UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM20-F

 [ ]

OR

For the fiscal year ended March 30, 201927, 2021

OR

 [ ]

OR

 [ ] SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES

  EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of event requiring this shell company report _________________

For the transition period from _________________ to _________________

Commission file number:001-32635

BIRKS GROUP INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Not Applicable

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

Canada

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

2020 Robert-Bourassa Blvd.

Montreal Québec

Canada

H3A 2A5

(Address of principal executive offices)

Pat Di Lillo,Katia Fontana, 514-397-2592 (telephone),514-397-2537 (facsimile)

2020 Robert-Bourassa Blvd.

Suite 200

Montreal Québec

Canada

H3A 2A5

(Name, Telephone,E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

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

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

None.

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None.

The number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the Annual Report was:

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

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.☐Yes    ☒  No

Note: Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

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 ofRegulation 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 whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, anon-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, 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 which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

U.S. GAAP☒

International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ☐         Other ☐

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow:    Item 17  ☐    Item 18  ☐

If this is an Annual Report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

i

INTRODUCTION

References

Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Birks Group,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” are used in this Annual Report to refer to Birks Group Inc., a Canadian corporation, and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. In addition, (i) the term “Mayors” refers to Mayor’s Jewelers, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mayor’s Jewelers of Florida, Inc., a Florida corporation, until October 23, 2017, upon which date it was sold to a third party, and (ii) “the merger” refers to the merger of Mayors with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, as approved by the stockholders on November 14, 2005. The term “Birks” refers to Henry Birks & Sons Inc., the legal name of Birks Group prior to the merger.

Presentation of Financial and Other Information

Throughout this Annual Report, we refer to our fiscal year ending March 30, 2019,27, 2021, as fiscal 2019,2021, and our fiscal years ended March 31, 201828, 2020, and March 25, 2017,30, 2019, as fiscal 20182020 and fiscal 2017,2019, respectively. Our fiscal year ends on the last Saturday in March of each year. The fiscal year ended March 30, 2019 consisted of 52 weeks. The fiscal years ended March 31, 2018,27, 2021 and March 25, 201728, 2020 consisted of 53 and 52 weeks, respectively.

Current developments

COVID-19

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic and a global emergency. In response to this pandemic, many government authorities took preventative and protective actions to contain the spread of the virus, including imposing restrictions on business operations and travel and advising individuals to limit or forego their time outside of their homes.

Operational Impacts

As a result of the measures adopted by the Canadian Federal and provincial governments to mitigate the spread of the virus, and in order to ensure the health and safety of its employees, customers and the community, the Company temporarily closed all of its retail locations in Canada effective on March 18, 2020. This adversely impacted the Company’s operations for the remaining thirteen days of fiscal 2020 and in fiscal 2021. In the first two months of fiscal 2021, the Company’s only sales were derived from its e-commerce business as well as its concierge telephone service, which, along with its distribution center, continued to operate with strict health and safety protocols in place, in accordance with local government guidelines. We have also continued to operate our wholesale business and our head office functions under a “work from home” model.

During the months of June 2020 and July 2020, the Company gradually re-opened its stores across Canada as the federal and provincial government authorities loosened the protective actions and restrictions imposed at the outset of the pandemic outbreak. By the end of July 2020, the Company had re-opened all of its retail stores, albeit at reduced operating hours and reduced capacity.

As a result of provincial restrictions to address the subsequent “waves” of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has since experienced intermittent government mandated closures of its retail stores as well as capacity restrictions. Six of our Ontario stores, including our Bloor street flagship store, were temporarily closed for a 15-week period between November 23, 2020 and March 9, 2021. Our remaining four Ontario stores were temporarily closed for a 12-week period between November 23, 2020 and February 16, 2021. Our five Québec stores were temporarily closed for a six-week period between December 26, 2020 and February 8, 2021. Our Manitoba store was temporarily closed for a ten-week period between November 12, 2020 and January 23, 2021. During the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2021, 16 of our 29 retail stores, representing 55% of our network, were temporarily closed for in-person shopping (but the majority remained open for concierge service and curbside pick-up) due to government orders for average durations of six to fifteen weeks, respectively. As of the date of this Form 20-F, nine of our ten retail stores in Ontario are closed for in-person shopping until at least July 6, 2021. We will continue to adhere to all future guidelines provided by local government and health organizations.

Operational Response and Financial & Liquidity Impacts

As a result of these developments, the Company established a cross-functional management team to evaluate and guide its business operations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the health and safety of the Company’s employees and clients, business continuity, and management of liquidity.

Due to the materially adverse impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the global economy, consumer confidence and spending, as well as the retail operating environment, our fiscal 2021 financial results were materially impacted. The temporary retail store closures (for in-person shopping) imposed by local health authorities across various provinces in Canada at intermittent periods during fiscal 2021 (including Q1, Q3 & Q4) as well as capacity and social distancing restrictions when stores have been opened, have caused our fiscal 2021 sales to be below prior year sales.

The Company has changed its reporting currencytaken various actions and strategies in fiscal 2019 from U.S. dollars (USD)an attempt to Canadian dollars (CAD) formitigate the period commencing April 1, 2018financial impacts of COVID-19 in order to better reflectmanage liquidity to finance its ongoing operations. We have substantially reduced selling, general and administrative expenses (including employee compensation costs at both the fact thatretail and head office levels, marketing costs and other operating costs) and discretionary spending across all areas of the business.

This includes the following initiatives:

On July 8, 2020, the Company secured a new six-year term loan with Investissement Québec, the sovereign fund of the province of Québec, in the amount of $10.0 million, as amended. The secured term loan was used to fund the working capital needs of the Company. The loan bears interest at a rate of 3.14% per annum and is repayable in 60 equal payments beginning in July 2021. The term loan with Investissement Québec requires the Company on an annual basis to have a working capital ratio (defined as current assets divided by current liabilities excluding the current portion of operating lease liabilities) of at least 1.01. As at March 27, 2021, the Company had a working capital ratio of 1.03. On June 2, 2021, the Company obtained a waiver from Investissement Québec with respect to the Company’s divestiturerequirement to meet the working capital ratio at March 26, 2022.

Acceptance of Compliance Plan by NYSE American

On August 13, 2020, the Company was notified by NYSE American LLC (“NYSE American”) that it was not in compliance with the continued listing standards set forth in Section 1003(a)(ii) of the NYSE American Company Guide (the “Company Guide”). That section applies if a listed company has stockholders’ equity of less than U.S. $4.0 million and has reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in three of its former wholly-owned subsidiary, Mayors,four most recent fiscal years. Furthermore, on December 9, 2020, the Company was notified by NYSE American that it was not in compliance with the continued listing standards set forth in Section 1003(a)(i) of the Company Guide. That section applies if a listed company has stockholders’ equity of less than U.S. $2.0 million and has reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in two of its three most recent fiscal years. Lastly, upon filing of its financial statements for the fiscal period ended March 27, 2021 on Form 20-F, the Company expects to be non-compliant with the continued listing standards as set forth in Section 1003(a)(iii) of the Company Guide which applies if a listed company has stockholders’ equity of less than U.S. $6.0 million and has reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in its five most recent fiscal years. The Company is reporting

stockholders’ deficiency of U.S. $1.2 million (CAD deficiency $1.5 million) as of its fiscal year ended March 27, 2021, and has reported losses from continuing operations in each of its last five most recent fiscal years including the fiscal year ended March 27, 2021, while nevertheless reporting net income in two of its last five fiscal years.

In accordance with the procedures and requirements of Section 1009 of the Company Guide, the Company submitted its plan of compliance on September 6, 2020 addressing how the Company intends to regain compliance with Section 1003(a)(ii) of the Company Guide. On October 22, 2020, NYSE American notified the Company that it accepted the compliance plan and granted the Company an extension for its continued listing until February 6, 2022 (the “Plan Period”). Birks Group can regain compliance under Sections 1003(a)(i) and 1003(a)(iii) of the Company Guide under the compliance plan approved by NYSE American on October 23, 2017,22, 2020, which granted the Company an extension for its businesscontinued listing until February 6, 2022. The Company is primarily conducted in Canada, and a substantial portionnot required to submit an additional plan to NYSE American with respect to Section 1003(a)(i).

The Company is subject to periodic review by NYSE American during the Plan Period. If the Company does not regain compliance by the end of its revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities are denominated in CAD. The Company’s functional currency remains CAD. All figures presented in this Annual Report are in CAD unless otherwise specified and all prior periods’ comparative information has been recast asthe Plan Period, or if the Company always used CADdoes not make progress consistent with the plan during the Plan Period, NYSE American may initiate delisting procedures as itsappropriate. Receipt of the non-compliance and acceptance notices does not affect the Company’s business, operations, financial or liquidity condition, or reporting currency (referrequirements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. During this time, the Company’s Class A voting shares will continue to note 1 of our consolidated financial statements included elsewherebe listed and trade on the symbol “BGI.”

Significant Transaction in this Form20-F).

Significant Transactionfiscal 2018

On August 11, 2017, the Company entered into a stock purchase agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) with Aurum Holdings Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, which assigned its rights and obligations under the Stock Purchase Agreement to Aurum Group USA, Inc., a Delaware corporation (now known as Watches of Switzerland) (“Aurum”) to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mayors, which operated in Florida and Georgia and was engaged primarily in luxury timepieces and jewelry retail activities. The sale was completed on October 23, 2017 for total consideration of $135.0 million (USD $106.8 million) (the “Aurum Transaction”).

As part of the Aurum Transaction, Birks entered into a 5 year5-year distribution agreement with Aurum (the “Distribution Agreement”) to sell Bijoux Birks fine jewelry collections in the U.K. at Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths stores and on their respectivee-commerce platforms. Furthermore, pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, the Bijoux Birks collections continue to be sold in the United States through Mayors stores in Florida and Georgia. The Distribution Agreement is an achievement in the Company’s strategy to develop the Birks brand into a global luxury brand. The Aurum Transaction represents a step forward in the Company’s efforts to strengthen its balance sheet and to execute its strategic vision of investing in the Birks brand.

Proceeds from the Aurum Transaction were used to pay down outstanding debt under the Company’s previous senior secured credit facilities that included term debt and working capital debt associated with Mayors. The Company did not pay dividends as a result of the Aurum Transaction, but rather, the remaining transaction proceeds were used by Birks to continue its strategic growth initiatives, specifically to invest in its Canadian flagship stores and to support its high-growth Bijoux Birks brand wholesaling activities ande-commerce, as part of the Company’s omni-channel strategy.

As a result of the Aurum Transaction, the Company has presented Mayors’ results as a discontinued operation in the consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for all periods presented. See “Significant Transaction” in Item 5 below for a reconciliation of the Company’s results from continuing operations and from discontinuing operations for the fiscal years 2021, 2020, and 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

Forward-Looking Information

This Annual Report and other written reports and releases and oral statements made from time to time by the Company contain forward-looking statements which can be identified by their use of words like “plans,” “expects,” “believes,” “will,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “projects,” “estimates,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “planned,” “goal,” and other words of similar meaning. All statements that address expectations, possibilities or projections about the future, including, without limitation, statements about our strategies for growth, expansion plans, sources or adequacy of capital, expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the following: (i) the magnitude and length of economic disruption as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, including its impact on macroeconomic conditions, generally, as well as its impact on the results of operations and financial condition of the Company and the trading price of its shares; (ii) a decline in consumer spending or deterioration in consumer financial position; (iii) economic, political and market conditions, including the economies of Canada and the U.S., which

could adversely affect the Company’s business, operating results or financial condition, including its revenue and profitability, through the impact of changes in the real estate markets, changes in the equity markets and decreases in consumer confidence and the related changes in consumer spending patterns, the impact on store traffic, tourism and sales; (iv) the impact of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, increases in commodity prices and borrowing costs and their related impact on the Company’s costs and expenses; (v) the Company’s ability to maintain and obtain sufficient sources of liquidity to fund its operations, to achieve planned sales, gross margin and net income, to keep costs low, to implement its business strategy, maintain relationships with its primary vendors, to mitigate fluctuations in the availability and prices of the Company’s merchandise, to compete with other jewelers, to succeed in its marketing initiatives, and to have a successful customer service program; and (vi) the Company’s ability to execute its strategic vision; (vii) the Company’s completion of the filing requirements for the CERS; and (viii) the Company’s ability to invest in and finance capital expenditures.

One must carefully consider such statements and understand that many factors could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements, such as inaccurate assumptions and other risks and uncertainties, some known and some unknown. No forward-looking statement is guaranteed and actual results may vary materially. Such statements are made as of the date provided, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future developments or circumstances.

One should carefully evaluate such statements by referring to the factors described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), especially on this Form20-F and our Forms6-K. Particular review is to be made of Items 3, 4 and 5 of this Form20-F where we discuss in more detail various important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from expected or historical results. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Since it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, the identified items are not a complete statement of all risks or uncertainties.

PART I

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Item 3. Key Information

Selected Financial Data

The following financialincome statement data and balance sheet data as of March 30, 201927, 2021 and March 31, 201828, 2020 and for the years ended March 30, 2019,27, 2021, March 31, 2018,28, 2020, and March 25, 201730, 2019 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The following financial data as of March 25, 2017,30, 2019, March 26, 2016,31, 2018, and March 28, 201525, 2017 and for the years ended March 26, 2016,31, 2018 and March 28, 201525, 2017 have been derived starting with our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this Annual Report, recast to CAD (see * footnote * below) and then adjusted to reflect the effects of the discontinued operations (see footnote 54 below), which adjustments are unaudited. All fiscal years, except for fiscal 2018, in the table below consisted of 52 weeks. Fiscal 2018 consisted of 53 weeks. The historical results included below and elsewhere in this Annual Report are not necessarily indicative of our future performance.

The data presented below is only a summary and should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, included elsewhere in this Annual Report. You should also read the following summary data in conjunction with Item 5, “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Balance Sheet Data:
		March 30, 2019				March 31, 2018*				March 25, 2017*(5)				March 25, 2016*(5)				March 28, 2015*(5)
		(In thousands)
Working capital		$	7,464			$	22,449			$	1,530			$	9,907			$	13,734
Total assets		$	133,795			$	120,275			$	115,163			$	119,451			$	117,017
Bank indebtedness		$	47,021			$	36,925			$	59,965			$	46,643			$	45,484
Long-term debt (including current portion)		$	17,104			$	8,210			$	8,626			$	22,531			$	26,597
Stockholders’ equity		$	13,783			$	32,477			$	17,112			$	10,223			$	3,551
Common Stock:
Value		$	93,348			$	93,348			$	93,348			$	93,348			$	93,348
Shares			17,961				17,961				17,961				17,961				17,961

Income Statement Data – from continuing operations:    

Balance Sheet Data:    

Dividends and Dividend Policy

We have not paid dividends since 1998 and do not currently intend to pay dividends on our Class A voting shares or Class B multiple voting shares in the foreseeable future. Our ability to pay dividends on our Class A voting shares and Class B multiple voting shares are restricted by our credit agreements. See Item 5, “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Liquidity and Capital Resources.” If dividends were declared by our Board of Directors, shareholders would receive a dividend equal to the per share dividend we would pay to holders of our Class A voting shares or holders of Class B multiple voting shares. Dividends we would pay to U.S. holders would generally be subject to withholding tax. See Item 10, “Additional Information —Taxation.”

RISK FACTORS

Risks Related to the CompanyCOVID-19 pandemic

Our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows have been and will continue to be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A public health crisis or disease outbreak, epidemic or pandemic, or the threat or fear of such events, could adversely impact our business. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic and a global emergency. In response to this pandemic, many government authorities have taken preventative and protective actions to contain the spread of the virus. COVID-19 has significantly impacted our retail stores, sales, and foot traffic, based on the perceived public health risk and government imposed quarantines and restrictions of public gatherings and commercial activity to contain the spread of the virus. As a result of the measures adopted by the Canadian federal and provincial governments to mitigate the spread of the virus, and in order to ensure the health and safety of our employees, customers and the community, we temporarily closed all of our retail locations in Canada in Q1 of fiscal 2021 and certain of our locations in intermittent periods during Q3 & Q4 of fiscal 2021. Refer to section “Current Developments”, sub-section “COVID-19” for further details on temporary retail store closures during fiscal 2021. This has adversely impacted our operations and financial performance in fiscal 2021. There is no guarantee that our retail and wholesale businesses will not be further impacted if the economy deteriorates due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, or if additional governmental authorities order the shutdown of additional non-essential businesses. While our e-commerce business has not been negatively impacted, additional government mandates ordering the shutdown of business and manufacturing and fulfillment facilities could negatively impact our ability to take or fulfill customer orders placed online.

Our operations have been experiencing and are expected to continue to experience disruptions from the global outbreak of COVID-19. To date, such disruptions have included the temporary closure of all of our retail store operations in Canada effective on March 18, 2020 and during Q1 of fiscal 2021 and the temporary closure of certain of our locations at intermittent periods during Q3 & Q4 of fiscal 2021. As a result of these store closures, we have experienced significant declines in sales, including a year-over-year decline of approximately 16% for fiscal 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. As of the date of this Form 20-F, nine of our ten retail stores in Ontario are closed for in-person shopping until at least July 6, 2021.

We expect that the COVID-19 pandemic will have risks to our business beyond fiscal 2021. Our business is particularly sensitive to reductions in discretionary spending by consumers. To date, this outbreak has caused, and is continuing to cause, significant disruption in the financial markets both globally and in Canada, which could lead to a decline in discretionary spending by consumers, and which could in turn impact, possibly materially, our business, sales, financial condition and results of operations. Consumer demand may be impacted amidst the uncertainty in the global economy caused by the pandemic which could negatively impact our retail business as well as the businesses of our retail partners. Our retail business is sensitive to tourism. Regions that previously had higher densities of tourism and/or commercial urban traffic could experience a slower recovery which would adversely impact our future sales. Furthermore, we are exposed to additional COVID-19 related risks in relation to our retail store network such as social distancing requirements implemented by local governments as well as possible mandatory or elective temporary store shutdowns in the case of potential further waves of COVID-19. Such impacts could result in lower or no foot traffic throughout our retail store network which would adversely impact our sales, cash flows from operations and our liquidity position. The effects could also impact our ability to continue to respect payment terms with our suppliers and could cause our accounts payable balances to age significantly. The effects of COVID-19 could also impact our ability

to adhere to the minimum excess availability requirements (described below) under both our senior secured credit facility (“Credit Facility”) and senior secured term loan (“Term Loan”). Failure to adhere to said requirements would be considered an event of default under the Credit Facility and Term Loan agreements, that provides the lenders the right to require the outstanding balances borrowed under our Credit Facility and Term Loan to become due immediately, which would result in cross defaults on our other borrowings. Furthermore, potential cases of COVID-19 infection that could arise at our corporate head office, distribution centers, or retail stores may disrupt our operations, which could lead to negative impacts on our revenues and cash flows from operations. Our operations have been impacted and could continue to be impacted by disruptions in our global supply chain network as result of COVID-19, including shortages of certain products due to disruptions in manufacturing by our suppliers, as well as costs of productions and distribution. We may experience increased operational challenges due to the implementation of work from home policies for both office employees and store employees whose stores are temporarily closed. Remote working arrangements may increase risks associated with our information systems such as the risk of cybersecurity incidents or system failures, which could have an adverse effect on our business. We cannot predict the degree to, or the time period over which our sales and operations will be affected by this outbreak, and the effects could be material. The longer the effects of COVID-19 last, the longer discretionary spending by consumers may be impacted, and the more extensive the effects could be on our business, sales, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and our stock price. If there are further waves of the outbreak, stores may need to be closed again, further impacting our business, sales, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and our stock price. The full extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our operations, financial performance, and liquidity, depends on future developments that are uncertain and unpredictable.

Financial and Liquidity Risks

The level of our indebtedness could adversely affect our operations, liquidity and financial condition.

Our debt levels fluctuate from time to time based on seasonal working capital needs. In fiscal 2019,2021, the Company incurred debt primarily forconsisting of the purposeInvestissement Québec term loan in the amount of financing$10.0 million, in order to fund the renovationsworking capital needs of the Company, including those arising from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fiscal 2020, the Company incurred debt primarily consisting of bank indebtedness in order to manage its flagship stores, which is in line with its strategic plan.working capital needs. The following table sets forth our total indebtedness (including bank indebtedness and current and long-term portion of debt), total stockholders’ equity (deficiency), total capitalization and ratio of total indebtedness to total capitalization as of:

This level of leverage could adversely affect our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition. Some examples of how high levels of indebtedness could affect our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition may include the following:

Consequently, our belief that we currently have sufficient liquidity to fund our operations is based on certain assumptions about the future state of the economy, the future availability of borrowings to fund our operations and our future operating performance. To the extent that the economy and other conditions affecting our business are significantly worse than we anticipate, we may not achieve our projected level of financial performance and we may determine that we do not have sufficient capital to fund our operations.

Significant restrictions on our borrowing capacity could result in our inability to fund our cash flow requirements or maintain minimum excess availability requirements under the terms of our secured asset-based credit facility needed to support ourday-to-day operations and our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our ability to fund our operations and meet our cash flow requirements is dependent upon our ability to maintain positive excess availability under our $85.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”). Under the Credit Facility, our sole financial covenant is to maintain minimum excess availability of not less than $8.5 million at all times, except that we shall not be in breach of this covenant if excess availability falls below $8.5 million for not more than two consecutive business days once during any fiscal month. Our excess availability was above $8.5 million throughout fiscal 2019.2021.

Both our Credit Facility and Term Loan (defined below) are subject to cross default provisions with all other loans pursuant to which if we are in default of any other loan, we will immediately be in default of both the Credit Facility and the Term Loan. In the event that excess availability falls below $8.5 million for more than two consecutive business days once during any fiscal month, this would be considered an event of default under the Credit Facility and Term Loan agreements, that provides the lenders the right to require the outstanding balances borrowed under our Credit Facility and Term Loan to become due immediately, which would result in cross defaults on our other borrowings. We expect to have excess availability of at least $8.5 million for at least the next twelve months.

On June 29, 2018, we secured a $12.5 million senior secured term loan (the “Term Loan”) with Crystal Financial LLC (“Crystal”) now known as SLR Credit Solutions (“SLR”). The Term Loan, which matures in October 2022, is subordinated in lien priority to the Credit Facility and bears interest at a rate of Canadian Dollar Offered Rate (“CDOR”) plus 8.25%. Under the Term Loan, we are required to adhere to a similar financial covenant as under the Credit Facility (maintain minimum excess availability of not less than $8.5 million at all times, except that we shall not be in breach of this covenant if excess availability falls below $8.5 million for not more than two consecutive business days once during any fiscal month). In addition, the Term Loan includes seasonal availability blocks imposed from December 20th to January 20th of each year of $9.5 million and from January 21st to February 20th of each year of $4.5 million. The long term senior secured term loanTerm Loan is required to be repaid upon maturity.

Our borrowing capacity under both the Credit Facility and Term Loan is based upon the value of our inventory and accounts receivable, which is periodically assessed by our lenders and based upon these reviews, our borrowing capacity could be significantly increased or decreased.

Our lenders under our Credit Facility and our Term Loan may impose, at any time, discretionary reserves, which would lower the level of borrowing availability under our credit facilities (customary for asset-based loans), at their reasonable discretion, to: i) ensure that we maintain adequate liquidity for the operation of our business, ii) cover any deterioration in the value of the collateral, and iii) reflect impediments to the lenders to realize upon the collateral. There is no limit to the amount of discretionary reserves that our lenders may impose at their reasonable discretion.

No discretionary reserves were imposed during fiscal 2019,2021, fiscal 2018,2020, and fiscal 2017,2019, by our current or former lenders.

For fiscal 2019,2021, the Company reported net losses from continuing operations and a total net loss of $5.8 million. The Company reported net losses from continuing operations of $12.2 million and $18.3 million (consolidated(total net loss of $18.7 million). The Company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $22.0$12.8 million (consolidated net income of $14.1 million) and a net loss from continuing operations of $8.9 million (consolidated net income of $7.1$18.7 million) for fiscal 20182020 and fiscal 2017,2019, respectively. The Company used cash in operating activities from continuing operations of $4.3$1.7 million, $19.7$3.2 million, and $4.4$4.3 million for fiscal 2021, 2020, and 2019, 2018respectively. The Company also had a negative working capital as at March 27, 2021 and 2017, respectively. March 28, 2020, primarily as a result of COVID-19 impacts on the business.

Maintenance of sufficient availability of funding through an adequate amount of committed financing is necessary for the Company to fund itsday-to-day operations. If the Company does not generate profitable operations and positive cash flows from operations in future periods, the Company may be unable to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. The Company’s ability to make scheduled payments of principal, or to pay the interest or additional interest, if any, or to fund planned capital expenditures and store operations will depend on its ability to maintain adequate levels of available borrowing and its future performance, which to a certain extent, ismay be subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors, as well as other events that are beyond the Company’s control.

The Company continues to operate through its Credit Facility. COVID-19 has resulted in significant disruption to global financial markets, which could have a negative impact on the Company’s ability to access capital in the future. Given the uncertainty in the circumstances, the Company is pursuing other actions to enhance its liquidity position, which could include entering into new credit facilities, raising additional funds through public or private equity or debt financing, including funding from governmental sources, to the extent available. If new credit facilities are not available to the Company, there may be a material adverse impact on its financial condition and ability to manage its working capital.

On July 8, 2020, the Company secured a new six-year term loan with Investissement Québec in the amount of $10.0 million, as amended. The secured term loan was used to fund the working capital needs of the Company. The loan bears interest at a rate of 3.14% per annum and is repayable in 60 equal payments beginning in July 2021. The term loan with Investissement Québec requires the Company on an annual basis to have a working capital ratio (defined as current assets divided by current liabilities excluding the current portion of operating lease liabilities) of at least 1.01. As at March 27, 2021, the Company had a working capital ratio of 1.03. On June 2, 2021, the Company obtained a waiver from Investissement Québec with respect to the requirement to meet the working capital ratio at March 26, 2022.

The going concern basis of presentation assumes that the Company will continue its operations for the foreseeable future and be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business.

Additional financing or capital that may be required may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or may not be available at all. Capital raised through the sale or issuance of equity securities may result in dilution to our current shareholders. Failure to obtain such additional financing or capital could have an adverse impact on our liquidity and financial condition including our ability to continue as a going concern.

If we are unable to meet our financial projections, in order to invest in growth initiatives, we may need to raise additional funds through public or private equity or debt financing, including funding from governmental sources, which may not be possible as the success of raising additional funds is beyond our control. The sale of additional equity securities could result in significant dilution to our current shareholders, and the securities issued in future financings may have rights, preferences and privileges that are senior to those of our common stock.

The terms of our Credit Facility and Term Loan expire in October 2022, as such, financing may be unavailable in amounts or on terms similar to the current agreements or acceptable to us, orif at all, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, including our ability to continue as a going concern.

The Company continues to be actively engaged in identifying alternative sources of financing that include raising additional funds through public or private equity, the disposal of assets, and debt financing, including funding from governmental sources which may not be possible as the success of

raising additional funds is beyond the Company’s control. The incurrence of additional indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that could restrict the Company’s operations.

Operational Risks

Our business could be adversely affected if we are unable to continue to lease retail stores in prime locations and successfully negotiate favorable lease terms.

Historically, we have generally been successful in negotiating and improving leases for renewal as our current leases near expiration. As of May 31, 2019,2021, we had 29 leased retail stores. The leases are generally in prime retail locations and generally have lease terms of ten years, with rent being a fixed minimum base plus, for certain stores, a percentage of the store’s sales volume (subject to some adjustments) over a specified threshold. Many uncontrollable factors can impact our ability to renew these leases, including but not limited to, competition for key locations from other retailers. Only 15 of the Company’s store leases isare renewable within the next two years and such storestores generated approximately 1%3% of our fiscal 2019 sales from continuing operations.2021 net sales. The capital expenditures related to remodeling some of our retail stores are estimated to be approximately $1.0$2.7 million during fiscal 2020 to remodel, relocate or open new stores, in accordance with our strategic plan.2022. These planned capital expenditures are at the discretion of management and not required by our landlords. Such planned capital expenditures could be delayed in the event of prolonged COVID-19 impacts on the Company’s operations and financial condition. We areexpect to be able to finance these capital expenditures with internally generated funds and existing financing arrangements. However, in the future, if we are unsuccessful at negotiating favorable renewal terms, locations or if more capital is required to meet landlord requirements for remodeling or relocating retail stores and we are unable to secure the necessary funds to complete these projects, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be adversely affected. In addition, we may not be able to locate suitable alternative sites in a timely manner. Our sales, earnings and cash flows will decline if we fail to maintain existing store locations, renew leases or relocate to alternative sites, in each case on attractive terms.

Our business could be adversely affected if our relationships with any primary vendors are terminated or if the delivery of their products is delayed or interrupted.

We compete with other jewelry and timepiece retailers for access to vendors that will provide us with the quality and quantity of merchandise necessary to operate our business, and our merchandising strategy depends upon our ability to maintain good relations with significant vendors. Certain brand name timepiece and jewelry manufacturers have distribution agreements with our Company that, among other things, provide for specific sales locations, yearly renewal terms and early termination provisions at the manufacturer’s discretion. In fiscal 2021, merchandise supplied by our largest luxury timepiece supplier and sold through our stores accounted for approximately 20% of our total net sales from continuing operations. Our relationships with primary suppliers are generally not pursuant to long-term agreements. We obtain materials and manufactured items from third-party suppliers. Any delay or interruption in our suppliers’ abilities to provide us with necessary materials and components, including as a result of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on suppliers, may require us to seek alternative supply sources. Any delay or interruption in receiving supplies could impair our ability to supply products to our stores and, accordingly, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The abrupt loss of any of our significant third-party suppliers or a decline in the quality or quantity of materials supplied by any third-party suppliers could cause significant disruption in our business.

We may not successfully manage our inventory, which could have an adverse effect on our net sales, profitability, cash flow and liquidity.

As a retail business, our results of operations are dependent on our ability to manage our inventory. To properly manage our inventory, we must be able to accurately estimate customer demand and supply requirements and purchase new inventory accordingly. If we fail to sell our inventory, we may be required to write-down our inventory or pay our vendors without new purchases, creating additional vendor financing, which would have an adverse impact on our earnings and cash flows. Additionally, a significant portion of the merchandise we sell is carried on a consignment basis prior to sale or is

otherwise financed by vendors, which reduces our required capital investment in inventory. Any significant change in these consignment or vendor financing relationships could have a material adverse effect on our net sales, cash flows and liquidity.

Fluctuations in the availability and prices of our raw materials and finished goods may adversely affect our results of operations.

We offer a large selection of distinctive high quality merchandise, including diamond, gemstone and precious metal jewelry, rings, wedding bands, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, charms, timepieces and gifts. Accordingly, significant changes in the availability or prices of diamonds, gemstones, and precious metals we require for our products could adversely affect our earnings. We do not hedge a material portion of the price of raw materials. A significant increase in the price of these materials could adversely affect our net sales and gross margins.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property and may be required to engage in costly litigation as a protective measure.

To establish and protect our intellectual property rights, we rely upon a combination of trademark and trade secret laws, together with licenses, exclusivity agreements and other contractual covenants. In particular, the “Birks” trademarks are of significant value to our retail operations. The measures we take to protect our intellectual property rights may prove inadequate to prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property. Monitoring the unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, may result in counterclaims or other claims against us and could significantly harm our results of operations.

A significant data privacy breach or security breach of our information systems could disrupt or negatively affect our business.

The protection of customer, employee and company data is important to us, and our customers expect that their personal information will be adequately protected. The regulatory environment surrounding information security and data privacy is becoming increasingly demanding, as requirements in respect of personal data use and processing, including significant penalties for non-compliance, continues to evolve in the various jurisdictions in which the Company does business. Although we have developed and implemented systems and processes that are designed to protect our information and prevent data loss and other security breaches, such measures cannot provide absolute security and our business could still be exposed to risks. Attacks may be targeted at us, our vendors or customers, or others who have entrusted us with information. Data and security breaches can also occur as a result of non-technical issues including intentional or inadvertent breach by employees or persons with whom we have commercial relationships that result in the unauthorized release of personal or confidential information. We rely upon information technology networks and systems, some of which are managed by third parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities, including e-commerce sales, supply chain, merchandise distribution, customer invoicing and collection of payments. We use information technology systems to record, process and summarize financial information and results of operations for internal reporting purposes and to comply with regulatory financial reporting, legal and tax requirements. Additionally, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, proprietary business information, the proprietary business information of our customers and suppliers, as well as personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in our information technology systems. The secure operation of these information technology networks, and the processing and maintenance of this information is critical to our business operations and strategy. To date, our business and operations have not been materially impacted by a cyber-attack, security breach, or data breach, however a significant breach of customer, employee or company data could damage our reputation, our relationship with customers and the Birks brand and could result in lost sales, sizable fines, violation of applicable privacy and other laws, significant breach-notification costs and lawsuits as well as adversely affect results of operations. In addition, it could harm our ability to execute our business and adversely impact sales, costs and earnings. Because of the rapidly evolving types of cyber-attacks and the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate cost-effective preventative measures. We may need to expend significant resources to protect

against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches. Since March 2020, we have implemented a work from home policy due to the COVID-19 outbreak for our corporate workforce in Montreal. Remote work could increase our cyber security risk, create data accessibility concerns, and make us more susceptible to communication disruptions, any of which could adversely impact our business operations.

Failure to successfully implement or make changes to information systems could disrupt or negatively impact our business.

In addition to regularly evaluating and making changes and upgrades to our information systems, we have begun to implement since fiscal 2016, a new enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system with the Microsoft Dynamics D365 for Retail platform in order to update our retail systems including point of sale (POS), supply chain, warehouse management, wholesale, and finance. While we follow a disciplined methodology when evaluating and making such changes, there can be no assurances that we will successfully implement such changes, that such changes will occur without disruptions to our operations, that the new or upgraded systems will achieve the desired business objectives or that the internal controls will be effective in preventing misstatements in financial reporting. Any such disruptions, inadequate internal controls or the failure to successfully implement new or upgraded systems such as those referenced above, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and could also affect our reputation, our relationship with customers and our brands.

Our customer, employee and vendor relationships could be negatively affected if we fail to maintain our corporate culture and reputation.

We believe we have a well-recognized culture and reputation that our consumers associate with a high level of integrity, customer service and quality merchandise, and it is one of the reasons customers shop with us and employees choose us as a place of employment. Any significant damage to our reputation could diminish customer trust, weaken our vendor relationships, reduce employee morale and productivity and lead to difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified employees.

Risks Related to the Economy and External Factors, including Regulations

Our business depends, in part, on factors affecting consumer spending that are out of our control.

Our business, like other retailers, depends on consumer demand for our products and, consequently, is sensitive to a number of factors that are beyond our control that influence consumer spending, including general economic conditions, consumer confidence in future economic conditions and domestic and international political conditions, tourism, recession and fears of recession, consumer debt, disposable consumer income, conditions in the housing market, consumer perceptions of personal well-being and security, fuel prices, inclement weather, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, sales tax rate increases, inflation, and war and fears of war. Jewelry purchases are discretionary for consumers and may be particularly and disproportionately affected by adverse trends in the general economy and the equity markets. Adverse changes in factors affecting discretionary consumer spending could reduce consumer demand for our products, resulting in a reduction in our sales and harming our business and operating results. A substantial portion of our customers use credit, either from our private label and proprietary credit cards or another consumer credit source, to purchase jewelry.jewelry and timepieces. When there is a downturn in the general economy, fewer people may use or be approved for credit, which could result in a reduction in net sales and/or an increase in bad debts,credit losses, which in turn, could lead to an unfavorable impact on our overall profitability. The on-going COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy and reduced the amount of discretionary income available for consumers to purchase our products. We have seen decreases in consumer spending as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and such trends may continue. These circumstances have been amplified by the significant decline in global travel that has also occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If periods of decreased consumer spending continue, our sales could be negatively impacted, and our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Consequently, our belief that we currently have sufficient liquidity to fund our operations is based on certain assumptions about the future state of the economy, the future availability of borrowings to fund our operations and our future operating performance. To the extent that the economy and other conditions affecting our business are significantly worse than we anticipate, we may not achieve our projected level of financial performance and we may determine that we do not have sufficient capital to fund our operations.

Our business could be adversely affected if our relationships with any primary vendors are terminated or if the delivery of their products is delayed or interrupted.

We are exposed to currency exchange risks that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

A portion of the purchases we make from our suppliers are denominated in U.S. dollars. As a result, a depreciation of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar would increase the cost of acquiring those goods in Canadian dollars, which would have a negative effect on our gross profit margin. In addition, material fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could reduce our borrowing availability under our Credit Facility which is denominated in Canadian dollars, and limit our ability to finance our operations. For purposes of financial reporting, the Company has changed its reporting currency in fiscal 2019 from USD to CAD in order to better reflect that its business is primarily conducted in Canada, and a substantial portion of its revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities are denominated in CAD. The consolidated financial statements for comparative periods have been recast to CAD by translating net sales and expenses into CAD using monthly average foreign currency rates prevailing during the period, while assets and liabilities are translated atyear-end exchange rates, with the effect of such translation recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income.

We operate in a highly competitive and fragmented industry.

The retail jewelry and timepiece business is highly competitive and fragmented, and we compete with nationally-recognized jewelry chains as well as a large number of independent regional and local jewelry and timepiece retailers and other types of retailers who sell jewelry, timepieces, and gift items, such as department stores and mass merchandisers. We also compete withe-commerce sellers of jewelry and timepieces. Because of the breadth and depth of this competition, we are constantly under competitive pressure that both constrains pricing and requires extensive merchandising and marketing efforts in order for us to remain competitive.

We are controlled by a single shareholder whose interests may be different from yours.

As of May 31, 2019,20, 2021, The Grande Rousse Trust (“Grande Rousse”) beneficially owns or controls 76.0%74.5% of all classes of our outstanding voting shares, which are directly owned by Mangrove Holdings S.A (“Mangrove”) and Montel Sarl (“Montel”), previously Montrovest B.V. Montel and Mangrove own 49.3%48.3% and 26.7%26.2% of our outstanding voting shares respectively. The trustee of Grande Rousse is Meritus Trust Company Limited (the “Trustee”). Confido Limited has the power to remove the Trustee and as a result may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the Class A voting shares held by Montel and Mangrove. Under our restated articles, Montel and Mangrove, as holders of the Class B multiple voting shares, have the ability to control most actions requiring shareholder approval, including electing the members of our Board of Directors and the issuance of new equity.

Grande Rousse, Montel and Mangrove may have different interests than you have and may make decisions that do not correspond to your interests. In addition, the fact that we are controlled by one shareholder may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in our management or voting control.

Terrorist acts or other catastrophic events could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Terrorist acts, acts of war or hostility, natural disasters or other catastrophic events could have an immediate disproportionate impact on discretionary spending on luxury goods upon which our operations are dependent, and could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual propertyhave been, and may continue to be requiredaffected in the future, by widespread protests such as the protests related to engagesocial injustices that have taken place in costly litigation as a protective measure.

To establishvarious cities across Canada in June 2020. Such protests can disrupt foot traffic at our stores, thereby negatively impacting sales, cause temporary store closures, and protectlead to inventory shrinkage, and property damage, all of which could adversely impact our intellectual property rights, we rely upon a combination of trademarksales and trade secret laws, together with licenses, exclusivity agreements and other contractual covenants. In particular, the “Birks” trademarks are of significant value to our retail operations. The measures we take to protect our intellectual property rights may prove inadequate to prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property. Monitoring the unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, may result in counterclaims or other claims against us and could significantly harm our results offrom operations.

A significant privacy breachEnvironmental and climate changes could affect the Company’s business.

The Company recognizes that climate change is a serious risk to society and therefore continues to take steps to reduce the Company’s impact on the environment. Adverse effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events, particularly over a prolonged period of time, could negatively impact the Company’s business and results of operations if such conditions limit our information systemsconsumer’s ability to access our stores, cause our consumers to limit discretionary spending, or disrupt our supply chains or distribution channels. Social, ethical and environmental matters influence the Company’s reputation, demand for merchandise by consumers, the ability to recruit staff, relations with suppliers and standing in the financial markets. The Company’s success is dependent on the strength and effectiveness of its relationships with its various stakeholders: customers, shareholders, employees and suppliers. In recent years, stakeholder expectations have increased, as these stakeholders expect businesses to consider social, ethical, and

environmental impacts while making business decisions, and the Company’s success and reputation will depend on its ability to meet these higher expectations. The Company’s success also depends upon its reputation for integrity in sourcing its merchandise, which, if adversely affected could disrupt or negativelyimpact consumer sentiment and willingness to purchase the Company’s merchandise.

Legal and Compliance Risks

Applicable laws and regulations related to consumer credit may adversely affect our business.

The protectionoperation of customer, employeeour credit business subjects us to substantial regulation relating to disclosure and company data is important to us,other requirements upon origination, servicing, debt collection and our customers expect that their personal information will be adequately protected. The regulatory environment surrounding information security and data privacy is becoming increasingly demanding, as requirements in respectparticularly upon the amount of personal data use and processing, including significant penalties fornon-compliance, continues to evolvefinance charges we can impose. Any adverse change in the various jurisdictions inregulation of consumer credit could adversely affect our earnings. For example, new laws or regulations could limit the amount of interest or fees we, or our banks, can charge on consumer loan accounts, or restrict our ability to collect on account balances, which the Company does business. Although wecould have developeda material adverse effect on our earnings. Compliance with existing and implemented systems and processes that are designed to protectfuture laws or regulations could require material expenditures or otherwise adversely affect our information and prevent data loss and other security breaches, such measures cannot provide absolute security. We rely upon information technology networks and systems, some of which are managed by third parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to managebusiness or support a variety of business processes and activities, includinge-commerce sales, supply chain, merchandise distribution, customer invoicing and collection of payments. We use information technology systems to record, process and summarize financial information and results of operations for internal reporting purposes andresults. Failure to comply with regulatory financial reporting, legal and tax requirements. Additionally, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, proprietary business information, the proprietary business information of our customers and suppliers, as well as personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in our information technology systems. The secure operation of these information technology networks, and the processing and maintenance of this information is critical to our business operations and strategy. To date, our business and operations have not been materially impacted by a cyber-attacklaws or data breach, however a significant breach of customer, employee or company data could damage our reputation, our relationship with customers and the Birks brand andregulations, even if inadvertent, could result in lost sales, sizablenegative publicity, and fines, significant breach-notification costs and lawsuits as well as adversely affect resultseither of operations. In addition, it could harm our ability to execute our business and adversely impact sales, costs and earnings. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate cost-effective preventative measures. We may need to expend significant resources to protect against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches.

Failure to successfully implement or make changes to information systems could disrupt or negatively impact our business.

In addition to regularly evaluating and making changes and upgrades to our information systems, we have begun to implement since fiscal 2016, a new enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system with the Microsoft Dynamics D365 for Retail platform in order to update our retail systems including point of sale (POS), supply chain, warehouse management, wholesale, and finance. While we follow a disciplined methodology when evaluating and making such changes, there can be no assurances that we will successfully implement such changes, that such changes will occur without disruptions to our operations, that the new or upgraded systems will achieve the desired business objectives or that the internal controls will be effective in preventing misstatements in financial reporting. Any such disruptions, inadequate internal controls or the failure to successfully implement new or upgraded systems such as those referenced above,which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and could also affect our reputation, our relationship with customers and our brands.operations.

The Company conducts retail operations in Canada and conducts wholesale operations in North America and the United Kingdom. The Company sources its inventory from several suppliers within and outside North America, and has cross border financing arrangements. As a result, the Company is subject to the risks of doing business in jurisdictions within and outside North America.

The Company generates the majority of its net sales in Canada. The Company also relies on certain foreign third-party vendors and suppliers. As a result, the Company is subject to the risks of doing business in jurisdictions within and outside North America, including:

Changes in regulatory, political, economic, or monetary policies and other factors could require the Company to significantly modify its current business practices and may adversely affect its future financial results. For example, the Company could be adversely impacted by U.S. trade policies, legislation, treaties and tariffs, including trade policies and tariffs affecting China, the E.U., Canada and Mexico, as well as retaliatory tariffs by such countries. Such tariffs and, if enacted, any further legislation or actions taken by the U.S. government that restrict trade, such as additional tariffs or trade barriers, and other protectionist or retaliatory measures taken by governments in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, could have a negative effect on the Company’s ability to sell products in those markets.

While these factors and the effect of these factors are difficult to predict, any one or more of them could lower the Company’s revenues, impact its cash flow, increase its costs, reduce its earnings or disrupt its business.

Risks Related to Class A Voting Shares

Our share price could be adversely affected if a large number of Class A voting shares are offered for sale or sold.

Future issuances or sales of a substantial number of our Class A voting shares by us, Montel, Mangrove, or another significant shareholder in the public market could adversely affect the price of our Class A voting shares, which may impair our ability to raise capital through future issuances of equity securities. As of May 31, 2019,2021, we had 10,242,91110,610,973 Class A voting shares issued and outstanding. Sales of restricted securities in the public market, or the availability of these Class A voting shares for sale, could adversely affect the market price of Class A voting shares.

As a retail jewelerretailer of jewelry and timepieces with a limited public float, the price of our Class A voting shares may fluctuate substantially, which could negatively affect the value of our Class A voting shares and could result in securities class action claims against us.

The price of our Class A voting shares may fluctuate substantially due to, among other things, the following factors: (1) fluctuations in the price of the shares of a small number of public companies in the retail jewelry business; (2) additions or departures of key personnel; (3) announcements of legal proceedings or regulatory matters; and (4) general volatility in the stock market. The market price of our Class A voting shares could also fluctuate substantially if we fail to meet or exceed expectations for our financial results or if there is a change in financial estimates or securities analysts’ recommendations.

Significant price and value fluctuations have occurred in the past with respect to the securities of retail jewelry and related companies. In addition, because the public float of our Class A voting shares is relatively small, the market price of our Class A voting shares is likely to be volatile. There is limited trading volume in our Class A voting shares, rendering them subject to significant price volatility. In addition, the stock market has experienced volatility that has affected the market prices of equity securities of many companies, and that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of such companies. A number of other factors, many of which are beyond our control, could also cause the market price of our Class A voting shares to fluctuate substantially. In the past, following periods of downward volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, class action litigation has often been pursued. If our Class A voting shares were similarly volatile and litigation was pursued against us, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

We are governed by the laws of Canada, and, as a result, it may not be possible for shareholders to enforce civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the U.S.

We are governed by the laws of Canada. Our assets are located outside the U.S. and some of our directors and officers are residents outside of the U.S. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service within the U.S. upon us or our directors and officers, or to realize in the U.S. upon judgments of courts of the U.S. predicated upon civil liability of Birks Group and such directors or officers under U.S. federal securities laws. There is doubt as to the enforceability in Canada by a court in original actions, or in actions to enforce judgments of U.S. courts, of the civil liabilities predicated upon U.S. federal securities laws.

We are subject to the continued listing requirements of the NYSE American. If we are unable to comply with such requirements, our common stock could be delisted from the NYSE American, which would limit investors’ ability to effect transactions in our common stock and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

Our common stock is currently listed on NYSE American. In order to maintain our listing, we must maintain certain share prices, financial and share distribution targets, including maintaining a minimum amount of stockholders’ equity and a minimum number of public shareholders. NYSE American may delist the securities of any issuer for other reasons involving the judgment of NYSE American.

On August 13, 2020, we were notified by NYSE American that we were not in compliance with the continued listing standards set forth in Section 1003(a)(ii) of the NYSE American Company Guide (the “Company Guide”). That section applies if a listed company has stockholders’ equity of less than U.S. $4.0 million and has reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in three of its four most recent fiscal years. Furthermore, on December 9, 2020, we were notified by NYSE American that we were not in compliance with the continued listing standards set forth in Section 1003(a)(i) of the Company Guide. That section applies if a listed company has stockholders’ equity of less than U.S. $2.0 million and has reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in two of its three most recent fiscal years. Lastly, upon filing of our financial statements for the fiscal period ended March 27, 2021 on this Form 20-F, we expect to be non-compliant with the continued listing standards as set forth in Section 1003(a)(iii)

of the Company Guide which applies if a listed company has stockholders’ equity of less than U.S. $6.0 million and has reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in its five most recent fiscal years.

In accordance with the procedures and requirements of Section 1009 of the Company Guide, we submitted our plan of compliance on September 6, 2020 addressing how we intend to regain compliance with Section 1003(a)(ii) of the Company Guide.

On October 22, 2020, NYSE American notified us that it accepted the compliance plan and granted us an extension for our continued listing until the end of the Plan Period. We can regain compliance under Sections 1003(a)(i) and 1003(a)(iii) of the Company Guide under the compliance plan approved by NYSE American on October 22, 2020, which granted us an extension for our continued listing until February 6, 2022. We are not required to submit an additional plan to NYSE American with respect to Section 1003(a)(i).

We are subject to periodic review by NYSE American during the Plan Period, including quarterly monitoring, to determine if we are making progress consistent with the plan. If we do not regain compliance by the end of the Plan Period, or if we do not make progress consistent with the plan during the Plan Period, NYSE American may initiate delisting procedures as appropriate. We cannot assure that we will make sufficient progress to regain compliance with Sections 1003(a)(i), 1003(a)(ii) and 1003(a)(iii) by February 6, 2022 under our initial plan or any revision we make to such plan or that NYSE American will accept any revisions we propose to make to our initial plan, or that delisting proceedings may not be instituted against us based on our not meeting certain elements of the near-term milestones we had included as part of the compliance plan we submitted. If delisting proceedings are instituted against us, we would have the right to appeal any delisting determination.

If NYSE American delists our common stock from trading on the exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our common stock would qualify to be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could experience a number of adverse consequences, including: limited availability of market quotations for the common stock; reduced liquidity for our securities; our common stock being categorized as a “penny stock,” which requires brokers trading in our common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our common stock; and decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.

We expect to maintain our status as a “foreign private issuer” under the rules and regulations of the SEC and, thus, are exempt from a number of rules under the Exchange Act of 1934 and are permitted to file less information with the SEC than a company incorporated in the U.S.

As a “foreign private issuer,” we are exempt from rules under the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“the Exchange Act”) that impose certain disclosure and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules under the Exchange Act with respect to their purchases and sales of our Class A voting shares. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act, nor are we required to comply with Regulation Fair Disclosure, which restricts the selective disclosure of material information. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information concerning us than there is for other U.S. public companies.

If we were treated as a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) some holders of our Class A voting shares would be subject to additional taxation, which could cause the price of our Class A voting shares to decline.

We believe that our Class A voting shares should not be treated as stock of a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and we expect to continue operations in such a manner that we will not be a PFIC. If, however, we are or become a PFIC, some holders of our Class A voting shares could be subject to additional U.S. federal income taxes on gains recognized with respect to our Class A voting shares and on certain distributions, plus an interest charge on certain taxes treated as having been deferred under the PFIC rules.

Our assessment of our internal control over financial reporting may identify “material weaknesses” in the future which could reduce confidence in our financial statements and negatively affect the price of our securities.

We are subject to reporting obligations under U.S. securities laws. Beginning with our Annual Report on Form20-F for fiscal 2008, Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires us to prepare a management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management may conclude that our internal control over our financial reporting is not effective. If at any time in the future, we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, market perception of our financial condition and the trading price of our stock may be adversely affected and customer perception of our business may suffer, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our operations. Further, our auditors do not audit our internal controls over financial reporting due to our market capitalization, and therefore, there has been no independent attestation of our internal controls over financial reporting.

If the costs and burden of being a public company outweigh its benefits, we may in the future decide to discontinue our status as a publicly traded company.

As a public company, we currently incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the NYSE American, LLC (“NYSE American”), have imposed various requirements on public companies, including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls as well as mandating certain corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time and financial resources to these compliance initiatives. As such, if it is determined in the future that the costs and efforts of being a public company outweigh the benefits of being a public company, we may decide to discontinue our status as a publicly traded or registered company.

THE COMPANY

Corporate History and Overview

Birks Group is a leading designer of fine jewelry, timepieces and gifts and operator of luxury jewelry and timepiece retail stores in Canada, with wholesale customers in North America and the U.K..U.K. As of May 31, 2019,2021, Birks Group operated 26 stores under the Maison Birks brand in most major metropolitan markets in Canada, 1one retail location in Calgary operated under the Brinkhaus brand, 1one retail location in Vancouver operated under the Graff brand and 1one retail location in Vancouver operated under the Patek Philippe brand. Bijoux Birks fine jewelry collections are also available through select SAKS Fifth Avenue stores in Canada and the U.S., select Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths locations in the United Kingdom, in Mayors stores in the United States as well as at certain jewelry retailers across North America. For fiscal 2019,2021, we had net sales of $151.0$143.1 million from continuing operations.

Birks’ predecessor company was founded in Montreal in 1879 and developed over the years into Canada’s premier designer, manufacturer and retailer of fine jewelry, timepieces, sterling and plated silverware and gifts. In addition to being a nationwide retailer with a strong brand identity, we are also highly regarded in Canada as a jewelry designer. We believe that operating our stores under the Maison Birks brand and the fact that we sell Birks-brandedBijoux Birks branded jewelry distinguishes us from many competitors because of our longstanding reputation and heritage, our ability to offer distinctively designed, exclusive products, and by placing a strong emphasis on providing a superior shopping experience to our clients.

Birks was purchased by Borgosesia Acquisitions Corporation in 1993, a predecessor company of Regaluxe Investment S.á.r.l., which is referred to in this Annual Report as “Regaluxe”.Regaluxe. Effective March 28, 2006, Regaluxe was acquired through a merger with Iniziativa S.A. (“Iniziativa”). As of May 31, 2007 and June 4, 2007, respectively, following a reorganization, Iniziativa and Montrolux S.A. transferred all of the shares they respectively held in the Company to their parent company, Montel (previouslyMontrovest B.V.(“Montrovest”now known as Montrovest B.V.)Montel). Following the 1993 acquisition of Birks, Birks’ operations were evaluated and a program of returning Birks to its historic core strength as the leading Canadian prestige jeweler was initiated.

In August 2002, Birks invested $23.6 million to acquire approximately 72% of the voting control in Mayors, which was experiencing an unsuccessful expansion beyond its core markets and was incurring significant losses.

Between August 2002 and November 2005, it became apparent to both Mayors and Birks management that it was in the best interests of the shareholders to combine its operations. The Company believed that such combination would create a stronger capital base, improve operating efficiencies, reduce the impact of regional issues, simplify the corporate ownership of Mayors, eliminate management and board of directors’ inefficiencies with managing intercompany issues, and possibly increase shareholder liquidity. Upon the consummation of the merger on November 14, 2005, each outstanding share of Mayors common stock not then owned by Birks was converted into 0.08695 Class A voting shares of Birks. As a result of the merger, Mayors common stock ceased trading on the American Stock Exchange (“AMEX”) and Birks Group began trading on the AMEX, which is now known as the NYSE American, under the trading symbol “BGI.” Following the merger, Birks Group worked very diligently to fully integrate the Birks business with Mayors. As a result of the merger, we believe Birks Group improved operational efficiencies and diversity and depth of its products and distribution capabilities.

In December 2015, MontelMontrovest (now known as Montel) transferred a portion of its Class A and Class B voting shares to Mangrove and as a result Montel owns 49.3%owned 49.2% of the voting shares of the Company and Mangrove ownsowned 26.7%.

In August 2017, Birks entered into the Stock Purchase Agreement with Aurum, the largest fine watch and jewelry retailer in the U.K., to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Mayors. The Aurum Transaction closed on October 23, 2017 for total cash consideration of $135.0 million (USD(U.S. $106.8 million). As part of the transaction, Birks entered into a 5 year5-year distribution agreement with Aurum to sell Birks fine jewelry in the U.K. at Mappin & Webb, Goldsmiths stores and on theire-commerce websites.

In the last three fiscal years, we invested a total of approximately $30.7$21.0 million in capital expenditures primarily associated with the remodeling of our existing store network. This includedDuring fiscal 2021, additions include $1.5 million towards the remodeling of two stores in Calgary, $0.6 million towards the relocation of a store within the same mall in Montreal as well as $0.4 million towards various renovations across the retail network, including the addition of various new brand counters and shop-in-shops in certain stores. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and during periods in fiscal 2021 when government restrictions related to the pandemic were lifted and/or lightened, the Company saw some benefit from the significant investments it had made in fiscal years 2019 and 2018, including the completion of major transformative renovations at our three flagship locations, in Montreal (completed in June 2018), Vancouver (completed in February 2019) and Toronto (completed in March 2019). We also opened our Graff and Patek Philippe boutiques in Vancouver (completed in December 2018), and investedcontinued to invest in the ongoing implementation of a new enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system.

The last threeIn fiscal years were2021, we continued to transition away from a very capital-intensive period from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2019 for the Company asduring which we implemented our growth-driven strategic objective, which includedincludes the remodeling of our retail network including our flagship locations. ThisThe capital intensive spending period resulted in temporarily lower sales and contribution margin at the flagship locations under renovation, with a view to generate future long-term returns for the Company. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and forced store closures beginning in March 2020, the Company experienced a return to normal selling conditions during fiscal 2020. The on-going COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted our business, sales, and results from operations, and the Company continues to monitor its impacts. We currently expect to invest a significantly lower amount in capital expenditures in fiscal 20202022 and fiscal 20212023 as we focus solely on operations and on delivering a return on our strategic investment spending during the period from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2019. In fact, in fiscal 2020,2022, approximately $1.0$2.7 million is expected to be spent in capital expenditures, primarily related to minor store remodels and store relocations.remodels. We expect to finance these capital expenditures from operating cash flows, and existing financing arrangements.arrangements including tenant allowances from certain of our landlords. Such planned capital expenditures could be delayed in the event of prolonged COVID-19 impacts on the Company’s operations and financial condition.

The Company regularly reviews the locations of its retail network that leads to decisions that impact the opening, relocation or closing of these locations. During fiscal 2021, we relocated a Maison Birks store in Montreal, Québec and remodeled a Maison Birks store in Calgary, Alberta. During fiscal 2021, we also closed a Maison Birks store in Vancouver, British Columbia as a result of a complete renovation of the mall in which the store was located. During fiscal 2020, we relocated a Maison Birks store in Toronto, Ontario and opened a new Maison Birks Store in Calgary, Alberta. During

fiscal 2019, we closed two Maison Birks stores (one in Edmonton, Alberta and one in Toronto, Ontario) and closed one store operated under the Brinkhaus brand in Vancouver, British Colombia. During fiscal 2019, we also opened one store operated under the Graff brand and one store operated under the Patek Philippe brand in Vancouver, British Columbia. During fiscal 2019, we also relocated two Maison Birks stores (one in Vancouver, British Columbia and one in Toronto, Ontario) during the remodeling of their respective malls. During fiscal 2018, we opened a new store in Oshawa, Ontario and a new store in Surrey, British Columbia and closed no stores. In fiscal 2017, we did not open or close any stores.

The Toronto flagship storere-opened in its original location in March 2019 after having been moved to a smaller temporary location in the mall (which itself was undergoing and continues to undergo, significant construction activities) during fiscal 2017. The Company temporarily closed its Montreal flagship store in early 2018 to undertake a complete renovation of the store. The renovations were completed and the storere-opened in June 2018. Certain delays in the completion of these two major renovation projects significantly affected the sales of the Company during the fiscal year.years 2019 and 2018.

Our sales are divided into two principal product categories: (i) jewelry and other, and (ii) timepieces. Jewelry and other also includes sales of other product offerings we sell such as giftware, as well as repair and custom design services.

The following table compares our sales from continuing operations of each product category for the last three fiscal years (dollars in thousands):

The decline in sales from the jewelry and other product categorycategories in fiscal 20192021 as compared to fiscal 2018 has been2020 is primarily driven by softer bridal jewelry sales and by a decrease in Bijoux Birks fine jewelry resulting from the resultnegative impacts of direct competition inthe COVID-19 pandemic on our major markets from corporate owned stores operated by certain third party jewelry brands which we carry. This has been partially offset by the continued sales growth of Birks branded jewelry, which is the Company’s strategic focus going forward. From fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2018, theretail and wholesale operations. The decline in sales from thisthe jewelry and other product categories in fiscal 2020 as compared to fiscal 2019 is primarily driven by softer bridal jewelry sales and by a decrease in Bijoux Birks fine jewelry resulting from a decrease in discounting versus fiscal 2019. During fiscal 2019, the Company rationalized its inventory in order to liquidate discontinued inventory assumed as part of the Mayors transaction.

The decline in sales from the timepieces product category wasin fiscal 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020 is primarily driven primarily by the renovationnegative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our Montreal and Toronto flagship storesretail operations, including the impact of the temporary store closures at intermittent periods during fiscal 2018, and the temporary closure of the Montreal flagship store for the last two months of fiscal 2018.

2021. The increase in sales from the timepieces product category in fiscal 20192020 as compared to fiscal 2018 was driven primarily by an improved assortment of third party timepiece inventory, including the addition of certain globally renowned and desirable brands in our newly renovated flagship locations. From fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2018, the decline in sales from this product category2019 was driven primarily by the renovation of our Montreal and TorontoCompany’s flagship stores during fiscal 2018, and the temporary closure of the Montreal flagship storebeing open for the last two months ofentire fiscal 2018.year post-renovations.

Birks Group is a Canadian corporation. Our corporate headquarters are located at 2020 Robert-Bourassa Boulevard, Suite 200, Montreal, Québec, Canada H3A 2A5. Our telephone number is (514)397-2501. Our website iswww.birksgroup.com.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers (including Birks Group) that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. The Company also maintains a public website athttp://www.birks.com.

Products

We offer distinctively designed, exclusive products and a large selection of distinctive high quality merchandise at various price points. This merchandise includes our own designed jewelry, branded Bijoux Birks and designer jewelry that includes diamonds, gemstones, and precious metals.

Our Bijoux Birks brand consists of internally developed luxury fine jewelry and bridal collections as well as watches and gift items. We also offer a large selection of desirable timepieces at various price points and giftware. Part of our strategy is to increase our exclusive offering of internally-designed goods sold to our customers, consisting primarily of fine jewelry, bridal offerings, and timepieces, all of which leverage the Bijoux Birks brand loyalty in their respective markets and in order to differentiate our products with unique and exclusive designs.

Our stores, operating under the Maison Birks, Brinkhaus, Graff and Patek Phillippe brands, carry a large selection of prestigious brand name timepieces, including our own proprietary Birks watch line as well as timepieces made by Baume & Mercier, Breitling, Bvlgari, Cartier, Chaumet, Dinh Van Paris, Frédérique Constant, Graff, Grand Seiko, IWC, Jaeger Lecoultre, Longines, Montblanc, Panerai, Patek Phillippe, Richard Mille, Rolex, Tag Heuer, Tudor, and Van Cleef & Arpels. We also carry an exclusive collection of high quality jewelry and timepieces that we design. We emphasize Bijoux Birks brand jewelry offerings but also include other designer jewelry made by Bvlgari, Chaumet, Dinh Van Paris, Graff, Marco Bicego, Messika, Roberto Coin, Van Cleef & Arpels,Vhernier and Vhernier.Yoko London. We also offer a variety of high quality giftware, including writing instruments made by Montblanc.

We have one primary channel of distribution, the retail division, which accounts for approximately 95%91% of net sales, as well as twothree other channels of distribution, namelye-commerce, wholesale, and wholesale,gold exchange which combined to account for approximately 5%9% of net sales.

Product Design, Development, Sourcing and Manufacturing

We established a product development process that supports our strategy to further develop and enhance our product offering in support of the Birks brand development. During fiscal 2021, 2020, and 2019, 2018, and fiscal 2017, approximately 45%31%, 52%46%, and 45%, respectively, of our jewelry products acquired for sale were internally designed and sourced. A significant portion of internally designed products are associated with the Bridal segment, which is largely reliant on customized special orders. The decrease in fiscal 2021 is primarily the result of the impact of COVID-19 and the significant sales decrease in the first quarter which subsequently impacted replenishments for the remainder of the fiscal year. Products that are not designed and manufactured for us, are sourced from suppliers worldwide, enabling us to sell an assortment of fine quality merchandise often not available from other jewelers in our markets. Our staff of buyers procures distinctive high quality merchandise directly from manufacturers, diamond cutters, and other suppliers worldwide. Our loose stone acquisition team, product sourcing team and category managers specialize in sourcing merchandise in categories such as diamonds, precious gemstones, pearls, timepieces, gold jewelry, and giftware. Retail and merchandising personnel frequently visit our stores and those of competitors to compare value, selection, and service, as well as to observe client reaction to merchandise selection and determine future needs and trends.

Availability of Products

Although purchases of several critical raw materials, notably platinum, gold, silver, diamonds, pearls and gemstones, are made from a relatively limited number of sources, we believe that there are numerous alternative sources for all raw materials used in the manufacture of our finished jewelry, and that the failure of any principal supplier would not have a material adverse effect on our operations. Any material changes in foreign or domestic laws and policies affecting international trade may have a material adverse effect on the availability of the diamonds, other gemstones, precious metals andnon-jewelry products we purchase. Significant changes in the availability or prices of diamonds, gemstones and precious metals we require for our products could adversely affect our earnings. We do not maintain long-term inventories or otherwise hedge a material portion of the price of raw materials. A significant increase in the price of these materials could adversely affect our net sales, gross margin and earnings. However, in the event of price increases, we will generally attempt to pass along any price increases to our customers.

In fiscal 2019,2021, we purchased jewelry, timepieces and giftware for sale in our stores and online from several suppliers. Many of these suppliers have long-standing relationships with us. We compete with other jewelry and timepiece retailers for access to vendors that will provide us with the quality and quantity of merchandise necessary to operate our business. Our relationships with primary suppliers are generally not pursuant to long-term agreements. Although we believe that alternative sources of supply are available, the abrupt loss of any of our key vendors, or a decline in the quality or quantity of merchandise supplied by our vendors could cause significant disruption in our business. In fiscal 2019,2021, merchandise supplied by our largest luxury timepiece supplier and sold through our stores accounted for approximately 15%20% of our total net sales. If our largest luxury timepiece supplier terminated its distribution agreements with us, such termination would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. We believe that current relationships with our key vendors are strong.

Seasonality

Our sales are highly seasonal, with the third fiscal quarter (which includes the holiday shopping season) historically contributing significantly higher net sales than any other quarter during the year. In addition to seasonality trends, fiscal 2021 was also impacted by factors attributable to COVID-19, such as widespread restrictions and temporary store closures, particularly in the first quarter, which shifted net sales between quarters. Net sales from continuing operations in the first, second, third and fourth quarters in fiscal 2021 were 10%, 30%, 39% and 21%, respectively, in fiscal 2020 were 26%, 24%, 32% and 18%, respectively, and in fiscal 2019 were 25%, 21%, 33% and 21%, respectively, in fiscal 2018 were 23%, 20%, 36% and 20% respectively, and in fiscal 2017 were 24%, 21%, 35% and 20%, respectively.

Retail Operations, Merchandising and Marketing

General

We believe we are differentiated from most of our competitors because we offer distinctively designed, exclusive products and a selection of distinctive high quality merchandise at a wide range of price points. We keep the majority of our inventory on display in our stores rather than at our distribution facility. Although each store stocks a representative selection of jewelry, timepieces, and giftware, certain inventory is tailored to meet local tastes and historical merchandise sales patterns of specific stores.

We believe that our stores’ elegant surroundings and distinctive merchandise displays play an important role in providing an atmosphere that encourages sales. We pay careful attention to detail in the design and layout of each store, particularly lighting, colors, choice of materials, and placement of display cases. We also use window displays as a means of attractingwalk-in traffic and reinforcing our distinctive image. Our Visual Displaymarketing department designs and creates window and store merchandise case displays for all of our stores. Window displays are frequently changed to provide variety and to reflect seasonal events such as Christmas, Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Personnel and Training

We place substantial emphasis on the professionalism of our sales force to maintain our position as a leading prestige jeweler. We strive to hire only highly motivated, professional and customer-oriented individuals. All new sales professionals attend an intensive training program where they are trained in technical areas of the jewelry and timepiece business, specific sales and service techniques and our commitment to client service. Management believes that attentive personal service and knowledgeable sales professionals are key components to our success.

As part of our commitment to continuous,on-the-job training, we have established “Birks University”, a formalized system ofin-house training with a primary focus on client service, selling skills and product knowledge that involves extensive classroom training, the use of detailed operational manuals,in-store mentorship programs and a leading edge product knowledge program which includeson-line testing.quizzes. In addition, we conductin-house training seminars on a periodic basis and administer training modules with audits to (i) enhance the quality and professionalism of all sales professionals, (ii) measure the level of knowledge of each sales professional, (iii) update sales professionals on changes to our credit programs available to customers and changes to applicable laws, including anti-money laundering legislation, and (iv) identify needs for additional training. We also provide all management team members with more extensive training that emphasizes leadership skills, general management skills,“on-the-job” coaching and training instruction techniques.

Advertising and Promotion

One of our key marketing goals is to build on our reputation in our core markets as a leading luxury jewelry brand offering high quality merchandise in an elegant, sophisticated environment. For example, we frequently run advertisements that associate the “Birks”Bijoux Birks brand with internationally recognized brand names such as Cartier, Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Van Cleef & Arpels, among others. Advertising and promotions for all stores are developed by our personnel in conjunction with outside creative professionals.

Our advertising reinforces our role as a world-class luxury brand that aims to deliver a total shopping experience that is as memorable as our merchandise. Our marketing efforts consist of advertising campaigns on digital platforms (including on our website and on social media), billboards, print, direct mail, special events, media and public relations, distinctive store design, elegant displays, partnerships with key suppliers and associations with prestige institutions. The key goals of our marketing initiatives are to enhance customer awareness and appreciation of our retail brand, Maison Birks, as well as theour Bijoux Birks product brand, and to increase customer traffic, client acquisition and retention and net sales.

Credit Operations

We have a private label credit card, which is administered by a third-party financial institution that owns the credit card receivable balances. We also have a Birks proprietary credit card, which we administer. Our credit programs are intended to complement our overall merchandising and sales strategy by encouraging larger and more frequent sales to a loyal customer base. Sales under the Birks private label credit cardscard and the Birks in-house credit card accounted for approximately 18.0%15.9% of our net sales during fiscal 20192021 and 14.6%19.1% during fiscal 2018. The increase in penetration of our net sales is substantially due to the introduction of more attractive term plans during fiscal 2019 as well as due to2020. These results reflect the launch of the Birks Prestige private label credit card program in April 2018. We have continued to implement attractive term plans during fiscal 2021. Sales under the Birks private label credit cards are generally made without credit recourse to us. However, we are permitted to ask the financial institution to approve credit purchases under these private label credit cards, for which the financial institution holds credit recourses against the Company if the customer does not pay.

Distribution

Our retail locations receive the majority of their merchandise directly from our distribution warehouse located in Montreal, Québec. Merchandise is shipped from the distribution warehouse utilizing various air and ground carriers. We also transfer merchandise between retail locations to balance inventory levels and to fulfill client requests, and a small portion of merchandise is delivered directly to the retail locations from suppliers.

Competition

The North American retail jewelry industry is highly competitive and fragmented, with a few very large national and international competitors and many medium and small regional and local competitors. The market is also fragmented by price and quality. Our competitors include national and international jewelry chains as well as independent regional and local jewelry and timepiece retailers. We also compete with other types of retailers such as department stores and specialty stores and, to a lesser extent, catalog showrooms, discounters, direct mail suppliers, televised home shopping networks, and puree-commerce players. Many of these competitors have greater financial resources than we do. We believe that competition in our markets is based primarily on the total brand experience including trust, quality craftsmanship, product design and exclusivity, product selection, marketing and branding elements (including web), service excellence, including after sales service, and, to a certain extent, price. With theon-going consolidation of the retail industry, we believe that competition with other general and specialty retailers and discounters will continue to increase. Our success will depend on various factors, including general economic and business conditions affecting consumer spending, the performance of national and international retail operations, the acceptance by consumers of our merchandising and marketing programs, store locations and our ability to properly staff and manage our stores.

Regulation

Our operations are affected by numerous federal and provincial laws that impose disclosure and other requirements upon the origination, servicing and enforcement of credit accounts and limitations on the maximum amount of finance charges that may be charged by a credit provider. In addition to our private label and proprietary credit cards, credit to our clients is primarily available through third-party credit cards such as American Express^®, Discover^®, MasterCard^®, Union Pay^® and Visa^®, without recourse to us in the case of a client’s failure to pay. Any change in the regulation of credit that would materially limit the availability of credit to our traditional customer base could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We generally utilize the services of independent customs agents to comply with U.S. and Canadian customs laws in connection with our purchases of gold, diamond and other jewelry merchandise from foreign sources.

Diamonds extracted from certain regions in Africa, including Zimbabwe, that are believed to be used to fund terrorist activities, are considered conflict diamonds. We have designed a conflict minerals compliance initiative to implement a consistent, company-wide compliance process which includes:

Our compliance program has been designed to conform, in all material respects, with the framework in The Organization of EconomicCo-operation and Development Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas Second Edition, and the related gold supplement for conflict minerals. In addition, we have adopted a conflict minerals policy which has been communicated to our suppliers and is included in our Merchandise Quality Manual and available on our website at www.birks.com.www.birks.com. Our conflict mineral policy indicates that suppliers who do not comply with this policy will be reviewed and evaluated accordingly for future business and sourcing decisions.

We support the Kimberley Process, an international initiative intended to ensure diamonds are not illegally traded to fund conflict. As part of this initiative, we require our diamond suppliers to acknowledge compliance with the Kimberley Process and invoices received for diamonds purchased by us must include certification from the vendor that the diamonds and diamond containing jewelry are conflict free. Through this process and other efforts, we believe that the suppliers from whom we purchase diamonds exclude conflict diamonds from their inventories.

In August 2012, the SEC issued rules that require companies that manufacture products using certain “conflict minerals”, including gold, to determine whether those minerals originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo or adjoining countries (“DRC”). If the minerals originate in the DRC, or if companies are not able to establish where they originated, extensive disclosure regarding the sources of those minerals, and in some instances an independent audit of the supply chain, is required. We filed our sixthninth disclosure report on June 4, 2019May 27, 2021 for the calendar year ended December 31, 2018.2020. We determined that we had no reason to believe that any conflict minerals necessary to the functionality or production of our products may have originated in the DRC.

Trademarks and Copyrights

The designations Birks, and the Birks logos, are our principal trademarks and are essential to our ability to maintain our competitive position in the prestige jewelry segment. We maintain a program to protect our trademarks and will institute legal action where necessary to prevent others from either registering or using marks that are considered to create a likelihood of confusion with our trademarks. We are also the owner of the original jewelry designs created by ourin-house designers and have entered into agreements with several outside designers pursuant to which these designers have assigned to us the rights to use copyrights of designs and products created for us.

Organizational Structure

Not applicable.

Properties

In December 2000, we entered into a capital lease agreement for our Montreal head office and store pursuant to which we sold and leased back the building, including the Montreal flagship store, for a term of 20 years ending December 11, 2020. The net annual rental rate was $2.2 million for the period that ended on December 11, 2016. On November 1, 2016, we entered into an agreement with the new owner of the building to terminate the then existing lease agreement for the building in advance of its expiry date in December 2020 and to lease the premises for our flagship store at its current location, which is an operating lease. As a result, a capital lease asset of $8.7 million and a capital lease obligation of $11.6 million at November 1, 2016 were derecognized and anon-cash gain of $2.9 million (included as part of other long-term liabilities) is being deferred and amortized over the term of the new lease of the flagship store.

We lease all of our store locations.locations as well as our corporate head office which includes a distribution center. We believe that all of our facilities are well maintained and in good condition and are adequate for our current needs. We actively review all leases that expire within the next 12 months to determine whether to renew the leases. Over the past few years we have also decreased the number of stores we operate by closing certain underperforming stores. Going forward we plan to continue to evaluate the productivity of our existing stores and close unproductive stores. In addition, we plan to continue to review opportunities to open new stores in new prime retail locations when the right opportunities exist.

Following is a listing of all our properties as of March 30, 2019:27, 2021:

Total annual base rent for the above locations for fiscal 20192021 was approximately $15.4$12.5 million.

Not applicable

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The following discussion includes certain forward-looking statements. For a discussion of important factors, including the continuing development of our business, actions of regulatory authorities and competitors and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results referred to in the forward-looking statements, see Item 3., “Key Information” under the heading “Risk Factors” and the discussion under the heading “Forward-Looking Information” at the beginning of this Annual Report.

Throughout this Annual Report, we refer to our fiscal year ending March 27, 2021, as fiscal 2021, and our fiscal years ended March 28, 2020, and March 30, 2019, March 31, 2018, and March 25, 2017, as fiscal 2019, fiscal 2018,2020 and fiscal 2017,2019, respectively. Our fiscal year ends on the last Saturday in March of each year. The financial reporting period referred to as fiscal 2019years ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 consisted of 52 weeks, while fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017 consisted of 53 and 52 weeks, respectively.

Overview

Birks Group is a leading designer of fine jewelry, timepieces and gifts and operator of luxury jewelry stores in Canada, with wholesale customers in North America and the U.K. As of March 30, 2019,27, 2021, we have two reportable segments, “Retail” and “Other.” Retail consists of our retail operations whereby we operate 26 stores in Canada under the Maison Birks brand, one store under the Brinkhaus brand, one store under the Graff brand, and one store under the Patek Phillippe brand. Other consists primarily of our wholesale business, our e-commerce business and oure-commerce gold exchange business.

As of March 30, 2019,27, 2021, our retail operation’s total square footage was approximately 94,000.87,000. The average square footage of our three Maison Birks flagship stores was approximately 12,500, while the average square footage for all other Maison Birks retail stores was approximately 2,300.2,200. The average square footage of the Brinkhaus, Graff, and Patek Phillippe locations was approximately 1,200.

Significant Transaction

On August 11, 2017, the Company entered into a stock purchase agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) with Aurum Holdings Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, which assigned its rights and obligations under the Purchase Agreement to Aurum Group USA, Inc., a Delaware corporation (now known as Watches of Switzerland) (“Aurum”) to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mayors, which operated in Florida and Georgia and was engaged primarily in luxury timepieces and jewelry retail activities. The sale was completed on October 23, 2017 for total consideration of $135.0 million (USD $106.8 million) (the “Aurum Transaction”).fiscal 2018

As a condition of the Aurum Transaction, Birks entered into a 5 year distribution agreement with Aurum (the “Distribution Agreement”) to sell Birks fine jewelry in the U.K. at Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths stores and on their respectivee-commerce platforms. Furthermore, pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, the Birks collections will continue to be sold in the United States through Mayors stores in Florida and Georgia. The Distribution Agreement is an important achievement in the Company’s strategy to develop the Birks brand into a global luxury brand. The Aurum Transaction constitutes a significant step in the Company’s efforts to strengthen its balance sheet and to execute its strategic vision of investing in the Birks brand.

Proceeds from the Aurum Transaction were used to pay down outstanding debt under the Company’s previous senior secured credit facilities that included term debt and working capital debt associated with Mayors. The Company did not pay dividends as a result of the Aurum Transaction, but rather, the remaining transaction proceeds were used by Birks to continue its strategic growth initiatives, specifically to invest in its Canadian flagship stores and new store concepts, as well as in its high-growth Birks brand wholesaling activities ande-commerce, as part of the Company’s omni-channel strategy.

As a result of the Aurum Transaction, the Company has presented Mayors’ results as a discontinued operation in the consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for all periods presented. The tables below reconcile the Company’s results from continuing operations and from discontinuing operations for the fiscal years 2021, 2020, and 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.