Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for specific historical information, many of the matters discussed in this Form 10-Q may express or imply projections of revenues or expenditures, statements of plans and objectives for future operations, growth or initiatives, statements of future economic performance, capital allocation expectations or statements regarding the outcome or impact of pending or threatened litigation. These, and similar statements, are forward-looking statements concerning matters that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual performance of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. All forward-looking information should be evaluated in the context of these risks, uncertainties and other factors. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “objective,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “could,” “will likely result,” or “will continue” and similar words and expressions generally identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such language. The Company believes the assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
The factors that may result in actual results differing from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated containment and remediation efforts; the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and foreign sourcing; the impacts of COVID-19 on the Company’s financial condition, business operation and liquidity, including the potential closure of any of the Company’s retail stores and distribution centers; transportation and distribution delays or interruptions; changes in freight rates; the Company’s ability to negotiate effectively the cost and purchase of merchandise; inventory risks due to shifts in market demand; the Company’s ability to gauge fashion trends and changing consumer preferences; changes in consumer spending on apparel; changes in product mix; interruptions in suppliers’ businesses; a deterioration in general economic conditions, whether caused by acts of war, terrorism, political or social unrest (including any resulting store closures, damage or loss of inventory), or other factors; the results of pending or threatened litigation; temporary changes in demand due to weather patterns; seasonality of the Company’s business; delays associated with building, opening and operating new stores; delays associated with building, opening or expanding new or existing distribution centers; and other factors described in the section titled “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020, as amended, and in Part II, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and any amendments thereto and in the other documents the Company files with the SEC, including reports on Form 8-K.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Form 10-Q. Except as may be required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this Form 10-Q or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Readers are advised, however, to read any further disclosures the Company may make on related subjects in its public disclosures or documents filed with the SEC, including reports on Form 8-K.
Overview
We are a value-priced retailer of fashion apparel, accessories and home goods for the entire family. Our merchandise offerings are designed to appeal to the fashion preferences of value-conscious consumers, particularly African-Americans. We operated 579 stores in both urban and rural markets in 33 states as of August 1, 2020.
COVID-19 Pandemic
In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) emerged and spread worldwide. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. After closely monitoring and taking into consideration the guidance from federal, state and local governments, we temporarily closed all of our retail store locations and distribution centers effective March 20, 2020. Beginning April 24, 2020, we started to reopen stores in select states in accordance with state and local government guidelines. As of July 18, 2020, we safely reopened all of our stores. As we reopened our stores, we took numerous measures to protect the health of our associates, customers and communities we serve. Such measures include implementing occupancy limits, providing personal protective equipment for our associates and customers, encouraging social distancing, adjusting our processes for merchandise returns and implementing new cleaning procedures. We have incurred, and expect we will continue to incur, incremental costs for personal protective equipment, including masks, gloves and hand sanitizer for our associates and customers, as well as additional cleaning supplies.
The temporary closure of our stores has had, and may continue to have, an adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity as described in more detail below. In the first quarter of 2020, we took several steps to increase our cash position and preserve financial flexibility in light of uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, including (i) the drawdown