UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark one)

☒    

For the fiscal year ended January 31, 20212022

OR

For the transition period from _____________ to ______________

Commission File Number: 0-15535

(Registrant'sRegistrant’s telephone number, including area code) (256) 350-3873

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

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

Not Applicable

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 every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this Chapter) 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 nonaccelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

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

The aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates as of July 31, 20202021 was approximately $186.3$205.2 million.  As of April 9, 2021,11, 2022, there were outstanding 8,027,1778,555,672 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Security Exchange Act of 1934 are incorporated by reference into Part III (Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14) of this Form 10-K.

LAKELAND INDUSTRIES, INC.

INDEX TO ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions as described from time to time in registration statements, annual reports and other periodic reports and filings of the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, which address the Company’s expectations of sources of capital or which express the Company’s expectation for the future with respect to financial performance or operating strategies, can be identified as forward-looking statements. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Company’s future results will not be materially different from those described herein as “believed,” “anticipated,” “estimated” or “expected,” “may,” “will” or “should” or other similar words which reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events. We caution readers that these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. The Company hereby expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which such statement is based.

PART I

Lakeland Industries, Inc. (the “Company” or “Lakeland,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) was incorporated in the State of Delaware in 1986. Our executive office is located at 202 Pride Lane SW, Decatur,1525 Perimeter Parkway, Suite 325, Huntsville, AL 35603,35806, and our telephone number is (256) 350-3873. Our website is located at www.lakeland.com. Information contained on our website is not part of this report.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

We manufacture and sell a comprehensive line of industrial protective clothing and accessories for the industrial and public protective clothing market. All Lakeland products either protect the wearer from something in their environment, or protect a product or process from the wearer. Our products must meet minimum performance requirements defined by industry best practice, and/or international or local standards.

Our products are sold globally by our in-house sales teams, our customer service group, and authorized independent sales representatives to a global network of over 1,600 safety and industrial supply distributors. Our authorized distributors supply end users, such as integrated oil, chemical/petrochemical, automobile, transportation, steel, glass, construction, smelting, heavy and light industry, cleanroom, janitorial, pharmaceutical, and high technology electronics manufacturers, as well as scientific, medical laboratories and the utilities industries (electrical, natural gas, and water). In addition, we supply federal, state and local governmental agencies and departments, such as fire and law enforcement, airport crash rescue units, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the US Food and Drug Administration. Internationally, we sell to a mixture of end users directly, and to industrial distributors depending on the particular country and market. Sales are made ininto more than 50 foreign countries, the majority of which wereare into China, countries within the European Economic Community (“EEC”), Canada, Chile, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, India and countries within Southeast Asia. For purposes of this Form 10-K, (a) FY refers to a fiscal year ended January 31; for example, FY21FY22 refers to the fiscal year ended January 31, 20212022 and (b) Q refers to a quarter, for examplyexample Q4 FY 2122 refers to the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021.2022.

Lakeland regards owning and operating its own manufacturing facilities as a sustainable strategic advantage. We believe that ownership of manufacturing is the cornerstonekeystone to building a resilient manufacturing.supply chain. Having 6five manufacturing locations in 6five countries, coupled with sourcing core raw materials from multiple suppliers in various countries, affords Lakeland with manufacturing capabilities and manufacturingsupply chain resilience that cannot be matched by our competitors who use contractors.  Owning our manufacturing provides us with the ability to rapidly scale up production to meet emergency demand; shift production between locations in response to geopolitical threats to take advantage of new trade agreements, or avoid complications that may arise from trade disputes; and to maintain the highest levels of product quality. This belief was validated during this year’s COVID-19 pandemic. Through these events, Lakeland was able to rebalance manufacturing in its facilities and make use of its diversified supplier network to supply its customers without major interruption.

By comparison, our competitors who utilize contractors to sew their garments, lack the ability to respond as quickly to emergency situations because contractor agreements typically require forecast lead-times in excess of 30 days. They typically deal with only one or two contractors in order to maximize their purchasing power, simplify their purchasing, and reduce freight out costs. While this works well during normal business conditions, they are at a disadvantage in the event of any changes in tariffs or export restrictions that may result from international trade disputes, or any supply disruptions due to public health emergencies, social unrest, or supply shortages.

Should these issues continue for an extended period of time, an increasing number of our customers may seek sources of supply that are not captive to single-site manufacturing.

Our corporate strategy is to continue diversification of our manufacturing capability and product lines, and leverage it with real-time business intelligence provided by our new technology and information systems, allowing our sales team to focus on products and markets that provide improved margins as well as economic and seasonal insensitivity. In this manner we will be able to develop products and services that will differentiate Lakeland well into the future.

The last two weeks of FY20 and all of FY21 were dominated by response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The virus’ progression into a global pandemic will likely continuecontinued to impact our business for the first half ofin FY22. We believe that COVID 19COVID-19 demand will diminish in Q2 FY22, whenFY23, as vaccines become morecontinue to be widely available.available and as COVID-19 transforms from a pandemic threat to endemic. As COVID-19 demand, currently estimated at approximately 35%15% of revenue, decreases, we anticipate a continuation of an increase in our core businesses (industrial) that began in Q2 FY21FY22 and continued through Q4 FY21. The negative impact of lock downs and stay at home orders peaked in Q2 FY21 with core business sales down by approximately 25%.FY22. Through the second half of Q2 and through Q4 FY21FY22 our core business sales have been recovering steadily. Based on recent, third quarter U.S. GDP Growth of 33.1%, November 2020 manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index of 57.5%, up from 56.0% at August 2020, and our increased market penetration and new customers, we expect our core business sales to recover fully and continue to grow through FY22. We anticipate that COVID 19COVID-19 related sales will continue into the first half of FY22,FY23, however not at the levels experienced in FY21FY22 as demand for immediate use diminishes and gives way to stockpiling demand and increased core business sales.

At present, raw materials supply appears to have caught up with demand, albeit at prices well above pre-COVID-19 pricing. We anticipate raw material pricing to continue at inflated levels into FY22.FY23. Our future sales would be affected should there be an industry-wide shortage of necessary raw materials in the event of another rise or surge in COVID-19 cases. As noted, we did experience significant price increases for fabric during FY21 and managed our available manufacturing capacity to lower costs, and increase prices to meet customer demand at these higher input costs. With the exception of our India export manufacturing operation, which did not qualify for “essential status” due to its export only restrictions, we have not experienced any manufacturing capacity issues due to inability to source raw materials, government quarantine, or shelter-in-place orders, or due to COVID-19 outbreaks in any of our factories; however, there can be no assurance that this will continue to be the case. While leading economic indicators indicate a relatively robust industrial market recovery, potential headwinds to revenue as we emerge from pandemic sales include the possibility of a recession and consumer stockpiled inventories, as well as a decline in our oil and gas industrial sector.inventories.

Reference is made to “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A. Offsetting these risks are changes to our sales environment, as a result of COVID-19, that we believe represent considerable potential upside to sales. We believe that once the pandemic subsides, there will be continued demand establishing PPE stockpiles for the long-term. This stockpiling will be filled in part by inventory that is in the distribution channels as the pandemic ends. When specific governments will issue RFQs for additional product is unknown, but some RFQs are already pending release; others are expected to be released over the next several months. Additionally, we believe the private sector will also engage in stockpiling of PPE as supply channels catch up to demand. And finally, we are seeing the emergence of institutional cleaning as a new market segment as countries and states reopen and seek to prevent further infections. For these reasons we are maximizing our manufacturing capacity in the near-term and evaluating expansion opportunities to allow us to further increase our industrial market penetration. This strategy combined with new product development, manufacturing expansion, and the addition of key senior personnel also serves to prepare us for any economic slowdown that may occur as COVID 19 business ends and our industry transitions to a more traditional product mix.

The Company is utilizing the business intelligence capability of its new ERP systemtechnology and information systems to reorganize its global sales teams. We are now organizingorganized our sales personnel into four market-based, vertical teams. The previousOur organization in which sales teams were assigned geographically, selling all Lakeland products, did not allow our sales personnel to properly focus on our sales strategies. Simply stated, the time allotted for end user meetings, in most cases, was not sufficient for our sales personnel to cover our wide range of products, or to develop the application expertise that many of our customers require. This reorganization will limitlimits the number of products each sales personsalesperson focuses on to the specific vertical they work in and allowallows them to develop expertise in the use of Lakeland products within their specific market. This will allowallows the Company to better focus marketing and sales efforts to drive growth in specific markets that are strategic for the Company.

FY20 saw  Further we have utilized new Business Intelligence to continue to refine our sales compensation model to increase the completionpercentage of the first phase of Lakeland’s capital project to diversifysales compensation that is incentive based, while focusing sales on pricing discipline and expand its manufacturing footprint into Vietnam and India. Both our India plant and our Vietnam facility are fully equipped, staffed and making regular delivery of product. Future capital expenditures, to add additional product manufacturing capabilities and to expand the capacity of these operations, is planned and will be implemented as our growth dictates.margin retention.

Additionally, a major strategic companywide objective to accelerate growth throughout the Company is to push additional products and sales tools that are successful in the key US and China markets to the other international operations, which have traditionally carried smaller lines. To facilitate this, the Company is evaluating and redeploying sales and marketing assets into regions that offer the greatest potential for sales and margin growth.

Business Strategy

Key elements of our strategy include:

Products

The following is a description of our core product offerings:

Limited Use/Disposable Protective Clothing

We manufacture a complete line of limited use/disposable protective garments, including coveralls, laboratory coats, shirts, pants, hoods, aprons, sleeves, arm guards, caps and smocks. Limited use garments can also be coated or laminated to increase splash protection against harmful inorganic acids, bases and other hazardous liquid and dry chemicals. Limited use garments are made from several different nonwoven fabrics. We use spunbonded polypropylene (SBPP), spunbonded meltblow spunbond (SMS), hydroentangled woodpulp/polyester, and needlepunched fabrics. These fabrics can be used alone or in combination with films of varying composition, and/or topical chemical treatments to make our own trademarked fabrics, like Pyrolon® Plus 2, XT, CRFR, CBFR MicroMax®, MicroMax NS, CleanMax, Safegard®, Zonegard®, and ChemMax® 1, 2, 3, and 4, as well as our patented Interceptor fabric. We incorporate many sewing, heat sealing and taping techniques depending on the level of protection needed in the end use application.

Typical users of these garments include integrated oil/petrochemical refineries, chemical plants, automotive manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, construction companies, coal, gas and oil power generation utilities and telephone utility companies, laboratories, mortuaries and governmental entities. Numerous smaller industries use these garments for specific safety applications unique to their businesses. Additional applications include protection from viruses and bacteria, such as Ebola, AIDS, streptococcus, SARS, hepatitis, and COVID-19 at medical facilities, laboratories, and emergency rescue sites. Clean manufactured and sterilized versions of our MicroMAX NS product, trademarked CleanMax, is used in aseptic laboratories to protect both the wearer and the product from cross contamination.

High-End Chemical Protective Suits

We manufacture and sell heavy duty chemical protective suits and protective apparel from our proprietary CRFR, ChemMax® 3, 4, Interceptor and other fabrics. These suits are worn by individuals on hazardous material teams and within general industry to provide protection from powerful, highly concentrated, toxic and/or potentially lethal chemicals and biological toxins. These suits are useful against toxic wastes at Superfund sites, toxic chemical spills or biological discharges, chemical or biological warfare weapons (such as sarin, anthrax or ricin and mustard gas) and chemicals and petro-chemicals present during the cleaning of refineries and nuclear facilities, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in industrial applications, and protection from infectious diseases such as Avian Flu and Ebola.

We believe that we offer the most complete and cost-effective line of chemical protective garments available on the market today. Garments are certified to both NFPA, CE, ISO, as well as other international standards allowing us to offer products composed of these fabrics all over the world.

Our ChemMAX 3, 4 and Interceptor fabrics are supported by PermaSure®, an app based chemical database and permeation modeler that allows our customers to quickly determine the safe use time for supported Lakeland garments, under specific environmental conditions for over 4,000 chemicals.       This powerful tool allows Lakeland customers to safely minimize the chemical protective clothing cost by not having to default to the most protective garments available because chemical data is not available, or because there is not time to consult with the manufacturer. PermaSure can be used to model response scenarios so that contingency plans for response can be put in place.

Durable Woven Garments

We manufacture and market a line of       durable, launderable woven garments that complement our firefighting and heat protective offerings and provide alternatives to our limited use/disposable protective clothing lines. These products provide us access to the much larger woven industrial and health care-related markets. Woven garments are favored by customers for certain applications because of familiarity with and acceptance of these fabrics. These products allow us to supply and satisfy a wider range of our end users’ safety needs.

Our product lines include the following:

We manufacture woven garments at our facilities in China, Mexico and Argentina. We are continuing to relocate our woven protective coveralls and flame-retardant coveralls to our facilities in China, Mexico, Vietnam and India where lower fabric and labor costs allow increased profit margins.

Firefighting and Heat Protective Apparel

We manufacture an extensive line of UL certified, NFPA compliant, structural firefighter protective apparel (turnout gear) for domestic and foreign fire departments. Our turnout gear is available both in standard stock patterns and custom configurations.

We offer basic firefighter turnout gear in the Attack (A10) and Battalion (B1) styles. Introduced in 2013 are the Battalion (“B2”) style with advanced ergonomic features and the Stealth style, with innovative features new to the fire industry.

We also manufacture each of the above styles in our UL certified, NFPA compliant, Proximity line for Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (“ARFF”) with aluminized shells.

We manufacture full lines of Fire service extrication suits in FR cotton, UL certified, NFPA compliant Wildland firefighting apparel in multiple fabrics and Aluminized Kiln entry/Approach suits to protect industrial workers from extreme heat encountered in foundry’s, boiler rooms, and direct fired ovens.

We manufacture fire suits (turnout gear) at our facilities in China and Mexico. Our Lakeland Fire® brand of firefighting apparel continues to benefit from ongoing research and development investment, as we seek to address the ergonomic needs of stressful occupations.

Gloves and Sleeves

We manufacture and sell specially designed glove and sleeve products made from Kevlar®, a cut and heat resistant fiber produced by DuPont, Spectra®, a cut resistant fiber made by Honeywell, and our own patented engineered yarns. These gloves offer a better overall level of protection, lower worker injury rate, and are more cost effective than traditional leather, canvas or coated work gloves. These gloves allow workers to safely handle sharp or jagged unfinished sheet metal, are used primarily in the automotive, glass and metal fabrication industries.

We have patents for our Despro^® and Despro^® Plus products that provide greater cut and abrasion protection to the areas of a glove where injury is most likely to occur. For example, the areas of the thumb, thumb crotch and index fingers are made of heavier yarn than the balance of the glove, providing increased wear protection and longer glove life, reducing overall glove costs. This proprietary manufacturing process allows us to produce our gloves more economically and provide a greater value to the end user.

High Visibility Clothing

Lakeland’s High-Visibility Division manufactures and markets a comprehensive line of reflective apparel meeting the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) requirements as well as multiple national standards around the world. The line includes vests, T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, coats, raingear, jumpsuits, hats and gloves.

Fabrics available include solid and mesh fluorescent, polyester, both inherently FR and FR treated fabrics, and Modacrylic materials, which meet the arc flash protective requirements for use by electrical utilities. The mesh modacrylic fabric, with its inherent FR capability, has a strong appeal to utility workers in warmer climates during spring and summer months (heat prostration).

Our High Vis FR/ARC rated rainwear is light-weight, soft, flexible and breathable, providing for a cooler garment. This product is intended for the Gas and Electrical Utility markets. The Lakeland ARC-X FR/PU garment exceeds all of the required ASTM arc flash and flash fire ratings for the Electric and Gas Utility market.

Our vest production occurs in our facilities in Mexico and China. Much of this manufacturing is for custom products. Many corporations and agencies, such as State Departments of Transportation and large electric utilities, develop custom specifications which they feel are more efficient in meeting their specific needs than off-the-shelf product. We can also import significant quantities of product from China and Mexico to meet the demand for items in high volume commodity markets.

In addition to ANSI Reflective items, Lakeland Hi-Visibility manufactures Nomex and FR cotton garments which have reflective trim attached as a part of their design criteria. These garments typically are used in rescue or extrication operations, such as those encountered as a result of vehicular accidents. Garments in this group are not as price sensitive as those in other reflective categories.

Durable Woven GarmentsGloves and Sleeves

We manufacture and marketsell specially designed glove and sleeve products made from Kevlar®, a line of durable, launderable woven garments that complement our firefightingcut and heat protective offeringsresistant fiber produced by DuPont, Spectra®, a cut resistant fiber made by Honeywell, and provide alternativesour own patented engineered yarns. These gloves offer a better overall level of protection, lower worker injury rate, and are more cost effective than traditional leather, canvas or coated work gloves. These gloves allow workers to our limited use/disposable protective clothing lines. These products provide us access tosafely handle sharp or jagged unfinished sheet metal, are used primarily in the much larger woven industrialautomotive, glass and health care-related markets. Woven garments are favored by customers for certain applications because of familiarity with and acceptance of these fabrics. These products allow us to supply and satisfy a wider range of our end users’ safety needs.metal fabrication industries.

Our product lines include the following:

We manufacture woven garments athave patents for our facilities in China, MexicoDespro^® and Argentina. WeDespro^® Plus products that provide greater cut and abrasion protection to the areas of a glove where injury is most likely to occur. For example, the areas of the thumb, thumb crotch and index fingers are continuingmade of heavier yarn than the balance of the glove, providing increased wear protection and longer glove life, reducing overall glove costs. This proprietary manufacturing process allows us to relocateproduce our woven protective coverallsgloves more economically and flame-retardant coverallsprovide a greater value to our facilities in China, Mexico, Vietnam and India where lower fabric and labor costs allow increased profit margins.the end user.

Quality

All of our manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001 or 9002 certified. ISO standards are internationally recognized manufacturing standards established by the International Organization for Standardization based in Geneva, Switzerland. To obtain ISO registration, our factories were independently audited to test our compliance with the applicable standards and norms. In order to maintain registration, our factories receive regular inspections by an independent certification organization. While ISO certification is advantageous in retaining CE certification of products, we believe that the ISO 9001 and ISO 9002 certifications help make us more competitive in the marketplace, as customers increasingly recognize the standard as an indication of conformity with industry best practices in manufacturing.

As we source more and more of our fabrics internationally and manufacture more products certified to various standards, we have installed laboratories in our China and U.S. facilities. These laboratories are critical for ensuring that our incoming raw materials meet our quality requirements, for research and development of new products or qualification of new fabrics, and evaluation of new products against international standards. We continue to add new capabilities to these facilities to meet the requirements of new products and new standards.

Marketing and Sales

Domestically, we employ a field sales force, organized in four vertical sales groups industrial(industrial sales, fire service, critical environment, and utilities,utilities), to better support customers and enhance marketing. We further leverage our in-house sales team with 52 independent sales representatives to a global network of over 1,600 safety and industrial supply distributors who buy our products for resale and typically maintain inventory at the local level in order to assure quick response times and the ability to serve their customers properly.

Internationally, Lakeland has sales representatives in 21 countries outside of the US and selling products into more than 50 countries. Our sustainable market advantages continue to be our knowledge of global standards, the diversity of our product offering and the fact that we manufacture our own products. We provide our customers with an exceptionally broad product selection, high quality, and excellent customer service.

We seek to maximize the efficiency of our established distribution network through direct promotion of our products at the end user level. To this end, we have organized our sales teams into the previously mentioned vertical market teams to increase our ability to focus on sales of specific products and into specific markets. Additionally, we are motivating our distributors to engage in promotional activities aligned with our sales strategies via coop incentives. We advertise primarily through trade publications, and our promotional activities include sales brochures, emails and our website. We exhibit at both regional and national trade shows, such as the National Safety Congress, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (“AIHA”), the American Society of Safety Engineers (“ASSE”), the CIOSH, the COS+H and the A+A show in Dusseldorf, Germany.We believe that future international growth is sustainable in excess of the estimated industry organic growth rate of 7.0% to 7.5% (per Allied Market Research, “Global Disposable Protective Clothing Market 2019-2026”) in the coming year, but there can be no assurance in that regard, particularly in view of the disruptions due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This belief is based on our current estimates of market penetration, the introduction of higher value products and improved business intelligence and better planning afforded to us by our new ERP system.

Competition

We compete on the basis of our product quality, pricing, product availability, responsiveness to customers and manufacturing capability. Our business is highly competitive due to a few competitors who have monopolistic positions in the fabrics that are standards in the industry for disposable and high-end chemical suits. We believe that the barriers to entry in the disposable and reusable garments and gloves industries are relatively low as evidenced the by increasing availability of distributor private label product in the marketplace. We face competition in some of our other product markets from large established companies that have greater financial, research and development, sales and technical resources. Where larger competitors, such as DuPont, Kimberly Clark, Ansell and Honeywell, offer products that are directly competitive with our products, particularly as part of an established line of products, there can be no assurance that we can successfully compete for sales and customers. Larger competitors outside of our Disposable and Chemical Suit lines also may be able to benefit from economies of scale and technological innovation and may introduce new products that compete with our products.

We are continually seeking sources for our raw materials in or near the various countries where we have manufacturing operations. Not only does this reduce freight costs, but it makes for a more robust supply chain that allows us to respond quickly.

Patents and Trademarks

We own 20 patents and have one patent in the application and approval process with the US Patent and Trademark Office. We own 56 trademarks and have six trademarks in the application and approval process. Our active U.S. patents expire between 2022 and 2037. Intellectual property rights that apply to our various products include patents, trade secrets, trademarks and, to a lesser extent, copyrights. We maintain an active program to protect our technology, filing for patent and trademark protection in multiple countries where our product may be “knocked off” or where there exist significant sales of our products. Information regarding risks associated with our proprietary technology and our intellectual property rights may be found in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the heading “Risk Factors.”

International and Domestic Standards

Globally, standards development continues to challenge Industrial protective clothing manufacturers. The pace of change and adoption of new standards continues to increase as standards for more hazards are added and deficiencies in existing standards are corrected. Complex and changing international standards play to Lakeland’s strengths when compared to most multinationals or smaller manufacturers. Lakeland currently sits on committees and/or works closely with groups involved in writing many international standards such as the American Society for Testing and Materials International (“ASTM”), the National Fire Protection Association (“NFPA”), International Safety Equipment Association (“ISEA”), the European Committee for Standardization (“CEN”), ISO, the China National Standards Board (“GB”) in China, and the Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand (“ASNZ”).

Globally, not only are the standards continuing to change, but the focus of standards activity is shifting. In response to increasing use of certification processes as a technical barrier to trade, standards writing bodies in the US and Europe have both concluded efforts to update and define conformity assessment (ANSI/ISEA 125 and the PPE Regulation respectively) within their own spheres of influence, unfortunately,influence. Unfortunately, these are not “international standards” and can be easily ignored by other countries who wish to impose their own conformity assessment systems on importers. The result is an increasingly dynamic standards environment where not only are the standards changing, but the minimum requirements for conformity with the certification process itself are changing.

A number of developing nations are now becoming active in their own standards development based on existing international standards. However, we believe that the primary goal of their standards writing activity is not focused on worker protection (that is provided for by the use of international standards), rather they are attempting to establish their own certification criteria that will protect their domestic markets or favor specific regional suppliers. This presents a new challenge in that not only are we faced with multiple test methods and standards, but we have the potential for multiple certification processes. While this adds to product development and sales expenses, the additional cost is only incremental. The real challenge is in navigating the certification process itself. This is a significant impediment to entry for companies seeking to expand sales distribution globally. In many cases products preferred in one market are not acceptable in another and multiple conformity assessments are required for the same standard certification. This is both technically challenging and costly. Lakeland, by virtue of its international manufacturing and sales operations, is in a unique position to capitalize on this complex dynamic.

Government Regulation

We are governed by regulations that affect the manufacture, distribution, marketing and sale of its products. These policies differ among and within every country in which we operate. Changes in regulations, guidelines, procedural precedents and enforcement take place frequently and can impact the size, growth potential and profitability of products sold in each market.

Suppliers and Materials

It is our policy, whenever possible, to qualify multiple vendors for our fabrics and bindings. We frequently distribute our purchases among the top two or three suppliers, based on pricing and delivery schedules, in order to keep multiple suppliers qualified and proficient in the manufacture of the raw materials that we require.Materials,require. Materials, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, spunlaced polyester, melt blown polypropylene and their derivatives and laminates, are available from 30 or more major mills.FRmills. FR fabrics are also available from a number of both domestic and international mills. The accessories used in the production of our disposable garments, such as thread, boxes, snaps and elastics, are obtained from unaffiliated suppliers. We currently use 25 suppliers located in the U.S. and internationally to supply our key fabrics. We have not experienced difficulty in obtaining our requirements for these commodity component items.

Due to the high cost of freight for our nonwoven fabrics, we also seek to find multiple sources that are local to our manufacturing to emergency demand and shift manufacturing between our locations with greater ease.

Human Capital Management

As of January 31, 2021,2022, the Company employed approximately 2,0001,800 people worldwide, of which approximately 100 were employed in the United States and 1,9001,700 were employed outside of the United States. Approximately 1,5001,400 or 75% of our global workforce is covered by collective bargaining agreements or works councils. Overall, we consider our employee relations to be good. Our culture is important to our success.

Health and Safety The health and safety of our employees is of utmost important to us. We conduct regular self-assessments and audits to ensure compliance with our health and safety guidelines and regulatory requirements. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a level of work-related injuries as close to zero as possible through continuous investment in our safety programs. We provide protective gear (e.g. eye protection, masks and gloves) as required by applicable standards and as appropriate given employee job duties. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have invested heavily to help ensure the health of our employees. Through the use of education and awareness, provision of necessary PPE, and changes to our manufacturing sites and screening, we strive to make our workplaces a safe place for employees during the workday.

Hiring Practices We recruit the best people for the job without regard to gender, ethnicity or other protected traits and it is our policy to comply fully with all domestic, foreign and local laws relating to discrimination in the workplace.

Diversity and Inclusion Recognizing and respecting our global presence, we strive to maintain a diverse and inclusive workforce everywhere we operate. Almost 50% of our employees worldwide are female and, in the U.S., non-Caucasian employees account for more than 50% of the employee base. Our diversity and inclusion principles are also reflected in our employee training, in particular with respect to our policies against harassment and bullying and the elimination of bias in the workplace.

In addition, to support mental health and emotional well-being, all associates and their dependents worldwide have access to an Employee Assistance Program ("EAP"(“EAP”), at no cost to them. This includes access to visits with mental health care providers through the EAP.

Lakeland’s compensation philosophy strives to provide total compensation for all employees at the market median, utilizing base salary, cash incentives and, in some cases, equity grants to achieve this goal. We further strive to provide above-market compensation opportunities for associates who exceed goals and expectations. This approach to compensation is designed to help Lakeland attract, retain and motivate high-performing individuals who foster an innovative culture and drive business results.

Additional information about how we value our associates’ well-being, including our Global Human Rights Policy and our Global Workplace Health and Safety Policy, can be found in the Corporate Governance section of our corporate website. Nothing on our website, including our policies, or sections thereof, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K or incorporated by reference into any of our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to various foreign, federal, state and local environmental protection, chemical control, and health and safety laws and regulations, and we incur costs to comply with those laws. We own and lease real property, and certain environmental laws hold current or previous owners or operators of businesses and real property responsible for contamination on or originating from property, even if they did not know of, or were not responsible for the contamination. The presence of hazardous substances on any of our properties or the failure to meet environmental regulatory requirements could affect our ability to use or to sell the property, or to use the property as collateral for borrowing, and could result in substantial remediation or compliance costs.

Although we have not in the past had any material costs or damages associated with environmental claims or compliance, and we do not currently anticipate any such costs or damages, we cannot guarantee that we will not incur material costs or damages in the future as a result of the discovery of new facts or conditions, acquisition of new properties, the release of hazardous substances, a change in interpretation of existing environmental laws or the adoption of new environmental laws.

Seasonality

Our operations have historically been moderately seasonal, with higher sales generally occurring in March, April and May when scheduled maintenance on nuclear, coal, oil and gas fired utilities, chemical, petrochemical and smelting facilities, and other heavy industrial manufacturing plants occurs, primarily due to moderate spring temperatures and low Energy demands. Sales decline during the warmer summer vacation months and gradually increase from Labor Day through February with slight declines during holidays, such as Christmas. As a result of this seasonality in our sales, we have historically experienced a corresponding seasonality in our working capital, specifically inventories, with peak inventories occurring between December and May, coinciding with lead times required to accommodate the spring maintenance schedules. Certain of our large customers seek sole sourcing to avoid sourcing their requirements from multiple vendors whose prices, delivery times and quality standards differ.

In recent years, due to increased demand by first responders for our chemical suits and fire gear, our growing sales into the southern hemisphere, and our development of non-seasonal products like CleanMAX, our historical seasonal pattern has shifted. While we doubt that we will ever fully eliminate seasonality in our business, we continue our efforts to diminish its impact on revenues, operational results, working capital and cash flow, by focusing on sales into non-seasonal markets like clean rooms, electric utilities and the fire service markets.

Available Information

Our Internet address is www.Lakeland.com.www.Lakeland.com. We make the following filings available free of charge on the Investor Relations page on our website as soon as they have been electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"(“SEC”): our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as our proxy statement. Information contained on our website is not part of this annual report on Form 10-K or our other filings with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers like us who file electronically with the SEC.

Information about our Executive Officers

The following is a list of the names and ages of all of our executive officers indicating all positions and offices they hold with us as of April 15, 2021.21, 2022.

Charles D. Roberson has served as our Chief Executive Officer, President and Secretary since February 2020. Previously he served as Chief Operating Officer from July 2018. From 2009 to July 2018, he was our Senior Vice President, International Sales. Mr. Roberson joined our Company in 2004 as Technical Marketing Manager;was instrumental in development of our ChemMAX and Interceptor fabrics and represented Lakeland to various standards writing bodies, and later served as International Sales Manager. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Roberson was employed by Precision Fabrics Group, Inc. as a Market Manager from 1995-2001 and as a Nonwovens Manufacturing Manager from 1991-1995. He began his career as a manufacturing manager for Burlington Industries, Inc. in its Menswear Division from 1985-1991.

Allen E. Dillard has served as our Chief Operating Officer since January 1, 2022 and Chief Financial Officer since August 2019. Mr. Dillard was Chief Financial Officer of Digium, Inc., a provider of telecommunications solutions from September 2015 to August 2019. Mr. Dillard served as Chief Executive Officer of Mobular Technologies, Inc., a technology solutions provider from September 2003 to September 2015. Mr. Dillard has also served as CFO/Treasurer for Nichols Research Corporation and Wolverine Tube, Inc. and was a senior manager at Ernst & Young.

Steven L. Harvey has been our Executive Vice President for Global Sales and Marketing since January 2021. From 2007 to 2018, Mr. Harvey was Vice-President of Global Sales and Service of Digium, Inc., a provider of telecommunications solutions. From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Harvey was employed by Adtran, Inc., a provider of networking and communications equipment as the Vice President of Sales, Enterprise and Competitive Service Providers, as the Vice President of Sales, Competitive Service Providers from 1998 to 2002 and as the Vice President of Sales, Enterprise from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Harvey was also an Executive Vice President of, and held various sales positions for, Data Processing Sciences, and began his career at The Procter & Gamble Company.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the following risks before investing in our common stock. These are not the only risks that we may face. If any of the events referred to below actually occur, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could suffer. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. You should also refer to the other information in this Form 10-K and in the documents we incorporate by reference into this Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We are subject to risk as a result of our international manufacturing operations.

Because most of our products are manufactured at our facilities located in China, Vietnam, Mexico, Argentina and India, our operations are subject to risk inherent in doing business internationally. Such risks include the adverse effects on operations from corruption, war, international terrorism, civil disturbances, political instability, government activities such as border taxes and renegotiation of treaties, deprivation of contract and property rights and currency valuation changes.

Since 1978,There is inherent risk, based on the Chinese government has been reforming its economiccomplex relationships between China and the U.S., that political, systems,diplomatic, military, or other events could result in business disruptions, including increased regulatory enforcement against companies, tariffs, trade embargoes, and export restrictions. Tariffs increase the cost of our products and the components and raw materials that go into making them. These increased costs adversely impact the gross margin that we earn on our products. Tariffs can also make our products more expensive for customers, which could make our products less competitive and reduce consumer demand. Countries may also adopt other measures, such as controls on imports or exports of goods, technology, or data, that could adversely impact the Company’s operations and supply chain and limit the Company’s ability to offer our products and services as designed. These measures can require us to take various actions, including changing suppliers and restructuring business relationships. Changing our operations in accordance with new or changed trade restrictions can be expensive, time-consuming, disruptive to our operations and distracting to management. Such restrictions can be announced with little or no advance notice, and we expect thismay not be able to continue. Although we believe that these reformseffectively mitigate all adverse impacts from such measures. Political uncertainty surrounding trade and other international disputes could also have had a positivenegative effect on consumer confidence and spending. Any of these events could reduce customer demand, increase the economic developmentcost of Chinaour products and have improved our ability to successfully operate our facilities in China, we cannot assure you that these reforms will continueservices, or that the Chinese government will not take actions that impair our operations or assets in China. In addition, periods of international unrest may impede our ability to manufacture goods in other countries and couldotherwise have a materialmaterially adverse effectimpact on our businesscustomers’ and suppliers’ businesses and results of operations.

A terrorism attack, other geopolitical crisis, or widespread outbreak of an illness or other health issue, such as the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak, could negatively impact our domestic and/or international operations.

Our global operations are susceptible to global events, including acts or threats of war or terrorism, international conflicts, political instability, and natural disasters. The occurrence of any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business results and financial condition.

We are also susceptible to a widespread outbreak of an illness or other health issue, such as the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019, resulting in millions of confirmed cases identified around the world and in countries in which we conduct business. The outbreak has caused governments to implement quarantines, implement significant restrictions on travel, closed schools and work places, and implement work restrictions, all of which impaired normal business operations of numerous businesses. Globally air travel has been significantly interrupted as has air freight, ocean freight, and even truck deliveries.

As a resultThe impact the invasion of pandemic outbreaks, businesses can be shut down, supply chains can be interrupted, slowed,Ukraine, including economic sanctions or rendered inoperable,additional war or military conflict, as well as potential responses to them by Russia, is currently unknown and individuals can become ill, quarantined, or otherwise unable to work and/or travel due to health reasons or governmental restrictions. Governmental mandates may require forced shutdowns of our facilities for extended or indefinite periods. In addition, these widespread outbreaks of illnessthey could adversely affect our workforce resulting in serious health issues and absenteeism. Pandemic outbreaks could also interfere with general commercial activity related to ourthe Company’s business, supply chain, suppliers or customers. In addition, the continuation of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia could lead to other disruptions, instability and customer base,volatility in global markets and industries that could negatively impact the Company’s operations. It is not possible to predict the broader consequences of this conflict, which could have aninclude further sanctions, embargoes, regional instability, geopolitical shifts and adverse effecteffects on ourmacroeconomic conditions, the availability of raw materials, supplies, freight and labor, currency exchange rates and financial markets, all of which could impact the Company’s business, financial condition and operational results. If our operations are curtailed, we may have to shift manufacturing, if available, to another Lakeland facility which may be more expensive and limit our manufacturing capacity. Our raw materials sources may not be available or may be delayed in shipments to us, impacting our ability to deliver to our customers, negatively impacting our operational results and financial condition . Further, if our customers’ businesses are similarly affected, they might delay or reduce purchases from us, which could adversely affect our results of operations. To date, while we have experienced some loss of employee time, we have not suffered significant negative effects due to COVID-19, and our manufacturing facilities have been able to operate without shutdown.

Pandemics or disease outbreaks, such as COVID-19, may cause unfavorable economic or market conditions which could impact demand patterns and/or disrupt global supply chains and manufacturing operations.

Collectively, these outcomes could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Pandemics or disease outbreaks such as COVID-19 could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies of developed and emerging markets, potentially resulting in an economic downturn that could affect customers’ demand for our products in certain industrial-based end-markets. The spread of pandemics or disease outbreaks may also disrupt the Company’s manufacturing operations, supply chain, or logistics necessary to import, export and deliver products to our customers. During a pandemic or crisis, applicable laws and response directives could, in some circumstances, adversely affect our ability to operate our plants, or to deliver our products in a timely manner. Some laws and directives may also hinder our ability to move certain products across borders. Economic conditions can also influence order patterns. These factors could negatively impact our consolidated results of operations and cash flow. To date, while we have experienced some loss of employee time and reduced core business sales, we have not suffered significant negative effects due to COVID-19, and our manufacturing facilities have been able to operate without shutdown.

We have significant international operations and are subject to the risks of doing business in foreign countries. We have business operations in approximately 60 foreign countries. In FY21,FY22, more than half of our net sales were made by operations located outside the United States. Those operations are subject to various political, economic and other risks and uncertainties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. These risks include the following:

Any one or more of these risks could have a negative impact on the success of our international operations and, thereby, have a material adverse effect our business, consolidated results of operations and financial condition.

Our results of operations may vary widely from quarter to quarter.

Our quarterly results of operations have varied and are expected to continue to vary in the future. These fluctuations may be caused by many factors, including:

These variations could negatively impact our stock price.

Disruption in our supply chain or our manufacturing or distribution operations could adversely affect our business.

Our ability to manufacture, distribute and sell products is critical to our operations. These activities are subject to inherent risks such as natural disasters, power outages, fires or explosions, labor strikes, terrorism, epidemics, pandemics (including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), import restrictions, regional economic, business, environmental or political events, governmental regulatory requirements or nongovernmental voluntary actions in response to global climate change or other concerns regarding the sustainability of our business, which could disrupt our supply chain and impair our ability to manufacture or sell our products. This interruption, if not mitigated in advance or otherwise effectively managed, could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as require additional resources to address.

Because we do not have long-term commitments from many of our customers, we must estimate customer demand, and errors in our estimates could negatively impact our inventory levels and net sales.

Our sales are generally made on the basis of individual purchase orders, which may later be modified or canceled by the customer, rather than on long-term commitments. We have historically been required to place firm orders for fabrics and components with our suppliers prior to receiving an order for our products, based on our forecasts of customer demands. Our sales process requires us to make multiple demand forecast assumptions, each of which may introduce error into our estimates, causing excess inventory to accrue or a lack of manufacturing capacity when needed. If we overestimate customer demand, we may allocate resources to manufacturing products that we may not be able to sell when we expect to or not at all. As a result, we would have excess inventory, which would negatively impact our financial results. Conversely, if we underestimate customer demand or if insufficient manufacturing capacity is available, we would lose sales opportunities, lose market share and damage our customer relationships. On occasion, we have been unable to adequately respond to delivery dates required by our customers because of the lead time needed for us to obtain required materials or to send fabrics to our assembly facilities in China, Vietnam, India, and Mexico. We must recruit and retain skilled employees, including our senior management, to succeed in our business.

We face competition from other companies, a number of which have substantially greater resources than we do.

Four of our competitors, DuPont, Honeywell, Ansell and Kimberly Clark, have substantially greater financial, marketing and sales resources than we do. In addition, we believe that the barriers to entry in the disposable and reusable garments and gloves markets are relatively low. We cannot assure you that our present competitors or competitors that choose to enter the marketplace in the future will not exert significant competitive pressures. Such competition could have a material adverse effect on our net sales and results of operations.

Our operations are substantially dependent upon key personnel.

Our performance is substantially dependent on the continued services and performance of our senior management and certain other key personnel, including Charles D. Roberson, our Chief Executive Officer, President and Secretary, Allen E. Dillard, our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and Steven L. Harvey, our Executive Vice President for Global Sales and Marketing. The loss of services of any of our executive officers or other key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any future expansion of our business will depend on our ability to identify, attract, hire, train, retain and motivate other highly skilled managerial, marketing, customer service and manufacturing personnel, and our inability to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Technological change could negatively affect sales of our products and our performance.

The rapid development of fabric technology continually affects our apparel applications and may directly impact the performance of our products. We cannot assure you that we will successfully maintain or improve the effectiveness of our existing products, nor can we assure you that we will successfully identify new opportunities or continue to have the needed financial resources to develop new fabric or apparel manufacturing techniques in a timely or cost-effective manner. In addition, products manufactured by others may render our products obsolete or noncompetitive. If any of these events occur, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results will be materially and adversely affected.

Cybersecurity incidents could disrupt business operations, result in the loss of critical and confidential information and adversely impact our reputation and results of operations.

Global cybersecurity threats can range from uncoordinated individual attempts to gain unauthorized access to our

We rely on information technology (“IT”) systems to sophisticatedprocess, transmit and targeted measures knownstore electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities. These systems may be materially impacted and/or disrupted by information security incidents such as advanced persistent threats. Whileransomware, malware, viruses, phishing, social engineering, human error or malfeasance, power outages, hardware failures, telecommunication or utility failures, catastrophes or other unforeseen events. Security breaches of our systems or security breaches of third parties’ systems on which we rely to process, store, or transmit electronic information, could result in the misappropriation, destruction or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or personal data.

We employ comprehensive measures to prevent, detect, address and mitigate thesecybersecurity threats (including access controls, data encryption, vulnerability assessments, management training, continuous monitoring of our IT networks and systems and maintenance of backup and protective systems), cybersecurity incidents, depending on their nature. However, our security measures may be inadequate to prevent security breaches and scope,our business operations and reputation could potentially result in the misappropriation, destruction, corruptionbe materially adversely affected by these events and any resulting federal and state fines and penalties, legal claims or unavailability of criticalproceedings. There are also significant costs associated with a data breach, including investigation costs, remediation and confidential or proprietary information (our own or that of third parties)mitigation costs, notification costs, attorneys’ fees, and the disruptionpotential for reputational harm and lost revenues due to a loss in confidence. We cannot predict the costs to comply with these laws or the costs associated with a potential data breach, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial position and cash flows, and our business operations.reputation. As cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against the threat of security breaches or to mitigate and alleviate problems caused by security incidents. While no cybersecurity attack to date has had a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity, the threat remainsremains.

Data privacy and security laws relating to the handling of personal information are evolving across the world and may be drafted, interpreted or applied in a manner that results in increased costs, legal claims, fines against us, or reputational damage.

As a global organization, we are subject to data privacy and security laws and regulations in numerous jurisdictions as a result of having access to and processing personal and/or sensitive data in the course of our business.

For example, in the United States, individual states regulate data breach notification requirements as well as more general privacy and security requirements. Certain of these laws grant individuals various rights with respect to personal information, and we may be required to expend significant resources to comply with these laws. Further, all 50 states and the potential consequencesDistrict of Columbia have adopted data breach notification laws that impose, in varying degrees, an obligation to notify affected persons and/or state regulators in the event of a material cybersecurity incidentdata breach or compromise, including when their personal information has or may have been accessed by an unauthorized person. Some state breach notification laws may also impose physical and electronic security requirements regarding the safeguarding of personal information. Violation of state privacy, security, and breach notification laws can trigger significant monetary penalties. In addition, certain states’ privacy, security, and data breach laws, including, for example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”)(amended, effective January 1, 2023 as the California Privacy Rights Act), include private rights of action that may expose us to private litigation regarding our privacy and security practices and significant damages awards or settlements in civil litigation.

Compliance with the varying data privacy regulations across the United States and around the world may require expenditures and changes in our business models. In addition, government enforcement actions can be costly and interrupt the regular operation of our business, and data breaches or violations of data privacy laws can result in fines, reputational damage litigation with third parties, diminution in the valueand civil lawsuits, any of our investment in research, development and engineering, and increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs, which in turn couldmay adversely affect our competitivenessbusiness, reputation and results of operations.financial statements.

Our success depends in part on our proprietary technology, and if we fail to successfully obtain or enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitive position may be harmed.

We rely on our portfolio of issued and pending patent applications in the U.S. and other countries to protect a large part of our intellectual property and our competitive position; however, these patents may be insufficient to protect our intellectual property rights because our patents may be challenged, invalidated, held unenforceable, circumvented, or may not be sufficiently broad to prevent third parties from producing competing products similar in design to our products and foreign patents protections may be more limited than those provided under U.S. patents and intellectual property laws.

We may not be afforded the protection of a patent if our currently pending or future patent filings do not result in the issuance of patents or we fail to apply for patent protection. We may fail to apply for a patent if our personnel fail to disclose or recognize new patentable ideas or innovations. Remote working can decrease the opportunities for our personnel to collaborate, thereby reducing the opportunities for effective invention disclosures and patent application filings. We may choose not to file a foreign patent application if the limited protections provided by a foreign patent outweigh the costs to obtain it. Our foreign patent portfolio is less extensive than our U.S. portfolio.

Our inability to maintain the proprietary nature of our technology through patents, copyrights or trade secrets would impair our competitive advantages and could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, financial condition and future growth prospects. In particular, a failure to protect our intellectual property rights might allow competitors to copy our technology or create counterfeit or pirated versions of our products, which could adversely affect our reputation, pricing and market share.

Acquisitions and investments could be unsuccessful.

In the future, subject to capital constraints, we may seek to acquire selected safety products lines or safety-related businesses or other businesses, which will complement our existing products. Our ability to acquire these businesses is dependent upon many factors, including our management’s relationship with the owners of these businesses, many of which are small and closely held by individual stockholders. In addition, we will be competing for acquisition and expansion opportunities with other companies, many of which have greater name recognition, marketing support and financial resources than us, which may result in fewer acquisition opportunities for us, as well as higher acquisition prices. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify, pursue or acquire any targeted business and, if acquired, there can be no assurance that we will be able to profitably manage additional businesses or successfully integrate acquired business into our Company without substantial costs, delays and other operational or financial problems.

Acquisitions involve a number of special risks in addition to those mentioned above, including the diversion of management’s attention to the assimilation of the operations and personnel of the acquired companies, the potential loss of key employees of acquired companies, potential exposure to unknown liabilities, adverse effects on our reported operating results and the amortization or write-down of acquired intangible assets. We cannot assure you that any acquisition by us will or will not occur, that if an acquisition does occur that it will not materially and adversely affect our results of operations or that any such acquisition will be successful in enhancing our business. To the extent that we are unable to manage growth efficiently and effectively or are unable to attract and retain additional qualified management personnel, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

On October 18, 2021, the Company made a strategic investment of $2.8 million in Inova Design Solutions Ltd. (doing business as Bodytrak®) as a step toward entering the Connected Worker Market for “Smart PPE.”

Financial Risks

Our results of operations could be negatively affected by potential fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

Most of our assembly arrangements with our foreign-based subsidiaries or third-party suppliers require payment to be made in USU.S. dollars or the Chinese Renminbi (“RMB”). Any decrease in the value of the US dollar or RMB in relation to foreign currencies could increase the cost of the services provided to us upon contract expirations or supply renegotiations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to increase product prices to offset any such cost increases, and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are also exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risks as a result of our sales to customers in foreign countries in the amount of $88.4$70.8 million in FY21.FY22. Our sales in these countries are usually denominated in the local currency. If the value of the US dollar increases relative to these local currencies, and we are unable to raise our prices proportionally, then our profit margins could decrease because of the exchange rate change.

We are exposed to changes in foreign currency exchange rates as a result of our purchases and sales in other countries. To manage the volatility relating to foreign currency exchange rates, we seek to limit, to the extent possible, our non-US dollar denominated purchases and sales.

In connection with our operations in China, we purchase a significant amount of products from outside of the United States. However, our purchases in China are primarily made in the RMB, the value of which has floated for the last 5 years, therefore we have been exposed to additional foreign exchange rate risk on our Chinese raw material and component purchases.

Our primary risk from foreign currency exchange rate changes is presently related to non-US dollar denominated sales in China, Canada and Europe and, to a smaller extent, in South American countries and in Russia. Our sales to customers in Canada are denominated in Canadian dollars, in Europe in Euros and British pounds, and in China in RMB and US dollars. If the value of the US dollar increases relative to the Canadian dollar, the Pound, the Euro, or the RMB then our net sales could decrease as our products would be more expensive to these international customers because of changes in rate of exchange. We manage the foreign currency risk, when appropriate, through the use of rolling 90-day forward contracts against the Canadian dollar and Euro and through cash flow hedges in the US against the RMB and the Euro. We do not hedge other currencies at this time. In the event that non-US dollar denominated international purchases and sales grow, exposure to volatility in exchange rates could have a material adverse impact on our financial results.

Covenants in our credit facilities may restrict our financial and operating flexibility.

As a result of the Loan Agreement the Company entered into on June 25, 2020 and amended June 18, 2021, we currently have a $12.5$25.0 million revolving credit facility, expiring June 25, 2025. Our credit facility requires, and any future credit facilities may also require, among others that we comply with specified financial covenants relating to fixed charge coverage and maximum capital expenditures.investment in acquisitions. Our ability to satisfy these financial covenants can be affected by events beyond our control, and we cannot guarantee that we will meet the requirements of these covenants. These restrictive covenants could affect our financial and operational flexibility or impede our ability

Additionally, in July 2017, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority announced that it would stop compelling banks to operate or expand our business, including a limitation on annual investments and advancessubmit interest rates for the calculation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) after 2021. Although we can make to foreign subsidiaries. Defaultdo not have any outstanding debt under our credit facilitiesfacility, were we to draw on it, the outstanding amounts would allowbear interest at fluctuating interest rates on an approved replacement benchmark. We continue to monitor this matter and evaluate the lendersrelated risks and potential impact of LIBOR’s expiration. Any indebtedness that we incur may be indexed to declare all amounts outstandinga replacement benchmark, such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). Any such change could cause the effective interest rate under an agreement, including our Loan Agreement, and our overall interest expense to be immediately dueincrease, adversely affecting our cash flows and payable. Our lenders have a security interest in substantially allresults of our assets to secure the debt under our current credit facilities, and it is likely that our future lenders will have security interests in our assets. If our lenders declare amounts outstanding under any credit facility to be due, the lenders could proceed against our assets. Any event of default, therefore, could have a material adverse effect on our business.operations.

We may need additional funds, and if we are unable to obtain these funds, we may not be able to expand or operate our business as planned.

Our operations require significant amounts of cash, and we may be required to seek additional capital, whether from sales of equity or by borrowing money, to fund acquisitions for the future growth and development of our business or to fund our operations and inventory, particularly in the event of a market downturn.

A number of factors could affect our ability to access future debt or equity financing, including:

Even if available, additional financing may be more costly than our current facility and may have adverse consequences. If additional funds are raised through the incurrence of debt, we will incur increased debt servicing costs and may become subject to additional restrictive financial and other covenants. We can give no assurance as to the terms or availability of additional capital. Although management believes it currently has sufficient capital, if we do need additional capital in the future and are unsuccessful, it could reduce our net sales and materially adversely impact our earning capability and financial position.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

We may be exposed to continuing and other liabilities arising from our former Brazilian operations.

Although we formally completed the terms of the “Shares Transfer Agreement”, pursuant to which our entire equity interest in our former Brazilian subsidiary (“Lakeland Brazil”) was transferred during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2016, we may continue to be exposed to certain liabilities arising in connection with the operations of Lakeland Brazil, which was shut down in late March 2019. We understand that under the laws of Brazil, a parent company may be held liable for the liabilities of a former Brazilian subsidiary in the event of fraud, misconduct, or under various theories. In this respect, as regards labor claims, a parent company could conceivably be held liable for the liabilities of a former Brazilian subsidiary. Although we would have the right of adversary system, full defense and due process, in case of a potential litigation, there can be no assurance as to the findings of the courts in Brazil. For this reason we have worked with Brazilian legal counsel to settle all open labor claims against the former subsidiary in order to mitigate this risk.

We deal in countries where corruption is an obstacle.

We must comply with American laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Sarbanes-Oxley and also with anticorruption legislation in the U.K. Some of our competitors and customers in foreign jurisdictions may not adhere to such legislation. As a result, we believe that we lose sales orders due to our strict adherence to such regulations.

We are subject to various U.S. and foreign tax laws and any changes in these laws related to the taxation of businesses and resolutions of tax disputes could adversely affect our results of operations.

The U.S. Congress, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (or, OECD) and other government agencies in jurisdictions in which we invest or do business have maintained a focus on issues related to the taxation of multinational companies. The OECD has changed numerous long-standing tax principles through its base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) project which could adversely impact our effective tax rate.

We are subject to regular review and audit by both foreign and domestic tax authorities. While we believe our tax positions will be sustained, the final outcome of tax audits and related litigation may differ materially from the tax amounts recorded in our consolidated financial statements, which could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We may be subject to product liability claims, and insurance coverage could be inadequate or unavailable to cover these claims.

We manufacture products used for protection from hazardous or potentially lethal substances, such as chemical and biological toxins, fire, viruses and bacteria. The products that we manufacture are typically used in applications and situations that involve high levels of risk of personal injury. Failure to use our products for their intended purposes, failure to use our products properly or the malfunction of our products could result in serious bodily injury or death of the user. In such cases, we may be subject to product liability claims arising from the design, manufacture or sale of our products. If these claims are decided against us, and we are found to be liable, we may be required to pay substantial damages, and our insurance costs may increase significantly as a result. We cannot assure you that our insurance coverage would be sufficient to cover the payment of any potential claim. In addition, we cannot assure you that this or any other insurance coverage will continue to be available or, if available, that we will be able to obtain it at a reasonable cost. Any material uninsured loss could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Environmental laws and regulations may subject us to significant liabilities.

Our US operations, including our manufacturing facilities, are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations relating to the discharge, storage, treatment, handling, disposal and remediation of certain materials, substances and wastes. Any violation of any of those laws and regulations could cause us to incur substantial liability to the Environmental Protection Agency, the state environmental agencies in any affected state or to any individuals affected by any such violation. If hazardous substances are released from or located on any of our properties, we could incur substantial costs and damages. Any such liability could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and by-laws and Delaware law could make a merger, tender offer or proxy contest difficult.

Our restated certificate of incorporation contains classified board provisions, authorized preferred stock that could be utilized to implement various “poison pill” defenses and a stockholder authorized, but as yet unused, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”), all of which may have the effect of discouraging a takeover of Lakeland, which is not approved by our board of directors. Further, we are subject to the antitakeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibit us from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in the prescribed manner.

Risks Relating to Our Common Stock

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate widely.

The market price of our common stock could be subject to significant fluctuations in response to quarter-to-quarter variations in our operating results, announcements of new products or services by us or our competitors and other events or factors. For example, a shortfall in net sales or net income, or an increase in losses, from levels expected by securities analysts or investors, could have an immediate and significant adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. Volume fluctuations that have particularly affected the market prices of many micro and small capitalization companies have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. These fluctuations, as well as general economic and market conditions, may adversely affect the market price for our common stock.

Our common stock is an equity interest and therefore subordinated to our indebtedness.

Payments of the principal and interest under notes issued under the loan agreements entered into in connection with our senior financing are secured by liens on, and security interests in, substantially all of our and our subsidiaries’ present and after-acquired assets. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, our common stock would rank below all debt and creditor claims against us. As a result, holders of our common stock will not be entitled to receive any payment or other distribution of assets upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up until after all of our obligations to our debt holders and creditors have been satisfied.

We are precluded from paying and do not anticipate paying any dividends to our common stockholders in the near future.

We are prohibited from declaring or paying any dividends to our common stockholders without the prior consent of our lenders. Further, we have not paid dividends on our common stock since August 2006 and we do not anticipate, if permitted, paying any dividends in the foreseeable future. Instead, we plan to retain any earnings to maintain and expand our existing operations.

ITEM 1B: UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Our principal executive office is located at 202 Pride Lane SW, Decatur,1525 Perimeter Parkway Suite 325, Huntsville, AL 3560335806 United States.  We own or lease our primary facilities.  Our primaryWe own our manufacturing locations are located in AnQui City, China and Jerez, Mexico, BuenasMexico. We lease our manufacturing locations in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Noida, India, and Xuan Trung Commune, Vietnam.

We believe that all of our facilities, including the manufacturing facilities, are in good repair and in suitable condition for the purposes for which they are used.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are a party to litigation arising in the ordinary course of our business. We are not currently a party to any litigation or other legal proceedings that we believe could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. See Note 10 to the consolidated financial statements related to legal matters in respect of our former subsidiary in Brazil and its relation to the Company.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

N/ANot applicable.

PART II

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ITEM 5.5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock is currently traded on the Nasdaq Market under the symbol “LAKE.” On April 9, 20218, 2022 there were 3036 registered holders of our shares of common stock. This number of registered holders does not represent the actual number of beneficial owners of our common stock because shares are frequently held in “street name” by securities dealers and others for the benefit of individual owners who have the right to vote their shares.

Dividend Policy

We may pay stock dividends in future years at the discretion of our board of directors.

We have never paid any cash dividends on our common stock, and we currently intend to retain any future earnings for use in our business. We are prohibited from declaring or paying any dividends to our common stockholders without the prior consent of our lenders. The payment and rate of future cash or stock dividends, if any, or stock repurchase programs are subject to the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our earnings, financial condition, capital or contractual restrictions under our credit facilities and other factors.

Issuer Purchase of Equity Securities