewelry sector. To differentiate ourselves from emerging competition and to ensure our customers that they are receiving a reputable and high-quality jewel, each Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® jewel is backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty and Certificate of Authenticity – our commitment to our customers that their purchase is guaranteed to retain its fire and brilliance forever. With the launch of our new e-commerce website, we now offer expanded warranty coverage on our Forever OneTM jewels to include protection against usage damage to our moissanite gemstones.

·
Expansion of our jewelry line. Throughout 2016, Charles & Colvard carefully curated a collection of jewelry ranging from bridal to fashion and fine jewelry. While bridal continues to be a large and fast growing category, we believe the introduction of an expanded selection of everyday fashion and fine jewelry positions Charles & Colvard as a brand that appeal to consumers celebrating a multitude of commemorative moments – from birthdays to anniversaries and more – affording Charles & Colvard more opportunities to sell our wares. This broadened collection is now available to our retail and wholesale partners as well as promoted on Charles & Colvard’s e-commerce site and third-party transactional websites.

·
Growth within our traditional channels. Charles & Colvard has enjoyed 20 years of partnership with industry leaders in the wholesale and retail spaces. We believe these traditional channels continue to represent fertile ground for our move up-market. Sales efforts in 2016 delivered growth with existing partners and an expanded footprint into new retail and wholesale channels, supporting 21% overall growth in our wholesale sector.

·
Expansion of our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business. One of the primary channels that benefitted from our 2016 re-branding effort is our direct-to-consumer e-commerce website, charlesandcolvard.com. In October 2016, we announced the launch of our web presence with a new look and feel, an enhanced user experience, the introduction of our new jewelry line, and a singular and unified presence for our company and brand. We re-platformed our web presence on leading-edge technology that positions us to deliver the latest in consumer shopping experiences to our customers. This agile web platform enables us to iterate and refresh our website with new and innovate functionality as new e-commerce and direct-to-consumer strategies make their way to market. We coupled this new presence with an aggressive digital marketing and awareness strategy that drew interest to our new site, and conversions during the 2016 holiday season. Another critical element of our direct-to-consumer strategy is to provide our products for sale through third party e-commerce channels. We executed on this strategy with the release of Charles & Colvard products on marketplaces including Amazon, eBay, Jet and Walmart.com. Additionally, in August 2016, we announced our partnership with Gemvara, a leading online retailer of customizable fine jewelry, which showcases Charles & Colvard Forever One™ on its unique, world-class e-commerce platform.

·
A laser focus on millennials. Millennials are the largest age group in U.S. history, and they are moving into their prime spending years. Millennials proactively seek out goods and services that align with their core principles, and become devoted and vocal advocates of brands that embody ‘green’ practices. Our socially responsible and ethically-sourced products align directly with the principles and purchasing preferences of the millennial, and our quality and price point offer unprecedented value to the cost-conscious millennial. Throughout 2016, we proactively engaged this market through a multi-channel traditional and digital marketing strategy that we believe has meaningfully increased the awareness of our brand as evidenced through our increased social media following, multiple public relations postings and newfound interaction with this important customer segment.
We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and access to other working capital resources, including but not limited to the access to federal government 22

As we execute our strategythe PPP Loan in whole or in part, access to buildavailable federal and reinvest in our businesses, significant expensesstate tax-related considerations, the issuance of equity securities, and investment offuture cash expected to be provided by operating activities combined will be required ahead ofsufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs over the revenue streams we expect in the future, and this resulted in some unprofitable reporting periods in 2015 and 2016. Despite this, we have maintained as one of our primary goals to generate positive cash flow from continuing operations to protect our cash position. We were successful in achieving this goal during 2015 and 2016 as we were able to reduce our inventories and aggressively collect on our trade accounts receivable balances. We will continue to monitor our cash burn rate and collection efforts as we grow the business.next twelve months.

Our total consolidated net sales for the year ended December 31, 2016 of $29.17 million were 14% greater than total consolidated net sales during the year ended December 31, 2015. Wholesale distribution segment net sales for the year ended December 31, 2016 of $24.53 million were 21% higher than wholesale distribution segment net sales during the year ended December 31, 2015. Direct-to-consumer e-commerce distribution segment net sales for the year ended December 31, 2016 of $4.64 million were 15% lower than direct-to-consumer e-commerce distribution segment net sales during the year ended December 31, 2015, primarily due to the reduction in discount salesfuture capital requirements and the migrationadequacy of available funds will depend on many factors, including the ongoing spread of COVID-19 that could lead to our new web presence on charlesandcolvard.com.

Loose jewel sales comprised 74% of our total consolidated net sales for the year ended December 31, 2016further disruption and increased 42% to $21.45 million, compared with $15.11 millionvolatility in the previous year. Finished jewelryglobal capital markets as well as its impact on our rate of sales comprised 26%growth; the expansion of our total consolidated net sales and decreased 27% to $7.72 million, compared with $10.58 million in the previous year.

Operating expenses from continuing operations increased by $889,000, or 7.5%, to $12.70 million in 2016 from $11.81 million in 2015. Of this increase, sales and marketing expenses increased $1.27 million, or 22%, to $7.04 million, primarily as a resultactivities; the timing and extent of costs associatedraw materials and labor purchases in connection with implementing our new sales and marketing strategies, including the launch of our new website. General and administrative expenses decreased $487,000, or 8%, to $5.54 million primarily as a result of decreased personnel expenses and temporary labor expenses partially offset by an increase in certain fees associated with our Credit Facility. Loss on abandonment of assets increased $118,000, or 100%, for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to $0 in the previous year, as we abandoned costs of construction in progress related to website branding and design for our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business, charlesandcolvard.com, due to a change in our corporate strategy to consolidate our web properties.

We recorded a net loss of $4.53 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to a net loss of $9.57 million in the previous year. The decreased net loss was primarily due to the discontinuance of our direct-to-consumer home party business and an increased gross profit margin on greater net sales as we implement our new sales and marketing strategies. These improvements were partially offset by the increased operating expenses. We recorded a net loss from continuing operations of $3.95 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $5.09 million in the previous year.

The execution of our strategy to grow our company, with the ultimate goal of increasing consumer awareness and clearly communicating the value proposition of moissanite, is challenging and not without risk. As such, there can be no assurance that future results for each reporting period will exceed past results in sales, operating cash flow, and/or net income due to the challenging business environment in which we operate and our investment in various initiativesloose jewel production to support our growth strategies. However, asmoissanite jewels business and precious metals and labor purchases in connection with jewelry production to support our finished jewelry business; the timing of capital expenditures; and the risk factors described in more detail in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Currently, we execute our growth strategy and messaging initiatives,have the White Oak Credit Facility through its expiration on July 13, 2021, that we remain committedbelieve would mitigate these risks to our current prioritiescash and liquidity position. Also, we may make investments in, or acquisitions of, generating positive cash flow and strengthening our financial position while both monetizing our existing inventory and manufacturing our created moissanite loose jewels and finished jewelry featuring moissanitecomplementary businesses, which could also require us to meet sales demand. We believe the results of these efforts will propel our revenue growth and profitability and further enhance shareholder value in coming years, but we fully recognize the business and economic challenges that we face.seek additional equity or debt financing.

Critical Accounting PoliciesResults of Operations

The following table sets forth certain consolidated statements of operations data for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and Estimates2019:

  Year Ended June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Net sales $29,189,020  $32,244,109 
Costs and expenses:        
Cost of goods sold  21,200,207   17,352,167 
Sales and marketing  9,443,244   7,983,506 
General and administrative  4,861,297   4,640,810 
Research and development  -   2,069 
Total costs and expenses  35,504,748   29,978,552 
(Loss) Income from operations  (6,315,728)  2,265,557 
Other income (expense):        
Interest income  158,091   11,022 
Interest expense  (884)  (2,198)
Loss on foreign currency exchange  (1,829)  (344)
Other expense  -   (13)
Total other income, net  155,378   8,467 
(Loss) Income before income taxes  (6,160,350)  2,274,024 
Income tax (expense) benefit  (1,733)  1,443 
Net (loss) income $(6,162,083) $2,275,467 

Consolidated Net Sales

Consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 comprise the following:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Finished jewelry $16,777,628  $15,457,343  $1,320,285   9%
Loose jewels  12,411,392   16,786,766   (4,375,374)  -26%
Total consolidated net sales $29,189,020  $32,244,109  $(3,055,089)  -9%

Consolidated net sales were $29.19 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to $32.24 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, a decrease of $3.06 million, or 9%. The decrease in consolidated net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared with consolidated net sales for the prior fiscal year was primarily due to the adverse impacts of the geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong in early 2020 which affected our international distributor market and the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has continued to negatively affect the U.S. and global economies and has had a significant adverse impact on our worldwide sales and results of operations. Notwithstanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we saw increased seasonal sales for both the calendar year-end holiday and Valentine’s Day. We also witnessed increased consumer awareness for our moissanite products throughout these holiday periods. Our transactional website, charlesandcolvard.com, was flat compared with the prior fiscal year due to the strength of demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Net sales through our cross-border trade, or CBT, platform increased 34% versus the prior fiscal year. Despite the sales pressures we have been experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, our results have provided evidence that we had strong finished jewelry product net sales during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 in both our Online Channels segment and Traditional segment.

Sales of finished jewelry represented 57% and 48% of total consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, finished jewelry sales were $16.78 million compared to $15.46 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, an increase of $1.32 million, or 9%. This increase in finished jewelry sales was due primarily to higher finished jewelry retail sales in our Online Channels segment as well as increased sales of Forever One™ and Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® products in our Traditional segment during periods prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Net sales of our Forever One™finished jewelry and loose jewels represented 81% of total net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.

Sales of loose jewels represented 43% and 52% of total consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, loose jewel sales were $12.41 million compared to $16.79 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, a decrease of $4.38 million, or 26%. The decrease for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 was primarily due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting impact on consumer confidence and spending. The decrease was also due to lower levels of loose jewel sales in our Online Channels segment and, in particular, lower levels of loose jewel sales through the international distribution network in our Traditional segment.

U.S. net sales accounted for approximately 92% and 87% of total consolidated net sales during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Notwithstanding the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. net sales increased during Fiscal 2020 as a percentage of net sales, principally resulting from the significant decrease in international sales as discussed below. The decrease in U.S. net sales during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the prior year was offset somewhat by increased sales to U.S. customers during periods prior to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in both our Online Channels segment and Traditional segment.

Our discussionlargest U.S. customer during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and analysis2019 accounted for 13% and 14% of total consolidated net sales during each respective period. Our second largest U.S. customer during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 accounted for 12% and 10% of total consolidated net sales during each respective period. We expect that we will remain dependent on our ability, and that of our financial conditionlargest U.S. customers, to maintain and enhance retail and domestic distributor programs. A change in or loss of any of these customer or retailer relationships could have a material adverse effect on our results of operationsoperations.

International net sales accounted for approximately 8% and 13% of total consolidated net sales during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. International net sales decreased to $2.37 million, or 44%, during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to $4.26 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. International sales decreased due to lower demand in our international distributor market resulting from the adverse impact of the geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong and the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the distributors we serve in the China and Hong Kong markets. Prior to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lower demand in our international distributor market was offset somewhat by growth in our direct-to-consumer presence internationally, along with an increase in the number of CBT transactions in these periods reflecting increased direct-to-consumer sales from our Online Channels segment in international markets. In light of the ongoing global economic conditions, we continue to evaluate these and other potential distributors in international markets to determine the best long-term partners. As a result, and in light of the ongoing worldwide pandemic and international trade challenges, we expect our sales in these markets to continue to fluctuate significantly each reporting period.

We did not have an international customer account for 10% or more of total consolidated sales during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. A portion of our international consolidated sales represents jewels sold internationally that may be re-imported to U.S. retailers.

Costs and Expenses

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of goods sold for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 are based uponas follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Product line cost of goods sold:            
Finished jewelry $7,469,790  $6,859,112  $610,678   9%
Loose jewels  6,062,186   8,242,830   (2,180,644)  -26%
Total product line cost of goods sold  13,531,976   15,101,942   
(1,569,966
)
  -10%
Non-product line cost of goods sold  7,668,231   2,250,225   5,418,006   241%
Total cost of goods sold $21,200,207  $17,352,167  $3,848,040   22%

Total cost of goods sold was $21.20 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to $17.35 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, a net increase of approximately $3.85 million, or 22%. Product line cost of goods sold is defined as product cost of goods sold in each of our Online Channels segment and Traditional segment excluding non-capitalized expenses from our manufacturing and production control departments, comprising personnel costs, depreciation, rent, utilities, and corporate overhead allocations; freight out; inventory write-offs; and other inventory adjustments, comprising costs of quality issues, and damaged goods.

The increase in total cost of goods sold for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 as compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily driven by a write-off during the third quarter of Fiscal 2020 of approximately $5.26 million representing the carrying value of our legacy loose jewel inventory and finished goods inventory set with these legacy gemstones. The legacy material inventory comprised lower grade raw materials, or boules, work-in-process gemstones, loose finished gemstones and finished jewelry set with these legacy gemstones in precious metals. The legacy inventory raw materials were purchased and finished gemstone products were produced through the period ended August 2015. These gemstone products and finished jewelry items are known and marketed as our older Forever ClassicTM, Forever Brilliant®, and lower-grade gemstones.

Our primary international gemstone distributors, which historically have been the principal customer base for our legacy gemstone products are located in the Asia Pacific region of the world, primarily in China and Hong Kong. As a result of the ongoing geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong, coupled with the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer confidence and spending in this region plummeted throughout Fiscal 2020. As a consequence of this, our marketability of these products suffered a sudden and complete deterioration over this same period.

The net increase in non-product line cost of goods sold for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 comprises an unfavorable net change in inventory write-offs of approximately $5.47 million principally related to the write-off of the carrying cost of our legacy material inventory of $5.26 million as well as inventory valuation adjustments related to changes in obsolescence reserves in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. The net increase in non-product line cost of goods sold was also related to an approximate $14,000 change in production standard cost variances as compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 as well as an approximate $1,000 increase in non-capitalized manufacturing and production control expenses principally due to the timing when work-in-process is received into inventory and overhead costs are allocated. These increases in non-product line cost of goods sold were offset in part by an approximate $68,000 decrease in freight out in the same period due to lower shipment costs during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.

For further discussion of non-product line cost of goods sold, see Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements which we prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. The preparationItem 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”,  of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. “Critical accounting policies and estimates” are defined as those most important to the financial statement presentation and that require the most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments. We base our estimatesthis Annual Report on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Under different assumptions and/or conditions, actual results of operations may materially differ. The most significant estimates impacting our consolidated financial statements relate to valuation and classification of inventories, accounts receivable reserves, deferred tax assets, uncertain tax positions, and revenue recognition. We also have other policies that we consider key accounting policies, but these policies typically do not require us to make estimates or judgments that are difficult or subjective.

Inventories - Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market on an average cost basis. Inventory costs include direct material and labor, inbound freight, purchasing and receiving costs, inspection costs, and warehousing costs. Any inventory on hand at the measurement date in excess of our current requirements based on historical and anticipated levels of sales is classified as long-term on our consolidated balance sheets. Our classification of our inventory as either short- or long-term inventory requires us to estimate the portion of on-hand inventory that can be realized over the next 12 months and does not include precious metal, labor, and other inventory purchases expected to be both purchased and realized in cost of goods sold over the next 12 months.Form 10-K.

Our work-in-process inventories include raw SiC crystals on which processing costs, suchSales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 are as laborfollows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
             
Sales and marketing $9,443,244  $7,983,506  $1,459,738   18%

Sales and sawing, have been incurred and components, such as metal castings and finished good moissanite jewels, that have been issuedmarketing expenses were $9.44 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to jobs in$7.98 million for the manufacturefiscal year ended June 30, 2019, an increase of finished jewelry. Our moissanite jewel manufacturing process involves the production of intermediary shapes, called “preforms,” that vary depending upon the size and shape of the finished jewel. To maximize manufacturing efficiencies, preforms may be made in advance of current finished inventory needs but remain in work-in-process inventories. As of December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, work-in-process inventories issued to active production jobs approximated $7.18approximately $1.46 million, and $3.02 million, respectively.or 18%.

The needincrease in sales and marketing expenses for adjustmentsthe fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to inventory reservesthe fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due to a $1.15 million increase in advertising and digital marketing expenses reflecting the activation of funds from our June 2019 underwritten public offering that we deployed to expand brand awareness; a $217,000 increase in software-related costs principally in connection with maintenance agreements as well as other software-related agreements; a $58,000 increase in professional services fees principally comprising consulting services for cybersecurity and merchandise imaging; a $46,000 increase in compensation-related expenses; and a $41,000 increase in general office-related expenses, which is evaluated onprimarily related to increased sales and use taxes. These increases were partially offset by a period-by-period basis.$52,000 decrease in travel expenses as a result of COVID-19 cost control measures.

Accounts Receivable Reserves -36 Estimates

The increase in digital and social media marketing expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due to a $623,000 increase in Internet marketing; a $524,000 increase in outside agency fees; a $110,000 increase in cooperative advertising; and a $9,000 increase in promotional expenses, primarily related to sponsorship of a local professional sports team. These increases were partially offset by an $89,000 reduction in trade show expenses resulting from the cancelation of the jewelry industry’s premier annual event as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and a $29,000 reduction in print media advertising. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, management drastically reduced advertising and digital marketing expenditures beginning in mid-March 2020. In addition, as a result of its digital marketing redirection in June 2020, management further reduced advertising and digital marketing expenditures during the last month of Fiscal 2020.

Compensation expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 increased primarily as a result of a $201,000 increase in salaries, commissions, and related employee benefits in the aggregate; a $71,000 increase in severance accrual related to our June 2020 management reorganization and workforce reduction; and a $9,000 increase in employee stock-based compensation expense. These increases were partially offset by cost control measures implemented by management as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on our operations that led to a $235,000 decrease in bonus expense.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 are usedas follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
             
General and administrative $4,861,297  $4,640,810  $220,487   5%

General and administrative expenses were $4.86 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to determine$4.64 million for the amountfiscal year ended June 30, 2019, an increase of two reserves against trade accounts receivable. The first reserve is an allowance for sales returns. At the time revenue is recognized, we estimate future returns using a historical return rate that is reviewed quarterly with consideration of any contractual return privileges granted to customers, and we reduce sales and trade accounts receivable by this estimated amount. The allowance for sales returns was $415,000 and $731,000 at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.approximately $220,000, or 5%.

The second reserve isincrease in general and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due to a $250,000 increase in compensation expenses; a $236,000 increase in professional services fees; and a $6,000 increase in equipment-related rental expense. These increases were partially offset by an $84,000 decrease in business franchise taxes and licenses; a $49,000 decrease in board retainer fees as a result of COVID-19 cost control measures; a $48,000 decrease in bank fees as a result of lower credit card sales transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic; a $31,000 decrease in travel expenses as a result of COVID-19 cost control measures; a $24,000 decrease in insurance expenses; an $18,000 decrease in bad debt expense associated with our allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the failure of our customers to make required payments. This allowance reduces tradereserve policy reflecting lower customer accounts receivable balances during the COVID-19 pandemic; a $12,000 decrease in general office-related expenses, which is primarily related to an amount expected to be collected. Based on historical percentages of uncollectible accounts by aging category, changeslower software maintenance agreement-related expenses; and a $6,000 net decrease in payment history, and facts and circumstances regarding specific accounts that become known to management when evaluating the adequacy of the allowance for doubtful accounts, we determine a percentage based on the age of the receivable that we deem uncollectible. The allowance is then calculated by applying the appropriate percentage to each of our accounts receivable aging categories, with consideration given to individual customer account activity subsequent to the current period, including cash receipts, in determining the appropriate allowance for doubtful accounts in the current period. Any increases or decreases to this allowance are charged or credited, respectively, as a bad debt expense toall other general and administrative expenses.We generally use an internal collection effort, which may include our sales personnel as we deem appropriate. After all internal collection efforts have been exhausted, we generally write off the account receivable.

Any accounts with significant balances are reviewed separatelyCompensation expenses increased for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to determine an appropriate allowance based on the factsfiscal year ended June 30, 2019 primarily due to a $282,000 increase in severance accrual related to our June 2020 management reorganization and circumstancesworkforce reduction; a $128,000 increase in salaries and related employee benefits in the aggregate; and a $33,000 increase in employee stock-based compensation expense. These increases were offset in part by cost control measures implemented as a result of the specific account. DuringCOVID-19 pandemic and its effect on our operations that led to a $193,000 decrease in bonus expense.

Professional services fees increased for the quarterfiscal year ended SeptemberJune 30, 2016, we wrote off $815,0002020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 primarily due to a $158,000 increase in accounts receivablelegal fees associated with corporate governance matters; a $38,000 increase in accounting services related to one international customer that was past due on its payment arrangement,higher annual audit and tax fees, as we determined that the benefits of continued collections efforts did not outweigh the costs of legal proceedings. Our allowance for doubtful accounts previously included an allowance for this accounts receivable,well as fees associated with tax consulting services; a $30,000 increase in investor and therefore, this write-off did not have an impact on net loss for the year ended December 31, 2016. During our review for 2016, we determined no additional reserves were necessary for specific accounts. Based on these criteria, management determined that allowances for doubtful accounts receivable of $226,000public relations expenses; and $1.14 million at December 31, 2016a $10,000 increase in consulting and 2015, respectively, were required.other professional services primarily in connection with nonrecurring accounting and financial reporting related consulting fees.

2437

Loss on Foreign Currency Exchange

Loss on foreign currency exchange related to foreign sales transacted in functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Loss on foreign currency exchange $1,829  $344  $1,485   432%

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we had international sales transactions denominated in currencies other than the U.S dollar that resulted in foreign currency exchange net losses. The increase in these losses for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020, reflects changes in foreign currency fluctuation during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared with the prior fiscal year.

Interest Income

Interest income for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Interest income $158,091  $11,022  $147,069   1,334%

In June 2019, we completed an underwritten public offering of Contents
6,250,000 shares of our common stock, which together with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option for an additional 630,500 shares in July 2019, resulted in net proceeds of approximately $9.99 million. The net proceeds from this offering have been deposited into an interest-bearing account with a federally insured commercial bank. Accordingly, during the full fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we earned interest income from cash on deposit in this interest-bearing account.
Deferred Tax Assets -
Provision for Income Taxes

We recognized a net income tax expense of approximately $1,700 and a net income tax benefit of approximately $1,400 for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Our income tax provisions in these periods primarily relate to estimated tax, penalties, and interest associated with uncertain tax positions. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 we recognized a federal income tax benefit in the amount of approximately $23,000 that related to the realization of the recoverable portion of the alternative minimum tax, or AMT, deferred tax credit carryforwards being reclassified from a deferred tax asset to that of an income tax receivable.

As of each reporting date, management considerswe consider new evidence, both positive and negative, that could impact itsour view with regard to future realization of deferred tax assets. Beginning in 2014, managementwe determined that negative evidence outweighed the positive and established a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. We maintained a full valuation allowance as of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015.June 30, 2019.

Our statutory tax rate as of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 is 22.11% and consists of the federal income tax rate of 21% and a blended state income tax rate of 1.11%, net of the federal benefit.
Our
For discussion of the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act, the CARES Act, and the State of North Carolina General Assembly Senate Bill 704: COVID-19 Recovery Act, or the NC COVID-19 Relief Act, on our provision for income taxes and deferred tax assets, in Hong Kong were fully reserved with a valuation allowance of $996,000 as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 and had been fully reserved in all prior periods due to the uncertainty of future taxable income in this jurisdiction to utilize the deferred tax assets. Our Hong Kong subsidiary ceased operations during 2008 and became a dormant entity during 2009. If we use any portion of our deferred tax assets in future periods, the valuation allowance would need to be reversed and may impact our future operating results.

Uncertain Tax Positions - Effective January 1, 2007, we adopted U.S. GAAP guidance regarding the de-recognition, classification, accounting in interim periods, and disclosure requirements for uncertain tax positions. Determining which tax positions qualify as uncertain positions and the subsequent accounting for these positions requires significant estimates and assumptions. Our net accrued income tax liability under the provisions of this guidance was $434,000 and $421,000 at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. This liability is only resolved when we obtain an official ruling from the tax authority on the positions or when the statute of limitations expires. Our liability increased by $13,000 for accrued interest on these positions.

Revenue Recognition - Revenue is recognized when title transfers at the time of shipment from our facility or a third-party fulfillment company’s facility, excluding consignment shipments as discussed below; evidence of an arrangement exists; pricing is fixed or determinable; and collectability is reasonably assured. Our standard wholesale customer payment terms are generally between 30 and 90 days, though we may offer extended terms with specific customers and on significant orders from time to time. Some wholesale customers and all direct-to-consumer customers are required to prepay prior to shipment. At the time revenue is recognized, an allowance for estimated returns is established. Any change in the allowance for returns is charged against net sales. For our wholesale customers, our return policy allows for the return of loose jewels and finished jewelry for credit generally within 30 days of shipment and must be returned for a valid reason, such as quality problems or an error in shipment. For our direct-to-consumer sales channels, customers can return their purchases for any reason in accordance with our warranty policy as noted on the charlesandcolvard.com website. We have established an allowance for returns based on our historical return rate, which takes into account any contractual return privileges granted to our customers. Periodically, we ship loose jewel and finished jewelry goods to wholesale customers on consignment terms. Under these consignment terms, the customer assumes the risk of loss and has an absolute right of return for a specified period. Also, from time to time, some wholesale customers may have a contractual right to return a certain percentage of goods for any reason for specified periods of time. In these instances, we only recognize revenue when the contractual right of return is exhausted. Periodically, we ship finished goods inventory to wholesale customers on consignment terms. Under these terms, the customer assumes the risk of loss and has an absolute right of return for a specified period that typically ranges from six months to one year. Our wholesale customers are generally required to make payments on consignment shipments within 60 days upon the customer informing us that it will keep the inventory. Accordingly, we do not recognize revenue on these consignment transactions until the earlier of (1) the customer informing us that it will keep the inventory, (2) the expiration of the right of return period, or (3) the customer informing us that the inventory has been sold.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements - Seesee Note 212 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”,  of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Certain Operating Metrics

We believe that certain metrics are key to our business, including but not limited to average order value, or AOV, average advertising spend per customer, and repeat customers. The following operating metrics, which we use to make strategic digital marketing related decisions and to monitor the performance and return on investment of our marketing activities, are based on financial results and customer-related data for charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Charles & Colvard, Ltd., for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020:

AOV is estimated to be approximately $1,000, based on charlesandcolvard.com revenue, net of returns, divided by the total number of customer orders.
Average ad spend per new customer is estimated to be approximately $275, based on the total advertising spend focused on charlesandcolvard.com traffic divided by the number of first-time customer orders.
Repeat customers represent approximately 17% of charlesandcolvard.com’s total customer orders, based on customer email addresses.

Our calculation for AOV is sensitive to volume and product mix. Therefore, we believe that our AOV may vary widely going forward as we respond to ever changing consumer demand and provide the products – that may have widely variable price points – our audiences are looking for. Likewise, as we continue to invest in our advertising and marketing communication channels and broaden the underlying content types, notwithstanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect our average ad spend per customer to increase going forward. Finally, as our Loyalty Program is revived, we expect the percentage of people enrolled in our program to continue increasing over time.

The following operating metrics, which we use to manage operations and to also make strategic digital marketing related decisions and to monitor the performance and return on investment of our marketing activities, are based on financial results and customer-related data for charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019:

1% year-over-year growth in charlesandcolvard.com revenue.
2.2% year-over-year growth in social media followers; 5% year-over-year growth in opt-in email subscribers.

For each of the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, gross margin (defined as net sales less product line cost of goods sold) for our Online Channels segment was 58% of Online Channels net sales.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As the world continues to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on global economics and business operations, the outbreak of the coronavirus and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the wider economy has placed unprecedented pressures on U.S. businesses including our own. The continued spread of  COVID-19 has also led to disruption and volatility in the global capital markets, which, depending on future developments, could adversely impact our capital resources and liquidity in the future.

We remain increasingly focused on potential liquidity issues and debt incurrence capacity. Accordingly, faced with the prospect of significantly declining cash flows, we evaluated the possibility of raising additional capital through loans, debt or access to other capital transactions. In March 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law, which, along with earlier issued Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, guidelines, provides for deferral of certain taxes. The CARES Act, among other things, contains economic relief programs in the form of loans and grants for small businesses. In May 2020, the NC COVID-19 Relief Act was signed into law, which provides for a tax credit towards certain employer contributions to the North Carolina Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Capital Structure and Long-Term Debt

On June 18, 2020, we received the proceeds from the PPP Loan pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act, as administered by the SBA. The PPP Loan in the principal amount of $965,000 was disbursed by the Lender pursuant to a promissory note, or the Promissory Note, issued by us on June 15, 2020.

Under the CARES Act and the Promissory Note, loan forgiveness is available for the sum of documented payroll costs, covered rent payments, and covered utilities during the 24-week period beginning on the date of first disbursement of the PPP Loan. For purposes of the CARES Act, payroll costs exclude cash compensation of an individual employee in excess of $100,000, prorated annually. Not more than 40% of the forgiven amount can be attributable to non-payroll costs. Although we currently believe that our use of the PPP Loan will meet the conditions for forgiveness of the PPP Loan, we cannot assure our future adherence to the forgiveness criteria and that the PPP Loan will be forgiven, in whole or in part.

In April 2020, we also applied for capital relief pursuant to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, or the EIDL Program, also under the CARES Act and administered by the SBA. In June we were notified by the SBA that our EIDL Program application was approved by the SBA. However, due to the limited amount of capital that would have been available to us under the EIDL Program, we did not further pursue those funds.

The CARES Act provides that existing AMT credit carryforwards are now eligible for acceleration and refundable AMT credits are to be completely refunded to companies for taxable years beginning in 2019, or by election, taxable years beginning in 2018. Accordingly, we have elected to have the AMT tax completely refunded and have filed a tentative refund claim for the remaining AMT tax credit. Consequently, the remaining balance of our AMT credit refund in the amount of approximately $270,000 is expected to be completely refundable. Accordingly, the full amount of our AMT credit refund has been classified as current as of June 30, 2020.

We also intend to take advantage of COVID-19 related tax credits for required paid leave provided by us. These eligible tax credits are determined by qualified emergency paid sick and expanded family and medical leave wages pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or FFCRA. Under FFCRA, we have provided employees with paid federal sick and expanded family and medical leave benefits for which we may be reimbursed by the government through payroll tax credits. Qualifying wages for tax credit purposes under FFCRA are those paid to an employee who takes leave under FFCRA for a qualifying reason, up to the applicable per diem and aggregate payment caps. Applicable tax credits also extend to the employer’s share of amounts paid or incurred to maintain a group health plan.

Finally, as permitted by the NC COVID-19 Relief Act, we will receive a tax credit towards our contributions to the North Carolina Unemployment Insurance Fund, which will also serve to further enhance future cash flow.

As a component of our liquidity and capital structure, we have an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 on file with the SEC which allows us to periodically offer and sell, individually or in any combination, shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock, warrants to purchase shares of common stock or preferred stock, and units consisting of any combination of the foregoing types of securities, up to a total of $25.00 million, of which approximately $13.99 million remains available after giving effect to our June 2019 public offering, including the impact of the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, described below. However, we may offer and sell no more than one-third of our public float (which is the aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates) in any 12-month period. Our ability to issue equity securities under the shelf registration statement is subject to market conditions, which are in turn, subject to the disruption and volatility being caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Any capital raise is not assured and may not be at terms that would be acceptable to us.

Financing Activities

In June 2019, we completed an underwritten public offering of 6,250,000 newly issued shares of common stock, at a price to the public of $1.60 per share, pursuant to our effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3. Net proceeds from the offering were approximately $9.06 million, net of the underwriting discount and fees and expenses. Pursuant to the terms of the underwriting agreement entered into in connection with this offering, the underwriters were granted a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 937,500 shares of our common stock to cover over-allotments. Pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, in July 2019, we issued an additional 630,500 shares of our common stock at a price of $1.60 per share for net proceeds of approximately $932,000, net of the underwriting discount and fees and expenses of approximately $77,000. After giving effect to the partial exercise of the over-allotment option, we sold an aggregate of 6,880,500 shares of our common stock at a price of $1.60 per share with total gross proceeds of approximately $11.01 million, before deducting the underwriting discount and fees and expenses of approximately $1.02 million. During early Fiscal 2020, we began using the aggregate net proceeds of approximately $9.99 million from the offering for marketing and for general corporate and working capital purposes. However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on consumer confidence and spending, management drastically reduced related advertising and digital marketing expenditures in mid-March 2020.

As discussed above, on June 18, 2020 we received a PPP Loan in the principal amount of $965,000 from the Lender pursuant to a Promissory Note issued by us on June 15, 2020. The Promissory Note matures June 18, 2022 and may be extended with the consent of the Lender under the provisions of the CARES Act. The Promissory Note bears interest at a fixed rate of 1% per annum. Pursuant to the terms of the Promissory Note, monthly principal and interest payments in the amount of approximately $41,000 will commence on April 1, 2021. For financial reporting purposes as of June 30, 2020, the classification of the current maturity of this long-term debt assumes there will be no principal forgiveness and principal repayment for the full outstanding principal amount of the PPP Loan will be spread in equal monthly installments over the period from April 1, 2021 through the maturity date of the Promissory Note.

We did not provide any collateral or guarantees for the PPP Loan, nor did we pay any facility charge to obtain the PPP Loan. The Promissory Note provides for customary events of default, including, among others, those relating to failure to make payment and breaches of representations. We may prepay the principal of the PPP Loan at any time without incurring any prepayment charges.

Operating Activities and Cash Flows

We require cash to fund our operating expenses and working capital requirements, including outlays for capital expenditures. As of June 30, 2020, our principal sources of liquidity were cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaling $14.62 million, trade accounts receivable of $671,000, and net current inventory of $7.44 million, as compared to cash and cash equivalents totaling $13.00 million, trade accounts receivable of $1.96 million, and net current inventory of $11.91 million as of June 30, 2019. As described more fully herein, we also have long-term debt in the amount of $965,000, of which $193,000 is classified as its current maturity as of June 30, 2020, and a $5.00 million asset-based revolving credit facility with White Oak, or the White Oak Credit Facility.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, our working capital decreased by approximately $5.75 million to $17.42 million from $23.17 million at June 30, 2019. As described more fully below, the decrease in working capital at June 30, 2020 is primarily attributable to a decrease in our allocation of inventory from long-term to short-term, a decrease in accounts receivable, an increase in short-term operating lease liabilities resulting from the adoption of the new lease accounting standard as of July 1, 2019, an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities, an increase in accounts payable, and an increase in the current maturity of our long-term debt. These factors were offset partially by an increase in our cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash resulting from cash provided by operating and financing activities and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, our working capital increased by approximately $10.91 million from $12.27 million at June 30, 2018. As described more fully below, the increase in working capital at June 30, 2019 is primarily attributable to an increase in our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash resulting from cash provided by financing activities from our public offering described above and cash provided by our operations, increases in accounts receivable and in our allocation of inventory to short-term from long-term as well as in prepaid expenses and other assets. The increase in working capital is also attributable to decreases in accounts payable. These factors were offset partially by increases in accrued expenses and other liabilities.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, approximately $249,000 of cash was provided by our operations. The primary drivers underlying the cash provided by our operating activities were a decrease in accounts receivable of $1.32 million; a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of $490,000; an increase in accounts payable of $469,000; and an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $109,000. In addition, non-cash items totaling $6.78 million also had a favorable impact on our cash flow from operations during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. These factors were offset partially by the unfavorable effect of our net loss in the amount of $6.16 million and an increase in inventory of approximately $2.76 million resulting from lower quantities of inventory items sold as a result of lower period sales stemming from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, $917,000 of cash was provided by our operations. The primary drivers of the cash generated by our operations were net income of $2.28 million and an increase in accrued liabilities of $572,000. In addition, non-cash items totaling $1.51 million also had a favorable impact on our cash flow from operations during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. These factors were partially offset by an increase in inventory of $2.30 million; a decrease in accounts payable of $799,000; an increase in accounts receivable of $328,000; and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $14,000. The inventory increases during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 were, in part, due to the purchase of new raw material SiC crystals during each fiscal year then ended pursuant to the Supply Agreement.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, accounts receivable decreased principally due to decreased sales during the third and fourth quarters, as a result of the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact that the global economy had on our Traditional segment customers. Cash collections on sales made during our first and second fiscal quarters, which reflect robust year-end holiday sales, remained strong. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, accounts receivable increased principally as a result of the increased level of sales during our third and fourth fiscal quarters.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we offered extended Traditional segment customer payment terms beyond 90 days to certain credit-worthy customers during the third and fourth quarters of Fiscal 2020. Because of the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the global economy, the extension of these terms may not immediately increase liquidity as a result of ongoing current-period sales, which we expect to continue to be pressured due to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we believe our competitors and other vendors in the wholesale jewelry industry have expanded their use of extended payment terms and, in aggregate, we believe that, through our use of extended payment terms, we provide a competitive response in our market during the current global economic environment. We believe that we are unable to estimate the impact of these actions on our net sales, but if we ceased providing extended payment terms, we believe that we would not be competitive for some Traditional segment customers in the marketplace during this economic period and that our net sales and profits would likely be adversely impacted.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, prepaid expenses and other assets increased principally as a result of the timing of payments, principally for insurance-related expenses, in advance of goods or services received. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, accounts payable increased primarily as a result of the timing of payment for costs associated with inventory-related purchases and professional services incurred and due under our vendors’ payment terms. Likewise, accrued expenses and other liabilities increased principally due to the severance accrual in connection with our June 2020 management reorganization and workforce reduction as well as increases in deferred revenue related to payments received prior to shipment of good from customers. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, accrued expenses and other liabilities increased principally due to the timing of payments related to accrued compensation and related benefits, including year-end bonuses, as well as increased accrued sales and use taxes associated with higher current sales levels and additional liabilities for jurisdictions where we have reached sales tax nexus.

We manufactured approximately $10.64 million and $14.09 million in loose jewels and $7.82 million and $7.66 million in finished jewelry, which includes the cost of the loose jewels and the purchase of precious metals and labor in connection with jewelry production, during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We expect our purchases of precious metals and labor to fluctuate in conjunction with the levels of our finished jewelry business. In addition, the price of gold has increased significantly over the past decade, resulting in higher retail price points for gold jewelry. Because the market price of gold and other precious metals is beyond our control, the upward price trends could continue and have a negative impact on our operating cash flow as we manufacture finished jewelry.

Historically, our raw material inventories of SiC crystals had been purchased under exclusive supply agreements with a limited number of suppliers. Because the supply agreements restricted the sale of these crystals exclusively to us, the suppliers negotiated minimum purchase commitments with us that, when combined with reduced sales levels during prior periods in which the purchase commitments were in effect, have resulted in levels of inventories that are higher than we might otherwise maintain. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, $23.19 million and $21.82 million, respectively, of our inventories were classified as long-term assets. Loose jewel sales and finished jewelry that we manufacture will utilize both the finished goods loose jewels currently on-hand and, as we deplete certain shapes and sizes, our on-hand raw material SiC crystals of $3.53 million and new raw material that we purchase pursuant to the Supply Agreement.

A more detailed description of our inventories is included in Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We made income tax payments of approximately $2,000 and $6,000 during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, we had approximately $309 and $102,000, respectively, of remaining federal income tax credits all of which expire in 2021 and can be carried forward to offset future income taxes. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, we also had federal tax net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $23.72 million and $23.39 million, respectively, expiring between 2022 and 2037, which can be used to offset against future federal taxable income; North Carolina tax net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $20.12 million and $20.20 million, respectively, expiring between 2023 and 2033; and various other state tax net operating loss carryforwards expiring between 2021 and 2040, which can be used to offset against future state taxable income.

Contractual Commitment

On December 12, 2014, we entered into the Supply Agreement with Cree. Under the Supply Agreement, subject to certain terms and conditions, we agreed to exclusively purchase from Cree, and Cree agreed to exclusively supply, 100% of our required SiC materials in quarterly installments that must equal or exceed a set minimum order quantity. The initial term of the Supply Agreement was scheduled to expire on June 24, 2018, unless extended by the parties. Effective June 22, 2018, the Supply Agreement was amended to extend the expiration date to June 25, 2023. The Supply Agreement, as amended, also provides for the exclusive production of our premium moissanite product, Forever One™ and provided us with one option, subject to certain conditions, to unilaterally extend the term of the Supply Agreement for an additional two-year period following the expiration of the initial term. In addition, the amendment to the Supply Agreement established a process by which Cree may begin producing alternate SiC material based on our specifications that will give us the flexibility to use the materials in a broader variety of our products, as well as to permit us to purchase certain amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. On August 26, 2020, the Supply Agreement was further amended, effective June 30, 2020, to extend the expiration date to June 29, 2025, which may be further extended by mutual agreement of the parties. The Supply Agreement was also amended to, among other things, (i) spread our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement in the amount of approximately $52.95 million over the term of the Supply Agreement, as amended; (ii) establish a process by which Cree has agreed to accept purchase orders in excess of the agreed-upon minimum purchase commitment, subject to certain conditions; and (iii) permit us to purchase revised amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. Our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement, as amended, until June 2025 is approximately $52.95 million, of which approximately $36.60 million remains to be purchased as of June 30, 2020.

For more information regarding the second amendment to our Supply Agreement, executed on August 26, 2020, see Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

During the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, we purchased approximately $7.47 million and $8.91 million, respectively, of SiC crystals from Cree. Going forward, we expect to use existing cash and cash equivalents and access to other working capital resources, including but not limited to the issuance of equity securities, together with future cash expected to be provided by operating activities and, if necessary, our White Oak Credit Facility, to finance our purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement, as amended.

Line of Credit

On July 13, 2018, we and our wholly owned subsidiary, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, collectively referred to as the Borrowers, obtained the $5.00 million asset-based revolving White Oak Credit Facility. The White Oak Credit Facility may be used for general corporate and working capital purposes, including permitted acquisitions. The White Oak Credit Facility, which matures on July 13, 2021, is guaranteed by Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, another of our wholly owned subsidiaries. Under the terms of the White Oak Credit Facility, the Borrowers must maintain at least $500,000 in excess borrowing availability at all times. The White Oak Credit Facility contains no other financial covenants.

Advances under the White Oak Credit Facility may be either revolving or non-revolving. During the first year of the term of the White Oak Credit Facility, revolving advances accrued interest at a rate equal to one-month LIBOR (reset monthly, and subject to a 1.25% floor) plus 3.75%, and non-revolving advances accrued interest at such LIBOR rate plus 4.75%. Thereafter, the interest margins will reduce upon our achievement of a specified fixed charge coverage ratio. However, advances are in all cases subject to a minimum interest rate of 5.50%. Interest is calculated on an actual/360 basis and payable monthly in arrears. Principal outstanding during an event of default accrues interest at a rate 2% in excess of the rate otherwise applicable.

We had not borrowed against the White Oak Credit Facility as of June 30, 2020. As a result of our diminished borrowing base, which is tied to our accounts receivable, our ability to draw down funds from the White Oak Credit Facility is currently restricted.

A more detailed description of the White Oak Credit Facility is included in Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Liquidity and Capital Trends

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and access to other working capital resources, including but not limited to the access to federal government economic relief programs pursuant to the CARES Act, including our existing PPP Loan and the available conditional forgiveness of the PPP Loan in whole or in part, access to available federal and state tax-related considerations, the issuance of equity securities, and future cash expected to be provided by operating activities combined will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs over the next twelve months.

Our future capital requirements and the adequacy of available funds will depend on many factors, including the ongoing spread of COVID-19 that could lead to further disruption and volatility in the global capital markets as well as its impact on our rate of sales growth; the expansion of our sales and marketing activities; the timing and extent of raw materials and labor purchases in connection with loose jewel production to support our moissanite jewels business and precious metals and labor purchases in connection with jewelry production to support our finished jewelry business; the timing of capital expenditures; and the risk factors described in more detail in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a description10-K. Currently, we have the White Oak Credit Facility through its expiration on July 13, 2021, that we believe would mitigate these risks to our cash and liquidity position. Also, we may make investments in, or acquisitions of, recent accounting pronouncements, including the expected dates of adoption and estimated effects, if any, on our consolidated financial statements.
complementary businesses, which could also require us to seek additional equity or debt financing.

2016 Summary

The following is a summary of key financial results and certain non-financial results achieved for the year ended December 31, 2016:

·Our total consolidated net sales increased by $3.48 million, or 14%, to $29.17 million in 2016 from $25.69 million in 2015. The increase in consolidated net sales was due primarily to the increase in our wholesale business in both the domestic and international markets through our distributor channels and the sale of approximately $6.77 million of legacy inventory to a large domestic customer as a result of our efforts to reduce these legacy inventories. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in sales of our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business, charlesandcolvard.com, which decreased by 15% to $4.64 million, compared to the prior year.
Operating expenses from continuing operations increased by $889,000, or 7.5%, to $12.70 million in 2016 from $11.81 million in 2015. Of this increase, sales and marketing expenses increased $1.27 million, or 22%, to $7.04 million, primarily as a result of costs associated with implementing our new sales and marketing strategies, including the launch of our new website. General and administrative expenses decreased $487,000, or 8%, to $5.54 million primarily as a result of decreased personnel expenses and temporary labor expenses partially offset by an increase in certain fees associated with our Credit Facility. Loss on abandonment of assets increased $118,000, or 100% in 2016, as we abandoned costs of construction in progress related to website branding and design for our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business, charlesandcolvard.com, due to a change in our corporate strategy to consolidate our web properties.

·
Net loss from continuing operations decreased $1.14 million to a loss of $3.95 million in 2016 from a net loss of $5.09 million. The reduction in net loss was primarily due to an increased gross profit margin on greater net sales as we implement our new sales and marketing strategies. These improvements were offset in part by the increased operating expenses.

·
Net loss decreased by $5.05 million, to a loss of $4.53 million in 2016 from a net loss of $9.57 million in 2015. Net loss per share was $0.22 in 2016 compared to a net loss per share of $0.47 in 2015. The reduction in net loss was primarily due to the discontinuance of our direct-to-consumer home party business and an increased gross profit margin on greater net sales as we implement our new sales and marketing strategies. These improvements were offset in part by the increased operating expenses. We recorded a net loss from continuing operations of $3.95 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $5.09 million for the year ended December 31, 2015.

·
We generated positive cash flows from continuing operations of $3.33 million in 2016 compared to positive cash flows of $5.82 million from continuing operations in 2015. The primary drivers of positive cash flow in 2016 were a decrease in inventory of $4.00 million, a decrease in accounts receivable of $1.45 million, $1.44 million of net non-cash charges, and an increase in accounts payable of $654,000. These factors more than offset a net loss from operations of $3.95 million and a decrease in accrued expenses of $420,000. We generated negative cash flows from discontinued operations of $1.13 million in 2016 versus $4.25 million in 2015.

·Cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2016 were $7.43 million compared to $5.27 million at December 31, 2015. The primary reason for this increase is the $2.21 million of cash flow provided by operations.

·
Total inventory, including long-term and consignment inventory, was $28.13 million as of December 31, 2016, down from approximately $32.33 million at December 31, 2015. This decrease is primarily a result of specific efforts to sell loose jewel legacy inventory of less desirable quality at lower product margins and includes the sale of approximately $6.77 million of legacy inventory to a large domestic customer.

·We continue to carry no long-term debt and believe we can fund our growth strategies for the foreseeable future from operating cash flows.
Results of Operations

The following table sets forth certain consolidated statements of operations data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015.2019:

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Net sales $29,168,128  $25,693,292 
Costs and expenses:        
Cost of goods sold  20,401,439   18,943,507 
Sales and marketing  7,038,277   5,764,389 
General and administrative  5,544,452   6,031,829 
Research and development  2,848   17,795 
Loss on abandonment of property and equipment  117,930   - 
Total costs and expenses  33,104,946   30,757,520 
Loss from operations  (3,936,818)  (5,064,228)
Other income (expense):        
Interest income  -   11 
Interest expense  (1,737)  (10,359)
Gain on sale of long-term assets  -   125 
Total other expense, net  (1,737)  (10,223)
Loss before income taxes from continuing operations  (3,938,555)  (5,074,457)
Income tax net expense from continuing operations  (13,480)  (12,821)
Net loss from continuing operations  (3,952,035)  (5,087,272)
         
Discontinued Operations:        
Loss from discontinued operations  (586,124)  (4,485,787)
Gain on sale of assets from discontinued operations  12,398   - 
Net loss from discontinued operations  (573,726)  (4,485,787)
Net loss $(4,525,761) $(9,573,059)
  Year Ended June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Net sales $29,189,020  $32,244,109 
Costs and expenses:        
Cost of goods sold  21,200,207   17,352,167 
Sales and marketing  9,443,244   7,983,506 
General and administrative  4,861,297   4,640,810 
Research and development  -   2,069 
Total costs and expenses  35,504,748   29,978,552 
(Loss) Income from operations  (6,315,728)  2,265,557 
Other income (expense):        
Interest income  158,091   11,022 
Interest expense  (884)  (2,198)
Loss on foreign currency exchange  (1,829)  (344)
Other expense  -   (13)
Total other income, net  155,378   8,467 
(Loss) Income before income taxes  (6,160,350)  2,274,024 
Income tax (expense) benefit  (1,733)  1,443 
Net (loss) income $(6,162,083) $2,275,467 

Consolidated Net Sales

Consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019 comprise the following:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Finished jewelry $16,777,628  $15,457,343  $1,320,285   9%
Loose jewels  12,411,392   16,786,766   (4,375,374)  -26%
Total consolidated net sales $29,189,020  $32,244,109  $(3,055,089)  -9%
  Year Ended December 31,  Change 
  2016  2015  Dollars  Percent 
Loose jewels $21,451,728  $15,113,249  $6,338,479   42%
Finished jewelry  7,716,400   10,580,043   (2,863,643)  (27)%
Total consolidated net sales $29,168,128  $25,693,292  $3,474,836   14%

Consolidated net sales were $29.17$29.19 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to $25.69$32.24 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, an increaseJune 30, 2019, a decrease of $3.47$3.06 million, or 14%9%. The increasedecrease in consolidated net sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared with consolidated net sales for the prior fiscal year was primarily due primarily to the increaseadverse impacts of the geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong in early 2020 which affected our wholesale businessinternational distributor market and the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has continued to negatively affect the U.S. and global economies and has had a significant adverse impact on our worldwide sales and results of operations. Notwithstanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we saw increased seasonal sales for both the calendar year-end holiday and Valentine’s Day. We also witnessed increased consumer awareness for our moissanite products throughout these holiday periods. Our transactional website, charlesandcolvard.com, was flat compared with the prior fiscal year due to the strength of demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Net sales through our cross-border trade, or CBT, platform increased 34% versus the prior fiscal year. Despite the sales pressures we have been experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, our results have provided evidence that we had strong finished jewelry product net sales during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 in both the domesticour Online Channels segment and international markets through our distributor channels and the sale of approximately $6.77 million of legacy inventory to a large domestic customer as a result of our efforts to reduce inventories. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in sales of our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business, charlesandcolvard.com, which decreased by 15% to $4.64 million, compared to the year ended December 31, 2015.Traditional segment.

Sales of loose jewelsfinished jewelry represented 74%57% and 59%48% of total consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, respectively. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, loose jewelJune 30, 2020, finished jewelry sales were $21.45$16.78 million compared to $15.11$15.46 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015,June 30, 2019, an increase of $6.34$1.32 million, or 42%9%. This increase in finished jewelry sales was due primarily dueto higher finished jewelry retail sales in our Online Channels segment as well as increased sales of Forever One™ and Moissanite by Charles & Colvard® products in our Traditional segment during periods prior to the saleCOVID-19 pandemic. Net sales of approximately $6.77 millionour Forever One™finished jewelry and loose jewels represented 81% of legacy inventory during 2016, our Forever OneTMtotal net sales during 2016 increasing approximately 320% as compared to 2015, andfor the increase in international sales to distributors in the China and Hong Kong markets due to increased demand. Sales in these markets may fluctuate significantly each reporting period.fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.

Sales of finished jewelryloose jewels represented 26%43% and 41%52% of total consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, respectively. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, finished jewelryJune 30, 2020, loose jewel sales were $7.72$12.41 million compared to $10.58$16.79 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015,June 30, 2019, a decrease of $2.86$4.38 million, or 27%26%. ThisThe decrease for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 was primarily attributabledue to lower sales through our wholesale distribution segment as we have transitioned a large customer to larger purchasesthe adverse impact of loose jewelsthe COVID-19 pandemic and fewer purchases of finished jewelry. For the year ended December 31, 2016, theresulting impact on consumer confidence and spending. The decrease was also attributable in part to the decline of our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business, which had a decrease of 16% in finished jewelry sales to $4.11 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $4.90 million for the year ended December 31, 2015. These decreases were due to lower conversion rates, which we believe relate to the shiftlevels of loose jewel sales in our charlesandcolvard.com presence includingOnline Channels segment and, in particular, lower levels of loose jewel sales through the discontinuation of clearance inventory on the website. We expect this trend of lower conversion rates may continue into 2017 as we continue promotinginternational distribution network in our updated brand platform, deliver an up-market jewelry selection, and position charlesandcolvard.com with a new audience.Traditional segment.

U.S. net sales accounted for approximately 90%92% and 86%87% of total consolidated net sales during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, respectively. Notwithstanding the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. net sales increased 18% to $26.16 million during 2016 primarilyFiscal 2020 as a resultpercentage of net sales, principally resulting from the significant decrease in international sales as discussed below. The decrease in U.S. net sales during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the prior year was offset somewhat by increased sales to U.S. customers during periods prior to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in both our wholesale businessOnline Channels segment and the sale of $6.77 million of legacy inventory to a large domestic customer in the first quarter of 2016.Traditional segment.

Our largest U.S. customer during the yearfiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2019 accounted for 23%13% and 14% of our total consolidated net sales compared to 25%during each respective period. Our second largest U.S. customer during the yearfiscal years ended December 31, 2015. A second U.S. customerJune 30, 2020 and 2019 accounted for 17% of our total consolidated sales during the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to 11% of our total consolidated sales during the year ended December 31, 2015. No additional U.S. customers accounted for more than12% and 10% of total consolidated net sales in 2016 or 2015.during each respective period. We expect that we will remain dependent on our ability, and that of our largest U.S. customers, to maintain and enhance retail and domestic distributor programs. A change in or loss of any of these customer or retailer relationships could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

International net sales accounted for approximately 10%8% and 14%13% of total consolidated net sales during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, respectively. International net sales decreased 13%to $2.37 million, or 44%, during 2016 as we serve distributorsthe fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to $4.26 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. International sales decreased due to lower demand in our international distributor market resulting from the adverse impact of the geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong and Indiathe COVID-19 pandemic affecting the distributors we serve in the China and Hong Kong markets. Prior to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lower demand in our international distributor market was offset somewhat by growth in our direct-to-consumer presence internationally, along with an increase in the number of CBT transactions in these periods reflecting increased direct-to-consumer sales from our Online Channels segment in international markets. In light of the ongoing global economic conditions, we continue to evaluate these and other potential distributors in international markets to determine the best long-term partners. As a result, and demand for loose jewelsin light of the ongoing worldwide pandemic and international trade challenges, we expect our sales in these markets was down compared to 2015.continue to fluctuate significantly each reporting period.

NoWe did not have an international customers accountedcustomer account for 10% or more than 10% of total consolidated sales in 2016 or 2015.during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. A portion of our international consolidated sales represents jewels sold internationally that may be re-imported to U.S. retailers. Our top three international distributors by sales volume during the year ended December 31, 2016 were, in order of sales volume, located in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, and India.retailers.

Costs and Expenses

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of goods sold for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019 are as follows:

 Year Ended December 31,  Change  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
 2016  2015  Dollars  Percent  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Product line cost of goods sold            
Product line cost of goods sold:            
Finished jewelry $7,469,790  $6,859,112  $610,678  9%
Loose jewels $13,916,749  $9,459,159  $4,457,590   47%  6,062,186   8,242,830   (2,180,644) -26%
Finished jewelry  4,148,788   6,296,764   (2,147,976)  -34%
Total product line cost of goods sold  18,065,537   15,755,923   2,309,614   15% 13,531,976  15,101,942  
(1,569,966
)
 -10%
Non-product line cost of goods sold  2,335,902   3,187,584   (851,682)  -27%  7,668,231   2,250,225   5,418,006  241%
Total cost of goods sold $20,401,439  $18,943,507  $1,457,932   8% $21,200,207  $17,352,167  $3,848,040  22%

Total cost of goods sold was $20.40$21.20 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to $18.94$17.35 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, anJune 30, 2019, a net increase of $1.46approximately $3.85 million, or 8%22%. Product line cost of goods sold is defined as product cost of goods sold in each of our wholesale distributionOnline Channels segment and direct-to-consumer e-commerce distribution operating segmentsTraditional segment excluding non-capitalized expenses from our manufacturing and production control departments, comprising personnel costs, depreciation, rent, utilities, and corporate overhead allocations; freight out; inventory valuation allowance adjustments;write-offs; and other inventory adjustments, comprising costs of quality issues, and damaged goods, and inventory write-offs.goods.
The increase in total cost of goods sold for 2016the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 as compared to the priorfiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due todriven by a $6.77write-off during the third quarter of Fiscal 2020 of approximately $5.26 million salerepresenting the carrying value of our legacy loose gemstonejewel inventory at low margins in 2016. This increase was partially offset by a $2.15 million decrease inand finished goods inventory set with these legacy gemstones. The legacy material inventory comprised lower grade raw materials, or boules, work-in-process gemstones, loose finished gemstones and finished jewelry product line costset with these legacy gemstones in precious metals. The legacy inventory raw materials were purchased and finished gemstone products were produced through the period ended August 2015. These gemstone products and finished jewelry items are known and marketed as our older Forever ClassicTM, Forever Brilliant®, and lower-grade gemstones.

Our primary international gemstone distributors, which historically have been the principal customer base for our legacy gemstone products are located in the Asia Pacific region of goods sold asthe world, primarily in China and Hong Kong. As a result of lower finished jewelry sales for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared toongoing geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong, coupled with the year ended December 31, 2015global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer confidence and spending in this region plummeted throughout Fiscal 2020. As a decreaseconsequence of this, our marketability of these products suffered a sudden and complete deterioration over this same period.

The net increase in non-product line cost of goods sold for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 comprises an unfavorable net change in inventory write-offs of $852,000, or 27%.approximately $5.47 million principally related to the write-off of the carrying cost of our legacy material inventory of $5.26 million as well as inventory valuation adjustments related to changes in obsolescence reserves in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. The net decreaseincrease in non-product line cost of goods sold comprises a $236,000 decrease in thewas also related to an approximate $14,000 change in inventory valuation allowances, including inventory shrinkage, recuts, repairs, and scrap reserves, a $431,000 decrease in other inventory adjustments and a $224,000 decrease in freight out dueproduction standard cost variances as compared to decreased sales volume. These decreases were offset in part by a $39,000the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 as well as an approximate $1,000 increase in non-capitalized manufacturing and production control expenses primarilyprincipally due to the timing of receiving work in processwhen work-in-process is received into inventory and allocating overhead.overhead costs are allocated. These increases in non-product line cost of goods sold were offset in part by an approximate $68,000 decrease in freight out in the same period due to lower shipment costs during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.

For further discussion of non-product line cost of goods sold, see Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”,  of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019 are as follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
             
Sales and marketing $9,443,244  $7,983,506  $1,459,738   18%
  Year Ended December 31,  Change 
  2016  2015  Dollars  Percent 
Sales and marketing $7,038,277  $5,764,389  $1,273,888   22%

Sales and marketing expenses were $7.04$9.44 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to $5.76$7.98 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015,June 30, 2019, an increase of $1.27approximately $1.46 million, or 22%18%.

The increase in sales and marketing expenses for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to the same period in 2015fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due to a $959,000$1.15 million increase in advertising;advertising and digital marketing expenses reflecting the activation of funds from our June 2019 underwritten public offering that we deployed to expand brand awareness; a $147,000$217,000 increase in software-related costs principally in connection with maintenance agreements as well as other software-related agreements; a $58,000 increase in professional services fees principally comprising consulting services for cybersecurity and merchandise imaging; a $46,000 increase in compensation-related expenses; and a $41,000 increase in general office-related expenses, which is primarily related to customer serviceincreased sales and public relations; a $35,000 increase in market research; a $31,000 increase in recruiting fees; and an $18,000 increase in office-related and other expenses.use taxes. These increases were partially offset by a $95,000$52,000 decrease in travel expense due to fewer international trips,expenses as a $92,000 decrease in compensation expense, and a $45,000 decrease in depreciation expense related to the charlesandcolvard.com e-commerce sales platform.result of COVID-19 cost control measures.

The increase in advertisingdigital and social media marketing expenses for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 comprisesJune 30, 2019 was primarily due to a $648,000$623,000 increase in Internet marketing; a $524,000 increase in outside agency fees primarily related to the outside agencies hired to buildfees; a brand strategy and architecture and develop a brand design and messaging; a $225,000 increase in social media advertising and marketing through an outside agency; a $129,000$110,000 increase in cooperative advertising; and a $99,000$9,000 increase in internet marketing; andpromotional expenses, primarily related to sponsorship of a $19,000 increase in trade show related expenses.local professional sports team. These increases were partially offset by an $89,000 reduction in trade show expenses resulting from the cancelation of the jewelry industry’s premier annual event as a $98,000 decrease in product samples;result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and a $27,000 decrease$29,000 reduction in print media expenses;advertising. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, management drastically reduced advertising and digital marketing expenditures beginning in mid-March 2020. In addition, as a $36,000 decreaseresult of its digital marketing redirection in promotions.June 2020, management further reduced advertising and digital marketing expenditures during the last month of Fiscal 2020.

Compensation costsexpenses for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 decreasedJune 30, 2019 increased primarily as a result of a $241,000 decrease$201,000 increase in salaries, commissions, and related employee benefits in the aggregate; a $71,000 increase in severance expense, primarilyaccrual related to the personnel changes within the wholesale sales organization in the year ended December 31, 2015,our June 2020 management reorganization and workforce reduction; and a decrease$9,000 increase in commissions of $220,000, primarily related to sales to specific wholesale customers under which commission plans of sales representatives are based.employee stock-based compensation expense. These increases were partially offset by cost control measures implemented by management as a $275,000 increase in salariesresult of the COVID-19 pandemic and related employee benefits primarily dueits effect on our operations that led to adding the new position of Chief Revenue Officer who was formerly the Chief Operating Officer; a $51,000 increase$235,000 decrease in bonus expense; a $28,000 increase in stock-based compensation expense; and a $16,000 increase in relocation expense.

Sales and marketing expenses are allocated across our distribution channels, which in 2015 included allocations to Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, a segment we are reporting as discontinued operations. See Note 12, “Discontinued Operations”, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of discontinued operations. Approximately $237,000 of sales and marketing expenses for the year ended December 31, 2016 is attributable to sales and marketing expenses that are now being allocated to our remaining two continuing operations distribution channels that were previously allocated to Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC.
We expect our total sales and marketing expenses may increase as sales increase; however, this will be dependent on which overall companywide strategies and in which sales channels we may choose to make further investments to increase overall consumer awareness of moissanite and our brands and overall sales growth. Regardless of which future overall strategy is followed, we believe the overall rate of growth should slow and become a lower percentage of sales as expenses more variable in nature, such as advertising and commissions, may increase as part of our strategy to build sales; but fixed expenses remain relatively constant. While employee compensation costs may fluctuate from period to period as we continue to build a more efficient and productive sales organization, we expect that these costs will become more fixed in nature over time.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019 are as follows:

  Year Ended December 31,  Change 
  2016  2015  Dollars  Percent 
General and administrative $5,544,452  $6,031,829  $(487,377)  -8%
  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
             
General and administrative $4,861,297  $4,640,810  $220,487   5%

General and administrative expenses were $5.54$4.86 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to $6.03$4.64 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, a decreaseJune 30, 2019, an increase of $487,000,approximately $220,000, or 8%5%.

The decreaseincrease in general and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015June 30, 2019 was primarily due to a $1.26 million decrease$250,000 increase in compensation expenses; $199,000a $236,000 increase in professional services fees; and a $6,000 increase in equipment-related rental expense. These increases were partially offset by an $84,000 decrease in professional services;business franchise taxes and licenses; a $150,000$49,000 decrease in board retainer fees as a result of COVID-19 cost control measures; a $48,000 decrease in bank fees as a result of lower credit card sales transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic; a $31,000 decrease in travel expenses as a result of COVID-19 cost control measures; a $24,000 decrease in insurance expenses; an $18,000 decrease in bad debt expense associated with our allowance for doubtful accounts reserve policy;policy reflecting lower customer accounts receivable balances during the COVID-19 pandemic; a $134,000$12,000 decrease in depreciation and amortization expense; a $66,000 decrease in travel expense; a $49,000 decrease ingeneral office-related and otherexpenses, which is primarily related to lower software maintenance agreement-related expenses; and a $29,000$6,000 net decrease in board retainer fees. These decreases were partially offset by a $180,000 increase in bank fees primarily attributable to our Credit Facilityall other general and a $40,000 increase in business and franchise taxes.administrative expenses.

Compensation expenses decreasedincreased for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015June 30, 2019 primarily asdue to a result of a decrease$282,000 increase in stock-based compensation expense of $597,000, a majority of which wasseverance accrual related to the transition of our PresidentJune 2020 management reorganization and Chief Executive Officer in 2015;workforce reduction; a decrease in severance expense of $432,000 associated with the departure of a former President and Chief Executive Officer in 2015; a decrease of $195,000$128,000 increase in salaries and related employee benefits primarily duein the aggregate; and a $33,000 increase in employee stock-based compensation expense. These increases were offset in part by cost control measures implemented as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on our operations that led to transferring the former Chief Operating Officer to the new position of Chief Revenue Officer; and a $193,000 decrease in bonus expense of $33,000.expense.

Professional services decreasedfees increased for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015June 30, 2019 primarily due to a decrease$158,000 increase in legal fees of $311,000, of which approximately $85,000 wasassociated with corporate governance matters; a $38,000 increase in accounting services related to the transition of our President and Chief Executive Officer in 2015, and a decrease of $78,000 in public relations expenses that are now included as part of the marketing function. These decreases were partially offset by an increase of $107,000 inhigher annual audit and tax servicesfees, as well as fees associated with tax consulting services; a $30,000 increase in investor and anpublic relations expenses; and a $10,000 increase of $83,000 in consulting and other professional services primarily in connection with nonrecurring accounting and financial reporting related to human resources and sales and use tax projects.consulting fees.

General and administrative expenses are allocated across our distribution channels, which in 2015 included allocations to Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, a segment we are reporting as discontinued operations. See Note 12, “Discontinued Operations”, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of discontinued operations. Approximately $1.18 million of general and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2016 is attributable to general and administrative expenses that are now being allocated to our remaining two continuing operations distribution channels that were previously allocated to Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC.
Loss on Abandonment of AssetsForeign Currency Exchange

Loss on abandonment of assetsforeign currency exchange related to foreign sales transacted in functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019 are as follows:

  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Loss on foreign currency exchange $1,829  $344  $1,485   432%

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we had international sales transactions denominated in currencies other than the U.S dollar that resulted in foreign currency exchange net losses. The increase in these losses for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020, reflects changes in foreign currency fluctuation during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared with the prior fiscal year.

Interest Income

Interest income for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:

  Year Ended December 31,  Change 
  2016  2015  Dollars  Percent 
Loss on abandonment of assets $117,930  $-  $117,930   100%
  Year Ended June 30,  Change 
  2020  2019  Dollars  Percent 
Interest income $158,091  $11,022  $147,069   1,334%

Loss on abandonmentIn June 2019, we completed an underwritten public offering of assets was $118,0006,250,000 shares of our common stock, which together with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option for an additional 630,500 shares in July 2019, resulted in net proceeds of approximately $9.99 million. The net proceeds from this offering have been deposited into an interest-bearing account with a federally insured commercial bank. Accordingly, during the full fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $0 for the year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of $118,000. In the year ended December, 31, 2016,June 30, 2020, we abandoned costs of constructionearned interest income from cash on deposit in progress related to website branding and design for our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business, charlesandcolvard.com, due to a change in our corporate strategy to consolidate our web properties.this interest-bearing account.

Provision for Income Taxes

We recognized a net income tax expense of approximately $1,700 and a net income tax benefit of approximately $1,400 for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Our income tax provisions in these periods primarily relate to estimated tax, penalties, and interest associated with uncertain tax positions. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 we recognized a federal income tax benefit in the amount of approximately $23,000 that related to the realization of the recoverable portion of the alternative minimum tax, or AMT, deferred tax credit carryforwards being reclassified from a deferred tax asset to that of an income tax receivable.

As of each reporting date, we consider new evidence, both positive and negative, that could impact our view with regard to future realization of deferred tax assets. Beginning in 2014, we determined that negative evidence outweighed the positive and established a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. We maintained a full valuation allowance as of June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2019.

Our statutory tax rate as of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 is 22.11% and consists of the federal income tax rate of 21% and a blended state income tax rate of 1.11%, net expense of $13,000the federal benefit.

For discussion of the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act, the CARES Act, and the State of North Carolina General Assembly Senate Bill 704: COVID-19 Recovery Act, or the NC COVID-19 Relief Act, on our provision for income taxes and deferred tax assets, see Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”,  of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Certain Operating Metrics

We believe that certain metrics are key to our business, including but not limited to average order value, or AOV, average advertising spend per customer, and repeat customers. The following operating metrics, which we use to make strategic digital marketing related decisions and to monitor the performance and return on investment of our marketing activities, are based on financial results and customer-related data for charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Charles & Colvard, Ltd., for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020:

AOV is estimated to be approximately $1,000, based on charlesandcolvard.com revenue, net of returns, divided by the total number of customer orders.
Average ad spend per new customer is estimated to be approximately $275, based on the total advertising spend focused on charlesandcolvard.com traffic divided by the number of first-time customer orders.
Repeat customers represent approximately 17% of charlesandcolvard.com’s total customer orders, based on customer email addresses.

Our calculation for AOV is sensitive to volume and product mix. Therefore, we believe that our AOV may vary widely going forward as we respond to ever changing consumer demand and provide the products – that may have widely variable price points – our audiences are looking for. Likewise, as we continue to invest in our advertising and marketing communication channels and broaden the underlying content types, notwithstanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect our average ad spend per customer to increase going forward. Finally, as our Loyalty Program is revived, we expect the percentage of people enrolled in our program to continue increasing over time.

The following operating metrics, which we use to manage operations and to also make strategic digital marketing related decisions and to monitor the performance and return on investment of our marketing activities, are based on financial results and customer-related data for charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019:

1% year-over-year growth in charlesandcolvard.com revenue.
2.2% year-over-year growth in social media followers; 5% year-over-year growth in opt-in email subscribers.

For each of the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, gross margin (defined as net sales less product line cost of goods sold) for our Online Channels segment was 58% of Online Channels net sales.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As the world continues to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on global economics and business operations, the outbreak of the coronavirus and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the wider economy has placed unprecedented pressures on U.S. businesses including our own. The continued spread of  COVID-19 has also led to disruption and volatility in the global capital markets, which, depending on future developments, could adversely impact our capital resources and liquidity in the future.

We remain increasingly focused on potential liquidity issues and debt incurrence capacity. Accordingly, faced with the prospect of significantly declining cash flows, we evaluated the possibility of raising additional capital through loans, debt or access to other capital transactions. In March 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law, which, along with earlier issued Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, guidelines, provides for deferral of certain taxes. The CARES Act, among other things, contains economic relief programs in the form of loans and grants for small businesses. In May 2020, the NC COVID-19 Relief Act was signed into law, which provides for a tax credit towards certain employer contributions to the North Carolina Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Capital Structure and Long-Term Debt

On June 18, 2020, we received the proceeds from the PPP Loan pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act, as administered by the SBA. The PPP Loan in the principal amount of $965,000 was disbursed by the Lender pursuant to a promissory note, or the Promissory Note, issued by us on June 15, 2020.

Under the CARES Act and the Promissory Note, loan forgiveness is available for the sum of documented payroll costs, covered rent payments, and covered utilities during the 24-week period beginning on the date of first disbursement of the PPP Loan. For purposes of the CARES Act, payroll costs exclude cash compensation of an individual employee in excess of $100,000, prorated annually. Not more than 40% of the forgiven amount can be attributable to non-payroll costs. Although we currently believe that our use of the PPP Loan will meet the conditions for forgiveness of the PPP Loan, we cannot assure our future adherence to the forgiveness criteria and that the PPP Loan will be forgiven, in whole or in part.

In April 2020, we also applied for capital relief pursuant to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, or the EIDL Program, also under the CARES Act and administered by the SBA. In June we were notified by the SBA that our EIDL Program application was approved by the SBA. However, due to the limited amount of capital that would have been available to us under the EIDL Program, we did not further pursue those funds.

The CARES Act provides that existing AMT credit carryforwards are now eligible for acceleration and refundable AMT credits are to be completely refunded to companies for taxable years beginning in 2019, or by election, taxable years beginning in 2018. Accordingly, we have elected to have the AMT tax completely refunded and have filed a tentative refund claim for the remaining AMT tax credit. Consequently, the remaining balance of our AMT credit refund in the amount of approximately $270,000 is expected to be completely refundable. Accordingly, the full amount of our AMT credit refund has been classified as current as of June 30, 2020.

We also intend to take advantage of COVID-19 related tax credits for required paid leave provided by us. These eligible tax credits are determined by qualified emergency paid sick and expanded family and medical leave wages pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or FFCRA. Under FFCRA, we have provided employees with paid federal sick and expanded family and medical leave benefits for which we may be reimbursed by the government through payroll tax credits. Qualifying wages for tax credit purposes under FFCRA are those paid to an employee who takes leave under FFCRA for a qualifying reason, up to the applicable per diem and aggregate payment caps. Applicable tax credits also extend to the employer’s share of amounts paid or incurred to maintain a group health plan.

Finally, as permitted by the NC COVID-19 Relief Act, we will receive a tax credit towards our contributions to the North Carolina Unemployment Insurance Fund, which will also serve to further enhance future cash flow.

As a component of our liquidity and capital structure, we have an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 on file with the SEC which allows us to periodically offer and sell, individually or in any combination, shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock, warrants to purchase shares of common stock or preferred stock, and units consisting of any combination of the foregoing types of securities, up to a total of $25.00 million, of which approximately $13.99 million remains available after giving effect to our June 2019 public offering, including the impact of the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, described below. However, we may offer and sell no more than one-third of our public float (which is the aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates) in any 12-month period. Our ability to issue equity securities under the shelf registration statement is subject to market conditions, which are in turn, subject to the disruption and volatility being caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Any capital raise is not assured and may not be at terms that would be acceptable to us.

Financing Activities

In June 2019, we completed an underwritten public offering of 6,250,000 newly issued shares of common stock, at a price to the public of $1.60 per share, pursuant to our effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3. Net proceeds from the offering were approximately $9.06 million, net of the underwriting discount and fees and expenses. Pursuant to the terms of the underwriting agreement entered into in connection with this offering, the underwriters were granted a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 937,500 shares of our common stock to cover over-allotments. Pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, in July 2019, we issued an additional 630,500 shares of our common stock at a price of $1.60 per share for net proceeds of approximately $932,000, net of the underwriting discount and fees and expenses of approximately $77,000. After giving effect to the partial exercise of the over-allotment option, we sold an aggregate of 6,880,500 shares of our common stock at a price of $1.60 per share with total gross proceeds of approximately $11.01 million, before deducting the underwriting discount and fees and expenses of approximately $1.02 million. During early Fiscal 2020, we began using the aggregate net proceeds of approximately $9.99 million from the offering for marketing and for general corporate and working capital purposes. However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on consumer confidence and spending, management drastically reduced related advertising and digital marketing expenditures in mid-March 2020.

As discussed above, on June 18, 2020 we received a PPP Loan in the principal amount of $965,000 from the Lender pursuant to a Promissory Note issued by us on June 15, 2020. The Promissory Note matures June 18, 2022 and may be extended with the consent of the Lender under the provisions of the CARES Act. The Promissory Note bears interest at a fixed rate of 1% per annum. Pursuant to the terms of the Promissory Note, monthly principal and interest payments in the amount of approximately $41,000 will commence on April 1, 2021. For financial reporting purposes as of June 30, 2020, the classification of the current maturity of this long-term debt assumes there will be no principal forgiveness and principal repayment for the full outstanding principal amount of the PPP Loan will be spread in equal monthly installments over the period from April 1, 2021 through the maturity date of the Promissory Note.

We did not provide any collateral or guarantees for the PPP Loan, nor did we pay any facility charge to obtain the PPP Loan. The Promissory Note provides for customary events of default, including, among others, those relating to failure to make payment and breaches of representations. We may prepay the principal of the PPP Loan at any time without incurring any prepayment charges.

Operating Activities and Cash Flows

We require cash to fund our operating expenses and working capital requirements, including outlays for capital expenditures. As of June 30, 2020, our principal sources of liquidity were cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaling $14.62 million, trade accounts receivable of $671,000, and net current inventory of $7.44 million, as compared to cash and cash equivalents totaling $13.00 million, trade accounts receivable of $1.96 million, and net current inventory of $11.91 million as of June 30, 2019. As described more fully herein, we also have long-term debt in the amount of $965,000, of which $193,000 is classified as its current maturity as of June 30, 2020, and a $5.00 million asset-based revolving credit facility with White Oak, or the White Oak Credit Facility.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, our working capital decreased by approximately $5.75 million to $17.42 million from $23.17 million at June 30, 2019. As described more fully below, the decrease in working capital at June 30, 2020 is primarily attributable to a decrease in our allocation of inventory from long-term to short-term, a decrease in accounts receivable, an increase in short-term operating lease liabilities resulting from the adoption of the new lease accounting standard as of July 1, 2019, an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities, an increase in accounts payable, and an increase in the current maturity of our long-term debt. These factors were offset partially by an increase in our cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash resulting from cash provided by operating and financing activities and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, our working capital increased by approximately $10.91 million from $12.27 million at June 30, 2018. As described more fully below, the increase in working capital at June 30, 2019 is primarily attributable to an increase in our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash resulting from cash provided by financing activities from our public offering described above and cash provided by our operations, increases in accounts receivable and in our allocation of inventory to short-term from long-term as well as in prepaid expenses and other assets. The increase in working capital is also attributable to decreases in accounts payable. These factors were offset partially by increases in accrued expenses and other liabilities.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, approximately $249,000 of cash was provided by our operations. The primary drivers underlying the cash provided by our operating activities were a decrease in accounts receivable of $1.32 million; a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of $490,000; an increase in accounts payable of $469,000; and an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $109,000. In addition, non-cash items totaling $6.78 million also had a favorable impact on our cash flow from operations during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. These factors were offset partially by the unfavorable effect of our net loss in the amount of $6.16 million and an increase in inventory of approximately $2.76 million resulting from lower quantities of inventory items sold as a result of lower period sales stemming from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, $917,000 of cash was provided by our operations. The primary drivers of the cash generated by our operations were net income of $2.28 million and an increase in accrued liabilities of $572,000. In addition, non-cash items totaling $1.51 million also had a favorable impact on our cash flow from operations during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. These factors were partially offset by an increase in inventory of $2.30 million; a decrease in accounts payable of $799,000; an increase in accounts receivable of $328,000; and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $14,000. The inventory increases during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 were, in part, due to the purchase of new raw material SiC crystals during each fiscal year then ended pursuant to the Supply Agreement.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, accounts receivable decreased principally due to decreased sales during the third and fourth quarters, as a result of the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact that the global economy had on our Traditional segment customers. Cash collections on sales made during our first and second fiscal quarters, which reflect robust year-end holiday sales, remained strong. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, accounts receivable increased principally as a result of the increased level of sales during our third and fourth fiscal quarters.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we offered extended Traditional segment customer payment terms beyond 90 days to certain credit-worthy customers during the third and fourth quarters of Fiscal 2020. Because of the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the global economy, the extension of these terms may not immediately increase liquidity as a result of ongoing current-period sales, which we expect to continue to be pressured due to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we believe our competitors and other vendors in the wholesale jewelry industry have expanded their use of extended payment terms and, in aggregate, we believe that, through our use of extended payment terms, we provide a competitive response in our market during the current global economic environment. We believe that we are unable to estimate the impact of these actions on our net sales, but if we ceased providing extended payment terms, we believe that we would not be competitive for some Traditional segment customers in the marketplace during this economic period and that our net sales and profits would likely be adversely impacted.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, prepaid expenses and other assets increased principally as a result of the timing of payments, principally for insurance-related expenses, in advance of goods or services received. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, accounts payable increased primarily as a result of the timing of payment for costs associated with inventory-related purchases and professional services incurred and due under our vendors’ payment terms. Likewise, accrued expenses and other liabilities increased principally due to the severance accrual in connection with our June 2020 management reorganization and workforce reduction as well as increases in deferred revenue related to payments received prior to shipment of good from customers. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, accrued expenses and other liabilities increased principally due to the timing of payments related to accrued compensation and related benefits, including year-end bonuses, as well as increased accrued sales and use taxes associated with higher current sales levels and additional liabilities for jurisdictions where we have reached sales tax nexus.

We manufactured approximately $10.64 million and $14.09 million in loose jewels and $7.82 million and $7.66 million in finished jewelry, which includes the cost of the loose jewels and the purchase of precious metals and labor in connection with jewelry production, during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We expect our purchases of precious metals and labor to fluctuate in conjunction with the levels of our finished jewelry business. In addition, the price of gold has increased significantly over the past decade, resulting in higher retail price points for gold jewelry. Because the market price of gold and other precious metals is beyond our control, the upward price trends could continue and have a negative impact on our operating cash flow as we manufacture finished jewelry.

Historically, our raw material inventories of SiC crystals had been purchased under exclusive supply agreements with a limited number of suppliers. Because the supply agreements restricted the sale of these crystals exclusively to us, the suppliers negotiated minimum purchase commitments with us that, when combined with reduced sales levels during prior periods in which the purchase commitments were in effect, have resulted in levels of inventories that are higher than we might otherwise maintain. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, $23.19 million and $21.82 million, respectively, of our inventories were classified as long-term assets. Loose jewel sales and finished jewelry that we manufacture will utilize both the finished goods loose jewels currently on-hand and, as we deplete certain shapes and sizes, our on-hand raw material SiC crystals of $3.53 million and new raw material that we purchase pursuant to the Supply Agreement.

A more detailed description of our inventories is included in Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We made income tax payments of approximately $2,000 and $6,000 during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, we had approximately $309 and $102,000, respectively, of remaining federal income tax credits all of which expire in 2021 and can be carried forward to offset future income taxes. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, we also had federal tax net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $23.72 million and $23.39 million, respectively, expiring between 2022 and 2037, which can be used to offset against future federal taxable income; North Carolina tax net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $20.12 million and $20.20 million, respectively, expiring between 2023 and 2033; and various other state tax net operating loss carryforwards expiring between 2021 and 2040, which can be used to offset against future state taxable income.

Contractual Commitment

On December 31, 201612, 2014, we entered into the Supply Agreement with Cree. Under the Supply Agreement, subject to certain terms and 2015.conditions, we agreed to exclusively purchase from Cree, and Cree agreed to exclusively supply, 100% of our required SiC materials in quarterly installments that must equal or exceed a set minimum order quantity. The initial term of the Supply Agreement was scheduled to expire on June 24, 2018, unless extended by the parties. Effective June 22, 2018, the Supply Agreement was amended to extend the expiration date to June 25, 2023. The Supply Agreement, as amended, also provides for the exclusive production of our premium moissanite product, Forever One™ and provided us with one option, subject to certain conditions, to unilaterally extend the term of the Supply Agreement for an additional two-year period following the expiration of the initial term. In addition, the amendment to the Supply Agreement established a process by which Cree may begin producing alternate SiC material based on our specifications that will give us the flexibility to use the materials in a broader variety of our products, as well as to permit us to purchase certain amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. On August 26, 2020, the Supply Agreement was further amended, effective June 30, 2020, to extend the expiration date to June 29, 2025, which may be further extended by mutual agreement of the parties. The Supply Agreement was also amended to, among other things, (i) spread our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement in the amount of approximately $52.95 million over the term of the Supply Agreement, as amended; (ii) establish a process by which Cree has agreed to accept purchase orders in excess of the agreed-upon minimum purchase commitment, subject to certain conditions; and (iii) permit us to purchase revised amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions. Our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement, as amended, until June 2025 is approximately $52.95 million, of which approximately $36.60 million remains to be purchased as of June 30, 2020.

For more information regarding the second amendment to our Supply Agreement, executed on August 26, 2020, see Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

During the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, we purchased approximately $7.47 million and $8.91 million, respectively, of SiC crystals from Cree. Going forward, we expect to use existing cash and cash equivalents and access to other working capital resources, including but not limited to the issuance of equity securities, together with future cash expected to be provided by operating activities and, if necessary, our White Oak Credit Facility, to finance our purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement, as amended.

Line of Credit

On July 13, 2018, we and our wholly owned subsidiary, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, collectively referred to as the Borrowers, obtained the $5.00 million asset-based revolving White Oak Credit Facility. The White Oak Credit Facility may be used for general corporate and working capital purposes, including permitted acquisitions. The White Oak Credit Facility, which matures on July 13, 2021, is guaranteed by Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, another of our wholly owned subsidiaries. Under the terms of the White Oak Credit Facility, the Borrowers must maintain at least $500,000 in excess borrowing availability at all times. The White Oak Credit Facility contains no other financial covenants.

Advances under the White Oak Credit Facility may be either revolving or non-revolving. During the first year of the term of the White Oak Credit Facility, revolving advances accrued interest at a rate equal to one-month LIBOR (reset monthly, and subject to a 1.25% floor) plus 3.75%, and non-revolving advances accrued interest at such LIBOR rate plus 4.75%. Thereafter, the interest margins will reduce upon our achievement of a specified fixed charge coverage ratio. However, advances are in all cases subject to a minimum interest rate of 5.50%. Interest is calculated on an actual/360 basis and payable monthly in arrears. Principal outstanding during an event of default accrues interest at a rate 2% in excess of the rate otherwise applicable.

We had not borrowed against the White Oak Credit Facility as of June 30, 2020. As a result of our diminished borrowing base, which is tied to our accounts receivable, our ability to draw down funds from the White Oak Credit Facility is currently restricted.

A more detailed description of the White Oak Credit Facility is included in Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Liquidity and Capital Trends

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and access to other working capital resources, including but not limited to the access to federal government economic relief programs pursuant to the CARES Act, including our existing PPP Loan and the available conditional forgiveness of the PPP Loan in whole or in part, access to available federal and state tax-related considerations, the issuance of equity securities, and future cash expected to be provided by operating activities combined will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs over the next twelve months.

Our future capital requirements and the adequacy of available funds will depend on many factors, including the ongoing spread of COVID-19 that could lead to further disruption and volatility in the global capital markets as well as its impact on our rate of sales growth; the expansion of our sales and marketing activities; the timing and extent of raw materials and labor purchases in connection with loose jewel production to support our moissanite jewels business and precious metals and labor purchases in connection with jewelry production to support our finished jewelry business; the timing of capital expenditures; and the risk factors described in more detail in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Currently, we have the White Oak Credit Facility through its expiration on July 13, 2021, that we believe would mitigate these risks to our cash and liquidity position. Also, we may make investments in, or acquisitions of, complementary businesses, which could also require us to seek additional equity or debt financing.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which we prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP. The future effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our results of operations, cash flows, and financial position continue to remain unclear. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. “Critical accounting policies and estimates” are defined as those most important to the financial statement presentation and that require the most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors, including current economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Under different assumptions and/or conditions, actual results of operations may materially differ. The most significant estimates impacting our consolidated financial statements relate to valuation and classification of inventories, accounts receivable reserves, deferred tax assets, uncertain tax positions, and revenue recognition. We also have other policies that we consider key accounting policies, but these policies typically do not require us to make estimates or judgments that are difficult or subjective.

Valuation and Classification of Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value on an average cost basis. Inventory costs include direct material and labor, inbound freight, purchasing and receiving costs, inspection costs, and warehousing costs.
Any inventory on hand at the measurement date in excess of our current requirements based on historical and anticipated levels of sales is classified as long-term on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The classification of our inventory as either current or long-term inventory requires us to estimate the portion of on-hand inventory that can be realized over the next 12 months and does not include precious metal, labor, and other inventory purchases expected to be both purchased and realized in cost of sales over the next 12 months.

Our work-in-process inventories include raw SiC crystals on which processing costs, such as labor and sawing, have been incurred; and components, such as metal castings and finished good moissanite jewels, that have been issued to jobs in the manufacture of finished jewelry. Our moissanite jewel manufacturing process involves the production of intermediary shapes, called “preforms”, that vary depending upon the expected size and shape of the finished jewel. To maximize manufacturing efficiencies, preforms may be made in advance of current finished inventory needs but remain in work-in-process inventories. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, work-in-process inventories issued to active production jobs approximated $1.34 million and $1.23 million, respectively.

Each accounting period we evaluate the valuation and classification of inventories including the need for potential adjustments to inventory-related reserves, which also include significant estimates by management.

See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Inventories caption for a further description of our inventories accounting policy and see Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more detailed information relating to our accounting for inventory-related reserves.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue is recognized to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve this principle, we perform the following five steps: (i) identification of a contract with a customer; (ii) identification of any separate performance obligations; (iii) determination of the transaction price; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognition of revenue when we have satisfied the underlying performance obligations. We recognize substantially all of our revenue at a point in time when control of our goods has passed to the customer with the exception of consigned goods. We consider our performance obligation related to the shipment of goods satisfied at the time this control is transferred. We also have a variable consideration element related to most of our contracts in the form of product return rights. At the time revenue is recognized, an allowance for estimated returns is established and any change in the allowance for returns is charged against net sales in the current period. For our customers (excluding those of charlesandcolvard.com), the returns policy generally allows for the return of jewels and finished jewelry with a valid reason for credit within 30 days of shipment, except for returns during the COVID-19 pandemic during which we generally extended the return period for an additional 30 days. Our charlesandcolvard.com customers may return purchases for any reason within 60 days in accordance with our returns policy as disclosed on the charlesandcolvard.com website. Periodically, we ship loose jewel goods and finished goods to Traditional segment customers on consignment terms. Under these consignment terms, the customer assumes the risk of loss and has an absolute right of return for a specified period that typically ranges from six months to one year. Our Online Channels segment and Traditional segment customers are generally required to make payments on consignment shipments within 30 to 60 days upon the customer informing us that such inventory will be kept by the customer. Accordingly, we do not recognize revenue on these consignment transactions until the earlier of (i) the customer informing us that the inventory will be kept by the customer; (ii) the expiration of the right of returns period; or (iii) the customer informing us that the inventory has been sold.

See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Revenue Recognition caption for additional information regarding the underlying required disclosures arising from contracts with customers as well as a more detailed description of our revenue recognition accounting policy.

Accounts Receivable Reserves

Estimates are used to determine the amount of two reserves against trade accounts receivable. The first reserve is an allowance for sales returns. At the time revenue is recognized, we estimate future returns using a historical return rate that is reviewed quarterly with consideration of any contractual return privileges granted to customers, including any current extenuating economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and we reduce sales and trade accounts receivable by this estimated amount. Our allowance for sales returns was $704,000 and $746,000 at June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The second reserve is an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the failure of our customers to make required payments. This allowance reduces trade accounts receivable to an amount expected to be collected. Based on historical percentages of uncollectible accounts by aging category, changes in payment history, and facts and circumstances, including any current extenuating economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, regarding specific accounts that become known to management when evaluating the adequacy of the allowance for doubtful accounts, we determine a percentage based on the age of the receivable that we deem uncollectible. The allowance is then calculated by applying the appropriate percentage to each of our accounts receivable aging categories, with consideration given to individual customer account activity subsequent to the current period, including cash receipts, in determining the appropriate allowance for doubtful accounts in the current period. Any increases or decreases to this allowance are charged or credited, respectively, as a bad debt expense to general and administrative expenses. We generally use an internal collection effort, which may include our sales personnel as we deem appropriate. After all internal collection efforts have been exhausted, we generally write off the account receivable.

Any accounts with significant balances are reviewed separately to determine an appropriate allowance based on the facts and circumstances of the specific account. During our reviews of customer accounts for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, except for limited customers negatively affected by current economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we determined no additional reserves were necessary for other specific accounts. Based on these criteria, as of June 30, 2020 and 2019, management determined that allowances for doubtful accounts receivable of $79,000 and $249,000, respectively, were required.

Deferred Tax Assets

As of each reporting date, management considers new evidence, both positive and negative, that could impact its view with regard to future realization of deferred tax assets. Beginning in 2014, management determined that negative evidence outweighed the positive and established a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. We maintained a full valuation allowance as of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015.2019.

During
Our deferred tax assets in Hong Kong were fully reserved with a valuation allowance of $996,000 as of June 30, 2020 and 2019, and had been fully reserved in all prior periods due to the yearuncertainty of future taxable income in this jurisdiction to utilize available deferred tax assets. Charles & Colvard (HK) Ltd., our Hong Kong subsidiary, which was re-activated in December 2017, but had no operating activity during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020 and 2019, previously ceased operations during 2008 and became a dormant entity during 2009. If we use any portion of our deferred tax assets in future periods, the valuation allowance would need to be reversed and may impact our future operating results.

In connection with filing our 2017 U.S. corporate income tax return in June 2018, we analyzed the income tax effects of the Tax Act and the effect on our existing corporate AMT deferred tax asset, including the recoverability of our AMT-related deferred tax credit carryforwards. As a result, we determined that we were able to recognize the underlying tax benefit relating to the realization of the recoverable portion of its AMT-related deferred tax credit carryforwards, net of an anticipated sequestration reduction, in the amount of approximately $328,000. Accordingly, we recorded approximately $13,000the expected AMT credit refund as a receivable, net of income tax expense for estimated tax, penalties,an anticipated sequestration reduction and interest forsuch amount was included with other uncertain tax positions.long-term assets in our consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2018.

Our statutoryIn January 2019, the IRS announced that refund payments and refund offset transactions due to refundable minimum tax rate is 35% and consistscredits associated with the repeal of the federal incomecorporate AMT as part of the Tax Act would not be subject to sequestration. Accordingly, in January 2019 we recognized the additional available underlying tax ratebenefit and recorded the sequestered portion of 34% and a blended state income tax rateits AMT credit refund in the amount of 1%,approximately $23,000. This amount, net of amounts received, was also included with other long-term assets in our consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2019.

In May 2019, we received our first installment refund in the federal benefit.amount of approximately $80,000 and approximately $6,000 in May 2019 and April 2020, respectively, from the IRS in accordance with the AMT refundability schedule as set forth in the Tax Act.

Pursuant to provisions of the CARES Act, existing AMT credit carryforwards are now eligible for acceleration and refundable AMT credits are to be completely refunded to companies for taxable years beginning in 2019, or by election, taxable years beginning in 2018. Accordingly, we have elected to have the AMT tax completely refunded and have filed a tentative refund claim for the remaining AMT tax credit. Consequently, the remaining balance of our AMT credit refund in the amount of approximately $270,000 is expected to be completely refundable. Accordingly, the full amount of our AMT credit refund has been classified as current as of June 30, 2020.

For further discussion of the effects of the Tax Act, the CARES Act, and the NC COVID-19 Relief Act on our provision for income taxes and deferred tax assets, see Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”,  of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Liquidity and Capital Resources
Uncertain Tax Positions

We require cash to fund our operating expensesaccount for the de-recognition, classification, accounting in interim periods, and working capitaldisclosure requirements including outlays for capital expenditures. Asuncertain tax positions in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Determining which tax positions qualify as uncertain positions and the subsequent accounting for these positions requires significant estimates and assumptions. Our net accrued income tax liability under the provisions of December 31, 2016, our principal sourcesthis guidance was approximately $8,000 and $6,000 at June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. This liability is only resolved when we obtain an official ruling from the tax authority on the positions or when the statute of liquidity were cash and cash equivalents totaling $7.43 million, trade accounts receivable of $2.80 million, and current inventory of $9.77 million, as compared to cash and cash equivalents totaling $5.27 million, trade accounts receivable of $3.85 million, and current inventory of $10.74 million as of December 31, 2015. As described more fully below, we also have access to the $10 million Credit Facility.

During the year ended December 31, 2016, our working capitallimitations expires. Our liability for accrued interest on these uncertain tax positions has increased by approximately $36,000 to $16.07 million from $16.03 million at December 31, 2015. As described more fully below, the increase in working capital at December 31, 2016 is primarily attributable to an increase in our cash$2,000 and cash equivalents due to our increased cash from operations and a decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities, a decrease in accrued cooperative advertising, and a decrease in liabilities related to discontinued operations, partially offset by an increase in accounts payable, a decrease in trade accounts receivable, and a decreased allocation of inventory to short-term from long-term.

During the year ended December 31, 2016, $3.33 million of cash was provided by continuing operations and $1.13 million of cash was used in discontinued operations. The primary drivers of positive cash flow were a decrease in inventory of $4.00 million, a decrease in trade accounts receivable of $1.45 million, an increase in trade accounts payable of $654,000, and a decrease of $162,000 in prepaid expenses and other current assets. These factors were partially offset by our loss of $3.95 million that included $1.44 million of non-cash expenses, and a decrease in accrued liabilities of $420,000. Accounts receivable decreased primarily as a result of collection efforts during 2016 on sales made in 2016. We did not offer any extended wholesale customer payment terms during the year ended December 31, 2016; however, we may offer these terms from time to time, which may not immediately increase liquidity as a result of current-period sales. We believe our competitors and other vendors in the wholesale jewelry industry have expanded their use of extended payment terms and, in aggregate, we believe that through our use of extended payment terms, we have provided a competitive response in our market and that our net sales have been favorably impacted. We are unable to estimate the impact of this program on our net sales, but if we ceased providing extended payment terms in select instances, we believe we would not be competitive for some wholesale customers in the marketplace and that our net sales and profits would likely decrease. During the year ended December 31, 2016, we wrote off $815,000 in accounts receivable related to one international customer that was past due on its payment arrangement as we determined that the benefits of continued collections efforts did not outweigh the cost of legal proceedings. We do not believe our commercial terms were a factor with this customer’s non-payment. Our allowance for doubtful accounts previously included an allowance for this accounts receivable, and therefore, this write-off during the year did not have an impact on net loss for the year ended December 31, 2016. We have not experienced any other significant accounts receivable write-offs related to revenue arrangements with extended payment terms. Inventories decreased primarily as a result of sales, including a $6.77 million sale of legacy jewels to a large customer, offset in part by the purchase of new raw material SiC crystals during the year ended December 31, 2016 pursuant to the Supply Agreement; purchases of jewelry castings, findings, and other jewelry components; and production of moissanite jewels. Prepaid expenses and other assets decreased primarily as a result of the timing of insurance premium payments and other payments in advance of goods or services received. Accounts payable increased primarily as a result of the timing of costs incurred but not yet paid as of December 31, 2016 associated with inventory-related purchases and professional services incurred but not yet due under our vendors’ payment terms.

We manufactured approximately $10.78 million in loose jewels and $6.09 million in finished jewelry, which includes the cost of the loose jewels and the purchase of precious metals and labor in connection with jewelry production, during the year ended December 31, 2016. We expect our purchases of precious metals and labor to increase as we increase our finished jewelry business. In addition, from the beginning of 2006 through the year ended December 31, 2016, the price of gold has increased significantly (approximately 117%), resulting in higher retail price points for gold jewelry. Because the market price of gold and other precious metals is beyond our control, the upward price trends could continue and have a negative impact on our operating cash flow as we manufacture finished jewelry.

Historically, our raw material inventories of SiC crystals had been purchased under exclusive supply agreements with a limited number of suppliers. Because the supply agreements restricted the sale of these crystals exclusively to us, the suppliers negotiated minimum purchase commitments with us that, when combined with our reduced sales during the periods when the purchase commitments were in effect, have resulted in levels of inventories that are higher than we might otherwise maintain. As of December 31, 2016, $18.36 million of our inventories were classified as long-term assets. Loose jewel sales and finished jewelry that we manufacture will utilize both the finished goods loose jewels currently on-hand and, as we deplete certain shapes and sizes, our on-hand raw material SiC crystals of $2.59 million and new raw material that we are purchasing pursuant to the Supply Agreement.
On December 12, 2014, we entered into the Supply Agreement with Cree, our raw material SiC crystal supplier. Under the Supply Agreement, subject to certain terms and conditions, we agreed to exclusively purchase from Cree, and Cree agreed to exclusively supply, 100% of our required SiC materials in quarterly installments that must equal or exceed a set minimum order quantity. The initial term of the Supply Agreement will expire on June 24, 2018, unless extended by the parties. We also have one option to unilaterally extend the term of the agreement for an additional two-year period, subject to certain conditions. Our total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement until June 2018 is dependent upon the size of the SiC material and ranges between approximately $29.60 million and approximately $31.50 million. As of December 31, 2016, our remaining purchase commitment through June 2018 under the Supply Agreement ranges from approximately $14.54 million to approximately $16.44 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2016, we purchased approximately $8.20 million of SiC crystals from Cree. We expect to use existing cash and cash equivalents and other working capital, together with future cash expected to be provided by operating activities and, if necessary, our Credit Facility, to finance our purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement.

On July 14, 2016, Cree announced that it had entered into an asset purchase agreement with Infineon, pursuant to which Infineon would purchase certain portions of Cree’s SiC materials and gemstones business. The transaction, which Cree initially indicated was expected to close by the end of calendar year 2016, contemplated that the Supply Agreement, including all rights and obligations under the Supply Agreement, would be assigned by Cree to Infineon. On February 16, 2017, Cree announced that it was terminating the asset purchase agreement because Cree and Infineon were unable to identify alternatives that would address the national security concerns raised by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Accordingly, we expect that the terminated transaction will not have any material effect on our supply of SiC materials.

We made no income tax payments during the year ended December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2016, we had approximately $882,000 of remaining federal income tax credits, $533,000 of which expire between 2018 and 2021 and the balance without an expiration, which can be carried forward to offset future income taxes. As of December 31, 2016, we also had federal tax net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $25.03 million, expiring between 2020 and 2036, which can be used to offset against future federal taxable income; North Carolina tax net operating loss carryforwards across all of the entities of approximately $20.26 million expiring between 2023 and 2031; and various other state tax net operating loss carryforwards expiring between 2021 and 2036, which can be used to offset against future state taxable income.

On June 25, 2014, we and our wholly owned subsidiaries, Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC and Moissanite.com, LLC (now charlesandcolvard.com, LLC), collectively referred to as the Borrowers, obtained the Credit Facility from Wells Fargo. The Credit Facility may be used for general corporate and working capital purposes, including transaction fees and expenses incurred in connection therewith and the issuance of letters of credit up to a $1,000,000 sublimit. The Credit Facility will mature on June 25, 2017.

The Credit Facility includes a $5,000,000 sublimit for advances that are supported by a 90% guaranty provided by the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Advances under the Credit Facility are limited to a borrowing base, which is computed by applying specified advance rates to the value of the Borrowers’ eligible accounts and inventory, less reserves. Advances against inventory are further subject to an initial $3,000,000 maximum. We must maintain a minimum of $1,000,000 in excess availability at all times. There are no other financial covenants.

Each advance accrues interest at a rate equal to Wells Fargo’s 3-month LIBOR rate plus 2.50%, calculated on an actual/360 basis and payable monthly in arrears. Principal outstanding during an event of default accrues interest at a rate of 3% in excess of the above rate. Any advance may be prepaid in whole or in part at any time. In addition, the maximum line amount may be reduced by us in whole or part at any time, subject to a fee equal to 2% of any reduction in the first year after closing, 1% of any reduction in the second year after closing, and 0% thereafter. There are no mandatory prepayments or line reductions.
The Credit Facility is secured by a lien on substantially all assets of the Borrowers, each of which is jointly and severally liable for all obligations thereunder. Wells Fargo’s security interest in certain SiC materials is subordinate to Cree’s security interest in such materials pursuant to the Supply Agreement and an Intercreditor Agreement with Wells Fargo.

The Credit Facility is evidenced by a credit and security agreement dated$1,000 as of June 25, 2014, as amended, or the Credit Agreement,30, 2020 and customary ancillary documents. The Credit Agreement contains customary covenants, representations and cash dominion provisions, including a financial reporting covenant and limitations on dividends, distributions, debt, contingent obligations, liens, loans, investments, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, subsidiaries, affiliate transactions, and changes in control.2019, respectively.

Events of default under the Credit Facility include, without limitation, (1) any impairment of the Export-Import Bank guaranty, unless the guaranteed advances are repaid within two business days, (2) an event of default under any other indebtedness of the Borrowers
See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements in excess of $200,000,Item 8, “Financial Statements and (3) a material adverse change in the ability of the Borrowers to perform their obligations under the Credit Agreement or in the Borrowers’ assets, liabilities, businesses or prospects, or other circumstances that Wells Fargo believes may impair the prospect of repayment. If an event of default occurs, Wells Fargo is entitled to take enforcement action, including acceleration of amounts due under the Credit Agreement and foreclosure upon collateral.

The Credit Agreement contains other customary terms, including indemnity, expense reimbursement, yield protection, and confidentiality provisions. Wells Fargo is permitted to assign the Credit Facility.

As of December 31Supplementary Data”, 2016, we had not borrowed against the Credit Facility.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and other working capital, together with future cash expected to be provided by operating activities, will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs over the next 12 months. Our future capital requirements and the adequacy of available funds will depend on many factors, including our rate of sales growth; the expansion of our sales and marketing activities; the timing and extent of raw materials and labor purchases in connection with loose jewel production to support our moissanite jewels business and precious metals and labor purchases in connection with jewelry production to support our finished jewelry business; the timing of capital expenditures; and risk factors described in more detail in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We obtained10-K under the Credit Facility to mitigate these risksImmaterial Correction of an Error caption for information regarding the release of a portion of our accrued income tax liability for uncertain tax positions that should have been derecognized in the prior years.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our cashconsolidated financial statements in Item 8, “Financial Statements and liquidity position. Also, we may make investments in, or acquisitionsSupplementary Data”, of complementary businesses, which could also require us to seek additional equity or debt financing.this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Recently Adopted/Issued Accounting Pronouncements caption for the description of recent accounting pronouncements, including the expected date of adoption and estimated effects, on our consolidated financial statements.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not use off-balance sheet arrangements with unconsolidated entities or related parties, nor do we use other forms of off-balance sheet arrangements. Accordingly, our liquidity and capital resources are not subject to off-balance sheet risks from unconsolidated entities. As of December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020 and 2019, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii)(ii) of Regulation S-K.

We have entered into an operating lease for approximately 36,350 square feet of mixed-use space, which we currently occupy, from an unaffiliated third-party for our offices and manufacturing facility in the normal course of business. This type of arrangement is often referred to as a form of off-balance sheet financing.

Item 7A.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Not applicable.

Item 8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 
Page
Number
  
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
3649
  
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019
3750
  
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019
3851
  
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019
3952
  
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019
4053
  
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
4154

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Shareholders and Board of Directors and Shareholders
Charles & Colvard, Ltd.
Morrisville, North Carolina

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020, and 2015 and2019, the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years then ended. Theseended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States)statements”). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Charles & Colvard, Ltd.the Company at December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Change in Accounting Principle
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed its method of accounting for leases during the year ended June 30, 2020 due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits.  We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ BDO USA, LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2010.

Raleigh, North Carolina
September 3, 2020

March 9, 2017
CHARLES & COLVARD, LTD.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 December 31,  June 30, 
 2016  2015  2020  
2019
 
ASSETS            
Current assets:            
Cash and cash equivalents $7,427,273  $5,274,305  $13,993,032  $12,465,483 
Restricted cash 624,202  541,062 
Accounts receivable, net  2,794,626   3,852,651  670,718  1,962,471 
Inventory, net  9,770,206   10,739,798  7,443,257  11,909,792 
Prepaid expenses and other assets  682,083   701,105   1,177,860   989,559 
Assets related to discontinued operations  -   83,000 
Total current assets  20,674,188   20,650,859  23,909,069  27,868,367 
Long-term assets:              
Inventory, net  18,360,211   21,588,622  23,190,702  21,823,928 
Property and equipment, net  1,391,116   1,615,683  999,061  1,026,098 
Intangible assets, net  8,808   71,086  170,151  97,373 
Operating lease right-of-use assets 584,143  - 
Other assets  71,453   214,588   51,461   330,615 
Total long-term assets  19,831,588   23,489,979   24,995,518   23,278,014 
TOTAL ASSETS $40,505,776  $44,140,838  $48,904,587  $51,146,381 
              
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY              
Current liabilities:              
Accounts payable $3,977,149  $3,323,148  $3,748,235  $3,279,548 
Accrued cooperative advertising  50,000   58,000 
Operating lease liabilities 622,493  - 
Current maturity of long-term debt 193,000  - 
Accrued expenses and other liabilities  581,107   891,187   1,922,332   1,418,232 
Liabilities related to discontinued operations  -   349,000 
Total current liabilities  4,608,256   4,621,335  6,486,060  4,697,780 
Long-term liabilities:              
Accrued expenses and other liabilities  594,916   710,223 
Long-term debt, net 772,000  - 
Noncurrent operating lease liabilities 203,003  - 
Deferred rent -  236,745 
Accrued income taxes  433,983   420,503   7,947   6,214 
Total long-term liabilities  1,028,899   1,130,726   982,950   242,959 
Total liabilities  5,637,155   5,752,061   7,469,010   4,940,739 
Commitments and contingencies (Note 8)        
Commitments and contingencies (Note 9)      
Shareholders’ equity:              
Common stock, no par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 21,369,885 and 21,111,585 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively  54,243,816   54,240,247 
Common stock, no par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 28,949,410 and 28,027,569 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively 54,342,864  54,342,864 
Additional paid-in capital  14,282,956   13,280,920  25,880,165  24,488,147 
Accumulated deficit  (33,658,151)  (29,132,390)  (38,787,452)  (32,625,369)
Total shareholders’ equity  34,868,621   38,388,777   41,435,577   46,205,642 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY $40,505,776  $44,140,838  $48,904,587  $51,146,381 

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
CHARLES & COLVARD, LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Net sales $29,168,128  $25,693,292 
Costs and expenses:        
Cost of goods sold  20,401,439   18,943,507 
Sales and marketing  7,038,277   5,764,389 
General and administrative  5,544,452   6,031,829 
Research and development  2,848   17,795 
Loss on abandonment of property and equipment  117,930   - 
Total costs and expenses  33,104,946   30,757,520 
Loss from operations  (3,936,818)  (5,064,228)
Other income (expense):        
Interest income  -   11 
Interest expense  (1,737)  (10,359)
Gain on sale of long-term assets  -   125 
Total other expense, net  (1,737)  (10,223)
Loss before income taxes from continuing operations  (3,938,555)  (5,074,451)
Income tax net expense from continuing operations  (13,480)  (12,821)
Net loss from continuing operations  (3,952,035)  (5,087,272)
         
Discontinued Operations:        
Loss from discontinued operations  (586,124)  (4,485,787)
Gain on sale of assets from discontinued operations  12,398   - 
Net loss from discontinued operations  (573,726)  (4,485,787)
Net loss $(4,525,761) $(9,573,059)
         
Net loss per common share:        
Basic - continuing operations $(0.19) $(0.25)
Basic - discontinued operations  (0.03)  (0.22)
Basic - total $(0.22) $(0.47)
         
Diluted - continuing operations $(0.19) $(0.25)
Diluted - discontinued operations  (0.03)  (0.22)
Diluted - total $(0.22) $(0.47)
         
Weighted average number of shares used in computing net loss per common share:        
Basic  20,926,120   20,407,764 
Diluted  20,926,120   20,407,764 
  Year Ended June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Net sales $29,189,020  $32,244,109 
Costs and expenses:        
Cost of goods sold  21,200,207   17,352,167 
Sales and marketing  9,443,244   7,983,506 
General and administrative  4,861,297   4,640,810 
Research and development  -   2,069 
Total costs and expenses  35,504,748   29,978,552 
(Loss) Income from operations  (6,315,728)  2,265,557 
Other income (expense):        
Interest income  158,091   11,022 
Interest expense  (884)  (2,198)
Loss on foreign currency exchange  (1,829)  (344)
Other expense  -   (13)
Total other income, net  155,378   8,467 
(Loss) Income before income taxes  (6,160,350)  2,274,024 
Income tax (expense) benefit  (1,733)  1,443 
Net (loss) income $(6,162,083) $2,275,467 
         
Net (loss) income per common share:        
Basic $(0.22) $0.10 
Diluted  (0.22)  0.10 
         
Weighted average number of shares used in computing net (loss) income per common share:        
Basic  28,644,133   21,860,699 
Diluted  28,644,133   22,111,223 

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

CHARLES & COLVARD, LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 Common Stock           Common Stock          
 
Number of
Shares
  Amount  
Additional
Paid-in
Capital
  
Accumulated
Deficit
  
Total
Shareholders’
Equity
  
Number of
Shares
  Amount  
Additional
Paid-in
Capital
  
Accumulated
Deficit
  
Total
Shareholders’
Equity
 
Balance at December 31, 2014  20,382,333  $53,949,001  $11,628,503  $(19,559,331) $46,018,173 
Balance at June 30, 2018 21,705,173  $54,243,816  $14,962,071  $(34,900,836) $34,305,051 
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs 6,250,000  -  9,058,568  -  9,058,568 
Stock-based compensation  -   -   1,770,897   -   1,770,897  -  -  502,805  -  502,805 
Issuance of restricted stock  487,500   -   -   -   -  19,896  -  -  -  - 
Stock option exercises  241,752   291,246   (118,480)  -   172,766  52,500  99,048  (35,297) -  63,751 
Net loss  -   -   -   (9,573,059)  (9,573,059)
Balance at December 31, 2015  21,111,585  $54,240,247  $13,280,920  $(29,132,390) $38,388,777 
Net income  -   -   -   2,275,467   2,275,467 
Balance at June 30, 2019
 28,027,569  $54,342,864  $24,488,147  $(32,625,369) $46,205,642 
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs 630,500  -  932,480  -  932,480 
Stock-based compensation  -   -   1,003,305   -   1,003,305  -  -  459,538  -  459,538 
Issuance of restricted stock  255,800   -   -   -   -  325,000  -  -  -  - 
Stock option exercises  2,500   3,569   (1,269)  -   2,300 
Retirement of restricted stock (33,659) -  -  -  - 
Net loss  -   -   -   (4,525,761)  (4,525,761)  -   -   -   (6,162,083)  (6,162,083)
Balance at December 31, 2016  21,369,885  $54,243,816  $14,282,956  $(33,658,151) $34,868,621 
Balance at June 30, 2020  28,949,410  $54,342,864  $25,880,165  $(38,787,452) $41,435,577 

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 CHARLES & COLVARD, LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 Year Ended December 31,  Year Ended June 30, 
 2016  2015  2020  2019 
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:            
Net loss $(4,525,761) $(9,573,059)
Net loss from discontinued operations  (573,726)  (4,485,787)
Net loss from continuing operations  (3,952,035)  (5,087,272)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations:        
Net (loss) income 
$
(6,162,083
) 
$
2,275,467
 
Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by operating activities:      
Depreciation and amortization  557,393   758,787  
490,235
  
481,319
 
Stock-based compensation  959,134   1,545,144  
459,538
  
502,805
 
Provision for uncollectible accounts  (73,300)  89,462  
8,788
  
27,056
 
Provision for sales returns  (316,000)  (179,000)
Provision for inventory reserves  200,000   436,000 
Loss on abandonment of property and equipment  117,930   - 
Gain on sale of long-term assets  -   (125)
(Recovery of) Provision for sales returns 
(42,000
) 
98,000
 
Inventory write-off 
5,863,991
  
393,000
 
Provision for accounts receivable discounts 
3,751
  
6,275
 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:              
Accounts receivable  1,447,325   1,747,140  
1,321,214
  
(328,080
)
Inventory  3,998,003   6,174,209  
(2,764,230
) 
(2,298,182
)
Prepaid expenses and other assets, net  162,157   (103,012) 
490,438
  
(14,144
)
Accounts payable  654,001   251,517  
468,687
  
(891,404
)
Accrued cooperative advertising  (8,000)  (162,000)
Deferred rent 
-
  
(156,306
)
Accrued income taxes  13,480   12,821  
1,733
  
21,706
 
Accrued expenses and other liabilities  (425,387)  338,702   
109,123
   
799,287
 
Net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations  3,334,701   5,822,373 
Net cash used in operating activities of discontinued operations  (1,125,578)  (4,254,480)
Net cash provided by operating activities  2,209,123   1,567,893   
249,185
   
916,799
 
              
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:              
Purchases of property and equipment  (421,761)  (407,452) 
(458,854
) 
(361,440
)
Patent, license rights, and trademark costs  (5,615)  (45,742)
Proceeds from sale of long-term assets  250   175 
Net cash used in investing activities of continuing operations  (427,126)  (453,019)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities of discontinued operations  368,671   (20,676)
Payments for intangible assets  
(77,122
) 
(64,319
)
Net cash used in investing activities  (58,455)  (473,695)  
(535,976
)  
(425,759
)
              
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:              
Proceeds from long-term debt 
965,000
  - 
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs 
932,480
  9,058,568 
Stock option exercises  2,300   172,766   
-
   
63,751
 
Net cash provided by financing activities of continuing operations  2,300   172,766 
Net cash provided by financing activities  
1,897,480
   
9,122,319
 
              
NET INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS  2,152,968   1,266,964 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD  5,274,305   4,007,341 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD $7,427,273  $5,274,305 
NET INCREASE IN CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH 
1,610,689
  
9,613,359
 
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, BEGINNING OF YEAR  
13,006,545
   
3,393,186
 
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, END OF YEAR 
$
14,617,234
  
$
13,006,545
 
              
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:              
Cash paid during the year for interest $1,737  $10,359  
$
884
  $2,198 
Cash paid during the year for income taxes 
$
2,050
  
$
5,764
 

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
CHARLES & COLVARD, LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1.DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (the “Company”), a North Carolina corporation founded in 1995, manufactures, markets, and distributes Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® (hereinafter referred to as moissanite or moissanite jewels) and finished jewelry featuring moissanite for sale in the worldwide jewelry market. Moissanite, also known by its chemical name silicon carbide (SiC)(“SiC”), is a rare mineral first discovered in a meteorite crater. Because naturally occurring SiC crystals are too small for commercial use, larger crystals must be grown in a laboratory. Leveraging its advantage of being the original and leading worldwide source of created moissanite, the Company’s strategy is to establish itself with reputable, high-quality, and sophisticated brands and to position moissanite as an ethically-sourced, affordable, and luxurious alternative to other gemstones such as diamond. The Company believes this is possible due to moissanite’s exceptional brilliance, fire, durability, and rarity like no other jewel available on the market. The Company sells loose moissanite jewels and finished jewelry at wholesale prices to distributors, manufacturers, retailers, TV shopping networks, and designers, including some of the largest distributors and jewelry manufacturers in the world. The Company’s finished jewelry and loose moissanite jewels that are mounted into fine jewelry by other manufacturers are sold at retail outlets and via the Internet. The Company sells at retail prices to end consumersend-consumers through its wholly owned operating subsidiaries,subsidiary, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, (formerly Moissanite.com, LLC)third-party online marketplaces, drop-ship, and Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (until March 2016), and through third-party marketplaces. As of September 30, 2016, the Company changed the name of its wholly owned subsidiary Moissanite.com, LLC to charlesandcolvard.com, LLC.other pure-play, exclusively e-commerce outlets.

In February 2016, the Company made the strategic decision to explore a potential divestiture of its direct-to-consumer home party business previously operated through its Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (dba Lulu Avenue®) subsidiary. After careful analysis of the Company’s core competencies, go-to-market strategies, and intent to advance toward profitability, the management team and Board of Directors determined a divestiture of this distribution channel to be in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders. On March 4, 2016, the Company and Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC entered into an asset purchase agreement with Yanbal USA, Inc. (“Yanbal”), under which Yanbal purchased certain assets related to the Company’s direct-to-consumer home party business for $500,000 and assumed certain liabilities related to such assets. A more detailed description of this transaction is included in Note 12, “Discontinued Operations”.

As a result of the divestiture of the Company’s direct-to-consumer home party business operated through its Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (dba Lulu Avenue®) subsidiary, during the three months ended March 31, 2016, the Company began managing its business primarily through its two continuing distribution channels. Accordingly, for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company’s reportable segments are its wholesale distribution channel transacted through the parent entity, and the Company’s direct-to-consumer distribution channel transacted through the wholly owned operating subsidiary, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC. The Company is now presenting the operating results of Charles and Colvard Direct, LLC as a discontinued operation.

2.BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation -The accompanying consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019, include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries charlesandcolvard.com, LLC (formerly Moissanite.com, LLC), formed in 2011;LLC; Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, formed in 2011;LLC; and Charles & Colvard (HK) Ltd., the Company’s Hong Kong subsidiary, thatwhich was re-activated in December 2017. Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, had no operating activity during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 or 2019. Charles & Colvard (HK) Ltd. previously became a dormant entity in the second quarter of 2009 and the operations of which ceased inhas had no operating activity since 2008. All intercompany accounts have been eliminated.eliminated.

Discontinued Operations - The results of operations for businesses that have been disposed of or classified as held-for-sale are segregated from the results of the Company’s continuing operations and classified as discontinued operations for each period presented in the Company’s consolidated income statement. Similarly, the assets and liabilities of such businesses are reclassified from continuing operations and presented as discontinued operations for each period presented on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet.

Use of Estimates -The future effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s results of operations, cash flows, and financial position continue to remain unclear. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The most significant estimates impacting the Company’s consolidated financial statements relate to valuation and classification of inventories, accounts receivable reserves, deferred tax assets, uncertain tax positions, cooperative advertising, and revenue recognition. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.
Reclassifications -Certain amounts in the prior year’sCompany’s consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation primarily amounts described in Note 3, “Segment Information and Geographic Data” and Note 12, “Discontinued Operations” related to changescertain customer credit balances that were reclassified from accounts payable to accrued expenses and other liabilities in the amount of approximately $93,000. These reclassifications had no impact on the Company’s reportable segments.consolidated financial position or consolidated results of operations as of or for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019.

Changes in Accounting Policy – Effective July 1, 2019, the Company adopted the new lease accounting standard issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”), which requires leases to be recorded as right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet and provides guidance on the recognition of lease expense and income. The new guidance requires the modified retrospective transition approach when applying the new standard to an entity’s leases existing at the date of initial application. The guidance further states that an entity’s date of initial application may be either the effective date upon which it adopts the new standard or the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements during the period in which it adopts the new guidance. The Company used the date of initial application as the effective date, and as such, financial information and disclosures required under the new accounting standard will not be provided for dates and periods prior to July 1, 2019.

The new standard provides a number of practical expedients for transition and policy elections for ongoing accounting. The Company elected the “package of practical expedients”, which permits the Company to not reassess its prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs. The standard provides policy election options for recognition exemption for short-term leases and separation of lease and non-lease components. The Company elected the “short-term lease recognition” exemption and elected not to separate lease and non-lease components for all underlying asset classes. The Company determines lease and non-lease components based on observable information, including terms provided by the lessor.

The adoption of the new accounting standard resulted in the recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities of approximately $983,000 and $1.38 million, respectively, for operating leases as of July 1, 2019. For purposes of adopting this new guidance, the Company’s most appropriate option for an incremental borrowing rate assumption was to assume that it would be based on the underlying fully-collateralized borrowing rate in effect within the Company’s credit facility with White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC (“White Oak”). Pursuant to the terms of the Company’s credit facility with White Oak (the “White Oak Credit Facility”), as of July 1, 2019, the Company’s incremental borrowing rate for funds in the form of non-revolving advances would have been White Oak’s one-month LIBOR (2.3878%) plus 4.75%, or 7.1378%. Management believes that this rate represents the incremental borrowing rate that would have been in effect if the Company had borrowed such funds from its White Oak Credit Facility on July 1, 2019. Currently, the Company has no other material leases that qualify as finance, variable, or short-term leases. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated statement of operations or consolidated statement of cash flows.

Subsequent to the date of adoption, the Company determines if a contract is or contains a lease at inception of the agreement. Operating leases are recognized as ROU assets and the related obligations are recognized as current or noncurrent liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. Leases with an initial lease term of one year or less are not recorded on the balance sheet.

ROU assets, which represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset, and lease liabilities, which represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease, are recognized based on the present value of the future lease payments over the lease term at the commencement date. The ROU asset also includes any lease payments made at or before the commencement date and any initial direct costs incurred and excludes lease incentives. Certain of the Company’s leases contain renewal and/or termination options. The Company recognizes renewal or termination options as part of its ROU assets and lease liabilities when the Company has the unilateral right to renew or terminate and it is reasonably certain these options will be exercised. The Company determines the present value of lease payments based on the implicit rate, which may be explicitly stated in the lease if available or the Company’s estimated collateralized incremental borrowing rate based on the term of the lease. For operating leases, lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Some leases could require the Company to pay non-lease components, which may include taxes, maintenance, insurance and certain other expenses applicable to the leased property, and are primarily considered variable costs. When applicable, such costs are expensed as incurred.

For additional information regarding the Company’s accounting for lease arrangements, see Note 9, “Commitments and Contingencies.”

Cash and Cash Equivalents -All highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less from the date of purchase are considered to be cash equivalents. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents include cash on deposit and a money market fund. See the Restricted Cash caption below for further details on the nature and classifications of the Company’s restricted cash balances.

Restricted Cash – In accordance with cash management process requirements relating to the Company’s asset-based revolving credit facility from White Oak, there are access and usage restrictions on certain cash deposit balances for periods of up to two business days during which time such deposits are held by White Oak for the benefit of the Company. During the period these cash deposits are held by White Oak, such amounts are classified as restricted cash for reporting purposes on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. In the event that the Company has an outstanding balance on its revolving credit facility from White Oak, restricted cash balances held by White Oak would be applied to reduce such outstanding amounts.

The Company has full access to its cash balances without restriction following the period of time such cash is held by White Oak. For additional information regarding the Company’s asset-based revolving credit facility, see Note 10, “Line of Credit.”

The reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, as presented on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, consists of the following as of the dates presented:

  June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Cash and cash equivalents 
$
13,993,032
  
$
12,465,483
 
Restricted cash  
624,202
   
541,062
 
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash 
$
14,617,234
  $
13,006,545
 

Concentration of Credit Risk -Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarilyprincipally of cash on deposit and cash equivalents held with one bank and trade accounts receivable. At times, cash and cash equivalents balances may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurable limits. The Company’s money market fund investment account (recognized as cash and cash equivalents) is with what the Company believes to be a high-quality issuer. The Company has never experienced any losses related to these balances. Non-interest-bearing amounts on deposit in excess of FDIC insurable limits at December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2019 approximated $7.04 million.$2.01 million and $2.12 million, respectively. Interest-bearing amounts on deposit in excess of FDIC insurable limits at June 30, 2020 and 2019 approximated $11.64 million and $10.01 million, respectively.

Trade receivables potentially subject the Company to credit risk. The Company’s standard wholesale customer paymentPayment terms on trade receivables for the Company’s Traditional segment customers are generally between 30 and 90 days, though it may offer extended terms with specific customers and on significant orders from time to time. The Company believes its competitors and other vendors in the wholesale jewelry industry have also expanded their use of extended payment terms and, in aggregate, the Company believes that through its use of extended payment terms, it has provided a competitive response in its market and that its net sales have been favorably impacted. The Company is unable to estimate the impact of this program on its net sales, but if it ceased providing extended payment terms in select instances, the Company believes it would not be competitive for some wholesale customers in the marketplace and that its net sales and profits would likely decrease. The Company extends credit to its customers based upon a number of factors, including an evaluation of the customer’s financial condition and credit history that is verified through trade association reference services, the customer’s payment history with the Company, the customer’s reputation in the trade, and/or an evaluation of the Company’s opportunity to introduce its moissanite jewels or finished jewelry featuring moissanite to new or expanded markets. Collateral is not generally required from customers. The need for an allowance for doubtful accounts is determined based upon factors surrounding the credit risk of specific customers, historical trends, and other information. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company wrote off $815,000 in accounts receivable related to one international customer that was past due on its payment arrangement as it determined that the benefits of continued collections efforts did not outweigh the cost of legal proceedings. The Company does not believe its commercial terms were a factor with this customer’s non-payment. The Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts previously included an allowance for this accounts receivable, and therefore, this write-off did not have an impact on net loss for the year ended December 31, 2016. The Company has not experienced any other significant accounts receivable write-offs related to revenue arrangements with extended payment terms.

See Note 13, “Major Customers and Concentration of Credit Risk”, for further discussion of credit risk within trade accounts receivable.

Accounts Receivable Reserves -Estimates are used to determine the amount of two reserves against trade accounts receivable. The first reserve is an allowance for sales returns. At the time revenue is recognized, the Company estimates future returns using a historical return rate that is reviewed quarterly with consideration of any contractual return privileges granted to customers, including any current extenuating economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and it reduces sales and trade accounts receivable by this estimated amount. The Company’s allowance for sales returns was $415,000$704,000 and $731,000$746,000 at December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, respectively.

The following is a reconciliationare reconciliations of the allowance for sales returns:returns balances as of the periods presented:

 Year Ended December 31,  Year Ended June 30, 
 2016  2015  2020  2019 
Balance, beginning of period $731,000  $910,000 
Balance, beginning of year $746,000  $648,000 
Additions charged to operations  3,574,297   3,651,741  
4,710,943
  4,533,077 
Sales returns  (3,890,297)  (3,830,741)  
(4,752,943
)  (4,435,077)
Balance, end of period $415,000  $731,000 
Balance, end of year 
$
704,000
  $746,000 
The second reserve is an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the failure of the Company’s customers to make required payments. This allowance reduces trade accounts receivable to an amount expected to be collected.Based on historical percentages of uncollectible accounts by aging category, changes in payment history, and facts and circumstances, including any current extenuating economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, regarding specific accounts that become known to management when evaluating the adequacy of the allowance for doubtful accounts, the Company determines a percentage based on the age of the receivable that it deems uncollectible. The allowance is then calculated by applying the appropriate percentage to each of the Company’s accounts receivable aging categories, with consideration given to individual customer account activity subsequent to the current period, including cash receipts, in determining the appropriate allowance for doubtful accounts in the current period. Any increases or decreases to this allowance are charged or credited, respectively, as a bad debt expense to general and administrative expenses. The Company generally uses an internal collection effort, which may include its sales personnel as it deems appropriate. After all internal collection efforts have been exhausted, the Company generally writes off the account receivable.

Any accounts with significant balances are reviewed separately to determine an appropriate allowance based on the facts and circumstances of the specific account. During the quarter ended September 30, 2016, the Company wrote off $815,000 in accounts receivable related to one international customer that was past due on its payment arrangement, as the Company determined that the benefits of continued collections efforts did not outweigh the costs of legal proceedings. The Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts previously included an allowance for this accounts receivable, and therefore, this write-off did not have an impact on net loss for the year ended December 31, 2016. During its review for 2016,the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company determined no additional reserves were necessary for specific accounts. Based on these criteria, management determined that allowances for doubtful accounts receivable of $226,000$79,000 and $1.14 million$249,000 at December 31,June 30, 2020 and 2019, 2016 and 2015, respectively, were required.

The following is a reconciliationare reconciliations of the allowance for doubtful accounts:accounts balances as of the periods presented:

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Balance, beginning of period $1,137,000  $1,074,000 
(Reductions) additions charged to operations  (73,300)  89,462 
Write-offs, net of recoveries  (837,700)  (26,462)
Balance, end of period $226,000  $1,137,000 
  Year Ended June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Balance, beginning of year $249,000  $233,000 
Additions charged to operations  8,788   27,056 
Write-offs, net of recoveries  (178,788)  (11,056)
Balance, end of year $79,000  $249,000 

Although the Company believes that its reserves are adequate, if the financial condition of its customers deteriorates, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, or if it underestimates the allowances required, additional allowances may be necessary, which would result in increased expense in the period in which such determination is made.

Inventories - Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or marketnet realizable value on an average cost basis. Inventory costs include direct material and labor, inbound freight, purchasing and receiving costs, inspection costs, and warehousing costs. Any inventory on hand at the measurement date in excess of the Company’s current requirements based on historical and anticipated levels of sales is classified as long-term on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company’s classification of its inventory as either shortcurrent or long-term inventory requires it to estimate the portion of on-hand inventory that can be realized over the next 12 months and does not include precious metal, labor, and other inventory purchases expected to be both purchased and realized in cost of sales over the next 12 months.

Each accounting period, the Company evaluates the valuation and classification of inventories including the need for potential adjustments to inventory-related reserves, which also include significant estimates by management. The Company’s inventory-related valuation allowances are recorded in the aggregate rather than an individual item approach for each obsolescence, rework, and shrinkage valuation allowance.

Property and Equipment -Property and equipment are stated at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful lives using the straight-line method as follows:

Machinery and equipment
5 to 12 years
Computer hardware
3 to 5 years
Computer software
3 years
Furniture and fixtures
5 to 10 years
Leasehold improvements
Shorter of the estimated useful life or the lease term
Intangible Assets -The Company capitalizes costs associated with obtaining or defending patents issued or pending for inventions and license rights related to the manufacture of moissanite jewels. Such costs are amortized over the life of the patent, generally 1715 years. The Company also capitalizes licenses it obtains for the use of certain advertising images and external costs incurred for trademarks. Such costs are amortized over the period of the license or estimated useful life of the trademark, respectively.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets -The Company evaluates the recoverability of its long-lived assets by reviewing them for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to future net undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value and is recognized as an operating expense in the period in which the determination is made. Assets to be disposed are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell.sell once the held-for-sale criteria are met. As of December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020, the Company did not identify any indicators of long-lived asset impairment.

In addition to the recoverability assessment, the Company routinely reviews the remaining estimated useful lives of its long-lived assets. Any reduction in the useful-life assumption will result in increased depreciation and amortization expense in the period when such determination is made, as well as in subsequent periods.

Revenue Recognition -Revenue is recognized to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve this principle, the Company performs the following five steps: (i) identification of a contract with a customer; (ii) identification of any separate performance obligations; (iii) determination of the transaction price; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognition of revenue when title transfersthe Company has satisfied the underlying performance obligations. The Company recognizes substantially all of its revenue at a point in time when control of the Company’s goods has passed to the customer with the exception of consigned goods. The Company considers its sole performance obligation related to the shipment of goods satisfied at the time this control is transferred. Customer payment terms for these shipments typically range between 30- and 90-days. The Company has elected to treat shipping and handling performed after control has transferred to customers as a fulfillment activity, and additionally, has elected the practical expedient to report sales taxes on a net basis. The Company records shipping and handling expense related to product sales as cost of shipment fromsales.

The Company has a variable consideration element related to most of its contracts in the Company’s facility or a third-party fulfillment company’s facility, excluding consignment shipments as discussed below; evidenceform of an arrangement exists; pricing is fixed or determinable; and collectability is reasonably assured.product return rights. At the time revenue is recognized, an allowance for estimated returns is established. Anyestablished and any change in the allowance for returns is charged against net sales.sales in the current period. For the Company’s wholesale customers (excluding those of charlesandcolvard.com), the returnreturns policy generally allows for the return of jewels and finished jewelry with a valid reason for credit generally within 30 days of shipment and must be returned for a valid reason, such as quality problems or an error in shipment. For theThe Company’s direct-to-consumer sales channels,charlesandcolvard.com customers can return their purchases for any reason within 60 days of such purchase in accordance with the Company’s warrantyreturns policy as noteddisclosed on the charlesandcolvard.com website. The Company has established an allowance for returns based on the Company’s historical return rate, which takes into account any contractual return privileges granted to the Company’s customers. 

Periodically, the Company ships loose jewel goods and finished jewelry goods to wholesaleTraditional segment customers on consignment terms. Under these consignment terms, the customer assumes the risk of loss and has an absolute right of return for a specified period. In these instances, the Company only recognizes revenue when the contractual right of return is exhausted. Periodically, the Company ships finished goods inventory to wholesale customers on consignment terms. Under these terms, the customer assumes the risk of loss and has an absolute right of return for a specified period that typically ranges from six months to one year. The Company’s wholesaleOnline Channels segment and Traditional segment customers are generally required to make payments on consignment shipments within 30 to 60 days upon the customer informing the Company that it will keep the inventory. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize revenue on these consignment transactions until the earlier of (1)(i) the customer informing the Company that it will keep the inventory, (2)inventory; (ii) the expiration of the right of return period,period; or (3)(iii) the customer informing the Company that the inventory has been sold.

The Company presents disaggregated net sales by its Online Channels segment and its Traditional segment for both finished jewelry and loose jewels product lines. The Company also presents disaggregated net sales by geographic area between the United States and international locations. For financial reporting purposes, disaggregated net sales amounts are presented in Note 3, “Segment Information and Geographic Data.”

Returns Asset and Refund Liabilities

The Company maintains a returns asset account and a refund liabilities account to record the effects of its estimated product returns and sales returns allowance. The Company’s returns asset and refund liabilities are updated at the end of each financial reporting period and the effect of such changes are accounted for in the period in which such changes occur.

The Company estimates anticipated product returns in the form of a refund liability based on historical return percentages and current period sales levels. The Company also accrues a related returns asset for goods expected to be returned in salable condition, less any expected costs to recover such goods, including return shipping costs that the Company may incur. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company’s refund liabilities balances were $704,000 and $746,000, respectively, and are included as allowances for sales returns within accounts receivable, net, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company’s returns asset balances were $289,000 and $279,000, respectively, and are included within prepaid expenses and other assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Cost of Goods Sold -Cost of goods sold is primarily composed of inventory sold during the period; inventory written off during the period due to ongoing quality and obsolescence reviews or through customer returns; salaries and payroll-related expenses for personnel involved in preparing and shipping product to customers; an allocation of shared expenses such as rent, utilities, communication expenses, and depreciation related to preparing and shipping product to customers; and outbound freight charges.

Advertising Costs -Advertising production costs are expensed as incurred. Media placement costs are expensed the first time the underlying advertising appears.

The Company also offers a cooperative advertising program to certain of its wholesale customersdistributor and retail partners that reimburses, via a credit towards future purchases, a portion of their marketing costs based on the customers’ net purchases from the Company and is subject to the customer providing documentation of all advertising performed that includes the Company’s products. For the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, these approximate amounts were an expense of $126,000 for 2016$491,000 and a credit of ($4,000) for 2015,$381,000, respectively, and are included as a component of sales and marketing expenses. The credit for the year ended December 31, 2015 is a result of the decision of the Company’s domestic distributors to not utilize the advertising credits the Company had accrued during 2014 within the allowable period that were reversed during the three months ended March 31, 2015.
Advertising expenses, inclusive of the cooperative advertising program, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019, were approximately $2.59$3.96 million and $1.76$2.82 million, respectively. Included in total advertising expense are approximately $56,000 and $187,000 for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, related to discontinued operations.

Sales and Marketing -Sales and marketing costs are expensed as incurred. These costs include all expenses of promoting and selling the Company’s products and include such items as the salaries, payroll-related expenses, and travel of sales and marketing personnel; digital marketing; advertising; trade shows; market research; sales commissions; and an allocation of overhead expenses attributable to these activities. Except for an allocation to general and administrative expenses, these costs also include the operating expenses of charlesandcolvard.com, LLC,the Company’s two wholly owned operating subsidiaries charlesandcolvard.com, LLC and, up to the time of divestiture on March 4, 2016, Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC. See Note 12, “Discontinued Operations”.subsidiary.

General and Administrative -General and administrative costs are expensed as incurred. These costs include the salaries and payroll-related expenses of executive, finance, information technology, and administrative personnel; legal, investor relations, and professional fees; general office and administrative expenses; Board of Directors fees; rent; bad debts; and insurance.

Research and Development -Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. These costs primarily comprise salary allocations, samples of competitive products entering the market, and consultant fees associated with the study of product enhancement and manufacturing process efficiencies.

Stock-Based Compensation -The Company recognizes compensation expense for stock-based awards based on estimated fair values on the date of grant. The Company uses the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model to determine the fair value of stock options. The fair value of other stock-based compensation awards is determined by the market price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The expense associated with stock-based compensation is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of each award.

Fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model is estimated on the date of grant utilizing certain assumptions for dividend yield, expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, and expected lives of the awards, as follows:

·
Dividend yield- Although the Company issued dividends in prior years, a dividend yield of zero is used due to the uncertainty of future dividend payments.
Dividend Yield. Although the Company issued dividends in prior years, a dividend yield of zero is used due to the lack of recent dividend payments and the uncertainty of future dividend payments;

·
Expected Volatility. Volatility is a measure of the amount by which a financial variable such as share price has fluctuated (historical volatility) or is expected to fluctuate (expected volatility) during a period. The Company estimates expected volatility giving primary consideration to the historical volatility of its common stock;- Volatility is a measure of the amount by which a financial variable such as share price has fluctuated (historical volatility) or is expected to fluctuate (expected volatility) during a period. The Company estimates expected volatility giving primary consideration to the historical volatility of its common stock.

59

·
Risk-free interest rate - The risk-free interest rate is based on the published yield available on U.S. Treasury issues with an equivalent term remaining equal to the expected lifeTable of the stock option.
Contents
Risk-Free Interest Rate. The risk-free interest rate is based on the published yield available on U.S. Treasury issues with an equivalent term remaining equal to the expected life of the stock option; and

·
Expected lives -Expected Lives. The expected lives of the issued stock options issued in 2016 and 2015 represent the estimated period of time until exercise or forfeiture and are based on the simplified method of using the mid-point between the vesting term and the original contractual term.

The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of share-based payment awards represent management’s best estimates, but these estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment. As a result, if factors change and the Company uses different assumptions, the Company’s stock-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future. In addition, the Company is required to estimate the expected forfeiture rates of stock-based awards and only recognize expense for those shares expected to vest. In estimating the Company’s forfeiture rates, the Company analyzed its historical forfeiture rates, the remaining lives of unvested stock-based awards, and the amountnumber of vested awards as a percentage of total awards outstanding. If the Company’s actual forfeiture rates are materially different from its estimates, or if the Company re-evaluates the forfeiture rates in the future, the stock-based compensation expense could be significantly different from what the Company has recorded in the current period.
Income Taxes -Deferred income taxes are recognized for the income tax consequences of “temporary” differences by applying enacted statutory income tax rates applicable to future years to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the income tax bases of existing assets and liabilities. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred income tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) provides that existing alternative minimum tax (“AMT”) credit carryforwards are now eligible for acceleration and refundable AMT credits are to be completely refunded to companies for taxable years beginning in 2019, or by election, taxable years beginning in 2018. Accordingly, the Company has elected to have the AMT tax completely refunded and has filed a tentative refund claim for the remaining AMT tax credit. For further discussion of the effects of the CARES Act on the Company’s income tax provision and deferred tax assets, see Note 12, “Income Taxes.”

Net Loss(Loss) Income per Common Share -Basic net loss from continuing and discontinued operations(loss) income per common share is computed by dividing net loss(loss) income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the periods. Diluted net loss from continuing and discontinued operations(loss) income per common share is computed using the weighted average number of common and dilutive common equivalent shares outstanding during the periods. Common equivalent shares consist of stock options and unvested restricted shares that are computed using the treasury stock method. Anti-dilutive stock awards consist of stock options that would have been anti-dilutive in the application of the treasury stock method.

The following table reconciles the differences between the basic and diluted net loss(loss) income per share presentations:

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Numerator:      
Net loss from continuing operations $(3,952,035) $(5,087,272)
Net loss from discontinued operations  (573,726)  (4,485,787)
Net loss $(4,525,761) $(9,573,059)
         
Denominator:        
Weighted average common shares outstanding:        
Basic  20,926,120   20,407,764 
Stock options  -   - 
Diluted  20,926,120   20,407,764 
         
Net loss per common share:        
Basic-continuing operations $(0.19) $(0.25)
Basic-discontinued operations  (0.03)  (0.22)
Basic-total $(0.22) $(0.47)
         
Diluted-continuing operations $(0.19) $(0.25)
Diluted-discontinued operations  (0.03)  (0.22)
Diluted-total $(0.22) $(0.47)
  Year Ended June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Numerator:      
Net (loss) income 
$
(6,162,083
)
 
$
2,275,467
 
         
Denominator:        
Weighted average common shares outstanding:        
Basic  
28,644,133
   
21,860,699
 
Effect of dilutive securities  
-
   
250,524
 
Diluted  
28,644,133
   
22,111,223
 
         
Net (loss) income per common share:        
Basic 
$
(0.22
)
 
$
0.10
 
Diluted 
$
(0.22
)
 
$
0.10
 

For the yearsfiscal year ended December 31, 2016 and 2015,June 30, 2020, stock options to purchase approximately 2.132.81 million and 2.44 million shares respectively, were excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per common share because the effect of inclusion of such amounts would be anti-dilutive to net loss per common share. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, stock options to purchase approximately 2.33 million were excluded from the computation of diluted net income per common share because the exercise price of the stock options was greater than the average market price of the common shares or the effect of inclusion of such amounts would be anti-dilutive to net lossincome per common share. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, 359,000 and 425,000, respectively,The quantity of 162,500 shares of unvested restricted shares that have been issued but not yet vested have beenstock are excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per common share as of June 30, 2020 because the shares are performance-based and the underlying conditions have not been met as of the periods presented and the effects of the inclusion of such shares would be anti-dilutive to net loss per common share.

Immaterial Correction of an Error – An immaterial error correction was made within the Company’s financial statements for the quarterly period ended December 31, 2019. The Company determined that an accrued income tax liability for uncertain tax positions should have been derecognized in the prior years. Specifically, the Company had a liability of approximately $492,000 relating to uncertain tax positions that should have been derecognized between the fiscal years ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2015. The Company evaluated the effect of this error and concluded it was not material to any of its previously issued consolidated financial statements. Upon revision, the Company recorded a reduction to the accrued income tax liability and related accumulated deficit balance of approximately $492,000 which has been reflected in the June 30, 2019 consolidated balance sheet presented in this annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. The impact of this error on the consolidated statement of operations for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, including for interim financial reporting periods therein, was de minimis and had no impact on the consolidated statements of cash flows for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. Related balances within Note 12, “Income Taxes”, associated with the federal tax benefit on state income taxes under uncertain tax positions and the related valuation allowance have also been recast for the two-year period ended June 30, 2020.

Recently Adopted/Issued Accounting Pronouncements - In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued a new accounting standard that supersedes nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under U.S. GAAP. The core principle of the new standard is to recognize revenues when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled for those goods or services. The new standard defines a five step process to achieve this core principle and, in doing so, more judgment and estimates may be required within the revenue recognition process than are required under existing U.S. GAAP. The standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods therein, using either of the following transition methods: (i) a full retrospective approach reflecting the application of the standard in each prior reporting period with the option to elect certain practical expedients, or (ii) a retrospective approach with the cumulative effect of initially adopting the standard recognized at the date of adoption (which includes additional footnote disclosures). The Company has begun reviewing its significant contracts and continues to assess the impact of adoption of this accounting standard.
In August 2014, the FASB issued new accounting guidance intended to define management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an organization’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. Under U.S. GAAP, financial statements are prepared under the presumption that the reporting organization will continue to operate as a going concern, except in limited circumstances. The going concern basis of accounting is critical to financial reporting because it establishes the fundamental basis for measuring and classifying assets and liabilities. Prior to this accounting guidance, U.S. GAAP lacked guidance about management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about the organization’s ability to continue as a going concern or to provide related footnote disclosures. This new accounting guidance provides guidance to an organization’s management, with principles and definitions that are intended to reduce diversity in the timing and content of disclosures that are commonly provided by organizations today in the financial statement footnotes. This new accounting guidance is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early application is permitted for annual or interim reporting periods for which the financial statements have not previously been issued. The Company adopted this accounting guidance in 2016, noting no material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In July 2015, the FASB issued new accounting guidance that will require an entity to measure inventory valued under the average cost method from the lower of cost or market to the lower of cost or net realizable value, with net realizable value defined as the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. No other changes were made to the current guidance on inventory measurement. This guidance is effective on a prospective basis for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted as of the beginning of an interim or annual reporting period. On January 1, 2017, the Company began applying the inventory measurement provisions of the new ASU and such provisions are not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In FebruaryJune 2016, the FASB issued new guidance that establishes a right-of-use (ROU) model that requires a lesseerelated to record a ROU assetthe measurement of credit losses on financial instruments and a lease liabilityto provide more information in financial statements about expected credit losses on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either financing or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement.financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit. The new standardguidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for lessees for capital and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available. The Company currently expects that upon adoption of this new standard, ROU assets and liabilities will be recognized in the balance sheet in amounts that will be material.

In March 2016, the FASB issued updated guidance that changes how companies account for certain aspects of share-based payment awards to employees, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as the classification of related matters in the statement of cash flows. The update is effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2017.2019. The Company does not expect the adoption of this accounting standardthe new guidance to have a material impact onto the Company’s financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued additional guidance in connection with accounting for implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract. The updated guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company is in the process of finalizing its analysis and believes the effect of the adoption of this new pronouncement is not expected to be material to the Company’s financial statements.
 
In December 2019, the FASB issued guidance on simplifying the accounting for income taxes that is intended to reduce the complexity while maintaining or improving the usefulness of tax disclosure information in financial statements. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company does not expect the impact of the new guidance to have a material impact to the Company’s financial statements.
In March 2020, in response to concerns about structural risks of interbank offered rates (“IBORs”), and, particularly, the risk of cessation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), the FASB issued new guidance to ease the burden in accounting for or recognizing the effects of referenced interest rate reform on financial reporting. The new guidance is effective as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. As described in more detail in Note 10, “Line of Credit”, borrowings under the Company’s line of credit are based on a rate equal to the one-month LIBOR. As of June 30, 2020, the Company had not borrowed against its line of credit, and therefore, is not subject to recognizing or disclosing any effect of referenced rate reform as of its fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.

3.SEGMENT INFORMATION AND GEOGRAPHIC DATA

The Company reports segment information based on the “management” approach. The management approach designates the internal reporting used by management for making operating decisions and assessing performance as the source of the Company’s operating and reportable segments.

As of September 30, 2016, theThe Company changed the name of its wholly owned subsidiary Moissanite.com, LLC to charlesandcolvard.com, LLC.

In 2015, the Company managedmanages its business primarily through the threetwo operating and reportable segments based on its distribution channels that it used to sell its product lines loose jewels and finished jewelry and loose jewels: its “Online Channels” segment, which included Charlesconsists of e-commerce outlets including charlesandcolvard.com, third-party online marketplaces, drop-ship, and Colvard Direct, LLC. Accordingly, the Company determinedother pure-play, exclusively e-commerce outlets; and its three operating“Traditional” segment, which consists of wholesale and reportable segments to be wholesale distribution transacted through the parent entity, and the two direct-to-consumer distribution channels transacted through the Company’s wholly owned operating subsidiaries, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC and Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC. On March 4, 2016, the Company divested its direct-to-consumer home party business previously operated through its Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (dba Lulu Avenue®) subsidiary. As a result, during the three months ended March 31, 2016, the Company began managing its business primarily through its two continuing distribution channels. Accordingly, the Company is presenting segment results for the two continuing operating and reportable segments within this footnote and the segment results for Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC within Note 12, “Discontinued Operations”.retail customers. The accounting policies of these segmentsthe Online Channels segment and Traditional segment are the same as those described in Note 2, “Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies”.Policies.”

TheThe Company evaluates the financial performance of its segments based on net sales; product line gross profit, or the excess of product line sales over product line cost of goods sold; and operating income (loss). Product income. The Company’s product line cost of goods sold is defined as product cost of goods sold, in each of the Company’s wholesale distribution and direct-to-consumer distribution operating segment excluding non-capitalized expenses from the Company’s manufacturing and production control departments, comprising personnel costs, depreciation, rent, utilities, and corporate overhead allocations; freight out; inventory valuation allowance adjustments; and other inventory adjustments, comprising costs of quality issues, damaged goods, and inventory write-offs.write-downs.

The Company allocates certain general and administrative expenses frombetween its parent entity toOnline Channels segment and its direct-to-consumer distributionTraditional segment primarily based on net sales and number of employees to arrive at segment operating loss.(loss) income. Unallocated expenses which also include interest and taxes, remain in the parent entity’s wholesale distributionits Traditional segment.

Summary financial information by reportable segment for the periods presented is as follows:

 Year Ended December 31, 2016  Year Ended June 30, 2020 
 Wholesale  
charlesandcolvard
.com
  Total  
Online
Channels
   Traditional  Total 
Net sales                  
Finished jewelry $13,680,440  $3,097,188  $16,777,628 
Loose jewels $20,929,322  $522,406  $21,451,728   
2,944,100
   9,467,292   12,411,392 
Finished jewelry  3,601,768   4,114,632   7,716,400 
Total $24,531,090  $4,637,038  $29,168,128  $16,624,540  $12,564,480  $29,189,020 
                     
Product line cost of goods sold                     
Finished jewelry $5,760,413  $1,709,377  $7,469,790 
Loose jewels $13,851,463  $65,286  $13,916,749   1,198,275   4,863,911   6,062,186 
Finished jewelry  2,497,788   1,651,000   4,148,788 
Total $16,349,251  $1,716,286  $18,065,537  $6,958,688  $6,573,288  $13,531,976 
                     
Product line gross profit                     
Finished jewelry $7,920,027  $1,387,811  $9,307,838 
Loose jewels $7,077,859  $457,120  $7,534,979   1,745,825   4,603,381   6,349,206 
Finished jewelry  1,103,980   2,463,632   3,567,612 
Total $8,181,839  $2,920,752  $11,102,591  $9,665,852  $5,991,192  $15,657,044 
                     
Operating loss $(1,603,947) $(2,332,871) $(3,936,818) $(249,016) $(6,066,712)
 $(6,315,728)
                     
Depreciation and amortization $479,517  $77,876  $557,393  $177,703  $312,532  $490,235 
                     
Total assets $40,167,149  $338,627  $40,505,776 
            
Capital expenditures $158,702  $263,059  $421,761  $305,570  $153,284  $458,854 

 Year Ended December 31, 2015  Year Ended June 30, 2019 
 Wholesale  
charlesandcolvard
.com
  Total  
Online
Channels
   Traditional  Total 
Net sales                  
Finished jewelry $12,641,687  $2,815,656  $15,457,343 
Loose jewels $14,581,554  $531,695  $15,113,249   3,697,069   13,089,697   16,786,766 
Finished jewelry  5,683,478   4,896,565   10,580,043 
Total $20,265,032  $5,428,260  $25,693,292  $16,338,756  $15,905,353  $32,244,109 
                     
Product line cost of goods sold                     
Finished jewelry $5,220,551  $1,638,561  $6,859,112 
Loose jewels $9,375,195  $83,964  $9,459,159   1,583,404   6,659,426   8,242,830 
Finished jewelry  3,867,080   2,429,684   6,296,764 
Total $13,242,275  $2,513,648  $15,755,923  $6,803,955  $8,297,987  $15,101,942 
                     
Product line gross profit                     
Finished jewelry $7,421,136  $1,177,095  $8,598,231 
Loose jewels $5,206,359  $447,731  $5,654,090   2,113,665   6,430,271   8,543,936 
Finished jewelry  1,816,398   2,466,881   4,283,279 
Total $7,022,757  $2,914,612  $9,937,369  $9,534,801  $7,607,366  $17,142,167 
                     
Operating loss $(3,736,111) $(1,328,117) $(5,064,228)
Operating income $1,643,552  $622,005  $2,265,557 
                     
Depreciation and amortization $652,326  $106,461  $758,787  $172,819  $308,500  $481,319 
                     
Total assets $43,882,939  $174,899  $44,057,838 
            
Capital expenditures $291,372  $116,080  $407,452  $69,975  $291,465  $361,440 

A reconciliationThe Company does not allocate any assets to the reportable segments, and therefore, no asset information is reported to the chief operating decision-maker or disclosed in the financial information for each segment.

The reconciliations of the Company’s product line cost of goods sold to cost of goods sold, as reported in the consolidated financial statements is as follows:

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Product line cost of goods sold $18,065,537  $15,755,923 
Non-capitalized manufacturing and production control expenses  1,427,924   1,388,268 
Freight out  376,726   600,751 
Inventory valuation allowances  200,000   436,000 
Other inventory adjustments  331,252   762,565 
Cost of goods sold $20,401,439  $18,943,507 
The Company’s net inventories by product line maintained infor the parent entity’s wholesale distribution segmentperiods presented, are as follows:

  December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Loose jewels      
Raw materials $2,586,045  $6,741,712 
Work-in-process  10,589,424   5,516,799 
Finished goods  9,455,393   15,877,436 
Finished goods on consignment  5,473   55,388 
Total $22,636,335  $28,191,335 
         
Finished jewelry        
Raw materials $520,572  $190,427 
Work-in-process  458,702   514,946 
Finished goods  4,081,275   3,193,569 
Finished goods on consignment  416,305   200,613 
Total $5,476,854  $4,099,555 
  Year Ended June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Product line cost of goods sold $13,531,976  $15,101,942 
Non-capitalized manufacturing and production control expenses  1,443,698   1,442,446 
Freight out  510,612   578,772 
Inventory write-off  
5,863,991
   393,000 
Other inventory adjustments  
(150,070
)
  (163,993)
Cost of goods sold $21,200,207  $17,352,167 

Supplies inventories of approximately $17,000 and $38,000 at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, included in finished goods inventories in the consolidated financial statements are omitted from inventories by product line because they are used in both product lines and are not maintained separately. The Company’s continuing operating subsidiary carries no net inventories, and inventory is transferred without intercompany markup from the parent entity’s wholesale distribution segment as product line cost of goods sold when sold to the end consumer.

The Company recognizes sales by geographic area based on the country in which the customer is based. Sales to international end consumers made through the Company’s transactional website, charlesandcolvard.com, are included in international sales for financial reporting purposes. During periods prior to the quarter ended December 31, 2018, sales to international end consumers made through charlesandcolvard.com were included in U.S. sales because during those prior periods products were shipped and invoiced to a U.S.-based intermediary that assumed all international shipping and credit risks. Currently, sales to international end consumers are made directly by the Company’s own transactional website. A portion of the Company’s Traditional segment sales made to international wholesale distribution segment salesdistributors represents products sold internationally that may be re-imported to U.S. retailers. Sales to international end consumers made by

All intangible assets, as well as property and equipment, as of June 30, 2020 and 2019, are held and located in the Company’s United States.

63direct-to-consumer distribution segment, charlesandcolvard.com LLC, are included in U.S. sales because products are shipped and invoiced to a U.S.-based intermediary party that assumes all international shipping and credit risks.

The following presents certainnet sales data by geographic area:area for the periods presented:

 Year Ended December 31,  Year Ended June 30, 
 2016  2015  2020  2019 
Net sales            
United States $26,164,660  $22,224,076  $26,814,024  $27,979,835 
International  3,003,468   3,469,216   2,374,996   4,264,274 
Total $29,168,128  $25,693,292  $29,189,020  $32,244,109 

  December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Property and equipment, net      
United States $1,391,116  $1,615,683 
International  -   - 
Total $1,391,116  $1,615,683 

  December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Intangible assets, net      
United States $8,808  $15,362 
International  -   55,724 
Total $8,808  $71,086 
4.FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Under U.S. GAAP, fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. U.S. GAAP also establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are obtained from independent sources and can be validated by a third party, whereas unobservable inputs reflect assumptions regarding what a third party would use in pricing an asset or liability.

The fair value hierarchy consists of three levels based on the reliability of inputs, as follows:

·
Level 1 - quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities

Level 1. Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities;
·
Level 2 - inputs other than Level 1 quoted prices that are directly or indirectly observable
Level 2. Inputs other than Level 1 quoted prices that are directly or indirectly observable; and

·
Level 3 - unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data
Level 3. Unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data.

The Company evaluates assets and liabilities subject to fair value measurements on a recurring and non-recurring basis to determine the appropriate level to classify them for each reporting period. This determination requires significant judgments to be made by management of the Company. The financial instruments identified as subject to fair value measurements on a recurring basis are cash and cash equivalents, trade accounts receivable, and trade accounts payable. All financial instruments are reflected in the consolidated balance sheets at carrying value, which approximates fair value due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments.

Assets that are measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis include property and equipment, leasehold improvements, and intangible assets, comprising patents, license rights, and trademarks. These items are recognized at fair value when they are considered to be impaired. As of December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020 and 2019, no assets were identified for impairment. Level 3 inputs are primarily based on the estimated future cash flows of the asset determined by market inquiries to establish fair market value of used machinery or future revenue expected to be generated with the assistance of patents and trademarks.

5.INVENTORIES

The Company’s total inventories, net of reserves, consisted of the following as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:
the dates presented:

  December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Raw materials $3,106,617  $6,932,139 
Work-in-process  11,048,126   6,031,745 
Finished goods  15,074,896   20,441,535 
Finished goods on consignment  467,778   293,001 
Less inventory reserves  (1,567,000)  (1,370,000)
Total $28,130,417  $32,328,420 
         
Short-term portion $9,770,206  $10,739,798 
Long-term portion  18,360,211   21,588,622 
Total $28,130,417  $32,328,420 
  June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Finished jewelry:      
Raw materials $821,536  $643,797 
Work-in-process  602,390   487,680 
Finished goods  6,019,985   6,332,533 
Finished goods on consignment  2,297,907   1,867,549 
Total finished jewelry  9,741,818   9,331,559 
Loose jewels:        
Raw materials  3,526,399   3,806,681 
Work-in-process  10,453,586   10,384,143 
Finished goods  6,619,487   9,878,691 
Finished goods on consignment  204,635   203,535 
Total loose jewels  20,804,107   24,273,050 
Total supplies inventory  88,034   129,111 
Total inventory $30,633,959  $33,733,720 

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market on an average cost basis. Inventory costs include direct material and labor, inbound freight, purchasing and receiving costs, inspection costs, and warehousing costs. Any inventory on hand at the measurement date in excessAs of the dates presented, the Company’s current requirements based on historical and anticipated levelstotal inventories, net of sales isreserves, are classified as long-term on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The Company’s classification of its inventory as either short- or long-term inventory requires it to estimate the portion of on-hand inventory that can be realized over the next 12 months and does not include precious metal, labor, and other inventory purchases expected to be both purchased and realized in cost of goods sold over the next 12 months.follows:

  June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Short-term portion $7,443,257  $11,909,792 
Long-term portion  23,190,702   21,823,928 
Total inventory $30,633,959  $33,733,720 
The Company’s work-in-process inventories include raw SiC crystals on which processing costs, such as labor and sawing, have been incurredincurred; and components, such as metal castings and finished good moissanite jewels, that have been issued to jobs in the manufacture of finished jewelry. The Company’s moissanite jewel manufacturing process involves the production of intermediary shapes, called “preforms,” that vary depending upon the expected size and shape of the finished jewel. To maximize manufacturing efficiencies, preforms may be made in advance of current finished inventory needs but remain in work-in-process inventories. As of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2015,2019, work-in-process inventories issued to active production jobs approximated $7.18$1.34 million and $3.02$1.23 million, respectively.

The Company’s jewels do not degrade in quality over time and inventory generally consists of the shapes and sizes most commonly used in the jewelry industry. In addition, the majority of jewel inventory is not mounted in finished jewelry settings and is therefore not subject to fashion trends, norand product obsolescence is obsolescence a significant factor. Presently, the Company has very small market penetration in the worldwide jewelry market,closely monitored and the Company had the exclusive right in the U.S. through August 2015 and had the exclusive right in many other countries into the third quarter of 2016 to produce and sell created SiC for use in jewelry applications. During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015,reviewed by management identified an opportunity to sell approximately $6.77 million and $2.28 million, respectively, of legacy loose jewel inventory of less desirable quality. As a result of these sales and feedback from customers on the value of some of these goods, the Company determined a lower of cost or market reserve of $517,000 and $352,000 as of December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively, was required on some of the remaining inventory of these lower quality goods.for each financial reporting period.

The Company manufactures finished jewelry featuring moissanite. Relative to loose moissanite jewels, finished jewelry is more fashion orientedfashion-oriented and subject to styling trends that could render certain designs obsolete.obsolete over time. The majority of the Company’s finished jewelry featuring moissanite is held in inventory for resale and largely consists of such basiccore designs as stud earrings, solitaire and three-stone rings, pendants, and bracelets that tend not to be subject to significant obsolescence risk due to their classic styling. In addition, the Company manufactures small individualgenerally holds smaller quantities of designer-inspired and trend moissanite fashion jewelry that is available for resale through retail companies and through its Online Channels segment. The Company also carries a limited amount of inventory as part of its sample line that areis used in the selling process to its wholesale customers.

The Company’s continuing operating subsidiaries carry no net inventories, and inventory is transferred without intercompany markup from the parent entity as product line cost of goods sold when sold to March 2016, the Company purchased fashion finished jewelry comprising base metals and non-precious gemstones for sale through end consumer.

Lulu Avenue®, theThe Company’s former direct-to-consumer home party division ofinventories are stated at the Company’s wholly owned operating subsidiary, Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC. This finished jewelry was fashion oriented and subject to styling trends that could change with each catalog season, of which there are generally two each year. Typically, in the jewelry industry, slow-moving or discontinued lines are sold as closeouts or liquidated in alternative sales channels. Management reviews the finished jewelry inventory on an ongoing basis for any lower of cost or marketnet realizable value on an average cost basis. Each accounting period the Company evaluates the valuation and obsolescence issues. Management identified certain fashionclassification of inventories including the need for potential adjustments to inventory-related reserves, which also include significant estimates by management. As a result of the deterioration of marketability of the Company’s legacy inventory, management determined that the inventory has lost its revenue-generating ability and the net realizable value of this inventory has fallen below that of its historical carrying cost. The Company recognized a loss in net realizable value in the quarterly period ended March 31, 2020, for its legacy material inventory, i.e., raw materials, or boules, preforms, work-in-process gemstones, finished gemstones, and gemstones set in finished jewelry, the carrying cost of which was approximately $5.26 million.

Included in cost of goods sold during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, is the above-referenced write-off of approximately $5.26 million representing the carrying value of the Company’s legacy loose jewel inventory and finished jewelry inventory that could not be sold due to damage or branding issuesset with these legacy gemstones. The legacy inventory raw materials were purchased and established an obsolescence reserve of $169,000 as of December 31, 2016 and $164,000 as of December 31, 2015, forfinished gemstone products were produced through the carrying costs in excess of any estimated scrap values. As of December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, management identified certain finished jewelry featuring moissanite that was obsolete due to damage and other factors that indicate the finished jewelry is unsaleable, and established an obsolescence reserve of $258,000 and $225,000, respectively, for the carrying costs in excess of any estimated scrap values.

Periodically, the Company ships finished goods inventory to wholesale customers on consignment terms. Under these terms, the customer assumes the risk of loss and has an absolute right of return for a specified period. Finished goods on consignment at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 are net of shrinkage reserves of $46,000 and $36,000, respectively, to allow for certain loose jewelsperiod ended August 2015. These gemstone products and finished jewelry on consignment with wholesale customers that may not be returned or may be returned in a condition that does not meetitems are known and marketed as the Company’s current grading or quality standardsolder .Forever Classic
Total net loose jewel inventories at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, including inventory on consignment net of reserves, were $22.64 million and $28.19 million, respectively. The loose jewel inventories at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include shrinkage reserves of $67,000 and $50,000, respectively, which includes $7,000 and $10,000 of shrinkage reserves on inventory on consignment at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. Loose jewel inventories at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 also include recut reserves of $425,000 and $449,000, respectively.
Total net jewelry inventories at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, including inventory on consignment net of reserves, finished jewelry featuring moissanite manufactured by the Company, and fashion finished jewelry purchased and owned by the Company which was made for sale through Lulu AvenueForever Brilliant®, were $5.48 million and $4.10 million, respectively. The finished jewelry inventories at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 also include shrinkage reserves of $102,000 and $95,000, respectively, including shrinkage reserves of $39,000 and $27,000 on inventory on consignment, respectively; and a repairs reserve of $29,000 and $31,000, respectively.lower-grade gemstones.

The need for adjustments to inventoryinventory-related reserves and valuation allowances is evaluated on a period-by-period basis. Changes to the Company’s inventory reserves and allowances are accounted for in the current accounting period in which a change in such reserves and allowances is observed and deemed appropriate, including changes in management’s estimates used in the process to determine such reserves and valuation allowances. Total inventory write-downs were $5.86 million and $393,000 for the years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

6.PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment consists of the following:following as of the dates presented:

 December 31,  June 30, 
 2016  2015  2020  2019 
Computer software $1,192,922  $1,771,102  $1,827,581  
$
1,512,533
 
Machinery and equipment  956,050   922,532  
1,145,525
  
1,100,629
 
Computer hardware  874,347   855,348  
1,158,559
  
1,064,302
 
Leasehold improvements  1,083,634   1,030,423  1,158,807  
1,158,218
 
Furniture and fixtures  309,046   302,064   
347,872
   
343,808
 
Total  4,415,999   4,881,469  5,638,344  
5,179,490
 
Less accumulated depreciation  (3,024,883)  (3,265,786)  
(4,639,283
)
  
(4,153,392
)
Property and equipment, net $1,391,116  $1,615,683  $999,061  
$
1,026,098
 

Depreciation expense for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019 was approximately $528,000$486,000 and $672,000,$480,000, respectively.

Included in total depreciation expense are approximately $26,000 and $98,000 for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, related to discontinued operations.
7.INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Intangible assets consist of the following:following as of the dates presented:

   December 31,    
Weighted
Average
Amortization
  
Period 



June 30,
  
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Amortization
Period
(in Years)
 
 2016  2015  (in Years) 2020 
2019
Patents $958,604  $958,604   0.4  
$
1,024,267
  
$
1,007,497
  
14.6
 
Trademarks  55,824   50,208   1.8  
160,683
  
100,331
  
9.7
 
License rights  6,718   6,718   0.0   
6,718
   
6,718
  
-
 
Total  1,021,146   1,015,530      
1,191,668
  
1,114,546
    
Less accumulated amortization  (1,012,338)  (944,444)      
(1,021,517
)
  
(1,017,173
)
   
Intangible assets, net $8,808  $71,086      
$
170,151
  
$
97,373
    

Amortization expense for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019 was approximately $68,000$4,000 and $192,000,$2,000, respectively. Amortization expense on existing intangible assets is estimated to be $8,000approximately $16,000 for 2017,the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 and $1,000$15,000 for 2018.each of the fiscal years ending June 30, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The amortization expense for the remaining unamortized balance of the total intangible assets, net, will be recognized in fiscal years ending after June 30, 2025.

8.ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER LIABILITIES
Included in total amortization expense are approximately $13,000
Total accrued expenses and $6,700 forother liabilities consist of the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, related to discontinued operations.following as of the dates presented:

  June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Deferred revenue $794,740  $100,088 
Accrued compensation and related benefits  395,006   760,324 
Accrued severance  338,355   - 
Accrued sales tax  295,651   286,864 
Deferred rent  -   156,306 
Accrued cooperative advertising  89,517   73,033 
Other  9,063   41,617 
Accrued expenses and other liabilities $1,922,332  $1,418,232 

8.9.COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Lease CommitmentsArrangements

On December 9, 2013, the Company entered into a Lease Agreement, as amended on December 23, 2013 and April 15, 2014 (the “Lease Agreement”), for a newits corporate headquarters, which occupies approximately 36,350 square feet of office, storage, and light manufacturing space. space and is classified as an operating lease for financial reporting purposes. The base term of the Lease Agreement expires on October 31, 2021 and the terms of the Lease Agreement contain no early termination provisions. Provided there is no outstanding uncured event of default under the Lease Agreement, the Company has two options to extend the lease term for a period of five years under each option. The Company’s option to extend the term of the Lease Agreement must be exercised in writing on or before 270 days prior to expiration of the then-current term. If the options are exercised, the monthly minimum rent for each of the extended terms will be adjusted to the then prevailing fair market rate.

The Company took possession of the leased property on May 23, 2014, once certain improvements to the leased space were completed and did not have access to the property before this date. These improvements and other lease signing and movingrelated incentives offered by the landlord totaled approximately $550,000$623,000, of which approximately $393,000 was unamortized as of July 1, 2019, the effective date upon which the Company adopted the new lease accounting standard as described in more detail in Note 2, “Basis of Presentation and $73,000, respectively, which will be amortized over the life of the lease until October 31, 2021. Included in the Lease Agreement is a seven-month rent abatement period effective June 2014 through December 2014.Significant Accounting Policies.”

The Company recognizeshas no other material operating leases and is not party to leases that would qualify for classification as a finance lease, variable lease, or short-term lease.
As of June 30, 2020, the Company’s balance sheet classifications of its leases are as follows:
Operating Leases:   
Noncurrent operating lease ROU assets 
$
584,143
 
     
Current operating lease liabilities 
$
622,493
 
Noncurrent operating lease liabilities  
203,003
 
Total operating lease liabilities 
$
825,496
 

The Company’s total operating lease cost was approximately $469,000 for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.
As of June 30, 2020, the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate used and assumed discount rate with respect to operating leases was 7.14% and the remaining operating lease term was 1.33 years.

As of June 30, 2020, the Company’s remaining future payments under operating leases for each fiscal year ending June 30 are as follows:

2021 
$
642,997
 
2022  
219,723
 
Total lease payments  
862,720
 
Less: imputed interest  
(37,224
)
Present value of lease payments  
825,496
 
Less: current lease obligations  
622,493
 
Total long-term lease obligations 
$
203,003
 

The Company makes cash payments for amounts included in the measurement of its lease liabilities. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, cash paid for operating leases was approximately $668,000 and, except for the ROU assets recorded upon adoption of the new lease accounting standard as of July 1, 2019, there were no ROU assets obtained in exchange for new operating lease liabilities.
Lease Disclosures for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, as reported
The Company recognized rent expense on a straight-line basis, givinghaving given consideration to the rent holidays and escalations, the lease signing and moving allowance to be paid to the Company, and the rent abatement.

As of December 31, 2016,The Company’s total rent expense for operating leases was approximately $528,000 for the Company’sfiscal year ended June 30, 2019. The Company also had future minimum payments as of June 30, 2019 under theits operating leases for each fiscal year ending June 30 that were as follows:

   
2017 $584,789 
2018  600,871 
2019  617,395 
2020  634,373  
$
625,788
 
2021  541,957  
642,997
 
2022  
219,723
 
Total $2,979,385  
$
1,488,508
 

Rent expense for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was approximately $539,000 and $504,000, respectively.

Included in total rent expense are approximately $40,000 and $66,000 for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, related to discontinued operations.
Purchase Commitments

On December 12, 2014, the Company entered into a newan exclusive supply agreement (the “Supply Agreement”) with Cree, Inc. (“Cree”), which superseded and replaced the exclusive supply agreement that was set to expire in 2015.. Under the Supply Agreement, subject to certain terms and conditions including a security interest as defined, the Company agreed to exclusively purchase from Cree, and Cree agreed to exclusively supply, 100% of the Company’s required SiC materials in quarterly installments that must equal or exceed a set minimum order quantity. The initial term of the Supply Agreement willwas scheduled to expire on June 24, 2018, unless extended by the parties.

Effective June 22, 2018, the Supply Agreement was amended to extend the expiration date to June 25, 2023. The Supply Agreement was also amended to (i) provide the Company also haswith one option, subject to certain conditions, to unilaterally extend the term of the agreementSupply Agreement for an additional two-year period subjectfollowing expiration of the initial term; (ii) establish a process by which Cree may begin producing alternate SiC material based on the Company’s specifications that will give the Company the flexibility to use the materials in a broader variety of its products; and (iii) permit the Company to purchase certain amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions.

The Company’s total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement until June 20182023 is dependent uponapproximately $52.95 million, of which approximately $36.60 million remains to be purchased as of June 30, 2020. Over the sizelife of the SiC material and ranges between approximately $29.60 million and approximately $31.50 million. As of December 31, 2016, the Company’s remaining purchase commitment through June 2018 under the Supply Agreement, rangesas amended, the Company’s future minimum annual purchase commitments of SiC crystals range from approximately $14.54$9 million to approximately $16.44 million.$12 million each year.

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, the Company purchased approximately $8.20$7.47 million and $6.86$8.91 million, respectively, of SiC crystals from Cree.

9.LINE OF CREDIT
See Note 15, “Subsequent Event”, for details in connection with the second amendment to the Supply Agreement executed on August 26, 2020. Amendments to the Supply Agreement include, among other things, changes to the expiration date and an extension of the period over which the Company must fulfill the total purchase commitment, which remains unchanged under the Supply Agreement, as amended.

COVID-19 Update

In March 2020, the novel strain of coronavirus, known as COVID-19, was declared a pandemic Onby the World Health Organization and declared a national emergency by the U.S. Government, and has negatively affected the U.S. and global economies. In response to this pandemic, federal, state, county, and local governments and public health organizations and authorities around the world have implemented a variety of measures intended to control the spread of the virus, including quarantines, “stay-at-home” orders, travel restrictions, school closures, business limitations and closures, social distancing, and hygiene requirements. These measures have adversely affected workforces, customers, economies, and global supply chains, and resulted in significant travel and transport restrictions – all of which have combined to lead to an economic downturn. It has also disrupted the normal operations of many businesses, including that of the Company’s. In early 2020 in the Asia Pacific region and during our quarter ended March 31, 2020 globally, the pandemic and related governmental and business responses began to have an adverse effect on the Company’s operations, supply chains, distribution channels, and consumer buying behaviors. Cumulatively, these things also impacted the net realizable value and marketability of the Company’s legacy inventory, which was subsequently written-off.

The overall impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic include the following:

Across the Company’s supply chain, it experienced instances of suppliers temporarily closing their operations, delaying order fulfillment, or limiting their production. Where applicable, the Company utilized alternative supply arrangements with partners whose businesses are not under stay-at-home orders or whose production came back online. During the quarter ended June 25, 2014,30, 2020, many of the Company’s suppliers began returning to normal operating and production levels. However, the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Charles & Colvard Direct,suppliers remain subject to ongoing changes to governmental closure requirements that may have a long-term impact on the Company’s supply chain and ability to produce gemstones and finished jewelry for sale.

In the Company’s Online Channels segment, its transactional website charlesandcolvard.com remained open under restricted fulfillment capabilities. However, a quickly rising unemployment rate combined with consumer uncertainty and lack of confidence began reducing website traffic and conversions in March 2020. Beginning in March 2020, the Company maintained limited shipping functions with support from third-party production and fulfillment partners. The Company was also able to support only a certain level of active products on marketplaces and drop-ship partner websites such as Macys.com, Helzberg.com, Overstock.com, ShopHQ.com, and more. This ongoing e-commerce presence was restricted to available stock and the limited production capacity of functioning suppliers. During the quarter ended June 30, 2020, the Company began seeing orders in our transactional website, along with orders in our marketplaces and drop-ship partner websites, increase as consumer confidence strengthened and the Company’s operating and shipping functions began to return to normal activity levels. However, until business resumes to pre-pandemic levels across our entire supply chain, the Company’s Online Channels segment is expected to continue to be adversely impacted by the pandemic.

In the Company’s Traditional segment, brick and mortar customers began closing their stores to foot traffic in March 2020, with tentative plans to re-open on a rolling schedule that may lead into the fall timeframe or later. The Company also experienced instances of distributors, whose businesses rely on sales into retail organizations, reducing or closing their operations. These adverse effects impacted the Company’s ability to maintain significant levels of sales through our wholesale customers. In addition, trade shows and industry events have been preemptively cancelled for the critical production season leading up to the calendar year-end 2020 holiday season. As a result, the Company’s selling activities in its Traditional segment were significantly modified, and its ability to convert those activities into sales have been adversely impacted by the pandemic. Consistent with the trends the Company is experiencing in its Online Channels segment, it has begun seeing business strengthen with its brick and mortar customers as these customers begin to move forward with their re-opening plans following their closures in March 2020, but until business resumes to pre-pandemic levels, the Company’s Traditional segment is expected to continue to be adversely impacted by the pandemic.

As global and U.S economic activity slowed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company experienced and anticipates ongoing constraints on its cash and working capital, including experiencing potential liquidity challenges. The impact of the pandemic has had and is expected to continue having an adverse effect on the Company’s operations and financial condition as revenues declined and, despite the Company’s cost-saving efforts, many business and operating expenses remained flat or continued to rise. Cash flow scrutiny will be crucial for the Company’s business in the months ahead as the Company anticipates seeing lower revenues resulting in less cash flow, along with delayed accounts receivable collections, as needs grow to step up payables to important suppliers. The Company continues to focus on being more nimble in managing its inventory levels given the uncertainty in the supply chain, which may also place further demands on working capital.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant adverse impact on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity during Fiscal 2020. The full extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s operational and financial performance is currently uncertain and will depend on many factors outside of its control, including, without limitation, the timing, extent, trajectory and duration of the pandemic, the development and availability of effective treatments and vaccines, the imposition of protective public safety measures, and the impact of the pandemic on the global economy and demand for consumer and wholesaler products.
Since the onset of the pandemic domestically, the Company has implemented the following measures:
The Company deployed a work-from-home option for its employees on March 13, 2020, and effective March 27, 2020, instituted a mandatory work-from-home policy for all, but essential, employees due to mandated stay-at-home orders by the State of North Carolina and local governmental authorities;

The Company temporarily suspended all hiring of employees starting April 13, 2020 and it furloughed approximately 50% of its employee base at that time, principally within our operations area. While most of the Company’s operations employees returned to full-time status as it moved forward with its phased reopening plans during May 2020, these actions materially impacted the Company’s productivity;

The Company extended new benefits to assist employees who participate in its 401(k) plan with additional distribution and new borrowing terms;

The Company implemented temporary salary and wage reductions for all employees, including a 25% reduction in salary for the President and Chief Executive Officer and a 15% reduction for each of the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. All employee salaries and wages were returned to pre-reduction levels in July 2020;

The Company reorganized its management and reduced its workforce. Effective June 1, 2020, Suzanne Miglucci, the Company’s former President and Chief Executive Officer, resigned and Don O’Connell was appointed as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. At the same time, the Company enacted a significant reduction-in-force, or RIF, that reduced its active workforce by approximately 25%. Included in the RIF were the elimination of senior-level sales, marketing, information technology, and operations personnel as well as executive-level sales and marketing positions. These RIF actions resulted in the Company’s recognition of severance-related expenses during the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020 in the amount of approximately $427,000. The liability for the unpaid portion of the Company’s severance-related accrual in the amount of approximately $338,000 is included in accrued expenses and other liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2020;

The Company instituted a temporary 50% reduction in fees paid to its Board of Directors for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2020, which were also returned to pre-reduction levels in July 2020;

The Company successfully applied for and received a loan pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act, as administered by the SBA. The loan in the principal amount of $965,000 was disbursed by Newtek Small Business Finance, LLC, a nationally licensed lender under the SBA, on June 18, 2020 pursuant to a Promissory Note issued by us on June 15, 2020. As provided under the CARES Act, the Company intends to use the proceeds from this loan to enhance cash flow, to help maintain operations and fund current payroll requirements, and to assist the Company with the reopening phase of its business as it navigates the COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts. Moissanite.com,There can be no assurance that such PPP loan will be forgiven; and

The Company reduced non-payroll operating expenses, including decreased digital marketing spend and significantly reduced product development investments and travel expenditures.

The Company is continuing to take the following steps to further address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic:

The Company is actively renegotiating contracts with vendors and suppliers to amend commitments to size its supply with current demand and delivery terms with others to reduce its cost of goods and services;

The Company is negotiating extended payment terms with select partners;

The Company is continuing to align variable expenses to match current sales trends as it continues to move forward with its phased reopening; and

The Company is currently continuing to offer the flexibility of a work-from-home option for its employees who are able to perform full-time duties effectively from home as the State of North Carolina continues to reopen through its predetermined phased reopening plan.

10.DEBT

Paycheck Protection Program Loan

The Company received a loan pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act, as administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (the “SBA”). The loan in the principal amount of $965,000 (the “PPP Loan”) was disbursed by Newtek Small Business Finance, LLC, (now (“Lender”), a nationally licensed lender under the SBA, on June 18, 2020 pursuant to a promissory note issued by the Company (the “Promissory Note”) on June 15, 2020. The Company accounted for the Promissory Note as debt within the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

The Promissory Note matures June 18, 2022 and may be extended with the consent of the Lender under the provisions of the CARES Act. The Promissory Note bears interest at a fixed rate of 1% per annum. Pursuant to the terms of the Promissory Note, monthly principal and interest payments in the amount of approximately $41,000 will commence on April 1, 2021. For financial reporting purposes, as of June 30, 2020, the classification of the current maturity of long-term debt assumes there will be no principal forgiveness and principal repayment for the full outstanding principal amount of the PPP Loan are assumed to be spread in equal monthly installments over the period from April 1, 2021 through the maturity date of the Promissory Note. If the Company is required to repay the full outstanding principal amount of the PPP Loan, approximately $193,000 of the principal is expected to be paid during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 and approximately $772,000 is expected to be paid during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.

The Company did not provide any collateral or guarantees for the PPP Loan, nor did the Company pay any facility charge to obtain the PPP Loan. The Promissory Note provides for customary events of default, including, among others, those relating to failure to make payment and breaches of representations. The Company may prepay the principal of the PPP Loan at any time without incurring any prepayment charges.

Under the CARES Act and the Promissory Note, loan forgiveness is available for the sum of documented payroll costs, covered rent payments, and covered utilities during the 24-week period beginning on the date of first disbursement of the PPP Loan. For purposes of the CARES Act, payroll costs exclude cash compensation of an individual employee in excess of $100,000, prorated annually. Not more than 40% of the forgiven amount can be attributable to non-payroll costs. Although the Company currently believes that its use of the PPP Loan will meet the conditions for forgiveness of the PPP Loan, the Company cannot assure its future adherence to the forgiveness criteria and that the PPP Loan will be forgiven, in whole or in part.

Line of Credit

On July 13, 2018, the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, charlesandcolvard.com, LLC)LLC (collectively, the “Borrowers”), obtained a $10,000,000 asset-backed$5.00 million asset-based revolving credit facility (the “Credit“White Oak Credit Facility”) from Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationWhite Oak Commercial Finance, LLC (“Wells Fargo”White Oak”). The White Oak Credit Facility willmay be used for general corporate and working capital purposes, including transaction fees and expenses incurred in connection therewith and the issuance of letters of credit up to a $1,000,000 sublimit.permitted acquisitions. The White Oak Credit Facility, will maturewhich matures on June 25, 2017.July 13, 2021, is guaranteed by Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Guarantor”). Under the terms of the White Oak Credit Facility, the Borrowers must maintain at least $500,000 in excess availability at all times. The White Oak Credit Facility contains no other financial covenants.

The Credit Facility includes a $5,000,000 sublimit for advances that are supported by a 90% guaranty provided by the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Advances under the White Oak Credit Facility are limited to a borrowing base, which is computed by applying specified advance rates to the value of the Borrowers’ eligible accounts receivable and inventory, plus the value of precious metal jewelry components, less reserves. Advances againstThe inclusion of inventory are furtherand precious metal jewelry components in the borrowing base was subject to the completion of an initial $3,000,000 maximum. The Borrowersinventory appraisal, which was completed subsequent to the execution of the White Oak Credit Facility. Eligible inventory is further limited to 60% of the net borrowing base, while precious metal jewelry components are limited to $500,000.

Advances may be either revolving or non-revolving. Non-revolving advances are limited to $1.00 million in aggregate principal amount outstanding and must maintain a minimumbe repaid on each January 15 (which may be effected by conversion to revolving advances, absent an event of $1,000,000 in excess availability at all times.default). There are no other financial covenants.mandatory prepayments or line reductions. The Company may elect to prepay advances in whole or in part at any time without penalty. In addition, the White Oak Credit Facility may be terminated by the Company at any time, subject to a $100,000 fee in the first year of the term of the White Oak Credit Facility, a $50,000 fee in the second year, and no fee thereafter. In connection with the White Oak Credit Facility, the Company incurred a non-refundable origination fee in the total amount of $125,000 that is due and payable to White Oak in three installments. The first installment in the amount of $41,667 was paid upon execution of the White Oak Credit Facility on July 13, 2018 and the second installment in the amount of $41,667 was paid on July 15, 2019. The third and final installment in the amount of $41,666 was paid on August 14, 2020.

Each advance accruesDuring the first year of the term of the White Oak Credit Facility, revolving advances would have accrued interest at a rate equal to Wells Fargo’s 3-monthone-month LIBOR (reset monthly, and subject to a 1.25% floor) plus 3.75%, and non-revolving advances will accrue interest at such LIBOR rate plus 2.50%,4.75%. Thereafter, the interest margins will reduce upon the Company’s achievement of a specified fixed charge coverage ratio. However, advances are in all cases subject to a minimum interest rate of 5.50%. Interest is calculated on an actual/360 basis and payable monthly in arrears. Principal outstanding during an event of default accrues interest at a rate of 3%2% in excess of the above rate. Any advance may be prepaid in whole or in part at any time. In addition, the maximum line amount may be reduced by the Company in whole or part at any time, subject to a fee equal to 2% of any reduction in the first year after closing, 1% of any reduction in the second year after closing, and 0% thereafter. There are no mandatory prepayments or line reductions.rate otherwise applicable.

The White Oak Credit Facility is secured by a lien on substantially all assets of the Borrowers, each of which is jointly and severally liable for all obligations thereunder. Wells Fargo’sWhite Oak’s security interest in certain SiC materials is subordinate to Cree’s security interest in such materials pursuant to the Company’s Supply Agreement and an Intercreditor Agreement by and among the Borrowers and the Guarantor with Wells Fargo.White Oak. In addition, White Oak’s security interest in certain tangible personal property of the Company is subordinate to its landlord’s security interest in such tangible personal property.

The White Oak Credit Facility is evidenced by a credit andagreement, dated as of July 13, 2018 (the “Credit Agreement”), a security agreement, dated as of June 25, 2014, as amendedJuly 13, 2018 (the “Credit“Security Agreement”), and customary ancillary documents. The Credit Agreement, containsSecurity Agreement, and ancillary documents contain customary covenants, representations, fees, and cash dominion provisions, including a financial reporting covenant and limitations on dividends, distributions, debt, contingent obligations, liens, loans, investments, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, subsidiaries,and affiliate transactions, and changes in control.transactions.

Events of default under the White Oak Credit Facility include, without limitation, (1) any impairment of the Export-Import Bank guaranty, unless the guaranteed advances are repaid within two business days, (2)a change in control, an event of default under any other indebtedness of the Borrowers or Guarantor in excess of $200,000, and (3)$250,000, a material adverse change in the abilitybusiness of the Borrowers or Guarantor or in their ability to perform their obligations under the White Oak Credit Agreement or in the Borrowers’ assets, liabilities, businesses or prospects, orFacility, and other defined circumstances that Wells FargoWhite Oak believes may impair the prospect of repayment. If an event of default occurs, Wells FargoWhite Oak is entitled to take enforcement action, including acceleration of amounts due under the White Oak Credit AgreementFacility and foreclosure upon collateral.

The White Oak Credit AgreementFacility contains other customary terms, includingthat include indemnity, collateral monitoring fee, minimum interest charge, expense reimbursement, yield protection, and confidentiality provisions. Wells Fargo is permitted to assign the Credit Facility.

As of December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020, the Company had not borrowed against the White Oak Credit Facility. As a result of the Company’s diminished borrowing base, which is tied to its accounts receivable, its ability to draw down funds from the White Oak Credit Facility is currently restricted.

10.11.SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY AND STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Common Stock

The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 shares of common stock, no par value. As of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, it had 21,369,88528,949,410 and 21,111,58528,027,569 shares of common stock outstanding, respectively. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held.

Preferred Stock

The Board of Directors is authorized, without further shareholder approval, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, no par value. The preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. No shares of preferred stock had been issued as of December 31, 2016.June 30, 2020.

Dividends

The Company has paid no cash dividends during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019.

Shelf Registration Statement

The Company has an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) which allows it to periodically offer and sell, individually or in any combination, shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock, warrants to purchase shares of common stock or preferred stock, and units consisting of any combination of the foregoing types of securities, up to a total of $25.00 million, of which approximately $13.99 million remains available after giving effect to the Company’s June 2019 public offering, including the impact of the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, as described below. However, the Company may offer and sell no more than one-third of its public float (which is the aggregate market value of the Company’s outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates) in any 12-month period. The Company’s ability to issue equity securities under its effective shelf registration statement is subject to market conditions, which are in turn, subject to, among other things, the disruption and volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On June 11, 2019, the Company completed an underwritten public offering of 6,250,000 newly issued shares of common stock, at a price to the public of $1.60 per share, pursuant to its effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3. Net proceeds from the offering were approximately $9.06 million, net of the underwriting discount and fees and expenses in the amount of approximately $941,000. Pursuant to the terms of the underwriting agreement entered in connection with this offering, the underwriters were granted a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 937,500 shares of the Company’s common stock to cover over-allotments. Pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, on July 3, 2019, the Company issued an additional 630,500 shares of its common stock at a price of $1.60 per share for net proceeds of approximately $932,000, net of the underwriting discount and fees and expenses of approximately $77,000. After giving effect to the partial exercise of the over-allotment option, the Company sold an aggregate of 6,880,500 shares of its common stock at a price of $1.60 per share with total gross proceeds of approximately $11.01 million, before deducting the total underwriting discount and fees and expenses of approximately $1.02 million.

Equity Compensation Plans

1997 Omnibus Stock2018 Equity Incentive Plan

In 1997,On November 21, 2018, the shareholders of the Company adoptedapproved the 1997 Omnibus Stock Planadoption of the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, (the “1997 Omnibus“2018 Plan”). The 1997 Omnibus2018 Plan authorizedwill expire by its terms on September 20, 2028.

The 2018 Plan provides for the Company to grant stock options, stock appreciation rights, and restricted stockof equity-based awards (collectively, “awards”) to selected employees, independent contractors,directors, and directors of the Company and related corporations in order to promote a closer identification of their interests with thoseconsultants of the Company and its shareholders. All stock options granted under the 1997 Omnibus Plan have an exercise price equal to the market priceaffiliates. The aggregate number of shares of the Company’s common stock onthat could be issued pursuant to awards granted under the date2018 Plan are not to exceed the sum of 3,300,000 plus the number of shares of common stock option was granted.underlying any award granted under any stock incentive plan maintained by the Company prior to the 2018 Plan (each, a “2018 Prior Plan”) that expires, terminates or is canceled or forfeited under the terms of the 2018 Prior Plans. Stock options granted to employees under the 1997 Omnibus2018 Plan generally vest over threefour years and have terms of up to 10 years, with the exception of stock options granted in 2005 under the Executive Compensation Plan (which is governed by and subject to the 1997 Omnibus Plan) that vested immediately and stock options granted in 2006 under the Executive Compensation Plan that vested at the end of three years. Stock options granted to the Board of Directors under the 1997 Omnibus Plan generally vested over one year and have terms of up to 10 years. The vesting schedules and terms of stock options granted to independent contractors variedvary depending on the specific grant, but the terms are no longer than 10 years. Restricted stockStock option awards granted to members of the Board of Directors vestedgenerally vest at the end of one year.year from the date of the grant. The 1997 Omnibus Plan expired (with respectvesting schedules of restricted stock awards granted to future grants)employees or independent contractors vary depending on September 30, 2007.the specific grant but are generally four years or less. Only stock options and restricted stock have been granted under the 2018 Plan. As of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, there were 0790,407 and 540285,025 stock options outstanding under the 1997 Omnibus2018 Plan, respectively.

2008 Stock Incentive Plan

In May 2008, the shareholders of the Company approved the adoption of the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended on March 31, 2015 and approved by the shareholders of the Company on May 20, 2015 and further amended on March 15, 2016 and approved by the shareholders of the Company on May 18, 2016 (the “2008 Plan”), which replaced the 1997 Omnibus Plan.. The 2008 Plan authorizesexpired (with respect to future grants) on May 26, 2018.

The 2008 Plan authorized the Company to grant stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, and other equity awards to selected employees, directors, and independent contractors. The aggregate number of shares of the Company’s common stock that maycould be issued pursuant to awards granted under the 2008 Plan shallwere not to exceed the sum of 6,000,000 plus any shares of common stock subject to an award granted under the 1997 Omnibus Plan or any other stock incentive plan maintained by the Company prior to the 2008 Plan (each, a “Prior“2008 Prior Plan”) that is forfeited, cancelled, terminated, expires, or lapses for any reason without the issuance of shares pursuant to the award, or shares subject to an award granted under a 2008 Prior Plan which shares are forfeited to, or repurchased or reacquired by, the Company. Stock options granted to employees under the 2008 Plan generally vest over four years and have terms of up to 10 years. The vesting schedules and terms of stock options granted to independent contractors vary depending on the specific grant, but the terms are no longer than 10 years. Restricted stockStock option awards granted to members of the Board of Directors generally vest at the end of one year onfrom the date of the Annual Meeting of Shareholders.grant. The vesting schedules of restricted stock awards granted to employees or independent contractors vary depending on the specific grant but are generally four years or less. Only stock options and restricted stock havehad been granted under the 2008 Plan. As of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, there were 2,134,8982,018,688 and 2,441,0772,238,613 stock options outstanding under the 2008 Plan, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

The following table summarizes the components of the Company’s stock-based compensation included in net loss:(loss) income for the periods presented:

 Year Ended December 31,  Year Ended June 30, 
 2016  2015  2020  2019 
Employee stock options $383,778  $697,269  $309,999  $235,984 
Consultant stock options  170,622   257,342 
Restricted stock awards  448,906   816,286   149,539   266,821 
Total $1,003,306  $1,770,897  $459,538  $502,805 

Due to the Company’s valuation allowance against deferred tax assets as discussed further in Note 11,12, “Income Taxes”, theany income tax benefits associated with these grants and awards for 2016the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 20152019 were fully reserved.

No stock-based compensation was capitalized as a cost of inventory during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015.2019.

Included in total stock-based compensation are approximately $44,000 and $226,000 for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, related to discontinued operations.
74

Stock Options

The following is a summary of the stock option activity for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015:2019:

 Shares  
Weighted
Average
Exercise Price
  Shares  
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
 
Outstanding, December 31, 2014  1,665,571  $2.93 
Outstanding at June 30, 2018 
2,388,169
  
$
1.46
 
Granted  1,413,765  $1.28  
285,025
  
$
1.00
 
Exercised  (241,752) $0.71  
(52,500
)
 
$
1.21
 
Forfeited  (129,434) $3.08  
(30,000
)
 
$
1.20
 
Expired  (267,073) $3.17   
(67,056
)
 
$
1.71
 
Outstanding, December 31, 2015  2,441,077  $2.11 
Outstanding at June 30, 2019 
2,523,638
  
$
1.39
 
Granted  591,005  $1.14  
605,387
  
$
0.95
 
Exercised  (2,500) $0.92 
Forfeited  (449,122) $1.43  
(125,005
)
 
$
1.02
 
Expired  (445,562) $2.09   
(194,925
)
 
$
1.18
 
Outstanding, December 31, 2016  2,134,898  $1.99 
Outstanding at June 30, 2020  
2,809,095
  
$
1.33
 

The weighted average grant date fair value of stock options granted during the yearsfiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019 was $0.63$0.50 and $0.72,$0.57, respectively. The total fair value of stock options that vested during the yearsfiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 20152019 was approximately $780,000$282,000 and $862,000,$176,000, respectively.

The fair value of each stock option is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions for stock options granted during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015:periods presented:

 Year Ended December 31,  Year Ended June 30, 
 2016  2015  2020  2019 
Dividend yield  0.0%  0.0% 
0.0
%
 
0.0
%
Expected volatility  62.2%  63.8% 
63.2
%
 
61.0
%
Risk-free interest rate  1.42%  1.64% 
0.82
%
 
3.09
%
Expected lives (years)  5.6   5.7  
5.2
  
5.5
 
The following table summarizestables summarize information aboutin connection with stock options outstanding at December 31, 2016:June 30, 2020:

Options OutstandingOptions Outstanding  Options Exercisable  Options Vested or Expected to Vest Options Outstanding  Options Exercisable  Options Vested or Expected to Vest 
Balance
as of
12/31/2016
  
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life (Years)
  
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
  
Balance
as of
12/31/2016
  
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
(Years)
  
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
  
Balance
as of
12/31/2016
  
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
(Years)
  
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
 
Balance
as of
6/30/2020
Balance
as of
6/30/2020
  
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
(Years)
  
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
  
Balance
as of
6/30/2020
  
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
(Years)
  
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
  
Balance
as of
6/30/2020
  
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
(Years)
  
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
 
2,134,898   6.71  $1.99   1,477,644   5.65  $2.30   2,041,970   6.60  $2.02 2,809,095  5.74  $1.33  2,396,208  5.11  $1.37  2,743,077  5.66  $1.34 

As of December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020, the unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested stock options was approximately $323,000,$155,000, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 2017 months.

The aggregate intrinsic value of stock options outstanding, exercisable, and vested or expected to vest at December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 was approximately $18,000. This amount is$500. These amounts are before applicable income taxes and representsrepresent the closing market price of the Company’s common stock at December 31, 2016June 30, 2020, less the grant price, multiplied by the number of stock options that had a grant price that is less than the closing market price. This amount representsThese amounts represent the amountamounts that would have been received by the optionees had these stock options been exercised on that date. Duringthose dates. No stock options were exercised during the yearsfiscal year ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, theJune 30, 2020. The aggregate intrinsic value of stock options exercised during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 was approximately $0 and $167,000, respectively.$51,000.

Restricted Stock

The following is a summary of the restricted stock activity for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015:2019:

 Shares  
Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
  Shares  
Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
 
Unvested, December 31, 2014  287,006  $3.29 
Unvested at June 30, 2018 
264,000
  
$
1.25
 
Granted  487,500  $1.38  
129,500
  
$
1.07
 
Vested  (349,506) $2.36  
(154,396
)
 
$
1.20
 
Canceled  -  $-   
(109,604
)
 
$
1.31
 
Unvested, December 31, 2015  425,000  $1.87 
Unvested at June 30, 2019 
129,500
  
$
1.08
 
Granted  509,250  $0.93  
325,000
  
$
1.57
 
Vested  (321,400) $2.00  
(258,341
)
 
$
1.07
 
Canceled  (253,450) $1.18   
(33,659
)
 
$
1.07
 
Unvested, December 31, 2016  359,400  $0.91 
Unvested at June 30, 2020  
162,500
  
$
1.57
 

The unvested restricted shares as of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 are all performance-based restricted shares that willare scheduled to vest, subject to achievement of the underlying performance goals, on March 4, 2017.in July 2020. As of December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020, the estimated unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to these unvested restricted shares subject to the achievement of performance goals was approximately $78,000, all$255,000. However, pursuant to the estimated success rates related to the performance-based criteria of the restricted shares, none of which are expected to vest, none of the underlying compensation expense related to the unvested shares is expected to be recognized overrecognized.

12.INCOME TAXES

In connection with filing its 2017 U.S. corporate income tax return in June 2018, the Company’s management analyzed the income tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”), enacted in December 2017, and the effect on its existing corporate AMT deferred tax asset, including the recoverability of its AMT-related deferred tax credit carryforwards. As a weighted average periodresult, management determined that it was able to recognize the underlying tax benefit relating to the realization of the recoverable portion of its AMT-related deferred tax credit carryforwards, net of an anticipated sequestration reduction in the amount of approximately two months.$328,000. Accordingly, the Company recorded the expected AMT credit refund as a receivable, net of an anticipated sequestration reduction and such amount was included with other long-term assets as of June 30, 2018.

DividendsIn January 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) announced that refund payments and refund offset transactions due to refundable minimum tax credits associated with the repeal of the corporate AMT as part of the Tax Act would not be subject to sequestration. Accordingly, in January 2019 the Company recognized the additional available underlying tax benefit in the amount of approximately $23,000 relating to the sequestered portion of its AMT credit. This amount, net of amounts received, was also included in other long-term assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2019.

The Company received installment refunds in May 2019 and April 2020 of approximately $75,000 and $6,000, respectively, from the IRS in accordance with the AMT refundability schedule as set forth in the Tax Act.

Pursuant to provisions of the CARES Act, existing AMT credit carryforwards are now eligible for acceleration and refundable AMT credits are to be completely refunded to companies for taxable years beginning in 2019, or by election, taxable years beginning in 2018. Accordingly, the Company has elected to have the AMT tax completely refunded and has filed a tentative refund claim for the remaining AMT tax credit. Consequently, the remaining balance of the Company’s AMT credit refund in the amount of approximately $270,000 is expected to be completely refundable. Accordingly, the full amount of our AMT credit refund has been classified as current as of June 30, 2020.

The Company has not paidcontinues to monitor future developments and interpretations of the CARES Act for any cash dividends during the years ended December 31, 2016material impacts on its future results of operations, financial position, and 2015.liquidity.

76

11.INCOME TAXESTable of Contents
Pursuant to provisions of the State of North Carolina General Assembly Senate Bill 704: COVID-19 Recovery Act, enacted in May 2020, the Company will receive a tax credit towards its contribution to the North Carolina Unemployment Insurance Fund (the “Fund”) that is equal to the amount of the Company’s contribution to the Fund for the calendar quarter ended March 31, 2020. Accordingly, in June 2020 the Company recognized the available tax benefit in the amount of approximately $7,000 and such amount is included in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2020.

The Company accounts for income taxes under the liability method. Under the liability method, deferred income taxes are recognized for the income tax consequences of “temporary differences” by applying enacted statutory income tax rates applicable to future years to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the income tax bases of existing assets and liabilities.
IncomeThe Company’s income tax net expense(expense) benefit for the periods presented comprises the following:

 Year Ended December 31,  Year Ended June 30, 
 2016  2015  2020  2019 
Current:            
Federal $-  $-  
$
-
  
$
23,149
 
State  (13,480)  (12,821)  
(1,733
)
  
(21,706
)
Total  (13,480)  (12,821)
Total current (expense) benefit  
(1,733
)
  
1,443
 
              
Deferred:              
Federal  -   -  
-
  
-
 
State  -   -   
-
   
-
 
Total  -   - 
Income tax net expense $(13,480) $(12,821)
Total deferred (expense) benefit  
-
   
-
 
Income tax net (expense) benefit 
$
(1,733
)
 
$
1,443
 

Significant components of the Company’s deferred income tax assets as of the dates presented are as follows:

 December 31,  June 30, 
 2016  2015  2020  2019 
            
Reserves and accruals $1,053,863  $1,578,374 
Reversals and accruals 
$
476,666
  
$
970,516
 
Prepaid expenses  (43,774)  (50,966) 
(39,943
)
 
(38,552
)
Federal NOL carryforwards  8,530,493   6,762,537  
4,980,513
  
4,911,437
 
State NOL carryforwards  615,919   583,651  
663,918
  
674,522
 
Hong Kong NOL carryforwards  995,566   995,566  
995,566
  
995,566
 
Federal benefit on state taxes under uncertain tax positions  136,969   132,385  
1,668
  
1,304
 
Stock-based compensation  342.294   481,917  
392,924
  
194,524
 
Research tax credit  434,637   434,637  
252
  
83,315
 
Alternative minimum tax credit  348,264   348,264 
Contributions carryforward  35,100   33,582  
7,184
  
-
 
Depreciation  (286,608)  (312,023) 
(172,010
)
 
(157,310
)
Inventory valuation reserve 
1,594,795
  
-
 
Operating lease liabilities 
185,422
  
-
 
Operating lease right-of-use assets 
(131,008
)
 
-
 
Accrued rent  216,432   254,404  
-
  
88,923
 
Loss on impairment of long-lived assets  53,042   52,226  
32,749
  
32,985
 
Valuation allowance  (12,432.197)  (11,294,554)  
(8,988,696
)
  
(7,757,230
)
Total  -   - 
Total deferred income tax assets, net $-  $-  
$
-
  
$
-
 

A reconciliation
77

The following are reconciliations between expected income taxes, computed at the applicable statutory federal income tax rate of 34% applied to pretax accounting loss, and the income tax net expense included in the consolidated statements of operations(expense) benefit for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 is as follows:periods presented:

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Anticipated income tax benefit at statutory rate $1,534,176  $3,315,420 
State income tax benefit, net of federal tax effect  (9,350)  35,814 
Capital loss carryforward expiration  -   (9,227)
Income tax effect of uncertain tax positions  (8,896)  (8,461)
Return to provision adjustments  (23,070)  (82,341)
Stock-based compensation  (110,066)  (215,030)
Other changes in deferred income tax assets, net  (13,118)  (22,414)
Increase in valuation allowance  (1,383,156)  (3,026,582)
Income tax net expense $(13,480) $(12,821)
  Year Ended June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Anticipated income tax benefit (expense) at statutory rate 
$
1,293,673
  
$
(477,545
)
State income tax benefit (expense), net of federal tax effect  
64,034
   
(42,334
)
Income tax effect of uncertain tax positions  
17,508
   
17,494
 
Return to provision adjustments  
1
   
126
 
Stock-based compensation  
(31,195
)
  
(3,929
)
Other changes in deferred income tax assets, net  
(114,288
)
  
(280,066
)
(Increase) Decrease in valuation allowance  
(1,231,466
)
  
787,697
 
Income tax net (expense) benefit 
$
(1,733
)
 
$
1,443
 

The Company’s statutory tax rate as of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 is 22.11% and consists of the federal income tax rate of 21% and a blended state income tax rate of 1.11%, net of the federal benefit. The Company’s statutory tax rate as of June 30, 2019 was 22.16% and consisted of the federal income tax rate of 21% and a blended state income tax rate of 1.16%, net of the federal benefit.

As of each reporting date, management considers new evidence, both positive and negative, that could impact its view with regard to future realization of deferred tax assets. As of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2015,June 30, 2019, the Company’s management determined that sufficient negative evidence continued to exist to conclude it was uncertain that the Company would have sufficient future taxable income to utilize its deferred tax assets, and therefore, the Company maintained a valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets.
As of December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company had approximately $882,000$309 and $102,000, respectively, of remaining federal income tax credits $533,000all of which expire between 2018 andin 2021 and the balance without an expiration, which can be carried forward to offset future income taxes. As of December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company also had federal tax net operating loss carryforwards under U.S. GAAP of approximately $25.13$23.72 million and $23.39 million, respectively, expiring between 20202022 and 2036,2037, which can be used to offset against future federal taxable income; North Carolina tax net operating loss carryforwards across all of the entities of approximately $20.25$20.12 million and  $20.20 million, respectively, expiring between 2023 and 2031;2033; and various other state tax net operating loss carryforwards expiring between 2021 and 2036,2040, which can be used to offset against future state taxable income.

As of December 31, 2016,each of June 30, 2020 and 2019, there was approximately $6.03 million in net operating loss carryforwards in Hong Kong. In accordance with the Hong Kong tax code, these amounts can be carried forward indefinitely to offset future taxable income in Hong Kong. The Company’s deferred tax assets in Hong Kong were fully reserved with a valuation allowance of $996,000 as of December 31, 2016each of June 30, 2020 and 20152019, and had been fully reserved in all prior fiscal periods due to the uncertainty of future taxable income in this jurisdiction to utilize the deferred tax assets. Charles & Colvard (HK) Ltd., the Company’s Hong Kong subsidiary, which was re-activated in December 2017, but had no operating activity during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, previously ceased operations during 2008 and became a dormant entity during 2009. If the Company uses any portion of its deferred tax assets in future periods, the valuation allowance would need to be reversed and may impact the Company’s future operating results.

Uncertain Tax Positions

The gross liability for income taxes associated with uncertain tax positions at December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2019, was approximately $532,000. This amount is shown net of approximately $98,000 recorded as a direct reduction to the associated deferred tax asset.$8,000 and $6,000, respectively. The gross liability, if recognized, would favorably affect the Company’s effective tax rate.

The Company’s policy for recording interest and penalties associated with tax audits is to record such items as a component of the provision for income taxes. For each of the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, theThe Company accrued approximately $13,000$2,000 and $1,000 of interest and penalties associated with uncertain tax positions.positions for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Including the interest and penalties recorded for uncertain tax positions, there is a total of approximately $165,000$5,000 and $4,000 of interest and penalties included in the accrued income tax liability for uncertain tax positions at eachas of December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015.2019, respectively. To the extent interest and penalties are not ultimately incurred with respect to uncertain tax positions, amounts accrued will be reduced and reflected as a reduction of the overall income tax provision.

In all of the significant federal and state jurisdictions where it is required to file income tax returns, the Company has analyzed filing positions for all tax years in which the statute of limitations is open. The only periods subject to examination by the major tax jurisdictions where the Company does business are the 2013tax years ended December 31, 2015 through 2015 tax years.June 30, 2019. The Company does not believe that the outcome of any examination will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements and does not expect settlement on any uncertain tax positions within the next 12 months. Beginning with the transition period ended June 30, 2018, the Company’s tax year conforms with its fiscal accounting period year ending on June 30 of each year.

The following table summarizes the activity related to the CompanysCompany’s accrued gross income tax liability for uncertain tax positions from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2016:for the two-year period ended June 30, 2020:

Balance as of January 1, 2015 $506,463 
Increases related to prior year tax positions  12,821 
Balance as of December 31, 2015  519,284 
Increases related to prior year tax positions  13,480 
Balance as of December 31, 2016 $532,764 
Balance at June 30, 2018 
$
4,891
 
Increases related to prior fiscal year tax positions  
1,323
 
Balance at June 30, 2019  
6,214
 
Increases related to prior fiscal year tax positions  
1,733
 
Balance at June 30, 2020 
$
7,947
 

12.DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS
For information regarding the Company’s decision during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 to reduce its accrued gross income tax liability for uncertain tax positions that should have been derecognized in prior years, see the Immaterial Correction of an Error section in Note 2, “Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies.”

On March 4, 2016, the Company and Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (“Direct”) a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into an asset purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Yanbal, pursuant to which Yanbal agreed to purchase certain assets of Direct (the “Transferred Assets”). The transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement also closed on March 4, 2016 (the “Closing Date”). The Company determined that the sale of these assets represented a strategic shift that will have a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results. The Company made the decision to divest of these assets after careful analysis of the Company’s core competencies, go-to-market strategies, and intent to advance toward profitability.
Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Transferred Assets included, among other things, (i) an inventory credit to be used towards $250,000 in existing non-moissanite and moissanite inventory as of the Closing Date, consisting of Direct’s current jewelry offered under the “Lulu Avenue” trademarks, (ii) all existing marketing collateral such as packaging and catalogs for Direct’s current jewelry offered under the “Lulu Avenue” trademarks as of the Closing Date, (iii) certain assigned contracts, (iv) style advisor and customer lists, and (v) all intellectual property rights owned by the Company and Direct and used solely in connection with the operation of Direct’s direct-to-consumer home party business for the sale of fashion jewelry and related products and services in the United States, excluding the “Lulu Avenue” and “Love Knot” trademarks and other “Lulu Avenue” specific intellectual property such as the domain name www.luluavenue.com and all content located on such website (the “Lulu Intellectual Property”). The inventory credit and an exclusive, nontransferable license to use the Lulu Intellectual Property that was also granted to Yanbal on the Closing Date expired on July 31, 2016. After the Closing Date, the Company and Direct may not engage in the direct-to-consumer home party business and may not solicit style advisors or customers of the direct-to-consumer home party business. The Company had also agreed to provide to Yanbal certain transition services, which services ended August 31, 2016.

The purchase price for the Transferred Assets was $500,000 with selling expenses of approximately $131,000, resulting in a net purchase price of approximately $369,000. The Company recorded a liability associated with $35,000 of expense related to certain style advisor incentives and reduced prepaid expenses by $60,000 related to contracts acquired by Yanbal.

The following table presents the major classes of line items constituting assets and liabilities related to discontinued operations:

  
December 31,
2016
  
December 31,
2015
 
Prepaid expenses and other assets $-  $83,000 
Total assets $-  $83,000 
Accounts payable $-  $140,000 
Accrued expenses and other liabilities  -   209,000 
Total liabilities $-  $349,000 

The following table presents the major classes of line items constituting pretax loss from discontinued operations:

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Net sales $804,585  $5,073,825 
Costs and expenses:        
Cost of goods sold  276,100   1,609,200 
Sales and marketing  940,685   6,598,122 
General and administrative  173,913   1,352,290 
Interest expense  11   - 
Total costs and expenses  1,390,709   9,559,612 
Loss from discontinued operations  (586,124)  (4,485,787)
Other income:        
Gain on sale of long-term assets  12,398   - 
Total other income, net  12,398   - 
Pretax loss from discontinued operations $(573,726) $(4,485,787)
13.MAJOR CUSTOMERS AND CONCENTRATION OF CREDIT RISK

At times, a portion of the Company’s accounts receivable will be due from customers that have individual balances of 10% or more of the Company’s total netgross accounts receivable.

The following is a summary of customers that represent 10%greater than or moreequal to 10% of total netgross accounts receivable as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:the dates presented:

December 31,
2016
December 31,
2015
Customer A13%**%
Customer B*%17%
Customer C*%14%
Customer D*%11%
Customer E*%10%
  June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Customer A  26%  13%
Customer B  14%  25%
Customer C  13%  *%
Customer D  **%  15%

* Customers B,Customer C D, and E did not have individual balances that represented 10% or more of total netgross accounts receivable as of December 31, 2016.June 30, 2019.
** Customer AD did not have an individual balancebalances that represented 10% or more of the total netgross accounts receivable as of December 31, 2015.June 30, 2020.

A significant portion of sales is derived from certain customer relationships. The following is a summary of customers that represent greater than or equal to 10% of total grossnet sales for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015:periods presented:

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2016  2015 
Customer D  23%  25%
Customer F  17%  11%
  Year Ended June 30, 
  2020  2019 
Customer A  12%  10%
Customer B  13%  14%

The Company records its sales returnreturns allowance at the corporate level based on several factors including historical sales return activity and specific allowances for known customer returns.

14.EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN

All full-time employees who meet certain age and length of service requirements are eligible to participate in and receive benefits from the Company’s 401(k) Plan. TheThis plan provides for matching contributions by the Company in such amounts as the Board of Directors may annually determine, as well as a 401(k) option under which eligible participants may defer a portion of their salaries. The Company contributed a total of $102,000$82,000 and $120,000$67,000 to thethis employee benefit plan during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 and 2015,2019, respectively.

6279

15.SUBSEQUENT EVENT

On August 26, 2020, the Supply Agreement was amended, effective June 30, 2020, to extend the expiration date to June 29, 2025, which may be further extended by mutual agreement of the parties. The Supply Agreement was also amended to, among other things, (i) spread the Company’s total purchase commitment under the Supply Agreement in the amount of approximately $52.95 million, of which approximately $36.60 million remains to be purchased as of June 30, 2020, over the term of the Supply Agreement, as amended; (ii) establish a process by which Cree has agreed to accept purchase orders in excess of the agreed-upon minimum purchase commitment, subject to certain conditions; and (iii) permit the Company to purchase revised amounts of SiC materials from third parties under limited conditions.

Over the life of the Supply Agreement, as amended, the Company’s future minimum annual purchase commitments of SiC crystals range from approximately $4 million to $10 million each year.

Item 9.
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

Item 9A.
Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2016.June 30, 2020. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, as ours are designed to do, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on such evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and InterimChief Financial Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We routinely review our internal control over financial reporting and from time to time make changes intended to enhance the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. We have not experienced any material impact to our internal control over financial reporting despite the fact that our corporate employees are principally working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are continually monitoring and assessing the impact of COVID-19 on our internal control over financial reporting to minimize the impact on its design and operating effectiveness. We will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting on an ongoing basis and will take action as appropriate. During the three months ended December 31, 2016,June 30, 2020, we made no changes to our internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act, that we believe materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Managements Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Our internal control system was designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and Board of Directors regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:


(i)(i)
pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets;


(ii)(ii)
provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and


(iii)(iii)
provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
 
All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements.

In making the assessment of internal control over financial reporting, our management used the criteria issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)(“COSO”) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013). Based on that assessment and those criteria, management determined that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2016.June 30, 2020.

Item 9B.
Other Information

Agreement with Former Chief Revenue Officer

In connection with the departure of Steve Larkin, our former Chief Revenue Officer, on January 10, 2017, we have entered into a Separation of Employment Agreement, or the Separation Agreement, with Mr. Larkin dated March 9, 2017. The terms of the Separation Agreement provide that Mr. Larkin has the right to revoke the Separation Agreement until March 29, 2017.

Under the Separation Agreement, in exchange for a standard release of employment claims, Mr. Larkin is entitled to receive severance in an amount equal to $125,000 (less applicable withholdings) on the first payroll date following March 19, 2017, and $65,000 (less applicable withholdings) payable in installments over three months. We will also pay a lump sum for COBRA premiums (less an amount equal to the active employee contribution, if any) for coverage of Mr. Larkin and his eligible dependents for six months if Mr. Larkin timely and properly elects continuation coverage. We have agreed to accelerate the vesting of 25,000 options previously granted to Mr. Larkin and to extend the exercise period of all of Mr. Larkin’s outstanding options to January 10, 2022. We have also agreed to waive the forfeiture of 75,000 shares of restricted stock previously granted to Mr. Larkin and to cause the restrictions on such restricted stock to lapse effective January 10, 2017. The Separation Agreement contains certain confidentiality provisions and other customary terms and conditions. All of Mr. Larkin’s obligations under his Employment Agreement with the Company, dated May 6, 2013, as amended, regarding confidentiality, non-competition, proprietary information, publication, and related matters will continue, except that the Separation Agreement slightly modified the non-competition provision.

Vesting of Awards Granted Under 2016 Senior Management Equity Incentive Program

On March 9, 2017, the Compensation Committee of our Board approved the vesting of certain restricted stock awards granted under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2016 Senior Management Equity Incentive Program, or the 2016 Program.  The 2016 Program provided that vesting of the awards was based on the achievement of both shared company goals, or the Company Measures, and individual performance goals, or the Personal Measures, and that certain of the Company Measures must be achieved in order for the awards to vest.

The Compensation Committee determined that, while the Company Measures had not been achieved, the Compensation Committee had not considered the impact of the sale of Lulu Avenue on the Company Measures. Therefore, as permitted by the 2016 Program, the Compensation Committee exercised its discretion to permit the vesting of the restricted stock awards based on the achievement of Personal Measures alone.  As a result, the Compensation Committee approved the lapse of restrictions on a total of 124,200 shares of restricted stock granted under the 2016 Program, including 67,500 of the 150,000 shares of restricted stock granted to Suzanne Miglucci, our Chief Executive Officer.  The remainder of the original awards of restricted stock was forfeited.  Clint Pete, our Interim Chief Financial Officer, was not eligible to participate in the 2016 Program as he was appointed to his current position too late in the year.
None.

PART III

Item 10.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Item 11.
Executive Compensation

Item 12.
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

Item 13.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

Item 14.
Principal Accounting Fees and Services

The information called for in Items 10 through 14 is incorporated by reference from our definitive Proxy Statement relating to our 20172020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which will be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal 2016.year ended June 30, 2020.

PART IV

Item 15.
Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a)(1) and (2). The consolidated financial statements and report of our independent registered public accounting firm are filed as part of this report (see “Index to Financial Statements,” at Part II, Item 8). The financial statement schedules are not included in this Item as they are either not applicable or the information is otherwise included in the consolidated financial statements or the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

(a)(3). The following exhibits have been or are being filed herewith and are numbered in accordance with Item 601 of Regulation S-K:

Exhibit No.
Description
  
2.1Asset Purchase Agreement, effective March 4, 2016, by and among Yanbal USA, Inc., Charles & Colvard, Ltd., and Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on March 8, 2016)
 
2.2List of Schedules Omitted from Asset Purchase Agreement included as Exhibit 2.1 above (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on March 8, 2016)
 
3.1
Restated Articles of Incorporation of Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004)
  
Bylaws of Charles & Colvard, Ltd., as amended and restated, effective May 19, 2011 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 24, 2011)
4.1
Specimen Certificate of Common Stock (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998)
  
Exclusive Supply Agreement, dated as of December 12, 2014, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., Cree, Inc. and, solely for purposes of Section 6(c) of the Exclusive Supply Agreement, Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC and moissanite.com, LLC (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on December 16, 2014)*
  
10.2Letter Agreement, dated February 9, 2005 and effective February 21, 2005, between The Bell Group, d/b/a Rio Grande and Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.73 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on February 23, 2005)*
 
10.3Letter Agreement, effective July 11, 2008, between Samuel Aaron Inc. and Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.120 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on July 17, 2008)*
 
10.4Licensing Agreement, dated July 11, 2008, by and between Charles and Colvard, Ltd. and Samuel Aaron Inc. (incorporated herein by reference
First Amendment to Exhibit 10.121 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on July 17, 2008)
10.5Credit and SecurityExclusive Supply Agreement, dated as of June 25, 2014,22, 2018, by and amongbetween Charles & Colvard, Ltd., Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, moissanite.com, LLC, and Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationCree, Inc. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 30, 2014)27, 2018)*
  
10.6First
Second Amendment to CreditExclusive Supply Agreement, effective as of June 30, 2020, by and Securitybetween Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Cree, Inc.** ++
Credit Agreement, dated as of September 16, 2014,July 13, 2018, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, Moissanite.com,and White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2014)
10.7Second Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement, dated as of December 12, 2014, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, Moissanite.com, LLC, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on December 16, 2014)July 17, 2018)
  
10.8Third Amendment to Credit and
Security Agreement, and Other Loan Documents, dated as of September 23, 2016,July 13, 2018, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, Moissanite.com,and White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC to be known as charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.110.4 to our QuarterlyTransition Report on Form 10-Q10-KT for the quartertransition period ended SeptemberJune 30, 2016)2018)
  
10.9
Intercreditor Agreement, dated as of December 12, 2014,July 13, 2018, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, Moissanite.com, LLC, Cree, Inc., and Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationWhite Oak Commercial Finance, LLC (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.210.5 to our CurrentTransition Report on Form 8-K, as filed with10-KT for the SEC on December 16, 2014)transition period ended June 30, 2018)
  
10.10
First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated June 15, 2020, by and among  Charles & Colvard, Ltd., charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, and White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC++
Promissory Note, dated June 15, 2020, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd., and Newtek Small Business Finance, LLC++

Lease Agreement, dated December 9, 2013, between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Southport Business Park Limited Partnership (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on December 12, 2012)*2013)
  
10.11
First Amendment to Lease, dated December 23, 2013, between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Southport Business Park Limited Partnership (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.20 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013)
  
10.12
Second Amendment to Lease, dated April 15, 2014, between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Southport Business Park Limited Partnership (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014)
10.13Board Compensation Program, effective January 1, 2015 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.28 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014)+
  
10.14
Board Compensation Program, effective JanuaryOctober 1, 20162017 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our CurrentQuarterly Report on Form 8-K, as filed with10-Q for the SEC onquarter ended September 10, 2015)30, 2017)+
  
10.15
Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 20, 2016)+
  
10.16Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.115 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 2, 2008)+
 
10.17
Form of Employee Incentive Stock Option Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.116 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 2, 2008)+
  
10.18
Form of Employee Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.118 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 2, 2008)+
  
10.19Form of Director Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement under the
Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock2018 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.11910.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 2, 2008)+November 9, 2018)
  
10.20
Form of Director NonqualifiedRestricted Stock Award Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2018 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on November 9, 2018)
Form of Employee Incentive Stock Option Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock2018 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.28 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013)+
10.21Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement pursuant to the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. Long-Term Incentive Program (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on April 21, 2014)+November 9, 2018)
  
10.22
Form of Employee Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement pursuant to the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. Long-Term Incentive Program (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on April 21, 2014)+
10.23Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement (Performance-Based) under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock2018 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on March 23, 2015)+November 9, 2018)
  
10.24
Form of Non-Employee Director Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 20152018 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on November 9, 2018)
Form of Independent Contractor Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2018 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on November 9, 2018)
Charles & Colvard, Ltd. Fiscal 2019 Q1-Q2 Senior Management Equity Incentive Program, effective JanuaryJuly 1, 20152018 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 8, 2015)29, 2018)+
  
10.25
Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2016Fiscal 2019 Q3-Q4 Senior Management Equity Incentive Program, effective January 1, 2016 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.42 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015)+
10.26Form of Indemnification Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.109 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on December 10, 2007)+
10.27Employment Agreement, effective as of May 6, 2013, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Steve Larkin2019 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on April 22, 2013)February 13, 2019)+

10.28First Amendment to Employment Agreement, dated March 8, 2016, by and between
Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Steve Larkin (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.46 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015)+
10.29Employment Agreement,Fiscal 2020 Senior Management Equity Incentive Program, effective as of August 5, 2013, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Kyle MacemoreJuly 1, 2019 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our QuarterlyCurrent Report on Form 10-Q for8-K, as filed with the quarter ended September 30, 2013)SEC on July 11, 2019)+
  
10.30
Charles & Colvard, Ltd. Fiscal 2021 Senior Management Equity Incentive Program, effective July 1, 2020 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on August 4, 2020)+
Employment Agreement, dated December 1, 2015, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Suzanne Miglucci (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015)+
  
21.1
Employment Agreement, dated May 23, 2017, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Clint J. Pete (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 24, 2017)+
Employment Agreement, dated May 23, 2017, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Don O’Connell (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 24, 2017)+
Amendment to 2015 Employment Agreement, dated April 9, 2020, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Suzanne Miglucci (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on April 9, 2020)+
Amendment to 2017 Employment Agreement, dated April 9, 2020, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Clint J. Pete (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on April 9, 2020)+
Amendment to 2017 Employment Agreement, dated April 9, 2020, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Don O’Connell (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on April 9, 2020)+
Separation of Employment Agreement, dated May 28, 2020, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Suzanne Miglucci (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 29, 2020)+
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, effective as of June 1, 2020, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Don O’Connell (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 29, 2020)+
Subsidiaries of Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 21.1 to our Transition Report on Form 10-KT for the transition period ended June 30, 2018)
  
Consent of BDO USA, LLPLLP++
  
Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20022002++
  
Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20022002++
  
Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20022002++
  
Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20022002++

101
The following materials from Charles & Colvard, Ltd.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016June 30, 2020 formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) and furnished electronically herewith: (i)(i) Consolidated Balance Sheets; (ii)(ii) Consolidated Statements of Operations; (iii)(iii) Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity; (iv)(iv) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows; and (v)(v) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
  
*
Asterisks located within the exhibit denote information which has been redacted pursuant to a request for confidential treatment filed with the SEC.
**
Asterisks located within the exhibit denote information which has been redacted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iv) of Regulation S-K because it is both not material and would likely cause competitive harm to us if publicly disclosed.
  
+Management
Denotes management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
++
Denotes filed herewith.

Item 16.
Form 10-K Summary

None.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

  CHARLES & COLVARD, LTD.
   
 
By:
/s/ Suzanne MiglucciDon O’Connell
March 9, 2017
September 3, 2020
 Suzanne Miglucci
Don O’Connell
  
President and Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 
By:
/s/ Suzanne MiglucciDon O’Connell
March 9, 2017
September 3, 2020
 Suzanne Miglucci
Don O’Connell
  
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
By:/s/ Clint J. Pete
March 9, 2017Clint J. Pete
Interim Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and
Principal Accounting Officer)
   
 
By:
/s/ Neal I. GoldmanClint J. Pete
March 9, 2017
September 3, 2020
 Neal I. Goldman
Clint J. Pete
  Executive Chairman of the Board of DirectorsChief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer)
   
 
By:
/s/ Anne M. ButlerNeal I. Goldman
March 9, 2017
September 3, 2020
 Anne M. Butler
Neal I. Goldman
  Director
Chairman of the Board of Directors
   
 
By:
/s/ Jaqui LividiniAnne M. Butler
March 9, 2017
September 3, 2020
 Jaqui Lividini
Anne M. Butler
  
Director
   
 
By:
/s/ Ollin B. SykesBenedetta Casamento
March 9, 2017
September 3, 2020
 Ollin B. Sykes
Benedetta Casamento
  
Director
EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.
Description
  
2.1Asset Purchase Agreement, effective March 4, 2016, by and among Yanbal USA, Inc., Charles & Colvard, Ltd., and Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on March 8, 2016)
By:
/s/ Ollin B. Sykes
September 3, 2020
Ollin B. Sykes
  
2.2List of Schedules Omitted from Asset Purchase Agreement included as Exhibit 2.1 above (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on March 8, 2016)
3.1Restated Articles of Incorporation of Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004)
3.2Bylaws of Charles & Colvard, Ltd., as amended and restated, effective May 19, 2011 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 24, 2011)
4.1Specimen Certificate of Common Stock (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998)
10.1Exclusive Supply Agreement, dated as of December 12, 2014, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., Cree, Inc. and, solely for purposes of Section 6(c) of the Exclusive Supply Agreement, Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC and moissanite.com, LLC (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on December 16, 2014)*
10.2Letter Agreement, dated February 9, 2005 and effective February 21, 2005, between The Bell Group, d/b/a Rio Grande and Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.73 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on February 23, 2005)*
10.3Letter Agreement, effective July 11, 2008, between Samuel Aaron Inc. and Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.120 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on July 17, 2008)*
10.4Licensing Agreement, dated July 11, 2008, by and between Charles and Colvard, Ltd. and Samuel Aaron Inc. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.121 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on July 17, 2008)
10.5Credit and Security Agreement, dated as of June 25, 2014, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, moissanite.com, LLC, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 30, 2014)
10.6First Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement, dated as of September 16, 2014, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, Moissanite.com, LLC, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2014)
10.7Second Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement, dated as of December 12, 2014, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, Moissanite.com, LLC, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on December 16, 2014)
10.8Third Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement and Other Loan Documents, dated as of September 23, 2016, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, Moissanite.com, LLC, to be known as charlesandcolvard.com, LLC, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016)
Director


6987

10.9Intercreditor Agreement, dated as of December 12, 2014, by and among Charles & Colvard, Ltd., Charles & Colvard Direct, LLC, Moissanite.com, LLC,  Cree, Inc., and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on December 16, 2014)
10.10Lease Agreement, dated December 9, 2013, between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Southport Business Park Limited Partnership (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on December 12, 2012)*
10.11First Amendment to Lease, dated December 23, 2013, between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Southport Business Park Limited Partnership (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.20 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013)
10.12Second Amendment to Lease, dated April 15, 2014, between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Southport Business Park Limited Partnership (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014)
10.13Board Compensation Program, effective January 1, 2015 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.28 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014)+
10.14Board Compensation Program, effective January 1, 2016 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on September 10, 2015)+
10.15Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 20, 2016)+
10.16Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.115 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 2, 2008)+
10.17Form of Employee Incentive Stock Option Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.116 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 2, 2008)+
10.18Form of Employee Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.118 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 2, 2008)+
10.19Form of Director Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.119 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 2, 2008)+
10.20Form of Director Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.28 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013)+
10.21Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement pursuant to the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. Long-Term Incentive Program (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on April 21, 2014)+
10.22Form of Employee Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement pursuant to the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. Long-Term Incentive Program (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on April 21, 2014)+
10.23Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement (Performance-Based) under the Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on March 23, 2015)+
10.24Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2015 Senior Management Equity Incentive Program, effective January 1, 2015 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 8, 2015)+
10.25Charles & Colvard, Ltd. 2016 Senior Management Equity Incentive Program, effective January 1, 2016 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.42 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015)+
10.26Form of Indemnification Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.109 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on December 10, 2007)+
10.27Employment Agreement, effective as of May 6, 2013, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Steve Larkin (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on April 22, 2013)+
10.28First Amendment to Employment Agreement, dated March 8, 2016, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Steve Larkin (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.46 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015)+
10.29Employment Agreement, effective as of August 5, 2013, by and between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Kyle Macemore (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013)+
10.30Employment Agreement, dated December 1, 2015, between Charles & Colvard, Ltd. and Suzanne Miglucci (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015)+
Subsidiaries of Charles & Colvard, Ltd.
Consent of BDO USA, LLP
Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101The following materials from Charles & Colvard, Ltd.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) and furnished electronically herewith: (i) Consolidated Balance Sheets; (ii) Consolidated Statements of Operations; (iii) Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity; (iv) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows; and (v) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
*Asterisks located within the exhibit denote information which has been redacted pursuant to a request for confidential treatment filed with the SEC.
+Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
71