7. Any serious disruption at our major facilities could have a harmful effect on our business. We currently operate our corporate office in Brisbane, California, a distribution facility in Benicia, California, and a design studio and production facility in Los Angeles, California. Any serious disruption at these facilities whether due to construction, relocation, fire, earthquake, terrorist acts or otherwise would harm our operations and could have a harmful effect on our business and results of operations. Furthermore, we have little experience operating essential functions away from our main corporate offices and are uncertain what effect operating such satellite facilities might have on business, personnel and results of operations. We are in process of implementing a business continuity plan that will address recovery in the event of a serious disruption at one of our major facilities. 8. We face significant competition in the retail and apparel industry, which could harm our sales and profitability. The retail and apparel industries are highly competitive and are characterized by low barriers to entry. We expect competition in our markets to increase. The primary competitive factors in our markets are: brand name recognition, sourcing strategies, product styling, quality, presentation and pricing, timeliness of product development and delivery, store ambiance, customer service and convenience. We compete with traditional department stores, specialty store retailers, business to consumer websites, off-price retailers and direct marketers for, among other things, raw materials, market share, retail space, finished goods, sourcing and personnel. Because many of these competitors are larger and have substantially greater financial, distribution and marketing resources than we do, we may lack the resources to adequately compete with them. If we fail to compete in any way, it could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. 9. Purchases of the merchandise we sell are generally discretionary and are therefore particularly susceptible to economic slowdowns. If current economic conditions do not improve, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Consumers are generally more willing to make discretionary purchases, including purchases of fashion products, during periods in which favorable economic conditions prevail. Currently, there is a general slowdown in the United States economy, which has adversely affected consumer confidence and spending habits, as well as our sales. The outlook for the United States economy is uncertain and is directly affected by global political factors that are beyond our control. Any escalation of military action involving the United States could cause increased volatility in financial markets, further adversely affecting consumer confidence and spending habits. If current economic conditions do not improve, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. 10. If we are not able to successfully protect our intellectual property our ability to capitalize on the value of our brand name may be impaired. Even though we take actions to establish, register and protect our trademarks and other proprietary rights, we cannot assure you that we will be successful or that others will not imitate our products or infringe upon our intellectual property rights. In addition, we cannot assure you that others will not resist or seek to block the sale of our products as infringements of their trademark and proprietary rights. We are seeking to register our trademarks in targeted international markets. In some of these markets obstacles exist that may prevent us from obtaining a trademark for the bebe name or related names. In such countries, we may not be able to register trademarks in these international markets, purchase the right or obtain a license to use the bebe name on commercially reasonable terms. If we fail to obtain trademark, ownership or license rights, it would limit our ability to expand into certain international markets. Furthermore, in some jurisdictions, despite successful registration of our trademarks, third parties may allege infringement and bring actions against us. In addition, if our licensees fail to use our intellectual property correctly, the goodwill associated with our trademarks may be diluted. Both domestically and internationally, if we do not show use of our trademarks, our trademark rights may lapse over time. 11. If an independent manufacturer violates labor or other laws, or is accused of violating any such laws, or if their labor practices diverge from those generally accepted as ethical, it could harm our business and brand image.While we maintain a policy to monitor the operations of our independent manufacturers by having an independent firm inspect these manufacturing sites, and all manufacturers are contractually required to comply with such labor practices, we cannot control the actions or the public’s perceptions of such manufacturers, nor can we assure that these manufacturers will conduct their businesses using ethical or legal labor practices. Apparel companies can be held jointly liable for the wrongdoings of the manufacturers of their products. While we do not control their employees’ employment conditions or the manufacturer’s business practices, and the manufacturers act in their own interest, they may act in a manner that result in negative public perceptions of us and/or employee allegations or court determinations that we are jointly liable. 14 |